Category: I-phone

It’s not just documents and apps that will be using iCloud. Apple has just announced Photo Stream, which will sync the camera roll on your iPhone or iPad to the cloud, then keep your other devices updated, including your Macs, using iPhoto or even a PC where your photos and videos will show up in the pictures folder.

Of course, Apple TV 2 will support Photo Stream as well. Your last 1,000 pictures will be stored in the cloud, but only for 30 days. Apple doesn’t intend to replace all your local storage, but instead, provide a robust syncing service.

So take a photo on your phone. In an instant, it is on your iPad, in your iPhoto library and available for big screen display on your Apple TV connected set. Go on vacation, and your pictures will be home before you are. Apple is talking about Wi-Fi, so no word on if the service works over 3G.

Photo Stream brings new power to your camera roll originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 14:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple detailed its cloud service and released some new features that begin to rival Google Docs and Microsoft 365. Say hello to Apple’s new Documents in the Cloud feature that lets you sync documents in the cloud and share them across devices.

If you are editing on the iPad, you can save the doc to the cloud and open it on the iPhone. It will even remember the slide or page that you were working on. It’s compatible with Pages, Numbers and Keynote and is already available in the versions Apple just released last week.

Documents in the Cloud will work across iOS devices and Macs/PCs. Apple will also release a set of APIs for developers so that third-party developers can use this cloud storage system. The only thing missing is a web interface for editing, which Apple did not mention in its WWDC presentation.

iWork gets SaaS-y with Documents in the Cloud originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 14:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While Apple demoed ten huge new iOS 5 features at WWDC earlier today, it also mentioned several more in passing that are worth looking at. By far the biggest deal is Wi-Fi syncing to iTunes — you no longer have to plug your iPhone or iPad into your Mac to sync your content. The iPad can now wirelessly mirror all of its onscreen content over AirPlay, and it’s also getting some new multitasking gestures.

Some other new iOS 5 features that only got mentioned on a single Keynote slide:

Set tones for voicemail, mail and calendar alerts (no mention of SMS tones, unfortunately).

• New iPad music app
• Smart Playlist sync from iTunes
• Option to speak text selection
• iTunes Tone Store
• Built-in dictionary
• Emoji emoticons
• Personal dictionary
• Alternate routes in Maps
• Improved FaceTime video quality

These are just some of the more than 200 features Apple says are coming in iOS 5, which is expected this fall.

New iOS 5 features beyond the top ten originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 14:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Jobs unveiled the new iCloud service at WWDC today. iCloud stores a user’s content in the cloud and wirelessly pushes that content to all devices. The services will be free with no ads and be completely integrated with the apps found in MobileMe — and they’ve all been rewritten from the ground up. Contacts and calendars that are created or modified on one device are pushed to the cloud, and the changes propagate on all other devices instantly. Calendars have also had sharing features added so that you can send them to friends or coworkers.

iCloud also allows users to propagate app and iBooks purchases across devices. Purchase an iBook on your iPad, tap the new iCloud button, and the same book will be downloaded on your iPhone, for example. iCloud also features deep backup sets and automatically performs daily backups over Wi-Fi. Backups include music, books, apps, camera roll, device settings and app data.

iCloud also features an app called “Documents.” When you create a new document in Pages, Keynote or Numbers, that document is automatically pushed to all the devices the user has Pages, Keynote or Numbers on. The iCloud Documents APIs will be made available to developers so that they can build the feature into their apps.

Another new feature: in the Photos iOS app there is a new album called Photo Stream, which allows any photos taken on any devices to be pushed to your other devices automatically. The last 1,000 photos will be stored on the cloud for 30 days and then be deleted from the cloud. In that time, you have the option of permanently saving any of those photos to any device you own. Finally, Apple has extended iCloud capabilities to iTunes. You can re-download (for free) any song you have previously purchased in iTunes on up to 10 devices that you own.

“We’re making it free, and we’re very excited about it. So that’s iCloud. It stores your content and pushes it to all of your devices, and it’s integrated with all your apps,” Steve Jobs told the packed theater at WWDC.

iCloud named as successor to MobileMe, will be free service originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iOS 5 will introduce a number of exciting changes to Game Center, including profile photos, game discovery (and purchasing), achievement points and more. Here’s a brief look at what’s new.

Apple’s 50 million Game Center customers (!) will find achievements supplemented with points. The bragging rights are nice, but why not out-score your friends on the achievement board and the battlefield?

Speaking of friends, you’ll see the people your friends are following (Apple calls them “friends of friends”) and even receive friend recommendations, though we’re not sure how that’ll work. Plus, everyone gets to add a pretty profile picture to their account.

You’ll also find game recommendations and an opportunity to buy games right from within Game Center. It looks like fun, and we’ll see it in action soon enough. Get ready, gamers!

Apple announces Game Center changes at WWDC originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 14:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iOS 5 adds NewsStand, which is going to be huge for readers and publishers. Demoed at WWDC today, NewsStand looks just like the iBooks app, but this is for magazines and daily papers.

Working a bit like the Kindle magazine system, NewsStand will update your magazines when they are published without any fiddling around by users. Magazines can be read offline, and Apple has apparently signed up a boat load of magazines and newspapers.

The whole newspaper and magazine feature of iOS got off to a bit of a rocky start, with publishers not too happy about the Apple rules. It isn’t clear if the rules have changed, but having the majority of your daily reading available in one place with auto downloads is a big step forward.

NewsStand built into iOS 5 originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scott Forestall took the stage during this morning’s WWDC keynote address to share some extremely impressive numbers regarding iOS and the App Store.

For starters, get this: Apple has sold over 200 million iOS devices. If you think that’s impressive, hold on to your hats, as it’s only the beginning.

Forestall claimed that that huge number makes iOS the number one mobile operating system with more than 44% of the market.

How about that iPad 2? Apple sold 15 million in the first 14 months of availability. Also, Apple is now the number one retailer in the world and has seen over 130 million books downloaded for the iBookstore. Want some more numbers?

• There are 425,000 apps on the App Store; 90,000 iPad apps
• 14 billion apps have been downloaded by Apple customers
• Apple has paid out $2.5 billion to developers
• There are 225 million iTunes accounts with credit cards

That’s amazing. We’d wish Apple luck in the future, but we’re not sure it’ll need it.

Apple touts impressive iOS numbers at WWDC originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple introduced iOS 5 at WWDC and kicked off the new release with over 200 new features. The keynote presented ten of the best features and here they are:

1. Notifications: Yay, no more interruptions from a giant box on your screen. iOS Notifications will appear at the top of your screen like Android. You can slide your finger across the notification and you will go directly to the message, email or app that generated the alert. You can also click on the “X” button to clear all the notifications.

2. NewsStand: NewsStand is the place for all your Magazine and newspaper subscriptions. On the iPad, this app will let you read your subscriptions as well as listen to audio and video. Each new magazine or newspaper edition is automatically downloaded to your device.

3. Twitter: Twitter is now integrated into iOS. A single sign-on is integrated into the settings which means you won’t have to log in in for every app. Twitter is also integrated into the Camera and Photos apps so you can upload your new photos with a few clicks. Location information and thumbnails are also included. As expected, the Twitter integration taps into your contacts and let you assign @ handles to a contact.

4. Safari: To improve Safari, Apple introduced Safari Reader which will detect when you are reading a page with an article on it. The content of this article is pushed into a single page without ads and other distractions in the side bars.Safari Reader lets you email the content of the article or tweet about it. It also includes full tabbed browsing in Safari on the iPad.

5. Reminders: Reminders does exactly what it says — remind you of all the important things you need to do. Includes location information and can remind you when you arrive and leave an event. Searchable and will sync with iCal.

6. Camera: The Camera app got a refresh with a new Camera shortcut on the lock screen (yay!). Double-click the home button and the camera app will launch. It will let you take a new picture even if you have a passcode set. You can also use the volume up button as a snap for the camera and grid lines to help frame your photos. Pinch-to-zoom is now added to the camera app as well. Built-in editor will let you crop, rotate, reduce red-eye and more.

7. Mail: Mail also gets some fresh new features including full text searching, rich text formatting, and flagging. Swipe to add an inbox and new enterprise features that add support for S/MIME. A dictionary is now integrated into the app as well as a new split keyboard which will make typing that much easier.

8. PC Free: Cut the cord. PC Free gives you the ability to setup and activate your brand new iPhone directly from the handset. Software updates are now over the air (double-yay!), even minor patches and little changes like add/delete calendars and add/remove mailboxes can be done from the handset.

9. Game Center: Game Center now includes photos with the profiles, game recommendations, and overall achievement scores. Support for turn-based games is now added into iOS so games like Scrabble will be easier to build.

10. iMessage: A new messaging service just for iOS 5 owners. It’s SMS on steroids with a bit of BlackBerry Messenger for iOS! You can send text, photos, videos contacts, group messaging, delivery receipts and more. iMessages are pushed to all iOS device and it works over 3G and WiFi. And it supports encryption!

11. Other: Airplay mirroring to television wirelessly and WiFi sync to iTunes. New multitouch gestures to flick between apps. New APIs. Built-in dictionary, voice-over options, alternate routes in maps, and more. You can check out these other features here.

The developer seed for iOS 5 goes out today. The final version will ship this fall to customers. It will support iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad, iPad 2, third- and fourth-generation iPod touch.

iOS 5 previewed at WWDC, arriving this Fall (Updated) originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 13:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s the app we probably use the most, and Mail is getting some big-league features in Lion. Attendees at WWDC only got a brief glimpse of the new Mail app, but it’s loaded with new and compelling features.

The app has been completely redesigned, with a new multi-column view that looks a bit similar to Mail on the iPad. The app can intelligently select recipients as you type, and even suggest subjects as it parses your older mail. There are threaded conversations, and those can be easily saved outside of Mail. Threads even contain attachments.

We’ll have more on Mail as we learn more, but with Lion itself selling for US$29.99, the Mail upgrade alone seems like it’s worth that.

Mail gets major overhaul in OS X originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 13:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple kicked off WWDC in a big way with 5,200 attendees who snagged all the tickets in a mere two hours. Unlike previous years, Jobs dove right into Mac OS X Lion without his traditional summary of the amazing things Apple has done. We watched the live stream like a hawk and gleaned out the pertinent stats that show how well Apple is performing across its product groups. Here’s what we learned from Jobs and company:

• 54 million Mac users worldwide
• Mac grew 28% while PC market shrank 1%
• Mac sales are 73% notebooks, 27% desktops.
• Mac App Store is now the #1 PC software channel over Best Buy and Walmart
• Pixelmator made $1 million in its first 20 days, quadrupling its revenue.
• over 200 million iOS devices sold
• more than 44% of installed mobile user base
• 25 million iPads in first 14 months
• 15 billion songs sold in the iTunes store
• #1 music retailer in the world
• iBookstore downloads topped 130 million; six publishers on board
• 425,000 apps in the App Store; 90,00 are for the iPad
• 14 billion apps downloaded from the App Store
• Apple paid out more than US$2.5 billion to devs
• 225 million iTunes accounts
• 50 million Game Center users
• iPhone 4 is number two camera, not just smartphone camera, but camera on Flickr

Not too shabby for a company long considered the underdog.

WWDC by the numbers (Updated) originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple announced today that Mac OS X 10.7 Lion will go on sale in July via the Mac App Store (only) for US$29.99. Lion was originally announced in 2010 with the first developer’s preview coming out in February. It has more than 250 features, including full-screen applications, multi-touch gestures, Mission Control (essentially Dashboard, Exposé and Spaces rolled into one), Launchpad, the Mac App Store built in, resume, auto save, versioning and more.

Update (1:30 PM): New version of Mail announced. Peer-to-peer Wi-Fi, auto discovery and setup, confirm to send and receive, fully encrypted transfer, snippets, favorites bar, conversations and more. A blow to newcomers, such as Sparrow, for sure.

Update: Lion will be available only in the Mac App Store. 4 GB download, no rebooting, can use it on all personally authorized Macs. $29.99 in July with developer’s preview today.

Lion will go on sale in July for $29.99 via Mac App Store (Updated) originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Welcome to TUAW’s coverage of the 2011 Worldwide Developers Conference keynote address.

If you enjoyed this event or have suggestions for improving our coverage, let our producers know! Drop a note on our feedback page.

12:00. TUAW wants to thank you for taking time out of your day to spend it with us with this metaliveblog. There are lots of websites out there. We’re genuinely touched that so many of you chose TUAW. Thank you everyone! Our readers are the best.

12:00. And it’s a wrap. That’s today’s Steve Jobs Keynote with lots of great announcements. Did he introduce what you thought he would? Were you surprised? Disappointed? Let us know in the comments!

11:59. Showing photos of North Carolina facility. Ugly as sin, full of juicy data.

11:56. This finally explains why Apple is happy with 18% of revenue from this feature. It is all about rights-holders. Kelly G: “Not a sexy feature, just a feature with a great personality.” Darren Murph at Engadget: 2:56PM Wondering what happened to Lala? Now you know.

Continue reading WWDC 2011 Metaliveblog

WWDC 2011 Metaliveblog originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you were in the keynote line at WWDC this morning, you may have been approached by a robot bearing greetings and a smile. That robot, which rolls about on two wheels Segway-like, has an iPad for a head and was being controlled by one of the co-founders of Taptic Toys, Romina Espinosa, who was in Los Angeles at the time.

Telepresence robots are designed to give home workers a way to “walk around” a real office or plant without really being there. While Taptic Toys hasn’t turned this into a real product at this time, the idea is great. I’d personally love to be able to send my robot to stand in a keynote line for me while I laze at home 1,000 miles away. Could you imagine being able to send one of these around a foreign city so that you could tour it without leaving your home?

This is a very cool concept, and we’re sure to see more innovative uses of iOS and Mac OS X technology in the days to come.

Taptic Toys iPad telepresence robot roams the WWDC keynote line originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You can add another hospital group to the list of those already using iPads in a medical setting. Texas Health Resources will be using Apple’s magical and revolutionary tablet to help test patients’ recovery, check the status of inpatients, and share and view medical records around the hospital.

There’s a whole strategy called mHealth built around mobile devices like the iPad in the company, and a recent survey of employees suggested that 40 percent of the doctors in facilities are already using iPads or another tablet.

Texas Health is also running their own apps — they have six up and running at the moment, with even more being tested and worked on. One reason the iPad is so helpful for them, they say, is that they allow doctors and nurses to stay mobile rather than sitting on a computer at a desk, which means more hands-on time with patients.

Of course, that also means more IT workers to keep the mobile devices updated and running well, but apparently Texas Health is all over that one. It’s good to see Apple’s tablet being put to good use in health care facilities where it can really make a difference.

iPads used for diagnosis and treatment in Texas hospital originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Joshua Topolsky at This Is My Next has shared some last-minute iOS 5 rumors from a reliable source, including revamped messaging and notifications plus widgets and new lock screen functions.

Josh’s source(s) reports that Apple has readied its own MMS/SMS protocol, which will route messages to the appropriate iOS users. Carriers, watch out.

Also, incoming notifications will no longer pop up and interrupt what you’re doing, but slide unobtrusively from the top of the screen and await input from the user. Josh also reports that a screenshot of a “new” iOS notification that’s been floating around is not real.

But wait, there’s more! Accessing your notifications history by sliding the screen down also reveals a series of widget utilities, like weather. Finally, the new lock screen will display incoming messages and notifications as well as an icon identifying its point of origin. A swipe will bring you directly to that app.

It’s all conjecture, of course, but Topolsky’s sources are typically reliable. We’ll know for sure soon enough.

iOS 5 rumors: messaging, notifications, widgets and lock screen originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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