Category: I-phone

Shortly after iFixit tore down the iPhone 4S, iSuppli also took its turn with the iPhone 4S and evaluated the cost of the materials that go into the handset. According to its analysis, the iPhone 4S 16 GB costs US$188 in materials and and extra $8 to build, a dollar value that’s close to the $187 of the iPhone 4. The 32 GB has a bill of materials of $207 and the 64 GB is at $245.

Inside the iPhone 4S, the most expensive part is the NAND flash memory which costs $19.20 in the 16 GB model, $38.40 in the 32 GB and $76.80 in the 64 GB model. iSuppli also notes that the NAND flash is from Hynix and not from Samsung or Toshiba which were seen in all previous iPhone and iPad models. The second and third most expensive components are the mechanical/electro-mechanical parts which costs $33, followed by the wireless radio which is a custom part from Avago and costs $23.54. For all the nitty gritty details head over to iSuppli’s report.

iPhone 4S 16 GB costs US$196 to build originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 21 Oct 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple has aired the first iPhone 4S TV commercial featuring the Siri, voice command personal assistant feature. The ad shows a few real-world uses of the feature. Siri examples shown in the…

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Image cropping is just one of those features that you’ll find in many different apps so it’s nice to have some code you can just drop-in to add this functionality.

In the past I mentioned the excellent image manipulation library NXYImageUtilities that adds a number of image filters including a number of image filters, and image cropping capability.

Earlier I found a library allowing you to easily implement image cropping capabilities into your apps.

What makes this library different is that a simple UI is provided which makes it great for those times when you very quickly just want to drop in some some image cropping capability into an app.

Here’s a quick video showing the library in action:

The library is SSPhotoCropperViewController from Ahmet Ardal, and you can find the Github repository here.

Ahmet’s also posted further usage instructions on his site.

Very useful if you just want to add this image cropping functionality in fast.

Via

©2011 iPhone, iOS 5, iPad SDK Development Tutorial and Programming Tips. All Rights Reserved.

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It’s true that we review a lot of productivity apps over here on iPhone.AppStorm. There are apps that offer a new form of syncing, apps that keep your to-do lists in different ways or boast a new interface that the developers believe will help you get things done. Wading through the App Store can be hard, and Apple is here to help with your need for a to-do app.

Meet Reminders, the brand new app that is included with every install of iOS 5. With advanced features and a familiar interface, Apple is hoping that Reminders will be simple enough to be used by anyone, but powerful enough to be used by everyone. Have they produced an app worthy of being placed on every install, or did they forget to make Reminders worthwhile? Read on and find out.

Interface

I’m torn with Reminders’ interface, as there are aspects that I like and aspects that I simply can’t stand. I’m not generally a fan of apps that take after real-world counterparts in overt ways, but something about Reminders looks well designed where others feel tacky.

Reminders is heavy with the real-world influence, and tries to toe the line between the digital and analogue world.

That said, I wish that the “paper” aspect of the app were emphasized more than it is. The border shaves off precious pixels, making the area where you can actually interact feel smaller than other apps. Sure, it looks nice, but it also makes me feel cramped and wastes the iPhone’s screen space. That said, I’m glad that the default typeface is Helvetica Neue instead of Marker Felt or Noteworthy, as it is with the Notes app; Apple clearly learned from past mistakes.

All-in-all, I feel that Reminders’ interface is strictly middle of the road. It’s not that bad, and I’ve certainly seen worse; it’s just that there’s so much potential here that’s wasted by faux leather.

Inputting Tasks

Getting your tasks into the app is a cinch; all you have to do is tap the Plus button on the top of any list (more on that later) and you can begin entering your tasks or other list items. I like that it’s possible to put more tasks in by simply hitting the Return key, making it easy on your fingers and saving some time.

Getting your tasks into the app is easy, as it should be.

Unfortunately, once your tasks are in the app they can be a pain to deal with. There’s no way to move apps after they’ve been put into a list, so you have to make sure you get it right the first time. Some form of Edit command here would have been helpful more than a few times, and I am shocked that the functionality isn’t present.

Custom lists make it easier to get granular control over your tasks.

As mentioned above, tasks are organized into Lists. By default there’s a Reminders list and a Completed list, with the option to add more as you see fit. I look at lists in much the same way that others look at contexts or projects; each one pertains to a certain area of life, offering a degree of sanity to what can quickly become a jumbled mess. I don’t have any complaints with lists, besides the fact that some of the wasted interface that I mentioned above is dedicated to showing you which list you’re currently on via a dot-interface.

Seeing What Needs to Get Done

You’re offered, by default, two different ways to view your tasks. There’s a List view, which is the main view for the app, and there’s the Date view, which can be accessed via the top buttons in the list view.

Seeing your tasks ordered by day can be handy if you have multiple lists.

What’s unique about the Date view is that it will pull the items from all of your lists and organize them into a Today view and then you can use the scrubber along the bottom to quickly change days. This is useful for many people that like to keep a Today list, and also lets you view other items as well. One of my favorite features of the app is the Calendar that pops up on command in the Date view.

Reminders' calendar view looks better than the default Calendar app

The Calendar makes it even easier to jump to a specific date and view the items that you’ve put into the app. This specific part of the app looks really nice, and I prefer it to the default calendar view (and even a few of the other calendar apps that can be installed). Viewing your tasks for a day is as easy as tapping on the date, saving you a number of swipes on the bottom scrubber.

What Did I Need to Get at the Grocery Store Again?

The biggest thing introduced with Reminders are location-based tasks. Apple can perform what they call a geo-fence around a given area, and trigger a reminder to be pushed to you once you leave or arrive. In my tests this worked really well if the phone was paying attention when I input the location; sometimes it gets a little iffy.

Let’s say, for example, that you want to call your mom once you leave your house and tell her that you’re on your way. You’ve got three kids screaming in your ears excited to see grandma, and the last thing on your mind is calling her to let her know that you’ve left. With Reminders this isn’t an issue, as you can set a notification to alert you when you leave your house, saving you some arguing once you actually get to grandma’s house.

The geo-fencing done by Reminders is useful in many ways.

On the flipside, let’s say that you want to text someone once you get to the town library. Just set the location-based reminder to “When I arrive” and you’re good to go; a notification will be pushed to your phone once you get to where you need to go.

The use cases for this seem, to me, to be endless. It’s going to be harder than ever to forget what you need to pick up at the grocery store, and it really feels like the future to have your phone know when to tell you to do something.

Input via Siri (On the iPhone 4S)

Being able to enter reminders through Siri is far and away my favorite feature of this app. While it isn’t always perfect, I can really see Reminders being used in conjunction with a more professional solution like OmniFocus or Things based solely on the convenience that Siri and Reminders offers.

Telling your phone to set a reminder for you really feels like the future.

Let’s say that I’m in the car, and I can’t use my phone to enter a reminder. By holding down a button on my headset, I can say “Remind me to pick up toilet paper at the grocery store” and Siri will grab what I’ve said, clean it up, and create a reminder for me. It’s that simple.

I can’t even count how many times I’ve used this feature in the little bit of time I’ve spent with the 4S. If you have the new phone, using Siri and Reminders together (assuming it’s available in your country) is really a no-brainer, and when it’s combined with location-based reminders you really feel as though you’re in the future.

So, Is It Worth Using?

That depends on what you need from a to-do app. If you’re looking for something that strictly follows the GTD system, or you require separate contexts and areas of responsibility and tagging, your main needs are going to be better served by something like OmniFocus. Many people may not use Reminders as their main to-do app based on that, but I foresee it getting a lot of use.

One way that it’s going to get used is for location-based reminders. While OmniFocus supports location-based reminders many other apps don’t (yet) and since it was built right alongside Reminders, the functionality still feels like it will work better with Apple’s app. Another way is with Siri, which offers the fastest way to enter tasks that we’ve seen yet. Telling your phone to remind you of something and having it actually complete that task is amazing.

Beyond that, I see Reminders as a secondary application. Sure, many people may have other to-do apps, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t keep a grocery list in Reminders, or update some wishlist or daily chores. While it’s a simple app that isn’t perfect, with a little bit of tweaking Reminders is excellent for just about anybody; right now it’s fine for most people, and that’s what it was trying to do in the first place.

Yes, I admit, I love my coffee. But even more so, I love my Starbucks. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not the type of person that needs to go and get a Starbucks coffee every day. Trust me, I would, if I could afford it. Regardless, I definitely love a good cup of  joe.

Call me a coffee snob, I don’t care. But, what I think I like just as much or even more, is the Starbucks mobile app for the iPhone. Have you checked this guy out yet? It’s loaded with tons of features and best of all, you can pay for your drink and meal with the app! Check it out after the break.

Home Screen

When you first open the app you will find on the home screen that there are many different things that you can do to interact with the application. One of the main features is being able to connect with the different products that Starbucks has to offer, mainly the food and drinks. When using the different “apps” — for a lack of a better word — you can create your own drink and see the nutritional value at the same time. You can also browse the different types of coffee and food that are offered. It’s basically Starbucks’ way of letting you know what is on the menu when you go to one of their stores.

Snapshot of myDrinks and information of a drink

There are a couple of more apps on the home screen. One of them is titled simply, Jobs. Here you can scan the different barista jobs that are open across the United States as well as other careers within the Starbucks corporation. Lastly, you can also scan different items in a Starbucks to see the price of the item. Not sure exactly why you would want to do this as I cannot think of anything in a Starbucks that doesn’t have a price tag on it already, but at least you’ve got the option.

Rewards

Another thing that the Starbucks app keeps track of are your Stars. These stars are earned every time you order a drink, and if you get up to 15 stars then you get a free drink coupon sent to you in the mail. This is a great way to keep up and see when that next free drink is coming. One thing I wish they would do to improve this aspect of the app is that when you get to 15 stars and you earn your free drink, that you would then get a coupon code within the app. That way you don’t have to wait for it in the mail, plus it saves Starbucks paper and postage from having to send out so many coupon cards.

Stars earned so far

My Cards

This is the bread and butter of the Starbucks app, in my opinion. As many of you know, Starbucks has a gold card as well as gift cards that you can load money on to purchase your coffee. Before, you had to bring your card with you and use it to pay. Now, Starbucks has gotten into the mobile payment space with the iPhone app.

Gold Card

You can register your gold card or your gift card on the mobile app. Whenever you go to any Starbucks from then on, you can use your iPhone to pay for that next cup of coffee. The app also keeps track of how much money you have left on your card, and it even allows you to put multiple cards on the app and use whichever one you want. There are also options to reload the card manually and automatically with money as well as see your recent transactions.

eGifts

Speaking of gift cards, not only can you use them on your iPhone, but you can also create and send one to someone. You are given a handful of designs to help make your eGift card look good, then you customize it with a message and you can send it to their email or post it on Facebook. It is a great and easy way to send someone a gift card to use at Starbucks.

Customize your own eGift card

Store Locator

As we all know, in most major cities you can find a Starbucks. But sometimes you just want to know where one is and how to get there. That is what you can do with the Store Locator on the iPhone app.

When using the app, you can search for stores that are close to you as well as stores that have specific amenities that you are looking for. You also have a couple of options on how you want to see where the stores are located, whether on a map as well or maybe in a list. In both options you can click on a store and see the hours they are open, get directions to that store, the amenities they offer, as well the phone number. You can also share your location when you are at a Starbucks to Twitter, Facebook or someone in your iPhone contacts.

Searching for the nearest Starbucks

Well Rounded

That is the one word that comes to mind when using this app. Nowadays, a lot of times apps have a component or two missing and are not feature rich at all — or, they have too many features. This Starbucks app does everything you need and want without being too much. From finding the closest store to paying for your cup of coffee this app does it all, but doesn’t go too far, either.

Overall, this is a great app, and there isn’t a whole lot I can find wrong with it. If for nothing else, other than being able to pay for things with the app, it’s worth it. Every time I use it, I long for the day when I can just go to a store to pay for something and not worry about bringing my wallet around; maybe someday. For now, head on over to the App Store and go download this app for free.

In this Quick Look, we’re highlighting MUD MAP – Australia. The developer says MUD MAP – Australia transforms your iPhone into a powerful handheld GPS with maps. It’s an awesome bit of gear for hikers, hunters, trail and mountain bike riders, or anyone exploring the great outdoors. Maps are stored on the device so it keeps working even in the most remote regions where a phone signal is non-existent. MUD MAP is THE navigation app you can rely on, anywhere, anytime.

Read on for more information and screenshots!

Screenshots

MUD MAP – Australia

About the App

Here are the top five features you can expect to see in the latest version:

• App is bundled with SmartTOPO, a high resolution topographic map with Australia-wide coverage at 1:25,000 scale.
• Purchase & download over 60,000 outdoor activity & topographic maps from the world’s leading map makers.
• Powerful GPS features, designed for navigating off road.
• Great UI with stunning visuals and is a pleasure to use.
• Maps are stored on the device so the app works anywhere, even if there is no connectivity.

Requirements: iOS 4.0 or above. iPhone 3GS, 4, 4S. iPad & iPad 2

Price: $59.99

Developer: MUD

Vote for a Review

Would you like to see us write a full review of MUD MAP – Australia? Have your say in our poll:

Would you like to see MUD MAP – Australia reviewed in-depth on AppStorm?

Quick Look posts are paid submissions offering only a brief overview of an app. Vote in the poll if you think this app is worth an in-depth AppStorm review! If you’re a developer and would like to have your app profiled, you can submit it here.

So you just bought yourself a shiny new iPhone 4S, but now you want a way for it to stand out from the crowd. Or maybe you have an iPhone 4, but you want to freshen up the look until the next version of the iPhone comes out. Fortunately for you, we’ve got the solution to your problem.

We’re giving away eight Karvt iPhone skins made for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S! What do you have to do to win one? Hit the jump to find out!

The Product

So what is Karvt? It’s a very unique company that makes iPhone, iPad and MacBook skins made out of wood. These are thin panels that give your iPhone a wooden face and back, but keep a thin profile.

Karvt for the iPhone 4 in Bamboo

We were fortunate enough to get 8 of these cool skins for the iPhone 4 and 4S from Karvt in various shades and materials (but all are 100% real wood), and now we’re giving them away to our loyal readers. What do you need to do to get one of your very own? It’s a three step process.

1. Follow @iphoneappstorm and @karvt on Twitter if you don’t already.
2. Tweet the following: I just entered to win a Karvt skin from @iphoneappstorm and @karvt! http://iphone.appstorm.net/?p=21273
3. Keep an eye out for a DM from us, as we’ll notify the winner in a few days.

That’s it! Good luck to everyone!

The first iPhone 4S ad has aired on TV and very prominently features Siri, the voice-activated personal assistant exclusive to Apple’s newest handset. The ad shows several people talking to their iPhones, asking questions, looking up directions, setting up reminders — all in very natural language. Siri itself doesn’t appear until near the end of the video, though, so people who’ve never heard of the feature before may find this commercial somewhat confusing at first.

We’ve embedded a version of the commercial below (hat tip to Engadget) that someone filmed off their TV. The official ad hasn’t shown up on Apple’s site or its YouTube channel as of this writing, so we’ll update this post later on when it does.

First iPhone 4S TV commercial features Siri originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 22:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Sande and I have been collaborating on “Talking to Siri,” an ebook that will soon hit the Kindle store. It’s a how-to that will help you get the most done with your Siri intelligent assistant.

One of the questions that people keep asking us is “how do I spell out the word ‘comma’ or ‘period’,” in other words, how do you dictate the literal word instead of punctuation.

Fortunately, there is a solution for this. It’s not a clean solution or an easy one, but it can be done. To type out comma, for example, you dictate no caps on, no space on, C O M M A, no space off, no caps off.

This tells Siri to start a forced lower-case mode without spaces. You then spell out the word in question (comma, here). At the end, you return to normal dictation mode by disabling that mode.

Be aware that Siri looks for context. It can differentiate between “The Jurassic Period” and “The Jurassic.” (see that period there?) during dictation, preferring the former because the word finishes a phrase.

Like this tip? Have some more Siri power-user suggestions? Let us know. Join in the comments.

How to type “comma” using Siri originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A band called The Turnback nabbed a few iPhone 4Ses as quickly as they could, and scheduled a music video shoot right around launch, opting to be the first to fire off a music video using just the iPhone 4S and its new HD camera. As you can see below, it looks pretty good — not quite as good as a full HD video, I think, but not bad. For a phone camera, it’s great.

The video was even shot in the new 1080p mode, and was cut together on Final Cut Pro. As a proof of concept, at least, it works, and it shows that aside from all of the splashy news around Siri, the camera adds yet another nice feature to the latest and greatest iPhone.

[via RazorianFly]

First music video shot with the iPhone 4S originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In a recent blog post, Grammy award winning artist John Mayer recalls his eight-year relationship with Steve Jobs. It’s an interesting story about the Apple CEO that shows the gracious side of his personality, a trait that’s not often discussed.

Mayer met Steve Jobs in 2003 when Mayer called Jobs to tell him how much he enjoyed Apple’s products. Mayer offered to help Apple in any way he could. Soon after the phone call, Mayer was invited to perform the keynote music at Macworld 2004 when GarageBand was introduced and again in 2007 at the iPhone introduction. During this time, Mayer got to know Jobs and developed a casual relationship with him and his company.

A few years later, Mayer agreed to endorse RIM and told Jobs about his decision. As part of this agreement, Mayer would have to use a BlackBerry and not an iPhone. Rather than become angry with Mayer, Jobs was understanding and even sent the musician a pre-release iPhone 3G model while he was on tour.

[Via EdibleApple]

Musician John Mayer shares his thoughts on Steve Jobs originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Death Rally is a great iOS title from Remedy Entertainment, the makers of the Alan Wake game for the Xbox 360 a little while back. (Quick disclaimer: I, Mike Schramm, actually have a cameo in the game, for turning in a solid time at a press event. But I wasn’t paid at all for my appearance, and I don’t make anything from sales of the game. I legitimately think it’s a great title, though.) The game has just gotten a big update that adds something players might be surprised by: multiplayer. Up to four people can now load up the game, and race against each other using the Shrieker car, on up to six different maps, including Eureka, which was previously only available via in-app purchase.

The update also adds a new weapon, the flamethrower, available from an in-app purchase reward pack, as well as a new paint job for one of the cars, and some enhanced graphics on the iPad 2. I have to say, iOS 5 support would have been nice (it’s kind of a pain to have to re-do the game on the iPad if you’ve already played on the iPhone), but considering the update is completely free, I can’t complain too much.

If you haven’t picked up the game yet, it’s available for just 99 cents as a universal version right now. Good luck trying to blow me up in the game — you’ll get an achievement for it if you do.

Death Rally gets big multiplayer update originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Puerto Rico originated as a German board game) and has made the leap to iOS. It’ss a multiplayer strategy game that allows players to assume a different role in each round so everyone gets a chance to try something new.

In this game, you’re a colonist trying to grow crops on a plantation in Puerto Rico, which you will then sell or ship to another destination. You also build a city that provide goods and other functions that aid you in creating a productive farm and eventually govern the island. In solo mode, you’re playing against two computer-generated characters. Throughout it all, you’re trying to earn victory points in your quest to gain dominance over the island.

Puerto Rico makes the transition to the iPad pretty well, and Ravensburger does a great job with the graphics, though the game controls are a bit fuzzy and hard to deduce. I highly recommend going through the extensive tutorial before playing the game, especially if you never played the original board game. Even after going through the tutorial, I found myself relying on in-game hints until I got used to the controls and gameplay. It’s a challenging, fun game and the iPad version is available for $7.99.

Daily iPad App: Puerto Rico originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Back in July, IK Multimedia (the company that’s brought us the iRig, iKlip, Amplitube for iOS and a whole host of other music hardware and software) announced the iRig MIDI, an interface allowing MIDI instruments and machines to be connected to iOS devices.

However, the device didn’t come to market until just this last week. And while there are other ways (MIDI to USB cable) and interfaces (Line 6, Yamaha) allowing you to get a MIDI connection to your iOS device, there are only a few which have created a MIDI interface to be used with Apple’s 30-pin dock connector. And IK is one of the first to release one in conjunction with their own app, SampleTank for iOS.

Before you read on, if you don’t know what MIDI is or why and how you’d want to use it with your iPad or iPhone, check out this previous post.

The iRig MIDI Hardware

The iRig MIDI is a standard Core MIDI interface. It has 3 ports (IN/OUT/THRU), two LEDs and a micro USB port for keeping your iDevice charged. It is essentially a small, black, plastic box with a 30-pin dock connector attached to it.

Unlike the ruggedness of the iRig for guitar or even the iRig Mic, the iRig MIDI doesn’t feel particularly sturdy. In fact, it feels like if you were to accidentally stand on it, it would crack. However, it is neat and tidy, and it gets the job done. Coincidentally, it looks remarkably similar to the Line 6 MIDI Mobilizer I and II, though I haven’t physically handled one myself (white on black print, triangular, red LEDs, dock connector to the right of the unit).

Two MIDI cables and a micro USB cable are bundled with the iRig MIDI. The MIDI cables are a good meter and a half in length, which means you should find ample length to position your setup the way you want it. The micro USB cable is for keeping your iDevice powered while using the iRig MIDI (connecting to any standard USB power supply) and it plugs directly into the side of the iRig MIDI. This is a welcome feature, however the provided cable is particularly short, making it rather difficult to reach a standard USB power supply!

To get things up and running, simply plug the iRig MIDI into your iDevice (I used my iPad) and connect your MIDI cables to your MIDI device (I used an Axiom 49 MIDI keyboard). Once plugged in, you’ll be prompted to download the free iRig MIDI recorder app from the iOS App Store. This is a simple MIDI recording app which also contains the firmware to make everything work, so make sure you download it. I had no problems getting things up and running. It worked the first time, which was great!

As mentioned earlier, the iRig MIDI has two small, triangular, red LED lights to indicate when MIDI signal is being received and sent. If you’re not seeing the lights flash, you’ve probably not got the cables plugged in the right way or any power to your MIDI device. These LEDs are a simple yet very effective way of letting you know that things are really working. Speaking of power, this may be obvious, but the iRig MIDI will not power your MIDI device like a USB cable might, so make sure you’ve got your power adapter for your MIDI device if you need one!

From there, you’re pretty much good to go. The cool thing about using a MIDI interface like the iRig MID is that you’re now able to take advantage of over a hundred other apps which are Core MIDI compatible (like GarageBand for iPad). IK has conveniently put together a list of all those apps here.

The iRig MIDI costs around US$69.99, which is comparable to other iOS MIDI interfaces out there, like the Line 6 MIDI Mobilizer II.

SampleTank for iOS.

So what about the app that IK is pushing in concert with the iRig MIDI? Well, you may have heard of SampleTank before, it’s IK Multimedia’s professional desktop sampling software package. And they’ve now brought it to the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Providing over 400 instruments bundled into 16 different instrument categories, layering of up to 4 instruments simultaneiously, a whole bunch of melodic and rythmic patterns or grooves to play with and sound and effects editing to customize the sounds your playing, SampleTank is an instrument sound library compressed into one app for your iDevice. It’s not the first, but its power is in its sample quality and abundance, as well as working in tandum with the iRig MIDI.

The combination of these two makes for the perfect, light-weight solution for musicians who play using samples, particularly in live performance settings. Think about carrying your laptop and all its accessories, your audio interface and then your MIDI keyboard, for example, to a performance. Now think about your iPhone, the iRig MIDI and your MIDI keyboard. The second of these setups has a significant’y lower footprint than the first. But of course, your computer is going to be much more powerful than your iPhone, and handle much bigger samples with more integrity, right?

So the question is, how do the SampleTank samples stand up? Well, they are sampled — and we’re not talking about gigabyte sample files here — so naturally, some are going to sound better than others, and it all depends on what your looking for. But take the piano samples, for example, and have a look at this YouTube clip below.

That doesn’t sound bad at all. In fact, it sounds great! You could easily get away with using that piano sample in a rehearsal or a live performance. And most of the other instruments offered stand up well. Some in my opinion, however, fall a little short — like the orchestral strings — but on average, you’ll be pleased with what’s available, especially considering you’re using your iPhone and not your computer!

Of course, all this doesn’t come free. You get a taster of samples in the free app, but individual packs can be bought to expand a category of sounds (pianos, drums, strings) at $4.99 each. Or you can buy them all for $39.99.

The user-interface

The interface is simple enough to use when choosing instruments and preset grooves and loops. It’s also pretty straight forward to edit and tweak the sounds and samples, which is what we’ve come to expect from apps like these. There’s also a built-in virtual keyboard player, which means you can play the samples in the app without having to hook up an external MIDI device. Layering up sounds one on top of the other takes a little more time to get used to and it’s quite a basic feature — great for coming up with a few ideas, but nothing more. Yes, you could have hours of fun doing this, and it’s a great way to explore all the samples, but personally I don’t see any real musical application for it in it’s current state other than having a bit of fun. You can export these creations too, but that’s about it.

Clearly, where SampleTank shines is with its samples being used in a performance setting, and the ease of use with which it can be implemented.

Conclusion

So, is the iRig MIDI and SampleTank for iOS the combination of hardware and software for your iOS device that you’ve been looking for? Well, if your a keyboardist (or a drum machine user) and you love using a ton of different samples and sounds, then yes.

However, don’t forget that the iRig MIDI alone is compatible with a multitude of other Core MIDI apps to choose from on the iOS store. Like GarageBand, for starters, which in my opinion is still one of the best and most comprehensive music apps out there at a very reasonable price.

However, if you’re after some particular, high-quality sampled instruments, one of the nice things about SampleTank is that you can start with SampleTank Free and expand it the way you want by purchasing the samples you need. And some of those samples really do sound amazing.

Here are some demos of some of the samples on offer in SampleTank for iOS.
Or you can download SampleTank Free here.

For all the details, check out IK Multimedia’s website here.

iRig MIDI and SampleTank for iOS review originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple reported its quarterly earnings earlier this week and the results were lower than expected. This miss was widely reported and Apple’s stock took a hit dropping from above 420 before the announcement to under 400 on Thursday afternoon. But whose fault is this negative financial report? Is it Apple’s failure to perform this past quarter or analyst’s overenthusiastic predictions that led to this uncharacteristic stumble.

According to Fortune contributor Andy Zaky, this foible is only a minor blip created by analysts whose predictions were off the chart. Zaky points out that Apple, in the past, has reported revenue that was about 12-18% above guidance. Analysts used this historical information and issued a consensus estimate that was 5-10% above guidance. That’s how it worked. Analysts would predict on the lower side, Apple would earn on the higher side and life was good.

This past quarter, though, analyst estimates had crept up to 18.8% and Apple’s reported earnings were 13%. Though Apple’s earnings fell within its normal 12 to 18% range, analysts got ahead of themselves and overestimated Apple’s performance. And it’s their own fault says Zaky. Apple repeatedly warned analysts this was going to be a transitional quarter, but analysts failed to listen.

[Via The Loop]

Apple’s earnings “miss” more an issue with overzealous analysts originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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