Apple Media Pad Device From Verizon?

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On April 28, 2009

As reported on mac rumors tonight…

"BusinessWeek was able to confirm with Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam that Verzion had been in talks with Apple but could not get any details from McAdam.

Instead, the magazine cites "two people familiar with the subject" as the source for these two possible Apple devices. The Apple media pad is said to be smaller than Amazon’s Kindle ebook reader but its touchscreen is bigger than the Kindle’s. The source predicts that this new product will be a category defining breakthrough device:

‘The media pad category might go to Verizon,’ said the person who has seen the device. ‘We are talking about a device where people will say, ‘Damn, why didn’t we do this?’ Apple is probably going to define the damn category.’ "

Even though we aren’t in the rumor business, this was just too good not to post!

Update – ToDo

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On

 

I’ve made no secret of my excitement for and like of Pocket Informant. By merging two of my most important productivity tools- Google Calendar and Toodledo- into a single app it makes my life much easier and more organized. At the same time I have also made no secret of the fact that the Toodledo integration of PI is currently rather anemic compared to some of the stand-alone apps like ToDo.

Appigo’s ToDo is the veteran Toodledo-synching iPhone app but that hasn’t stopped the app from seeing constant, and meaningful, updates on a rather frequent basis. At $9.99 it is expensive but it is well worth it considering the power, customization and flexibility you get.  

Well, ToDo just saw an update and this time it is one that signifies a serious step forward since it brings ToDo into the Version 2.0 world.
 

Sling Says About iPhone App… “I’m Not Dead”

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On April 27, 2009

"…bring out ur dead!!"

"I’m not dead!!! I’m getting better!!!! I don’t wanta go on da cart!"

It has been weeks since Sling apparently submitted their iPhone app for approval. In the meantime AT&T has changed and rechanged their Term of Service and rumors have flown that AT&T had prompted Apple to kill the App due to fears it would clog their network.

We STILL don’t know what the outcome will be but a post over on TUAW raises hopes again. According to the site,

GV Mobile – Takes A Place On My “First-Screen”

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On April 26, 2009

After using Google Voice on and off for the past few weeks, and GV Mobile on my iPhone for a day, I’m pretty much ready to make the move to Google Voice full-time. There are a few reasons for this and the quality and speed of GV Mobile is one of them.

I have a full post on Google Voice going up over on Gear Diary (edit- now posted) but I thought we would take a quick look at GV Mobile since it is the aspect of Google Voice that put me over the top in my decision to move to Google Voice full-time as soon as possible.

Amplitude – Review

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On April 25, 2009

From The Developer:

Amplitude enhances aural experiences by allowing you to hear distant and/or quiet sounds as if you were standing nearby.  Amplitude uses the high quality hardware of the iPhone and iPod Touch* to detect and amplify the faintest of sounds.  You’ll hear things you never would have been able to hear otherwise.

Using Amplitude is easy: simply launch the app, point your device in the direction of the sound you want to amplify, and starting hearing the world in a new way through your headphones.

Use Amplitude to explore your world.  Experience all the sounds of your environment that you would otherwise have missed.

Send us feedback and feature requests. We want to hear how you are using Amplitude.  Send us your stories or YouTube videos to [email protected].

O U R   T A K E . . .

New In The App Store – GV Mobile

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I am super excited to see GV Mobile finally released. We’ve been looking forward to this release for a while and are excited to see how it takes Google Voice to the next level. Here’s the scoop…

GV Mobile brings the power of Google Voice to your iPhone. GV Mobile allows users of Google Voice to:

+dial numbers via the iPhone address book or typing on the keypad +send SMS +retrieve and delete recent call history +playback and delete voicemails +take calls from different phones other than your iPhone +enable or disable the phones that Google Voice forwards calls to +add or delete phones that Google Voice forwards call to GrandDialer users, this is your replacement app! You must already have a Google Voice account in order for this application to work. Grand Central users that have converted their account to Google Voice will also be able to use this.

How does GV Mobile work? GV Mobile initiates a secure connection with Google Voice and sends a command to do various tasks(call, send sms, etc). GV Mobile communicates only with Google Voice, no one else. Please note that GV Mobile relies heavily on the use of an internet connection (3G, EDGE, Wifi, etc).

If your internet connection is shady a best, this app may not function properly. A future update will include Offline Mode™ which will allow for dialing using your Google Voice number without the need of an internet connection. By using GV Mobile, you understand that I am not liable for data charges you may incur. Any drastic changes on Google’s end may make GV Mobile inoperable. With that said, I plan on fully supporting this app to ensure it functions if changes occur. (GV Mobile is not a product of Google)

We’ll have a first look some time tomorrow. For now… GV Mobile is $2.99 and is available HERE.

 

News From Our Friends At Gear Diary

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If you are a frequent reader of Gear Diary, you may have noticed a few problems today reading one of our favorite sites. No need to be alarmed. There is no trouble. Gear Diary is in the midst of upgrading their servers. Once they are finished, the site should be faster than ever. Until then, they may have some intermittent down time, so please be patient and bear with them. Gear Diary should be up and running by the end of the weekend, if not sooner.

Quick Look – Terminate Me

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On April 24, 2009

Terminate Me is a new free app that combines two of my favorite things- Terminator movies and iPhone apps that let you do fun things with photographs.

The app’s description is pretty sraight forward…

Turn yourself into a terminator. This app is simple and quick. Begin by taking a headshot photo or importing one from your camera roll. After aligning it with the in-app grid, touch different parts of the face to reveal the terminator endoskeleton beneath. There are multiple levels of damage, so you can create unique images each time. Once you have finished, save and share your new "terminated" photo with all your friends.

Simple enough…

A Look At 4 Different iPhone/Touch Cases From Speck

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On April 22, 2009

The day I got my new MacBook I immediately put a Speck SeeThru hard shell on it. At $49.95 it was expensive but, having now used it for a number of months, it was worth every penny. The case is clear, doesn’t add much thickness or weight and offers amazing protection for my MacBook, giving me piece of mind without my having to "baby" it. I highly recommend it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speck was kind enough to send us a few of their iPhone and iPod Touch cases to review so today we’ll take a quick look at a few. We’ll look at their CandyShell, PixelSkin and QwikDraw for iPhone3G and their Fitted case for iPod Touch.

 

Read It Later – Quick WalkThrough

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I am totally smitten with ReadItLater. Thanks to this neat little app/service I now run through my Google Reader list, mark whatever looks interesting and then come back and read it when I am good and ready. It is fast, simple and works well. Best of all, the more I use it the more I find it useful. THAT is the sign of a good app!

In addition, I am beta testing the next version of one of my other favorite apps and it now integrates ReadItLater. Moreover, I have been speaking to ANOTHER of my favorite app developers and suggested that they too add intergation in. From his response I think we’ll see that shortly as well. (Details on both as soon as I am able.)

A few people have emailed us asking questions about it. We thought the best way to answer some of the basic ones was through this quick video we found on the ReadItLater site. Take a look and no doubt you too will be using this awesome tool.