Apple released the expected version 1.1.1 update to the iPhone firmware today with fixes for some critical bugs and the additions to support the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store. But what makes this release such big news are the less-known things in the update that threaten to brick unauthorized, unlocked iPhones.

Prior to the update Apple put out a warning to those with unlocked iPhones which basically stated that the next firmware update may render these unlocked phones useless, and the result is not covered by the warranty. With the new firmware update iPhone owners were presented on screen with the same message before installing the update:

Yesterday Apple sent out a short and to-the-point message about using software hacks to unlock the iPhone, in which they basically warn not to do it. Apple has a new software update coming out for the iPhone in a couple weeks that among other things will contain the new iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store and could very possibly have something that will “take care” of hacked iPhones, intentional or not.

According to the statement issued by Apple, hacks that unlock the iPhone could cause the phone to be irreparably damaged after installing the update that Apple is planning on sending out, and these unlocking hacks are not covered under the iPhone warranty. Press release after the jump:

Starbucks along with Apple iTunes has announced that they will be giving away 50 million iTunes songs at Starbucks locations to help promote the mobile iTunes store and Starbucks’ Now Playing service. On October 2 the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store will launch with a service provided in Starbucks locations which will display the current song playing through the Apple iPhone in the stores and allow users to buy and download the song without paying any hotspot fees.

In the additional promotion announced today which will run from October 2 through November 7, Starbucks locations will be giving away “Song of the Day” cards that can be redeemed that the iTunes store for a free song download (selected by Starbucks). The coffee company is planning on giving away 1.5 million downloads per day to total more than 50 million songs, so the odds of you getting one when stopping through a Starbucks next month are not too shabby.

In response to complaints about dark screens on the new Apple iPod Touch the company admitted last week that some of the screens that left manufacturing facilities were defective, and Apple is looking for a way to remedy the situation.

According to reports from various blogs and Apples own iPod Touch discussion board, the screens on the new 16GB iPods from various weeks of production have a darker than normal display, and with some darker video scenes are almost unwatchable. Since these issues weren’t as notable with the original iPhone it brings up suspicions that the new Touches were designed with a possibly inferior, or at least different, display than the iPhone.

Today Apple made an announcement, as expected, that the iPhone would be coming to Germany with T-Mobile as the carrier. What we weren’t as sure about is the launch date since the release for Germany wasn’t announced at the same time as the UK. But it looks like Apple isn’t going to let Germany go around iPhone-less any longer than its neighbors and the mobile gadget will launch on the same day - November 9.

There were some differences in todays announcement compared to Yesterday’s. Like everywhere else, the German version of the iPhone will not support 3G, however there was no mention of the hundreds of Wi-Fi hotspots that will be scattered around to provide data connections like O2 is planning for the UK. Also no service plan rates were announced, but they did say the the iPhone itself will be going for €399 (about $550 USD).

Apple made their announcement earlier today that the iPhone is indeed coming to the UK and as expected O2 will be the carrier. The iPhone is expected to be available on November 9 and will go for 269 pounds (about $540 USD).

There were a couple of surprises in the announcement however. There was no news about which carriers would have the iPhone in other European areas such as Germany and France, but announcements for these are expected to happen later this week. Also, that 3G support we were thinking we would see for the UK folks is not going to be available. To try to overcome some of this, O2 will work with The Cloud to install over 7500 free Wi-Fi hotspots that the iPhone can connect to for data. Nothing too exciting…

Apple has announced a press conference in London scheduled for Tuesday, having sent invitations with its usual shrouded itinerary titled only, “mum is no longer the word”. Most speculate that this press conference is set to announce the launch of the iPhone and its carriers in Europe.

Apple has planned a European launch in the 4th quarter of this year for the iPhone with its sleek look and sought after multi-touch interface. Many analysts are speculating on the carriers for the iPhone to most likely be Spanish Telefonica’s O2 for the UK market, Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile for Germany and Orange for France. These carriers are also of course remaining tight-lipped about any related information regarding the iPhone launch while rumors swirl that they might not only be sharing data revenues …

If you’re one of those on the cutting edge of Apple technology and got yourself an iPhone soon after the launch, that $100 Apple Store credit Jobs offered you in lieu of a $200 price reduction is now available online. The process is pretty simple and gives instant gratification (no snail mail involved); just follow the instructions on the website and enter in your iPhone phone number and serial number and then Apple will message you with a special access code. Once you enter that in you’re good to go.

If you’re wondering if you qualify, the $100 credit applies to anyone who bought the iPhone from AT&T or Apple at full price prior to August 22. But, rumor has it that some of those who have purchased the new price-reduced iPhones have been able to enter their number and get the credit anyway. No confirmations on that on - you might expect some recourse if you do get that to work but hey, it’s worth a try.

According to an industry analyst Apple may be on the verge of announcing a 3G compatible iPhone, possibly before the weekend arrives. That would be welcome news to our European cousins that have been wanting an iPhone of their own that isn’t unlocked and that is covered by a warranty.

Analyst Will Strauss of Forward Concepts made the statement based on circumstantial but compelling evidence including a deal brokered last week between Interdigital and Apple. The terms of the seven-year deal allows Apple to use Interdigital’s IP for iPhones and any future Apple mobile phone products.

iTunes now has the available ringtones for the Apple iPhone turned on where users can choose from over 500,000 tracks that bear a special “ringtone” symbol next to them and make their own custom ringtone. The interface allows users to choose the section of the song they want and add some “mix”, such as looping, fading and selecting the section of the song.

All this comes for just $1.98 for each $0.99 song because remember, owning the track alone isn’t quite enough, you must pay for it again to use it as a ringtone. Happy Tuesday.

Apple announced today that only 74 days after the highly hyped and anticipated June 29 launch of the iPhone the company has now sold their one millionth unit, and the holiday shopping season hasn’t even hit yet.

Steve Jobs noted in the release from Apple that it took almost two years for the company to sell one million iPods, which makes this a pretty impressive feat. With the holiday season coming and a recent $200 price cut on the 8GB model, the company likely stands to sell quite a few more.

Also, consider how many of those iPhone sales were the 8GB model sold at full price, where Jobs and company are going to be crediting $100 for each one. But, we’re guessing this was planned from the beginning and Apple can grab that extra $100 million from …

If you’re one of those early adopters who bought the 8GB iPhone when it first came out, you may have been feeling a little wronged over the past 24 hours. Yesterday, just 2 months after the initial launch of the product, Apple announced a $200 price cut off of the $599, 8GB iPhone. This announcement was met with different responses by those wanting an iPhone, basically depending on whether or not they already owned one or not.

In response to “hundreds” of emails, today Steve Jobs published an open letter on the Apple website stating that they “need to do a better job taking care of our early iPhone customers” and offered a $100 Apple store credit to anyone that had already purchased an iPhone, but not before reminding us that technology is a bumpy road …

Along with all the cool new stuff announced by Apple today the company also unveiled a new upcoming, wireless music download service called the iTunes Wi-Fi Music store.

The Wi-Fi Music store allows owners of the iPhone or the iPod touch to access and download over six million different songs through any Wi-Fi hotspot directly to their mobile device through a new iTunes button.

Amidst announcements of a number of new iPod products and product upgrades, Apple made a surprising move today by cutting the price of its iPhone, likely much to the dismay of early adopters. Apple is now selling the larger 8GB version of its iPhone for $399 which is down $200 from the original $599 price only a couple months after the products initial launch.

Apple also said it is going to discontinue the 4GB model of the iPhone altogether, now selling it at $299 until the supplies run out.

Even as Apple rolled out the iPod touch and new nano today the more basic model which started it all got a facelift and a new name. Apple is now making available the sixth-generation iPod, called now the iPod classic, for $249 for a 80GB model and $349 for a 160GB model.

That’s right - the first thing you’ll note with the iPod classic is the increased hard drive sizes. They are housed in a new all-metal anodized aluminum and polished stainless steel enclosure which is thinner than previous generations. The user interface has also been enhanced and includes the ability to browse music via cover art.