Before the release of iOS 4.0 for iPhone, all your notes created using the built-in Notes app are stored locally. The only way to transfer your notes from iPhone to computer is by using iTunes sync. That means, every time you need to sync the note, you need to connect the iPhone with USB and wait for the sync. That’s pretty inconvenience if you just want to sync your notes to the computer.

With the debut of iOS 4.0, Apple has added a new feature that allows you to sync notes over-the-air to your IMAP email account. No more USB connection is required. This guide will walk you through how you can configure your iPhone to sync note to your email account. We’ll use Gmail as example but it should work with other email accounts such as Yahoo and Hotmail.

Configure Your iPhone with IMAP Email

First, you need to configure your iPhone to access your email account via IMAP. Some time ago, we have covered the configuration procedure for Gmail. You can further check out the guide here.

If you already configured an IMAP email account on your iPhone, you can skip this procedure and go over to the next step.

Sync Note to Your Mail Account

Once you’ve successfully configured your IMAP mail account, you can follow these procedures to sync note to your mail account.

1. Go to Settings -> Mail, Contacts, Calendars. Select your IMAP mail account. Say, for me, it’s the Simonblog Email.

2. Simply switch on the “Notes” option.

By enabling this option, the Notes app will automatically sync your note to the IMAP mail account. It will also create a folder called “Notes” folder under your IMAP account. All your notes will be saved under this folder.

To try out the note sync, you can now go back to the Notes app. If you’ve configured the note sync properly, there should a new “Account” button appeared on the top navigation bar.

Tap on the button and you should see an account connected with your email. Say, for me, it’s the Simonblog Email. Tap on the account and create a note.

Now, all notes that you’ve created under the account will be automatically synced to the IMAP email. You should be able to find your note under the “Notes” folder.

The tip works on iPhone and iPad running iOS 4.0 (or up).

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I’m sure you’ve already prepared the Christmas gift for your friends and family. But have you bought a gift for yourself? Just in case you’re still shopping around for Christmas gifts either for your friends/family or yourself, we’ve got you covered. Here are 16 gift picks for iPhone users.

1. iPhone 4 ($199 or up)
Are you still using the iPhone 3G or 3GS (or even the original iPhone)? It’s time for the upgrade. With the new A4 processor, the iPhone 4 offers much more processing power and runs applications significantly faster than the old models. The high-resolution Retina display makes everything you see on iPhone sharper. You will definitely love the vibrant screen and it just blows the old screen away. Needless to say, the iPhone 4 also comes with a 5-megapixel camera with built-in LED flash.

2. Beats Studio by Dr. Dre Studio High-Definition Headphones from Monster (US$278)
Developed in collaboration between legendary music producer and artist Dr. Dre, engineers from Monster Cable, and renowned industrial designer Robert Brunner, the Beats by Dr. Dre headphones bring a professional producer’s experience to music fans everywhere. The headphone delivers super-deep bass, smooth undistorted highs, and crystal clear vocals. The company also offers the headphone in white and red but it’s $20 more than the black model. If you think the Studio series is a little bit pricy, you can also check out the Solo series, which costs $100 less. The headphone is iPhone-ready which comes with an additional Monster iSoniTalk headphone cable with built-in answer button and microphone.

3. Bone Collection iPhone Portable Amplifier with Horn Stand ($25)
Developed by Cyberguys Inc., the Bone Horn Stand speaker is an un-powered amplifier for the iPhone. Using old-fashioned acoustical science, this silicone stand adds 13 decibels of sound pressure to your iPhone’s speakers without using the battery. You can just slip the Horn Stand speaker onto your iPhone and it channels the sound of your speakers up through the trumpet shaped gramophone tube at top with amplification. The speaker can be used as a stand, supporting the iPhone in horizontal or vertical orientation.

4. SkullyBoom SB1 Portable Speaker ($49.95)
The SkullyBoom SB1 is a very cute little speaker. But don’t be fooled by its toy-ish appearance, the speaker is solidly constructed to give clear and booming sound. Not just work for iPhone, it supports most audio devices (including iPod touch, laptop, etc) via standard headphone jack. The speaker package comes with a Lithum battery that supports up to 4-hours music playback.

5. Agloves Touch Screen Gloves ($17.99)
It’s common problem for iPhone user in winter time. When you wear ordinary gloves, the iPhone can’t sense your touch. Specially-designed for touch-screen, Agloves are lightweight, soft, warm, stretchy and slightly fuzzy knitted gloves. The gloves should work with all types of touch screens. So, with Agloves, you can still use your iPhone to play games and text your friends with gloves put on.

6. iPad ($499 or up)
Someone said iPad is just a big iPod touch. I’ve purchased the iPad since its first debut. The brilliant screen offers a great experience for web browsing and watching video. The apps built into the iPad (e.g. Notes, Calendar) are fully-customized to make best use of the bigger screen estate. It’s more than a enlarged version of iPod touch. By combining with the iWork apps including Pages, Numbers and Keynote, it can easily lets you edit document, spreadsheet and powerpoint on-the-go. You may be able to do it on iPhone but the enlarged virtual keyboard allows you to type much faster and more productive. The long battery life is another big plus for the device. Overall, the iPad is another impressive product from Apple and it’s possibly a replacement of network for casual users.

7. Cole Haan Small Leather Zip Wallet ($130)
Cole Haan’s small travel wallet includes a custom built-in case for the iPhone while providing the convenience of a full-function wallet and clutch. It’s perfect for ladies. It’s constructed of slightly milled and plated cow leather. With built-in iPhone case, the wallet provides great protection for your iPhone and still has space for your credit cards, ID and money.

8. Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Mini ($299)
With a stylish design, Zeppelin Mini is an integrated speaker system from Bowers & Wilkins. The speaker is compatible with all models of iPhone including iPhone 4 and supports nearly all generations of iPod. You can simply place your iPod or iPhone on the docking port and hit the play button to start the music playback. The sound quality is superb for compact speaker. The docking arm can be rotated in 90 degrees so you can watch video or operate iPhone in landscape mode.



9. Belkin VideoStand plus ChargeSync ($39.95)
If you used to watch video using your iPhone or you simply want to purchase a dock for iPhone, this video stand from Belkin is a perfect gift for you. Simply fit your iPhone into the dock of the stand and enjoy the videos. Or you can make a hand-free video call. The stand also comes with a built-in dock connector and USB cable to charge and sync your device.

10. Amazon’s Kindle ($139 or up)
You may be using Kindle for iPhone or other apps to read ebook. However, iPhone is not a perfect device for reading eBook due to its limited screen size. This year, Amazon has released a new version of Kindle and it is considered as the best ebook-reading device on the market. It’s sleek and lightweight (only 8.5 ounces), which is a perfect travel companion. The kindle is available in both WiFi and 3G models. For 3G, you can enjoy wireless coverage at home or abroad in over 100 countries. No extra wireless bills is required. If you’re searching for a eBook-only device, Kindle should be the top choice.

11. Saddleback Leather Pouch
While most iPhone cases in the market are made of plastic, Saddleback’s iPhone case is hand-made from high grade genuine leather. The thick leather and 1/8″ seams on each side create a tight air space between your gadget and the leather’s edge. So the case is extremely protective. The case is designed for multi-uses. Other than using as iPhone case, the pouch can also fit other gadgets with similar size.

12. Splash ZERO Slim-Fit PolyCarbonate Case ($14.95)
Made of Polycarbonate material with an impeccable soft-touch finish, the Splash ZERO iPhone case allows you to grip your iPhone 4 without worrying about it slipping from your hands. The slim-fit design ensures the case doesn’t add extra bulk to your iPhone. The case comes with 7 different colors.





13. Jawbone ICON Series Thinker Bluetooth Headset ($62.39)
Jawbone ICON is equipped with military-grade NoiseAssassin 2.5 with wind reduction, the best noise cancellation technology that money can buy. Originally developed for use by tank commanders and helicopter pilots, NoiseAssassin is a proprietary technology that eliminates unwanted background noise when you talk on the phone. It gives you the freedom to enjoy quiet phone conversations in places you previously couldn’t. Jawbone headsets are the only Bluetooth headsets with a Voice Activity Sensor (VAS) that literally feels your speech vibrations. As a result, Jawbone ICON delivers unmatched speech quality and eliminates virtually all background noise.

14. Philips Fidelio DS7550 Portable Speaker Dock ($118)
The Philips Fidelio portable speaker dock offers incredible sound performance in a sleek, lightweight design, and allows you to enjoy the music on your iPhone or iPod at home or on the go. The built-in rechargeable battery provides up to 8 hours of playback time on a single charge, and the sturdy brushed-aluminum finish is both durable and attractive.

15. The Beatles Special Edition iTunes Gift Cards ($50 or up)
An iTunes Gift Card lets you shop for anything at the iTunes Store — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can use it to shop for music, movies, TV shows, apps, audiobooks, etc. The iTunes Gift Cards come in various amounts starting from $15. As of now, Apple is offering a special edition of iTunes Gift card featuring the Beatles. If you and your friend are the Beatles fans, go and grab one!

16. Create a Photo Book for the holidays with iLife ($48 or up)
If you’re a Mac user, iLife is great software for you to create your own photo book and printed calendar. It’s the best way to hold on to your memories. The latest version of iLife lets users easily create gorgeous photo book from your photo library. You can also use to create your own 2011 calendar with your own photos to commemorate birthdays, anniversaries, and special events. Take some time to create a photo book or calendar. I’m sure you, your family and friends will definitely love it.

Hope you like the gift ideas. Do you have any other suggestions for the gift list? Remember to leave us comment and let us know your suggestion/wish list.

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As Christmas is around the corner, I put together a list of 10 fun and Christmas themed iPhone apps for you. Pick any of them that you love from App Store and have a fun Christmas!

A Christmas Santa

Developed by Blue Wind, the app is a physics-based flying game. Rudolph is on strike, so Santa Claus plan to fly alone to deliver gifts. The aim of the game is to achieve the greatest height, distance, and flight duration. You can virtual buttons to control Santa’s flying angle as well as some useful power-ups, such as rockets. A Christmas Santa is fun and addictive game that is right in tune with the Christmas Spirit.

Price: $0.99
Download: iTunes App Store

Angry Birds Season

You should have heard of Angry Birds. It’s one of the most popular and additive game for iPhone. Since its debut, the paid version of Angry Birds has been downloaded over 10 million times as of September 2010. The Angry Birds Seasons is the Christmas edition for the game. It comes with a seasonal theme and 25 new levels.

Price: $0.99
Download: iTunes App Store

Cut the Rope – Holiday Gift

Cut the Rope is a highly addictive game that is comparable to Angry Birds. The developers made excellent use of the touch screen, combining with outstanding physics and brilliant visuals. When Cut the Rope was first released, it only took a very short of period before it became the number one game in the App Store. The aim is simple – collect the stars using the candy and then use it to feed Om Nom. However, getting that candy to Om Nom is not always easy. You need to think through before cutting the rope.

The original version of Cut the Rope costs $0.99. Fortunately, the company developed a special version for Christmas called Cut the Rope – Holiday Gift. Best of all, it is free for download.

Price: Free
Download: iTunes App Store

Christmas Photo Cards with Ink

If you haven’t sent a Christmas card to your friends and family members, there is still time to send a E-card before Christmas. The app allows you to personalize any photos in your photo album and create it as electronic Christmas card. It already bundles several seasonal frame and adorable face insertion frame for your customization. The app also lets you write on the photo using their new ink technology. All personalized cards are saved in the photo library on iPhone and you can easily send it out to your friends via email.

Price: $0.99
Download: iTunes App Store

Better Christmas List

Better Christmas List is a must-have iPhone app for your keeping your holiday shopping on time and within budget. Developed by Andrew Grant, the app lets you easily keep track the shopping list and set the budget for groups/people. It even lets you build a gift history that tracks what gifts you’ve purchased for each holiday season. If you’re still doing your holiday shopping, you should try out this app. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

Price: $1.99
Download: iTunes App Store

Dora’s Christmas Carol Adventure

Dora’s Christmas app is an entertaining and educational app for kids. It offers several interactive activities and mini-games that will keep your child’s attention. Featured a special Christmas song, the app brings experience of reading, watching and playing together that you and your child can play together.

Price: $0.99
Download: iTunes App Store

Christmas Camera Pro

The Christmas Camera Pro offers a fun way to take photos during the holiday season. Built-in with some holiday themes, you can easily “theme” your photos with one of the themes. The app is very simple to use. You can simply tap on the “Snapshot” button to get a fantasy picture with theme. All themed photos are saved in the photo album.

Price: $0.99
Download: iTunes App Store

RedLaser

Owned by eBay, RedLaser turns your iPhone into a barcode scanner. Simply point the camera on any product barcode, RedLaser will search for the product online and show you the local prices from hundreds of thousands of retailers including product result from Google (US & UK), TheFind, eBay, Milo.com and Half.com. It’s a perfect shopping companion and can easily help you save money. So if you’re still shopping for Christmas gifts, remember to download this app.

Price: Free
Download: iTunes App Store

iTree – Christmas Tree

iTree is a virtual Snow Globe on your iPhone. The tree grows all throughout the year and the scene of iTree is automatically updated on special date. Say, the tree lights up on Dec 6th and the first gift arrives on Dec 15th. Like any snow globe, you can simply shake the iPhone to animate snow. By double tapping on the screen, it’ll trigger animation of bear and rabbit character. It’s a fun app for Christmas!

Price: $0.99
Download: iTunes App Store

Christmas Wallpapers & Backgrounds with Xmas Glow Effects

The app bundles hundreds of high quality Christmas wallpapers and backgrounds with Retina HD support. The wallpaper also contains special Xmas glowing effects. Not only you can use the wallpaper, you can also customize the background (e.g. overlay a calendar) with the built-in image editing tool. Best of all, this app is free for the download.

Price: Free
Download: iTunes App Store

I hope you enjoy the round-up and wish you all have a Merry Christmas!

I’m sure these apps only represent a subset of Christmas-themed applications. If you find any fun app specially designed for Christmas, remember to leave us comment below and share the app with us.

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I’m sure some of you are awaiting the unlock solution for iPhone 4 with baseband 2.10.04 and 3.10.01. Here is a good news for you. According to RedmondPie, the unlock solution will be available by mid-January.

Three weeks ago, the iPhone Dev team has rolled out an updated version of Ultrasn0w to tackle the unlock for iPhone 3G/3GS running on iOS 4.2.1. We have also covered the procedures to unlock the phone. However, the unlock for iPhone 4 was left out, unless you’re still running on baseband 01.59.00. For those who have upgraded to baseband 02.10.04 and 03.10.01, iPhone hacker Sherif Hashim has mentioned on Twitter that the unlock should be ready by Jan 16, 2011.

There is no mention about how the unlock works. I’m not sure if the unlock is integrated with the existing Ultrasn0w or released as a new tool. Anyhow, it’s a good news for iPhone 4 users waiting for the unlock solution.

What about Untethered Jailbreaking for iPhone 4?

Another good news, that you may already know, is about the status for untethered jailbreak on iPhone 4. If you’ve jailbroken your iPhone 4 running on iOS 4.2.1, you’ll need to re-jailbreak it again and again for every reboot. That’s extremely annoying and the upcoming untethered jailbreak solution will make your life much much easier.

Confirmed by musclenerd from the iPhone Dev team, they’ll release an untethered jailbreak solution before Christmas. So just a couple of days to go! The team didn’t mention about the supported devices. But I assume the untethered jailbreak solution will work on all devices including iPhone 4, iPad and the latest model of iPod touch.

What a great Christmas gift from the team! Stay tuned. We’ll keep you update about the release.

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The world’s famous guidebook publisher, Lonely Planet, is now giving away 13 European city guides for iPhone users. According to the Australian Business Traveller, the promotion is designed to help travelers stranded by the severe weather conditions across Europe.

“We know that travellers who might be stuck in unfamiliar places over Christmas will need access to practical information as well as suggestions on what to do while they’re stranded,” said Shawn Low, Lonely Planet’s Asia-Pacific Travel Editor.

This is why the company named the promotion as “Snow Relief Sale” and only makes the city guides for 13 European countries free for download. The cities available are:

• Amsterdam
• Berlin
• Copenhagen
• Dublin
• London
• Moscow
• Munich
• Paris
• Prague
• St Petersburg
• Stockholm
• Vienna
• Warsaw

The city guide app, used to cost $5.99 each, offers offline city map, location-based navigation, points of interest, image gallery and editorial content. All content are easily searchable and you can use the personalized feature to save the favorites.

I love to bring along the Lonely Planet guidebook when traveling to Europe. It’s an awesome guide for planning a trip. So I’m thrilled the city guides are now available for free. If you’re planning your next trip, take this chance to grab a free guidebook.

The promotion will run for 48 hours until 1pm, Thursday 23 December 2010 (AEST). So don’t wait and click the above iTune links to grab the guide!

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The search for the perfect Video Converter for your iPhone is finally over. With the vast number of free & premium video converters out there it sure does get confusing. That’s why we decided to share with you this one stop free and open source video converting solution.

HandBrake is a cross platform software which works on Mac, Windows and Linux. It’s the VLC player of video converters. Point it to any video file you have, choose a device preset like iPhone or AppleTV and click on Start. As simple as that.

But hey that’s not all. For power users there is a plethora of advanced features to devour. Mac users will be happy to know that HandBrake’s 64-bit version makes fullest use of the 64-bit system to boost conversion speeds.
Read the rest of this entry »

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I believe every iPhone user should know how to save a phone number in Contacts. That’s trivial. But how about a phone number with an extension number? Do you know how you can save phone extension in Contacts?

Increasingly, businesses are using automated menus to answer customer phone calls. It’s not uncommon you hear a mechanical voice prompting you with instructions like:

Banking services, please press 1.
Credit card services, please press 2.
Insurance services, please press 3.
If you need to talk to our customer service office directly, press 8.

Sound familiar to you, right? You need to input appropriate extension to select the corresponding option. Sometimes, you even need to key in several inputs before you can reach the right service. That’s really annoying. Is there any way to save these key sequences in contact so you don’t have to dial them again and again?

If you don’t know how to do so, you probably miss a key feature for saving contact on iPhone. When entering a phone number with the numeric keypad, there is a +*# button. After tapping on the button, it’ll display a “Pause” button on keypad. This is a very handy button for saving phone extension for a contact.

Saving Phone Extension in Contacts

Let’s say, your friend’s office phone number is 123456789 with the extension number 7890. To save this phone number in Contacts, simply key in “123456789″ and press +*# button. Next, press the “pause” button and it displays as a comma in phone number. The “pause” instruction tells iPhone to add a friendly pause when dialing the number. Right after the comma, key in the phone extension 7890. That’s it. Now when you call up your friend, iPhone dials the main number, pauses for a while and then it dials the extension automatically.

Saving Key Sequences when Dialing Customer Hotline

The same technique can also apply to customer hotline with an automated answering. By saving the sequence of keys to input, this can save you significant amount of time when dialing the hotline. For instance, when you call up the customer hotline (e.g. 8724-2332), you use to key in the following sequence in order to reaching the customer service officer:

Press “2″ for Insurance —> Press “1″ for Life Insurance —> Press “8″ to talk to our customer service officer

To automatically dial the customer hotline and input the key sequence (2 -> 1 -> 8), you need to save the phone number as “87422332 ,2,1,8″. As mentioned earlier, the comma represents a friendly pause. When you dial the number, iPhone will automatically dial the main number, pause for a while and key in “2″ on behalf of you. Later, it pauses again and key in “1″. Then pause again and key in “8″ automatically.

It’s a really nice feature that saves a significantly amount of time particularly when you have to call up the customer service hotline frequently. Try out this tip and let us know what you think.

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TuneIn Radio from Synsion Radio Technologies is only $1.99 for iPad and iPhone, but the app quite probably brings an even bigger value in streamed radio content from music to talk to sports. First off, the list of radio stations available is pretty distinguished. It even beats the station options available on iTunes.

I personally use streaming radio in the background while working. Now with TuneIn, I can do it in other activities of my life. For example, while cooking dinner, I brought my iPad with me to listen to some country tunes. Unlike users who enjoy services like Pandora and Slacker, I actually don’t want to choose or categorize all the music I hear, wanting to explore other artists in a genre once in a while. Traditional radio like those delivered by TuneIn where someone else (usually the programming manager) picks what they think I want to hear. This includes the DJ(s) chatting or discussing what I just heard. It just brings a little more life to an otherwise humdrum day.

Where TuneIn really gets flexible is the ability to “record” a stream just like in good old fashioned cassette tapes (if you’re old enough to remember recording into those). Furthermore, much like another outdated technology known as a VHS Recorder, you can set when you want to record a show. TuneIn even makes it easy by displaying shows in sequence for a station where the data is available.  What’s more, you can pause a live stream for 30 minutes then rewind or fast forward within that last 30 minutes, skipping directly to a new song. This makes me think of TuneIn as the Tivo of Internet Radio.

The TuneIn directory is diverse with over 40,000 stations and shows. You can even use the iPhone/iPad GPS or WiFi to browse stations local to you.

I liked the added touches like album cover art and song title just like on iTunes. If you’re finding a particular station not too coming in too clearly, you can use an alternate stream or bit rate to make listening much better.

TuneIn Radio is available on App Store for $1.99. It offers both iPhone and iPad version. You can click this direct iTunes link to purchase it.

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It’s often said that technology is meant to better human lives and I believe that the iPhone is a perfect testimony to that statement. The iPhone and iPad are being used worldwide for clinical trials, treatment of various diseases and complex surgeries. And now, Dan Kaminsky – an ex-security researcher has taken the concept of the “There’s an app for that” Apple philosophy to a new level by creating an app (titled DanKam) that processes images for users who suffer from red-green color blindness. Similarly, another iPhone app titled Chromatic Glass helps color blind users to identify colors. While the iPhone can’t cure color blindness, it can surely correct it!

First, about Kaminsky and DanKam – I’ve to admit that it’s probably the most innovative augment reality applications ever built for the iOS platform. The app works best for users suffering from a specific form of color blindness known as “Anomalous Trichromacy” which causes the green photoreceptor to slightly shift towards red. The app isn’t built on rocket science. Instead, it works on the fundamental theory of human vision which determines how we differentiate between colors. Your iPhone’s camera still feeds the images to the display in real time, but the app smartly modifies the images using a collection of configurable color-shifting schemes. The hues are exaggerated to bring the colors toward the extreme ends of the color spectrum, there by making them visually hard to miss.

Priced at $2.99, it isn’t a hefty price to pay for correct color blindness.

While DanKam has recently landed on the Apple App Store, Chromatic Glass has been around since September. Though not as feature rich as DanKam, Chromatic Glass offers a good alternative as a “free” color blindness app. Having used it myself, I must say that the real time color modifications are pretty impressive. The only pitfall is that the settings and presets menu may seem a bit overwhelming, especially for new users.

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AirPlay is a nice feature come with the iOS 4.2.1. It lets you stream videos from iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to the new Apple TV easily. But the catch is it only supports the latest model of Apple TV, which costs $99. Unfortunately, not all of you owns the Apple TV or other capable receiving devices. To let more people to enjoy the AirPlay feature, developer Erica Sadun has released an early alpha version of AirPlayer that can easily turn any Mac into an AirPlay-compatible device.

How AirPlayer Works

According to the developer who has spent substantial amount of time reverse-engineering AirPlay, AirPlay works via Apple’s Bonjour service, which also known as zero-configuration networking. What AirPlayer does is create and advertise a custom Bonjour AirPlay service that make a Mac pretend to be an Apple TV so as you can stream videos from the iDevice to your Mac over AirPlay.

The developer has already released an very early version of AirPlayer that you can download it from here. As said, it’s an early alpha version. So expect it contains bugs and use it at your own risk. Anyhow, I gave it a shot and installed on my Mac. It works pretty well considering that it’s not yet polished.

The AirPlayer application is very simple to use. Once you launch it, simply click the “Start AirPlay Service” button. The application then initiates and waits for any incoming AirPlay connection from iPhone (as well as iPad and iPod touch).

Now you can launch YouTube or iPod app on your device and play any video. If the AirPlayer is initialized properly, the iPhone should allow you stream video to your Mac. As you can see from the below photo, I got an option to stream the YouTube video to My iMac. The name may be different for you as it’s the name of your Mac computer.

The AirPlayer works as advertised and automatically plays video in full-screen mode. You can also press “Command-F” to switch back to normal mode. As of now, you can only stream videos using AirPlayer. From my test, it doesn’t work with photos even the AirPlay option is available in the Photos app.

You don’t need a jailbroken iPhone to work with AirPlayer. For non-jailbroken iPhone, however, Apple only allows AirPlay to work with built-in apps including YouTube and iPod/Video apps. If you’d like to stream video via AirPlay using third-party apps (e.g. VLC media player), you need a jailbroken iPhone and use the hack called AirVideoEnabler.

Despite I tested the AirPlayer on my iPhone only, it should also work with iPod touch and iPad running iOS 4.2 (or up). If you’d like to give it a try, check out Erica’s website and download the AirPlayer.

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Today, Apple has released a minor update of iTunes pushing the version number to 10.1.1. As you can tell from the version number, it’s not a big update but only targets to offer some bug fixes.

According to Apple’s release note, here are the bug fixes come with the iTunes 10.1.1:

• Addresses an issue where some music videos may not play on Macs equipped with NVIDIA GeForce 9400 or 9600 graphics.
• Resolves an issue where iTunes may unexpectedly quit when deleting a playlist that has the iTunes Sidebar showing.
• Fixes a problem where iTunes may unexpectedly quit when connecting an iPod to a Mac equipped with a PowerPC processor.
• Addresses an issue where some music videos may not sync to an iPod, iPhone, or iPad.

So far the new version of iTunes work pretty well with my jailbroken iPhone. I can sync and backup data from my iPhone to iTunes on my Mac without any issue. However, if you’re going to jailbreak your iPhone with iTunes 10.1.1, please hold off the upgrade until the iPhone Dev team gives the green light. Stay tuned.

If jailbreaking is not your concern, the new version of iTunes is now available for download at Apple’s website. Or you can simply use the Software Update feature to upgrade your iTunes.

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Infinity Blade has arrived for iPad and iPhone, and that too in some style – 274,000 copies sold in just 5 days! It is receiving rave reviews from iPhone users and critics alike and is already a candidate for the “Ultimate iPhone Game” built till date. Priced at $5.99, Infinity Blade is already the fastest grossing iPhone app ever. And with the holiday season around the corner, I won’t be surprised if this game breaks more sales records on the Apple App Store. Here’s a quick look at what makes Infinity Blade so special.

First things first, I’ve always believed that the iPhone is a great gaming device. Though there are thousands of arcade games available on the iOS platform, none of them matches the sophistication and attention to detail as the Infinity Blade. I, for one, am glad that this game has arrived sooner than later and I expect this to take the iPhone gaming apps segment to an altogether new level.

The game, earlier codenamed “Project Sword” first caught public eye at Apple’s September Music Event. It was released as a free demo titled “Epic Citadel” and was an instant hit with a large number of iPhone users owing to its strikingly rich visuals. Infinity Blade runs on Epic’s Unreal Engine 3, a sophisticated gaming engine which supports all leading gaming consoles including XBox, Playstation and several others. The sword battles and fights in a 3D castle present a never-seen-before mesmerizing site to watch. Every aspect of the game is near perfect be it the castle environments, fighters, sunbeams, cloud cover, and other scenery touches that put you right in the action.

The game has received perfect reviews from top-ranked iPhone game review sites like Pocket Gamer and Touch Arcade. In fact, the company has been flooded with user requests for a free update that will unlock new weapons and features as well as a new level of game play.

There are no real pitfalls in the game itself except for a couple of concerns. First, the game is nearly 318 MB in size which can mean a long download time for many users. Secondly, the game has no characters with whom you can interact, except of course the army of enemies. Infinity Blade is a universal app for iPhone and iPad which runs on iOS 3.2 or later.

Infinity Blade is the perfect answer for skeptics who’ve long questioned the credentials of Apple’s iPhone and iPad as serious gaming devices. If you don’t believe me, purchase the game and find out for yourself!

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The iOS 4.2 for iPad brings lots of new and lovely features to the device. At the same time, Apple made a controversial change that turns the screen orientation lock on the side of iPad to a mute switch. We’ve covered this change before the release of iOS 4.2 and many of you have expressed how much they hate this change. Here are a couple of comments quoted from the post:

This is simply a horrible idea. We already have the ability to mute using hard keys by simply hitting the down volume several times. I use the screen lock button all the time and dont want to lose it to a function that is already being served by the volume controls. I love Apple and this product but this is simply just a horrible idea. At least give us the option to choose.

I hate new upgrade. I loved the orientation lock, and it was the only ready I was enjoying my ipad, especially reading books and online articles. I admire Apple what they design and bring our life, but now they pissing me off since they do not give us any option in Setting to change the function of the switch. There is MUTE function already, if you hold the volume button more than a second.

So after you upgrade to iOS 4.2, how can you lock the screen orientation? There are two ways you can still lock the orientation in both portrait and landscape mode.

Use the Software Lock

First, just like that on iPhone, you can now lock the screen orientation using the software lock. You can simply tap the HOME button twice to bring up the multitasking dock. Swipe your finger to the right on the dock until you see the music control buttons. Then just tap on the screen lock button to lock the screen orientation.

The software-based screen lock works in both portrait and landscape mode.

The NoMute Hack

If you are using a jailbroken iPad, there is a hack called “NoMute” to bring back the screen lock switch. The hack, as its name suggests, turns the mute switch of iPad back to the original screen lock. NoMute is now available on cydia for free download (via BigBoss repository).

To jailbreak your iPad, you can check out this jailbreak guide for details.

Both ways allow iPad users to lock the screen orientation. However, personally I hope Apple can listen to the customers and brings back the screen orientation lock in iOS 4.3. Or at least, it offers option in Settings to customize the switch.

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In July 2009, Google announced the release of Google Latitude to iPhone but just as a web app. After a year and four months, the company finally brings the Latitude product to iPhone as a native app which is now available on App Store for free.

Google Latitude is a location-aware application for mobile user to share the location with friend, coworker or anyone in your contact list. It uses the built-in Global Position System (GPS) of iPhone (or cell tower location if GPS is missing) to find out your location. You can then share your location with friends or family members. At the same time, you can also view the location of your friends in a map. With the support of multitasking on iOS 4.0 (or up), location sharing can be done in background. Even you close the Latitude app, it can still track your location and share with your friends.

According to Google, here are what the Google Latitude can do for you:

Latitude’s focus has always been on one goal: make it simple to stay in touch with friends and family by sharing where you are with each other. Simple setup. Simple sharing without fumbling for your phone. Now, you can use Latitude on your iPhone just like the more than 9 million people actively using it from Android, BlackBerry, Symbian, and Windows Mobile smartphones. Use the app to:
- See where your friends are
- Share your location continuously with whomever you choose
- Contact friends by phone, text message, or email
- Control your location and privacy

Concern about privacy? The Google Latitude is an 100% opt-in service. That means, location sharing is not turned on by default. You have to add your friends to share your location and only those friends you authorize are able to view your location on a map. The app also lets you disable background location update and hide your location if you like. To learn more about privacy settings, you can further check out Google’s support page.

I have just downloaded the app. So far, I like it and it works much better than the web app. The Google Latitude app is completely free and you can give it a shot by clicking this direct iTunes link.

Also don’t forget to check out the video demo:

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What does the Google Books app from Google, free for iPhone and iPad, bring to the table for digital eBook consumers that the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook apps don’t already? Previously known as Goggle Book Search and Google Print, Google Books will, of course, be on top of in-book search technology. You will need state-of-the-art text search with the over 23 million titles it also brings in. Just for the record, Amazon Kindle clocks in with over 750,000 titles and B&N Nook boasts over 2 million, just a wee bit behind Google Books.

Logging onto Google Books requires a Google account and WiFi/3G to access your personal library. However, they do start you off with complimentary copies of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” “Great Expectations,” and “Pride & Prejudice.” Google Books come in either ePub and scanned PDF formats with select titles available in both. While it takes time to download new titles, you do have the added freedom to read a book while it is being downloaded, which is distinct among other eReaders.

Much like Amazon Kindle (which recently launched a web browser version as well), Google Books offer a free eReader app for Android and can be accessed via browser on both PC and Mac, allowing you to read on multiple devices and synch between them as well.

Yes, you can customize your text size, fonts, and background as well (either black or white). There is even the seemingly requisite among ebook readers animated page flip.

However, in the end, we come back to its powerful search capabilities. Type the keyword, which we have all been trained on Google Search to do then tap on the search results closest to what you are looking for.

If you think, however, purchasing titles (there are a lot of public domain ones accessible for free) will be seamless, you will be wrong. Much like with Amazon Kindle and Nook, you will be taken to the Safari browser to buy eBooks. Managing your collection will also require you to go to either your iPhone/iPad browser or desktop/laptop.

In the past 6 years, Google has digitized over 15 plus million books as part of this initiative, even becoming guilty of copyright infringement at some points, but also quickly settling its disputes.  You can imagine the immense library Google is working up too! That is probably where Google Books will eventually distinguish itself.

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One thing that annoys me much about iPhone is the use of App Store. Once you choose to purchase an app in App Store, the App Store closes automatically and proceeds with the app installation. Hey, when quit the App Store? I still want to browse the store and download other apps. Probably you got the same experience. You have to re-open the App Store again and again when you need to download or purchase multiple apps. That’s really annoying.

Developers from NakedProduction are also tired of such annoying user experience of App Store and created a hack called StayOpened to resolve the issue. As the name suggests, StayOpened keeps the App Store opened while you’re downloading and installing the apps. With the hack, the app installation process is performed in background and you can keep browsing around the App Store.

The hack works on jailbroken iPhone and is free for download from cydia. Once installed, you can configure StayOpened in Settings screen and flip the switch to ON to enable it. In the settings, you can also customize the “Purchase Confirmation Title”. Say, you can change the wording of “Buy Now” to “Buy this!”. It’s just an optional setting that you can leave it as the default.

That’s it. You can now go to App Store and download an app. This time, the App Store should keep opened while you’re downloading an app. From my test, the hack works as advertised but you’ll need a jailbroken iPhone running iOS 4.0 or up.

What do you think about StayOpened hack? Do you think Apple should integrate the function of StayOpened into the next version of iOS? Leave us comment to share your thought.

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TeamViewer for iPhone and iPad (called TeamViewer HD for iPad) from TeamViewer come in the personal use and free variety and the commercial/corporate use variety for $99.99 for iPhone and $139.99 for iPad paid versions. If you fall in the latter group and have never spent more than $1.99 on a Productivity app for your device, the hefty price tag will probably shock your system. However, if you actually use your iPhone or iPad for your business, the investment might just be worth it.

Essentially, with TeamViewer, you get remote desktop sharing compatible with Mac, Windows, and even Linux operating systems. You can only imagine the world of productivity this opens up not only for you but for your co-workers and clients as you can provide one-on-one direct customer support, truly collaborative virtual meetings and presentations not to mention easy access to your files on your home or office computers.

Yes, it requires you set-up TeamViewer on your computer as well, whether desktop or laptop. This will let you securely log into your desktop from your mobile device. What’s more, the host software happens to be multi-platform. Therefore, you won’t have a problem downloading and installing the right one for your operating system nor have to download multiple times if you happen to use more than one operating system in your personal and work modes.

Where I see this app truly being worth its weight in gold is if you provide any kind of technical support or training. The recipient doesn’t even need to install the TeamViewer software. They just have to visit the TeamViewer website and install a Quick Support version that doesn’t actually install itself (no need to be uninstalled after). Quick Support will only run the duration you need to remotely access their computer.

You can even keep a “Favorites” list of computers you regularly connect remotely with as a “Partner’s List.” Furthermore, the number of computers you can connect with is unlimited and requires no additional licenses for even corporate users. For personal users, your private computers and your friend’s computers are also covered and free.

If you need a free solution for remote accessing your computer from iPhone or iPad, we highly recommend you check TeamViewer. You can download the iPhone [iTunes link] and iPad version [iTunes link] from App Store for free.

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When you are texting with your friend, do you want to show the contact photo next to the text message just like what you used to have in other IM applications? If you’re using jailbroken iPhone there is a hack on cydia called ChatPic for that.

ChatPic allows you to display the contact photo of your friend next to the text message in Messages app. The contact photo is retrieved from your address book and is compatible with Facebook photo sync, a feature in the Facebook app that automatically pulls down the contact’s profile picture.

It’s a simple tweak for your SMS app. After installation, there is no additional icon on home screen or option in Settings screen for further configuration. ChatPic only tweaks the built-in SMS app and adds a contact photo next to all text messages. That’s it.

As of now, you can only use the hack with the built-in SMS app. ChatPic doesn’t work with 3rd-party SMS applications such as iRealSMS. The hack is now available on cydia for $0.99. Make sure you have a jailbroken iPhone running iOS 4.0 (or up) before you purchase the hack.

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Apple has recently been on a patent filing spree and if the rumors are anything to go by, the company might be planning to bring radio to the iPhone 5 via AM, FM and Satellite signals. There’s also a strong possibility of the iPhone 5 getting radial menus, a welcome change from the current old-fashioned drop-down menus. What’s more, the radial menus may also be offered on Mac OSX to allow apps on the Mac App Store to adopt the same look and feel as iOS 5 applications.

While these are rumors which may or may not be true, it surely does make the iPhone 5 worth the wait!

The radio patents are an indication that the iPhone 5 might offer a unique radio station mapping function which will let users find and select a station with the closest or strongest signal. The folks at T3 believe that Apple might integrate an FM radio receiver added to the top right corner of the device. The rumors about radio on iPhone have also fueled speculation that Apple might add an integrated SIM into iPhone 5. While FM receivers are a norm rather than an exception in most smartphones these days, Apple plans to change the game by displaying all the available radio stations nearby on an interactive map, with names and signal strengths displayed for each station.

As for the radial menus, they would feel similar to the click-wheel on the original iPad and let users navigate items in 360 degrees. Apple has always thrived on the usability aspect of its devices and the introduction of radial menus is yet another testimony to the company’s commitment to continuously improve the user experience on the iPhone.

If you miss having built-in radio capabilities on your current iPhone, Apple might be fulfilling your dream as early as next year.  IMO, the radial menus would breathe a fresh lease of life into how iPhone navigation works. I, for one, am keenly waiting for the new iPhone 5 with these features.

What do you think of these features? Would you be interested in upgrading to the iPhone 5? Let us know by leaving a comment below this post?

Incoming search terms:

• @t3services com loc:BG
• iphone 5 and radio

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The standard comic book page measures round 12.2 inches while the iPad screen is about 9.7 inches. However, unlike the print version of a comic, you can easily zoom into each comic book panel not only to improve readability but digest gorgeous art as well. Sure, the Kindle and other eBook readers are easier on the eyes when it comes to reading the printed word with their electronic ink technology. On the other hand, they cannot replicate the four-color richness of a comic book.

As a result, iPad is a boost for everyone in publishing from books to magazines to comics who probably once thought that the digital format was their doom. Sure, you can download the free (though illegal) comic scans in the .cbr, .cbz., and PDF format, and yes, there is an app for iPad you can use to read them too. However, this is not that article. We are covering apps put out by digital comic distributors as well as branded ones from the comic publishers themselves. Most of the apps are indeed free and have free comic offerings (samples and old issues), but you can also access premium titles and issues as an in-app purchase.

First up is Comixology from Comixology, a free app from a digital comic distributor that lets you read your purchased titles on the web as well. Comixoloy has the big two, DC Comics and Marvel Comics, if your cup-of-tea happens to be super-heroes like Superman and Spider-man. Along with other big and indie publishers as well, Comixology is like dropping by your local comic book store with its over 4,000 titles in stock with more on the way weekly. In fact, the in-app store lets you flip through comic covers with the familiar cover flow interface. One press of a button and you can star downloading a title.

Once your comic has downloaded, you can start reading with the proprietary “Guided View” technology, double tapping to zoom into a particular panel, basically viewing that panel as one screen as you continue reading. The transitions from panel to panel even give you the illusion of movement thanks to the great effects. In case you are a die-hard DC or Marvel fanboy, they have a branded version of the Comixology app limited to just their titles.

Comixology’s biggest competitor in digital comics distribution is Comics + (also free). It has a catalog of 40 titles, mostly independent, and boasts about 1,000 issues to date. Archie Comics and BOOM! Studios have made their home here. While the layout and page-turning effects were great, this app unfortunately lacks the polish of Comixology.

All in all, reading my comics in this standardized digital format (as opposed to haphazard scans in peer to peer downloads) on my generous iPad screen is a dream come true. However, I only wish the print version and digital version came out at the same time so I can pick-up reading my stories now on eco-friendly digital this time.

Tags: Book, color richness, comic book store, comic covers, comic publishers, comic scans, dc comics, e7, electronic ink technology, gorgeous art, hand, iPad, Kindle, marvel comics, p, panel, result, Store, technology, time, version