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A ControlMic button allows users to Play, Pause and Skip music. Press the button once to pause, twice to skip forward a track and three times to skip back a track. You can also use this button to answer calls or send them to voicemail.
Just about the only thing missing from these peripherals is a built-in volume control. You have to adjust volume on the iPhone itself, either on the screen or through the switch on the left side of the Apple smartphone. It would be nice not to have to fumble for your iPhone to increase the volume when driving, for instance.
TuneBuds (left) features washable ear cushions in a three sizes—small, medium and large. You pick the one that's most comfortable for you. We liked the middle-sized ear cushion. If you, like us, have allergies or simply build up a lot of earwax naturally, you'll find the ability to clean this rubberized buds quite convenient and useful.
As Griffin points out, the buds conform to the ear and isolate sound; they do it quite well, actually. It's like you're listening to music while surrounded by a layer of water filtering out the sounds of the outside world. Not bad.
Our one concern regarding the buds is how they muffle sounds a little too well sometimes. This is fine when listening to music but could prove a little dangerous when driving.
The revised and updated iPod touch offers a slimmed down profile and bulked up features. While the change is more evolutionary than revolutionary, it makes using the player a lot more pleasant.
It's odd that Apple's marketing has dubbed this version the "funnest iPod ever" in ads, since all the fun features it's showcasing—the ability to download games, a built-in accelerometer, multi-touch controls—aren't new with this version. Still, there are plenty of new features to get excited about.
The Outside
Pick up the iPod Touch and you'll notice immediately that it's thinner than its predecessor. All versions are just 0.33-inches deep (as well as 4.3-inches tall and 2.4-inches wide, with a weight of 4.05 ounces). The back is now gracefully rounded, so it feels better in the hand.
The iPod touch has gained a few worthwhile physical features already found on the iPhone. It now has external volume buttons on the top left, so users can nudge the volume up or down without unlocking the screen. The touch also now has a speaker—an iPod first—so users can listen without headphones or earbuds. It doesn't provide the fullest, richest sound, naturally, but it's a helpful addition for those times when you want to share a song with some friends.
The Inside
The iPod touch comes with iPod software version 2.1.1, so you won't need to upgrade the software to get access to the online App Store. (Older iPod touch owners had to pay for the upgrade.)
That means this iPod touch also supports the new Genius feature, which enables the iPod to create playlists based off one starter song. In our testing, the Genius feature performed amazingly well, creating playlists that captured the mood and style of the original song, while still offering some variety. We spoke to an Apple representative who said that the algorithms behind the Genius feature analyze the playlists of millions of iTunes users, examining how they combine songs. They also consider iTunes Store purchases, seeing which songs are bought together. Contrary to what we expected, it doesn't create playlists by matching genres or beats-per-minute.
It's not just hype that's made the iPhone the hottest smartphone around. If you're due for an upgrade, take a good look at the iPhone 3G.
Author: Troy Dreier
A few early adopters probably regretted their decision when the iPhone 3G was released. While the original iPhone was a game-changer that spurred forward a category often lacking in innovation, the iPhone 3G delivers several features that were much-needed (such as 3G connectivity) and some that were pleasant surprises (such as GPS mapping).
So it's sad that the people who couldn't wait to get their hands on the original are still locked into their two-year contracts. Maybe for its next trick, Apple could do something about cell phone pricing models.
The iPhone's new features
The biggest omission in the original iPhone, and the biggest improvement this time, is 3G connectivity. That means you can load Web pages, download e-mails, and load maps much faster that with the original model. During weeks of testing the New York City area, we typically saw pages load as quickly as over our broadband network at home.
Apple's official reason for not including 3G on the original iPhone was that it took too great a toll on battery life, and it's true that this model has worse battery performance. It's rated for five hours of talk and 300 hours of standby. Plan on charging it every evening, especially if you watch video or play games. While someone who only makes occasional calls or listens to music can go two or more days between charges, people who use the 3.5-inch, 480 by 320 pixel screen often will find the battery draining much more quickly.
The iPhone is also making inroads to the workplace with this version, which includes support for Microsoft ActiveSync for push support of e-mail, contacts, and calendars. It also includes Cisco iPsec VPN support. We weren't able to test the workplace features, but we did test the iPhone with MobileMe, the successor to Apple's .Mac suite of online tools. [Click here for a full review of MobileMe.]
When used with a MobileMe account ($99 per year), the iPhone sends and receives e-mail, contact, and calendar changes to and from the desktop. Add a contact in Apple Address Book on your desktop and it will show up on your iPhone in minutes, using over-the-air syncing. While it doesn't offer true push functionality, as Apple originally claimed, it's proven itself nearly as fast in our testing, syncing typically just a minute after a change.
The phone's GPS mapping won't replace a dashboard GPS navigation unit (it doesn’t offer real-time turn-by-turn directions or 3D maps) but it does make it simple to find out your current location and get directions to wherever you want to go. It's always been accurate in our testing, showing our position to a half-block. Just as handy is how it works with other iPhone applications, showing, for example, a contact's location with just a tap. [For more on iPhone’s location-based technology, click here.]
Author: Gerry Blackwell
Apple's iconic iPhone 3G may be the only mobile device you'll ever need - heck, the only device, period. (Until Apple comes out with a 4G version, of course.) The new iPhone, released in July, is available from AT&T for $199 with a two-year voice-data plan ($70 - $130 a month), and from Rogers in Canada for the same price with a three-year plan ($60 - $115). If you bought the original iPhone last year, the new one offers significant inducements to trade up, especially for enterprise users. Chief among them is broadband-speed Web surfing, downloading and e-mail on the mobile network - the new iPhone works on UMTS/HSDPA networks as well as GSM/EDGE, including overseas. If you somehow missed iPhone mania last year or earlier this summer (off the planet perhaps), but you're now in the market for an electronic swiss army knife, this is the deluxe model, but without a deluxe price. It does everything, and most of it well: voice, e-mail (including push), 3G and Wi-Fi Web surfing, music, video, 2-megapixel still and video photography, GPS navigation. And it features a brilliantly designed touchscreen user interface, the hands-down coolest of any smart phone we've seen. What else is new in the iPhone 3G? Improved sound quality - Apple says. Support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, which means secure push e-mail, contacts and calendars for enterprise users. Built-in VPN (virtual private network) with strong two-factor authentication. And access to scores of new applications written by third-party developers, and available at the wildly popular new Apple AppStore. What's not to like about the new iPhone? In truth, very little, although the non-corporate e-mail experience - at least in our testing of a Rogers iPhone - isn't a patch on BlackBerry. The onboard navigation software and GPS is definitely nit-pickable. And the absence of a physical keyboard or keypad does present some constraints. Some of these are more than quibbles, but none comes close to being a deal-killer. Let`s start with the good, though.
The acrylic completely covers the iPhone - back, sides, and front. And you don't have to use a separate film over the touch screen, like the leather or rubber cases. Over the touch screen the case is a special type of plastic so you can use the touch screen without removing it from the case.
I haven't tried dropping the phone in the case, but my guess is that the naked case will offer some protection to both the phone and the glass touch screen.
I had one issue with the case in June - it seems to trap moisture - humidity from the air - between the touch screen and the case. This isn't a big deal, but it seems like there is a "blob" of something on the screen, and that blob sometimes moves around. Whether or not this moisture blob is present depends on your environment. In the humid South, it is often present, but in air conditioning, or when I was in the Northeast on vacation, it wasn't. Not a real problem.
My other concern was whether the acrylic case would scratch. But after 4 months carrying my phone in my pocket the touch screen surface has not, however, the plastic on the back and the sides do. The original beauty of the case is still there, just a few scratches. Lint from my pocket does seem to build up inside the case.
The Revo2 sports Microban antimicrobial product protection, a detachable ViSOR transparent face shield, a dust repelling micro–texture grip, integrated port–to–port protection, accented volume and power buttons, an anti–glare an anti–fingerprint screen film, as well as an unobstructed silent mode switch. The case also offers mic, camera and speaker access and a special translucent silicone zone that protects the iPhone’s proximity and ambient light sensors without obstruction.
Offered in a range of two–tone colors combinations - Onyx (Black/Black), Diablo (Red/Black), Sonic (Blue/Black) and Ozone (Clear Frosted/Black) - the revo2 sells for $39.99.
iSkin still sells the orginal Revo case for the first iPhone.
Author: Joe Moran
These days, integrated Bluetooth is an increasingly common option on new cars, even on many entry-level models. But if you're not in the market for new ride but would still like to have hands-free (and headset-free) calling from behind the wheel, BlueAnt's Supertooth 3 Bluetooth Handsfree ($129) may be just what you're looking for.
The Supertooth 3 is a rectangular device measuring 4.8 x 2.4 x .7 inches—that's roughly the dimensions of an iPhone (of which it is compatible)—that clings tenaciously to a windshield visor via a magnetic clip, but it comes off easily when you need it to, like when you want to transfer it to another vehicle (a spare clip is included). The Supertooth 3 supports pairing to up to 8 phones.
It offers voice prompts for device setup, status reports, and announcement of incoming calls. Six languages are available including American and British English; we found the synthesized female voice a tad too monotone and robotic, almost bordering on mournful, but you get used to it.
Otterbox makes some terrific cases that protect any number of mobile devices from harm. For the last couple of months, I've been giving its iPhone Defender case—a limited edition pink edition where 10 percent of the proceeds go toward fighting breast cancer—a spin.
The case is made of a clear polycarbonate sheet with a hard coating that offers chemical and abrasion protection, a hi-impact polycarbonate skeleton, and a premium grade silicone skin to provide added protection, according to the company.
Okay. Sounds tough, right? It is.
Aside from being the recipient of a few snide comments regarding a man carrying a pink case, I've been very happy with the Defender. In fact, when I took the iPhone out to get it repaired due to a problem with the connector, the smartphone still looked like new.
The same could not be said of an earlier iPhone I'd been using. In fact, that previous iPhone's screen cracked after it accidentally fell to the ground - not on its front, mind you, but its back. And the rest of the iPhone sported so many scratches, it looked like it'd been on a trip up and down Mount Everest.
While, for the most part, the Otterbox performed exceptionally, I did run into a couple of issues. The first one could be a deal breaker for some.
In addition to the considerably and welcome boost in memory, especially for those who would like to watch storage-hungry videos, the new iPhone and iPod touch ship with the major software update Apple made available in January (more on that below). Otherwise, both new devices appear to be the same as the current models.
The new models sell for $499 each, $100 more than the 8GB iPhone and 16GB iPod touch models, which go for a piece.
When Apple starting offering the iPhone last June, it also came in a 4GB variation. But since the lion's share of people buying iPhones bought the 8GB edition, Apple discontinued the smaller-capacity iPhone and lowered the price of the 8GB model by $200, to considerable controversy, to its current price point.
Don't expect Apple to make that mistake again. We expect the prices to stay fairly constant until the release of a 3G iPhone.
The new iPhone and iPod touch models should boost sales of those Apple lines, especially for those who want to make use of their exceptional displays to watch video. With the upcoming release of a software development kit (SDK), considerably more people will load software directly onto their Apple devices, making the boost in memory even more necessary for some.
As it is, Apple's already sold millions of iPhones, 4 million last year alone. The thing is, a little more than a million (that's 1 in 4) of them were bought to be unlocked and used with carriers other than Apple's official carrier partners, particularly Apple's first one, AT&T Wireless.
This greatly affected not just the operator's bottom-line, but Apple's as well, since it gets a percentage of the carriers' monthly service fees.
With New Software Comes New Functionality
Software update 1.1.3, the upgrade that ships with the new 16GB iPhone and 32GB iPod touch and is available for earlier models, adds Google's "My Location" service, an upgrade to Google Maps uses cell phone tower triangulation rather than GPS satellites to determine your location. While less accurate than GPS, this technology is capable of determining your general position and displaying it on a map.
Other improvements include the addition of support for song lyrics and Apple's new iTunes movie rental service, in addition to the ability to send SMS or text messages to more than one person simultaneously.
You can also now create as many as 9 custom home screens. A simply flick of the finger allows you to go through them. Home screen icons can now be rearranged as well.
The software update also adds a button in the Safari Web browser to allow users to save bookmarks, called Web Clips, directly to the iPhone's home screen(s). This is very convenient for those who've made good use of the thousands of so-called Web 2.0 iPhone applications.
In addition to the new features listed above, upgrade 1.1.3 brings the iPhone's Mail, Notes, Stocks and Weather applications to the iPod touch. As the iPod touch isn't a phone, Google’s "My Location" service relies only on Wi-Fi wireless to attempt to determine a user's location.
Unlike with iPhone users and those who buy the new higher-capacity iPhone and iPod touch models, Apple is, unfortunately, charging 16GB and 8GB iPod touch users $20 for the upgrade.
