March 2009 Archives

The mechanical energy produced when your body moves could be harnessed to power electronic gadgets thanks to what researchers are calling a “nanogenerator.” The nanotech device is made of tiny zinc oxide nanowires, which have piezoelectric properties–meaning that they generate a tiny electrical pulse when they’re bent, stretched, or otherwise subjected to mechanical stress.

According to Zhong Lin Wang, lead researcher, the device could be used to charge gadgets such as iPods and BlackBerrys as well as having a impact on defence technology, environmental monitoring and biomedical sciences. “This technology can be used to generate energy under any circumstances as long as there is movement,” he said.

In a video demonstration, Wang attached a single nanowire to the back of a hamster and then hooked it up to an oscilloscope. As the rodent … scurried around, it generated 70 millivolts [the equivalent of .o7 volts]. When the critter stopped to lick itself, the power levels decreased.

The application, which will be unveiled at the CITA wireless convention in Las Vegas tomorrow, will be free to download, and will allow iPhone and iPod Touch owners to make free calls from one Skype account to the other. In future, the service is also expected to support video calling.

Skype, which has 450 million registered users worldwide, said that the number one request from its customers was being able to use the service on their iPhones. “There’s a pent-up demand,” said Scott Durchslag, Skype’s chief executive. “I’m firmly convinced that if Skype could find a way to bridge all those cellphone cameras and laptop cameras it might kick-start a video telephony opportunity.”

Several other companies, including Truphone, have already offered released software that turns the iPhone and iPod Touch in to an internet telephone, but this will the first to offer Skype functionality under the Skype brand. Skype is already available on a wide range of other handsets, including the T-Mobile G1, which runs Google’s Android operating system, and more than 100 other Java-enabled phones.

When you get as popular as the iPhone 3G, lawsuits are bound to follow, and three new lawsuits were filed this week regarding the popular smartphone. Companies are claiming Apple is illegally using patented technology for its camera, streaming content to a cell phone, and displaying electronic books.

Accolade Systems alleges that Apple is indirectly violating a CMOS patent with the iPhone's 2-megapixel camera. The suit, filed in Texas, said Aptina Imaging and Micron are infringing on a way for the camera's sensor to determine saturation. Apple uses this technology in its handset's camera, so it has been added to the lawsuit. Accolade is seeking an injunction against Apple and unspecified damages.

Another lawsuit filed in Texas alleges Apple is infringing on three patents for wirelessly sending content to a portable device. Affinity Labs' lawsuit said the technology Apple uses to transfer voice mails and music streaming is a violation of patent law. It's also targeting the iTunes and App Store juggernauts, claiming these popular virtual stores utilise protected technology for browsing, downloading, and transferring content.

As with most Apple gatherings, Tuesday's iPhone 3.0 event began with an impressive laundry list of statistics touting the continued success of the iPhone and the App Store.

To start off, Greg Joswiak, Apple's VP of iPod and iPhone product marketing, announced that the iPhone is now available in 80 countries around the globe, and that Apple has sold a total of 17 million iPhones including sales of both the original iPhone and iPhone 3G thus far, including 13.7 million iPhones in 2008 (beating the company's self-imposed target of 10 million by a wide margin).

Joswiak also said that Apple has sold 30 million iPhone OS devices, factoring in the iPod Touch.

The iPhone is set to become the dominant gaming platform because of connectivity and the strength of the App Store, a conference has heard.

The claim was made by iPhone developer Neil Young of Ngmoco at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Mr Young told the audience the iPhone and the iPod Touch boasts 30 million users usurping Nintendo's DS or Sony's PSP at a similar point in their lives.

"As a game device, the iPhone has revolutionised the market," he said. "If you looked at the top 100 apps today, you would see 60% are games. That creates an incredible opportunity for game makers."

National Rail Enquiries has rolled out a new application to allow iPhone and iPod Touch users to obtain travel information using GPS functionality built into the devices.

With the new system, commuters can get real-time rail journey planning information, as well as live train progress, platform changes, delays and cancellations across the UK rail network.

“This is the equivalent of sat-nav for passenger rail – it enables you to find your nearest station and plan your journey home at the touch of a screen,” said National Rail Enquiries web development manager Ra Wilson.

Apple is set to add over 100 new features to it’s iPhone and iPod Touch, including the ability to cut, copy and paste text, shake the phone to shuffle between songs, record and send voicemail, and send photos over the mobile network via MMS. Apple will also introduce a number of software hooks, allowing developers to sell their applications on the iproducts.

Upgrades include:

Recognising other applications running on nearby devices using Bluetooth

Pairing up applications with hardware – eg turning an iPhone into an equalizer for a set of speakers

Embedding Google’s map service into an application

The software will be available this week as a developer beta and as a free update for iPhone customers in the next few months.

We've already seen an exhaustive list of new features for the iPhone outlined as part of the iPhone OS 3.0 update, including enhancements to the App store and Google Maps, Bluetooth gaming, push email and some developer-friendly features that should really make for some seriously impressive third-party applications in the coming months. But what about all the things we crave for day-to-day use? Well, a number of those have been announced too. To great cheers and a general sigh of relief, Apple has finally got round to offering cut and paste on the iPhone. A couple of taps selects your text, you get the option to cut and copy, your text goes in. And if you do it wrong, a quick shake undoes it all. Simple stuff, works in all main applications, so why have we waited so long? You can use it with text and photos too, should you want to fire off a batch of snaps.

And that's not the only point off the 'to do' list, you can also strike off MMS messaging. Details are scarce, but according to the big A, second-generation iPhone owners will be able to send and receive photos, audio files, contacts and locations. Forwarding and deleting of multiple messages is also being added, just to put the cherry on the cake. Apple has also introduced a Spotlight search homescreen. Basically, you can search everything on your iPhone quickly, so if you happen to be in need of a contact's details, an email, a specific piece of media or an appointment, just enter the keywords and you're (hopefully) there. Useful stuff and again, something that the handset has been crying out for.

Other updates of note include A2DP stereo Bluetooth for streaming those tunes in all their twin-speaker glory, an extension of the App store for the iPod touch and iPhone to 77 countries, Note Sync (to sync your notes obviously), improved Phishing protection, YouTube account support and auto-fill of forms. And it's all heading your way in the reasonably near future.

Apple is headed in the wrong direction with the redesigned iPod shuffle, claims the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The public advocacy group notes that while Apple has mostly disposed of DRM in terms of music files, it has effectively added more by limiting which audio hardware can connect to the player's headphone jack. If not used with official Apple earbuds, the player will require an adapter or officially-sanctioned third-party headphones.

It would not be as much of issue, reports allege, if Apple had not decided to embed an "authentication chip" in its earbuds, creating a legal obstacle to reverse engineering. Apple could in theory charge third-party companies under the DMCA for bypassing a license; the EFF describe a potential "nightmare scenario," under which every part of iPod ownership is controlled by Apple in order to reap profits and force a continual upgrade process. The situation would be considered intolerable if companies like Microsoft or Ford attempted the same thing, says the EFF's Fred von Lohmann.

Apple defends its technology as an improvement over earlier iPod earbuds, offering extra controls. This excludes even some of the company's previous remote-controlled earbuds however, which may be limited to one button instead of the three needed for the iPod Shuffle. The Earphones with Remote and Mic and In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic are known to be compatible.

Apple has released an all-new iPod shuffle with an audio-based navigation system called VoiceOver. Devoid of buttons save for the three-position power, shuffle, and ordered play switch and billed as “the world’s smallest music player,” the third-generation iPod shuffle uses VoiceOver to let users navigate through songs and playlists using the in-line remote control found on the included headphones. VoiceOver can tell users the name of the song and artist currently playing, playlist information, and status information such as battery life. Users will hear a slightly different voice depending on what operating system their computer uses — users who sync their iPod shuffles with Mac OS X Leopard will hear this voice, while PC users and Mac users running OS X Tiger will hear this voice.

More audio samples of the VoiceOver feature are available on Apple’s website. The new shuffle also features a stainless steel clip on the back for attaching to clothing, offers 10 hours of battery life, and is “significantly smaller than a AA battery,” according to Apple. The new iPod shuffle comes in 4GB capacities only, and is available now in silver or black. “Imagine your music player talking to you, telling you your song titles, artists and playlist names,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of iPod and iPhone Product Marketing.

“The amazingly small new iPod shuffle takes a revolutionary approach to how you listen to your music by talking to you, also making it the first iPod shuffle with playlists.” Alongside the third-generation iPod shuffle, Apple has also released the new Apple iPod shuffle USB Cable for charging and syncing the device that is compatible with the Apple USB Power Adapter.

Apple may introduce a bigger-screen version of the iPod touch, creating a device that bridges the gap between media players and portable computers.

Analysts at Piper Jaffray & Co. and Kaufman Bros. LP say Apple is probably working on a new generation of the iPod touch, which connects to the Internet via Wi-Fi networks. The new display could be two to three times bigger than the current 3.5inch (8.9cm) touch screen.

A larger screen would make the iPod touch more like a tablet computer or portable entertainment device, making it easier to watch movies, play games and surf the web. The product already lets users access the internet, watch videos, listen to music and read electronic books.

Amazon US has launched software allowing the iPhone and iPod Touch to read books available for its Kindle ebook reader. The application is free to download from the US Apple App store.

Consumers who own the latest Kindle 2 will be able to synchronize books between the products. It will also allow the reader to keep their place in the book regardless of what they are reading from. Amazon launched Kindle 2 in February, claiming faster download speeds, longer battery life and an available library of 230,000 books.

The Kindle's main competitor in the nascent sector is the Sony Reader. It is estimated around 500,000 Kindles have so far been sold, however industry experts believe there is still some way to go before there is a book-version of the iPod.

Sirius XM Radio Inc., a US radio station based in Chicago – facing a host of challenges including massive debt – said it will soon start streaming its subscription radio service onto the iPhone and iPod Touch.

It's unclear how much the merged satellite radio company will charge for the service, expected to be available in the spring. Monthly satellite radio plans range from $7 (£5) for an a la carte choice of stations to $20 (£24) for all channels from both Sirius and XM.

How well the new service will be received however, is largely debatable. The iPhone and iPod Touch, of course, are music players. More critically, the touch-screen gems already offer a hotly competitive platform for streaming music and radio. If you want choice and few-to-no commercials—what Sirius XM fans say they love—it's widely available on the iPhone for free.

TEAC on Thursday announced the HD-1, a new tabletop iPod and iPhone docking system equipped with HD Radio technology.

The HD-1 enables users to listen to their iPods or to tune in to FM radio channels. HD Radio is a newer technology that provides higher-quality audio sound—it's being used at nearly 2,000 radio stations across the country. In addition to the higher-quality sound, the signal includes digital information about the song and artist; using an "iTunes Tagging" feature, you can click a button or "tag" songs you hear on the radio that you'd like to buy.

The HD-1 will automatically upload that song information to the iPod, and the next time the device is synchronized to your Mac, that song will appear as part of a "Tagged playlist" of selected songs that you can preview, purchase and download from the iTunes Store.

It seems that Apple's procedure to select or reject applications for its App store depends more on its own whims and fancies. The company's procedure for selecting or rejecting applications for its App store has often been criticized. It is recently under fire for rejecting popular Twitter app.

Apple earned a lot of criticism when it rejected popular Twitter app for iPhone and iPod touch called Tweetie 1.3. Apple rejected Twitter app just because it fetches the Twitter Trends section, showing the most frequent topics or words on Twitter at any given moment. In an e-mail earlier Tuesday, app developer Loren Brichter reported that Apple's reason for rejecting version 1.3 of Tweetie was "Profanity".

In its denial Apple said, "Applications must not contain any obscene, pornographic, offensive, or defamatory content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, etc.), or other content or materials that in Apple's reasonable judgment may be found objectionable by iPhone or iPod Touch users."

Apple have unveiled their new iPod Shuffle. A new feature means that the MP3 player can talk to the user in 14 languages, telling them the artist and title of the song they are listening to. The revamped iPod Shuffle, which measures around 46mm by 8mm, is the smallest ever made, and weighs only 10.7 grams.

Controls are mounted on the headphone lead for the first time, rather than on the body of the player. The third generation iPod Shuffle, which comes in only silver or black, can store 4GB of music or 1,000 songs.
It talks to you because there's no screen. It could be the beginning of an Apple virtual DJ.

The player, the entry level in Apple's range, was originally launched in January 2005.

DePaul University (US) student Trent Boswell has reported that his wafer-thin iPod nano player has gone missing and was last seen in a bowl of crisps. While the 2GB mp3 player's whereabouts remain unknown, Boswell is fearing the worst, thinking that it may have been eaten during Sunday afternoon football viewing.

"The worst part about it is just not knowing," said Boswell. "If I knew that [roommate] Bob [Peterson] had swallowed it while watching the Bears game, then I could put it to rest, or if [roommate Jim] Jackson had accidentally dropped it into his beer then I could ask him to retrieve it for me, but there are no answers, and no one seems to know a thing, and I had so many kickass songs on that thing."

When asked to clarify which songs, Jackson sheepishly admitted that he had only a few songs loaded onto the unit, but quickly added that "it looked cool".

All-female band The Mentalists have released a cover version of MGMT track "Kids", which is played not using instruments, but entirely on iPhones and iPod Touches.

The band achieved the feat by downloaded applications from the iPhone App Store. Among the downloads was the Ocarina application, which lets you mimic the sound of a flute.

They also downloaded Retro Synth and miniSynth, which both help you believe you currently live with the Pet Shop Boys. The drums were performed courtesy of the DigiDrummer Lite app.

Japan is famous for its anomalous technological discoveries. The country has done it again. This time, it is a new system to control electronic devices; the technology will help people to navigate through the tracks on their MP3 player simply with a wink, smile, or a raised eyebrow!

Yes, your iPod can now start or stop music when you stick your tongue out. If you open your eyes wide, it will skip to the next tune, and when you wink with the right eye, it will go back, according to news reports.

The cool tool, invented by Kazuhiro Taniguchi of Osaka University, Japan, looks like an ordinary set of headphones and is connected to a micro-computer. It is nicknamed the "Mimi Switch" and can track the movements of the wearer's temple, actions, and facial expressions with the help of a set of infrared sensors fitted inside it.

The iPhone and App Store helped push the mobile gaming industry to become a $5.4 billion market in 2008, a 20% increase over 2007, according to a new report. The report states that overall game downloads were flat in the U.S. and Western Europe, while they rose in emerging markets like China and India. Java-based games reportedly saw a steep decline in sales, but were offset by iPhone game downloads.

Report author Dr. Windsor Holden said, “The combination of iPhone and the Apple App Store has galvanized the mobile games industry. Apple has provided an innovative device which enables developers to create smooth, compelling, visually attractive games for the mobile users, together with a business model offering a highly competitive revenue share for developers.” The report goes on to predict that more than half of games downloaded by 2012 will be funded by advertising.

China Unicom Ltd. (CHU) Chief Executive Chang Xiaobing said Wednesday the company is in talks with Apple Inc. (AAPL) about introducing the iPhone in China, but didn't give details on progress of the talks. "We are in talks with many handset suppliers, including Apple," Chang said on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Unicom's larger rival, China Mobile Ltd. (CHL), has been in talks with Apple for over a year with no agreement so far. Asked about Chang's comments, China Mobile Chief Executive Wang Jianzhou said the company is still in talks with Apple, but declined to comment further.

An exclusive deal with Apple to distribute the popular phone in China would give China Unicom a much-needed competitive edge over its larger rival, analyst Sherrie Huang of telecom research firm Ovum said in a recent note. The third-generation iPhone runs on Wideband CDMA, which China Unicom is rolling out in China currently, making it a natural partner for Apple.

Warner Bros. Digital Distribution has announced Watchmen: Justice of Coming online role-playing game for the iPhone and iPod Touch platform, which is inspired and adapted from the much-anticipated Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures movie Watchmen, due for release on 6 March. The Dave Gibbons created graphic novel character adaptation will come out as a movie directed by Zack Snyder.

The Watchmen: Justice of Coming, an online massive multiplayer role-playing game, is developed by Last Legion Games. The game uses the patent-pending 'CloudMMO' multiplayer technology. In this game, the players need to download the game app from the Apple App Store on to their iPhone or iPod Touch. Then, they can start roaming and talking to total strangers in the virtual world of Watchmen.

Set in the New York City of 1975, the adventures are spread over five vast environments, namely, Downtown, Red Light District, Cemetery, Financial District, and City Park to help complete the story's objectives. Users can customize their 'hero' avatars in terms of looks, skills, and costumes. The players can roam in the city, chat with total strangers using in-game chat features, and fight with foes via the 'strategic 3D combat engine.'

In the last few years, both the printed and broadcast media have taken a hit below the belt as users all across the globe flock around monitors to read the latest news and get caught up on missed episodes of The Young and the Restless. As newspaper presses grind to a halt, it's not unlikely that local TV stations may follow suit, as viewers pack up their loyalties and head online in search for news and entertainment. That transitioned audience can now receive the same content via smartphones and portable internet-capable devices, thus media outlets are scrambling to reach that new viewership to accommodate for a changing industry.

CBS, which owns a good chunk of the internet with well-respected sites (and adversaries) such as CNET, ZDNet, Gamespot, TechRepublic and TV.com, released an iPhone / iPod Touch application that streams full television episodes and other clips directly to the portable Apple devices. Now available free on the Apple App Store, the program covers its Interactive branch based on the TV.com website. And for those who are not aware of the CBS portfolio might be in for a nice surprise, as not only does CBS offer full episodes of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Beverly Hills 90210 and MacGyver, but selected episodes from Star Trek: The Original Series.

"CBS Mobile is excited to be on Apple's App Store with our application for TV.com, where TV lives online - and now on iPhone and iPod Touch," said Jeff Sellinger, Executive Vice President and General Manager, CBS Mobile. "Fans can now watch their favorite shows, great clips and create custom channels whenever and wherever they want through the iPhone and iPod Touch application."

Some iPods are smarter than they look. Several — the second-generation iPod Touch, the fourth-generation iPod Nano and the 120-gigabyte iPod Classic — are audio-recording ready.

That's a nice way of saying Apple built their little pocket rockets without a microphone but allows industrious owners to record with an add-on mike after downloading some recording software. It's not exactly the simplicity Apple is known for, but it works.

If you're not doing it already, you can use these iPods — and, of course, the iPhone 3G — for voice memos, classroom notes, making an "American Idol" demo or catching your boss saying, sorry, no raise this year. The Touch, the iPhone's sibling, goes even further than its fellow iPods: Using earphones, an in-line microphone with a push-to-talk feature and Fring, a downloadable application, you can make free mobile calls over a Wi-Fi network.