The idea of an FM receiver in the iPhone has excited many a commentator over the last several years, because sometimes, you’ve got to set aside podcasts and iTunes and just listen to the radio.  The hyperlocal nature of terrestrial radio makes it a cultural staple, yet it’s conspicuously absent from the iPhone.  Apparently, that may be changing when iPhone 3.0 hits some time in the next 8 - 10 months.

And how about song-tagging, so you can purchase the currently-playing song from iTunes.  Some folks think High Definition (that is, digital) Radio is required to do this.  Actually, the text labels embedded in most FM broadcasts should be sufficient to drive links to iTunes Music Store…. if this was Apple’s style.

iHeartRadio and similar apps already pipe HD-quality data into the iPhone (over 3G)–and those don’t offer links to the iTunes store. If an FM chip is coming in iPhone 3.0, it will probably be used first and foremost for navigation-related features like traffic advisories and weather, and if we get radio out of the deal (like on some of the Nokie N-Series phones), then it will just be a happy little bonus.

Me, I’ll take photo messaging and a camcorder app, please.

Tags: camcorder, fm, gps, hd, hd radio, iphone, itunes, navigation, nokia, radio, software, video

Digital Illusions’ classic (and I stress classic) pinball simulation for teh Amiga–Pinball Dreams–has been resurrected to amazing effect on the iPhone/iPod Touch.  Serious gamers will remember burning many, many hours during the nineties play what many argue is the greatest Amiga game of all time.  $5.99 on the app store.  Now go play pinball.

Tags: amiga, appstore, games, iphone, pinball, pinball dreams, software

An app (apparently) developed by a 9-year-old in good ole Xcode, Doodle Kids allows you to finger paint on your iPhone.  Missing in the hubbub over the youthfulness of this app’s author is the fact that it’s actually really fun to paint on the iPhone’s touch screen.  Grab it. The random-colored visual effect of doodling is not unlike those multi-colored “magic pens” you see see on daytime TV ads.

Tags: apps, appstore, doodle kids, doodling, drawing, iphone, paint, writing