Ad stats: iPhone users sure love Wi-Fi

Stats from the AdMob ad network show that iPhone users tend to use Wi-Fi networks more than any other phone user.

Review: The Weather Channel for iPhone

If you’re looking for a solid—if unspectacular—weather app that features frequent updates of current conditions and forecasts, The Weather Channel will serve your needs.

iBreathalyzer is, yes, a breathalyzer for your iPod

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, iPod Family, Retail, Odds and ends, Stocking Stuffers, iPhone

It's late Friday night, you're stepping out of the bar into the cold after a few drinks, and as you head towards the car, you stop, realizing that it might not be the right time to drive. But how can you know for sure? Simple -- you just pull out your iPod. Because the iPod hasn't had enough random things attached to it, there's the iBreath, a breathalyzer that connects to the bottom of your iPod or iPhone and will not only tell you what your BAC is, but transmit your iPod's audio to your FM radio as well.

You've gotta be kidding us. Not only should you never drive after drinking, as even legal levels can be dangerous, but even if you just want to know your BAC you can buy a regular breathalyzer for a lot less than the $80 this one costs, and you don't even need an iPod to connect it to.

But we'll give these guys their credit -- of all the things you can attach to an iPod, this one might be the strangest.

iBreathalyzer is, yes, a breathalyzer for your iPod originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iBreathalyzer is, yes, a breathalyzer for your iPod originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: Apple is Secret Licensee of PowerVR!

Way back on Sept. 7 we linked to an item that conjectured Apple might be the secret licensee of PowerVR technology. Well, the conjecture is now confirmed according to MacRumors:

Apple is “subscribing for” 8,200,000 new shares of Imagination Technologies Group which means Apple will have an ownership interest of 3.6% in the company. The press release also reveals that Apple is a licensee of Imagination’s technology.

What does this mean for the iPhone? That Apple is likely Spinning Custom “PA Semi” ARM Chipset for Next Gen iPhone!

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

Official: Apple is Secret Licensee of PowerVR!

Simple Steps to Re-enable DFU Mode in Mac OS X 10.5.6 to Jailbreak and Unlock iPhone

Apple ‘disappointed’ by French ruling on iPhone

An Apple spokesman responded to Wednesday’s ruling by the French national competition council that ended Orange’s exclusive ability to sell the iPhone in that country.

iPhone is now the SpyPhone

Mobile Spy has launched a hybrid software/service that lets you monitor from your iPhone in real time.

iPhone Apps - Visual Dial and Callme Allow Users to add Photos as Speed Dial Icons to their iPhone’s Home Screen

Konomi Gets in on iPhone Gaming Action: Metal Gear Solid, Frogger, Silent Hill, and DDR!

It seems to be a trend now a days, some of the top dog game developers are jumping in the ring to push some of their hotter titles onto iPhone. Electronic Arts has just released one of their most popular titles, Sim City. Now enter Konami.

Konami has just dropped a bomb on iPhone gaming with the announcement of 4 titles.

1. Dance Dance Revolution S Lite : From Late December, 2008 in Japan and North America
2. Frogger : From Late December, 2008 in Japan, North America, and Europe
3. Silent Hill The Escape : From Late December,2008 in Japan, North America, and Europe
4. Metal Gear Solid Touch : Spring, 2009 in Japan, North America, and Europe

“Konami Mobile offers gamers nothing but the best by developing high quality, big-name titles with unparalleled mobile entertainment experiences,” said Anthony Borquez, Vice President of Konami Mobile and Online. “We are extremely excited to be working with Apple to introduce North American consumers with popular franchises that are compatible with the iPhone and iPod’s advanced technologies.”

Any gamers out there getting excited yet?

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

Konomi Gets in on iPhone Gaming Action: Metal Gear Solid, Frogger, Silent Hill, and DDR!

First Look: Word Flow

Filed under: Software, iPhone, First Look

I'm always on the lookout for applications to keep me entertained when I have little snatches of time that need filling: Waiting in a long line at the post office or for a movie to start, or being caught out at lunch without a book to read while eating.

Word Flow is an interesting puzzle game that allows you to slide letters around a board to create words. Once your word is ready, tap the beginning and last letter of the word you've created. It's like Boggle with the ability to control where letters go. You have three timed versions you can play: One minute, three minutes and 10 minutes. Three minutes is the sweet spot for me. With the one minute version, you barely have time to string some words together before time is up. With the 10-minute version, I lost interest after about five minutes.

Overall, Word Flow is a fairly decent game, but definitely not my favorite of available word games on the iPhone. The graphic response is not as smooth as other programs, and two versions of the game are either too short or too long.

Word Flow (link opens iTunes) is currently available for $.99USD.

First Look: Word Flow originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

First Look: Word Flow originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: SimCity for the iPhone

Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, iPod touch

SimCity 3000 was the first computer game I ever bought for myself. Up until that point, I was happy with "borrowing" the games that my brothers bought and playing those. But, after a high school friend showed me SimCity 3000, I wanted it for myself.

SimCity for the iPhone is pretty much a port of SimCity 3000, and the game comes across beautifully. The graphics are amazing and you can't tell the difference between playing the game on the computer or on the iPhone. When I heard that Electronic Arts was bringing SimCity to the iPhone, I quite sure what to expect. I always felt that the port of the game made for handhelds was an inferior version to the computer-based originals. Part of me wasn't quite sold on the iPhone as a gaming device.

SimCity helped me change my mind.

Here's a look at a breakdown of the game, what works and doesn't, and even a neat Easter Egg.

Continue reading Review: SimCity for the iPhone

Review: SimCity for the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Review: SimCity for the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SimCity comes to iPhone

SimCity, the legendary city building game, is now available for the iPhone and iPod touch.

3 Ways to (Try and) Get the iPhone to Work with Linux

[I've mentioned about my crazy Ubuntu using IT friend Anthony Casella a few times before. Several months ago he made the switch from Treo to the iPhone 3G and -- surprise surprise -- he's loving it! Well, almost all of it. Problem is, Apple doesn't make an iTunes for Linux. So what's an open source geek to do? Tinker, of course! Here's Antony's first article on (trying to) use the iPhone with Linux. Are you trying to do the same? If so, let us know what you're doing in the comments! - Rene]

It’s a fabulously well-known fact that Apple has no interest in bringing support for it’s highly popular iPhone to Linux. Perhaps I can go as far as to say is that Linux is to Apple as curd is to eyeball. None the less I have an affinity for the iPhone in spite of the abhorrent treatment I receive being a Linux user. Here are a few ways that you can try to live with this Shakespeareanesque tragedy until such time that Apple sees the error in its ways (ya, right)… after the jump!

By Virtualizing

Although VMware allows for any user to download and install their VMware-server and VMware-player applications free of charge, USB iPhone tethering — as of this writing — is only supported by their for-pay VMware-workstation application ($185, OUCH!). By simply heading to www.vmware.com you can purchase and download the application by filling out their online form. Once installed, you can virtualize your Windows OS of choice (actually, iTunes 8 is only supported by XP SP2 and up), download iTunes and then synchronize, purchase and play music.

The obvious drawback would be that you’d need a Windows installation disk and valid installation key (Well, most of us need this anyway, ahem). Secondly, you are cruising at not-so-blazing-fast USB 1.0 speeds due to a VMware limitation. On top of that is the $189 fee is a non starter for many simply wanting to listen to their tunes. Finally, running a VM of any OS can be a resource hog so going this route, albeit the most feature complete, seems a bit overkill.

By Jailbreaking

For those of you who don’t have an original iPhone 2G and have not upgraded to firmware 2.x, or perhaps simply despise soiling their favorite distro with anything from Microsoft, then there is a Linux-only way to sync your files. The Ubuntu specific “How To” found at the Ubuntu community iPhone site gives you a step by step guide to getting this working using the awesome Amarok music player. I am very aware that Ubuntu != Linux but the guide can tailored to other distros if that is your inclination.

I think it’s easy to see why this is less than optimal. Let’s be honest, iPhone 2G is last gen and missing out on the App store that came with firmware 2.x would royally suck. Frankly, even though a jailbroken iPhone gives me benefits like being able to multitask my ssh client and run a mail app, I can honestly say that I would be missing out on some of my favs like the Google Mobile App (where I feel like I am a Trekkie talking into my communicator waiting for the “Computer” to give me the answer to all my questions), iTunes remote, I.TV and Air Sharing (more about this next).

By Compromising

I’ve found a less intrusive way to synchronize my music, photos and movies than what is employed by the previous two methods. I, like most system administrators, use and am able to function with multiple operating systems. I use Linux at work, Windows and Mac OS X at home. I don’t follow the zealotry of others who find it necessary to keep a pristine mono-OS-culture. This is where the iPhone app Air Sharing (iTunes Link - currently on holiday sale!) comes into play. The app costs $4.99 and can be installed directly onto the iPhone via the App Store. Any song that I have ripped from CD, or any movie I have ripped from DVD, can be loaded onto the iPhone via the Air Sharing application using WebDAV or Bonjour over a wifi network. This lets me store my ripped MP3 music and MP4 videos onto the device.

The thing that differentiates this from some simple USB key is that I can also play these files from within the Air Sharing app if the urge should arise. Once I am at an iTunes capable OS, I then copy the files off of the iPhone via Air Sharing and sync them to iTunes which then places them into my playlists and ultimately on the the iPhone “as Jobs intended.”

As with the other two methods, there are some snags. One of which is that most people may have a problem having to select a new music file to play each time a song ends as the Air Sharing app doesn’t auto play the next item. The biggie of course is that DRM’d files that you want to place into Air Sharing for transfer to your linux box will NOT play on said linux box (via any legal means). That’s DRM for you.

Conclusion

Let’s face it, none of these are ideal. Until iTunes is reversed engineered or perhaps Jobs allows for even a WINE enabled installation a la Picasa2, we Linux users will have to continue to rely on our resourcefulness to get the full benefits of our iPhones.

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

3 Ways to (Try and) Get the iPhone to Work with Linux

Truphone has newly added inbound calling

Today Truphone added the Truphone Anywhere functionality to their iPhone application, enabling users to make international calls for as little as £0.03/$0.06 per minute even when not connected to the internet. Truphone also added inbound calling on the iPhone for the first time. Truphone currently works in 33 countries around the ...

South Korea finally making progress with the iPhone 3G

After much delay, the iPhone is finally coming to South Korea. Based on the mobile industry as a whole we expected South Korea to be one of the first to get this handset. The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) had been requiring handsets to use the locally built WIPI mobile platform, ...

Schiller to Demo Snow Leopard at Macworld?

The Guardian claims that Apple and its partners have been privately dropping hints to developers that Mac OS X Snow Leopard will ship earlier than expected and suggests that Phil Schiller will show it off at Macworld.

The article also ...

MobileMe Syncs Contacts, Captures Criminals

Outage prone PIM push service by day, crime busting super sync utility at night? Seems that way. According to TUAW, MobileMe whipped off its mild-mannered glasses and swooped down and caught an iPhone 3G thief!

While at the dry cleaner one day, Rob’s iPhone was stolen. He immediately chalked it up as gone forever, and proceeded to purchase a brand new one that same evening. It was the next day when unfamiliar contacts began to appear on the new phone. The (not-too-bright) thief was unwittingly supplying him with names and phone numbers of his or her closest friends, via the magic of MobileMe synchronization from the stolen phone to the cloud and eventually to his new phone. “It didn’t take long for me to realize that MobileMe was leading me right to the thief!” wrote Rob.

What’s next, saving the world from Steve Ballmer Lex Luthor?

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

MobileMe Syncs Contacts, Captures Criminals

iPhone 101: Reboot your iPhone for better gaming

Filed under: How-tos, iPhone, iPhone 101

One of the biggest comments on the recent SimCity announcement for the iPhone, other than being able to locate the SimCity International (link goes to the U.K. iTunes store) version of the game, was complaints that the game was crashing for some people.

This is not a new issue for graphically intense games for the iPhone and one of the solutions for solving this is very easy: Before playing your new game, reboot the iPhone.

Here's how to do it. Hold down the Home and the Sleep/Wake buttons until your screen goes black, as shown at right. After a few seconds, you should see a sliding bar for powering off the phone. Ignore it and keep pressing those buttons. After about 20 seconds or so, the screen will go completely black and the silver Apple logo appears. That means your phone is rebooting. Let it go through the rebooting process, then launch your game. You shouldn't have any further problems with it. One word of warning: Rebooting the iPhone does drain your battery somewhat, so if you're pretty low on power you may find yourself unable to use the phone until after you're recharged it.

I saw this tip posted on the App Store when I was purchasing Scrabble at the end of November and followed the advice and didn't have a single problem with Scrabble on my 1st generation iPhone. I repeated it with SimCity and, again, I'm not having any issues playing the game.

If that doesn't solve your issues, check out this list of iPhone troubleshooting tips.

iPhone 101: Reboot your iPhone for better gaming originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iPhone 101: Reboot your iPhone for better gaming originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple Researching Multi-Touch Skins and New Gestures

Apple's patent applications sometimes enter into bizarre and conceptual territory. This week's patent application reveals research into portable multi-touch skins that can be placed on three dimensional objects:

The one or more mult...

Review: Koi Pond for iPhone

Koi Pond's swimming fish offer a surprisingly relaxing and addictive antidote to modern life.