Tired of wrapping your iPhone in titanium? Looking for something a bit more ‘real’ when it comes to cases? Well, you can’t get more ordinary than some cardboard and a Sharpie-looking typeface. That’s the concept behind Case-Mate’s “recession case.”
“The recession case lets you keep cash in your pocket without sacrificing on unique design for your beloved iPhone,” the company announced. The case costs $0.99 individually or a “bailout bundle”of 10 cardboard cases for $7.99.
McDonald’s Italy just launched a new, limited-edition hamburger called the Mac. It boasts “stone baked bread, Emmental cheese, choice beef, tomato and lettuce.”
The tag line above says “Discover our new creation available from September 16.”
Don’t tell Apple, they might not like that “il Mac,” as it’s called in Italian in exactly the same way as the computer, is ready for speedy, cheap consumption.
Tasty.
Freelance journalist and Mac fanatic Domenico Panacea wanted to get his hands on this Philips Lumalive t-shirt with an integrated LED screen.
“Wanted” is perhaps an understatement: Panacea forked over €900 euros (about $1,300) to spend a month with the scintillant shirt.
Normally used for publicity stunts — like this one where pretty young women attract attention for an ice cream in Istanbul — the shirts have 128MB of memory that can blink out 10 minutes of text, images and animations at 40 fps. They glow for four hours at a time before needing a recharge.
(More pics and video after the jump.)
The iMac will get a design refresh in coming weeks, according to a report from Wall Street analysts, and everyone’s hoping Apple will finally add Blu-Ray.
Wedge Partners predicts the introduction of an updated iMac with “thinner, organic design, likely with smoothed or rounded edges,” reports Tech Trader Daily. Sounds like the iPhone 3GS to me. The iMac is already styled after the iPhone, and the 3GS is more rounded and organic than previous models. (The MacBook will also get a refresh, Wedge says, but design and hardware changes are likely to be minimal)
There have been rumors of new iMacs for several weeks. AppleInsider reported that an iMac release was imminent, and that the machine would get two “compelling new features.” The iMac is overdue for a refresh, according to MacRumors Buying Guide, which says the current models are 197 days old and the average period between upgrades is 220 days.
Most intriguing is whether the refresh will bring new capabilities. High on everyone’s wishlist for compelling new features is Blu-Ray — see this thread on MacRumors with 850+ comments. What could be better than adding high-def movies to Apple’s premier home machine?
Unfortunately, it’s not going to happen any time soon. Here’s why.
If you follow the Apple rumor mill, you know that most of the interesting leads come from China or Taiwan where case and parts manufacturers are way ahead of the game.
Here’s another one: Taiwan Economics News, a website specialized in giving the skinny on who is making what in Taiwan, reports that a couple of PC parts and component suppliers have won the Apple tablet contract.
What will they be making?
A tablet PC with a 9.6-inch screen, finger-touch function and built-in HSPDA (high speed download packet access) module with a a P.A. SEMI processor chip and long lasting battery pack, selling for between US$799 and US$999.
Apple insider speculates that HSDPA means the device would work with the AT&T 3G network in the U.S., much like the current iPhone, debunking earlier speculation that the device would run on Verizon’s network.
I dunno. Having once worked as an entertainment reporter, gossip can be fun for awhile, but show me the tablet, people.
If you’re still looking for a deal on previous-generation iPod nanos, the Apple Store is making way for the latest versions of the popular MP3 player. Apple also has MacBook Pro laptops starting at $999 and MacBook Airs for $1,099.
For details on these bargains and more (like the NanShield), check out CoM’s Daily Deals page.
Forget those old tape recorders in the language lab: one school district is handing out iPods for students learning English as a second language.
Five schools in Beaufort County, South Carolina are equipping kids with limited English skills with iPod Touches to get them up to speed.
The iPods take the place of the language lab of yesteryear — students listen to stories on them as part of a fluency program designed to develop vocabulary, improve pronunciation and emphasize important words and concepts. They also watch videos on the iPod for grammar and reading exercises.
“If you don’t understand the story, you can listen to it,” seventh-grader Alex Sanchez told the Beaufort Gazette. “When I read, if I then hear the story, it sometimes makes more sense.”
The schools paid about $200 for each device. Apple provided teacher training and docking stations that can charge and sync 20 iPods at once. The ESL iPod program launched in one middle school last year and expanded to another four schools in the district this year.
Right now, the MP3 players go to kids who need to learn English but the school district is considering using them for students of foreign languages like French and Spanish.
I love this idea. An Italian friend of mine started using her commute time to listen to ESL podcasts — of which there are a ton — and found that in a couple of months she had learned more than at a class she paid for.
Via The State
Welcome the iSteam Mac, the latest Apple device to get the Leonardo da Vinci treatment from the guys at Exploded.
Available as a poster or a tee, this inside look at Mac 128K by artist Kevin Tong follows the iSteam Phone and exploded iPhone, plus the exploded Mac (this in a non-Da Vinci code version.)
The American Apparel t-shirt costs $20, the poster $15.
Can the exploded iPod be far behind?
What is it? It’s Notational Velocity, one of the best and yet most overlooked note apps for OS X. You should download it immediately.
Why it’s cool Because if you want to store text notes, many hundreds or thousands of them, and then be able to search through them at lighting speed, there is no faster or simpler way of doing it.
Steve Jobs made a welcome return to the public eye last week at a special music event to introduce Apple’s 2009 holiday iPods.
“The September music event was classic Apple. It marked the return of the world’s greatest corporate storyteller,” says communications coach, Carmine Gallo, author of The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience.
Gallo’s book will be published later this month by McGraw-Hill and can be pre-ordered now from Amazon. Gallo’s written some insightful analyses of Steve’s presentations in the past, so we asked him to take a look at last week’s event. After the jump, Gallo breaks down his top ten presentation tips from Jobs’ latest speech.
