iTunes Announcement

The Beatles. Now on iTunes

At long last, the works of the Beatles are available in iTunes.

Apple has a pending announcement regarding iTunes 7am PST

iTunes is about to change. We will be there first.

iOS 4.2 due this coming Friday

The next installment to Apple's ever so popular mobile operating system is coming this Friday.

While Apple has yet to officially announce a release date for iOS 4.2 (if it even does such a thing), an insider at AT&T told MacStories that Apple is planning to release the major update on Friday November 12th at 10 AM PST in the US.

Taking time zones into account that means that we may not see the update in New Zealand until early Saturday morning.

The update promises to be a big deal for iPad owners, still waiting for folders and multitasking. Apple says the new features will also make the iPad more appealing to large organisations.

“iPad owners will get to enjoy its 100+ new features and innovations — including multitasking, folders, printing, and more," says Apple's website.

While you wait for iOS 4.2 to be release, you should probably download the latest version of iTunes (10.0.1) if you haven’t already. It weighs in at just over 70MB.

Skyfire launches flash browser for iPhone

Skyfire launches flash browser for iPhone

On wednesday Skyfire began selling what it called as the first mobile browser that could deliver flash video to an iPhone/ iPod touch. 

Hours later it was pulled because huge demand overwhelmed their servers. Senior Director, Robert Oberhofer, at Skyfire said until they could increase their server capacity they would not be making any more sales.

Skyfire 2.0 is a fully-fledged web browser that functioned very similar to safari. Before it was pulled it was selling for $2.99 USD on the Apple (AAPL) app store. 

What does this tell us? 

Well the first and obvious conclusion is that people still want flash...really bad. 

In the 5 hours that it was available it became the top grossing app and third highest, paid app, overall. These are some alarming statistics and will sure to be sending a message to Apple. That despite their attempts to replace flash with HTML5, flash is still very popular.

How does it work? 

Tech guru Rob Walch explains the complex process the Skyfire browser goes through to play flash...

"A user has to navigate to a website where Flash video is detected. It is then downloaded to Skyfire's servers where it is converted to HTML5," he explained. "Then it gives the user a button to play the video. Everyone thinks they are running Flash on the browser, but they are not."  

Ironically the Skyfire mobile browser is not the perfect way to display flash, it does not work for game animation or ads, which limits its usefulness.  

So will this prompt Apple to end the feud with Adobe?

The general consensus in the Tech world is no. These two companies are very much at war and neither looks to be backing down anytime soon. 

We want to know what you think.

Will you be downloading this App when it becomes available again?

 How much do you use flash? 

Leave your comments bellow.  

No Facebook Phone

Facebook has not released a phone with CEO Mark Zuckerberg maintaining they are not working on one. 

The Facebook event this morning revealed three new features Zuckerberg said "first new feature is a single sign-on, the second new feature are new location APIs, and the third new feature is a deals platform." 


This is as well as updates in iPhone and Android apps.

Facebook event

Will tomorrows Facebook event reveal a Facebook phone?

Facebook has sent out an invitation to the media for a "mobile event" at its Palo Alto, California Headquarters at 10.30am this Wednesday (PST).

For weeks now there has been speculation on the prospects of a Facebook phone, ever since TechCrunch last month reported Facebook was working on a secret phone project. Facebook in issued a carefully worded response saying they "are not building a phone" but had projects focused on "deeper integrations with some manufactures". 

The response was very reminiscent to that of Google last year when asked about any phone projects they had. Look where that led. 

Other things that could be on the agenda include a "Deal of the Day" service.

 "Facebook has recently been testing a Deals service that's connected to Places, and mobile   is obviously the best place for users to access those," Kincaid speculates.

 Unplugged agrees, and thinks the odds that a "Facebook Deals" announcement at tomorrow's shindig are good--five to one.

Also on the agenda could be a new SDK for app developers. 

What do you think the chances of a Facebook phone are?

Our expectations for the new iPhone 5

Now that the hype from the iPhone 4 has slowed, its time to speculate on what we think the next iPhone will have.

Courtesy of Designbyitem - Possible look of next iPhone

Next year we will be most likely introduced to a new iPhone. It has only been a couple of months since Apple released the new iPhone 4 and yet there is already talk of what Apple possibly has install for us in the next iPhone 5.

He are the features we would like to see on the next iPhone (In no particular order):

1) HD output.

2) Larger memory (Scrap the 8GB model and possibly make the 16GB the base model).

3) FaceTime over the 3G network.

4) Flash support

5) Larger camera

6) Larger A4 chip. Possibly 1.5GHz?

7) Longer battery life

8) iOS5

9) Improved reception

10) Larger screen

We can only speculate on to what Apple can possibly throw at us in June 2011, but there is no doubt they will bring something new and exciting to the ever so crowded smartphone market.

What would you like to see in the next iPhone 5? Post your thoughts in the comments below.

Windows Phone 7 Review

Windows Phone 7 is a complete refresh and departure from previous versions of Windows Mobile versions.

 Microsoft essentially pressed the reset button and worked with a team of designers to create a mobile operating system based a number of principles, including elegance and simplicity, typography, motion, and relevance.

One of the biggest new features is the ability to pin almost anything to the home screen. Apps, a video, music track, web page shortcut. Making for a quick and efficient access to your desired content.

Your contacts are accessed through the "people" tile which when first starting the phone asks for your windows live ID. This actually combines both the users phone numbers and email addresses because, as this is a smart phone, you would want all of these in one location.

Apps such as the official Facebook and Twitter ones offer very fast and dynamic experiences when cycling through photos, messages and feel much more proactive when compared to the iPhone app versions.

Various apps offer very dynamic experiences which never seem to feel over the top or lag which is a major plus.

The tiles can be changed to a number of colours of preference.

The Zune Software is smooth and modern in the layout of album art and track titles.

Overall the new Windows Phone 7 operating system is an interesting and eye catching choice when compared to Apple's 4.0 , or Androids operating systems.


What do you think of Windows Phone 7? Tell us in the comments below.

(this review was conducted using the HTC Trophy 7)

White iPhone 4 disappears off Apple Online Store

Another twist in the white iPhone 4 saga, it has now been completely removed from the Apple Online Store.

White iPhone 4 next to Black iPhone 4

The white iPhone 4 is a sneaky device. Apple, having shown it off at the beginning of the year and making a countless number of people excited for its release, has repeatedly delayed the device since its announcement. And, with this latest delay under the company’s wings, there’s speculation that the device not be making it to the market at all. Ever. Of course, there’s plenty of reasons why: manufacturers can’t get the shades of white to match. Or, the white color causes crazy things to happen when taking a picture. Either way, Apple’s suggestion that the white model of the iPhone 4 is hard to manufacture looks to be true. And now, sadly, the white device is missing from Apple’s online store altogether.

As you probably already knew, Apple’s online iPhone shop previously showcased not only the black version, which you can buy right now, but also the white version. While you could stare at it all day long, Apple was quick to note that you couldn’t order it online, nor could you pick it up in any store locations. But, at least it was there, working as a small glimmer of hope that the device would pop up sooner than later. But, all hope has been apparently lost, as the company has pulled the white iPhone 4 from the website.

Is the white iPhone 4 cancelled? Or is it just delayed until 2011? That’s the million dollar question at this point, and it doesn’t look like anyone but those embedded in the Cupertino-based offices knows the real answer. With rumors still flying around that the white iPhone 4 will be the official device for Verizon when the handset launches next year, the speculation is still keeping the device alive and well — eve if Apple seems to be trying to make everyone forget about it.

What do you personally think the fate of the mysterious white iPhone is? Post your comments below.