Analyst: Walmart will sell 4.5 million iPhones in 2009

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Retail, Apple Financial, Deals, iPhone

Which hardly seems believable, but you never know. Yes, Walmart, that bastion of crass commercialism, is going to be carrying the iPhone, that symbol of elegant commercialism, and what we're going to get is a whole lot of commercialism. Analyst Gene Munster (our favorite prognosticator other than the Groundhog himself) says that not only will Apple sell a whopping 45 million iPhones next year, but a tenth of them will be sold right here in America at good ol' Walmart.

Apparently he didn't change his numbers from before the announcement of the Walmart deal, since he had already planned on Apple finding other ways to sell the iPhone. But man, that's a lot of iPhones - enough to give everyone in my current city of Chicago an iPhone, and then some to spare (we'd send them to St. Louis, if we actually had a Walmart here to buy them from).

But no one's ever been proven wrong overestimating Apple sales we guess. If you think iPhones are commonplace now, wait until you see them at Walmart.

[via MacBytes]

Analyst: Walmart will sell 4.5 million iPhones in 2009 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst: Walmart will sell 4.5 million iPhones in 2009 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pastebud Released: Brings Copy and Paste Feature to the iPhone; Also Includes Feature to Copy Contents from an Email

“Pull My Finger” returns to the App Store

Filed under: Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

MacRumors reports that the developer of the "Pull My Finger" iPhone application was finally accepted by Apple. You may recall that Apple banned the application from the App Store a few months ago due to "Limited Utility." It looks as though Apple has changed its mind about the application, and has decided to finally allow it into the Store.

The developer told MacRumors, "[Apple] told me that they are going to start approving a whole new "genre" of apps, and that Pull My Finger will be the first to be accepted in this genre. As of now Pull My Finger is available in the app store."

If you would like to download this once-banned application, you can purchase it for $0.99US from the iTunes App Store. Do you have a theory about Apple's change of mind? Tell us in the comments!

"Pull My Finger" returns to the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Pull My Finger" returns to the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: Civics apps for iPhone

App Store offerings from SwampBits and Clint Bagwell Consulting ensure that the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and other historical documents and speeches are never out of reach.

Apple: “the iPhone is a gaming console”

According to extremely reliable and embarrassingly handsome Engadget sources, at an iPhone event held today, John Geleynse (AKA Director of Technology Evangelism at Apple) made some statements regarding the iPhone platform that should seriously raise a few eyebrows. During an ADC "iPhone Tech Talk" in San Jose, Geleynse apparently waxed excited about the potential for the handheld as a viable threat to the DS (and the PSP by proxy), calling the iPhone a "gaming console" and claiming that "it's not a phone, it's a console experience." Pretty bold talk about a device that has yet to really prove its gaming mettle, but nothing new from the Apple camp as far as we're concerned. Considering these comments alongside those from a recent interview in which Greg Joswiak compared the touch to the DS, it seems clear that the company is making a noticeable effort to push this angle. Adding some fuel to that fire is PR that just went out announcing a series of EA "sneak peek" events at Apple Stores around the US. In their words:

Throughout the month of December Apple Stores in New York, LA, San Francisco and Chicago will host special "EA Games Sneak Peek" events where Electronic Arts will discuss why the iPod touch and iPhone are amazing platforms for mobile gaming...

While there's no question the iPhone and touch have made inroads when it comes to gaming, it still isn't clear that there's going to be anything beyond a casual interest for these devices. Then again, if the Wii's success has proven anything, it's that there's plenty of cash in casual if you can make it appealing enough. And you know how Apple feels about appealing products and money.

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Handhelds

Apple: "the iPhone is a gaming console" originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Even more magic tricks

Filed under: Gaming, Stocking Stuffers, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Well, my earlier prediction turned out right. I said in my last review that more tricks would be on the way, and this afternoon 3 more hit my in box. Maybe there is something to magic after all.

These three apps for the iPhone and iPod touch are from Instant Download Magic and Mentalism in the U.K. I lived in London for 4 years, and I can attest that magic is very hot there. Even some of the pubs have regular magic shows, and one of the oldest magic stores in the world, Davenports, is still in operation serving the magic community.

Here's an overview of the tricks, which are three separate downloads from the App Store;

First, is Magic Match [App Store link}. You show the spectator your iPhone, and there is a match box. You open it (digitally) and show a match inside. You can move the match by dragging it around with your finger. In a flash, the match vanishes from the on screen box and a real match appears in your hand. Doing this involves some help from the iPhone, and a quick sleight of hand move. It's pretty stunning to watch it performed, and full instructions are available from within the app and on the instant download website;

Next up is iThought Receiver. [App Store link] Basically, you ask your assistant to chose a color from 3 shown on screen, and to press a button to reveal the answer. The iPhone gets it right, and your assistant could be amazed. This is another class of trick entirely, and rather than involving any magician moves, it is a clever use of the principle of the magicians 'force' to get the right result.

Finally, ESP Vision, [App Store link] where someone picks a number at random on screen, then uses the number to select an ESP symbol, and when you remove the phone from your hand the symbol they selected actually appears on your hand written in ashes or a marker. It's a bit of a stunner when seen for the first time. This effect too, relies on some well established magic methods, and is not hard to learn.

All the apps are very well rendered, and have some impressive animation. There are further instructions and downloads of PDF files you can print out after you buy these tricks. The tricks are $1.99US except ESP Vision which is $2.99US. You could be the life of the holiday party, but it could be a bummer if someone tries to call your iPhone in the middle of your performance.

Even more magic tricks originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Even more magic tricks originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone Game Roundup: Hero of Sparta, Killer Pool

Games continue to flood the App Store; here are some recent standouts.

Apple Broadens App Store Acceptance, Approves ‘Pull My Finger’

One of the major criticisms of the App Store has been a seemingly arbitrary rejection policy on the part of Apple. Air-o-Matic was one of the developers rejected by Apple for the reason of "limited utility" for his humor app "Pull My Finger". Sam ...

Gizmodo and Lifehacker Go Hands On with Pastebud Copy/Paste for iPhone

We mentioned Pastebud yesterday, the bookmarklet based cut/copy paste “solution” that’s trying to plug one of the longest and most glaring omission in the iPhone feature set. Well, Gizmodo and fellow Gawker-site Lifehacker has given it the hands on look see, and what did they find? Giz says:

Pasting text back into another web form via the PASTE bookmarklet is easy—after tapping it, a green box labeled PASTE HERE is overlaid onto any open form field. Tapping that drops in your clipboard’s contents, preserving any HTML that was there if the form supports it. But, of course, there are some drawbacks. While pasting to and from different Safari windows and emails covers a lot of one’s copying and pasting needs, it’s not anywhere close to the convenience a system-wide solution would bring.

Lifehacker weighs in with:

One small issue, though, at least for those who don’t pay $5 to Pastebud—it inserts a little “Pasted from my iPhone!” and promotion link in every paste. You can delete it, of course, but it’s there every time… And once your text arrives, you get a little pop-up box, asking you to upgrade for $5 to “make it even more convenient”

Need more incentive to cough up the $5? LH says SSL, destroy-on-paste, and other security concerns will be soon addressed in the paid version.

Enough for now? Still not good enough? Waiting on a built-in solution from Apple? Or forget Apple, gimme whatcha got?

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

Gizmodo and Lifehacker Go Hands On with Pastebud Copy/Paste for iPhone

Developers! Join the Improve The App Store Movement

Filed under: Software, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

It's no secret that iPhone app developers are less than happy with the App Store. The criteria for approval of iPhone apps is arcane and approval can take anywhere from a couple of days to months. There's currently no way for developers to "hook" people on apps with a free demo. It's apparent that the sweet spot for iPhone app pricing is at US$0.99, and for developers who are expendng lots of resources to design and implement great software, that is a killer. The list goes on and on...

One of the more well-spoken developers who would like to see improvements in the App Store is Layton Duncan from Polar Bear Farm. His company is well-known for the Note Pad, Record, and Nice List apps, among others. Layton has used the Polar Bear Farm blog many times to express his ideas about how the App Store could be improved. Now he's started up a new website, ImproveTheAppStore.com, as a sounding board for all developers.

Layton asks that developers make suggestions to Apple through the traditional Apple Developer Connection channels, but is providing the site as a public forum for ideas. If you're an iPhone developer, join the movement.

Developers! Join the Improve The App Store Movement originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Developers! Join the Improve The App Store Movement originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone devs get innovative with App Store promo codes

Filed under: Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Last week we told you about the promo codes that Apple was allowing developers to pass out to anyone. These codes allowed people to get a free copy of an application, and we mentioned this was a welcomed feature for many app reviewers.

One iPhone developer has some creative ideas when it comes to using their promo codes. Hexy [iTunes link] will be giving away 20 of their 50 promo codes to purchasers of their iPhone game. This is the first that we've heard of iPhone developers doing this type of "buy one get one" promotion. Plus, it's completely in line with Apple's regulations on the promo codes.

You will need to send a screenshot of your iTunes Receipt to the developer to redeem your code. Details about this promotion can be found on 148apps.com.

[via Ars Technica]

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iPhone devs get innovative with App Store promo codes originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iPhone devs get innovative with App Store promo codes originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pocket Magic for the iPhone

Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, iPod touch

It seems to be a bull market in magic applications for the iPhone. Earlier this week I reviewed Magic Show, which performs a pretty neat trick you can play on your friends and office mates.

Now, new in the app store we have Pocket Magic, [App Store link] which presents a 'mind reading' effect you can spring on the unsuspecting.

The trick presents a colorful screen and asks you to select one of the many numbers that appear, and indicate what color it is. After some nice animation, you are asked to find your number again among the many on screen, and again indicate what color the number is again. At that point, the app can usually guess what number you selected. It also successfully predicts a magic color that appeared at the beginning of the trick. For many, this will be baffling, for others, not so much.

For assistance in learning the trick, there is an apprentice mode, which walks you through the simple steps to pulling the trick off, although most of the heavy lifting is done by the application.

One suggestion for the developers is that when choosing the numbers the ball selected should animate or glow so you are sure you made the right choice.

It's interesting how the iPhone seems to be a good platform for magic tricks, and many effects are coming out. It may be a good fit because there is something whimsical about the iPhone itself, coupled with the fact that one of the iPhone's strengths is that is really an entertainment device, as well as a cell phone, web browser and email mini computer.

I wouldn't be surprised to see increasingly sophisticated tricks appearing on the App Store shelves in the near future.

Pocket Magic for the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Pocket Magic for the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Making the iPhone a killer business device

Computerworld’s Ryan Faas has a list of 10 things Apple could—and should—offer to make the iPhone a killer business device.

Pastebud brings Web-based copy and paste to iPhone

A Web-based service offers the ability to copy and paste information in Safari and Mail on the iPhone.

TiPb Presents: iPhone Live! Podcast #4

• Our podcast feed
• Download Directly
• Subscribe via iTunes

Holiday gift guide, iPhone 3G vs. BlackBerry Storm with special guest and public frenemy number one, CrackBerry.com’s Kevin Michaluk, and live chat question and answer!

Background Reading

• TiPb’s 2008 iPhone Holiday Helper Gift Guide
• Kevin’s iPhone Gift Pick: Blueant Supertooth 3 Bluetooth Speakerphone
• CEOh-Snap! RIM Boss: Touchscreens Stink — Let’s iClone One!
• CrackBerry.com BlackBerry Storm coverage
• TiPb’s BlackBerry Storm coverage
• Smartphone Experts Round Robin

Credits

Thanks to the the iPhone Blog Store for sponsoring the podcast, and to everyone who showed up for the live chat, or sent in questions!

Our music comes from the following sources:

• I Called You — iPhone Remix by Pete Leidy
via Sneakmove iPhone Ringtone Challenge

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

TiPb Presents: iPhone Live! Podcast #4

Review: iPhone voice dialers

Many App Store offerings promise to let you make calls by voice command. Do they deliver on that promise? Franklin N. Tessler takes a closer look at eight iPhone voice dialers.

iPod Touch Gaming Ad Shakes Things Up

Adage points to a major new ad campaign from Apple which is currently running on http://games.yahoo.com/. Apple's latest web ad goes outside the usual bounds of traditional banner ads by affecting other portions of Yahoo's page.

App...

Apple adds top app lists to App Store categories

Apple has updated the App Store's organization, adding top free and paid lists to each application category.

Apple Now Allowing iPhone Developers to Offer Promotional Copies of their Apps

In a relatively recent move, it seems that Apple is now allowing iPhone developers to offer free promotional copies of their applications. In a nutshell, Apple allows the developer to issue up to 50 promotional codes which allow users to download the app for free. At the moment, these codes ...

Top 5 Must-Have Jailbreak Apps: Part Two

So you’re still debating whether or not to jailbreak your iPhone? Hopefully after reading this you will have made your decision. Back in October we brought to you the first Top 5 Must-Have Jailbreak Apps, well today we bring you round two of the series. Now keep in mind, all the seasoned veterans of Jailbreaking will or should know about all the apps listed here. This article is for the sole purpose of swaying those still on the fence to the darkside…

***All of the following apps can be downloaded via Cydia on your Jailbroken iPhone.

Read on after the jump!

1. PDAnet

Yes, this one was covered fully by Dieter, but this app seems to definitely be super popular in the Jailbreak community. PDAnet will use your iPhone as a Wi-Fi router that you can connect to with your laptop to browse the internet. Do you want to get stuck paying AT&T $30 for tethering services for some causal browsing? Didn’t think so… so head over to check out our full guide on how to set up PDAnet. You’ll be surfing in no time!

Be sure to heed Dieter’s warning when using this app:

There is one major caveat you need to be aware of with PdaNet: the Terms of Service on the standard AT&T iPhone contract (and also on their standard Data Plans) do not allow you to tether. Most people simply ignore this and go ahead and tether anyway — being careful not to overdo it might prevent AT&T from hitting you with extra fees or even a cancellation.

2. Cycorder

So the lack of common features of other phones really aggravates you? Say the lack of video recording on a device that is geared towards multimedia? Yeah, we can see how that one is pretty disappointing. Well thanks to the Jailbreaking community you now to can record video with your iPhone with Cycorder. Recording in .mov format, Cycorder gets anywhere from 7-15 frames per second along with supporting audio! To get Cycorder simply go into Cydia and you will see it on the “Featured Packages” list on the front page.

For more information and details please visit our post on this free video recorder - Cycorder.

3. Status Notifier

In the forums lately a few of you have asked me about a program that notifies you of incoming messages, missed calls, voice mails, calendar alerts, etc… Well there is one simple answer to that, Status Notifier.

4. SBsettings

This next app also addresses a common complaint that we hear a lot regarding the iPhone. I don’t know how many times I personally have seen “Is there any way to turn Wi-Fi off/on without going through all those steps?” on the forums. The answer - SBsettings. Now take that one step further, how about screen brightness? Toggle bluetooth on and off with a single button on the home screen anyone? Edge and 3G? You get the idea… Try it out!

5. Qik

Another area that iPhone customers get the short end of the stick on is streaming live media. Until now that is. Let me introduce you to a little app called Qik. Qik offers iPhone users access to internet video streaming over their cellular network. Be sure to check the Qik link above to get yourself up and streaming over the internet!

Conclusion

Hopefully after reading this you are finally off the fence and will either Jailbreak or simply decide it isn’t for you. If you do jailbreak, this list of must-have jailbroken apps should keep you busy for some time. For more information about jailbreaking please visit our Jailbreak Apps forum along with Jailbreak Central!

[Special thanks to all the members of the forum who contributed to app ideas in the following thread: Must Have Jailbreak Apps?]

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

Top 5 Must-Have Jailbreak Apps: Part Two