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Griffin CarTrip will track efficiency and show diagnostic reports (video)

We mentioned the CarTrip when they announced it earlier in the week, but after seeing this thing in person at CES I really want one. Primarily because the device will allow you to clear the stupid "check engine" light in most cars made after 1996 with an ODB-II port. You see, the CarTrip features a dongle which plugs into the ODB-II port in your car, and communicates via Bluetooth with an iOS device (in your hand or dashboard).

The CarTrip can then show you certain codes from your car's "brain" and alert you to problems or clear the check engine light. Plus, a little plant sprout on the app will show you how efficiently your car is driving and the device will track efficiency even if you don't have your iOS device in the car. Check out the video on the next page; we had a chat with Eric Weisinger from Griffin about the CarTrip. It should be available in the second quarter of 2011 for $89.99.
Continue reading Griffin CarTrip will track efficiency and show diagnostic reports (video)
Griffin CarTrip will track efficiency and show diagnostic reports (video) originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple Store spotted covering up, but likely not for new iPhone (updated: no restocking fees!)

Hm, what product could make Apple cover the windows of a retail shop so soon after the holiday shopping season? Surely not the iPad 2. Maybe something that looks the same but works on a totally new network? You know, that Verizon iPhone that we've been hearing about for a few years now, perchance? Well, as it turns out, probably not.

The above pic and another one posted on Uneasy Silence by way of TwitPic (dated January 9, 2011) show retail employees deploying the big black shroud to cover the store windows. The poster is from the UK, but no specific location of this store is given. Calls to several US stores said they are not covering up, and honestly covering up (and closing a retail shop) for an entire day before a major announcement would be nuts. This cover-up is most likely for an already-existing product that is getting a new window display, which would be installed overnight. It happens frequently at Apple Stores, particularly after the holidays.

Despite the unrelated coverup, we're hearing that retail employees will have a meeting next weekend for the "red zone" -- a code name given to the sales area of the floor. We're also hearing of a possible new set up area, meaning you may see a part of stores set up to accommodate new iPhone purchasers get their phones activated. This would be great for Verizon customers suddenly flocking to Apple's warm embrace, yes? At any rate, it's more about the service than the product, both in the retail experience and on your network when you leave the store.

Update: As 9to5Mac points out and we hear independently, starting January 11 there will be no more restocking fees. Perhaps this "test drive anything" policy is getting some big display announcement? That would seem apropos.

Apple Store spotted covering up, but likely not for new iPhone (updated: no restocking fees!) originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Elliptic Labs demonstrates its touchless user interface for iPad (with video)

As promised a while back, we got to chat with Elliptic Labs here at CES, and CEO Stian Aldrin walked us through the touchless gesture technology his 15-person Norway-based company is developing as a prototype. The whole thing is based on ultrasound, it turns out -- a small speaker kicks out frequencies higher than the ear can hear, and a set of microphones listens in on the reflections, using an algorithim to calculate where your hand is at as you wave it through the air. The result is a gesture-based control system for touchscreen devices, but without the actual touch.

Aldrin told us that the system is already in use in a Norwegian hospital, where surgeons control touchscreen tablets without having to take their sanitized gloves off during surgery. Currently, the system only allows for a few simple gestures (swiping up and down, or left and right), but that's just a limitation of the demo units Elliptic Labs has created. Potentially, such a system could not only recognize the placement and speed of your hand passing by (and indeed, one of the demos in the CES booth could monitor both proximity to the screen and speed, flipping on-screen content faster if you pushed your hand by faster), but even calculate multiple points of movement, doing things like multitouch gestures in the air.

You do have to be pretty close in to the screen to operate the device -- rather than a big cone like a Kinect, the system monitors a sphere around itself, so you've got to have your hand enter that sphere for it to register. But Elliptic (who already plan to be back at CES with an even bigger booth next year) suggests that the system could be used for lots of things, from quick music controls to car controls, or anything else where you need to make a touch-style gesture without actually touching the screen. We've got exclusive video after the break of Aldrin demoing a dock version of the system, connected via Wi-Fi to an off-the-shelf iPad running a custom-made app.
Continue reading Elliptic Labs demonstrates its touchless user interface for iPad (with video)
Elliptic Labs demonstrates its touchless user interface for iPad (with video) originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Talkcast tonight, 7pm PT/10pm ET: Crystal Ball Edition!
It is time!

This week we have plenty to discuss, including the Mac App Store's debut and the ~~white~~ Verizon iPhone confirmation. As such, this calls for a freshly-baked batch of random speculation so tonight I'll be hosting live from my House Of Crackpot Theories. We might even have a few developers along to give us some actual insight and bring balance to the conversation.

Your calls and questions help us make the show the best it can be, otherwise I'm just talking to myself! To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, the embedded Facebook app, or the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in.

For the web UI, just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (yay for free cellphone weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free Gizmo or X-Lite SIP clients; basic instructions are here. Talk with you then!
Talkcast tonight, 7pm PT/10pm ET: Crystal Ball Edition! originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Dear Apple: It's (past) time to let us customize our alert tones
Picture this: you're hanging out at a friend's house, and the familiar "doodle-dee!" of the iPhone's Tri-tone alert sound goes off. But four people simultaneously start reaching for their iPhones, because they're all using that sound for SMS/MMS alerts. Or how about this: you're on a bike ride and getting audio feedback on your pace from RunKeeper Pro. As you ride along, you hear the Tri-tone alert go off half a dozen times. Is it someone sending you an important text message, or is it just Twitter spamming you with @reply notifications?

If you're using Tri-tone for Messages alerts, there's no way to tell the difference unless you stop pedalling and check. Now imagine that your iPhone is more than ten feet away from you, or you're in a room where the ambient noise is above whisper level, and you get a new e-mail. How would you know? The New Mail notification sound is so unobtrusive, even with the iPhone's volume maxed out, that it barely ever registers.

I don't know about you, but I've encountered all three of these scenarios with distressing frequency. It's well past time that Apple allows us to customize our alert tones.

Continue reading Dear Apple: It's (past) time to let us customize our alert tones
Dear Apple: It's (past) time to let us customize our alert tones originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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WSJ: Verizon iPhone will offer unlimited data
We've been wondering for the past day or so what the distinguishing features of the Verizon iPhone might be. Will it come in colors? Aside from VZW's respectable network and CDMA technology, how will the iPhone experience on Big Red be different?

If the Wall Street Journal is right, there'll be a big difference in the service plans: unlimited data. The paper cites a source familiar with Verizon's plans saying that an unlimited data option will be available. By comparison, AT&T moved to a capped tier this summer, which angered some users who preferred the unlimited option.

[via Business Insider]
WSJ: Verizon iPhone will offer unlimited data originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 16:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Happy Fourth Birthday, iPhone!

We've already celebrated the 10th birthday of iTunes today; now it's time to remember the birth of another member of the Apple family.

On January 9, 2007, I was one of the lucky folks who was sitting in the chairs at Moscone West in San Francisco, waiting for the Steve Jobs keynote address for Macworld Expo to kick off. The assembled crowd all knew that some sort of Apple phone was going to be announced, and when Jobs finally waved the phone to the crowd, the place went wild. To me, it was one of the most exciting Macworld Expo moments ever, and I actually have a painting by Nitrozac on my wall that commemorates that announcement.

For the rest of the show, people flocked around a single rotating cylindrical case containing a prototype iPhone, and on June 29, 2007 a lot of us stood in lines at our local Apple Stores to actually get one in hand. We're now in the fourth generation of the device, which has redefined how a "smart phone" should look and act. The App Store opened about a year later (July 10, 2008) and has not only spawned a crowd of lookalikes, but was the impetus for the Mac App Store launched this week.

The youngster has had a few stumbles along the way, but the iPhone is still the phone that everyone else emulates. As of the end of September, 2010, over 73.5 million iPhones had been sold -- that number may be well over 100 million by this point.

Check out video of that historic moment we first saw the iPhone four years ago, after the break.

Continue reading Happy Fourth Birthday, iPhone!
Happy Fourth Birthday, iPhone! originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Happy 10th Birthday, iTunes!
You've come a long way, baby. Back on your birthday on January 9, 2001 at Macworld Expo, you were just a music player and manager -- the Apple-ized offspring of SoundJam MP, given a fresh face. Soon enough, though, you would become the conduit for iPod synchronization, the platform for music and video purchases, and now the landing zone for the iOS App Store.

Not bad for a ten-year-old. Even though we may tease you for your vanities and complain about your sluggish, do-everything approach, we still couldn't do without you. Happy 10th birthday, iTunes!

Commenter Kevlar points to our rundown of the iTunes user interface from 1.0 to 7.0, here, and Twitter buddy MightyKenny points to a YouTube clip of the actual 2001 introduction; it's embedded in the second half of this post.
Continue reading Happy 10th Birthday, iTunes!
Happy 10th Birthday, iTunes! originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Native Union introduces Bluetooth handset and speakerphone for iPhones at CES

Native Union was at CES offering an intriguing lineup of handsets that'll turn your iPhone, iPad or even iPod touch into a more traditional handset-style phone. One model even morphs into a speaker for music or speakerphone. Unfortunately audio quality was tough to gauge at the noisy show floor, so we'll try to test these in a more controlled setting later. Here's a quick rundown of the Native Union lineup.

POP Phone

These were announced back in September 2010, but I took a few pics in the gallery for you to check out. They are simply handsets that use a 3.5 mm jack for plugging into your iPhone, converting it into a sort of old-style phone with a handset and stretchy cord. Remember those? You can also use it with Skype or any VoIP app on your iPod touch or iPad or even your Mac.

The POP Phones come in a wide variety of colors (which "pop" as the name suggests) and have a nice soft, rubber finish as opposed to the old shiny gloss finish of Ma Bell's phones. I find the form factor quite handy for cradling the phone on your shoulder while doing other stuff as opposed to the precarious placement of a slender iPhone between ear and shoulder. As I said, these are pretty basic. They sell for around US$29.99. There are two models with bases which sell for around $64.

Debuted at CES: MM03i Bluetooth handset

This one is pretty snazzy -- a wireless handset with built-in iPhone charging stand. If you want the best of both worlds, a desk phone and your mobile, it's a good design. The iPhone docks at the far end of the base, with the handset in front. They only come in black or white and use a glossy finish, but I get the feeling they are meant to cater to business users.

The MM03i has a 6 hour talk-time charge, and 120 hours of standby according to Native Union. The sync base has a 3.5 mm output so you can plug your iPhone into a speaker system, and my guess is (as normal) any music would be muted when the handset takes a call. You can answer a call just by picking the phone up off the base, or use the buttons on the phone, which include volume. The MM03i retails for $149.99.

Introduced at CES: MM04i Bluetooth stereo handset

Available later this month, the MM04i adds to the 03i feature set with a set of built-in speakers to your handset and a design which allows you to use the thing as a set of small speakers (via Bluetooth, even though your iPhone docks) and pick up and use the phone as a phone or speakerphone at any time. It's a clever design, although I can't say I was a huge fan of the angular nature of the phone handset itself. All of Native's phones are designed by "award-winning" designers, so what do I know?

The MM04i will retail for $199.99. Check the gallery to see a close up of the handset and its buttons plus the dock for your iPhone.

Gallery: Native Union phones at CES
Native Union introduces Bluetooth handset and speakerphone for iPhones at CES originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 09 Jan 2011 00:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Hands-on with the iPad ClamCase keyboard/stand

We've been stopping by the trailer of our sister site Engadget quite often here at CES for the excellent company (and the excellent Wi-Fi), and while we were in there the other day, the good folks from ClamCase came by to show off their product. Engadget got their own look, but we were kindly handed one of our own to give it a good once-over from a more Apple-centric perspective.

The most intriguing thing about the ClamCase is how light it is. At just 1.8 pounds, even with a 1.6 pound Wi-Fi+3G iPad snapped in securely, the whole unit is only a little bit heavier than a 13-inch MacBook Air. It doesn't fold down quite as thinly, but it's still a pretty compact package that feels solid and well-made. The iPad does just snap in -- there's no release or switch, so you kind of have to "pop" the case open to get it out. But ClamCase told us that they tried a few different things, and in the end, the snap was what worked best and easiest.

The keyboard is a Bluetooth keyboard and the keys are tiny. The whole thing couldn't be made bigger than the iPad itself, so if you've got fat fingers, you might find more key presses than you meant to have. The scale takes a little getting used to as well -- reaching for the shift key will have your pinky falling right off of the case if you're used to a standard keyboard.
Continue reading Hands-on with the iPad ClamCase keyboard/stand
Hands-on with the iPad ClamCase keyboard/stand originally appeared on TUAW on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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