Seth Weintraub

It looks like Japan isn’t going to wait for Apple to put an NFC chip inside the iPhone 4.  Softbank is releasing a set of stickers for its iPhone 4 which will allow the device to perform as a ‘dumb NFC’ terminal.

Japanese carrier Softbank has responded to complaints about the iPhone 4’s NFC deficit — the FeliCa payment system is pretty popular over in the land of sumo, sushi and sun-rising — by introducing a new “seal” for the back of Apple’s latest and greatest. It sticks on, covering almost the entire rear, but is apparently thin enough not to get in the way of using one of Apple’s own Bumpers alongside it. From our reading of the press release, the sticker doesn’t actually communicate with the iPhone, it’s just a dumb NFC card.

The stickers go on sale in February at a price of ¥2,980 ($36).
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If you are into that sort of thing, the iPhone Dev team has released a beta of their new untethered RedSn0w jailbreak.  This clearly isn’t ready for primetime and is only for early beta testers.

We’re about to release the first beta using this new “backup method”, which redsn0w calls “Jailbreak Monte”.  Here are some important points:

• This is a beta tester program. It’s not a general release!  Things can go very wrong, so please don’t even consider testing if you have pictures or other media on your device that you haven’t backed up!
• For the same reason, please don’t participate if you rely on the ultrasn0w carrier unlock.  Wait for the final version!
• Until we fix some sandbox issues with bluetooth, the bluetooth functionality is disabled.
• This very first beta1 is limited to iPhone4, iPad, and iPod touch 4G.
• Cydia must have your 4.2b3 SHSH blobs saved on file.  (As we approach a general release, we’ll provide a way to let you use locally saved hashes too).
• You must already have the usbmuxd software installed and running on your Mac (this requirement will eventually go away too). The correct invocation of the relay is just as that page says: “./tcprelay.py -t 22:2222”.  If the relay isn’t installed or running correctly by the time the redsn0w ramdisk has started, you’ll need to restore to stock FW again to try it again. Please test it beforehand to save yourself some time!
• Please leave all feedback in the comments below (we really need your feedback to help develop it into a stable release!)

The download link is:

• redsn0w 0.9.7b1 (OS X).  Select “Jailbreak Monte” to try out the untether.

KNOWN BETA1 BUGS:

• Task switcher causes Springboard crash (temporary workaround is to use SBSettings process list)
• iPod player only works on ipt4g right now

Bluetooth currently disabled due to sandbox problem

Ever get the feeling that these companies like to mess with us?  After the reported Skype iPhone video conferencing ‘leaked help document’ Skype took the document offline.  Today however, it is back up with some new company joining in the fun:

Verizon.

So there you have it: Skype, Verizon, iPhone.  CES. Join us for coverage on Jan 6th.

Also, Skype is hyping an iPad only version of their software as well.

Even though the iPhone application is fully compatible with the iPad, we’re still always striving to bring the best to our Skype users, which is why we’re developing a Skype application designed specifically for the iPad. Watch the website for further updates.

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It appears that an upcoming update to Skype will allow iPhone and iPod touch users to video chat with desktop Skype users or other iPhones (an iPod touch 3rd Gen) users with Skype installed.  Skype hasn’t released the software just yet but maybe they have a Christmas surprise?

Help page saved below.

Via Engadget

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From the Toys Section:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT_CUPaiRbQ&w=640&h=385]

Today only, Civilization V is on MUPromo at 30% off ($34.99). Civ V is probably the biggest game release of 2010 for the Mac, and it just came out about a month ago… and this is the lowest price since its release.

Since this is a Steam game, buyers get both the Mac and Windows versions.
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Angry Birds Plushies at Amazon

Everyone’s favorite iOS game, Angry Birds just got updated with 15 new levels, a new theme and more…

Angry Birds is back with a brand new update!

New Features in version 1.5.0:
– A NEW THEME IN THE FRONTIER BADLANDS
– 15 NEW LEVELS – NO BELLYACHIN’
– A NEW GOLDEN EGG FOR Y’ALL CITY SLICKERS
– COWBOY UP WITH THE MIGHTY EAGLE

We’d like to take this opportunity to extend our infinite gratitude to friends of our fierce birds everywhere. We thank you sincerely from the bottoms of our fluffy hearts for making Angry Birds the highest rated and best selling game ever on iTunes!

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From the Toys section:

Amazon has a small special Christmas gift for shoppers today: $2 in free music.  Simply head here, click the Button and enter the Code “GIVEMP3S”. $2 will be automatically applied to your account.  Use it to buy holiday music or send a small last minute gift to someone?  MP3 Gift ideas here.

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Earlier this month former Apple VP and current Palm lead at HP Jon Rubinestein talks about the mobile landscape including Apple’s iOS and Android.

http://s.wsj.net/media/swf/microPlayer.swf
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MacBook Pros and iPads have long had antennas hiding behind the plastic Apple logo because of t interference  hethat aluminum causes to a wireless signal.  Today, according to Patently Apple, Apple has patented that design.

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Pretty much everything on any Apple product is playable on any other Apple product now…I think…

What’s New in Remote.app Version 2.1?

• AirPlay video support to control iTunes on your computer to stream videos to an Apple TV
• Internet radio control to play thousands of internet radio streams in iTunes on your computer
• The ability to control iTunes on your computer to play Movies and TV shows that are rented from the iTunes Store
• Addresses issues connecting to an iTunes library or Apple TV
• Includes stability and performance improvements

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToACDIXTzo0&w=640&h=385]

Human domination is only a few notes away.  Just kidding Parrots! We love you!   via Engadget.

Bloomberg today reports what would have seemed unthinkable a year ago.  Microsoft is building a version of its Windows OS (not Phone 7) for the ARM processor design, the very same that powers Apple’s lineup of iOS devices.

The operating system would give Microsoft another way to attack the market for tablets and phones, where it’s lost ground to Apple Inc. and Google Inc. ARM chips — made by Qualcomm Inc., Texas Instruments Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. — are used in most smartphones, as well as Apple’s best-selling iPad. A full-featured version of Windows for ARM chips is the best way for Microsoft to make a dent in the iPad’s lead, said Robert Breza, a Minneapolis-based analyst for RBC Capital Markets. While Windows is dominant in the personal-computer market, it hasn’t parlayed that into tablet success yet. “They’ve got to come back with a product that’s better than ‘me too’ and is equal if not better in features,” Breza said. He has an “outperform” rating on Microsoft’s stock, which he doesn’t own. “A lot of tablets today are inferior to PCs.”

Microsoft became a licensee of the ARM architecture earlier this year but at the time it seemed to be for embedded devices such as the Zune.  Apple is also an ARM licensee and builds its A4 lineup of chips using ARM designs.

Is this really a good move for Microsoft?  The problem with Windows 7 on tablets hasn’t really been an Intel problem necessarily.  Whatever the case, this has to be bad news for Intel/AMD who now may see competition from ARM processors like the Nvidia Tegra 2 in netbooks running Windows.

Another Question: Will Apple port Mac OS to ARM?
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Well, they have to be doing something over at HP with that $1B acquisition.  According to FoxNews, they are going to announce a (gasp) tablet…

HP will introduce three models of the PalmPad at CES, with minor hardware differences distinguishing them. All three will run a new iteration of the WebOS operating system, version 2.5.1; they’re collectively a spin-off of the never-released HP Slate. A fourth version won’t be shown off at CES, I’m told, but it will be custom made for university students to prove how versatile the machines can be.The consumer version of the PalmPad will run on Sprint’s fast 4G network, but otherwise it has hardware specs nearly identical to Apple’s iPad. There are minor differences, of course: It has a mini HDMI port, for example, while the iPad requires a special dongle for video output. And there are front- and rear-facing cameras (1.3 megapixel and 3 megapixel, respectively), both with LED flashes.The PalmPad is slightly thinner than the iPad with rounded edges closer to the Amazon Kindle. At 1.25 lbs, the PalmPad also sports a USB 3.0 port and a “multi-switch” just like the one on the Palm Pre.

I can’t wait to take advantage of the front facing flash camera.
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That’s right, Coleco the gaming powerhouse of my youth is back, (mostly in name) with a game for kids called 3 little pigs Pop-up adventure ($4.99, screenshots below).  My kid is testing it as soon as he wakes up tomorrow morning

In this initial book, we’ve created a new 3D engine/platform that we believe raises the bar for children’s interactivity when it comes to story books on this platform.

But can we get back to the old Coleco part of it?

Mitch Schussler, CIO of Coleco Entertainment Corporation wrote in to tell us about how they were getting the band back together and…

we’re getting close to releasing some of the classic remakes as well as a full product line to be introduced in the second quarter of next year.

I can’t even wait.  Mitch, you know where to send the redeem codes.
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oBfC8Lqumo&w=100&h=100]

The Airplay boundaries just keep falling today and now it looks like the XBMC project has Airplay running as a service on their product.

That is interesting news because services like Plex which will be the back end into LG televisions are based on AirPly.  Long story short, AirPlay will probably be on every TV made in a year.  Oh and Windows boxes too.
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“Turn your iPad into a laptop”

Remember back in May when Clamcase said they’d ship their (awesome-looking) product in the Fall? Guess what tomorrow is? Winter.  That means today they are finally releasing their Clamcase iPad case/keyboard.  It works via Bluetooth and is available for $120.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4IbgCLzazw&w=640&h=390]

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That lovely Steve Jobs action figure you see up there went on auction for $2500 recently.  Only 100-300 were sold through MIC Gadget before the operation was shut down by Apple, making the items a rare find for collectors.  More have cropped up on eBay fetching prices from $1000.. to.. $2500.

BTW, is anyone interested in ours?  We may have a charity auction or something later this month.  Check twitter for updates.
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Facebook, who count 55,060,129 monthly active iOS app users, today updated their iPhone/iPod touch app with a few new features but mostly bug fixes, listed below:

– Improved reliability in chat and messages
– Improved notifications UI
– Fixed memory usage
– Fixed some crashes
– Walls you cannot post on no longer show the text field at the top
– Restore ability to post as a page that you admin
– Fixed group photos
– Various Places improvements

Is it silly to expect a iPad app at this point?

All 55 million of you, hit the App Store updates or head over here.

Screenies below…
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bb3qZHQVe8&w=640&h=385]

Pretty darn good idea. via AutoBlog

We might be due for an iWork refresh pretty soon.  We’re hearing from a few Apple Store employees that “there is no iWork on the shelves, no iWork in stock and none on the way”.  A quick check to Amazon shows none in stock there (but family packs are available).

Ingram Micro shows a few hundred retail boxes available and Amazon’s secondary sellers have some in stock.  The online Apple store has them in stock but there is a fresh “new” label on the product (see above).

We’re not sure if this is a inventory blip or a sign that new products might be coming but we do know that iWork is coming as apps in the Mac App Store and we know that is coming January 6th.  Anyone else heard anything?

Update: Also, the Apple Search page also autocompletes “iWork ’11” (thanks Pete!):

Update 2: TUAW points out that iWork ’09, the latest version of the software suite, was released on January 6, 2009. Coincidence?

Update 3: Video below of Apple store Employee saying wait for iWork ’11 soon:
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We haven’t put the two head to head (been on Parallels exclusively for about a year personally), but the folks over at MacTech had a chance to run the latest versions of VMWare for Mac against Parallels 6 which was released just a few months ago (VMware Fusion 3.1.1 and Parallels Desktop 6.0.11828.615184)  It appears that Parallels is the winner in both general and 3D tests.

Parallels 6 is available in Box form ($63) or for immediate download.

Full results will be posted in MacTech magazine next month.  More below:
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