Palm webOS news often seems to land right before Apple iPhone news and while we’re waiting for tomorrow’s Apple special music event and iOS 4.1 announcement, PreCentral.net’s gotten the scoop on what’s coming later this year for webOS 2.0:
- Palm’s multitasking ‘card’ metaphor is getting a refresh with Stacks
- Universal Search is getting majorly beefed up with ‘Quick Actions,’ will be opened to developers, and rebranded as Just Type
- Apps can have custom Touchstone at-a-glance views with Exhibition
- Synergy is opening up to developers
- HTML5 and Javascript support is much improved
- Hybrid PDK/SDK apps will be fully supported
What, no interruptive, modal dialog notifications? Sigh. Seriously though, the multitasking looks interesting and once again while webOS isn’t open source, it leads the game in being a far more open platform for developers and users than just about anybody else in the industry. Check it out and let us know what, if anything, Apple needs to do to keep up in 6 months for the iOS 5 preview…?
[PreCentral.net]
On the eve of iOS 4.1 comes news about webOS 2.0 is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
Engadget yesterday reported on an Apple customer service survey going around in recent days that specifically addresses the ability to "instantly" watch iTunes Store video on the iPad, a feature not currently available.
. . .i...
For many people on the go, a full charge on their
iPhone just isn't enough to get them by. Oh sure, they could hunt around for a standard wall outlet or plug into their laptop, but that's not always possible. So, they might carry a portable battery pack, like the
splash Intense. But for green-minded folks, maybe something more sustainable?
The
Frostfire Mooncharge is a solar-powered, portable charger for your iPhone 4 that attaches directly to the back of your device. Fully loaded up with the power of the sun (or via USB), it will power your iPhone for an extra 315 hours on standby and provide up to 27 additional hours of music, 10 hours of video, and five hours of talk time. From no charge at all, 20 minutes of sunlight will fill its battery pack to provide five extra minutes of calling or 50 minutes of standby power.
A few negatives for this device, right from the start, are: 1) it appears extremely bulky, and there's no reported weight for the device, 2) its name is sadly misleading, and therefore 3) we have to leave our caves and brave daytime sunlight to take advantage of its full potential.
[via
MacStories]
Mooncharge solar charger for iPhone 4 won't charge via moonlight originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Mooncharge solar charger for iPhone 4 won't charge via moonlight originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Plex's big tease last week turned out to not be an Apple acquisition, but instead a big release, of both a rewritten Mac client to keep all of your media together in one place, and also a brand new iOS app, available now on the App Store for $4.99. Sure, the app's a little pricey, but if you use the new Plex as your media center, it's actually a must buy -- not only does it work as a remote control, but you can actually stream media from your Plex library directly to your iPhone or iPad from wherever you are.
And with a little more tweaking (you need to have the server running and know how to set up port forwarding on your router), you can even stream Plex content out over 3G, so no matter where you are with your iOS device, you can watch anything stored on your Plex install. Now that's pretty cool.
The latest version of Plex is available as a free download from the website, and the app itself is available in iTunes for US $4.99. We Mac users have always been spoiled with terrific media management software, and Plex is another great solution.
TUAW's Daily App: Plex originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
TUAW's Daily App: Plex originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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CanalMX reports [Google translation] on comments from an executive at Mexican carrier Telcel claiming that Apple is set to release a revised version of the iPhone 4 by the end of September to address the highly-publicized antenna issue. Telc...
Tomorrow at their annual special music event, Apple might announce a new version of iTunes (iTunes X?) — maybe with $0.99 TV rentals or streaming cloud music — and thinking about that made me realize I hardly if ever sync my iPhone with iTunes anymore.
Just before iPhone 4 came out the Apple Store swapped out my 3GS due to cracks along the dock that had been preventing me from syncing. Because I couldn’t sync, I’d been downloading apps directly onto my iPhone, streaming podcasts via the iTunes app (iOS 4 made that rock solid), and otherwise existing pretty much entirely from the cloud.
When I got my replacement iPhone 3GS, I just stuck in my MobileMe, Exchange, and Google logins and all my personal and work data started syncing over the air (OTA). I re-downloaded the few apps I use regularly — Twitter, RSS, online file storage, password management, etc. and I was fully operational before I left the store. (Though, yes, they did have to tether it to iTunes in the Apple Store to activate it, and if not I would have had to do so when I got home.)
When I got my iPhone 4, same thing.
Now I do sync my iPad to iTunes a lot and I have way more apps — especially games — on my iPad than I do on my iPhone. The introduction of iPad and iOS 4 for iPhone, however, let me change my habits enough that my iPhone is now pretty much iTunes free. I can’t remember the last time I synced (probably for iOS 4.0.2 and it annoyed me when iTunes pulled off apps I’d re-downloaded because they weren’t checked off on the desktop side — can’t we do a sync for most recent changes on that?)
How about you, do you still regularly sync your iPhone with iTunes? As much as you used to? Why or why not?
Do you still regularly sync your iPhone with iTunes? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
The Speck Fitted Case for iPad is a hard shell case with a soft fabric backing. It snaps together from two parts — the plain black bezel that wraps around the top and outlines the ports, and the textured, pink and black plaid that covers the back plate.
Two part cases are typically more secure but more of a pain to put on and take off. Both of those are true for the Speck Fitted Case, which means it’s best suited for people who like to put a case on and leave it on. I’m usually so not that type of person (my job here at TiPb doesn’t let me be!) but I like this case so much it’s stayed on way longer than I originally expected. I just really like it.
Now with the colors being gray, pink, and black the Speck Fitted Case could be considered girly, though Rene claims he or any other man would be proud to have a Bret the Hitman Hart pink and black attack case for their iPad. Fair enough. He does know something about pink cases, after all…
The bezel extends up over the top so you can, if you want, lay your iPad down flat on its face without risking scratches on the glass. It also has wide cutouts for the ports so many, if not all, accessories should fit. (Not Apple docks, of course).
It’s nice to hold as the cloth has a little bit of grip to it. Because it’s so light colored, I do worry about it getting dirty eventually but I haven’t had any problems so far.
I looked at the ClassicPlaid version of the Speck Fitted Case for iPad but the TiPb iPad accessory store also has it in Houndstooth and TartenPlaid. I am sad that it does not have a kickstand.
Pros
- Looks great, if you like the colors
- Fits securely
- Provides good grip
Cons
- Requires some effort to put on and take off
Speck Fitted Case for iPad – accessory review is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
Do you like old-school shooters? If so, Dodonpachi Resurrection is the game for you! Cave has brought out another awesome shooter on the iPhone (the first being Espgaluda II).
There are two game modes in DoDonPachi. The first is iPhone mode which is a great way to jump in and play. It uses a hit variable to determine the strength of your weapons (the slider is indicated in the top right) and has an interactive hypermode to unleash the ultimate destruction on your enemies. The other mode is Arcade. This mode has you pick the fighter style you want and requires a bit more strategy while playing since you don’t have the freedom you have in iPhone mode. You can also configure how much screen is displayed while playing (I am partial to large so I see as much of the screen as I can) as well as button placement for attacking enemy ships.
You start the game as you do in any shooter of this type as a lonesome ship against an onslaught enemy armada bent on destruction. Fortunately, you have technology on your side and you are packing enough firepower to send the enemy back where they came from. One of the things I like about iPhone mode is that when you die, you automatically drop a bomb and become invincible for a short while. Little details like this make the game more accessible to the casual shooter fan. However, Arcade mode is where it’s at if you need a true challenge. Of course the OpenFeint integration keeps it old school allowing you to compete with friends and strangers for the highest score possible.
I was looking forward to this game’s release and especially having the sharp graphics that are in on the iPhone 4’s retina display. Sadly, this is not the case. So as awesome as this game is, it ends up being a tad fuzzy on the iPhone 4 but looks great on the latest generation of iPod Touch devices and iPhone 3GS. Make no mistake that the graphics are great and there is no slowdown. All of the ships and terrain have tons of detail and move effortlessly around the screen.
I can’t recommend this game enough for shooter fans. It is hands down the best offering in the App Store. I am hopeful that Cave will create iPad specific versions of their games for the masses to take advantage of the full screen real estate that device has to offer. For now, you can’t go wrong with this title. I am still giddy about it.
[$8.99- iTunes Link]
Pros
- More bullets than you can shake a stick at!
- OpenFient leaderboards and achievements
- Works great on iPad. Looks awesome!
- Fun and frantic
- No noticeable slow-down
Cons
- No retina support
- Only works well on current-gen devices
- Larger file size (around 500MB)
Dodonpachi Resurrection for iPhone – app review is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
The Los Angeles Times reports that Apple is still working to convince media companies to adopt its plan for 99-cent TV show rentals through its iTunes Store. According to those close to the negotiations,...
This RSS reader certainly succeeds at its stated mission of providing an attractive, simple, and accessible way for iPad users to enter into the wonderful world of RSS. Just don't be surprised if you soon find yourself putting this app up on the shelf to find a more powerful reader.
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At their annual special music event tomorrow, could Steve Jobs announce that Apple’s iTunes song previews are doubling to 60 seconds? That’s what CNET is hearing rumored:
Currently, iTunes offers 30-second snippets of songs, a feature designed to give users a taste of the music to help them decide whether they like it enough to buy. Some users have long complained that half a minute isn’t enough time to really hear a song.
30 seconds has sometimes been enough for me, sometimes not. It depends on which 30 seconds they preview. The first 30 seconds of long, building instrumental intro to a rock song usually doesn’t provide any context for the song itself. Part of the chorus with enough overlap on one side or another and I’m good.
Given the plethora of other announcements we expect, iPod touch 4, iPod nano 6, iOS 4.1, maybe Apple TV/iTV, etc. how important is this one to you?
[CNET]
iTunes song previews doubling to 60 seconds? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
As part of their grand re-introduction to Mac, AutoDesk has announced that they’ll also be bringing AutoCAD to iPhone and iPad:
The Mac version will cost $3,995, the same as the PC version, and will be released in October. AutoDesk will soon introduce a free mobile version of the software that will run on the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. That version has more limited capabilities, Mr. Hanspal said. But with it, an engineer, for example, could bring drawings to a job site on an iPad, rather than on a big roll of paper, and make annotations on them.
The mobile version will be able to read any AutoCAD files, whether they were created on a PC or a Macintosh.
Any AutoCAD users out there anxious to take their work around on iOS?
[New York Times]
AutoCAD coming to iPhone, iPad is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
via Micgadget
Apple's September media event kicks off on Wednesday, September 1st at 10 a.m. Pacific. The annual event typically focuses on Apple's iPod line, though recent rumors have suggested that the Apple TV may finally be gettin...
Autodesk is expected to announce the release of AutoCAD for the Mac, iPad and iPhone platforms on Tuesday. This represents the return of AutoCAD to the Mac platform after nearly a two decade hiatus.
The return of AutoCAD to...
