Archive for the ‘News and Announcements’ Category
Acase Releases Concept, The Hard Shell Case Folio for New iPad and iPad2
Acase, maker of accessories for mobile devices, has said that the Concept for new iPad and iPad2 is available now. It is a hard shell case folio stand available in black and white with automatic wake-up closure and stylus holder.
“Acase examined the existing products on the market and improved on their designs to create the Concept,” said Felicia Lu, Marketing Manager of Acase. “The Concept blends sturdy support and stylish design with ample protection and functionality, and is clearly one step above the rest.”
The cases has a sturdy polycarbonate back with cross grain PU leather to provide protection while making the iPad look stylish. And the case’s display cover and back are padded with microfiber lining to protect from scratches. Not only does the case protect the iPad, it also works as a stand. It can be put your iPad into two positions. It can go upright for watching videos and reading and can be laid down for typing and gaming.
The Concept is available now for $31.79 at Amazon and the Acase web site.
HAND Stylus Has World’s Smallest Multifunctional Tip
California Pacific designs has made the HAND Stylus, the world’s smallest retractable, rotating, and replaceable tip for the portable electronic devices (4mm). The product was funded through Kickstarter and reached its initial funding goal in less than two days. The product will be on Kickstarter for another month.. The stylus has a hexagonal barrel design like the classic six-sided yellow pencil. Now tablet owners can draw, sketch, take notes, and retouch photos more efficiently with most touch-screen tablets or phones.
Radio Shack And Target Slash Prices On iPhone 4/4S
Just a few days ago, some local Target retail stores had started discounting the base models of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. The iPhone 4 which regularly sells for $99, is now being sold for $49 with a two-year contract, and similarly the iPhone 4S which sells for $199 is selling for $149. Well now Radio Shack has done the same, discounting all iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S models on all carriers by $50. On top of that, Radio Shack will also accept any trade in items you may have to help lower the cost of the new device even further. Unfortunately both deals require a visit to the store to see if the offer is even being offered in the local retail store. These offers are not valid online.
Facebook Takes a Shot at iMessage
While checking my iPhone this morning I noticed that Facebook Messenger received a big update, which looks like it wants to become your default app for messaging.
Checking out the app update you can get a feel for what I mean:
- Text friends for free over your data plan – One of the main reasons I use iMessage
- Typing indicator – Functionality that iMessage currently does
The reason I see this as a really powerful update is that most of my friends and family are on Facebook but don’t have an iOS device, which makes iMessage unusable in those cases. Also the younger generation of users are regularly ‘Facebooking’ each other rather than email, which seems a bit antiquated and sometimes from my experience these youngsters don’t even have an email address yet.
I’m going to start using it a bit more to test it out but these updates makes it use a bit more interesting.
Get your app updated now or download it for the first time here.
Video Review: Han Solo in Carbonite Case for the iPhone 4/4s
With all the Star Wars references to today being May 4th (May the 4th Be With You) I thought it the perfect day to review the Han Solo in Carbonite Case for the iPhone 4/4s. This traditional snap on the back cover case features a glossy image printed in the back. The case is available in three color options: white, black and clear for only $17.99.
Click on through to check out my full video review of the case. Then head to this page on Etsy.com to learn more about it.
Rdio Launches in the UK – Spotify Finally Gets Some Competition
Here in the UK Spotify has had the music streaming business all to itself but that is all about to change with the UK launch of Rdio.
An already established service in the states has silently entered the market here and overnight with the app suddenly appearing and letting us start a 7 day trial, which I have signed up for. At £9.99 a month (the same as Spotify) for unlimited streaming and use on mobile the deciding factor for which service to spend your hard earned cash on is going to come down to the volume of artists available.
From an initial test I’m siding with Spotify so far. I have found that Rdio has a lot of albums that aren’t available to us. I am putting that down to the fact that it has just launched and is waiting on licensing to kick in. App wise Spotify gets the win for Mac and Rdio for their iOS. Let’s hope they give us some updates soon though to make it a little more user friendly and less buggy. Coincidently I saw that Spotify launched their student offer, where if you have an NUS card you get their unlimited streaming service for just £4.99! – good timing eh.
Let the battle commence.
Spotify Launches iPad App – First Impressions
Since the music streaming service Spotify launched I’ve been a big fan of their premium membership allowing me to use it on my iOS devices, but it’s been really annoying me that there wasn’t an iPad app – until now.
Yes at last today we’ve seen the official launch and it’s now available to download in the App Store.
Read on for my first impressions.
Ballistic Case Lifestyle Smooth Case Now Shipping
We’ve been fans of Ballistic Case since we had the chance to meet with them at CES this past January. I reviewed the company’s Shell Gel case for the iPhone 4 and 4s back in February and it remains one of my favorite cases when it comes to protection in a slim, form fitting package. Slim and protective aren’t terms that usually go together when it comes to iPhone cases but Ballistic has somehow managed to make it work.
Ballistic’s newest offering might just challenge that slim vs. protective Shell Gel combo that I’ve become so found of. The Lifestyle Smooth Case, which began shipping today in five colors, is Ballistic’s slimmest case yet. The case is crafted from TPU. and the company say they’ve drop tested it from up to 6 ft. The Lifestyle Smooth case comes along with 16 interchangeable bumpers (4 different colors) allowing the end user to fully customize his or her case.
The Ballistic LS Smooth is now available in Black, Charcoal, Hot Pink, Purple, and Orange for $29.99 at the Ballistic online store here.
EARBUDi Turns Apple Ear Buds into Running Ear Buds
Here’s a pretty nifty product I came across recently while browsing the back end of an old edition of Mac World magazine. If you’re still using the earbuds that came with your iPhone or iPod (and I don’t know why you would be – save your money up and invest in a decent pair of ear buds) you might find keeping them in your ear a problem, especially when exercising. EARBUDi takes the standard Apple ear buds and turns them into over the ear sport style ones with just one click. The rubberized ear loops snap on to the back side of the Apple ear buds magically transforming them into a pair of ear buds that won’t fall out even when you’re most active.
Each set of EARBUDi sells for $10 and they are available via Amazon.com.
Learn more here.
HackStore, A Cydia Alternative For Mac, Now Available For Download
One my favorite reasons to jailbreak my iOS device is for the various customizing options available through the third party application known as Cydia. Since the release of the Mac App Store we haven’t really seen any alternatives to allow developers to distribute their applications in a single application.
A new application, HackStore, has just been released for all Mac users to use, and it’s essentially like Cydia for iOS. It’s a great place for developers to submit applications, and users to find useful tweaks and applications that Apple wouldn’t accept in the Mac App Store for whatever reasons they may have. Don’t expect to find any pirated or illegal software in HackStore, as the lead project developer Andrey Fedotov has said he wants the store remain piracy free. I am personally really excited about the HackStore as I enjoy finding little tweaks and utilities to install onto my computer.
For more information on the HackStore, or to download it, visit the HackStore’s website here.
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