TUAW @SXSW: The “comics on handhelds” panel

Filed under: Multimedia, iPhone, iPod touch, SXSW

Chances are, if you're reading TUAW, you most likely love all things Apple and Mac. You may also be an iPhone or iPod touch user. And, like many Apple lovers (including myself), you may also be a fan of comic books. If so, what if you want to take your comics on the road with you and don't want to lug around a huge stack of titles? Instead of having to take paper comics, what if you could digitize them and read them on your handheld?

Well, those are just the type of questions I hoped to have answered by attending the Comics on Handhelds panel at South by Southwest Interactive last week. On the panel were Douglas Edwards, CEO of UCLICK, Molly Crabapple of Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School, Dave Bort, a Google/Android Engineer, Rantz Hoseley, CEO of the LongBox Group and Richard Stevens of "Diesel Sweeties" fame. The panel was moderated by comics creator and mobile comics proponent Dan Goldman.

First off, Goldman started with a definition of what comics are: stories told with words and pictures. He explained that comics can be in any form and do not have to be on paper in order to be considered "comics."

With that out of the way and hoping to provide a "common starting place," Goldman next went into a discussion of formatting comics for mobile devices and alternative delivery methods, using Warren Ellis and Paul Duffield's "FreakAngels" as an example; it works well on a mobile device despite being made originally for the printed page.

"Change in platform demands change in format," Goldman said.

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TUAW @SXSW: The "comics on handhelds" panel originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 23 Mar 2009 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TUAW @SXSW: The "comics on handhelds" panel originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 23 Mar 2009 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple’s Bluetooth headset gets the axe

Filed under: Accessories, Hardware, iPhone, Apple History

I'll admit it: I loathe Bluetooth headsets. It's impossible to walk around with one of those things protruding from your head without looking like a total tool. No one's impressed, Lieutenant Uhura.

I'd like to think it was that reason that prompted Apple to stop selling the iPhone Bluetooth headsets, but it was probably poor sales. We don't have sales figures, of course, but I've never seen one in the wild.*

It's also possible that Apple is up to something else. You'll remember that iPhone OS 3.0 touts support for A2DP Stereo Bluetooth connectivity among its features. The headset which shipped with the 1st generation iPhone had a built-in switch, similar to the one included with the current iPod shuffle. Perhaps a future model will control the iPod and answer calls over Bluetooth? If so, it had better be pretty cool.

*Out of fairness, I'll state that I live in a town of 4,000. Not exactly a hive of early adopters.

Apple's Bluetooth headset gets the axe originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple's Bluetooth headset gets the axe originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dear Apple: Could We Have a Faster Way to Toggle Bluetooth on the iPhone?

A while back Dieter asked for a fast way to toggle Airplane Mode on the iPhone — a triple click of the home button, perhaps. Yesterday he and I were talking about all the new Bluetooth functionality in iPhone 3.0 and the same point came up — right now, to turn Bluetooth on or off you have to:

Wake the iPhone, Slide to Unlock, (type a Passcode perhaps), (return Home perhaps), tap Settings, tap General, tap Bluetooth, and then toggle the ON/OFF switch.

That’s a lot of overhead, in terms of mental “work” and physical interactions.

With Bluetooth headsets, Stereo Bluetooth speakers, Bluetooth connectivity for accessories, Bluetooth connectivity of tethering, P2P gameplay and P2P app exchange, etc. a much faster way to flip the Bluetooth switch would be really appreciated.

Triple-click may not work in terms of usability, but surely there must be some other way? Maybe surface the ON/OFF toggle on the main Settings page, just before the drill down arrow? Jeremy thinks letting users add Settings shortcuts as icons on the Home Screen (like we can currently do with Safari bookmarks) would work. Anyone have any other ideas?

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

Dear Apple: Could We Have a Faster Way to Toggle Bluetooth on the iPhone?

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AT&T counting on new iPhone this summer; carrier apps to figure prominently?

Rumor has it that AT&T's gearing up for yet another door-busting, riot-inducing summer filled with new iPhone hardware, which would certainly jibe with everything we've heard in the past few months (never mind the fact that June is officially Apple's iPhone release cycle these days, and indeed, AT&T's apparently saying that the June cycle is becoming "a tradition"). That's not terribly interesting at this point -- what is interesting, though, is how AT&T plans to play it. Apparently, the carrier wants to ramp up its -- ah, how should we put this in a politically correct way -- "integration" with Apple's hardware, including a U-verse app that we're guessing will approximate the functionality to be offered by Verizon's FiOS. What really has us worried is not so much the U-verse app specifically, but the possibility that AT&T's sick and tired of having its crapware left out of its highest-profile device, leading to non-removable garbage like Cellular Video on a future iPhone's home screen. It's still a bit early to sound the alarm there, but you know, we're paranoid types around here. It's said the new device will be faster, though the exact meaning of that is a little unclear; the iPhone 3G's chipset is already 7.2Mbps-capable, so we're not sure if the carrier is simply referring to its ongoing infrastructure upgrades. Finally, it's said that a $99 netbook running something other than Windows (don't suppose that'd be Linux?) will be launching this summer, following on the 3G-enabled Aspire One that hit Radio Shack late last year. Heads up, though, AT&T: give us an iPhone with your Mobile Email app on the home screen, and let's just say we can't be held accountable for our actions afterwards. We know you wouldn't do that, but just sayin'.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Home Entertainment

AT&T counting on new iPhone this summer; carrier apps to figure prominently? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone game maker Ngmoco lands $10M in new venture capital

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Filed under: Handhelds, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Vuze brings online video to game consoles, portable media players originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple silently discontinues iPhone Bluetooth Headset

As of the end of last week, the online Apple Store reports that the company's iPhone Bluetooth Headset has been discontinued.