Tamagotchis never really carried any guilt, did they? You could let them die, and just hit reset. No biggie, right? iHobo is about to make you feel like utter crap for all the virtual pets you never saved, and then some. iHobo (yes, that’s its real name) is a free charity iPhone app that leaves you in charge of a virtual homeless person, but believe it or not, the app is not in bad taste – rather, it’s meant to call attention to the issue of homelessness at large. Well, actually, in the UK specifically, but the message is universal. iHobo takes up residence in your iPhone for three days, and it’s up to you to…

Cupertino is leaking like a rusty sieve these days. If this video is to be believed, you are looking at the new case for the iPhone 4G. The Gizmodo iPhone episode is all over save for the legal repercussions, but at the time many people hypothesized that the lost prototype was actually one of several possible choices for final case being tested by engineers. This case is similar in shape to the iPad, with squared off edges and an aluminum back surface. Apple products tend to mimic each other as manufacturing and prototyping techniques evolve. The video doesn’t show too much, and the parts are not assembled,…

The Apple iPhone 3G and 3GS are about to get even more useful. You’ll be able to wave your phone over a system that doesn’t require any contact to pay for your smaller purchases. Germophobes rejoice! Visa and DeviceFidelity are partnering to bring this payment system to your iPhone. The only problem we can foresee is that it isn’t just an app; it is a shell constructed specially for the iPhone 3G and 3GS that has a secure memory card that works with Visa’s app, PayWave. Will iPhone users go for it? If you’ve ever been faced with a greasy pay terminal just to get your morning coffee, you’d be tempted… Source:…

Apple, always the innovator, is looking for the key to your heart. Security is a major concern in computing, particularly with smaller mobile devices becoming more capable. Apple thinks it has the answer. The patent describes a method of detecting an authorized user by the pulse in the veins and arteries in the hand holding the device. A sensor built into the device would detect your heart rhythm, apparently as unique as a fingerprint or retina. Other uses have been suggested, such as mood detection or managing user profiles. I’ve not heard much about cardiac signatures before, but this strikes…

Comedian Ellen DeGeneres has fallen foul of Apple’s infamously volatile sense of humor. After posting the above iPhone 3GS commercial parody, Ellen said that Apple representatives contacted her with complaints. The video shows Ellen attempting to send a text but mistakenly opening Google Maps. She then sends a jumbled text message to her partner, Portia DeRossi before asking someone off camera for assistance. Apple is notoriously fickle about who can poke fun at it, and apparently Ellen overstepped the mark. It’s clear to all that Ellen is poking fun at herself rather than the device, and…

Use your iPhone to monitor your baby remotely. Automatically log your baby’s activity so you gain insight into its sleeping patterns or receive instant notifications when it cries with the app playing a recording your own voice to sooth your child until you arrive. So, I’m a geek, my wife’s a geek and we’re engaged in bringing up a new generation of geeks, and that’s why we’re really pleased to have come across this really rather useful Baby Monitor and Alarm app for the iPhone. What it does? It does it all, really. It will monitor noise in the room of your sleeping child and send an SMS message…

If you’re one of those new million iPad owners then you need to know about Dropbox for iPad. This free app is the missing link if you want to use your iPad for some light business. It works with the online Dropbox service, which offers you 2.2GB of free online storage. That storage syncs with your Mac or PC’s Home directory – where all your data sits – so you get access to all your most important files from wherever you happen to be. Dropbox on the iPad/iPhone/iPod touch lets you access those files. Better, if you have the right app it lets you open and work on those files. You can open a PowerPoint presentation…

So many Techi readers enjoyed the last iPad destruction clip, when we showed you the iPad being ground down to shrapnel in a blender we simply can’t resist bringing you this all-new Apple iProduct destruction meme – iPad in a microwave. Sure, the video clip is too long, but skip forward to 3:30 for the microwaving and 6:30 for Apple product fireworks, and if you work at Google or Adobe perhaps it will make your morning swing. …

On June 7, 2010, Apple Inc is set to host their annual developers conference. It is anticipated that during this year’s conference, the newest version of the massively popular iPhone will be revealed. The conference was announced today and we’ve learned that it will run through until June 11, 2010, in San Francisco, CA. Apple’s Chief Executive, Steve Jobs, has spoken at previous conferences except for last year when he was dealing with medical issues and marketing head Phil Schiller took his place. A rep for Apple declined to comment on who this years keynote speaker would be. At last year’s conference,…

BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion has introduced its first promo video pushing what’s positive inside the future BlackBerry 6 OS, set to ship in Q3. It’s an incredibly busy presentation, but you do get to see some album cover-based music navigation, an onscreen (virtual) keyboard, Facebook and Twitter clients, and a quick glance at the new WebKit-based browser. (Note. WebKit is also used in Safari and Firefox). Oh, and don’t miss the consistently touch-based interaction throughout this video as Research In Motion takes it to Cupertino….