Category: I-phone

Roku is a brand of digital video players, a member of the growing category of consumer electronics known as internet television. These devices access video and media content on the internet and stream that content directly to your living room. Internet television content includes services like Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube. The Apple TV is the 800-lb gorilla of that market.

The introduction of the Apple TV has been an immense boon for the entire market, according to Anthony Wood, the CEO of Roku. This is because Apple’s digital video player, the Apple TV, has raised consumer awareness of the video product. People who were never aware of such a thing called “internet television” are now looking into the market and buying this new type of product.

Some new customers buy the Apple TV, of course, but some new buyers go to Roku. Since the Apple TV was released, Roku sales have doubled. As a result, Apple’s entry in the market has been great for everyone involved. Check out a video introduction to Roku on the next page.

[Via 9 to 5 Mac]

Continue reading Apple TV doubles Roku sales

Apple TV doubles Roku sales originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Humble Indie Bundle 2 has reached $1.2 million in revenue, topping the last offering, and there’s five days left to go so the turnout for the pay-what-you-want gaming pack should be pretty spectacular. All of the games were previously announced as released on both Mac and PC, but the group has also hammered out a deal with Steam to optionally give out keys for the games on that service if you so choose. That means that even if you don’t have Steam, you can get the games on their own, but if you do, you can pay whatever price you want, and get all five of the games (two of them when they actually debut on the service) through Valve’s downloadable game app.

That’s a pretty spectacular deal — you can download the games through Steam onto any other computers you happen to have, and as before, you can still give all, some, or none of the money you pay to your choice of charities. Mac donations are above the average, but still nowhere near as high as Linux donations. If you do head over there and pick up the bundle, be sure to represent your OS of choice when you do. As I said, there are five days left, but if you’re a gamer and want any one of these games, this deal is more than worth getting in on before it ends.

Humble Indie Bundle hits $1.2 million, promises Steam integration originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AirPlay. It’s not just for Apple products anymore. The video you see on the next page shows an XBMC install on a Ubuntu Linux box running an AirPlay client service. As with the AirPlayer solution I wrote for the Mac, the XBMC application advertises on Bonjour and can be played to directly from the built-in iOS video menus.

In addition, several people have contacted me to mention that they’re working on Windows adaptations as well. The photo below is a preliminary peek at an in-progress project being built by @infectionfx.

Thanks, davilla.

Continue reading AirPlay running on XBMC Linux box

AirPlay running on XBMC Linux box originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 18:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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An investigation by The Wall Street Journal has found that some iPhone and Android apps are are spying on users and potentially transmitting personal data to other companies. While both Apple and Google say that they have privacy protections in place for their customers, many apps are able to skirt around them either on purpose or by claiming ignorance as the maker of Pumpkin Maker (a pumpkin-carving app) did, saying that he didn’t know that he needed user permission before sharing the data he collected inside his app. But in speaking to the WSJ, Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr said that “We have created strong privacy protections for our customers, especially regarding location-based data. Privacy and trust are vitally important.”

iPhone apps transmitted more data than the Android apps tested, and two apps in particular stood out: Pandora and TextPlus 4. Pandora (a music streaming app) and TextPlus 4 (a text messaging app) sent the phone’s unique ID number, along with the user’s age, gender, and zip code to several different advertising companies. Out of 101 apps tested in the study, the WSJ found that over half sent the ID number out to companies without the user’s consent.

Privacy concerns are often at the forefront of user’s minds and rightly so, but I do think most people understand that companies collect some information and that whatever is collected is actually beneficial to their user experience. Apple itself recently detailed their location collection policies that they use to provide location-specific information to members of Congress after the House of Representatives looked into the company’s privacy policy. And as a personal example, I use the Yelp app quite a bit to discover new restaurants in my area. I do know that they are collecting location information from me and it is probably being kept in a database somewhere, but I also believe that it helps Yelp tailor my (and others’) experience with their app, as they want users to share information with them and so do I — without some of this info the app wouldn’t be all that valuable.

Do I want these app companies sharing my name, age, gender, mailing address, birthdate or sexual preference with ad networks everywhere? Not really, and I do believe we should have the ability to opt out of sharing anything if we so choose. Apps that are doing that without gaining my permission to do so shouldn’t be allowed in the App Store. But a little location-based marketing in the apps that it is needed in does go a long way to making a more positive user experience. Macworld thinks that the concerns raised by the WSJ are overblown. What do you guys think?

[via GigaOm and Macworld]

Several iPhone and Android apps sharing private user data originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s a rather rather cool idea from the TomTom folks. An update available today to the TomTom iPhone nav apps (price varies depending on countries covered) allows you to edit the information on your maps and then submit those changes for others to access using what TomTom calls Map Share. This feature is also present on many dedicated TomTom GPS units.

Map Share lets users edit street names, set driving directions, and block and unblock streets directly on the maps, and then share those changes with the TomTom community. Once the changes are verified, everyone gets updated maps. The updates come automatically once a week, or you can force a check on demand.

That feature should go along way toward answering complaints that navigation apps like TomTom’s, with built in maps, are never as accurate as apps that provide navigation data on the fly. Of course, even freshly downloaded maps can be out of date, so that really isn’t a very compelling argument.

The TomTom nav apps are on sale for the holidays. The US version is US$39.99, while a North American version covering the US and Canada is $49.99.

TomTom adds Map Share so users can update their own maps originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft has released an update for Windows Phone 7 Connector, the still-in-beta OS X application that works with iPhoto and iTunes to allow you to sync your DRM-free multimedia with Microsoft’s ‘wares.

According to Pocket-lint, the latest release features a new setup process, the ability to manually retrieve files from your WP7 device, and also allows you to sync device-purchased content back to your Mac. These new features are also joined by several bug fixes and can be downloaded directly from Microsoft.

While no one at the TUAW HQ wishes a Windows phone on anyone, we are at least glad that Microsoft is committed to cross-platform interoperability.

[via Engadget]

Microsoft updates WP7 Connector for Mac with improved setup, bug fixes originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One thing that is sure to make my wife roll her eyes in disgust is when we’re out somewhere and I check in to a venue using Foursquare. I enjoy using the Foursquare iPhone app to check in, gain or lose the mayorship of a location, and occasionally get one of those cool badges that they award to users (I’m particularly proud of my Jobs, I’m on a boat!, and JetSetter badges).

The free app has just been updated and now adds two fun features — adding photos and comments to check-ins. This is handy, since I currently have to use multiple apps to a) check in and b) send photos of delicious food to friends. Now it’s all possible in one app. There’s also a history page on the Foursquare website where you can see all of the places that you’ve visited.

Comments are only viewable by your Foursquare friends, but photos that you add are added to a venue and can be seen by anyone. Considering that many iPhone users do this all with a mashup of Twitter clients, photo apps, and Foursquare or Facebook, the Foursquare update is a welcome surprise.

In the update notes (at right), Foursquare mentions that they’re up to 5 million users. Congratulations, and thanks for the Christmas gift.

Foursquare adds photos, comments to location check-ins originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone cheese dock, just in time for the holidays originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just when you thought the DROID “I Don’t” ads were a thing of the past and Motorola was focusing on more important things like fragmentation, the American handset manufacturer has sprung yet another video on us that directly challenges Apple and its iPad. In this CES 2011 teaser video, Motorola profiles the good and bad aspects of several tablets including the stone-carved ones of yore. When the promotional video finally lands on the iPad, Motorola zings Apple by saying the iPad is nothing more than a giant iPhone.

While Motorola undoubtedly takes great joy in dismissing the iPad, it fails to notice that the video highlights the troubling issue of fragmentation within Android. With tongue-in-cheek commentary, Motorola compares the Android 2.2-powered Samsung Galaxy Tab to Motorola’s upcoming Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet. The Galaxy Tab is 7-inch tablet with a phone-centric version of Android, while the Motorola tablet is expected to offer 10-inches of screen real estate and a tablet-optimized version of Google’s mobile OS. With Android, you have multiple devices with different hardware, running different versions of the mobile operating system. In the end, this platform battle will all come down to sales numbers and if my counting is correct, Apple’s giant iPhone has a 13 million device lead.

If you can stand to watch it, Motorola’s CES video is after the break.

Continue reading Motorola calls iPad “a giant iPhone” in Honeycomb teaser video

Motorola calls iPad “a giant iPhone” in Honeycomb teaser video originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Before we get to the new features in Star Walk 5.1.1 (also known as the Christmas Edition), we’ve teamed up with the developers, Vito Technology, to give away five copies of the app and a sparkly new iPad. Just leave a comment telling us your favorite astronomical object (star, planet, comet, constellation, space debris, man-made, whatever) and you’re entered to win. Five people will win a code for the iPhone application, and one will win the 32 GB WiFi iPad.

Star Walk 5 Stars Astronomy Guide – Christmas Edition adds a Christmas-specific toy in that you can “track” Santa on his way around the world on Christmas eve. Star Walk has a “time machine” mode which allows you to position the stars in the sky on any given date. Now you can “track” Santa as he flies across the sky on Christmas Eve by dialing up December 24. Our own Mel Martin reviewed the app a while back, but these latest version adds printing support via AirPrint, info on some famous man-made satellites, and new star catalogs. It’s a great update to an already excellent app.

• Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
• To enter leave a comment telling us your favorite astronomical object (star, planet, man-made, whatever).
• The comment must be left before Wednesday, DECEMBER 22, 2010, 11:59PM Eastern Time.
• You may enter only once.
• Six winners will be selected in a random drawing. Five will win a promo code, one will win an iPad.
• Prize: One code for the iPhone version of Star Walk (Value: US$2.99 ) OR one 32 GB WiFi iPad for the Grand Prize winner (value: US$599).
• Click Here for complete Official Rules.

Star Walk 5.1.1 brings Santa, printing, and more — plus a chance to win an iPad originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In a report released by comScore, a digital reporting firm, online computer hardware sales have increased by 25% this holiday season. Handheld computing devices like the iPad drove much of that growth, according the report.

This means computer hardware is the faster growing segment of holiday purchases, just ahead of consumer electronics. (Consumer electronics have grown 22% this season.) The reporting company called out the iPad by name, saying “handheld devices (such as Apple iPads and e-readers) and laptop computers drove much of the growth.”

It’s an interesting choice to group the iPad, which is a tablet computer, with dissimilar devices like the Kindle or Nook. Unfortunately, comScore didn’t release any numbers about how the iPad did against those e-readers. It will be interesting to see Apple’s reports about the iPad after this quarter, since we know they sold nearly 4.2 million iPads in the previous quarter.

[via AppleInsider]

iPad aids 25% increase in online computer sales originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The holidays have become rife with software bundles, bringing big savings to consumers (when there are enough apps in the bundle you don’t already own). Fusion Ads is offering a bundle that will be of particular interest to designers. It’s especially pertinent to web designers, but any designer who doesn’t already own some of the included apps would be wise to take a look!

The bundle includes seven Mac applications, plus a copy of the popular CMS, ExpressionEngine and related training products. It also includes credits for Postmark, an email marketing service, some icon packs and the Keynote Wireframe Toolkit for putting together web designs in Keynote.

The Mac apps in the bundle include Versions, FontCase, Billings, DrawIt, ExpanDrive, TextExpander and Kaleidoscope (a slick app I’ll be reviewing soon). Check out the Fusion Ads Holiday Bundle page for descriptions and links for all of the included apps, services and icons. The bundle will cost you US$79, with a total value of US$626, according to Fusion. That’s some serious savings on some really great apps, and there are only 11 days left to grab it. People who purchase the bundle are also entered in a drawing for a MacBook Air, and those who gift the bundle can win a 16 GB WiFi iPad. It’s worth a peek!

Holiday savings for designers with the Fusion Ads Holiday Bundle originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I don’t know what kind of criteria we need to hit to call the official start of an App Store price war, but quite a few companies have taken EA’s lead from last week and dropped their app prices down in an attempt to get them on the top app charts before this week’s store freeze by Apple. Pocket Gamer has a pretty good list of sales going — most Namco apps are on sale, along with the Pac Man titles and Bit Trip Beat. Halfbrick Studios has also dropped prices on their games, bringing Age of Zombies and Fruit Ninja down to just 99 cents, and adding new content to both. Samurai II: Vengeance was also dropped to 99 cents, as we tweeted on @TUAW earlier today.

A number of apps are trying to compete by adding features — Touch Arcade has a good list of those, including Imangi’s Max Adventure, and Capcom’s Arcade title as well as Sega’s Chu Chu Rocket.

The weekend hasn’t changed EA’s grip on the App Store charts — 6 of the top 10 are still EA’s titles, and Apple is actually running banners in the App Store advertising EA’s big sale (which has some smaller developers a little miffed). We’ll have to see what happens as the week goes on — the store freeze is set to go down on Thursday through Tuesday, December 28th, so any apps in the charts then will stay there over the holiday weekend.

App Store price war continues, prices drop pre-freeze originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Do you remember Camera+? It was the amazing US$1.99 photography app from development house tap tap tap that ended up getting yanked from the App Store after the developers used the iPhone volume button as a camera shutter button.

In a postscript to a blog entry today, tap tap tap let it slip that Camera+ is on the way back to the App Store. The teaser comment says that it’s currently in review, and that this will be the “biggest update yet.” Let’s hope that they stay within the sometimes ridiculous guidelines for App Store approval, and that the app is as successful in its second incarnation as it was in the first.

Camera+ might face an uphill battle for renewed market share, however. One of the cool features of the app was its ability to share apps to Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr with one tap. Since Camera+ went missing, the relatively new and free Instagram app has become very popular, and it also features easy sharing and fun filters. However, Instagram doesn’t have the zoom or exposure controls that made Camera+ so useful, and a recent update deleted a popular filter (Poprocket) that was enjoyed by many users.

However, competition is good for those of us on the receiving end of the app wars, so it’s good to see that Camera+ is going to be back soon. TUAW will let you know when the new version is available in the App Store and what those exciting new features might be.

Camera+ coming back to the App Store originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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