MobileCrunch is reporting that some iPhone 3G users have started noticing cracks on the casing of their new 3G iPhones.  While white iPhones seem to be the bulk of the complaints, it may just be because the cracks are more easily spotted on the white surface. At least a handful of Black iPhones have been found to have similar cracks.

In the long series of Digg-failed-acquisitions, there’s a new one at the horizon. Last week, rumors said that the Mountain View giant, Google, was interested in buying, and negotiations (close to $200M) seemed to be in full swing.

But what you know, though they were in the due diligence stage of the deal, viewing the technology and the financial statements, Google called everything off and walked away from the deal. That’s pretty sudden, don’t you think?

Sources close to the companies, said that the deal is off mostly because the top management (Digg really has something like that? Apparently!) team may not be a great fit with Google’s needs. Could there be a personality issue? They didn’t like Kevin Rose? Do you have any better idea, because to be honest as long as the servers stay on and users don’t flee, the technology is great!

No matter what the reasons were, the deal is off and is going to stay off. However, Digg is taking steps and is looking for a new round of financing. Allen & Co. the investment bank that represented them with Google, also has a good reputation for being able to bring massive amounts of financing.

I really wonder if that’s what the shareholders want or if it’s just a safe way of keeping the business live?

Warning – This is a scam – Read on to be informed

The internet and whole world is buzzing over the 3G iPhone, and many software developers are directing their attention in creating applications for the 3G iphone. This a cleaver move from their part as there’s a lot of hype and business in the application market. I stumbled upon a great application or more so, a application bundle offered by iphoneapps.org.

This is a great all in one bundle with some of the most useful apps I have seen. For example, the bundle offers a a video camera app, for many iPhone customers the lack of this function was a great disappointment. However, now you can record video footage of any length and upload them directly to Youtube and many other video sharing websites across the internet.

The bundle comes with 10 interesting and useful applications such as Customization, SNES (With over 1000 of your favorite SNES games), screenshot, Video recorder, Instant messenger, MMS, ringtones, Youtube downloader, books and VNC.

An update on the availability and pricing on the Apple iPhone 3G, according to sources within the industry:

AVAILABILITY

• The arrival of the handset has been postponed to 26th September (vodaworld)

ESTIMATE IPHONE 3G PRICING

• Apple iPhone 3G 8GB R1500.00 to R2000.00 once off pay in on a new 24 month contract or upgrade (Business package or higher)
• Apple iPhone 3G 16GB R2000.00 to R2500.00 once off pay in on a new 24 month contract or upgrade (Business package or higher)
• Apple iPhone 3G 8GB Retail (no contract) between R5000.00 and R6000.00 incl. vat
• Apple iPhone 3G 16GB Retail (no contract) between R7000.00 and R8000.00 incl. vat

The case with Google buying Digg is in the media once again. Apparently the Mountain View company is in ‘final negotiations‘ with the social-news site for an amount that shouldn’t be less than $200 million.

The TechCrunch article that stirred things up, is not unveiling their sources, so knowing that it didn’t happen the first time they reported (in March)  and the fact that this whole deal won’t happen for a few weeks, I’m really cautious this time. I’m sure Google is interested in buying a solution for Yahoo’s Buzz and wants to get their hands on the advertising deal Digg has with MSN, but there’s a long way to selling.

But what if the whole deal turns out to be true? What will happen to the Digg community if there will be a new owner and new staff to take care of the submissions and the front pages. Would you be disturbed? Would there be any changes on the site?

If a survey were to be made, Digg users would definitely choose Google over MSN to be the new owners, but what if the Digg technology would be integrated in google news and digg itself will end up as a side show to voting algorithms in search and news. Isn’t that what the Digg/Reddit revolution was all about when these sites released?

I honestly think that Google won’t do anything hars to make the users go away; they need the pageviews so they’ll please everyone. If it’s someone to make wrong turns it’s the Digg crew as we know it right now.

What do you guys think?

Do you remember Quirk? They are the famous people who developed Search Status last year, the much needed Firefox extension. In March we got word that they’re going to release BrandsEye, the online reputation monitoring tool, but this time it’s something different, and Charl warned us.

Before the rest of us, he managed to get his eyes on the Quirk eMarketing book and said that it has “so much juicy info and a lot of recent case studies”. But what you know, the book is available for download and the best part, it’s for free.

The Essential Guide to Online Marketing was released and licensed under the Creative Commons so that students, educators and practitioners in the corporate sector can use it and benefit from it.You can download the free full text book (12.6 MB pdf link) or buy it online or from one of the many book stores that are stocking it.

Just get to read it as fast as you can because it’s full of wisdom and great case studies. Let us know what you liked in it, and what you can add yourself.

In our first iPhone applications review we featured the photo sharing tool Shozu and later also posted about Twitter on your iPhone. Today we will be featuring one of the most popular iPhone 3G applications from the new Apple iTunes applications store – Remote. Remote works over your Wi-Fi connection, enabling you to play your entire iTunes library through any Mac or PC. You can choose your favourite tracks or playlists on your iPhone, hit play and it will play through your computer’s speakers.

The launch of Apple’s much-anticipated 3G iPhone turned into an IT meltdown on Friday, as customers were unable to get their phones working.

“Its such grief and aggravation,” said Frederick Smalls, an insurance broker in Whitman, Mass, after spending two hours on the phone with Apple and AT&T Inc, trying to get his new iPhone to work.

In stores, people waited at counters to get the phones activated, as lines built behind them. Many of the customers had already camped out for several hours in line to become among the first with the new phone, which updates the one launched a year ago by speeding up Internet access and adding a navigation chip.

A spokesman for AT&T, the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the US, said there was a global problem with Apple’s iTunes servers that prevented the phones from being fully activated in-store, as had been planned.