iPhone 3G & Me

Because there is no removable battery, iPhone users can always use more battery life when they're on the go. I had been using the iGo system with rechargeable batteries to recharge my iPhone for the last year and a half. However, when I'm in the middle of recharging there is a large and very heavy dongle attached to my iPhone. Also, I have to recharge the batteries separately.

On my trip to Oregon, I used my sister's Mophie Juice Pack Air and it worked GREAT! So, when I found out there was the new RED color for the Mophie Juice Pack Air I jumped at the chance to get it.

The Mophie Juice Pack Air is $79.95 with free shipping from the Mophie website.

It comes with a mini-USB cable to recharge the battery in the case. You also use it to sync your iPhone so you don't have to take it out of the case.

On the back of the case there are four blue LED lights to let you know how charged up your case is. When you're charging the case, the lights tell you how much more you have to charge it up.

When your iPhone battery is going low all you have to do is flick a switch and it is recharging. So, you can recharge while using your iPhone. The Mophie Juice Pack Air nearly doubles the life of your battery. So, while the price is steep it certainly can be a lifesaver when you don't have access to a USB port or outlet.

The red case is special because it has a soft, matted feel to it. It feels VERY luxurious! All of the other colors have glossy, plastic cases. The look of it is also very close to my red Incase Slider.

The Mophie Juice Pack Air is a great gift for the avid iPhone user. I highly recommend it if you have problems keeping the juice in your iPhone.

The Ustream Live Broadcaster [iTunes link] is now in the Apple App Store and it gives 3G & 3G S users the ability to stream live video from your iPhone! You can also use it to upload your video to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

It's a free app but I do have one big qualm about it.

I've recorded two videos so far and each one of them has video and audio breakup at the beginning. My first test was outside and on the 3G network:

And here's my second test using Wi-Fi:



Compare that to the quality of the jailbroken Qik app:



I did notice that the overall sound on the Ustream app was better, though.

You can connect your Ustream app with Twitter on your iPhone but to connect it with Facebook and YouTube, you have to go to the actual site which is a little inconvenient. But, once you have it set it should be okay.

Another great feature of the Ustream app is the ability to record video straight to your iPhone - a feature that the iPhone 3G has NEVER had until now (without jailbreaking). However, the videos appear to be only playable through the Ustream app. Still, that's better than nothing.

It looks like Apple is finally caving in to giving ALL iPhone the ability to record video without jailbreaking. It seems that Qik has also resubmitted its app for live streaming so I'm sure we'll be seeing that very soon.

Just got I Am T-Pain [iTunes link] for the low price of $.99 over the Thanksgiving weekend. I am not even a T-Pain fan but I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. I have to say it's a pretty interesting program.

Here's a link to a Christmas song I sung using the Auto-Tune feature in the app. Unfortunately, I'm not well-versed in many T-Pain songs. But, E_Diddy_84 on Twitter is a PRO at using the app!

Check out the video he made to enter in the Smule I Am T-Pain contest!

The popular iPhone app even made the Jimmy Kimmel Show:

And other artists got a chance to use I Am T-Pain. I love Akon's response. :)

You might want to check the App Store for some of your favorite apps that you couldn't afford because a lot of apps are getting discounted.

Gameloft, in particular, are having a $.99 sale on some of its most popular games: Hero Of Sparta, Brothers In Arms, Terminator Salvation, Blades Of Fury (my favorite), Shrek Kart (which I just bought), Real Tennis 2009 and Castle Of Magic.

I also bought iGOG: Massive Drums [iTunes link] which has amazing touch-sensitive touch pads that makes live drumming on the iPhone a real possibility. It also has a recording feature. iGOG is on sale for $2.99 down from $4.99.

AppShopper.com has a full list of all the apps that have price discounts.

Cisco has a new app out called Cisco SIO To Go [iTunes link] which gives you updates on threats to your network on your iPhone. Cisco has also made an interesting video showing how it can save security professionals from a lot of annoying alerts. Obviously, this is for people who are in the information technology field. But, you can also use it to check the reputation of a particular site you're visiting.

I was kind of bored tonight. Sure, I could have gone out and made an impulsive tech purchase. Or, I could jailbreak my iPhone! Jailbreaking the iPhone is FREE.

This is my lock screen. It's an Acura TSX, which I am leasing (and will eventually purchase). The brighter the headlight, the stronger the battery life. The target on the bottom is where I swipe to unlock the iPhone. When you swipe, a fingerprint appears which is a nice touch.

I added everything I want to for now. I'll take this jailbreaking thing slow. I'll share good stuff I find in Cydia or the Rock on this blog.

One of my favorite games when the iPhone 3G came out last year was Asphalt 4: Elite Racing. That really got me hooked on iPhone gaming. Up until then, one of the more graphic intensive games had been Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D. I spent a lot of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays playing it.

The next racing game from Gameloft was Ferrari GT: Evolution. I wasn't a particular Ferrari fan but I liked it better than the other racing games on the iPhone at the time.

After I maxed out both games, I got Need For Speed: Undercover. Although that was pretty fun, it had a little too much storyline for me and I hit a wall I couldn't get past. Someday I want to finish it though.

And now, Gameloft has come out with Asphalt 5 [iTunes link] for $6.99. I already ran a couple of races with two different cars. It's a lot more of the same great gameplay along with better graphics (although the graphics are not as good as some other racing games) and the shortcuts are more interesting. I have only played one course so far though. I love hitting things on the side of the road and eliminating other opponents. If you have an iPhone 3G I would suggest a reboot before starting up the game. It is very graphic-intensive.

I give it a hearty 5 stars because it is the next-generation of my first love on the iphone.