Nine Inch Nails iPhone App Awaits Apple's OK

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame has revealed details on a new innovative iPhone app currently awaiting approval from Apple that's offers fans a range of interactive features.

The pioneering musician, known for openly embracing the post-CD era with music and video downloads including torrent distribution, fan remixes and the power of social media, has been developing the app since last summer when he saw fans standing in line for a NIN gig taking and sending photos.

Reznor revealed to Wired magazine and on his Twitter feed plans to use Twinkle, an iPhone Twitter app from Tapulous, as the basis for his free app.

The app is billed as a mobile window on all things NIN: music, photos, videos, message boards, and even NIN fans via a GPS-enabled feature called Nearby.

Nearby is "kind of like Twitter within the Nine Inch Nails network," Rob Sheridan, Reznor's long-time collaborator told Wired magazine.

A feature on the new iPhone app's Nearby tab will enable fans to post messages and photos from their iPhones to the Web site and have them appear on Google Earth.

"You can post a message or a photo by location, and if you're at a show you can see conversations between other people who are right there," added Sheridan.

iPhone OS 3.0 is coming, preview on March 17th

We just got the announcement, iPhone OS 3.0 is coming. Set your clocks, mark your calendars. It's going down March 17th. Apparently, we'll get a sneak peak at the new OS, as well as a look at a brand new version of the SDK. Exciting stuff indeed, and we'll be there live at 10am PST (1pm EST) with the liveblog. Apple's calling this an "advance preview of what we're building," so we're not expecting anything ready to go as of the 17th, but hopefully this will allow developers to start building toward future functionality (hey, how about some push notifications?), and presumably users won't have too many months to wait after that for the real deal.

mophie's Juice Pack Air: world's thinnest iPhone 3G battery / case

mophie's iPhone 3G Juice Pack received universal praise, and while the additional baggage bothered some, most users just appreciated being able to utilize 3G for more than 47 seconds without needing an AC outlet. Not one to rest on its laurels, the company has today introduced the new and improved version: Juice Pack Air. Contrary to popular belief, this actually isn't intended for Apple's MacBook Air (now there's an idea to capitalize on, mophie), but instead, it's the planet's thinnest external iPhone 3G battery / case. The device houses a rechargeable 1,200mAh battery that "virtually doubles the amount of time you have to rock, talk, surf, and send messages." Eager consumers can pre-order theirs now in black, purple or white, while patient souls can mellow out until they hit mophie's website and Apple stores everywhere this Spring. Full release is after the jump.
Mophie Unveils Juice Pack Air - The World's Thinnest 'Works with iPhone' External Battery/Protective Case

Ultra-thin, light-weight juice pack air virtually doubles iPhone 3G battery life and offers the full protection of a hard-shell case in a low-profile design

Los Angeles, CA – February 11th, 2009 – mStation | mophie announces juice pack air, the world's thinnest apple-certified external battery for iPhone 3G. The rechargeable 1200 mAH lithium polymer battery housed in an ultra-thin case virtually doubles the amount of time you have to rock, talk, surf, and send. Juice pack air will be available to consumers world-wide this spring at Apple stores and mophie.com for $79.95 in Black, White, and Purple. http://www.mophie.com/products/juice-pack-air

Juice pack air features an innovative "standby mode" that allows users to control when they want to take advantage of additional battery support versus simply using it as a protective case. The integrated 4 LED charge status indicates how much juice is remaining in the external battery. Unique pass-through design allows users to simultaneously charge their juice pack air and sync their iPhone 3G with iTunes with the included USB cable.

"The juice pack air is a simple yet elegant battery boosting solution for iPhone 3G power users" says Ross Howe, Sales and Product Development Director for mStation | mophie. "Advanced features like standby mode and ultra-thin design make juice pack air the ideal option for both extended battery support and protection."

Additional Battery Time Provided by juice pack air

Standby Time:	Up to 270 hours
Talk Time:	Up to 4.5 hours (3G) Up to 9 hours (2G)
Internet Use:	Up to 4.5 hours (3G) Up to 5.4 Hours (Wi-Fi)
Audio Playback:	Up to 20 hours
Video Playback:	Up to 6 hours

The mophie juice pack air will be available at Apple stores and mophie.com this spring with an MSRP of $79.95. For more information, please visit www.mophie.com

About mStation | mophie
mStation is consistently praised for its ability to create quality products with cool Industrial Design. mStation recently acquired mophie, an iPod accessory company with a wide array of award-winning cases. Their products can be found in Apple Stores and major retailers worldwide.

LiveSpeakR iPod / iPhone sound system gets reviewed

Many wondered whether the unique LiveSpeakR would ever break through the concept stage; clearly, it has succeeded in hitting mass production, and our pals over at TUAW were able to spend some quality time with it. Hailed as a "super cradle," this device can latch onto an iPhone (original or 3G), iPod Classic and iPod Touch. Once attached, it can provide audio horizontally or vertically, depending on how you'd like to spin it. During testing, critics found the audio quality to be surprisingly nice, with them even being "astonished that such a big sound was produced by such a small speaker system." As expected, bass notes were a bit hush-hush, but reviewers did appreciate the RF shielding that enabled iPhones to remain on while not introducing buzz. All in all, they felt it was a bargain at $129.99 (and even more so at the sale price of $99.99), but we'd suggest reading the full spill before handing over your hard-earned dollars.

Google Latitude coming to other devices, iPhone included

T-Mobile's decision to bundle Google's Latitude location-tracking service into the RC33 G1 update may have gotten all the attention this morning, but if you've got a BlackBerry, Window Mobile or S60 device, you can start oversharing right away -- Latitude is built into the newest version of the Google Maps app. Not only that, but it looks like iPhone owners will be able to get in on the fun soon -- Google says it's working on a Latitude app that will "hopefully" be available shortly. We're guessing that means El Goog is tied up in App Store approval shenanigans -- it's certainly been naughty before -- but what we're really wondering is if the next rev of Apple's Maps app will include Latitude, since it's basically just a really nice Gmaps implementation. We're guessing the developers of Loopt and Whrrl are equally eager to find out -- "duplication of functionality," anyone?

New iPhone in June? Somebody seems to think so

Apple has a habit of refreshing its iPod and iPhone-type products on a pretty regular schedule, so a new iPhone in June really wouldn't be the surprise of the century, but now we've got word to that effect from the United Arab Emirates. Etisalat is picking up the iPhone 3G over there, along with providing support for existing iPhones sold on the gray market, but the writeup in Business 24/7 makes mention of a brand new iPhone hitting in June, which Etisalat will also get at launch. This could easily be a misunderstanding on the part of the reporter, a misquote, or a combination of signs, portents and omens, but it's certainly an interesting little tidbit. We'd have to think that anyone liable to get this story right would also be aware that a brand new iPhone would be worth more than a passing reference, but we suppose we'll just have to wait and see. Apple Insider also mentions rumblings of an upcoming iPhone having a fairly significant architecture overhaul -- that's mostly conjecture at this point, but might make sense (or room) for an iPhone nano. And you know how we love the iPhone nano.

Crackulous released, promises to bust iPhone app protection scheme

If Apple's sat back and let the iPhone hacking community do its thing in peace (well, relative peace) so far, this little gem just might be what the doctor ordered to stir up the crap. Crackulous -- available now in beta form through Cydia -- claims to be able to strip the protection off most apps downloaded from the App Store, meaning that just a single user needs to take the plunge and buy a target app once to get it busted and into free circulation. You need a jailbroken iPhone to get Crackulous loaded, naturally -- you'll see Apple make a Windows Mobile-powered device before you'll see Crackulous in the App Store -- but seeing how PwnageTool is dead simple to use, this puts most users just a couple graphical tools away from foolproof piracy and the golden opportunity to take a few hard-earned bucks out of a programmer's pocket.

Flash on iPhone IS Coming, Up To Adobe To Clear Tech Hurdles

Bloomberg's interview with Adobe's Shantanu Narayen reveals that Adobe is developing Flash for the iPhone, it's been in development since June 2008, and is a customized solution just for the iPhone.

Apple has said repeatedly that regular desktop Flash is too heavy (on CPU, and thus battery life) for the iPhone, whereas Flash Lite is too lousy. Jobs has coerced Adobe to create a custom solution. From Narayan's words of "the ball is in our court. The onus is on us to deliver," the engineering effort lies more in Adobe's engineering team than in Apple's.

Adobe actually said, back in September '08, that there would be a version released "in a very short time" if Apple approved it. Obviously either Apple rejected it, or Adobe themselves decided it wasn't quite resource-friendly enough to launch.

iPod / iPhone CES pavilion sells out in record time, quadruples to include Mac products -- goodbye, Macworld?

Damn, it hasn't even been a month since Apple's final Macworld Expo appearance, and it already looks like the show's in trouble -- the CEA just announced that its iPod / iPhone-centric iLounge Pavilion sold out just a week after being announced, and that it's quadrupling in size to include Mac-specific products and retailers as well. That means there's going to be 18,000 square feet of CES solely dedicated to the Apple ecosystem, and without the draw of an Apple product announcement to bring the press to Macworld, it's going to be pretty tough for it to attract the top-tier companies and product launches it needs to survive in the face of the CES juggernaut. We'll see how this plays out -- we've got a feeling next year's Macworld is going to be dramatically different.

P.S.- Regardless of what happens, we still think it's really unlikely that Apple itself comes to CES -- why would it ever want to share the spotlight?

2010 INTERNATIONAL CES iLOUNGE PAVILION SELLS OUT IN RECORD TIME; SPACE QUADRUPLED TO ACCOMMODATE CUSTOMER DEMAND

2010 CES iLounge Pavilion to Feature Largest Display of iPod, iPhone and Mac Technologies in Show History
Arlington, Va., January 29, 2009 – The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® today announced that the iLounge® Pavilion, a unified iPod®, Phone® and Mac® exhibition area at the 2010 International CES®, has quadrupled in size since its official launch last week. The iLounge Pavilion, co-sponsored by CEA and iLounge.com, will feature manufacturers and retailers of iPod and iPhone accessories, related products and services, and based on requests from vendors, will now grow to include leading Mac developers and retailers as well. Owned and produced by CEA, the 2010 International CES, the world's largest tradeshow for consumer technology, is scheduled for January 7-10, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"We have received an incredible response from companies interested in exhibiting in the iLounge Pavilion at the 2010 International CES," said Karen Chupka, senior vice president, events and conferences, CEA. "In fact, the original space allocated for the pavilion sold out in less than one week – a CES show record - and we've quadrupled the space to accommodate the overwhelming demand. This exciting new CES Pavilion brings momentum to the consumer technology industry and reinforces the International CES as the global hub for the latest innovative technologies."

"Leading Apple developers and retailers are excited to have such an outstanding stage at the 2010 International CES," said Jeremy Horwitz, editor-in-chief, iLounge. "Whether they're showing off iPod accessories, iPhone applications, or the latest and coolest new Mac products, they know that they'll find the world's largest audience at this great new pavilion."

The iLounge Pavilion, originally floored with 4,000 net square feet of exhibit space which sold out in the first week following the launch, has increased to 18,000 net square feet. Exhibiting companies in the 2010 CES iLounge Pavilion, which will be housed in the Las Vegas Convention Center, South Hall 2, include Griffin Technology, Mobis Technology, Pro Clip USA, Scosche, Incase Designs, Incipio Technologies, iSkin and GelaSkins.

IPhone Apps Round-up: The Sporting Life

The moment the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers settle matters on Sunday at Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, we enter a blighted period for sports fans. The basketball and hockey seasons are deep into their dog days with the playoffs to far away to think about, baseball players haven't reported for spring training yet, and the only football on the docket is the execrable Pro Bowl--an all-star game that even the all stars hate participating in. Truly, the month of February is a grim time for our nation's sports pages.

And yet, several new additions to the App Store promise to see sports fans through this barren stretch with an oasis of information about their favorite sports and teams.

Prolific app maker GP Apps has spent the past few days ramping up its team-specific iFan offerings for folks with a college basketball jones. The iFan app offers the latest news, scores, and schedule information tailored to your favorite team. Just append the name of your school at the end of iFan--iFanNorthCarolina, say, if your a die-hard Tar Heel, or iFanUCLA if you need to know about all things Bruin. By my count, there are more than 50 iFan apps tailored to schools from the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East, Pac-10, and SEC conferences; GP Apps also makes conference-specific trackers as well. Each iFan app costs US$1.

Shane McCafferty is also targeting specificity-loving sports fans with a five-pack of applications all focused on a lone sport. The Back Pages apps feature offerings for Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League, the National Hockey League, and soccer. Each of the $1 apps offer headline news related to their particular sport.

Finally, fans of other sports can turn to a pair of programs from iApp Ventures. Horse Racing Live delivers horse-racing headlines directly to any iPhone or second-generation iPod touch while Nascar Live offers to do the same for stock-car racing. Horse Racing Live costs $10 while Nascar Live costs $5.

Other apps of interest that were recently updated or added to the App Store include:

Palringo Instant Messenger , from Palringo: The latest update to the free instant-messaging app lists how far contacts are from you in addition to listing the name of their current location.

Cooliris , from : Version 1.3 of the free photo and video search tool adds Flickr and Picasa support as well as performance and stability improvements.

PocketPhonics , from Apps in My Pocket: The $3 app uses animated graphics, sound, and touch to teach children to read via phonics; a free lite version is also available for download.

The Scene , from FiveBG's: The free application finds bars and clubs near your current location as well as a feed of local activities.

ControlPad , from Tienshiao Ma: The $3 utility turns your iPhone or iPod touch into a wireless trackpad and keyboard that can work with OS X, Windows, and Linux machines.

RandPass , from DW:design: The free utility is a random password generator that can create passwords up to 30 characters long.

IPhone Group Texting

Reader Mark Ritter would like to spread the word from his iPhone more efficiently. He writes:

How can I create a group or send text to multiple recipients easily on an iPhone? Currently, I have to pick each recipient individually. I have over 30 people to send to sometimes.

Unfortunately you can't use the groups in the iPhone's Contacts area for sending a single message to multiple recipients. Instead, as you've discovered, to send one message to many you must tap in the To field of a new text message, tap the Plus icon, choose a contact, and, if that contact has more than one phone number listed in their Info screen, choose the phone number you want to use. To add the next recipient, tap the To field again, tap the Plus icon again, and... repeat.

Not very efficient. Note, however, that once you've created one such message, you can later text all the recipients in that list again without going through this rigmarole. All you need to do is to find the original message you sent to the group within the Text Messages screen (here's hoping you haven't deleted it), and tap in the Send field to create your message. When you tap Send, the message will be sent to all those recipients. Essentially it's like you're carrying on the same conversation, though it may be days or weeks later.