While the terms of the acquisition are not known Business Insider guesses the deal could be worth $100 to $200 million.  A deal of that magnitude would definitely signal a commitment to this new type of technology for Apple.  The technology that Siri can bring to the table for Apple’s various consumer electronics will certainly enhance the user experience of iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad users.

This recent announcement is one of the more exciting announcements to come from the mobile device world this week.  It certainly does appear that Apple is looking to make a leap into the mobile app department and this acquisition of the start up company Siri will certainly go a long way in making that a successful transition.  With the technology Siri has created Apple will be able to add a lot of cool search features into various apps and make their mobile devices truly GPS user friendly.  It will be very handy if you were able to speak into your iPhone and ask your personal assistant app where the nearest coffee shop was and quickly receive directions to several different options that you can walk to.

Also found within the build were mentions to chat rooms and moderation which the website 9to5mac.com speculates will be used for a new Game Center.  As is always the case just because something is included in the pre-release software is no guarantee that it will be included when the final product is launched.  But since there has been instances of several well connected people eluding to the fact that video chat appeared to be on the horizon this looks like just another bit of evidence that something along the lines of an iChat app is on the way.

With each passing day the iPhone OS 4 is creating more and more buzz.  It looks like there are going to be a lot more updates and upgrades included in this latest OS release for the iPhone than initially expected.  The big buzz generated by the upcoming release of the iPhone OS 4 was the ability for users to multitask and run several apps at the same time.  Now throw in the ability to stage one on one or group video conferences and it sounds like the iPhone OS 4 is set to be one of the best smartphone operating systems on the market today.

The Opera Mini, with more than 50 million users worldwide, enables fast mobile web browsing by compressing data up to 90 percent before sending content to the device.  When the data is compressed it results in significantly improved page loading.  Users of this new app will notice an increase in speed when surfing the web especially on slower networks such as the 2G Edge network.  Also, using the Opera Mini to surf the internet will save customers money as well because of its data compression capabilities.  Smaller of amounts of data will be required to view websites which will come in real handy when users are in areas where they may incur roaming charges.

The Opera Mini browser is currently available in the App Store for free.  Many iPhone users have already downloaded the new web browser and are loving the various features it has.  The speed with which a web page loads is considerably faster and has iPhone users surfing the web like never before.  Another nice feature about the Opera Mini browser is the ease with which you can switch between web pages you are viewing.  A simple swipe at the bottom of the browser page will allow you to switch back and forth between different windows that you may have open.  Also, the Opera Mini makes it quite easy to bookmark your favorite websites which you can then use to quickly surf your most viewed pages.

As with any device having the chance for several options is usually a good thing and will force each company to produce a better product.  If Apple does in fact allow Opera’s new web browser to pass their application process it will be interesting to see how this browser works on the iPhone compared to the factory installed Safari browser iPhone customers utilize now. 

To me it sounds like this new Opera browser has the chance to be slightly quicker than the Safari browser is right now.  This would be a welcomed experience when I am using my iPhone.  Sometimes it can be quite frustrating when a website will not load quickly enough.  I would be very excited to test out the new Opera web browser to compare it to Safari.  If there is any chance of creating a faster web surfing experience while using my iPhone I am all for it.  But unfortunately it does not sound promising that Apple will actually approve of this new app since they have a track record of vetoing any app that mimics one they currently developed for the iPhone.

The smart phone that Sony is developing will also be able to be utilized with their online gaming platform that will be released later this month in the United States.  This service will have many of the same things that Apple is currently offering through its iTunes and mobile application store.  Sony is hoping to be able to offer services not only for mobile phones, but allow people to access many of its games through its online platform.

Right now there are no other details as far as when this new smart phone will be released or any of the designs are features are unknown.  What is known is that Sony will probably continue to develop additional smart phones by working closely with Sony Ericsson cell phones.  Through this partnership it is assumed that Sony is looking to gain its market share in the mobile device market that enables users to play some of their favorite PlayStation games.  We may actually see this new mobile device from Sony by the end of this year.

There are many new tools in order for the user to edit and touch up.  There are brushes for adjusting pictures and Adjustment Presets to be able to use photo effects just like the professional.  You can create slideshows that incorporate audio, pictures and video.  It is no longer just a way to organize photos with all of the new imaging tools.

You can use Faces and Place as well as Projects to archive the large amounts of photos you need to keep track of.  Faces lets you manage photos through recognizing who is in the photo.  Places does precisely the same thing.  You can use these features to be able to place photos on your iPhone unlocked cell phone Photos.

The numerous new brushes give you the ability to touch up photos by putting them right on the image.  The fifteen quick brushes make it easier so you do not have to go through the different layers.  You can publish the pictures right to social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Flickr right from the software.

You are able to purchase Aperture 3 at the Apple Store as well as any authorized dealers.  You can also download a thirty-day trial version at the Apple web site to check it out before purchasing, whether to better manage your Apple iPhone photos or if you are a professional.

While Engadget was at the press conference they snapped a picture showing the blue missing plugin icon.

This isn’t a completely unexpected move by Apple considering the iPhone and iPod Touch don’t have flash either, but everyone really wants it.

I guess only time will tell if we will get it, but for now we want to know what our readers think

The specs are

• 0.5″ thick and 1.5lbs light
• 9.7″ IPS display, capacitive multitouch touchscreen
• Built-in accelerometer, mic, 30-pin connector, 802.11n Wi-Fi, compass, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• 10 hours of battery life and one month standby time!
• 1GHz Apple A4 processor
• 16GB, 32GB and 64GB Flash storage

With up to 64GB of storage this tablet looks like it will definitely make some waves in the technology world.  Stay tuned

[image courtesy BoyGeniusReport.com]

Engadget announced that the unlock for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch was released today.   This is great news for anyone looking to finally buy the unlocked iPhone.  This means that people won’t be tied to their carriers.  It also means those people who have been waiting to upgrade to 3.1.2

If you are looking to get the Apple iPhone 3Gs it should be in stock on our site shortly.

It was a very good article but there are a few issues that we’d like to bring up.  First off the person writing this post is a Blackberry user and more specifically uses the Blackberry Curve 8900.  This is going to be as unbiased as possible as the author thinks both manufacturers have great products.

Like the article mentions it comes down to preference.  If you like Blackberry phones then you will likely stick with them and the same goes for iPhone users.  There are iPhone users that get the new iPhone every year when Apple releases it.  The only really difference is that Apple only has three phones all that look similar (slight look variations every year) and Blackberry has five or more active phones.  The choice isn’t necessarily a good thing as some people don’t want to have to from so many.

A couple of things the article said were true although they aren’t a big problem.  The first one was “The iPhone automatically changes its time when you enter a new time zone. BlackBerrys remain set to their home time zone for time stamping all emails with that time—unless you change the time in settings.”  While this is true it takes a total of fifteen seconds to go and change it to Network time.  This means that every where you go your phone will update its time based on the network.  So if you are on the east coast you will be on east cost time if you are on teh west coast your phone will say the time in the west coast.

The other issue was “The BlackBerry’s AC adaptor takes up two power outlet spots, while the small, square iPhone plug occupies only one outlet, making it more versatile and able to charge in more locations.”  We aren’t sure why they would say that.  Yes the iPhone has small one inch charger but the prongs are not retractable.  This means if you travel with it there is a chance they can bend or break.  The Blackberry charger is larger and by larger we mean the same size as every other charger.  The advantage is that the prongs are retractable and make for nicer travelling.  It only takes up two electrical outlets if you place it in the top socket.  Although an annoyance it is something that is common with a lot of plugs.

Overall we would highly recommend reading the article if you are thinking of either getting a new smartphone (Blackberry or Apple in particular) or if you are thinking about switching from a Blackberry to an iPhone or vice-versa