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Apple Releases iOS 4.3.2 (4.2.7 for Verizon iPhones) Update
Apple just released iOS 4.3.2 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices. The update includes various bug fixes and improvements, including the resolution of the FaceTime random image capture bug, and an a fix for problems some international users were having connecting to 3G networks on the iPad. iOS 4.2.7, boasting the same fixes, is also available for Verizon iPhone 4 owners.

The update, which was reported to be arriving sometime within two weeks from April 7 by BGR, is also rumored to possibly bring fixes for roaming issues some Verizon iPad 2 owners are experiencing, but Apple makes no mention of the problem in its update notes for iOS 4.3.2.

The updates are compatible with the iPad, iPad 2, iPhone 3GS and 4 and the 3rd and 4th gen iPod touch. If you’re installing these updates today, please let us know in the comments how the new software is working out for you, and if you’re a Verizon iPad owner experiencing the roaming bug, whether or not 4.3.2 provides a fix.

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iOS Gains Ground on Android, Still the Best Bet for Developers
iOS is gaining back some ground on Android’s smartphone market share, according to Millenial Media’s Mobile Mix report released Thursday. The report also reinforces that Apple’s mobile platform is still the most lucrative for paid app developers by a considerable margin.

The first bit of news probably doesn’t come as a surprise to Apple, which has launched the iPhone on multiple carriers in multiple clients around the world, and no doubt knows that when network choice is an option, it can attract more customers. The Verizon iPhone likely contributed significantly to Apple’s 11 percent gain when it comes to ad impressions as measured by Millenial. iOS now accounts for 31 percent of measured ad impressions, compared to Android’s 48 percent piece of the pie. This is the first time iOS has made real upwards progress against Android since Google’s OS started rising in the ranks late last year. Despite Android’s overall win in ad impressions, the iPhone is still the device that racks up the most hits, with 19.42 percent of total impressions. The next closest device is the BlackBerry Curve, with only 5.37 percent.

While the data probably doesn’t indicate that iOS will ever rise to overtake Android again (despite possible iPhone availability to T-Mobile customers if the proposed AT&T acquisition of that company goes through), it is a good sign that predictions of a single dominant global smartphone platform are overstating things. Even discounting any possibility of cheaper devices or multi-network support, the iPhone is holding its own with a platform that, on paper, should have much better reach.

Apple also appears to remain the platform of choice for developers hoping to entice app buyers. iOS remained the top platform in terms of revenue, with 47 percent of the overall smartphone revenue generation picture. Android is the next closest platform with 36 percent of the total, and RIM comes in a distant third with only 7 percent. The disparity probably accounts for the continued lead enjoyed by Apple in terms of mobile app library and quality.

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New Apps Bring Live Weather to Your iPhone Homescreen
Apple’s iOS home screen may be simple and effective, but it doesn’t offer much in the way of dynamically updating content. Two new apps, Fahrenheit and Celsius (there’s a separate app for both temperature scales), do the best with what Apple provides to offer dynamically updating local temperature you can check without ever opening an app.

One thing I miss about the home screen of the Samsung Galaxy Tab I briefly owned (there isn’t much) are the widgets that provide information without actually requiring a user to fully open an application. Apple only allows icons to be displayed on the home screen, and the only dynamic one of those is its own Calendar app. Third-party developers can’t use dynamic icons, and Apple doesn’t seem eager to give any other of its own first-party icons a dynamic makeover. Even its own Weather app always shows it as sunny, clear and 73 degrees, which can be annoying when it’s grey and hovering around zero with sleet falling everywhere. The only way to change an icon on the home screen is with a numbered badge, and that’s just how Fahrenheit and Celsius work.

Simply open the app, allow it to detect your location, and allow it to send push notifications. It’ll find the weather info for your area (which it displays in a very attractive interface, complete with three-hour forecast breakdowns and weather maps), and it’ll display the current temperature as a numbered badge on the app’s icon once you exit. Thanks to Apple’s iOS multitasking, it also updates the temperature every hour in the background.

Apple’s badge system doesn’t support negative numbers, so the apps provide a few different options for cold-weather climates. Either the app can display the negative temp as a positive number (so -3 would show as 3), you can display no temperature at all when it drops below zero, or the app can send a notification when the temperature swings into the negatives so you don’t get confused. Considering the software limitations, I think it’s a solid workaround.

Both Fahrenheit and Celsius are universal apps, so they’re optimized on both the iPhone and the iPad. Also remember that they’re distinct apps, so if you buy the wrong one, you’ll have to pay for the other to change units. Each only costs $0.99, though, so even if you do buy both it won’t break the bank. Plus, with both, you can have them side-by-side on your home screen for instant, at-a-glance temperature unit conversion.

I’d love some dynamically updating weather conditions in addition to the temperature, but until Apple makes some major changes to iOS, that’s not going to happen. For now, Fahrenheit and Celsius more than fit the bill, thanks in no small part to smart app icon design that makes it instantly apparent that the badge is telling you the current temperature. It may not be as fancy as an Android widget, but it’s simple, smart and it gets the job done.
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Report: White iPhone 4 Arriving Within Weeks

The white iPhone will be available for purchase by the end of April, according to Bloomberg. Three people “with knowledge of [Apple's] plans” told Bloomberg that the long-awaited white iPhone 4 will begin shipping in the next few weeks, following a lengthy 10-month delay. The white iPhone was originally announced alongside its black counterpart in June of 2010.

One of the sources said that the new iPhone will be available from both AT&T and Verizon, and that the release was delayed due to manufacturing problems including paint that peeled when exposed to high heat (not good if you’ve ever tethered your iPhone while playing a game). A late-April release would be in keeping with a statement made on Twitter in March by Apple executive Phil Schiller that the white iPhone 4 would indeed be arriving this spring.

Getting the white iPhone 4 just right has obviously been quite a challenge for Apple. Reasons behind the delay have never been explained in detail, though Apple did originally cite challenges in the manufacturing process when it first announced a delay of around a month from the launch of the black version. Rumors have suggested that the white color may have allowed too much internal light bleed, that the white color didn’t match between faceplate and home button, that it couldn’t take good pictures, and that it was awaiting an antenna fix. I doubt we’ll ever know for sure the real reason.

If true, the imminent release of a white iPhone 4 could be taken as an indicator that Apple does indeed plan to put off its typical yearly iPhone model refresh until fall. A white iPhone 4 could operate as a stopgap to attempt to shore up sales in the intervening summer months. Recent supplier reports suggest that Apple hasn’t yet begun any production planning efforts regarding an iPhone 5, which is unusual at this stage in the manufacturing game. On the other hand, a white iPhone 4 could just represent a late-stage attempt to boost sales ahead of the usual June iPhone announcement.

But after tens of millions of sales in just a single color, how appealing is a white iPhone 4 at this late stage in the game?

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Apple's AirPlay Seed Begins to Take Root
Last year, Apple introduced a sleeper agent that, while better than its predecessor, still wasn’t fully active. That agent was the Apple TV, and it wasn’t until the release of iOS 4.3 that its true potential became apparent. Wireless media streaming protocol AirPlay was the key to that potential, and with iOS 4.3, it expanded beyond the confines of Apple’s own limited sphere of apps and into the vast library of the larger App Store.

Major players in the online video business may still be reluctant to embrace AirPlay, but plenty of small developers are seizing the opportunity it provides to bring content from the mobile screen to the living room television. ShowYou, which pulls video content from social networks to your iPad, is just one example. Discovr, which helps you find new music, is another, and Air Video unlocks your desktop-based library for both your iOS mobile devices and your big screen TV via AirPlay. Back in September of last year, I called AirPlay a “sleeping giant,” and apps like these are good signs the giant is starting to wake up.

It’s also a good sign that influential tech figures like Robert Scoble are sitting up and taking notice. Scoble wrote a post Wednesday for Business Insider which calls AirPlay “the most important new technology since RSS.” He was impressed by three apps in particular: ShowYou, mentioned above; Squrl, which provides access to videos from a variety of sources; and the TED iPad app, which collects talks from speakers at the technology, entertainment and design conferences.

AirPlay still has hurdles and limitations. Providers of traditional TV and film content seem reluctant to embrace it; Hulu and Netflix are steering clear, as are official apps from ABC and Warner Bros.. It’s also still officially locked to Apple devices — though some claim that may change.

Even without support from major content partners, AirPlay will continue to grow in popularity among third-party app developers, especially since doing so seems to incur a lot of positive press attention. And though you may need an Apple TV to use it, that’s not as much of a hurdle as you might think/ The Apple TV retails for only $99 new, which isn’t so bad even if you just consider it a wireless video streaming dongle.

Add in Netflix, iTunes store access, and now MLB.tv and NBA League Pass, and $99 seems like a steal. As more and more apps offer AirPlay streaming, we’ll see Apple TV sales continue to rise, too.

Support from major content providers would help speed the adoption of AirPlay and the Apple TV, but its absence won’t kill the feature. In fact, it could provide the perfect opportunity for smaller production companies and independent creators to step up and reach a broader audience. Regardless of who does and doesn’t decide to join in, Apple and users will win with AirPlay, and those reluctant to get on board will lose out.

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Before Declaring Device Convergence King, Consider Battery Life
It is not like I didn’t see this coming, but when Cisco announced its decision to shut down its recently-acquired Flip portable camera division (which actually wasn’t doing too badly, but was only experiencing slower growth than expected) yesterday, I couldn’t help feeling that it was somewhat premature. It was actually my healthy stock of Apple devices and iOS apps that led me to feel this way.

It appears as if the analyst are convinced that convergence is king, and smartphones are the future. Looking at Apple, it appears as if this trend is being realized as their once miraculous army of hundreds of millions of iPods has quickly transitioned into their now better equipped army of one-hundred million iPhones. With internet connectivity, GPS, camera, video, music and voice, it certainly is the very model of convergence. But the developer in me sees the very concrete issue of battery life becoming more of a concern with each and every feature being added into apps. Making every app in the App Store socially-connected and location-aware is making getting through the day without reaching for my external backup battery iPhone charger more and more difficult.

So while analysts continue to convince investors that standalone, single purpose consumer electronic devices are not the way to go, I can’t help but think that this will only add to the number of additional chargers I will need to carry around on my technology utility belt. If I will have to carry around an additional piece of tech anyway, why not have it serve a dedicated purpose? Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I still carry around my GPS Data Logger, iPod nano, Flip Video Camera, iPhone 4 and JustMobile Gum charger. Perhaps if Cisco made its Flip video camera a smartphone charger as well, it would have a place in this future dominated by convergence.

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Tweetbot Shows There's Still Room for More Twitter Clients
Tweetbot is slowly rolling out to App Stores around the world as we speak. It’s a new Twitter client from Tapbots, the makers of gorgeous and intuitive iOS apps like Weightbot, Pastebot and Calcbot (notice the theme?), and if you’re wondering whether really need any new Twitter clients, Tweetbot provides a very good answer.

Tweetbot has been a long time coming (which explains why it isn’t affected by Twitter’s new policy disparaging third-party clients), having originally been announced on April 12, 2010, at which point it had already been in development for two and a half months. Tapbots does not have a very fast development turnaround time, but there’s good reason for that: the studio remains incredibly small, despite its successes. In fact, it still only consists of the two co-founders / developers, Mark Jardine and Paul Haddad, who quit their day jobs to run Tapbots full-time in 2009. In an email interview, Jardine noted that he thinks this is the ideal setup, because it’s allowed the company to remain self-funded, it allows scheduling to remain very flexible, and because the partners “only have to worry about two families to feed.” Obviously, this ultra-lean approach comes with a considerable downside, too, though Jardine thinks even that may represent a net strength for Tapbots:

The downside is that we release less apps. But it’s also a good thing as it keeps our customers wanting more. If we released 4-5 apps a year, they wouldn’t feel as special.

“Special” is the perfect word to describe the apps Tapbots puts out. Few developers operating in the App Store pay as close attention to detail, or offer such a refined user experience. You get the sense when using any Tapbots app that every sound, every gradient, and every interface element placement decision was the product of many hours of careful consideration. Tweetbot is no exception to this rule, with a number of new features that are unique to the app, including a customizable home interface, the ability to quickly change between lists, and user-defined functions for triple-taps.

Still, there’s no denying that Twitter has been trying to corner the market on iOS users by acquiring one of the leading Twitter clients (Tweetie) and making it official, and free. I asked Jardine whether or not he thought there’s room for new blood in the space following that aggressive move. “People are always looking for something different,” Jardine said. “Personally I’ve been a big fan of Tweetie (now Twitter) and I think Twitter made the perfect choice for their native client,” he added, “but there’s still plenty of room to try new things.”

Jardine feels that what Tweetbot offers is “unique enough to be a great alternative to what’s already out there,” and based on my early impressions, I’d say he makes a good point. And as to those who still say the market doesn’t need another Twitter client, Jardine says that the Tapbots team “likes challenges” and is eager to “prove them wrong.”

Tweetbots is the culmination of a considerable amount of work, but there’s still more planned beyond the 1.0 release, which should go live in the U.S. App Store within the next 12 hours. Jardine says there are still many things planned for the app that didn’t make the cut for this release, but that will arrive in later updates. As for the next big thing to come from Tapbots, Jardine said they haven’t yet decided on any fixed future plans. Whatever it is, you can bet it will take a long time to arrive, and provide a carefully constructed and meticulously polished user experience when it does.

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Meal Snap Finds Sweet Spot at the Crossroads of Health and Fun
Counting calories isn’t fun, which you’ll know if you’ve tried it. But a cool new iPhone app released just last week actually manages to make the exercise entertaining and light, while still keeping it informative. Meal Snap analyzes pictures of food you take with your iPhone’s camera, and returns an approximate calorie count for each item.

The app represents somewhat of a departure for DailyBurn, the company behind its creation. DailyBurn, which was acquired by IAC in 2010, is a social network that focuses on fitness and diet tracking, with an emphasis on community involvement and granular detail. Meal Snap, however, represents a slightly different approach, and one which DailyBurn CEO Andy Smith thinks will be easier to swallow for customers the company’s other products may have had more trouble reaching.

Smith says Meal Snap is part of an effort to create “fun, engaging products that help with behavioral change,” and DailyBurn has found, in taking the pulse of users, that’s the way to go in the future when it comes to health-focused apps. Health tracking is hard to maintain longterm with a high level of detail. Meal Snap is only one of a lot of different apps in the pipeline from DailyBurn based around the idea that simple, fun, focused apps are what customers are looking for, according to Smith.

Meal Snap, which sells for $2.99, doesn’t really tie-in much to DailyBurn’s own iPhone app or the site itself, but that’s sort of the point. It simply offers the ability to take a photo of food, add a caption (optional) and let the system find out how many calories it contains. The app also automatically keeps a daily log of your tracked meals, but there’s no sign-up process, and no real settings to fiddle with, although you can sign in to Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare to share your snapped meals with those social networks. The photo logging element taps in to the recent success of apps like Instagram and Foodspotting, while still providing health information at the same time.

Meal Snap succeeds because it has few barriers to usage, and does one thing very well. Social networking features are a nice bonus, but they aren’t central to the app and no login is required at any point if that’s what a user prefers. Everything happens from one central screen, and meal identification can happen in the background after you exit the app. Smith thinks “apps that do one thing, and do them very well” best represent the direction we’re headed with mobile software, and after a few days using an app as simple, impressive and intuitive as Meal Snap, I’m inclined to agree.
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Is Apple Blind to Nvidia-Related MacBook Pro Failures?
Between 2007 and 2008, some MacBook Pro models shipped with faulty Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT graphics processors, which can cause blank screens or image distortions. Apple acknowledged the issue and offered to repair affected units in October 2008, but a recent report suggests those problems aren’t completely behind the company.

The tool Apple uses to determine whether or not a defective Nvidia GPU is responsible for your MacBook Pro’s problems might not be accurate in a number of cases, according to Mobile Magazine. Apple evaluates machines for the problem using a USB stick running Nvidia’s diagnostic software. Once the drive is inserted, it runs tests and provides printed reports on the nature of the problem. However, the test may not be returning accurate reports in every instance.

In some cases, according to Mobile Magazine, the faulty GPUs can overheat, leading to a short in your logic board when heat-transfer material ends up on parts of your computer’s internals where it shouldn’t be. That would lead to a diagnostic result indicating the logic board had failed, not the GPU. Logic board failures entail a non-warranty repair that can cost more than $1,000.

Mobile Magazine describes one specific case in detail where this occurred, but a call to Hi-Tech Electronics, the shop which performed the diagnostic and repair in question (it replaced the faulty GPU and cleaned the logic board for $260 including shipping, instead of the $1,000 Apple was asking) confirmed it has seen many similar cases, and continues to repair multiple MacBook Pros with problems stemming from the same issue each week.

Apple couldn’t be reached for comment as of this writing. If these reports are accurate, a simple fix would be to open up and inspect the internals of any MacBook Pros potentially affected by faulty Nvidia GPUs, rather than simply performing a software diagnostic test using a USB drive. It would be more costly and time-consuming, but also probably better for customer loyalty in the long run.

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Apple Unveils New Final Cut Pro X With Background Rendering
Apple introduced Final Cut Pro X, the latest version of its professional video editing software, at the NAB conference SuperMeet Tuesday night. This new version replaces Final Cut Pro 7, which was introduced in 2009, and will be available for download via the Mac App Store for $299 beginning in June.

Final Cut Pro X brings a number of new features (via TUAW) to the editing platform, including full 64-bit compatibility, and the ability to take advantage of the processing power of all cores of a Mac’s CPU, in addition to the GPU using Snow Leopard’s Grand Central Dispatch feature. This should improve rendering times, especially on more powerful machines like Mac Pros.

The new version of the app also sports a brand-new visual look, resolution-independent playback, and content analysis, which allows it to detect whether shots are close-ups, medium or wide-angle, identify people or groups, and more. The new recognition features feed into Smart Collections, which automatically groups different types of shots. It’s sort of like Faces and Places for iPhoto, but much more powerful and with video as well as stills.

Final Cut Pro X also features many new non-destructive editing tools, like primary audio and video that can’t be knocked out of sync accidentally, and secondary audio that can be locked to video if that’s what an editor requires. Final Cut also now seems to be able to detect primary and audio tracks: for example, when you have an actor wearing a microphone but also have the camera’s microphone working. The new Magnetic Timeline automatically moves audio out of the way when you move video, while the timeline automatically adjusts, which should make it easier to drop clips in later without worrying about screwing up timing later on.

All rendering is now handled in the background, too, without any interruption to your primary workflow. That alone will probably make a significant difference in the lives of many video editors. Apple didn’t reveal details regarding the rest of the Final Cut Studio suite, which includes apps like Color, Motion and Soundtrack Pro in addition to Final Cut Pro. The full Final Cut Studio package retails for $999, so it’s possible Apple will be separating out the suite’s components and selling them individually on the Mac App Store, as it has done with the iLife and iWork suites.

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Fresh Apple

Thursday, April 14, 2011

GigaOMApple (10 сообщений)

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