Some of the joys of the advertising industry in the USA allows you to do things like this. In other countries, mentioning your competitor would issue you an ad board censor.

[source]

The concept reminds me much of high school kids in class passing notes to one another. But instead of writing notes in secret and passing them to seatmates, all they need to do now is scribble using their mobile phone. It’s as simple as that. Use the phone like a pen to scribble letters. I think the setup works like a combination of the Wiimote’s accelerometer from Nintendo and maybe, in the future, the Canson Papershow which I reviewed several months back. Yeah, there’s a name for this new technology and it’s called Air Writing.

Stay tuned, folks! The application is currently in prototype with existing phones with a built in accelerometer.

[photo c/o author]

So it comes with GPRS connectivity, but yeah if you’re looking for a phone that works for about USD $100 — it even has an extra removable battery — then you might want to check out a few of iPhone clones that are coming out. There’s a WiFi version of the same clone for twice the price which is still a steal considering the fact that it even has dual SIM capabilities.

Other than those I mentioned, it has everything the iphone has and probably even more coz it comes with an extra battery, you can download Apple apps in it, comes with 1 GB memory card, it’s dual sim (put in your Globe, Smart and/or Sun sim if you wish!), comes with a leather Apple case and did I tell you you’ll save around P38,000 with it too (you can already buy a decent laptop with that money or maybe even go to Hong Kong or Thailand or Bangkok!)? So yeah, I got myself one. I’ve yet to discover if I’m gonna regret it, coz like I told you I’m no geek. But for P5k, it’s already very much worth it.

The unit is called a Sciphone, and it looks hot. There is something oddly alluring with phones like these because there’s such a big community built around it. Interesting, actually.

[phone image and review from The SexyNomad]

OK, as expected, Apple unveiled their new iPhone upgrade, the 3Gs which is essentially the same iPhone with a few new surprises. None of these are actually groundbreaking when taken apart, but they still make for a welcome upgrade. 4x speed increase for most apps, autofocus 3MP camera, 30 fps video recording, support for Nike+ running (the iPod touch had this one so this upgrade is welcome, but still late for the iPhone). There are also voice activated commands for launching apps and controlling your music. There’s also a data speed bump up to 7.12MBPS.

Price? Well $199 for 16GB. $299 for 32GB. Coming this June 18th.

[image taken from Apple.com Press Gallery]

I’ve joined the Sims 3 bandwagon, grabbing my copy off the shelf today for my desktop. Two days prior to the Sims 3 launch though, Sims 3 for the iPhone was released for a whopping USD $9.99 which is about half the price of the bigger game for your computer. What’s hot about the iPhone version is that it’s pretty much the real game, but revolves mostly around the Sim you create rather than the entire neighborhood. Go give it a try from the iTunes store. You won’t be disappointed! It’s Sims on the go!

[image taken from iTunes store]

We’re excitedly anticipating the release of Mass Effect 2 for the consoles but in the meantime, there has been a release of pre-buzz content for the iPhone which acts like a prelude of sorts. To differentiate it from the main franchise, this version is a top down shooter with cartoonized graphics. This is still part of the Mass Effect universe which means that fans should give this a try as a premonition to the main plot. You can download the application through the iTunes store.

[Thanks to 1UP for images]

Several months ago, I raffled off a Mophie Juice Pack. This May, I’m raffling off the “air” version of the Juice Pack from Mophie, which is a crapload thinner and also the most elegant external battery solution to the iPhone 3G. No wires. No extenders. Nada. It’s so good, the product is sold out! But we still can give away one, to a single lucky reader!

• The world’s thinnest Apple certified “Works With iPhone” external battery for iPhone 3G!
• Rechargeable 1200mAh lithium polymer battery virtually doubles your time to rock, talk, surf and send.
• Pass-through USB charging and sync with iTunes
• Extended smart battery and full case protection
• On/Off switch offers choice of battery or case
• Integrated 4 LED charge status indicator

NOTE WELL // This contest is only open to residents in the USA and Canada //

Contest Rules
1. Leave a comment answering the question “what is lighter that air?” You can leave as many replies as you want provided that you give a different answer per comment.

2. Please leave a valid email address and name so that I may contact you afterwards

3. The contest will run from today till 11:59 PM of May 20 2009, blog time. Only residents of the USA and Canada are eligible to join the contest.

[image c/o Mophie]

Just in case you still have not found it, Yahoo! Messenger for the iPhone is on the list of top FREE applications in the iTunes store. I’ve been using it for days now and I must say that it is the best made-for-iPhone app that integrates YM - well, duh! It should! Finally, a decent version of Yahoo! Messenger that allows you to monitor multiple contacts in an easy to navigate UI.

The only thing I don’t like is the obvious disallowing of running on the iPhone’s background. If you exit the app to multitask, you will have to connect again.

[photo c/o iTunes Music Store]

In just seconds, the applications enable an iPhone user to find a nearby restaurant and call for a reservation. Each listing comes with detailed information, including address, phone number, opening hours, awards and MICHELIN guide comments. Users can also upload and share their opinion of the restaurant, by rating such features as “quality products,” “inexpensive,” “good value for money” and “friendly welcome.” [PR Newswire]

The Michelin Guide is now available for the iPhone. The apps list all of the restaurants selected by the MICHELIN guide since April 30. The Michelin Guide is available in English and five other languages (French, English, German, Spanish and Italian) for the European countries.

Thanks to Textually for the image.

Created by Barry Schwartz, blogger and application developer, the Swine Flu Tracker will include a threat level page, clickable maps of reported cases and alerts issued from WHO, CDC and HealthMap Twitter accounts.[BlogHerald]

As of this writing, the app is still pending approval. But yeah, you heard it — the Swine Flu tracker is currently in development from the guys who brought you the Target store finder and Coffee finder.

[Photo c/o Intuapps]