You can back up and synchronize all your login credentials through Dropbox (the 2GB free version should be enough space for password data). And yes, it is safe to Dropbox for this, as all data are encrypted and decrypted only on the devices. Configuring 1Password to work with Dropbox is easy: you simply move your 1Password database to your local Dropbox folder. Technically you can also view your password data directly on the Dropbox website using a browser, but it’s not an obvious process.

The desktop versions of 1Password are standalone applications that manage your data and includes browser extensions that provides access to your passwords by way of either an embedded “1P” button on the navigation tool bar or controls on a 1Password toolbar. I ended up disabling the browser extensions quite fast and use 1Password only as a database that I can look in to when having problems remembering a password.

The vault itself has a really intuitive interface. Logins for websites are displayed by default in a shelf-like fashion where users can see a list of their sites in one column and details for a selected site in another. Moreover, finding sites within login list is really simple because of the fact that it shows the site “favicon” in the thumbnail and shows a full preview of the website in the description.

The details pannel also makes it easy to quickly copy details onto your clipboard with just the click of a button so that you can enter them in applications and websites with ease.

The only other password manager I have tested on a Mac is the built in Keychain Access. I find that 1Password has an easier and prettier user interface to use. The Windows version provides the same basic functions, although the pop-up user interface for Windows browsers (Firefox or Internet Explorer only) has a different look and feel. The versions for the iPhone and iPad include an integrated browser. Both automatically fill in credentials but don’t automatically submit them to the site. You can also copy and paste credentials into a Safari window.

1Password even makes it simple to generate secure passwords when signing up for websites or services, or when creating new accounts. I find the convenience of having a password generator at my fingertips – all within the application – a really nice feature.

I have way to often seen people storing sensitive personal information on Stickies. I guess simply cause they don’t know of the capabilities of Keychain Access or find it a pain to use. Guess what, 1Password can also keep track of personal information in a dead-simple way.

Agile Software licenses 1Password by the user rather than the device, but you do need a license for each platform. The desktop license is set to $49.99. If you only have one iOS device the license is $9.99, but a Pro version ($14.99) lets you install 1Password on all your iOS devices.

From Android 3.x USB Mass Storage (MSC) mode was dropped. The only way to sync over USB is now in MTP mode. doubleTwist will eventually get support for USB MTP, but for now I had to buy the PRO version of the app. I did and it was worth the money! The PRO version lets me sync media over Wi-Fi, stream media over AirPlay, and also download podcasts directly on the Android. Free features in the desktop version are built in Android Market, podcast search and access to Amazon’s music store. Everything you need to get your content synced to your mobile device if you don’t have an unlimited data plan.

doubleTwist is great at podcasts. It comes with a huge directory of audio and video podcasts, that you can search in and browse by category (such as Music, Comedy, News and Sports). doubleTwist comes with smart download settings to conserve battery and bandwidth. Great for those of us that prefer to download individual episodes while on Wi-Fi, but you can also stream podcasts on the go. And as in the iTunes app for iPhone, you can manage the feeds you subscribe to.

doubleTwister for Android has support for scrobbling to Last.fm, a feature that I have always missed on the iPhone.

DoubleTwist Corporation was founded in Norway and is now headquartered in San Francisco, California. So one last thing, check the Donate menu on the desktop version of doubleTwister.

People in Android

With Android 4.0 Google is taking a step in the right direction updating the contact manager into the new and improved “People” app. The biggest change is a set of APIs that integrates Android with social networks. This is important as you can then let your contacts maintain their own contact information, and you will then always have updated information available on your phone.

The second change is the most visuale one, as the user interface has also been completely revamped and viewing contacts has now become a much more visual experience. The People app will pull high resolution images of all your contacts straight from their Google+ account and display them in the contact list and in the in-call background. It seems that there is now yet another incentive to move your social circle over to Google+.

According to the API Overview of ICS when a new photo is pushed to a contact, “the system processes it into both a 96×96 thumbnail (as it has previously) and a 256×256 “display photo” that’s stored in a new file-based photo store”. Your contacts information is now also available to you no matter which app you are in. So, if you are in Gmail, viewing an email from your contact, you can click on their image to reply to the contact through any available channel, including through SMS, social networks and IM.

The first time I saw the new app demoed I went WOW, but when I got the Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone in my hands I went BAH! It is great to get your contacts to update information about themselves through their social profiles. But, why did Google have to limit the pull of high resolution images from Google+. Why doesn’t Google Contacts (the address book for Gmail) support high resolution images? Do you have friends actively using Google+? I don’t… So untill yesterday I had blurry pictures covering half of the screen when I ever was using People on my phone. A 96x96px thumbnail for incoming calls wasn’t pretty on incoming calls, and reminded me more of a C64 game.

A third improvement in People is that you can see your contact’s last updates on social networks, both Google+ and Twitter are supported out of the box. So what about Facebook, Google’s biggest competitor? Luckily, Google has made a plugin architecture available and there is already a third party solution available for you!

HaxSync – The Missing Facebook Integration

I have found an application that more or less solve my problem. HaxSync allows you to sync your Facebook friends with your Android 4.0 device. The sync is complete, with both status-updates and high resolution contact images in the People App! I bought the app within seconds and most of my contacts are now shown with beautiful high resolution images. But Google should integrate their services better ways…

How to configure HaxSync

1. Install the official Facebook App.
2. Go to System Settings → Accounts & Sync (Android Settings, not Facebook App Settings).
3. Click “Add Account” → HaxSync.
4. Click “Authorize HaxSync”.
5. Confirm Authorization
6. Wait for HaxSync to finish syncing.
7. You should now see your Facebook contacts in the Android People app.

So what happened?

Now MOO has come up with the great idea of doing Facebook cards. Well, they are just business cards pulling information from your Facebook page, but to get these cards you must have activated the new Timeline functionality (a blog entry I did in Norwegian).

To get the Facebook cards business started MOO is doing a promotion of 200,000 free packs of 50 cards is on a first come, first served basis. However the offer is capped at 5,000 orders per day (that’s 250,000 cards per day) in order, Moo says, to ensure a “strong ethos of customer service and to make it fair.” They even pay for postal fees. After the promotion the cards will cost £10/€15. Yesterday I managed to order my free pack:

I’ll be getting the set of cards beginning of February.

This first version of Airtight can only stream photos and videos, and do full mirroring of an iOS device. Streaming music is currently being “looked into” by the developers. And of course, anything protected by DRM is in this stage of development unsupported. Apple might look the other way, but AirPlay’s still a proprietary technology and this isn’t something Apple’s given its blessing to. If you feel like giving the app a try — work in progress, bugs and all — it’s available to download now for $0.99.

Another major new thing in Spotify is their app store, called App Finder. The new Spotify comes with an improved Last.fm support. It is now not only limited to scrobbling, it now also give you recommendations. There are also apps for newspapers that review music, and funnily enough the first Norwegian newspaper is already present:

The Dagbladet app is beautiful and I have both read reviews and at the same time listened to the albums being reviewed. Hats off for Dagbladet, as they have made one of the best apps available in App Finder and I hope that they will have great success with it. Another Norwegian app is Soundrop, but I’m still trying to figure out how it works

The songs on the album is descretly put on the left side of the review under the album cover, and you can easily add songs to your favourite list of music and to other playlists as you are used to.

Other applications to look out for are the one from Guardian and Rolling Stones magazine. They are both not in the same league as the one from Dagbladet, but both provide great music suggestions and that is what it’s all about in the end.

It is also possible to stream music from an iOS unit to the XBOX. The technology used is then DLNA. This is my first play with DLNA, so before I bought a DLNA app for my iPhone, I read a little bit about the technology.

You should know this about DLNA: Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) is a collaboration of the world’s leading consumer electronics, PC and mobile companies, and together they have created an industry standard connecting consumer electronics together. All you need to get started is a network – wired or wireless. The DLNA Certified devices will then connect, discover and communicate with each other over your network. The alliance aim to make it easier for consumers to use, share and enjoy their digital photos, music and videos. Chances are big that you already have one or two DLNA devices in your livingroom. Do you have a XBOX360 or a Playstation 3? What about your modern flat panel TV? Some smartphones also have DLNA support. If you have Windows 7 with Windows Media Player and Media Center (through the Windows Media Connect technology) is supporting DLNA.

The iOS devices do not come with built in DLNA support, but there are third party solutions available. I’ve tested AirMusic. It’s a great application for streaming music over Wi-Fi to your PS3, Xbox 360, or PC, and allows you to wirelessly listen to your tunes through your TV without using an AppleTV. As all DLNA devices, it is incredibly easy to set up – just ensure all of your devices are on the same Wi-Fi network, start AirMusic, and turn its functionality on. This will turn your iOS device in to a Mobile Digital Media Server (M-DMS) and let your game console, TV or PC act like a Digital Media Player (DMP):

After DLNA is turned on, on your iOS device, you can navigate to your music library on your console, TV or PC and your tunes will be there – it couldn’t be easier.

Although I use an AppleTV in our living room, I downloaded this application to try it with my XBOX360. The only downside I can find is that AirMusic won’t play older iTunes purchases protected with DRM. If you’re looking for a way to share your iOS library with your Xbox, PS3, or PC, I recommend you to purchase AirMusic!

With internet sharing (tethering) you can share your internet connection with up to 5 guest units, and the sharing is automatically getting disabled after a few minutes of inactivity so that you can save the battery life on your phone.

Remember to not use internet sharing when abroad (so called roaming). It can fast get very expensive!

internet sharing is found under Settings on your phone. The functionality is set up with a predefined password that I recommend you to change under setup. You can also change the broadcast name if you want to, but I recommend you to keep WPA2 as the security type for the wireless connection.

Other then fast-app switching, I have not find any new features (no Live Tile or push notifications). The version number has only gone from 1.13944.31667 to version 1.14329.14900.

You can download Twitter from the Marketplace.