Review: Emergency City for iPhone

Emergency City is a challenging and fast paced game full of frantic nail-biting action. It offers great graphics, frantically paced gameplay, and plenty of replay value for just a buck.

Study: Google Nexus One’s first week of sales were weak

Big hype didn't equal big sales for Google's Nexus One, according to market research firm Flurry.

Motorola Portable Bluetooth Car Speakerphone T305 for Hands-free iPhone 3G/3GS Talking

Here in the great state of Illinois we kicked off the new year with a law that prohibits anyone talking on their cell phones (or iPhones!) while driving a vehicle — unless they use a Bluetooth device. Now I am not not sure about your state laws but if you are in the same boat as I am, why not take a look at the Motorola Bluetooth Car Speakerphone T305? [$44.95 - TiPb Store Link

For the full review follow me after the break!

The Moto T305 comes with a sturdy clip that you attach to the device itself, and then slide directly onto your sun visor. Either side of the visor will do – front or back, and during my few weeks of testing it remained securely in place and not once did it come off the visor. Charging the T305 is a piece of cake with the included mini-USB car adapter. Motorola’s claim of 12 hours of talk time and 200 hours of standby time turned out to be pretty dead on give or take.

The controls of the T305 are plain and simple, and that is a positive. It contains a dedicated power button, volume up and down buttons on either side of the device, and a giant call button directly in the center. One thing that may be troublesome to some users is that the call button flashes blue constantly when the device is powered on, regardless of whether or not you are on a phone call. It can be distracting at night and just seems wasteful.

As far as sound quality, based on other car speakerphones I have tested, I’d rate the Moto T305 slightly above average. The T305 contains enhanced echo and noise reduction technologies that help keep both incoming and outgoing call quality clean and crisp. One issue I did run into was if you turn the volume up too far the sound makes it’s way back to the receiver and makes the person on the other line hear themselves (echo effect). You can eliminate that particular issue by turning the volume down a bit. Other than that one problem, I did not experience any other voice quality issues.

If you are looking for a hands-free solution for your vehicle and a headset is out of the question, you can’t go wrong with the low price and good performance of the Motorola T305 Bluetooth Speakerphone.

For more information and full specs, check out the TiPb store!

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

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

Motorola Portable Bluetooth Car Speakerphone T305 for Hands-free iPhone 3G/3GS Talking

AT&T iPhone Users: Are you Noticing Much Faster 3G Speeds?

iSlate Input Alternatives: Handwriting Recognition Without a Stylus and Much More

As rumors of an Apple tablet reach a frenzy, there's no shortage of opinions of what Apple could or should do in an upcoming tablet device. One major question that has remained is the input method that Apple will choose to adopt for the tablet. Th...

Apple Removes iPhone App for Giving Access to Porn - Like Any Normal Browser

iType Physical Keyboard for iPhone Gets the Ultimate Test — TiPb @ CES 2010

Ion’s iType is a full sized — full. sized. — keyboard for the iPhone or iPod touch that comes bundled with an App Store app for easy text input. Output is another story — given the iPhone’s app sandboxing, you have to email or copy and paste the text into other apps. Ion is open to letting other apps use their hardware, however, so if Apple doesn’t get it together and offer standardized keyboard dock and BT protocols, and something like a Finger App to share document content, we’re hoping third parties can get at least part of it done themselves.

They also make a piano/synthesizer style iDiscover keyboard as well.

But enough philosophy, let’s get physical with the keyboard. And who better to try perform the ultimate typing test than our best frenemy CrackBerry Kevin. He puts it through its paces in the video below. Check it out after the break, and let us know what you think.

[YouTube video link]

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

iType Physical Keyboard for iPhone Gets the Ultimate Test — TiPb @ CES 2010

Hands-on with Runmeter

Filed under: iPhone, App Review

New year, new you, and there are a host of location-based iPhone apps that can help you look a bit more lithe at Point B than you did at Point A. Runmeter [iTunes link] is one of them. Like almost all apps in its genre (Nike+ and RunKeeper Pro [iTunes link]), Runmeter's main purpose is to track the distance you run and provides you such niceties like your pace and time. It doesn't get any simpler than that. However, Runmeter is also equipped with some features that separate it from the crowd.

While there exists a host of location-based running apps on the iPhone, in my experience RunKeeper Pro serves as the benchmark GPS-based running app on the iPhone. It strikes a nice balance between ease-of-use for those who just want to get out and run while also providing some advanced features for the more training-oriented runner.

The most obvious difference between Runmeter and RunKeeper Pro is price. At USD $4.99, Runmeter's price is half that of RunKeeper Pro. But this lower price doesn't necessarily translate into a lower quality product. Rather, Runmeter just has a different focus.

Compared to RunKeeper Pro, Runmeter is less interval-training focused. Rather than getting your splits at a set distance, or your distance given a specified time interval, Runmeter allows you to race against yourself and tells you if you were faster this time around. And if your overall run was faster or slower, it's indicated as such within the app's built-in calendar.

Another differentiating feature is customized announcements. In other words, if you just want to hear your elevation and pace, you can do that. And if you want to hear your competitor time, pace, remaining time and calories, you can do that as well. And you can arrange them in whichever order you want to hear them.

But my favorite feature in Runmeter is its integration with clicker-enabled iPhone earbuds. You can squeeze the clicker to trigger announcements, like the aforementioned customized arrangement. One thing that I like about running with the Nike+ kit on the iPod nano is that, whether it's in your pocket or strapped via an armband, you can feel your way to the center button and press it to get your distance, pace, and time.

However, Runmeter is not without its quirks and annoyances. In particular, the app doesn't announce the beginning of a run. On most running apps I've used, starting a run will initiate a voice telling you that you're good to go -- something along the lines of "beginning run" or "activity started." But on Runmeter, there is no such audio cue or feedback; you have to look at the screen to see if it's tracking you.

At its $4.99 price, Runmeter will likely get the attention of those who are a bit hesitant toward RunKeeper Pro because of its $9.99 price tag. Whether or not Runmeter is the right running app for you, however, will depend on the way you train. If you like to race against yourself and monitor your improvements on a specified course, then Runmeter will likely serve as a better option. For the more interval-minded (be it time or distance), however, I find RunKeeper Pro a better option.

Hands-on with Runmeter originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hands-on with Runmeter originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report Claims Tablet is ‘iPhone on Steroids’, Runs on iPhone OS Kernel

Boy Genius Report reveals that it has received information from a source regarding Apple's much-rumored tablet, noting that it is basically an "iPhone on steroids" and offering a few details about the device.

- The tablet's multi-touc...

iPhone Hands-on from a BlackBerry Abuser’s Perspective — Smartphone Round Robin

Well, well, look who’s coming to demo — CrackBerry.com’s Kevin Michaluk, and we gave him the full-on look at Apple’s latest iPhone 3GS, so be sure to check that out.

Kevin being Kevin, he’s also hoped onto TiPb’s iPhone Forums to ask “where’s the keyboard on this thing?” Every day you help him on that thread, you’re entered for a chance to WIN AN iPHONE 3GS! (smartphoneroundrobin.com has all your details!)

As for me, I’m over at the WMExperts Forums trying to figure out if the HTC HD2 is the obelisk from 2001… or something bigger. Give me a hand over there, and you could win one of them ginormous bad boys as well!

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

iPhone Hands-on from a BlackBerry Abuser’s Perspective — Smartphone Round Robin

BGR: No iPhone OS Updates Recently Because it Would Reveal Tablet Info?

The Boy Genius claims, based on info from a source who’s proven reliable before, that we haven’t gotten an iPhone OS update recently (oh, hai still missing iPhone 3.2!) because:

there’s too much tablet-related code/references in the OS and Apple obviously didn’t want that to leak.

He’s also heard that multitouch gestures for the iTablet/iSlate are “out of control”, it’s got a super-fast ARM processor that runs the iPhone OS kernel, is model K48AP, and is pretty much an “iPhone on steroids”.

If this pans out, being so closely linked to the iPhone will no doubt disappoint Mac OS X tablet enthusiasts, but benefit the iPhone in terms of leveraged development and shared features.

Either way, we can still only expect it when we see it…

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

BGR: No iPhone OS Updates Recently Because it Would Reveal Tablet Info?

iPhone App Store Economy Even More Massive Than This Visualization

Think this GigaOm visual representation of the iPhone and iPod touch App Store Economy is massive? Check out that economy itself. (And we’re guessing there are far more devices on the market now, given how 50 million was nearly 2 quarters ago).

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

iPhone App Store Economy Even More Massive Than This Visualization

Intel Promotion Appears to Reveal Forthcoming Core i5-Based MacBook Pro

Spanish site faq-mac.com reports [Google translation] that chipmaker Intel has sent an e-mail to members of its Intel Retail Edge program touting a chance for participants to win one of two MacBook Pro notebooks based on Intel's new Core i5 processor...

Review: NBA League Pass Mobile for iPhone

Some additional touches would make this video streaming app a more well-rounded offering. But if you're an NBA fan who can't stand to miss one of your team’s games, NBA League Pass may be the app that you've been waiting for.

Should your IT department support the iPhone?

A lot has changed since IT managers and system administrators panned the original iPhone. Computerworld's Ryan Faas looks at whether the iPhone is ready for business adoption. The answer varies from business to business.