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December 4, 2009

The “Twitter 12”

Filed under: Uncategorized — mark @ 11:30 am

OMG! New Moon was the bomb dot com!

"OMG! Twitter is the bomb dot com!"

The Big Money just released the Facebook 50, the 50 companies that effectively fostered their Facebook presence in 2009. Conversely, since 2009 is really more of a Twitter year—and probably because they wanted to continue with the alliteration theme—they also compiled a list of the Twitter 12, the 12 companies that use the micro-blogging tool most effectively.

TBM considered number of followers, growth over the last quarter, number or tweets, and quality of tweets.

So far, it seems that innovation on Twitter is nothing fancy, simply a mentality that treats the social networking service as something more than a social networking service, and definitely not an RSS feed.

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4iThumbs: 4 Thumbs Up

Filed under: iPhone — mark @ 11:22 am

Companies usually release accessories to make up for any oversight or customer dissatisfaction. This is why reality shows need to cast people with histrionic personality disorders.

The iPhone, though it is perhaps more addictive than reality shows, has a discontenting attribute of its own; people either love the iPhone’s virtual keyboard or they hate it. Those who hate it usually buy a BlackBerry or, if they like a gamble, a Droid.

But Apple, like all great reality shows, is always seeking more, which is why they released the 4iThumbs, an iPhone attachment that allows the user to type with an actual keyboard.

The 4iThumbs functions as a screen overlay that adds minute bumps on your iPhone display that correspond to where the keys are on the vertical keyboard.

heres God using his 4ithumbs

here's God using his 4ithumbs

Yes, it’s like the iTwinge, except it’s clear and doesn’t add extra bulk to your pockets. So you could say the 4iThumb is like an iPhone condom for safe typing.

Until now, the hearsay is that people either love it or they’re indifferent. So if it’s a failure, the 4iThumbs will be another indistinguishable nick in Apple’s reputation. And if it’s a success, it’s another nail in the coffin of the iPhone’s competitors. Either way, it has a pretty good chance of being mentioned on VH1’s I Love the Aughts in a few years.

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Black Friday Phone Fallout

Filed under: Uncategorized — mark @ 11:17 am
Are these people excited or afraid?

Are these people excited or afraid?

Though some prefer shopping on Black Friday, I’d rather get my fill of sweaty, angry people by watching football.

But it seems like we’re having the best of both worlds.

Today, numbers released showed that mobile phone-based PayPal purchases exploded this year on Black Friday, just shy of 650 percent. The eBay-owned payment provider credited the swell with the fact that there are more smartphones. And maybe it’s because people, when sober, avoid riots at all costs.

Also, online searches for mobile devices increased from about 5,000 on Black Friday 2008 to about 200,000 this year. And even people who had the strength to go to the store were still using their phones to compare prices, said reports.

If this trend continues, and it will unless iPhones suddenly become boring, expect Black Friday to become obsolete.

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Colorware Colors your BlackBerry

Filed under: Mobile — mark @ 11:13 am
for the Packers fan, I suppose

for the Packers fan, I suppose

If you think your complexion is suited best for a Spring palate, and you own a BlackBerry that is the color of a black berry, then look no further than Colorware, a company that colors your wares. They’re now offering to transform your banal Bold 9700 into something that will make you appear cooler than you actually are.

It makes sense, too. With so many features, one of those should be the option to have your phone match your purse, eyes, or a color that doesn’t’ make your nose look so big.

Along with the new design, the Bold 9700 brings improved media playback and hi-resolution display, but these features are small beans compared to a Ferrari red paint job.

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Liverpool County iPhones

Filed under: Uncategorized — mark @ 11:09 am

approved by Nicholas Cage

approved by Nicholas Cage

Orange County Choppers not only proved that people can have handlebar mustaches and still be taken seriously, but the show proved that people can start a lucrative motorcycle business while thinking that Newton is just a Fig in the pantry.

Specifically, the Teutuls demonstrated to Americans that if you took the result of someone else’s engineering degree and welded knickknacks onto it, you could become rich and famous.

Apparently their influence is rubbing off on the English as well.

Stuart Hughes, the Paul Teutul of Liverpool, took an iPhone, a device for rich people, and made it for really rich people. First he covered it in 22 cts gold plating, and then hit it with 190 diamonds—136 around the perimeter, 53 that constitute the logo, and a 7.1 cts diamond home button that would put the Big Tymers to shame.

It’s easy to deride such a $3.2 million status symbol as frivolous self-indulgence, but it’s actually inspiring: If the Teutuls and the Big Tymers can earn enough money to buy bedazzled iPhones, then anyone can.

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New Google Earth for iPhone

Filed under: iPhone — mark @ 11:03 am
Now wheres my cat?

Now where's my cat?

In October 2008, Google unveiled Google Earth for the iPhone and the iPod touch, and it quickly became the second most downloaded free application, and by far the most popular app that at least makes an attempt to be educational.

So recently, Google announced version 2.0 of Google Earth for the iPhone, in which the new features include support for 31 languages, and icons that glow when you select them so you know what you’re doing.

In addition, it now has the ability to import custom maps, which means that you’ll never get lost on your way to the geography bee.

And if you want to obsessively check your coordinates, decipher crop circles, and breech national security, you can still do that too.

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Phil Schiller Defends The App Store

Filed under: Uncategorized — mark @ 10:58 am
a symbol of peace, totalitarianism, or both? Wheres Robert Landgon?

a symbol of peace or slavery? Where's Robert Landgon when you need him?

The draconian process by which Apple approves iPhone applications has always been scoffed at by tech guys who look more like Sid Vicious than tech guys. But recently, the Apple Empire has taken heat from guys who don’t have sleeve tattoos.

Last week, the lone Facebook developer for the iPhone resigned from his post because he was “philosophically opposed” to a company that decides which applications can and cannot be used on its hardware.

A day later, Rogue Amoeba, a software company, also announced that they will no longer develop applications for The App Store, for similar reasons.

Yet Apple still doesn’t seem to want to modify their monolithic application approval process.

To defend Apple’s position, Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president for worldwide product marketing, explained that “Apple’s primary focus is to create a store that people can trust.”

This is just a polite way of saying, “We know that what we do works, so we don’t care what anybody says.”

Of course, since people vote with their pocket books, there’s no use arguing; the only way to determine who’s right is to follow stock quotes.

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Gameloft Trims Development for Android

Filed under: Mobile — mark @ 10:52 am
sorry, Android, but we like to make money

"sorry, Android, but we like to make money"

Would you still go to a bar if they only served your favorite beer once a week due to limitations imposed by a distributor? Probably, but you may consider other watering holes.

Clunky analogies aside, game giant Gameloft decided this past week to scale back developing games for Google’s Android OS. According to Gameloft finance director Alexandre de Rochefort, they’ve been selling 400 times more games on the iPhone than on Android devices.

The fewer number of Android devices may be to blame, but Rochefort believes that the Android’s method is to blame because they have not been enticing customers to buy products.

This may seem bleak for Google, but since smartphone games are so addicting, they could market a device called the iPhone Rehab for people trying to avoid the shame spirals that occur when you have Super Monkey Balls on your hip 24/7.

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TurkeyTimer Debuts just in Time for Turkey

Filed under: iPhone — mark @ 10:48 am
no, this isnt your mother-in-law

no, this isn't your mother-in-law

The culinary craft is usually passed down through families like figurines, wedding dresses, and, not coincidentally, high cholesterol. But to supplement your familial memes, the new app TurkeyTimer assists with the browning of Thanksgiving’s beast.

To use TurkeyTimer, input your turkey’s weight, the desired internal temperature, and whether it’s stuffed. The app then tells you exactly how long to cook the turkey and at what temperature.

As a bonus, TurkeyTimer tells you how brown your turkey should be and when it’s time to baste.

You could just ask your mother, grandmother, Google, or someone at the grocery store, but $2.99 for an umpteenth opinion may still be worth it. After all, you don’t want the main dish of the most voracious meal on the most voracious day of the year to taste like beef jerky. Unless of course you’re taking a road trip on Thanksgiving, in which case I recommend highlighting the meal with generic energy drinks and chewing tobacco.

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Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock

Filed under: iPhone — mark @ 2:53 am

Though one dollar doesn’t buy much anymore, it can still buy you a heart attack, as those McDonald’s commercials claim. But I can do one better: one dollar may be able to buy you a good night’s sleep for the rest of your life, or at least until you get a new smartphone.

Someone needs the sleep cycle alarm clock

Someone needs the sleep cycle alarm clock

The Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock app for the iPhone uses its accelerometer to analyze your movements throughout the night in order to detect your sleep cycles as you toss and turn, hence the name. After a few nights of getting a base reading of your sleep patterns, it determines exactly what your sleep cycles are, and wakes you up when it’s appropriate—that is, when your not in deep, REM sleep.

When you set your wake up time on the alarm clock, the sleep cycle will pay careful attention to your body movements in the 30 minutes leading up to that time. It will then wake you when you are in the lightest stages of sleep, making what some think to be the most dreadful part of the day much less dreadful, or perhaps exhilarating.

Word on the street is that this app, though only 99 cents, works wonders. People who never wake up the first time their alarm goes off have been waking up as if they’re a kid on Christmas morning.

Skeptics have been chalking up the results of sleep cycle alarm clock to the placebo effect, but the thing about placebos is that they work.

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