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iPhone live tonight, 6pm PT, 9pm ET, 2am BST

You know the drill, come 6pm PT, 9pm ET, 2am BST, we’ll be taking over the front page of http://www.tipb.com to talk everything iPhone…

…and Android Central’s Phil Nickinson will be joining us to talk about Apple’s little Droid X antennagate video. Fun. Fun.

Be here, and be ready to chat. We want to hear from you.

iPhone live tonight, 6pm PT, 9pm ET, 2am BST is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Apple bumpers arriving, Best Buy giving away free side film for iPhone 4

TiPb iPhone Forum user shaolinfinest let us know last night, and many others have since confirmed, that Best Buy was starting to give away InvisibleShielf protective side films for iPhone 4:

I’m not sure if this has been discussed but Best Buy is starting to receive Zagg kits called “iPhone 4fix” or something like that. Basically Zagg sent us a bunch of invisishield sides to put on customers iPhone 4’s and they are free. The only disclaimer on the kit is that it says shield and install is free but install is up to the associate if they want to put it on or not. Before going in, call your local Best Buy if you are like me and don’t want to put a case on it. I installed the sides today and it was easy to put on and feels ok so far.

Whether or not InvisibleShield provides any protection from signal loss if you’re prone to such things in your area is debatable, but it’s interesting to see how other retailers are competing with Apple’s free bumper program.

Speaking of which, the TiPb iPhone 4 store has the full on front-and-back-protecting InvisibleShield and BodyGuardz in stock, and the Case-Mate Clear Armor available for pre-order. Just don’t use as much liquid to apply it as Dieter did…

We’ve also started to hear that folks are receiving their free Apple bumpers, in some cases a month or more ahead of the previously suggested delivery date. Those who asked for 3rd party cases instead haven’t had any such luck so far.

Of course, Apple’s free bumpers are pretty much restricted to black, and the TiPb iPhone 4 store has more cases in more colors than you can shake a gyro at, so check out Leanna going red, or pick out a color all your own.

See Apple and Best Buy, you don’t get to have all the fun!

[Okay, that was snarky enough to earn a “sponsored” tag]

Apple bumpers arriving, Best Buy giving away free side film for iPhone 4 is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

How’s your iPhone 3G on iOS 4 working?

It’s been a little while now since iOS 4 was released so we thought we’d check back and see how it’s working (or not) for those of you with the 2008 iPhone 3G?

My iPhone 3G (above, yeah, cracked perhaps a tad poetically) really chugged away at first, but after a clean install (not restored from backup) and turning off Spotlight Search, it’s working much better now. Of course, if you’ve gotten used to an iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS, it’s obviously slower but if its your one and only — or newly acquired hand-me-down, it’s almost as fast as it was under iOS 3.x.

Let us know your experience, and if you’ve come across any other speed tips we’d love to hear them.

How’s your iPhone 3G on iOS 4 working? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Apple and magazine publishers at odds over subscriptions?

MediaMemo is saying Time Inc. is having trouble setting up their own subscription service for a Sports Illustrated iPad magazine app:

Last month, the publisher was set to launch a subscription version of its Sports Illustrated iPad app, where consumers would download the magazines via Apple’s iTunes, but would pay Time Inc. directly. But Apple rejected the app at the last minute, forcing the Time Warner (TWX) unit to sell single copies, using iTunes as a middleman, multiple sources tell me.

First, at the iPhone 3.0 event in 2009, Apple showed off App Store subscriptions for magazines alongside in-app purchase, but while in-app purchases are now fairly common, I’m hard pressed to find a showcase example for App Store subscriptions. What happened to them? Are publishers not eager to embrace them or has Apple not provided the mechanism?

Second, it looks like Time is trying to go around the App Store for subscriptions, kind of like what Amazon and Audible do for users who buy books via Mobile Safari on the web but can then download their library in-app. Is Time trying to do something similar to that but not getting their app approved?

So what happened? The Time Inc. insiders I talked to don’t have a clear answer, presumably because they can’t get one from Apple itself. One theory: Apple is concerned about the publisher’s plans for the consumer data it would collect with each subscription. A darker one: Steve Jobs loves the idea of digital magazines and wants to control the market for himself.

“Darker” certainly scores the melodramatic points, but Apple had no problem rolling out iBooks while still allowing the aforementioned Amazon Kindle app and a host of other competitors. They’ve let streaming music and video apps in to vie for music money against iTunes.

Due to the opaque nature of the App Store approval process, and Apple’s secrecy surrounding unannounced features and technology, there’s never an easy way to tell if a delay is political, business related, or because Steve Jobs will be announcing some new magazine-focused API for subscriptions in September.

These are huge companies, there’s a lot of money on the table, and a critical amount of personal user data behind it. I’m sure we’ll see a lot of foot stomping and fist shaking, and press leaks to spin the story. I’m sure we’ll hear cries that evil Apple is denying big publishers their control, and big publishers are gouging users for digital copies. Fine. At the end of the day I want what I think most end users want — an easy, secure, privacy-protecting way to get my magazines (and comics!) on my iPhone and iPad at a fair price. Apple wins. Publishers win. We win.

Let’s figure that out, shall we?

[MediaMemo, thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Apple and magazine publishers at odds over subscriptions? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Apple Peel case attempts to turn iPod touch into iPhone

Apple Peel 520 is an adapter case that just might hack your iPod touch into something closer to an iPhone, courtesy of a VoIP client, SIM card, and a dream:

Powered by an Infineon baseband chip, this adapter not only offers voice calling and text messaging (presumably requiring a jailbroken iPod touch for the apps; GPRS not possible yet), but it also doubles up as an 800mAh battery and provides 4.5 hours of call time or 120 hours of standby juice.

Whether this ever hits the market in Asia — let alone North America — is anyone’s guess but if it did show up, would you want?

Apple Peel case attempts to turn iPod touch into iPhone is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

iOS 4 features: Sync multiple IMAP accounts with Notes

With iOS 4, the built-in Notes app gets the ability to sync with multiple IMAP accounts, including MobileMe and Gmail. When you set up MobileMe or Gmail (not via Google Sync/ActiveSync/Exchange but via the Gmail button) there’s a toggle to turn notes sync on or off.

If you enable notes sync for multiple accounts, you get a new Accounts button at the top left of the Notes app. Tapping it takes you to a new screen where you can choose to view All Notes, just the notes on your iPhone, or just the notes that are synced via IMAP to your email account(s).

Those notes then appear in your desktop and web-based IMAP clients as well, like Apple’s Mac Mail.app (in Marker Felt, ugh!) and Gmail.com.

If you’re using multiple IMAP Notes accounts, let us know how it’s working for you. For more features, see our complete iOS 4 walkthrough.

iOS 4 features: Sync multiple IMAP accounts with Notes is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

iPad Transfer

In order to understand what wealth can mean to a numismatist, it's a good idea to start by defining numismatics for those of us, who have not come across this term before. The definition of numismatics is the study or collection of coins, money, and often medals. Therefore, a numismatist is the person who studies or collects coins, money, or medals. Numismatics did not start as a unique field of study until during the European Renaissance, when archaeologists would utilize coins as consistently datable evidence. This meant that numismatics could work as a parallel science to history, because the coins would often demonstrate the political, social, economic and cultural elements of a country, as depicted by the inscriptions, images and features of the coins. Numismatics can provide its followers with unique opportunities to invest in rare coins, which are a safe and highly investable market, a discussion point worthy of note later in this article, together with an invitation to join a Numismatic network. Therefore, as fascinating as it is to study this science from its different aspects, it is even more interesting to first review the following story of ancient Bactria (now known as Afghanistan and the former Soviet republics of Central Asia), which highlights the immeasurable wealth of numismatics and provides a colorful background to this science.

Ancient Bactria from a Numismatic Perspective:

Back in 330 BC, Alexander the Great and his Macedonian army sought to conquer ancient Bactria. It was arguably his most arduous campaign and the 13,000 Greek soldiers, who were left behind by Alexander to colonize the lands found their task very difficult. For those soldiers who did actually remain, they faced the amazing prospect of connecting the existing, disparate cultures of India, Iran, China and Greece. Unfortunately, this extraordinary story of transition in Bactria after Alexander the Great left has sadly disappeared. Enter the numismatists! Thanks to the conscientious efforts of numismatic experts and amateurs from all over the world, starting predominantly in 1738 onwards, ancient Bactria has been resurrected through the discovery of its ancient coins. These many thousands of unearthed coins depict the names and images of nearly 40 monarchs who ruled Bactria and India, following Alexander's departure. It is worth remembering that Alexander the Great spread the use of coins amidst his various kingdoms. In this instance, one can safely say that “Money talks”, because these precious coins have brought to life ancient monarchs including Antimachus (”The God”) and Agathocles (”The Just”), who would have remained unknown had these coins not been found. Even today, numismatists are still discovering new coin types, sometimes displaying images of known kings and sometimes with images of unknown kings. The coins provide an expressive testimonial to the political, social, military and religious life of the people, who made these coins, which enables historians to piece together life in Bactria. Undoubtedly, a numismatist would argue that each coin represents a text. Even so, this socio-cultural complexity presents our historians with an ever-challenging task of collating the history of Bactria into some semblance of order. Assuredly, the numismatist will state that through the silver and gold of these ancient coins, the Bactrian history during the period of the Greek colonization can be told from start to finish. Such a statement illustrates that numismatics provides wealth from another perspective, namely, a wealth of knowledge about an ancient civilization.

Numismatics and Wealth from the Modern-Day Perspective:

In modern-day society, another meaning of wealth to the numismatist is the investment in rare coins, simply because it can be very profitable. In America, as soon as coins were produced domestically, coin collecting took place. Certainly, the investment in rare coins is considered a sound investment and such investments are even featured in the Wall Street Journal and Money Magazine. For capital appreciation purposes, financial planners recommend that a portion of a person's wealth should be invested in rare coins and precious metals. Having a portfolio of rare coins and/or medals is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also, on a long-term basis, guaranteed to represent a very safe investment, as there is always an inherent demand for rare coins. The definition of “rare” from a numismatic point of view can mean a relatively low mintage, a relatively low survival rate or simply a demand for a particular coin. As coin collecting has been around since ancient times, it was inevitable that the growth of numismatists would lead to the establishment of the American Numismatic Society in 1858.

Most people who are interested in numismatics are keen to know how much it costs to invest in a rare coin. In America, the cost of a rare coin can start from $300 to $7,000,000. As scary as this may appear, it has to be added that the general price for high quality rare coins is from $1,000 - $25,000. After all, there are few people who can afford to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in a rare coin, but there are many of us who can manage to acquire an affordable portfolio of rare coins. Once we understand the cost, many people would like to know where rare coins can be purchased.

Rare coins are often for sale through private dealers, auctions, coin shows or expositions. Certainly, attending such auctions or coin shows can help the novice numismatist to find out more about the value of coins and can increase one's knowledge of numismatics. Once an individual has bought a rare coin, it is satisfying to know that rare coins are more liquid than other collectibles, such as, art or stamps. If a motivated seller wishes to sell a rare coin, then he can expect to sell it within hours or within a few days at the most. In America, the IRS does not need to be informed of purchases or sales by rare coin dealers and rare coins and bullion perform better when inflation is on the rise. All of this information serves to demonstrate that rare coins are an excellent investment, which can assist the numismatist in wealth acquisition. In brief, a single, small rare coin can have a concentrated wealth of thousands of dollars, tens of thousands, or even millions of dollars! There are few collectibles that can boast this type of value. It has been said that over the past 40 years, rare coins and bullion have reliably and consistently out-performed almost every major equity index, even amidst worrying economic conditions.

Conclusion:

Numismatics has an appeal on many levels, but especially because it has helped to piece together the background of ancient civilisations including Bactria. Additionally, the numismatist can acquire a very pleasing collection or portfolio of rare coins, which is rarely dented by adverse economic conditions.

John Carlan - Entrepreneur, Investor, Expert on Numismatic Coins. Owns ZooBlu - a fresh daily deals website http://www.zooblu.com. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Carlan

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iPhone 4 drop test

So you have your shiny new iPhone 4 and are wondering how sturdy the Gorilla Glass really is? Well, the people at iFixYouri have done yet another test and this time with a real, functioning iPhone 4 — and they’ve captured it on video.

WIth a sunny Florida backdrop, they held the iPhone 4 at about 3 ft from the ground and dropped it at an angle. They choose to drop the iPhone 4 on concrete — which is probably one of the rougher surfaces — but did choose a spot that was devoid of pebbles and debris.

On the first drop, the iPhone 4 still functioned normally and only had some slight scratches on it. On the second drop, the iPhone 4 was more scratched and no longer turned on (which may be a greater cause for concern than the glass breaking or chipping). The third drop gave the phone a chip on the edge. It was on the fourth drop that the iPhone 4 screen completely cracked.

Depending on your point of view, this may show great durability or perhaps shockingly weak performance. I was quite saddened by the lack of durability and scratch-resistance. I would have at least expected the iPhone 4’s Gorilla Glass to endure a good 10 drops at 3 feet without shattering. What do you think?

Video after the break. (Warning: Extreme iPhone brutality. May be extremely painful for those who do not yet have the iPhone 4 — like me.)

[Via iFixyouri]

iPhone 4 drop test is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

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It should go without saying that modern conveniences fall into the category of luxury expenses. We as a species have functioned quite well for thousands of years without such items as laptop computers, digital watches, and mp3 players. Money spent on these luxury items is in my view better spent preparing for one's future by saving and investing that money, rather than wasting it on fancy high-tech toys. Nothing represents this awful and irresponsible waste to me better than the Apple iPhone.

While I myself am not opposed to splurging on something fun once in a while, the iPhone takes this spending to a whole new level. Ranging in price from $500-$800 depending on which model and on where and if you are able to locate one, the iPhone represents more than a simple high-tech toy. It is a downright waste of money for all but the wealthiest of consumers. It took me several months to get my own emergency savings and Roth IRA accounts to the level of $800 after my necessary expenses like rent, etc., and I can't imagine throwing all that money away on something as frivolous as an iPhone.

I would put money on the fact that those people who are whipping out their wallets for an iPhone do not have either an emergency fund or a retirement savings account of any form. An iPhone is not much good when you can't afford car repairs if your car breaks down or rent if you lose your job unexpectedly. And that $800 purchase will be worth many times over if it were instead placed into a good long term investment account like a Roth IRA. Just for fun I typed $800 into a compound interest calculator, and I discovered that $800 when left to grow over 30 years will yield approximately $11,553.00 if properly invested. So how affordable does that iPhone seem now?

Wasting what seems like a tolerable amount of money, given the power of compounding investments, has serious consequences on how well off you potentially could be in the future. So don't give in to the techno-hype, folks. If you do, you are significantly short-changing yourself and your future. Instead skip the iPhone and other luxuries and place that money into a long-term retirement account. Trust me, you won't really miss the gadgets, and down the road you will be able to afford all the high-tech toys your little heart will desire; and those high-tech gadgets in thirty years when you do retire will make todays iPhone look like yesterday's slide rule.

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Apple’s magic developer numbers: 100, 100 million, and 1 billion

We’ve all heard huge numbers thrown around as measures of iPhone and iPad App Store success — over 200,000 apps and 5 billion downloads being some of the most recent and most impressive. There’s a couple of other numbers that are even more interesting when it comes to iPhone and iPad development: 100, 100 million, and 1 billion.

Roughly 100 million iOS devices have been sold to data and they are all broadly software compatible. There’s some fragmentation to be sure — older devices are slower, there’s no cameras (yet) on the iPod touch and iPad, no GPS in iPod touch, iPad Wi-Fi, and the iPhone 2G. Apple mitigates this somewhat by offering services such as CoreLocation where, if no GPS is found, it gracefully degrades down to cell tower triangulation or Wi-Fi router mapping. Even the iPad with its odd-device-out 1024×768 display will frame iPhone apps or pixel double them, which is awkward but still workable, still compatible. When iPhone 4 ships, it will be precisely double the vertical and horizontal pixel count of previous generations, meaning older apps will simply look the same as they did before (using 4 pixels in the space they used to use 1).

Likewise, most iOS devices tend to get updated to the latest version of the OS, or at least fairly recent versions. While iOS 4 will drop compatibility for iPhone 2G and iPod touch G1, it will also be free for all other devices for the first time, ensuring iPod touch G2 and G3 owners are more likely to update.

Everything isn’t perfect, but for a vast majority of apps it doesn’t need to be. They just work.

The sheer size of that install base is stunning. Code an app once and deploy it to a theoretical 100 million devices — and growing — all with a drop-dead-easy to use icon on the home screen to help them get your apps?

That’s where the 100 comes in. One of the single biggest advantages Apple had going into the App Store was iTunes and the ability to process credit cards and handle transaction at an international scale. There are App Stores now in almost 100 countries (could be 100 or more now, I lost count at 96). Making an app for 100 milion devices — even if they were broadly compatible — wouldn’t be anywhere near as enticing if a developer couldn’t sell them to more than 1 or 2 countries (especially for the many, many developers who live in those unserviced countries). Again, the App Store isn’t literally everywhere, and due to local laws and ratings requirements they can’t sell games in in a couple places, or have other restrictions, but also again, for the majority of apps it’s an unmatched opportunity. When you consider Apple does all the processing and delivery heavy lifting for a 30% cut of paid apps, and 0% of free apps, allowing developers to develop and not spend time on managing that themselves, it’s easy to see why many of them jump at the chance.

1 billion dollars paid out to developers, as mentioned in the comments below, makes manifest the potential market size of those 100 million devices in about 100 countries. At day’s end — and financial year’s end — many developers will go where the money is.

There’s one last set of numbers to touch on as well. The iOS SDK frameworks. They provide an incredibly rich set of functionality developers get “for free” when making apps for the iPhone and they don’t exist (as directly portable options) on other platforms. Accelerate alone offers 2000 hardware-powered math API for games. Never mind CoreAnimation, CoreData, Game Center, the UI elements, and everything else that rounds out the kit. If portability isn’t the prime concern, they greatly enhance ease of development.

Apple isn’t wasting the chance to show that off. They just posted a video showcasing developers for developers [QuickTime link — tip of the hat to 9to5Mac]

The flip side of that, of course, is the trade off in control made for convenience and opportunity. There are certain apps Apple won’t let into their store, and no guarantee they won’t pull an app (or whole class of them) even after they’re in the store. Having humans review apps makes app review subject to human error. Also, for every hit-it-rich app in the store there will be many, many times more that don’t break even.

For developers writing mainstream apps, nowhere near the edge-cases, it will probably never be an issue. Edge-cases, however, are often where some of the most interesting developments come from. Further, if you do use a lot of those API and you want to move to other or multiple platforms, you’re likely in for a lot of recoding, including a lot from scratch.

Palm, with parties, cross-compilers, and the chance for a nice payday, and Google with factually challenged trash-talk at I/O and a lightning fast JIT (just-in-time compiler) and Flash support, aren’t wasting the chance to show that off either.

Apple’s magic developer numbers: 100, 100 million, and 1 billion is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

ivr converter

Mini Countertop Spin Dryer

Gadgets are obviously just cooler with they’re miniature.  After all, that is why for the most part gadgets get smaller and smaller.  Well now you can even have a mini clothes dryer.  It’ll mean you can dry out your clothing just about anywhere you like.  Even if you’re out of town at some random hotel, you’ll still manage to get your clothing nice and dry.

This dryer is a spin dryer, which means that it extracts more water from your clothing than a normal washing machine.  This compact dryer could be paired with the Wonderwash Mini Washing Machine if you prefer to do all of you laundry directly on your countertop.  This dryer can handle about 1-2 pairs of jeans per load, so it can’t exactly handle a whole lot.  You can purchase the tiny dryer for $77.89 through Amazon.

Source: GadgetGrid

Tech Cult – We cover the latest tech news, but always with a funny twist.[ Mini Countertop Spin Dryer copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Kevin Costner is trying to prevent Oilworld

I suppose that words are insufficient to describe the environmental damage of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that is still going on.

I’ve heard a lot about all the failed attempts to fight the spill, but there is a machine that can supposedly extract 97 percent of the oil from the water.

This machine is being promoted by none other than Kevin Costner. Apparently the actor is quite the environmentalist, and he has been funding this particular project for about 15 years with his brother.

I have included a video after the jump so you can see the actor who portrayed Elliot Ness, Robin Hood, and various other roles claim that he has a device that can clean up the 200 gallon a minute problem.

If he really has been working on this device for 15 years, then he must have just started after he had finished the movie Waterworld. Most people bring that movie up every time they mention a bomb of a film, but I’m guessing that the environmental message of the film was enough to inspire Costner to do something. How many films have done that?

Well, I hope that this device is as incredible as it claims. As you can see from the video, they are working on extracting the other 3 percent of oil from the water, making it safe enough to drink!

Source

Cool Gift Idea: Digital Picture Frames, check out our reviews.[ Kevin Costner is trying to prevent Oilworld copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

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Rand Paul's win could be bad <b>news</b> for Republicans – Telegraph Blogs

The biggest loser from Rand Paul's win in the Kentucky Republican Senate primary is Mitch McConnell. When the party's base ignores an endorsement from a sitting senator and minority leader then candidates anywhere who become labeled as …

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Small Business <b>News</b>: The State Of Small Business | Small Business <b>…</b>

What is the state of small business? Unlike the State of the Union, we need a report more than once a year and here is the latest. A recovery is coming,

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