The aura Year of the Dragon for iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S honors the auspicious Chinese Year of the Water Dragon.

TORONTO, Canada – January 31, 2012 — iSkin, a premium brand for fashion and technology lifestyle accessories, announces today a limited edition of its aura line of iPhone 4/4S cases to celebrate the Year of the Dragon.

The Year of the Dragon edition features an intricate laser-etched engraving on an aircraft-grade aluminum fused onto a durable, lightweight, soft-coated polycarbonate frame. It showcases an ultra-light, ultra-thin form, adorned with a unique, decorative design that captures the spirit of the Dragon within the Shēngxiào Chinese Zodiac.

This limited edition possesses the same features that are expected from all iSkin premium cases, including a flash guard that eliminates glare when using the built-in flash of the iPhone in dark environments, and an ultra-clear front screen film that adds yet another level of protection to the front of your iPhone 4/4S.

The aura Year of the Dragon edition arrives in three distinct colors symbolizing Prosperity (metallic red), Love (metallic pink) and Unity (metallic black). It will retail for $44.99 (USD) and is available immediately at: www.iskin.com/iphone4/aura/ and soon at select retail partners around the world.

MISC 

• http://www.solidoodle.com/ 3D Printer – I’m not sure I understand how this thing works, but it looks really cool!! (A friend just bought a 3D printer – can’t wait to check it out!)
• Would Barnes and Noble go bankrupt without the Nook?  Some analysts think so.
• new CEO of RIM arrived, doesn’t look like he has a vision and not changes enough
• 27 German publishers to combat Apple with open digital textbook platform http://9to5mac.com/2012/01/25/27-german-publishers-to-combat-apple-with-open-digital-textbook-platform/
• Online Voting Comes Of Age http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/online_voting_comes_of_age_but_dont_expect_to_use.php
• Hilary Clinton talks about Google Chrome deployment for embassies etc wordlwide in Feb.: http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/01/26/clinton_state_drawing_down_in_afghanistan_building_more_lactation_rooms_in_washingt , also IE8 coming to same in March (doesn’t that still put them behind?), skipping IE9 and going to IE10. What is your fav browser? (Edward’s and Alli’s: Chrome)

Android

• android phones infested with virus masively, new research from Symantec:
  http://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/androidcounterclank-found-official-android-market

Apple 

• Apple will be again biggest smartphone vendor by Q4 2011 (now: Samsung is):
  http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120126006752/en/Strategy-Analytics-Apple-Worlds-Largest-Smartphone-Vendor
• MacWorld was this week – tons of new accessories and some apps
• Edward got promo code for http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pdf-forms-annotate-fill-sign/id479202541?mt=8 and may review it later

Microsoft 

• Kinect will be built-in into windows 8 notebooks – first quasi-official info about it
  http://www.thedaily.com/page/2012/01/27/012712-tech-kinect-laptop/
• new version of whatsapp for windows phone 7 fixes bugs
• Microsoft Hints At Xbox LIVE Platform And Titles For iOS http://www.cultofmac.com/142605/microsoft-hints-at-xbox-live-platform-and-titles-for-ios/
• Nokia Sells 1 Million Windows Phones, But Symbian Dropping Faster than Expected http://allthingsd.com/20120126/nokia-sells-1-million-windows-phones-but-symbian-dropping-faster-than-expected/
• Nokia’s Windows Phone transition shows promises kept http://gigaom.com/mobile/nokias-windows-phone-transition-shows-promises-kept/

Google

• New privacy policy – easier to read, but annoying customers –  why? http://www.google.com/policies/

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MISC

• ICANN new domains – wtf?! Wasn’t .xxx bad enough? thick whois system ICANN
  wants to indroduce – so no private whois and one needs to identify to registrars etc.
• the US embassy and terror alerts in Bangkok
• Was yours one of the disappearing 4Square accounts this week?
• SOPA
• samsung’s bada OS to merge with intel tizen OS (samsung is biggest maker of smarpthones globally!)
  http://www.forbes.com/sites/elizabethwoyke/2012/01/13/samsung-merging-its-bada-os-with-intel-backed-tizen-project/

Android

CM lets you put ICS on HP Touchpad. Why would anyone do this other than just to do it?

Apple 

in China – chaos in Beijing

OnLive desktop/CloudOn

Edward saw Mission Impossible 4 movie: 99% of gadgets  in it from Apple: iphone 4, macbook air, ipad (!) and only in 1-2 scenes android sighted.

Microsoft 

dominated the videogame industry last year, with the Xbox capturing nearly half of all consumer spending from physical sales in 2011.

About $6.7 billion, or 40 percent of consumer retail spending, was spent on the Xbox, breaking down into two categories: $2.1 billion on consoles and $4.6 billion on games, according to NPD data released today.

- Allthingsd

2 main CES trends (apart from windows ultrabooks and android tablets) :

1. kinect-like control of TV sets,  2. voice control of TV sets

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2012/01/disruptive-power-gesture-voice-recognition.html

*** windows-phone-powered nokia lumia 900 coming to USA in March, announced at CES

*** windows phone supports only 1-core and 800×480 now but microsoft employees claim

nonsense that 2-core not needed, in meantime: Galaxy SII LTE from Samsung has dual-core 1.5GHz while many android phones have dual-core 1.2GHz.

Amazon 

has released a new ‘Send to Kindle’ feature for PC users. It’s a downloadable extension for Windows that adds a “Send to Kindle” option when right-clicking on a file in Windows Explorer or in the print dialog in any application.

Files sent with Send to Kindle go to the user’s Kindle Library, and they can be downloaded on the e-ink Kindle models as well as the iOS Kindle app. The last-read page, bookmarks, notes and highlights are synchronized automatically, except for PDFs. The Kindle Fire is not listed. Support for Mac is “coming soon.”

.    - ReadWriteWeb

Kindle Touch power user tip: type in search field this:

~ds

… which means “symbol of tilde, <~> disable screensaver” then screen saver wil not come

again but power off button not working as usual and only 20 seconds

holding down helps by resetting. no debug mode needed though!

LTE and NFC 

in smartphones – some have it but not ripe  yet?

NFC in many smartphones already: mobile payments by moving phone to Point Of Sale, gathering local information via NFC, Bluetooth headset that pairs by NFC/touchin device, NFC used to faster log-in to WiFi hotspots, NFC explodes!

mobile world congress next month! predictions: more LTE/4G phones probably

LTE in Europe now available for USB sticks and separate routers, not in phones yet, in USA in phones already

ipad 3 will have LTE (4G)? but what is the point if it has no internet connection sharing?

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The XStand from Brookstone holds your iPad either without a case, or with some cases. (Large cases like the Otterbox, or those with flip covers do not fit.) My iPad is currently in the XStand with no case, although the one I first saw was in a case.

The stand itself is beautiful, and worthy of holding an iPad. The base comes in black or red (I couldn’t resist the red), the arm is chrome, and the part that actually cradles the iPad is lucite. The corner pads are a soft plastic, and while they are a boring grey color, they won’t distract from an iPad whether in black or white.

Because you have the four plastic corners, installation is simple. Just set your iPad in the lower two corners, then lean it back and press until the top corners snap into place. This leaves you some wiggle room if your iPad is naked, but it’s not going anywhere.

The remarkable thing about the XStand is both its complete 360 degree swivel, and its almost 360 degree tilt. You can keep rotating your iPad in the stand, without ever having to reverse direction, moving easily from portrait to landscape. You can tilt your iPad so that you can view your screen at a 90 degree angle straight in front of your face, of 180 degrees so that it is as flat as if it were on a table top.

I’ve found that not only does the XStand work greatl on any table or desk, but it sits well in my lap as well. I can recline in my chair and not have to crane my neck to look down at my lap.

You can purchase the XStand from Brookstone for $49.95.

Edward – resident Windows Phone and Kinect expert
Diana – resident Android expert

What did you like best in the 2011 tech world?

I liked the push for competition, but not so much the litigation.

Plethora of e-readers.

the best in 2011: iCloud, iOS5, Windows Phone mango with multitasking and WiFi tethering, Kindle Touch, Kinect

Siri and clones like it

What do you want to see in 2012?

Whatever happened to those paper thin batteries?

One social network to rule them all, or updates to what we’ve got  so we can have the best of all worlds. Can we kill off Facebook, or will it see a renewal when it goes public? Facebook is still the only social network for many, will never die

Too many social networks for me to keep up with.  I’m having difficulty getting into google+.  Like Alli’s trouble with WhatsApp, hard to remember (or know from day to day) who is on which one.

Built-in cross platform messaging. I loved WhatsApp, but couldn’t’ keep track of who used it, or remembered to reinstall it.

I want to see in 2012: Ivy Bridge Intel processors so that next generation of notebooks has much longer battery life and much quieter fan/ventilator, more martial arts kinect games, apple TV that can run all iOS apps

A winning lottery ticket so that I can afford all this cool stuff!  I would like to  see better  updates to Android devices.

Windows Phone news last week:

- microsoft removes page about updates and says updates only on request from operators and then backs down from it but image lost
- everybody expects nokia lumia 900 at ces – rumors about it
- downfall of HTC continues (courtesy of samsung, nokia, lg)

recent Kinect news:
kinect star wars delayed from 2011 to February 2012 (possibly)
Edward enjoys self-defense camp kinect game
new packs in fruit ninja kinect

Kindle:
Edward loves Kindle touch despite owning ipad
Kindle tip: put “convert” in email with PDF to your kindle and PDF will be converted to “reflow PDF” – easy to read on kindle . can nook do it? -Not at this time (Diana)

iPad 3 rumors: digitimes is prolific in their creation, and they are often quoted.  However, they are just as often blasted for being totally in left field

Nook Tablet vs. Nook Color – where’s the beef?!?!

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My friend Leanna over at TiPb recommended the Wacom stylus, but I just couldn’t bring myself to spend $30 for what looked exactly like every other stylus out there. So I kept looking until I stumbled upon the Jot stylus from Adonit. While they have both a Jot and Jot Pro model, I figured I could get away without the rubber grip on the pro model, and still get a stylus for $20.

The Jot comes in a variety of colour options: I chose red. The barrel is smooth aluminum, and fairly chunky – certainly more so than an ordinary Bic style pen. I was pleased that the vanity embossing is small and unobtrusive on the Jot stylus. At the end is imprinted “Jot” and at the same end, but opposite side of the barrel, “Adonit.”

The Jot stylus comes with a cap that screws onto the end when you’re using it. It’s a great little feature that will protect the tip when you want to toss the stylus into your purse, pocket, or briefcase to take with you. Bizarre note here. The Jot stylus comes in a hard plastic package. While it was easy enough to remove the stylus, the cap was separate. I pulled and pulled but could not remove the cap from the package. Finally I tried twisting it out, and realized it was turning. It had been screwed into a plastic piece, so I laboriously unscrewed it and removed it from the packaging. Once I had the cap removed, I saw the notice beneath where the cap had been informing “unscrew cap to remove.” It would have made more sense to me to put this notice on top, where you could see it prior to attempting to get it out of the package.

The tip of the Jot stylus is what sets this stylus apart from all the other capacitive screen styli available on the market. Instead of having a bulbous rubber tip, the Jot ends in a point that looks like any pen and a tiny metal ball bearing that fits into a flat plastic disk.

The flat plastic disk allows you to slide smoothly across your touch screen, and because it’s opaque, allows you a better view of where on the screen you’re touching, than you can possibly get with the more common round rubber end.

Because the disk is on a ball bearing, you also have a good bit of flexibility as to how to position your stylus on your screen. Movement is fluid, and this is the perfect companion to writing or drawing apps on your tablet.

Pick one up for yourself in red, yellow, or green for $19.99. Or go for the Pro in gun metal, silver, or turquoise, with the rubber grip for $29.99. That extra ten dollars not only gets you a rubber grip, but the Pro attaches magnetically to the side of an iPad 2 or other tablet with magnetized bezel.

Mul­ti­ple reports have emerged of T-Mobile switch­ing on 3G for fre­quen­cies that exist­ing unlocked iPhones and other devices can use. At least some parts of Neva­da and some parts of North­ern Cal­i­for­nia and the North­west are see­ing 1,900MHz repur­posed to be used as addi­tion­al car­ry­ing space for theHSPA+ 84Mbps net­work antic­i­pat­ed for 2012. Those who live in the altered areas are see­ing speeds faster not just than they would on EDGE but faster than AT&T’s real-world 3G, at 7.92Mbps down and 1.8Mbps up.

How jealous of Verizon streaming Wild card games and Superbowl?!

The US International Trade Commission has just ruled in favor of Apple’s patent claims against HTC, banning some HTC devices from sale and importation to the US. The decision comes after ITC found that HTC violated two claims on one of Apple’s patents. This final patent infringement ruling will not take effect until April 19, 2012.

Victor Webb (Gadget Gurus): 

We haven’t experienced any real issues with signal strength on our LTE Galaxy Nexus units in the few days we’ve been using them since release, but Verizon is now saying that there is an issue — and it’s working on a fix. In a response tweeted by official Verizon account @VZWSupport today, the company says that reported signal issues are “currently being investigated” and that a software update is in the works, but there’s no release date yet. Various reviews have sporadically reported problem…

BT to sue Google: The six patents in question “relate to technologies, which underpin location-based services, navigation and guidance information and personalized access to services and content,” BT said.

Apple sues Samsung over Smartcover patent infringement

Nuance buys Vlingo

Blackberry Playbooks stolen…I guess it’s the only way RIM will get rid of them. Amazon almost bought RIM…came to its senses.

Blueant headphones

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When you study languages in school, a popular method is through “thematic units.” With this method, we pick a theme, and then study vocabulary and culture that fit within the theme.

This can be particularly challenging at the intermediate levels, where students have the basic skills, but need to build their vocabulary.

Using the app “7 Jours” can build on existing skills, improve vocabulary skills, and keep students “au courant” while having fun. Both vocabulary and listening skills are emphasized by using short news stories.

Depending on your preference, you can begin by simply watching and listening to the news story. You can read along with it to assist with comprehension. Throughout the news item are vocabulary words that are not commonly taught, or perhaps peculiar to the subject associated with the news item.  These words are highlighted in the script. Sometimes it’s easier to guess the meaning of a new word if you can see it as well as hear it in context.

There is also a complete list of vocabulary associated with the news item. Frequently, new words are taught first, and then presented in context so that students can appreciate their use once they have learned their meanings.

While this is a great method for introducing new vocabulary, it does presume that students are already familiar with a great deal of more general vocabulary, as well as syntax and grammar used in the news items. This is why I suggest that this be used with intermediate (or advanced) language learners.

7 Jours offers 3 new items each week, and each item is divided for your learning into categories and themes.  Every vocabulary word includes authentic pronunciation, the English translation, and an example of its use based on the context it was taken from.

The clips are short, and the narratives are clear. They are well chosen, and should keep almost anyone’s attention. Whether you are looking to improve your own French, or help a student of your own, 7 Jours is a great tool. The “7 jours sur la planète” application is the ideal partner to the interactive exercises that TV5MONDE provides free of charge to all French learners at http://www.tv5monde.com/7jours.

One of the more unique features of this app is the multiplayer mode on the vocabulary game where you are head to head with an opponent to properly spell out the French word when given the English definition. The game even ties into Apple’s Game Center. There are a number of types of games included to assist in making language learning enjoyable.

While this app definitely looks better on the iPad, it is a universal binary and will work on iPhone and iPod Touch as well.

You can find it in iTunes, and purchase for $4.99.

Obviously the best of all possible worlds is a children’s book on an iPad. Most children still view the iPad as a toy – a way to play games. What’s wrong with them thinking that reading a book is a game? Not a thing! The means to this end is beautiful pictures that children can scroll through, while being read a  delightful story.

No pages to turn, so even the youngest children can see the natural order of the story – top to bottom.

The pictures themselves seem to blend from one frame to the next, as the bottom becomes the top as you scroll down.

The story itself is one that should be read aloud. It is a not just a beginner reader. Children will enjoy being able to scroll through the original pictures as they are read the story.

This is the story of Hagar the Harfowl. Harfowls, we learn, live in trees. And Hagar is the little Harfowl who is the hero of the story and the other Harfowls.

I don’t want to give the story away, but like most stories for children, it has a moral.

If you have small children, this is the kind of quality time you owe them. Curl up with a good book today – and let your children play with it.

Purchase in iTunes for $1.99.

Let’s look at the basics of the app, which is quite nice, albeit somewhat limited. (Then again, while cookies is a broad category, cookies for Christmas is, in itself, limiting.)

The main screen contains categories of recipes. You can choose which way you view or search them. Once you have found recipes you like, or want to make, you can add them to the Favorites list.

The same choices are found in each category. It just depends on what you’re looking for, and whether you want to find something new, or if you’re looking for an old favorite.

The “Know-How” tab, offers a smaller selection of cookies. Mostly what you get here are step by step instructions using beautiful photos. (This is one of those areas that would be so much nicer if it took advantage of a universal binary.) Two of the recipes offer video instructions. I wish all the recipes included video. For some reason, being able to cook along with a video seems to make things easier.