iLounge

By Charles Starrett

Senior Editor, iLounge
Published: Tuesday, August 26, 2008
News Category: Mix

The iTunes Store is once again accessible from within China after a being blocked by the Chinese government’s firewall last week. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that while the bulk of the service is now available, the page for the pro-Tibet album Songs for Tibet remains blocked, suggesting that last week’s blockage was in fact related to the album.

NextWorth, a consumer electronics upgrade and trade-in company, has announced its new trade-in service for the original iPhone. NextWorth is offering customers up to $200 for an original 8GB iPhone in “light wear” condition and $300 for 16GB models; trade-ins for more heavily worn or broken iPhones will be accepted as well, with prices adjusted dynamically according to market conditions. For more information on the iPhone trade-in program, visit nextworth.com.

iPhone developer Noah Witherspoon has announced that he will be pulling his Tris game from the App Store on Wednesday, due to a complaint from The Tetris Company. Witherspoon says he was contacted by Apple about a complaint from The Tetris Company over Tris, which is based on Tetris, and only pulled the game because Apple told him it would “take action” of its own if he didn’t resolve the “dispute.” The developer adds that he will be pursuing a solution to the issue, and hopes to make the game available again sometime in the future.

Kelly Blue Book has announced the launch of its new website optimized for the iPhone and iPod touch. The web app will allow users to access new and used vehicle information, view videos, images, and new car reviews, and submit free dealer price quotes. Kelly Blue Book’s iPhone mobile site can be accessed by visiting kbb.com from any iPhone or iPod touch.

Movie-focused social network site Flixster has acquired the popular iPhone and iPod touch movie application Movies (formerly Movies.app) and has re-released the application on the App Store. According to TechCrunch, the application was created by Carnegie Mellon sophomore Jeffrey Grossman, and has been downloaded 250,000 times. Grossman will join Flixster as an consultant while attending school.