UPDATE: BGR has another (alleged) image of Apple’s Black Friday sale. Check it out after on the other side, $100 of iMacs and MacBook Pros! [read].

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According to the rumor, Apple has pushed back the Tablet launch schedule from early 2010 to later. The original schedule, apparently, was around March 2010 and the new schedule is sometime in the 2^nd half of 2010.

The reason behind the delay is cited as a last minute decision to use OLED screens. This new decision adds a bit more development time and hence the launch has been rescheduled.

But OLED screens are expensive and according to certain estimates, the OLED version can cost around $2000 for the customer. The OLED screen is supposed to be around 9.7”, which is pretty big. There is a normal TFT LCD version in the works apparently, that will cost a more manageable sum of around $800-$1000. The LCD screen will be bigger too – around 10.6”.

There is another dimension to the rumor – OLED prices are expected to drop massively in the next year. So Apple is likely to wait till the prices come down so that the OLED version can retail at a lower price. And since this will need a data connection on the go – it will probably be sold by carriers who will subsidize it. So the price will become more manageable for the consumers.

The manufacturing partners have been identifies as Foxconn, Quanta and Pegatron. [read]

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Apple Pen-Based Input Patent Re-fuels Tablet Rumors

This will certainly be of interest to the Newton Pad revivalists. A new patent filed by Apple in July 2009 has gone public. It improves on pen-based computer systems through an advanced ink-recognition application, which is the objective of the patent. Steve Jobs has been known to dislike digital styluses (or so he says) but even he has to recognize the fact that the pen is what gets art on paper and makes a lot of other things happen. Fingers can only type but they can hardly create artwork (except brilliant finger-painting of course). So will the tablet have a stylus and the rumored multi-point hand recognition (another Apple patent)? What do you think? The tablet rumors are officially on again! [read]

Apple Tablet Knock Off, Already?

Looks like handheld makers are launching into a pre-emptive strike against Apple. We are suddenly seeing an influx of tablet devices that are trying to be like the rumored Apple slate/tablet.

Admittedly, the tablet concept is nothing new but this sudden rise in the number of such devices can at least partly be attributed to everyone’s fear of Apple doing to the tablet/ebook reader market what it did to the smartphone market.

I would really love that if it happens and I am quite sure it will. I will love it not because I am an Apple addict but because it will fuel innovation in the competition. Just like the iPhone pushed everyone to think along different lines.

Anyway, the device that got me saying all this is the Boeye MID 700 tablet. The styling is distinctly reminiscent of the iPhone but it is running on the Android. Best of both worlds? Not until they start producing it commercially and people get to use it. [read]

Apple’s New Store Press Previewed, ‘Tis BIG

If you want to know what the new 67^th Broadway store looks like, you can take a look at the pictures taken by various press folks at a recent preview. Apple opened the store for an invite-only press meet, public opening to happen today (Saturday). To sum up the experience in short – it is BIG! To give you an idea of how big – the walls are some 42 feet high! The vast expanse of the store is all stone and glass and the gadgets glow like life beacons. You just have to take a look at the pictures yourself. Gizmodo has pretty good ones. [read]

And if you want to read some interesting Apple Store data, Gizmodo has that too. [read]

Apple has Cash, A Lot Of It

Apple’s cash reserve has come to the attention of the public again. In case you hadn’t noticed, Apple has a LOT of cash. It is somewhere around $35 billion and no one really knows what apple intends to do with all that money. But knowing Steve and Apple, they will surely be doing spectacular things with it. When you have clarity of thought, vision and the power to execute that vision – great things are bound to happen. [read]

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If you want to catch up on all the important Apple related news of this week, remember to check in at Otaku Gadgets for the Saturday Apple Pie.

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It improves on three major points and one of them is better stability for third-party plug-ins. Good to see Apple doing that.

Tags: 4.0.4, apple, safari, software update

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Apple Adds App Approval Status Tracker

Apple now allows app developers the peace of mind of at least knowing what stage of the approval process their app is in. A new feature added by Apple gives the status of apps as they go through the approval process.

You and I might not think much of it but this translates to a bit more clarity for the developers. They have always complained about how tough it is to communicate to the iPhone app reviewers. So instead of leaving them in the dark, this tracking feature tells them how tantalizingly close they are to approval. Hopefully, Apple is feeling the pressure to streamline and organize the process now that the app count has reached 100,000. As more developers race to get a piece of the action, Apple will be forced to make the process easier on them to and that means having to handle less complaints and queries and clarifications. [read]

Punch Him In The Face With Your iPhone

We all have that annoying friend who we would love to haul over and roundly beat up. But you obviously cannot do that in real life without falling out with your friend and/or getting thoroughly beaten up yourself in the process. The answer is in a new stress/anger/frustration management iPhone app called FaceFighter.

The app lets you kick, punch and block your opponent, all the while seeing bruises and bandages appear on his face. You can also knock out his teeth. To get started, you have to take a picture or choose one from your camera roll. Then you follow the app’s instructions to line up the face with the cut out, zoom in, zoom out and all that. Then you are ready to knock the living day lights out of that guy, virtually of course.

This is not much of a game although it is not as simplistic as that app that lets you shoot things that your camera is seeing. Still, if you do not want to spend $0.99 for the paid version, you can download Face Fighter Lite, which is free. [read]

Universal Studios Can Has iPhone App Too

Universal Studios Home Entertainment is the latest big name to have released its own iPhone app. This is not a stand-alone app that lets you borrow their titles online but it will enhance your Blu-ray movie viewing experience.

The latest group of Blu-ray releases from the company – American Pie Presents, 9, Inglorious Basterds, etc. are going to come with two BLU apps. These BLU apps can be used by iPhone and iPod touch users in conjunction with certain Blu-ray players.

The pocket BLU app allows you to remotely interact with your Blu-ray player through a sleek iPhone interface. It features advanced remote control features, a pop-up keyboard and more. Social BLU allows you interact with Facebook and Twitter if your Blu-ray player is connected to the Internet.

Premiere League On iPhone Via Sky TV

You can now watch the Premier League and more on your iPhone through the newly launched Sky TV app for the iPhone. For £6 per month, users will be able to access live TV channels that are part of the Sky Sports bundle including Sky News, Sky Sports channels and ESPN channels.

The app currently works only over WiFi and not 3G and that is because O2 forbids its customers from using any such app in its T&C. That’s because the carrier has their own similar services to protect. Existing Sky subscribers will have to pay separately for this service and new customers will have to apply for a Sky customer ID. [read]

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Ding! First Round Of UK iPhone Battle

As you might know, Orange UK has recently started selling the iPhone and in response to this new competition Vodafone and O2 have gone in to defense mode. To keep more customers on its side, Vodafone sent out an email to all those who had registered with the carrier prior to the iPhone release, in which they claim that their’s is the network that is the fastest for the iPhone.

In a slightly surprising move, O2 has begun offering an unlocking service for the iPhones. No, they are not going to hack any iPhone you bring in but they will unlock their own iPhones at the end of a contract. They are going to charge a £15 fee for it and they are also warning that the process might take some time, as long as up to 14 days. Even though they are charging for it, it would seem like they are trying to ring up some customer good will by doing this. Once they have unlocked the iPhones, the customer can insert any SIM card in to their iPhone and start using it legitimately.

O2 has also asserted that they have seen tremendous growth in their data network. According to the company — data usage on their network has grown 20 times in the last 12 months, doubling every 4 months. They are also offering free home broadband to people who buy into the tethering option to use their iPhone as a wireless modem.

Analysts have also been quoted saying that the iPhone is the best way to make customers pay more, even in this recessive market. But Vodafone is surely on the right track because what iPhone users mainly want is network strength. They are paying an awful lot to get the connectivity and hence they expect a lot in return. [read]

Orange has only just started selling the phone, so it is too early to say anything about them. But as far as the response goes, it has been extremely positive. The company has tweeted saying that they have recorded more than 30,000 iPhones on the very first day. For a phone that has been launched months back, this is really good indeed. The Droid has sold 100,000 units through the first week and it is a newly launched phone that has gotten positive reviews. Orange’s free film-themed app has also received a lot of success, hitting the number on spot in the entertainment category and the number two spot on the free apps category.

Hilton iPhone Apps To Give You More Choices

Guests of the Hilton hotel might soon be able to check in remotely and have food waiting for them when they arrive through multiple apps being launched by Hilton. I say might because once they reveal the app, it will still have to go through the App Store’s approval process. These apps are going to give you many more options and will “help you manage your stay.” [read]

Taptu Goes Real Time

Taptu is already well loved for their friendly mobile-searching app and now they are about to kick things up a notch. They have partnered with the real time search engine OneRiot to bring you search results as they are unfolding across the web. [read]

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First iPhone Worm Rickrolls Jailbroken iPhones

This has been the main worry about everything Mac, They do not have viruses now, true but as they start to get more popular they will attract the attention of malware creators. So in that vein of paranoia, we have news of the first ever worm for the iPhone.

You can cut out the screaming and the deep breathing exercises because it is a) completely harmless and b) only effective on jailbroken iPhones. It does things like change the wallpaper and rickrolling users, so it is not exactly destroying your iPhone yet. A worm on a jailbroken phone is a worm on a device that has already been tampered with. So you can wait for the first ever worm on legit iPhones before you hit the panic button. [read]

Complete Car Control Via iPhone

Okay, this is certifiably crazy. In fact, we should probably start a ‘gHacks Certifiably Nuts’ award just for these fellas. But I must admit that what they are is doing is pretty cool. We know that the iPhone can already be used to start your car remotely but fully driving with the iPhone kinda takes the cake.

So what you do is you take some electronic control circuits, hook them up to control your steering, acceleration and brakes and then control them wirelessly. If you want a less vague and more accurate description, check out the videos. It is quite nicely done and I especially love the fact that they are using the accelerometer to control the steering.

The result is pretty 007-ish — that you can drive your car through your iPhone. Look M(a), no hands! [read]

HD Radio Comes To The iPhone Via Gigaware

Now that the Zune HD is out, your least favorite co-worker who loves to make fun of your liking for Apple has probably been going on and on about how his Zune HD does HD radio and your iPod Touch does not. Setting aside the all important the question of how many good HD radio stations are there near you, you can now get back at him saying “there’s an app for that!”

But that would be kinda half true because even though iBiquity has made an app that plays HD radio on your iPhone, you still have to get an additional hardware for accomplishing the feat. The device is called Gigaware Navigation Controller and is essentially an HD tuner with iPhone integration. It allows you to seek and auto tune as well. Plus there is Facebook tagging and iTunes tagging.

Works with the latest iPhone and the iPod Touch. Available on RadioShack. [read]

Sparkz Projector For Your iPhone

Do you want to spend a lot of money on a pico projector that will work with your iPhone/ iPod Touch/iPod Video? If you do, you can now have the Sparkz dock that lets you connect any of those devices and more to it so that you can project your favorites onto a nearby screen. It will support a/v and VGA inputs too.

Other than this extended support for inputs, it has a resolution of 640×480, stereo speakers and a 60-inch viewing area. It charges your docked device while it is projecting and it comes with its own tripod. The price so much goodness? A mere $495. Hey, I did say a lot of money. [read]

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Balloon!

There’s a new app on the app store and it is called Balloon! It is sort of a ‘message in a bottle’ meets social networking kinda app that lets you set off random bits of text with an image into cyberspace. These bits are called balloons and they directed at no one in particular and you have no control over when, where or whom they reach. So where is the fun part?

You can catch balloons that others have set off, add some text to them and let them go again. This way, balloons go on drifting, collecting text and slowly building up interesting stories of their own. Things like these get better with time and participation, so in a bit you might start catching very interesting balloons of your own.

But the most fun part and also the crux of the app is the tracking ability through which you can track your balloon and see whom it has reached and what has been written on it. And the developers have very intelligently made this a paid-only feature. So when you download the free version, you can do everything except tracking. The paid version is for $2.99.

UI seems light-hearted and cartoonish, so I think most of you will have a lot of fun using this app. [read]

Shazam Goes Premium with Shazam Encore

The popular song identification app has finally released their ‘premium’ version as promised earlier. And as everyone was anticipating, this new app is a paid for app.

They do add some new features to make this upgrade worthwhile for you. You can now have songs recommended to you based on the songs that you have tagged for indentification, see what is popular and search for music through the app. Another major part of the upgrade is a performance speed boost. There is also a car mode in this premium app and it apparently allows you to operate the app even when you are driving a car.

If there’s one thing we don’t need in this world – it is another thing to distract drivers.

The new premium app is called Shazam Encore and it has been released alongside a new free version of the Shazam. This new free version does less than the original version and its users will be limited to only five track identifications per month. Those who have original Shazam app can keep on using it as it is. The Encore is going for £2.99, €3.99 or $4.99. [read]

Knocking Away MMS

You can finally stop whining and cursing about AT&T’s broken promises and lame delays in rolling out MMS because now you can do more than what MMS allows you to do through a new app called Knocking.

With this app you can share up to 100 photos almost instantly with another Knocking user. MMS does not allow you to share entire albums at once but Knocking lets you do that. And the app works over both 3G and WiFi, all the more reason to love it. Other than those obvious advantages, there is another greater advantage that MMS will never be able to give you.

You can control what the other person is seeing through the app, making it much easier to share what you really want to share. Knocking had Facebook connect and through that you can share your ‘knocks’. If you hurry, you might be able to get it for free for yourself and others because this app is free only till the first 50,000 downloads. If that seems a lot, you have to remember that this is the App Store we are taking about. It might reach that number extremely fast. [read]

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This time around, the iPhone gets awarded the ‘Worst Phone Ever Award’, gets a new 3GS rumor, gets completely unlocked and a lot of other things. Not to mention some great new apps, which is business as usual for the App Store.

If you want more Apple news, tune into the weekly Apple round up on Otaku Gadgets tomorrow.

News:

iPhone Devs Farm Phone Numbers

Seems like iPhone Devs have been farming app users’ telephone numbers again. This time it is Storm 8. Storm 8 makes games, the ones that you see above. And all of them have been accused of carrying a special code that collects the user’s phone number without permission. This has been revealed in a lawsuit and Storm 8 has (sort of) acknowledged that the apps do this. [read]

$99 8GB iPhone 3GS For Christmas [?]

Boy Genius Report claims that they have insider news about a new iPhone offer that will hit AT&T before Christmas. They claim that the iPhone 3GS 8GB model will start selling for $99 only. Before you get into a tizzy, remember that there is no proof of this right now. Not even a suspicious looking flyer. [read]

RFID On The iPhone [?]

So there is this rumor that says Apple is testing out next-generation iPhones that have an RFID chip. What Apple intends to do with it is unknown at this point though. They might enable using the iPhone as a credit card. It might become the new way to shop at (Apple) stores. It might also enhance the Find My iPhone feature. Whatever it does, it will probably be an industry-first. Do we know another RFID-enabled consumer phone? [read]

iPhone China Sales Disappoint

The iPhone Sales In China have disappointing, really so. The first week after the launch saw only 5000 phones sold. The high price and the other factors are being blamed for this. [read]

Quirky’s Beamer Flashes The iPhone

Quirky is a company that has been coming up with really interesting accessories for the iPhone. They now have a new case on sale that adds a much-wanted feature on the iPhone – a flash. Not Flash as in Adobe, but an LED flash that can be switched for a 10-second period (single button press) or can be kept on as a flashlight (double button press). The case itself comes in two parts and hardly adds bulk to the device. Handy for shooting in low light. [read]

Aussies Love The iPhone

A survey by Millward Brown suggests that the iPhone is perceived as the biggest phone brand in Australia. [read]

CNET UK Hates iPhone

CNET UK has all of a sudden award the Worst Phone Ever editorial award to the iPhone. According to the editor, the iPhone is a great computing great device but it fails at being a great phone. [read]

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Apps:

App Store Has More Than 100,000 Apps Now [Official]

Apple has confirmed officially that the App Store has reached over 100,000 apps. Woot! So now you have that many more reasons to love/hate the iPhone. If you just hate having that much competition as a dev or having to trawl through all that as a user, you know you are not alone. [read]

Louvre App Coincided With Louvre Apple Store

The new Apple Store at the Louvre Carousel, the first French Apple Store ever, will open on the 7^th of this month. Coinciding with this is the introduction of the Muée Du Louvre’s very own iPhone app. Through it, visitors can soak in the beauty of the artwork and take a virtual tour through the museum. Best of all, it’s free! [read]

App To Cure Fear Of Flying

Are you afraid of flying? Don’t worry, there are a lot of other people out there who suffer from the same fear. Thankfully, now there are people who help others overcome their fear of flying. Virgin Atlantic has been helping those who are too afraid to fly through various seminars called Flying Without Fear. Now they have an app that will help do the same for iPhone users. It provides helpful tips and is modeled on the successful strategies that are used at the seminars. [read]

iPhone App Acts Like TiVo for Radio

We already have a lot of radio apps for the iPhone but this one does something new. Called the Public Radio, it allows iPhone users to record their favorite NPR programs and then listen to them in their own time. [read]

Stacks For The iPhone, Springload Your Apps

For those who have an unlocked iPhone, here’s a way to better utilize the four app slots on the iPhone’s home screen. Much like Stacks in the OS X Dock, the Stacks app for iPhone allows you to pin multiple apps one slot. This can be done for any or all slots. The is currently in alpha. [read]

Unlock iPhone OS 3.1.2 With Blacksn0w

I know a lot of you have been waiting for this and it is finally here. Available on Cydia, the Blacksn0w app lets you unlock the new iPhone OS 3.1.2 and the new baseband. [read]

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New iPhone Safari Bug Could Drive Your Bills Through The Roof

It has been a while since we have seen a major bug in Safari on the iPhone that users could themselves trip. So imagine our intrigue when we came across this bug. Apparently, if the user visits a site that uses Motion-JPEG (a format used mainly by security cameras) and then closes Safari – Safari continues to run in the background and continues to feed that stream into your iPhone.

The user is not notified of this in anyway and at the end of the day, you could end up with huge data bills or over usage charges. [read]

More Macs Online After The Windows 7 Launch

This might seem a bit hard to digest but it seems like the truth. We now have more Macs online  after Windows 7 has been released. In fact, Windows’ share of the Internet is on the decline. This could get interesting. [read]

Snow Leopard Update To Block Atom

Looks the latest build kernels of Mac OS 10.6.2 lacks support for Intel’s Atom. While the intention on Apple’s part is not entirely clear but we may be looking at yet another cat and mouse game here after the current Palm Pre sync thing.

If this build goes live, then netbook hackintosh makers will face a pretty challenging situation where there is no built in support for Atom. Since removing the support does not really contribute to the further streamlining of the Mac OS, blocking hackintosh makers seems like the logical intention here.

It would make sense too, with Apple trying to convert as many people has possible from the PC side of things. However, they won’t be able to keep at it for that long because you can bet that hackers on the case already and it won’t take them long.

Endless Racing Game For iPhone

I have not tried out the endless racing game but the video sure looks fun. If you are up for a simple racing that reminds of the old days, this one might be just the thing you are looking for. [read]

SquareSpace App Goes Live On The App Store

The popular hosted web-service called SquareSpace finally has its own iPhone. If you have an account over at SquareSpace, you will be able to access it securely over the app. The app does not take you through the website. It is a self-contained thing that is directly hooked up with the SquareSpace service and it lets you see everything about your website. You can see the stats, post on your blog, edit your blog, etc. [read]

Wadia’s High-End Dock For The iPod

Wadia has a high-end in audio and video solution for the the iPod, sort of. They have an iPod dock called the 170iTransport. Once you plug in your iPod, the device will act as a media server. It can stream your iPod digital output over an S/PDIF co-axial cable and it also has component video for all your movies. Going for $380, this might be a nice addition to your home theatre rig. Of  course, the quality will be as good as the original files, which will likely be compressed. [read]

Orange To Offer The iPhone In the UK From Nov 10, Bans Media Streaming Apps

Orange has declared that they will start selling the iPhone from November 10. But there is a problem here. [read]

It seems that Orange’s terms and conditions dictate that you cannot use your iPhone for other activities. These activities include making using the phone as a modem, using non-Orange Internet-based streaming services, VoIP and more. That means you will not be able to use apps like Spotify, YouTube, AudioBoo, etc. – all of which use Internet-based media streaming to deliver content on demand.

But Orange has clarified on BBC that iPhone users will be allowed to use these apps as long as they are within their monthly usage limits. I really hope they stick to that, because you will be signing the contract. [read]

iPhone OS 3.1.2 Unlock Coming On Nov 4^th, Unlock iPhone 3GS and More

It has been cracked folks!

Come November 4^th, i.e. tomorrow, you will be able to unlock your iPhone 3GS and other devices that are running iPhone OS 3.1.2. The hacker who made cracks of the previous iPhone OS versions has done it again. The crack is coming as blacksn0w  from Geohot. [read]

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The most interesting of the lot are definitely the new iMacs and the multi-touch mouse. The new Quad-Core iMac was heard coming long before, when the first rumors started circulating last month. Now that it is finally here, the differences from the old models are obvious. It has a stunning 27” display, Intel Core i5 (upgradable to Core i7) and has a huge screen space at 2560×1440 pixels.

But the excitement is not restricted to the highest model. The main thing that I would like to bring your attention to is the fact that all models (except the quad core) have Intel Core 2 Duo chips at 3.09GHz and have 4GB memory as standard. Plus, there is the brilliant new wireless Magic Mouse and wireless new keyboard that come standard with every iMac.

The Magic mouse is a brilliant piece of equipment. It has no buttons, is made out of aluminum and is topped off with a capacitive multitouch layer that works just like the MacBook’s glass trackpad. You can touch anywhere and you can scroll the full 360º if the application allows it. The whole surface clicks like the glass trackpad and you can even get it to emulate the two-button mouse. I say this is the best non-gaming mouse till date. Plus the tracking is now optical, so the Magic Mouse can track without a mousepad and on almost all surfaces. Gestures are supported and so is accelerated scrolling. So comparisons to the iPhone’s multitouch features are fully justified.

The MacBook gets a polycarbonate unibody, with the same built-in battery as the MacBook Pro line. So it now has a 7-hour rated battery life. There have been subtle design changes – the most noticeable is the lack of the sharp edge that really bugged people on the previous models. The display is now LED backlit, making the MacBook more eco-friendly and energy efficient.

MacMinis have received speed and storage upgrades but everything else is pretty much the same. There is now a 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo, $999 server edition that packs in two 500GB HDDs, Mac OS X Server Snow Leopard and lacks a DVD burner.

So now that we know what Apple had up their sleeves, it is time to talk about how this will help them in their race against Windows 7 and the slew of new computers that will be released during and soon after the Windows 7 launch.

Apple’s new strategy with iMacs is clearly to give users as much computing power as possible. The new entry point of 3.06 GHz and 4GB RAM is going to be a hit with the crowd because these are above average features at this time. So buying an iMac now would be a great thing because you will not have to upgrade for quite a while.

The new 27” Core ‘5/i7 iMac is clearly an attempt to woo those professionals who want something more affordable than a Mac Pro but something more powerful that the previous generation iMacs. This new iMac is going to be a hit with visual designers and also with musicians. Both have a lot of use for large screen spaces. Designers can do side by side comparisons while musicians can now see more things on screen. I for one would use this with Logic Pro and place the mixer and the arrangement areas side by side during the final mix down.

The two Mac Minis And the MacBook [white] have been through smaller updates. They are not very different spec-wise but the MacBook has changed quite a bit physically. It doesn’t seem like they will make much of an impact on their own but the price cuts are sure to bring in some more sales. To me, it seems like 2010 Q10 will be the bigger quarter for Apple and they will one-up Windows 7 with their tablet device. So this it for now and I don’t think the new Macs and Windows 7 will suffer a lot from each other. That is because the high-end will still go for MacBook Pros and iMacs and the average consumer will be torn between the Mac Mini and myriad Windows 7 systems. However, the MacBook [white] is likely to make it to quite a few stockings this year.

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If you want to know what Apple’s been up to last week, you can read my weekly Apple round up and the Monday news round up at Otaku Gadgets.

Verizon Said To Be Testing iPhone 4G

A relatively unknown source has been spotted saying something quite intriguing. Verizon has apparently been testing out a new CDMA version of the iPhone on its 4G LTE network.

Other than the part about an iPhone that will have data speeds that are about ten times that of current ones available to it, the Verizon part makes it even more interesting. That is because Verizon has kicked off a campaign today that basically mocks the iPhone and tries to push the new Motorola Droid as the phone that does what iPhone Doesn’t. So far, it is one of the silliest ad campaigns I have ever seen. Being an Apple user, I can only manage to laugh at it. I don’t know much about the Droid personally, so I will refrain from commenting on that. [read]

Rock Band Arrives For iPhone

What else do you want to know? Just grab the app and start tapping like crazy on your iPhone 3GS while rocking out to favorite classic rock numbers. The 20 songs that come with the game include the likes of Blink-182, Jethro Tull, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Smashing Pumpkins, Steve Millers band, Beastie Boys and more. You can download more from the in-game store.

As you see from the bands named above, all sorts of the rock sound have been included in the game. From contemporary punk to classic glam, it is all there for you to enjoy. The strategy is of course to draw out all the rock fans out there, no matter what their age or preference. If any of you are already tapping, I mean rocking out with this, drop us a comment and let us know how you like it. [read]

Layar 2.0 Now Available On iPhone 3GS

The hot and much loved augmented reality app, Layar [2.0], has finally been ported to the iPhone 3GS from Android. Layar is a brilliant augmented reality app that adds an extra layer of information on what you are looking at.

For example, if you are standing facing the Eiffel Tower, on screen you will see the Eiffel Tower with a short description of the structure and links to more data on it. It uses the built in GPS and magnetometer to determine your location and direction.

It is even more useful when you are in an unknown location and want to get information on local resources like restaurant reviews, maps and directions. Actually, paraphrasing Morpheus, you have to see for yourself what the Layar augmented reality browser is all about. [read]

Apple Finally Allows In-App Purchases For Free iPhone Apps

In a very intelligent move, Apple has finally allowed free apps to have in-app purchases within them. This means quite a few good things for both app developers and Apple.

For app developers, this is a much-needed and asked for way to monetize their apps. This also means that excellent free apps with paid content inside will be further developed and won’t be abandoned due to lack of revenue. For Apple, this is yet another way to generate more revenues from mammoth collection of Apps for the iPhone. I love it when things change for the better for everybody, don’t you? :)

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There were many reasons behind it failing and they were there because the concept was way ahead of the available and affordable consumer technology at that time.

So now that we are on the brink of another tablet from the company, I would like to tone down all our expectations a little and give you a dose of practicality in this post.

• The OS Problem – The tablet will be a very unique device. It is exactly halfway between the iPhone and the MacBooks. So there are two choices for Apple – scale up the iPhone OS or scale down OS X. Logically, scaling down the full sized OS X would pose a lot of problems in terms of expectations and engineering. Scaling up the iPhone OS makes much more sense. But then, what do you tell the app devs? Here’s a new iPhone OS resolution and specs, make apps for it? The third choice is making a whole new OS. But that would mean forcing users to learn something new and making things more complicated (three OS’ to maintain). We are lazy people.

• The Portability Problem – Would you really like to carry around a 10.6inch glass tablet? I thought not. It will fracture all too easily. This structural problem can only be overcome by making A) a tough lid for it or B) a touchscreen built out of shatterproof, bulletproof, extra tough glass that can take a straight punch to the face and stay intact. The second option would make the device far too expensive and the first would make it the lid an almost redundant piece. Detachable or not, it would not be very helpful about the portability and usability.

• Weight And Battery Life – All that screen space and whatever the processing power is, requires power. And everyone knows that more battery power means more weight. So what would you rather have? A 3-cell battery that does not last long or a 9-cell battery that makes it impossible to carry the device for too long? And let’s not talk about the screen brightness. Forget working under direct sunlight; let’s see this device remain workable in a brightly lit room without dying in an hour.

• Processing Power and Performance – With battery life already an issue, one must  wonder – how much processing power would this tablet have? Something around 600MHz like the iPhone 3GS just won’t cut it for this large a device. You need to have something fairly muscle-bound, like an Intel ULV or Atom at the very least. Now think of a netbook and think of the frustratingly sluggish performance. Apple would probably need to artificially block multi-tasking on the tablet as well. Bummer.

• Usability – Will someone please tell me how the hell am I supposed to use this tablet? I am almost certain that I can’t hold in one hand because it will be too heavy. Besides, I would really like to use both hands on a 10.6inch touchscreen. Also, Apple would be loath to include a kickstand on the device, which would totally destroy the aesthetics of the curved and polished back that it apparently has. So the only remaining way is to keep it on a flat surface parallel to the ground and bend over to use it. As a blogger I already spend too much time sitting badly and getting backaches. I could live without more. So unless Apple makes this thing levitate in mid air, this does not look very useful to me.

Of course, knowing Apple and dear Stevie, each of these reasons has already caused a total reset. So hopefully, we will see another masterpiece from Apple early next year. And if it fails, you read about it at gHacks!

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Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) is utilised on a range of devices, but especially so by Creative. Creative Zens (and their variants) utilise the protocol. Whilst the Creative NOMAD isn’t MTP, it too uses an awkward protocol not natively supported by OS X. The infamous Zune (in the eyes of an Apple fanboy) too uses MTP, however, Microsoft make it very difficult to transfer data to.

XNJB is a piece of software that provides a graphical front-end to a libnjb and libmtp: free and open source libraries that allow communication with devices like Creative NOMADs and Creative Zens. Unfortunately, neither support the Zune, due to additional restrictions Microsoft put in place. The libraries work on other POSIX operating systems, like Linux, but XNJB does not.

XNJB allows users to upload and download songs from their media players, for ID3 data to be edited and devices searched. All of this has to be done within the software; it is not integrated into iTunes or Finder.

The transfer of data felt a bit slow to me, but I expect this is primarily due to the messiness of my library and the nature of Media Transfer Protocol.

This software is, however, a useful tool when you first got the Mac. I do, though, doubt you could realistically continue to use a MTP device successfully with OS X. Naturally, you could use it inside Boot Camp or a virtual machine, but in my opinion, that too is not an ideal option.

Compatible devices are listed on their website.

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Yes we got things like global search, hi-def support, cool animations and visual effects, but where are the revolutionary ideas that should be popping up. While our hardware is getting more and more powerful, our software seems to lag in support for such features. Operating systems do a pretty good job of the basics, intermediate and advanced, but I think it’s about time we see some better integration between our electronic devices.

No doubt you’ve probably heard of “Microsoft’s Home,” Redmond’s idea of how our homes will look if 2012 proves to be incorrect. While the ideas are great, it’s clear to see that many of them will be, to say the least, expensive. More importantly these technologies require much more then a simple computer to operate.

Reinventing an OS however, while radical, could render it useful. Let me give an example, the “Desktop” is a wonderful place and without it most of us wouldn’t have our bearings in our OS. But it limits what we can do in many ways. For example, retrieving a file from a remote computer is one that can involve a lot of pain and headache especially if both systems are operating two different OS’s.

The Fix? Cloud computing! Yes, we’ve heard the term mentioned hundreds of time, but it’s not been until recent years that the necessity of cloud computing has become evident. For instance, I have changed smartphones and carriers three times in the past year (I know what you’re thinking). Although switching from the original MotoQ to the Blackberry Curve was a painless process, not so when I decided to get the Pre. While numbers and most emails as well as websites were transferred, this was not the case for birthdays, notes and such. More importantly, it failed to synchronize my email contacts with my phone.

If I happened to have all my contacts “in the cloud” it would cut out the need to find a way to synchronize my messenger, email, and phone contact lists between different models and manufacturers. All I would have to do is sync any new phone, computer or PMP with the cloud and all data would remain intact. Plus I could cancel the risk of those horrible duplicates that always seem to arise when switching platforms. Yes, I know Microsoft, Apple, Google and Palm among others have programs that sync contact and calendar information among multiple platforms. But I’m still looking for a solution that allows me to run Adobe Photoshop, Google Sketch-Up or Microsoft Office remotely.

This of course could give users the ability to run graphical, CPU and memory intense programs from netbooks, nettops and other bargain PC’s thus reducing the need to buy multiple licenses for the same product. More importantly data lost would be less common as the event of a hard drive failing or a virus taking over a system would not affect data stored remotely.

Small businesses would be able to cut IT costs as most employees would only need a small computer, one that is capable of Internet access, and of course the required security details to log in. Speaking of security, “the cloud” could not be accessed unless a security key (USB dive) were plugged into the computer accessing the data. Other security measures such as facial recognition, and fingerprint readers could also be utilized in these security keys. Best of all these keys would keep a record of the who, what, when and where.

The USB key could also double as a USB modem thus the ability to bring access to “the cloud” anywhere service is provided. In an event that the user would be traveling to an area that internet access is unavailable, information, programs and other data could be downloaded onto the USB key and used on any computer through a dedicated virtual environment.

I know what you’re thinking, this would be impossible to implement in a short amount of time. But quite the contrary. All of what I have mentioned are technologies used everyday. Many Mac users run Windows virtually, Linux users do the same for Windows and vise versa. USB keys have been used for quite some time from providing network security IT professionals to high end software of the likes of AutoDesk and Houdini. Best of all, Microsoft, Linux and Apple support a basic amount of virtualization. All that is left is to port the OS’s to “the cloud.”

It’s a wild idea, but it’s plausible and something that could break barriers as information could be easily shared across different environments as well as mobile devices, vehicles and other electronical equipment.

Your thoughts?

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The unnamed source goes on to say that the device could be unveiled as early as this September (few weeks from today), with availability set for November. The only thing that is holding up the process according to said source is the blessings of the all wise Steve Jobs.

Will it sell? That is the question! To be honest I don’t think now is the best time to be releasing a Tablet PC with a $699 to $799 price tag (as analysts are speculating). No, I wasn’t expecting anything under $600, but it never hurts to hope does it?

Despite the odds set against it, I think it’s about time Apple did something in the Tablet PC realm. Granted we have a pretty good idea of what to expect if this device does make it to the market and I’m sure that most of its buyers will be purchasing this based on need and not want, but heck it’s still a nice idea and an entire foot of touchscreen goodness in a package less than an inch thick is awesome to say the least.

While I have had my silent (and not so silent) disputes with the iPhone, I have always thought of the iPod Touch as the best PMP on the market hands down. That said, I still believe its lacking one thing, screen space. An Apple Tablet would be the perfect addition to an already great lineup, and if we’re to believe what is being floated around about eBook reader support, games and robust media capabilities, this wouldn’t be a hard sell among many.

If Apple can convince consumers that instead of buying an Amazon Kindle and their own iPod Touch, they should take that money and put it towards the Apple “iTablet” we might just have a winner. Remember, unlike their computers, Apple’s mobile devices are all about media content, games and everything with the word “fun” in it. Few can find faults with the iPod (except for its outrageous update prices) and bringing the concept to a device Apple will be selling on luxury, and not practicality, is not a bad idea.

Remember, unlike Microsoft, Apple doesn’t have to promise functionality and bargain for its loyal subjects to buy its devices. That said I’m sure there will be a lot more people who will take a look at the ‘iTablet” and while I’m in no way loyal to Cupertino I have to say they would really have to screw up the idea to persuade me not to mortgage my house for one of these.

Let’s just see how Jobs decides to handle this one. So what are your thoughts? Agreement and disagreement is welcome.

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It was noted for sometime now that the Pre could sync with the iTunes store based on a hack. And Apple did warn that it could be gone soon. Well they did and Pre owners found out that they could no longer sync with iTunes 8.2.1.

For those wondering, the problem that Apple had with the Pre’s syncing capabilities is the fact it tricked iTunes into thinking it was an iPod. When you connected the Pre to iTunes it would show up as “iPod” and according to the boys at Cupertino, this was unlawful. Apple made no bones about the update, calling Palm by name regarding the reason for the patch to the ever so popular music software.

Well it hasn’t been a good week and already Palm has answered Apple’s challenge. Just today I downloaded webOS version 1.1 and what would you know? iTunes tethering was back. Not only has Palm gone around Apple’s block they have specifically mentioned it as a reason for the update.

So of course everyone is asking what is going to happen next. First I gotta say that Palm has balls to be doing this, but on second their new CEO happens to be the former head of Apple’s iPod division so that could be a factor as to why they are so brazen. Jon probably knows exactly how to deal with Apple. And more importantly, since he was involved with iTunes and iPod for so long, knows all the dirty secrets about it.

I’m not sure what Apple is going to do now, because apparently Palm has made it clear that they are not going to go down without a fight. The only thing I could think of to permanently fix this problem would be for Apple to hard code software recognition into the iPod’s USB connector, and that could be too expensive. There other option is probably to try and sue Palm.

Either way, this is gearing up to be very interesting and its about bloody time. Never seen one of these in the gadget world before. So who are you rooting for? Care to say in the comments below?

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While many will argue about Microsoft’s first attempt at getting into the ad business, one thing is for certain, using Seinfeld for the ads got people talking. Marketing 101: your ad doesn’t have to be relevant to your product for it to be effective, just ask Geico, Anheuser Busch. Microsoft followed that up with the “I’m a PC ad” which had moderate success, but nothing got people talking as much as the “Laptop Hunters” ads which hit Apple right where it hurt: price!

And according to Microsoft the ads have been doing so well that they’ve gotten calls from Apples legal department. Microsoft has been playing their cards very well. In all their ads nothing has been mentioned about the OS (which currently is Vista), instead they have poke fun at Apple’s pricing, limited variety and of course the whole idea that Apple computers are more powerful than PC’s.

But advertisement is not all, Microsoft has also been courting the love of the tech world with their forthcoming Windows 7 OS which as the name suggests is the 7th installment of their ever so popular Windows OS. I have been surprised to see so many blogs and magazines who just a few months ago cussed the hell out of Vista are now talking about how Windows 7 rivals that of Snow Leopard. Don’t get me wrong, Windows 7 is an awesome piece of software (that is what I am writing this post on), but to be frank, (just like Snow Leopard), it’s nothing more than a glorified Service Pack.

Other PR stunts that Redmond has pulled include Microsoft’s new online store as well as a revamped head of operations. If that wasn’t enough, Microsoft has now decided to launch its own set of stores that, yes, will be popping up near Apple stores all over the world. When I first heard the idea, I was like an entire store that’s ells Windows 7? But then it hit me that we’re not dealing with stores that are catering specifically to Windows, but Microsoft as a company.

Remember that Redmond not only has Windows but Office and if the latest ads about the 1020 version of Office say anything, Microsoft is planning something big. But they just don’t stop there, on the list is Xbox and Zune and of course their venerable Windows Mobile OS.

I’m not saying this will knock Apple out of the park, but after talking to a few Best Buy and worse Wal-Mart employees I can safely say that Microsoft is doing themselves a favor by taking it out of the hands of the incompetent.

Last but not least, Zune is getting its first major update since the system was released. Again I’m not gonna talk too early but if the preview of the new Zune’s have said anything, it’s the fact that they’re finally taking their game high-tech.
Taking any of these aspects by themselves doesn’t say much, but put together and you can see the working of a stellar PR team and of course the billions Microsoft has lying around just itching to use. So as it seems Redmond will be around for a little while longer, and let’s be honest, you wouldn’t mind using a “Surface” at one of those new Microsoft stores now would you, I know I wouldn’t!

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That’s bad for the environment either way as you end up with two different phone chargers or two similar ones as they are always sold with cell phones. It is also bad if you need to recharge the battery of your cell phone at a friends house only to find out that the phone charger is not compatible with your cell phone.

Cell phone suppliers like Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, Apple, Motorola and LG have agreed to produce cell phones that are compatible with standard charging devices in Europe. First cell phones are expected next year which is expected to reduce the waste that phone chargers produce each year. About 180 million cell phones are sold in Europe each year which also means the same amount of phone chargers.

According to the New York Times only data-enabled phones (which will account for about 50% of all cell phones sold in 2010) will be compatible with the new chargers which are in the beginning sold with the cell phones. Plans are to remove the cell phone chargers later on and sell them separately. It is likely that other countries will join the initiative.

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FLASH: At the top of my list is flash. For those of you who think flash is only there to watch Youtube and Redtube videos, think again. With estimates running at 60% of all websites have some sort of flash embedded, it is imperative that we get this and get it soon. We’ve had Javascript for some time and that’s nice, but nothing can beat good old flash.

For this to happen though, we are going to need faster chips in our phones. So I suggest to Smartphone manufacturers to start looking to Snapdragon and Tegra as viable options. At least Palm and Apple aren’t too bad in the specs arena but a 1GHz chip would be much better.

Not to worry though, Adobe is working on bringing Flash to Windows Mobile, Palm, Android and Nokia by October of this year. No word on Blackberry and Apple though.

OLED Displays: VGA, WXVGA and LCD are so yesterday. It’s time that we move forward and embrace new technology. As it currently stands, OLED technology is pretty cheap (Sony has a 32GB walkman with one of these stuck in it for only $400). I was ecstatic when I heard the rumors that the iPhone 3GS would be getting the OLED treatment, only to have my hopes shattered. But its not too late, more Android, Palm, Blackberry and Window’s Mobile devices are due in the near future, lets see which one of them decides to blaze the trail.

And while I am on the issue with the screens, it would be nice to have bigger screens. The iPhone and Pre do an excellent job of navigating webpages, but 3 inch screens are tight on the eyes. Someone must be able to create a flip out 4 or 5 inch screen in the near future.

Better Productivity Programs: As the saying goes, if I cannot edit my presentation, it’s not a smartphone. But seriously doc, spreadsheet and presentation editing are standard now. Its time to innovate and what better way to start with some mobile apps that tackle such things as photo and video editing, database management, server management and not to mention full desktop control.

Some of these have been imitated but so far nothing has come close to doing justice to the situation. I’m not asking for much here. I wouldn’t expect a full fledged mobile version of Photoshop but at least allow me to insert an iPhone into President Obama’s hand. We do have progress though, as the iPhone 3GS made the first move in this direction with the ability to edit video clips.

HD Video Recording: Every month cell phones become a little more advanced in the digital photography arena by adding more megapixels and better CMOS to their specs. But we’re still stuck with the same old VGA video shooting. It’s time for someone to break the norm and bring us HD video shooting. I’m not asking for full 1080p. I would be satisfied with 720p or even 480p to begin with but don’t tell me its impossible because the Mini HD flip is just a little bigger then most Smartphone’s and its packing midrange HD capabilities.

In terms of chips and processors, Atom, and Tegra are two mobile chips that are more then capable of handling this feature and they are not that expensive to stick into a mobile phone. Its about time I am able to view videos recorded on a mobile phone without and properly distinguish a head from a trash can.

More Wireless Features: For a device that was built around the premise that we should have less wires in our lives, our cell phones sure do require a lot of wires to operate. There has been some progress in this area but it is slow. Such things as software updates, tethering, charging, printing etc. are things that should all be done wirelessly. Thankfully these options are all available now but in different models so no device carries it all.

Hopefully if Bluetooth 3.0 makes it out on schedule, a lot of these will begin to make their way to the mainstream—that is if the service providers will allow it.

So what are some of the things you require from a smartphone that currently isn’t available? Let me know in the comments below.

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