If you and your friends both use the Vonage app, you can now enjoy free calls and texts to each other via WiFi or 3G/4G. You can also add calling credits to call people that don't have the app. For a limited time, calls to any phone in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico are free as long as you stay under your minutes.

Source: Engadget

Vonage Launches New Mobile App Providing Free Calling and Texting to Other App Users around the World
Savings of more than 70 percent on international calls to those without the app

HOLMDEL, N.J., February 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE: VG) announced the launch of Vonage Mobile®, the new iPhone® and Android™ app that lets users make free high-definition calls and send free texts to all users of the app, worldwide1. The app works over Wi-Fi, 3G and 4G wireless data networks.

When calling those who have not yet downloaded the app, Vonage Mobile provides ultra low-cost international calling with per-minute rates that are on average 70 percent less than major mobile carriers and 30 percent less than Skype™2. Users can instantly add calling credit directly from the app through iTunes® or Android Market™ in increments of $4.99 and $9.99.

Vonage Mobile uses the phone's existing mobile number and contact list, eliminating the need for unique user names and duplicate identities for contacts. Users can instantly build a free global calling and texting network using the app's multi-invite system from their existing contacts.

"Vonage Mobile consolidates the best features of our prior applications, while adding important functionality, better value and improved ease of use," said Marc Lefar, CEO of Vonage. "It combines the best of free high-def voice and messaging along with incredible value for traditional international calls, all while using the existing mobile number and address book for unsurpassed ease of use."

In addition, calls to any phone in the United States, Canada or Puerto Rico from anywhere in the world will be free for a limited time3.

Users do NOT need to be a Vonage customer to use the app. However, as an added benefit to all app users, calls to Vonage home or business lines are also free. The Vonage Mobile app can be downloaded to any iPhone or Android device for free; and it also works on the iPad®, iPod Touch® and Android™ Tablets.

For more information on Vonage Mobile, please go to iTunes, Android Market or www.vonagemobile.com.

# # #

1 Data rates may apply.

2 Based on per-minute rates to the top 50 countries called. Comparison reflects published rates of leading mobile carriers in markets representing the majority of iPhone and Android users.

3 Limited time free calling offer to the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico is for personal, non-commercial calling and excludes calls to certain geographic locations, premium and special services numbers, satellite telephony services and other call forwarding services. Not to exceed 3000 minutes per month.

iPhone and iTunes are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Android is a trademark of Google Inc. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance.

© 2012, mindfrost82. All rights reserved.

I've had the iPhone for a few months now, after using Windows Mobile, Blackberry, Symbian, Windows Phone 7, and Android. Android obviously had excellent integration with Google's services such as GMail and Google Talk. The transition to the iPhone took a little time, but I've gotten a lot of things to work pretty good. One thing I noticed the other day was when I would supposedly delete my emails from my phone, they weren't going into Trash in GMail, instead, they were going into All Mail.

There are a few ways you can setup GMail on the iPhone. You can use the IMAP way, which will basically just give you email, no contacts. You can also set it up as an Exchange account, which will let you sync your email, contacts, and calendars. Here is Google's walkthrough on how to set it up via Exchange.

Now, if you have multiple calendars in GMail that you want to sync, you can visit m.google.com/sync using Safari on your phone, login with your account, then click on your iPhone. You should have a list of your calendars that you can check to sync to your phone.

Now to the point of this article. If you want to actually delete items (move them to trash) instead of archiving them (move them to All Mail), there's another check box on this screen that says "Enable 'Delete Email As Trash' for this device". Check that box and scroll down to save.

Voilà! You're good to go now!

© 2012, mindfrost82. All rights reserved.

While Microsoft has had games released on different platforms, so far, the XBox Live experience has really only been on Windows Phone 7 devices. Microsoft now states that it will be bringing "a few" of their XBox Live experiences and titles to the iPhone, iPad, and Android. There's no word yet on when this might happen, or what experiences or titles that might be.

While the Xbox Live experiences and games always work best on the Windows platform, we understand that some Xbox fans may be using other types of devices. To satisfy that need, we are working to extend a few of our Xbox experiences and titles to other platforms.

They already have My XBox Live which brings some of the experience to the iPhone. Those of you XBox users out there, would this be enough to make you switch to the iPhone or Android instead of a Windows Phone 7?

Source: iMore

© 2012, mindfrost82. All rights reserved.

We've seen these rumors before, but here's another one. Which smartphone will overtake the world by 2015? According to this study, the winner is clearly Android, but then it also shows that Windows Phone 7 will surpass the iPhone, by one-tenth of a percent. This study was done by IHS iSuppli Mobile & Wireless Communications Service.

One of the hottest new products unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show was the Lumia 900, a Windows Phone-based smartphone sporting a flashy set of features that makes it competitive with the best alternatives offered by the Android camp,” said Wayne Lam, senior analyst for wireless communications at IHS. “This hot product represents Nokia’s first step to reclaim its market share. Combined with Nokia’s efforts to drive the development of the Windows Phone ecosystem, the Lumia 900 and its successors will help Microsoft to reclaim its No. 2 ranking in smartphone operating system market share in 2015.

Source: WPCentral

© 2012, mindfrost82. All rights reserved.

Adobe announced today via their blog that, after the upcoming release of Flash Player 11.1 for Android and BlackBerry Playbook, they will no longer develop Flash Player for mobile devices. Instead they are going to refocus their development efforts to better support the newly adopted HTML5 standard. From their blog:

"Adobe is all about enabling designers and developers to create the most expressive content possible, regardless of platform or technology. For more than a decade, Flash has enabled the richest content to be created and deployed on the web by reaching beyond what browsers could do. It has repeatedly served as a blueprint for standardizing new technologies in HTML.  Over the past two years, we’ve delivered Flash Player for mobile browsers and brought the full expressiveness of the web to many mobile devices.

However, HTML5 is now universally supported on major mobile devices, in some cases exclusively.  This makes HTML5 the best solution for creating and deploying content in the browser across mobile platforms. We are excited about this, and will continue our work with key players in the HTML community, including Google, Apple, Microsoft and RIM, to drive HTML5 innovation they can use to advance their mobile browsers."

Developers of current Flash sites and applications will be able to be repackage their Flash content using Adobe Air. This is very good news for the industry because, after a period of adoption and transformation, all mobile devices will be able to view all web sites in [nearly] the same fashion. More from Adobe:

Our future work with Flash on mobile devices will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe AIR for all the major app stores. We will no longer continue to develop Flash Player in the browser to work with new mobile device configurations (chipset, browser, OS version, etc.) following the upcoming release of Flash Player 11.1 for Android and BlackBerry PlayBook. We will of course continue to provide critical bug fixes and security updates for existing device configurations. We will also allow our source code licensees to continue working on and release their own implementations.

Some contribute the recent announcement by Adobe to an open letter that the late Steve Jobs published in April, 2010 entitled "Thoughts on Flash." In that letter Jobs stated that while Flash was a good, marketable choice for Adobe, he believed that they should instead put more effort into adopting a higher degree of HTML5 support.

So what should we think; is Adobe moving ahead or giving into the technology advancements of mobile devices? With these changes coming quickly, does this mean that Apple will sell even more iPads and iPhones, now that Flash will no longer be a factor? Is there any reason that Adobe shouldn't do this? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

© 2011, rainfreak. All rights reserved.

 For Sprint iPhone enthusiast yesterday was a day of good news, it was finally confirmed the third largest carrier in the U.S. would now carry the iPhone.

As promised, Apple shows off its latest iPhone Tuesday at “Let’s Talk iPhone Event”, and although the new handset was packed with new features and hardware like a new chip and improved camera, the general reaction was less than spectacular. Many had hoped to see the new rumored iPhone 5 released but this was not the case.

 On the carrier front, Sprint will become the third U.S. wireless provider to carry the iPhone, but it won't come easy for the company. Like the other carriers, Sprint will have to buy the phones for around US$600 each, and then sell them at the suggested retail prices, starting at $199 with a two-year contract.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Sprint -- the third-largest carrier in the U.S. and in a more difficult financial position relative to rivals AT&T and Verizon -- made a commitment to purchase more than 30 million iPhones over the next four years. Neither Apple nor Sprint has confirmed that number.

The move has the potential to be a lifesaver for Sprint, especially as future iPhones with more advanced wireless capabilities come along. However, the initial capital could put a strain on current balance sheets.

John Feland, CEO of Argus Insights, said "It would make sense strategically for both companies. Sprint has the most mature and widespread true 4G network in the U.S. They are in desperate need of a winner. Apple needs a 4G network to push new experiences out to the iPhone faithful, especially in the face of competition heating up from Amazon."

It's a risky move for the company, but it's the kind that can pay off well, especially when the company is in the position of going big or going home.

© 2011, tsowen. All rights reserved.

In my years of writing I have yet to see a day that makes me go WOW! Did that just happen. But today while opening the Internet became reality.

Steve Jobs effective immediately is no longer CEO. He resigned today for unknown reasons, although with his medical situations of late it would appear that that may be the primary reason. With a personal letter to Apple Board asking to execute the succession plan and announce Tim Cook as CEO.  They quickly voted him Chairman of the Board, however, so he can still help direct how the company operates without the heavy burden and long hours of being CEO.

Click here for the new brief from MSN.

Here is the resignation letter he gave to the board:

To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

Steve

How do you think this will help or hurt the company? Do you think this will impact their idea's marketing and overall devices? Let me know below PPCGeeks.

[UPDATE]

Tim Cook (new CEO of Apple) has released the following email to Apple employees assuring them that nothing is going to chage:

"Team:

I am looking forward to the amazing opportunity of serving as CEO of the most innovative company in the world. Joining Apple was the best decision I've ever made and it's been the privilege of a lifetime to work for Apple and Steve for over 13 years. I share Steve's optimism for Apple's bright future.

Steve has been an incredible leader and mentor to me, as well as to the entire executive team and our amazing employees. We are really looking forward to Steve's ongoing guidance and inspiration as our Chairman.

I want you to be confident that Apple is not going to change. I cherish and celebrate Apple's unique principles and values. Steve built a company and culture that is unlike any other in the world and we are going to stay true to that—it is in our DNA. We are going to continue to make the best products in the world that delight our customers and make our employees incredibly proud of what they do.

I love Apple and I am looking forward to diving into my new role. All of the incredible support from the Board, the executive team and many of you has been inspiring. I am confident our best years lie ahead of us and that together we will continue to make Apple the magical place that it is.

Tim"

© 2011, JasonFieldz. All rights reserved.

According to this article found at Computerworld, it looks like Motorola has been purchased by Google!! What will this mean for Windows Phone 7? Nothing good, that is for sure!! Not only does it add a powerful developing market to Android but it isn't likely we will see any Windows devices coming from Motorola either.

Motorola has been viewed as one of Microsoft's saviors in the Window Phone 7's development area and this could be a huge hit to Microsoft. With Motorola out of the loop (at least partially if not totally) Nokia will be the big developer for Windows Phone 7. Some experts are forecasting Android and iOS to be the long-term survivors while  Windows Phone, Blackberry, and HP's WebOS will fade away eventually. Before this it was optomistic Windows Phone would survive as well, but it will be an even tougher road now. (a great write-up can be found here)

Now....it is important to remember that it isn't finalized yet and Google is not looking to create a 'Google-made' device like the iPhone. They want to run Motorola as a company unto itself, incorporating Android into a lot of devices but not having one corporation take over the other. (more details here)

What do you guys think? Will this create a powerhouse Android world that will threaten even the i-world? What will become of Windows Phone? Will it survive?

Source:  Computerworld  USA Today

© 2011, syrguy1969. All rights reserved.

Comex has just released the highly anticipated JailbreakMe 3.0 for iOS 4.3.3. After it having leaked out about a week ago, it's now been officially released. The ultimate iDevice unlocking tool is finally here.

JailbreakMe 3.0 makes use of a PDF exploit just like JailbreakMe 2.0. JailbreakMe was originally used to jailbreak the iPhone and iPod touch running the 1.1.1 version of iPhone OS. Using a TIFF exploit in Safari, this installed the Installer.app. This exploit was patched by Apple Inc. in the 1.1.2 firmware. The more recent JailbreakMe 2.0 released by comex uses an exploit in the FreeType library used while rendering PDF files. The exploit used by JailbreakMe 2.0 was patched by Apple Inc. in iOS 4.0.2. JailbreakMe 3.0 can jailbreak all iDevices (including iPad 2) on iOS 4.3.3 only, with additional firmware update support to come later. Comex’s solution is the ultimate jailbreaking solution as you can jailbreak your iOS device by simply using mobile Safari.

It's been confirmed to work on all iOS devices such as iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 1, iPad 2, iPod Touch 3G and iPod Touch 4G.

Here's a few things that you should be aware of before you proceed:

• It is always a good idea to take a backup of your iOS device before you hack it.
• JailbreakMe 3.0 supports iOS 4.3.3, so you need to first update your iOS device to iOS 4.3.3 before using JailbreakMe.
• Please note that JailbreakMe does not activate your iPhone, so your iPhone should be activated via iTunes first.
• JailbreakMe does not unlock your iPhone. So iPhone unlockers are advised to use tools like PwnageTool or Sn0wbreeze to jailbreak their iPhone.

The process is as simple as visiting JailbreakMe.com on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad’s Mobile Safari browser and tap on the Free button under Cydia and then tap on the Install button, this should jailbreak your iOS device and install Cydia just like installing an iOS app from the App Store. It is as easy as that.

Here's a short clip of the install process on an iPhone or iPod Touch:

Another short clip, this time of the process on an iPad or iPad 2:

Anyone wanna share their experience using this latest unlock tool for their iDevice?
Can these jailbreak teams keep up with the enhanced security coming in iOS 5?
I guess time will tell, but we tend to think the devs will always be right there to win us back the freedom of our own devices, every time the big guy tries to lock them down.
Share your thoughts on this subject below.
Last but not least, much respect and appreciation goes out to Comex for this great development.

source: jailbreakme, mobilesyrup

© 2011, santod. All rights reserved.

Have you ever broken your iPhone and wished you had insurance to help cover the cost of the replacement? Well today may be your lucky day. AT&T has updated their insurance and guess what?!? It now covers the iPhone - any model, old and new... One problem though - you have to be within 30 days of your original purchase date to get insurance.

From AT&T's website -

*Please Note: AT&T Mobile Insurance Update: Effective July 17, 2011, the Apple iPhone (all models) will be eligible for coverage with the AT&T Mobile Insurance program (formerly Wireless Phone Insurance). Enrollment restrictions apply. Customers can only enroll within 30 days of a new activation or upgrade, prior activations or upgrades outside of 30 days are not eligible.

The insurance follows their other smart phone insurance for 50/100 deductible and insurance covers, lost, broken, stolen, and electrical issues. It does cost $5 a month on top of your plan...This is the standard insurance that Asurion provides it sounds.

So how does this make you iPhone users feel? Are you willing to spend the money to get a little (or lot) piece of mind if you break your device? Tell us below - I do know some of my friends are very happy this is offered, but that is only because they have broken a few phones in their lifetime...

Source: AT&T

© 2011, JasonFieldz. All rights reserved.

By now I'm sure you have read many times, that before you attempt to jailbreak or unlock your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, you should first save your SHSH blobs. Well, the iPhone Dev team has just revealed in a blog post titled "Blob Monster", that Apple is making things much more difficult to downgrade to an older firmware using SHSH blobs in the coming iOS 5.

Why save your SHSH blobs and WHAT are they, you ask? In a nutshell SHSH blobs are configuration files from your iPhone / iPad / iTouch corresponding to the specific version of the iOS you’re running as well as your particular device’s exact configuration. You should save them before you do upgrades to new versions of iOS or if you’re installing a jailbreak/unlock tool, since they will help you keep your specific hack intact. This which is not possible by default, as Apple stops signing older iOS firmware files after it releases a new iOS software update (usually used to downgrade to an older version of iOS). If you do not save them, the next iOS upgrade can ruin your jailbreak / unlock or hack… forever.

The easiest way to save your SHSH Blob is by using the TinyUmbrella tool because it can take blobs saved from any iDevice, even if it’s not jailbreaked. Another option is using Cydia to save your configuration, although not all Cydia versions support this option, so TinyUmbrella is the popular choice.

Quoted from the Dev Team's Blog:

“Starting with iOS5 beta, the role of ‘APTicket’ is changing — it’s being used much like the ‘BBTicket’ has always been used. The LLB and iBoot stages of the boot sequence are being refined to depend on the authenticity of the APTicket, which is uniquely generated at each and every restore. This APTicket authentication will happen at every boot, not just at restore time.”

What’s all that mean exactly? Well, for one, you’ll no longer be able to downgrade your firmware because Apple now holds the keys to the kingdom on your device. You will be able to jailbreak still, but you will not be able to downgrade your devices as easily.

It looks like Apple’s starting to get real about fighting back with Jailbreakers. Although honestly this could be an even bigger nuisance for non-jailbreakers. As many of you may still be sporting an iPhone 3G and the latest updates really take a toll on your iPhone’s resources and overall performance. In these cases you could just revert back to an older firmware to get things back to stable, but now it’s going to be more difficult to even downgrade for legitimate reasons.

In light of this new move from Apple, this means that you have to be even more careful when Apple releases a new iOS software update post iOS 5, until the Dev team comes up with a solution since as of now there is no way to revert back if you end up accidentally upgrading to it.

In an industry where Android phones are going to start to come unlocked by default, Apple continues to ramp up their efforts in its' game of tag with iPhone jailbreakers and unlockers, as they have also just reportedly blocked the iPhone 4 hardware unlocking solution using Gevey SIM in iOS 5 beta 2.

How do you feel about this move from Apple?
Will you still be eyeballing that iPhone 5 when it gets here?
Do you think Apple's efforts are futile and could be better spent on other things?
Or do you feel the security they implement is warranted and necessary and adds to the stability of the Apple product market? (you know, since nobody runs a hacked iPhone, right?)
Let me know your feelings about this latest move from Apple below.

source: DevTeam Blog

© 2011, santod. All rights reserved.

The exact nature of iCloud is currently unknown, but I'm betting we will see a significant refresh of MobileMe with new backup and other features right to the cloud. That's also expected to include is an online media cloud service which will mirrior local stores of music and allow them to be accessed while on the move...

Now with the iCloud being announce one could suspect that iOS5 and OS X Lion has to be shown as well. Well you are correct - and the big guy himself Steve Jobs will be at the launch event to be the keynote speaker. iOS5 should bring a whole new set of widgets, and a revamp of the current notifications system, one of the more frequent points of complaints of the iPhone and iPad users. OS X Lion has ben well-previewed too...

Let me be straight - this is very nice for Apple to start looking into the cloud services, and all that, but my wonder is if it is a day late dollar short. Google has Google Music beta going on, Microsoft has Zune, and Amazon has it's own service...How will Apple make their appeal more than the others. Yes I know it is all about Apple and hundreds of millions of Apple products are out but will it convince you to switch to Apple products? Tell me Geeker's below - what does this mean to you, your friends, and family.

Press Release:

Apple to Unveil Next Generation Software at Keynote Address on Monday, June 6

CUPERTINO, California—May 31, 2011—Apple® CEO Steve Jobs and a team of Apple executives will kick off the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address on Monday, June 6 at 10:00 a.m. At the keynote, Apple will unveil its next generation software – Lion, the eighth major release of Mac OS® X; iOS 5, the next version of Apple’s advanced mobile operating system which powers the iPad®, iPhone® and iPod touch®; and iCloud®, Apple’s upcoming cloud services offering.

WWDC will feature more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers. Mac® developers will see and learn how to develop world-class Mac OS X Lion applications using its latest technologies and capabilities. Mobile developers will be able to explore the latest innovations and capabilities of iOS and learn how to greatly enhance the functionality, performance and design of their apps. All developers can bring their code to the labs and work with Apple engineers.

For more details, visit the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2011 website at developer.apple.com/wwdc.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

source: SlasherGear

© 2011, JasonFieldz. All rights reserved.

Qik has been very popular for users who currently have Android devices but mainly more popular on the devices like the Sprint HTC EVO and the T-Mobile MyTouch 4G. You may ask why? Simply because they were among the few devices to be able to fully take advantage of all of Qik’s services, including video chat between Android and iOS.  Conversely, certain other Android handset owners who downloaded Qik’s app would soon realize that they were only limited with certain functionality, meaning they can't video chat between Android and iOS.

Finally those days are over for those who couldn't video chat between Android and iOS but had access to this application, Qik. They are now launching their latest application that gives you this privilege. Yes, you will be able to accomplish live streaming via Wi-Fi, 3G, or amongst 4G connectoins. Here's another great feature; this application integrates nicely with your phone’s very own address book and will display contacts that are online and available.

Does this excite you? Let us know what you think after you try it!

Source: Techcrunch via Electronista

© 2011, GirlGoneGeek. All rights reserved.

Google has been sued successfully and lost for use of Linux on it's server platform.  Although this may not be a huge loss to Google financially, this issue could extend to the Android platform. Bedrock Computer Technology has also sued AOL, Yahoo and Amazon to name a few.

Will companies like Bedrock Computer Technologies impede the growth of Linux?

What do you Geek-A-Holics think?
Get your Geek Freak on and let us know.

Source: Intomobile & BBC

© 2011, itster. All rights reserved.

As times change, so does how we listen to music, especially portable music. From cassettes we went to CDs, then even the MiniDisc (anyone remember those things?), then to mp3 players. Now with smartphones becoming more mainstream for the casual user, streaming internet radio is becoming more popular. Right now, two of the most popular services are probably Slacker Radio and Pandora. In this editorial, we will compare both services, and you will get the input of 2 people from the site, myself (mindfrost82), and Courtney1985.

I'll give you a little background information first. I currently use Slacker and actually pay for their Plus service (which I'll explain more later). I've paid for their service for almost a year now. Back when I had Windows Mobile a couple years ago, I tried both Slacker and Pandora, but I haven't really used Pandora in a while. Courtney only really used Slacker back when she had a Blackberry and has used Pandora over the past 6 months.

There also used to be a free service called Last.FM. The service is still around, but they recently forced people to buy a subscription for mobile listening. The nice thing with Last.FM was that it featured a "Scrobble" service, which meant that if you listened to mp3s on your mobile device, Last.FM would automatically track those songs and send them to their servers and tag them as favorites for you. I believe this is the only service that offered that feature. Since they're no longer offering a free mobile plan, we won't really be comparing them in this article.

First I'll talk about Slacker. Slacker supports just about every mobile device you can think of. Android, iOS, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone 7, WebOS, and even have their own portable player, the G2. Its also integrated into some Sony devices.

For free, Slacker will play some ads between your songs. You're also limited to 6 skips per hour. You can listen for unlimited hours though. While you can "Like" as many artists as you want, you're limited to the number of songs you can request/like if you create a custom station. You're also limited in your "Fine Tuning" options.

For their Plus service, you pay $4.99/month or $47.88/year. You get no ads, unlimited skipping, full song lyrics, unlimited song requests/likes, and mobile station caching. For me, the mobile station caching is definitely worth the money if you listen to it a lot. What this does is gives you the ability to have your phone sync and download up to 25 stations to your memory card/storage so that you can listen to them without being connected to the internet. This feature is only available on certain devices (I think iOS, Android, and Blackberry). I have an iPod that I use in my truck, so unless I use wireless tether with my phone, it doesn't have internet access unless I'm around WiFi. With the station caching, I can have it download playlists overnight and use it in my truck without the internet. This also helps save battery life and bandwidth.

For the desktop, you can listen to it through their website, or there is a Windows app you can download, which is just a fancy wraparound for the website, but it works. I don't believe its officially supported, but I've been using it for a week so far without any issues.

As far as music selection goes, I haven't really had any problems finding songs I like. Some new songs haven't been on there, but that's because they're not even out on CD yet. Their track lists go pretty deep for me. If you listen to a pre-programmed station, they tend to play more mainstream songs, but you can also customize your own station. You can do this with a free basic subscription, but you'll be able to fine tune it more with a paid subscription. You can tune things like auto-discovery (which determines how often is plays your "liked" songs/artists) or even by how new the songs are or how mainstream they are. For me, it does a pretty good job at the auto-discovery and has played songs that are similar to the ones I liked. With my fine-tuned settings, it also doesn't go deep into the albums and tends to play more mainstream songs, which I like.

Now we'll talk about Pandora. Similar to Slacker, it supports most of the major smartphone platforms, but there's no support for Windows Phone 7 yet.

For the free subscription, you can skip 6 songs per hour per station, or you can skip 12 songs per day, across all stations. Also, with their free subscription, you can only listen to 40 hours of music per month. There's also a one-hour time-out limit.

They also offer a Pandora One paid subscription, which is $36/year. For this, you get more skips (you don't have the daily skip limit, but the hourly one still applies), no advertisements, a five hour time-out limit, custom skins, the Pandora One desktop application and higher quality audio when playing through your desktop.

Courtney's Opinions - I'm a huge music fan and love to stream music all day long on most days. As you mentioned, I have used Pandora much more than Slacker but your opinions definitely make me consider purchasing a subscription. The caching feature alone just may be worth it. With Pandora, I'm not aware of this feature but I don't know if it's available on the paid version, my guess would be no.

In the recent months of using Pandora I have enjoyed the Android and PC version mainly because of the accessibility of creating my own stations and "liking" songs that interest me. I can't say why I chose Pandora over Slacker because they are very similar. I've never even considered paying for a subscription of Pandora because the few ads I see never really bother me. I enjoy all types of music so I don't skip songs that often either. I do see where this could be annoying if you were a new user and skipped 6 songs and then had to listen to something you didn't like. I would enjoy it more if I could cache my songs to my SD card, that would make me even happier.

I have recently noticed something that I'm not sure anyone else has noticed. I had about 7 channels created, some rock, some R&B, etc. After my 6 months of use a few of the channels began playing the same songs, mixtures of all genres. I'm guessing this is because after so long of listening to each channel and "liking" so many of the same artists/songs on each one, all the channels end up playing the same things. I ended up deleting all but a couple channels and I'm currently waiting to see if they end up playing the same songs or not. Either way, it's strange right? Like I said, I'm not sure if this has happened to anyone else, but it's mind boggling. It doesn't stop me from enjoying Pandora though. I actually have it blasting away right now!

For those of you that use one of these services, which one do you use and do you pay for their premium subscriptions? If you use something else, what is it?

We want to hear your opinions. For someone interested in one of these services, how would you persuade them to use your favorite?

© 2011, mindfrost82. All rights reserved.

Did you go and purchase an Verizon Wireless iPhone this morning or receive one in the mail and try to activate it today? If so, you may be one of the ones experiencing problems with no service. We have just had a few tips suggesting there is no estimated time of when the activations will be successful but Verizon Wireless is working hard to get the issue solved in a hastily manner.

The issue may not be in all areas but we do know the Midwest area is the main one experiencing problems. Are you aware of any other issues in other areas? Is anyone experiencing issues with email or data? We are interested in what's going on and if there are more markets with the same problems?

This isn't the first time Verizon's network has had issues since the iPhone release. What do you think the issue could be? We aren't sure we will get the answers but it's good time for speculations. Let us know your thoughts!

© 2011, GirlGoneGeek. All rights reserved.

Update: False Alarm. According to BGR, there was no conference in Toronto and Jim Balsillie didn't speak at any event.

If you remember, earlier this month, we reported about a rumor of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) coming to Android and iOS. There were no real details of the plan, but the rumor was that it would first launch on Android, then the iPhone at a later date. Apparently part of that rumor is true, but it will launch on iOS first.

RIM's co-CEO Jim Balsillie made the information public while speaking at an event held in Toronto. It will supposedly be available in the App Store on April 26th with an update coming later this summer that will improve its notifications system.

Source: MacRumors via PocketNow

© 2011, mindfrost82. All rights reserved.

Apple recently updated iMovie, which was for the iPhone and iPod originally, to a universal application. Now it will support the iPad2 and also brings new themes and HD sharing directly to YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo and CCN iReport. If you aren't sure what iMovie is, it's a movie editing application that is part of the iLife suite of digital lifestyle applications that allows Apple Macintosh users to create movies from several different sources including digital video cameras, DV-encoded files and pictures.

iMovie works effortlessly with other Apple applications including QuickTime, iDVD, iPhoto, iWeb, iTunes and with other Mac OS X applications. Below are several other features and benefits you can expect with this application.

• Universal app designed for iPad 2, iPhone 4, and iPod touch (4th generation).
• Multi-Touch Precision Editor (iPad only).
• Multitrack audio editing with 8 themed soundtracks and over 50 bundled sound effects.
• Audio recording directly into the timeline.
• Audio waveforms (iPad only).
• Three new themes — Neon, Simple, and CNN iReport.
• HD sharing directly to YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, and CNN iReport.
• AirPlay support for sharing to Apple TV (compatible only with second-generation Apple TV; requires iOS 4.3 or later).
• Project transfer to your computer and compatible iOS devices through iTunes.
• Ability to add titles on photos.
• Option to add fade-in from black and fade-out to black.
• Numerous enhancements, including trimming in Video Browser, in-use markers, video rotation, and more.

If you have already used this application let us know what you think. If not, and you plan on doing so we want to know the results. Several say this is one fantastic application for video editing. What do you think?

Download it here for $4.99

Source: Iphoneblog

© 2011, GirlGoneGeek. All rights reserved.

Do you like it when a rumor gets started? I don't but this one is sure catching my attention. Maybe for other iPhone owners it will too. The latest rumor claims Apple will hold its annual iOS roadmap event in early April to show off iOS 5, and also states that Apple may unveil an updated MobileMe service as well.

Apple always seems to release new products or updates around the same time each year. This isn't a surprise to most iPhone users. Sources suggest the MobileMe update rumors signal that anticipated changes to the cloud-based service will be heavily integrated into the next major release of Apple's mobile operating system for the iPhone and the iPad. New account options look like they will be available as well, paid or free subscriptions.

If the rumor is true, does MobileMe enhancements and a new OS excite you? Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below or in the forums.

Source: IM via Apple

© 2011, GirlGoneGeek. All rights reserved.

You read right! The folks over at BGR is reporting that they have information from multiple trusted sources that Research In Motion (RIM) is planning on bringing its Blackberry Messenger (BBM) service to Android, and eventually iOS. Details have not been finalized yet, but it sounds like they will offer a stripped down version of their service and it could be free or a one-time or monthly subscription fee.

The stripped down version will probably only allow for chat, meaning you won't be able to share photos, videos, or location. They're reporting that Android is definitely a go and its their first platform to develop it for because of its open nature. The sources are also saying that they're confident the release should be sometime this year.

I've owned a Blackberry in the past and the BBM service was pretty nice. It doesn't drain your battery because its all push notifications. You can see when someone reads your message and check their online status. There's a few chat services that have tried to imitate BBM, like LiveProfile.

Would this be something you would download and use? Would you pay for it?

© 2011, mindfrost82. All rights reserved.