Tellme is a new free service for directory inquiries for your cell phone. The Beta was launched today at 5 am PST.

Registering for the service allows them to text you with a link to the application download and phone compatibility check. When the Java application is installed on your phone, you’ll be able to find normal 411 business info through a voice activated menu. The relevant info then comes up on the screen with driving directions, maps, addresses and even a link to send it via SMS. Currently supported devices are available here and only available for Cingular (AT & T) and Sprint customers only.

This is a great product, as normal 411 directory calls can cost as much as $1.25 a call. Cell phone service providers offering the 411 services will be hurting. I downloaded to my RAZR this morning and it is working like a dream. You can add me to the growing list of Tellme fans.

Product Site [Tellme] Via [Techcrunch]

For those of you who cannot wait for the imminent appearance of the iPhone in the Apple stores or in some case do not want to pay out the $400 or $500 for the phone. Well there is an alternative. Phone software developers have created a graphic interface, which looks remarkably like the graphic interface of the iPhone.

There are some subtle changes, where a couple of the icons have been changed to serve another program but essentially it looks like the iPhone.

Impress your friends and work colleagues by showing the display, will they be green with envy or be worried for your sanity? Despite its fun factor, the program is being further developed into a serviceable program, which can turn a PDA into an iPhone looking device.

The application should be finished by mid 2007 and the price? Well you will like this one, its completely free!

Product Page [iPhoney v0.2]

Another Apple product that slipped under the media radar is the Apple Airport Extreme Router.

Following the media frenzy of the iPhone and Apple TV, the Airport Extreme is not an average wireless router as it offers up to twice the range and up to five times the speed of the average wireless router because it uses the 802.11 draft-n standard, the next generation in wireless technology.

Forgetting the technical talk, it is the styling of the Airport Extreme that will catch the attention of the consumer. It is crafted in the now familiar minimalistic white finish and measures only six and half inches square and just under one and half inches high.

Not just for Apple fans, though naturally as with all Apple products, there is a ready market out there. Retail price starts at $180 and it would be available in February.

Product Page [Apple Airport Extreme]

Apple knew that it could not use a brand name that is a trademark belonging to another company, but it went ahead anyway and launched the much anticipated iPhone. Why did Apple willing to take such a risk? I think I know why. Apple needs a grand publicity for its latest and expensive toy. And what better alternative for Steve Jobs to generate even more publicity than inciting giant Cisco to start trademark war with Apple?

iPhone had generated a lot of buzz many months prior to its release at the recent CES 2007 in Las Vegas. Apple saw the benefit of the huge attention it was getting even before the iPhone was released. Now that the iPhone is already in the market, Apple needs to maintain the public excitement generated by pre-launch publicity. The lawsuit brought by Cisco against Apple over iPhone trademark is going to deliver just what Apple needs to make sure iPhone news remain at the front pages of all tech news headlines to generate the sales for iPhone.

Simple… and effective. But at what cost? I can’t tell for now but my guess is that Apple will finally settle this with Cisco out of court. By then, millions already ringing in Apple’s cash registers and Steve Jobs would be smiling all the way to his bank.

Read [CanoeMoney]
Read [TechNewsWorld]

Apple TV seemed to have taken a back seat because of all the hype that surrounded the launch of the iPhone so heavily reported by the media.

This product is seen as a conduit between the computer and the TV, which will give the viewer a whole new range of TV viewing entertainment. The box is like an advanced DVD player which will enable the playing of music, movies, pod casts and photos. In fact, everything that you associate with the iPod and now the iPhone can be effortlessly played on your TV via a wireless connection.

With a 40 GB hard drive, the Apple TV unit can store up to 50 hours of video, 25,000 photographs, 9,000 songs or any combination of each. The Apple TV can link up to five computers and has a remote control that is supposed to work from 30 feet away.

The unit requires HD television, will cost around $299 and should be available to purchase in February.

Product Page [Apple TV]