Mobile Apple Me

Section: Software + Apps, Miscellaneous, Third-Party, iPod + iTunes, iPod touch, iPhone, iPhone, iPhone SDK & Apps, Mac + Computers, Software

Macintosh and iPhone/iPod updates and announcements for December 29, 2009:

Macintosh

• Welcome to Macintosh will make its exclusive North American television premiere on CNBC, First in Business Worldwide, on Monday, January 4th at 9:30 PM ET. Welcome to Macintosh is an independent documentary highlighting Apple Inc’s history and fan following. The documentary was recently made available on the iTunes movie store where it reached the top 10 in documentary sales and rentals.
• Yazsoft has released a major new update to ShareTool. Developed for Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later, ShareTool is an award winning utility that lets you connect to all of the Bonjour services on your home or office network from anywhere in the world securely over a 100% SSH encrypted connection. This includes iTunes Music Sharing, Screen Sharing, File Sharing, printing, and much more. No configuration. No complication. No server or technical skills required. Just a mouse click.
• Zevrix Solutions has announced a New Year Sale with 20% discount on everything in Zevrix online store. The offer is valid from December 28 to January 4 and applies to both single products and bundles. Zevrix produces such popular InDesign plug-ins as LinkOptimizer and BatchOutput, as well as solutions for graphic files checkup, PDF workflow automation and digital delivery.
• Safeguard your laptop and other gear inside the rugged STM Convoy. Features a concealed laptop compartment and a suspended foam cell to fully protect your laptop on all sides. It comes loaded with utility pockets and compartments with plenty of space for peripherals, books, folders and accessories. Convoy’s ergonomic harness system makes a heavy load completely manageable.
• TranslateIt! Team has announced a 50% off sale on TranslateIt! till 10th January 2010. TranslateIt! allows you to look up words on the fly. Just hover the pointer over an unfamiliar word and see its translation in a pop-up window. TranslateIt! offers several methods: translation from clipboard, drag-and-drop translation, manual input of queries in the main window, and double-click translation of words in dictionary entries displayed in the main window.

iPhone/iPod

• Godzilab Games has announced the release of the first content update of iBlast Moki. It was approved in just 5 days; a record. They added 15 bonus levels with completely new graphics, a new doodleland world with its own Plus+ leaderboard, a major redesign of the editor with a new intuitive manipulation interface, a tool to dress your own levels with the vegetation used in game, improved tutorial in Mokiland, bug fixes, and perfomance improvements.
• Pocket Watch Software has announced ActivePrint 7.0 for iPhone and iPod Touch. devices. With ActivePrint you can now print to any printer that your PC can print to over your Wi-Fi network or over the internet using your iPhone’s EDGE or 3G network. Print photos from the photo album or device’s camera, contents of the clipboard, contacts from the address book, web pages, and much more. ActivePrintoffers support for practically any printer available in the market.
• Cloudburst Research today released AutoStitch 2.0 for iPhone devices. AutoStitch creates high-resolution images of up to 20 megapixels using the iPhone’s own camera, and allows iPhone users to create poster-quality images that can exceed those from even expensive dedicated cameras. This extraordinary resolution is achieved by a fully automated approach for seamlessly stitching together multiple images taken from a single location.
• 24x7digital has announced Aw Craps! 1.6, a major update to their popular casino game for iPhone and iPod Touch. With its realistic table layout, game play, stick calls and dice rolling, Aw Craps! takes you onto the casino floor and into the action, allowing seasoned shooters to hone their skills, as well as allowing beginners to learn enough to hit the casino tables. Version 1.6 offers many enhancements, including a new 3D animated, full table rolling mode and much more.
• code.aplus has announced Quickie 1.0, a brand new to-do application for iPhone and iPod touch devices. Quickie is a breath of fresh air in the crowded field of Productivity applications. Featuring a beautiful interface and audio cues, Quickie offers simplicity and ease-of-use and is perfect to quickly type-in any kind of list, for just about anything that needs to be written down quickly, in 30 seconds or less.
• Random Ideas has announced the release of iZen Garden 2, a new version of its award-winning relaxation app for Apple iPhone and iPod Touch. iZen Garden is a beautiful and detailed Zen Garden simulator that helps you center your mind, relax your psyche, and relieve your stress. This version adds dozens of new features, including a meditation timer, more placeable objects, more sound tracks, and the ability to share your Zen with your friends and family.
• ThinkFAST, Inc. has released Geek Logik for iPhone and iPod Touch. Wouldn’t it be great if there were clear-cut answers to all of life’s questions. Based on the bestselling book by Garth Sundem, Geek Logik harnesses the awesome powers of math and humor to open a massive can of whoopass on uncertainty. Simply set sliders to answer humorous questions and Geek Logik runs the numbers and kicks out an answer. Perfect for the geek in your life.
• Apress has released More iPhone 3 Development: Tackling iPhone SDK 3, their latest book digging deeper into Apple’s SDK. Authors Dave Mark and Jeff LaMarche cover topics like Core Data, peer-to-peer networking using GameKit and network streams, working with data from the web, MapKit, in-application e-mail, concurrent programming, and debugging applications.
• Tapunited has announced My Town Contacts 1.0 for iPhone devices. My Town Contacts is a new contact management app with One-Tap-Dialing that gathers in one place all the numbers and information you need to feel safe, secure, and totally together. The ones that could save your life and the ones you love. My Town Contacts makes your life easier by prompting you to add in information on your town: for the library, town hall, schools, local pharmacy, and your favorite restaurants and stores.
• Izatt has announced the release of MatchTunes 1.0, its 41st app for iPhone and iPod Touch devices. MatchTunes is the game of matching song clips from the user’s own iTunes library. Choose to match on music clip, song, album, or artist. Select the genre of music to play with or select all to draw from across all genres on the iPhone. Play a 2-player game to challenge others. Players can submit their best scores via OpenFeint to prove to the world they know their music.
• Stephen Covey, author of the best-seller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and Jennifer Colosimo, chief learning officer at FranklinCovey Co., have launched the app to help people find career fulfillment in these tough economic times. The app is a companion to their newly released book, Great Work, Great Career: How to Create Your Ultimate Job and Make an Extraordinary Contribution. (It can be used in conjunction with the book or alone.)
• The iPod Classic, nano and Video now join the Kindle and nook as eReaders with Notescasts. iPod owners are downloading Notescasts from a growing list of titles covering a broad range of topics, including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Pride and Prejudice, Alice in Wonderland, Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Top 10 Yosemite Hikes, a Guide to Glacier National Park, Cycling Guides, Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Secrets, Disneyland Guide and more.

Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Section: iPod + iTunes, iPod touch, iPhone, iPhone Accessories, iPhone, Originals

It’s that time of year again when many of us make empty promises to ourselves to finally commit to the same diet and exercise regiment that we couldn’t stick to last year. But that’s okay, because this year is different. It’s a whole new decade, anything is possible! Pedal Brain is here to help motivate your feet to start pedaling, and does so by tracking your rides and driving you to do better.

It’s quite simple. Just mount the iPhone case and Pedal Brain unit to your bike. The unit works just like the Nike+ sensors by converting your riding into data and passing it off to your iPhone or iPod touch. The iPhone will upload all of this data in real time to the Pedal Brain servers and spit out pretty graphs to keep you motivated. Power through data, that’s what they believe, and that’s what they’ll deliver.

Pricing hasn’t really been determined yet, but it should be between $130 and $200 for the plastic version. There’s apparently a carbon fiber version, because carbon fiber makes everything better. It will cost more, obviously. Unfortunately, that’s not all, as you’ll have to pay more to them monthly to keep your riding date on their site longer than 7 days. Coaching also costs more. There are free versions for both of these services, but you’ll likely want more than just the basics.

It sounds like a great idea, but too pricey to me. I feel that if you’re going to have an expensive gadget, the service should be free. Or have a cheap gadget, with a monthly fee. Just not both. But hey, I’m not a hard core rider, so perhaps the guys with the carbon fiber bikes will be more than willing to buy into the Pedal Brain. Who can’t wait to get their hands feet on one of these?

Product Pedal Brain

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Section: Software + Apps, Miscellaneous, Third-Party, iPod + iTunes, iPod touch, iPhone, iPhone, iPhone SDK & Apps, Mac + Computers, Software

Macintosh and iPhone/iPod updates and announcements for December 28, 2009:

Macintosh

• Final Cut Studio, Adobe and Avid editors and digital filmmakers from around the world will gather together for the Ninth Annual San Francisco SuperMeet, to be held on Friday, February 5, 2010 at the UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco, CA. Free educational workshops will be offered during the day by Canon, Adobe, Autodesk and Red Giant. Bay Area filmmakers will have a chance to screen content in the SuperMeet Digital Showcase featuring over 30 software and hardware developers.
• Apparent Corporation has certified Barcode Producer, its award-winning barcode generation software for Mac OS X and Windows, as ready for 2010 barcode industry standards, including GS1 DataBar requirements for coupons. Barcode Producer 5.7, released today, updates the software’s integrated Symbology Guide and documentation for the new year’s standards. Apparent’s unparalleled experience in the barcode industry offers its customers a complete range of products and solutions.
• Houdah Software has announced HoudahSpot 2.6, an update to their acclaimed Spotlight front-end for Mac OS X Leopard. With HoudahSpot, users may create detailed queries to pinpoint the exact file they want to get to. With its all-in-one interface, results are shown next to the search query. Version 2.6 brings many subtle enhancements. This is a recommended update for all Leopard and Snow Leopard users.
• Mariner Software can’t thank everyone personally for supporting them this past year, but they can have one last blowout on all the software products featured in their online store. It’s their way of saying thanks. Happy Holidays from Mariner Software.

iPhone/iPod

• Mac and White has announced Pingi 1.0, its latest isometric Slap’em Up game for iPhone and iPod touch. Take control of a noble penguin on the noblest of quests. Defend the spirit of Christmas by defeating every evil penguin trying to steal Santa’s gifts. Pingi can be upgraded at the end of each level with numerous options. Make Pingi healthier, quicker, stronger, or make him throw powerful Snowballs to make him a formidable Protector of the Gift Pile. Don’t disappoint Santa!
• CAZE has released INITIAL, a new and unique Swarovski case for iPhone 3G/3GS. CAZE believes that iPhone users should have a choice to personlize their cases so they artfully handcrafted Swarovski iPhone case in 26 Distinctive, Exclusive Swarovski Letter Designs. CAZE used Zero 5, the World’s Thinnest transparent iPhone case for crystal embellishment, so the INITIAL crystal case has the thinnest possible wall-thickness and can fully protect the chrome edges and corners of an iPhone.
• Excited Pixel has released Chirp Flow 1.0, its free, real time Twitter app for iPhone and iPod touch. Utilizing Twitter’s real time streaming API, Chirp Flow can be used to get real time updates at conferences, concerts, protests, meetings and any other event. Chirp Flow allows users to engage in a conversation that, when spoken, might be disruptive if articulated acoustically.
• Freeverse has announced that NBA Hotshot for the iPhone and iPod touch will be available soon on the iTunes App Store. NBA Hotshot is an officially licensed, casual pick-up-and-play arcade experience that incorporates the responsive and authentic flick-based shooting controls from Freeverse’s hit Skee-Ball.
• Charlie’s Games has announced their 2 for 1 Holiday Special offer. Until the first of January 2010 gamers can get Charlie’s Games two latest releases, Irukandji and Bullet Candy Perfect for a donation. What’s more, you can also opt to send the games to a friend. Irukandji is a fun score attack shoot-em-up, set in an abstract underwater trench. Bullet Candy Perfect is a fun shoot-em-up game, with sharp, super smooth 3D graphics and a cool techno soundtrack.
• Izatt has announced the release of MileBug 1.5, the latest update to its flagship app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. In response to customer feedback, version 1.5 comes with great new features such as Frequent Trips and Expense Tracking. MileBug helps those driving their own vehicles for business, charity, medical, or other reasons receive their reimbursement and/or tax deduction. Track your miles, get your deduction!
• The Prometheus Institute has introduced Do-It-Yourself Democracy, an iPhone app that allows any California resident to interact with all three levels of government—federal, state and local—to help solve city pollution, graffiti, police corruption, potential environmental hazards and much more.

Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Section: iPhone, Carriers, iPhone

How do you fix all the network traffic issues in New York? By stopping all sales of iPhones, of course. Wait…what? Seriously? AT&T’s best, most obvious solution to network congestion issues is to simply stop selling one of their most popular phones?

“Yes, this is correct the phone is not offered to you because New York is not ready for the iPhone.” - Daphne, an AT&T Customer Service Representative.

Didn’t they used to be?

I’m sure you’re as shocked as I was when I first read this bit of info from The Consumerist.  They’ve since updated their site with a little more info on the situation.

In a written statement, AT&T spokesman Fletcher Cook told Consumerist that “We periodically modify our promotions and distribution channels.”

I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of AT&T’s failure to see the root of all of their problems. Gizmodo posted an equally upsetting article some time ago showing that AT&T has spent less each quarter on their network since the quarter in which the iPhone was launched despite increased traffic along with increased revenue on wireless traffic.

So I guess this is just another case of AT&T blaming its users for its problems instead of thanking them for their support. I hope to show them the same kindness sometime this summer by jumping boat to Verizon, Apple willing. Who’s with me?

Update:  Oops, looks like AT&T figured out that we caught them with their pants around their ankles. You can once again purchase an iPhone 3G(S) through their website, even with a NYC zip code. See folks, the power of the internet! Today we’re regaining the ability to spend our own money on what we think we want, tomorrow we’ll be changing the world!? Doubtful, heck I doubt anyone really wants to buy into the AT&T network from NYC right now anyway.

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »