Socialcast, a leading provider of on-demand corporate social networks and micro-blogging solutions, today announced the introduction of a suite of new accessibility features to its Software-as-a-Service application. These new features include iPhone optimization, a Gmail plugin for Firefox, and Jabber integration, each of which helps users to interact with their employee community via commonly used Web and communication tools.

The iPhone-optimized version of Socialcast allows users to engage in their corporate communities while away from a computer, providing a simple and streamlined user experience and functionality for employees outside of the office. The Gmail plug-in works with the Firefox browser and once downloaded, provides a sidebar of Socialcast activity inside the user’s inbox. This allows users to open and respond to emails while maintaining complete visibility into happenings of the community. Socialcast’s integration with Jabber gives employees an easy way to update Worklog and Status posts within their community via a community-specific instant messaging bot.

With the introduction of these new tools, Socialcast continues to enhance a company’s ability to aggregate, organize and broadcast information throughout the enterprise. “We are continuing to evolve the Socialcast platform to reflect the idea that every employee brings valuable information to a company in a variety of formats,” said Tim Young, CEO of Socialcast. “By integrating with commonly used Web feeds and now, our suite of accessibility tools, we provide a powerful, rapid method of information sharing that doesn’t shut down at the end of the work day.”

Additional upgrades to Socialcast include a bookmarklet for quick URL sharing, integration with the Vimeo video service, and the ability to attach MP3 files to posts inside the community. The Web-based application is free for the first five users, and pricing ranges from $1 – $5 per user, per month for additional users. Companies can sign up directly online at www.socialcast.com or call 1-888-77-WEB-20 to set up a free pilot program for companies with more than 100 employees.

To learn more about Socialcast, to sign up for a free site or to see a live demo, please visit http://www.socialcast.com or http://demo.socialcast.com.

To subscribe to an RSS feed of Socialcast’s news, please visit http://www.lewiswire.com/us/lewiswire/Socialcast/c/306 and click on subscribe.

The world’s largest mobile advertising marketplace, today announced the iPhone is now the #1 device worldwide, displacing the Motorola RAZR, and in a regional feature focus highlighted traffic from Latin America and the Caribbean has more than doubled in the last year in the October 2008 AdMob Mobile Metrics Report. The iPhone experienced strong traffic worldwide to become the #1 device, with 37 percent of requests coming from outside of the US.
The iPhone experienced particularly explosive growth across AdMob’s network after the company launched its unique ad units for iPhone sites and applications in July 2008. There are currently more than 400 applications and sites in the AdMob’s iPhone Network. In October 2008, AdMob reached more than 4.5 million iPhones, 1 out of every 3 on the market.*
Other highlights from the October 2008 report:

– 17 percent of iPhone requests came from Western Europe and 8 percent from Asia. Top markets worldwide include the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Switzerland.

– In the US the iPhone is the #2 device behind the Motorola RAZR and in the UK it is the #3 device, behind the Nokia N95 and Sony Ericsson K800i.

– Traffic from Latin America and the Caribbean doubled in the past 12 months to 109 million requests in October 2008. The fastest growing countries in the region include Puerto Rico, Guyana, Costa Rica, Brazil, and Mexico.

– Motorola, Nokia, and Sony Ericsson all have more than 20 percent market share in Latin America and are leaders in different markets. The Motorola RAZR is the top device in the market, followed by the iPhone.

– Worldwide requests grew 13.8 percent month over month to 5.8 billion. US requests grew 7.9 percent to 2.2 billion and UK requests grew 16.0 percent.

– Sony Ericsson passed Motorola to become the #2 handset manufacturer worldwide. Apple jumped ahead of LG and RIM to become the #5 handset manufacturer worldwide.

– The top 10 devices worldwide, in order, are the Apple iPhone, Motorola RAZR V3, Nokia N70, Motorola KRZR K1c, Motorola W385, Nokia 6300, Nokia 3110c, Nokia N73, Motorola Z6m, and RIM BlackBerry 8300.

The full October 2008 report with additional details and all previous reports are available for free download at: http://www.admob.com/metrics.

AdMob stores and analyzes handset and operator data from every ad request in its network to optimize ad serving. Each month, the Mobile Metrics Report aggregates this data to provide insights into major trends in the mobile ecosystem.

The Power Slider for iPhone™ 3G is the first accessory of its kind to offer protection, expanded battery life and integrated sync and charge capabilities. While most supplemental batteries simply satisfy the need for added power, the Power Slider more than doubles the battery life of iPhone 3G while providing complete device protection and the ability to sync without removing iPhone 3G from the case.

With its low profile, complementary design and innovative functionality as both a case and power solution, the Power Slider provides the best in hardshell protection and extended battery life for iPhone 3G.

Features

Integrated rechargeable lithium-ion polymer battery more than doubles the battery life of iPhone 3G
Optimized power management system provides continuous charge to iPhone 3G internal battery
5 light LED battery status indicator
Charge and sync without removing iPhone 3G from case using the custom USB cable provided
Advanced lithium-ion polymer battery cell technology prevents overcharging and short circuiting and provides protection from extreme temperature
Durable, lightweight hardshell construction with soft-touch coating
Compatible with USB charging ports that provide 5V at 1A output
“Works with iPhone” certified by Apple

Battery

Rechargeable lithium-ion polymer (1330mAh 4.2V)
Custom designed and engineered specifically for Power Slider
Capacity equals approximately 120 percent of iPhone 3G
Efficient circuitry allows for slim design and maximum power output
USB

Custom USB 2.2 cable specifically designed for Power Silder
Provides high capacity charging and data exchange for optimal charging and syncing
Additional battery life provided by Power Slider

Standby time: up to 330 hours
Audio playback: up to 26 hours
Talk time: up to 5 hours on 3G network and 10 hours on 2G network
Video playback: up to 7 hours
Internet use: up to 5 hours on 3G network and 6 hours on Wi-Fi

Available November 28th

 
The Weather Channel Interactive today announced its highly anticipated weather application for iPhone and iPod touch is available on the Apple App Store.  The new application gives users the ability to personalize their maps with the weather layers and neighborhood landmarks that are relevant to their daily routine.  This would enable a parent to add radar and cloud layers to their local map, identify a local park, and then track the weather prior to a little league game or school picnic.  

“Customers expect much more than the weather – they want personalized weather information that is accessible anytime, anywhere, and in a highly interactive way,” said Louis Gump, VP of Mobile for The Weather Channel Interactive.  ”The revolutionary iPhone and iPod touch devices have given us the opportunity to deliver an application that customers will find indispensable, whether they are running to catch a plane, train or tee time.”

The new application seamlessly integrates with the iPhone and iPod touch address book so users can share weather conditions and alerts via e-mail.  For example, users can forward severe weather alerts to friends and family who may not be aware of approaching weather, or a local forecast to their tennis team to let them know of a possible change in plans.

Additional features include: 

• Location-enabled – Find Me feature plots user’s exact location for quick, accurate conditions and severe weather alerts
• Fully Customizable Maps -  Users decide which weather layers to display (including radar, clouds, rainfall, snowfall, UV index, etc.), as well as what landmarks to display (surrounding cities, schools, parks, etc.)
• Nicknamed Locations -  Ability to store and personalize relevant locations for fast and easy access (i.e. Grandma’s House, John’s School) 
• Share Information  – Users can share weather conditions and  alerts with contacts in their address book
• Video forecasts – Local, national and international video forecasts with The Weather Channel on-air meteorologists.

The new weather application for iPhone and iPod touch also features patented technology from The Weather Channel that provides detailed weather conditions, accurate up to 2 kilometers. This is particularly useful for areas where conditions like wind and temperature can vary greatly over a short distance.  This technology combines traditional weather observations with even more data to provide unique conditions for more than 1.9 million locations – literally filling in the gaps of the reporting systems used by other providers.  

Additionally, The Weather Channel Mobile offers other iPhone application developers the ability to tap into The Weather Channel application on a local level.  This functionality, available for the first time from The Weather Channel, will enable any iPhone or iPod touch application to use the OpenURL standard to launch The Weather Channel application and provide the end user with appropriate weather information.   

The Weather Channel Mobile app is available from Apple’s App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at http://www.apple.com/iphone/appstore/.

Howcast Media announced the launch of the first iPhone application tailored to showcase “how-to” instructional video content today. Howcast for iPhone™ (www.howcast.com/iphone) is a free application available from the iTunes App Store, which provides consumers with the ability to watch useful how-to videos, whenever and wherever they need to learn how. From on-the-spot dating and fashion tips to recipes and travel advice, Howcast for iPhone puts the power of knowledge in the hands of consumers.

Howcast for iPhone
Howcast for iPhone is the first dedicated iPhone application to create a comprehensive, mobile how-to video solution for consumers, providing access to videos shown on Howcast.com—all at the touch of a finger. Aided by powerful search capabilities, iPhone users can easily find a video to show them how to do just about anything.

Howcast for iPhone also offers convenient quick links to popular featured and recently added videos on howcast.com, introducing users to new, topical how-to videos that show them everything, from How to Get Free Movie Tickets to How to Use Your Cell Phone As a Wingman. For a bit of fun, users can give their iPhone a gentle Shake to watch and learn how to do something completely new.

“Sometimes you’re just not near a computer when you need to learn how to do something—like when you need to figure out which color cable to use when jump-starting your car,” says Sanjay Raman, Howcast co-founder and Vice President of Product Development. “That’s why we wanted to build a really useful how-to video app for the iPhone – so consumers could find what they need to know regardless of where they might be.”

About Howcast Media

Recently named a top web site of 2008 by both TIME and PC Magazine, Howcast.com engages consumers to watch and share free, useful how-to videos and guides produced in-house at Howcast Studios as well as by innovative media partners, trusted brands and individual contributors. Howcast Studios produces useful, engaging how-to videos while also enabling up-and-coming filmmakers and students to gain experience and build real careers by making professional video with guidance in the Howcast Emerging Filmmakers Program.

To show consumers how-to videos wherever, whenever they need to learn how, Howcast offers the best digital instructional experiences from Howcast.com to Howcast for iPhone™, while partnering with leading web sites as well as home- and mobile-video providers. Howcast also offers marketers innovative, relevant “how-to” video advertising solutions.

The MacBook Air is encased in anodized aluminum, weighing only 3.0 pounds which maks it the lightest computer on the market at this time. I say at this time, because I’m sure it won’t be long before the new MacBook Air will get in our greedy consumers hands. Rumor has it that Apple will replace all aluminum with carbon fiber parts. And we’ve seen lately that most of Apple related rumors turn to reality.Carbon fiber is an extremely lightweight material, being at the same time exceptionally strong. Only by just replacing the lower case, the new Macbook Air could weigh 2.78 pounds or lower. Well again we’ll just have to wait and see.

Via Mobilewhack

It looks like Apple is indeed pushing through with the release of iPhone firmware 2.2 and if the latest rumor is to be believed, we’ll see it go live on November 21st. Aside from the Google Maps Street View and new layout of Safari, you’ll also be able to turn off text auto-correction, download podcasts from the App Store, and use the headphone jack as a Line-in port when you upgrade to firmware 2.2. We’re not sure if this is the complete list of new features in the latest firmware for the iPhone, but unless Apple has done something to make it more jailbreak-proof (which I suppose is nearly impossible), then we’re almost certain that an iPhone 2.2 jailbreak won’t be far behind when it’s released on November 21.

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This little device works as an external charger for the iPhone housing a 1800 mAh battery that can power up an iPhone to full charge, no problem. RichardSolo 1800 is equipped with a mini-USB, car charger, and a retractable USB cable. It also works as a laser pointer. Best of all, the form factor is reminiscent of earlier mock ups of the iPhone Nano. So if you’re the first ever owner of the RichardSolo 1800 in your area, you can play a little joke on your friends pretending this is an iPhone Nano, or not.

Via ]]> http://www.whataboutmac.com/index.php/2008/11/12/iphone-charger-and-much-more/feed/ 5 http://www.whataboutmac.com/index.php/2008/11/11/iphone-say-who-voice-dialing-doesnt-need-training/ http://www.whataboutmac.com/index.php/2008/11/11/iphone-say-who-voice-dialing-doesnt-need-training/#comments Tue, 11 Nov 2008 11:00:51 +0000 dario_lorenzo http://www.whataboutmac.com/?p=1655

Via iphoneincanada.ca

Apple has a future in the netbook business but we don’t exactly know how it looks like. According to official statements we aren’t going to see an Apple netbook prototype in the near future. The MacBook Nano in the picture here looks pretty but it’s a fake.

Here’s what the creators of this monstrosity have placed inside:

* MSI U100 MacBook Nano
* Windows XP Pro + Mac OS X 10.5.5
* Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz
* 2GB DDR II
* 10 inch WSVGA LED (1024×600)
* 320GB SATA
* MMC/SD/MS 4

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