One of the bigger issues with the Apple iPhone that made everyone on the planet go ‘What the…?’ was the fact that this Super phone had a camera, great, but not only was it a simple point and shoot with no settings, it was also devoid of video recording capabilities. That is now about to stand corrected. It’s not only Apple who has revamped the camera but also a third part application that will provide this facility.

The beta version of iPhone video recording application was developed by the Monster and Friends. The latest update tells us that the application, although has it’s limitations due to the iPhone’s RAM, is able to record videos at a frame rate of 40-45 fps with no recording limit. Such was not the case with the earlier version. Kudos to the developer and let’s just say we’re looking forward to a lot more from him.

On the sidelines of the GSMA Mobile Asia Congress being held in Macau, China Mobile Ltd revealed positive talks in session with Apple about bringing the iPhone to China. There hasn’t been any agreement reached as yet, according to China Mobile’s Chairman & CEO, Wang Jianzhou. Apple had plans to launch the device in Asia in 2008 and is currently in talks with various operators in the region. Jianzhou also revealed that 3G (The TD-SCDMA standard) will be up and running well in time for the Beijing Olympics next summer. China Mobile, he said, was in talks with operators from around the world to figure out a way for athletes, organizers and visitors to use their existing cell phone numbers at local or at least heavily subsidized rates during the Games.

Jianzhou also told the audience that the operator’s mobile phone recycling CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiative was showing impressive results. While only 60,000 users turned in old handsets last year, over 2 million have already done so in the first half of 2007.

Heads up iPhone lovers. Here’s another very interesting update that v1.1.3 for the iPhone has to offer. Apparently this new update from Apple is capable, through some miraculous function, of unbricking a bricked iPhone. A bricked iPhone, for new users, is that useless piece of hardware that exists as your iPhone after you tried and failed to unlock it. What the new update does, it seems, is overwrite firmware-codes that had caused the demise of your iPhone to begin with. Consider v1.1.3 resuscitation for your dead duck iPhone. The guys down at Gizmodo have successfully managed to get their bricked iPhone to function again with their existing AT& T account by hooking it up to iTunes, restoring, upgrading and reactivating the device.

The failure of Apple and Orange to officially announce an iPhone partnership in France has been something of a curiosity for the past couple of weeks. The respective announcements from O2 UK and T-Mobile Germany came out as and when predicted, but the lack of something official from Orange France has raised a few eyebrows, particularly as Apple Expo in Paris has just been and gone.

Now reports in local newspapers on Friday suggest that Orange and Apple are still working out differences of opinion over the deal. This could be something to do with the operator kickback on iPhone service revenues, estimated to be anything between 20 and 40 per cent. Or, it could be that some intricacies of French law prohibit Orange from selling the phone exclusively.

Whatever the case, it looks less and less likely that France will get the iPhone in time for the Christmas rush. If relations don’t improve, there’s also the outside chance that Orange might not introduce the iPhone at all.

Several news outlets are reporting that a deal has been made between O2 and Apple to launch the iphone on the o2 network in the UK.

“Press reports said that O2 is set to sign an exclusive contract shortly and should have the new phones on sale in time for Christmas. A spokesman for O2, which is owned by Spain’s Telefonica, declined to comment on the reports.”

The iPhone saw a huge launch in the USA this past week with carrier AT&T claiming that they had upwards of 500,000 iphone’s activated in week 1, surely we will see a similar trend in the UK?

There are still a few issues which O2 and Apple will have to work out before the UK launch of the iPhone, namely that the iphone doesnt use 3G and cannot send MMS picture messages (although the later is fixable through a firmware update). Another issue is that O2’s current dataplan is £3 per MB and with the iPhone’s rich internet connectivity users could see their bills rack up quickly.

iPhone combines three amazing products — a revolutionary mobile phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and a breakthrough Internet communications device with desktop-class email, web browsing, maps, and searching — into one small and lightweight handheld device. iPhone also introduces an entirely new user interface based on a large multi-touch display and pioneering new software, letting you control everything with just your fingers. So it ushers in an era of software power and sophistication never before seen in a mobile device, completely redefining what you can do on a mobile phone.