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US Update: white iPhone 4, iPod nano watch, Bubble Ball
TiVo App for iPad redefines the remote control
14 year old dethrones Angry Birds with Bubble Ball app
Google Translate for Android adds conversation mode
Apple: 160m iOS devices sold
iPhone 4: Apple cannot predict when supply and demand will meet
Tim Cook scorns Android Honeycomb, confirms Apple is working on iPad 2
iWatchz: the affordable iPod nano watch
White iPhone 4 lives on, sound the alarms
Teatime Tech: Apple icon secrets, Portal 2 PS3 freebies and Nintendo 3DS rumours

US Update: white iPhone 4, iPod nano watch, Bubble Ball

Posted: 18 Jan 2011 07:00 PM PST

Starting your morning off right with a daily dose of tech news, here's your US Update. Today we begin with the latest news on the mythical white iPhone 4, we show off a new affordable iPod nano watch kit by iWatchz, introduce you to the new Google translate for Android and more.

The white iPhone 4 is not the mythical creature we may once have thought. Instead, new images have surfaced purportedly taken from Vodafone Germany's inventory system showing both 16GB and 32GB flavors. Is the white iPhone 4 set to debut at Apple's January press event?

iWatchz is adding two new lines to compliment their existing and highly successful Q Collection – the Carbon and Jelly Collections. The two new collections help to transform your 6th generation iPod nano into a watch starting at just $24.99.

Google Translate for Android has just been updated to include conversation mode. Now you and the person you are speaking with can speak directly into the phone and have real-time translation spoken back to you to make communicating a whole lot easier.

A 14 year old boy from Utah has created a free game for the Apple App Store, Bubble Ball, which has knocked Angry Birds from the number one free app position. Using a SDK and with some help from his mom, Robert Nay is taking the app world by storm and he's only in the 8th grade.

Last up this morning is the new Tivo app for iPad. The app allows you to schedule recordings, browse your programming guide and even control your Tivo box all from the comfort of the iPads 9.7 inch touchscreen. Changing the channel has never been so easy.

That wraps up things this fine morning from the states. Thanks for spending your morning with us as we break the headlines fresh off the press from our side of the world. Until tomorrow, this is Nick saying over and out.

TiVo App for iPad redefines the remote control

Posted: 18 Jan 2011 06:00 PM PST

Owners of the Apple iPad and a TiVo Premiere box can now take their TV watching to new heights. TiVo has released a version of their TiVo app for the iPad and with it comes a serious collection of features. Whether you are looking to browse your programming guide or simply want an easier to to setup one-time recordings or a Season Pass, this is the way to do it.

Here's the deal on the TiVo App for iPad. At face value you have a superior navigation tool compared to a smartphone to navigate the programming guide. While navigating the programming guide you will not interrupt playback on your TV and you'll easily be able to set one-time or Season Pass recordings. You can also browse your recorded content and launch a video to play on your TiVo Premier.

Searching has been improved to include broadcast TV, Netflix and Amazon Video On Demand in integrated results. The app has always been optimized for social networking with both Twitter and Facebook support. At the core of the app is the TiVo remote, the same classic TiVo remote interface you are familiar with using. If you want to take advantage of the iPad even further there's also a intuitive gesture based remote control.

The Apps is free and available for download now for all TiVo Premier and Premiere XL owners. You'll need to make sure your Apple iPad is running iOS 3.2 or later so we recommend updating to iOS 4.0.

Out Now | TiVo | Free

14 year old dethrones Angry Birds with Bubble Ball app

Posted: 18 Jan 2011 05:00 PM PST

Step aside Angry Birds, Bubble Ball is on the rise in the Apple App Store. Now featured as the number one free game, Bubble Ball was created by a 14 year old boy from Spanish Fork, Utah. Now that Robert Nay has taken the App Store crown, what's next for the 8th grade prodigy?

4,000 lines of code, 2 hours a day of programming per day and a month's time was all it took for Robert Nay to dominate Apple's App Store. During the past two weeks Robert's game, Bubble Ball has been downloaded more than two million times. The massive spike of downloads culminated in the number one position among free apps, ousting Angry Birds from the pole position.

Robert's mother, Kari said that he started building the game after some of his friends suggested he give it a try. He began his journey in the public library where he found a program, Ansca Mobile's Corona SDK, that helped him simplify the process. A month later, Robert has completed the puzzle game which he describes as a "fun, new physics puzzle game, where you will test your ingenuity and thinking skills to get the bubble to the goal".

As a programmer myself, I find the news of Robert Nay extremely inspiring. So much so that I think it's time to pay the $100 fee and submit my application to begin developing apps for the App Store. Thank you Robert, you've inspired us all. Anyone else out there going to join me and get off the bench to enter this App Store phenomena?

Out Now | Bubble Ball | Free

Google Translate for Android adds conversation mode

Posted: 18 Jan 2011 04:00 PM PST

A refresh of Google Translate for Android is upon us. After adding voice input and SMS translation since first launching in January 2010, Google is back at it again with a new feature – conversation mode. In addition to conversation mode, Translate for Android includes several other improvements such as better dropdown boxes and an improved input box.

While still an experimental feature, conversation mode could be the most useful feature in the new Google Translate for Android. The concept is simple, make it easy to communicate fluidly with a nearby person in another language. So how do you make this happen?

For now, Google is only addressing translation between English and Spanish. In conversation mode, simply press the microphone for your language and start speaking. Google Translate will translate your speech and read the translation out loud. When the person you're speaking with speaks back into the mic, the translation will be spoken back to you.

It sounds really simple and thankfully in real world testing, it is. Take a look at the video above where our friends from PhoneArena put the updated version of Google Translate for Android to the test. Google Translate now supports 53 languages and voice input for 15 languages. The application is free for Android devices 2.1 and above by simply searching "Google Translate" in the Android Market.

So who's ready to put Google Translate for Android to the test and see how well conversation mode can work on a trip down to Mexico? Sounds like a fun time to me.

via Google

Apple: 160m iOS devices sold

Posted: 18 Jan 2011 03:46 PM PST

Apple has announced a raft of figures almost all in the positives at its earnings call tonight. One of the most impressive figures is the announcement that Apple has sold 160m iOS devices cumulatively. That’s one iOS device to the entire population of the UK more than two and a half times over. Click through for more mind boggling figures form what must have been a particularly satisfying earnings call for the folks from Cupertino.

Apple also announced the iPad sold 7.3m (the equivalent of more than one to every person living in London), plus nine billion app downloads from the App Store, and 16.2m iPhones sold in this quarter.

Apple also sold 19.4m iPods, sales of which fell overall, although iPod touch bolstered sales with 27% increase in sales. Apple sold 4.13m Macs: a 23% growth on the same quarter last year, and the 19th consecutive year of growth in Mac sales.

Overall Peter Oppenheimer, Apple CFO, said that for this quarter Apple had 71 percent growth in revenue based on record iPhone, Mac, and iPad sales. Tim Cook also said that Apple has $59.7b in cash, that’s compared to $51b last quarter. Its quarterly profit is $6b.

What to do with all that money?

What would you buy if you were Apple? A small country? A large company? Shout out in the comments!

iPhone 4: Apple cannot predict when supply and demand will meet

Posted: 18 Jan 2011 03:17 PM PST

At Apple’s earnings call this evening, Tim Cook, Apple COO and Steve Jobs stand-in, has said that he “cannot predict when the supply and demand will cross” for the iPhone 4. Cook said that there were still problems with getting enough iPhone 4 devices into the marketplace, and that it could not meet demand. Cook said: “I feel good about what we've been able to do with the iPhone 4, but it's not enough. We have a significant backlog and are working around the clock to build more. I feel great that the demand for the iPhone 4 is so high, but can’t predict when supply will meet demand. The reaction from Verizon customers will be huge. I don’t want to give prediction when supply and demand will cross."

Tim Cook scorns Android Honeycomb, confirms Apple is working on iPad 2

Posted: 18 Jan 2011 03:10 PM PST

Tim Cook, Apple COO and Steve Jobs’s stand in, has come out in attack of iPad competitors, and unsurprisingly, in favour of the iPad. Cook said that Android Honeycomb tablets were “vapour” for the moment, and Peter Oppenheimer, Apple CFO also confirmed that Apple are working on the iPad 2.

Cook didn’t hold back, slamming both Windows based tablets and Android tablets. Cook said: “Tablets using a Windows based operating system are typically big, heavy and expensive. They have weak battery life and require a stylus. Customers are frankly not interested.

“Then you have the Android tablet. The variety that are out today, the operating system wasn't really designed for a tablet. You wind up having a tablet that is less than a real tablet experience, a scaled up smartphone, which is a bizarre product in our view. Those are not tablets we are concerned about.”

That wasn’t all either. Cook also had a dig at Android Honeycomb, talking about the next generation of Android tablets: “Generally they lack performance specs, and prices, and so today they're vapour. We'll assess them as they're coming out, however we're not sitting still. We're confident entering into a fight with anyone.”

Peter Oppenheimer, Apple CFO, also said: “The iPad team are building the best iPad for the future,” although refused to say anything more about the next iteration of the iPad.

This is fighting talk from Cook, but once that vapour materialises into solid form, will Android Honeycomb be posing a very real threat to Apple? Shout out in the comments!

iWatchz: the affordable iPod nano watch

Posted: 18 Jan 2011 03:00 PM PST

Looking to take your Apple iPod nano to the next level? iWatchz will help you get there by transforming your 6th generation iPod nano into a watch for the nominal fee of $24.95. Here's the skinny on the iWatchz iPod nano watch and their upcoming Carbon and Jelly collections.

Since December iWatchz has been available at over 250 Apple Stores nationwide and Apple.com. The initial offering was the 'Q Collection', a premium silicon strap with the patented 'nanoclipz' polycrystal clip and stainless steel watch hardware. This kit came in eight color choices and quickly became a top rated and selling product on Apple's website.

Now iWatchz is back with two new collections — Carbon and Jelly. Both product lines were announced at CES 2011 and should be landing in February or March this year. The Carbon Collection is the ultra-premium solution, featuring premium carbon watchbands and matte-black aluminum nanoclipz. The Jelly Collection features vibrant translucent-colored nanoclipz matched to the color of the watchband.

The price is certainly right and odds are you'll find exactly what you are looking for between the Q, Carbon and Jelly collections. Anyone out there with a 6th generation iPod nano looking to transform their portable music player into a timepiece? Now if the iPod nano only had bluetooth so we could truly cut the cord…

Out Now | iWatchz | $24.99 and up

White iPhone 4 lives on, sound the alarms

Posted: 18 Jan 2011 02:00 PM PST

From a land of unicorns, centurions and other mythical creatures, the white iPhone 4 has emerged into a functioning smartphone. The pearly white must-have gadget of 2010 has just been spotted within Vodafone Germany's inventory system in both 16GB and 32GB flavors. Here's the latest on the white iPhone 4.

The Vodafone Germany inventory system has blessed the tech world with a glimmer of hope that the white iPhone 4 may still be on track for retail launch. With SKUs in accord with the 16GB and 32GB black iPhone 4s, it appears both capacities for the white iPhone 4 should be launching very soon.

This is not the first time we've spotted a white iPhone 4 in an inventory system, but it's the first for Vodafone Germany. There's an upcoming Apple press event scheduled for later this month where we expect the iPad 2 to be unveiled, but could also be time to finally release the white iPhone 4.

With the CDMA iPhone 4 launching in early February, it's time for Apple's wonder phone to go full circle. The iPhone 5, like four iPhones before it, will undoubtedly go on sale this June — has Apple missed the party with the white iPhone 4? Anyone out there still waiting on the release? Sound off.

via Fone Home | Engadget

Teatime Tech: Apple icon secrets, Portal 2 PS3 freebies and Nintendo 3DS rumours

Posted: 18 Jan 2011 10:08 AM PST

Ah, the end of another working day. For you at least: for the tech headlines, we’ve just got a mere respite to roundup this afternoon’s stories before even more come rolling on in. See what juicy gossip you missed this PM right here.

Let’s talk Apple first up. We took a step back from the news about Steve Jobs taking medical leave, and brought you a must watch video that encapsulates the man and his attitude to life. We also broke down the hidden secrets inside Apple’s icons for iOS and Mac. You’d be surprised at what’s in them!

In gaming meanwhile, we heard that Portal 2’s PS3 version comes with a mighty fine free copy of the game on PC courtesy of Steam, while the rumours continued to swirl around tomorrow’s Nintendo 3DS event in Amsterdam. What games companies will be there representing alongside Nintendo?

Finally, in home cinema, Sky rejigged its channels to make way for Sky Atlantic, while we rounded up the experts’ opinions on the Philips CInema 21:9 3D TV.

Still want more news? Click on through to the homepage and help yourself to it all as it breaks. Click, click!