Random Accesses

Some developers are leveraging undocumented APIs in iPhone OS 3.0 to create "augemented reality" apps for the iPhone. However, Apple has told at least one developer to wait until the 3.1 update, already in beta, before submitting such apps for App Store approval.

The idea behind augmented reality is that a live video view—in this case, taken from the iPhone's camera—can be overlaid with useful additional information. Sometimes these types of augmented reality apps use direction and GPS coordinates, or they might recognize 2D barcodes within view of the camera. One concept demonstrated below uses facial recognition to display links to someone's social networking profiles.
Augmented ID demonstration video

Another such augmented reality app is Nearest Subway from developer Acrossair. Using the iPhone 3GS's GPS and compass hardware, the app can overly information about nearby subway stops. Merely by pointing an iPhone in the intended direction, Nearest Subway overlays small signs indicating the next subway stop in that direction, and what lines pass through.

Source: http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2009/07/augmented-reality-coming-to-iphone-with-iphone-os-31.ars

Mobile equipment maker Ericsson was able to reach real-world speeds of 100 Mbps in the latest tests of its Long Term Evolution (LTE) cellular data gear, engineers write in the company's house journal, Ericsson Review. On the street using 2.6 GHz base stations and commercial antennas, engineers pulled in 170 Mbps in raw throughput with the optimum antenna and channel configuration, and they also tested a method that delivered 130 Mbps but could use double the bandwidth with no alterations for 260 Mbps. Actual net throughput was far less, but still 20 to 100 times current typical 3G network rates.

LTE is the next generation of cellular data networking for GSM networks. In the U.S., AT&T has already committed to it, while Verizon Wireless will switch from its traditional use of Qualcomm's CDMA standard to deploy LTE as it develops more advanced networks. LTE is part of a set of loosely defined fourth-generation (4G) standards that will carriers hope will leapfrog today's 3G networks, and offer real competition to wired services, including today's fiber-to-the-home and fiber-to-the-node deployments. Sprint opted for WiMax, which currently delivers far lower speeds than are projected for LTE, but it works today and has a roadmap for improvements.

Source: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081024-latest-cell-data-standard-tops-100-mbps-in-ericsson-test.html