I've been using Tom Bihn Ristretto messenger bags for a few years now. When my original was stolen, I promptly bought another. I've used them for everything from going to the local coffee shop to going to Macworld and WWDC. 99% of the time, where I go, my Tom Bihn Ristretto goes, because it has most of the stuff I need in it to do my job.

The only problem I've had with the Tom Bihn Ristretto is the front organizer. The models I owned all left it open, barely covered by the flap that secured the two main and single zippered top pockets. That meant, while the pen holders and iPhone compartments were convenient, I couldn't store anything in them for fear it would fall out.

Now, based on similar feedback, Tom Bihn has redesigned the Ristretto and attempted to make a great messenger bag even better. Did they succeed?

The Tom Bihn Ristretto comes in 3 sizes, one optimized for the 9.75-inch iPad, one for the 11-inch MacBook Air, and one for the 13-inch MacBook air or 13-inch MacBook Pro. If you only ever want to carry around your iPad, or similar sized tablet device, the smallest of the Ristrettos is a slick, sophisticated option. I need both my iPad and my MacBook with me, so I've always gone with the 13-inch Ristretto. That they have options is the important part. You get only exactly the amount of messenger bag you need. (I've even used the 13-inch Ristretto to cart around my 15-inch MacBook Pro in a pinch, though it's not ideal and I wouldn't recommend anyone trying to get regular use out of that scenario.)

The Ristretto is a vertical messenger, which I far prefer. The outside is made of U.S. 1050 denier ballistic nylon, which Tom Bihn claims has "twice the abrasion resistance of 1680 denier fabric". After two years of heavy use, my original Tom Bihn looked as good as when I'd bought it.

There's a pocket on the back of the Ristretto, suitable for some papers or analog reading material -- they type you're forced to endure doing takeoff and landing. It's open, so don't put any valuables in there.

A flap folds over the top and buckles to keep the Ristretto closed. It's a good, strong plastic buckle that holds securely. I did once have one break but after contacting Tom Bihn they sent me an immediate replacement.

The main, laptop pocket is padded, according to their website, with 6mm of open-cell foam laminated with 4 Ply Taslan on the outside, with super-soft brushed tricot inside, and 6mm of closed cell foam on the back. An extra, internal flap folds over to hold everything snug as a bug in a rug. If you buy the proper Ristretto size for your iPad or MacBook Air, the fit is excellent.

The secondary pocket, the one I use for the iPad, doesn't have the same padding and soft interior, and it's far roomier than an iPad requires, but it's the most secure, most convenient place to put it. I've occasionally snuck a friend's Air in their when we travelled together, but I wouldn't recommend doubling up regularly.

The third, zippered pocket on the Tom Bihn used to have the organizer open in front of it, leading to the problems I mentioned above. Now the organizer is back inside the zipper where it belongs, and instead of being a single linear zipper, it's now a bigger, rounded compartment with a pair of zippers. That's right -- it's all grown up. It even uses a #8 YKK Uretek splash-proof zipper.

This is where I keep all my secure-ables: MagSafe power adapter, iPad charger (which I use for both iPad and iPhone), USB ethernet adapter, headphones, etc. While my main iPhone 4S is always in my pants or jacket pocket, I do sometimes have my old iPhone 4 in the Ristretto iPhone pocket, if I need it with me for some tests or reviews I'm working on. I also keep extra business cards and Mobile Nations and iMore stickers for serendipitous giveaways. A regular pen (to fill out analog forms like customs declarations) and a stylus (currently the Jot Pro) fill out the compartments.

There's an O-Ring in the zipper pocket as well, for which Tom Bihn offers a couple of optional extras, including a variety of wallets, pouches, and key holders. I've gotten one of the pouches and tried it, but stopped. It didn't fit my use case.

Regardless of the pocket, the new Tom Bihn Ristretto holds everything securely yet still keeps it readily available. The included waist strap can be used to keep the Ristretto secured for long term walking or riding, and can be positioned high or low on either side. There's also a strong handle at the top to make it easy to pick up or hold when you have to.

For the shoulder strap, you can choose between the standard and the absolute. The standard is 1.5" wide and nylon. The absolute is a bigger, thicker, better padded version. I prefer the absolute, especially when I'm spending 12 hours walking during a trade show. It's an additional charge ($20) but well, well worth it. (Just make sure you change shoulders regularly so you stay Superfunctional.)

For colors, you get your choice of black/steel, forest/steel, olive/cayenne, steel/iberian (gray). Green and blue options are also shown on the website but don't seem to be available to order (yet?). This review unit is black/steel. The ones I've bought myself were olive/cayenne. They all look great,

The good

• Excellent design and craftsmanship
• Organizer secured inside zippered pocket
• Extremely comfortable, even for prolonged use

The bad

• Nothing left for me to complain about

The conclusion

The Ristretto doesn't fit everything I need -- it's way too small to hold my DSLR and lenses, for example. But that's the point. Hiking packs are hiking packs for a reason. The Ristretto is what you use when you want something light and essential -- something to carry only what you need, that doesn't make you regret buying an Air or an iPad because of the bulk and weight the bag adds right back to it. It's zen.

If you're looking for something in old worn leather, or something with loud patterns, look somewhere that is else. If you want a comfortable, stylish, svelte way to carry around your iPad, iPhone, and optionally, your MacBook Air, get the Tom Bihn Ristretto.

$125 - Ristretto for iPad - Buy now

$125 - Ristretto for 11-inch MacBook - Buy now

$135 - Ristretto for 13-inch MacBook - Buy now

The Weather Channel for iPhone is the most popular alternative to Apple's built-in Weather app and it recently received a complete makeover. It still has all the great features of the previous design, but the new UI is much more beautiful and user friendly.

The main screen of the Weather Channel displays the location (with zip code) and the temperature in a nice big font. In smaller letters underneath the temperature, you'll find what the temperature "feels like" and the high and lows for the day. If you tap the + sign, you'll find more detailed information for wind, humidity, UV index, dew point, visibility, pressure, and sunrise and sunset times.

The background of the home screen will change depending on the time of day and current weather conditions. You can also customize it with your own photo.

In addition to the current conditions, The Weather Channel also has tabs for the hourly, 36 hour, and 10 day forecasts.

The other sections in The Weather Channel are Map, Video, Social and In Season.

The Map tab lets you layer radar, clouds, radar/clouds, temperature, feels like, 24-hr rainfall, 24-hour snowfall, and UV index over the map. There is a key at the top so you know what the colors on the map represent.

The Video section is filled with must-see, local, and world videos as well as videos that are on TV.

The Social tab lets you read tweets about the weather both nearby and regionally. You can also check out photos taken by other Weather Channel users in the iWitness section.

From the In Season tab, you can check pollen, hurricane, and tide forecasts. The pollen and hurricane forecasts include maps and diagrams and are very informative. The marine section breaks the down sea, waves, wind, and high tide information into a nice, easy-to-read 2-day forecast broken down into separate morning, afternoon, even, and night sections.

The good

• Much better design than before
• Current, hourly, 36-hour, and 10-day forecasts
• View maps of clouds, radar, and more
• Videos
• Read tweets about the weather
• View photos taken of the weather
• Check pollen, hurricane, and tide forecasts

The bad

• Ads are annoying. I would gladly purchase an upgrade that removed them.

The conclusion

The Weather Channel for iPhone was always a good weather app, but now it's a great alternative to Apple's built-in Weather app. The new UI is much better -- both on the eyes and to use.

Free - Download Now

Over the last week, iMore has put four of the best pro stylus pens in the world head to head to head to head: the Wacom Bamboo, the Adonit Jot Pro, the SGP Kuel H12, and the Ten One Design Pogo Sketch Pro. We've picked our winner.

Now it's time for you to win!

The always awesome iMore Accessory Store is giving away two (2) of each stylus pens to our equally awesome readers! That's eight (8) stylus pens total! Yeah. How can you win one of your very own?

1. Subscribe to iMore's YouTube channel
2. Leave a comment on the video for the stylus pen (or pens) you want most. (Enter for all four if you like!)
   • Adonit Jot Pro stylus review video
   • Wacom Bamboo Stylus review video
   • SGP Kuel H12 stylus review video
   • Ten One Design Pogo Sketch Pro stylus video
3. And that's it!

We'll pick a couple commenters for each stylus pen video -- check to make sure they've subscribed! -- and then send the winners their prize.

Contest starts now and ends Sunday, May 20, 2012 at 11:59pm PST. Now why are you still reading? Enter already!

Blackberry maker RIM recently proposed a new nano-SIM card design to counter one proposal made by Apple to the the European Telecommunications Standards Instititute. One of the major points of contention surrounds the use of a SIM tray; Apple wanted to use one, which effectively would impose their SIM tray design on other manufacturers, but it would be interoperable with existing SIM formats since the pin footprint in Apple's layout is exactly the same as the old generation SIM cards. Meanwhile Motorola, RIM, and (until recently) Nokia were pushing a tray-less design with a fingernail catch, not unlike what we see on microSD memory cards. Apple's original nano-SIM design was as long as the old mini SIM was wide, which could easily confuse consumers, lead to jamming, and consequently more repairs and returns. RIM and Motorola's countered that adapters are unreliable and can't hold a card securely against the contacts, but still offered the compromise that you see above.

Despite the compromise offered here by RIM, nobody could agree after an informal vote, which isn't much of a surprise given Apple herded in sympathetic partners to the association. Ultimately, if these guys can't find common ground, it's entirely possible that we'll see two nano SIM standards floating around: one made by Apple, and one used by everybody else. You can imagine what a headache that could be for all parties involved, particularly carriers. It seems like most parties adopted micro SIM without too much of a fight, and that was also a charge led by Apple with the iPhone 4; could the same bullheadedness get other manufacturers to just go along with Apple again? Why is Apple so hell-bent on their particular design anyway? How would carriers side in all of this?

If you're interested in poking around the ETSI documentation, it's all somewhere in here; the particulars of RIM's latest proposal are available here.

Source: The Verge

Instacast, Downcast, and Pocket Casts all bring podcasts directly to your iPhone and iPod touch, which is one of the best ways to enjoy them when you're in the car, working out, sitting in the office, or simply lounging around the house. While all three allow you to browse and search for podcasts, which one has the best features geared towards the most users?

Let's listen and find out!

Instacast vs. Downcast vs. Pocket Casts: Navigation and interface

When it comes to podcasting apps, it's important to have an app that not only lets you listen to the podcasts you already know and love, but search for and discover new ones as well. Of course, it also has to be visually pleasing and easy to navigate. Sometimes too many features and too many options are a hindrance and not a help.

Instacast has an easy to navigate interface that's streamlined and simple. Upon launching the app you'll be presented with a list of your current subscriptions. You can tap through the top tabs to view playlists and bookmarks as well. If you'd like to create playlists, you can do so easily but you'll need to purchase the premium in-app upgrade.

Tapping the "+" button in the bottom left of the main page let's you add new content. You can search through popular audio and video podcasts as well as sort by genre or search if you already know what you're looking for.

Downcast also has a super simple layout. The tabs along the bottom are pretty much self explanatory and even those new to podcasts should have no trouble finding their way around the main portions of the app. Tapping into a podcast and tapping on an episode will cause the episode to play. This is a bit odd to me as I'd expect tapping into an episode to bring me to a detailed information list and show notes followed by an option to play.

You can tap the info button to view info but this feels like a more awkward layout. Once you've selected a podcast or viewed info, show notes and information are then presented.

As you start to get into other tabs, it can get a bit more confusing. While you don't have to pay an additional fee to create playlists, the amount of options presented is overwhelming and is probably unnecessary for most users. Those could be buried deeper for power users so the higher level remains cleaner for general users.

The settings sections of the app allows you to fine tune many things including refresh frequency, how you want the app to handle new episodes, and specific player controls such as skip intervals.

Pocket Casts is by far the most visually appealing of the podcast apps. When you first launch Pocket Casts you'll be presented with your list of podcast subscriptions. Tapping on the tiled button again will switch from titles and descriptions to a list view of episodes. (You can toggle these views from the top as well.) Selecting a podcast will give you a list view of all the episodes in that group.

The top of the screen also gives you a quick view of how many podcasts you have total, how many are physically downloaded, and how many you haven't finished listening to. Tap on any of the numbers at the top to view only those episodes. The second tab shows you what is playing, allows you to skip and stop, and gives you access to show notes.

Finding podcasts to listen to is easy with Pocket Casts. Either search for what you're looking for at the top or browse categories. When you find one you want to subscribe to, just tap add.

Settings is also easy to navigate and doesn't present overwhelming options. This may feel limiting to power users who want to tweak every last option, but its the better choice for most users who just want to play their shows.

When it comes to navigation and which app is more visually pleasing, Pocket Casts nails it on both counts.

Instacast vs. Downcast vs. Pocket Casts: Listening to shows and viewing show notes

No matter how slick the interface or granular the settings, a podcast app has to be judged on how easily it lets you play shows, control the playback of shows, and access additional information like show notes.

Instacast has a great player that's easy to use and nice to look at. It hides unnecessary controls out of view until you need them. Along the bottom you'll only see the play, skip, and back buttons. Slide them up and you'll see other controls you can use to fine tune scrub or jump back. While Instacast still seems to be struggling to nail proper touch targets for some of their controls, they're intuitive and when they work, they work well.

Accessing show notes in Instacast is simple. Tap the top left arrow on the play screen and you'll be brought back to the info screen, or choose the list icon in the upper right and view all links and bookmarks from the show notes. If you want to view a link within the show notes, clicking on it will bring up a built-in browser. You never have to leave the app while listening and following along but if you choose to close the app, Instacast will continue to play on in the background.

Downcast's player has a pretty straight forward player but it tries to pack too much onto one screen. You'll find the skip controls towards the top and some other controls towards the bottom. Show notes are located in the middle of the screen (when available). Downcast also has a built-in browser so clicking any links will take you to them within the app.

If you like having all your information on one screen at the same time, Downcast will give that to you, but at the cost of looking overly cluttered.

If you decide to exit Downcast, audio will also continue playing in the background until you choose to stop it.

Pocket Casts is less cluttered than Downcast but still squeezes a lot of information into a small amount of space. Yet, some of the controls still manage to feel hidden.

Tapping the left or right of the screen while playing a podcast brings up skip controls -- skip back 10 seconds or forward 45 seconds. Swiping to the left will bring up show notes. However, the show notes feel a bit cramped as they only populate the center of the screen.

Tapping any type of link will pull you out of the app and into Safari, while Pocket Casts will continue to stream in the background.

So this round goes to Instacast. It has the nicest experience when it comes to actually listening to podcasts and reading show notes.

Instacast vs. Downcast vs. Pocket Casts: Streaming and downloading

Most podcasts in most podcast apps can be streamed or downloaded. Both serve a useful purpose. Streaming can save you local storage space on your iPhone, which can be particularly important if you have 16GB but still want to watch a lot of video shows. It can also give you access to the show you want, when you want, even if you're on 3G. Downloading means you have the show on your iPhone whether you're online or offline, and can be done ahead of time over Wi-Fi so you don't use up your 3G data.

Instacast allows you to easily choose whether or not you'd like to be able to stream or download when on a cellular (3G) network. If you don't want either of these options enabled, just tick them off and your podcasts will only download or stream when Wi-Fi is available.

If you don't want podcasts to physically download to your iPhone and prefer to stream, you can disable that within settings as well or tell Instacast to only download the most recent episodes.

Downcast also lets you choose how you want it to handle podcasts when Wi-Fi is not available. If you don't want episodes to automatically download you can set it to never, or you can set it to only download when Wi-Fi is available. Otherwise you can stream when you'd like or decide to download at a later time.

Pocket Casts won't automatically download episodes to your iPhone. It will add them to your subscriptions and you can stream them any time, or you can manually choose to download episodes when you like. You can also view how much available storage you have, and what episodes you are currently downloaded and stored locally on your device. If you're concerned about storage, you can also set cleanup to remove older episodes to conserve space.

While Instacast, Downcast, and Pocket Casts all allow you to adjust settings, Downcast continues to be the most confusing of the three. Instacast and Pocket Casts offer the easiest ways to manage download vs streaming when it comes to handling your content. Tie.

Instacast vs. Downcast vs. Pocket Casts: Syncing between iOS devices

If you listen to a lot of podcasts and have both an iPhone and an iPad or iPod touch, you'll probably want the ability to pick up where you left off no matter which device you're on. That's where syncing comes in.

Instacast and Downcast both support iCloud syncing and have iPad apps. While the Downcast app is a universal binary for both iPhone and iPad, the Instacast HD app is a separate purchase.

Instacast also allows you to sync podcasts from iTunes that may not be available as a standalone podcast feed. The Music App tab will show any podcasts that you've imported from iTunes. The first time you open the app it will ask you if you'd like to import any existing podcasts from iTunes into Instacast. Currently it only supports audio and not video. If you've got audio podcasts you listen to that may not have a direct podcast feed and are only available in iTunes, you can use this section to import your podcasts so you don't have to use two apps to listen to podcasts. You can also search for that podcast within Instacast's catalog and if it finds it, you can subscribe via the app and not have to use iTunes.

Currently Pocket Casts is the only one that doesn't support iCloud syncing. So if that's a deal breaker for you it's probably best to rule out Pocket Casts as they don't have an iPad app either.

When it comes to syncing, Instacast offers the best support.

Instacast vs. Downcast vs. Pocket Casts: Playlists

If you subscribe to tons of podcasts, playlists become increasingly important. Instead of scrolling through endless lists of shows, you can set them up to give you what you want, when you want it, in a nice and orderly manner. And that makes how playlists are managed an important consideration as well.

Instacast offers complete playlist support only if you're a premium subscriber. To create a playlist just tap the Playilst tab from your main screen. You can also tap the "+" button in the bottom corner to create a playlist. Name it and then check off the subscriptions you'd like to be a part of that playlist.

Smart Playlists are also supported by Instacast. Just choose to create a smart playlist instead of a regular one and you can automatically tell Instacast which types of podcasts to group in that playlist. For example, I've got one set to filter partially played podcasts by oldest first. It's a good way to remind me that I've got podcasts I haven't finished listening to yet.

Playlists within Downcast are a more customizable and allow you to group podcasts in several different ways. You can choose which podcasts you'd like included and then narrow that by which individual episodes you'd like to include by status. If you don't want played podcasts showing up, you can tick it off. If you don't want streamed podcasts showing up in a certain list, turn that off as well.

Most users probably won't use the extensive features that Downcast offers and, not surprisingly, they may appear confusing to those who are new to podcasts. Advanced users will appreciate the flexibility.

Pocket Casts doesn't support playlists as far as I can see. So if playlists are a feature you need to stay more organized, I'd rule out Pocket Casts as an option. I would, however, argue that the Pocket Casts interface is so simple and clean and easy to navigate that you may find yourself not even needing playlists.

When it comes to playlists, even though they cost extra, Instacasts has the best, simplest support.

Instacast vs. Downcast vs. Pocket Casts: New episode notifications

If you look forward to your favorite podcast becoming available each week, it's always good to have push notifications to remind you when it's ready for you to listen to.

Luckily, Instacast, Downcast, and Pocket Casts all provide push notifications and provide them well.

Tie.

Instacast vs. Downcast vs. Pocket Casts: Cost

Good apps should obviously cost more than bad apps, but all other factors being equal, what each podcasting app costs should factor into your consideration.

Instacast is $0.99 for the basic app, and an additional $1.99 for full playlist support (dubbed Instacast Pro). If you want iPad support, that'll cost you another $4.99 for Instacast HD. So, depending on your needs, you're looking at anywhere from $0.99 for he basic iPhone and iPod touch app, to almost $8 for the full Instacast "suite".

Downcast is $1.99 and is a universal app for both iPhone and iPad.

Pocket Casts is also $1.99 but is iPhone and iPod touch only.(There's also a free version, Pocket Casts Lite, that you can try before you buy.)

Instacast vs. Downcast vs. Pocket Casts: Conclusion

Instacast, Downcast, and Pocket Casts all provide a better and more powerful podcast experience than Apple's built-in iTunes and Music apps.

Pocket Casts has the best, most disciplined interface and is the simplest and easiest to use overall. If you're brand new to podcasts and just want something that works elegantly and well, check out Pocket Casts.

Downcast is the opposite -- complex to the point of being cluttered. That makes it best suited for power users who want to control and tweak as much as possible, and value accessibility over elegance.

Instacast is expensive if you want the full package, but it's also the best overall podcast app for iPhone right now. It strikes the best balance between simplicity and features, making it easy to use but still powerful. For most users, most of the time, Instacast is podcast app to get.

Instacast - $0.99 - Download Now

Downcast - $1.99 - Download Now

Pocket Casts - $1.99 - Download Now

Additional resources:

• Pandora vs. Slacker vs. Spotify: iPhone streaming music app showdown!
• Dropbox vs. SkyDrive vs. Google Drive: iPhone cloud storage app showdown!
• Instapaper vs. Pocket vs. Readability: iPhone read later app showdown!
• Even more app reviews

For today only, the iMore Store has the iSkin Aura for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 on sale for only $23.95! That's a whopping 40% off! Get yours before they're gone!

The Aura for iPhone 4S, AT&T iPhone 4, or Verizon iPhone 4 features a discreet polycarbonate design that's finished with a luxurious brushed aircraft-grade aluminum for a refined and amazingly thin design.

The iSkin Aura case sports a firm snap-on design that resiliently clings to your device. A modern, lightweight, and slim-fitting take on quick, stylish protection.

When it comes to accessibility, the Aura is a clear winner. It allows you to dock, charge and use just about any iPhone 4S, AT&T iPhone 4, or Verizon iPhone 4 accessory with it.

Features:

• Slim, lightweight design
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• Snap-on design
• Polycarbonate, brushed aluminum
• Cut outs for all device features

Get the iSkin Aura for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 now!

Sony has hired Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak to advise on its upcoming film based on the book  Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacsson. Woz will be there to consult on Jobs and on technical aspects of computers. Sony has already hired Aaron Sorkin to write the film and he was also responsible for the recent film based on Facebook, The Social Network as well as television's The West Wing. Unfortunately this project does not seem that straight forward for Sorkin.

"I know so little about what I am going to write. I know what I am not going to write. It can't be a straight ahead biography because it's very difficult to shake the cradle-to-grave structure of a biography, " Sorkin told reporters at a news conference for his upcoming  HBO drama "The Newsroom." Sorkin noted that "The Social Network" saw the Facebook story through the lens of an acrimonious lawsuit that pitted CEO Mark Zuckerberg against his Harvard friends over the creation of the social media network. "Drama is tension versus obstacle. Someone wants something, something is standing in their way of getting it. They want the money, they want the girl, they want to get to Philadelphia - doesn't matter ... And I need to find that event and I will. I just don't know what it is," Sorkin said.

Sorkin is set to focus his full attention on the Steve Jobs film later this month; once the finishing touches are applied to the launch of his new HBO show, The Newsroom. Sony still doesn't have anyone cast for the leading roles in the film so we would expect to start to hear much more very soon.

Source: Chicago Tribune Image: Bloomberg

Georgia, Seth, and Rene discuss all the latest Apple rumors, including the 7-inch iPad, 4-inch iPhone, iOS 6 Maps, and Apple wanting to hurt Google in the wallet. Also, free iPad games, Sparrow push, Chrome for iOS, and the pro stylus shootout!

Brought to you by Audible. Please visit http://www.audiblepodcast.com/imore for your free audiobook download! And thank you for supporting our sponsors!

• Subscribe via iTunes: Audio | Video
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Meta

• Want a chance to win 1 of 4 new iPads?

Rumorpalooza

• 7-inch iPad on track for October 2012 release, $200 to $250 price
• iPhone 5 to be another Google killer -- but with a twist
• iPhone 5 design still not finalized, still no big screen, still no metal back, still on track for October release
• Apple rumored to increase iPhone screen size to 4-inches
• The 4 inch iPhone
• iOS 6 reportedly code named Sundance, more rumors about Siri API, Siri for iPad, iTunes 11
• Apple rumored to be adding photo and video sharing, commenting features to iCloud

News

• Have you updated to iOS 5.1.1? [Poll]
• Aaron Sorkin to write Steve Jobs biopic for Sony

Apps

• Best free iPad games
• Did you hear the one about Chrome for iOS?
• Sparrow for iPhone updated: push coming soon as yearly subscription

Accessories

• Pogo Sketch Pro vs. Kuel H12 vs. Jot Pro vs. Bamboo: iPad stylus shootout

How to

• How to integrate all your social networks into your iPhone and iPad Contacts

Hosts

• Georgia (GeorgiaTiPb
• Seth Clifford (@sethclifford)
• Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie)

Credits

You can reach all of us on Twitter @iMore, or you can email us at podcast@imore.com, or leave a comment on the website when the show goes live.

We're live every Wednesday night at 6pm Pacific, 9pm Eastern, 2am GMT at www.imore.com/live

For all our podcasts -- audio and video -- including iPhone and iPad Live, ZEN and TECH, Iterate, and more, see MobileNations.com/shows

If you haven't already please subscribe to all our shows in iTunes and leave a rating. It helps people find the show and means a lot to us!

Thanks to the iMore Accessory Store for sponsoring the podcast, and to everyone who showed up for the live chat!

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

ScreenDIY is an iPhone app that lets you create unique Lock screens and Home screens from a wide variety of designer wallpapers, shelves, frames, icon skins and more.

The home screen gives you 5 different options: App Shelves, Icon Skins, Background, Lock DIY, and Home DIY.

The App Shelves, Icon Skins, and Background sections are simply backgrounds and cannot be customized. ScreenDIY has a good variety of backgrounds including many girly ones.

When viewing a background, you can view it with sample icons to get an idea of what it'll really look like on your Home screen.

In addition to the basic backgrounds, you can also make your own Home and Lock screens from the DIY sections of ScreenDIY.

In the Lock DIY section, you can mix and match backgrounds (excluding ones with skins and shelves) and calendars and frames. You can also choose one of your own photos from your Photo Library to use as the background. When creating your Lock screen, you can preview what it will look like with the time, date, and slide to unlock UI of the iPhone's Lock screen.

Customizing your Home screen is very similar, only instead of calendars and frames, you have icon skins and shelves.

The only real disappointment with the DIY sections is that you have to scroll through the all the choices. There's no option to browse through a gallery of choices like there is in the other sections.

The good

• Lots of backgrounds
• DIY sections allow for my customization
• A good selection of girly choices
• New backgrounds added weekly

The bad

• No iPad support

The conclusion

ScreensDIY is a great app for creating custom Home screens and Lock screens. I like to regularly change my backgrounds and really like the choices that ScreensDIY has to offer. It's also great that the devs are keeping the content fresh by regularly adding new backdrops.

$0.99 - Download Now

According to J. Crew CEO and current Apple board member, Mickey Drexler, Steve Jobs didn't just want to re-invent the personal computer, mobile phone, and music industry -- he also wanted to take a stab at the car industry too. In an interview at Fast Company's Innovation Uncensored conference earlier this week, Drexler said that Steve Jobs wanted to build... an iCar.

"Look at the car industry, it's a tragedy in America. Who's designing the cars?" Drexler said. "Steve's dream before he died was to design an iCar and I think it would've been probably 50% of the market. He never did design it."

You can imagine how great that iCar would have been had it come to fruition and you wouldn't bet against it becoming the leader in the car world either. There would have been no ugly buttons inside, everything would have been simple to operate and elegant. Of course the integration with other Apple devices would have been a thing to behold; sadly it wasn't to be.

Drexler also claimed that Apple would be dealing with the living room in the "near future"; which could be taken as a hint about the often rumored Apple HDTV.

However, neither Drexler no any Apple board member would likely leak real information about unannounced Apple products, so we'll take this as what it is -- a vague, confidence boosting comment with context informed solely based on existing rumor and speculation.

He also went on to say that he wouldn't like to be in Tim Cooks shoes as taking over a successful company is more difficult than taking over one that is failing. (Though Tim Cook certainly seems to have done well enough for Apple so far...)

You can see the full interview in the video below, unfortunatley the video is flash only.

Source: Busines Insider, Apple Insider, Image: Mercedes

 

According to the latest rumor, Apple's co-founder, Steve Jobs, worked one the next generation iPhone 5 design prior to his passing last October. Bloomberg claims 3 sources familiar with the matter say there will be a redesign, 1 claims the redesign will involve a bigger screen, and 1 claims the redesign involved Steve Jobs.

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, has placed orders from suppliers in Asia for screens that are bigger than the 3.5- inch size now on the smartphone, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren't public. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had worked closely on the redesigned phone before his death in October, one person said.

iMore previously heard that Apple had implemented a smaller micro-dock for the next generation iPhone but hadn't yet decided on a new screen size or aspect ratio. Yesterday the Wall Street Journal and Reuters claimed Apple had settled on a 4 inch screen size.

We went through a wide range of possible 4-inch iPhone variations, how Apple could implement each of them, what advantages each would bring, and what problems each would bring with them.

Given Steve Jobs' passion for Apple and involvement with the product roadmap, it's not hard to believe he would have kept himself involved in future projects even years out. Depending on the manufacturing and performance realities at the time of production, we could be seeing bits and pieces of Jobs ideas for a good long while still.

Whether or not it's ultimately true, it's reassuring to people who place stock in the "Steve Jobs was Apple" story. Regardless, Jobs created the best team in the business and with Scott Forstall running software, Bob Mansfield running hardware, and Jony Ive running design, it's more than likely we have nothing to worry about.

Given the spate of iPhone 5 rumors recently, however, one thing is clear -- Apple is starting to get things in place for the product ramp up. As we get closer to the expected fall release, more and more decisions will get made, parts will be ordered, factories will be set up, and units will begin to be produced.

Until then, all we can do is enjoy the pre-game show.