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- First Look: Little Metal Ball spins you right round
Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, App Review
Some wood, some knobs, and a ball bearing: the traditional labyrinth game has spawned several digital descendants (including some of the simian sort); considering the iPhone's accelerometer is very adept at simulating a tilting table or a swaying bridge, it's no surprise that this genre is quite popular on the App Store. The latest entry in the fun parade, from the developers of the Pano photo app (Debacle Software), is Little Metal Ball [$1.99, iTunes link], available tonight in the App Store. We've got an exclusive gameplay trailer above, so you can see that you'll be piloting your steel BB around and through a wide assortment of obstacles, landscapes and challenges as you try to collect prize stars and finish each level (40 in total) in the minimum amount of time.
While the original Super Monkey Ball was so challenging as to be frustrating for an average twitch gamer like myself (version 2 is a big improvement, according to TJ), I found that the difficulty level on LMB was just about right for me -- it takes a little while to get used to the ball jump controls, which are critical for navigating the early levels, but I got the hang of it quickly. The variety of environments keeps it interesting as you progress through the game, and the background music (which calls to mind the Harry Potter film theme) is soothing enough to keep you from throwing your iPhone through the window if you hit a frustrating spot on the course. If I could add one feature, it would be a calibration option so that players could adjust the zero point and not spend the entire game hunched over like a victim of mild food poisoning.
LMB may not have all the bells and whistles of the popular Labyrinth 2 [$4.99, iTunes link], but it's certainly a worthwhile addition to the tilt-to-play landscape.TUAWFirst Look: Little Metal Ball spins you right round originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Elegant simplicity: the power of SimpleNote for iPhone
Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review
The iPhone and iPod touch are, in many ways, the replacement for the little spiral-bound notepad that some of us used to carry around to capture reminders and ideas. The build-in Notes application works as a nice notepad, but it doesn't allow sorting of lists, and syncing to your Mac via MobileMe and Mail can be problematic.
I've tried a handful of other notepad apps, but none of them have provided the simplicity of Notes with the power of cloud syncing. SimpleNote [US$1.99, iTunes Link] is an inexpensive app that is a worthy replacement for Notes. Launching the app, you're greeted with a very simple user interface into which you can type your notes. There's nothing new and different there, of course. Opening the options for the app indicates that you can set up a free account for the online web app and turn on web syncing.
It's the ability to sync with the SimpleNote website that provides much of the power of the app. Through that site, you can either paste lists or notes from your Mac and have them appear on the iPhone moments later, or take the notes you've created while on the road and move them to your Mac.
I've tried a handful of other notepad apps, but none of them have provided the simplicity of Notes with the power of cloud syncing. SimpleNote [US$1.99, iTunes Link] is an inexpensive app that is a worthy replacement for Notes. Launching the app, you're greeted with a very simple user interface into which you can type your notes. There's nothing new and different there, of course. Opening the options for the app indicates that you can set up a free account for the online web app and turn on web syncing.
It's the ability to sync with the SimpleNote website that provides much of the power of the app. Through that site, you can either paste lists or notes from your Mac and have them appear on the iPhone moments later, or take the notes you've created while on the road and move them to your Mac.TUAWElegant simplicity: the power of SimpleNote for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Survey: 45% of iPod touch users running old firmware
Filed under: OS, Software, iTunes, Software Update, iPod touch
Chitika Research, a company that helps deliver online advertising, has released numbers from its network that claim 45% of iPod touch users still haven't upgraded to the iPhone 3.x firmware. Only 55% of the users measured have paid the cash to upgrade to the latest version (because of accounting regulations around subscriptions, iPod touch users have to pay for an upgrade that iPhone users get for free). And actually, the story is even worse than you think: Chitika points out that since mid-June, every single iPod touch sold has had 3.x pre-installed on it anyway. That means the percentage of users who owned iPod touches before June but haven't yet upgraded is even higher than the overall numbers show.
So how can Apple fix this (and they probably should -- lots of their best and brightest apps require 3.0, not to mention developers have spent a good amount of time upgrading them for the new firmware)? First, and maybe even only step, is to get rid of that fee, and Apple is already working on that one. Of course, education might be another issue -- it's possible that iPod touch users just don't know that there's an upgrade waiting for them. But I have an inkling that the fee is the real issue here. People may scoff at a $10 app, and I'm sure that they're doing exactly that for an upgrade to the firmware.
[via CultofMac]TUAWSurvey: 45% of iPod touch users running old firmware originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Magellan Car Kit for iPhone nav apps coming soon to a car near you
Filed under: Accessories, iPhone, iPod touch
After a dearth of car kits for iPhones and accompanying GPS navigation apps, manufacturers are starting to announce new kits on a regular basis.
The latest news comes from Magellan, who will soon be introducing a new vehicle mount for the iPhone 3GS, 3G, and the second generation iPod touch. As with the Navigon and TomTom car kits, the US$129.99 Magellan Premium Car Kit includes a built-in GPS receiver for better accuracy. Other features include:- Secure vehicle mounting for iPhone or iPod touch
- Accommodates most silicon skins and hard shell cases
- Adjustable mount securely rotates iPhone to either portrait or landscape mode for optimal positioning and widescreen route display
- Recharges battery via the vehicle power outlet
- Amplified speaker with volume control for loud and clear phone calls and directions
- Noise canceling microphone for full duplex speakerphone operation
- Auxiliary audio output (for connection to your car stereo)
- Bluetooth enables hands-free calling
The car kit is currently available for pre-order from Amazon.com, Best Buy, and MagellanGPS.com.TUAWMagellan Car Kit for iPhone nav apps coming soon to a car near you originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Psystar's lawyer: Psystar not done yet
Filed under: Hardware, Rumors, Software, Apple
Last night on the Talkcast, we talked about the big news last week that Psystar seemed to be down for the count, and the consensus was that we'd heard the last of them. But not so fast: their lawyer now says that they're not calling it quits just yet. The company that has gotten pummeled by Apple for selling Mac clones apparently "does not intend to shut down permanently," according to K. A. D. Camera of legal firm Camera & Sibley. According to him, they're still working on selling their Rebel EFI product (also currently entangled in legal problems), and they're planning on pushing forward on their antitrust case against Apple (which has already been thrown out once). We're not sure where they'll get the money for all of this legal action after already being ordered to give a couple million dollars to Apple, but maybe those 768 computers they sold made more than we thought.
There is one bright point in all of this: while Rebel EFI is still listed as out of stock on their website, they areselling official Psystar t-shirts for $15which they say will also include a Rebel EFI authorization code later onand now those appear to be gone too! I don't know about you (and I don't really want to give these guys any credit card information), but one of those shirts would look great sitting under my tree later this week. If this whole installing-OS X-on-unauthorized-hardware-in-violation-of-Apple's-EULA thing doesn't work out for Psystar, maybe they can have a second life as a merch vendor.TUAWPsystar's lawyer: Psystar not done yet originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Apple releases firmware update addressing 27" iMac screen issues
Filed under: Hardware, iMac, Software Update
We hope this will provide holiday relief for many iMac owners: Apple just released a firmware update for the graphics chipsets in 27" iMac models, intended to fix display issues. Apple states this download
Updates the graphics firmware on ATI Radeon HD 4670 and 4850 graphics cards to address issues that may cause image corruption or display flickering.This update is only needed for the 27" iMac models introduced in October.
This should hopefully fix the issues that many are facing with their new iMacs, including our own Josh Carr, who's had display issues with his 27" iMac. We'll let you know if this update fixes these issues for him.
This update is available through Software Update, or from Apple's Support Downloads page.TUAWApple releases firmware update addressing 27" iMac screen issues originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Simpsons Arcade (sort of) released on iPhone
Filed under: Gaming, Software, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, iPod classic
If you happened to be wandering around a St. Louis, Missouri arcade in the early nineties, you'd probably find a young me, playing the Simpsons Arcade game (either that or the Avengers game, I loved that one too). It was great: beat-em-up action, The Simpsons, and impressive animations and graphics for the era. Now, EA Mobile wants you to try and revisit those days on your iPhone -- kind of. They've released something that they're calling The Simpsons Arcade [iTunes Link] on the App Store, and while it is a nice sort of tribute to the old game, it's not exactly a direct port. Trust me -- I played the old game, which had the family chasing after Maggie, and this game, which has Homer chasing after a doughnut, isn't the same thing.
It's not a bad game -- it is a beat-em-up, with the standard movement stick, and an attack and jump button, which can be used in the ways you'd expect. And it does have real voices and sounds from the show, nice new, crisp graphics, and (c'mon, it's The Simpsons) guest stars aplenty. You can bring the family members in for special attacks later on in the game's 25 levels, and there are even some mini-games just like the old arcade version. But it's not the same, and for $4.99 in the App Store with no free trial currently available, it's slightly disingenuous to call this "The Simpsons Arcade" when you're not really getting to play the old game.
If I bought this expecting a port and opened it up to find the respectable 2D beat-em-up that it is, I'd probably be a little disappointed. It's a good, solid game, and probably worth the price if you like this type of thing, but don't come expecting to revisit those glory days of '91 in any way but the overall feel.TUAWSimpsons Arcade (sort of) released on iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Tapulous making a million a month off the App Store
Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, iPod touch
Well, even with rampant piracy, review craziness, and that funky approval process, it's good to hear that someone can still make a truckload of cash on the App Store. According to Reuters, that someone is Tapulous, who is apparently making almost a million dollars a month thanks to twenty million downloads of their Tap Tap Revenge game. We recently talked to Andrew Lacy on the release of said game back in October, and he told us that the game's in-app purchase features (you get the game for cheap, and then have a chance to buy lots of extra music to play in packs and bundles) would be the "first big test of in-app commerce at a much grander scale." Looks like the test was a success.
Of course, there's not too many details on how exactly that million dollars comes in -- I'm sure there was a flurry of sales right around the release of the app (as press was dropping), and you'd expect them to be a little higher during the holidays (sales of video games usually are, no matter what platform you're talking about). So it's not completely proven that this kind of income is necessarily sustainable. But still, it's good to hear from the folks at Tapulous that someone can release a game and roll in the cash from Apple's platform.TUAWTapulous making a million a month off the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Resolve to keep better track of client billing in 2010 with Time Keeper!
Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store, App Review
For self-employed consultants and anyone else who charges clients by the hour for their services, keeping accurate track of the time worked on various projects is critical. Time Keeper! [$2.99, iTunes Link] from Netwalk is the newest in a genre of iPhone / iPod touch apps that serve as pocketable billing assistants.
Time Keeper! works on a hierarchy of three elements: Clients, Projects (which are assigned to clients), and Times / Costs (assigned to projects). Once the application is launched, you can begin by adding a client at a particular rate. Time Keeper! allows any currency to be entered for the rate, making it easy to charge clients in their local currency.
Once you've entered some of the necessary information about the main timekeeping elements, it's time to get to work! When you arrive at a client's office or being work on a project, you can launch the app, enter a title for the work you are performing, and then tap the Start button to begin an hour:minute timer. You don't need to stay in the app to continue tracking time; if your work requires you to use other iPhone apps, Time Keeper! continues to log the time in the background.
Time Keeper! works on a hierarchy of three elements: Clients, Projects (which are assigned to clients), and Times / Costs (assigned to projects). Once the application is launched, you can begin by adding a client at a particular rate. Time Keeper! allows any currency to be entered for the rate, making it easy to charge clients in their local currency.
Once you've entered some of the necessary information about the main timekeeping elements, it's time to get to work! When you arrive at a client's office or being work on a project, you can launch the app, enter a title for the work you are performing, and then tap the Start button to begin an hour:minute timer. You don't need to stay in the app to continue tracking time; if your work requires you to use other iPhone apps, Time Keeper! continues to log the time in the background.TUAWResolve to keep better track of client billing in 2010 with Time Keeper! originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Dozen Daily Deals for December 21, 2009
Filed under: Deals
'Tis the season shop until your brains melt (or skip it all entirely, depending on your interpretation of the term holiday). In that spirit, for the next few weeks we'll be rounding up a dozen daily deals courtesy our friends at DealNews.com. Each afternoon tune in to TUAW for this handy summary. Keep in mind that while our posts will live on, the deals won't. Each is lovingly generated by the deal-bot every day, so get 'em while they're hot. Enjoy!
- MacUpdate Promo: [Home & Hobbies Software] Videobox 2 and MainMenu 2 for Mac downloads for free
- iTunes Music Store: [iPhone / iPod Apps] App Store Freebies: Groove Golf Swing, Theme Clock Alarm, TapIt Water, more
- Other World Computing: [Store Events] OWC's Garage Sale: iPod accessories, RAM, video cards, more
- Apple Store: [MacBook] Refurbished Apple Mac Computers from $849 + free shipping via next day
- B&H Photo Video: [USB Hard Drives] LaCie Philippe Stark 1TB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive for $90 + free shipping
- PC Connection: [MacBook] Apple MacBook Core 2 Duo 2.26GHz 13" Laptop for $870 after rebate + free shipping
- Meritline: [802.11n Wireless] Airlink101 802.11n Wireless Mini USB 2.0 Adapter for $16 + free shipping
- MacUpdate Promo: [Computer Software] MacUpdate Holiday Bundle: 14 Mac apps for $50
- Meritline: [Notebook Accessories] USB Folding Laptop Cooling Pad for $3 + free shipping
- Sony Style: [46" - 47" LCD TVs] Refurbished Sony BRAVIA 46" 120Hz 1080p LCD HDTV for $830 + free shipping
- Sony Style: [32" LCD TVs] Sony BRAVIA 32" 1080p LCD HDTV with 3.1 Soundbar System for $530 + free shipping
- OfficeMax: [Office Furniture] Bush Vantage Collection Corner Desk for $160 + free shipping
TUAWDozen Daily Deals for December 21, 2009 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Holiday giveaways: Ollie the Twitterrific bird
Filed under: Odds and ends, Holidays
Yes, it's that time of year when we empty out the TUAW swag vaults and pass the savings on. Our candidate today: He's avian, he's blue, and he might be coming to you....
Yes, it's the icon come to life who chirps his way into your heart, Ollie the Twitterrific bird. The Iconfactory's chatty quasi-mascot has been rendered into toy form (both in regular and limited-edition flocked versions) by designer David Latham and Strangekiss Art Toys, and we've got four of the wee blue birdies to give away to our lucky readers.
Leave a comment below telling us about your favorite childhood toy, and you'll be entered into the giveaway. One entry per person please! We'll ship out the birds after the first of the year, so they won't make it under the tree, but they'll keep you company for all of 2010. (Bonus geek cred to anyone who rigs their Ollie up with a USB speaker and Growl to announce incoming tweets.)
The rules:
- Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
- To enter leave a comment describing your favorite childhood toy.
- The comment must be left before Wednesday, December 23, 11:59PM ET.
- You may enter only once.
- Four winners will be selected in a random drawing.
- Prize: One of four Ollie dolls (regular or flocked). Doll type selected at random. ARV of prize: $19.95 regular, $26.95 flocked.
- Click Here For Official Rules.
TUAWHoliday giveaways: Ollie the Twitterrific bird originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Vodafone UK to start iPhone sales Jan. 14, 2010
Filed under: iPhone
Vodafone announced in September that it would start iPhone sales in the UK in early 2010. Two weeks into the new year is pretty early.
The BBC says Vodafone will start its UK iPhone sales January 14, 2010.
Vodafone UK CEO Guy Laurence says his company has been prepping its network for the added demand the iPhone will bring for over a year.
The new player's prices seem to be in line with rivals O2 and Orange. Vodafone UK's lowest plan is £30 a month for 24 months, with additional charges for iPhones ranging from £59 for an 8GB iPhone 3G to £239 for a 32GB iPhone 3GS. Vodafone will also offer a £35 a month/24 month contract that will include an 8GB iPhone 3G at no additional cost.
Data usage for both business and consumer contracts will be capped at 1GB a month. The company will also offer tethering at launch with plans starting at £5 a month.
Thanks Simon for the tip!
TUAWVodafone UK to start iPhone sales Jan. 14, 2010 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - Rumor: Moscone schedule + "corporate event" = Verizon iPhone?
Filed under: Rumors, WWDC, iPhone
Rumors and speculation are fun. Sometimes 2 + 2 = 4... and sometimes they don't add up to anything. Here's today's equation:
Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference 2010 seems likely to happen at the end of June/beginning of July.
The schedule for the Moscone Center, traditional home of WWDC, shows a "Corporate Event" running June 28 through July 2, 2010. This is around when Apple usually holds WWDC. "Corporate Event" has been the WWDC placeholder-name on the Moscone schedule in the past, at least until Apple was ready to say, "Hey everybody, we're having a party and here's when!" Additionally, Moscone is booked for all of June and most of July by other companies or organizations. Given that, it's likely that WWDC 2010 will be June 28 through July 2.
That space on the calendar may be a big deal.
If WWDC goes the way these things normally do, registration and other pre-conference fun will happen on Monday, June 28. The WWDC keynote will take place on Tuesday, June 29 -- three years to the day after the first iPhone was released.
Maybe Apple had to settle for that week because the International Stem Cell Conference and the NACUBO Annual Meeting beat them to the dates they really wanted. But it's also possible that Apple is waiting until its exclusivity deal with AT&T ends -- the exact day its exclusivity deal ends -- before announcing an iPhone for Verizon, T-Mobile, or Sprint.
Verizon's CTO made noise last week about his company being prepared for the iPhone in terms of network capacity, though he said nothing about an actual deal.
Do you think 2 + 2 = anything this time?
Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/parislemon/ / CC BY 2.0
[via MacNN]TUAWRumor: Moscone schedule + "corporate event" = Verizon iPhone? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Переслать - AT&T isn't working that hard on network upgrades (updated)
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPhone
See updated response from AT&T below.
With some pretty damning evidence, both FSJ and Gizmodo are shouting at AT&T, which claims that they've upgraded their network although they've spent less each quarter on upgrades since the iPhone was introduced in 2007. AT&T CEO Ralph De La Vega recently said that "AT&T is upgrading its network to cope," and that AT&T is continuing to look into ways to entice users to limit the way they use data.
That statement made sense at one point: give the customers a tiered data structure that's cheaper for those who don't use much bandwidth. This would probably never happen: it's not too often that you see a wireless provider actually help its customers. In reality, we'd probably see data rates stay where they are, but get an increase in price for "unlimited" data as we've come to understand it.
With another look at the information found in AT&T's Financial and Operating Statistics Summary [PDF Link], you begin to see tremendous flaws in AT&T's logic. They've consistently made more money (80% more revenue compared to Q4 2007) from wireless data, yet on average, AT&T has spent less each quarter for network improvements.
So where has all of that extra money gone? No one can argue that it's the recession sucking up the dollars, because AT&T's profits have remained pretty stable during the whole thing. The money obviously hasn't been spent on network improvements. Perhaps AT&T is fighting Verizon ads with the extra cash?
One thing is certain, the company is not serving AT&T customers in the best manner possible. With rumors that the iPhone may soon be available on Verizon's network as well, AT&T needs to put the pedal to the floor and come through with something... anything.
Update: Early on the morning of 12/21, I received an email from Seth -- he's handling some of AT&T's public relations. It looks like the figures we reported here, while accurate, don't actually cover the whole story. He states that AT&T is actually working very hard on wireless network upgrades. The numbers we used to draw our conclusions covered a lot of aspects of AT&T's spending and not just upgrades. While AT&T won't give out a specific outline of their upgrade budget, they've spent $17 or $18 billion on network upgrades this year.
Let me just say that I've been pleasantly surprised with the reliability of Denver's service since they finished the upgrades in October. I had been dropping calls several times a week prior to the upgrades. Since the end of October, I have yet to drop a call. Obviously, the user experience varies from city to city and we understand that some cities are really struggling. If this upgrade trend continues, hopefully we'll be seeing more cities follow Denver's lead sooner rather than later. I'll let you read through his bullet points instead of re-hashing it for you.
Let us know what you think about this, and what your coverage is like, the comments.In direct contrast to your headline, we are working very hard on network upgrades. Here's a look at how we're spending what's expected to be between $17 and $18 billion in improvements in 2009 to our wireline and wireless networks, with billions on wireless:- We are nearly doubling the wireless spectrum serving 3G customers in hundreds of markets across the country, using high-quality 850 MHz spectrum. This additional spectrum expands overall network capacity and improves in-building reception.
- We are adding about 2,000 new cell sites to our network in 2009, expanding service to new cities and improving coverage in other areas.
- We're adding about 100,000 new backhaul connections, which add critical capacity between cell sites and the global IP backbone network.
- We're enabling widespread access to our Wi-Fi network - the largest in the country with more than 20,000 hotspots in all 50 states - allowing customers to take advantage of the best available AT&T mobile broadband connection.
- We're rolling out even faster 3G speeds with deployment of HSPA 7.2 technology and are preparing for field trials of next generation, LTE wireless networks next year, with deployment planning to begin in 2011. This schedule aligns with industry expectations for when a wide variety of compatible 4G wireless devices should be available.
TUAWAT&T isn't working that hard on network upgrades (updated) originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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