It’s made big waves at the Japanese iTunes Store since its launch in March (not surprising as it was developed by Japanese developer Inforteria), and this morning Twitcal — an app that allows its users to import and update their calendars via tweets — has landed in app stores elsewhere.
The app looks pretty nifty: Just follow another user’s calendar, and your calendar is automatically updated anytime they make a change. Users-sans-Twitcal aren’t left out completely though, because the app can also send event notifications via email. As expected, Twitcal also syncs with Google Calendar and iCal.
The Pogoplug is a great little gadget that connects up to four hard drives to the Internet. It’s very handy for serving up files, music and movies to anyone, anywhere. We reviewed it very favorably.
Now there’s about to be a business version, the Pogoplug Biz, which adds a bunch of features for small and medium business (SMB) users. It’s like Dropbox, except the data is not on some other company’s servers. The Pogoplug Biz is available for pre-order for $299 and includes lifetime Pogoplug service.
Although we won’t know for certain how Apple did during the third financial quarter until after the markets close tonight, analysts this morning came out with their usual prognostications, including a surprise reduction from Oppenheimer on the target price for the Cupertino, Calif. company’s stock.
Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner told investors this morning he is concerned the negative publicity over the iPhone 4’s reception problems could hurt sales. “We believe the iPhone 4’s antenna performance is comparable to that of other smartphones, but in the court of public opinion, perception is reality,” Reiner writes. “The perception — created by a scoop-hungry media and Apple’s newly-emboldened wireless adversaries — is that the 4 is faulty,” the analyst adds.
Apple’s due to start sending out free cases to beleaguered iPhone 4 owners at the end of the week… and while that’s great for customers, it’s bad news indeed for companies planning on selling their own iPhone 4 cases. How do you compete with free?
Incipio is trying. They’ve just started a cute “We love our customers too” campaign. It works like this: once you receive your free bumper from Apple, you can send it in to Incipio for five bucks off one of their premium iPhon cases.
Obviously, this is only a good deal if you’re looking for a higher-quality case than the bumper, but still, it’s a nice gesture. The question is: with Apple intending on sending out third-party cases along with the bumper, what will Incipio do for people who get another free case instead? Will the same discount still apply?
With the iOS 4 update, a surprising number of iPhone and iPod Touch users are reporting a mysterious and contentless email popping up in their mailboxes, straight from the past: December 31st, 1969. Let the conspiracy theories commence!
The emails only seem to appear in MobileMe or GMail accounts, and appears without a sender, subject of content. Even stranger, the email can’t be deleted: once you’ve been 1969ed, you can’t easily go back.
The good news is there are fixes, but they are often temporary, and one involves 34 distinct steps. No official word from Apple yet on whether they’ll fix it, or what it all means… but somehow, I’m guessing, it all ties in to Roswell.
Street art protesting suicides at electronics plant in China. @Xylo
Artist Xylo planted these fake iPhones to protest the working conditions at Foxconn, where electronics giants including Apple make their gadgets.
Defined by the artist as “street protest art about the iPhone prison death camps,” the outcry iPhones are made from a fine cement mixture, painted by hand and currently hanging around London.
As we await Apple’s third-quarter earnings report, analysts are offering their opinion on what the Cupertino, Calif. company may announce. Will ‘Antennagate’ hurt iPhone sales, can the Mac escape the iPad’s shadow, and will the iPod continue its downward decline?
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster told investors Monday he foresees Mac sales of between 3.1 million and 3.2 million for the quarter, up 11 percent. This after sales of the Apple machines grew 35 percent in May and 39 percent in April. Apple likely will top the 2.94 million Mac sales Apple reported earlier in 2010, according to Munster.
Apple has just brought their Filemaker database software to iOS devices for the very first time, and while FileMaker Go isn’t going to replace your Mac when it comes to database creation, it is a slick way to access Filemaker databases on the go.
Filemaker Go allows users to update and modify existing databases on their iPhone or iPad after they have been created and designed through Filemaker Pro. You transfer them to your device through iTunes or email, or even access an existing database online by clicking on a web link.
Filemaker Go requires iOS 4.0 or higher on the iPhone. Filemaker Go for iPad requires iOS 3.2 or better, and it will read database files as old as Filemaker 7. At $19.99, it’s not a cheap app, but for professionals who do a lot of work in Filemaker database, it’s the best solution out there.
With the iOS 4.0 update, Apple finally figured out how to bring free major updates to the iOS operating system to non-contract devices like the iPod Touch…. which makes this rumor coming out of Stuff.tv pretty questionable.
According to their app developer sources, a paid update to iOS 4 for the iPad is a “definite.” That’s a pretty big contradiction of Apple’s own iPad EULA, which reads:
Apple will provide you any iPad OS software updates that it may release from time to time, up to and including the next major iPad OS software release following the version of iPad OS software that originally shipped from Apple on your iPad, for free. For example, if your iPad originally shipped with iPad 3.x software, Apple would provide you with any iPad OS software updates it might release up to and including the iPad 4.x software release. Such updates and releases may not necessarily include all of the new software features that Apple releases for newer iPad models.
Of course, Apple’s free to change course on this, but if they figured out how to bring iOS 4 to the iPod Touch without a fee, there’s little doubt in my mind they can manage it for the iPad… even if Cupertino was tempted to go back on its word.
Fantastic. 25 years after it was first written for the Mac, Apple has chosen donate the source code of MacPaint and QuickDraw to the Computer History Museum, making one of the earliest and most efficient pieces of art software ever available to public scrutiny for the first time ever.
Originally released back in 1984, MacPaint was a revolutionary piece of software that first introduced common image editing conventions like the lasso tool and the paint bucket. From a programming perspective, though, MacPaint is even more impressive: it was so efficiently programmed and its memory constraints were so tight that MacPaint actually revealed bugs in the underlying system that could only be exposed by running so close to the edge of available memory.
According to a whimsical Steve Jobs, up to twenty-four man years went into the writing of MacPaint. If you’re interested in taking a glimpse at coding perfection spread across 5,804 lines of Pascal and 2,738 of assembly, go take a look.
Apple's "Find my iPhone" app is one of the services users share their data with the company for.
After Apple changed its privacy policy to collect geo-data from customers, lawmakers called on Apple to explain exactly how and when it collects that information.
The answer? If you have an iPhone running OS 3.2 or iOS 4, Apple collects location information from you every 12 hours.
The GPS on Apple mobile devices collect data, encrypts it, then sends it back to Apple every 12 hours using wi-fi. The GPS data comes with a random ID number the phone generates once every 24 hours. Individual users cannot be identified. Apple also reminds lawmakers in the letter that customers can always turn off all location-based services. You can read the full 13-page response, here (pdf.)
iTunes 9.2.1 is now available for download and finally fixes the numerous bugs many of us have been experiencing:
• Disables older versions of some incompatible third-party plug-ins
• Addresses minor issues with dragging and dropping items
• Addresses a performance issue when first syncing to some devices with iTunes 9.2
• Addresses an issue upgrading to iOS 4 on an iPhone or iPod touch with encrypted back-ups
• Addresses other issues that improve stability and performance
Apple has released an update to its iBooks application for the iOS and the latest version brings with it a few nice new features.
As well as the ability to now choose between 6 different fonts for your books, you can also double-tap images to see them in greater detail; and experience books that include audio and video.
In addition to new features, we also get welcome bug fixes, or, “stability and performance improvements.” I’ve lost count of the number of errors I get when opening a book in iBooks, so I’m hoping these issues are now fixed. So far, so good.
The full list of features from the app’s description is as follows:
• Double-tap an image within a book to view it in greater detail.
• Experience books that include audio and video.
• Enjoy substantial performance improvements when reading PDFs.
• Look-up definitions to English words inside books without a specified language.
• Addresses an issue that may have caused some book downloads to not complete.
• Includes many stability and performance improvements.
You can download the update through iTunes or the App Store on your device, or grab iBooks from the App Store for free if you don’t already have it.
We all gave up the ability to jailbreak and tether our iPhones when we updated them to iOS 4 or purchased an iPhone 4. Hackers have been teasing us that an iOS 4 jailbreak is imminent, but now you don’t have to wait for them or the jailbreak to have tethering again. You can have tethering on your iPhone now — using an open source project hosted on GitHub called iProxy.
PR expert Matt Seeger said Apple did issue a recall last Friday by providing iPhone 4 customers with free Bumper cases.
“From my perspective, this was a classic case of a recall,” said Seeger, who is chair of the Department of Communication at Wayne State University in Detroit. “They said, ‘Bring the product in, we’ll retrofit it.’ It’s not what most people think of as a recall, which is a safety issue. But this was a recall.”
The FCC has approved Apple’s Magic Trackpad, which means the device could be announced as early as this week.
A device known by the model number A1339 and described as a “Bluetooth Device” has just shown up in the FCC’s database. Given how quickly Apple has in the past announced devices that have just approved by the FCC, the Magic Trackpad could be officially launched within days.
The device would act as a big touch-sensitive trackpad for desktop computers, such as an iMac. It looks as though the device supports handwriting recognition, as well as the swipes and gestures found on the Magic Mouse and MacBook Pro trackpads.
Why buy movies for your iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch when you’ve already got the DVD sitting in your closet? If you’ve been looking for a great DVD ripper for Mac, then look no further. The WinX HD Video Converter provides the perfect solution to convert Blu-ray videos and videos from HDTV and HD camcorders, like JVC, Panasonic, Sony and Canon to other formats. This HD converter for Mac supports converting Multi-track HD video M2TS, MKV, AVCHD, HDTV BDAV and MPEG-TS video movies. It can also convert video files to the video formats that playable on both portable and console players, such as iPad, iPod, iPhone, (iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4), Apple TV, PS3, PSP, Xbox, Zune, PDA, Blackberry, Nokia, Android, Zen, etc. So, who wants a copy?
Suggest our page to 10 of your Facebook friends that are Mac enthusiasts.
We’ll randomly pick a winner after 11:59pm tonight, and we’ll post the winner on Facebook tomorrow.
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This basic black iPad case and carrier has a few tricks in its sleeve: Berlin company Bagjack designed it so that it props up your device as you wear it for hands-free access.
Hang the CircDisCover iPad Case over one shoulder and voila’: next time you’re at a trade fair or conference or standing in line at the airport, you can access your iPad — either horizontally or vertically — without having to prop it up somewhere or hunt and peck with one hand.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-ECt7X4bew
I know, I know: who wants to wear a man purse? You should: this simple, clean design can be worn right under the arm (think public transport, on your bike), on your wrist or horizontally with a wide carrying strap like a regular computer case.
The only trouble with these kind of wear-it-20-different-ways type garments, at least for me, is that I probably learn to do two of them and never bother with the rest. Still, once you figure out how to wear it in hands-free mode, you’re golden.
You can pre-order it in black, white or grey for €129 euros, here.
It was just a matter of time before someone devise a way to let you wake up to a custom alarm from your iPad. The iPad dock, charger and radio called the iA100 — all the variations of iSleep or i40winks were apparently already taken — is being billed as an “amazing app-enhanced, Bluetooth-enabled FM radio alarm clock.”
Though its top-heavy looks don’t immediately appeal (and could be dangerous, depending how clumsy you are in the morning), it has enough features to keep you up at night tweaking your sleep habits: it comes with a Free iHome+Sleep app download that lets you set up custom alarms, sleep stats, social media alerts, weather and overnight news. The iHome + Sleep app can also customize your wake up and nap settings, so so you don’t have to fiddle with it to get a day’s siesta.
iHome wants to put this new model beside your bed, though they are playing coy and haven’t released pricing or availability yet. It also works with your iPod or iPhone, too.
What do you think — is a wake-up call worth using your iPad for or will you stick to an old school alarm or using your iPod or iPhone?
That hilarious animated Taiwanese news segment on Steve Jobs and the iPhone 4 we posted earlier now has English subtitles, thanks to reader Michael Chang.
It shows Jobs defeating Bill Gates in a lightsaber battle and donning a Darth Vader mask; cops breaking down the door of Gizmodo editor Jason Chen’s apartment; and Jobs cutting of the fingers of customers who complain about iPhone reception issues. “Just get rid of those fingers,” Jobs tells the customer. “Then there’s no problems.”
Apple has settled claims with state regulators who allege the company mishandled electronic waste. Photo: Thomas Dohmke
Did Apple market its iPod and iPhone using expired patents? That’s the claim of an Austin Texas group asking a court to fine the Cupertino, Calif. company and several wireless carriers $500 per falsely-labeled product. The Americans for Fair Patent Use is suing under the federal False Marketing Statute.
The AFPU is also suing Sprint Nextel, Verizon Wireless and Samsung. The group alleges Apple marketed the iPhone, iPod touch, fifth- and sixth-generation iPod classic and third- and fourth-generation iPod nano using patents that had expired prior to the products reaching store shelves. The patents in question are U.S. Patent Nos. 4,577,216, 4,631,603, 4,819,098, and 4,907,093.
Photo: Cishore/FlickrWith Apple already ahead of Microsoft in terms of market capitalization, could Tuesday’s earnings report take the Cupertino, Calif. company just another step toward earning more revenues than its long-time foe? One expert believes that day is nearing. “Most analysts think it is just a matter of time before Apple is truly the bigger company,” Andy Zaky tells Fortune.
Some of what Apple will say tomorrow after the stock market’s close is already known. For instance, the handset maker has said it sold 1.7 million iPhone 4s in three days, 3 million iPads in just 80 days, and between 2.9 million to 3.5 million Macs. Both Apple and Microsoft are expected to report more than $15 billion in quarterly revenue, but will it be enough to put the consumer electronics company over the top? Probably not.
Microsoft still has one advantage. According to Zaky, Microsoft has an operating margin of more than 50 percent, an enviable asset and one likely to keep the venerable software giant out of the grasp of Steve Jobs and the Apple money-making machine.
To solve the iPhone 4 Antennuation problem (or, at the very least, the PR disaster of that problem), Apple’s giving out millions of dollars in free cases to anyone who bought an iPhone 4… but maybe they should have saved their money and just shipped out some of these adorable, Band-Aid style Antennaids instead: $4.99 will patch the signal boo-boos of up to six iPhone 4s, although without a kiss from Papa Steve first to make the hurt better, who can really say how effective they will prove to be?
