Ralph Lauren launches Make Your Own Rugby app

Filed under: Humor, Software, Odds and ends, Freeware, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review

During the existence of the iPhone, shopping has always been the domain of Safari. Browsing web-based stores could be extremely awkward, thanks to bitty drop-down menus and inadvertent "quick views" of garments that you can't seem to click out of. No longer, my fellow clotheshorses. Today, Ralph Lauren launched a unique iPhone application integrating social media with fashion design and online shopping, called Make Your Own Rugby [iTunes link].

The app centers around Ralph Lauren's Rugby line, launched in 2004, that is inspired by the Ivy League atmosphere circa 1940 and that targets preppy college students. The company describes Rugby as "preppy meets urban," though you will only qualify for street cred through a few light touches such as embroidered skulls. The fact that the skull is embroidered on a varsity sweater probably won't do you much good in the back alleys, but you can hope.

The MYO Rugby app allows the user to select a blank rugby shirt, polo, sweater, or jacket from a set of stock designs and customize it with as many distinguished crests, football-themed patches and letters as they want. You can use it to design and purchase clothing for yourself, or you can be a little more creative (and financially devil-may-care) and make designs to be displayed for browsing in the application or to share with friends.

Continue reading Ralph Lauren launches Make Your Own Rugby app

Ralph Lauren launches Make Your Own Rugby app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ralph Lauren launches Make Your Own Rugby app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not so fast, Chinese App Store!

Filed under: Apple Corporate, iPhone

Several news sources have been reporting that, at long last, the iPhone will finally make its way to China after Apple was able to strike a deal with China Unicom. However, according to CNW (English translation), the integration of the iPhone may not be so easy; in fact, the App Store, from which customers can buy supplementary applications for their iPhones, presents a rather large problem.

In China, telecommunications businesses must apply for a "value-added telecommunications business license," which certifies that the company is allowed to function in the country, and subjects it to any conditions or standards set by the government, which currently include a minimum registered capital of 10 million yuan and and established reputation to "provide users with credibility and capacity." So far, Apple has not taken any steps toward obtaining this operating license and thereby receiving the approval of the Chinese government, but not a big deal, right?

Unfortunately, the issue is not simple as a bit of paperwork. One stipulation of the license is that the government must be able to monitor the activity of the company. Apple's servers for the App Store are not in China, and so they do not fall under Chinese jurisdiction. If the servers cannot be monitored by the Chinese government to a degree of their own satisfaction, the terms of a telecommunications license will not be fulfilled.

This is not to say that the iPhone can't go to China at all -- if Apple removes the App Store option, their application is otherwise fine. There's an old wives' tale that a sort of Cro-Magnon iPhone once roamed the earth pre-App Store, and they weren't so bad. However, the availability of such a wide variety of apps is one of the main advantages of an iPhone as compared to other smart phones, and that would be a hard leg-up to lose for Apple. Combining this with the lack of Wi-Fi capability, Apple's grapple with China is likely far from over.

Thanks for the tip, David!

Not so fast, Chinese App Store! originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Not so fast, Chinese App Store! originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CourseSmart brings textbooks to an iPhone near you

Filed under: iPhone

The electronic textbooks pandemic, er, market, continues to spread its influence to handheld gadgets: PC World reports that CourseSmart, an e-textbook publisher, has created an iPhone application, eTextbooks for the iPhone [iTunes link], to make its entire 7,000+ title catalog available on your index card of a screen.

CourseSmart, which does not publish books itself, sells downloadable electronic versions of textbooks through its website that can also be viewed online once they're purchased. The free iPhone application just adds an extra point of access, and falls on the "internet" side of the fence-you can't actually download the whole textbook to your phone, so the experience may be a bit shoddy when you're trying to flip through the pages during an exam in a basement classroom.

The application is also continually advertised as allowing access to 7,000 titles, but it is important to note that you only have access to titles you have already paid for through their site (pedantic, I know, but I found myself wondering about this point after reading the announcement). A tiny LCD screen has little value for long library sessions, but the teeny version of your book should work in a pinch when you forget Gauss' Law right before your physics exam. Just hope that your classroom isn't underground.

[PC World via Engadget]

CourseSmart brings textbooks to an iPhone near you originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

CourseSmart brings textbooks to an iPhone near you originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The 88 song recorded on iPhone and released in iTunes Store

Filed under: Multimedia, Odds and ends, iPhone

Remember that time you were on tour with The B-52's and had a great idea for a song, but there was no recording equipment to be found? Oh wait, that was The 88. Well anyway, The 88 recently recorded their latest single with nothing but an iPhone and the Sonoma Wire Works Four Track application, according to The Loop.

The 88 recorded the song, Love is the Thing, with a few tricks: to make sure the drums didn't overpower the iPhone speaker, they covered the drums with a sheet and uses brushes instead of drumsticks to deaden the sound. Four Track records at 16 bits and 44.1 kHz and can make unlimited-length tracks. The band recorded 14 separate tracks, including various guitars, vocals, and effects, and combined them on a Mac for the final mix.

The band documented the process in more detail on their website. The song sounds great quality-wise and is now available in the iTunes Store for $0.99, and Four Track is in the App Store for $9.99.

The 88 song recorded on iPhone and released in iTunes Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The 88 song recorded on iPhone and released in iTunes Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Speed test comparing iPhone 3G, 3GS, and Palm Pre has surprising results

Filed under: iPhone

Gadget fans can fight endlessly about which device is faster than which, without resolution or relief. Fortunately for the weary, Medialets has found common ground between a few of the most popular smart phones to use as a racetrack.

According to Medialets, there is a common benchmarkable technology -- JavaScript execution in a WebKit-based browser -- that runs across four of the most popular phones: the iPhone 3G, the iPhone 3GS, the T-Mobile G1 with Android, and the Palm Pre. By running a benchmark test called SunSpider it is possible to obtain a rough speed comparison between all four devices.

The test was run on six different configurations: Safari on the 3G with iPhone OS v2.2.1, the 3G with OS v3.0, and the 3G S with OS v3.0; "Browser" on the T-Mobile G1 with Android OS v1.5; and "Web" on the Palm Pre with Web OS v.10.2, with a run of Safari 4.0.1 on a MacBook used as a baseline. Read on for the graph of the results.

Continue reading Speed test comparing iPhone 3G, 3GS, and Palm Pre has surprising results

Speed test comparing iPhone 3G, 3GS, and Palm Pre has surprising results originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Speed test comparing iPhone 3G, 3GS, and Palm Pre has surprising results originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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3G S application that Apple forgot to mention: dog whistle

Filed under: iPhone

Update: The plot thickens: the phone also emits the noise just after recording video, and for a much longer period of time. An apple discussion thread about the noise is here.

Are dogs unusually attentive to, or angry at, your new iPhone 3G S? The folks over at Boy Genius Report have an inkling as to what might be causing it: when a iPhone 3G S user sends a text message or locks the screen, the phone's speaker (the grille on the bottom left-hand side of the device) emits a high pitched sound for approximately three seconds. Many users corroborate the presence of the sound in the comments of the article.

This is an unusual response to these interactions, and further investigation has not yielded any other function that triggers the sound. To activate the sound with a lock, the phone must first be fully unlocked (waking the phone and putting it back to sleep will not trigger the sound). The phone does not emit the tone when the sound is switched off; likewise, when the volume is low, the sound is barely audible, if at all. To my 22-year old ears the sound is soft even with the volume all the way up, but noticeable once I became aware of it (and now a bit annoying).

Boy Genius Report estimates the sound to be in the 15 kHz range (here's a clip of a similar sound for reference), well within the iPhone's listed range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Your personal experience with the sound may vary, as higher pitched sounds become harder to hear as you age. Some users report hearing it loud and clear, while others must hold the speaker right up to their ear to hear it; some don't hear it at all. For this reason, it's hard to say whether the sound is endemic to the phone or an anomaly only occurring in certain devices.

A call to Apple's tech support revealed they had no previous knowledge of this issue. They directed me to do a hard reset (holding down the Home button + the Sleep button for ten seconds) but the sound remained. The representative speculated it was a hardware issue, and recommended I take the phone to my nearest Apple Store to get a replacement. Until then, if a rabid dog attacks me, all I have to do to confuse it is unlock and relock my iPhone (or, send a text message).

Can any of you hear this sound too?

3G S application that Apple forgot to mention: dog whistle originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

3G S application that Apple forgot to mention: dog whistle originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iLounge releases speed test videos of iPhone 3G S

Filed under: iPhone

Testing how speedy the iPhone 3G S "S for speed" really is has become de rigueur. iLounge has put together two videos comparing the facility of the 3G S to the 3G, last year's iteration of the iPhone, and to the second generation iPod touch.

The operator tests four applications: Edge, Peggle, Real Racing, and Star Defense. They are all graphically heavy games with initial load times, and likely where the difference will be most exaggerated. As is to be expected from a phone named for its swiftness, the 3G S outstrips both the 3G and the iPod touch by a fair margin, though the iPod touch counters the 3G S a bit more easily than the 3G does.

The videos don't offer any quantitative analysis, nor are they exact by any stretch of the imagination (you'll just have to trust the device operator to touch the application icons simultaneously), but it's comforting to know you that if dropped at least two bills, it was for a reason. Because the videos don't offer any guidance as to which device is where, I'll clue you in: in both videos, the 3G S is on the right.

Continue reading iLounge releases speed test videos of iPhone 3G S

iLounge releases speed test videos of iPhone 3G S originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 21 Jun 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iLounge releases speed test videos of iPhone 3G S originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 21 Jun 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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French and German carriers release iPhone pricing

Filed under: iPhone

One of France's providers, Orange, plans to charge €229 ($318US) for the 32GB version and €149 ($206US) for the 16GB with a one-year minimum contract. The least expensive contract will cost €39 and last two years. Orange plans to open its Champs-Elysées store one minute past midnight on the day of release, which means the French will have their iPhones in hand a full 14 hours before the U.S.

Orange is also releasing a new data plan that has four hours of calling and unlimited e-mail and text messages, 60 TV channels and Internet access through 3G and WiFi at €52 per month, an imporvement over previous plans with fewer TV channels and unlimited texting only at certain times of day. Tethering will also be available at €9.90 per month for 200MB of traffic, or €29.90 for "unlimited service" that will be throttled once the user exceeds 1GB of data.

Germany's T-Mobile, in a similar approach to O2 in the UK, is pricing the iPhone 3G S at €1 for both models, but to get that price the customer must agree to a two year contract at €119.95 per month. The most expensive configuration at the outset is the 32GB phone at €249.95, but it will allow for cheaper contracts.

Orange's competitors, SFR and Bouygues Telecom, have not yet released pricing information. SFR plans to release the 3G S on June 24th, and Bouygues has not yet announced a date.

[Via Macworld]

French and German carriers release iPhone pricing originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

French and German carriers release iPhone pricing originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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