Here at Toucthip we spend a great deal of time reading on the web. In fact, we read so much that our system for marking web pages for reading at a later time has completely failed us. Browser bookmarks don’t work because we have go back and delete them using the bookmark manager. Sending items to social bookmarking apps like Delicious has the same problem, we’ve got to constantly delete pages we’ve already read but don’t want to save any more. For the longest time now we ended up loading pages into separate browser tabs that we can come back to, but having lots of tabs open can eat up system resources. These tools just weren’t designed to do the one thing we need to do; to flag a web page that we want to read but don’t have time at that moment. Enter Instapaper, sublime in its simplicity and focused on doing one single thing very well; mark web pages for later reading. This is one of those web apps we’ve come to depend on so much that we really couldn’t live without it. If you use the web for reading or research, you should try out Instapaper. It’s free, and after the jump we’ll tell you how it works.
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The life evolution of iPod touch jumps the track and produces Chumby, the platypus of web-enabled touch devices. Like a forbidden mashup, the unholy communion of the iPod touch and the popular bean-filled footbag has produced a quirky new breed of web-enabled touch devices that make you say WTF as you fall hopelessly in love with its cuddly charm. Chumby is about the size of a cup of coffee and makes a perfect bed mate for your night stand, or even a desk pal at work; always within sight and just a touch away. Chumby’s squishy, Italian leather body features a color touch screen, audio, and built-in Wi-fi all running on a Linux-based operating system with Adobe Flash. Chumby comes loaded with widgets that deliver Flickr photos, weather, stocks, sports scores, news, internet radio, video, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, email, and on and on and on. Heck, you can even play games with Chumby, and not just hacky sack, either. Find out more about Chumby after the jump.
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There are times when you need to squeeze the most juice out of your iPhone or iPod touch battery. Ideally, you’ll have one of these babies with you so you can charge it on the go without having to tether into a computer. But even if you do have a portable charger power can still be a premium because let’s face it, without battery power your iPhone or iPod touch is just a shiny brick. You can also tweak many of your iPhone’s features to get optimal battery life. Read on to learn more tips on saving battery power for your iPhone and iPod touch.
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We are big, big fans of the products made by Incase to protect Apple products and we are delighted to see their new line of sexy slider cases for the iPhone and iPod touch. Incase respects the beauty of Apple’s product design by creating protective cases that compliment the hardware as well as protect it. These new slider cases for iPhone and iPod touch have high gloss finishes and hard protective coatings to provide added scratch resistance and color depth. The protective material is only 1mm thick and has rubber interior sides to protect the mobile device from impact damage. The bottom of the case slides away so you can easily charge or dock you device without having to remove the entire case. The slider case provides access to the entire touch screen as well as all the ports, including a cut-away for the iPhone’s camera lens. The iPhone Slider Case and the iPod touch Slider Case are available in black gloss, black matte, or white gloss and priced at $35 each.

Sure, we know that web portals are soooooo nineteen ninety-eight, but we also know that the iPhone age is breathing new life into these destination sites, especially when they are optimized for the iPhone and iPod touch. Take myijump.com for example. At first glance this looks like another iPhone portal site offering a convenient starting point for web surfing from mobile Safari. However, a deeper dive into myijump reveals a virtual cornucopia of web sites and web apps that are all optimized for the iPhone or iPod touch. The web apps are all categorized under tap-formatted buttons designed for the touch interface. With games, entertainment, news, sports, social networking, productivity, free iTunes music, and more, you will find something for everyone here making myijump.com worthy of a web clip on your device.
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We just discovered Evernote, a very slick and powerful note application that offers terrific features including a mobile interface for your iPhone or iPod touch. Evernote has downloadable client software for your desktop that automatically syncs your notes to your Evernote web account. To access or edit your notes, you point mobile Safari to Evernote and sign in, or use the IMAP interface. Of course, you need to be on EDGE or Wi-fi to use Evernote on your mobile device, but if you go between a desktop app and your iPhone, and use your iPhone camera to capture things you want to remember, then EverNote will blow your socks off. We started using Evernote last week and we can tell you that we are absolutely hooked on it. Unfortunately, Evernote is only currently availabe as a invite-only beta, but lucky you, we happen to be sitting on a pile of invites. Read on to find out how you can be one of the first people to get your hands on Evernote.
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It’s Friday again and time to share the best iPhone tips and iPod touch tips submitted by you, the readers of Touchtip.

Today, we’ll learn how users yearning for 3rd party apps don’t have to wait for the App Store in June. You can Jailbreak or unlock your iPhone or iPod touch in 45 seconds, and it works on any firmware version. We also hear about one resourceful way to take notes on your device using only Safari and a local wiki application (no hacks required). And another reader suggests a clever way to flag phone calls from telemarketers so you can ignore the call. Be sure to read all these tips and more after the jump.
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If you’re the forgetful type, you should check out…uh…crap, what was it? Oh yeah, reQall, a free memory tool that helps you remember things better, and now optimized for iPhone and iPod touch. Just imagine, no more coming home and the power is off because you forgot to pay the bill. No more lonely hours stranded on the freeway after running out of gas. You’ll always have milk in the fridge and ink in the printer. reQall is a memory tool that works with mobile, web, email, sms, and instant messaging. It is ideal for shopping lists, task management, and just capturing ideas. This is not the kind of memory tool that will help you count cards in Vegas, so you can just forget that idea. And before we forget, let us tell you all about the great new iPhone interface for reQall.
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