#126 Apple Unveils The New iPod Touch

Apple dropped a surprise release today, the new iPod Touch! Are they going back to their roots? What specs are we expecting with the latest version?

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Facebook app for iOS gets an update. Finally!

The most usual problem iPhone, iPod touch and iPad Facebook app users encounter is the slowness of the app.

Using the Facebook app for iOS devices have been a grueling experience to some, while others simply discard the app and use their browsers to load their accounts due to the “painfully slow” user experience that they encounter.

According to the New York Times, the sluggish performance of the Facebook app for iOS devices is because of the hybrid program language.

But this is about to change by next month, as Facebook launches their new Facebook app for iOS users.

This upgrade will enhance the experience of the users, as this eliminates the slowness of the app.

NYT’s Nick Bilton has tested the new Facebook app and said that the latter is like “putting the engine of a Smart Car in the body of a Ferrari.”

The update is built completely using Objective-C, which removes the sluggish performance of the old Facebook app which was built with HTML 5 components within an Objective-C.

Whatever it is, this update is going to be welcomed by iOS users of the Facebook app.

Are you an iOS device owner? What’s your take on the performance the old Facebook app?

Image Source: news.softmedia.com

GymPact App pays you with cash for working out!

Are you one of those individuals who always seem to break their New Year’s resolution of getting fit and going to the gym to loose some excess fat?

Well, you’re one of the many who seem to always pledge this every year yet break this due to laziness and all other reasons that seemingly doesn’t end.

If you really are serious with your pledge, but just can’t seem to to follow through with your project of going to the gym, there is an app for you. Introducing the GymPact. And guess what? This app introduces money into the equation!

Isn’t money enough to motivate you to hit the gym and start to sweat and shave off those excess fats that you are harboring? Well, this app gives you money to go to the gym. At the same time, it also takes away money from you for not going.

Users begin by creating a weekly pact that states how many times he/she intends to go to the gym. To raise the stakes, users will also key in a desired amount of money to be taken away from them if they fail to live by to this pact.

After you go to the gym and stay there for at least 30 minutes, you will be able to receive a cash reward for living up to your end of the deal. This money comes from the funds that GymPact collects from people who fail to meet their fitness goals.

Pretty cool huh? At least people can now earn and at the same time loose those unwanted pounds. Want to start now? Head on over to the App Store and download the free GymPact App.

Image source: slashgear.com

Angry Birds to debut on Facebook on Valentine’s Day

All we need is love. That four letter word comes in different faces, places, shapes and sizes. One such symbol comes this Valentines day in the form of one popular game.

You read it right. Because the popular game that blazed through your mobile phones and tabs is coming to Facebook this coming Feb 14. Make way, the Angry Birds is hitting the social networking scene.

A lot of individuals love this game and it’s quite fitting that Rovio is choosing the date to launch its popular game on Facebook. The company announced that the game has been downloaded more than half a billion times. Data was collated and ended last November.

The data also shows that the game is being played up to a total of 300 million minutes per day. If we convert it to playing years, that would be equal to 200,000 years.

Now, the ever so popular game is invading Facebook. Rovio is inviting Angry Birds fanatics and those who want to jump in the bandwagon in an event entitled, “Nothing says ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’ like competitive pig-popping among friends!” Angry Birds can be found in Facebook here.

So get your fingers ready and join the event.

Image source: angrybirds360.com

Gadget transforms hard surfaces to speakers

A portable speaker that is unlike any other. This device uses a conductive gel “to transform hard surfaces into attention-grabbing woofers”.

According to Roger Arnold, “the gel serves as an acoustic coupling that is actually resonating the table.” The device basically turns any inanimate things into a huge boom box just by placing the WOWee on top of it.

He added that, “if you are looking for a really good, pocketable speaker for your music this is it.”

The WOWee One Pro is retailed at $150 and is available in Apple Stores by March as an add-on to your iPhones, Ipods and iPads.

This device can be connected to any gadget using its onboard bluetooth.

The WOWee also serves as a hands-free speaker for calls.

The company also gave audience a glimpse of the “Vue”. The latter is a small projector that fits in your pocket. It uses an enery-sipping green light to display video on any surface.

WOWee sales director Andrew Caddick said that, “if you are a businessman you can just turn up at a meeting and do a presentation. If you are a family man and your kids are really annoying you, you can pull this out and your kids are watching a move’ hopefully nice and quietly.”

The “Vue” is projected to be released this February.

Bob Marley’s son launches House of Marley headphone line

Bob Marley was and still is a great musician that has contributed a lot to his native land and at the same time in music. Known for reggae tunes and fashionable dreds, the icon has turned a lot of haters into followers because of his musical genius and beliefs. After Marley’s death, all you here from that popular surname were his iconic songs and the memory of the late legend.

Fast forward to the 2012 CES show in Vegas and that popular surname is back on the limelight. Rohan Marley, son of Bob Marley, was at the convention promoting his headphone line that are supposed to embody his dad’s beliefs and life.

According to Marley, “we don’t fall into the celebrity movement, we’re more in the sustainability movement. This is what I interpret my father’s message as, the ideals and responsibilities of life and how we see the earth.”

The Marley line would eventually expand this year with the release of their portable iPod and iPhone speaker system that is made from sustainable wood and cotton. They are also planning to sell earphones that are made with recycled plastic.

A cut from the company’s sales goes directly to 1love.org, a non-profit group that helps people from all over the world.

Rohan Marley also noted that, “there’s nothing wrong with being an innovator. But how do you innovate, are you destroying the place or are you protecting the place?”

Image credit: ubergizmo.com

Siri on jailbroken iPhones and iPod Touch

Don’t have an iPhone 4s but dying to have Siri? Well those dreams might be closer than you think.

Popular iOS hacker chpwn has released a new tool for installing Siri on your jailbroken iPhones.

Don’t fret, they have found a way to work around Apple’s copyright of Siri by letting owners install Siri files from Apple servers and not reproducing them from the latest iPhone.

But it is not an easy process.

According to chpwn, “Spire is not a complete solution. Apple still requires authorization to use Siri, so information from an iPhone 4S is still required. To insert this information, Spire allows you to enter your own proxy server address.”

The secret to this trick on using Siri on an older iPhone is to set up a proxy server and connect an iPhone 4s regularly because authentication keys change often, if you are using a VPN australia, you might find it’s more difficult than stated, sadly I can’t help you guys.

Though the Spire isn’t the perfect way to use Siri on an older iPhone, but it’s a start and is simpler than other attempts at taking the virtual assistant to non-iPhone 4s units.

Spire is available for download free of charge through Cydia.

Image Credit: CydiaHelp.com

The Sims 3: World Adventures soon on iPhones

Fans of these little people have something to celebrate about.

EA announced on Thursday that The Sims 3: World Adventures will be invading to your iPhones soon. The company didn’t mention the exact release date nor the price for this expansion pack but don’t worry, it will definitely come to the App Store.

So what’s new in this release? Like in the full Mac version, your Sims won’t be stuck in the everyday, domesticated environment. Now they’ll be able to go to exotic places like Champs Les Sims in France, Shang SimLa in China and Al Simhara in Egypt with lots of new sights and adventures. It consists of fifty-two new goals and four new mini-games. There will also be new clothing styles, furniture and even new face types for your Sims.

Those who already have the original iPhone release can transfer their favorite characters and even content from in-app purchases from the old game to the new one.

Will you purchasing this expansion pack?

Source:

http://www.macworld.com/article/145548/sims3iphonenews.html

An iPhone-controlled helicopter

If you think iPhone and iPod Touch games couldn’t get any better, think again.

The AR.Drone, an augmented reality toy helicopter, will be unveiled by Paris-based technology firm Parrot at the Community Electronics Show tomorrow.

The iPhone or the Touch’s Wi-Fi enables users to control the helicopter. With the built-in accelerometers on the device, moving the iPhone directs the helicopter in various directions. Moving the chopper up and down is possible via buttons on the iPhone.

The chopper’s design is pretty cool too. It has four propellers and comes equipped with two one-board video cameras. The first cam assists in flight while the second cam broadcasts video back on the iPhone.

“For the first time, you can play together with a friend like a flying ace,” Parrot founder Henri Seydoux says. “You pilot your copter and could shoot him in the game, and the video camera makes that connection.”

As of present time, Parrot is already talking to game developers who might want to use this new technology.

“This will bring imagination to the game space,” Seydoux says. “It is a new kind of gaming platform.”

Source: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/technologylive/post/2010/01/ces-control-this-toy-helicopter-with-your-iphone/1?loc=interstitialskip

iPod Touch downloads jump to 1000% on Xmas day

In another report by app market analyst Flurry, the spotlight is on Apple Inc.’s iPod Touch which has apparently exceeded iPhone downloads for the first time.

According to the report, software downloads from the iPod Touches (all generations) of consumers jumped more than 1,000 percent on Christmas day. The growth was based on the comparison with the average of previous Fridays in December.

“Out of the estimated 58 million iPhone and iPod Touch devices in the market at the time, Flurry estimated roughly 40% of those, or 24 million, were iPod Touch devices,” the report states.

The app downloads on iPod Touch devices eclipsed iPhone downloads by 172%.

Flurry also reports that downloads from iPod Touch 3G downloads increased by more than 900% on Christmas Day. Again, this was based on the comparison with the average of previous Fridays of this month.

But still, iPod Touch or iPhone, I’m guessing Apple is having a REALLY great Christmas, don’t you think? 😉

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2009-12-28/apple-ipod-touch-application-downloads-jump-1-000-on-christmas.html