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Daily Update for June 25, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
LifeProof introduces Nuud, environmental case for iPad
LifeProof has made waterproof iPhone cases for quite some time, and as this TUAW review shows, they can put up with a dunking without a glitch. Now the company has introduced a LifeProof iPad case called the Nuud that brings the same level of protection to your favorite tablet. While the price is still unknown, we do know a little bit about the Nuud. It will work on the second- and third-generation iPads, has the same Military Grade shock and impact protection, and will be waterproof up to 2 meters (6.6 feet). Like the iPhone case, you can use waterproof headphones by plugging them into the headphone adapter with its O-ring seal. Now here's the odd thing: the case does not include a screen protector. Instead, the case gloms onto the iPad so well that no screen protector is needed to retain water protection. While you'll be able to watch videos with the iPad submerged, you'll need to raise it out of the water to use the capacitive touch controls. For photography, the camera ports are covered with an anti-reflective glass. The Nuud is expected to show up sometime in July, and we'll start seeing iPads in swimming pools and hot tubs shortly thereafter.
TUAW Best of 2011: Vote for the best iPhone accessory
The nominations are in, and the poll is ready to go! The TUAW Best of 2011 awards are all about you -- the readers -- and what you think is the cream of the crop of Apple or third-party products and software. To vote, select one entry from the top nominations made by readers. We'll be announcing the winner in just a few days. Vote early and often! Today TUAW is asking for your vote for the best iPhone accessory of 2011. What accessories excited our readers in 2011? One was an Apple product -- the second-generation Apple TV (US$99). Yes, it is an iPhone accessory, since you can beam video, photos, and music to the device from your iPhone. Your iPhone is even a remote control for the Apple TV, so the little connection to your HDTV is a natural match for the iPhone. Cases are another popular iPhone accessory, and four cases received notice from our readers. The incredible LifeProof case for iPhone 4 / 4S ($79.99) is waterproof, shockproof, dirtproof, and snowproof. For my review of the LifeProof case in August, my iPhone 4 got to go for a dip, and TUAW readers got to see a video from the viewpoint of the iPhone underwater in my sink. Another nominated case was the Twelve South BookBook Case for iPhone 4/4S ($59.99). It's a combination wallet -- provided you're not carrying more than your license and a credit card -- and book-like iPhone case. The BookBook case was one of the most unique iPhone cases reviewed by TUAW all year. For those of us who use our iPhones constantly, power can be an issue. One of the most popular cases with a built-in battery is the Mophie Juice Pack Air ($79.95). It's the case and battery extender that I personally use. Finally, athletes find the Wahoo Fitness products which wirelessly connect iPhones to fitness sensors like stride sensors and heart rate straps. Part of the ANT+ alliance, the Wahoo Fitness products work with a variety of iPhone apps and hardware from a number of vendors. The product we've chosen from the spectrum of Wahoo Fitness devices is the Wahoo Run/Gym Pack for iPhone ($119.99). Be sure to vote for the iPhone accessory that you think is the top for 2011. I'll announce the winner in a few days. %Poll-72045%
LifeProof iPhone 4 case: Submerge your iPhone and smile
Let's say that your sweet child decides to give your iPhone 4 a bath. Or maybe you're riding on your bike at 40 mph down a hill and drop the phone (or, as our own Dave Caolo can describe from personal experience, in a canoe that decides to deposit you in the Delaware River). All of these scenarios could spell disaster for your iPhone 4, but not if you've equipped it with the US$69.95 LifeProof Case. Design The LifeProof case is designed to protect your iPhone 4 against all sorts of havoc. It's fully sealed against dust particles, it is tested to Military Specifications MIL-STD-810F-516.5 (6.6 feet / 2 meter drop onto all surfaces and edges) standards for shock and impact protection, and it can even be used in water up to 6.6 feet / 2 meters deep. %Gallery-131343% You'd expect a case with this level of protection to look like an armored car and weight about as much, right? Nope. The LifeProof case weighs less than one ounce (28 grams) and adds only about 1/16th of an inch (1.5 mm) thickness to the iPhone 4. LifeProof requests that you first assemble and test the case without the iPhone 4 inside it to make sure that you know to assemble it properly, ensuring a proper seal. The test is done in a sink with something holding down the case for an hour or so. If it's dry inside after that hour, the test has been passed and you've obviously taken great care to assemble the case properly. If not, read the directions again. How do they keep everything nicely sealed up? There's a thin yellow gasket that goes around the inside of the area where the front and back halves of the case snap together. For the earphone jack, there's a rubber plug that screws into the case where the jack goes -- but you also get a special cable that can be used to safely use waterproof earphones with the LifeProof case. At the bottom of the case near the dock connector is a special door that latches shut. What about the speakers on the iPhone 4? There are two ports for the speakers, both of which are covered with waterproof Gore-Tex material. They're thin enough to let sound pass through unimpeded, but won't let water seep in. The iPhone 4's rear-facing camera is protected by a small piece of optical glass to allow good photography while keeping the case sealed, and there's also a sealed opening for the flash. The screen is covered with a thin plastic membrane that provides a seal against water, but lets your multi-touch gestures pass through unimpeded. The case itself is part of an overall system that you can purchase separately. Need a bike mount, arm band, belt clip (in two different sizes) or those waterproof earphones I mentioned earlier? They're all available from the LifeProof website. The case comes in three different colors -- black, white, and pink. Functionality The LifeProof case philosophy is to provide protection against the "Four Proofs": Water, Dirt, Snow, and Shock. While I unfortunately didn't have time to test the case in dirt and there isn't any snow around Denver this time of year (maybe next month...), I decided to test the case against the main bugaboo of iPhones -- water. The company recommends that you assemble the case once without the phone and place it in a sink of water for at least hour, which I believe is set up to make you confident that you're not going to lose your iPhone by drowning and to insure that you really understood the simple directions for putting the phone together. Assembling the phone means snapping the two halves together, gently rubbing the outside of the case above the gasket to insure a tight seal, and closing the door on the bottom. I left the case in the water for close to 90 minutes with a coffee cup on top of it (see the gallery) and the inside was completely dry when I opened it later. With that experience behind me, I decided to take the plunge (no pun intended) and potentially sacrifice my iPhone 4. This isn't the first time I've done something like this -- check out my video of breaking an egg on the face of an iPad here. And here's the video of my iPhone 4 taking a swim. Did it survive? Yes, it did! There are even better videos on the LifeProof website if you're up for some iPhone 4 abuse. You'll have to take LifeProof's word on the dust, mud, snow, ice, and sand-proofing, but if it's able to handle a dunking, it's definitely going to be able to handle the other elements as well. Conclusion The LifeProof Case for iPhone 4 is a slim, lightweight, and sturdy case that offers better water and dust protection than any other iPhone 4 case, and is the only case we know of that actually meets military specifications for shock proofing. While it's not the most attractive case, it adds virtually no bulk to the iPhone 4 while making it truly waterproof. Between the case itself and the accessories that let you use the protected iPhone 4 while swimming, biking, or running at the beach, the LifeProof Case offers unparalleled protection for any active lifestyle.
