Category: I-phone

Apple has released MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update 2.0 for the newest MacBook Airs. The update addresses “a rare issue where MacBook Air boots or wakes to a black screen or becomes unresponsive,” according to Apple, and it’s a 2MB download that you can find either at the link above or via Software Update.

This is the second firmware update in as many months for the new MacBook Air; an earlier update, released just as the models began shipping, addressed faults with the MacBook Air’s graphics. Just like that earlier firmware update, today’s will require a restart, and Apple advises that you “do not disturb or shut off the power on your MacBook Air during this update.”

[via MacRumors]

Another MacBook Air EFI firmware update available originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 23:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Having trouble deciding which of the hundreds of thousands of apps in the App Store you should be trying out for yourself? Well have no fear, as Frenzapp is an app that (with the help of Facebook) helps you discover and share the apps that your friends find most useful.

After installing Frenzapp on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad running iOS 3.0 or later, the app automatically discovers all the apps you have used recently and lets you record your favorites. Once you have finished, a list is created that Frenzapp encourages you to share on your Facebook wall. The more friends you have on Facebook using the app the better your recommendations are going to be, and the latest update allows you to tweet about the apps you like as well as get notified when your friends sign up.

I am usually wary of apps that share my info with the world, but I am not too concerned with a few of my favorites being posted to my Facebook wall. After all, we all usually share a lot more information there than which apps we use on our iOS devices, right? While Macworld said to be aware that Frenzapp did that initial Facebook wall post without notification, that is now an option to turn on or off right on the Facebook login screen.

Frenzapp is available on the App Store for free. Remember, if you are looking for new apps to try, check out our App Reviews section right here on TUAW!

[via Macworld]

Frenzapp lets you discover and share iOS apps with your friends originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Welcome to the TUAW Holiday Gift Guide! We’ve sorted the treasure from the junk and are serving up suggestions to make your holiday gift-giving a little easier.

Choosing the right gift for an Apple-loving musician can be very tricky. Usually, they’ve got everything they want already because they can’t wait for the latest and greatest — they just get it for themselves as soon as they can. Or they are so overwhelmed by the choices presented to them that they can’t make a decision and therefore obsess about it for months on end. To say the least, it can be very difficult to give the Apple-loving musician the right gift.

Ironically, to top it all off, the gift-giver is usually not a musician, nor do they understand the gear and tech that most commonly goes with being a musician. For instance, when I start talking about music tech to a fellow musician in the presence of my wife, she looks at us as if we’re speaking an alien language, and try as she might, she can’t help but get extremely bored very quickly.

So, to help you (the musician / beloved gift-giver) make the right decision, we’ve gone to the trouble of putting together a list of some of our favorite music apps and pieces of music tech from the last year. You’ll definitely find something here that an Apple-loving musician is sure to be pleased with this holiday season.

Continue reading TUAW’s Holiday Gift Guide: Music gear for the Mac musician

TUAW’s Holiday Gift Guide: Music gear for the Mac musician originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When Apple announced that printing from iOS devices would become a reality with the release of iOS 4.2 and AirPrint, a lot of us at TUAW were very excited. This would make iPads and iPhones even more useful. I kept thinking that the ability to tap on my iPhone screen and make a print of a photo would be very cool. Well, the reality of AirPrint is that printing without third-party software running on your Mac or PC is only available on 11 HP printers that are referred to as supporting ePrint. This is a zero configuration, wireless-enabled network printing protocol that allows printing from any smartphone or computer without installing drivers or software.

I recently had an opportunity to do a hands-on review of an ePrint-enabled printer; the HP Photosmart Premium e-All-in-One C310 Printer (US$199.99, currently available with a $50 mail-in rebate). What I discovered is that HP’s ePrint technology and iOS devices are made for each other; the printing capability from iPhones, iPod touches and iPads is seamless and speedy. For more on the capabilities of this printer, click the Read More link.

Continue reading HP Photosmart Premium e-All-in-One C310a Printer: Hands-on review

HP Photosmart Premium e-All-in-One C310a Printer: Hands-on review originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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An app for Google Latitude briefly appeared on the Japanese iOS App Store yesterday, only to disappear a few hours later. Latitude is, of course, Google’s persistent location-based service, allowing you to see where your friends are at on a map and share your own location in real time. There are already a few persistent location-based apps on the store, and there are even a few Google Latitude clients that access the service through the API — not to mention that you can get to Latitude via Mobile Safari. But this was an official app, and it brought the service, which is already officially available on Android, over to the iOS platform.

It seems the listing was actually a mistake — it quickly disappeared from the Japanese App Store, and it hasn’t shown back up since. But it wouldn’t be a surprise to see an official Google Latitude app on the App Store sooner or later, so this was likely a switch that was accidentally flipped a little early. We’ll probably see the app live everywhere before long.

[via Engadget]

Google Latitude app shows up, disappears from Japanese App Store originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While we cover a lot of Apple accessories here at TUAW, it’s quite rare when we touch upon a peripheral that many Apple fans find indispensable to their life — the printer. On today’s TUAW TV Live, you’ll see a preview of a video review that will be posted a bit later today about the HP Photosmart Premium C310a e-All-in-One printer. What’s so exciting about a printer? Well, this is one of those printers that requires no drivers and shows up in your iPad or iPhone’s printer list automatically. It also prints any document you email to it from wherever, and it doesn’t even need a computer to print out maps and other useful information.

There’s more to today’s show than printers, though. I’ll also show off some new products for iPhone and iPad, as well as do a live run-through of Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac for those of you who are still on the bubble about upgrading to the new version.

How can you join in on the fun? From your Mac or PC, go to the next page by clicking the read more link at the bottom of this post, and you’ll find a livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to participate by asking questions or making comments.

If you’re driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you’re stuck in traffic, please don’t — keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone by downloading the free Ustream Viewing Application.

We haven’t neglected our iPad users, since you can tune in to TUAW TV Live on your iPad! That link will send you to a non-Flash page, although you won’t have access to our chat tool. And one final note — if the show has started and you’re seeing a previously recorded show instead of the livestream, you can always pop on over to ustream.tv/tuaw to join the show in progress.

Continue reading TUAW TV Live: It’s beginning to look a lot like AirPrint

TUAW TV Live: It’s beginning to look a lot like AirPrint originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You play it in line at the grocery store, and you play it when passing time at the laundromat, but now those Angry Birds have arrived in the form of a case for your iPhone 4 or iPod touch. Made by Gear4 and available now for US$24.99, the hard plastic cases are colorfully adorned with either Red Bird, Yellow Bird or the Pig King himself.

Rovio’s incredibly popular game entails slingshotting birds at green pigs who have stolen their eggs. It has seemingly taken on a life of its own with new versions being announced for Halloween, Christmas and now Seasons — along with also unleashing some homemade Angry Birds costumes. One fan even decided to recreate the game using balls, clay, eggs, slingshots and cardboard boxes for her very own “live” version at home.

Angry Birds is currently the game I play most on my iPhone, but I don’t think I am at a level of addiction where I need a matching case. Are you there yet?

Angry Birds cases for Angry Birds addicts originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, that’s hard to disagree with. Apple was one of the early inventors of the personal computer industry, but when Jobs left Apple, fortunes began to diminish. In the mid 90s, Apple was becoming all but irrelevant. Then Jobs returned, and the hits started appearing. The iMac, the iPod, and now the iPhone, the iPad and the MacBook Air. Apple has set the pace in an industry that was dominated by Microsoft, and Jobs has carved out a leading space in the home and personal mobile devices.

MarketWatch describes Jobs as “a meticulous micromanager who can drive his employees to distraction – and one of the most important figures in American industry in the past half-century.”

It hasn’t been all roses. The Apple Lisa was a bust, but it spawned the Macintosh. The first Apple TV, and perhaps its sequel, aren’t certified hits and may never be big sellers. The Motorola ROKR was a dog of a phone, but at least Apple recovered dramatically (to say the least) with the iPhone.

One thing that can’t be denied is that Apple leads even Microsoft in market cap, with Apple valued at $285 billion while Microsoft stands at around $220 billion. It’s a heck of a turnaround.

Continue reading MarketWatch names Steve Jobs CEO of the decade, rock star of corporate America

MarketWatch names Steve Jobs CEO of the decade, rock star of corporate America originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thanks to everyone who sent this in

Continue reading Found Footage: Christmas songs played by an iPad band

Found Footage: Christmas songs played by an iPad band originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A couple of big changes occurred today in the iOS ecosystem. First, application promo codes may now be used internationally instead of being limited to US store customers only. Second, the push notification system has been upgraded to use more secure 2048-bit TLS/SSL certificates.

International promo code distribution will greatly help those developers whose products are meant primarily for use outside the United States. This particularly affects applications where English is not the primary language for use or US customers are not the central audience. Now, developers can send review codes to local newspapers, magazines and blogs without having to request that those outlets create US iTunes accounts.

The push notification system’s upgraded security requires that you download an updated server certificate. Apple recommends that you test and validate your communication channels so that your deployed applications will not experience service outages.

Further information about both developments is available on Apple’s iTunes Connect and developer sites. Developers can use their dev credentials to log in.

iTunes adds international promo codes, push notification security upgraded originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple has developed a custom ad for indie music review site Pitchfork. You can go over and see it right now in any WebKit-based browser (so Safari or Chrome) — an iPod touch pops up in front of the menu bars, and everything gets swept away in the games being played.

This ad is notable for a few reasons. First of all, Pitchfork, unlike some of Apple’s other custom ad targets, is a completely online publication, so Apple is now targeting blog readers as well as traditional newspaper readers. Pitchfork is also known for a certain very indie (some might say hipster) audience, and clearly Apple thinks the iPod touch will “play” with that audience. And finally, ’tis the season — the iPod touch is on fire lately, and Apple’s spending the ad dollars to make sure it stays that way.

Excellent ad, of course, just a little strange to see it on the top of a hip music review site. We’ll keep eyes out for any other interesting Apple ads this holiday season.

[via Macgasm]

Pitchfork gets a custom iPod touch page-topper ad originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Epic Games’ Infinity Blade, a graphically rich role playing game for iOS, is currently available in the New Zealand App Store and will presumably be coming to the US and other countries’ stores later today. Infinity Blade is a universal app that will run on ‘current + 1 older’ generation iDevices, meaning the iPod touch 3rd/4th Gen, the iPhone 3GS + iPhone 4, and the iPad.

The game costs NZ$8.29 in the New Zealand App Store, which means that it should cost US$5.99 when it comes out on the US App Store. That’s a very fair price than we’d expected for a game that looks this good, and the fact that it’s a universal app (no “HD” version for the iPad) is even better. Infinity Blade also comes with Game Center integration, and Epic Games has promised to deliver more levels, more enemies, more items, and multiplayer in a future update.

We reviewed Epic Games’ Epic Citadel preview title for iOS a few months back, and it displayed some of the most stunning graphics ever seen on the iPhone. While walking through the world presented in Epic Citadel, I could hardly believe my phone was capable of pushing graphics that complex. Epic Citadel was really just a proof of concept, though, a sort of playable/walkable demo of things to come from Epic Games. As the culmination of that proof of concept, Infinity Blade looks like it has the potential to be a smash hit on the iOS platform.

We’ll have a review of the game up later on tonight.

Infinity Blade for iOS now available in NZ App Store, coming to US soon originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dear Aunt TUAW,

Do you think a Mac will be able to accept an AirPlay feed in the future? Here’s why I ask — I’m considering getting a Mac mini for my home theater. But I realized that a great feature of AppleTV is the AirPlay functionality. It seems strange that the mini (that costs 7x more) lacks this functionality. Have you heard any rumblings that accepting an AirPlay stream could come to Mac OS X?

Love & snuggles,

Your adoring nephew Todd V.

Continue reading Dear Aunt TUAW: Can I AirPlay to my Mac?

Dear Aunt TUAW: Can I AirPlay to my Mac? originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 14:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Good news for Apple fans in the UK: Apple has finally added HD movies to the iTunes store. The selection seems to be rather limited for now. MacRumors notes that Twilight is among the more high-profile selections. Pricing works like this: movies that sell for £9.99 in standard definition are £12.99 in HD, while those priced at £6.99 for SD are selling for £7.99 in HD.

Until now, HD movies were only available to rent in the UK. The Japanese market only received movies in iTunes last month (SD and HD) while in the U.S., Apple added HD movies to the iTunes Store in March of 2009.

Continue reading HD Movies hit iTunes UK

HD Movies hit iTunes UK originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple has been awarded several patents by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, one of which could be valuable ammunition in the flood of intellectual property lawsuits that has been swirling around the company lately.

PatentlyApple is reporting that Apple now holds the patents for one of the primary elements of multi-touch; two or more controllers operating in a master/slave configuration. Apple’s patent appears to indicate that the company could be interested in licensing the technology (found in most multi-touch devices made by Apple, including the iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, and possibly the Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad) to others, as they state that it can be used in ATMs, point of sale systems, e-ticket terminals, and so on.

Apple also received a patent for the hinged I/O port and housing that was found on the original MacBook Air models. Even though that hinged port is not on the most recent MacBook Airs, it could be used in future products.

The company now has design patents on the iPad dock, on the Universal Dock and Dock Insert, and that slick armband that the company sells for the fifth-generation iPod nano.

Patents for multi-touch, iPad dock and MacBook Air awarded to Apple originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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