Are you tired of ordering the same old drink when you go out? Well that's about to change with "Drinkspiration" by Absolut, the manufacturer of various liquors. Drinkspiration is a free iPhone app that provides instant drink recommendations. The app includes 400 drinks based on rum, vodka, gin, brandy, whisky and tequila.
Drinkspiration will make drink recommendations based on location, popular, taste, color, sound volume, time of day and much more. Once you pick your drink criteria, the app will make suggestions that you mix or even ask your bartender to mix. The app even allows you to post your drink on Facebook and Twitter. You can also see what drinks are being tried by other users all over the world.
Pandora Radio is now available on the iPhone and iPod via free download at the App Store. Pandora Radio is a free personalized radio that originally started on the Internet but now can be streamed to your mobile phone also for free. You can create favorite artists and songs and Pandora will create stations that will play the music you like.
If you are already a Pandora user, after you download the iPhone/iPod app you can log in and enjoy your same preset stations or create news ones right from your iPhone/iPod.
The iPhone/iPod Pandora App allows you to:
Tap the album art to see a progress bar, create a station from the current song or artist, or email the current station to a friend.
Read artist bios on the flip side of the album art.
Rotate to landscape to see recently played songs in coverflow.
According to YouTube, in the previous 6 months uploads from cell phones to YouTube jumped a whopping 1,700%. Additionally, since last Friday when the iPhone 3GS was launched, uploads increased an astonishing 400% per day. That is absolutely amazing!
YouTube claims the up-tick in uploads is caused primarily by three things coming together; new video-enabled cell phones, improved upload flow from cell phone to YouTube and the ease of sharing videos with social networks. It takes about a minute to connect your YouTube account to your Google Reader, Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Apple has announced that it has sold over one million iPhone 3GS models through Sunday, June 21, the third day after its launch. In addition, six million customers have downloaded the new iPhone 3.0 software in the first five days since its release.
“Customers are voting and the iPhone is winning,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “With over 50,000 applications available from Apple’s revolutionary App Store, iPhone momentum is stronger than ever.”
The new iPhone 3GS is the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet, packed with incredible new features including improved speed and performance—up to twice as fast as iPhone 3G—with longer battery life, a high-quality 3 megapixel autofocus camera, easy to use video recording and hands free voice control.
If you purchased the new Apple iPhone 3G S and wasn't able to activate your service Apple is offering you a $30 credit for iTunes. Apple sent the following e-mail to customers who had problems:
"Dear Apple Customer,
Thank you for your recent Apple Store order. We appreciate your patience and apologize for the inconvenience caused by the delay in your iPhone activation.
We are still resolving the issue that was encountered while activating your iPhone with AT&T. Unfortunately, due to system issues and continued high activation volumes, this could take us up to an additional 48 hours to complete.
AT&T begins selling iPhone 3G S nationwide tomorrow morning in its more than 2,200 company-owned retail locations. In addition, AT&T today will begin shipping devices to customers who preordered online for arrival beginning tomorrow. iPhone 3G S will also be available tomorrow morning at all 211 U.S. Apple retail stores.
EARLY HOURS FOR PREORDER CUSTOMERS
Many customers have chosen to preorder iPhone 3G S in an AT&T store or online. AT&T Store Preorders: Customers who preordered in AT&T stores can return to the same store beginning tomorrow morning, with their receipt, to pick up their order.
AT&T has announced it will support auto-authentication for iPhone OS 3.0 users connecting to AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots. Auto-authentication allows iPhone users to seamlessly switch from AT&T’s 3G network to an AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spot without being prompted.
AT&T customers with qualifying iPhone data plans have unlimited access to the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network — more than 20,000 U.S. AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots. The new process eliminates the previous two-step authentication, making it easier and faster for iPhone customers to connect to AT&T Wi-Fi. Auto-connect is established once a customer connects their iPhone to an AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spot the first time.
SIRIUS XM Radio today announced the availability of a free application on the Apple App Store that will allow iPhone and iPod touch users to access SIRIUS XM's groundbreaking and critically-acclaimed channels. The app will give SIRIUS and XM Internet subscribers access to 120 channels of sports, talk, entertainment, news, comedy and commercial-free music directly from their iPhone or iPod touch.
For the first time, SIRIUS XM will make available its expanded Internet content on iPhone and iPod touch, including some of its new and popular showcase channels, created just for Internet users.
Users of iPhone and iPod touch with an Internet subscription to SIRIUS or XM have access to exclusive sports and entertainment programming from SIRIUS XM's satellite radio service, including, Oprah Radio, MLB Home Plate, Martha Stewart Living Radio, SIRIUS NFL Radio, NHL Home Ice, PGA TOUR, Opie & Anthony, Mad Dog Radio with Chris Russo, Playboy Radio, The Foxxhole comedy channel presented by Jamie Foxx, Blue Collar Comedy Radio, CNN, Fox News Talk and NPR.
AT&T has announced a change to the date when some iPhone customers are eligible for upgrade pricing to iPhone 3G S. The more a customer spends with AT&T, the quicker they become eligible for a price break on a new device. For example, iPhone customers who spend more than $99 a month per line with AT&T generally are eligible for an upgrade between 12 and 18 months into their contract.
AT&T is now offering early upgrade pricing only for the iPhone 3G S and iPhone 3G. Since many of AT&T iPhone 3G customers are early adopters and are weeks shy of being upgrade eligible due to iPhone 3G S launching 11 months after iPhone 3G, AT&T is extending the window of upgrade eligibility for a limited time.
AT&T today announced it will offer Apple iPhone 3G S, the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet, in its retail and online stores beginning June 19. In addition, the company today will begin selling iPhone 3G starting at $99 for new and qualifying subscribers. AT&T offers the nation's fastest 3G network and the best worldwide coverage of any U.S. carrier.**
PRICING AT&T will offer iPhone 3G S and iPhone 3G at a variety of attractive prices:
iPhone 3G S will cost $199 (16GB) and $299 (32GB) for new and qualifying customers.
iPhone 3G will cost $99 (8GB) for new and qualifying customers.
The 16 GB iPhone 3G will be available for $149 while supplies last.
Prices above require a 2-year service commitment and approved voice and data plan. Options are available to purchase these phones without a 2-year contract commitment.
Improved speed and performance up to twice as fast as iPhone 3G
Longer battery life
High-quality 3 mega pixel auto focus camera
Easy to use video recording
Hands free voice control
Additionally, the iPhone 3G S includes the new iPhone OS 3.0, with over 100 new features such as Cut, Copy and Paste, MMS, Spotlight Search, landscape keyboard and a new Find My iPhone feature that works together with MobileMe to help you locate a lost iPhone. (See videos below)
The SlingPlayer Mobile for the iPhone is now available for download at Apple's App Store for $30. Last January the SlingPlayer Mobile was showcased at Macworld.
The application allows iPhone and iPod Touch users to connect to a Slingbox SOLO, PRO or PRO-HD to access anything they can watch at home. Any program that you can watch at home, you can now watch via your iPhone using a standard broadband network connection.
SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone users can also control their home digital video recorder (DVR) to watch recorded shows, pause, rewind, and fast forward live TV, or even queue new recordings while away from home. The app can't be used on AT&T's 3G network. Users will have to use Wi-Fi to use the app.
AT&T today announced the availability of its AT&T myWireless Mobile application on the Apple App Store. AT&T developed the application to allow iPhone customers to manage family and individual accounts directly from their iPhone anytime, anywhere.
Supplementing AT&T myWireless, a popular service through www.att.com used today by millions of AT&T customers, the Mobile edition for iPhone brings greater ease and simplicity to virtually all elements of account management. The app's primary functions include:
According to The NPD Group, a wireless industry market research firm, an aggressive “buy-one-get-one” promotion by Verizon Wireless helped RIM’s BlackBerry Curve move past Apple’s iPhone to become the best-selling consumer smartphone in the U.S. in the first quarter (Q1) of 2009. RIM’s consumer smartphone market share increased 15 percent to nearly 50 percent of the smartphone market in Q1 2009 versus the prior quarter, as Apple’s and Palm’s share both declined 10 percent each.
Based on U.S. consumer sales of smartphone handsets in NPD’s “Smartphone Market Update” report, the first-quarter 2009 ranking of the top-five best-selling smartphones is as follows:
1. RIM BlackBerry Curve (all 83XX models) 2. Apple iPhone 3G (all models) 3. RIM BlackBerry Storm 4. RIM BlackBerry Pearl (all models, except flip) 5. T-Mobile G1
Apple ranks highest in customer satisfaction with smartphone manufacturers, while LG ranks highest among traditional mobile phone users, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Wireless Consumer Smartphone Customer Satisfaction Study—Volume 1 and the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Wireless Traditional Mobile Phone Satisfaction Study—Volume 1 recently released.
The studies measure customer satisfaction with traditional wireless handsets and smartphones across several key factors. In order of importance, key factors in examining traditional wireless handsets are operation (30%); physical design (30%); features (20%); and battery function (20%). Among residential smartphone owners, key factors are ease of operation (30%); operating system (22%); features (21%); physical design (18%); and battery function (9%).
Apple ranks highest among smartphone manufacturers with a score of 791 on a 1,000-point scale, performing particularly well in ease of operation, operating system, features and physical design. LG (772) and Samsung (759) follow Apple in the rankings.
Online travel itinerary and trip planning service TripIt recently announced TripIt for iPhone. This free application for the Apple iPhone displays a traveler's detailed itinerary on their mobile phone, so they have all their travel plans at their fingertips.
TripIt is a popular service for organizing and sharing travel plans. With the new TripIt for iPhone, travelers now have mobile access to all their TripIt itineraries, which can include travel plans from more than 500 booking sites. Travelers can quickly find the travel details they need, whether their iPhone is online, offline or in airplane mode, and easily link to websites or call numbers from their itinerary.
TripIt for iPhone is available for free in the Apple iTunes App Store or at TripIt. TripIt supports other mobile devices with a specially-designed website at m.tripit.com.
TripIt for iPhone was created using the TripIt API (Application Programming Interface) that enables developers to build on TripIt's open itinerary platform.
The new “ATM Hunter” application from MasterCard for the iPhone and iPod touch enables users to locate the nearest ATM no matter where in the world they are is availabe at the Apple App Store for free. MasterCard ATM Hunter is the first in a series of free applications that MasterCard is developing specifically for the iPhone and iPod touch.
The MasterCard ATM Hunter utilizes the iPhone or iPod touch’s location awareness technologies to pinpoint the search. Users can customize their hunt based on their unique banking needs; such as focusing their search to a specific financial institution if they need to make a deposit or wish to avoid ATM withdrawal fees.
MasterCard ATM Hunter can also pinpoint wheelchair accessible, drive-through, or 24-hour access ATMs and provide the directions to get there. Additionally, MasterCard ATM Hunter automatically provides users with helpful ATM safety tips.
DIRECTV today announced its DVR Scheduler is available on the Apple App Store. Now all customers need to do is tap the DIRECTV icon on their iPhone or iPod touch to begin remotely scheduling and recording DIRECTV programming on their home DVR - wherever they are.
The new app enhances and evolves the existing m.directv.com mobile scheduler with a rich graphical interface and ease of use. The application combines the innovative Multi-Touch user interface of the iPhone and iPod touch with an improved search function that enables users to quickly browse the entire programming guide by channel or date and time.
Skype announced that its highly anticipated application, Skype for iPhone, will be available on the Apple App Store beginning today. The app also adds Skype calling and instant messaging to any second generation iPod touch with a compatible headset and microphone.
The application delivers core Skype capabilities including:
Free Skype-to-Skype calls from any Wi-Fi zone to other Skype users worldwide
Call landline or mobile phones at Skype’s great low rates from any Wi-Fi zone
Send/receive instant messages to/from individuals or groups via 3G, Wi-Fi, GPRS or EDGE (whichever is available)
Receive calls to a personal online number on Skype
See when Skype contacts are online/available to IM or talk
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