DENVER (Billboard) - While Apple did not introduce any significant iPhone upgrades at its annual Macworld convention, which ran January 14-18 in San Francisco, the iconic device still made waves.
News Source : www.reuters.com
If you’re like us, you feel more than a little annoyed with iPhone’s speaker volume. Yes, whether you’re waiting for a call, trying to have a speakerphone conversation, or just listening for sweet DTMF tones — the thing kind of stinks. Perhaps it’s time to take extreme measures, as some owners have resorted to… like sticking a needle through the holes in the speaker enclosure. Yes, according to daring “modders,” it’s possible to get a 40-percent increase in volume via this simple-yet-destructive trick of perforating the thin plastic which covers the speaker. Apparently, the phone gets so loud post-surgery that the volume is actually startling to some users. Feeling like you’re brave enough to really void that warranty? Let us know the results!
News Source : www.engadgetmobile.com
Teenager George Hotz, aka GeoHot, the original iPhone unlocker is back. In a post to his personal blog he states that he has successfully unlocked a 1.1.2 firmware and bootloader 4.6 iPhone. Better yet, he posts the not-for-dummies version of the instructions to downgrade the bootloader to version 3.9 in preparation for running AnySim. We haven’t tried this ourselves so remember, as GeoHot himself states, this hardware method “could brick your iPhone.” You haven’t upgraded to 1.1.3 already have you? If so, you’re stuck with AT&T.
Update: We’re now hearing that a software unlock for 1.1.2 / 4.6 iPhones is right around the corner. So don’t crack that case just yet kids.
News Source: www.engadgetmobile.com
Even with its latest slick update, Google Docs for the iPhone/iPod touch interface doesn’t allow you to create or edit documents while you’re on the go. Mobile Web Docs, a free web app, might fill that void nicely for you, especially if you don’t want to jailbreak your iPod or don’t particularly love the iPhone’s notebook. Mobile Web Docs lets you organize your text documents into folders, flip your device for landscape editing (an oft-requested feature), upload documents from elsewhere on the web, and, in a neat touch, save links to other handy web apps in a faux-Mac “Applications” folder. It’s only text documents at this point and has the occasional (unobtrusive) ad, but Mobile Web Docs is a nice way to write on the go and grab it later from your desktop.
Bidaroo is a new auction site that has some pretty incredible prices and an interesting structure. Instead of the highest bidder winning the goods, the bidder with the highest unique bid wins. Checking out the site, I saw a Wii going for $40. I’m trying hard to figure out how this is possible. Perusing the FAQ’s, I noticed that each person who bids on an item pays a bid processing fee, so that might have something to do with it.
Another interesting thing about this site is that 25% of profits are donated to reputable charities such as the Salvation Army and the National Breast Cancer Foundation. I like this model, and the site itself is pretty friendly to navigate. This is something that I’m going to have to try, because I like it!
A goodie that I like is the free shipping. That’s a pretty good perk if you happen to win a HD LCD TV. The number of bids on each item are limited, so if you have a streak of thriftiness and a hint of the gambler, this site might be for you! I’ll let you know how I do…
News Source: www.bloggrrl.com
I have used many bluetooth headsets over the years; Motorola, Samsung, Plantronics to name a few. None of them have qualified as truly tech-worthy. They either did not fit my ear, the connection quality was poor, or operating the device was painful. One was actually so bad I had to decline finishing a review because I didn’t have a single positive comment. All that being said, I have finally found bluetooth headset Zen.
News Source: www.the-gadgeteer.com
Everyone knows that the iPhone has been selling at a record pace, but when you see numbers like these, it really puts things in perspective. Love it or hate it, Apple has a winner on their hands. The company’s first entry into the mobile phone market managed to snag 27% of all smartphone sales for the 3rd quarter of 2007. It outsold all Windows Mobile devices, and heartily crushed Symbian sales. The only manufacturer with more phones sold was RIM, which owes most of its success to the enterprise market. Corporate sales are nothing to scoff at, but it’s pretty safe to say that the iPhone has all but cornered the consumer smartphone arena.
News Source: www.boysgeniusreport.com
Garageband users who updated yesterday got a little extra treat that may not have been expected. The new version 4.1.1 allows you to snag up to 40-seconds of any Garageband project and export it to iTunes to be synced with your iPhone! Ringtones have been a touchy issue ever since the release of the iPhone back in June. A later firmware update allowed users to transfer ringtones purchased through iTunes to their devices. This latest update of Garageband however, is the first Apple-powered option to support user-made / customized ringtones for the iPhone. Definitely a step in the right direction. So fire up your Mac, upgrade Garageband and get creative!
News Source : www.boysgeniusreport.com
Apple has introduced a simple and free way to create and sync your own custom ringtones to the iPhone using GarageBand (i.e., Mac only). The first thing you’ll need to do, if you haven’t already, is download and install the latest update of GarageBand from Software Update (at the time of this writing, that’s version 4.1.1). Once you’ve installed and restarted your computer, turning any song on your computer to a ringtone is a breeze. Here’s how it works.
If you’re using a song from your iTunes library, just open GarageBand, open iTunes, and simply drag and drop the song from iTunes to a new track in GarageBand.
Simple, no? Likewise, if you prefer to create ringtones of your own music, just build your own tracks in GarageBand and repeat steps two through four. Unfortunately Apple hasn’t provided a similar tool for Windows users yet, and I imagine that won’t happen for some time, if at all. But if you’re a Mac owner, creating custom ringtones for your iPhone just became dead simple.
News Source : www.lifehacker.com
