There are plenty of ways to use mobile devices to promote a business. The merging of social, local, and mobile into the SoLoMo buzzword of 2012 is starting to became a reality for 2013. With YouTube’s latest app for iPhone and iPod Touch, the video giant has given a powerful tool to businesses who rely on showing people their wares before they make the drive. For example, the internet has expanded the reach of car dealerships. People are able to look at more industries in minutes than they used to be able to look at in an entire day of shopping. They can identify the dealerships that have a vehicle that…

You thought you were on the cutting edge of geek chic with that iPhone 4. You ain’t seen nothing yet. A Lifehacker reader known only as Kevin has taken an iPod Touch and, using a VOIP application and a pair of headphones, has rigged it all together using the device’s own packaging. A big of smoothing here and there (plastic edges are sharp, yo) and a rubber washer later, and voila – a DIY iPhone that’s sure to impress… er… somebody, surely. At the very least, it’s a conversation piece! …

The mobile phone and tablet markets are ripe battlegrounds for Android-based gadgets to make their mark. Apple is the leader but not by a huge margin. Some predict that Android will explode in 2011. There is little doubt that Apple has its hands full trying to maintain its dominance in these areas, but at least they have the app-driven, WiFi-connected MP3 player market locked down with the iPod touch, right? Maybe not. We’ll find out more after CES. It is hard to imagine that the niche that lies somewhere between iPod and iPhone could have room for more players, but that’s exactly what Samsung is banking…

I don’t normally like talking about iPad cases. Your Techi time is precious, and I’m not about to waste it on a piece of molded plastic. With that in mind, I’ve got this great piece of molded plastic I’d like to show you. It holds your iPad, and everything. In all seriousness, though, this isn’t the wrong kind of rad. The iPort is a for real-real grown up serious dock that transforms your iPad (or iPod Touch, if you get the smaller one (or iPhone, if you get the smaller one, and are unwise)) into a wall controller for music systems or other tasks that need roboticizin’. To be honest, that’s just about the long…

Isn’t the iPod Touch the worst, guys? It’s an iPhone for all intents and purposes, save the notable exception of, y’know… the phone part. That’s gotta be frustrating. Enter the Apple Peel 520. Developed by a company fit to call itself Yosion, the Apple Peel is a fancy hack which attempts to do the impossible: turning your (presumably jailbroken) iPod Touch into… well, not an iPhone proper, but close enough. Retailing for a rumoured Â¥300 – Â¥500 ($44 – $74), the case allegedly also acts as a beefed up battery (800mAh) to account for all the calls you’ll be making. That is, of course, if you’ll be…

We’ve been casting our eyes around for cool iPhone apps this week, and have come up with some stunning apps, including some which vastly improve iPhone photography and a few others which just couldn’t help but catch our eye — including one superb music-creation solution. 1. Twitter for iPhone Free Formerly Tweetie 2 and now produced by Twitter itself, the official Twitter client is an essential tool for anyone who is into the 140-character idea sharing service. Twitter for iPhone will let you browse users, check trends and write tweets. You can download it here. This version (released last…

Newly-leaked images and video show us the next-generation iPod touch will host a camera. Apple had originally been expected to field a camera in the iPod touch when it upgraded that device in September 2009. The introduction was preceded by a wave of leaked images showing a camera in place. Fast forward to release and the camera wasn’t included in the upgrade, though eagle-eyed users spotted a space on the motherboard where it could have been. Now the latest news from Vietnam tells us to expect the camera to appear in the next iteration of the touch. This follows the brief appearance of two prototype…

Sure, we all like to think we know how to cope in a crisis. We all fondly imagine ourselves the heroes of the moment, the masters of the hour, but how many of us have actually put some time in before crisis cripples us and learned the right things to do when someone needs our help, or even set things up so we can get the help we need? Read on for six iPhone apps we think could maybe save someone’s life. None of these apps are a substitute for proper training, if you really want to be prepared then do take a course, but for a refresher or to boost your skills just a little bit, then tale a look at these. 1. First Aid…

Apple has a host of patents to its name, and rifling through them can offer some fascinating insights into the potential future of technology and the possibilities that are open to the company as it executes its vision for the future convergence culture. We’ve taken a look at some of the most recently published Apple patents and chosen six of the most exciting to tell you all about. 1. iSpecs: an advanced head-mounted display system for the iPhone or iPod This system (above) may even host its own video camera or be able to communicate with the camera that’s already inside the iPod touch or iPhone….

Fresh in from the historical inevitability department comes news of a failed Adobe Flash demo — and an all-new video clip showing what the proprietary multimedia standard can do on an Android phone. Last week’s FlashCamp Seattle saw Flash Platform evangelist Ryan Stewart demo Flash Player 10.1 on a Nexus One phone during his opening keynote. It didn’t go well, wrote blogger, Jeff Croft. Here’s what happened: On his Mac, Ryan pulled up a site called Eco Zoo. It is, seemingly, a pretty intense example of Flash development — full of 3D rendering, rich interactions, and cute little characters….