Apple’s solution to the antenna problem which has afflicted some users of its new smartphone has arrived – the iPhone 4 case program.

Customers will be able to order a free bumper or third party case, in order to protect their antenna from any possible interference caused by contact with the human hand in the problematic bottom left corner of the iPhone 4.

Well, it beats the initial advice of “hold it differently” anyway. Even if we’re not sure that everyone really wants their glitzy new gadget to have an elastic band running round the outside of it.

To get your freebie, you’ll need to download an app, sign in and select the exact case you’d like to receive.

If you bought your iPhone before today, you’ve got until August 22nd to put your order in. Otherwise, you’ve got 30 days from the purchase date of your phone, with the offer winding up for good come the end of September.

Those who have already purchased a bumper for their iPhone 4 can apply for a refund including tax and postage costs. For full instructions on the refund process, or to download the app, see the official case program website here.

Apple launches free iPhone 4 case offer app

It seems that Microsoft has come to an agreement with Arm, licensing the chip expert’s architecture.

While Microsoft already has a long standing relationship with Arm, working together in the mobile arena, this brings the two companies closer together, as it means Microsoft can actually fiddle around with the architecture itself and make changes at a low level.

And why would Microsoft want to join the small handful of companies, such as Qualcomm, which do this?

Well, The Register speculates that it isn’t because they want to invent new mobiles, looking at the just scrapped Kin phones which proved a dismal failure for MS.

The Reg thinks that the licensing might be for working on the next generation Xbox, and developing a console not so reliant on a central chip doing most of the work and flirting with overheating problems.

An interesting call indeed. Whatever the exact reason, at this stage, Microsoft and Arm are giving nothing away except the usual “important partner” sort of patter.

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Microsoft up in Arm with chip deal

Last week Ubisoft announced very impressive sales figures for its first fiscal quarter, and today the company has confirmed that performance.

First quarter sales were 161 million Euros, which was up 94%, or nearly double the same period the previous year.

This far exceeded analyst expectations of around the 145 million Euro mark, and the performance was down to excellent sales from Splinter Cell Conviction, alongside Just Dance, Avatar and Assassin’s Creed 2.

Ubisoft claims that it is now the number two publisher in Europe (with a 9.5% share) and the UK (with an 11% share). It’s number four in the US.

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Ubisoft announces it is number two publisher in the UK

In an embarrassing incident for Apple, a 15-year-old boy managed to get his app which contained a hidden feature onto iTunes.

On the face of it, the lad had created Handy Light, a torch app which could change the colour of the screen, so you could turn it all white for a kind of makeshift torch. Or all red, or green for… well, holding up to your face and pretending you’re turning into the Hulk?

Of course, this was all just a cover, as what the app really did was execute code in the background which enabled tethering.

In other words, using the iPhone as a 3G modem so you can get your laptop online via your smartphone.

Apple doesn’t allow such apps on the store, as tethering is a service which a substantial fee is exacted for (AT&T charge $20 per month on top of the user’s plan for tethering). The Handy Light app was priced at just $1.

While the app has now been pulled, anyone who has already downloaded Handy Light will be able to keep the app and its tethering abilities on their mobile, thus ducking out of any subscription.

Lucky for them, but embarrassing for Apple, particularly given the age of the chap who managed to get this past the company’s app sniffer dogs.

How long will it be before the next app comes along with a hidden tethering (or otherwise) payload?

iPhone app facilitating tethering made it onto iTunes

ShoreTel, the leading provider of brilliantly simple IP phone systems with fully integrated unified communications (UC), today released ShoreTel 11, the latest versions of its award-winning UC software.

With features such as a client for the iPhone and a distributed database, ShoreTel 11 helps large businesses simplify system management, improve reliability, and lower communications costs, and gives on-the-go workers more choice of mobile devices.

As with all previous ShoreTel releases, ShoreTel 11 is available as a free upgrade for current customers with a ShoreTel support contract as part of ShoreTel’s standard support service.

SHORETEL 11: SUMMARY OF NEW FEATURES

• The ShoreTel Communicator client is now available for the Web and for the iPhone, allowing users to manage communications from Macintosh computers and iPhones, along with BlackBerry and other popular devices. ShoreTel Communicator for iPhone is available from the iTunes App Store as a free download.

• ShoreTel has enhanced the already highly reliable distributed architecture of ShoreTel with distributed database capabilities. Additional instances of the ShoreTel 11 database can be installed at remote sites, helping to alleviate potential performance bottlenecks and eliminate single points of failure.

• ShoreTel 11 offers extended legacy PBX integration capabilities with expanded QSIG support, making it easier for customers to leverage existing investments and migrate to ShoreTel’s all IP-based UC capabilities over time.

• With the release of ShoreTel 11, ShoreTel has changed the name of its award-winning desktop application from ShoreTel Call Manager to ShoreTel Communicator to reflect the expansion of capabilities that extend well beyond traditional “calls” to include unified communications.

Andrew Holowka, Senior IT, Centre for Applied Research said: “Our clients range from Fortune 500 companies to social service agencies, so ensuring highly responsive and flexible service is vital to the success of our business.

“ShoreTel 11 enables our Mac users to effectively communicate with our servers, providing our consultants with even more collaboration options and powerful communication tools.

“As we continue to deploy more features, we’re looking forward to taking advantage of the mobile support for the iPhone, which is something our users are already very excited about.

“ShoreTel’s brilliantly simple solutions are helping us meet the ever-changing, on-the-go demands of both our clients and our consultants.”

Kevin Gavin, Vice President of Marketing, ShoreTel said: “With this latest system software release, ShoreTel takes another giant leap forward in delivering on the promise of unified communications for organisations of every size.

“ShoreTel 11’s enhanced distributed architecture, new iPhone client, and extended support for legacy PBX systems all drive down deployment costs and TCO, while increasing reliability and flexibility.”

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ShoreTel 11 announced