Do you find yourself envying the songs found in your friend's iPod? Well, you might want to try out the latest platform launched by doubleTwist. It allows users to free their media and share it with other peoples' favorite devices. Find out more in the full article.

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).

Accessories maker Tekkeon Inc. just announced a new portable USB power adopter known as myCharger to be used with many mainstream mobile phones and gadgets, as well as Apple products iPod and iPhone. The wide range of compatibility is attributed to the power charger's retractable prongs and several adapter tips.

Tekkeon Inc. Jerry Yang had this to say, "Rather than carry a power adapter for each device, myCharger lets users carry a single power adapter with a few tips. And myCharger is produced with high quality components to regulate the output voltage and current to ensure optimum charging conditions for the device battery".

The device myCharger is said to work with the following: iPhone and iPod (uses iPhone/iPod USB cable), Blackberry, and mobile phones from LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson. Using the said adapter tips will make myCharger also compatible with other 5V devices like Bluetooth headsets, digital cameras, MP3 players, and PDAs.

The Read link below will take you to Tekkeon's official site where you can purchase the product online. myCharger is priced for US$ 24.95 and its package include:

• myCharger USB power adapter
• Retractable USB cable
• Mini USB adapter tip
• LG adapter tip
• Nokia adapter tips (2)
• Samsung adapter tip
• Sony-Ericsson adapter tip

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.

Sony was the darling of the music world when it came out with the Walkman during the '80s and the 90's, until the iPod came along and Apple dethroned the Japanese multinational corporation. Now, Sony declares that it's learned its lesson and vows not to have the Sony Ericsson lose to the iPhone.

Sony's CEO Sir Howard Stringer admitted in a rare candid interview that he feels rueful about Sony's loss to the iPod. When he took helm in 2005, the company already had a stubborn design philosophy. All divisions were in their "own little worlds", sheltered from one another and interested only in how one of its products trumped another.

Stringer admitted that Sony's been working with IBM on electronic music distribution as early as 1997, and could have came out with a digital music player five years earlier than the iPod. But the music giant couldn't get its people to understand software. As a result, Apple took hold of the industry with its digital media player, the iPod.

However, Sony's CEO believes that the Sony Ericsson versus iPhone battle would be different. The Japanese-Swedish partnership has warmed up to newer ideas, including the concept of music on phones. But they'll never bet against Steve Jobs. In this new phone battle, thinking that your enemy is weak is a weakness itself.

Organizer giant Palm has felt the pressure of Apple's impending release of its new iPhone and hired the maestro of interface design Paul Mercer to spearhead its counter-thrust.

Industry insiders believe that the battle in the cellphone business has shifted from hardware to software, and Palm believes that hiring Mercer will breathe new life on its upcoming products to replace its aging palm OS used in most of its products.

The move was determined when Apple decided to come up with its own organizer/ cellphone hybrid called iPhone, which clearly poses a danger to Palm's own line of hybrids. The cause for concern may have been Apple's reputation for creating innovative products.

And though the iPhone is still months away from shipping, Palm has wasted no time in acquiring the services of the 39-year old Mercer who is an industry veteran and has worked with Apple, along with other independent firms that he himself founded. Paul Saffo, a Silicon Valley forecaster said, "heÂ?s the best of the best in this space."

Palm has been the pioneer in the handheld industry, but has been on its toes in recent years as challenges came left and right in the form of industry hard-hitters Sony Ericsson, Nokia and Microsoft.

Nothing's perfect at launch - not even Apple. Sure, the iPhone's great and all, but are there some things they might have overlooked that could potentially trip this baby up? Hey, didn't we do this piece already? Yeah, well, it's Ars Technica's turn, and their regular Infinite Loop feature touches on a few potential iPhone misses we've already touched on, and quite a few that we didn't.

So, for the dog that barked: no 3G, costs as much as a PS3, tied to Cingular, and limited memory. Add it all up and it's a potential turnoff for all but the hardest of the Apple die-hards. At least that's the implication: this won't be the "killer app" (as opposed to) the iPod turned out to be.

And the dog that didn't bark. "No over-the-air downloads from iTunes." That would have been a killer feature to include... well, maybe. It's a consequence of lack of 3G support, whose bandwidth would have been necessary for the high-rate transfers that downloading from iTunes will require. Or maybe Apple was looking at prior experiences with phones working with iTunes and decided that it's not worth it. "No Wi-Fi sync with iTunes." Although the Infinite Loop columnist - and we - cover that if the software can support it, why not? Hey, it's probably just a firmware away - and it's a good use for the Internet-browsing Wi-Fi capabilities of the phone.

"No MS Exchange or Office support." For Infinite Loop, "this is a potential biggie to business users." Which is true - if the iPhone was meant to be a PDA to begin with. Here the QJ jury is out. At its price, it might as well have PDA features to attract a bigger customer base, but that will mean that Apple will have to face not only Nokia and Sony Ericsson on the one hand, but also Blackberry and all the other PDA manufacturers on the other. We've never seen Apple have to fight a two-front war on the underdog side before.

"Not extensible by third parties." Infinite Loop says that if Apple locks down the iPhone away from third-party developers, this will hurt the product in the long run. If Apple opens up now, and begins working with developers to at least set a standard for iPhone-compatible software, this will measure up favorably for the iPhone's chances in the market. It could even resolve the "No MS Exchange" issue by offering an alternative.

Finally, "No removable memory." Especially for a product that is essentially a kick-a** iPod, having an 8GB limit is very, very, very, very painful. Then again, what iPod had removable memory, either (of course, they didn't need to have one for the most part, but you get the point, right? 8GB)? We said it before, and we'll say it again: if the PSP can potentially get 32GB of memory all by swapping in a stick, why can't the iPhone have one built-in in the near future? Beefing up the memory is a good justification for pushing the launch date of the phone back - it will be more than worth it in the long run.