Unofficial “Look Up in 1Password” bookmarklet for iOS 5

1Password is one of my most-used iOS apps, since I need it to log in to any site which requires a password.

Since the introduction of 1Password on iOS, Agile has provided a bookmarklet which will open 1Password and then search for the current domain. That helps the fact that 1Password can't be fully integrated with Safari on iOS. Unfortunately the bookmarklet stopped working in iOS 5.

According to the company's blog, Agile has discontinued the bookmarklet and won't be updating it. They are working on "something better coming up for the future." They went on to add that they want to make 1Password's own integrated browser "more usable as "a Safari replacement, or rather partial replacement."

While I will reserve judgment until I see it, I have serious reservations about this plan. I have used iCab Mobile on the iPad for over a year. iCab is a superior browser to Safari, but it is still difficult to use instead of Safari because iOS doesn't allow you to change the default browser. It's hard to imagine that 1Password's integrated browser will be better than iCab.

Fortunately, two 1Password users, Kevin Yank and Brendan Averett, have created a new Look Up in 1Password bookmarklet which is compatible with iOS 5. You can either copy that link, or use this:

javascript:window.location='onepassword://'+window.location.href.substring(window.location.href.indexOf('//')+2

I have successfully tested it on iOS 5 and 1Password Pro (with both Safari and iCab).

Unofficial "Look Up in 1Password" bookmarklet for iOS 5 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Unofficial "Look Up in 1Password" bookmarklet for iOS 5 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The iPhone wallet has a place for your stuff

After spending about 10 months without an iPhone, I stayed up late to order the iPhone 4S. Then the next question occurred to me: "What am I going to do for a case?"

I ordered 3 different cases for three different purposes: an AmazonBasics Silicone Case for everyday use, a Mophie Juice Pack Air Case/Rechargeable Battery for "really long day" use, and an iPhone Wallet from the folks at Waterfield Designs/SFBags.com.

Back in February, I bought a bag for my MacBook Air from Waterfield Designs, and I absolutely love it. I carry my 13" MacBook Air and my iPad in it every day. When I decided to get an iPhone, I knew I'd be heading to SFBags.com to see what they had to offer.

The iPhone Wallet

I love this idea. You carry a wallet, you carry an iPhone, why not carry one thing instead of two? For the past several years I've had a wallet which was used mostly to carry cards. If I have cash (which I often don't) I carry it in my pocket but not in my wallet. I have also been known to walk out of the house without either my iPhone or my wallet, so having one less thing to remember seemed like a good idea.

Let's start with what's good about the iPhone wallet. The first thing I noticed is that it looks and feels well made. This isn't a case that's going to start fraying around the edges after a few months. It also already feels "broken in" rather than stiff.

The window in the front will allow you to see the entire screen. I was pleasantly surprised to realize that I could actually use the touch-screen right through the plastic. Even the plastic window seems to be made of sturdy material that won't easily scratch and won't start to pull away from the edges. I assumed this plastic would be the "weakest link" in the case, but it seems just as good as the rest of it. The window is just a bit too small to let you see the iPhone's home button, but you should be able to judge where it is, and you can press it while it is still in the case.

You can fit the iPhone in the wallet while it is in the silicone case (which I assume is about the same size as Apple's "bumper" case). It will be snug, but it will fit. However, once you do that, you have added considerable "bulk" to the iPhone (relatively speaking) and putting it inside the wallet like that will not leave room for much else. If I have the silicone case on, I can only fit 3-5 cards in the wallet before it really starts to feel "too big." (I tried the wallet with the Mophie Juice Pack on it... I did, and it does not fit. The Juice Pack extends the length of the iPhone, and the wallet does not have enough extra room to accommodate that. Nor should it; I only mention this because I assume someone else might want to know.)

If you carry the iPhone "naked," then you can easily fit about 8-10 cards inside the wallet. There are two separate pockets which hold the cards securely.

One unexpected detail was a divider between the "iPhone" part of the wallet and the card section. It is mentioned in the wallet description and shown in the video (see below) but it is thicker than I expected it to be, about 2-3 credit-cards, and covered in "ultrasuede." At first I thought that was intended to protect credit cards from being demagnetized, but Richard tells me that isn't much of a concern these days.

I'm not sure the divider is 100% necessary, but I'm willing to bet that someone at Waterfield Designs had practical experience with another a case that led them to include it. My best guess is that it is probably intended to keep the cash or anything from the "money side" from falling out when you are taking the iPhone out of the wallet. It adds a bit of bulk, but it's not a huge deal. As Gary points out in the video, it does help keep the iPhone pressed up against the window

Two minor complaints...

There's one drawback to the iPhone wallet that should be fairly obvious: if it's in your pocket and you get a call, you have to get the wallet out of your pocket and then the iPhone out of the wallet before you can begin your conversation.

The only other minor complaint I have with the iPhone wallet is with the placement and direction of the zipper. If you think of the "window" side of the case as the "front" then the zipper runs from top-left (when zipped) to bottom-right (when unzipped, as shown above).

The headphone jack is on the top-left of the iPhone. Why is this combination a problem? Because if you are using headphones, you can't keep it in the wallet.

If they had made the wallet so that it zipped from "top-right" to "bottom-left" then you could have stuck the headphones in and threaded the wire out. However, that would have made it a little more awkward for people who are right-handed.

Conclusion

Let's be clear: this isn't a wallet for slipping into the back pocket of your "skinny jeans" before you go out clubbing. It has a certain heft to it. But before you decide whether or not it's "too big" take a minute and walk through this next section with me.

Take out your wallet, put your iPhone on the table, and stack up all of the cards that you carry around with you. Then imagine that wrapped in leather and lined with ultrasuede. Ok, now take a look at those cards again. How many of them do you really need in your wallet all of the time? I took most of my cards out of my wallet and put them into my old wallet and leave it in my office desk drawer or the glove compartment of my car. Library card? Sam's club? Prescription card? AAA? I never carry any store card if they can lookup my account by my phone number.

I was able to get my total down to 5 (and could probably get by with 3 for 95% of the time), which means that I could even leave the silicone case on and still have it not feel "too big." The biggest adjustment for me is that I am used to having my wallet in one pocket and phone in the other, but I love being able to feel it in my pocket and not have to think "Is that my phone or my wallet? Do I have both?" With this I know if I have one, I have the other.

If the idea of a combination wallet/iPhone case appeals to you, the Waterfield Designs iPhone wallet is a great option. A reasonable $41 ($39 + $2 US shipping) buys a great product that will most likely still look and work great even when you're thinking about the iPhone 6!

If you're on the fence, Waterfield Designs has a 90 second review video available too. It shows that you can text or email through the case, and even suggests you could talk on the phone while it was still in the case. I haven't tested that theory because the only people I know who talk into their wallets are crazy people.

The iPhone wallet has a place for your stuff originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 05 Nov 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The iPhone wallet has a place for your stuff originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 05 Nov 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple offering AppleCare+ for iPhone 4 and 4S preorders until November 14th

TUAW has received numerous emails from readers who are confused (with good reason!) about the status of AppleCare+. Good news for those who pre-ordered the iPhone 4S: If you did not get a chance to order AppleCare+ with your iPhone 4S, Apple is extending your eligibility.

When Apple announced AppleCare+ the company said it would only be available at the time of purchase. That is an important distinction from "AppleCare," which can be purchased anytime in the first year but does not include coverage for accidental damage. The reason for AppleCare+'s more restrictive requirement is clear: Apple wants to make sure your iPhone is not already damaged when you purchase AppleCare+.

Apple.com was flooded with pre-orders, so much so that the system was overwhelmed and many people were unable to place orders at all. Others were able to place orders, but weren't offered AppleCare+. Still others gave up and ordered directly through AT&T or Verizon's websites. Personally, after 90 minutes and at least a dozen failed attempts to buy an iPhone 4S through Apple.com and the Apple Store app, I finally gave up and ordered through Verizon's website. At that point (4:30 a.m. local time) and not having slept at all, I forgot all about AppleCare+.

A second chance for pre-orders

Almost immediately people started to write in to TUAW saying that AppleCare+ had not been offered and asking if we knew of any way that it could be added to an existing order. No definitive answer has been available, and various reports across the web showed that people were getting different answers. The most common were:

1. Cancel your pre-order and re-order with AppleCare+
2. Bring your unopened iPhone to your local Apple Store and tell them you want to purchase AppleCare+
3. Call Apple when you receive your iPhone and order AppleCare+.

The first two "solutions" have serious and significant drawbacks. No one wants to cancel their pre-order, because they'll lose their "place" in the pre-order line. All iPhone 4S models are currently showing a wait time of 1-2 weeks. That's not going to sit well with people who ordered in the middle of the night. Bringing your iPhone 4S to your local Apple Store is problematic for A couple reasons. First, your local Apple Store is going to be overwhelmed with customers wanting to buy iPhones, which is either going to mean that people who ordered online are going to have to wait in line or wait until the lines die down. Worse, there are several states with no Apple Stores at all, and even if there is an Apple Store it doesn't mean there's one close. The nearest Apple Store to me is a 2-hour drive, each way.

A few days ago we started getting reports that people who pre-ordered iPhones through Apple.com had received emails directly from Apple offering them AppleCare+ coverage if it was not offered when they ordered. The email (which is included at the end of this article) reiterated that "every iPhone comes with one year of hardware repair coverage through its limited warranty and up to 90 days of complimentary support." It went on to explain AppleCare+ as an extension of coverage "to two years from the original purchase date of your iPhone and adds up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a $49 service fee." So far so good, but the next part of the email is where things turned odd:

"We noticed you weren't given the opportunity to add AppleCare+ to your iPhone. If you would like to extend your coverage for only $99, please reply to this email."

This is not something that Apple has ever done before (at least, I've never heard of anything like it), and people were understandably worried that this might be an attempt at phishing. However, there were clear signs that these emails were legitimate. First, the subject line of the email message contained the actual order number of the user's iPhone 4S order. Second, the email address for replies was pointed to a legitimate email address with the domain apple.com (and not a phishing address like "app1e.com" or some such). Most phishing attempts want you to send information to a third-party website which has been made to look official, but isn't.

Earlier today I emailed Apple at that address,applestoreinfo@apple.com. I explained that I had ordered through Verizon's website (which never offered AppleCare+), and I'd heard others who hadn't been able to pre-order AppleCare+ had received this email.

Here is the full text of the reply I received:

AppleCare+ will be available for iPhone 4 (8GB) and iPhone 4S pre-order customers until November 14th. After you receive your new iPhone, please contact AppleCare (1-800-275-2273) to complete your purchase.

Sincerely,

Rachel Apple Inc.

There are no guarantees in life, but it seems that Apple recognizes that this did not go as smoothly as planned, so it's making an exception for pre-orders. I assume that Apple will start enforcing the "only available at the time of sale" restriction after the initial pre-orders are fulfilled.

When my iPhone 4S arrives, I plan to call AppleCare immediately and explain my situation again. My hope and expectation is that Apple will be ready to process my AppleCare+ order immediately over the phone, but just in case, I figure it won't hurt to wait to open it until I have someone on the phone to walk me through the process immediately. I will post a followup as soon as my iPhone 4S arrives. (Aside to Verizon: your order confirmation page and email both said that my iPhone would arrive on October 14th, not "ship on" October 14th. I do hope you plan to meet that deadline.)

Here's the full text of the email from Apple that several readers sent in:

Dear Apple Customer,

Thank you for your recent iPhone purchase at the Apple Online Store.

We would like to let you know that every iPhone comes with one year of hardware repair coverage through its limited warranty and up to 90 days of complimentary support. AppleCare+ for iPhone extends your coverage to two years from the original purchase date of your iPhone and adds up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a $49 service fee.

We noticed you weren't given the opportunity to add AppleCare+ to your iPhone. If you would like to extend your coverage for only $99, please reply to this email.

Thank you for shopping with Apple.

Sincerely,

Apple Online Store Team

Apple offering AppleCare+ for iPhone 4 and 4S preorders until November 14th originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 11 Oct 2011 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple offering AppleCare+ for iPhone 4 and 4S preorders until November 14th originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 11 Oct 2011 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T misses another iPhone opportunity

This week, Apple announced that for the first time you will be able to get a free iPhone with a 2-year contract.

The "catch"? The iPhone is the 3GS (not the 4 or 4s).

Now if you are someone who regularly reads tech websites and who thinks it's perfectly logical to stand in line for hours to get the newest iPhone (or to get up in the middle of the night to order one online), then the iPhone 3GS might seem like a relic to you. But for the millions of cell phone users who don't have smartphones, the iPhone 3GS would be a great purchase.

The hardware is excellent, and it supports AT&T's 3G network. No, it doesn't do "4G" -- but for most Americans, we don't live anywhere with 4G coverage anyway; people looking for a free smartphone probably aren't going to care about 4G, if they even know what it is. Subjectively speaking, my wife actually prefers the 3GS because she says the curved back fits better in her hand.

The iPhone 3GS has a bigger App Store than Android or Windows Phone alternatives. When Apple releases iOS 5 in a few days, the 3GS users will be able to upgrade to it, free of charge.

All told, it's a great phone, and in the USA it is only available on AT&T because Verizon didn't have the iPhone until version 4. It is now available for free (with the same 2 year contract you're going to be stuck with anywhere).

You might think that AT&T would want to grab this opportunity to let people know about this great offer. You might think that, assuming that you haven't watched AT&T bungle nearly every opportunity the iPhone has given it.

The latest example arrived today: an email from AT&T with the Subject: "Huge online selections of free phones from AT&T!" Because I am, at heart, an optimist, I thought "Oh, they are going to start promoting the free iPhone deal."

I was wrong.

Inside the email, there are 3 phones shown (see screenshot above). The first two have tiny, hardware keyboards, and the third (in the background) shows something that looks like an iPhone knockoff but with rounded sides.

No picture of the iPhone 3GS.

No mention of the iPhone 3GS.

They mention "Apple" as one of the manufacturers, but they don't use the name "iPhone" at all. The best-known smartphone brand in the world, and AT&T doesn't even mention it. They can make a "free iPhone" offer that no one else in the USA can make, and they didn't make it.

If you wanted to be extremely generous, maybe you would want to say that the email had a limited amount of space for the image, so they couldn't fit the iPhone into the picture. But even if you click through to the "shop now and save" link, the resulting page doesn't show the iPhone 3GS at all.

Frankly, I don't know if AT&T is purposefully downplaying the iPhone, or whether they want to push people towards the iPhone 4 or 4S if they want "an iPhone" or if they just plain blew an opportunity to promote an advantage that they have over Verizon and Sprint. But I know which one I'd go with if I had to guess.

AT&T misses another iPhone opportunity originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 09 Oct 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AT&T misses another iPhone opportunity originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 09 Oct 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Magic Catalog brings free books to your iBooks or Kindle collection

Most people know that there is a free Kindle app for iOS which will let you read books from Amazon's Kindle store. Apple also offers a free iBooks app. Fewer people have heard of Project Gutenberg, where you can download over 30,000 free books, and fewer still have heard of the Magic Catalog from FreeKindleBooks.org.

The "Magic Catalog" isn't where Harry Potter shops, it's a "book" containing nothing except links to other books. You can use the search feature of your favorite e-book reader to look for books; with a few taps, you can have the new book on your iOS device without ever needing to go through iTunes and without spending a penny.

The easy way

If you already have the iBooks or Kindle apps installed, simply go to Magic Catalog on your iOS device and tap the appropriate link for whichever app you are using (MOBI Edition for Kindle, EPUB Edition for iBooks).

The slightly harder way

If for some reason you'd prefer to download the books to your computer, then transfer them to your iOS device (or if you already have .epub, .mobi, or other e-books on your computer), you can do so using iTunes. If you have the Kindle app installed, it will appear until the "File Sharing" section in the "apps" tab, and you can add books there.

You may notice that iBooks does not appear in the "File Sharing" section. To transfer books to iBooks, simply drag to the "Library" section of your iTunes library (see this page at Apple.com for more details).

Kindle and iBooks: When you are on the webpage to download the book, you will not see the name of the book, but instead something like "pg23.mobi" followed by the size, and a button to open the book in the Kindle app (or iBooks if you have the epub version). Once you open the book in the appropriate application, it will show the correct name.

Continue reading Magic Catalog brings free books to your iBooks or Kindle collection

Magic Catalog brings free books to your iBooks or Kindle collection originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Magic Catalog brings free books to your iBooks or Kindle collection originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iCab Mobile for iOS is like a pro version of Safari

When I first used Safari on my iPhone, I was blown away by how much better it was than any other mobile browser, but since then, Apple hasn't done much with it. A recent Safari update brought significant speed increases, but there are many other limitations which finally led me to try something else, namely iCab Mobile. Is improving your web browsing experience on the iPad or iPhone/iPod touch worth $2?

Before you object to paying for a web browser, let me remind you of a few Apple apps and their alternatives.

On iOS, Apple gave you a Notes app, but many people prefer Simplenote or other text editors or note programs, because they offer more features. If you subscribe to MobileMe, you have a 20 GB iDisk, but anyone who has tried Dropbox knows that it works much better. Apple gave you iCal, but BusyCal is a lot better. Apple gave you TextEdit in OS X, but BBEdit and TextMate are much better. You can read RSS feeds in Mail or Safari, but do you?

Likewise, Apple gave us Safari, which is "good," but iCab offers many features which make it "great."

Continue reading iCab Mobile for iOS is like a pro version of Safari

iCab Mobile for iOS is like a pro version of Safari originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iCab Mobile for iOS is like a pro version of Safari originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netgear CEO apologizes for part of anti-Apple rant

According to Macgasm, Netgear CEO Patrick Lo has clarified his earlier statement about Steve Jobs's ego. On Monday, Lo made reference to Steve Jobs "going away" soon, which most commentators (including us) found to be a fairly unsavory remark given the Apple CEO's health issues. "I deeply regret the choice of words I used in relation to business decisions Apple must grapple with in the future in relation to open vs. closed systems, which have been construed by some to be references to Steve Jobs' health and which was never my intention," Lo said. "I sincerely apologize that what I said was interpreted this way, and I wish Steve only the very best."

Lo did not, however, take back the other questionable things he said, including the idea that Apple including Flash was in support of "openness." Flash is a proprietary format, and Apple has done more to push the adoption of the far-more-open H.264 codec. Lo characterized Apple's blocking of Flash from iOS as nothing but ego, but research done by Ars Technica proves that having Flash installed reduces a Mac's battery life by 33% -- we can only guess how an iPhone or iPad would fare. Steve Jobs also reported that Flash was responsible for a large number of all reported crashes in Safari, and security experts -- again, not Apple itself -- said when dealing with browser security the main thing is to not install Flash.

There are many reasons Apple doesn't like Flash, and the company has backed those reasons up with facts and data. Many organizations have independently verified those reasons, so "ego" has nothing to do with keeping Flash away from iOS. More than a year after it became clear the iPad wouldn't support Flash, the fact that "ego" is still being thrown around as the primary motivating factor in the Flash vs. iOS debate says a lot more about Apple's detractors, Lo included, than it does about Apple itself.

Netgear CEO apologizes for part of anti-Apple rant originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 23:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Netgear CEO apologizes for part of anti-Apple rant originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 23:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wall Street Journal confirms iPhone coming to Verizon

Rumors of the iPhone coming to Verizon are almost as old as the iPhone itself, and earlier today we heard about a Verizon event next week, cleverly timed for 11 AM on 1/11/11.

That set off speculation across the Internet, but we paid special attention to when the Wall Street Journal confirmed the rumor, citing "a person familiar with the matter." The WSJ has a solid history and isn't prone to confirming without good sources, so it seems a sure thing at this point.

While Apple has not been involved in this announcement (the WSJ says Apple declined to comment), many people have noted that Apple has generally not been involved in the "second carrier" in any country getting the iPhone.

I will be glad to see the iPhone on Verizon for the same reason that I am glad The Beatles are finally on iTunes: so that people can stop talking about it and speculating about when it is going to happen. That said, I've paid enough attention to Verizon's customer service reputation that I'm not convinced that I would switch. Competition is almost always a benefit to customers, so I am hoping that the arrival of the iPhone on Verizon will give customers more choice about calling plans, data plans, and (heck, let me dream) more reasonable SMS pricing. Fingers crossed?

Wall Street Journal confirms iPhone coming to Verizon originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wall Street Journal confirms iPhone coming to Verizon originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Countdown for iOS gives a highly customizable view of deadlines

I've used a countdown widget in OS X for ages, but recently wanted a program which could keep track of several events to count down to, and something specifically for my iPad, not just for my Mac.

I found a universal app simply called Countdown, and figured that for $1 I'd give it a try. It turned out to be exactly what I was looking for, plus a little more.

Interface

The concept is fairly simple, and so is the interface. You are asked to name the event and provide a date (time is optional). That's all you have to tell it, but there's more available. You can also choose the "Units" of measurement. This was one of the crucial features for me; If I have a deadline for a project coming up on March 1, I want to see how many days I have to work on it. By default, Countdown will show you year, month, day, hour, and minute, so that my March 1st deadline is shown as "2 months, 13 days" but if I want to see just the number of days left, I can uncheck all of the "Units" except "Day" and it will show "75 days remaining.

If I wanted to show just weekdays (53 remaining) or just weekend days (22 remaining), I can do that as well. On the other hand, I am on a bicentennial committee, and that deadline isn't until March of 2015, so I don't need to see "days" for that. Instead of I have years and months listed until it gets closer. Finally, I'm going to Chicago in April, and I don't need to see how many days that is, but I would like to know how many weeks (16!). You can group events by folder if you want (if you do, however, there is no way to see all of your events at once), and you can set them to "auto-sort," where they will organize themselves chronologically.

Continue reading Countdown for iOS gives a highly customizable view of deadlines

Countdown for iOS gives a highly customizable view of deadlines originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Countdown for iOS gives a highly customizable view of deadlines originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Three iOS apps to automatically track your location

My friend Mike wrote to ask:

"A year or so ago you posted updates about your location during a trip from New England to home. Do you remember which tracking tool or website you used? A friend of mine is planning to bike across the country next summer and something like that would make his wife feel a lot better."

First I'm going to answer the question that he asked, and then I'm going to give some "better" answers.

Each year on Christmas Eve, I drive overnight for about 12 hours to my mother's house. I wanted to give people some way to track my progress so that they'd know where I was without me having to call (which would either wake up my family and/or require me to talk on the phone while driving) or text (even worse while driving).

Last year I used GPS Tracker by InstaMapper, which is completely free; you can setup a website that will show people your progress. It's a great solution, and the app worked really well, but there were just a few shortcomings. First, due to limitations of iOS at the time, the app had to be running in the foreground for it to work. Also, the process of setting it up was a little convoluted. If you look at the reviews on iTunes, you'll also see a whole lot of iPod touch users who don't seem to understand that location detection works much better on iPhones and 3G iPads than it does on the iPod touch.

Sadly, the app has not been updated since November 2008, meaning that there is no iOS 4 compatibility to use the background API for GPS updates, and there's also no iPad app.

The good news is that there are at least two other options, and both are free. Click "Read More" to check them out.

Continue reading Three iOS apps to automatically track your location

Three iOS apps to automatically track your location originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Three iOS apps to automatically track your location originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cut the Rope holiday version now available

Chillingo has joined the holiday fun with Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift edition. The holiday version of Cut the Rope is a universal app, separate from the regular app, and offered free of charge.

If you have somehow missed Cut the Rope, do yourself a favor and check it out. In addition to the holiday edition, there are both free "lite" versions and regular versions ($1 for the iPhone version, $2 for the HD iPad version). It's a lot of fun and offers plenty of challenges. "Om Nom" might be the cutest cartoon character since Little Cindy Lou Who (who was no more than two).

I keep hoping for a holiday version of Plants vs Zombies, but I guess I'll have to hope for "maybe next year."

[via Touch Arcade]

Cut the Rope holiday version now available originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Cut the Rope holiday version now available originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VLC 1.1.0 now available for all iOS devices

VLC, the free versatile video player beloved across the world and multiple operating systems, has been updated and is now available for the iPod touch and iPhone. The iPad app was released about a month ago but it is now a universal binary which runs on the iPhone 4, 3GS and "recent iPod touches."

Videos can be added to your iOS device through iTunes. While VLC won't play every video format, it plays a lot of them without requiring specific encoding for the iOS device you are on.

The update also makes it possible to delete files within the application, meaning that you no longer have to use iTunes. The release notes also say that the decoding will be faster and more extensions are recognized.

Grab it for free from the App Store.

VLC 1.1.0 now available for all iOS devices originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

VLC 1.1.0 now available for all iOS devices originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MarkdownMail 2.0 now a universal iOS app, fixes a few bugs

MarkdownMail lets you send email that has been formatted using John Gruber's Markdown syntax. The newest version has been updated to be a universal app for iPad or iPhone/iPod touch devices. It's US$4 for new users, or a free upgrade for existing users. The new version also fixes some bugs and updates to the latest TextExpander touch SDK.

The iPhone version looked good, but knew that I wouldn't want to use it scaled up on my iPad. As soon as I saw it was available for iPad, I grabbed it. The price has increased from $2 to $4, but hey, sometimes being an early adopter pays off. Those who jumped right in showed the developer there was interest in the app, and that interest helped support the development of the iPad version.

I like the fact that it will preserve the Markdown formatting when sending (rather than converting it to HTML before sending). It also has a nice preview button to show how the text will look like when converted. Despite the name, you don't have to email the file when done. There is an option to have MarkdownMail convert your text to HTML and copy it to the clipboard right from the app.

I'm still putting it through the paces, but let me know if you have any questions. So far it looks very handy for folks who like to write Markdown on the go.

MarkdownMail 2.0 now a universal iOS app, fixes a few bugs originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MarkdownMail 2.0 now a universal iOS app, fixes a few bugs originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GV Mobile+ for Google Voice on the iPhone released

GV Mobile + has returned to the App Store. If you live in the USA and therefore have access to Google Voice, grab a copy of GV Mobile + for $3 and celebrate the return of arguably the best Google Voice app for the iPhone. (We also reported that another app by the name of GV Connect is available for the same price. The biggest initial difference is that GV Mobile has been well-known and developed for several years.)

The original app, GV Mobile, had to be renamed to GV Mobile + because Sean Kovacs, the developer, deleted it once it was removed from the App Store, and wasn't able to reclaim the name. That means that even if you owned GV Mobile you'll still have to pay for GV Mobile +.

Yes, that's frustrating, but let's keep things in perspective: it's $3, not a kidney. Deleting the app was a very understandable thing to do when Apple removed all Google Voice apps from the App Store and gave absolutely no indication that they would ever be allowed to return. Click Read More for additional information about GV Mobile+.

Note: we received the iTunes link directly from the developer, but it usually takes some time before it is available to all iTunes users. To quote Han Solo, "it's not my fault."

Continue reading GV Mobile+ for Google Voice on the iPhone released

GV Mobile+ for Google Voice on the iPhone released originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

GV Mobile+ for Google Voice on the iPhone released originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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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Official Twitter app updated for iPad

A few months ago, Twitter announced that they had acquired Tweetie and the web (I refuse to use the word "blogosphere" because it is a stupid word) exploded with predictions that they had effectively killed off the market for 3rd party Twitter applications by offering a free alternative.

With the release of Twitter as a universal app that now includes iPad support (read the official announcement here) I feel confident to say that the reports of the death of 3rd party Twitter applications has been greatly exaggerated.

The UI for Twitter for iPad is, without question, unlike any other Twitter application that we've seen. Opinions around the TUAW offices on whether this difference is "awesome" or "an abomination." I definitely range towards the latter end of the scale, and judging by most of the comments of people that I follow on Twitter, the initial reaction is definitely one of "too busy" and "over designed."

This is in sharp contrast to Twitterrific which just released a major update for the iPad and iPhone where they made dramatic simplifications to the app, while retaining the most important features for the most users. (Craig Hockenberry talked about those changes here.)

Continue reading Official Twitter app updated for iPad

Official Twitter app updated for iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Official Twitter app updated for iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Don’t get too excited about the App Store’s Try Before You Buy

This oversight has been my biggest complaint about the App Store since it opened, and I consider it a big reason for the low pricing on most iOS apps. Almost every piece of Mac software lets you download it and try it before you buy it. Some are feature limited, but most are time-limited, which means that you are given full access to the app for a limited amount of time. If you download it and love it, you can buy it. But if you download it and hate it, you can simply delete it.

Continue reading Don't get too excited about the App Store's Try Before You Buy

Don't get too excited about the App Store's Try Before You Buy originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Don't get too excited about the App Store's Try Before You Buy originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Why Jailbreak?

Filed under: iPhone, Jailbreak/pwnage, iPad, iOS

I'm curious: why do people jailbreak?

Ever since the Library of Congress ruled in favor of jailbreaking although it may void your warranty and now there is a browser-based jailbreak, I've started to pay attention to jailbreaking, at least a little.

My friend Jeff Barszcz posted some of his reasons, and I found some of them really compelling.

The last time I really paid attention was before Apple opened the App Store, and I'm guessing a lot has changed since then.

Here is what I know about jailbreaking: 1) there's a program that lets you run any program in the background, 2) there's an app to turn your iPhone into a Wi-Fi hotspot, 3) there's a program that gives you quick access to turn things like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Data on and off quickly, as well as adjust settings, 4) there's an app that lets you access your iOS device via SSH and you ought to change the default passwords if you turn on SSH.

Let me be clear: I'm asking for specific examples of applications and uses that people find with jailbreaking which aren't available otherwise. I'm less interested in philosophical reasons involving the words such as "freedom" and "open" although I understand those are compelling reasons for some people.

So, dear readers, tell me: what jailbreak apps you think are "must haves" that might convince someone to become a jailbreaker?

Image via FHKE on Flickr.

Why Jailbreak? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Why Jailbreak? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Why Jailbreak?

Filed under: iPhone, Jailbreak/pwnage, iPad, iOS

I'm curious: why do people jailbreak?

Ever since the Library of Congress ruled in favor of jailbreaking although it may void your warranty and now there is a browser-based jailbreak, I've started to pay attention to jailbreaking, at least a little.

My friend Jeff Barszcz posted some of his reasons, and I found some of them really compelling.

The last time I really paid attention was before Apple opened the App Store, and I'm guessing a lot has changed since then.

Here is what I know about jailbreaking: 1) there's a program that lets you run any program in the background, 2) there's an app to turn your iPhone into a Wi-Fi hotspot, 3) there's a program that gives you quick access to turn things like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Data on and off quickly, as well as adjust settings, 4) there's an app that lets you access your iOS device via SSH and you ought to change the default passwords if you turn on SSH.

Let me be clear: I'm asking for specific examples of applications and uses that people find with jailbreaking which aren't available otherwise. I'm less interested in philosophical reasons involving the words such as "freedom" and "open" although I understand those are compelling reasons for some people.

So, dear readers, tell me: what jailbreak apps you think are "must haves" that might convince someone to become a jailbreaker?

Image via FHKE on Flickr.

Why Jailbreak? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Why Jailbreak? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Viewfinder for iPad review and interview with Fraser Speirs

Filed under: iPhone, iPad

Most Mac users know Fraser Speirs as the developer of FlickrExport which allows you to easily export pictures from iPhoto or Aperture to Flickr.

Most iPhone users probably know him from Darkslide (formerly "Exposure"), a Flickr client that he developed for the iPhone. Back in September of 2008, he posted that he would not develop additional applications for the App Store because of the way that apps had been both rejected without explanation or (even worse) accepted and then removed without warning.

That changed in May of 2010 when he announced that he was "Back in" to iOS development, due to the iPad. The end result of that decision is Viewfinder for iPad, a "photo search and download" app for iPad.

Fraser's story has interested me from the beginning because (at least in my experience) it's fairly rare in life that someone makes such a public, definitive statement and then later reverses it. While I suspect the "knee jerk" reaction to hearing his story is negative, I find it compelling because of his honesty. Adults can (and do) change their minds. Some might see it as a weakness (anyone remember the 2004 US presidential election and the term "waffle"?) but I see it as a sign of maturity.

I've been using Viewfinder for a few weeks (Fraser, like many developers, provided a review code for that purpose), but wanted to do more than just a review of the app itself, but also talk to him about this story. He agreed to an email interview, which was the most practical way of doing it since he is in Scotland and I'm in the USA.

Read on for more...

Continue reading Viewfinder for iPad review and interview with Fraser Speirs

Viewfinder for iPad review and interview with Fraser Speirs originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Viewfinder for iPad review and interview with Fraser Speirs originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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