At Macworld 2007 Steve Jobs pulled the original iPhone from his pocket, held it up high above the stage, and showed off the app launcher Home screen… that’s pretty much remained the same ever since.

That’s not entirely true, of course. Apple quickly added the ability to create WebClip icons for your favorite web sites, and to re-arrange and delete them. With iOS 2 (iPhone OS 2) they added native apps as well. They increased the number of Home pages. They added Spotlight. They conceded wallpaper. With iOS 4 they layered in the multitasking fast app switcher tray. They added folders. The iPad, and the iPad alone, got landscape Home screen support. With iOS 5 they further layered in Notification Center and Siri.

Is it time for something more?

Familiarity is a feature

To a casual user, someone who only makes calls, plays music, takes photographs, and runs the occasional app, the iPhone today works almost exactly as it did in 2007. Just like a Mac OS X user can ignore Terminal, iOS users can happily ignore Spotlight, the fast app switcher, folders, Notification Center, and Siri and still fully use and enjoy their iPhone. They can wait years between hardware upgrades (and sometimes, because of that, software upgrades) and still pick up the latest iPhone and use it exactly as they used the first iPhone.

That may not matter to gadget geeks who change their platform as often as they change their jackets, but to mainstream users, to those for whom technology has traditionally been intimidating and inaccessible, the familiarity of experience is a huge feature.

It’s why Apple made the iPad work almost identically to the iPhone and said as much — hundreds of millions of people already know how to use it.

It’s why Home screen interface and experience isn’t fashion. If you’re bored by the iOS UI or UX, consider how little computer UI and UX hasn’t changed much in decades. For all its other advances and layers, OS X Mountain Lion still has icons and folders on a desktop, the same as the classic Mac OS had generations ago. It’s why Windows 8, for all its Metro skins and finger-friendliness, will still ship on beige boxes with full mouse and pointer support at its core.

That being said, technology moves at a blistering pace and mobile moves fast even for technology. While the iPhone and iOS were the new kids on the block back in 2007, they’re now one of the oldest mobile OS’ in the space. Home screen UI and UX aren’t fashion, but users are fashion conscious, and phones are subject to the whims and trends of fashion.

Android has a huge marketshare. Windows Phone is getting a lot of attention, not just from AT&T but from designers. BlackBerry 10 may bring a new level of gesture-based interface to the table (if they can solve the discoverability issues).

These Home screen experiences don’t only look different than iOS but they’re functionally different. They have some drawbacks but they have some advantages as well.

App launchers and information density

iPhone wasn’t the first app launcher style Home screen. Not by a long shot. Even before smartphones, Palm Pilots were based entirely on the icon grid. So was Windows Mobile. Even today, you can find app launcher Home screens on webOS, BlackBerry OS, and Android. Some of them also add other layers, like Cards or widgets, but for the most part app launchers are never far away.

That’s because they’re familiar, as mentioned above. You see an iconic representation of something you want to do, tap it, and it opens up. Because they’re iconic (or supposed to be), and because human brains are great at pattern recognition, they scale well and we can (usually) pick them out even among a large quantity of other icons.

What they are lacking is information density.

With very few exceptions, all an icon on an app launcher tells you is which app will launch when and if you tap it. There’s typically no information about the current state of the app, or any relevant data displayed.

In the case of Apple’s iOS, Calendar will show you the current date on its icon, and Apple created a badging system to overlay the number of outstanding alerts an app has pending. But that’s it. With Notification Center, with a little extra effort, you can pull down snippets of those alerts, and widgets for Weather and Stocks. However, the immediately available density of glanceable data remains low.

The status bar shows carrier and Wi-Fi, time and battery, location and Bluetooth. None of it is tappable, or can provide additional information. However, it can add persistent color bands for tethering, voice recording, VoIP or telephone calls, etc. and tapping those will take you to the associated app or Setting.

Widgets and cards and tiles, oh my

There’s no consistent Android UI, but stock Google, Sense, TouchWiz, “Blur”, and other manufacturer implementations typically offer some variety of widgeting systems. With them, you can have social statues, search boxes, clocks, news feeds, and a huge amount of glanceable data available right on the Home screen. They typically take up more space, however, and add an element of chaos to the layout, but the amount of time they can save makes for an excellent tradeoff. (If that type of data is important to you — some users simply don’t find a use for widgets on computers or smartphones.)

webOS takes a different approach, shrinking entire apps down into “Cards” that stay live-ish on the Home screen, and in later versions could be stacked together. Flipping through cards doesn’t give you an iconic view or a widget-ized extract, but a look at the entire app, in its current state, with its current data. BlackBerry’s Tablet OS essentially aped this approach as well. The only drawback is that sometimes some apps aren’t as identifiable by their actual screen as they are by their icon (long white list views just look like long white list views). So, it might take a moment to find the exact Card you want, but probably not longer than finding and launching an app.

Both Android and webOS have app launchers, but both also typically provide more information in the status bar as well, including the ability to tap into status bar icons to drop down menus or initiate other functions.

Windows Phone 7 took an even more radical approach. They threw away the Windows Mobile app launcher and replaced it with a tile-based Home screen. Squares or rectangles represent categories of functionality, and can show a small amount of live content — a picture, an avatar, a number, an icon, etc. It’s not always great, however, since at times they take up the space of a widget while not showing much more data than an icon. (They’re not as informationally dense as they could be, at least not yet.) And because they update, they’re not as visually persistent, which reduces the benefit of pattern recognition.

BlackBerry 10, which will only be released later this year, seems to be taking a hybrid approach. In the little they’ve demonstrated so far, they’ve shown something akin to a set of four cards, one per corner, that when tapped launch associated apps. Sliding panels also allow access to notifications, messages, and more. (Somewhat like Twitter for iPad. There’s likely a lot more too it as well, and we’ll hopefully see it as time goes on.

Siri

Siri is and isn’t a Home screen. It isn’t the traditional implementation of a Home screen — something you can sit in and navigate around. It demands immediate interaction. But Siri can be used to access data and apps without having to move through the traditional Home screen.

Rather than unlock, look for an icon, and launch, with Siri hold down a Home button, wait for a double tone, and speak.

Siri can by no means replace the traditional iOS Home Screen, but it can and does sit in parallel to the traditional iOS Home screen, and can replace its use in a few very specific ways. Yet it’s clear Apple put significant work into Siri, not just into the server-side voice and context parsing engine, but the interface as well. Siri got a lot of the widgets the traditional iOS Home screen never did. Depending on what you ask, all manner of clock and alarm and to-do and information snippets and more pop up. All incredibly well thought out and incredibly well rendered.

Getting a Reminder into iOS using the traditional Home screen, icons, buttons, and gestures is a chore. Getting a Reminder into iOS with Siri is remarkably fast. (Granted, when Siri works.)

Siri is still in beta, it’s still not fully baked, Apple hasn’t implemented it on the iPod touch or iPad. So, while Siri is no doubt part of the future, how much of the future is still to be determined.

iOS 6 and the Home screen

There’s not a lot of low-hanging fruit left in iOS. Over the years, Apple has slowly but steadily added in most of the features that most of the people thought were missing in the original iOS (iPhone OS). Apps, copy and paste, multitasking, notifications. There’s a lot of ways to improve the existing functionality, but not a lot of functionality that’s still missing. So on what tent poles will Apple hang its iOS 6 keynote this year?

Sure, Apple’s bought 3 map visualization companies (but no map tiles), so a new Maps App could be one. I’d still sincerely love a Files.app repository, now iCloud enabled. But as iOS has matured, the list of obvious targets has slimmed considerably. Georgia still wants her Theme Store, where users can choose between a small amount of Apple designed iOS skins. But over the years, as iOS has matured, the amount of features truly “missing” has reduced considerably.

That leaves improving existing functionality. And that brings us neatly back to the question asked in this article’s title.

Is it time for Apple to revamp the iOS Home screen?

Do you want them too? Do you need them too? If so, how so? Is it as simple as adding a widget layer to the existing multitasking and notification layers? Is it increasing Siri to the point where the app launcher becomes secondary? Or will it require something completely new, something that makes Windows Phone Metro and webOS and the upcoming BlackBerry 10 look old and outdated? And if Apple does make a substantive change to the Home screen, what does that mean for the hundreds of millions of mainstream users who are used to, perhaps dependent upon, the way things work now?

Apple has always been fearless when it comes to driving the future. They obsolete hardware and software often faster than the market itself. Is it time for Apple to apply that fearlessness to the iOS Home screen?

Did you ever look at a Jawbone JAMBOX and wish that it was bigger? If so, your wishes have been answered with the BIG JAMBOX, everything you loved about the original but at a much larger size. (10.1 x 3.2 x 3.7 inches and 2.7lbs to be exact!)

The original JAMBOX had great sound and the BIG JAMBOX aims to take that sound and fill even bigger spaces with it. Not just a room but a hall, not just a movie night but a party. With precision-tuned drivers and dual passive bass radiators, it promises great sound at any size. It also uses LiveAudio technology, which Jawbone claims “reveals rich layers of audio that you can sense all around you”. 3D sound can be a bit of a gimmick, so hopefully it’s good as well as fancy.

Even though the BIG JAWBONE is much larger, and is built from strong stainless steel, the BIG JAMBOX still aims to remain portable. It’s Bluetooth — though 2.1 and not 4.0 — so you’re not stuck with wires. It boasts 15 hours of battery time, so you shouldn’t run out during the day (or night). You can also update it over the internet, so if apps, updates, or new content becomes available, you can grab it and make it yours. There’s even a carrying case (sold separately) to protect your purchase on the go.

Certainly the original, smaller JAMBOX will still appeal to many users. It’s so easy to take around and sounds so good, after all. But sometimes big music, big movies, and big games will simply require big speakers. For those occasions, and those kinds of users, now there’s a BIG JAMBOX.

The BIG JAMBOX will be available in graphite hex, white wave, and red dot. It ships on May 15 and can be pre-ordered now for $299. Anyone planning to grab one?

Source: Jawbone

Samsung and Apple have made some pretty interesting evidence requests in recent joint court filings. Apple is specifically asking that Walter Isaacson’s official biography of Steve Jobs isn’t admitted as any kind of evidence, likely considering it illustrates Jobs’ unbridled ire for Android, and that it would color Apple’s complaints as founded on emotion rather than technology. Apple also wanted any and all Samsung logos in the courtroom (on TVs, for example) to be obscured, lest it subconsciously affect the jury. Apple also doesn’t want their factory working conditions to enter into the conversation, which, though gaining a lot of press, aren’t directly related to any patents in question.

Samsung has a few requests of their own, too. For one, they want all exclude all non-expert opinion from proceedings, including that of Apple-related blogs. I guess that means us, eh? Dang. Samsung also wants to bar testimony from Henry Urbach, who is an Apple expert on the cultural significance of Apple — something Samsung feels is “not helpful to the jury”. They also want to bar Sanjay Sood, an expert at Apple on consumer decision making, who would likely harp on Apple’s DNA in design.

The case is scheduled to go to court on July 30, though that date is likely to be pushed back due to the sheer breadth of complaints Apple has against Samsung. Odds are good that this case will go on for a loooooong time, so get comfortable and grab some popcorn. Ii’m having a hard time picking a side on this, but my guess is that both sides will end up making compromises of some kind and ultimately. Anyone taking bets on who will end up on top?

If you haven’t had a chance to read Isaacson’s book, definitely take the time to check it out; it provides a very interesting look at Apple, where it came from, and where it’s going now that Jobs is gone.

• iBooks link
• Amazon link

Source: FOSS Patents

Pandora, Slacker, and Spotify are three of the most popular streaming apps available. But which one is the best option for iPhone users?

While iTunes is the undisputed king of digital music, it doesn’t offer streaming or subscription services, leaving the field wide open for a wide variety of contenders, including Pandora, Slacker, and Spotify. That’s important because not everyone wants to buy their music. Some iPhone users want more variety and a better way to discover new music, or simply re-discover old favorites. That’s because music is personal. It has to suit both our general tastes and our mood at the moment. A good streaming music app needs to reflect this. It needs to have music available that we like, when we like, and the better it does that job, the better it is.

Pandora, Slacker, and Spotify each have their own unique take on streaming music, but which one does it best?

Pandora vs. Slacker. vs. Spotify: User interface and experience

When it comes to streaming music, users want to find what they want to listen to easily and start listening quickly. If you have to dig through tons of menus or spend lots of time figuring out how to find music, you’re just as soon switch to something else. It needs to be accessible and even better — customizable.

Pandora’s layout is relatively straight forward and simple. The first tab will aggregate all the stations you’ve listened to and a “quick mix” that will play a mix of your stations. You can tap the edit button and easily remove anything you don’t want. The next tab allows you to add new stations. You can search by either artist or genre. Tapping on a station or artist will instantly start streaming that content. It will also add that station to your playlist tab.

The bookmarks tab does exactly what you’d expect — it allows you to bookmark tracks and artists. This feature is handy if you want to keep lists of tracks for future purchase (you can jump straight into iTunes from Pandora to buy content). While Pandora doesn’t allow you to go back and stream that exact track, you can create a station based on that artist or track. This is great for fine tuning the Pandora app to play content you like. Make sure when listening to tracks that you use the thumbs up and thumbs down feature to filter in content you’re more likely to enjoy and filter out things you don’t like.

Upon launching Slacker you get a home page that allows you to browse some pre-defined stations or create your own custom stations. Premium users will also have the option of creating custom playlists (that’s a feature Pandora does not offer in their iPhone app).

After choosing a station or creating a custom station, you can like or dislike songs or artists just as you can with Pandora. When disliking a track, you can either dislike just a specific song or the artist in general. So if you detest Rihanna in all forms, just block her from ever showing up for you in Slacker again.

Slacker also gives you the ability to check out what artists and tracks are featured on a station. Tapping into a station allows you to view info on the station, check out the artists, and check out the song list. Tapping the play button next to the station name will instantly start streaming that station. Overall, the entire layout of Slacker flows nicely. There aren’t tons of menus to navigate and all of your presets and content are accessible via the main page.

Spotify for iPhone is quite a bit different when it comes to overall design and the manner in which you interact with your content. The main homepage shows you a slider of top tracks and new releases with news underneath. The first tab shows any playlists you’ve created as well as your inbox, starred, and local tracks (we will get more into these later). The next tab allows you to search for artists, tracks, and albums. Once you find what you’re looking for you can either stream it, add it to a playlist, or star it to play it later.

Spotify also integrates Facebook to allow you to view what your friends are listening to under the Friends tab. You can, of course, disable this feature (if, like some of the iMore staff, you don’t want your friends to know you secretly listen to the Spice Girls…)

I actually prefer Spotify’s layout and interface to the others but there’s one big downside — you can’t browse genres. If you don’t know what you’re looking for or find things in “what’s new” or “what’s hot”, there’s pretty much no other way to find music from the iPhone app. This doesn’t make for a great experience.

Between the three, Pandora is somewhat plain and Spotify lacks the ability to find music productively. Slacker is a nice middle ground. It doesn’t overwhelm you. It might look a bit busy at first but after using it, everything just flows nicely together.

When it comes to user interface and experience, Slacker takes the prize.

Pandora vs. Slacker. vs. Spotify: Content

Pandora, Slacker, and Spotify all focus on music, yet present content in very different ways. If you want a random selection and don’t care for playlists, Pandora provides that. But if you want to customize your listening experience right from the start, Spotify and Slacker are the best bets.

Pandora at its core is an online radio streaming service. You can choose the types of music you like as well as like and dislike individual songs or artists. If you come across and artist or song you really like, you can listen to a mix based on that song. What Pandora doesn’t do is give you the option to add individual songs to playlists and make your own. It attempts to learn what you like by the ratings you give content. Sometimes those ratings aren’t so accurate.

If you want a more radio-like experience and don’t want to put too much work into finding and playing content, Pandora is great. Beyond that, it’s lacking features even for premium users.

Slacker is simliar to Pandora from the standpoint that you browse through stations and like or dislike artists and songs. From there, Slacker will show you custom content based on your own tastes. You can like and favorite songs which will show up under your favorites section off of the main menu. If you are a premium subscriber, you’ll be able to listen to songs on demand.

Slacker allows offline streaming of up to 25 stations at a time (as long as you have room on your iPhone to store the content). You’ll need to be a plus or premium member, but you’ll be able to listen to your favorite stations without using up your data plan. To access stations you’ve saved for offline playing, just select the cached content section on the main menu and you’re good to go.

Spotify concentrates on a more tailored experience. When it comes to the iPhone app, you can either search for content to play one song or album at a time, or build playlists. There are no stations to weed through or genres to choose from. This may be a deal-breaker for users who want the ability to browse music instead of having to find something specific. There are many times I just want to start playing music and don’t really know exactly what I want to listen to. I just know what type of music I want to listen to.

If you’ll only be using your iPhone to stream, Slacker will provide you with the best content selection and ways to sort and listen offline. While they don’t have custom playlists, you can favorite songs you hear that you like and listen to and access them under your favorites tab on the main menu.

When it comes to content, Slacker wins.

Pandora vs. Slacker. vs. Spotify: Cross-platform syncing & streaming

If you plan on listening not only on your iPhone but on your computer or other mobile device, such as an iPad, you may want to consider what each service offers on other platforms, especially if you’re contemplating a premium membership.

Pandora has a wide array of mobile apps available for iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android. You can also listen online. When you sign into your account all your information and saved content will be there.

Pandora One is Pandora’s premium subscription model. It gives you access to the desktop application for Mac or Windows. The desktop app really isn’t anything to get excited about and s quite dull. There’s not much to interact with and it doesn’t offer you any particular benefits over using the web-based player.

Slacker also has applications for most platforms and a few more than Pandora offers, namely a native iPad client. They also offer support for Windows Phone 7, Nokia, Palm, BlackBerry, Android, and many more. Slacker will save all your content under your login and it will be there regardless what app or platform you sign in to.

Slacker does not have a Mac or Windows app but you can, of course, stream straight from their website.

Spotify also supports popular platforms such as Windows Phone, Android, BlackBerry, and more. There is not currently an iPad version of the app but it’s rumored to be coming very soon.

While I have an issue with Spotify’s lack of a search feature on the iPhone, it makes up for that with the Mac and Windows app. It’s by far the best desktop app of the three (especially considering Slacker doesn’t even have one). You can view popular playlists, star tracks, see what’s popular in your area, and monitor what your friends are listening to.

My favorite feature of Spotify’s desktop app is the ability to wirelessly sync your starred tracks and playlists whenever your iPhone is on the same Wi-Fi network as your desktop computer. I frequently use this feature when I’m listening to music in the office or at home. I’ll star music that I particularly like and have my iPhone set up to download starred tracks for offline use. I launch Spotify while on my network, the desktop app recognizes it instantly, downloads any changes, and I get in my car and start listening without having to worry about using my data (offline mode requires premium subscription).

You can also use the Spotify desktop client to sync local tracks from your computer. It’ll pull everything in from your music library. While I don’t typically use this service, it will be a nice addition for users who don’t have to have to manage music in two separate apps. Spotify can handle it all.

When it comes to cross-platform support, Spotify takes the win due to their robust Mac and Windows app. When they launch their anticipated iPad app, it’ll just be that much better.

Pandora vs. Slacker. vs. Spotify: Audio quality

One of the most important aspects of listening to music for many is how good it sounds. There’s no exception when it comes to streaming content. It’s really hard to give a consistent rating considering many things can influence the actual rate at which music stream, such as your internet connection and whether or not a specific track is even available in a higher quality format.

Pandora streams at at average rate of around 64kbps for free listeners on the web, and at 192kbps for premium subscribers. They make no guarantee about mobile listeners, such as iPhone users, considering so many external factors can affect the bit rate.

Slacker doesn’t have much information on the exact rate at which they are streaming but they do say that regardless of what platform you are streaming on, you should experience “near-cd quality” audio.

Spotify is a bit better at explaining what they stream. Premium users can get up to 320kbps on the desktop app and within the iPhone app. Of course, actual quality may vary given internet connection and other variables. They say the typical average and free users usually get around 160kbps.

Spotify wins when it comes to audio quality.

Pandora vs. Slacker. vs. Spotify: Pricing & features

While content is super important, so is the price you have to pay for it. While Pandora, Slacker, and Spotify all have a free ad-supported version, they also all offer premium subscriptions.

Pandora’s premium service, Pandora One, weighs in at $36 a year or $3.99 per month. So if you can buy yearly, you’ll get a bit of a discount. Pandora One will get you the following additions over the free version:

• Higher quality streaming – 192K bits per second
• Removal of ads
• Unlimited skips per day (but you’ll still be limited to 6 skips per hour due to licensing issues)
• Access to the desktop player
• Extended timeout (listen up to 5 hours while not by your computer or iPhone)
• Custom skins

Slacker has 2 subcription models to choose from. The $3.99/month plus subscription will get you the following over the free version:

• No ads
• Unlimited song skips
• Mobile station caching (offline playing)
• ABC news
• ESPN radio

The $9.99/month premium subscription will get you everything listed above as well as the following:

• Songs on demand
• Albums on demand
• Single artist stations
• Caching of albums and playlists
• Create custom playlists

Spotify also has two subscription models outside of their freemium model but we’re only going to cover the $9.99/month version because, sadly, that’s the only version that will even allow you to stream to your iPhone. There is a 48 hour free trial if you’d like to check it out first. Just download the app to activate your trial.

• Manage your local MP3s
• Take your music abroad
• Artist radio
• No ads
• Play local files on your mobile device
• Offline mode on your desktop & mobile
• Enhanced sound quality & content

Pandora, Slacker, and Spotify all provide access to play content through your home or office systems such as Sonos. They’re all widely accepted and you shouldn’t run into issues with any of them when it comes to a lot of the popular music systems.

When it comes to price, Slacker offers the most for only $4/month but Spotify offers much more in their $9.99/month package. You’ll just have to weigh out what you need and what services you’ll really use. Go with the one that has a better value for you personally.

When it comes to cost, it’s a tie between Slacker and Spotify.

Pandora vs. Slacker. vs. Spotify: Conclusion

Pandora, Slacker, and Spotify all offer streaming experiences in very different ways. I can’t help but feel that Pandora is lacking when it comes to functionality and customization. I know many users just want to listen and go, but access to previously listened to songs and stations would be a welcome addition.

Slacker provides a nice streaming service for free with an easy to maneuver through interface. You can even get offline caching for only $4/month. That’s a very sought after feature for many users who want to be more conservative with their carrier data. You won’t get it cheaper than you do with Slacker.

Spotify is the new kid on the block but packs a punch. While I think they have the best desktop experience of all three, we’re talking iPhone app here. And sadly, that’s lacking. There is no way to browse for and discover music. That’s a deal-breaker for me. So is having to pay $9.99/month just to use the iPhone app. If Spotify could fix these two issues by beefing up the iPhone app and giving iPhone users access either for free (ad-based) or at a cheaper rate, they’d be the best choice, hands down.

Only one of these apps seems to be a happy medium between discovering and customizing the streaming experience, and that’s Slacker. It’ll suit most users needs and offers the flexibility most users need.

Slacker is the best streaming app for iPhone.

Pandora – Free – Download Now

Slacker – Free – Download Now

Spotify – Free – Download Now

Samsung has snagged the top smartphone vendor spot from Apple, a throne Apple had just claimed in Q4 2011. Apple’s Q1 2012 smartphone market share sat at 24.2%, while Samsung enjoyed a slight lead with 29.1% of all smartphone sales worldwide. The quarter also marked Samsung’s leap over Nokia as the top mobile phone vendor globally, which is a huge competitive and symbolic victory. The overall market has shipped 144.9 million smartphones in the quarter, which is a 42.5% increase over last year. IDC’s senior research analyst, Ramon Llamas, said of the battle between Apple and Samsung:

The race between Apple and Samsung remained tight during the quarter, even as both companies posted growth in key areas. Apple launched its popular iPhone 4S in additional key markets, most notably in China, and Samsung experienced continued success from its Galaxy Note smartphone/tablet and other Galaxy smartphones. With other companies in the midst of major strategic transitions, the contest between Apple and Samsung will bear close observation as hotly-anticipated new models are launched.

Apple and Samsung have been butting heads in the courtrooms, despite plans to talk about settling on their patent dispute; some might even say the neck-and-neck race between the two giants is what’s propelling their legal squabbles forward. As the leading manufacturer, Samsung also embodies the Android threat that Steve Jobs pledged to go to thermonuclear war against. There’s more than just patents and market share at stake here - there are big egos and a lot of pride on both sides of the fence. It will be interesting to see who wins which battles, but this is shaping up to be a feud that won’t be concluding any time soon.

Have you swapped out an iPhone for a Samsung device? Or, conversely, made the leap from a Samsung Android smartphone to iOS? How are you finding the switch?

Source: IDC

The pitch for this one was simple — girls just want to have fun dancing the night away without having to keep track of a purse or a coat, but they still want a place to safely stash their iPhone, credit cards, IDs and key. Enter the JoeyBra. It has discreet pockets on the side that, if you’re wearing the appropriate night club attire, you can easily slip your iPhone out of for a quick call or text, and slip right back in when you’re again ready to rock.

We are now taking pre-orders for the first sexy, yet functional pocketed bra that will allow you to leave your purse behind and hit the dance floor without ever having to worry about the safety of your valuables. Our unique design will hold most cellphones, ID, key, and other small items regardless of bust size – no amount of items will change the way your bra fits you. When the pocket is empty, our patent pending design will look exactly like any other bra which means you can wear it night or day. Never again will you have to reach down the front of your dress looking for the key that slipped out of place. Our product places all pockets within easy, yet appropriate reach.

We’ve seen clothing getting more high-tech for years now, especially outerwear like jackets and even sports tops, so it’s interesting to see inner wear getting the same attention.

Sure, the JoeyBra won’t be the iPhone carrying method of choice for every lady, but the beauty of the internet and the new generation of manufacturing startups means niche products actually have a fighting chance.

There’s only one style of JoeyBra available right now, but it looks like there might be more to come.

The JoeyBra is expected to ship in June and can be pre-ordered now for $29.99.

Source: JoeyBra via CNET

Apple has sent out a new email to developers to promote their still struggling iAd platform, and advise about revenue generation possibilities and new rich media ads for iPad.

iAd provides a significant source of additional revenue for iOS developers. Many developers with apps just like yours are already making thousands of dollars per week serving iAd rich media ads. And users have been delighted by the range of ads from major brands that offer an interactive experience while keeping them in your app.

iAd Rich Media Ads. Now Being Served to iPad.

iAd rich media ads are now being served to iPad apps on the U.S. App Store, redefining mobile advertising with rich, immersive ads that take advantage of the 9.7 inch LED-backlit display. Make the most of this growing opportunity now. Learn how you can join the iAd mobile advertising network and generate more revenue with iAd.

Apple bought iAd (formerly Quattro Wireless) in 2010 after Google sniped AdMob from them. Since then they’ve slashed rates down from a million dollar, ultra-premium buy-in first to $500,000 and now $100,000, and increased developer pay outs from 60% to 70%.

Originally explained as a way for developers to monetize free apps, iAd still faces tough competition from Google’s AdMob and other players. Fremium models backed by in-app-purchase could also be a more popular way for developers to monetize apps.

Apple has been fairly quiet it about it lately as well, so it will be interesting to see if iAd gets any time, or significant attention, at WWDC 2012.

If you’re a developer using iAd, let us know how it’s working for you in our iOS Developer Forum.

At BlackBerry World 2012, RIM has finally given us a sneak preview of their next generation BlackBerry 10 operating system. It won’t be released until later in 2012, likely pitting it head-to-head against iOS 6 and iPhone 5,1, and a lot can change, but here’s some of what we’ve seen so far:

• Highly gesture based. That’ll be quick for power-users who become familiar with the system, but RIM will have to work hard to make it discoverable enough to get new users on board.
• Sliding layers of information. Something that looks like an extension of Twitter for iPad, you can slide the screen aside to see notifications behind, slide layers over to get more information, etc.
• Virtual keyboard. Looks very BlackBerry, works to “learn” how each individual types so it can personalize the experience. Presents words you can “flick up” to enter. (See CrackBerry’s coverage of the BlackBerry 10 keyboard.)
• Time travel camera. When you take a picture, it records frames before and after and you can pick the perfect shot from that period of time. Be interesting to see what resolution they can get out of that and for how long.
• They also showed off what looked like the BlackBerry 10 versions of FaceTime and AirPlay, on both phones and the PlayBook, stressing their ecosystem play.

Right now there’s only the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha to actually get hands-on with, and again a lot can change between now and “later this year” when they release, especially in so competitive a market. A lot of their initial keynote sounded like something straight out of CrackBerry Kevin’s smartphone hierarchy of needs. Whether they can focus, target, and most importantly, ship, remains to be seen.

Check out the video below and let us know what you think. Will BlackBerry 10 make RIM competitive again? Anything you see in BlackBerry 10 that you’d like to see in iOS 6?

Source: CrackBerry.com

For today only, the iMore iPhone Accessory Store has the Seidio SURFACE Reveal Case for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 for only $16.95! That’s a whopping 43% off! Get them before they’re gone!

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RIM Australia has confirmed that it was responsible for the flashmob attack on a Sydney Apple Store. The campaign against Apple titled ’Wake Up’ was originally pinned on Samsung. Samsung denied it and now RIM Australia has confirmed that it was responsible via a press release after the accompanying website was traced back to RIM.

We can confirm that the Australian 'Wake Up' campaign, which involves a series of experiential activities taking place across Sydney and Melbourne, was created by RIM Australia. A reveal will take place on May 7th that will aim to provoke conversation on what 'being in business' means to Australians.

The flashmob took place outside the Apple Store in Sydney; a bus full of protestors all dressed in black left the bus and lined up outside the store's window. They then produced signs that they held up against the windows with the words 'Wake Up' emblazoned across them. The flashmob then chanted 'Wake Up' through the window at Apple's staff and customers.

It should be noted that RIM Australia probably operates with a great deal independence from RIM corporate when it comes to marketing, with their own budget and agency. It’s possible RIM corporate had little or no knowledge of the campaign, and could be finding out about it at the same time we are — during BlackBerry World 2012. If that’s the case, this probably isn’t a distraction they’re enjoying right now.

Source: MacTalk

Apple has quietly continued the roll out of its iTunes Match service by launching it in five more countries. iTunes Match is now available in Italy, Greece, Portugal, Austria and Slovenia. iTunes Match was originally made available in the United States  back in November. It was then rolled out to a few more countries in December last year and now a five more have been added into the mix.

iTunes determines which songs in your collection are available in the iTunes Store. Any music with a match is automatically added to iCloud for you to listen to anytime, on any device. Since there are more than 20 million songs in the iTunes Store, chances are your music is already in iCloud. And for the few songs that aren't, iTunes uploads what it can't match. Even better, all the music iTunes matches plays back from iCloud at 256-Kbps AAC DRM-free quality — even if your original copy was of lower quality.

iTunes Match costs $24.99 a year in the US. and is certainly a very good way to secure your music library with a backup and also make your music library available across many devices. If you need any help setting up iTunes match we can help you out there too.

How to set up and use iTunes Match

If you still have questions and need some help, the iMore iCloud and iTunes forums are a great resource for information and assistance.

Source: Macstories

 

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