A case that converts the iPod touch into an iPhone (kinda) is coming to the U.S.
GoSolarUsa Inc. says it is bringing the Apple Peel 520 to the United States.
Developed by Chinese company Yosin, the Apple Peel 520 clamps to the back of the iPod touch and contains a battery, dock connector and SIM card slot. With it, the iPod touch can make phone calls and texts. Early reviews are mixed: it works but is buggy.
It is expected to go on sale for about $60. GoSolarUsa hasn’t given a launch date.
Go get it! Available through iTunes.
The update for iPhone and iPod touch includes lots of bug fixes, as well as new features like HDR photos, HD video upload, TV show rentals and Game Center.
The update is compatible with iPhone 4; iPhone 3G and GS; and iPod touch 2G. Not all features work on all devices however.
In November, Apple will release iOS 4.2, which will include iPad support.
Here are three of the best alternative iTunes 10 icons so far, and instructions how to install them:
Wow — that was quite a show from Steve Jobs. A brand new line up of iPods (except the Classic); a hot new AppleTV that costs just $99; and a potential Myspace killer in Ping, iTune’s social network for music.
But which announcement was the big one long term?
Will a FaceTime-enabled iPod allow Apple to route around AT&T and other wireless carriers? Or will the new, inexpensive AppleTV be the product that finally takes settop boxes mainstream, and Apple’s next big hit? Or is the new multitouch nano a glimpse at the future of multitouch personal electronics (think nifty iWatches)?
[polldaddy poll=3704292]
Apple is live streaming Wednesday’s iPod event as a test of its massive new data center, we’ve been informed by a source.
Apple’s first live video broadcast in years is a test of the server farm’s ability to stream a future version of iTunes for iOS devices, our tipster says.
“The goal is to monitor traffic load and quality,” says our tipster, who asked to remain anonymous to preserve their connections at Apple.
Forget battery packs or antenna boosters. In my book, this built-in bottle opener is a truly useful addition to an iPhone case.
The iBottleoppener is a $19.99 case for the iPhone 3G or 3GS with a bottle opener on the back. It’s available for pre-order, but avoid the promo video, which is bad infomercial cheesy.
Danish illustrator Mads Peitersen has been painting a series or really imaginative pictures showing the anatomy of technology. His guts of an iPhone pic is particularly cool.
“Smartphones today are soo advanced and good they almost behave alive. And becomes an extension of your body,” he writes.
There’ll be a new $99 AppleTV tomorrow with Netflix movie streaming, Bloomberg reports.
Apple Inc., preparing to announce a new set-top box that delivers TV to consumers, will include movies from Netflix Inc., according to three people with knowledge of the plans.
The streaming service would be available on the revamped version of Apple TV, due to be introduced tomorrow in San Francisco, said two of the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans haven’t been made public. Users would pay a subscription fee to Netflix for the service, the people said.
The new AppleTV will cost $99 — $130 less than the current model, Bloomberg says. Apple will also update iTunes and offer a new iPod touch with a higher-resolution screen (likely a Retina display to match the iPhone 4’s).
The new Apple TV is rumored to be renamed iTV and run a version of iOS, possibly making is capable of running apps and games from the App Store. There’s no word on whether Netflix’s service will be an app or integrated into the device, as it is with some DVD players.
Netflix already offers a subscription movie streaming service through a wide variety of devices, from Blu-Ray players to TiVo and game consoles. There are also Netflix apps for the iPhone and iPad that stream movies and TV shows to subscribers.
This parody of Apple’s saccharine new FaceTime ads is pretty funny.
The Oxford English Dictionary will not be printed again thanks in part to the iPad, Alastair Jamieson reports for The Telegraph:
Simon Winchester, author of ‘The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary’, said the switch towards online formats was “prescient”. He said: “Until six months ago I was clinging to the idea that printed books would likely last for ever. Since the arrival of the iPad I am now wholly convinced otherwise.”
Wow.
Take this with a pinch of salt, but we’ve been tipped that Apple’s rumored $1 TV subscription service, due to be unveiled next week, is technically correct but missing an important detail.
The iPhone Dev-Team will not release a jailbreak for iOS 4.0.2/3.2.2.
“With FW 4.1 still in its beta stages, it makes no sense to escalate the ‘cat & mouse’ with Apple for FW updates that only fix the jailbreak holes,” the Dev Team says on its blog. “To quote WOPR, ‘the only winning move is not to play.'”
Here’s the Dev Team’s full statement:
Apple is today sending out invitations to a special event to be held on Wednesday, September 1st in San Francisco. The event starts at 10:00 AM PST.
Unless Apple is getting into the guitar business, the image on the invite suggests a music focus. The September event is traditionally when Apple rolls out new iPods for the holiday buying season. This year, Apple is expected to update the iPod touch with a Retina Display and FaceTime. An update to the Apple TV is also rumored, as well as $0.99 TV show rentals.
Apple’s recent deal with Liquidmetal Technologies will give it access to the most advanced manufacturing machinery on the planet, one insider says.
Apple will soon start experimenting with a new prototype injection molding machine, says Drew Merkel, who is perhaps the most knowledgeable third-party expert on Liquidmetal Technologies. It may allow Apple to make advanced iPhone antennas and seamless gadget cases with holographic logos cast right into the metal.
“This is the most advanced injection-molding machine ever made,” Merkel says. “It is state-of-the-art.”
Apple recently licensed Liquidmetal Technology’s IP for use in consumer electronics. Liquidmetal Technologies is one of the leading companies trying to commercialize space-age metal alloys that are extremely hard and lightweight but can be processed as easily as plastics. NASA has said Liquidmetal is “poised to redefine materials science as we know it in the 21st century.”
Blogger Brian Sweet of Gumball Tech claims to have beaten the world text-messaging record using the onscreen keyboard of his iPhone 4.
The record was recently set by a U.K. woman using a Samsung Galaxy S running the SWYPE keyboard. Melissa Thompson, 27, managed to swipe out the phrase: “the razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human,” in just under 26 seconds. (Her feat is still being verified by Guinness).
Sweet claims to have thumbed out the same phrase in less than 22 seconds, besting the record by 4 seconds. “It’s not official,” says Sweet, “but it’s definitely better than what that woman recently achieved.”
If genuine, Sweet’s feat disproves the notion that the iPhone’s onscreen keyboard is slow. Typing on the iPhone has typically been characterized as slow compared to a physical keyboards, such as those on Blackberry devices.
See for yourself. Here’s a YouTube video of Sweet typing out the phrase. Watch those thumbs fly!
As temperatures soar to new records here in San Francisco, quench your thirst at tonight’s Ubergizmo’s Digital Summer party, a festival of fashion, photography, tech and fun.
At 8PM, San Francisco’s glamorous people will gather for Digital Summer, an annual fashion show/tech-showcase that attracts throngs of the city’s brightest young things. Last year, there was a line around the block. (Check out the glamorpuss pictures below).
Full disclosure: We’re a media partner.
This year’s event promises a live runway fashion show, studio photo shoots, a future of fashion display from Intel and hands-on demos of Motorola’s Droid X and Verizon’s Wireless MiFi Mobile Hotspot. Verizon is also recycling old cell phones, so bring them along.
Digital Summer is at the Temple nightclub on Howard Street. It’s $5 with a RSVP (get one here), or $10 on the door. Here’s the Facebook event page, and the full itinerary after the pictures:
Sonos’ awesome-looking iPad app has been delayed until the end of September, the company just said in a statement:
“Delivering the highest quality products that exceed our customers’ expectations has always been our mission at Sonos. Nothing less will do. Which is why we are postponing the shipment of our new Sonos Controller for iPad app until the end of September. We’re disappointed, but know that the result will be worth the wait. In the meantime, customers can continue to use the Sonos Controller for iPhone app on their iPad.”
We got a sneak peek of the app earlier in the summer and were very impressed. Sonos sells wireless music players that make it easy to get multi-room audio around your house. The iPad app that makes digital music very easy — especially listening to online music services.
Cloud Engines is taking pre-orders for a Wireless Extender that adds Wi-Fi connectivity to the Pogoplug. The wireless adapter costs $29 but current Pogoplug users can get it for free.
The Pogoplug is a net-connected device that allows users to roll their own cloud services, like adding terabytes of storage to an iPad.
The Pogoplug Wireless Extender is compatible with all versions of the Pogoplug, including the recently announced Pogoplug Biz. (Pogoplug is also dropping the price of the current Pogoplug from $129 to $99).
Current owners can get a promo code for a free Wireless Adapter by visiting Pogoplug’s Facebook page or its website support page.
Apple will build future iPhone and other gadgets from Liquidmetal, says a former top researcher at Liquidmetal Technologies, whose technology Apple is licensing.
“I think they’re going to make the iPhone out of it,” said Dr. Jan Schroers, the former director of research at Liquidmetal Technologies, the first company to commercially develop the space-age technology. “It’s quite obvious from what Liquidmetal has done in the past and what the technology is capable of.”
Apple has signed an exclusive agreement to use the Liquidmetal Technologies’ IP in consumer electronic products. Liquidmetal is a high-strength metal that can be processed like plastic. NASA has says it is “poised to redefine materials science as we know it in the 21st century.”
Dr. Schroers is the second high-level executive from Liquidmetal to say Apple has ambitious plans for the revolutionary material. Last week, the alloy’s co-inventor, Atakan Peker, predicted that Apple may use Liquidmetal for a new antenna to replace the problematic part in the iPhone 4.
Speaking exclusively to CultofMac.com, Schroers said Apple could create very intricate and beautiful gadget cases by blow-molding melted alloy like glass. Schroers has created one-piece perfume jars from Liquidmetal using a blow mold (see the picture below).
The technology could also create permanent holographic logos that are etched right into the metal, or elaborate patterns that generate color effects.
“You can really do some novel things with metal that previously were impossible,” he said. “In two years, you could see something the world has never seen in metal.”
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And how’s this for on-the-go awesomeness — you can even connect from the car! Just don’t surf and drive! Streaming Pandora(R) music or live sports radio, though, now that’s totally acceptable. Other cool uses include streaming unlimited video and staying connected with work and social media contacts.
The iSpot is available nationwide from https://www.clear.com, and available in CLEAR(R) retail stores and authorized dealers.
There’s been a lot of speculation that Apple will use space-age Liquidmetal alloys to make morphing iPhones or other sci-fi technology, but the company has already used the exotic alloy — and in the most unlikely place.
The first video sex chat service to use FaceTime on the iPhone 4 has just launched.
The service — iP4play.com — claims to offer “the hottest Video Chat models from the sexy girl next door to Penthouse’s finest.”
Interactive video sex chat is nothing new, but FaceTime offers portability and convenience. Who knows when the need for sex chat will strike? It’s also somewhat more discreet that a 27-inch iMac screen.
FaceTime is an iPhone 4-only videonferencing service that works over Wi-Fi. Both parties must have an iPhone 4 for it work. FaceTime calls are free, and it’s unclear how iP4play.com will charge for calls. It looks as though the company will charge the user’s credit card for a pre-set time with the performer, who will hang up when the time runs out.
UPDATE: iP4play.com says calls will start at $4.00/minute. 5-7 models will be online simultaneously to start.
As soon as Apple launched FaceTime, the porn industry recognized its potential for interactive sex services, which can command premium payments from clients. The industry started advertising for performers on Craigslist last month.
According to iP4play.com, here’s how it works:
Geoff Teehan of Teehan+Lax writes to say that his company has just released a Photoshop file with all the iPhone GUI elements at Retina Display resolution. It allows designers to create App designs in Photoshop rather than the Xcode programming tool.
Thought I’d reach out and let you know that we just released a fully rebuilt version of the iPhone GUI PSD at Retina display resolution. I think many designers and devs will find it useful.
The giant 62.7MB file, which measures 4074×2986, can be found here.
Teehan+Lax made the file for themselves and are sharing to help others. If you find it useful, please pay whatcha’ like.
Apple may be planning to use Liquidmetal for a new iPhone antenna, says the co-inventor of the sci-fi metal alloy.
Interviewed exclusively by CultofMac.com, Dr. Atakan Peker says Liquidmetal might be a good material for building a next-generation antenna to replace the problematic part in the iPhone 4.
“Let me state that this is very exciting for me,” he said. “I made the first and original alloy formulations… I am a big Mac fan and greatly admire Apple as a company. I have been using Mac exclusively my whole life, both at work and home. It is a pleasant surprise for me to see both get together.” As Apple explores innovative materials, it could also be working towards an apple folding phone with a cutting-edge Liquidmetal hinge. Learn more about it here.
As Apple explores innovative materials, it could also be working towards an apple folding phone with a cutting-edge Liquidmetal hinge. Learn more about it here.
Liquidmetal is already used to build the antenna for the Verizon USB727 wireless modem, which got great reviews for its reception.
Forget liquid metal T-1000 Terminators and morphing iPhones, Apple already uses Liquidmetal in one of its products, and you’ll never guess what it is…
I learned the answer by talking to Liquidmetal’s co-inventor, Dr. Atakan Peker, who granted CultofMac.com an exclusive interview. It’s not confirmed by Apple. Peker bought the product and immediately recognized his alloy: “That’s my metal,” he said. It’s not used in European versions of the product — only U.S. and maybe Asia.
Leave your best guess in the comments. The winner gets a brand new Magic Trackpad. The answer will be revealed on Monday. You have to name the specific component. Saying “iPhone” or “Mac” won’t cut it.
Apple has just signed an agreement with Liquidmetal Technologies for the exclusive use of the space-age material in consumer electronic products. Peker, who used to be VP of Technology at the company, thinks Apple will make extensive use of Liquidmetal alloys, which are super hard but extremely light and flexible. They will likely be used to make seamless, scratch-proof cases, possibly in freaky shapes. First order of business is likely a new antenna for the iPhone, Peker predicts. More here: Liquidmetal May Be Used For New iPhone Antenna Says Inventor [Exclusive]
