Apple’s hobby has certainly turned into a delicate little surprise. The new Apple TV is incredibly tiny, fitting into the palm of your hand with its glossy block sides and matte black top. It’s a departure from what Apple normally does with their aluminum based Mac Mini or their plastic white Time Capsules, but as a small addition to your TV, it’s joyfully inconspicuous. Featuring HDMI out, USB, Optical out, and the ever sleek aluminum Apple remote, this year’s Apple TV is greatly compatible with all of your new HDTVs. But how does it fare on the software front? Streaming, not syncing seems to be the answer, but I’m a little disappointed at the total offering.
The iPod shuffle and the iPod nano: Click and Clip
Today we saw the return of the 2nd generation iPod shuffle as a smaller, 4th generation upgrade that features VoiceOver and a familiar scroll wheel in pale yet lovely shades of silver, blue, green, orange, and pink. Arriving in similar hues with savvy graphite and slick (PRODUCT)RED coats, the iPod nano has truly become the nano charm I’ve always wanted: a no-camera, no-video mini music player featuring an interactive multitouch interface and a clip-able form factor that’s perfect for my morning jog. I’m incredibly satisfied with this year’s offerings, and the click-and-go functionality of Apple’s latest iPods are great.
Was the iPod nano Camera Ever Useful?
When I think about the iPod nano, I think of it being that tall and slender iPod one shoves into an armband before jamming out to a Nike + tune on their thirty minute run. When I think about the iPod nano, I think of the FM radio and iTunes tagging capabilities. I think of the genius playlists and its subtle curves. Though the iPod nano does have a camera, it never struck me as something I’d want to have for that device.
SendTab for Safari Shares Websites Between Browsers
Sharing websites is the staple of online communication, but we haven’t really figured out how to appropriately share links in person. Somebody overseas can be bothered with a Twitter link or quick email, but if you’re trying to share a video with a group of people (say at work), you ultimately end up with three terribly smelly people crowding around your computer, complaining about the monitor viewing angle and whatnot. So it’s time to further solve our ability to spread the latest offices memes with the SendTab extension for Safari.
iPliz for Mac Controls your Files via Email
It’s always best to have a backup plan. It’s one of those days; you woke up on the wrong side of the bed, you’re late for class, and in the process of scrambling to hike the mile across campus, you forgot to save a copy of your report to your netbook. Just imagine for a minute how bad this actually is: you forget to save a file in Dropbox, stuff your thumb drive into your backpack, or even email yourself a copy of that fifty five page college thesis all at the same time. That report amounts to 50% of your grade, and you can’t return to your dorm out without being late to only the most important session of the semester. So what do you do?
Most people would panic, but being the Mac savvy connoisseur that you are, you pull out that fancy netbook of yours and email yourself with the name of your report. In seconds, you’re sending commands between your email client and your Mac that allow you to find the file, upload it to your current machine, and print it out in the nick of time. iPliz is a niche application for users who don’t employ the best backup strategies, but the ability to email your Mac for files is just cool.
It’s More Than a Time Log
There’s a few of us who enjoy a bit of personal data analytics. As I revamp my personal life style to fit in with a bustling third year workload in college, I’m always interested in where I can cut corners, or if I can find a way to improve my note-taking habits (which are quite slow) by getting some insight into how much time I actually spend/waste on doing things. More Than Time Log is something I’ve had on my iPod touch for a while: initially launched for iOS 4, the developer has made it compatible with older devices running 3.1.3 and beyond while ensuring a usable experience on the speed front. But as for how easy it is to track information, let’s dive in.
Verizon to Stream Live TV to your iPad
Consider this: you’re watching only the most important football game between the Oakland Raiders and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2011 Superbowl. Your chicken-wing-sauce encrusted fingers clench as Stroughter penetrates the red zone. Jaws drop. A beer bottle passes hands into unknown territory. And just as the moment of disbelief strikes a cord with the goal line, a lamp shade is tossed through the center of the 30” plasma. Instinctively, you reach for the iPad tucked between the salsa bowl and the guacamole, launch the Verizon FiOS app, and within seconds, catch the touchdown of cosmic proportions while the TV is still reeling from your best friend’s misplaced wide-arm. Anything is possible with the new Verizon FIOS app for the iPad.
When the Heck are we Getting Wireless Syncing?
Coming home upon the professor’s early dismissal of class, I decided that the thirty minute drive between headquarters and the college campus should be appropriately followed up with a bit of app updating, Instapaper goodness, a podcast or two, and a well deserved nap. Hastily stripping off my dress shirt, I slipped into the comfort of my couch, propped the iPad against a knee, and immediately ventured into the iPod app. And immediately I was disappointed that I didn’t have the latest podcasts downloaded yet. Oh, the inconvenience of it all!
Aching knees still intact after climbing no less than six flights of stairs just forty five minutes earlier, I hobbled into the office and fumbled for that connect-cable-thing we still get with Apple mobile devices. In five minutes, my iPad had launched iTunes, backed up its wares and slurped down the latest podcasts through only the prettiest cable cluttering my shelf space. Yes, the cable saved the day, but consider me lazy: I shouldn’t even need the cable.
Apple’s iAd Not Off to a Happy Start After All?
After stellar remarks and compliments from Nissan and Unilever, you’d think iAd was a complete success in winning over the hearts of Apple’s partners right? All Things Digital is reporting that Apple’s restrictive iAds policies are having a dramatic effect on progress in the mobile ad space. Disney, J.C. Penny, and Citigroup Inc. just recently got their ads into the mobile space after the month of July was dominated by Nissan and Unilever PLC, while companies like Channel SA ended up dropping their iAds compaign announced at Apple’s launch event.