Mark is an award-winning journalist who worked at 9to5Mac for over six years. He covers Apple and other topics related to the consumer technology industry.
Things in the tablet space are about to get a whole lot more interesting with the impending releases of Verizon Android tablets, and HP confirming that a webOS tablet-device will see in light in the early days of 2011. Hopefully the thing doesn’t have WiFi issues and comes with multitasking out of the box. If HP uses Palm’s webOS to its full potential, we imagine this thing to be pretty sweet. Only time will tell if the PalmPad will kill the iPad like the Palm Pre killed the iPhone.
Google is expected to unveil their tablet device for 2011 with Digitimes expecting it to sell 2 million units within launch year. The Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) powered device is expected to be manufactured by Motorola and will be carried by Verizon Wireless in the U.S. for data. The party seems to only be getting wilder with a Verizon Google Tablet 3G going up against the AT&T Apple iPad 3G. A true war of the competitors in imminent.
It appears that front panels of Apple’s next iPod touch are already on sale in China. As you’ll see in the picture below, a hole for the FaceTime camera is present. If you’re daring you can even buy the panel now for 95 bucks, or just make your own. They look very similar to the panels from a few weeks back for those keeping track.
Gameloft has just pushed out an update to their fantastic first-person shooter, Modern Combat: Sandstorm. The game’s gameplay and graphics already seem realistic and intuitive, but Gameloft decided to take their game to the next level by leveraging the iPhone 4s new technologies. High Resolution graphics for the Retina Display are a go, and so is multitasking with quick app-switching.
Gameloft is even pushing it to the max with a full Gyroscope mode and something called “complete 3D range.” This new update’s pretty sweet and you can get it from iTunes now.
Update: Apple kept us up for no reason.. nothing new.
We tweeted that the Apple Store went down, but due to increased interest, here’s a post. It’s a Wednesday night and the Apple Store iOS is down also, so were thinking this isn’t the usual Saturday night fever/maintenance. LED 27 inch display is here? New MacBook Air (PLEASE!!!!), iLife and iWork ’11? Who knows! Let us know if you see anything suspicious. K?
Facebook has just dropped an anticipated update to their iOS application that brings their newly announced Places feature into the hands of users. Places is like foursquare and allows you to check into the place you go to. You can even tag who’s with you, neat! This very stalkerish new service is complemented by the addition of background photo and video uploading.
Facebook iPhone users can finally shoot their pics and flicks from the road to their profiles while using other features on their iOS devices. Additionally you can now set new privacy controls for your status updates and the messages interface got a few updates as well. Users who do not immediately see the update available to them can get it by deleting the current version from their phones and simply re-downloading.
And perhaps the coolest new feauture?!! Tweetie/Twitter for iPhone style pull to refresh! (Thanks, Mitchell):
Google has announced a nice update to their iPad Gmail website which brings the stacked card UI from the native iPad Mail.app into the browser. This stacked card interface allows easier selection of multiple messages so you can efficiently organize your messages into folders, archive, and delete them.
This is a lovely one, and we couldn’t believe our eyes when we saw this. Phillip Shoemaker, the guy Jobs and Co. brought in to lead the App Store has his owns app under the company name, GrayNoodle LLC. These aren’t your everyday apps from such a professional guy, but are apps that allow you to hear animal fart sounds and practice your mad peeing skills.
For the developers out there, in case you didn’t know… This is the same fine individual who’s in charge of removing and rejecting your fine applications. Shoemaker even has a website for his apps here. One of his most popular apps, iWiz, helps you “simulate the experience of urination for a long time”, which is nice, right?
An Apple spokesperson says Shoemaker’s “perspective as a developer is one of the valuable things he brings to Apple’s developer relations team,” and this honestly makes sense. Wired discovered Shoemaker’s class-act by snooping around his Linkedin profile. All references have been removed and we truly wish Philly well.
The very best of Shoemakers tweets are after the break:
Verizon Wireless is reportedly working on an iPad application based around their FiOS TV service that will make its way to users in early 2011. The release date is based on Verizon being able to gear up enough partners, but it seems likely that they will be able to. The FiOS iPad app will only be available to paying FiOS subscribers (Oh, Dish network!) and at first will only work in their actual homes. This is to ensure that the devices will only play live TV in homes where FiOS is installed and being payed for.
Plans for versions of the application that allow streaming out of the house and on 3G are unknown. The apps development is supposedly far along as the technology is behind it works, the only possible issue is getting enough partners for a successful launch. Can’t Verizon finally make a deal with Apple to carry the iPad or some Apple cellphone thingy also?
A picture of the FiOS application in use is after the jump:
HBO Go is a service which allows paid HBO subscribers to access HBO original TV shows, movies, and sports on their computers all in HD. This service is phenomenal for those who enjoy HBO’s content and in movies in general but aren’t always able to get to the TV. In an interview with Bloomberg, HBO CEO Reed Hastings stated the service will make its way to iPads and other mobile devices in 6 months.
This exclusive service for paid subscribers seems sweet and we can’t wait to see their iPad implementation. Hopefully it will be similar to the website and will play HD content and work fairly well over 3G.
Apple just cut iOS 4.1 beta 4 loose and if you’re a paid iOS developer you know where to get it. There’s no word on what new features this beta brings but we’ll be sure to let you know if/when we find out. Let us know if you hear anything, K? thanks.
Apple has just publicly dropped an update to improve frame rate and graphic performance in Snow Leopard. This is the first Snow Leopard graphics update and weighs in at just under 70 MB. You should be able to find it in the Software Update application.
Computerworld reports Apple won’t be changing the antenna design for the purported Verizon iPhone coming in January. According to their source, Spencer Webb, “The antenna design is architecturally fixed in the design, and it would take them a while to make whatever the next design is.” The report also states that Apple is likely planning to keep that antenna design around for a few years to match their previous three year iPhone design roadmap.
It makes sense that Apple would not have enough time to design an entirely new antenna for a device supposedly launching in only a few months. An antenna redesign would call for a device redesign, as the iPhone 4s new slimmer casing is based on the antenna not being internal. It also makes sense that if Apple waited until June 2011 to unveil the first Verizon-compatible iPhone and 5th generation AT&T iPhone, the antenna could change.
It took Apple a little longer, but they finally dropped iOS version 4.02 for the second generation iPod touch. No word on why it took this long or if it’s getting any special feature treatments, so it’d your job to let us know, OK? 4.02 was released last week for the rest of the iOS lineup excluding the first-gen iPhone and seals the PDF exploit bug used for Jailbreakme.com to work. So if you want to jailbreak with jailbreakme.com anytime soon, you shouldn’t update.
When we think Meizu we think iPhone clone. “Good artists copy, great artists steal,” so these guys up in China are good artists apparently. Their user-interfaces appear to agree with the saying as their graphics are pretty hott. Back in 2007, only a few weeks after the iPhone’s introduction, Meizu unveiled their iPhone killer which looked strikingly similar to Cupertino’s offering. It had a metal back, similar UI, touch keyboard, no 3G, but wasn’t so user-friendly and its only marketing was bad PR on gadget-related publications.
Just a few days ago, Meizu unveiled their sequel dubbed the M9 and it may seem similar to some phone announced at WWDC that features antenna issues and no white version. It runs a 1 GHz chip which is fairly similar to Apple’s (Mansfield’s baby) A4 chip, a 960 x 640 resolution (Mansfield’s baby) screen, 512 MB of RAM, and of course Steve Job’s salary maker, multi-touch. Those features are the cornerstones of the iPhone 4. Remember Jobs saying this?: The “Retina display is going to set the standard for displays for the next several years. We don
This is the Asus EeeKeyboard running Windows. How cool would a keyboard like that be running iOS? It’s almost like that Magic Trackpad/Apple keyboard mod from this morning but with a screen! Maybe a little less pricy though.
We usually write up long and extensive reviews of the products we choose to review, but today is a little different. It’s different in the sense that were are reviewing a mousepad and mousepads are so last century. Now that we got the Magic Trackpad, and mice that don’t need special surfaces to function, many people don’t find the need to use a mousepad.
Although this is true, Just Mobile’s Alupad is not your standard one made from poor-quaility materials, but is made from precisely cut anodized aluminum that is fused to a high-quailty plasticky overlay. The mousepad’s build quality is extremely substantial and is rock solid. Like other Just Mobile offerings, this is the mousepad Apple would create — Most likely to be dubbed Magic Mousepad. Mice are easily maneuverable on this trackpad and the height is perfect for any desk. As usual, this Just Mobile product fits in perfectly with Apple’s industrial design.
Just Mobile’s Alupad is a great mousepad for those who find the need for it, and it’s also a great novelty item and gift with its fantastic build quality, design, and durability. You can get a Just Mobile Alupad here at 30% off for just over $35. — That’s the lowest price we could find. If they run out of them at that link you can get one here for the regular price of $49.99. Happy tracking!
These iPhone knockoffs are getting more and more advanced each day. Today are our eyes are set on this speedy 460 MHz Windows Mobile 6.5 running iPhone 4 knockoff. It gets better, this thing features a dual-sim card slot, a Micro SD slot, and a 2.5mm earphone jack (3.5 is standard).
Numerous readers wrote in to let us know that Adobe’s Photoshop Express for iOS is literally complete garbage. The app constantly crashed on start up for many users and the app’s App Store comments are flooded with users experiencing the issues as well. Adobe was quick to act and an update that supposedly fixes the issues is now available.
Photoshop Express is a universal iOS app that launched yesterday and is formally known as Photoshop.com Mobile. The new application brings many new features including iPad support, but does not bring enhanced graphics for the iPhone 4s Retina display. Let us know in the comments if this update did anything for you.
The Knox Street Apple Store in Dallas, Texas has reportedly been robbed only hours ago. According to a first-hand account, the robbers made off with eight laptops and judging by the photographs, they made off with multiple display iPhone 4s. Hopefully everyone’s okay.
Playboy founder and namesake, Hugh Hefner, tweeted the availability of a Playboy app earlier today and noted that Apple would only accept it without the nudity. He even gave Jobso a shoutout saying he “has a thing about nudity.” I bet Jobs called Hefner himself to let him know and hey, maybe he wanted an invite to the grotto.
Oh! Who remembers this?: “The difference [between sex apps and established brand sex apps] is this is a well-known company (Playboy) with previously published material available broadly in a well-accepted format. We always try to consider the source and intent of the apps when reviewing them.”
Just Mobile’s Xtand for iPhone is a high-quality aluminum stand that elegantly and economically houses your iPhone wherever you wish. The design of the stand takes cues from Apple’s iMac stand and has rubber lining on the bottom to maintain a grip to the surface you choose to leave it on. The aluminum is cut with precision and has a very solid feel. The product does not seem cheap, but seems like it was built to last.
The stand ships with three essential pieces that you need to assemble. Assembly is very simple as all you have to do is screw the base to actual piece that houses the iPhone. The screw is not like your everyday screw as a screw driver is not needed. The piece that houses the iPhone in the stand uses 4 soft rubber pieces to keep your phone in place.
When using the iPhone while it’s in the stand, the stand won’t tip. The experience is great and it’s almost like using a super-mini iMac. The stand can be easily adjusted into portrait or landscape so it is great for watching movies, typing with a keyboard, and especially for FaceTime calls.
The Xtand for iPhone is a great iPhone stand as it has fantastic build quality, and simply fits in with the rest of Apple’s products, in terms of industrial design. The stand makes some of the iPhone’s features even easier to use such as FaceTime, watching movies, and viewing photos. We recommend it for anyone who wants one of the best iPhone stands on the market.
At first glance, Apple’s new “Apps to Impress your Friends” section may seem like an innocent section showing you the coolest apps that will surely wow your pals. Look again and you will soon realize the section should be called “Apps to Impress your friends enough to buy an iPhone.” The section includes amazing iPhone exclusives such as Siri Assistant, Ocarina, Red Laser, Bump, and Apple’s own iMovie.
These apps leverage advanced technologies, that work extremely well on iOS. Ocarina will blow your friends away when they see you’re playing an instrument with your breath, Red Laser will blow your friends away when you scan items at the mall, and iMovie will blow them away when you edit and upload your trip footage from your iPhone.
In its most basic fashion, Apple is showcasing apps that will blow people away, but they’re also showcasing apps to blow away the competition. Essentially, these are the apps you show to your friends in order provide free marketing for Apple. Too bad my Air Horn isn’t on there.
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