I fell in love with Bento 3 for OS X and for my Apple iPad. Filemaker just released the update to Bento 4 which included some of the following:

• Label Printing
• Form Printing Options
• Export Templates with Data
• Easy Date Searching
• Post Templates Directly to the Bento Template Exchange

I won’t bore you with my tales of how productive I had previously become with Bento 3 and with Bento on my Apple iPad; however let’s just say that I’m more organized when I’m late to my appointments.

Available immediately, Bento 4 is affordably priced at a suggested retail of $49 or $99 for a family pack of five licenses, and is now available on the Mac App Store, FileMaker Store and Apple retail stores. Current owners of Bento 1, 2 and 3 for Mac are eligible for a $20 U.S. rebate.

And the Apple iPhone and Apple iPad apps have been updated to 1.1 as of March 16th and are priced at $4.99. Go get ‘em!

[ Links: Filemaker Bento 4 ]

Our long, dark, and frequently-ridiculous Verizon iPhone rumor nightmare is over. Verizon this morning at a press event here in New York City confirmed longstanding rumors that AT&T has lost their exclusive arrangement with Apple, and that Verizon will be getting the iPhone. According to Verizon, the device will appear next month and will be CDMA/EVDO only not LTE. According to Verizon, this is the culmination of two years of discussion between the two companies. “We have enormous respect for the company this team has built and the hard-won loyalty they’ve won from their customers,” Verizon COO Tim Cook proclaimed on stage. “This is just the beginning of a great relationship between Apple and Verizon.”

Link to the original article…

I know what you’re thinking… there’s so many zombie games that incorporate ice cream and humor. I know, right! Wait… no, that’s not what I was thinking. Sure, the zombie genre is “on fire” right now, but when Crawl Space Games went about combining awesome art, incredible humor, addictive gameplay and mixes genres of Scoops, Zombies versus Plants and throws in some of the most awkward sounding, but helpful upgrades – I want a real life cardboard helmet that looks like that, serious – and you’ve got a game that will hold my interest:

Plants vs Zombies meets Scoops in Zombies Ala Mode for Apple iPhone, Apple iPad, and Android devices. Play as a young hard working zombie trying to make a living in the ice cream business. Fill ice cream orders while dodging obstacles and try not to get fired. With three game modes, 50 levels, OpenFeint achievements, leaderboards, and lots of upgrades in career mode, you will enjoy hours of zombie goodness.

Already on sale for the Apple iPhone for $2.99 with the Android and Apple iPad versions upcoming, Crawl Space Games delivers yet again – check out Knife Toss, one of my faves for my Apple iPhone also by Crawl Space Games.

[ Links: Crawl Space Games, Zombies Ala Mode, Knife Toss ]

Netflix’s streaming video application for the iPhone allows users to access their streaming instant queue from anywhere and works surprisingly well whether the user is connected via Wi-Fi or AT&T’s 3G network. The same application was recently announced for Windows 7 Phones, and according to a post on the Netflix blog, it will also launch on Android devices early next year.

The hold up according to Netflix? DRM. The delay was due to “the lack of a generic and complete platform security and content protection mechanism available for Android.” “The same security issues that have led to piracy concerns on the Android platform have made it difficult for us to secure a common Digital Rights Management (DRM) system on these devices,” says the company.

Link to the original article…

If you’re clumsy, there’s no excuse to not have a quality case for your smartphone. Heck, even if you’re not clumsy, there’s no excuse to not have a quality case for your smartphone. The phones are as expensive as they seem to be fragile – read: very. Well, Trident Case has the remedy for your fragile gadget fear with their Cyclops series of cases:

Crafted in the spirit of the protective one-eyed mythical cyclops, today Trident Case announced the availability its latest new line of products named after the powerful giant. The Cyclops ™ line of protective cases and covers are designed to be sleek, protective and tough and come in nine stylish colors. Customized case designs are available for the iPhone 4, HTC EVO, Motorola Droid X and Samsung Galaxy S mobile phones.

The Cyclops line of protective cases provide a perfect, heavily-fortified sanctuary for the iPhone 4 and several other new mobile phone products. Constructed with highly impact-resistant polycarbonate wrapped with a shock absorbing silicone ring, and a bubble-free screen protector, the Cyclops envelops the device with a superb level of protection.

Best part? They’re available in multiple colors, feature a built-in protective anti-dust, anti-glare screen cover with the Apple iPhone 4 case at $24.95 and the HTC EVO 4G and Samsung Galaxy S cases start at $34.95, the cases are competitively priced and definitely look like they’re more than up to the task for protecting your gadgets.

[ Links: Trident Case ]

Buried in what occasionally reads like a love letter to Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg, Fortune is the latest to proclaim that the iPhone is headed for Verizon, despite Seidenberg himself all but shooting down the possibility last month.

That so many Americans covet Verizon iPhones “is partly a testament to the efforts of Ivan Seidenberg,” insists Fortune, though in really it’s mostly a “testament” to AT&T’s inability to complete phone calls in the New York and San Francisco markets. Between blowing kisses, Fortune reconstitutes rumors already seen elsewhere, such as Apple and Verizon fighting over control, and the fact this first Verizon iPhone will be CDMA, not LTE:

…people familiar with its development say it is a fait accompli. Verizon, sources say, will sell its own version of the iPhone 4, which will work on Verizon’s CDMA-based 3G network. Unfortunately for globe trotters, the first version of the phone likely won’t be built to work outside the U.S. it probably won’t carry a special chip that can turn it into a “world phone.” However, it may have some of the features on the iPad distributed in Verizon’s stores, like live TV for customers of the FiOS cable service.

Apple supposedly won’t even consider an LTE iPhone until 2012, preferring to wait until initial headaches and battery life issues can be negotiated into the iPhone’s traditionally slim form factor.

That may not be a bad thing for say unhappy AT&T iPhone customers that just signed a long term contract to get the iPhone 4. Given AT&T’s new $325 ETFs are pro-rated (slowly reduced each month), waiting for an LTE Verizon iPhone would make more financial sense; assuming you’re an AT&T iPhone customer that can actually make phone calls with the device.

In other words, if Verizon does get the iPhone, expect the subscriber hit AT&T takes to be staggered and more pronounced in 2012, and expect AT&T to repeatedly proclaim the loss as “no big deal” during 2011. AT&T’s remaining confident in the face of non-exclusivity in part due to their new higher ETF, but also because they believe many subscribers are on family and business plans and can’t (or won’t) defect.

Link to the original article…

I love gadgets. I hate wires. I’ve said it numerous times on this blog. And when I travel, I have take along enough chargers to probably alert TSA on multiple levels.

Inductive charging, when one device is designed to receive power from another device that sends power (think of the connections on a Sonicare Toothbrush) and do so without the need of wires. It’s not a new technology, but to finally see folks like Energizer get into the act, it’s definitely something I can get behind.

Designed in cooperation with WPC co-founder ConvenientPower, the first generation of the Energizer Inductive Charger is designed to conveniently charge up to three devices at one time. It features two large inductive charging zones that don’t require locking the device into a precise position, so consumers can simply set down their phone and be sure that it will be charged and ready to go. It also has a USB port so it’s easy to charge an additional device such as a phone, headset, mp3 player, camera or GPS. Two LED charge lights indicate that the device is charging.

The Energizer Inductive Charger will be introduced with a Qi Sleeve for the iPhone 3GS/3G and a one-time replacement Qi Door for the BlackBerry Curve 8900, so consumers can enjoy the convenience of Qi right away. Soon, consumers can expect to have Qi built right into many of their devices.

With the addition of the Qi standard, any Qi-enabled device (the list is growing daily) will charge without incident. I just can’t wait to see this for more devices that I currently own take the hint, Energizer.

The Energizer Inductive Charger will be available at retail starting this October with a suggested retail price of $89. The removable Qi sleeve for the Apple iPhone 3GS/3G and the Qi door for the BlackBerry Curve 8900 will be sold separately for $34.99 each.

[ Links: Energizer Inductive ]

You might recall the big stink raised last year after Apple banned Google Voice from the application store. AT&T and Apple of course played dumb to suggestions that either acted anti-competitively to block an application that poses a significant threat to both the old telco or phone OS business models.

With Uncle Sam sniffing around Apple on numerous fronts, Apple recently eased iPhone developer restrictions and now it appears that the official Google Voice app will finally be arriving on the iPhone. According to Techcrunch, the app has actually already been approved and will pop up soon:

…we’ve gotten word that the official Google Voice application is on its way to the iPhone in the next few weeks. In fact, we’ve heard from a source close to Google that it’s already been approved Google just needs to revamp the application to work with the iPhone 4 and iOS’s multitasking capabilities. If you’re a Google Voice user and you’re on an iPhone, this is great news.

As already explored at length, applications like Google Voice are going to speed up the death of concepts like SMS and voice minutes, given that things like mobile VoIP and push IM make them irrelevant. With reduction in that revenue, carriers like AT&T and Verizon are eagerly looking forward to jacking up mobile data costs with new low cap, high overage data plans.

Link to the original article…

FileMaker just announced an update for their FileMaker Go app for the Apple iPhone and Apple iPad that just put pretty much the power of an office, an warehouse and a database into the something that fits into your hands. What’s that update? The ability to create PDFs, share databases via email and insert photos into your FileMaker Pro databases. Remotely.

FileMaker, Inc. today announced version 1.1 of FileMaker Go for iPhone and FileMaker Go for iPad, the popular new apps that let users work with FileMaker Pro databases on iPhone or iPad.

Users can now produce PDFs directly from FileMaker Go and either save them on their mobile devices or email them. This feature lets mobile users easily save and distribute reports, create invoices, and share project status directly from their iPad or iPhone.

Another enhancement is the ability to save a copy of a complete database and email it directly from FileMaker Go. With this feature, iPhone and iPad users can exchange databases from their devices without needing to dock with a desktop or laptop.

Best part? This update is totally free.

FileMaker Go is compatible with FileMaker Pro 7 databases and later versions. FileMaker Go 1.1 is available now as a free download for existing FileMaker Go users from the App Store. FileMaker Go for iPhone and iPod touch, running iOS 4 is $19.99 and FileMaker Go for iPad is $39.

[ Links: FileMaker, FileMaker Go ]

Over the Labor Day Holiday Weekend, I had the chance to visit the county fair. And allow me the opportunity to set a mental landscape before entering this review full steam. Imagine the smells of cotton candy filling the air, funnel cakes, the unfortunate waft of an elephant (ew!) and popcorn by the ton. Visualize the brightly painted and extremely lit signs announcing oddball tests of strength and dexterity that you will probably never encounter in real life.

That is, not unless you get the 2K Games Carnival for your Apple iPhone or Apple iPod Touch. Best part, there’s no elephant smell either.

Carnival Games has the typical odd assortment of games from a test of strength, bumper boats, shooting galleries (shoot out the center of a star, shoot the ducks with the targets on their sides and a Wild West shooting game) and even a milk bottle game that you can actually win – much unlike in the real life cheating gosh darn game.

The graphics are great, simple, extremely clean and bright and in good looking 3D. Upon your first start up, you will create a character, I decided to make mine look like me… sorta. You can unlock many items and add them to the look of your character. In fact, my little cherub like avatar is now sporting a pair of x-ray glasses that I won by ringing the bell in the test of strength three times. And speaking of which, 2K Games actually worked it out where if you have to slide your finger up and down in order to build your strength for the test of strength, you actually have to rub your finger up and down – staying in one place won’t suffice. I found that actually cool that they used the iPhone’s touch screen in that manner.

You move around the screen using an virtual joystick and while it’s easy to get around, you cannot control the camera at all. The way the game is laid out, you have to walk around from place to place to where the carnival games are located. While I don’t mind the controls in that aspect, you can find yourself walking into corners or behind the game stands. Just walk around them and you’ll be fine.

I was one of the few that did encounter some random crashes; however since the 1.01 update in the last few days, I can easily state that I’ve been crash-free and enjoying this game to the point of having to charge my battery multiple times in a day. Easy to pick up, totally fun to play with, 100% addictive. I’ll have to give the Nintendo Wii version a spin later on too.

A definite must-buy in my book: 5 out of 5 (Highly Addictive)

[ Link: Carnival Games on iTunes, Carnival Games ]

Apple announced their “AirPrint” wireless printing that will accompany Apple’s iOS 4.2 will be out in November, but why wait until then? Epson and Thinxtream have collaborated their new mobile printing application, PrintJinni for the Apple iPod Touch, Apple iPhone and Apple iPad.

“PrintJinni for Epson enhances the printing experience for mobile device users by delivering superior performance where it counts, whether at home, in the office, or on the road,” said Gregg Brunnick, group product manager, Consumer Ink Jets, Epson America, Inc. “With the benefit to print to any Wi-Fi-enabled Epson all-in-one, this convenient app keeps iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users from being tied to one printer. PrintJinni for Epson offers the ultimate mobile printing freedom and superior print quality inherent in Epson’s all-in-one solutions.”

PrintJinni for Epson does support Microsoft Office 2003 and 2007 documents, as well as Adobe PDF, JPEG from e-mail attachments. Via an easy setup, PrintJinni supports Microsoft Exchange, Apple MobileMe, Google Gmail and other IMAP based e-mail accounts. And since I’m an Epson printer owner – WorkForce 600/610 – this app will allow for printing to the Epson line of Wi-Fi enabled printers and all-in-ones wirelessly without the need or use of a computer and will work alongside the aforementioned AirPrint functionality coming later this year.

Best part? It’s out right now and not later in the year. Even better? Presently the price is only $6.99 via the Apple iTunes Store, but only for a limited time only then it’s back up to $9.99 and does include a free one-year subscription to the PrintJinni Cloud Services.

[ Links: Epson PrintJinni Press Release, PrintJinni for Epson ]

As noted back in July, the Apple iPhone 4 has an antenna design flaw that results in users losing signal when the phone is simply held. Given the flaw only rears its head in areas with weak AT&T signal, it’s not a problem that’s impacted all iPhone 4 users, allowing Apple to brush aside the design flaw as imaginary, irrelevant and/or common to all smartphones. Apple issued a statement today noting that users wanting a case only have until September 30 to get it, and that Apple “knows now” the antenna issue is “even smaller” than they thought:

We now know that the iPhone 4 antenna attenuation issue is even smaller than we originally thought (citation needed). A small percentage of iPhone 4 users need a case, and we want to continue providing them a Bumper case for free. For everyone else, we are discontinuing the free case program on all iPhone 4s sold after September 30, 2010. We are also returning to our normal returns policy for all iPhone 4s sold after September 30. Users experiencing antenna issues should call AppleCare to request a free Bumper case.

Big or small (and Apple offers no evidence to support this either way), the phone’s design still has a flaw that’s been left unfixed. In August, an executive for Mexican wireless carrier Telcel claimed a hardware revision was coming at the end of September accounting for the end of the free case program, but this hasn’t been confirmed. It still seems likely that later production runs of the iPhone 4 will somehow address the flaw, but Apple’s remaining mute on this either way.

Link to the original article…