Before TV, computers, cell phones, iPods, iPhones, iPads, iPad minis or any other technology we have today, kids were required to play with simple things, like Barbies and balloons.
It’s easy to forget how fun these things were, and this totally adorable baby is here to remind us that the most entertaining things in life don’t necessarily come from the Apple Store. I dare you not to let an “awwww” escape your lips as you watch his giggle fit play out.
And it’s amazing! After Hayley Williams openly admitted she had been suffering from writer’s block, a lot of people were left wondering whether or not Paramore’s new music would be as good as it has been in the past. No need to worry folks! The group’s newest track is great, and is will make a welcome addition to the existing Paramore on your iPod.
One listen to the extremely catchy tune will have you bobbing your head and tapping your feet, and by the end you’ll be up and out of your seat in a full blown, rock-out dance party. I love it, and I’m really glad to see they’re doing fine after the departure of Josh and Zac Farro.
One week til Christmas!
Hopefully you have gifts sorted out, stocking hung up, lights turned on, tree looking extra snazzy, ugly sweater hanging up, cookies waiting for Santa, fireplace lit, cookies baking and holiday music playing because we are one week away until the happiest day of the year — Christmas! [4uroras]
Well it’s 2012..
You’d think by now, children would be able to text Santa what they want for Christmas. As sad as it sounds, who wants to sit down and write with a pen and paper? It seems as though even my youngest cousins at 3-years-old already has an iPod touch! [miapam]
Rocking in the holidays with Bieber
Justin Bieber was on The Ellen Show Friday and not only did he perform an amazing acoustic performance, he spilled some news! This January, you can expect more music, with a brand new acoustic album! BRB I need a moment to take this in. [infinatemistake]
Traditional treats Read more…
Don’t have a house to throw a party in? No biggie, this British guy cracked the code for us and posted his experience on JumpOffTVUK.
Here’s what you have to do:
1. Head to IKEA and scope out the best living-room set-up with couches and home entertainment. Be completely open about your party plans with employees who question you. Everyone is welcome to your house party!!
2. Make sure to dust the counter tops and wipe off any fingerprints from previous customers. You want your temporary home to be clean.
3. Hook up your iPod speakers and play a song. It’s important to choose something with a good beat and that introduces people to the concept of what your doing. A good choice is Meek Mill’s “House Party.” If they didn’t know it was a house party before, they will now.
4. Pull out your booze. You didn’t give people enough time for BYOB so you’re going to have to pre-prepare any gin cocktails you have in mind. In this case, dude went heavy with Jack Daniels.
5. Invite people!! Customers won’t come unless you look like you’re having a fun time. So make sure to dance and smile.
6. When security inevitably crashes your party, make sure to hug all your new friends and say bye.
Watch it here:
The Stem Time Command Mini is a “compact, app-enhanced audio alarm and dock” for the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. The base is small and simple: time display, two speakers, and three buttons – volume up and down, and one button to play, pause, set, and snooze. It comes with a long cord, making the base easy to move around a room while it remains plugged in. The base supports devices in or out of most protective cases, and it comes with additional supports for the iPad.
When it is first plugged in, you are prompted to set the time, but by docking your device the Time Command Mini automatically sets the time that is set on your device. That is a really great feature, absolutely no hassle! It is simple to set up, just plug it in, dock your device, and it’s ready to go. The Time Command Mini will keep your device fully charged while you use it. Not only can you play music while it is docked, your phone is fully functional, and you can keep it docked while having a conversation over speakerphone.
There is an App that compliments the Time Command, aptly named “Time Command.” While it is not necessary to download to be able to use the device, you are prompted to download it every time you dock your iPhone/iPod/iPad. With the App downloaded and open, your phone remains on a display screen, showing the weather, the time, and the date. There is a small alarm symbol on the bottom of the screen that gives you three options – Set Alarms, Sleep Now, and Sleep to Audio.
The first option, Set Alarms, allows you to set several alarms on your device, much like the regular clock App. You can select the alarm sound, and select a range of volumes (from level 1 to level 16). The Sleep Now option turns the time display on the dock completely off, and dims the screen on your device. You can select the brightness of the time on the dock (from level 1 to level 5), and you can adjust your device’s display brightness through the settings. Finally, the Sleep to Audio option allows you to fall asleep to music from your device, or to relaxation sounds from the App, like Ocean Waves, Camp Fire, or Summer Rain, among others. Once you select the audio you wish to fall asleep to, you can set a sleep timer so it turns off automatically. Hit “Done” and the device’s screen dims and the dock display turns off.
The dock also supports an alarm that works whether or not a device is plugged in. The sound is a simple beeping that you can set the volume level for. Deactivating the alarm is a simple push of the centre button. While using the Time Command to play music, the three buttons have multiple functions. The volume buttons also serve as Previous and Next song buttons, and the centre button is Play and Pause. This little dock certainly delivers big sound; it is a lot louder than you would think.
The main problems I have found with the Time Command Mini are that I am constantly being prompted to download or update something for the App, which is slightly annoying, but not really a big deal. The volume controls are slightly flawed; if you press too fast you end up changing the song. Finally, the alarm is not all that loud, and I can’t imagine relying on it to wake me up from a cozy sleep.
Overall, the Time Command Mini is a great product, compact in size yet offers big sound and has a variety of uses. You can purchase on for $79.95 from the stem official web site.
Griffin has come up with many fantastic accessories for gadget users over the years. Whether it was a car charger for an iPod, or a cradle for a smartphone, Griffin has a solution in accessory form to suit almost anyone’s needs. They have recently integrated several of their accessory gadgets into one package as the ultimate solution for iPhone / iPod touch users. Auxiliary (AUX) ports are becoming more and more common in vehicles these days. People bring their iPhones / iPods into the car and need a handy place to mount their iPods while they drive. The dilemma is that drivers still need to beg able to access the screen to choose their music. Griffin’s TuneFlex AUX Handsfree is the answer.
The TuneFlex AUX Handsfree for iPhone and iPod touch is essentially a car charger with a long flexible steel neck and swiveling cradle that holds your iPhone or iPod where you want it. You can bend and angle the neck however you like, so that the iPhone is facing you and can be easily accessed to pick songs and answer calls while you are on the go.
The cradle has a mounting bracket to hold the iPhone or iPod securely and ensure it doesn’t fall off the charger. The TuneFlex is compatible With iPhone and iPod Models With A 30 – Pin Dock Connector, so the cradle will keep your iPhone / iPod fully charged while you are listening to music or chatting with your friends. If you keep your iPhone or iPod safe in a case, fear not. The TuneFlex is a Case – friendly cradle. It is wide enough to hold the iPhone or iPod in its case, and the depth of the cradle can be adjusted using the adjustable wheel at the back of the case. Even those of you with massive otterbox cases will be able to use this product without the hassle of removing your phone from it’s case.
The cradle comes with an AUX / Microphone cable that connects your iPhone / iPod to your car stereo. The cable provides high quality audio from the iPhone / iPod to the car speakers. The cable also features a high – sensitivity hands – free microphone for phone calls. I use this feature frequently and the people on the other end of the calls can’t tell that I am on speaker phone.
This unit is good, but it is not without its flaws. The manual says that through the AUX cable, the audio from phone calls will be ported to the car’s speakers, but it will not do that. No matter how many iPhones I’ve tried, regardless of firmware, model, or O/S, it will not work. I am forced to use the phone’s mediocre speaker function. It serves it’s purpose, but when I am on the highway I have a hard time hearing the people I am on the phone with.
The other issue is a physical one. The cradle is meant to be totally adjustable. You can turn, bend and angle the case in a variety of ways. This is a great feature, but when I am turning with any speed, the phone becomes wobbly, and will totally turn to it’s side while in the cradle. The case would benefit from locking into place at various angles and being made adjustable. The rotation mechanism gets looser and looser by the day and I fear that over time it will turn very easily and at inopportune times. It’s a pain in the butt and needs to be addressed in future models.
Overall, the TuneFlex AUX is a handy tool. It has its flaws, but it also has it’s perks. The bugs definitely need to be addressed, but this is still a fantastic gadget for all iPhone / iPod users in their cars and I highly recommend it.
For more information, visit Griffin’s web site.
We’re also giving away 2 units. To enter, complete the form below and we’ll select 2 winners on Apr 30th, 2012. Open to residents of Canada only, excluding Quebec.
Would you be embarrassed if someone scrolled through your iPod? We sit down with Spee and Brendan to talk about the diverse music on their playlist.
Tired of the same old boring iPhone/iPod cases? Why not try changing it up with a Music Skin of your favourite artist. Simply place the skin on the back of your device and you’ll instantly be cooler (ok we can’t guarantee that). To enter the contest, simply fill in the form below and select which device you have. Here is a list of the skins we have:
iPod Touch 1st Gen – Paramore, Taylor Swift
iPod Touch 2nd Gen – T-Pain
iPhone 2G – Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Paramore
iPhone 3G(S) – L’il Wayne, T-Pain, Paramore
We’ll randomly select winners for each device and send out a random skin. Contest ends August 8th, 2010.
When we visited CES in January 2010, a new area was announced to showcase Apple based products and peripherals because of a recent change to the annual Macworld show. While there were some great new products being debuted, we noticed one type of product that was abundantly available, iPhone cases.
After visiting more than 30 booths with iPhone cases, we noticed only a handful of companies were innovating beyond the basic silicon skin case. One of those companies was iFrogz.
We really like what we saw with the iPhone Frosted Luxe cases. Available in several colours, the two piece case slides together, providing protection from scratches and drops. The case also extends a few millimetres above the screen, which would prevent the screen from making contact with the ground, should you drop it.
The case provides access to all buttons and with a larger opening around the headphone jack, it can fit all types of headphones. Featuring a velvety ‘soft touch’ feel and the option to swap colours if you have multiple cases, you’ll always have a phone that can match your outfit.
You can buy the case online at ifrogz.com for US$29.99 or browse their site for more iPod, iPhone, iPad or Blackberry cases.
Sia Furler is a professional musician, but she doesn’t listen to music. If you look through her iPod, you won’t find songs.Aside from the music that her friends play in the background when she hangs out with them, the Australian singer would much rather be watching TV.
“I don’t really listen to music,” Sia tells andPOP in a phone interview. “I really don’t have any songs on my iPod, I just have TV shows. And Scrabble!” She laughs. It’s infectious.
Sia may not spend her free time listening to music, but the songs she produces are brimming with artistic merit. With three full-length albums as well as the hauntingly beautiful (and widely popular) single, “Breathe Me,” behind her, the 34-year-old is getting ready to release record number four; and it’s definitely a step away from the calm of her past music.
“We Are Born”, set for release on June 7, is a bit of a throw back to Sia’s first album, 2000’s “Healing Is Difficult.” “Some people might call that record hip-hop,” Sia said of Healing Is Difficult. “Each time [I make a record] it’s different. It just depends what’s happening around me, who I’m spending time with, what they’re listening to.”
Signup to win a new iPod Shuffle loaded with Halestorm’s new album.
Anytime a person like me packs for a trip, you need to pack all your gadgets. And with your gadgets, comes all the individual chargers to keep it running. Anytime I have brought my cell phone, iPod, PDA, satellite radio, digital camera, and PSP anywhere, I’ve had to stuff my bag with tonnes of cords. Companies are now starting to work on solutions to cut down the number of chargers you need, preferably to 1.
One such company is Callpod, with their Chargepod. The Chargepod is a cool device that lets you plug in up to 6 mobile devices at once. Looking at their website, they have tips for just about every portable device I own, except the digital camera which no one seems to have anyway.
Read more…
Amazon.com will be carrying a limited edition version of Speakal’s iPig iPod docking speaker system.
The docking station features 25 watts of power, touch volume control, a “Pig” inspired design and an exclusive high gloss black finish.
Speakal CEO David Solomon says “The exclusive availability
on Amazon.com will certainly insure our customers have a pleasant purchasing
experience and we are happy to grant this exclusivity.” Read more…
Years ago, I was flipping through the pages of a catalogue on an airplane and saw what at the time was the greatest invention I had ever seen: A pair of sunglasses with a built-in TV. It advertised that you could sit on the beach and watch your kids while simultaneously watching television. I had dreamt of getting them, and even started saving in hopes of buying that $800 contraption I had only seen a picture of in a catalogue.
I never bought them. In fact, I put the catalogue back in the seat pocket, and left it just as a dream. But with the advent of portable media players such as the iPod and the Zune, it was only a matter of time that a contraption like that would make the leap from niche gadget to mainstream product. So when the Myvu Crystal came my way, I jumped at the chance to play with it.
The glasses themselves are a very sleek design. As I put them on, I noticed they didn’t obstruct my entire view beyond the glasses. I wasn’t sure if this was good or bad, since I could easily be distracted by what was around me, though it also meant I would see something important around me, like if I were on a plane, I’d see a food tray coming and know to move my legs in. The headphones are in-ear style, which would normally be great except this was a loaner from the company that had already been used at least once. At least they put 3 different pairs of covers in the package, though the ones that would have fit me best were the used ones. Read more…
Speck is a case company out of California that provides great protection for computers, in particular Macintosh products. The company’s Vision is to design, “functionality and personality into everything’, into their products and that ‘delicate stuff protected can be just as stylish as they are protective!’ In the opinion of this reviewer, Speck is a company that fulfills their customers commitments.
At andPOP, we see our share of iPod cases and the Speck ‘Tough Skin’ line is above the crowd for many reasons. The Tough Skin cases are available for the entire iPod line up and will offer maximum protection for any iPod. We closely inspected the Tough skin for the iPod Nano and this case was a great choice! Complimenting a textured ‘rubber grip design’ that fits like a glove, the Tough Skin includes a hard clear shell to protect the shiny screen from scuffs and scratches. There is also a rotating belt clip that can be completely removed should you prefer to carry your iPod without the protruding belt clip connections. The custom fitted design of this case, provides complete access to all the openings and all connections including the dock. The Tough case is an excellent choice for the current iPods for protection, style and convenience.
Visit Speck for more information.
You bought your iPhone and you probably purchased a case for it at the same time. It’s still worth taking a look at this one. Out of Canada, making some pretty interesting products for the iPhone is Helium Digital. While there are many iPhone cases on the market, Helium’s Leather Back Flip is one of the best I’ve tried. The case is smart looking and features a leather flip top with magnetic closure, offering good protection and direct access to all iPhone functions. You’ll have to pick up a clear screen protector separately however, because Helium does not include one with this case, but for $24.99 CDN this case is still a bargain and you will enjoy using it on your new iPhone 3G. Maybe one day Helium will make a case for the iPod Touch, but for now you can slide a slim piece of foam you can trim off from the packaging materials to retrofit this handsome Leather case for use with your 2G iPod Touch.
Helium also stocks a 3 pack silicone case set for the iPhone (HD-020). Most notably, these silicone cases include screen protectors and the price for the set is only $19.99 CDN. Order Helium products online from the website or visit such retailers as The Source by Circuit city and Wal Mart.
QuickerTek, a company specializing in wireless networking for Apple products, recently released a new external battery compatible with a variety of Apple products. The iPod, iTouch and iPhone 3G can get up to three times the battery life by connecting to the new external battery pack from QuickerTek.
The battery simply attaches to the device it is powering. The battery also features a retractable USB charging cable, making it easy to recharge from any laptop or desktop computer.
The battery charger is backed with a one-year warranty on parts and labour. For additional information on the product, visit
Today, Audioengine annouced the release of Audioengine W2 Premium Wireless Adapter for iPod. The adapter turns an iPod into a wireless remote, allowing a user to play all the songs on the device on any stero system.
The adapter works by plugging the digital sender into an iPod and connecting the included Reciever to the stereo. The Audioengine W2 works as a ‘wireless dock’, according to the press release. Extra recievers can also be added to other music systems throughout the home allowing users to switch between each.
The dock pack by Scandyna is supposed to be a sleek, modern take on the iPod Dock, but is instead clunky, awkward and a mess of wires.
The dock pack consist of three components: two speakers and the actual dock itself. The two speakers are round, about the size of a grapefruit, and stand on three small plastic legs. The small dock component of the system stands alone, and the pack comes with 6 changeable dock shapes, so that every kind of iPod can be used with the dock. This is probably the strongest feature of the product, and comes in handy when hosting a party and you want to mix up the music by using your friend’s iPod.
While your hopes are set high after seeing the stylish package and unique design, the dock pack falls incredibly short. The instruction booklet is very brief and doesn’t actually tell you how to connect the three sets of wires that come with the dock pack. Luckily my sister was around and knew what to do because she had set up a iPod dock before, but otherwise I would have has no clue what to do.
When it came to actually setting the dock up, it was difficult to distinguish how to connect the wires to the dock. There were blue and red wires, and blue and red sockets to connect them to, but it was hard to decide where exactly to place the wires. Again, my sister, who had set up a dock before, could figure it out eventually, but even she had a hard time making the wires connect to the system. When I tried to start playing music, I had to move the wires around a bit to actually establish a connection between the speakers and the iPod.
I set the dock pack up on a table in my room, and there were wires and cords everywhere. Again, this is fine, but the whole point of the dock pack, to my understanding, is to be less clunky and awkward than a typical dock. While the dock pack may take up less space and allow for the increased mobility of the speakers, the extra cords and wires make it ugly and inconvenient. The actual sound coming from the speakers was fine, but nothing exceptional.
Another problem with the dock pack: the remote control that comes with the device didn’t work. It came with a battery and everything, but wasn’t working with the dock. Again, there was nothing in the instruction booklet that outlined how to activate the remote.
Overall, the dock pack was a disappointing experience. The packaging shows the dock and is intriguing, but in reality the device doesn’t live up to expectations. If you are looking to buy a dock, I would recommend looking into a more traditional model, as this new wave of docks are more trouble than they’re worth.
2 out of 5 stars
iLuv, an iPod accessories company, announced this week the release of the iMM173, Hi-Fi Dual Dock Alarm Clock for your iPhone/iPod. The iMM173 will be available in early September 2008 for approximately $130 US.
The Apple certified Dual Dock Alarm Clock for the iPhone 3G and iPhone 2G includes a variety of features and functions, including an advanced user-interface (UI) with oversized LCD display and 5W x 2 sound output with treble/bass control. The Dual Dock Alarm Clock also features jAura soundcell technology, which includes acoustic speak sound and the properly proportion mix of forward and backward sound waves.
The device also features an integrated universal dock for the iPhone and iPod, and allows users to charge two iPhones or iPods at once. Users can also choose and play either of the two docked iPhones or iPods.
