Notification Center, one of the biggest features in iOS 5, is a great step in the right direction, but is somewhat lacking. In this video, I’ll show you some great tweaks for jailbroken devices that let you customize notification center to no end.

• Add Today’s Date To Notification Center [Video How-To]
• WeeSpaces Brings iOS Multitasking to Your Notification Center [Jailbreak Only]
• IntelliScreenX Isn’t Just What Notification Center Should Have Been, It’s A Reason To Jailbreak
• WeeTranslate Tweak Adds Google Translate to Notification Center in iOS 5
• Change Settings, Launch Apps And Dial Friends Through Notification Center, No Jailbreak Required

Launch Center is a $0.99 app for iOS that allows you to create shortcuts that are kept in one handy list. You can do things like make an email, call, or SMS shortcut to someone that you contact a lot, a Tweet shortcut that uses the official Twitter, or even a flashlight shortcut to turn on your iPhone’s LED. It’s pretty darn handy.

But, what’s awesome is that you can schedule these shortcuts to show up in iOS 5’s Notification Center as well as create custom Website/App shortcuts. Here are 7 Launch Center hacks that save your time while using your iPhone.

1. Add tasks to your inbox

I’m an OmniFocus user but this could work with any task app on iOS, as long as they have an iOS url scheme to follow. Simply add a new “Launch Website/App” shortcut with the URL of:

omnifocus:///add?

That will open up a blank task for your OF inbox.

For other services that support task addition by sending an email to a special address you could create a new LC shortcut for email, add the special address, and then go about it that way.

2. Launching apps

If you are a heavy app user on you iOS device your Springboard probably isn’t cutting it for you anymore. I have even resorted to using Spotlight Search for an app if I don’t want to look for it.

With LC you can setup a shortcut to launch an app. Most apps have a URL that is associated with them (like omnifocus:// above). You can check out AppCubby’s site for some of the URLs for different apps.

3. Reminders and process

So, you can launch apps with LC, huh? Pretty cool. But, what about launching an app at a certain time to remind you to use it?

Every day I want to make sure that I go through my RSS queue. So, with LC I can create a custom app launcher for my RSS app, Reeder (reeder://) and then tell LC to schedule it everyday at 7pm. If I want it to go multiple times I could create multiple instances of the same launcher set for different times during the day.

So, you could set these types of reminders for all sorts of things like calling your parents, sending SMS’s to people, searching Google for something that you do everyday (like your own name, you narcissist), or anything else you are too smart to remember.

4. Custom searches

If there is something that you search for on a regular basis on your iPhone, then setting up a custom search within LC is the way to go. Just create a new “Launch Website/App” shortcut, name it, and add your search URL. Here are a couple of things to get your started:

Weather in a certain place: http://bing.com/search?q=weather+in+pittsburgh+pa
Twitter searches: http://twitter.com/#!/search/lifehack
Any other type of Google (or even Bing) searches: http://google.com/search?q=<whatever+you+are+searching+for>

You have to make sure that instead of using spaces in your query you use “+” symbols. Also, if you are searching for crazy characters that aren’t supported in URLs, then you have to encode them.

5. Launch iOS settings

One thing that I truly miss from Android is being able to make almost anything a widget or shortcut on your home screen. We have seen some of the ways that you can setup shortcuts to get to options in iOS settings, but they require that you have some sort of internet connection and are sort of clunky to setup.

With LC you can create a “Launch Website/App” shortcut that uses the iOS “prefs” shortcut to open up settings. Here are just a few:

Brightness: prefs:root=Brightness
Bluetooth: prefs:root=General&path=Bluetooth
iCloud Storage and Backup: prefs:root=CASTLE&path=STORAGE_AND_BACKUP

If you want a full list of the ones that you can use, check out this Stack Overflow page for more. There are a ton of them.

6. Launch custom actions inside of apps

If an app has a published URL scheme, you can save those URLs as shortcuts in LC. For instance, my favorite Twitter app, Tweetbot, has a pretty nice URL scheme for iOS. I setup two shortcuts:

Twitter timeline: tweetbot:///timeline
Tweet with Tweetbot: tweetbot:///Post

For this example you need to have three forward slashes as you can put an optional screenname after the second one (for people that use multiple Twitter accounts).

If you have a favorite app and you would like to see what things you can do with their URL scheme, just Google something like “iOS URL scheme” to see what your options are.

7. Find businesses close to you with Google Maps

Wherever you are there usually is a Starbucks nearby. And rather than opening Maps and typing out Starbucks, you can use this shortcut to find one. Create a new LC “Launch Website/App” shortcut with the URL set to this:

http://maps.google.com/map?CURRENTLOCATION&q=starbucks

This will open up the mobile version of Google maps, but will at least give you any of the Starbucks that are around your location. You can also change the query to whatever you want like “mexican+food” or “bars+and+clubs”.

Conclusion

Launch Center is pretty awesome and is getting close to making its way to my iPhone dock. There are a couple of things that would make LC even better, like having a better repeat function, grouping of similar shortcuts and tasks, and keeping some of the shortcuts in iOS Notification Center so they can be used at any time (this may be a limitation of Notification Center, not LC).

But, as you can see, this one little app can save you a ton of time doing things that you repeatedly do on your iOS device.

Italian outfit ADR Studios, one of the most talented and creative concept-makers we’ve ever stumbled across, has thrown up yet another tasty concept we can only but wish were a real product.

Depending on how long you’ve been following Redmond Pie, you may or may not recall the iWatch concept back in 2010, a real gem in design and innovation that seemed a perfect addition to the fruit company’s expansive product range. It featured an aluminum body, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, integrated RSS reader, 16GB storage, as well as the clincher – an LCD projector which could beam photos and videos to a wall.

Well now – in true Cupertino company fashion – the sequel to iWatch has been dreamed up; it’s called iWatch 2 as you might expect, and we think it’s pretty amazing:

It packs many of the same features as its predecessor, and with FaceTime now beginning to pick up pace, it also includes a front-facing camera. Much like the transition from the original iPad to the iPad 2, the more significant changes are those seen immediately upon opening the box.

Described by its creator as being “like a jewel,” it comes packaged in a black, slide-to-open-box, and is significantly thinner than the original iWatch. The main body of the device consists of polycarbonate, and features an aluminum chassis, making the entire design look that tad bit classier. If you can manage to divert your eyes from the pictures, there’re more details after the jump!

Finally, the wrist strap comes in five different colors, each of which feature polycarbonate insert, leaves the possibility of direct connectivity to other iDevices up to the imagination.

ADR Studios has consistently been responsible for some very beautiful, polished concepts of Apple products, the most recent being the iPhone SJ. With to-die-for concepts like that, we can only pray Sir Jony Ive and the team are hard at work cooking up something similar for the next iPhone release, rumored – but not confirmed – for announcement at this year’s WWDC.

Would you buy it? Leave your thoughts – as ever – via the usual mediums below.

You may also like to check out:

• Stunning iPhone 5 Design Inspired By 6th-Gen iPod Nano! We Wish It Were Real [PICTURES]
• New iPhone Concept Images Shows Off A Larger 4.3-inch Screen With A Capacitive Gesture-based Home Button

You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.

Related Posts

• Next-Generation iPhone Concept Introduces App Navigation Via Two Separate Home Buttons [VIDEO]
• More Renders Of The iPhone SJ Concept Along With A Short Video Showcasing Its Features
• This iPhone SJ Concept Render Will Likely Blow Your Mind [IMAGES]
• Artist Imagined Improvements For iOS 5 Notification Center [IMAGES]
• Apple Reportedly Working On Siri Compatible Wrist Wearable Devices

お、これは便利。

Phone-Sizeでは、ちまたで出回っているスマートフォンの大きさを比較することができる。

iPhoneとGalaxyのこれ、どっちが大きいのかな、といったときに便利だろう。

また、表示する画像を揃えることもできるので一番大事なディスプレイ性能を（ある程度は）比べることもできる。

日本のキャリアさんもこういうサイトを作ってくれるといいかもですよねぇ・・・。

While the tech world gasped at Apple's quarterly earnings, Google announced a total overhaul of its privacy policies, which are now just one privacy policy. "We're getting rid of over 60 different privacy policies across Google and replacing them with one that's a lot shorter and easier to read," Google's new policies website says. As Google's leaders have made abundantly clear, Google is working towards one unified product, and the new privacy policy and terms of service reflect that.

The new policy takes effect on March 1. It's mandatory for all Google users; there is no opt-out. Users' privacy preferences are unchanged, but the new arrangement makes it easier for Google to bring user data across its services. Google is steaming ahead toward integrating search, email, YouTube, social and work, so it's getting the legal ducks in a row to make the new Google one continuous experience.

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The new privacy policy replaces over 60 separate documents with just one that's also easier to understand. The major change is to make clear that signed-in Google users should treat all Google services as unified, and that data from one can be shared with another.

The new terms of service explain the terminology Google uses in clear language, and it consolidates many of Google's existing terms, so users don't have to keep track of as much Googlese.

A few services, including Books, Chrome and Wallet, have industry-specific privacy laws, so those are keeping their own privacy notices.

There are no surprises here, but Google's new policies will make it easier for Google to personalize content across services. These can be helpful, little things like spelling suggestions, life-savers like meeting reminders based on location or traffic conditions, or core pieces of Google's business, like personalized ads across Google sites.

Google users should take a few minutes to peruse the new policies. You can see what data Google has about you via your Google Dashboard. If you're unfamiliar with the ways Google uses its user data, check out its new Good to Know website.

Google has more than 40 core products, and hundreds depending on how you count them. Even with over 30,000 employees, that’s a lot to support. In the name of refocusing, today the company announced that Picnik, Sky Map, Urchin, Needlebase, Google Message Continuity, and the Social Graph API are all headed for the deadpool, open source, or absorption into more central divisions.

Today’s culling follows this summer’s shut downs of Google Labs and most of the products internally developed by former acquisition Slide. While Google has long encouraged experimentation, its found itself overextended. The company needs all hands on deck fighting the wars for social, mobile, and the cloud.

Google typically reassigns employees from scrapped projects rather than fire them. The teams from Picnik and Sky Map could increase the concentration of product leaders working on Google+. With any luck they can give Google’s social network a more human feel.

Now, the fate  of the forsaken:

Picnik – The browser-based photo editor Picnik will be shut down on April 19th and its team likely integrated in to Google+ and Picasa. Premium customers will receive refunds. Google+ already offer Creative Kit, which includes basic editing, filters, and decorations. Picnik uses almost an identical interface, but includes advanced editing , frames, and seasonal effects that could soon show up in Google’s other photo products soon.

Google Sky Map – The augmented reality star gazing Android app will become open source. Google appears to be moving away from standalone apps, given the recent deaths of Disco, Photovine, and Pool Party. This will make it easier for the iOS developers of Starmap and Star Walk to develop Android versions.

Social Graph API – Google’s graph of public interconnections between people on services like Twitter and Flickr will be deprecated on April 20th. The API allowed developers to pull in information about their users to improve their products, but Google says “The API isn’t experiencing the kind of adoption we’d like”. Google will instead be working on catching up to Facebook by developing its own social graph with Google+.

Google Message Continuity – No more resources will be wasted on a cloud backup system for on-premise enterprise email. Google will dedicate itself to support for its fully cloud-based enterprise system Apps, which has proven much more popular.

Urchin and Needlebase – The acquired client-based predecessor to Google analytics and its data management platform are being formally shut down. The Urchin team is now work on browser-based analytics, while Google is still considering whether to integrate or simply eliminate Needlebase.

A firm handshake and hearty pat on the back to all those working on these projects. Remember, you don’t have to toil away on more small features. Consider this your opportunity to go Do Great Things.

Perhaps it’s the 40,000 square-foot park that keeps Google’s employees happy, or maybe it’s the one day a week to work on anything they want, or perhaps even the onsite dry cleaning. Whatever the combination of perks, Fortune magazine has named Google the number one company to work for in America.

“I want Google to be an amazing place to work, so really excited to see us ranked as the best place to work by Fortune for the third time (more than any company),” Google Chief Executive Larry Page said in a Google+ post about the ranking. “Google is the sum of our people and their hard work and dedication.”

The Mountain View-based company hired nearly 7,000 people last year � the biggest number the company has seen in its 13-year history. Although Page and Laszio Bock, Google’s senior vice president for people operations, agree that employee perks are the reason aspiring-employees flock to the company, ultimately it’s about focusing on the human relations.

“My job as a leader is to make sure everybody in the company has great opportunities, and that they feel they’re having a meaningful impact and are contributing to the good of society. As a world, we’re doing a better job of that. My goal is for Google to lead, not follow that,” Page said in an interview with Fortune.

Other companies that made the list include Zappos, which ranks this year at number 11; Adobe at 41; and Microsoft, which is positioned at 76, falling from its spot at 72 last year.

Google currently has over 18,500 U.S. employees with 32,000 people reported to be working for the company globally at the end of 2011.

Photo via Aray Chen/Flickr

The Nielsen Company has released their latest set of numbers and things are looking great for Android once again. According to the figures as of Q42011 46.3 percent of all smartphone owners surveyed were making use of Android while Apple was close behind with 30 percent.

Feature phones were the biggest losers here though, 46 percent of US mobile consumers using a smartphone over a feature phone and 60 percent of those having bought a new device in the past three months went with a smartphone vs. a feature phone.

Source: Nielsen

The Glass Multitouch Keyboard by Giddings Product Development is a futuristic piece of technology that was recently funded on Kickstater, but it seems too outlandish to be real. It's essentially a curved piece of Gorilla Glass 2 that uses frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR) to register touches across the 19-inch wide surface area, while the circuitry will live in its base. We saw a non-working prototype with a traditional QWERTY and numpad etched on it, but it will come as a completely clear slab.

It works by sending IR beams through the edge-lit glass continuously, and two cameras below the glass capture your finger's location when the touch disrupts the signals. It will be capable of multitouch gestures, offer custom layouts,...

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If you're an iPhone owner that wishes your phone could recognize your face, you're going to appreciate the work of a developer who's brought Android 4.0's face unlock feature to iOS. It's not clear whether or not it's a port of the original app, but as you can see in the video below, it sure does look a lot like the feature in Ice Cream Sandwich. The facial-recognition looks like it takes much longer than Google's own solution (and probably too long to make it practical). According to boio.ro you can't use the app to replace the slide-to-unlock in iOS � it's just a parlor trick for now and there are plans to use it to secure a digital locker of information in the future. Apparently the app will be in the App Store soon, so take a look...

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