Apple Continues ‘Get a Mac’ Ad Campaign with 4 New Ads

Extension coming from AT&T

Suppliers rumored for iPhone

BETA III for iPhone 3.0 available

Apple’s Patents Reveal Movement Aware Interface & Video Chat Capabilities

Best of SPE, 19 April 2009

Each week we bring you the best of what’s happening in the smartphone world in our “Best of SPE roundup.” Come take a look at what’s news!

Android Central

We’re a little jealous of our friends across the pond, as they can pre-order the HTC Magic at the low low price of Zero. The pain is lessened, however, with the (admittedly somewhat difficult) possibility of hacking 1.5 Cupcake onto the G1 - though be warned you may get cut off from Android Marketplace if you do.

CrackBerry.com

To be totally honest, it was actually a pretty slow news week in the world of BlackBerry. This didn’t come as surprise though. With WES 2009 set to kick off in just a few short weeks on May 5th, both RIM and partners are likely saving their news for then. This is RIM’s annual BIG show, and is a must go for anybody in the business of BlackBerry. You can learn more at attendwes.com. On the ever-popular topic of the BlackBerry Storm operating system, Bell customers have been given an official update to version 4.7.0.122 while Verizon 9530 owners are still waiting. Let’s hope VZW releases one soon before there’s a riot!

Nokia Experts

What’s new at Nokia Experts? The new Nokia Experts Accessory Store! It’s stocked up on all sorts of accessories for the Nokia E71, from bluetooth headsets to always-essential spare battery. On the news front, Matthew took a gander at Email on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, complete with a walkthrough video. Definitely check it out. If you’re a Twitter fanatic, you will want to see the Twittix vs Gravity shootout to see best way to get your Tweet on. There’s plenty more to check out, so head on over!

PreCentral.net

PreCentral.net now sports an all-new look!. We’ve tossed in a boot-load of features as well, most importantly you can now head to the Palm Pre Forums to chat up all things Pre — they’re integrated with TreoCentral so you won’t have to create a new login. Meanwhile, like our pals at Nokia Experts, we have Twitter on the brain. The biggest news, however, has to be when we saw the Palm Pre in the wild. Come join us in the Pre Revolution, won’t you?

The iPhone Blog

Previously on theiphoneblog.com: Apple delivered iPhone 3.0 Beta 3 and we’ve updated our iPhone 3.0 Walkthrough to reflect all the latest changes. (And no, still no Calendar access in the SDK.)

Meanwhile, with Apple’s quarterly results coming next week, we remind everyone that it’s profit share, not marketshare that matters. Also, is Verizon interested in an iPhone 4G? AT&T thinks so and wants to extend their exclusivity — and maybe take back some control over apps? They may already have interfered with SlingPlayer, could Hulu be next?

TreoCentral

Checking in over at TreoCentral, Neal tells us about a couple of new Body Glove cases for the Treo Pro.  Plus we learn about some software mentioned this week; SyncMate, to help you synchronize your WM Treo with your Mac, and pocketwit, a new twitter client for the Windows Mobile platform sporting a ‘unique user interface’.  Also at TreoCentral, we learn what the Top 10 Best Sellers are in Palm OS and WM software in the TC Store. Plus, Annie lets us know about a cool app for your Centro or Treo called Cellfire that is the first ever mobile application that enables you to obtain store and restaurant discounts by using mobile coupons. Annie gives Cellfire a whirl on her Centro, and it’s a fun read!

WMExperts

We’re getting into some new hardware, with exciting things coming from a leaked Toshiba roadmap, a review of the Samsung Propel Pro, the Touch Diamond 2 is in stock in the U.K., and we learned that an unlocked Touch Pro 2 will cost as much as a decent laptop.

We’re also expecting more Windows Mobile 6.5 news at a May 11 “launch” event, we make a case for Windows Mobile eventually supporting capacitive touchscreens, and Sprint made a good change to its warranty system.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Best of SPE, 19 April 2009

mophie Juice Pack Air hands-on and impressions

Gallery: mophie Juice Pack Air hands-on and impressions

Continue reading mophie Juice Pack Air hands-on and impressions

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals

mophie Juice Pack Air hands-on and impressions originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Apr 2009 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Verizon thinks an iPhone deal is in the cards with 4G network on the horizon

Chrysler’s Peapod EV lets iPod double as ignition key

That unassuming iPod dock we saw in Chrysler GEM's Peapod prototype? Turns out it's got a pretty interesting little trick, allowing your iPhone / iPod double as the ignition key. According to the EV's brochure, the company's got an app that makes all the magic work, and if you wish to start your car in an old-school manner, keys are still a viable option. Sure, it's not the first example of car-phone integration we've come across, it's a welcome addition to the oddly-shaped neighborhood whip that's going beyond concept phase into production this October.

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video, Transportation

Chrysler's Peapod EV lets iPod double as ignition key originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Apr 2009 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

App Review: Convertbot Unit Converter for iPhone

Convertbot Forum Review by msbaylor. (Visit the thread for video and more pics. For more Forum Reviews, see the TiPb iPhone App Store Forum!)

ConvertBot is by Tapbots - the developers of WeightBot and for those of you that love the way the application operates, this one will not let you down.

This is probably the sleekest conversion application I have seen with its cool animations and sounds. However, the only issues I ran into – it takes longer than I thought the program should take to load. At first I believed that it was the app itself checking an Internet connection to update the currency conversions, but when I put my iPhone in Airplane mode, it took just as long. But it is a good thing to note that even though the currencies could not update, the program is still usable.

The sleek interface is what really makes this app so nice. This has to be the coolest working Conversion app for the iPhone. The “wheel” that takes up the main part of the screen can be rotated to set the conversion type:

• Angles: Degree, Radian, & Grad
• Area: Square Meter, Square Centimeter, Square Millimeter, Square Mile, Acre, Square Kilometer, Square Yard, Square Foot, Square Inch
• Currency: Australian Dollar, Brazilian Real, Canadian Dollar, Swiss Franc, Danish Krone, Euro, Pound Sterling (UK), Japanese Yen, Mexican Peso, Swedish Krona, US Dollar
• Length: Foot, Meter, Inch, Centimeter, Mile, Kilometer, Nautical Mile, Yard, Millimeter, Foot+Inch
• Mass: Milligram, Kilogram, Pound, Ounce, Gram, Stone, Stone+Pound, Metric Ton, Pound+Ounce
• Power: Watt, Horsepower, Kilowatt, BTU/Minute, Foot-Pound/Minute, Foot-Pound/Second
• Pressure: Pound/Square Inch, Centimeters of Mercury, Inches of Mercury, Kilogram/Square Meter, Pascal, Atmospheres, Bars, Pounds/Square Foot
• Speed: Miles/Hour, Kilometers/Hour, Knots, Miles/Second, Miles/Minute, Feet/Minute, Feet/Second, Kilometers/Minutes
• Temperature: Celsius, Kelvin, Fahrenheit
• Time: Second, Millisecond, Microsecond, Nanoseconds, Year, Week, Day, Hour, Minute, Hour + Minute
• Volume: Cup, Teaspoon, Tablespoon, Cubic Feet, Gallon (UK), Quart, Pint, Ounce, Cubic Meter, Gallon (US), Liter, Milliliter, Cubic Centimeter
• Work (Energy): Kilogram Calorie, Foot Pound, Newton Meter, Joule, BTU, Erg, Watt Hour, Calorie

Once you have rotated the wheel to the type/category, then you tap on the bottom left button and you use the “wheel” to select the specific conversion unit, take the center blue button, “ok” and it locks that unit in. This unit is the unit you are converting from. The other black button is the unit you want to convert to. You repeat the same process of locking in the unit.

By tapping on the top “number screen,” this opens up a keypad so that you can type in the amount you are converting from. The application has a live update, in which the app auto converts as you type the number into the app. Tapping on the “number screen” again brings back the conversion “wheel”

You can tap on the center wheel to switch the units if you need to.

By tapping on the “i” icon you can view the Settings which allows you to turn the sound on or off as well as the choice of viewing the Demo (which is quite a nice feature in the app).

Issues:

• Would like to have the “wheel” spin more smoothly, rather than “clicking” into place.
• Not as common currencies are not available in the app. (exe.: Argentinian Pesos or Chilean Peso)

Pros:

• Sleek Interface
• Sounds & animation to go with each “screen” or tap
• Complex conversions

Cons:

• Takes quite long to update currencies at app start up (quicker in airplane mode, due to currencies not updating)
• “Wheel” ‘clicks’ into place rather than smoothly rolling.
• Uncommon currencies not available

TiPb Review Rating

[Convertbot is available for $0.99 from the iTunes App Store.]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

App Review: Convertbot Unit Converter for iPhone

PreCentral.net Pulls a Palm: Revolutionary New Look, Also Web-based!

Our sibling site, PreCentral.net has just pulled a Palm, getting a great new look backed up by rock-solid Web-based underpinnings. Some would call it Karma, we call it the tireless work of our ole’ editor-in-chief, Dieter Bohn, the awesome crew at PreCentral.net, and the backstage magicians at Smartphone Experts.

If you haven’t already, check out PreCentral.net for all the latest news and views on Palm’s upcoming new miracle device, the Palm Pre, inarguably the second most anticipated device launch (after our own next-gen iPhone, ‘natch!) coming some mid-point this year.

Congrats again to the PC team! Great new look, same great content.

(And in keeping with the Palm Pre Pun Prevention Pledge, not a single groan was prepended to this post!)

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

PreCentral.net Pulls a Palm: Revolutionary New Look, Also Web-based!