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First-Gen Apple TV Gets AirPlay Support with Remote HD

Remote HD is a new app developed by the Fire Core guys – the same folks behind the ATV Flash browser / utility – which brings AirPlay streaming to the original Apple TV, the first-generation silver model. Once installed on your iOS device from the App Store and on the original Apple TV through the Install Extras menu, you’ll be able to beam videos, Youtube, video podcasts and photos from your iPhone or iPad to the Apple TV.

If your iOS device is jailbroken and has AirPlay enabled for 3rd party apps, you’ll get the possibility to stream video from anywhere. Remote HD also lets you stream videos from iTunes on your computer.

Remote HD for iOS is available at $3.99 here.


Zeppelin Air Brings AirPlay To Bowers & Wilken’s Sound Blimp

If you have an appreciation for really sexy speakers, Apple products, or both, Bowers & Wilkens’ top-of-the-line Zeppelin is about to receive an undoubtedly fantastic upgrade. Featuring the same chassis you know and love with completely reworked acoustics, the Zeppelin Air is your living room’s prime wireless companion for listening to uncompressed audio over your network’s airwaves. If you’re more fancy than the average gentleman, you can purchase a gaggle of Zeppelins and chain them together for AirPlay throughout the household. One should be enough, however, and we can expect to see this pricey football hit the market around March. In the meantime, you can register for product news on B&W’s website by clicking here.

[via Bowers & Wilkens]


Mac App Store Preview: WordCrasher

Coming tomorrow for the Mac App Store launch, WordCrasher is an addictive game already available on the iPhone and iPod touch which is based on a simple concept: create words out of letters falling from the top of the screen. Yes, it sounds a lot like Tetris’ bricks, only you have letters and you have to combine them to create words and empty the screen. As the screen is filled up with blocks, it’s game over.

The Mac version of WordCrasher will take the iOS experience and add some new features to make suitable for the desktop. Together with redesigned graphics and new sounds, Mac users will be able to create words not just by catching letters with the trackpad: you can use the keyboard for fast typing and gaming.

WordCrasher will be available tomorrow and I believe it will be one of the many iOS games ported to the Mac platform. Whether or not this will turn out to be a great or terrible idea, we’ll find out in less than 24 hours.


Roots Rock Boombox Is For The Bob Marley Fan In You

At first glance I couldn’t quite figure out what the Roots Rock Boombox was supposed to be. Sold under the House of Marley, this boombox appears to be part cargo pant - part cargo bag - and part smoke machine all in one. This iPhone boombox is clearly designed to bring a little of Bob Marley’s heart and soul to life in over-the-top fashion, and I could see myself having this on my tailgate at party or something - just please don’t get caught in the cargo straps. Proceeds go to the 1Love charitable foundation, so if you’re thinking about a killer post-Christmas gift, you might be able to make up for your belated gift giving by purchasing this or another of the House of Marley’s products through their website.

[House of Marley via Gizmodo]


Mac App Store Preview: Todolicious, The Simple To Do App

Of all the new apps that are coming out tomorrow in the Mac App Store, Todolicious by Mustacheware is among those we’re most excited about. Created by our friend Steve Streza, who also happens to be the guy behind the great iPhone webapp Swearch.me, Todolicious wants you to stop wasting time organizing your to dos and tasks. Todolicious is a simple app that’s also customizable, and it’s aimed at those people who just want an app to quickly write down the things they need to do. No projects, tags or contexts. Todolicious is a sexy, digital version of the classic sticky notes.

Without giving away all the details just yet (you should be able to play with the app in less than 24 hours), I want to focus on the single most intriguing aspect of the app: the new to do entry field. Instead of displaying a popup window with dozens of options, text fields and buttons, Todolicious provides a simple panel that asks you “What do you need to do?”. It reminds me of Alfred’s straightforward search interface, and you can assign a system-wide shortcut to it so you can enter new to dos no matter what you’re doing with your Mac.

Todolicious will be available tomorrow at $4.99 in the Mac App Store. It’s a simple app we’re really excited about, and we bet that thousands of Mac users who don’t need the functionalities of Things or OmniFocus will give Todolicious a try. Check out the website here, or follow @todolicious for updates.


The iPad Dock That’s Also A Projector

We have seen hundreds, if not thousands, of simple or original stands and dock stations for the iPad. From those that just hold your iPad upright while charging it, to the more sophisticated units that come with additional ports and connections, there’s wide range of possibilities to consider. If you’re looking for an iPad dock that also happens to be a Pico projector, though, you might just consider the WowWee Cinemin Slice.

It’s a dock, but it’s got a projector built in. As you put the iPad in there, the Cinemin Slice will take care of projecting your iPad’s screen wherever you like. Available for pre-order at $429, WowWee says it’s perfect for media and for small groups of friends, where TVs can’t go. The unit has mini-HDMI and AV ports for media players and a VGA ports for PCs and laptops. It supports the 16:9 aspect ratio and it has a resolution of 854 x480. An infrared remote control is included in the package, together with 5 docking trays for iOS devices.

If you’re thinking about getting one, head over WowWee’s website. [Gizmodo via WowWee]


iPad 2 Mockup Spotted at CES

Our friends at Engadget spotted something really interesting while walking around CES booths: another case designed for the rumored iPad 2, with an actual iPad 2 mockup inside, made of aluminum. The case, created by Dexim and admittedly also looking good with its leather and detachable Bluetooth keyboard, sports the usual features we’ve been hearing in the rumors: front and rear-facing cameras, thinner design, bigger speaker. There are some curious new details to be noted as well.

First off, the iPad 2 mockup inside the case has the home button closer to the edge of the unit, and it’s got a flat back. It’s also got tapered edges as we heard last week, and when trying to put a current generation iPad in the case, Engadget was told that it wouldn’t fit because of its size. Accessory makers seem to be pretty sure that the next-generation iPad will be thinner, with a flat back and two cameras – clearly someone in China saw, or at least heard something, about the new iPad and told these manufacturers to follow certain guidelines.

Check out more iPad 2 mockup photos below and the full gallery on Engadget. Read more


Huge Canabalt Update: Game Center, Retina Display, 60fps

If you enjoyed playing Canabalt on your iPhones and iPads before, I think it’s time you give the app another try. Because, frankly, you didn’t really break any records. You can do better, and you know it. Most of all, the latest 1.6 update that just showed up in iTunes adds true Retina-ready graphics to the iPhone 4 and iPod touch 4th gen, 60fps on all Retina devices (that means it’s now super-smooth in all its pixel glory), Game Center integration (for leaderboards, I guess) and various tweaks and bug fixes. The update is free for all existing owners of the recently open-sourced game.

It’s the same Canabalt you know and love, only a lot smoother, faster and beautiful. Available at $0.99 for iPhone and iPad. You can’t miss this.


WebCamera Puts iSight On Your iPhone, iPod For Video Chatting

The iSight is actually pretty darned good when it comes to taking photos and video. My Twitter avatar? That’s totally done with just the iSight. When I was asked to check out WebCamera, I had my doubts about how well it would function as a disembodied iSight. Turns out it works pretty decently, though I can’t see myself deploying WebCamera full-time. It’s handy when you need to show off pics of your family in real time - you’d look kind of silly walking around with a MacBook, prying the lid back, and trying to aim the darned thing everywhere. WebCamera gives you the freedom to move and record over your local network by turning your iPhone into a WebCam, making it useful to revisit all the relatives who already miss you from the Holidays.

Read more