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Meta

• Mobile Nations 12: 2011 mobile gift guide
• ZENandTECH 25: Stress-free shopping

iOS 5.1

• Apple releases iOS 5.1 beta and XCode 4.3 to developers
• iPhone 5, iPad 3, Apple TV 3 references found in iOS 5.1 beta
• iOS 5.1 beta removes access to system settings shortcuts from your home screen

2011 Holiday Gift Guides

• 2011 Holiday Guides: iPad and iPhone gifts for students

iPhone 5

• Rumor: iPad 3 and iPhone 5 both on track for LTE
• Rumor: Hitachi and Sony shipping 4-inch displays to Apple for next gen iPhone
• Regarding the use of the name "iPhone 5″

Siri

• Siri show and TellMe redux
• Siri can now control third party apps and even start your car via SiriProxy
• Siri can now control Plex media playback using the Siri Proxy

News

• iPhone 4 attempts self combustion on a passenger flight in Australia
• iPhone 4S vs Galaxy Nexus: Which one should you get?
• RIM cuddles up to iPhone, iPad IT admins, announces BlackBerry Mobile Fusion

Apps

• Infinity Blade II goes live in AU, NZ App Stores, arrives in U.S. at midnight
• iTether now unavailable in App Store [Updated]
• Poll: Should Apple allow tethering apps in the App Store?
• TouchPad for iPhone, iPad goes 4.0

Accessories

• Review: DracoDesign DRACO IV for iPhone 4S

Tips

• Daily Tip: How to tethered jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 with RedSn0w
• Daily Tip: How to set up safe iPad or iPod touch email for your child

Forums

• Forums: Apple TV 3 release pool (win an ATV3 for free!), waiting for iPhone 5, iOS 5.1 changes, how to shoot HDR photos, SwitcherPlush for iOS 5 Jailbreak?

With full, fast internet access and apps aplenty, the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad are pretty much perfect for students of all ages. If you’re looking for a gift for the student (or students) in your life, from elementary to high school to university, there are a ton of accessories and apps to choose from. Here are some of our favorites!

Don't need anything for a student? Check out the recommendations anyway, something great might still catch your eye. If not, no worries, check out one of our other 2011 holiday gift guides!

Awesome hardware and accessory gifts for students

There’s nothing like something real to unwrap, not just for the little ones in elementary school, but even the big ones home for the holidays. No matter how old, their faces light up just the same.

iOS devices

Does you special student not have an iPod touch or iPad yet? Maybe even an iPhone if they’re going off to college and need to stay connected? Not sure which one you should get? Not a problem! Start here:

• iOS device gift guide

OtterBox Case

Students are busy and active, so a protective case is a must. Over the past several years that I’ve spent as both a student and an instructor, I have seen a countless number of iPhones and iPads fall to the floor. I’ve also seen my share of skateboard wrecks that send iPhones on a tumble and flimsy backpacks (that carry iPads) take hard falls to the concrete. The devices protected with OtterBox have always survived these tragedies. OtterBox makes 4 different series that offer different levels of protection.

• Defender Series is the mother of all cases. Its multiple layers of protection will protect your student’s iPhone and iPad from just about everything. It does add a significant amount of bulk, however.

• Reflex Series offers iPhone and iPad protection from falls and is inspired the crumble zone of a car. It’s much less bulky than the Defender Series, but will still protect against the inevitable tumbles to the ground. (This series is my personal favorite).

• Commuter Series is the slimmest option from OtterBox. But despite it’s thin and stylish look, the Commuter Series will protect your student’s iPhone from scratches, bumps and shocks.

• Impact Series is the most affordable option from OtterBox. This compression molded silicone skin will protect your student’s iPhone from scratches and bumps.

Just figure out the best blend of protection and cost, and then let them head back to school in safety!

• Get OtterBox from the TiPb Accessory Store
• Get OtterBox from Amazon.com

Bamboo Stylus

Once you student has a great school app like CaptureNotes2 (see below), she’s going to want a better note-taking method than her finger. The Bamboo Stylus will rock her world.

There a many styli out there to choose from, but we recommend the Bamboo Stylus because it’s design is both functional and beautiful. It’s weighted just right and is the perfect thickness. The length is also perfect – shorter than an average pen, but long enough to be comfortable to hold.

Any serious notetaker needs a Bamboo Stylus.

• Get the Bamboo Stylus from Amazon

Jawbone JAMBOX

Did you know that students love music but have very little space for good speakers? Of course you do, which is why you understand why the Jawbone JAMBOX will be an amazing gift for your student. This tiny package delivers huge sound at up to 85 decibels. It’s completely wireless, making it simple for your student to play music over Bluetooth and even bring along to the party study session at his friend’s place.

• Get the Jawbone JAMBOX from the TiPb Accessory Store
• Get the Jawbone JAMBOX from Amazon.com

AirPrint Printer: Epson Artisan 730 Color Inkjet All-in-One

Every student needs a printer, but since your student is an iPhone or iPad wielding student, she needs an AirPrint compatible printer. For printing out everything from an elementary school book report to a high school project to a college term papers, not to mention scanning things for said activities, and printing photos to decorate her room at home or at the dorm, the The Epson Artisan 730 Color Inkjet All-in-One Printer has got her covered. Since the printer is AirPrint compatible, she’ll be able to write her papers from her iPad and print it directly from her iPad. If she takes a great picture with her friends on her iPhone or iPod touch, she can immediately make a couple prints to give to them. It’s low profile is also perfect for small, already crammed student rooms.

Don’t get your student just any printer, get her an Epson Artisan 730 Color Inkjet All-in-One Printer.

• Get an Epson Artisan 730 Color Inkjet All-in-One Printer from Amazon

Perfect software gifts for students

While wrapping paper is nice, nothing is faster to buy or easier to ship than software. Whether you load it up for them on their brand new device, or send it half way across the world, it’ll always get there on time and ready to use.

• How to gift iPhone and iPad apps

Note taking apps: CaptureNotes2

A huge part of a student’s life is spent taking notes. After taking notes in class, some students head back to their dorm and take more notes on their notes! Simplify your student’s life with CaptureNotes 2 for iPad.

This gem allows users to type, write and record – at the same time. It’s easy to miss important things that an instructor says while frantically taking as many notes as possible, so CaptureNotes makes it easy to flag parts of your notes that make it easy to pick up and listen to that exact part of the lecture at a later time. A disadvantage to typing notes has always been the inability to draw diagrams, but with CatpureNotes you can quickly draw a diagram right there with your typed notes. You can also import PDFs and share to Dropbox.

Really, every student needs this app.

• $4.99 – App Store link

Also check out:

• Noteshelf is a powerhouse note taking app for iPad that keeps you organized and more. $4.99 – App Store link
• Elements is a text editor that syncs with Dropbox and has Markdown support. ‘Nuff said. $4.99 – App Store link
• Evernote stores text, images, and audio for easy reference later. Free – App Store link

Productivity apps: Numbers, Pages, and Keynote

Apple’s iWork suite, which consists of Keynote for presentations, Numbers for spreadsheets, and Pages for word processing has recently been updated to work with iCloud, so all your documents get stored and synced between your devices (including, eventually, iWork for Mac when Apple updates it). Keynote was built for Steve Jobs so it’s absolutely best in class, while Numbers and Pages are easy to use and produce great looking docs.

• $9.99 – Keynote in App Store link
• $9.99 – Numbers in App Store link
• $9.99 – Pages in App Store link

Also check out:

• Documents to Go for a more Microsoft Office feel and all-in one solution $16.99 – App Store link
• Good Reader is a powerhouse for PDF annotating and file management. $2.99 – App Store link
• OmniOutliner helps you collect, compose, and organize your ideas. $19.99 – App Store link
• Todo takes task management to the next level, with sync to Dropbox or iCloud among others. $4.99 – App Store link

Educational apps: WolframAlpha

WolframAlpha isn’t a traditional search engine, it’s a computational knowledge base with a continually growing set of data and algorithms. Math, statistics, physics, chemistry, engineering, astronomy, earth, computational, and life sciences, units and measures, dates and times, places and geography, people and history, culture and media, music, linguistics, sports and games, money and finance, socioeconomics, health and medicine… and on, and on, and on… It’s the full power of the website nicely packaged for your student’s iPhone or iPad.

• $2.99 – App Store link

Also check out:

• Starwalk for iPad puts the universe in your lap. Literally. $4.99 – App Store link
• MathBoard for iPad lets you solve problems, and build skills, on a chalk board. $4.99 – App Store link
• Lola’s Alphabet Train is perfect for the little one learning to read. $0.99 – App Store link
• Wikipanion Plus for iPad makes it easy to search, queue, and download entries for offline viewing. $4.99 – App Store link

Your picks?

Remember, you're part of Team TiPb too, so if you've already picked the perfect gift for your iPhone or iPad student, or have the perfect idea for one, let us know in comments!

DraftCraft is a new blogging app for iPad. It supports WordPress, Blogger, and LiveJournal and aims to make blogging as simple as possible. Formatting the text is easy and there’s no need to not only know HTML, but you also don’t ever even see it. DraftCraft takes care it behind the scenes and publishes your posts how you expect them to look.

DraftCraft is a simple application that can significantly improve your blog posts. Its impressive selection of innovative features helps your writing time to decrease while the quality of your content shoots up – regardless of whether you use WordPress, Blogger or LiveJournal. Key points include:

• Complete Simplicity: DraftCraft's carefully designed user interface keeps the entire writing process as simple as possible, leaving you free to concentrate on your results, and not how you reach them
• Streamlined Publishing: You can now post to all of your blogs from one place, with the application holding details of your accounts across WordPress, Blogger and LiveJournal
• Productivity-Enhancing Star System: This feature lets you manage your progress on a variety of posts, encouraging you to get your best ideas down quickly and without worrying about your writing style ('one star' pieces) – before gradually making improvements until you've reached publishable results ('five star' pieces)
• Advanced Text Editor: Once you've created your content, exercising complete creative control is easy through text formatting (bold, italics, copy-paste etc.) and image insertion
• HTML-Free: If you're worrying about code, then you're not worrying about writing – so DraftCraft removes the need to think about HTML. When you're ready to upload a post, the application will automatically convert your text into the format required for publication!

DraftCraft is available on the iPad for $3.99.

[App Store link]

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

If you’re currently running iOS 5.0.1, you can jailbreak via RedSn0w 0.9.9b8. This one is also tethered like the previous beta versions of RedSn0w for iOS 5. It’s also worth noting that unlockers should stay away from this one unless they’re okay with being tethered. iPhone 4 users should stay away from any newer stock iOS firmware versions altogether in order to preserve their baseband.

Be advised that not all jailbreak apps and tweaks have been updated to support iOS 5 yet. If you're alright with running tethered and don't mind a few bugs here and there, follow along for a quick walkthrough.

If you’ve used RedSn0w before, you’ll be right at home. It's not too much different than jailbreaking any other firmware version you may have used it for previously.

Devices Supported

• iPod touch 3G
• iPod touch 4G
• iPad 1
• iPhone3GS
• iPhone 4 (GSM)
• iPhone 4 (CDMA)

And I can't say this enough times, if your device is not listed above, please do not attempt to jailbreak any device but the ones listed above. iPad 2 and iPhone 4S users will have to sit this one out.

What you need

• iOS 5.0.1 installed on your device
• RedSn0w 0.9.9b8 – Mac Link, Windows Link

1. First Launch RedSn0w

2. This version and other newer versions of RedSn0w should automatically detect what version of iOS you are running. No need to manually browse to a firmware file this time. Just click Jailbreak and follow the prompts.

3. Next RedSn0w will prompt you to only continue when your device is powered off. If it isn’t already, power your device off while it’s connected to the computer.

4. Next you will be guided through putting your device into DFU mode. Follow the steps and RedSn0w will take care of the rest.
5. After RedSn0w finishes doing it’s thing, you’re done!

6. Next you may need to perform a tethered boot. If you do, simply open RedSn0w again and click Extras and then Just Boot
7. Your phone will perform a tethered boot and you should be good to go!

RedSn0w has also thrown in a little bonus for Windows users. You can copy the redsnow.exe file to your desktop or anywhere you like and rename it something like justboot.exe. As long as you have the word “boot” in the file name you can just double click that file to perform a quick tethered boot with RedSn0w.

That’s it boys and girls. If you need any help, be sure to check out our TiPb jailbreak forums. Until next time, happy jailbreaking!

Daily Tips 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.

Nikkei Business is reporting that the iPad 3 and iPhone 5 are both on their way with LTE 4G radios, set to debut on Japan’s NTT DoCoMo in summer and fall of 2012 respectively. Yes, we already suspect an iPad 3 and iPhone 5 are coming next year, and yes we already suspect they’ll both have LTE options on networks that support it, but it’s still nice to see the usual rumors popping up along the way.

Apple CEO Tim Cook is said to have met with NTT DoCoMo president Kiyoyuki Tsujimura and VP Takashi Yamada earlier this month to work out the details of the arrangement, and the companies have reportedly reached agreeable terms.

As to the timing, summer and fall Japanese launches don’t preclude spring and summer U.S. releases, but as we saw with the iPhone 4S this year, Apple isn’t afraid to move the timing around. Could iPad 3 take over the old iPhone WWDC spot in June 2012? We’ll have to wait and see…

• iPhone 5 Forum
• iPad 3 Forum

Source: Nikkei Business via BGR

Infinity Blade II, the follow up to the Epic Unreal 3-powered original, has just become available in the Australian and New Zealand App Stores and should be hitting the U.S. around midnight, ET.

Infinity Blade II continues to raise the bar for triple-A mobile gaming. Journey into the world of the Deathless tyrants and their legion of Titans. Build skills and upgrade characters… all while delving deeper into this mysterious, timeless adventure.

The game, a universal app, will be compatible with the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad, iPad 2 and iPod touch 4th and 3rd generation.

US$6.99 – App Store link

Note: The link above will only work when the game goes live in your regional store on December 1. So, if you’re living in the Pacific future, enjoy! Otherwise, watch the clocks and let us know when you get it!

Source: Epic Games

Edovia’s TouchPad for iPhone and iPad has just hit version 4.0 and brings with it some great new polish and performance, and some hints at the future of Screens as well.

This version took more time than planned and most of the work was made deep down in the app, mostly in preparation of Screens 2.0, which uses the same VNC framework we've developed for the past years and had to be revamped. The result is a super solid app that won't give up!

TouchPad 4.0 includes the following updates:

• Modifiers toolbar now always visible
• More media players
• Use the Siri key on your device keyboard to send text to your computer
• Many new shortcuts (see 3 and 4 finger gestures in documentation)
• Improved support for international keyboards
• Improved help documentation
• Improved screen zooming gesture

TouchPad is perfect if you want a secondary multitouch input device for your Mac, Windows, or Linux PC, and especially handy if you have a Mac mini or Windows Media Center box across the room and want to control it without getting off the couch or out of bed. It’s anywhere your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad are, with means there’s a really good chance it’s exactly where you need it, when you need it.

You can find details on the update via the source link below, or head on over to the App Store and grab it now.

$4.99 – App Store link

Source: Edovia

Shape Fun is an app to help toddlers and young children learn shapes. It makes the learning fun with exciting scenes, animations, and music incorporated into games with a reward system.

"Shape Fun" is a shape learning software for toddlers and preschool kids, including three attractive games and reward systems. The funny attractive scenes, animations and musics make kids deep inside the joys of exploring various basic shapes: circle, square, rectangle, triangle, oval, trapezoid, fan-shape, pentagon and hexagon. So let kids learn through play now!

• 3 different type of attractive games with various scenes and cute animations that help kids explore shapes from triangles to octagons stage by stage.
• Dozens of lovely sounds and voice recordings of shape names, praises and more.
• Different lovable animated animals guides kids through the game play with animated celebrations for correct answers and gentle redirection for incorrect ones.
• Interactive mysterious aquarium! Kids will get a cute fish reward when they make progress.
• Designed for kids with easy user interfaces.

Shape Fun is available on the iPhone and iPad for $0.99 each.

[iPhone App Store link] [iPad App Store link

Have an app you'd love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we'll take a look.

• Path: A Smart Journal that helps you share life with the ones you love — your thoughts, the music you're listening to, where you are, who you're with, when you wake and when you sleep, and beautiful high quality photos and videos. [Free for iPhone - App Store link]

• The Adventures of Peter Pan: Peter Pan, who lives in Neverland, is a boy who refuses to grow up. With the help of the fairy, Tinkerbell, he’ll introduce his new friends, Wendy and John Darling, to this imaginary world. Throughout their adventures, they’ll meet the Lost Boys and scary Captain Hook. [$3.99 for iPhone and iPad - App Store link]

• TubeHero: Turn your iTunes songs into a colorful rhythm game, blasting your way through 3 difficulty levels. The game supports 6000+ different tracks, with more being added on a weekly basis. [Free for iPhone - App Store link]

• Weathermob: It's the friendly, easy way to get forecasts and share your weather with friends – and the world – through videos, photos, words and icons. [Free for iPhone - App Store link]

• Legendary Outlaw: Enter the world of Kaufman – an immersive FPS action-shooter. As Colt Kaufman, you are destined to become the ultimate Legendary Outlaw, but only if you successfully go guns-blazing and use the environments to lure and assassinate enemies by stealth, without being seen or heard! [$2.99 for iPhone and iPad - App Store link]

Any other big app or game releases or updates today?

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

iOS 5.1 beta was released earlier this week and it appears to block access to system settings shortcuts that you may have added to your home screen. Systems settings have been making quite a stir recently when it was discovered that you could access individual settings using a URL type web address.  The web address could then be saved as a favorite with a fancy icon on your home screen. This would then give you one touch access to Bluetooth settings, Wi-Fi settings and much more.

One developer even put the various settings options together in one place, created a beautiful icon set and wrapped each up as an easily installable system profile. Now, for whatever reason, Apple has blocked access to system settings via this URL method in the iOS 5.1 beta.

This is a very disappointing move for many as Apple has continually ignored how difficult it is to access settings like Bluetooth without having to navigate multiple settings pages just to get to the one toggle you need. Hopefully Apple has a simple solution up its sleeve which it intends to release when iOS 5.1 makes its public release.

Source: Cult of Mac

Thinking about getting your child an iPad or iPod touch and wondering how to safely give them limited email access on iOS? Email is a handy way to share things like pictures they’ve taken with the Camera app. I’ve chosen to use Hotmail (Windows Live) for my kids because of the level of parental control they provide. Here’s how I’ve set things up.

1. Go to live.com to begin
2. Click the Sign Up button.
3. Use a random assortment of letters and numbers to create a username only you (the parent) can relate back to your child.
4. Create a strong password that only you (the parent) knows.
5. Use your (the parents) email address as the alternate.
6. Leave everything else as non-identifiable as possible.
7. Click on Profile > Privacy Settings > Advanced
8. Turn all privacy options to the maximum (most stringent) possible.
9. Go to the Options dropdown and choose More Options
10. Select Exclusive, so everything is sent to Junk except for safe senders. Click Save.
11. Go to Safe and Blocked senders, click on Safe Senders.
12. Add only the people you absolutely trust to the Safe Senders list (mom, dad, perhaps siblings or grandparents), click Add to List for each one.
13. Send an email via the web interface, just to prove you aren’t a bot

Once this is setup, you can add the email account to your child’s iPod touch or iPad. I also recommend adding it to your own iPhone or iOS device so you can monitor what’s being sent and received and adjust (or shut down) accordingly.

You can also go to Settings, General, Restrictions on your child’s iOS device and toggle Allow Changes: Accounts: to “Don’t Allow Changes” to prevent anything from being altered.

It’s not perfect, and if your children are really young you may want to forgo email entirely. But if you want to slowly get them used to using email, and you want to do it as safely and securely as the technology allows, this is the best setup I’ve found to date.

If anyone else has any better or alternate ideas, please share them in the comments!

If you’re not in the TiPb Forums, you’re missing out on the best darn iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and frankly — everything else! — discussion on the web today! Registration is free and fast, and there’s help, humor, and contests aplenty to make your iOS life just that much better. If you haven’t already, join now!

• Apple TV 3 Forum: Apple TV 3 release data pool. Guess the right date for a chance to win a free ATV3!
• iPhone 5 Forum: Should you buy an iPhone 4S now or hold on for iPhone 5 next year?
• iOS 5 Forum: iOS 5.1 beta changes and bugs
• Photography Forum: How do I get the best results from HDR?
• Jailbreak Apps Forum: App like SwitcherPlus for iOS 5 JB device?