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Inline remote controls for iOS devices that work with your current headphones

Problem: You like the inline remote and microphone functions built into the headphones that come with the iPhone, but if you want to use another pair of headphones, you lose that functionality. Solution 1: Ditch your current headphones for another set with built-in controls and a mic. Solution 2: Keep your current headphones and find an adapter.

Over the past couple years, I've spent far more time using Apple's pack-in headphones than I might have otherwise, simply because the inline remote functions are so useful. Meanwhile, my all-time favorite set of earphones, the Shure E2c, gathered dust unless I was doing something like mowing the lawn or working out at the gym. The sound I get from my Shures is vastly superior to the pack-in headphones, but pulling my iPhone out of my pocket to control music, answer phone calls or adjust the volume isn't always convenient.

I'd been eyeing up some headphones with built-in inline remotes, like the Shure SE115m+ and the Ultimate Ears 300vi, but it seemed like a waste to get a whole new set of earphones when my E2cs still worked perfectly otherwise. I started looking at some of the inline adapter solutions available. Most of these third-party adapters came out after the third-gen iPod shuffle debuted with no controls on the shuffle itself, and for the most part, they're relatively inexpensive. But they also come with some pretty serious tradeoffs.
Continue reading Inline remote controls for iOS devices that work with your current headphones
Inline remote controls for iOS devices that work with your current headphones originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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No iPhone nano, says New York Times
The New York Times has cast a pall over the iPhone nano rumors by stating that Apple will not release such a device (despite the Wall Street Journal's suggestion to the contrary). Referencing "people who have been briefed on Apple's plans," the NYT states that Apple is "not currently developing" a smaller phone. Instead, according to sources, Apple is working on the iPhone 4's successor, which many expect to hit shelves this summer.

Sources also suggest that a smaller iPhone wouldn't necessarily be cheaper to produce (and hence, sell), and adding yet another screen to the lineup wouldn't be fair to developers, something we recently pointed out with the power of math.

Meanwhile, the same sources suggest that Apple's MobileMe suite of services, which has failed to catch on at US$99, will become free and allow cable-free synchronization."The goal is that your photos and other media content will eventually just sync across all your Apple devices without people having to do anything," a source said. MobileMe could allow Apple to use less internal storage on iPhones, reducing one of the most costly components.

Those waiting for an iPhone the size of a postage stamp should keep the vigil candles burning. In the meantime, let's focus our baseless assumptions on iPhone 5.
No iPhone nano, says New York Times originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple appears to be working on longer life batteries
Hallelujah! Who hasn't warily watched an iPhone, laptop or iPad battery indicator slowly fading into oblivion? It looks like Apple is doing research into techniques that would keep lithium batteries running longer without making them larger.

AppleInsider found an Apple patent filing called "Increasing Energy Density in Rechargeable Lithium Battery Cells," that uses a method called "multi-step constant-current constant-voltage (CC-CV) charging technique." Sounds good to me if it works. Apple believes such a space saving battery could allow for more features in portable devices or better capacity.

The patents also describe new charging methods that would minimize the degrading of battery output over time. Maybe Apple will produce some kind of flux capacitor. I'd really like one of those. Anyway, kudos to Apple if it pulls this off. No one will complain about more battery power and increased battery longevity.

[via AppleInsider]
Apple appears to be working on longer life batteries originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Taking a peek inside one of Apple's five exclusive briefing rooms

The Pioneer Press out of St. Paul, Minn. ran a feature today showcasing tactics that both Apple and Microsoft are using to lure business customers into investing money in their products. This includes a sneak peek into an Apple briefing room in Apple's new Uptown location in Minneapolis -- one of only five in the world that blends a conference room with high-end Mac gear. The reporter noted that he interviewed Ron Johnson, Apple's senior vice-president of retail operations, in this room with an iPad before each of them. The briefing room allows Apple to show off its offerings to business customers without trying to do the pitch in a crowded retail space.

This, along with other recent pieces such as an employee anonymously revealing what it's like to work at an Apple Store, is revealing a bit more of what Apple's culture is like at the retail level.
Taking a peek inside one of Apple's five exclusive briefing rooms originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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NVIDIA CEO sees the MacBook Air as the future of laptop design

Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang has seen the future, and it is ... Apple's present. He believes that in a few years, you'll have trouble finding a computer that doesn't look like today's MacBook Air.

At the risk of offending the power users out there who can't imagine using such a "weak" machine as the Air, let me respond to Huang's words with a resounding "Duh." I fully expect Apple to move the rest of the MacBook line towards the Air: lighter, thinner and with SSDs, because ... well, what else would it do? Thicker, heavier and with the same drives that we had in 2008? Of course Apple is going to move in that direction.

The article over at CNET talks about Huang's "vision" being based on ARM chips, which Nvidia supplies, and believes that we'll see Windows running on ARM in 2014, but even that misses the point. After the announcement that Apple had been developing Mac OS X for Intel processors for years before the public switch to Intel, who would be surprised to learn in 2014 that Apple had also been developing Mac OS X for ARM?
Continue reading NVIDIA CEO sees the MacBook Air as the future of laptop design
NVIDIA CEO sees the MacBook Air as the future of laptop design originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Mac App Store bargains: Plants vs. Zombies and more

The Mac App Store has been a great place to find bargains, and today brings another one that I'm pretty excited about: Plants vs. Zombies is available for US$10, instead of the $20 that PopCap has charged on its website.

I've seen several apps that have offered significant discounts in the Mac App Store, such as Little Snapper, Pixelmator, Aperture (which sells for $80 despite the fact that Apple still offers to preinstall it on Macs for $200!) and more.

Have you found any great discounts in the Mac App Store versus previous prices? If so, let us know in the comments.
Mac App Store bargains: Plants vs. Zombies and more originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Box.net adds VGA out, AirPrint to iPad app
Good news for fans of Box.net. The cloud-based service has added support for video out and AirPrint to its iPad app. Version 2.4, released today, lets users print any file to an AirPrint-capable printer and project documents to a projector or TV.

To project a document, just connect the iPad to a projector, LCD display or TV with Apple's Dock Connector to VGA Adapter and pull up the Box.net document you'd like to display.

Additionally, Box.net for iPad version 2.4 offers security lock and auto log-out. You can protect your stored files with a four-digit passcode and set the app to log out completely when closed (Mint's iPhone app features a similar log-out feature). Finally, SSO offers single sign-on for those using Google or PingFederate to access their Box.net accounts, or corporate users with LDAP/Active Directory configurations. Again, security is the concern here.

It's a solid update that Box.net fans will enjoy. Box.net for iPad is free and universal. You can see our past coverage of Box's iPad experimentation in the business world here.

[hat tip Macworld]
Box.net adds VGA out, AirPrint to iPad app originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple, others lobby for tax holiday

Fortune is reporting that Apple is one of many major multinational corporations that are banding together to lobby the US government for a one-year "tax holiday" on foreign cash that is repatriated back to the country.

At the present time, repatriated cash is taxed at a 35 percent rate. The companies, which include Cisco, Duke Energy, Pfizer and many others in addition to Apple, are looking for a one-year window in which the rate would drop to 5 percent. Cisco CEO John Chambers has advocated the idea for years, saying that allowing the cash to be repatriated at a lower rate would stimulate investment in the US and allow shareholders to reap the rewards of their investments in the form of higher dividends (note: Apple does not pay shareholder dividends).

These companies currently have about US$1 trillion in cash parked overseas, and bringing that money home at a lower tax rate would be expected to have a positive effect on the US economy. A previous tax holiday in 2004 didn't necessarily result in new investment, but it did create an increase in shareholder payouts of between 60 and 92 cents for every dollar repatriated.

Lobbyists for the group are expected to try to attempt to have the repatriation tax become part of any corporate tax reform bill that Congress tries to pass this year.

[via Barrons]
Apple, others lobby for tax holiday originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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AP photographer uses MyWi to cover Bahrain protests
James Lawler Duggan, a photojournalist from Washington, D.C., used his jailbroken iPhone 3GS and MyWi 4.0 tethering software to transmit photos from Bahrain (warning: photos are graphic in nature). This week, police locked down the capital of this small Persian Gulf kingdom as demonstrators prepared to protest against the country's monarchy.

After capturing several emotional photographs of the protests and violence, Duggan and his colleagues found the country's internet connectivity slowed to a halt. Duggan used his iPhone to overcome this obstacle and transmit his photos to the Associated Press wire in Cairo.

"My jailbroken 3GS running MyWi 4.0 proved to be the only way for me to get the images to Cairo, and even still, the resolution had to be dropped significantly to squeeze them through the pipeline," Duggan told us via email.

MyWi 4.0 from Intelliborn can transform any jailbroken iPhone or iPad into a mobile hotspot, allowing multiple laptops to connect to the internet through the device's 3G data service. It is available online for US$19.99.

This week's events in Bahrain are the latest in a series of uprisings in the region. Duggan's ability to share images of the upheaval using his iPhone shows how technology has changed the way information is shared with the world.
AP photographer uses MyWi to cover Bahrain protests originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple Store retail employee discusses what it's like to work there
Although doing so usually ends with a current employee becoming a former employee, one Apple Store retail worker recently had a lot to say about his experience working for the company.

In an article over at Popular Mechanics, an unnamed employee spilled the beans on everything from being in the dark about new products until the Keynote Address (just like the rest of us), the undercover plain-clothes security working in every store, how working the Phone Room is like working a suicide hotline, and how talking to the press about your experiences can get you fired. In that case, one hopes he has another job lined up now that this article was published!

We have, of course, seen articles before about what it's like to work for Apple and confirmation that Apple Store employees are usually in the dark about new products, but the article is definitely worth a read to get an insider's view as to what it may be like to work retail for Apple. If you were thinking of trying to get a job with Apple yourself, you may be able to glean a little info as to which subjects to avoid during your interview.
Apple Store retail employee discusses what it's like to work there originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple patent suggests MagSafe connector that supports data
Apple recently filed a patent for a product described as "Magnetic Connector with Optical Signal Path." The patent filing describes a MagSafe-style cable that would provide both data and power to a device. The power cable would connect magnetically and contain additional internal pins allowing for the transmission of data as well as audio and video signals. Downstream, the cable would include the appropriate adapters for each device you want to connect.

This patent sounds very similar to HDBaseT, a cabling system proposed by Samsung Electronics, Sony Pictures Entertainment, LG Electronics and Valens Semiconductor. This technology uses an RJ-45 cable to transmit data via a 100BaseT connection, HD video, audio and power. The specification was finalized in June 2010, and products using this technology may debut in 2011.

Another similar competing technology, LightPeak, is being developed by Intel. The optical cable technology would be a single cable replacement for SCSI, SATA, USB, FireWire, PCI Express and possibly power and display connections as well. Apple is reportedly interested in this technology and was rumored, at one point, to be incorporating it into its MacBook Pro lineup.
Apple patent suggests MagSafe connector that supports data originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Pixelfari browser lets you surf like it's 1982

Not every app on your Mac has to be useful -- sometimes you just want to have a little retro fun. That's the idea behind Pixelfari, a free "pixely, 8-bitty" version of the Apple Safari web browser.

The browser was the brainchild of Neven Mrgan, who brought us The Incident, a game for iOS and Mac that is also an 8-bitter. What Pixelfari lacks in clarity and readability, it makes up for in laughs. It's especially humorous when those obnoxious Netflix pop-under ads show up in their 8-bit splendor...

[via Daring Fireball]
Pixelfari browser lets you surf like it's 1982 originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Opera for iPad gets an early hands-on preview
After reportedly being rejected by Apple, Opera Mini for the iPhone finally hit the App Store in April of last year. The alternative browser uses Opera's server-side processing and page compression for lightening fast browsing over slow connections. Almost ten months after its debut on the iPhone, Opera is ready to launch its iPad version as well as an updated iPhone version.

The Norwegian company was on hand at Mobile World Congress showing off its iPad version to conference attendees. Softpedia got a sneak peek at this upcoming tablet-optimized web browser and reported back with a series of screenshots and a quick hands-on preview.

According to their first impressions, Opera for iPad is blazing fast, pulling down web pages with lightning quick speed. The latest version of this mobile browser includes a tabbed interface and pinch-to-zoom, both of which aid in navigation. Opera also includes a custom on-screen keyboard that assists in the entry of URLs and bookmark information.

Opera did not provide an exact launch date for the mobile browser but judging by its polished look, Opera Mini for the iPad should land soon.

[Via Macstories]
Opera for iPad gets an early hands-on preview originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Mac growth outpaces market for 19 straight quarters

If you've been following Apple's quarterly financial calls for the past several years, you know that many of the new products -- iPhone and iPad, specifically -- have been selling like the proverbial hotcakes. But you might be surprised to know that Apple's 27 year-old Macintosh personal computer line has seen a remarkable resurgence in sales.

John Paczowski at the Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital looked at the skyrocketing sales of Macs in a post today. As he notes, Apple's first quarter 2011 results (ending December 31, 2010) marked the 19th consecutive quarter that Mac sales have outperformed the PC market. In the consumer market, the Mac posted growth in shipments of 17.1 percent over the previous year, while the rest of the market declined about .6 percent. But the surprising numbers are in the business market, where the Mac showed 65.4 percent growth year-over-year compared to 9.7 percent for the broader market. Things really get crazy in the government market segment, where sales of the Mac grew at an astounding 549.5 percent (of course, the government market only accounts for about one percent of all Mac sales).

Paczowski notes that Needham analyst Charlie Wolf credits the halo effect for the surge in sales. People who purchase and grow to love an iPod, iPhone, or iPad are more likely to buy Macs. Since iPads are being tested or deployed in most of the Fortune 100 companies, IT departments are also beginning to look at the Mac in a new light.
Mac growth outpaces market for 19 straight quarters originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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i think Apple is affecting children's grammar

I want to relate an interesting story my brother told me the other day about one fascinating -- and negative -- way Apple is affecting children in the classroom. My brother is a grade school teacher, and recently he's noticed an alarming trend in his students' grammar, specifically capitalization. It started a few years ago. My brother would review a sentence one of his students wrote, and it would read, "i went on a walk with my mom." He'd see this lowercase I and would mention to the student that he forgot to capitalize it. These lowercase I's would show up occasionally, but my brother always assumed it was just a case of forgetfulness on the student's part.

However, this year seems to be a tipping point for lowercase I's. More and more, my brother began to notice that students who had never had a problem with capitalization before began to write their I's in lowercase. Sentences like "i went to Disney World this year" and "My father and i ate ice-cream" started to become the norm.

One day last week, when his students had turned in their short story assignments, my brother graded them over recess and noticed that the dreaded lowercase "i" was incorrectly capitalized in more papers than ever. When his students came back from recess, he asked them why so many of them weren't capitalizing their I's, even when they began a sentence with the pronoun "I." The first reply: "Because iPod is spelled that way." The other children agreed that's why they do it as well, though some attributed it to the iPhone or iPad.
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i think Apple is affecting children's grammar originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Not all doctors are created equal

We all know that a US shock tabloid is running with a story involving Steve Jobs' health and his possible ongoing treatment (no, we're not linking it). Plenty of news outlets have quoted chunks of this story verbatim, including the grim assessments of several physicians who base their comments and presumptive outcomes on pictures of Steve printed in this paper.

We're not going to comment on the 'substance' of the story except to say that we hope everyone will give Steve and his family the privacy we all would want for ourselves or our loved ones while dealing with health issues.

However, it's worth considering the doctors quoted in this matter. An oncologist contacted by a British paper was circumspect about Jobs' prognosis -- he only reiterated the obvious, that if Jobs is photographed leaving a treatment center it is reasonable to assume he may be receiving treatment (although of course it could be a follow-up visit).

The two physicians quoted in the source story, however, don't really follow a model of prudent restraint -- both deliver stark forecasts for Steve's outcomes. The Next Web did take the trouble to search for one of these doctors, and it turns out he's not an oncologist at all; he's a pulmonologist, which means he specializes in breathing, not in diagnosing cancer patients from telephoto pictures.

TNW didn't include a search for the other doctor quoted, but it didn't take long to discover that he's specialized in sports medicine and pediatrics (although his real specialty appears to be advanced self-promotion, judging by his website and his nutrition-focused radio show). Again, not an oncologist, and not someone with intimate knowledge of Steve's condition.

Whenever you see medical commentary and diagnoses based on photos showing up in these circumstances, it's worthwhile to consider what sort of doctor would seek out this sort of publicity -- and what value they place on their learned medical judgement versus the thrill of seeing their names in print.

If you would like to help support the dedicated work of actual oncologists, researchers, nursing professionals and others focused on the treatment of cancer and related diseases, please consider contributing $10 or more to the American Cancer Society via the 'Source' link below. You can also donate blood or platelets (vital to cancer patients) or volunteer at a local hospital.

Update: Speaking of the ACS, Forbes checked in with their chief medical officer. Otis Brawley says that it is "impossible to make an expectation of someone's life expectancy" based on their photograph or a video clip.
Not all doctors are created equal originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sony denies rumored plans to exit iTunes
Sony is preparing to launch its Music Unlimited service in the U.S. today and has used this occasion to debunk the rumor that it was pulling out of iTunes. A recent interview with Michael Ephraim, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment Australia, hinted that Sony may leave iTunes if its own Music Unlimited service saw widespread adoption. Sony Network Entertainment COO Brandon Layden responded to this report by stating:

Sony Music as I understand it has no intention of withdrawing from iTunes, they're one of our biggest partners in the digital domain. I think those words were either taken out of context or the person who spoke them was unclear on the circumstances.

This latest statement confirms that, under current circumstances, Sony's media content will stay in iTunes. This is good news for iOS users as Sony's Music Unlimited service in the U.S. will be available for the PS3, networked television sets and Blu-ray players. Mobile devices are not included in its immediate plans so iTunes will continue to be the easiest way to get the latest Avril Lavigne album on your iPhone or iPod touch.

[Via Electronista]
Sony denies rumored plans to exit iTunes originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple to use 60 percent of world touchscreen supply in 2011
Apple is buying up touchscreen displays for the 40 million iPad tablets it intends to sell in 2011, and it has scooped up 60 percent of the global touchscreen inventory. Apple has secured most of the touchscreen displays coming off the production line of panel makers Wintek and TPK and has created a shortage among second-tier tablet makers. The report suggests RIM, HP and Motorola are competing for the remaining inventory, a situation that makes it difficult for smaller manufacturers to compete in this growing market.

The bulk of these displays are glass capacitive panels, similar to the ones currently used in the iPad and the iPhone. As an alternative, manufacturers may be forced to use a thin-film capacitive touchscreen display that provides the same functionality, but is less durable and has a different feel than standard glass displays. Tablet manufacturers are also turning to smaller touch panel makers such as Sintek Photronic and J Touch to fill their display needs.

According to the report, the shortage in inventory for the iPad and iPhone in 2010 can be attributed to a lack of touchscreen displays. Rather than let history repeat itself, Apple has reportedly invested billions into a variety of display manufacturers. Earlier rumors suggest the Cupertino company has invested US$7.8 billion to secure individual display units from Samsung as well as an additional $3.9 billion in pre-payments to Sharp, LG Display and Toshiba Mobile. Combine this current rumor with previous ones, and it is becoming clear that Apple has wisely cornered the market for touchscreen displays.
Apple to use 60 percent of world touchscreen supply in 2011 originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple skips Mobile World Congress, wins Mobile Device of the Year anyway
Apple doesn't do trade shows anymore, even popular ones that contain names of its products, so it's not surprising that the company skipped out on the 2011 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. But here's the funny part: even though the company itself didn't show up, one of its products won a major award anyway; Mobile World Congress judged the iPhone 4 as 2011 Mobile Device of the Year.

The judges cited the iPhone 4's "great screen, sharp design, fantastic materials, and phenomenal ecosystem for app developers" as the reason for the award, and further said, "In a tight race, the iPhone 4 built on the success of its predecessors to set the pace for smart phones."

Now hold on, I'm confused. The internet keeps telling me how bad the iPhone 4 is. What about Antennagate? Cracking glass? Camera issues? I mean, the antenna attenuation problem alone was "bad" enough that Consumer Reports couldn't bring itself to recommend the iPhone 4. As for that app ecosystem the judges hailed, I thought it was a "walled garden" that was bad for developers, bad for content owners, and bad for consumers? If the iPhone 4 is as terrible as the internet keeps saying, why does it keep winning awards (and customers)? What are you hiding from me, internet?!

All FUD aside, congratulations to Apple for a well-deserved award. I can't speak for anyone else, but the iPhone 4 is the best piece of Apple gear I've ever owned, so kudos to all the engineers who made it possible. Yes, even you.

[via Mashable]
Apple skips Mobile World Congress, wins Mobile Device of the Year anyway originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Steve Jobs to meet with President Obama today
According to ABC News, President Obama's West Coast field trip is going to kick off in San Francisco with dinner.

Not just any dinner, mind you. This happens to be dinner with the outgoing CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, Mark Zuckerberg (who built some sort of newfangled website) and our own Uncle Steve. According to the White House, they are meeting as part of an "ongoing dialogue with the business community on how we can work together to win the future, strengthen our economy, support entrepreneurship, and get the American people back to work."

After dinner, there is no further published information on the official White House schedule, so I don't know who will get to put up their "The President Slept Here" sign. However, once he's wrapped things up in the Bay Area, it's been announced that Obama is spending Friday in my neck of the woods, visiting one of Intel's plants in Hillsboro, Oregon. He'll be there with Intel CEO Paul Otellini talking about Intel's investments in educational programs and manufacturing upgrades at their plants in Oregon and in Arizona.

This is the second time the President has formally met with Jobs. Their first publicized get-together took place in October of 2010.

[via AppleInsider]
Steve Jobs to meet with President Obama today originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Flaming Lips create tune for 12 smartphones

This is a little trippy. The band Flaming Lips once released a studio album containing four CDs designed to be played all at the same time. Flaming Lips has upped the ante and uploaded 12 different clips to YouTube, which are all supposed to be played on 12 different smartphones at the same time (or browser windows, if you don't have 12 iPhones). Here's their YouTube account with all of the videos on it, and here's an "instructional" video (beware: the title of the song is not safe for work) detailing how to get the tracks running and synced up on an iPhone.

Like I said, trippy. If you're not a Flaming Lips fan, the whole thing is probably too weird to put in the effort, not to mention that you probably don't have 12 smartphones sitting around to play music with unless you're in a particularly high-tech and relaxed office space. But it's a cool angle on music composition, and it's a neat experiment made possible with YouTube and our favorite smartphone. If you do have the time and energy to make it work, let us know what you think.
Flaming Lips create tune for 12 smartphones originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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TUAW's Daily App: Volcano Escape
Here's another day-and-date release for you -- Volcano Escape is brand new on the App Store today, and it's an interesting take on the Canabalt-style genre. It asks you to run up a series of platforms inside a volcano rather than across rooftops like usual. The controls are a little floaty, unfortunately, but I think it's designed that way, as you can basically double and wall jump your way up the various stages. There's a button for shooting, and shooting various enemies will turn them into stone that you can then jump off of on your way up. Aiming is pretty tough, though, so sometimes it's easier to just dodge the baddies and move on.

You can also get access to power-ups as you run, and your progress is constantly marked in the game, so you're often just trying to beat your last record. There's Game Center integration for leaderboards and achievements, and you can submit scores to Facebook and Twitter to brag about a particularly good run if you can pull one off.

Things aren't quite as polished as they could be (I still love Monster Dash for this type of gameplay), but the idea of adding vertical platforming to the mix is a good one, and hopefully, it will spawn a little more innovation in titles like this. Volcano Escape, as I said, is brand new and available on the App Store for US$1.99.
TUAW's Daily App: Volcano Escape originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Mobclix finds the monthly value of an app user

Mobile advertiser Mobclix put together this infographic supposedly showing the "monthly value of an app user." It's the monthly advertising revenue for each app category listed, divided by the average number of users in a given month. As you can see above, iPhone apps are clearly generating more revenue per user than Android apps across the board, and Utilities apps top the list in terms of monthly value per user, as compared to Entertainment and Games apps.

Before you start building an ad-driven Utility app for iPhone, though, don't forget that this chart basically sidelines the population stat. While the "value per user" on Games apps seems low, that's only because there are so many more users in that category. Lots more people, believe it or not, use their smartphones to play games than do actual work. Likewise for the Android listings; we already know that Android mobile app sales aren't quite as high as iPhone app sales, though there are more Android handsets out there than iPhones already.

This is more of an interesting look at the people who use the apps. Utilities users on the iPhone tend to be a little more valuable as app users, while Games users are relatively cheap and plentiful. That's a pattern we've seen on platforms before, and things will likely stay that way even as the market for mobile advertising gets even bigger.

[via AppAdvice]
Mobclix finds the monthly value of an app user originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple releases Digital Camera Raw Update 3.6
Apple has released Digital Camera Raw Update 3.6 via Software Update. The 6.8 MB update adds RAW image compatibility for the following cameras to Aperture 3 and iPhoto '11:
- Canon EOS Rebel T3 / 1100D / Kiss X50
- Canon EOS Rebel T3i / 600D / Kiss X5
- Olympus E-5
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100
- Pentax K-r
- Pentax K-5
In addition, the update addresses processing issues for the Nikon D7000, Nikon COOLPIX P7000, Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 cameras.
Apple releases Digital Camera Raw Update 3.6 originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Are free digital content apps a free ride on Apple? How to move forward

Sony Reader. Amazon Kindle. Rhapsody. In the App Store, they all have (or would have, if Sony's app had been approved) one thing in common: they're represented by free apps that serve as profitable storefronts to their digital content. They all pay their $99/year entrance fee to the App Store, but once in, they're not sharing their extensive off-store revenue systems with Apple.

Apple provides the infrastructure, the delivery mechanism and the customer support for millions of free applications. And now, at least for those free apps that lead to digital goods sales, Apple is asking for a slice of the pie beyond the utility and attention that free apps bring.

In a move that has Rhapsody ready to pull its offerings from the App Store, Apple has demanded that providers who offer subscription content outside of App Store channels now offer the same subscriptions within the applications as well. Meanwhile, even non-subscription purchases may be coming under the App Store umbrella.

That would involve a 30 percent cut for all in-app subscriptions and media buys for Apple (which makes Apple's accountants happy), as well as an insane amount of overhead to approve each and every in-app purchase item (imagine what it will take to code, submit and oversee not just Rhapsody's once-a-month charge but every e-book in Amazon's catalog).
Continue reading Are free digital content apps a free ride on Apple? How to move forward
Are free digital content apps a free ride on Apple? How to move forward originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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BGR: Verizon iPhone sales not burning hot

Boy Genius Report did a little digging around to find some concrete numbers for Verizon iPhone sales, and while these probably aren't wholly representative of the larger picture, they did release numbers purporting to be from five different Apple stores of the sales of iPhones on both AT&T and Verizon. You can see the day-to-day-breakdown on BGR, but the totals are a little surprising. Over the five-day period, Apple sold 3,009 iPhones with AT&T service, and 3,992 with Verizon service. Obviously, the Verizon iPhones are selling better, but when you consider that this is the first few days of the phones on sale (and the expectations going into the new service), it's interesting that the numbers aren't higher.

Now for the caveats: with an extended pre-order period for existing Verizon customers that apparently did pretty well, and the option of online ordering a day prior to in-person sales, there's not much of a hook here. Apple and Verizon could have sold (and probably did) hundreds of thousands of phones before the opening moments. Also, the iPhone 4 is a known quantity on the market at this point, and adding a carrier (which has happened in scores of countries before) is not necessarily as big of a splash as a new introduction. Yes, there has been pent-up demand for the Verizon iPhone, but a lot of people might have given up waiting in the interim -- or are still waiting for their contract re-up date to roll around instead of paying more than $600 for the unsubsidized phones.

We'll wait until we see official numbers to make any pronouncements, but BGR's source says the sales are below Apple's expectations. The source also says that only 14 percent of those buying the Verizon iPhone were AT&T users. Before the phone went on sale, much of the thinking about a "vPhone" was that it would steal customers from AT&T, but that may not be the case. Two things may be happening here: AT&T likely still has an audience and will continue to sell iPhones, and new Verizon iPhone customers may be coming from other smartphone or feature phone platforms completely.
BGR: Verizon iPhone sales not burning hot originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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