Macgasm

RIM wants to keep up with its competitors, so it is reportedly looking for an acquisition target in the mobile space according to The Wall Street Journal. Millenial Media, a mobile ad provider, has recently been named target; though Wall Street also states that this process has been stalled due to disagreements between RIM and Millenial Media for a purchase price.

RIM also believes that its competitors, Apple and Google, overpaid for their own mobile ad platform, and are not willing to go the same route. That said, Apple’s purchase of Quattro Wireless was for an undisclosed price.

I honestly think this is a bad move for RIM. I mean, people are already becoming hesitant about purchasing a Blackberry phone, and adding a bunch of ads to the platform is just going to make it worse. They should just focus on making their products the best that they can, and worry about something more important — like new features and design.

What do you think? Are you okay with having your mobile phone filled with (probably ugly) ads?

Article via PCWorld.

Image via techworlduk.

In this episode, Josh and Grant discuss the Dock.

Download >>

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This is my favourite kind of rumour, one of pure speculation. It lets me make up crazy stuff about whatever I want, and no one can be the wiser. No, really. If you ever want to know what it’s like tracking down rumours, this type of news typifies the experience — lot of noise, and a lot of uncertainty. That’s why we thought we’d pass this little bit of “barely news” news to you.

Here’s the “facts”, according to 9 to 5 Mac. An unknown device has been found in a configuration file referencing an unknown device running iOS 4.1. It’s made by Apple Inc., but no one has any idea what it might be. It could be a new iPod Touch, another iPad, the AppleTV, an iMac, a fancy car. Who the hell knows.

So instead of us pretending, much like the other sites, that we know what’s going to be released, we thought we’d put it in a question to you: What’s Apple putting iOS on now?

My guess, the AppleTV, but that’s all it is — a guess.

Article via 9 to 5 Mac

If you’re looking for a way to integrate your iPad into your rustic cottage this fall season, you can use this iLog. Okay, so it’s not called an iLog, but you get the idea. Someone hollowed out the log, installed a dock connector, and voilà, an iPad stand.  Only on Etsy.

I wonder how long it’ll take for someone to add a fire app to their iPad and create a new wave iYule. It’s not going to come cheap though, but it’s going to be unique. This $138.00 dock is one of a kind, and if it’s not gone already, you’re running out of time.

Article Via Unplggd

NPR recently released data showing that between 8AM and 10AM, over 8000 listeners are using the iPhone app to tune in to NPR. The numbers drop down to around 6000 by noon, and level off for the rest of the day. The graph shows average hourly unique visitors over a two week period in the summer. What’s interesting is that although the mobile web, Android app and even the iPad app show a rise in average unique visits in the morning, the increase is not nearly as dramatic as among iPhone users.

The numbers don’t indicate where listeners are using the app. On your morning commute if you are underground on a subway, you’re not going to be getting any wireless signal to your iPhone, so these listeners are on the bus, walking, or in their cars. And although there is some speculation that iPhone users are listening to the app in their car rather than simply turning on the radio, it seems unlikely. According to The Infinite Dial published by Edison Research, only 6% of Americans have streamed audio from their mobile phones to their car stereos.

Regardless of where they are, iPhone users account for the bulk of NPR’s mobile audience. Other national broadcasters such as the BBC, or the CBC with their own iPhone apps may have similar data to show in the future. BBC’s iPlayer app data released in January 2010 shows an increase in usage for radio at noon, but doesn’t differentiate mobile app access from desktop. Radio requests from iPhone account for just over 3% of all streams.

So what are you using your iPhone for on your morning commute? Are you streaming radio, or listening to your own music or podcasts?  Let us know in the comments!

Apple’s App Store Director, the same person who strongly enforces the “no-porn policy” has a hobby: selling fart apps in the App Store.

On Wednesday, Wired revealed that the Director of Apple’s App Store, Phillip Shoemaker, also works for a company called “Gray Noodle.” Some of the applications Gray Noodle has developed include “iWiz,” a urine simulator, and “Animal Farts,” a farting app.

What’s interesting about this, is that Phillip Shoemaker is the one who doesn’t want not-safe-for-work apps on the App Store, and the fact that Apple forbids its employees from having applications on the App Store, unless the app was developed before the employee started working for Apple.

“101 Cocktails,” “Medical Poetry,” and “iWiz,” three apps developed by Gray Noodle, were posted in the App Store after March 9, 2009, which is when Shoemaker began working for Apple. (According to his Twitter account.)

Shoemaker has since removed all content from his Twitter and LinkedIn account that included mentions of his side company.

Image and Article via PCWorld.

I’ve been lugging around my Dakine backpack for a while now. It’s been through a European roadtrip, and an Eastern Canada roadtrip, and both times it’s mangled my MacBook Pro. Sure, I’m pretty rough with it, but it’s about time I buy something that I can lug around my electronics in without the fear of breaking my iPad, or scratching the hell out of my MacBook Pro.

I stumbled across an Incase backpack designed for the digital age today on Apple Gazette, so I thought I’d pass it along to you guys. It seems like what I’m looking for, and it has enough padding for some protection. Has anyone else purchased one of these things?

With room for my iPad, 15in MacBook Pro, iPhone, cords, and notebooks, I haven’t seen anything else worthy of consideration. The Compact Backpack can hold up to a 15in MacBook Pro according to Incase, and it’s only $79.95.

I’m open to suggestions if anyone has any better ideas. Let me know in the comments.

Article Via Apple Gazette

StumbleUpon is one of the most relevant services on the interweb for sharing interesting content. If you’re a website owner, you know the tool, if you’re a casual web surfer, you’re probably one of the over 10 million users that have utilized the tool.

Now the company has launched their official iApp and I must admit, this is a very slick app that is actually quite fun to use.

The StumbleUpon app takes user ratings, site quality, and some other behind the scenes factors into consideration when you press the Stumble button, you’ll see pages that your friends and like-minded users have recommended across the interweb. When you, in turn, rate  sites with the intuitive thumbs up or thumbs down icons, you help StumbleUpon learn more about your preferences which then allows the service to present you with more sites matching your consumption patterns.

Not only can you stumble websites, but you can stumble through Flickr, YouTube, photo galleries, and various news sites.

This app just opened a whole new dimension of web browsing for me since I can quickly, from any location, see what my colleagues are recommending online.

Apparently others who have downloaded this app feel the exact same way, as there is nothing lower than a 4 star rating in review section on the App Store.

From the official press release

“Following the success of our iPad app, we’re excited to extend the stumbling experience to iPhone and Android device users, letting people explore the best of the web at any time no matter where they are,” said Garrett Camp, founder and CEO. “Downloading the app is easy and once logged-in, users can discover great online content that’s tailored to their preferences.”

The new StumbleUpon app is optimized for the mobile discovery experience and uses the same personalized recommendation technology users would encounter using their personal computer or iPad. Through their mobile phone, users can ‘thumb-up’ or ‘thumb-down’ sites they like or dislike, and preferences are saved for their next session when they open the app.

Users can narrow their stumbling to a particular category, such as Photography or Science, or browse through pages in no particular category. They can also view content on best-in-breed content sites, flipping through lush photography on Flickr or funny videos on YouTube.

Start stumbling today and while  you’re at it…add me to your follower list – we may have stuff in common.  Better yet, toss your user name into the comments and we’ll add you!

The free app is available for download from Apple’s iTunes store here or through the Android Market here.