Since Apple opened up the ability for developers to control attached accessories, I have been waiting for products like this to start pouring into the market. iRemoco is a mini helicopter that comes with an attachment for your iPhone or iPod.
An iOS application gives you full control of the iRemoco helicopter, using the dock connector attachment to transmit the signal. Andrew Ayres and Tom Sisterson have been working on this project for 18 months and it's finally ready for the masses...
The iOS Mail app is fairly straightforward. It houses all the basic functions of a standard email client, along with some nifty Exchange options. However, there is certainly room for improvement.
One of the main features missing is the ability to delete multiple emails quickly. If you have 1 or more inboxes that sees 100+ emails daily, you know what a pain it is to go through and select each message one at a time to delete them. Luckily, Cydia now has a tweak for that...
Twenty years ago, I think most of figured we'd be living like the Jetsons by now. But flying cars are few and far between, and the closest thing we have to our own personal robot maid is the Roomba vacuum.
However, there is some neat stuff on the horizon, and this prototype by Roel Vertegaal is certainly proof of that. He is debuting his "Paper Phone" at the Association for Computing Machinery's Computer Human Interaction conference next week. Folks planning to be in attendance should preset their faces to stunned...
About a month ago, we brought you Apple's first official TV ad for their latest tablet. Although the new iPad certainly hasn't needed any assistance from their marketing team, the commercial was really well done. It basically laid out the Cupertino company's formula for making electronic products for the masses, which is focusing on the user experience and not so much on the technology behind it.
It looks like Apple's ad agencies have done it again. In their follow up 30 second spot for the iPad 2, Apple repeatedly completes the sentence, "If you asked..." The two most interesting lines come at the end of the commercial when the voiceover reads, "If you asked a child, she might call it magic. And if you asked us, we'd say it's just getting started." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdSCCwJWwXQ
Although I'm not sure that there's anyone in the world capable of imagining what Apple will come up with next, the last line of the advertisement certainly makes you think. The iPad is still very early in its life, imagine what it will look like in 5 years. Just look at the current iPod line and how much it has changed since Steve Jobs unveiled the original model back in 2001.
What do you think the iPad will look like in 5 years?
This one definitely belongs in the 'cool concepts' category. We've seen a lot of neat ideas involving the use of the iPhone outside its normal spectrum of capabilities. We've seen iPhones used in invisible instruments and 3D modeling, but we've yet to see something like this.
Rockmoon Singapore is a serious mobile game development company based out of... Singapore. While they develop for all major mobile platforms, they have a preference for iOS. What have they been working on lately?
Last week, we posted a video of an interview with Cydia's creator, Jay Freeman (saurik). The clip was about 6 minutes long, and consisted of saurik showing off many of his favorite tweaks and iOS extensions in response to the question, "Why should you jailbreak your iPhone?"
The video garnered a lot of attention. It was sort of surreal to see the guy who's devoted much of his life over the last several years to developing and maintaining Cydia explain why he loves jailbreaking so much. It seems like the video's popularity ultimately led to its demise...
For those who haven't been keeping up with the latest iPad 2 jailbreak news, let me bring you up to speed. Last week there was an unknown Twitter user proclaiming that he had created an iPad 2 jailbreak. He uploaded videos and pictures of what seemed to be an iPad 2 running Cydia.
He built up close to 1000 Twitter followers, and even had media outlets (including us) mentioning his work on Apple's tablet. Although we maintained a certain level of skepticism, a part of us wanted to believe the photos and the videos were real.
Some people got so wrapped up in their beliefs, that they blindly downloaded an unknown EXE file from the hacker. He claimed that this was the iPad 2 jailbreak everyone was waiting for. Luckily, it was nothing more than a simple app designed to error out. It could have easily been something much more malicious.
For folks who are looking for help to dismiss future fakes, the Chronic Dev Team have posted a video on their GreenPois0n website that educates the average joe on how to spot a fake video of a jailbreak.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4St2eJA6geQ
The Chronic Dev Team's GreenPois0n software has been a staple in the jailbreak community for the last few years. They are currently working on a real iPad 2 jailbreak, but have stated as recently as last week that it is no where close to being done.
While the fake jailbreak from last week can be written off as a bad prank, the next time folks may not be so lucky. We encourage you to check back here for the latest information on an official iPad 2 jailbreak.
True, the iPhone 4 has been out for like, forever, so it normally wouldn't warrant an unboxing video.
I mean, you could feel free to make an unboxing video for your iPhone 4 right now, and no one would care.
But when you throw the color white into the ring, things change all of the sudden. Techies get excited, unboxing videos get made, and people grab their popcorn.
Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you, the long lost cousin of the device you probably have sitting in your pockets right now...the White iPhone 4...
We've covered some cool products and innovations involving Apple's tablet before, but this application could take the cake.
Does anyone remember that tablet concept from Microsoft that garnered so much attention last year? Well if you don't, let me give you a quick refresher.
The dual-screened device, dubbed the Courier, was an extremely interesting take on a tablet device. Resembling a notebook, the Courier allowed you to use your fingers or a pen-like device for input.
Although the concept received a lot of positive feedback, the project was eventually shelved by Microsoft. Lead designer, J. Allard, reportedly left Microsoft in wake of the scrubbing of the tablet project. The reason for the Courier's cancellation and Allard's departure are unknown.
Well it looks like a couple of software engineers liked the Courier's functionality so much that they didn't want it to go to waste. They have been working on an upcoming iPad app called Tapose, and hope to capture the essence of the Microsoft concept in their software.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTjRhANBQL4
If they do it correctly, this would be one of the most unique applications to land on the iOS platform. They are promising Courier-like features such as integration with native apps like Mail and Safari. Imagine dragging a photo from Safari, directly to an email to send off.
Unlike other Kickstarter projects we've mentioned, these guys don't need your help. They've already met their $10,000 goal. However, they are still taking donations, and any pledge of $10 or higher buys you a copy of Tapose when it gets released.
What do you think?
So you've got yourself a nice new iPad 2, what do you do next? While some folks moan at the mention of accessories, others couldn't live with out them. I've got a protective case on both my iPad and my iPhone 4.
I've dropped either device multiple times, and can't imagine what the outcome would have been, had they not been protected. You may not need a car charger, but I always recommend some sort of case.
Some users only need light protection, like an InvisibleShield. There is a lot to be said for the thin, scratch-proof protection of the Zagg product. But what if you need more protection than just a thin layer of plastic?
While there are dozens of heavy duty cases and sleeves, none of them can take a beating like the Extreme Sleeve for the iPad. We've seen the prototype soft-shell sleeve protect an iPad from an 8lb bowling ball, but the guys over at G-Form couldn't stop there.
Today they uploaded a video of their Extreme Sleeve's latest feat, which involves a 500 ft. drop out of an airplane. You've got to watch the video for yourself, I can't believe the iPad survives the drop.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKNdknJI53Q
The company most known for their line of extreme sports protective gear, is venturing into the consumer electronics accessory game with this soft-shell sleeve for the iPad. Although not currently available, they are accepting pre-orders and expect to start shipping May 2nd.
What do you think? What's your heavy-duty case of choice?
Chalk this one up to another interesting innovation involving Apple's iPhone. We've shown you the 360-degree lens and the dual sim case, now let me introduce you to the Wi.U. It's the smartest portable battery charger you've ever seen.
The Wi.U case pairs the iPhone with the battery charger through the device's 30-pin connector. The charger has the ability to detect when your iPhone battery is getting low, and will automatically start charging it up...
Many car makers have been looking at integrating smartphones with their latest vehicle models. Just look at the mobile application for the Chevy Volt. The app allows you to unlock and start your car via your smartphone.
Other companies, like BMW, are trying to push the integration even further. While cars have offered iPod interfaces and hands-free systems for quite some time now, they've never compared to what the german car maker has been working on with their ConnectedDrive...