Kensington unveils Battery Pack and Charger for iPhone / iPod

Sure, there are already a handful of options out there for extending the life of your iPhone / iPod battery, but since when have we been ones to gripe about a little competition? Kensington has just introduced a standard and miniature version of its Battery Pack and Charger for iPhone / iPod, which unsurprisingly provides juice to your device's internal battery and can be recharged simultaneously. As you could likely guess, the only differences between the two contraptions are the size, price and battery life; the 0.22-pound standard model extends play time to up to 100 hours (music) / 6 hours (talk), while the even tinier mini version livens things up for another 30 hours (music) / 3 hours (talk). Each is available now for $69.99 / $49.99.

• Read via Kensington
  

How to Do a Fake iPhone 2 In Five Easy Steps

A Quick and dirty tutorial to create your very own fake version of the Iphone 2
It's Do your Fake iPhone 2 Leaked Photos Season, and everyone is trying to trick everyone else with crappy, noisy, allegedly-leaked images. But why read about stupid rumors when you can make your own—and even send them to our contest? "How" you ask? Easy, just follow the easy 5-step tutorial after the jump, and get some inspiration from some examples I've made just for you (warning, my dog's genitals may be NSFW in the Great State of Minnesota).

More and further information via Gizmodo

Over/under on Apple’s ‘day and date’ iTunes movie scheme being a success?

What starts as a weird love letter to Apple ends as a keen examination of its chances of success in the one place it still hasn’t conquered: your living room. A rather long piece in today’s Times looks at whether or not Apple’e latest scheme to release movies on the same day and date as their DVD release will have any sort of specific effect on sales of Apple TV, and any general effect on Apple’s performance in the living room.

Unlike when iTunes was still shiny and new (and, essentially, the only place to go for legal music downloads), Apple doesn’t have a stranglehold on the legal movie download business. You’ve got Amazon Unbox, Xbox Live Marketplace, and any number of other solutions. Apple can’t throw its weight around like it used to, as it did when it gifted us 99 cent music singles.

Not being a movie fan, I personally couldn’t give a toss what happens in this space, but I look forward to seeing if Apple can co-opt another industry, forcing it to bend to its will.

via CrunchGear

I’m sure Steve really appreciates the iMac picture in this review…

Check out the picture PC Magazine used in their review of the all new iMac. Who said PC users don’t have a sense of humor?

Leaked AT&T memo points to 3G iPhone release in late June?

A friendly neighborhood AT&T employee forwarded us a purported memo for AT&T retail store employees that could provide a rather telling clue about the next-gen iPhone's release date this summer if it proves true. A similar memo went out last year around this time requesting that employees not take any vacations between June 15 and July 15, and this year those dates are June 15 and July 12 -- which seems suspiciously early, but that's what the man says. The memo cites "an exciting Summer Promotional Launch," which we're guessing doesn't refer to some new Motorola flip phone. Also telling is the fact that employees might be able to take some vacations later within that window when things die down a bit, which seems to imply that Apple could be aiming for a launch date right around the iPhone's one year anniversary of June 29th. How romantic.

• via Engadget

Oops... Apple: Lying liars or people who lie?

This is the after shot…

iTunes Turns Five is a special iTunes section dedicated to celebrating the fifth birthday of iTunes. Fair enough. We had a Thomas the Tank Engine cake for my son, they have a web page. Well, it seems they first time they posted the page it said they had 10 million songs available on iTunes and a few days later changed that to 6 million. Was it a typo? Were they counting podcasts? Did they secretly add and pull the entire Beatles catalog without telling us?

I’m going to say that a designer and marketers screwed up and they fixed it on the sly, but maybe they are just absolute mendicants not worthy of our respect. You decide.

Vodafone releasing iPhone in Australia, Italy, India, and seven other countries

Vodafone's just got a tiny, minor, insignificant announcement to make this morning: it's signed with Apple to sell the iPhone in ten markets, including Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy (so much for Telecom Italia), India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey. Expect the phone later this year -- that's all we know for now. Score one (or ten?) for Voda.

More from Vodafone

AP launches iPhone-targeted news service

It’s like a newspaper in your phone. I like the idea of location-targeted news from the Associated Press coming straight to my iPhone (and probably iPod Touch); it’s like the local page from your newspaper, but without the cow-tipping updates.

A lot of the big news corporations are on board, which means you won’t be getting locked out of good local content. There will, of course, be ads, but you’ve got those in real 3D newspapers too. They say they’ll be launching a service “Monday,” and today is Monday, so go check.

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New Boston Apple Store Largest In the World

Later this month, Apple is opening its latest flagship store on Boylston Street in Boston. The store's main claim to fame? It's huge. We're talking largest Apple Store in the world, by square footage. The store, in the city's historic Back Bay district, looks like a four-story glass cube. It's the first store inside Boston proper and the first with (finally) easy subway access. According to a store employee, it's a good thing Boylston Street is so big: Apple estimates 1,500-2000 customers/hour will visit — more than 10 times the 160/hour that the average store gets. It's something else inferiority-complex ravaged Bostonians can hold over New York.

• More and a complete gallery via Gizmodo

AT&T/Starbucks Free Wi-Fi Disabled... For Now

AT&T's free Starbucks Wi-Fi for iPhone usersdeal didn't last very long. Users on the MacRumors forum say that locations where Wi-Fi worked just days ago now have the free iPhone access removed. Considering AT&T never made an official mention of the service, it's possible somebody at the Death Star jumped the gun and the mistake has been corrected. Or maybe the company found out that a simple hack would let anybody with a friend's iPhone number get a free ride.

• [source: MacRumors]

Mozy hits 1.0, no more beta backups

We’ve talked about Mozy before. It’s a backup service that allows you to save your files to an offsite location. Using this software/service combo, you can keep your vital files saved to a place safe from disasters such as a fire in your home. Offsite backup is a part of any complete backup strategy (because all of you have that, right? right?).

Up until yesterday, the service was in beta, but no longer. It’s in final, supported form. If you’re interested in trying it, you get a free 2 GB of data space to back up to (more than enough to save most of your vital documents). Should you decide you like it, $4.95 per month will buy you unlimited back up space. I hope you have a net connection with fast upload should you choose to back up all your data this way.

via MacUser

GTA 4 totally disses Apple

Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the last month, you’re at least aware of the existence of Rockstar Games’ new Grand Theft Auto 4, which by all accounts, is ridiculously awesome. One of the many things this game is praised for is its unparalleled depth of gameplay. Your character can listen to the radio, watch tv, or even browse the internet.

As it turns out, if you browse the internet enough on GTA, you might come across an Apple ad parody. The not so subtle mockery of Apple consists of a computer ad for “Fruit”, that implores you to “THINK Simple. THINK Minimalism. THINK Overpriced.” Ouch.

There’s also an ad for a banana shaped “iFruit Phone” with “No buttons. No Reception. No storage capacity. All ego.”

Looks like the folks at Rockstar aren’t too impressed by the iPhone either. Oh well, you can’t win em all.

[Via tuaw]

Apple positions head south by southwest

Well, there are likely to be about 174 people in Elk Grove, CA who may be a little miffed with Apple. The company has decided to shift jobs from their facility there, about 122 miles northwest of Cupertino, to a location in Austin, Texas. Elk Grove employs over 1,100 workers, primarily in support positions: call center, warehousing, and distribution.

The jobs in question are telesales positions, including 99 online store reps, 19 customer service tech support reps, and 37 of those lovely people who will chat with you online when you’re feeling lonely. On the upside, they’ve been offered the option to apply for a new position at Elk Grove or keep their existing jobs and relocate to lovely Ausin (I hear it’s pretty nice, if you don’t mind the yearly invasion of mild pretension). It is kind of a long trip, though.

via MacUser

Men’s Health brings you free workout videos for iPod

So you wanna get fit, do ya? Getting rid of that excess flab and replacing it with bulging, rippling muscle won’t be easy, but don’t give up your underwear model aspirations just yet. Lifehacker points out that Men’s Health magazine is offering four free workout videos that can be placed on your iPod to help whip you into shape anywhere you go.

The routines range in intensity from the at-home muscle plan to the kinda intimidating sounding “Ultimate Strength-Boosting” and “Marine Corps” workouts. Free registration is required, but once you do that, you can download the videos and drop them right into iTunes.

Keep up with these plans and you should be looking like a 300 extra in no time. Or of course, you could always forego working out and just drink Power Thirst (NSFW).

Software Update sneak boosts Safari share

Er, so remember that whole thing back in March with Safari and Software Update on Windows? I know, I thought I’d seen the last of it too, but it turns out that there’s actually been some interesting fall out from it. According to the Net Applications, which tracks information like market share via Internet browser traffic, Safari’s share on Windows tripled after the update fiasco.

Safari 3.0 had been holding a pretty steady 0.06-0.07% share in the previous months, but after the Software Update incident, the share of Safari 3.1 (the version installed by the updater) jumped to 0.21%. Now, my understanding is that in order for that information to register, one would presume that those Windows users need to be actually be using Safari on a regular basis. What that makes me wonder how many of those people actually tried Safari intentionally and how many of them are just wondering why Internet Explorer looks so different all of the sudden?

I’m still not condoning what Apple did—even with their most recent changes, I think it’s an icky precedent to set. But apparently not all Windows users see things the same way.

Alleged 3G iPhone Looks Like Le Fake, Le Merde

Some frogsters* with no track record are claiming that this piece of scratched plastic—which in the photo looks like a cheapo LG cellphone clone wannabe—is the new iPhone 3G. Although it matches the rumored all-black and specs, we don't believe it's the real thing. The reason: these photos have been up since 12:04AM Central European Time and it's now 4:04PM. That's 16 hours up with no Cease and Desist order—and Apple Europe is as aggressive with leaks as Cupertino. In any case, check its back and tell us what you think after the jump.

Read More via Gizmodo

2 new conflicting iPhone reports support “multiple iPhone models” rumor

What are your thoughts? Will Apple create multiple iPhones tailored for different users, just as they have for the iPod and MacBook lines?

more and info via Maceinstein

Tips: How to “forward delete” on a MacBook

by Dr. Macenstein

OK, those of you who have had Mac portables forever can just shut up right now. In fact, I am considering disabling comments to keep you’re smug asses from typing “duh”, and “why not tell us where the ‘power’ key is?” – so be kind.

As someone who has been raised solely on desktop Macs, my move last November to the MacBook was a bold step I knew would be full of compromises. One of the first and most notable of which was the reduced function of the MacBook’s keyboard. Obviously due to size constraints, certain keys I was used to using in my full-sized keyboard days understandably did not make the transition to the MacBook, and the most annoying of which (to me at least) was the “forward delete” key. Well, at the great risk of admitting I did not know something fairly basic, and in the hopes that one day a new Mac user may Google the words “Forward Delete MacBook”, I am offering this tip, which I only just now discovered while reviewing the fairly excellent Mac Pilot.

Hold down the “function” key (fn) and while pressing the “backspace” key, and you will have regained the “missing” forward delete functionality that has been the bane of my journalistic existence for nearly 6 months now. I hope you find this tip useful enough to warrant the huge loss of Mac street cred I have opened myself up to.

via Maceinstein

“Transport” moves your Time Capsule backup off-site

Time Capsule combined with Time Machine is a great way to backup your files, but a horrible way to protect them in cases of fire or theft. Odds are, any natural disaster that takes down your computer will likely destroy a Time Capsule sitting a couple feet from it, and odds are if someone breaks into your house to steal your expensive computer, they’ll grab the Time Capsule as well.

Macminicolo, the company that currently offers off-site Mac mini and Xserve hosting, has come up with the solution to this backup problem with their new Transport service. Basically, you buy a Time Capsule from them (or send in your own Time Capsule), and they store your Time Machine backup securely off-site in Sin City, Las Vegas. And as we all know, data that is sent to Vegas STAYS in Vegas, right?

The service sounds pretty cool, actually, as the hosted Time Capsule appears and functions as if it were connected to your machine locally. All Time Capsule’s features remain intact, so you can set up multiple users, password protect the data, etc, and you use the AirPort admin to set it up.

So, how much does all this peace of mind cost? Prices start at $29/month for 50 GB of bandwidth per month, and go up depending on options (that doesn’t include the $299 or $499 cost of the Time Capsule, of course). Of course, Macminicolo realizes your first Time Machine backup session alone might exceed 50 GB, so during the first month of service they give you 300 GB of bandwidth to do your initial Time Capsule backup/sync.

So, is it worth it? That all depends on what you are storing on your Mac. Personally the most important things on my computer are my digital photos, and I already have a “low tech” off-site storage plan in effect (I burn DVDs of all my photos and keep them at my office). While it would suck to loose everything else on my computer, the photos are the big thing that I would never forgive myself for losing, and more importantly, my WIFE would never forgive me for losing (or let me hear the end of). So for married men with kids, a wife, and a ton of digital photos, odds are it’s a small price to pay.

via Maceinstein

My MacBook Cable Replacement Tip at Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools

After years of wanting to, I finally submitted a Cool Tools entry, and my friend Steve Leckart edited it for me. It's about using a spare Playstation cable, which one of the smart readers at KK.org recognized as a IEC C7 cord, instead of the nub or grounded garden hose that comes with a Mac Laptop.
Why? My reasons for doing it are over at

[Cool Tools]

Apple to Sell Movies on DVD Release Day, Confirmed

It's confirmed. Apple will release all new movies from 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Lionsgate, Image Entertainment and First Look Studios on the same day as their DVD release, for $14.99. Full press release after the jump.

• More via Gizmodo »

AT&T WiFi hotspots free to iPhone owners, anyone with a brain

by Joshua TopolskNow that AT&T has full control of wireless hotspots like Starbucks and Barnes and Nobles, it looks like they're doling out freebies to their favorite customers: iPhone users. Apparently, if you've got one of Apple's devices, you can hop on the WiFi networks for exactly zero dollars provided you enter your phone number at a login screen. Great for iPhone owners, but a raw deal for everyone else, right? Not so fast, apparently a dumb hack gets you the service on the house too -- just switch your browser's user agent to Mobile Safari, and presto! Free internet. We can't imagine this is a hole that won't get plugged real fast, so get it while the gettin's good.

[Via TUAW]

• Read - AT&T Providing Free Wi-Fi Access to iPhone Users
• Read - Hotspot hack

iPhone on the farm

Yeah, we too are hoping that these overseas impostors will have to start changing up their game if they still want to ape the iPhone in just a few months, but as it stands, the Toggolino Phone actually does a fantastic job of shaming itself. Apparently this handset, er, device comes packaged with some form of German kit meant to teach kinder a few things about words, animals and the equitable distribution of wealth throughout social classes. Okay, so maybe that last bit isn't in there, but seriously, those animal apps look way more interesting than stocks, weather and company email.

Read

• via Engadget
  

AT&T's 3G iPhone Is $199 This Summer

According to Fortune, AT&T's going to further subsidize the iPhone down as much as $200, making the final retail price a scant $199 with two-year-contract. The rumor is that the $200 bonus will only be available in AT&T stores, not in Apple stores, so people buying and exporting or using it with T-Mobile will be paying the higher price. Current first-gen iPhone users probably won't get this $200 subsidy when upgrading either, unless perhaps they renew for another 2 years.

More via Gizmodo »

New iMacs First to Use Intel Montevina Chipset?

On the surface, the new iMacs just look like a speed bump, there's actually something pretty interesting under the number splooge: It's the first system we know of to use Intel's Montevina chipset, which actually isn't due until June. Even though the release doesn't namedrop Montevina, the 1066MHz front-side bus with processor speed up to 3.06GHz tells us it's the case, since Santa Rosa's FSB only hits 800. Which means you should see a solid performance boost in these babies, not just better efficiency. Wonder how Apple swung getting their hands on the chips before anyone else.

Update: TGDaily says they're not quite Montevina-era, but unreleased chips no one else has, with the only difference from actual Montevina-oriented CPUs being these run 11 watts higher on thermal power design.

[New iMacs on Gizmodo]

Apple Store Retail Employees Getting New Shirts, Slogans, Impatient Attitude

IFO AppleStore has info on the new clothing design for Apple Retail employees, who will swap out their current job titles for slightly different ones that represent Apple's iPod and iPhone business more. The "Mac Genius" will become just "Genius," for example, and there will be six different slogans for each guy. We know it's old hat to mock Apple users and Apple Retail for being slightly smarmy and, well, kind of douchey, but these shirt slogans after the jump kind of reinforce the reason why.

Click for More via Gizmodo »

Razer Death Adder Gaming Mouse for Mac (Wha? Mac Gamers?)

Razer has a new gaming mouse for just for you. The Death Adder is an 1800dpi righty with a 1ms response time. Say what you want about gaming on Macs, you can't possibly defend using the Mighty Mouse in fragfests. Death Adder drops May 20 for $60. [Razer]

via Gizmodo

Hacked MacBook Air With Built-In 3G Wireless

This is what every MacBook Air needs: built-in 3G wireless. In order to get this goodness into the MBA, Jordan Bunnell busted up a Verizon USB727 Air Card and soldered it up with the MBA's unused USB controllers on the motherboard and used a little bit of voodoo to get power flowing to the card. There's a little bit more elbow grease to get the antenna ports situated and the card crammed in there nice and properly, but as you can see, it pays off. Check out the whole nerdy process in detail over at his site, though our heart's a little too faint to attempt the feat. [Get Listed Locally via engadget]

Video: iSwish puts the iPhone UI on any Windows Mobile phone

While you can argue that Windows Mobile is feature-for-feature and spec-for-spec superior to OS X on the iPhone, Apple's mobile UI is certainly more fun to use. So if you're running WinMo with a hankerin' for rubber band-like scrolling, jiggly icons, screen flicking, SummerBoard themes, and even simulated multi-touch pinching of photos then you're in luck. Flick Software Research is set to release its iSwish interface and iZoom pinch software in beta come "early May." Hey Flick, here's a hint: Dell Axim != sexy demo hardware... or maybe that's the point. See the action after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Video: iSwish puts the iPhone UI on any Windows Mobile phone

• Read
• via Engadget
  

Colorware's Matte Black iPhone Fools Friends, Bloggers

It's not the 3G iPhone, but Colorware's Stealth iPhone trades in the silver trim and brushed metal back for an entirely matte black motif. It's also extraordinarily expensive, weighing in at $675 and $775 to the stock model's $399 and $499. Colorware does throw in a matte black iPhone dock and pair of earbuds, but even that probably doesn't justify the increased cost. Then again, some people really love black.

[@Colorware]

Video: OQO hacked to run Leopard, now world's smallest Mac

While greeted with heaps of initial skepticism, forum jockeys over at OQO Talk now seem convinced that a junior member by the name of TRF has successfully hacked the OQO to run OS X Leopard. Adding a video filmed by Mr. Blurry Cam didn't hurt the cause. TRF's OQO is setup in a dual-boot Vista / OS X mode which boots Leopard in about 2 minutes and 30 seconds. WiFi, sound, power management and Bluetooth... it's all there with applications popping with serious snap. The only thing missing at the moment is WWAN access which TRF is now testing. While not yet a "plug and play" hack, it's "definitely doable," he says. Perhaps, but we'll need more details to say the least. Video excerpt posted after the break.

[Thanks Albert L. and lambda jones]

Read -- Forum post
Read -- Full Video

Engadget: Continue reading Video: OQO hacked to run Leopard, now world's smallest Mac

Gold-plated MacBook Air

We've already seen the MacBook Air bathed in gold and crystals, but it seems that people just can't leave well enough alone, with the folks at Computer Choppers (no strangers to gilded Macs) only the latest to spare no expense in taking the laptop to heights of tackiness that no one from Cupertino would ever dare dream of. That includes 24kt gold plating over the entire laptop and, in a final stake through El Jobso's heart, an Apple logo ensconced in multi-colored sapphires -- not to mention a polished gold SuperDrive to go along with it. If your eyes can take it, you can find a few more pics in the gallery below.

• read More
  
• via Engadget
  

Apple Macworld booth tour

by Ryan Block
It's kind of weird to think that Apple had a booth at Macworld just the same as HP or Toshiba had at CES -- well, ok, theirs was very Apple, and absolutely mobbed by throngs of Mac-faithful waiting to catch a glimpse of the iPhone (and to a lesser extent, the Apple TV). We know not everyone can be there, so peep the booth gallery.

• Read
• via Engadget
  

Apple TV review

In a day where everyone (including us) expects their gadgets to do everything, Apple again bucks the trend and releases a product that does a few things, but tries to do them very well. From day one the Apple TV wasn't expected to be the right for everyone -- especially not many of the gadgetrati that patronize our fine publication. It does have a specific target audience (namely, those happy to live in the iTunes ecosystem), but will it be the gateway device to bring digital video to the living room? What's more, will "the iTunes adapter" still pass muster with the ever-scrutinizing CE enthusiast crowd? Learn everything we think you'd want to know about this thing (except how to upgrade the drive) our full-on Apple TV review.

The hardware

Yes, the unit looks like a smushed Mac mini -- except it got wider. Unlike the mini and the new Airport Extreme (both of which are 6.5-inches square), it has a 7.7-inch footprint. It's almost the same thickness as the Airport Extreme, though, at 1.1-inches. While the Apple TV's design indubitably looks good in almost any home theater, we can't help but wish it was stackable with the rest of Apple's equipment. The fit and finish lives up to Apple's reputation for solid hardware, and nothing feels cheesy. It's got a bold metal bezel and a very strong, sturdy-feeling chassis. You won't find a power button -- just plug it in. Compared to a other media streamers and the Xbox 360, this thing is small and quiet. So quiet, in fact, we could hardly hear it when not directly next to it.

The frontal LED and IR pickup is similar to the mini, but it gave us some trouble since we used an IR distribution system (so we can stash our gear in the closet). The Apple TV just refused to work with it. To make sure it was the Apple TV, we put our MacBook Pro in the closet and the same IR blaster fine to control Front Row. Since these IR systems are not the norm, we did all of our testing with the Apple TV on top of our TV instead. Ah well. (We pinged Apple, and they said prior to launch they tested with a variety of IR blasters, extenders, etc., and haven't ever had any problems -- so maybe it was just our rig.)

Requirements - When purchasing the Apple TV, the Apple employees were very clear about the requirement for an HDTV. That and video cables -- the ATV doesn't come with any. Apple seems aware of how this is going over with the public and wants to set expectations before people leave the store, or they could just be trying to sell their own cables. Either way, it's kind of annoying, the same way it was annoying when the PS3 didn't come with an HDMI cable.Remote - The remote is very familiar to anyone with a new Mac or iPod dock, it is simple and works well. Still, a couple more buttons might make it a little easier to use for simple things like volume control (which the Apple TV can't do) or turning the unit off without having to hold the pause button down for a little while. One interesting bit about the remote is you have the option to pair it with your Apple TV. Each Apple Remote has a unique ID that it sends out in IR before its command (yes, this is learnable for smart remotes). If you have multiple Apple Remotes, you can make sure you don't accidentally wake your computer when using your ATV. Definitely a nice touch.

Setup

Setup was as easy as anyone can ask for. Power is internal, so you don't have to fuss with a power brick, which helps keep the clutter down behind your rig. Plug in your unit, plug in your video cables, and you're off; one can use component or HDMI, but the test TV we used (not pictured) was older so we also tried out an HDMI to DVI cable. Although it worked just as well as component on our TV, the DVI is obviously easier in setup, and the Apple TV was able to automatically configure the maximum supported HD resolution (something component connections can't do). Despite Apple's warnings, the Apple TV will work with any TV with component inputs and a widescreen mode. Should you plug in an HDMI cable, that connection takes priority; the component output is seamlessly disabled and switches on the fly.

More: Engadget