Review: Grinchmas for iPhone

How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a holiday classic, so it’s no surprise that a Grinch app would show up around this time of year. Grinchmas, from Oceanhouse Media, is a festive and amusing game, but one you’ll probably delete once New Year’s rolls around.

Apple Asking App Developers to Prepare for Large Screen Demos Next Month?

Silicon Alley Insider reports that Apple has approached certain app developers to ask them to prepare for a demo scheduled for next month. Notably, Apple has requested that the developers prepare their applications to run in "full screen" mode rathe...

Google ‘Nexus One’ Phone Set for Invitation-Only Launch on January 5th?

The hype is continuing to build around Google's highly-anticipated Android-based phone, dubbed the "Nexus One". Engadget today reveals draft specs for the forthcoming device, as well as information that it is scheduled to launch on January 5th and w...

Report: Handhelds grab larger share of hotspot traffic

Hotspot usage by handheld devices is growing fast, thanks to the increasing popularity of products equipped with Wi-Fi, according to In-Stat.

iPhone 3GS tames Unreal Engine 3

A demo shows an iPhone 3GS running Epic’s Unreal Engine 3.

Review: Plantronics Discovery 975 Bluetooth Headset for iPhone 3G/3GS

The past few weeks I’ve been lucky enough to test out the latest and greatest Plantronics Discovery 975 Bluetooth headset for the iPhone [TiPb Store Link - $119.95]. I’ve tested a lot of Bluetooth headsets since I’ve been here at TiPb and while some have been all around impressive, others have left me scratching my head. Is the Discovery 975 a definite keeper, or just a dud?

See for yourself after the break!

First thing you need to do is pair your headset with your iPhone and with the Discovery 975 and Plantronics QuickPair technology, it’s a breeze. Simply turn on your iPhone’s Bluetooth feature and follow the commands of your earpiece. That’s all there is to it. And if you are like me and have more than one phone, activate the Multipoint technology to pair your earpiece with a second device, so you can stay connected with one headset for home and at the office.

Right off the bat if you look at Discovery 975 you can clearly see it is a little larger than most other recently released headsets, but looks can be deceiving as it weighs in at only .28 oz. It’s a very simple headset with just a single button along with answer call/end call/power button. This is a very good thing if you are a minimalist. A concern you may have, looking a the headset, is how well does it fit in your ear? While I will admit I am not a huge fan of headsets that do not come with an ear loop, the 975 does a decent job with the provided gel ear tips. Of course, this will vary completely depending on your ears and it may just be a deal breaker for some.

When it comes down to it, the Discovery 975 has a very clean design that just works.

Let’s get to the good stuff — call quality and battery life. I am happy to report with Plantronics Dual-mic AudioIQ² technology, the call quality is spectacular. The only time I had the slightest of call quality issues was when I was in a noisy area. Now that’s not to say the person on the other end of the call could not hear me but there was background noise that could be heard on the receiver’s end. So is the noise cancellation as good as a Jawbone? No, but it makes up for that in the other big area I mentioned — battery life.

Battery life is really where the Discovery shines. Plantronics claims you can get 5 hours of actual talk time and 168 hours of stand by time. Now that may seem very common amongst other headsets. Where the Discovery has the upper hand, however, is with the supplied carrying case that recharges the headset and triples talk and standby time. As far as I know this is the only current headset available on the market with such a case included with the device.

The Plantronics Discovery 975 is one of those headsets that either you will love or you will hate. The only concern I have is the lack of the ear loop as at times I had issues with the fit. Again, that will vary among users and you may love how it fits. Other that one negative, this is a excellent headset that is worth every penny and it can be purchased at TiPb’s very own store for $119.95.

Disclaimer: The TiPb iPhone Accessory Store provided the headset for this review.

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

Review: Plantronics Discovery 975 Bluetooth Headset for iPhone 3G/3GS

Android eats iPhone market share in five years

Analysts at ABI Research expect mobile application downloads to reach 5 billion by 2014, with the Android platform as the biggest beneficiary of that growth.

The Competition: Google Nexus One Phone Gets Hands-on, UI Walkthrough

Gizmodo’s Brian Lam got his hands on a Google Phone Nexus One and shared some impressions.

A tad thinner, lighter, and “silky”-er feeling in the hand compared to the iPhone, Nexus One also sports a less cheap, more rubbery back. (The rubber lobby is no doubt thrilled with that bump in cachet). Its screen POPS and blows everything away, and it’s (likely 1GHz processor powered) web rendering is a bit faster than the iPhone 3GS, both of which are faster than the Droid. (Though the iPhone 3GS still outscored all comers on JavaScript benchmarks. Nitro FTW!) It’s also got a crazy animated background system that can launch bit blocks or ripple when you touch it, but becomes a visualizer when music is playing. Like Sense UI’s animated weather, that kind of eye candy is just sweet.

With iPhone 4.0 and a 4th generation iPhone due June/July 2010, how selfish are we to beg all comers to “bring the awesome!” so that Apple is incentivized to bring their own innovation to market faster? Exactly this selfish: well done, Nexus One, you’re not failing to impress.

Speaking of which, check out Android Guys video UI walkthrough after the break, and tell us what you think!

[via Android Central]

[YouTube link]

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

The Competition: Google Nexus One Phone Gets Hands-on, UI Walkthrough

Adobe seeks Photoshop feedback from iPhone developers

Adobe is seeking feedback from Apple iPhone developers on how Photoshop can be enhanced for mobile development.

Next-Generation iPhone Set to Carry 5-Megapixel Camera?

DigiTimes reports that OmniVision Technologies has secured orders from Apple for 5-megapixel camera sensors destined for the next-generation iPhone. Sources report that the OmniVision is expected to supply Apple with 40-45 million sensors in 2010 fo...

More Evidence Of Next-Gen iPhone OS - iPhone OS 4.0

Sauce Digital intros Touch Soccer 3D for iPhone

Sauce Digital has released Touch Soccer 3D for iPhone and iPod touch, a first person, gesture controlled, 5-a-side soccer game played on a walled pitch.

iPhone from a Windows Phone User’s Perspective, Smartphone Round Robin

I’m an iPhone. Phil’s a Windows Phone. But this week our good buddy from WMExperts is taking a look at TiPb’s signature device, and to he’s asking TiPb iPhone Forum members for their help in understanding Apple’s integrated, iTunes-bound universe dent’er. And remember, every day you reply to that thread, you’re entered for a chance to WIN AN iPHONE 3GS! (smartphoneroundrobin.com has all your details!)

Meanwhile, I’m over at CrackBerry.com trying to figure out why the BlackBerry Bold 9700’s touchscreen just won’t work! (And why the Storm2 holds such a grudge!) Head on over to the CrackBerry Forums and give me a hand, and you could win the BlackBerry smartphone of your choice as well!

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

iPhone from a Windows Phone User’s Perspective, Smartphone Round Robin

Review: ReQall for iPhone

This handy, well designed to-do list manager lets you speak or type reminders into your iPhone; the app then organizes those notes, sends you reminders, and syncs events with with iCal, Google Calendar, and Outlook.

Rumor: 4th Generation iPhone to Pack 5 Megapixel Camera?

Digitimes is reporting that OmniVision has received an order from Apple for 50-45 million CMOS sensors packing 5 megapixels, bound for next year’s 4th generation iPhone. That’s nearly double the unites — and a huge increase in pixel count — from the iPhone 3GS cameras OmniVision currently supplies.

As with all next-gen iPhone rumors, take this one with an iTablet-sized grain of salt, but it does make competitive sense for Apple to bump the camera next year, among other things (cough iPhone HD cough).

Of course, we’ll never know for sure until WWDC 2010 when Steve Jobs (or Phil Schiller) hoists it up on stage.

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

Rumor: 4th Generation iPhone to Pack 5 Megapixel Camera?

Wednesday Fun Video: Mosspuppet’s Last-Minute Gift Guide

[YouTube video link]

The often NSFW-L, sometimes inebriated Walt Mosspuppet is back with a last-minute gift giving guide just in time for the holidays. For the record, we agree with #4 completely, but wouldn’t restrict it to just your wife, even if she is a prom queen. The others we either think are okay, or want to distance ourselves from completely.

Gift. Up.

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

Wednesday Fun Video: Mosspuppet’s Last-Minute Gift Guide

iPhone in iPhone app is useless, but mesmerizing

Here's the premise: you take a good old fashioned augmented reality setup, the likes of which we've seen all over the land, and attach a three-dimensional, rotatable iPhone to it. Not impressed yet, are you? Neither were we, but there's some secret sauce to this one: you can actually launch apps on the simulated iPhone. That extra layer of interactivity makes the video after the break a lot more fascinating than it has any right to be, though it's worth pointing out that we don't think the apps are actually usable -- they just give the illusion of launching. Anyhow, don't wait around while all the cool kids are watching it, go have a gander yourself.

Continue reading iPhone in iPhone app is useless, but mesmerizing

iPhone in iPhone app is useless, but mesmerizing originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Dec 2009 06:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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