Category: I-phone

Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray believes that for all of Apple’s success with iTunes Match so far, the company is probably still only breaking even on the service. Sure, $24.99 a year from all of the service’s users is a lot of money flowing in, but there’s a lot going the other way as well, from server costs to music royalties and all of the other charges with running such a complicated service.

Munster believes there are 135 million active iTunes users in America, so if only a small fraction of those subscribe to the service, there’s a nice chunk of change coming in to Apple. But at the same time, Apple isn’t expecting huge earnings from Match; it’s essentially a promotion to help get people into the iTunes system and a solid mechanism for keeping them there. Apple would much rather sell you devices to listen to your iTunes library, therefore it’s not quite so concerned about how you get that music in the first place. As a result, Munster’s guess that Match isn’t a huge moneymaker for Apple is probably correct.

Piper Jaffray: iTunes Match likely breaking even for Apple originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 09 Dec 2011 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Before the iPhone and the iPad made multitouch screens commonplace, there was the Lemur, a multitouch controller for synths, sequencers, and other electronic music instruments. The device has been used by musicians for quite a while, and it combines a touchscreen controller unit running a version of Linux with all sorts of musical electronic wizardry. Now, the Lemur interface has arrived on the iPad as an app, and it will connect via Wi-Fi to up to eight different computers to run any musical sequencers you happen to have around.

I’m sorry to say that I’m not quite musical enough to use or buy an app like this, but I can definitely appreciate the power here. This is the full Lemur interface (used by professional musicians for years) complete with a full editor, custom scripting, custom-made controls, and even physics for those controls (so you can “throw” faders around or bounce dials and switches). The back end sounds really incredible, too. You can connect right out to CoreMIDI or any USB device with the iPad’s camera connection dock, or use that aforementioned Wi-Fi connection.

Sounds slick. The app is US$49.99, and it actually works on both the iPhone and the iPad. Reviews so far are great, so this sounds like a really cool piece of tech for musicians all the way up to the professional level.

Lemur’s multitouch music controller now available on iOS originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

It’s the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You’ll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what’s happening in the Apple world.

You can listen to today’s Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here.

No Flash? Click here to listen.

Daily Update for December 8, 2011 originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Dec 2011 23:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Welcome to TUAW’s 2011 Holiday Gift Guide! We’re here to help you choose the best gifts this holiday season, and once you’ve received your gifts we’ll tell you what apps and accessories we think are best for your new Apple gear. Stay tuned every weekday from now until the end of the year for our picks and helpful guides and check our Gift Guide hub to see our guides as they become available. For even more holiday fun, check out sister site Engadget’s gift guide.

If you’re an iPhone or an iPad owner, or you’re looking to acquire or gift them, a good dock is a worthwhile accessory. Some docks will handle both. They’re great for a dorm room, your desk at work or a nightstand so you can keep your iOS device charged while you’re sleeping. Here’s some suggested docks to get you started, and below we have a few usage scenarios for them.

For the bedroom or dorm room

A dock in the bedroom can serve as a great secondary stereo system. Several systems double as alarm clocks, so you can make sure you wake up on time and with your iPhone fully charged (all prices are USD).

Sony Speaker Dock for iPod and iPhone (on sale for $79.95, normally $99.95) — An earlier model of this system is the one I currently have in my bedroom, and it’s been fantastic. The speakers are robust and the sound is rich. The alarm is loud and you can program dual settings for more than one person. The Sony remote (included) is small, but still easy to spot and I haven’t lost mine yet. If you want to control the dock with your phone, use the free D-Suppli app. The one drawback is that the dock itself doesn’t work well with some cases that cover the 30-pin slot, such as some of Otterbox’s cases.

Stem TimeCommand Audio Alarm Dock ($99.95) — Fellow TUAW blogger Steve Sande reviewed this dock a few months ago, and he was impressed with the features. It’ll charge your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch and has many of the usual alarm clock features. What sets the TimeCommand apart is the extra plug on the AC adapter for plugging in a lamp. Using the free Stem:Connect app, you can control dimming your bedside lamp, get access to free Internet radio stations and control the dock’s features. This clock is available only through Apple retail stores.

For the office

For those who want a dock at work, the best rule of thumb is to find a compact system that will deliver good sound.

JBL On Stage Micro III Portable Loudspeaker Dock ($99.95) — This compact speaker is from a line that’s consistently delivered great sound, going all the way back to early generation iPods. This model is battery-operated and can easily be locked in a drawer when not in use. An included USB cable will allow sync and charging. A remote is included, and the fan-shaped speaker makes it an attractive item to have on your desk.

For the iPad

While Apple has a basic iPad dock for around $30, these docks are worth considering for better sound and features.

Sony Speaker Dock for iPad, iPhone/iPod ($299.95) — The RDP-X500IP came out in October and is compatible with the D-Sappli app. The speakers have a built-in subwoofer and dual passive radiators, and a magnetic fluid system that Sony says delivers higher sound pressure with less distortion.

iHome iD91 ($99.95) — For a lower-cost alternative to the Sony model, the iHome alarm clock dock for iPad offers many of the same features. It has a time-sync button, allowing you to set the clock quickly by using your iPhone. It works with both the iHome+Sleep and iHome+Radio apps, and the alarm has a gradual wake and sleep feature, increasing and decreasing the alarm as needed.

iLuv WorkStation ($129.99) — It’s not pretty, but the iLuv WorkStation does its best to transform an iPad into a full-fledged desktop. It has a bracket that lets you tilt and rotate your iPad, speakers and a keyboard.

Double duty

Griffin PowerDock Duo ($59.95) — The Griffin PowerDock Duo is a compact dock that holds both an iPad and iPhone, and also other small items such as change and keys. It’s well-suited for a desk or dorm room and leaves both screens unrestricted.

Holiday Gift Guide: Docks originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Dec 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

In addition to all of the other great games that appeared on the App Store last night (Batman: Arkham City Lockdown is available, and the Skyrim Dragon Shout app is out as well), the long-awaited Chrono Trigger has also arrived, and as a game, I have to give it my highest recommendation.

This is one of the best Japanese RPGs ever made, if not the best, and it’s a must-play if you haven’t yet. The sprites and graphics are gorgeous, the characters are well-defined and the story is intriguing. The combat system does some really fun things that I haven’t even seen replicated in other titles since the game came out in 1995. This version includes two additional areas not in the original game; they were added in the Nintendo DS version.

Unfortunately, this one suffers a little bit from the usual problems of porting an old console title to iOS — the fonts aren’t quite right, and the overlay controls, while workable, do cover up some of that gorgeous art. If you want to play it on an actual console, you can find versions on the Wii’s Virtual Console and the PlayStation Network, as well as the DS.

But no matter how you play it, don’t miss this one if you haven’t ever given it a shot — even years later, the game still shines. It’s on the App Store now for $9.99.

Vintage console RPG Chrono Trigger is now on iOS originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Dec 2011 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Australian telco Telstra is currently working with Apple to resolve bizarre coverage dropouts on the iPhone 4S, according to ZDNet. For a couple of months, iPhone 4S users on Telstra’s network have reported that the iPhone will randomly lose signal and drop to “Searching…” for about a minute before reacquiring the network.

According to Telstra, this is an “issue with iPhone 4S hardware incompatibility due to network upgrades,” and the company is “working on fix with Apple currently through software updates.” Telstra’s engineers told ZDNet they believe the signal dropout woes can be resolved soon through an update to network settings, which will probably be pushed to users’ phones in the form of a carrier update.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of Apple’s newest handset having network compatibility issues. Throughout October and November we received numerous reports from readers in India claiming that the iPhone 4S wasn’t compatible with networks in that country. However, just like in Telstra’s case, it seemed that this was not so much due to issues with the iPhone 4S itself but rather networks needing to update carrier files on users’ devices in order to ensure full compatibility.

So far we’ve heard no reports of network issues with the iPhone 4S on any of Australia’s other networks, and iPhone 4S users in neighboring New Zealand have also had no problems on any of that country’s major wireless networks.

Australia’s Telstra working to fix iPhone 4S network dropouts originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Dec 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Scribblenauts Remix has been updated with a new holiday-themed playground and support for 180-degree device rotation. As an iPhone 4S exclusive, the game also now advertises that it has full Siri dictation support, so you can use your voice to create virtually any object within the game.

Although the makers of Scribblenauts say this is a new feature, I remember using Siri in the game via its dedicated keyboard button in a previous version, so Siri support isn’t necessarily new. I’ve also noticed that Siri’s accuracy when taking dictation seems to be precipitously lower than its accuracy in the “Q & A” interface, so while it might be cool to be able to craft a war between a giant Cthulhu and a laser-rifle-toting Santa Claus using the power of your voice, you may find it’s easier to stick with the keyboard until Siri’s accuracy improves.

Scribblenauts Remix is a great game, and if you haven’t picked it up yet I highly recommend it.

Scribblenauts Remix update uses iPhone 4S and Siri to summon items originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

When it comes to forecasting the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today’s topic is in-app purchasing, or IAP for short.

We’ve been having a house debate recently about the proper role of IAP in game marketing and development. Some companies have been treating their customers as cash cows using IAPs. We find that attitude unacceptable.

That said, many games (including Tiny Tower, Battle Nations and others) use IAPs responsibly and well. We feel IAP by itself isn’t bad, but some companies (and let us be clear, those are actually the minority of companies) put in-app purchases over game play instead of the other way around.

Our group take is that IAP, economically speaking, rewards bad game design. Developers can make more money from games with a high initial fun factor followed by a long, dull grind that players already in the groove will then pay out to avoid.

If you’re paying to avoid game play or to add cheats that put you at an advantage over other players, then in-app purchases are hiding bad game design. Similarly, if you’re paying to “accessorize” your world (“collect all 12 fish”), we feel that IAP is taking advantage of customers.

When IAP works in games, it branches, extends, or expands gameplay rather than cheats it.

So is IAP out of control in App Store? Should Apple be cracking down on the more predatory uses of IAP?

You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with your take on this.

View Poll

You’re the Pundit: Is in-app purchasing out of control? originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Complaints over the durability (or lack thereof) of Jawbone’s UP wristband have led the company to the unusual move of promising refunds to all customers — even if they decline to return the device to Jawbone. Jawbone says current UP owners can keep their wristbands, according to TechCrunch, so long as they promise not to sell them on eBay or otherwise profit from it. A letter from the company’s CEO lays out the plan and promises that Jawbone is retooling to fix the issues.

Meanwhile, all pending orders for the Jawbone UP have been canceled, and Jawbone offers existing users a choice of cash refunds of US$109.43 or Jawbone.com credit of $150.

The Jawbone UP wristband fitness tracker has received generally good reviews, but many users have complained that the hardware fails after a short period of time. In response, Jawbone has withdrawn UP from circulation until it can sort these issues out. This recall/refund scheme will no doubt cost Jawbone a great deal of money, but it may be an acceptable tradeoff if the company reaps enough goodwill in return.

Jawbone refunds all UP purchasers whether they return the device or not originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Just a couple days after European antitrust regulators launched an investigation into allegations of ebook price fixing among Apple and several major book publishers, the US Department of Justice is now joining the fray. Computerworld reports that DOJ acting antitrust chief Sharis Pozen is “investigating ebook industry practices.”

While Pozen provided no additional information and didn’t specifically name Apple, the pattern so far has been decidedly unfavorable to Apple and its iBookstore. A class action lawsuit alleging price fixing was filed in August, the European Commission has launched antitrust probes, and two US state Attorneys General have already begun their own investigations targeting Apple’s ebook pricing.

The class action suit has alleged that Apple and several major book publishers have conspired to drive up ebook prices in order to prevent Amazon from underselling the iBookstore.

U.S. Department of Justice joins Apple ebook pricing investigation originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

A French court has denied Samsung’s request for a preliminary injunction against Apple’s iPhone 4S as part of the worldwide, ongoing patent disputes between the two companies. Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents has a lengthy, in-depth analysis of the court’s decision, but essentially Samsung’s case against Apple was far to weak to justify the “disproportionate” step of banning the iPhone 4S from France. Samsung has also been ordered to reimburse Apple for €100,000 in legal fees, which Mueller notes is probably far lower than what Apple has actually spent during French litigation.

The ongoing patent dispute has now expanded to “more than 30 lawsuits in a minimum of 12 courts in at least 9 countries on 4 continents” according to Mueller, and so far Apple has been the only litigant to succeed in its bid for an injunction against its competitor (although the Australian injunction was later overturned, pending appeal).

Apple fired the opening salvo in this patent war back in April, and Samsung has responded with a variety of countersuits. Apple alleges that Samsung has slavishly copied the design of both the iPhone and the iPad.

French court denies Samsung’s request for iPhone 4S ban originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple has posted its iTunes Rewind 2011 page, where it has spotlighted the best and most popular content on the App Store. Singer Adele has won Apple’s best artist of the year, while the Foo Fighters picked up the spot for best album on the store.

Modern Family, Breaking Bad, Parks and Recreation, and Downton Abbey (all terrific TV shows) are spotlighted in the TV area, and Apple has also chosen winners for the books and movies categories. The Best Audio Podcast on the store is one done by the Epic Meal Time guys, and the Best Video Podcast goes to the very popular TED Talks (which also has its own app).

Apple has also picked some iOS apps of the year: Instagram and Snapseed are the best iPhone and iPad apps of the year (both photo-related, strangely), and Nimblebit’s great Tiny Tower and EA’s Dead Space are the best games on iPhone and iPad, according to Apple.

Each section of the Rewind page also has a few runners-up spotlighted, as well as list of the best selling items in each category. The best selling paid app on the App Store? Take one guess. You’ll notice that there are no links inside iTunes to the best Mac apps, but of course that’s because the Mac App Store is now hosting its own “best of” page, available from the header on “Featured” content. Pixelmator and Civilization 5 have been chosen by Apple as best app and game of the year, respectively.

All of these choices are pretty solid — congrats to all of the winners. It’s been one heck of a year for apps and iTunes content, and it’s great to see what it all looks like in retrospective. Stay tuned — we will be making our own picks for the best of the year as we get even closer to 2012.

Apple posts iTunes Rewind 2011, chooses App Store favorites for the year originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

There’s good news for our Apple TV-owning mates in Australia, Canada, and the UK. A new software update was sent to Apple TVs in those countries, and TV shows are now available for purchase and download on the device.

These are actual purchases, not rentals. You purchase the episodes or a season, and the content is then streamed from iCloud for your viewing pleasure. Want to watch that one special episode of Fringe over and over again? No problem.

According to readers, the episode downloads cost anywhere from “free” to CAD$2.49 (AUD$2.99). This is a new source of content for Apple TV owners in these other primarily English-speaking countries. To get the update, turn on your Apple TV and it should show that an update is available for download and installation. The other method that works is to go to Settings > General > Update to check for the new software.

Apple TV updates bring streaming TV purchases to Australia, Canada and the UK originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Dear Aunt TUAW,

My Mac has been experiencing kernel panics. I managed to grab an error log. Now what? I’m not sure how to use this to figure out what’s going wrong… Please help!

Your loving nephew,

Esteban

Dear Esteban,

The preponderance of the time, kernel panics are hardware related and not software. Looking at the error log can help you figure out what issue may be causing it.

Look for the last loaded and last unloaded kernel extensions as well as the items named in the extension backtrace. They can provide good indication of what’s going wrong.

For example, you might see the following. Here, the issue seemed to have been with a FireWire Drobo system.

    last loaded kext at 266503428590760: com.apple.driver.AppleFireWireStorage 3.0.1 (addr 0xffffff7f80920000, size 16384)   last unloaded kext at 266064709148465: com.apple.driver.StorageLynx 3.0.1 (addr 0xffffff7f808ce000, size 8192)

Or you might see the following trace, which was tied into the local USB system. Notice how the names of each item here gives you a sense of the role. IOKit is responsible for many of your system’s device drivers. Names like IOUSBMassStorageClass and AppleUSBComposite tell you that you’re probably working with USB issues.

    Kernel loadable modules in backtrace (with dependencies):            com.apple.iokit.IOUSBMassStorageClass(2.0.4)@0x593bd000->0x593c6fff               dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIArchitectureModelFamily(2.0.5)@0x7ba000               dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily(3.1.5)@0x596000               dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOStorageFamily(1.5.5)@0x7d3000            com.apple.driver.AppleUSBComposite(3.0.0)@0x953000->0x956fff               dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily(3.1.5)@0x596000            com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily(3.1.5)@0x596000->0x5bdfff 

Kernel panics aren’t limited to hardware. For example, emulators can also cause kernel panics. VirtualBox can be quite nasty this way.

If you pinpoint the cause of your issue (emulator or mass storage), you can usually work through the problem yourself. If not, you may want to book an appointment to take your unit to the Genius Bar or to an Apple Authorized Service Provider (ASP).

Hope this helps!

Hugs,

Auntie T, who thanks cousin Josh Carr for his assist on this write-up

Dear Aunt TUAW: My Mac had a kernel panic. Now what? originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

I enjoy using my computer, especially at night when it’s quiet. I enjoy it so much that I often forget to get up and stretch every few hours. I also stay up way too late. My propensity to get caught up in my Twitter stream or my RSS feed is one reason why I bought Coffee Break.

Coffee Break sits in your menu bar and forces you to take a break. You select the time you want to take a break and the app will darken your screen when it’s time to walk away from the computer. There’s a countdown timer that’ll warn you when a break is about to start.

When your break is over, the screen will brighten, and you will be ready to roll back into what you were doing. If you’re on the computer for an extended time, you can schedule several breaks throughout the day and add a reminder so you don’t forget why you are breaking.

Coffee Break is a pleasure to use. It’s visually appealing and easy to configure. The controls are intuitive and it’s simple to turn a scheduled coffee break on or off as needed. It’s also a lightweight app and hardly uses any system resources. It’s one of my favorite little apps. Coffee break is available in the Mac App Store for US$2.99.

Daily Mac App: Coffee Break originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments