Case-mate has released its long awaited Hug wireless charging system. We were able to see it in action at CES and we were pretty impressed with it. The case “hugs” your iPhone to protect it from damage, but that is only half of it. There is also a wireless charging pad that charges your iPhone by just placing it on the pad. The Hug is the most affordable wireless charging pad on the market at $99.99. This price includes both the pad and the case, no need to spend more money on other accessories.

Get the Case-Mate Hug here!

SmrtCase announced the availability of its new case design, the SmrtCase Glide. The case is slim, comes in colors, and protects the phone… So what makes this case different? It comfortably carries two cards (credit cards, id cards, etc) and allows for easy access with a “thumb-glide”. The SmrtCase Glide is currently available for the iPhone 3G/S and the BlackBerry Tour but will releasing cases for the BlackBerry Bold 2 and BlackBerry Curve this Spring. SmrtCase sent us a few cases to try out and review. Check out our thoughts!

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It’s finally here. The moment that will change the computer industry forever. Apple’s iPad. This bad boy has been in speculations, talks, rumors, you name it, for almost half a decade. The first ever  “iPad” was announced in May 1992 and it was called the Newton. Now back then that was godly, for today’s standards, not even close to what Apple just created. The “new” iPad, consists of:

• Half-Inch thick and weighs just 1.5 pounds
• 9.7-inch capacitive touchscreen IPS LCD display
• Custom 1GHz Apple “A4″ processor chip developed by the P.A. Semi Team
• 10-hour battery life and a month of standby!
• Comes in 16, 32 and 64GB Flash Memory sizes
• 30-pin dock connector for charging and connecting with a keyboard
• Microphone (Skype anybody?)
• Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, 802.11n Wi-Fi (free at AT&T Hotspots) and optional 3G on-board (AT&T)
• Accelerometer
• Compass
• World “Pad”

That’s a lot of stuff right? There’s more. Here is where the fun comes in. Every application that is in the App Store that works on your iPhone/iTouch, works on your iPad! Amazing! Now for the AT&T part. I know, I know. You were hoping that this would become availabe on Verizon Wireless or another carrier, shame on you Apple. Apple and AT&T have teamed up once again to deliver a monstrous package deal for the wireless and 3G data pricing. Packages start at $14.99 for 250MB of data and $29.99 for Unlimited data per month. You’re asking yourself what’s the catch? Is there a two year commitment? The answer to those two questions are simply NO. There is no catch and there is no two year agreement. Hmmm, World”Pad”, what does that mean? It means exactly what you see. You can take the iPad abroad and insert any sim card from all over the world because the iPad is unlocked! The gates of heaven have finally opened. Now God Steve Jobs said that prices for international data will come “this summer” with further informaton. Prices for the iPad are as follows, $499 for the 16GB, $599 for the 32GB and $699 for the 64GB. Adding 3G to either model is a whopping $130 extra for it to run on broadband speeds when not in a Wi-Fi environment. Sales for the iPad start for the Wi-Fi version in 30 days and the Wi-Fi/3G version in 90 days. So who’s ready to get online for this one? I will. Now if only AT&T could fix there network even more now….

Update: The iPad is running iPhone OS 3.2 and has no camera. Also has no multi-tasking so I guess we’ll have to wait for iPhone OS 4.0 to come out. There is also no Flash support as well, should’ve known that already.

We’ve all heard this phrase before, “I want it but I don’t want ATT”. The speculations and rumors are heating up about the latest iPhone news and Apple breaking their ties from ATT. Now while it is not a 100% guarantee that will happen is unknown. One of Hot Hardware’s inside sources feels very confident that AT&T will lose its iPhone exclusivity during Apple’s big announcement this week. The announcement should be made following the introduction of the iSlate/iTablet/iPad and iPhone 4.0. Now if this comes to be true, sales for Apple will sky rocket. Look what not having exclusivity in Europe has done to the profits they’ve made, A LOT. The question(s) that will be asked if that does happen is where will the iPhone go next? Will Apple sell the iPhone unlocked in their stores? Who will puchase one if it is unlocked? What about Big Red, can they handle the exsessive amounts of data the iPhone clogs uses if they get it? Only time will tell. One thing is for sure though, if ATT does lose exclusivity, who will walk into their stores now?

Source Business Insider

Optimization is Google’s (NSDQ: GOOG) game and yesterday they proved it once again. Yesterday they’ve updated both mobile versions of Google with location based data. If you haven’t noticed, now at the bottom of the webpage there is an indicator showing where your location is. That’s useful in many ways. What if you wanted to search for a mall, bar, movie theater but don’t know the exact location where you’re at. Google’s new indicator uses the GPS location from where you are standing (or sitting) and locates the nearest facilities you are looking for. It beats actually going into Google Maps or using another application like Telenav. Great thinking Google, I’m sure someone would have thought of that sooner or later…

iFrogz is well-known for their iPhone cases that come in different colors. Previously, there were a few color styles, however iFrogz has introduced the MyFrogz custom iPhone cases at CES. With the MyFrogz cases, consumers can choose hundreds of unique case options to satisfy their preferences. These unique options include new colors and finish options too the existing Luxe cases that are available. Users can design their custom case by using the free MyFrogz iPhone app or visit www.MyFrogz.com. The MyFrogz custom cases are shipped within 24 hours at no extra cost.

We were given the opportunity to customize our own MyFrogz case and we’re pleased with the results. To create a case you can go to an AT&T store and pick up a customization code. From there you can create it on www.MyFrogz.com or by downloading the MyFrogz iPhone app.

We used the iPhone app and decided that we wanted our iPhone to be “Cherry Red” and “Thick Black” because it looks nice. The iPhone app was extremely simple and easy to use. Then you can make the order right from the app.

When we got our case we were told that the case ships within 24 hours after the order, which is fantastic for a custom case. Personally when we want to order accessories we expect to get it as fast as possible and hate waiting. iFrogz has made the wait as short as possible for us and boy do we love that.

The packaging that the case came in was also impressive. Since the MyFrogz is all about personalizing the case for you, the company puts your name on the packaging. This makes it feel personal and that it was made specially for you, which it was.

Once we opened up the packaging, we were impressed with the feel of the case. iFrogz described it as a “velvety ’soft touch’ feel”, and we couldn’t put it any better ourselves. The feel is great on the hands and helps when gripping the phone. The colors of the case are vibrant and metallic, which makes the iPhone really stand out. We have found that some cases leave minor scratched on the iPhone when put in and taken out of the case. However, the MyFrogz case has a velvet-type material on the inside that eliminates those type of scratches.

Getting the case on the iPhone is simple. Just put the top piece on and then slide the bottom piece on, then they snap together. Taking the case off is as easy as pushing in the locking part of the case and pulling the top off.

Once on the iPhone, the case fits snugly and does not make the iPhone bulky. The MyFrogz case is very slim so when in the pocket it is not taking up too much more room than it would take up without a case. There are spaces for all the buttons and they are easy to press when the iPhone is on.

Overall we are very satisfied with the case. We could definitely see ourselves rocking this with us all the time. We also wanted to bring up the Customer Satisfaction Guarantee for the MyFrogz cases. This allows customers who decided that they don’t like their color choices to exchange it for another custom selection within 10 days of it being delivered.

The MyFrogz custom iPhone case will run you $39.99 and is the perfect option for people who want to choose the colors of their case and need quality.

A few days ago we told you about a service called mSpot that allows you to stream full-length movies to your mobile phone. Our complaint about the service is that it goes through the browser and that there is no app available yet for the iPhone. However, mSpot just announced that it is releasing the “Horror Movies app” that can be downloaded straight from the iTunes app store. This app lets users to watch a variety of horror movies on their iPhone without downloading it, since it streamed through the network or Wi-Fi. The app works on a subscription basis where it is $3.99 per month and includes unlimited access to a changing list of 10+ movies that are refreshed weekly. mSpot is also planning on launching more specialty movie applications this year. Check out the full press release after the jump.

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We at Smartphone Nation do a lot of driving around the country and we sometimes like to watch movies on the go. At CES, mSpot showed us a new service that we thing many of our readers will be interested in. mSpot will allow users with iPhones, BlackBerrys, Palm, and Android phones to watch full-length movies through the browser. This is a unique service because mSpot is the first company to offer this, beating Netflix, Blockbuster, and iTunes. Right now users are only able to watch videos while connected to the network, however the company is working on the ability to cache movies for use on planes or when there is no connection available.

Check out the service by going to m.mspot.com on your mobile browser.

We met up with Parrot at CES and the company showcased their latest bluetooth products. The Parrot MKi series hands-free bluetooth music system car kits give the user a wide variety of options. The MKi line includes three different products: MKi9000, MKi9100, MKi9200. The Parrot MKi9000 is a bluetooth hands-free system that does have a screen. Once installed in the car, the user can make and receive calls and play music using USB, line-in, iPhone or iPod, or a A2DP-compatible phone. The Parrot MKi9100 is a bluetooth hands-free system with OLED screen. Users can wirelessly control the OLED screen using a wireless remote control that can be placed on the steering wheel. The MKi9100 automatically synchronizes the phonebook with your phone’s phonebook as for easy calling. The Parrot MKi9200 is also a bluetooth hands-free system, but has a 2.4″ color screen included. Using the same wireless remote control that can be places on the steering wheel, users can go through menus, contacts, settings, and playlists.

Parrot also highlighted the ZIMKU Parrot wireless bluetooth speakers. These speakers are by Philippe Starck as to create premium sound that makes the music sound almost 360 degrees. The ZIKMI Parrot speakers have a docking station that can be used to play a iPhone or iPod. Users can also stream tracks from their Mac or PC via Bluetooth. People with PCs will be able to stream over Wi-Fi as well.

For more information on any of the highlighted products, check out Parrot’s website here.

Are you sick of your iPhone battery dying half way through the day? We sure are! However, thanks to mophie that may never happen again. The mophie juice pack air is a iPhone case that also acts as a external battery for your phone. Once the iPhone is inserted into the case, the phone will begin charging as if it was plugged into the wall. When the phone is fully charged, it will stay that way until the external battery dies, in which case the iPhone battery will take over. Read the full story