News, apps, rumors, hacks and cracks
Like all iPhone owners, I want to protect my investment. But like most iPhone owners, I’m going to go thru a few cases before I land the right one. In this journey of trial and error I have purchased a few iPhone cases and returned a few as well. In doing so I have kept a few for different purposes or environments. I have one for the business casual affairs, while I have another for the in-pocket tote. But I have an outdoorsy one that I like for its extra protection (or sense of protection) that it provides while out in the rough. I go on campouts and hikes a few times a year and I love to take my iPhone with me (mainly for its GPS mapping ability).
There is no way that I’m going to trust just any case out in the woods, that is why I purchased and kept the Tough Skin Rugged Rubber Case by Speck. This bad boy not only protects your iPhone, but gives it a rugged outdoor look. I am glad that it doesn’t come in camouflage though because if it was dropped on the ground it would easily blend in, making it difficult to find through the natures grassy floor. (more…)
The following is a guest post by iPhone Download Blog reader Gavin Nachbar.
The mobile gaming industry is growing like wildfire. Video gaming giants like EA were caught off guard by the explosion of mobile gaming, and are now scrambling to release popular their popular games before the bubble pops. With that, a recent study by Gartner found that the mobile gaming industry will continue to grow by 10% a year, and will hit $6.3 billion (yes that is with a b) by the year 2011.
With the iPhone representing a solid chunk of that revenue, it is only expected that the iPhone accessory business will grow in parallel. Enter the iPhone gaming grip.
The grip was invented and released by a Japanese company named Trinity, who focus specifically on accessories for iPods, iPhones and other Apple products. The gaming grip is made out of sweat proof silicon, which is actually more convenient that one might first think. However, it does not come without a hefty price tag at $51 a pop.
While some say this may be the most absurd iPhone accessory released to date, I beg to differ. With Apple recently announcing the billionth download from the App Store, this is just the beginning for iPhone gaming accessories.
And why shouldn’t it be? While some games work well on the small screen, others just don’t have the right feel. The Wii was all the rage just a year ago, and Wii gamers have their wheel. Now, it’s the iPhone’s turn.
While the iPhone may never replace Nintendo’s DS or Playstation’s PSP, the development of products like this one is a step in that direction. This new gaming grip indisputably makes it easier to play games on the iPhone, and that’s a great start.
It had been a while since we had seen an original DIY accessory. I found this one at Geeky Gadget via Life Hacker. Fatgadget shows us how he made a pretty ingenious iPhone stand from rubber bands and pencils.
We’ve talked in the past about Sling and their SlingBox, a digital box you connect to your cable box, dish receiver, or DVR and allows you to grab either live or recorded video from that source, anywhere in the world that you can connect to the Internet.
It seems that Sling will be demonstrating SlingPlayer for the iPhone at MacWorld this week and they will be submitting their app to the App Store sometimes in the next few weeks. SlingPlayer will allow you to watch cable TV directly from your iPhone!
Here are a few highlights from the press release:
“SlingPlayer Mobile is ideally suited for the iPhone’s large touch screen display and I know iPhone users are eagerly anticipating the application’s availability,” said Blake Krikorian, co-founder and CEO of Sling Media. “Add to that HD streaming support for Slingbox PRO-HD customers and live TV support on our video entertainment site, Sling.com, and you can see Sling Media is committed to delivering great solutions for Mac users.”
SlingPlayer Mobile gives consumers their entire home TV experience, including local channels, local sports teams, video on demand, pay per view, etc. Any program that you can watch on your sofa back home, you can now watch via your iPhone using a standard network connection (3G Cellular, WiFi). In addition, SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone users can also control their home digital video recorder (DVR) to watch recorded shows, pause, rewind, and fast forward live TV, or even queue new recordings while on the road.
Pricing and Availability
SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone will be submitted to Apple for testing and approval in Q1. The price has not been determined at this time. SlingPlayer for Mac HD will be available for free via the web-based SlingPlayer within Sling.com later in Q1. Mac customers will be able to use either Safari or Firefox web browsers to get both HD streaming and Live TV within Sling.com.
Because the iPhone uses capacitive touchscreens, it may be difficult or impossible for the electrical signals from a person’s fingers to pass through glove fabric. I don’t have this problem because I live in Southern California, but if you live in some cold places such as Alaska or Iceland, this might be a way for you to use your iPhone, without risking to freeze your fingers.
The US Patent and Trademark Office published what seems to be an application from Apple for gloves that would actually work with the touchscreen. The glove would most likely have layers that emulate properties of human skin, such as electrical resistance.
This is an interesting concept developed by Ralf Ackermann…
An external iphone / ipod touch keyboard - using a more “mainstream approach”. The keyboard (it’s a standard Freedom Universal Keyboard) uses the Bluetooth SPP (Serial Port) profile to talk with a Robotech Bluetooth module ( www.tigal.com/product.asp?pid=1124 ). This module is placed in a modified iphone battery sleeve and connected to the iphone serial port. The jailbroken iphone runs veency (a VNC server) and a tiny libvncclient based VNC client for keyboard event injection to whatever application you use.
All schematics and source code to appear on www.ubiqkom.org soon.
More photos here.
Gizmodo posted today a really cool picture of an iPhone 3G wooden case. Clearly not your typical iPhone accessory but I find this wooden case very interesting. There is no info about pricing and where you can probably find out more from iCustom, assuming you speak Russian… who doesn’t?
The guys over at Infectious emailed me to let me know that they would like to give away iPhone skins to the first 3 people to comment on this post. If you don’t know about Infectious, you may want to check their products. They make adhesive skins for cars, laptops, and in our case, for iPhones.
What’s really cool about it is that you can choose from top notch designs that are all made by renown artists. I haven’t tried their iPhone skins but they are said to be easy to apply and easy to take off.
Unlike UniqueSkins, which I reviewed a few weeks ago, you can’t create your own skin on the fly, however, you can submit your artwork and it might be approved to be sold on the site. Pretty cool, huh?
So we have 3 skins to give away for free to the the first 3 people that will leave a comment on this post. When you leave your comment, don’t lie about your email address or else there is no way we’ll be able to get in touch with you.
For more info about these artsy skins, hop over to Infectious.com.
The best way to protect your iPhone is to invest in a case. When looking at iPhone cases and before you make your decision on which to purchase, there are some things you need to keep in mind. There are different styles of cases and you have to figure out what style better fits the use you’re going to make of it. I personally have 3 iPhone cases (a workout case, a metal case, and a leather case) that I use for different occasions.
Select any iPhone case to get more information. Shop the iPhone Download Blog Store for all your iPhone accessories and cases.
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1. Mobi Products Cystal Case with Clip
3. Incipio dermaSHOT Silicone Case
4. Mobi Products Protector Case for iPhone
5. Seidio Rubberized Spring Clip Holster
6. Macally mClip Swivel Holster and Stand
7. Mobi Products iPhone holster
Pros: The Mophie Juice Pack for the iPhone 3G is an easy way to add additional battery life to your iPhone 3G.
Cons: The Mophie Juice Pack for the iPhone 3G adds extra bulk; is only compatible with the iPhone 3G; and is quite expensive.
Overall: If you can get over its bulk and price, the Mophie Juice Pack will indeed extend the battery life of your iPhone 3G.
