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Posts Tagged ‘iphone’

One of these things is not like the other

Media streamers like the Western Digital WD TV Live and Netgear NeoTV make just a little less sense than they did a couple of years ago. In those days, they were the perfect alternative to stuffing a home theater PC into your entertainment center. These days, you can get nearly all the same functionality from a new Blu-ray player or a Smart TV.

On the other hand, the latest incarnations of these two products cost less than a new Blu-ray player, and they’re several orders of magnitude cheaper than a new … [Read More...]

The Obama presidential campaign is again pushing the bounds of technology in politics by using Square mobile payments in its fundraising efforts. Square’s mobile payment device is a secure magnetic stripe credit card reader that can be attached to the headphone jack of iPhones, iPads, and Android devices to accept payments.

The company is obviously thrilled to have the publicity, and has sanctioned a special app for the campaign to use for donations. Currently, only staff have access to the Obama Square app, but it will be released to the general public soon. This is similar to the way Square … [Read More...]

This is the year millions of owners of so-called feature phones — devices which handle little beyond voice calls, texts, and photos — will finally upgrade to true smartphones.

At least, that’s the hope of Microsoft and Nokia. The two tech giants have been floundering to get a foothold in the U.S. smartphone market ever since the iPhone launched in 2007. The two companies have partnered up to make a more cohesive play in the realm of touchscreens, apps, and streaming media, and this is their most accessible U.S.-bound device so far.

The Nokia Lumia 710 runs the latest version … [Read More...]

As is customary, Apple’s newest mobile device has been torn asunder by curious gawkers in search of a cheap thrill. Also, they want to see what’s inside so they can price out components, but that is pretty thrilling. The iPhone 4S bill of materials was determined by iSupplyi to be roughly $188 for the 16GB version.

The most expensive part is, unsurprisingly, the touchscreen at $37. iSupplyi estimates that manufacturing costs are just $8 per device, so Apple pays less than $200 for the device, and it sells for $200 on contract. The 32GB and 64GB models were priced out … [Read More...]

With the advent of E-readers like the Kindle, the publishing industry has been blown wide open. Before, getting your book in front of somebody meant flying to New York and scaling the granite walls of giant publishing houses. Failing that, you could always go to some shady vanity publishing company, but their primary concern was separating you from your hard-earned money.

The e-book Gerda and Kai displayed on a Motorola Xoom.

Nowadays it’s much easier to get your work into the hands of your eager audience. Whether you’re looking to publish the next great American novel or just want to … [Read More...]

What’s the frequency, Kenneth?

We’ve never been big fans of headphones that use active noise cancellation, chiefly because they mask the sound of aircraft engines, HVAC systems, computers, and other sources of ambient noise by generating noise of their own. A far better strategy, in our opinion, is to sufficiently isolate your ears so those sounds don’t reach your eardrums in the first place.

The best way to do that is to plug your ears with miniature headphones fit inside your ear canal. But some folks just aren’t comfortable sticking bits of foam rubber or silicone in their ears, which … [Read More...]

Apple has gone to war with just about anyone who dares to compete with its iOS lineup, suing where possible and spreading FUD when they can’t. Before the lawyers ever threw the first punch however, there was the original rivalry, Apple vs. Adobe. Many analysts believed that Steve Job’s unwillingness to embrace flash would be the death of the platform, but amazingly, it thrived. HTML5 video spread across the web like wildfire, starting with YouTube, and moving to just about every content creation site worth visiting. Adobe put up a brave front, but has finally thrown in the towel, and … [Read More...]

Apple and Microsoft have been at each other’s throats in the computer realm for years now, culminating in those super annoying “I’m a Mac” commercials. Now comes word of Apple’s newest ploy; the company will recycle your PC for free. Heck, it’ll even pay for the shipping and packaging and give you an Apple gift card if the computer’s still worth anything. Are they being generous and environmentally conscious, or do Steve Jobs and Justin Long just plan on high-fiving and laughing maniacally while bulldozing giant stacks of Dells?

We’re not sure, but one thing is for certain; it’s a … [Read More...]

My head started hurting after the first hour of using Mac OS X Lion. Two words: inverted scrolling.

That’s correct — Lion’s default scrolling behavior is to scroll down when you swipe up on your multitouch mouse, and to scroll up when you swipe down, just like you would on an iPad.

This modification in scrolling clearly illustrates Apple’s ambition with Mac OS X Lion, which was to make the Mac operating system more like the mega-popular iOS software powering not just … [Read More...]

Microsoft’s $8.5 billion proposed acquisition of Skype is one step closer to being a done deal today, with regulators officially giving the Redmond based software giant the green light to proceed with its merger plans. The deal has been stuck in regulatory limbo since it was announced in May, however analysts almost universally agreed that it was unlikely to raise many red flags given how competitive the VOIP space is these days.

It’s still somewhat unclear at this point what Microsoft plans to do with Skype, but at least in the short term, Microsoft has openly stated that it plans … [Read More...]

It’s safe to say there are few companies paying as close attention to the sound, construction and design of the lowly clock radio as Tivoli Audio.

Co-founded over a decade ago by hi-fi–audio veterans Henry Kloss and Tom DeVesto, the company quickly built a reputation for making beautiful-looking and great-sounding radios with stark retro styling. Tivoli systems have big tuning knobs, analog clock faces and come in handsome wooden boxes.

The company is celebrating its 10th anniversary with the release of another well-designed table top system, the Model 10. Like other Tivoli radios, there’s a base unit that runs by … [Read More...]

Undeniably attractive and super skinny, Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Arc is ready for a career as a runway model.

This fashionable specimen measures a mere 0.46 inches thick at its thinnest point, the middle of the concave arc that runs vertically down the back of the phone. It manages to make my iPhone 3GS look almost obese in comparison.

Slimness is a virtue in devices, as it reduces that embarrassing Visible Phone Line in your pocket. But premium phones usually have a bit of heft to them, and in that respect, the Xperia Arc feels a little too thin. Flimsy, even. … [Read More...]

The Iomega SuperHero is a hybrid charging dock and SD-card-based backup station for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The only problem is, it’s not that super.

The sales pitch goes something like this: You’re pretty anal about protecting your data, and losing your iPhone contacts or photos would be the end of the world to you. But connecting your iPhone to a computer and regularly syncing to iTunes isn’t something you can force into a habit.

Priced at $70, the Iomega SuperHero dock is designed to streamline backups for you. Stick an SD card in the slot, launch the Iomega … [Read More...]

Does the world need another iPod dock? Probably not. Still, the Soundfreaq’s inaugural SFQ-01 “sound platform” (hint: it streams music too) is not only nice to ogle, it also delivers surprisingly good sound at super reasonable price.

The entire front side of the Soundfreaq — or ‘the Freaq’ as I’ve grown fond of calling it — is dominated by one grill. Tucked behind this sonic drapery are two balanced, Kevlar-reinforced drivers that provide ample oomph for a small-to-medium sized space — think bedroom or office, not living room. That space will also look a hell of a lot better thanks … [Read More...]

Boy, are my Instagram friends going to be jealous. Now, when I share a photo using my favorite Lomo-Twitter mobile app, my photos are going to look sharper, crisper and better than everyone else’s.

Why? Because I’m not using the crappy camera on my phone. I’m using a nice prosumer camera with an Eye-Fi Mobile X2 card in it. Every time I press the shutter, my photo transfers wirelessly and directly to the phone in my pocket. From there, I can add whatever fancy, appy goodness I want, and share it on the internet.

Eye-Fi has been making waves for … [Read More...]