"The best way to predict the future is to invent it." — Alan Kay
Ever since hot streaming music startup Spotify hired a director of “portable solutions” you just knew they were going to do something cool in mobile. And frankly there is no cooler place to do it right now than on the iPhone.
... assuming Apple lets it into the App Store of course.
Via TechCrunch
Participate in the world’s largest expression of photographic creativity. View, rate, and save beautiful photos caught in the moment.
Meet interesting people nearby and throughout the world. Collage is the coolest new application to hit the AppStore.
We think it is one of the most beautiful apps that we have done and we look forward to sharing it with you.
Nearby Mode
This unique feature uses the power of geolocation to show you interesting photos from your neighborhood. This is a photo experience you can’t miss!
http://tapulous.com/collage/ via Twitter
Say hello to Gmail voice and video chat: “Posted by Justin Uberti, Software Engineer
I’m a big user of Gmail chat. Being able to switch from email to chat as needed, all within the same app, is really great for productivity. But people can only type so fast, and even with our new emoticons, there are still some things that just can’t be expressed in a chat message.
That’s why today we’re launching voice and video chat—right inside Gmail. We’ve tried to make this an easy-to-use, seamless experience, with high-quality audio and video—all for free. All you have to do is download and install the voice and video plugin and we take care of the rest. And in the spirit of open communications, we designed this feature using Internet standards such as XMPP, RTP, and H.264, which means that third-party applications and networks can choose to interoperate with Gmail voice and video chat.
Once you install the plugin, to start a video chat, just click on the ‘Video & more’ menu at the bottom of your Gmail chat window, and choose ‘Start video chat.’ You’ll have a few seconds to make sure you look presentable while it’s ringing, and then you’ll see and hear your friend live, right from within Gmail. You can click the ‘pop-out’ icon
to make the video larger, or click the fullscreen icon
in the upper left-hand corner for a fully immersive experience. See this all in action in the video below:
Our team is spread between Google offices in the US and Sweden, and video has really changed the way we work. Collaborating across continents and timezones is a fact of life for us, and it sure is easier (and greener) to click ‘Start video chat’ than to get on a plane! And when I do have to visit another Google office, I can use Gmail voice and video chat to check in with my family.
We’ve just started to roll out Gmail voice and video chat for both PCs and Macs, so if you don’t see it right away, don’t worry—it could take a day or so for this feature to be available in all Gmail and Google Apps accounts. If you want to download the plugin right away, visit http://gmail.com/videochat. And if you need a webcam, there are a few models with special discounts through November 30th (I use the QuickCam Pro 9000 myself).
Via Gmail Blog
During the briefing, Greg “Joz” Jozwiak , the marketing head for the iPhone and iPod, slid a small plastic and metal object over to me without comment. I put the thing in my hand and thought, “Huh. Metal prongs on one end – clearly power. A slot on the other side. Looks like a USB port. Plug, port. Plug, port.” My brain took a moment and then told me, “It’s a power adapter, dummy, just one smaller than you’ve ever seen before.”
And so it is. Exceedingly tiny, the adapter seems like it can barely contain the metal necessary to provide conductivity. It’s another aspect of Apple’s overall design philosophy. Even if another maker could design the iPhone’s industrial look and feel, they would still send you an ugly black brick to go with it.
Via TidBITS
The idea that you do not have to be a professional to create a good commercial is becoming widespread, in a trend known as consumer-generated content. Leave it to Apple to paraphrasing the company’s old slogan a bit think differently.
A television commercial for the new iPod Touch from Apple, scheduled to begin running on Sunday, 10-28 is being created by the longtime Apple agency, TBWA/Chiat/Day. It is based on a commercial that an 18-year-old English student and Apple devotee named Nick Haley, who says he got his first Macintosh when he was 3 created on his own one day last month.
His spot offers a fast-paced tour of the abilities of the iPod Touch, set to a song titled ‘Music Is My Hot, Hot Sex’ by a Brazilian band, CSS.
Mr. Haley said he was inspired to make the commercial by a lyric in the song, ‘My music is where I’d like you to touch.’
He based the visual elements on video clips about the iPod Touch and other new products, which can be watched on the Apple Web site (apple.com). He uploaded his commercial to YouTube, where it received four stars out of a possible five and comments that ranged from ‘That’s awesome,’ followed by 16 exclamation points, to ‘Makes me want to buy one and hack it.’
Via fscklog
Communications chipmaker Broadcom today revealed that it had developed the BCM21551, the first major cellphone processor to include both 3G cellular data access as well as other technologies in a single chip. The chip is ready for current and near-future mobile Internet access with connections to HSDPA networks (such as AT&T, Rogers, and some European networks) peaking at 7.2Mbps in ideal downloads, and the fast-upload HSUPA at up to 5.8Mbps; new, however, are the inclusion of a radio receiver for picking up calls as well as an FM radio tuner and an integrated Bluetooth module. These give any future phone using the chip true high-speed Internet connections without requiring a separate processor and the increased size or reduced battery life that often comes with the extra hardware, Broadcom says. Legacy access to GPRS, EDGE, and other legacy connections are also built in.The Broadcom development may address a key complaint of Apple chief executive Steve Jobs, who in a European press conference said that 3G iPhones were held back primarily because of the poor battery life of current chipsets. Most 3G phones top at three hours of battery life when using the technology for enhanced calls or data versus the eight hours of calls for slower, EDGE-only hardware. However, Apple currently uses Infineon hardware and would likely have to switch suppliers entirely to use the Broadcom development in the iPhone.
Via Electronista
