Spotted this Marware game grip for iPhone, with a silicon sweat-proof lining and cleverly-designed slits for cables if you want to play while charging or have headphones on so you don’t disturb fellow commuters or co-workers.
Available for the iPhone 3G and iPod Touch 2G, price ranges from $39.99-$44.99.
While given the thumbs up for games that require a lot of movement (like I Love Katamari) at least one review said the color combo (the only one available) and price didn’t justify the playing ease.
Anyone like to start a pool on which big-city police force will be the first to gun down an innocent iPhone user as a result of the hapless victim flaunting his “Bang! Bang!” app in the wrong place, at the wrong time?
With authentic Hollywood sound effects and realistic depictions of firearms “carefully crafted,” all the way down to the “specific look, realistic options, and unique animations” of the real world gun they’re based on, according to the developer, this is not your father’s game of Cops and Robbers.
Two thirds of all mobile web access happens on Apple’s mobile OS, according to February results published by market researchers Net Applications.
iPhone’s closest competitor, Windows Mobile, had just 6.91 percent of the traffic, while Google’s Android and Symbian were both locked in a tie for third at 6.15 percent. Palm and Blackberry bring up the rear at 2.37 and 2.24 percent respectively.
It’s worth noting that Android, which didn’t exist before October, was able to gain the marketshare Symbian took two years to achieve, and that, in the grand scheme of things, Apple’s mobile OS commands just 0.48 percent of all web traffic world wide.
The first thing you see when waking your iPhone is the time, in big, bold, impossible-to-mistake numbers. And yet, a niche that seems to be growing almost as fast as fart apps is that of clocks. A search for clocks in the App Store turns up flip clocks, digital clocks, atomic clocks, analogue clocks even a goldfish clock. So it’s nice to see something a little bit different.
AboutTime (click opens App Store link) displays the approximate time in everyday language – it’s about quarter past four etc. As the developers say it their description ‘how often do you really need to know what the time is to the nearest second’?
At night, the colors change to a much darker palette making it suitable for a bedside clock. But the killer feature may be that when you swipe the screen, the page turns (with a nice animation) to reveal a quote about the nature of time itself from a selection of famous philosophers, authors and more, ranging from Albert Einstein to Britney Spears…
The perception of iPhone as a “failure” in Japan is largely the result of what people read in newspapers, according to Nobuyki Hayashi, the Japanese journalist who was cited as a source in the Wired article we posted on late last night, and who put up a lengthy post of his own Friday to clarify the situation.
“The majority of Japanese … haven’t even touched one,” Hayashi wrote, adding, “So as soon as I give lecture, show it to them and let them play with it, they change their mind and become a fan of iPhone.”
Much of the chatter about the issue in the iPhone blogosphere Friday stemmed from Wired writer Brian X. Chen’s headline, which stated unequivocally that Japanese “hate” the iPhone, but as Hayashi points out in his post, Chen relied on quotes from a conversation Hayashi had with writer Lisa Katayama back in late 2007 to make his case.
Obviously, much has changed in the iPhone ecosystem, a well as in the US and Japanese economies since then.
The reality is likely more that the iPhone has been a relative disappointment in Japan. Many believe the device could do much better in Japan if Apple gave SoftBank more control in how they market / advertise the device, and if Apple would enable feature sets dear to the Japanese consumer, such as a built-in TV tuner and the ability to use it as a mobile payment system.
For a detailed look at Hayashi’s position on the iPhone in Japan, see his blog post.
Apple tapped Ernst&Young Friday to be the company’s independent accounting firm, severing ties with KPMG, which had audited the company’s books since fiscal 1997.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Apple said there were no disagreements with KPMG “on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure or auditing scope or procedure” during the past two fiscal years.
The move, according to an Apple spokesperson quoted for a Reuters article, was a result of a recently adopted board “policy to review the appointment of its independent auditor every five years.”
Apple said the decision to change auditors was made after a competitive process, in which several firms including KPMG were invited to participate.
The regulatory filing said KPMG’s audit reports on Apple’s fiscal 2007 and 2008 financial statements contained no adverse opinions.
The AppStore is filled with useless programs for iPhone and iPod touch. Sometimes, a truly special useless program emerges above the rest. Today, that’s AngryCat. A program that displays a picture of a wet cat, then plays angry cat noises and occasionally has it attack you when you try to touch it.
Now, you might think that this is meant for laughs. You would be wrong. This is a simulator to prepare you for inevitable angry cat attacks!
“Nonscientific studies have shown that 94.3% of all people are completely unprepared for an angry cat incident. For that reason, we created AngryCat – the Angry Cat Simulator.”
More:
“The best thing you can do when confronted with an angry cat is walk away (or, in some cases, bow and crawl backwards away slowly, acknowledging its supremacy). This application is designed to simulate the effects of what happens when you do NOT do this. Touching and moving an angry cat is a bad idea! If you don’t believe us, try the app and see for yourself what can happen.”
Even funnier are the reviews it has garnered so far. Messiarnd gives it five stars and calls the program “hilarious,” while Famous_Original_Pmatt gives it one star and dubs it lame. He expected it to be more than a static picture of an angry cat. I think his expectations are too high.
Apple issued a store-wide prohibition on all AppStore support for Emoji Friday, according to a report at ArsTechnica.
Emoji, the cute graphical images favored by many heavy SMS text users and a standard part of mobile communications in Japan, are “hidden” on iPhones sold outside Japan. However in recent months, third party apps and other hacks have appeared, allowing all iPhone users to access Emoji through the phone’s International keyboard options.
iPhone developer Gary Fung, whose Typing Genius has been a hit among Emoli lovers, told ArsTechnica Friday that existing applications that offer Emoji enabling beyond their base functionality have been ordered to remove Emoji support.
Fung said that Apple has required an immediate update to his Typing Genius program with the Emoji support removed and the same order appears to have gone out to all developers whose App Store marketing text mentions support for the Emoji feature.
For a more detailed description of how Emoji are enabled on the iPhone and some speculation about why — beyond the company being just plain mean — Apple came down on all the Emoji-san, see blogger/developer Erica Sadun’s report at ArsTechnica.
Speaking of iPhone art (see our colleague Nicole Martinelli’s post following this one), iCloseBy.com, developers of several popular Apple iPod Touch and iPhone apps, announced an ‘Emotional Networking’ wireless world art project Friday.
iWallFlower.com is a web site which displays in real time, drawings being made by iPod Touch and iPhone users from around the world. Visitors can view the art as it is being created, and any iPod Touch or iPhone user can download the free iWallFlower App from the Apple iTunes store, and instantly and freely add artwork to the iWallFlower World Art Project
Displayed artwork receives popularity votes, and the most-appreciated drawings will be displayed most often, both on the www.iWallFlower.com site, and wirelessly on iPod touch and iPhones running the app.
Photographer Russ Croop used his fingers and app NetSketch to create what may be largest iPhone drawing to date, a portrait of his Boulder, Colorado living room. At 72 pixels per inch it measures 85.579 x 70.931 inches, or about 7 feet by 6 feet. (NB: full-sized version on his site.)
“If you were going to print it at 300 ppi, when converted, it measures 20.543″ x 17.023 That’s much more than most high-end digital cameras, ” Croop told Cult of Mac. “A camera with a 11.1 megapixel resolution will render a photograph at 300 ppi of 13.5″x9.”
The super-sized sketch created some problems, however.Croop couldn’t upload the drawing to the NetSketch site to share with the community — his iPhone kept crashing.
“I felt like the guy who built a boat in his basement and couldn’t get it out because it was so big,” Croop told us.
Apple apparently looked the other way when the iMafia app for iPhone came through the AppStore gates. The game from PlayMesh allows users to buy additional premium content and packages games from outside developers together with the premium content, making iMafia the first app with an approved in-game microtransaction system, according to a report at Gizmodo.
The system allows developers to monetize free apps without advertising, and companies profit by selling in-game bonus material. Apple retains its usual cut from any apps sold within iMafia, but then PlayMesh will take an additional (still undisclosed) cut from those developers working with them. Is it possible everyone wins in this scenario?
If Apple continues to approve apps with such a revenue and promotion model, it could turn out to be one cure for the “race to the bottom” that some developers have complained about.
According to Play Mesh founder Charles Ju, in the two days this system has been live, iMafia has pushed two other games into the top 100 of overall paid iPhone games. iMafia, which is free, currently ranks seventh among the iPhone’s most popular games.
After 16 months, a UK-based mobile carrier reported Thursday selling its 1 millionth iPhone. The milestone, while significant, took twice as long to reach than Nokia.
Nokia’s N95 smartphone, once described by the trade press as “the Swiss Army knife of mobile phones,” reached one million sales just seven months after its November 2007 introduction.
Despite the iPhone being unveiled in 2008 – a year marked by economic slowdown – O2 UK’s CEO said “iPhone sales are continuing to accelerate.”
AppleTV is dead, it just hasn’t stopped moving yet. With fewer than 2 million units sold, it hasn’t achieved the commercial success of its rivals, and continues as a failed effort on the part of Apple to extend the digital hub into the living room.
The final nail in AppleTV’s coffin comes yesterday as Netflix announces a digital only subscription option, but the fatal shot was fired back in November. Follow me after the jump, as we discuss how Netflix strategy not only killed AppleTV but also threatens more than just longtime rival Blockbuster, and what (if anything) Apple can do about it.
Things got a little heated in a London marketing firm when an Apple laptop (a PowerBook G4?*) started smoking, then burst into flames.
“When I got there, much of the smoke has dissipated and nothing much was happening. I picked up the notebook to investigate, and turned it over. Soon after I put it down again, it basically exploded. Flames were flying six feet high in the air, and sparks,” an unnamed IT manager told the Inquirer.
The fire is thought to have started in the battery, the IT manager said the computer was three-to-four years old.
“We are aware that there was a battery recall several years ago, it is entirely possible that the battery was one of those subject to that recall, but we can’t tell now as the battery is now just slag.”
The pics — melted keyboard, smoke, battery fused like a modern art sculpture — are worth a gander.
(*The story first identified the flaming computer as a MacBook, then Powerbook).
Potentially fake reviews — written by people who didn’t buy or download the app — were recently removed from the app store on iTunes.
When the app store launched in 2008, you could review the app even if you didn’t buy it. As a result there were a lot of static reviews, both good and bad, as companies tried to push their products or topple competitors.
In September, Apple announced a ban on non-customer reviews from the apps, but the old reviews were still visible.
Until a few days ago, when the slate was wiped clean. The move seems to have removed some of the static: SEGA’s Super Monkey Ball review count dropped from 4,197 to 3,710 while Namco’s Pac Man reviews shrunk from 395 to just 122.
CBS just released a free app for the iPhone, bringing everything from episodes of the new 90120 to McGyvver and CNET reviews to your device.
Many early reviews of the TV.com app are enthusiastic, commutes are much more entertaining when you can watch an episode of CSI: Miami, the season premier of Tudors then customize your own feed.
Some frustrated would-be viewers, however, complained about videos not loading,scarcity of full episodes and iffy quality.
If you try it, let me know how it works (or doesn’t) for you.
Then there was Swiss manufacturer DEOS’s Diamond Earbud covers, which you could have for a paltry $4500.
Comes now, however, the new champion of conspicuous consumption – iPhone division, the Kings Button iPhone mod, in which Austrian jeweler Peter Aloisson will encrust your device in three kinds of 18-carat gold (white, yellow and rose) and 6.6 carats of diamonds, for the “What Financial Crisis?” sum of $2.5 million.
Kind of makes you wistful for I Am Rich, doesn’t it?
Japanese cell phone users are simply ahead of their time, according to a report at Wired, which counts the Apple smartphone’s relatively pedestrian toolset and a strong dose of cultural bias against non-Japanese brands to explain why Apple’s provider partner Softbank is now giving away 8GB iPhones to customers who sign a two year contract in the country where gadgets rule.
For example, while many Japanese are heavily into working and playing with video and photography on their cell phones, the iPhone has virtually no video support and a camera that could be described as eccentric, at best. In addition, many Japanese enjoy TV tuners built into their cell phones, while YouTube and the Ustream app can hardly be said to offer content with mass appeal.
Nokia and Motorola have also famously failed in Japan, so Apple is not without company, but in a country with extremely competitive cellular rate plans, Softbank’s monthly rates are seen as too high in comparison to others’ offerings.
It’s odd to think that in the US and in many parts of the rest of the world, where Apple sold over 10 million iPhones in 2008, the device is seen as a status symbol, even an indicator of too-much coolness, while in Japan, “carrying around an iPhone would make you look pretty lame.”
Engadget, among others, today has been flouting the little piece of filmmaking above as an advertisement for the Blackberry Storm prepared by New York advertising agency Guava, but rejected by RIM as too confrontational.
We’d add, having seen the Blackberry Storm in action, “off the mark” as well.
Apple is apparently refusing to cover the cost of repairs to some MacBook Air notebooks, even though the devices are under warranty, according to a report at Engadget.
Some MacBook Air owners who embraced the device in its original iteration (Rev.A) have found that over time, with normal use, the hinge fitting the screen to the body of the laptop becomes irreparably loose, sometimes even catching and cracking.
Discussion about the problem first hit the Apple Support fourm back in Feb. 2008 and appears to be well documented, though as an official matter Apple says it is not a “known” issue.
The Engadget report relates a case in which “Apple did the repair for free, but only after we escalated the issue to a manager, who let us know how very nice of them that was.” Apple classifies the damage as “accidental,” and thus not covered under the normal warranty. The hinge repair costs around $800.
Let us know in comments below how widespread this problem might be among Cult readers and whether you think you’d have what it takes to get an Apple Repair manager to cover repairs to your broken MacBook Air screen.
In a bid to cloak trade secrets, both Apple and Mac clone-maker Psystar are asking a Calif. court for a protective order. The legal move is designed to prevent disclosures during an upcoming discovery period ahead of a Nov. 9 trial.
In an 18-page proposal before Northern District of California Judge William Alsup, the two companies lay out restrictions on expert testimony, as well as access to software. The data would be marked “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”
Among the steps both companies propose to prevent either gaining a market upper hand, both Apple and Psystar can object to technical experts who must sign a one-year ban on working for competitors.
Should recording artists receive larger royalties from songs sold in digital format, such as by Apple’s iTunes? That’s the question before a California court as rapper Eminem sues recording companies for a larger portion of the revenue pie.
The lawsuit has taken two years to make it to trial, but already lawyers for the rapper have elicited that recording labels are paying less to sell digital songs.
With digital sales, recording companies, such as Universal, no longer have distribution costs, according to a plaintiff’s witness, a former executive at the recording firm.
Photographer Lisa Wiseman , who describes herself as “addicted to Polaroid film,” snapped a series of pics with her iPhone in everyday settings she called “the new Polaroid.”
About them she says,”These images are the evolution of the Polaroid: they were all taken with my iPhone camera. Because the iPhone is becoming a ubiquitous and trendy accessory, on-the-go picture taking is now the norm.
I see people using their iPhones to take spontaneous photos in the same carefree way that cheap Polaroid has been used in the past…Just like Polaroids had a specific size and look, iPhone photos are unmistakable because the technology limits them to a fixed size and resolution.” (NB: we’ve resized them here).
Complete album on her site.
