Seadragon for iPhone. Golly!

Filed under: Software, Cool tools, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Did hell freeze over? Microsoft Live Labs has released Seadragon Mobile [app store link] for the iPhone/iPod touch. It's free and available now for iPhone and iPod touch, but surprisingly Seadragon Mobile is not currently available for the Windows Mobile platform.

Seadragon Mobile is a viewer, based on very cool Microsoft technology, that allows you to look at gigapixel images while you smoothly zoom in for more and more detail. The app provides some interesting samples like world maps that let you zoom down to photos of your backyard. (Google Maps does this as well, but not this smoothly or rapidly.) You can browse works of art, or explore in detail the structure of galaxies and nebula. It is hard to describe how compelling this process is. You have to see it and use it to get the full effect.

Microsoft is providing Seadragon Mobile as a technology demonstration on the iPhone, and it is clear there is tremendous potential here. Microsoft hints that a person could combine all the digital images they have ever taken, and create a virtual single page that lets you zoom down to the pixel level in any one image. The demo files in Seadragon Mobile demonstrate just that ability.

The release of Seadragon Mobile for the iPhone begs the question: why hasn't it been released for Windows Mobile phones? Our own Christina Warren points out that because Windows Mobile software runs on a multiplicity of hardware, it would be tough to make a general release. On the iPhone & iPod touch, there is one consistent hardware and software platform. Seadragon Mobile also gets quite a boost from the touchscreen gestures inherent in the iPhone that simply can't be done as smoothly on other phones. It's also true that not all Windows Mobile phones have a graphic engine powerful enough to gracefully handle the images Seadragon Mobile delivers.

Microsoft hasn't released a desktop version of Seadragon for the Mac, and Mac owners can't create these gigantic images yet. Making your own deep images requires using either Windows XP or Vista. (Boot Camp should do the trick.)

Seadragon Mobile is a great demonstration of what the iPhone can do, and is sure to get some gasps and gadget lust from owners of other smartphones.

Seadragon for iPhone. Golly! originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Seadragon for iPhone. Golly! originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Walmart creates iPhone compatible site

Filed under: Internet, iPhone, iPod touch

Do you like shopping at Walmart? From electronics to $4 prescriptions, Walmart seems to have everything. But one thing it didn't have was an iPhone application, and now they do. If you visit the Walmart.com website on your iPhone, you will be presented with an iPhone-specific portal for all of your shopping needs.

From the home page, you can browse through products by category, see current product specials, and even see a list of approved $4 prescriptions (in PDF form). If you tap the "Shopping List" tab, you can create your own shopping list. This is handy if you frequent the actual store. You can also search for a local store or search for an item.

Unfortunately this is where the functionality of the site ends. If you wish to purchase a product you'll have to visit the regular website, which can be slow to load over a mobile connection. If you want to check out the web app for yourself, just head over to Walmart's website on your iPhone/iPod touch.


[via @keviano on Twitter]

Walmart creates iPhone compatible site originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Walmart creates iPhone compatible site originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rogue Amoeba releases Radioshift Touch for iPhone

Rogue Amoeba released a new Internet radio application, giving users the ability to listen to radio streams from their iPhone or iPod touch.

Return of the iPhone Nano Rumors

With Macworld fast approaching, the rumor rate should begin increasing exponential. iTablets will be hot once again, of course, as will the iPhone Nano. Says MacRumors:

[iDealsChina] claims the product will be announced at Macworld San Francisco 2009. iDealsChina, however, has a very mixed track record. In August, it passed off renderings of knock-off iPod clones as the real thing and also claimed that the new iPod Touch would have GPS (it did not). The site, however, did previously have access to Griffin case moldings that appeared to be real. The sizes could correlate with smaller touch screen photographs that iLounge published in June.

MacRumors thinks such an iPhone Nano may break App compatibility with the existing iPhone and iPod Touch due to screen size and resolution. Shrinking the screen down using a higher DPI, like the iPod Nano would lessen part of the problem (though hitting tinier capacitive touch targets would no doubt be an interesting exercise in frustration).

What do you think? iPhone Nano for Macworld? And is it a Good Thing?

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

Return of the iPhone Nano Rumors

[Reviews] Speck Fitted and SwitchWay Cases for iPhone 3G

Finding the perfect case for a iPhone is like finding the perfect pair of pants - it has to fit right and should match one's lifestyle.Speck, a well-known accessories company here in the US has released a few noteworthy cases - the "Fitted" 3G case and the "SwitchWay" 3G case. ...

Kace launches iPhone management software

Kace Networks has released an add-on module for its Kbox appliance that can manage iPhones used on a corporate network.

iPhone nano revealed by (another) silicone case mockup?

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/iPhone_nano_revealed'; There's something just a little skeezy about basing predictions for Important New Apple Products upon nasty renders of protective case mockups from China. Still, they've panned out astonishingly nicely before, so we'll just have to suck it up. iDealsChina is reporting that XSKN is not-so-secretly working on a silicone skin for the upcoming "Nano iPhone" (or, more likely, iPhone nano) a shorter, chubbier version of the iPhone 3G. According to iDealsChina sources, the phone will apparently sport EDGE data, but otherwise seems unsurprisingly identical in specs to its forebears, other than the obviously smaller screen. They're also saying Apple plans to sell these at high volumes for low prices at hip spots like Walmart, that the company will (naturally) be unveiling the new handset in January at Macworld, and even go so far as to say that leaked photos of the device should be surfacing in the next couple of days -- we'll be keeping our eyes peeled. Check out another couple of tantalizing case renders after the break.

[Via PMP Today]

Continue reading iPhone nano revealed by (another) silicone case mockup?

Filed under: Cellphones

iPhone nano revealed by (another) silicone case mockup? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Dec 2008 09:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Manage Xbox Live friends with iNXES

Filed under: Gaming, Freeware, iPhone, iPod touch

To accompany the recent Xbox 360 dashboard update, 1337pwn.com released a new version of their Xbox Live friends-management iPhone application. iNXES lets you view your friends list in the NXE form complete with avatars, gamer scores, and online status.

In my testing (on 3G and WiFi), performance was pretty poor. Scrolling through categories or through my friends list was sluggish, and some of my friends' avatars have been updated on Xbox Live but are not showing on iNXES. I was, however, able to see profile data, achievements, and game history.

Continue reading Manage Xbox Live friends with iNXES

Manage Xbox Live friends with iNXES originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 15 Dec 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Manage Xbox Live friends with iNXES originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 15 Dec 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft releases its first iPhone app

Microsoft chose a photo app to be the first the company would release for Apple's iPhone.

The iPhone Blog Week in Review for December 15, 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!

Play the iPhone on your TV!

Well that is what this enterprising developer did with some undocumented functionality of the iPhone. Man, won’t Apple just add this peripheral already! I would buy it, wouldn’t you?

Will iTunes ever go DRM free?

That was the hope last Tuesday, but it never came to be. Why does the music industry want to punish Apple so?

Who wants to know why Notes don’t sync with your iPhone?

I do, I do! It was shown at MacWorld 2007 (well, so was split view mail, but…) during the keynote. Why has it not made it to MobileMe? Is there something waiting for us at MacWorld 2009? New iWork? New MobileMe features? Ah, one can dream.

Review: Case-Mate Leather iPhone Case

Looks like some of you did not like this case :-0 I can only assume there is a silent minority like me that does. In any case, check it out, it isn’t that bad!

Sim City coming to iPhone!

One of the classics is coming to iPhone! Pinch and zoom on your city! OMGZ!!!! Well, I am into iPhone gaming, that might explain my enthusiasm…

iPhone copy/paste via a bookmarklet?

Well, that is what it looks like anyway. It is not the answer we have been looking for from Apple, but it might be a good tide me over. Will this be enough for you? For me, I am waiting for the official solution.

App vs App: Stanza versus Classics

Are you into ebooks? Well Casey has a great app v app review to take a look at. I use eReader from the good old Palm days (yeah they made an iPhone version [iTunes Link] and you can even read your old Palm books too) but Stanza is pretty tight. What do you think?

Will it ever end? No Flash or Java for the iPhone; analyst says…

Well, the consensus is that these technologies… for lack of a better word.. blow. Now, I am sure a lot of you will contest this, but I suppose from a technical stand point they do, regardless of how commonplace they are. Heck, even Google doesn’t use Flash anymore for YouTube videos…

iTunes App Store updated

This time to show a better layout for apps. I like the new look. If you haven’t been there, do it.

Apple says that the iPhone is better than the PSP and DS

Well now. Apple wants you to think of the iPhone as the next level in portable gaming. Well, if you combine sales of the iPhone and iPod Touch, it not only eclipses them, but… the question really is; how good are the games on the iPhone anyway?

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

The iPhone Blog Week in Review for December 15, 2008

iPhone Nano Rumors Revived in Otherwise Quiet Lead-in to Macworld

Questionably reliable iDealsChina publishes information and renderings of what it claims to be an "iPhone nano".

It is the same height as the just release Nano but wider and thicker and with the same iPhone 3G contours.

i...

Microsoft Offers Seadragon App for iPhone

This weekend, Microsoft entered the iPhone market with their first application called Seadragon Mobile [App Store]. The free application is a product of Microsoft Live Labs and offers iPhone users the ability to view ultra-high resolution ...