Time Magazine has dropped the iPhone to third place in its annual poll of the top 10 gadgets. Is the luster wearing thin on Apple’s flagship product.

While crediting the iPhone for launching an “era of mobile computing,” when it comes down to performance the handset “doesn’t handle email as well as the cheapest BlackBerry, and as a telephone, it’s no better than most cell phones,” the magazine said.

“As a phone, the iPhone was never better than other handsets, and still isn’t today,” Avi Greengart, Current Analysis’ handset analyst, told Cult of Mac. The iPhone’s reception, microphone and speaker aren’t what makes the device special, Greengart said.

Apple is striving to change how people view the iPhone 3G compared to the first handset. Cupertino is encouraging journalists to describe the iPhone as a mobile computing platform, not as a phone.

In 2007, the first generation iPhone wowed Time’s reviewer, who wrote the Apple handset “changed the way we think about how mobile media devices should look, feel and perform.”

Although the iPhone dropped out of first place, the No. 1 spot in Time’s poll was given to an Apple-related product, the Optoma Pico PK-101 projector – an iPhone and iPod add-on. Second place was won by the first consumer laser TV set, the 65-inch Mitsubishi LaserVue TV.

I like the look of word game Giant Crayon WordSoup – it reminds me of Wurdle on the iPhone, which keeps me occupied for hours, when I can wrench it from my wife’s fingers (she gets addicted and spends the whole evening playing if I’m not careful).

But, um, guys? That moment at 0:54? How can I put this?

Just days after opening its first retail store in Germany, Apple is set Dec. 13 to begin moving into its first store in France, located near the Louvre Museum.

Apple will move into a 7,700-square foot two-level store previously occupied by Résonances, a retailer that’s moving elsewhere in the underground shopping mall Carrousel du Louvre.

As part of the makeover, Apple first retail store in France will include a glass staircase that connects the two levels, according to Apple Insider.

The new store should open to the public by Fall 2009. Apple’s retail presence in France comes two years after company CEO Steve Jobs predicted a 2007 ribbon-cutting.

Got a big fat PDF? Rather have it split into lots of little jpgs, one for each page in the PDF?

That happens to me a lot.

Jim DeVona’s Save PDFs pages as images Automator app is what you and I need.

It does all the chopping-up-and-separating, then it neatly saves the images in a numbered sequence so you know which one’s which.

You should check out his software page too, it’s got all sorts of goodies for your Mac, especially for Yojimbo users.

Everybody say: “Yojimbo!” There, that feels better doesn’t it?

Some people are frantically asking “WHY GOOGLE, WHY?” but to me it makes perfect sense. Gmail now has a simple task manager and I love it. It works nicely within my copy of Mailplane, as do the keyboard shortcuts. You can enable it from inside the Labs settings tab (which is where you can mess with keyboard shortcuts too).

It made me smile when I looked at the hints. Gmail knew I was using a Mac and showed me the appropriate Command keystrokes to make stuff happen. Move items up and down the list with Command+Up or Command+Down, indent them with Tab, unindent with Shift+Tab. All makes sense.

But my favorite feature is that any email can be turned into a task. These tasks appear with a little “Related email” link so you can instantly see their context.

Bravo Gmail team, a job well done.

Here’s another inexpensive gift idea for your favorite iPod fan, iHome’s inexplicably named iH15W cubular docking station.

Actually, the name is easy enough to explain by the unit’s 15watt amplifier, which is probably strong enough to disturb the neighbors without actually rattling the windows. But the company might have gotten a little more play by naming it the iHome Mood Cube, since its distinctive feature is the ability to illuminate different colors, providing a changing atmosphere for both the music and your mood. You can select the color you prefer for the day, or let it cycle through all of them. Two Reson8 speakers and a built-in subwoofer spell the likelihood of decent sound, which, at $59.95 is priced right for that special someone on your “nice” list this holiday season.

Via Engadget, via ChipChick

A pair of electronics Phd candidates at Ottawa, Ontario’s Carleton University may have invented a process for wirelessly connecting the circuits of a mobile device to its antenna, allowing it to consume 12 times less power than traditional, wired-transmitter modules and lowering the overall cost of any hand-held device, according to a report at OttawaCitizen.com.

Atif Shamim and Muhammad Arsalan, together with their adviser Langis Roy of Carleton’s department of electronics, co-authored a paper describing a packaging technique to connect the antenna with the circuits via a wireless connection between a micro-antenna embedded within the circuits on the chip.

Their work was named the best paper at the European Wireless Technology Conference in November, whose judges praised the invention for “excellent integration of system design, material sciences and electromagnetic antenna design.” They also said the innovation is “highly relevant, with large potential for commercialization.”

Shamim has filed patent applications in the U.S. and in Canada, with the knowledge consumers continue to gripe about the short lifespan of the iPhone battery.

“It’s a common problem. There are so many applications in the iPhone, it’s like a power-sucking machine,” said Shamim.

Research on the invention is due to be published in the upcoming edition of Microwave Journal.

Via LowEndMac

AdWords advertisers can now show desktop text and image ads on the iPhone, the T-Mobile G1, and other mobile devices with full (HTML) Internet browsers, Google announced Monday.

Google text and image ads can now point to desktop landing pages without advertisers needing to create mobile landing pages or ads in mobile formats. The ads can deliver mobile-specific calls-to-action and reach mobile users searching with their phones more than ever during the holiday season.

Recently, the Google mobile team launched new results pages formatted specifically for the iPhone, according to the post at Google’s Mobile blog. Now, advertisers will be able to display ads exclusively on these mobile devices, create campaigns for them, and get separate performance reporting. Advertisers who prefer not to show desktop ads on these phones can opt out and show ads only on desktop and laptop computers.

Via Techmeme

Apple has finally concluded negotiations with Sony, Universal and Warner that will let tracks from the three giant music labels sell on iTunes without Fair Play restrictions, according to a report at AppleInsider.

AI cites information from a French electronic website claiming unnamed sources who confirm the DRM-free date is Tuesday, December 9. This hullabaloo falls squarely into the rumor category and should be seen as Holiday Hype as much as anything until either an official announcement from Apple or until tracks are actually being downloaded from iTunes without digital rights management restrictions.

The French site, ElectronLibre, also reportedly claims Apple is set to allow shoppers in France, Germany and the UK download an “unlimited” amount of certain iTunes content just after Christmas, leading up to the start of Macworld 2009 on January 6.

Via AppleInsider

UBS analyst Maynard Um became the latest to douse cold water on talk of a $99 iPhone appearing on Wal-Mart shelves. Um said such a move would disregard Apple’s pricing practices.

“We believe a $99 iPhone would be atypical of Apple’s premium brand strategy,” Um told investors Monday. The analyst believed $149 would be more realistic for a 4GB iPhone.

Although others, such as Kaufman Bros.’ Shaw Wu last week called a $99 iPhone “inevitable,” Um said such a move would “cannibalize” sales of the 8GB and 16GB versions, cutting Apple’s share price by $0.27 in 2009.

Spawn Illuminati (App Store)is a fun and cheap little app for your iPhone/iTouch. You can see what it does; it spawns little blobs of light that respond, in a manner of speaking, to your touch commands.

The commands aren’t terribly intuitive, and the app seems to have a mind of its own half the time, but that doesn’t stop it being fun to play with, especially for little ones. With a bit of practice, you can get some very nice results with it (as evidenced in the official gallery).

And it’s a great way to make a wallpaper image for your iPhone that’s completely unique.

There’s no Flickr grounp yet – gasp! Perhaps one will pop up later on. I would have made one myself, but I’ve got tea to drink.

More floopy screenies after the clicky thing.

Apple eliminated GPS functionality in order to sell the iPhone 3G in Egypt, the New York Times reported Monday. Cupertino’s acquiesense to the Egyptian government comes as the company negotiates entry into China’s 500 million consumers.

Apple silently modified the iPhone in the face of Egyptian concerns that GPS could be a military security risk, according to the newspaper. However, the changes come as governments attempt to put a lid on technology used by pro-democracy movements.

On the Egyptian iPhone Web page, Apple mentions 3G, Wi-Fiand Microsoft Exchange compatibility, but not GPS.

We all known Apple moves in mysterious ways, making changes that disrupt the lives of users with few warnings. Users Monday reported some movies are vanishing from the shelves of the iTunes Store.

Like in the Eagles’ “Hotel California,” a variety of movies can be bookmarked on iTunes but can’t check out. An error window appears when such flicks as Michael Clayton, Atonement and Charlie Wilson’s War are selected, according to Macworld.

The mystery may be some rights-management issue, although the movies involved span several studios, Ars Technica points out.

This isn’t the first time iTunes users have scratched their heads over movies available through iTunes. A recent uproar occurred after iTunes customers discovered new MacBooks included hardware-based copyright protection features which prevented some movies from playing on third-party displays.

Device maker Belkin said Monday it would pull-out of the upcoming Macworld Expo in order to concentrate on partners hurt by the crumbling economy.

The news confirms speculation from last week that Belkin would join Adobe and a growing list of Apple companies either bypassing or curtailing their involvement in the premiere Mac product showcase.

“We are not exhibiting at Macworld, but we will be holding meetings with our channel partners,” Belkin spokeswoman Melody Chalaban confirmed to Macworld. Belkin has also withdrawn from the Consumer Electronics Show.

Backpack makers Freitag launched this iPhone sleeve with a tab inspired by parachute gear that lets you grab calls in a hurry.

Tarp on the outside, velvet inside, it comes in a bunch of colors, while it doesn’t have the snob appeal of some iPhone cases, it looks weekday proof.

It costs about $33 (40 swiss francs) from the online store and, apparently, every one sold has Freitag workers toasting in your honor.

Via Swiss Miss

Wal-Mart employees have confirmed the retailer will begin selling the iPhone before the end of December, however talk of a $99 Apple handset remain mostly in the rumor stage.

Although neither the giant discount retail nor the exclusive carrier AT&T have officially disclosed their plans, both Bloomberg and the Mercury News quote retailers confirming the iPhone is set to be sold by Wal-Mart after Christmas.

Citing unnamed employees at five California Wal-Marts, Bloomberg Monday reported workers are being trained to sell the 8GB and 16GB iPhones. Friday, the Mercury News reported other California Wal-Mart managers were being trained to offer the iPhones.

Apple Store Munich Opening from rckrz.de on Vimeo.

So here’s some footage from this weekend’s opening of the first German Apple Store in Munich. If you’ve attended one of these before, there won’t be much that’s new in this video; you know about the line outside, about the cheering, whooping staff, about the free t-shirts, about the buzz inside where everyone’s either looking at Macs, or photographing people looking at Macs.

It’s so dismally identical to all the other Apple Store openings that it’s a little depressing. Isn’t this in danger of becoming a parody of itself? Maybe that fridge has already been nuked.

I don’t mean to sound all curmudgeonly here, but a thought occurs to me: if you’ve ever defended Apple in a web forum, then been set upon by a rabid hoard of Mac-haters who tear your opinions to shreds and call you a nutter, and you’ve wondered WHY they do that – well, this is why.

Anytime you can pick up something for $50 that would otherwise cost you more than $450, it’s worth a second look. Such steep discounts can be a sign of utter worthlessness in some cases, in others, possibly a short-lived bargain you’re thankful to have come across.

MacUpdate has one such opportunity Mac users might want to take a look at. They even have a cute little countdown clock on the page telling you how long you’ve got left to decide to pull the trigger. At this writing the clock stands at 10d 21h 2m 42s.

Among the software titles in the bundle:

Drive Genius 2 ($99):    Currently the highest-rated disk utility on the market. Used by Mac Geniuses at Apple Stores, Drive Genius diagnoses and repairs problems with your hard drive, optimizes your system, and much more. Buyers receive a link to download a bootable DVD image of the software to burn, which can be used to boot and fix any Mac that can run Mac OS X 10.5, including Apple’s newest laptops.

RapidWeaver 4 ($79):    Create powerful, professional-looking Web sites quickly and easily.

MacGourmet Deluxe ($44.95):    Think iTunes for food – track recipes, plan meals, manage wines, and more.

LittleSnitch 2 ($29.95):    Monitors your network connection to make sure your Mac only sends out what you want it to.

KeyCue 4 ($27):    Displays full keyboard shortcuts for all your applications; learn them and work faster.

MacPilot 3 ($19.95):    Access hundreds of hidden features to customize and improve your Mac OS X experience.

iVolume 3 ($29.95):    Ensures all your iTunes tracks play back at the same level, so you never have to adjust the volume individually.

There’s more. See the post at MacMerc or head on over to MacUpdate. The clock is ticking.

Via MacMerc

Other than some irritation about the death of FireWire and a few missing video output adapters from the Mini DisplayPort, the new Aluminum MacBooks are pretty much perfect. They’re fast, they run cool, and are incredibly light but also incredibly strong.

But not every MacBook out in MacVille is behaving nicely. As a matter of fact, many users on Apple’s support forums claim that their MacBooks became incredibly unstable after upgrading their RAM with third-party hardware. Frequent freezes, program crashes, garbled data on the screen. Though it’s anecdotal, most also claim that their problems went away upon switching back to the factory-installed memory from Apple, or upon taking it in to Apple for a swap. Even the normally impeccable OWC and Crucial are alleged to be having problems here.

This is a big surprise to me, not least because I installed Crucial RAM in my new MacBook more than a month ago and have experienced nothing but performance improvements ever since. It’s always possible that very minute changes in hardware between models could cause trouble. I have a 2.4 Ghz machine, so there could be an issue with the lower-speed machines, or it could just be that I got lucky. Anyone dealing with this?

jkontherun via TUAW

Apple Bomb Pillow from MicroRevolt

Just in time for getting a little bit of the backstory before the 25th Anniversary of Mac kicks into high gear, Computer Shopper has a great look back at the very early years of Apple Computers by Editor in Chief Emeritus Stan Veit. We’re talking early enough that Steve Jobs was willing to give away 10% of the company for $10,000, according to Veit.

The long article is well worth a read for Veit’s inside take on the two young, “long haired hippies and their friends” who eventually revolutionized the world. It’s not an especially flattering portrait of Jobs, though it’s had plenty of company on that score over the years. The article does contain some great early pics of Jobs and Woz and some of the earliest Apple gear.

Via Edible Apple

FATdrop has the skinny on everything you always wanted to know about digital music distribution in a comprehensive comparison of the policies and practices of 14 major on-line stores.

Via Distorted Loop

You may have heard that one of the linchpins of the federal government’s multi-pronged effort to save the crumbling American economy may include Uncle Sam himself underwriting home loans at 4.5%.

What better time then, to spend $4.99 on an iPhone app that may help you navigate the treacherous waters of real estate finance and help you make sound financial decisions for you and your family?

Foggy Noggin Software’s Loan Shark app is a timely, easy to use loan calculator. Enter the information you know, click a button for the field you want calculated, and Loan Shark fills in the amount for you.

With Loan Shark for iPhone and iPod Touch (requires 2.0 update) you can:

* Enter loans from different banks and save for later comparison.
* Calculate how long it will take to pay off credit cards.
* Determine how much in interest loans are costing you.
* See in real time how an extra payment a year affects your loan.
* Easily compare loans to see which is best.

The app lets you calculate any component of the loan, including payment, interest rate and loan amount; see the full Amortization Table for the lifespan of the loan; set your local currency in preferences; find Banks in your area. It also calculates semi-annual interest for Canada and other countries.

Foggy Noggin has some other cool looking software projects, too, including desktop and cookie managers, so be sure to check out their website.

Kena Kai, the lifestyle gear designers, offer this $80 luxurious leather notebook sleeve, cut and embossed to recall the “INTER-DEPARTMENTAL MAIL” envelopes found once upon a time in every office.

The case features durable full-grain white Italian leather in two sizes, the larger of which, with an interior compartment size of 12.8″ x 9″ x 1.2″ is designed for the new MacBook and the MacBook Air. The smaller sleeve, for $10 less, fits smaller machines that Apple doesn’t make…so who cares.

Via MacMerc

Blogger Rick Yeager has launched iPod and AppleTV podcast versions of his whimsical on-line gadget guide.

The fast-paced podcasts feature a no-nonsense style that one reviewer describes as “perfect for people who want to learn something or pick up a new skill quickly without enduring the news digest format used by other podcasters.” Yeager’s takes on gadgetry feature instructional info and tips and tricks for the Mac-curious, geeks and professionals alike.

The MacMerc podcast subscription is free on iTunes.

Via Geek Culture

When I think of high-powered, busy professionals the first word that comes to mind is not “Zen” but that certainly has not stopped Hladecek from marketing its new collection of iPhone ringtones as “Professional ringtones designed with executives and the fashion-forward in mind.”

The iRingPro Zen Collection is 21 tones, among which you’ll find no annoying songs, or silly sound effects. The collection consists of tones – not “tunes” – that are “smart, attractive, livable alerts engineered to ensure universal appeal, and provide a high tolerance for routine use and repetition.”

Each tone features moderately longer pauses between ring repeats than what many are used to. The designers believe this cuts down on the hurried fumbling that can occur when a cell phone rings unexpectedly, giving you time to see who’s calling, often before the second ring.

And of course there is the personal branding that comes from your ringtone. A snippet of “My Humps” or “The Immigrant Song” says something about you. iRing Pro ringtones seek to ensure that what is perceived when your phone rings is technically advanced, considerate, and enviably fashionable.

The Zen collection sells for $9.95 and is available for download directly from the designer. They come in “Meeting Grade” and “Active Grade” styles, with the meeting tones being subtler, lower pitched, and richer, while the active tones are stronger, more resonant, and present. Om, baby.