Low-income users latch on to iPhone

Lower-income U.S. consumers are flocking to Apple’s iPhone, according to research company ComScore Mobile.

A handful of Halloween for your iPhone or iPod touch

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Ready for Halloween on your iPhone? The App Store provides a quick fix for trick-or-treaters, and the offerings provide a little of each category. I happened to grab a random assortment of freebies (several were temporarily free) themed around Halloween. Here's a quick review of each. Hit the gallery for sample screens. All app names are iTunes links.

Bust-a-spook
A simple tap-and-score game using some gradient-heavy backgrounds and simplistic artwork to keep you entertained. The audio, like most of the Halloween-themed apps, is appropriately annoying. I found this one to be too hard and pointless to play with it long. When ghosts, pumpkins or bats are "busted" they grow larger and fade away. That's really about it, except for choosing levels of difficulty. Price: $.99

Carve3D
Clever way to carve a 3D pumpkin on the iPhone. You swap between "rotate" and "carve" modes and carve into the pumpkin by tapping corners. A final tap near the first point closes the loop and carves a hole in the geometry. As an interesting touch, the light actually shines through the geometry, so you can project the face you carve, though getting the camera in a good spot is tough. Price: $.99

Crazy Pumpkin
eZone has a slew of nifty, gimmicky apps (they remind me of the Johnson Smith Co. products). Around Halloween several went free, including Crazy Pumpkin. It's a very simple app: swap the eyes, nose and mouth of a virtual jack-o-lantern. I like the pulsing colors and the audio is well-done. Kids love this one. Price: Free.

Crazy Metal Head
Essentially a ventriloquist's dummy in the form of a chrome skull with fire in its mouth. You can toggle metal music on or off. The head bounces around, like a bobblehead. That's about all it does, but it still is fun if you do crazy voices and have no shame. Price: $.99

Crazy Skeleton
Another freebie from eZone, this time a skeleton with eyes that bounce around. You can control the mouth (like Metal Head), but shaking the device makes a random video play, animating the skeleton. There are maybe a dozen cute performances here, and my kids found this one the most entertaining. $1.99

More apps, keep reading...

Continue reading A handful of Halloween for your iPhone or iPod touch

A handful of Halloween for your iPhone or iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A handful of Halloween for your iPhone or iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple Rejects iPhone version of Opera Mini from the App Store; Maybe Not Yet [Updated]

Review: Movies for iPhone

Movies offers a clean, easy-to-use interface, that lists the blockbusters and the bombs now playing or coming soon to a multiplex near you. And it’s free.

Opera Browser Not Allowed in iPhone App Store

The NY Times profiles Opera Software, the company that distributes the Opera browser for multiple platforms. According to the article, however, Apple is not allowing an iPhone version of the browser into the App Store:

Mr. von Tetzc...

Opera Mini Denied! Apple Disallows Browser Competitor for iPhone

To no one’s surprise, but perhaps to a few’s disppointment, Apple may have denied entry to the iTunes App Store to Opera Mini. Says the New York Times (via Daring Fireball):

Mr. von Tetzchner said that Opera’s engineers have developed a version of Opera Mini that can run on an Apple iPhone, but Apple won’t let the company release it because it competes with Apple’s own Safari browser.

Opera doesn’t state what the terms of rejection were, be it “duplicative functionality” like PodCaster, they dared touch Steve Jobs’ sacred dock, or whether they were trying to parse JavaScript against the terms of the SDK. Whatever the reason, however, there remains uncertainty for developers and a deafening lack of justification from Apple. (Perhaps even more ironic, given Valley Wag’s assertion that Opera was once considered by Apple to be the iPhone browser!)

For those not familiar with Opera Mini, on the Windows Mobile, Palm, and even Blackberry platforms that have been woefully under-served by the likes of Blazer and Pocket IE, Opera Mini has become one of the first things installed in a desperate attempt to get at least something closer to the actual internet on their devices (though this is changing with the likes of Android, and devices such as the Blackberry Thunder). Opera has also found a niche in embedded systems (e.g. video game platforms).

However, Opera Mini pre-crunching all data on their own servers before shipping it to handsets sets off a “Gibsonian response” in my central security core, so while it wouldn’t appeal to me on the iPhone, I would prefer to reject it myself rather than have Apple do so perfunctorily on my behalf.

What about you? Anyone seriously bummed there won’t be Opera for the iPhone any time soon?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Opera Mini Denied! Apple Disallows Browser Competitor for iPhone

New MacBooks and MacBook Pros Support Up to 6GB

ZDNet points out that memory sales company Ramjet has published on their website that the recently MacBook and MacBook Pros can support a maximum of 6GB of RAM. This configuration is possible with the use of one 2GB and one 4GB stick.

iPhone with 2.3% Market Share and Even Attracting Lower Income Households

The Register reports on iPhone marketshare numbers for Q3 2008 as reported by research firm Strategy Analytics.

According to the latest numbers, Apple ranks 6th amongst phone suppliers with 2.3% marketshare for Q3 2008. The numbers re...

Box.net… for your iPhone!!!

Are you wishing you had iDisk on your iPhone? Bummed you don’t? Looking for an alternative? Then look no further! Arstechnica informs us thatBox.net has just released an app for the iPhone! For those of you that don’t know, Box.net is a free service that gives you online access to 1GB of storage. Now, you can access this information directly from your iPhone! 

After logging in you have access to your folders and documents; if the iPhone can render it, you can view it! You can even share folders with the handy “Share” button. You can also upload photos as well, but regretfully, only one at a time. 

One neat feature is that if you share a file, you will be notified of an update via the updates section located in the bottom left of the app!

This is a 1.0 release, and we are looking forward to what new features Box.net might bring us! I took some pictures from my iPhone below, enjoy!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Box.net… for your iPhone!!!

How To: Choose and Set Up Hosted Exchange on iPhone ActiveSync

For most of us today, email is a major part of our lives. Whether it be for business or personal reasons, one thing we all look for in an email service, especially if we are paying for it, is reliability. So what if you’re not having the best of luck with Apple’s MobileMe service or any other IMAP alternatives? Maybe it’s time to consider a hosted Exchange account. Not familiar with Exchange? Then be sure to check out Rene’s excellent article from a while back, Walkthrough: Exchange ActiveSync On Your iPhone 2.0. That article can give you a great understanding of exactly how Exchange works on the iPhone.

Don’t have a corporate solution or your very own Exchange server, though? No problem! I’m going to be giving you some very reliable hosted Exchange services as well as some tips on getting it up and running for the flawless email you have been seeking!

More after the jump!

Finding the right service for you

The first step in setting up a hosted Exchange account is finding the service provider that best suites your needs and that is reliable. A good place to read some reviews for all of the services available to you is www.exchangehostingreviews.com. If those service providers seem like overkill to you and you do not want to spend any money take a look at this article, Want Exchange Activesync for FREE?

Now instead of me going through that whole list, let me just jump to my personal favorite and the service that I recently started using, Sherweb. For $8.95 a month ($107.40 a year — competitive with Apple’s MobileMe pricing!) here is what Sherweb offers you:

A few main reasons I switched from a MobileMe account to Exchange is due to the fact that I could not sync all of my data with a Windows Mobile device along with my iPhone. The second reason being that a lot of my mail was never reliably pushed to my phone with MobileMe. During the past two months of using Sherweb, however, I’ve experienced nothing but top notch service. There was one one night when I had a single hour of downtime that was announced well ahead of time, and that was not a issue at all. More importantly, I get every single email sent to me on time with no issues what so ever.

So whichever provider you choose, choose wisely. You want to make sure you select the provider that can increase efficiency and productivity for your business or pleasure. For me it’s Sherweb (and no, I do not work for them or know anyone that does.)

Setting up Hosted Exchange on the iPhone

Setting up your Exchange account is relatively simple process on the iPhone. Just follow the below steps. Please note that the server information that I have filled in is for Sherweb members only. Check with your host for their specific settings.

WARNING - Before you set up your Exchange account, please know that any contacts and calendar events currently on your iPhone will be erased. They will be replaced with what is in your Exchange account. So please make sure that you transfer all of your data to Exchange before going through the setup process on your iPhone.

First, from the device’s main screen, go to: Settings ->Mail, Contacts, Calendar ->Add Account -> Microsoft Exchange.

Under account info, in the Email address box, enter your hosted Exchange email address.

Leave the Domain field blank (unless your specific hosted Exchange provider tells you otherwise).

In the Username box, type in your email address. This needs to be the main email address for your account (i.e. the one you are using when logging into Outlook Web Access).

In the Password box, type in your account password.

Tap on the Next button at the top of the screen.

NOTE: Your device may fail stating “Unable to Verify certificate.” If this is the case, tap Accept.

A box labelled Server will appear. Enter: webmail.ihostexchange.net (or the server name of your specific hosted Exchange provider)

Tap on the Next button at the top of the screen.

The device will then verify the server saying “Account has been verified.”

A new screen will appear asking you to “Select info to synchronize using Exchange.” It will display Mail, Contacts and Calendars. Turn the features ON if you desire to have them synchronized with your Exchange account. Once satisfied, select the Save button.

You will then be taken back to the default Mail, Contacts and Calendar screen. You can adjust the mail settings preferences here as you wish.

By default the iPhone will only sync the last 3 days of mail. To sync older messages, Please do the following:

Go to : Settings -> Mail, Contacts, Calendar.

Tap on the Exchange account. Tap on Mail days to sync and select from No Limit (which will sync all messages) to 1 Month.

Congratulations, you have just successfully setup your very own Hosted Exchange account! Enjoy the most reliable email you can have on your iPhone!

(Thanks to Cory for introducing me to Sherweb!)

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

How To: Choose and Set Up Hosted Exchange on iPhone ActiveSync

ZeusDraw Mobile painting app debuts for iPhone

ZeusDraw Mobile is a new painting and drawing application for the iPhone and iPod touch.

iSkin fuze case offers iPhone dual layer protection

The iSkin fuze combines a polycarbonate outer shell with rubber inner shell.

AT&T officially delivers free WiFi to BlackBerry / iPhone users

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

We thought we'd heard the last of this whole AT&T / Starbucks WiFi deal yesterday, but alas, we were terrifically mistaken. AT&T has come forth today with two fluffy press releases that flesh out the details, and amazingly, there are some inclusions that we weren't made aware of yesterday. For starters, all iPhone / iPhone 3G customers will now have free (and seemingly limitless) access to AT&T WiFi hotspots across the US -- we're talking Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, the whole lot. Additionally, the carrier has welcomed select BlackBerry users -- that's the Bold for now, the Pearl 8120 / 8820 "later this year" -- into the same deal, though the official verbiage mentions that an "unlimited data plan" is required. If you didn't make the cut this time, fret not -- AT&T has plans to invite "more mobile devices" into the fold here shortly.

Read - Free AT&T WiFi on iPhone / iPhone 3G
Read - Free AT&T WiFi on BlackBerry

AT&T officially delivers free WiFi to BlackBerry / iPhone users originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gameboy theme for iPhone

Filed under: Mods, iPhone

We love mods, and this one is on our short list. iGameboy is a theme mod for jailbroken iPhones. There's both a button and a full-screen version (I'm partial to the button theme myself). As of this writing, the author, Rob Sheridan, has produced 45 icons to accompany the theme, so chances are your apps are included.

The full download even includes instructions and basic files for making your own icons. Nice work, Rob! We love it.

While we're on the topic, here are some other iPhone mods we liked.

• Black TiAlN
• Glowing Apple logo
• Macro shots with the camera
• The iPhone-powered Lego mobile

Finally, how to jailbreak your iPhone.

Gameboy theme for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gameboy theme for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Buyer’s Guide Update: iMacs, Mac Minis, and Mac Pros

Even though Apple refreshed MacBook Pros and MacBooks just a couple of weeks ago, many are still holding out for additional updates from Apple.

Our Buyer's Guide shows both the Mac mini and Mac Pro well overdue for updates and persiste...

Talk Radio helps find talk shows on iPhone

Talk Radio is a new iPhone and iPod touch application that helps you find talk radio programs in your area.

Apple Details Ongoing MobileMe Upgrades

Arstechnica points to a new support document which details many changes that Apple has implemented into the MobileMe site in late September. Apple points out that since MobileMe is a server-side service, updates occur transparently to all users of t...

Review: LocalEats for iPhone

LocalEats provides you with very specific reviews of very specific restaurants in very specific cities—and apart from one or two interface quibbles, it performs this task well.

SplashID for iPhone gets some update love

Filed under: Software, iPhone, iPod touch

SplashData, Inc. has announced a major update to SplashID for iPhone and iPod touch. SplashID, which first shipped in July, is a secure information manager application that has been available on other handheld platforms for years.

Version 4.5 is up to 2 times faster for power users who have a number of records in their SplashID databases. Other enhancements include:

• Enhanced user interface with simplified navigation
• Improved search and look-up functions
• Landscape view
• Number pad login
• New browser window to make log-in to websites on the iPhone easier
• Updated Mac and PC desktop software

The update is free to users of the US$9.95 application (available in the App Store -- click opens iTunes). For those who want to sync their iPhone SplashID database with their Macs or PCs, the newly refreshed desktop software is available for $19.95 from the SplashData Web site.

A full review of SplashID 4.5 is coming soon to a TUAW blog near you. In the meantime, what's your favorite secure information manager for non-jailbroken iPhones? Leave a comment below.

SplashID for iPhone gets some update love originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

SplashID for iPhone gets some update love originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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THQ’s Pass the Pigs in the App Store

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, iPhone, App Store

Our friends at THQ have sent word that their latest iPhone game, Pass the Pigs, is in the App Store right now. You may have already played this one (and if you haven't, there's an online version to check out for free). Apparently you toss pigs in the air, and get points for however they land, like a strange porcine form of two card poker.

Can't say it appeals much to me, but as a game to distract the kids while waiting somewhere with only an iPhone to entertain, it might do the trick. There's even a "Pig's Life" story mode, where you can earn extra disguises for your pigs, and hey, it might even be worth the $4.99 just to see how they tacked a story on to a game of throwing plastic pigs around.

Then again, it probably isn't. But apparently the soundtrack is pretty good.

THQ's Pass the Pigs in the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

THQ's Pass the Pigs in the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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