Saturday, August 20, 2011

Poll: Planning to leave webOS for iPhone or iPad?

webOS users: Now that HP has decided to bloody well abandon Palm Pre, Veer and TouchPad users and put the whole future of your fav platform in doubt, are you planning on giving iPhone and iPad a look? Are you shopping around? Or are you holding to hope that some knight in shining hardware swoops out of this darkest night to rescue your beloved webOS and give it the chance it so truly deserves?

While we could never replace your admittedly sweet cards and synergy, and we may not be as tweakable as Android, as fresh as Windows Phone, or have a slider like BlackBerry, iOS is elegant, well designed, has more apps than anyone could use in a lifetime, the best web browser in the business, is relentless updated by Apple (witness iOS 5 — with unobtrusive notifications! — coming the fall!), and has an awesome Jailbreak community for everything else.

Also, the TiPb Nation rocks! (I’m just saying…)

Let me know which way you’re leaning in the poll up top and lets talk about it in the comments below. If you need extra help, make sure you jump over to our iPhone and iPad Forums, you might just find some old friends from PreCentral.net waiting to reconnect!

Poll: Are you planning to leave webOS for an iOS iPhone or iPad?

App for That: How to print emails, webpages, and photos as PDFs

There are hundreds of thousands of iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps for just about everything — so how come the one you need, the one you know just has to be there, is so hard to find? Enter TiPb’s new weekly feature where staff and readers alike sort through the App Store and help you find just the right App for That. This week, Patrick asks:

I’m looking for an app that will convert anything (website, email, email attachment, picture from camera roll, etc.) on the iPhone/iPad to a .PDF file from the built-in Print > Select Printer dialogue.

To see what we found for Patrick, follow along after the break!

Print to PDF [$3.99 - App Store link] is exactly what Patrick is looking for! It’s a universal application for the iPhone and iPad that adds “Print to PDF” as a printer when using Apple’s built in printing feature. This includes, emails, email attachments, websites, and photos. All you need to do is have Print to PDF running in the background.

Another really cool feature about Print to PDF, is that if you have multiple devices running Print to PDF and they’re all connected to the same WiFi network, you can print to any of those devices.

Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for Patrick? Let him — and all of us — know in the comments.

Having trouble finding what you need in the app store? Send us an email to news@tipb.com and let us know what you’re looking for, and we’ll do our best to find you just the right App for That!

Poll: Are you planning to leave webOS for an iOS iPhone or iPad?

webOS users: Now that HP has decided to bloody well abandon Palm Pre, Veer and TouchPad users and put the whole future of your fav platform in doubt, are you planning on giving iPhone and iPad a look? Are you shopping around? Or are you holding to hope that some knight in shining hardware swoops out of this darkest night to rescue your beloved webOS and give it the chance it so truly deserves?

While we could never replace your admittedly sweet cards and synergy, and we may not be as tweakable as Android, as fresh as Windows Phone, or have a slider like BlackBerry, iOS is elegant, well designed, has more apps than anyone could use in a lifetime, the best web browser in the business, is relentless updated by Apple (witness iOS 5 — with unobtrusive notifications! — coming the fall!), and has an awesome Jailbreak community for everything else.

Also, the TiPb Nation rocks! (I’m just saying…)

Let me know which way you’re leaning in the poll up top and lets talk about it in the comments below. If you need extra help, make sure you jump over to our iPhone and iPad Forums, you might just find some old friends from PreCentral.net waiting to reconnect!

Poll: Are you planning to leave webOS for an iOS iPhone or iPad?

Air voltage Maxell Qi Charging Mat and Sleeve review

In a world in where wireless is becoming the norm, the only exception has been the transfer of power. Fortunately, even in this department, efforts are being made to create wireless power transfer. This means you will no longer have to go hunting for the nearest power outlet to charge your iPhone 4. Instead, you can charge it wirelessly, this means you will not have to handle any wires or opt for expensive recharging accessories that ultimately clutter your entire room or office.

The air voltage allows users to simply put the iPhone 4 into the Charging Sleeve and place the phone on the Charging Mat in order to wirelessly charge the phone. Moreover, you can even use the charging sleeve independently as a protective sleeve for daily use. This is great because you will not have to change cases all the time to charge the iPhone. It also cuts down on the amount you will be paying for accessories because will not have to buy another protective casing for the iPhone 4. The mat can be placed anywhere in the house, so all you have to do is place the iPhone on it and it automatically starts charging.
 
More than 80 major tech firms will be adopting Qi standards into their product lines in the near future, which will mean that the technology is set for a major boost worldwide. Currently, the technology is still working its way into the mainstream. However, it will not be surprising if this becomes the norms within the next few years.
 
The Maxell Qi Charging Mat will be available soon. Pricing has not been finalized yet but reports suggest that the price for the charging mat will be under $100 and the price of the charging sleeve will be somewhere around $50. The system will be also available in two colours: black or white.

The Neostitch Customizable Case for the iPhone 4

The iPhone 4 is the same no matter where you buy it. All things held equal, one iPhone is indistinguishable from another. There is only one real way to “customize” an iPhone: the case. However, even in this regard you cannot completely customize any case.

Manufactures churn out thousands of the same kind of case in a bunch of different colors. Eventually, you’ll have the embarrassing situation of stumbling across someone with the same kind case. For real customization, in the sense, doing something to your iPhone, that you know will not be repeated by anyone else, you will need to hire an artist and do some high-end designing. This is a great way to create a truly unique iPhone 4 case, however, it can be extremely expensive (sometimes, even more expensive the iPhone 4 itself) 

Hence, Neostitch’s new line of customizable cases deserves extra attention. The case comes with small perforations that allow users to create a unique embroider design. This allows you to let your creativity flow, because you can create whatever design you like. The only requirement is a fluency in embroidery. This is no minor requirement though, since most people are not very familiar with embroidery.
 
However, it would be silly to simply dismiss this product right away because even though inexperienced average iPhone users cannot easily use it, it is a great option for those who are willing to spend a little extra and hire someone to create the designs for you. This is especially a great idea for companies that would like their logos or designs featured in iPhone cases (great marketing technique).
 
The entire system comes with 2 needles and 3 different colors of thread. The case also comes in a variety of colors including pink, blue, green and orange. You will be able to get your hands on the product for US$ 32. Keep in mind that you can get free delivery if you purchase it from Firebox.

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