Apps

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This photo hit the White house Flickr feed earlier today and we can’t help but wonder what they are looking at.  According to the description, it is an App.  Angry Birds?  iFart?

Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama look at an app on an iPhone in the Outer Oval Office, Saturday, July 16, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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We’ve been pretty envious of the Logitech Solar Wireless Keyboard that has been selling for months now for Windows PCs (though it does work on Macs with key mapping).   Amazon reviewers give it overwhelmingly positive feedback on the PC, it is thin and goes for three months without light.

Today, Logitech announced that a Mac version is on the way.  As a bonus, it is available in 5 colors including black, white and 3 different admittedly ugly pastels.  Interestingly, Logitech is selling it for $20 less than the list price of the $79.99 PC version at $59.99.  So much for the Mac Tax?

Besides the pastels, this product looks like a winner.  Sign us up.

Additionally, Logitech launched a $50 back mounted iPad speaker earlier this week.  It has batteries which last about as long as an iPad and also charges via USB.  I’m not immediately sure if I like this idea or more importantly, the implementation but, there it is:

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Details below:
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Mockup based on current Apple Store native application

Although Apple offers an Apple Store iOS application that provides full access in a simplified manner to iPhone and iPod touch users, Apple is looking to make the experience even simpler. Over the past months, we have observed Apple gradually shelving and re-touching a project to replace the native Apple Store application with a mobile web version of the Apple Online Store. Now it appears that Apple is working towards actually completing and launching the mobile version of the store.

This new online store, showcasing Apple’s belief in powerful and innovative web-based experiences, will largely mimic the Apple Store application of today, according to a proven source. The big difference is that it will be far more accessible, and the iOS App Store download process will not get in the way of people looking to quickly purchase products on the go.

We do have some concerns about some of the functionality from the native application being ported over to the mobile web version. Notably the feature that provides users with functionality (shown above) based on the physical Apple retail that they are currently visiting. Perhaps Apple will keep the App Store version around for that feature or will figure out a way to move it to the web browser. After all, iOS Safari can access a user’s current location.

Apple plans to debut the mobile version of the online store sometime in 2012. As aforementioned, the project has been shelved multiple times before, so it is possible that the project will once again be moved to the sideline in favor of other product development.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdT3eKdto4w&feature=player_embedded]

Historypin, a user-generated map displaying historical data of nearby locations, is now available as an iOS app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Created in partnership with Google by not-for-profit We Are What We Do, the app allows users to add their own historical photos by pinning them to a map, capturing historic moments as they happen, and creating replicas of historical images. The images are then shared with users requesting data for a specific location….

Historypin uses Google Maps and Street View technology to reveal the user-generated photos and data related to historical events that happened close to your current location. It does this by “overlaying them onto the live camera view”…essentially aiming to give you a live snapshot of what your surroundings looked like in the past.

Simply holding your phone up in the street will provide you with relevant nearby images. Selecting one of the images allows it to be overlaid onto the iPhone’s camera view. You can then fade between the image and your live shot for comparison, as well as pull up stories and data related to the image and your current location.

Full list of features and some shots of the app in action after the break…

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[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-VARh15ZJE&feature=player_embedded”]

LinkedIn has announced a new HTML 5 optimized page for mobile browsers and updated iPhone and Android apps with 2-10X speed increases.

The new app is now focused around four key areas: Updates, Inbox, You, and Groups & More.

The Inbox will allow you to view your messages and invitations in one centralized location. The You area presents your profile, connections, and to share updates. Lastly, LinkedIn is now introducing their most requested feature Groups, into the app.

Interestingly, LinkedIn also announced their mobile platform is growing 400 percent year-over-year. Check it out in your mobile browser, or hit the download links below:

Download iPhone — Download Android
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaPgVUJ9A8w&feature=player_embedded]

Today Google has announced “Google Catalogs”, a new app designed specifically for “tablet devices” (iPad only currently) that allows you to flip through digital versions of catalogs from a number of popular brands and “interact with new layers of rich-media content”. Not too long ago Google updated their Shopper app for iPhone… and now, with the Catalogs app, are providing an entirely new experience for browsing products and finding local retailers (presumably integrated with Google Offers).

Some of the more notable features include the ability to zoom, tap elements of a page to learn more, view and create photo albums, and most importantly, find products you’re viewing in nearby stores (an interesting approach to offering local deals).

There are currently a bunch of well known brands partnering with Google to create content for the newly launched free app… some of which include Urban Outfitters, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Williams-Sonoma, among others.

You can swing by the App Store to grab the free Google Catalogs app for iPad now. If you’re interested in getting your catalog included in the app, you can go here to learn more.

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Starbucks has been an Apple partner ever since Steve Jobs placed a prank call to a Seattle, Washington-based international coffee and coffeehouse chain using the Google Maps app during the original iPhone introduction back in January 2007. “I’d like to order four thousand lattes to go, please”, he joked with an operator before quipping, “Sorry, wrong number”, earning him enthusiastic applaud from the MacWorld Expo audience (see video after the break). Since then, Starbucks and Apple have been involved in a promotion offering free iTunes downloads to iPhone customers visiting their coffee shops.

Also, Starbucks released the official app, in addition to Starbucks Card Mobile, another iPhone program which lets you pay for drinks and snacks using a Starbucks Card associated with the handset. Yesterday, the two partners started a new promotion (via CNET) that allows customers to download a free iPhone app using the “Pick of the Week” cards waiting at the cash register. Just type in a code on the back of the card into the App Store app to redeem your free download of the day. Looks like they’re serious about providing real value here because the first app they’re giving away is Shazam Encore, a popular music fingerprinting app normally costing six bucks. Go past the break for a video snippet of that Steve Jobs prank call.

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As expected, Apple has released OS X Lion on a USB thumb drive via their online store. The $69 thumb drive ships in 1-3 business days and requires 7GB of available storage space. One caveat for users that install OS X Lion via this thumb drive, rather than for $29.99 from the Mac App Store, is that re-installs will need to be conducted via the thumb drive; the internet-based Lion recovery system will not function.

The USB thumb drive is currently available on Apple’s online store across the globe and will shortly make its way to physical stores as well. OS X Lion brings over 250 new features to the Mac including system-wide multi-touch gestures, Launchpad, Mission Control, and iPad-like mail client, native full-screen application views, an improved Safari web browser with Reading List, automatic file saving, and AirDrop file transfers.

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The FTC filed a lawsuit against W3 Innovations Friday, the parent company of Broken Thumbs Apps, for collecting the personal information of children in their apps. Broken Thumbs Apps have been downloaded more than 50,000 times in the iTunes App Store, and titles include  Zombie Duck Hunt, Truth or Dare, and Emily’s Dress Up. Monday, the company settled with the FTC for $50,000.

The FTC’s complaint includes W3 storing more than 30,000 children’s (probably parent’s) emails and personal information on their servers. In one game, the company asked for the child’s name. In the game Emily’s Girl World, it gave children the opportunities to make comments on a related blog, which were stored on a server.

The FTC says since these apps were directly marketed to children and transmitted information over the internet, the apps are in violation of the Children’s Online privacy Protection Pact (COPPA), and the FTC’s COPPA rules. Besides settling, the company agreed to delete all of the children’s personal information off of their servers. (via Ars Technica)

As you know, OS X Lion ships without Flash Player to the delight of fans in support of Apple’s ongoing argument against Adobe’s resource-hungry technology. This leaves us with three choices: Avoid Flash content altogether (possible, but hardly an option for mainstream folks), switch to Google’s Chrome browser that comes with the latest version of Flash Player built-in (a forced option for Safari fans) or just install the darn thing and deal with consequences later.

I’ve vowed never to install anything from Adobe again on my brand spanking new MacBook Air as I only allow Adobe software on my Mac mini, which I relegated to my testing machine and media center. That said, the FlashtoHTML5 extension from Joris Vervuurt was Godsent. The extensions has a sole purpose: It replaces the CPU-hogging YouTube Flash Player with an HTML5 video player. More info and screenies after the break

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Adobe today released public beta of a new graphics design software, code-named Muse, aimed at web site designers. The release arrived on the heels of Edge, another Adobe tool that takes the pain out of creating motion and interaction on the web. Muse lets you create pretty HTML web sites with no prior knowledge of HTML5 and CSS3 standards, or so Adobe claims:

Create websites as easily as you create layouts for print. You can design and publish original HTML pages to the latest web standards without writing code. Now in beta, Muse makes it a snap to produce unique, professional websites.

The official 1.0 release is planned for early 2012, when Muse will cost $15 a month ($180 a year). A gallery showcases examples of Muse-built web sites incorporating HTML code snippets from sources including Google Maps, YouTube and Facebook. Muse also features other standard design elements, ranging from widgets and slideshow galleries to navigation menus.

You can even host your creation on Adobe’s servers for a fee, in addition to your other hosting providers. Muse is a free download available from Adobe’s site. Note that you will need Adobe’s AIR run-time installed in order to run Muse. Full release below the fold.

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Amazon today released a new iPhone app for college students called Amazon Student. This one’s not about renting Kindle textbooks, there’s already an app for that. What Amazon Student does is it lets you trade used textbooks from the palm of your hand. Just scan barcodes of as many books as you like and the Amazon cloud will calculate trade-in offers for you. This also works for games, movies and electronics (including iOS gadgets). You can also put scanned items into your trade-in list to buy later.

Payments go to your Gift Card and Amazon will even mail a pre-paid shipping label to your address on file. Sweetening the deal, the online retail giant is offering free two-day shipping for six months to those who join the Amazon Student program (Amazon Prime shipping benefits included). Beats the craze of having to put your unwanted textbooks on offer at the end of each semester and deal with all sorts of weirdos and trade-in combinations. Amazon Student is a free download from the App Store. More screenies after the break.

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If you’ve ever been *ahem* channel surfing late at night and stumbled upon HBO subsidiary Cinemax programming you know that there isn’t much differentiation between what you see there and all out pornography.

The news this weekend is that Apple just gave the go-ahead to Cinemax’s MaxGo App(free) for both iPhone and iPad.  Yes, it includes “Late Night” content.

Far be it from us to judge what should and shouldn’t be on the App Store, but it seems that Apple is continuing to create controversy with its “no porn” stance.

In an email exchange with Gawker’s Ryan Tate last year, Jobs said that the iPad would offer users “freedom from porn.” And in a Q&A session after the launch of iOS 4, Jobs told reporters that porn was one reason Apple wouldn’t allow unsigned or unapproved apps onto iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad.

“You know, there’s a porn store for Android. You can download nothing but porn. You can download porn, your kids can download porn. That’s a place we don’t want to go – so we’re not going to go there.”

Playboy,which is at least as “soft-core” as SCinemax, was denied access to the App Store for its nude pictorials.  For what it is worth, access to the Max Go app is parental controlled to users 17 or older.

If this story picks up, Apple will probably force  HBO to curtail its mature content retroactively, not that there aren’t plenty of other outlets via Safari for such material.
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As Apple’s fall launch time frame for iCloud approaches, Apple has released new builds of iCloud for Mac and OS X 10.7.2 to developers. The new iCloud for Mac build is beta 7 while the new OS X build is version 11C37. iCloud for Mac allows users to easily make their Mac iCloud compatible, and it includes the updated Back to my Mac service, Documents and Data in the Cloud, and Find my Mac. Both downloads are available to developers through the iCloud developer portal. 
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Cross-posted from 9to5google.com

Want to get your Game on in the new Google Games?

Tab for Google+ is an app available on the Mac App Store that brings Google+’s web functionality to the Mac desktop. The app is available for free and offers just about every feature plus.google.com offers — except Hangouts. Upon logging in via your Google account, you’ll be greeted with the main sections of the app: Streams, Photos, Circles, Profile and Notifications.

The sections follow suit with the functionality of the website. Streams and Photos curates content from the people you’re following. Circles allows you to see your list of circles and the content coming in from each specific one. Lastly, Notifications let’s you know what’s going on with your account.

Of course, this application won’t replace Google+’s website, rather it’s just a nice app that sits in your applications bar to view while you work. Perhaps if the website is more your thing, check out Google+ for Mac which is essentially just a browser window. We’re hearing the developer is working to make it native though. Check out another screenshot after the break:

Download Tab for Google+ — Download Google+ for Mac

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What is it? Network Link Conditioner is a new utility in OS X Lion (via the free Xcode 4.1 app) that will allow you to simulate less than desirable network conditions, such as a bad 3G connection or Edge with “Good Connectivity”. This is an especially useful utility for those developing apps and sites that highly rely on network connectivity, whether it’s a multiplayer game or just an animation heavy web app.

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Walmart has just announced their Vudu movie streaming service is now available to iPad users via a web app (opposed to an iOS app), which effectively allows the company to go behind Apple’s back rather than partake in their App Store revenue sharing model. The app also works on other iOS devices, but hasn’t yet been optimized for the smaller screen. They’ve also announced their iTunes competitor, mp3.walmart.com, will be closing indefinitely starting August 28, 2011. However, the announcement notes the Walmart Soundcheck music streaming service will remain available, making us wonder if they have plans on implementing an iPad-specific version much like they’ve done with Vudu…

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen content providers trying to avoid sharing profits with Apple. In fact, just yesterday we told you about the new Kindle Cloud Reader app that is accessible via the web, much the same as Vudu. While not sharing revenue is an obvious benefit of bypassing the App Store, TechCrunch points out there are many other advantages as well.

For instance, by avoiding the App Store’s restrictions, Vudu will be able to push out new updates whenever they see fit, rather than having to wait for Apple’s approval. It seems like more and more developers have been pushed away from the traditional iOS app model due to stringent approval policies and the unpredictability of Apple’s ever-changing process.

The real question is.. do these web apps compare to the experience offered by native apps?

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Screenshot of web app courtesy of @drbuk

As reported by TechCrunch, Amazon has released a new Kindle Cloud Reader service. The service allows users of both Macs and PCs running either Safari or Google Chrome to read their Kindle books online. Better yet, the service works on iPad’s Mobile Safari. A feature that owners of WiFi-only iPads will enjoy is page caching for offline reading.

Notably, this is a great solution for Amazon to work around Apple’s in-app-purchase requirements for applications that offer purchases. In fact, what better way to spur Web innovation than to force people out of the store?  Good job Apple!

Full Press release follows:

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Facebook isn’t fantastic at hiding secret stuff in their Apps.  Just last month, its iPad ambitions were outed by some folks rummaging around in the App.  Today, Facebook released their Messenger app and seconds later, we see that there is a video component to the application:

The video component would seem to work on both Android (yep) and iPhone and would likely tie in with their recently announced Skype desktop video conferencing service as well.  The code looks very rudimentary at this point so it isn’t certain that the video can be enabled like the iPad version was with just a few tweeks.  Thanks Caleb!

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Facebook has released Facebook Messenger which is an extension of Facebook’s Messages service and will allow you to send a text message to your phone’s contacts and a Facebook message to your Facebook contacts.  Bonus: You get to send pictures as well.

The app obviously competes with Apple’s iMessage, Blackberry messenger and all of the other silo-ed messaging apps out there but with a user base of 700 million+, it is well positioned to be a contender.

Messenger is available in both the iTunes App Store and Android Market and is based off the Beluga technology which the company recently acquired.  With all the Google+ noise of late we’ve forgotten about Facebook’s assault on mobile.  They’re back.

Update: Oh, and there is video conferencing hidden in the app.

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Boxee has just released a free iPad app that allows users to stream almost any video type from their computer. Streaming features aside, the app is focused at helping users find content to watch online from their friends and what’s popular. Sharing is done through the Friends tab, which is a queue of everything your friends are sharing through Boxee’s social service. There is a also a Popular tab showing what the world can’t get enough of.

The social features are cool, but we really love the Watch Later bookmark you can use to bookmark videos from around the web. The bookmark takes an Instapaper approach and will queue up the videos on your iPad for viewing later. To go along with their Boxee Box, you can also send a video that you were watching on your iPad to your big screen — almost Air Play like.

Check it out in the App Store.

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