Gadgetsteria » iPhone

Hands On: Cheers For iOS.

Mike Norris — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:17:26 +0000

It’s been quite a while since I signed up to be notified about about Cheers, so much so that I honestly forgot about it. But today an email hit my inbox saying the new iOS app was live. If you haven’t heard of Cheers, I’ll preface this hands-on by saying it is very similar to both Oink and Stamped — “life rating” apps — with a little bit of Instagram ideology thrown in.

Still interested? Hop inside.

Cheers is the brain child of Farhad Mohit (Shopzilla and BizRate.com) as well as acquired talent from Google and Stumbleupon.

The gist of Cheers is to not so much share artsy pictures like Instagram, but to “share life” and allow you and your followers to rate and comment on those special moments. The overall layout borrows from various other social apps including the aforementioned Instagram, Oink, and Stamped, but differentiates witha vastly different color palette. Also, similar to its competitors, Cheers ties into Facebook, Twitter, and others by allowing quick and easy friending/inviting and sharing of content.

Rating of users and content is measured by “Cheerfluence”, though according to the devs, isn’t meant to be taken too seriously.

On the surface I must admit I really like Cheers. It’s a beautiful app (more-so than the other apps mentioned here, save for maybe Instagram) that makes me want to use it even if their amount of users is still low.

And there-in lies the problem. Even the best looking mobile apps can have a stagnant, pittance of a following. A perfect example of this is Path. Path has shown what a good UI can do; a lot of hype and prolonged “honeymooning” was made possible by Path’s gorgeous UI and unique layout. Facebook, meanwhile, is a perfect example of the opposite — a (now) decent UI and utterly terrible experience can still trounce good design/layout and a more personal/inviting experience at the end of the day. And that’s sad. I’ve deleted the stock Facebook app from most of my iOS devices because it’s buggy and can’t even make the simplest of tasks, notifications, work without me wanting to punch Zuckerberg in the head.

While Cheers isn’t quite as unique as Path in the aspect of UI, it is a well designed, niche social networking app that given enough media hype, could elicit a small but loyal following. And who knows, Cheers could even become the next Instagram. This particular sector of the market is so full of competition it’s almost impossible to amass Facebook/Twitter-like numbers at this point. But we’re hoping Cheers is different in the public’s mind.

How Cheers Could Beat Facebook

If we think about “what’s next” for Cheers now that their mobile app is out, we know how they could challenge even the mighty Facebook — build a full blown website that can be used on phone, tablet, computer, smart toothbrush, etc. Instead of “Liking” something, in a year or two the new hot thing could be “Cheering” things. While the mobile-only route is notable given the continual increase of time spent on mobile devices, truly becoming a “life sharing” service requires more than just a phone app. We’d certainly love to see Cheers (or anyone, actually) shake up Facebook’s monopoly.

I’ll give Cheers a couple of weeks (and hope you will too). If you decide to join, be sure to give me a follow (thegadgeteur) so we can really put Cheers to the test, and don’t forget to comment on your experience with Cheers. Time for eye candy.

More: Chee.rs

Gallery

iOS 5.1 March 9th Date Revealed In New Carrier Profiles?

Mike Norris — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:35:19 +0000

Finding the next big hardware or software update in the Apple-sphere is a never-ending race. Most times it takes a few very well placed sources or determined, patient souls to weed through mountains of lines of code in .plist files and so on. This time, strike one for the code sniffers. New carrier profiles recently released by Apple contain a line of code that points to March 9th as the go-live date for said profiles, which in turn could very well mean that’s when the first major iOS 5 update will drop.

If you let your mind wander a bit more, one could deduce that March 9th is also the date in which Apple will announce and/or release the iPad 3 seeing as how it is supposed to get its grand reveal in the February/March timeframe. But of course, Apple release rumors are always to to be consumer with a heaping pile of salt.

Source YourDailyMac

Via BGR

Tweetbot 2.0 Is Out! Here’s What’s New. (It’s Awesome).

Mike Norris — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:44:56 +0000

Tweetbot 2.0 has been teased around twitter for the last couple of weeks. Though if you follow either @tapbots_paul or the official @tweetbot account, you’ll know the taunting has been especially brutal the last couple of weeks. But the waiting is finally over. Tweetbot 2.0 is here. Hop past the break for a breakdown of the new features and screenshots…

The overall fit and finish of Tweetbot seems tighter, the minor addition in features are handy, and performance seems improved. Certain actions are still a bit cumbersome (such as navigating the nested settings panes), but overall it’s a very good 2.0 update. We especially like thumbnails in the timeline (even if other apps did it first).

But as awesome as Tweetbot is, we (as well as many other potential Tweetbot customers) are still left waiting for an official iPad version as well as the elusive #006 app. Another day, perhaps. But for now, enjoy Tweetbot 2.0 and let us know what you think.

Available now in the App Store for $2.99 to newcomers or as a free upgrade to current users.

New Features & Tweaks

Updated timeline view along with support for inline thumbnails within timeline

Links within timeline are now easily discernable by a different color and single-tappable

“Retweeted by” bar now integrated and tappable

Cell colors have been tweaked for better contrast

New DM view

“New Tweets” bar has been redesigned — (Can be dimissed by tap and configured in Settings > Display)

Timed auto-refresh. Set the timeline, mentions, and DMs to refresh every 5 minutes

Readability support added as mobilizer service

“Much improved” tweet replies view

Links in user profiles are now tappable

“Huge” font size option in Settings

Improved scrolling performance

More: Tabots.com/Tweetbot

Gallery

G-Form’s New X-Protect iPhone Case Takes An 82 MPH Slapshot To The Gut, Survives

Mike Norris — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:06:09 +0000

Selling gadget accessories is an increasingly difficult business, exponentially so for iPhone accessory designers/makers. There are so many different products out there chasing after the same few goals that it’s literally almost not worth it to jump in at this point. But every once in a while we get surprised. Is G-Form’s new X-Protect rugged iPhone case something that would surprise us? We’ve yet to test one (working on it). But we’re certainly intrigued by the 82 MPH hockey stick their X-Protect covered iPhone took to the gut.

The X-Protect (and similarly designed, equally robust Extreme Grid) are now available for pre-order over at G-Form’s website – $39.95.

Video of what an 82 MPH slap shot against an iPhone 4/4S might look like after the break…

Video

Review: id-America Spark Earphones.

Mike Norris — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:17:36 +0000

So many headphones and so little time. Yes, we do go through quite a fair share of such things at GS HQ, but that’s because we’re audio junkies. So when we found these beauties sitting on our step the other day, we were more than excited to give them a shot.

id-America is more known for their iPhone cases than anything. But the Spark in-ear phones are a new direction for the company, and one we hope that they succeed in.

Hop past the break and see if the id-America Sparks are your next pair of earphones or simply another pretty face…

The Specs, Build Construction & Style

Driver: High Performance 8mm Dynamic Driver
Impedance: 16 Ohm +/-15 %
Sensitivity: 96 dB +/-3 dB at 1 kHz
Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz
Rated Power Input: 1 mW
Maximum Input Power: 5 mW
Cord Length : 3.9 ft / 1.2 m
Plug: 3.5 mm Plug
Weight : 0.4 oz / 13 g

Upon opening the box of the Sparks, the customer is given a very nice first impression. The headphones and accompanying accessories are all nicely wrapped and placed within the box. We’ll go as far as saying that the overall first impression and presentation are top notch for a $59.99 product.

The ear phones themselves are constructed out of lightweight, sturdy aluminum similar to several other mid-range earphones on the market. And like those competitors, the Sparks are beautiful to look at. On top of the awesome construction, id-America has given the entire Spark line a healthy assortment of colors.

Seriously, if looks alone were all we were after, we’d say the Sparks won already. Unfortunately, that’s where the good time stops.

Sound Quality

We were really (and we mean really) hoping the Sparks would have the audio qualities to back up their killer appearance. Sadly, that wasn’t the case.

Like many earphones (and headphones in general), the Sparks are built to favor the low end. For music such s rap, hip/hop, dub step, electronic, etc, the Sparks were adequate in bass quantity. Quality, however, was lacking. Even on that music any high end frequencies were heavily suppressed. Add to that a narrow sound stage and you’ve got a pretty poor listening experience.

Venturing out to other types of music was even more disappointing. Running through Dave Matthews Band’s “Ku Krux King” as well as a couple of songs by “The Black Ghosts” was lifeless, muffled, and overall just terrible sounding. If we could come up with an easy way to describe it, we’d say it’s similar to going to a concert and putting your hands tightly over your ears. When you do that, you’ll notice that the highs and upper mid-range frequencies suffer the most. That’s what it was like with the Sparks.

We could go on about sound quality based on a per-artist basis, but really there’s no point.

Conclusion

At first we were wowed by the Sparks simply because they were shiny, sleek, and good looking. Unfortunately, the audio properties of the Sparks don’t do them any justice, and in our opinion, don’t justify even the lower-end $59.95 price tag. Are we a bit jaded with several higher-end pairs of earphones sitting around? Perhaps. But again, at the price point the Sparks compete at, they simply don’t compare. If you’re really looking in the ~$60 earphone market, take a look at the Vibrato Remix if you’re on the prowl for a decent ~$60 pair of earphones. If you can manage another $30-$40, check out the Shure SE215 which are pretty awesome for the price.

As they are now, we can’t recommend the Sparks. Their sound quality just isn’t up to our standards given the price.

More: id-America

Gadgetsteria’s Rating (Not an average): 4

Style: 8

Audio Performance: 3

Value: 5

Check Out This Awesome To-Do/List App, “Clear”.

Mike Norris — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:30:52 +0000

We’re not usually too captivated by simple “to-do” apps but a new app from Mac outfit Real Mac Software” has us drooling over just that. “Clear”, as it’s being called, introduces an intuitive and downright awesome way to browse through, add/remove/edit, and organize your daily tasks all while being presented in a pleasant and eye pleasing design.

The colored bans you see above correspond to importance with the topmost, red bars offering up the most time critical tasks. As you move down the list in importance the bars fade in color. Adding new tasks is as simple as pinching outward on the display. Pinching inward moves you back out to the main list where you can expand upon the simple to-do app; things such as grocery lists, a list of movies to watch, etc can be entered into Clear.

Clear is listed as “coming soon” on their website along with a simple email sign-up box for notification once Clear is ready to go.

Check out a quick demo of Clear in action after the break and let us know what you think…

Source Real Mac Software

Via @MrRobinson (Twitter)

‘Inside Apple’ Available Now In The iBookstore

Jordan Carpenter — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:20:26 +0000

The much anticipated book that takes a deep look into the inner workings of Apple has hit the iBookstore this evening. It is slated to hit brick-and-mortar store shelves tomorrow, but those of us with an iDevice have a shot at it now.

Inside Apple is said to reveal the secrets, tactics and leadership strategies that allowed Steve Jobs and his wondrous company to consistently knock their releases out of the park. We’ve heard all the rumors on the testing of products. Housing new prototype model phones in older casings to avoid detection. Locked doors of the areas in which all design takes place.

Senior Editor At Large for Fortune Magazine – Adam Lashinsky – goes where not many have been allowed to go, in hopes that the rest of us unworthy people get a glimpse into what it takes to be the most successful tech company in the World.

I can’t wait to get this book in my hands and read. I look forward to all that is uncovered!!! Anyone out there gonna pick this up? Let us know what you think!

Hop on in for the link to the book in iTunes, or for an easier method, search in iBooks!

iTunes Link

Giveaway: Gasket, Callet, Opena And Couture iPhone Cases!

Mike Norris — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:37:15 +0000

Time for another giveaway. But this time, instead of 1 we’re going to give away four iPhone cases: Callet soft wallet case, Opena bottle opener case, the sleek and stylish Gasket by id-America, and finally Couture cases by Hub Innovations.

All you have to do is comment on this article or RT with the GScases hashtag for a chance to win. As always, we’ll pick four lucky souls at random. Get to it!

Classic Atari 2600 Modded Into The iPhone Dock Of iPhone Docks.

Mike Norris — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:42:23 +0000

An Atari 2600 is seen by many gaming enthusiasts as a great piece of Americana. Retro gaming consoles are a huge draw for collectors and geeks alike. And while we had to see classic pieces of art such as the Atari 2600 ripped apart, we admire and appreciate Daniel McLeod of Black Mountain Audio for taking the old and making it new (and useful) again.

Daniel replaced the innards of your standard Atari 2600 with two speakers and a subwoofer as well as modding an old 2600 cartridge into a 30-pin iPhone/iPod compatible charging device. The end result is perhaps the best custom iPhone dock we’ve seen to date; no flashy lights, gimmicky additions, or tacky colors. Just original, simple, Atari + Apple love.

Think it’s worth $100? You can buy it over at Daniel’s Etsy page

Source Ubergizmo

Via Technabob | Geeky-Gadgets

German Interior Minister Slams The Ban Hammer On BlackBerries, iPhones Over Security Concerns.

Mike Norris — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:50:19 +0000

Consumer-minded employees working in the German Interior Ministry are going to be a lot less connected while on the job. German Interior Minister, Hans-Peter Friedrich, has officially banned BlackBerry and iPhone devices over security concerns because servers for said devices reside in the United States. Naturally, the super secure government entity has a problem with this.

But all is not quite lost. Apparently the ministry already makes use of HTC devices with secure software provided by the country’s Federal Office for Information Security. Though, what devices are exactly being used isn’t known. Hey, it’s better than nothing, right?

Source Bloomberg

Via Phonearena

CES 2012: X-Doria iDevice Protection

Jordan Carpenter — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:05:13 +0000

Through out our wanders yesterday we happened to stroll by a booth that had about 10 iDevices laying around with cases strewn about. We walked on in to see what was going on because we are in iPhone case mode and what we found was actually quite interesting. They had your normal every day cases, but some of the designs were actually quite nice. Their website has most of those cases on them to look at. Different styles ranging from leather to plastic. They have them for iPhones, iPads and iPods.

The product that X-Doria had that really caught our eye was the Defense Pro. I have personally never been attracted to a lot of cases out there because of the bulk they add to the gorgeous iPhone, so I’ve always leaned towards using protective skins. When he was showing us the Defense and the Defense Pro, we were blown away. We couldn’t even tell it was on there. The greatest part about the Defense Pro, other than the self-healing material, is how the application takes place. If you’ve ever used BodyGuardz or Zagg, you’ll know that bubbles are our worst nightmare. Defense Pro utilizes an iOS app that places a grid on your screen that lines up with the skin itself and the grid printed on a top layer of the material. You line up the lines with the lines on the iOS app and the result is a bubbles-less protection for your iDevice.

Their website is up, but they are an incredibly new company. Look out for their products this Spring and hopefully check back here for a review.

Source X-Doria

CES 2012: BoostCase Hybrid Hands On.

Jordan Carpenter — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:08:10 +0000

We first heard about the BoostCase Hybrid at CES Unveiled this past Sunday and we were crazy impressed. We’ve used so many different battery cases in the past and to be falling in love with one now seems whacky to us. After seeing the Hybrid and meeting with the reps at the booth on Sunday, I decided I would spend the majority of my walks through the CES Halls looking at the battery case competition. I wanted to see if what I was excited to learn more about would stand up against all of the other competition out there, especially the likes of Incipio, that have been doing this for a few years.

We’ll spend more time on that subject in a future post this week once we’ve had enough time to play with every case out there. But for now, please join us inside for a hands on with one of my personal favorites – the BoostCase Hybrid…

The Hybrid – as you can probably tell by the name – doubles as a sleek case and a battery pack. The slim fit snap-on case hugs your iPhone 4/4S, and drapes it in a wide array of colors. Not much to say about the case, other than that it is a nice addition to the iPhone itself. It isn’t too bulky and adds some good protection to the sides and the back of the iPhone. But it doesn’t stop there, the detachable extended battery slips and locks directly into the case giving a whopping 1900mAh in a small sleek outfit. The battery doesn’t add much of a bulk or weight to the iPhone itself.

Weighing in at only 2.2 oz, you don’t notice an undesirable weight gain to the already light and sexy iPhone. I was surprised to pop my iPhone 4S into the display units they had available to find out I wasn’t going to be lifting a brick. The case itself is exactly how I like my cases – sleek and barely adding any extra mass. But the cool part about it, the extended battery doesn’t take anything away from that. This is exactly what I want in a battery case – to the T.

With 7 colors to choose from, you can mix & match your way into long battery life and stylish protection. I do love the BoostCase Hybrid, actually, all of us here at Gadgetsteria love it. We’ve been comparing everything we see to it over the past 24 hours, and I can see us continuing that trend for the next few days. We will attempt to get a unit for review and really give the Hybrid a test to see how it stands up with the rest of the World’s battery options. Until then, head on over to the BoostCase website to check out all of their products.

BoostCase

Concord Keystone Is Set To Release ECO MarineCase

Jordan Carpenter — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:56:30 +0000

We’ve seen a couple waterproof cases for the iPhone in our days. I personally am not a huge fan of cases because of all the extra weight and bulk they add. But with so many people owning iPhones, and not letting that prohibit their active lifestyles, we need to see a surge in other-than-shock protective cases.

Keystone will be doing just that, with CES gearing up with Press Conferences today, the releases keep on pouring out and this one happened to catch my eye. Not because it is waterproof, but because of how slim and compact it is. The ECO MarineCase is specifically designed for the iPhone 4/4S and will protect you from being submerged in water – up to 20 feet – as well as snow, sand and dust. Made out of clear silicone, the MarineCase offers complete call and iPhone screen functionality.

If you happen to be an iPhone users who expose their phones to environments that prone to contact with water, the ECO MarineCase might be a good option for you. It retails for $39.99 and comes in white and black.

Source Concord Keystone

IDAPT Launches Universal Docking Speaker At CES 2012

Jordan Carpenter — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:27:16 +0000

IDAPT announced the World’s first Universal docking speaker for the iPad, iPhone, Blackberry and Android devices. The IDAPT S1 features a dual docking station as well as a patented interchangeable tip system allowing for multiple devices to be docked at once.

The all-in-one speaker has a unique retro design and a top facing LCD panel to set and have access to all functions while an LCD panel on the front gives access to the basic functions. The IDAPT S1 will fit perfectly anywhere in the house, whether it’s in the living room or by the bed, easy access and a snazzy design make this a winner for any home.

As far as audio, the IDAPT S1 includes Stereo 2.0 sound, full range loudspeakers and Bluetooth 2.0. We haven’t heard it with our own ears, but they claim great quality.

We will be stopping by their booth to attempt a hands on and a review sample. We’ll hopefully be touching on this later in the week.

Hop on in for a full list of specifications…

High performance Bluetooth 2.0 audio to ensure total compatibility with
different sources without compromising sound quality

Bluetooth Class 2.0 + EDR / Range: 10m, 33′ / Frequency
Band: 2.4 GHz / Response Bandwidth: 20-20000 Hz

Compatible with any A2DP Bluetooth device including Apple iPad,
iPhone, iPod touch, MacBook, Blackberry Playbook, Blackberry smart
phones and mobile phones, Android smartphones as well as many cell
phones, smart phones, tablets, laptops and netbooks.

Smooth and rich sound through the full audio spectrum

Dual universal docking charger through IDAPT interchangeable tips plus
additional built-in USB charging port

Unique design for comfortable and easy handling during daily use

Clock with alarm function

Built-in FM digital tuner

Double LCD display to interact with the device

Easy wake-up function, thanks to an additional LCD display for basic
functions, including alarm

Stereo Class D audio power amplifier

Auxiliary input connects an additional audio source

Source IDAPT

CESUnveiled: BoostCase Hybrid.

Mike Norris — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 03:11:51 +0000

If you really use your iPhone you’ll quickly realize that a full days charge is no where near possible. Battery packs help. But they’re bulky and take up space. Plus, it’s just another thing to loose. That’s where battery cases come in. Yeah, they’re bulky themselves. But at least you’re not going to go misplacing it seeing as how it’s stuck to the back of your phone.

At CES Unveiled we got to take a hands-on look at BoostCase’s new Hybrid iPhone 4/4S case. The cool part about this case over other battery cases is that it features a two-part design — the first part is a normal looking soft-ish case that can be worn as is as a daily driver while the actual battery case part fits over the first case and latches into place.

The battery in the Hybrid case is rated at 1900 mAh meaning a full 100% recharge should be obtainable.

Those with expressive personalities shouldn’t have any problems finding a color to their liking. As you can see above, there are plenty to choose from, not to mention, the two-part design of the case makes them interchangeable.

$89 at Amazon.com – Buy

Another shot after the jump.

More BoostCase