The HyperMac will charge your Mac notebook and iPhone off the grid

The HyperMac from Koyono aims to keep your MacBook and iPhone charged when you don’t have access to a power outlet. If they had swappable batteries, this wouldn’t be an issue. Apple, however, decided that no one actually wants to change batteries on the go anymore; that’s a last gen feature. That’s fine. The HyperMac looks like it should get the job done.

So basically what this thing does is power and charge a MacBook and iPhone (or any USB device) simultaneously. The battery pack even runs at both 16.5V and 18.5V like the OEM Apple chargers, which means the battery shouldn’t be put under any unnecessary strain.

There are three sizes available: 60 WH, 100 WH, 150 WH. These things aren’t cheap either. All three models use a lithium ion battery pack that can be recharged up to 1000 times and are encased in aluminum to match the MacBook. The 60 WH model runs $199, with the 100 WH and 150 WH models fetching $299 and $399 respectively but also coming with a free DC MacBook Car Charger. Pricey, yes, but also one of the only solutions to run a Mac for extended periods.

No unlimited Spotify use for Orange iPhone users

It seems the onus now rests upon Vodafone to serve up an iPhone deal to get O2 sweating.

Orange Apple iPhone customers will not have unlimited access to streaming sites like Spotify and YouTube with the network claiming users must stay within the 750MB data allowance.

 After the buzz-killing announcement that Orange's new iPhone tariffs fail to beat what is already on offer from O2, today's news casts further doubt on the network's ability to shake up the 3GS landscape.


"We recognise that iPhone customers will use popular streaming services such as YouTube, Spotify," a company spokesman told ElectricPig. "As a result we do not intend to apply network protection controls, as long as customers remain within their usage allowance."

 So basically, what Orange is saying is 'we're kind enough to let you eat the luxury box of chocolates you're paying a fortune for, but you're not allowed to eat the whole box.'

 O2, who is prepared to let you eat as many chocolates as you want, will be as buoyed by this news as it was by the revelations that Orange were unable to undercut its lofty tariffs.

 Spotify, which is selling its Premium subscription service on the basis of unlimited music, will be less chuffed seeing as Orange contracts will only amount to around 13-hours of streaming. Factor in regular web surfing habits and users will be running out of free data by the weekend.

 It seems the onus now rests upon Vodafone to serve up an iPhone deal to get O2 sweating, but it's yet to reveal its plans for the handset.

Apple sells only 5,000 official iPhones in China

Not that this should surprise anyone, but Apple has sold only 5,000 iPhones since last week when it officially launched. The phrase “officially launched” is key, since people there have been able to buy the iPhone on the gray market for some time now. And it’s a superior phone on the grey market, since the official phone doesn’t have Wi-Fi. That’s right: a smartphone nearly in 2010 that doesn’t have Wi-Fi.

The phone isn’t particularly expensive, but that’s not the issue. The issue is that China Unicom and Apple have released a crippled version of a phone that had already been widely available.

Who’s gonna buy that? Apparently very few people!

Someone, and I don’t know who, expects Apple to sell as much as 460,000 official iPhone in China per year. Keep in mind that that’s still less than the number of grey market phones, so all of this is sorta silly.

iPhone 4 rumours start thanks to Chinese retailer

Could the iPhone 4 have been leaked thanks to a Chinese retailer? Known for leaking parts of the iPhone 3GS to the internet, which turned out to be the real thing, they're a source which is being taken very seriously by other sites, including Gizmodo.

Today's leak shows the midboard, which is a part of the phone designed to keep the motherboard and screen separated, to avoid interference. It looks roughly the shape and size that is expected to be in an iPhone, and while China Ontrade wasn't very forthcoming with further details, they did reveal that the iPhone has a new design, with an "amazingly beautiful" back.


 

Just where did China Ontrade get this information from? Reportedly from Foxconn, which is one of the companies Apple uses to manufacture its products. It's a leak which needs to be taken with a pinch of salt, but as they've shown to be correct before, we're going to start wishing even harder for a brand new design for the iPhone 4, which will undoubtedly go on sale next summer.



The iPhone has just gone on sale in China as of last week, where an official 32GB handset costs 6,999 Yuan, or around £625/$1,024USD. That price doesn't even include the cost of the monthly contract, suddenly making our disappointment at the tarrifs Orange is imposing on iPhone users diminish quite a bit.

OMG! A leaked backplate for some sort of upcoming Apple device!

So what’s all this then? A company called China Ontrade is selling an iPhone Generation 4 2010 backplate with camera holes for $23.42. China Ontrade, interestingly enough, was the company that started selling iPhone 3GS screens a few months before launch.

What does this prove? Not much. Maybe they’re trying to drum up excitement or maybe Apple, in all their wisdom, is releasing the 4G model for the holidays, a highly unlikely turn of events. iPhones come out in the summer time, just in time for back-to-school, and this might be a mislabeling.

But maybe – just maybe – China knows something we don’t. How would you like them apples?

Orange Wednesdays app now available for iPhone

The app will feature the latest film reviews, previews, trailers and have up to date information on screen times as well as the all important option to redeem your 2 for 1 cinema voucher.

In preparation for November 10th when Orange will start selling iPhones, the network has today launched an Orange Wednesdays app - which will make the hugely popular promotion easier to access.

The app will feature the latest film reviews, previews, trailers and have up to date information on screen times as well as the all important option to redeem your 2 for 1 cinema voucher.


The handy search feature also allows you to find your local Orange Wednesday cinema and you can also invite a friend by email with details of the film - which is very handy. The app is available to download from the iTunes store for free.

Apple TV could start offering unlimited TV shows for $30/month

The antitheis of Apple TV

Riddle me this: would you pay Apple $30 a month for unlimited access to TV, presumably coinciding with the actual network air time or shortly thereafter? Interesting, non?

PKafka has talked to some industry execs who have been approached by Apple in preparation of just that sort of thing. You pay $30 and get TV – on demand. The Apple TV would ignore the DVR market completely, instead becoming a sort of subscription-based cable TV service.

Kafka notes that there are 65 million iTunes accounts, a nice cohort of folks to suck money from. He can’t confirm any names or networks right now, but it seems this content will be commercial free.

Considering it costs less to totally pirate the heck out of TV, this might not be a viable option for many consumers. However, it’s an interesting proposition.

Marvel Comics Partners With Panelfly To Bring Mobile Comics To The iPhone

If you are a comics fan, you are going to like this (unless you’re a print purist). Panelfly is partnering with Marvel Comics, one of the largest comic book companies in the world, to bring all your comic book fantasies to the iPhone. Marvel’s line up of comics is quite amazing — the original Spider-Man series, X-Men, X23,

Age Apocalypse, and Iron Man. These titles are now being offered in the Panelfly iPhone application, going back to the very first issues. [iTunes Link]

If comics are to survive the digital age, they need to become available in electronic form. And that’s exactly what this partnership does. Until now, reading the original Spider-Man or Captain America on your iPhone wasn’t possible. For instance, Stephen Lynch, CTO of Panelfy, says that it’s almost impossible to get your hands on the original versions of some of these comics, but now with this partnership, you can read the very first issue of Spider-Man, X-Men, and Ironman on your iPhone.

The application is free, but each issue costs $0.99 to download into Panelfly’s reader. Now, if only Apple hurried up with that Tablet, you could actually read them in full screen.

In August, Disney acquired Marvel for $4 billion.
 

 

iLuv iMM183 alarm clock comes with two iPod docks

iLuv is responsible for a lot of the more affordable iPhone and iPod docking speaker alarm clocks on the market today, and they usually do a pretty good job of things, once you get past a brand name that smacks somehow of cheapness.

Their new iLuv iMM183 doubles the stake of their previous models, though. Unlike their older alarm clocks, the iLuv iMM183 has not one, but two iPod and iPhone docks built in. That’s probably not for waking up to two different songs at once, but to allow both you and your significant other to charge your phones or iPods at the same time. This ought to eliminate many of the bloody noses I suddenly find myself waking up with the morning after surreptitiously replacing my own significant other’s drained iPhone in the dock with my own.

Other than that, the iLuv iMM183 displays National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration emergency weather alerts on its face, and includes a weather band radio. It also includes an FM radio with six presets, treble and bass control, and a remote. I’m curious about whether that remote can drive both iPods, though, or just the one in the primary slot. If it can do the former, that might lead to some interesting remote squabbling in the bedroom when both our iPhones are plugged in.

Unlike most iLuv alarm clocks, though, the iMM183 is a bit pricy, clocing in at $149. Truthfully? You could probably buy two separate alarm clock iPhone speaker docks for about the same amount.

Yes, the 27″ iMac’s screen is “better than HD” – kind of like most monitors

I’ll make this quick. I’ve heard two or three independent sources saying that the new iMac’s screen is “better than HD.” Let’s examine that claim for a moment here. If HD is 1920×1080 and the iMac is 2560×1440, then yes, it is better than HD.

But why would you make that claim when most monitors over 22 inches are at least that resolution? I’ve been using a fantastic Dell 2407WFP for five years or so, and it goes up to 1920×1200. Better than HD, before HD even came around!

That’s all. I just wanted to register a facepalm at this ridiculous talking point. I’m sure the new iMac screen is great (better than mine, to be sure), and actually it looks like a pretty good deal, but “better than HD” is just about the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.

Update: Sorry if it wasn’t clear; by “at least that resolution,” I mean 1920×1080, i.e. HD. That’s why saying “better than HD” is meaningless, almost every monitor is better than HD. Also, I am not criticizing Apple, people. If you read the post, you will find I praised the monitor. I’m criticizing a phrase I’ve seen bandied about recently. Time to chill out.

CrunchGear PSA: If you run XBMC or Boxee on your Apple TV, do not upgrade to 3.0 – UPDATE

To repeat, do not upgrade your Apple TV to 3.0 if you’re running hacked ATV plugins like XBox Media Center or Boxee. I’m sure this will be fixed in a matter of days – if not hours – but as of right now it means a ride on the Failboat to Sad Trombone Town. That’s right: this update destroys the only thing that makes Apple TV usable and good.

Also, as an added bonus, Apple TV firmware 3.0 is insignificant. It adds Internet radio to the package and improves the UI. It also adds Genius playlists. My cup, as they say, runneth over.

I started to really like the Apple TV recently because I built an entire infrastructure for watching TV and movies using shell scripts, RSS feeds, and spit. Apple’s ham-fisted hegemony has destroyed all that.

But I do have Internet radio! Welcome to 2001, Apple TV! When I’m old and bitter I can listen to AM talk radio from all over the world!

That said, you can easily hack any 2.x AppleTV with the ATVUSB Creator, a Windows or OS X app that takes the hard work out of hacking. You just run it and insert the resulting USB key into the Apple TV. A few minutes later you have Boxee and XMBC installed. We also have an older How-To here.

For now, keep your eye on this and this for updates. I’ll do the same. Together, we can fight this menace.

If you accidentally update to 3.0, run ATVPatchstick on your 3.0 machine, ssh into it using frontrow@appletv.local password: frontrow. Then enter these commands, ideally one at a type:

wget -c http://mesu.apple.com/data/OS/061-6242.20090624.Aq20P/2Z694-5660-029.dmg

wget -c http://mesu.apple.com/data/EFI/009-7567.20080212.Vc45T/LOCKED_ATV11_00DA_00B.scap

wget -c http://mesu.apple.com/data/EFI/061-3046.20080212.U7tgG/AppleCapsule.efi

wget -c http://mesu.apple.com/data/IR/694-5484.20080708.hnji4/irrxfw-0x0244.irrxfw

wget -c http://mesu.apple.com/data/IR/061-3045.20080708.Aq12D/IRReceiverUpdaterTool2

wget -c http://mesu.apple.com/data/SI/061-3618.20080212.Pk8Bn/hdmiutil

wget -c http://mesu.apple.com/data/SI/061-3617.20080212.Qvh6u/FW29050_20080205_dse_hex.sihex

mv {2Z694-5660-029.dmg,LOCKED_ATV11_00DA_00B.scap,AppleCapsule.efi,irrxfw-0x0244.irrxfw,IRReceiverUpdaterTool2,hdmiutil,FW29050_20080205_dse_hex.sihex} /Users/frontrow/Updates/

wget -c http://ericiii.net/sa/appletv/osupdate

chmod 755 osupdate

sudo chown root:wheel osupdate

sudo ./osupdate

This will downgrade your system to 2.4 without touching your content.

Source: http:crunchgear.com 

Apple, AT&T Hit With Another iPhone MMS Class Action

It isn’t the first, and I assume it’s not going to be the last either.

Apple and AT&T are facing a new putative class action from an iPhone user who alleges that the companies misrepresented the phone’s MMS (multimedia messaging service) capabilities.

Clyde Bernard Franklin filed the complaint (case 1:2009cv00704) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama on behalf of all Alabama residents last Wednesday. I don’t have proper access to the court documents at this point so it’s a bit unclear what the allegations in this particular case are exactly, but there should be more information about the details available shortly.

While iPhone OS 3.0 included support for MMS from the start, AT&T took quite some time to enable the feature, which prompted iPhone owners to initiate two separate class action lawsuits against the carrier and Apple last August.

On September 25, AT&T finally rolled out the service for iPhone owners in the United States, so it’s safe to say that the delay isn’t why Franklin is taking Apple and AT&T to court.

Apple patent shows Bluetooth headset with built-in media player

Writing about patents really ought to be banned, since so many companies file so many patents every year that it’s silly to cherry pick this one or that one, drawing attention to something that may never exist. Be that as it may, today an Apple patent was discovered that shows a wireless headset that includes a media player. Think of it as “a Bluetooth” with a built-in MP3 player.

The patent was originally filed in April, 2008, but the filing wasn’t published until today. As the illustration shows, the device would have simple, on-board controls—play, pause, etc.— for your convenience.

Now, we could be irresponsible and concoct a rumor along the lines of, “APPLE TO RELEASE THIS THING AT MACWORLD,” or just be honest: the odds of this thing coming out aren’t great. I mean, it could come out, but just because someone found a patent filing doesn’t mean it’ll ever come out. Did we see any fully descriptive iPhone patents before its first reveal in January, 2007? Nope. Have we seen any definitive iTablet patents? Nope.

You know what I mean. Carry on, and go eat some candy.

AppleTV firmware 3.0 just launched

The new Apple TV firmware just dropped with Genius Mixes, iTunes LP data, and iTunes Extras. As you see this is a quite a departure from the original firmware. I’ll stick it on and report back how it feels.

Interestingly, since I hacked 2.x, I don’t really want to do this update. If you guys try it, let me know. I may give it a go this afternoon.

Apple Introduces Apple TV 3.0 Software With Redesigned User Interface

Enjoy iTunes Extras, iTunes LP & Genius Mixes on Your HD TV

CUPERTINO, Calif., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today introduced new Apple TV® 3.0 software featuring a redesigned main menu that makes navigating your favorite content simpler and faster, and makes enjoying the largest selection of on-demand HD movie rentals and purchases, HD TV shows, music and podcasts from the iTunes® Store even better on your TV. You can now enjoy iTunes Extras and iTunes LP in stunning fullscreen with your Apple TV, as well as listen to Genius Mixes and Internet radio through your home theater system. The new Apple TV software is available immediately free of charge to existing Apple TV owners, and Apple TV with 160GB capacity is available for just $229.

“The new software for Apple TV features a simpler and faster interface that gives you instant access to your favorite content,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of Internet Services. “HD movies and HD TV shows from iTunes have been a huge hit with Apple TV customers, and with Apple TV 3.0 they get great new features including iTunes Extras, Genius Mixes and Internet radio.”

The redesigned main menu on Apple TV gives you instant access to your favorite content. Recently rented or purchased movies, as well as other content including TV shows, music, podcasts, photos and YouTube, are accessible directly from the new main menu. The new software also allows Apple TV users to enjoy stunning fullscreen iTunes Extras and iTunes LP, including great new movie titles such as “Star Trek” or classics like “The Wizard of Oz” and albums such as Taylor Swift’s “Fearless (Platinum Edition)” and Jack Johnson’s “En Concert.” iTunes Extras gives movie fans great additional content such as deleted scenes, interviews and interactive galleries. iTunes LP is the next evolution of the music album, delivering a rich, immersive experience for select albums on the iTunes Store by combining beautiful design with expanded visual features like live performance videos, lyrics, artwork, liner notes, interviews, photos, album credits and more.

Now Apple TV users can enjoy Genius Mixes through their home theater system and listen to up to 12 endless mixes of songs that go great together, automatically generated from their iTunes library. Customers can also enjoy Internet radio, allowing them to browse and listen to thousands of Internet radio stations, as well as tag favorite stations to listen to later. Apple TV’s support of HD photos is enhanced with iPhoto Events, which simplifies finding your favorite photos on Apple TV, as well as iPhoto® Faces, which gives access to photos organized by people identified in iPhoto.

Apple TV users have direct access to a catalog of over 8,000 Hollywood films on iTunes including over 2,000 in stunning HD video available for rent or purchase. Users can also choose from a selection of 11 million songs, 10,000 music videos and over 50,000 TV episodes to purchase directly from their Apple TV or browse and enjoy the iTunes Store podcast directory of over 175,000 free video and audio podcasts. Purchases downloaded to Apple TV are automatically synced back to iTunes on the user’s computer for enjoyment on their Mac® or PC or all current generation iPods or iPhones.* iPod touch® or iPhone® users can download the free Remote app from the App Store to control their Apple TV with a simple tap or flick of the finger.

 

TomTom’s iPhone car kit no workie with iPod touch, first-gen iPhone

Bad news, you guys. If you were thinking of dropping $120 on TomTom’s iPhone car kit and then another $100 on TomTom’s navigation app for use with your first-generation iPhone or second-generation iPod touch, it now looks like you’d to run into some compatibility issues.

AppleInsider is reporting “that although the Car Kit dock is compatible with all iPhone models, the TomTom application will only work with the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G – even with the dock connected to a first-generation iPhone or iPod touch.”

You’ll recall that the hardware dock features its own built-in GPS chip and speaker to amplify GPS signal strength and the volume of turn-by-turn directions, so it appears that if you were to dock an iPod touch or older iPhone that you wouldn’t be able to take advantage of those enhancements. Basically, you’d have a $120 car charger.

AppleInsider further reports that “When asked whether the application could be updated to allow it to work with the iPod touch and first-generation iPhone, a company spokesman simply said that TomTom has not made any ‘public announcements.’”

It doesn’t seem like it would be rocket science to add the extra compatibility, and TomTom would theoretically benefit from the expanded hardware base of potential customers but, suffice to say, it’s best to hold off for now.

Catan comes to iPhone

One of my favorite games of all time, Catan, is now available as a $5 download for the iPhone and iPod touch. As board games go, The Settlers of Catan is a psycho-erotic thriller capable of hooking even the most un-hookable of gamers.

Maybe “psycho-erotic thriller” isn’t the most accurate phrase. It’s a fun game, let’s leave it at that.

Those of you who have never played Catan before may very easily pass this one by but those of you who are into the game and own an iPhone or iPod touch will have little reason not to purchase it for $5.

It’s not without its drawbacks – there’s no Wi-Fi or internet-based multiplayer and the game board is downright tiny on the iPhone’s screen – but for five bucks, it provides a nice quick fix for Catan addicts in between real-life or Xbox Live rounds.

App Store gets 100,000 approved apps

Keep in mind, 100,000 approved apps doesn’t mean 100,000 GOOD apps, but according to the App Shopper, a major milestone has been hit. There are a few technicalities though.

The App Shopper site lists 101,847 applications approved, but you can only purchase 93,118 of them. Not sure why there’s a discrepancy, but it might be due to things like the baby shaker and the BeautyMeter apps that were pulled after being approved.

Regardless of the issues and growing pains, congrats App Store! Now go pour a glass of hard cider, you’ve earned it.

Rumor: Apple has been talking to Australia about the tablet

“Media insiders” in Australia are reporting that Apple has approached them to produce content for a device “larger than the iPhone.” The Sydney Morning Herald puts another shrimp on the barbie by saying:

Apple has sent specifications of the device to Australian media companies in an effort to sound out whether they would be interested in delivering their content to the tablet. None would speak about the device on the record.

This follows Bill Keller’s offhand remark that the paper was working for content on an “Apple Slate.”

I call bull.

My thought is this: if Apple was going around looking for content for its “slate,” I doubt they’d be going to newspapers first. Newspapers are the low-hanging fruit of this equation – a text feed is all you need to churn out pages and pages of content. They’d really be talking to app and game programmers and none of those folks have mentioned anything about anything. When you want to launch something super secret you don’t go to the people who will tell your secrets.

Media partnerships are the least of Apple’s concern. Media needs Apple and I’m sure once the TabletPadiPad comes out they can just waltz in, lay down a contract, and Keller and everyone else will sign all night long. These are the people who need the least lead time.

The SMH also mentions a forthcoming new album format which has already been released in iTunes, a revelation that suggests the paper isn’t quite up to speed on what’s going down in the Interlands.

New iMacs have finicky DisplayPorts

Just a PSA, really: The newest iMacs are somewhat limited in their capability to be used as external monitors for your laptop. I’d consider the functionality to be a bonus to begin with, but if you were going to be relying on it, better make other plans. It seems that the DisplayPort on 27″ iMacs (there isn’t a video in on the 21.5″ ones) is a bit picky on what it takes an input from.

Using various adapters, iFixit determined that at the moment, the only devices which can use the iMac as a secondary display are those equipped natively with a Mini DisplayPort.

I won’t editorialize here other than to say what’d you expect? Apple was going to ignore the chance to sell another accessory?

iPhone props go into mass production

In just about every other movie or TV show we watch, at least one of the characters (if not half the cast) is rocking the iPhone. For example: Have you seen Chuck? If not, you definitely should — it’s a great show — but it has more Apples than Granny Smith.

Sooner or later, one of these shows is going to have a reason to destroy an iPhone on camera. Up until now, the prop folks have only read had two options: Smash a real iPhone to pieces, or recreate the iPhone in one-off prop form. Depending on the size of the production, either of those options might be a bit too pricey. Enter: the iPhone dummy.

It looks like an iPhone. It smells like an iPhone. But it’s certainly not an iPhone. Recreated to look just like Apple’s finest, the iPhone dummy is a $20 substitute for smashing the hell out of the real deal. Of course, it doesn’t actually.. you know, power up – so you might burn up all that money you saved paying someone to composite stuff if you need onscreen activity. If you’ve got a need for a lifeless iPhone-lookalike, Check it out here – that is, if Apple’s IP guys haven’t gotten to it already.