The VooMoteZapper is a small accessory that clips into the dock connector of your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch and turns it into a universal infrared remote control for your TV and home theater components. Figuring out which remote controls which device, where to find batteries when they run dry, how to fix them when something goes wrong, or what to do when you can't find them are just some of the problems we face. There are a lot of dedicated universal controls, from cheap dollar-store varieties to incredibly expensive, programable Harmony remotes already. All of them offer to make our lives simpler and easier by replacing the complexity of multiple remote controls with a single, simple solution. There are other iPhone remote adapters as well. But the VooMoteZapper looks to be one of the smallest and most elegant so far.

 Say goodbye to the days of switching from app to app or fumbling for the right remote.  The all-in-one VooMote Zapper software and hardware combine all you need for an entire home entertainment experience. With VooMote Zapper App, you don't have to sacrifice customization for convenience. Consolidate all your remotes, TV Guide functionality (coming 2012), facebook and twitter (coming 2012) and still define custom remote layouts, programming and much more!

The VooMoteZapper can not only control single items of equipment but, like a Harmony remote, it also has the ability to be programmed with macro functions too. This enables you to program a string of commands under one function for example “Watch a movie”, this could then automatically turn on your TV, start your Blu-ray player and turn on your home theater surround sound system too.

Unlike the Harmony and other, dedicated, universal remotes, it harnesses the wonderful multitouch display of the iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad for its user interface, making it far more powerful and easier to use.

The downside of course is that you need to have an iOS 5-compatible device available in your living room all the time. If you have an extra iPod touch, it won't be a problem. If you're trying desperately to change channels and your spouse is talking on the iPhone or your child is playing on the iPad, it could be quite frustrating.

The VooMoteZapper is available online from the Apple Store for $69.95 and is available in a few different colors like red, green, blue, pink and gray.

$69.95 - Buy now

Via: 9to5 Mac

Logitech is well known for its range of Harmony universal remote controls and now it has announced one which will give you all the control you need; using your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. Instead of using an ugly dongle or case, this uses a WiFi enabled receiver which converts the input received from your iOS device into an infrared output to you home theater kit. The companion iPhone and iPad apps will be available as free downloads from the App Store.

The Logitech Harmony Link connects to your existing home wireless network to receive Wi-Fi signals from the Harmony Link App and turns them into IR commands that home-entertainment devices can understand. Harmony Link can control up to eight devices, is compact (about the size of a hockey puck) and was designed to integrate neatly and discreetly with your home entertainment system. Harmony Link can even connect with more than one iPad at a time, letting multiple family members use their own iPad - with their own set of favorite channels - rather than fighting over a single remote.

Logitech has also teamed up with Rovi Corporation to provide detailed program information within its app. This will deliver show synopses, movie information and images as you navigate available TV channels.

The Harmony Link should be available in October for around $99.99. The price does seem reasonable when compared to stand alone universal remote controllers. The apps will be available as a free download from the App Store when the Harmony Link is launched.

[Logitech via Engadget]

When it comes to document editing and creation on the iPad, two solutions really stand out: Apple's iWork Suite (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote) and DataViz's Documents to Go app. Which is better? Well, I wish the decision was that easy.

Both apps (or set of apps in iWork's case -- you can buy each separately) allow you to edit and create documents, spreadsheets and presentations. iWork also has the advantage of using Apple's iWork format and Office format as well and is beautifully designed. Documents to Go does a stellar job of rendering and editing Microsoft's Office format. Let's begin by looking at each app a little more in-depth. I will focus primarily on the differences of how each application handles their word processing since this is the number one reason people would use these apps and, you probably don't want a mini-novel to read. There is an incredible amount to discuss with both iWork and Documents to Go, I cannot conceivably cover it all here. My goal is to give you a detailed enough overview to help you decided which app will work best for you.

iWork

Apple sells the iWork Suite of applications for $9.99 each. The individual apps are Pages (word processor), Numbers (spreadsheet) and Keynote (presentations). Pages looks amazing. Just the aesthetic alone let's you know this isn't "baby software", but the real deal. When you start off by creating a new document, you are presented with several beautiful templates to get you started. For our purposes, we will look at a standard blank document. You have a standard document toolbar at the top of the screen. The Body button gives you a good set of default styles. To the right you have the traditional Bold, Italics and Underline buttons. Finally you have a tab-like icon that gives you the ability to enter a tab, line break, column or page break. Wow, that is some serious stuff there.

On the top of the screen you have an "i" button. This allows you to define a style, lists and indents, text alignment and line spacing. To the right is the picture icon that inserts pictures, tables, charts and shapes. Finally you have the wrench icon that essentially has your settings for Pages; Find, margins, watermarks and more can be found here.

Once you begin typing, you have a very familiar experience, it's just like a desktop whether you have been using a Mac or a PC. Use the tab button to quickly indent. Use the ruler to adjust alignments or place tab stops. Regardless, the interface is simple yet powerful. Do you have a multiple page document? A new innovative feature uses the ability to tap and hold in the right margin. This will bring up a magnifying glass that shows you a thumbnail preview of your page. Drag your finger down and it will preview the other pages in your document. Release on the desired page and Pages will instantly open the previewed page for you; no clumsy flicking or endless scrolling needed.

When your document is done, you can email it, share via iWork.com, send it to iTunes, copy it to iDisk or copy it to WebDav. The most popular method is to email. It is important to note that Pages creates your document in the .pages format which is not compatible with any other word processing application other than iWork for Mac. So, when you email your document, you are given three choices: send it as a Pages, PDF or .Doc format. The .doc option is compatible with PCs and PDF is comparable with just about any computer platform, but is not natively editable. If you send in Pages and PDF formats you will be quite pleased with the results. If you create a complex document with graphics, columns, , etc. and send via .doc format, your results may differ. I typically only create boring APA (American Psychological Association) formatted documents, and when sent via .doc format, they render beautifully. The same goes with importing a document, from say, from email. Though Pages does a really good job of opening and editing .doc documents, it is not flawless and some formatting loss can happen. Apple has improved this process with each update, but it is still not perfect. However, this is one of Pages strong points, it actually supports more than one format. You can also easily upload and download documents from the "cloud" via the iDisk and WebDav options.

At the end of the day, iWork gives you a beautiful robust set of tools for not only word processing but for spreadsheet calculations and creating presentations as well. Many of the same features carry over such as sending in Microsoft-friendly formats and access your files from the cloud. Though these apps are not perfect, they offer advanced features, many of which have only been available on desktop applications, until now.

[Pages - $9.99 - iTunes link]

[Numbers - $9.99 - iTunes link]

[Keynote - $9.99 - iTunes link]

Documents to Go

I have used Documents to Go (Docs to Go) for years, ever since the Palm V days of old. These guys have been at it for a while and I was expecting big things from them on the iPad and for the most part, Docs to Go doesn't disappoint. Docs to Go is a single app that supports a wide array of files for viewing and Office files for editing and sells for $16.99 or $9.99 in the App Store. The launch screen is divided into several sections; Local files, Desktop files, Online files, Recents, Search and Settings. Yes, Docs to Go has a very robust means to access your files and search them.

Once you open a file in the Word app, one feature I noticed immediately that I really liked is the ability to pinch and zoom the text to the appropritea size. The text wraps around in real-time which is cool. After deciding on the fone size you like, It's off to write your text. You have the typical fanfare as iWork does with text formats, colors, paragraph alingments, etc. Docs to Go does not support more advanced features in it's word processing app like real-time image arrangement as iWork does, but it gets the besics done well and cleanly. Two quibbles that I have is that Docs to Go was not developed with the iPad in mind, it is basically a big iPhone app, which is such a shame. Menus are designed for the iPhone, not the iPad. What do I mean? A good example is the placement of the formating buttons; they are along the bottom of the app. At first that may not sound like a bad idea, however, when you are typing, the keyboard appears and hides the buttons so you can't format while you time. Is it a deal breaker? No, but annoying none-the-less.

For me, where Docs to Go really shines over the competition is its "Intact" technology. At work, I use Microsoft Word to create my documents. Admittedly, I sometimes use fancy formats, tables, images, etc. As I mentioned earlier, these may not render very well in Pages. With Docs to Go however, if the app doesn't know what the object is on the document, it doesn't even try to render it, instead it gives you a "?" placeholder that tells you "if you delete me, you will lose this feature when you sync back your document". What a life saver! You can edit a document and not have to worry about loosing formating any more.

Other benefits of Docs to Go include the fact that it is a universal binary, so buy it once and you can use on the iPhone and iPad, not a bad deal at al. You can also sync via iTunes Sharing and Docs to Go's own Wi-Fi sharing app for PC and Mac.

[Documents to Go Premium - $16.99 - iTunes link]

[Documents to Go - $9.99 - iTunes link

Conclusion

You can also find previous reviews of these apps, Here for Pages and Here for Docs to Go.

When I saw John Carmack show off Rage on the iPhone a few months back, I was rather excited. The promise of real console-like graphics were in our grasp. Then, the game finally came out and I was initially blown away, but then...

Rage HD on iPad is set in a post-apocalyptic future. Typical of these types of games where you play a contestant out to earn money by defeating mutants. The game is set in a first-person shooter (FPS) perspective, but it is on rails. This means the game "moves" for you and you are only allowed to maneuver the cursor on screen at any given time. This is okay, as the games visuals are amazing and this style of game worked really well for Doom Resurrection on iPhone.

The screen is comprised of only a few buttons. The left side is meant solely to move the cursor, target enemies, etc. The right side has the action button (to shoot and pick up items like health, ammo, etc), dodge button (the enemy throws bricks at you), reload weapon and select weapon. If the touch screen modality does not work for you, there is a tilt option as well as lefty mode and other configurable choices such as inverted axis and more.

As you start a level, you immediately notice there are several bulls-eyes scattered among the levels. By shooting them, you increase your score. As enemy mutants appear, you target and shoot them. You can often get a one-shot fill if you time your shots appropriately; you get a special reticule when you in the correct area to pull it off.

As you maneuver your cursor around the screen trying to take out bulls-eyes and mutants, you will notice you can also pick up money, health and ammo bonuses; your cursor turns into a green hand. The ammo comes in particularly handy as I found I ran out of ammo a little too fast. The good news is that you have a pistol with unlimited ammo, but takes forever to reload. However, I have played entire levels with just the pistol with no problem. The additional weapons that you can find ammo for are the shotgun and automatic weapon.

The games graphics are really, really good. I mean, really good. It is a testament to iOS's capabilities. No slowdown, plenty of particles flying at you and a ton of action. But this is where the problems begin for this game. It's gorgeous. But that is all it's got. You only have three levels of play, you fight the same enemies over and over. Rage HD is literally a $2.00 technology demo. It wouldn't be so bad (since the game is clearly score based) if you had Game Center support to see where you rank on the leaderboards and add some challenges with achievements. Alas, none of these options exist.

I am impressed with id's effort in this title to bring an amazing console experience to our beloved iOS devices. I am not impressed with the paltry three stages and lack of Game Center support. Should you get this game? It's hard to tell. It is only $2.00, and will hardly break the bank. You will enjoy it till you beat the three levels and you will be left with the insatiable need for more. I am happy to have played it, but after 30 minutes (that is how long it takes to beat all of the levels) you are left with a very, very, very empty feeling.

[$1.99- iTunes Link]

Pros

• Amazing graphics
• Fun to play
• Varying levels of difficulty
• Different versions of the game for newer/older hardware
• Universal app for iPhone/iPad

Cons

• Only three levels
• Only two types of enemies (really only one type if you want to get picky)
• You are playing for what amounts to a tech demo
• No Game Center support (missing leader boards, achievements, etc)

If you are looking for a simple text editor with a clean, professional interface, PlainText might just be for you. Hog Bay Software has created a quaint little document app that goes out of it's way to do simple editing. The main benefit this app has over the built-in Notes app is that you can define and create folders; the level of editing is the same.

The first thing you will notice about PlainText is its icon. It is the shape of a formatting mark on a typical word processor. Once you open Plain Text you see a list of documents on the left and the first available document open on the right. To begin typing, tap anywhere in the document to begin. If you want a full screen typing experience, there is a full screen icon in the lower right. Tap to make full screen, tap again to bring back the document list.

There are no formatting options in PlainText... it is just that, plain text. What does separate this app from say, the Notes app on iPad is the ability to add documents to folders. Tap the new folder icon and you can create as many folders as you would like. However, you should be aware that you can't move a document from to a folder after the document it created; you must create the file in the folder you want. I am sure this will be an enhancement in an upcoming release.

The next question you are asking yourself is how do I get these notes to my iPhone, after all it's a universal app. The easiest way to use Dropbox. You can set this up directly from Settings in the app and you are ready to rock. However, if you want to use another tool, try PadSync.

Overall I like the simple and great aesthetic nature of the application. There are just a couple of quibbles that are preventing it form stardom. One of the big ones for me is the inability to move files between folders. Perhaps it's there and I am missing it, but I sure couldn't find it. Additional features are planned (here is a list from the next beta as of this writing) and it has been submitted to the App Store. I would check the blog regularly for updates and suggestions.

[Free- iTunes Link]

Pros

• Free!
• Create folders
• Universal App

Cons

• Only syncs with DropBox (where is MobileMe?)
• Can use app PadSync http://ecamm.com/mac/padsync/ to get data from Mac to iPad
• Can't move a document to an existing folder

GetGlue for iPhone and iPad [iTunes Link] are social networking sites where you can let your friends know what you're watching, reading, playing, or thinking about.  Similar to FourSquare and Gowalla, you check in to show your friends what you're up to.  You can also leave reviews on pretty much everything and people can then like your comments or let you know if they find them helpful.  As you check into things, you can earn stickers for your favorite items. You can also choose to have those stickers mailed to you once you collect 7. Click through for more screenshots and another video featuring the iPad version!

When signing up for GetGlue, you can choose two ways. You can either create a GetGlue account or just simply connect with FaceBook. After that, you can immediately start checking in and subscribing to other people's feeds. GetGlue recently released an iPad app in addition to their iPhone app. They also have a GetGlue app for Android users as well. The general feel of GetGlue somewhat reminds me of Netflix, which isn't a bad thing. Instead of NetFlix offering you suggestions simply based on your ratings and previous watched, your friends and followers can too. As you rate different movies, games, tv shows, and topics - you'll collect more stickers and see more recommendations tailored to your personal tastes.

I've been using GetGlue for a little over a month now and I really enjoy the service. I've found some interesting movies and shows through the app and through comments other users have left for me. GetGlue has also recently announced their partnerships with such networks like Fox, Showtime, PBS, HBO, and Universal. You can now collect exclusive stickers for shows such as The Big C, Dexter, Glee, and several others. Aside from checking in and viewing your subscriber feed from your iPhone or iPad, you can also log into GetGlue on your computer at GetGlue.com. GetGlue is free in the app store. If you've already checked it out, let us know what you think in the comments!

Pros

• Learn about new movies, music, and shows through your friends and subscriptions

• Easy sign-up with FaceBook connect

• View trailers directly from movies or show pages

• Wealth of info available for several titles

Cons

• No retina display support for iPhone 4 (yet)

• Multi-tasking doesn't appear to be present yet

• Subscriber counts is off at times (probably a bug that can be easily addressed)

YouTube Link

I have seen Final Freeway in the App Store for a while and just glanced by. When looking at apps to review this week I felt a little nostalgic and thought I would give this little gem a spin. The result? Well, if you enjoy old-school arcade racing, if you remember when Out Run was the arcade game, then Final Freeway is for you!

Off the bat, the game is dead simple. Start off by going to Options and you can change your control type from accelerometer to to touch steering. I really prefer the accelerometer steering and once you turn on horizon tilt it gets a lot better.

Jumping into a game starts with two choices: Normal or Expert. Be warned, this game gets tough as more traffic and the time limit starts to hinder your progress. Next you have three choices for music. Unfortunately you can't select iPod music at this time (the developer says they are working hard on a substantial update, we shall see what this brings). From here, the race begins!

Controls are precise and responsive as you fly really fast around the tracks. You have a few different control layouts in options for gas, break, etc. From here it is time to beat the clock and avoid the traffic. When you reach a check point, the game continues, but you do not have any branching paths, you continue through six total levels for the high score.

I had a lot of fun with this game. Since the levels are relatively short and with fast task switching, it makes for an excellent pick up and play game when you have the time. Sure there is a big "Cons" list below, but for $.99 this is a must have app for any classic racing fan; no regrets.

[$.99- iTunes Link]

Pros

• Classic racing action
• Similar to the arcade classic "Out Run"
• Fast frame rate- almost too fast!
• Retina display support for iPhone 4
• Universal app for iPhone and iPad
• Pick back up and play with iOS4

Cons

• No "tree" to show level progression
• Only three music tracks
• No iPod music option
• Only one car to choose from
• No Internet scoring fro global high scores (Plus+ or OpenFeint for example)

Grooveshark's iPhone app has been pulled from the App Store following a complaint by Universal Music Group UK. According to their blog, Grooveshark is at a loss to explain it:

This comes as an absolute surprise to us, and we are not sleeping until we figure out exactly how to fix this—and get Grooveshark for iPhone back in the App Store. Above all, our biggest concern is damaging the service we provide to all of you guys—our loyal (awesome) users.

Mashable's Christina Warren has an idea, however:

Grooveshark is an easy lawsuit target because of its approach to music licensing and distribution. Unlike competing services like Rdio, MOG and Rhapsody, Grooveshark’s database of songs is uploaded and cataloged by end users. Grooveshark doesn’t police these uploads for copyright violations, instead relying on license holders to file takedown requests. To date, EMI is the only company that has entered into a licensing agreement with Grooveshark.

If you already have the app, you can continue using it. If not, you might just have to wait for Grooveshark to get their licenses in order with UMG and potentially the other 2 big record labels.

Apprently, new media is still a work in progress...

[Grooveshark via Mashable]

AppleInsider is adding to the multitasking rumors we've been hearing for a while now, saying iPhone 4.0 will finally extend the same benefits to 3rd party apps that Apple's own Mail, Phone, and iPod apps (among others) enjoy.

Using a key combination, such as the double Home click that now triggers Spotlight or Camera (or whatever you choose in Settings), the current app would zoom out and you'd get a grid view of all running apps, similar to Mac OS X's Exposé feature. Tap an app, it zooms in, and you're good to go. How many apps will be allowed to run at once, and whether or not multitasking will work on older, RAM-starved iPhone 2G and iPhone 3G devices is unknown. (iPhone 3GS has double their RAM, and we're hoping the 4th gen iPhone doubles that again for buttery smooth multitasking).

Whatever the implementation, Apple has a to make sure the new functionality is enough for power users but not too confusing for the mainstream. Apple's success to date has largely been based on their ease of use as much as their ecosystem so keeping that is key.

Also mentioned again is the Universal Inbox Steve Jobs "confirmed" previously, where you can see all new email messages in one view and not have to tap into and out of each account (if you have work, home, school, or any combination of multiple emails).

Lastly, they claim Apple will allow you to pin contacts to the Home Page for speed dialing, much as you could previously pin web page icons for speed browsing. Just tap the husband, wife, friend, or partner's picture and you're off an dialing.

We still have no idea when we'll see iPhone 4.0, but we're keeping our fingers crossed for a post-iPad beta launch and a typical summertime release. Right, Apple?

According to Times Online, It now seems as if Sony, Warner, Universal and EMI are putting the finishing touches on their new album format, CMX, and are ready to do battle against Apple's rumored "Cocktail" enhanced album format.

It was just last month we reported about Cocktail, which would feature new interactive booklets, sleeve notes and other features alongside music downloads in an attempt to lure consumers into making more full album purchases. Now, while it looks like "Cocktail" does exist, it seems that none of the record labels had any hand in creating it. According to this story, record labels first approached Apple 18 months ago to see if they wanted in on this new CMX format and Apple politely refused. Apple then created "Cocktail" in order to compete with Sony, Warner, Universal and EMI.

One senior record label insider said: “Apple at first told us that they were not interested, but now they have decided to do their own, in case ours catches on.

While most of us here at TiPb have no major quarrels purchasing our music digitally, there are a lot of people out there who feel when purchasing digital albums over the internet you are not getting the full album experience. Would this new format make purchasing digital albums any less painful for you? And would you rather go with Apple's "Cocktail" or the music industry's CMX?

According to CNet (via Apple Insider), Apple is in talks with the remaining 3 out of the Big 4 record labels who still refuse to allow iTunes to sell DRM-free music.

Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony BMG currently provide DRM-free music to rival services like Amazon MP3 as a way to promote competition to iTunes, though the lack of availability of these services outside the US, along with iTunes continued (and growing) dominance in digital music, may be causing them to rethink that position.

EMI, of course, has been offering DRM-free music via Apple's iTunes Plus service since it launched, and at double the bit rate (quality) of the regular music.

Hopefully we'll soon see the day that big music decides to stop treating their customers as de facto thieves and realizes offering quality goods at fair market prizes is the only real way to stop piracy. Or am I the crazy one?