So, you’re one of the 1.7 million people who went out and got that brand new iPhone right off the line, but you still don’t have any friends to try out Apple’s much lauded video chat with? Never mind the company’s Facetime introduction service , which lets you call up and Apple representative, try the app out and find out about all of its features – the video sex chat services are already on the way. While Apple may be able to control the App Store and maintain its “moral responsibility” , it looks like porn has found another avenue onto the iPhone and may, yet again, lead the way for other services. Sponsor According to the article in the Silicon Valley Insider , there’s already an ad on Craigslist for “iPhone 4 FaceTime Video Sex Line Chat” that offers a salary and a free iPhone 4 to potential employees. Starting an online interactive pornography firm where woman will use the iphone 4 to video chat with potential customers on a pay as you go basis. Hours are flexible, pay will increase as the business builds. Woman will receive a free iphone 4 to use as personal time when not working. Woman will talk to potential clients and chat with them and perform various acts as desired by clients. All information will be confidential. Payment will be based on percentage of sales volume and performance. Potential launch date of the company is 9/1/2010 or based on feedback received. Woman will receive, as before mentioned, a free cell phone and a very competitive salary. Please send information and pictures – we would like to launch sooner than 9/1/2010. It’s often the case that porn leads the way in technology and we can only wonder what other innovative services using mobile video chat will follow. The utilitarian opportunities are endless, from remote diagnosis of automotive issues to assistance with assembling that pesky Ikea desk. Perhaps video chat will offer a more personalized customer service for special cases by taking advantage of the extra “bandwidth” of being able to see someone when we speak to them. Having done DSL tech support for a while, I could tell you that being able to see what someone on the other end of the line was trying to describe could have turned an hour long ordeal into a five minute chat. And when it comes to sending someone out into the field, why waste the gas when you can look from afar? Whatever other innovative uses we see next of , it sure the iPhone’s two-way, face-to-face video chat, it doesn’t seem like this particular use of FaceTime will see a lot of, well, “face” time. Discuss

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Apple announced this morning that it has sold over 1.7 million units of the new iPhone 4 smartphone through Saturday, only three days after its launch on June 24th. These numbers, touts the Cupertino-based company, make the iPhone 4 launch the “most successful in Apple’s history.” Oddly enough, it’s also the launch that seems to have had the most technical issues as well, given the antenna reception problems Apple confirmed both officially and unofficially last week. Holding the phone in a particular way leads to a weakened signal and sometimes even dropped calls, according to numerous reports from new users, testers, gadget blogs and mainstream media news outlets. Sponsor Despite these issues, consumers lined up for the new device in record numbers, proving once again, those who buy Apple are some of the most loyal customers a company could ever have. Sorry, Says Apple CEO “We apologize to those customers who were turned away because we did not have enough supply,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs is quoted as saying in this morning’s release containing the sales numbers. The CEO, however, was not as apologetic a few days prior, when responding via email – his new unofficial channel to speak and react to public inquiry – to a consumer’s complaint about antenna performance. “Just avoid holding [the iPhone] in that way,” he suggested to the email’s writer . Meanwhile, officially, the company downplayed the antenna issues. “Gripping any mobile phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance,” a company spokesperson told media outlets last week. Another solution offered by the spokesperson was to buy one of the company’s $30 rubber bumpers instead. The bumpers, incidentally, represent Apple’s first foray into the accessory case business, arriving just in time for the iPhone 4. (Evil? Or evil genius?, one has to wonder.) Issues Aside, iPhone 4 Sells Today, unconfirmed rumors circulating through tech blog sites hint that Apple may be close to releasing a software update that will fix the antenna weakening issue, a problem previously thought to be related to the device’s hardware design itself. The new iPhone 4 places the antenna outside the phone, in stainless steel bands circulating the device. According to various sources, though, the hardware may not be at fault after all. Instead, forum postings on the Apple.com website (now removed, of course), supposedly confirmed that a software fix for the reception issues would ship early this week. Yet, despite these problems and other, less prevalent reports of screens with yellow streaks or the occasional misplaced volume button , the iPhone 4 has outsold not only its rivals, but other iPhones (and iPads!) too. To put the numbers in historical perspective, in 2008, Apple sold 1 million iPhone 3G devices within the same time frame (3 days) as the iPhone 4. Last year, the company again sold 1 million of the 3GS model iPhones during its opening weekend. iPads, on the other hand, took a little longer to reach the million mark: 28 days, to be precise. After 29 days, Apple had sold 2 million iPads and then 3 million after 80 days. Discuss

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Earlier this morning, Google released a new stable version of Chrome, the company’s increasingly popular browser. This new release for Windows, Mac and Linux is the first stable version of Chrome to be distributed with a built-in version of Adobe’s widely used Flash Player. Just two days ago, Google enabled the built-in version of Flash in the beta channel versions of Chrome, where it had already been available earlier this year, though Google then disabled this feature after a while. Sponsor Even though Google is a strong backer of the open HTML5 and CSS3 standard, which can replicate a lot of Flash features, the company is also acutely aware that a lot of users and web developers still rely on Flash. When we talked to Bran Rakowski, Google’s product manager and director for Chrome, last month, he noted that Google thinks that by coupling Flash to the browser, Google can ensure that users will run a very recent and secure version of Flash. Don’t Like Flash in Chrome? Just Disable It. If you don’t want to use Flash in Chrome, you can just type ” about:plugins ” in the address bar in Chrome and disable the plugin. Google’s update mechanism ensures that the browser stays up to date, without any intervention from the user. In addition to this, Google can also test the specific version of Flash it distributes with the browser and ensure that it is stable. With its new crash protection feature in Firefox, Mozilla is also working hard to ensure that crashing Flash content can’t take the whole browser down and Apple and Opera offer a similar feature in their browsers. As CNET’s Stephen Shankland rightly notes , Adobe is also working hard to keep Flash relevant and with the latest version of the Flash Player (10.1), Adobe is also trying to gain a foothold on mobile devices. Google’s own Android operating system is one of the first to support mobile Flash. Discuss

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Congratulations, you’re a new iPhone 4 owner! Now what do you do with it? The iPhone 4 operating system introduces a number of new features, some, like FaceTime video calls, which are entirely unique to the iPhone 4 hardware itself. Plus, there are several reports now surfacing about issues with the iPhone 4’s hardware. Are these credible? Should you be concerned? How do you resolve these issues? Below, we’ll answer these and more of the most burning questions new users may have about their iPhone 4. Sponsor 1. Is There Really an Issue with the iPhone 4’s Antenna? Yes. Apple has officially gone on record with a statement that reads as follows: Gripping any mobile phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases. This comes after an outpouring of reports from new users, gadget sites and technology news outlets, all discussing the same exact problem with the new Apple phone. Left-handed users have it the worst, due to the antenna placement. (The issue is worst when gripped in your left hand, with your skin pressed against the outside steel band.) Even Steve Jobs himself is now responding to user email complaints with the simple advice: “Just avoid holding it in that way.” What way? The way the Apple commercials show ? Yes, that’s right. Apple’s own marketing material shows people happily chatting on their iPhone 4’s while holding the phone in the way that would actually lead to signal loss. Instead, here is the proper method . Is there a solution? Of course. Why do you think Apple got into the bumper biz ? Reportedly, using a plastic iPhone bumper (the outer rubberized protection product sold for around $30 at the Apple Store) solves the problem. 2. How Do You Use FaceTime? FaceTime, the video calling feature introduced in the new Apple operating system can only be used on iPhone 4 hardware. Simply upgrading your iPhone 3G or 3GS is not enough – you must purchase the new phone. That’s because FaceTime takes advantage of the iPhone 4’s new dual-camera system, allowing to you to broadcast your face while watching your screen. To actually use FaceTime, when you’re on a phone call, move the phone away from your face and press the FaceTime button that appears on screen amid the menu of choices (like Keypad, Hold, etc.). The recipient, assuming they also have an iPhone 4, will receive a request to initiative the FaceTime session, which they can then either accept or deny. You can also start a FaceTime call directly from your Contacts list. Just scroll to the bottom of a contact card and tap the FaceTime button. Remember though, FaceTime is a Wi-Fi only application for now (Jobs said it’s Wi-Fi only “in 2010,” hinting at Apple’s future plans), which limits its functionality for the time being. However, FaceTime calls don’t eat up your wireless minutes, as we recently found out . You can also test FaceTime out by calling 1-888-FACETIME. 3. How Do You Kill a Multi-Tasking App? The iPhone 4 operating system (iOS) offers a new feature called multi-tasking. This works on the iPhone 3GS as well, but not the 3G. Not all apps multi-task – they must be designed that way by their developers first. To launch the multi-tasking interface, double-tap the “Home” button (the round button at the bottom of the screen). To kill an app that’s running in the background, press and hold the app in the multi-task interface until it starts jiggling. Then, you’ll see a red minus icon appear on the app icon’s top-left. Tap the minus icon and the app closes. All the multi-task enabled applications stay open after you close them, so this menu can get filled up quickly if you’re a heavy app user. 4. Does the iPhone 4 Record 1080p HD Video? No, it records 720p HD video, up to 30 frames per second. 5. How Do I Make Sure an App isn’t Tracking My Location? Location services, which use information from the phone’s GPS, cellular and Wi-Fi data to determine your location, are used in applications like Maps and Compass, as well as in other Apple apps like Camera and any number of third-party applications, too. If the Big Brother-esque tracking has you worried, you can turn location services off using the global switch located in Settings > General > Location Services . Otherwise, you can use the settings below this switch to individually shut off location services for select apps. 6. How Do I Access My Playback Controls? (The double-tap now launches the app switcher!) The multi-tasking interface is now revealed when you double-tap the home button, but your playback controls are still there. Just swipe to the right from within the app switcher to reveal them. 7. How do I Make the iPhone 4 Stay in Portrait Mode? Follow the instructions in step six above to reveal the playback controls. To the left of the controls is a black icon with an arrow making a circle. Tap this button to lock the screen into portrait or landscape mode. You’ll know the screen is locked because an icon appears next to the battery meter at the top right of your screen. 8. How Many Applications Can I Install? Given disk space, you can theoretically install up to 2,160 applications on your iPhone now, using the new “Folders” feature. Folders let you organize apps into folders simply by dragging one app on top of another and then providing that folder with a name of your choosing (or keeping the suggested name that appears). Image credits in original article: Apple, Gizmodo Discuss

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One of the iPhone 4’s most heralded new features is FaceTime video calling. For the time being, however, this only works for calls from one iPhone 4 to another, so if you don’t know anybody with an iPhone 4, you can’t really test it. Thankfully, though, Apple just set up a phone number for you to call: 1-888-FACETIME (1-888-32238463). A friendly Apple representative will answer your call, initiate a video chat with you and explain all of FaceTime’s features to you. Sponsor A Call to Apple We just tried this out and an Apple representative answered our call within seconds. After asking us if we were on a Wifi network (sadly, FaceTime doesn’t work over the cellular network yet), the customer service agent transferred our call to FaceTime and explained all of FaceTime’s features to us. The video and voice quality during our chat was very high. What We Learned Here are a few things we learned during our call: You can move the small window where you see the preview of your own camera around the screen. You can pause the video and multitask on your phone by clicking the home button. You can easily switch back and forth between the front-facing and regular camera by clicking on the camera icon at the bottom right of the screen. You can initiate FaceTime calls right from your iPhone contacts without placing a regular call first. For more details about the iPhone 4, also see: iPhone 4: Your Burning Questions Answered . Tip of the hat to iSmashPhone for alerting us to this. Discuss

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