Apple Tablet Hints: Virtual Keyboard, Camera, eBooks, More

The Wall Street provides some new tidbits of information about he upcoming Apple tablet that is expected to be announced next week. The article summarizes many of the recent rumors and suggestions about he tablet device which is expected to be 10 to ...

WSJ: Apple iTablet to do for Newspapers, Magazine, Books, What iPod did for Music

When the Wall Street Journal cites sources and talks Apple, it’s usually part reporting, part expectation setting, and if this is the latter, than exactly what Steve Jobs plans the iTablet to do for print media — newspapers, magazines, and books — is no less than what he did for music on the iPod. Digital revolution much?

• Focused on the home and the classroom
• Shared by multiple family members [Um, sorry sis, get yer own!]
• Apple has explored electronic textbooks
• Has virtual keyboard
• Working with print media on text content
• Working with CBS/Disney on video content
• Working with EA on video game content
• Talking with Microsoft about search and maps
• Cable/TV providers resisting giving Apple “best” content (4-6 shows per channel), would rather it be “all” content
• $1000 price point “tested” again
• iTablet UI meant to be shareable; Apple has explored “sticky notes” as a way to share messages; facial recognition as a way of knowing who’s using it
• Apple planning web-based version of iTunes called iTunes.com
• “Buy” buttons would go wide on as many websites as possible

Part round up of previous stories, part analyst musing, part real information, check it out and let us know what your sorting hat puts in the “real” pile.

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

WSJ: Apple iTablet to do for Newspapers, Magazine, Books, What iPod did for Music

Apple’s Steve Jobs Dislikes Google’s Eric Schmidt?

Jim Goldman of CNBC claims to have a source that is giving up some goods on the whole Apple and Microsoft teaming up against Google fiasco story:

• Microsoft wants part of the iPhone pie as the Bing app is currently bringing more web traffic than all of their Verizon deals put together.
• Microsoft is willing to pay Apple more than Google.
• Apple simply needs the search API from Bing, nothing more. (They will roll their own UI).
• Lastly, “Jobs hates Eric“

Ouch, that last one stings. How long will it be until we see Apple create their own search engine? Anyone taking bets?

[Via Yahoo, thanks to The Reptile for the tip!]

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

Apple’s Steve Jobs Dislikes Google’s Eric Schmidt?

Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus for Verizon, PreCentral.net Reviews — the Competition

Dieter’s got his Palm Pre Plus on Verizon complete review, and Palm Pixi Plus on Verizon complete review up on PreCentral.net, and is here to tell us how the new button-reduced, memory doubled, gaming enabled, built-in MiFi sporting, webOS 1.3.5.1 rocking device(s) hold up. Which is totally unfair, given this is TiPb’s week to look at Palm and webOS for the 2009 Smartphone Round Robin! But whatever, Palm can change the game all they want, the question is — is it enough?

On the Palm Pre Plus:

The Palm Pre Plus is the flagship for Palm, then, but can it legitimately be called a flagship for Verizon? Almost, but not quite yet. The key is Mobile Hotspot, which is awesome and one of the best reasons for recommending the Palm Pre Plus to a business user. Palm already has pretty decent push email and Exchange support – all they need now is full Document editing (and perhaps some battery life improvement) to make the case that the Palm Pre Plus is amongst the best business smartphones on the market.

On the Palm Pixi Plus:

The Palm Pixi Plus is marketed as “First smartphone” or a “Starter Smartphone.” I don’t find that moniker especially fair, as the Pixi Plus is as capable as the large majority of other smartphones out there. It compares well against the BlackBerry lineup and even the Android lineup in my opinion. Still, you can’t get around the fact that it’s less powerful than the Pre Plus and so if you are expecting you’ll be using your phone heavily, seriously consider springing for the Pre.

I’ll have my take on the platform for you by the weekend, but go read Dieter’s now. Then come back and let me know what you think. Has Palm done enough to stay competitive with an upcoming iPhone 4.0 and 4th gen iPhone hardware in 2010?

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

Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus for Verizon, PreCentral.net Reviews — the Competition

The iPhone app showdown

Filed under: Hardware, Software, Odds and ends, iPhone, App Store

This was an intriguing experiment undertaken over at Minimal Mac: Patrick decided to play a little Homescreen Survivor with his iPhone app icons -- he cleared everything off his homescreen, and then only let those apps back on which he used more than once throughout the course of a week. The result? You can see here which ones made it back on. Contacts, Calendar, Camera all showed up, not surprisingly. Photos did as well -- I don't use that one much, but I can see why. Everything else seems to be his own personal use: Tumblr's app, two different Twitter apps (Birdhouse and Tweetie), and then Simplenote and so on.

But the real point here isn't what apps he used, it's just how different his homescreen looked when he only put what he used on there. I'll admit it: my iPhone is a mess -- I've got icons all over the place, and they don't seem to stay organized even when I try to organize them. But organizing according to actual usage is a great idea, and undertaking the same experiment on your iPhone might actually clear some things up for you.

It's also worth pointing out all of that empty space on his homescreen: he has four more slots there that aren't used at all. Apple, are you listening? I'd guess Patrick's usage is more common than Apple may think -- there's plenty of room on the homescreen for other functions and information.

The iPhone app showdown originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The iPhone app showdown originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Reviews, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Grand Theft Auto is, at this point, one of the most storied franchises in video game history. It was already huge back during the days of DMA Design, when it was a top-down open world crime game with an attitude, but with the coming of Grand Theft Auto 3 on the console generation, the series turned into a full-fledged classic, with the sales, media attention, and depth to match the fun found in those first games. Nowadays, the series has already been through a number of other reboots, and Chinatown Wars on the Nintendo DS was just another one of those: a return to the game's top-down graphics along with the addition of new elements from the 3D versions and a few touchscreen tricks. Now, the release of the game on the iPhone [iTunes link] shows that GTA is ready for another segment of its life, and that the iPhone itself is ready for the big market titles to start making a splash.

I'll say this: there has not yet been a game on the App Store that is so worth the $9.99 Rockstar is selling this one for. If you're a fan of Grand Theft Auto, and, like me, haven't played this latest handheld iteration, you're in for a treat (it's the highest rated game on the DS' Metacritic page, and while I don't agree that it's the best title on that platform, it is an excellent game). And even if you're not a huge GTA fan (this game does have all the swearing and questionable morality that the bigger versions of the series are known for), just know that this game is a great example of what big-time developers on the iPhone should aim for. Indie games are great, but this one's a blockbuster.

Continue reading Review: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Review: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Review: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Use your iPhone to scare a bear (right before it eats you)

Filed under: Humor, iPhone, iPod touch, App Review

Thanks to Stephen Colbert, we've become acutely aware of the dangers of bears, the "soulless, godless, rampaging killing machines" who patrol the forests of North America and prey on unwary hikers (some potentially not-safe-for-work language on that last site, FYI). Until now, your best defense against these furry terrors has been simply avoiding their killing grounds altogether. But Flying Jalapeño Software has introduced the latest weapon in the arsenal against the ursine menace: ScareBear Trail Companion [iTunes link].

ScareBear Trail Companion is an iPhone app that replicates the sounds of bells, clapping, and rocks in a tin can (yes), all of which are supposedly like kryptonite to bears and will scatter them from your path before you even encounter them. Should you happen to come across a bear immune to these charms and wards, ScareBear Trail Companion still has you covered - in an emergency, you can use the app to sound an emulated air horn, which may terrify the creature and send it scurrying away.

There's only three slight weaknesses with this app that I can foresee. First is that it depends on your iPhone having a charge. If your iPhone's battery goes dead in the woods, listen for the spooky soundtrack cues, because that is surely the very instant a bear will charge you from the undergrowth. Second, it takes a lot of concentration on your part to find and launch the app, wait for it to load, and then press the button to make noise; even if you can keep your wits about you when half a ton of teeth and fur is rearing up before you, anything slower than an iPhone 3GS will probably cost you critical seconds. By the time the app launches, you may already be halfway down the bear's esophagus.

Third, and most damaging to the utility of this app, the iPhone's speaker simply isn't all that loud. I've generally found that even at the highest volume, I'll often miss hearing my iPhone's ringtone in a noisy environment - and environments don't come much noisier than a roaring, hungry monster like the one pictured above. Bears may or may not have more sensitive hearing than humans; no one knows for sure, as all attempts to scientifically study these brutal creatures have ended in tragedy, with laboratories leveled to dust upon the bears' inevitable escape from their bonds.

In any case, ScareBear Trail Companion probably isn't going to save your life from a bear. If anything, it'll probably just irritate it and make it angrier. You'd probably do more damage to the bear with your iPhone if you fed it to him. I haven't been able to test ScareBear Trail Companion myself, as there are no bears in New Zealand outside of zoos. As a matter of fact, that's part of why I moved here. Safe at last.

Use your iPhone to scare a bear (right before it eats you) originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Use your iPhone to scare a bear (right before it eats you) originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple Might Announce Plans to Sell iPhone 4G via Verizon Next Week

GTA tops the list, and other game news

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

For some reason there's a flood of gaming news coming from the App Store this afternoon. So we've rounded it up for you to take in all in one read:

• Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars [iTunes link] has reached the top-grossing spot on the store in just two days, which means it's probably taken over the previous record holder. Good news for full-scale gamers: we can expect to see more direct ports from other handheld platforms like the DS and the PSP. Still not sure if GTA is worth the $10? Stay tuned for our review later tonight.
• Sega is releasing an Ultimate Genesis Collection on the App Store, which is more or less an official emulator. You get Space Harrier II with the free download, and then in-game purchases allow you to pick up other Sega games: Sonic for $6, Ecco the Dolphin for $3, and so on. They've released these games separately before, but this will give them a one-stop hub for official versions of older classics.
• Assassin's Creed II Discovery, the iPhone version of the Ubisoft hit, will reappear on the App Store in February at $9.99. In this interview with Appmodo, producer Ben Mattes talks about the iPhone and what Ubisoft plans to do with it.
• Finally, Magnacarta II is an RPG for the Xbox 360 that now has a character guide iPhone app. We've seen PC titles release complimentary apps before, but this is the first instance (I know of) where a console game has supplemented their release with an iPhone guide. Something to keep an eye on.

Exciting news all around! Looks like some major developers are finally starting to figure out some interesting and profitable ways to take advantage of Apple's handheld platform.

GTA tops the list, and other game news originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

GTA tops the list, and other game news originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sega prepping Ultimate Genesis emulator for iPhone, iPod Touch

After mixed success in porting Genesis games as individual iPhone apps, Sega plans to release an official Genesis emulator with an in-app payment system for early February.

Does Apple’s Acquisition of Lala Indicate a Shift Towards a Cloud Based Music Service?

iPhone Live! The Return of Chad, TCPJ Mickey, Tonight at 8pm ET/5pm PT (1am GMT)

Join Rene, along with the triumphant return of Chad, and the Cell Phone Junky Mikey for Apple’s “Come see our latest creation” coverage, iPhone 4.0 rumors, plus all the week’s news, views, and rants. If you have any questions, leave a comment below, hit us up on Twitter @theiphoneblog, or better still — join us live in the chat room via http://www.tipb.com/live

REMINDER: You can watch us live on your iPhone with the Ustream Viewer app [Free - iTunes link]. Just wait until the show starts (8pm ET) and search for iPhone. We’ll pop up. Literally.

Chat with you soon!

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

iPhone Live! The Return of Chad, TCPJ Mickey, Tonight at 8pm ET/5pm PT (1am GMT)

White House intros official iPhone app in lieu of universal health care

White House

Engadget

Price	Free (tax revenue notwithstanding)	Free
Customized blog reader	Yes	Yes
Streaming video	Yes	Yes
Platform availability	iPhone	iPhone, BlackBerry, webOS, Android (coming soon)
Led by Joshua Topolsky	No	Yes
Official blog of CES 2010	No	Yes
Current iTunes download rank in News category	#3	#1
Resident Nobel laureate	Yes	No (coming soon)
Change you can believe in	Unknown	Have you seen our site lately?

var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/White_House_intros_official_iPhone_app'; When you head to the polls this coming Election Day, we trust you know who to choose.

White House intros official iPhone app in lieu of universal health care originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iSaidWhat?! lets you put a twist on words

Filed under: iPhone, App Review

Arguments happen, words are thrown, and words are sometimes misconstrued. "Stop putting words in my mouth!", someone might say to you. With Tapparatus's iSaidWhat?! [iTunes link], now you can put words in someone else's mouth.

Well, sort of.

In addition to serving as a basic voice recorder, iSaidWhat?! also allows you to cut and rearrange audio snippets. Take the following interaction between Jerry and Dorothy:

Jerry: I love you. You complete me. If I had just...
Dorothy: Shut up. Just shut up. You had me at hello. You had me at hello.

Using iSaidWhat?!, you could break down recorded audio into blocks of words or into individual words. So, the above conversation can rearranged into the following:

Jerry: You love me. I complete you.
Dorothy: Shut up. Just shut up.

The app is very polished and a delight to use. Users are presented with two tabs, one a list of their recordings and the other a list of their arrangements. A snappy and intuitive interface allows you to mark in- and out-points; and after you've completed marking these points, you're asked what you'd like to name it.

After completing an audio compilation, you can share it with the world. The app allows you to share your creation via email (which it encodes as a .wav file), over the network, Facebook and Twitter. iSaidWhat?! is available for purchase at the iTunes store for USD $1.99.

iSaidWhat?! lets you put a twist on words originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iSaidWhat?! lets you put a twist on words originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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More Hints at Apple’s Desire to Hold ‘iPad’ Trademark for Tablet Device

Yesterday, we uncovered evidence that Apple has been pursuing trademarks for the name "iPad", with some filings occurring as recently as late last week. The move has obviously led to speculation that Apple may be planning to use that name for its ta...

Analyst tidbits suggest a Verizon tablet or iPhone

Filed under: Rumors, iPhone

With several analysts weighing in today on tablet components, there are a few items that might make you sit up a little straighter and take note -- especially if you're eager for an alternative to your AT&T contract.

First, Ashok Kumar broke down his expectations for components in the hypothetical tablet, and Richard Doherty chimed in: a PA Semi-designed, Samsung-manufactured ARM processor may be the product's heart -- possibly sporting more than one core, which would give the imaginary product plenty of imaginary power. Kumar went on to ID a Broadcom Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module and a Qualcomm WWAN package as fellow travelers on the tablet motherboard.

The presence of this Qualcomm chip in the parts list is what set off Scott Moritz at The Street, who extrapolates a Verizon deal for wireless data on the product; Qualcomm and CDMA are essentially synonymous, but the current iPhone uses an Infineon GSM module. While the same chipset could work with Sprint as a carrier (and that's the company already behind Amazon's Whispernet service), Verizon would certainly be the people's choice.

Second, Brainstorm Tech/Apple 2.0 cites a client note from Peter Misek at Cannacord Adams, who believes that the "One More Thing" at the 1/27 announcement may well be a Verizon iPhone to arrive late in Q2 2010, with an LTE/4G model due in 2011. The hypothetical ViPhone would sport a CDMA radio for domestic use but would still be usable on GSM networks outside the US (not unlike the Blackberry 8830 World Phone model) -- in contrast to the report from The Street a few days back, which seemed to hint at a CDMA-only Verizon phone. How dreamy.

Analyst tidbits suggest a Verizon tablet or iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst tidbits suggest a Verizon tablet or iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sega Ultimate Genesis Collection bringing official Genesis emulation to iPhone, pain to your wallet

After packaging and re-marketing to us our childhood over Nintendo's Wii Virtual Console and in a multitude of other forms, Sega is putting another platform to good use in its eternal quest to make us poor: the iPhone. Due for the App Store next month, the upcoming Sega Ultimate Genesis Collection will bring together some of Sega's existing, disparate releases for the iPhone under one roof and add a bunch more, allowing users to buy Sega Genesis games directly from the app. The first one's free, of course (Space Harrier II), but after that you'll be paying a decent amount for your emulation fix: Sonic is $6, Golden Axe is $5, and Ecco the Dolphin and Shining Force go for $3. The variety will undoubtedly grow over time, but we would hope that at some point Sega will offer some sort of discounted megabundle, since you can currently get 49 notable Sega titles for around $20 in the form of Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for the Xbox 360 and PS3. Basically: we're not sure if this is all supposed to make us worse or better about jailbreaking.

Sega Ultimate Genesis Collection bringing official Genesis emulation to iPhone, pain to your wallet originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CoPilot Live now offers almost complete nav app for free

Filed under: iPhone, App Review

ALK Technologies, the creators of CoPilot Live, have released a free version of their navigation app with some catches.

The free version, called CoPilot Directions [iTunes link] has turn-by-turn navigation, trip planning and 2D maps. You can download the whole map database over Wi-Fi (not via iTunes) or you can download individual states or cities to save space on your iPhone.

If you download the free version, you get a free, 30-day sample of the complete app, including voice navigation with street names, 3D views, and the ever important option to update to the full version. After 30 days users can opt to continue using premium voice-guided GPS navigation with a 12-month or 30-day subscription via in-app purchase ($19.99 and $2.99 respectively), or they can simply continue to enjoy free lifetime use of map-only, turn-by-turn directions.

CoPilot Directions sits alongside a feature-complete version called CoPilot Live North America [iTunes link], which costs U.S. $34.99 and allows in-app purchases of live services, like Traffic Reports, Gas Prices, and Live Local Search. We reviewed that version of the app and found it to be about average in terms of ease of use, accuracy of the database, and features. I don't see any way to update to CoPilot Live North America from CoPilot Directions, so if you go with Directions you are stuck and unable to recoup any of your investment. Potential buyers should carefully consider which way they go, because after a few years the subscription option gets expensive.

As a result, I think ALK has complicated, rather than simplified the choices for consumers. Even if you opt for two years of CoPilot Directions, it costs more than CoPilot Live North America.

The free version is fine, but without any voice prompts it's not the safest way to get from point A to point B.

CoPilot Directions also has run up a pretty significant negative score at the iTunes Store, with customers complaining mainly about the accuracy of the maps. Other were quite pleased with it, especially for the price.

ALK also offers versions for the UK and Ireland [iTunes link], as well as CoPilot Live Europe [iTunes link]. The app runs on the iPhone 3G and 3GS and requires at least version 3.0 of the iPhone OS.

CoPilot Live now offers almost complete nav app for free originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

CoPilot Live now offers almost complete nav app for free originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The White House releases news, streaming app

Political junkies can now keep up with the latest from the U.S. executive branch with the official White House app, which brings news, photos, live video, and more.

[RUMOR] Apple Might Replace Google Search With Bing On iPhone - Could Be Launching Own Search Engine