SAN FRANCISCO, MACWORLD 2009

“Griffin Technology Inc., creator of all things iPhone and iPod, today announced the availability of its Navigate inline controller and iFM app for iPhone and iPod touch. Navigate delivers FM stereo radio and offers a remote control for any recent-generation iPod or iPhone model. The iFM app can be used as a companion to any FM radio to display song titles, program information, etc.’’

Navigate will retail for $59.00 and Griffin will be releasing an iPhone/iPod companion app, iFM, to the iTunes app store in March.

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Tags:accessories, app

Looking for a backup power solution for your iPhone or iPod or another stocking stuffer idea for your iPhone/iPod using loved one? If so then check out our Storm Backup Battery review over in the review section. We think it's a winner and sure to please just about anyone. Continue reading after the jump...

Tags:accessories, 3G

Just in time for Black Friday, the next installment of our Fall iPhone Case Review has been posted over in the Reviews section. This time we take a look at More-thing's Noel Collection Metallic Series case. To see how it fared, continue reading after the jump.

Tags:3G, accessories, cases

We've posted the next installment of our Fall iPhone Case Reviews over in the Reviews section. This time we take a look at Speck's SeeThru. To see how it fared, continue reading after the jump.

Tags:accessories, cases

RapidWeaver MultiTool 2 will be on sale today over at MacZot for the low, low price of $12.00. Normally a $20 application this companion app to RapidWeaver makes swapping out RapidWeaver theme graphics a cinch. With a simple drag and drop approach, RW MultiTool 2 allows you to replace many of the theme elements quickly and easily without have to know anything about theme or how they're made.

RW MultiTool 2 also includes many image editing tools so you can tweak the look of your graphics or images until they're just right: layer transparency, Text tool, flip, rotate and scale, hue, saturation and brightness, filters and borders. As always, you can try RW MultiTool 2 before you buy but the sale does end at midnight tonight so don't dilly dally too long. If you've ever wanted to change a graphic or the look of your RapidWeaver project's theme, but didn't know how, look no further than RW MultiTool 2.

Tags:accessories, software

FYI, we've posted the second iPhone 3G case review over in our Reviews section. This time we take a look at PDO's Sleek Crystal polycarbonate case.

Tags:3G, cases, accessories, review

If you remember back in October we promised to bring you the most complete iPhone 3G case review ever. That was a pretty lofty goal and we’re not sure we can live up to it. It’s the whole “ever” thing that we may have a problem with. Besides, trying to review a whole slew of cases at once, well we just weren’t using our noodle. So what are we going to do about it? Instead of all the cases all at once, we’re going to break it down a bit and spread the reviews out over the next few weeks. In the end we hope to come down to a couple of favorites and we’ll tell you why.

To get the low-down on the first case we're reviewing head on over to the Reviews page and check out Griffin Technology's Clarifi.

Tags:review, cases, 3G, accessories

Yesterday, Griffin Technology announced the availability of iTrip Auto for iPhone.

The iTrip Auto simply plugs into the dock connector of the iPhone and offers high-quality audio, intuitive controls and Griffin's trademark station-scanning feature, SmartScan. SmartScan makes setup and operation nearly automatic -- it seeks out the best FM frequencies available, then selects the best of the best for use in transmitting the music to the car's FM stereo.

iTrip Auto automatically optimizes output volume, and the user can select stereo or mono modes for best-quality audio. Listeners can control speaker volume from the car stereo controls, eliminating the need to look at the touchscreen to adjust volume level, and features a large, easy-to-read backlit LCD screen for quick, easy reference on the road.

Simple, one cable design combines easy-to-use FM transmitter and auto charger for iPhone

Plugs into the 12V auto power outlet and charges the iPhone as it plays

Power switch with 3-color charge indicator

Save frequencies to four presets; uses any FM frequency from 88.1 to 107.9

Compatible with: iPhone 3G, iPhone, iPod touch (2G), iPod touch, iPod nano (4G), iPod nano (3G), iPod classic, iPod nano (2G), iPod with video (5G), iPod nano (1G)

For more info see the full press release at Griffins website (although we pretty much copied and pasted the full text) or visit the iTrip Auto's web page. We've never used this type of auto audio adapter before so if you have any experience with these kind of set ups let us know. Either post a comment or fire off an email to AYAAW.

Tags:accessories, announcement

We know you care about your brand-spanking new iPhone 3G and would hate to see anything happen to this beloved wonder of modern electronic gadgetry. Obviously you're going to buy a case for it, right? The problem is there are just so many to choose from. What's a new iPhone 3G owner to do? Stay tuned for AYAAW's mega iPhone 3G case roundup and review, that's what!

Hopefully, sometime in early November your favorite Apple site (AYAAW) will be running the most complete iPhone 3G case review ever. We say hopefully because we're still waiting for a few of the cases to show up. They're on their way but who knows how long it'll take them to get here. The roundup will happen in November but exactly when is still a little unsure, hence the "hopefully".

Here are the cases that we'll for sure be reviewing:

Marware: Flexi Shell with Screen Protecter
PDO: Sleek Crystal Case with Screen Protecter
Griffin: Clarifi and Nu Form
Case-mate: Clear Naked case
Speck: See Thru and Pixelskin

We're still waiting to hear back from these manufacturers:

Belkin: Clear Acrylic Case
Incase: Slider Case
More-thing: Mono Series Silicone case
Seidio: Innocase II Surface
Agent 18: Clear Shield
IvySkin: XyloT3 Clear Case
Scosche: KickBack

Hopefully we'll get review units for most, if not all of them. Have you seen or read about a case that you'd like to see reviewed? Post it in the comments to this article or fire off an email to AYAAW and we'll do our best to get the case and include it in our roundup.

TTFN

Tags:accessories, cases, 3G

Hey you intrepid AYAAW readers (actually there may only be one but we can hope, right?)! Check out our new, hot off the presses, DLO Auto Charger for iPhone review. It's a decent charger and the review isn't so long that you'll be bored. Yes, it's just a charger but the review is still worth a read. So head on over there ASAP!

Tags:accessories, hardware, review

Kevin Rose was spot on with his predictions as Apple announced immediate availability of new Nanos and iTunes 8.

The new Nano is as Rose described and actually looks like a pretty decent upgrade. The screen is larger and they come in a lot more colors. The new iPod is also sporting an enhanced user interface and includes an accelerometer (like the iPhone and iPod Touch) that detects tilt. Shake the new Nano and your music gets shuffled. The 8GB model will set you back $149 and is available today at the Apple store. The 16GB model will list at $199 and should be available next week.

The iPod Touch also saw a refresh today and according to Jobs and Apple is "the funnest iPod ever". It sports external volume controls, Nike support, a built in speaker and the same curved back as the iPhone 3G. Battery life for the new touch is said to be 36 hours for music, 6 hours for video. The new Touch will set you back $229 for the 8GB model, $299 for the 16GB and $399 for the 32GB model.

iTunes (press release, download) is also pretty much as Rose described and includes the new grid view for browsing your music collection. You can view the grid by album, artist, genres or composer. iTunes 8 also includes the rumored "Genius" playlist. If you want to watch your TV shows in HD iTunes 8 has you covered there as well. HD TV shows will cost $2.99. The download weighs in at 55.9 MB's and requires Quicktime 7.5.5 which is available via Software Update.

Jobs also announced iPhone Firmware 2.1 but alas it won't be available until Friday sometime. Apple says the new firmware will significantly increase battery life, address dropped calls, make backups faster (Yeah!) and supposedly fix app crashes. Other bug fixes are included as well.

Lastly, Apple announced new in-ear headphones that sport a remote in the cord as well as a mic. The new earbuds list for $79 and are supposed to offer superior sound.

So there you have it kiddies. iTunes has uploaded my music info to Apple and I now have a Genius pane opened on the right side of iTunes. I'll post back with thoughts on this latter.

Joe Henry

Tags:announcement, new, accessories