Now Vodafone Also Announces Partnership To Sell iPhones in UK

Dropbox the iPhone app has dropped

Filed under: iPod Family, iPhone, App Store

If you've been waiting patiently for the Dropbox app [iTunes link] to hit the App Store, your wait is over. The app has arrived, and brings with it the simplicity that Dropbox users have come to know and love.

Since Dropbox itself is a free service, it's a pleasant surprise to see a simple, easy method for creating a new Dropbox account right off the bat if you don't happen to already have one. The app just asks for a name, e-mail address and password, prompts you to accept the terms of service, and creates the account. During my testing, I did encounter a problem where I would receive a nondescript "Account creation failed (null). Please try again." message, which I'm guessing may be due to high load on their servers. Still, this is not an encouraging encounter for new users.

Once logged in, everything worked pretty smoothly. On first login, You are presented with a brief welcome document that highlights some of the features of the app. Backing out of the document will take you to your Dropbox, which quickly lists any of the files and folders you may have in there. The app features built-in document preview for several types of files, including PDFs, text documents, spreadsheets, pictures and videos. You can also tag files as a favorite by tapping the star at the bottom of the file viewer, which adds the item to the favorites panel and caches a copy locally on the device so that it's immediately available.

An unexpected feature is the ability to take pictures, video, or use existing media and upload them directly to the Dropbox. This could definitely be handy if you need to take a quick video and have it available on another machine without having to plug in your phone and wait for it to sync. Also unexpected, but incredibly welcome, is the massive amount of documentation that is available from inside the app's settings panel. In addition to giving you general details about your account, the settings panel offers a link to watch a video about how Dropbox works, take a tour of the features, or browse their complete online help library, without having to leave the app. As many apps fall short in this area, it's refreshing to see such detailed documention available, let alone right from the app.

A couple of side notes: As I mentioned above, the new user signup does not appear to work properly sometimes. I'm guessing this will be fixed in short order, though. You can log out of your Dropbox account by tapping the Unlink iPhone from Dropbox button on the settings panel, but beware that you will loose any favorites you have stored (the app does warn you of this). And finally, when you do logout of your account, the app just disappears from the screen, as if it crashed, although you are successfully logged out. In my eyes, these are minor issues (well, aside from the signup problem), and will likely be addressed with future updates, but still good to watch out for.

All in all, this is a very well done, simple app that connects you with an already great (and free) service. It's available now in the App Store for free.

Dropbox the iPhone app has dropped originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dropbox the iPhone app has dropped originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Akamai’s new network aims for iPhone HDTV

Akamai is extending its content delivery network to the Apple iPhone as it introduces the Akamai HD Network, a system for streaming high-definition video.

CNN’s new iPhone app puts rivals to shame

On Tuesday morning, CNN introduced a $2 iPhone app featuring live newscasts, video-on-demand, and a familiar iPhone interface.

EyeTV for iPhone joins the ranks of TV streaming apps

The newly released EyeTV for iPhone works with the desktop version of the TV software to let you watch live video on your mobile device.

Apple Rolls Out ‘Apps for Everything’ Section to Make it Easier to Find iPhone Apps

TUAW Live from the 360iDev Denver iPhone development conference

Filed under: Other Events, Developer, iPhone

About a month ago we reported that the 360iDev conference was going to be held in Denver, Colorado. The event is now underway, and since I happen to live in the area, I'm attending the event that's billed as the premiere iPhone developer conference in the world.

There are certainly a good number of iPhone developers on hand -- Tom Ortega of 360|Conferences, the group that's running the event, mentioned that the registration was at 225 developers, more than attended the last event in San Jose, CA.

The sessions last for the next day and a half, and there are plenty of opportunities for developers to learn, meet, and party. Stay tuned to TUAW for short interviews and more info from 360iDev.

TUAW Live from the 360iDev Denver iPhone development conference originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TUAW Live from the 360iDev Denver iPhone development conference originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Quick App: Dropbox for iPhone

Dropbox [Free - iTunes link] is now available in the App Store, and allows iPhone and iPod touch users to access their online Dropbox storage remotely.

For those unfamiliar with Dropbox, it provides something similar to Apple’s MobileMe iDrive, but with a free option at 2GB, and paid options at $9.99/month for 50GB and $19.99/month for 100GB, and syncing between any computers the Dropbox app.

The iPhone version lets you:

• Access your Dropbox directory
• View your files
• Download files to your iPhone
• Sync downloaded files
• Take photos and videos and upload them to Dropbox
• Share links to Dropbox files
• View photos

If you give it a whirl, let us know how it works for you!

{Thanks Frank for the head’s up!]

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

Quick App: Dropbox for iPhone

Apps in Need of Rejection: Ones That Steal Your iPhone Number and Call You to Up-sell

So you make an app free, get people to download it, then use it to violate your users’ privacy by pulling their telephone number off their iPhone so you can call them and try to annoy them into coughing up money for your paid app.

Yeah, that should be a rejection, if not a banning.

(No, we’re not mentioning the name of the app, why give them publicity? Picture above is proof of concept code showing how the iPhone user telephone number is retrieved.)

[via Mac4Ever -- thanks everyone who sent this in]

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

Apps in Need of Rejection: Ones That Steal Your iPhone Number and Call You to Up-sell

App Store now offering CNN Mobile

CNN launched their CNN Mobile iPhone app today, and it will bring full print and video news reports, and even allow users to record their own news/eyewitness accounts of stories and submit it, if need be. More from the app description: — “Maximizing the revolutionary features of iPhone OS 3.1, the new CNN App showcases news of the [...]

mSpot offering streaming movie rentals on the iPhone?

Popular site/blog TechCrunch is reporting now that mSpot, who sells ringtones, music, and video for mobile phones is now offering streaming movies you can rent that you can watch on your iPhone (and other smartphones). mSpot offers 350 movies for streaming, and access can be per movie, or a subscription per month. It’s a model [...]

Apple Expands ‘Apps for Everything’ Categories

The Loop notes that Apple has unveiled a redesigned Apps for Everything section of its web site devoted to iPhone and iPod touch applications featured by category. While the "Apps for Everything" listings have been around for a while, today'...

Tweetie 2.0 - New and Improved Version of Popular Twitter iPhone App Coming Soon

Apple adds Apps for Everything collections

Apple's added a new section its Web site, Apps for Everything, featuring themed collections of iPhone apps and tips related to specific topics such as Travel and Money.

Five Apps for the Gastroenterologist

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

Sometime this summer a wiseacre commenter (we get a few) suggested we do a "Five Apps" for a variety of somewhat offbeat topics. One wasn't so far-fetched however: gastroenterologist. One could say that a gastro doc has about the same needs as any doctor, of course, and that's an easy out. So here are 5 apps that are great for gastroenterologists and possibly any medical specialist... Coming soon: 5 apps for the lemur owner.

Epocrates Rx - This free app looks up drugs and is updated weekly. Epocrates [iTunes link] has already been available for other mobile platforms for a while, this is a must-have for physicians, I would think. There's also a Pro version that is designed for medical professionals, and it requires a yearly subscription fee to work. It's $99 for one year, which is pretty reasonable for what this does -- which includes an amazing pill ID tool.

DocWrite - Another free app with a service you subscribe to, but this may appeal to more than doctors. DocWrite [iTunes link] is a transcription service that sends your ramblings securely and sends you back a complete transcription in PDF or Word. DocWrite has a web-based dashboard for your stuff, too, so you'll never be without those documents in text or audio.

PubSearch - PubMed is a massive database of medical research papers and PubSearch (free version) [iTunes link] is an iPhone app that'll search them. Yes, of course you need a subscription to the database (noticing a trend here?). PubSearch also has a Mac desktop app, although there does not seem to be any coordination between the two. I'd imagine something like sharing bookmarks would be helpful. PubSearch Plus [iTunes link] costs $1.99 and is really the more functional version as it will show full articles and use EZProxy (where supported).

Medcalc - A free medical calculator? Yep, Medcalc [iTunes link] includes a ton of formulas for doctors, plus a few indices and charts and whatnot to keep a handy reference for those who need it. This app seems to cover a lot of ground, although I'm not sure how much applies to the field of gastroenterology.

Mobile MIM for iPhone and iPod touch - Sadly, this has yet to be released. But I'm guessing it'll be at the top of many doctors' wish lists. MIMvista makes real-deal medical imaging stuff and the MIM app for iPhone was demonstrated at WWDC. The demo was astounding, showing how doctors could merge CT and PET scans right on their iPhone and make notes for later use. The app is pending FDA approval, with no release date or price set.

Five Apps for the Gastroenterologist originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Five Apps for the Gastroenterologist originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HandyGames releases App Store analysis presentation

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

The folks over at German developer HandyGames originally put together this slideshow presentation for their own internal use, but they determined that it actually could be useful for almost anyone following iPhone releases and their development, so they released it out into the world. And they were right -- there's some good info in here. Basically, they did a survey of the top 20 apps, both paid and free in five different regions of the world on the App Store, and then compared different qualities of all of those apps to see what the most successful apps had in common.

What did they find? Things like the fact that the majority of top 20 apps do not use all caps for the title and use an original IP for their releases. The differences are interesting as well: most paid apps are made by recognizable developers, while most free apps are made by smaller publishers. Free apps receive many, many more reviews than paid apps, though (if I'm reading the presentation right) they tend to be rated lower. Chillingo is the App Store's most prolific top developer, while Digital Chocolate releases games most often, with a full 1.5 releases per week since (I suppose) they started publishing games.

Very interesting stuff, though the numbers still require a little backgound knowledge to deciper (Backflip Studios appears in a few rankings, even though they've only just started releasing games last month -- popular games, but only a few games nonetheless). Cool to get an overall snapshot of the kinds of games that are doing well on the App Store so far.

HandyGames releases App Store analysis presentation originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

HandyGames releases App Store analysis presentation originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Retrievable iPhone numbers mean potential privacy issues

A loophole may allow app developers to retrieve your phone number; reports from Switzerland claim an app developer is using this information to upsell its customers.

Indie Movie Releases Via iPhone App - Is This The Future?

China Unicom offers more iPhone pricing details

China Unicom will offer five versions of the iPhone when the handsets go on sale next month.

Win a copy of Zoom Lens for your iPhone

Filed under: iPhone, App Review

I checked out Zoom Lens [iTunes link] over the weekend, and I'll say that as far as zoom tools go, this one is great. A simple interface, simple use and the images look pretty good. Of course, you'll be less impressed when you view them on your Mac, because Zoom Lens, like all iPhone apps of the same nature, just crops the image, really. It's what you find on consumer cameras as "digital zoom" -- not much more than a zoom & crop in Photoshop or iPhoto, really.

But Zoom Lens does give you an interface that looks as though Apple made it themselves. Who knows? Maybe some day the iPhone will have a true zoom lens, although the optics would be tricky... Anyway, the best part is you have a chance to win Zoom Lens for yourself! It only works on the iPhone, of course, and we can only give codes for the US (no Canada, sorry!). But read the rules below and enter by leaving a comment before October 1.

Glimpse a before/after shot of the app in action on the next page.

• Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.
• To enter leave a comment on this article (below).
• The comment must be left before Thursday, October 1, 2009, 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time.
• You may enter only once.
• Ten winners will be selected in a random drawing.
• Prize: Promo code for iPhone app "Zoom Lens" (Value: US$.99 )
• Click Here for complete Official Rules.

Continue reading Win a copy of Zoom Lens for your iPhone

Win a copy of Zoom Lens for your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Win a copy of Zoom Lens for your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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