Iphone Updates

Filed under: iPhone

Yes, you’re getting a bumper for free, but why not wrap your iPhone 4 in something a little more stylish and original? Vaja has released a line of its great premium leather gadget cases for the iPhone 4 — I love these things, as they’re made out of high-quality premium leather, and add an extra little bit of class to a device that already feels like a luxury phone.

I do have to say that I don’t really like that flap — I use a Vaja case on my iPod, and in that case, the magnetically-fastened flap comes in handy, since I don’t usually have my iPod open. But on the iPhone, I interact with the touchscreen so much that the flap would get in the way. But Vaja also has some excellent cases (like the iVolution Grip) that just slide onto the iPhone and stay out of your way.

They’re not cheap — the Grip runs $65, and they go up from there. But they are a quality product. While the bumper cases are all right, if you want something really nice to wrap your iPhone in, give Vaja’s cases a look.

[via MacNN]

TUAWVaja introduces new iPhone 4 cases originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone – Apple – Vaja – Unofficial Apple Weblog – iPod

Apple today released Safari 5.0.1 and introduced the Safari Extensions Gallery. Extensions allow users to quickly add powerful new features to Safari — from toolbars that display live web feeds to sophisticated programs that filter web content. Users can download and install extensions either from the Safari Extensions Gallery or directly from a developer’s site.

Filed under: App Store

Expenditure is another great-looking app found via the excellent Well-Placed Pixels blog. It’s an expense tracker — you can add transactions into the app with just a few taps (and even attach a photo, note, or category to each debit or credit), and then browse your collected budget. Obviously, you could use it to just see how much you’re spending each month, but it can also be used for things like traveling (the app will automatically calculate currencies for you) or keeping track of business expenses. It’s not a super full-featured business application, but it will do the basics smoothly and beautifully.

You can find it on the App Store for US$1.99, and as an iTunes commenter points out, using it will probably save you the $2 you spend on it. There is a lite version that only allows eight transactions (enough to see the app in action, though not enough to actually put it to use), so if you’re not sure about spending a couple of bucks, you can check it out that way as well. Excellent app — the functionality is a little limited (by design — the developers just wanted a simple expense tracker), but the great aesthetic and design elements make up for the simplicity.

TUAWTUAW’s Daily App: Expenditure originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

AppStore – Unofficial Apple Weblog – IPhone – Apple – Daily App

Filed under: TUAW Business, Podcasts

As per tradition, tonight you can chat with TUAW bloggers and hopefully some of the usual Mac suspects at 4pm Hawaiian/7pm Pacific/10pm Eastern time. Those usual suspects will include me, your host for the evening. We’ll have some iMac things (or lack of things) on the agenda, the impending free case bonanza, and you’ll have things you’ll want to talk about. I. Will. Too.

Remember: West Coast Host means you also get an opportunity to join in on the infamous (unrecorded) Aftershow. Prepare to answer the ultimate question, “Caller — what are you wearing?”

Your calls and questions help us make the show the best it can be, otherwise I’m just talking to myself! To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, the embedded Facebook app, or the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the “TalkShoe Web” button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (yay for free cellphone weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 — during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8.

If you’ve got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free Gizmo or X-Lite SIP clients; basic instructions are here. Talk with you then!

TUAWTalkcast tonight 7PT/10ET: Heat Wave Edition originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 25 Jul 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

TalkShoe – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Facebook – Voice over Internet Protocol – Mobile phone

Apple today updated its all-in-one iMac line, widely praised as the world’s best desktop computers, with the latest Intel Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 processors and powerful new graphics. Apple also introduced the new Magic Trackpad — available separately for $69 — which brings the intuitive Multi-Touch gestures of Mac notebook trackpads to the desktop.

Apple’s new Mac Pro line comes with up to 12 processing cores and up to 50 percent greater performance than the previous generation. Featuring the latest quad-core and 6-core Intel Xeon processors, all-new ATI graphics, and the option for up to four 512GB solid state drives (SSD), the new Mac Pro continues to deliver amazing performance and expandability for the most demanding consumers and professionals.

Apple unveiled a new 27-inch LED Cinema Display with stunning 2560 x 1440 resolution and 60 percent more screen real estate than the 24-inch LED Cinema Display. Featuring a built-in iSight video camera, microphone and speakers, powered USB 2.0 hub, and universal MagSafe connector, the new LED Cinema Display is an ideal companion for any Mac notebook or desktop.

Beginning this Friday, July 30, customers can purchase iPhone 4 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. iPhone 4 will be available for purchase through Apple’s retail and online stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

Filed under: iPhone

Dragon Dictation is one of the most popular free apps on the iPhone and iPad, and now it has been updated to support iOS 4. Nuance Communications, creators of the app, have added a pop-up toolbar that allows you to speak a status update and send it directly to Facebook or Twitter. You can also speak and send the text to the clipboard. As in the original version, you can dictate emails and text messages.

Another nice to feature is the app now saves your dictated text if you are interrupted by a phone call. This latest version also supports U.K English now, as well as German. The app already supports Spanish, Italian and French.

I’ve had an advance copy of the app for a week, and I can confirm it works as advertised, although my high school German is a bit rusty so I didn’t try that feature.

Someday, I hope, Apple will build complete speech recognition into the iPhone and iPad. If they do, I hope they use the Nuance speech engine, which is very accurate and easy to use. Until then, Dragon Dictation is a must download for use with email, social networking and texting. The app runs on iOS3.1 or later on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

TUAWDragon Dictation updated with iOS 4 support and some new features originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone – Apple – Facebook – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Nuance Communications

Filed under: Apple

While we tend to hold Apple’s feet to the fire on issues with their otherwise stellar products, the world at large sees a glossy coat of scratch-resistant awesome all over the Cupertino brand. According to General Sentiment (a media measurement firm somewhat obviously named), Apple was not only discussed more than any other brand in Q2 of this year, they are spoken of in high regard.

You see, General Sentiment has developed a new metric called Perception Value and to show off the difference between “Impact” or how much a brand was discussed online, and “Perception” or how well-regarded a company is in those online conversations, they’ve focused on the Perception Value of Apple in their 12-page report on Brand Exposure Analysis. Unsurprisingly, BP made it to #2 in terms of impact, as the spill in the gulf was widely discussed on Facebook, Twitter and blogs. In terms of perception, BP isn’t sitting so pretty. Apple, on the other hand, ranks #1 because of successful iPad and iPhone 4 launches.

[via Macsimum News]

TUAWApple tops media impact rankings in Q2 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple – IPhone – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Cupertino California – Facebook

Filed under: iPhone, App Store

Comic-Con starts in San Diego today, and I’m down here wandering the aisles, looking for geeky gear and cool games. Scott Pilgrim is already one of the stars of the show, with the excellent comic series having finished up, a new console game coming out soon, and of course the Michael Cera-enhanced movie in theaters in a few weeks. To celebrate, NBC Universal has released this free retro Punch-out game starring the characters from the movie. It’s not quite as good as the upcoming console game, but it’s an amusing little retro distraction that fans of the movie will get a kick out of.

The app’s also connected up for Comic-Con — it’s got news and updates straight from the convention floor, and there is a trailer and gallery from the movie to unlock. Yes, it’s adware — if you have no interest in the movie, there’s not really a reason to download the app. But if you’re already interested in Scott Pilgrim and want a little more fun from the franchise on your iPhone during Comic-Con, definitely check this one out.

TUAWTUAW’s Daily App: Pilgrim’s Punch Out originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone – AppStore – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Scott Pilgrim – Apple

Filed under: Apple, iPhone

Apple hasn’t traditionally been a company that calls out its competition by name, but that’s not the case with this Antennagate campaign — it’s posted a video and added information to its page calling out the Nokia N97 mini for suffering from the same issues the iPhone 4 is getting complaints about. In the video above, you can clearly see that yes, holding the Nokia phone by its antenna will cause the signal bars to drop.

Honestly, though, I’m not really sure what Apple is trying to say with this page and these phone comparisons. Yes, Apple, you win — your phone is just as bad as everyone else’s? Don’t get me wrong — I haven’t picked up an iPhone 4 yet, but only because I haven’t been able to find one. The reception issues don’t really bother me. Still, I think it’s the wrong tack for Apple to take just putting their phone alongside everyone else’s and saying this is an industry-wide issue. I bought my original iPhone (and will buy the iPhone 4) because it’s better than everyone else’s, and it’s weird to see Apple apparently trying to convince me otherwise.

[via Engadget]

TUAWApple posts video showing antenna issue on Nokia N97 mini originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone – Apple – Nokia N97 – Nokia – Unofficial Apple Weblog

Filed under: iPad

Update: Barnes & Noble’s PR team pinged us to point out two salient points. #1, the message above does in fact note that only the iPod touch and iPhone versions of the newspaper/magazine subscriptions are temporarily offline — the iPad subs are still available, as I found. #2, via the “Go To” button at the top of the eReader app screen, you can access an abbreviated table of contents (a list of the paper’s sections); that’s a help, but still not a particularly well-adapted navigational approach for all the stories in the NYT. My apologies for the errors.

We got the heads-up from reader Jehuda S. that Barnes & Noble is now listing the New York Times as available for subscription or single-copy download into the company’s B&N eReader app. A quick check of B&N’s site does indeed show the paper available for $0.99 a day, or $19.99 for a monthly subscription — the monthly price is the same as Amazon’s Kindle version, but that edition isn’t available for iPhone or iPad yet. Amazon’s deal with the NYT is a possible explanation for the kneecapped Editor’s Choice app, which doesn’t offer the paper’s full content.

Great, so the paper’s ready for prime time on the iPad courtesy of Mr. Barnes and Mr. Noble? Well, not so much. First of all, even though I was able to go through with the $0.99 purchase of today’s paper [for my iPad], the site is featuring a banner update as seen above — newspaper delivery is being ‘temporarily suspended’ to the iDevices iPhone and iPod touch, with a ‘better reading experience’ around the corner.

That’s good, because the current reading experience is downright cringeworthy. There’s no navigation to speak of except for section front pages and ‘next story’ / ‘previous story’ — in order to see the whole paper, you have to scroll via the page scroller at the bottom (today’s edition shows as 525 screensful, not easy to manage). There’s no master table of contents, no overall list of sections, no moxie whatsoever. It’s a bit like someone faxing you the New York Times, story by story — not at all a positive way to consume this premium content.

I can’t recommend you get the Times in this fashion until B&N revamps the reader; good news is, it looks like there’s consensus on that point over at B&N.

Thanks Jehuda!

TUAWGet the New York Times on iPad via BN… sort of originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Barnes Noble – New York Times – iPhone – Amazon Kindle – Unofficial Apple Weblog

Filed under: Bad Apple

Last December, Apple relented on the use of the otherwise private UIGetScreenImage() API. This function allows iOS developers to capture a screenshot on a device, regardless of the contents of the screen. In contrast, the standard SDK-safe approach to screen captures ([theView.layer renderInContext:context]) did not allow applications to access video layers, camera previews, or some OpenGL content.

iOS developer Manfred Nerurkar writes on his blog that he was just called by his Apple Developer Relations contact and told that Apple has made an about face on this issue. Apps using UIGetScreenImage will no longer be greenlit for the App Store. Instead, developers will need to use standard Quartz methods (as mentioned aboved) or migrate their camera capture code to AVFoundation.

As Nerurkar points out, this decision will force developers to refactor their code and, in doing so, limit screen capture to iOS 4.0 or later deployment. iPhone 2G users will not be able to use camera-centered utilities as iOS 4 AVFoundation functionality cannot be included on the earlier platform. Any 3G and 3GS users who have not upgraded from iOS 3.x will also be affected. That means that Nerurkar’s iCamcorder and iWebcamera will lose a large part of their audience.

Nerurkar’s Drahtwerk firm is not the only one affected. Popular scanner apps such as Occipital ‘s Red Laser (now bought out by eBay) have a large early model/slow adopter iPhone user base, and if they have to be updated to use the newer methods they will be leaving those users behind.

More discussions are ongoing at the Apple developer forums (behind the paid dev firewall).

TUAWdevsugar: Farewell, UIGetScreenImage() originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

IPhone – AppStore – Apple – Unofficial Apple Weblog – IPhone OS

Filed under: iPhone, App Store

Ngmoco has released the followup to its popular We Rule game on the Canadian App Store. We Farm is, as you can see above, very similar to We Rule, with the main difference being that the game is set on a farm rather than in a medieval fantasy world. You’ll be able to raise animals, plant vegetables, build up a barnyard, and of course, trade and share with friends to earn experience. We Rule originally launched in Canada back in February (Ngmoco likes to use America’s neighbors to the north as a testing ground before releasing their apps worldwide), and then it was released to everyone in March, so we can probably expect the same time frame for We Farm.

Will it be as big a hit as We Rule was? It’s hard to tell; the gameplay is certainly proven already, but one of the draws of We Rule was that it wasn’t just a FarmVille clone, and obviously, this seems to be borrowing at least the setting from Zynga’s popular title. Of course, another reason that We Rule was so popular was because it had the iPhone all to itself, and now FarmVille is up and running.

We’ll see, though. Ngmoco has certainly shown that it’s constantly learning about how to find success on the App Store; I’m sure the company has taken lessons from We Rule and GodFinger, not to mention that their development method allows for plenty of quick updates and changes if things don’t work out right away. It’s been fascinating to watch Ngmoco’s experiment, and We Farm (along with We City, another adaptation planned for release soon) is their next step.

TUAWNgmoco’s We Farm now available in Canada originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone – AppStore – Zynga – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Ngmoco

Filed under: iPhone

We know that a few of you have been waiting patiently for a white iPhone 4. Chances are you’re still getting one even if you have to use a Bumper, right? Apple has announced the wait will soon be over, mostly, as white iPhones should start dribbling into inventory at the end of this month. In a year this will likely all be a distant memory (isn’t everything in tech a distant memory in a year?).

If you’ve been wondering why the delay, wonder no more: it’s the paint. You see, the folks making the glass components are having quite a time getting just the right coating of paint on Apple’s hot new hardware so that it’ll match all the rest of its white hardware: namely docks and cables and bumpers, oh my! Engadget has a thorough dissection of the process and problems, which is interesting if you’re into the supply side of things.

TUAWWhite iPhones delayed by paint issues originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

IPhone – Apple – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Engadget – Smartphone

Filed under: App Store

Analytics firm Flurry has announced that in-app purchases are generating $14.66 per user per year in June of 2010, which is a few times larger than it has been in the past. Previously to 2010, the games tracked were generating only a few bucks per user per year, but in January the total jumped to around $9, and it’s now in the double digits. Flurry says that money doesn’t include ad revenue — it’s strictly profit from in-app purchases, either unlocking features or selling virtual goods.

Whenever you talk about making money on free games, you have to talk about Ngmoco — that company famously choose “freemium” as its business plan, and business appears to be good. Exec Simon Jeffery confirmed exactly that at a conference earlier this week — while he can’t discuss actual revenue, he says things are going well. And of course other companies who already know how to make money from free games (like Zynga, whose Farmville recently released on the iPhone) will see this as a big green light for joining Apple’s platform.

The revenue per user isn’t the only important stat here — Apple also has plenty of users to offer up. Disney’s free Toy Story 3 app released recently, and has already picked up 1.7 million users, a good number of which probably bought the 99 cent in-app game offered up. Lots and lots of users spending a surprising amount of money inside their apps means lots and lots of revenue for both iPhone developers and Apple.

TUAWFlurry: In-app purchases generating lots more revenue per user originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone – Flurry – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Apple – App Store

Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2010 third quarter ended June 26, 2010. The Company posted record revenue of $15.7 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.25 billion, or $3.51 per diluted share. “It was a phenomenal quarter that exceeded our expectations all around, including the most successful product launch in Apple’s history with iPhone 4,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iPad is off to a terrific start, more people are buying Macs than ever before, and we have amazing new products still to come this year.”

FileMaker, Inc. today announced FileMaker Go for iPhone and FileMaker Go for iPad, two highly anticipated new apps — now available from the App Store — that let users easily view, edit, and search for information in FileMaker Pro databases on their iPhone or iPad.

Filed under: Internet Tools

Syphir first attracted my attention when they announced that they were using OAuth for Gmail (meaning that you did not have to provide your login information to Syphir in order to use it). They have a $3 iPhone app that receives push notifications, but it will work without the app or even if you — gasp! — don’t have an “iDevice.”

Note: I’ll refer to this as “Gmail,” but it works equally well for Google Apps. I’ll also refer to sending the iPhone notifications, but it works just as well on the iPad. The app is mostly just there to receive the notifications, so you’ll probably never notice the pixel doubling.

What does Syphir do? It lets you create “Rules,” which are like filters in Gmail, but Syphir has some extra features that Gmail doesn’t offer. After setting certain criteria for the Rule, you can have Syphir archive, mark as read, star, delete, apply a label, remove a label, alert the iPhone, or delay the email.

Read on for more details…

TUAWSyphir gives you more Gmail filtering options originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone – Google – Gmail – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Syphir

Novartis, a leading manufacturer of vaccines and pharmaceutical products, turned to iPhone and a mix of custom and commercial apps to streamline communications among its 100,000 global employees. Now the company has developed a consumer iPhone app, VaxTrak, that helps parents manage their children’s vaccines and preventive care.

Filed under: iPhone

What a roller-coaster day! The Wall Street Journal is now quoting Apple throwing cold water directly on today’s Bloomberg story. Bloomberg had reported that an Apple engineer had warned company execs about the problems with the new iPhone 4 antenna design early in the development process for the phone.

The Journal quotes an Apple spokesperson as saying:

“We challenge Bloomberg BusinessWeek to produce anything beyond rumors to back this up. It’s simply not true.”

The Journal also cites sources as saying there will be no recall of the iPhone 4 announced at the press event tomorrow.

It’s anyone’s guess as to what Apple will say tomorrow. The company may say there is a problem and continue to offer penalty-free refunds, it may give free bumpers to insulate the external antenna to customers who want them, or it may say everything is fine. We can’t wait.

[Hat tip to Loop Insight & Business Insider]

TUAWApple: No early knowledge of iPhone 4 antenna issues originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

IPhone – Apple – Wall Street Journal – Bloomberg – Unofficial Apple Weblog

Filed under: Video

Mac fans who work with high definition camcorder clips have been aware of Elgato’s Turbo.264 HD for a while — it’s a USB dongle that provides hardware acceleration for editing HD clips without converting them first. Today the company has released a software edition of the hardware device.

The Mac application, known as Turbo.264 HD SE (for Software Edition), is essentially a converter for encoding HD video for consumption on the Web or on other devices. The Software Edition uses sophisticated algorithms to convert standard and high-def files quickly, and can also work in tandem with the Elgato Turbo.264 HD hardware to boost video conversion speeds up to four times. Turbo.264 HD SE is now included with the hardware.

A free trial version of the software, which will only encode the first 3 minutes of your video, is available for download from Elgato. Turbo.264 HD SE is available at the Elgato Online Store for US$49.95, while the Turbo.264 HD is still available for $99.95.

TUAWElgato Turbo.264 HD Software Edition converts video for iOS devices originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Elgato – Apple – Unofficial Apple Weblog – IPhone – Macintosh

Filed under: iPod Family

The iPod is elegant and small, glossy and slick. Why not cram it into a log? The huge, hollowed-out tree trunk you see at right is an iPod speaker system. Created by Austrian design studio KMKG, the piece begs for an adolescent wood joke that I’m going to resist.

When I say it is a speaker system, that’s the truth. There are no electronic speakers inside. Instead, the piece is created in a way that enhances the wood’s own resonance. Customers can chose their own type of wood and length of the finished piece. Note that the one above weighs 130 lbs, so choose wisely. There’s no word on pricing or availability, but we assume it’s one of those “if you have to ask, you can’t afford it” arrangements.

A tree used as an iPod speaker. Now we’ve seen everything.

TUAWiPod speaker dock carved from tree trunk originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPod – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Tree – Shopping – Consumer Electronics

Filed under: Enterprise, TUAW Business, Developer

Did you miss the Mac IT track at this year’s WWDC, with its lively cross-pollination of Mac managers and developers? Good news, then — there’s a new conference in town, and it aims to raise everyone’s game when it comes to learning about the Mac.

The MacTech Conference will be taking place for three days in LA on 11/3-5, giving Mac IT managers and developers a chance to get it together with leading presenters and instructors. For $899 (or less — see below for an early bird deal) participants will get a lively two-track event for IT folk and developers, including all meals, sessions and special activities like a behind-the-scenes visit to Griffith Observatory.

“The whole idea of the MacTech Conference is to allow members of the Apple community to meet and exchange ideas,” said Edward Marczak, the Executive Editor of MacTech and the chair of the conference program. “This will be spurred on by presentations from some of the best and well-known experts in the community.”

TUAW is happy to be a media sponsor of the conference, and we’re looking forward to meeting some of you there. That special early-bird registration option gives you $200 off that $899 registration cost, if you sign up before July 22 — just click here to register.

TUAWMacTech Conference announced for November 2010 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Macintosh – MacTech Conference – Apple Worldwide Developers Conference

Filed under: Developer, iPhone

Unity CEO David Helgason gave a talk at the Develop conference, going on this week in Brighton, England, and had some harsh words for Steve Jobs on supporting iPhone gaming. Jobs previously said that using “middleware” like Unity to develop iPhone games “produces sub-standard apps,” but Helgason fires back that Jobs “doesn’t understand the economics of game development fundamentally.” Most developers, Helgason seems to be saying, can’t be jack-of-all-trades with their code — they need libraries like Unity to do some of the lifting, especially on smaller-scale platforms like the App Store.

Stuart Dredge at Mobile Entertainment is doing a great job of covering all of the other iPhone gaming news coming out of Develop as well — he’s got talks by the developers of Ngmoco’s Godfinger, Rolando’s Simon Oliver, and Ideaworks Game Studio, the company that brought World at War: Zombies to the iPhone for Activision (that last talk sounds similar to the one we saw earlier this year at GDC).

If there’s a theme among everything developers are saying, it’s probably that they’re finding flexibility a must on the App Store — while an app may be developed with one feature or pay model in mind, things often have to change quickly during development or even after the app goes live. Lots of interesting things to read in there if you’re interested in iPhone game development.

TUAWUnity CEO disses Jobs on gaming originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

AppStore – IPhone – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Steve Jobs – Apple

Filed under: Retail, Apple

Shanghai and Paris just got new Apple stores, and now it’s London’s turn. A red curtain in London’s Covent Garden district shows the latest location for an Apple Retail store — rumor has it that the store will open as soon as the end of this month, and will likely be a popular destination in the tourist-busy shopping and theater district.

Apple’s Regent Street store recently got recognized for making incredible amounts of money as compared to its size — £2000 per square foot. Apple Stores, as you well know, tend to be a little bit larger than usual retail spaces, and the sales pitches are pretty low pressure, with the opportunity to just play with the products. But it works, apparently, so Apple’s Covent Garden store will be the latest of 40 to 50 different store openings around the world this year.

TUAWNew Apple Store coming to London’s Covent Garden originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

AppleStore – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Apple – Covent Garden – London

To silence the “dreaded ‘are we there yet’ whine” that can accompany summer travel with children, USA Today columnist Jinny Gudmundsen recommends iPad apps. Her picks include multiplayer board games, art apps, visual puzzles, and a “just for fun” app that features talking sock puppets.

Filed under: iPhone

The popular Navigon app for the iPhone has had a significant update which is likely to please current owners and may get the company some new sales as well.

New features include Live Weather (which gives the current weather wherever you’re going), parking information, iOS 4 integration — including background navigation and Retina Display enhancements), and updates to the NAVTEQ maps included.

Additionally, there are some nice changes and improvements to the graphics, so this is a fairly substantial update. Read on for a little more insight.

TUAWNavigon updates MobileNavigator with iOS4 multitasking, new maps and parking info originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 10 Jul 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Navigon – Unofficial Apple Weblog – iPhone – iPhone 3G – NAVTEQ

Filed under: iPhone

This app comes highly reviewed from my colleague Justin McElroy over at Joystiq. Nimble Strong: Bartender in Training isn’t just a fun bartending game; it actually teaches you to make drinks. It plays out like a Pheonix Wright game, so as bartender wannabe Nimble Strong, you’ll be faced with a little bit of hardship, and then you’ll have to pull yourself up from the bottom of the ‘tending game, learning how to pour drinks along the way.

The app is very, very well done. The touch controls are a great metaphor for filling the cups, and there’s just the right amount of repetition and practice to actually teach you the finer points of pouring drinks and tending bar (the game’s script was co-written by an actual cocktail journalist). And completely outside of the core gameplay, the story and characters are hilarious, and the art and music create the perfect mood of being behind a counter and dealing with waitresses and regulars.

Nimble Strong is quite a gem, and if you’re leery about jumping in on the full US $4.99 version, there’s a free version to try as well. Playing the free version for just a few minutes will probably sell you on the real thing, though. With drink recipes available as you unlock them, it’s like taking a bartending class, without the spilt booze all over the place.

TUAWTUAW’s Daily App: Nimble Strong: Bartender in Training originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 09 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Cocktail – Bartender – IPhone – Joystiq – Unofficial Apple Weblog

Filed under: iPhone, iPad

There’s an old saying, “When all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.” For Henry Blodget of Business Insider, perhaps we should change it to “When all you have is a comparison between Windows and Mac OS from the 1980s, every situation looks like a repeat.”

In an article entitled Hey, Apple, Wake Up from January 5th, 2010, Mr. Blodget compared the “iPhone vs Android” market to “Mac OS vs Windows” of the 1980s. I missed the article the first time, but that turns out to be OK because 6 months later (almost to the day) he’s written the same article again, but this time with a chart!

Featuring a headline that couldn’t be any more link-baiting if it included LeBron James’ free agency choice or Lindsay Lohan’s ice cream card, This Android Chart Should Scare the Bejesus Out of Apple rehashes what is almost exactly the same article (“NEW AND IMPROVED! NOW CONTAINS REFERENCES TO THE iPad!”) and ends with a chart showing “Percent Of Developers That Have Developed For Each Mobile Platform” showing Android in the lead over iPhone/iOS.

The body of the article links not once but twice to his previous article, plus a callout box to his previous article (which also links to another article about the same chart), and at the end of the article, in case you missed it, there is a “See Also” link which will bring you back to — wait for it — the same article he wrote back in January.

Memo to H. Blodget: Saying the same thing over and over again does not automagically grant it the mantle of truth.

TUAWBusinessInsider insists Android is the new Windows. Again. originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

IPhone – Apple – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Android – Mac OS

Filed under: iPhone, iPad

Many iPhone users have become accustomed to using their devices to settle arguments.

• Arguing over the best route to take for your weekend getaway? Pull out the Maps app or one of the many iPhone GPS apps.
• Found someone who doesn’t believe that Inigo Montoya and Jason Gideon are played by the same actor? Fire up the IMDB app.
• Disagreement over when Star Wars was released (or re-released)? Head over to Wikipedia.com or one of the many Wikipedia apps.

It’s one thing to argue over facts and dates, but can iPhone apps help settle arguments about the existence of God? A recent NY Times article showed that some folks on both sides of the question are making an effort.

On the side of religious skeptics are applications like Bible Thumper, the Atheist Pocket Debater, and mAtheist. For those who are certain they can convert others to faith, if only they find the right argument, there are apps such as Doubt Busters, God Tools, or Jesus Evangelism Tool by Mobile Jesus. (As an aside, I think developers of these sorts of apps may want to avoid the word “tool” in the title, or they’re just asking for people to twist the meaning.)

Read on for more…

TUAWQuestions about God? There’s an app for (and against) that originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 07 Jul 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone – Unofficial Apple Weblog – IPad – Apple – Inigo Montoya

Filed under: iPhone, App Review

Heading off to a conference? Here are five little apps you might want to consider adding to your iPhone before heading off to the airport. They all provide functionality that may come in handy when you’re on the go.

SpeakerClock ($0.99) provides a bright easy-to-read display showing you exactly how much time you have left to present your paper and take questions. It’s a deceptively simple application full of lovely little design touches. I used it at a recent conference and found it an absolutely valuable tool to have around.

This app works well both on the iPhone and the iPad — as a conference organizer, it’s really great to use the iPad’s larger screen from across the room. As a speaker, the iPhone version works particularly well when placed on a small business card stand on the speaker’s podium.

Want to easily share your contact information? Contxts offers a simple solution. You can sign up for a free account at contxts.com, where you can enter your details. Anyone with a phone (it doesn’t have to be an iPhone) and an SMS plan can text a short phrase (like “demotuaw”) to 50500 and they’ll receive the information you set up at their website. Their free iPhone app lets you edit that information directly. What’s more, when you turn the iPhone on its side, you can display a “HELLO my name is” contact sheet that instructs people how to retrieve your contact data. What’s great about Contxts is that it’s a solution that works with any group of people, whether they’ve hopped onto the Apple iPhone train or not (of course, if they have an iPhone or an Android phone, there’s always Bump).

TUAWFive apps for the conference-goer originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Found Footage

The iPhone 4‘s insides are no secret anymore. The folks at iFixit alone have done a stellar job of documenting its every bit and bob. Still, the video above is worth watching. Created by repair firm Techrestore and composed of over 1,700 still photos, it’s a highly entertaining stop-motion disassembly of Apple’s latest gadget.

The sound effects are a bit cheesy, but we’re willing to let that go since the rest of show is so good. For more on the iPhone 4, check out our full coverage. If you’re interested in the device’s internal workings, check out this unofficial repair guide put together by iFixit.

[via 9to5Mac]

TUAWFound footage: Stop-motion iPhone 4 disassembly originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

IPhone – Apple – IFixit – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Stop motion

Filed under: TUAW Business

When you’ve been at sea for three weeks with incredibly slow Internet service, coming back to the land of broadband seems like a drink of vodka water to a thirsty man. On today’s episode of TUAW TV Live, your host Steve Sande has a lot of things in store for the audience. After all, he was out of town for 10.6.4 as well as the debut of the iPhone 4.

On today’s show, expect Steve to share some videos (no, not of vacation…), demo some apps, and otherwise jump right back into the swing of things. There may even be a giveaway! And of course Steve will have to do a classic unboxing video for the iPhone 4 that just showed up.

TUAW TV Live comes to you at 5 PM ET (2 PM PT) today, and all you need to do to watch is show up here at TUAW.com slightly before the start of the show. The show features live video and a chat room, so it’s relatively easy to get Steve to respond to your commentary.

TUAWComing up at 5 PM ET: the post-vacation episode of TUAW TV Live originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Unofficial Apple Weblog – IPhone – Television – Steve Sande – TUAW TV Live

Filed under: Software, Internet Tools, iPhone, App Store

One must-have app for me with any smartphone is a decent SSH client; I wouldn’t move over to the iPhone until I was sure it had one. When Zingersoft’s iSSH came along and I was able to kick its tires a bit, I knew I could safely move my life over to the iPhone. RSA/DSA key import support, an X11 client … what more could I want or need?

Well, Zingersoft answered me with its latest update, officially released a few days ago. In this update is multitasking support, allowing you to keep connections open in the background for up to ten minutes on compatible devices. And because there’s now multitasking capability, the update allows one to setup port forwarding tunnels.

If you don’t have access to a VPN server to pass through firewalls in order to gain access certain systems, the port forwarding feature of iSSH is a godsend. As for the ten minute timeout, that’s only to be expected. Though, I’m assuming all one has to do to reset the timeout counter is occasionally switch back to iSSH and back out again.

iSSH is a universal iPhone and iPad app, currently available for US$9.99 in the app store.

TUAWiSSH updates, supports multitasking and port forwarding originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 07 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone – Unofficial Apple Weblog – AppStore – Apple – Handhelds

Filed under: Retail, Apple, iPhone

TUAWProximity sensor woes caused by reflective ear canal originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

IPhone – Apple – Unofficial Apple Weblog – proximitysensor – Handhelds

Filed under: iPhone, App Store

Zombie Wonderland was a game I didn’t get to see at E3 a little while back when I met up with Chillingo, but I recently checked it out, and it’s an interesting little zombie fightin’ title. The undead action is somewhat removed — instead of directly shooting the shambling brain-eaters, you’re simply directing a little dude named Chuck around, trying to defend all sides of a house being attacked. The gameplay can be busy but isn’t always compelling — you’re also tasked with cleaning up the floors in a pretty bizarre mechanic that seems meant to add a little excitement to the festivities, but even when Chuck is racing around, things never get to a real fever pitch.

That’s ok, though — the polish of the models (there’s a Minigore aesthetic going on), the smoothness of the animation and the feeling that you really are defending a homestead from the onrushing zombie horde all make the experience quite fun despite the simple gameplay. And since the game is on sale for just 99 cents, it’s definitely worth a look. For the last day of this year’s Independence Weekend, try declaring your brains off-limits to the walking dead.

TUAWTUAW’s Daily App: Zombie Wonderland originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 05 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone – AppStore – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Chillingo – Chuck

Filed under: iPhone

The fix from Apple for the increasing complaints about iPhone 4 reception is, not surprisingly, not going over very well with the lawyers representing people who are complaining of dropped calls.

Apple said yesterday it was ‘stunned’ to learn the signal strength graph on every iPhone made is not accurate, and is displaying much better reception than the phone is really getting. To fix it, Apple is going to recalibrate the display, essentially giving you fewer bars in more places.

Dan Ward, of Ward & Ward, one of the law firms suing Apple and AT&T told me:

We at Ward & Ward, along with many others, are very skeptical of this “fix.” While Apple admits to misrepresenting to the public [about] the signal strength its iPhone 4 is receiving, and then says they will fix that problem, there is no indication that this “fix” will actually solve the underlying design problem.

Another firm with clients suing Apple, Mason LLP, told TechCrunch:

Our investigation revealed that users lost reception when gripping the phone in a conventional manner. We believe that the problem is not merely how the signal strength is displayed but involves a physical blocking of the antennae which cuts off calls.

The other firms suing Apple are also not likely to be persuaded by Apple’s explanation, so don’t expect those lawsuits to go away any time soon.

TUAWLaw firms suing Apple not impressed with explanation of reception issues originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 03 Jul 2010 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

IPhone – Apple – AT&T – Unofficial Apple Weblog – iPhone 4

Filed under: Gaming, iPhone

Developer Aaron Ardiri pulled off the crazy feat last week of porting the classic Lemmings game from Palm OS not only to the iPhone, but also to Windows and the Mac … in just 36 hours. That’s 36 hours straight — he liveblogged the whole process, and did actually pull it off, sending the iPhone app, which you can see above, into the App Store for approval.

There’s just one hitch — Ardiri doesn’t actually own the Lemmings property. Sony does, and as soon as the company heard about his port, it dropped a cease and desist letter on him, commanding him to remove all ports he’s hosted and not to port any other Sony games. So there’s no way, as of now, that we’ll see this app in the App Store.

Of course, if Sony knows what’s good for them, the company could pay Ardiri to release the port for them, and we could all play the old version of Lemmings on the iPhone (and pay for the privilege). Ardiri says he’ll “open communication” for such a deal, so we’ll have to wait and see.

TUAWUnofficial Lemmings for iPhone gets C&D originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 02 Jul 2010 20:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

IPhone – AppStore – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Sony – Palm OS

Peter Cohen (Loopinsight.com) presents a selection of standout iPad games — ranging from action to strategy to multi-player crossword — with mini-reviews that detail how each app’s gameplay is enhanced on iPad.

PC Magazine makes Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server an Editors’ Choice (4.5/5 stars) and writes that the ultra-compact device brings “the sort of flawless design and ease of use we expect from Apple…to a space that usually offers neither: the server market.”

Filed under: Apple Corporate, iPhone

If you didn’t see the thorough reports from AnandTech and Richard Gaywood on the behavior of the iPhone 4 in low-signal areas, one of the conclusions they came to is that ‘bars are bogus.’

The behavior of the signal indicators on the phone is wildly shifted toward the optimistic, with over half the available signal range displayed as a cheery five bars. This contributes to the death grip problem: users who are giving up some antenna sensitivity when they grab the phone may not realize that their signal was iffy to begin with.

Guess what: Apple agrees with them, at least in part. The company posted a letter/press release today (unsigned, rather than the attributed-to-Steve past Thoughts on Music and Thoughts on Flash; they could have called this one Thoughts on Bars, but that would have been a little cruel) that admits “We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both simple and surprising.” The letter continues: “Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong.”

Totally wrong? Golly.

Apple says it will be releasing a software update to recalibrate the signal display so that users will be aware of the low signal that they didn’t think they had, and as a result the problem of not being able to make calls when they hold the phone ‘the wrong way’ will be less evident. I guess.

We’re all for clarity in signal displays, but what’s not clear is how a more sophisticated formula for computing the “more bars in more places” will help users who have bought bumpers, or returned phones, because their iPhone 4s could not make calls in places their 3GS phones did. As Apple notes, there are plenty of users who are not having problems, and in fact get better reception and fewer dropped calls than they did with previous generations; all that does not invalidate the issues that are causing grief for Death Grip Nation.

In their review, Anandtech acknowledged that the iPhone 4′s antenna capabilities and performance in low-signal areas are much improved over the earlier generation, with the ability to hold calls in conditions where the 3GS would have dropped them. Still, their conclusion is sound and straightforward: “At the end of the day, Apple should add an insulative coating to the stainless steel band, or subsidize bumper cases. It’s that simple.”

Note: Whether you are having reception issues or not, please be respectful and constructive in your comments.

TUAWApple issues official word on iPhone 4 reception: it’s the bars, man originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 02 Jul 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

IPhone – Apple – Anandtech – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Signal strength

Filed under: Found Footage, iPhone

If you’re afraid of heights, do not watch this video. A few guys in Los Angeles convinced a friend to loan them his new iPhone 4 for a risky little experiment: A balloon-powered flight into the air, tethered by kite string, with the video camera recording the whole time.

Yeah, we’re also wondering what kind of leverage they had on this guy to make him give up the iPhone.

Aside from the relative wisdom of rigging the phone and flying it near a working radio tower, the video is actually quite compelling — there’s also a behind-the-scenes clip showing the extended process of building and flying the rig.

Thanks Jimmy!

TUAWFound Footage: iPhone 4 takes to the skies originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

IPhone – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Los Angeles – Handhelds – Smartphones

Filed under: iPhone

Those who’ve wanted Firefox on the iPhone will soon get their wish. Kind of. Mozilla has announced that Firefox Home has been submitted to Apple for review.

Don’t let the name “Firefox” fool you, because Home isn’t really a web browser. It works in concert with the Firefox sync add-on for the desktop. Once you’ve got that installed and created an account, you’ll launch the iPhone app and re-enter your credentials.

The app will remember what tabs you had open most recently and present their contents to you. You’ll also have access to your bookmarks, recent browsing history and web search.

The service syncs 2,000 of your most recently visited items every 24 hours, and new data is synced every time you launch the app. Good luck to the Firefox Home team. We hope to test your solution soon.

[Via CNET]

TUAWMozilla submits Firefox Home to the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

IPhone – Apple – AppStore – FirefoxHome – Mozilla

Filed under: iPad

Oklahoma State University is the latest school to start setting students up with iPads. Starting this fall, a pilot program will give iPads to 125 students, and the university will monitor both how the device affects their learning and what their textbook costs turn out to be. Additionally, the classes in the pilot program will look at using both apps and Web-based tools on the devices, as is appropriate for the classroom.

What’s interesting is that, instead of just handing out iPads to the students, OSU is really interested in how their students will go about using them. The results should be intriguing, not only for the lucky college kids who get to use iPads all semester but also for Apple and for other schools that are formulating plans over how to share and use technology. It certainly seems like having an iPad at college would be helpful in the traditional ways (you could read textbooks or take notes on it), but it’s cool that OSU is thinking about new ways to use it as well, such as apps for tests or connections across local Wi-Fi for networked learning.

We’ll see how OSU’s program works out. The iPad is certainly a new kind of computer, and it sounds like OSU is looking for new ways of using it on campus.

TUAWOklahoma State University to start up iPad initiative originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Oklahoma State University – Oklahoma State University–Stillwater – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Education – IPad

Filed under: iPhone

Diacarta is a to-do app like you’ve never seen. I saw it on the excellent Well-Placed Pixels blog, and the design of the thing is really interesting. Basically, to add items to the to-do list, you just add icons to the image of the clock. Once items have been added, you can see a visual representation of what your day is like. I’m not so much concerned about keeping a strict calendar as I am about just having a list of my various tasks during the day, so for someone like me, Diacarta is a new and interesting way to look at how my tasks line up.

Unfortunately, it’s probably a bit more style than substance for serious calendar users; it doesn’t sync up with other calendars at all (so you have to put everything into the app yourself), and it won’t send notifications or let you know when something you plan is actually happening. That means it’s probably not a satisfactory replacement if you already regularly use some kind of calendar.

However, as a simple visual representation of a day full of errands or various tasks, Diacarta looks great and works just as well. If that’s something you’re interested in, consider ponying up the US$1.99 price.

TUAWTUAW’s Daily App: Diacarta originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Unofficial Apple Weblog – Apple – IPhone – iPhone 3G – Handhelds

Filed under: iPhone

While AT&T’s service has been notoriously bad even before the iPhone launch, iPhone users in New York City have suffered some of the worst of it, with one Apple Genius reportedly saying that 30% dropped call rate was average. (I think he misspelled “atrocious.”)

The good news is that AT&T has rolled out a network upgrade in the NYC, according to the company’s press release this week. The big question was: Will it actually help?

Early anecdotal reports are that yes, it has made a big difference. I’ve seen various snippets around the web of people posting that things seem to be better. I guess only time will tell for sure.

This also seems like a good time to remind you about AT&T’s free Mark The Spot app for noting when you have either a voice or data issue. We’ve noted that some users are getting updated with news of tower build-outs near their reported dead spots. Personally I wondered if this was leveraging towers AT&T planned to install anyway, but I spoke with a friend who works for AT&T and he said “I know it’s hard to believe, but it really does matter.”

What say you, NYC folks? Has the upgrade been noticeable for you?

[via Engadget]

TUAWAT&T says New York City service is improved originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

AT&T – New York City – iPhone – Apple – Unofficial Apple Weblog

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPad

Angry Birds has been a phenomenal success, staying atop the App Store best seller list for months. I too, succumbed to the “bird in a slingshot” craze, as has my eight year old son who told me the other night he dreamed that he was in the slingshot.

Angry Birds HD was one of the first games that I downloaded for the iPad, but I was pretty disappointed. While the iPhone game was only $0.99, the HD version was $4.99, following an unfortunate trend where iPhone games are ported to iPad, cost much more, and don’t add any new features. But Angry Birds HD actually had fewer features and levels than the iPhone version. Rovio told us at E3 that they’d be fixing that soon.

Well, as promised, an update came out a few days ago which added more levels and brought the game up to par with the iPhone version. Unfortunately the game has also added what one friend called “extreme crashiness action.” So far I haven’t actually lost any progress due to a crash, but it’s fairly annoying. Hopefully there will be another update soon.

As a side note, developer Marco Arment noted back in May that the App Store was full of scams and ripoff apps surrounding Angry Birds, some which use the same name, and others which use the same artwork. It’s sad to see that these apps are still there, and to know that they are profiting unfairly off the success of a popular game. Why Apple would allow some of these apps to remain and purge others is beyond me.

TUAWAngry Birds HD updated with more levels… and crashiness originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone – AppStore – Unofficial Apple Weblog – Apple – IPad

The iPhone 4 has been the most successful product launch in Apple’s history. It has been judged by reviewers around the world to be the best smartphone ever, and users have told us that they love it. So we were surprised when we read reports of reception problems, and we immediately began investigating them. Here is what we have learned.