Greenpeace has released their "Guide to Greener Electronics" which scores the 18 top manufacturers of gadgets and devices according to their policies on toxic chemicals and recycling.

Apple, which was under Greenpeace's black books for the iPhone, got a better score this time around. Among the three console manufacturers, Sony scored the best. Microsoft was third to the last and Nintendo was in last place (because both are new entries to the guide).

A lot of talk on the net has focused on the iPhone's lack of support for the Microsoft Exchange Server, Research in Motion's Blackberry servers, and Motorola's Good Technology e-mail servers.

While there still has been no word regarding support for the Blackberry and Good Technology servers, ZDNet was able to get some information from a "reliable source" that the iPhone will be supporting the Microsoft Exchange Server.

Apple's promised big announcement this week is allegedly the confirmation that it has licensed the Exchange ActiveSync licensing protocol. If this holds true, we're going to be able to use Activesync to connect to Exchange Server and use its wireless messaging and synchronization capabilities.

Apple and Microsoft were asked about the said agreement and while the former has yet to respond, the latter gave a very cryptic answer, "we canÂ?t comment on (these) rumors. In general, Microsoft is always in discussions with other companies about licensing its intellectual property."

This shouldn't surprise a lot of people considering that a number of mobile phone developers such as Nokia, Palm, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson have already licensed the technology. Microsoft analyst Matt Rosoff spoke about this deal and downplayed it a bit, though he did hint that it is a step forward in the adaptation of Microsoft IPs.

Apple and Microsoft would sign a deal to incorporate ActiveSync into the iPhone, just as Nokia, Motorola, and PalmOne are doing.

So this wouldnÂ?t be anything new from MicrosoftÂ?s perspective, just a deal with a new telephone handset makerÂ?Apple. ItÂ?s in MicrosoftÂ?s interest for Exchange to be supported as widely as possible, even on what will probably be a consumer-oriented product.

If the incorporation of Activesync support on the iPhone is true, it should make the transition for those already using Activesync for their mobile phones easier. Could this be another selling point for the phone? We'll have to wait and see how the market reacts before we can really give anything definitive. We'll be keeping an eye out for more updates on this as it develops.

No doubt Apple took over the portable music player (PMP) industry by storm; but can it do the same and take on the mobile phone industry kings such as Nokia and Motorola with iPhone's release? Chicago Tribune says that Nokia and Motorola will have no problems with market shares... for now. These companies' Research and Development teams should be ready though for a lot of headaches to come.

Nokia, one of the dominant mobile phone manufacturers owns about 36 % market share, with Motorola trailing behind with its 17 % share. Indeed, with the iPhone expecting to grab only 1 % of the cell phone market shares by the end of 2008, they don't have to worry about Apple removing them from the top spots.

Roger Entner, senior vice president of IAG Research's communications sector agrees.

It will not be a financial disrupter, but it will be a psychological disrupter, a research and development disrupter. Mobile phone industry competitors will find themselves getting nagged by people to imitate the iPhone.

The iPhone's audience may be limited in its initial launch. Most of the general market may consider the first generation iPhone as too pricey - the exclusive contract with AT&T may mean shelling out around an extra US$ 150 to pay off contract termination fees for Sprint and Verizon customers - which may deter them from getting one. But consumers will eventually be drawn to the iPhone's concept of simplified design and user interface, in effect asking for the same value and features from other phone manufacturers.

Apple may become a considerable threat to mobile phone manufacturers if the company decides to roll out cheaper versions of the iPhone, like what it did with the iPod. Doing so will mean that Apple will eat up most of the mobile phone market shares, and more people besides Apple supporters, tech enthusiasts, and the rich will find themselves running their thumbs across the iPhone's glass screen.

Motorola isn't batting an eyelash for now, though. "Really, the iPhone benefits the entire industry," said Brian Stech, Motorola phone division's global marketing director. He further explains that the iPhone will direct more consumer interest towards multimedia phones, which Motorola is also specializing on.

This may be Apple's first foray into the mobile phone business, but analysts are already convinced that the iPhone will most certainly change the cellphone industry landscape.

The buzz over Apple's new product - the iPhone - and the recent pullback in the equity markets make investors feel encouraged about buying Apple stocks. But analysts warn: buying the stock now solely on the faith of this new product could come back to haunt investors' portfolio later in the year.

Apple plans to sell as much as 10 million units by the year 2008, a goal considered conservative. Analysts insist, however, that a closer look at the handset market may prove that such a goal may be too lofty even for a consumer electronics powerhouse like Apple.

The iPhone is considered a smart phone due to its high price and multifunction capabilities. Although smart phone sales increased by 42 percent since 2004, smart phone sales represent only 10 percent of the total number of handsets sold last year.

The way that the iPhone is only available through AT&T's Cingular Wireless service is also limiting for iPhone sales. Other factors that may not make the iPhone sell as well as planned are its high price, and the credibility of the competing smart phone makers such as Nokia, Palm and Motorola.

Analysts advice to avoid AppleÂ?s stock until it is certain that the iPhone will sustain a high level of growth.

Just when we thought we've gotten the first confirmation that "iPhone" is in the works, here comes news that would put the phone back in the "mystery files" folder.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (a.k.a Foxconn International) has won a contract that will have the company manufacture Macbooks and, to quote Forbes.com, "12 million mobile handsets that also function as music players".

We did warn about a possible mistranslation from the original source, and that the mobile handsets could probably be just MP3 players. We didn't put much thought about it until Hon Hai declined to comment on the announcement, saying that it doesn't respond to "market rumors". So, there goes our supposed confirmation.

And to keep the iPod phone shrouded in mystery,a Foxconn spokesman said that the company provides mobile phone manufacturing services to Motorola and Nokia Ojy. He added that Apple is not one of Foxconn's existing customers (in the mobile phone business, that is).

Now, we're back to where we started from. The best thing to do? What we usually do. Wait.

The two pop icons of Celebrities With A Cause, Oprah Winfrey and U2's Bono, teamed up with Apple to raise money to combat AIDS in Africa. Dubbed as the "Magnificent Mile", the event takes place in malls and takes the form of a shopping spree.

"Some people won't put on marching boots, so we've got to get to people where they are at, and they're in the shopping malls," said Bono. "Now you're buying jeans and T-shirts, and you're paying for 10 women in Africa to get medication for their children with HIV."

Apple pledged to contribute US$ 10 from the sale of of its new red-colored iPod nano, which retails for US$ 199. The projected sales of the iPod alone is estimated to reach millions of dollars for The Global Fund. Apple also plans to donate proceeds from iTunes Red gift card to the organization. Also on the shopping list are special "red items" from Gap Armani and Motorola stores.

Who knew Mall Rats would someday help change the world?

And the Apple phone rumors just keep on coming. After posting the speculated design of the Macphone, here is yet another update about this much-awaited product.

According to sources of ThinkSecret, it is in their belief that Apple will not be able to release a phone this year due to some "significant technological hurdles" in its attempts to reinvent the cellphone with an innovative ground-up design. Instead, it is expected to be announced at the upcoming Macworld Expo in January 2007. Another big expectation coming from Apple is that it will enjoy the same US market reception that LG's Chocolate and Motorola's RAZR did.

It is also rumored that Apple will integrate several high-end features into its phone, such as a  3-megapixel camera, a 2.2-inch display, and complete iTunes/iPod features and integration. As for the number of music and photos that can be packed into the phone, it will be dependent on the phone's storage capacity, although there is still no confirmation as to that particular piece of information.

Well, if that is to be believed, then we just might be finally hearing some real facts about the so-called MacPhone in a few months' time. For now, let's all just be patient and be smart enough to suspend both judgment and disbelief on rumors regarding this hyped product.

Last week, we were all speculating about what kind of rabbit Steve Jobs would pull out of his hat during the recent Showtime conference. We thought it would be iPhone, half smartphone, half media player. But no. As it turned out, they gave us a sneak peek of their iTV.

But then, with the rolling out of the new iTunes 7, the folks over at MacShrine were looking over some of its resource files. And upon connecting their "iPhone" (Apple & Motorola's joint phone: ROKR, RAZR, and SLVR) an error message would pop-up:

"Some of the games in your iTunes library were not copied to the mobile phone [name] because you are not authorized to play them on this computer" and "iTunes cannot sync photos to the mobile phone [name] because your iPhoto Library needs updating. Open iPhoto to update your iPhoto Library."

Currently, the ROKR, RAZR, and SLVR are the closest stuff that Apple has to an "iPhone". But then, why would iTunes report such an error? It's as if the iTunes is looking for something (a feature maybe?) that the Motorola doesn't have. Maybe this hints at what they will come out with in the future? And what other thing that would be, except a possible iPhone?

Apple, Acer, Motorola, and Lenovo are among the worst polluters, according to Greenpeace, while Nokia and Dell just barely passed. Greenpeace ranked major electronics companies according to what they were doing to remove the harmful chemicals in their gadgets, phones, and computers. Also, Greenpeace ranked the companies according to their policies about taking responsibility for their products when these are thrown away by their customers (for example, companies should recycle old components as much as possible and they should process and dispose of the chemical waste properly). Like all other piles of garbage, the amount of toxic waste caused by electronics ("e-waste") is growing, and it often gets dumped in poor developing countries.

Greenpeace's rankings (points are out of 10; 10 is the highest possible score):

7: Nokia - Needs to improve recycling program.
7: Dell - Some models still have the worst chemicals, but has a good program of taking back their toxic trash.
5.7: Hewlett Packard
5.3: Sony Ericsson
5: Samsung
4.7: Sony
4.3: LGE
3.3: Panasonic
3: Toshiba
3: Fujitsu-Siemens
2.7: Apple
2.3: Acer
1.7: Motorola
1.3: Lenovo

Greenpeace will update the rankings four times a year. And as for Apple scoring so low, the Greenpeace article had this to say: "It is disappointing to see Apple ranking so low in the overall guide. They are meant to be world leaders in design and marketing, they should also be world leaders in environmental innovation."

The much talked-about rumor of Apple giving birth to iPhone, quite honestly, is getting old. For two years already, we have been speculating on Apple's attempt in delving into the mobile industry with the help of Motorola. This spread like wildfire over the internet as it is being fueled by press releases and promotional videos. But most (if not all) apparently, however, are fake.

What resurrects once more this fabled rumor? Well, a domain: iPhone.org. On the surface, this looks owned by Apple alright. And a little trip to InterNIC kinds of solidify our speculations, as it says the above mentioned domain is in fact owned by the fruit company from Cupertino, California.

So, what does this mean? Few more speculations are in order. Some argue that iPhone.org is owned by a different entity looking for a big cash settlement should an Apple mobile phone really surface. Or maybe Apple, in fact, bought a domain for its very own future use.

Or probably, just probably, we are soon in for a really big treat from Apple.