iLounge | All Things iPod, iPhone, iPad and Beyond

Review: Luxa2 P1 7000mAh Battery + Charger

Nick Guy — 2012-05-31T16:08:43+00:00

P1’s silver plastic housing is just a bit bigger than an iPhone 4 or 4S in every dimension, and a little heavier as well. The rounded rectangular shell could actually pass for aluminum, and this particular cost-saving measure isn’t obvious until you actually touch P1. It’s simply designed, with only the company’s logo, a battery life indicator button, and LEDs on the top interrupting the metallic finish, with two full-sized…

Review: Audio-Technica ATH-CKS55i Solid Bass Inner Ear Headphones

Jeremy Horwitz — 2012-05-31T15:19:45+00:00

ATH-CKS55i is a less expensive sequel to last year’s ATH-CKS77, reusing the same housing design with only small changes. As before, ATH-CKS55i achieves an unusually strong level of bass performance for an in-ear design by cheating the “in-ear” definition a little, creating twin air chambers that extend considerably outside of your ear, akin to traditional earbuds capped with your choice of four included sizes of silicone in-canal…

Review: Audio-Technica ATH-CP500i Waterproof Inner Ear Headphones

Jeremy Horwitz — 2012-05-31T15:18:30+00:00

ATH-CP500i is one of the slicker-looking sports headphone designs we’ve seen in recent years, and part of Audio-Technica’s “Players Line” of sports headphones: it combines traditional earbuds with soft rubber loops that fit over your ears to keep the accessory stable even during workouts or running. What’s unique is that this model is IPX5 waterproof—washable, not submersible—with an IPX2 rain-proof remote…

News: Pre-paid carrier Cricket to launch iPhone on June 22

Charles Starrett — 2012-05-31T14:11:30+00:00

Cricket Wireless has announced that it will be the first pre-paid carrier to offer the iPhone, which it will launch on Friday, June 22. According to the announcement, the carrier will offer both the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S with its $55 a month unlimited talk, text, and data plan. The 16GB model of the iPhone 4S will sell for $500 through the carrier, while the 8GB iPhone 4 will be priced at $400. “Our customers want the best products available…

News: Next-gen iPhone design document appears online

Charles Starrett — 2012-05-30T20:55:03+00:00

An Apple design document showing the design of the next-generation iPhone has appeared online. As noted by Cydia Blog, the document matches the panel parts and frames that surfaced yesterday, and shows the increased screen size as well as the repositioned FaceTime camera. Notably, we have heard that the general design of the device is done, but that the exact positions of ports and other details have yet to be finalized; as such, this document depicts…

Review: Incase Suede Pull Sleeve for iPhone 4/4S

Nick Guy — 2012-05-30T20:46:14+00:00

Like most sleeves, Incase’s does a good job of protecting the iPhone while not in use, but does very little when you actually need to use the device. Here, the bottom, left, and right edges are covered while the top is mostly exposed. Some cases of this style allow you to access the iPhone’s side switch, take a speakerphone call, or charge by connecting a cable to the bottom, but this one doesn’t. The pull tab is the only real active…

News: Bloomberg, Inkling, Mobile Roadie talk app creation in iDesign ‘12

Charles Starrett — 2012-05-30T20:31:02+00:00

Alongside our The New iPad Buyers’ Guide’s interviews with Geneva Lab and Soundfreaq on speaker-making, our 2012 installment of iDesign also features discussions with leading app developers Bloomberg, Inkling, and Mobile Roadie. While each company focuses on different parts of the market, all three have created some of the best user experiences on Apple’s still young mobile OS, and serve as examples for how to rethink classic media…

Review: Imymee Shockproof Case for iPhone 4/4S

Nick Guy — 2012-05-30T20:12:28+00:00

Reinforced rubber runs all the way around the edge of the iPhone, creating a small lip that covers the stainless steel antenna but none of the screen itself. This includes coverage of the Sleep/Wake and volume buttons—the former requires significantly more pressure to register a press—and cutouts for the rest of the inputs and outputs. Because the headphone and Dock Connector ports are so narrowly cut and deeply recessed, only plugs…

News: Tekkeon intros TekCharge MP1820 battery pack

Charles Starrett — 2012-05-30T19:28:44+00:00

Tekkeon has introduced its new TekCharge MP1820 Pocket Power Pack for the iPhone and iPod. The MP1820 features a 4800 mAh rechargeable lithium ion battery, the ability to deliver device-specific power from 100mA to 1.2A, color-coded LED battery level indicators, a built-in emergency flashlight, a standard USB port for connecting a USB to 30 pin cable, and a mini USB charging port. Tekkeon’s TekCharge MP 1820 Pocket Power Pack for the iPhone,…

Review: Audio-Technica ATH-ANC9 QuietPoint Active Noise-Cancelling Headphones

Jeremy Horwitz — 2012-05-30T19:17:10+00:00

Placed next to ATH-ANC7b, ATH-ANC9 looks nearly identical, unless you consider the proportions of metallic and matte black plastic on their earcups to be an important differentiator. This time, Audio-Technica has gone with mostly black earcups to match the nearly identical foam-padded black plastic and faux leather headband, reducing the previously silver metallic trim down to considerably less conspicuous and slightly darker accents. Memory foam…

News: Swim Guide expands to California beaches

Jesse Hollington — 2012-05-30T18:45:46+00:00

Lake Ontario Waterkeeper has updated its free Swim Guide app for the iPhone and iPod touch adding up-to-date water quality information for nearly 300 beaches in California. First released last year, Swim Guide provides information on over 1,300 beaches throughout North America including Miami, FL, Mobile, AL, the Great Lakes, British Columbia, Alberta and more, including descriptions and panoramic photos along with water quality information to help…

Review: Cooler Master Arc MacBook Pro + iPad Stand

Nick Guy — 2012-05-30T18:33:44+00:00

Arc’s footprint is pretty reasonable: the oval-shaped base is 7.9 inches wide and 4.7 inches long, or vice versa, depending on how it’s positioned. At its peak, the stand is 3.25 inches high. The bottom and inside are lined with rubber that prevents slipping, while the majority of the outside is plastic. A ring of metal—what appears to be stainless steel—runs around the bottom edge, providing ample heft that helps ensure Arc…

News: Geneva, Soundfreaq share speaker design wisdom in iDesign ‘12

Charles Starrett — 2012-05-30T18:00:34+00:00

Continuing a tradition that dates back to 2008, iLounge’s just-released New iPad Buyers’ Guide includes the fifth installment of our iDesign series. Created to share the wisdom of leading Apple third-party designers with a wider audience, the series has been filled with insightful information from the makers themselves—and this year’s edition is amongst the best to date. Spanning over 20 pages, it includes interviews with representatives…

Ask iLounge: Cannot sync ‘Now Playing’ queue between iPod and iTunes

Jesse Hollington — 2012-05-30T17:50:36+00:00

Q: I would like to be able to hear the same music (“Now Playing”) at home and on the road. The songs and playlists on my fourth-generation iPod touch are exactly the same as the ones in iTunes 10.5 on my Windows 7 laptop. What I want is to be able to seamlessly be able to have the music on my laptop pick up where I left off on my iPod when I walked in the door and the Wi-Fi kicked in. I also want to be able to do the reverse… have…

News: Lola’s Math Train helps develop kids’ math skills

Jesse Hollington — 2012-05-30T17:45:51+00:00

BeiZ has released Lola’s Math Train, a new educational iOS app designed to teach math skills to children from ages 3 to 8. Children are invited to join Lola Panda on her journey through a fun filled environment of bright colours and interactive characters while solving puzzles, completing addition and subtraction problems, identifying incorrect sequencing and replicating patterns. The app features an easy-to-use design with nineteen mathematics…

Review: Moshi Rewind Dual-Port Power Adapter for iPad, iPhone + iPod

Nick Guy — 2012-05-30T17:15:28+00:00

The wall power adapter uses white matte plastic, with the two USB charging ports on one side and folding wall blades on the other. Unlike other adapters, Rewind has a cable management groove cut into its top edges, enabling you to store the included USB to Dock Connector cable, which includes plug covers for storage. While the plugs themselves don’t fit in the thin groove, the entire cable can effectively be stowed away inside the adapter for…

News: New Apple TV OS to appear at WWDC?

Charles Starrett — 2012-05-30T15:30:22+00:00

Apple will demonstrate a new version of the Apple TV operating system at its upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference, according to a new report. Citing a “trusted source,” BGR claims that the new OS is more “feature-complete” than the current OS that runs on the set-top box, and says that it’s the same version that will run on Apple’s as-yet-unannounced HDTV set. The report goes on to claim that Apple is actively…

First Looks: PPC Techs SlateShield for iPad 2/iPad (3rd-Gen)

Nick Guy — 2012-05-30T14:27:15+00:00

Made to fit both the second- and third-generation iPads, PPC Techs' SlateShield ($55) has features and looks that remind us of ThinkFast's Sleeve360, although it seems more refined in some ways, and turns out to be unique in others. The tablet is inserted through the open top edge, with a simple Velcro strap holding it place right in the middle -- there's a hole for the microphone in the center. It's a tight fit, and the case provides slight bezel…

News: Highlight video of Apple CEO Cook at D10 now available

Charles Starrett — 2012-05-30T13:57:04+00:00

AllThingsD has posted a video of some of the highlights from Apple CEO Tim Cook’s on-stage interview last evening. During the interview, Cook discussed several large topics, including Apple post-Steve Jobs, the company’s TV efforts, Siri and potential upcoming features for the virtual assistant, the company’s Chinese manufacturing partners and work conditions at those factories, the tablet market and iPad’s potential, and the…

News: Civilization Revolution adds more scenarios, Game Center integration

Jesse Hollington — 2012-05-29T22:06:35+00:00

2K Games has updated Civilization Revolution introducing 10 new scenarios, new animated units and Game Center integration. Civlization Revolution is an iOS version of the popular Civilization empire-building strategy game adapted from the console title of the same name, challenging players to build their fledgling civilization through war, diplomacy, research and trade. This latest update adds ten additional in-game scenarios to provide new challenges,…