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Apple Insider has published a rumor saying Apple’s iTunes service is about to match Amazon MP3 by going DRM free. This follows on a previous story saying Apple was in negotiations to do just that.
Since the introduction of iTunes Plus (the name given to the higher-quality 256 bit DRM-Free music), only EMI has allowed Apple to carry their music in that format, with Warner, Sony, and Universal refusing to do so, instead only offering them to iTunes competitors like Amazon, Napster, etc.
What’s changed? Maybe nothing. Or maybe iTunes has just kept growing stronger and is now in a position where they can negotiate the same, consumer friendly deal?
The rumor says we may see the change as soon as tomorrow, December 9th.
This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
iTunes Music About to Go DRM Free? (Maybe Tomorrow?!)
Filed under: Accessories, iPhone
Eco-friendly traveler? Check! Hip professional? Check! Outdoor enthusiast? Check! Hip profess--wait a minute! OK, so Solar Arcadia may not have the greatest product pages around but that does not stop them from offering this environmentally friendly piece of iPhone case awesomeness.
The case is essentially a lithium ion battery pack with a solar panel that doubles as a flip cover for the iPhone. The construction is said to be leather, however I cannot imagine this being very kind to Mother Nature. There is also an LED status indicator that informs you of the capacity of the case's battery pack when charging and discharging.
The instruction manual notes that an empty iPhone battery can be re-charged in 3 hours when the included Li-Ion battery pack is full. When the battery pack is empty you can set the case to direct charge mode and get your iPhone recharge on straight from the power of the Sun itself!
Note that it does take a full 12 hours of direct sunlight to fully charge an empty iPhone battery, and in December that much sunlight could be hard to come by (at least here in the Northern Hemisphere). However, it is possible to charge the case's battery pack without being attached to the iPhone. So, if you are on a long flight with a window seat it's possible to charge your backup battery while watching the latest episode of Family Guy that you torrented bought from iTunes.
The case may not be the most attractive and is not to be used in conditions where it gets to be hotter than 150° F -- but these things are unimportant. You care about the environment; this is why you bought a Prius and hold the MPG record for your local hyper-miling club. Now get out there and begin harvesting all of that solar energy! Besides, there isn't a wind-powered iPhone case available... not yet, anyway.
Thanks Kirk for sending this in!
Solar powered iPhone case may not work when visiting the Sun originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Solar powered iPhone case may not work when visiting the Sun originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Wireless, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
Good news for travelers or anyone who is frequently on the go: Boingo has just released Boingo Mobile [iTunes link] for the iPhone and iPod touch. Boingo Mobile is actually a pretty handy service, especially for the frequent traveler. For $7.95 a month (5.95 EUR, 3.95 GBP), you get unlimited data and VOiP access to all Boingo Mobile hotspot locations throughout the world. This includes practically every major airport, US Starbucks and McDonalds locations and an insane number of hotels.
I use the Boingo Unlimited service when working away from home (it's about the same price as adding HotSpot access to my cell phone and I get access to more networks) and Boingo Mobile is a great compliment to the service.
I played with Boingo Mobile at Starbucks today and what really stood out was the login process. You only have to authenticate once per Wi-Fi provider. So if you are at Starbucks, which is provided by AT&T, you select your hotspot from within the iPhone or iPod touch, login with Boingo Mobile and you're online.
If you go to another Starbucks or another AT&T provided hotspot, you will be automatically connected and authenticated. Although there are many thousands of hotspots, most are powered by a handful of providers -- authenticating once makes the login process that much more seamless.
For iPhone owners who want to use VOiP but don't want to run the risk of inciting AT&T's contract police, consider trying Boingo Mobile's 30-day free trial. Boingo Mobile is a free app and is available from the App Store [link]; Boingo Mobile accounts are $7.95 a month US and are separate from Boingo Unlimited plans.
Boingo Mobile comes to the iPhone/iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Boingo Mobile comes to the iPhone/iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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A week or so ago we linked to Erica Sadun’s demo of the iPhone SDK’s undocumented video out feature. Well, she’s been busy since then talking with Freeverse, the developers behind the hit Moto Chaser game for the iPhone. The result? The tech demo featured above.
Good news is that the possibilities are mind-boggling. Bad news is that we’re not there yet:
On the 2G touch, Moto Chaser can reach approximately 20 frames per second. This makes the game, in the words of Freeverse Producer Bruce Morrison, “nearly playable.” Morrison manages the Freeverse product teams and was heavily involved in developing Moto Chaser; he designed all the levels in the game. The norm for commercial games is 30fps, a point at which motion becomes as smooth and watchable as normal TV video. For reference, the current iPhone release of Moto Chaser runs at 26fps and includes many optimizations to achieve even that on the iPhone’s relatively slow processor and limited RAM memory.
Check out the rest of the article for look into how they did it, how long it took, and where they might go from here…
This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
Play Moto Chaser for iPhone… on Your TV?!
Merry Christmas, tiny little media-un-savvy kids: rudolf just ran down granny!
Well, that’s the story Gizmodo reports, anyway:
Yesterday’s episode of Santa Live featured the song “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.” Apparently, children young enough to care about Santa are also young enough to have trouble understanding the jokey song about grand-matricide. Parents complained, and Majewski, already $12,000 in debt (that’s a lot of bribed commenters!) was forced to pull the app. He remains the only one baffled by his lack of success with Santa Live.
Majewski, already controversial since the discovery he was paying for good reviews via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, is likely not having a great holiday season himself now, even absent joyous vehicular homicide carols.
Did the parents over react? Should Majewski better have known better? Or did some one just get a little revenge paying parents to complain via Mechanical Turk?
This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
Santa Live for iPhone is Ho-Ho-Hosed?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPhone, iPod touch
I love my iPhone, as much as the next guy (maybe more). I'm also hip to all the things people wish it had, like cut and paste, MMS -- you know the list.
I have to say, though, that the one thing I really miss is a unified mailbox. This doesn't mean much to people who have only one email account, but my guess is most people are juggling more than one. If that's the case, you're probably in a world (or a bag) of hurt. Unlike the Mac Mail client, or most others for that matter, you have to do an awful lot of finger tapping to navigate those distinct inboxes. If I saved those taps up, I could probably play a short piano sonata.
It must be especially painful for Blackberry users who have moved over to the iPhone ... but there is plenty of pain to go around, and getting email read on the iPhone is a needless hassle.
I'll bet the guys at Apple have multiple mail accounts too, so what were they thinking when they set things up this way? I could understand the early versions of iPhone software having these issues, but we're a year and 5 months out from the original iPhone release and this issue is still lurking.
What say our readers?
iPhone mail all over the place originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
iPhone mail all over the place originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: Retail, Rumors, iPhone
Whither the cheap, low-capacity Walmart iPhone? MacRumors' Arnold Kim now anticipates that Walmart will be offering 8GB iPhones for $197, with no mention of smaller capacities or lower prices. The price is two bucks cheaper than at an AT&T retail store.
MacBlogz's Aviv Hadar mentioned late last week that their sources at AT&T said a 4GB model was "simply not true."
The original story, from BoyGeniusReport, was treated with a heavy dose of skepticism even from them, as the source wasn't one of their usual fonts of reliable information.
In related news, the San Jose Mercury News notes that Bay Area Walmart stores may begin carrying iPhone handsets before Christmas, citing employees and managers at those stores.
Otherwise, expect the devices to go on sale December 28.
[Via MacDailyNews.]
Walmart to carry iPhone, but not 4GB, not for $99 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Walmart to carry iPhone, but not 4GB, not for $99 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
Since the iPhone introduction, many users have wanted the ability to send an receive vCards. There have been plenty of vCard sending applications on the App Store, but one that recently caught my attention was Sharecard [iTunes link]. The application has a nice user interface, and allows you to easily send a vCard through email. First Look: Sharecard for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
First Look: Sharecard for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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[This is an official Smartphone Experts Round Robin post! Every day you reply here, you're automatically entered for a chance to win an iPhone 3G, Case-Mate Naked Case, and Motorola H9 Bluetooth Headset! More below!]
Did I need to review two HTC Windows Mobile devices in a row? Would it have been better to have the G1 or Bold in between, or would I then have back-to-back front-facing Qwerty or Slider bloat? I don’t know. Last week’s Palm Treo Pro and this week’s HTC FUZE are differentiated not only by form factor, but with the FUZE’s addition of Touch Flo 3D (which, during the video shoot, I came to lovingly re-brand “Press Really Hard Stammer 2D”).
Fair enough, coming from an iPhone I challenge any non-Apple device’s ability to deliver the same experience. They can’t. But that’s the point of the Round Robin: for each editor to look at every other device from their own smartphone’s point of view.
Will the humungous slide-out keyboard be enough joy to cancel out the Touch Flo blues? I don’t know yet; we’ll find out together in my final, full review later this week.
Meanwhile, check out the video above, and if I’m wrong, mean, or just stupid, let me have it in the comments, or — better yet — head on over to the WMExperts Forums and help me see the error of my ways.
Likewise, Crackberry Kevin is suffering without his keyboard and trackball, so be sure to give him all the assistance you can before he he comes gunning for our iPhone in his own video!
Doing so, of course, gives you a chance to win the iPhone 3G and HTC FUZE… and a ton of other cool smartphones and accessories. Prize details after the jump…
Every day you comment here, you get one entry to win not only a supra-shiny iPhone 3G, but the Case-Mate Naked Case which allows full touch through access to the iPhone’s amazing screen. Smartphone Outlet is also kicking in the revolutionary Motorola H9 Bluetooth Headset AND a runner-up prize, $50 coupon good at any SPE store, including the new Smartphone Outlet, where you can find refurb Smartphone Accessories at very (very!) low prices.
Check out our full contest rules!
This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
Round Robin: TiPb vs. HTC FUZE Video Preview!
Filed under: Accessories, iPhone
The Invisual iPhone case by Critica is unique, having been designed for the blind and visually impaired. It encloses the entire device and features bas-relief buttons that coincide with a modified home page (you'll have to shuffle some icons around first). The coolest thing is that Critica claims it doesn't interfere with the screen's touch sensitivity or performance at all. The high contrast when the backlight is engaged will benefit the visually impaired.Silicon iPhone case aids the visually impaired originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Silicon iPhone case aids the visually impaired originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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To celebrate the launch of our new iPhone Live! Podcast, the iPhone blog revved up yet another contest!
Every week, on both the iPhone Live! and Phone different Podcasts, we here at TiPb each chose our favorite iPhone accessories (courtesy of the TiPb iPhone store!), and added them to the prize pack.
Who qualified, what accessories made it into the Ultimate Pack, and most importantly… WHO WON?! after the break!
Congrats Tara!
We’ll be contacting you soon about your prize!
AND TO EVERYONE ELSE: You still have a chance to win an iPhone 3G with accessories! (Not to mention a BlackBerry Bold, HTC Windows Mobile FUZE, Palm Treo Pro, and Google Android G1). Check out our 2008 SPE Round Robin threads for more!
This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
We Have a Winner: Ultimate iPhone Accessory Pack Give Away Contest!
Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
Remember Santa Live 2008, the iPhone app that provided a new animated Santa Claus video to the kids every day? Santa Claus fired from App Store gig originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Santa Claus fired from App Store gig originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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