"Dieter's at the IFA show in Berlin, Germany and he's scored us a first look at mophie's upcoming juice pack air for iPhone 4. It's got soft touch paint and they claim ZERO signal degredation because the entire PCB board is on the bottom, so there are no electronics around the antenna."
I've been waiting for this to come out! I have one that I used on my 3GS with great results, and this one looks even better. It will sell for $79.95 USD and will be available within the week. They will also have it available in black red, white and green. From the pics it appears to add quite a bit of thickness to the iPhone 4 however, so I'll have to get a look in person at the real thing once it comes out (this one was prototype apparently).
"Steve Jobs certainly wouldn't agree, but I know a few of you grumps out there were disappointed when the iPad turned out to more of a big iPhone than a convertible tablet with a built-in keyboard. Even if you're not one of those people, serious typing on the iPad pretty much requires lugging a Bluetooth-pairable physical keyboard around with you."
It doesn't look bulky like I thought it might, so had the price been less than $90.00 USD, I might be interested in something like this. I don't have a problem with the iPad keyboard per se, but it's handy to have a bit larger one if you do a lot of typing, and very handy to have it inside the case when you need it. I suppose there is a price for convenience, but I'm not quite willing to pay it...yet.
"I have already seen the iPad used in home automation -- Savant is using an iPad app to hook up to some of their home automation systems, using Apple's tablet to control the TV, a whole entertainment system, or even do some remote control of house lights or HVAC, or even monitor cameras remotely with a video feed."
At roughly $500.00 USD, this is a bit steep, but it sure does look nice doesn't it? You can also get one for the iPod Touch if you prefer, although I'm not sure how much that one will cost.
"I was gutted to find this morning that my brand new iPhone 4 didn't work with my beloved TomTom Car Kit - the best automotive cradle/charger for the iPhone, bar none."
Imagine his delight when he fixed the problem, with a simple piece of velcro. You can also use a small piece of foam, as all you need to do is create enough of a barrier to force the iPhone 4 to make the connection with the car kit. Simple. And cheap.
"Why won't my iPhone or iPad case work with this cable? is one of the questions we're being asked a lot lately. A naked iPhone can pretty much fit any sync, charge, or media cable you connect it with at home, at work, or on the go. When you start introducing some types of cases, however, and add in different kinds of cables - all bets are off."
I ran into this problem with my iPhone 4, the cable wouldn't stay connected unless I was using the specific cable that came with the iPhone 4. Kind of annoying as this meant my days of just grabbing any cable were over if I wanted to use it with my iPhone 4 when it was in a protective case. If you read the article, you can also pick up one of these cables at 50% off via TiPb. Well, I guess you don't have to actually read the article, you can just scroll down to the part about the deal on a cable if you so desire.
"Originally shown on Griffin's web site as the Stylus for iPad ($20), the package actually reads "Stylus" and now references the "iPad + iPhone + iPod touch," suggesting that this miniature pen-sized tool might appeal to all Apple touchscreen device users."
I might have to give this one a try, as I'm interested in doing more with my iPad such as taking notes, etc. There are several in the iTunes store that allow you to take written notes, such as Ghostwriter Notes [affiliate link] for $2.99 USD, iNotes for iPad [affiliate link] for $3.99 USD, PadNotes [affiliate link] for $0.99 USD or even SketchPad HD [affiliate link] for $0.99 USD that doubles as a sketch pad, complete with color palette. If you want something a little fancier, WritePad for iPad [affiliate link] for $9.99 USD has handwriting recognition as well as DropBox and Wi-Fi syncing capabilities. I'm sure there are many more as well, so the options are out there, and this stylus appears to be just the accessory that will work with them.
"Don't know how to properly coil the MagSafe cord for your MacBook or MacBook Pro? Well that's cool, but you might want to start doing it the correct way, lest you burn your house down."
I am so guilty of coiling my MagSafe cord the wrong way.
"A week ago, the FedEx guy brought a Magic Trackpad from Apple. The Magic Trackpad takes all the good things about the trackpads on the MacBook Pros and incorporates them into a large, standalone peripheral designed to replace the mouse that many folks (like me) have used for so long. Does the Magic Trackpad succeed in knocking the mouse off the desk? Mostly."
James Kendrick over at TheAppleBlog gives a pretty good review of the Magic Trackpad. Personally, I'm still not convinced. I'm not fond of trackpads in general, though, so don't take my word for it. Read Kendrick's review. He also links out to an opposing review, also from TheAppleBlog. His suggestion, which I think is perfect: go to your nearest Apple store and try it for yourself before investing the money. Are you using a Magic Trackpad, and if so, what has your experience been like? Do you love it or hate it?
"Here at Appletell, we are big fans of both music and skin. One rattles our bones, the other holds said bones inside our body. What's not to love about both those things? The folks at MusicSkins agree, as they've combined the two into some slick scratch/scuff protection for your iPhone 4, and we're going to give a few of them away."
Win something for my iPhone 4? Yeah, that is something I'd be interested in, wouldn't you? If so, head on over to Appletell and enter their contest for your shot at one of the cool skins pictured above. The contest ends August 11th so hurry up and enter!
"Apple wants to get bumpers to iPhone 4 users as quickly as possible. That's perhaps one reason why bumpers are now showing up at customer doorsteps without retail packaging."
I received mine yesterday, but it was in proper packaging. To be honest, I don't much like it. The major problem I have with it is that the charging cable doesn't really fit, well regardless of which one I use. So I don't have it in a case. I have XO Skins on the front and back but that is it. I know I'm probably playing with fire, but I'm just extra careful with it and with the skins on it, the grip is better anyway. How about you, what do you use to protect your iPhone 4, if anything?
"The Magic Trackpad has just shown up and Apple has already issued a driver update for it."
The update will also enable the inertial scrolling and three-finger dragging (if you want to move windows around) on MacBooks and MacBook Pros with the multi-touch trackpads. You will need to have 10.6.4 though to get it working properly, and if you are curious to see if it will work on your Macbook, Edible Apple has a list of all the compatible versions. You can find more info at Apple, and download the update as well [link].
And to answer a question some of you may have since it is Bluetooth, the folks at Gearlog tried to get the Trackpad to work with an iPhone and iPad. And the result is no, it doesn't work with either and is an OS X only product. One additional note, the buttons for the Trackpad are on the feet not on the surface, which is an interesting design feature, but it makes sense.
"Rejoice, iPhone 4 owners, because the bandaid to solve your antenna problems is coming. We got confirmation that the first free Apple bumpers are now shipping."
I just got my confirmation email about my bumper shipping as well. So this is well ahead of the timetable they give you via the app, which is 3 to 5 weeks. Anybody out there order something other than bumpers and get an email also?
"Apple has today released the Magic Trackpad, a multi-touch glass trackpad for desktop computers. The Magic Trackpad gives desktop users the same intuitive multi-touch gestures that Mac notebook customers have come to love and is available separately for $69 (£59)."
Ah, I have been hoping they would come out with one of these [link]. I was just about to purchase a new mouse but held off in hopes that there would be a release soon so I'm glad I was patient, which isn't easy for me! Couple that with the $29.00 USD battery charger [link] and it's a winning combo. How about you, do you think this will replace your mouse or do you plan on using it in conjunction with your mouse? And what about the charger?
"Disgusted with Apple's refusal to bestow honest-to-goodness backgrounding to the iPad, even though the (presumably) weaker iPhone 4 has been doing it for weeks? You aren't alone."
Not sure what this has to do with backgrounding. And I certainly don't know why anyone would want to wear their iPad. But perhaps that is why my application to Next Design Star always gets rejected, I have no fashion vision!
"If your iPhone 4 is suffering signal loss and you're not enamored with the assortment of bumpers and cases that are available for it, the Antenn-aid may be the near-invisible solution for you."
This is very clever and laugh out loud funny, at least for me it was. You can pick up a packet of various colors at the Antenn-aid website for $4.99 USD.
The contest for the free XO Skins for iPhone 4 owners ends tomorrow (enter by replying on the contest page), but XO Skins wants everyone to feel like a winner so if you use the code APPLETHOUGHTS2OFF you can get $2.00 USD off your purchase. I believe the code will work on any of the products they sell at XO Skins and is good until 12/31/2010.
"This is really awesome. While there are rumors that an iPhone 4 steadicam is in production, Spencer Watson didn't wait -- as you can see above, he went ahead and built a steadicam rig for his own iPhone out of some parts he had sitting around."
This is pretty ingenious, and done with parts you can find in your local home improvement store (all but the Nerf gun unless your home improvement store has a wider selection than the one that I go to). I don't think I would have much use for this since my filming is limited to family stuff, but I certainly can see the advantage if you are using it for stuff like he does in the video that follows after the break.
"Apple loves their customers so much that they're giving away Bumpers to all iPhone 4 owners. Know who else loves Apple's customers? Fusion of Ideas, which is why they're giving away free (plus shipping) Stealth Armor side pieces to all iPhone 4 owners. Know who else loves Apple's customers? Appletell, which is why we-in cooperation with Fusion of Ideas-are giving away three Stealth Armor skins for iPhone 4."
The fine folks over at Appletell are giving away some Stealth Armor skins for iPhone 4. Appletell has done a review of thes Stealth Armor skins for the iPhone 3G as well as the iPad, and given them high marks. I definitely like the looks, and they are giving away 3 of them so that certainly improves your odds. Head on over to their contest page to get your entry in before the July 25th deadline.
"Future portable devices from Apple, such as iPhones and iPads, could be docked in both horizontal and landscape positions, via an inductive connection on the back side of the device for charging and syncing."
I especially like the smiley face on the product, wonder if that helps get the patent process done quicker? Sorry, got off on a tangent there, I like this idea, reminds me of the wireless charging options currently out there such as Powerpad, but without the obligatory clunky case that is required. I'm all for something like this, and it appears to lend credence to wireless syncing stories that have been popping up recently.
