iSMEStorage - The first Cloud Storage Virtualization App for the iPhone

SMEStorage today is pleased to announce that its iSMEStorage iPhone application is live in the Apple App store. The application is the first iPhone application to let users access and manage over 10 storage clouds from their iPhone in one Cloud file view. Clouds from which files can be viewed ...

Smooth out your shaky videos with Smooth Movie for iPhone 3GS

App developer Kabuki Vision has solved the problem of shaky iPhone videos with the release of Smooth Movie 1.0 for the iPhone 3GS. Smooth Movie analyzes shaky videos and applies an image stabilization algorithm to the frames, resulting in a much smoother movie. After processing, the smoothed movie can be ...

Microsoft workers hiding their love for the iPhone

Filed under: Odds and ends, iPhone

According to The Wall Street Journal, about 10% of Microsoft's employees are avid users of the iPhone. While it's not surprising that tech geeks like those who work for Microsoft would be interested in the iPhone, what is surprising is the lengths some Microsoft workers go to in order to hide their "forbidden love" for a competitor's device.

While workers openly use their iPhones around fellow employees, when senior executives walk by, iPhones mysteriously disappear. Some workers even try to disguise their iPhones with cases to make them look like any old smartphone.

While there's no official ban on iPhone use at Microsoft, Steve Ballmer has made his stance on the issue pretty clear, saying that when his father worked for Ford, his family always drove Fords. Since Microsoft makes its own competing phone OS, it has to be irksome for executives like Ballmer to see employees using competitors' hardware; the Journal compared it to seeing Coca-Cola workers sitting around drinking Pepsi.

Over at Apple, things are a bit different; most of its employees "eat their own dog food," so to speak. Almost all Apple employees, right down to the retail level, actually use the products their companies create, including the iPhone. Workers for Apple told the Journal they couldn't remember seeing workers using mobile phones other than the iPhone for quite some time. So when you flip back to Microsoft, it's kind of understandable that executives like Ballmer are less than hospitable toward employees' cavalier usage of competitors' products.

The way to get employees to use your own products, however, isn't by creating a culture of fear in the workplace, whether it's officially endorsed or not. Instead, build a better product that your employees actually want to use. If the only official way to convince workers to use your own phone OS instead of the iPhone is by reimbursing employees' service fees only for Windows phones, then how can you expect to attract more consumers to your brand?

If Windows Phone 7 Series turns out to be worthy of the frothing adulation some have heaped on it, perhaps a few of those iPhone-using Microsoft employees will be convinced to start drinking their company's own Kool-Aid instead of Apple's. Whether the public will follow suit is another story entirely.

Microsoft workers hiding their love for the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Microsoft workers hiding their love for the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sophiestication releases Articles Wikipedia reader

Sophiestication (maker of the apps Groceries and Tipulator) released its Wikipedia reader apps, Articles. The UI-friendly program supports multiple pages and offers easy ways to search in several languages.

NPR and Wall Street Journal Preparing to Launch iPad-Optimized Sites

MediaMemo reports that National Public Radio and The Wall Stree Journal are preparing to roll out iPad-optimized versions of their websites as the device launches in the U.S. on April 3rd. Similar to sit...

Amid Weakened NAND Flash Demand, Apple Reportedly Looking to Negotiate Long-Term Deals

DigiTimes reports that industry demand for NAND flash memory of the type used in iPhones, iPod touches, and now iPads has been relatively weak of late, but Apple has been reluctant to enter into deals wit...

Apple delays ship dates for some iPad accessories

The Apple Store online is now showing shipping delays for some iPad accessories such as the Keyboard Dock and the iPad Case.

Microsoft Creates Whole New UI Experience, Copies iPhone App Store Experience

I watched WMExperts‘ coverage of Microsoft’s big Windows Phone 7 Series keynote at MIX10 yesterday and while I once again wasn’t wowed by the hyperactive quadrilateral tiles of the home screen, the workflow/funflow of moving through the panoramic hubs continued to impress. While Microsoft deserves a lot of credit for creating one of the few new, post-iPhone user experiences/interaction models, however, it’s interesting to note that they’re pretty much copying entirely Apple’s closed iPhone App Store model.

That’s right, free developer tools (like iPhone), no app distribution outside the market (like iPhone), except for beta and enterprise (like iPhone), which means no side-loading (like iPhone), and little-to-no multitasking (like iPhone… at least until iPhone 4.0), and push-notifications to handle alerts (like iPhone). (They do, however, claim they will be far more transparent than Apple has thus far been with the App Store approval process).

On one hand that’s a huge compliment to Apple’s highly successful, if sometimes controversial App Store model. On the other hand, users of previous Microsoft handsets up to and including the most recent Windows Mobile 6.5.x have seen open app installation and ubiquitous multitasking as bragging rights over the iPhone going on 3 years now. The mainstream consumer Microsoft is obviously targeting with WP7S will no doubt find it simple and clear. The traditional base of tinker-happy, ROM-cooking, power users? Likely not.

What think you, is Apple’s App Store model something Microsoft should have emulated?

Microsoft Creates Whole New UI Experience, Copies iPhone App Store Experience is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Case-mate Hug wireless iPhone charger ships

The Hug uses a full enclosure case that is made from injection-molded materials rather than the soft silicone WildCharge uses. Case-mate also ships the Hug with a screen protector to provide coverage from all sides. The Hug charge base is raised and uses smart technology to sense when the iPhone battery ...

Izatt announces 66% Off Sale on MatchTunes for iPhone and iPod touch

Izatt today is pleased to announce that MatchTunes, its 41st app for iPhone and iPod touch, is now 66% OFF for a limited time. New FREE updates will bring more levels and more fun! The iPad version will be crazy! A brand new concept in memory/matching games has come to ...

AirStash brings the WiFi, neglects the storage, for a cent under $100

When we last saw the AirStash, it was keeping its mystique about it and refusing to disclose any salient details beyond the fact that it'll function as a wireless SD/SDHC card reader. Today, the fog of war is lifted with the news that the AirStash is now officially on sale for $99.99, and will come with a battery good for five hours of continuous data streaming. Marketed primarily at iPhone OS devices, it creates a wireless network that allows any WiFi and browser-equipped computer to access the storage cards within it. The UI is built around HTML5 and recharging is done via a USB connection, which also turns the AirStash into a simple SDHC card adapter when plugged in. Check out our hands-on with it from CES over here and look for a full review coming up shortly. We do care so very deeply our portable storage.

AirStash brings the WiFi, neglects the storage, for a cent under $100 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: Jasuto Modular Synthesizer for iPhone

While not for the faint of heart, this powerful modular synthesis toolbox should appeal to synth pros.

Shipping Windows on iPad Accessories Slipping as Pre-Orders Mount

9 to 5 Mac noticed yesterday that shipping windows for several of Apple's forthcoming iPad accessories have begun to slip well past the device's own April 3rd launch date.

First we noticed the iPad case making a slight shift f...

iPad Supports .AVI M-JPEG Video

We didn’t notice this until @pivale pointed us towards PCWorld’s article, but sure enough according to Apple’s iPad tech specs, the iPad does indeed support a type of .AVI video:

Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format

No .AVI support of any kind is listed under iPhone or iPod touch tech specs. (Then again, none of those devices are running iPhone 3.2 like the iPad — yet).

.AVI, the audio-video interleave is a container introduced by Microsoft. Motion JPEG is a type of .AVI compression. While .AVI in general is ubiquitous for standard definition video content on the internet, there’s no indication Apple is supporting the specific XviD codec (encoding/decoding) used by those files.

iPad Supports .AVI M-JPEG Video is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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PayPal app now lets you ‘bump to send money’

You can now send money to your friends (and your cooler enemies) just by 'bumping' your iPhone with theirs.

BlackBerry users willing to swap for an iPhone

Almost 40 percent of BlackBerry users would switch camps to an Apple iPhone, a recent study into smartphone brand loyalty shows.

iPad Accessories Already Facing Delays, Shortages?

9to5Mac has been keeping a close eye on official Apple iPad accessories [Apple Online Store link] and while the iPad dock and iPod Dock to VGA adapter remain on April 3 schedule, the iPad Case is now listed as shipping in mid April while the iPad Keyboard Dock and iPad 10W USB Power Adapter have fallen to May. What’s more:

Perhaps even worse then those accessory delays is the iPad Camera Kit’s current situation. The kit which allows you to connect an SD card or digital cameras to your iPad is not even on Apple’s online store.

Did Apple underestimate demand for some of the iPad accessories? Did you manage to order one before the delays?

iPad Accessories Already Facing Delays, Shortages? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Can the iPad make it as an e-textbook reader?

Apple's iPad, which arrives April 3, is already regarded as a high-end, color e-reader and multimedia device. But its potential as an e-textbook reader remains debatable.

KaleidoVid turns your iPhone into a kaleidoscope

KaleidoVid is a new app from App Cubby that mimics a traditional kaleidoscope and lets you share your images with friends over Twitter, Facebook, and e-mail.

Initial Sales of Original iPhone, Droid, and Nexus One Compared

In an interesting blog post today, mobile analytics firm Flurry offers estimates of unit sales for Motorola's Droid and Google's Nexus One smartphones over their first 74 days of availability, the amount of time it took for Apple to reach one...