SlingPlayer Mobile finally works on 3G

Filed under: Multimedia, Odds and ends, iPhone

We all knew it was coming, and it's here. Yes, Apple has finally approved, with the belated blessing of AT&T, a version of the SlingPlayer Mobile app that now works on the 3G network.

The original release of SlingPlayer Mobile [iTunes link] was WiFi only, and was one of the great disappointments of the whole iPhone experience. The folks at Sling Media worked hard to get the app approved, and AT&T finally relented, probably because the FCC has been breathing down the necks of the cellular providers who seem a bit, shall we say, arbitrary about what gets on the network. AT&T had no problem with streaming MLB games, but kept giving the Sling developers a big honking rejection.

Whatever the reason, it's good to see the SlingPlayer app working as it was designed. I just ran out to the front yard to test it and it worked as advertised. I had 3 bars of signal strength, and the picture was acceptable with good sync between audio and video. Channel changes were a bit slow, but tolerable.

So if you're in a downloading mood, and have the hardware to support it, go to it. The upgrade is free to all who have the crippled WiFi version, as it darn well should be.

[Thanks Jim for the tip!]

SlingPlayer Mobile finally works on 3G originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 01:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

SlingPlayer Mobile finally works on 3G originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 01:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Slingplayer Mobile for iPhone Goes 3G in App Store!

Slingplayer Mobile [$29.99 - iTunes link] for iPhone has just hit version 1.2 and the single-line update says it all — 3G streaming enabled.

And it seems to be in App Stores outside the US and beyond AT&T. (If it’s not in your App Store, let us know.)

It was a long time and a lot of controversy coming, but it’s here, so go get it and let us know how it’s working for you!

[Thanks to Scott for the head's up!]

Slingplayer Mobile for iPhone Goes 3G in App Store! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Adobe Blocks HTML5 Canvas Competition via “Secret Hold”?

Daring Fireball has linked to a post by Ian Hixie that states, while Adobe has been publicly supportive of HTML5 — sometimes seen as a open rival to their proprietary Flash technology — they’ve secretly but a block on the publication of the specification.

Gruber expands as follows:

My understanding is that Adobe is trying to block the API spec for the canvas element. The canvas element hasn’t gotten as much attention as the video element, but clearly, 2D graphics in canvas is competitive with Flash, and it appears that Adobe’s plan is to sabotage it via W3C politics.

Would this be analogous to Microsoft trying to block JavaScript and CSS back during the height of ActiveX? (If you don’t know what that is, thank the open, standards-based web).

Adobe was apparently supposed to have made the objection public 4 days ago but as far as we know have not followed through on that yet.

This may sound like a bunch of geeky web geek geekery, but it involves the next step forward in web technologies — something which in the past has brought us the likes of Web 2.0’s Google Maps and Facebook, WebKit (the basis of iPhone Safari) and Twitter, and now seeks to give us less resource intensive, vendor-independant specs for the future.

And since the iPhone doesn’t (and the iPad won’t) support Flash, HTML5 is how Apple hopes we’ll be enjoying the dynamic web for a long while to come.

Adobe Blocks HTML5 Canvas Competition via “Secret Hold”? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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DIY iPhone Stylus

Smartphone Experts at Mobile World Congress

This week Smartphone Experts’ Dieter Bohn, Kevin Michaluk, and Phil Nickinson are at Mobile World Congress, covering what’s basically the biggest cell phone show on the planet. Different sites will have different coverage. Palm and Apple aren’t expected to do much here this year, so the bulk of SPE’s coverage will be at sites not called PreCentral.net or TiPb (but don’t forget that  TiPb blew up Macworld last week – tons of news there).

So for what’s shaking, keep an eye on Android Central, CrackBerry.com, Nokia Experts, and this year especially keep an eye on WMExperts.

As long as you’re following things, be sure to hit up the twitter feeds for those sites too, as when we have news we want to get out there quickly, we’ll be doing it there.

Meanwhile, Phil, Kevin, and Dieter will record a podcast from time to time, like we did just now on the eve of the craziness at MWC. You know you want to partake of these 17 minutes of smartphone joy. Keep an eye on the above mentioned sites for more!

Download it directly with this link

Smartphone Experts at Mobile World Congress is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Crazy Earphones from Japan. Would Your iPhone be Caught Wearing Them?

Japan’s Solid Alliance decided that the bar for “crazy earphones” just hadn’t been raised high enough and so they’ve released these adorable/idiotic plastic embellishments which make you look like you have various implements coming out of your ears. For those who may not have already seen the first set of earphones they consisted of: sushi, paws, banana and a large bolt. These 4 new earbuds consist of: an apple with an arrow through it, a knife which looks like it is stabbed through your head, a mushroom, and a little ear.

They’ll cost you ¥2000, or about $20 and have a 3.5mm adaptor so they will fit in your iPhone or iPod touch.

So, am I the only one who likes these earphones ? Would you ever buy Crazy Earphones for yourself… or a friend ?

Crazy Earphones from Japan. Would Your iPhone be Caught Wearing Them? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

SPE at Mobile World Congress 2010

While TiPb was out covering Macworld 2010 (tons more video to come!), the rest of our fearless Smartphone Experts network editors, Dieter, Phil, and Kevin have jetted off to Spain to bring you complete coverage of Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2010. Will Microsoft finally be announcing Windows Mobile 7? Will RIM be giving away a BES Express for BIS users? Will someone in Shenzhen figure out how to stuff Android into a 3G toaster?! Follow along as they bring it to you live!

• AndroidCentral.com’s complete MWC 2010 Android coverage
• CrackBerry.com’s complete MWC 2010 BlackBerry coverage
• PreCentral.net’s Complete MWC 2010 Palm/webOS coverage (pending)
• WMExperts.com’s complete MWC 2010 Windows Phone coverage

And for behind the scenes background and commentary, follow our intrepid bloggers on Twitter:

• @backlon (Dieter)
• @crackberrykevin
• @philnickinson

They’ll also bring us back any iPhone news they find — like whatever it is Opera has up its sleeve. So stay tuned!

SPE at Mobile World Congress 2010 is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Fizz Software Releases Baseball Manager 2010 for iPhone and iPod Touch

Following on from the huge success of Soccer Manager (a Top Ten game in the UK and across Europe). Fizz Software Ltd is delighted to announce that Baseball Manager 2010 for iPhone and iPod Touch is now available from the Apple App Store.    At last a Baseball manager simulation for the iPhone and iPod ...

Schedule Toggling Of iPhone Settings With SBSchedule

SILVER LINING IDEAS KICKS OFF CHINESE NEW YEAR WITH LUCKY DAY

Silver Lining Ideas, Inc. (SLI), a philanthropic mobile applications developer and publisher, today announced that Lucky Day for iPhone™ and iPod® Touch is now available for download from the Apple iTunes App Store. Lucky Day is an entertainment app with an Asian flair, based on the same concept as ...

MWSF 2010 Odds and Ends: Gloves, Xserve Rack, Speaker Helmet, USB Wall Power

Capacitive Capable Gloves


At Macworld, iTouch Gloves (left) and Telefingers (right) both offered solutions for using the iPhone's capacitive touch screen while wearing gloves. iTouch Gloves offer high end leather glove styles...

MWSF 2010 Odds and Ends: Gloves, Xserve Rack, Speaker Helmet, USB Power

Capacitive Capable Gloves


At Macworld, iTouch Gloves (left) and Telefingers (right) both offered solutions for using the iPhone's capacitive touch screen while wearing gloves. iTouch Gloves offer high end leather glove styles...

Apple locks down iPhone trademark, includes ‘electronic games’ category

Patently Apple has sniffed out the latest, and most comprehensive, trademark registration acquired by Apple on the subject of the iPhone and we thought we'd have a peek. Already entitled to use the brand name under international categories 9 (mobile phone and digital audio player) and 38 (electronic data-transmitting device), Apple has now added category 28, which reads shortly and sweetly as a 'handheld unit for playing electronic games.' Before you freak out and start fusing this into your iPhone 4G fantasies, note that Apple filed the claim for this trademark way back in December 2007. So nothing necessarily new on the tech front, but this document provides the broadest brand protection yet -- including the bitten apple graphic alongside the name -- and could strengthen Cupertino's case in its forthcoming battle for the iPad moniker.

Apple locks down iPhone trademark, includes 'electronic games' category originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Feb 2010 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: Auditorium for iPhone

If you enjoy a good brainteaser and have spent an evening or two at the symphony, Auditorium is the high culture iPhone game you’ve been looking for.

Expo Notes: Police Scanner 2 offers in-app user alerts

Juicy Development had a busy Macworld Expo, rolling out a new version of its emergency broadcast streaming app that lets users send each other alerts about police, fire, and EMS activity to which they're listening.

Macworld 2010: WebIS Pocket Informant video interview

Filed under: Macworld, TUAW Interview, iPhone, App Store

WebIS Pocket Informant has been a powerful Personal Information Manager for years, having made an impact in the Windows Mobile and BlackBerry world before moving on to the world of iPhone. The iPhone version has been recently updated to version 1.21, and the feature set just keeps growing.

As part of TUAW's continuing coverage of Macworld Expo 2010, I visited the WebIS kiosk to learn what's new with the app. Among other things, Pocket Informant now has German and French localizations, the ability to group by context and project, Outlook sync, and over-the-air sync with Google Calendar and ToodleDo.

Pocket Informant 1.21 is available for a special Macworld Expo price of US$7.99, and is a powerful way to keep your life in order. Check out our video interview with WebIS by clicking the Read More link below.

We apologize for the static-filled audio in this video interview.

Continue reading Macworld 2010: WebIS Pocket Informant video interview

Macworld 2010: WebIS Pocket Informant video interview originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 14 Feb 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Macworld 2010: WebIS Pocket Informant video interview originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 14 Feb 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How To Enable Tethering on Your iPhone Using MyWi iPhone App

Former Microsoft ClearType Lead: iPad will Kill Kindle, TabletPC

Windows Weekly co-host Paul Thurrott, who was initially nonplussed about Apple’s iPad but is slightly warming to the device, has linked to a blog post from Bill Hill, former head of ClearType at Microsoft, who offers:

I predict it will be a huge success. It will cause the same kind of mayhem among TabletPC and eBook manufacturers that the iPod and iPhone did in their respective market categories.

Hill cites the great look, but says more importantly Apple understands the transition from “computing devices” to “consumer devices”, while the Kindle was merely a “transitional device” while TabletPC were basically laptop PC’s with tablet functionality grafted on.

The only doubts he has is in Apple’s “clone” of his Microsoft ClearType, which he claims blurs at small sizes and on lower-pitch screens like the iPad’s 122ppi. It might make sustained reading less enjoyable. All around he seems bullish, however, running Windows on a MacBook Pro, and now using an iPhone as well:

last week I dropped my Windows Mobile phone in the water. It was DOA when brought back to the surface. So now I need a new phone. No way am I buying a Windows Mobile replacement. I really grew to hate that phone. I’ve checked out the new Google phones, and I don’t like them much either. No, I want a great customer experience – so I’ll go with Apple.

I’m not an Apple Fanboy. But you have to give credit where it’s due. From being browbeaten into a mere 2-3% PC market share several years ago, Apple has parlayed its expertise in “consumer computing” into astounding success. I expect the iPad to continue that success.

The pixel density is an interesting concern, especially from someone of Hill’s background. The iPhone is 163ppi, the iPod nano 204ppi. Anyone think 122ppi will give them problems?

Former Microsoft ClearType Lead: iPad will Kill Kindle, TabletPC is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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