Current all-time Top 20 paid/free apps list up

Yes, along with their 1 billion app (soon) download announcement, Apple have posted their current all-time top 20 apps, paid and free, for your downloading pleasure. It’s a fairly diverse list, with some long time favorites taking the honors. Included are: Google Earth (uber-useful detailed world displaying app), Shazam (song-indentifing wonder seen on the commercials), iFart [...]

TUAW First Look: Gas Cubby 2.0

Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, First Look

With more than 25,000 apps in the App Store (as of this writing), it's not easy to find the standouts. One such app is Gas Cubby from App Cubby (we're written about it before), and I'm very happy to have spent a week with version 2.0. It's in my top five iPhone applications (along with its sibling, Trip Cubby. But that's another post entirely).

My day job requires me to keep track of automotive expenses. Before I found Gas Cubby, I was unsuccessfully trying to do so with pen and paper. I'd either take the pen out of the car and forget to return it or do the same with the notebook. I'd end up scribbling on anything I could find and promptly lose whatever it was. My accountant wasn't happy.

Gas Cubby solved the issue and actually made it fun for me to keep track of my expenses. That's right, fun. You can collect data on gas and service. First, I'll look at gas.

Update: Yes, this will be a free upgrade for current owners.

Continue reading TUAW First Look: Gas Cubby 2.0

TUAW First Look: Gas Cubby 2.0 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TUAW First Look: Gas Cubby 2.0 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: Fire Words for iPhone

Fire Words is a wonderful word game that can keep you engaged for a minute or an hour at a time.

Multiple versions of iPhone rumor may be true, but perhaps 3 versions?

The Commercial Times,a popular tech blog/site, has thrown everyone a curve (maybe): they’re now saying that the next-gen iPhone will have three models, one of which could be a budget, EDGE-only throwback, and that’s good news for those whose pockets are not as thick as they would like. Expected in mid-June, the models are said to [...]

New iPod Shuffle Contains $22 Worth of Parts

BusinessWeek reports on a teardown of the new iPod shuffle by research firm iSuppli, revealing that Apple's diminutive player contains approximately $22 worth of parts.

All told, the cost of the shuffle's components, the headphones, a...

Birdhouse helps you polish your Twitter posts

Birdhouse, a new iPhone application, bills itself as a "notepad for Twitter," focusing around the ability to compose and edit messages before posting them to the service.

Want an Apple-Blessed Unlocked iPhone 3G for $799?

Buy.com is offering iPhon 3G, “officially” unlocked, for $799. We’re not sure if these are imported units from markets like Hong Kong or Taiwan, where Apple themselves sells unlocked units, or what the deal is, or if $799 is even a deal for you to not have to worry about Jailbreaking or cat and mouse games. But, if you have the extra bills in your pocket and alternate and international carrier support is worth the premium to you, you might want to check it out.

Anyone hitting the buy now button?

[via 9to5mac via GeekBrief.tv]

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

Want an Apple-Blessed Unlocked iPhone 3G for $799?

Apple Working on Multiple New iPhone Models?

3 New 3rd Generation iPhones, 4 Million Strong, Coming This Summer?!

Commercial Times is raising the big on the crazy rumor pot by claiming Apple will release not just 1, not even 2, but a whopping 3 new iPhones this summer.

• One would be the next-generation iPhone previous rumors have pointed to, with beefed up processors and accessories like the camera.

• Another would be a throwback of sorts to the original iPhone, dropping HSPA 3G in favor of EDGE 2.75G to lower costs and smash what little umbrella was left competitors.

• Third would be a special version to support a CDMA carrier in China, allowing Apple to penetrate that last, largest of markets. (And with the mere mention of CDMA, cue baseless Verizon rumors in 3… 2… )

While TiPb has been on the next-gen bandwagon as a long as anyone, I have to admit the other two I’m not as sure about. Even though I mentioned the possibility of an EDGE-again iPhone on Twitter this weekend, Sacha Segan from PCMag was quick to point out a problem: AT&T is cutting EDGE capacity in favor of 3G. And like Giz says in the link below, Apple’s never been a retro-embracing company…

Would anyone be interested in an uber-cheap (free on contract, low EDGE data plan) version of the iPhone? Or is it Next Gen or nothing? And could we see a world where people are smuggling CDMA iPhones out of China?!

[via Gizmodo via Slashphone]

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

3 New 3rd Generation iPhones, 4 Million Strong, Coming This Summer?!

Push Notification a Burden to Small Developers?

Apple has gone out of their way to point out the cons of multi-tasking background applications — a claimed 80% reduction in battery life while on standby with a single 3rd party IM client enabled. Push Notification, likewise, has been promoted by Apple as providing a single point of coordination for 3rd party alerts routed through servers on Apple’s end.

But unlike the code-once, release-done model of background processing for a single app, Push Notification requires developers to create a server system on their end as well, one that’s constantly and reliably available to send alerts to Apple, and scales to an iPhone and iPod touch user base already exceeding 30 million units.

Ars Technica’s Erica Sadun goes into detail on the process and problems:

Consider an application with just 10,000 users. It might service a million uses per day, assuming update checks every 15 minutes. More time-critical uses might demand checks every few minutes or even several times a minute. As the computational burden builds, so do the hosting costs. While cloud computing provides an excellent match to these kinds of needs, that kind of solution comes with a real price in development, maintenance, and day-to-day operations.

For more on additional issues, like security, and whether or not small developers will even be able to afford to implement Push Notification, check out the rest of the article.

Any developers out there avoiding Push Notification for just those reasons? What could Apple do to help you out? Offer a hosting system for small developers on Apple’s end?

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

Push Notification a Burden to Small Developers?

iPhone 101: How To Set Up Parental Controls on Your iPhone

Welcome to iPhone 101, simple tips for novice iPhone users to help you take advantage of your new device.

Maybe your kid spends way too much time browsing the internet via Safari, uses the camera in ways that are not appropriate, or perhaps they went on a spending spree in the App Store and you didn’t know until your credit card bill came in the mail. Whatever the case may be, find out how to regain some parental control by enabling restrictions after the break!

Settings

Ok, you will want to begin to go into the settings.

General

Once you are in the settings, go directly to the general tab.

Restrictions

Tap the restrictions tab and once on that screen choose enable restrictions.

You will now be asked to enter a 4 digit passcode. Do not forget this passcode, there is no way to retrieve it, and a full restore (re-installation) of the iPhone is needed to reset it.

Restriction Options

After you have entered your passcode, you will now have the ability to restrict any of the functions you see on the screen. Without going through each and every option, lets just take a look at Safari. If you turn off Safari and head back to your home screen you will see that the icon is removed and there is no way possible to reach that application any more.

To re-enable a function like Safari, return to the restriction page, authorize with the 4 digit passcode you entered above, and turn it back on.

So there you have it folks, if there is any reason you need to restrict certain apps or features on your (or your child’s) iPhone, this is how you do it.

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

iPhone 101: How To Set Up Parental Controls on Your iPhone

Apple Ordered 4 Million New iPhones for Q2 2009?

Slashphone recaps a ChinaTimes / Commercial Times report which claims that Apple has placed an order for 4 million units of the next generation iPhone. Per Slashphone's summary:

According to its insider news, Apple has already ordered...

All-Time Top iPhone App Sales Figures and Estimates

As part of Apple's one billion app countdown for their iTunes App Store, they have also compiled a list of the all-time top 20 apps [App Store] for both Paid and Free apps.

Perhaps most interesting is what the potential market for a...

Review: Fandango for iPhone

Fandango's app for the iPhone and iPod touch is pretty solid, but it lacks the news features of the Fandango.com Web site and it puts limits on the theaters from which you can buy tickets. Those limitations hamper the app's convenience and ease of use.