I know... why in the world does anyone want to know this?  Well, after an article about a girl who sent or recieved over 300,000 text messages in a single month, I had to wonder if she was accidentally sending text messages thought the cell-ether without realizing it.  So, I'v decided to compile a list of everyday objects that can actually give a false-positive for touching the iPhone.  Right now, its a very short list as I just walked around the house, but I'm open to any other's responses!

The List

• Avocado
• Tomato
• Apple
• Orange
• Lemon
• Plant leaf(but you have to fold it so that its fairly firm)

OK, I broke down and finally bought an app on the appStore.  It's called "Lux DLX", and its a iPhone version of the game Risk.  I've spent hours playing the old board and PS2 versions of the game, so I was hoping for at least as good an experience.

I was NOT disappointed.  They currently have over 50 maps, great game play, sweet graphics, game progress saving and many levels of AI.  I've already had to recharge my phone more often in the two days I've been playing it.  I don't know... there's something satisfying about being on the ropes and your cards finally come in.  Then you can march across the globe gobbling up all the other little player and move on to domination.  OK, so it's only against the computer.... but hey, it still counts!

The AI can be EXTREMELY challenging if you have enough of the hard ones on the map.  You can also distribute countries and armies in 7 different methods from pure random to selected countries and manually placed armies.

So, I'm very happy with this aplication over all and I am very glad I bought this game.  Here are some screenshot from the app.

For those of you who haven't read about some of my more recent adventures in iPhone land, this article may seem out of the blue.  A quick peek at a previous post will greatly illustrate the derivation of this review. So here we go...

First, I want to say that I searched long and hard to find a case that would prevent my previous mistake.  Needless to say, there aren't many that can take the punishment and protect the iPhone after the last incident.  So, I was very pleased to find a nice case from the (*)speck people that looks like it will do the job.

As you can see, this looks like a SUBSTANTIAL case.  It is also very pleasant to hold in your hand due to the contouring and grip of the rubber on this phone.  For some, this will be its first drawback...  it's a SUBSTANTIAL case.  Its actually a two-part case with hinged docking area and an internal hard-plastic skeleton.

So even though it's big, honking, and protective, this case is still able to show some skin and allow the phone to dock without completely removing it from the case.  Which is a very good thing because it's not a simple matter to get this case fitted. The basic procedure goes like this

1. Place endoskeleton on face of iPhone
2. Insert top of iPhone into top of case.
3. Align the endoskeleton tabs with the cutouts in the case
4. Pull swinging flap over the base of the phone

Seems simple I know, but this is a VERY well designed case that has tight tolerances.  The good thing is that the tabs on the endoskeleton ensure the case is secure AND properly aligned with all essential ports.  One thing to note.  If its not essential to have a part uncovered... its not.  So the home button, power button, and volume buttons are all concealed.  The vibrate tab, earphone, camera, and doc/speaker areas are all uncovered for easy access.

Once this case is on and fitted properly, it becomes a seamless extension of the phone.  In the photos that follow, you'll also notice (maybe) another reason for the endoskeleton.  It gives the case a nice edge to grip onto.  There is a square channel cut into the inside of the rubber case that allows the case to align and have a nice straight edge to grip.  This makes the fit and finish of this case second to none. Yes, it does make it bulkier and less "sleek", but the trade off for protection of a very expensive piece of mobile hardware is not to be overlooked.  I mean seriously, look at the thickness of that edge rubber.  That will save your digitizer time and again from accidental drops!

Pros:

• Durable
• No-slip exterior
• Fit and finish
• Protection
• Docking Ability
• Substantial

Cons:

• Bulky
• First insertion is difficult
• Someone might mistake it for a piece of tire

So, in case you didn't see what happened to my phone in my other post, I though I'll repeat it here.

Scenario... iPhone Crackup

I was going home from work and had to stop at a store to pick something up.  As I was getting out of the car, I put my iPhone(not even 2 months old) "into" my pocket.  Little did I know that "into" actually meant "missed completely".

** GASP **...  CLACK! Click clack clack click....

I pick up my new favorite toy and there is a massive CRACK across the digitizer...  and by that I mean spider-web.

So, now what to do?

1. Scream and curse:     CHECK
2. Slowly pick up and asses the damange:  Check(its actually still working... touch and all)
3. Note:  Always put on a screen protector.  I think that's what kept it functional.
4. Replace phone with a new one:  NOT GONNA HAPPEN with these costs
5. Repair?  YES

Now that its decided... where do I go?  Well, there are any number of sites selling the digitizer for the iPhone3G.  The place I chose is called PDAparts.com.  As an added benefit to PDAparts, you can get the case opener, adhesives(a MUST) , and the phillips screwdriver needed for disassembly.  Also, they have a really good disassembly video on their website(the one I posted below).

Since I used PDAparts take-apart video, I think its only fair to include it here as well.  Many Kudos to the people there, but I will cover some of the "nit and gritty" that they omitted.  I will confirm (from a fairly adept electronics repair peson... ) that they ain't kiddin' when they say this is a difficult repair. This took me OVER two hours of actual manual labor.... not counting the breaks to let my hands stop shaking.

My "GOTCHA's"

Case Opener:

The case opener tool is really good.... if you have an intact screen and average(or smaller) sized hands.  My screen was a very good spiderweb; therefore when it came time for the tool to do its work, it could find no real purchase.  Evenutally I dug out some of the shattered glass enough that I reverted to a Regular screw driver to pry open the case.  (time appox 45mins)

Home Button:

There is no home button with the digitizer.  The digitizer is JUST THE GLASS and PRESSURE SENSING cabling.  That's IT.  So be VERY carefuly after you have disassemebled the phone and removed the LCD from the digitizer.  To do just a digitizer ONLY replacement, you must also remove all of the existing digitizer from the assembly BY HAND.  This can be very tedious if you are like me and had a spider-web.  There is adhesive on the back of the glass(hence the recommended adhesives in the PDAParts kit), so you will have to remove it as well as the glass.  here's some of the progression of my fist disassembly and glass removal.

If you look closely at the first picture(taken by my lovely 4yr-old daughter), you'll see the digitizer flipped back towards me.  This is a rather important point.  I had attempted to use the case opener tool enough that I had chipped away a swath of my digitizer glass and was able to actually peel the digitizer off of the assembly.  This is when I resorted to the standard screw driver to assist in opening the case.

In the second picture, you'll see the phone disassembled, but notices the digitizer assembly.  There is still glass covering portions around the speaker and home button.  Also notice all the chips and shard of glass on my work rag.  Please do take note that there where pieces of glass flying around when a scrape or tool slipped along a path.  So, take proper precautions such as Eye Protection!

The final picuture is the digitizer assembly cleaned of class and adhesive.  DO TAKE NOTE of where those sensor and cables are from this picutre as you can easily damage them (I almost did several times) in your attempts to clean the glass.

And the thrid picture is why its imperative that you get the adhesives from PDAparts.com.  Otherwise, your digitizer will be just free to float around inside the iPhone....  NOT A GOOD IDEA! (45 mins)

Cable Routing:

When I first put down the digitizer glass, I was so thrilled that I'd finally got the damn thing taken apart and cleaned that I threw the adhesives on and set the digitizer down folded everything back together and was about to lock down my cables when I realized.....  1,2, and 3 cables are now in the 1,3,2 order!

*insert curses and yelling again*

So, I !!!CAREFULLY!!! peeled the new digitizer away from the assembly, re-routed the cables, and closed up the iPhone.  Here's what a cable looks like on the digitizer when you handle it roughly... like my original disassembly.  You'll need the full image to appreciate the small, but significant damage(which would render the digitizer useless).  Following the correction of my error, I reversed my teardown to reassemble the phone:

Final view:

Purty, ain't it?  But I have since invested in a "speck Toughskin" phone cover!