The coolest gadget I have seen reported from MacExpo thus far, is the U-Socket made by FastMac. This little wonder adds USB ports along side your standard 120 AC plugs, so you can plug your devices directly into the wall with no adapters.
These plugs are currently priced at $22.95 and $25.95 each, depending on which of the two current models you want. The model pictured to the right is the Ace, they also have a model called Decora Ace, Which is more squared. When prices come down to being more in line with standard wall plugs, I will be replacing nearly every plug in my house with ones like this!
Are you one of the expected Millions who will be moving from ATT to Verizon in the coming weeks? Then you may just be in luck!! Verizon announced through an email to some of their corporate customers, that you will be able to trade in your old ATT iPhones for a credit towards a shiny new Verizon iPhone.
Verizon has said they will pay $60 for a 16GB iPhone 2G, $105 for a 16GB iPhone 3G, $160 for a 32GB iPhone 3GS, $280 for a 16GB iPhone 4, and $360 for a 32GB iPhone 4.
The iPhones will be available in limited numbers to early customers on February 3rd. This is however a VERY limited number. So only a very few of us will get them. The rest of us will have to wait until the official launch on the 10th. It is still unknown if Verizon will actually have enough iPhones on the actual launch day to meet the demand.
Will February the 2nd really be the day? We will just have to wait and see. Rupert Murdoch's newest venture in News is his newspaper slated and targets at tablet computers is supposed to launch on Groundhog's day. The Daily was announced in Late November, as a newspaper specifically designed for the iPad. Several times recently a release date has been announced, only to later be put on hold again. The supposed reason for the delays have been Apple's subscription model that they are adding into iTunes.
Will this magazine be worth all of the hype it has been receiving? I highly doubt it. But hopefully it will usher in a new era of Digital Media for the iPad.
Meet the new head of Apple's Global Security... David Rice. Mr Rice will be responsible for getting the iPhones and iPads up to snuff in Security. Apple is pushing them hard at Corporations and Government. However, they have expressed concerns over the devices security. Namely the lack of encryption and lack of options as to how to deal with a lost or stolen unit. These are problems that have kept the iPhone from seeing a large scale roll out across many large corporations. Many of my own clients have balked at using them for the very same reasons. This is one area where the Blackberry is still king. But not for long.....
Today is a joyous day indeed! The number one Media Center software suite has been ported to iDevices!! XBMC, or Xbox Media Center, as it was originally called, is in this blogger's opinion the best Media Center money can buy... And it is Free!!! This will be especially great on the AppleTV. It will make it the best $99 media computer you can buy!
As for how does it perform? Well, this is just the first version. With that said, it runs sluggish on my iPad and has some issues over all with functionality. I was unable to get it to connect to our media server, so I could play content across our network. However, knowing the XBMC team, this will just be a matter of time before it is working perfectly! It needs some polishing to work on the current A4 chips without all the lagging. I would recommend that you wait a couple of revisions before you actually try this out for mainstream usage. But if you want to see a great and mostly functional proof of concept, then hop on Cydia and give it a test!
Yes, that is right.. you DO have to be jail broken to enjoy this little morsel. However, as simple as it is to do anymore, why wouldn't you be jail broken?
Apple sent an email to all of their employees on Monday, in which Steve Jobs is quoted as saying the following..
Team,
At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company.
I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for all of Apple’s day to day operations. I have great confidence that Tim and the rest of the executive management team will do a terrific job executing the exciting plans we have in place for 2011.
I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy.
Steve
Tim Cook held the reigns of the Company in 2009 during Steve's last Medical Leave and will do so again. Steve Jobs was out in 2009 for a Liver Transplant and the out in 2004 with Pancreatic Cancer. We wish Steve all the best and hope he has a speedy recovery!
A recent discovery in the newest iOS beta has shown us yet another glimpse of the future to come! The driver bundle discovered is for the PowerVR SGX543, the smallest OpenCL-capable graphics core. This chip is not used in any of the current iDevices, so it is reasonably safe to assume that it will be in the next generation of iDevices, starting with the iPad2. The current GPU used with the A4 CPU in current gen iDevices is the PowerVR SGX535. The SGX543 would give the iDevices performance on par with current notebooks!
We have a big update for all of you today! Some exciting stuff is coming down the lines!
On January the 12th of 2011, iOS 4.3 Beta was pushed out to developers. As usual, the developers wasted no time dissecting the beta to find all the new hidden features that it had to share. In a matter of hours, the developer community had found several new and interesting features in the newest iOS beta to be released. The newest beta also holds clues as to possible future hardware feature, a new MobileMe feature and shows evidence of future hardware revisions for both the iPhone and the iPad.
So what are all these new features? Find out after the jump!
Hot on the heels of Verizon's announcement about the iPhone is even more Apple and Verizon goodness. Lost in the sea of comments and news about the Verizon iPhone, was this little bit of information. It is the natural next step that most of us in the industry expected to see. What else would you expect from a relationship with Verizon and Apple?
That's right! A CDMA iPad! In an interview yesterday in New York, Verizon Communications, Inc. CFO Franicis Shammo said that the company has plans to sell a version of the iPad that can connect directly to their wireless network. It is expected that the release of the iPad2 will come in three flavors. A WiFi only model, a GSM model and a CDMA model.
Just a quick note, Verizon has announced the iPhone for their network. The iPhone will cost a few dollars more to buy.. About $10 more than with AT&T. The only difference between the ATT and Verizon iPhone is the Verizon phone will include an app so you can use the phone like a portal wifi hotspot.
Existing Verizon customers I'll be able to pre-order the iPhone on the Verizon website starting Feb. 3rd, for an estimated delivery on the 5th-11th. Stores will begin to have it in stock at the end of Feburary.
Confirmed by my own Verizon source!! Tomorrow Is indeed the day! Tomorrow they will be announcing the Verizon iPhone! And I am on the list for the first batch to hit our town!
At this year's CES, there has been no shortage of iPad accessories. However, the ones that are catching the attention of everyone this year, are the new cases for the as of yet, unannounced, iPad2! The cases on display at CES all seem to prove a few theories about the upcoming iPad refresh. Surely all the different case manufacturers are not basing their new designs, solely on rumor and Internet pipe dreams.. Take a look at this photo from one such manufacturer, Y-Case. More after the jump...
There has been a lot of talk about Jailbreaking your iDevices in the news. And most of it bad. It is unfortunate that Jailbreaking has been given such a bad name. Apple and Mainstream Media, would have you believe that if you Jailbreak your iDevice you will A. make yourself susceptible to Viruses and Hackers and B. Only those who pirate software jailbreak. Apple does not want you to "root" your device. They do not want you to be able to choose how your device should act, or look, or what software you can run. Congress, has recently decided that Jailbreaking is not illegal. However, I would still restore your iDevice to original before you send it in for service. As for why would you want to? More on that after the jump.
So, Verizon has a big announcement coming on 1/11/11 at 11 AM. Sources "close to Verizon" are being quoted by the Wall Street Journal that this is it.. The iPhone is finally here. After months and months of rumors floating around the Internet, hopefully Tuesday will be the day. Many of us in the tech industry have been anxiously awaiting for anyone other than AT&T to carry the iPhone in the US.
We have all heard the rumors about the million plus CDMA iPhones that have supposedly been shipped to 1 infinity way. So with a little luck, we will all be getting new iPhones next week!!
I thought that we would take a look at some of the best
apps I have found for use in a Business environment. We all know
that the iPad is an amazing and very entertaining device. But what
most folks do not realize, is that with a few simple and often
cheap apps, you can pretty much leave the laptop at home. Over the
last year, I have come across some very interesting apps and today
I want to share them with you… Let’s start off today with one of
my Favorites, Evernote.
Hello fellow Netizens,
Allow me to introduce myself. I am Randy walker, an IT Consultant\Network Administrator for several medium sized businesses. But what makes me an iPad Ninja? Well that is a good question. I have spent the last 4 years of my life, incorporating iPhones and iPads into Business and Exchange environments. I had one of the first iPhone 3G’s in Canada and then bought the iPad the moment it hit the shelves in Tennessee.
Ever since the day i got my first iPhone, I have been hooked. Soaking up every ounce of knowledge I could come across, about these little wonders. I was always trying to figure out ways that these could make my clients lives easier. Or new ways I could have fun with them. And then, along came the iPad…..
Apple sent an email to all of their employees on Monday, in which Steve Jobs is quoted as saying the following..
Hot on the heels of Verizon's announcement about the iPhone is even more Apple and Verizon goodness. Lost in the sea of comments and news about the Verizon iPhone, was this little bit of information. It is the natural next step that most of us in the industry expected to see. What else would you expect from a relationship with Verizon and Apple?
At this year's CES, there has been no shortage of iPad accessories. However, the ones that are catching the attention of everyone this year, are the new cases for the as of yet, unannounced, iPad2! The cases on display at CES all seem to prove a few theories about the upcoming iPad refresh. Surely all the different case manufacturers are not basing their new designs, solely on rumor and Internet pipe dreams.. Take a look at this photo from one such manufacturer, Y-Case. More after the jump...
So, Verizon has a big announcement coming on 1/11/11 at 11 AM. Sources "close to Verizon" are being quoted by the Wall Street Journal that this is it.. The iPhone is finally here. After months and months of rumors floating around the Internet, hopefully Tuesday will be the day. Many of us in the tech industry have been anxiously awaiting for anyone other than AT&T to carry the iPhone in the US.
