Tag Archive for 'iphone'

19
Nov

Are Smartphones Killing the Digital Camera Market?

digital cameraSLR digital cameras still offer serious photographers the best quality, performance, and features for serious digital photography. But with the increased popularity of smartphones, will they eventually kill the digital camera market?

Strange as it may seem, the most popular digital camera these days isn’t make by Nikkon, Canon, or Pentax. Apple makes the most popular digital camera — it’s called the iPhone.

PC World originally reported on the phenomenon way back in June, when Flickr announced that the iPhone was responsible for taking and uploading more photos on their photo sharing website than any other device: “Apple’s iPhone 4 is officially the most popular camera on Flickr, according to stats from the site.The data is based on the types of devices members use to upload photos to Flickr. The iPhone 4′s five-megapixel camera recently leapfrogged the Nikon D90 to become Flickr’s top camera. Besides the D90, the iPhone 4 tops the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi, and the Canon EOS Rebel T1i respectively.”

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31
Jan

Use an iPhone FM Transmitter to Make Your Car’s Stereo Into a Music Hub

iphone fm transmitterLove your collection of Apple mobile gadgets? Now you can use an inexpensive iPhone FM transmitter to get the music from your iPad, iPhone, iPod or any gizmo with a headphone jack into your car’s stereo!

For the millions of people in the world today who love and buy Apple electronics, one of them is not enough. In addition to sporting an iMac or MacBook at home, they are also quite likely to use an iPad, iPod, and/or iPhone when they’re on the go.

Perhaps you’re one of them?

If so, then you know that virtually all of Apple’s electronics make for great digital jukeboxes. Loaded with their groundbreaking iTunes platform, everything from a MacBook Pro to iPod Touch allows you to buy, store, and listen to music virtually anywhere. The problem, however, has always been that Apple’s mobile devices are largely designed to play music through earbuds or earphones. While that is an important option for many iPhone, iPod, and iPad users, many others wish they could simply plug in to their car stereo and listen to music through their booming speakers and subwoofers.

Enter the trusty iPhone FM transmitter!

Digital On Digital: iPhone FM Transmitters Broadcast Directly Into Your Car Stereo

Now, for a modest investment of around AUD$20, every mobile gadget in your Apple arsenal can be easily driven through your car stereo, thanks to advancements in digital technology. Early designs for plugging personal music devices into your car stereo involved cumbersome cassette tape inserts that never sounded any good and often managed to break the cassette player function in car stereos. This downside, combined with the fact that few if any car stereos come equipped with cassette players anymore make an iPhone FM transmitter the obvious next-generation choice for converting iTunes-powered music collections into something that can be listened to safely while driving.

The new technology in iPhone FM transmitters is purely digital: just as your car’s FM receiver can digitally tune in radio stations, so too does an iPhone FM transmitter tune in frequencies to broadcast the audio signal from your iPhone, iPod, or iPad. The precision of your car’s stereo and the iPhone FM transmitter both locking in to the same frequency digitally, together with Digital Phase Lock Loop (PLL) transmission technology that helps reduce interference, assures digital-quality transmission of the signal; the broadcast signal itself is not digital, but the tuning is.

iphone fm transmitter

Universal Usability

There are a wide range of different iPhone FM transmitters on the market today, many of which are proprietary and need to be interfaced with the iPhone’s dock. But if you have a ton of different mobile gadgets, look for an iPhone FM transmitter that interfaces with devices using a 1/8″ (3.5mm) connection. While docks, plugs, and connectors can vary from device to device, the 1/8″ (3.5mm) jack continues to be universal for listening to music, from your iPhone 4 to your old Sony Walkman.

The only downside to an iPhone FM transmitter that uses a 1/8″ (3.5mm) connector is that it will most likely need to be powered either through your car’s cigarette lighter jack or a set of batteries — it will not be able to run on USB or any other kind of phantom power. This also means that a universal-fit iPhone FM transmitter might have a few extra cables — one that attaches the transmitter to your device, and one that attaches the transmitter to the car’s cigarette lighter.

But this is a minimal downside considering that an inexpensive iPhone FM transmitter can work with all of your favourite devices!

Thanks for reading our article? Did you know that EW carries some of the best-quality iPhone FM transmitters at great prices? Take a look at all of our iPhone FM transmitters. As an added bonus, use EWBLOG at checkout for 10% off your purchase, plus fast FREE shipping Australia-wide!

21
Jan

iPhone FM Transmitters Make for a Safer, Song-filled Car Ride

iphone fm transmitter

The iPDA® FMtalk iPhone FM Transmitter

Talking, texting and listening to music with earbuds on your iPhone car isn’t safe by any measure. But now, thanks to iPhone FM transmitters, you can enjoy your iPhone’s features safely in the car.

As more and more people continue to integrate mobile devices such as iPhones and Blackberries into their daily lives, the dangers of texting and talking on a mobile phone, as well as listening to music on an iPod or .mp3 device with earbuds while in the car, are causing an increasing number of car accidents in Australia. Australian laws continue to get more strict in order to curb the trend, but a recent scientific survey reveals that, in spite of the tougher laws, many drivers continue to engage in these dangerous practices.

The Medical Journal of Australia did a thorough investigation of the issue and found that “an estimated 57.3% of drivers have used a mobile phone and 12.4% have written text messages” while driving, and that “men, younger drivers, and metropolitan residents were more likely to use a phone while driving and to report a higher frequency of use.” Even more alarming is that “almost 40% of drivers who use a phone while driving did not have a hands-free device.” This of course means that a majority of Australians are talking or texting on their phone while driving with just one hand on the wheel.

Fortunately, hands-free devices such as iPhone FM transmitters are making it easy and affordable for iPhone and other mobile phone users to get the most out of their mobile computing lifestyle — even while driving.

Continue reading ‘iPhone FM Transmitters Make for a Safer, Song-filled Car Ride’

04
May

iPads, iPhones, & Droids: The Future of Mobile Computing Depends On Rechargeable Batteries

3G and even talk of a 4G network may open up endless mobile computing opportunities, but rechargeable batteries will play the biggest role in mobile technology.

We’ve come a long way from the early days of the internet, when a 2400 baud modem was your only ticket into cyberspace. Now, city-wide 3G network coverage is giving people the opportunity to access the internet sans cables or even a local wi-fi hot spot. In essence, the world is fast becoming a hot spot for 3G access.

This is exactly what mobile computing giants like Apple are hoping for; they cannot continue to tout the mobility of their devices if network coverage does not continue to advance as the same pace of mobile gadget technology. So far, however, the ability to connect has remained on pace with the amazing features that you find on the iPad, iPhone, Droid, and top-of-the-line laptops and notebooks. Now, it is not unusual to see people “at work” in nearly any location within a major city. The future is definitely now.

Continue reading ‘iPads, iPhones, & Droids: The Future of Mobile Computing Depends On Rechargeable Batteries’

09
Jan

The Lowly USB Port: Unsung Hero of Interactive Technology

Years ago, I was leafing through the world-famous Hammacher Schlemmer catalogue and came upon a most unusual gadget: a down-filled, cold weather parka, complete with a USB jack on the inside lining. This USB-powered coat was the first of its kind, and because USB technology was still relatively new, the conflation of apparel and technology seemed especially discordant. Unable to escape an unfortunate pun, I was seeing the emergence of a dangerous homonym: software versus softwear.

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04
Jan

The Working iPhone: Inexpensive Accessories That Make Your Apple Gadgets Useful

Recently, a friend of mine who produces the Dennis Miller Radio Show told me that he and his crew would be attending the CES electronics trade show in Las Vegas this year. As part of a sponsored publicity stunt with Apple, he told me that they would record, shoot, and edit all of their audio and video interviews using only the iPhone 3Gs. Even though we all know that the iPhone 3Gs’ camera, microphone, and editing apps cannot measure up to professional-grade equipment, the sheer boldness of this promotion only further proves that the iPhone 3Gs is the Swiss Army Knife of the 21st century.

For my part, it took me a while to come around to the usefulness of the iPhone 3Gs and the iPod Touch. At first, the notion of having an onboard .mp3 player on my mobile phone didn’t really impress or appeal to me. After all, I had grown up in the Sony Walkman generation, and for me, the .mp3 player was nothing more than the continuation of an otherwise arcane technology. When I was a kid, it was a great thing to be able to listen to music via headphones on the school bus, while riding my skateboard, or whatever else I was doing. But nowadays I mainly listen to music in the car or on my computer at home. Why would I need an iPhone? Isn’t it just a glorified .mp3 player?

While the apps that you see in the Apple commercials seem fun and novel, it is often the simple, inexpensive accessories for the iPhone and iPod that really transform them from being a quirky gadget into a useful device that can improve your job or school performance, shrink your DVD collection, or make listening to music in the car a snap.

Continue reading ‘The Working iPhone: Inexpensive Accessories That Make Your Apple Gadgets Useful’