HBO GO for iOS lets you play over 1400 programs from just about anywhere

HBO GO allows an HBO subscriber to stream over 1400 programs on a computer with a Flash-enabled browser, but just last week, a few days ahead of the scheduled May 2nd release, HBO released the HBO GO iOS app. This free universal app is pretty amazing.

If you are an HBO subscriber and your provider is among the favored ones (AT&T U-verse, Xfinity, DIRECTV, DISH Network, Suddenlink, Verizon FIOS or some flavors of Comcast), you now have the ability to stream a world of HBO content to your iPad, iPhone (3GS or iPhone 4) or iPod Touch (4th generation) away from your home, as long as a WiFi or 3G connection is available.

Given the size of the iPad screen and the design of the app, the experience of navigation and viewing is far more enjoyable on an iPad than other iOS devices when using HBO GO. On the iPad, the app works in both landscape and portrait mode, but on anything else navigation can only be done in portrait mode, while programming plays in landscape mode.

Continue reading HBO GO for iOS lets you play over 1400 programs from just about anywhere

HBO GO for iOS lets you play over 1400 programs from just about anywhere originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 03 May 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

HBO GO for iOS lets you play over 1400 programs from just about anywhere originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 03 May 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NMA explains Locationgate in animated form

Those wild and crazy guys from Taiwan's Next Media Animation have weighed in on the Locationgate blow-up, and as usual they haven't let the facts get in their way.

The video states that the location information is sent to Apple's servers for all sorts of nefarious purposes -- but of course, it was made before Apple's announcement today. As we posted earlier, the data is used to help your phone zero in on its own location as quickly as possible, and it may represent cell towers that could be 100 miles away. Take a peek and see what you think.

The video is a little bit NSFW, so think before you click.

Continue reading NMA explains Locationgate in animated form

NMA explains Locationgate in animated form originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

NMA explains Locationgate in animated form originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iOS Home Sharing bug found while using multiple Macs

iOS 4.3 brought us Home Sharing that allows you to share iTunes libraries on up to five authorized computers on the same network and have them show up on your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. But if you have more than one Mac with a library to share, you may be in the same boat I found myself in. I have three Macs, but Home Sharing would only bring up one library both my iPhone and iPad. Which library appeared was totally random and often changed. I could never get more than one library to show up at once, so I called Apple. I was told that they would sort it out and get back to me.

After two weeks with no response, I called again and went up three levels of senior tech support. During the call, they were easily able to replicate the problem and told me this was the first time they had heard of it. They said it was a definite bug in the iOS software, thanked me for finding it and said they would contact me regarding when it would be corrected.

Although the problem wasn't widely reported, I did find a few threads on the Apple support boards reporting similar issues. Although neither specifically addressed my particular problem, it did lead me to a workaround which solved everything. It turned out that the iTunes libraries that didn't show up on my iPhone or iPad had to be rebuilt. To accomplish this you need to quit out of iTunes and navigate to the Music Folder (/users/(your username)/Music) where you'll find your iTunes folder. Open it up and look for two files: iTunes Library.xml and iTunes Library.

Drag the iTunes Library.xml file to your desktop and move the iTunes Library file to the trash. Then run iTunes and from the menubar, navigate to: File->Library->Import Playlist. A dialog box will open. Choose the iTunes Library.xml file that's on your desktop.

Depending upon the size of your iTunes library, you may have to wait a long time. Reloading all the content doesn't take all that long, but the "Determining Song Volume" part does. An 8,000 or so item library took over an hour to complete. The last step, and one that's easy to forget, is to go to the Advanced menubar option and turn Home Sharing back on. Go to your iDevice, run the iPod app, and under "Shared" all your rebuilt libraries will show up and be usable.

This has affected people using both iOS 4.3 and 4.3.1. I just installed iOS 4.3.2 and everything still works fine. Apple assures me this bug will be squashed in an upcoming software revision. If you have more than one Mac using Home Sharing, let us know if this bug has bitten you or if you came out unscathed, and if you have PCs, tell us if this is a problem for you as well.

iOS Home Sharing bug found while using multiple Macs originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 15 Apr 2011 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iOS Home Sharing bug found while using multiple Macs originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 15 Apr 2011 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone use by teens at a record high and growing

Piper Jaffray has been polling US teens on their iPhone adoption rates twice a year and the current bi-annual report was released yesterday. In the survey, 4500 teens were asked about the iPhones that they already own, or plan to purchase over the next six months.

17% responded that they already own an iPhone and a full 37% told Piper Jaffray that they plan to buy one (or have their parents buy it for them) over the next six months. If this sample is any indication, the future looks great for Apple in the teen segment. I thought the six month time frame was telling, since even the most conservative of pundits believe the iPhone 5 will be out six months from now.

Apple still owns the MP3 market with 80% saying they own such a device, and out of that, 86% own some flavor of iPod with everyone else being left in the dust. This is not all hearts and flowers though, since in the poll taken last spring, 92% of teens owned an iPod, with total MP3 adoption of 86%. It may mean that more teens are using iPhones to listen to music, with over half reporting that they listen to music on their cell phone, the highest number reported for that stat. Though it's not specifically stated, I don't think it would be a stretch to say that more teens are listening to music on Apple devices than any other brands in the category.

In a question about tablet sales, 22% of teens say they already have one, with another 20% planning to buy one in the next six months. I think that we can all agree that the lion's share of those purchases will be iPads as well.

[via Apple 2.0]

iPhone use by teens at a record high and growing originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iPhone use by teens at a record high and growing originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Two 17-year old Irish students create Penguin Slider! for iOS

Penguin Slider is a game (US $1.99 for the iPad and $0.99 for the iPhone and iPod touch) created by Mark Thompson and Ashley Hunter, two 17 year old students at The Wallace High School, a 1200 student Co-educational Grammar school in Lisburn Northern Ireland, near Belfast. They are shown above with their proud past-principal Deborah O' Hare. Mark and Ashley were guided by their ICT teacher David Cleland, but did the work themselves both in and out of school over a three-month period. All proceeds from the game are going into the students' college funds. Mark hopes to be an architect, while Ashley (pictured on the right) would like to be an ICT teacher later in life. I had a chance to interview the teacher and his two students via email and everyone is very proud of the students' accomplishment.

The project was completely driven by the kids, who pulled skills from their ICT class as well as their Moving Image Arts and Art classes. The hardest part of coming up with the game was getting the idea, "Having a winning idea is the challenge," they said. "We just wish that we came up with Angry Birds." Doesn't everyone? Angry Birds and Cut the Rope both provided some inspiration for Penguin Slider -- they're both "puzzling, addictive and challenging games titles that want you coming back for more." The game took three months to from idea to completion and both versions were accepted by the App Store on the first submission which made them both quite happy. Ashley, who is a self-taught programmer in C#, Java, Objective C, VBA and HTML, took care of the coding, while Mark looked after the design and the artwork.

When done, the game caused quite a buzz at their school, as "all pupils bought the game and then compared scores and challenges." I was told that people of all ages have fun with the game, which starts out simply but gets quite difficult over the 36 levels, as you guide your penguin across ice-fields to his destination. Future versions of the title will add "additional levels, features and something very special."

A free version will be popping up in the App Store soon, so I'd advise you to take a look and if it sparks your fancy, help send two very bright Irish kids to college.

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Two 17-year old Irish students create Penguin Slider! for iOS originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 20 Mar 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Two 17-year old Irish students create Penguin Slider! for iOS originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 20 Mar 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Violet strikes again in the Mystery Next Door: an interactive iOS children’s book

Our friend Violet is back in the third original installment of this excellent modern series of interactive children's books from My Black Dog Books LLC. Violet and the Mystery Next Door (US$3.99) is a universal app that looks great in landscape mode of any iOS device. The book tells the story of Violet finding a mysterious new neighbor, just her age, and goes about finding more about him in the snow.

The Violet series has added more play value with each story, and this one adds branching. At two points in the story you are asked a yes or no question. Depending upon your answer, you are taken to a number of pages that follow that line, eventually ending up at the same place and continuing the story. This adds much more variety for small children since they can follow a number of branches, making the book shorter or longer. Eventually kids will take all the paths, causing them to spend more time with Violet and her world. This was an excellent design decision and really adds a lot to the book. Another good choice was to put a book icon in the upper left that lets you scroll to any page in the book.

In one branch, you are asked if the mysterious boy sees Violet sneaking up on him. Answering no causes the boy to go into his house, where you see that he has a lot of toys. Then he runs outside to make a snow angel and vanishes so Violet has to find him. When she does find him, they have an interactive snowball fight. If you tell the app the boy did see Violet, she chases him to his Clubhouse, where you'll find an empty snowman. You can build the snowman by moving his eyes, nose, buttons, and some other things onto it, providing even more play value. Eventually Violet and the mysterious boy wind up at the snowball fight, and the story takes off from there.

Continue reading Violet strikes again in the Mystery Next Door: an interactive iOS children's book

Violet strikes again in the Mystery Next Door: an interactive iOS children's book originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 13 Mar 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Violet strikes again in the Mystery Next Door: an interactive iOS children's book originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 13 Mar 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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JFK Historymaker: an iOS biography app for the 35th President

JFK Historymaker (US$4.99) from MultiEducator, Inc. is an extensive and comprehensive multimedia biography app for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. The amount of information is massive and includes 250 photos, 200 full text documents and 25 videos chronicling the life of John F. Kennedy, the United States' 35th president. In structure, it's very similar to an earlier app from the same company about the Civil War. Both apps have many positive attributes, but also quite a few nagging problems.

The design of the app lets you easily get to and keep track of information. With its larger screen, viewing it on an iPad is far more satisfying since, in landscape mode, there is always a menu on the left side of the screen that shows the categories and sub-categories of information. On the right of the screen is the content. The menu isn't there in portrait mode, but tapping on a menu button makes it appear. In the iPhone version, all you see is the menu; tapping on an item brings up the content, making things more difficult to navigate. The menu items contain distinctive icons that let you know if the item contains a video, photo, audio file or text. A list of Recent places is kept, and anything can be marked as a Favorite so that you can build your own list of interests. Everything but videos can be sent to email as well. Text and photos can be pinched or stretched, which really comes in handy on a small screen.

Organization is important in this type of app, since there are around 35 topic-oriented categories that range from JFK's early life to his assassination. Within each category is a sub-menu that lists the content. Tapping on an item brings up the text, photo, video or audio. It sounds complicated, but after a few minutes of using it, I could easily get anywhere quite quickly, and saving Recents and Favorites made it even easier. There is a button letting you go back to the last category; in the unlikely event you did get lost, there is a Contents button that will bring you back to the main menu. On the iPad there is also a search box to get you to the right place.

Categories are grouped well and break everything down to bite-sized topics, such as Civil Rights, Bay of Pigs, The Navy and so on. Many categories start with an overview then drill down to an in-depth discussion of the topic. Under that are all the supporting items. A great deal of the text is comprised of transcripts of speeches, minutes of meetings and scanned documents, including JFK's report card from the Canterbury School in 1930. (He wasn't a terrific student.) When looking at anything other than a video, there is an Info button on the iPad or a tab on the iPhone to get specific information on what is being viewed.

Continue reading JFK Historymaker: an iOS biography app for the 35th President

JFK Historymaker: an iOS biography app for the 35th President originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 04 Mar 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

JFK Historymaker: an iOS biography app for the 35th President originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 04 Mar 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Macworld Expo 2011: iFixit wields their magic in person

On stage at Macworld 2011, two of our friends from iFixit, Kyle Weins and Luke Soules, attempted to fix broken Apple stuff right in front of an audience. The session was moderated by Chris Breen, who asked the audience to bring up their broken gear in the hope that it could be fixed right on the spot.

iFixit, for those that don't know, is a firm that not only posts teardowns of popular Apple products, but strongly believes in empowering users with the ability to fix their own Apple equipment, and sells replacement parts and tool kits to allow people to do it. As Luke attempted repairs, Kyle described exactly what was going on. During the session, they unfortunately weren't successful at any repairs but they were working under some impossible conditions. People in the audience had a lot of different broken things, and iFixit was only able to bring in two boxes of parts, which limited them dramatically.

Continue reading Macworld Expo 2011: iFixit wields their magic in person

Macworld Expo 2011: iFixit wields their magic in person originally appeared on TUAW on Sat, 29 Jan 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Macworld Expo 2011: iFixit wields their magic in person originally appeared on TUAW on Sat, 29 Jan 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Macworld 2011: eyeSky brings a security system to iOS

Only a few things have impressed me on the show floor this year, but I ran into something that's pretty amazing. The only problem is, like most of these kinds of solutions, that it's also very expensive.

eyeSKY Technologies, an American distributor for a German security company named Mobotix Corp, has been showing its Hemispheric IP Video Door Station. What this thing does is provide a customizable security system for the well-heeled. The unit is a Unix-based computer with a flash card memory reader installed at the door that saves to an internal DVR and/or allows you to watch the camera stream live. A 32 or 64 GB flash card can be used that gives you a few days of storage. There is a 3.1 megapixel 360 degree camera that Scott Winslow, the CEO, told me about: "Mobotix uses a proprietary codec which is a cross between h.264 compression and motion JPEG. They call it an MXJPEG that allows these images to be transferred over the Internet." Typically this sort of transfer is a bandwidth killer, but using this codec you get a clear and fluid compressed stream.

When someone comes to your door and rings the doorbell, or gets near it using a customizable motion sensor (anything bigger than an errant dog will set it off), a number of things can happen. An email, text message, or when the universal app for iOS and just about every other mobile platform is released, a push notification will be sent to your device. It can be set to play a canned message saying that you're busy, or you can remotely talk to the person at the door using VOIP. An internal light turns on and it's also wired to the usual light over your door, as the DVR starts recording. This can be important if some shady character shows up and you want to show the video the police.

Continue reading Macworld 2011: eyeSky brings a security system to iOS

Macworld 2011: eyeSky brings a security system to iOS originally appeared on TUAW on Sat, 29 Jan 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Macworld 2011: eyeSky brings a security system to iOS originally appeared on TUAW on Sat, 29 Jan 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon discontinues ‘New Every Two’ policy in the wake of the iPhone

Without much fanfare, Verizon Wireless has discontinued "New Every Two," a long-running promotion where anyone completing a two-year contract was eligible for a new or discounted phone if they signed on for another two-year contract. As of January 16, a few weeks before pre-orders would be accepted for Verizon iPhones, Verizon has changed its policy.

Previously, anyone completing a contract would be eligible for either a new low-end phone or a credit ranging between US$30 and $100 toward the purchase of a new phone. Verizon has also changed its early termination policy, which once allowed customers with a two-year contract to bail after around 13 months. This has now been raised to 20 months. It's true that Apple mobile products rarely, if ever, enjoyed this perk on AT&T, but the timing of this policy change is a bit of a slap in the face for the 26 percent of current iPhone users expected to switch to Verizon once the iPhone becomes available. According to a ChangeWave survey, 41 percent of those potential switchers plan to switch to Verizon within the first three months of the iPhone 4's release on that network, and another 31 percent plan on switching within the first year.

If you are an existing Verizon Wireless customer at present, you will be grandfathered in to the "New Every Two" program, but it seems that the timing is calculated to make sure that any switchers from AT&T will not have the opportunity for any sort of discounted phone. This and the fact that the Verizon iPhone will not be able to use the internet while talking on the phone may dismay people who are intent on switching -- me included -- but I'm sure that Verizon Wireless considers this a minor inconvenience for customers looking forward to using an iPhone on a network that (theoretically) will offer better performance than AT&T.

We'll keep an eye out for other "gotchas" that Verizon may announce.

Verizon discontinues 'New Every Two' policy in the wake of the iPhone originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 17 Jan 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Verizon discontinues 'New Every Two' policy in the wake of the iPhone originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 17 Jan 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Quick thinking and an iPhone app saves a student’s life

During a team practice session last week, 17-year-old Xavier Jones, a basketball star playing for La Verne Lutheran in California collapsed on the court as his heart stopped beating. It was a lucky thing that his coach Eric Cooper had downloaded Phone Aid, a US$1.99 iPhone app about CPR just the day before. Using information found in the app, Cooper and assistant coach John Osorno were able to resuscitate Jones until paramedics arrived.

Jones had previously been diagnosed with hypertropic cardiomyopathy, a condition that thickens the heart wall. Jones has been advised to have a defibrillator implanted to re-start his heart in the event of another attack.

The six-foot-eight Jones is a star pupil holding a 4.0 average and has aspirations of playing for West Point, to pay for his tuition until he earns a doctorate. His intention is to eventually become a military doctor, so hopefully he'll pull through all right. You can see a video of the Phone Aid app by clicking on the link below.

[Via Business Insider]

Continue reading Quick thinking and an iPhone app saves a student's life

Quick thinking and an iPhone app saves a student's life originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Quick thinking and an iPhone app saves a student's life originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No Comment: Denmark’s Parliament members get free iPhones

It's true that the iPhone was previously banned from the floor of the Danish Folketing (Parliament) by its President Thor Pedersen. This was at least partially due to Member of Parliament Sophie Haestorp Andersen updating her Facebook page 59 times during a prolonged debate -- certainly more than is polite. Nevertheless, it was reported by Politiken.DK that last week all 179 Members of Parliament and an undisclosed number of the staff of 1,000 adminstrators have each been given a 16GB iPhone3GS.

Folketing press secretary Peter Krab announced that after testing a number of mobile phones, it was decided that the iPhone best met the requirements of the Folketing, so they went with it. No one is willing to say how much it cost the Danish people who are currently taxed at a progressive rate that maxes out at 51.9% (one of the highest rates in the world). At a retail cost of 5500 Kroner (approx US $1022.21) without a contract, the potential cost was not lost on the Danes, who according to comments on a similar story posted on mobilsiden.dk were less than amused at not only the public squandering of money, but that the Folketing went for an older model instead of the current iPhone 4.

To all of this, we say no comment.

No Comment: Denmark's Parliament members get free iPhones originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

No Comment: Denmark's Parliament members get free iPhones originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The silly season: No Comment on The iBottleopener

Now I've seen everything. To give lie to the meme that there's an app for that, perhaps a new and upcoming meme will be that there's a case for that.

The iBottleopener (US $19.99) is a case for an iPhone 3G or 3GS that has a bottle opener on the back. The video, that you've probably just seen, sets a new standard for cheesy adverts. The tagline of the ad campaign is "a party in your pocket." At least they didn't use "a party in your pants," which shows that the manufacturers do have a modicum of restraint.

I'm sure that The iBottleopener is the perfect back to school gift for any college student. And iPhone 4 owners won't be left out of the party, or the pants for that matter, since a case to fit the newest iPhone is on its way.

For adding a beery note to your iDevice lifestyle, this case deserves a hearty No Comment.

Thanks Zack (I think) for sending this in.

The silly season: No Comment on The iBottleopener originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The silly season: No Comment on The iBottleopener originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Digit-Eyes identfies everything for the blind without breaking the bank

Filed under: iPhone, App Review

The Digit-Eyes Audio Scanner and Labeler (US$29.95) from Digital Miracles is a remarkable Assistive Technology (AT) app for the iPhone and iPod touch geared to the blind and visually impaired community. What it does is fairly straightforward once you get the big idea, but the implications of its uses are fairly mind-boggling.

The app does three things. The first and simplest is, using the built in camera, scanning UPC and EAN codes found on most everything. Taking advantage of the VoiceOver accessibility capability built into the iPhone/IPod touch, it searches a database, brings back the results and reads it to you. There is also a button to search Google for more information. That's really no big deal since a variety of barcode scanning apps such as Red Laser can do roughly the same thing. You need an Internet connection for this since you are referencing the Digit-Eyes database.

The second thing it does, is more compelling. Once you register for a free account on their site, you can create text labels for printing on over 50 sizes of standard Avery labels. Select a type of label and a template page is displayed full of empty boxes representing labels. In each box, type in up to 100 characters of anything you want the label to say.

Once done, all your text is transformed into a .pdf page of QR (quick recognition) codes like the one shown in the upper right corner of this post. Print the page on the Avery label stock, and stick each on whatever you wanted the label to say. For example, if you typed in "Blueberries bought on July 31st", you would stick that corresponding label on a container of blueberries. Then using the Digit-Eyes app, scan the label on the container and the screen will display and a voice will read back "Digit-Eyes label read: Blueberries bought on July 31st". The database of what's behind each label is stored on your iPhone so you won't need an Internet connection to access the information.

Continue reading Digit-Eyes identfies everything for the blind without breaking the bank

Digit-Eyes identfies everything for the blind without breaking the bank originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Digit-Eyes identfies everything for the blind without breaking the bank originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video relay calling breakthrough uses FaceTime to help the deaf

Filed under: iPhone

Video relay calling breakthrough uses FaceTime to help the deaf originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Video relay calling breakthrough uses FaceTime to help the deaf originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Found Footage: Browsing speed compared on the iPhone 4 and 3GS

Filed under: Found Footage, iPhone

Thanks to Obama Pacman, here's a neat (audio muted) video comparison of web browsing speed over 3G on an iPhone 4 (shown on the left) and an iPhone 3GS (shown on the right).

The test was done using only mobile 3G with Wi-Fi turned off, and it shows a variety of sites using Safari in a head to head comparison. In almost all the tests, the iPhone 4 was much faster in Web browsing.

When you look under the hood at the iPhone 4's 3G performance, the improved browsing speed is not much of a surprise; CNET benchmarked the 4 against the 3G (not the 3GS) and found dramatic improvement across the board. Even against the more recent 3GS, the iPhone 4 delivered stronger download performance in Andy Ihnatko and John Gruber's tests.

The processor is obviously kicked up a notch as well. MacRumors, running benchmark tests, found the iPhone 4 processor to be 31% faster than the 3GS using Geekbench 2.1. The iPhone 4 came in with a 2.514 score across routine tests like memory allocation and view drawing, easily besting the 3GS at 2.298. Both were tested under iOS 4.

Benchmark tests are not really analogous to real life usage, of course, but they do give a basic indication for comparison purposes. So although it probably takes more muscle to paint the screen using the iPhone 4's high-resolution Retina Display, the faster A4 chip combined with the improved network throughput (when you've got all your bars, that is) seems more than up to the task.

Found Footage: Browsing speed compared on the iPhone 4 and 3GS originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Found Footage: Browsing speed compared on the iPhone 4 and 3GS originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Moodagent 2.0: A great app becomes awesome

Filed under: iPhone

A good number of us at TUAW love Syntonetic's Moodagent app; it creates instant playlists around a mood you select, fitting the music to your state of mind. We reviewed it in December, and caught up with Syntonetic's president Richard French at Macworld who told me that the app had created profiles for over 30 million songs and has had over 1 billion songs requested.

I gave him a laundry list of feature requests. He told me that most if not all of my suggestions would be incorporated into the app in the next 3-6 months. True to his word, and right on schedule, Moodagent 2.0 is out including all my requests and a lot more. Richard seems to be passionate about listening to his user base and determined to give them what they want.

Moodagent creates genius mixes from your iPhone/iPod touch or iPad music libraries (it requires iPhone OS 3.0 or better). The mood is based on 4 sliders representing emotions (Sensual, Tender, Happy, Angry) and a fifth for Tempo. You move the sliders up or down depending upon your mood and an instant mix is generated either automatically, or based upon a "seed" song of your choosing.

Since Macworld, the number of songs requested has risen to well over 2 billion and counting. Moodagent is now 2 apps, a free one that in version 2.0 is supported by advertising, and a paid app (US $4.99), with the only difference being that the paid version doesn't have any advertising and allows you to see one more song on the screen. That's it.

Read on to find out about all the changes.

Continue reading Moodagent 2.0: A great app becomes awesome

Moodagent 2.0: A great app becomes awesome originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Moodagent 2.0: A great app becomes awesome originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fast PDF brings iBooks functionality to PDF files

Filed under: iPhone, App Review

Continue reading Fast PDF brings iBooks functionality to PDF files

Fast PDF brings iBooks functionality to PDF files originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 09 Jun 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Fast PDF brings iBooks functionality to PDF files originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 09 Jun 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T nearly doubles iPhone early termination rates

Filed under: iPhone

AT&T announced yesterday a new "carrot and stick" pricing plan for early termination fees (ETF) of cellphone contracts, beginning with new contracts starting June 1st. The carrot is that for new two-year agreements or upgrades on what they refer to as "basic and quick messaging phones," the ETF will be reduced from $175 to $150 and be further reduced by $4 for each month of the contract. Well, that's very nice of them, but it probably doesn't affect anyone reading this post.

The stick is that for anyone using higher-end devices such as smartphones, including the iPhone, the ETF will nearly double from $175 to $325 and reduce by $10 for each month the contract ages. Now don't get scared, since this is only for new or upgrade contracts starting June 1st and doesn't apply to anyone with a current contract. That is, unless you're up for renewal and make the mistake of buying a new two-year contract.

Continue reading AT&T nearly doubles iPhone early termination rates

AT&T nearly doubles iPhone early termination rates originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 22 May 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AT&T nearly doubles iPhone early termination rates originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 22 May 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple’s patent for Concert Ticket+ could change your concert experience

Filed under: iPhone

Continue reading Apple's patent for Concert Ticket+ could change your concert experience

Apple's patent for Concert Ticket+ could change your concert experience originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple's patent for Concert Ticket+ could change your concert experience originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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