With every step forward, there's often a step back, and in the case of the new iPhone 3G, it appears that battery life has taken a hit. Of course, the old disclaimer that your mileage may vary with use is in full effect, but the early consensus here in the CNET New York office is that if you're a road warrior/power user, you better have some backup juice on hand or you may be looking at a dead iPhone before day's end. » Read the rest of the entry..

Reader questions about the iPhone 3G continue to pour in, so I'll take another stab at answering them in a special edition of On Call. If you still have a query, check out my previous columns from last week or the week prior, my iPhone 3G FAQ, and CNET's iPhone 3G review.

Q: Will applications purchased from the App Store take up storage space? - David » Read the rest of the entry..

At first, I thought California's new hands-free calling law was a great idea. Though it's debatable whether cell phones in the car can ever be safe, I took a lot of comfort in knowing that holding your phone to your ear while driving was now illegal. True, there's no guarantee that both hands will now be on the steering wheel, but I thought my chances of being run down by a yakking driver were just a bit smaller. » Read the rest of the entry..

It's time that Opera Mobile got its due. Long overshadowed by Opera Mini--the light, server-fed browser for Java phones--Opera Mobile is a robust browser built on Web standards (and written with C and C++) that's known for delivering a full Web experience to Windows Mobile and Symbian phones. » Read the rest of the entry..

On Thursday, Seattle-based mobile widgets maker Zumobi announced its graphics-rich application for BlackBerry. Originally developed for Windows Mobile phones, Zumobi's BlackBerry release marks the application's second platform appearance and hearkens a handful of other improvements.

As a widget organizer, Zumobi lets users add 16 "tiles" to the application's home screen. The number keys and pearl are used to navigate among the four quadrants, and then again among each remaining quadrant to arrive at the elected tile. » Read the rest of the entry..

Well, sure, there are accessories, but I want the iPhone 3G! Don't you?

You are not alone. I've been to many AT&T and Apple stores over the last few days--the furthest of those being in Sacramento. (I live in the Bay Area and went there to visit some friends over the weekend.). At each AT&T store I was told to wait for more stock, and at every Apple store I got discouraged by the long line and withdrew. It's crazy. » Read the rest of the entry..

While testing the iPhone 3G's GPS feature yesterday, we also took a few pictures with its camera. As we said in our iPhone 3G review, image quality is improved over the original iPhone, but it's far from being a top-notch camera phone. On the whole, interior shots and photos under blue or partly cloudy skies fared better than shots taken in bright, overcast conditions. » Read the rest of the entry..

I've made my share of vociferous complaints about spinning through automated phone systems without ever reaching a real person. The self-help Internet Age has made everything worse as more corporations channel customers back to online help centers. Grr, it dampens my mood just thinking about it; there are simply some situations that call for prompt human interaction.

Dial Zero is one free iPhone application that can ease the pain. To get a live person, start by scrolling or searching for the company you wish to call. Then, tap the phone number and follow the instructions posted on each record for the number you should push to barge on through the automated switchbacks. For some companies, pressing zero repeatedly is the key; for others, pressing 2 once is your Open Sesame. » Read the rest of the entry..

Despite the best efforts of Apple and AT&T, it appears that the latest version of the iPhone has been unlocked via the same method as used on the original iPhone.

A Brazilian blog, TechGuru, posted the first report of it. Gizmodo checked it out, and said the method involves using a special SIM card adapter. It tricks the phone into thinking it's on an approved network.

"This method forges the International Mobile Subscriber Identity, making the phone believe it's working in the network in which it's supposed to work," Gizmodo writes. » Read the rest of the entry..

We've had the iPhone 3G just three days, but we've manged to give it a good shakedown. Today, CNET Labs finished its first round of talk time testing for both the EDGE and 3G networks. On EDGE the iPhone 3G fell about an hour short of its rated time of 10 hours, while 3G calls matched the promised time of 5 hours. Those times aren't bad, but we'll run another round just to be sure. And in any case, actual day-to-day use will be the real test of the iPhone 3G's endurance. » Read the rest of the entry..