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iTunes Launches Genius Recommendations For iPhone, Hide Your 80s Playlists

The best thing about iTunes mobile would have to be shopping for music on your iPhone or iPod touch: it’s so much easier to browse through all the latest tunes in the mobile store than through iTune’s feature heavy shopping experience. For those who rely or enjoy Apple’s Genius recommendations, it’s officially live on your iPod touch or iPhone: everything you bought on iTunes will help you find new movies to watch, music to listen to, and TV shows to check out. Simply visit the iTunes app on either device to check out the new feature: no download is required to experience the thrill of 80s one hit wonders populating the Genius brain box.

[via TUAW]

iPad Helping Remove Bookshelves, Save Space in Japan

With Japan’s cramped living quarters, arrival of the iPad and other tablets and it’s non-existent e-book market, there has been an explosion of start-ups offering consumers to turn their paper books into e-books that can be used on such tablets as the iPad. Japan currently has the largest market for paper books and magazines, worth over $24 billion a year, yet the e-book market is currently earning less than $1 billion per year, driving customers to alternatives such as scanning books into PDF’s for use on tablets and e-readers.

One such start-up, Bookscan was founded by Yusuke Ohki and childhood friend, Shinya Iwamatsu last April and has done gangbusters, expanding its workforce to 120 people in less than 12 months. Ohki said to Bloomberg “the iPad’s release is the biggest factor in making this business possible” and said his inspiration for starting the business was the 2000 physical books that were crowding out his small Tokyo apartment.

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greenpois0n Available for Windows, Mac Version Updated

A few hours ago the Windows version of greenpois0n was made available (as was promised) and an updated version of the Mac client, RC5 Beta 3 was also released.  This jailbreak solution allows for iOS devices running 4.2.1 to be jailbroken and be untethered, which means the device can be restarted without requiring a program to boot the device.

If your iOS device has already been jailbroken with redsn0w, just run greenpois0n and it will untether it without removing anything. There is no word yet on whether a Linux version is in the works.

To download head to greenpois0n.com for the Mac and Windows downloads, or alternatively the mirror site.

[Via iH8sn0w on Twitter]

Dragon Age II Coming to the Mac on the 8th of March

Dragon Age II will be brought to the Mac simultaneously as it is launched on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows on the 8th of March this year. The game, which is available for Pre-Order now for $59.99, is the sequel to the widely acclaimed epic, Dragon Age: Origins that was launched in 2009 by BioWare.

Game Tree Mac will be porting the game to the Mac, a company known for other Mac ports such as the Grand Theft Auto trilogy, Sims 3 and Prince of Persia. A simultaneous release of Dragon Age II on the Mac is certainly quite a boon for Mac gamers who typically have to wait months if not years for a port and perhaps signifies a growing Mac gaming market.

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Apple Steps Up Washington Presence, Hires New Lobbyist Firm

Official lobbying disclosures show that Apple has hired a new lobbying firm, Fierce, Isakowitz and Blalock to help lobby Federal politicians as issues such as taxes, privacy, patent and trade reform get underway this year. Apple has typically shied away from most Washington affairs, only spending $1.6 million on lobbying whilst competitors such as Microsoft spent almost $7 million in 2010.

Politico understands that the new firm began representing Apple from February 1st and amongst the lobbyists handling Apple’s work is the firm’s president Mark Isakowitz and Kirk Blalock, both of whom have extensive experience in Washington. Politico also makes note that:

Apple has received scrutiny from regulators, who have eyed its App Store guidelines and its handling of Flash video on the iPhone. At the same time, Capitol Hill has ramped up debate over issues such as online privacy and competitiveness – topics that could affect Apple’s bottom line.

Apple’s 2010 lobbying forms reflect the company has been an active participant in those conversations, speaking to lawmakers and federal regulators about patents, research funding, free trade agreements and taxes. It’s new outside firm, Fierce, Isakowitz and Blalock, has handled some of those issues for other industry clients such as CTIA, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, Time Warner Cable and the Coalition for Patent Fairness.

[Via Politico, 9to5Mac]

iPhone and iPad Changing People’s Reading Habits

Read It Later, the Instapaper-esque service for saving articles for later consumption has released some fascinating information on how users of the service, depending on the device used, have very different reading habits.

Posted on their blog they reveal that content is encountered pretty much constantly throughout the day, with only a slight drop after work finishes at around 5PM. As for when articles are read, those who use the computer have two key periods, during work at 8AM – 4PM and during the night at 6PM – 9PM with a slightly higher peak during which articles are read.

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Vodafone Reportedly Blocking VoIP Applications Over 3G

There are reports coming in tonight that Vodafone within Europe has begun blocking all VoIP applications from functioning over the 3G networks, restricting them to use WiFi.

iSpazio notes specifically that the ban seems to be enforced in Italy with VoIP apps such as Skype, Viber and Tango no longer functioning over a 3G network and that when Viber tries to make a call over Vodafone’s 3G network that the following message is displayed;

An Internet connection is required to place free calls Viber. Check your connection and try again. Place a regular call instead.

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AT&T’s New iPhone Commercial Is About Old Tricks

With Verizon airing minimal yet emotionally powerful iPhone commercials to feature the product (they don’t even have to mention the name “iPhone” in the ads) that’s launching on their network on February 10th, you’d think AT&T would come up with something of a little more impact than the usual “talk and surf the web at the same time” story.

Well, apparently they still think that’s all they can have in their commercials. Personally, I think that while it’s incredibly cool to be able to have a phone call and use a browser at the same time, I can’t remember a single situation where I found myself needing to do that. It’s cool and it’s there, but it’s old stuff we know and, quite possibly, never used as much as AT&T wants us to.

As 9to5mac says, maybe it’s too late. Read more

60% Of Initial iPad 2 Shipments To Be 3G Models

According to AppleInsider, a new report by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of Concord Securities details the amount of different iPad 2 models that will be shipped in the “first wave” of the device’s introduction.

According to the report, 60% of these units will be 3G-enabled models, either GSM/UMTS units or iPads capable of running on CDMA/EVDO networks.

In speaking to AppleInsider, Kuo said his checks in the Far East indicate production figures of 38 percent for the K93 WiFi model, 46 percent of the K46 3G model, and 16 percent for the Verizon-compatible K95 CDMA version. This indicates that Apple apparently expects most iPad 2 users will opt for 3G models, even on Verizon where new iPhone buyers have the option to pay $20 for hotspot service through their new smartphone.

Last week, Ming-Chi Kuo claimed the iPad 2 won’t have a Retina Display but an anti-reflection screen similar to Amazon’s Kindle, iPod touch-like cameras and a faster processor. Right after the official announcement of the Verizon iPhone, a report suggested Verizon would start selling an iPad “that can connect directly to its network” soon. DigiTimes also reported the 60% of iPads shipped during the December timeframe were 3G models.

On a side note, iPad owners that also have an iPhone will soon be able to share an internet connection through their phone to the tablet thanks to the Personal Hotspot functionality that will be introduced with iOS 4.3. Undoubtedly, the ease of use of Personal Hotspot will make unnecessary for some to upgrade to a WiFi + 3G iPad model. It is unclear, though, how many carriers will support Personal Hotspot on launch.