Last year, Apple (AAPL) upended the smart phone industry with the release of the iPhone. This year, some analysts wonder if the upcoming release of the Google (GOOG) Android operating system could shake up the industry as well.

According to Wired's Gadget Lab, the problems with the iPhone's 3G performance is all about the network. This is based on a (decidedly) unscientific study of 4,200 iPhone 3G users around the world, which they published on Monday. Besides the fact that this spreads the sample in any particular area pretty thin, worldwide as the survey was, there's one thing I would love to see that wasn't done with this survey. More on that later.

Let's be honest: even if you use a PC you have to admit the Apple "Get a Mac" ads are hip, funny, and interesting. Despite my PVR I will stop a commercial skip and watch a new "Get a Mac" ad.

There's something definitely wrong with the iPhone's 3G reception. The evidence is undeniable, and as it's scattered across the globe, it sure can't be completely blamed on AT&T, much as we might want to.

I have a question: why are all these researchers and carriers who believe they have pinpointed the iPhone's 3G reception problem in Europe (forcing me to use translation software, too)?

While there's no answer to that question, a Swedish scientist seems to think he has the answer to poor 3G performance on the iPhone 3G: poor signal sensitivity.

I'm sure you know about the issues with some NVIDIA mobile GPUs, as earlier in July NVIDIA admitted it was taking a $150 - $200 million charge to cover (emphasis mine):

... anticipated customer warranty, repair, return, replacement and other consequential costs and expenses arising from a weak die/packaging material set in certain versions of our previous generation MCP and GPU products used in notebook systems. All newly manufactured products and all products currently shipping in volume have a different and more robust material set.

It's baaaaack! NetShare, Nullriver's iPhone tethering application which allows users to turn their iPhone into a modem to use with their PC or laptop, after appearing and disappearing, is back in the App Store (click above to enlarge).

Since last Tuesday, I've sat on the sidelines as others have questioned Apple's openness about Steve Jobs and discussed the terse answer Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO gave to Ben Reitzes (Lehman Brothers) when asked about Steve Jobs' health.

Apple announced record fiscal year Q3 results, and then watched its stock plummet 10% in after hours trading. Why? An outlook below what Wall Street had been expecting.

Free access at AT&T hotspots for iPhone users was first announced at the beginning of May, but it was then disabled, possibly because of the hack mentioned above which let non-iPhone ... and even PC users ... gain access. But apparently it's back again. The assumption is they somehow really fixed it (or broke it, depending on your point of view) this time.