My Opinion On the HTC Thunderbolt

Well now that I have had a good chance to experience the thunderbolt I can give my straight opinions. After spending hours using and looking at it, I started to see what else is special. Well the new things start on the hardware, with a large kickstand and a speaker behind it. This is not new for HTC because the HTC EVO 4G had a kickstand as well but it was baby sized compared to this one. It also sports a front facing 1.3 mp camera for video chat or just pictures. One thing I am very sad that they got rid of is the trackball. Now it is a lot harder to navigate on the internet for people with big thumbs. I think HTC should fix this and add it back somehow. Going through the phone trying everything i have been able to do with other phones have been expectedly smooth. I also spent 3 hours using the guide from the xda forums to root, undervolt, and overclock 1.41Ghz. This was a lot harder than it used to be but it was well worth it in the end. I will give this phone a 9.5/10.

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The End for the Incredible, and New Beginnings

The HTC Droid Incredible is on its last legs in world of smartphones and it is rumored that it will be cutoff from production starting March 31, 2011. Being an Incredible owner myself it saddens me to see such a revolutionary device to be no longer sold or made. The Motorola Droid X is also thought to be cut off on the same day.

So what will we have in replacement of these awesome devices? For the Droid Incredible there are 2 HTC replacements. First is the HTC Thunderbolt that was released on March 17th. This is the first Verizon Phone that is equipped with Verizon's 4G LTE. Internet speeds recorded from the Thunderbolt have been amazing and in the 20-30 MB per second which is better than most households these days. The Thunderbolt is the leading Android device on all networks due to its new Snapdragon processor and its new HTC sense software.

The Second HTC replacement has been revealed just not released in America yet and it is the HTC Incredible S. This is a straight replacement to the Incredible and looks very similar to its predecessor. It also has the same software of HTC sense as the Thunderbolt. It also sports a front facing camera that the Incredible didn't have.

Now the replacement for the Droid X is the Motorola Droid Bionic that has a dual core processor. It is also the first Motorola phone on Verizon to have a front facing camera. This phone is highly anticipated but hasn't been released yet.

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Magical Fire-Dousing Wand!

Have you always wished that you could use magic but since you are a muggle you can’t? Well if there is one place in the world that could figure out how to mimic magic, it would be at Harvard University. Ludovico Cademartiri, a physicist at Harvard has managed to put out fire with a wave of his wand. Yes his wand is connected to a 600 Watt supply and the flame was only 18 inches high, but impressive none the less. "Think of it as blowing out a flame," said Kyle J. M. Bishop, a former postdoctoral fellow at the George M. Whitesides Research Group who continues to collaborate with Cademartiri and the Harvard team. "The [electrical field] pulls to separate the region that's hot and burning from the unburnt fuel, so that fuel will not continue to burn." Personally I think that they are just spouting out a bunch of big physics words to cover up the fact that they are really using magic to put the fire out..

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CTIA!

The CTIA conference is a huge conference where all the major and minor companies that have to do with wireless communication show off their newest products. For those of you who didn’t pay much attention to the conference in Orlando this year I am going to briefly recap on some of the most important announcements.

One of the biggest announcements was that AT&T was going to buy T-mobile from its parent company Deutsche Telekom. You may be wondering, how much is a cell phone provider worth, well apparently its $39 billion dollars! $25 billion in cash and $14 billion in stocks to be exact. This is actually good news for AT&T customers because of the fact that T-mobile as its own cell provider and had its own towers, once the merger is complete AT&T customers will get to use the T-mobile towers too. This will result in much much better coverage than now.  Not only just any coverage though, LTE coverage! Once the merger is complete, AT&T claims that their LTE network will cover 95% of Americans or 294 million people! This is significant because President Obama, in his State of the Union address, said, "Within the next five years, we'll make it possible for businesses to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98 percent of all Americans," said Mr. Obama. "This isn't about faster Internet or fewer dropped calls. It's about connecting every part of America to the digital age."

Next, the HTC EVO 3D was announced for the Sprint network. The EVO 3D as you can probably guess is the successor to the widely popular HTC EVO 4G. As you can guess from the name, the EVO 3D has a glasses-less 3D screen and it has a 3D camera. It also comes with a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor which is up from the 1 GHz single core processor in the EVO 4G. The EVO 3D also comes with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) with the newest version of HTC Sense stuck on top. One of my co-authors on Gizmo-teched described it as “soo sexy.” Personally, if I had to pick, I would pick the EVO 4G over the EVO 3D because the EVO 3D has lost some features that the 4G had and I liked. First off I think the whole 3D thing is gimmicky; it’s cool the first couple times you use it and it’s cool to show off to friends but otherwise completely useless unless. 3D TVs are way too expensive for the average consumer to buy and even if someone had a 3D TV there is not enough 3D content for it to be worth it your money. Another gripe I have against the EVO 3D is it has no kickstand!! Are you kidding me HTC?? When the EVO 4G was first released, it stood out because it had a huge screen, it was the first 4G phone, it had an amazing camera and it had a KICKSTAND! Now that the EVO 4G has been on the market for about a year, there are many phones with the same features but the one feature that still makes the EVO 4G stand out is its kickstand (I can vouch for this because I have one). So when making the next generation EVO, HTC deiced to get rid one of the signature features of the previous phone?

Speaking of the HTC EVO, HTC has made the HTC EVO View 4G tablet official. Being one of the newest tablets on the market, it of course has every feature imaginable plus some:

·         1.4 Ghz dual core processer

·         1 Gb of RAM

·         4G capable (if you didn’t figure that out from the name)

·         5 Megapixel rear facing camera and a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera

·         7 inch multi touch screen

·         4000 mAh battery

·         Digital compass

·         HTC Scribe compatibility

The View will be shipped with Honeycomb with the latest version of HTC’s Sense UI. The View 4G is also compatible with the HTC Scribe pen which allows you to write, draw, hightlight and much more on the tablet. The View is set to be released “this summer” on Sprint. I have to say, I really am not sure why HTC is pretty much redoing the exterior of the HTC Flyer, adding a 3G/4G radio into it and calling it the View 4G. Since the specifications are identical, they should have just called it the Flyer 4G or something but I guess the PR guys at HTC know better than I do!

Well those are the most important things that i think were announced at CTIA, maybe some of you will go next year!.....and maybe buy me plane tickets while you are at it to:)

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EVO 3D: The Future?

Well this past weekend at the CTIA the new EVO 3D was revealed for sprint. The new revolutionary thing about the EVO 3D is that it sports 2 cameras on the back to record and capture in 3D. When I first saw the press release I thought this could be revolutionary, until it seemed to gimmicky because honestly 3D is becoming overrated and it hasn't caught on like everyone wants it to. This is why I think this phone won't sell, also because they took away the kickstand and the HDMI port. If they were smart they would've added a 3D HDMI port to connect to a 3DTV. The pros about the phone is its software that is the most advanced HTC has so far. The phone also comes with a 1.2Ghz processor. This phone is very new and anything could change so we will keep a close eye on it.

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Artificial Clouds

Most of us who are even somewhat connected to the world have heard that Qatar won the rights to host the 2022 World Cup Soccer tournament. Most of us also know that Qatar is located in the Middle East, and like most Middle Eastern countries, it gets insanely hot there during the summer, I’m talking 100 to 125 degrees Fahrenheit. If the World Cup had been held in the United States we would have had these things called clouds to keep the ground cool…..but there are none in Qatar. This did not sit well with the oil sheiks of Qatar so what did they decide to do? They are building artificial clouds…. Yes you heard me right; the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering department at Qatar University unveiled a design for a giant solar powered, remote controlled “cloud.” The cloud will be made of ultra-light materials that will allow it to be powered by 4 solar powered motors. I don’t know about you guys but I’m not sure I want a giant drone flying above my head at all times that is controlled by the country who is hosting the tournament and whose soccer team is under pressure to win the tournament while it is being hosted in their home. I mean, what if there happens to be a hole in the cloud right above the American goalie and he gets really tired from the heat allowing the opponent to win? Maybe im just paranoid but I’m defiantly not the only one…

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HTC Thunderbolt Rundown

It’s finally arrived! The long awaited HTC Thunderbolt, Verizon’s first 4G LTE device, has finally shipped out to the eager anticipation of many. But will it live it up to the all the hype that has followed? Find out in our HTC Thunderbolt rundown!




Exterior
If you’re thinking to yourself, “Whoa, the HTC Thunderbolt looks really familiar!” you’re not that far off as the Thunderbolt seems to have inherited its good looks from past HTC phones such as Sprint’s EVO4 4G and AT&T’s Inspire 4G. Just like its fore fathers, the HTC Thunderbolt sports a huge 4.3 inch screen and an 8 megapixel camera with LED flash. In fact the Thunderbolt is almost identical to its Sprint and AT&T counterparts despite some minor details like RAM and battery capacity. (Just because I can, I took the honor of making a comparison chart to show the many similarities between the Thunderbolt, EVO 4G, and Inspire 4G). In addition, the Thunderbolt has a better, faster Qualcomm Snapdragon processor while borrowing a kickstand and dual 4G radio from the EVO 4G.



Software
As all HTC phones, the Thunderbolt is running HTC’s signature Sense UI which, just to note, is running on Android 2.2. Interestingly enough though, it’s not complete full feature as it’s missing things such as cloud abilities that came with the release of the Desire HD and HTCSense.com. Another interesting thing is that the Thunderbolt comes with the option to “Fast Boot” which makes the phone go into a sort of low-power mode kind of like a standby for computers. How I understand it you want to turn off your phone but not really turn it off, use this. The difference; boot times reduced to just 9 seconds instead of the standard 58 seconds.

Crapware. Oh Verizon how you always seem to be so consistent with this guarantee it impresses me. Like EVERY VERIZON PHONE, the HTC Thunderbolt comes with its share of junkware. Right of the top is Verizon’s signature crapware: V CAST Apps, V CAST Media, and VZ Navigator (even though Maps is preinstalled and has the same functionality for free).  In addition there are the other non-standard applications: Adobe Reader, Bitbop [Netflix-like service], Blockbuster (HA.), City ID (called-id service), FM Radio, Kindle, Let’s Golf 2 (trial, $4.99 for full version), Quickoffice (mobile version of word and excel; full version included), Rhapsody, Rockband (just a link to download the trial version), Slacker, TuneWiki.

Speed

Alright so the main feature of the HTC Thunderbolt is that it’s the first 4G LTE phone, so how fast is it? Well from the benchmarks collect from various sources, it’s fast. Like really fast. Gizmodo reports download speeds of about 14.77Mbps and upload speeds of 5.33Mbp. Engadget gives some equally astonishing reports with an average download speed of 17.81Mbps (some even as high as 24Mbps!!!) and an average upload speed of 5.99Mbps. To put that in comparison, that’s faster than most people’s home internet connection!

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Magic Toolbox

Have you ever wondered how to do really cool thumbnail image effects on your blog such expanding picture, image 360’s and magnifying pictures? Well now you can with the tools provided by Magic Toolbox. They have such products like Magic Thumb which lets you expand a picture from a little thumbnail just like they do on other websites. 

Magic Toolbox makes it easy to install their code and provides great, easy to follow instruction on how to use and many different options you can use to customize it to your liking. However, for those who don’t host are own websites, upload the .css and .js files can be difficult. Here’s guide for on how to use install Magic Thumb (any almost any other .css and .js code) for blogger.

Hosting

After downloading Magic Thumb (either the free or commercial license) , unzip the archive and locate the “magicthumb” folder. Inside should be a two file called “magicthumb.js” and “magicthumb.css”. Now what we need to do is host these files and the easiest way to do this in my opinion is with Google Sites.  I think it’s possible to use any other file hosting site but this seemed to work best for me. Login into your Google account and create a site. It doesn’t matter what you name the site but you could create one for future use. Once done, click on “More actions” and go to “Manage site”. From there, click on the “Attachments” tab and upload both the “magicthumb.js” and “magicthumb.css” file.

Installation

To install the code in your blog go to your Blogger Dashboard and go the Designs tab. Once there, click on “Edit HTML” and scroll all the way down to the bottom of your blog’s HTML code. Somewhere before the “</body></html>” tags insert the following code:

<link href='X' media='screen' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'/>

<script src='Y' type='text/javascript'/>

However in place of “X” you would copy the url location of your “magicthumb.js”. This can be done by right clicking the blue “download” link and selecting “Copy link address.” You can do the same thing for “Y” except use the “magicthumb.css” download location. Interestingly enough, when you paste the url, it will include “…magicthumb.css?attredirects=0&d=1”. Blogger doesn’t seem to like the “?attredirects=0&d=1” part so be sure to delete that in order for the code to work.

Use

To use the code in a blog post go select the “Edit HTML” tag and insert the following code:

<a href="A" class="MagicThumb"><img src="B" alt=""/></a>

“A” would be were you would have the url location of your full sized image and “B” would be the url location of the thumbnail image. Keep in mind that Blogger can easily create thumbnail image for you be resizing the original once in the “Compose” tab.

Above are some examples of what Magic Thumb allows you to do. On the right image, it expands the thumbnail to its original size. On the left, clicking on the image expands is in addition to create a white background with 100% white opacity.

However there are many other options you can adjust to customize how the thumbnail expands in addition to different features. To just list off a few:

• Change image on mouse over
• Any background colors and opacities
• Six different expanding effect such as bounce, elastic, etc…
• Expansion speed
• Expand on mouse over
• Captions on any side
• Slide shows with transitions

Check out their site for more examples and more awesome imaging tools! 

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Real Racing 2 HD iPad Output

When Apple showed of their brand new iPad 2 in signature promo video/introductory tour, they also unveiled the ability to mirror whatever is showing on your iPad onto any screen via a their Digital AV Adapter. However, this really isn’t that useful because you can basically do the same thing via WiFi and Airplay. Plus it’s not that really of new concept as video mirror really isn’t that new of an idea.  But the guys at Firemint (they also created Flight Control so you know this is going to be good) made an update for their iPad game, Real Racing 2 HD that lets you port the game to any screen via the adapter in full 1080p. If that wasn’t good enough, it turns your iPad into a game accessory, not just the primary display, by displaying the map on your iPad. What would be cooler was if it displayed the steering or a speedometer; that would really make it feel like real racing. Check out the awesomeness in the video below. 

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HTC Thunderbolt Officially Shipping March 17th

Verizon has confirmed that the HTC Thunderbolt will be released and shipped starting March 17th. Although it is rumored not to have Skype capabilities it does have 3G and voice simultaneously. These were the main reasons the phone kept getting delayed until now. It will be priced at $249.99 with a 2 year contract. Let the Thunderstorm begin!

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A Pacemaker For Your Stomach!

One third of America is clinically obese because we have so much cheap, unhealthy food around us. Try as we might, most of us can’t stop ourselves from eating cupcakes and cookies if they are sitting in front of us because our stomachs have expanded from eating so much earlier in our lives. Many Americans have opted for stomach stapling or lap band surgeries to try and “shrink” their stomachs but unfortunately their brain doesn’t realize that their stomach has been cut in half so you still feel hungry even if your new stomach is full. To solve this problem, Intrapace, a pacemaker company has created a “pacemaker for stomachs”. What this device does is when it detects that you have eaten some food it will send a series of electrical jolts to your stomach. This then gives your brain the feeling that you are full so you will stop eating. This stops eating problems at the source so aren’t stopping eating because we are about to throw up but rather, because we feel full. Of the 65 patients who have been in the clinical trial for this product, most of them have lost almost 20% of their weight. Of course there is one downside. It costs $24,000.

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HTC Thunderbolt Hinted For March 17th Release

Wirefly, an online wireless retailer, recently went ahead with pre-orders of the already delayed HTC Thunderbolt and will start accepting taking pre-orders on 12:00 AM on Tuesday, March 15th. Most excitingly, they say that they will then start shipping the first of the HTC Thunderbolts on Thursday, March 17th.

This supports the many rumors that have appeared lately hinting the Thunderbolts release. The tweet (pictured above) of an HTC regional sales manager and a leaked email both point to the official release date of Verizon’s first 4GLTE phone. Another hint was announcement of an HTC release saying that “The Wireless Devices Group Introduces the HTC Thunderbolt to the Production Line-up! The HTC Thunderbolt will launch in All Channels on March 17, 2011.” While this might not be an official announcement from HTC directly, they however promised an announcement is coming soon (hopefully the Thursday).


The Wirefly announcement does answer some lingering question about the HTC Thunderbolt as well. They said that Skype video chatting will not be available pre-installed, however the standard text and voice version will be included. This mean’s like other Android phones out right now, the role of video chatting will be filled in by another third part app. Wirefly also confirmed that the HTC Thunderbolt will for sure support simultaneous voice and data over 3G. Apparently, up until now, the ability to do this was only available to the new Verizon iPhone 4G thanks to software update. However I question this statement as I have had personal experience with being able to make a phone call and surf the web in answer one of their questions without disconnecting. Is it because I have a BlackBerry or because I’m technically not on “3G”? (Verizon BB software refers to “1XEV” as 3G despite other carriers label it with a distinct 3G icon. Interesting…

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Gaining Battery on the Incredible

Everyone that has a Droid Incredible with Verizon knows that battery can be a hot issue that needs to be solved, along with many of my other posts I have found another beneficial way to gain more battery. 

Well it isn't a secret that the pre-installed applications that Verizon has takes up porccessing power which inturn takes up battery power. So how can we get rid of these unwanted apps? Well first off you will have to be rooted to do what it takes to not have these apps, and I can show you how in one of my previous posts, here. 

So now that you are rooted we are going to install a ROM, alternate software, that takes away those apps and helps you battery. The new software download can be found here and credited to jaykresge. Once you have the zip file you can place it on your sd card and flash it using ROM manager which can also be downloaded from the market. After you flash it all of your data will still be there and the Verizon applications will not be. The developer also put the original kernel in the ROM to enhance battery. So there you have it. 

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any damage.

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How to Root a Droid Incredible on Android 2.2

Many of you ask what do you mean by root and how does it help my phone. Well rooting basically means that you can obtain full control of your phone and download third party and do things such as undervolt or overclock the phone. But to do all this you have to do a couple other things to your phone. Let’s get started. First I'm going to assume you’re on windows then you must install the file for windows located here. Unzip those files to your desktop so you can use them later. Then you need to go here click here and download the uneEVOked modified usb drivers. Once that is done unzip it and keep it somewhere you’ll remember like the desktop. Now it starts to get complicated so keep up. Turn off your phone. Then turn it back on holding the power button plus the volume down button. You will see a white screen with some options then plus in your device into the computer. Once the phone says HBOOT USB PLUG then click start and right click on computer and find device manager. Under other devices you’ll se Android 1.0 right click on it and elect update driver software. You should see this.

Then click on the second option and click browse to find the Android usb driver folder that you downloaded and extracted earlier. It will start to work and an error might come up just accept it. Once it’s done go back and make sure Android Bootloader Interface is listed under Android Phone. Now you are done with this part.

Turn your phone on and connect it and go to settings>applications>development> and check usb debugging. Once this is done you are ready to root your incredible. Just run the reflash tool you downloaded earlier to your desktop and once it asks put your phone in HTC sync mode and make sure you don’t have "HTC Sync" and "PDA net" installed if you do uninstall them now. Then you can start the root with unrEVOked. It should only take a couple minutes. Now your Incredible is rooted! You will have to wait for later posts if you want to see some cool and special things you can do from there.  Disclaimer: I am not responsible for anything. 

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iPad 2!!

When the original iPad hit the market many people thought it would be a flop because it was just a giant iPod touch that was overpriced. Of course everybody forgot that this was a product of Apple and before long every person in the country wanted one. The iPad had a big beautiful screen that was sleek and elegant and its iOS operating system was so simple to use. And now, Apple has released the iPad 2 that is thinner and faster than ever before. Read on to find out more!

The first thing you will notice about the new iPad 2 is that it is much lighter and thinner than its predecessor. At its thickest, the iPad 2 is .34 inches whereas the original iPad was half an inch thick. The amazing thing is that the iPad 2 is actually thinner than the iPhone 4 albeit only by half a millimeter, it is amazing nonetheless. The iPad 2 is also .2 pounds lighter than the iPad at 1.3 pounds. All of these numbers don’t sound like very much but when you actually pick an iPad 2 up it makes a world of difference.

The next thing you will notice about the iPad is that it is unbelievably fast. This is thanks to its new 1 GHz dual-core A5 chip that according to Jobs, is up to 2 times faster than the original iPad. So no matter how graphics demanding a game is, you'll still have amazing performance. With this much power many of you may worry about the battery life but there is no need to fear because the iPad 2 squeezes out an impressive 10.5 hours of battery life! The iPad 2’s biggest rival the Motorola Xoom tops out at about 8.5 hours, which is 2 hours less than the iPad 2!

On the original iPad, one of the biggest complaints was the lack of camera(s).  Apple decided to address this complaint in this version of the iPad and stuck not one, but two cameras; one on the front and one on the back. The one on the front is a VGA quality camera that is meant mainly to be used for video chatting via Facetime and for self-portraits via Photobooth. The camera on the back is and HD camera that shoots in 720p. Unfortunately when tested in the real world both cameras were subpar especially when compared to its competitors like the Xoom.

Along with the numerous hardware improvements, Apple has also updated its software for the iPad.  The iPad runs iOS 4.3 which among many things, included a very important update to the browser called the Nitro JavaScript engine. On a JavaScript benchmark test, the original iPad running iOS 4.2 got a score of 8207 ms while the same original iPad on iOS 4.3 scored only 3484.7 ms (the lower the better). That means the new browser is over 230% faster than the original! The iPad 2 running iOS 4.3 got 2173.1 ms which is fast but when compared to its rivals like the Xoom (2141.8 ms), it really is not that fast. The iPad 2 obviously has Facetime now since it has cameras but Apple has also made a version of their popular Photo Booth app for the iPad. I personally really like this app because it is able to give you a live video previews of 9 different effects that are available to take pictures with and because of the dual core processer, the iPad 2 doesn’t even struggle. If you are into movie editing then Apple has released iMovie which as you can probably guess, is an iPad version of iMovie from Macs. Surprisingly, it is very intuitive and easy to use and it includes many transitions and effects.

One new accessory that Apple has made a really big deal about is the Smart Cover. I must say, these are ingenious. You can pick either a polyurethane or leather cover at $39 and 69$ respectively. The both clip on magnetically to the iPad and keep the screen from getting scratched. They covers can also fold so that you can prop up your iPad 2 two different ways for watching a movie or typing an email. Another new accessory that you can purchase is an HDMI out cable. For 40 bucks you can mirror your iPad’s screen in full 1080p.

After the iPad came out, the tablet market erupted in new design from every big name gadget company that you can think of. Personally, I think that the iPad is definitely in the top 2 best tablets if not the being the best! The plethora of Android tablets are simply not refined and elegant enough to beat out the iPad. The Motorola Xoom is probably the only other tablet that can compete with it right now but it is much more expensive, which is a major turn off for consumers. Either way I am happy because I know that impressive devices like the iPad 2 will lead to more competition which results in better products for us! Please leave any comments below!

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Android App of the Week

This is the first week I am choosing and reviewing my choice of the Android app of the week. This week it is going to be a very famous game that has been spreading over many platforms.

Words With Friends.
This game is basically scrabble with friends. The amazingly fun thing about it is that you connect with friends and play them over a period of days and also chat while in the same application. This has been spreading through out all my friends, family, and schoolmates. It is free on Android and iOS which is one of the best things about it because all this fun comes at no expense.

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World's First iPad 2 In-dash Integration

The guys at SoundMan Car Audio have just recently showed off their new project: an in-dash iPad 2. While having an iPad integrated in a car isn’t that new of an idea as last year BMW planned to have the possibility of iPads mounted behind headrests, it’s not quite full integration. France based Peugeot came up with concept that was closer to full integration but was essential just a built-in dock that wasn’t all that sleek. However the SoundMan’s might be the sleekest dock yet.


However, mounting the iPad 2 wasn’t exactly a brand new venture for SoundMan Car Audio as last year; they installed the first generation in a Toyota Tacoma pickup. Keep in mind that they had to carefully take out the dashboard and fit the iPad along with a custom digital-analog controller so it wasn’t just simply cutting an iPad shaped hole and jamming it in. In addition to making an iPad mount they included an iPhone dock that enabled you to make call while driving as well. What does this let you do? Well everything an iPad can but in a car! Pandora radio instead regular FM/AM lets you choose your stations and is better quality sound than XM or Sirius. The built in Google Maps app gives pretty decent GPS direction (with a 3G iPad of course). Plus on top of all that you get to have your very own music library with the iPad’s great UI makes choosing songs clean and simple. The way that SoundMan installed the iPad allowed it to be charged while the car was on and conveniently turned on the second you insert the car key making it just seem nice.

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Fido!

If you live in a big city where it is just too much of a hassle to drive a car but you still want some form of transportation while being green then here is the perfect thing for you. It is the Fido electric scooter. As the name suggests, the Fido is an electric scooter which has a top speed of 45 miles per hour and has a range of 35 miles. You can also purchase the optional extended pack which doubles the range to almost 70 miles! The Fido has disks brakes and hub motors which brings the maintenance to a minimum. The Fido is still a prototype but it is expected to cost about $5000. Personally I think that the Fido looks utterly horrible and wouldn’t be caught dead riding one but some people will do anything, like driving a Prius, to be green. If you plan on buying one and want to follow their progress then you can click here to go to their Facebook page!

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iOS 4.3 Features

It’s here! Apple’s iOS 4.3 software update has just arrived and is available through iTunes download today. While it may not add completely new changes such as brand new user interface such as the move from iOS 3 to 4, it does add a couple new features and some improved ones as well. Here is the run down.

Airplay Enhancements
If you don’t know already, Airplay allows you to stream media from your iOS device, be it your iPhone, iPad, or iPod, to your television via an Apple TV device. For example you can stream a movie on your iPhone to your TV and watch it on the big screen. Airplay also lets you stream music to either you Apple TV or Airplay enabled speakers so you can listen to your favorite songs better. With the iOS 4.3 update, as I far as I understand from the wording of Gizmodo’s post, “You're now able to shoot videos from your iOS device to your Apple TV.” I translate this to you’ll be able to see what the iPhone camera sees but on your TV instead of the small iPhone screen. I’ll have more word on whether this is correct later on.


Faster Safari Performance
Apple has apparently given Safari a long awaited upgraded as it is now powered by a new Nitro JavaScript engine. According to Apple this will allow Safari to run JavaScript twice as fast as the previous version giving you faster page loads and less time waiting for pesky interactive features.


iTunes Home Sharing

Before, iTunes Home Sharing only allowed you to play and transfer music between iTunes libraries on different computers. Now with the iOS 4.3 update, you can play your entire iTunes library on an iOS device. For example with TV shows you’ve bought on iTunes, you could watch them on your iPad anywhere that your home Wi-Fi reaches. You could also listen to music or a podcast on your iPod that isn’t already synced on. I assume/hope that iTunes media streaming will also work with Apple TVs and Airplay enabled speakers allowing you to watch a movie on your computer from your HDTV or listen to music from speakers in another room.


iPad Side Switch

A complaint with the iPads have been that the side switch only mutes the iPad, something that can be done just by simply holding down the volume down for about two seconds. With the iOS 4.3 update you can now configure via Settings if you want to the set the switch as either a mute button or a rotation lock that allows you to lock the iPad in either Portrait or Landscape mode.


Personal Hotspot
Arriving just a little bit late to non-Verizon iPhones (aka the AT&T ones), iOS 4.3 allow you to share your 3G connection to five devices via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or USB. This way, if you are ever in the airport and don’t won’t to pay for the pricey airport Wi-Fi, you can just turn Personal Hotspot on and give your laptop internet access. An added feature is password protection so only you (or friends) can access the hotspot and Hotspot even turns itself off once it detects it is no longer in use.


All you need to do to update is simply connect your iOS device to your Mac or PC via USB connection and click on “Check for Update” in the corresponding device tab. Interestingly enough iOS 4.3 is only available to AT&T customers hence the Personal Hotspot feature. Whether or not a future update for Verizon iPhones to catch them up will available soon is still in question. It could be possible that there might be a 4.3.1 update to for both carriers but anything is possible.

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