Along with the announcement of the new iPod Touch, Nano, and Shuffle, Steve Jobs also announced a new version of iTunes. The release was available on Apple’s website soon after and it definitely had some changes that made it stand out against Apple’s other applications.

Some of the changes that made it differ the most from other applications was the new interface and the new icon. The new icon looks nothing like iChat, Finder, Mail, etc.. The black note inside the dark blue color enclosed in a white bezel just looks much different than icons that Apple are known for designing. It just feels like the icon is off in its own world, away from the pack.

Also, the interface seems like it’s a little more touch-friendly, which is odd of Apple. It looks like they tried to match the design of the iPod application on the iPad. All songs in the song list seem a little more spaced out than other versions and the volume slider seems slightly larger too.This could possibly mean that Apple has an upcoming slate planned that is going to run Mac OS, so that they can compete with the flood of Windows 7 slates.

This new release of iTunes also came with a social feature called “Ping”. Ping is described as a social network for music, and that’s what it is. Ping didn’t really impress me much as a social network. It can’t really compete with something like Twitter or Facebook. All it is is a place where you can talk about music with friends and it has some features such as posting on your page when you buy a new song on iTunes, which is kind of useless for people who use other services for downloading music such as AmazonMP3.

This release of iTunes really has me looking towards Apple for new announcements and overall, this version of iTunes is snappier than older ones on my Mac Mini, but it didn’t really leave me amazed.

David – Senior Editor

The long wait for an iPhone 4 jailbreak is now officially over and it came with beneficial effects for other iDevices too. This new jailbreak works on any iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad and is done directly on the device, with no need to use a device on the computer. The process is really easy and simple too. All you have to do is visit this website on your device and “Slide to Jailbreak”. It is recommended that you sync with iTunes, but I had no issue just performing the jailbreak and then returning to my springboard to a Cydia icon.

David – Senior Editor

iPhone 4 with OWLE and EnCinema 35mm Adapter (SLR Lens) from Vimeo.com

Yesterday, Media productions company Vid-Atlantic posted a video showing how the iPhone 4 was capable of using a SLR lens with only minor adjustments to a few 3rd-party products. And though the quality was decent, it got me thinking, would it be worth it to make something like this? After some investigation, probably not. Here’s why:

The materials used in the making of this video were, an iPhone 4 ($200-$300), a Canon EF 50mm f1.8 lens (at miniumum $90), an OWLE bubo for the iPhone ($130) and an EnCinema 35mm Adapter ($200). The price would be at least $620, about the price of a Canon Rebel XSI or a Rebel T1i. The money spent would be better put to use for a DSLR (in terms of quality as well.)

Lev – Lead Writer

Earlier today, Steve Jobs stepped on stage and made three announcements about the iPhone 4 and some of its problems.

The first of which was about the phone’s antenna problem. Jobs explained that Apple isn’t going to change the design, explaining that it’s even “better than the 3GS.” Instead of doing a recall, Apple will be giving away free bumpers and a selection of other cases until September 30 to iPhone owners. We’re expecting that Apple will have a solution to the problem by then anyways.

Next up was the discussion about the long-awaited white iPhone 4. Jobs said that it will be available soon with limited quantities.

The final announcement was about the iPhone’s proximity sensor problems. Unlike the case of the antenna, the proximity sensor will be fixed by a soon-to-be released iOS update.

We would still like to mention that you can return the iPhone 4 until your 30 day return policy is up, if you feel like a bumper/case or software update wont fix the problems.

Lev – Lead Writer

Sources: AppleInsider Live Blog; Gizmodo Live Blog

After the wide-spread iPhone 4 antenna problem hit many owners of the phone, Apple has taken the wrong turns in covering the issue up.

Along with ignoring it at their stores, they’ve begun censoring this problem on web. They’ve started deleting threads on their forums mentioning the now – common problem. Luckily, voices can still be heard as they don’t have the right to delete threads on other sites.

But their maybe a fix! The three possibilities that may fix this problem are: the on-going lawsuit involving both AT&T and Apple happens to win against the two companies; Apple could give out free bumpers (which only cost a dollar or two to make); or consumers maybe able to get their phone replaced. Tech site Gizmodo.com has already mentioned that some of their readers have had their iPhones silently recalled due to the issue. Hopefully we’ll see a fix in the near future.

Lev – Lead Writer

Update: Apple is set to hold a press conference on Friday about the iPhone 4. We do not have information on whether or not Apple will discuss the antenna issue.

The Pandigital Novel is an Android-powered e-reader. It features a 7″ screen, ARM 11 processor, 1GB of internal storage (expandable up to 32GB), and WiFi, all for the low price of $200. The iPad features a 9.7″ screen, Apple A4 processor, 16GB of storage (non-expandable, but also in 32GB and 64GB), and WiFi (and 3G on some models), but it costs $500 (or higher for 3G and/or higher storage). Now, here’s when the real deal comes in; the iPad runs iOS 3.2 and the Novel runs Android. Novel’s version of Android is device-specific and limited, but reports of some hacking have just surface and it appears as though the Novel has been fully rooted and running the stock version of Android 2.1. Though I can’t really say much about performance, judging from the processor, this is still a major breakthrough.

I truly believe that if this is in fact, 100% working and fast, for that matter, this could really stir up some competition with the iPad. It’s $300 cheaper, so you really are going to be paying a lot less for it anyway.

David – Senior Editor

Late yesterday, George Hotz (@geohot) announced on his Twitter acount that people are taking his iPhone hacking too seriously and it isn’t fun for him anymore. George Hotz is the creator of the original iPhone jailbreak. A few days back, George Hotz made a post on his blog featuring an iPhone 4 running Cydia. His blog is no longer accessible to the public, this is most likely because of controversy from the post. He claims that iPhone hacking is just something he did when he was bored and that people are making a bigger deal about his accomplishments than him. In order to find more updates regarding future jailbreaks, George says to follow his friend, @mikecohenn.

David – Senior Editor

Apple’s Mac Mini has always been a great combination of affordability and performance in a small package. The newest model lives up to the Mac Mini name with a complete redesign, an HDMI port, and increased graphics performance. However, these changes do come at a price.

The price of the new Mini is $700, which is $100 more than the previous model.

The new Mac Mini features a design similar to the MacBook Pro. The body is made of one carved piece of aluminum, and I must say, it looks beautiful. The form factor has also changed a lot from the previous model. It is about half as thin, but has gained about an inch around. This makes it perfect if you want it to sit under your monitor or TV, but still want it to have breathing room. The power supply has also been put inside the computer, so the power cord no longer has a huge brick on it.

The internals have changed a lot from previous models. On the back, many inputs have been changed around. There is a FireWire 800 port, an Ethernet port, Audio In/Out, an HDMI port (Apple includes an HDMI-to-DVI adapter in the box), a Mini Display port, 4x USB ports ( down from 5 in the previous model), and an SD card reader (previous models did not have this). There of course, is a SuperDrive in the front on the regular model, not the server edition. Inside is also a 320GB HDD that clocks at 5400RPM. I do wish Apple gave us a choice to put in an SSD or at least a 7200RPM hard drive. The one in it currently seems a little slow for a desktop. The base model also only comes with 2GB RAM. This is completely unacceptable for the $700 price point. If you are going to be running Windows in a virtual machine, you’re going to need much more than that. Luckily, Apple finally made it easy to upgrade the RAM.

There is a door on the bottom of the machine and all you have to do is turn it and remove it, and you have easy access to the RAM. The memory itself however, isn’t cheap. a 2GB stick is going to cost you around $100. Apple are kind of ripping you off with the performance of the computer, going down from a 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo to a 2.4GHz and Going down from 4GB of RAM to 2GB. This is all made up for though, with the new GPU, the NVIDIA Geforce 320M. Apple claims that it is twice as fast as the 9400M. I must say, I was impressed by the speed of the chip and if no one told me, I would never be able to tell that it’s integrated. I am able to watch YouTube videos at 1080p with no lag whatsoever and I now use this as my primary gaming computer, it’s that good. On Windows 7 with BootCamp, I am able to play games such as Guitar Hero III, Halo 2, and Modern Warfare 2 at 1920×1080 at med-high settings at around 40-70fps. It is capable at handling Crysis at High settings with ~20fps, but the computer seems to get very hot and loud. I was able to play some older games like Half-Life 2 at 1920×1080, all high, and 6xMSAA at 100+ fps. Seriously, this thing is powerful. If you are a casual gamer this computer is perfect for you.

As for normal business/web use, this probably isn’t going to be as good as the previous model because of the slower
processor and less RAM, but I haven’t been disappointed when it comes to speed. I really don’t think it’s worth buying this computer to use as a home theater PC, despite it’s HDMI port, simply because there are much better uses for it, it’s a very powerful machine. It’s a solid computer and a perfect choice for anyone who wants a Mac but doesn’t want to pay too much for one.

David – Senior Editor

Earlier today, iPhone hacker, planetbeing, released details and source code about his most recent hack that allows the iPhone to run Android OS, without any virtualization. The only downside is that it currently only works on the first generation iPhone. You can find more information on this topic at http://linuxoniphone.blogspot.com

Video Credit: planetbeing

Continuing their free iPhone game spree, ngmoco:) has released a new app on the App Store called “We Rule“.

Essentially, this app is like Farmville for the iPhone and iPod Touch, as it’s a click-and-wait/ social networking game.

It takes place during the medieval times, in which you are a king. The goal of the game is to design a great kingdom and to rack up on experience points. In order to do so you must achieve a higher level, through experience points, which takes some time.  This makes the app highly addictive.

“We Rule” is powered by the plus+ network, allowing users of this application to connect with their friends. The problem with this: you must be connected to the internet, to play.

The app can be a bit buggy at times, especially with the current popularity. Many players have experienced crashes throughout this game. The ngmoco:) team is currently working on this issue.

This game is definitely worth a try, especially with the low price tag.

“We Rule“ is available on the iTunes App Store for Free.