News: Verizon iPhone 4 case compatibility: a brief round-up

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As noted in our review of the Verizon iPhone 4, the new model’s ring/silent switch has been moved a few millimeters down the side of the device due to antenna changes, and the volume buttons have also moved down a millimeter, resulting in incompatibility with some prior, closely-tailored iPhone 4 cases. As such, a number of companies have released new compatibility information for existing cases, or otherwise made slight revisions to existing designs to accomodate both models. Listed below, in alphabetical order, are all the announcements we’ve seen and/or received thus far on the topic; we will be updating this article with new information as it becomes available.

AG Findings: AG Findings has announced that Vandelay two-piece and Beetle cases are compatible with both the GSM and CDMA/Verizon versions of the iPhone. Both cases are available now and sell for $35 and $17.50, respectively.

Amzer: Amzer has announced that a variety of its cases have been updated for compatibility with the Verizon iPhone 4. These include the company’s NuTouch Rubberized Snap On cases ($13), the Hybrid case ($17), the Circle TPU Skin case ($10), the TPU T-Matrix case ($10), the Simple Click On case ($13), the Diamond TPU Skin case ($10), the Injecto Snap On Hard Case ($15), the Silicone Skin Jelly case ($10), and a variety of pouches and sleeves.

Ballistic: Ballistic has announced that its LS Series, SG Series, and HC Series cases have all been or will be updated for compatibility with the Verizon iPhone 4. The updated HC Series case is available now and sells for $50; the updated LS and SG Series cases have yet to receive a shipping date.

Belkin: Belkin has posted a webpage dedicated to its Verizon iPhone 4-compatible products, which include the Grip Vue case ($25), the Grip Groove case ($20), the ProFit ($40) and FastFit ($30) armbands, the Verve Cinema ($30), the Verve Sleeve with Clip ($30), and the Verve Sleeve ($30).

Griffin Technology: Griffin has announced that its new Survivor case for the iPhone 4 is compatible with both the GSM and CDMA/Verizon models. The case is available now from Verizon Wireless and sells for $50.

Hard Candy: Hard Candy Cases has introduced redesigned versions of its Bubble Slider ($35), Chrome ($35), and Street Skin ($30) cases that are compatible with the Verizon iPhone 4. All three are available now.

iChair: iChair has announced that its case for the iPhone 4, which features a built-in stand, is compatible with the Verizon iPhone 4. It is available now and sells for $34.

ID8-Mobile: ID8-Mobile has announced an updated version of its MoGo Talk XD2 iPhone 4 case with an integrated Bluetooth headset that is compatible with the Verizon/CDMA iPhone 4. The MoGo Talk XD2, which includes the MoGo Easy-Grip Case, six different ear buds, the MoGo Talk headset, and a charging cable is available now and sells for $100.

iFrogz: iFrogz has announced that its Luxe Original, Luxe Lean, Swerve, Treadz, Wrapz, and Soft Gloss cases are compatible with both the GSM and Verizon/CDMA versions of the iPhone. iFrogz’ cases for the iPhone 4 range in price from $20-$30 and are available now in a variety of colors.

Incase: Incase has revealed that all varieties of its Slider Case ($35-$50) are compatible with the Verizon iPhone 4, as are its Snap Battery Case ($60), iPhone Pouch ($30), and Sports Armband Pro ($40). In addition, the company has launched a redesigned Snap Case ($35) to offer compatibility with the new model; all of Incase’s Verizon iPhone 4-compatible cases are available now.

LuxMobile: LuxMobile has shared the results of its fit tests, which found that all of its cases will fit the Verizon/CDMA iPhone 4.

Mivizu: Mivizu has announced that its Alien case ($24), Slim Series Version 2 ($24), Slim Series Version 3 ($24), and Sleek Leather Cases ($29) are compatible with the CDMA/Verizon iPhone 4; all four varieties are available now.

Mophie: Mophie is now accepting pre-orders for a redesigned version of its Juice pack air for iPhone 4 that is compatible with both the GSM and CDMA/Verizon models of the iPhone 4. The new dual-compatible Juice pack air is available for pre-order now and is expected to ship on February 28 for $80.
PDP: PDP has announced that its lineup of limited edition, Disney-branded cases are compatible with the CDMA/Verizon iPhone 4. The cases are available for a variety of themes and characters, including Tron, The Muppets, Mickey Mouse, and more, and sell for $30-$40.

Proof Cases: Proof Cases has announced that updated versions of its Cliq polycarbonate case ($15) compatible with the Verizon iPhone 4 will be released “very soon.”

Scosche: Scosche has introduced updated versions of several of its cases that are compatible with the Verizon iPhone 4, including the kickBack g4 ($35), the switchKase g4 ($40), switchBack g4 ($35), beefKase g4 ($30), and the switchBack surge battery case. The switchBack surge will be available this spring; all other styles are available now.

Speck: Speck has announced Verizon iPhone 4 compatibility for a number of its cases, including the Fitted ($30), GeoMetric ($30), PixelSkin HD ($30), PixelSkin ($25), ToughSkin ($40), CandyShell Card ($40), CandyShell View ($40), and ToughShell ($50). All models except for the ToughSkin, CandyShell Card and View, and ToughShell are available now; the latter four are listed as “coming soon.”

Tunewear: Tunewear has announced its ultra-thin Carbon look case for the iPhone 4, made from polycarbonate with a carbon pattern synthetic leather exterior, is compatible with the Verizon/CDMA iPhone 4. It is available in black or white and sells for ($30).

Uncommon: Uncommon has announced that both its Capsule ($40) and Deflector ($35) cases are compatible with the Verizon iPhone 4. In addition, customers can receive an extra 20 percent discount through February 28 by entering the code VERIZONATT at checkout.

XO Skins: XO Skins has announced an updated version of its Full Body Protector film set for the iPhone 4 that is compatible with the Verizon iPhone 4. It is available now and sells for $20.

ZeroChroma: ZeroChroma has announced that its Teatro case for the iPhone 4, which features a rotating stand, an anti-slip rubber edge, side dimples for added grip, and an anti-glare camera guard, is compatible with both the GSM and CDMA/Verizon models of iPhone 4, and is available now for $45.

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News: Verizon iPhone 4 help + apps is the best? Grab our 2011 Buyers Guide + paper!

If you have just purchased or received the first iPhone this week, Congrats! You probably have a lot of questions — including but not limited to, what it can do — so we want to make it easy for you to really large data sources overview.

Our free iPod/iPhone/iPad book will guide you through all sorts of stuff with the new iPhone goodies like — and the biggest part of its capacity to do this. If you need assistance with repairs, accessories, or other significant understanding of the issues, you'll find great Advise. It is a free download, so it here!

We iPod/iPhone/2011, iPad buyers guide lists all the year, Best accessories and apps on the iPhone. If you are looking for all of a sudden, the old Apple device to sell some spare money, getting the right price for your own is in advance of the fishing gear, too, plus the entire history of Apple's digital media product line include the complete guide. Just as our paper buyers guide is completely free to download. Grab it!

Other questions? You only want to Show off the world's new iPhone? Our discussion boards are good to go. Stop by and say Hey, and don't forget to take a picture of yourself to your new phone and post our Google Around The World Gallery!

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News: Verizon iPhone Apps upgrade compatibility

Several iOS developers have begun a new iPhone app updates, in particular, the address of the out-of-the-box compatibility with Verizon. Smule has released several of its applications, Ocarina, including, I Am T-Pain and Glee karaoke, which are simply "optimized for new Verizon iPhone users" in the release notes for updates. Similarly, TomTom has updated many of its GPS navigation apps such as TomTom US & Canada specialized Verizon iPhone 4 release is designed to deal with what it describes as "inaccurate pop-up error messages inside. It is unclear whether these problems that the slightly newer iOS 4.2.6 incompatibilities with the Verizon iPhone enabled, or the differences in hardware or network connection.

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Article: iPhone + iPad gems: Astronut, Gunstar heroes, Mushihimesama bug panic, rage HD, Splatterhouse + more

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Welcome to this week’s first gaming edition of iPhone + iPad Gems! This week, we’re catching up on some titles that were released during our mid-November vacation break, so there’s a lot to cover. This edition focuses on a collection of sci-fi-, fantasy-, and horror-themed action games and shooters, but there are many other titles in these and other genres to discuss in part two.

Our top picks in this collection are Gunstar Heroes, Mushihimesama Bug Panic, and Rage HD. Read on for all the details.

After developing one of the best games of 2009, The Iconfactory surprisingly stopped updating its skee-ball-inspired Ramp Champ and set to work on a new title called Astronut (Free/$2, version 1.0), which relies upon an extremely simple play mechanic: like Namco’s much earlier Star Trigon, you control an astronaut who orbits planets and other objects in outer space, using a “jump off” button to break orbit and fly in the direction of another object. Unlike Star Trigon, you’re also given a limited-use boost button to help you in situations where you might be in trouble—making a bad jump or flying into a cloud of bad guys—but the key to success is to properly jump from planet to planet until you reach the end of a level. You hold the iPhone or iPod touch vertically and generally move upwards, sometimes falling back if you err in your timing or need to backtrack. Scattered hearts replenish your limited lifebar, and shards can be collected to interrupt the standard levels with rocket bonus missions.

While we’ll commend Iconfactory for using a smart single-app purchasing scheme we’ve seen before, offering the first four levels as a free trial with the remaining 20 levels as a $2 in-app purchase, we didn’t find ourselves wanting to buy the rest of the game after trying the initial levels. Star Trigon’s claustrophobic, bounded stages felt like better puzzles than the ones we tried in Astronut before becoming bored of the onwards-and-upwards, “see how far you can get” action. The game is also sonically threadbare, with fair special effects and no music to speak of. If you’re a fan of this sort of game, Astronut’s fine, but by comparison with the richly detailed and sonically charming Ramp Champ, it’s hard to get excited about. iLounge Rating: B-.

We recall having heard the story behind the development of BulleTrain .22 ($2, version 1.01) some months ago: Downsized Games was founded by former Electronic Arts employees who lost their jobs, then created this first-person shooter as a parting shot at EA’s CEO, who shares the same initials as BulleTrain’s main villain—a character who is repeatedly knocked for corporate doublespeak throughout the game’s narrative. Sadly, BulleTrain is a dismally boring and poorly-paced little title, made vaguely interesting solely because of the insane clip at which you’re supposed to be shooting at cowboy targets on the semi-futuristic train that hovers before you.

To call BulleTrain .22 akin to Time Crisis, Rage, or other forced-movement first-person shooters in the App Store feels truly over-generous, as this game has more in common with late 1980’s and early 1990’s shooting gallery titles than the majority of 3-D shooters released over the past 20 years. Downsized Games merely scrolls a polygonal train left, right, and back again in front of you while you tap at targets. Because of the constant motion of the train or the need to hit targets more than once, you essentially bob back and forth using as many taps as possible to remove enemies from the screen, revisiting past territory that rapidly looks similar to what’s come before. The developer frequently flashes jokey but not-so-funny dialogue from the game’s villain on the screen, and introduces brief blastathon segments with truly out of place verbiage that suggests that the developers really need to let go of the events that inspired the game’s development and move on to greener pastures. A fairly dramatic update, with equal parts snipping, repacing, and new level design, will be needed before this game becomes worthy of even its $2 asking price. Note that the game is incompatible with the iPhone, iPhone 3G, and iPod touch 1G/2G, and upscales with the 1X/2X button on the iPad. A needlessly separate iPad-only version called BulleTrain .45 has been released for the samg asking price. iLounge Rating: C-.

Thanks to their pacing and innovation, some classic games may never feel “old,” and Sega’s side-scrolling run-and-shoot action game Gunstar Heroes ($3, version 1.0) is one of them. Developed by subsequently famous Treasure after its staff fled the overly corporate Japanese developer Konami, Gunstar Heroes is a spiritual sequel to Konami’s Contra franchise, albeit with play mechanics and a cartoony sci-fi theme that wouldn’t have flown in the grittier Contras at the time. Elements of Capcom’s beautiful but brief actioner Strider inform the platforming here, which gives you a joystick and three buttons to run, jump, climb, slide, and shoot your way through intense near-future backgrounds.

Gunstar Heroes diverges from its numerous predecessors—and some successors—by including character interactivity and intensity that just weren’t seen before on Sega’s Genesis, from which this title is ported, or other consoles. Your Gunstar character shoots, switches between two weapons, and jumps, but he also grapples with enemies when necessary, throwing them into the air, and needs to outwit over 25 different bosses and mini-bosses along the way. Screens are filled with explosions, early sprite rotation effects, and other visual tricks that established Treasure as a master of 16-bit hardware; only the chiptune music and low 320x240 resolution make the game feel a little dated. Fans of side-scrolling shooters owe it to themselves to check this game out; a two-player Bluetooth cooperative mode is available for the last three generations of iPod touches and iPhones, as well as the iPad. iLounge Rating: B+.

We weren’t afraid to say that we weren’t impressed with the gameplay behind Cave’s visually amazing “bullet hell” shooters Dodonpachi Resurrection and Espgaluda II, but its new title Mushihimesama Bug Panic ($5, version 1.0) is a completely different story. While Bug Panic’s theme—an anime-styled girl on a quest to eradicate robotic bugs—may initially turn off some potential players, the innovative gameplay combines with some of the company’s signature visual tricks to provide an even better experience. One on-screen joystick controls your character’s movement on an overhead-perspective, scrolling map, while the other serves as an innovative shooting and targeting system for the equivalent of a grenade launcher, releasing one or more projectiles at targets you’ve pointed or locked on to while running. Though the concept sounds similar, the latter controller enables you to feel like you’re doing something different from the mass of dual-stick shooters we’ve tested. So too does the map unlocking system, which lets you backtrack to prior terrain and unlock new areas to explore once you’ve cleared out certain enemies.

Unlike the company’s other shooters, which used only a portion of the iPod touch or iPhone screen, Mushihimesama Bug Panic thankfully fills the entire 3.5” display, scaling with the 2X button for the iPad. While the background artwork isn’t as mind-bendingly detailed as in the prior games, and the music’s a little on the dreamy side for a shooter, the small issues are made up for with plenty of the same overlapping character, projectile, and explosion artwork Cave used before, plus similar opportunities to grab bonus items scattered around the stages. “Bullet hell” moments where projectiles become overwhelming are comparatively few and far between; you survive the numerous levels by avoiding multiple hits, and will have a lot of fun doing so. As with the company’s earlier games, there’s a hardware cutoff—iPhone, iPhone 3G, and iPod touch 1G/2G users need not apply. iLounge Rating: B+.

As the basics of id Software’s first-person shooter Rage HD: Mutant Bash TV ($2, version 1.0) have been discussed in detail already, we won’t rehash them here except to note that the legendary developer has brought some of the graphics and audio from its latest PC and console game into an all-new iOS-optimized experience. In part because of in-game video but also due to its use of huge, detailed textures and polygonal models, Rage HD for the iPhone 4, iPod touch 4G, and iPad has a 743MB footprint versus the $1 540MB version for older iOS devices; each game takes up a lot of space by first-person shooter standards.

That having been said, Rage HD is about as close to incredible-looking as anything has been on Apple’s devices to date—an amazing demonstration of what’s possible when an experienced developer optimizes both a graphics engine and an experience for iOS hardware. As with the company’s earlier Doom Resurrection, you don’t control your character’s feet or movement, instead focusing solely upon moving a targeting reticule, firing projectiles, switching weapons, and dodging enemy attacks with a button. But because id Software knows exactly where you’ll be throughout the game, rather than giving you full freedom of movement, it can use the maximum number of polygons and highest-quality textures possible for every given situation… something it does incredibly well in this title. The mutants you’re killing and the backgrounds you see in the Running Man-esque “Mutant Bash” game show environments look incredibly realistic, putting to absolute shame the artwork in games such as Namco’s Time Crisis games, Capcom’s Resident Evils, and even Gameloft’s several impressive first-person shooters. Rage HD is gritty, more violent, and just plain believable. You don’t see polygonal edges; everything looks smooth.

There’s so much to like about Rage HD—the challenge of trying to hit enemies, money, ammo, and bullseyes as the camera deliberately bobs and weaves through the 3-D levels, the truly menacing-looking enemies, and the trashed apocalyptic scenes—that the game’s issues feel trivial. They are, in short, relatively bland audio with only low-pitched ambient music, action that moves a little too quickly to let you appreciate the scenery, and an iPad button layout that’s not as intuitive as the iPhone/iPod touch one. For $2, it’s hard to complain: Rage HD is unquestionably the most impressive game id Software has released for iOS devices to date, at the best price, and is highly worthy of any shooting fan’s attention. iLounge Rating: A-.

While we don’t want to knock Namco for releasing what amounts to a fine port of a classic arcade game that was once enjoyed by some people, we were never big fans of Splatterhouse ($3, version 1.0), and can’t claim to be especially impressed by the title’s recent debut on the iPhone and iPod touch. Once considered groundbreakingly violent, Splatterhouse places you in control of a side-scrolling character who uses knives, boards, and guns to kill hordes of undead monsters, turning humanoid and slug-like enemies into gooey splashes of green, blood-like fluid. That color’s a concession to the blood-averse censorship mentality of 1988, when the game debuted.

Even back when it was considered to be a big deal title for NEC’s TurboGrafx-16, the issue with Splatterhouse was that its gameplay was extremely shallow; you’re given an on-screen D-pad and buttons for attacking and jumping, but the action consists basically of walking left and right, hitting things with a board or a gun, and then repeating the action. Some stages challenge you to jump over obstacles, squat and kick, or avoid flying enemies, but there’s no getting away from the fact that this game feels like it’s straight out of the late 1980s; only a widescreen but limited “Splatter Rush” mode that talleys your kills for bragging rights is different from the original title; Namco even runs it at sub-iPhone resolution, enabling you to use zoom buttons to make the original art come closer to filling the screen. We’d call Splatterhouse worthy of some players’ consideration on the basis of nostalgia alone, but it’s hard to consider this game as even vaguely worthy of a $3 asking price when titles like Rage HD are doing so much more to push the iOS platform forward for less. iLounge Rating: C+.

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Review: iHome Portable Rechargeable speaker iD9 iPad, iPhone and iPod

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As the less expensive option, iDM12 benefits both from lower expectations and one extra feature—an integrated Bluetooth 2.1 wireless stereo streaming capability—that takes it out of the league of most $50-$100 speakers we’ve seen for Apple’s devices. iHome has given the 7.17” wide by 2.27” deep by 2.27” high pill-shaped unit both A2DP support and a limited AVRCP capability, enabling it to connect with most iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad devices to stream music and pause audio playback using one of the four buttons on its top. Two others control iDM12’s volume, rather than the wirelessly connected device’s, and the last turns the speaker’s power on and off. In our testing, wireless audio was completely reliable at standard 30-foot Bluetooth broadcasting distances, experiencing similarly standard brief drop-outs at greater distances, and a complete fall-off at roughly 60 feet.

Nestled next to a pop-out plastic stand on the back is a switch that toggles between Bluetooth and auxiliary audio inputs, the latter relying upon a special V-shaped cable iHome includes in the package. This cable has a micro-USB connector on one end, a cord manager in the middle, and separate full-sized USB and 3.5mm audio connectors at the other end. Unlike some speakers, the USB connector can’t be used for computer audio; it’s solely for charging, and since no power adapter is supplied, you’ll need to use a computer or other USB port to recharge iDM12. Only the 3.5mm plug provides a wired path for music to travel on, and flipping between an iPad’s headphone and Bluetooth outputs sounded pretty much the same.

The other interesting part of iDM12 is a novel magnetic faceplate that protects the unit’s plastic front grille and two speakers during travel, popping off to serve as a fixed-position iPad stand. While you can mount an iPad in either horizontal or vertical orientation in the plastic stand’s groove, relying upon two swivel-out metal feet for support, it has no space to accommodate iPad cases or a Dock Connector cable if the tablet is in portrait orientation with its Home Button at the bottom. iHome has tailored the groove solely for the iPad, and though iPod touches can sort of fit, iPhones can’t. It’s obvious that the stand was really designed for only one Apple product, and then, only when it’s bare; a little extra design work could have made it better.

As similar as its features may be on paper, iD9 is actually a substantially different animal. Made mostly from a slightly less shiny silver plastic that could pass for anodized aluminum from a distance, it measures 12.9” wide by 4.06” deep by 2.06” high—almost twice as long and twice as deep as iDM12, though virtually identical in height. Off to its sides are two total diagonally-firing speaker drivers, while its back has a line-in port, a power input port, and a switch that toggles a “remote” feature between auto and on. iD9 notably doesn’t ship with a remote, but it does come with a wall adapter, as well as a larger rechargeable battery than iDM12—2600mAh versus 1800mAh. It’s considerably heavier, too: 3.25 pounds to iDM12’s 0.35 pounds.

These numbers underscore the fundamental differences between iD9 and iDM12: the smaller unit can be taken anywhere, and the larger unit is—despite the battery inside—meant to be moved only around a house or office, though it’s capable of working anywhere you can carry it. Moreover, while the smaller iDM12 is solely for music playback, iD9 has a full iPad-sized glossy black charging dock in the center, complete with a flexible Dock Connector plug and three rubber pads—two left for you to install yourself if you need them. While we’re not huge fans of the DIY rubber pad approach, we love the fact that iD9 is designed to work with iPads regardless of whether they’re encased or not, and actually does so with only one caveat: the default angle of the flexible Dock Connector is just a little off for iPads, so you may need to wiggle the tablet (or an iPod touch) into place, an inconvenience that should really be addressed in a subsequent production run. We had no such problem with the iPhone 4. All Apple devices charge off of the 2.1-Amp dock at full speed. iD9 also features a clear, four-light battery power indicator, which the iDM12 doesn’t have.

Two other significant differences between the models are also worth mentioning. First, iD9’s speakers sound considerably better: even at their peak volume level, they exhibit relatively little distortion and very low amplifier hiss, putting out enough treble- and midrange-focused sound to feel appropriate for the $100 price tag. Though iD9 isn’t as well-equipped in the bass department as some of the other speakers—even iHome clock radios—that we’ve seen in its price range, it’s the best sounding $100 speaker yet released for the iPad, and less quirky than Jensen’s ambitious but ultimately unsteady JiPS-250i.

By contrast, iDM12 offers a slightly lower maximum volume, less treble, and a little more bass, but it’s similarly midrange-focused, and exhibits an audible static hiss regardless of the volume level it’s playing at, or whether your device is connected with a wire or Bluetooth. At higher volume levels, the music sounds moderately distorted in a way the iD9’s audio avoids; unlike the iD9, volume levels have to be separately set on the iOS device and the iDM12, which can contribute to the distortion issues. While these issues might sound discouraging, it needs to be said that none of them is a huge problem for a $70 speaker, particularly one with integrated Bluetooth streaming capabilities. A little extra tuning—particularly in the AVRCP remote volume control department—might have made iDM12 even better.

That brings us to the second difference: iD9 loses the iDM12’s Bluetooth wireless streaming capability in favor of making purely wired connections to your iPod, iPhone, or iPad, either through the integrated Dock Connector or the rear auxiliary audio input port. From our perspective, the sound quality improvements iD9 offers over the wireless iDM12 make this omission a wash, but if you’re looking for a way to stream audio to a speaker, only one of these units is capable of doing that.

For all of their similarities, properly rating these two systems requires an understanding of their separate assets, issues, and usage models that can be summed up in this way. Though it’s not the fanciest $100 audio system we’ve seen for iPods or iPhones, or the most versatile $100 unit available for iPads, iD9 is the best budget speaker dock yet released for Apple’s tablet—a sharp-looking and nice-sounding all-in-one system that can charge even the power-hungry iPad at full speed. Imperfections in its Dock Connector and padding implementation detract from what’s otherwise a highly case-compatible and convenient design that can be used anywhere in a house. If device charging and sonic fidelity aren’t as critical for your needs, but wireless streaming and a more compact size are appealing, iDM12 offers a more aggressively priced alternative. Limited control and stand design issues aside, it’s a more than respectable step up from iHome’s iHM79 and similar $50 wired-only portable options, though with similar limitations on audio quality. Both of these speakers are worthy of our general level recommendation.

A Note From the Editors of iLounge: Though all products and services reviewed by iLounge are "final," many companies now make changes to their offerings after publication of our reviews, which may or may not be reflected above. This iLounge article provides more information on this practice, known as revving.

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News: WSJ: less iPhone, MobileMe revamp coming this summer?

Wall Street Journal new report has been story support than late last week that Apple is smaller, cheaper version of the iPhone, adding details of Apple's MobileMe online revamp service series, which could include streaming media cloud-based service. Of course, a person who saw a prototype phone late last year, the report concludes that the new model is codenamed "N97," allegedly "around half the size of the iPhone 4" and "the edge of the edge of the screen" is the "voice-based navigation, as well as it is". "for sale alongside Apple's current iPhone track and should be approximately half the price of a traditional iPhone models available to carriers. The new phone is expected to be released this summer, even though those plans could change the report sources.

Also mentioned in the report is Apple's MobileMe online service suite revamp. A person who is familiar with the matter said that Apple is considering making a MobileMe free service to serve the online "locker" personally identifiable information, such as photos, music and videos. In addition, MobileMe could be part of a new online music service for Apple, which give the users of their iTunes libraries on a mobile device, such as the iPhone and iPad, without that it with the computer equipment can be synched cable, or the physical components of the actual files. The report that the new service could debut early in June, dependent on the progress of the discussions, which the licensing system is said to be the preliminary stage; According to the report, Apple had planned for the last year of laajakaistapalveluita service.

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Review: BoxWave keyboard for the iPhone 4 buddy

On the surface of the keyboard, the guy seems like pretty cool case accessory. It has a slide out QWERTY keyboard, the keyboard with the perfect top row of numbers — something that can no longer be granted on a case-by-turn iPhone keyboard cases — plus arrows, shift, and function keys, dedicated to home and search for the buttons in the Spotlight. Even if it is missing, the rest of the dedicated iOS function keys, cutting and pasting the CTRL-key and full-sized space key, every little keyboard is to make compromises somewhere, so we were willing to take the shot to see if it is available. There is also a mini-USB to USB cable with integrated battery charging schemes, auxiliary vessels are listed only to 45 days without power of further information box. Small red and blue lights flash momentarily when you want to let you use the power and Propel is taking place, but still mostly otherwise disabled.

When the iPhone is simply thin in the case of the 4 plastic shell, which covers the largest part of the iPhone back and half, leaving holes elsewhere, it looks Nice. By combining the soft rubber coating around the edges of the matte and glossy silver ring with black Edging around the matte finish to the keys on the keyboard guy, manages the appearance of the iPhone 4 raises without directly mimicking. BoxWave's slide the keyboard mechanism seems to be stable in the outbound closed or open positions, and even if the case is really only a thin and only modestly protective shell does not cover the face of the device, from the top, bottom, or side buttons, are not particularly differs from other cases we have seen on the iPhone keyboard (4) the measures provided for in this respect. In other words, although it may be better, is roughly par course it appears today … except for one thing. We noticed that our review of a sample of the rear of the casing was already separated from a little Disappoint and had to be pushed back, together with the large sign, is not something that came out of just fresh package. As was the case years ago, the BoxWave would benefit from greater quality control checks before its transmission.

In the case of a list of the keyboard guy problems continued to grow, when we tried to actually use it. Instead of that, typically, SMEs, including pairing button, or the marking on the side of the installed power in any way, use a small sized pentip BoxWave click for fingernail paring position, ready to switch, which is presented using the hidden inside the iPhone 4 interface entries — originally a bit cumbersome and confusing. Even if they do not have an ideal in the case of TK-421 and handle the power and ease MiniKey controls pariliitoksen.

But most of the above mentioned problems could have been forgiven if, in keyboard guy thing had passed since our primary point of reference, the document test: could we actually type on the keyboard, the review itself? This measure, in the case of a failed miserably on the keyboard guy. All their other compromises, ThinkGeek, and had enough common sense, place the space-bars their keyboards, one of the most critical elements, it has been used for literally every five or six characters in length on average. BoxWave's position in the key of the movement of the Centre-the small size of the map it is very frustrating to do typing, reminding you during each several times, in accordance with the company, the composition.

Awkward placement of whitespace, or do not register the keystrokes registry twice, and the fact that the tendency to sometimes hit our fingers on the keys in the two at the same time, we found this tiny structure among the very worst we've tested — many steps backwards from pocket devices released years ago, the keyboards. We hardly could, in the case of a word without a keyboard guy, so try to make errors in a full sentence, the idea came to be difficult and even one song writing was effectively impossible in practice. Even thought we grow in our sample, you can use the keyboard to write was so irrelevant that it would make sense; the iPhone's integrated correction system was all that saved the stake is completely unusable.

Ultimately, the physical keyboard accessory pocket device, the value is very simple: if it improves the ability to write in relation to the virtual keyboard, you'll see dramatic productivity, which allows you to e-mail, instant message, and even compose documents on the iPhone — all the things users was detected because Apple released the first device in 2007 and only a little more virtual keyboards now. BoxWave's keyboard guy case does not proceed to these things better; our experience, it is subtracted from the actual accuracy of the type the location where we Wouldn't use it. $ 80 for the keyboard accessory must be much better than this, and where we stand, there is a lot of the work forward, BoxWave and to make the sequel, it's a good idea to buy a keyboard guy. Display and sliding keyboard mechanism aside, it's not a lot.

Note From the Editors of oranges: Although all the products and services have been reviewed by the oranges "final", many companies make changes to the offerings of our reviews now, which may or may not appear in the publication of the above. This article contains information about practice of oranges, revving.

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Review: H2O Audio Amphibx waterproof armband for iPhone fits in

Amphibx fits is a two-year-old Amphibx, $ 80 waterproof armband, which was designed to work with the todir and help would you like to stay at the time, one of the waterproof microphone laden earbuds are not — and not quite as repeatable on any iPod varied physical size, as they are today. H2O was released later in the smaller, cheaper armband iPod shuffles and named, as well as its Amphibx Grip first waterproof microphone headset development contact, which collectively demonstrate that the company will not be able to create a compact and functional waterproof products for the sixth-generation iPod nano. Amphibx lessons of these products can play a replacement of the original template instead of the alternative: H2O pitches it lighter and more minimal solution is iPhone Headset ready, every bit of watertight and cheaper.

What to visit from dispose Amphibx Amphibx Fit is a design that was better or worse, and the vast majority of the wetsuit heft. Remain firmly attached, and even when used to sail, the original Amphibx armband arm may have been other athletes, in particular women's overkill is designed for runners and device-agnostic design does not provide any way to the rear of the camera uses the iPhone without a vacuum seal, remove the device. Published in an era where mobile and iPod touches like twin cameras are designed to Fit a mostly clear Amphibx soft plastic three-dimensional opaque black fabric, the outermost edge of the ring around the way you want. Add a fourth-generation iPhone or the iPod touch and the rear of the camera upside down, you can just drag the armband. H2O is also mounted headphone port and the device cursor trap door to Fit your iPod or iPhone to turn off the top, or bottom side of the page, rather than its original Amphibx armband, reduce network.

Although these changes are almost universally recognized as the original design improvements, they are the consequences. Permanently integrated Neoprene strap instead of Fit to use smaller and removable elastic one, works great, but it takes more moisture. Must be washed, but it will also need to be cleaned more frequently, if you intend to refer to it often in water. Clear bubble holder works well to preserve all of the iPhone model — and, on the other hand, similarly-sized devices — but needs to be pushed before it is shut down other backdoor, the air bubble is impeding the bulge in front of the touch screen. And even if the case is 12 feet of waterproof and can be floating instead of sinking into the water, the kelluvuutensa is opaque, the biscuit-shaped buoy which sits a little awkwardly Fit back from it, to prevent the armband arm should be completely comfortable contact sort. As much as we liked, what must be in the Atonement, is no doubt that it compromises the product.

That said, it is also quite remarkable accessory when you actually use it. Because the voice of the very first iPod H2O product — the only one that ever had informed it of the watertight seal — the company has turned Apple users safely to their devices in water dunk, otherwise dangerous experience, that the years of the new testing is never extinguished in cases the original send shivers up the spine. But you can pop your iPhone can hold, Lock closed Amphibx backdoor and hold water underneath the armband without worrying about the humidity intrusion. Jump to a group or jog with your iPhone, the rain is quite safe. Although Fit is designed to be used with any Audio to the surge waterproof series H2O earphones, which are not included in the annex, the company includes some of the other that the foam protects the headset; port for headset plugs, it is evident throughout the waterproofing and waterproof earphones required armband.

In addition to swimming and running on your iPhone — both characterize much of the development of contact-headphones — is an exceedingly rare Amphibx Fit a utility that allows you to take an iPhone-compatible wireless speaker system with full rights to use a shower or bathtub, does not include the entire touch screen access, even when it is flat on the floor or in the water. We had the iPhone within the appropriate stream stereo music wirelessly Amphibx Bluetooth speakers or use nearby Wi-Fi network instantly. We had the biggest challenge was oriented in such a way as to ensure that the evidence was at an angle of view and touch the armband. Harvennuksen armband, perhaps by integrating buoy Edging instead of the back to make it easier for you to use a later version, and much happier.

In such a way as to ensure the Fit is not perfect Amphibx waterproof armband for the iPhone, but it is quite a good value for the price of EUR 60 per asking and waterproof Armbands that hover in the $ 40-$ 50 range really stands out from the crowd. Athletes looking for a smaller and lower-profile option, you will find much more than the original Amphibx charity Amphibx fits, and in particular, if the occasional use of the camera is a pleasant, although serious, watersport fans may prefer to use the first template in the bigger, like hemp and wetsuit design. Because as much as anything else, depending on the size of the women should consider this template is H2O: the best iPhone-ready waterproof armband; men more likely to be divided into two models.

Note From the Editors of oranges: Although all the products and services have been reviewed by the oranges "final", many companies make changes to the offerings of our reviews now, which may or may not appear in the publication of the above. This article contains information about practice of oranges, revving.

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Review: Soundfreaq SFQ-01 Sound Platform for iPod + iPhone

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Start with XtremeMac’s less expensive Tango TRX, which is part of a family of Tango speakers that dates back to an aesthetically cutting-edge 2006 model that was followed up by a stripped down semi-sequel called Tango Studio and a more direct follow-up called Tango X2. All of the Tango speakers have sold for $200 or less, and stood out from the pack more for their industrial design than sound quality.

Tango TRX is XtremeMac’s first wireless audio system, borrowing and remixing design elements from past models: there’s the fabric front grille of Tango Studio, a front-mounted volume knob akin to Tango X2’s, and a clean, slab-like design that vaguely recalls the original model, albeit with a decided shift in orientation and size. The mostly black TRX is taller than it is deep, a boxy wedge-like shape with embossed gray sides and sloping, open feet; orange accents are used for the volume knob and pinhole-sized power and source indicator light. Rather than centering its dock, Tango TRX places it off to the far left bottom side, while including five buttons—play/pause, bass, treble, source, and power—along the right side of the top surface. Only an aux-in port and power port are on the back, while a metallic grille on the bottom is there for the system’s bass driver; four other speakers fire forwards through the front grille.

Control of Tango TRX is handled through either an included Infrared remote control that works with any connected device, or with a free Tango TRX application that can be downloaded from the App Store. Interestingly, one of the app’s screens all but fully mimics the remote, with source, volume, track, play/pause, bass, and treble buttons, omitting only the power toggle on the Infrared unit. Both remotes work from 30-foot distances, though the dedicated one requires line-of-sight contact with Tango TRX’s IR receiver, while the app can be used anywhere within the 30-foot range. More interestingly, the app offers something that iPod fans have been dying to have integrated into their devices for years—a graphic equalizer, here with five presets and five tuning bands. It’s the sort of cool feature that a long-standing iPod accessory maker like XtremeMac would naturally think of including, even if the seemingly granular bands don’t really wind up making a difference in how TRX sounds. We played with the equalizers for a while and they didn’t seem to be actually changing Tango’s output; only the buttons on the unit’s top, in conjunction with the volume knob, really changed things.

The story with Soundfreaq’s SFQ-01 Sound Platform is somewhat similar, though Soundfreaq is new to the iPod/iPhone accessory world, and its implementation is at least a little different in almost every regard. Soundfreaq has designed a system that is hard to place in terms of visual style or theme—made predominantly from glossy black plastic, it has some of the starkest lines of any iPod or iPhone audio system released to date, yet each is offset by an accent of some sort that prevents the system from looking underthought. The front, for instance, is a black slab of fabric with a thin silver line above, and a thicker silver and black pedestal below. A dock sits at the center, with three swirled metallic sound tuning controls on the left, and concave track, volume, source, power, and pairing buttons on the right. Turn the system to the right and you’ll find a storage compartment for the included ten-button Infrared remote, illuminated with an orange light bar that’s paralleled on the similarly glossy but permanently closed left side. The back is vented, letting the system’s Kevlar-reinforced drivers breathe.

In short, when viewed from the front, both systems look like simplified, thoroughly modern all-in-ones that have orange accents, though Soundfreaq’s design is comparatively far less minimalist. There’s an orange text screen near the capacitive buttons to indicate, in a word, the name of the current audio source; it works with an included antenna cable to let you digitally tune FM radio stations, as well. Yet another light bar behind the iPod/iPhone dock glows or flashes on and off when audio’s playing. It’s not exactly classy, but it’s not horribly distracting or bad, either. Soundfreaq’s iOS application, SoundFreaq remote, essentially just combines the IR remote control’s features with bass and treble controls and a playlist-based playback mechanism for music. Both Tango TRX and SFQ-01 are more easily controlled through the native iPod or Music applications of Apple’s devices, though only the devices’ Infrared and app remotes can properly adjust the speakers’ volume; changes within Apple’s iPod and Music apps merely attenuate the volume of the output from the device, leaving the speakers at their prior levels.

However similar they might be in other regards, including wireless performance—both pair easily with iOS devices and play back music properly using Bluetooth—there are some significant sonic differences between the speakers that didn’t play out exactly as we’d expected. One surprise: Soundfreaq doesn’t spend much time discussing SFQ-01’s speakers, and only after digging did we discover that all the unit includes inside are twin 2.75” “full range drivers,” which as audio fans know is typically the kiss of death for $200 speakers—one driver per channel attempting to do everything from high treble to midrange to low bass is generally a recipe for disaster. But we were generally impressed by the quality of the drivers in SFQ-01: they’re not superstars, but given the price, they deliver more sparkle and a little bit more thump than might have been expected from the limited hardware. By all rights, the two speakers in SFQ-01 shouldn’t rival the five in Tango TRX, but they did. Further, we found that playing with SFQ-01’s equalization knobs yielded more meaningful bass improvements.

Though Tango TRX’s sound is on rough par with SFQ-01’s overall, they differ a little: TRX has a slightly warmer, less clear signature, while SFQ-01 sounds cleaner and does better with high-frequency sounds. Bass beats have a little more resonance in TRX, while voices stand out more from songs when played through SFQ-01. Neither system is audiophile-quality, but SFQ-01 sounds like it’s doing a little more with less, while TRX has a “just good enough” signature that wasn’t as impressive as we’d expected from a system with five speakers inside. At higher volumes, SFQ-01 preserves most of its sonic capabilities, while TRX’s drivers begin to show significant distortion. We would normally be more concerned about this at the $200 price point, but for a $180 speaker that packs an otherwise solid Bluetooth streaming feature, it’s not hugely objectionable.

Radio functionality is the final major feature that’s offered in SFQ-01 but not in Tango. A digital FM radio enables the system, with the aid of the aforementioned included antenna wire, to pull in signals that range from lightly staticy to surprisingly clear, complete with 20 selectable presets. We’d call the radio one of the better ones we’ve tested in iPod and iPhone speaker systems, and a very nice little feature for those who still enjoy listening to FM stations. AM tuning is not available.

All in all, both Tango TRX and the SFQ-01 Sound Platform offer nice collections of features that will appeal to users who want to enjoy docked or wireless audio from their Apple devices but don’t want to wait or pay a premium for AirPlay speakers. While each system’s remote control app could stand to improve at least a little, and the current iOS integrated music app volume controls will confuse some people, the underlying speaker units both offer solid sound and otherwise straightforward interfaces. Pick Tango TRX if you’re looking to enjoy a nice sound signature at normal listening levels and don’t need the FM radio; SFQ-01 is a little more expensive but justifies its price with strong radio tuning, slightly clearer-sounding audio, and superior high-volume performance. By today’s standards, they’re both worthy of our B+ rating and general recommendation, though we strongly suspect that the upcoming release of AirPlay-compatible wireless speakers will shake things up considerably.

A Note From the Editors of iLounge: Though all products and services reviewed by iLounge are "final," many companies now make changes to their offerings after publication of our reviews, which may or may not be reflected above. This iLounge article provides more information on this practice, known as revving.

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