Category: I-phone

Alphonso Labs reported today that their Pulse News Reader for iPad (currently US $1.99) has been updated to version 2.0. The new version of the app addresses one of the major complaints about the original by allowing up to 60 news feeds to be added, with up to 12 feeds on each of five pages.

Organization of sources is much easier in the new version. Each one of the five pages has a tab that can be renamed, so users can define each page by type — for example, “Apple,” “Food,” “News,” and more. The feeds are listed under each tab and can be dragged around to be placed in the order you would like to see them. It’s also easier to find sources; when you go to add a source, there are tabs for “featured” and “categories,” both featuring sources that look good in Pulse. Alphonso Labs calls this the “Pulse Bazaar.”

The app seems snappier than the previous version also, both at startup and while loading or refreshing pages. I’m not sure if it’s new, but it’s possible to add both your Facebook and Twitter feeds to Pulse, with any post with a photo or link in it showing up in your Pulse list. There’s also support for Bump, so you can share feeds with friends who have both Bump and Pulse installed. Sounds like a great update — if you’ve had issues with the app previously, it’s worth giving it another look.

TUAWPulse News Reader for iPad 2.0: More sources, better organization originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When you’re visiting a city, don’t you sometimes wonder what it looked like in past centuries? That’s the premise behind Time Travel eXplorer – London, a new iPhone travel guide app from Visick Solutions, Ltd. currently on the What’s Hot page of the UK App Store. There’s a good reason for that popularity, since Time Travel eXplorer is a fascinating way to take a tour of London both in the present day and in the past.

No, the developers didn’t figure out a way to integrate the iPhone with a DeLorean or power it with a Mr. Fusion. What the app does provide is maps with 750 points of interest, as well as 1,500 photos and 150 audio guides that are bundled into the app so that you don’t have to rely on a cell phone signal to take advantage of them. The tour information is provided by qualified Blue Badge guides, so you’re getting accurate and interesting information.

The time travel bit comes in with maps of London from 1862, 1830, 1799, and 1746. The base Time Travel eXplorer – London app (US$2.99) includes a demo map from 1862, and you can do in-app purchases of the old maps in their entirety for a few bucks per map. Alternatively, you can buy a Pro version of TTX ($8.99) that includes all of the maps.

TUAWFirst Look: Time Travel eXplorer brings old London to life originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Last we heard, Facebook and the new iTunes-based social network Ping were at odds with each other, with Facebook providing “onerous terms” and Apple trying to hook into the bigger network anyway. But maybe they can still heal the rift. Facebook CTO Bret Taylor told Silicon Alley Insider that he’s “very confident” that the two networks can find some common ground.

Unfortunately, he didn’t say anything other than that, so as for what kind of common ground they’ll find, that’s still up in the air. But Apple would do well to enlist Facebook’s help in their fledgling network, “onerous” as the terms may be. Ping is an interesting network, as we’ve said, but given the lack of action that I’ve seen in my own little slice of Ping lately, bringing in some links and eyeballs from a more active and veteran social network seems like it would be worth the compromise.

[via Cult of Mac]

TUAWFacebook ‘very confident’ it can work with Ping originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re a subscriber to the free AT&T Navigator app and the associated service , then you’ll want to load the latest update ASAP.

AT&T Navigator v1.7i is the newest version of the TeleNav-powered app, and it’s now the first iPhone GPS navigation app that incorporates direct speech recognition. As you can see in the video above, all you need to do is tap an icon, speak your destination, and the app will display appropriate destination addresses. Tap one of the addresses, and navigation begins.

The new version also provides alerts for traffic cameras, works in landscape mode, and has a lane-assist function that shows you which lane you need to be in before you get to an intersection. When you need directions back to your home location, there’s a new “shake to go home” function — just shake the iPhone, and the app knows you want directions back home.

The free app works with a US$9.99 monthly service that appears on your AT&T iPhone bill. You can choose a monthly or annual subscription, and you can cancel at any time. Note that navigation is only possible in areas where you have cellular data coverage, as the maps are downloaded on demand.

TUAWAT&T Navigator for iPhone updated, features direct speech recognition originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The other day I was browsing at a friends site and I saw this fantastic post where he teaches you how to make a Tetris like clone game in HTML5 that will work on iPhone and other popular phones with HTML5 compliant browsers. I thought the post and code he provided was a fantastic resource for anyone looking to create a browser game from start to finish.

The Apple Web Apps page will show you many browser based games listed. If you look at the right column on the page, Apple shows you how to get started and gives you info on how to create your own Web based Apps.

HTML5 provides the canvas element which is a great tool for drawing graphics. If you want to learn how to make an offline HTML5 iPhone Tetris clone game, read on. By offline, I mean you need to connect once to the site in your phone browser and then you can play thegame without any data transfer or connection to the Internet.

This is a tutorial specifically for iPhones but most of these techniques apply to all phones that have HTML5-capable browsers.

You are going to need access to a server where you can change the HTTP Headers on your files. This is because we need to take advantage of HTML5’s offline caching (more on this later down the page).

The other thing you need to do is to enable the debug bar in Safari’s web browser on your iPhone unit.

Some tips before you start…  Stay small, sparse and simple.

Small: This is mobile app development so even though you are caching your stuff, it’s still a smart idea to keep your file sizes lean.

Sparse: You should try to keep the amount of files you deal with as low as possible.

Simple: Start with a few simple ideas and execute it. By keeping your scope small, you can get things done faster.

If you want to read more click here – How to make Tetris clone game as a mobile browser based game in HTML5 from start to finish.

Today we present roundup of interesting Photoshop tutorials for September 2010.

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The folks at iControlPad can’t seem to catch a break — the design for the plug-in iPhone controller was finally finished, but the creators are now backing off of that design. Specifically, they’re worried about Apple’s lawsuit against Sanho, in which the battery manufacturer was sued for creating products that unofficially connected to dock connectors on iPhones and iPod touches. Because the iControlPad was originally designed to plug right into the dock connector on the iPhone (and presumably, its creators don’t want to have to pay the “Made for iPhone” fee to officially license that hardware), it’s got to be tweaked for Bluetooth support instead.

Fortunately, Bluetooth support was always an option, as there is a chip already inside the device. But the software will apparently have to be worked on, leading to even longer delays in production. At this point, it’s hard to believe the product will ever actually get out the door in a mass market state.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t still call for buttons — maybe some enterprising accessory maker will pick up the gauntlet and run with it. Since the iPhone was introduced, gamers everywhere have been asking for some type of external controls for iPhone games, and maybe the iControlPad’s setback will provide some drive for someone else.

[via Cult of Mac]

TUAWiControlPad using unlicensed dock connection, forced to go Bluetooth originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Did you miss out on Apple’s free case program for your iPhone 4? If so, you’re out of luck. If you have reception issues with your iPhone 4, you can return it as usual, but at this point, Apple believes that everyone should know about the Antennagate issue, so there are no more free cases.

This also means that bumpers are back on sale. While you could easily get a free one, they disappeared from Apple Store shelves, but as of today, bumpers are reportedly available again. Unfortunately, they’re still not for sale online, but presumably that will be fixed soon. Word has it that they’re heading back to the US$29 price point, too.

If you’re buying an iPhone today or in the future, what are your plans for a case?

TUAWRumor: Bumpers coming back to Apple Stores originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nerds squealed with delight last night as the geekiest comedy on American television, The Big Bang Theory, featured a cameo by Steve Wozniak. The Apple co-founder played himself in a brief scene with the gang from the show (Is that his daughter next to him at the table?). He was pretty funny and seemed comfortable on camera. In fact, Steve is an old hand at TV by now, having appeared on Dancing With The Stars and My Life on the D-List.

In case you missed it, you can watch it above (sorry about the audio quality — we’ll keep an eye out for the official version). Good job, Woz!

TUAWFound Footage: Woz on Big Bang Theory originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Following quickly on the heels of the long awaited iPad Sonos app, there is now a new version of the free music controller for the iPhone. The Sonos system provides a wireless music experience in as many rooms of a house as you want to put Zone Players and speakers or you can connect to an existing music system.

The new app, which appeared today, supports the popular Spotify service in Europe, and adds an additional 1000 radio stations that use the AAC format for streaming.

One thing missing is support for the iPhone 4 Retina display. A Sonos spokesman says that is coming early next year. The updated iPhone app has no GUI changes from the previous version. If you’re a Sonos fan with an iPhone, it’s time to download this free app.

TUAWSonos updates iPhone app with more radio for everyone and Spotify for Europe originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple’s free MobileMe Gallery app was just updated, and the new version finally supports the iPad.

Other changes have been made to finally bring the app up to speed with iOS 4 and the iPhone 4 — there’s now support for fast app switching, and the app is now optimized for the Retina Display on the iPhone 4.

Previously, users needed a MobileMe subscription to view friends’ galleries; now that restriction has been taken away for iPhone and iPad users. The app looks great on an iPad, and if you have any photos stored in MobileMe galleries, you’ll want to get this update as soon as possible.

Thanks to Michael K. for the tip!

TUAWMobileMe Gallery app goes universal in version 1.2 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I decided to limit myself to just a couple of hours of Apple TV hacking this morning as I have books that need writing, children who need feeding, a house that needs cleaning and, lord almighty, you wouldn’t believe the laundry. So again, this is going to be a quick update rather than an in-depth exploration of all things Apple TV.

As you know, the 2nd gen iOS Apple TV has already been jailbroken. While tools have not yet been released, you can watch a video posted earlier today showing command line access to the unit.

I do not have jb access so have limited my explorations to the tools I have available. I used Kevin Ballard’s superb Bonjour Browser to scan for Apple TV services. At this time, there appear to be two. First, there is the standard AirTunes “raop” service. RAOP stands for the remote audio output protocol, which has been used for some time with Airport audio streaming. There’s a nice discussion of the protocol over at CocoaDev.

TUAWApple TV hacking update: AirTunes Bonjour services, DFU mode originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The iPad is a wonderful device to consider integrating into one’s car. Many have already gone the DIY route, mounting the device into a center console, for example. However, not everyone’s handy enough or brave enough to hack their cars to pieces for these things, so it’s comforting when something more “official” comes around.

BMW recently displayed their answer to an official integration of the iPad in their cars, at the Paris Auto Show. As Engaget puts it, the implementation is heinous. But, to be fair, if the goal of this integration is to allow backseat passengers to use an iPad hands-free, then what more can be done to fix it?

Integration of an iPad into a dashboard is one thing, but that’s not going to solve the problem of passengers wanting to watch a video. A dashboard-mounted iPad is good for controlling music and following maps, but if you’re using it to watch video, you’ve seriously got a screw loose.

TUAWBMW’s official iPad integration: “heinous” originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Austin City Limits Music Festival is going on next week in Austin, TX (as is GDC Online, which I’ll be covering for TUAW). The festival has teamed up with Slacker Internet Radio and Seed Labs to spread the word and share some of the music from the artists performing there. They’ve produced a free app to check out the lineup of artists at the show, as well as make your own schedule, see a map of the event, post your own pictures and stories directly from the show, and even use a virtual lighter if a performance moves you to do so. You’re on your own trying to get them to play “Freebird,” though.

Slacker Radio is also tied in to the app — you can listen to an Internet radio station called Austin City Limits Radio, playing tunes and providing insight exclusively from the artists at the festival. To celebrate, Slacker has offered TUAW readers some free subscriptions to the Slacker Radio Plus service, which is used in conjunction with the original Slacker Radio app. That app is also free, but a Slacker Radio Plus subscription allows you to get song lyrics, get rid of the ads, skip songs whenever you want, and listen to your favorite stations offline.

We’ve got four one-year subscriptions (usually US$47.99 each) and three three-month subscriptions (usually $14.99) to give away to seven lucky TUAW readers. Hit the “Read More” link below to find out how to win your own, and if you’re interested in the Austin City Limits festival, be sure to check out the free app on the App Store now.

TUAWTUAW Giveaway: Win a subscription to Slacker Radio Plus for Austin City Limits Music Festival originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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