Many updates and posts to come, but a HAPPY NEW YEAR to all readers before it gets too late to say that… to ring in the New Year, Apple can celebrate by enjoying the iPhone’s new landmark: 500 MILLION downloads from the App Store!

Read more @ ARStechnica: http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2009/01/16/iphone-app-store-half-a-billion-served

The iPhone is truly revolutionizing the industry of independent software development, allowing some to quit their “day jobs” : http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2009/01/16/profits-from-ishoot-iphone-game-cause-developer-to-quit-job

Well, my install troubles appear to have been rectified.  Now if I can just get those hours back…

Luckily, I regularly sync my contacts with my Gmail account and I also save the iPhone backup files (which in WINDOWS XP are Located in <DRIVE>/Documents and Settings/<YOURNAME>/Application Data/Apple Computer/MobileSync/Backup

When everything is nice and clean on my iPhone I like to copy this file and store it away somewhere (it’s around 150-200MB).  I rectified the ‘SIM CARD’ message by doing the forced restore and restoring to a previous backup.  I looks like I lost some customization but little else.  I now have to reorganize my home screen(s).  FYI if you restore you will lose any new notes or photos taken since the restore, but luckily that didn’t affect me this time.  I made sure to do a backup right before the upgrade to 2.2

I made the mistake of leaving my iPhone unattended while updating tonight and when I returned sometime later, I found myself in a position a lot of people have found themselves in:

Updating to 2.2 brought me this

After all the reasonable tricks your pet monkey would try (restarting iTunes, etc) I called AT&T to discover that after 8pm CST if you’re having trouble with the iPhone of this magnitude, you’re alone in the woods.  Scouring the internet has brought evidence of all kinds of user problems with installing v2.2 firmware, but right now I’m concerned with my problem…

Right now, I’m trying to do a “FORCED RESTORE” described by Apple here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1808 which is what you do when you can’t do the normal easy version of a restore (described here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1414) but if this doesn’t work, I may be opening up the SIM card slot, which makes me think of the ‘Parker Lewis Can’t Lose’ episode that spoofed HAL of 2001…

If things do go as far as removing the SIM card, I’ll be going by this guide, which sounds hopeful (as I am a Windows XP user who syncs and activated my iPhone from a hp PC laptop…) http://blogs.fayobserver.com/techsassy/2008/11/24/iphone-22-problem-fix-step-by-step/

T O   B E   C O N T I N U E D . . .

Two days into WordPress and here we are, so far… In response to constant chats with Nadir the PhD, George @ 2B (just got his iPhone), L-Train, and others, this is I GOTTA iPHONE !  Ultimately, this will be a premier destination for all things iPhone. 

Look forward to reviews and testimonials on

• The best free iPhone Apps
• Apps worth spending money on at the app store
• iPhone gear (cases, cables, and more)
• iPhone games

As well as news and insight into:

• iPhone software and iTunes updates
• compatibility issues with new firmware
• rumors about new products and apps for the iPhone
• new ways to streamline your life and work with the iPhone
• Apple and other product developments and rumors relevant to the iPhone
• News about AT&T relevant to the iPhone

As well as reccomendations on great videos, websites, and things to check out with the one and only iPhone.