TextExpander available for iPhone/iPod Touch

Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store, App Review

TextExpander for the Mac has been one of my favorite utilities for several years. The ability to define "snippets" of text which expand into words, phrases, sentences, or even the outline of entire documents has been invaluable.

When I heard that TextExpander was coming to the iPhone/iPod touch, my first reaction was "WHAT!" and my second reaction was "How?"

On the Mac, TextExpander sits in the background, waiting patiently for you to type some set of characters which matches an abbreviation that you have previously defined. For example, when I type "/address" TextExpander jumps into action and replaced "/address" with "10 Main St." If I type "!phone" TextExpander will automatically replace that text with my work, home, and cell phone numbers.

On the iPhone, third party applications are not allowed to sit in the background, even if they promise to wait patiently. That's a limitation of the iPhone OS, and whether you think it's a smart move by Apple or an unnecessary one, the reality is that TextExpander touch can't do everything that TextExpander for the Mac can do. SmileOnMyMac has posted about this on their blog and has even released an SDK for iPhone developers who wish to integrate TextExpander's technology into their iPhone applications.

Let's just take it for granted that most of us who use TextExpander would love to see it running on the iPhone like we do on the Mac. That said, there is still a lot this app can do.

When launched, TextExpander for iPhone gives you a "Compose" window where you can type a message and have it expand your shortcuts, and from there you can: "Send to Mail" (which will put the text into a "compose" window in Mail), "Copy All Text" (which does exactly what you'd expect), or "Send To Twitter Client" which will send the text to a Twitter client (which you have to choose in the app preferences).

TextExpander for iPhone support the following Twitter apps on the iPhone: Twitterrific, Twitterrific Premium, Tweetie, Twittelator Pro, TwitterFon, and TwitterFon Pro.

Before TweetDeck and Birdfeed users form an angry mob to march on SmileOnMyMac headquarters, let me direct your attention to the TextExpander touch FAQ which explains that:

Some Twitter clients, such as TweetDeck and Birdfeed, do not support a URL schema such that they can be launched by TextExpander along with message content.

If you're not familiar with the phrase "URL schema" it means "There's no way for one iPhone app to send text to these apps, unless these apps are updated to offer the kind of programming 'hooks' which are present in the supported Twitter apps." Or, to put it another way, imagine TextExpander doing its best Han Solo impersonation saying "It's not my fault!" So please, save your torches and pitchforks for the inevitable zombie attack.

TextExpander is all about saving time, so you'll be glad to know that you won't have to re-type all of your favorite "snippets". You can sync all of the TextExpander shortcuts that you have defined on your Mac, so they'll be at your fingertips when you move over to TextExpander touch. I have some "snippets" which I use when responding to emails which I been unable to answer on my iPhone. Now I can use those same responses easily and not have to worry about forgetting about them later.

TextExpander touch is now available at the App Store. The introductory price will be $1.99 until September 9th. After that it will be $4.99.

Although obviously held back by the restrictions imposed my the operating system, TextExpander looks like a great utility for sending messages through your iPhone. Longer messages don't have to take a long time. I hope that some industrious Twitter client developer will look at integrating the TextExpander touch SDK.

TextExpander available for iPhone/iPod Touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TextExpander available for iPhone/iPod Touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Quick App: TextExpander for iPhone

TextExpander touch [$4.99 - iTunes link], is the iPhone (and iPod touch) version of Mac favorite TextExpander, an app that takes short bursts of text and expands them (get the name?) into longer passages.

TUAW has the details, especially on how the lack of background multitasking for 3rd party apps means the iPhone versions works (and works around) a limitation it doesn’t face on the desktop.

Check it out and let us know what you think. Or let TextExpander embiggen your thoughts. What’evs.

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

Quick App: TextExpander for iPhone

OS X Snow Leopard Retail Disc Contains Build 10A432

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Review: Remix David Bowie for iPhone

iKlax Media gives David Bowie fans a new way to enjoy "Space Oddity," providing them with free reign to manipulate the eight separate recorded tracks of the 40-year-old rock hit to their liking.

iPhone App Review Astroturfing Gets Uglier

MobileCrunch has a huge post up detailing the latest, and potentially one of the most brazen cases of fake iPhone reviews (astroturfing) to date.

To sum up, MobileCrunch claims PR firm Reverb Communications has been using fake iTunes accounts to deliberately and strategically post fake App Store reviews for their clients — some of which are fairly recognizable names in the iPhone and iPod touch development space. According to an anonymous tipster:

Reverb employs a small team of interns who are focused on managing online message boards, writing influential game reviews, and keeping a gauge on the online communities. Reverb uses the interns as a sounding board to understand the new mediums where consumers are learning about products, hearing about hot new games and listen to the thoughts of our targeted audience. Reverb will use these interns on Developer Y products to post game reviews (written by Reverb staff members) ensuring the majority of the reviews will have the key messaging and talking points developed by the Reverb PR/marketing team.

Reverb has responded-ish to the claims, and MobileCrunch to the response, so check out the full article for all the annoying details.

Bottom-line remains, however, that if you make great apps, people will tend to find them. If you make great publicity absent a great app, people will only find disappointment and hold a grudge against the next app. So, stick to making great apps, and leave the game playing to the users, b’okay?

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

iPhone App Review Astroturfing Gets Uglier

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First Look: Ramp Champ adds carnival fun to your iPhone

Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, App Store, App Review

If you've seen Kevin Smith's Dogma, you know that a key character ends up incapacitated for much of the film as a consequence of his/her unusual obsession with the carnival game Skee-Ball. The whole uncomfortable situation could have been avoided with an iPhone or iPod touch and the new app from the Iconfactory and DSMediaLabs, Ramp Champ. The game brings the sounds and skill of classic carnival ball-toss challenges right into your pocket with a great deal of style and fun.

The $1.99 Ramp Champ app [iTunes link] provides four separate levels of ball toss challenges, ranging from three rows of clown targets to a rather familiar garden of bitmapped icons. Each level provides scoring & prize opportunities for knocking down the clowns, fish, invaders or icons; if you match one of three bonus conditions for the level (including, on the icon garden board, tracking down the elusive dogcow), you'll get an award for your excellent performance.

After each session of tossing, you collect prize tickets that you can turn in at the app's gallery of virtual stuffed stuff -- fuzzy dice, anyone? Aside from the four levels that ship with the app, there are four more levels (featuring unicorns, ninjas, teeth and tiki!) that will be available for in-app purchase at $0.99 per 2-level pack.

Beyond the straightforward-yet-addictive game physics (you may find your thumb aching after a while as you press a little too hard to flick the ball), the biggest draw of Ramp Champ is how stunningly pretty it is. Although we are often spoiled by the visual effort and consistency of Iconfactory projects, the team has really outdone itself with Ramp Champ. Every corner of the screen is participating in the carnival look and feel of the game; even the sound and music design feels 'right.' For such a simple game, it's surprisingly immersive.

While the game is a visual delight, unfortunately it shares a characteristic with many other 1.0 iPhone apps; it's a wee bit crashy, at least in my first day of playing. The app documentation suggests a device restart to clear out memory before trying to play. As Touch Arcade points out, the flick-to-toss gameplay is similar to the ad-supported app Paper Toss; if you find it hard to control the ball rolls in that game, you'll probably be challenged/frustrated by RC as well.

Here's a screenshot gallery from Ramp Champ.

First Look: Ramp Champ adds carnival fun to your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

First Look: Ramp Champ adds carnival fun to your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New iPhone Ad Has Apps for That Avid Sports Fan with Golfshot GPS, MLB at Bat, TouchSports Tennis

Apple has begun airing another in their long line of “App for That” iPhone ads, this time with “Avid”, targeting sports fans. The ad shows off:

• Golfshot GPS [$29.99 - iTunes link]
• MLB at Bat 2009 [$9.99 - iTunes link]
• TouchSports Tennis 2009 [$0.99 - iTunes link]

Apple typically releases these spots in batches, so we’ll keep our eyes peeled for more, and if you see any, let us know.

(Mac fans can also check out the new Get a Mac ads, one of which just might “tick” people off — haha!)

[Video via Ben.at]

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

New iPhone Ad Has Apps for That Avid Sports Fan with Golfshot GPS, MLB at Bat, TouchSports Tennis

Steve Jobs Locked on iTablet

Since returning to work following a 6-month leave of absence and a liver-transplant, Apple CEO has been locked on delivering the long-rumored, hugely-anticipated (by the blogsphere at least) Apple iTablet, or so says the Wall Street Journal.

Similar to the months before the January 2007 unveiling of the iPhone, Jobs is said to be relentlessly micro-managing away with his typical utter focus on usability and design, making engineers cry and developers miserable in hopes of delighting consumers with a tablet concept that “just works”.

Making it worse, apparently, for Apple employees this time around is that aforementioned leave of absence Jobs took gave them all a brief respite of freedom, and now they’re left to lament what they previously never knew. Or something like that. Really, melodramatic much?

What’s clear, however, is that Jobs takes introducing whole new product categories very seriously:

Mr. Jobs killed the project twice in recent years, the first time because the battery life was too short, and the second time because there was insufficient memory, said one of the people familiar with the matter.

Asked for comment, however, Steve Jobs proved he’s still on top of his game, at least when it comes to curt responses:

“much of your information is incorrect,”

You go Steve!

[via MacRumors]

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

Steve Jobs Locked on iTablet

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Poll: Should Apple Improve the iPhone App Store, Eliminate It, or Both?

Should Apple Improve the App Store, Eliminate it, or Both?(survey)

Should Apple improve the iPhone App Store, eliminate it as a single point of access to iPhone apps, or both? Given that Apple’s response to the FCC indicated there were only 40+ full-time, trained reviewers for the App Store, and 8500 apps a week for them the review, simple math makes it appear a challenge (as does casual observation of review times). Since the App Store is the only way, outside of enterprise or beta provisioning, to get native apps on the iPhone and iPod touch, depending on your point of view this is either not a problem, an untenable bottleneck, or only half of a better, more workable solution. So what can be done?

First, Apple could try to continue to improve the App Store as is. They could hire more reviewers, improve and make more transparent the review criteria, and otherwise create an environment that’s more predictable and sane for developers.

Second, as Facebook developer Joe Hewitt suggests, they could get rid of the App Store and simply allow developers to release whatever they want. Hewitt claims this works well enough for the Web and WebApps, and it’s currently similar to the model Google is using for the Android Marketplace where, after a series of automated bug tests, the app is simply released. If, post-release, the community flags the app as inappropriate (i.e. copyright violation) or malicious, Google will investigate and potentially remove it.

Third, Engadget suggests Apple create a hybrid model where the App Store remains for those users who want an uber-safe, Apple controlled single point of access, but Apple also allows for “side-loading” applications from other sources. Similar to the (currently restricted to 100 users) Ad Hoc distro method, or Enterprise provisioning method already in place, this means applications not approved for the App Store could still be downloaded and installed via iTunes.

Check out the poll up top and let us know what you think!

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

Poll: Should Apple Improve the iPhone App Store, Eliminate It, or Both?

Unity game engine for iPhone offers 3x performance boost

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Quick App: Madden 2010 for iPhone

The NFL’s regular season is fast approaching and what a better way to kick the season off then with some Madden 2010 on your iPhone (or iPod touch)?! EA has been promising us some Madden action on iPhone for a while and now they finally will deliver.

The game will contain real NFL rosters and, based upon the screen shots, will include Brett Favre and Michael Vick on both of their new respective teams. While EA is promising a release date of no later than opening day, September 10th, there is no official word on a price point. All of that aside, we think you can expect Madden 2010 to stiff arm it’s way into the App Store at $9.99.

[Via Cnet]

Screen shots after the break!

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

Quick App: Madden 2010 for iPhone

Review: :Shift: for iPhone

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