Category: I-phone

A few days after the entire service had a redesign, Blogger now has something users have been waiting for for a while: an official iPhone app. Google has released the Blogger app to the App Store, and it’s now available for download. The app allows you to do everything you’d expect with the Blogger service, including save, edit, and publish posts, as well as uploading pictures and adding location information.

It appears you can’t edit any of your templates or HTML, or even manage comments from the app, so this isn’t a full-service setup, just a way to quickly post from the road on your blog. There’s no iPad version, either, though there are quite a few iPad apps out there that do support posting to Blogger directly.

Having an official app like this will probably be enough for a lot of people, especially for a relatively simple CMS like Blogger. The Blogger app is of course available for free.

Google releases an official Blogger iPhone app originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The iPhone is pretty special, but apparently its magic does not extend to curing blemishes.

The Federal Trade Commission has reached a settlement with the developers of AcneApp. The marketers of the app claimed that it “was developed by a dermatologist…. A study published by the British Journal of Dermatology showed blue and red light treatments eliminated p-acne bacteria (a major cause of acne) and reduces [sic] skin blemishes by 76%.” There were approximately 11,600 downloads of AcneApp from the iTunes store, where it sold for $1.99.

The FTC charged the acne treatment claims made for both the iPhone and a similar Android app were unsubstantiated. It also charged that the marketers of AcneApp falsely claimed that the study in the British Journal of Dermatology proves that blue and red light therapy, such as the type provided by AcneApp, is an effective acne treatment.

Our own Chris Rawson was pretty sure the iPhone’s oleophobic screen would take care of acne on its own, but apparently it is only good at resisting greasy fingerprints and ear wax.

A couple of mysteries here: First, how did this kind of snake oil make it past the iPhone app store vetting, and why on earth did 11,600 people download it? Just thinking about this makes my face itch.

Oh, if you still need some kind of acne fix, there is a free app called Acne Eraser that will gives you info and tips on getting rid of the facial blight. For our more light-hearted readers there is a free iOS game called Pimple Popper. You can figure out the rest. As they say, once you pop, you cannot stop.

Got acne? There used to be an app for that originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Launched in 2007, iTunes U is an Apple service that lets teachers distribute classroom content to students easily over the Internet. It’s available at over 1,000 universities in 123 countries.

In the four years since launch, the program can boast of 600 million downloads, with more than 300 million occurring in the last year. Unlike many online services that are US-centric, iTunes U is decidedly international with 60% of users residing outside the US.

Among the participating schools, Open University and Stanford University are at the top of the download list with over 30 million downloads each. The bulk of the downloads are done on a desktop, but a growing percentage (30%) are gaining access to content from an iOS device.

iTunes U tops 600 million downloads originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PopCap has updated the Plants vs. Zombies iOS app with a few new game mode options, purchaseable with the in-game currency at Dave’s crazy store. The modes are all different and available in purchases of three each, featuring everything from a mode where you fight invisible zombies to a special bowling mode, and even a variant of PopCap’s own Bejeweled called “Beghouled Twist.” If you don’t want to earn the in-game currency yourself, PopCap’s also offering in-app purchases for in-game coins that will unlock each of the modes, so that’s another way to go.

Elsewhere on the App Store, EA has released Snood Free, a free version of the popular Bubble Bobble-style game (along with Snood Free HD for iPad). This version leaves multiplayer out and contains ads, while the original paid versions of the game are still online. Disney has also launched a lite version of the popular JellyCar 3, so you can now try that one out without any additional cost.

And finally, Illusion Labs’ Touchgrind BMX app has gone universal, so anyone who owned the iPhone version can now download the iPad version for free.

Plants vs. Zombies updated, and a few other app deals originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Flurry’s latest post is yet another interesting read on freemium games on the App Store, specifically which age groups are playing them, and which age groups are paying for them. They’ve used consumer spending data across over 1.4 billion sessions, which means this information is as accurate as you’re going to get outside of Apple’s own databases. As you can see above, the patterns are interesting. Younger players are the primary users of freemium games, and that’s not really surprising — we’ve known for a while that the younger generation is downloading and playing more games than anyone else.

But that third blue bar is the really interesting one: The people actually paying for freemium games are primarily in the 25-34 age group, right in the middle of the demographics. Sure, they’re playing their share of the games, but freemium titles are almost completely funded by that stripe of the age demographic. And when you consider that the average freemium title only really pulls in-app purchases from a small percentage of its audience anyway, that age group becomes even more important.

This seems logical, as most successful in-app purchase items are for convenience and time-saving. The 25-34 age group has more money but not as much free time as the younger audience, and thus are willing to shell out for items that help them in the game.

But the big question is whether this will change as the years go by. As the younger audience gets older, will they become the main payers for these titles, or just stay the main players? We’ve only been playing with this model for a few years, and if the younger audience keeps playing without paying, freemium could be a short-lived trend.

Younger audiences play more freemium games, but 25-34 year-olds pay for them originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MacRumors has confirmed that Apple has instituted a program to match its employees’ charitable donations, up to US$10,000 per year. It’s restricted to full-time employees in the U.S. for now, but the company hopes to expand that. Tim Cook announced the initiative to Apple’s employees earlier today:

“Team:

I am very happy to announce that we are kicking off a matching gift program for charitable donations. We are all really inspired by the generosity of our co-workers who give back to the community and this program is going to help that individual giving go even farther.

Starting September 15, when you give money to a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, Apple will match your gift dollar-for-dollar, up to $10,000 annually. This program will be for full-time employees in the US at first, and we’ll expand it to other parts of the world over time.

Thank you all for working so hard to make a difference, both here at Apple and in the lives of others. I am incredibly proud to be part of this team.

If you’d like more information on the program, you can get it on HRWeb, which can be easily accessed through AppleWeb.

Tim”

Good on Apple and CEO Tim Cook. It sounds like a great program.

Apple launches charitable matching program for employees originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now that the weather is cooling down here in the States, it’s time to spend some time outdoors. I love a good hike, and they’re made even more enjoyable with a good app by my side. Track distance, brag about your workout or even find a hidden “treasure” during your excursion with these apps. Have fun (all prices are USD).

iMapMyHIKE (Free lite version, $1.99 pro)

I used iMapMyHIKE all summer. When you start out, launch the app and note your location. As you move, the app tracks your course. It’s fun to see where you’ve traveled as well as build a real-time map back to your starting point, should you get confused.

Of course, that’s just the beginning. You can share your hiking stats with friends (like distance travelled, pace and so on), spot hiking companions running the app on a map and log your data to keep track of your outdoor workouts. It’s a lot of fun and was a good companion this summer.

BoxFinder ($1.99) and Geocaching ($99)

Here’s a two-for-one deal. BoxFinder and Geocaching are apps for letterboxing and geocaching, two similar hunt-and-find games that can enhance any hike. Geocaching is the practice of finding small boxes (often Tupperware containers) that have been hidden at specific geographic coordinates around the world. Each typically contains a log book and other goodies.

Letterboxing is similar, but directed at kids. Upon finding a letterbox, the “hunter” marks its logbook with his signature “stamp,” while placing the box’s stamp in her own log book.

Both apps make the adventures much easier and enjoyable. Since the iPhone 4 is a GPS receiver, finding that box is quite easy. Use the coordinates, description and virtual logs left by other “players” to find just what you’re looking for. Both apps offer to find boxes within your area and, in my experience, excel at directing you right to them. If you’re interested in either of these pastimes, grab these apps. They truly enhance the experience.

MyNature Animal Tracks ($6.99)

When I was a Boy Scout, I loved making casts of animal tracks we found in the woods. Today my own kids like finding them, too, but I’m out of practice and can’t identify them as reliably as I used to. Fortunately, MyNature Animal Tracks is here to help.

This great little app features a huge database of animal tracks, both hind and forepaws. When you come across a track, perform a quick search to find what you’re looking for. Once you have, the app provides an image of the animal, plus its gate, call and typical range.

Best of all, the data is all within the app so it works without an Internet connection — a likely scenario in the middle of the woods.

Star Walk – 5 Stars Astronomy Guide ($2.99)

Staying overnight? Then you must have this with you. There are plenty of astronomy apps out there but this one never fails to impress. When pointed at the sky, Star Walk identifies the stars, planets and other heavenly bodies overhead (including satellites!). It’s extremely impressive.

As you slowly move it across the sky, Star Walk points out what you’re looking at. A search feature will guide you to a certain object with an arrow. For example, type “Mars” and the app prompts you to face the right direction.

There’s also a calendar of celestial events for planning purposes and a red-light “night mode” to preserve your dark vision. It’s one of the first apps I use to show off my iPhone (iPad, too).

There you have five great apps to accompany you in the great outdoors. One more thing — grab an environment-resistant case while you’re at it. The rivers, streams and hard rocks are pretty, but they don’t care a tinker’s cuss about your iPhone.

5 iPhone apps for hiking originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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, which is perfect 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 listening through iTunes, click here.

Daily Update for Sept. 8, 2011 originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FiLMiC Pro is a US$2.99 app that boosts your iPhone video as close to pro quality as it can get. The app allows selectable resolutions (1280×720, 640×480, 480×360) and a variety of frame rates like 30fps, 24fps all the way down to 1fps.

There are a number of great features to get you started. You can focus-lock on any point with your finger and lock the exposure the same way. This prevents the camera automation from “hunting” for the right settings. FiLMiC also offers color bars and a personalized slate.

Exposure settings range from the whole frame to a spot sample. A handy audio level meter is superimposed over the screen, and framing guides for 4:3, 16:9 and 2.35:1 aspect ratios keep on you track.

Movies can be saved to your camera roll, DropBox, YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook or Tumblr. I tried shooting some video and found the experience far better than the stock Camera app. Of course FiLMiC can’t make the iPhone camera hardware any better than it is, but it surely brings in features that will push the camera on the iPhone to the limit. I was surprised how good the video looked.

If you are serious about video on your iPhone, this is the app to get. It’s a steal at $2.99; I would have expected to pay more.

Check out a great, pro-looking sample video here. This video was shot at 24fps; expensive equipment was used (a Steadicam Smoothee & a GorillaPod) and some track was laid for moving the camera. Not a typical handheld job, but impressive.

FiLMiC requires iOS4.1 or later, and works on a 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod touch (4th generation) and the 2nd generation iPad. Video quality and some features will vary depending on the iOS device you use.

Check the galleries to see the range of video options you can choose.

FiLMiC Pro is an amazing iPhone video app originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple has a large cash reserve and it’s using some of the those funds to lobby Congress. Judging by the money that’s passing hands, Apple is taking its lobbying efforts seriously.

In the second quarter of 2011, Apple spent a whopping US$790,000 on lobbying. This is more than double what the company spent in the same quarter of 2010 and up $230,000 from the first quarter of 2011.

Apple is reportedly using this money to influence issues like patent reform, electronic waste, and consumer privacy. You don’t need to look too far back in the news cycle to appreciate how these three issues greatly affect Apple and other tech companies.

Patent litigation is out of control with both tech companies and patent holding companies suing each other in court. Tech companies are also struggling to providing personalized, location-based services without compromising customer’s privacy.

Apple spending some of its cash in US Capitol originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The City of Cupertino is holding a public meeting to discuss the environmental impact of Apple’s new campus. This meeting is procedural as Cupertino Mayor Gilbert Wong has already said there’s no way the city will reject Apple’s plan.

Though this meeting won’t throw a monkey wrench into Apple’s plan, it may provide additional insight into the architectural details for the building. The meeting will be broadcast live over the Internet and you can find the early details on Apple’s new campus here on Cupertino’s city website.

[Via Edible Apple]

Cupertino City Counsel considers environmental impact of Apple campus originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you haven’t already heard, AgileBits has unleashed their fantastic password manager 1Password upon the Mac App Store. Not only is it now available in a convenient easy-to-update form, but this new version will include new features and an easy upgrade path to 4.0. Not to mention it’s also HALF off at the moment.

For those of you who have somehow missed the 1Password boat, it is a password manager that lets you set a “master password” and then stash all sorts of sensitive info behind it: website logins, credit card numbers, software serial numbers, even secure notes. One of my favorite features is password generation: I can tell it my Facebook password needs to be 16 character and super high security and boom! As if by magic, I have a highly crack-resistent password.

Thanks to the magic of browser add-ons I can fill in web forms with my credit card information or any other bit of stuff I have secreted away behind that master password. Did I mention they also have an iOS app and Dropbox syncing so all your goodies are available on all your Apple hardware? Well, there you go. (There’s a Windows version too, should you need that sort of thing. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)

If you’re an existing customer, here are a few of the changes you’ll want to know about in the new version: A new menubar icon for easy access from any application, full-screen support and 64-bit support. This new version requires Lion, so be sure you’re all upgraded before you pull the trigger.

We here at TUAW rather like 1Password, since it’s a straightforward app that does what it does very well. If you haven’t yet moved to some sort of password solution, this is a great opportunity to do so. Congratulations to AgileBits on getting to show off all the hard work they’ve been doing lately!

1Password now available on Mac App Store originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Update: As of this afternoon, the ship times are all back to 1 day. Perhaps the inventory lag was related to weather events or other externalities.

Customers looking to buy an iPhone 4 from Apple’s online store will now have to wait 1-3 days for their handset to ship. This lengthened ship time extends to every model of the iPhone 4 that Apple sells. This across-the-board delay may be a sign that iPhone 4 inventory is dwindling as Apple prepares to launch the iPhone 5 in the upcoming weeks.

Rumors suggest the iPhone 5 may have the faster A5 processor like the iPad 2, an 8-megapixel camera and both CDMA and GSM connectivity. It is expected to be announced at Apple’s fall event later this month and go on sale sometime in October.

[Via AppleInsider]

iPhone ship times start to slip (Updated) originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Final Cut Pro X launched earlier this year and casued much controversy. Consumers lauded the app as a relatively inexpensive upgrade to iMovie; while video professionals were discontent with what they considered to be a dumbed down application.

The biggest winner in this war over Final Cut Pro X is not Apple or Apple fans, but Adobe. According to The Loop, sales of Adobe video editing tools have jumped 22% year over year and demand for Adobe’s Mac products have grown an impressive 45%. Much of this growth is attributed to customers switching from Final Cut Pro X to Adobe Premiere Pro, says Adobe.

Sales of Adobe video tools grow, thanks to Final Cut X originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In a move that should surprise no one, Apple has asked a Japan court to ban the sale of Samsung phones. Specifically, Apple has filed a suit in Tokyo district court to halt sales of the Galaxy S and the S II, as well as the Galaxy Tab 7. The Cupertino company is after 100 million yen (about $1.3 million as of this writing) in damages in addition to the sales ban.

Of course, this isn’t the first time these companies have had legal sparring in Japan. Samsung sued Apple last April. Apple then countersued in August. Action has also been taken in Germany and Australia.

Apple asks Japan court to ban sale of Samsung phones originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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