iOS Devices

Even if you are commenting on an ODB song, you can’t use profanity…

One of the most popular iOS Apps of all time got its biggest upgrade yet, moving to version 3.0 and adding prime iOS 4 status. The app got some mad fast-app switching skillz as well as support for that hott iPhone 4 and iPod touch 4 retina screen.

Shazam also gets a fresh new look that adds features while simplifying the controls. Hit up the full release notes above, check out the new interface after the jump, and download the update here.

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Mac Life notes that Apple has removed the create your own ringtone feature from iTunes 10. The feature introduced after the launch of the original iPhone in 2007 allows users to download a song from iTunes for 99 cents and then turn it into an iPhone ringtone for 99 more cents.

At a later Fall Apple music event, Apple added a new section to the iTunes store for both Mac and iOS devices that allows for the purchase of pre-cut iPhone ringtones.
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Apple has just released their 3rd preview/beta of their upcoming Xcode 4 software. Hot off the heals of iOS 4.1’s golden master release, this new preview of Xcode 4 includes iOS 4.1 compatibility and a few new features. As always, bug fixes are included. — They’re free!

New features include a new activity interface for developers as well as a completely fresh user-interface for the new code completion technologies in Xcode 4. The second preview of Xcode 4 was issued to developers in late July and the first preview was provided exclusively to WWDC 2010 attendees in early June.

Ars Technica got an Apple spokesperson to relay the bad news to those Apple hobbiests that, until last week, plucked down $229 for the former AppleTV:

We confirmed with an Apple spokesperson that the maximum HD resolution of the Apple TV is 720p, consistent with recent rumors. Additionally, there will be no software update to bring the new features to older Apple TVs. Older Apple TVs will continue to work as they have been working up to this point, and they will continue to be able to purchase movies and TV shows even though the new Apple TV is rental-only.

Good news?  The Boxee community is likely to continue to update their fantastic (but often slow) offering.  Better yet, now you don’t have to feel guilty about hacking your AppleTV now that Apple has abandoned it.  (via Giz)
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I know, I know. Flash on mobile devices isn’t what it is on desktops, which frankly isn’t that great either (as I try to write this on a Macbook Pro with memory and processor all but consumed by a Hulu video).

That being said, the Skyfire browser, which was submitted to the app store today, teases us with the ability to watch shows like the Daily Show and the Colbert Report for free using Apple-approved HTTP streaming.  The Skyfire browser can only do Flash video, not interactive games, ads and such.

Skyfire is a proxy browser like Opera Mini (which made it through the App Store gauntlet) so it isn’t an automatic fail.

Skyfire’s famed cloud-computing technology translates Flash video on the fly from millions of web sites into HTML5 formats, and supports iOS devices via Apple’s HTTP live streaming standard. Skyfire also avoids the concerns raised in Steve Jobs’ recent essay regarding Flash on mobile devices. By optimizing Flash for iPhones and network conditions in the Cloud, Skyfire improves performance and maximizes battery life while playing video.

Thoughts?

Press release follows:
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPfCZC4VHnE&w=675&h=404]

Even as Compal Electronics chairman, Ray Chen, warns investors that the non-Apple tablet market ain’t worth playing in, A4 processor manufacturing partner, Samsung, has introdced its Galaxy Tab tablet device.
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Amazon is promoting Apple’s new iOS products on its homepage this morning so we thought we’d give them a shout-out.  They’ve got all of Apple’s new products today, which certainly still isn’t the case with the Kindle-competing iPad.  However, if you live outside of Washington or New York, you’ll also save a few more bucks on taxes and what not.  Shipping is free.

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Twitter has just released their official Twitter client for the iPad. It’s a free universal binary (one download  for all devices) and it looks amazing!

The iPad version uses a lot of multi-touch so tweeting is fun again. We’re skipping the in-depth walkthrough (Giz has one) and going right to download. You should do the same if you want to be cool.
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We’re pulling some more Ping info here.  When someone ‘Pings’ you you get an email like this:

That URL takes you into iTunes where you see this screen:

Of course here’s where Mark gets denied.  Ping is also showing up on the iPhone, below, but hasn’t propagated out.

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On your mark. Get set. Go! iTunes 10 is now available as an 86mg installer..

Some Ping screenshots below
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Steve Jobs laid down some not-so-subtle hints that Apple thought Google was cheating in their activations counting in his event presentation today. Google responded, saying:

“The Android activation numbers do not include upgrades and are, in fact, only a portion of the Android devices in the market since we only include devices that have Google services.”

Oh, damn.

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It is late in the UK, I’ve put stuff together here and here. There’s a few facts which might be of interest to some readers, so I thought I’d take a moment to put them down.
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Hot on the heels of Apple’s 99 cent episode renting announcement, Amazon has matched Apple by offering those same episodes for the same price.

It isn’t immediately clear if these are for permanent download or just for streaming like AppleTV. (it says “Own Episodes” but I think only Windows and Tivo can download for offline viewing).

Via Engadget.
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If you thought Epic’s Citadel game was mindblowing ‘on a phone!’ during today’s event presentation, we have some good news for you. It is now available as a trial download for free. See what your iPhone/iPod/iPad can do:

You can download a demo of the game here. It looks insane on the iPad too (below)
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Apple has posted their new iPod touch commercial to their YouTube account.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t_IobxOsVc&w=675&h=404]

The new Nano commercial is below:

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It is on the way down now.  Who wants it?

Just kidding.  Go find a developer who has it.
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• iTunes 10 is already live or just the download button?. Update: So is the store. and Apple’s website
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• iPod Classic is dead. Frommer gets a star?  Update: Maybe not. Still, no mention at the event doesn’t bode well long term.  Think more like ‘we made enough to last a few more months.’
• iPod nano is small (even smaller than the screen on the previous model) but also loses the camera which was nice on a device that small.  Even Steve said people would wear them as a watch, so I get a star.  Speaking of Stars, holy cow!  Mr. Nano mockup gets a galaxy of stars. Display is square(!) at 240×240 pixels. Still has FM.  Also has accelerometer.  It weighs under an ounce(!).  I think at 1.5 inches diagonally, it may be too small for videos but perfect for watches.
• AppleTV is awesome but maybe the coolest part is the Airport Express Video functionality.  Carrying around media on iPads, iPhones and iPods, it will be pretty cool to be able to shoot that right over to the TV.  Renting movies and TV shows does two things.  It makes cable optional.  It also means that TV shows now are a buck a pop or more.  If you watch 10 shows (Fox and ABC) a week, that is $40/month.  Not a bad tradeoff at that frequency.  $4.99 for first run movies is also OK, but I still like buying BlueRay for the good stuff.   AppleTV 1080P next year will be much more awesome.  Also…what’s that mini-USB port for?  Apple gets mega points for USB Stick/USB HD access but just like the older AppleTV, we’re not likely to be able to (officially;) use it.  Also, is does NOT do Gigabit Ethernet, which means your fastest method of streaming is N wireless which is marginally faster if there isn’t much overhead.  Also, this is the greenest TV appliance you’ll ever see with only a 6 watt power supply.  Thank the A4 chip for that. At $99, this will no longer be a hobby, but a popular iOS device accesory.
• Speaking of Airplay, it is coming to 3rd parties! (at least the audio component)
• iPod touch back camera is only 960×720(!!) pixels for stills.  That is abhorrant.  They should have made a thicker iPod touch with a decent camera.  This one is only good for video – just like the last iPod nano.  The entry price went up $30 to get an iPod but that $30 buys you an A4 processor, two cameras and Retina.  Not bad.
• The video stream of the event was good overall for us but there were definitely some hiccups along the way.  I’d rate it a success with the amount of traffic it must have received, but some improvements can definitely be made.
• Steve Jobs is looking better.  Perhaps that three week vacation in Hawaii last  month did him some good.

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Our man on the scene Jonny Evans is getting some personal time with Apple’s new products.  Have a look at what his (first-gen) iPhone can capture — and some images taken by a rather nice Lumix camera, and take a look at some of his first impressions here: (NB: More notes to follow).

The newly-updated iPod range. iPod classic fans — don’t worry, it is still available, but has had no update. Will it last? Who knows. Apple won’t say. More below

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HD Movies from ABC and Fox are $.99.  (Other studios might jump on board later but are at $2.99 still).  Netflix built in too.  YouTube HD and Flicker and MobileMe still supported.  No hard drive, all streaming.  Rotton tomato reviews.  $4.99 to rent first run movies.  Airplay can stream content from iOS device to AppleTV, making the iOS device an awesome remote/storage container.

it is smalllll

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