Jordan McRae’s B-Squares

Jordan McRae’s B-Squares

Do you know Jordan McRa?He is a designer who devotes himself to integrating solar energy . After months of experimentation he came up with the design for B-Squares.

Do you want to know what he descibes his product?

B-Squares is a 3D modular electronics system with an emphasis on (but not limited to) solar power and expandable energy storage. Each Square has a magnetic contact on each of the corners which allows the Squares to easily snap together without wires. The magnetic contacts are also used to transmit electric signals between the Squares. This design allows users to quickly assemble Squares into arrays, with power flowing through the array via the corner contact, without wiring or soldering. Also, due to the use of multiple magnetic contacts on each Square, the overall circuit of the array can quickly be changed simply by rotating one of the Squares – for instance, the color of the LED Square can change with a flip or a rotation.

To date, the project includes squares for a 0.25 W solar panel, a AAA battery power pack and multi-color LEDs. Other squares accommodate iPhone/iPod docking as well as an Arduino square and a proto-square.

Peel universal remote adapter for iOS now available, $99 buying you expensive Fruit

You know your product name is clever when not one but two companies go for it. Such is the name "Peel." This offering we're talking about is not the sort that turns an iPod into an iPhone, rather it's the kind that turns an iPhone into a universal remote -- though it'll work with all the other iOS devices too. It's a combination app and hardware that we've been tracking since last year, and now it's up for order. The iOS app talks to a goofy shaped IR blaster, called the Fruit, which costs $99. The combination turns your mobile device into a Harmony-hunting universal remote, but a smarter one that not only knows how to turn on your TV but also how to tune it to the latest episode of Glee, apparently, since every promo shot seems to feature some bit of gleekery. The app is free now and the Fruit is up for purchase -- though it's currently showing as back ordered. Let's hope it doesn't spoil.

Apple’s Cook Saying iPhone Is Not Just A Rich Person’s Gadget

Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) COO Tim Cook wants to make sure that Apple can reach the mass market with the iPhone.

Cook sat down with Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi last week for a wide-ranging chat about Apple, according to a research note put out by Sacconaghi this morning and picked up by multiple outlets, including Forbes. While Apple is well known for pursuing the high end of the PC market with its Mac product strategy, multiple products and pricing strategies ensured the iPod became a mass-market gadget, and Cook implied Apple is going to try and duplicate that feat with the iPhone.

Apple is “not ceding any market,” Sacconaghi wrote in the note according to Forbes’ account. (A Bernstein representative did not immediately return an e-mail seeking a copy.) Cook also suggested that Apple wants to avoid having the iPhone be seen as a product “just for the rich.”

Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and its Android partners are aggressively going after a mass market with multiple products and pricing strategies around the world. Often that involves tackling the pre-paid mobile market, which Apple has not spent as much time worrying about given the success of the iPhone over the last several years.

That sounds like it could be changing, and could pave the way for lower-cost iPhones or different pricing strategies that avoid the standard two-year subsidized contract model common among many of Apple’s mobile partners. Sacconaghi also noted that Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer talked about plans to expand the number of carriers that feature the iPhone, from the 175 currently on board to something more like the 550 that carry the BlackBerry.

Over time, however, tablets could present as much if not more opportunity for Apple as the iPhone. Cook told Sacconaghi that he thinks tablets could represent between $60 billion and $100 billion in new business for just Apple over the next several years, and that “intense competition” from other companies could make for a pretty big pie.

Apple, of course, is expected to unveil the next version of the iPad Wednesday in San Francisco, and we’ll be there.

SRS iWow 3D really improving the sound of any iPod or iOS device

I've been a fan of the SRS iWow audio adapter for my iPod Classic for a number of years. What this dongle did is make iTunes audio sound dramatically better. It tightened the bass, improved the treble and added a good deal of presence to my music with the largest difference being heard in acoustic or orchestral tracks. It also punched up the audio of videos to an extent.

This wasn't done by just increasing the volume, which would be the easy way. Instead, it added proprietary post processing to improve the sound. The downsides were that there were no settings outside of on or off, it was rather big and clunky, and it reduced iPod battery life by 26 percent. 

At Macworld 2011, I met with Shawn Kamal, an engineer turned product marketing manager, who introduced me to the next generation -- now made smaller, totally re-done and retitled the SRS iWow 3D(US $59.95). The product is now shipping in black and there is also a bundle for $79.95 which adds four snap on color face plates -- the colors used are the those of the majority of iPhone cases -- and a pair of ear buds that are nothing special.

Comparing the old and the new

I was very interested to compare the older iWow with the iWow 3D and hear if it was worth buying again, since there will be no special upgrade price for the new unit. The answer is an unqualified yes. The bass is tighter, the treble clearer and the soundfield is much wider -- usually sounding like it's a few feet to the left and right of your head. The 3D effect is less than precise, but it is there and does make a big difference especially when listening to sound coming from a video -- especially an action movie. I couldn't hear specific sounds behind me, but the holographic effect was dramatic. In fact, I'd go so far as saying that it will make your headphones or speakers plugged into the iWow 3D, sound twice as good as they do now.

Gallery: SRS iWow 3D Gallery

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To accomplish this huge improvement, the code was re-written from the ground up using a new proprietaryDSP. The old version's sound path was analog to digital for processing, and then back to analog to send out the sound. The new method uses digital to digital to analog, giving SRS greater control with only a 2 dB increase in volume, although it sounds like a bit more. The new technology also reduces the battery drain from that 26 percent drop with the original iWow to only 15 percent with the new device. Note that your headphones or speakers plug into the dongle which puts the headphone jack on the bottom of your device instead of the top.

The SRS iWow App

When plugging the iWow 3D into an iOS device for the first time, a screen will pop-up asking you to download the free supporting app and taking you to an install screen. The app, which is not universal (I'm told that one will be coming soon) gives you a lot of control over the device. There is a 50-second demonstration of music switching the iWow 3D on for five seconds and then off for the duration of the clip letting you hear the difference provided by the device. The app then gives you options to turn the dongle on or off (which can also be done by pushing the white button on the iWow 3D), and letting you choose between using headphones, speakers or a car stereo. Personally I like using the speaker setting for headphones, but that's a matter of opinion. The car option is sort of interesting. Since car speakers are usually a few feet below the listening position, the sound stage is raised by a few feet to compensate. Another nice hidden feature is that if the genres in your iTunes library are set correctly, the iWow 3D will tailor the effect to the genre on the fly. 

There is an advanced settings screen that will enable or disable Wide Surround, Deep Bass, or High Treble. I prefer leaving them all on, but you might not. The app also has a music trivia game that gives you a bunch of multiple choice questions as game show theme music plays and a progress bar shows you how much time you have left to answer. I asked SRS why they included the game and the reply was a sheepish "because we could". 

When plugging the 30 pin connector into a non-iOS device, the iWow 3D still works but outside of turning it on or off, you have no control over any settings. It will default to headphone mode with all three advanced settings enabled. This is an excellent trade-off and allows me to use it with my iPod Classic.

Software for PCs and Macs

SRS also sells SRS Premium iWow for iTunes software that works on PCs or Macs running Snow Leopard for $24.99 for one license or $39.99 for three. You can download it for free and use it for a couple of weeks before the trial period times out. It offers settings for headphones, speakers or built-in laptop speakers. It can be adjusted for music or movies, and can be set to auto-detect genres or you can choose them yourself. I'd suggest that you give this a try since it makes an impressive difference to the quality of anything that plays through your Mac and doesn't involve a network. I was told there will also be a bundle that will include this software along with the iWow 3D. I highly recommend these products to all music lovers. The difference is astounding and well worth the cost.

Jetstar airline offerring in-flight iPads in April

Back in June 2010 we first reported on a pilot program by Qantas Airways' low-cost airline Jetstar to offer iPad rentals as in-flight entertainment, and now we have learned that Jetstar will finally start offering them in April for AUD $10 per flight. According to Australian Business Traveler, the in-flight iPads will come loaded with "movies, music, magazines, books and games" and will be available on Jetstar's A320 flights in Australia and Asia.

Jetstar had initially intended to launch the rental program in time for the holiday season after successful trial runs last summer, but due to contract negotiations and pending licensing agreements with Apple they weren't able to get it ready in time. In talking with Australian Business Traveler, Jetstar marketing manager David May said that "if the trial works, we want to put them on every aircraft because they're so much slimmer and lighter than our existing units," and I imagine we will be seeing many other airlines follow suit.

With some airlines already offering integration between iPods and in-flight entertainment systems and iPads being used as electronic flight bags for pilots, just how far off are we from flying Apple Airlines? Anyone care to take a guess?

What We Can Take Far Away from the iPad 3 Speculation ?

In the modern era of the blogger, any speculation (especially about the Apple iPad) can launch a thousand rumors faster than Helen of Troy launched a thousand ships. The media is bubbling with one blogger's postulation that the iPad 3 could launch in the fall of 2011.

That isn't a typo; there is currently a whirlwind of speculation over the third generation iPad. Blogger John Gruber started all of the humdrum when he said on his site, Daring Fireball: "So, here’s my guess at Apple's iPad plans for 2011 … iPad 3, shipping in September, announced at the annual iPod event. Running iOS 5.1, same as the next-generation iPod Touch."

Gruber heavily prefaced this statement by saying that his guess really and truly was a guess, that this was a "gut feeling," and that during his site’s history he had had a tendency of "predicting what [he] hoped for, not what [he] truly expected."

Despite these qualifications, national media outlets ran with the story.

Considering that little is even known about the iPad 2, it seems foolish to make too many predictions about something that is, for all intents and purposes, currently vaporware.

However, there's no harm in healthy discussion, and if one looks past the lack of credence in Gruber's claim there are two interesting points about Apple, and the tablet market on the whole, that have arisen in the wake of the blog post.

Apple's strict adherence to release schedules might be foolish

With competition becoming steeper amongst tablets, Apple might give up some competitive advantage by rolling out iPads on a scheduled basis each spring. Other companies could cut in front of Apple's expected release dates, exploiting the company's predictability. Essentially, Apple has lost the luxury of being the only game in town.

iPads for the holidays, and the whirlwind of technological advancement

Tablet technology is advancing so quickly that waiting a few months for a new release could make a huge difference in the quality and specs of a product. As Gruber phrased it: "April is four months into the new year, but still feels like 'early' in the year. That leads to whispers and rumors during the holiday season that people should wait."

A TabletPCReview editorial last month ultimately concluded that people looking to purchase an iPad should wait for the iPad 2, considering the relative nearness of the release date, and the significantly improved processor.

Gruber made one other qualification to his claim that should be noted: "Maybe it won't be an actual next generation model. Maybe it's more like an iPad 2.5, or iPad 2 Pro -- a new higher-end model that sits atop the iPad product family."

One complaint about Apple's yearly or bi-yearly upgrades is that, at times, they aren't really upgrades. Since Apple releases are based on schedule, rather than technological advancement, the updates to a device between generations could be minimal, and Gruber’s above model wouldn't help mitigate that feeling amongst customers.

Conclusion

Gruber makes interesting points in his argument, and it's good that it has stimulated a bit of debate. However, it would be presumptive to call the claim anything other than speculation. In a few months, as the market takes shape after the release of the iPad 2 and releases from other big name companies, the iPad 3 will be a hot topic. And if it is released in the fall, that would be undeniably noteworthy, and John Gruber would deserve a lot of credit. If Apple sticks to the schedule, Gruber's speculation will turn out to have just been bad guessing.