Mozilla submits Firefox Home to Apple App Store, considers approval a formality

Emboldened by the (great) success enjoyed by Opera's Mini in making it onto Apple's hallowed iPhone platform, Mozilla has today submitted its own browser implement to the App Store censors. We already knew Firefox Home -- a weird sort of incomplete browser that syncs your desktop bookmarks, history, and tabs with the iPhone -- was in the works, but now we're finding the team behind it is so confident of its approval that it's already promising a guide on how to set it up once it's approved. We suspect the fact it'll allow you to shift browsing sessions over to Safari will be looked upon favorably, but there's no escaping the fact that Firefox Home will still browse the web for you should you wish it. This is going to be a highly entertaining approval process indeed. Your move, Cupertino.

Mozilla submits Firefox Home to Apple App Store, considers approval a formality originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 02:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ExpenseBook 1.0 for iPhone – Hot Japanese App Released in North America

Announcing that Masanori Shibuya, the developers of ExpenseBook – budget viewer, has released their app for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users. The application, which helps users easily create and maintain expense budgets, has been sitting in the number one spot in the Paid Finance Apps category in Japan since its launch in November of [...]

Facebook for iPhone / iPod touch now iOS 4 compatible

We'll get right to the point: the Facebook app for your iPhone / iPod touch is now drinking the iOS 4 Kool-Aid. Fast app switching, high resolution icons (better than the one seen above, since that's pre-update), Korean / Russian localizations, and... that's about it for now. Maybe background image / video uploading is on the list of to-do's, but at least it won't look quite as pixel-deficient on the home screen next to Twitter.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Facebook for iPhone / iPod touch now iOS 4 compatible originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 22:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jonathan Ive on Apple’s material obsessions

Filed under: iPhone

Core77 had a chat with Apple's Jonathan Ive about the iPhone 4 and the materials that it's made out of, and Ive says that the process is very holistic; Apple has really gone from start to finish with the types of metal and glass that make up the latest iPhone, and they've worked at every step of the process to try to make them better designed.

He says that the glass on the front and back is "scratch-resistant aluminosilicate glass," and the metal around the edges is one full band of stainless steel. (The "seams" are just cosmetic -- it's all one piece, apparently.) "That understanding, that preoccupation with the materials and processes," Ive says, "is essential to the way we work."

Ive does have his usual ethereal lightness about how hard design is to grasp. "You cannot disconnect the form from the material -- the material informs the form," he says. If nothing else, though, the interview definitely shows just how obsessive he and Apple are about designing and manufacturing these devices.

iPhones become commonplace so quickly after launch that you tend to forget all of the work and thought that has gone into every single feature of their hardware. Apple isn't really doing anything magical here; it's just sitting down and grinding out exactly what materials work best in which ways in order to make a really beautiful and functional object.

[via 9to5Mac]

Jonathan Ive on Apple's material obsessions originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Jonathan Ive on Apple's material obsessions originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Jobs: iPhone 4 over the air HD video upload coming “in the future”

One of the big complaints of the iPhone 4 and HD video recording is that HD videos do not upload to YouTube in HD. However, it looks like we’ll be getting this feature soon.

Here’s the email that Chris T. sent to Steve Jobs:

I’m a HUGE fan of your products… MBP, Ipad 64gb WIFI, 2 iphone 3g’s and now 2 iphone 4’s… but I have a complaint… What’s the point of building in HD video capabilities when the compression upon uploading directly to youtube makes the video’s useless and not viewable? They’re not even remotely viewable!! I was so excited about this feature on the Iphone 4, but sadly to say, this is a serious disappointment. In today’s world, HD video is pointless if I can’t upload it “as is” directly to the net.

This was Steve’s reply:

You can upload them via a Mac or PC today. Over the air in the future.

Sent from my iPhone

As someone who uploaded a video to YouTube expecting HD quality and being thoroughly annoyed when it wasn’t, I am very excited to hear this. But how far into “the future” must we travel? Will wifi be required when uploading HD quality videos?

What do you think? Are you looking forward to the future which brings this feature?

[MacDailyNews]

Steve Jobs: iPhone 4 over the air HD video upload coming “in the future” is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Ringtone Expressions iPhone 4 winner is…!

TiPb and the folks from Ringtone Expressions teamed up to bring you yet another chance to win a shiny new iPhone 4. Yes, it was the third one, but we love doing it so much we simply had to do it again. Immediately.

Deal was — ringtoneexpressions.com wanted you to create ringtones for those special someone(s) in your life. You did, they chose the winners, and here they are… After the break!

iPhone 4 Winner

@pinhodaniel http://twitter.com/pinhodaniel/status/17270611246

$50 Gift Certificate to store.tipb.com

@FoxMcCloud811 http://twitter.com/FoxMcCloud811/status/17131949162 @szfebje http://twitter.com/szfebje/statuses/16976560763 @ Chile713 http://twitter.com/Chile713/statuses/17074989936

Congrats to the winners, thanks to everyone who entered, and stay tuned for more — we’ve only just begun!

Ringtone Expressions iPhone 4 winner is…! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Apple patches iOS 4 Exchange issue

It hasn't gotten quite the attention of the iPhone 4's antenna problems or its proximity sensor troubles, but iOS 4 has caused some heartbreak for corporate users who connect to Exchange servers -- checking mail or syncing contact and calendars can stall out interminably, with no option but to restart and try again. We've definitely had this problem ourselves, but happily Apple's right on the case with this one -- iOS 4 users who need to get their Exchange on can download an updated configuration file that seems to make things better. The new settings don't seem to do much other than increase iOS 4's idle timeout, but if it works, it works -- and in our limited testing things appear to be going swimmingly. Okay, that's one -- now let's polish up the rest, shall we?

[Thanks, Paul]

Apple patches iOS 4 Exchange issue originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 20:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How you hold your iPhone

Filed under: iPhone

Earlier this week were discussing the Death Grip and comparing how we hold our iPhones. I thought we should pose the question to you. Several readers added photos of their preferred method to our Flickr pool, and we noticed two main styles among them: the Cradle and the Death Grip.

The Cradle is pictured at right. The iPhone rests on top of the pinky while the other fingers support it like a stand. The thumb is then free to reach and tap.

The Death Grip is any hold that contacts the lower left-hand corner of the phone and bridges the gap between the two antennas, as that's what appears to trigger the signal issue. The results were nearly split: 9 of you used some variant of the Cradle, while 8 employed a full-on Death Grip. One fellow followed Apple's suggestion to a T, as you'll see in the gallery below.

Thanks for sharing your photos with us, everyone. Now ... who's got antenna issues? Take our poll from earlier today and let us know.

How you hold your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

How you hold your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple taking risk with iPhone shortages

Filed under: iPhone

The iPhone broke sales records for Apple (1.7 million units sold by release day) and still had people lining up a week later. That's impressive, but according to one analyst it could have been even better.

Shaw Wu of Kauffman Bros. believes that Apple could have sold between 2 million and 2.5 million iPhones had that many units been available. AppleInsider reports that he predicts Apple will sell 9 million iPhones in the June quarter and 40 million in 2010.

In related news, iSuppli said this week that Apple's failure to meet demand could be an opportunity for other manufacturers, as frustrated would-be iPhone owners give up. "Consumers, questioning Apple's supply chain management capability, have started to look for alternative devices," wrote Tina Teng, senior analyst for wireless communications at iSuppli.

Sure, some potential customers might abandon the iPhone in frustration, but enough to make a significant dent in Apple's bottom line? I doubt it. Those who really want one will eventually buy. If people are willing to stand in a sweltering line for 10 hours, a few weeks of waiting in a comfortably air-conditioned house is no biggie.

Apple taking risk with iPhone shortages originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple taking risk with iPhone shortages originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Jobs Suggests Blu-ray Not Coming to Mac Anytime Soon

Amongst the emails that Steve Jobs has been responding to, he also responded to an inquiry by a MacRumors reader Siva about future of Blu-ray on the Mac. While Blu-ray has been a long requested feature for Macs, Apple has described Blu-ray ...

Ducati creates a short film with the iPhone 4

Filed under: Video, iPhone

I have to eat my words -- despite my belief before launch that an iPhone 4 wouldn't be hard to find without a preorder, I'm still waiting to get the chance to buy one. But I got to play with another one last night (that screen!), and just like every other time I've had a chance to use it, I've been very impressed by the back camera. Both stills and HD video look really amazing when taken with that thing. Here's another example: the Ducati motorcycle team filmed the entire commercial above on eight different iPhone 4s over a period of four days -- watching it in HD shows off just what this camera is capable of.

They did use the Owle Bubo, which explains some of the better shots a little bit. And you can also see that slight shudder so common to low-end HD cameras, especially when the camera pans quickly or tries to capture fast motion. But especially without color correction, the images still look terrific for a camera on your phone. The audio is great as well, but I'm not convinced they did that with only a phone. The final video was edited together in Adobe Premiere, just because "there were enough unknowns" without trying to use iMovie on iPhone for the first time.

Update: Looks like it's part of a contest -- if you've ever wanted to try and make a film and you've got an iPhone 4, get to it!

Thanks to Zenas and Jeff for sending this one in.

Ducati creates a short film with the iPhone 4 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ducati creates a short film with the iPhone 4 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Droid X ad pokes fun at iPhone 4 antenna troubles

The world of corporate cheap shots has today been enriched in its number with one supersized ad for one supersized phone. BGR reports that Motorola took out a full-page spread in the New York Times on this final day of June, which was ostensibly dedicated to promoting the positives of its mighty Droid X. But Moto has also followed in the footsteps of Nokia in making a not so subtle jab at the latest king of the smartphone realm. According to the ad, one of the most important things about the Droid X is that:

"It comes with a double antenna design. The kind that allows you to hold the phone any way you like and use it just about anywhere to make crystal clear calls."

Glad we got that established -- next Moto will be telling us the alarm clock on its phones works just fine too. Skip past the break for the untrimmed ad.

Continue reading Droid X ad pokes fun at iPhone 4 antenna troubles

Droid X ad pokes fun at iPhone 4 antenna troubles originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T says New York City service is improved

Filed under: iPhone

While AT&T's service has been notoriously bad even before the iPhone launch, iPhone users in New York City have suffered some of the worst of it, with one Apple Genius reportedly saying that 30% dropped call rate was average. (I think he misspelled "atrocious.")

The good news is that AT&T has rolled out a network upgrade in the NYC, according to the company's press release this week. The big question was: Will it actually help?

Early anecdotal reports are that yes, it has made a big difference. I've seen various snippets around the web of people posting that things seem to be better. I guess only time will tell for sure.

This also seems like a good time to remind you about AT&T's free Mark The Spot app for noting when you have either a voice or data issue. We've noted that some users are getting updated with news of tower build-outs near their reported dead spots. Personally I wondered if this was leveraging towers AT&T planned to install anyway, but I spoke with a friend who works for AT&T and he said "I know it's hard to believe, but it really does matter."

What say you, NYC folks? Has the upgrade been noticeable for you?

[via Engadget]

AT&T says New York City service is improved originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AT&T says New York City service is improved originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook for iPhone iOS 4 hits iTunes App Store

Facebook for iOS 4 has been updated to version 1.4. The new additions are as follows:

• Updated for iOS 4: Fast App Switching along with high resolution icons.
• Korean and Russian localizations.
• Other minor bug fixes.

Unlike the last Facebook update, there is no mention of the bugs that have been corrected.

Have you updated yet? If so let us know how it’s working for you!

Facebook for iPhone iOS 4 hits iTunes App Store is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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AdMob: iPhone holds lead over Android

AdMob released what may be its last monthly report about smartphone users.

Angry Birds HD updated with more levels… and crashiness

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPad

Angry Birds has been a phenomenal success, staying atop the App Store best seller list for months. I too, succumbed to the "bird in a slingshot" craze, as has my eight year old son who told me the other night he dreamed that he was in the slingshot.

Angry Birds HD was one of the first games that I downloaded for the iPad, but I was pretty disappointed. While the iPhone game was only $0.99, the HD version was $4.99, following an unfortunate trend where iPhone games are ported to iPad, cost much more, and don't add any new features. But Angry Birds HD actually had fewer features and levels than the iPhone version.

Well, as promised, an update came out a few days ago which added more levels and brought the game up to par with the iPhone version. Unfortunately the game has also added what one friend called "extreme crashiness action." So far I haven't actually lost any progress due to a crash, but it's fairly annoying. Hopefully there will be another update soon.

As a side note, developer Marco Arment noted back in May that the App Store was full of scams and ripoff apps surrounding Angry Birds, some which use the same name, and others which use the same artwork. It's sad to see that these apps are still there, and to know that they are profiting unfairly off the success of a popular game. Why Apple would allow some of these apps to remain and purge others is beyond me.

Angry Birds HD updated with more levels... and crashiness originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Angry Birds HD updated with more levels... and crashiness originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hone your knitting skills with Knitting and Crocheting HD

Jones APR's Knitting & Crocheting HD is a "full featured" knitting and crochet app that should have you up and knitting in no time.

Review: Pageonce Bills for iPhone

If the vast majority of your bill-paying life is lived online, this well-designed app from Pageonce is ideal for keeping track of your money.

Anti theft app sounds the alarm when your iPhone is moved

Anti Theft Alarm by LOLer Apps uses your iPhone's accelerometer to detect unauthorized movement, emitting a car-alarm-inspired noise when it is set off.

iPhone 101: Quitting apps in iOS 4

Filed under: iPhone, iPhone 101

iOS 4 makes it easy to leave apps without quitting, but what happens when you actually do want to terminate an application? Quitting applications can really help with older apps that have not been updated for iOS 4 "multitasking" and that do not properly return to the state they previously were in when resumed.

The most common type of app that fits this profile supplies Bonjour services that might not properly continue after resuming the application. Another app that reportedly has this issue is Gmail. TUAW reader Kefz writes, "Gmail does not work unless you force quit the mail application. If it is sitting in the multitasking task bar, [notifications aren't] automatically pushed to the phone...You'd have to open the mail app and have it check for new mail."

There's are two ways you can quit, according to Apple's documentation, although neither one is particularly obvious. Read on to learn what they are.

Continue reading iPhone 101: Quitting apps in iOS 4

iPhone 101: Quitting apps in iOS 4 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iPhone 101: Quitting apps in iOS 4 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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