iPad By Davis: “I-MEGO Throne Headphones” plus 13 more |
- I-MEGO Throne Headphones
- Whatever happened to Siri Eyes Free?
- Google forks WebKit, announces new Blink rendering engine
- Chordion for iPad review
- Twitter updated, allows users to install and open apps from tweets
- Microsoft SkyDrive wakes up, brings iPhone 5 and iPad mini support
- iPad: 3 years later
- How to use Voice Over on iPhone and iPad
- WordPress iPad App Updated – Mostly Bug Fixes
- Pad & Quill Announce the Aria for iPad Case
- DataMan Pro for iPhone review
- 3 Years Ago Today – the Original iPad Launch
- Deal of the Day: 51% off Incipio EDGE PRO Hard Shell Slider Case for iPhone 5
- Editor's desk: NYC -- and BlackBerry -- bound
| Posted: 03 Apr 2013 09:34 PM PDT The I-MEGO Throne Headphones look great, but how do they sound? Watch the video above and find out!
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| Whatever happened to Siri Eyes Free? Posted: 03 Apr 2013 06:49 PM PDT
Ten months ago at WWDC 2012 Apple introduced Siri Eyes Free for integrating Siri voice interactivity with automobiles. On the screen behind Scott Forstall were the logos of nine auto manufacturers: Audi, BMW, Chrysler, GM, Honda, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes, and Toyota. To date, only one manufacturer has delivered: GM. They committed in November to integrating Siri into the youth-oriented Chevrolet Sonic and Spark, demoed the integration at CES 2013, and cars equipped with the feature finally started rolling off the assembly line in Michigan last month. Chevy has already started advertising Siri Eyes Free integration for the Sonic on television across the United States. For their part, Honda committed in January to adding Siri Eyes Free to the Honda Accord and Acura RDX and ILX at some point later this year. But what about the other manufacturers on that list? There's yet to be a peep from BMW about a Siri-enabled Mini Cooper or from Chrysler on when you'll be able to press a button on your Jeep Wrangler's steering wheel and get a reservation through Open Table. So, out of the nearly 200 models in their respective stables, why are there only two on the road and three more coming later this year after ten months after Siri Eyes Free was announced? Put simply: cars take a long time to make and are really quite expensive to make. In the consumer technology industry we're used to watching flagship devices get updated annually, if not more frequently. These updates range from performance improvements and design tweaks to complete overhauls, but usually don't substantially affect the price from the previous year. The car industry is the same way, just usually spread out over several years. Take, for example, the 8th generation Honda Civic. It was introduced in 2005 as a 2006 model year vehicle and produced all the way through 2011. The car was largely unchanged through the first four years, receiving a facelift and minor tech upgrade with the 2009 model year, and persisting until the 2012 Civic landed. That's seven years of essentially the same car - the Civic 8 and Civic 8S, if you will. Both electronics and automobiles have typically long development times. The next iPhone, the next next iPhone, and the next next next iPhone are all likely bumping around the labs in Cupertino, just as Honda's busy working on the mid-cycle refresh to the current Civic (probably coming in 3-5 years) and building the next from-scratch Civic people will be buying seven or eight years from now. The difference, however, is that while our smartphones and tablets are wondrously complicated devices, they're relatively simple compared to automobiles. My iPhone has a processor, GPU, RAM, flash storage, a battery, a touchscreen, two cameras, two speakers, two microphones, two ports, four radios, and five buttons. A brand new Civic comes with all of that, plus a few more speakers, seats, airbags, doors, an electric steering system, suspension, five-speed automatic transmission, and a four-cylinder internal combustion engine with hundreds of moving parts that have to work together in precise action because they're harnessing the power of exploding gasoline. In short: cars are massively complicated.
The problem with that is that the relatively speedy pace with consumer technology is so publicly advancing, the automotive industry is having trouble keeping up with expectations. Take, for example, the 2012 Honda Civic. It was a competent car, but because of the several-year lead time that goes into car development, Honda miscalculated and released a car that while a complete overhaul of everything that went into the previous generation Civic was a disappointment to consumers and the automotive press alike. So poor was the reaction that Honda rushed an emergency refresh out the door just a year later - likely pulling forward by a few years the planned mid-cycle refresh for the car and making their designers and engineers go bald in the process. Further complicating the mechanical intricacy of the modern automobile is government oversight. Which isn't a bad thing, mind you - government oversight is why all new cars sold in the United States these days have airbags and seat belts and rearview cameras. But government oversight also puts additional restrictions on what manufacturers can do, from the technical aspects regarding pedestrian impact standards and allowable emissions to what car makers can put inside the cabin to keep you informed and entertained on your drive. While Siri Eyes Free is intended to make it easier to use your iPhone and drive, the automakers are understandably hesitant in their implementation of new technologies. Government oversight of so-called "infotainment" systems in modern cars is just starting to ramp up - government oversight is notoriously slow to react to new technologies and prone to reacting the wrong way because it's something they just don't understand. But the byzantine labyrinth of regulations that automakers have to negotiate means that they tend to act prudently, often to the chagrin of their engineers and designers (Volvo, for example, has developed a system to actively block a portion of the light for their cars' high beams so they can be left on without blinding approaching traffic, but regulations in the US don't allow for headlights to be blocked in such a manner). But within nine months of announcement, Chevy had updated the Sonic and Spark to include Siri Eyes Free. Neither car was due yet for a mid-cycle refresh and they didn't receive one. When there's incentive - as with cars decidedly marketed towards a younger audience - automakers aren't afraid to mix things up. Ford too hasn't been shy when it comes to updating their vehicles more frequently - the Mustang saw several upgrades over the past few years as Ford engaged in a battle for specs and sales supremacy with Chevy's Camaro. That's when there's something at stake, be it capturing young buyers in the highly competitive compact car segment or fighting for a victory in the press and giving enthusiasts reason to crow over the competition. But elsewhere, upgrades and updates are slow to happen, responding to traditional development cycles and market pressures. And that's for one simple reason: cars are expensive, and getting more so. The average new car these days clocks in at well over $20,000. That Chevy Sonic with Siri Eyes Free will costs a minimum of $17,050. Honda's 2013 Accord starts at $21,680. Your iPhone 5? That starts at $649.00 for an unlocked 16GB model. Smartphones and tablets might be expensive, but they're nothing compared to automobiles. Additionally, with the exception of high-end luxury and performance cars, the profit margins on cars are actually much slimmer than in the consumer electronics industry. The design, testing, and manufacturing investments for a new car total in the billions of dollars, plus hundreds of millions more spent every year on advertising, promotional discounts, and in-house financing. Very few people upgrade to a new car every year or even every few years. They're expensive to make, and thus they're expensive to buy. For its size, the iPhone may too qualify as an expensive device, but a $200 upgrade with a two-year contract every other year isn't as hard of a pill to swallow as plunking down twenty g's for a new ride. Customers don't want or expect to be able to upgrade to a new model year car every year, so manufacturers have adjusted their processes to accommodate accordingly. The offshoot is that generational upgrades typically produce a substantially better vehicle than the preceding generation. The long development times have allowed for highly refined performance, mileage, and build quality even at the low end of the line-ups from nearly every manufacturer. But that also means that it can take a long time for new technologies to trickle across the entire line-up. It's been several years since Bluetooth first started appearing in cars, and it's just now starting to become a standard feature in most new cars.
The complexity of adding a new feature like Siri Eyes Free to a car can vary depending on how the automaker wants to handle the implementation. If they just want to let Siri hijack the Bluetooth action button already present in most new cars, it's a matter of programming. But if they want to give interactive voice control on phones its own button - Siri's not the only game in town here; we'd be surprised if Google's Android voice control isn't also soon compatible with automotive Bluetooth applications - then not only is there software to worry about, there's adding a new button to the steering wheel with all of the thorough testing that goes along with that. Eventually, assuming Apple is actively working with automakers, we wouldn't be surprised to see Siri Eyes Free become a standard feature across several manufacturers. The iPhone is obviously a popular device, but automakers need to feel the pressure to move implementation up sooner than Apple wanted - Forstall said on that stage back in June that those nine manufacturers were going to have Siri Eyes Free was going to see an implementation in their vehicles within a year. We can all but guarantee that's not happening. There's at least one option, though, if you happen to want to add Siri Eyes Free to your car now. It's called Mobile Home, and it's brought to you by Texas-based Beanco Technology. The $59.00 lighter-sized black rectangle clips to your car's visor (or can mount elsewhere with the included velcro pads) and provides Siri Eyes Free functionality to your Bluetooth-equipped car (it can work with both integrated Bluetooth systems and third-party plug-in systems). Mobile Home - we really don't like the name for a device that goes in your car, but whatever - is essentially a Bluetooth 4.0 home button, and as you'd expect, pressing and holding it activates Siri. It's powered by a small cell battery, but with the low-power Bluetooth 4.0 battery, Beanco estimates Mobile Home should get up to six months of battery life. Mobile Home sent me a sample of the product several weeks ago and I've been using it in my car, and it works exactly as you'd expect. My only complaints would be that it doesn't auto-pair with my phone without prompting (push the button), but that's a limitation of Bluetooth, iOS, and not being integrated with the car, and that it doesn't have any music control buttons. All of the other frustrations I experienced using Mobile Home are attributable to the limitations of Siri itself and the reality of yelling at a remote voice-interpreting server from inside a car hurtling down the highway at 70 miles per hour and all of the noise associated with doing such. There's also the price, currently Mobile Home rings in at $59.00 with a supposedly special launch price discount of $20. That's essentially sixty bucks for a cell battery, Bluetooth radio, and a button. But having the luxury and safety benefits of being able to use Siri without picking up your iPhone to do it might be worth it, especially if you use Siri often in your car. An added safety benefit is that hooking up Mobile Home locks out the iPhone's keyboard, leaving Siri's voice input as your only input. You can still post to Twitter and Facebook, if that's your thing, you'll just have to say it instead of typing it. Siri Eyes Free will likely eventually propagate across car line-ups. Automakers are slow to add new technologies, thanks to the elaborate nature of automobiles, restrictive government regulations, and the absurd cost that goes into designing and building these machines. And that's not even factoring in the cost and time of training dealerships to properly demonstrate these technologies and educating customers as to what they do and why they want them. With Chevy putting some marketing muscle behind having Siri integration in the Sonic, there might be a push to make Eyes Free integration happen faster with other manufacturers. But with multi-year generational life cycles, we wouldn't expect that to happen quickly. 
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| Google forks WebKit, announces new Blink rendering engine Posted: 03 Apr 2013 03:12 PM PDT
Google has announced that they're forking the Apple-led open source WebKit to create their own, new Blink HTML rendering engine. According to the Chromium blog:
The impetus seems to be this: by forking WebKit into Blink, Google believes they can iterate and deploy changes faster than if they stay within the bigger, more complex WebKit system. In essence, they're taking a page out of Apple playbook and assuming control of their core technologies. How this plays out for end users -- whether the pace of innovation increases more than any slowdown resulting from less compatibility -- remains to be seen. Ironically, Apple likely forked KHTML/Safari to make WebKit, in part, for similar reasons. They wanted a light codebase that didn't suffer from the overhead of the existing Mozilla userbase. Also interesting: the Mozilla/Samsung Servo announcement, a new, lightweight, security-first rendering engine that'll come to Android, also hit today. Sucker punch and overhead right at WebKit all in one day. Probably not a coincidence. Also, Samsung using Servo, not Blink... That might be the most interesting -- and most telling -- part of today's machinations: is it a platform play? So how do you feel about the move? Better for the web, worse for the web, or net neutral for the web? (No pun intended.) Insert your best "begun these browser wars have" For more on the history of WebKit, see our Debug podcast interview with Don Melton, former head of the Safari team at Apple. Source: Chromium blog 
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| Posted: 03 Apr 2013 01:30 PM PDT
Chordion is a music creation app for iPad that makes it easy for non-musicians to make music, yet includes advanced settings and modes for experienced musicians to get even more out of Chordion.
Chordion is setup with a keyboard on the right and big chord buttons on the left. Holding down a chord will either play through the notes set up in the arpeggiator or strum a chord, depending on the settings (arpeggiator is default). The keyboard is also setup so that only notes that are associated with the chord and key you're playing in for will be available. This means that anything you play will sound good. Hitting the play button will play a drum beat for you to play your music with.
Right out of the box, Chordion is ready for music creation, but the main screen is completely customizable. These settings include which key and scale to play from, how many chords are displayed (7, 12, 14, or 24), and the range of the keyboard. You can also create custom beats with the drum machine using kick, snare, closed hi-hat, cowbell, clap, and cymbal as well as customize the arpeggiator. For even more control, you can adjust the reverb, envelope, timbre, tremolo, wah, vibrato, and delay.
Chordion also allows you to record you music and supports MIDI which lets you play other instruments using Chordion's interface. The good
The bad
The bottom lineI grew up playing piano and a little guitar and consider myself an intermediate-level musician. Chordion is a great music app that lets anyone, even young children, pick up and immediately create music that sounds good. And those who have more knowledge of chords, scales, and beats, can make custom adjustments and use a more complicated setup for even more control.
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| Twitter updated, allows users to install and open apps from tweets Posted: 03 Apr 2013 12:27 PM PDT
Twitter for iOS has been updated, adding the ability to install and launch apps from tweets. Apps with support for the latest Cards functionality will automatically add a link to open or install the app when a user tweets from it, along with a short description of the app. Twitter says that this update also contains general performance enhancements, including faster launch times. "Retweeted by" in tweet detail is now tappable. There were also a couple of bug fixes, including one that prevented users from undoing retweets. If you use Twitter for iOS, let us know what you think of these changes.
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| Microsoft SkyDrive wakes up, brings iPhone 5 and iPad mini support Posted: 03 Apr 2013 11:26 AM PDT
The Microsoft SkyDrive app has finally been updated to version 3.0, ten months and two days after its last update, bringing support for the iPhone 5 and iPad mini. Other enhancements include letting users download their photos in their full resolution, better support for SkyDrive-connected apps for uploading and opening files, and bug fixes. The update to SkyDrive was delayed almost a year while Apple and Microsoft argued over Apple's cut of in-app purchases. Apple demands a 30% cut for anything sold in the App Store, and Microsoft was attempting to get a better deal. SkyDrive users can purchase a subscription for more storage on the web, but Microsoft does not offer the option to pay through its iOS app due to Apple's policies. It is likely that Microsoft ultimately relented in order to get their app updated to support the iPhone 5. If you're a SkyDrive user, grab the update and tell us what you think.
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| Posted: 03 Apr 2013 10:48 AM PDT 3 years ago today, Apple shipped the original iPad Wi-Fi. It had been called unimaginative. It had been called unnecessary. Even after Steve Jobs had taken the stage only a few months earlier and made the case that there was room for a new product category between the smartphone and the laptop, even after Apple's multitouch interface had mainstreamed computing like never before, it was called "just a big iPhone". And it was. An iPhone gone IMAX. Widescreen experiences gone tall screen. Single column apps gone double column. Small device gone big. If analysts didn't get it, if pundits didn't get it, if everyone inside Apple didn't get the full extent of it, it didn't matter. We got it. By the millions. Tens of millions. It was early days still, before they were comfortable enough to have Peter Coyote say technology alone wasn't enough. But even in its original form, the iPad made computing accessible to people for whom even Macs were confusing and intimidating, for whom mice and keyboards were awkward and off-putting, for whom multiple windows were frustrating and disorienting, for whom everything about a personal computers was still far too impersonal. It empowered them. Three years later, with the web in the palm of our hands, with games and videos that fill our field of vision, with apps that let us finger-paint with productivity and pinch and swipe and tap information around the world, with sizes both full and mini, the iPad is a success. Undeniably, phenomenally, transformative-ly, confounding-ly a success. And it's only been three years. How far can the iPad go in another three? 
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| How to use Voice Over on iPhone and iPad Posted: 03 Apr 2013 09:27 AM PDT
The iPhone and iPad have some great accessibility features features for people with hearing or sight impairments that makes using iOS more enjoyable and less frustrating. For sight impaired individuals, the Voice Over feature allows your iPhone or iPad to speak selections and add custom gestures so you know exactly what you're tapping on before selecting it. Whether you yourself are visually impaired or you know an iOS user who is, follow along for instructions on activating Voice Over and how to use it. How to activate Voice Over on iPhone and iPad
How to use Voice Over on iPhone and iPadVoice over changes the gestures in iOS in order to make it easier for visually impaired individuals to know what they're tapping on before they actually select it. Here are some tips to using Voice Over.
For more tips and tricks regarding Voice Over, we recommend using the Voice Over Practice option within the Voice Over settings menu. This allows you to tap the screen as you'd like and the iPhone or iPad will speak aloud what that action does system wide. This will help get someone used to how Voice Over works and what commands trigger what actions. If you've come across any interesting Voice Over options, feel free to share them in the comments below! 
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| WordPress iPad App Updated – Mostly Bug Fixes Posted: 03 Apr 2013 08:56 AM PDT
The WordPress app for iPad and iOS was updated yesterday, to Version 3.5.2. This update contains mostly important sounding bug fixes and a couple of minor enhancements. Here's the full change list:
The WordPress iOS app has improved since its disastrous early days, but it clearly still has its share of bugs. I don't even attempt to use it for writing posts, but I do find it very useful for moderating comments on my iPad mini. For writing blog posts my go-to app is Posts Do we have any WordPress app users here? If so, what do you...         Related Stories
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| Pad & Quill Announce the Aria for iPad Case Posted: 03 Apr 2013 08:20 AM PDT
I posted a few weeks back about the gorgeous looking new Aria for iPad mini Case from Pad & Quill. Now there's good news for owners of iPad 2/3/4 models – Pad & Quill have announced the Aria for iPad – and it looks just as handsome as its little buddy. P&Q reckon the Aria for iPad is 'the most beautiful case we've ever crafted' – and that's saying something give their track record for producing great looking cases. Both the Aria for iPad and the Aria for iPad mini are hand crafted book design cases – made with a combination of boot leather and baltic birch wood. Here are some of the cases' other notable features:
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| Posted: 03 Apr 2013 07:44 AM PDT
Most of us live in a world of tiered and capped data plans all the while wanting to stream videos, podcasts, music, and more. While we normally manage to adjust our habits to only use data hungry apps while connected to WiFi, it isn't always possible. DataMan Pro for iPhone can't give endless amounts of data but it can help you control how much of it you're using by keeping a watchful eye on your data plan limits. After downloading DataMan Pro you'll be asked for some basic setup information including what your data cap is and what your current data usage is. For this, you'll only want to include cellular usage, not WiFi. You'll only need this number once and can typically access it by logging into your carrier's site and viewing your current usage. It's good to keep in mind that carrier's data can be up to 24 hours behind in most cases so if you typically come dangerously close to your data limit, you may want to pad that number.
Once all your information is input, you'll be taken to the main menu of DataMan Pro which includes some key information on your data usage. At the top you'll be given a rating pertaining to where you are in your current data cycle. A safe rating means you have low odds of exceeding your cap for the month. The large percentage in the middle of the screen represents the amount of data you've already used in your current cycle. Below that you'll see how many days you have remaining to go. The bottom information shows a breakdown of the data you've accumulated on both cellular and WiFi.
You also have the ability with DataMan Pro to see exactly what apps are using your data allowing you to change settings where needed if data usage with a particular app is becoming a problem. To access a breakdown of what apps are using your data, swipe up from the bottom of the screen on the main DataMan Pro usage screen. Here you'll see a breakdown of what has used your data. It's important to note that this is only representative of what is using your data when connected to cellular and does not calculate WiFi data. You'll notice if you're only using WiFi, nothing will aggregate under the app breakdown section. It'd be nice to see this changed to reflect both cellular and WiFi since some people do still have capped home internet plans as well. DataMan Pro also offers a few additional features including customizable push notifications to let you know when you're nearing your data cap. To access the settings menu just swipe left on the main screen. Here you can change options for your data plan as well as update usage alert thresholds.
The good
The bad
The bottom lineDataMan Pro is not only a great way to track data usage directly on your iPhone but a good informational resource that lets you know exactly what apps are the most data hungry. Some users may even find certain apps polling data they aren't aware of and be able to make changes accordingly within settings. While this will work great for individual plans or data caps that are calculated on a per line basis, it won't be as friendly to those on pooled data plans. Since I'm on a Mobile Share plan with AT&T, there's no way for me to link my account and have DataMan Pro pull data that other lines are using. It's possible to split up the data plan yourself but it'd be nice to see an option that's better suited for users on shared data plans whether that's using estimates initially or somehow linking into carrier accounts to pull data accordingly.
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| 3 Years Ago Today – the Original iPad Launch Posted: 03 Apr 2013 07:23 AM PDT
Three years ago today, right around this time of the morning (9:10AM) I was paying for my first iPad on launch day for the original iPad. I had launched iPad Insight just a couple days after Steve Jobs announced the iPad in January of 2010 – and I was about as eager as anyone to see it launched by the time April 3rd rolled around. I was outside my local Apple store at around 6:30AM and was very happy to be the 7th person in the reserved line (this was a launch where Apple let you pre-order and reserve to collect it at your local Apple store). My iPad launch day experience was superb at the Apple store at Barton Creek Mall here in Austin – and my high expectations for the iPad were met and exceeded on that very first day of owning one. How many of you bought the original iPad on launch day? What was your experience like that day? © patrickj for iPad Insight, 2013. | ...  Related Stories
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| Deal of the Day: 51% off Incipio EDGE PRO Hard Shell Slider Case for iPhone 5 Posted: 03 Apr 2013 07:00 AM PDT | ||||||
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Editor's desk: NYC -- and BlackBerry -- bound
Posted: 03 Apr 2013 04:48 AM PDT
I'm sitting at the gate waiting for my flight to New York City where I'll be working with Kevin Michaluk, David Lundblad, and the Mobile Nations team on a bunch of really cool stuff we're hoping to tell you, and everyone, about really soon. I'll also be attending the NYC CrackBerry party, where the CB team will be celebrating the launch of the BlackBerry Z10 and the new CrackBerry redesign, maybe in that order.
I've been using the Zed10 (it is proudly Canadian, after all) off and on for a couple of weeks now, but I look forward to seeing how hardcore CrackBerry users take to it. The future by definition disrupts the past, and that always leads to as much frustration as joy. It's going to be an uphill battle, but at the very least, BlackBerry is back in that battle.
And if you're eager to see what Apple might have in store for us this year, don't forget to check out the new rumors that branched off last night.
Plane's boarding, see you in NYC. If you're at the party, please do say hello.
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