iphone

If you’re familiar with Android apps like cellularFinder, you’ve got a good idea for what this is — and the name “Signal” is a pretty accurate representation, too. Basically, iPhone Dev Team member planetbeing has thrown together a neat little app that shows you signal strengths of your phone’s connections to nearby cellular towers along with their position relative to you (if the positions can be determined), an especially welcome utility considering that you can’t access Apple’s old “field test mode” in iOS 4. Our favorite part, though, has to be planetbeing’s desire to turn this from mere information into entertainment — and to hopefully take the edge off your pain and deep-set resentment over the signal strength and call dropping issues in your iPhone 4 — by adding a mode where your goal is to get the signal to drop completely, at which point you’ll hear the voice of Spock announce a Vulcan death grip. Who knew an engineering defect could be so much fun? If you’re jailbroken — or you’re willing to jailbreak — you can score Signal in Cydia for a five-spot. Follow the break for video of the app in action.

Remember that WAPI-compliant version of the iPhone approved back in May? Yeah, well, China Unicom is just at this time getting around to rolling it out, promising it’ll be available next week in the form of an 8GB 3GS for an incredible 4,999 yuan (about $739). As far as we can tell, the phone will be compatible both with straight WiFi and WAPI wireless networks, which is a big step for the country — traditionally, the Chinese iPhone has been WiFi-free while the iPod touch has gone unfettered, the result of bureaucracy, product categorization, and strange laws that don’t fly in many other locales. On a related note, rumor has it that the iPhone 4 — presumably also with WiFi / WAPI — is on track for a September 1 release, so if the 3GS is feeling a little too 2009 for you, you may not have long to wait.

China Unicom getting WiFi-enabled iPhone 3GS next week, iPhone 4 on September 1? originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 20:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Our own Myriam Joire was in the thick of things for Canada’s iPhone 4 launch today out in lovely Vancouver, and as you might expect, hysteria was reaching… well, iPhone 4 levels. Lines formed early and stayed strong through much of the day, and generally, camaraderie seemed high — continuously a good thing when you’re standing a foot away from the same handful of people in summer heat for hours on end. As you might expect, the wait for subsidized phones was longer than for the considerably pricier unlocked ones. Weren’t able to make it yourself? Aren’t Canadian? Want to pretend for a few sweet moments that you are? Follow the break for our video!