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TGI Black Friday app helps you find Black Friday sales
Are you one of the millions of people who seem to lose their mind on Black Friday? Do you wait in line for hours before Walmart opens at 5AM just to get that generic LCD TV for $149? If so, there's a cool iPhone app for you. TGI Black Friday helps deal hunters navigate the bargain madness on the busiest shopping day of the year. TGI Black Friday allows you to search over 10,000 Black Friday deals across stores and categories, get instant Push notifications on breaking deals, create and save lists of deals you want to remember to make a mad dash for, and view PDF versions of all the available Black Friday ad scans. The only thing this app won't do is stop you from getting crushed under a hoard of consumers acting like they're monkeys jacked up on crack, so be careful where you use it. Seriously, you wouldn't drive and use an app at the same time, so don't stand in the doorway of a store just unlocking their doors on Black Friday with your eyes on this app. Good luck and safe shopping! TGI Black Friday is a free download from the App Store.
TUAW's Holiday Gift Guide: Toys for the Apple fan
Welcome to the TUAW Holiday Gift Guide! We've sorted the treasure from the junk and are serving up suggestions to make your holiday gift-giving a little easier. In the 1989 Batman movie, Jack Nicholson wonders, as the Joker, "Where does he get those wonderful toys?" You can spawn the same kind of envy in your friends (and arch super villains) with some of these goodies. We found a little something for everyone, so grab your shopping list and credit card. For the young Apple fan MyPhones (US$39.99) My daughter has been begging for an iPod recently. I'm hesitant to give her one for a number of reasons (she's young and excels at losing/breaking things), chief among them is her hearing. Most kids imagine themselves to be invincible, and will crank the volume to bone-rattling levels if they can. Yes, you can set the maximum volume on and iPod, but you can also use these. MyPhones offer "A safer way to listen" by keeping the noise to a maximum of 85db. That's somewhere between a car's engine (around 70db) and a gas lawn mower (about 105db). Plus they come with several cute covers sure to please the most discerning tot.
TUAW's Holiday Gift Guide: Docks that rock
Welcome to the TUAW Holiday Gift Guide! We've sorted the treasure from the junk and are serving up suggestions to make your holiday gift-giving a little easier. There's an entire world of docks out there -- "Hickory Dickory Dock," "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay," our very own Doc Rock, and the green light at the end of Daisy's dock in The Great Gatsby -- but the docks that make Apple fans the happiest are those that hold and charge iPhones, iPods, and iPads. There are some that act as big speakers for your iDevice, others that fill in for that old clock radio that you finally threw out the bedroom window, and some that charge more than one device at a time. Our dock recommendations come in an assortment of types as well: basic docks that just charge or sync your iPhone, iPad, or iPod, speaker docks for blasting out your tunes, and docks for helping you get to sleep at night or wake up in the morning. All of the prices that are quoted are in US dollars. This is just a sampling of the huge number of docks that are made for Apple devices. Be sure to check out TUAW coverage of many of the docks that are available.
TUAW's Holiday Gift Guide: Must-have apps for your iPhone 4
Welcome to the TUAW Holiday Gift Guide! We've sorted the treasure from the junk and are serving up suggestions to make your holiday gift-giving a little easier. It's that time of year again -- we're all giving and receiving gifts, and odds are there's going to be a few new iPhones and iPod touches in your immediate vicinity. Maybe you've been lucky enough to get one, or you've given one to a spouse or family member, or there's someone at work or school who just got one and is looking for app recommendations. For all of those people (and for you if you're just looking for some great new apps), we've compiled this quick list of terrific apps to download and fill out your iOS device's app collection. These app recommendations come from multiple categories -- some are paid, some are free. There are some games and utility apps. Some are easy to get into right away, while others will require a little more knowledge or an extra service. Some have been around as long as the App Store, while others are newcomers. But if you're starting from scratch and install all of these on your new iPhone, you'll get a nice taste of everything Apple's little handheld piece of magic can do.
TUAW's Holiday Gift Guide: 10 must-have apps for a new Mac
Welcome to the TUAW Holiday Gift Guide! We've sorted the treasure from the junk and are serving up suggestions to make your holiday gift-giving a little easier. Once the gift-giving holidays arrive, the lucky among us will find new Macs among our haul. Part of the fun of owning a Mac is acquiring some goodies to go with it. In this post, we'll focus on software. Specifically, the 10 apps you'll absolutely want on your new machine. WIthout further delay, here's our list (all prices are USD). 1. Quicksilver (free) [The Quicksilver page appears to be down, here's an alternate. - Ed] This is absolutely, positively the first piece of software I install on every new Mac. In fact, I dislike using a Mac without it. Quicksilver is a utility which, at first, appears to be a launcher. That is the most popular way to use it. Assign a hotkey combination to elicit its minimal window (there are several designs to choose from), type the first few letters of your target app, hit return and presto! Your app launches. This also works with URLs, contact names and phone numbers...on and on. Plus, the more you use it, the smarter it becomes. Now I can just hit "Command-Space-T" to open TUAW, even if a browser isn't running. It's a huge time-saver. Of course, that's barely the beginning of what Quicksilver can do. A huge number of other apps offer Quicksilver support. For instance, you can upload files via FTP with Transmit, launch AppleScripts, move files, compose email messages and more, all with a few keystrokes that will get so finely sewn into your muscle memory that conscious thought will be removed from the process. Not a bad start; our first gift suggestion is supremely useful and free! Now, on to number two.
Accessorizing your iPad... for cheap!
Why spend more, when you can buy iPad-friendly accessories at your local office- or art-supply store? That's the question we asked this morning at TUAW as we sent out an iPad taskforce to scan store shelves for discount iPad accessories. In the end, we found one really killer stand, a well-priced case, and a number of also-rans. Our favorite accessory turned out to be a Staples "Study Stand". Built from chrome (the non-Google variety), and retailing for just $6.99, the study stand provided both excellent portrait and landscape presentation at a user-friendly angle. It barely obscured the screen and occupied a minimum of desk space. Best of all, the stand folds. Although the holder tips remain slightly extended from the base, the rest of the stand flattens out and makes the entire package very backpack friendly. As a close runner-up, we found a fashionable $15 neoprene netbook case, meant for 10.2" netbooks at Office Depot. Unlike 10" netbook cases, the 10.2" styles seemed to fit our iPad mockup perfectly. The Office Depot case came in a variety of colors and clocked in on our affordability scale. You can't yet buy real Apple-sanctioned official iPad toys, but you can buy our consumer-friendly alternatives today! It doesn't have to be fugctional[1] to be iPad-ready. %Gallery-88460% [1] Via TJ Luoma: "Fugly + Functional. Natch!"
TUAW Smackdown: iPhone time management games
Time Management games challenge you to run some kind of business operation while balancing your resources against the demands of customers. In the following write-up, I tested five popular time management App Store games to see how well they delivered the fun and strategy of challenging yourself against time. As you'll see, not every game delivered the same level of fun and overall gameplay. Here's how they stacked up. At $2.99, Sally's Spa is our absolute favorite of the time management games we tested for this write-up. In this game, you run a virtual spa, providing steam baths, massages, manicures, pedicures, and more. You aim to keep your customers happy and radiant (literally) by dragging them from one station to the next, applying spa services, and balancing their needs against your limited resources of time and equipment. As your salon earns money, you re-invest into improvements such as hiring employees to automate some of the stations and upgraded equipment to provide higher levels of satisfaction. The challenges grow more sophisticated over time (although I could have done without the whole eyebrow tweezing service that appears late in the game), as you attempt to perfect your spa-fu.
Apple Stores have no gift registries. Bummer.
Lauren and I were chatting with Megan over on iChat today and trying to figure out how to set up her gift registry for her upcoming nuptials with her hawt Astrophysicist boyfriend. Of course, Megan is dying for one of those awesome iPhone remote dodads but we thought that we'd just go for more of a general Apple Store registry thing. I gave my local Apple Store a call to ask how we could get it established. The gentleman at the other end of the phone was polite. Perplexed but polite. "Um...A gift registry? I don't think we've ever been asked THAT before," he said. "We don't have one. We're kind of a specialized store, you know." Yes, we do know. And it's the kind of specialization that we like. But even Home Depot has a gift registry service, so what's the hold-up Apple? Don't you realize that geeks get married and have babies too? Sadly, it looks like Megan must rely on word of mouth instead. Don't forget, Apple does have a limit on how many gift certificates you can redeem at any one time online. I think it's something like 4 cards for online purchases but unlimited for in-store ones. Check with an Apple representative for details.
iPod bedding set redefines 'touchably soft'
All you really need to do is ask yourself three things: Do I have a kid bed? Could my kid bed be so much cooler with an iPod touch duvet and pillowcase? Can I afford 349 Swedish kronor (about US $45)? If you answered 'Yes! Yes! Uh... yes!' to this informal product survey, Swedish retailer Ellos has exactly what you need. Questions raised in the TUAW offices like "Is that a touch-based capacitive sleep-enabled UI?" and "I wonder if that surface is oleophobic?" may require firsthand testing. The bedding set looks to be a pretty faithful iPod touch reproduction, with the exception of the misspelled legend for the Calendar icon. It's so faithful, in fact, that I wouldn't be surprised if the company heard from Apple's Swedish legal representation in short order, with a suggestion that this product be sent to sleep with the fishes. OK, I grant you, this is no Tauntaun sleeping bag -- but if you're raising a household full of Apple geeks, it might be worth a look. Thanks Bertil!
Our Favorite Apps: Stuff that stayed on our phones in 2009
As the year draws to a close, we thought we'd shine a spotlight on some of the favorite apps we used this year. These are the "sticky" apps, the ones that lingered on our iPhones after we gave them a preliminary spin. There's so much on the App Store, good, bad and indifferent; here are a few suggestions for items that deserve your attention. iAssociate [$1.99] Hugely challenging and long-term fun, this Funny-Farm-style game makes you brainstorm out associations from a core word or phrase. (Original TUAW review) -- Erica Sadun TrailGuru [Free] Not a perfect app but a very handy one to keep track of your neighborhood walks. I love the way that TrailGuru lets me post my maps after each walk, keeps track of my average and max speed, and how I can break the walk down into laps. That really helps since I tend to walk in mile-long circles. -- ES Twittelator Pro [$4.99] I use Twitter a lot when I'm away from home, and Twittelator Pro from Stone Design just keeps getting better. When Twitter changes, Twittelator Pro is usually the first app to support the new features. -- Steve Sande Dropbox [Free] In case you haven't already figured it out, I'm a Dropbox fanatic. The iPhone client is fast, free, and makes it easy for me to view, share, or delete files on all of my machines. (Original TUAW post) -- SS Doodle Jump [$0.99] All work and no play makes Steve a dull boy, so I have my share of games on my iPhone. As the App Store ad warns, Doodle Jump is addictive. My top score isn't that great, but Doodle Jump keeps me coming back for more. -- SS BeejiveIM [$5.99] When we're out on the go, we always want to stay connected to each other. Beejive offers many IM features that allow us to do this, including its recently-added group chat support. -- Joachim Bean MoodAgent [Free for now] A great little app for creating playlists based on a variety of criteria like tempo, sensuality, mood, etc. Similar to Genius, but I find its playlists to be more apropos in most situations. (Original TUAW review) -- Brett Terpstra Instapaper Pro [$4.99] My ultimate read-later collection. Save pages to it from any browser (including Mobile Safari), then read text-only or full versions of them when you're good and ready. It can also output .epub files for Stanza, but the built-in reader has some excellent functionality. (TUAW Friday Favorite) -- BT Stanza [Free] My favorite e-book reader. It's free. 'Nuff said. -- BT Bookmark [$2.99] An audiobook sub-system for iTunes. It lets you place bookmarks, always saves your place, stays on when the app is closed and lots more. I use it every day. (Original TUAW Review) -- David Winograd Boxcar [Free] Given the choice between burning SMS messages to get updates from Twitter and other networks, or using Boxcar to control notifications and give me just what I need... well, it's a keeper, even with the additional costs to support more web services. -- Mike Rose Evernote [Free] We talk about it all the time, but it's because we use it. Evernote gives you a PDF viewer, document management, notes with geolocation, and all without hassles or aggravation. (Recent TUAW coverage) --MR Radio Paradise [Free] There are plenty of streaming audio apps on the store, many with more flexibility and more music discovery power (much love, Pandora), but none with the homemade goodness of the Radio Paradise app. You can instantly mark or buy tracks you like, and the sleep timer feature + the AirCurve acoustic base = bedside music nirvana. --MR Roambi [Free] This data visualization app isn't going to entertain you on long trips or sing you to sleep, but give it your business spreadsheets or sales projections and watch the fireworks. Roambi's ability to drill down into large data sets should wow your colleagues at the next quarterly status meeting. With a $99 Roambi Pro account, you can pull data directly from a Google Spreadsheet for the ultimate in cloud charting. --MR Fast Contacts [$1.99] earned a spot on my home screen with a couple of key features Apple forgot in the vanilla contact app. Two useful features: contact sorting in numerous ways (even location) and an event list that will alert you to birthdays (provided you input them). -- Victor Agreda, Jr. Sally's Spa [$2.99] is one of a multitude of time management games, but it's been a keeper on my iPhone. I picked it up back when it was on sale for 99 cents, and it was worth the money. The graphics are very nice, and updates further tweak the game's responsiveness. The only downside is the battery drain. -- Megan Lavey Currencies [$1.99] was indispensable when I visited my fiancé in the UK in October. The application has a nice interface and is easy to use to switch back among multiple currencies. There are many converters out there, but this one proved to be the most responsive. -- ML Lose It! [Free] is the best food and exercise journal you can find for the iPhone, especially for the price. The latest version only adds to it by allowing you to share your progress online. It's easy to update and, since you're likely to have your iPhone with you whenever you're eating or exercising, it's hard not to forget to update your food or exercise log throughout the day. -- ML Sportacular [Free, Pro available for $1.99] There are a bevy of apps on the App Store designed to give you the scores for your favorite teams when you need them, but this one's the best -- it's quick and easy to use, has a full playing field of features, and hits a home run with free, customizable push alerts whenever you want them. The Facebook integration and social features (discuss games with others online, or chart your predictions over a season) are just extra points on the board. -- Mike Schramm I am T-Pain [$1.99] Ok, yes, it's a joke. But the iPhone has been a breeding ground for innovative music applications, and this, the little app that automatically autotunes your voice to line up with a surprising amount of background music choices, actually appeals to all musicians, from the corporate desk jockey who just wants to yell out "shawwty!" after a hard day at work to the indie musician who wants a cheap autotune sound for their LP. It's a professional piece of software hidden in a very casual product -- an app that's perfect for the iPhone platform. -- MS Of course, we want to hear your top picks and can't-live-without-em apps as well... let us know!
Six iPhone productivity applications for busy people
The iPhone has taken the mobile world by storm, allowing users to browse the full web, send pictures, converse, instant message and much more! While there are over 100,000 apps available for Apple's flagship phone, I've focused in on the Top 6 iPhone Apps that can help increase productivity. This list includes both personal productivity applications and business productivity programs. Best iPhone Note Taking Application Awesome Note [iTunes Link] $3.99 - If you're constantly forgetting important tasks this is a must have program. The application allows users to setup various and unlimited folders and even color code those options for the users own personal preferences. I personally use a red folder for "Important Notes" a blue folder for "Personal Notes" and a Green folder for "Business reminders" which makes sorting out my personal and business life simple. The app also offers the ability to rename, delete and add new folders on the fly. Awesome Note also provides a "quick note" option that allows users to quickly start a note and then fill in the blank spaces at a later time. With full customizations, transfers to Evernote and an easy to use interface, it's a must have program for compulsive note takers and it's a huge step above the standard iPhone note program. Quick Tip: iPhone 3.0 OS Users and higher only! One drawback: it does not record audio notes. Best iPhone "Sync" Application Air Sharing [iTunes Link] $2.99 - Air Sharing is the best way to connect your iPhone or even your iPod Touch to your Mac. The program uses WiFi to connect both devices and then relies on drag and drop functionality to share files both to and from your Mac. I particularly like the ability to use pinch zooming for photos and documents along with the large number of file types supported by the program (any file type supported by Apple). The program also offers both landscape and portrait sharing for ease of use. Mac users will also love that the interface for Air Sharing is very similar to the Mac Finder Application, a fact that will make most Apple users feel very comfortable the moment they begin using the program. With no cables to carry around or to find a plugin for, this app will definitely help with your business productivity, while providing easy access to personal files of various types. Best iPhone "Personal Information" Application eWallet [iTunes Link] $9.99 - If you're a busy business person or an active stay at home parent, there's a good chance you carry around a lot of information that you need quick access to. At the same time you probably want that information (credit cards, drivers license number, important business notes) to be protected at all times. eWallet is the perfect solution for this requirement. The program provides 256-bit encryption with user created categories so any information can be entered. Users can also create their own data fields so their most important data can quickly be pulled up and used. I particularly found this application of great use for field technicians who need to access various passwords for different networks and for travelers who need access to various forms of personal information. Best iPhone Scheduling And Calendar Applications Built-In Calendar With MobileMe Access - This is actually two programs. The first option is the built-in Calendar found on all iPhones. I really like the ease of use found on the calendar, including the ability to quickly search for and add new important dates, meetings, etc. While MobileMe allows users to enter in appointments and dates on their iPhone or Mac computers and that information is then shared between all of their connected Apple products via the Apple "cloud" computing network. If you want a simple way to run your small business while tracking important appointments and dates this is a much cheaper option at $99/year than setting up an Exchange server. Users also receive An 20GB for email and file storage and 200MB of monthly data transfers. MobileMe also provides contacts and email pushing which adds to the MobileMe appeal. Best iPhone "Billable Timer" Application TimeLogger [iTunes Link] $3.99 - Why spend hours logging all of your billable time to clients when you can download the TimeLogger application and have your phone do most of the work for you. TimeLogger lets users setup various clients and then start a timer when they are completing work for those clients. Simply press "Start" to begin the timing process and then "Stop" to end your billable time. The program also lets users "alter" times in case they forget to start or stop a timer. I also really appreciated the "notes" function which made it simple to add important facts about what I was doing during each billable sequence. The program also offers an "export" feature which provides easy to read output for .CSV files. Exported files can even been focused in on for the category you're billing, a specific client you want to email and even for a certain job or date range. Best iPhone "Travel" Application FlightTrack [iTunes Link] $4.99 - This is a must-have program for frequent travelers. Simply enter in an airline and flight number and you'll receive information about arrival and departure times, you can even track flights from around the world. The information found on FlightTrack is offered in real time and can even provide information that includes the baggage claim areas for luggage and the gate number for any flight. My favorite part of this program however was the ability to create up to 11 different flight itineraries, allowing me to plan trips months in advance and then follow any changes that might occur with those flights. If you're traveling on a regular basis this is a much more productivity way to follow flights than pulling out your computer constantly. Those are my Top 6 iPhone productivity applications. Whether you need to take notes, bill clients or sync files, there are literally thousands of applications that iPhone users can download and use. These are 6 applications I couldn't live without thanks to the time they shave off my day by offering quick to access and simple to use options for daily, monthly and even yearly tasks. Give them a try today, you won't be disappointed.
Dozen Daily Deals for December 27, 2009
'Tis the season to shop until your brains melt (or skip it all entirely, depending on your interpretation of the term holiday). In that spirit, for the next few weeks we'll be rounding up a dozen daily deals courtesy our friends at DealNews.com. Each afternoon tune in to TUAW for this handy summary. Keep in mind that while our posts will live on, the deals won't. Each is lovingly generated by the deal-bot every day, so get 'em while they're hot. Enjoy! PopCap Games: [PC Games] PopCap Games Holiday Sale: 50% off all games, deals for $10 Musician's Friend: Musician's Friend coupon: 15% off select items Geeks.com: [Notebook Carrying Cases] AWP 14" Molded Laptop Backpack for $15 + $9 s&h Kohls: [Books & Magazines] Kohl's sale: 50% off 2010 team calendars + extra 20% off, free shipping Tanga: [Magazines] 1-Year Subscription to Entrepreneur Magazine for $3 SupermediaStore: [CD/DVD Cases] 4 SuperMediaStore 104-Disc CD / DVD Wallets for $20 + free shipping, more Sears: [Plasma TVs] Samsung 50" 600Hz 720p Plasma Widescreen HDTV for $700 + pickup Kohls: [Digital Camcorders] Shift3 Slide Mini Digital Camcorder for $32 + free shipping Best Buy: [46" - 47" LCD TVs] Samsung 46" 120Hz 1080p Widescreen LCD HDTV for $1,000 + pickup Beach Camera: [50" - 52" LCD TVs] Sharp AQUOS 52" 1080p Widescreen LCD HDTV for $999 + free shipping Apple Store: [iPods] Refurbished Apple iPod nano 16GB MP3 Player for $129 + free shipping Staples: [Color Inkjet Printers] Brother MFC-790CW Wireless All-In-One Printer w/ Touchscreen LCD for $100 + free shipping
App giveaways roundup for December 26
Here's a few of our recent app giveaways. There's still time to enter! Holiday giveaways: NBA apps and prize pack This giveaway has got it going on: you could win both the League Pass and Game Time apps from the NBA, plus a swag bag full of gear and goodies... Holiday giveaways: Cellar 2.0 for the wine lover This one is perfect for your New Year's Eve party planning: Cellar 2.0, which can help you track the wines you love so much... Holiday giveaways: Eucalyptus ereader Can't figure out what to put on the iPhone or iPod touch you got as a gift? We've got the prescription: holiday giveaways galore! Here's an app giveaway that will help you catch up on the classics... More app giveaways: Win a copy of Things for Mac and iPhone
Dozen Daily Deals for December 25, 2009
'Tis the season to shop until your brains melt (or skip it all entirely, depending on your interpretation of the term holiday). In that spirit, for the next few weeks we'll be rounding up a dozen daily deals courtesy our friends at DealNews.com. Each afternoon tune in to TUAW for this handy summary. Keep in mind that while our posts will live on, the deals won't. Each is lovingly generated by the deal-bot every day, so get 'em while they're hot. Enjoy! Apple Store: [iMac] Refurbished Apple iMac 22" LED-Backlit Desktops from $999 + free shipping, more Shop4Tech: [Digital Camcorders] 4GB Pen DVR Digital Camcorder for $33 + free shipping iTunes Music Store: [iPhone / iPod Apps] Mega Man II for iPhone downloads for $1 Best Buy: [Media Receivers] Sling Media SlingCatcher Digital Media Receiver for $100 + $7 s&h Swift Ink: [Printer Supplies] Swiftink.com coupons: 40% off Canon, Epson, and Brother ink MidnightBox: [Computer Speakers] Refurbished Logitech AudioHub Laptop Speaker for $19 + $4 s&h Cellular Factory: [Cell Phone Accessories] Cellular Factory Roundup: Dual Cigarette Lighter Adapter for $1 + free shipping, more Buy.com: [iPhone] Sunpak iCharge Case and Battery for Apple iPhone for $50 + free shipping B&H Photo Video: [Digital SLR Cameras] Nikon D3000 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera w/ lens for $450 + free shipping Sam's Club: [40" - 42" LCD TVs] Philips 42" 1080p Widescreen LCD HDTV for $598 + free shipping HandHeldItems: [Cell Phone Accessories] HandHeldItems.com: Up to 80% off HTC cell phone accessories + 30% off coupon Staples: [USB Hard Drives] Seagate Expansion 640GB Portable USB 2.0 External Hard Drive for $100 + free shipping
Mac 101: AllThingsD delivers a video guide for Mac novices
If one of your loved ones has just switched to the Mac, or just got a Mac for the holidays, they might want some tips on how to get around and do the things they're used to doing in Windows. Katherine Boehret from AllThingsD has just posted a video and some tips showing many useful tips for switchers. The video shows hints about keyboard shortcuts (such as using the Command key on a Mac instead of the Control key on a PC), and using Command-Option-Escape on a Mac to force-quit an application, much like Control-Alt-Delete does on Windows. There's also tips on using the mouse on a Mac, and using the trackpad to perform gestures to get around your laptop. Switchers are also going to need help on controlling windows; closing and minimizing controls, of course, are on the top left of windows on a Mac, much like the buttons on the top right of a window on Windows. There's also tips on the differences and how to adjust to similar features and applications on a Mac, like the differences between Windows Explorer and the Finder on the Mac, and what parallels there are between other bundled applications. Finally, there's also tips on which web browser to use, how to eject a disc, and where to go for help. If you've got a friend or family member who's new to Mac OS X, it's something they should check out to help get used to using the Mac. Of course, right after that, the next step is to read through our library of Mac 101 tips and tricks for novice Mac users.
Five no-ship gifts for the last minute geek shopper
At this point, midday on Christmas Eve, basically all shipping deadlines have passed. If you're lucky you can find a store that has items for people on your gift list, but let's get real: You're choosing between gas station beer cozies, dancing reindeer and clearance VHS tapes. If you want to find something that will please your peeps now, I have a few ideas for you below. * Paid upgrades. A lot of people of varying levels of geekitude are users of "freemium" services like Flickr and Evernote. They'd probably appreciate an upgrade to a paid account (or an extension of their existing paid account). This is nice because it's practically instant, and it isn't like the size or the color will be wrong. Print the email out and put it in a card, or get super creative with the presentation, and you're done. * Online smarts. You can get a gift account for something like Lynda.com or Safari and help your nerd friend achieve +5 Intelligence in the subject of their choosing. There are a wide range of topics here, so your recipient will likely find something they enjoy. * Software licenses. Know someone who uses the previous version of a particular application because they never got around to getting that new license? You can get a lot of software licenses online now, so buy someone you love a license for that program they love. Or encourage someone to dive into software you already love: Something like Scrivener (if they are writer-types) or TextMate (if they have been really good). * Geek Time. If you are a consultant by trade, or just the alpha geek in your particular circle, get a card for someone and offer them a block of time with unlimited access to your brain. Or give them a certificate for a specific task: help setting up that iPod, upgrading to Snow Leopard, or implementing a backup solution. (Tip: This can be a team gift, if you know someone else got them some tech.) There are a lot of ways you can go with this one. * Photo albums online. It always seems like someone is missing at Christmas time, so what better way to include them? Get some nice shots of all the gift opening and toss them on the photo sharing service of your choice. Get a short URL from someplace like bit.ly and customize it, then send it off in an email or give the person a call. Get extra points for having a group photo holding up a "Merry Christmas Uncle Albert!" sign. If you have any additional ideas for last minute gifts, let's see them in the comments. Update #1: ryemac3 has a great suggestion: vanity domain names. Get your parents the site they've always wanted at 'thewilkersons.net' and watch the fun!
ShoutOUT TXT brings voice recognition to SMS messaging
ShoutOUT TXT is a new app for the iPhone [iTunes link] that lets you dictate text messages to your iPhone and send them just as you would with regular SMS text messaging. You set up an account and text away, using your existing contact list, or entering any phone number that can be texted. After a quick setup, I could see that the voice recognition was pretty good. The app is U.S. $0.99 and you get 25 text messages free. The catch is that you then have to make in-app purchases for messages beyond the free 25, paying $4.99 for 250 messages, or $1.99 for 50. At those levels, those rates are cheaper than the AT&T rates, so if you don't have a text plan, or are maxed out, it isn't a bad deal. On the other hand, AT&T charges $15.00 for 1500 text messages (with no voice recognition of course). 1500 text to speech messages on this app would be $30.00. If you just want to send typed text messages there is no charge, which is certainly cheaper than AT&T. Since this app uses its own server, AT&T is bypassed. It's a bit of a mystery how this app got approved. It certainly duplicates some basic functions of the iPhone, and AT&T can't be all that happy about it. It gets harder and harder to understand the app store rules, which seem to be in a state of perpetual flux. Who is this app for? Heavy texters who don't have a plan now, or keep running over their AT&T allotment. Of course, if you want text to speech you can use Dragon Dictation, which is free and supports text messaging, but you'll still be paying for every message you send. In my tests the app worked as advertised, with good recognition, and I was notified of incoming texts. If you are texting to unusual names, it probably won't recognize them, but you can edit any text before it goes out. I have a basic AT&T plan, and don't see the need to add something like this, but I think it would work well for some. I don't have any feeling on how reliable the servers that power this app are. If they are good, it could be a winner for many iPhone users. The app currently supports North American English. It works on AT&T in the states, and on Bell Mobility, Rogers, and Virgin Mobile in Canada. Here's an FAQ if you want to learn more.
Engadget's Holiday Gift Guide: Home theater setups
Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! The team here is well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties of the seasonal shopping experience, and we want to help you sort through the trash and come up with the treasures this year. Below is today's bevy of hand curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the holiday season. Congratulations, you've reached the end of your holiday list and have only one person left -- unfortunately, they're the one that never leaves the living room. With eyes constantly glues to the screen, a simple sweater or even the finest Williams-Sonoma has to offer just won't cut it. Luckily, we're here to help, especially if that poor soul is limited to some old school XGA projector, juggling multiple remotes or still waiting to make the jump to Blu-ray. Dig in after the break and see what will distract them from the HDTVs unnatural light long enough to say thanks. %Gallery-80859%
Engadget's Holiday Gift Guide: Stuff you don't want
Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! The team here is well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties of the seasonal shopping experience, and we want to help you sort through the trash and come up with the treasures this year. Below is today's bevy of hand curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the holiday season. That whole gift giving time is very nearly upon us, and if you don't know what to get your closest and dearest by now, you may well be beyond salvation. To honor those lost souls, and to appease the anti-consumerists out there who think there's more junk in stores than there is sand in Dubai, we present the dark side of the Engadget HGG. Here, nestled in the same familiar price categories, we pick out the best of the worst gadgets to see the light of day in 2009. So join us after the break, and should you find yourself unwrapping one of these in a couple of days... you have our condolences. %Gallery-80837%
Intelligent and insightful mobile movie reviews: the Empire Movie Guide app
Empire is a venerable British movie magazine that has amassed quite a library of film reviews since it was first published more than 20 years ago. Their reviews tend to be aimed at the enthusiastic film buff, rather than academics. I have always found the reviews entertaining and a worthwhile read. Now, the entire Empire archive has come to the iPhone and iPod touch with the Empire Movie Guide [iTunes link]. The US$4.99, 8.9 MB app puts all of the reviews on your phone without need for a data connection. As a nice bonus, Empire grabs the most recently published reviews over the air when you are connected and launch the app. The Empire app contains about 9,000 reviews, searchable by actor, director, genre, writers, or release dates. Want to share the reviews with friends? Empire allows sharing via email, Facebook, and Twitter. If a movie or soundtrack is available in the iTunes store, the review provides a purchase link. The Empire Movie Guide won't help you find movie times or locations, but it does put a library of well-written reviews in your hand.
