iLounge

By Charles Starrett

Senior Editor, iLounge
Published: Tuesday, September 2, 2008
News Category: Mix

Russian mobile carrier MegaFon has announced that it will begin selling the iPhone 3G in Russia later this year, becoming the second carrier in the country to do so. Last week Vimpelcom announced that it too will begin selling the device later this year; prior reports had suggested that all three of the major Russian carriers — Vimpelcom, MegaFon, and MTS — would offer the device.

Negotiations between Apple and China Mobile have reached the “final stages,” according to Chinese state media. The two companies are likely to conclude the talks soon, the 21 Century Business Herald reported, citing unnamed sources. Following the appearance of that report, China Mobile CEO Wang Jianzhou made a statement regarding the negotiations. He said, “Both Mr. Steve Jobs and myself hope the Apple iPhone can enter China as soon as possible. We are discussing this issue, but we haven’t got an agreement.” [via Apple 2.0]

Northern Irish rock band Snow Patrol plans to release an interactive album booklet for A Hundred Million Suns on the iPhone and iPod touch ahead of the album’s release next month. It is currently unclear whether the booklet, which will include extra content like artwork and lyrics, will be a web-based application or be available through the App Store. “It will be an interactive element; a digital booklet that will take you into the videos and content,” said Polydor product manager Liz Goodwin. “For fans it will be a real must-have, and the fact that they are the first band to do this gives us an additional angle for exposure.”

Appliance maker Gorenje has signed an agreement with Apple to use their technology in building a new Made for iPod-certified refrigerator/freezer. Made for use with the iPod touch, the fridge has a front-mounted iPod dock and built-in speakers for playback that also charges the iPod while connected. In addition, the company has created the iPhone and iPod touch-optimized iGorenje portal, which allows the user to browse and view recipes in either text or video format, and can also work in conjunction with other Gorenje appliances to control tasks like cooking (tap the “Start” button on a recipe to make the oven turn on and go to the correct temperature and settings) and laundry.