NewerTechnology have just launched the NuPower Charge & Sync+, and external battery to recharge your iPhone or iPod on the go, as well as sync it with your computer, or give some juice to mini- and micro-USB devices. The $40 gadget looks pretty similar to a MacBook power brick, holds a 1400 mAh charge, and will charge anything with a dock connector, micro-USB and mini-USB.
It can be charged via a wall plug, or USB and in the latter, it will sync while charging. Regardless of the energy source, it can recharge both itself and the attached device. Seeing as it only weighs three grams, and is pretty multipurpose, it would be handy thing to throw in your travel bag. Help prevent against dead iPods, phone or camera.
Concert promoter Live Nation have brokered a deal with Apple to bring live concerts to iTunes. In a press release issued today, the company said they would be bringing recordings from their wired gigs to iTunes for download and purchase. Live Nation have access to recordings from artists such as OK Go, Jesse McCartney, Saving Abel, A Fine Frenzy, Duffy, Plain White T’s and Ziggy Marley. A number of concerts are already up in the Live Music area of iTunes, at $8 to buy and $4 to rent. Live Nation have more than 80 venues wired, so they can provide a wide range of concerts, as well as easily shift to additional content.
If you catch even a little bit of technology news in passing, you’ve probably heard headlines touting the explosion of apps in Apple’s App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch. At the time of this article, the App Store recently surpassed the 100,000-app milestone. While many of these apps aren’t unique or even particularly useful (you’ve probably heard of the plethora of fart, flashlight, and tip calculator apps available), there are quite a few fantastic ones on those virtual shelves. This installment in our Learning iPhone series will go over finding and downloading them right on your iPhone while you’re on the go.
Online advertising company AdMob have released a snapshot of the mobile devices that are pinging their ads (pdf link). Surprise surprise, the iPhone is far and away the most common mobile OS, grabbing 55% of the market in the USA, and 50% internationally. What’s also of note is that Android accounts for 20% of traffic in the United States, but only 11% internationally, where Symbian is much more popular (though in the USA it doesn’t even rate a mention). It’s interesting to see that the iPhone is such an international hit, while Android seems a far more localized phenomenon, and Nokia continues its dominance in Europe and Asia.
Are you an iPhone Shutterbug? If so, you might want to check out Color Splash (App Store link). This week only, it’s available for $0.99, 50% off it’s regular price.
ColorSplash lets you quickly and easily give photos a dramatic look by converting them to black and white, while keeping your chosen details in color. The effect draws the viewers’ attention to the colored areas, creating striking images.
For a device that doesn’t, and may never, exist, the Apple Tablet is suddenly bearing the expectations of the whole print industry. The New Yorker is reporting that Time Inc., Condé Nast, and Hearst are planning on joining forces for a digital distribution format. Between these companies there are more than 50 magazines, including such powerhouses as O, The New Yorker, Time, Sports Illustrated and Esquire. Pulling together this band of rivals is John Squires, Executive VP of Time Inc., who is planning on leaving the publisher in order to focus on this new company.
The proposed system sounds like an iTunes store, with each magazine available for purchase in a digital edition. If these publishing heavyweights manage to come together on a single distribution method, it has a pretty good chance of succeeding. Assuming, of course, it isn’t too horribly bogged down in DRM. According to the article, “the magazines [would] work across multiple digital platforms, whether the iPhone, the BlackBerry or countless other digital devices”, the unspoken assumption here is the inclusion of a tablet device whose size best mirrors that of a print magazine. Interestingly, the companies are specifically avoiding ebook devices, which are poorly suited to dynamic and colored content.
Remember those places where you could go to rent movies? Well, they’re getting pretty desperate to get you off of your computer and back into their stores. Part of said desperation? An iPhone app from Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video to aid you in your search for the perfect movie rental night.
The oddly named DidjaC? app lets users see what new DVD titles are available and coming soon at Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video, get recommendations for what to rent, and find nearby locations to go pick up their finds once they’ve made a decision. It doesn’t sound like a particulary marvel concept, but, surprisingly, this is the first major app from a movie rental store available for the iPhone. And it’s not half-bad.
Why, oh why, couldn’t Apple have stayed out of it? Two new iPhone ads, both taking shots at the inability of Verizon’s network to simultaneously hold data and voice connections. Which is true, due to it being a different technology. But we would really prefer it if Apple hadn’t decided to insult the carrier that everyone wants them to branch into. Seriously, is AT&T pressuring them into this? Because it makes almost no sense for Apple to get directly involved. While the ads don’t directly reference Verizon, it’s pretty clear who they’re aimed at.
Consider the Rickroll a pleasant warning to jailbreakers, because things just got real. There’s another worm in the wild, and this one steals information to transmit to a botnet. Once again, it targets jailbreakers who haven’t changed their default SSH password, and thankfully is presently confined to the Netherlands. The worm also changes the root password from “alpine”, leaving the infected unable to change it. Thankfully, people who know about such things have figured out what it’s changed to, and in typical malware elegance, it’s “ohshit“.
Remember folks, change your default passwords! Loose lips sink ships!
Here at everythingiCafe, we love the holidays and who doesn’t enjoy Thanksgiving. Turkey, football, more turkey, more football. To help celebrate, we’re kicking off our first annual “everythingiCafe Turducken Contest“. What’s a Treducken you say?
A turducken is a dish consisting of a partially de-boned turkey stuffed with a de-boned duck, which itself is stuffed with a small de-boned chicken.
So can I win a Turduken? We don’t think they’d travel so well, so instead we’re three ways to win iTunes Gift Cards. Read more about how you can win!
