TiPb’s gotten lots of reports from iPhone, iPad and Apple TV users concerning super slow iTunes rentals and downloads — we’re talking hours and hours! — and it looks like Google DNS (and OpenDNS) could be part of the problem. According to Joe Mailer:

This totally makes sense. iTunes' video content is delivered by Akamai who has distributed massive datastores around the world so those large files originate from nearby servers and spend less time getting switched around the network. Akamai somehow uses our DNS routing to determine our location. If Google DNS or OpenDNS routes everyone to Akamai the same way, then those Akamai nodes and the pipes leading to them get overwhelmed.

So if your iPhone, iPod touch, iPad or Apple TV tells you there are 2+ hours to go before you can start watching check to see if you’re using Google DNS or OpenDNS and try switching to your IPs DNS instead. It could cut your wait times down to seconds!

[Joe Mailer]

Using Google DNS and suffering super slow iTunes rentals and downloads? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

If you still haven’t purchased an iPad for yourself or a loved on for this holiday season Best Buy is making it a little bit more enticing by offering iPad buyers a free Mi-Fi from your choice of AT&T, Sprint or Verizon. Of course you will have to sign up for a 2 year commitment for the data to use with the Mi-Fi from either of the three companies but if you wanted data anyways why not get the free Mi-Fi to start it off with!

If you remember Verizon has been selling the iPad + Mi-Fi bundle since October and the 16GB iPad with Mi-Fi starts at $629.99 from them. From Best Buy you will get the same package for $499. No matter what retailer you go through for a bundle like this having a data contract is standard so with the holiday season it seems like a great idea to hit up Best Buy for your bundle and save yourself $130 which you could then use on iPad accessories over at the TiPb Accessory Store! [Cheap plug!]

If you end up getting this bundle let us know how it works out for you in our comments section.

[ 9To5 Mac ]

Best Buy offers free Mi-Fi with purchase of iPad and 2-yr contract is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

It looks as if Motorola is trying to build some hype around their upcoming tablet which will be announced at CES 2011. This ad also pretty much confirms the fact that it will be running Honeycomb as well. The current teaser ad is quite humorous as it compares famous tablets through the centuries such as the Rosetta Stone, the Egyptian Hieroglyphic tablet, the Mayan calendar tablet, and you guessed it – the iPad. The video basically spans hundreds of years and weighs out the pros and cons of each tablet.

When the video reaches the iPad, it’s only described as –

“It’s like a giant iPhone, but… it’s like a giant iPhone.”

It then proceeds to pan out and look at the Galaxy Tab, which they list running a mobile OS as a con. The whole campaign is quite intriguing. Do you guys think the iPad is like a giant iPhone or do you think that’s just the best Motorola could come up with? I still think a better comparison (read: fair) will be able to be made when the iPad 2 is announced.

Hit the jump to watch the ad for yourself!

[Android Central]

Motorola teases new tablet, says iPad is “just a big iPhone” is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

For a quick tutorial on how to use SBSettings, watch the video above. SBSettings is a free utility for Jailbroken iPhones and iPod touchs that allows you to quickly toggle things like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G, brightness, and airplane mode. It’ll also allow you to hide icons you don’t want or use. (This is especially useful for hiding Apple apps like Stocks and Weather that you can’t uninstall.)

You’ll can also more closely keep tabs on your memory and running processes. This was extremely useful before multitasking. It’s still useful today for freeing up memory and seeing what may be eating through battery or slowing your phone down.

There are also several plug-ins and themes you can download for SBSettings as well.

For more, check out our Jailbreak Starters Guide. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below or for extra help in getting SBSettings up and running check out our Jailbreak Apps Forum. If you already use SBSettings, let us know your ninja tips!

How to use SBSettings for iPhone [Jailbreak] is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Namco and Gameloft have both entered the holiday iPhone and iPad game price war with a bunch of titles now on sale before the big iTunes Connect freeze of ‘10.

Gameloft’s sale starts now and runs for 3 days. Namco’s sale starts tomorrow and runs through January 3. Complete list of sale titles after the break. What are you picking up?

Namco game sale (Dec. 21 – Jan 3)

• House of Glass – in-app purchase lowered to $2.99
• BIT.TRIP BEAT Blitz – in-app purchase levels lowered to $0.99
• BIT.TRIP BEAT – $0.99
• BIT.TRIP BEAT HD – $0.99
• Isaac Newton’s Gravity – $0.99
• Mishap – $1.99
• Mishap for iPad – $1.99
• More Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawahsima – $1.99
• More Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawahsima HD – $1.99
• Mr. Driller – $0.99
• Ms. PAC-MAN – $1.99
• PAC-MAN – $1.99
• PAC-MAN for iPad – $1.99
• PAC-Match Party – $0.99
• PAC-Match Party HD – $0.99
• Pole Position: Remix – $0.99
• Pool Pro Online 3 – $0.99
• Pool Pro Online 3 for iPad – $0.99
• Star Trigon – $0.99
• Tamagotchi: ‘Round the World – $0.99

[Namco on iTunes]

Gameloft game sale (Dec. 20 – Dec. 22)

• Iron Man 2 – $0.99
• Hero of Sparta II – $0.99
• UNO – $0.99
• The Settlers – $0.99
• NFL 2011 – $0.99
• Let's Golf 2 – $0.99
• Shrek Kart – $0.99
• Real Football 2011 – $0.99
• Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles – $0.99
• James Cameron's Avatar – $0.99
• The Oregon Trail – $0.99
• Splinter Cell Conviction – $0.99
• Prince of Persia: Warrior Within – $0.99
• Driver – $0.99
• Splinter Cell: Conviction for iPad – $0.99
• Let's Golf 2 for iPad – $0.99
• Prince of Persia: Warrior Within for iPad – $0.99
• NFL 2011 for iPad – $0.99
• Blokus for iPad – $0.99
• James Cameron's Avatar for iPad – $0.99
• Zombie Infection for iPad – $0.99

[Gameloft on iTunes]

Namco, Gameloft games join holiday App Store price war is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Ever wonder how to invite someone else to an iPhone or iPad Calendar event? Whether you’re setting up a meeting for work or a gathering for family or friends, if you have a MobileMe or Exchange account (including Gmail set up as Exchange), you can send an invitation that pretty much anyone can accept. We’ll show you how after the break!

Here’s how to invite someone to a meeting or event via MobileMe or Exchange:

• Tap the Calendar app
• Tap the + button at the top right
• Enter a title and the other information you’d typically add for a meeting or event
• Scroll down and tap Invitees (if you don’t see Invitees, make sure you’re setting the meeting up for a MobileMe or Exchange Calendar)
• Either start typing an email address (it will autocomplete for you) or tap the + button to the right to open you Contacts list
• When you’ve added all the invitees, tap Done
• Tap Done on the Add Event page to finish

That’s it! Now your Invitees will be alerted to your event, even if they’re not MobileMe or Exchange users themselves.

A common misconception is that invites can only be accepted by MobileMe or Exchange users — anyone can accept events to their Calendar and even get email update if the creator of the event changes the time or cancels the event. This is a neat feature for those who need to keep a group of people automatically updated.

If you have any questions or any great Calendar tips of you own, let us know in comments!

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you'd like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it's especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we'll even give ya a reward…)

Daily tip: How to invite someone to a Calendar event [Beginner] is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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John Carmack and id Software’s Rage and Rage HD for iPhone and iPad have been updated to version 1.11 and now boast Game Center integration, gyroscope support, and the ability to play via video-out cables on your TV using your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad as a controller. Full list below:

• Game Center Leaderboards – Compare your daily, weekly and all-time scores with friends as well as global leaders.
• Game Center Achievements – More than 50 achievements to unlock. Career, map and difficulty specific challenges!
• Gyroscope Support (iPhone 4 & iPod touch 4) – Hold and move your iPhone in front of you like a virtual window with full gyroscopic aiming control.
• Museum Mode – Explore the levels at your own pace, eerily void of any mutants. Take-in a taste of the spectacular RAGE universe, powered by id Tech megatexturing technology
• 2nd Display Support – Play on a TV or Monitor using your iDevice as a controller. Output 480p over the official Apple Component cable & 720p over the official Apple VGA cable.
• Mirror Mode – mirrored levels flips the world for a new shooting experience.
• Language Localization – now in French, Italian, German & Spanish.

As before, Rage (standard) is better for iPhone 3GS, iPod touch 3, and older devices. Rage HD shines on iPhone 4 Retina Display and iPad. Have you tried out the video-out mode yet? If so, let me know what you think of the controls, same as a console or is multitouch no replacement for an Xbox or PS3 controller?

[Rage - $0.99 - iTunes link]

[Rage HD - $1.99 - iTunes link]

Rage, Rage HD for iPhone and iPad updated with Game Center, gyroscope, 2nd display, more! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Angry Birds HD for iPad has been updated to version 1.5.0 and includes a new theme, more levels, and Game Center support.

• A new theme in the Frontier Badlands
• 15 new levels – no bellyachin’
• A new golden egg for y’all city slickers
• Game Center support
• Cowboy up with the mighty eagle

As of now, the update is only available for the iPad version of Angry Birds, but we suspect the iPhone update isn’t far behind.

If you have a moment to pry your eyes and fingers away from achieving 3 stars on the 15 new levels, let us know what you think!

Angry Birds HD for iPad update brings 15 new levels is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Right now certain models of iPhones, iPod touches, and iPads running iOS 4.2.1 can only be Jailbroken via the “tethered” method which means they need to be plugged into your Windows or Mac PC and rebooted via a program, redsn0w. Not just to Jailbreak them, mind you, but anytime you need to reboot your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. Forget whether you should Jailbreak or not, tethered Jailbreaks require so many extra steps, do the benefits still make up for the hassle?

Finish jailbreaking. Reboot. Update Cydia. Reboot. Update Cydia again. Reboot. Install a Jailbreak app or tweak. Reboot. Install another. Reboot. Hang or crash. Reboot. Run out of power. Reboot.

And it’s not just a simple reboot, you have to run redsn0w, power off your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, find your firmware on your PC, load the firmware into redsn0w, let it process, make sure you uncheck Jailbreak and check Untethered boot, put your device into DFU mode, then let redsn0w work its tethered reboot magic.

Every. Time.

As Jailbreak Forum members will attest, real hax0rs don’t mind tethered Jailbreaks, but compared to an untethered Jailbreak it’s a pain in the @$$, especially when you have a lot of new, or updated stuff you want to install. But then you get to use things like AirVideoEnabler which lets any AirPlay app send video to Apple TV, among a lot of other very useful apps. And you get to Jailbreak an iPad running iOS 4.2, the first iOS 4 version available for iPad, which is a tremendous upgrade in its own right.

Sure Comex and his miraculous userland exploits will probably make 4.2 an untethered Jailbreak before the end of the year, but iOS 4.2.2 or iOS 4.3 or iOS 5 will eventually come around and, if we want the latest firmware, we might be back to tethered for a while. Is it worth it?

Are tethered Jailbreaks worth the hassle? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Best of Smartphone Experts, 19 Dec 2010 is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog