Apple Inc. has reached the 1 million mark 2 1/2 months after its initial release. It was reached weeks earlier than predicted. It helped regain some of the lost ground the company lost when it announced the big $200 price cut on the 8GB model.Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that in comparison, it took the Apple iPod 2 years before it sold 1 million units. I personally believe that when the initial demand on the iPhone waned, the company responded by lowering the price to attract more customers into purchasing the latest Apple offering. It may have upset some of the early adopters of the iPhone, saying that they were ripped off by the company, but in the long run, the move sure worked in Apple's favor.

After the teenager George Hotz found a way to unlock the iPhone, many people have tried and wondered if there was a way to completely unlock Apple's latest offering without having to disassemble the phone.

After checking cnn.com for the latest news on technology, there is.

Credit for the report that goes after, would be to cnn.com:

For iPhone watchers out there, Apple CEO Steve Jobs has announced that the 4GB version of the iPhone will be discontinued and that the remaining model, the 8GB version, would now be sold for just $399, from $599 when it was initially released.

Credit goes here.

Word has come in that the Apple iPhone, which was initially released to be exclusive only to AT&T, has already been unlocked by a teenager in the States. George Hotz, 17, has confirmed with msnbc.com that he has successfully unlocked an Apple iPhone and is already using it with a T-Mobile sim.

It would not have a significant development in terms of U.S. markets and consumers, it opens the doors to the international market, who are still waiting to get their hands on Apple's offering for quite a while now.

Hotz himself has openly shared the steps he took in unlocking the iPhone on his personal blog. The blog is located here

I expect the number of iPhones to come in droves internationally as this process becomes available to more people. I am not too affected since I am not too impressed with the iPhone as it is. I'm pretty sure I am in the minority with regards to that sentiment, though.

Nokia has announced a battery recall program regarding a specific battery model used in their mobile phones. The company has said that in very rare cases, the batteries might experience overheating by a short circuit while the phone is charging.

Around 46 million batteries are affected. These batteries were manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006. Around 100 incidents of overheating has been reported around the globe.

The BL-5C batteries have been used with the following Nokia models:

Nokia 1100, Nokia 1100c, Nokia 1101, Nokia 1108, Nokia 1110, Nokia 1112, Nokia 1255, Nokia 1315, Nokia 1600, Nokia 2112, Nokia 2118, Nokia 2255, Nokia 2272, Nokia 2275, Nokia 2300, Nokia 2300c, Nokia 2310, Nokia 2355, Nokia 2600, Nokia 2610, Nokia 2610b, Nokia 2626, Nokia 3100, Nokia 3105, Nokia 3120, Nokia 3125, Nokia 6030, Nokia 6085, Nokia 6086, Nokia 6108, Nokia 6175i, Nokia 6178i, Nokia 6230, Nokia 6230i, Nokia 6270, Nokia 6600, Nokia 6620, Nokia 6630, Nokia 6631, Nokia 6670, Nokia 6680, Nokia 6681, Nokia 6682, Nokia 6820, Nokia 6822, Nokia 7610, Nokia N70, Nokia N71, Nokia N72, Nokia N91, Nokia E50, Nokia E60

and to the following accessories:

Nokia Wireless GPS Module LD-1W, Nokia Wireless GPS Module LD-3W

Nokia is encouraging everyone to check on their batteries online to see if the battery is part of the recall. The website provides instructions on how to check if the battery is part of the recall. Here's the link: http://www.nokia.com/batteryreplacement/en/

 I am to review the techie stuff that I have access to. With my current work schedule being quite light, I'll take the chance to try my hand at doing reviews. I haven't done so before, so I may not be good yet.

First off, let's check out the Nokia 3230. Originally released last 2005, it was part of the Series 60 cellphone offerings of Nokia. It has a candybar look to it, with smooth edges instead of the usual rigid corners of mobile phones. I have used the various phone features extensively for the 7 months that I've had it, and while it isn't something spectacular compared to newer and more advanced mobile phones, it certainly is serviceable and very useful. Let me list down the pros and cons of this mobile phone, based on my regular, unscientific testing.

Pros:

- nice, clear display for Symbian games and applications.
- the joystick mechanism used for navigating through menus and options is quite sturdy.
- it is highly customizable with various themes built-in and those available online.
- memory card slot available for RS-MMC, which allows for extra storage space for photos, sound clips, and/or other files.
- good battery life, lasts for about 2-3 days of regular use.
- built-in 1.3 megapixel camera. It shoots nice enough pictures for everyday use, but don't expect digicam-like pictures, even at its highest setting. Highest resolution by pictures is at 1280 x 960.

Cons:

- limited integrated memory (5MB only available for use).
- you cannot receive files larger than 4MB via the phone's bluetooth feature. The reason is that files are initially stored in the phone's memory and there's no way of having files go directly to the memory card.
- No WLAN feature, and while you could use GPRS, it tends to run slowly on pages that have some pictures on it. I've had the phone freeze up on more than a few occasions while trying to browse through the results on Yahoo! Sports.
- The screen size is not conducive for browsing through GPRS. The display is small and you have to constantly scroll down.

All the information written down is based on regular, personal use. It wasn't tested under controlled situations, so some data may be a bit off, but would not be by much. I personally give the Nokia 3230 a 7 out of 10. Though not something that you'd be craving for considering the age of the Nokia N-Series and the Apple iPhone, but something that holds its own with its features.