What could Apple buy with a 150 million dollars? World peace probably, though that’s pretty overrated in my book. Apple is rumored to be intent on sealing the deal with a Chinese game developer by the name of Handseeing Information Technology, who specialize in Rich Internet Applications.
Who Needs “Who to Follow” Anyway?
I’m a pretty popular guy. I’m probably the only guy you need to follow on Twitter. In fact, I’m the only guy on Twitter. So why the heck do you need that fancy “Who to Follow” feature? I’m everything you need.
FilterTwitter Safari Extension Guarantees Ego Boost
When @justin was mauled with millions of Justin Bieber fans mistakenly tweeting him about possible high school relationships, marriage, and preteen squeels of love, there was probably an intense scramble to filter out these horrendous tweets. But as fans wrongly dog piled on top of this poor soul, we return to the good ol’ days of geek knowledge to rehash an important value: “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”
Speed-Up Gives you an iTunes Playback Throttle
Audiobook and podcast listeners might be a little more impatient than most. Occasionally we come across that news podcast or something that doesn’t require our full attention. When time is of the essence, why not speed things up a little bit? Speed-Up by WetFish Software is an incredibly simple application that sits in your menubar and allows you to adjust the playback speed of currently playing items in iTunes. While speeding through some of the blogger podcasts just to get the gist, I got thinking, “What would a Molly Rant sound like at .25x the speed?” You’ll just have to download the application and a BOL podcast to find out.
Simple utility status: Not for everyone, but it works like a charm. Licenses come at $5 a pop.
[Speed-up]
The iPod touch 4 Exposed?
Hardmac has come up with a snapshot of the next generation iPod touch in an acrylic case, claiming they’ve got an unnamed reliable source. Having a pretty good track record after exposing last year’s iPod nano cam, I’m crossing my fingers that this is the actual iPod touch we’ll be seeing in the not-too-distant future.
Covent Garden Apple Store Looks Fantastic, iPad Boosts Retail Revenue
Before we start talking about boring old numbers again, Apple Store openings are always fun to peek at. The Electricpig has gone cameras on with Apple’s latest façade, where they reveal an awesome Apple sign, the long interior, and a Magic TrackPad spotting or two.
European Union Commission Ousts BlackBerry in Favor of iPhone, HTC
Reuters reports that the European Union Commission have canned the idea of toting BlackBerries upon security concerns that governments can’t monitor the traffic: RIM deploys their own servers which handle encrypted messages that keep communications secured. The strongest selling point of the BlackBerry is starting to become a major problem.
British bank Standard Chartered said earlier this year it was giving its staff the option to replace the BlackBerry with the iPhone, a move that could eventually result in thousands of bankers switching.
And many top French government ministers have been issued specially encrypted smartphones after a French security agency recommended that cabinet ministers and President Nicolas Sarkozy stop using BlackBerries due to security concerns.
RIM’s Chief Technology Officer David Yach retorted that the importance of the BlackBerry via the use from state officials would keep their mobile phone in the hands of the government, though I imagine RIM is particularly beside themselves as corporations begin adopting and deploying other devices such as the iPhone.
[via Reuters]
iPhone 4 Droppin’ Less Calls, Pickin’ Up More Dates
The iPhone 4 survey pool is quite small: ChangeWave Research only managed to round up 213 willing participants, but they found iPhone 3GS owners managed to drop 6.3% of all calls, while only 5.2% calls were dropped on the iPhone 4. The survey also noted that 73% of those surveyed were either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied at Apple’s response to the iPhone 4 criticism. 64% stated the iPhone’s antenna hasn’t been an issue in daily use. Though a similar survey conducted in August 2009 revealed that 89% of owners were more satisfied with their handset when compared to iPhone 4’s satisfaction rate, which is surprising considering the advancements via the Retina Display and iOS 4.
The end result: of this small test group, the iPhone 4 dropped less calls, which is guaranteed to salvage relationships (or make breaking up old ones easier) thanks to the better antenna.
[via AppleInsider]
iPad One Step Closer for Sale in China
Selling product in China must be like pulling teeth. Chinese regulators have given Apple’s miraculous tablet an a-okay via the China Compulsory Certification, which is a huge hurdle to surpass for companies who’d like to sell product there. Apple’s iPad will still have to pass the scrutiny of the Telecommunications Equipment and Certification Center, but if successful, Apple’s top tier device will likely deliver the same impact as it has in the rest of the world. Analysis International analyst Fang Li notes, “The Chinese market and the overseas markets are the same. People get excited about these new devices.” While Apple hasn’t publicly announced sales in China, it’s an important market as manufacturers begin to challenge the iPad with their own takes on tablet computing.
[Network World via 9 to 5 Mac]