When the iPhone was launched last week, it became evident that one of the biggest minuses of the product was its battery, which was not user replaceable.

Apple has now come with a solution - it has started a battery replacement program. Should your iPhone's battery need replacing, you can send the phone to Apple. For a fee of $85.95, your iPhone's battery will be replaced with a new one. An "added bonus" is that all the data on the iPhone will be wiped, so you should back up everything before you send your phone to Apple.

The whole process should take about 3 business days.

If the iPhone became a must-have gadget, like the iPod did, AT&T's network would have quite a time dealing with all the internet bandwidth being used by iPhones. Fortunately for AT&T, Steve Jobs said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that the iPhone will use an available WiFi network for internet capability before using AT&T's "Edge". The iPhone is even programmed to use WiFi as a VoIP medium if AT&T service is not available, another innovation in the iPhone.

Steve Jobs and AT&T talked a lot about the iPhone in a Wall Street Journal interview, if you're interested in this kind of stuff, please click here.

Since the first iPhone reviews are in, Engadget.com made an interesting list of features which the iPhone has ... or has not:

• The mobile version of OS X or whatever it is the iPhone runs takes up 700MB of the device's capacity. Damn son!
• There's no way to cut, copy, or paste text! WHOA! Big, big mistake.
• No A2DP support. That, friends, is such a huge bummer right there.
• Sorry, music can't be used as a ringtone -- even if it's just a raw MP3. No additional ringtones will be sold at launch.
• On a PC the iPhone syncs with Outlook for calendars AND addresses! Noice.
• It supports Exchange in some capacity, according to Walt, but he doesn't exactly say how.
  
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Steve Jobs has announced, that Apple will be giving all its roughly 17,787 employees a free 8GB iPhone. This even includes part-time employees which have been with the company for more than a year. This "giveaway" will cost Apple around 12 Million US Dollars when compared to the iPhone retail price. Should be interesting to see if employees will have to pay up for a AT&T contract to fully use the iPhone and its features.

Computer Game Publisher Electronic Arts announced a couple of days ago that they will bring six games to the Intel-based Macintosh platform starting in July. At this year's Worldwide Developers Conference, EA co-founder Bing Gordon told the audience that "Need for Speed: Carbon" ; "Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars" ; "Battlefield 2142" ; "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" ; "Madden NFL '08" and "Tiger Woods PGA Tour '08" will all make their way to Mac.

Apple today updated its MacBook Pro line of notebooks. Built on the Santa Rosa platform, MacBook Pro now offers the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, memory up to 4GB, up to 250GB of hard drive space and high-speed GeForce 8 graphics in a stunning, lightweight, aluminum enclosure that is just one-inch thin. The new MacBook Pro is available in 15-inch models (1440x900) with a new mercury-free, power-efficient LED-backlit display and a 17-inch widescreen model (1680x1050) with an optional high-resolution display. All models include a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing on-the-go, Apple's MagSafe Power Adapter that safely disconnects when under strain, and built-in 802.11n wireless networking for up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g. Apple Store is now offering three models: the entry 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo, 15-inch MacBook Pro for $1,999; the 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, 15-inch MacBook Pro for $2,499 and the 2.4GHz, 17-inch model with a suggested retail price of $2,799. For further information, head over to the product page on Apple's website.

After the obvious success of the iPod, Apple will be hoping for similar results from its next major gadget: the iPhone. Although just about all of the details regarding the iPhone's specification have been available for some time now, Apple has only just revealed that the release date for the iPhone will be on 29th June (presumably this year) - so if you want to have the next big thing from Apple, you better start saving $600 now. However, that date is only for North America and there's no indication of a release date for Europe. If you want to take a look at the iPhone adverts on Apple's website, click here.

Now that Apple has finally led the way and launched its DRM-free downloads for EMI music, you could be forgiven for thinking music fans should be happy. Unfortunately, Apple has removed the protection only to give downloaders another surprise: the tracks still contain data about who bought them. Apple launched the DRM-free service two days ago, which allows iTunes users to download higher quality music without DRM-protection (the technology that prevents music from being played on certain devices in an attempt to combat file sharing) for a higher price of $1.29. However, even tracks without any DRM have the user's account information, including the buyer's email address, embedded into them. Apple hasn't given any comment yet, but music fans fear that Apple is not respecting their privacy and are worried it could be used to identify them if the songs end up on file sharing sites. Obviously this would be useful to prevent illegal sharing, but if the data could be easily spoofed then it may lead to people being wrongly accused of sharing music.

Apple today announced that it's bringing the Internet's most popular originally-created content from YouTube to the living room with Apple TV. Beginning in mid-June, Apple TV will wirelessly stream videos directly from YouTube and play them on a user's widescreen TV. Using Apple TV's elegant interface and simple Apple Remote, viewers can easily browse, find and watch free videos from YouTube in the comfort of their living room. Thousands of the most current and popular YouTube videos will be available on Apple TV at launch in mid-June, with YouTube adding thousands more each week until the full YouTube catalog is available this fall. Apple today also announced that it is offering a new Apple TV build-to-order option with a 160GB hard drive. Apple TV with a 160GB hard drive will be available tomorrow for a suggested retail price of $399 (US), while the older 40GB version will still sell for $299 (US).

Apple today launched iTunes Plus - DRM free music tracks featuring high quality 256kbps AAC encoding for just $1.29 per song. Apple said that it will continue to offer its entire catalog, in the same versions as today - 128kbps AAC encoding with DRM - at the same price of 99 cents per song, alongside the higher quality iTunes Plus versions when available. In addition, iTunes customers can now easily upgrade their library of previously purchased EMI content to iTunes Plus tracks for just 30 cents a song and $3.00 for most albums. The iTunes Store features the world's largest catalog with over five million songs, 350 television shows and over 500 movies. The iTunes Store has sold over 2.5 billion songs, 50 million TV shows and over two million movies, making it the world's most popular online music, TV and movie store.

Apple recently announced that it has officially received FCC approval to sell the iPhone, its much anticipated entry into the mobile phone market. Along with getting FCC approval, the iPhone is ready to ship next month, Apple spokespeople said.

All mobile phones offered in the United States must receive a "grant of equipment authorization," which means it has received the green light from the FCC.

"We're on track to release it in late June," Cingular spokesman Mark Siegel said. "Nothing has changed."

FCC documents confirmed the iPhone will have WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities. Apple requested the FCC keep several details secret from the public, including the official launch date of the device. Apple also requested the FCC not release external or internal photographs and user manual of the iPhone for 45 days -- which means the material will likely not be made available until the iPhone is on the market.

Apple today updated its MacBook consumer notebooks with faster Intel Core 2 Duo processors, 1GB of memory and larger hard drives in every model. Featuring a gorgeous 13-inch WXGA (1280 x 800) glossy widescreen display, the updated MacBook now comes in three models: sleek white 2.0GHz and 2.16GHz MacBook models, and a black 2.16GHz MacBook modification. All other features remain the same including slot-loading DL DVD burner (CD-RW combo drive on the entry-level model), Intel GMA950, Gigabit Ethernet port, 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. Additional build-to-order options for the MacBook include the ability to upgrade to 120GB or 160GB (5400rpm) or a 200GB (4200 rpm) hard drive, and up to 2GB DDR2 SDRAM. The new MacBooks are available now through the Apple Store and range in price from $1,099 for the entry-level 2.0GHz model to $1,499 for the top 2.16GHz black model.

Students have recently been busted for a brand new form of cheating: loading test answers on their iPod's and MP3 players. This new form of cheating extends all the way from simply putting information in a lyric file to "podcasts" of test answers. Two students have already been caught red handed, and so a school in Meridian, Idaho has banned MP3 players of any form being on a student during a test. These incidents have even triggered talk of a national ban. This is vastly in contrast to the move Duke University made in 2004 when they bought 1,650 iPod's so that their students could keep up with studies.

If you've bought a MacBook between February 2006 and April 2007, you may have noticed a small problem with the battery indicator. Some common problems include the battery not charging when plugged in, a lack of battery recognition, low charge/run capacity, or visibly deformation of the battery. Apple has released a software patch for these flaws (aside from the deformation problem), which you can grab here. If you still experience those problems, especially the deformation issue, please contact Apple for a free replacement.

Apple Inc has seen its profits surge an impressive 88% for the second quarter of the fiscal year compared to earnings this time last year. In the second quarter of last year (the second quarter of the fiscal year ends on 31st March) Apple managed a turnover of $4.36 billion giving it a profit of $410 million. However, this year it managed a revenue of $5.26 billion and profits of $770 million, which equates to $0.87 per diluted share. During the quarter Apple shipped 1,517,000 Macs and 10,549,000 iPods - a growth of 36% and 24% respectively compared to a year ago. Read on for Apple's press release.

Anyone who thought that the new Windows Vista search features were based off of Mac Spotlight will be interested to hear that someone is suing Apple for ripping off their technology. That someone is a small-town company called IP Innovation. IP Innovation, the plaintiff, is alleging that the widespread use of tabs in OS X Tiger is infringing on a patent they've had since 1987. If the lawsuit somehow succeeds, Apple will have to throw $20 million USD at IP Innovation, and then take Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger off the shelves. Apple has no comment on the situation at this time.

Apple today released its fourth security update of the year for the Mac OS X 10.4.9 operating system, with 25 new patches making it to the front this time around. None of the patches are critical, though a few of them do fix flaws that were brought to light during the Month of Apple Bugs. The Security Update 2007-004 can be downloaded from the company's security update page.

Apple plans to launch new iPods featuring Wi-Fi in the second half of 2007. USI will produce the Wi-Fi modules and Foxconn will perform as the OEM system assembler. USI will begin shipments later in April, while Foxconn may do so in the third quarter. Wi-Fi equipped players stand a chance of becoming the mainstream for all portable music models.

CUPERTINO, California-April 9, 2007-Apple today announced that the 100 millionth iPod has been sold, making the iPod the fastest selling music player in history. The first iPod was sold five and a half years ago, in November 2001, and since then Apple has introduced more than 10 new iPod models, including five generations of iPod, two generations of iPod mini, two generations of iPod nano and two generations of iPod shuffle. Along with iTunes and the iTunes online music store, the iPod has transformed how tens of millions of music lovers acquire, manage and listen to their music.

Fastmac today announced the first & only Blu-Ray optical drive upgrade for Apple's PowerBook, iBook & MacBook Pro computers. The new slimline, slot loading drive uses one of the fastest & most compatible Blu-ray mechanisms to provide up to 50 Gb of storage on 1 disk, without sacrificing compatibility with standard DVD & CD recordable media. Fastmac's Blu-Ray optical drive upgrade is scheduled to ship within 10 days and is available for pre-order from www.fastmac.com for a special introductory price of $799.95. Each drive carries a 1 year warranty and a 30 day money back guarantee .

It's been two weeks since Apple released the Apple TV. Unfortunately, it's been getting a lot of criticism. It runs Mac OS X, yet it is very limited. The Inquirer boldly claims that the Apple TV is "limited and produces poor quality video content". A bunch of hackers seemed to think so, hence, they decided to fix Apple TV the only way they knew how; crack the thing like an egg. They first managed to install a full version of OS X, and then went on to figure out how to install a bigger hard drive, enable SSH/Apache (big for server people), start a remote desktop service, and plug in a full keyboard/mouse. The main reason that these guys are able to do so much is because the Apple TV is a lot more of a PC than Apple would like us to think. The hackers are busy working on more hacks, and their site gets over 500,000 hits a day.

If you judge by the title of this story alone, you might think that the European Commission (EU) is punishing Apple and EMI for getting ready to offer music sans DRM's (Digital Right Management). The EU's complaint is much simpler than that. Apparently, Apple would only be applying these costs in some parts of the iTunes store. So, a song can cost less in one European country than another. This violates a very important article of the EU, and so Apple may incur a 10% fine if they do not change things soon.

For those of you curious about the shenanigans going on between EMI and Apple: The two companies have proudly announced a strategic partnership, and EMI will be sending Apple all their music without DRMs, which is a bold move. It is risky from a business standpoint, but very welcomed from a customer standpoint. Proof that EMI will be pioneering DRM free music can be found here in their press release.

Last month, techPowerUp reported that Apple had accidentally listed an 8-core Mac Pro on its website, and although it was quickly removed, the new machine genuinely has been launched now. The new Mac Pro comes with either two quad-core 3.0GHz "Clovertown" Xeons or two dual-core "Woodcrest" Xeons running at up to 3.0GHz, and it will also accommodate up to 3 terabytes of storage with up to 16GB of RAM. When it comes to graphics cards you can chose between an NVIDA GeForce 7300GT (up to four of those actually), an ATI Radeon X1900XT or an NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500. The most basic model starts at $2,200, but if you want the 8-core version with 3TB hard drive space and 16GB of RAM you'll be spending at least $10,292 - and even then you only have a 256MB GeForce 7300GT. At least the shipping's free.

This comes just after the release of Adobe's new Photoshop CS 3, which is likely in an effort to attract any professional image editors who are looking to upgrade with the new software, although it could quite expensive if you like to have the best machine available.

Apples newest offering - the Apple TV, costs a mere $299 US Dollars with a better graphic card than the Mac Mini and is actually a Intel based PC. Some talented coders have now managed to run the current OS X version on the hardware. There are also clear instructions, if you want to do so yourself.

Cingular is confirming that the release date of Apple's iPhone will be June 11. That date is no coincidence. It's the first day of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, scheduled to be held in San Francisco from June 11th through June 15th. The Apple iPhone features mobile OS X, integrated iPod MP3 player, true push e-mail via Yahoo Mail, a 2-megapixel camera, and a 3.5-inch display with higher resolution(320x480 at 160 ppi) than any current iPod. The phone capabilities include quad-band (MHz: 850, 900, 1800, 1900) network support, up to 5 hours battery life when talking. The iPhone will be available in 4GB and 8GB configurations for $499 and $599 respectively.