News from category ‘Hardware’

New free app in the App Store called "Ht-Connect" allows you to wirelessly control Human Touch AcuTouch 9500 massage chair and even to customize it to your own needs with an iPhone or iPad. Though the chair itself will be available only this fall and its price will be $5999, the video above shows how cool it looks.

This Tuesday well-known blogger John Gruber posted a note on his Daring Fireball blog, where he said that the upcoming tablet device from Dell called Streak will cost $550 (without a contract from AT&T) and that new iPod touch will have new features that Streak doesn't have.

"That's almost twice as much as a good iPod touch, and if you wait a few weeks to buy the Touch, you'll get one with a Retina Display and dual cameras. If Dell can't make an iPod touch competitor, who can?"

Though Gruber did not say whether he obtained this information from his sources or not, previous rumors confirm that the next-gen iPod touch will support FaceTime (which requires two cameras).

Statistical analysis of the attractiveness of user profile pictures from the dating site OkCupid shows that iPhone owners have more sex than BlackBerry and Android owners.

Here is the chart that shows average number of sexual partners among iPhone, Android and BlackBerry users:

The chart pretty much speaks for itself. The numbers were calculated for all three brands for 30 year-olds, so it's not a matter of older, more experienced people preferring one phone to another.

Here is a another plot by age:

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According to the Reuters news agency, one of the Japanese authorities demanded from Apple to provide customers with the information about obtaining spare batteries for the first generation IPod Nano with respect to the fire hazard from the superheated batteries.

The authorities requested Apple to issue on the Internet an easy-to-understand statement to explain how the users of the device involved in four cases of minor burns in Japan will be able to receive spare batteries and appropriate consultations.

The Japanese authorities began to put pressure on Apple on this issue last week but the company referred to the fact that the matter had been transferred to the supplier of batteries. The company said that safety would be considered as their top priority.

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Do Apple's bumper cases fix the iPhone 4 antenna issue? CNet tested it. Watch the video:

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According to Brazilian resource MacMagazine, Apple will introduce new iPod lineup on the event that will take place either Aug. 16 (Monday) or 17 (Tuesday). As you may know, traditionally Apple holds this event in September.

The publication reveals that a new iPod touch will be announced and it will have front-facing and rear (with flash) cameras and gyroscope.

Since the event is music and media-centric, Apple may also introduce new versions of its apps. According to another report, this time from a French site Mac4ever, the company will introduce 64-bit versions of iPhoto, iWeb GarageBand and another mystery application that will became a part of a package.

If you drop an iPhone in water you should power it off immediately, remove the SIM card and put it in a bag of uncooked rice. Then you can should wait 48 to 76 hours after the water exposure and try it out.

Video after the break:

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This Thursday Macrumors received photos of one of the next-gen iPod touch parts, which reveal a hole above the display that will be most likely used for the camera. The pictures were sent by an unknown iPhone parts supplier.

Previously some resources reported about the presence of a camera and flash on the back of upcoming iPod touch. If all this information is true, the next-gen device will have two cameras to support FaceTime like the iPhone 4.

Apple wanted to build camera into the last iPod touch a year ago, but due to the technical problems the decision was annulled. When the final version of the player appeared on the market a space for camera was found inside of it after disassembling.

FaceTime support in iPod touch will be no surprise as previously Steve Jobs said that this year Apple will ship millions of devices compatible with FaceTime.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt talked to reporters at yesterday's Techonomy conference about Google Android and Apple iPhone. Worth watching:

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Today ChangeWave Research revealed the results of its survey on iPhone 4. 213 new handset owners were questioned in a few weeks after the launch of the latest Apple's smartphone, between July 19 and 28. Here is a list of facts that were revealed:

• In June 6.3% of iPhone 3GS owners experienced dropped calls, in July only 5.2% of those who use iPhone 4 had dropped a call at least once. ChangeWave Research's vice president Paul Carton says that means that iPhone 4 is quiet better at making calls:

"Despite all of the issues surrounding the antenna, in actuality iPhone 4 owners reported experiencing fewer dropped calls on the average than iPhone 3GS owners".


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As you might know iPhone 4 is available unlocked in many different countries around the globe. The prices vary a lot.

Filip Chudzinski from Germany put together a comparative chart with iPhone 4 prices. As you can see below it can often be well worth it to order your iPhone 4 in a different country (you’ll need an intermediary), or even just going across the border.

Update: some users report that this chart contains errors, so do not forget to check everything before traveling around the globe.

Update 2: the data is not valid at least in Finland and Sweden.

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Along with a special press conference, dedicated to iPhone 4 antenna issue, Apple published a special page about the problem (here = http://www.apple.com/antenna/). You may remember we wrote about a series of videos posted on this page, where the company tried to convince everybody that almost every smartphone has an antenna issue. RIM's BlackBerry Bold 9700, Samsung's Omnia II, HTC's Droid Eris and Nokia's N97 were taken as examples. Now these videos are deleted from the Apple's site, though they are still available at the company's official YouTube channel.

After the press conference Apple's competitors claimed that their phones do not experience signal attenuation as much as the iPhone 4 and were dissatisfied by Apple's way of solving the antenna issue.

Recently tech journalist Stephen Fenech wrote an interesting iPhone 4 review for Australian Daily Telegraph. Besides saying that iPhone 4 is "a massive jump" in the smartphone industry, Fenech also tried to reproduce the antenna issue. To make sure his results are correct he used his phone on 6 different Australian carriers - Optus, Telstra, Vodafone and 3 other networks in different parts of Sydney. Here is his conclusion:

"I tried the 'death grip' on the bottom left while making test calls in areas I knew to have weaker reception and the times I did manage to reduce the signal bars... my calls were still not affected. The worst thing that happened was a web page I was loading timed out but after refreshing it came up fine. I even managed to watch a YouTube video over 3G while in the 'death grip.'"

Fenech also added that the "death grip" is unnatural and iPhone 4 call quality was significantly improved in comparison to iPhone 3GS.

Invent the newest gadget and the porn industry will find a way to cash in. Associated Press reports:

When Apple Inc. launched the iPhone 4 and its FaceTime video conference feature, it didn't take long for adult-entertainment companies to develop video-sex chat services and start hiring workers through Craigslist.

On the photograph above, taken July 21, 2010, adult film star Teagan Presley poses with her iPhone 4 in Atlanta. Presley is experimenting with Apple's FaceTime feature.

We all remember how Steve Jobs talked about iPhone's and iPad's "freedom from porn" in email conversation. It looks like in real life FaceTime and new iPhone 4 will push forward porn industry.

This morning Apple starts to sell iPhone 4 in many more countries. Here's a video from the Hong Kong launch: