iPhone prototypes up for auction for an arm and a leg

If you’re into collecting Apple products, these pre-production iPhone can be quite an addition to your collection.

5 Fingers does iPhone game bundle right

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Software bundles are normally things that appear for computers, however, one developer believes that the iPhone deserves the same money-saving offer. The 5 Fingers Bundle [iTunes link] does just that -- it combines five awesome games into one application for one price.

While bundles are not something new on the App Store, the implementation of this bundle is something special. The user interface for switching between the different games is amazing, and makes it feel as though there was care taken in creating this bundle.

The games included in the batch are:

• Blackbeard's Assault by Warhorse Games
• BurnBall by IMS (TUAW Review Here)
• Chopper by Majic Jungle Software
• Sneezies by Antair Corporation
• Up There by Veiled Games

It would definitely be neat to see more developers follow this route. You can find more information about the Five Fingers Bundle on their website, or by visiting the iTunes App Store where you can purchase it for $4.99US.

5 Fingers does iPhone game bundle right originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

5 Fingers does iPhone game bundle right originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MarinerCalc for iPhone: A spreadsheet in the palm of your hand

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Reviews, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

The wizards at Mariner Software have been around the Apple world for a long time. Their first product, a HyperCard stack that charted stock prices, came out in 1989 as a shareware product. After twenty years of developing cool Mac apps, Mariner has just released a useful product for the iPhone: MarinerCalc, a feature-packed spreadsheet application.

During the past few days, I've been putting MarinerCalc for iPhone (US$9.99, click opens iTunes) through a series of tests on my iPhone 3G. My assessment is that MarinerCalc is an excellent spreadsheet app. If you have any need to manipulate, create, or even just view spreadsheets on your iPhone, this is the app to get.

Read more about MarinerCalc by clicking the (you guessed it!) Read More link below, and be sure to visit the gallery for plenty of MarinerCalc screenshots.

Continue reading MarinerCalc for iPhone: A spreadsheet in the palm of your hand

MarinerCalc for iPhone: A spreadsheet in the palm of your hand originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MarinerCalc for iPhone: A spreadsheet in the palm of your hand originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Palm, Elevation pull back on McNamee comments

Roger McNamee's extreme comments about the forthcoming Palm Pre last week have prompted Palm and Elevation to quickly correct and clarify the statements.

iPhone prototype caught on video

Continue reading iPhone prototype caught on video

Filed under: Cellphones

iPhone prototype caught on video originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Mar 2009 09:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMBER Alert appmaker not happy with submission process

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Internet, Apple, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Jonathan Zdziarski, who has appeared on this pages before for other iPhone-related hijinx, has written an open letter to Apple about the AMBER Alert iPhone app he's written. Apparently he's worked in conjunction with government agencies to set up an iPhone app that can easily and quickly send sighting reports of children gone missing in the United States. And he's unhappy with Apple, because they haven't yet approved it.

His letter, which you can read in full over here, complains that we've got tons of fart apps already approved on the store, but his app still sits in approval purgatory. He actually sounds kind of selfish in the letter to me -- he says he doesn't care about how the App Store works, and that he just wants someone to "pick up the phone" and push his app, which could save children's lives, through.

We've got nothing against the AMBER Alert system, of course, and if it's true that this app can get more reports in and possibly help kids who are in danger, then great. But do we really want Apple picking and choosing which apps get kicked to the front of the line?

Continue reading AMBER Alert appmaker not happy with submission process

AMBER Alert appmaker not happy with submission process originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Mar 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AMBER Alert appmaker not happy with submission process originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 10 Mar 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TiPb Speculates: Could Apple be Developing a Netbook with Detachable Tablet Display?

Okay, technically one was on Monday, but following up the story on Apple ordering netbook-class panels, Dow Jones (via MacRumors) is following up with the always popular anonymous sources, said to be two people close to the situation:

The mini laptop computers will likely have monitor screens that are between 9.7-inches and 10-inches, one person, who declined to be named, said.

Will this be the 12″ Powerbook replacement many have been clamoring for? Will Apple really leave iTablet and large-size iPod touch demanders hanging again? Or will they combine the two products and make a netbook-sized device with a detachable multitouch-screen that works like a tablet?

It would have to move components from the keyboard section to the screen, making the top thicker and the bottom thinner (a la HTC Advantage).

Would it run iPhone OS X, however, or would people demand Mac OS X, paving the way for a really small, highly optimized version of Snow Leopard? It is building in multi-touch and CoreLocation… And could it be combined with the next generation MobileMe for online storage and cloud functionality, synced both to the full-sized Mac and even more portable iPhone…

Either way, TiPb predicts a fun, rumor-filled 2009!

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

TiPb Speculates: Could Apple be Developing a Netbook with Detachable Tablet Display?

Apple Lays off 50 Enterprise Sales Staff

With record quarters and more money in the bank than… well, many banks, it’s hard to see Apple getting hit by “hard economic times”, but according to CNet, they either are, or are preparing to be:

Sources who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal confirmed reports by Valleywag and 9to5Mac.com that roughly 50 salespeople were let go by the company for “business and economic reasons,” according to one source. An entire sales group based in Austin, Texas, was let go as well as workers in Cupertino, Calif., where Apple is headquartered. Those affected were given severance packages and the opportunity to apply for other jobs inside Apple.

Hopefully all the workers find those other jobs inside Apple quickly.

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

Apple Lays off 50 Enterprise Sales Staff

CEOh-Snap-Back! Palm Retracts McNamee’s iPhone Attacks!

Ouch! According to PreCentral.net, Palm has just given uber-investor Roger McNamee the PR equivalent of the Price-is-Right FAIL buzzer. Bum-Bum-Ba-Bum-Bowwwwwwww…

Much of it is numbers and analyst based, but a few gems glare out, especially #5, #8, and #9. Words like “premature” and “withdrawn” are used. Double ouch.

Read the whole post for a great daily dose of schadenfreude.

Of course, it wasn’t all bad news for Palm yesterday: Engadget editor-in-chief Josh Topolsky hit Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to show off the Pre, and show techies are comedy gold as well.

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

CEOh-Snap-Back! Palm Retracts McNamee’s iPhone Attacks!

iPhone 101: How to Passcode Lock Your iPhone

Welcome to iPhone 101, the best place for those of you who are new to the iPhone to learn the basics.

We all worry about misplacing our precious phones or, worse yet, having them stolen. Some may even worry about snoopers trying to read our private info when we’re not looking. In case one of these things happen, you should really consider protecting all of your personal data on the device. TiPb has got you covered, to see how to passcode lock your iPhone read on after the break!

From the homescreen, tap the Settings icon. From there you will want to press the General tab.

Once you are within the general settings tab you will see Passcode Lock is set to off.

Now tap Passcode Lock and you will be prompted to enter a four digit passcode.

After entering your four digit code you will now see the following options.

• Require Passcode: allows you to select a time period that has to pass before the lock is enabled. If you don’t want to have to enter your code too frequently but still want some protection, you can set this to 15 minutes or even 1 hour or more.

• Show SMS Preview: on by default, this shows incoming text messages on your homescreen. Turning this feature to off will only display “New Text Message” on the home screen, which can keep the identity of your texter safe from snooping eyes if that’s a concern.

• Erase Data: simply erases all data on your iPhone after 10 failed passcode attempts. This is the nuclear option, but if you’re really worried about losing your iPhone and have really important data on it, it can be something to consider.

Once you have configured your settings as you see fit, tap your home button to exit and that’s all there is to it. You have successfully passcode locked your iPhone. It’s as simple as that.

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

iPhone 101: How to Passcode Lock Your iPhone

Quick App: Coffee Buzz=coffee+twitter

Coffee Buzz is a fun little coffee app for $.99 from the App Store. If you like coffee, location services and twitter, this is a great tool for you!

Coffee Buzz works like this: you have a list of people everywhere and nearby that are drinking coffee. You can tap on their name and the app will tell you where they are and what they drank. One of a couple of the nice enhancements in the new version is that you can create your own coffee drink and edit a location name. You can also use the app to search for local coffee places. So, if you are stuck somewhere and need a coffee fix, this is a handy app! It links the phone number, address and Google Maps; very convenient.

Do you use twitter? You can enter your twitter username and password to post what your drinking and where you are at. In today’s world of tweets and status updates, this is a very welcome addition.

If you are looking for simple app to share your coffee lust, you can’t go wrong with Coffee Buzz.

TiPb’s Rating:

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

Quick App: Coffee Buzz=coffee+twitter

More Sources Point to a Touchscreen Apple Netbook in 2009

Dow Jones Newswire reports that Apple is indeed planning to launch a netbook computer with a touchscreen as soon as the 2nd half of this year. They cite "two people close to the situation" as sources.

The mini laptop computers will...

Roger McNamee’s wild predictions shot down — by Palm itself

Remember wild-man McNamee's predictions last week of death to the iPhone and all sorts of other Pre-related wonderment? We read and we chuckled and we moved on, but someone took his statements a little more seriously -- Palm. Yes, the company Roger was talking up, the company in which his firm Elevation Partners owns a particularly large stake, submitted a document to the SEC that summarily disputes all of his hyperactive talking points. It's full of facts and figures and is completely dry, but, like an episode of Yes Minister, is also full of comedic brilliance. Here's the company's reaction to our favorite bit, about the death of the iPhone:

The statement in the second paragraph of the article that "not one" person who bought an Apple, Inc. iPhone on the first shipment date "will still be using an iPhone a month" after the two-year anniversary of that day is an exaggerated prediction of consumer behavior pattern and is withdrawn.

It's good to know that, even in these tough times, there's still some comedy left in the corporate world. More boardroom humor after the break.

[Via Palm Infocenter]

Continue reading Roger McNamee's wild predictions shot down -- by Palm itself

Filed under: Cellphones

Roger McNamee's wild predictions shot down -- by Palm itself originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Mar 2009 07:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[Review] FL!P

In this full edition of the FLIP family, eBattalion has included their free "FL!P Lite" as well as their 99 cent app, "FLIP! Puzzle" , and a nice extra stage for good measure.Not familiar with FL!P?  In short, FL!P utilizes the iPhone's accelerometer to push blocks around the ...

Sudobility PhotoLab 1600 Review

Have you ever wanted to apply "PhotoShop-style" filters to the picture you take with your iPhone. Well, Sudobility's PhotoLab 1600 app brings over 20 non-destructive filters to the palm of your hand.Although the application sports a relatively simple interface, it is very powerful. The filters are separated into four categories: ...

Nehalem Mac Pros Arrive: Unboxing and Benchmarks

MacRumors forum user WonderSausage received his 2009 Nehalem Mac Pro yesterday. The system was configured as a Dual 2.93GHz Quad-Core system with 6GB of RAM and an ATI Radeon HD 4870 card. Additional high quality photos posted to Flickr wit...

Review: Pano for iPhone

You’ll be amazed at the quality of the panoramic images created by this mobile app, which lets you take six images and combine them into one photo.