Category: I-phone

This is about the coolest thing done with an iPad since, well, the iPad itself was created. A firm named Dentsu London has used an iPad to create a series of stop motion shots assembled from sequential long exposure light paintings. They created a set of 3D graphics and then programmed the iPad to show a set of cross sections frame-by-frame of those graphics. The cross sections were “painted” into the air with long exposure photographs, and then the photographs were all put together into a stop motion animation.

The end effect is just amazing — don’t just watch the beginning on how they did it, make sure you stick around for the film itself. It’s a beautiful piece, as well as an ingenious way of using the iPad to create something exceptional. If you’re really interested in these images, the creators have also put together a book featuring some of the best stills from the video. Quite an impressive piece of work.

[via TDW]

TUAWLight painting in stop motion with the iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TUAWloha, everybody! It’s time to put on your Hawaiian shirts, grab a Mai Tai or three, and join me for another hour of live mayhem at the mercy of my technological devices. Yes, it’s time for TUAW TV Live.

As I noted in the promo post earlier today, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover. I’ll talk about (and demonstrate) the pitfalls that one can run into when doing a livestream show like this, do a couple of giveaways with a fun Apple trivia game, demo some good (and some not-so-good) iPhone and iPad apps, show how to easily create iBooks, and more.

To join in from your Mac or PC, just go to the next page by clicking the link at the bottom of this post, and you’ll find a livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to join in on the fun 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.

iPad users haven’t been forgotten, either, as 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.

TUAWTUAW TV Live: Your Wednesday tropical vacation originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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137,000 iPhones per day. That’s how many manufacturer Foxconn is reportedly making these days, its chairman tells the press. That’s an amazing figure adding up to 50 million iPhones every single year, even as Apple struggles to keep enough hardware in stock. And the process isn’t easy, either — chairman Terry Gou says that the company found out it needed a certain machining rig usually designed only for prototyping in order to stay in line with Apple’s strict manufacturing standards. Foxconn ended up buying over 1,000 of the machines at $20k each, even while other manufacturing companies are buying just one.

It’s crazy to think about the scale of the operation over there — not just the equipment, but the workers and organization required to churn out that kind of product. And sadly, it appears the pressure is still on for the company, as we’ve seen multiple times before. Apple is setting records over here on this side of the world with the iPhone’s sales numbers, and it’s sometimes easy to forget that behind all of that, there’s an industrial machine churning out product by the millions.

[via HardMac]

TUAWReport: Foxconn making 1.5 iPhones per second originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re an Angry Birds player like me, you’ve hit a couple of levels you’ve had to play ten or more times before finally being able to progress. Curse those speedy yellow birds! Give me more bombers! If that’s you, Rovio Mobile — creators of Angry Birds — have the solution to your frustration, announced recently at the Nokia World conference. But the bad news is that it’s going to cost you.

Meet the new, angriest of the Angry Birds: Mighty Eagle. Via an in-app purchase (with real money) of a can of sardines, you’ll be able to summon this new bird for a one-time shot at clearing an entire level. If you want to make use of Mighty Eagle again, you can try going back to the previous level where he was used and clear it without him. Then, voila — you can use him again in a later level.

Check out the video introducing Mighty Eagle after the jump.

TUAWAngry Birds introducing Mighty Eagle, costs real money to skip levels originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s hard to believe, but TUAW TV Live has been appearing on your screens just about every Wednesday for 10 months now. I want to thank all of you who have joined in every week for an hour of discovery and discussion; you’ve made it a pleasure to produce the show.

This week, I’ll be talking about a variety of topics; what would be good to see in iWork and iLife updates, iPad and iPhone apps (both good and bad), more iPad and iPhone cases, a demo of how to quickly make an ebook that will work in iBooks, and additional topics as well. And we’ll even have some fun giveaways on today’s show.

To watch and participate in today’s show, just come back to TUAW at about 5 PM EDT (2 PM PDT) and I’ll have full instructions on how to view the livestream and use the chat.

TUAWComing up at 5 PM EDT: TUAW TV Live originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As we suspected back in March, the iPad shipped without apps that are standard on the iPhone: Stocks, Calculator, Clock, Weather, Voice Memos and Compass. Instead of going without, we’ve found the best examples of each for you to install and get your iPad on par with your iPhone.

Clock

Our own Steve Sande pointed out several options for iPad owners, including Night Stand HD (US$4.99) and Clock Pro HD ($5.99). Go and check out the full article.

In the meantime, click below to read the rest of our list.

TUAWiPad: The missing apps originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re getting reports from various sites that Apple has released the beta version of iOS 4.2 into the wild for developer testing. This is suppose to add a number of features, especially for the iPad, in the form of multi-tasking, AirPlay, folder organization, the ability to print from your iPad and more. Developers can access the beta through the Dev Center now.

This update is scheduled to come to consumers’ iPads sometime in November of this year, so devs will have a few months to tinker around with it before release.

TUAWApple releases iOS 4.2 beta for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MercuryNews is reporting that Apple will soon announce a plan for subscribing to newspapers with the iPad. While Apple did not comment, the MercuryNews speculated on Apple’s deal with Roger Fidler, head of digital publishing at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute. Fidler believes that Apple take up to a 30% cut of subscriptions on top of 40% of ad revenue.

In exchange, the newspapers’ developers will be be allowed to provide customers with a way to share statistics on just who they are. The opt-in feature will allow Apple to share user demographic data with the publishers, which they could then direct towards their marketing efforts. “[Publishers] want the data of their customers so they can integrate it into their circulation database so they know who their customers are,” said Fidler.

It’s all speculation, so don’t get excited just yet. Time, Inc. has recently been frustrated with their attempts to implement a mutually-agreeable subscription model in the App Store, and part of their complaint was over retrieving the very data speculated on by Fidler.

[Via MacDailyNews]

TUAWRumor: Apple will announce newspaper subscription plan originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dear Aunt TUAW,

I’ve recently become the proud owner of a 3rd generation iPod touch. I found the Nike+ app that uses some strange GPS/wifi-triangulation scheme to locate me and how far I run/walk.

How does the iPod touch do this? Is it magnets? Smoke? Mirrors? Is this a reliable location-reckoning system? There are a lot of rumors abounding on the Interwebs, and I know you’ll get to the bottom of it, Auntie.

Love & tickles,

Your nephew Marc H.

TUAWDear Aunt TUAW: location voodoo originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This makes my green heart happy. Above is a video of the Einstein Newton emulator running on an iPhone 4. Newton OS lives!

Sort of. You’ll notice that it’s kind of slow for now, though the project’s developers say speed will improve. Still, it’s a full Newton, with hand writing recognition and everything. They also intend to get it working on the iPod touch and iPad. If you want to get your hands on things right now, the source code is available here. Developer Matthias Melcher says he’s going to submit the emulator to the App Store, but he’s not holding his breath.

Congratulations to Matthias for the successful port, Paul Guyot for writing the emulator in the first place (and keeping it open source) and everyone who contributed to the project. I hope to have this on my own iPhone 4 soon.

TUAWEinstein Newton emulator running on iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In the Apple accessory ecosystem, there are thousands of different items for the Mac, iPhone, iPod, and iPad. Out of that huge world, I can think of only one accessory that you can actually stand on — The Withings Connected Body Scale (US$159.00). I’ve had the pleasure of using one of these internet-connected scales for about a year now, and I find it to be a help in my daily battle between being a foodie and trying to maintain a decent weight.

Although the Withings Scale can be used with any computer, I like to think of it as an Apple accessory, since I can use my Mac, iPhone, and iPad in various ways to check my diet progress. Withings provides a free iOS app (WiScale) that gives you password-protected access to your weight information, or you can visit the main Withings website to view the same data on your free account.

The scale measures and calculates your weight, fat mass, and BMI (Body Mass Index), and then it transmits that information to the Withings servers via a Wi-Fi connection to your network. Within a very short amount of time, that information can either be accessed privately via a variety of methods or can be sent to the world via Facebook, Twitter, or a blog widget.

TUAWRoad Tested: The Withings Scale, an Apple accessory you can stand on originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The guys over at Amidio Inc (Touch DJ / Noise.io) have recently released their latest app for the iPad, Seline HD (US$5.99).

Seline HD is a musical instrument designed for performance and composition of music on the iPad. One of its key features is to make easy the creation of complex melodies, while accompanying those melodies with big sound scape type pads.

With Its all new ergonomically designed interface, the ioGrid, Seline HD makes playing music a breeze, literally, without the strain (RSI, anyone?).

Seline HD’s intuitive CrystalClarity HD sound engine analyzes what you are playing to add subtle nuances to your strokes of genius. And the keys are designed to be suitable for players with all hand sizes, according to Amidio’s press release.

So, how do you play? You lay your hands down on the keys, like you’re about to play a piano. A fully adjustable 16-note scale is divided between your left and right hand, odd and even notes respectively. The idea is to place your index, middle and ring finger over three individual columns, each finger being responsible for its own column. As a result, interesting playing and improvisational input possibilities occur, but more importantly, the added comfort of knowing you will never hit a wrong note. In your face, music teacher!

But the playing doesn’t end there. Some well thought out features enhance your Seline HD skills even more. Aiming for the center of each key (in a column) will provide maximum volume, while aiming slightly off center, and to the edges, will provide less. In effect, more or less velocity.

Your thumb (or you can move and use your index finger) is left to control a center, 2 semi-tone, up or down pitch bend, while going left or right will add manual vibrato. There’s also note shift, up or down buttons, to create great trill sounds, and, in addition to this, the joystick on each side calibrates the attack of the notes being played. To add a luscious background to your melodies, activate the Drone (chorded synth pads). Analyzing what you are playing, the Drone will add sound scape backgrounds to your melodies.

Using Amidio’s CrystalClarity HD sound engine, Seline HD makes it easy for beginners to play as well as for seasoned musicians to find depth in the experience. By implementing dozens of algorithms to analyze the melody being played, Seline HD will subtly introduce character and expression to your input. For example, play an intensive solo where you land up holding the final note, Seline HD will detect this passage and add a subtle vibrato to that final note, as a finishing touch.

To top it all off, Seline HD is equipped with a full range of recording possibilities, including direct recording to .wav files. With 20 built-in factory voices (flutes, bowed strings, reeds, synth leads and more), and 9 drone voices, we’re looking forward to spending some quality time with Seline HD.

After the break, check out Seline HD’s tutorial video, Seline HD being used by The iPad Orchestra and Jordan Rudess, of Dream Theater, playing a piano accompanied by Seline HD.

TUAWCount The Beats: First look at Amidio’s Seline HD app for the iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nope, this isn’t a movie adaptation (though I’d like to play that game, too). Instead, it’s a physics puzzler that has you tossing little rocket-riding guys around planets of various sizes, with gravitational effects to match. The graphics are simple but effective, and the game is surprisingly forgiving — you get as many chances to try and throw the little guys around as you need, but fewer tries means a better score. There are 80 levels to go through, but play will go pretty quickly. This game has “just one more try” written all over it.

It’s only 99 cents on the App Store, and for a cheap, physics-based thrill, it delivers. There’s also an iPad version available (also for 99 cents) if you’d rather play it there. It could probably be a little more polished (there were times when I thought the puzzle solving was more about random placement rather than actual trial and error), but when you do finally figure out the solution of where to throw your little guy in between the planets, it always ends up being very satisfying.

TUAWTUAW’s Daily App: Rocketeer originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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