As is the usual, if you plan to Jailbreak your iDevice, hold off on updating to iOS 4.1 before the final JB method is released. If you don’t care much for Jailbreaking your device, then just go ahead and update via iTunes 10. According to the feedback from users who updated early, it works wonders for the older iPhone 3G that seemed to choke (in terms of battery life and performance) on the previous iOS 4.0.x updates.

Remember those old Choose Your Own adventure books that had you flipping to different pages and choosing different paths to move the story along? Well, this video is something like that. Except, it’s actually an ad for Tipp-Ex. It’s not your usual YouTube vid, though; it starts with a hunter that gets attacked by a bear, but at the end you get to make a choice. But this is as far as we’ll walk you through, because you just have to see it–and try it out–for yourself.

Video after the break. And then a couple more after you make the choice. And probably a few more after that.

Some of the words we tried: smokes, kills, hugs, kisses, and punches. Along with a number of words that we don’t think we should put out here.

Awesome ad.

After a long day at the office what’s one of the first things you do when you get home? Personally, we make sure our dogs didn’t mess up the furniture, but for iPhone and BlackBerry owners, connecting your mobile friend might be one of the first things you have to do. Apparently, it can be quite a hassle lining up the pins to your phone’s underside. Energizer just came out with an awesome way to save you a few seconds from your daily routine with this: an inductive charger that uses the Qi standard for charging your device without having to plug anything in. Just place ‘em on the platform and you’re good to go… as long as you own an iPhone 3G and 3GS or BlackBerry Curve 8900.

Product support should be added to in the future, but right now, those are the only specific phones that this device supports. It works by adding a special Qi-enabled sleeve for the iPhone or back plate for the BlackBerry that hooks up the phone with wireless power from the charging surface. It should also work with any other Qi-supporting device, although those are a bit rare right now. But just so you get your money’s worth, you can still plug in any other USB-charging device into the platform, since it also features one conventional USB port if you want to go old-school. They didn’t mention how long it takes to fully charge your phone, though.

Energizer’s inductive charger is due out in October for $89, and you’re going to need to shell out $35 for the iPhone sleeve or BlackBerry rear plate. Not so cheap, considering the price of the extra phone sleeve/backplate, but it could prove to be handy in the future, when more devices start supporting the wireless charging standard. But for now? You can leave your cables at home and just lug this around. (Actually, don’t leave your iPhone cable at home. You never know when you might need to sync.)

Fujitsu has come out with a new 10.1-inch convertible tablet PC that runs on the usual spec (Intel Core i5 processor, Windows 7, 4GBs of RAM, and 500GB HDD or 128GB SSD for storage) but adds a little bit extra. The LifeBook T580 packs built-in GPS in addition to the usual Wi-fi and Bluetooth, adds a fingerprint reader for security, and an ambient light sensor that improves power efficiency by turning down the backlighting when you don’t need it. But what makes it really different? A screen that supports 4-finger multitouch.

That’s right. Four fingers. In case two or three finger gestures weren’t enough for you. So what do you do with four fingers moving about on the screen? A lot, apparently. Actually, Fujitsu’s multitouch document lists four different gestures and actions, including a tap, select, zoom, and a vertical sweep that sounds like it’ll do the same as a two-fingered scroll.

Whether you need a touchscreen PC that’ll do four-fingered gestures or not isn’t the deal-breaker here, but it should work nicely if you’re into touch-based programs. The T580 ships with Microsoft’s Touch Pack for Windows 7 that adds a collection of touch-based games and programs so you get your money’s worth from the multitouch screen.

Even without that particular feature, it still looks like a solid ultraportable with a decent spec, a very compact, travel-friendly frame that weighs in at 3.1 pounds, and comes with an optional 3G module for connecting on-the-go. We’ll have to wait and see when it arrives though: pricing and availability wasn’t announced.

If you own an iPhone or iPod, you’re probably aware of the Nike+ iPod feature that basically acts like a high-tech workout tracker/ pedometer for fitness junkies. Or, fitness junkies who can afford the whole kit that includes the $29 Nike+ iPod Sport Kit, a pair of Nike+ shoes that come with a tiny pocket for slipping the Sport Kit into, and an iPod nano, touch, or iPhone 3GS. Nike just came out with a new app called Nike+ GPS that’ll let you leave the iPod Sport Kit and even the shoes at home.

Basically, the new app uses the iPhone or iPod touch’s built-in GPS and accelerometer to track your progress. It’ll also work with an iPod nano, although you’re going to need to spring for the sensor since it doesn’t come with GPS. The app will track your route, distance and speed, push you with the Challenge Me feature, send the data to Nikeplus.com, and give you a breakdown of your daily performance and progress.

Since the app relies on your phone or mp3 player’s sensors, you really don’t have to stick with Nike trainers either. So if you’re happy with your Puma, Reebok or Adidas trainers, or if you’d rather go old school and just have a go at it barefoot-style, then it should still work.

Might not sound much to casual walkers, but for enthusiasts, it’s a nice tool to have if you already have an iPhone (3GS or iPhone 4) or iPod touch (2G and later). It’s a lot cheaper too, costing only $2 from the iTunes app store compared to the $30 Sport Kit.

The keyboard part is equipped with backlighting and, like your regular iPhone 4 bumper, will also fix your deathgrip issues. (As a bonus feature, it’ll hold your phone up so you can watch hands-free videos, although a rock can do that just as well.) It’ll add a little bit of thickness though, and you should expect a faster battery drain since it connects using Bluetooth.

It’s expected out for US$69 by the holidays.

via Mobile Magazine

Motorola has just put out a new ad for the Droid 2 that—like the ad for the Droid X that may or may not suffer from deathgrip,—takes its aim at the iPhone. Again. This time, it’s all about support for Adobe’s Flash; a feature that the Android-based Droid 2 offers, and something that the iPhone might never will (at least not without a hack). Also, bonus style points goes to Moto for using the iPhone’s “there’s an app for that” tagline. [full ad after the break.]

Funny? Most certainly. But is Flash really necessary? Honestly, we’d love it If Apple does a 180 and decides to support Flash in the near future, and we certainly won’t mind if a new smartphone natively supports Flash, but is it something that you really look for in a phone? Is it a make-or-break feature? We’ve yet to hear of someone selling their iPhone because it “doesn’t run Flash.” Or anyone who specifically bought a Droid because it ran Flash.

Now, we’re sure people have chosen a Droid over the iPhone for Flash-specific reasons, but it’s just not that big of a deal right now. Sites that run flash usually have a mobile site that loads faster. And, save for a few non-YouTube video sharing sites that you can’t access via the iPhone’s browser, we really don’t miss the Flash-based ads all that much. We still love our Droids, no doubt. But not necessarily because it runs Flash.

Microsoft just put out a teaser ad for the Windows Phone 7 that, well, doesn’t say much. ‘Cept for saying that “The Revolution is coming.” If you were wondering about the whole Lawrence of Arabia theme it’s got going on, it’s because they showed this clip before the Secret Cinema screening of Lawrence of Arabia in London.

Honestly, the video itself didn’t do much for us (although the background music was sweet!), but we are kind of excited with the fact that phones running on the new MP7 platform are close to launching; Europe could be seeing their first launch as early as next month, followed by the US in November. But if you want to get a closer look at what WP7’s got to offer, check out windowsphone7.com like it says at the end of the vid.

Should we all start saving for when “the revolution” arrives? You could, especially if you’re into phones that natively ties into Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and Xbox Live gaming services, and it’s really starting to look good as an iPhone/Android rival. As for us, we’d really love to try it out. But honestly, like a lot of smartphone fans the world over, we’re still paying for our iPhones and ‘Droids by that time.

via Engadget

The iPhone 4 hasn’t even gone that far into the product cycle, but some people are already dreaming of the next one. Because really, while the Retina Display and FaceTime cams on the 4 were nice touches, no heads were really blown away, and no one’s socks really got “knocked off.” At least not like when Apple rolled out the first iPhone, which, if we remember correctly, knocked our socks off, blew our brains out (figuratively, of course), and steered the whole smartphone market towards the touchscreen era in a way that Palm and Microsoft couldn’t have imagined. By the way, two of the mentioned techs above are already possible (in case you need help, it’s the two “apps” that has something to do with 3D). As for the others? Just awesomely mind-blowing (and hilarious to boot). We never would have thought about it if you asked for a future phone wishlist, but a smartphone that can spin straw into gold and wash the cat once a week? Priceless.

from BizarroBlog

When photos of the tiny Apple-branded touchscreen component leaked out way before the iPod launch last week, some people seriously thought Apple was cooking up a new touchscreen “smartwatch.” Well, you all know the story by now: that screen was apparently fitted onto the new iPod nano. You can still turn it into a wristwatch though, if you don’t mind a watch with corners that stick out and you don’t care about scratching up your nano. Just clip it onto a wristband—shouldn’t be that hard to do since the nano already comes with a clip—and you’re good to go. Easy peasy. The nano’s built-in clock app and the overall look as a wristwatch kind of works, at least for people who have larger wrists. We imagine seeing third-party accessory-makers coming with wrist-strappy accessories to match the nano’s design coming out real soon.

From Ogikubokei’s photostream via Redmond Pie