Facebook Friend Search Functionality On Ping Removed After Facebook Blocks API Access

iPhone live 115: Whoosh! Another 200!

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We’re all up in Apple’s 2010 Special Music event – new iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod touch with Retina Display and FaceTime, Apple TV with iOS… but no apps! Along with iOS 4.1 and iOS 4.2. We’re streaming like crazy. This is iPhone live!

Credits

Thanks to the TiPb iPhone accessory 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

iPhone live 115: Whoosh! Another 200! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Epic’s Mike Capps talks about Epic Citadel and the future of iOS gaming

Gamasutra cornered Epic Games' Mike Capps (he of the very impressive Epic Citadel demo yesterday at the Apple special event), and Capps confirms that what you see running on your iPhone is the real deal -- Unreal Engine 3, with all of the bells and whistles that it has on the major HD consoles. The actual game that Project Sword will become is being designed by Chair (which is the same group that did the popular Shadow Complex game for Xbox 360), and we'll see the full project soon.

Capps also confirms that UE 3 needs at least an iPhone 3GS to run, but he says that in terms of hardware, Apple's devices are right where they need to be. High-resolution textures are an issue (you can't install a 15gb game on an 16gb portable device), but the memory and speed are actually there, says Capps. "You've got 16 gigs of flash memory," he says, "which is way better, faster memory than what most people have generally on a home PC. So that stuff works really well."

The biggest issue holding handheld gaming back is larger environments, but game developers are getting better and better at designing worlds that render quickly and well to all kinds of platforms. And Capps looks into the future, and sees even more possibilities for Apple and their product lines. "It doesn't take a whole lot of leaps of faith to say, 'Right now, I can display from my iPad to my Apple TV on a big screen TV.' How far away are we from 'that's my game console, and it's displaying wirelessly to my television set?' It's not far away."

That's kind of a trippy thought -- that Apple had to finally move away from the Mac to earn a larger foothold in gaming. It's very heartening, as a gamer and an Apple fan, to hear Capps as excited as he is about the possibilities for iOS and the App Store.

[via Joystiq[

Epic's Mike Capps talks about Epic Citadel and the future of iOS gaming originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Epic's Mike Capps talks about Epic Citadel and the future of iOS gaming originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: Hurricane tracking apps for iPhone and iPad

You can keep an eye on hurricanes from your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad with the help of an assortment of App Store offerings. But which app should you choose for your storm watch? Jeff Merron rates five contenders.


iPhone - App Store - IPod Touch - IPad - Apple

Apple: No Software Update To Bring New Features To Old Apple TV

OpenFeint announces PlayTime, real-time multiplayer with voice chat for iOS and Android

Game Center is almost out in consumers' hands, but that hasn't stopped the folks at OpenFeint from pushing forward on their unofficial social network for gamers. PlayTime is a newly-announced feature of the third-party social networking software that will allow players on both iOS and Android to play in real-time with each other, and even use voice chat while doing that. OpenFeint is splitting its multiplayer services into two different paths: "Casual" games will use highscores to offer up multiplayer and even co-op challenges, while "Core" games will actually run real-time multiplayer, in conjunction with a system from a company called Exit Games.

Sounds interesting -- the new features are being tested by developers right now, and will be available in OpenFeint sometime later on this year. Game Center will definitely make a big splash in iPhone gaming when it gets released next week, but OpenFeint is still planning on sticking around and innovating where even Apple hasn't yet dared to go. iOS game players will be glad to have both around when all is said and done.

OpenFeint announces PlayTime, real-time multiplayer with voice chat for iOS and Android originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

OpenFeint announces PlayTime, real-time multiplayer with voice chat for iOS and Android originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple-Facebook Controversy Over Ping Rooted in API Usage, Feature May Return

Earlier today, we reported on confusion surrounding the brief appearance of Facebook Connect functionality in iTunes 10's "Ping" social networking feature that initially appeared to allow users to find friends by checking their Facebook conta...

Twitterrific 3 for the iPad: change, tough love, and better

Here's a good sign that you've made some pretty significant changes to your application: three different people from the company write three different posts about the new design. That's what the folks from Iconfactory did about Twitterrific 3. David Lanham wrote about Redesigning Twitterrific, not just the timeline, but also the settings, contacts, filtering, and more to "optimize the user experience." Gedeon Maheux wrote about Twitterrific's Tough Love, and realizing that Twitterrific had gotten out of hand, along with the steps they took to make it better rather than just pile more on top of it. Craig Hockenberry wrote about not designing for early adopters, whose expectations may limit making something better by expecting you to simply build on what you had before.

I was an early adopter of Twitterrific on the Mac, and still compare all other applications to Twitterrific when I am using them. When I first heard about the changes in Twitterrific 3, I was sure I was going to hate them. After having used it for awhile, I still think Twitterrific is my favorite iPad app. I've been using it since I bought my iPad back in mid-June, and although I've tried some of the others, I keep coming back to Twitterrific. Many others have just started using Twitterrific 3 for the iPhone or iPad because Twitter turned off "basic authorization" logins. All Twitter applications now must use Twitter's (severely, thoroughly flawed) OAuth system for logging in.

Read on for my thoughts on the app, as well as what TUAW heard directly from Iconfactory about the future of the app.

Continue reading Twitterrific 3 for the iPad: change, tough love, and better

Twitterrific 3 for the iPad: change, tough love, and better originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Twitterrific 3 for the iPad: change, tough love, and better originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WSJ: iPhone 4 to be offered by Vodafone and O2 in Germany as T-Mobile loses exclusivity

The last bastion of Applephone exclusivity in Europe is about to be toppled, according to the Wall Street Journal, as Deutsche Telekom is said to be preparing for the loss of its iPhone 4 monopoly ahead of this year's holiday shopping season. Citing separate sources familiar with the matter, this report suggests that Vodafone and O2's German arms are earnestly reaching out for Apple's latest and greatest, and while distribution deals haven't yet been finalized, negotiations have reached an "advanced stage." Much as with O2's UK exclusivity deal, Apple looks to have opted against extending its arrangement with Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile in an effort to reach the widest possible consumer base. Makes a lot of sense to us, now how about doing the same back home?

WSJ: iPhone 4 to be offered by Vodafone and O2 in Germany as T-Mobile loses exclusivity originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple Confirms No Software Update for Original Apple TV

Included in a nice overview of Apple's new iPods and Apple TV from Ars Technica is confirmation that users of Apple's earlier Apple TV models will not be receiving a software upgrade to enable Netflix streaming and other software features of ...

Old Apple TV won’t be getting new Apple TV features

Ars Technica has confirmed that the new Apple TV software and features won’t be coming to the old Apple TV.

We confirmed with an Apple spokesperson that the maximum HD resolution of the Apple TV is 720p, consistent with recent rumors. Additionally, there will be no software update to bring the new features to older Apple TVs. Older Apple TVs will continue to work as they have been working up to this point, and they will continue to be able to purchase movies and TV shows even though the new Apple TV is rental-only.

Though it stands to reason, given that the old Apple TV runs a variation of OS X (Tiger?) on Intel and the new one runs a variation of iOS (4.x?) on Apple A4, and Apple probably doesn’t want to devote any resources to making a distinct update to a now dead system, those expecting TV rentals and Netflix support will no doubt be unhappy.

However, those who preferred to be able to sync and buy their media on-device won’t be shedding any tears, or trying to avoid any updates that take those features away.

Which side are you on? And does this change anyone’s mind about updating?

[Ars]

Old Apple TV won’t be getting new Apple TV features is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

iOS 4.1 with HDR built-in comes as a shock to HDR app developers

If I had to make a list of the top ten features I thought would be included in the iOS 4.1 update, HDR photography would not have been on it. HDR really came out of the blue, and one developer told me he was 'shocked' to hear that the feature was included in the next iPhone update.

Let's back up a minute. HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography is a method where pictures are taken at different exposures and combined into one image. Since the iPhone and most monitors can't really display the full light to dark range of the image, the HDR software tone maps the picture, so you see details in the shadows and don't blow out the highlights, such as a bright sky. HDR images are controversial. Some people hate them, and think it produces garish pictures. Others love the flexibility to shoot pictures in challenging lighting conditions.

I like to use HDR at times when shooting landscapes, and recently documented a photo trek where I was able to use HDR apps on the iPhone.

Continue reading iOS 4.1 with HDR built-in comes as a shock to HDR app developers

iOS 4.1 with HDR built-in comes as a shock to HDR app developers originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iOS 4.1 with HDR built-in comes as a shock to HDR app developers originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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See what iPhone users are listening to with SongStumblr

SongStumblr by Frimby uses your iPhone's 3G and Bluetooth abilities to let you see what others are listening to around the world as well as around the block, as well as share your own musical tastes.


iPhone - Bluetooth - Smartphone - handheld - 3G

Apple Seeds Mac OS X 10.6.5 Build 10H535 to Developers

Apple continues its trend of weekly releases of Mac OS X 10.6.5 developer builds today by pushing Build 10H535 to registered developers. The release marks an increment of four builds since last week's re...

Spammers Already Taking Aim at Apple’s Ping

It's been less than 24 hours since Apple released iTunes 10 and its integrated social networking functionality, Ping, but spammers and scammers are already starting to spread their messages via the service. The first major instance appears t...

Twitter For iPad Available On The App Store; Get It Now As It’s Awesome

Mophie Juice Pack Air: coming to double your iPhone 4 battery next week

So, you've been waiting for a Mophie Juice Pack for your iPhone 4? You're not alone. Well, we have word that it'll be available as soon as next week for $79. We even managed to get hands on with a prototype that looked and felt pretty tight considering the fact that it doubles the iPhone's non-removable battery. The Juice Pack Air features pass-through USB charging and sync with iTunes, an integrated 4 LED charge status, and a standby switch the shuts off the juice turning the appendage into a rather attractive (albeit, heavy with a 1500mAh capacity battery), soft-grip case. So now you know.

Mophie Juice Pack Air: coming to double your iPhone 4 battery next week originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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mophie juice pack air for iPhone 4 preview

Dieter’s at the IFA show in Berlin, Germany and he’s scored us a first look at mophie’s upcoming juice pack air for iPhone 4. It’s got soft touch paint and they claim ZERO signal degredation because the entire PCB board is on the bottom, so there are no electronics around the antenna. It’s shipping to Apple now and will be available in “Nationwide retailers” next week for $79.95.

Mophie Juice Pack air for iPhone 4 comes in black, white, red, and green and “virtually doubles your power”. 6 hours talk time, 5 hours internet 3G, and 9 hours on wifi courtesy of a 1500mAh battery. It also sports pass-through USB for power, iTunes sync, and can be switched off when not in use.

What Dieter saw was prototype hardware, but felt very thin and good to him, especially the soft touch finish.

Also being shown off was the juice pack power station, which sports 2.1 Amp output so it can power an iPad. This one rates 3600 mAh and has a USB cable included to charge it. And the Marketplace, which we saw an early version of back at Macworld, is now ramped up with Intuit GoPayment and is available now for $179.95 plus GoPayment service.

Hands-on photos after the break!

mophie juice pack air for iPhone 4 preview is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Apple’s iOS beats Android 6 to 1 on the Web

Apple's iOS mobile operating system is now the third-most popular platform on the Internet, with a share nearly six times larger than Android's, according to Web measurement company Net Applications.


Apple - Android - Mobile operating system - handheld - IPhone

Review: HoneyDo for iPhone

This slick, easy-to-use task manager makes navigating chores a breeze. The ability to share tasks and assign them to other people helps HoneyDo stand out from the crowd.


iPhone 3G - iPhone - Smartphones - Handhelds - Wallpapers and Themes