Philips unveils Wake-up Light HF3490 and HF3480 alarm clocks

Philips uses a large light box that simulates a natural sunrise with light that gradually comes on starting 30 minutes before your alarm is set to go off. Philips claims the clocks are clinically proven to have an impact on the quality of awakening. After the 30-minute light period, the ...

NDrive brings a low cost nav solution to the iPhone

Filed under: iPhone, App Review

Gee, I thought we had seen all the nav apps, but new ones keep popping up. NDrive, a new U.S. $32.99 app [iTunes link] is actually pretty good for the money, and has a reasonably complete feature set. I don't put it in the class of the TomTom, Navigon or Magellan apps, but they cost twice as much.

Here's what you get for your 32 bucks plus change:

• The maps are built into the app. No cell connection needed
• Auto day/night switching
• Alarms for speeding
• Portrait, landscape mode
• Alphabetical or QWERTY keyboard option
• POIs with favorites, descriptions, phone and website links

The app features voice instructions, but no text-to-speech until a Mid-December update. While driving around town it worked pretty well. The POI database was not better or worse than some of the more expensive apps, as I think most are drawing on the same sources. I found it to be reasonably complete. An added feature is some limited 3D landmarks in the larger cities.

The app has a strange syntax when announcing a turn, saying something like "in miles .3 turn right." The developer says that will be fixed in a couple of weeks.

IPod support is weak with no control of the music, it just keeps playing what you are already had on. That's going to be fixed too.

I thought the GUI was actually quite nice. Zooming is and out is done by pinching and squeezing, but if you zoom out too much you won't see many details.

The app was quick to get a GPS fix, but I found turn instructions came just a bit late. It needs to anticipate the upcoming turn in enough time that I can get in the correct lane.

Bottom line: A pretty good app for a reasonable price. If you are on the fence about a GPS app, and want to get something for holiday travel but don't want to sink $80 or more into some of the other offerings, NDrive is a pretty good app. With the update scheduled for a couple of weeks out, the app will get even better.

NDrive brings a low cost nav solution to the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

NDrive brings a low cost nav solution to the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Stolen Belgian iPhones surfacing in Russia

A handful of reports from Russian blogs suggest that iPhones stolen from a Belgian warehouse earlier this month are surfacing in the Russian black market.

Apple Accused of Manipulating Flash Memory Prices

The Korea Times reports on growing complaints within the flash memory industry that Apple, which holds a dominant position due to its extensive use of flash in the iPhone and iPods, is using its increasing leverage to inappropriately manipulate the m...

Amazon Selling 8GB iPod Touch (2nd Generation) for $158.00

You already knew TiPb’s very own store is having a huge sale today and if that isn’t enough, Amazon has an excellent deal on the 2nd generation 8GB iPod touch. For $158 you can nab one with free shipping along with a small bonus of a $5 Amazon MP3 Store credit.

If you spot any other worthy Cyber Monday deals be sure to let us know!

[Via 9to5Mac]

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

Amazon Selling 8GB iPod Touch (2nd Generation) for $158.00

Apple taking their Maps app to ‘the next level’

Filed under: Apple, iPhone

Apple is looking for yet another engineer to help make the iPhone even better. A new job listing found on Apple's website was posted looking for a full-time software engineer to be a part of the Maps application team. The position description explains that Apple wants to take their Maps application to "the next level" and states that they've "only just started."

From the listing:

We want to take Maps to the next level, rethink how users use Maps and change the way people find things. We want to do this in a seamless, highly interactive and enjoyable way. We've only just started.

It's pretty clear that Apple is feeling the heat from the increasing number of GPS and augmented reality applications available from third-party developers and even the advancements that Google has made on their Android platform. This job application definitely shows that Apple is certainly not resting and that work is continuing on the iPhone OS and the applications it offers. While this listing is far more specific than usual, it could be a sign of great things to come.

[via Macrumors]

Apple taking their Maps app to 'the next level' originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple taking their Maps app to 'the next level' originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple Takes Control of ‘TabletMac’ Trademark

A couple of years ago, a company called Axiotron announced an aftermarket modification for the MacBook that converted the Apple laptop into a tablet. The modification remains for sale at $699 and takes a stock MacBook, removes the keyboard and scre...

Gameloft Flip Flops — Will Develop for iPhone AND Android

After making a lot of noise about Android Market not being ready and how they would be scaling back development for the platform, Gameloft has done an about face and looks to be full speed ahead:

Paris – Gameloft®, a world leader in the publishing and development of downloadable video games, plans to launch High Definition games on next generation Android phones like the Motorola Droid and the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.

“The arrival of this new generation of phones will allow the development of High Definition games that make the most of the technological capacity and the speed of execution offered by the new Android phones. Consumers will benefit from a top quality gaming experience,” says Gonzague de Vallois, vice-president of Publishing at Gameloft.

Gameloft also continues to support the current generation of Android phones and announces the imminent arrival of titles such as Assassin’s Creed. These titles will be accessible on the Android Marketplace and Gameloft internet sites and will further strengthen our catalogue of Android games already available.

As our buddy Casey over at Android Central points out, the reversal is stunning considering how Gameloft claimed they make 400x as much on iPhone apps as they do Android. (Casey also points out that persistent app size limit annoyance in Android land — fix that Google, would ya?)

We say — awesome. More competition for the handset makers and better games for everyone. Bring the fun!

What do you think, did Gameloft re-run the numbers, see a secret prototype, or did someone from Google use Maps Navigation to find France, pay them a visit, and show them search rankings before and after for their “re-consideration”? (We joke! Don’t Wave us!)

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

Gameloft Flip Flops — Will Develop for iPhone AND Android

Yet More CDMA-Compatible (aka Verizon) iPhone Rumors

Once again Taiwan’s DigiTimes is raising chatter about Qualcomm and Apple and CDMA compatible (or CDMA+GSM dual mode) iPhones, which of course brings Verizon screaming back into the rumor-mill.

This time, however, it seems that Qualcomm just really, really wants to work with Apple (who currently use a GSM-only chipset from rival Infineon), and a hybrid CDMA+GSM iPhone might not even be technically possible until 2011. (Though Qualcomm’s new chipset reportedly does provide compatibility with the upcoming LTE 4G standard as well, which both AT&T and Verizon will be rolling out… eventually).

So, yeah, very little to see here until we see something real here…

[DigiTimes via AppleInsider]

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

Yet More CDMA-Compatible (aka Verizon) iPhone Rumors

Keepin’ it real fake, part CCXLV: the Nokia iPhone

Alright, so iPhone and N97 knock-offs probably aren't the rarest of gems around these days, but how many handsets do you know that can lay claim to being both? The Cooli902 takes the iPhone's 3.5-inch touchscreen, spit-shines a pretty realistic iPhone OS clone-job, and then adds the Nokia flavor with a fully fledged QWERTY keypad ripped straight from the heart of the N97. Not only does it open to that familiar angle, it also sports the same layout and what we can only imagine to be the same violent opening mechanism as found on the original Nokia handset. And to think that poor Philippe Starck had to pick between these two phones, when for only $143 we could have had both. More pics after the break, or hit the read link to get your own.

Continue reading Keepin' it real fake, part CCXLV: the Nokia iPhone

Keepin' it real fake, part CCXLV: the Nokia iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 08:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: TweetTheBeat for iPhone

For music lovers who also use the Twitter microblogging service, TweetTheBeat provides an interesting way to discover new music (and promote your own) with your iPhone or iPod touch.

Holiday Roundup: Silverlight and iPhone, Handbrake, Black Friday Success and Cyber Monday

Here are a number of news items that have been circulating over the holiday weekend:

- One story that made headlines was a report that implied that Microsoft had Silverlight working on the iPhone. Silverlight is Microsoft's Flash-comp...

Has Apple Started Field Testing the Next Gen iPhone?