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.

Image KP Marek

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).

Via bit-tech

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.

Via mac rumors, readwriteweb

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.

Via Network World

First there was the Diamond Shuffle, at a mere $40K.

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?

Via Gizmodo, via AllTechnoBlog

Image: sausurau

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.

Images (c)Lisa Wiseman

Via Notcot

You have to wonder if users of Apple’s MobileMe online service have a ‘kick me’ sign. For the second time this year, phishers posing as Apple sent e-mails asking for credit card information of MobileMe subscribers.

The e-mail warns MobileMe users their subscription is about to expire, but their credit card information needs to be updated. The message, which appears to come from Apple, asks e-mail recipients to click on a link.

However, the e-mail from “noreply@me” comes not from Cupertino, Calif. but a computer in the UK, according to Apple Insider. What’s more, the e-mail was composed on Microsoft Outlook Express and sends people to http.apple-billing.me.uk, which the news site described as a “sketchy URL.”

Despite grumbling by some shareholders about how Apple handled health news of CEO Steve Jobs, the acting head of the media company expressed confidence the firm will continue to succeed.

“I’m confident in the future,” operations chief Tim Cook told shareholders during an hour-long meeting at Apple headquarters.

In terms of market success, Cook’s comment appeared to be on mark. Sales of 9.7 million Macs in 2008 were triple that of anemic PC demand. The iPod, a maturing product many thought was nearing the end of its lifespan, sold 55 million units. The iPhone, a key product for Apple, exceeded expectations, selling 13.7 cell phones, trouncing Apple’s goal of 10 million handsets in 2008.

What may be the largest investor fraud committed by a single person may have been hatched on a Mac.

These are shots are from ABC’s 20/20 recent special about Bernie Madoff, showing him in his Manhattan penthouse whiling away the hours (without remorse, they suggest) on a MacBook Pro.

Called “The Hunt for Madoff’s Money” it aired on Feb. 20, but you can watch it online here.

Via Macenstein

The software keyboard on the iPhone has been seen as a dealbreaker for some consumers from the very beginning.

For example, when I interviewed blogger/developer Erica Sadun for a MacLife piece when the original iPhone came out, she told me under no circumstance could she take a phone without a tactile QWERTY keyboard seriously as a tool for business.

Many others have complained at various times about the inexact science/art of using the iPhone’s touchscreen keyboard and I must admit, as much as I love my iPhone, I avoid using it for tasks that require a lot of typing.

Now, however, there’s a simple little jailbreak app that takes a least some of the pain out of using the soft keyboard by adding a 5th row, giving users access to numbers without requiring navigation to a sub-menu. Access to symbols is easier, too — just hit the “shift” key and the numbers turn to symbols.

Say what you will about jailbreaking the iPhone, the “outlaw” development community keeps coming up with solutions that many an iPhone user has pined for since Apple’s first smartphone came to market in the summer of 2007.

Via Gizmodo

Steve Jobs missed leading an Apple shareholders’ meeting on Wednesday for the first time since his return to the company in 1997, but the founder and visionary CEO remains “remains deeply involved in strategic decisions,” according to director Art Levinson, who spoke to reporters at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California after the meeting.

Despite his absence from the meeting, shareholders sang Happy Birthday to Jobs, who turned 54 yesterday. Reporters were barred from taking laptops, iPhones or other communication devices into the meeting, but a few attendees were apparently able to sneak in wireless handhelds to post notes during the meeting, according to a report at Fortune.

Details on shareholder actions at the meeting after the jump.

Boxee software and data remains intact on Apple TVs, despite the appearance of having been wiped from the media center device by Apple TV’s latest software update.

“Boxee does run on the updated 2.3.1 software,” Andrew Kippen, Boxee media relations spokesman told Cult of Mac. “Each firmware update from Apple will normally erase non-Apple menu items from AppleTV,” he explained. “Boxee users simply need to re-apply the patchstick to add the menu item back.”

After the patchstick has been re-applied, user logins, media sources, preferences, etc. will be just as they were before the upgrade.

It’s taken almost eight months, but Apple seems to finally have the mobileme cloud services product firing on all cylinders after an update Wednesday.

A redesigned log-in page is the most obvious cosmetic change but a perceptibly faster UI and better integration among calendar/mail/contacts appears to bring the service up to a level worthy of the hype that accompanied its launch last July.

See the Apple support document for details and let us know in comments how you feel about mobileme. Is it worth $100 a year?

Japan mobile carrier SoftBank Mobile has begun offering a free 8GB iPhone to entice customers to sign-up for lucrative two-year data plans.

As part of its “iPhone for Everybody Campaign,” Softbank is giving away the iPhone, which previously sold for $238.21 in Japan.

Through May, the carrier is also discounting the 16GB iPhone, charging just $4.96 per month, or $119.11 over the two-year contract.

If you take the Basic Lessons on GarageBand ’09, your improving finger work on the guitar and piano will be thanks to a guy who introduces himself at the beginning of each segment as just “Tim.”

That’s Tim Blane, a Boston singer-songwriter with a decade of live performances under his belt. Other credentials include ringtones for Pepsi, he also opened for Guster and KT Tunstall and writes his own soulful pop tunes.

When Blane received an e-mail from an Apple guy last summer saying that he’d seen Blane’s clips online and wondered if he would be interested in auditioning for a job, he jumped at the chance.

“I thought maybe they needed someone to show up at a trade show,” recalls Blane, who was sent a script and flown to LA for an on-camera audition. Nearly a thousand actors and musicians auditioned for the gig.  Four screen tests later Steve Jobs selected Blane, who has never taught a lesson in his life, to be GarageBand‘s music instructor.

“They didn’t want a preachy vibe, but more a vibe of sitting down with your little brother. I had a great time, although I had to wear super HD makeup on my face and hands and arms. I think I ate more makeup than lunch.”

Via MacDaily News,  Boston Globe