iPhone - page 397

While the beautiful hardware that Apple creates gets a lot of the attention, many people forget that the appeal of Apple’s devices is within the software more than anything else. Asymco.com recently published an article elaborating how the profit from Apple’s two operating systems (OSX and iOS) outpace the profits that Microsoft makes with Windows 3.5x over.

On the Mac side of operations the site says:

“While a lot of the credit for Apple’s success is rightfully assigned to the iOS franchises, the OS X business has more than quadrupled in five years. This has happened without drastic price fluctuations. Neither holds for the overall PC industry which has seen both volume and sales decline while prices have eroded along with profitability. On top of that, growth has nearly evaporated.”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWPFfb4mF6k&feature=player_embedded

For a while Cydia has been the one and only source for jailbroken applications and tweaks, and it hasn’t really had a lot of competition. That’s about to change, as a new web-based installer called Lima is on its way to give Cydia something of a challenge.

Developed by the Infini Dev Team, Lima runs in the Safari browser and doesn’t require any additional applications – you just navigate to its webpage to access all of its packages. Downloading and installing packages is just as simple as it currently is with Cydia.

Judging from the video at the top, Lima looks like a nice, snappy way of accessing jailbroken apps and tweaks, without the downsides of the often slow Cydia. However, I’m not sure whether you’ll we’ll still be able to add our own repositories like we can with Cydia, or whether we’re stuck with whatever Lima has to offer.

As much as I love Cydia, sometimes its slow reload times and all too frequent errors prove to be a huge frustration, and I’m looking forward to giving Lima a try. What do you think; will Lima give Cydia a run for its money, or is it facing an uphill battle? Let us know in the comments!

[via iPhone Download Blog]

The SuperTooth Disco is a portable speaker that will wirelessly stream 28 watts of sound for your next parties dance floor. Here’s a hands-on review.

It won’t take the place of a dedicated sound system like the one you might have in your living room with only 28 watts of power, but for a portable Bluetooth device it is pretty impressive.

1. Follow Cult of Mac on Twitter (if you’re already a follower then you don’t need to unfollow and then refollow)
2. Tweet the following line once: “I want to win an awesome looking Thin Skin by @truepowerinc, so @cultofmac is making me retweet link this https://bit.ly/ifcLvH”
3. We’ll select 10 winners who gave us twitter shoutouts and Direct Message you for your details if you won (so you HAVE to follow CoM). Contest ends 10:00am PST Wednesday, May 4th.

What You’ll Win

Each winner gets their favorite color ThinSkin FREE. Yep, you get to choose the color you want.

Giveaway Details

This giveaway is void where prohibited and there is no purchase necessary to enter the giveaway.  Prizes will be shipped directly from ThinSkin.  Cult of Mac is not responsible for shipping/handling of the prize.  Please provide an accurate physical address if contacted that you are a winner.

At the top of our list of must-haves this week is Gameloft’s brand new World of Warcraft-like MMORPG called Order & Chaos Online. Set in a vast fantasy world with thousands of other players from around the world, this is the most promising real-time RPG to hit the App Store yet.

Also to feature is the third release of Zenonia – another RPG which promises to provide “greater enjoyment that the previous two Zenonia’s combined.” The Midgard Story has been revamped and upscaled for a truly epic gameplay experience.

Gears is a physics-based 3D ball roller that defines its genre with an immersive adventure across beautifully detailed worlds that feature dozens of unique and challenging levels.

Find out more about the games above and check out the rest of this week’s must-haves – including Unpleasant Horse and Snuggle Truck – after the break!

WWDC next month is likely to provide our first sneak preview of the fifth major release of the iPhone and iPad operating system: iOS 5. But with so many enhancements and additions over the years since its launch in 2007, what could Apple possibly add next? This week’s iCloud revelations suggest it might be file management.

Former Vice President Al Gore’s new book, “Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis,” is a $4.99 iOS app designed by Push Pop Press, a startup launched by two former Apple engineers. “This app,” according to Gore, “is a new kind of book that combines text and images, as well as video, interactive info-graphics and my own audio commentary.”

It’s also bullshit, according to Jason Baptiste.

Kicking off this week’s roundup of must-have iOS applications is the brand new TweetDeck app for iPhone, which its creator claims has been completely re-imagined and rebuilt from the ground up to be fast, flexible, and powerful.

Fring is the popular video chat and VoIP application for iPhone and iPod touch. It deserves some recognition this week thanks to its recent update that makes it the first application for iOS to offer group video calling with support for up to four people.

Fahrenheit – or Celsius if you prefer – is a new weather application that displays the temperature in your area on your home screen. No, it doesn’t require a jailbreak: it uses the iOS application badges to display the current temperature over the application’s icon with push technology.

Find out more about the applications above and check out the rest of this week’s must-have iOS apps – including TuneIn Radio and Lamebook – after the break!

If you haven’t gotten your fill of Royal Wedding Memorabilia yet, and want something that lasts and communicates your feelings, consider the Royal iPhone Collection from Goldgenie. The 32GB Royal iPhone is available in three versions – Platinum, 18 Ct. Gold and Rose Gold and includes a VS1 8.50 ct. diamond and sapphire bezel and embellished Apple logo.

Talk about unhealthy communication: a hospital uses GE call systems for patients, Philips Emergin as an electronic interface for notifications, Cisco wireless to connect communications devices within the hospital and Siemens for its main phone system.

Enter an iPhone pilot program for nurses, which helps them monitor patients and communicate with each other quickly across all of those platforms.

There are plenty of accessories for the iPhone that can enhance our experience with the device, such as the huge variety of musical docking stations, fancy protective cases with built-in bluetooth keyboards, in-car chargers, stylus pens, the new Square credit card reader, and even guitar connection kits.

But what about the accessories that are yet to be invented? Here’s a list of 8 accessories that we wish were real, including an electric shaver attachment, a laser pointer and smudge-proof screen spray:

TV Tuner

There might be applications in the App Store that allow you to catch up with your favorite TV shows, such as Netflix and Hulu, but there aren’t many ways to watch live TV on our iPhones. The iPhone TV Tuner (pictured above) would allow us to do just that, with no data connection required.

A new patent discovered by Patently Apple reveals that Apple is working on its own fitness center application for the iPhone.

The patent titled “Systems and Methods for Accessing Personalized Fitness Services Using a Portable Electronic Device” was originally filed in October, 2009, and describes an app that can benefit its users by helping them with their diet; suggesting when they should go to the gym and what exercises they should do; and allowing them to compete with friends and be ranked on their performance.

Services are broken down into four categories: New Customers, Getting There, In the Gym, and Post Workout; which will help users find their nearest fitness center and motivate them to actively attend, encourage them to workout and suggest different exercises, and provide post-workout motivation and fitness tracking features.

It has been a long 10 months, but the long-awaited white-colored iPhone 4 is shipping and for sale today in the US and 28 other countries. Therefore, you would expect that people would be excited to get their hands on one of these babies, but that doesn’t seem to be the case for Apple Stores in the US.

The stores I checked in the Houston, Texas area didn’t have lines forming — like you would normally expect for a product launch. China on the other hand was a completely different story as long lines were reported there.

This slinky little number is the Sinjimorou Sync Stand, a low-cost stand for iDevices of various shapes and sizes.

Fring – the popular video chat and VoIP application for iPhone and iPod touch – has just been updated to introduce group video calling with up to three other people. It’s the first application in the App Store to offer this feature, and it’s completely free.

To use Fring for video calling, you will obviously need a compatible device, such as the iPhone 4, the iPad 2, and the latest iPod touch. Fring is also available on compatible Android devices and supports cross-platform communication, so you can call and video chat between iOS and Android. The application works over 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi.

Fring uses a feature called ‘Dynamic Video Quality’ (DVC) that automatically and continuously adjusts your video call quality to match your connectivity; which its developers say provides you with the best audio and video quality possible.

If you’ve tried the new group video calling feature, let us know what it’s like in the comments.

A crash report received by iOS developer FutureTap reveals that Apple is currently field testing the next major release of its iOS firmware using third-party applications from the App Store. In a message posted to Twitter, FutureTap discloses a crash log from a device running iOS 5.0:

Just received the first iOS 5.0 crash report. MKUserLocationBreadCrumb sounds interesting.

FutureTap followed up the message with a screenshot (above) of the crash log, highlighting the “MKUserLocationBreadCrumb” API. MKUserLocation is part of the iOS MapKit Framework, which is used to find your device’s current location; while the “BreadCrumb” element is said to indicate a new tracking feature.

It’s possible the new feature has something to do with the new mapping technology that Apple revealed it was working on in a press release yesterday, however, this isn’t expected to appear as a finished product for another couple of years.

While there’s nothing major here, this crash report reveals – unsurprisingly – that Apple is readying its iOS 5 firmware for its announcement at WWDC in June. We will probably see its release alongside the fifth-generation iPhone – expected this fall.

[via AppleInsider]

Car manufacturers are finally developing better ways to hook your iPhone into your car.

Check out this video demo showing how BMW is integrating the iPhone into car entertainment systems.

Patched in through BMW’s iDrive system, the iPhone can can be used to play music, web radio, or send updates and messages to Facebook and Twitter.

“This suite of technologies allows smartphone features — the things people really love on their smartphone — to be integrated in a safe, easy-to-use way in your BMW,” says BMW Technology Group senior engineer Rob Passaro in the video.

“The great thing about this is, as Apple updates new features on its iPod, we get it automatically. You don’t have to go to the dealership to get these functions in your car as soon as they are available.”

Check it out:

The white iPhone 4 is finally going to be released tomorrow after nearly a year of questions, speculation, and overall doubt. The real questions is, are you going to buy one? Please participate in the poll below. There are plenty of choices to choose from, so the results should be interesting!

[polldaddy poll=4980606]

Happy voting!

Gameloft is famous for using hugely popular games as the inspiration for some of its iOS releases. For example, Modern Combat 2 is not too dissimilar to Modern Warfare 2; N.O.V.A. bears some resemblance to Halo, and Starfront’s similarities to Starcraft are uncanny. As a keen iOS gamer, I like this. Though some game developers are beginning to offer iOS versions of their most popular releases, some still aren’t, and I admire how Gameloft offers a substitute to some of my favorite console and PC games.

Gameloft’s latest release is called Order & Chaos Online – and is their iOS answer to World of Warcraft (WoW). It just hit the App Store and comes with a $6.99 (universal) price tag. That’s not too bad for an iOS game, but you’ll also need to pay a subscription fee. You get three months free when you first login, and to continue playing after that you’ll have to pay $0.99 per month, $1.99 for three months, or $2.99 for six months.

Order & Chaos Online is a true real-time, full 3D massively multiplayer online role playing game, or ‘MMORPG’. It features a vast fantasy world for your to explore with thousands of other players from around the world. When you begin the game, you use the character creation system to cuztomize your hero.

Apple has today issued a press release and finally confirmed the launch date of the white iPhone 4. It will be available beginning tomorrow, April 28th, from Apple’s online store, its retail stores, AT&T and Verizon stores, and select Apple authorized resellers.

It was also be available from various carriers in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Macau, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, and the U.K.

Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president – who confirmed in a tweet that the device would launch this spring – said in the press release:

The white iPhone 4 has finally arrived and it’s beautiful. We appreciate everyone who has waited patiently while we’ve worked to get every detail right.

The device launches 10 months after it was first announced, with various manufacturing issues rumored to be the cause of the delay. Apple’s official statement will finally spell the end of white iPhone 4 rumors. Oh, Lord, what a wonderful day.

ipswDownloader is a great new tool that makes the process of finding and downloading iOS firmware releases incredibly simple. Developed by Vitaly Parovishnik, and available for both Mac and Windows, the app supports every iOS device there is – including AppleTV – and features iOS firmware from version 1.0.1.

What’s great about ipswDownloader is that once you’ve selected your device and the firmware version you want to download, it provides additional details on the release that jailbreakers in particular will find incredibly valuable; such as the baseband version, whether the firmware can be jailbroken and unlocked, and the size of the download.

ipswDownloader is completely free to download and use. The full list of supported devices can be found after the break.

As a massive fan of first-person shooter games, I’m always looking for great iOS shooters that will help me get my fix when I’m away from a console. Thankfully, the App Store is home to some great FPS games from developers such as Gameloft, EA Games, Treyarch and Villain.

Our latest app list is a collection of the best FPS games in the App Store – check them out after the break!

No matter how harmless this whole iPhone tracking feature may be, some people still aren’t happy about it. While many of us have brushed it off and chosen to ignore what seems like something blown way out of proportion, others have decided to take things a little more seriously.

Now dubbed ‘Locationgate’, the issue has been the subject of class-action lawsuits and government investigations. But surely if users are really concerned about their iPhone tracking their every move, they can just turn location services off, right? Wrong.

The Wall Street Journal has revealed that even with location services disabled on the iPhone, the device continues to collect and store users’ location data with the help of cell towers and Wi-Fi hotspots. This isn’t a dirty little secret, however; this is well within the rights of every cell phone maker. But what’s interesting, is that Apple seems to lie about it.

Now this is cute – and it likely won’t last. Society6 studio Burb is offering a Steve Jobs in Carbonite case for the iPhone. Very touching. Keep your iDevice clean and snug with the essence of Apple retained.

Available for iPhone 4 and 3G/3Gs, $35. Act fast, Apple’s next Cease & Desist is likely on the way…

[via TUAW]

This week’s roundup of must-have iOS games includes the second episode in a series of five Back to the Future games from Telltale – with a brand new story for Marty and Doc.

We’ve also got Real Racing 2 HD – which has just been updated to feature dual-screen gaming, allowing you to connect your iPad to your HDTV and enjoy the ultimate racing game at 1080p.

Final Fantasy III also makes our list of favorites. This 90s classic has been around on the iPhone for a few weeks, but it now features new and improved 3D visuals and story sequences exclusive to the iPad.

Find out more about the games above and check out the rest of this week’s must-have’s – including Bunny the Zombie Slayer and NBA Jam – after the break!