Steve Wozniak — that wonderful bear of a tech evangelist — may love his iPhone, but he’s not banking on iOS to handily win the smartphone wars: instead, the Apple co-founder says that Google’s Android operating system will be the dominating platform.
Traditionally Black Friday takes place on the Friday immediately following Thanksgiving — November 26th this year. It is the official start of the holiday season when retailers generally open up very early and offer deep discounts on items geared towards drawing you into their stores. They hope you’ll buy more through impulse buying.
However, in recent years things are changing so start looking for deals – now. The holiday shopping season seems to start earlier every year, but actually practically after Halloween in the US. Best Buy, Target and Walmart are already offering pre-Black Friday deals on their websites and many other retailers are too.
If you are looking for the best Black Friday deals you’re in luck because you have Apple technology to help you find them. You need to use that technology to your advantage so you don’t miss out on some good deals. I will help you get started with this first post — a technology overview for all you avid shoppers out there.
Later this week and next week I’ll follow-up with more specific information on applying these technologies which I’ll summarize here. I hope all this information will turn you into a savvy Black Friday shopper.
Over in China, Apple hasn’t had much luck in preventing local gadget knockoff artists from aping the iconic appearance of the iPhone in their own handsets. One of Apple’s few victories in this space, in fact, is their recent success in forcing notorious iPhone clone maker Meizu to shutter production.
All’s not cheery for Apple in China, though. Now another Chinese company called Herron Network Information Co. has come along, and they’re suing Apple as well as the Chinese Patent Bureau over Apple’s iPhone patents, which they attempt to characterize as not just overly broad, but “invalid.”
At the top of our favorite iOS apps list this week is Time Flies – a simple but useful application that helps you keep track of how long it’s been since you last completed a chore or task. It’s now even easier to remember when you last called your parents, bought flowers for your wife, or cleaned the house.
Our second must-have app is a quick and powerful to-do app called SpeedTask. It features a simplistic, easy to use user interface, with free ‘cloud’ syncing that allows you to access your tasks from any device, or sync them with iCal on your Mac.
Also featured this week is the redesigned ReBirth, which is now available on the iPad, emulating the classic Roland TB-303 Bass synth and the Roland TR-808 & 909 drum machines. Making music on your iOS device has never been so powerful!
Apple quietly tweaked its iTunes application for the iPad today and introduced support for their music-based social network Ping.
Ping is now available through a tab at the bottom of the application, and it gives users access to their feed, their profile, who they follow, and who follows them. The function also connects to a Twitter account and automatically tweets anything you ‘like’ or post on Ping.
Ping for iPad also features a concerts section that allows users to see concerts coming up in their area, upcoming tours, which concerts they’re attending, and links to purchase tickets through Ticketmaster.
The team behind OpeniBoot, which allows users to run the Android OS on the iPhone 3G, are now hard at work on porting the hack to the iPhone 4 and the iPad.
Jailbreak expert Hexxeh posted a video on his blog yesterday that shows OpeniBoot running on the iPad. There’s not much to see at this point, but the video’s below if you’d like to see it.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIixUYaLufo
This is a great step towards booting Android on Apple’s latest iOS devices, and it shouldn’t be too long before the hack is available for release.
If you have an iPhone 2G, 3G, or first-gen iPod Touch, and you’d like to try booting Android, it’s now even easier through Cydia – check out John’s recent post here.
At the top of our favorite games list this week is the second instalment of Amateur Surgeon – the game that lets you attempt surgery with a pizza cutter. With new patients, new surgeries, and a whole slew of medical ethics violations, this sequel sure packs an entertaining punch.
Gobliiins is another of our must-haves this week. Relive the Gobliiins adventures in this blast from the past that redelivers the original screenplay and soundtrack from the classic puzzler.
Also on our list of must-haves is the fantastic LEGO Creationary and Spider-Man Total Mayhem in HD. Check them out after the break!
No way would I ever plug in my Gibson SG Les Paul Custom into my iPhone 3G. Just no way. Now that I have the iPhone 4 and its increased processor speed, crystal clear pictures, and hardcore stage presence, I’ll reconsider.
Seriously though, playing an instrument through an iDevice is more of just a hobby or gimmick if you’re going to try and use it for modeling amps and effect pedals. What really convinced me to hook up a quarter inch jack to my phone was the Moog Filtatron App. Synthesizers are most certainly perfect for and acceptable to use in your music even if they’re coming from you Macbook or iPad. If they have the Moog name attatched to it then you’re just that much more legit.
If you have a box full of cables tucked away somewhere, you may have all that you need to construct your very own iRig. Even if you purchased all the cables from The Shack, you’ll probably come away with a cheaper version, and you’ll feel like MacGyver.
Here’s how I put together my own audio interface:
You might not remember his name, but when you see his pictures, you’ll probably recognise the work of Eadweard Muybridge.
Boldly joining the digital age, Danish audio systems manufacturer Bang & Olufsen has introduced the BeoSound 8 portable docking station for all iOS devices. With their usual brushed aluminum elegance, this Boombox Extraordinaire docks with iPods, iPhones and iPads, and offers a line-in AUX connector and USB port to accept audio input from your Mac or PC.
If you’ve ever opened your AT&T bill and puzzled for a moment over the “Internet Taxes” heading charge before shrugging and just paying it anyway, good news: you might be eligible to get back a few beans thanks to the palliative magic of class action lawsuits.
Leaving aside why you would want to run Android when you have access to iOS, we were absolutely amazed when hacker David Wong figured out how to install and dual boot Android alongside iOS on the original iPhone earlier this year. Even so, we were reluctant to try the hack ourselves: the process was convoluted, to say the very least.
It’s amazing, though, how far the instructions have come in a little over half a year, though: you can now install Android 2.1 Froyo on your first generation iPhone or iPhone 3G so simply that you don’t even need to have a computer handy to do it.
That’s right: as long as your iPhone or iPhone 3G is already jailbroken and running at least iOS 3.1.2, you can now install Android on your handset entirely through Cydia.
So you’ve got your iPhone 4 and you know it has not one, but two cameras inside it.
“How I wish it could take pictures with both of them at once,” you cry.
Well, your plea is answered in the form of 2Side Cam, a $1 app for iPhone 4. In “2Side” mode, it takes two photos – first one with the outward-facing camera on the back of the phone, then a second later another with the user-facing camera.
Men! Pay attention!
BeardTracker! Yes, BeardTracker! Rrrrrrrrr.
Dead Jeans and designer Paul Kruize want to help you hang on to those precious blue jeans that are so ripped up and nasty looking your mother pops a blood vessel in her head every time you try to wear them outside the house. You know, those jeans that are so soft and comfy and hold so many memories you just can’t bear to toss them in the trash even though the slowly growing up part of you says you know you should.
Now, for € 29,90, or about $42 (including shipping from the Netherlands), you can keep at least a remnant of them forever in an ultra-cool, felt-lined pocket case for your iPhone or iPod touch made from their two back pockets. They are sure to be a one of a kind accessory and even more valuable because they’ll have a little bit of your very own mojo sewn right in.
Does this data released by Pageonce seem nuts to anyone else? It claims that the average iPhone owner’s average monthly credit card expense is a shocking $6,872 a month.
Syncing your iPhone or iPod Touch all too often takes the device entirely out of commission, but it doesn’t have to be that way: Omnio’s WOWKeys transforms your iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch or iPhone 4 into an extension of your keyboard for both the Mac and PC.
Toy manufacturer Hasbro is set to unveil a pair of $30 goggles called ‘My3D’ that will attach to an iPhone or iPod Touch and allow users to enjoy 3D content, according to a report from the Associated Press on Monday.
It promises three-dimensional content that offers a 360-degree experience in gaming, virtual travel experiences and entertainment content. It’s aimed at both children and adults.
The device, which resembles a pair of binoculars with a slot in which users insert their iPod or iPhone, will be priced at $30. It will be available starting next spring at stores where Apple’s iPhones and iPod Touches are available.
Hasbro, which is the nation’s second-largest toy maker, has teamed up with Dreamworks Animations, Discovery, Sony, and IMAX to provide 3D content which will be delivered through specialized apps for the devices. The A.P. report also claims Hasbro worked closely with Apple to develop the My3D device.
I’ve been looking forward to 3D content on iOS for a long while now, and Hasbro’s My3D looks set to be incredibly popular. With a list of reputable companies helping to develop content to accompany the device, it should certainly be top-notch, and that price-tag isn’t too bad either.
[via Associated Press]
How much is a good iPad app worth? According to a new report, quite a bit more than a decent iPhone app… and the margin between the two is growing every day.
Skyfire Web Browser is a full-featured web browser and the first application for iOS that converts Adobe Flash videos in to HTML5, allowing you to play them on your iPhone and iPod Touch. It’s been incredibly popular in its first week and has rocketed to the top of the paid chart in the App Store. It’s also one of our favorite apps for iOS this week.
Also on our list of must-haves is iDJ – an application from Numark that makes it simple to create seamless, synchronized playlists using you iTunes music library on your iPad. iDJ’s patented technology allows you to assemble customized soundtracks to accompany and enhance every occasion.
AppSwitch is another great app that deserves a place in our favorites this week. It has been described as “the missing app that should have been in the box,” and allows you to monitor all apps and processes running on your iOS device so you’ll always know what’s running in the background.
Check out our full list of iOS must-haves after the break!
One of the App Store’s must-have games this week is Floop – a highly entertaining physics-based puzzler in which you shoot acorns in to the mouth of a squirrel. It sounds easy, but you’ll need to practice your skill and accuracy to complete each level.
NBA Elite 11 by EA Sports is also a Cult of Mac favorite this week, and it’s also the only true 5-on-5 NBA game for iOS. Delivering authentic basketball action with graphics made to maximize your device’s Retina display, and EA’s trademark impressive gameplay.
Revolt is a dual-stick 3D shooter that boasts advanced, fast-paced gameplay, sharp 3D graphics, and killer music & sound effects – also on our list and guaranteed to blow the socks off any shoot ’em up fan!
The iPhone is undeniably huge in Japan, where the device accounts for over sixty percent of all smartphones sold. The iPhone 4 alone has been the number one selling handset in Japan for the last 18 weeks.
That’s not to say its dominance is unassailable though. Call it a spin, call it a blip, but this week saw the iPhone fall out of the number one spot in Japan for the first time in over four months, as Samsung’s Android-based Galaxy S smartphone careened into the standings at number one.
Ever played Lazer Tag? If Apple has its druthers, next time you play it, it won’t be with big ray guns and fluorescent sensors, but with your iPhone.
Apple’s gaming plans are described in a newly discovered patent dated April 2009 for “Interactive Gaming with Co-Located, Networked Direction and Location Aware Devices.”
The nitty gritty’s a lot cooler than that dry legalese description, though: what Apple is describing here is away to take advantage of an iPhone’s gyroscope, accelerometer and GPS to turn your handset into an aimable device that can talk to other iPhones that it is pointed at.
This is going to become the Must Have item of the Holiday Shopping Season for Apple iOS device owners.
Trust me.
Designed for the Harley rider with an iFetish, Hell’s Foundry has introduced the Dashlink Docking Console for the iPhone and iPod touch. Integrated atop a replacement gas tank, the Dashlink charges your iDevice while integrating it with your bike’s audio system. A smart charging system detects when a device is present, and built-in drainage channels are designed to route liquid away from the device and dock connector. 1996 and newer FLHT/FLTR & FLHR models are currently supported.
Sweet. Though how you can actually hear anything while riding a Harley remains a mystery…
[via Born Rich]