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The folks at ioSafe could adopt another oft-quoted tagline when talking about their new Solo SSD external hard drive: ‘When your data absolutely, positively has to still be there.’ The new storage device is said to withstand forces likely better than many humans could.

If the original Solo’s ability to endure a half hour of 1,550-degree fire and a month in 30-feet of fresh or salt water wasn’t enough, the Auburn, Calif. company has upped their game, introducing crush-proof (2.5 tons), fall-proof (20 feet onto a pile of rubble) and shock-proof (1000g) protection for your important data.

A potential deal to bring the iPhone to Verizon’s CDMA network later this year may have hit a snag over pricing, one analyst said Tuesday. An iPhone that works on CDMA networks could appear by the middle of 2010, according to UBS.

“We believe a CDMA iPhone is also in the works,” analyst Maynard J. Um told investors. However, “Verizon Wireless and Apple may currently be apart on pricing,” he wrote. Apple receives an average of $700 per iPhone from AT&T, while Verizon pays $450 for the Droid, made by Motorola, estimates say.

This bang-whiz creation is the brainchild of Justin Adler plus the handiwork of  artist/costume maker/prop designer extraordinaire Ted Southern.

It’s the innards of two Apple G4s, plus a graphic card, turned into a the kind of table that will make any night feel like was-there-something-in-my drink? night, if the promo video is anything to go by.

Sure, it doesn’t have the cool linearity of the iPod table, but it’s better than the scrap heap.

Apple announced Tuesday its App Store reached the 3 billion download mark, or one billion downloads since September. The Cupertino, Calif. company passed 2 billion downloads for the iPhone and iPod touch just three months ago.

The new figure means 10.1 million apps per day were downloaded over the last 99 days, reports said. That improves on 6.9 million downloads per day set between April and July, 2009.

“Three billion applications downloaded in less than 18 months — this is like nothing we’ve seen before,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs said. Jobs called the App Store “unlike anything else available on other mobile devices” with “no signs of the competition catching up soon.”

In July, on the App Store’s one-year anniversary, Apple announced more than 1.5 billion downloads. In late 2009, the service had more than 100,000 apps available for iPhone and iPod touch users.

The App Store’s success caught many insiders off-guard, including early investors. Apple would have been happy for only a fraction of the 2 billion downloads reported in October.

The App Store could host 300,000 applications in 2010, tripling the current number, analyst predict.

[Via Barrons and AppleInsider]

As Google prepares to introduce its Nexus One smartphone, user interest in Android-based phones approaches that of Apple’s iPhone, a new consumer survey finds. However, unlike Apple’s monolithic brand identity with the iPhone, Android seems hobbled by its own success.

Although 28 percent of people who plan to buy a smartphone in the next 90 days want an Apple iPhone, 21 percent “prefer to have the Android OS on their new phone,” said the ChangeWave survey conducted in December. In September, Android was picked by just 6 percent of those surveyed.

The giant Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas later this week will be all about tablets, eBook readers and 3D TVs. But of primary interest to Apple followers will be the big gathering of iPhone App developers.

More than 100 iPhone developers and accessory makers will exhibit at the iLounge Developer’s Pavilion, up 150% from numbers announced in July.

Just before Christmas, we asked you: What were your favorite desktop apps of 2009?

Based on the responses we got, two apps got fractionally more mentions than most: Google Chrome, and OmmWriter. Neither of which were apps I expected to see topping many end-of-year lists.

I’m a bit mystified by the Airstash, the latest iPhone accessory to come out of CES.

It looks good on the tin: the AirStash is a dongle that allows you to greatly expand the internal storage of your iPhone or iPod Touch. You just plug an SD card into it, slap it into your computer, transfer files on over, then put it in your pocket. Now, as long as your iPod Touch or iPhone is in WiFi distance of your AirStash, you can access its contents. But those are all the details we have.

At first blush, those details are enough: who wouldn’t want more space on their iPhone or iPod Touch? But, really, what do we use our internal storage for? Movies, videos and apps. There’s the rub: the AirStash might expand storage, but it won’t allow you to launch apps that are stored on the dongle, and my guess is that it won’t integrate with iTunes for music and movies. That makes this peripheral fairly useless for a large number of people.

My guess is that the AirStash is mostly just a dongle for people who might need to email files that they can’t natively store on their iPhone or iPod Touch. Not bad functionality, certainly, but limited in scope.

Still, this is all speculation: we should know more about the AirStash, including availability and price, later on this week.

[via Engadget]

Current internet scuttlebutt has the next iPhone pegged for upgrading its current 3.2-megapixel camera to a 5-megapixel camera, courtesy of Omnivision. That will make the iPhone competitive with other camera phones, at least on the vastly overblown quality criterion of the megapixel scale.

But what if Apple one-upped everyone and slapped a 14.6-megapixel image sensor capable of shooting 1080p video at 60 frames per second into the next iPhone? That’s certainly an option: iPhone camera sensor suppliers Omnivision have just announced the OV14825, which is slated to go into mass production in the second quarter of 2010… just in time for a new iPhone.

Apple might go that route, sure, but let’s all slaughter some pigs on our aluminum unibody altars and pray that they don’t. There isn’t a smartphone on the market with a lens capable of taking advantage of even a 2-megapixel sensor, and there’s no advances to cell phone lenses on the horizon. 14.6 megapixels is sheer lunacy: sure, there’ll be 14.6 million dots, but 12.6 will be random noise.

[via Gizmodo]

According to Kara Swisher of All Things D, Apple is on the cusp of buying mobile ad company Quattro for $275 million.

No surprise here: Apple was just outbid on mobile ad company Admob by Google for $750 million. Apple is obviously interested in entering the mobile advertising space.

Optimistically, that’s because they recognize that owning the ad network that power all of their App Store apps would make them a killing… although given how poorly the App Store is maintained, one wonders if Apple has the customer service chops to run their own advertising network.

Pessimistically? Apple’s been flirting with some alarming patents for mandatory advertising within OS X. It’s hard to believe they’d go that route, but just the existence of such patents is enough to cause you to arch your eyebrow when Cupertino drops $300 million for an advertising company.

A laughably fake “iSlate development document” has been “leaked” to PhoneArena, possibly through a drainage shunt trephined through the cranium of some wishful thinking prankster.

The first clue that the document is phony is the fact that, two days later, Apple’s lawyers aren’t Q-tipping the gelatinous remains of PhoneArena’s site owners out from between their toes. But there’s other reasons to be skeptical.

First of all, the document claims that the Tablet will run OS X 10.7, codenamed “Clouded Leopard.” Ha, whatever. Not only is that name ridiculous, but we know that if the Apple Tablet is announced at the end of January that we can expect a launch by no later than June: Apple needs to give App Store developers time to tablet-ready their apps, but they can’t wait so long that the competition has time to catch up. More over, Snow Leopard was just released in August 2009, and the first developer build of its successor is rumored to be released at WWDC in June.

The bottom line: the tablet is going to come out well before the release of the next version of OS X. And it’s probably going to run something closer to the iPhone OS anyway, although I personally expect to see those operating systems as distinct entities begin to converge more drastically with the release of the Tablet.

Take the dusty and venerable name of the Wall Street Journal out of this otherwise pedestrian piece, and what you’re left with is a stock purple-print-and-pulp regurgitation of all of the current Internet rumors about the forthcoming Apple tablets, along with a few speculations and just a dash of WTF.

Apple’s January 27th surprise product announcement will see the introduction of the tablet, the iPhone OS 4.0 and an associated Software Development Kit for programmers, the French site Mac4Ever reports.

According to the Mac4Ever (Google translation), the SDK will include a tablet “simulator” to help developers port their iPhone/iPt apps to the tablet’s larger screen.

Several of our sources give us two pieces of information concerning the famous Apple tablet: In late January, in addition to its tablet, Cupertino should have a beta of iPhone OS 4, accompanied by an SDK. Our informants also tell us of a “simulator” specifically adapted for the tablet. Evidently, the major novelty of the SDK therefore concerns the interface, making it easier for developers to adapt to different screen resolutions. The new iPhone could also benefit from a higher pixel density.

Mac4Ever notes that the information should be taken with a grain of salt. But the site recently nailed details of Apple’s new iMac models and Mighty Mouse weeks before they were released.

Mac4Ever also recently claimed that the tablet will be “far different” than most internet mockups, a tantalizing tidbit bolstered by a NYT report that we will be “very surprised how you interact with the new tablet.”

Confirming the rumors, Apple will make a “major” product announcement on Wednesday Jan. 27, reports John Paczkowski of All Things Digital website.

Paczkowski says “it’s going to be a big deal.”

Sources in a position to know tell me Apple (AAPL) is indeed planning a media event later this month at which it will announce a major new product. The gathering is to be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, a space Apple often uses for media events like these. According to other sources, it will occur on Wednesday Jan. 27, not Tuesday Jan. 26, as had been rumored.

No definitive word on what that product is, but I think we all have a pretty good idea of what to expect.”

As previously noted, the Yerba Buena gardens has no events booked for Jan 25, 26 or 27. Holding a product announcement on a Wednesday is unusual for Apple. The company usually prefers Tuesdays for announcements.

Major Apple Product Announcement Set for Weds. Jan. 27.

Apple has acquired the “i-phone” trademark from a company in China, apparently clearing the way for the Cupertino, Calif. company to register its iPhone as a cell phone. Hanwang Technology said it had agreed to transfer the trademark to Apple, but refused to provide details, reports said Monday.

When Apple applied to trademark the iPhone in China in 2002, it did so only under “hardware and software” because Hanwang trademarked its own “i-phone” handset under the phone category. The company, also known as Hanvon, eventually discontinued the phone.

Are you tired of putting down your iPhone to pick up the remote for changing TV channels? A new product set to unveil at CES may put an end to that tiresome routine. With the aid of a $50 bit of hardware and a free app you can use your iPhone or iPod touch as a universal remote.

The L5 Remote (measures 1.25 x .85 inches) , available in February, attaches to the iPhone or iPod touch dock connection.

The remote works with a free app available from the App Store. The app allows you to customize your remote, moving buttons for your home entertainment devices.

The gadget doesn’t require batteries, Wi-Fi or external power and has a 30-foot range. Although the Loop links to the L5 Technology website, the pages detailing the remote seem to be password-protected.

[Via The Loop]

There are more than 13 million online mentions of “Apple tablet,” according to Google. With tankers of ink emptied writing about the fabled device and a supposed Jan. 26 announcement looming, a New York Times columnist takes aim at all the hoopla.

“There hasn’t been this much hype about a tablet since Moses came down from the mountain,” writes media reporter David Carr. Carr (who calls the rumored Apple device the “Jesus tablet”) was just one of more than two dozen mentions in the Times in December 2009, alone, according to Fortune.

What is it?
Political GPS is, hands down, the best way to leverage your iPhone or iPod Touch as a tool for political activism.

Created by Thomas Huntington, this handy dandy app can help pinpoint your personal location in the political spectrum, provides unprecedentedly comprehensive contact and biographical information for every senator and member of congress in Washington, DC, allows quick access to the full text and summary of every bill passed by the US Congress, back to the 106th — including all versions and amendments — and features the full texts of such seminal documents of freedom as the US Constitution, the Magna Carta and the Declaration of the Rights of Man.

Why it’s Cool:
Did you resolve to become more politically active in the coming year?

Perhaps you’re disenchanted with the return you seem to be getting from your vote in 2008 for Barack Obama or your local senator or congressperson. Perhaps you find yourself firmly in the Libertarian/Conservative quadrant of the political compass and smell both blood and an opportunity to swing the balance of power rightward in November’s midterm elections. Perhaps you’re just intrigued by the idea of a tool that might help you make your voice more easily heard with your representatives in congress.

Political GPS is the app you’ve been waiting for.

No flashy graphics or a fancy GUI here, but a quick 30 question survey helps you place your own political leanings on a compass-like map that measures general attitudes toward ideas of economic and social freedom, plotting your answers on axes measuring liberal/conservative and anarchist/totalitarian tendencies, as well as those for communism/libertarianism and socialism/fascism.

You can view your results in a theoretical landscape or plot them against the views of historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin and Ronald Reagan.

Full disclosure: this writer’s views aligned most closely with Ghandi and the Dalai Lama.

Then the real fun begins. Political GPS’s Congress Tracker gives you detailed information for each member of the US Congress. From biographical information and links to each member’s website to in-depth voting information and the ability to easily contact each member by phone, email, or Twitter, Political GPS helps you to learn more about your congress.

The search engine built into political GPS is far more robust and sophisticated than something you might expect to pay $2 for. Search representatives by name or state, search congressional bills by topic, content, title, or bill number; the member tracker and bill tracker databases are linked, too. Comprehensive information about the laws passed by congress and the people passing them has never been so easily accessed.

Full text access to historical documents is the lagniappe in Political GPS. Easily study the US Constitution, the Magna Carta and the Declaration of the Rights of Man right inside the app. Organized by Articles, Sections, and Amendments, it’s easy to go right to the area you want to read and it’s all easy on the eyes with large fonts and antique parchment backgrounds that give the documents a weighty feel without making them harder to read.

For anyone who believes in the idea that you should be the change you want to see in this world, Political GPS is certainly one of the coolest tools available to American iPhone and iPod Touch users.

Where to get it:
Political GPS is available at the Apple iTunes App Store in both free and $1.99 versions. But really, just pony up the $2 and make your voice heard.

According to a lone anonymous tipster writing into to Silicon Alley Insider, Apple COO Tim Cook is executive search firm Specer Stuart’s first choice for CEO of General Motors.

According to their tipster:

[Interim GM CEO Edward E. Whitacre] wants the candidate to come from a company known for operational excellence, innovation and customer satisfaction and in addition he is looking for someone that has turnaround experience. It also doesn’t hurt that [Tim] has been able to work with Jobs. Whitacre does want to stay on as Chairman.  Also, Cook has been the key link to AT&T and should understand the culture that Whitacre,  [a former AT&T CEO] built.

Responding to an inquiry made by the FCC to explore the transition to an IP-based communications network, AT&T has asked that a firm date be set for the total extinction of landlines.

“With each passing day, more and more communications services migrate to broadband and IP-based services, leaving the public switched telephone network (‘PSTN’) and plain-old telephone service (‘POTS’) as relics of a by-gone era,” AT&T wrote.

They continued: “It makes no sense to require service providers to operate and maintain two distinct networks when technology and consumer preferences have made one of them increasingly obsolete.”

Given AT&T’s fundamental inability to address the substandard service and network congestion caused by their iPhone exclusivity deal with Apple, it seems blushingly laughable that the telecom would now be asking for the death of landlines, which can only increase network congestion.

But AT&T has a point: for everything but businesses and emergency services, landlines are already a technology of the dodo. AT&T must spend considerable money every year maintaining an increasingly obsolete network, which means funneling away from the development of the clear and rapidly evolving future of telephone communication.

On November 12th, 2009, dozens of Apple.com Discussion Board users began to notice that they were suddenly experiencing the sort of quick battery loss in their Bluetooth keyboards that usually exhibits itself in arcs of purple electrical plasma shooting off a Tesla coil. Keyboards that once lasted for several months without a recharge now required nearly weekly battery swaps, even when using high-capacity batteries or rechargeables.

So far, there’s been no official word from Apple about the cause of the keyboard power drains, but consensus seems to be that Apple’s new Magic Mouse is the culprit, somehow preventing the Bluetooth keyboard from going into sleep mode. According to one user, swapping a Magic Mouse for a Logitech mouse eliminated the problem entirely.

There’s no official word from Apple when this bug will be squashed, although according to one Discussion Board user, an Apple Tech Support worker said that it’s a known Bluetooth driver issue, and a fix is in the works.

Any of our own Magic Mouse aficionados out there capable of confirming this problem as ubiquitous?

[via TUAW]

Every New Year’s Day, Japanese consumers line up to take place in the annual tradition of the fukubukuro, in which merchants sell sealed bags of mystery gifts at huge discounts.

For example, if you go into your local video game store, you might pick up a bag of game discs for $100. Walk into the local butcher’s, and you might take your pick of any number of dripping canvas sacks of mystery meat for a nominal fee.

Apple’s Japan Stores have been taking part in the fukubukuro celebration since 2005, and starting Saturday, customers have been lining up to buy a limited number of Lucky Bags for about $380.

With more and more consumers consumers cleaving themselves from the fetid macro-organism of biomassed holiday shopping flesh and doing all of their Christmas shopping online, online customers satisfaction polls are more important than ever. No surprise, though, at the latest polls, courtesy of ForeSee Results: Apple’s simple, pleasant and spartan store did well in consumer’s lists of the best online shopping experience of 2009.

Surveying more than 10,000 visitors to the top forty retail web sites, Apple ranked 82% in customer satisfaction, which is four percentage points higher than their 2008 ranking. Following in Apple’s wake was Newegg.com (8!5), TigerDirect.com (80%), Dell.com (78%), HP (79%) and Circuit City (73%).

That’s not to say that Apple totally destroyed the competition, though. Amazon.com, which is still about the best online shopping experience around, rubbed Apple’s nose in its mess with an astonishing 87% customer satisfaction rating. The reliably stalwart Netflx also did well at 86%, although not being a home television shopper myself, I’m a bit mystified by QVC.com’s impressive 83% rating.

[via ComputerWorld]

Apple has updated its patent for Wii-like “Wand” remote control, providing a magnetic compass and accelerometer for better control and precision. Apple TV is one potential beneficiary, reports suggested Thursday.

The Cupertino, Calif. company initially filed the “Wand” application in mod-2009, including an accelerometer like the Wii. The update, filed on the last day of 2009, describes the wand’s operations:

Not all boats float on a rising tide. That seems to be the lesson Apple is learning with its Apple TV, a device analysts say has not benefited from increased sales of the company’s other products, including iMacs and iPods and even the lowly Magic Mouse. Apple TV sales rose just 10 percent in 2009, despite an upgraded Apple TV 3.0 OS.

The minor growth was likely due to 2008 being a slow year, not because the streaming device made any inroads into a hard-to-define market, NPD Group vice president of industry analysis Steven Baker said.