Verizon sees a way to cash-in on the iPad, despite AT&T having the exclusive data contract for the Apple tablet device. In a memo, the rival wireless carrier sees the new Apple gadget as “an opportunity for VZW” and urges employees to promote its MiFi wireless router as a stop-gap connection method until a 3G iPad is available in late April.
The memo, obtained by Engadget, notes the 3G iPad will cost $130 more than the Wi-Fi version to be released in April. However, that advantage could be reversed when the 3G iPad goes on sale, potentially making an iPad and MiFi combo more costly for subscribers. (Unlimited data will cost $29.99 from AT&T.)
Over six months after it was first unveiled, iTunes LP is a total bust. Apple launched its interactive album format with a library of six iTunes LPs: since, only 23 more have been added to iTunes.
What the heck happened? According to Paul Bonanos writing over at GigaOm, it all comes down to two things: the iTunes LP is incredibly expensive to produce, and Apple really never wanted to do it in the first place.
Forget Plants vs. Zombies… how about Tweets vs. Zombies?
Tweet Defense is a cute little tower defense game for the iPhone and iPod Touch that boosts your units power based on your Twitter activity, including status updates and number of followers, as you fight off wave after wave of the undead. A Twitter account is not strictly obligatory, but if you have one, your Twitter statistics will boost your units in various ways: for example, rate of fire, range and damage increases.
According to Tweet Defense’s executive producer, Nelson Rodriguez: “We wondered what it would be like to take your social network and your activities there and turn it into a game. We ended up with a full on tower defense game that uses your friend list and your tweeting activity to impact how powerful your towers are.”
It certainly looks like fun, and at $0.99 on the iTunes App Store, Tweet Defense is easily within the impulse buy category. Now if only I had more Twitter followers to boost my range.
This is kind of a no-brainer once you actually think about it, but according to Mobclix, a mobile device advertising agency, the number of eBooks available on the App Store has surpassed the number of games for the first time ever, with 27,000 eBook apps to 25,400 games.
The reason here is pretty simple: there’s little barrier to entry in releasing an eBook app. All you do is grab a public domain title, wrap it in a remedial interface, slap a $0.99 price on it and hope for the best. Once you’ve programmed the wrapper, you can pump out eBook titles like this quickly and indefinitely, making it an easy moneymaker for more unscrupulous App Devs. Games, on the other hand, require you to have more advanced programming, artistic and design ideas.
For me, the most interesting aspect to this data is what it means for the iPad. Apple wants you to do all of your eBook reading in the iBooks app, but companies like Penguin are already talking about doing a lot of their more interesting work in app form. The eBook glut on the App Store can’t be something Apple wants to encourage to continue when the iPad comes around, but major publishers are doing the same thing.
My guess is we’ll start seeing a purge of crap eBook apps shortly after the iPad’s release. I’m okay with that… as long as they don’t touch my beloved Stanza.
Hadouken! I hope you’ve been practicing your hurricane kicks and lightning cannonballs, because Capcom’s much anticipated port of its beloved Street Fighter IV fighter is now available for $9.99 over on the App Store.
We all love Steve, but it’s still common knowledge that our beloved Apple leader can be a bit ornery, especially when he feels like his intellectual property is being threatened. Of course, he doesn’t always get it right, as evidenced by a great little blog post made today by former Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz, who explains how Jobs threatened to sue Sun over Project Looking Glass and its graphical effects.
In 2003, after I unveiled a prototype Linux desktop called Project Looking Glass*, Steve called my office to let me know the graphical effects were “stepping all over Apple’s IP.” (IP = Intellectual Property = patents, trademarks and copyrights.) If we moved forward to commercialize it, “I’ll just sue you.”
I love Simple Desktops. You can guess what sort of web site it is.
Just simple desktop backgrounds. All of them are fantastic, and all of them look great on your Mac.
They’ve been collated by Tom Watson, who says the designs he features are for people who “want less, but not boring”. You can submit your own designs if you like.
And if these are too minimal for your taste, you might prefer to go hunting around the Command Shift 3 Flickr group where you’ll be sure to find plenty of inspiration and links to more frenzied desktop backgrouds. Personally, though, I’m sticking to the beautiful minimalism of Simple Desktops.
A dialog mind-bogglingly bad in explanation and copywriting and it's from Apple. Very sad.
Boom! Apple broke App Store accounts for many users with multiple accounts recently. On checking for updates and clicking the helpful ‘Download All Free Updates’ button, iTunes rather unhelpfully states: ‘You can not update this software since you have not owned the major version of this software’. Whether this is a bug (which we hope) or a change in App Store policy is unknown at this time. However, since writing about the subject on my own blog and Twitter, it’s clear the issue is widespread, and Apple support has yet to supply any kind of insight regarding a fix.
Previously, App Store updates for users/Macs with multiple accounts were awkward in UI terms but at least logical. You signed into an account, selected Applications, checked for updates and then downloaded what was available. If you noticed a number next to Applications after apps had been updated, that meant updates were available in another account. So you’d sign into that one as well and repeat the process.
Now, all available updates for all accounts are displayed at once, but iTunes isn’t intelligent enough to figure out which apps belong to the active account. Therefore, you try to update everything, iTunes realises some apps it’s showing are tied to a different account, and it throws up the appallingly clumsy dialog error ‘You can not update this software since you have not owned the major version of this software’.
At present, the only solution is to click on every single Get Update link individually, dismiss the dialog if it appears, and when you’ve gone through every app, sign into other accounts and repeat the process.
Perhaps Apple’s cracking down on people with multiple accounts in different countries (although most people I know who do this keep a US account for promo codes, since Apple’s still inexplicably restricting them to the US store). That said, I’ve had emails from people stating that they get the same error with multiple accounts from the same store on a single machine. Therefore, this is most likely a pretty big bug that needs squashing, but if so that’s only indicative of how one of Apple’s most important pieces of software needs some serious TLC, as Pete noted on the 4th.
I currently have a (second-line) support call logged with Apple on this, and will update if I get a response. If you’re also having this issue, please post in the comments.
Back in January, we reported on the blurry images of some ancient Apple Newton prototypes that were doing the rounds on the internets.
Since then, Grant Hutchinson, who was mentioned in that article, has taken a fantastic set of photos of the Newton “Cadillac” prototype. We asked him if we could show you some of those photos here, and he kindly said yes.
Is global warming finally reaching the icy tones of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer? Probably not, but some observers see a possible thaw in the relationship between the Seattle software giant and Apple. The latest sign comes from comments by Ballmer praising the App Store.
“Apple’s done a very nice job that allows people to monetize and commercialize their intellectual property,” the head of Microsoft reportedly said in a speech at the University of Washington.
Just days after we reported on the launch of Alfred for OS X, along comes yet another keyboard-centric file and application launcher: Launchy.
Launchy has a long history as an open source Windows application, doing much the same on that platform that Quicksilver did on OS X. It too supports plugins that greatly boost its usefulness.
Free, open source operating system Ubuntu will take on a new look in its forthcoming 10.04 release.
Gone is the brown, in comes the auberginey-purple. It’s actually quite appealing and obviously takes a lot of cues from OS X (the file manager windows) and iPhone (the menu bar and its plain white icons).
Reaction among Ubuntu users has been mixed. On ZDNet, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes asks Can Ubuntu out-sexy Apple?:
“To me, the UI does indeed look … well … a bit Mac-like. But that might not be a bad thing. One of Mac’s major selling points is simplicity, and while Linux has a long way to go before it’s ready for the computing masses, giving the OS a more refined look might help people feel at home with the OS.”
He also points out that window controls in this theme have moved from top-right to top-left, another OS X-like feature. Some users aren’t terribly happy about that. But Ubuntu is very flexible – if they don’t like the default theme, they can easily switch to another.
I’d say it’s less of an attempt to “out-sexy” OS X, and more of an attempt to just bring things up-to-date. The brown theme served Ubuntu well for many years but it looks old-fashioned compared to Snow Leopard and Windows 7. It needed a fresh look and this one is smart, yet subdued.
Take my iPod, please? CC-licensed, thanks to Sifter on Flickr.
This is the man-bites-dog of gadget crime: a mugger stuck a gun in the face of a 15-year-old demanding cash but just said no when offered an iPod instead.
It happened in Sydney, Australia, where police believe the attacker was another teen.
“[The boy] offered him an iPod but the attacker didn’t want that,” Green Valley Local Area Command duty officer, Inspector Siobhan Busetto told the Sydney Morning Herald. The attacker ran away, leaving the teen unharmed and still in possession of his mp3 player. Reports didn’t specify the iPod model involved in the scuffle.
For years, iPods have been at the center of countless robberies — and a few murdercases — attesting to their cult status and steal-a-bility.
Is this a fluke or a sign that market penetration has been reached?
Perhaps the mugger was waiting for the iPad?
All gratuitous speculation welcome in the comments.
During CES, Casemate showed off its newest iPhone and iPod Touch wireless charging solution, the Hug, and promised an imminent release date. Two months later, and here it is, ready for shipping in its beautiful but bulky, wirelessly-charging glory.
The Hug is similar to the PureEnergy’s WIldCharge — both allow you to charge your iPhone or iPod Touch by placing it in a case and just laying it down on a charging pad — but the Hug uses a full enclosure case made from injection-molded materials, as opposed to soft silicone. The result is that while the Hug looks more attractive than the WildCharge, it is also bulkier.
It’s also, unfortunately, more expensive: Case-Mate is shipping the Hug right now for $99.99, $20 more than the WildCharge.
Personally, I like the idea of wireless iPhone chargers, but I don’t see much of a point with them, since the iPhone can’t wirelessly sync at the same time. Connecting my iPhone to a docking cable isn’t such a big deal that it’s worth a $100 to me, but your mileage may very well vary.
Will the iPad do something iTunes and the App Store so far haven’t: become significant money-makers for Apple? Nearly a third of the iPad’s revenue will come from content sales, one analyst said Tuesday.
When the iPhone was first released in China last year in partnership with China Unicom, it confusingly shipped with 3G but without WiFi.
The reason for the omission, of course, had to do with government censorship: the Chinese government’s Golden Shield Project requires wireless Internet devices to use China’s own WAPI standard, and up until recently, you had to choose between WAPI and WiFi.
That strange and arbitrary rule was actually changed before the Chinese iPhone was released, but by that point, Apple had already redesigned their handset to conform to the previous GSP regulation.
Luckily, it looks like Chinese iPhone owners will be getting WiFi soon. According to Silicon Alley Insider, Unicom Chief Executive Chang Xiaobing is saying that WiFi-enabled iPhones will be coming to his telecom’s customers soon. Existing customers will be compensated for their WiFi-less troubles… a compensation which will probably involve expanded use of Unicom’s 3G network.
It’s excellent news for legit Chinese customers… but with the Hong Kong iPhone black market still thriving, it’s unlikely to make the iPhone the success in China that it is in the rest of the world.
The lawsuit Apple filed against HTC last week was just a public ‘warning shot’ across the bow of handset makers in an effort begun early last year to thwart the rise of potential iPhone killers, an analyst told investors Tuesday. Apple’s intimidation seems to be working. Rivals are returning to the drawing board to find work-arounds and a better response to the Apple smartphone.
“Lawyers are redoubling efforts to gauge potential defensive and offensive responses,” said Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner. Apple’s warnings “are meaningfully disrupting the development roadmaps for would-be iPhone killers,” he adds.
This iPhone 3Gs video camera stabilizer is probably too extreme a DIY project for anyone to actually carry out, but if you choose to brave Google Translate’s gobbledygooked English translation ofthese Japanese instructions, you should be able to get the jist and make your very own iPhone steadicam… just the thing to make your own backyard Evil Dead remake.
Yesterday, Valve yawned open its PR orifice and finally confirmed the huge Mac gaming development that everyone already knew was coming: they’re bringing the Steam digital delivery service to OS X. Today, from that same orifice, we have more details, including the games we can expect to see released next month.
“Steam and Valve’s library of games including Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal, and the Half-Life series will be available in April,” the company has confirmed.
Even better? As hinted, you’ll be able to use the same product key to download and play both PC and Mac versions of the same title.
“Steamworks for the Mac supports all of the Steamworks APIs, and we have added a new feature, called Steam Play, which allows customers who purchase the product for the Mac or Windows to play on the other platform free of charge,” says the company.
A small bit, this, but almost totally unprecedented in Mac gaming, where ports of PC titles inevitably require a separate purchase. Also nearly unprecedented: Mac and Windows players will both be part of the same multiplayer universe, which means they’ll be able to play on the same servers.
Even better news? Valve has said that they’re treating the Mac as a “Tier 1” platform, which means that, from now on, the company will release its own games at the same time as on the PC and Xbox 360. Portal 2 will be the first game to be released simultaneously on the Mac, PC and 360.
Of course, there’s a lot up in the air here… Steam’s not just about Valve games, and if other companies don’t start releasing native ports for OS X (as opposed to the cheap and sluggish practice of dropping them in DirectX wrappers and slapping a $50 price tag on the resulting .DMG), Steam for Mac will never get more traction. Let’s hope Valve’s investment into OS X finally convinces game developers to embrace the fastest growing home computing market out there.
After Street Fighter, Tekken’s one of the biggest fighting game franchises around. It’s no surprise, then, that the iconic Namco brawler would be quick to follow Capcom’s Street Fighter IV as an iPhone-specific port.
There’s nothing official yet, but according to Pocket Gamer, an anonymous source has told them that iPhone and iPod Touch owners can expect the Iron Fist Tournament to come to their handhelds soon.
Of course, when “soon” is is still very much up in the air, although it is apparently in the final phases of development. Hopefully, Namco will figure out a less obtrusive control scheme for Tekken than the Street Fighter IV‘s fighter-obscuring overlays.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is today’s Best Thing Ever.
Panic are the people who make fabulous Mac software like FTP client Transmit and web dev box-of-tricks Coda.
Now they’ve made their own status board – it’s a monitor hung on the wall, displaying an internal web page that aggregates stuff from different sources and displays it beautifully.
One of the things on there is tweets sent @panic – so while you’re watching them and saying how amazing their status board is, they’re watching you right back.
Thank you, Panic, for brightening up the internet this morning.
thanks for the photo flickr friend Gareth Courage!
It’s Hanukkah come early! Well, not really, but Canon’s fresh new instant rebate sale may have you itching to light up that menorah!
Most likely a response to Nikon’s recently announced instant rebate sale, Canon’s sale is actually pretty impressive. They’ve definitely got Nikon beat in the sheer variety of lenses that qualify for the instant rebate, and they are even including two flashes in the lineup.
So if you’ve been itching for some new Canon gear, now has just become an excellent time to start scratching. You have until April 3rd to cash in on any of the rebate options below.
Apple has begun cracking down on App Store developers hawking ‘cook-cutter’ applications with little or no advantage over similar Web-based apps, according to a Monday report. The tighter requirements are likely designed to ensure App Store offerings are unique to competitors.
“Last month or so [Apple] has started cracking down on basic applications that are little more than RSS feeds or glorified business cards,” TechCrunch writes.
Along with a glimpse of Apple CEO Steve Jobs attending Sunday’s Oscars, viewers may also have seen the first public shots fired in the ebook pricing wars between the Cupertino, Calif. company and online retail goliath Amazon. The 30-second commercial included several best-sellers appearing on the iPad’s iBookstore and at prices spanning $7.99 to $14.99.
Sen. Edward Kennedy’s “True Compass: A Memoir” had a $14.99 iBookstore price, lower than the $19.25 Amazon charges Kindle e-book readers. However, both the $12.99 price for the iBookstore version of James Patterson’s “I, Alex Cross” and $7.99 iBookstore version of “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Journey to Change the World…One Child at a Time” by Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin were higher than Amazon: $9.99 and $7.19, respectively.
