Well, that didn’t take long: mere hours after Apple officially dropped their new App Store subscriptions service, the first magazine apps using the new billing system are hitting the App Store, courtesy of Popular Science and Elle Magazine.
I’m old enough that I’ve stopped giggling at Chinglish in most of its forms, but I hold a still hold a pecial place in my heart for the way the knock-off shops of Shenzhen will mutate and mutilate the iPhone’s branding when slapping a name upon their crappiest phones. Perhaps why I love it so much is that, unlike Chinglish, these guys know exactly what they are doing.
Consider, for example, the iPhoue, found at the notorious Shanzhai Market by our friends over at M.I.C. Gadget. Instead of going through all the hard work of releasing a competent phone, these guys just contented themselves with turning the “n” in “iPhone” upside down, slapped an Apple logo on the handset, dusted their hands and called it a day, without even considering the hysterical pronunciation of the resulting “brand.” Gentlemen… meet the iFoo.
The latest update to PwnageTool from the iPhone Dev-Team is now available to download, and version 4.2 brings with it untethered jailbreaking for devices running iOS 4.2.1 and fixes the recently discovered iBooks issue that prevents a user opening an iBookstore purchase on their jailbroken device.
PwnageTool uses the “feedface” untether developed by the Chronic Dev Team to allow for untethered jailbreaking in the latest release, and supports all 4.2.1 devices other than the iPod touch 2G. Another issue fixed in this version is the Wi-Fi problem that some users had with the second-generation AppleTV.
If you’ve already jailbroken your device and you’re desperate to gain access to your iBookstore purchases, don’t think you need to restore and jailbreak again with the latest version of PwnageTool. On their blog, the iPhone Dev-Team have stated that fixes for both the iBooks issue, and the Wi-Fi issue for AppleTV, will be available in an upcoming Cydia package that you’ll simply be able to download and install on your device.
Once again that’s iOS jailbreakers 1, Apple nil.
Even as a munchkin bolting around on my grandparent’s farm, weeds licking at my calves, my life had its own soundtrack. That the sound came from the single anemic speaker of a heavy, D-cell burdened cassette-radio that loved to lunch on my Queen’s Greatest Hits tape didn’t matter — there was music in the grass, floating through the dust, on my shoes. It was awesome.
Flash forward to our MP3-laden, music-streaming days of wonder where, unexpectedly, Philips’ powerful, Bluetooth-equipped Fidelio DS8550 triggered that same feeling in me — which is pretty impressive, considering my expectations have evolved far, far beyond tinny speakers and misbehaving machinery. In fact, Philips has stuffed so much sound and so many clever features into the DS8550, it’s become my go-to gadget in a way that maybe no other sound accessory has before.
Sky Combat – ($0.99) iPhone – Games
Sky Combat is a vertical shooter from Chillingo that combines cutting-edge graphics with classic shoot ’em up gameplay to deliver one of the most visually stunning aerial assault games for the iPhone. It’s packed full of intensely exciting levels and challenging bosses that pack some serious action; dodge missiles, hails of bullets, tank fire, and turrets, on your mission to take over the skies. Three difficulties levels ensure Sky Combat is hugely enjoyable whatever your level of gaming experience, and give you a reason to keep coming back for more in a bid to beat every tier.
For an unparalleled aerial combat experience and blow-away graphics that make the Retina display worth having, grab Sky Combat today for the bargain price of $0.99!
Tap Forms Database – (Free) iPhone – Business
Forget sifting through every piece of paper in your home to find your insurance details when you need to make a claim, or panicking because you’ve forgotten your PIN at the ATM when you need some cash – it’s now with you wherever you go.
Today’s must-have app is Tap Forms Database, a fantastic way to carry a database of important information with you wherever you go, all stored securely on your iPhone. It’s never been so quick and easy to organize all of your data and have it at your fingertips whenever you need it. Effortlessly create your own database and use the 25 ready-made forms to store passport information, vehicle registration information, credit card numbers, bank account details, software serial numbers, online login information, and so much more.
Download Tap Forms Database today for free and you’ll soon wonder how you ever lived without it!
It can be hard to find a condom when you need it… or so I keep trying to convince my girlfriend. Needless to say, she’s unconvinced, and as proof has called my attention to the New York City Health Department’s new condom locator app for iOS.
New York City is one of the most progressive countries in the nation, and it’s easy enough to find free condoms at many locations spread throughout the city. Thanks to the new app, though, there’s simply no excuse to not have your pockets perpetually stuffed with prophylactics: just type in your address and it’ll automatically find the five nearest spots to pick up some free sheaths.
Early today, Apple finally unveiled its long-anticipated App Store Subscriptions service, while simultaneously making official a pretty big effective rule change in the way in-app purchases / subscriptions work: app developers now need to make the exact same purchases (at the same price) available in-app as are available out-of-app, giving Apple at least the chance of getting a 30% cut.
Although Apple says this rule has always been on the books and they’re only now enforcing it, it’s a huge change that is likely to complicate a lot of existing business models.
For example, Amazon’s Kindle app currently channels all in-app purchases through the Amazon.com website, but soon, the Kindle app will have to make all the titles in its e-book library available as in-app purchases available through Apple. Since Amazon’s cut on every e-book is already less than 30%, every e-book they sell through Apple (for which they will have to pay a 30% cut) will result in a loss. Amazon can’t respond by offering in-app e-books at a higher price to cover the Apple tax, because Apple has prohibited it.
It’s a pickle: Amazon either has to raise prices of Kindle e-books all around, sell e-books to iOS owners at a loss, or stop selling e-books through the iOS Kindle app altogether. Amazon’s not alone in this: other services in similar predicaments are Hulu and Netflix.
Unfortunately, though, they don’t have long to try to figure out alternatives: Apple has allegedly given publishers until June 30th to fall in line with the new policies or get kicked out of the App Store.
For services like Hulu and Netflix, where most users subscribe through a web interface, this probably isn’t a big deal, but it’s Amazon and Kindle that are clearly in Apple’s crosshairs. I don’t know what Amazon will do, but if I had to hazard a guess, I think they’ll stop selling e-books in-app on the iOS platform all together. That’s a drastic solution, though, and not really very good for Amazon in the long-run. Perhaps the most obvious solution is a good, old fashioned lawsuit?
Last week, one of the most interesting Mac programs to come out in years hit the App Store in Sparrow for Mac, an elegant and attractive e-mail client that looks and acts a lot like Twitter.
I loved it, comparing it to more full-featured clients like Postbox 2 by saying Sparrow was “the equivalent of skipping stones, not piloting a submarine.”
I decided to reach out to Sparrow for Mac team member Dom Leca and ask him a few questions about the origins, inspiration and future of the e-mail program that treats your Gmail as if it were Twitter.
We start today with a number of deals on unibody MacBook Pro laptops, starting at $999 for a 2.4GHz model. Also on tap: a MacBook Air laptop powered by a Core 2 Duo chip running at 1.86GHz for $1,318. We wrap up the daily spotlight with the Otterbox Defender case for the iPhone 4. The case includes a belt clip and access to the camera lens, dock connector port and home button.
Along the way, we’ll also check out other bargains, including a faux leather iPad case, plus software for your Mac. As always, details on these and many other items can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.
Demolition crews have begun tearing down Steve Jobs’ ramshackle mansion in Woodside.
Preservationists had wanted the historic mansion saved but Jobs wants to build a smaller, modern residence on the property. The 86-year mansion was subject to a long legal battle, which Jobs eventually won. Jobs famously lived in the mansion during the ’80s. It was empty of furniture and he neglected to mow the lawn.
The San Francisco Chronicle talked to a local resident and got a great quote from Jobs’ attorney:
“I just heard a bunch of noise up there and saw it going on,” said Greg Moretti, 37, of Woodside. “Whatever side of the demolition debate you are on, it’s hard to deny that what we are witnessing here today is the loss of a significant piece of California architectural history.”
Jobs’ attorney, Howard Ellman, said, “He applied to demolish the house, we got the house demolition permit, and the demolition started today. What more can I say?”
For a good look on just how run down the mansion was, check out Jonathan Haeber’s amazing photos.
One analyst firm brings up an interesting reason why HP may want its TouchPad to succeed: tablets are reducing the need for printers and profit-rich print supplies. That’s the word from a Wall Street research company predicting tablet could shrink corporate and business printing demand by two percent to five percent in 2012.
“Printing behavior is structurally changing; we expect a reduction in enterprise and commercial printing,” according to a Morgan Stanley report on tablets. HP is one of the printing firms expected to be most affected by the move to tablet. Other printer makers facing cuts due to the influx of tablets: Lexmark and Ricoh.
Apparently, Deutsche Telekom expects NFC-equipped smartphones this year from Samsung, RIM, LG and Apple.
A PowerPoint presentation at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona seen by PhoneScoop says wireless Near Field Communications payment systems are coming soon:
Deutsche Telekom announced that it expects NFC phones in 2011 from Apple, Samsung in Q2, and RIM & LG in Q3. The company expects mobile payments replacing cash to be the most popular use for NFC technology, followed by mobile ticketing for services such as public transportation.
Unfortunately there’s no pictures or further detail. It’s not clear whether Deutsche Telekom has prior knowledge or is just wishful thinking. NFC-equipped iPhones and iPads have been widely rumored.
A more efficient, less costly government sounds like a pretty good idea no matter where you sit on the political spectrum.
Whether devices like iPads – small, portable devices that allow lawmakers to read lengthy documents without printing them out – are a good way to do that has been open to debate.
Cult of Mac talked to a city council member in Ridgecrest, California who has been bringing his own device to work to speed things up.
Valve Software’s Portal 2 is the most anticipated Mac game of the year, but strangely enough, while we’d recommend playing it on your Mac… you’re better off buying it on the Sony PlayStation 3.
Why? Portal 2 will be distributed via Valve’s Steam digital delivery service, and one of Steam’s features is functionality called Steam Play, which allows you to purchase your games on the PC and play it on the Mac, or vice versa.
When Portal 2 is released in April, though, it’ll be the first Valve game that boasts Steam Play on the PlayStation 3 version. Because Portal 2 for the PS3 will be distributed exclusively on optical discs, you won’t be able to play the PS3 version if you buy Portal 2 on your PC or Mac… but you will be able to play the game on your PC or Mac if you buy a retail copy of the PS3 version. That makes the PS3 version the better deal, at least in theory.
Speaking of which, Portal 2 is now available for pre-order from numerous outlets, including Steam, and pre-orderers are being offered a myriad of different perks for forking over their cash early, including $5 discounts, exclusive in-game skins and more. Pre-orders start at $44.99.
Portal 2 will be available on the Mac during the week of April 18th.To run the game on your Mac, you’ll need to be running OS X 10.6.6 with a 2GHz or higher processor, at least 2GB of RAM and a video card better than an ATI Radeon 2400 or NVIDIA GeForce 8600M.
In the latest version of the iBooks e-reading app, Apple took an innovative step to prevent users from opening books on jailbroken iPhones… and honestly, it’s pretty neat.
Over the course of the last week, Apple has began reaching out to current MacBook Air owners on what they’d like to see in future versions of their tiny miracle of a laptop.
A Taiwanese Mac rumor site with a sometimes-accurate history of predictions is now claiming that Cupertino is testing three radically different prototypes of the next iPhone.
The first prototype is allegedly a Blackberry-like iPhone 5, boasting a slide-out physical QWERTY keyboard for faster typing. Ostensibly, such a device would be aimed at business users and texters.
The second prototype? Just a spec bump, making the iPhone 5 the equivalent of the iPhone 3Gs to the iPhone 4’s iPhone 3G. The design would closely resemble the existing iPhone 4, merely upping battery capacity and the megapixels on the rear camera. Presumably, it would also upgrade the iPhone line to the rumored dual-core A5 CPU which will debut next month with the iPad 2.
Of the third prototype, nothing is known, but it may be the 4-inch iPhone 5 we posted about earlier today.
Here’s the next would-be iPad competitor: the HTC Flyer was just unveiled today at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The Flyer boasts a 7 inch 1024×600 pressure-sensitive screen, 1.5GHx processor, 32GB storage built-in (plus an SD card slot), WiFi, Bluetooth, cell network connectivity, and front- and rear-facing cameras. Oh, and it supports Flash.
The OS is Android with HTC Sense, a collection of HTC-specific add-ons designed to make using the device a little easier.
What I find interesting is the push HTC is making into portable gaming. Apple’s already taking a slice of the mobile gaming pie away from Sony and Nintendo, thanks to the iPod touch. Now HTC wants some of that pie too, and it’s promoting the Flyer as “a lightweight tablet that takes gaming to the next level”.
What do you think? Like the look of it? You should be able to get your hands on one later this year. By which time, of course, you might also be able to buy an iPad 2…
If you’ve ever seen a friend’s Android phone and marveled at just how big it was compared to your iPhone, Digitimes thinks you should start getting used to the bulk: they claim that Apple’s fifth-generation iPhone will pack a 4-inch display to directly compete with Android’s larger displays.
It’s a curious rumor. If true, it would make the iPhone 5 the same footprint as Samsung’s Galaxy S and Nexus S smartphones.
Remember when AT&T made bundles of cash hawking the iPhone, which only ran applications designed for Apple’s mobile platform? That appears to be a distant memory now that the carrier losts its iPhone exclusivity to Verizon. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson Tuesday told a crowd in Barcelona, Spain all apps should run on all smartphones. Additionally, carriers should have their own app store as an alternative to Apple’s, Android’s and RIM’s.
“You purchase an app for one operating system, and if you want it on another device or platform, you have to buy it again,” the AP reports Stephenson saying in a keynote speech at the Mobile World Conference, a gathering of mobile phone industry players. “That’s not how our customers expect to experience this environment,” he adds.
Apple has just announced the launch of App Store Subscriptions, a service “for all publishers of content-based apps”.
It’s the same system used for News Corp’s much-hyped The Daily.
The deal is simple: Apple takes 30% of all subs bought through the App Store. Publishers are allowed to sell subs via other channels if they wish, and keep all the money.
Or in a comment attributed to Steve Jobs in the official press release:
“Our philosophy is simple—when Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30 percent share; when the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100 percent and Apple earns nothing.”
Back in Tip #27, we showed you how to use QuickLook, an extremely handy way of previewing all sorts of different files on your Mac.
QuickLook is particularly handy for checking out image files, especially when you have a folder’s worth, all with identical generic icons rather than thumbnail icons, and you’re not sure exactly which one you want.
It also has a hidden secret feature: you can zoom in to images while in QuickLook mode. Here’s how.
The Clamcase an iPad case that promised to turn your iPad into a laptop earlier this year has finally arrived and it pretty much does what it says it will do. The company, Clamcase LLC, is finally shipping the device after a delay. It looked pretty awesome when I first heard about it, but I was a bit skeptical. So I asked the company to send me more information about it and they came through this week with a product sample.
I originally wrote a news post about this device in late December 2010 and then recently I noticed that several readers commented that they had not received their Clamcases yet even though they had been billed for them. I contacted the company and my advice to those readers is to contact Clamcase LLC to get a refund or to replace a missing shipment. The product is very real and the best case of this type I’ve seen so far.
The Clamcase gives a great first impression, but I’ll spend some time with it before you get to see my through review about it later this week.
In the meantime go ahead and feast your eyes on the Clamcase un-boxing pictures after the break.
Picture from EQueue
Friends, Romans, Applefans, I come to bury hard drives, not to praise them. The evil that poor technologies do live after them, and our good files are oft interred with their ashes. So let it be with hard drives.
Look at your MacBook Pro. It’s beautiful, no? Bright screen, thin body, buttonless trackpad, carefully engineered ports, MagSafe power port… it’s a master-work. Except for one thing. It carries a vestigial organ that all-too-often reveals itself to be the ruptured appendix of computing: a hard drive.
Yes, for all of our wonderful computing progress (spaghetti ports to USB; mobile dual-core processors, DDR3 DRAM, insanely fast GPUs), the lowly hard drive continues to exist based off of approximately the same technology it was back in the 1970s. Spinning magnetic platters with read/write heads, saving our entire digital lives in the process.
And while they have many wonderful qualities (massive storage capacity, more so than anything but TAPE; extremely low cost), they also have a fatal flaw, which is that they break and they break hard. Platters get warped, spindles get loose, heads get misaligned, and suddenly your computer stops working and you lose the project you’ve been slaving over for the last few months (see my wife’s recent calamity for evidence and a little solace in the iPhone).
