Bad news, you guys. If you were thinking of dropping $120 on TomTom’s iPhone car kit and then another $100 on TomTom’s navigation app for use with your first-generation iPhone or second-generation iPod touch, it now looks like you’d to run into some compatibility issues.
AppleInsider is reporting “that although the Car Kit dock is compatible with all iPhone models, the TomTom application will only work with the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G – even with the dock connected to a first-generation iPhone or iPod touch.” → Read More
To call us a “car blog” would sorta be stretching the truth. Occasionally one of the guys—aka Matt Burns—will do a car story, yeah, but that’s primarily because he thinks he’s James May. I have no such illusions of grandeur; I’m just sitting at a desk typing things, and writing student loan checks… Before this gets any further off track, the news: Volkswagen has teamed up with the guys behind Real Racing, Firemint, <to “launch” the new 2010 VW GTI. By downloading the app to your iPhone or iPod touch, you can drive around—for free, mind you—the car you wish you owned. → Read More
Short Version:
What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate iFrogz’s Timbre headphones w/mic and their iPod touch 2G & 3G Luxe case. In a nutshell, the Timbre headphones (which work with both the iPhone and iPod touch) provide decent audio playback, a reasonably comfortable fit (thanks to the three different ear bud choices), and the convenience of a built-in microphone for voice memos, Skype, etc albeit for the slightly higher than desirable price of $49.99. As for the Luxe, it is mediocre at best with a suspect design and very little going for it, especially considering it runs $29.99. → Read More
Today at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, Morgan Stanley Managing Director, Mary Meeker, gave her usual quick presentation with a ton of information. Rather than trying to squeeze it all in (which not even she can in her 15 minute presentation), I will embed the slides below when they are up and hit on her major points.
Overall, she notes that Morgan Stanley sees many good signs that the economy is recovering. She notes that stock markets usually are a leading indicator of recovery, and certainly we’ve been seeing that recovery in the tech sector (see: Apple). That’s good news because the tech industry is now the most highest capitalized market, it’s no longer the financial industry. → Read More
Do you have an iPhone? Would you like to play Myst for free? You can, sorta! What used to be the Myst demo is now called Myst FREE. You can explore Myst Island, but that’s about it. → Read More
You probably know by now that at least some of us here at pretty high on the Zune HD—look at the lengths I went to get it up and running!—but I recognize that not every Mac owner is going to jump through hoops just to be able to use the device. But maybe, just maybe, Microsoft is finally ready to do what so many people have asked it to do: make a Mac version of the Zune software, thereby enabling all the Mac owners out there to use the portable media player a little more easily. → Read More
There is no question that mobile browsing is taking off. The latest data from Opera shows that nearly 32 million people used its Opera Mini mobile browser in August, 2009, a 147 percent increase over the year before. In terms of pageviews, Opera Mini delivered 13.9 billion last month, a 235 percent annual increase. That means that each person is loading 436 pages a month on their cell phones, or 14 a day. A year ago, Opera Mini users were uploading 323 pages a month, or 10 a day. So both the number of people browsing on mobile phones and usage is going up.
But is Opera Mini the “world’s most popular mobile browser,” as Opera claims in a press release? What about the mobile version of Safari, which is the only browser allowed on the iPhone or iPod Touch. Apple has sold a total of 50 million iPhones and iPod Touches (30 million iPhones, and 20 million Touches), which both come with the Safari mobile browser. → Read More
We’ve been getting a number of tips about iTunes Connect being down for the past couple of days. Looking into it a little deeper, it appears these are not isolated issues, and that app developers all over the world have been experiencing failing or extremely slow iTunes Connect linkups for at least the past 48 hours.
iTunes Connect is software that provides access to tools and resources third-party developers need for distribution of iPhone and iPod touch applications through the iTunes App Store, including app delivery, management tools, sales information, banking setup, and financial reporting. → Read More
I haven’t heard one major complaint about the Zune HD. Have you? Everyone seems to love it. My only iPod – the original iPod Mini – needs to be retired. I’m debating between the iPod touch and the Zune HD right now. The rebellious side in me wants to get the Microsoft Zune HD, which is kind of ironic if you think about it. However, the sensible side says that the iPod touch is the smart buy primarily because of the vast range of accessories available.
Last Christmas I got my 14-year old sister-in-law a Zune 80 over an iPod touch or classic. She got the Zune because it offered more storage than the flash-based touch, but had a bigger screen than the iPod classic. Plus I’ve never had a Zune act funky or die on me, which is something I can’t say that about an iPod. But then her birthday rolled around and we wanted to get her a speaker dock. Yeah, there are five speaker docks on the market and either they sound like poo, or they are made by Kicker and therefore out of our price range. She ended up getting a 2.1 computer speaker set with a y-cable.
The issue I have is that I like all the extras you can do with these devices. I have an Onkyo iPod dock along with a Belkin RF car dock that I used to use all the time with the iPod Mini. I expect to have the same capabilities with my new purchase, but I don’t think I can get that with the Zune HD. → Read More
Yeah, we know that this meme is played out. Honestly we still think that our own Nicholas Delaeon’s Twitter adaptation is the best. But somehow we can see Steve Jobs going off in a similar rant if that rumor about technical issues delaying the camera for the iPod touch are true. [via 9 to 5 Mac] → Read More
This doesn’t make a lot of sense. Apple launched all kinds of crazy stuff at their event last week yet they didn’t mention most of them. FM radio? Wasn’t really talked up. The secret slurp folder in iTunes? Ditto. → Read More
When iFixit tore apart the new iPod nano, there was nothing surpising. But that’s not the case with the new iPod touch. It seems that the Broadcom BCM4329 chip found at the heart of the portable supports 802.11n WiFi and FM transmitting. But they also found something a bit more interesting related to the rumored camera. → Read More
There are some sweet upgrades just announced for the iPod touch, but… no camera. I guess Apple felt that would make it too good. What we have seen is a serious upgrade to the hardware. We’re also seeing a lot of new games coming out, some top-tier titles like Assassin’s Creed: Discovery, as Apple takes a shot at biting a bigger piece of the mobile gaming pie. And of course there’s the expected price drop: 8GB for $199, 16GB for $229, 32GB for $299, and the brand new 64GB for $399. Plus, the 64GB is “50% faster” — although we know what that means when Apple says it. It does now support OpenGL|ES, which should improve game performance even further. Now, if only it had a D-pad… → Read More
AdMob is out with its latest Mobile Metrics Report, this time combining its readily available network data with survey results from over 1,000 users of iPhone, iPod Touch and Android devices. Just for your reference, AdMob claims to serve ads for more than 7,000 mobile Web sites and 3,000 applications around the world.
Key takeaways from the July report, with some commentary of my own after the jump. → Read More
Short Version: If you’ve never purchased a charging dock for your iPhone or iPod Touch and you’re without an alarm clock then the Kensington Nightstand is a perfect alternative for you, friend. Being able to check on the weather first thing in the morning is an added bonus. The $40 price tag might give some of you sticker shock considering the Rise & Shine app is free from the App Store, but a quick look around to other iPhone/iPod accessory vendors quickly reveals that the Nightstand is actually a good deal. If you’re looking to buy a charging dock that is. → Read More
I considered it a sure thing when we first wrote about it back in July, but in the Apple reporting spirit (that is, writing about things we have known for a long time), here are some pictures and video showing what appears to be an iPod Touch with a camera on the back. Shock!! → Read More
Another day, another story that makes Apple look bad. Today’s is a charming tale in which Apple is alleged to have placed a gag order on a Liverpool man after his iPod touch exploded. The man complained to Apple, and Apple offered the man “compensation” in the form of so many pounds (the man merely asked for his £162 back), but only on the condition that he never tell anyone about said compensation. → Read More
