Verizon iPhone To Get Unlimited Data Plan – Source

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Verizon is apparently quite confident that its network is robust enough to withstand the strain of the iPhone–a marked contrast with AT&T, which has struggled through data usage issues and dropped calls since Apple first began offering its handset exclusively through that carrier in the US, back in 2007.

Verizon, which is widely expected to announce its own version of the Apple handset during a New York City press conference tomorrow, has reportedly been ramping up network infrastructure, in anticipation of the strain it could undergo after offering users the iPhone. According to a source who spoke with The Wall Street Journal, the carrier is confident that its network could withstand such strain.

The carrier has focused much of its efforts on cities like San Francisco and New York, where the prevalence of the iPhone has often been blamed for slowing AT&T to a crawl.

iPhone Screen Protectors Without the Bubbles

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The greatest problem plaguing our modern world? Poorly applied iPhone screen protectors, of course. Thankfully, New Jersey-based startup Kioky has a solution–its Screen Care Pro back. The company’s “perfect fit technology” ships with the above plastic applicator, which centers the screen guard perfectly on your iPhone.
The pack ships in four different varieties–clear, matte, privacy, and mirror. The product is set for launch later this month for $25. At launch, it’ll only be available for iPhone customers. 

Turn Your iPad/iPhone Into an Etch A Sketch

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The above image? That’s an iPad. Yep. I did a double take on seeing a bunch of these sitting on HeadCase’s table, but if you look at the right hand side of the red bezel, you can see the Home button.
I’m sure the company’s employees are having a great time at CES this week, explaining that fact to everyone who walks by. I also heard them explain to a few folks that the case is just case–it doesn’t actually turn the iPad into an Etch A Sketch (if you want an Etch A Sketch, you can probably buy one pretty cheap, these days), and while there is an official Etch A Sketch app for the iPad, the buttons on the bottom are still just for decoration. Sorry.
The case is officially licensed and available now. There’s also an iPhone case for some mini Etch A Sketch action.

Pioneer wants to hold your iPhone and boost its GPS signal in its SmartCradle

Pioneer wants to hold your iPhone and boost its GPS signal in its SmartCradle

Yes, a little more news from Pioneer today, perhaps the biggest for those not looking for a new head unit. It’s the SmartCradle, which accepts an iPhone and offers integrated GPS, ala the Magellan GPS Car Kit. It also has a built-in amplified speaker and microphone for hands-free calling and, thankfully, has charging built-in to keep you from running out of juice half-way to Topkea. No word on a price yet, sadly, nor a release date, but good things come to those who wait.

Pioneer wants to hold your iPhone and boost its GPS signal in its SmartCradle originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 04:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cinemin Slice: iPad Dock Meets Pico Projector

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WowWee had at least one surprise up its sleeve at this year’s CES. The company last night showed off the Cinemin Slice, an iPad speaker dock that features a rear pico projector.


The Slice can project images up to 60 inches, with a viewable range of up to 125 inches. It projects at 16 ANSI lumens. Images are projected in a WVGA resolution at a 16:9 aspect ratio and a 100:1 contrast ratio. It features a 90 hinge and manual focus.

The 30-pin dock lets you plug in and charge your iPad, iPod, or iPhone. There’s also a Mini-HDMI and AV ports for plugging in other media players and a VGA port for computers.

The Cinemin Slice is coming later this month and is available now for pre-order from WowWee. It’ll run you around $430.

Monitor Your Blood Pressure With Your iPhone

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Last night at CES Unveiled (a kickoff show of sorts), a company called Withings was showcasing all manner of health gadgets, including a Wifi scale and an iPhone-based baby monitor. The centerpiece of the company’s booth, however, had to be the company’s Smart Blood Pressure Monitor.

Wrap the band around your arm, like a traditional blood pressure monitor, connect it to your iPhone or iPod touch (actually, the company just says “iOS device,” so I suppose the thing will work with the iPad, as well), and then, with the click of a button, it will send the relevant information to your mobile device.

The company uploads the information and give you your information and where you should be. It will also chart trends in your blood pressure, over time, including time of day trends.

The health gadget is launching this month, for $129.

Eton Soulra 2: Solar Powered iPod Dock

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Here’s the other cool bit of green tech we saw at tonight’s CES Unveiled show in Las Vegas. It’s the Soulra 2, from Eton, a new and improved version of the company’s solar powered iPod dock. Like its predecessor, leaving this thing out in the sun will both give you power for the speakers and charge up your iPod or iPhone.
This version ups the ante, however, with eight speakers and a giant solar panel which will give you eight hours of audio on a five hour solar charge. It’s a bit unwieldy, compared to other speaker docks, but the included strap should help you lug the thing around.

AirStash is a Flash Drive for iPad and iPhone

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Attendees at the Consumer Electronics Show this week will get a first look at the AirStash, a USB flash drive made just for the iPad and iPhone. With the AirStash, iPad and iPhone owners can wirelessly save and store documents from their device to their AirStash instead of emailing files. The drive offers both wireless and USB connections.

The drive delivers two-way connectivity with WebDAV, and works with apps such as Pages, Keynote, and Numbers. It can be used to stream audio or video files wirelessly, and it stores data on an SD card (up to 32GB per card). After a photo browsing and importing app is launched later this month, owners will be able to browse and batch import photos. It’s available for $99.

iPhone alarms still not working, worlds crashing left and right

Hey, you — it’s January 3rd. You know, the day you’re supposed to return to work / school / life. And the day you’re supposed to catch a flight you’ve had booked for three months. And probably a day that you’re supposed to accomplish lots of other tasks. Unfortunately for you, you actually believed that your iPhone alarm would fix itself when today rolled around, but based on hordes of complaints seen on Twitter and Facebook, said fix is still hibernating. And thus, you’re still sleeping. Even here at Engadget HQ, we’ve seen iPhone 4 handsets not wake us as promised (on non-recurring alarms), so who knows when Apple will step up to the plate and address the issue. In the meantime, go ahead and set up a recurring alarm while gently crossing your fingers and toes. Or, you know, buy a battery-powered alarm clock off of your grandmother.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

iPhone alarms still not working, worlds crashing left and right originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 10:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PSA: iPhone alarms not working come New Year’s Day 2011

We’re not exactly sure of the cause of this fancy new issue affecting Apple’s super cool iPhone line of cellphones, but apparently you’ve got trouble come 1/1/2011. According to an explosive stream of frustration-filled tweets on the Twitter microblogging service, when the clock strikes midnight, one off alarms will cease to sing out. The issue sounds eerily similar to recent Daylight Savings Time trouble we witnessed back in November, although we saw both repeating alarm and single alarm failures.

So how can you fix this potentially life-ruining problem? Well until Apple patches its OS — and it’s currently unclear if this is just iOS 4.2.1 or earlier versions as well — you can simply create a recurring alarm at the time you need to be woken up, and then disable it once your dreams are completely ruined. We’re taking a deeper look into the issue and have contacted Apple — if we get more news, you guys will be the first to know. In the meantime, feel free to commiserate in comments, and… happy new year?

Update: 9to5 Mac says that the bug will get fixed all by itself once the calendar hits January 3rd. We haven’t confirmed this, but if it turns out to be the case, that’s pretty good news. In less good news, the issue seems to be affecting iOS 4.1 and 4.0.2 as well.

Update 2: Apple responded to us on the issue, though they didn’t offer any surprises:

We’re aware of an issue related to non repeating alarms set for January 1 or 2. Customers can set recurring alarms for those dates and all alarms will work properly beginning January 3.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

PSA: iPhone alarms not working come New Year’s Day 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 21:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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