Everyday, there are a bunch of Apple stories that hit the web, bu  tI only like to cover what I feel is the most intriguing. I think i have tried all of the 3rd party applications known to man, and what it comes down to when choosing the ones that will stay on your springboard, is “which one will provide the most swift and efficient satisfaction?” Today the 2nd beta for IntelliScreen was released for the iPhone. IntelliScreen, pretty much takes out the only good thing about Windows Mobile, and gives you a “Today Screen” which displays:

-SMS

-Email

-iCal

-News Feeds

-Weather

-Sports

You choose the ones you want to show up (I only use, SMS, Mail, and Weather) but its a great way to summarize all of your “need to know” info in an instant. Whats great about this application is that you can also LAUNCH from the mini feed menu! so lets say you see and SMS or email you dont really need to rush to, you can view it on IntelliScreen and just shrug it off. But if you see an email or SMS come in that you want to get to immediately, just “swipe” and click “launch ***” (see photo). This will also auto-refresh your email.

Hopefully in final release we can see some additions like:

-RSS

-opacity settings

-iTunes controller

Installation instructions and video after the jump

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This article is completely non-Apple related but i feel like I have to write it for certain people who want a new phone but do not really want to head into the iPhone direction. Before the my beloved iPhone entered my life, I was an avid Blackberry user. I do have to say, without any regret, is that it was probably one of the most reliable mobile devices i had ever used. Many people think “Business” when it comes to the Blackberry name, but it is mainly because of the reliability.

I strongly believe in your mobile device being able to keep you connected in every aspect possible from the phone, text and MMS client to 3rd party apps (QIK, social network clients, etc) and of course reliable e-mail. This Phone definitely has

Introducing the new Blackberry Bold. If i did not have an iPhone this would be my next purchase. This AT&T first exclusive (followed by a T-Mobile release, then Verizon I’m sure) release phone will hit stores any day now. With the 3G revolution stirring about this 3G Blackberry will fit right in. This revamped phone has all of the normal (but advanced) BB features, plus a crap-ton more including: Read the rest of this entry »

During my latest Twitter post I noticed the one and only Cali Lewis requesting an invitation to a beta site called Evernote. To tell you the truth I have never heard of this so decided to check it out. I had to wait about a day for an invitation, but since then my internet life has become more organized and interesting than ever.

Evernote is a superbly innovative site, which combined with a desktop client (for Mac or Windows), and mobile support, makes it a great way to keep all of your internet happenings readily available for use anytime. Here is how it works:

-Sign up at Evernote.com

-Install the desktop client for your Mac or PC (not necessary but very useful)

-Drag the web clipper to your bookmark toolbar for easy clipping

-Rock it.

I wont go into explaining much, but in a nutshell, Evernote will allow you to highlight, any section of any website for future reference, with all links in tact. You can view them offline (with the desktop client). You can upload photos (via email using a special Evernote email) that will save in your notes online, which again, you ca view online or with your desktop client. Evernote also has an amazing integration with the a search bar on the desktop client, which can detect words in pictures you so happen to be searching for. Just take my word for it, check out the video (Below) and get registered with Evernote.

-Jake

The day is nearing when the new iPhone will be announced! Most likely June 9th during the Apples WWDC. Although what do we have to look forward to? There had been a lot of talk and speculation ever since the SDK was released so, Lets explore that shall we?

First off, we can obviously check off 3G support because that has already been confirmed. Surprisingly enough not only is the public ready for it, but so is T-Mobile!! Kind of strange how they just so happen to roll out 3G when we are among word of the hi-speed iPhone. Coincidence? Probably, but after speaking with a T-Mobile rep (fixing up some internet issues) it seems the iPhone is an everyday set-up for them. T-Mobile knows a lot of their service is supporting the AT&T exclusive device so why not take it up a notch with 3G. To also clear up any speculation about T-Mobile’s 3G, it was stated by blogs that it will be voice support only, when in fact T-Mobile’s press release leaves open the possibility of voice and data service.

Everything from here on out people can only guess and use their sources to their capacity. Kevin Rose had made a prediction a while back saying there will be 3G, ichat, video support, and front mounted video for video chat. With the recent unveiling of Video Recorder, 3rd part app that gives your iphone video capability, it makes the possibility seem more likely. The reason i think it may NOT happen is because I feel there i not going to be a major change in hardware. It’s just like a Blackberry. They do not add all of those extras, and in doing so sales hardly suffer. Plus with confirmation of the new $199 price tag, i doubt you will get a whole bunch more than the 1st generation iPhone.

This leads to the re-design of the iPhone. There was a whole bunch of rumors that the Phone would turn out to be an all BLACK design, which was supported with photos. This turned out to e some 3rd party Japanese housing you can buy online. Then Gizmodo gives us a story, from iLounge, which details specs for the “new” iPhone from peripheral manufacturers. These new specs show a new sensor arrangement, which could bring us back to the possibility of a front mounted camera, and a whole new color scheme (White, Red, or Black). This is probably the most influential source of material i have received thus far.

The fact of the matter is, there is not any one person that knows more that 3G for sure. For all we know we may be seeing a completely revamped, better working iPhone that will make the first gen obsolete, or the “new and improved” iPhone will pretty much be the same, saving all of us early adopters the time of putting them on eBay to upgrade.

Photos via Gizmodo and Engadget.

-Jake

For the past couple of weeks I have been trying to decide on what my phone of choice will be. Right now i own the one and only iPhone 8GB version, which I LOVE. After seeing native apps like GPS, and services like QIK, to name a couple, I cant help but feel somewhat inferior to N95 owners. After much consideration, time, and inquiries, there is only one way I can go with the decision….

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From day one i had not been a huge fan of big social networking sites. I could not get into Live Journal, I don’t really care for MySpace, and did not understand the use of Twitter. Now after tons of trial and error, to see what really keeps you in touch and what doesn’t I am now very much within the social networking..network. But with careful consideration, I feel there are only a few worthy of getting the job done.

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Im still torn and doing a ton of research to decide if I should stick with my iPhone or switch over to the awesome Nokia N95… story soon

-Jake

First and foremost, the reason I am giving these needed suggestions on protection is i have got plenty of emails asking what’s good, what sucks, and what’s unnecessary. Ok here we go. After investing in something beautiful like a Macbook Pro, you will want to treat it like its your kid…a very expensive kid. Those of you owners know what I’m talking about. After spending lots of time and money i think a have come up with the perfect bundle that will take care of your laptop and make it look good at the same time. All of these products can be purchased from their websites, or get a deal on eBay. I will also go over what the best kind of carrying case is. Click story for the list…

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As a long time Starbucks employee,   I can now safetly say, “It’s bout F@##ing time!” A while ago there was some rumors, going around about AT&T taking over Starbucks Wi-Fi, which would not only kick T-Mobile to the curb (which is what they get for the bull crap price of $19.99 for hotspot service), but offer FREE wireless to frequenting starbucks customers. Even as an employee I still could’nt get a WiFi “hook-up.” Today a San Antonio Starbucks cafe was shown to have the AT&T service pop up when connecting to Wi-Fi and their favorite store. This is good…very very good. I hope this roll-out happens FAST! The way i understand it is: People with a Starbucks Card (gift or Duetto) will get 2 hours of free WiFi every day for as long as they have the card(s). I guess to show that you are at least a customer. This is a good deal. Finally Starbucks gets smart. Oh yeah if you still pay for T-Mobile HotSpots you can still access them at Starbucks. ::High Five::

-Jake

Here is the scoop: T-Mobile had spent about $4 billion dollars through FCC auction for 3G capability which has yet to be used. Now statistics show that T-Mobile is more of the underdog as far as coverage and speed features are concerned but will soon move away from that to go head to head with companies like Verizon and Sprint. T-Mobile 3G should be announced this year, to include the high speed wireless we are all dying for.. This may go hand in hand with the release of the iPhone 3G release…maybe…yes?.. I don’t know, we will see. The only thing keeping T-Mobile afloat right now is that it is the #1 text messaging company, hands down, especially with the exclusive and very gay awesome Sidekick. The N95 is looking more and more appealing at this point.

-Jake

Alright ladies and gentlemen, the moment we have been waiting for has finally arrived: The return of our beloved Demonoid. A couple of hour ago everybodys favorite torrent site was re-established. Everything seems to be as good as before and I am testing it out now, so head to Demonoid which is now open to the public with nothing added other than a disclaimer on the front page that says:

“Welcome back!

Since a few months ago, Deimos, the site administrator, lacks the necessary time to take care of the website, because of personal matters he’s been needing to attend to. For this reason, he has decided to leave the site staff.

Before leaving, he assigned a new site administrator from among his friends to take care of the site. The old moderator team will continue helping with the site, unchanged. We will try to keep running everything just as it always has been.

The trackers and website seem to be working properly, and should any issues arise, they will be taken care of as soon as possible. The site might be going on and offline over the next days as we work out any problems.

Welcome back, and enjoy your stay!

- Umlauf
Demonoid Site admin”

Is anybody else as excited as I am?

via Demonoid

-Jake

My favorite web host, and producer of Mahalo Daily, Veronica Belmont is going to be the new Co-Host on Revision 3’s Tekzilla with Patrick Norton. The former CNET show creator, who has also been on shows like  DL.TV, MSNBC, CNBC, the G4 Network, “PC Gamer,” and “This Week in Tech” , will add a sort of fresh take on the already failry good podcast. A few episodes ago she co-hosted, and it made the show that much more enjoyable….and more good lookin. Great choice by Revision 3 and be sure to subscribe to Tekzilla with your favorite podcast reader.

-Jake

via Revision 3

Apple announced that they rule the world. Well, close… The company announced that they beat out Wal-Mart  as the #1 music retailer in the US. Its not really a big surprise, seeing as how iTunes is probably more of a household name than Wal-Mart. Plus, on iTunes, you can buy songs with bad words on them! Since music and movies are heading to 100% digital anyway, you can always count on Apple being the biggest and best to take care of business. iTunes currently supports 50 million customers and has sold over 4 billion songs. If you do the math, thats pretty good.

-Jake

I believe many many people can agree, that the Apple iPhone is a developmental achievement within itself. It was a first in so many aspects, and from day one there are people who are 100% devoted to the magnificent device, including myself. Lately, it seems like it’s just not enough though. First off, I already get mad taking care of the $500 (early adopter) piece of awesomeness because no matter hoe careful you are, you cannot win, and it will get scratched and dented. Second, is the software.

Now I have had every kind of smartphone known to man. Lately I feel Nokia may be coming around the corner, with their “iPhone Killer” using their s60 Touch Interface. It is already bad enough that i am thinking of getting a Nokia N95, because really..what CAN’T you do with it, but now Nokia will bring the delight of all touch interface with their ever so popular OS. With this, it is confirmed that the new Nokia, along with existing Nokias (N95) support, flash embedded video, any third part chat app, wi-fi, divx support… etc. just those reasons alone make me want to throw my iPhone back at Steve Jobs, while telling him to get out of the 1-OS mentality and embrace open source and 3rd party support!

Well all i know is there have been a lot of advertised “iPhone Killers” all have come and gone, and none have succeeded. Why? because it is amazing. But like most things, the hype cannot last forever. One of two things will happen within this year: Either Apple is going to completely wow us and give any tech junkie what they want with iPhone 2.0, leaving the iPhone at #1. Or Nokia is going to slap Apple across its face, tell them to shut up, and make sure their next-gen smartphones leave em in the dust…which is quite possible.

s60 Touch Interface in action below

-Jake

When i saw this video on TUAW, the mere hope for the existence of gamig on an iPhone/iPod touch was suddenly resurrected from grave in which it was buried after seeing ZERO development for this. The closest that I have seen to a first person shooter on these devices worthy of mentioning is Yeti3D, released not too long ago, via installer app. But even with the advancement of Yeti3d’s workflow, I felt there is still lots and lots of work that needs to be done before we can really start “gaming” on our iPhones. As you can see in this video, we are not only now dealing with a FPS in portable format, but a named FPS, Quake 3. Now if you think it cannot get any better than that the video (below) shows the ever so awesome quake playing in full, graphics, no lag, and 100% multiplayer!!! This LAN demo will show the realtime fragging from one iPod to the next. This is nothing short of amazing, and what tops it off is the fact is the controls are all accelerometer based! People are going to say that this video may be fake, but this would have to be a 100% sync, which i don’t think is possible. Look out for news about this, and hopefully a revolution will begin shortly…

-Jake
via TUAW