"As expected, Apple refreshed its iPod lineup Wednesday, unveiling redesigned versions of its iPod touch, iPod nano, and iPod shuffle music players. But the company didn't stop there, using its annual fall music event to also announce an update to its iTunes software and an overhaul of its Apple TV set-top box."
Lots of new and improved products from Apple announced today. Almost everything available today, with the exception of the new $99 smaller Apple TV, shipping in about four weeks. Some additional welcomed news: iOS 4.1 will be available shortly and will include bug fixes and GameCenter; iOS 4.2 will be available in November, and will bring the iPad feature-set equivalence with the iPhone, and will also introduce iPad printing. Details can be found here [ link ].
"But Cupertino doesn't want to stop there: a new patent filing, Apple is now exploring ways to combine the headphone jack with the microphone on their iPhone and iPod Touch."
I'm not one to read Apple's patent filings as the future of Apple products, but I'm pretty sure this will actually end up being used in future versions of the iPhone and iPod Touch. It just makes sense. Apple embraces minimalism in design, and having the noise canceling microphone built into the headphone jack makes for a cleaner design. It also gives one less point of entry for dust and moisture. I doubt we'll see this at the September event, only because it makes no sense to put a feature like this on the iPod Touch before it goes into the next iPhone.
"Lovely new iPhone app that allows you to write text messages before hand, and choose if you always will send it to the same person or not. Either way you can send the message very fast, great tool and it's only $0.99."
Interesting app [affiliate link]. Most of my text messages are conceived on the spot so I don't really see myself using this, but I like the idea of having something like this as an option. I suppose it would work well if I was thinking far ahead enough to plan some messages about travel arrivals, asking about grocery items needed, etc. Come to think of it, I may find a use for this after all. What are your thoughts, canned text messages have a place in your arsenal?
"If you're an iPhone 4 user, you probably remember the proximity sensor problem we told you about way back when Apple's latest handset was released. Many iPhone users were reporting issues with their handset during calls, citing the proximity sensor as being a key problem. Apparently the sensor wasn't always detecting the users' faces, meaning many were accidentally interacting with their phone's screen while talking on the handset."
And even though Steve Jobs said it would be fixed in iOS 4.1, it appears this may not happen. The antenna issue was not an issue for me at all, but I have experienced this proximity problem several times, mostly by putting the phone call in mute status and talking like an idiot until I realized that the other half of the phone call couldn't hear me. No wonder they kept interrupting me and were off topic! I imagine this issue is a bit more difficult to fix than they first realized, which is a bit disappointing for those of us that have run into this annoyance. Let's hope the fix is in sooner rather than later.
"CNET is reporting that Microsoft's Hotmail will finally gain support for... Microsoft's Exchange ActiveSync protocol. Sure, even Google's had that for a while now, but better embarrassingly late than embarrassingly never, right?"
It's about time, and yes, better late than never! I've been a Hotmail user since the very beginning, but I've been forwarding my Hotmail to my MobileMe mail for so long now that I've almost forgotten that it costs $20 per year for Microsoft Live Hotmail Plus (to enable forwarding). I get so much spam every week (around 100 items per day) in Hotmail that I may keep things as they are, let the filtering and junk stay on the server, and not be sent to my iPad and iPhone. Availability is rumored to be 30 August 2010. What do you think? Will this be useful for you?
"Just the other day, I found myself thinking back to this year's WWDC, where Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced that the company would provide an iPhone version of its iPad app sometime this year."
And now it is here, finally! Modified slightly from the iPad version (even though it is considered a "universal" app), but it does stream pretty well (according to various reports as I've not had the chance to try this myself), even over 3G. And it is limited, since you can only view titles that are available for streaming. But I'm glad it is here, and I'm sure it will be updated to add features soon enough. Netflix is one of those services that I feel I really get value for my dollar, and there aren't many of those companies out there.
"Codality has updated Simplenote, its note-taking and -sharing service for iPhone, iPad, and desktop computers, with nearly two dozen new features and fixes spread between its mobile app and its Web version."
It's a free universal app in iTune, so it is worth testing out, and you can sign up for a free account at their site to sync all of your notes between your iPhone and your iPad. It does actually work quite well for note taking, and if I did more of it I'd probably use this instead of my Notes app that came on the iPhone, but that works well enough for me that I don't need to switch. However, it does have some merit to be able to go online and see my notes and modify them from any computer. My problem is I get into an "App Overload" situations, so I get rid of everything except for those apps that I really use. I love a clean screen, and that is what I'm going through now. I'm in simplicity versus Simplenote mode.
"StumpleUpon - the ultimate discovery engine that finds the best of the web, customized to your preferences randomly + recommendations from millions of other users who share similar interests."
I've always been a fan of the Stumbleupon plugin for Firefox, and I'm glad to see Stumbleupon available for the iPhone. If you've never used it, think of it like a remote control for the internet, where you can pick the topics you like and then stumble onto random sites in those categories. It's like channel surfing for the web. It's a great way to kill time in line or while waiting for an appointment. I downloaded the app as soon as I found out it was available, and played with it for a while. I only intended to be using it for a few minutes, and found myself still peering at the screen an hour later. You need a Stumbleupon account to use the app, but the accounts are free and so is the app. If you don't have an account, you can set it one up using the app.
"The iPhone battery is designed to provide a significant amount of talk time, internet/app use, and data consumption. By using the phone properly and customizing a few settings you can dramatically improve how long your iPhone battery lasts."
For me, I found that running the battery out until the iPhone 4 died, and then recharging fully before using it seemed to slap the battery enough to fix the problems I was having. However, there are some other good tips in this article to improve battery life that I think anyone would find useful.
"Originally shown on Griffin's web site as the Stylus for iPad ($20), the package actually reads "Stylus" and now references the "iPad + iPhone + iPod touch," suggesting that this miniature pen-sized tool might appeal to all Apple touchscreen device users."
I might have to give this one a try, as I'm interested in doing more with my iPad such as taking notes, etc. There are several in the iTunes store that allow you to take written notes, such as Ghostwriter Notes [affiliate link] for $2.99 USD, iNotes for iPad [affiliate link] for $3.99 USD, PadNotes [affiliate link] for $0.99 USD or even SketchPad HD [affiliate link] for $0.99 USD that doubles as a sketch pad, complete with color palette. If you want something a little fancier, WritePad for iPad [affiliate link] for $9.99 USD has handwriting recognition as well as DropBox and Wi-Fi syncing capabilities. I'm sure there are many more as well, so the options are out there, and this stylus appears to be just the accessory that will work with them.
"Great news for iDevice-owning Yahoo! Mail users: the popular email service has now added support for HTML5. This means users can now fully interact with the site on their iPhones and iPads."
It's great to see HTML5 being supported more and more. The future looks bright for those of us using any variant of mobile safari or any other browser that works with HTML5. I still have a Yahoo Mail account, though I use it almost entirely as an IM account. Still, it's nice to know that if I have to check my Yahoo mail, I can do it with ease on my iPad or iPhone.
"Barnes and Noble already had one of the best eReader apps out there with Nook on the iPad. And now, the iPhone iteration just got some of those sweet personalization and lending features that give it some punch."
I'll be honest and say I've never even tried the Nook app for iPad or iPhone. I'm definitely a Kindle guy (and I had a 1st generation Kindle long before the there was an iPad). But I do think the Nook lending feature is pretty cool, despite its limitations. Other new features include the ability to adjust line spacing, justification and font-size. The iPad app also got an update with the ability to rate books. I might have to buy a Nook Book just to see if it's a better reading experience. What e-book app, if any, do you prefer?
"Sticking a couple big ones up Adobe's way, Vimeo's embeddable Universal Player allows for playback of Vimeo videos on iPads and other non-Flash-supporting devices, using HTML5-but also detects other supported video formats, playing in Flash or native too."
I'm not really surprised by this. It's just a matter of time until all video providers of any reasonable size and popularity will move to HTML 5. While the iPad and the iPhone are significant reasons for this push, they are certainly not the only reasons. Being able to play videos without the need for a plug-in makes for a simpler user experience, and simpler is almost always better. I don't really see this as an attack on Adobe. It's just a natural evolution of the internet, pushed along by some of the big players, including Apple.
"Text messages are a wonderful things. They let you have conversations in a wide range of situations, such as when you have to let your best friend know about the skanky behavior of a new neighbor with the window open. Of course, texts can also be a problem when they are long. Texts over the limit can get rejected or broken up in the wrong place. By default, the software will not tell you how many characters you have typed, but we can change that with these simple steps."
I honestly never thought to look in the settings for this, but it was something that always bothered me. Luckily, I came across these instructions from Appletell. Basically, under Message settings, switch character count to on. It's that simple. If you need step by step directions, click through to the Appletell article. Just a heads up: The count doesn't show up until the SMS message is long enough to be two lines of text or more.
"ChangeWave asked owners of the new Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) gadget how likely they would be to switch wireless providers if Verizon (NYSE: VZ) began offering the iPhone. A total of 13% said they were Very Likely and 18% Somewhat Likely to switch to Verizon. And that's among users who already have their own iPhone."
Personally, I'm not looking to switch, but that's because no mobile provider reaches my house. Because AT&T has its Microcell available, I finally have coverage in my home, so it's unlikely I'll be switching to Verizon anytime soon. As a person who once left AT&T because of a few bad customer service experiences, I also have to say that all of my recent experiences with AT&T have been excellent. All of that being said, I can understand the frustration that many people have with the AT&T network, especially in areas with tech-heavy populations like New York and San Francisco. Would you switch carriers if Apple brought the iPhone to Verizon?
Posted by Michael Knutson in "Apple Software (iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad)" @ 09:30 PM
"Adobe today announced the immediate availability of Photoshop Express for iPad and iPhone. Formerly known as Photoshop.com Mobile, the newly-branded application now brings quick and easy photo editing, organizing and sharing technology to the iPad."
Another piece of the puzzle falls into place, further transforming mobile devices into photo editing studios. Much of this technology has been available on the iPhone already, so this release seems intended more for iPad users (only minor changes in the iPhone version), and offers the tools that one would expect when 'photoshopping' an image. In addition, the iPad version offers some new features and reorganized workflow for organizing, editing and uploading photos, including sequential editing of multiple images. The English language version is available now from the iTunes/Apps Store, and the price: free. Now if the iPad only had a camera!
"Android wasn't the only operating system with an update today. The iPhone got a security update, 4.0.2, that stops people from using malicious code that was released last week to take over your phone."
On top of that, Apple also released an update for the iMac, that fixed a display issue with the 21.5 inch iMac having to do with brightness, as well as the iPad 3.2.2 update. They didn't want to leave Windows users out of the loop either so they updated QuickTime to 7.6.7. The Windows update involved a security update, but OS X wasn't affected so it wasn't given the same update love.
"Has it really been a year since we started reviewing true turn by turn GPS solutions? It's a one year anniversary for Navigon in the App Store, and the company is celebrating the event with a half off sale on almost every nav app and upgrade offered."
Here is the breakdown of the sale going on now until August 15th:
MobileNavigator North America (includes maps for Canada & US): US $39.99 instead of $79.99 [affiliate link]
MobileNavigator USA: $24.99 instead of $49.99 [affiliate link]
MobileNavigator Canada: $29.99 instead of $59.99 [affiliate link]
MobileNavigator US MyRegion East [link], Central [link] or West [link]: $14.99 instead of $29.99, additional regions $11.99 instead of $14.99.
In-App PurchasesTraffic Live lifetime subscription: $12.99 instead of $24.99
Panorama View 3D: $4.99 instead of $9.99
That is quite a price drop, and I think about where apps like this should be priced at, what are your thoughts? Have you used this particular one, and if so, how do you like it? Or are you like me and don't have a GPS app, relying instead on the mapping app for the iPhone? Is this enough of a price drop to entice you to enter the GPS or navigation app marketplace?
"AT&T Inc. is expanding its U-verse television service to let customers watch some television shows on Apple Inc.'s iPhone and BlackBerry Torch mobile devices."
There's a U-verse app available in the iTunes App Store. While the app will work on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, you'll currently only be able to download shows for viewing on the iPhone. The app also controls your U-verse DVR, and those functions will work on the iPod Touch and iPad. You have to be a U-verse subscriber for the app to work, of course, and according to Bloomberg, only those with "higher-priced U-verse packages" will actually be able to view and download shows on the iPhone.
"It's every child's worst fear - teaching their parents how to use technology! Perhaps it's payback for adolescence. SuperNews! offer up this hilarious look at what happens when Dad gets an iPhone."
Pretty funny, and I can relate to this if it were to happen to me with my Dad. But I am pretty confident he won't get an iPhone, he's pretty happy with his Jitterbug. Yea, a Jitterbug, but I'm just happy he has a cell phone.
