Digitimes: LTE iPhone in 2012, Apple lowering iPhone 4 orders

Digitimes reports that Apple has lowered its iPhone 4 shipment volume for calendar Q2 2011 in anticipation of slower sales as the company prepares to unveil a new iPhone in September. Digitimes says supply chain makers have confirmed Apple has lowered iPhone 4 shipments from 20 million units down to 17.5-18 million units. Of those, 16 million units will be the GSM version, while 1.5-2 million units will be the CDMA version.

In a second report, Digitimes says Apple is unlikely to unveil an LTE-equipped iPhone before 2012. This isn’t really new; there have been numerous reports that LTE chipsets aren’t currently made small enough to fit in the iPhone’s form factor, and even if they were, they aren’t available in the quantity Apple would need to satiate consumer demand for the next iPhone.

Digitimes: LTE iPhone in 2012, Apple lowering iPhone 4 orders originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 18 May 2011 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple rumored to unveil new MacBook Airs in June or July

Digitimes reports that Apple will introduce new MacBook Airs this June or July. The site states that Apple will introduce new 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch MacBook Air models that will include Thunderbolt ports and Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors.

This latest Digitimes report substantiates rumors from CNET of a June Sandy Bridge MacBook Air update that first surfaced as far back as February. In late April, a Concord Securities analyst stated that Apple is set to begin mass production on new models of the MacBook Air in May, which would coincide with a June launch.

Since the MacBook Air was revamped last October, it’s quickly become one of Apple’s hottest-selling laptops, and one would expect that Apple would want to have new models on the market to entice buyers during the back-to-school buying season, which typically begins in late June/early July.

Apple rumored to unveil new MacBook Airs in June or July originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 18 May 2011 00:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Apple Store is down (Update: back up, no changes)

Apple’s online store is currently down. We’re not aware of any upcoming product launches, but the store going down in the middle of the week does usually mean it’s not simple overnight maintenance. We’ll keep our eye on the situation and let you know if anything new shows up when the store returns.

Update: The store is back up, but there are no obvious changes. If you see anything we missed, let us know in the comments.

The Apple Store is down (Update: back up, no changes) originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 18 May 2011 00:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How to build a freemium mobile game: Go cute or go home

Matt Tubergen heads Recharge Studios, a wholly owned subsidiary of W3i that invests in the development and marketing/distribution of freemium mobile games.  W3i is a market leader in distributing and monetizing apps with over 500 million apps distributed for W3i clients. Recharge Studios is actively seeking new investment opportunities, if you have a great idea for a game contact us.

Let’s shift gears this week and talk a little bit about freemium content. It’s safe to say that in a world of copycat engines and concepts it’s hard to stand out. Sure, you can create new themes built on a proven game engine, but if the content doesn’t resonate with the users it simply won’t work.

There is a movement in the freemium game world that we call the “Cuteness” movement. No longer does targeting a specific demographic guarantee a success in a specific category. Today’s freemium games target a broad base of users and leave no stone unturned. Many top social game companies found success in this broad target by going cute.

Going cute with your freemium game will ensure that you can attract young and old alike. You might not necessarily “appeal” to a core gamer… but c’mon, who doesn’t love cute penguins or playful dolphins?

And freemium/casual games have turned into just that “casual”….

Gamers are better off to have a relaxing enjoyable experience with a bunch of cute elf-like, hobbit-like creatures vs. hard core death ridden monsters. Don’t believe me that going “cute” works?

Take a look at some of the top grossing freemium titles as of 5/17/11, every single icon screams “cute”.

So what does this mean? Unless you’re going after a specific demographic with a unique genre of content, stick to cute!

Make it as freakin’ cute as possible.

Do your best to get as many 45 year old males to go goo-goo and gah-gah over your content and your app is sure to be a hit.

Do you have a question about freemium gaming or a topic you’d like us to explore? Let us know in the comments or catch us on twitter @rechargestudios or @w3i.

Freemium Game Blogs are published in partnership with the series on W3i’s corporate blog.

Tutorial: Using The Director Class For Easy Scene Switching In The Corona SDK

I have previously posted about sample code such as the Angry Birds style example, that uses an open source director for scene switching in the Corona SDK. For those unfamiliar with the Director class what it does is act as a scene manager allowing you to easily switch between scenes in the Corona SDK.

This is an extremely useful class, but has changed somewhat since that example, and recently I found a much more up to date example covering the usage of the Director class. It is pretty easy to use, but if you have been trying to work through that old code you might run into some hangups.

You can find a quick tutorial from Omid Ahourai here:
Director (Scene Manager)

Here’s the screencast on the director class from Rafael Hernandez:

There’s also this screencast from Dr. Rafael Hernandez that explains things well:

You can download the director class from Ricard Rauber here:
http://developer.anscamobile.com/code/director-class-10

A very useful tutorial and class fort those looking to implement scene switchin in their Corona SDK apps.

©2011 iPhone, iOS 4, iPad SDK Development Tutorial and Programming Tips. All Rights Reserved.

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Tutorial: iOS Push Notification Services For Beginners

I’ve posted about push notifications a couple of times on this site such in the tutorial on how to create a push notification server, and a post about the open source APNS-PHP server.

What I hadn’t posted yet was a tutorial demonstrating how to implement the push notification services within your app’s for complete push notification beginners.

Fortunately, Matthijs  Hollejmans has created an excellent step-by-step guide showing exactly how to implement push notifications into your apps.

The tutorial starts right from the beginning going through what to place in your push notifications, creating the certificates, creating a simple app for which the push notifications will be generated, and how to set up a push notification server locally so that you can test everything out.

You can find the tutorial here:

Apple Push Notification Services Tutorial: Part 1/2
Apple Push Notification Services Tutorial: Part 2/2

If you’ve wanted to set up push notifications and have been looking for a tutorial that takes you right from the start through to working push notifications then this is it!

©2011 iPhone, iOS 4, iPad SDK Development Tutorial and Programming Tips. All Rights Reserved.

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ImageLoad from Server in iPhone

In this application we will see how to image fetch from the server and place it to the view. I will show you the easiest way for image fetch from server. So let see how it will work.

Step 1: Open the Xcode, Create a new project using Window base application. Give the application “imageLoad”.

Step 2: Xcode automatically creates the directory structure and adds essential frameworks to it. You can explore the directory structure to check out the content of the directory.

Step 3: We need to add one ViewController class in the project. So select the project -> New File -> Cocoa Touch ->ViewController class and give the class name “ImageLoadFromServer”.

Step 4: Open the ImageLoadAppDelegate.h file, we need to define ImageLoadFromServer class and create an instance of ImageLoadFromServer class. So make the following changes in the file.

#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>
@class ImageLoadFromServer;

@interface ImageLoadAppDelegate : NSObject  {
ImageLoadFromServer *imageLoadFromServer;
}
@property (nonatomic, retain) IBOutlet UIWindow *window;
@property (nonatomic, retain) IBOutlet ImageLoadFromServer *imageLoadFromServer;

@end

Step 5: Now make the following changes in the ImageLoadAppDelegate.m file.

#import "ImageLoadAppDelegate.h"
#import "ImageLoadFromServer.h"

@implementation ImageLoadAppDelegate

@synthesize window=_window;
@synthesize imageLoadFromServer;

(BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions
{

imageLoadFromServer = [[ImageLoadFromServer alloc] init];
[_window addSubview:imageLoadFromServer.view];
[self.window makeKeyAndVisible];
return YES;
}

(void)applicationWillResignActive:(UIApplication *)application
{

}

(void)applicationDidEnterBackground:(UIApplication *)application
{

}

(void)applicationWillEnterForeground:(UIApplication *)application
{

}

(void)applicationDidBecomeActive:(UIApplication *)application
{

}

(void)applicationWillTerminate:(UIApplication *)application
{

}

(void)dealloc
{
[_window release];
[super dealloc];
}

@end

Step 6:  Open the ImageLoadFromServer.h file and create an instance of UIImageView. So make the following changes in the file:

#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>

@interface ImageLoadFromServer : UIViewController {

UIImageView *imageLoad;

}
@property (nonatomic, retain) IBOutlet UIImageView *imageLoad;
@end

Step 7: In the ImageLoadFromServer.m file make the following changes:

#import "ImageLoadFromServer.h"
@implementation ImageLoadFromServer
@synthesize imageLoad;

(id)initWithNibName:(NSString *)nibNameOrNil bundle:(NSBundle *)nibBundleOrNil
{
self = [super initWithNibName:nibNameOrNil bundle:nibBundleOrNil];
if (self) {

}

return self;
}

(void)dealloc
{
[imageLoad release];
[super dealloc];
}

(void)didReceiveMemoryWarning
{
[super didReceiveMemoryWarning];
}

#pragma mark – View lifecycle

(void)viewDidLoad
{
[super viewDidLoad];

NSURL *imageurl = [NSURL URLWithString:@"http://www.chakrainteractive.com/mob/ImageUpoad/pic2-2.png"];
NSData *imagedata = [[NSData alloc]initWithContentsOfURL:imageurl];
UIImage *image = [UIImage imageWithData: imagedata];
imageLoad = [[UIImageView alloc] initWithImage: image];

[self.view addSubview:imageLoad];

}

(void)viewDidUnload
{
[super viewDidUnload];
}

(BOOL)shouldAutorotateToInterfaceOrientation:(UIInterfaceOrientation)interfaceOrientation
{
return (interfaceOrientation == UIInterfaceOrientationPortrait);
}

@end

Step 8: Now compile and run the application in the Simulator.

You can Download SourceCode from here ImageLoad

10 tips for creating high quality WordPress themes

Respect HTML and CSS standards

This statement may sound pretty obvious, but actually many publicly available themes don’t pass W3C HTML or CSS validation. When building a theme, it is important to respect HTML and CSS standards so your code will be clean and (mostly) cross-browser compatible. A valid HTML/CSS theme is also a proof of quality development.

HTML, XHTML and HTML5 code can be checked on theW3C website. The W3C also have a free tool to check your CSS coding, althought with the rise of CSS3 and its vendor prefixes, it is pretty hard to obtain a 100% valid stylesheet.

Respect WordPress coding standards

Like most other open-source projects, WordPress have its own list of coding standards. This meticulous coding style convention is here to keep harmony among the thousands of themes and plugins availables and maintain a consistent style so the code can become clean and easy to read at a glance.

For example, the coding convention forbids to use PHP shorthand tag:

<? ... ?>
<?=$var?>

Instead, use full PHP tags:

<?php $var; ?>

The complete coding standard guide can be read on WordPress codex. On a personnal note, I really think that WordPress should recommend coding CSS in “blocks” instead of “lines”.

Don’t forget wp_head()

Within the <head> and </head> tags of most WordPress themes, you’ll find a function named wp_head(). This function may look useless to newcommers, but it is extremely important: Many plugins use this function to “hook” code in WordPress header. Without this function within your <head> and </head> tags, lots of plugins will not be able to work.

A similar function named wp_footer(); can be found in the footer.php file of most themes. Don’t forget it as well, it is used by plugins to hook code in your theme footer. For example, analytics.

Be careful when including hacks

Do you know my blog WPRecipes? In case you don’t, it is a place where I share WordPress hacks and code snippets. The site is quite popular among the community and I’m happy that many people seems to enjoy my hacks.

But last year, Gravity Forms developer Carl Hancock let me know that one of my hacks (Named Disable WordPress automatic formatting on posts using a shortcode) was intensively used on themes sold at Themeforest, and caused conflicts with Gravity Forms.

Of course, I felt sorry for the countless hours Carl and his team wasted in support due to the conflict between their plugin, and my hack. This is why hacks may be used on your own theme, or on a client theme, but you should not include hacks in a theme you’re going to distribute, excepted if you know exactly what you’re doing.

Start from something solid

In order to save time, most developers prefer starting coding from an existing theme. For example, I’ve used Cris Coyier’s Blank Theme as the starting point of most of the themes I’ve created in 2010 and 2011.

But don’t start from a finished plugin. I’ve seen themes coded over WooThemes and then re-released. Let me tell you, the code was an absolute nightmare!

If you’re looking for a rock solid basis to create your theme, give a go to Constellation: It is a “blank” HTML5/CSS3 theme, which the current CatsWhoCode theme derives from.

Use localized strings

When coding a WordPress theme or plugin, you have to think about those that doesn’t speak English. Using the PHP language, two very useful functions are available for you to create a translatable theme or plugin:

The first is the function _e(), which prints on screen the desired text, translated into the user language:

_e("Text to translate", "textdomain");

The second is __() wich is basically the same than _e(), but returns the text:

function say_something() {
    return __("Text to translate", "textdomain");
}

By using those functions, you make your work translatable in any language, which is a very great thing for people that blog in another language than English. Don’t forget to read my guide about making multilingual WordPress themes if you want to know more about the topic.

Prefix your php functions

It may looks like a detail at first, but prefixing your php functions is always a good practice. Why? Because most people would name their functions using common names such as display_stuff(). And if a theme developer named one of his functions with the same name that a function from a plugin the end user is using… Boom, the site is broken, and the user is not happy.

A bad example is to name your functions like this:

function display_stuff($stuff){
...
}

Instead, add a prefix such as your initials:

function cwc_display_stuff($stuff){
...
}

It do not require a big effort and it can avoid big problems for the non tech-savvy user.

Test content formating

A blog is used to display content. Then, why so many available themes do not comes with a style for HTML lists or blockquotes? To make sure users will be happy with your theme, you should make sure that all HTML elements looks good.

To do so, you can use a plugin named WP Dummy Content, which allow you to create posts, pages, categories and more so you can check how good you theme looks when it’s full of content.

Another tool to have in your tool box is the WP Lorem Ipsum Post Pack, a XML file that contains categories, sub-categories, pages, sub-pages, 30 test posts, tags, thumbnails via custom fields, and a “Testing the Elements” post so that you can test html elements, such as <h2>, <blockquote>, so you can test your theme in depth. Importing this XML is easy: Login to your dashboard, navigate to Tools → Import, and select the file.

Make sure your theme supports the latests functions

Do you think your theme is ready for public distribution? If yes, you should always make a final checking using the Theme-Check plugin, which is an easy way to test your theme and make sure it’s up to spec with the latest theme review standards.

Theme Check can be installed as any other plugins, and will let you know about any coding mistakes such as the use of a deprecated function.

Release your theme as GPL

With the success of WordPress, people created companies and started to sell “premium” themes. Most of them with released under the terms of the GPL licence, but several theme vendors chose to go with a licence that may, in their opinion, give them a better protection against piracy.

Though, WordPress team stated numerous times that themes have to be GPL compliant.

Although I am not a GPL fanatic, most WordPress users are, and trying to release a theme that is not GPL compliant will make you a pariah, and might even get you a lawsuit. So, don’t do something stupid: Respect WordPress licence, or choose another platform to work on.

Any other useful tip? Feel free to share it in a comment!

Otterbox Defender Series: A Working Man’s iPhone Case

Are you prone to swing a hammer, climb a mountain or get covered in motor oil? Have you been in the market for an iPhone case that can withstand your active lifestyle?

The Otterbox iPhone 4 Defender Series Case could be just what you’re looking for. Read on to see what we think of it and whether or not you should pick one up.

The iPhone 4: Too Expensive to Break

Before purchasing an iPhone, I usually just went with whatever free phone my carrier happened to offering. As a result, I didn’t feel bad at all about abusing it. My Motorola Razr had a battery door that was secured via duct tape due to the frequency at which it would slip from my grip and hit the pavement.

A 32GB iPhone 4 cost $300. To make the situation even more precarious, 95% of the outer surface area of the phone is glass! This is a whole new ball game. Suddenly, I treat my phone like gold. I’m not sure what Apple’s coverage plan is for dropping your phone on concrete and trying to fix it with duct tape, but I’ll bet it’s not great.

I have it easy though, I’m not exactly riding on bulldozers or crawling under houses all day, I have a desk job. What about construction foreman, plumbers, rock climbers, mountain bikers, and anyone else who has a job or hobby that can be fairly physical? Is the iPhone simply too much of a liability for these people to carry around? Is it even possible to build a case that is strong enough to withstand daily beatings from these types of activities without completely ruining the smooth as butter iPhone experience? The folks at Otterbox think so.

The Defender Series iPhone Case

The Otterbox brand needs no introduction. These guys make some of the most tough and rugged cases around for all types of handsets. At $49.95, the Defender Series sits at the top of their line of iPhone cases.

screenshot

The Defender Series iPhone Case

So what makes this thing so special? Is it really that tough? How easy is it to operate the iPhone once the case is on? We’ll tackle these questions below.

Construction

When I pulled the Defender case out of its box I was quite surprised to see how elaborate the thing is. Most cases have only one or two separate pieces, this has four! True to the Otterbox name, the Defender Case really does feel like more of a protective box that you place your phone into than a simple sleeve.

screenshot

The Defender Series Case comes in four pieces

In the shot above, the two pieces at the bottom comprise the “box”, which is then surrounded by the silicone sleeve and optionally placed into the super thick clip-on holder. The basic box has all of the appropriate holes for the buttons, cameras, etc., the silicone sleeve covers the buttons completely but contains flaps for the ports and the the holder’s clip clicks from spot to spot with a 360 degree spin range.

Thoughts on Construction

There are pros and cons to the elaborate box setup. First and most important is the fact that this is one solid case. In fact, all put together it’s easily the most sturdy case I’ve ever held. It’s like wrapping your phone in kevlar, you start to feel confident that it could take a bullet (hyperbole, don’t shoot your phone).

The downside is that if you’re the kind of person who wants to be able to get the phone in and out of the case quickly, you’re out of luck here. It’s not exactly rocket science, but it could easily take a full minute to get your phone in and out until you get used to how the case works. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just keep in mind that you might not be thrilled with this case if you think you’ll want to remove it more than once or twice per day.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the silicone sleeve is a serious attractor of dust, lint, etc. I have the black version so it really shows. If you’re concerned about this you may want to grab one of the lighter colors (there are several options available).

Durability

Once you get everything put together and pick up the completed product for the first time, it’s obvious that this case was meticulously designed for shock absorbency. The box completely surrounds your phone and covers every inch, including the screen, with thick, durable materials. Then, to top it off, it’s all wrapped in the rubber ring we mentioned above.

screenshot

The case all put together

Thoughts on Durability

Without hesitation I would say that it’s hard to imagine a tougher case than this one. If you’re going into a situation where you are genuinely concerned about dropping your phone or having it constantly hit up against something, you’ll be able to put your concern to rest as soon as you place your phone inside of this case for the first time. You can immediately tell that it’s going to be well protected.

So how tough is it? On YouTube you can find reviewers tossing it off of twenty-three story buildings and undergoing all other sorts of crazy tests. For me, the every day, realistic situation is more important. Will your phone come out unscathed if you drop it on concrete? Absolutely, even if you happen to be a roofer and drop it from a story up it should survive largely undamaged. Twenty-three stories? I make no promises, but you’ll definitely fare better than you would with most other cases.

Phone Use

This was one of the most important areas for me. I generally hate cases and let my phone go naked most of the time. I don’t like adding bulk and I especially don’t like screen protectors, which reduce visibility, add annoying friction and reduce the sensitivity of the touchscreen.

The Defender Series was a real test because it does have a screen cover and it adds a good bit of bulk. I knew if it could win me over in this area I would recommend it to anyone.

screenshot

The Defender Series Case comes in four pieces

Thoughts on Phone Use

One thing that continues to amaze me every time I pick up my phone in this case is how perfectly they nailed the screen cover. Though it adds a tiny bit of extra glare, there’s almost no extra friction and the touchscreen seems as sensitive as ever. After a few hours with the case on, I forget the screen cover is even there.

The rest of the operability performs fairly high as well. The volume and home buttons are completely uninhibited by the case, though the sleep button takes a good bit more effort to press than normal. The ports are covered by flaps, these tend to pop out on a particularly hard impact and can be a little bit fussy to get back in, especially the one on the bottom. However, it’s a small price to pay for the extra protection that the rubber sleeve offers.

As for bulk, this case definitely adds some, but in this particular case it’s comforting because you know that bulk is protecting your phone from extreme situations. Surprisingly enough, even with the case on (sans the clip plate), the phone still slides in and out of my front pocket fairly well. The pocket bulk is unsightly but if you’re the kind of person who needs a case this tough, I daresay you wouldn’t care. Further, there’s always the belt clip option, which seems to be quite popular among manual labor workers anyway.

Conclusion

To sum up, there are very few negative things that I can think of to say about the Otterbox Defender Series case. It takes a minute to put on, attracts dust and will make your pocket bulge. But honestly, in light of the fact that you’re making your phone so much more durable than it would be with just about any other case, these are non-issues.

At just under fifty bucks, the Defender Series isn’t cheap, but neither is that iPhone 4 you’re carrying around and if you want to protect it, you’ll have to swallow the cost. Further, when you consider that Apple charges thirty dollars for one silly little outer-edge bumper, paying fifty for this seriously heavy duty case seems like a steal.

Before using this case I hadn’t had much experience with Otterbox products, but I’m officially convinced. I wouldn’t recommend anything else to someone who is prone to drop or otherwise abuse their iPhone.

Zootool: The Web’s Best Bookmarking Tool Finally Arrives on the iPhone

Zootool is an outstanding free online bookmarking service packed full of features and crammed into a stunning interface. Until recently, Zootool has only existed as a web app, but it has finally made the jump to iOS.

Today we’ll briefly introduce you to what the service is all about and walk you through the functionality of the new iPhone app. Can Zootool thrive on the small screen? Read on to find out!

What Is Zootool?

screenshot

Zootool on the Web

Zootool is everything Delicious should’ve turned into had it not been spinning its wheels for the last several years. It’s a visually-driven bookmarking service that allows you to save links, images, videos and more. Each time you save something, a thumbnail is generated for your library, which makes for much easier and more enjoyable browsing than what you get from Delicious.

There’s an important social aspect as well. You can follow any other user to see what they’re saving and watch the public stream to see what the network as a whole is doing. Overall, it’s a really addicting experience that takes a basic idea and executes it masterfully.

Zootool for iPhone: Getting Started

When you first open Zootool, you’ll be brought to the login screen with the iconic Zootool rhino. You can create an account right here if you don’t already have one. Sign up is simple, free and only takes a few seconds.

screenshot

Login and home screens

From here you’ll be brought to the main screen where you essentially have five options: Public Timeline, Your Zoo, People, Your Profile and New Bookmark. We’ll look at each option in-depth below.

Public Timeline

The public timeline link takes you to a grid of thumbnails like the one on the left below. Each thumbnail represents a link that someone has saved recently. You can choose from three different ways to filter these results: Everyone, Following and Popular.

I really enjoy browsing through these streams. The “Everyone” stream can yield some pretty random results but it’s a great way to browse randomly if you’re just killing time. The “Following” and “Popular” streams are great for finding quality links and resources. Zootool’s visual nature has led to its acceptance among a lot of designers, so if you are any type of creative professional, you can expect to love Zootool simply for the abundance of awesome links that you’ll find from other users.

screenshot

Public Timeline

Tapping on a link will bring you to the screen on the right where you can view the title and destination URL. You can also share it, like it (add it to your own library) or see more information.

The screenshot below on the left shows you all of the information you can see regarding a given link. From here you can view the name, URL, tags, notes, views, comments and likes regarding a link.

screenshot

Info and Browser

Zootool has a built-in browser that allows you to follow each link without exiting the app and being thrown into Safari. The functionality here is pretty basic but it’s just about everything you need.

Your Zoo

I’ve been using Zootool since June, 2009. On top of that, I’ve imported all of my Delicious links, which date back even further. As you can imagine, after years of saving, I have quite a few links in my library! Fortunately, Zootool makes it easy to organize them all and these organization features transfer to the iPhone app.

The two primary methods of organizing your links are tags and packs. Every time you save a link, I recommend adding some quick, generally descriptive tags so that you can easily find it when you search. If you want to go further, you can create packs of similar links such as “web apps” or “funny videos”.

screenshot

Packs and Tags

People & Profile

As I mentioned before, Zootool has an excellent social layer to it as well. The iPhone app follows the web app in making it super easy to find interesting users to follow. Under the “People” tab, you can filter users by how active or popular they are or choose to view new and featured users. From here you can see what they’re saving and decide whether or not you want to follow them.

screenshot

People & Profile

As you can see, you can also view and edit your own profile, which shows the counts for entries, followers and following and some recent things that you’ve bookmarked.

Adding New Bookmarks

To be honest, I expected the Zootool iPhone app to be mostly for browsing links that have already been saved, but it turns out that it’s quite useful for adding new bookmarks as well.

You can do this one of two ways. Hitting the little “+” on the home screen (previously shown above) will create a new bookmark, but this involves manually inserting the URL, which is no fun. The better way is to install the bookmarklet into mobile Safari (accessible from the “new bookmark” menu).

Zootool walks you through the process of installing the bookmarklet, which basically involves saving an empty bookmark and they copying/pasting some code into it. Once you’re up and running, you can hit the bookmarklet from any page in mobile Safari just like you would use the “Lasso” bookmarklet on a desktop.

screenshot

Saving a new bookmark

Once you hit the bookmarklet, the URL will automatically be filled in and you can add tags, notes, packs, etc. If you don’t want everyone to see the links that you save, simply turn off the “Public” option.

How Is It?

As you’ve probably guessed by this point, I’m a huge fan of the Zootool service. I’ve been waiting a long time for this app and fortunately, I wasn’t let down. The functionality is smooth and nearly flawless and I think they’ve done an amazing job of bringing the Zootool experience to the iPhone.

There are a few things that I would like to see in the long run: a list view for links would be nice and maybe some more filtering options for the public timeline (videos, images, etc.). However, these are really tiny complaints and for the most part I think the app is awesome. Now my fingers are crossed for an iPad version!

Conclusion

If you’re still using Delicious, it’s time to switch to a more robust bookmarking service. My favorite option is Zootool. It’s simple, beautiful and flat out fun to browse.

The Zootool app brings nearly the entire desktop experience to the iPhone, a serious feat that could’ve easily gone awry but turned out great. Whether you’re a long-time fan of the service or today is the first time you’ve heard about it, you should definitely try it out for yourself!

A Day In Apps: 10 Free Tools To Get You Through Everyday Life

Far beyond being mere communication devices, our phones have become essential tools that can legitimately help us get through the daily grind.

Today we’re going to walk you through a day in the life of an app-addicted iPhone owner. We’ll look at apps for waking up in the morning, laying down at night and everything in between. Best of all, they’re all free!

Alarm Clock Free

“Alarm Clock Free turns your iPhone or iPod touch into a beautiful digital clock and alarm clock for free! It even displays live, local weather conditions and temperature that makes you know about the weather immediately when you wake up.”

The first significant thing you do every single day is of course waking up! Right from the start, your iPhone is there to help you out. There are a number of free alarm clock apps for the iPhone but Alarm Clock Free is definitely one of the more attractive options, the simulated digital clock interface is pixel perfect. It’s not all about looks though, the app has plenty of helpful features as well such as multiple alarms and even local weather so you can decide what to put on when you drag yourself over to the closet.

If you want something a little more powerful, check out Alarmed, a free app that doesn’t look so great but contains top-notch functionality.

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Alarm Clock Free

RunKeeper

“RunKeeper uses the GPS technology found in the iPhone to track your fitness activity, giving you comparable results to an expensive GPS watch. Now, you can also enter your activities manually, including your treadmill runs too!”

Once you’re up and out of bed, it’s time to get moving. Many people like to start their day with a quick jog to stay in shape and get their blood flowing. RunKeeper is a fantastic app for keeping track of your jogging routines. You can track how far you went, how long it took, what your pace/speed was, how many calories you burned, and the path you traveled on a map.

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RunKeeper

Traffic.com

“Take control of your commute with real-time traffic information from the #1 U.S. traffic-only website for online and mobile traffic information. With the Traffic.com app, you will have the pulse of the road at your fingertips, whenever and wherever you need it.”

After your morning routine is complete, it’s time for the first half of your daily commute. For city dwellers, driving to work can be an immensely frustrating task due to the inevitable traffic-stopping events that occur daily. Be sure to have a look at your iPhone before you leave so you can avoid the most congested areas.

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Traffic.com

Wunderlist

“Sync your tasks over the air and share your lists with friends and colleagues. Organize your to-do lists on the go and synchronize it with your free Wunderlist account between Windows, Mac and the iPad.”

Once you finally make it to work, you need to check out and plan your daily goals. I know I’m always ranting about Wunderlist, but there’s simply no better free way to manage your tasks right now. The interface is gorgeous, the functionality is a good balance between powerful and simple, and everything you do is automatically synced to every other Wunderlist app you use (web, Mac, Windows, iPad, iPhone and Android).

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Wunderlist

Simplenote

“People are using Simplenote to keep notes, lists, ideas and more. Your notes automatically synchronize with your computer and all your devices. It’s extremely easy to use. For those who want more power, you can also use tags, pins, versions, and sharing.”

Task managers are nice, but as I work and go throughout my day, I need something to jot down my thoughts into. Whether it’s a random scrap of information like a password, an idea, a list or any other text-based information, I put it all in Simplenote where it can be easily tagged and searched. As with Wunderlist, I use it because it’s free and syncs to both web and desktop apps.

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Simplenote

iheartradio

“iheartradio delivers over 750 of America’s favorite radio stations right to your iPhone or iPod Touch. Bookmark your favorite stations, tag songs for purchase on iTunes and view lyrics to your favorite songs.”

If you’re like me, you need some audio stimulation to get you through the work day. Whether you’re into talk and news radio or want some mad beats to pump through your headphones, iheartradio has you covered. Since I’ve moved around a little in recent years, I really like that I can create a list of my favorite radio stations from all over the country.

Also be sure to check out TuneIn Radio, another free radio app. I like the available stations better on iheartradio but TuneIn has a nicer interface and some impressive features like alarm clock functionality.

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iheartradio

WHERE

“Join more than 4 million people who rely on WHERE everyday to answer the question, ‘Where should I go next?’”

After a few hours of slaving away, it’s time for the best part of your work day: lunch! WHERE is one of a million free apps that will help you discover new and delicious places to eat in your area. Get personalized recommendations based on what you like, get exclusive deals and Bump phones with a friend to find a place you both like.

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WHERE

Recipe, Menu & Cooking Planner

“Pepperplate is the only app for serious cooks, it has all the tools you need to cook weeknight dinners or host a dinner party for 12. Manage your recipes, create menus, shop with ease and cook like a pro with multiple timers on your iPad and iPhone.”

Once you finish lunch, you blitz through the rest of the day and finally make it home. At this point, it’s time to start thinking about dinner. Pepperplate Recipe, Menu & Cooking Planner is the ultimate free cooking assistant. With it you can import, manage and share your favorite recipes, create shopping lists and cooking timers and even combine recipes into a menu for the evening. If you’re planning a dinner with friends, this is a great app to check out.

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Recipe, Menu & Cooking Planner

Peel – Personal TV Show Guide

“Peel is a free guide that learns TV shows you like and suggests top picks to watch on TV.”

Dinner is finished, the dishes are in the dishwasher, it’s time to sit down and relax in front of the television for a few hours. Gone are the days of thumbing through paper TV guides to see what’s on, apps like Peel not only have comprehensive guides of everything that’s showing the stations that you have, they’re intelligent enough to make suggestions for new shows that you would like based on your interests.

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Peel – Personal TV Show Guide

Relax Melodies

“Relax Melodies is the leader in personalized relaxation and sleep assistance. No more insomnia for you! Tension is a thing of the past! Just custom mix your favorite sounds from a selection of 35, then slip naturally into a relaxed state or a deep, rejuvenating sleep.”

Our long day has come to an end. Like many people, I have a strange quirk that makes it nearly impossible for me to sleep in complete silence. My iPhone makes the perfect sound machine to pump the room full of constant and relaxing noise to lull me into slumber. Relax Melodies has a whopping 35 sounds to choose from and integrates both alarm and timer functions. If you’re having trouble sleeping and want a free solution, this should be your first stop.

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Relax Melodies

Which Apps Get You Through the Day?

The combination of the App Store and an ingenious community of hardworking developers has made being an iPhone owner an unbeatable experience. The range of uses that you can get out of your phone grows by leaps and bounds every day and if anything you’re like me, you can’t get enough.

Leave a comment below and describe your day in apps. From morning until evening, which amazing utilities could you not live without?

Notificant: Never Forget Anything Again

With our increasingly busy lives it becomes increasingly difficult to keep track of all the little tasks. Simply writing it down as a task doesn’t help if we don’t remember to look at our note or task management app.

This is where Notificant comes in. The cloud-based app, which has been received enthusiastically on the Mac as well, gives you a nudge at the right moment. Wherever you are.

Reminders deluxe

The one and only goal of Notificant is to deliver push or email reminders to you – via the web interface, on any of your Macs and on iDevices with internet access.

Notificant has come from web to iPhone

Notificant has come from web to iPhone

Basically, Notificant is a cloud based service that provides interfaces on other platforms to make the creation of reminders easier.

Creating Reminders on the iPhone

The iPhone app comes with a subtle design, keeping everything very basic yet elegant. There are two tabs – one for upcoming alarms set to go off and an archive for past notifications. On the very top of the window you have the choice between adding a new reminder or going into the options panel.

Upcoming notifications and archived reminders

Upcoming notifications and archived reminders

When creating a new task, which at least for the moment is only possible in portrait mode, you’ll be reminded of Twitter: the limit for your text is 160 characters and you can shorten inserted links. This makes it very clear that Notificant is not intended to be a task management app. It is meant for quick notes, which can be used together with task management, but setting a reminder in Notificant about an upcoming music album release or about not forgetting to call my best friend back makes much more sense to me than creating a task for it in Things, 2do or Wunderlist.

Create a new reminder

Create a new reminder

When setting your notifications, you can of course set the time the reminder is supposed to fire and you can set how the reminder is to be delivered.

Set time, date and device on which to receive notifications

Set time, date and device on which to receive notifications

If you don’t set a time, an alarm will fire automatically almost immediately, but you can also set alarms far into the future. The date and time picker is quite self explanatory, even though I wish there would be a way to quickly go forward a month or so instead of continuously scrolling forward.

As I mentioned in the introduction, Notificant is available on multiple platforms. Being primarily a cloud based app, you can access it via the web interface; there is a Mac app which sits in your menu bar and let’s you create and receive notifications. You can send reminders to your email inbox and you can push to your iDevices which run Notificant.

When you create a new notification on any of these platforms, you can decide where you want to receive the reminder. Imagine having an idea at home or on the road which you’ll need at the office or vice versa. Just create a new reminder and set your office computer or office email as the recipient. Voila.

Receiving notifications

When you set a notification to appear, you can chose among a wide variety of high quality alarm sounds, which actually make you want to look at your device – as opposed to some other Apple system or app sounds that make you dread the reminders.

The push notifications on your iPhone look just like ordinary push messages – a partly transparent overlay appearing on your screen. When you open the notification right away when the push message appears, you will be shown the details of the reminder. Later on, you’ll have a badge icon on the Notificant app (if you enabled it in the settings) and your past reminder will be available in the archives.

Set push options get pushed

Set push options get pushed

I’ve been using Notificant since it appeared in the Mac App Store and have been helping to beta test the iPhone version. During all my time of use, it has always been 100% reliable, making it my go-to app for important reminders because I can be sure that Notificant will fire when needed. There might a slight delay between devices, but usually it has’t been more than one minute. For me, that’s pretty near perfect.

Verdict

Notificant for iPhone is a dead-simple yet stylish solution for all of you looking for a reliable reminder app. It’s not meant to be a task management app or do anything complex. But what it does, it does flawlessly – pushing reminders to almost all your Mac devices and email inboxes.

Notificant shines with a simplicity of use that a lot of applications could benefit from. My only gripe is that, as of now, input is only possible via portrait mode (I know, I am picky that way) and that I’d love to jump ahead in time faster than scrolling day by day. But those are things that do not have any influence on the reliable performance on the app.

But be warned: if you get Notificant for iPhone, you won’t have any excuses anymore for forgetting something. It’s just too easy to create reminders and be reminded. For just $2.99 in the iTunes Store, there’s no way you can go wrong here.

Quick Tip – How To Reveal High-Detail Logos In Seconds

In today’s Quick Tip I talk about a quick solution for the next time you need to animate/reveal a graphic that has a lot of detail. We’ll be looking at the “stroke” plug-in and it’s parameters. If you find yourself in a time crunch and need a fast animation technique, hopefully this Quick Tip will help you out!


Tutorial

Download Tutorial .mp4

File size: 79.2 MB


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