Rumor: Apple adding FM Radio to the iPhone and iPod touch?

Filed under: Audio, Rumors, iPhone, iPod touch

Just like the 5th generation iPod nano that was introduced last month, Apple may soon be adding the capability to tune in to FM radio stations on the iPhone and iPod touch. As some of you may remember, the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth chipsets in the iPhone 3GS and the 2nd and 3rd generation iPod touch models already have the capability to support FM radio tuning.

It's also reported that you'll be able to listen to the radio in the background, allowing you to use apps at the same time, just like you listen to music synced to your iPhone or iPod touch. It would also support Live Pause and iTunes Tagging, just like the 5th generation iPod nano does. Also, it would allow you to buy the song directly from your iPod touch However, this feature remains one the the remaining issues with FM radio on the iPhone and iPod touch.

Would you listen to FM radio stations on your iPhone or iPod touch, or do you prefer listening to Podcasts or Music synced from iTunes or from a streaming radio service on your iPhone or iPod touch? Let us know in the comments below!

[Engadget via 9 to 5 Mac]

Rumor: Apple adding FM Radio to the iPhone and iPod touch? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rumor: Apple adding FM Radio to the iPhone and iPod touch? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Universal iPhone/iPod touch 3.1.2 Jailbreak Tool blackra1n for Mac OS X Coming Soon

When George Hotz released his all iPhone/iPod 3.1.2 jailbreak application for Windows, blackra1n, he was unsure whether or not he would write a Mac OS X version. According to a recent post on Twitter it seems as if he’s had a change of heart.

blackra1n for mac coming soon…actually reuses code…NSRunAlertPanel causing crashes…and can anyone blackify the purplera1n mac icon?

It would be nice if this upcoming Mac version includes an exploit for the new bootrom but the probability of that happening is highly unlikely. For the latest news and tips for jailbreaking/unlocking your iPhone, visit our iPhone Jailbreak/Unlock forums.

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

Universal iPhone/iPod touch 3.1.2 Jailbreak Tool blackra1n for Mac OS X Coming Soon

Apple Breaks Jailbreak in Newly Shipped iPhone 3GS Devices

iClarified is reporting some very unsettling news for those of you looking to pick up a new iPhone 3GS as they say Apple is now shipping iPhone 3GS devices with a new bootrom blocking the 24kpwn exploit. Devices with the iBoot-359.3.2 bootrom began shipping last week and are now being sold in Apple and AT&T stores. This means if you are unfortunate enough to land one of these new devices you will not be able to jailbreak until the Dev Team or George Hotz can come up with a solution.

For those of you who can’t wait to jailbreak your new iPhone 3GS, we suggest you listen to iClarified and try to pick up a refurbished unit or try to locate some older stock. The race is now on, who will be the first to find a new exploit to take advantage of – George Hotz or the Dev Team? It’s off to the races.

[Thanks for the tip mysterio!]

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

Apple Breaks Jailbreak in Newly Shipped iPhone 3GS Devices

iPhone and iPod touch radio app with iTunes store integration on the horizon?

We know what you're thinking, how dare that new iPod nano have features your premium iPhone and iPod touch handhelds don't? Well, if this 9 to 5 Mac rumor has any merit, Apple is right there with you and has a solution in the works. According to said whispers, a Radio app is in the works to capitalize on the recent models' latent FM tuner. It'll either be standalone or integrated into the iPod app, and either way it'll be able to work in the background while you browse other, not so fortunate apps. The apparent cause for delay is work on a feature that'll identify the songs and link you to the appropriate iTunes page for purchase. As always, this is just a rumor, so do yourself a favor and try not to dwell on it too much, k?

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio

iPhone and iPod touch radio app with iTunes store integration on the horizon? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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5 apps for the scoundrel

Filed under: Humor, Software, Odds and ends, iPhone, iPod touch

Earlier today we were inspired by Pepsi's AMP UP Before You Score app [iTunes link], which prompts the would-be ladies' man through several pickup routines, each suited to a different type of young lady (sorority girl, tree hugger, goth girl... that one probably requires a bit of sulking). It's a bit of fun if not a little classless (and Pepsi & AMP have since apologized). With that in mind, we've compiled 5 apps for the scoundrel.

Fake Call apps

This one is more of a trick than a particular app. Here, Manolith describes how to use one of the many fake call apps to your advantage. Before approaching the object of your affection, set up a fake "grandma" profile complete with picture and set to ring one minute into your conversation. Because starting off with deception is the way to go.

The fake call apps let you set up a fake phone call that looks and sounds like the real thing, even with a fake "voice" on the other side. Some are better than others, and could provide escape from a scrape.

Awesome Pickups

Awesome Pickups transports you to the Regal Beagle with the most horrendous pickup lines imaginable. That's probably part of the fun, in daring each other to actually tell a young single, "You must be Jamaican because you're Jamaican me crazy!" Simply tap to move from pickup line to pickup line until you're either slapped or asked to leave.

Amazing Rejections: Smackdown

If you're on the receiving end of a would-be suitor equipped with Awesome Pickups, Amazing Rejections: Smackdown is for you. Tap to view a laundry list of ill-advised pickup lines and their corresponding denials. Don't feel badly about using an especially vicious rejection, s/he probably deserves it.

Relationship Test

To end with something more savory than the rest, here's Relationship Test. This app presents a lighthearted quiz to share with your special someone. Have a few laughs while you learn about each others likes and dislikes. There's no heavyweight relationship advice here, just a bit of harmless fun. And it's better than targeting your tweets for a tree hugger.

5 apps for the scoundrel originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

5 apps for the scoundrel originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pepsi apologizes for sexist iPhone app, inadvertently fans the flames

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Odds and ends, Freeware, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

PepsiCo's Amp Energy brand stirred up a lot of hatred in the last couple of months when the "AMP UP Before You Score" app [iTunes Link] was released. This app, branded as sexist and inappropriate by a lot of people who rated it in the App Store, provides guys with cards to "identify her type," pickup lines that are useful with a particular "type" of woman, and ways of keeping track and spreading the news via social networking if you "get lucky."

A public apology was made by Amp on its Twitter feed (@ampwhatsnext) which introduced the app and its questionable content to a larger audience. Even worse is that the apology included a new Twitter hashtag, #pepsifail, and was retweeted on several other Pepsi feeds. That had the effect of not only causing more people to become aware of the app, but also increased the furor towards it and towards PepsiCo.

A post on Advertising Age noted that Pepsi's strategy seems to be somewhat confused, as they haven't pulled the app, and by linking the Amp Energy app to the Pepsi brand they're beginning to get heat for the entire brand -- not just the app.

An App Store review by iPhone developer Raven Zachary said it best: "Dear Pepsico, your iPhone app, AMP UP before you score, is offensive and is a great new case study for branded apps gone wrong." You have to wonder, though, if this is actually working to introduce many more people to the Amp Energy brand.

[via AdAge]

Pepsi apologizes for sexist iPhone app, inadvertently fans the flames originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Pepsi apologizes for sexist iPhone app, inadvertently fans the flames originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone Homescreen Exposé Concept: Do you Want it on your iPhone?

Review: More iPhone cocktail apps

In our latest round-up of cocktail recipe apps, Mixologist errs on the side of quantity over quality, while Drinks and Cocktails provides a more reasonable selection (albeit one with a few visual quirks). But Top Shelf Drinks -- a welcome update to the app formerly known as Drinks -- should win a prize for the most refined cocktail application for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Sonos offers new portable music system controlled by iPhone or iPod touch

Filed under: iPhone, iPod touch, Music

Sonos has announced a portable wireless music system that uses an iPhone or iPod touch for a controller. The Zone Player S5 is a one piece, 5 speaker music player that can access your iTunes library or any internet radio station, as well as Napster, Rhapsody, Pandora, last.fm or Sirius if you have the required subscriptions.

The physical unit has only volume controls and a mute button. Like other Sonos products, the S5 needs a wired router connection or a Zone Bridge unit, which is a U.S. $99.00 box that plugs into your router and then allows the S5 to be wireless anywhere in the house. You can add additional S5 units that only need AC power to work.

The S5 looks a bit like the Bose audio systems that dock with the iPhone. The difference with the Sonos unit is you keep the iPhone with you, and the S5 gets your music from iTunes.

The S5 will be available later this month for $399.00. If you already have a Sonos system in your home or office, or are just getting started with multi-room music, this system is worth checking out.

Of course Apple also provides solutions to stream iTunes with the Airport Express Air Tunes hardware/software. Apple also offers Remote, [iTunes link] a free app to control Airport Express or an Apple TV from your iPhone and iPod touch. Logitech also offers the Squeezebox family of wireless music products, and there are other good solutions as well.

Choice. It's a good thing.

Sonos offers new portable music system controlled by iPhone or iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sonos offers new portable music system controlled by iPhone or iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PwnageTool 3.1.4 Released to Jailbreak Any iPhone Running iPhone OS 3.1.2; Preserves Baseband for Unlocking

iPhone holds 21 percent market share in Australia

Filed under: Apple Financial, iPhone

The iPhone is selling well in Australia. Research firm IDC reports that the iPhone has taken 21% of the Australian smartphone market share in the past 12 months, putting Apple in 2nd place behind Nokia and just ahead of Blackberry.

What's most interesting here is how the iPhone has increased overall smartphone shipments to Australia. Specifically, other manufacturers have had to keep up with customer demands for features similar to the iPhone's, and as a result customer interest and overall smartphone sales have "...intensified of the past couple of years," said IDC telecommunications analyst Mark Novosel. He expects Australia's smartphone market to grow steadily over the next five years.

Australia's first Apple retail store opened in July of 2008, and the iPhone was released shortly thereafter.

[Via MacDailyNews]

iPhone holds 21 percent market share in Australia originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iPhone holds 21 percent market share in Australia originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple Releases iMovie 8.0.5, Adding Support for New iFrame Video Format

Apple today released iMovie 8.0.5, bringing several compatibility improvements and bug fixes to the company's consumer-level video editing application.

This update improves compatibility with a number of devices and fixes other minor ...

Apple Developing FM Radio App for iPhone?

9to5Mac is reporting they’ve received a tip that Apple is developing an FM Radio app for the iPhone and iPod touch that will have background multi-tasking (like Apple’s Phone and iPod apps), and may be able to pause live programming like the new iPod nano radio feature.

It will either be provided as a stand alone app, or integrated into the iPod app, but it’s still a work in progress:

The holdup on this app is that Apple is trying to integrate the Mobile iTunes Store purchases into the functionality of the program. For instance, if you like a song you are listening to on the radio (and that station supports tagging and you are in the US), you will be able to push a button and see the song (and all of the information around it) in the iTunes Mobile store. With another click, you’ll be able to make a purchase. This is an extension of the Song Tagging feature used in the iPod Nanos. Perhaps they could even add some Shazam technology to help with those stations that don’t support tagging.

9to5Mac further claims that existing iPhones and iPod touches have been technically able, though not yet enabled, to receive FM Radio for a while now, and that the iPhone 3GS and iPod touch G3 can even broadcast FM Radio as part of the Nike+.

While rumors of FM Radio functionality, and radio tagging surfaced before the iPhone 3GS shipped, and the chipsets may have such technology as part of their overall package, it’s unknown how easily Apple could “flip the switch” on full FM Radio — the way they did for Bluetooth Stereo A2DP on the iPod touch G2.

Still, given the iPod nano’s radio feature, and under the cliche of better late than never, if Apple does indeed add Radio.app or just build in a Radio tab to iPod.app, were’ sure some users would be happy. Right?

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

Apple Developing FM Radio App for iPhone?

Apple Developing FM Radio Application for iPhone and iPod Touch?

9 to 5 Mac reports that it has received a tip claiming that Apple is in the process of developing an application to bring FM radio functionality to the iPhone and iPod touch. The functionality would reportedly be similar to that found in the fifth-g...

Dev raises price of $3 app to $40 just to spite customers

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Humor, Software, Odds and ends, Developer, Deals, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

I like the way Schiau Studios thinks -- when customers complained about the price of their $2.99US App Store game Alchemize, they raised the price up to $39.99. Over on the TouchArcade forums, they make their case: most devs, they say, when faced with complaints about price, will just lower their price even though their software is already cheap. So they wanted to buck the trend, and instead raised it up to almost $40 (which, incidentally, is slightly more than what you might pay for a handheld console game).

Lest you simply complain that they were greedy, they say they were only out to make a point: everyone who purchased the game at the higher price point will have all of their money go to charity, and now that the game's back at the $2.99 price point, 33% of all the profits to be gained will go to the same charity. Regardless of whether the game's any good or not, we like their thinking.

Can we all agree to stop whining about price points? I've actually heard this come up lately on a comedy podcast of all places -- when Chicago broadcasting legend Steve Dahl (and one of my favorites) started up a podcast about a month ago, and introduced an app to go along with it. Steve was inundated with comments complaining about the $2.99 price, which he responded to with a great argument on the show: he's put a lot of money into the app and the show behind it, and if you're already a fan of his, paying less than the cost of a cup of Starbucks should not even be an issue.

Sure, when the App Store first started up, it was the Wild West -- both prices and quality were all over the place. But at this point, Apple's review system has more or less settled down, and blogs like ours are full of recommendations, with enough free apps to last any rabid app user most of their iPhone time. If you have any interest in an app at all, a couple of bucks shouldn't be enough to give you pause -- either pick it up and make sure the dev gets their due (small as that may be), or move on to find an app you'd rather buy.

Dev raises price of $3 app to $40 just to spite customers originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dev raises price of $3 app to $40 just to spite customers originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone owners, start your engines with Viper SmartStart

A new, free app from Viper lets you start your car from your iPhone or iPod touch.

Trillian IM App for iPhone — 60 Days and Waiting!

An update from the folks Cerulean Studios on the status of the iPhone version of their popular IM client, Trillian:

It’s been 60 days since our initial and only submission to the App Store. Unlike many of the horror stories you may have read about, we haven’t yet received a rejection notice and we’re not frantically going back and forth with Apple fixing reported problems. Despite sending a steady stream of emails to Apple requesting status updates, we continue to receive generic form letters in response – frustrating, to say the least. As developers, we absolutely understand and appreciate Apple’s need to quality control applications – including the need for additional review time when warranted – but being kept in the dark for two months is a strange way to accomplish this. Cerulean remains ready and willing to work with Apple to ensure the software meets all necessary requirements.

We’re hoping they hear back soon as well. We’re also hoping Apple understands that their lack of communication continues to hurt what’s otherwise a fantastic success story with the App Store. Step up to the mic, will ya? Everything can’t be dead silence and boilerplate on one end, Phil Schiller email on the other…

[Thanks Robert for the tip!]

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

Trillian IM App for iPhone — 60 Days and Waiting!

Review: JR Hexatone Pro for iPhone

Using this music-making app can be a challenge at first, especially given the real estate available on the iPhone's screen. But once you learn JR Hexatone Pro, it is actually one of the best music apps available at the App Store.

Viper Security launches SmartStart iPhone app for well-appointed whips

Continue reading Viper Security launches SmartStart iPhone app for well-appointed whips

Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation

Viper Security launches SmartStart iPhone app for well-appointed whips originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In Stock: Samsung WEP870 Convertible Mono and Stereo Bluetooth Headset

In Stock: Samsung WEP870 Convertible Mono and Stereo Bluetooth Headset

Take the latest technology in Bluetooth audio and entertainment with you in one convenient package with the WEP870 Convertible Mono and Stereo Music Streaming Headset.

This brilliant device not only provides advanced, dual microphone noise cancellation for crystal clear conversations, it easily converts to a stereo, music streaming wonder with the included adjustable stereo ear bud lanyard. Plus, the WEP870 allows you to take calls in mono and stereo mode, gently fading your music when a call comes in then returning to your music when your call ends.

Features:

• Talk Time/Play Time: Up to 6 hours
• Standby time: Up to 150 hours
• Dedicated on/off switch
• Detachable Crystal Clear Earhook

Order the Samsung WEP870 Convertible Mono and Stereo Bluetooth Headset now from TiPb’s iPhone store…

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

In Stock: Samsung WEP870 Convertible Mono and Stereo Bluetooth Headset