Consume 1.6 Hits App Store, Goes on Sale

Consume [$0.99 on sale - iTunes link] is the awesome little app for the those of us who don’t have unlimited anything on our iPhones… or ISPs. Yes, tiered data is a reality in some parts of the world, and we have to watch our MBs/GBs as closely as we watch our voice minutes. While I’ve been using Consume to do that on Rogers for a while now, their latest update — version 1.6 — improves support for existing providers and adds support for:

• Comcast in the US
• T-Mobile (Vertrag) in Germany
• Vodafone (Pay Monthly), T-Mobile (Pas As You Go), Tesco Clubcard in the UK
• Airtel Mobile (Postpaid), Airtel Broadband, Airtel Landline in India
• Bell (Broadband) in Canada
• Simyo (Prepaid) in France
• XNet, Snap (Prepaid), Subway Subcard in New Zealand
• SJ in Sweden
• Easy Way Tea’s in Australia

They’ve also added a new “Package Tracking” category for USPS, AAE (Australia), TNT Express (Australia), and Apple Order Status (now if Apple would just release those new MacBooks for us to track!)

And yes, it’s made by Bjango who do the great iStat [$0.99 also on sale - iTunes link] app (among others) for iPhone, and widget and menu system for the Mac. If you give it a try, let us know what you think!

Consume 1.6 Hits App Store, Goes on Sale is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Adafruit shows off the Square dongle for credit card payments on the iPhone

Filed under: Hardware, Software, iPhone, App Store

Adafruit is one of a few companies that has been chosen to test the Square dongle that automagically takes credit card payments on any iPhone. Even though we got to see it in action at Macworld, I think every look we can get at this thing is worth it, considering just how darn revolutionary it seems. The video on Flickr shows just how quick and easy it is -- just swipe the card, and sign with your finger on the iPhone's screen.

I haven't bothered carrying cash for a few years now, and something like this only makes it easier to not only take payments for vendors, but for me to pay. Hot dog guy needs a few bucks but doesn't have a landline connection to run a credit card on? No worries, just swipe and done. Want to give to the Salvation Army guy over the holidays but don't have any money left in the wallet? Just swipe and done. Word has it that the transaction cut will be 2.9% (though the video above shows 3.5% -- maybe you can change the percentage depending on circumstances), but odds are that in most cases, the convenience will be well worth it.

The whole program's still in beta, but it probably won't be long before you'll see (and maybe even use) one of these out in the wild.

[Via Engadget]

Adafruit shows off the Square dongle for credit card payments on the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Adafruit shows off the Square dongle for credit card payments on the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Multi-Touch iPhone OS Layer On Top of Mac OS X?

In a NYTimes' blog post, Nick Bilton describes how PCs aren't as easy to use as the iPhone, and explores why the iPhone OS simply can't be used in a future iteration of Mac OS X.

Bilton quotes a former senior Apple engineer who explain...

Final Fantasy I and II available for iPhone and iPod touch

Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II are available on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Plants vs. Zombies breaks records on the iPhone

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

PopCap has released some sales information on their latest iPhone game, Plants vs. Zombies, and it's a runaway hit: the game has sold over 300,000 copies in just the nine days it's been out on the App Store, which means the company has garnered over $1 million in sales already. Very impressive -- first, we had an app make a million total, then a company was making a million a month, and now PopCap has done the same in just over a week.

So what's their secret? It's a high quality game, first of all, and PopCap has a reputation for making those already. Second, the game itself had a fairly high profile even before release, since it was extremely successful on the PC as well. And finally, you have to think that the price figures in as well -- I thought the game would sell for PopCap's usual $5, but they actually sold it two dollars less than that. They'd probably have still made a lot of money, but I don't know if they'd be talking about 300,000 sales at a price just two dollars higher.

Then again, the game is already available for free online, so maybe the quality and PopCap's profile played a bigger part than the price did (they also trumpet the fact that Bejeweled 2 is also one of the top five grossing apps on the App Store). Congrats to PopCap on all their success. Oh, and our free time called, too. It surrenders.

Plants vs. Zombies breaks records on the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Plants vs. Zombies breaks records on the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple Patent Provides Interesting Insight On How Users Will Be Able To Control iPhone With Finger Swipes Over Camera

Review: Self Image for iPhone

If you've ever tried to take a self-portrait with the iPhone's built-in camera, you know how difficult that trick is. Self Image removes the guesswork by using face detection technology to snap a picture.

TiPb Live Podcast #88 – Explicit

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Rene, Mickey (The Cell Phone Junkie), and Phil (Android Central, WMExperts) for the great sex-apps rejection, Steve Jobs and Tim Cook speak, iPhone SDK 3.2 Beta 3 for iPad, iPhone+AT&T first, Droid+Verizon last, and all the week’s news. Listen in!

Credits

Thanks to the the iPhone Blog Store for sponsoring the podcast, and to everyone who showed up for the live chat!

Our music comes from the following sources:

• I Called You — iPhone Remix by Pete Leidy
via Sneakmove iPhone Ringtone Challenge

TiPb Live Podcast #88 – Explicit is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Found Footage: One designer’s vision of an iPhone 4G

Filed under: Video, Odds and ends, iPhone

Before the original iPhone and iPad appeared, TUAW and other blogs were inundated with mockups of what the devices could look like. Some of them were hastily thrown-together Photoshop mashups, while others were beautifully-rendered depictions.

Antonio De Rosa of ADR Studio has created his own vision of what the next-generation iPhone could look like. In both the short video seen above and the individual renderings displayed on the ADR Studio website, De Rosa shows a thinner device with an aluminum shell and stand, AMOLED screen, and a "frontal camera."

Of course, this design could be as far off as some of the impressive mockups that were developed for the iPad, but we appreciate De Rosa's detailed work and beautiful design sense.

Found Footage: One designer's vision of an iPhone 4G originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Found Footage: One designer's vision of an iPhone 4G originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone Modded With Titanium Alloy Back Casing

TiPb Give-Away: WeeMee Avatar Creator for iPhone

WeeMee Avatar Creator from WeeWorld [$0.99 - iTunes Link]. The application allows you to make your an avatar for yourself and your friends. Select various hairstyles, clothing, accessories, over 250 choices in all. Then you can use these avatars for your address book, Facebook, Twitter, MMS or just to email to friends.

I had so much fun using this application that I forgot that I was testing out the app. (It would also keep your children entertained as the controls are simple to use.)

You choose a male or female WeeMee and then you can select the head shape, eyes and mouth, eye color, clothing, background etc. Select the item type at the top of the screen and then just swipe through the choices till you find the one you want.

The Gallery view helps maintain all your WeeMee’s and you can choose to export or edit your saved WeeMee’s.

So how do you get this app for FREE? Just comment below and say which famous person (or TiPb staff member! ahem) you want to make into an avatar, and we’ll select three people at random. Give-away starts now and ends Sunday February 28th at 12pm PT. Promo Codes require a US App Store account (Apple’s rule, not ours). They also expire, so if you win, redeem quickly!

And if you buy the app or win it, I would love to see your TiPb staff member WeeMee’s!

TiPb Give-Away: WeeMee Avatar Creator for iPhone is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Nite Ize Clip Case for iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS

If you enjoy the outdoor activities such as hiking and you don’t feel like spending a lot of money on a heavy duty case then the rugged Nite Ize Sideways Clip Case for iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS [$16.95 - TiPb Store Link] is definitely worth a look. For the full review follow us after the break!

The Nite Ize Sideways Clip Case is very well constructed with leather and ballistic nylon accented with weather-resistant hypalon. Your phone’s top flap secures firmly with velcro. Those of you who favor magnetic closing may come away disappointed, but if you are using this case for some sort of outdoor activity you are better off with velcro. On the back of the case you will find a super strong “flex-clip” that will fit belts, waistbands or straps up to 2 3/16” (5.5cm) and features an easy on, easy off design. To remove the case you simply pull it away from your hip and then pull up. With that being said, it will not accidentally come off during your hiking or mountain biking trip.

The interior of the Nite Ize is sure to protect your iPhone with its very soft lining. There is no need to worry about the actual case doing any damage to the phone like we’ve seen in the past with other cases. A really nice touch with the interior is a pocket to store your credit cards, identification, money or whatever else you can get to fit. This especially came in handy while going on some hikes where I did not want to carry my wallet. The interior pocket is a very welcomed addition to this style of case.

The more hiking I do with the Nite Ize Sideways Clip Case [TiPb Store Link - $16.95] the more I like it. Is this a case I would use on a daily basis? No. However, those of you who are looking for a well built, rugged case – give it a try. You should not come away disappointed.

Nite Ize Clip Case for iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Opera 10.50 Beta for Mac Released, Performs Well in JavaScript Benchmarks

Opera today announced the release of Opera 10.50 Beta for Mac, bringing several new features to the Web browser.

Highlights
- Cocoa
- Unified tool bar
- Growl notifications
- Multi-touch gestures...

Evidence Of Basic Photo Editing Features Discovered in iPhone OS 3.2 SDK For iPad

TUAW review: Smoother iPhone browsing with VanillaSurf

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

While most iPhone and iPod touch users make do with the built-in Mobile Safari web browser, there are a number of alternative browsers that offer features that didn't make it into Safari. All of these alternative browsers have one thing in common -- they are all based on MobileSafari as a result of Apple's policies. What the other browsers bring to the table are features like full-screen browsing, different ways of organizing tabs, and ad blocking.

Many of the alternative browsers have passed by my iPhone home screen at least once before being summarily dismissed, but there is one that has actually been getting some use lately; bitStorm's VanillaSurf. The free browser, which is now at version 2.1, offers features that seem more at home on a laptop or desktop machine than on a smartphone.

Launching VanillaSurf for the first time brings up a blank screen with the familiar address bar at the top and an unfamiliar toolbar at the bottom. The toolbar sports eight icons -- back, forward, settings, downloads, actions, bookmarks, tabs, and full-screen. The back and forward (or previous and next) icons provide their usual functionality, while the settings icon is a portal into some more useful items.

Continue reading TUAW review: Smoother iPhone browsing with VanillaSurf

TUAW review: Smoother iPhone browsing with VanillaSurf originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TUAW review: Smoother iPhone browsing with VanillaSurf originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple Building Cash Reserves for ‘Big, Bold’ Moves

Bloomberg reports on comments from Apple CEO Steve Jobs out of the company's shareholders meeting today regarding Apple's growing war chest of cash and the company's plans for it in the face of questions from shareholders. According to Jobs,...

Apple Planning to Open 25 Retail Stores in China [Updated]

Apple is currently conducting its annual shareholders meeting on the company's campus in Cupertino, California, and while attendees were not permitted to bring communication devices into the meeting, Fortune is gathering reports from those in...

Find my iPhone rescues two phones at Busch Gardens

Filed under: Odds and ends, iPhone, MobileMe

It was like something out of CSI. The St. Petersburg Times is reporting that the snatched iPhones incident began when a mom and her stepdaughter were getting aboard the SheiKra roller coaster at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida. The theme park provides unlocked storage bins for people to put things in so they don't fly away during the ride, so their two iPhones (in purses) were dropped in. Probably not a very safe thing to do, but that's what they did.

When the 13-year-old girl cut her lip during the ride, the pair was about to rush off to a first aid station forgetting about their possessions, but before they could get back to the storage bin someone snatched the purse with the iPhones inside.

The police and park security were called, and then the 13-year-old crime victim remembered MobileMe. In an employee break room, the teenager logged into the family MobileMe account using an officer's laptop.

The officers dispatched another squad car go to the displayed location, when a man sitting outside an apartment building hurriedly concealed a cellphone when the officers approached.

You guessed it. He had one of the stolen iPhones, the other one was inside the apartment. Police reports say Richard Emerson, 25, admitted the theft and is charged with grand theft. He's out on bail, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement says it is his 19th arrest.

It took 45 minutes from the time of the theft to the arrest of the man. MobileMe may not be for everybody, but the Find my iPhone feature is getting a pretty good track record. It's probably a good idea to emphasize that recovering stolen property is a police matter, not something you should do on your own.

[Thanks to Dan for the tip]

Find my iPhone rescues two phones at Busch Gardens originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Find my iPhone rescues two phones at Busch Gardens originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Adafruit is in the Square payment pilot, awesomeness will likely ensue

Our good friends at Adafruit Industries are now taking mobile payments with the best of 'em thanks to a prerelease Square dongle they've managed to score, ostensibly as a part of the public trial announced earlier this month. They've posted a quick video showing the process of taking someone's cash via plastic, and it looks every bit as painless as Square makes it out to be -- just swipe, sign with your fingertip, and your Square-equipped payee is a few dollars richer. The particular dongle Adafruit's been provided looks rough to say the least -- these aren't the units you'll be getting off the shelf -- but that's part of the fun of being involved with a beta, isn't it? Head over to Adafruit to peep the video, and needless to say, we're curious to see how they plan to make use of this little bugger.

Adafruit is in the Square payment pilot, awesomeness will likely ensue originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Study Shows iPhone Display Is Superior To Nexus One’s