T-Mobile launches myTouch 3G; no plans for HTC Hero

T-Mobile launched another Android-based smartphone, the myTouch 3G, with people ordering online now guaranteed delivery by August 5.

Review: Todo+Cal+Sync for iPhone

This app will primarily appeal to users looking to take advantage of its support for the SyncML synchronization standard. Otherwise, Todo+Cal+Sync is a hard app to recommend, especially since there are more elegant to-do list managers available for download.

Apple Releases Safari 4.0.2

Apple today released Safari 4.0.2, now available on Apple's Safari download page or through Software Update. According to the support document associated with the release, the update addresses two security vulnerabilities that could be exploited by ...

Road Tested: Dexim Dual Dock Charger

Filed under: Accessories, Hardware, iPod Family, Peripherals, Odds and ends, iPhone, Road Tested

Living in a multiple iPhone and iPod household is both fun and annoying.

It's fun to talk about cool apps and play multi-user games, but it's annoying trying to find a place to plug in our iPhones and iPods. Right now we have two iPhone 3GS's, an original iPhone being used as a game device, and an iPod nano that all need charging.

Things have been a lot easier in our household since we got a Dexim Dual Dock Charger. This unit, available for $44.95 from RichardSolo.com or directly from Dexim, is an attractive and functional dock in which you can simultaneously charge two iPhones, two iPods, or any combination imaginable. Since the devices need to be held securely in the dock, Dexim includes a set of plastic insert cradles that fit the bottom of your particular device (no, I'm not using them in the photo above). There are cradles for the iPhone 3G, iPhone 2G, iPod touch, iPod Classic, iPod nano, and 5G/U2 iPod.

When a device is placed in the dock for charging, a cool blue LED light goes on. That could be irritating if you want to use the Dual Dock Charger in a bedroom, so a switch to turn off the light is thoughtfully provided. We placed ours on a small table located on the way to our garage, so we can just pick up our phones on the way out of the house.

The Dexim Dual Dock Charger allows us to keep our iPhones constantly charged up, and it looks great while doing its job. We've had three-plus months of charging bliss without having to search for our cables, AC adapters, or iPhones. The original Apple chargers and cables are now used for topping off the devices when we're away from home, or for syncing with our Macs (the Dual Dock doesn't provide syncing capability).

If you live in a multi-iPhone family, the Dexim Dual Dock Charger is a must-have gadget.

Road Tested: Dexim Dual Dock Charger originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Road Tested: Dexim Dual Dock Charger originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Everything old is new again; frog design does an iPhone app

Filed under: Software, Odds and ends, iPhone, Apple History, App Store

Early in Apple history, long before Jonathan Ive came along and performed his design miracles, there was frog design. Under the helm of Hartmut Esslinger, frog design was responsible for some of the more memorable early Apple designs, including the iconic Apple IIc and the Imagewriter II printer. More importantly, Esslinger defined the Snow White design language that was used by Apple between 1984 and 1990 to define how Apple products of that era would look.

History is repeating itself now, with frog design recently releasing a new iPhone app, Postcard Express [App Store]. The $3.99 app definitely doesn't break new ground in terms of functionality -- it creates and sends digital postcards from your iPhone photos.

As with Postman, SodaSnap Postcards, and other apps of this type, Postcard Express lets you either take a new picture or use an existing gallery photo to send an electronic postcard to your friends via email. Unfortunately, frog design's savvy doesn't appear to extend to iPhone apps, as Postcard Express is not only more expensive than any of the other apps, but version 1.0 has some serious shortcomings.

Continue reading Everything old is new again; frog design does an iPhone app

Everything old is new again; frog design does an iPhone app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Everything old is new again; frog design does an iPhone app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone Live! Tonight 8pm EDT/5pm PDT

iPhone Live! comes to you tonight (Wednesday, July 8 ) at 8pm EDT/5pm PDT.

As always, pre-show will start about 10 min. before if you want to drop by early and reserve a space in our all new, all roomier chat room. See you then!

Join in via http://www.tipb.com/live

Chat with you soon!

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

iPhone Live! Tonight 8pm EDT/5pm PDT

Apple Working to Fix Serious Security Flaw on iPhone?

Metal Detector solves some problems you don’t have

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, App Review

Every so often I get the idea I'm living in some kind of parallel universe where iPhone apps are created that look great but just don't do anything of value.

Such an app is Metal Detector [App Store] that for US$0.99 cents purports to detect metal around you. It requires an iPhone 3GS because it uses the built in magnetometer (compass) to work.

Well, it did discover my bird cage, but I could see that anyway. It reacted to a stop sign, and a fire hydrant when I was on my morning run. "Look Mom, the funny man from across the street is messing with the fire hydrant. Call the cops!"

It didn't work on coins at all, wrong kind of metal, so any visions you had of crawling along the beach looking for treasure is out the window. It works on ferromagnetic metals only, like iron and steel.

The app did not cut off my iPod music when I started it up, but as soon as it beeped with finding something metal the audio shut down. Appropriately, I was listening to the Alan Hovhaness Symphony for Metal Instruments, but I guess most Heavy Metal bands would work too.

The Three Stooges used to have a routine where they talked about inventing a pen that wrote under whipped cream, and this seems like a similar fetish. It does work, but so what? What do I do with it? You have to be really close to the item for the alert to go off, and if I'm that close, I don't need a metal detector. I tried it on in wall wiring, but no dice there, so I'm straining to find some utility for this thing.

The developers say this is a novelty item, but I think most of my friends would say I'm stupid, rather than entertaining. If you must satisfy your lust for searching for visible metal, I'd suggest you take a look at Metal Detector Pro [App Store], which does the same thing with a different interface but it's free.

Metal Detector solves some problems you don't have originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Metal Detector solves some problems you don't have originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 3.0 Still Causing Wi-Fi Problems?

Back when iPhone 3.0 launched, we heard Wi-Fi was giving problems to some — primarily iPod touch — users. Various network resets or OS restores seem to have quieted that down, but now TUAW is reporting that the newly launched iPhone 3GS might be suffering Wi-Fi troubles as well:

Users note that signal strength can fluctuate between one and full bars even when standing right next to the router or when a computer nearby shows a constant signal. This goes along with a commensurate reduction in speed.

Neither Jeremy nor I have been experiencing this, but if you have, let us know in the comments, along with what type of router you’re running, and what kind of speed/connection quality you’re getting (or not getting, more precisely).

(Wether this is, in fact, a widespread problem and one corrected by iPhone 3.1 we don’t yet).

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

iPhone 3.0 Still Causing Wi-Fi Problems?

Google Gmail, Calendar, Docs, and Talk — Now With 100% Less Beta!

Our sibling site, Android Central, brings word we’d almost given up faith at ever being brought’ned. Google apps, including the Gmail, Calendar, Docs, and Talk we love so much on the iPhone (and iPod touch), are out of beta and high on life! Google’s own blog explains-ish:

We’ve come to appreciate that the beta tag just doesn’t fit for large enterprises that aren’t keen to run their business on software that sounds like it’s still in the trial phase. So we’ve focused our efforts on reaching our high bar for taking products out of beta, and all the applications in the Apps suite have now met that mark.

Makes the kind of sense that doesn’t, but whatever. Opaque, non-standard definitions of beta aside, it’s still good news. What’s next, announce a second operating system or something?

Anything but Push Gmail, right?

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

Google Gmail, Calendar, Docs, and Talk — Now With 100% Less Beta!

SoundAMP for the iPhone turns it into a hearing aid (of sorts)

Two facts: The iPhone’s microphone is fairly decent as far as cellphones go; and there are lots of people who can’t hear very well. Hence SoundAMP, an app that amplifies and filters noises for ears that need a little help. The app takes sound from a mic (the built-in, headset or standalone) and amplifies it according [...]

A secret way to stream Zune songs to your iPhone?

Gear Live found a roundabout, but clever, way of streaming Zune tracks onto your iPhone. Why would you do that? Because Zune Pass gets you a basically unlimited amount of songs, and they don’t play natively on the iPhone. That’s why. What you do is set up Orb on a Windows machine to transcode, on the [...]

Review: Griffin Streamline for iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G

The Griffin Streamline is available from The iPhone Blog Store for $19.95. If you are looking for a running/workout case that is lean and comfortable, then look no further than the Griffin Streamline! Let’s see how it measure up after the break!

Design

The Griffin Streamline is made of a plastic outer rim, a neoprene “sleeve” that holds the iPhone/iPod Touch and an elastic armband; simple. There is a clear plastic cover in the front of the device to protect the screen. This clear cover still gives you the ability to touch and interact with your Apple device.

Daily Use

I have been using the “Couch to 5K” app [iTunes Link] for a while now. for the most part I have been holding my device while I walked/ran. However this case has changed that! Not only is it comfortable and lightweight, but it protects the iPhone (even if you dropped it) and adjusts to just about any arm.

I typically walk/run 3-4 days a week in the early morning. I can’t express what a pleasure it is to run with this case. It does not slip on the arm (really it should lie at almost your elbow and the bend in your arm prevents it from falling off, at least that is my experience. if you try to tighten this or any armband higher up on your arm, my arm will go numb:-) and allows access to the screen while running or resting between intervals. if you need to clean the case (if for nothing else, the build-up of sweat over time) simply wash by hand in cold water with some soap. Another feature that this case has is a reflective trim around the inside edge of the case. The trim is very thin and can only be seen from the front of the case, not the sides. I think it is novel that Griffin added this, but in real life, I don’t think a car is going to see me because of it.

Conclusion

This is bare-bones case with no extra pouches for keys or cash; it is just a well made case that looks good, fits well and does what it is supposed to do; securely hold your iPhone while you workout while keeping it safe and remaining comfortable. At $19.95, this case is a steal and a practical give-me if you exercise with and iPhone/iPod Touch. This case has earned a really high rating.

Pros

• Lightweight
• Holds the iPhone securely
• Neoprene is easily washable
• Armband is adjustable
• Clear screen cover still allows input

Cons

• Basic case, no storage for money or keys
• Reflective trim could encompass more of the case

TiPb’s Rating

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

Review: Griffin Streamline for iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G

New jailbreak and Unlock release for the iPhone 3GS

The iPhone Dev Team just released updates to their cross-platform jailbreak and unlocking tools redsn0w and ultrasn0w, and while unlocks are definitely good news for folks who want to use an iPhone on non-sanctioned carriers, we’re wondering: Do you still jailbreak? Is it still worth it to you? Many have been jailbreaking their iPhones since the [...]

Video: 15 year old spends summer hacking iPhones

Continue reading Video: 15 year old spends summer hacking iPhones

Filed under: Cellphones

Video: 15 year old spends summer hacking iPhones originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: iPhone Twitter clients

The App Store offers a multitude of apps that allow you to post on Twitter and read the tweets of others. But which Twitter client is the best? Lex Friedman looks at five popular Twitter apps to assess which ones are worth your time.

Apple’s Disclosures Regarding Jobs’ Health Remain Under Scrutiny by SEC

Bloomberg reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is continuing to investigate Apple's disclosures regarding Steve Jobs' health during the early January period leading up to the announcement that Jobs would be taking a six-month medi...

Push Growl notifications to iPhone with Prowl

Filed under: iPhone, iPod touch, App Review

If you've seen a string of notifications pop up on your screen and then gracefully fade away, you've probably seen Growl; it's the open source & popular system-wide framework that allows applications to let you know when something happens. For instance, a Growl notification might appear to inform you of a newly-arrived email, new mentions on Twitter, a change of song in iTunes, or a download completing in Safari or Transmission.

The notification itself is a customizable pop-up that can also include an auditory notification as well. Growl is very flexible; it allows you to choose exactly which events trigger a notice, or pick a particular notification style for a specific event. Growl includes support for hundreds of OS X applications and is one of the first items I install on a new system.

Probably the only feature that could make Growl even more awesome is if it were to support forwarding notifications to an iPhone or iPod Touch running 3.0 via the new Push framework. Enter iPhone application Prowl (iTunes link), it is a Growl client for the iPhone that sends your Mac's Growl notifications out to your iPhone. Read on for my experiences and thoughts on the first Growl application for the iPhone.

Continue reading Push Growl notifications to iPhone with Prowl

Push Growl notifications to iPhone with Prowl originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Push Growl notifications to iPhone with Prowl originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chillingo’s Knights Onrush Review

From the publishers of great games such as Toki Tori, The Quest, CS.One, Zen Bound, SpIn and many many more, comes the next big "easy to pick up and put down" game, Knights Onrush . Knights Onrush is on sale now in the AppStore for $.99 or 80% off their ...

Wall Street Journal Profiles Hackers Behind the iPhone Jailbreak

The Wall Street Journal, yanking the curtain away from the wizards behind the iPhone jailbreaking scene, reveals a group of highly precocious teens, twenties, and thirty-somethings.

Now, if you’re the kind of personal who gets disappointed when they find out Hulk Hogan’s real name, prepare yourself for the unmasking of Chronic and Dev Team members — it’s equally less-than-cool.

If you just want a peak behind the scenes, however, check it out:

Ari Weinstein spends his summers riding his bike and swimming. This year, the 15-year-old had another item on his to-do list: Foil Apple Inc.’s brightest engineers and annoy chief executive Steve Jobs. [...] “Coding and testing things that may or may not work, and figuring things out, is a really rewarding experience,” says Ari.

[Thanks Icebike for the tip!]

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

Wall Street Journal Profiles Hackers Behind the iPhone Jailbreak