Apple Already Working on Mac OS X 10.7 Development

Less than three months after the launch of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, evidence has surfaced that Apple is already working on the next version of OS X, presumably to be designated Mac OS X 10.7. The information comes from an entry posted earlier tod...

Apple Already Working on Mac OS X 10.7 Development?

Less than three months after the launch of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, evidence has surfaced that Apple is already working on the next version of OS X, presumably to designated Mac OS X 10.7. The information comes from an entry posted earlier today ...

Apple Already Working on Mac OS X 10.7 Development?

Less than three months after the launch of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, evidence has surfaced that Apple is already working on the next version of OS X, presumably to designated Mac OS X 10.7. The information comes from an entry posted earlier today ...

Review: Apple Aluminum Remote Control for iPhone and iPod Dock, Apple TV, and iTunes

Apple quietly introduced a new Apple Remote [$19.00 - Apple Online Store link] along with the updated iMac, Mac Mini, Magic Mouse, and Apple TV 3.0 last month. Not to be confused with the Apple-produced Remote app [Free - iTunes link], which allows an iPhone or iPod touch to control an Apple TV or iTunes, the Apple Remote is a hardware accessory that not only controls the aforementioned Apple TV or iTunes (and Front Row!) all on its own, but can also control an iPhone or iPod touch when they’re placed in the — sold-separately — Apple Universal Dock [$49.00 - Apple Online Store link]

So, how new is it, why would an iPhone or iPod touch need a hardware remote anyway, and most importantly, how does it perform? Read on after the break!

New as in Ish

If we define new as revolutionary, like some of the leaks suggested, than this is hardly a “new” remote. Indeed, the Remote app for iPhone and iPod touch already fulfills that revolutionary roll, and does so well. If we define new as in it’s aluminum and black, matching Apple’s new design motif, and has an extra button, then, okay, it’s new-ish.

But that still leaves us with — why would any iPhone or iPod touch user with that free app even want a separate, physical, uni-tasker, hardware remote in the first place?

Think Apple TV on the Go

No, seriously, with the Apple Universal Dock (which really doesn’t still come with the old white remote, does it Apple?!) and its built in IR receiver, combined with an Apple Composite AV Cable [$49.00 - Apple Online Store link] or Apple Component AV Cable [$49.00 - Apple Online Store link], your iPhone or iPod touch becomes an Apple TV. Only portable.

Total Cost of Pwnership

Now it won’t take the Wolfram Alpha app to tell you that each piece of the above equation costs, well, as much as the Wolfram Alpha app. We’re talking fifty bucks for the dock and fifty for one of the cables — so that’s $100 to start. Add in an Apple USB Power Adapter [$29.00 - Apple Online Store link] so you don’t drain your battery while you play, and we’re talking $130. That’s more than half the price of an Apple TV — and that doesn’t count the cost of the iPhone or iPod touch.

But lugging an Apple TV around would, pointedly, suck, and portability and convergence have their price, don’t they? (Even if portability in this case means lugging an extra dock, cable, and remote).

Oh, Yes. The Remote

Back to business. Assuming you want to rent or buy iTunes movies and take it over to your friends’ and/or family’s to watch, and you have the dock and cable, and you don’t like the idea of jumping up and running over every time you want to play, pause, or change media, then how good is the Apple Remote at keeping you on the couch?

Pretty good.

It’s essentially the same as the previous old, white Apple Remote, though it’s longer, sharper edged, made out of sturdier aluminum, and has an easier battery access door on the bottom. It’s major change, cosmetics aside, is that the play/pause button has been separated from the select button and placed down below, off-centering the menu bottom and taking a place to the right of it on the side.

That’s an… odd choice coming from Apple. And for iPhone users it likely adds little functionality, since unlike the Apple TV, there’s no iPhone interface for selecting media on your TV while continuing to watch/listen to something else. (Or selecting it at all, even on the iPhone/iPod touch as you can press the remote arrows on a menu screen to your heart’s content and it just. won’t. scroll!)

Let me explain that better (would that Apple had actually implemented it better so I wouldn’t have to). On the Apple TV, with the old Apple Remote, you could start a song, but if you wanted to look for another song in a another playlist, you had to hit the select button to choose that playlist, and since the select button was the same as the play/pause button, how would it know if you actually wanted to pause the music, or just keep browsing while the music kept playing. With the new Apple Remote, those buttons and hence behaviors are distinct, and you can use menu to drill up and select to drill down, without having to simultaneously end the current track while still browsing for the next. (But it’s actually worse than that, since while browsing the play/pause button can pause the music, but not play it again, so much for better…)

iPhone and iPod touch via the IR dock enjoy none of this functionality (such as it is), so the new button is pretty much the same as the old from a usage point of view. (Exactly the same, play/pause and select both play/pause!). Perhaps that still-in-limbo iPhone 3.2 update can add that to it’s to-do list?

Also, with the sharper angles on the new Apple Remote, that tired old cliche about “feeling great in the hand” reminds me why it’s not so tired. Depending on your hand size, the new version may not feel anywhere as great as the old.

Enough. Bottom-line This.

More curious than compelling, the new Apple Remote certainly better meshes with the latest Apple aesthetics, even if it’s functionality remains decidedly last gen.

If you already have an old, white plastic Apple Remote, and you’re not a fashionista with $15 in-pocket, determined to have something to match your current iPhone and Mac, there’s no need to get the new Apple Remote.

If you are said fashionista, or you have an Apple TV or use Front Row a lot on your Mac, and think that little button tweak will save you a lot of musical frustration, then go for it. $15 is less than you’d spend at some fast-food joints these days.

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

Review: Apple Aluminum Remote Control for iPhone and iPod Dock, Apple TV, and iTunes

Review: NASA app for iPhone

With this app from the U.S. space agency, you can get info on NASA missions, view images from space, access NASA TV videos, and follow NASA Twitter feeds -- all for free.

Verizon Replies to AT&T’s Lawsuit Over Attack Ads — “The Truth Hurts”

By now most of you have seen the infamous Verizon “map for that” attack ads against AT&T. It was only a matter of time before we heard Verizon’s response to the lawsuit [Full document PDF link] that AT&T recently slapped them with and respond they did. Verizon’s lawyers put their heads together to come up with the following opening line:

AT&T did not file this lawsuit because Verizon’s “There’s A Map For That” advertisements are untrue; AT&T sued because Verizon’s ads are true and the truth hurts.

Ouch, if you continue reading the lengthy document you will find that Verizon does not intend to remove the ads from the air unless it is forced to. They also claim AT&T agrees the map coverage is indeed accurate and before anything progresses both parties need to do some more of their own investigating into the matter.

All of this really isn’t necessary, both parties should agree to carry along and spend their time doing something more productive – improving both of their respective networks.

[Via Engadget Mobile]

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

Verizon Replies to AT&T’s Lawsuit Over Attack Ads — “The Truth Hurts”

Gift, Song — Apple’s New 100,000 Apps for Just About Anything Commercials

Saw these last night while watching the show that used to be House MD, new Apple iPhone “App for That” commercials focusing on Gift and Song. Of course, the tag line has been bumped from 75,000 to 100,000, and they continue with “apps for just about anything”, which is likely legal cover in case “app for that” confused someone into suing over that still-missing Apple Glass Trackpad app…

• Gift features Target [Free - iTunes link], ColorChange [$2.99 - iTunes link], The Snow Report [Free - iTunes link], Monopoly Here and Now [$4.99 - iTunes link], Hotel Pal [Free - iTunes link], and Zipcar [Free - iTunes link]
• Song features Jaimie Oliver’s 20 Minute Meals [$7.99 - iTunes link], Credit Card Terminal [$0.99 - iTunes link], Facebook [Free - iTunes link], The Sims 3 [$6.99 - iTunes link], Redfin Real Estate [Free - iTunes link], Shazam [Free - iTunes link]

Again, Apple is sticking to apps to sell iPhones, and showing off some great variety, and killer good looks while doing so. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, or time for Apple advertising to switch it up?

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

Gift, Song — Apple’s New 100,000 Apps for Just About Anything Commercials

Verizon ups the smarm, mocks AT&T

Verizon's latest TV ad features a bombastic broadside against AT&T and the iPhone carrier's lawsuit against Verizon's "There's a Map For That" ad campaign.

Google Earth updates iPhone app

Google has announced an update to its highly popular Google Earth iPhone app. Version 2.0 lets users view personalized maps created on a desktop machine. The upgrade also adds 13 new languages to the mix, bringing a total of 31 supported languages.

iPhone App Approval Gets Additional Automated Layer to Check Private API Usage

Fake Steve on Android Fragmentation, i.e. Why It’s Harder to Develop for than iPhone

Is the Android Marketplace a more open alternative for developers compared to the iPhone App Store, or does the growing diversity of hardware, software, and overlays make it just as frustrating in its own way? Okay, so Fake Steve is likely to be more pro-Apple than a Fake Eric would be, fair enough. And, yes, some high-profile developers have taken issue with Apple’s draconian incompetent App Store approval process, well taken. But as much as Fake Steve is funny, the real Dan Lyons (of Newsweek) behind him is an equal opportunity offender, happy to take the p*ss out of Apple at any opportunity, often anti-Linux, and just as often insightful when it comes to things like Old Media and, yes, competing platforms. So take this with a giant-sized fake grain of salt, but take it:

There are just a bunch of different devices that have a lot in common with each other but aren’t quite the same. Trying to turn that into a “platform” is like trying to build a porch using three hundred pieces of wood, none of which are the same size. From the [Gadget Labs] story:

A slew of problems have made managing Android apps a “nightmare,” they say, including three versions of the OS (Android 1.5, 1.6 and 2.0), custom firmware on many phones, and hardware differences between different models.

Dear friends, this is only going to get worse, not better. Think about it. Every handset maker wants its device to be different. And special. So they intentionally tweak the OS to give themselves what they think of as an “advantage,” when really it’s nothing of the sort, because all it does is prevent ISVs from writing apps for them. Even if the handset makers weren’t totally short-sighted and evil, there’s the competency issue.

No doubt Apple’s App Store can make developers tear their flesh off in frustration, and GPS/CPU/GPU/Camera/etc. issues fragment the iPhone/iPod platform as well, but at the end of the day, does 50+ million “compatible enough” iDevices that are gate-keeper’ed still offer developers a better experience than a wide range of quasi-competitive, free’er devices?

(Yes, Google is closed as well, just not as closed…)

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

Fake Steve on Android Fragmentation, i.e. Why It’s Harder to Develop for than iPhone

Chinese App Store Growing Amid Challenges

The Wall Street Journal reports on progress for Apple's App Store in China, noting the challenges faced by the company due to a lack of Wi-Fi on official iPhones, a large installed base of unlocked and jailbroken iPhones, and high levels of piracy. ...

How to Change the Carrier Name On Your iPhone

Take SPB’s Survey, Win a Smartphone, SPE Accessories, and/or SPB Software!

To quoth our good friend Phil from WMExperts (and by that we mean shameless copy): It is time, ladies and gentlemen, for the sixth annual SPB Survey. SPB Software House is looking to get a better look at your needs in the mobile applications, and they’re doing so worldwide, with the survey going out in 10 languages.

And your time may be rewarded. Three winners, picked at random, will receive the following:

• First place: A free smartphone of your choice from a major Internet retailer (such as Amazon or Expansys), valued up to $1,000.
• Second place: $100 worth of accessories from Smartphone Experts (that’s us), plus $100 worth of SPB Software.
• Third place: $100 worth of SPB software.

So, really, you have no excuse for not taking the survey, which runs through 7 p.m. GMT Dec. 4, 2009. Take the survey now!

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

Take SPB’s Survey, Win a Smartphone, SPE Accessories, and/or SPB Software!

‘Fit Or Fugly’ iPhone App Tells How Attractive You Are

Play Tennis at Lunch Right in the Office with Air Tennis for the iPhone

While the purpose of your phone is supposed to be for talking, every now and again it is nice to have a little fun with it. I stumbled upon this great new app and after purchasing and giving it a try, it is something that is highly recommended. Air Tennis only costs $.99 and turns [...]

iPhone Succumbs To the Power of the Press

Just last week we reported that the Apple App Store had rejected an app that showed caricatures of the various political figures and gave a snapshot of their contact information. Well apparently Apple has been doing some Internet surfing because they have rescinded their earlier decision to deny the application and will now be approving [...]

Thousands of iPhones stolen from Belgian warehouse

Antwerp, Belgium was the unlikely site of a theft of between 3,000 and 4,000 iPhones, stolen from a transport company's warehouse.

Review: WritePad Pro for iPhone

Apart from some quibbles and a few trade-offs, the feature-rich WritePad Pro is a very fine personal organizational tool.

Adobe Launches Flash Player 10.1 Prerelease Build

Adobe today launched a prerelease version of Flash Player 10.1 for Windows, Mac, and Linux, an early step in the company's effort to bring an integrated media experience to a wide variety of devices and platforms from desktops to smartphones.
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