Review: Apple Brings iPhone-style Multi-Touch to Magic Mouse

Apple’s Magic Mouse, introduced via simple press release on October 20, is the latest point-and-click peripheral for the Mac, and the latest showcase for Apple’s multi-touch technology, first introduced in the iPhone and later the iPod touch. While the iPhone is still the premiere multi-touch experience in consumer electronics, however, Apple’s modern history of mice [...]

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

Review: Apple Brings iPhone-style Multi-Touch to Magic Mouse

Bitlbee and Rooms: Accessing AIM Chat Rooms from your iPhone

Filed under: iPod Family, Internet Tools, iPhone, App Review

We're a pretty AIM-based blog around these parts. The fact that Weblogs, Inc. is owned by AOL may or may not play a role in that. Regardless, we TUAWians spend a lot of time in AIM chat rooms. The App Store's lack of AOL chat room support has been a real burden when we're out on the road with iPhones.

I was delighted when a recent tweet put me in contact with Björn Teichmann, author of the iPhone IRC application Rooms [iTunes link]. Rooms, claimed Teichmann, could bring AOL chat rooms to our iPhones.

Teichmann sent over a promo code for his app, which normally retails for $1.99, and spent a few hours getting me up to speed on AOL chat rooms using his software. Let me explain: It's not that setting things up ended up being difficult to accomplish, but rather there weren't a lot of clear and available instructions for doing so. What Teichmann worked out over those hours was a somewhat reliable way to access AOL chat rooms via IRC.

Read on to learn more about his solution...

Continue reading Bitlbee and Rooms: Accessing AIM Chat Rooms from your iPhone

Bitlbee and Rooms: Accessing AIM Chat Rooms from your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bitlbee and Rooms: Accessing AIM Chat Rooms from your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Google Ready To Offer Navigation App For iPhone if Apple Agrees

Voice on the Go makes your cellphone safer in the car

Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Review

Voice on the Go has been out for quite a long time, and I'm surprised we never reviewed it. Imagine getting your emails and texts read to you while you drive, and creating and sending emails and texts while never touching your cellphone. Recently a friend suggested I give it a try, so I did and found there was actually a new iPhone app [iTunes link] that supported it.

Here's what Voice on the Go is all about. You sign up, choose a local number to connect to them, and assign yourself a 4 digit password. If you live in a smaller town and there isn't a number for Voice on the Go you can call any of the numbers. If you're on a national cell plan there won't be any extra cost.

You then go to the Voice on the Go website and put in your email details, and you can upload a CSV file that contains your contacts. This is much easier if you have an iPhone, so more on that later.

Once you are set up and in the car, you can call Voice on the Go, and an automated attendant will ask for your passcode. You'll then be told if you have any emails or SMS messages. You can listen to them, skip them, delete them, or the really nice feature, you can respond to them. You do it all by voice, with simple and obvious commands.

You dictate your mail, and the Voice on the Go software turns it into text and sends it off to the proper destination. As an added feature, your email gets an audio attachment so the person can listen to what you said.

How accurate is the transcription? Very. I sent about a dozen emails and every word was correct. That was calling from a noisy moving car using the Bluetooth speakerphone. A couple of times, when I was on a rough patch of road and issued a command, the attendant would ask me to repeat something, but the system always got it on the second try.

Continue reading Voice on the Go makes your cellphone safer in the car

Voice on the Go makes your cellphone safer in the car originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Voice on the Go makes your cellphone safer in the car originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple Releases iTunes Version 9.0.2 - Disables Pre Syncing Once Again; Safe for Jailbreakers & Unlockers

First Look: video editing on your iPhone with Nexvio ReelDirector

Filed under: Software, iPhone, First Look, App Review

With the introduction of the iPhone 3GS back in June of this year, iPhone lovers finally got what a lot of other smartphones already had -- video recording capabilities. A little over a week later, I wrote a post titled "How to make iPhone videos sparkle with iMovie." At the time I remember thinking, "Wouldn't it be great if I could do editing on the iPhone instead of having to do it on my Mac?"

Somebody at Nexvio was obviously thinking the same thing, and the company has introduced ReelDirector [US$7.99, iTunes Link], a video editing app for iPhone. One reviewer noted that "it's not Final Cut Pro," but make no mistake -- ReelDirector is a powerful, easy-to-use, and fun iPhone app for creating videos with titles and effects. It's perfect for putting together on-the-spot vacation videos to send to friends and relatives, making quick video podcasts, and teaching kids (or yourself) the basics of video editing.

Continue reading First Look: video editing on your iPhone with Nexvio ReelDirector

First Look: video editing on your iPhone with Nexvio ReelDirector originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

First Look: video editing on your iPhone with Nexvio ReelDirector originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

TiPb Presents: iPhone Live! #73 — Great Googley!

Our podcast feed Download Directly Subscribe via iTunes Join Chad and Rene for Google Maps Navigation, Droid Day! Windows 7, iPhone marketshare, future iPhones, Verizon wants iPhone, more iTablet rumors, blackra1n RC2, and all the news. Listen in! Credits Thanks to the the iPhone Blog Store for sponsoring [...]

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

TiPb Presents: iPhone Live! #73 — Great Googley!

Review: CBS Sports: College for iPhone

With scores and stats for teams ranked in the Top 25, this app offers some value for college football fans (as well as college hoops fans once that season starts). Throw in exclusive CBS video content -- including a live stream of the SEC game of the week -- and you've got a must-have app for fans of college sports.

Apple’s New 27-Inch iMacs Experiencing Performance Issues?

Engadget reports that Apple's discussion forums are starting to see reports of poor performance on the company's new 27-inch iMacs introduced last week. While users have reported several issues, including inappropriate spinning down of the hard driv...

Watch live NBA games with League Pass Mobile for iPhone

Filed under: iPhone, App Store

The NBA, via MobiTV, has made available its "League Pass" service to the iPhone via the League Pass Mobile app [iTunes link]. Like the MLB At Bat app [iTunes link], League Pass Mobile allows you to stream live NBA games onto your iPhone -- over 40 live NBA games per week. There's also the ability to view stats from the current game, and look at scores from games across the league. Subscribers can also replay full games up to 48 hours after the game has been played.

I'm a basketball junkie, and a former subscriber of NBA League Pass Broadband, the NBA's desktop version of the service -- former, because I actually just canceled my subscription yesterday. I found the service subjected too many games to blackouts, which often prevented me from watching many games of my beloved world champion Los Angeles Lakers. As a result, I'd often hop on over to my local sports bar to watch the game, which set me back at least US $12 with beer factored in. This year, instead, I'll be sacrificing the comfort of watching games in front of my desktop (and now the potential of watching it on my iPhone) for the peace of mind that the game I want to watch will be available at my local sports bar.

NBA League Pass Mobile is available for US $39.99 in the App Store.

Watch live NBA games with League Pass Mobile for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Watch live NBA games with League Pass Mobile for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Win a copy of Boxhead - The Zombie Wars

Filed under: iPhone, iPod touch

If you've seen Minigore [iTunes Link] or played iDracula [iTunes Link] you're familiar with this game mechanism, now quite popular on the store: left thumb moves, right thumb aims and shoots, all in an isometric 3/4 view. Boxhead Zombie Wars [iTunes Link] brings some nice weaponry to the game, plus a raft of defensive tools to allow a little more strategy than either of the comparison apps I mentioned.

Boxhead offers a Flash-based version of the game here if you're interested in how much gore and mayhem is involved. It's a lot, really, but perfect for the genre.

Now you can win one of 10 promo codes to try Zombie Wars yourself. If you don't win, there's also a Lite version [iTunes Link] to try before you buy. Good luck!

Here's a video of the game in action:

• 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 post.
• The comment must be left before Sunday, November 1, 2009, 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time.
• You may enter only once.
• Ten winners will be selected in a random drawing.
• Prize: One promo code for Boxhead Zombie Wars (Value: US$1.99)
• Click Here for complete Official Rules.

Win a copy of Boxhead - The Zombie Wars originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Win a copy of Boxhead - The Zombie Wars originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iTunes 9.0.2 update blocks Palm Pre syncing, again

In a startling case of déjà vu, Apple's recent iTunes 9.0.2 update once again blocks the Palm Pre from syncing with the software. Then again, maybe it's not very startling at all.

Jibbigo iPhone app translates from English to Spanish and back again

Jibbigo is a recently released iPhone app which promises to help you out the next time you're desperately trying to make yourself understood by your Spanish-speaking compadres. The app is capable of recording a sentence and translating it -- essentially in real time -- back to you. As you can see in the screencap above, you can speak either Spanish or English, and the translator will do its work, displaying both your original and a translation into the other language. The dictionary contains about 40,000 words, and the app is aimed at travelers. Jibbigo also requires the iPhone 3GS to make use of the bi-directional translation tools, and the app also reportedly functions a heck of a lot slower on anything other than the 3G. The app is available now for $24.99.

[Via, iPodnn]

Filed under: Software

Jibbigo iPhone app translates from English to Spanish and back again originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Analyst: Apple Executives Share Thoughts on e-Book Market, iPhone Profits

RBC Capital analyst Mike Abramsky published a research note today regarding a meeting with several Apple executives, including Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer, iTunes VP Eddy Cue, and Mac Marketing VP David Moody, covering a number of topic...

Hands on with Google Maps Navigation on Android

An impressive feature of Google's new Android 2.0 mobile device operating system is Google Maps Navigation, a that's not only free to use, but is fairly easy to...

Official Settlers of Catan out now on App Store

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Odds and ends, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Just in case you missed it, I got my wish from a while back: there is an official version of the classic board game Settlers of Catan, called just Catan, on the App Store right now. I'm still playing Kolonists, the unofficial knockoff that got kicked off of the store for infringement, but if you've got wood for sheep, this official version should get you your portable fix. If you're unfamiliar with the Catan juggernaut, check out this thorough piece from Wired.com.

There's hot seat multiplayer gameplay (I assume you just can't cheat by looking at what resources other people have), or a few AIs to tangle with if you don't have friends at hand, and the game includes a scrollable board to play on, game stats to track, and a tutorial for those of you who haven't rolled the dice and tried to build the Longest Road yet.

The game is created by United Soft Media, a German company that's also ported the game to the DS, and while it's not quite as shiny as the Xbox Live port (my personal favorite version of the game, outside of the real thing, of course), the reviews on iTunes say it gets the job done, at least while you're waiting for the next board game night (and while we're talking about board games, can I recommend Dominion? Best table game I've played in years). The game is $4.99 and available right now. Anyone have any ore?

Official Settlers of Catan out now on App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Official Settlers of Catan out now on App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Telmap taps NAVTEQ for iPhone GPS solution, understands the inevitable

Man, talk about awful timing. At least TomTom and Navigon were able to sell a few rounds of their pricey iPhone GPS application before Google went and ruined everyone's day (at least in the GPS biz), and now that Google Maps Navigation is but an approval away from hitting iPhone users for free, we've got serious doubts about Telmap's ability to market its newest product. Utilizing NAVTEQ maps and familiar shells like MapQuest Navigation (in the US) and Orange Maps (in France), the company seems quite proud of its newest routing solutions. Oh sure -- there's live traffic, turn-by-turn guidance, in-car and pedestrian modes, etc., but is anyone really doling out cash for a phone-based routing system right now with Google at the wheel? Exactly.

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Software

Telmap taps NAVTEQ for iPhone GPS solution, understands the inevitable originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone Launches Today in China

The Associated Press reports on today's launch of the iPhone in China, noting several hurdles faced by the Apple as it attempts to tap into the world's largest market.

Among those hurdles is a lack of Wi-Fi functionality, a restriction...

Media Manager for Mac enables iPhone / iTunes media streaming to FiOS TV DVR (video)

We're hearing that the PC version of this here software still beats out the Mac counterpart, but equality is slowly but surely becoming a reality. The main new feature over on the OS X side, however, is a good one: the ability to stream iPhone and iTunes media directly to your TV via your FiOS TV DVR. Fire up an iTunes playlist and watch the fun roll by on your home TV, and there's even support for photo slideshows and the like. It's available to download right now from the read link, and those still skeptical can catch a demonstration vid just past the break.

[Via Zatz Not Funny]

Continue reading Media Manager for Mac enables iPhone / iTunes media streaming to FiOS TV DVR (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Software

Media Manager for Mac enables iPhone / iTunes media streaming to FiOS TV DVR (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone Launches (Officially) in China!

Today’s the day — the iPhone officially launches in China on China Unicom. We say officially because it’s been available unofficially, in gray market form, since the original iPhone 2G was launched, and with winks and nudges via Apple’s unlocked sales in Taiwan and Hong Kong. So will international sales tumble as the world’s biggest market [...]

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

iPhone Launches (Officially) in China!