Turn Your iPhone Or iPad Into An Office Phone With AudiOffice

Mashable has recently reported on a dock station called AudiOffice that turns your iPhone or iPad into an office phone. In addition, this dock features four wide-bandwidth speakers and two digital microphones that will be great for conference calls, video chat and also listening to music.

The AudiDock was announced at the 2012 Mobile World Congress this week, and recently received the Best of CES Innovations award. For a better look into just how great this product really is you can take a look at the promotional video below.

For those of you who do not have an iOS device you will be glad to know that you can still get connected to the system via its internal Bluetooth radio.

The only real negative aspect to the AudiOffice is its price tag! This is because the company expects the majority of their clients to be businesses, which would be willing to pay the cost of $299 per unit.

Working around a dead Home button

The build quality of Apple’s iOS devices is generally commendable, but we’ve encountered more than a few users who’ve had their Home button stop working, in some cases long before they were due for a cheap upgrade on their subsidized device. With the new Accessibility features in iOS 5 came an on-screen workaround for this problem, less than optimal though it may be.

To enable the workaround, open the Settings app, tap on General, tap on Accessibility, scroll down, and tap on AssistiveTouch. Turning this feature on will bring up a small button with concentric circles that when tapped will bring up an on-screen menu offering the software equivalent of the home button, as well as options for quickly accessing Device controls like volume, mute, screen lock, and rotation, Gesture controls, and saved Favorite gestures.

The button is located in the lower right hand corner by default, but can be dragged around the screen’s edge to any position you choose. Like we said, it’s sub-optimal, but if you’re dealing with a wonky Home button, it sure beats dealing with the frustration of not having your device work consistently.

Apple To Begin Production Of Smaller 7.85-inch iPad Unit By Q3 2012

The Taiwanese based website, Digitimes, are one such publication which regularly publishes reports making predictions and citing various sources who are always familiar with Apple’s internals. Historically, they have been largely hit and miss with their claims, but certainly have a good enough success rate to warrant attention being paid. The latest from the website claims that Apple are preparing themselves to begin the production process of making a 7.85-inch iPad, beginning in quarter 3 of 2012 and entering the marketplace by year end.

The purported miniature iPad is nothing new, we have been hearing rumors relating to a product of this nature for quite some time, but things seemed to have been quiet on that front, until now. The Digitimes article claims that working samples of the device have already been delivered to Apple and even elaborates on a proposed pricing structure:

Makers in Apple’s iPad supply chain have started delivering samples of 7.85-inch iPads for verification, with volume production likely to begin in the third quarter of 2012 at the earliest, according to industry sources.

The price of the 7.85-inch iPad is likely to be set at US$249-299, since Apple is also expected to release an 8GB iPad 2 for US$349-399, and has lowered the price of the 16GB iPad 2 to US$449, the sources noted.

ATF set to ditch BlackBerry in favor of the more functional iPhone

The ATF (US department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) is ditching its deployment of BlackBerry smartphones in favor of a majority of iPhones. This is another high profile organisation that has decided that the BlackBerry does not offer them the ease of use or the functionality that the iPhone and other smartphones can offer.

The big changeover is expected to take place next month and will involve the replacement of a whopping 2,400 BlackBerry devices with iPhones. The iPhones will be assigned to special agents that work in the field. The ATF is currently changing its mobile infrastructure before ordering the new iPhones.

“We’re going to delete the BlackBerry from the mix,” Rick Holgate, ATF’s chief information officer, said in an interview. “The government has been very comfortable with the BlackBerry model for 10 years,” he said. “Now we’re looking to move beyond that.” The company’s BlackBerry — with its secure email and back-end infrastructure — has dominated federal agencies for years. Holgate said keeping BlackBerry infrastructure in place when the agency is clearly shifting away from the device doesn’t make economic sense. Functionality, however, was the main decision behind the shift to the iPhone, he said. “Video streaming, GPS capability, capabilities, the camera … a variety of things,” Holgate said. “Yes, these things exist on BlackBerrys, but in terms of ease of use and adaptability of the devices, the iPhones are the more functional and compelling use case.”

The ATF will continue the BlackBerry replacement program with a mixture of other smartphones for its remaining 1400 employees. It is also running a pilot scheme involving the use of 200 iPads that is due to end soon.

Apple preparing to build Italy's "most important" Apple Store

Apple has a handful of stores in Italy, but none will supposedly compare to the store Apple is building in Via Roma, Turin. According to a report by Italian website Macity, Apple is planning a flagship store that could become one of Apple's most important outlets.

The Via Roma store will occupy over 1000 square meters and will be "more sophisticated" than Apple's current mall-based stores. Macity claims the store will be as "prestigious" as Apple's other European outlets. The location is currently being gutted internally and renovated by Apple to fit in with the styling of Apple's retail outlets. The construction will be completed and the store will open later this year, possibly as early as September 2012.

Mercedes-Benz to add Siri integration to new A-Class line

Mercedes-Benz has announced comprehensive integration between Apple's iPhone and its new A-Class line of vehicles, including support for the Siri virtual assistant found in the iPhone 4S.

Parent company Daimler recently took the wraps off an in-house-developed "Digital DriveStyle App" that will combine with a Drive Kit Plus for iPhone to incorporate the smartphone with the car's multimedia system. According to the company, all iPhone integration functions can be used with Mercedes-Benz's entry-level Audio 20 system.

The "Digital DriveStyle App" will include access to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter and will be able to download "free of charge" from Apple's iTunes Store. Other highlighted features include personalized Internet radio, navigation software from Garmin, a "Car Finder" and access to Siri.

Mercedes-Benz is touting itself as the "first automotive manufacturer" to bring Apple's new voice-recognition software to a vehicle through its custom "Digital DriveStyle App." The iPhone will be connected via an interface that was developed by the company's accessories division and will output the handset's display to the vehicle's display while simultaneously powering and charging the device.

The A-Class will make its world premiere at the Geneva Auto Show next month. The advanced iPhone integration will eventually make its way into the automaker's B-, C- and E-Class lines this fall, according to the company's statement.

Mercedes-Benz is also building out its own cloud-based multimedia system, dubbed COMAND Online. The system, which was introduced last year, accesses the Internet through a Bluetooth link with a mobile phone and a VPN. A News app for the service is set to arrive late next month, with a number of other apps planned, including Parking Finder and Morningstar Finance. Daimler revealed that it has set up App Development Groups in California and India and plans to release "a dozen or so new applications" each year.

Mercedes-Benz has worked to pioneer support for Apple's devices in its cars in the past. It became the first automaker to offer full iPod integration in 2005 when it jointly announced with Apple the iPod Integration Kit for its vehicles.

The company has also put Apple's iPad to use inside its U.S. dealerships as a sales tool. A pilot program in 2010 tested the device at 40 dealerships, before being rolled out to all locations nationwide later that year.

Apple released Siri in beta as a major selling point of the iPhone 4S last October. Though the feature currently only remains available on the company's latest handset, Siri is expected to eventually make its way into other Apple products. Some have speculated that the third-generation iPad, which will be unveiled at a media event on March 7, could be the second device to incorporate the service.

Soon To Be Released Deck Cydia Tweak Looks Promising!

From the folks who brought you Cydia tweaks such as ColorBanner and ActionBoard, comes a brand new Cydia tweak that is under development called Deck. The Deck Cydia tweak is being claimed as ActionBoard’s big brother, with a cleaner UI and new features. What the Deck Cydia tweak essentially does is adds a sidebar to your iOS device that can be brought up by simply sliding to the left. In this sidebar lays actions/shortcuts that can be configured from the Settings.app that allow you to, for example, reboot or resting your iOS device.

For a more in-depth look at what the Deck Cydia tweak aims to bring to the table you can check out the official YouTube preview video below.

The Deck Cydia tweak will require the iOS 5 firmware and above, and looking at the developers track record the tweak should end up costing $0.99.

iTweakStore Promises To Be An Amazing Cydia Alternative

Jailbreakers use Cydia to install tweaks and apps that aren’t available in Apple’s App Store. Cydia has been the way to find and install jailbreak apps for years, but it looks like the established storefront could be getting some competition soon.

iTweakStore.com promises to be a “fast, powerful, and very easy to use” web-based alternative to Cydia for jailbreakers. Will it hold a candle or simply fall by the wayside?

Unfortunately, we won’t know until the iTweakStore launches to the public. Some security concerns are raised when you think about installing and granting root access to tweaks from Mobile Safari, as several iOS security flaws have been found in Apple’s browser. A PDF vulnerability in Safari was exploited to allow for the web-based JailbreakMe tool during the days of iOS 4.

Competition is always a good thing, but I’m skeptical of how competitive iTweakStore will be. There are things you can’t achieve in a browser that you can with a native app. Let’s not forget there have been other web-based ‘Cydia alternatives’ that never saw the light of day.

Cydia users are given their own IDs and payment options through Amazon and Paypal. It’s unclear as to how iTweakStore will handle user accounts or payment processing. The site is expected to launch within the next few months.