Apple iPhone

The Apple iPhone App Store has become very popular and has crossed about 10 million downloads already in the first 3 days. The App Store has about 800 apps at the time of writing this article. The best thing about the App Store is that most of the cool Apps and Games are either free or priced low.

Here we present a list of the best free iPhone 3G Apps.

1. Google Mobile :

Google Mobile gives you a single text box to search the web and your contacts on the iPhone. As soon as you start typing, it automatically starts searching Google and gives search suggestions. Google Mobile saves the searches in memory to provide you a better searching experience over time. It also has the My Location feature to detect your current location on a map. You can also access other Google services using Google Mobile. Google Mobile is very fast and intuitive.

2. Twitterific :

Twitterific is a must have for all the Twitter junkies out there. It enables you to read and publish Tweets while on the go. It has a very simple and clean interface which makes Tweeting a joy.

3. Remote :

Remote converts your iPhone into a wireless remote control to control your music on your Mac (iTunes) or Apple TV via a wifi network. You can search / play / pause / skip tracks from your iPhone. It is the perfect application for all the lazy bums out there.

4. eBay Mobile :

You can use eBay mobile to login to your eBay account, to search for items, to track items, to participate in auctions, and buy / sell items from eBay. You no longer need a computer to trade on eBay, the iPhone can do it for you.

5. Shazam :

Shazam is pretty much like the TrackID feature of Sony Ericsson. You can listen to any song, identify it via Shazam, and purchase it online. Additionally you can save your tag history, share it with friends, see related videos on YouTube and link Photos and Images with your tags.

6. Facebook :

Facebook allows you to login to your Facebook account through a simple interface, instead of through the website which might be a bit heavy for the Safari browser. You can check your messages, chat with friends on Facebook and check updates.

7. AIM :

AIM is a free App allowing you to chat away using your AOL Instant messenger ID on the iPhone 3G. You can set different statuses, group your contacts, mark them as favorites and much more.

8. NetNewsWire :

NetNewsWire is an RSS reader for the iPhone. You can sync your feeds with NetNewsWire on your Mac. It features a nice and polished interface to keep in touch with the latest news and other feeds.

9. Loopt :

Loopt turns your iPhone into a social compass. Find out where your friends are and what they are doing. You can share your information with Facebook if you wish. You can also share photos and tips on cool places. You can alter your privacy settings if you dont want to be tracked.

10. Evernote :

Evernote is a cool little application to create notes on the iPhone, sort them accordingly and find them easily later. You can capture notes, web pages, images etc and tag them. It syncs with EverNote on your Mac or PC.

11. MySpace Mobile :

A sweet App to access your MySpace account from your iPhone. It provides you all the options you would expect in a MySpace account. More ever, it is fast and light.

12. PhoneSaber :

PhoneSaber is not exactly an application, but it is still loads of fun. It converts your iPhone into a virtual lightsaber. You can change the color of your lightsaber and listen to cool lightsaber sound effects. Get ready to kick some bad ass using your iPhone.

Note : To download the Apps through the App Store, you can use the App Store icon on your iPhone 3G to browse through the various Apps and Games available and download them to your phone. You can also login to the App Store using your iTunes account and then sync the Apps or Games to your iPhone.

Apple MacBook Air

Laptop makers have been trying to make laptops smaller and smaller for many years. They’ve created processors that are half the size of their predeccessors, cut the lenth of RAM in half and even shrunk graphic cards and hard drives to fit into tiny spaces.

While most laptops are rather small the average still weighs around 6-7lbs, there are only a few that can be said to be truly small. One of them is Apples newest MacBook. The MacBook Air is extremely small. Coming in at 0.76″ at its thinnest point, this laptop is one of the thinnest in the world. The Air features a relatively big hard drive (for its size), with the ability to upgrade to a Solid State Drive if you want.

Here are a few of the technical specifications for the MacBook Air:

• Street price: $1799
• 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 13-inch widescreen
• 2GB Ram, 80GB hard drive
• Intel Integrated Graphics

Things I like
Before I get started, I must say that I really don’t like this laptop. I think it’s more of a novelty item for Apple Fans, so I’m just going to warn you that this part of the review is going to be short, and the next part will be long.

Pretty much the only thing I like about the MacBook Air is its size. It only weighs 3 lbs and can fit in your average size envelope. If you’re a business person that’s always on the move, or a student that needs a laptop just to take notes in class than the Air is for you. Because of its small size, you’ll be able to take it with you anywhere you go without worrying about bogging yourself down with excessive weight.

I also like the fact that they’ve included 2GB of RAM. For some reason if you wish to buy RAM from Apple it’s extrondinarily expensive. The fact that Apple gives you 2GB might be a reason why the price of the Air is so high.

Thigns I don’t like
Where to begin…The first thing that I dislike about the MacBook Air is the processor. At only 1.6GHz, you won’t be able to do anything processor intensive on this laptop. Even opening some applications like Photoshop and Final Cut were agonizingly slow when I tested it out.

The other thing I don’t like about the Air is that you cannot take the battery off. In an attempt to make it smaller Apple included a built-in battery. I don’t like this for many reasons. THe first reason is that it means if the battery dies you have to take it to Apple to replace it. You can’t buy your own. It also means if the battery dies outside of the warranty (which is quite possible), it’ll be an expensive fix.

Another thing that I don’t like about the Air is its ridiculously expensive upgrade. For $1300, you can upgrade your processor to a 1.8GHz C2D and a 64GB SSD drive. Now I know SSD drives are all the rage and at this point-in-time they are rather expensive. But considering that you can upgrade the base model to the 1.8GHz processor for only $300 (which is still ridiculous), this means that they’re charging you $1000 for the SSD which is still more than you’d pay elsewhere.

My list of things that I don’t like about the MacBook Air could go on for a long time but the review would just get long winded. Oh ya, they don’t even include a DVD drive.

Pros:

• Small and Light
• 2GB of RAM

Cons:

• More expensive than the MacBook with a lot less features
• Very slow processor
• Can’t take off the battery
• $300 for a 0.2 upgrade to the processor. $1000 for the SSD upgrade
• Mostly a novelty laptop

Final Thoughts
In my opinion after using the MacBook Air for a week, is that this laptop is more of a novelty item. If you want to look good and show off the fact that you need to have the latest gadgets then go ahead and buy the Air. If you like your money and don’t mind something that’s only 2lbs heavier, go with the MacBook.

Rating: 1.8 / 5

Apple Time Capsule

Apple Time Capsule is a unique invention from the invention labs of Apple! If you are a regular follower of Steve Job’s keynotes you would already be familiar with it. For others to get things started, this is a hard drive as well as a wireless router clubbed together. This is a great product for users who love to save space and of course Apple followers would have already bought this one! I will be reviewing the 500GB version of the Time Capsule, although there is a 1TB version also.

Apple Time Capsule specifications :

• Dimensions : 7.8″ x 7.8″ x 1.4″
• Storage Capacity : 500GB
• Hard disk type : 3.5″ SATA-300
• Connectivity : Gigabit Ethernet / 802.11a/b/g/n
• Bandwidth: 2.4GHz and 5GHz
• NAT support,DHCP support,RADIUS support
• Interfaces : Ethernet-USB
• OS Compatibility : Mac OSX 10.4 or later, Windows XP SP2,Vista
• Approx. Price : $300

The Time Capsule comes in a very sober and clean design without any added attractions.The router has an inbuilt antenna, so the Time Capsule resembles exactly like a external hard drive. There is only one LED at the front to give you company while working. The back is filled with all the ports ranging from power input to Ethernet ports. Surprisingly, Apple has not included a power button, so that leaves you with your main power supply switch for doing the ON/OFF task!

The Time Capsule combines a Airport Extreme Base Station with a hard drive. A big downside of the hard drive is that backing up and some other features are limited to Mac users which leaves Windows users in the dark. This will bring down its sales with Windows users by a huge margin. The router can connect wirelessly to a Mac or Windows machine. This enables you to wirelessly read/write from the hard drive although speeds will take a hit.

Connecting the Time Capsule to a Windows PC brings up the drive in the network folder. Mac users have many added advantages such as getting to use it for basic storage as well. Leopard users can use the Time Capsule with the Time Machine feature to set up automated backups.Simply put, the Time Capsule is a boon for Mac users while Windows users are offered with limited functionality.

USB port is an ultra-cool feature that lets you plug in any networkable USB device or a series of devices through a hub and share them across the network using the Time Capsule. USB port also accepts printers which is an added advantage, although that can also be done wirelessly if your printer is Wi-Fi capable.

The performance is not a top priority with the Time Capsule but you do get decent performance. You manage to get around 4.5 Mbps/5.1Mbps write/read through Gigabit Ethernet interface. The wireless performance is not impressive at about just 65 Mbps measure at a distance of 15 feet from router.The signal strength drops considerably at larger distances. The hard disk performance is good enough for most of your tasks though.

Pros :

• Neat and clean look
• Upto 1TB hard disk available
• Networking via USB port
• Great for Mac users
• Portable

Cons :

• Average performance
• Limited Windows functionality
• Not advanced storage features

Final Thoughts

The Apple Time Capsule is a great invention in itself and it sets the stone for further such interesting combinations that might crop up in future. Its a good buy for Mac users as they get to exploit the Time Capsule to the maximum. It will not go down too well with Windows users. Performance is a bit of concern especially with networking. If you want to save space, then you won’t get a better product that this!

My Rating : 3.75/5

Apple MacBook

There are essentially three different types of laptops, gaming laptops, work laptops and everyday laptops. Today I’m going to review a laptop that’s a little more modest when it comes to features and price.

The MacBook offers a great compromise between size and portability for a reasonable price (the baseline white model costs $1,099). Even better, that low cost gets you a number of features also found on the more expensive MacBook Pro - notably, Core Duo processors, digital audio in/out, and the groovy MagSafe power adapter.

Here are a few of the technical specifications for the MacBook:

• Street price: $1099
• 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 13-inch widescreen
• 1GB Ram, 120GB hard drive
• Intel Integrated Graphics

Things I like
The thing I like most about the MacBook is that it has almost all of the great features of the MacBook Pro except it costs $1000 less. It has a built-in webcam, 1GB of ram and a 2.1GHz processor (only 0.3GHz less than the MacBook Pro). This laptop is also very light, it weighs approximately 5lbs so you won’t have to worry about carrying it around on campus or to work.

Another thing that I like is the fact that the MacBook uses magnets instead of a physical latch to hold the lid closed. A small notch on the front edge affords just enough room for your finger, and the lid and case separate very nicely. This just shows that Apple really looks at the small details.

Another thing that I like about the MacBook is the fact that it has a number of ports. It has a DVI/VGA port (although you’ll have to buy the adapter separately), digital audio in and out, a slot-loading DVD burner, a FireWire 400 and two USB 2.0 ports. Unlike the Pro they do not include the adapters to go from the laptop to DVI/VGA and this would have been a nice addition.

Things I didn’t like
The thing I like least about the MacBook is the fact that Apple put an integrated graphics card in. If your going to do any gaming at all forget about buying this computer (even though most gaming is done on PC’s). The integrated graphics card is enough to get a screen resolution of 1280×800 which isn’t the best. It’s rather annoying when you’re used to a high resolution because the screen just doesn’t look as sharp.

The final thing I don’t like is the fact that the Black MacBook is essentially useless. It costs $200 more than the middle MacBook configuration and it only upgrades the hard drive (from 160GB to 250GB). The funny thing is if you upgrade the middle MacBook to the 160GB hard drive it’ll only cost you $100. So for $100 you can get the black colour which I think looks bad.

Pros:

• Fairly Fast
• Lots of features included with the MacBook Pro
• Inexpensive

Cons:

• The Black configuration is useless
• Integrated graphics card

Final Thoughts
The MacBook makes a great compromise between size and portability. If you’re in need of a laptop but don’t have enough money to buy a MacBook Pro then the MacBook is for you. It’s light weight and has a number of great features. I recommend buying this laptop.

Apple iPod Shuffle 1GB

iPod Shuffle received a price cut which took the base price of the 1GB version of the player to 49$ from 79$.Apple also announced the 2GB version to the player to be sold for 69$.Apple iPod shuffle is the cheapest MP3 player from Apple and has been doing quite well for itself.We will look at its various aspects and features that makes it a good buy.

iPod Shuffle 1GB specifications:

• Dimensions : 25 x 85 x 9.7 mm
• Body: Anodized aluminum
• Formats supported : AAC,MP3,WAV,TIFF,Audible
• Li-ion battery
• USB 2.0 compatible

The most striking thing about this player is that the player is screenless.Although its subjective whether that is a good thing or not, in my opinion it is well and good for the price tag and also the fact that the product is a part of Apple family.The player is suited for people who are not concerned about choosing tracks or watching song information as it plays.The device is sleek and small making it very handy to carry around.

The player also has a belt-clip which keeps the player always within your reach.The player feature a 5-key navigation system.The play-pause button is the center most button.The volume buttons and track shuttle keys make up the other 4 buttons.There are additional two buttons at the bottom of player for turning the player on/off and a toggle button to shift between shuffle and repeat modes.

The charging and syncing is done through the cradle that comes bundled with the player.iTunes is the standard way of adding tracks to the music player.A new pair of earbuds make their way which are better than the ones which were provided earlier with the player.The Shuffle supports playlists which is very helpful for a screenless player.

The sound quality of the player considering its price range is good but it is nowhere compared to say iPod Touch or Creative Zen.The bundled earphones lack bass but overall is a decent performer.The battery life was found to be around 15 hours which is excellent.

Pros:

• Small and sleek
• Simple navigation
• Inexpensive
• Five available colors

Cons:

• No screen
• USB cradle needed for charging+syncing
• Just above average sound quality

Final Thoughts

The Apple iPod shuffle 1GB is absolutely worth the price after the price reduction and is a no nonsense player. If you like to flip through tracks and love to see song information then this player is not for you.Just above average sound is good enough for non-audiophiles.Hence buy this player if you are looking for cheap but good music player.

Rating: 4/5

Apple MacBook Pro

For years now Apple have been known for their stylish computer designs. They offer entry level laptops all the way up to professional level laptops.

The MacBook Pro continues Apple’s metal-themed industrial design for its “professional” market. The design has aged gracefully, with refinements such as a wider trackpad to match the widescreen display, smaller corner radiuses contributing to an impression of precision, and dual latches to hold the display shut. Technical improvements have included improved AirPort antennas, the new ExpressCard/34 slot, MagSafe power connector, and of course the built-in iSight camera and Apple Remote control, all introduced in the original MacBook Pro 18 months ago.

Here are a few of the technical specifications for the MacBook Pro:

• Street price: $1999
• 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 15.4-inch widescreen
• 2GB Ram,200GB hard drive
• NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT

Things I like
The MacBook Pro lives up to its name. This is one professional laptop. The Pro features a very pleasing design, a number of great features and it’s very quick. The thing I like most about the Pro is its long battery life. With everything running (even a movie) I still get over 5 hours of battery life. For those who don’t have a laptop this is extremely good. My other laptop gets just under an hour with everything running.

The other thing I like is the speed of the machine. Featuring a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor this thing moves. While not as quick as some laptops it’ll run any program you need without slowing down. The included 2GB of RAM will help as well.

Things I don’t like
The thing I like the least about the Pro is the fact that it only has 2 USB ports. While this isn’t that big of a deal it does mean in most cases you’ll need to spend a little extra to buy a USB hub to connect all of your devices. The other thing I don’t like is the fact that the Pro is expensive. Coming in at $2000 for the base model, the Pro is more expensive than most other laptops with the same specifications. You are definitely paying a premium for looks and the Apple design.

Pros:

• Very fast
• Excellent design
• Very long battery life

Cons:

• Expensive
• Only 2 USB ports

Final Thoughts
The MacBook Pro is a very nice looking and fast machine. The Pro features a blazing fast processor and will run any program you throw at it. If you have the money I would definitely recommend that you pick one of these up but they are expensive.

iPod Nano

Back when MP3 players were first released the best you could get was a 512MB player and it was approximately the size of a small brick. Apple changed the MP3 world when it released the first iPod. Recently however Apple has updated their smallest iPod (with a screen) and the changes are fairly amazing.

Now in its third generation, Apple’s iPod Nano gets a substantial redesign to accommodate games and video playback. Despite its changes the iPod Nano is still one of the smallest and thinnest MP3 players on the market. It’s also one of the most affordable, with a 4GB (silver) model offered for $149, and an 8GB (silver, black, red, green, or blue) model for $199. While the iPod Classic and the new iPod Touch are equally exciting, the new Nano delivers the biggest bang for your buck.

Here are a few of the technical specifications for the iPod Nano:

• Street price: $149 - $199
• 2-inch liquid crystal display
• Holds up to 1,000 (4GB) or 2,000 songs (8GB)
• Music, Pictures and videos
• Cover flow, podcasts, and games

Things I like
The iPod nano is a really cool product, it’s so tiny and can how a large number of songs. The thing I like the most about the Nano is it’s small size. You can easily fit this into your shirt pocket and forget that it’s there. The Nano has all of the regular features that the other iPods have so you’re not losing anything by going with the small size. The other thing that I’m glad wasn’t over looked with its small size is the battery life. The Nano’s battery life is still really good. You can listen to all of your songs without worrying about running out of battery life half way through. The final thing I like about the Nano is it’s small price tag. Coming in at only $150 it’s a little more expensive than the iPod shuffle but a lot less expensive than the iPod classic.

Things I don’t like
The main thing that I don’t like about the Nano is the fact that you can only get the different colors on the 8GB model. For some reason Apple decided to only provide the 4GB with the grey color and I have no idea why they would do this. While it’s only $50 more to get the larger model (and the colors), it just seems a little weird to me. Other than this however, I really can’t find anything wrong with the iPod Nano. It is a great device that is a lot of fun to listen to, watch and play.

Pros:

• Small size
• Very cheap compared to over iPods
• Excellent features

Cons:

• Colors only available for the 8GB model
• Can only hold 2000 songs (at the most)

Final Thoughts
I think the Nano is a great MP3 player. I personally would get a larger iPod since I have a lot of music but it really is a great little thing. If you don’t have a lot of money to spend on an MP3 player this is for you. It has a nice little screen, all of the features of the larger iPods and is a lot cheaper. I’m recommending this product for anyone that needs a new MP3 player.

iPod Touch

On October 23, 2001 the mp3 changed forever. Apple introduced the first iPod and it literally changed the way people saw the mp3 player. It made large capacity players a reality and also set the price of mp3 players for the future.

In September of 2007 after the success of the iPhone, Apple introduced their newest media player, the iPod Touch . This device features one of the best user interfaces ever created. You can use your fingers to navigate its menus via the large 3.5″ touch screen.

The iPod Touch is much more than a mere music player. It can play videos, surf the web (via WiFi) and save your pictures. The iPod Touch is essentially the iPhone without the actual phone.

Here are a few of the technical specifications for the iPod Touch:

• Revolutionary multi-touch interface
• 3.5-inch widescreen color display
• Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)
• Safari, YouTube, iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store
• 8mm thin

Things I like
The iPod Touch is a truly amazing device. The user interface allows you to effortlessly surf the web, listen to your music, browse your pictures and watch your videos with the touch of your fingers. While touch screens have been done before, Apple has revolutionalized the way its done with multi-touch capabilities. You can now touch with more than one finger and it makes typing and scrolling much easier.

The other thing I really like about the iPod Touch is that Apple included WiFi capabilities. This means that if you’re near a WiFi hotspot you can connect and surf over to YouTube to watch videos. It’s small things like this that really impress me. The final thing that I like is the fact that the iPod Touch notices when you switch the device on its side. If you’re watching a video you can turn the iPod Touch on its side and it will automatically switch to wide-screen mode.

Things I don’t like
The iPod Touch is meant to be a MEDIA DEVICE. This means it’s supposed to store more than just music. It’s supposed to be able to store pictures, videos and music but Apple only gave it 16GB worth of space. I realize that these are flash drives and are more expensive than normal hard drives but 16GB is just not enough to store all of your pictures and videos. For an example, I have 12GB worth of music, 16GB of pictures and over 200GB of movies. I realize that all of this couldn’t fit on a player but you should be able to fit at least some of it.

Other than the fact that the iPod Touch doesn’t have enough space to store all of your music and videos I can’t seem to find anything else wrong with it. I’ve been using it for a while now and I’ve found no glitches in the software and no areas where I would improve it.

Pros:

• Very nice design
• Multi-touch capabilities are awesome
• WiFi

Cons:

• Not enough space
• A little expensive

Final Thoughts
The iPod Touch is a very nice device. The multi-touch capabilities are a very cool and make browsing your music and video files a lot easier than the old way of doing things. I think that the device is a little expensive and there should be more storage included but over all it is definitely a solid media player. If you don’t have an iPod Touch I would totally advise getting it.