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The Belkin Rotating Charger 2.1 + ChargeSync is for a) people who can never seem to have enough chargers around for all their Apple gear, be it iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, and b) need plugs that can swivel and fit into any spare outlet that's available, regardless of how cramped they may be, or which direction they're in.

The 2.1 in the Belkin Rotating Charger 2.1 + ChargeSync signifies the amount of amps. That'll handle any iPhone, iPod, or iPad on the market, though the time it takes to charge will vary depending on the battery size of the device in question. The included Dock to USB cable is 4 feet, which is okay but not exceptional.

I originally thought, upon getting the Belkin Rotating Charger 2.1 + ChargeSync, that it would be the cable end that rotates. Since the USB to Dock cable is separate from the charger unit, and the charger unit is rather large, that would be a handy feature to have -- it would greatly reduce the chances for the cable becoming detached or the plug falling out due to torque or tension from handling your device on the other end. However, it's actually the prong assembly that swivels and then locks into position at 90 degree intervals.

It does come in handy when you have a powerbar already jam packed with plugs and the one free outlet, of course, isn't in the right direction to fit. Rather than unplugging and rearranging the entire strip -- which can be especially annoying if computers, TVs, gaming systems, and other machines that don't like being disconnected are involved -- you simply swivel the Belkin Rotating Charger 2.1 + ChargeSync into whichever orientation fits, and plug it right in.

Belkin markets the Rotating Charger 2.1 as a "ChargeSync" cable, which a lot of other companies do, but I find it irksome. Any USB to Dock cable is a "ChargeSync" cable because that's the kind of cable that can both charge over USB and sync with iTunes on the Mac or PC at the same time. The cable that comes in the box with your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad does just exactly that. You know what Apple calls it? "Apple Dock connector to USB cable". Yeah.

So basically, you're getting Belkin's much bulkier version of that, with a more functional sounding name, and much bigger AC adapter that rather than simply fitting into tight spaces the way Apple's iPhone AC adapter does, it swivels to make up for its big, bulkiness. If you're looking for an iPad adapter, it's not as big of a size difference, but compared to the iPhone and iPod touch adapter, it's big.

And wait, it gets worse. The 30-pin part of the Dock connecter doesn't fit into the iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad anywhere nearly as well as Apple's cable. On a naked device, it sticks out and is loose. On a case, the bulkiness greatly reduces the odds that you can plug it in at all.

The thicker gauge of the cable might prove more rugged and durable, but the sheer size of the Dock connector makes it a poor tradeoff. You can, of course, use an Apple cable -- or any other cable -- with the Belkin swivel AC adapter, but that kinds of defeats the purpose of the Belkin Rotating Charger 2.1 + ChargeSync combo. (And again, the AC adapter has chunkiness issues all its own...)

On the plus side, the prongs can also fold down to keep the safe and sound in a bag or luggage while traveling.

The good

• 2.1 amps
• Prongs can swivel

The bad

• Connector is bulky
• Adapter is big

The conclusion

If you specifically need a heavier gauge iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad cable, or prongs that can fold away for travel, there's little reason to recommend it over other options.

$24.95 - Buy now

Giveaway

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AT&T has announced that, come 2017, they'll be hitting the off switch on their 2G EDGE network. That's the network the original iPhone used when it launched in June of 2007, and was bound to until the iPhone 3G launched roughly a year later in 2008. Thomas Gryta reports for the Wall Street Journal:

The telecom giant said about 12% of its contract wireless customers, or roughly 8.4 million people, were using 2G handsets at the end of June, but it will work "proactively" in coming years to move them to more advanced devices. Like the other major carriers, AT&T's customers mostly use phones with third-generation technology, and it is aggressively rolling out a nationwide fourth-generation network.

The next generation iPhone 5 is expected to run on 4G LTE networks, as well as HSPA+ and legacy CDMA networks. The least technologically advanced iPhone that Apple continues to sell, the iPhone 3GS runs on 3G HSPA 7.2. Unlike modern networks, 2G EDGE doesn't handle simultaneous voice and data, but it does still pick up connectivity when faster HSPA networks fail to connect.

Hopefully by 2017 LTE failing back to 3G will be the new 3G failing back to 2G. Anyone here still stuck on EDGE?

Source: Wall Street Journal

How profitable is Cydia, the jailbreak app store, and what happened to the Mac version of Cydia? Jay Freeman (Saurik), the founder of Cydia, recently provided some answers. The explanations were prompted by disgruntled users venting over Cydia's lack of updates and the whereabouts of a Mac version, and ended up as a mini-interview of sorts. In response to claims that Saurik keeps 30% of every app sold in Cydia, like Apple does with the App Store, Saurik provided details on where a large portion of that 30% actually goes. From the ModMyi thread:

100% - 70% (developer) - 7.5% (PayPal) - 7.5% (EU VAT) is nowhere near 30%. Cydia also bears a greater cost than I thought it would for outgoing payments (as almost every developer makes no money, so the PayPal fees end up being really expensive every two weeks to send "almost no money" to thousands of people), and if you subtract bandwidth and servers and the two employees SaurikIT does have, you are left with quite little; what is left is spent back on the community, including bandwidth for non-Cydia things such as jailbreaks/TinyUmbrella, sponsorships of open conferences, etc. That TSS/SHSH server I run that people love so much alone costs many thousands of dollars a month.

The difference between revenue and profit (revenue minus expenses) seems often to get confused, not only with regards to Saurik but Apple as well. Just like Apple's App Store and Android's Google Play, Cydia costs money to run, and a huge amount, if not all of the revenue generated from them go into bandwidth, hosting, transaction costs, and everything else that goes along with running such a large online store.

Saurik also explained -- again -- why the Mac version of Cydia was never released, and what happened with efforts to create a Mac substrate.

As I have stated on numerous other occasions: I got almost universally negative feedback from it when I announced it, including entire articles online calling me stupid for even having suggested it. I seriously left a conference early feeling like I had been half-laughed off of the stage for even suggesting the idea (yes: that's definitely an overstatement of reality, but I kind of felt that way at the time). It wasn't until half a year later (when Lion was released) that any reasonable number of people decided to say "maybe saurik isn't so stupid after all".

Saurik also talked about the Rock acquisition, Winterboard vs Dreamboard, and a few other interesting topics.

Source: ModMyi via iDB

OmniFocus by the Omni Group, Todo by Appigo, and Things by Cultured Code aren't simple todo list apps like the built-in Reminders. They're full on task managers with powerful features and work flows that help you get stuff done on time, and as efficiently as possible. Since your iPhone is almost always with you, if productivity is a priority, it only makes sense to take your task management with you. But which task manager should you take?

Note: We're only looking at full task management apps here. Simpler task managers like Clear, Cheddar, etc. will be covered in a future app vs. app.

OmniFocus vs. Todo vs. Things: User interface

Finding a powerful task management app for iPhone that also has a great user interface can be a daunting task. Several of them confuse clutter for customization, with too many menus to navigate through and settings to tweak. That's not a problem for OmniFocus, Todo, and Things. They all have excellent interfaces. However, they all have their own unique strengths and weaknesses.

OmniFocus starts you off with a main Home screen that allows you to view all your your lists and options in one place. You can tap into any of the sub categories to take a closer look at tasks, search for specific ones, and more.

Your first tab, the Inbox, is a place where you can throw tasks that you may not know what to do with yet, or for tasks that are simply so urgent they need to sit at the top until done. Since there's always a badge next to the inbox when something resides in it, you'll always know there's something in there that requires your attention.

The Projects tab allows you to add a main project or folder that can then contain and organize specific, individual tasks. Tapping the plus button in the main projects window lets you choose a new project or folder. You can also nest projects into folders where necessary.

Once you've gotten into your Inbox, or list that you'd like to add a task to, you can tap the plus button inside of the list and give it a title. You can go beyond that and customize due dates and settings if you'd like, but it's never required.

OmniFocus also allows you to order the tabs on your main Home screen in whatever order you'd like. If you never use the Maps or Forecast features, you can move them to the bottom and move the things you do use to the top.

Todo's main screen gives you easy access to all your lists and tasks. From here you can either click into any of the sections or tap the edit button in the top left to create, delete, and edit existing lists.

The four main sections are not editable and always stay static at the top of the app. These sections are: All, Focus, Starred, and Inbox.

Underneath the sections are custom-made lists that you can create and edit as you wish. This is where a good amount of the tasks and to-do's you set up will go. For example, I can create an iMore list and nest projects and tasks inside of it.

On the main screen are two buttons at the top right. A plus and a plus with a lightning bolt. The regular plus sign will allow you to add a task with all the bells and whistles from setting priority to due date and everything in between. The lightning bolt is a quick add feature. Just tap it and type in the task and click return. Todo will add it to your Inbox automatically for sorting later.

Things has an Inbox at the top, which functions much like it does in OmniFocus or Todo. Add things quickly into the Inbox when you don't have a lot of time or if you aren't quite sure where to organize it just yet.

Underneath the Inbox, Things gives you basic sections such as Today, Next, Scheduled, and Someday. These sections do exactly what they describe, and you can add tasks to them as you please. Below that you've got a Projects tab just like you do in OmniFocus. Tapping into it allows you to view all the projects you have set up as well as tap into them and add new tasks to them. Below that you will also find areas which can be compared to a folder.

OmniFocus, Todo, and Things all have excellent interfaces, and you'll be well served by any of them. However, Things provides the most attractive interface, and the easiest navigation.

OmniFocus vs. Todo vs. Things: Tasks, lists, and projects

The most important criteria for any task management app is how it handles your data. Again, OmniFocus, Todo, and Things all make it easy to enter and organize your data, but do so in their own unique ways.

OmniFocus treats tasks differently based on how you decide to categorize them. You can add what they refer to as contexts to tasks. These will typically be places where you will perform tasks, such as work, home, the grocery store, etc. If you assign a task that needs to be done at the office with a work context, all of your work items will show up as such. You can also flag tasks so they'll show up in the flagged section. It's a great way to stay on top of tasks that require urgent attention.

OmniFocus' contexts feature also works hand-in-hand with Maps. You can assign contexts to the map and then, when you're out and about you can view the the map and see if you have any tasks with contexts in that area. If you're in the vicinity of the grocery store and you have things tagged there, they will show up on the map and remind you that you need to pick up some items.

The Forecast section of OmniFocus aims to combine your tasks with your calendar and provide an overview of your week. At the top you can tab through days of the week and see what you've got in OmniFocus in relation to where you'll be and what you've got set up through your default Calendar app.

You can choose between parallel, sequential, and single actions when creating a task in OmniFocus. If you have a project such as a grocery list that you'll be shopping in different stores for, parallel or single actions would work as you can do them in any order you'd like. If you have a project that needs to be ordered step by step you can choose sequential and OmniFocus will present the steps in order and grey out future steps until you've completed the current one.

There is one feature of OmniFocus that sets is apart from the others and that's Siri integration. If you go into the settings pane and enable iCloud reminders within OmniFocus it'll sync all your reminders with OmniFocus and send them straight to your Inbox. Just use Siri to create a reminder in Apple's default Reminders app app and, once you've confirmed it, iCloud will sync everything together and bring it directly into OmniFocus. If you want to prevent duplicate alerts just disable alerts for the Reminders app.

Todo utilizes four main sections in order to keep you organized. The All section will filter all your tasks that you currently have in one easy to read list. The Focus section will only show things what you currently need to focus on. This section can't be removed or renamed and you don't add tasks directly to it. It works by pulling in any tasks that match the specifications of the Focus list in settings. You can edit what the focus list pulls in by changing settings such as what prioritiy tasks it should show or if it should exclude certain lists or tasks that have no due date.

The next section is Starred tasks. To add a task to the Starred list you can simply toggle the star next to the task's title. This is a good feature if you need to remember to do something in the short term and can make a habit of frequently checking your starred items. It's also a good place to stick tasks and projects that you need quick access to as scrolling through lists can get a bit daunting if you've got several lists.

Just like OmniFocus and Things, you've also got an Inbox in Todo that you can put tasks in that you aren't sure what to do with yet and then move them later when you have time to figure out what you want to do with them. Below that you've got custom made lists that you can create. Inside of lists you can create projects, checklists, and single items. Tasks also have presets such as call, e-mail, text, visit a location or website, and more to make adding tasks quicker.

One more feature worth pointing out in Todo is that is integrates with other apps such as Notebook, GoodReader, Gas Cubby, and more. If these are apps you use extensively, Todo may be a no brainer for you.

Things organizes projects in a more detailed view by having things under time-based categories such as today, next, scheduled, and someday. Underneath that you've got a projects tab that you can create lists of tasks under one single project. Underneath projects you'll find a feature called Areas. While projects can have due dates and be completed, areas can not. They are meant to be a virtual work space that you can set up for different needs such as a work and home area. You can add new areas to your main screen through the settings menu.

Things reminders can't be set for a specific time, just a date. I find this odd as most other task management apps allow you to set an actual time for a task. In Things you'll only be able to set up a task for the day that it's due and you'll receive a reminder for when the task is approaching based on how you've got your notification settings configured.

OmniFocus, Todo, and Things all let you organize projects, tasks, and lists, but OmniFocus goes above and beyond with Maps and forecasts, making it even easier to get things done.

OmniFocus vs. Todo vs. Things: Notifications and reminders

OmniFocus, Todo, and Things all have built-in notification systems that integrate with Notification Center. While all of them will remind you of things, some are flexible than others.

OmniFocus features a badge app icon that you can change to show any combination of overdue, due soon, and flagged tasks. To change what the badge shows you, just pop into the settings section and check or uncheck the appropriate options.

You can also go under the notifications section in settings and tweak how reminder notifications will show up through Notification Center. You can disable/enable sounds and alert banners for regular reminders or location-based reminders. Location-based reminders will alert you when you are close to a task location that you've scheduled through the Maps section of the app. Another neat feature of OmniFocus is its ability to provide calendar intergation with the default iPhone Calendar app to provide alerts for Calendar events. If you prefer receiving reminders all from one app instead of two separate ones, this is the option you'd want.

Todo also allows you to edit reminders through in-app settings, including badge count and alert sound and time. You can change badge count under the application icon section to show badges for due and overdue tasks, overdue tasks, all tasks, or just focus list tasks. If you don't want a badge app icon, you can just disable it by changing the option to no badge.

Scrolling further down in settings you'll see an alerts section. You can change the universal alert tone and the time you'd like the alerts to go off such as 5 minutes before, 1 hour before, etc. If you don't want alerts, you can also disable it completely. If there's a task you'd like to change to a different type of reminder you can do so within the task options when setting it up. If you don't change anything the app will abide by the universal settings.

Things allows you to change badge settings just like OmniFocus and Todo. You can choose between no badges, just due items, due plus today, or due, today, and Inbox.

Since Things doesn't allow you to set individual times for tasks you can only choose between one time each day to receive notifications for that day. Under settings go to the notifications area and choose a time each day you want to be reminded of upcoming tasks.

Things' lack of granular time settings hurts them here. When it comes to notifcations and reminders, it's a tie between OmniFocus and Todo.

OmniFocus vs. Todo vs. Things: Syncing

If you've got more than one iOS device that you want to schedule and view reminders on, having a task management app that will sync all that data for you is important. OmniFocus, Todo, and Things all have an iPad counterpart but their syncing options are different across the board.

OmniFocus have iPad and Mac versions available to complete the product on every device, but you'll need to pay for them separately. Syncing services work through OmniFocus' own sync server, Wi-Fi sync with your Mac, or you can use a webDAV server if you choose.

Todo has separate iPad and Mac versions available as well. It also has several sync options including their own sync service which will keep the most recent 14 days of your data synced unless you opt for premium which will run you $19.99 per calendar year. If you don't want to use their own service, you can choose to sync with iCal, Outlook, Dropbox, and Toodledo.com as well.

Things also has iPad and Mac counterparts that you can purchase separately. Unfortunately Things has consistently disappointed with sync over the years, taking a long time to offer it, and still not offering anywhere near the options of their competitors. Things Cloud is currently in public beta. Unless you're using the beta, Things still only offers Wi-Fi sync between your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Things is an excellent product, but it's beyond baffling how they could let sync languish for so long.

When it comes to syncing, Things is rapidly becoming too little, too late. OmniFocus and Todo, however, both offer options that'll allow you to keep your data in sync. Tie between OmniFocus and Todo.

OmniFocus vs. Todo vs. Things: Pricing

When it comes to price, task management apps are among the more expensive apps in the App Store. If you use an iPhone, iPad, and Mac, you're looking at a good sized bill across all those devices. To put in context, however, it's less than you'd pay for a great dinner at a great restaurant, and unlike a great meal it won't be gone in a few hours -- you'll be using and benefitting from proper task management for months and years to come.

But the price does mean you should choose carefully.

OmniFocus will run you $19.99 each for iPhone and iPad. If you want to add the Mac app on top of that, it'll run you an additional $39.99 in the Mac App Store. That brings the grand total to around $80 for the complete suite of apps.

Todo is less expensive. The iPhone and iPad apps cost $4.99 a piece. If you'd like to add the Mac version, it'll run you another $14.99. That brings the total for all three to around $25.

Things for iPhone will cost you $9.99, while the iPad version is $19.99. The Mac version is the most expensive at $49.99. That brings the total to $80.

When it comes to price, if you're buying the full suite of apps, Todo is clearly the least expensive. Things is the same price as OmniFocus for the full suite, but if you don't want or need the Mac app, Things is cheaper for iPhone and iPad than OmniFocus. Likewise if you only want the iPhone version.

Either way, Todo wins on price.

• OmniFocus for iPad - $19.99 - Download Now

• OmniFocus for Mac - $39.99 - Download Now

• Todo for iPad - $4.99 - Download Now

• Todo for Mac - $14.99 - Download Now

• Things for iPad - $19.99 - Download Now

• Things for Mac - $49.99 - Download Now

OmniFocus vs. Todo vs. Things: Conclusion

OmniFocus, Todo, and Things are all at the top of their game and offer some of the best task management apps currently available on not only the iPhone, iPad, and Mac -- but anywhere. Which one is right for you is heavily going to depend on what you need to do.

Todo is the cheapest option. Unless you need a specific feature not found in Todo, or really want a different interface and organization structure, it's hard to overcome the sheer difference in price.

Things has a fantastic interface but their continued lack of sync is impossible to ignore. By 2012, a beta just isn't enough. Given the price, unless their specific interface is a must have for you, Things is hard to recommend.

OmniFocus is a great choice for those who want an easy syncing solution and fine tuned control over all their tasks across all the Apple platforms. It's hard to beat some of the features OmniFocus offers such as Siri integration, location-based reminders, and Forecasts. If you want all that, don't look further than OmniFocus.

When it comes to task management on the iPhone, Todo is the best value and OmniFocus is the best overall package.

OmniFocus - $19.99 - Download Now

Todo - $4.99 - Download Now

Things - $9.99 - Download Now

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Firemonkey has revealed some screenshots and a teaser video from its upcoming third episode of the ever popular Real Racing series of games for the iPhone and iPad and it looks amazing. The new game, if the screenshots and video are anything to go by, looks like the best version to date and the graphics look simply stunning.

The Real Racing series was developed by Firemint in 2009 and the recently announced Firemonkeys team is excited to unveil a few features from the newest iteration of the series. Featuring all-new licensed tracks and a robust lineup of licensed cars from all-new manufacturers, Real Racing 3 is set to deliver a rich, next-gen racing experience with the most beautiful and authentic circuit racing available on mobile devices.

Gamers will enjoy graphics that have been meticulously hand crafted to produce photorealistic visuals as they zoom around in cars from manufacturers like Porsche, Dodge and Audi. For the first time in the series, Real Racing 3 will also include a full lineup of real world tracks from the top names around the world including Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Silverstone. With a 22 car grid, gamers will be able to pit themselves against 21 other drivers in one race.

The only thing we know so far is that Real Racing 3 is scheduled to hit the App Store later this year. I wouldn't be that surprised if it were shown off on-stage at next month's iPhone 5 event. With visuals that look as good as they do in the trailer it would be a no brainer to show off on the new iPhone's larger display.

Source: TouchArcade

Slices is a beautiful new iPhone Twitter client and it's unlike any Twitter client you've seen before. It's loaded with features, has a gorgeous look, and is extremely responsive. But its killer feature, and the reason for its name, is its ability to chop up your timeline into mini user-created feeds called Slices.

The first thing you're probably wondering is, how does a "Slice" differ from a "List"? Lists are something you create and maintain, and are stored on Twitter's servers as part of your Twitter account. Slices are also something you create and maintain, but they're stored on Slices' web site. That might sound redundant, and there's certainly a confusing amount of overlap, but in theory Slices should be faster, easier, more granular, and more powerful than Lists. For example, Slices does conveniently, automatically create Tech & Science, Celebs, and TV & Movies Slices. They'll also create carefully curated Slices around other things that might be of interest, like live events, let you carve up your timeline in mini-feed Slices, and offer you up a variety of other Slice categories.

Slices for Twitter is actually a very beautiful and fast Twitter client. A lot of thought was put into its design and it's incredibly responsive. One of my favorite features is that along the top of the timeline, there are tabs for home, mentions, and direct messages. Tapping one of these does not switch your timeline view, but quickly pops up a little box that displays the desired Tweets. If you want to change your main timeline view, you can do so via the left side-panel.

Slices also has a mute feature called Zip It. With Zip It, you can choose to have any user, #trend, or keyword temporarily hidden from your timeline. Unzipping is very easy and quick to do.

The Explore feature of Slices is a bunch of popular Twitter users separated into sections. Along the top is a left-to-right scrollable list of sections and tapping on one will show the users in that list. Some sections are further separated into categories. For example, the Sports section has categories for Headlines, NFL Football, Baseball, MBA basketball, etc. One of the sections that many people may find useful is Live Events.

Slices is available for free, but is ad-supported. The ads can be removed with an in-app purchase for $4.99. Unfortunately, Slices doesn't support push notifications.

The good

• Gorgeous
• Blazing fast
• Explore sections and categories of users
• Live Events stream
• Shortcuts to you popups of your timeline
• Zip It feature (mute)
• Bookmark your favorite Twitters users and lists

The bad

• Does not support push notifications
• What's the advantage of creating a Slice?

The conclusion

The first thing that popped into my head when I launched Slices for Twitter was "ohhhh! Pretty!" I'm definitely a big fan of its looks. Next, I become incredibly confused (and still am) about the appeal of creating a Slice when I already have Lists. Further, why would I spend time creating a Slice when it's not going to be carried over to any other Twitter clients I may choose to use? But after I moved on and starting diving into everything else in Slices, I was continually more and more impressed. It's filled with the "little things" that, together, create a beautiful experience. Not to mention -- it's smoking fast. Since Slices is free to download, I recommend all Twitter users as least give it a try. What do you have to lose?

Free - Download Now

Wake N Shake for iPhone is the alarm clock for people like me -- those who hit snooze about 5 times before actually getting out of bed. We are so addicted to our precious snooze button, that we set our alarm early in anticipation of the fact that we'll be hitting snooze for at least a half hour. With Wake N Shake for iPhone, those days are over. This alarm clock requires you to rigorously shake your iPhone to turn it off. By the time you've shaken your iPhone enough to turn off the alarm, you'll be more than ready to get out of bed (and in need of a shower!).

The way we make it so evil is, first, there's no snooze button. No escape. Second, the volume can't be turned down. Once it goes off, it'll continue to blast until you shut it off. Third, hitting the home button to close the app doesn't save you either. Your only way out is to shake the hell out of the iPhone. Pure evil.

And because I know you're thinking it -- force-quitting Wake N Shake doesn't help you either, because it'll get back at you by sending a notification every few seconds until you open the app to turn off the alarm. So. Evil.

Even the icon is evil -- a red and black smiley face. It creeps me out.

Wake N Shake comes with a good selection of annoying sounds and a slider that adjusts the shake intensity needed to turn off the alarm. The lowest level is "hard" and the most difficult is "merciless" with "painful" in the middle. I've tried out the painful intensity, and it took me at least 30 seconds of constant shaking to turn it off. You can also set the alarm to repeat on any custom set of days of the week.

The good

• Red on black color scheme is easy on the eyes when using your iPhone in a dark room
• There is no such thing as an easy intensity level
• Create multiple alarms
• Includes a built-in "flashlight" that turns on the camera flash
• Includes a sleep-timer
• Presets for quick naps (10, 15, 20, 30, 45, and 60 minutes, or custom)

The bad

• The button for the "online manual" takes you to an invalid website

The conclusion

I'm not gonna lie, I'm a bit scared to try this one out. I've grown to love my snooze button and slow wake-up process, but I'm going to suck it up and set my alarm with Wake N Shake tonight. To get an idea of what type of experience I'll have in the morning, check out the video below!

How many times do you typically hit snooze in the morning?

$1.99 - Download Now

The next iPhone is reportedly coming on September 12, so what will Apple call it? For the last two years, Apple has used iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S respectively, so does that mean iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S is next? Apple's internal model number is iPhone 5,1, and the next number after 4 (and 4S) is 5, so could Apple just keep on counting?

Maybe Apple isn't done with 4 yet. Could last year's iPhone 4S become this year's iPhone 4GS with 4G as in LTE? Or could they drop the number and go back to radios like they did with the iPhone 3G, and just call it the iPhone LTE? Are there enough LTE markets to even justify that yet?

They could decide to skip the fives entirely and go straight to 6. It will be the 6th version of the iPhone sold, after all.

Or they could just take a page from Sprint's Android handbook and call it the iPhone 4S II, Epic 4G LTE Touch. Though that probably wouldn't fit on the usual box...

How about "the new iPhone" or just "iPhone"? Sure they'll have to do iPhone (6th Generation) or iPhone (2012) for tech support and store orders, but that's exactly what they've been doing with Macs for years, and started to do with the new iPad back in March. Then they could do "the new new iPhone" next year, reduce the price of this one, and sell it as "the old new iPhone". I kid. Really. Because those names return such productive search results...

You know the drill! Answer the poll up top and then tell me why you picked the name you did in the comments below!

Electric Friends Speaker Docking Station for iPhone is a cute, cartoony, way to charge and play music from your iPhone or iPod. I had a chance to try out the Sing Sing the Panda version, which is one of four animal friends available -- the others being Chew Chew the dog, Ki Ki the cat, and Kwack Kwack the duck. Yes, it really is like Kung Fu Panda cradling your iPhone.

Sing Sing, like all the animal friends, has a little back story to give her (or him if you prefer) some character:

Friends call this adorable Panda Sing Sing because you never know when this entertainer will break out in song. Sing Sing is definitely a panda bear full of surprises. At first his friends thought he was quit, but they quickly learned just how entertaining Sing Sing could be.

Each animal friend in the Electric Friends Speaker Docking Station line has two 5 watt, 40mm full range neodymium drivers powered by an AC adapter or 4 AA batteries. I'm not overly fond of the AA batteries. I prefer built-in, rechargeable batteries so I never have to worry about having AAs on hand if an when I run out. It can be nice to be able to run into a store and buy more batteries if you're traveling and can't get to an outlet to recharge, but if I'm traveling, I'm not taking a Panda with me...

The Electric Friends Speaker Docking Station sounds good but there is a little sound distortion at higher volumes. I absolute love, however, how you change the volume -- you tap Sing Sing on her ears. The left ear reduces the volume, the right ear increases it.

Also, Sing Sing's nose glows bright red to let you know when she's working, and they blink to let you know when she's recognizing commands, like the volume change tap.

The Dock is hidden beneath a little belly hatch. It's the standard 30-pin connector, of course, and it's fairly roomy. It's also fully removable, which I'm not very fond of, because I'll lose it. Once I've taken the hatch off the Electric Friends Speaker Docking Station, I'm going to put it down somewhere, and chances are it'll be long gone before I every even think about putting it back on.

There's also a 3.5mm AUX jack in the back so you can plug the Panda into the Matrix. No, not really. So you can plug in non-Apple devices if you so choose.

The good

• Cute design
• Dock fits iPhone and a variety of iPods
• AUX connector for non-Apple devices

The bad

• Sound distorts at high volumes
• No built-in rechargeable battery

The conclusion

The Electric Friends Speaker Docking Station is a great change of pace from the usual, conservative, black and metal speaker docks. But that means that, while they'll appeal way more to some people, they won't appeal at all to others. If you're the type of person -- or you know the type of person -- who would love a cute panda, dog, cat, or duck on their bedside table, Sing Sing and her animal friends are a great option (especially if you can plug in it the wall and keep it plugged in the wall.)

$60 and up - Buy now