I remember riding my bike through the dirt terrain of San Jose years ago while enjoying the tunes of my Walkman. Yes, I wrote Walkman and yes, it was the one that played cassette tapes. Moving on, both in time and in post, I often longed for easy access to my controls while riding. I came up with a lot of DIY applications but none seemed to really satisfy me.

Years later, the iPhone and iPod touch, and such, rule music and much more on that same path I once rode. While the format of the device has changed, the need for easy access and a great mount hasn’t. Bracketron has answered this void with a snazzy weather proof case coupled with a C-Clamp. For only $40, I would jump on this faster than you could ask, “Where your headphones the yellow kind?”

Press Release
Bracketron, the leading manufacturer in mounting solutions for mobile consumer electronics, announces the launch of the All-Weather Soft Case Bike Mount, the ultimate mobile device mount for recreational and competitive cyclists. The All-Weather Soft Case Bike Mount conveniently positions your mobile device on your bicycle handlebars so you can easily monitor your speed and trip data with your device’s GPS or other cycling apps. The detachable weather-resistant case offers great protection and has a clear screen that allows you to use your device’s touchscreen functions while in the case. The All-Weather Soft Case Bike Mount is available now for $39.95 at Bracketron.com and at REI retail stores in July.

“The All-Weather Soft Case Bike Mount is part of a new line of sports and recreation accessories from Bracketron that offers true flexibility and functionality,” said Mark Mandel, Executive Vice President of Bracketron. “While our in-car mounts remain hugely popular, we’re excited to continue to expand our offering of mobile mounts and accessories to cater to active consumers who use their smartphones and mobile devices to help track and achieve their fitness goals.”

The All-Weather Soft Case Bike Mount is the ideal solution to quickly, easily and securely mount your mobile device on your bike handlebars. The mount does not require tools and sets up in just seconds. It features an adjustable C-clamp with three latch levels that ensure the mount’s tight grip to the bike handlebars. The mount is height adjustable and includes a ball swivel adjustment feature that makes it easy to position your device for optimal viewing. A weather-resistant case snaps onto the mount with a safety lock and can be quickly detached for security purposes when not in use. In addition, water resistant zippers form a tight seal to protect your gadget from the elements. The case includes four protective foam inserts that provide a snug fit for your mobile device when inside, and a clear screen allows you to use your device’s touchscreen while it is in the case. The All-Weather Soft Case Bike Mount is compatible with most handheld mobile devices such as iPhone, iPod, Smartphones and MP3 players.

Verizon drops the bomb on its 4G hotspot today with the release of the Novatel Wireless MiFi 4510L 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot. What that all that means is mobile warriors will now be able to enjoy download speeds between 5 to 12Mbps on either their Windows, Mac, or Linux system. Oh don’t worry you AT&T-Mobile and Sprint users, if your smartphone is equipped with 802.11b/g/n, then you can join the download party, too. Speaking of smartphone, LTE’s upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps were made for getting some of that just taken video up to YouTube or UStream nice and quick.

The blazing MiFi will give you up to 5 hours of use from its battery and supports all the latest security from WPA2 to VPN pass-through so corporate IT will be happy to issue you one of these puppies.

Small enough to tuck into your pocket but with a screen large enough to give you enough deets as to power, signal strength, and user connectivity, the new MiFi 4510L will set you back $100 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a two-year commitment. Be sure to check out rate plans in the links below.

Press Release
Verizon Wireless and Novatel Wireless (NASDAQ: NVTL) today announced that the award winning MiFi® 4510L 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot that runs on the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Mobile Broadband network is available online today at www.verizonwireless.com. The MiFi 4510L 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot is the next-generation of the Novatel Wireless MiFi Intelligent Mobile Hotspot, building on innovation and design, proven performance and industry-leading user experience.

The MiFi 4510L allows businesses and consumers to create a personal Wi-Fi cloud capable of sharing the high-speed Internet connectivity of the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE and 3G Mobile Broadband with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices simultaneously. The 4G LTE MiFi 4510L includes new features, such as an intuitive status display on the device showing signal strength, battery level, roaming and number of connected devices.

Key features:
· 4G LTE – customers can expect download speeds of 5 to 12 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps in 4G Mobile Broadband coverage areas
· Backward compatible with the Verizon Wireless 3G network
· Simple one-touch connectivity
· Intuitive eInk® display with status indicators
· Security: WEP/WPA/WPA2 and VPN pass-through support
· Supports Windows, Macintosh and Linux operating systems
· Advanced integrated antenna technology
· Battery: up to 5 hours usage
· WiFi connectivity: 802.11b/g/n
· Dimensions: 3.74”(H) x 2.36”(W) x 0.53”(D)

Pricing and availability:
· The 4G LTE MiFi 4510L is available today online at www.verizonwireless.com and will be in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores on April 21 for $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement on a 4G Mobile Broadband plan.
· 4G LTE Mobile Broadband plans begin at $50 monthly access for 5GB. Customers will receive the rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted. Data usage can be tracked by logging on to My Verizon online at www.verizonwireless.com/myverizon.

The Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Mobile Broadband network, launched in December 2010, is the fastest, most advanced 4G network in the United States, providing speeds up to 10 times faster than Verizon Wireless’ 3G network. Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE Mobile Broadband network currently reaches one-third of all Americans, with plans to expand the network to the company’s entire 3G coverage area over the next three years.

For more information on the MiFi 4510L 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot or other Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.

Well, life goes on at T-Mobile while the rest of the world debates if AT&Ts bid for the Number 4 carrier will happen or not. Until it does, or not, Germany’s little cellular carrier that can has just given the world the option to text as much as they want, suck down as much data as they can, and yap all day long to their hearts content for one price of $79.99. That’s a penny under $80. Not a bad plan at all and maybe, just maybe, it will hold over and be grandfathered into AT&T…until you purchase an iPhone, of course, and you have to go with a rip-off AT&T plan.

Yup, if you want probably one of the best unlimited plans available today – for least a year – then head over to a T-Mobile store now.

Press Release
T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announced that a new, single-line unlimited plan is available for just $79.99 per month, with an Even More™ plan and a two-year contract. The new plan offers great value for new and existing customers with unlimited nationwide calling, texting and data – with no overage charges – on America’s Largest 4G Network™.

1 Based on comparison against comparable post-paid plans for smartphones from AT&T, Verizon and Sprint; does not include taxes and fees or cost of phone. Plan features and limitations may vary. Data as of March 2011.

Boy oh boy, am I getting tired of all these iPhone 5 delay stories. First we got the suppliers leaks that there was not enough activity happening to prime the pump for an iPhone summer release. Then the Japanese earthquake added some spin into it. Now the latest is Apple’s own WWDC announcement only talks about – gasp! – software. I mean, shouldn’t a developers conference be talking about hardware?!

I don’t get the short-sightedness of everyone.

Supply concerns or lack of ramp-up: wasn’t that a similar story just as early as late February for the iPad? Then what happened? Oh ya, the iPad 2 was released EARLIER than originally anticipated. Huh, go figure.

Take a short read of Apple’s WWDC 2010 press release and – Holy cow, NO mention of hardware?! Oh man, I bet the iPhone 4 will be delayed then. Oh wait a minute, that’s right, it came out in late June.

Well, what about that TechCrunch story about this cloud thing Apple is working on? Isn’t that just going to shove the iPhone back because Apple can’t possibly do two things at once, right? Maybe, if you believe TechCrunch but if you – once again – just go through Apple’s own press release archive you find some interesting news from the past. Like, “Apple Announces iTunes 6 With 2,000 Music Videos, Pixar Short Films & Hit TV Shows” in 2005 a month before it also released, what were they, oh yes, new iPods. This was BIG news back then so how could it every take on that huge undertaking AND release new hardware the next month? Incredible.

How about the following year when Apple proclaimed, “Apple Announces iTunes 7 with Amazing New Features“. Some of those new features was the ability to play, let me check, yes, movies. I mean, full fledged movies that filled up the screen on your brand new iPod. Dang, two years in a row!

Well that was then and this now. I mean Apple hasn’t really been spreading things out. Look at the iPhone 4 for Verizon for example. That came at the end of January. Sure, but old hardware doesn’t count.

Let’s look to September 1st of last year when Apple presented the world with “Apple Introduces iTunes 10 With Ping“. Ya, big deal, it jumped into social networking and it wasn’t that tremendous – not like a cloud undertaking would be. Um, let me see, oh yes, more press releases such as, “Apple Premieres New Apple TV for Breakthrough Price of $99“. Along came Netflix to the streaming party with that brand new Apple TV and some other amazing features. While we’re talking hardware, let’s remind the reader of the “Apple Introduces New iPod touch“, and of “Apple Reinvents iPod nano With Multi-Touch Interface” (you caught that Reinvents part, right?) as well as that little guy, “Apple Unveils New iPod shuffle“. Phewf, my wrist hurts from so much copy-and-pasting. How did Apple do ALL that in just one day?!

No, I think too many are getting caught up in the “hot story” of now and not looking at the past for some kind validation. Sure, Apple can change how it does things, I fully understand that, but I just do not see strong evidence for a slipped iPhone 5 ship date.

Reality is this for Apple: Android is taking over and the iPhone is no longer the must-have phone it once was. The longer Apple waits to push the phone, the more it slips in market share. Even if iOS 5 is completely revamped like TechCrunch claims, the average consumer won’t even hear about this and will buy what’s in front of them at the local cellular store. “Oh, that new Android just came out and the iPhone is over a year old now? Ya, let’s get the Android instead.”

Jobs isn’t dumb, he invented this game. Keep a steady upgrade cycle with minor but still cool features with each revision and people will keep buying Apple gear. Look to the iPod going on strong with a decade of fall updates.

Heck, I really believe the Ring Master himself is letting these little tid bits of “stories” slip out to throw not the press off but the competition. Give it false hope it has more time. Again, remember the iPad 2.

So what to make of the cloud? This story has been going for over a year now. No one knows for sure why Apple purchased Lala or why it has that massive data center in South Carolina but they both probably do have a relation to one another. When will the news come? Maybe at WWDC but again, how much does it tie into coding? Apple’s cloud is Apple’s cloud. Don’t expect any APIs for it. Because of this, I don’t see the cloud floating in on Moscone West for WWDC 2011. I see it as a separate iTunes event…with, ya, an iPhone 5 shown off.

SuperTooth is a French maker of Bluetooth accessories and SvenOnTech already has a couple of its products in the labs for testing. Reviews are coming real soon. But today, we learn that SuperTooth pulled an HD and now has a speakerphone that goes beyond the phone! It will let you send SMS, E-mail, Facebook, and Twitter messages all from your voice. Dude, hands on the wheel the whole time. “No officer, I was not texting and driving. Seriously.” The gadget works with Blackberry and Android for the extra cool features and the iPhone and Windows Mobile for speakerphone only. (I thought there would be an App for that. Mmmm.) Deets below in the press release.

Press Release
SuperTooth, creator of the concept of a Bluetooth speakerphone that could be clipped onto a car’s sun visor, is launching the SuperTooth HD this year – the most advanced Bluetooth speakerphone on the market, with three times more power than other models and the ability to communicate on social networks all via voice commands.

“Using wireless devices in the car has been identified as the leading source of driver’s not paying attention on the road, with cell phone use increasing the likelihood of crashes fourfold,” said Yves Le Reun, Vice President of Sales & Marketing. “The SuperTooth HD gives consumers a hands-free solution to talk and text on their phones so they can abide by the law and focus on driving.”

Boasting Twin Speaker V Array Technology, the SuperTooth HD features two speakers with a 5 watt audio output and a 5.4 watt amplifier, making it three times more powerful than any other speakerphone. The built-in dual microphones pick up voices more clearly. Together, these advanced audio features produce unrivaled audio quality in both emission and reception.

State-of-the-art voice commands are designed to provide a hands-free solution for phone use to make the driving experience safer. Using just voice commands, drivers can answer incoming calls, select pre-dialed phone numbers, check battery level or retrieve voicemail. The SuperTooth Handsfree Assistant feature allows drivers to compose and send Facebook, Twitter, e-mail and SMS messages all via voice. The SuperTooth HD can also read incoming SMS and e-mail messages on Android and Blackberry phones via the specific application. The SuperTooth Handsfree Assistant is powered by Dial2Do.

The SuperTooth HD is compatible with all Bluetooth-enabled phones, including iPhones, Blackberrys and other smartphones with an Android OS or Windows Mobile operating system.

No installation is required – just clip the SuperTooth HD onto a sun visor, pair it with the phone and enjoy comfortable and safe phone calls while driving. A USB cable and in-car charger is also included.

The SuperTooth HD will be available in April 2011 for MSRP $129 at department, specialty and mobile phone stores nationwide.

T-Mobile has joined Verizon and AT&T in offering its customers free calls to Japan in the aftermath of the great quake. Calls made from March 11th to the end of March will not be charged to Japan on your account. Read the deets below.

Press Release
T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announced that the company is taking steps to provide relief and help customers stay connected to loved ones in the aftermath of the earthquakes and tsunami in Japan.

“During this difficult time, our thoughts are with the people of Japan,” said Philipp Humm, CEO and president, T-Mobile USA. “Many of T-Mobile’s customers, their friends and families have been directly impacted by this disaster, and our promise is to help them connect with their loved ones.”

Effective immediately:
T-Mobile USA is enabling phone calls to Japan for postpaid customers without charges for international long distance through March 31, 2011, and retroactive to March 11, 2011.

T-Mobile postpaid customers can make Wi-Fi calls to and from Japan free of charge through March 31, 2011, and retroactive to March 11, 2011.

Text (SMS) messaging is also free of charge to and from Japan for T-Mobile postpaid customers through March 31, 2011 and retroactive to March 11, 2011.

Ways Customers Can Directly Assist Relief Efforts
If you are a T-Mobile prepaid or postpaid customer interested in helping immediately, you can text “REDCROSS” to 90999, and your donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts. This donation will be charged to your T-Mobile phone bill, and 100 percent of the donation goes directly to the Red Cross. There is no per-text fee for this service for T-Mobile customers who do not have a messaging plan, nor will the text be deducted from your messaging plan. Similarly, you can send donations via text message to a number of other relief organizations. T-Mobile does not charge for text messages sent to mobile giving campaigns.

I’ve wanted it ever since the first iPod. I’ve hoped for it with every iPhone. I hate that even the Zune has it. Wireless sync. Why, Apple, why do we not have it? There was even an iPhone app rejected for this very feature last fall. Steve Jobs even replied in one of his infamous one-liner emails that it was coming. When?!

I think it may be with the next iPhone. I see Apple trying to get all worlds aligned, the digital hub of iTunes and the method of getting to that hub, the network. The iPhone saw some cool tricks with AirPrint and AirPlay in iOS 4.2 and we hear 4.3 will finally make AirPlay what it should have been from the start with the ability to send Hulu Plus or Netflix to your Apple TV. I think it’s quite possible that we will finally see AirSync in the next update to the iPhone operating system, iOS 5.

Let me explain why I believe wireless sync will finally come to the iPhone with next major upgrade. First, the aforementioned email from Steve Jobs on the heals of iOS 4s release would give heavy indication that this feature is on the table of the labs of Cupertino’s most sought after stock on Wall Street. In that message, he told Rick Proctor that it was coming. “Yep, someday,” was the simple reply. Instead of blowing Proctor off or not even responding, Jobs gave hope that it in fact was down the road. Granted, someday could mean anything but if it were years, why even bother taking the time to type, “Yep, someday” and hit SEND?

Another strong piece of evidence is Chris Galzerano’s recent find as reported by Cult of Mac. Galzerano claims to have found some wireless syncing in the framework of SDK of iOS 4.3. While Galzerano believes it will appear in 4.3, I believe Apple will hold off until iOS 5 for a few reasons. First, it will need more than just a few weeks of testing to get right. Second, this really is a nice dog and pony show kind of feature to present to an auditorium full of reporters. Steve Jobs likes stuff like that.

Lastly, the iPhone 5 with it’s brand spanking new operating system will need a list of compelling features to entice new purchases. AirSync will go beyond just syncing over WiFi but also over your cellular connection. Yes, meaning you will be able to sync your contacts, events, books, and even music while on the Interstate. Like apps and podcasts today, Apple will restrict your downloads to 15 MB limits to keep the AT&Ts of the cellular world happy.

Making AirSync iPhone 4 and higher only will force 3GS and lower users to purchase the iPhone 5 if this is a much sought after feature. I know it would make me not question the purchase as I have skipped the iPhone 4 myself. With speculation of NFC in the next iPhone (read my post on that) along with more memory, faster processor, and hopefully improved battery life, AirSync would just be one more reason to go for the plunge.

Truth is, I really hope AirSync comes soon because as I said, it’s something I’ve wanted since the first iPod all those years ago. Man, if Microsoft can have it, why can’t Apple? Come one Steve, make this personal!

NFC is the new big thing in mobile. No, I’m not referring to the National Football Conference of the NFL here in the States, but rather Near-field Communication. Much like RFID – another acronym for Radio Frequency Identification – NFC will allow devices to pass information to a near-by reader.

Google already employs this in its mobile operating system Android, as does Nokia in a handful of its handsets (see image). The most commonly used technology used for NFC is in fact that other lesser-known acronym, RFID. Found in key fobs for “Pay Pass” as well as Google phones to your passport, RFID has become the standard hardware for NFC. While many have become concerned with RFIDs security vulnerabilities, manufacturers have taken to it to like crack due to its affordability and its it-just-works aspect. While reports have already floated around between job offers at Apple and rumors of NFC devices being tested in the field by the iCompany, what Apple will choose is not clear.

One thing is clear, however: NFC is the next big thing.

With its heavy use in social media from services such as Google’s Lattitude, FaceBook’s Places, to foursquare and Gowalla, all which basically are employing NFC, we have seen just how popular this technology is already in its infancy.

A start-up based in Southern California wants to be the first to take shopping to the fullest with your iPhone and other devices to pay for things like groceries, shoes, coffee, and lumber. MobilePayUSA is currently working with major merchants and financial institutions in making payment with your phone a reality. MobilePayUSA is an immediate, simple, low-cost and viable alternative to NFC sidelining security concerns and costly equipment for the merchant. I spoke to founder and CEO Randy Smith about his company’s visions and use of NFC last fall, and he hopes to eliminate plastic (credit cards) and paper (receipts) with MobilePayUSA. Smith told me that the idea is that no one really forgets their phone anymore, but wallets still seem to sometimes not find their way into peoples’ pockets. With MobilePayUSA on your phone, you won’t have to worry about having your wallet, credit card, check book, or cash. As an added bonus, Smith said that reward cards we all love to lose will be built into the application and instantly give you discounts at the register and track your points for you with every purchase. Smith hopes to have a public beta available soon.

MobilePayUSA may beat Apple to the punch with its application, but Apple doesn’t seem to want to just go after the eWallet feature. No, like anything Apple, it wants to be the only one doing what it’s doing. It wants to go far beyond “There’s an app for that.” Think car security. Think home security. Think computer security. Think whereever you need a key – or password – and you’ll begin to understand just how huge NFC can really be.

Take a look at the tech landscape and you’ll find GM’s onStar app for nearly every 2011 model in iTunes. Unlock and lock doors with a push of a button. Start your vehicle with a push of a button. Lock and unlock your front door with one of the many wireless dead bolt locks available today. Turn on or off your home lights. All from your iPhone. But the trick is, you need to actively do something with your device.

Apple will remove that from the equation and, much like how keyless entry works on a Mercedes with its fob, you could simply walk up to your front door and open it…as long as your iPhone is on your person. Or go into the garage and open your car door and simply push the Start button to power up the engine. (I can say power up now since hybrid and electric vehicles are more common. )

This is would make the iPhone 5 the reason to ignore Droids and Windows 7 phones and all the others.

It’s not hard to see this technology coming to vehicles soon, either. Remember, Apple and Volkswagen openly admitted a few years ago that it was working closely on iPod integration and rumors even had an iCar in development before the global economical crash. It would be easy to bring auto-locks and authorize vehicle operations with an iPhone 5 to the masses with VWs bread-and-butter Jetta and Golfs. Since VW owns Audi, Porsche, and Bentley, upscale customers would be able to brag to their friends how their phone can start the car. Heck, how cool would it be to sit in a Lambo and just drive off without every grabbing for a key?

I could see GM jumping on board as well due to its onStar app already being in use. It wouldn’t take much for GM to integrate NFC with onStar. Between GM and VW, you would have 2/3 of the most sold vehicles in the world NFC ready for the iPhone 5.

Boy, wouldn’t that make Steve Jobs smile?

Business professionals, college students, or anybody who views a large volume of email in their iPhone’s inbox, must ask themselves “What do I do with it all?” The new answer is eMailGanizer, an intelligent email reader for iPhone by GoodHumans. eMailGanizer not only provides all the controls needed for receiving and sending emails, but learns the user’s email filing behaviors and provides the most logical filing choices right on their iPhone.

iPhone users, like all other users who receive upwards of hundreds of emails daily, must figure out their approach to managing the sheer volume of messages they view on their phones. While some iPhone users take the time to file them all in dozens of folders, which can be a time and productivity killer, others leave all their emails in one giant inbox, leaving them to sort and search for the emails they need when they want to access them.

Until eMailGanizer, there has there has never been a tool for the iPhone to intelligently help any of these users better file and organize their email inboxes.

Key Features of eMailGanizer:
File emails in seconds instead of minutes
Quick-File mode to file multiple emails at once
Shake to undo filing actions
Offline full-text email search
Standard email functions, such as Reply, Reply All, Forward, etc.
Add emails and events directly to iPhone Calendar
Integration with ToodleDo and other GTD and task managers
Search folder names when browsing or filing
View active email folders separately from reference folders
Mark folders as Favorites for priority access
One-tap to scroll to bottom or middle of folder list
Off-line filing for later synchronization with mail server

eMailGanizer makes the process of managing email on an iPhone quicker and easier by presenting folder options in order of relevance to the current email and letting the user get it filed with just a couple of clicks. Upon tapping on an email in the Inbox, eMailGanizer presents the two most-likely folders for that particular email based on its knowledge of the user’s filing habits. Tapping on either of those choices files the email and moves the user back to the email list to file more emails. The email is filed in two quick taps with no scrolling around looking for the right folder.

In the instances when the desired folder isn’t among the two chosen by eMailGanizer, the user simply taps on the ‘More’ button, and the app will offer the five most likely folders for this email. Tapping on the right folder gets the email filed and lets the user move on to the next one.

An ad-supported version of eMailGanizer is available for free in the App Store, while ad-free eMailGanizer Pro is available with bonus features such as larger email previews and the ability to view more folders at one time for an introductory price of $4.99.