Tag Archives: iOS Devices

LifeProof Cases and Accessories



LifeProof LifeProof showed off its cases at CES 2013. Life Proof makes cases for iOs devices including iPhone 4, 4s and iPhone 5, the iPod Touch (4th generation) and the iPad (2nd, 3rd and 4th generation). What makes the LifeProof cases special is although they are thin they are also extremely durable. They have been tested to meet military specs. LifeProof cases are shock proof, dirt proof and water proof. They are certified to be water proof up to 6.6 feet and has been tested up to ten feet. With these cases you can bring your iPhone or iPod into the shower, while swimming and boating without having to worry about it getting wet. The cases are intelligently designed so there is material only where it is need. Bumpers are placed only where they make sense and the rest of the case is sculptured, to make it thin and light as possible. The case has real glass over the location where the camera lens is so there is no distortion when taking a picture. There are removable covers for the speakers, and headphone jack so they are protected when not in use, but easily available when needed. The iPad cover offer similar protection, however because to use the iPad properly requires touch there is no coating or screen over the front as there is with the iPhone or iPod Touch.

To complement their cases, Lifeproof also offers many ways to easily carry and secure your devices. There is the arm band so you can secure your iPhone or iPod to your arm while walking or running. They have the LifeProof bike and bar mount. There is a clip for your belt. For the photographer or podcaster LifeProof offer the iStabilizer line of accessories including the iStabilizer Flex, the iStabilizer Dolly and the iStabilizer monopod. There is even an accessory called the Lifejacket which the iPhone or iPod Touch with the LifeProof case on it fits inside and it floats.

More information about the LifeProof case and accessories is available at the LifeProof website. You can buy LifeProof products on the website, through Amazon and various retail locations

Interview by Andy McCaskey of SDR News and RV News Net, and Daniel J Lewis of the The Noodle.mx Network and the Audacity to Podcast

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Google Search on iOS Devices



Google has updated their search app in the iTunes store for both the iPhone and iPad. I do recommend downloading it, but it is not without its problem. On the face of it the app is a way to search in the Chrome world on the iPad. When you search for something it pops up within the application, no going out to Safari. It uses instant search so it is very fast. If you click on a link in search, the link page shows up on the right side, but the search page still remains on the left tab, so you can easily go back and forth. If you are searching an image, you can open it to full size and then swipe to the next similar image like a carousel. You can do voice search which is great especially on the iPhone, where it can be hard to type.

The real strength though are the apps that are included within the Google Search Application. Now you can use Google Maps, Docs, Mail, Calendar in fact any app that is available through your google account is available through this application. Now you can up date your google docs or view your pictures in Picasa. However you can only view your pictures, you can’t add them from your iOS photo gallery. I tried to do a post on my personal blogger blog and I couldn’t figure an easy way to add links or photos. It is great for writing up the post, but you have to use the desktop version to add these. That is the problem with this app, there are a lot of things that you can’t do within this application that you can do with the web version of the application. The second problem is it does tend to crash a lot especially when it is working hard.

Despite these problems I do recommend downloading the app. Like a lot of Google products I expect it will improve overtime. Plus the fact that Apple has let an app into the market is actually surprising to some people, so how long it will stay there is a mystery. Have you tried the new Google Search app on your iOs device, what do you think of it.


Amazon Cloud Player Now Available on iOS Devices



The Amazon Cloud Player has come to various iOS devices including the iPad and iPhone, however it is awkward to use and needs some work. This post assumes that you have already set up the Amazon cloud player on your computer and have uploaded some music to it. Once you have done that than you can access the Amazon Cloud Player through Safari on the iOS device. The Amazon Cloud player is not an application and will only work through Safari. When you first launch the player if you see any warning about your device not being compatible, just hit continue. The first thing I notice once the cloud player came up is that it was clearly made for a full desktop and is not optimize for a mobile device. It is especially hard to use on the iPhone.

A couple of problems I ran into right away. The first was I have not found a way to scroll pass the first page. The second was the volume button on the page doesn’t work. The second problem is not a big one since I probably would use the volume button on my device anyway. The first problem is more irritating since the only way I know to get to songs that are not on the first page is to search for them and add them to a playlist. It did take me awhile to figure out how to rearrange a playlist. You have to place a check mark next to the song you want to have the other songs before, then click on the arrow, then click on “Move selected songs before this song”, then select the song you want to move. It is awkward to use and it doesn’t always work correctly.  The Amazon Cloud player does keep working even if you bring up a new application as long as it is is running on Safari in the background.  I also like the fact that if you click on an artist it will bring up all the albums they are on.  I guess what I am try to say is that it is nice to know that the Amazon Cloud player is available to use on an iOS player, so I can access my library anywhere I go. However it needs more work before I will use it more than occasionally. Have you tried the Amazon Cloud Player on your iOS device what do you think of it.