Technology News And Reviews » Iphone

Matt Damon’s Kids Don’t Know He’s Famous

admin — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:23:11 +0000

I love this story. I have a teensy little crush on Matt Damon anyway…so this story really gives me the warm fuzzies. I just knew he was a good daddy.

Matt Damon and his wife Luciana have successfully shielded their kids from the limelight for so long that the kids have no idea how famous daddy is.

He says, “The 11 year old obviously knows. She hasn’t seen all the movies but has seen enough to know that’s what I do. The little ones don’t have any idea – we’re trying to keep it that way. It’s more and more possible now with the prevalence of video cameras and technology, iPhones and BlackBerrys. Kids are used to seeing their own images on screens. So when they see me on a screen, it kind of makes sense for them: ‘Yeah, he’s on that TV and I’m on this laptop.’”

Tags: crush-on-matt, Iphone, kids, laptop, limelight, matt damon, more-possible, prevalence, the-limelight, video-cameras

HP Slate vs. iPad: Focus on Flash

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:03:08 +0000

With the iPad presale beginning in just a few days, and the clock ticking down to the much-anticipated Apple tablet finally hitting the streets, HP launched a renewed campaign for its Slate tablet PC debuted at the 2010 CES by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Each platform has pros and cons, but so far the debate seems to center entirely around support for Adobe Flash.

The HP Slate–almost by default–stands out as a more business-oriented platform, if for no other reason than its ties to the Windows 7 operating system. The iPad, which comes across more like an iPod Touch with a thyroid disorder, can certainly be used in some ways within a business context, but it is clearly designed for delivering entertainment media and information to consumers.

Comparing the HP Slate against the Apple iPad based on Flash support is like comparing a Jeep Cherokee to a Chevy Camaro based on which one supports Sirius satellite radio. In both cases the comparison is between objects with completely different audiences, based on a proprietary technology that doesn’t fundamentally impact the function of the object itself.

As my PCWorld colleague David Coursey illustrates, “The Slate and other Windows 7 devices support Adobe Flash and AIR, Apple’s iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, do not.”

On one HP Slate video, Adobe’s Alan Tam shows how the HP Slate “will access the full web, and not just a part of it.” Tam demonstrates streaming video from a Web site using Flash from within the browser, Flash-based games and applications, and Web-based photo editing based on Flash. He also shows Pandora running on Adobe AIR as a standalone app.

It is accurate to say that the Apple devices do not support Flash, but rather than compelling me to forego the Apple iPad and wait for the HP Slate–which is not expected any time soon, it leads me to ask the question: “who cares?” You may have noticed that Apple has done quite well with the iPhone and the iPod Touch without Flash support. Why should the iPad be any different?

In the HP Slate video, Adobe’s Tam explains that 85 percent of the top 100 Web sites (according to Alexa.com) use Adobe Flash, and that 75 percent of all video on the Web relies on Flash technology. Those are impressive statistics, but they don’t change the fact that iPad users will be able to watch Youtube videos, listen to Pandora music streams, and interact with the Web just as iPhone and iPod Touch users have done for years–and nobody is really complaining.

As much as Adobe might appreciate being the center of attention in the battle for tablet supremacy, the fact is that Flash is largely irrelevant. As a platform for multimedia content on the Web, Flash has definitely served a purpose and it’s hard to argue with how ubiquitous Flash is on the Web. Just try to browse the Web without installing a Flash plugin and you will see just how much Web sites rely on the Adobe technology.

However, that is not necessarily a good thing. HTML5 is establishing itself as a vendor-agnostic standard capable of delivering much the same experience users have come to expect from Flash. Web content based on a free Web standard makes much more sense than multimedia content requiring proprietary software to create it, and requiring users to install a proprietary plugin to be able to interact with it.

Both the Apple iPad and the HP Slate appear to be very capable devices. The two devices have some overlap in functionality–both with each other, and with other devices like the Kindle or Nook, or MP3 players, etc.

However, the devices are not defined by their overlap. Each platform has a unique functionality and a different target audience–neither of which really needs Flash in order to find value in the tablet device itself.

[Thanks: http://www.pcworld.com]

Tweet This Post

Tags: adobe-flash, alan tam, comparison, david coursey, flash support, Iphone, ipod touch, jeep cherokee, Mp3 Player, plugin, touch, windows 7, youtube

Print your documents from iPhone, Blackberry at Hilton Garden Inn hotels

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:17:26 +0000

Hilton Garden Inn hotels are rolling out a system that lets iPhone and Blackberry using guests print documents from anywhere in the world directly to printer locations inside its hotel business centers.

The PrintSpots mobile printing service is free to hotel guests and works with any smartphone, Hilton Garden Inn’s press release says.

The chain sees the mobile printing service as a way to help make its customers – who on average take nine business trips per year – more productive. “Workloads do not ease up when traveling,” said Jim Cone, brand marketing exec for Hilton Garden Inn.

Readers: Whether you stay at chains like Hilton Garden Inn, Marriott Courtyard or Hyatt Place hotels, or you stay at boutique hotels, how easy – or difficult – does your hotel make it for you to print out documents?

[Thanks: http://content.usatoday.com]

Tweet This Post

Tags: boutique hotels, brand marketing, hilton garden inn, hotel, Iphone, its-customers, marriott, marriott courtyard, press, press release, stay-at-chains

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Servers Crash due to unexpected popularity

Admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:28:27 +0000

Players of recently released DICE FPS Battlefield: Bad Company 2 on PC, PS3, and Xbox have been experiencing server issues since Friday, March 5 that have prevented many from connecting to the online multiplayer servers at all.

A fix was supposedly prepared right away but before implemented, servers once again took a hit over the weekend causing multiplayer to go haywire for all three versions of the game. Gordon Van Dyke, Associated Producer of the game from development studio DICE had this to say on the official blog yesterday,

“All teams are actively engaged in diagnosis and remediation. We are adding additional services to alleviate load,” he wrote. “Despite having a major infrastructure in place, the peak traffic this weekend has been huge, 400% higher than any other Battlefield’s peak simultaneous users. The teams will continue to monitor the services closely.”

“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and will provide further updates on the latest developments as they are relevant.”

IGN reports that an update for the PS3 version of the game will be available later today after its approved by Sony. However, the Xbox 360 and PC versions will not getting client updates, today anyways.

Van Dyke said,

“We are aware of a number of remaining disconnect issues on PC and we have released the “R5″ server to hosts yesterday to address some of the disconnects,” Van Dyke added. “We are continuing to work on the remaining disconnect issues to have a solution as fast as possible as well as looking into reports of other issues raised on the forums for consoles”

Vertical Scrolling Hack for iPhone Springboard with Infiniboard

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:28:21 +0000

Developer Chpwn, who has developed other successful jailbroken iPhone apps, has released Infiniboard in the Cydia Store, allowing iPhone users to scroll their springboard (the iPhone’s home screen) vertically. I tired out the application briefly on a first generation iPhone 3G running 3.0 and the app seemed to behave quite smoothly. The name also indicates that you will be able to scroll vertically infinitely on the springboard. Below is a screenshot of the preference pane for Infiniboard as well as link to a video of the app in action.

Have you tried Infiniboard? Do you think this is a feature that would work well natively on the iPhone or iPad, possibly in OS 4.0?

Watch Infiniboard in action

Sony Announces First Facebook Game

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:28:18 +0000

With the popularity of Mafia Wars, Farmville and other Facebook games based on micro transactions, its not a huge surprise that Sony Entertainment Online has officially released their first Facebook app/game titled PoxNora. (Screenshots below)

The game is actually based on 2006 collectible card/turn based strategy game PoxNora: Battlefield of the Immortals. Gamespy reports SOE claims the game has grown to more than 2.5 million accounts since SOE acquired the title in 2009. This obviously shows there are already users out there who might be interested in the Facebook version of the game.

However, it is certainly not the only title that SOE will be releasing for Facebook with Gamespy reporting that the developer, who has developed other popular, successful online games Star War Galaxies, Champions of Norrath, and EverQuest, also has plans for new IP’s in the Facebook app world. John Smedley, President of SOE said about their endeavors for Facebook,

“The Facebook platform offers gamers a new and powerful way to interact with and tap into their social communities. With the launch of PoxNora for Facebook, we are leveraging the expertise SOE has gained bringing entertainment to the online gaming community for over 10 years.”

PoxNora is a collectible, turn-based, tactical, online fantasy game. Players command armies of fantastic creatures, cast spells of devastating power, and summon relics and equipment of ancient renown in order to defeat their opponents.

Get the PoxNora Facebook App Now

Modern Warfare 2 Hits 25 Million Unique Players, DLC Coming Soon

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:28:02 +0000

In the middle of firings of top Modern Warfare 2 developers Infinity Ward employees Jason West and Vince Zampella and lawsuits launched by both Activision and the former employees, there is at least a bit of good news coming out of the MW2 camp today…

Robert Bowling, Community Manger for Infinity Ward has twittered that the Modern Warfare 2 has officially hit 25 million unique players, which is a record for both the title and the franchise. It even topped numbers set by the long running online multiplayer of its highly successful predecessor.

“…annnd we JUST hit 25 MILLION unique players on Modern Warfare 2. Insanity! Also, got a lot of #MW2 DLC details coming this week! FINALLY!”… “That’s 25 million unique across all platforms. Most on Xbox 360, then a close 2nd goes to PS3, will [sic] millions more on PC,” – Robert Bowling, Community Manager for Infinity Ward via Twitter.

While the first DLC/map pack for Modern Warfare 2 is highly anticipated and expected some time in the Spring, Bowling also gave a little bit more info about updates saying, “We’ll be patching prior to DLC that will include the same matchmaking update for 360 that PS3 got, along with other updates.”

W008 HiPhone Slider, Hopefully not an iPhone 4G Clone

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:57:52 +0000

The next iPhone iteration is coming, if all the iPhone 4G rumors are to be believed, but what interests us today is the new HiPhone slider, dubbed W008.

The HiPhone W008 looks passably like a Nano clone, but rest assured the clickwheel is a genuine knock-off of the original.

For $127.99 you get a slideout keypad, dual cameras, JAVA, MP4 and MP3 support. Also added is a shake-function for music browsing.

It’s available in different colors and seems pretty solid design-wise. For more info click at the link below.

[Thanks: http://www.pmptoday.com/]

Tweet This Post

Tags: clone, dual-cameras, hiphone, Iphone, iphone news, mp4, nano, phone-w008, slideout, slideout-keypad, slider

O2 Says iPhone 4G Video Calls Listing Was Sheer Error

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:22:43 +0000

A spokesperson for O2 has contacted ITProPortal.com to point out to the fact that the UK video calls that appear in their key features table is actually a regrettable mistake.

In an email sent earlier, he said that “The iPhone section of our website states video calling is charged at the same price as voice calls. We can confirm that this was listed in error. We will be amending our website shortly to clarify this.”

At the time of writing, the O2 website has yet to be changed to reflect this change. Furthermore as some readers have pointed out, all the Simplicity tariffs, even the ones for feature phones, have this “UK Video Calls” option.

The possibility of the iPhone 4G carrying a front-facing webcam first surfaced when tech blogger FSM first pointed to the UK video call option from O2’s website.

[Thanks: http://www.itproportal.com]

Tweet This Post

Tags: Iphone, mistake, o2 website, price, simplicity, tariffs, twitter, webcam-first

New unlock software relased for iPhone 3G and iPhone 2G

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:27:40 +0000

Apple iPhone is the most popular smart-phone on the market today. And this is so for a good reason: its incredible technical capabilities and endless supply of apps are so far unsurpassed by the competition. But iPhone comes with a significant cost. Besides paying for the iPhone you are also obliged to get quite expensive plans with only a few preselected network carriers. This can be a significant problem for your budget. But now there is a definite solution for this problem.

There is one company that has a reputation for having the safest and easiest to use unlocking software and they now have software that will work with version 3.1.2 firmware for iPhone 3G and 3.1.3 firmware version for iPhone 2G.

However, when you unlock iPhone 3G or Unlock iPhone 2G you remove that programming block. It allows you to leave the cell phone company that is currently providing you with service and seek out other companies with terms and conditions which are more to your liking. This may mean lower monthly fees or more access to applications and other features. Whatever the benefits, being able to pick the best company for you is a great benefit indeed.

By using software from Unlock-iPhone.org you can jailbreak and unlock your iPhone 2G or iPhone 3G. With software from this company you can now use your iPhone on any network worldwide. Calls you make to 08 numbers are also free and you can download exclusive wallpapers, screensavers and games as well. When you add the ability to use mobile tethering for no cost, the savings can build faster than you realize.

Unlock iPhone 3G and Unlock iPhone 2G the easy way. The Unlock-iPhone.org company offers software that allows you to unlock your handset in only a few minutes, making it perfect for novice users. You can feel confident knowing that any issues will be resolved by the live support department.

When you are planning on Unlock iPhone 3G 3.1.2 or you will be Unlock iPhone 2G 3.1.3 in the near future you need to visit www.unlock-iphone.org.

[Thanks: http://www.officialwire.com]

Tweet This Post

Tags: ability, apple iphone, competition, download, handset, Iphone, jailbreak, leave-the-cell, reputation, technical capabilities, wallpapers, www