360 degree lenses are one of those things that are just pure concentrated awesome. They’re exactly what they sound like: a lens designed to give you a complete wraparound view of whatever the camera happens to be shooting. It’s incredibly neat to see, and lots of fun to shoot, but 360 degree shooting has been largely limited to expensive extreme sports rigs and other specialized applications.
Did you want to get an iPhone from AT&T with a shorter contract, the sooner to jailbreak it? Or maybe you just don’t want a contract with AT&T, but do want an iPhone? You’re going to pay for the privilege.
Granted, AT&T has never been really possessed of much in the way of common sense, but this move seems custom made to drive customers into Verizon’s loving arms. How much is it going to cost you?
As we all know, often from painful experience, AT&T has a terrible network. So terrible, it had to buy an entire other carrier just to get up to speed on 4G. Unfortunately, until that happens, there needs to be other solutions, especially since iPhone customers are jumping ship to Verizon left and right. So AT&T has to get proactive to keep those profitable customers and boost its network.
Look, we’re not going to mince words; it’s easy to make your gadgets look ugly. Tacky faceplates, hideous phone protecting cases, godawful engraving…bad things happen to good gear all the time. But, equally awful is when somebody spends an enormous amount of money to look classy on a case that either misses the point or announces to the world that you just have way too much money. In other words, just as one extreme is gauche, so is the other.
Meet the ne plus ultra of that concept, from De Bethune.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 10:00AM - By Jared Newman
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.
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]
With the help of a Belkin Rockstar multi headphone splitter, one intrepid DJ has created a tapestry of digital sounds using a Nintendo DS Lite running Electroplankon, a DSi running Korg DS-10, an iPhone, an iPod Touch and a Kaossilator. The result is, well, meh. But think of the possibilities. I’d love to see what a talented chiptune artist like Nullsleep could do with an elaborate setup of Game Boys, and even an average listener might have fun mixing in and out of different iPods at a party. At $20 for the splitter, it certainly beats splurging on an expensive mixer. [via YouTube]
