June 2009 Archives
Earlier today the "Hottest Girls" app was being touted as the first iTunes/iPhone app approved by Apple to show full nudity, promising there'd be a lot more skin seen on iPhone screens.
But by mid-day on the East Coast, it seemed the app had simply slipped past the Apple censors, and it was removed from the App store.
Get the full story here at InternetNews.com The Blog for the full post by Michelle Menga.
A Business Tycoon ($0.99), now available here the iTunes App Store, is an investment-based business stimulation game. In the game, the players motive is to maximize profits generated through buying and selling assets with the help of price charts and other tools. According to SherylApps, the developer, the game offers users hundreds of assets to choose from across varying price ranges. Players start with initial capital of $10 million. There's a free lite version of the game, available here, for those who would like to try A Business Tycoon out first before plucking down their hard earned dollar on the full game.
One of the cool features in Palm's new Pre smartphone is the ability to charge the smartphone wirelessly. That's right, no cables required. Thanks to WildCharge, you can now do the very same thing with the iPod touch. It will cost you, however. The company is offering a $79.99 bundle—with a flexible protective cover that fits over iPod touch and a charging pad—that, once installed, allows you to charge your iPod wirelessly. Just place the cover on the iPod and place it on the plugged in pad to juice up your Apple. Good news for iPhoners: A version of the WildCharger Bundle compatible with all iPhone versions is due to ship in July.
Zillow.com recently launched an update to its eponymous iPhone real estate application, available for free here. The app uses GPS to find and follow users as they move through neighborhoods, and displays information on values, homes for-sale and those houses that have been recently sold. The upgrade sports a number of new features, including the addition of push notifications that take advantage of the capabilities delivered by the new iPhone OS 3.0. With push notifications, the app will notify users when additions or changes have been made to their saved searchesӣeven when the app isn't in use. Additional new features include the ability to search by price, bedrooms and bathrooms, and the aforementioned capacity to save searches and favorite homes.
iBrain FIT-IQ is a new series of iPhone and iPod touch apps that are designed to get users to work out their brains, sharpen cognitive skills and improve IQ. It arrives from the Brain Center America, which apparently specializes in programs designed to improve memory, concentration, multitasking and other mental abilities.
The center says the new iPhone applications are comprised of an interactive set of 12 brain-training exercises that help users train corresponding essential brain functions, regrouped under such themes as IQ, memory, brain speed and 3D orientation. The first iBrain FIT-IQ app ($2.99, available here) depends on the Apple’s accelerometer to complete certain brain tasks. It is comprised of three exercises that can be previewed in a free lite-edition, available here.
The iPhone is as much as gaming platform as a phone or music player. Plantastic! ($0.99, available here), a puzzle and strategy game, is the latest title from veteran developer Astrware . In it, players create bouquets from groups of brightly colored flowers to clear them from a garden and achieve what's called the bloom target. It features five play modes, each with different planting patterns. According to Astraware, Plantastic! starts simple but gets more complex as the flower arrangements get more complex. Sounds like a good match for anyone with a little horticulturalist in them.
To coincide with the latest Hollywood blockbuster to land in theaters, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, IDW Publishing's launched digital comics tie ins at the iTunes App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch. Released over the past few weeks, all twelve movie-related comics ($0.99 each) are in the Top 25 paid book applications. These prequels, like the ones released for the recent Star Trek film, set the stage for the just released Transformers sequel. The comics feature panel-by-panel viewing and controls that allow you to, for example, swipe with your finger to navigate, and a table of contents.
Version 1.0 includes a Today View, a Task List View, a Compact and Expanded Contact Views, and facilities such as Contact Linking, One Tap Dial/Email, quick item deletion, task categories, colors, grouping and filtering, over-the-air services such as integrated weather forecasts, and much more.
The developer says a number of new features are already being implemented and will soon be available in the upcoming version 1.01 of Agendus. It says the topmost priority is the addition of calendaring capabilities.
Weather underground's just added a new Twitter function to its WunderRadio application ($6.99, available here. WunderRadio enables iPhoners to listen to over 50,000 different radio stations and shows over a wireless connection. The new feature allows WunderRadio users to follow radio station Twitter feeds while listening to a live broadcast on their iPhone. Conversely, users can login to their Twitter accounts and send Tweets directly to DJ's live on air—whether it be to request a song, join a debate or enter a competition. Since all this can be done within WunderRadio, there’s no need to open a browser or shut down the application.
Astraware's latest strategy game, Tradewinds 2 ($4.99, available here), is now available for the iPhone and iPod touch. In the game, players navigate the pirate-infested waters of the Caribbean, battling pirates and trading goods with the goal of amassing wealth, power and influence. Players can choose from one of 5 pre-defined characters or create their own using the 'Character Generator' and explore 20 different ports, each with different buildings and characteristics.
According to the DataViz, the developer, Documents To Go delivers support for Microsoft Word, Excel & PowerPoint, PDF, Apple iWork and other files. It includes a desktop application (Win and Mac) to provide 2-way file synchronization.
It is supposed to be the only solution currently available that supports Microsoft Word 2007 editing on the iPhone. Excel editing will be offered as a free upgrade when it becomes available. Learn more about the app here, which is currently discounted at $4.99, at the App Store.
A version with support for attachments is also available for Microsoft Exchange e-mail users who need to send, receive and edit attachments on the iPhone. This version goes for $9.99 and is available here.BOSTON (Reuters) - Apple Inc released 45 software patches on Wednesday to address rare security vulnerabilities in its popular iPhone and iPod Touch mobile devices.
The company released them as part of its widely anticipated iPhone 3.0 operating system.
"This is a large cluster of patches for the iPhone," said Dino Dai Zovi, a security expert who is writing a book on cracking the iPhone.
Get the full story here at Datamation.com.Mike Elgan think it's time for Apple to drop AT&T -- or, at least offer iPhone on a second US carrier.
AT&T simply cannot keep up with Apple. The carrier lags the handset maker in technology, customer service and pricing.
Get the full story here at Datamation.com.
Crowds range from handfuls to hundreds as fans flock in fewer numbers to Apple's and AT&T's stores.>Get the full story here at InternetNews.com.
Author: Andy Patrizio
But good luck upgrading/installing it.
UPDATE: Looks like I'm in good company. Or at least, lots of company.
UPDATE 2: It only took 5 hours but I managed to upgrade without a hitch. Now to dig in and see what's new and nifty. I definitely like the voice memo recorder.
Spatial View, a developer of glasses-free 3D displays and 3D image processing technology, recently introduced a set of 3D developer tools for the iPhone 3G that enables users to create glasses-free 3D games, applications, and multimedia content for Apple's smartphone platform.
These tools include the Wazabee 3DeeInterlacing SDK, for game and application development, and the Wazabee 3DeeInterlacer, which is supposed to assist production houses, content creators, and licensees in converting their existing content into a mobile 3D experience viewable on the iPhone 3G when using the Wazabee 3DeeShell.
The Wazabee 3DeeShell (see top image), announced at MacWorld 2009, is a protective case with a removable lens that enables glasses-free viewing of multimedia 3D content on Apple's iPhone 3G. It goes for $49. You can learn more about it here
The 3DeeInterlacing SDK is compatible with the Mac operating system and is available to download for free here. The 3DeeInterlacer is compatible with both the Mac and Windows operating systems and can be downloaded for free here.
This new version is faster and easier to use. It supports tabs as well as more of your favorite gadgets, including those built by third-party developers. Note that not all gadgets — like those with Flash — will work in mobile browsers.
One of our favorite new features is the in-line display of articles for feed-based gadgets. That means you can read article summaries without leaving the page. You can also rearrange gadget order or keep your favorite gadgets open for your next visit. None of these changes will mess up the layout of gadgets on your desktop computer, so feel free to play around and tune your mobile experience.
This latest edition of iGoogle for mobile is available in 38 languages. Go to igoogle.com in your wireless browser and tap "Try the new Mobile iGoogle!" to try it out.
See the video below to see the latest edition of iGoogle in action on an Android-run phone.
Author: Andy Patrizio
SAN FRANCISCO – There was no Steve Jobs, but Apple gave the audience at its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) plenty to cheer about with new hardware, news on Mac OS X and, as expected, a new iPhone. The iPhone 3G has been succeeded by the iPhone 3 GS, with "S" standing for "speed."
Phil Schiller, Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) vice president of worldwide marketing, touted its improved performance across the board. "It's the same design as on the outside but new inside," he told the packed crowd in the Moscone Center. "iPhone changed how people think of their phones. It's changed what we can do with a phone, what we can expect while traveling around. It's the first phone both business and consumers can love." Schiller did not discuss in detail what's changed under the hood. Various Apple blogs had speculated a faster ARM processor was coming, along with the memory capacity increase. This was made official, as the 16GB version of the phone will now sell for $199 with a two-year contract with AT&T. The previous generation iPhone 3G sold for $199 in an 8GB configuration or $299 in a 16GB configuration.
Also, as rumored, Apple announced a new high-capacity phone, the 32GB iPhone 3 GS, which will go for $299. Both iPhone 3 GS models will be in stores in the US, Canada and Western Europe on June 17.
The older iPhone 3G will be cut to $99, with a two-year contract, effective immediately. There was no mention of the 16GB iPhone 3G being cut.
Battery life has been improved somewhat, with up to 12 hours of 2G talk time instead of 10, and 10 hours of video, up from eight. 3G talk time, however, remains five hours.
A raft of new features
Scott Forstall, senior vice president of iPhone software at Apple, detailed new features in iPhone OS 3.0, which is also due for release on June 17. Most of what he discussed had been revealed a few months back when Apple released the beta of the 3.0 software development kit (SDK), including features like copy/cut/paste, the landscape keyboard, and MMS support.
He also discussed features like the ability to search the entire phone, through your calendar, music, notes, and e-mail. iTunes will support rental and purchase of movies, TV shows, music videos and audio books. Through the USB connection, you can watch that content on your PC or Macintosh.
The Safari browser is getting an upgrade not just on computers but the iPhone as well, with three times the JavaScript performance, autofill and HTML 5 support.
A new service for MobileMe users is Find My iPhone. If you lose your phone, it will send a message that pings loudy, even if the phone is in silent mode, to inform anyone who hears it that the phone is lost. If that doesn't work, you can also send a remote wipe command and the phone will be wiped clean.
See the rest of this article here at Datamation.com.
Quicksheet enables users to view and edit Excel documents. The increased functionality now allows landscape editing, direct double-tap cell editing in both landscape and portrait mode, copy and paste columns, rows and cells, faster and easier ways to build formulas, as well as the ability to add a new sheet within a worksheet.
The Word editor, Quickword, adds auto-correct, auto-capitalization, find text, adjusting indentation level of bulleted/numbered lists and paragraphs, and double tapping space bar to enter a period.
New features for Quickoffice Files include slideshow viewing of images in remote and local directories and the ability to bookmark last viewed position in documents.
Quickoffice told iPhoneGuide that its roadmap includes future editing support for Office 2007 files and the ability to access e-mail attachments.
Simplify Music 2.0 is an app that enables user to stream audio from their digital library to their iPhone, iPod touch or other personal computer. It saves storage space and removes the need to constantly sync with remote devices, according to its developer. Additionally, Simplify Media integrates with popular players like iTunes and users can stream songs from up to 30 friends and view lyrics and artist bios.
With version 2.0, users can now search for artist, album and title across all connected computers as though it's one giant library. They can also tags favorite music from personal libraries, or those of friends on the fly; create an on-the-fly playlist; and use a feature called the "scrub bar" to easily move forward or back in a streamed podcast or audio book Simplify Music 2.0 sells for $5.99 at the iTunes App Store. The video below shows Simplify Music 2.0 in action.
These coordinates are based on geographical data as well as results from other TuneCast Auto users in the same geographical area. The solution enables the iPhone or iPod touch to automatically change tunings, taking the user and -- you'd think -- much of the hassle out of using an FM transmitter.
TuneCast Auto Live capitalizes on the ability of iPhone OS 3.0 to enable application control of hardware accessories. It should ship this fall for an as-of-yet undisclosed price.
