We’d be fibbing just a wee bit if we said that Eye-Fi functionality for the iPhone has always been imminent, but now that it’s real, we suppose we aren’t too surprised. Announced today at Macworld, the Eye-Fi application will enable iPhone owners (that just so happen to also own an Eye-Fi card) to upload images taken on their handset to their computer and the web. Reportedly, the app will allow users to aggregate all of their photos from both the iPhone and a digital camera into “organized folders on a computer and to one of 25 online photo sharing and social networking websites.” The app is also said to support geotagging just like the Eye-Fi Explore, though two crucial bits of info are sorely missing. First off, what happens with folks that don’t own an Eye-Fi card? And second, when is this app even coming out?
For those with a whiteboard full of Apple rumors, you’ll been keenly aware of the fact that the whole iPhone Air terminology has been tossed around before in a joking manner. This, however, is not a joke. In fact, it’s a very real KIRF, and it’s possibly one of the most awesome we’ve ever seen. We mean, who’d ever want an iPhone nano when one could have — wait for it — the iPhone Air. Aside from clean, beautiful, streamlined edges, those fortunate enough to procure one from China will also find dual SIM card slots, an FM radio, Bluetooth, a multimedia player and a built-in camera. The KIRF game just got stepped up good fashion, and we love it.
Now that the holiday season is officially over (CES notwithstanding), there’s officially no better time to get inebriated and wash away the sorrows of not having another government-recognized holiday for like, ever. After you’ve drug that dead tree out to the roadside and filled a few buckets with tears, why not try constructing your very Serv O’Beer in order to bring just a sliver of that joy back into your heart? Put simply, the project pictured above utilized Construx as the mechanical platform, a servo driving the action and ioBridge controlling the system; a so-called “perfect pour” was executed by linking an iPhone accelerometer to the system and turning it up. Have a look at the demonstration vid just past the break — dollars to donuts it’ll make you smile.
Macworld 2009 is the last one for Apple. Will El Schillerino come up with a hubblelicious supernova of hardware and software? Will it be a farty puff? Here are all the rumors, sorted by probability.
While Apple has downplayed its importance, maybe the Macworld 2009 keynote with Phil Schiller will be a special part of Steve Jobs’ exit strategy: Perhaps there will be a last explosion of announcements to show that the company can still hit the ball out of the stadium without El Jobso doing the show-n-tell.
In any case, here are all the rumors that have been circulating the web lately. Like always, remember our first rule of rumors: Never believe in them.
Sure shot iLife ’09 and iWork ’09: It’s a new year and time to get new versions of the most popular software suites for the Mac. Will they migrate to the cloud with tighter integration with MobileMe? Scary thought.
MacBook Pro 17: Another strong rumor this weekend has been the possibility of a new MacBook Pro 17-inch model. The new flagship (literally flagship, as you can probably sail the Atlantic on top of one) will have the same looks of the latest MacBooks and MacBook Pros, and perhaps a new battery technology that will push its autonomy to 50%.
Cinema Displays: Long overdue, the redesign of the 30-inch Apple Cinema Display, with new looks and LED backlighting, seems like a strong possibility. This has been rumored for quite a while, but after the announcement of the latest 24-inch LCD, this Macworld 2009 may be a good venue to announce a relatively low-key product like a display. Or maybe they will save this one for the new Mac Pros (which are long due for a redesign).
Hmmmmaybe iMac Early 2009: A site called PC Perspective claims that Apple will launch new revisions of the iMac, including a crazy 28-inch model that could be a great home computer/TV (and a great work computer for megalomaniacs like me).
Both Apple Insider and Ars Technica echo this rumor, pointing out that the supersizeme iMac will use Intel’s X58 chipset and an Intel Core i7 CPU with four cores and HyperThreading, which emulates the behavior of an eight-core system. On the graphics, they say to expect a dedicated Nvidia card, all tied together with a new cooling system technology. I wonder if it will have a new simplified look—like the one above—without the chin (thanks for the illustration, Sebastian).
My only “but” about this is the fact that Apple may want to save this one for an special event. After all, this approaches TV territory and may require its own sales pitch, not just a space in the keynote.
What?
Home server: Another rumor is a home server, a grown-up Time Capsule that will centralize all your media and available through the Web via MobileMe. Sure, because the media companies, like Disney—Steve’s other darling—will love that.
Snow Leopard: Given the fact that this new release is still a long time away, I don’t think this will happen at all. The features we already know—which are quite esoteric for most consumers—were announced at WWDC. And, whatever other secret features Snow Leopard has under the hood, they won’t be announced so much in advance. Specially with Windows 7 coming soon and with MS apparently back in the OS race. Wait for a Snow Leopard update later in the year.
Hahahaha. Ha
iPod Touch Pro:Some analysts are hot about a potential Apple netbook at Macworld. Jobs said they didn’t want to do it because it would be crap. I agree. But he didn’t exclude the possibility of expanding the iPhone/iPod touch family to fill that space, which Apple obviously sees as a computing platform with the same validity and scope of the Mac itself.
That’s why I think an iPhone OS-based tablet could be a possibility. But certainly, whatever product it is, it will require its own special announcement, not a segment at the last Macworld.
Or maybe Schiller will pull it out of a magic hat just to tell the world that nobody f*cks with The Schiller.
New version of the iPhone OS: Some people are saying new colors, others are saying new capacity. I’m saying: For the love of all that is good and sacred, add the bloody Copy and Paste. That’s my hope. Schiller talking about how good the iPhone has been doing and then saying that the next OS will add copy and paste at last.
One more thing
My personal bet is Steve Jobs appearing at the end, after Phil says “one more thing.”
And then they will do a tap dancing number like this:
If you’re American, don’t even pretend you care about this. ‘Cause you don’t care about mobile TV at all, and we’ve got the facts to prove it. For those parked in Japan, though, you have every right to get jazzed. Softbank’s 1seg TV tuner / battery charger has finally been loosed on the carrier’s home turf, and the lucky cats over at DVICE were able to acquire one and give it a whirl. Setup was said to be a breeze, the 1seg pickup was crystal clear and the device itself was satisfactorily lightweight. As for downsides, the entire app is in Japanese, and even with the extra juice, watching TV on the go zapped the life out in around an hour with brightness maxed. Check the full writeup and unboxing gallery in the read link below.
Knowing that it is unlikely that Apple would ever release an iPhone Pro with physical keyboard, Mat Brady from planetmat has sent me another image of a potential accessory. It looks great.
Mat says that he created the accessory answering readers’ feedback on sliding keyboards.
The slide-out keyboard has generated the most response from any of my suggested features. The general consensus stands firm on two opposing viewpoints:
1. Most people would prefer to have an optional slide-out keyboard, 2. but don’t believe Apple will ever “go backwards” and release anything like this.
In response to one comment (Mike) I have created what might be an answer to a third-party product which could solve this dilemma.
Actually, not a bad idea at all. It would be even cooler if, instead of being a third-party accessory, Apple actually released a modular iPhone, one that could admit different accessories like these but without the added bulk of building them around the original design. [Planetmat—Thanks Mat]
The iPhone Dev-Team works in mysterious ways, but it also works in quick ways. Granted, the iPhone 3G’s initial unlock took way longer than anyone would’ve liked, but when reports started surfacing that it wasn’t working particularly well after the first beta release earlier in the week, they appear to have worked doubletime to get a better version into circulation. The release is now up to v0.9.4 — still beta — but if you tried the first cut and struggled, we’d suggest giving the new version a whirl.
With the holidays and our year-end app lists (games and everything else), it’s been a little while since we last dove in to our weekly roundups. Time to catch up!
Mint: The app I’m most excited about over the last few weeks is Mint—a free iPhone companion to the popular online financial planning site. Mint gives you recent transactions, balances and budgetary breakdowns for any of your banking, investment or credit accounts, presented with really nice typography and design. It’s read-only—you can’t make any transactions—and if you lose your phone, a kill switch on Mint.com will disable remote access to your account. I use this app every day now. Free
iHand Massage: It’s a hand massager. Suuuuuure, and that sexytime font was chosen for its superb double ‘s’ ligatures, mmhmm? iHand gives you full control over your iPhone’s vibrator to relax away all the tensions of the day in whichever way you choose. $1
iBonsai: A diversion, but a pretty one: iBonsai uses a random-number algorithm to grow infinitely diverse bonsai trees before your eyes, which you can then rotate around in 3D and save as your wallpaper. $3 is a little steep, but it’s very pretty.
Bailout: The texts of US laws are in the public domain: If the developers of Bailout are making a grand ironic statement by demanding you pay $2 for the full text of the Bailout bill, hats off. I doubt they’re that smart, though.
Zephyr: Another hit from the guys at Smule, creators of Ocarina and, of course, Sonic Lighter. Zephyr lets you draw images with snowflakes, adds wintery whoosing sounds. Right. But the social aspect is very cool: you can then send your message out to other users of the app, who will see it drawn out on their own screens in real time and can then send a reply. I haven’t received Zephyr stick figure porn yet, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time. $1
Shapewriter 2.0 Pro: Shapewriter is an innovative text-input tool from the creator of the T9 auto-recognition system that’s now ubiquitous on phones everywhere: drag your finger over a soft keyboard connecting letters into words like a connect-the-dots puzzle, and Shapewriter will sort it out with surprising ease. The free version also has recently received a full v 2.0 overhaul, but the pro version for $10 will remove the supported ads and add landscape typing, internal copy and paste, and few more features not found in the free version.
RjDj Shake: And finally, RjDj Shake builds on the awesome concept of music generation that responds to your environment in real time by adding accelerometer input. Seven different scenes twist the sound you hear in different ways according to your shakes and shimmies. $3
This list is in no way definitive. If you’ve spotted a great app that hit the store this week, give us a heads up or, better yet, your firsthand impressions in the comments. And for even more apps: see our previous weekly roundups here, and check out our original iPhone App Review Marathon. Have a good weekend everybody.
A new Apple patent has been found that will assuredly warms the hearts (and hands) of many iPhone users currently enduring a cold winter. Originally filed a day before the iPhone’s June 28, 2007 launch, it details a glove with a thin, electrically conductive, “anti-sticky” inner layer that is able to function with a capacitive touchscreen. It also suggests the glove could have apertures on the fingertips for opening and closing the more protective outer layer. Of course, the concept is far from new — just do a quick Google search for “iPhone gloves” to see a wide variety of choices — and Apple doesn’t really dabble in this sort of iPhone / iPod accessory, but if Phil keeps his hands in his pockets for the first half of the Macworld keynote, we’re gonna start to get ideas.
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We’d be fibbing just a wee bit if we said that Eye-Fi functionality for the iPhone has always been imminent, but now that it’s real, we suppose we aren’t too surprised. Announced today at Macworld, the Eye-Fi application will enable iPhone owners (that just so happen to also own an Eye-Fi card) to upload images taken on their handset to their computer and the web. Reportedly, the app will allow users to aggregate all of their photos from both the iPhone and a digital camera into “organized folders on a computer and to one of 25 online photo sharing and social networking websites.” The app is also said to support geotagging just like the Eye-Fi Explore, though two crucial bits of info are sorely missing. First off, what happens with folks that don’t own an Eye-Fi card? And second, when is this app even coming out?
Macworld 2009 is the last one for Apple. Will El Schillerino come up with a hubblelicious supernova of hardware and software? Will it be a farty puff? Here are all the rumors, sorted by probability.
Knowing that it is unlikely that Apple would ever release an 
With the holidays and our year-end app lists (
