New RIM BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet

Today Research in Motion revealed a 7-inch tablet to add to its phone line-up.

The BlackBerry PlayBook is almost a third of the weight of the iPad and but it doesn't have a higher pixel density than the iPad, 1024 x 600 pixels (compared to the iPad's 1024 x 768 pixels). Though some may say this isn't a fair match up since the iPad has a 9.7 inch screen and the PlayBook has is a bit more portable 7 inch.

Some of the key features:

• BlackBerry OS (not a full computer OS)
• OS supports Flash 10.1, HTML5, OpenGL, and Java
• 1 GHz dual-core processor
• 1 GB of RAM
• Two HD cameras, back camera - 5 MP, front camera - 3 MP
• Full HD video recording
• Wi-Fi support only
• Bluetooth 2.1

The device is expected to launch in early 2011 in the United States and soon after to the entire world.

Wattpad PR

iPods Remain the Most Popular Device for Teens to consume eBooks

Wattpad Prepares for Continued Growth in iPod App downloads with Launch of new iPods

Wattpad, the world's most popular eBook community, recently released its quarterly metrics report, which demonstrated the continuing popularity of the iPod for readers to access Wattpad's catalogue of over 600,000 free ebooks.

The last quarter saw a 25% increase in the use of iPad/iPhone/iPod devices with the iPod accounting for close to 50% of the Wattpad app downloads.

CTO of Wattpad, Ivan Yuen explains; "We continue to see teens use iPods as their device of choice to participate on Wattpad. This is likely attributed to the more accessible price point as well as providing young adults without their own personal computer a way to access Wattpad. With the new upgrades to the iPod products announced yesterday, Wattpad will continue to focus on this area of growth."

Wattpad continues to update its iPod app regularly, making many of the most popular social features from the site available for mobile users. Readers can now send messages to their friends and fans, vote for stories they like, fan their favorite authors and comment on stories they love. Readers without a Wattpad account can still participate, by commenting through their Facebook and Twitter accounts.

The latest version of the iPod app is fully operable with advanced retina display to maximize the features of the newly launched iPods.

Typophone 4 Lockscreen Theme

Typophone 4 is an amazing lockscreen theme for your iPod touch or iPhone (does not support iPad). The theme gives your device a minimalistic magazine and can be combined with any lockscreen wallpaper. Typophone 4 was created by Angelman8 and is provided completely free of charge, though support for the device has been discontinued. Some 3.x.x firmware users may experience problems but iOS 4.x.x is fully supported.

How to Install this Theme

1. Make sure you are jailbroken. (How do I do that?) And that you are on or at an above firmware of 3.0. (How do I check?)
2. Make sure you have downloaded Winterboard from Cydia.
3. In Cydia, go to the Search tab and type Typophone 4. Install the Theme. Also, search and install Lockscreen Clock Hide.
4. Open the Winterboard app on your homescreen, tap on Typophone 4 to add a check mark next to it Then press your home button. Wait until your device is done respringing and Typophone 4 will be applied onto your device.

More ScreenShots

Samsung Galaxy Tab Promo, compete with iPad?

Is Samsung's new Galaxy Tab going to compete with the Apple iPad? It's definately got some differences from the iPad like Flash support, cameras, and removeable storage. The Galaxy Tab is also being marketed in this video as being more portable and pocketable than the iPad.

Features shown in the video:

- Widgets (probably the highlight feature of Android so far)
- Google maps navigation
- Music & Videos portal
- Emails- 4 e-books apps
- 32GB SD memory slot
- Stream to any monitor
- 7 Hours battery life
- Front webcam for video chat
- Adobe Flash support for games and apps (well, surely that you won't have on the iPad).

I wonder what happens if you sit down with that in your back pocket...

VLC Released on App Store

Ever since Apple has relaxed its App Store app creation policies, a whole new generation of apps have been approved that would have previously been send to the DENIED bin.

The latest and greatest addition to the App Store is VLC Media Player for iPad. If you haven't heard of VLC Player, it is a free video player that will play almost every format of video. Now that this app is on your iPad, there is no need to convert videos to Apple's MP4 format and then send it to your iPad.

Best of all, the app is being offered for free by Applidium for your iPad. VLC Media Player will be later released for iPhone and iPod touch.

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Zune HD Ultimate for iPhone and iPod touch

For all you Zune fans with an iPod touch or an iPhone, the theme for you has been created! Zune HD Ultimate aims to replicate the entire Zune HD experience on your iDevice. The theme is created by Appman and Daconcerror and also others who helped out in various parts of the theme.

The theme is still in its beta stages so it is not complete, but the creators have released it to the public for critiquing.

How to Install this Theme

1. Make sure you are jailbroken. (How do I do that?) And that you are on or at an above firmware of 3.0 (but not on or above firmware 4.0 as it is not currently supported). (How do I check my firmware?)
2. Make sure you have downloaded Winterboard. Five-Column Springboard and five icon dock are optional downloads.
3. Download beta version 3 by clicking here.
4. Decompress the theme, place the folders (the folder name should end with .theme) into /private/var/stash/Themes.xxxxxx/ using WinSCP or CyberDuck.
5. Open Winterboard, drag the theme to the very top and tap on it to give it a check mark.
6. Press your home button and let your device respring.
7. For full setup instructions, see the original thread on Mult-touch Fans.

ScreenShots

Hackers Able to Install Cracked Apps without Jailbreak

An app created by a large warez distribution site has App Store developers seeking help from Apple.

The app, named IPA God, is created by iModZone. The App claims to be able to installed illegal (cracked) applications on to iDevices such as the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad running an iOS 4.1 or higher. Though it's highly unlikely that it is a fake, as the site has a farily well standing, many are calling bluff on IPA God.

Though you may say, big deal, Installous already installs cracked ipa on iDevices. This is true, but IPA God is claimed to be the first app to install ipa's without the use of a jailbreak. This greatly expands the scope of people who will use this app instead of 'risking' their devices to jailbreak.

Ironically, the app will be available to purchase for $20.

i-Enthusiast was able to get a short interview with the developer of IPA God himself, details are shady but the developer has confirmed to chpwn that it is the real-deal. IPA God will be avaiable 'soon'.

Video

Apple Relaxing App Creation Policies

In a statement released by Apple today, they claim to have eased up on the policies on which they will accept apps for the App Store.

The App Store℠ has revolutionized the way mobile applications are developed and distributed. With over 250,000 apps and 6.5 billion downloads, the App Store has become the world’s largest mobile application platform and App Store developers have earned over one billion dollars from the sales of their apps. We are continually trying to make the App Store even better. We have listened to our developers and taken much of their feedback to heart. Based on their input, today we are making some important changes to our iOS Developer Program license in sections 3.3.1, 3.3.2 and 3.3.9 to relax some restrictions we put in place earlier this year. In particular, we are relaxing all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps, as long as the resulting apps do not download any code. This should give developers the flexibility they want, while preserving the security we need. In addition, for the first time we are publishing the App Store Review Guidelines to help developers understand how we review submitted apps. We hope it will make us more transparent and help our developers create even more successful apps for the App Store. The App Store is perhaps the most important milestone in the history of mobile software. Working together with our developers, we will continue to surprise and delight our users with innovative mobile apps.

This most likely means that Apple will allow users building apps in Flash CS5 to convert their applications to an .ipa format and submit it to the App Store, previously denied by Apple. This means that Windows users can now build apps to submit to the App Store.

[Via Fierce Mobile Content]

Others creating Bumper-like iPhone cases

ElementCASE has started their iPhone 4 case line with a bang. The Vapor 4 provides a much more futuristic and industrial looking iPhone with out the large bulkiness of full cases. The Vapor 4 is currently only available for pre-order.

Although it looks no more than a simple border for your iPhone, it is actually created by a CNC machine from a block of airccraft-grade aluminum.

Vapor 4 comes in two models, one with the aluminum border (which starts at a pricy $80) and one with the border with an added carbon-fiber backing (even more $100) to protect the backside of the iPhone 4.

More


Update: Here's a video.

New iPod touch has Vibration

A lesser known feature of the new iPod touch 4th Generation is that is has a vibrating motor inside of it for the ability to vibrate when the device recieves a FaceTime call or even possibly for games. This feature was mysteriously left out of Steve Job's keynote presentation.

Numerous sources including 9to5Mac and iPod touch Fans have confirmed this to not be a mistake by Apple's web design group.

It may be that the vibrator is much smaller (and less powerful) in comparison to the iPhone, because the iPod touch has a much slimmer body, that Apple felt it would be better to keep it out as a selling point of the device.

[Via 9to5Mac]

iPod touch (2010) Announced

The newest iPod touch 4th Generation has followed in iPhone 4's footsteps and now has the Retina Display, seperated volume buttons, two cameras, and a thinner design.

The new iPod touch is being sold for $229 for 8GB, $299 for 32GB, and $399 for 64GB. The 16GB model has been discontinued.

Pre-ordering for the device starts today and will start shipping next week.

Newest features:

• Retina Display (same as iPhone 4)
• Apple A4 core (same as iPhone 4)
• Dual cameras (same as iPhone 4)
• FaceTime support (same as iPhone 4)
• 3-axis gyroscope (same as iPhone 4)

Images (click to enlarge)

iPod nano (2010) Announced

The newest 6th generation iPod nano is sleeker, smaller, and thinner than ever.

The newest device features a square touch screen and is 42% lighter. The device is being sold for $149 for 8GB or $179 for 16GB.

Newest features:

• A clip on the back, previously only on iPod shuffle.
• 24 hours of audio playback.
• Touch screen.
• No more camera
• No more video playback

Video



ScreenShots (click to enlarge)

[Via Engadget]