So, you got the new iPhone 4 like me. It’s full of great improvements in the software and hardware. Besides multitasking and folders in iOS4, the iPhone 4 has a front-facing camera that you can use for FaceTime (video phone call, if you haven’t heard of it yet). Unfortunately it needs wi-fi to use. If you don’t sit in your house with a wireless network, a coffee shop with free wi-fi, or other location with wi-fi you’re pretty much shit out of luck for using FaceTime.

After I got my iPhone 4 set up and had some time to kill, my friend & I tried out FaceTime. It’s pretty damn cool! But say you don’t have any friends available to try out FaceTime (or no friends at all)… What do you do?

Apple sent out an email on Friday informing iPhone 4 owners that they can call Apple and test out FaceTime with them! For free!

All you need to do is to call 1-888-FACETIME from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm CDT and an Apple representative will show you the basics and a few advanced tips. I haven’t tried it yet, but just to see what it’s all about might be worth it. Just remember to need to have wi-fi on.

If you’ve tried calling Apple to try out FaceTime, let us know what happened and what was talked about.

                          

I hope you all had a chance to check out the WWDC keynote today. Steve Jobs let us all see the iPhone 4 an dmore info about iOS4 (the name of the iPhone OS 4.0), and iAd.

Watch Apple’s New iPhone 4 Promo Video:

So, there it is. The iPhone 4. I won’t bore you with the specs about it (you can find it on Apple’s iPhone site), but here is my take on it:

The iPhone 4 is packed with loads of great features! I was this excited too about the 3GS last year, but now I’m even MORE EXCITED than last year! HA! Just over 2 weeks away until it’s in my hands!

                          

I stumbled upon this post from Cult of Mac of a list of 101 Apple inspired t-shirts for fanboys & fangirls. It’s originally from citygonzales.com, who reviews t-shirts. I’ve seen several of these t-shirts and there are some that I want. Check out the original post and find your favorite Apple inspired t-shirts! Here are a few of my favorites:

                          

In a statement, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that “the products we are planning to release this year are very strong, starting this week with a major new product that we’re really excited about.”

Total iPhone sales are now at a total of 42,445,000 as of the press release today. Apple sold 8,700,000 iPhones in during fiscal Q1 of 2010. That’s up 100% unit growth over the year-ago quarter. AMAZING! That’s over 1 million more than Apple’s best iPhone selling quarter, fiscal Q4 2009, which saw 7.4 million iPhones sold.

Apple Reports First Quarter Results

CUPERTINO, California—January 25, 2010—Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2010 first quarter ended December 26, 2009. The Company posted revenue of $15.68 billion and a net quarterly profit of $3.38 billion, or $3.67 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $11.88 billion and net quarterly profit of $2.26 billion, or $2.50 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 40.9 percent, up from 37.9 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 58 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Apple sold 3.36 million Macintosh® computers during the quarter, representing a 33 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 8.7 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 100 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 21 million iPods during the quarter, representing an eight percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter.

During the quarter Apple elected retrospective adoption of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s amended accounting standards* related to certain revenue recognition. Adoption of the new accounting standards significantly changes how the Company accounts for certain items, particularly sales of iPhone® and Apple TV®.

“If you annualize our quarterly revenue, it’s surprising that Apple is now a $50+ billion company,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “The new products we are planning to release this year are very strong, starting this week with a major new product that we’re really excited about.”

“We are very pleased to have generated $5.8 billion in cash during the quarter,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Looking ahead to the second fiscal quarter of 2010, we expect revenue in the range of about $11.0 billion to $11.4 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share in the range of about $2.06 to $2.18.”

Other worthwhile facts from Q1 of 2010:
Mac:

• 3.36 million Mac sales, beating our record by over 300,000 (up 33% from a year ago).
• About half of Macs sold were to new customers.
• Portable sales robust – up 18% year over year.

iPod:

• 21 million iPods (down 8%). Less than a year ago.
• Traditional iPods went down, but iPod touch still growing well. Revenue growth due to that.
• Share is still over 70% of U.S. MP3 players. Continues to gain share internationally.
• iTunes Store had a record quarter. Its the largest online catalog with 11 million songs. 8,000 films, 2,000 in HD.

iPhone:

• 86 countries for iPhone distribution.
• Added 17 new carriers throughout the world in the quarter.
• App Store has more than 3 billion downloads.

Retail Stores:

• 283 stores in 10 countries.
• 10 new stores opened in the quarter – including the Louvre in Paris.
• 100 remodels in the calendar year.
• $7.1 million is average revenue per store.
• 40-50 new stores in 2010. Half international.

Trading in Apple shares, which were halted earlier, has resumed. In late trading, the stock is up $5.46, or 2.7%, to $207.63.

Info from Baron’s, TechCrunch, and IntoMobile.

                          

I’m a big time fan of Gowalla, as you can tell from some of my posts. Today, Gowalla announced that they’ve partnered with case maker Incase.

If you check into any Apple Store, you have a chance to pick up to 6 new virtual Incase items! I was at my local Apple Store today before I knew about this news. I didn’t get anything. This first week, some people will have the chance to score a real Incase Slider case if they also find the virtual Incase Slide. A fine prize indeed! If you collect all 6 virtual Incase items, you’ll receive the Incase Pin of Glory!

UPDATE 01/06/2009: I scored a virtual Incase Slider today after work! Now I guess I’m waiting for an email from Gowalla, just like with the Golden Gifts they did for Christmas.

UPDATE 01/07/2009: Found another virtual Incase Slider today at the Apple Store. I also posted the question on how we win a real one on the Gowalla forum on GetSatisfaction.com. Here’s the post. Not everyone that finds a virtual Incase Slider wins a real one. Gowalla failed to properly and clearly state the rules. Shame on them. It appears that one person that does find a virtual item will win a real Incase Slider that will be announced on their Twitter feed. I feel very, very fucking disappointed.

                          

iDon’t need vague information
iDon’t need scare tactics
iDon’t need to imitate
iDon’t need a droid…unless it’s R2D2
iDon’t have a problem with iTunes
iDon’t buy brands who bash other brands

Video from DroidDont on YouTube. Nice job!

                          

So Apple gave us a bunch of new hardware today. YES! I’d love the 27-inch iMac, top model of course, but that wouldn’t be feasible at this time. I would love the 3 extra inches that the screen would give me! WOW! Then there’s the new Mac minis, the new Apple Remote, and finally the new Magic Mouse, which comes standard with the new iMacs & with a wireless keyboard. NICE. I was thinking of maybe getting that Magic Mouse. It sure seems to beat the hell out of the Mighty Mouse and it’s sticky scroll ball. That little ball has really pissed me off a few times. I’m going to have to go to my local Apple Store, play with the new Magic Mouse, and see if I like it. If not, then maybe I’ll get a non-Apple mouse.

Images from Apple.