Linux recently joined the Apple’s iPhone platform. It simply means that the Linux OS can now be run on the iPhone. Linux OS on iPhone is controlled through a USB keyboard and supports the first and second generation of iPhones and the first generation of iPod Touch. This may open up door for Google’s Android as there is a possibility to run it on the iPhone. If that really happens then it would create a lot of problem for Apple as they will have to fight in their own territory.

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If you’re like me, sending holiday cards is one of those “necessary evils” of the holidays. A new service, Ecardlets.com, hopes to make the process a little easier — at least for your friends with iPhones.

Ecardlets.com is a San Francisco, CA startup founded by ex-Microsoft and ex-Googlers, and has just launched its initial public beta of the first-ever ecard platform designed specifically for the iPhone. The unique three-dimensional greeting cards take advantage of the iPhone touch screen by allowing recipients to open and flip the cards with just a flick of the finger.

I tried out the service today by sending myself a few cards. The service couldn’t be any easier to use. Simply design your card and hit “send.” The service sends a text message to your AT&T iPhone recipient which includes a link to your card. Then simply swipe your finger to open the card and read the enclosed message.

There are plenty of stock cards ready to send (there’s even a “Congratulations on your new iPhone” card), but the service will become a lot more interesting as more people begin uploading their own card designs. The site offers a Photoshop (PSD) template that you can download to make your own ecardlet that others can then send. Right now you have to email your designs to ecardlets.com but the site is working on a system to enable user-generated ecardlets.

So spice up your greeting cards this holiday season and send your iPhone-toting friends something different.

Ecardlets.com is, at least for now, completely free to use…so send to your hearts content.

Sigur Ros by richjm

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again now: the iPhone camera is technically rubbish, but I’m endlessly impressed by the ingenuity and creativity people show with it.

This morning I browsed around Flickr for images of gigs and concerts taken with iPhones; there are some really atmospheric shots to be found.

Still, I’d stay away from the mosh pit if I were you. Or keep your iPhone in a zip-up pocket.

A Tribe Called Quest by Mat Honan

Lostprophets by Shiny Things

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club by CosmoPolitician

(All photos used under Creative Commons license. Thanks to the photographers.)

In spite of the general economic downturn, ‘Black Friday’ sales of Apple computers were “better than expected,” analysts told investors Monday.

Like past Black Friday sales, Apple offered discounts on seven products with an 8 percent discount.

However, Mac sales we more than six times what they were in November, according to Piper Jaffray. Analyst Gene Munster said an average of 13 Macs per hour were sold Friday compared to two computers per hour in November. Munster based his numbers on 10 hours of monitoring five Apple retail stores.

Friday, Apple cut its “unibody” MacBooks by $101 and $51 discounts on the $999 white plastic entry-level MacBook. One-day price reductions of $51 on the entry-level 2.4GHz iMac and $101 for the 2.66GHz and 2.8GHz aluminum all-in-ones were also unveiled.

iPhones did not share in the same level of consumer enthusiasm. Munster said iPhone sales averaged 3.4 per hour compared to 1.3 per hour in November.

Although the analyst expects the iPhone will receive a boost in holiday sales, the impact will be “minimal.”

In a wider review of Black Friday Apple sales, Deutsche Bank said “demand for Apple was solid considering the macro backdrop.” Both Mac and iPod sales for the day likely were “modestly above” Deutsche Bank’s estimates. The firm, which reviewed retail and online sales at more than 125 storefronts, expects Apple to report 5 million iPhone sales for the quarter.

Deutsche found the new MacBooks were popular Black Friday offerings with 2GHz and 2.4GHz MacBooks outselling the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.

Best Buy locations reported strong demand for the iPhone and shoppers at AT&T stores preferred the lower-priced 8GB iPhone. The reverse was true for iPod shoppers: the 16GB nanos were outselling the 8GB nanos, according to Deutesche.

Complete with “The Mapple Store,” a “MyPod,” a $1200 “MyBill,” and a Bart voice-over of a “Steve Mobs” keynote, the animated series completely nails the stereotypes of Apple products, employees, and users. Check it out in the video below:

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Nokia World, a premier event held every year by the mobile giant to show case its concepts and upcoming products is now under way in Barcelona, Spain. Robert Scoble, who is attending the event is predicting that Nokia is about to launch an iPhone competitor in this event. I wont be much skeptical about this as even Microsoft plans to do so with the launch of their Zune phone. So why not Nokia, whose bread and butter depends on having the front row seat in mobile electronics arena.

When we got here a Nokia executive met me and bragged that the Internet has no clue what they will announce this week. I asked “what about the touch screen cell phone that I’ve seen rumors about?” He said that no one had gotten it right yet. The announcements are on Wednesday morning (it’s early Monday morning as I post this) so we’ll have to wait to see what they announce. He told me this is one of the only times he can remember when a big announcement has not leaked. He said that even internally only a handful of people have seen the new device they’ll be announcing on Wednesday. Does that tactic sound familiar? It should, and is only one of the reasons why this is Nokia’s touchiest week.

Robert Scoble

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Apple met or beat analyst expectations for sales over the weekend, selling 13 Macs and 3.4 iPhones every hour, according to one Piper Jaffray estimate.

Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu said that Apple's Black Friday promotions helped drive retail store traffic, according to reports from distributors. Wu also noted that the iPod touch is sold out at Amazon.com, which leads him to believe that Apple could sell $10 billion worth of products this quarter.

Thomas Weisel Partners' Doug Reid got the impression that Apple sales were up from last year. He was less optimistic about Dell's retail performance at Best Buy locations, noting that salespeople there were not strongly recommending Dell models at 35 stores they checked.

Weisel analysts expect Apple to sell 2.4 million Macs during the fourth quarter.

Deutsche Bank analysts also conducted their own checks over the weekend, and found demand to be "solid," considering the current global economic woes. They expect Apple to sell 5 million iPhones this quarter, and reiterated their "buy" rating and price target of $150 per share.

AAPL was down slightly in morning trading.

TUAWAnalyst Roundup: Black Friday pretty good for Apple originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Munster's team spent 10 hours counting Mac and iPhone sales in five Apple stores last Friday. They calculated:

• Mac sales averaged 13 per hour, up from 2 per hour in early November.
• iPhone sales averaged 3.4 per hour, up from 1.3 per hour in early November. Friday's iPhone sales numbers are "likely understated" because they missed some iPhone gift card sales.

See Also:
Apple's Black Friday Sale: No 15% Discount
Brits Ban Deceptive Apple iPhone Ad
Apple Eases Up Unfriendly Anti-Piracy Feature On New MacBooks

Just in case you don’t have such a great photographic eye, or perhaps are not completely satisfied with the images produced by your iPhone’s distinctive optics, there is help available.

More than 30,000 people have downloaded French photographer Eric Lafforgue’s free iPhone app Hervé Péroteau. He released version 2.1 on Sunday with more than 800 pictures available for use as screensavers for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Lafforgue’s work has been published in prestegious magazines worldwide, including Geo, National Geographic, CNN Traveler, The Times, Stampa and UNESCO magazine. His app will fill 25MB of space on your device, but it automatically lets you know when there are photo updates available and includes professional tips from one of the world’s most successful freelance photographers.

Check out some of his images in the gallery below and be sure also to visit his stunning website.

All images © Eric Lafforgue

Be sure to check out the latest Mobilist's Carnival. It's at All About Iphone.net where Steve Litchfield of The Smartphones Show and 3-Lib fame is making a surprise appearance as guest host.

There's a lot of new and hot stuff this week including first looks at Nokia's 5800 and N79  and coverage of the recent "Future of Mobile" conference.

There are also product reviews of the T-Mobile G1, "FastLane Street Racing" for the iPhone and my own examination of the Skyfire browser on S60.

Also a  piece on the South African mobile web scene, where in spite of huge growth in number of users, major web brands are staying away.

Steve Litchfield's only partially tongue in check comparison of the Psion 3a organizer with current smartphones is included. Steve points out that in many ways we are worse off in terms of the features and usability of our devices than we were 15 years ago.

Items on Femtocells, iPhones in the enterprise and the N-Gage Arena round out the Carnival's collection of the best recent writing on mobile topics. Don't miss COTM 152, it's a good one.