http://www.iLounge.com iLounge iPod Accessory Reviews en jeremy@ilounge.com (Jeremy Horwitz) jerrod@ilounge.com (Jerrod Hofferth) http://www.expressionengine.com/ http://www.ilounge.comhttp://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/fb_pwrd.gifThis is an XML content feed. It is intended to be viewed in a newsreader or syndicated to another site, subject to iLounge Copyright and Terms of Use. Reviews-14788-Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:51:37 GMT http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ilounge/~3/344940175/ Originally released in a different form for the first-generation iPod nano, iSkin's DuoBand ($40) combines an intriguing two-strap adjustable armband with a two-piece case for the third-generation iPod nano. The new case is available in black or red, and takes after the company's Duo for iPod nano, though it's missing Click Wheel and Hold Switch protection; a Dock Connector cover and headphone port cover are built in. iSkin's armband has perforations… Armbands and Athletic Add-OnsCases - iPod nano jeremy@ilounge.com (Jeremy Horwitz) Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:51:37 GMT http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ipod/review/iskin-duoband-armband-ipod-nano-3g-protector/ News-14787-Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:36:26 GMT http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ilounge/~3/344925234/ In an update to its website’s iPhone 3G press area, AT&T has revealed that it is currently using all its iPhone 3G supply to complete direct fulfillment orders, and will begin restocking its stores as soon as possible. “As we receive new inventory from Apple, we are shipping it out immediately to fill customers’ orders. We hope to begin re-stocking our stores as soon as we can, but first priority goes to those customers who purchased… iPhone news@ilounge.com (Charles Starrett) Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:36:26 GMT http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/att-pushing-direct-fulfillment-orders-ahead-of-store-restocking/ News-14786-Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:09:55 GMT http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ilounge/~3/344807001/ Confirming earlier reports of significant screen quality variations between both iPhones and iPhone 3Gs, as well as different iPhone 3G units, iLounge Editor Jesse Hollington has released a new series of photographs showing differences between an original iPhone and two separate iPhone 3Gs, one an 8GB model, the other a 16GB model. All three devices are running the latest version of OS X iPhone, 2.0 (5A347), and have been set on the same maximum brightness… iPhone jeremy@ilounge.com (Jeremy Horwitz) Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:09:55 GMT http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/iphone-3g-unit-to-unit-screen-differences-revealed/ Reviews-14785-Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:46:26 GMT http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ilounge/~3/344679362/ A fairly remarkable rebound from its prior Capsule cases for iPhone and iPod touch, SwitchEasy's new Capsule Rebel ($25) reminds us why we're so frequently impressed with this Hong Kong-based case developer. Designed as a multi-piece protector for the iPhone 3G, Capsule Rebel has a hard plastic spine and a semi-soft rubber shell that combine together to cover almost all of the device save for its screen; SwitchEasy includes two film screen protectors,… Cases - iPhone 3G jeremy@ilounge.com (Jeremy Horwitz) Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:46:26 GMT http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ipod/review/switcheasy-capsule-rebel-for-iphone-3g/ News-14784-Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:28:18 GMT http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ilounge/~3/344663368/ The Simpsons Shop is currently offering a range of Limited Edition iPods featuring artwork from the long-running cartoon laser etched on the players’ backs. Each of the players are numbered and are limited to a run of 2,000. Three different designs are available on nearly every current-generation iPod, with prices ranging from $89 for a Limited Edition 1GB iPod shuffle to $599 for an etched 32GB iPod touch. Browser security researcher Aviv Raff… Mix news@ilounge.com (Charles Starrett) Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:28:18 GMT http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/mix-simpsons-ipods-iphone-security-3g-availability-stanford/ Reviews-14720-Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:01:17 GMT http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ilounge/~3/333763352/ With the release of the iPhone 3G, Apple left a dock out of the box, now selling an updated official alternative called the iPhone 3G Dock for $29. As before, it is a plain white plastic piece with a rubber bottom that can stand the iPhone 3G up on any flat surface, outputting audio from its bottom Dock Connector port to a line-level 3.5mm port rather than forcing you to use the device’s headphone port. It also still provides pass-through Dock… Docks - Audio-OutDocks - Data jeremy@ilounge.com (Jeremy Horwitz) Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:01:17 GMT http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ipod/review/apple-iphone-3g-dock/ News-14783-Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:48:35 GMT http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ilounge/~3/344621599/ Apple has posted three new television ads for the iPhone 3G. All three of the new ads highlight different features of the iPhone 3G, displaying the phone in front of a plain white background. ”Everyone” focuses on the phone’s Safari, Mail, and Maps applications, while touting the device’s “twice as fast” speeds and lower initial pricing. ”Unslow” attempts to answer the question “So what exactly… iPhone news@ilounge.com (Charles Starrett) Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:48:35 GMT http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/apple-posts-three-new-iphone-3g-tv-ads/ Reviews-8669-Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:05:43 GMT http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ilounge/~3/343835171/ In short, Texas Hold ‘em is a variant on poker that drops two cards in front of each of several players - six, including you, on the iPod version - and then places up to five community cards in the center of the group, starting with three cards and then adding one per round while players bet on who will make the best five-card hand from the seven total cards. Your goal is to get other players to toss in as much money as possible into the betting… Games - iPod and iPhone jeremy@ilounge.com (Jeremy Horwitz) Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:05:43 GMT http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ipod/review/apple-computer-texas-hold-em/ Reviews-8666-Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:02:48 GMT http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ilounge/~3/343835172/ Developer Electronic Arts has given Tetris a sweeping audiovisual overhaul. Strong blue menus and cool translucent overlays make the interface attractive, while the in-game art - famously rendered entirely usable on the Game Boy’s black and white screen - is detailed and colorful, with vibrant blocks and clean backdrops. The 10 by 20 block well is clearly illustrated block-by-block for strategic block placement, while the blocks have highlighted… Games - iPod and iPhone jeremy@ilounge.com (Jeremy Horwitz) Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:02:48 GMT http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ipod/review/electronic-arts-tetris/ Reviews-9184-Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:58:18 GMT http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ilounge/~3/63564136/ Using graphic designs and music very similar to its impressive rendition of Mahjong, only with Japanese rather than Chinese aesthetics, Electronic Arts has created a charming fifth-generation iPod version of Sudoku ($5, now also known as Num-pre in Japan) - one that’s more approachable and fully-featured than the pencil-and-paper versions that preceded it. Besides providing you with pre-configured easy, medium, and hard sudoku puzzles akin to… Games - iPod and iPhone jeremy@ilounge.com (Jeremy Horwitz) Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:58:18 GMT http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ipod/review/electronic-arts-sudoku/ Reviews-13554-Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:56:57 GMT http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ilounge/~3/245104882/ For the sake of completeness, we’ll go through it anyway. Scrabble sets a partially colored, 15x15 grid in front of one, two, three, or four players, giving each player a set of seven tiles marked with letters and numbers. A given tile’s letter is assigned a certain number of points—that’s the number—and each player’s goal is to make words with the tiles, racking up points for using more difficult letters and hitting… Games - iPod and iPhone jeremy@ilounge.com (Jeremy Horwitz) Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:56:57 GMT http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ipod/review/electronic-arts-scrabble/ Reviews-12008-Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:54:03 GMT http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ilounge/~3/195048069/ Gameloft’s Brain Challenge ($5) is the iPod Games equivalent of Brain Age, and works on the fifth-generation iPod, iPod nano, and iPod classic. Limitations of the iPod hardware and small visual changes aside, there’s no doubt that Brain Challenge is as close to Brain Age as the iPod models can get: you’re even walked through the mind games by an on-screen coach who peppers you with brain-related trivia questions and factoids in-between… Games - iPod and iPhone jeremy@ilounge.com (Jeremy Horwitz) Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:54:03 GMT http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ipod/review/gameloft-sa-brain-challenge/ Reviews-13252-Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:49:40 GMT http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ilounge/~3/229597980/ Unlike past chess-alikes such as Battle Chess and Archon, Gameloft’s presentation of the 600-year-old chess game is almost completely straightforward: this is a simple one- or two-player game of strategy, with no added action, special rule, or dynamic graphical flourish. You’re presented with a standard board, two control options (scrolling or 8-direction tapping), and nine skill levels ranging from “Monkey” to “Master.”… Games - iPod and iPhone jeremy@ilounge.com (Jeremy Horwitz) Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:49:40 GMT http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ipod/review/gameloft-sa-chess-backgammon-classics/ Reviews-13469-Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:46:01 GMT http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ilounge/~3/241139228/ Just like Bust-a-Move, you control a character at the bottom of the screen who fires individual colored bubbles upwards into a matrix of existing bubbles, attempting to make color matches. Match three or more bubbles and they disappear from the top of the screen; the more matches you fail to make, the more crowded the screen becomes, putting your character in peril of dying. Sound familiar? Besides copying Bust-a-Move, that’s basically the same… Games - iPod and iPhone jeremy@ilounge.com (Jeremy Horwitz) Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:46:01 GMT http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ipod/review/gameloft-sa-bubble-bash/ News-14782-Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:21:31 GMT http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ilounge/~3/343800637/ In a release announcing its second fiscal quarter financial results, exclusive U.S. iPhone carrier AT&T revealed that launch period sales of the iPhone 3G were “nearly double” that of the original iPhone, while pointing to the device as an example of advanced communications. “In the first 12 days following launch, sales of the iPhone 3G were nearly double levels achieved in AT&T’s 2007 iPhone launch,” the company… iPhone news@ilounge.com (Charles Starrett) Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:21:31 GMT http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/att-iphone-3g-launch-sales-nearly-double-original/ Articles-14781-Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:19:22 GMT http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ilounge/~3/343800638/ When Apple re-released a number of iPod 5G games virtually unchanged, but in a format compatible with the iPod classic and iPod nano, it sparked an uproar by forcing customers to pay again if they wanted the same titles to work on newer iPods. With the release of the App Store, this has happened again: developers are re-releasing last year’s titles for the iPhone and iPod touch, but this time some of the games actually include significant improvements… iPod and iPhone Games - Gems, Cheats and More jeremy@ilounge.com (Jeremy Horwitz) Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:19:22 GMT http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/iphone-gems-9-click-wheel-ipod-games-re-released/ Reviews-8661-Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:45:02 GMT http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ilounge/~3/343847499/ From an audiovisual standpoint, Bejeweled is only modestly impressive. Its jewel-shaped blocks look pretty much the same as they have on cell phones and computers for the past couple of years, the music is inoffensive, and the only special effects on display are cool 3-D tunnel-like transitions between levels. Similarly, its gameplay doesn’t hold a candle to a good game of Tetris, or even Sega’s Columns for that matter. But it’s… Games - iPod and iPhone jeremy@ilounge.com (Jeremy Horwitz) Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:45:02 GMT http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ipod/review/popcap-games-bejeweled/ News-14780-Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:47:51 GMT http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ilounge/~3/343720034/ PDair has introduced a wide variety of cases for the iPhone 3G. In leather, the company is offering two vertical flip-style cases — one with a snap closure and one without — in both standard and crocodile-textured leathers, and in a variety of colors. Both flip cases feature open access to ports and controls, and contrast stitching. The Flip Type case with snap closure sells for $28 with standard leather and $32 with crocodile patterned… iPhone Accessories news@ilounge.com (Charles Starrett) Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:47:51 GMT http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/pdair-offers-leather-aluminum-silicone-cases-for-iphone-3g/ News-14779-Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:21:28 GMT http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ilounge/~3/343598302/ SwitchEasy has announced its new CapsuleRebel case for the iPhone 3G. The CapsuleRebel is a hybrid case featuring a inner layer made of Adaptive Dynamic Soft Polymer (ADSP), a material which is stronger and more UV resistant than silicone, yet soft enough to protect the finish of the iPhone 3G. A Lexan polycarbonate “UltraFrame” attaches to the outside of the ADSP shell, covering over 60 percent of the case with the impact-resistant frame.… iPhone Accessories news@ilounge.com (Charles Starrett) Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:21:28 GMT http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/switcheasy-announces-capsulerebel-for-iphone-3g/ News-14778-Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:41:01 GMT http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ilounge/~3/343569514/ This week’s featured photo is from our iPhones Around the World gallery, and shows an original iPhone on the shores of Cat Island in the Bahamas. To share your photos and to be considered for our Photo of the Week, you simply need to submit your own photo to one of our galleries. So get out there, take some pictures with your iPod or iPhone, and maybe your submission will be our next Photo of the Week! ... Site News news@ilounge.com (Charles Starrett) Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:41:01 GMT http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/photo-of-the-week-iphone-in-the-bahamas/