Why is Apple hiring antenna engineers? I thought we were holding it wrong. According to several job postings, Apple is looking for Antenna Engineers, with the job definition including “Define and implement antenna system architecture to optimize the radiation performance for wireless portable devices.”

The postings were made on June 23rd, about the same time that folks started noticing the iPhone 4′s antenna issues. Thing is, they had engineers already that should have caught this.

From the front it looks like a plain old iPhone 4, but around back this iPhone is sporting some wood. This beautiful specimen comes from Russian technology company Gresso. There are embedded Swarovski crystals and an 18-karat golden Apple logo set in a sheet of African Blackwood.

While we loath Swarovski crystals on gadgets, this design is much more tasteful than the solid gold iPhones we are used to seeing. This luxury phone will arrive in December for $3,500, or $3,000 for the male version on the right.

I mentioned yesterday that JayBird had unveiled a new set of Bluetooth headphones that offer controls for tracks on the headphones. The downside was that those controls won’t work with the iPhone since it doesn’t support that feature.

JayBird has announced that it has a new app called Blutrax that adds that Bluetooth music control feature we all want into the iPhone. The app offers full control for skipping tracks, pause, play and more.

According to Bloomberg, Verizon will begin offering the iPhone in January. That’s according to two unnamed sources who are “familiar with the plans,”. No other details were given. It fits with what we’ve been hearing for the last few months.

No one knows yet if it will be new hardware or just a CDMA iPhone 4. AT&T and Apple’s exclusivity agreement should be running out around January, so that fits. It would also let Verizon show off the deal at CES. I guess we will find out soon.

KONNET Technology has just announced the PowerEZ Plus which is a 1000mAh external charging solution for your iPhone and iPod. It retails for $29.99 and will not only juice your device, but also act as a sturdy, retractable prop for watching movies.

It measures just 0.5″ thin and connects to the bottom of your Apple device with four LED lights to tell you how much power remains. To recharge, just hook it up to a USB connection. It also features “Smart Charging” technology and “Over-Current Protection” that prevents over-charging by shutting down when it senses a full charge.

Sadly, Amazon didn’t just release a new Kindle that does motion video with embedded audio. But Amazon did just update the content for the Kindle app running on Apple devices, which will give a few books some multimedia.

As an example, Rick Steves’ London Kindle Edition with audio/video features walking tours with Rick narrating. Meanwhile recipe books could feature video tips etc. Unfortunately, right now it looks like there are only about a dozen titles classified as “Kindle Edition with Audio/Video”. Amazon seems to be testing the waters here.

After lots of waiting and anticipating Apple finally launched the iPhone 4 last week. The device had a ton of pre-orders and there were huge lines at some stores to get one.

There were estimates early in the launch that numbers could go as high as 1.5 million units sold. Apple has officially confirmed that over the first three days the iPhone 4 was available it sold 1.7 million units.

Some screenshots of the upcoming BlackBerry Shield service have now surfaced. This service will function like Apple’s “Find My iPhone” feature for iPhones with MobileMe. Basically, BlackBerry Shield will allow users to track their lost or stolen phones using Google Maps.

It will also allow users to remotely wipe important information from the device using a web browser. Some other features include custom lost and found messages, remote password settings, and alarms to help you find the device when it’s in your immediate area.

As you have heard by now, iPhone 4 owners are having reception issues when the phone is held in a certain way. Apple released an official statement which basically told users not to hold their iPhone 4 in this way. Then Steve laughed and went back to counting money.

When Rory Sinclair emailed Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs, he was told that he was holding his iPhone 4 wrong. Full exchange below.

Some stores have already sold out of iPhone 4s before the end of the day. Nine of 20 Apple stores had already exhausted their stock in the morning, and all others are expected to clear theirs by the end of the day. Earlier iPhone launches have usually taken a full weekend before significant sellouts, so this is really saying something.

According to one analyst, assuming Apple reserved about half its total launch supply for those who hadn’t pre-ordered, we can expect to see at least one million and as many as 1.5 million iPhones sell this weekend. The low end would match Apple’s previous best sales, with the iPhone 3GS. They may just hit a new record.

If you are waiting for a white iPhone 4, you may have quite a wait. Apple had announced the iPhone 4 in your choice of black or white. Then suddenly there was no availability of the white model. Now, Apple says you have to wait until late July.

So what gives? Apple says: “White models of Apple’s new iPhone 4 have proven more challenging to manufacture than expected, and as a result they will not be available until the second half of July. The availability of the more popular iPhone 4 black models is not affected.”

When you pay Apple prices for the latest shiny gadget, you are going to want some insurance to protect your investment. MobileProtect is the only company to offer insurance for the iPhone 4 right now, when it comes to cases of loss or theft, water or other liquid damage, accidental damage and out-of-warranty failure.

It’s a great idea. Especially in this economy. It will cost you $11.99 a month for the coverage. It’s probably only necessary for the more accident prone among us.

I like running across patent applications from companies like Apple because they give us a glimpse at the kind of tech our gadgets will offer in the future. A new patent app has surfaced that Apple filed last year for haptic feedback called “Multi touch with Multi Haptics.”

The app outlines a way that Apple could provide haptic feedback for touchscreen devices like the iPhone and iPad. The patent has a bunch of haptic actuators around the screen under the surface.

So you don’t have an iPhone 4 yet, unless you were lucky enough to have it delivered, but if you did receive Apple’s latest handset, you probably noticed that it doesn’t come with a tool to edit all the 720p footage you just shot.

That’s where iMovie for iPhone comes in handy. It just went live. So feel free to hit up the App Store and buy it for $4.99.

This is a bit odd, but it’s still great news for all those who pre-ordered their iPhone 4s. According to an email from Apple, delivery “will occur on June 23rd.” That’s a day early. See that. You should have pre-ordered.

It pays to get that pre-order in. The email from Apple to all iPhone 4 pre-order customers is below: