Dev Team Warn iPhone 3G Users to Avoid Upgrading to Upcoming Firmware 2.2

PCalc 1.2 released; will jaded media notice?

There's a new version of the excellent PCalc calculator for the iPhone. What's even more interesting are the war stories told by its developer.

FirstLook: beamME universal vCard exchange app

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, First Look

Developers rmbrME have come out with a novel take on the "beam your card" app. beamME is the first universal vCard exchange app that's supposed to work with any device, whether it's a BlackBerry, T-Mobile G1, Treo, a Mac or a PC.

The app and accompanying beamMe Basic service are free, and it takes only about 10 seconds to sign up from your iPhone. However, "beaming" is really nothing more than sending an SMS that tells the recipient to go to the rmbrME website and download the vcf file. If the recipient's mobile browser doesn't support downloading vcf files, they're prompted to send the file to an email address from the website. You can also text the person's cell phone number to a special number.

I tried sending a vCard to my T-Mobile G1 and gave up after 10 minutes of trying to receive the vCard. I could have typed in all the info faster than that. My personal opinion? Use one of the other Wi-Fi based beaming apps, such as iBeam or Fliq. While they're not "universal" apps, they work well with most other Wi-Fi devices.

How do you transfer business card information between devices? Leave us a comment.

FirstLook: beamME universal vCard exchange app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

FirstLook: beamME universal vCard exchange app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aspyr Media unveils iPhone game and toy plans

Aspyr Media has unveiled plans to release three more toys/games for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Round Robin Week 1 Video: iPhone Editor on Android G1

Okay, fair enough, I’m having a little fun up there, but with the Smartphone Empire Experts Round Robin officially under way and my iPhone frozen in carbonite for the next month, the G1 could be my only hope!

I’m still trying to figure out if this is the ‘droid I’ve been looking for, however. Do I understand the awesome power of the open-platform of the Google? Or is it more concept now than device, twisted and confusing?

Check out the video, then head on over to Android Central to help me out. Every day you post, you get entered to WIN one of FIVE smartphone prize packs! And you can enter each site’s contest, so don’t forget to help turn Casey back to the iPhone side as well!

May the forums be with you!

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

Round Robin Week 1 Video: iPhone Editor on Android G1

InchCalc turns iPhone into construction/conversion calc

InchCalc helps contractors and others do calculations in fractions in feet and inches, and can also do metric to imperial conversions.

Power Slider case doubles iPhone battery life

The Power Slider is an iPhone 3G case with its own battery.

Found Footage: TouchSports Tennis ‘09

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Found Footage, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

The nonstop action of tennis is what makes it so appealing to legions of fans. Now Handheld Games is bringing that thrill to your iPhone or iPod touch with TouchSports Tennis '09 (click opens iTunes).

TouchSports Tennis '09 has incredible 3D graphics, and makes full use of the touch and tilt controls in the iPhone and iPod touch platforms. As you can see in the YouTube video below, you use touch to locate your tennis player and tilt to deliver your shots.

There are three levels of difficulty in the game, so you can enjoy playing TouchSports Tennis '09 from the start and take on challenges as your confidence and skills increase. You can play a single game or play a full tournament when time permits.

Early reviewers are reporting some app crashes, and the TouchSports support Web page addresses the issue by recommending a quick device restart before starting play. The US$4.99 app entered the App Store on Sunday, November 16.

What's your favorite iPhone sports app so far? Leave us a comment below.

Found Footage: TouchSports Tennis '09 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Found Footage: TouchSports Tennis '09 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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i.TV Gets its Netflix On!

We’ve talking about i.TV here on TiPb before, so what could get us to do it again? How about Netflix. How about built in? How about now!

Justin writes in to tell us about the awesomeness:

Netflix integration on [brings] a catalog of over 100k DVDs to our popular iPhone application. In addition to this, users can now manage their Netflix DVD and instant streaming queues straight from their iPhone or iPod touch.

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

i.TV Gets its Netflix On!

iPhone 3G launch in Taiwan may foretell China debut

Chunghwa Telecom will launch Apple’s iPhone 3G in Taiwan, and the deal may foretell a China debut.

Review: Timekeeping applications for the iPhone

The App Store offers a bewildering array of options for tracking the amount of time you spend on projects. We put five to the test.

The iPhone Blog Week in Review for November 17, 2008

Every week I will be bringing you what I think are the week’s biggest stories and articles. Let’s get started, after the break!

Announcing the Smartphone Round Robin!

Every year we switch phones with our sister sites (Treocentral, WMExperts, Crackberry and Android Central) to see what life is like on another smartphone. What phones are we swapping this year, click to find out!

iPhone is the most reliable smartphone. No, really?

It’s true what they say! Looks like the iPhone is really the most reliable smartphone beating out tough competition like Windows Mobile, Palm and wait for it…. BlackBerry! I guess that really says something for using one of those, you know, “modern” operating systems…

Interview with Avantar

This interview brings up some really good points about how mobile technology has really changed our landscape with location-based tools. Read on for more!

Who is number one? iPhone, that’s who!

Yup, move over Motorola, your 4 year old Razr is taking a backseat to the iPhone according to NPD numbers. This continues to amaze me. The iPhone essentially comes in one model on one carrier, yet continues to out sell everyone. Awesome.

When is iPhone firmware 2.2 coming, Nov. 21?

One can dream. The Internets are reporting that this Friday we could see the fabled 2.2 release of Apple’s new firmware for the iPhone. Personally, I am looking to OTA podcasts and Google Street view. What are you looking forward to?

I want to tether, I want to tether…

But not for $30 a month! That is what the rumor mill is saying. Honestly, I have spoken to some local AT&T folks and they agree with this assertion. Man, I would pay $10 more a month, but $30? To be fair this is the price for other devices, so the iPhone is not getting unfairly pegged. Are you going to pay $30 for this?

App vs App: Air Mice

Check out our comparison of Air Mice: Air Mouse versus Snatch. We chose Snatch, but could a killer update for Air Mouse be around the corner? Read on for more!

Costco getting in on a little iPhone action?

The iPhone could be coming to Costco for the low, low price of $149! That is what an analyst is saying. Then again, I predict an Apple tablet is coming next year. Who’s right? Only time will tell.

Google web search now optimized for the iPhone!

Well, not from Safari, but from the Google webpage on the iPhone. Oh well, it’s progress, right? To be fair, Google says that they are working on optimized results from the Google search bar in Safari. 

Gaming on the iPhone takes on the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP!

Man, I really think that Apple might succeed in this market. I mean, everyone is going to own an iPhone eventually, so why not? Steve goes on to say that a couple of reasons it will be a successful game console is because it will always be in your pocket and the amazing touch controls. I agree, I have seen some snippits of some really cool 1st person shooters and one of my favorite racing games Raging Thunder [iTunes Link] just got Internet based multiplayer! It is fun, but a little buggy, but an excellent first endeavor! 

The iPhone Blog Live: Podast!

Yup, we cranked out episode #2. This time the audio and video actually worked. Take a listen [Subscribe in iTunes]!

Apple’s new in-ear headphones to ship soon

Let’s hope so! I owned Apple’s original in ear headphones and enjoyed them a lot. I think the iPod Nano just got an update to support them, let’s wait and see!

Google’s advanced voice search for iPhone!

Man, this is really exciting! Speak into your iPhone and get weather, locations, movies, you name it! It is an enhancement to Google’s Mobile App. Arriving in the app store soon. Hmm, where is the G1 version…

Say it ain’t so: the iPhone almost ran Linux!

Whoa. Granted, OS X is Apple’s own flavor of Linux for all intensive purposes, but we aren’t talking OS X Linux, we are talking vanilla Linux. Yuck. I am glad this battle of the wills panned out the way it did. What am I talking about? Read the article to learn more!

Citrix on the iPhone!

I can’t wait for this to become a reality! I already use VNC and Remote Access to control my Mac and PC Laptop from my iPhone, but to have direct access to Citrix would be nice!

Office Web coming to iPhone?

If it does, it won’t be for a while. In the meantime I am looking forward to Documents to Go for the iPhone. Although, Microsoft was rumored to be creating an Office native app for the iPhone. could they have ditched it in lieu of a web-based alternative? 

Apple making their own search engine?

Eh, probably not. I mean, Apple can’t do everything. However, what they are probably working on is a new interface for search. When could we see something like this? Only time will tell…

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

The iPhone Blog Week in Review for November 17, 2008

First Look: NMobile for iPhone

Filed under: iPhone, App Store

If you find yourself running into police speed traps often, then you might want to give a new iPhone app a try. NMobile [iTunes link] allows you to locate speed traps, red light cameras, and radar locations. All of these speed detection devices are mapped out on a Microsoft Live map -- this is one of the first native uses of Microsoft Live Maps on the iPhone.

If you are using this application with the iPhone 3G, then you will have the ability to use your GPS location in conjunction with the tracking service from Njection. In "Browse Mode," you can check your area for speed traps, red light cameras, and radar devices. The speed trap locations are submitted by users, and can be submitted through the application (or on Njection's website). Red light cameras and radar locations are also submitted by users, and verified for accuracy by the developers. Speed trap locations are only verified by users.

In addition to browsing for speed traps, you can also be alerted audibly of upcoming traps -- you can find this under "Alert Mode." In this mode, NMobile will tell you when you are approaching a trap, you will also see how many miles ahead the trap is.

Bottom line: this application is solid, but I would like to see a couple features added. For one, you can't get directions in this application like you can in the default Maps app on the iPhone. It would be nice if you could plan a route, and see the speed traps along the way. If you're using this application on a first generation iPhone, you might not get the best experience; however, this can't really be blamed on NMobile; the location data on the GPS-less phones isn't specific enough. You should exercise care and caution while using this application on the road. This application is just a little pricey at $9.99, and is now available on the iTunes App Store.

First Look: NMobile for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

First Look: NMobile for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Adobe and ARM Partner to Bring Flash to ARM-based Mobiles (Like the iPhone?)

Adobe and ARM have jointly announced that they are collaborating to optimize and enable Adobe Flash Player 10 and Adobe AIR for ARM Powered devices.

The collaboration is expected to accelerate mobile graphics and video capabilities o...