If you’re an Apple user, you’re probably familiar with Mobee’s technology already. Mobee makes inductive chargers for all sorts of gear, but really blew up when they made an inductive charger for Apple’s Mighty Mouse, which always was kind of a pain to recharge. Mobee solved that problem, and now they’re about to make life even easier for Apple users.
Adobe and Apple haven’t been buddies ever since Apple decided it was going to hire all of the Premiere team and make a video editing program that wasn’t outrageously broken. It’s a fight that only got worse when Apple banned Flash from iPhone and iPad in favor of HTML 5. Adobe has recently made a peace gesture by creating Wallaby, which can transcode Flash to HTML 5, and now is showing another allegedly experimental technology: Photoshop.
I’ve been using Apple products for two decades and buying them for myself for the last decade, and one thing I have learned, whether it’s the iMac dumping the floppy disk or Jobs deciding “No Flash for you!”, is that Apple just has to do something to make its products a pain in the butt to use in some respect. Any respect.
With the iPad, that apparently is USB connectors, because God forbid the $500 tablet computer has the same functionality as a netbook you can get from Best Buy. And HDMI can eat it too. Fortunately, the Japanese have our backs.
Onlookers may already be impressed with your stable of sexy Apple products, but perhaps its time to replace those bland blacks and grays with something more meaningful. HunterGatherer’s InCase products for the iPhone and and 15-inch MacBook Pro are “a purposefully fake version of something natural,” according to designer Todd St. John. “I also enjoy seeing it as a wrapper for a concentrated brick of technology.” How poetic. For the MacBook, the $60 sleeve is simply a clutch for safekeeping, while the iPhone’s $50 slider case is a new skin in its own right. And if your friends still aren’t jealous, tell them HunterGatherer has worked for Nike, VH1 and the New York Times. If pure technology doesn’t fill them with envy, name-dropping surely will.
The iPod Mini is an outdated model, so it’s only fitting that Jozaeh’s MP3 player is encased in the wood of a stately old Australian red cedar tree. Camphor Laurel comprises the click wheel, and brass plates and screws hold everything together. Says the creator: “I was given a new iPod Mini for Christmas and I just couldn’t leave my trusty old mini to sit unused somewhere.” Sounds like it was his first stab at a wooden iPod mod, and we say he did an admirable job. Sadly, it’s only a matter of time before the battery kicks the bucket and this wooden iPod becomes a true antique. [Flickr via BB Gadgets]
You just knew something iPhone-related was going to happen at Apple’s World Wide Developer’s Conference today. The reality doesn’t quite match the rumors we saw last month, but there’s a surprisingly high ratio of information that was on the mark. With an extra “S” for “speed,” the iPhone 3GS runs up to two times faster than its predecessor and holds either 16 GB or 32 GB compared to the 8 GB iPhone 3G. Battery life has grown, but not by 50 percent, and there is indeed a built-in compass and a glowing Apple logo on the back. Best of all, the new iPhone shoots and edits video and has improved camera features such as touchscreen autofocus and autoexposure. Voice commands are now possible as well. What didn’t pan out? The OLED screen and the FM transmitter. Maybe next time. For now, the 16 GB and 32 GB models will cost $199 and $299 respectively when they go on sale June 19. Also, the old iPhone 3G gets a price cut to $99 today. [Apple]
Though many are waiting with bated breath for the newest iPhone release, an article by Gadget Lab indicates that it’s unlikely the new operating system will be ready for release at next week’s World Wide Developers Conference. It appears that the completion of the 3.0 system hinges on a new in-app commerce feature that would allow for sale of things like songs and gaming accessories within iPhone applications. This feature is not quite ready for prime time. No new OS, no new iPhone. The article estimates that it will take three or four more weeks for Apple to get the OS tested and completed, so hopefully we’ll see it sometime in early July. An announcement of availability is expected at WWDC. [via Gadget Lab]
A better camera, more capacity and an OLED screen may be in store, according to a report by Apple iPhone Apps. The site quotes “a source who is closely connected to Apple’s hardware development team” in listing the specs. Notably, capacity may double to 32 GB and 16 GB models, the pixel count on the camera may jump from 2 million to 3.2 million and battery life could grow by 50 percent. The new iPhone may also include video recording and editing, a built-in FM transmitter, a built-in compass and turn-by-turn directions. For stylistas, the design will apparently be sleeker, losing the metal band around the sides and gaining glowing Apple logo on the back. The release date is reportedly July 17. If any of these specs seem unlikely, I feel like the whole report could just be wishful thinking, but there’s also some probable specs in here too. We’ll find out soon enough. [Apple iPhone Apps via Wired]
Good news for people who love Steve Jobs: Apple’s head honcho may be ill and out of the public spotlight, but his influence is still felt at the company as he works from home. While COO Tim Cook handles the day-to-day, Jobs weilds a heavy hand on product development, including the newest OS for the iPhone. Talking to unnamed insiders, the Wall Street Journal says this work includes development of a “portable device that is smaller than its current laptop computers but bigger than the iPhone or iPod Touch.” A new Apple rumor this is not, but you’ve got to figure every report takes us a little closer to something like the image above. And if it’s true, you can rest assured Jobs is on the case. [Wall Street Journal via CrunchGear]
