To connect your VooMote to your television box (or straight up to your television, as it may be), you’ve only got to select the model from the vast list of devices the VooMote application has pre-configured. If your device is not in the VooMote library, you have only to take the time to connect the buttons on the remote control you use now to the digital remote control you’re about to use on your iPhone. This process can be a bit of a hassle the one time you’ll have to go through it, but once you’re connected, you can go ahead and toss that old remote in the bottom drawer.

In the hands-on video above you’ll see in a very general way what it means to have the VooMote Zapper connected to your iPhone 4S. In addition to the Zapper there’s a whole collection of cases that go with the line and match up with its lovely set of color options: Smart gray, blue, green, pink, navy, red, white, or what we’ve got here: black. Each VooMote Zapper has 4 built-in IR transmitters (or what they call “Mini Blasters”) that’ll allow you to change channels from any which direction you can imagine – just so long as you’re in range of the unit in general.

You get a set of several screens with control buttons that you can attach to your television (or game console like the Xbox 360, for example) that, again, will be connected automatically or manually to the functions you’d like them to be connected to. The VooMote Zapper App will also be updated inside 2012 to include TV Guide as well as integration with Facebook and Twitter for sharing – exciting stuff!

You can purchase the VooMote Zapper for $69.99 USD (and the app is free) or the VooMote One (a similar device with basically the same functionality but a slightly different form factor for $99.99 USD – your choice! Then the cases you see in a couple of the photos in the gallery below are coming soon – brightness! Also feel free to check out the app on the iTunes App Store right this second too, totally free – you’ll need the Zapper to do much of anything with it, of course.

When the final question was laid down Apple today it was regarding Cook and his position in the company: “As CEO you’ve stated that you want to focus on preserving Apple’s culture, Apple’s strategy. When you look back at CEO changes historically – every CEO leaves their mark on a company’s strategy and on their culture. Can you walk us through, in your opinion, what you’re really determined to maintain?” Cook’s answer was more than just an talk on his position in the company, but of his company’s position in the world:

“Well I think the most important part of that question is that second part. Apple is this unique company – unique culture that you can’t replicate. And I’m not going to witness or permit the slow undoing of it because I believe in it so deeply. Steve grilled in all of us over many years that the company should revolve around great products, and that we should stay extremely focused on a few things, rather than try to do so many that we did nothing well. And that we should only go into markets where we can make a significant contribution to society – not just sell a lot of products.

And so, you know, these things along with keeping excellence as an expectation of everything in Apple. These are the things that I focus on – because I think those are the things that make Apple this really magical place that really smart people want to work in and sort of do… not just their life’s work, but their life’s best work.

There’s no better thrill than to look out at an audience – I can’t see anything because of these lights – but look at the audience and see people using iPhones, or go to the gym and see people using iPods, or go to Starbucks and see people using iPads.

These are the things that bring a smile to me face.

There’s no replacement or no substitute for that. And so we’re always focused on the future. We don’t sit and think about how great things were yesterday. I love that trait because I think it’s the thing that drives us all forward. Those are the things I’m holding on to. It’s a privilege to be a part of it.” – Tim Cook

Sound like the man you’d like running your largest technology company on earth? It seems as though Apple is in good hands with Tim Cook.

In addition, as is the custom, each of these designs have been formatted to fit your iDevice backgrounds, desktop, iPad, and iPhone sizes included. These collections come in a Snap Case for iPhone, a Snap Case for iPod Touch, a Campus Pack, and some canvas sleeves for your laptops. There’s a 13-inch Canvas Sleeve and a 15-inch Canvas sleeve – both of which happen to fit Apple products perfectly, incase you’re wondering.

Also for those of you that do not recognize the designs, Shepard Fariey is an artist famous for his original Obey Giant graffiti campaign as well as the Obama HOPE poster image revealed during the 2008 election season. The incase online store has the snap cases for $39.95, campus packs for $149.95, and canvas sleeves for $79.95 and $98.95 depending on the size. All of these designs are available for purchase right now!

Also if you want to pick up some wallpapers, head over to incase’s Shepard Fairey page and head to the bottom – your desires are met!

Essentially everything about this monster is recycled or recyclable – not that you’d ever want to recycle such a lovely amalgamation – and is made to give you a unique experience as well as vision. The wood you’ve got here is FSC certified Birch, the canvas is durable and will bring you back to your army days, and the plastic throughout the setup is entirely recyclable. The packaging the whole setup comes in is recycled, as well, so you’ll have nothing you need to throw away when you get the device in the mail.

The speakers you see here are both 4.5-inch high-definition woofers, the setup also having two 1-inch tweeters, 32 watts of power and DSP Sound Processing on the whole. That means high quality sound on both the high and the low end. There’s a pocket on the side, two sets of handles for the different ways you might want to carry while you blast, and the whole beast is set to ship this month. If you order one of these mothers up today, you’ll get it by the middle of the month – $349.99 at the House of Marley right now.

Android Temple Run fans should take note that once speaking with the official crew behind the game we’ve discovered that the original March 9th date was never an official marker for the game to come out, only a guesstimation mostly passed on as a rumor. The postponing of this game’s release isn’t so much an error or a fix as it is a simple reality: the game was not necessarily going to come out today anyway. But so it goes, and so goes the game to a later date and we to the waiting box once again.

For those of you rocking an iPod Touch or an iPhone in the meantime, you can head to the iTunes App Store right this second to pick this game up for free. This game also works on iPad and we can expect that it’ll work on any sized Android device once its released as well. Jump and skip and flip and collect those coins soon!

[via Android Community]

You can grab the application from the Android Market right this moment for free and will be able to sign in with your regular Steam account. From here you’re going to be exploring the same world of friendly or not so friendly gamers you know and love and will be able to check out gaming information galore on the go. The reason Steam has this application set up is to keep their friendly customers at home in the same community wherever they go, even if they’re not able to play the games as they drive to the bakery.

This application can also be downloaded from the iTunes App Store for your iOS devices, it ready to go for all manner of iDevices from iPhone to iPad and back again just so long as you’re running iOS 4.0 or newer. This application is, again, free for download and you will need your own Steam name and login to enter the community. For support on this and other Steam applications, head to the Steam Support page and find your way around!

Compared to last year, the percentage change in units and revenue in the iPhone category was 128% and 133%, this meaning that the change is only slightly greater there than it was between this quarter and the last quarter of 2011. So the first quarter of 2011 and the last quarter of 2011 are fairly similar in their overall totals. The difference between Q4 2011 and Q1 2012 then, percentage-wise, is 117% in units and 122% in revenue. This of course means that we can guess that the last quarter of 2012 will be somewhat similar to this first quarter, the first quarter of 2013 then being the next big jump in sales.

Another point to pick out of all the statistics on this particular earnings call is that the only negative numbers anywhere in the whole report are seen when you compare iPod sales to last year at this time. Units sold when you compare Q1 of 2012 to Q1 of 2011 were down 21%, with revenue also falling 26%. Is this the end of the iPod age? Will we never see a rise in sales again? This all depends on if there’s an equitable model popping up before the end of the year, of course – seeya then!

The iProjection app works with devices running iOS 4.2 or later, which includes the iPad 2, iPhone 4S, and iPod touch. It integrates cloud features that let users access files from cloud services such as Dropbox and email applications such as Gmail.

The app supports full Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Keynote, and PDF documents. Image files such as JPEG, TIFF, and PNG are also supported. The app is free to download and is available now in the iTunes App Store.

[via Engadget]

The iConnectMUSE features six stereo inputs and six stereo outputs, each with its own unique mix. It converts studio-quality analog audio into digital, offering higher quality audio processing and the ability to share and mix audio through an iOS device. It can even charge your iOS device at the same time. And all this is packed into an ultra-compact palm-sized device that the aspiring or professional musician can easily travel with to compose while in a hotel room or on tour and between gigs.

The mixer also features two USB ports, two 1/4-inch output audio jacks, a headphone monitor jack, Ethernet connection, and a MIDI pass-thru interface with limited DSP processing. The iConnectMUSE will be available in the second quarter of 2012, priced at $229.99.

Each of the instruments, the drums, keyboard, and guitar, plus the updated Soulo mic also announced this week will work together to create one big immersive Soulo music experience, each of them compatible with all of your iDevices. You’ve got enhanced audio and video recording features as well as holiday-themed song and backgrounds pre-loaded into the app, which is of course free on the iTunes App Store – that available soon.

For now you can peek at the Soulo Karaoke app made already available for the Soulo mic, and we’ll have a peek and see if we can get some hands-on time on the floor at CES 2012. Look like something you’d be apt to use with your iDevices? Have a peek!

Tickle the Woogie 2, and the characters laugh; shake it and they get dizzy. It can also repeat words and phrases – with the option to turn that feature off, if you’re getting sick of the parroting – and if you leave it alone the characters fall asleep.

As before, the soft-stuffed furry legs make the iPhone easy to prop up for a child to tap at, and a clear plastic window gives the touchscreen some protection while still including headphone socket access. You can download the Woogie app free here [iTunes link].

The original Woogie was a fond favorite of Avi Greengart, appearing in two successive last-minute holiday gift guides. The new Woogie 2 is available for order now, in blue or pink, priced at $19.99.

The Home Control Switch allows you to plug in a lamp or other mains gizmo and then turn it on both remotely, via the app, or locally, via a button on the box itself. Alternatively, you can have it trigger automatically, when the Motion Sensor spots movement, either turning lights or other devices on when you walk into range, or off when you leave the room.

Belkin only has these two devices so far, but promises that a remote garage door opener, door lock, lighting controls and a baby monitor – with streaming audio – are in the pipeline. The company has also done a deal with electric lock company Kwikset, whose Home Connect security locks will also gain WeMo support: users will be able to lock or unlock remotely, as well as see the current security status on-screen.

The Belkin Home Control Switch and Motion Sensor will go on sale this coming summer, priced at $49.99 for the switch and $99.99 for both devices in a bundle. The control app will be a free download when it arrives in the App Store.

Connectivity includes both WiFi and ethernet, and there’s a digital audio output socket to hook up a separate amp system along with an analog input for non-Apple PMPs. On the front is an iPhone/iPod touch/iPod dock for local playback, or alternatively you can stream using AirPlay from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or iTunes on a PC or Mac.

Two way sync means you can use the volume controls on the Contour 200i Air itself to adjust the settings on your Apple device, and Pure throws in a remote control as well. The company also offers the Pure Lounge app, to tune in to internet radio through your iOS device, as a free download from the App Store.

The Pure Contour 200i Air will go on sale in March 2012 for $329.

This device is able to play your music in two ways: either with AirPlay or the 30-pin dock connector – no Bluetooth this time! You’ll enjoy audio to the maximum through your Apple devices either with your iPhone or iPad’s own touch interface or with the IR remote that comes with the device. This dock is made for iPads, iPhones, and iPod Touch devices, and unlike its larger cousin, the JBL OnBeat Xtreme, you cannot work with Android devices here.

This dock is available right this moment for the cool price of just $249.95 USD. Sound like a value proposition to you? Dock it up!

“Xbox LIVE Mobile team is looking for a passionate and experienced developer to join us brining [sic] Xbox LIVE entertainment experiences to various mobile platforms. As the team inside IEB (Interactive Entertainment Business) dedicated to mobile experiences, we work closely with console software team and Xbox LIVE services team to bring the latest and greatest gaming and entertainment experience to mobile platforms including Windows Phone, iOS and other mobile platforms. Combining Xbox LIVE experiences together with mobile devices has enabled many new opportunities and interesting user scenarios such as location based gaming and social networking, avatar with presence, etc. As a software development engineer on the team, you will have the opportunity to help define and design the experiences for the project, you will get to work with a team of energetic and talented developers, and you will have the luxury to work with all sorts of mobile devices to create the official Xbox LIVE mobile experiences.” Microsoft job description

Although until now Xbox LIVE and the Xbox gaming experience has concentrated on Windows Phone, where Microsoft has positioned the smartphone OS’ integration as a differentiator from rival platforms, the company has dabbled in games on other devices. Last month, Microsoft released a version of its Kinectimals companion game for iPhone and iPad, while earlier this month the company’s Microsoft Studios gaming division inked a deal with a casual game developer known for its iOS and Facebook games.

Meanwhile, a My Xbox LIVE app for iOS was also released in December, allowing iPhone and iPad users to IM with their LIVE contacts, tweak their avatar and call up a list of recent achievements. However no actual gameplay is supported, and the app is reminiscent of the fledgling support the first iteration of Windows Phone had for Xbox services.

That, however, may well be changing in the coming months, as Microsoft apparently broadens its approach to mobile gaming. Of course, there’s also Windows 8 tablets to consider, something else Microsoft is believed to be looking to flesh out with gaming options, and the person selected for this new role might end up working on better integrating Xbox LIVE into Windows-proper.

[via Business Insider]

Each of these bags cost 33,000 yen (about $428) and has a lovely New Year’s design on the side. Over at AppBank it seems that they’ve happened upon at least one lucky customer’s bag contents, that being the following:

• Porter Bag (gray)
• iPod Touch 4th Generation 8GB
• mophie Juice Pack Reserve v2
• Uncommon Capsule Case
• iZON Remote Room Monitor
• INCASE Reflex

It’s been reported that the big ticket items, again, were MacBook Airs and iPad 2 units, specifically the 16GB Wi-fi version for the iPad 2. For the MacBook Air, they were the (11-inch, Mid 2011) / Core i5 1.6GHz/2GB/64GBSSD units you know and love. Ringo Sanco also had the following image showing the front of the store they went to – season’s greetings!

Given the cost and the relative uncertainty of the items inside the bags, would you drop some cash on a Fukubukuro? I can’t say I wouldn’t be curious, but for $428 I might just have to add a few bucks and buy an iPad 2 and be done with it. Maybe next year we’ll see the stakes go up!

[via MACnn]

That means you can have your iPad or iPhone plugged in to recharge, or hooked up to other peripherals, while you play. 60beat also throw in a headphone splitter cable, so that you can still hear the audio, and the whole thing is battery-free.

Controls include dual analog joysticks and a regular D-Pad, along with ten actions buttons including two built into the sticks themselves. The biggest limitation today is game compatibility: titles have to be specifically made to support the GamePad. Right now, that’s limited to just two titles, but 60beat claims “a full collection” is due in February 2012.

[via CrunchGear]

One of the most enticing videos to be made for mobile products as a whole is and always had been the drop test. When you’ve got a device that’s got the ability to run fantastically intricate processes at high definition and in such a tiny bit of hardware you must assume it’s fragile, it’s always the best to see people try to trash it. That’s why Optrix got smart, showing off how even when the mount is tossed out of a window or ran over by a truck, your iPhone remains safe and functional.

You can purchase this magical product over at Optrix.com for the low low price of $89.99, and that includes the case and the mount. They’ve got a whole ecosystem of support over there too to keep you up on your abilities with this product, of course, and your iPhone 4, your iPhone 4S, and your iPod Touch will thank you once you’ve got it. It’s rugged and oh so lovely.

Have a peek at another video produced with an iPhone 4S filming inside this case mount for an impressive high five of a demo. Then pick one up, of course.

The app lets you connect to any number of Windows or Mac computers that have the free LogMeIn client installed. This can be good for troubleshooting a client’s computer, checking on download progress, or controlling a media center PC.

There’s also a LogMeIn Pro option that costs $12.20 a month that gives you added functionality, including access to your desktop computer’s complete file structure for transferring files to and from your iOS device, integrated cloud services like Dropbox and Google Docs, and a HD video streaming feature that works with Windows PCs.

If you’ve paid for the previous LogMeIn Ignition service then you’re automatically grandfathered in to get all the new Pro features for free. The app is available now at the iTunes App Store.

The exact cause of the problem is still unclear, with Apple yet to comment publicly on the issue. However, what’s important for owners is that they’ll be able to take advantage of the various holiday promotions generally launched just prior to the App Store team locking down the top ten charts.

Speculation had grown that Apple might be quietly adding pressure to those running older devices to upgrade to newer versions of iOS, or even to newer iPhone and iPod touch models altogether. That now seems not to be the case, however.

[via Engadget]

Complaints seemingly began after a December 16 update, leaving owners able to update the apps they currently have installed but not acquire any new ones.

The timing of the issue could well prove frustrating to owners and developers, with Apple’s holiday “lock-down” fast approaching. App Store staff take an eight day break from Thursday this week, during which point no new apps are added and the various charts are frozen.

That can mean big rewards for any developers lucky enough to get their software in those charts in time, which often means cut-price downloads in the preceding days. EA, for instance, has promised over thirty cheap games prior to the lock-down, something iOS 3.1.3 users won’t be able to take advantage of on their device (though they will, of course, be able to buy them on iTunes and then sync them across).

Apple is yet to officially acknowledge the issue, or indeed give any indication that a fix might be incoming.

[via Engadget; Image credit mwiesner]

According to Facebook, you’ll need to have already set up Timeline on your desktop before you’ll be able to view and edit it on the iPhone app. Currently it’s an opt-in process, with new users given seven days to fettle their page – and get rid of anything too incriminating – before it goes live. However, the social network has confirmed that eventually Facebook Timeline will be a mandatory upgrade for all of its users.

iPad support, meanwhile, is “coming soon” though no exact release schedule is given. Facebook for iOS v4.1 also adds improved friends lists, subscribers and subscriptions control when mobile, a streamlined photo viewing system with improvements in how comments can be left, and various performance tweaks.

Timeline went live worldwide last week, bringing the updated interface to anybody who opted in. Unlike the current profile page, which shows a relatively static view of a user’s interests and other details, Timeline presents a long history of Facebook activity using video, photos, text, links and more. However, privacy advocates have responded cautiously to the new system, suggesting people will inevitably over-share.

The BT Portable Speaker, weighing in at a mere 3.3 ounces, is highly transportable, but Bass lovers don’t fret. This speaker is loaded with Satechi’s signature Bass Expansion System which extends the speakers to amplify audio range. If you’re attached to your beloved subwoofer and think nothing else can compare, think again. The BT Portable Speaker has a vacuum chamber that “opens up like an accordion” to mimic the acoustic properties of your beloved subwoofers.

The speaker comes equipped with long-lasting lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, ensuring up to six hours of playback time. You will also find integrated buttons to control next track, volume, play/pause and answer/end calls. An LED status indicator, USB cable to connect the device to any USB charger or port and 3.5mm jack compatible with most Bluetooth-enabled devices are additional features of the BT Portable Speaker.

Be sure to pick one up for your tech lover!

For those with a copy of the Xbox 360 game, the mobile version allows you to take your pet with you on the move, playing with it while on the bus or tickling it while queueing in the store. There’s also the ability to unlock five new pets using the mobile game, that then becomes available on the console version. Those without the main game can still use Kinectimals as a standalone title, however.

Although a Microsoft app for iOS isn’t exactly a new thing – the company has a reasonably long history of pushing out titles for Apple’s devices – a game is quite unusual. If you download it, let us know how you get on in the comments.

While below you’ll see the video we’re speaking about here, lower than that you’ll find another brand new Beatles-related bit that’s popped up on iTunes this month: The Beatles Yellow Submarine book for kids. This book is completely free on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch at the moment, and is certainly meant to push for a greater adoption of the iBooks application on the iOS platform for you to hold all your non-magazine reading material purchased from the iTunes store. This Yellow Submarine book is the only digital version of the perfectly classic little adventure based on the movie and can be read aloud by whatever iDevice you run it on.

As for the ad, once more, please take note that we’ve jumped into the record album covers, the vinyl covers that were (and are) oh so massive and beautiful. Here right out in the open you’ll find that Apple is re-invigorating (or just invigorating, depending on how old you are) your love for embracing the album cover rather than tossing it aside the moment you toss your CD into your expanded wallet of CDs. What digital music displayed on your mobile device (here in an iPhone or an iPad) has done is to bring the idea that the cover matters back to the forefront – and what better way to declare it than with some of the most masterfully crafted examples in the history of vinyl than this?

You can pick up the Yellow Submarine book as well as check out the extended Beatles collection on iTunes – and turn the crank on classics all holiday season long!

That’s because Siri doesn’t reside solely on the iPhone itself, but relies on Apple’s remote servers. To convince those servers to work with H1Siri, the app must pretend that its requests are coming from a genuine iPhone 4S, and has used binaries from that device.

Exactly how well the app has been put together is in question, with complaints of devices locked at the Apple logo among other problems. As iDownloadBlog points out, the CD-Dev Team behind the Siri hack are also having issues keeping their servers up.

However, it’s the privacy issues that are arguably more concerning for most users. By using the H1Siri proxy, you’re basically redirecting your email, text messages, calendar, contacts, location and other details through a third-party server, with no guarantees as to what, exactly, those running that server might do with them. Considering the furore over Carrier IQ in the past weeks, purposefully putting your personal data into another company’s hands seems somehow ironic.

[via TechCrunch]

You’ll be installing H1Siri in a flash right after you’ve got your jailbreak on, and though that bit may be more than a couple steps when it comes down to it, can you put a price on having the software that at the moment is only otherwise allowed on the iPhone 4S? There are some drawbacks of course, like the possibility that your camera will break or that you’ll get a mass of errors once you start trying to access the servers Siri relies on to bring you all of its infinite knowledge, but heck! It’s a bunch of fun anyway, right? Have a peek at the system here working on an iPhone 4:

So here’s your situation — follow the directions at InTech if you do so dare to try it all out, but don’t be surprised if your device doesn’t like what’s being done to it, as none of this is sanctioned by Apple. Then see what you could have, of course, if you just go ahead and purchase the full real deal in our review of the iPhone 4S. Also remember we’ve got a review of iOS 5 if you want to take a look at that, and don’t skip the Siri video there as well. It’s Siri for all!

[via Verge]

The release notes for the build do not give any specific information on what new features are in the beta. However, there has been mention of “iPad 2,4″ found in the code, and this could be a sign of a 3G iPad 2 that will work on Sprint’s networks in the U.S., seeing as how Sprint is the latest carrier to get the iPhone 4S. Currently, the iPad 2 3G is only compatible with AT&T and Verizon.

It was previously believed that the next update to come before the year’s end would be 5.0.2, which was to further fix the battery performance that seems to be affecting many users. Seeing as how the 5.1 beta has now been released, it seems likely that Apple is solely focused on this update, and not another minor patch like 5.0.1. Apple has a pattern of putting out two or three developer betas before an update is completed, so it will probably be a few weeks before 5.1 is available for users to download.

[via Cnet]

The whole setup here is a matte black with orange accents, and the build is nearly top quality in all places. Much of the outsides here in this set of items is plastic, this both proving to be good in that it’ll bounce back if you drop it and wont damage the floor of your dorm or apartment, and bad in that you won’t get many “oh sweet, what is THAT you’ve got there?” comments. No worries though, this speaker setup is high quality, working both in party-level sound blast loudness and silent tuning to perfection for your exacting musical tastes. To make these adjustments you’ve only to download the free application from the iTunes App Store (for iPod Touch, iPad, or iPhone), and fire it up, controlling the speaker either by docking your device or by connecting via Bluetooth. There’s also a tiny remote control included if you’re more apt to docking the iDevice and stepping back from the action with as small a controller as possible.

One of the comments Chris Davies made when this product was originally announced was that it was quite enticing in that it didn’t actually require you to dock your iDevice to make it play the beats you had controlled from said device. Truly this is a pro as should you be wanting to play your music in one part of the house and are walking to and fro putting away dishes or doing the laundry, you can stop anywhere, pop that iPhone out of your pocket, and flip to the next song. It’s a testament to XtremeMac that I’m fairly certainly I’ll not ever be able to give a mobile device dock a positive review in the future unless its got the ability to connect to the device in question via Bluetooth. Anything less is just uncivilized!

You can play any audio you’ve got ringing out of your iDevice through this speaker, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that since Google Music recently left Beta and now allows everyone free storage of up to 200,000 songs on their own servers, we’d check out how to make it happen here. What we’ve got here is two options: first, you can access Google Music by heading to music.google.com in your web browser window on your iDevice and play some songs like that. Second, and this is the one demonstrated here in the video, is an app by the name of gMusic.

This app allows you essentially the same interface that your Android pals now have for Google Music and connects you instantly with all 200,000 of your songs just so long as you’ve got a Wi-fi connection (or simply a data connection if you’re using an iPhone, of course.) Tap into the fun and fire up a Weird Al track if you should so dare. You can pick this unit up today at Best Buy for a cool $100 USD, lucky you!

You’ll have yourself a top of the line sound recorder with this set of condenser microphones, one device to give your iPhone the same high-quality recording abilities as Tascam’s best-selling DR-series recorders – and that’s hot. You’ll just connect this bumper in to the dock connector on your iDevice and you’ll instantly have recording with over 180 degrees of adjustment for the microphones. In addition, uni-directional elements sit inside the AB patten that’ll bring you no less than what Tascam considers high class detailed stereo imaging.

What sets this particular 3rd party recorder apart from the others plugging into the iPhone is that it contains its own microphone preamp and analog-to-digital converter. Other mics use the iPhone’s own preamp, while the iM2 can take in up to 125dB of sound without distortion. That means the Slayer concert will actually be listenable after you bring it on home. There’s a stereo limiter inside as well incase there’s any sudden air-horns sneaking up on the unit.

If you’re needing to charge your iDevice up while you’re recording, you can so so with the USB input on the side of the unit. You can do with with your own cord or with Tascam’s included PS-P515U power adapter. You can use the unit to record sound on its own with your Tascam PCM recorder app or you can simply use it as highly powerful microphone for when your filming videos with your iDevice’s camera.

You can buy this little monster on pre-order right now for $79.99, grab it!

If you’ve wanted a new iPod for a while, Apple has discounts on both the iPod touch and iPod nano. The touch is down to $178, a saving of $21, while the nano is $118, an $11 saving. MacBook Pro buyers can save $101 off a new notebook, with prices from $1,098.

Meanwhile, accessories and peripherals are also discounted in many cases, with both Apple’s own products and those of third-party manufacturers getting a Black Friday price cut. The Magic Trackpad, Magic Mouse and Bluetooth Keyboard are all down to $58, from $69, while there’s $21 off a Time Capsule or AirPort Extreme. iPad 2 Smart Covers are down to as little as $28.

Anybody tempted by something shiny with an Apple logo today?

That means, despite the iPad 2 having been on sale for months now, actually finding it at a cheaper price than Apple’s original RRP can be tricky. Apple is also offering the iPod touch at £154 and the iPod nano at £104, while the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro start at £768 and £918 respectively. An iMac will set you back £918.

As for accessories, everything from Time Capsules (from £228) through Bluetooth Keyboards (£48) and the Magic Trackpad (£48) are included, along with iPad Smart Covers from £24. Plenty of third-party manufacturers have got in on the action too, with iPhone and iPad cases, speaker-docks, accessories and more.

The app itself is free, however, you still need to purchase one of Iridium’s satellite phones to act as the hotspot access point to share the satellite data connection with your iOS devices. And as you may have heard at some point in time, satellite phones and service aren’t cheap. The phone itself will cost about $1,000 to $1,500 while the bandwidth is charged at $1 per minute of usage.

But if you’re the seafaring kind where data connections are shoddy if existent at all and you must stay connected, you can at least do so now and still be connected on your iOS device. Iridium also recently launched its AxcessPoint WiFi hotspot apps for the BlackBerry, Mac and Windows laptops.

[via Engadget]

This app extends the capabilities of the Coolpix S1200pj beyond projecting photos and videos stored on the camera itself, which features a 14.1-megapixel sensor, 5x optical zoom, and supports ups to 720p HD video recording. The camera also features a 3-inch LCD viewer and began shipping back in September for $429.95.

The built-in projector has 20 lumens of brightness and can project on to a 60-inch screen. However, it’s not clear whether it can only project still images and documents or if it can project whatever is on the screen of your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. Also, its native resolution is 1024 x 768, so images will be scaled down.

[via Nikon]

Younger people seem to be Apple-holics, in fact, with their top three must-haves being from the Cupertino company’s stable. For the older people surveyed, a new computer or a new ereader took joint second place, while a new TV is in fourth place. Gaming hardware, perhaps more traditional holiday fare, has drifted down the charts considerably.

The stats are particularly interesting when viewed alongside recent suggestions by analysts that Apple would have to resort to iPad 2 price cuts if it wanted to maintain buoyant sales, while sources in the supply chain claimed easing demand had forced a cut in production. That could well be Apple ramping up for iPad 3 production, however, with the company tipped to launch a third-gen tablet in early 2012, complete with a new high-resolution display.

This device also has DNLA 1.5, vTuner Internet Radio, and built-in wi-fi connectivity. You’ll be able to see all the action on the integrated 2.5-inch color LCD screen and the whole system is made to work with the free Apple Remote app for ultra-simple control. You can sync your DLNA-certified PCs and hard-drives to work with Music Tap to wirelessly stream music that way, and vTuner Internet Radio will give you access to thousands of internet-base radio stations from all around the world.

There’s another function in here that you can use in collaboration with another free app from the iTunes App Store, that being Air Jam, which when installed on each of your Apple devices allows up to four of them to be connected via Bluetooth to your Music Tap. With this setup you’ll be able to make a group playlist to play on your Music Tap – party time! Have a peek at this video to see what this whole thing is really about, then pick it up from Pioneer for $399.00 instantly.

What these gestures will alleviate, if they make it to devices, are the many multiple times one has to pinch to zoom on an image or a map, such as it is, when they want to get very very close or very very far away. What you’d do is one or the other, swipe then hold your finger, or hold your finger then swipe, these gestures speaking with, for example, your accelerometer, telling it how fast it will be moving when it speeds in or out of an image. You could also be holding your finger to begin zooming in, then moving your finger to adjust the speed of the zoom.

One of the most interesting pieces of this application is the usage on the iPod nano, this indicating that all the way back in 2010 (when the application was written up,) Apple had plans to stick with the device through the future. Note also that it’s not necessarily just zooming in and out of items that this patent covers, it’s scrolling up, down, left, and right, and everything in between. With gestures similar to these working now on most Apple devices including laptops and desktops, we can guess that this particular gesture may well be heading out way in some update of Mac OS X and/or iOS in the near future.

[via Patently Apple]

The AirGo Outdoor Sound Station can be used as a permanent outdoor speaker system unlike other shiny AirPlay-equipped systems we’re used to seeing that are meant to sit pretty indoors. The AirGo provides a powerful amplifier and wide soundstage perfect for your deck, patio, lawn, or driveway. You can stream music from your iTunes collection on your iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Mac or PC.

And since the AirGo uses an AirPort Express for its AirPlay connectivity it can also help extend your home WiFi network and act as a portable WiFi hotspot. This specialized speaker system, however, doesn’t run cheap and is priced at $399.

[via Wired]

The PM9700 model is a plasma style set of course with Smart TV platform aboard – this means apps galore and no less than the manufacturer’s full attention when it comes to giving you hero-level support. Have a peek back at our review of the just as massively excellent Samsung UN55D800 for another glimpse of what the future holds for those wishing their television units to be intelligent. Don’t forget to make sure you’ve got enough room to hold all that awesome in your living space.

Then there’s an iPod dock. Believe it or not, there’s still one massively gigantic market for the creating and selling of docks that work specifically with iPhones and iPod Touches, and LG is still there right at the forefront with this lovely looking oddity – look like a Rubix Cube to you? These sides dont turn, but the top panel does slide back to reveal a place for your iDevice to sit and jam out some tunes using Airplay to do it. This device is sure to be a winner for those of you looking to make sure their dock doesn’t just look like a massive speaker come early 2012 – fashion!

[via CES]

“Engineering has provided the following feedback regarding this issue” the reply began, “Siri only works on iPhone 4S and we currently have no plans to support older devices.” The news will come as a disappointment to those owners of earlier iOS products that hoped Apple would extend the current Siri beta to cover their hardware, rather than use it as a unique selling point of the iPhone 4S.

“iPhone 4 Users and iPod touch 4th generation users pay a fee of 19.99 to upgrade to a ‘special’ build of iOS 5.0.1 with Siri Final in it, (To avoid hackers hacking Siri onto non 4S devices illegally) **Many iPhone 4 Users and iPod touch 4th generation Users will pay for this special iOS build (5.0.1) which will enable Siri for a fee of $19.99 US dollars” Developer suggestion to Apple

Apple still faces wily users taking advantage of workarounds to access Siri on older iPhones and other gadgets, however. Thanks to a small team of developers – and some legitimate authentication tokens “borrowed” from a real iPhone 4S – Siri has already been made to work on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS. Unlike other software hacks we’ve seen, the Siri port isn’t a simple matter of copying the local app to the earlier iPhones; in addition, Apple’s servers have to be persuaded to “talk” to the app too, which at the moment means fooling them into thinking the phones are 4S variants.

Moving forward, however, Apple is expected to deploy Siri more broadly. The company is believed to be working on an Apple Television project which would use the voice control system to replace the traditional remote with simple spoken commands.