Buying Guide: 10 best apps for docked iPads and iPhones

Best apps for docked iPads and iPhones

As wonderful as they are to use, iOS devices need pretty regular care and feeding to stay in tip-top operation. Despite Apple's advances in battery life and reductions in power consumption, the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad all need electricity to work.

This means connecting pretty regularly to a computer, using a mains adaptor plugged into a wall, or setting your device in a powered docking station, in order to recharge. Otherwise you're left with little more than a pretty paperweight.

But just because your favourite iOS devices are plugged in and powering up, that doesn't mean they have to sit there doing nothing at all. iPads, iPhones and iPod touches are so much more than mere placeholders when they're docked and syncing. In fact, some of the most useful tools you'll find are among the apps that made the cut for this list.

It's important to keep in mind that each of us uses our iOS devices in individual and unique ways, so there's no single correct way to set up your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad for when it's charging.

There are quite a few applications available for purchase and download from the App Store that require little or no direct intervention once they're launched, and together they range from the sublime through the ridiculous to the truly useful. It all depends on what you want to get out them.

We've rounded up some of our favourites, from time wasters to useful utilities that will add a bit of sparkle and fun to your iOS device for those hours when it otherwise might just be sitting there doing nothing. We've also tried to keep the budget reasonable for the most part - the majority are available for less than £2, which is money well spent!

01. Air Display

Make your iOS device a wireless interactive second screen for your computer

Price: £6.99
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad

Air Display lets you use your iOS screen for content you'd rather not have cluttering up your computer's main display.

Use Photoshop or another image editing program? Air Display can store palettes and toolboxes. Working from a laptop? Use Air Display to store windows that you can't fit on the limited real estate of your screen. Air Display can also store apps that you'd like to keep open but don't necessarily need constant access to, such as iTunes or Calendar, or your top instant messaging app.

But more than that, Air Display lets you interact with that content. Touching the iOS device screen registers as a mouse click, so you can use it to operate apps - everything from simple buttons to painting apps.

However, if you'd rather not use Air Display as an interactive display, there's an option to turn the touch input feature off. Air Display even lets you run Flash from your iOS device, after a fashion, as evidenced by our screenshot of us playing a Flash-based game from a browser window on the iPad.

Air Display will automatically rotate into landscape and portrait aspect ratios as well, depending on how you have your iOS device positioned. To use Air Display, you don't need to have your iOS device physically connected to the computer you want to use it with, although they will need to be on the same Wi-Fi network.

Air Display works using a free companion application for Mac or Windows systems. There are a number of virtual screen applications for iOS, but Air Display wins for us for a few different reasons: It works equally well on both iPhone/iPod touch displays and iPads (and it's a Universal app, so you pay for it once and that's it); the software is well-behaved (outside of some limitations we'll explain next); and it's dead simple to use.

That's not to say there are no warts at all to consider with Air Display. There are, in fact, a few limitations you need to think about. For Mac users, Lion support is still a bit spotty, due to what the developer says are OS X driver display issues that Apple is aware of - things that the Air Display developer simply can't fix. A tech note on the Avatron website gives the full details of this bug, but to summarise, it looks like several portable systems, a few iMac models and some Mac minis are affected by it.

For Windows users, the Aero graphical theme and DirectX are deactivated while Air Display is used, so you won't be able to run games or see fancy visual effects. And bear in mind that Air Display works over Wi-Fi, so there can be a bit of lag as the screen draws the content from your computer.

The trade off can be worth it. Having another 1024×768 pixel display can make a huge difference, especially with apps that clutter up the screen with multiple palettes. And (hopefully temporary) Lion limitations notwithstanding, Air Display works spectacularly well with Macs - when the app's running, your iOS device appears as just another screen in the Displays system preferences. Mac users even get an Auto Connect feature that makes Air Display even more convenient.

02. LiveScore

Get simple sports news at a glance

Price: Free
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad

LiveScore tracks the latest scores for five major professional sports - football, hockey, basketball, tennis and cricket. The beauty of the app lies in its simplicity: while many sporting apps get bogged down in technical complexity, statistical analysis and historical data, LiveScore keeps it simple - really simple.

Tap on the sport you're interested in and it'll give you the information you want for its matches. There's no play-by-play coverage here, no colour commentary, no charts and no news. It's just the basics: who's playing whom, where they're playing, and what the score is.

That's what makes LiveScore an ideal app to use when your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch is docked. Presumably you're supposed to be doing other things as well, so LiveScore provides a minimal distraction while you're working.

LiveScore is the eponymous creation of LiveScore Ltd, which has been tracking sport data live on the web since 1998, and bills itself as the number one football website globally. LiveScore is great for UK sports enthusiasts, but is decidedly lacking for US fans.

LiveScore tracks National Hockey League professional ice hockey games in the US, but its overall usefulness pales in comparison to another free sports news app, SportsTap, which covers the gamut of popular American sport fare as effectively as LiveScore does football and cricket.

03. Night Stand for iPad

A jack-of-all-trades app becomes master of many — and does it very well, too

Price: £1.99
Works with: iPad

Night Stand's developers took the 'kitchen sink' approach with this app, throwing a little bit of everything into the mix. That should have led to a chaotic, ugly mess, but Night Stand is remarkable for its utility and beauty. It's an alarm clock, weather utility and social media interface all rolled into one.

Time and date are displayed in big numbers in a digital flip-clock style. Night Stand shows you current weather conditions and provides a tab if you want to view forecasted conditions for the next few days. You can also log in to your Twitter and Facebook accounts if you'd like to see updates from friends.

Night Stand even lets you post from your Facebook and Twitter accounts while you're there, if you see some juicy comment from a friend or colleague that you can't bear to leave unacknowledged.

If you're interested in news from websites and maintain a Google Reader account, you can log in to view your own RSS feed, which means Night Stand will integrate quite well with newsreader software on other devices that similarly access Google Reader accounts.

Night Stand's interface is customisable with background images and video. You can add pictures from your own library or download professional photos as In-App Purchases; Night Stand will, by default, apply a gentle pan and zoom effect to the photos to give a sense of motion. Night Stand also includes eight animated movie loops that you can use as background videos, and more are available for purchase in the app. You can't use your own movies, however - they have to come from Night Stand's In-App Purchases.

You can set alarms and notifications, so Night Stand's a helpful tool for staying on task. It can even use music from your iPod library as an alarm, though for that to work, your iPad must be on and Night Stand needs to be the active app.

04. Aelios Weather

A steampunk meteorological app with Swiss watch aesthetics

Price: £1.99
Works with: iPad

Curious whether to pack for rain or sun on next week's trip to Lisbon? Aelios Weather can give you an idea. It'll even tell you how much rain to expect and what direction the wind is coming from.

Granted, those features aren't unique, but what sets Aelios Weather apart is the gorgeous interface, which marries a Google satellite map to a rotary interface that looks like a watchmaker designed it.

The dial at the centre of the screen displays weather forecasts for a 24-hour period, with midnight at the top and noon at the bottom. A forecast for the next 24 hours is shown outside the dial, with clouds, precipitation, sun and stars showing what to expect and when, along with forecasted temperature and wind speed and direction.

Twist the outside of the dial to view a seven-day forecast instead. And that dial is even accompanied by a satisfying gear-turning noise and a dilating iris, like a camera shutter. With such attention to detail, it's a bit annoying that you can't save frequently accessed locations.

05. Spout

Stay abreast of the news in typographical style

Price: £1.49
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad

Kinetic typography - moving words and letters - is cool. (To see one of our favourite examples, head over to YouTube for Stephen Fry's 'Language' essay.) Spout embraces the concept, using kinetic typography to keep you up to date with what's on Twitter, Facebook, RSS feeds (through Google Reader) and Flickr.

Spout displays include a total of nine themes, backgrounds, colour schemes and type styles. You can tell Spout to read content sequentially or randomly, and select different animation styles and word speeds.

If something catches your eye and you must know more, tapping on the screen stops the animation; tapping on a compass button opens a Safari window so you can read more, but you may find yourself reading the same info over and over until it refreshes.

06. Living Earth HD

Spinny globe with realistic cloud rendering and night side illumination

Price: £1.49
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch and iPad

Who hasn't spent hours as a small child poring over a globe and dreaming about far-off lands? Living Earth HD satisfies that popular fascination by rendering our vast planet as a spinning orb, complete with accurate cloud cover and differentiation between night and day.

The app includes a search tool to zero in on an area you want to get information about, and it will show you local time and weather conditions. The globe slowly spins on its axis, and as it comes into the night view, you can see the lights of cities dotting the landscape.

The edge of the atmosphere even glimmers a brilliant blue - truly breathtaking to behold. A pinch here, a zoom there, and you can easily increase or decrease your altitude; you can also swipe up, down, left and right to reposition the globe to whatever latitude and longitude you like. If you find a particularly favourable view, you can easily take a screenshot.

07. Trickle for Twitter

This Twitter lurking tool lets you watch, but doesn't let you tweet

Price: 69p
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch, iPad

Twitter may have revolutionised the way many of us use social media, plugging us in to a constant stream of updates from friends and family, colleagues and services, but it's hideously distracting.

Trickle removes the temptation to post, as it's a passive app that lets you read what's going on across Twitter without being able to respond. While the idea of a forced 'mute' button may sound restrictive, it's actually very handy. This way, you can keep abreast of what's going on in your world without feeling the compulsion to react.

If the Twitter bug hasn't bitten you yet but you're a Facebook user, the same developer has created Trickle for Facebook, which works in a very similar manner: simply authorise the app to log in to your Facebook account and you can stay on top of what's happening there instead.

08. Word A Day

Become a master wordsmith, one day at a time

Price: £1.49
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch

What better way to wile away idle time while your iPhone recharges than to improve your vocabulary? That's the idea behind this handy app, which enhances your word knowledge using both visual and audio cues. Reading a definition of a new word every day is fine, but if you don't know how to pronounce it or use it, you may look like a fool the first time you try to casually work it into conversation.

Word A Day Visuals and Audios by VocabAhead includes spoken pronunciations of each word, and multiple examples of how they may be used. Entertaining illustrations are also used - helpful if you're a visual learner.

Word A Day incorporates additional features to make it a handy utility, including Google-based translations into 50 different languages, the ability to set up a daily reminder, a list of past words, favourite words and the ability to skip ahead a day if you already know a word (up to three days in advance).

09. FlipTime XL

Like reading the date and time at the train station

Price: £1.49
Works with: iPad

'Split-flap' style displays were once found displaying timetables at rail stations and airports around the world. They've fallen out of favour in recent years, but FlipTime XL brings that old comforting analogue sensibility back to iOS devices.

FlipTime displays day and date information in that familiar split-flap style, with each numeral horizontally bisected and partly shaded as if part of some elaborate mechanical device, not a digital display - right down to the satisfying 'clickety clack' noise of the digits flipping into place.

An analogue clock with a second hand shows you the time. Simple settings let you choose either 12- or 24-hour formats, digit colour, horizontal or vertical animation style and how you'd like the calendar set up.

Unfortunately, FlipTime isn't connected to Calendar, so it won't show you appointments or help you to manage your schedule. But it is very pretty to look at, if your tastes run more to analogue than digital.

10. Inner Peace Cards

Positive messages delivered in a virtual card deck

Price: £1.49
Works with: iPhone, iPod touch

Dr Wayne W Dyer's self-help books have been popular internationally, and now you can capture a bit of his motivational philosophy on your iPhone with Inner Peace Cards, a deck of 50 Affirmation Cards, each with a positive, self-affirming message to help you find inner peace.

Each of the 50 cards has positive messages, one on each side, accompanied by a calming illustration. You can shuffle through the deck, view them face up or, to mix things up again, choose one at random face down. You can also email cards to your friends or save them as iPhone wallpapers.

We'll admit that this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it's hard to argue against a positive mindset helping to guide you through difficult challenges.

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Tutorial: How to manage your files with your iPhone

How to manage your files with your iPhone

Your smartphone is your true mobile companion. It has more computing power than it took to put a man on the moon. It's an always-connected PC, sitting in your pocket; yesterday's dreams made real. And, as such, your smartphone is the perfect device for dealing with your precious documents and files.

No other hardware has the power of internet connectivity, push notifications, compatibility with our PC operating systems, and most importantly, is omnipresent in everyone's lives, ready to be called on at a moment's notice.

Despite the smartphone's power to put files and documents at our fingertips, it can be surprisingly difficult to access them. One particular offender is iOS, which, despite being the operating system behinds the world's most popular handset, the iPhone, is totally inept when dealing with files.

We should point out that we're concentrating on iOS in this article, merely because it's the most restricted of the smartphone operating systems. Many of our tips will also apply to Android and BlackBerry handsets too. Grab the Dropbox app for Android and you'll be able to do many of the things we describe here.

Back to iOS, then. It hides its file system, it's unable to read files placed onto its memory using a USB connection, there's no microSD port for moving files physically, and Safari will plainly refuse to use web versions of online file systems such as Dropbox. It's like the anti-computer.

Even if you're able to access them - perhaps by connecting a camera connection kit to an iPad and inserting an SD card - iOS has little provision for reading files natively, so that essential Word document will be about as much use to you as an animated GIF of a gurning Jeremy Clarkson.

Luckily, what can't be done natively on the iPhone can mostly be achieved though the use of apps. You can extend your phone's functionality to add features, and when it comes to going mobile with your files, there are plenty of methods to choose from.

Dropbox

One of the first names that come to mind when dealing with file storage and distribution is Dropbox. And rightly so. This online cloud storage service has rocketed in popularity over the last couple of years due to its excellent connectivity options, fast speeds and intuitive interface. One of the best things about Dropbox is that it's multi-platform - you might already use it on PC or Mac through a desktop app or through the browser portal, which lets you to access the files you're storing from anywhere.

However, fewer people are aware of the rather excellent iOS version of the Dropbox app, which really puts you in control of your stored documents. If you're ever away from your PC, on the move or simply need to access an important file quickly, your smartphone can come to the rescue.

You can download the Dropbox app for iOS from the App Store free of charge. Once it's installed, tap it to open and you'll be asked if you're a Dropbox user. If you've used the service before, just add your details to access your files. If this is your first time using it, click 'I'm new to Dropbox'. There's a short signup process, which is kept to a minimum, then you're taken to your storage area.

Once you're logged into the app you can view any file that's been uploaded to your Dropbox and stored in the cloud from any system; this means your files can cross between Android handsets, PCs, email accounts, the lot.

There's also the option to view files, which is one of the few ways you can actually read documents that have been sent to your iPhone, given its usual stoic refusal to view anything other than PDFs and images.

Dropbox is able to natively display a host of image types, a variety of text documents and a string of other common file types besides. Unfortunately you can't make changes or amendments to the documents, and they will only open in a read-only mode.

Share and share alike

You can, however, redistribute files, which can be a godsend when you're on the move. If a colleague or family member has ever called you to ask for a file while you're enjoying a day off, it can often mean an irritating journey to your PC to send it.

Retrieving the file on Dropbox makes the process much easier. Open any file, even if it's in an unreadable format, and press the icon at the bottom left that looks like two linked chains. Choose 'Email link' and a new message containing a hyperlink will open using the iPhone's default mail programme. Send that to the recipient and they can download the file without any hassle, leaving you to get on with your day.

One weakness of using Dropbox on your iPhone is that there's little scope for uploading to the app. You can add files, but with iOS's limited file support you can only deal with your photos.

Thankfully, there's another way. Other apps that let you interact with your files can connect with Dropbox, letting you save your files in a central location. A great example of this is the email app provided with iOS. Scroll to the bottom of an email containing an attachment and tap it. When it loads, press the forward arrow in the top right corner. Choose 'Open in' and select 'Dropbox' from the list. The app prompts you to pick a location for it to be saved in before it's uploaded to the cloud.

Dropbox presents one of the simplest ways to control your files using your iPhone, and there's not a lot that it can't do.

However, mobile workers who use a host of FTP connections may find there's a lack of options on offer, and could be put off by the need to use the desktop application. Locked down corporate systems won't let you install the app either, which means it's a case of using the clunky web interface, which is never a good thing.

However, an iOS app called Air Sharing does offer a neat alternative.

Air Sharing and DiskAidAir Sharing

While Dropbox is a fantastic way to access files when you're away from your PC, it doesn't put you in full control. If you're looking to really work remotely, try the Air Sharing app, which is available for £1.49 from the App Store. This features a host of functions that give you the power to turn your iPhone from a basic file reader into a powerful server.

In short, Air Sharing lets you use your iOS device as a portable hard drive, with your files stored wherever you go. You can access them via your phone, PC, Mac or via a web portal which offers 10GB of storage. You can even mount your iOS device onto your desktop as if it were a portable hard drive, which is particularly useful if you have a large capacity device; it may not matter to you if the phone itself can read the files if you're always carrying the equivalent of a large USB drive in your pocket.

The key benefit of Air Sharing over other types of mobile storage is that instead of storing your data in the cloud, it uses the physical memory on your iPhone. This means you can use up to 10GB of storage, rather than the measly 2GB provided with the free version of Dropbox.

It also means that you have a backup if you need a file when you're offline, and you may even get better speed running over Wi-Fi than you would over USB.

To get started, download the Air Sharing app from the App Store. There's a Pro version that costs £3.99 and has many more features, and you can upgrade at any time. Mounting your iPhone as a physical drive on your PC is easy. First you need to connect your iPhone to your home network, then open the Air Share app and press the wireless icon at the bottom of the home screen. This will open a small menu that contains important information about your account.

Put your iPhone to one side and turn to your PC. In Windows 7, click the Start menu and right-click 'Computer'. Choose 'Map network drive' from the list, then enter the IP address listed in your Air Sharing app into the 'Folder' field. Click 'OK' and a Windows Explorer window will open showing all of the files contained in your Air Sharing inbox.

You can also do the same on a Mac, if you're using one. Begin by right-clicking on the Finder icon in your dock, then choose Connect to Server. Use the same IP address as you would on PC in order to have the storage location mounted for seamless connection between Mac and iPhone.

The support provided by Air Sharing is also fantastic, and includes some difficult formats. There's iWork, Microsoft Office, HTML, RTF, PDF, movies, audio, and even source code, including C++. That could prove invaluable if you're a programmer.

If you're a mobile worker, Air Sharing has a few more tricks up its sleeve. Unlike Dropbox, it supports a wealth of FTP file sharing protocols, Home Pipe, MobileMe, and Dropbox itself, which gives you plenty of options.

You don't have to settle for FTP links to get more from Air Sharing; if you have Bonjour installed on your PC or Mac, you can connect using your web browser. This address doesn't change from session to session; just find it in Air Sharing's connections menu once and you'll always know exactly how to connect to your phone.

View your files on your PC

Air Sharing is a powerful tool, but it's possible to supplement or even replace it with a different, more hardcore application. DiskAid is a PC app that lets you explore the contents of your iPhone like any other drive. You can download a 14-day trial, after which you can pay $9.95 to upgrade to the full program.

Once the trial is installed, it will prompt you to connect your iOS device, which must be unlocked the first time so DiskAid can recognise it. You will then get a basic file tree view, which lists all your installed apps as well as general storage. This is the bit of iOS that Apple tries its best to hide from public view - the file system itself.

We're of the mind that Apple isn't trying to be deliberately awkward, though; Steve Jobs' philosophy, even back when he and Steve Wozniak were designing the original Apple home computers, was that they should be simple enough for anyone to use. There was even an argument in those early days; Woz had to fight hard for the Apple II's expansion slots.

Reminiscing aside, you can use the DiskAid app to transfer files to and from your iPhone's memory. Unfortunately it's not a straightforward case of dragging and dropping - the tools are located at the top of the DiskAid window. Click one of these to locate the file and the destination, and DiskAid will take care of transferring it to your memory. This does introduce one large issue: you'll need a machine with DiskAid installed to move files around on an iOS device, so it's not a universal solution.

If you're using Air Sharing, you can also find these files by choosing the app from the list located near the bottom. Click on the name to display a new folder containing all of your remote files. You can transfer these to your PC by clicking them and choosing 'Transfer to PC'. Just set the destination and your file will be copied across.

There are a few other file management solutions worth mentioning here. If you're looking to grab files straight from the internet and store them on your device, you could do worse than trying Downloads, a £1.50 app that especially suits MP3s, given that it has its own built in player.

Or, if you're looking to improve iOS compatibility with media files, try something like VLC Streamer, which plays back videos of all types, streaming them over your network.

Or why not try Screens, which lets you see and control your PC's desktop directly from your phone? It's pricey at £14, but worth the investment.

If you're really looking to take control of your files then iOS is far from perfect, but the huge range of apps on offer means you don't have to rely on USB sticks and clunky cloud web interfaces.

We heartily recommend anyone to try Dropbox, and the app is a great extension of a superb web service. Alternatively, Air Sharing is a fantastic service, especially if you go for the pro version.

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Samsung Galaxy SIII image leaked

An image purportedly taken on the Samsung Galaxy SIII (or Galaxy S3 if you are not a fan of Roman numerals) has leaked on to the web, showing just how decent the camera on the smartphone will be.

Pocketnow reckons it has found an image taken from the GT-I9500 – the rather boring codename for the Galaxy S3 – on photo-upload site Picasa.

Now, we would love to tell you that the image is a thing of beauty, but it really isn't. If this is indeed the first image taken on the S3, then it is of three plain-old pot plants.

But, the pot plants are in an office and that office looks like it is Samsung's headqaurters in South Korea.

Picture perfect

The EXIF data of the image doesn't really offer up much information, other than it was taken on Boxing Day, on a GT-I9500 handset and Flash was used.

The Samsung Galaxy S2 came with an 8MP camera, so we are expecting this to be upped significantly – possible even to 12MP.

The Samsung Galaxy SIII looks likely to be announced at Mobile World Congress 2012 in February and is said to be powered by the dual-core Exynos 5250 chip, which was recently revealed by Samsung.

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Windows Phone Apollo update set for late 2012 release

Microsoft has made no secret that Apollo will be its next Windows Phone update after Tango but it seems we might be getting the release a little later than expected.

Back in October it was reported that the Windows Phone Apollo update will be coming mid-2012, but a leaked roadmap now suggests that Apollo will be coming in Q4 and will be aimed at the business/superphone market.

Superphone OS

It is likely that Apollo will turn out to be Windows Phone 8, with Microsoft hoping the new OS will offer a whole host of high-end features.

As it talks of superphones in the roadmap, this seems to be pointing to the eventual rise of quad core smartphones.

In an interview with TechRadar back in October, Niklas Savander, executive VP of Markets for Nokia, promised big things when it comes to Apollo's eventual release and hinted that this is when we really see the power of Nokia and Windows Phone.

"We made the decision to go to Windows Phone when Mango was pretty much done, so we were able to impact some elements of it but you'll really see the fruits of what we can do with Microsoft when the Apollo version of Windows Phone comes out," he explained.

We are hoping that Microsoft reveals some more details of Windows Phone Apollo at Mobile World Congress 2012.

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Verizon to charge customers $2 to pay bill

Verizon Wireless has delivered a New Year jab to its customers by announcing a $2 charge on some one-off bill payments.

The fee, which will apply to payments made from January 15th, will affect customers who pay for their cellphone service online or over the phone.

The company released a statement on Thursday announcing the change, which can be avoided by paying through alternate means.

"[A] new $2 payment convenience fee will be instituted for customers who make single bill payments online or by telephone," said the official note.

Backlash

Naturally customers have taken their displeasure to the various social media forums in the hope of forcing the company to backtrack.

Customers can, however, avoid the charge by paying in-person at a Verizon store, sending in paper cheques via snail mail or setting up an automated payment plan.

Verizon has defended its stance, saying the fee would only affect those making "last-minute payments."

Update: Verizon has issued a statement to say it now abandoned plans to charge customers the $2 convenience fee.

"At Verizon, we take great care to listen to our customers. Based on their input, we believe the best path forward is to encourage customers to take advantage of the best and most efficient options, eliminating the need to institute the fee at this time," said Dan Mead, president and chief executive officer of Verizon Wireless.

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LG Intel Android phone to arrive at CES?

Rumours on Friday suggest that Intel's first venture into the smartphone business will take place at CES with the launch of an LG Android phone.

The Korean Times has it on good authority from sources at both companies that the eagerly-awaited phones boasting the new Medfield SoC will arrive at the Las Vegas tech show.

"LG Electronics will produce Intel's first Android smartphones that use Intel's own mobile platform. The device will be shown at the CES," according to an unnamed 'top-ranking' executive at LG.

Otellini on hand

Intel's top man in Korea Lee Hee-sung told the publication that company CEO Paul Otellini will take to the stage to reveal the device, which could go on sale as soon as March.

He said: "Intel's chief executive Paul Otellini will release Intel's first Android smartphone using our own platform at the CES."

An Intel/LG partnership would represent a second attempt from the company's to forge a partnership based around Google's Android smartphone platform.

The pair announced an Android device as CES last year which was later canned due to a perceived lack of marketability.

CES gets underway on January 9th at the Las Vegas Convention Centre.

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Amazon sued for bullying Kindle accessory maker M-Edge

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M-Edge, an accessory maker for the Kindle and other such devices, has sued Amazon for "unlawful corporate bullying." Filed in Maryland, the federal suit alleges that Amazon attempted to "hijack" M-Edge's products through threats, deceit, interference with customer relationships as well as patent infringement.

M-Edge has been building protective cases for Amazon's Kindle since it first launched in 2008, addressing a common complaint about the e-reader's flimsy default cover. At the time, Amazon commissioned 8% of M-Edge's sales, but that changed as the Kindle (and inherently, M-Edge's products) grew more popular.

After the Kindle appeared on Oprah Winfrey's show in October 2008, M-Edge's inventory sold out. That drew attention from Amazon, which requested that the accessory firm become a "special partner" in January 2009. As part of the relationship, Amazon vowed to give M-Edge pre-launch details about next-generation Kindles.

A month later, M-Edge entered a "Kindle Compatible" agreement that placed its products in Amazon's "Kindle Store" page. In exchange, Amazon requested another 7% slice of the sales (totaling 15%). Amazon wanted to advance the relationship in May 2009 by making M-Edge a "first-party" seller, but the firm declined.

Fast forward to November 2009, the companies penned a three-year agreement that locked M-Edge into the 15% commission while affording it special status as a preferred seller. Only two months into that deal, the e-tail giant demanded a new contract that would grant it 32% of sales and make M-Edge a "first-party" seller.

M-Edge refused and that's where Amazon proceeded with various strong-arm tactics. The company supposedly threatened to "de-list" M-Edge from Amazon.com unless it complied. Although the parties never signed a new agreement, in February 2010, Amazon demanded that M-Edge retroactively pay the 32% commission.

Unwilling to part with the $600,000, M-Edge told Amazon to take a hike. The harassment continued through May 2010 as Amazon kept pushing new contract terms, demanding unfair retroactive pay as well as threatening to "de-list" and bury M-Edge's products on Amazon.com. M-Edge caved to the pressure in July 2010.

The revised contract granted Amazon a 32% commission, allowing it to "extort" an extra $6.5 million from M-Edge. Despite making more cash, Amazon failed to honor its old agreement to share pre-launch details about the Kindle. The third-gen e-reader launched on July 28, 2010 and M-Edge only received a one-day notice.

What's more, the filing implies this was an attempt to hijack M-Edge's sales. Amazon launched its own covers that bared a stark resemblance to M-Edge's designs, all the way down to the colors chosen. M-Edge took the beating and in January 2011, Amazon demanded even more cash -- another $150,000 a year, to be precise.

Amazon resorted to similar bullying methods, demanding onerous reporting requirements, vowing to de-list M-Edge's products and withholding payments. By March 2011, Amazon allegedly owed M-Edge nearly $2 million. That's a summarized version of the filing's background section. You can read the full 15-page complaint here.

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HP Envy 14 Review

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Introduced as a replacement for the Voodoo Envy in 2009, the Envy series originally kicked off with 13 and 15-inch models. The premium notebook line was expanded in mid-2010 with 14 and 17-inch flavors, the former of which we received for evaluation. It's been just over a year since we published that review and we've since been graced with the second-gen Envy 14. Although it looks quite similar on the outside, the 2011 iteration has revamped internals.

Now, here's where I make a pause to explain the tricky timing we went through in testing and reviewing the Envy 14. This second-gen model was launched in August and we received our test system about a month later. That was around the same time HP suddenly halted their webOS business and hinted at a possible PC unit spin off. Weeks went by, HP received all kinds of good and bad press (mostly the latter), their relatively new CEO went out the door, and in late October we finally received a final answer: HP is keeping its PC business and we should see more products in the near future.

Back to business as usual, HP revamped the Envy 15 and 17 models in late November, while the Envy 14 remained mostly the same, receiving a couple of speed bumps and price cuts.

Our evaluation system used to cost $1,079.99 but now you can get it for $899. The Envy 14 comes with a 2.4GHz Intel Core i5-2430M with Turbo Boost, 6GB DDR3 SDRAM, a Western Digital 750GB hard drive, Radeon HD 6630M switchable graphics, a 14.5" HD BrightView Infinity LED display, 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer support, Intel HM65 Express Chipset, Intel 802.11a/b/g/n WLAN with Bluetooth and an 8-cell 3800mAh Lithium Ion battery. Windows 7 Home Premium is the operating system of choice.

If you are familiar with the Envy line, there aren't any surprises from last year's models. The computer arrived in similar packaging and includes a power adapter, removable battery, power cord and a quick setup guide. The power adapter includes a USB port for charging mobile devices which is a nice touch.

From the outside the 2010 and 2011 Envy 14 models are nearly indistinguishable. The Envy has a strong resemblance to Apple's MacBook Pro which for the most part could be considered a good thing. The latest version features the same gunmetal lid with an attractive etched pattern. A reflective HP logo is positioned on the back corner of the lid on the right side and emits a subtle white glow when the system is on.

On the front of the notebook are two speaker grills with the Beats audio logo prominently displayed beside the left grill. A SD / MMC card slot flanks the speaker on the right. On the right side of the system is a power and hard drive activity light, USB 3.0 port, HDMI port, mini DisplayPort, Kensington lock slot, Ethernet jack and an array of exhaust vents.

 

The back of the system is clean besides another series of exhaust vents. On the left side is the slot-loading optical drive, two USB 2.0 ports and headphone / microphone jacks.

 

There are four anti-slip pads on the bottom of the notebook although one of the feet was broken on our sample. HP cycles review samples through multiple media outlets and we have no idea how many others have tested this Envy before we received it. Even so, a broken foot calls into question the durability of the notebook a bit and upon further inspection, the access panel that had the broken pad feels pretty flimsy.

Feet aside, the bottom of the Envy 14 is relatively plain. There's the aforementioned access panel that hides the removable battery and hard drive.

Opening the lid, we see the beautiful infinity display with the Beats audio logo on the top left and the Envy 14 badge on the right. The display has a resolution of 1366x768 which isn't quite the 1600x900 pixels found on last year's Radiance display. Unfortunately, HP no longer offers the Radiance display option as they were unable to obtain enough from suppliers for 2011. There's a "Skype-certified" 720p webcam above the display with microphones on either side of the lens.

Also returning is the full-size backlit chiclet keyboard that has a nice solid feel when typing. There are no dedicated media keys but the function buttons across the top row double as secondary buttons without having to first press the Fn key. For example, pressing F5 turns the backlight on rather than refreshing the page you are currently viewing.

  

The touchpad and click buttons are once again integrated into a single unit. I've had mixed experiences with this in the past; some good, mostly bad. Last year's Envy 14 was one of the worst, but we were told by HP those issues have been corrected thanks to a new ImagePad that is more accurate and can handle more fingers at once. We'll check these out in better detail next.

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Intel's Thunderbolt to see wider adoption starting April 2012

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Intel is reportedly pushing for wider adoption of its high speed Thunderbolt interconnect in 2012. According to DigiTimes, the company will "fully release" its I/O technology in April -- which happens to coincide with Ivy Bridge's launch -- and already several first-tier PC and component manufacturers are looking into adding Thunderbolt support to their motherboards, notebooks and desktop PCs.

Sony and Asus are mentioned among the companies expected to adopt the technology in their high-end notebook products, although we should note that the former has been offering a Thunderbolt-equipped Vaio Z notebook for a while. Meanwhile, Gigabyte, which has been aggressively adopting new I/O technologies into its product line, is also expected to add Thunderbolt support to select motherboards in April 2012.

Originally known as Light Peak, Thunderbolt is Intel's high-speed interconnect that can transfer data between host computers and external devices such as displays and storage products at speeds of up to 10Gbps. The interface supports hubs as well as daisy chaining up to seven compatible devices.

Up until now only Apple has implemented the technology across its product lines, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, and LED Display.

Thunderbolt still has a few hurdles to clear, such as the limited availability of supporting devices and the fact that it is more expensive to implement than USB 3.0. However, the hope is that in mass production the cost of adopting Thunderbolt will go down in the second half of 2012 and the technology becomes standard.

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Apple to announce two new iPad models in January

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Apple could release two new iPad models in less than a month. The new devices are rumored to make their debut at iWorld (formerly Macworld Expo) which is scheduled for January 26, 2012. The timing is particularly interesting as Apple hasn’t attended this event since 2009.

Citing sources at supply chain partners, DigiTimes reports that the two new models will join the existing iPad 2 to target entry-level, mid-range and high-end market segments. The current iPad 2 is said to compete directly with Amazon’s Kindle Fire, meaning it would represent the low-end market. This is a bit hard to believe as Apple would have to lower the price of their tablet by a significant amount. Amazon has priced the Kindle Fire at $199 while the iPad starts at $499.

Both new models will feature a 9.7-inch screen but will include a resolution upgrade to 2,048 x 1,536. Dual LED light bars are being used to supply enough brightness to the new screens. Sharp will handle the majority of display orders but Samsung and LG Display will also supply some parts.

A Samsung-manufactured quad-core A6 processor will power the next generation iPads, according to the sources. Samsung has also been tapped to supply the CMOS image sensor for one of the new tablets with a 5MP camera. Sony will manufacture the other sensor with an 8MP lens.

Two manufacturers, Simplo Technology and Dynapack Internation Technology are supplying batteries with a capacity up to 14,000mAh. This is more than double the capacity of the current iPad 2.

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60beat introduces GamePad accessory for iOS gaming

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Smartphones may not be as suited for gaming as traditional handhelds from Sony and Nintendo, but that isn't stopping iOS and Android from dominating the mobile games market in terms of revenue. A number of factors have contributed to this phenomenal growth, such as the high adoption rate of new smartphones and tablets, and the super cheap prices for quality titles compared to those for dedicated portable gaming systems.

But for all the convenience of smartphones and tablets, we can hardly say that relying on touch controls is ideal for gaming. With that in mind a company called 60beat has launched the 60beat GamePad, which connects through the headphone jack to enable console-like controls on your iOS devices.

It sports a similar design to Sony’s PlayStation 3 controller and the button configuration is rather similar as well -- there are a couple of analog joysticks, a D-Pad, 10 action buttons and 3 menu buttons. The GamePad draws power from your iDevice, eliminating the hassle of changing dying batteries and making it heavy to hold.

Games have to be programmed to support the new device and so far only 2 titles support it: Bugdom 2 and Aftermath. But the accessory maker says a "full collection" of supported games will be added in February 2012. The 60beat GamePad is priced at $49.99 and is compatible with the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

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Intel ships 'Cedar Trail' Atom processors for netbooks

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Intel has officially started shipping its next-generation low-power Atom processor for netbooks. Part of the Cedar Trail platform, which already saw two chips released in September for low-powered desktop solutions, the new Atom N2600 and N2800 processors are based on Intel's 32nm Cedarview architecture and will replace the existing N455 and N475 Pine Trail models on small and cheap laptops.

This third generation of Intel Atom processors reportedly offers double the graphics performance of its predecessor thanks to a new PowerVR SGX 545 engine sourced from Imagination Technologies. There's only mention of DirectX 9 support on the press presentation for the new chips, which seems to validate rumors that they failed Microsoft's certification for DirectX 10.1.

They do offer a dedicated media engine for hardware-accelerated decoding of motion video, including support for 1080p H.264, in addition to support for Intel Wireless Display technology -- though the latter will be available depending on the system and price point according to AnandTech.

The move to a 32nm process allows for reduced power consumption in spite of the more powerful GPU. The N2600 is clocked at 1.6GHz with a TDP of just 3.5 watts, while the N2800 is clocked at 1.86GHz and it has a TDP of 6.5W. Both are dual-core, four-thread parts and are meant to be paired with the company's pre-existing NM10 chipset. Intel claims netbooks based on the new chips will feature up to 10 hours of battery life.

Intel is expecting the vast majority of Cedar Trail netbooks to be sold in the $199 - $229 price point, while models featuring Intel's WiDi and potentially fanless designs could arrive later in 2012 for around $399.

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Review: Adobe Carousel

Adobe claims Carousel is the only tool that enables you to access your whole photo library from your Mac, iPhone or iPad, without storage issues or manual synchronisation.

The first thought on any Mac owner's mind, though, is going to be what Carousel does that iPhoto/iTunes/iCloud doesn't. And the second is why they should pay for photo synchronisation when they already get it for nothing.

Carousel is pretty similar to Apple's Photo Stream, which is part of the free iCloud service, but with a bit more control. Like Photo Stream, instead of copying photos across to your devices it stores them online. It then delivers files to your devices on demand, via your network connection.

There are no storage limits, and any changes you make, from creating Carousels to importing and editing photos, are automatically uploaded to the Carousel server.

You'll need an Adobe ID, which is free, but you pay a monthly subscription for Carousel, though there is a free 30-day trial. You download and install the Carousel client on your Mac and iOS devices, and you're ready to go.

Strips of film

Carousels are horizontally scrolling filmstrips of photos, and you can create a Carousel for a single set of photos or for shots taken over a longer period of time; in which case they're automatically split by date, so a single Carousel may consist of a series of these filmstrips that are arranged vertically. It's quick, simple and intuitive, and the consistency in appearance across the Mac and iOS versions is one of Carousel's strong points.

It's quite something to see photos you add on your Mac appear in moments on your iPad, but this does rely on the quality of your network connection. Carousel communicates with Adobe servers constantly, so you can't work offline.

Storage solutions

Adobe solves the problem of limited storage space on iOS devices by downloading only thumbnails and low-resolution proxies. It's only when you tap on a thumbnail to view the picture properly that it downloads a higher-res version.

So yes, Carousel does indeed make your whole photo library 'available', or at least all the photos you've imported into Carousel, even on a device with limited memory.

It also reacts to changes made on any device straight away. The downside is that it's heavily dependent on the quality of your network connection. Wi-Fi speeds are okay, but Carousel can be painfully slow over 3G which can go a long way to eating up your monthly allowance.

There are other limitations that gradually become apparent. This version will only import JPEGs, not TIFF, PSD or RAW files. You can carry out basic cropping, straightening and enhancement tasks and apply a range of nice but basic image effects. And it's all non-destructive, too, so you can rewind your changes if you make a mistake.

But for cataloguing and editing tasks in general, Carousel is too lightweight even to compete with iPhoto. Things begin to get redundant when you consider that you may end up running two photo collections, with your 'proper' one still on your Mac in iPhoto or Aperture.

Carousel shows promise in its current form. But its reliance on good network speeds, its monthly subscription charge and its very basic cataloguing and editing tools blunt its appeal considerably. We recommend you try before you buy.

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Review: D-Link ShareCenter

D-Link has designed the ShareCenter NAS device to be at the centre of your home network, sharing your files and media throughout your home and over the internet – an admirable aim.

The installation process is fairly straightforward, though there are a few options that you need to set yourself, and these can be confusing if you're not used to setting up network attached storage devices.

For example, at one point you're asked if you want to enable NTP server, without any explanation of what this is. There's also a step that asks you to enter your email address, along with port number and SMTP server – a pain if you don't have that information readily to hand.

The network drive wasn't mapped during installation – instead we had to run the D-Link Easy Search Utility, which found the D-Link ShareCenter on our network and then let us map it.

As with other aspects of the ShareCenter, the execution was rather cumbersome and inelegant, but it worked. The D-Link ShareCenter isn't the most user friendly of the NAS drives we've tested, but the comparative complexity of the D-Link ShareCenter is the price you pay for some of the better features of this NAS that are absent in some of its competitors.

For example, the D-Link ShareCenter is able to email you with updates about its status, including whether it has reached a temperature that might cause it to become unstable.

File transfer speeds were around 11.6MB/s, which was around average for the NAS devices we tested. Not fantastic, but good enough to copy movies and other media to the device for streaming. Backing up entire hard drives to the device will prove time consuming with those speeds though.

In the end the D-Link ShareCenter does what it says it will, but it seems to be an awkward mix of complicated concepts and features aimed at home users without adequate explanation. A missed opportunity.

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