Element Case’s popular Joule stand for iPad has been spiced up and now comes in multiple Chroma colors, fitting both iPad and iPad 2. Still CNC machined from aircraft quality aluminum, the new anodized colors are red, orange, pink, blue, gray and black with matching Ultrasuede lining. Like the original Joule, you can angle it in three positions courtesy of the magnetic stand.

I’m not even going to lie — it’s as sweet looking as it is unabashedly premium. Grab one now for $149.99 then slide in your new iPad 2, sit back, and watch all the jealous stares come in.

Give away: The always awesome folks at Element Case are once again giving the TiPb nation a chance to win a Joule Chroma of your very own. Just head on over to their website and check out the color options, then jump over to this thread in our iPad Forum and tell us what color you like best. We’ll pick one of you at random and Element Case will send you a Joule Chroma!

What are you waiting for, go enter now!

[Element Case]

Element Case unleashes Joule Chroma stand for iPad 2 [give away] is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Turns out Amazon might have beaten Apple in the online music locker race by sprinting off the blocks well before the whistle was ever blown, at least if the stunned reactions by music labels are to be believed. Reuters reports:

Music labels were informed of the plans last week. Only later did Amazon address the issue of negotiating licenses, one source close to the discussions said. That executive called the move “somewhat stunning” and noted that some within the media industry said the service might be illegal.

“I’ve never seen a company of their size make an announcement, launch a service and simultaneously say they’re trying to get licenses,” said the executive, who requested anonymity because the discussions were not public.

I’m no proponent of the music labels, their myopic view of technology, their contempt for their own consumers, and their constant attempts to make us pay over and over again for the same content, but this might just explain how Amazon was able to launch so quickly. If Apple, Google and others are waiting to get licenses — or have been waiting for months or years — Amazon going without them is certainly a head start.

Ironically, the music industry has given Amazon head starts in the past — including early access to DRM-free songs and cheaper price-points — in order to bolster competition and try to reduce iTunes’ market share. That they didn’t this time is interesting, as will be the record labels’ response.

Whether you agree with the music industry’s position or not (and personally I hope they continue sinking into the same Jurassic tar pit their dinosaur brethren did eons ago), does the lack of proper licensing — and any uncertainty it might create — change the likelihood of you using Amazon’s new cloud music service? And if Amazon gets away with it, will Apple decide to skip the process as well and launch sooner rather than later?

[Yahoo!]

Amazon Cloud Music launched without licenses, has record labels fuming is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

New! BodyGuardz Armor Carbon Fiber for iPad 2

Apple didn’t switch to carbon fiber for iPad 2 but with BodyGuards Armor you can still get that great carbon fiber look and all the protection that comes along with it. Smooth to the touch, the BodyGuardz Armor Carbon Fiber is designed to custom fit your iPad 2 with simple installation, no added bulk, and residue-free removal. Get yours now!

Shop BodyGuardz Armor Carbon Fiber for iPad 2…

New! BodyGuardz Armor Carbon Fiber for iPad 2 is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Vimeo has released an iPhone app that allows you upload, edit, manage and watch your videos right from your iPhone. Here are some of the highlights:

• Capture video with focus control and grid alignment
• Combine, edit, and trim your videos
• Add transitions, titles, effects, music and recordings
• Save edited videos to your camera roll or upload directly to Vimeo
• Watch and manage all your existing Vimeo videos and download them to your camera roll
• Easily upload your raw footage or edited creations in HD or SD
• Share with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, WordPress, Email or SMS
• Add your clips to your Groups, Channels and Albums
• Stats on daily plays, likes and comments
• Watch videos from your Vimeo inbox, Watch Later queue, or videos you have liked
• Easily like, comment and add videos to your Watch Later queue
• Discover new and interesting videos in the Browse tab

If you pick this one up, let us know what you think!

[Free - iTunes link]

Official Vimeo app now available for iPhone is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Yesterday, WWDC 2011 sold out in a record 10 hours and now one of those tickets has popped up on EBAY with a Buy It Now price of $3,500. That’s $1901 more than the original $1,599 price set by Apple. The seller claims that this ticket was purchased for a colleague who ended up not being able to make the event.

We expect Apple will put an end to this auction in a heartbeat. The last thing Apple wants is for people to snatch up tickets and turn them over for a profit.

What do you think? Are you angry at this dev for trying to make a buck off this “extra” ticket?

[TUAW]

WWDC 2011 ticket for sale on EBAY is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

How do you IM on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad? We recently asked what Twitter app you used most and got tons of feedback, including that many of you prefer IM to Twitter, or don’t use Twitter at all. Fine then! Ally has already posted up her top 5 IM/instant messenger apps for iPhone but we want to know more!

What service do you prefer for IM on your iPhone? Are you an old school instant messenger user and stick to AIM, MSN/Windows Live, ICQ, GoogleTalk, etc. or do you prefer something BBM-like such as WhatsApp, Kik or Beluga? If it’s a traditional service, what app do you prefer, the official client or something that handles multiple accounts like BeeJive or IM+? Or does SMS (or even Twitter) replace IM for you? And finally do you use the same same services and apps on your iPhone/iPod touch as you do your iPad or computer, or do you mix it up?

Let us know — how do you use IM on iOS?

TiPb Asks: How do you IM on your iPhone or iPad? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

TechCrunch has been told that Apple will be integrating system-wide voice control technology into iOS 5 derived from their purchase of Siri last year. Apple is reportedly putting the finishing touches on the feature which will be demoed at WWDC in June.

A year ago, Apple bought Siri, a virtual personal assistant startup that had released a very cool iPhone app. The Siri team and technology are now said to be a big part of iOS 5.

The use of Siri’s artificial intelligence and assistance technology is said to be deeply integrated into the OS for all the different services offered. And the team is now putting the finishing touches on the elements that will be demoed at WWDC, we hear. This tech may also be opened to developers for use in third-party apps – though that information isn’t quite as concrete.

Apple introduced a very basic VoiceControl feature in iOS 3 a couple of years ago, but it doesn’t seem to enjoy widespread use (I hardly ever use it, do you?). The coolest thing you can do is play a song or make a call using your voice — which is nice — but you can’t perform system-wide voice commands like launching an app or carry out a task such as adding a new calendar event. By contrast, Android gained far more integrated, far more useful voice control over a year ago.

We’ve all hoped for better voice integration in iOS for a while now, so this is great news if it turns out to be true. Would you use a SIRI-powered voice control system in iOS?

[TechCrunch]

Apple to include system-wide, artificial intelligence-powered voice control in iOS 5? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Every day, TiPb gets flooded with announcements for new and updated iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps and games. So every day we pick just a few of the most interesting, the most notable, and simply the most awesome to share with you!

• BallFallDown Deluxe (give-away): Construct your own marble run or build brand new toys. Now with 8 new backgrounds! [$2.99 - iTunes link]

• Circus Pain: Control the destiny of Igor, a former explosives expert that figured getting shot out of a giant cannon would be a safer choice of job descriptions. [$0.99 - iTunes link]

• Strava Cycling: New social training app for avid cyclists. Log and analyze your rides, and compare and compete with friends. [Free - iTunes link]

• GetGlue: Connect with friends and fans around the TV shows, movies, music, and sporting events that you love. Now with Facebook integration, ability to check-in to sports and rewards from NCAA, NHL and major sports networks. [Free - iTunes link]

• InstaRadar: Search and explore Instagram geographically. [$0.99 - iTunes link]

The good folks at FlatPack Interactive gave us some promo codes for BallFallDown Deluxe to give-away to you. For a chance to win, just leave a comment below!

Any other big apps or game releases or updates today? If you pick any of these up, let us know what you think!

New and updated iPhone and iPad apps for Tuesday, March 29 [give-away] is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Amazon surprised the tech world last night by announcing Cloud Drive and Cloud Player services for streaming music to various platforms. Amazon has stolen a march on Apple after we heard the other day that Apple was supposedly planning to launch a similar service very soon.

The Amazon service will allow you to upload your existing music collection, as well as tracks purchased through Apple's iTunes or any other medium to the "Cloud Locker." All Amazon account holders will automatically be given 5GB of online storage which can be increased to 20GB either by paying for more storage or buying an MP3 album from Amazon. Music purchased through Amazon will be automatically added to the Cloud Locker and will not count towards your storage quota. Music can be stored as either MP3 or AAC and in its original bitrate; so there will be no loss in quality. The service also allows you to store other media such as photographs, videos and documents.

The Cloud Player, the playback part of the service, is available either through a desktop web browser such as Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer, or as part of the Amazon MP3 application on Android phones.

Amazon Cloud Drive seems to be accessible internationally while Cloud Player is currently blocked outside the US. (This is likely due to licensing issues and may take a long time to resolve — they’ve barely expanded Amazon MP3 in the last 3 years.)

Amazon does not appear to be allowing access through iPhone, iPod touch or iPad Safari at the moment either. (Some readers are saying you can hit the download link to stream the music via Safari’s built-in QuickTime X player, just like any MP3 link but we can’t confirm that yet — let us know in comments!). Whether Amazon chooses to properly open up access to Mobile Safari, or whether they’ll try to include Cloud Player into an iOS app is unknown. Even if Amazon makes an app, would Apple allow it into the App Store or would it be seen as a direct competitor to iTunes?

What do you think of the Amazon Cloud Locker? Do you think Apple will announce a service as flexible as this? Let us know in the comments!

[Amazon PR]

Amazon Cloud Drive and Cloud Player music services announced is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

After a judge recently threw out 5 Nokia patent complaints against Apple, Nokia has filed a second series of complaints with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) against Apple. This second complaint is alleging that Apple infringes Nokia patents in virtually all of its mobile phones, portable music players, tablets and computers.

Our latest ITC filing means we now have 46 Nokia patents in suit against Apple, many filed more than 10 years before Apple made its first iPhone,” said Paul Melin, Vice President, Intellectual Property at Nokia. “Nokia is a leading innovator in technologies needed to build great mobile products and Apple must stop building its products using Nokia’s proprietary innovation.

This new complaint refers to seven Nokia patents in the areas of multi-tasking operating systems, data synchronization, positioning, call quality and the use of Bluetooth accessories. This one looks set to drag on for quite some time, and in a great many countries!

[Nokia PR]

Nokia files second ITC complaint against Apple is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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