Chanatown

Another week in December, another lucky winner.  This time, with only a few entries to choose from, Janet S. was the lucky one to pick up the iMainGo X speaker system. Congratulations! Your prize gets shipped this week. Thanks to the generosity of a few sponsors, we've got two giveaways this week - a free iPhone customizable case ( reviewed recently here ) and  a 90-day full license for xtranormal's education edition ( also reviewed here ). These giveaways are both New and don't require any shipping, so you'll get them as soon as you win.  Enter away, and as always, act fast - this giveaway will close in a week, and we'll unveil the final giveaway of 2011. Hit the jump for the raffle.  Good luck!

Article first published as Accessory Review: Portable Sound Labs' iMainGo 2 and iMainGo X on Blogcritics. When you think of headphones to use when listening to an iPod, those little white earbuds come to mind. If not listening on your own, you may plug into a fancy speaker dock, but what do you do when you're on the move? You want a battery powered speaker system that will give you the Watts you need to keep the party going, right? Well, the folks at Portable Sound Labs (PSL) have you covered, and I got a chance to test out two of their portable speaker systems, the iMainGo 2 and the iMainGo X.

Less than a year ago, I discovered the TuneIn Radio for Android and I raved about the ability to listen to local radio stations regardless of location . Although I still appreciate the functionality of TuneIn, this year's discovery app for listening involves podcasts, an audio genre that I have grown to enjoy on weekday commutes, long runs, and times when I'd rather listen to spoken text than reading it. After listening to an ad for Stitcher Radio via one of these podcasts, I took the bait and downloaded the free app, and boy was I glad I did.

Article first published as Lost or Stolen Smartphone? Three Actions to Take After It Happens on Blogcritics. Image by _rockinfree via Flickr Losing a cell phone or getting one stolen from you is always a tough predicament to be in, yet more and more people are finding themselves in exactly that position. And with mobile devices costing upwards of hundreds of dollars to purchase, replacing a lost or stolen device can easily become an unfortunate financial burden. Furthermore, the reality of having your data now in the hands of someone else may actually prove to be the bigger problem. Two weeks ago, I thought I fell victim to losing my beloved Droid X (happy spoiler alert: the device was found earlier this week). Here are a few actions I took with the hope that you won't have to take them yourself some day.   So should your phone get lost or stolen...

Article first published as Best New and Notable iPad Apps for April 2011 on Blogcritics. We're almost a week into May, but let us not forget the abundance of apps and app updates that showered us in April. The Best New and Notable feature gets you caught up with the what was most talked about last month in the iTunes App Store.

Everyone loves free apps, especially when they normally cost a few bucks. Well, coinciding with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics conference, McGraw-Hill is giving away all of its Everyday Math apps for free.  This will only be valid through the end of the conference, April 16, so stock up now as the apps are normally priced at $1.99.   Available apps include: · Addition Top-It ™ - Subtraction Top-It ™ - Beat the Computer ™ - Name that Number ™ - Equivalent Fractions ™ - Tric-Trac ™ - Monster Squeeze ™ - Baseball Multiplication 1–6™ Facts - Divisibility Dash ™  The apps are available for iPhone and iPad and can be viewed on this website as well as through the iTunes Apps Store. For more thoughts on Teaching and Learning Technology,  please consider subscribing to the RSS feed or through email .

Article first published as Bracket Busting Apps—Guide to March Madness on your iPhone, iPod, iPad, and Android. on Technorati . As we near tip-off of the first real round of the NCAA Tournament, let's take a look at how you can follow all of the madness on a mobile device assuming you won't be cemented on a couch or a bar stool for all 67 games in the tournament. First we'll look at a few apps found on Apple's iOS platform followed by the less abundant options found on Android.

Article first published as App Review: March Madness On Demand for the iPhone, iPod and iPad on Technorati. Selection Sunday, Bracketology, March Madness. Yes, it's the most wonderful time of the year for college basketball fans and we've come a long way in terms of following the tournament at home or at work. As numerous news articles will undoubtedly point out in the next few days, workplace productivity is about to take a big dip and it's largely due to the ease in which fans can follow the tournament. This year, for Apple iOS device users, the free NCAA March Madness On Demand (MMOD) app ( iPhone/iPod and iPad ) will make it even easier as the app will stream all games from the first round through the Final Four (including those found on the obscure TruTV network).

Article first published as Apple Releases iOS 4.3—A Hands-on Review of the New Features on Technorati. Two days before the release of the iPad 2, Apple allowed those with iPods (3rd and 4th gen), iPhones (3GS and 4 GSM), and first-generation iPads to upgrade the OS to experience the new features as revealed during last week's keynote presentation. So, what do new iPad 2 users have to look forward to, and will the updated OS bring new life to existing devices? A first day's report and reflection follows below.

Article first published as An iPhone With A Keyboard? Three Reasons Why It Could Happen on Technorati. Well,  the latest rumor about the iPhone involves a keyboard , and before you go dismissing this as another crazy story trying to drum up attention and page views, allow me to hypothesize why those innovative Apple designers could be toying around with such a configuration. Although I think there's more of a chance that we'll see  an iPad mini first , here are three reasons why an iPhone "Slider" just might be in the works.

Article first published as Recommended iPhone Apps for New Verizon Users - Part II on Technorati. With a sudden influx of iPhone users enjoying their first weekend with their new smartphone, I suspect many will be spending a fair amount of time getting cozy with iTunes loading up on apps. Today, we pick up where we let off and dish out some of the best apps for you to consider for that shiny new device.

Article first published as Recommended iPhone Apps for New Verizon Users—Part I on Technorati. It's the big V-day, and I'm not talking about chocolates and roses. No, it's the day when those shiny new iPhone 4's take to the scene on Verizon's nationwide network. How will Big Red handle the sudden influx of data hungry users? That's for another discussion. Today, we welcome and embrace new iPhone users to the club, and suggest a few solid apps to load or if you're really excited, pre-download and have at the ready for that very first (and likely, really long) iTunes sync.

I woke up one morning last week to find my Droid X acting particularly slower than normal. I did what we gadget lovers know unfortunately all too much: reset the device. However, this procedure was not just a power cycle but rather a hard reset, and it involved a completely fresh start for the phone. The good news is that the device is back to its original blazing speed. Today, I thought I would share a few protocols in case you wake up to find your smartphone acting up as well.

Article first published as iPad OS 4.2.1 Update Finally Arrives, But Was It Worth the Wait? on Blogcritics. It is hard to believe that it's been over seven months since we first heard that the iOS4 update would eventually make its way to the Apple iPad . Users have been patiently waiting on Apple's promise that multitasking, AirPlay, and over 100 new features would be coming to iPad "later this fall." Well, while old man winter is rapidly approaching, Apple did manage to deliver on its promise in time to finish raking those leaves. As fast (or slow) as you can download, install, and update your iPad, here are some initial thoughts and observations on the shiny new update.

Image via Wikipedia It's back to school week in Chanatown, so how's about we get started with a few tips on smartphone usage? Many teachers I meet with are now toting new and improved smartphones, and it's awesome! I don't feel like such a geek (as much) anymore, now that more and more phones are equipped with keyboards, faster processors, bigger screens, and features galore. Heck, even my wife got a new Android phone last week (more on that to come), so I thought it might be useful to consider how a smartphone can best impact a teacher's daily grind.

Back to school shopping, leaves changing color, shorter days, this can only mean one thing...Football Season!!! And that means it's time for some fantasy football drafts. Yes, prepare to lose hours of productivity as you scour the Internet for the most updated news on your third wide receiver. As drafts are already underway, I thought I'd take the opportunity to review the hands-down best iPad (and iPhone) app for your upcoming season: Fantasy Football Cheatsheet '10.

Image by dajan via Flickr So, my aunt emailed me a link jokingly suggesting that I write a review for the world's most expensive iPad case . Although I'd be happy to have a demo unit sent to me for a review, I have to say that I probably won't be a potential customer of Tod's anytime soon. What I will do is take an opportunity to reflect on the importance of a case, and try to delve deeper into the mind of a gadgetphile. Why is it that we must have something to hold our devices?

Image by nikitagubanov via Flickr An interesting read from the NYTimes (through ReadWriteWeb) was published this week that cited several reasons why iPhone 4 users are still encouraged to jailbreak. I wrote about my jailbreaking experience earlier this week, so it's a nice way to close out the week with a proper story arc. Let's take a closer look at some of what the writer proposes.

Image by k-ideas via Flickr Last week, those with jailbroken iPhones rejoiced when the Copyright Office gave its blessing on jailbreaking and made it a non-violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The news offered me an opportunity to reflect on my own jailbreaking experience and make an argument about why I chose to go with Android instead.

It's done.  The deal has been made.  The contract signed, and the new phone is in hand.  I'll be tweeting (@Chanatown) for the next week about my initial experiences with the new phone.  A full length review compiling these Tweets will appear here next week.  To spare you from waiting out an hour long made-for-TV “special”, I decided to include the transcript of my own “Decision” interview with none other then Jim Gray below.  Funny how it seemed eerily similar to the one with LeBron just last week...