Why Verizon? iPhone outselling Droid and all Moto phones combined

The iPhone needs Verizon compatibility in order to keep up with the rapidly ascending Droid and the rest of the Android platform, the claim goes. The iPhone’s AT&T exclusivity is causing Verizon customers, even if they would prefer the iPhone, to settle for an Android-based phone available from Verizon instead, the headlines proclaim. But the sales numbers say different. Not only is the iPhone outselling Motorola’s Droid line of phones according to the latest sales numbers, the iPhone is single-handedly outselling all of Motorola’s phones combined, says Apple Insider. In fact, the big picture numbers say that since the iPhone launched three years ago, Motorola’s total number of phones sold has plummeted, thus painting the current success of the Droid and Droid X as perhaps a mere anomaly for a company whose fortunes in the cellphone industry have been dwindling for years.

And before you go blaming Motorola’s misfortunes on the bad economy, the company is now selling a mere one-fifth as many cellphones as it was selling back when the iPhone first launched. With death-spiral numbers like that, it begs the question of just what Verizon was thinking when it chose a flagging partner like Motorola to build its flagship Droid line of phones. The move suggests Verizon was in a panic to come up with an iPhone competitor of any kind, even if that meant saddling up with a dying company like Motorola. It also strongly suggests that Verizon knew the Droid thing wouldn’t be a permanent one, more aimed at forcing Apple to bring the iPhone to the bargaining table under terms that favored Verizon more than they favored Apple itself.

While the Droid is far from the only Android-based phone on the market, Verizon has spent more than a year positioning the phone as its most visible flagship product. But even with all that effort, the iPhone is outselling the Droid and every other Motorola phone combined. It makes you wonder why Verizon isn’t pushing harder to get its hands on the iPhone than it is – or perhaps that’s exactly what’s going on behind the scenes.

“We Farm” now available for iPhone and iPad!

Are you ready for another addictive social game from Ngmoco? First there was TouchPetsDogs, then we got We Rule, and then Godfinger. And now, Ngmoco launched the new We Farm worldwide, and it’s becoming a hit!

If you’re addicted to games like “We Rule,” you’ll enjoy the new We Farm game as well. It’s a great alternative to Farmville, especially if you have an iPad. The graphics are marvelous and the game play is pretty fun.

It’s similar to “We Rule” with the familiar graphics and game layout, but of course, you get to take care of a farm instead of a kingdom. Additional tasks include petting your animals to keep them happy. This turns them into prize-ribbon-winning animals!

Check out the game trailer:

Because games like these are popular, you may experience some server connection problems and downtime. Be aware of this before you start playing. Hopefully they have a fix for this soon.

The game is available for free for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. For more information, see their official website at Ngmoco.com A full review to come soon.

Ellen DeGeneres Idol departure crashes Twitter – Jennifer Lopez next?

Twitter has crashed in the wake of Ellen DeGeneres’ announcement that she’s leaving her role as judge on American Idol. Ellen was atop the social network’s trending topics list at the time the trending list was disabled altogether, and then several minutes later the entire Twitter network was brought to its knees. This evening’s Twitter meltdown, the site’s first major burnup since the World Cup soccer tournament ended, likely cost Jennifer Lopez her opportunity to make it into the trending topics for what might have been the first time in the site’s four year history. Rampant rumors and gossip this evening have J.Lo taking Ellen’s place as the new “friendly” American Idol judge. The move would mark a return of a veteran musician to the judging chair vacated by Ellen, which had previously been occupied by Paula Abdul.

Twitter has since sporadically returned to life, but the trending topics list is still missing in action.

Ellen DeGeneres Idol replacements led by Perez Hilton, Bret Michaels

The newly announced departure Ellen DeGeneres from American Idol gives the show not one but potentially two judges’ chairs to fill, with Simon Cowell also having departed this offseason. Various public figures have already been rumored for Cowell’s seat, with some of those storylines having been a direct result of the celebrity in question openly lobbying for the gig. With two openings, the number of stars lining up for the gig is set to double or more. While Cowell’s job has all along been expected to fall to someone who can play the role of resident meanie by telling contestants what they need to hear (or worse) no matter how impolite the message may be, Ellen’s role (and that of Paul Abdul before her) was largely one of friendliness and encouragement. This now opens the door for Idol’s producers to cast any two opposites they like in the two vacated roles.

Two of the most prominent individuals who’ve been campaigning for the gig are Bret Michaels (Rock of Love, The Apprentice, and a little band called Poison) and celebrity blogger Perez Hilton. Michaels is everyone’s friend, and a new generation of Americans have fallen in love with him now that he’s had a reality show resurgence this decade after having been one of the most prominent rock stars of the eighties. Perez, on the other hand, is the guy that everyone loves to hate because he’s never hesitated to throw celebrities (or anyone else) under a bus on his blog. Perez could fill Simon’s snarky role, while Bret could take over Ellen’s nice guy role, and if nothing else, the pairing of those two along with current judges Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi (assuming they both return next season) would have people talking.

Both Michaels and Hilton have had recent ties to the show. Perez used one episode to essentially launch the solo career of his protege Travis Garland, while Bret performed the Poison classic Every Rose Has Its Thorn with contestant Casey James on this season’s finale. The fact that Michaels did so a few days after having had a stroke and a hole discovered in his heart, and a brain hemorrhage a few weeks before that, has led some to question whether his recent spate of health issues might be too big a risk. However, with Michaels now touring the nation as a solo musician and having no health troubles for it, that risk now appears minimized. And whereas his friendly nature might not have worked as a replacement for Simon, the contrast of having Perez (who’s arguably even meaner when he wants to be than Simon) on the same judging panel would balance out the nice-to-mean ratio of the panel.

For his part, Perez has taken to Twitter and his blog in the past hour to relentlessly campaign for the job, asking his celebrity pals to help him out. Michaels hasn’t yet had anything to say on the matter, but he will coincidentally be performing on the Simon Cowell-produced America’s Got Talent on August 4th. Speaking of Cowell, he’ll be looking to assemble a panel of judges of his own for his upcoming American version of X-Factor, which he left Idol to launch.

So what do you think? Would you be more likely or less likely to tune in for American Idol this upcoming season if Bret Michaels and Perez Hilton join the ranks?

Ellen DeGeneres votes herself off American Idol, half of judge panel now gone

Ellen DeGeneres says she’s leaving American Idol after just one season on the show’s panel of judges. In a statement released through Warner Bros, DeGeneres blames both the workload of doing two television shows (Idol and her own Ellen Show) along with an aversion to hurting lesser contestants’ feelings. Ellen’s departure comes on the heels of the departure of fellow judge Simon Cowell, who announced his own exit long before the end of the most recent season. The move leaves Idol faced with the task of filling one or both suddenly empty judges’ chairs, as the show could cast two new judges to remain at the current total of four, or it could simply bring in one new judge and go back to the show’s original three-judge format. As it stands, Randy Jackson is now the only remaining original judge (that’s if he himself remains with the show; apparently nothing Idol-related is certain at this point), along with Kara DioGuardi, who’s been on the job for two seasons.

Among those who’ve openly lobbied to replace cowell have been Poison singer Bret Michaels and blogger Perez Hilton. With Ellen’s departure, there might now be room for both of them.

Ellen’s official announcement on the matter via her Twitter account? “Dim the lights…I’ve voted myself off American Idol.” That’s right, she led with the joke before any of the rest of us could come up with it.

Bumper Bummer: iPhone 4 free case app won’t install on some iPhones

Those who don’t yet have an iPhone 4 but are curious as to which free iPhone 4 cases are being offered to users by Apple are out of luck. Users of the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G can’t even officially take a peek at the offerings (which include several third party options in addition to Apple’s own Bumper case), as Apple is running the free iPhone 4 case program through a free App Store app – and while the app can be downloaded onto any computer via iTunes, it won’t even so much as sync to to an older iPhone (or for that matter, an iPad or iPod touch). Even though the free case app is technically compatible with all of the above, Apple has flagged the app such that it can’t be installed on anything but an iPhone 4.

Part of this is due to the fact that the app confirms you actually have an iPhone 4 by examining the device it’s been installed on (thus also ensuring a limit of one per customer) without putting anyone through the hassle of manually producing a receipt or even a serial number. It’s a clever and efficient idea, but it does keep current users of Apple’s older iPhones from being able to browse the app to see which free case they might want to pick out if they do end up buying an iPhone 4 before the expiration of the free case program (September 30th for new purchases; August 22nd if you bought your iPhone 4 prior to July 23rd). Fortunately, we’ve done hands-on tests with the highest rated (Speck PixelSkin HD – full review here) and the lowest rated (oddly enough, Apple’s own Bumper – full review here) and we’ve got the reviews for your perusal.

Christina Perri performs on Jay Leno show tonight

Christina Perri has just announced that she’ll be performing on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show tonight (apparently a late addition, as television listings show Stone Temple Pilots as the musical guest). The singer rose out of obscurity literally overnight when a demo of her song “Jar of Hearts” was used on So You Think You Can Dance earlier this summer; she since returned to that show to perform the song live. Perri recently signed a major label record deal with Atlantic Records, with as of yet not publicly stated plans for a release date for her debut album. Other guests listed for the Tonight Show tonight are Jennifer Aniston and Jason Schwartzman. We’re still not sure what the story is with Stone Temple Pilots, but Christina Perri has offered photographic proof that she’s really going to be on the show. NBC.com also now lists Perri as the musical guest.

iPad and iPhone users unlikely to see Android wallpaper app breach

One of the fundamental differences between the iPhone and Android platforms is that while Apple manually tests and approves every third party iPhone app before it becomes available to users (more than 95% of submitted apps are ultimately approved), the Android “app store” is more like the wild west. And while breaches can and do happen on the Apple side of the fence (on the Fourth of July, a rogue individual posing as an iPhone app developer hacked the App Store to briefly push his own phony eBooks up the App Store sales charts), millions of Android users have now been hit by what reads like a Kindergarten-level hack: a simple wallpaper app available in the Android app store was downloaded by millions before anyone caught on to the fact that the app was rigged to steal users’ data and send it wirelessly back to the unscrupulous app developer.

There’s no way to know for sure that Apple, with its stringent testing and approval process for third party apps for its iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch platforms, would have caught such an app before it went live – but it’s doubtful that it would have gotten past Apple’s testers. While geek-leaning Android users brag about the “open” nature of their platform (in other words, they find it to be more recreationally hackable), the flipside of that “openness” is that malware thinly veiled as a harmless wallpaper app is far more likely to be a problem for Android users than iPhone users. While Apple has approved about a quarter million free and paid third-party apps for the iPhone and iPad, none of them have ever been a free wallpaper app that steals users’ data.

Source: Venturebeat, relayed by @lvdjgarcia via Daring Fireball’s @gruber

iPhone 4 Bumper case is worth its free price tag, not much more

Apple is offering a free Bumper case to any iPhone 4 user who wants one, an appropriate move considering that in-house tests show the Bumper to be worth nowhere near its original $29 price tag. iPhone 4 users are receiving the free Bumper (or a limited choice of free cases from other vendors) because Apple is looking to make the overblown-yet-persistent iPhone 4 antenna headlines go away. But as it turns out, the Bumpers are essentially just a piece of rubber which wraps around the iPhone’s outer edges but provides no protection for the device’s front or back – and is only compatible with the iPhone sync cable Apple provides, whereas most other cases can be used in conjunction with third party iPhone sync cables, which tend to have a taller neck.

On the plus side, the Apple Bumper for iPhone 4 does come in a wide choice of colors, which makes up for the fact that the iPhone 4 itself only comes in a choice of black or white – and even then, the white iPhone 4 model has been delayed indefinitely. As a $29 product, our in-house tests have rated the Bumper a mere three stars out of five. But as a free throw-in, you can’t beat the zero dollar price tag. Here’s our hands-on Apple Bumper case review.

However, in-house reviews have shown some of the third party iPhone 4 cases included in Apple’s free case program are likely to make for more suitable options for most users. Other pptions include free iPhone 4 cases from Belkin, Speck, Incase, and Griffin. Here’s a review of our highest rated free iPhone 4 case.

iOS4 on iPhone 3G slowness comes to a head; you heard it here in June

Apple’s new iOS4 mobile operating system runs atrociously on the discontinued iPhone 3G model, something we first warned readers about a full thirty-one days ago. With the iPhone 4 antenna nonsense finally dying down in the headlines, it appears the “iOS4 runs poorly on an iPhone 3G” storyline is set to become the primary iPhone related headline from tech pundits for the foreseeable future. The iPhone 3G story has finally been picked up on this week publications including the Wall Street Journal, and the story is the same as what Beatweek first reported back in June: while iOS4 runs fantastically on the iPhone 4 and even the iPhone 3GS, those who install it on the iPhone 3G (introduced mid 2008, bargain-binned in mid 2009, discontinued in 2010) have found varying degrees of what can most easily be described as suckage: while a handful of aspects of the interface are sped up on the iPhone 3G, it’s more than erased by random extended delays in which tapping on the screen can occasionally take up to ten seconds or more for the command to execute. This can range from launching an app to pausing your music to answering a phone call, all of which are things that you’d probably rather not wait several seconds to have happen.

These problems, which we simultaneously discovered in house and were notified of by our readers and Twitter followers who have an iPhone 3G, resulted in our recommendation that iPhone 3G users not install iOS 4 unless they really, really want a unified email inbox or folders; those who want iOS 4 that badly are better off simply upgrading to an iPhone 4. The subsequent release of iOS 4.0.1 made the iPhone 3G problems only about half as severe, but has still left iPhone 3G users fuming – not so much because the the new OS doesn’t run well on their discontinued device, but because iOS 4 was served up to iPhone 3G users as an automatic, prompted update in iTunes, with no warning of how potentially unsuitable it was for their device. The problem is even more compounded by the lack of a simple method of downgrading an iPhone 3G back to the previous OS 3 software. As if the slow speed weren’t bad enough, iOS 4 can also cause an iPhone 3G to run noticeably hot to the touch and to chew through battery life several times faster than should be the case.

Tooting ones own horn too often, even when having been proven right, is unbecoming. But it’s worth pointing out that Beatweek readers with an iPhone 3G were made aware of this problem within a few days of the iOS 4 launch, and saved from unwittingly installing software on their device that would render it less usable.

Mike Posner performs “Cooler Than Me” on America’s Got Talent

Mike Posner is set to perform on America’s Got Talent tonight on NBC. Posner, who has scored a top five hit on the iTunes pop charts with his debut single Cooler Than Me, will release his debut album entitled 31 Minutes To Takeoff on August 10th. He signed a record contract while still in college at Duke University but returned to school to finish his degree before launching his album. Mike Posner released his first mixtape A Matter Of Time in 2009, and has performed on the same stage as 50 Cent and Drake. The rest of tonight’s America’s Got Talent episode will center around solidifying the roster for the show’s top twenty-four, and will also feature a performance from JabbawockeeZ.

iPhone 4 Bumper is far from the best free iPhone 4 case choice

Apple makes the phone you like, but it doesn’t mean Apple makes the case you want. There’s reason why the company is offering iPhone 4 users other options beyond its own “Bumper” case, and that’s because it’s not much of a case. Beatweek’s own in-house testing reveals the Bumper to be a mere three star product (out of five) with pros and cons that add up to a fairly mediocre product (full review here). While the Bumpers do a nice job of protecting the iPhone 4′s top, sides, and bottom, and come in a wide choice of colors, the product falls short when it comes to protecting any other aspect of the device – and it has to be removed in order to plug the iPhone 4 into most of the third party iPhone accessory cables you might come into contact (for instance, the cable from a third party car charger for your iPhone).

So what’s the top rated option among the other free cases being offered in Apple’s free iPhone 4 case program? The other cases come from Belkin, Griffin, Speck, and Incase, all known for making respectable accessories for iPhone and iPod products over the years. But our in house tests reveal the Speck PixelSkin HD (full review here, not to be confused with the “Speck PixelSkin” without the “HD” in its name) to be not only the highest rated iPhone 4 case we’ve tested among the freebie options, but also the highest iPhone 4 case period – so far, at least, as iPhone 4 cases from various vendors are arriving on the market and at our offices in rapid fashion.

Just because a product tests out the most strongly doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the most suitable for you, so as with all things, in the end it comes down to the judgment of each individual user (our reviews are to help you make educated choices, not to tell you what’s right for you). We’ve heard from iPhone 4 users who like their Bumper case just fine, so there’s no shame in going that route if it’s the one that appeals to you. But before you make your choice, be aware that there are a number of different cases from different vendors available through the free iPhone 4 case program. Happy shopping – it’s not every day you come across a slew of iPhone cases each with a zero dollar price tag.

Verizon iPhone: three reasons to root for it, one to root against

Verizon wants the iPhone. Any carrier wants to offer its customers the option of using the most popular smartphone on the planet. And Apple wants Verizon to have the iPhone. An increased number of carrier options for the iPhone means more iPhones sold. Technical, strategic, and contractual reasons have prevented the Verizon iPhone from happening – so far. But (nearly) everyone should root for it to happen whether they themselves would want to use one or not, and for more reasons than might immediately come to mind:

Bandwidth: this might be the most obvious, but even if relatively few current iPhone users end up switching over from AT&T, the existence of a Verizon iPhone would stem the flow of longtime Verizon customers who’ve been coming over to AT&T just to get the iPhone (a far more popular trend in 2010 than the headlines might suggest). This will slow down the number of new iPhone users on AT&T, giving the carrier’s overburdened network a chance to catch up a bit. So the mere existence of Verizon iPhone would likely improve the quality of the iPhone experience on AT&T.

Competition: AT&T has iPhone users over a barrel on pricing, because iPhone users don’t leave the platform – and AT&T knows it. This means that the carrier can not only charge iPhone high-end pricing for basic voice and data services, it also means that add-ons like tethering arrive years late and come with asinine price tags, all while AT&T eliminates unlimited data plans in an attempt to make sure that all iPhone users are being overcharged, not just some of them. Verizon treats its own customers no better. But if the iPhone became available from both carriers, new iPhone buyers (who aren’t already under contract with one or the other) will be able to choose between the two, meaning that both AT&T and Verizon will have to at least make some feint attempt at offering vaguely competitive monthly pricing for iPhone users. This could end up saving existing iPhone users on AT&T a bit of money.

Economy of scale: Economics 101 says that the more iPhones that Apple sells, the cheaper it can manufacture them for – and the cheaper it can sell them for. And the larger the platform becomes, the more app developers get involved, which means not only more apps to choose from (as if there weren’t enough of them already) but also increased competition among app developers, which is a win for consumers. And a Verizon iPhone would likely means tens of millions of new iPhone users within the first tens of minutes of its availability.

So who should be rooting against a Verizon iPhone and why? The answer is fairly straightforward:

Verizon meltdown: Those Verizon customers who mistakenly brag about their network being significantly superior to that of AT&T are in for a rude awakening the day Verizon gets the iPhone, as those tens of millions of new iPhone users will put a major strain on Verizon’s network – which in technological terms, is as woefully outdated (CDMA) as that of AT&T (which still uses GSM). Even if most Verizon iPhone purchases are already Verizon customers, a major portion of them will be upgrading from a generic flip-phone which didn’t have any data functionality (email, internet, Twitter, Facebook, and so on). With all of those Verizon flip-phone users simultaneously upgrading to a phone with which they can chew through data at a healthy rate, the impact on Verizon’s CDMA network is would be anything but healthy (when Verizon and AT&T both go 4G in presumably 2011, this could be a different story)

We get asked about the Verizon iPhone a lot, and the answer is always the same: the only thing you can be one hundred percent sure of is that anyone claiming to know anything about an arrival or launch date is full of it, unless that person’s name happens to be Steve Jobs – and with his continued cryptic comments on the matter (such as his recent quip “the future is long”), it’s not even clear that he himself is sure when or if a Verizon iPhone might happen. But depending on which of the above categories you fall into, at least you know whether you should be rooting for it to happen sooner rather than later. Here’s more on the Verizon iPhone.

AGF Vandelay Case with Holster for iPhone 4: quick look

AGF is coming out with an iPhone 4 case that promises to be ‘top of the line’ and come in sixteen different designs in order to cater to a multitude of personal styles. This is the Vandelay Case with Holster for the iPhone 4.

The Vandelay is a stylish, two piece shell offering which gives amazing impact protection. It also comes with an extremely durable AGF Holster.

Things to keep in mind:
- Bottom removes for easy docking
- Access to all controls, ports, and camera
- Includes holster with kickstand
- Can face either in or out

This case is not yet available for sale, but will retail for $34.99 on AGFindings.com. We will have a full review of this case coming up in the next few weeks.

iPhone Coasters now available in various sets

iPhone Coasters are now available for purchase! Wouldn’t you want to geek out your dining room with these amazing coasters? They currently come in three sets — The Core, Home, and Media sets. Each set depicts 6 of Apple’s default iPhone apps and may be purchase for £19.99.

For more information, see iPhoneAppsCoasters.com

iPhone jailbreaking now legal, still means you bought the wrong phone

Hacking your iPhone via a method that such hackers commonly refer to as “jailbreaking” is legal after all, says the U.S. Library of Congress. The process is most commonly carried out by geeks and hackers for the sake of turning their iPhone into something of a blank slate which can then be mutilated into a device which doesn’t function much like an iPhone but rather more like an Android or other hobbyist phone which can loaded up with amateur apps written by the hackers themselves. The word “jailbreaking” was a propaganda term originated in 2007 by said hackers in an attempt to imply that iPhone users who don’t hack their devices are “in jail” due to the fact that they’re limited to choosing from the mere quarter million apps available in the App Store, many of which are free to begin with.

With the debate over the legality of jailbreaking now set aside (unless another ruling body picks up the trail at some point), the debate now shifts back to the more important issue. Neither the government not Apple nor AT&T was ever going to bust down your door and seize your jailbroken phone (unless it’s a prototype you bought from a guy who found it in a bar), so the more important question is whether you should jailbreak your phone. The answer comes not in the form of a “yes” or a “no” but rather along these lines: the iPhone has always been aimed squarely at mainstream consumers, at the expense of the geeks, and Apple couldn’t be any more clear that it has no interest in making the iPhone a hacker-friendly or even particularly geek-friendly platform. In other words, if you have to “jailbreak” your iPhone to get it to do what you want, that’s a pretty clear indication that you bought the wrong phone to begin with. And if you believe that iPhone users who don’t hack their iPhone are “in jail” as far as usage, then you really bought the wrong phone. While the iPhone is the clear cut choice for nearly all mainstream consumers, it’s rarely the right choice for uber-geeks who feel that they have to fundamentally alter the nature of the iPhone just to suit their preferred usage patterns.

While Apple has quietly taken various steps over the years to nudge such hackers off the iPhone platform, the legality of such hackery has always been open to debate – until now. In the greater scheme of things, there’s essentially no mainstream impact to the “jailbreaking” part of the Library of Congress ruling. While some insider pundits who’ve lost track of reality have comically claimed that “most” iPhone users jailbreak their iPhones, common sense says that ninety-something percent of iPhone users have never even heard of jailbreaking, let alone would have any interest in it if they did. So while the sudden clear-cut legality of jailbreaking has no direct impact on the mainstream and never will, it does mean that Apple can’t put a stop to such practice among the statistically tiny percentage of iPhone users who do want to hack their iPhone into oblivion. But while geeks are now legally free to buy an iPhone and hack it to their heart’s delight (not that the lack of clear cut legality was stopping them before), it doesn’t change the fact that it means they’re on the wrong platform. While the Android platform is not recommendable to mainstream consumers over the iPhone under almost circumstances, hackers are one subcategory of users who would likely be much better off considering the Android.

Top Bargain iPhone and iPad apps: Puzzles, Games, News and more

Here are some top bargain iPhone and iPad for the week of July 26th, 2010! Be sure to get them before the sales end.

Ancient Frog – A unique and elegantly designed puzzle game that will leave you feeling calm and a sense of zen as you play. Guide the frog around on waterdrops on various leaves and plants to capture a tasty treat. Over 100 puzzles to play. Normally $4.99, it’s on sale now for just 99 cents! Both iPhone and iPad versions are on sale this week!
iPhone Lite Version (Free) | iPhone Version (99 cents) | iPad Version (99 cents)

Finger Physics: Thumb Wars – A great followup to Finger Physics, this physics-based puzzles will tickle your brain! Definitely a great casual game with levels lasting a few seconds. With 9 tutorial levels and 10 basic levels, the free version gives you a great feel of the overall game. If you want more puzzles, consider purchasing the full game.
iPhone Lite Version (Free) | iPhone Full Version ($1.99)

Pix ‘n Love Rush – So retro and so much fun, this game will take you back to the time of pixels and short attention spans! Help the little critter make it through the levels by moving, jumping, and shooting. Collect yellow pieces and avoid or shoot purple ones. Rush through all the short levels quickly and safely. iPhone Version (99 cents)

Super 7 is an entertaining math game. Draw a line between numbers to add up to 7. The drawn line will bring them closer. Numbers can also collide with one another to add up to a bigger number piece. Prevent numbers that add up to more than 7 from colliding with one another. Your score is based on how many 7′s pieces you can create. Normally $1.99, it’s free for a limited time! iPhone Version (Free)

Office Heroes – If you enjoy games like Farmville or We Rule, you may like this too. Instead of spending time outdoors, you can create and customize your own indoors office! Design your avatar and decorate his/her office with computers, furnitures, and more! Facebook account is required to play. iPhone Version (Free)

Fruit Memory HD is a beautiful memory match game. Match fruits by taking turns flipping the cards. Can play up to 4 players at any one time using 12, 28, or 40 cards. The game is designed for young children. Beautiful user interface and graphics, making the app very easy to use. Normally $1.99, it’s currently on sale for 99 cents. iPad Version (99 cents)

Flipboard is an amazing and beautiful interactive magazine designed just for you. As you flip the pages, you will see personalized pages filled with your friends Tweets, Facebook updates, and posted photos. At least that’s who it would work if you were allowed to connect your account. They’re currently still working on the accounts portion, but it’s definitely worth the download. I suggest adding the “Tech Influencers” to your content list to get tech news, tweets, and announcements. iPad Version (Free)

ABC News for iPad – read and watch the news in a whole new way. This iPad-specific app displays a globe of news that you move around with your hand. Select the news item you want to read and click to bring up the full article. There are also options to browser and search for news on specific topics. Globe view option can also be turned off to display a website/magazine layout. iPad Version (Free)

Apple Bumper case for iPhone 4: review

Apple has started to get into the case business, with their official case for the iPad and the Bumper for the iPhone 4. The Bumper provides a simple and somewhat elegant solution to protecting your new investment – the iPhone 4.

The Bumper is merely a band of hard plastic and rubber that goes around the stainless steel band on the iPhone 4. This is great to prevent the antenna issues since it happens only when you cover up the black band, but leaves a lot more to be desired on protecting the phone. Though the Bumper does seem to add a bit of lift between the case and the front screen glass and back panel, so it would be saved from damage to the glass if dropped. I did drop my iPhone 4 on cement with the bumper on, and it escaped unscathed, only with a couple of scuffs on the bumper’s plastic.

The Bumper protects all of the buttons, including the power button and volume buttons. While the power button is protected by the rubber, the volume buttons get covered in rounded, metallic plastic that are reminiscent of the real buttons on the device, complete with the + and – buttons. The covering on the volume buttons is my favorite part of the Bumper case, simply because it just adds that touch of elegance on the case overall.

The headphone port is easily accessible with the Bumper, although the same can’t be said for the bottom connecting port. The opening at the bottom of the Bumper is small, and will only fit the newer 30-pin connector USB cables that are included with the iPhone 4 and iPad so far. The lip of the Bumper is narrower than the older cables, therefore rendering any older accessory or cable useless. The only way to make them work with the iPhone 4 is if you take the Bumper off each time. Because of this, it makes it harder to recommend Apple’s Bumper.

If you want to show off the slick glass of your iPhone 4 but want some grip and minimal protection, the Bumper is what you want. Just keep in mind the inconvenience of full protection and compatibility with older cables.

You can obtain the Bumper for free through Apple’s iPhone 4 Case Program, along with third-party iPhone 4 cases from Speck, Belkin, Griffin, and Incase.

rating: three stars out of five • Apple free case program

Looking for other options? Here’s our best and worst rated iPhone 4 cases.

Free iPhone 4 cases from Apple: does taking one make you a thief?

Apple is offering a free iPhone 4 case to any user who wants one, no strings attached, but there’s a disconnect nonetheless. With 99.4% of iPhone 4 users having never reported any antenna related issues in the first place, Apple only offered the free cases to quell a “controversy” that turned out to be the result of a combination of a tiny percentage of iPhone 4 users screaming at the top of their lungs and a number of technology journalists and pundits massively over-representing the issue in their reporting. So what if you’re one of the overwhelming majority of iPhone 4 users who never had a problem with the antenna in the first place? In that situation, isn’t taking the free case the equivalent of stealing?

To be fair, the iPhone 4 case giveaway isn’t hurting Apple. Even if the reports of the company setting aside $175 million to cover the cost of the free cases are true, that’s a drop in the bucket compared to the more than ten billion dollars cash that the company has lying around. So forget about the impact on Apple, who views the entire cost of the free case program as little more than a rounding error. The question, in the abstract, is whether accepting compensation offered for what you know to be an imaginary wrong is in itself morally wrong.

Talk about your classic grey area. If you think you’ve been wronged, then take the free case and be done with it. But if you’ve noticed a small, negligible reduction in your iPhone 4 reception when you grip it a certain way, then taking the free case is a thirty dollar payout on a fifty cent crime, so to speak – if you feel Apple owes you a free case in this scenario, then you apparently also believe that every cellphone maker on the market owes its customers some form of compensation as well. But what if you never an antenna problem with your iPhone 4 of any kind, until you later saw such a flurry of headlines that you got brainwashed into believing you were having a problem? Does Apple owe you a free case because of your own paranoia? Or what if you’ve never had any problems, but the entire fracas now has you worried that you someday might? In this instance, does Apple owe you a free case now, in case you someday start having problems?

Less of a grey area is the scenario in which you’ve had no antenna problems at all, you’re aware that almost no one else was having problems either, you consider the whole “controversy” to be blown out of proportion by the media to almost being the extent of a perpetrated hoax – and yet you decide to take the free case anyway. Isn’t that playing both sides? Yes and no. In one sense it’s the equivalent of filing an insurance claim for an accident that never happened. But on the other hand, it’s not as if Apple is requiring you state that you’re having antenna problems before taking the free case. Flat-out lying to get something for free is wrong. But in this case Apple is practically foisting free cases on iPhone 4 users, as all you have to do is confirm that you own an iPhone 4 in order to get a free case.

Bottom line on free iPhone 4 cases? Do whatever will allow you to sleep at night. Don’t allow anyone to give you any grief one way or the other. But it is something to ponder, particularly if you’ve had no problems with your iPhone 4 and you’ve found yourself offended at the way in which the media has intentionally overblown the antenna story.

If you are taking the free iPhone 4 case, here are our highest and lowest rated free iPhone 4 case options.

America’s Got Talent: Train and Cirque crash the top 24

America’s Got Talent puts four more contestants into the top twenty-four tonight, even as established talents stops by to present their latest offerings. Train performs its new single, while Cirque de Soleil shows aspiring circus-act contestants how it’s really done. Meanwhile, tonight’s block of contestants will be cut by two thirds, as the camp of twelve wil be filtered down to four acts who continue on to the top twenty-four. The audience will pick the first three, and the judging panel of Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne, and Howie Mandel will select the remaining fourth.

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