iPhone news on the up while mobile tech continues to advance

Okay, there is no escaping it: iPhone news is increasing again on our sister site Pocket Picks. There had been an initial post-release lull, presumably as a result of everyone who bought one being too busy fawning over it (with Apple, meanwhile, probably happy to be repeatedly plunging into a giant swimming pool filled with a gazillion $1 bills), but now it seems the news that had slowed to a trickle is building up to a torrent once more.

First up was the release of iPhone tailored versions of Google and eBay, two rather useful sites, obviously. Keen iPhone-owning eBayers will be particularly pleased to learn that the first software update for the device is out, which fixes a security hole in the browser, thereby making online transactions that bit safer and generally cleaning up some other nascent bugs.

The online storage service, Box.net, was also given the iPhone friendly treatment this week, which will be good news to any early adopters who bought the 4GB model as a second choice after the 8GB stocks sold out.

Elsewhere, analysts predicted (again) that the iPhone is the future of mobile devices, claiming that the device represents the zeitgeist that will impose fresh customer expectations and hence standards on handset manufacturers.

As far as rumours, some of the possible new iPhone widgets were uncovered by the intrepid hackers at iPhonology, who found evidence of possible unit converter, translation tool, world clock, and phonebook widgets coming to the device.

The other big rumour was more of a distant industry rumble, with Apple getting all hot and bothered at the UK Copyright Tribunal's decision about online royalty rates. After piping up about ad funded download services at the tribunal, speculation ensued over whether Apple is eying some sort of ad funded iTunes service for the future.

News of a more practical sort, meanwhile, came with the release of iSync plug-ins to help Mac-using Sony Ericsson owners transfer content between their Mac and their phone. (On a related note, Sony Ericsson's own touchscreen wonder, the P3i, made the headlines again this time with some leaked specs.)

Then came news of the ultra geeky but extremely cool Metal Gear Solid themed Sony Ericsson W53s handset, which will release in Japan to coincide with the forthcoming mobile game of the franchise.

Elsewhere in the land of the rising sun, some clever boffins are currently beavering away on mobile iris scanning technology and claim that they can implement the software on any phone with a one megapixel camera and above.

Similarly impressive was the European Space Agency (the ESA) making clear its bid to push things forwards, by announcing a new satellite broadcasting system that could end up being a much cheaper and more elegant solution than 3G networks.

Some tech news of a more speculative nature came in light of the American FCC's decision to open up a portion of the US' airwaves to fresh telecoms businesses, leaving us wondering if the UK's Ofcom may do something similar before long.

Speaking of speculation, there was also the eye-opening analyst prediction that Google phones could hit the streets as early as 2008.

Mobile VoIP maintained its presence, with the announcement that Expansys is cuddling up to mobile VoIP vanguard Truphone to deliver a co-branded handset. Meanwhile, a company made up of ex-Nokia old hands called Concilio made its mobile VoIP motives clear, with plans to allow VoIP service providers to connect to handsets through 2G/3G circuit-switched Radio Access Networks.

And lastly, in smaller news snippets, 3 is to bring live football to mobiles, a triple-screen touch interface handset concept was unveiled by KDDI and the Discovery Channel released a ghost detector app for mobiles.

That's it for this week – check back next Friday for another mobile news round-up from our sister site Pocket Picks.