Is it worth buying a discounted HP TouchPad?

Last Thursday, HP announced that it would “discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones.” The surprise announcement came less than two months after the release of the TouchPad and the company subsequently slashed its price, prompting a stampede of customers looking to snap up a tablet bargain. but just how much of a bargain is it considering there won’t be any future updates to webOS from HP and developers aren’t likely to produce many new apps for a discontinued device? Having spent some time with a TouchPad recently, I’d have to say, like most things, it depends.

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When first playing around with the TouchPad – pre-discontinuation announcement – it was hard to see how it could compete against Apple’s all-conquering iPad or even the multiple Android challengers to the tablet throne. sure, the TouchPad itself seemed built well enough – albeit a bit heavier than the iPad – and webOS worked nicely on the tablet – though with a few noticeable and lengthy stutters despite the dual-core 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 1 GB of RAM under the hood.

But there was nothing to really set the TouchPad apart and it was hard to see how it would gain a foothold in the tablet market with its limited selection of apps. It seems HP had the same reservations and decided to cut its losses, which are likely to be substantial when you take into account the US$1.2 billion price tag for the acquisition of Palm in 2010 with webOS cited as a major motivation for the purchase.

So is it worth snapping up a cheap Touchpad? First here’s a quick refresh on what’s inside the box.

Coming in 16 GB and 32 GB models with Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n – there are no 3G options – Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and A2DP, GPS, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 6,300 mAh battery, the HP TouchPad is a decently specced device. like the iPad, it also boasts a 9.7-inch multi-touch display with 1,024 x 768 pixel resolution.

The device weighs in at 770 g (1.69 lb), making it heavier than both the 680 g (1.5 lb) original iPad and 600 g (1.33 lb) iPad 2. This is despite it measuring 190 x 230 x 14 mm (7.48 x 9.05 x 0.55 in), which makes it shorter in height in portrait orientation than both the iPad and iPad 2 (13 mm/0.51-inches and 10mm/0.39-inches respectively). While the width of the TouchPad is the same as the original iPad, it is 4mm (0.16 in) greater than the iPad 2, and its depth is 1 mm (0.04-inches) greater than the iPad and 5.4 mm (0.21-inches) greater than the iPad 2.

The volume rocker, power/lock button, 3.5 mm headphone jack, micro USB charge port and home button are all in the same location you’d find them on the iPad. The unit’s stereo speakers, which include Beats Audio technology, are located at the top and bottom of the left side of the device when held in portrait orientation, which allows for greater stereo separation when not listening through headphones.

The casing of the TouchPad is high gloss black plastic on the back and sides and glass display on the front. While it doesn’t compare to the brushed aluminum finish of the iPad, the gloss finish looks slick enough when you first pull the TouchPad from its packaging but within a couple of minutes both the front and rear of the device will be covered in very visible fingerprints. a case is the obvious solution if you’re looking to protect your device not only from unsightly smudges and smears, but also knocks and scrapes.

HP was similar to Apple in that its acquisition of Palm in 2010 allowed it to both make the hardware and own the software that runs on its TouchPad and webOS smartphones. but a year is a long time in the tech world and HP entering the tablet market with between 300 and 400 TouchPad optimized webOS apps – along with the more than 8,000 webOS apps for the Palm Pre that will run on the TouchPad in compatibility mode – paled in comparison to the more than 90,000 apps currently available for the iPad through Apple’s App Store, which doesn’t count the more than 425,000 iPhone apps that will also run in screen doubled mode on the iPad.

So with a limited selection of apps – the lifeblood of any tablet – and the likelihood of that list growing significantly being pretty much zero, why has there been a rush to snap up the TouchPad at the discounted price? a lot of people simply love the idea of a bargain and a saving of $300 on the 16 GB model and $350 for the 32 GB certainly qualifies. and for browsing the Internet – with flash capabilities – , checking email, Facebook and Twitter, watching videos, viewing photos and reading eBooks, the HP TouchPad is more than capable.

While HP has said it is looking to license webOS to third-parties, offering hope that webOS isn’t completely dead yet, others are pinning their hopes on hackers coming up with a way to run Android and Ubuntu Linux on the TouchPad. with various projects already underway to replace webOS on the TouchPad, and developers already having success with getting Ubuntu Linux up and running on the tablet, such efforts will likely breathe life into the TouchPad and extend its current capabilities.

So if the existing capabilities of the TouchPad suit your tablet needs, or if you’re willing to pin your hopes on replacing webOS with another operating system in the future, the TouchPad is definitely worth considering – ironically that’s something that we would have been reluctant to say last week when the 16 GB model was retailing for $400 and the 32 GB was going for $600. The trick will be to find a store that still has stock as people have been snapping up the TouchPad like hotcakes since it was reduced to $99 and $149 for the 16 GB and 32 GB models respectively. if, however, like those who purchased the TouchPad before last week’s announcement, you were considering a purchase based on the device’s potential with the expectation of a steady flow of new apps and webOS upgrades from HP, it’s definitely time to reconsider.

Ending the Era of Jobs « Digital Frontiers

What Steve Jobs has Meant for Apple, for Silicon Valley, and for Global Tech

Steve jobs did not invent the portable stereo.  Long before the iPod, there was ‘Pressman’ – a creation of Kozo Ohsone, then general manager of the Tape Recorder division of Sony.  (‘Pressman’ became ‘Walkman in 1977.)

Jobs also didn’t invent the portable tablet – known these days among the Apple-scenti as the ‘iPad’.  Microsoft beat him to that punch at least 6 years with the ‘Tablet’  – long before the first iPad rolled off an assembly line.

It might seem at times that Steve Jobs invented the personal computer way back when.  but he didn’t, any more than Henry Ford invented the first automobile.  By the time Jobs and his new Apple firm released the ‘Apple II’ in 1977, already a half-dozen micro-firms – remember the Tandy TRS-80?  the Commodore PET? the Altair? – were already selling computer kits and continued to do so until IBM crushed nearly all the competition with the game-changing introduction of the “PC” in 1981.

That “GUI” – or “Graphic User Interface”  made up of computer screen icons you manipulate with a mouse?  Jobs didn’t invent either of those.  Think, instead, the work of little-known researcher Douglas Engelbart at Xerox’s PARC facility in the early 1970′s.

We could continue.  the mobile phone, the digital video editor, the online music store.   Steve Jobs didn’t invent a single one of these things.

But what he did create was something much more rare – and he’s done it pretty much his entire professional life.

Steve Jobs makes things you really, really wanted.  Now, with his departure as CEO of Apple, Inc., – his second – one wonders whether the shine on all of those iDevices may soon begin to fade.

End of an Era

“it it is the end of an era,” writes an admittedly tearful Om Malik on his blog at the news.  Calling his greatest gift the insight into “disruptive technologies, Malik says Jobs almost uniquely created societal change while earning a profit:

“Today, we are living in a world that’s about taking short-term decisions: CEOs who pray to at the altar of the devil called quarterly earnings, companies that react to rivals, politicians who are only worried about the coming election cycle and leaders who are in for the near-term gain.

“And then there are Steve and Apple: a leader and a company not afraid to take the long view, patiently building the way to the future envisioned for the company. not afraid to invent the future and to be wrong. And almost always willing to do one small thing — cannibalize itself. Under Steve, Apple was happy to see the iPhone kill the iPod and iPad kill the MacBook. he understands that you don’t walk into the future by looking back. If you do, you trip over yourself and break your nose.”

It has certainly been a long, and yes, convoluted path that Jobs has traveled professionally.   With tech colleagues Steve Wozniak and financier mark Markkula, he incorporated the Apple Computer Company early in 1977, and within four months they had their first product – the “Apple II”.  it was different – color monitor, early floppy drives – and it was primitive (by today’s standards): it’s memory was a whopping 48 kilobites.  Jobs & Wozniak’s company churned along – the little kid to IBM and Microsoft’s Big Brothers – but even then Jobs’ emphasis on design, utility and what some have called industrial beauty were on display.

As the blog Engaget details, Jobs time at Apple was not universally smooth, and eventually he resigned in the mid-80′s.  For several years Apple floundered under confused product line, and poor market positioning, while Jobs was off pursuing new interests, among them the firms NeXT and Pixar.

“Apple’s fate hung in the balance,” said Microsoft founder Bill Gates at a 2007 forum with Steve Jobs.  “Apple just wasn’t differentiating itself from higher- volume platforms….especially Windows.”

“Apple was in very serious trouble,” agrees Jobs.

“If the game was a zero-sum game, where for Apple to win that Microsoft had to lose, then Apple was going to lose.  but a lot of people’s heads were still in that place… because Apple had invented a lot of this stuff and Microsoft was successsful and Apple wasn’t and there was a lot of jealosy, and this  and that.

“but there were too many people at apple and in the apple ecosystem playing the game that for Apple to win, Microsoft has to lose. And it was clear that  you didn’t have to play that game.  Apple wasn’t going to beat Microsoft.  Apple didn’t have to beat Microsoft.  Apple had to remember who Apple was, because it had forgotten.”

In time, Jobs returned to Apple, Apple bought NeXT and the Walt Disney Company bought Pixar.  And that supposed rival hatred between Apple and Microsoft?  both Gates and Jobs laugh, noting that from the earliest days of the Apple II, the two firms had worked together on a variety of projects…and would no doubt continue to do so in the future.

It was good timing.  As the cheeky bloggers of Gizmodo point out (in their inimitable manner), Wall Street was losing faith in an Apple without a Jobs.  Back in power, Jobs again returned to an emphasis on clean design, useful products, and ease of use.  And it was Jobs who put Apple products in hipster’s back pockets.

You Have to Be Best

Author Robert Scoble has watched Jobs for decades, through his ups and downs, his failed product launches and those that take off like a rocket.  Of the many ways Scoble describes Jobs, there was something else Scoble says Jobs had his eyes fixed upon: perfection.

“That actually explains why some people don’t like Steve Jobs. he is a dictator and is going to make sure you do things his way: i.e. to completion. when you pitch him an idea you better bring it in the box, and with the marketing you’ll use to sell it. you better have thought through everything. My brother-in-law worked at Apple and he has tons of stories about how Apple makes sure its suppliers give them the best equipment.”

And from the best equipment, Apple started again to make some of the best electronic devices yet.  the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone and now the iPad – each of them revolutionary in some way, even if they weren’t the first of their kind on the block.  you don’t have to be first, Jobs would say, you have to be best.

Microsoft continues to dominate globally at software that powers computers.  Apple has come to dominate the small mobile devices that make it easy to consume media and connect to the Internet.  both firms are doing well, but who knows what the future holds?

This much, at least, can be said: the man replacing Steve Jobs is Tim Cook.  Longtime Apple manager and designer, Cook has been Jobs figurative right-hand man for years – a near match to Jobs in terms of workaholism and perfection.  Cook is also openly gay, making him one of the highest placed corporate leaders to be out and open about it.

Will he Be Missed?

Even from the early days, Jobs had a carefully crafted zen-like coolness – an unflappable leader who can see around the next mountain.  his departure marks the end of an era, and will no doubt come with some personal sadness for some on the inside.

For others?

“Apple isn’t going to die now that Steve Jobs has resigned as CEO,” writes Farhad Manjoo of Slate. “It’s not even going to stumble.”

Manjoo, like others, cites Jobs fanatical quality control, his NSA-like secrecy, and surrounding himself with the best quality he can afford.  but there’s something else Job’s Apple had:

“Apple has mastered this buzz-engineering technique in the last four years, when it introduced two new products—the iPhone and the iPad—that created two entirely new product categories. as a matter of marketing, neither of these devices was an obviously easy sell. A phone without buttons? A tablet computer that filled no clear need? but Apple worked the press, and barraged every corner of television and print with enough ads and product placements to make its new gizmos irresistible. By the time the iPhone and iPad hit the streets, folks were willing to plunk down hundreds of dollars, sight unseen. And this will keep happening after Jobs is gone.”

Now approaching an end to his first career, Jobs is the man who almost singularly saw how to take things that already existed and make them better, shinier, and just cooler.  Then he figured out how to sell them with just the right amount of showman’s flash and hipster cool, transforming Apple’s electronic gizmos into Must-Have technology.

Technology is marching fast, and mobile devices appear to be the new new thing.  but those mobiles will need software & apps (Microsoft) and function and design (Apple.)  And there’s more competition out there now than ever.  whatever the future for these firms, they have already changed our lives.

And as for Mr. Job’s future?  We can’t wait for whatever comes next…and wish him all the very best.

In Silicon Valley, a retail store as product laboratory

Smartphone and laptop case and cover maker Speck opened its first retail store in Silicon Valley Thursday night.

(Credit:Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

PALO ALTO, Calif.–It’s hard to imagine a larger collection of iPhones in one place outside of an Apple store than were in evidence Thursday in this heart-of-Silicon Valley city.

It wasn’t one of Apple’s famous establishments, but it definitely was a shiny brand-new retail store–this was the grand opening of the Speck store and a celebration of that company’s wide selection of cases and covers foriPhone,iPad,Mac, and many other high-tech devices.

At least a couple hundred invited guests and neighborhood friends came out to eat hamburgers, tacos, ice cream, and other fare and to help Speck christen its new showroom and to peruse tables with plaid iPhone 4 cases and blue hard-shell iPad covers, glass displays full of colorful items, and a wall packed with every imaginable product.

But while the company certainly plans to let customers buy its many products here, it says that in-store sales aren’t at all the point.

“It’s a marketing laboratory,” Speck CEO Irene Baran said of the store. “We have a Web site, and we do some social media. But we like to do a little old fashioned looking people in the eye too.”

The company is selling all of its products at the store, but says the real goal is for the establishment to be a test bed.

(Credit:Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

Essentially, Baran said, Speck will stock the store with its entire collection of products, as well as the occasional prototype, and let those who come in serve as a kind of informal focus group. in other words, she said, the store is a physical test bed, a place where Speck can see in real-time and up close and personal, how customers–and would-be customers–feel about its products.

And Baran added, explaining that the store–which also houses the company’s customer service and sales departments–and which is within a block or so of both its marketing and product development offices and its headquarters building, will be a one-of-a-kind effort.

“The intention is not to open more stores,” Baran said. “I just can’t see it (opening more stores). hopefully, what we learn here means we do a much better job of servicing our [retail partners].”

That was a disappointing sentiment to well-known technology and sex writer Violet Blue, who was one of the guests at Thursday night’s opening party.

“They need to open another store,” especially one in San Francisco, said Blue, who blogs for CNET sister site ZDNet. “They just need to…I can’t let them get away with not opening another store.”

Sent over by Apple Speck’s biggest retail partner is Apple, which sells many of the company’s iPhone, iPad, and Mac covers and cases at its own hit stores. But on Thursday, the rumor was that employees at the nearby Palo Alto Apple store had been sending some would-be customers over to the Speck store since the soft launch of the new establishment a couple weeks ago.

That’s certainly a good sign for Speck, regardless of whether it cares how many of its products it sells here.

Asked how Speck will measure the success of the new store, Baran said that it’s really all about getting people in the door and getting feedback from them. “Sales are nice,” she said, “but our goal is to be able to talk to people.”

The idea, she explained, is that by observing how people interact with the dozens of products on display inside the store, Speck can get a sense of what works and what doesn’t. “If someone does have all the [product] choices in front of them,” Baran said, “what do they [actually] choose?”

That could be important information for a company that does much of its business online–and it certainly expects to incorporate some of what it learns by watching people who come in on its Web site and with its displays in its partners’ retail stores.

But that doesn’t mean there won’t be pressure on Speck to do well with this store, which is located so close to so many of Silicon Valley’s most iconic companies and institutions–Stanford, Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Facebook, Tesla, and many others are within a few miles.

“We’re in the heart of innovation,” said Kris Napier, client director at the digital consulting firm Resource Interactive (which is helping build out Speck’s online presence), “so they’re going to have…to push the envelope.”

But Napier didn’t look like she was worried about Speck’s ability to achieve its goals with the new store. “I think it’s a great idea,” she said. “I think it’s a great idea, a good opportunity for Speck to see and learn [and to] test out new products and new thinking around new product concepts and product messaging.”

Plus, Napier said, Speck is already “on the edge of [product] innovation, so I think they’re going to take retail space to the next level.”

iPhone-Driven Bike Computer Is Data Center for Pedalphiles

Short of bolting a sidecar to your bike, iBike’s Dash CC Deluxe cycling computer is as close as you can get to taking a personal navigator along for a ride.

Actually, its computing brains are supplied by your iPhone, which is sort of like a personal navigator anyway. So let’s just call the device a sidecar for your little Apple buddy.

The Dash CC Deluxe system has a few components: a case that mounts on your bike, various sensors (also included) that attach to your bike and your body, and a free iPhone application that turns your iPhone into a detailed bike computer. It’s compatible with the iPhone 4, 3Gs/3G, and the iPod Touch generations 1, 2 and 3.

The case, called the Phone Booth, is sturdy enough. it bolts to your crossbars with some minor wrenching, and the case itself slides in and out securely. iBike may as well have allowed you to bolt the whole thing on, since the Phone Booth is too bulky to be used as a regular case off of the bike. There’s no way you’re getting that thing into your jeans. On the bike, though, it proved solid — it survived a few laydowns and is completely waterproof, which is great news if you get caught in a downpour.

When your phone is in the case, it’s able to communicate wirelessly with the included sensors. the list of ride data the Dash is able to collect is too long to run through in full, but it covers the basic cycling computer mainstays: cadence, heart rate (included a strap/monitor combo), speed, distance traveled and hours logged.

But your iPhone is much more than a bike computer, so the Dash goes well beyond the basics.

Since your iPhone is rocking GPS, you can use the maps feature to track your location wherever you go. Forget about getting lost. You can map out your route and follow your charted course, keeping an eye on your progress, and even the weather, as you ride.

It’s also easy to stare at the thing for too long. I almost drifted into traffic on more than one occasion when mesmerized by the screen in front of me. keep those eyes up, cowboy. However, that’s also one of the Dash’s stronger suits: Your iPhone screen is huge compared to most bike computers, and that big color display makes glancing down at your current stats when you’re cranking on your bike a lot easier.

The GPS function drains your battery, though, so iBike did the smart thing and included a rechargeable lithium-ion battery to bolster your phone’s running time. During longer rides, the battery held out for two hours before going to the iPhone’s internal battery.

While you’re riding, your iPhone retains all of its functionality. You can listen to music, check your e-mail, update your Facebook status and make phone calls on a Bluetooth headset. all at your own risk, of course.

Once you get home, you can e-mail the ride’s data to your computer, where you can track your stats — ride time, cadence, speed, heart rate and elevation, including averages and high points — using the matching desktop software. You can mail it to anyone else who has the free desktop app, like your coach or your training buddies.

Speaking of your buddies, you can also plug your data into Google Earth to revisit your ride and rub it in their faces. it was a blast to go back and retrace every switchback of a good, long mountain bike ride.

While the stat-tracking and trip data (and lap tracking and cumulative readings) are meant to appeal to the harder-core cycling geeks, its weight might not — if you’ve just dropped a few grand on a Campagnolo Super Record groupset, the Dash’s 11 ounces (including the iPhone) might be a turn-off.

Since I’m not a gram-counter, I didn’t mind the weight. I did mind that I had to take my iPhone out of my everyday case and put it in the Phone Booth every time I wanted to use it. in a perfect world, the Dash’s Phone Booth would be small enough to take off the bike and put it in your pocket.

Also, it doesn’t have a power sensor, which is another potential turn-off for the hardcore athletes. but it does have the ability to connect to ANT+ DFPM power sensors like PowerTap hubs, as well as any other ANT+ sensor you may have strapped to your steed.

All different types of cyclists can appreciate the Dash’s wealth of data: messengers, mountain bikers, long-haul tourists. even commuters — if you’re schlepping your iPhone to work anyway, it gives you something to geek out on once you get to the office.

WIRED Easy setup and use. Display on the iPhone is better than any dedicated computer. GPS keeps you from getting lost. Google Earth tracking lets you relive your two-wheeled glory. Dashboard is customizable. Piggyback battery is a nice addition.

TIRED Too heavy for the weight-conscious. Phone Booth too bulky for off-bike use. $300 is a lot of cheese, but simpler, cheaper versions are available.

Photo by Jim Merithew

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iDW – Apple iPhone Bluetooth Headset Review

Apple’s first foray into Bluetooth headsets has hit the market, making barely a plink in the ocean of iPhone news so far. I unboxed and tested the discreet little black stick-bud: it still makes me look like a douchebag (all Bluetooth headsets do), but it works well and comes with some pretty cool accessories. It’s a significant investment, but if you already dropped $600 plus service fees for an iPhone, chances are you won’t blink at the $129 for the headset. you can’t use it to listen to music, but at you can walk around looking like some wingnut who’s talking to yourself, and it’s the best iPhone-specific headset going so far.

The iPhone Bluetooth Headset’s packaging is very similar to the iPhone’s, and there’s really not much to setting it up. The little black stick measures about 2 by 0.5 by 0.2 inches and weighs practically nothing (0.23 ounces), and its standard earbud is about the same size as the newer version of the white iPod earbuds. at the top of the stick, there’s a barely noticeable button that powers the headset on and off and also answers and ends calls.

The design is so minimalist that there isn’t even a pinhole for the microphone — it’s actually hidden behind the 4-pin connector at the bottom. The headset also lacks an earclip for stability, and although the earbud has a rubber ring around the outer edge (plus foam earpads are included in the box), I think a lot of people will have difficulty getting a secure fit.

Most people complaint about stock earbuds because they fall out of your ears too easily. That’s why I’m surprised Apple went with this design, despite that the device is impressively small and light, though cannibalizing their existing earbud technology probably helped keep costs down (and profit margins high).

I usually do okay with earbuds; with the iPhone Headset, I was able to shake my head around without it falling out, but only if I put it in my right ear. I let a few other people try it out, and only one out of the five people had the same experience I did.

The awesomest part of the headset is the accessories: in the box, you get an iPhone dock that has a separate slot for the headset, which faces backwards in the dock. you also get a travel adapter, which is basically a regular iPod/iPhone cable but with a small slot on top of the part that goes into your iPhone for the headset. (There’s no AC adapter in the box, but one comes with the iPhone.)

One of the nicest touches Apple put on this thing is that the iPhone’s screen displays the charge level of both itself and the headset while they’re in the dock.

Pairing the headset with the iPhone is a no-brainer: when you dock them both at the same time, they do it automatically. you can go into the general settings menu and unpair them if you need to.

Setting the headset up with another phone — a Motorola RAZR Maxx Ve in my case — is a little trickier. Initially, it took me a couple of tries to get the RAZR to see the headset, but eventually it paired and connected easily; reconnecting was consistently reliable. The LED (green, red, or amber, depending on connection status) is discreetly hidden underneath the skin of the headset, so when it’s off, you don’t even know it’s there.

For voice, the quality of the earbud is fine, though I’m not thrilled with the iPhone/AT&T’s call quality in general. in my test calls, both the mic and the earpiece were clearer than the iPhone itself, and the mic didn’t pick up too much surrounding noise on a busy Brooklyn street. I also found the single button on top easy and comfortable to press when sending or ending a call.

Since the headset works via the Bluetooth 1.5 profile, it doesn’t do music. If you’re just looking for handsfree calling, this is a solid buy even at the “Apple premium” thanks to a smart accessory bundle and a tightness with the iPhone itself. Non-iPhone owners can get a lot out of it too, but you wouldn’t quite be getting your money’s worth out of the accessories.

  1. MoGo Talk XD Bluetooth Headset and Protective Case for iPhone 4 Review – Headphones/Headsets – CNET Reviews
  2. A Cheap Bluetooth Headset – 3 things you should Know
  3. iDW – The Best iPhone Bluetooth Headset | (12/12)
  4. iDW – buy a Cheap iPhone Bluetooth Headset | (05/28)
  5. iDW – Bluetooth Home Phones vs Traditional Bluetooth Earpiece Devices | (06/7)

Why Outsource iPhone Application Development

iPhone applications are a rage today. In every corner of the world, you would now find software developers, a few of whom are also into application development for the niche Apple gadget called the iPhone. the iPhone itself is an outstanding device and boasts of performing as two gadgets in one casing – a mobile phone and a music machine. As a music player, the iPhone carries some sensational music functions that it has inherited from another revolutionary Apple product called the iPod. As a mobile phone, the iPhone comes loaded with functions like 3G, multiple connectivity, 2MP integrated camera, complete touchscreen user interface, big memory space and so on.

The casing of the device is elegantly built and accompanies you well for all occasions. Those who always demand a more out of their investment, for them the Apple iPhone is just a nice way to bring that appealing smile. outsource iphone application development has made it possible for iPhone development companies to offer iPhone users the most advanced and easy-to-use iPhone applications at the most attractive rates. If you are also thinking about getting some cool iPhone applications installed onto your iPhone, then don’t think much. iPhone applications are available for download out there without any effort on your part.

iPhone application development outsource firms have now their facilities spread over various global destinations. these firms utilize the local resources to its optimum level and offer you the best sort of iphone application programming solutions. Applications are released over the web for the end users. Users can select their required applications that match to their iPod models also. the most popular iPhone applications those have been heavily downloaded the world over are business applications, entertainment applications, gaming apps, email and weather updates.

Developers are also working on other application segments and most are all set for release. you can research a bit to find out in detail about the various kinds of iPhone applications. with the number of iPhone developers increasing regularly, there are enough chances for you getting cheaper rates for applications in the near future! just wait and watch!

Brain-training games are new exercise craze

Montreal-based boxer Sylvera “Sly” Louis suffered a knockout late last year that could have ended his fighting career.

But three months later he returned to the ring, a feat he credits to hard workouts — on brain-training software.

Louis spent countless hours on Lumosity, a brain-training program from Lumos Labs that includes more than 35 games and exercises aimed at increasing alertness, sharpening memory skills, improving concentration and thinking faster.

The boxer says he improved his reaction times. “Every little moment matters,” Louis says.

Louis is part of a new club that takes exercise for the brain every bit as seriously as exercise for the body. It’s a growing movement that’s swept up 15 million users of Lumosity. Smaller rivals such as Posit Science and MindSparke are also vying in this arena.

A screenshot of Lumosity’s iPhone app.

San Francisco-based Lumos Labs’ Lumosity attracted $32.5 million in a third round of venture-capital funding in June.

Lumosity works on the Internet but also has an iPhone app. the start-up plans to use the funding to jump onto apps for Android and Apple’s iPad as well as to build up its current Web-based brain workouts.

“Your brain, in some ways, is like a muscle,” says Tim Chang, a partner at Norwest Venture Partners, which invested in Lumos Labs. “It needs to be kept in shape.”

That was the logic of Lumosity co-founders Michael Scanlon, David Drescher and Kunal Sarkar. in 2005, the company was started to fill a void in brain-exercising software.

“People end up using it for very different reasons, in jobs or things that they care about,” says Scanlon, chief scientific officer of Lumos Labs.

Brain-training software is in its early phases. But industry analysts believe it’s a lucrative market that taps into people’s obsession with health.

Research firm IDC says brain-training games such as Lumosity fall within a sector for education apps, which represent a $150 million market worldwide in Apple’s App Store. IDC forecasts the fast-growing group will expand to a more than $1.5 billion market in 2015.

“A lot of the physical-fitness market will carry over into the mind-fitness field because the two are linked,” IDC analyst Scott Ellison says.

‘Gamification’

Navneet Setlur, a medical student at International American University in St. Lucia, uses Lumosity to expand his memory capacity and now beats the apps’ games on a daily basis.

“I’ve been on Lumosity a couple hours a day ever since last June,” Setlur says. “I have a lifetime membership, so it’s going to be there forever.”

And that’s the product’s hook: it doesn’t feel like mindless, monotonous work. It’s a game, and it’s captivating, Chang says. “The part that’s very compelling is the more you play, the more you learn about yourself,” he says. “It’s even more compelling in some ways than the gym.”

Lumos Labs knows that learning can be more attractive when a game’s involved. That’s why its Lumosity software uses so-called gamification tactics in keeping its users interested.

Gamification is the notion of building gamelike elements into non-gaming applications, such as in brain-training software. in theory, it makes learning a more playful, enticing experience.

Silicon Valley is somewhat obsessed with the notion that gamification can improve business for a broad range of websites.

While researchers have not made an official statement endorsing Lumosity’s effectiveness, Stanford researcher Shelli Kesler says the app shows promise.

She, with three other researchers, conducted a six-week study this year to test the app’s ability to improve the mathematical skills of 16 girls with Turner syndrome, a disease known for its high risk for math disabilities.

Each played games on Lumosity that focused on practicing number sense, problem solving and calculations five days a week, 20 minutes a day. After six weeks, the majority of the girls’ math scores had reached those of their peers.

“They made a switch so that their brain functions more similarly to a typically developing child,” Kesler says.

Prior to the study, all girls were given lessons on different strategies to help conquer their mathematical struggles. Because there was no control group, the results could be skewed, Kesler says.

“Lumosity comes in by allowing a nice way of having kids and adults practice certain skills that they’re weak at, but it doesn’t necessarily give them the strategy,” Kesler says. “You have to have a strategy sometimes, too.”

Ongoing research

Although more research is needed to draw an actual conclusion, Kesler says Lumosity appears to dominate the digital brain fitness marketplace. “I think Lumosity is the best one out there so far, because it has a wide range of curriculum,” she says.

However, other programs do exist, many of which are targeted to a specific audience.

MindSparke is another Web-based brain-fitness program that works to increase memory and the ability to multitask. Play the game 30 minutes a day for about a month, and your memory and attention span will jump more than 40%, according to the MindSparke website. Then there is Cogmed Working Memory Training. it offers a five-week training program for people with attention deficit disorder or other learning disabilities, victims of brain injuries or senior citizens. the program involves 25 computerized training sessions that take 30-45 minutes to complete.

Posit Science is a CD-based computer game that focuses on improving the brain speed and memory of aging people.

“It’s a critical thing to speed up the brain so that it operates like you’re young again,” says Mike Merzenich, Posit Science’s chief scientific officer.

Personalized mind workouts and brain speed, in particular, certainly helped Louis. since the boxer’s comeback, he boosted his ranking to the top 200 from his previous ranking of No. 625 in the world.