Pre ad is to iPhone ad as dude is to lady in Aerosmith song of the same name

Filed under: Odds and ends, iPhone

What can I say? White background, disembodied finger and digi-creepy stillness of the device... the Bell version of an ad for the Palm Pre looks hilariously like an iPhone ad. View the videos and judge for yourself. Then get a Pre if you are compelled to do so. It has maps and Twitter and you can touch and rotate and slide it.

Bell version

and an iPhone ad

Spooky, isn't it? Of course, there are only so many ways to illustrate the feature set of a multi-touch smartphone, aren't there? It's like when Newhart was sued by the guy who also wrote a handyman book. There are, in fact, only so many ways to explain how to nail a nail, Dick explains. Lucky us, all smartphone ads will now follow this format, making it much easier to determine which phone is best for us. Thanks, Bell!

[thanks to Philip Lam for the tip!]

Pre ad is to iPhone ad as dude is to lady in Aerosmith song of the same name originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 01:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Pre ad is to iPhone ad as dude is to lady in Aerosmith song of the same name originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 01:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bell’s Palm Pre commercial couldn’t be more Apple if it had an Orba Squara soundtrack

Far from being creepy this time around, the latest Palm Pre ad -- this one specifically for Bell's Canadian customer base -- is familiar. Very familiar. Plain white backdrop? Check. Peppy male narrator? Check. Hip, upbeat music? Check. Mysterious hands showing off mobile apps and other smartphone capabilities? Check. Side-by-side comparison videos after the break. Hey, at least this one isn't gonna creep you out.

[Via Pre Thinking]

Continue reading Bell's Palm Pre commercial couldn't be more Apple if it had an Orba Squara soundtrack

Filed under: Cellphones

Bell's Palm Pre commercial couldn't be more Apple if it had an Orba Squara soundtrack originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MINI Roadside Assistance can get you and your MINI out of trouble spots

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Our colleague, Sam Abuelsamid, at Autoblog has pointed out the release of a roadside assistance app from automaker MINI. The app, MINI Roadside Assistance [iTunes link], is a collaboration between the automaker and insurance company Allstate and allows one to access roadside assistance as well as the specify its cause

So, say you're driving your MINI to Las Vegas for your buddy's bachelor party. During the drive, your car overheats; it's 120 degrees and you forgot were too lazy to check the coolant before you left, what'd you expect to happen? Well, no need to worry -- roadside assistance is just a few taps away with MINI Roadside Assistance.

MINI Roadside Assistance is available as a free download. MINI Cooper not included. More info and a demo video are available at Sam's article.

MINI Roadside Assistance can get you and your MINI out of trouble spots originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MINI Roadside Assistance can get you and your MINI out of trouble spots originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple’s UK Online Store Lists August 28th Ship Date for Snow Leopard Up-to-Date Program [Updated]

Apple's UK online store is now listing a shipping date for the OS X Snow Leopard "Up-to-Date" program of "by August 28th". The listing comes on the heels of reports from several sources in recent days that Snow Leopard would see an August 28th launc...

Apple’s UK Online Store Lists August 28th Ship Date for Snow Leopard Up-to-Date Program

Apple's UK online store is now listing a shipping date for the OS X Snow Leopard "Up-to-Date" program of "by August 28th". The listing comes on the heels of reports from several sources in recent days that Snow Leopard would see an August 28th launc...

Apple Investigating Exploding iPhone Incidents

SlingPlayer Mobile 1.1 for iPhone picks up App Store approval

That sweet little update to SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone that Sling submitted for Apple's perusal about a week and a half ago is now approved and available -- version 1.1, as it were -- bringing native DISH Network navigation, improved widescreen support, and improved response times throughout the app. Separately, Sling has updated us on the 3G-compatible flavor of the app that they've submitted for consideration outside of the US, but so far, no dice -- the company hasn't heard back from Apple, which means it's all WiFi-only for the moment. Wouldn't want to saturate those pricey little 3G cells, now, would we?

[Thanks, James C.]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Portable Video

SlingPlayer Mobile 1.1 for iPhone picks up App Store approval originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MindMeister for iPhone, mind map in the cloud!

Filed under: Productivity, iPhone, App Review

I've mentioned some options for iPhone-based mind mapping before, but I'm pretty excited to let everyone know about the release of MindMeister for iPhone (iTunes Link). MindMeister is a web-based mind mapping application with excellent import and export features for most major formats.

They've been focused on collaboration from the beginning, allowing realtime editing of mind maps by multiple participants, and including Skype integration. The iPhone version allows you to download your maps from your account (or start from scratch) and sync changes back to your maps, share maps, and export as MindManager, Freemind, Word, PDF or image files.

MindMeister for iPhone (and iPod touch) is an evolution of the MindMaker application, which was acquired by MindMeister. While the online version of MindMeister allows for a range of icons, images and metadata on each node, the iPhone version currently lacks a lot of this functionality. However, it provides a fast, simple way to edit the text of nodes, adding to existing maps or creating new ones on-the-go. The navigation is an intuitive pan-and-zoom, tap-to-edit interface which is pretty standard among iPhone mind-mapping apps. It also incorporates the GeistesBlitz feature of MindMeister, which allows you to instantly add ideas to a default map, or create a basic map from scratch, through email or a variety of other methods (there's a REST API available if you feel like adding your own points of access).

As an aside, I'd like to point out that the online version has some cool tricks. For example, you can import a tab-indented outline from a text file and turn it into a map automatically (just go to "Import Mindmap" and select a text file). Also, if you're editing a map, select a node and then click the image or note button ... not the dropdown menu, just click the button. It will do a quick search of Google Images or Wikipedia, respectively, and insert the results. Don't like the image it found for your text? Click again. Try it, it's fun.

While I'm not completely sold on iPhone mind-mapping (paper is pretty fast), the syncing, sharing, rapid-entry features of MindMeister make it my top pick. It's not just about device portability, it's about data portability; with MindMeister, my maps can end up in just about any format I want them to, and I can share them directly and get feedback instantly. MindMeister for iPhone is currently $6.99 in the App Store. If you're a MindMaker user, it's a free upgrade. The MindMeister.com online service has plans ranging from free to $15/year.

MindMeister for iPhone, mind map in the cloud! originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MindMeister for iPhone, mind map in the cloud! originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 3GS totally capable of 1080p video playback

We always suspected the iPhone 3GS was capable of 1080p HD video playback, and now we've got proof. Although Apple lists the iPhone 3Gs's max video playback res at just 640x480, iLounge linked to Chinese forum post claiming that the 3GS could do 30Mbps 1080p playback earlier today -- and when we saw that the only thing we needed to do to test it out was download the free FileAid app, well, you know how we've just spent the last 20 minutes. We tested out a bunch of HD trailers from Apple's QuickTime trailer site, some videos we shot with a Lumix DMC-GH1 and some other random videos with general success, but there were some major hiccups: high bitrate 720p video off the GH1 stuttered during playback, and loading the Avatar trailer consistently crashed the phone's audio driver until we restarted. We tried the same thing on an iPhone 3G and just got error messages at almost every resolution, so it seems like it's a combination of the 3GS's extra horsepower and different built-in software at work here -- software that's clearly not ready for prime-time, as evidenced by the bugs. We're hoping Apple is polishing that up and getting to unlock this functionality, since it'd be sweet to just plug into an HDTV and play video -- anyone listening out there in Cupertino? Video after the break.

Read - Apple iPhone specs
Read - Chinese forum posts claiming 30Mbps 1080p playback

Continue reading iPhone 3GS totally capable of 1080p video playback

Filed under: Cellphones

iPhone 3GS totally capable of 1080p video playback originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T service may actually be getting better

Those who grumble about AT&T's lousy 3G coverage may be finding less reason to complain before long.

iPhone 3GS Can Play Back High-Definition Video?

Apple Begins Training Support Staff for Mac OS X Snow Leopard

Macenstein claims to have received information from sources claiming that support training for OS X Snow Leopard has begun and that Apple's new operating system will very likely launch on Friday, August 28th.

According to reliable sou...

Review: FourTrack for iPhone

Sonoma Wire Works' FourTrack is an amazing iPhone app for musicians, songwriters, or anyone who likes to record audio.

Wikipedia Foundation creates official iPhone app

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

The Wikipedia Foundation has just released a free app for accessing the web based encyclopedia right on your iPhone or iPod touch.

Wikipedia Mobile [iTunes link] brings the full boatload of Wikipedia knowledge to a nicely formatted iPhone screen. In my tests, it responded quickly, and without any glitches over Wi-Fi and the 3G network.

The only issues really are that there are already dozens of similar apps available for the iPhone. In fact, if you go to the Wikipedia site in Safari things are nicely optimized for the iPhone screen. Of course the app has a built in history button, but Safari does too.

Some of the other Wikipedia apps I've tried are Wikipanion [iTunes link], which has more features, including changing the font size, and Wikiamo [iTunes link] that allows landscape view, reading of saved material offline, and links to other languages.

I'd like to see the ability to email entries to myself or others, and the Wikipedia Mobile support page just goes to the home page of Wikipedia. That's not too helpful.

One other odd thing. When trying to install the software on a first generation iPod touch, users are reporting it fails with an error message saying a microphone is needed. Huh?

However you access it, Wikipedia is a great resource, and the Wikipedia Foundation says it will be updating the app frequently based on user requests. The current version is 0.1, so I think this app is just getting started.

Wikipedia Foundation creates official iPhone app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wikipedia Foundation creates official iPhone app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple TV Set by 2011?

In a message to clients, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster describes the possibility that Apple will enter into the market for television sets, with an Apple-branded set for movies, music, games, and interactive TV.

"TV hardware is a...

iPhone bug affects Truphone users, fix available

Truphone, a mobile Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) application that routes calls across the Internet, is experiencing problems with the recent iPhone 3.0 software update.

Apple Investigates: “Exploding” iPhones and iPods

Numerous press reports are claiming that iPhones and iPods are “exploding” — well, three isolated devices, at least so far. Apple is said to be investigating these reports and have no answers as of now.

“These are isolated incidents and… there is not a general problem, For the cases which have been reported in the media, Apple [is] trying to get more information on the details of the incidents and will do tests as necessary to investigate the possible cause.”

It was last August that we reported on the iPod fires that were taking place. Three recent claims in the past few months have sparked this new investigation:

• we had a teenager in France who claims his girlfriend’s iPhone blew up and sent glass flying
• an 11 year old girl who claimed her iPod “made a hissing noise and went pop”
• and on August 2, a Dutch man who claimed his iPhone 3G went up in flames and burned his car seat.

Thankfully no one was injured in any of the above incidents. With the millions of iPods and iPhones sold to date and only a very few being proven “faulty” this is nothing you should be too concerned about. In fact US Consumer Product Safety Commission claims that a total of 15 Apple devices since 2001 have been recorded as faulty, while none included any serious injury.

[Via Ars Technica]

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

Apple Investigates: “Exploding” iPhones and iPods

TiPb Presents: iPhone Live! #24 — Norton’ized!

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Join Dieter, Chris, Rene and special guest, Patrick Norton to talk about Revision3’s new AppJudgement show, as well as all the latest iPhone, iPod, iTunes, and iTablet news and rumors. Listen in!

News

iTunes, iPod, and iTablet

• Apple iPod/iTunes Event Scheduled for Sept. 9?
• UPDATED with Video: iPod touch Leaks Begin! Is This the Third Generation’s New Camera?
• Third Generation iPod touch Pricing at 16GB/32GB/64GB for $199/$299/$399?
• iTunes Now Sells 25% of US Music
• Apple iTablet Gone Wild: Nerdfights and Molotovs and iPads, Oh My!
• Fake or Really Fake? Apple iTablet UI Goes YouTube

iPhone and iPhone OS

• iPhone 3GS: 99% Pure Customer Satisfaction!
• iPhone MMS: Apple and AT&T Sued, MMS Not Possible(?!), and When Does Summer End Anyway?
• iPhone 3GS Camera Pre-Caches Images Before You Take Them?
• Analyze This: 82+ Million iPhones a Year by 2012?

Apps and App Store

• UPDATED: TomTom Turn-by-Turn Navigation for iPhone Beginning to Appear in International App Stores and Car Kit — compatible with iPod touch and other GPS apps?
• Qik for iPhone Lands in the App Store — Without Live Streaming
Dev-Team: Palm Pre May Track User Location, but 3rd Party iPhone Apps Do Too!
• Facebook 3.0 (Sans Push) for iPhone Submitted to iTunes App Store

General

• Apple’s New North Carolina Data Center Among Largest in the World
• The Competition: Android and Windows Mobile Remind Us Not to Take Future iPhone Updates for Granted?

From the Forums

• From the Forums: Push Apps, GPS Apps, Native iPhone Apps/Features, Data Usage

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

TiPb Presents: iPhone Live! #24 — Norton’ized!

iPhone 3GS Capable of High-Definition Video Playback?

iLounge reports on a forum posting [Google translation] at Chinese site WeiPhone in which a user claims to demonstrate 720p and 1080p high-definition video playback on the iPhone 3GS. The poster conducted a series of test using the FileAid iPhone ap...

iPhone 3GS Can Play Back 720p, 1080p Source Videos?

Can the iPhone 3GS play back 720p and even 1080p source videos, perhaps even output them to an HDTV? Looks like it might, according to WeiPhone.com who claim to have gotten just such functionality working via the FileAid app.

Of course, we’ve heard the iPhone 3GS chipset was capable of recording in 720p before. Hey, this time last year we even heard the older, less-powerful iPhone 3G might be able to handle 1080p.

So, while not surprising, it’s important to remember that the iPhone 3GS has a 320p (480×320 to be exact) display, so actually playing the files on the device — aside from heat and battery life concerns — would result in downscaling to such an extent that it’s pretty much pointless (perhaps why Apple doesn’t surface it as a feature at this point?)

It is interesting to consider, however, that Apple has another music event just a couple weeks away, and that Microsoft is making noise about the Zune HD outputting 720p to an external display. If Apple could flip a switch in iPhone 3.1 and enable 720p or 1080p overkill out via AV cables (better yet — HDMI cable!) then that’s one less checkbox in competitors’ corner, and one more feature for iPhone and iPod touch users to enjoy.

(Of course, bigger video means more storage, like 32GB in an iPhone and 64GB in a presumed third-gen iPhone touch… Hmm… Maybe I was only partially crazy to predict an iPhone HD last year?)

[via iLounge]

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

iPhone 3GS Can Play Back 720p, 1080p Source Videos?