The Center for Environmental Health (CEH), a California environmental activist group, has filed a complaint Monday against Apple for the iPhone saying that it is constructed using toxins that are prohibited in California. According to the CEH the iPhone is violating Proposition 65 which requires products that expose any reproductive toxins or carcinogens to have a warning label or it cannot be sold in the state. They are giving Apple 60 days to comply before they launch a law suit.

According to a recent Greenpeace report the parts in question of containing toxins are the plastic earphone wiring cover. The report claims the coating contains phthalate esters which have been linked to birth defects. Greanpeace gave Apple only a 2.7 out of 10 in “greenness” in their report which was less than most other major corporations. “The phthalates found in the headphone cords are classified in Europe as ‘toxic to reproduction’ because of their long-recognized ability to interfere with sexual development,” Greenpeace scientist David Santillo said in the report. Brominated compounds were also found in half the samples tested which could create dioxin when burned, according to the study.

So an anonymous tipster sent in a purported AT&T internal inventory sheet which lists off an Apple iPhone in red with 4GB and one with 8GB. No price, no delivery date, nothing else except that this thing supposedly exists to AT&T. This is the first report that has surfaced of any kind of alternative color to the iPhone and of course it should be noted that Apple hasn’t said anything about its iPhone coming in another color besides white. Still, bear in mind the color variance of the Nano; did anyone out there really think that Apple wouldn’t release different color iPhones eventually? But why no mention of a black iPhone?

Here’s the other thing to bear in mind: will this “deep red” iPhone be out in time for the holiday shopping season?

For those who have iPhones unlocked by third party software hacks and were foiled by Apple’s 1.1.1 firmware release, it looks like the game is back on. SimFree version 1.6, from the same company that created the original hack to unlock Apple’s iPhone outside of the exclusive and required AT&T service plan, is a new countermeasure hack that gets around the new firmware update and will once again unlock those iPhones “bricked” by the 1.1.1 update.

According to iphoneSimFree, this new iPhone “jailbreak” will let anyone who has rightly been a little leery to update after Apple’s warning to safely go ahead and apply the 1.1.1 update and SimFree will keep the phone usable, at least until Apple comes out with another update.

Those of you still following this saga will be happy to know that the hackers who have been dismantling the iPod touch have apparently now decrypted the ramdisk and installed applications. That means your iPod Touch can do all kinds of nifty things, like run mail, Google Maps, and many other 3rd party apps.

Ipod Touch users everywhere are rejoicing. Well, until apple decides to brick them at least. Also, it remains to be seen how well these apps truly run. It’s a fascinating technological and cultural event at any rate, as devices get hacked, bricked and hacked again in an endless circle. I say just cut out the middle man and let these guys work for Apple.

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:

To complete the last part of Apple’s iPhone roll out to Europe, France Telecom announced today that its wireless company Orange will be the provide for the iPone in France.

The French company said that they would start selling Apple’s iPhone in November, but did not give an exact date. Both the UK and Germany have set an iPhone launch date of November 9, and a nearby date for France is likely. No word yet on the price of he iPhone in through Orange yet, either.

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.

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 …

A leaked advertisement from T-Mobile Germany gives some inside information that the iPhone may be launching in Europe in November, with tri-band HSDPA and a larger storage capacity.

According to the ad the iPhone will have a launch date of November 12 with T-Mobile, which we knew Apple was planning a launch before the holidays but not exactly when. The iPhone will go for 499 Euros, or about $687 USD, which is higher than the US original price of $599 and way higher than the recently cut price of $399. But, it looks like this model will have 16GB of memory which is twice the largest 8GB model available in the US. It wouldn’t be surprising if Apple started offering this larger capacity in the US before the holidays as well, which would make sense with the lower price on the 8GB and the discontinuation of the smaller 4GB version.

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 …