iLounge

The latest edition of iLounge Weekly, our weekly newsletter covering all things iLounge, will be arriving in subscribers’ inboxes Monday morning. iLounge Weekly is a summary of the week’s best news, reviews, and feature articles we’ve published, and it also features giveaways and accessory discount offers from various companies. There’s still plenty of time to sign up and receive this week’s edition — just use the simple form below to submit your email address, if you haven’t done so already.

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Also, don’t forget to enter our iBattz Mojo Power Card Giveaway. In our Giveaway of the Month for February, iLounge and iBattz are giving away one of ten iBattz Mojo Removable Power Card battery packs. To enter, simply fill out and submit the form on the giveaway page—the giveaway will end on February 29, 2012 at 11:59PM Pacific Time. Good luck!

iBackFlip Studios has announced the launch of its new iBackFlip Somersault for the iPad and iPad 2. The Somersault is a sling-style backpack featuring a unique swiveling design that allows it to be moved from the front to back for easy use, a unique reversible design that allows it to serve as a platform for iPad use, embedded magnets for compatibility with the iPad 2’s auto sleep/wake functionality, two medium storage compartments, a smart phone pocket, a large main storage area with room for a MacBook Air, a camera access flap, removable shoulder straps, dual utility hooks, and a stylus holder. The iBackFlip Somersault for the iPad is available now and sells for $100.

Motorola Mobility, which recently won its second patent ruling against Apple in Germany, has lost its bid for a third. Bloomberg reports that the Regional Court in Mannheim has rejected a Motorola suit accusing Apple of infringing upon a patent involving the use of mathematical sequences in mobile telecommunications. When delivering the ruling, Presiding Judge Andreas Voss said that Motorola didn’t show that Apple is violating the patent. Two more cases between the two companies are pending in German courts, according to the report. [via MDN]

Apple is said to be in “crunch mode” when it comes to picking the apps it will demonstrate on-stage at the launch of its next-generation iPad and feature in new advertisements for the device. Citing sources with knowledge of the matter, The Next Web reports that the process of soliciting demonstrations from app developers and picking demonstrations to use at the live event is continuing at an increased rate as Apple seeks to finalize its lineup. As expected, the report claims that the company is focused on graphics-oriented applications with high-definition assets that will be able to take advantage of the device’s expected Retina display. The report goes on to say that some apps are being forwarded to TWBA/Chiat/Day for possible inclusion in the initial commercial spots, with that process entering its final phase, as well.

Apple has started to air two new TV advertisements for the iPhone 4S. Like prior commercials for the 4S, the new spots, entitled “Rock God” and “Road Trip”, spotlight the device’s Siri voice-activated virtual assistant. The former shows a teen using Siri to find a guitar, songs to learn, keep a list of possible band names, and schedule band meetings, all before asking the phone to call him by the titular nickname. In the latter, a couple uses Siri to plan a Road Trip from NYC to Santa Cruz, CA, find places to eat, find directions, ask questions about roadside attractions, find gas stations, and ultimately remind them to take such a trip again. Both ads are available for viewing on Apple’s website via the above links or in embedded form below.

SpaceSampler is a new smart audio convolution app from Periscope Audio Lab that allows users to apply filters to recorded audio and share the resulting files online, essentially doing for audio what apps such as CameraBad and Instagram do for photos. Users can apply filters from an included comprehensive collection of high quality Impulse Response filters captured from real gear and acoustic spaces to add a wide variety of effects to any type of audio source. The app provides a fast convolution algorithm with a simple, intuitive interface allowing users to record their own audio and then quickly and easily apply filters. Users can choose between WAV and MP4 formats for encoding and the resulting files can be shared via e-mail MAPI Audio Copy, Dropbox or SoundCloud. A built-in recording browser is included for easy file management and recordings can also be reloaded to create multi-layered effects. SpaceSampler requires an iPhone 3GS/4/4S or third- or fourth-generation iPod touch running iOS 4.3 or later and is available from the App Store for $1.

Evernote has updated Evernote Hello with several new features primarily designed to improve finding and entering contact information. Evernote Hello is an app designed to help users keep track of new people they meet by allowing quick entry of faces and contextual contact info that can be easily viewed and recalled at a later time, leveraging the Evernote service as a form of digital business card folio and social memory aid. Evernote Hello 1.1 allows contact information to be entered by sharing the iPhone, typing it in manually or selecting from the iOS Contacts list, including instant search of the address book while typing. Contacts can now be searched for within the app by information such as name, e-mail address, location, calendar event and more. The new version also now includes language detection during name entry to adjust for cultural naming differences as well as automatic phone number formatting based on language and locale. Further, links can now be added to entries in the iOS Contacts app to jump directly into Hello from the system address book. Evernote Hello requires an iPhone, fourth-generation iPod touch or iPad 2 running iOS 5.0 or later and is available from the App Store as a free download.

GoodHumans has released an update to eMailGanizer Pro, its advanced e-mail client for the iPhone and iPod touch. Designed for users who receive high volumes of e-mail, eMailGanizer analyzes the user’s filing patterns and presents a sorted list of the most relevant folder choices to speed up the process of triaging the inbox and moving messages into folders. The latest version adds support for a Universal Inbox for users with multiple e-mail accounts and Smart Folders for purposes such as collecting unread messages. Additional enhancements include new swipe navigation gestures for moving between messages, the ability to automatically advance to the next message after filing, group messages by thread, and batch mark messages as read. eMailGanizer Pro requires iOS 4.2 and an IMAP-based e-mail account and is available from the App Store for $5

Scosche has rolled out its new bassDock speaker dock for iPad. Compatible with all currently-available iPad models, the bassDock features an adjustable cradle that tilts and rotates—allowing for both portrait and landscape usages—as well as a 2.1 sound system with 40mm stereo speakers and a three-inch subwoofer, a 3.5mm auxiliary input for other audio sources, and 2.1 Amps of charging power for the fastest possible charging of the connected iPad. Scosche’s bassDock speaker dock for the iPad and iPad 2 is available now and sells for $150.

A German court has rejected a request from Apple to block sales of Samsung’s Galaxy 10.1N tablet in Germany. Citing the news agency dapd, the AP reports that a state court in Duesseldorf rejected Apple’s request for an injunction barring sales of the tablet, which is itself a modified version of the Galaxy 10.1 tablet that Samsung is barred from selling in Germany due to its similarity to the iPad. This latest ruling stated that Samsung had changed the design to the extent that the 10.1N did not breach Apple’s rights or German competition laws.

Following yesterday’s appearance of photos showing a purported iPad 3 back panel, a number of new images of a similar part have appeared online, joined by several new rumors. Citing unnamed sources, AllThingsD reports that Apple will debut the iPad 3 in the first week of March at a special event in San Francisco. The typically well-connected publication speculates that the event will be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and that the device itself will be available roughly one week following the event. Separately, The Verge—again citing unnamed sources—claims that the A6 CPU found inside the iPad 3 is not a quad-core chip, but instead a dual-core model like its A5 predecessor, contrary to a prior report citing code found in iOS 5.1. Notably, code found in new iPhone carrier profiles suggests that iOS 5.1 will be released on March 9.

In terms of images, Cult of Mac has posted a number of high-resolution photos of purported iPad 3 components, including multiple shots of a back panel that appears to be mostly identical to the one pictured yesterday. In addition, Apple.pro (Translated Link) has posted additional photos of a similar back shell part, while Macotakara has posted an image of a purported Sharp-made LCD panel which is said to be made for the iPad 3. As previously reported by iLounge, the iPad 3 is expected to be largely similar to the iPad 2 in exterior design—although be ever-so-slightly thicker—but is also expected to sport a faster processor, an improved camera, and a Retina-class display.

Update: The New York Times’ Bits blog is now reporting—citing separate sources briefed on Apple’s plans—that the next-generation iPad will be unveiled at an event in early March, and that the device looks very similar to the current iPad 2.

Fishlabs has released an update to Galaxy on Fire 2 HD, the high-performance version of its popular space adventure game adding the Kaamo Club and preliminary support for the upcoming Valkyrie HD expansion pack scheduled to be released in the coming weeks. Introduced to the standard edition early last year, the Kaamo Club feature allows users to purchase their own space station in the Shima system where they can stash extra cargo and additional space ships. The new version also introduces the ability to directly purchase in-game credits as an alternative to trading, adds Chinese, Japanese and Korean language support and fixes two common bugs from the previous version. Galaxy on Fire 2 HD is a universal app specifically designed for the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 and is currently available from the App Store for $5.

Xobni has released an update to Smartr Contacts for the iPhone adding several new features and enhancements including the ability to access linked e-mail messages from directly within the app. First released last month, Smartr Contacts provides a contact management solution primarily targeted at Gmail and Outlook users that provides an aggregated view of contact information from multiple sources such as e-mail conversations and social networking profiles. The initial version provided a listing of recent e-mail conversations, but lacked the ability to actually view individual e-mail messages; the recent update provides support for viewing, replying and composing e-mail messages directly from the history screen in the app. Additional enhancements include an improved login screen, improvements to iPhone Contact integration and a number of other bug fixes and enhancements. Smartr Contacts for iPhone is available from the App Store as a free download.

In response to the recent revelation that social networking app Path was uploading iOS users’ contact data to its servers, the company has apologized and released an update to the iOS app providing proper disclosure of the feature and prompting the user to either opt in or opt out. Path had originally implemented this feature to provide more accurate friend suggestions and notify users when somebody in their address book joined the social network. However, the feature originally silently uploaded the user’s entire contact list to Path’s servers without requesting any permission or even notifying the user that this was occurring. Path co-founder and CEO Dave Morin apologized today in a statement on the company’s blog:

Morin also indicated that the company has deleted its entire collection of user-uploaded contact information from its servers, and users will now need to specifically opt into the feature in the new version of the Path application to re-upload their contact information. Further, users who opt-in and later change their mind can request that their content be deleted by sending an e-mail to Path. The latest update, Path 2.0.6 is available from the App Store as a free download.

A photo of a purported “iPad 3” rear housing has appeared online, and shows a number of small—but notable—changes between it and the iPad 2. According to Fix-iPhones’ RepairLabs, the new shell provides mounting holes for a smaller logic board, which the report suggests is to make more room for an even larger battery. Other differences in the two devices are said to include the camera hole and a different LCD mounting system. Notably, the report claims that the iPad 3 housing does not seem thicker than that of the iPad 3, but notes that it would be hard to prove without having both screens in place. Our sources have indicated that the iPad 3 will be very modestly thicker, a difference so small that it literally requires calipers to measure. [via AppleInsider]

Tapbots has released Tweetbot 2.0, the latest update to the popular Twitter client for the iPhone and iPod touch. The new version features an updated timeline view with in-line image thumbnails and active links that can be opened with a single tap. Additional UI improvements include new views for direct messages and tweet replies and a redesigned New Tweets notification bar. Users can also now enable timed auto-refresh and enable Readability mobilizer for viewing web pages. The update also includes a number of other smaller UI and performance improvements over the prior version. Additionally, Tapbots has also released a native iPad version of Tweetbot, building on the features found in the iPhone version with an iPad optimized interface, including such features as multiple timeline views, configurable Smart Gestures, the ability to display custom navigation tabs and more. Tweetbot 2.0 for the iPhone and iPod touch and Tweetbot for the iPad are available from the App Store separately for $3 each.

Apple has asked a European telecommunication standards body to set basic rules governing how companies license their industry-standard patents. Citing a recently disclosed letter from Apple to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, the Wall Street Journal reports that Apple said the telecommunications industry lacks consistent licensing schemes for the many patents necessary to make mobile devices, and offered suggestions for setting royalty rates.

In addition, the company claimed that the lack of clear guidelines for the licensing of patents on a fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory basis — otherwise known as Frand— has led many companies to demand abnormally high royalty rates from one another, and has thus led to patent infringement lawsuits. “It is apparent that our industry suffers from a lack of consistent adherence to Frand principles in the cellular standards arena,” wrote Bruce Watrous, VP and Chief IP Counsel with Apple. Apple has asked the body to set “appropriate” royalty rates for technology, relative to the number of industrywide patents required to make a device, and has also said that royalties shouldn’t be beyond a common base. Earlier this week, it was revealed that Motorola asked Apple to pay a royalty of 2.25 percent for sales of some iPhones and iPads, a deal that would have been worth over $1 billion in 2011 alone.

Evernote has released an update to its universal iOS app adding a new predictive note titling feature and making several performance and UI improvements. Evernote 4.1.8 can now automatically assign titles to new notes created in the app using information such as location, time, current calendar appointments and other contextual information.  The update also makes improvements to note editing performance, provides easier access to notebook sharing and note formatting options and fixes a number of synchronization issues and other problems. Evernote 4.1.8 is a universal app and is available from the App Store as a free download.

G-Form has unveiled its first protective cases for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. Dubbed the X Protect and Extreme Grid, both cases feature a rigid exterior shell and an inner core of the company’s signature RPT material — a composite made from Poron XRD and other proprietary materials — to provide impressive impact protection in a relatively thin package, as well as push-through coverage for the volume and sleep/wake buttons, as well as open access to all other ports and controls. Both cases come in black and yellow and are available for pre-order now for $40 with shipments expected to begin in February.

Photojojo is now offering its iPhone Rangefinder for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. Modeled after a classic rangefinder film camera, the four-piece case offers a built-in tripod mount, loops for attaching a camera strap, a working shutter button, a usable viewfinder, a faux front lens that serves as a mirror for self-portraits, an included soft carrying case, and compatibility with Magnetic Cell Lenses, including fisheye, wide angle/macro combo, and 2x telephoto offerings. Photojojo’s iPhone Rangefinder case for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S is available by itself for $65 or in a package with all three lenses for $99.