Griffin’s $50 Helo TC iPhone-Controlled Helicopter Now In-Stock!

Those of you paying attention will remember how just last week we told you about the Griffin Helo TC, a wonderful little helicopter that’s controlled by the power of your mind! Well, it actually needs an iPhone between your mind and the Helo TC, but still, that’s cool right?

Last week the helicopter was out of stock, but now it’s back in stock, and available for purchase at just $49.99. Bargaintastic…
The one downside to Griffin’s ‘copter? It’s IR-based, which means that it needs line-of-sight with the iPhone controller. The A.R. Drone works using WiFi, which obviously doesn’t have such a problem. The A.R. Drone is considerably more expensive, though, so for 50 Bucks, you really can’t go wrong.

Perhaps just as impressive as the Helo TC is Griffin’s promotional video, which both entertains and indeed, informs.

Apple Interested in TV Subscription Service

In a recent article about Tim Cook, The Wall Street Journal dropped an interesting tidbit about Apple’s future plans to invade our living rooms. The article questioned if Cook was aggressive enough to muscle Apple into the TV industry.

As most of you know, Apple is rumored to be working on a television set. And there has also been ongoing speculation that it is thinking of launching its own subscription-based content service, worthy of competing against NetFlix or cable.

The Journal’s article lends some more credibility to the latter theory by confirming Apple’s interest in a “subscription TV service…”
“Apple is working on new technology to deliver video to televisions, and has been discussing whether to try to launch a subscription TV service, according to people familiar with the matter.”

I know, the tip is damned by its “people familiar with the matter” source. But for the record, the WSJ has been fairly accurate in previous claims. They predicted the Verizon iPhone in February, and more recently confirmed the smartphone to be Sprint-bound.

Apple has been making some pretty interesting moves regarding its TV content lately. A few weeks ago it made purchased TV shows available for redownloading, and more recently it canceled the ability to rent them.

It’s important to note that CNET mentioned in an article on Apple’s rumored iTunes Replay service a few weeks ago that they haven’t heard anything about a “NetFlix-killer.” The site nailed the iTunes Match service months before it was announced at WWDC.

That being said, Apple easily has the money and the reach in the right industries to pull off a TV subscription service. They could push it out through iTunes, which has over 200 million active members. That’s not a bad starting audience.

The major question, is would you want an Apple TV service? In this day and age of high definition DVR’s and triple-play bundle packages, how many people are ready to cut-the-cable? For me it’s going to depend on price and content, obviously. What about you?

Purported Backplate of Next-Generation iPhone Surfaces

Earlier today, we saw photos of components that may or may not pertain to one of Apple’s upcoming smartphones. The frame resembled that of an iPhone 4, but with a modified antenna.

Now another purported next-gen iPhone part has surfaced — the backplate. And like the aforementioned frame, it looks extremely similar to its predecessor. So how do we know it’s a next-generation component? Because it says so…
MacPost originally published the photo, along with several others of what they claim are iPhone 5 parts. But the back casing in particular stands out because it has the markings of an Apple prototype.

The cover is labeled EVT and is dated June 7, 2011. EVT stands for Engineering Verification Test, which is followed by the Design Verification Test. The date makes sense in the device’s timeline we saw leading up to production.

Perhaps the biggest clue on the case is the N94 marking. A few months ago, 9to5Mac uncovered two new Apple devices codenamed N93 and N94 buried deep within iOS 5. The iPhone 4′s (GSM) internal codename is the N90.

Add this new back casing to previous evidence, like the T-Mobile-branded N94 device BGR exposed earlier this year, and things start coming together. Sort of.

Whether Apple releases one smartphone this Fall, or two distinctly different handsets, you can bet we’ll see the iPhone 4′s design reincarnated. The second scenario is obviously more exciting, as it leaves the door open for a major refresh.

But maybe Apple doesn’t need that this year. Maybe Apple’s big play this year is to expand carrier partners, which would have more of an impact on sales than a major redesign.

What do you think we’ll see this Fall?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Choose iPad Over Playbook (Not the Blackberry Kind)

iPads find their way into all kinds of places, and they’re going to be an integral part of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ kit when the season begins. The team and its staff got sick of carrying around the old fashioned Yellow Pages-like playbooks of yesteryear. What could they replace them with? Well, iPad 2s of course!

Now, the 90-strong team will each receive an iPad 2 for referencing plays and NFL video archives…
Not only will the team be able to dump that boring old paper playbook, but they have also discovered that the iPad 2 has an ace up its sleeve in the form of video.

The iPads will be used to show video of plays, video of training sessions, and probably even videos of their huge checks hitting their bank accounts if they get their own way!

Unfortunately, no one at the Buccaneers thought that BlackBerry’s ‘PlayBook’ would be the perfect fit for the job, which perhaps once again proves that RIM’s choice of name was a monumentally bad one!