Back in 2008, the Japanese Trade Ministry identified 3 reports of fires that were caused by overheating iPod nanos. An investigation followed and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry found a total of 34 incidents of overheating that could be attributed to the lithium-ion battery used in those nanos. Issues ranged from discoloration to, in rare instances, fires. As a result, Apple agreed to replace defective units in Japan. That program went into effect this week.

Anyone who bought a first-generation iPod nano between September 2005 and September 2006 in Japan can get it replaced if it overheats. Note that only the original nano was affected. If you’ve got one of these units, head on down to an Apple Store or follow the instructions here. Good luck.

[Via iPodNN]

TUAWApple starts iPod nano swap program in Japan originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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All over the Northern Hemisphere, a lot of people are taking advantage of the warm weather and longer days, and they’re getting out of the office to take some vacation. Using a camera to capture vacation memories is great, but using your iPhone to nab those snapshots is even better.

On today’s episode of TUAW TV Live, host Steve Sande will demonstrate and discuss more than a dozen photography apps for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Find out how to take better photos with the iPhone, apply effects or retouch those shots, and share them with your friends and relatives.

The fun starts at 5 PM EDT (2 PM PDT, 11 AM HDT) right here at TUAW.com. Drop by a few minutes before the show starts for instructions on how to watch the live show and participate in the chat.

TUAWThe Photography app smackdown on TUAW TV Live today originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With the addition of the Safari Extensions Gallery to Apple’s website, TUAW will be highlighting extensions that we think are special, useful, or just plain fun.

Many of Google’s Web apps have been long on functionality but short on looks. Google Reader, the Web-based RSS reader, is a good example of this. Fortunately, Google Reader Mac OS X Snow Leopard + Delicious is a Safari extension that makes Reader look good.

Once installed, this extension makes Google Reader resemble a Snow Leopard application (like iTunes). The sidebar is that same faint blue, and the rest is white and gray. Additionally, dialog boxes are the same nearly-transparent black that we’ve come to expect from Snow Leopard.

This extension is simply a new set of clothes for Google Reader, so its functioning is unchanged. There, now doesn’t that look better?

TUAWSafari extensions highlight: A good-looking Google Reader originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Speaking of iPhone cases that look … different, here’s an interesting metal case for everybody’s favorite smartphone. A company called Ltd Tools has created a metal, cage-style case that adds a flip cover to the phone and gives it a pretty distinctive look. I don’t think it will be for everybody; it actually makes the iPhone 4 look kind of like a big RAZR, but I like it. What it lacks in actual protection, it makes up for in some interesting functionality, which includes unimpeded access to the charging port and a cool little rubber band that can hold business or credit cards.

There is a warning that a metal case can “affect reception,” but it can’t be that much worse than what you’re getting already. And OK, sure, the case is US$95, which is a bit much to pay for a case like this (although it does look pretty well-machined). But I just like the look of it anyway. A great many cases tend to make the phone look like a colored lump, so it’s neat to see a case that adds a little something to the iPhone’s design.

[via iPhone Savior]

TUAWiPhone body armor case looks cool originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I’ve been a huge fan of social dating site OkCupid’s OkTrends blog for a while now. They’re constantly sharing data (anonymized, of course) from their social site about what people find attractive and interesting in each other. The latest post has some fun information about cameras — specifically, the perceived link between what type of camera OkCupid’s patrons use and successful relationships. All of the data is fascinating (as usual), but there’s one little note of potential interest to iPhone fans.

Apparently, when compared to users who post pictures from other smartphone brands, users who reported using iPhones for their profile pictures tend to identify more sexual partners over all. As you can see in the chart above, male and female iPhone users (at age 30) report higher numbers of sexual partners to OkCupid.

In fact, across all ages, iPhone users reported having more sexual partners than those who used Android or Blackberry smartphones to take their profile pictures. Of course, OkCupid is just having fun here. Maybe iPhone users are actually more inclined to lie about their amorous conquests, or maybe there’s a higher likelihood that Android or Blackberry users have reason to report a lower number.

But then again, we already know that iPhone owners tend to be rich, engage in vigorous activity, and like to be outspoken about their buying choices and preferences. And aren’t those the kind of people who end up going home with the girl (or guy) from the bar anyway?

TUAWOkCupid: iPhone users have more sex originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patently Apple has news of a new patent filed by Apple for a technology that it calls the Exciter. At present, wirelessly trading information between iPhones can be a bit of a hassle, since both phones have to find each other and then sync up. But the “Exciter” technology would simply keep an eye out for another phone that’s willing to share information, and then when a certain signal is detected (it could be light-based, sound-based, or any other type of emitted information), the two devices would share information (contacts, calendar information, photos, or text) as necessary.

It’s an interesting idea, but the application is even more interesting. Along with the usual suspects for possible Apple devices that would use this app or technology, Apple has listed a “cyclocomputer,” which is yet another hint that Apple is working on some kind of bike-related mobile device. In this case, two bikers would pass each other, their devices would recognize that there is a device to share information with, and the exchange would take place.

It sounds intriguing. Unfortunately, as with all of these patents, Apple is just locking down any ideas that it has. Just because this technology is outlined and listed in a patent application doesn’t mean that there’s a project right around the corner; it doesn’t guarantee that we’ll definitely see this product. But as always, it’s fascinating to see where Apple’s thinking is going. The company that originally released the Mac has now become the world’s biggest portable device company, and it certainly seems like it plans to continue moving in that direction.

TUAWApple patents “Exciter” technology for devices, including a “cyclocomputer” originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Adobe has released an update for its Flash player that, for the first time, enables hardware decoding of Flash video on certain models of Macs. With this update, supported Macs can leverage the power of their Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) in decoding H.264 content “wrapped” in a Flash layer. The end result for Mac users: substantially reduced CPU load when running Flash content, better Flash performance, and possibly better battery life for portable Macs.

Adobe released Flash 10.1 in June with hardware acceleration for Windows. It’s only now that the feature is available on OS X in a non-beta release despite Apple opening the hardware acceleration APIs for certain models of GPUs several months ago, way back in April. Even now, this release only supports hardware acceleration on Macs made in the last couple of years — although in fairness, that’s more Apple’s fault than Adobe’s. The list below, sourced from Flash’s engineers and with clarification from us, shows which models of Mac will be able to take advantage of Flash’s new hardware acceleration feature:

– MacBooks shipped after January 21st, 2009. In other words, MacBooks with an NVIDIA GeForce 9400M or higher; Intel’s integrated GPUs aren’t supported.
– Mac Minis shipped after March 3rd, 2009, which have the same GPU situation as the MacBook; earlier Mac Minis had the unsupported Intel GMA 950 GPU.
– MacBook Pros shipped after October 14th, 2008 — note that this only means the unibody MacBook Pros. The 17″ late 2008 MacBook Pro with the old-style non-unibody enclosure has an unsupported NVIDIA 8600M GT GPU.
– iMacs which shipped after the first quarter of 2009; again, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M or higher GPU.

Absent from Adobe’s list are the MacBook Air and the Mac Pro. MacBook Airs with an NVIDIA GeForce 9400M GPU should be able to run hardware-accelerated Flash, as that model of GPU supports the feature. The Mac Pro is a much odder omission — sadly, none of its GPUs are listed in Apple’s technical notes concerning its hardware acceleration framework — but as powerful as the Mac Pro already is, a lack of hardware-accelerated Flash doesn’t hurt it as much as other models.

Hardware-accelerated Flash won’t be coming to Macs that came out earlier than those listed above, but only because Apple hasn’t opened the APIs for those Macs’ GPUs. The integrated Intel chipsets of earlier MacBooks, Mac Minis, and the first model of MacBook Air probably couldn’t handle the load anyway, but it’s disappointing that my Early 2008 MacBook Pro’s GPU isn’t allowed to do the heavy lifting, either.

Let us know how the update goes for you, and, if you have one of the supported Macs, whether you’re seeing better Flash performance now.

[Via Mac Rumors]

TUAWFlash 10.1 updated: hardware acceleration now available on newer Macs originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Incident makes for one of the best reasons to be a gamer and own an iPhone — it’s a purely indie affair, with excellent pixel graphics and game design by Neven Mrgan and Matt Comi and terrific chiptunes by Cabel Sasser. And it’s a wacky little concoction that doesn’t sound like it will work, but of course does, and well. You play a little guy who, standing in the street one day, is suddenly assaulted by falling objects from above. There’s a little bit more to uncover, but that’s really all you need — you can tilt the iPhone back and forth to move your guy around in 2D, and tap on the screen to jump out of the way of falling objects above, marked by a warning flash on top of the screen.

It sounds strange, and it is, but it works. The controls are responsive, the graphics are colorful, and the game perfectly captures that “one more try” feeling as you ascend through the seven levels, climbing up on the fallen objects all the way to the top of the sky. There are lots of coins, med packs, and extra lives to collect as you go, but the tough part is just staying out of the way — three hits on the noggin costs you a life (and gives you a trophy to remember what wacky object killed you). There are many, many objects in the game, too, and you’ll undoubtedly be surprised by what falls on you next.

It’s a great game, worth every cent of the US $1.99 they’re selling it for in the App Store. Terrific little indie games like this are what make the iPhone platform really shine.

TUAWTUAW’s Daily App: The Incident originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you have been struggling to learn iPhone and iPad development, or you want to develop an app — but don’t want to do any programming.  You’re not alone.

I found this great article today that goes through how to get that iOS app done.  The article goes into discovering what you as a non-programmer can bring to the table.

From what I’ve seen the key, which is also emphasized  in this article is to have a really awesome prototype.

I’ve even seen an artist develop an excellent prototype, take that to a meetup group for developers and literally have developers begging to work on the app.  That’s the position you want to be in if you’re a not a programmer.   Even if you can’t find a programmer for free being able to show exactly how the app should look and work will drive down your costs.

You can read the article from Mike Berg here:
How to get your game made, even if you’re not a programmer

If you do look for a developer take heed of Mike’s warning at the end:

Don’t: Go to a programmer and say, “Hey, I’ve got this awesome idea for an iPhone app, wanna make it for me and split it 50-50?” They only hear: “You do all the work, I’ll take half the money.”

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©2010 iPhone iOS 4 iTV iPad SDK Development Tutorials, Programming Tips, News. All Rights Reserved.

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For some time now there has been speculation that the Apple TV platform would be upgraded and be capable of handling apps.  This has been the next logical step for AppleTV and it comes as no surprise that it appears things have come to fruition.  Apparently it will be known as iTV.

Television would provide yet another great outlet, and drive iOS app sales even further.  It’s no secret that consoles, and console game revenue dwarf that of the iPhone and iPad app stores.  It will be very interesting to see the pricing dynamic once  iTV starts hitting the shelves..

An exclusive report is available at Engadget.  It seems that one of the more interesting aspects (unconfirmed) is that iTV will only provide 720p playback.  This makes no sense whatsoever and it will be interesting to see how truthful that is.

You can read Engadget’s previous report on iTV here which suggested a $99 price point.

[Source: Engadget]

©2010 iPhone iOS 4 iTV iPad SDK Development Tutorials, Programming Tips, News. All Rights Reserved.

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