Seth Weintraub

You’ve seen the magnetic ones, but Apple might be looking into a clip-on zoom lens for its iOS devices according to patents revealed by Patently Apple today.

The implementation pictured above isn’t very ‘Apple-like’ at first glance, but might be a neat accessory if done right.
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Apple today released the following statement on App Store Review Guidelines:

The App Store℠ has revolutionized the way mobile applications are developed and distributed. With over 250,000 apps and 6.5 billion downloads, the App Store has become the world’s largest mobile application platform and App Store developers have earned over one billion dollars from the sales of their apps.

We are continually trying to make the App Store even better. We have listened to our developers and taken much of their feedback to heart. Based on their input, today we are making some important changes to our iOS Developer Program license in sections 3.3.1, 3.3.2 and 3.3.9 to relax some restrictions we put in place earlier this year.

In particular, we are relaxing all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps, as long as the resulting apps do not download any code. This should give developers the flexibility they want, while preserving the security we need.

In addition, for the first time we are publishing the App Store Review Guidelines to help developers understand how we review submitted apps. We hope it will make us more transparent and help our developers create even more successful apps for the App Store.

The App Store is perhaps the most important milestone in the history of mobile software. Working together with our developers, we will continue to surprise and delight our users with innovative mobile apps.

It would appear that Apple has reversed course and now is allowing third party application development environments to be used to submit apps.  What happened to the Thoughts on Flash:
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Here’s a high quality version directly from Apple:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKxoqRoRB0c&fs=1&hl=en_US&hd=1]

850 MHz is my friend. I know I talk crazy smack about AT&T’s coverage in New York, but it is definitely getting better. The FemtoCell in the house also works like a charm.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZsfefaezNY&fs=1&hl=en_US&hd=1]

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One other major difference between the iPhone and the iPod touch:  The iPod touch, because of its razor thin size, lacks the battery heft of the iPhone 4.  Compare the battery sizes below:

iPhone 4 (left) 5.25 W/Hours vs. iPod touch 4th Gen, 3.44 W/Hours (right)

Obviously the iPod doesn’t require 24/7 3G radio power as well so the difference isn’t as profound in the real world as you might initially expect.
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Oh.  You just got your new iPod touch with video recording.  You might want to pick up iMovie as well.  Apple has a freshly updated version for you as well as some additional features for current users.

Thanks@SquidgySam!

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Apple updated its iOS SDK today to build 10M2309.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-n_9u6–i0&w=640&h=385]

Microsoft updated their Mac Office 2011 page today on multiple editing with Sharepoint/Skydrive.

Collaborating with friends, colleagues and classmates is worry-free with the co-authoring tools in Office 2011. Documents can be stored in the cloud (SkyDrive free to consumers and SharePoint for businesses) allowing for multiple people to access and edit a document. In addition, there is built-in support for the Office Web Apps. That lets a user edit an Office document, even if they are at a machine that doesn’t have Office installed on it.

The team also announced new features in Outlook for Mac including the scheduling assistant, which allows users to see their calendar in line with their mail resulting in a more efficient workflow. Additionally, PowerPoint 2011 allows users to broadcast a presentation. Broadcast Slideshow lets the users of your choice view your presentation at your speed, all recipients need is a browser connection.
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Go get it!

Here are direct download links via IOS.e-lite.

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Pretty cool.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElubRNRIUg4&w=640&h=385]

Those jailbreakers seem to know when it is about to rain.  Their advice to other jailbreakers?  “Don’t hit the button, it’s a trap.”
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dddAi8FF3F4&fs=1&hl=en_US&hd=1]

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Apple Store employees were working late last night putting up some new stuff. Could be room for some new, bigger displays as well?

Here’s a weird one from Chris Anderson, editor of Wired:

That would be lame.

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The new iPods will be arriving in stores tomorrow and many will be getting them in the mail over the next few days as well.  Fittingly, Apple has lifted the embargo on reviews and they’ve come flooding in.

Engadget weighs the pros and cons of the new Touch:

As we noted last week, the iPod touch doesn’t get the same IPS display as the iPhone (above).  It doesn’t have a GPS or a good still camera either.  But that’s about the only bad things you can say about these things which for many will be fantastic portable devices.  It gains A4 processor, Retina display, front and back cameras, gyroscope, and vibrate.  They continue to have the same price-points (Apple sold a previous generation 8GB version for $199 before)

I personally would have traded a few millimeters of thickness for even a two or three megapixel still camera and GPS.  The screen angle differences in the real world won’t matter that much.  On the Flip side, cameras add a whole new dimension to these devices and gaming with the new screen, processor, Gyros and A4 chip is going to be on a whole other level.

The Nano review, because it is an entirely new form factor, is a bit more interesting…

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A 40MB Safari 5.0.2 Software Update just hit.  From Apple:

This update contains improvements to compatibility and security, including the following:

• Fixes an issue that could prevent users from submitting web forms
• Fixes an issue that could cause web content to display incorrectly when viewing a Google Image result with Flash 10.1 installed
• Establishes an encrypted, authenticated connection to the Safari Extensions Gallery

For detailed information on the security content of this update, please visit this site: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

Also iWeb saw an update today.
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The new iPod shuffle had a busy day today.  First iLounge took theirs out of the packaging (always an exciting event).

Perhaps a little bit more exhilarating…
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If you are an iOS developer, you better go chase your Gamecenter username back down pretty quick because Apple reset all Gameceter IDs without any warning this morning.  They also clarified their intentions on putting the service on 2nd generation iPods but not on the slightly slower iPhone 3Gs.

That means Gamecenter via iOS 4.1 are coming via Software Update pretty soon here.
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Every time you do a Maps.app search on your iOS device (or on a Mac) and see a brand logo, Google gets some cash it was revealed today.

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You can now plug in someone else’s iOS device and listen to their music on iTunes 10 without the Enable “manual sync mode” option.  How’d we miss that?

Thanks Jonathan!

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IDG and GSMA Mobile World Congress are coming together to bring an Apple mobile presence to the yearly parade of mobile devices in Barcelona held every February.  Just like Macworld in San Francisco, this one won’t have an official Apple presence, but Macworld will be on hand to shepherd mobile apps developers and accessory makers who want to showcase their wares on the world stage.

We’ve always wanted an excuse to go to Barcelona in February!  Full press release below:

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Nike today updated their iOS  Nike+app with a GPS enabled version. The update allows you to track your runs with GPS rather than manually using Nike+ sensors.  It also give motivational encouragement while you run and when you finish from Nike’s top celebrity athletes.

The Nike+ GPS App is compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPod touch (2nd, 3rd and 4th generations) running iOS 4.0 or later.  Video below:

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