Bleeding Edge TV 319: Apple TV 3.0 walkthrough

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Apple, Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies, Music, Podcasts, Software, Videocasts, Videos

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Yesterday, Apple released Apple TV 3.0, the first “major” release for the device in about two years. The company has often referred to the Apple TV as a hobby, as opposed to a real business. That said, there are a few nice additions that can be found in the Apple TV 3.0 update, so we give you a full walkthrough of the device, giving you a sampling of some of the new hotness.

Some of the standout features are the obviously redesigned home screen. Instead of the centered grid, you get a full screen menu that makes it easier to navigate right to the content that you want. I mean, it’s nice, but it seems to be the biggest visual upgrade to the device, which we think is in need of a hardware refresh. You also score Genius DJ playlist abilities, nice for parties and such, but I rock a Sonos system, so it doesn’t really appeal to me personally. Same goes for Internet radio, but it is there as a feature, and it’s nice. The one we like is the addition of iTunes Extras and iTunes LP content. We are fans of the iTunes LP, so being able to see it on an HDTV, which is where we think it shines, is also “nice.”

If you are picking up on a trend, you win. This whole 3.0 business is, in a word, “nice.” It isn’t anything more than that. It brings the Apple TV in line with other Apple products, allowing it to do things that other devices can do, and it gets a UI refresh, and the Helvetica font. All well and good, but let’s hope that next time around we get some decent new hardware. In any event, hit the play button for the full tour.

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Bleeding Edge TV 317: Mac OS X Snow Leopard Video Review

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Apple, Features, PC / Laptop, Podcasts, Software, Videocasts, Videos

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A few days ago, we hit you with our Snow Leopard Review, and interspersed some videos into it. We admit, 2000 words may have been a bit much, and a bunch of you wrote in asking for one video review. Well, we’ve stitched together some of the Snow Leopard videos we’ve done, and put them all in one for a Snow Leopard video review. Mind you, this isn’t a full review of the entire operating system. Instead, we take a look at four or five new things that you, as a user, will see as new, different, or enhanced. In this video we look at the Finder, Expose, Dock Expose, Stacks, and a comparison between Quicktime X and Quicktime 7.

We hope you enjoy it, but if you just want our quick opinion - go ahead and pick up Snow Leopard. It’s worth it. In fact, you can pick up Snow Leopard at a discount on Amazon, saving yourself even more cash off the already inexpensive price:

• Snow Leopard Upgrade: $24.99 (14% off)
• Snow Leopard 5-User Family Pack: $43.99 (10% off)
• Snow Leopard Mac Box Set: $149.99 (11% off)
• Snow Leopard Mac Box Set Family Pack: $199.99 (13% off)

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Bleeding Edge TV 316: Yelp Monocle Hidden Feature Brings Augmented Reality to iPhone

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Apple, Cell Phones, Features, GPS, Handhelds, Podcasts, Videocasts, Videos

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My pal Robert Scoble announced that the Yelp iPhone and iPod touch app that was recently updated included a hidden Augmented Reality feature. Obviously, as soon as we saw, we had to give it a shot, and we figured we’d do it on video. Augmented Reality apps use the camera on the iPhone, along with overlaid information, to present location data while looking at the “real world” - it’s very cool, and you can expect a bunch more of these types of apps to make an appearance on the App Store very shortly upon the release of iPhone OS 3.1.

In this demo, we show you how to unlock the Monocle mode in the Yelp app, and also give you a look at what exactly it does. For now, our early opinion is that it’s a cool idea…it just needs to be refined a bit to be truly useful.

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Bleeding Edge TV 302: Zune Originals package

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Gizmatic, Short Bytes, Accessories, USB, Apple, Cell Phones, Features, Podcasts, Portable Audio / Video, Product Reviews, Videocasts, Videos

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We’ve said it for months, but we will say it again, as far as digital music goes, the Zune Pass is the best deal in music. Of course, if you want to take advantage of the tracks you download using the Zune Pass, you’ll need an actual Zune device. Sure, you could hit the store and pick up one of the generic Zunes you’ll find on the store shelves of any Target or Best Buy, but why not get something a little more customized? That is where the Zune Originals line comes in. We were able to get our hands on a custom-designed Zune Originals device, and we thought we’d give you a hands-on look at what exactly it is you get when you spend an extra $15 or so on a customized Zune. As you’ll see, you get premium packaging, a neat design etched into your Zune device, a piece of artwork, etc.

For all the details, go ahead and watch the video.

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Bleeding Edge TV 301: Mophie Juice Pack 3G

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Gizmatic, Short Bytes, Accessories, USB, Apple, Cell Phones, Features, Podcasts, Portable Audio / Video, Product Reviews, Videocasts, Videos

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If there is one complaint we have about the iPhone 3G, it’s that with our heavy usage, we get fairly poor battery life. However, thanks to the new Mophie Juice Pack for iPhone 3G, I no longer am left needing a charge after 8-10 hours of use. If you are someone who:

• Talks a lot on the phone
• Uses the iPod feature a lot
• Plays a lot of games from the App Store
• Uses push email, contacts, and/or calendars with Exchange, MobileMe, or both
• Any combination of the above

Then the Mophie Juice Pack may be exactly what you need, if you are finding yourself in a similar situation. We give you a look at the device, which doubles the battery life of your iPhone 3G, in this episode.

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Bleeding Edge TV 297: Unibody MacBook Pro RAM upgrade tutorial

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Apple, Features, PC / Laptop, Podcasts, Videocasts, Videos

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Last month, Apple released their long-awaited and redesigned MacBook Pro notebook, which spurred a bunch of excitement for all gadget lovers out there. The new unibody enclosure is sleek, and Apple even went out of their way to make it easy to upgrade the critical components that live inside the notebook yourself. Behind one door lies the hard drive and battery, both user-replaceable. Remove a few more screws, and you have direct access to your RAM.

Of course, these things are better explained in video than they are in text, which is why we’re here. In this episode of Bleeding Edge TV, we give you a full tutorial on what you need to do to upgrade the RAM in your new MacBook or MacBook Pro. If you are wondering why you’d want to do this, well, just compare the cost of what Apple charges you for 4GB of RAM versus the cost of buying the RAM yourself from a place like Newegg. You’ll save yourself a couple hundred bucks if you have a few minutes to spare.

Check out the tutorial, and let us know how it goes for you if you end up giving it a try.

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Bleeding Edge TV 295: Sonos iPhone app, Sonos 2.7 features

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Apple, Cell Phones, Features, Handhelds, Home Entertainment, Music, Podcasts, Videocasts, Videos, Wireless / WiFi

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So this morning we gave you the scoop on the new Sonos 2.7 features, along with the news of the new (and free) Sonos Controller for iPhone and iPod touch, but we figured you’d be interested in seeing how all this worked. Luckily, Sonos CEO John MacFarlane was able to stop by to give us a first look at all the announcements. In this episode, John walks us through all the new hotness that Sonos announced this morning. That includes a walkthrough of the new iPhone app, which incorporates and supports all those slick new Sonos 2.7 features that we’ve been raving about so early in the morning over here. If you are a music fan, you owe it to yourself to look into Sonos, if you haven’t already.

Oh, and be sure to check our Sonos for iPhone gallery if you wanna see some screenshots of the app in high resolution.

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Bleeding Edge TV 294: MacBook, MacBook Pro redesign comparisons

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Apple, Design, Features, PC / Laptop, Podcasts, Videocasts, Videos

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A few days ago, at the Apple notebook event, the company unveiled their newly redesigned MacBook (gallery) and MacBook Pro (gallery) portables. We were able to get our hands on the new MacBook and MacBook Pro, and in this video, we compare each to their last generation counterpart. That’s right, we put the white MacBook up against the newer aluminum MacBook, compare the older MacBook Pro to the new one, and to top it all off, we bring in a MacBook Air for comparisons sake as well. Hit the video to get a look at all the aluminum and glass unibody goodness.

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Bleeding Edge TV 293: MacBook Air vs. Voodoo Envy 133 - World’s Thinnest Notebooks

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Gizmatic, Short Bytes, Apple, Features, PC / Laptop, Podcasts, Videocasts, Videos

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In the world of gadgets, thin is definitely in. Apple and HP are both aware of this, and the companies currently ship the two thinnest notebooks available in the world. We’re talking about the MacBook Air and the Voodoo Envy 133. We were able to get our hands on both notebooks, and figured we’d put them side-by-side, just so that we could give you a look at the two thinnest portable computers in the world, and allow you to judge for yourself. What do we mean? Well, we think this one is a toss up, due to the shapes of both notebooks. Hit the video, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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Bleeding Edge TV 279: The Wait for iPhone 3G

Posted by Nate True Categories: Full Episodes, Apple, Cell Phones, Handhelds, Peripherals, Portable Audio / Video, Videocasts, Videos

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We were quite nearly first in line at the Alderwood Mall Apple Store in Lynnwood, WA for the launch of iPhone 3G.  Sure the purchasing experience was a fiasco, but overall the night was great fun.  We had an exclusive Tap Tap Revenge tournament, along with a giveaway of the excellent Monster LRG iPhone cases, and even an impromptu listening demo of the Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, which we recently unboxed.

We must admit, towards the end we were kind of jaded over the whole thing, since between everyone in our group we had a 15 iPhone mixture of original iPhones and iPhone 3G units, all of which didn’t work due to the activation issues - but to be fair, the employees at the Alderwood Mall Apple Store location were all top-notch. Check out the full adventure in the video.

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