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Top 5 Useful and Free iPhone Apps

Quang Ly — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 21:57:37 +0000

Top 5 Useful and Free iPhone Apps

There are thousands of apps available to use on your iPhone, iPod and now your iPad as well and, surprisingly, many of the best are free to download.

The following list shows 5 of the very best free apps that also happen to be extremely useful as well. There are loads of apps out there that can help make your life that bit easier so it’s well worth going through them to find the ones that will apply to you and your life.

Here are a few of the best useful apps out there that are well-worth a look.

Thetrainline – For those of you who commute to work by train, Thetrainline is a free transport app that outshines all of the others – and it’s free. The app can help you to plan your journey, obtain offline results and timetables and also has a location-aware ‘next train home’ option. All of these features are available on Thetrianline’s clear and streamlined interface. There are of course other train apps available but many will cost you upwards of £5 and when you can get this one for free and it does the job – why look elsewhere?

Skype – This is a great money-saving app and allows you and your friends to chat to each other for free via your Skype app. The interface is simple and usable, enabling anyone with a Skype account to make free calls to other Skype users and also offers you the ability to make cheap calls to anywhere in the world. Pay as you Go users will find this app particularly useful but so will iPod touch owners as this app also allows them to make calls to other Skype users.

Dropbox – There are many apps out there that transfer content between your computer and your device but this one is free and actually a lot easier to use than many of the paid ones out there. Any files you want to sync up – just drop them in to a folder on your computer and Dropbox will enable you to access them.

Around Me – Around Me is a great app for when you’re out and about. It works out where you are and then shows you all the local banks, bars, petrol stations and restaurants etc that are in your vicinity. The app is really useful when you happen to be in unfamiliar surroundings and the ‘augmented reality’ landscape mode is great for getting to know the area, just be aware that this new technology isn’t completely there yet so expect that you may come across a few little errors.

Moneysupermarket.com Voucher App – No matter what you’re looking for, moneysupermarket.com will no doubt have a voucher for it that will help make savings on your purchases. There are thousands of free discount codes and vouchers on this iPhone app that can help all UK shoppers save money on whatever they want to buy.

Philadelphia Apple Store Grand Opening on Walnut Street Friday, July 30

Quang Ly — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:05:48 +0000

After years of rumors, Apple will finally open an Apple Store in Philadelphia on Walnut Street! I walk by here almost every day. It’s amazing how Apple can keep its store openings and product releases so secret.

Apple will hold the grand opening celebration for Apple Store Walnut Street in Philadelphia on Friday, July 30, 2010 at 5pm ED

Address: Apple Store Walnut Street
1607 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103

The Apple Store Walnut Street is the best place to learn about all the latest products from Apple, including the new iPhone 4 featuring FaceTime, which makes the dream of video calling a reality, and Apple’s stunning new Retina display, the highest resolution display ever built into a phone. Customers can experience Apple’s entire product line hands-on including the magical new iPad that lets users browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more. Visitors to the store can also try the updated MacBook and MacBook Pro with the NVIDIA processor for up to 80 percent faster graphics, and the incredibly popular iPod touch with access to more than 225,000 apps offered on the revolutionary App Store.

Every Apple Retail Store offers a range of free services designed to help customers get the most out of their Apple products, including face-to-face support and advice at the Genius Bar, hands-on workshops and special programs for kids. Customers who buy a Mac®at the Apple Retail Store or Apple’s Online Store can also join the popular One to One program. For just $99, owners of a new Mac get Personal Setup to customize their computer and transfer files from their old Mac or PC, plus a year of Personal Training sessions and Personal Project support on a wide range of topics, from getting started on a Mac to advancing their digital photography or moviemaking skills.

UPDATE BY JAY: Here are some more pictures I took when the family and I stopped by after dinner on Friday night. As you can see, quite the mad press!

And the requisite panoramic view!

DIY Touch screen gloves

Sarah — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:13:30 +0000

With everything being about touch screens lately it only makes sense that eventually the problem of using gloves would come up. It’s cold outside, you’re wearing gloves, your iPhone rings, and you have to take the gloves off to answer it because otherwise the screen won’t register the change in capacitance between the screen and your finger in order to execute the command you are trying to give it.
See, that’s how touch screens work. The human body is a conductor of electric current, and when you touch the screen of a capacitive touch screen device it detects the distortion of the electrostatic field (apologies to those of you who know this already, but I’ve found myself explaining it to several of my friends recently who have iPhones but know nothing about how they work).
I’ve heard there are special gloves on the market that you can use to solve this problem. But why purchase a whole new set of gloves (expensive ones probably) when yours are just dandy?
There is a solution. A really really CHEAP solution, that takes just the tiniest bit of DIY spirit.
There is a whole how-to article on Instructables.com, so I won’t go through the steps here. But the gist of it is that you sew a little conductive thread (yes, there is such a thing) into the tips of the fingers of your gloves. It completes a circuit with your flesh and blood finger, and viola! You can now use your touch screens without taking off your gloves.

Now go and check out all the other fun stuff you can do with conductive threads, you crafty DIY nerds you!

Also, if you don’t want to order a whole spool of thread, you can order just a few feet of it from here

Via Coolest Gadgets

Dots Gloves – A Review

Jay — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 20:00:24 +0000

In case folks around here hadn’t noticed, it’s gotten rather cold of late. And one of the difficult things about being cold is that using electronics in the cold is just a rotten experience. In tech’s never ending quest for miniaturization, designers seem to forget that there may be impediments between your tech and your hands that prevent proper usage. I speak, of course, of the glove, bane of gadgetlovers everywhere there is snow and ice and freezing rain. This problem is a lot worse with devices that use capacitative screens, such as the iPhone/iTouch. Those devices rely on the electrical resistance provided by skin to do their thing. In the case of the iPhone, you can’t even make an emergency call without touching the screen. DOTS gloves were designed to address this issue.

The company itself is a couple years old. I remember reading about them last year but by the time I’d gotten around to ordering them, they were out of stock. They also only had one model last year if I remember correctly; this year they have three. And this year, I went and ordered my pair early before winter really started so that I could be assured of having a set.

The DOTS gloves work by providing a small patch of thermally conductive fabric on two fingers plus the thumb portions of the gloves.

(Please excuse the crud on the gloves – the large animal in the background enjoys gloves for breakfast and dinner, and it’s a constant battle to ensure the gloves survive their daily use.) If you look closely, you can see the two dots on the tips of the first and second fingers of the glove. A similar dot adorns the thumb.

The conductive patch allows the gloves to pass electrical resistance from your skin to your device while keeping your hands warm and comfortable. They come in three sizes – small, medium, and large. My advice is to err on the smaller side.

I purchased the D200 model, which is their warmest one. I originally ordered the medium and then ended up switching them for the small. It’s critical to have a tight fit with these gloves, and the medium made me feel like my hands were swimming inside fabric. Even with the smalls, my hands still have plenty of room, and therein lies the problem.

The gloves themselves do OK at keeping your hands warm. They aren’t going to be a lot of use in really intense cold but then again, few mass market gloves will, so that’s not a big problem. I’d rate them at about the same level as a good pair of Isotoners. But in terms of letting you use your iPhone while gloved, I’d have to rate them as only so-so. I don’t know if other reviewers had really big hands or if there’s a smaller size I could have gotten that would have fit better but I just couldn’t get the gloves to be tight enough against my skin that the dots would consistently make contact. And without that contact, it’s like wiping a microfiber cloth against your screen – nothing happens.

I freely admit that I have delicate hands – my piano teacher called them bird hands they were so thin. But in a way, I represent a subsegment of the potential user base that DOTS is eventually going to have to figure out how to handle, namely women. I can’t imagine that women would find the size small versions to be a good fit. I know girls who have hands even smaller than mine, and there’s no way they would be able to use these gloves in the way they were intended. Even women with big hands could be challenged because in general, women tend to have thinner fingers than men. Maybe the other DOTS models provide better fit and contact, but in my daily use, I ended more often than not taking the gloves off, working my iPhone, then putting the gloves back on. I think if they could incorporate some Lycra into the gloves so that the fit were tighter and if they made the dots bigger so that they contacted more skin surface, the gloves would work better across a wider range of people.

I like the concept of these gloves, but now that conductive thread has come out, I’m tempted to get a really close fitting pair of regular gloves and sew a couple of big fat patches onto the fingertips. Better fit and bigger usable surface.

12 Things X-mas list, part deux

Sarah — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:00:08 +0000

Part 2 of my “12 Things That Would Be Really Cool To Have For Christmas” list relates to items found on the Inhabitat Green Gift Buyers guide.

First, the Macally ECOFAN Bamboo Laptop Stand with Fan from Amazon.com ($36.69).

I’m on my laptop a good portion of every day and yes, it does get hot, even with the Lap Desk I currently use. Not only is the bamboo laptop stand stylish, but it has a built in fan to keep my laptop cool.
Strangely the Pro version, which features three height adjustable levels, is actually cheaper. But I still haven’t found one I can comfortably put on my lap (my preferred modus operandi).

Keeping in the sustainable and stylish spirit of bamboo, next is the VerseAudio iPhone Bamboo Hard Case.

$39.99 from Vers Audio. It’s beautiful, practical, sustainable, and not too expensive. Except that I’d also have to get an iPhone for x-mas (hint hint). Excellent dual gift, imo.

Finally, if I do get said iPhone for x-mas, well then it would only make sense to get the first Apple-licensed iPhone solar charger to go along with it.

The Surge for iPhone, $70 from SolarArcadia. Two hours of direct solar exposure provides 30 minutes of talk time on a 3G network, or 60 minutes of talk time on a 2G network.
It also includes a USB port so you can charge or sync with your computer without taking it out of the case.
My preferred color is green, btw.

Video – SixthSense Technology Is The Real iPhone Killer

Quang Ly — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:58:47 +0000

Sithsense Paper Laptop

I have been following Pranav Mistry’s SixthSense technology since his debut at TED conference in which he had a standing ovation. SixthSense allows for an ultra portable and interactive augmented reality based on genstures. It enables interactions between the real world and digital information.

His latest invention which he displayed at TED will kill any iTablet rumor from Apple or likes. Better yet, it is the introduction of the paper “laptop”. It works by attaching a microphone on the paper to sense the touch. Check out the whole video.

Via Engadget

Please Android – give me hope

Jay — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:59:30 +0000

I don’t want to get my hopes up. I was so disappointed by the Palm Pre and I was not terribly impressed with iPhone 3.0 But I watched the promo vid for Google’s Android 2.0…

And I gotta say that I’m liking what I’m seeing. Oh please dear lord don’t let me be disappointed yet again. I gotta renew my two year ball-and-chain with the iPhone in July 2010, and it’s probably going to come down to a choice between iPhone 4G running OS4.x and an Android phone running ~~Cupcake~~ Eclaire 2.x. And I really really really wanna choose the Android OS because I’m getting pretty sick of the Apple monolith.

I think I’ve downloaded roughly 200 apps since I’ve owned the iPhone. I’ve paid for probably 40%-50% of those, maybe more, I’m not sure cause the App Store makes it so easy to buy junk you don’t need. Of those apps, I use maybe 10 on a regular basis. Maybe. Might be as few as 5, depending on how you define regular use. So it makes absolutely no difference to me that Apple has 100K apps in the store. I’m never going to know about 99% of those apps, and of the ones I do know about, I’ll want to try maybe 5% of them. And here’s where the sheer inertia of Apple’s store comes into play. Too many choices that people will never ever find out about. It’s like going to the local convenience store and standing in front of the drinks fridges. You have 50 kinds of ice tea, 90 kinds of soda, 30 different bottled waters – how many of those choices do you actually consider or even know about?

Google Wave Already Works With iPhone

Quang Ly — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:36:49 +0000

Google Wave iPhone App

Google Wave has been making headlines in the tech world. Not many people know this since not everyone received the official invite yet but it already works in the iPhone. It looks quite fantastic. You can simply go to wave.google.com in mobile Safari on your iPhone and wil be prompted that you are using a browser not supported during the preview, however, once you click through, it actually works well.

You can save a bookmark on your Home screen and it creates a little icon like other Web pages on the iPhone. However, Google Wave is a bit different. Once you launch it it removes the Safari wrapper which allows you to nagivate to another page or search the Web. It actually looks like a regular native iPhone app.

The screen shot on the right is what Google Wave looks like on the iPhone launched from the Home screen bookmark. The screen shot at the bottom is what it looks like from within Safari.

Via TechCrunch

How To Fix AT&T iPhone Visual Voicemail Notification Alerts

Quang Ly — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:39:38 +0000

iPhone Visual Voicemail Notification Fix

One of the most frustrating and surprisingly under reported issues is with AT&T and iPhone Visual Voicemail notifications. When you receive a voicemail on your iPhone, an alert appears and you can play your voicemail as if its a song. There is now a solution!

Since the iPhone 3GS was released, some customers experienced lack of alerts for voicemail (me being one of them). I recently found a fix for it while I was researching tethering for 3GS. Apparently, tethering your iPhone may cause this issue.

So here’s the fix. Navigate to Settings → General → Network → Cellular Data Network and within the Visual Voicemail section add “acds.voicemail” into the APN field. Your visual voicemail will now work once again.

CAUTION: This fix does break the tethering. You can’t have voicemail notifications and Internet tethering work at the same time.

Via Apple Blog

Steve Ballmer grabs Apple iPhone from Microsoft employee and ‘stomps’ it into ground

Quang Ly — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:24:33 +0000

Steve Ballmer grabs Apple iPhone from Microsoft employee and ‘stomps’ it into ground

Microsoft is having a tough time these days with its image. Google forced Microsoft to to launch the free vaporware Office Online to compete with Google Docs. The Zune player which was meant to compete with the iPod is a dud. The Zune’s slogan “Welcome to the Social” has got to be one of the worst in history. You kind of need a crowd to market with that slogan first don’t you think? Let’s not even talk about the horrible name of Zune itself.

Now it looks like Microsoft has another publicity stunt they have to dampen. Microsoft Steve Ballmer, at a conference to showcase Bing 2.0 and a new Windows 7 commercial, saw an employee take pictures with his iPhone. He then grabbed the iPhone, threw it to the ground, and pretend to stomp on it after much booing from the audience.

The good news is that no one threw eggs at Ballmer this time. If Ballmer spent the same energy trashing the iPhone, Microsoft might have some relevancy left in the mobile market. Otherwise, Ballmer should just c:\>format himself

Via TechFlash

Just borked my iPhone

Jay — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:10:29 +0000

Because I’m sometimes a total idiot, I decided to upgrade my jailbroken iPhone 3G to OS 3.1 last night, despite all warnings from the Dev Team to NOT do this until they’d had a chance to check out the 3.1 firmware. Because I have an almost child-like faith in the ability of the interwebs to find a workaround to jailbreak the iPhone, I figured I’d be out of sorts for no longer than a month or two before I got back to my jailbroken goodness. And who knows, I may still be saved from my own stupidity. However as of this point, my iPhone is officially borked.

So here’s the background. Following the lead of our fearless leader Quang, I jailbroke my phone using the easy-as-cake redsn0w tool about two months ago. And life was good, though not super-wonderful. The main point of my jailbreak was to get access to deep customization and themes, plus a couple of apps that Apple refused to allow in the Apps Store (GVMobile and the uTorrent monitoring app). I really didn’t need background apps or tethering, so a lot of the real benefit of jailbreaking was lost on me. Still, I’d grown pretty accustomed to being able to change the look and feel of my device on a whim. And I got kind of obsessive about monitoring the free memory of my iPhone.

When OS3.1 came out, a lot of the features it contained (Genius mixes and apps organization specifically) were things I wanted to play with so I figured I’d upgrade, try it out, and return to jailbroken freedom in due time. Well the upgrade went fine (btw, jailbroken iPhones will sync just fine with iTunes 9), but now my iPhone does not display all the apps I’ve installed on it. I believe that this is due to my use of a jailbroken app called Categories, which allows you to create folders into which to place your apps. I think that the linkage between Springboard and Categories (which hides the app once it’s been placed in a folder) still exists and that the iPhone thinks the apps are installed but that Springboard has them set to hide because that’s what Categories told it to do. I only noticed this issue this morning so I’ve tried a hard reboot to see if that would fix the problem. No dice. I’ll have to wait until I get home to do a full restore, and then if that doesn’t work I’m going to try to remove all my apps and re-add them to the iPhone and see if that does the trick. If not, then I’m well and truly hosed and I might have to return to factory defaults as a last resort.

So word of advice – don’t upgrade your jailbroken iPhone until the Dev Team gives the all clear!

iPhone App: Twitscoop Real Time Twitter Trends

Quang Ly — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:54:33 +0000

Twitscoop iPhone App

Have you ever wondered what people are talking about in the cyberspace cloud in real time? Well, now you can with the iPhone App Twitscoop.

Twitscoop allows visualization of real time trends and discussions on Twitter straight from your iPhone. The tag cloud grows and shrinks in real-time depending on the popularity of the topic. The app has a trend algorithm that pulls buzz words, breaking news, and content such as pictures, links, and videos.

Strangely, the key feature lacking in Twitscoop is the lack of ability to tweet from within the app. It is such an obvious feature that they should include it in future updates.

Twitscoop is available for $0.99 on the iTunes App Store.

GPush Notifications for Gmail on iPhone

Quang Ly — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:54:52 +0000

GPush Gmail Push Notifications

There is finally a simple iPhone app to allow Gmail push notifications. Can’t wait every 15 minutes for your iPhone to automatically check your email? This app is for you and the reviews have been pretty good. Push notifications allow you to receive a new email rather than having your mail application check (or pull) for new email. Simply turn on the app, enter your Gmail username and password (running over encrypted SSL) and you can get push notifications with From and Subject fields. It supports a variety of alerts such as sounds, badge, or vibrate.

A neat trick is to setup Google Calender notifications to push to a different email that you setup on GPush. You will still get alerts but they won’t come into your main inbox. This reduces SMS alerts which costs you less money as well. Every now and then you will just have to push your email for “junk” or notifications.

It only costs $1 at the App Store and may go up to $2 eventually.

Screenshot: Facebook 3.0 iPhone App

Quang Ly — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:53:54 +0000

Facebook 3.0 iPhone App

Facebook App v 3.0 is in the approval process for the App Store. Already Joe Hewitt (app developer) is working on v 3.1. Here is the a screen shot of the new version the Facebook app.

It looks like the this version comes with much needed improvements most notably video uploads with the iPhone 3GS. It will also come with a better News feed much like the Facebook site with the ability to “like” items.

Apple shouldn’t have a problem approving this app since there isn’t really much that AT&T would object to that would compete with their business. Version 3.1 is expected to support push notifications as a lot of users are hoping Facebook will become the unified communication platform.

New iTunes 9 App Management Concept

Quang Ly — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 12:16:14 +0000

Do you treat the iTunes App Store like it’s a buffet and just grab everything? Now your iPhone/iPod Touch has so many screens that its hard to manage, organize, and sort your apps. There is another Apple rumor floating around stating that iTunes 9 will make app management much easier by allowing you to select and move more than one app around at the same time.

The YouTube video below is a concept on how it would work.

Furthermore, iTunes 9 is rumored to feature Blu-ray support and more integration with Twiter, Facebook, and possibly Last.fm. The integration can involve status updates to the respective social networks on what songs you are playing on your iPhone/iPod Touch. Facebook has worked with Apple before on integrating the iPhone camera to upload to Facebook so this collaboration rumor is not so far fetch.

Apple To Stream First Live Concert on iPhone Tonight

Quang Ly — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 20:38:58 +0000

Apple will mark its place on the online world and devices with the first ever live concert streamed to the iPhone by the electronica band Underworld. You can watch the live iPhone streaming at iphone.akamai.com or underworldlive.com. You can catch the live streaming and free show at 9pm PT.

Apple To Stream First Live Concert on iPhone Tonight with Underworld

This break through event coincides with Apple’s release of its own HTTP streaming protocol that uses adaptive bitrates to deliver continuous and smooth stream in various network congestion. Tonight’s concert will test.

Underworld - Born Slippy

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlLWFa1b1Bc

Underworld’s bandmembers Karl Hyde and Rick Smith are huge Apple fans and recently released their entire catalog on iTunes. Apple is using partners at Inlet Technologies and Akamai to power tonight’s show.

Apple Store Unveils “Flying Apps”

Quang Ly — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:34:08 +0000

The Apple Store in Palo Alto unveils new Flying Apps screen that is quite eye catchy. It is amazing to watch and mesmerizes you for a bit. The video show cases apps flying pass a giant iPhone.

iPhone Update 3.0.1 Does Not Disable Tether Hack

Quang Ly — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 13:45:34 +0000

iPhone Tethering

In the past week, a malicious SMS virus had the potential to take over the iPhone via a text message. Apple responded by releasing the iPhone Update 3.0.1.

We tested this update and it does not disable Internet Tethering. So go ahead, download, and install the 3.0.1 Update to protect your iPhone.

The First iPhone Virus?

Quang Ly — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:00:58 +0000

Looks like it was only a matter of time until some dirtbag had to write an iPhone virus and ruin it for people. There is currently an iPhone vulnerability that lets a virus go through via an SMS message. Apple has yet to release a patch.

The virus will appear as an SMS message with a single square. The exploit reportedly makes your phone to be inoperable and also be remotely controlled.

Via Mashable

AT&T Killed Visual Voicemail and That’s NOT the Worst Part!

Quang Ly — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:36:23 +0000

I was recently aware of this problem when I noticed I wasn’t getting visual voicemail for the past several weeks. I dialed and held the #1 on my keypad to see if I missed any voicemail. Turns out I had over 20 business and personal messages. So I Googled only to find out this problem has been going on for weeks and has appeared on both CNET and TechCrunch.

AT&T Reveals Its New Service the Death Star

This leads to my rant on why the Visual Voicemail issue isn’t even the worst part. What really bothered me was AT&T’s lack of responsibility to notifying and informing their customers of this issue so people could manually check their voicemail until this issue has been resolved. AT&T is aware of this problem and has been supposedly working on a fix for several weeks now. Therefore, it is absolutely inexcusable for AT&T not to publicize this failure. Voicemail is an integral to our lives as email.

I contacted AT&T Tech Support twice and both customer service representatives were not aware of this problem. How can a system wide issue not be communicated to even their own support staff?

My real estate agent was also missing my voicemail until I told her about this issue. She’s had several dozen messages that were missed. Another friend of mine missed over 40 messages. How much loss in business do you think could have been prevented if AT&T advised their customers to check their voicemail manually? What has changed? There were not any new features in Visual Voicemail that could have broken it!

Our GadgetMETER writer, Jay Chang, made a wonderful suggestion: switch to Google Voice. Which is exactly what HE did.

Here is our laundry list of complaints with the Death Star known as AT&T….and yes, I cannot wait for the Class Action Lawsuit. Maybe George Lucas will make another Star Wars Trilogy.

AT&T did not notify customers about a known issue with visual voicemail causing loss of business and life disruptions.
Poor 3G service in New York City and San Fransisco. Would you bother upgrading to 3GS knowing you would get shady service in these cities?
Long term contracts. I get it. The contracts help subsidize the iPhone purchase. However, AT&T has taken advantage of this by overcharging because Verizon is not in the iPhone game. Once Verizon is, I’m giving AT&T a two fingered salute goodbye!
Still no official 3G tethering. I’ve heard they are planning to charge more. Why does AT&T plan to rape their customers? We already paid for the data plan, it shouldn’t matter what devices use it. Comcast Internet doesn’t charge me extra for additional devices I use on my Wi-Fi connection at home. If you want to do a simple hack to tether the iPhone 3.0, check out our post here.
Telecom companies have never been known to innovate and move technology forward. It’s always been Silicon Valley. Once we move to Wi-Max and Google offers its own low cost or free universal Internet Access, I would excpect to see low cost data and voice plans.

If you are having iPhone visual voicemail problems, try these steps from CNET. It didn’t work for me but apparently it worked for others.

I cannot imagine all the problems in people’s lives this has caused. Share your stories with us.

Great vid on teh suck that is AT&T

Jay — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 02:30:30 +0000

TechCrunch points us to this wonderful YouTube vid on teh suck that is AT&T. Given that GadgetMETER’s head honcho is now experiencing the Visual Voicemail hell, it seemed appropos to post this.

From high to low. Details on AT&T’s new 3GS Upgrade Policy

Jay — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:14:15 +0000

I’m back to teh suck. I spent about 15 minutes on the phone this morning with a very nice AT&T rep (yes there actually are some) to try and figure out why I wasn’t upgrade eligible for a 3GS. Basically, it seems that if you were a new-to-AT&T-customer who purchased an iPhone 3G with contract on the first day it was available (July 11th, 2008), then you are NOT eligible for the upgrade pricing. This is based on my personal experience and your mileage may vary but the rep seemed to think that this should apply to anyone who was a new 2-year customer buying the 3G. AT&T’s new policy seems to be targeted at original iPhone customers who upgraded to the 3G. As far as the rep and I could figure, those are the only people who would have upgrade eligibility dates that were not in December or beyond.

So close. And yet so far. Damn you Death Star!

OS 3.0 is out – why are you still reading this?

Jay — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:48:42 +0000

The latest incarnation of the JesusPhone’s inner workings has been released to the Intertubes. Go forth and download and experience the awesome gooness that is the iPhone OS 3.0 update. Of course, Apple’s servers are probably being hammered right now, but you can always hope you luck out. After all, they’ve got a great track record of being able to scale (anyone remember the MobileMe launch or the iPhone 3G registration process?).

Well? Why are you still here?!?!

Lonely Planet iPhone guides

Sarah — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 08:30:14 +0000

Anyone that has done even a little overseas traveling knows that the Lonely Planet guides are considered the best. Easy to use, nice design, full of great advice and excellent recommendations. The one drawback is they can get pretty heavy, especially if you are carrying everything on your back. But apparently Lonely Planet has figured out a way to keep all their great features and get rid of their one bad one. Lonely Planet for your iPhone!

In addition to it’s already excellent content, the iPhone (also iTouch) version includes interactive, personalised and fully searchable mobile access. You can mark your favorite locations for easy access or locate them by keywords (no address search function as of yet though). It also includes GPS so you can see your current location and any interesting spots near you. And it is completely stand alone so you don’t need a signal in order for the guide to work. Also (and this may be the best part), you don’t have to look like a tourist scouring your Lonely Planet book while on the street corner or in a coffee shop. For all anybody knows you are just checking your email.
There are a few limitations with the current version though. For instance you can’t access the restaurant and bar listings through the actual sections of the book. You have to use the map. Though hopefully that will change in the near future.
Also, you can’t leave your iPhone guide behind when you leave the country for someone else to use. But for all the paper and transportation energy that is not being wasted I think I can overlook this one.

The iPhone guide is $15.99 on the iTunes app store. There are currently 20 titles with more on the way, and the San Fransisco guide is free during the WWDC! That was nice of them:-)

via Wired Gadgetlab
See the Lonely Planet Product Page
or purchase on the iTunes app store

SurveillanceShaker iPhone App

Sarah — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 08:30:52 +0000

Those of us in the States that are fans of Torchwood, or have seen the excellent BBC mini series The Last Enemy (staring the amazing Robert Carlyle), are very familiar with the CCTV (closed circuit television) phenomenon in the UK. I don’t want to get into the Orwellian implications of this Big Brother surveillance network. This isn’t a civil rights blog after all, and I’m not British. However, a company, presumably out of Germany, has developed an iPhone application that allows the everyday iPhone user to tap into 1000 CCTV feeds directly from, well, wherever the hell you happen to be.

It’s called SurveillanceShaker.
And this is the best part. Just shake (or double tap) your iPhone and it will switch to the next camera. According to the meager product page it will become “an addictive live soap opera when watching places around the earth in real time”.
I’m not much into soap operas, but it does seem at least intriguing to be able to see what Big Brother is also seeing.
Just search SurveillanceShaker in the iPhone app store in iTunes. It’s $0.99.

Klingon Language iPhone app

Sarah — Mon, 18 May 2009 22:21:06 +0000

Part two of my Star Trek inspired gadgets: The Klingon Language iPhone app.
Yeah, seriously!

I have not personally gone so far in my Star Trek geekiness as too try to learn the Klingon language. But I know a few people that have (they’re not fluent but they have a few key phrases memorized, which makes them hard-core Trekkers in my book).

This is the iPhone version of the Simon and Schuster paperback of the same name.
The app contains all the functionality of Ultralingua dictionaries in addition to the vocabulary and grammar developed by Marc Okrand, the linguist responsible for creating the Klingon language for Star Trek. It also has a suitably “Star Trekkie” GUI. So combine that with the fact that the iPhone already looks like a state of the art Tri-corder, you should feel like you really are a student at Star Fleet Academy (even if you are just sitting in your cubical at work on your break time).

And don’t worry about the pronunciation. It includes a listen-and-repeat function so you don’t cause a difficult situation when you accidentally say “Your mother has a smooth forehead” when you meant to say “Today is a good day to die!”.

FEATURES:
-Interactive, two-way bi-lingual text from English to Klingon and back
-History of searched dictionary terms
-Verb conjugation
-Number translation (critical for targeting)
-Listen-and-repeat audio format by author Marc Okrand teaches you basic grammar and pronunciation
-Text timed with the Conversational Kiingon audio for an added learning aid
-Searchable audio – find the exact portion of the lesson you want via standard playback tools, a handy scrollbar or complete text search
-Audio phrase pronunciation with volume control

In case you are worried about the dictionary’s credibility, rest assured it has been tested and approved by the Klingon Language Institute
For a sample check their site for some commonly used phrases and pronunciation guide!

You can get the app on the iTunes app store for only $11.99.

via iPhone Application List

New Apple iPhone 4G with OLED

Quang Ly — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:33:14 +0000

The new iPhone 3.0 update will finally solve some of the common feature requests that are standard with any smart phone such as ability to send MMS and copy and paste functions.

New Apple iPhone 4G with OLED

Furthermore, it looks like the next generation if the iPhone 4G is rumoured to have something else skin deep. It will supposedly have an OLED screen by Korean electronics manufacturer LG. The advantage of OLED is that it does not require a backlight for displaing images or video on the screen thus vastly improving battery life. It should also be thinner and have better picture quality.

So what do you think? Think this is going to happen? Comment below.

Optical Zoom Lens for iPhone

Quang Ly — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:29:48 +0000

Optical Zoom Telescope iPhone 3G

If you cannot wait for the next iPhone coming Summer 2009 with the 3MP Optical Zoom Lens, you might want to pick up this Telescop for iPhone 3G instead.

It features 6x Optical Zoom lens attached to your iPhone and also supports wide angle for a cinematic look. It is also overall brighter and has better color than the default iPhone lens.

The price isn’t too bad either. Currently it is $25 at Hand Held Items.

Product Features:

Zoom in and out with 6x optical lens
Special made case to fit the telescope
Wide angle, larger luminous flux, good color reduction
Better quality of picture
Includes iPhone telescope case, lanyard and the telescope

Via Gadget Grid

New iPhone hotness coming in June

Jay — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:56:11 +0000

What, like you were surprised by this? Boy Genius Report got their hands on some hot news concerning the next generation of iPhone goodness. Supposedly being announced in mid-June, the new iPhone is supposed to be faster, with intimations of higher Internet speed (HSDPA, anyone?), plus possible keyboard, video camera, autofocus, etc etc. Apparently included will be the telepathic user interface as well as the ability to unfold from postage stamp size to 8.5×11 size as needed (kidding, kidding!). Dammit, now my iPhone 3G is looking like the old busted.

Read the full details here.

iPhone Skateboard

Quang Ly — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:59:37 +0000

iPhone Skateboard

Skateboards haven’t really advanced much over the years. Remember the Back To the Future Hoverboard we were expecting? Well, the next best thing in skateboard design my just follow Apple’s iPhone. Check out this artwork. Too bad it doesn’t actually make calls, check email, surf the internet, and play cool games. But you will get the extra “cool and wow” factor in addition to your mad skateboarding skillz.

The design is printed on both sides with the iPhone’s home screen. You can purchase the iPhone skateboard design for $59.99 from Zazzle.

iPhone Amplifier by SoundClip

Quang Ly — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 13:55:11 +0000

SoundClip iPhone Amplifier

The first generation iPhone was great but it had a few short comings. One being that the built in speaker was rather quiet. Ten One Design has a passive iPhone amplifier that works quite well for a great price. It works by directing sound such as music, games, or conversations towards you for clarity and volume. SoundClip amplifies iPhone audio volume by 10dB between 6kH and 20kHz. The SoundClip has a cord-gripping feature that you can attach to your charge cable during syncing and charging. What’s also great is the low price that’s less than $5.

Ten One Design T1SC50100 Soundclip for 3G iPhone

Via Techmanic

Flip Speaker Dock for iPod And iPhone

Quang Ly — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 11:24:55 +0000

Flip iPod Speaker Dock

There are tons of iPod docks out there. What’s important are the options and value. Meet the Flip Speaker Dock, however, has an advantage. This iPod/iPhone dock gives you the to dock your super cool music and media converged device vertically or horizontally with stereosound. It is nice to be able to watch the video in widescreen mode or use coverflow. Furthermore, it’s a compact enough to lug around because of the lightweight.

Flip iPod/iPhone Speaker Dock On Desk

Now, the sound will not compete with a Bose or Denon iPod dock but, it costs a much less and being portable! It can also run on 4 AAA batteries so it is perfect for camping, hanging out at the pool or beach. There can be too many choices when shopping for an iPod dock however, if you are looking to watch video without having to turn your head then the iDesign Flip Speaker Dock is perfect for you..Especially in this economy.

iPod Compatability:

iPod touch
iPod classic (80g only)
iPod nano 2g
iPod nano 3g
iPhone (Audio only)

iDesign Flip Speaker Dock for iPod

Via – GadgetGrid

Google Sync Synchronizes Calendars and Contacts on Your Mobile Phone

Quang Ly — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 18:42:24 +0000

Google Sync

Google Sync is a cloud service that keeps your Google Contacts and Calendar in sync wirelessly on your iPhone, BlackBerry, Symbian, or Windows Mobile phone. This is a much needed service since there are not many solutions for syncing to the cloud besides NuevaSync

Microsoft Exchange server is required for Google Sync to store all of your contact and calendar data over the air in another example of their “cloud computing”. When adding a new appointment on your desktop, Google Sync will push the update to your phone. Alternatively, when you make a change to your phone contacts or calender, it is automatically synced to your Google account in the cloud.

Right now Google’s sync is compatible with the iPhone (or iPod touch, incidentally), BlackBerry, Nokia S60, Nokia standard, Sony Ericsson, or Windows Mobile phone. Check out their site for instructions. Google Sync Beta for your mobile phone

Features

Synchronize your contacts. Get your Google contacts quickly and easily to your phone. With Sync, you can have access to your address book at anytime and place that you need it.
Get calendar alerts. Using your phone’s native calendar, you can now access your Google calendar, and be alerted for upcoming appointments with sound or vibration.
Always in sync. Your contacts stay synchronized whether you access them from your phone or from your computer. Add or edit contact information right on your device or on your Google account on the web.

We’d love to hear your comments and see how it works for you and your phone.

Powermat Wireless Power Charging

halo — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 15:51:57 +0000

Powermat Wireless Power Charger

Aah yes, finally charge without wires! The Powermat brings that dream come true. It’s a small mat that you plug into the wall or pc, lay your electronic devices on and it immediately starts charging. So how does it work? Using magnetic induction, Powermat pairs a thin mat with a receiver that connects to your device. Each Powermat can wirelessly charge 3-6 devices simultaneously and the company claims the same power charge rate as if you used the old school wire method (how lame). Five different models coming in second half of 2009.