Apple and others reach accord on standard European phone charger

Apple is among a list of top handset makers who have agreed to support a European Union-backed initiative on standardizing phone chargers across the continent, which should benefit both consumers and the environment. More specifically, the deal will see companies including Apple, Nokia and Research in Motion, develop handsets that can be charged by a standard [...]

National Geographic Adventure’s Top 20 iPhone Travel Apps

Filed under: Software, Cool tools, iPhone, App Store

When it comes to adventure and travel, who could possibly know more than National Geographic Adventure magazine?

The magazine's website has regular features about techie toys and tools, so it was no surprise that blogger Steve Casimiro would write a post featuring his choices for the top twenty travel apps for iPhone. Some of his choices, such as HearPlanet, FlightTrack Pro, the Lonely Planet Phrasebooks, and World Customs [clicks open iTunes] aren't surprising, while others (Packing, Room) are interesting apps I wouldn't have even thought to try.

Of course, all of us have our own favorite travel apps. I couldn't imagine going on a trip anywhere in the world without Geocaching, and I like the free TripIt app better than the one that comes with FlightTrack Pro. I now have Brushes with me everywhere I go to capture quick sketches, and what's travel photography without being able to take panorama shots with Pano or 3D pictures with 3D Camera?

What are some of the apps that you can't live without when you're traveling? Leave your comment below.

National Geographic Adventure's Top 20 iPhone Travel Apps originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

National Geographic Adventure's Top 20 iPhone Travel Apps originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mozilla Releases Firefox 3.5

Mozilla today released Firefox 3.5, a significant upgrade to the world's second-most popular Internet browser. Webmonkey summarizes some of the more important advances in the latest version, including speed enhancements, support for HTML 5, geolocat...

Step-By-Step Guide to Jailbreak iPhone 3G running iPhone OS 3.0 using PwnageTool (Mac)

Adobe Flash now widely available to Android device vendors

Bsquare says it has ported Adobe's Flash mobile player to ARM-based smartphones and smartbooks running Google's Android operating system.

Review: Clue for iPhone

There's a lot to like about the mobile version of Clue, the classic whodunnit board game. But some of the elements take a little of the fun out of solving the mystery.

O2 UK sell out of iPhone 3GS - Limited stock available at Carphonewarehouse.

O2 the exclusive carrier in the UK have sold out of all iPhone 3GS models both online and in store. From O2’s website: iPhone 3GS is currently out of stock: Due to the phenomenal demand for the new iPhone 3GS, we’ve temporarily run out of stock online, over the phone and in our retail stores. We expect additional stock [...]

fring supports iPhone OS 3.0

Mobile internet community and communication service, fring, now supports Apple’s latest iPhone 3.0 software update, including the new iPhone 3Gs.  If you don’t have fring’s latest iPhone version yet, get yours today! [fring is now also available on the App Store]. Following Apple’s last week release of the iPhone 3.0 software ...

iPhone 3GS’ web browser speed test blows away rivals

Following the benchmark of 3D capabilities test where the iPhone 3GS is "close to four times faster than the 3G"; in JavaScript performance, the new iPhone 3GS also blows away its predecessors as well as rivals, even approaching MacBook speed! Medialets ran the SunSpider test suite with Safari 4.0.1 on a ...

AT&T U-verse remote DVR app released for iPhone

AT&T have released a free iPhone and iPod touch application that allows U-verse subscribers control their DVR systems remotely.  The app, U-verse TV Mobile Remote Access, can display program listings and full descriptions of individual shows, as well as allow users to schedule program or series recordings. It's also possible to edit ...

Videos: iPhone 3GS running gpSPhone, gpx4iPhone emulators

ZoDDt has published two videos from the upcoming gpSPhone and psx4iPhone emulators new versions running on iPhone 3Gs. A good news for iPhone gaming. The result is shown in the video below where you can see gpSPhone running at a minimum 150 FPS and maxing out at about 225 FPS, with ...

iPhone App Store Just Says No to Nudity — For Now?

Last week the first iPhone (and iPod touch) app to feature nudity was live in the iTunes App Store. Technically, however, it was simply a change in the server behind the app — the developer added nude images.

Subsequently, however, the app became unavailable. The developer first reported that their own servers couldn’t keep up with demand for the newly nudified images, but it turns out Apple laid the hammer down on the “soft-core porn” app:

Apple will not distribute applications that contain inappropriate content, such as pornography. The developer of this application added inappropriate content directly from their server after the application had been approved and distributed, and after the developer had subsequently been asked to remove some offensive content. This was a direct violation of the terms of the iPhone Developer Program. The application is no longer available on the App Store.

Given that Apple has included new parental controls and App Store restrictions in iPhone 3.0, including a declaration for nude content, and given the eternal argument that nudity is available for age-appropriate viewers via iTunes movies, is there some contradiction still at work? Or is Apple drawing the line artificially close for now while it watches and gauges reaction?

[via CNN]

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

iPhone App Store Just Says No to Nudity — For Now?

Dell Developing Android-Based Mobile Internet Device?

The Wall Street Journal reports that Dell has been developing a Mobile Internet Device (MID) based on Google's Android operating system. The device is reportedly slightly larger than Apple's iPod touch, with which Dell's offering would presumably co...

US Government Looking Into AT&T iPhone Exclusivity

The US Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation is studying deals like AT&T’s exclusivity for the iPhone, and how that balances business freedoms, technology innovation, consumer competition, and the effects on smaller, rural carriers.

In response to AT&T retail sales and services president, Paul Roth’s assertion that exclusivity provides more innovation, lower cost, and more choice, PC World quotes Senator John Kerry’s response:

“I accept the benefits you articulated but I’m having a difficult time trying to envision why an innovator, given the size of the market and the number of outlets, is not going to innovate to produce a product that is equally competitive [to an exclusive phone] … because it wants to appeal across different providers,”

This exchange followed on the heels of the committee sending a joint letter to the FCC, which according to InformationWeek asked for a determination as to whether “exclusivity agreements are restricting consumer choice”.

We know a lot of you want your iPhone on Verizon already, but should Apple and AT&T be allowed to come to whatever agreements each sees fit, or is there a roll for government to limit that for the good of consumers who’s interests may diverge at times from corporations?

[Thanks to Icebike for the repeated heads up]

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

US Government Looking Into AT&T iPhone Exclusivity

Quick App: DOOM Resurrection for iPhone

DOOOOOOOOOM! [$9.99 - iTunes link] That’s right, the mother of all Martian first person shooters (FPS) is in the App Store now:

-Advanced graphics engine designed from the ground up to take full advantage of the power found in Apple’s mobile devices -Wield an arsenal of heavy-hitting weapons to defeat a variety of hideous monsters and bosses -Innovative controls for fast-paced and accessible first-person action -An all-new chapter of the DOOM saga that new players and long-time DOOM fans can enjoy

How does a golden oldie translate to the newest, greatest mobile platform? If you try it out, and live to tell the tale, let us know what you think!

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

Quick App: DOOM Resurrection for iPhone

Quick App: Birdfeed Twitter Client for iPhone

Birdfeed [$4.99 - iTunes link] bills itself as “A very nice Twitter client for your iPhone”. That’s pretty much spot on. It doesn’t try to razzle-dazzle, or focus exclusively on one element or another, but what it does do is provide a quick, clean, interface to manage your Twitter account (or accounts).

Highlighted features include the simple design, local caching of already-loaded tweets so you can keep reading when/if offline, SMS-style handling of direct messages (DMs) to help keep the conversation flow, unread @mentions (replies) and DM counters, and time stamps to indicate where you last read up to should new tweets have since been loaded.

To answer the immediate question, no support for iPhone 3.0 push notification yet. Birdfeed’s Twitter account says that feature is likely, but there’s no time-frame yet.

TwitPic and yfrong are available for image posting and tr.im for URL shortening. (Where’s the bit.ly love, and tinyurl for retro chic?) Instapaper is supported, though you have to exit the app and go to the iPhone’s Settings app to find and set it up. This makes sense given Apple’s preference for keeping Settings in Settings, and also because it’s unlikely you’ll have to do it more than once.

Great from a user experience perspective, when you get to the end of currently loaded tweets, Birdhouse automatically starts loading older ones. That’s right, no button tap required. (The default is 20 but you can change that in Settings). To get newer tweets, however, there is the perfunctory big honking — yet tastefully rendered — button at the top of the tweet list.

For users who put capital letters in their Twitter account names, there’s currently a bug those accounts to go missing from the app, but it’s known and a fix is on the way.

All in all, Birdfeed is exactly as presented — a clear, consistent, and enjoyable general purpose Twitter client with some great new ideas in a even greater UI.

More screenshots after the break!

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

Quick App: Birdfeed Twitter Client for iPhone

Review: PicCard for iPhone

The overall look and feel of PicCard could use a little fine tuning, and the PayPal integration is a bit clunky. But the concept behind this app -- take pictures from your iPhone and turn them into postcards you can mail -- is a solid one.

Doom Resurrection on the iPhone now, lots more id games to come

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Doom Resurrection on the iPhone now, lots more id games to come originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Doom Resurrection on the iPhone now, lots more id games to come originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SMS texting and voicemail support come with latest Skype update

Filed under: iPhone, App Store

Skype (iTunes link) has been updated to 1.1, which brings it some new features making it more closely resemble its desktop sibling. So, what's new? Well, there's now support for Skype voicemail (subscription needed) and SMS text messaging.

However, SMS texting is not bidirectional. Which means that you can send SMS texts, but not receive them. And while a dialog box states that sent SMS texts will show up as sent from the sender's Skype screen name, in my case it displayed the "999-99" caller ID that typically accompanies calls from a Skype-based client. Perhaps that's because I don't have a SkypeIn number?

The 1.1 update also provides additional language support as well as more help when dialing phones.

SMS texting and voicemail support come with latest Skype update originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

SMS texting and voicemail support come with latest Skype update originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone making a splash in the arts

Filed under: Cult of Mac, Odds and ends, iPhone

Not too long ago we told you about an artist creating a cover for the New Yorker magazine using a paint program on the iPhone. Now an Australian photographer has won an award for a photo he took on his iPhone.

Steve Turner created a rather striking collection of images he put together, and manipulated to create a print that caught the eye of the judges at the Photo Marketing Association show in Sydney.

I tried to contact the photographer, and we had a brief email back and forth. He's traveling so I don't have too many details and the time difference between us has made communications spotty. His messages, of course, are all coming via iPhone. Steve says he has about $200,000 worth of camera equipment but loves shooting on the iPhone. He used CameraBag for the effects, and scaled the photos up on his Mac at his studio. If you go to Steve's web site you'll see the photo pop up. It's the photo with 9 small images and a larger image of a car. His non- iPhone work is pretty impressive as well. My guess is the image was taken with the older 2MP camera, allowing for time to submit his photo for consideration, but it is impressive.

There's just no predicting how creative people can be even if the equipment is not top notch. As I remember learning some years ago from an instructor in a photography course when I was complaining about my little camera, 'If Ansel Adams uses my camera, he gets great pictures. If I get his camera, not so much.' Great lesson for us all, and congrats Steve.

Thanks to photographer Gavin Blue for the tip

iPhone making a splash in the arts originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iPhone making a splash in the arts originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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