I’ve owned every single generation of the iPhone so far. With each iPhone, I never used a silicon case. From the days of my first gen iPhone, I’ve been using ZAGG’s invisibleSHIELD to protect my iPhone. It’s the strongest protection out there, and I like having less bulk to carry all the time.

Introducing: ZAGGskins–Custom Designed Skins for the iPhone

Today is the official launch of ZAGGskins, which is ZAGG’s entry into the designer skin market. Users can choose from 114 ZAGG-designed skins, or upload your own image to customize away! The neat thing about ZAGGskins is that they use the SAME material as the clear invisibleSHIELD on your iPhone. So you get protection and funky designs at the same time.

Customizing Your ZAGGskins Online–Upload Your Own Pictures

Although there are over 114 designs to choose from, and most are designed by a local Utah artist. The designs are nice, but of course it really comes down to your taste. I did notice ZAGG subtly inserting their logo into each design. It’s more prominent on some designs versus others. If you’re proud to show the world it’s done by ZAGG great. But I can see some people not wanting the ZAGG logo on their design.

How to bypass this? Create your own custom design! Anyways, it’s always nice to have your iPhone stand out from the MILLIONS out there right? Well now you can do that with ZAGGskins.

Here are some features:

* Scratch-proof your device with our exclusive, patented film which now includes unique patterns and custom designs
* 30 Day Money Back Guarantee
* Upload your own custom design for virtually indestructible protection that says “This is Me”
* The ultra-thin film will not add bulk to your device
* Our skins feature an easy 3-step install
* The only skin with the award winning toughness of the invisibleSHIELD™

How to Design Your Own Skin?

Just logon to the ZAGG website, and start customizing your iPhone 3G/3GS skins. It’s very easy to upload your own picture, plus you can add extra shapes for some flair. You can easily rotate, move and shrink your image. Well done for making it easy, ZAGG. It’s comparable to other customizable skin companies out there and is a very straightforward process. Check out my mad skillz below:

Looking at the reflection of the skin against light, its properties do reveal that it is indeed the same material as the invisibleSHIELD. Installing these ZAGGskins were a piece of cake! There’s no water involved as the skins themselves are adhesive, so they stick right onto your iPhone easily. Air bubbles are pretty much non-existent due to the design. Man, if only the original invisibleSHIELD was this easy to install. Here are some pics of a quick install of a Canadian flag ZAGGskin (the bezel pieces weren’t cut properly so I couldn’t put them on–but the other samples are fine).

The only thing is that the corner coverage of these ZAGGskins aren’t as thorough as the invisibleSHIELD. There are pieces for the top and bottom bezels, but the corners are lacking. But, even then it’s not a problem since the corners are usually the most difficult parts to install. However, the corners are cut very well to prevent peeling, and the adhesive works very well. Now that the complexity has been turned down a notch, it actually was quite pleasant installing these skins. Just line up the skin with the camera hole, then lay down from the center and start smoothing it out. Voila!

ZAGGskins are available for the iPhone, iPhone 3G/3GS, and iPod Touch. They are even available for the MacBook, Palm Pre, Blackberry, Android devices, cameras, and more. It seems ZAGG just continues to pump out skins for new models of electronic devices all the time. ZAGGskins are selling for 25% off right now at $14.99 (regular price $19.99), although this will end very soon.

Check out the following promo video:

Click here to visit ZAGG.com and be the first on your block to get a ZAGGskin!

iPhoneinCanada.ca Readers Save 20% Off Your ZAGG Order

If you didn’t know already, we have an exclusive 20% off coupon code with ZAGG. Use code “iphoneinca” during checkout to save 20% off your ZAGG order! This is a great way to save when you’ve got an upcoming birthday or Christmas order. Definitely work checking out for your MacBook and other electronic toys too.

ZAGGskins GIVEAWAY CONTEST! YOU CAN WIN TODAY!

It’s been a while since I’ve given something away! Today we have SIX ZAGGskins to give away to lucky iPhoneinCanada.ca readers! Thanks to ZAGG for sending these our way. How to enter:

- Subscribe to our RSS feed. Follow us on Twitter.
- Leave a comment below explaining WHY you want a ZAGGskin!
- Winners will receive a random ZAGGskin; One entry per email/household
- Contest open to Canada and the USA; Ends Sunday, November 22nd at 11:59PM.

GOOD LUCK!

If you enjoy playing cards and specifically Solitaire, then you will like Tri-Towers, as it is one of the most addicting and amusing solitaire games on the App Store.

Arcade Solitaire: TriTowers by Endloop Systems Inc.

If you have played classic Solitaire, then you will have a general idea of what TriTowers is about. This iPhone game is the classic Tri-tower/tri-peak solitaire game play which can take a second to learn if you have never played.

Features 1.5/2

Arcade Solitiare: TriTowers delivers an addictive and fast paced iPhone gaming experience. The player is presented with three “towers” of cards and a shuffled deck. The goal of the game is to choose from the three card towers a card number that is either one above or one below the shown card from the shuffled deck.

For example, if the player draws a 2 (suit matters not) from the shuffled deck, the player must choose either a 3 card or Ace from the three card towers. If a 7 card is drawn, the player must choose either a 6 card or 8 card from the three card towers.

As the cards are chosen, a timer is counting down from 99 seconds, so speed is key. The player is also rewarded for speeds and combos, which come from choosing a string of cards in order without having to touch the shuffled deck. This is difficult to accomplish, but very rewarding if done.

If the game comes to a point where no more moves are available, the round ends and a score is tallied. The game provides notifications that the player can still make a move if the player tries to shuffle the deck for a new card. I found this feature to be extremely helpful, especially if the player has never played this style of solitaire before.

Another very helpful feature is the game saves progress automatically if the player quits the app. When the app is re-opened, the player can easily resume from where they left off with a single tap.

The game includes 30 unlockable card deck skins and background skins, which are a nice incentive for those players who need one. Personally, I found the addicting and fun game play enough inventive to continue playing, but the extras are a nice perk.

For the competitive players, the game includes online in-game leaderboards where players can actually see live stats of who has the highest score. The game also includes Openfeint 2.2 integration which allows players to play online against friends or the world. Openfeint integration also includes 50 achievements that come from completing various tasks in the game.

You can check out a game play video here.

Controls & Navigation 1.5/2

The first thing I noticed with this game is the controls are extremely accurate and responsive. The cards that are used are a good size for any size of finger and the game play layout is very clean and easy to use.

Navigation of the game can be a little tricky because to qualify for any of the achievements, players do need to have an Openfeint account. Using Openfeint is also not the most cleanly laid out system.

Once players unlock various deck and background skins, they are easily accessible from the main menu and applied by simply using the provided navigation arrows.

Sounds & Visuals 1/1

The game offers good visuals with very easy to see and read cards. I like that the cards and background skins can be changed, which adds a custom element to the game. The player is also rewarded with neat graphics when something good occurs, such as completing the round or getting a combo.

To go along with these visual graphics are awesome sound jingles! Exciting little sounds are played as combos are gained and objectives completed and once the level is finished, a brief sound jingle is played that is surprisingly fun to listen to.

The game also allows players to use their own iPod music, but be sure to mute in the in-game sound.

Arcade Solitaire: TriTowers is scored a 4 out of 5.

Arcade Solitaire: TriTowers is available on the iTunes App Store for $0.99.

Earlier today, Google announced an update to mobile-formatted Google News pages for iPhone.

The update brings the view and navigation of Google News to a desktop-class experience that users would normally see on a desktop or laptop computer. This is contrasted with the WAP browsing experience that Google News was on the iPhone before the update.

Our new homepage displays more stories, sources, and images while keeping a familiar look and feel. Also, you can now reach your favorite sections, discover new ones, find articles and play videos in fewer clicks. If you are an existing Google News reader on desktop, you will find that all of your personalizations are honored in this mobile version too.

iPhone users can see the new Google News site in Safari by browsing to Google News at http://news.google.com.

Steve Jobs. He is a tech luminary, a presentation master and an idolized CEO but he can also be a man of few words.

This week, there has been some drama regarding the app “iPodRip” from developers “The Little App Factory”. iPodRip is an app that lets you copy and transfer your songs from an iPod and iPhone to your computer. It has been used extensively, with over five million downloads.

The issue, as you can already guess, is that the name of app has the word “iPod” in it. Apple’s Legal team demanded that the developer change the name of app and instead of changing it, the CEO of The Little App Factory decides to personally send an email to Apple CEO Steve Jobs to ask if the app name can stay the way it is.

Here is the letter below from The Little App Factory CEO John Devor:

Dear Mr. Jobs,

My name is John Devor and I’m the co-owner of a small Mac shareware company named The Little App Factory and a long-term Apple customer and shareholder. I doubt you’re aware but we recently received a letter from a law firm working on Apple’s behalf instructing us that we had violated several of Apple’s trademarks in our application iPodRip and asking us to cease using the name and Apple trademarks in our icons.

We have been distributing iPodRip since 2003 with the aim of providing a method to recover music, movies and photos from iPods and iPhones in the event of a serious hardware failure on their Mac which leads to data loss. Our goal has been to provide the highest quality product coupled with the highest quality service in a bid to resolve some of the angst that is generated by such an ordeal; service befitting of an Apple product. In this department we think we have succeeded as we have approximately 6 million customers, many Apple employees, music artists and other notable people in society. In fact I’d argue that our customer service is the best of all competing applications in our niche as many of them are scams and frauds that leave Apple customers with a terrible taste in their collective mouths. We fear very much that tens of thousands of Apple customers looking to recover their own music and having heard of our product via word-of-mouth or otherwise, will instead find a product produced by one of our competitors, and will wind up the victim of a scam (one closely-named competitor charges a hidden monthly fee, for instance).

It is quite obvious that we mean Apple no harm with the use of the name iPodRip, or of the inclusion of trademarked items in our icons, and in fact I believe that we have been providing an excellent secondary service to Apple customers that has potentially caused you many repeat clients. In fact, we are quite aware that Apple support and store staff have recommended our software on numerous occasions as far back as 2004 so we have felt that we were doing something right!

With this in mind, we are in desperate need of some assistance and we beseech you to help us to protect our product and our shareware company, both of which we have put thousands upon thousands of hours of work into. Our company goal is to create Mac software of the highest quality with the best user experience possible. I myself dropped out of school recently to pursue a path in the Mac software industry, and you yourself have been a consistent inspiration for me.

If there is anything at all you can do with regards to this matter, we would be most grateful.

Best,

John Devor

That letter is quite amazing. You can clearly see that there was a lot of thought put into it. So naturally, John Devor is expecting a reply and guess what, Steve responded! Check out the response from Steve Jobs below:

Change your apps name. Not that big of a deal.

Steve

Sent from my iPhone

EPIC! One line, two short sentences and sent from his iPhone of all places. LOVE IT!

Oh, and The Little App Factory has since changed the name of iPodRip to iRip.

[CrunchGear]

Apple hardware fans, listen up!

The folks from iFixit.com have released over 200 repair guides covering every Mac Mini and iMac that Apple has made since 2004. All of these repair manuals are now available FOR FREE from iFixit.com! There are also extensive iPhone and iPod guides available.

iFixit is known for its very detailed guides and excellent documentation processes. The step by step directions are very clear and concise allowing even a novice or beginner to become their very own Apple Genius technician.

Each repair manual includes in-depth disassembly guides, troubleshooting tips and upgrade information. Each guide also has very high resolution photos, over 1,400 in total, to provide an easy visual aide during a repair/upgrade process.

To go along with the guides, iFixit is debuting an online store that will sell iMac parts such as hard drives, RAM, glass panels, power supplies, disassembly tools and much more! This joins the existing iPod and iPhone stores.

iMac Guides & Store

The iMac repair manuals cover all 17″ and 20″ iMacs manufactured by Apple since 2004, including both the G5 and Intel iMac models.

There are over 184 iMac repair guides, including 1,000 photos to aide in diagnosis and repair. Some of the highlights is information on how to remove the iMac glass, upgrading RAM (why pay Apple?) and hard drive replacement.

Mac Mini Guides & Store

The Mac Mini repair manuals cover all manufacutered Mac Minis since 2005. These include the G4 and Intel Core Solo and Core Duo models.

There are 57 Mac Mini repair guides covering topics in RAM, wireless cards and the logic board. The parts available in store for the Mac Mini include RAM, hard drives, optical drives and enclosures.

So, if you want to save some cash on your upgrades and repairs, or if you just want to brush up on your Apple tech, check out the iFixit guides and online stores!

As expected, Virgin Mobile Canada will be launching the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS in Canada in 2010. An official statement was released this morning.

Bell Canada acquired Virgin Mobile Canada in May 2009 and since Bell has just received the iPhone in Novemer 2009, they now plan to move the device to their Virgin Canada brand. The iPhone will be available at Virgin stores, Virgin online and Apple Stores across Canada.

There is no word on price plans yet, but don’t expect any of the typical deals that Virgin Canada offers. The iPhone devices will require 3-year contracts and a voice and data plan, mimicking the current model for Bell iPhones.

As for the device, standard pricing applies:

• 8GB iPhone 3G (Black): $99.00
• 16GB iPhone 3GS (Black/White): $199.00
• 32GB iPhone 3GS (Black/White): $299.00

A rather odd time to launch an iPhone considering there will likely be a new iPhone released in Summer 2010, but at least current Virgin customers will be happy.

We all know somebody that has a rather embarassing ringtone on their mobile device. This is the person who scrambles frantically to answer their phone because outside of them, everyone else thinks their ringtone is ridiculous. We see it everyday.

So what can be done about this? Well, this is where iRingPro comes in, a professional group that makes professional and subtle ringtones.

iRingPro

iRingPro is a professional group that designs ringtones that are subtle, elegant and sophisticated. The tones are definitely not for everyone, but for those looking for very elegant and subtle tones, iRingPro’s three packages work well.

iRingPro has three different ringtone packages to choose from, each costing $9.95. Each package has a different set of tones with various sounds. Due to the diversity of the ringtones across the three packages, and even within a single package, there is truly a ringtone for everyone.

I also like that you can purchase the packages in three different formats; iPhone/Windows, iPhone/Mac and straight MP3 files. The first two formats are an easy install by dragging the folder right into the iTunes Ringtones folder.

The nice thing about the MP3 download is it expands the functionality of the ringtones beyond the iPhone. Downloading them as MP3’s means you can easily use the tones on other mobile devices but you can also convert the MP3’s to iPhone ringtones.

Since each ringtone package is different, I will detail each package below. You can also view the entire ringtone list per package and preview some of the ringtones that are available.

Zen2

• 27 original ringtones with conventional silent pauses
• 27 duplicate ringtones with extended silent pauses (same tones as above)
• 54 ringtones in total
• $9.95
• Ringtone list and sound previews, click here

Zen2 is very contemporary and sounds more modern for today’s devices. Zen2 is my favorite of the three packages. You can see the package description below:

With the popular Zen 2 Collection of professional iPhone ringtones, iRingPro has established a new level of sophistication and etiquette in phone call reporting.

You simply will not find a more stylish and professional collection of ringtones on the market.

Upon first hearing them our users often say, “Finally…”

And we know exactly what they mean.

Origin

• 22 original ringtones (12 single tones; 10 three-part multi-tones) with conventional silent pauses
• 22 duplicate ringtones with extended silent pauses (same tones as above)
• 44 ringtones in total
• $9.95
• Ringtone list and sound previews, click here

Origin is very primal with more natural and warm tones. You can see the package description below:

Inspired by the origins of music, the Origin Collection is composed of natural, earthy, organic sounds, that recall a time and place where all things were hand-crafted.

A touch of dust and adventure, in a high-tech package.

New Multi-Tone Ringers

A selection of our Origin ringtones make use of a new iRingPro format: Multi-Tone. Composed of 3 distinct segments, each time your phone rings, the sound is slightly different.

So now you’ll know how much time you have before that call goes to voicemail.

Tek

• 31 original ringtones (28 single tones; 3 three-part multi-tones) with conventional silent pauses
• 31 duplicate ringtones with extended silent pauses (same tones as above)
• 62 ringtones in total
• $9.95
• Ringtone list and sound previews, click here

Tek is very sci-fi and robotic with a lot of “computer” type sounds. You can see the package description below:

The Tek Collection bridges the gap between the incredible devices imagined in movies, and the devices we own.

Tek ringers sound insanely advanced, even as they maintain iRingPro’s firm commitment to subtlety and sophistication.

People will ask you what kind of phone you have.

Q would be proud.

Have you ever had a speeding ticket? If you answered YES, then the following app might be for you! This app will also help people who have moved to a new area and are trying to figure out where all the police are hiding on the roads. The free app is called Trapster, and it turns your iPhone into a live action police scanner.

Here’s how Trapster works: as you approach speed traps, red light cameras, speed cameras, etc, you will hear an audio warning and a quick Google Map appears on the screen, indicating where the trap is.

Trapster makes use of location services while you’re driving and it relies on its users to submit information on speed traps and red light cameras. The cool thing is that Trapster is quickly catching on and there are now 2 million users worldwide–with 1 million of them on the iPhone!

Testing Trapster Out In The Field–Does It Actually Work?

Trapster works best if you’re in an area where there are active users submitting information. I decided to put Trapster to the test in Vancouver. I launched the app prior to driving and noticed many things along my trip.

Trapster will fade out music and broadcast an audio alert if you’re near a red light camera or police trap. You can set the distance of how far in advance you want the warnings to appear. As you’re driving along Trapster shows your location on the map. There is also built in iPod controls, Google Maps Live Traffic, and ability to enable the compass (iPhone 3GS only). Trapster also supports French, German, and Spanish to go along with English.

Within Vancouver, Trapster was very accurate conveying to me the intersections with red light cameras and where police usually hide. Of course, the app works best when users get involved. You can either Confirm or Reject findings and even submit your own.

Obviously Trapster is just a tool to let you know where common speed traps are so you can slow down. But what’s great is that users get credibility based on their submissions–so Trapster learns who is credible and who is not. You can even setup Push Notifications to alert you of traps. Also, you can record your trips to view for later and even share them with friends.

Conclusion: Trapster Works And It’s Also FREE!

For a free iPhone app download, Trapster is one heck of an app. It’s well made, easy to use, and just plain works. You don’t need to register to use the app, but you will need it to contribute to the Trapster system if you choose to do so. You can even login online and view maps of areas around the world.

With both Facebook and Twitter integration, you can also share your speed trap finding with your friends online. All I can say is the world is changing every single day with such incredible apps like Trapster. By harnessing the power of its users, traditional speed trap hiding spots become everyday locations that drill into your brain. Trapster is extremely feature rich, and is definitely a “must-download” if you’re a spirited driver.

Click here to download Trapster.

These two are like brothers fighting over toys.

This morning, Telus filed legal action against Rogers for misleading advertisements claiming that Rogers is “Canada’s fastest network”. Rogers has been running these ads, along with another one whose slogan is “Canada’s fastest network: two times faster than any other” since 2007. We have seen them all over television and billboards, but now Telus says they are false!

With the launch of the Telus HSPA+ network, which matches network speeds with Rogers of up to 21Mbps, Telus may have a point here. Rogers may no longer be the fastest network in Canada and Telus seeks to prove it. Since both carriers have equal speeds in theoretical tests, both Rogers and Telus may have the same network speeds. Point: Telus.

Reliability?

However, Telus is also claiming that another Rogers advertsiement is false, in which Rogers states that they have “Canada’s most reliable network”. Telus claims this is false since the Telus HSPA+ launch. While Telus may have had a point with the speed, I think they lose here.

I recently had the chance to stress test a Telus iPhone 3GS and I found something amazing. As Telus/Bell iPhone customers are probably just finding out now, when your reception on your Telus/Bell device drops off 3G, you have a dead phone. No internet, no SMS, no emails, nothing. I had a Rogers iPhone 3GS and Telus iPhone 3GS side by side and the Rogers iPhone was still connected to EDGE (slow, but functional) where Telus was connected to “No Service”. How could that be?

This happens because, unlike Rogers, Telus/Bell do not have a GSM foundation built under their HSPA+ network. To make this easy to understand, I will make a text hierarchy:

Rogers/Fido

• Perfect signal, fastest browsing, connected calls: 3G
• Reception decent, slow browsing, connected calls: EDGE (E symbol on iPhone)
• Reception decent, no browsing, connected calls: GPRS (”o” symbol on iPhone)

Telus/Bell

• Perfect signal, fastest browsing, connected calls: 3G
• Reception decent, slow browsing, connected calls: N/A
• Reception decent, no browsing, connected calls: N/A

What does this mean? Well it’s simple.

Drop off 3G with Telus/Bell and you have an iPod Touch. Don’t believe me? Take your Telus/Bell iPhone and do the following on the device:

• Settings > General > Network > Turn OFF 3G.

The Verdict

While Telus/Bell may have a new network, it is definitely NOT the most reliable. There will be areas in which the Telus/Bell network will lose signal, no matter how good their network coverage is. The same goes for Rogers.

The difference here is when a Rogers iPhone loses 3G signal, it drops to EDGE and continues to sit on its GSM foundation and be a usable, functional device. When a Telus/Bell iPhone lose 3G, those iPhone’s lose all signal. I cannot imagine how a business customer would deal with this, let alone regular customers.

So Telus may have a point in the Rogers/Telus lawsuit that Rogers is no longer the fastest network (both carriers are the same now), but Rogers (and Fido) are still definitely Canada’s most reliable network. Telus: -1  Rogers: +1

Thoughts?

[The Global and Mail]