Apple TV 2.4 Update Now Available, Updated Remote App with Gestures [Updated]

Apple has quietly released a new software update to the Apple TV which brings the system software up to version 2.4. The exact changes have not yet been listed by Apple so we can't tell you everything that's been changed just yet. Apple typically ...

Apple TV 2.4 Update Now Available, Updated Remote App with Gestures

Apple has quietly released a new software update to the Apple TV which brings the system software up to version 2.4. The exact changes have not yet been listed by Apple so we can't tell you everything that's been changed just yet. Apple typically ...

iPhone 3GS Tops T-Mobile G1 and Palm Pre in JavaScript Benchmarks

Medialets today released the results of JavaScript benchmark tests performed using the SunSpider test suite on the iPhone 3G and 3GS, the T-Mobile G1 running Android, and the Palm Pre running webOS. The use of the SunSpider suite for benchmarking st...

Dev Corner: Signing iPhone apps for informal distribution

Filed under: iPod Family, Developer, iPhone

At times, iPhone developers might like to test out applications without going through the formality (or challenges) of ad hoc distribution. Ad hoc distribution was introduced by Apple to allow software testing on up to 100 registered devices. It is, admittedly, a bit of a pain.

Developers must collect device information (the "UDID", aka their unique device identifiers), register that device at the iPhone developer portal, create an special provisioning certificate, add a special entitlement, and build an ad-hoc only version of their software to distribute along with that certificate.

If all that seems like a hassle, well, yes it is. It is, however, the proper, authorized, and recommended way to distribute pre-release software, whether for testing or reviews. But there is another way.

If you know for sure that your target audience is another developer, the process becomes way easier. You can simply compile a normal development build of your application and send a copy of that build to another developer.

That's because each registered developer has the ability to sign applications. Although the app was built to work with just the in-house devices you've registered for development, another developer can re-sign that application using the simple command-line script shown here.

#! /bin/bash 
export CODESIGN_ALLOCATE=/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform\
/Developer/usr/bin/codesign_allocate
 
codesign -f -s "iPhone Developer" $1.app

This script uses Xcode's codesign utility to sign the already compiled version of the application. Once applied, you can then install the application through Xcode.

So is this a general distribution solution? No. And thank heavens for that; free trading of app binaries would rapidly lead to piracy. This approach allows developer-to-developer testing and collaboration only. The development signing is limited to the units you have personally registered.

If you want to try this out, follow the link at the start of this post. It leads to a testing folder I keep around and occasionally stock with software that I need tested. It also includes a copy of the script, which you must make executable (chmod 755 signit).

Dev Corner: Signing iPhone apps for informal distribution originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dev Corner: Signing iPhone apps for informal distribution originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Things for iPhone adds cut, copy, paste and more

The latest version of Things for iPhone brings support for iPhone 3.0 features like cut, copy, paste and in-app e-mail.

16 GB iPhone 3GS Teardown Reveals $178.96 Parts and Manufacturing Cost

Research firm iSuppli today announced the results of its teardown of the new 16 GB iPhone 3GS, estimating the device's parts cost at $172.46, with an additional $6.50 in manufacturing costs bringing the total cost to $178.96. The data compares to a ...

HTC puts new face on latest Google Android phone, Hero

HTC's third Android handset, Hero, debuts the company's new user interface and a search button for real time search.

In Australia, iPhone 3GS tethering will be free for Vodafone customers

In a shot across the bow of rival Optus, Vodafone has announced its pricing for the iPhone 3G S, including tethering without a monthly access fee.

Find my Phone works; real life story of lost and found

OS 3.0 has only been released for a few days, and the new MobileMe locating feature Find My Phone has already been successfully used. As the story goes, iPhone user Kevin Miller was in Chicago for a Lego convention. Well, he was in a bar with a couple of friends and his iPhone was stolen, [...]

Conductive charging arrives for the iPhone via Wildcharge

It’s taken a while, but Wildcharge has released iPhone and iPod touch adapters to their conductive charging system. The soft, matte black cases wrap around your iPhone/iPod, allowing it to be charged whenever the device is placed on a WildCharger Pad. The cases run $35 a pop or you can wait until July to pick up [...]

Apple formally drops space between iPhone 3G and S

It first started with the press release from yesterday. Then some talk from Apple employees. Now, it’s official: Apple has dropped the space between 3G and S. (Yes, we know it’s not that super important, but we aim to bring you all the news here at iPhonesTalk.) Apple’s official product page listed the device as “iPhone [...]

How many apps are on your iPhone?

We're surveying our followers on Twitter about their iPhone use. Today's installment covers responses about installed third-party applications.

iPhone for Newbies: Honey, I shrunk the manual

Filed under: iPhone, iPhone 101

Caveat Emptor: This is for newbies only. If you've been around, you probably don't need this.

When I bought my last Verizon phone, it came with about three quarters of a pound of paper housed in three manuals allowing me to find just about anything through the index. Yeah, it was overkill -- but at least I knew where to go to learn about an option or feature.

When I opened my iPhone 3GS, I quickly searched for the documentation to show me how use this puppy. All I found was an accordion-pleated piece of paper, titled Finger Tips, telling me all the wonderful things my new iPhone could do... but it was awfully skimpy on covering just how to do anything at all.

On the last page of Finger Tips there were some links to get more information. Following the links would give you almost what you need. But I question how using a software-based paradigm of digital manual delivery relates to a hardware-based product like an iPhone 3GS.

Perhaps that's why an industry has sprung up to print instructional books. David Pogue's massive 'Missing Manual' series speaks to my point. If a good manual were to be included in a hardware product, 'Missing Manuals' would be superfluous.

Apple's manuals have been shrinking for many years; they have come a long way from that of the Apple ][+, in which Woz printed the entire ROM code of its 6502 processor.

The Apple way is to compactly package hardware. This seems way more elegant than being handed a big honking box. But adding half an inch to the height of the iPhone box, to accommodate a concise manual, wouldn't damage the minimalist look.

I don't feel quite right about having paid a goodly sum of money for the box and then having to download a 213-page manual using my own resources. My preference would be to have a manual the size of the iPhone 3GS right in the box, for immediate reference. With that, I could get started right away. After all, if you buy a new piece of technology, you don't want to be slowed down by needing to download and possibly print hundreds of pages along with reading a bunch of sites. You just want to push some buttons and play.

For those who have either lost the brochure or want some more information, see below for links where you can get it. Of course, you can always start with the "iPhone Help" section under the Help menu in iTunes.

The 213 page manual for the iPhone 3GS
Quickstart guides for various iPhone 3GS features
A video guided tour of major features of the iPhone 3GS

And here are some other resources to get you started:
Macworld's App Guide: Searchable by category
19 instructional books on how to manage your iPhone
Apptism - catalog and reviews of over 53,000 apps
Macworld's general listing of 3.0 features
TUAW's iPhone 101 series

I'm sure that many more resources are currently being written, but the links above are more than enough to get started.

I wonder how many agree with me that leaving out a decent manual is a poor idea, and how many of you consider this a non-event.

View Poll

iPhone for Newbies: Honey, I shrunk the manual originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iPhone for Newbies: Honey, I shrunk the manual originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Gaming accessories headed to iPhone!

With the release of iPhone 3.0 firmware, there is a possibility of iPhone and iPod Touch gaming accessories like virtual control pads, steering wheels and more, coming to our hand. Yes, because the iPod Touch software update page clearly mentions about "Third-party Game Accessories"! There are lots of games out there, ...

Radio: Emergency Radio for iPhone

By delivering hundreds of live streaming police, fire, and EMS radio channels to your mobile device, Emergency Radio essentially allows you to carry a police scanner with you at all times.

Instapaper Pro 2.0 arrives for iPhone

Instapaper Pro 2.0 is a major upgrade to a tool and service that allows you to save web pages for reading later, formatted specifically for the iPhone and iPod touch.

iPhone 3.0 How To: Easily Subscribe to US Holidays, Sports Team Schedules, Movie Release Dates, and More!

iPhone 3.0 features Calendar Subscriptions, where you can enter the URL for a shared calendar and near-instantly add it to your iPhone.

That’s all well and good to share a family or business calendar, but what about more wide-ranging ones? What about national holidays, religious events, movie release dates, sports team schedules? Luckily, Apple’s already made this simple for Mac OS X iCal users, and even more luckily it works just as simply for iPhone 3.0 users as well.

We’ll share how, after the break…

Adding Subscription Calendars

Just point Mobile Safari on your iPhone to: http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/calendars/. Apple provides categories for Most Recent, Most Popular, Alphabetical, Staff Picks, plus a handy search box. Once you find a calendar that interests you, click the Download link.

Your iPhone will ask if you want to subscribe (see image above), and once you confirm, will offer to take you straight to your calendar events to see what’s new.

Viewing Subscribed Calendars

Each subscription is given its own calendar in the iPhone Calendar App, so you can choose just that calendar to view. All views, month, day, and details are supported.

Removing Subscribed Calendars

Not all shared calendars are created — or maintained — equally. Movie Release Dates doesn’t seem to include June or July yet (making it rather useless at the moment), though national holidays and others seem quite up to date.

If you subscribe to a calendar that later disappoints, just head on over to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendar. You’ll see all your subscriptions listed under Accounts. Choose the one you want to edit or remove, and hit Delete Account if it displeases you.

Share Your Favorites

If you have or find any great shared calendars, please drop a comment below and let us know about them!

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

iPhone 3.0 How To: Easily Subscribe to US Holidays, Sports Team Schedules, Movie Release Dates, and More!

Verizon’s CEO sidesteps questions on iPhone, Android handset

The last time we heard from Ivan Seidenberg, he was letting Sprint know precisely what he thought of it. This go 'round, in a new 'Charlie Rose' interview, the Verizon chief is being entirely more coy. In speaking to recent political happenings, he mentions that the communication coming from the citizens of Iran is "a great thing," and he also notes that attempts to block internet use "can't work long term" as the "power of the people will override that without any question." Sort of comical given VZW's prior persistence to cripple phones in spite of consumer backlash, but we digress. He also dodged (with great skill, might we add) questions on whether Verizon Wireless would carry the iPhone, noting that it was "Apple's decision" on whether it would build one to support the company's forthcoming LTE network. As for Android? He did confess that recent reports of a Motorola handset coming its way "might be true," which is CEO speak for "oh, that's absolutely happening." Hop on past the break for a video of the whole shakedown.

Continue reading Verizon's CEO sidesteps questions on iPhone, Android handset

Filed under: Cellphones

Verizon's CEO sidesteps questions on iPhone, Android handset originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wednesday Fun Video: iPhone 3GS Shot Music Video!

Steve Ellington from the theautomaticfilmmaker.com let us know that he’d shot the above music video entirely on the new iPhone 3GS. While Ellington had fun filming the little robot, he was also “quite impressed with the camera.”

CBS4 in South Florida must also have been impressed. They claimed the “new iPhone good enough for the evening news” when a producer shot a segment entirely on Apple’s latest handset as well.

While RED likely has nothing to fear — yet! — citizen journalism and individual creativity are likely in for a huge, Jobsian boom!

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

Wednesday Fun Video: iPhone 3GS Shot Music Video!

Buh-Bye BlackBerry Say 12% of iPhone 3GS Buyers

Apple Insider reports that, based on a Piper Jaffray survey:

12% of consumers who visited a retail store this past weekend to make their iPhone 3G S purchase said they were replacing a BlackBerry handset, the latest sign that Apple continues to make headway against rival Research in Motion in the high-stakes smartphone market.

28% of iPhone 3GS said buh-bye to their old carriers and hello to AT&T as well, proving once again just how valuable the iPhone is to new customer acquisition…

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

Buh-Bye BlackBerry Say 12% of iPhone 3GS Buyers