If you’ve been watching TV over the last few days (and who hasn’t, with that USA / Canada hockey game and the tsunami coverage), you may have seen the latest in the series of iPhone ads.

The ad, titled “Family Travel,” features a voice-over by a Mom who gushes that “It’s unbelievable how much better family trips have gotten…” as she demonstrates using the Southwest Airlines app to check in on a flight from Denver to LA Read more…

The end of this week has brought a little flurry of information about the differences between iPhone and Android users. First up, Admob has released the results of a survey that says the iPhone is twice as popular as comparable smartphones in both young and old demographics. Unfortunately, we can only guess as to why (it would be a little more interesting if either age showed a preference for one phone over another) Read more…

Back to the nightmare of explosions on Apple products, in fact, a few days ago in a school in West Newbury, Massachusetts, a girl’s iPod has suddenly exploded.

Fortunately there were no major damage, thanks to the prompt intervention of firefighters and police. It was not made known the model of the iPod, but most likely the cause that triggered the explosion is due to the battery.

Via iSpazio.net [Translated By Google]

Apple’s next update to the blockbuster iPhone handset is expected by one prominent analyst to have a lower total cost of ownership, and to also include new gesture-based functionality.

Katy Huberty with Morgan Stanley maintains that the biggest barrier to greater iPhone adoption is the cost of the hardware, followed by the service plan. The investment in the device has been its biggest issue in both developed markets like the U.S. and emerging ones like China. Read more…

An interesting patent application came to light via PatentlyApple yesterday. The patent, titled “Camera as Input Interface,” was filed by Apple in August 2008 and details a means of controlling an iPhone by swiping a finger across the device’s camera lens. The patent proposes using the iPhone’s camera, which is typically idle when the user is on a call, to control voicemail options such as rewind, fast forward, and pause while the iPhone is at the user’s ear:
Read more…

When you gotta go, you gotta know: Where to Wee is an iPhone and iPod touch appication that uses your exact location to recommend the nearest and cleanest restrooms. The App was launched this fall and already has over 60,000 worldwide washrooms in its database, with more being added every day by Where to Wee users. Read more…

We’ve had coverage of other iPhone edibles before, in particular the many cakes that have been created since the iPhone first came to life in 2007.

Now, via Cult of Mac comes word of iPhone cookies from several bakeries around the globe. The first, as seen in the photo at right, is from the Green Gables Bakery in Japan. It has a “camera” indent on the back, a nicely framed display on the front side, and icing app icons and markings all around. These cookies appear to be made of gingerbread, which should be enough to make you begin drooling. Read more…

What happens if you are unsatisfied with the original plastic shell on your iPhone? Well, you check out some concepts, fire up CAD, start designing, take some huge risks, and you end up with this stunning titanium iPhone.Basically I designed a new back cover for the 3GS. I had the original cover measured digitally, and I then started to draw the new cover in CAD. It’s made out of a special titanium alloy that is RF transparent. I had tried aluminum but that was a complete disaster.

[Via funkeyspacemonkey.com]

It’s not the first peripheral that turns an iPhone into a universal remote control, but this Power A case means you don’t have to slip it off when you’ve stopped using it at home—it’s got two functions.

The app is free to download for both the iPhone and iPod Touch, and provides the interface for controlling any IR-equipped device in your house. The case meanwhile, has the IR transmitter and looks like a discreet offering from Griffin—not too big and bulky, in other words. Read more…