Category: I-phone

This is a feature in that “gee, I wish I’d of thought of that” category. The latest update to the TomTom app (version 1.5) lets you select any photo that has been geo-tagged and navigate to that location. It’s great for finding that favorite picnic spot, or that great photo location.

I tried the feature out today, navigating to 2 locations I had in my iPhone photo roll. In each case, the app showed a map of the location, and with a couple of clicks I was on my way.

The app also now supports the iPhone 4 Retina display and the speed of the app is supposed to be faster but I didn’t see anything dramatic. TomTom U.S.A and U.S. & Canada apps are currently available for $49.99 and $59.99, respectively. It’s a really full featured way to navigate. Navigating to a photo is a really great idea, and I’d like to see some of the other nav apps add this feature as well.

Continue reading TomTom for iPhone now lets your photo gallery be your address book

TomTom for iPhone now lets your photo gallery be your address book originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A recent Pew Research study found that 6% of Americans have participated in a video call with a mobile phone. That number has risen since the iPhone 4’s introduction, and is now comparable to the 19% of Americans who have used video conferencing in one way or another.

The study was conducted in mid-August and mid-September, just two months after the iPhone 4 was released in the US, UK, Germany, France and Japan. Pew Research found that wealthy users (those making above US$75,000 per year) under 50 years of age were most likely to have made a video call with a mobile phone.

While new to the US, video phone calling has existed in other countries for some time. However, poor display resolution and call quality has prevented it from catching on in any significant way.

Meanwhile, some iPhone 4 users are unable to place a FaceTime call due to restrictions placed by their carriers. Apple has released a list of iPhone 4 carriers from around the world, with a footnote identifying those that do not officially support FaceTime, including:

• Jordan
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia
• United Arab Emirates
• Egypt

We received tips about FaceTime not working in UAE recently, but this is the first official confirmation from Apple that we’ve found. Apple’s language says that FaceTime is not available “From this carrier.” We’re sure Apple would have FaceTime working everywhere. One wonders why these individual carriers have said no.

Report: six percent of Americans have made a video call originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This is the downside of being Apple — just as they get prices and costs to where they want them, those same prices and costs tend to go up again. Foxconn’s parent company Hon Hai has reported that it will raise its manufacturing prices in China, directly affecting Apple’s and other companies’ costs over there. The company is reportedly trying to push profits up for the last quarter of this year, and aims to raise sales by as much as 30% next year.

Of course, this probably isn’t a surprise for Apple — given how closely the company researches and follows component costs, this is likely something already baked in to their strategy (and even if it’s not, $40 billion in cash tends to help out with unseen charges). But it’s a clear reminder that costs aren’t fixed for these devices at all — just because Apple secures pricing on one processor or screen doesn’t mean they’ll have that same opportunity next year. It shows you a little bit of just how difficult it is to do what Apple has done, and coordinate all of these parts and companies to make a great product at a salable price.

Foxconn parent company raising prices for Apple, others originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The New York Times has replaced its limited “Editor’s Choice” iPad app with a new version that provides the newspaper’s full content, pending the user’s (free) registration. The app will be free for users until “early 2011.”

Unlike Editor’s Choice, the new version (simply called NYTimes for iPad) includes articles from every section of the publication. You can navigate each via a pop-up list. Select any one to read the related articles.

You’ll notice that a banner pops up prompting you to register. The process is as simple as entering a username and a password, and will push you out of the app and into Safari to finish the process. Once complete, you must click a ink in a confirmation email. The next time you launch the app, the banners will be gone.

I spent a short amount of time testing it this morning, and found it to hang up quite a bit when selecting an article to read from the grid. Other than that, it was what I expected. The UI will be familiar to anyone who used the Editor’s Choice app.

Whiel access to the full content will be free for 2010, that will change next year when the paper’s new paywall will go up. Those who pay or subscribe to the paper will enjoy full access, while others will have limited access. The website paywall is intended to allow infrequent visitors free reading access to the Times’ content.

It was reported that Steve Jobs himself disliked the initial NYT iPad app because the content was limited. Now that that problem has been eliminated, and rumors of App Store subscriptions circulate, we’ll see what’s to come of the Times on the iPad.

New York Times replaces Editor’s Choice app with full content originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This is just a heads-up to let you know that Moog Music is releasing their own iPhone / iPod touch music app on the App Store on Monday.

From the PR, we can glean that Filtatron is a real-time audio effects engine and studio tool that has a finely-modeled Moog Ladder Filter at its core. Yes, it’s the same filter that gives Moog instruments their warm, thick character and tone. Now, in the palm of your hand (and at a mere fraction of the cost), you can make your own deliciously eerie, yet oh-so-creamy Moog tones.

Mike Adams, president of Moog Music had this to say.

“Filtatron represents the first time that the signature Moog sound is available outside of a high-end, hand-made Moog synthesizer. This powerful app extends the studio capabilities of traditional Moog users, and also provides music enthusiasts and Moog fans a fantastic way to create and share their personalized presets. All for a price that makes the Moog sound accessible to a wide audience.”

With loads of presets and samples, it looks like Filtatron will have plenty to get your creative Moog tunes flowing. What’s quite exciting is that you can use the Filtatron sampler to record your own unique sounds, and then you can mash them up with the Moog Ladder Filter as well as the built-in effects module, including delay. It seems that the overall sound is controlled with a virtual amp, which provides tones that range from warm analog overdrive to extreme distortion.

Filtatron will be available from Monday on the iTunes Store for US$4.99.

We’re certainly looking forward to having a play with this one. Check out the demo video after the break, and let us know what you think in the comments.

For all the Filtatron details, click here.

Continue reading Count The Beats: Filtatron by Moog Music to be released Monday

Count The Beats: Filtatron by Moog Music to be released Monday originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OK, so there’s not a lot to Tiki Toss 3D, but it’s one of those enjoyable little games you can flip on while you wait in line (much to the bemusement of Windows Phone 7 friends). If you’ve ever played Bimini ring toss, where you try to get a ring suspended by a string onto a hook mounted on a wall (or small board), then you will be familiar with Tiki Toss.

Interface

The interface is simple enough. After choosing the type of game you want (Best of 10, Session or Arcade) and level of difficulty (Amateur or Pro) you hit Play to begin. You’ll start with the screen shown to the right, a ring suspended in air, waiting to be thrown.

The game does a great job of simulating an island feel, complete with animated surfers in the background. The bar at the bottom is activated when you tap the boom box, and the game features several songs to choose from while you play. It’s a nice feature that adds to the ambiance.

I found the buttons on the main menu a little small, perhaps, and the “music off” indicator reset itself when I entered the list of music available, but other than the OpenFeint screens everything is consistent within the game.

Continue reading Tiki Toss 3D is pick up and play fun with an island theme

Tiki Toss 3D is pick up and play fun with an island theme originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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During the winter months in most of the world, you can see pump bottles of antibacterial gel scattered around most businesses as workers and visitors try to keep their hands free of pathogens. Now, a spate of suspiciously similar news items today are warning that the glass screens on iPhones, iPads, and iPods can harbor bacteria.

While that’s kind of a big “Duh!” moment — after all, who hasn’t looked at a smeary iPad screen and wondered what kind of bugs are multiplying on the glass — British researchers in one study found that mobile phones carry 18 times more bacteria than a flush handle in a men’s room. Ewwwww. For viruses that have taken up residence on iPhone screens, a single touch can easily transfer them to your fingertips, which then pass the viruses to your eyes, mouth, or nose. Hello, flu!

This isn’t something new; the New York Daily News swabbed four iPads in NYC Apple Stores in June, and lab results found Staphylococcus aureus (a common source of staph infections), Candida parapsilosis (a yeast), and Corynebacterium minutissimum (a common source of skin rashes). There are just so many people handing Apple devices at the stores in a typical day that it’s almost impossible for them to not pick up bacteria of some sort.

How can you keep yourself from being overrun by disease vectors while using mobile electronics? There are a couple of ways. First, don’t share your phone or iPad with others. That’s more easily said than done in households with small children, for who Mom and Dad’s phones and iPads are just another toy. Second, try to keep the screen clean by using approved cleaning sprays and wipes on a regular basis. For example, I use the Apple-approved iKlear spray and wipes on my iPad and iPhone. Finally, if you do touch a device that has been used by many other people, wash your hands thoroughly after use or use a sanitizing gel.

The reports coming out today might give you pause about handling your iToys, but using a little common sense and regular hygiene practices should keep you from contracting an infection from your devices.

[via Macworld.co.uk]

Report: iPhone, iPad glass crawling with bacteria and viruses originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I’m a sucker for retro 8-bit games, and the addicting iPhone/iPad game The Incident is no exception. Its interface is simplistic, but gameplay is fast and fun. What’s more, it’s a universal app that costs only $1.99 — a bargain!

The app has just recently undergone a significant update, including a new “Endless Night” mode, additional objects and music, and new balloon power-ups/downs. But the neatest addition to the app is the ability to use your iPad as the gameplay screen and an iPhone as the controller!

I gave the game a go in controller-mode, and it was surprisingly responsive. Tilt the phone to move Mr. Soloway to the left and right, tap the screen to jump — that’s all the controls you need, and they work flawlessly. Thankfully they made it difficult to accidentally tap out of controller mode, requiring you to use a slider to deactivate.

Of course, you need both an iPad and iPhone to try the new controller feature. If you have both, definitely give it a try. Hopefully we’ll see a lot more games give this feature a go in the future.

The Incident update includes iPhone as iPad controller originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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All of us at TUAW are looking forward to the Apple 4th Quarter earnings call on Monday afternoon, which we will be liveblogging right here on the site. With some of the wonderful news coming out from Wall Street and financial analysts today, our very own Mike Rose says that the earnings call should “have a mariachi band and a fire-eater.” We’re expecting it will be quite entertaining.

First, we’ve been watching the share price of AAPL, which is flirting with $310 today. But there’s even better news from analyst Brian White with Ticonderoga Securities: Apple could sell as many as 45 million iPads in 2011.

White’s research note to clients was covered by eWeek, and he talked to suppliers this week in Taiwan and China who support unit sales of 45 million of Apple’s tablets. Coupled with Apple’s announcements of aggressive retail expansion of sales of the device at Target, Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Verizon, and AT&T, he expects the iPad to be one of the most coveted gifts for the 2010 holiday season, which should make the Apple execs on Monday happy enough to dance around a sombrero.

Be sure to join us on Monday, October 18th at 5 PM EDT for our liveblog of the earnings call.

[via MacObserver]

In advance of Q4 earnings call: AAPL hits $310, 45m iPads expected to sell in 2011 originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Back in August, XMG Studio released a fun game called Cannon Cadets (US$0.99), and it quickly became popular with those of us who love games where we shoot or fling things at targets. I enjoyed Cannon Cadets, although lack of a cohesive scoring mechanism made it difficult to measure my progress, and the sound effects — which consisted mainly of farts and burps — were annoying.

XMG listened to feedback from the many people who purchased the game, and it’s now out with even more special features, cool sounds, and an updated soundtrack. The updated version is universal, so you can now kill robots on your iPad as well. If you have an iPhone 4, you’ll be thrilled to see that Retina Display support is included. A scoring mechanism has been built into Cannon Cadets, but even better, you can now build your own levels and share them with other players.

XMG Studio reported that in less than a week, over 500 user-generated levels have been developed. All are available for gameplay from within Cannon Cadets, and we’re happy to say that Brandon at XMG created a difficult level for TUAW (see screenshot above). If you have Cannon Cadets, go to “Download User Made Levels”, search for tuaw by brandonmat, download it, and enjoy. It should keep you busy over the weekend!

Cannon Cadets now includes level builder, scoring, and a TUAW level originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A report that surfaced from SquareTrade a couple days ago claims that accident rates are higher on the iPhone 4 than its 3GS sibling.

SquareTrade says that in the first four months of the iPhone 4 being out in the wild, there is an 82 6 percent increase in reported broken screens over the rate on the 3GS. Thing is, SquareTrade counts the back of the iPhone as a screen, not just the front display, and reports that broken glass on the back of the iPhone accounts for 25 percent of the issues they’ve run into.

One thing to take with a large grain of salt — SquareTrade makes its living by selling warranties. It culled its numbers not from AppleCare, but the company’s own warranties that it sells. Far more iPhone 4 users most likely have AppleCare or no extended warranty at all on their iPhone and this study, which has grabbed a good bit of media coverage, seems to have been created to sell more of SquareTrade’s warranties.

There was also a pent-up demand for the iPhone 4 as evidenced by the numbers sold compared to those for the 3GS. Many people, myself included, waited to upgrade from the original iPhone or iPhone 3G and never got a 3GS. The phones are also constructed differently. So, take double the amount of glass in a phone, add the fact that there are more phones out there, and you’re going to have more accidents. Read through the report and make your own decision. If you’re still worried, slap a good case on your iPhone and don’t use it as a hockey puck or bottle opener.

[Via MacObserver]

Are higher iPhone 4 accident rates really something to worry about? originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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On Thursday, Skype unveiled Skype 5.0 for Windows. Among some pretty cool new features are group video calling and Facebook integration. The Facebook integration lets you view your Facebook news feed, sync your Skype mood messages and Facebook status, and call friends from your Facebook phone book. They’re all cool features, and they’re all for Windows, … but not for long.

The official Skype for Mac blog says that the next version of Skype for Mac is “coming soon” and will deliver group video calling to the Mac. While they don’t specifically mention Facebook integration, the Skype blog does note that the next iteration of Skype for Mac will be a “complete overhaul, both in terms of the way it looks, and in terms of functionality.” That sounds pretty cool — now, how about a Skype iPad app?

Updated Skype for Mac “coming soon” originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Today seems to be a day for news from China, the birthplace of most Apple hardware. This little tidbit of info comes courtesy of Noosy, AKA Shenzhen North Technology Co., Ltd.

The company has developed an HDMI adapter for the iPhone 4, fourth-generation iPod touch, and iPad, so you can now pop the little adapter onto your iDevice and blast video from apps that support video-out to your HDTV.

Details on the adapter are sketchy; the page for the device appears to have been run through Google Translate, with the predictable result of some unintentionally humorous gaffes. There’s no price, but at least we can be assured that it supports 720p output, is “easily plus&play,” and can display “the MTV.”

Unfortunately, there is no pricing information and no clear sign of when this may make it to worldwide distribution. We’ll keep an eye open and see what happens, as we too would like to “have so fabulous screen to instead of the 10″ iPad screen.” As they say, “you never see a HDMI adapter can be elegant like this!!”

Lost in translation: HDMI adapter for iPhone 4 and iPad originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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