Watch Apple’s first-ever Live Concert on your iPhone Tonight at 9 pm PT

Wanna buy an iPhone app? Developer selling app code on eBay

iPhone developer Rod Cambridge is auctioning off the source code, collateral, and supporting Web site for his Top-Tens app on eBay.

Review: Buckets for iPhone

This task-management app features some clever interface elements, but it's saddled with far too many annoyances for daily use

Put Things Off is an iPhone task manager worth owning

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review

I'll admit to being a productivity geek. For me, getting things done is almost as fun as fiddling with my system. After trying every app I could, I've come to a conclusion: Paper is where it's at.

There's nothing more flexible and full of potential. You can make arrangements to meet a friend or solve a serious network issue with paper and pen. Most of the apps I used tried to mimic the ease of pen and paper, but none match the flexibility.

For me, the iPhone adds another hurdle with the touch keyboard. Here's the bottleneck: I write faster that I type on a full-sized keyboard, and I do both faster than I use the iPhone keyboard. Some iPhone productivity apps require lots of typing, categorizing, tapping and clicking. Tally up the time spent being "productive" with your iPhone and it's not worth it. Just grab a small notebook.

It only makes sense that I'd love the app from a man who shares my love of paper. Put Things Off for iPhone and iPod touch is a mobile productivity app that I'm happy to use. The initial window (see gallery below) is nice and sparse. To add a new task, click the arrow and type something brief like "Email Tom Re: website." Select a due date and hit Save.

A small "card" appears on the To Do List desktop that you can put in one of four boxes: Inbox (the default), Today (determined by your due date), Put Off and Done. In fact, you might not have to do any clicking at all. The Today box is self-populated, the Inbox is the default and the Done box fills itself as you kill off tasks.

Which leaves the Put Off box. In the app's preferences, you have an option to delay tasks for a certain amount of time. I've opted to put things off for 7 days, just in time for my weekly review. Therefore, items without a specific due date show up weekly, just in time for my weekly review. GTD'ers can think of it as a dynamic @readandrevew or @someday/maybe list.

What I love about Put Things Off is that it comes very close to mimicking paper and pen. I open a note, jot a task and add a due date. Exactly what I do in my notebook. The Put Off box works wonderfully with my weekly reviews and there's no ballet of clicking, categorizing, tagging and whatnot to accompany every entry.

Some will call it "under-featured," but I think it's perfect. Try it out and see if I'm wrong. Put Things Off is available in the App Store now for $2.99US.

Put Things Off is an iPhone task manager worth owning originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Put Things Off is an iPhone task manager worth owning originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The iPhone’s SMS vulnerability: What we learned

Reports of a new vulnerability that would have let a hacker take over an iPhone via SMS caused quite a stir at last week's Black and DefCon security conferences. While Apple has since patched the vulnerability, it still highlights some interesting issues about today's smartphones. Security expert Rich Mogull takes a closer look.

Google to bypass Apple’s App Store and publish a full web app?

With its native Google Voice application rejected from the iPhone App Store, the software maker is planning a full-featured Web application in its place. Revealed by David Pogue in The New York Times, Google’s alleged Voice Web application is said to be the “next chapter” in the ongoing dispute between it and Apple. “Already, Google says it [...]

Follow Friday: Keep Current with TiPb and the iPhone via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or RSS!

In addition to our main iPhone blog, iPhone forums, and iPhone Live! podcasts, there’s a number of other ways you can follow TiPb and get all the latest iPhone news, reviews, and how-tos:

Twitter

You can follow our feed via @theiphoneblog on Twitter, and keep up with our staff including @reneritchie, @backlon (Dieter), @iChadman, and @JFSikora (Jeremy).

Our nimble forum staff can be found at @jamesus, @llofte, @JHamilton24, @justin_horn, @msproductions, @skeetobite

And if you’re on Twitter, you can even show your TiPb colors with this handy, dandy Twibbon! (Yeah, we totally stole this idea from CrackBerry!)

Facebook

TiPb has both a Facebook group and Facebook page. We’re not sure which one is best for helping our readers stay in touch and up-to-date, so if you have a preference, let us know!

LinkedIn

Professional much? Join TiPb’s iPhone group on LinkedIn to network with like-minded mobile accomplishers.

RSS

Subscribe to TiPb’s RSS feed via your favorite reader, add it directly to Google or Yahoo!, or get updates sent directly to your email.

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

Follow Friday: Keep Current with TiPb and the iPhone via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or RSS!

Apple exec responds to App Store critique and firestorm

In an unprecedented move, Apple executive Phil Schiller has personally responded a report that criticized the company’s handling of a third-party dictionary program on the iPhone App Store. In an e-mail to John Gruber of Daring Fireball, Schiller explained that the developers of the application Ninjawords were asked months ago to resubmit their application once iPhone [...]

Mujik for the iPhone. I’m scratching my head but enjoying it

Filed under: Odds and ends, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review, Music

Every so often something hits the App Store that is interesting but difficult to explain. At the same time, it is enjoyable to use, and you tip your hat to the people who thought it up, even if it has no real practical use.

Mujik [App Store] is a free (for now) app that allows you to create musical sounds by opening books on a shelf and chasing dust mites across the page.

It's a charming app, with interesting graphics, and I was able to create a passable tune. If your taste runs to Mike Oldfield or Brian Eno (who has his own app for creating music on the iPhone) you know the kinds of sounds I am talking about.

You do have some control over the instruments, the pitch, and you can balance the ensemble, if that is the word, by turning off any of the 3 channels.

The lads who made this app are from an Edinburgh, Scotland software company called Lucky Frame, and are obviously pretty creative in their offbeat way. The founder of the company says he wanted to create software that is "not intimidating and easy to use".

This app isn't to be confused with a composition tool, or a sequencer where you get a lot of control. It's something to play with and enjoy.

It would be nice if you could save your tunes, but instead they become fleeting memories. A 'save mode' is promised by the developers. Mujik runs on the iPhone and the iPod touch.

Thanks to Donnacha for the tip.

Here are some screenshots but they are just likely to confuse rather than illuminate. You just have to try it.

Mujik for the iPhone. I'm scratching my head but enjoying it originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Mujik for the iPhone. I'm scratching my head but enjoying it originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Get a room with Mobiata’s HotelPal

Mobiata, which already offers apps for tracking the status of your flights, now has another travel app for the iPhone and iPod touch. HotelPal lets you search for hotel rooms by distance and price and book directly from your mobile device.

Next-Generation iMac to Offer Two ‘Compelling’ New Features?

AppleInsider reports that the next-generation iMac will see the inclusion of two "compelling" new features, although sources refuse to provide anything more than suggestions as to what those features might be.

One of those features is...

Blue Skies: iPhone 3GS-Specific Apps Start to Land in App Store

Blue Skies [iTunes Link] is one of the first notable iPhone 3GS-specific applications to hit Apple’s App Store, and at a great low introductory price of $0.99.

A helicopter shooter that was orginally introduced one year ago by RockingPocketGames, this version of Blue Skies is identical to the original version in terms of gameplay, but as would be expected with the beefier processing power in the iPhone 3GS, the graphics have gotten a nice overhaul.

The 3GS enhanced version makes use of the pixel shaders that are ONLY found in the new iPhone 3GS. It has per pixel bump mapping and amazing dynamic animated water that demonstrates the true power of the new iPhone 3GS!

If you currently have the original version along with an iPhone 3GS, is it worth your $0.99 to update? Depends on much you value better graphics in your games. Now if you have never played this shooter and have a 3GS, for $0.99 you are getting a good deal for your money. To see the graphical improvements firsthand, be sure to download Blue Skies Lite [iTunes link].

The big question remains, do you appreciate an iPhone 3GS specific version, or do you think it’s finally breaking the platform compatibility?

Sound off in the comments!

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

Blue Skies: iPhone 3GS-Specific Apps Start to Land in App Store

Review: Sports Radio for iPhone

This specialized radio app for the iPhone and iPod touch harnesses readily available live Internet streams of sports radio stations. For sports fans looking for a way to listen to their local sports radio station when they're out and about, Sports Radio is a good option.

WildCharger Bundle: Charge Pad & Skin for iPhone 3GS video unboxing

Only the other  this morning we were talking about WildCharge's latest wire-free charging upgrade to accommodate the iPhone 3GS, and now it's sitting on our desk. Based around a mains-powered base-plate and special "skin" case for the Apple smartphone, the WildCharge system is fully approved by Apple and promise ...

Layers, another iPhone painting app

The creator of NetSketch --a collaborative drawing tool for iPhone-- recently launched his new iPhone paiting app: Layers. "It offers a balanced set of painting tools, layers, and an intuitive interface to boot," said Ben Gotow. Main features of this app including: Allows you to add up to five layers to each ...

Gnomedex gets its own iPhone app

Gnomedex gets its own iPhone application and is available for free download through the Apple iTunes Store [iTunes link]. Gnomedex is a technology conference for the world's leading bloggers and tech-savvy enthusiasts which will be held on  August 20 - 22, 2009 in Seattle. From the main screen, you can tap ...

iPhone Instant Messaging Application

Agile Messenger is one of the pioneers in the mobile IM market and I have been using it on my Symbian and Windows Mobile devices long before the invasion of the iPhone legions.  So when I heard that it was available for the iPhone, I jumped onto the band wagon ...

Google CEO Eric Schmidt Accepted No Salary or Stock for Apple Board Service

BusinessWeek reports that Google CEO Eric Schmidt received no salary or stock compensation for his service on Apple's Board of Directors, accepting only Apple gear and a "commemorative gift" in exchange for his services. Schmidt recently resigned fr...

The Apple on your thigh

Filed under: Accessories, Odds and ends, iPhone, iPod touch

Every market has its share of "interesting" products in their respective ecosystems. For instance, the hair loss treatment market spawned "hair in a can." In the apparel market, there's the Snuggie fleece. And for those who like to dust with their feet, there's the Dust Mop Slippers.

In the iPhone ecosystem of accessories, behold ThiPhone. You read it right. That's not a misspelling of "The iPhone." Rather, the "Thi" in ThiPhone is actually pronounced like "thigh," as in your leg's thigh. As implied in its name, the device straps your iPhone to your thigh for your viewing pleasure. According to ThiPhone's inventor, the product is intended for several audiences, including: commuters, frequent flyers, truckers, physically disabled, kids in the back seat, and students.

Let's not stop there. I'd like to throw in some other possible usage scenarios:

• You and your significant other are cuddling in bed, and want to watch that latest movie on your iPhone. ThiPhone to the rescue. It's multitouch on a whole new level.
  
• You're on a canoeing trip with dad that, well, you didn't really want to go on. ThiPhone to the rescue again. While dad is rowing away, you'll be in the back watching your favorite episodes of entourage. And rowing, of course.
  
• Who said waiting in line at Disneyland had to be boring? You could strap ThiPhone around your neck so that you could entertain those behind you.

All kidding aside, coming up ideas and going to market with products takes a lot of hard work, so props to the folk at ThiPhone. Let's help them out even more by brainstorming and coming up with even more ways that they could market the product!

The Apple on your thigh originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 07 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Apple on your thigh originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 07 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Game studio to make iPhone 3GS games, exclusively

Mad Monkey Studios plans to leverage the performance of the iPhone 3GS to make upcoming games -- to the exclusion of older iPhones.