Latest Gear Live Videos
Bleeding Edge TV 175: Activating the Apple iPhone
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Gizmatic, Short Bytes, Apple, Cell Phones, Handhelds, Portable Audio / Video, Software, Videocasts,
This episode was sponsored by Geek Squad’s Idea Festival. Submit your ideas for using technology to save the planet at ideafest.geeksquad.com.
One unique aspect of the iPhone is that you, as the buyer, get to activate it yourself using iTunes, rather than having the phone activated in-store. We figured we would activate the phone on camera to show how seamless (or non-seamless, depending on how you look at it) the iPhone activation experience is. Watch the video, and let us know what you think.
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10 Reasons Why I Don’t Embrace Technology
Posted by Monica Edwards Categories: Business, Personal,
I have a need to plead my case because a soon to be released video review of my thoughts of the iPhone paints a picture of me as someone who "hates" technology. This is not a true depiction of my feelings as I believe that "hate" is a strong word, and I try not to use it loosely. There are not many things I hate, but there are things I can do without. I also wanted to make it clear that since my husband's world revolves around the tech world, I support him in all that he does, and if not for technology, he would not have a job and we would not be so greatly blessed. But, it does not mean that I have to embrace all that comes with his choice of career. So, here are 10 reasons why I don't embrace technology wholeheartedly.
Click to continue reading 10 Reasons Why I Don’t Embrace Technology
Find iPhone Battery Life with Death Watch
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Internet, Portable Audio / Video,
Those clever folks at PC Magazine have devised an iPhone Death Watch for those of you who are worried about your new toy’s battery and are already fretting over its expiration date and possible withdrawal while you exchange it. Simply enter the date of purchase and the calculator will tell you when to plan for the end and its subsequent replacement.
Apple claims that after 400 charges, an iPhone retains only 80%. Since this was all the info the mag could get out of the company, they just used one of their own to estimate how long between charges, added in the length of trickle charging over a USB port, and came up with 1.5 days. They also stretched the amount of charges to 450, multiplied the two together, and voila, the Death Widget was born. If you get too paranoid about the countdown and take the issue too seriously, we suggest that you take off another couple of days to account for all that calendar reassurance.
Read More 
| PC Magazine
AppleCare Now Available for iPhone for $69
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Portable Audio / Video,
It’s taken Apple almost a month to get their iPhone extended warranty plan out there, but in this case, better late than never definitely fits. The AppleCare for iPhone package lengthens “hardware repair coverage” by twelve months, resulting in a two year warranty when added on to the one-year of coverage you get with the purchase of an iPhone. Even better, if you happen to own an iPhone Bluetooth Headset, the AppleCare plan covers that as well. You can buy AppleCare for iPhone now for $69 USD.
Read More | AppleCare for iPhone
AT&T Claims 146,000 iPhone Activations in First Two Days
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News, Handhelds, Portable Audio / Video,
Numbers are finally starting to come out in regards to how the iPhone performed at launch. While no sales figures were given, AT&T is reporting in it’s second quarter financial results that 146,000 iPhones were activated in the first two days that the product was on the market. While this number seems pretty low to us, we have to keep a few things in perspective. First, this accounts for June 29th and 30th. The iPhone went on sale at 6:00 PM on June 29th, so this is really a measurement of a 30-hour period rather than a full 48 hour one. Secondly, as we all know, iPhones are not activated at the point of purchase. We are sure plenty were bought as gifts or to be resold, and thusly weren’t activated right away. Last, it was widely reported that there were plenty of activation issues surrounding the iPhone launch. We got emails from people who purchased at launch and weren’t able to activate for over 24 hours - some even longer than that.
Another interesting tidbit about AT&T’s report is that 40% of the 146,000 activations were for subscribers new to the AT&T network. That’s a high percentage, all thanks to Apple‘s first foray into the mobile phone space. Very impressive.
How To: Change iPhone Email Signature
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Software,
We’ve been using our iPhone for answering many an email while on the go, and one question we hear from other iPhone owners deals with how we changed the “Sent from my iPhone” text from the email signature. We figured a quick how to was in order. It’s quite simple, really, but if you tend to stay away from the Settings menu, then you would never see it. From the iPhone home screen, hit Settings, and then scroll down and tap Mail. You will see a Signature area that you can tap. Once you do this, you are editing your iPhone signature. You can get rid of the default altogether and roll with no signature at all if you like, or you can edit it to your specific preference.
Whatever you end up putting there will be used in both new emails as well as any responses you send. Let us know what you end up putting in your iPhone signature in the comments.
Colorware Now Offering iPhone Paint Jobs
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Design, Handhelds, Mods / Hacks, Portable Audio / Video,
With the iPhone selling as well as it is, we are betting there are plenty of opportunities for people to get theirs mixed up with that of someone elses. After all, do you really want to turn it on and verify that the wallpaper on any iPhone you happen to grab really is your bulldog in his pink tutu? This is why we are intrigued by ColorWare‘s latest addition to their custom paint services; that being for the iPhone. While it isn’t the cheapest thing in the world (but really - is anything involving the iPhone cheap?), we know from first-hand experience that ColorWare’s work is pretty darn impressive - just check out the paint job they did for our 3G iPod back in the day. To get a painted iPhone in your hands, you can take advantage of one of three options - you can pay them $149 USD and mail in your iPhone and they will do it up nice and send it back, or you can just purchase a brand new iPhone from them, which they will then paint and send to you. That runs $649 USD for a 4GB model, and $749 for an 8GB version.
Read More | Colorware
iPhone Bluetooth Headset Available For Order
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Apple, Smartphones, Wireless / WiFi,
If you’re like me, you’ve been holding out on purchasing a Bluetooth headset for your iPhone because you wanted the official model from Apple. Well, it may not have been available for purchase at the launch of the iPhone, but it’s now available for order on Apple’s online store. For a price of $129 USD, you walk away with the iPhone Bluetooth Headset, the iPhone Dual Dock, and the iPhone Bluetooth Travel Cable which lets you charge the headset while on the go. The iPhone Bluetooth Headset give you 5.5 hours of talk time and up to 72 hours of standby time, and automatically pairs with the iPhone. Don’t get too excited, though, as the estimated shipping timeframe is 2-4 weeks according to Apple.
Read More | iPhone Bluetooth Headset Product Page
The Gear Live iPhone Review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Features, Internet, Portable Audio / Video, Product Reviews,
Now that we’ve spent two weeks with the iPhone, we are now ready to hit you back with our in-depth review and impressions. Needless to say, Apple generated a lot of hype with the iPhone, and many feared it would flop in the face of near impossible levels of pre-release fanaticism. Thankfully I am glad that after a full weeks usage I can attest: Apple actually pulled it off. They lived up to or exceeded every single promise they made about the iPhone.
As a preface, our impressions are quite favorable overall, but the iPhone does have a few flaws. Regardless of those flaws, we think this will be an industry-changing phone and will raise the bars for Microsoft, Symbian, Motorola, HTC, Samsung, and other competitors in the mobile marketplace. We expect them all to produce better phones featuring integration, ease of use, and stability all orders of magnitude ahead of what they now offer.
Click to continue reading The Gear Live iPhone Review
BetUS Places Odds on iPhone Reliability
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Internet,
Since the launch of the iPhone, there has been a ton of hype. So much so that the Website BetUS came up with odds on what the outcome of owning one would be. We wanted to show you what they felt would be issues so that down the road, should your new gadget decide not to perform up to expectations, they can say, “I told you so.”
- Consumers are reported camping out waiting for an iPhone—3/1
- Initial iPhones get recalled—30/1
- iPhone sells at least 12 Million units in 2008—5/6
- Apple’s stock jumps at least 10% in value in regards to the price on 6/30/07—1/2
- Consumers pay at least three times the original price ($1,500) on eBay—2/1
- The screen breaks/cracks like Apple’s first-generation iPod nano —150/1
- There are mass reports of the battery life being less than the promised 8 hours—10/1
- Someone is trampled while trying to get an iPhone—20/1
- iPhone spontaneously combusts—150/1
We haven’t heard of any tramplings or screen breakage as yet, but there appears to be plenty of time to decide if your iPhone made it 8 hours without a charge. Let us know.
Read More | Live Science
