The 6 million iPod speaker systems sold in the United States since 2004 will be partially compatible with the new iPhone, suppliers told TWICE.

Existing speaker systems will charge the iPhone and play its music, but the iPhone won't be able to receive calls when docked, the suppliers explained. In addition, some iPod speaker systems might require a special plastic insert to hold the iPhone snugly while the phone is plugged into the system's 30-pin connector, they added.

Some of the first speaker systems, available as early as September, will be fully compatible with the iPhone, enabling users to receive calls while they're listening to their docked iPhone, suppliers also said. They'll carry the "Works with iPhone" logo.

Looks like today's morning's firmware leak turned up some well hidden details about the iPhone's hardware engine -- and also confirming some reports we'd previously received. From what we can tell, it looks like the iPhone's got a 620MHz ARM chip running under the hood....

Friday was one of life's great days: I returned my iPhone. I was tired of Apple's adult-proof keyboard. I was tired of AT&T's piddling wireless network. But most of all, I was embarrassed that I'd bought the thing in the first place.

First, I suffered the public humiliation of standing in line with hundreds of people who can't think for themselves, waiting outside the downtown San Francisco Apple store for Steve Job's latest marketing coup to finally go on sale. Then came the shame of being applauded by Apple employees as I paid five hundred and forty-one dollars and forty-two cents for a product that everyone says I'm supposed to want....

Yes, I was just doing my job, trying to dig up some dirt for the good of El Reg. But to quote Paul Newman's Cool Hand Luke, "Calling it your job don't make it right." After two weeks with the iPhone, I was determined to be the first person on earth to return the thing.

A third-party vendor has already unveiled software that adds storage capabilities to Apple Inc.'s popular iPhone mobile device.

When the iPhone began shipping late last month, some users were disappointed that the mobile phone lacked support for Apple's popular iPod Disk Mode feature, which would allow the product to be used as a portable storage device.

To fix that issue, Ecamm Network LLC has started shipping iPhoneDrive, which promises to make basic parts of the iPhone's missing storage functionality a reality.

Security shortcomings in the design of Apple's iPhone might make it easier to mount phishing and cross-site scripting attacks.

The iPhone's email client only displays the first few characters of a weblink, a factor researchers at Fortify Software warn makes it easier to hide a fraudulent URL at the end of a link without arousing suspicion.

The mechanism the iPhone uses to link between web browser and telephone functions also makes it easier to embed scam telephone numbers within sites, which a user may be prompted to dial.

A security company is warning iPhone users to avoid using a feature that lets users make phone calls over the Web using the phone's Safari browser.

The feature can be used by attackers to track the user's calls or redirect the user's intended call to a number the attacker chooses, according to Billy Hoffman, the lead researcher at SPI Labs. A flaw in the feature also enables attackers to put the iPhone in an infinite loop where it continues to try making calls until the user actually turns the device off. It also can prevent the Apple device from dialing all together, he added in a blog advisory.

Speculation about whether Apple will introduce a cost-down version of its iPhone continues to arise in the Chinese-language media, with a recent report in the Chinese-language Commercial Times newspaper indicating that Taiwan-based Wintek has gained touch screen panel orders from Apple for its second-generation iPhone.

The report claims that the new iPhone from Apple will begin shipping in September with prices ranging from US$249-299. The paper added that Apple recently visited Wintek to deliver instructions on manufacturing and the company has begun test production in small volumes.

While market speculation continues concerning Apple's plans for its next-generation iPhone, handset makers including Inventec Appliances and Quanta Computer are expected to fight it out to become Apple's second assembly partner for the iPhone, according to industry sources.

Market speculation has named several component suppliers, including Catcher Technology and Wintek, as having shipped their products to Quanta for final assembly. Quanta, for its part, has refuted the reports, saying that it is too early to discuss any speculated orders.

However, the company does admit that it is aggressively seeking iPhone orders from Apple. According to Quanta executives......

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