Will there be iPhone frenzy on July 11? We know that there will be plenty of phones to go around, but still my friends and I are already planning to line up at the Apple Store in the wee hours of July 11th to get first dibs. Why do we care this much about a mobile phone upgrade?

The new iPhone 3G has a lot going for it—simply stated, the pricing strategy alone is a win-win (we’ll pay less upfront and about $40 more in the long-term). But, it’s not about the price or the 3G tech, or the new plastics involved.

Far more significant than the hardware upgrades, all iPhones will be able to connect to the App Store, an on the internet service from Apple that will allow us to easily install third-party software that utilizes all of the iPhone’s capabilities. This newfound ability to run virtually any application will soon let the tiny, mobile Apple computer in our pockets do things for us that the machines on our desks could only dream of.

But what will all these life-changing applications cost us? Will the $200 I save on my iPhone 3G just eventually get gobbled up by the App Store instead? Will the average iPhone customer even want to pay for these apps? And, how in the world will companies focused on the Apps, like newly launched Instinctiv.com actually monetize the software?

Enter Eric Litman, founder and CEO of Medialets, a New York-based advertising delivery platform whose work I hope will end up saving me a lot of my hard-earned cash. His company encourages developers who might otherwise charge up-front licensing fees to instead give their wares away for free. The costs of development would be supported by showing innovative, dynamic advertisements displayed inside the apps with Medialets technology.

Source: gadgetsnews.info

Have you ever been a .Mac Subscriber? I was. And on the whole, it was a fairly pleasant painless experience. But, for $99 it seemed like I could solve most if not all of the .Mac features with other services (often free services). But MobileMe could be the answer to all that.

The Old Features

The greatest thing about the old .Mac service was the natural behind the scenes integration with your Mac software. The iLife suite, system preferences, and many independently developed applications all had ways to either publish straight to the .Mac service or synchronize across computers through your .Mac service.

The problem was speed and reliability. I quit using the features of my .Mac acocunt long before they expired because they were simply too much of a pain to use. iDisk was slow and I wouldn’t always be able to connect.

The New Features

Of course the new name is because of the new features. Instead of a set of tools that helps you keep your Mac synced, it is now a set of tools that helps you integrate your mobile self.

They’ve doubled the amount of storage you get for mail and iDisk Storage. Instead of a manual or scheduled sync, your calendar, email, and contacts push their changes from device to device. They’ve also included web versions of all of the applications so you can access your mobile stuff any time and any where you have web access.

The Obstacles

My biggest complaint about the .Mac service was speed and reliability. $99 wasn’t too much for a service that worked, but for something that didn’t quite work, even free would be too much.

One of the other possible problems for iPhone users is going to be battery life. With a constant IP connection, what kind of battery life is the phone going to be left with. The Keynote only lists 5-6 hours of high-speed internet surfing. If perpetual connection only takes 25% of the battery life of surfing, that’s still only leaving 20-24 hours of use. Of course this sounds like all day, but as anyone with a cell phone knows, an hour of speaking not only reduces the talk time but the standby time as well.

I guess we have to wait and see some real life numbers. Personally I would like to see that “Exchange for the rest of us” line actually apply to the rest of us. I would love to have the option of having MobileMe to sync my multiple computers and have it push contacts, calendar, and email to my Blackberry or Windows Mobile Phone just like exchange.

What do you think? Are you already a .Mac subscriber looking forward to the free upgrade? Do you think they left something out?

Source: gadgetsnews.info

So some of you, apparently, don’t have an Apple Retail store near you. Well here’s your opportunity to own a part of an Apple Store for your very own. Proceeds go to charity.

This key part of the Apple GREEN MONSTER sign was lovingly rescued from the dumpster… carefully pulled apart from it’s sticky self, and backed on light paper.

I don’t know if I would want to spend the money on something like this (would rather save it for iPhone 2), but it is going to charity and it would look great in my shed next to my Laney banners.

Oh Well. Send us pics of how you’re displaying it if you win.

Source: gadgetsnews.info

What good is your iPhone or iPod touch if you can’t get to it? WindowSeat gives your device the best seat in the car by mounting handily at eye level on your car’s windshield or dashboard, putting all of your street maps, directions etc. safely in view and easily within reach. Attaches with silicone suction pads and allows easy access to dock connector and headphone jack. When you leave the vehicle, there’s a convenient corner-release which lets you easily detach your device to take it with you, while leaving the mount safely in place. A nice touch is the swiveling ball-and-socket joint which makes it easy to adjust the angle.

Conveniently, it can be used in conjunction with Griffin Technologys PowerJolt charger for iPhone and iPods.

Just out, you can pick it up for $29.99 at Griffin. Also available at Amazon.

Source: gadgetsnews.info

The second everyone heard about the release of this extraordinary phone, millions wanted to get there hands on one. When released, hundreds of people were willing to pay thousands to have the phone the second it hit the market. Even now, months after it’s official release, the iPhone is still hard to find. Although many online stores have it in stock, many others do not. This phone has sleek features that make this one unique device. Starting with the 3.5 inch widescreen display, which also happens to be a touchscreen. This interface gives you touch controls and easier maneuverability. Simply dial a phone number with a few finger strokes, and text message with ease. The phone operates on a Mac OS X, just for all those Mac lovers. This specific device has an installed memory of 16 GB, although it is also available in 8GB also. This gives you enough space to put all your favorite songs, movies and games in to this phone. A phone which holds this amount of multimedia is unconceivable, even to the most up to date gadgeteer.

The PDa has special features include Vibration Notification, Vertical And Horizontal Display, Sound Notification, Security Password, MPEG-4 Video Player and Speakerphone. It also has versatile cell phone bands including GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800 and GSM 1900. Your cell phone will have a talk time of 8 hours and also features SMS and Hands Free Options. There is even a built in digital camera which has a resolution of 2 Megapixels. Your wireless capabilities will include WLAN 802.11b, WLAN 802.11a, WLAN 802.11g and Bluetooth. A 1 year warranty is also included with the iPhone. From a Gadget Addicts perspective, this device has a versatile interface, allowing you to perform different types of multimedia activities from one compact device. Just make sure to treat it carefully, you paid a lot for it, so it will surely cost a lot to repair.

Modern devices help to imagine yourself a painter or musician. But if you have enough creativity, there are five equipments to feel yourself a part of the world of art.
Thanks to the latest devices and technologies almost everyone can be called an artist.

Nowadays it is so easy and pleasant to realize your creative ideas. The following gadgets will help you with that, but, anyway, don’t forget that you need enough patience and talent.

1. If you like drawing but it is really annoying for you to buy all the necessary tools, like tones of paper, pens, pencils, paints, then Wacom’s graphic tablets will easily resolve the problems and guarantee you just pleasure while working with them.

Wacom tablets start from the budget-friendly Bamboo series (starting at ) to the most advanced Cintiq line (which tops out at 99).

Anyway, the principle of the work is the same: while drawing with a stylus on the tablet, it will display directly all the gestures on the screen. The gadget gives the possibility and provides the most natural way to draw on a computer.

With the help of the eraser on the end of the stylus you will be able to correct your picture very neatly. The stylus is a great tool; it can draw thicker or thinner lines according to the pressure. Moreover, it can even alter your pictures depending on your software.

2. Another kind of art that you may also study is stop-motion animation. As a result, you can make your own collection of the works of this interesting art of animating using real-world objects instead of drawings.
The technology is very simple: at first take a picture of an object, then move it a little and take one more picture, etc.

Then, if you play the still frames back, your object will become alive. If you are a fan of these works of art, then you should know that it is so hard to keep the same approach how you moved the object in the previous picture.

In such situation Nikon will help you. The majority of the company’s budget-friendly Coolpix digital cameras have stop-motion function.

You have to activate it just once, and the camera overlays dim versions of the previous pictures on the LCD preview. The feature gives you the possibility easily to line up the next snapshot. After your first work of art, the camera will automatically assemble the pictures into a QuickTime file.

3. If you have a desire to create your own action film on independent labels without spending much money, you can realize it. But you will definitely face the problem while choosing a camera.

Every extreme scene will need its own camera: one should be for scuba-diving scene, another one for fighting scenes, and so on.
So, you need all-in-one but not too expensive camera. Panasonic’s line of cameras based on SD Card has the water-resistant 9 SDR-S10P1 and the 9 SDR-SW20, which is waterproof, shockproof, and dustproof.

Both of them feature shooting wide-screen video. The cameras will help you to create your own extreme films.

4. The Percussion Tubes and the Keyboard Experience are the result of development of modern technologies of ToyQuest’s partnership with the Blue Man Group.

The Percussion Tubes are an order of eight motion-sensitive tubes you may play. They also feature inequable volume and tempo you can influence by waving your hands in the air above them.

Actually, you can use the included drumsticks, but isn’t the first variant more interesting? The Keyboard Experience has two tubes and includes a 37-key synthesizer.

Both devices have an input for an MP3 player, a recording mode and an audio-out jack.

5. If you are a DJ, then you should have a lot of devices, such as turntables, a microphone and an interesting collection of records. Scratches have always been the main problem.

That’s why MixMeister is one of the companies that make DJ software, but MixMeister Scratch might be the only truly portable scratching tool you’ll find.

It runs on the iPhone or the iPod Touch. All you have to do is to play a song from your great collection, choose a scratch type, spin the song on the screen and enjoy your favorite music.

Source: gadgets.infoniac.com