Goldstriker knows a thing or two about making devices more beautiful, the iPhone is no exception and the Solar Star edition is their latest attempt. It features 24 carat gold plating on both the front bezel and Apple’s rear logo, while the rest of the case is the ultra luxurious Balloon White paint found on a Lamborghini Gallardo.

The white-and-gold color scheme is sex to the eye and looks nice to touch. It comes with updated firmware 1.1.4 and is unlocked for worldwide GSM use. You’ll get 16GB of flash memory inside. The $1,477 price tag is not for everyone. Some of us would rather save the money for a 3G iPhone, despite how beautiful this one looks.

It’s hard to say how they did it, but it appears that somehow Telecom Italia Mobile has convinced Apple and Steve Jobs to offer the new upcoming 3G version of the iPhone to customers in Italy with quite a bit more leeway than we’ve seen here in the states. Not only will the iPhone not require that two-year service contract along with the purchase, but it will also come unlocked.

This is something that Apple has been very stringent about stateside and has been volleying versions with hackers since the beginning, keeping the iPhone locked and with a single, exclusive carrier. What this means is that in Italy customers can just by the iPhone and use it with any carrier that they choose.

In anticipation of a new iPhone model coming to Germany, T-Mobile has drastically slashed the price of the existing 8GB model from €399 to just €99 for German customers. This lower price equates to approximately $155 USD, where the 8GB iPhone is currently going for $399 with a 2 year contract in the United States.

The €99 iPhone is being offered for a limited time from April 7 through June 30 and comes with a 2 year plan for 89 euros a month. The 16GB model price appears to remain untouched with a price of €499. Apple has been rumored to have a new, faster 3G version of the iPhone in the works and this promotion may be a way to unload some of the older models prior to the launch. Alternatively it could also just be a promotion for Apple and T-Mobile to unload some of their inventory due to poor sales of the iPhone in the area due to the heavy competition of mobile handsets that are 3G enabled.

I really like my iPhone, but man I have a really hard time typing on the phone because the keys are so small. On more than one occasion I have wished for a nice pointy stylus to use for navigation and typing. The problem is that the touch screen is capacitive so it only works with a finger—or does it?

ThinkGeek has a sweet iPhone stylus from Pogo that promises to work with the iPhone. It uses some sort of felt like material on the end that fools the touch screen into thinking your finger is pressing the buttons. The Pogo for iPhone also works with the iPod touch.

Within just 4 days of Apple releasing a beta version of the software development kit (SDK) for the iPhone, the company claims they’ve already had an incredibly positive response with over 100,000 downloads. This is good news for iPhone owners since there will likely be more useful and fun applications available for the iPhone soon from third party developers.

Multiple development shops have already announced plans to offer applications for the iPhone with Gameloft being one of the most hyped with 15 games planned for the iPhone yet this year. Unfortunately, even though the SDK is out and Gameloft can get these games ready quickly, they won’t be available for download until the App Store opens in June.

O2 has put out an official announcement that they will be bringing Apple’s iPhone to Ireland with the handset launching on March 14. Prices are listed at €399 ($590) for the 8GB model and €499 ($740) 16GB. Contracts range from 175 minutes a month up to 700 minutes and all come with 1GB of data transfer, with the pricing ranging from €45 ($67) to €100 ($148) for the 175 minute plan.

Apple sent out invitations to reports this week for press announcement concerning the details of the iPhone SDK. Jobs said it would happen in February and the date is set for next week on March 6 which we’ll call close enough. The expected information will allow developers to create third party applications that will run on the iPhone and the iPod touch, ridding the need for the hack and fix battle that Apple has been dealing with this past year.

First there was the pocket guitar app that turned your iPhone into a guitar, now the iAno iPhone app that turns your cellphone into a piano. It won’t be long before iPhone users will be able to meet up in their mother’s basements and play an actual gig. Check out the video after the jump..

iAno will install on Jailbroken iPhones and basically gives you a fully functioning multitouch piano in the form of a four-octave keyboard. The arrow keys at the top are used to navigate. It was developed by one Mr Aardvark, who gave it polyphonic sound that allows five key presses to be heard simultaneously. He plans on updating iAno with a complete 88-key keyboard, and other cool features. So whether you want to be the next Elton John or Barry Manillow, carry your piano with you.

Still have that iPhone box laying around? Have some spare time? I have just the project for you. Create a box camera. Scot Hampton did just that and thus the iHole was born, a pinhole camera created using his roommate’s iPhone box. In a scene that must have made MacGuyver proud, he used nothing more than the iPhone’s packaging, some tape, tinfoil (for the lens), a piece of foam, and a leftover screw and tightener from an old Ikea desk.

Congratulations Scot, you have created a low tech camera from the world’s most high tech device. He also used the cardboard lining from the inside of the original box to construct the film holders you see on the back. It should also be mentioned that Scot is very considerate. He left the serial numbers intact, so that if his roommate ever needed to return it he could.

“Something’s happening…Something wonderful.”

These Otter Box iPhone cases are a great way to protect your precious iPhone. They come in the Defender or Armor series. The Defender is a semi-rugged, slim fit case that gives you complete user interaction plus an attractive look and feel. This case is not fully waterproof, but it shields your iPhone from dust, dirt and most importantly drops. The Armor series is a more rugged case that safeguards the device from rain, dust, dirt, again most importantly falls.

We know you paid alot for the sexy device, so we want to see you protected. That’s why Otterbox has agreed to send 3 lucky readers their choice of either the Defender series or Armor cases.

Those of you who have been waiting with baited breath to be able to play SNES games on your iPod Touch or iPhone can now let out a huge girlly squeal. Your prayers have been answered. That’s because someone has coded a native SNES emulator for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Right now it’s still in the testing phase, but in the near future I predict there will be many a broken iPhone as you press down way too hard on the virtual controller while playing Super Metroid and the like. Unless you care to make a donation to the developer, thereby scoring some beta testing, you’ll have to try to contain yourself for the time being until the app goes public. Check out the video here.

Here is an odd knock off product that defies reason. A fake iPhone that’s really a scale. I guess it would be perfect for the “iDealer” in your neighborhood to weigh his wares on this scale, while having it look like the latest high-tech gadget when the police storm the door.

Upon closer inspection, it’s easy to see that somebody did a rework of the interface in MS Paint. Look for this to show up in new episodes of COPS, sitting by the dope. The other dope will be handcuffed and incoherent wearing the standard grimy white undershirt.

Apple seems intent on bringing the iPhone to Asia yet this year and Advanced Info Service (AIS) in Thailand is the latest to announce that they are in negotiations to bring the popular mobile handset in their direction. Apple has recently been in negotiations with NTT Docomo in Japan with revenue sharing being a pivotal point in negotiations. China Mobile had also been in talks about carrying the iPhone until recently when the issue of revenue sharing with Apple brought the discussions to a halt.

According to AIS chief marketing officer Sanchai Thiewprasertkul, Apple is likely to find difficulty in negotiating a revenue sharing deal in Thailand as well. AIS charges only a Thai baht (about 3 cents) per minute for airtime on their plans, and around 90% of the plans are prepaid. Apple would have trouble making revenue by trying to split 3 cents per minute and is looking to do so with post-paid plans.

Let’s face it, Guitar Hero is not nearly enough for some would be Rock stars out there. To them, everything needs to have the ability to be plucked, strummed and otherwise abused musically. And the air guitar only gets you so far before people start avoiding you like the plague. This is for those people.

The PocketGuitar is a virtual guitar for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It was developed as a Google Code project by Shinya Kasatani. You can also use the songs on your iPod for those long guitar sessions. Apparently, it’s very easy to install. Now you’ll have a whole new way to annoy those around you, while getting your guitar action on.