October 09, 2009 :: Posted by - Thomas :: Category - News

October 08, 2009 :: Posted by - Thomas :: Category - News

Sanyo has introduced a couple of new audio systems to the masses, with the DMP-P1 a Cube Alarm Clock Radio with an iPod docking station and the DMP-692 Dual Dock Music System, with two docking stations allowing two iPods or an iPod and iPhone to be played and recharged simultaneously. These stylish systems are sure to sell if the price is right which we’ll reveal at the end of the post, but in the meantime, do take a look at what both devices are able to offer to the consumer.
Read more…

September 29, 2009 :: Posted by - SoSly :: Category - News

Hong Kong-based China Unicom released details today concerning its August announcement of a three-year deal to sell the iPhone. Sales of the iPhone will begin in October, dovetailing with its October 1st 3G network launch, and will be priced at approximately 5000 Yuan, or around US$730. The iPhone will be sold in both Apple retail stores and through Unicom’s own network of stores, and plans for the iPhone will range from 126 Yuan to 886 Yuan, or about US$18 to US$130. There will also be a handset subsidy, depending on the chosen plan above 126 Yuan, which maxes out at 4253 Yuan, or about US$623.
China Unicom competes heavily with the larger China Telecom, which is believed to be in negotiations to distribute the Palm Pre.

Via tuaw.com

September 25, 2009 :: Posted by - Thomas :: Category - News

As the number of applications available on the App Store grows, the range of tasks that can be accomplished with a piece of software will likewise expand. One app has been made with this in mind, and allows users to perform over a dozen tasks in one single program.

AppBox Pro is like the Swiss-army knife of apps. It contains information on your iPhone or iPod Touch’s battery life, indicating how much talk time you have left on either the 3G or 2G network, along with time left for web surfing and audio playback.

It also contains Read more…

September 24, 2009 :: Posted by - SoSly :: Category - News

TomTom’s much-anticipated iPhone GPS car kit has appeared on a number of European Apple online stores, including the UK store. Scheduled to ship in 2-3 weeks, the kit is priced at £99.95 (US$164.10) in the UK and 99.95 Euro (US$147.90) in other European countries, which includes the TomTom iPhone application.

Did you notice?

You get both the TomTom navigation app for your iPhone 3GS or 3G and the docking kit to hold your iPhone securely in place on your dashboard or windscreen.

Details on the car kit, including the user guide, were posted to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s site late last month. The kit, which had been expected to be launched this summer, was pushed back to an October release earlier this month.

TomTom’s car kit contains an external GPS receiver and other hardware features and has been claimed to be compatible with the iPod touch and other GPS iPhone applications from other vendors, but Apple’s product description makes no mention of compatibility with those offerings.

Via macrumors.com

September 22, 2009 :: Posted by - SoSly :: Category - News

Macsimum News notes that Apple has moved up to #20 on market research firm Interbrand’s annual ‘Best Global Brands’ list. Interbrand pegged Apple’s “brand” at a value of $US15.4 billion, up 12% from 2008 and enough to boost Apple to #20 from #24 in the rankings.

The recession won’t take a bite out of this Apple. Declining Mac sales and fears for the company’s future without brand visionary Steve Jobs, were outweighed by record high iPod sales, doubling sales for the iPod Touch, and all-time high market share for Mac OS software. Price might be a barrier for cost-conscious consumers, but Apple responded quickly with high margin, low-priced products like the US $99 iPhone and a new, voice-activated iPod Shuffle. The Apple brand is the most supported within its industry, and among the most iconic of relatively young brands in the world.

The 2009 list was headed by Coca-Cola, IBM, and Microsoft, although Apple had the second-greatest increase in brand value (by percentage) after Google’s 25% increase among the top 25 companies on the list.

Via macrumors.com

September 07, 2009 :: Posted by - SoSly :: Category - News

Apple and its exclusive US wireless provider AT&T could soon deliver new carrier-specific features to iPhone users through a future software update in a bid to increase customer satisfaction.

At least one of the enhancements, according to those claiming knowledge of the matter, would be similar to the Visual Voicemail feature made popular on the iPhone two years ago, in that it may require AT&T to tailor changes to its network.

In particular, the two parties are said to be mulling the possibility of enabling the following capabilities through an update to the iPhone’s software that could arrive before year’s end:

• Overage Alerts: A proposed new setting under the iPhone’s “Phone” preferences would allow users to customize a push notification — in the form of a badge, message, or sound — to be issued when they’re in danger of exceeding their monthly anytime minutes.
• New Voicemail Options: A new “Voicemail” setting, also proposed as an addition to the touch-screen handset’s “Phone” preferences, would provide a means for users to disable Read more…

September 06, 2009 :: Posted by - SoSly :: Category - News

As summer draws to a close for much of the northern hemisphere, try to get outside for some (hopefully) clear skies and a little star gazing.

We’ve taken a good look at many of the star gazing apps available for the Mac and the iPhone, and I thought it would be fun to try the ‘next step’, an iPhone app that finds passing satellites and the International Space Station. There are a lot of websites that give you this information, but having it in an app is even nicer.

I’ve just tried Satellite Visibility [iTunes link], a US$2.99 app that does the job and worked for me the first time out. You tell the app where you are, or let the phone GPS determine your location. You then get a list of all the brighter manmade objects hurtling around the earth that you can see over the next couple days.

If you click on one, you get detailed info on when it appears, when it falls into the earth’s shadow, and what direction to look. In addition, you get little sky maps that show where the object will be in a graphic format.

It was partly cloudy here in Arizona last night, but I did locate the International Space Read more…