Rene and Seth talk about native apps killing the open cloud, Apple passing Nokia, iOS 4.3.5, facial recognition, iPhone 5 rumours, and Jailbreak tweaks. This is iPhone Live!
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Skyfire Labs have released their new iPhone and iPad app, Skyfire VideoQ, as a method of watching flash videos.
Skyfire VideoQ™ is a new kind of App that lets you watch Flash Videos while browsing with Safari or any iPad/iPhone browser! Simply click the ‘Mail Link to this Page’ on any browser to email the video URL to your ‘Queue’ and open the App.
One of the biggest complaints about iOS is the incompatibility with Flash. Skyfire VideoQ may not completely fill that gap, but since a huge amount of Flash content on the web is video, it’s a great solution for many people.
Skyfire VideoQ is available on the iPhone and iPad for $1.99. Screenshots and video after the break.
Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.
Yes folks, it’s silly season, the months before a new iPhone when case leaks and device peaks dominate the blogs as everyone and their blurry cam tries to get a shot of what’s next from Apple — like a picture on a train of something in something that could be something… or nothing.
Here’s what Seth Weintraub of 9to5Mac had to say:
“Almost EVO-like” in screen size, this iPhone also appears thinner than the current iPhone 4 but also wider. The edges are rounded metal like the edges of a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 but could still function as an antenna. The back is a curved/tapered glass or plastic. He couldn’t tell but if he had to guess he’d say glass. He said it looked too amazing to be built by anyone besides Apple (fanboy!).
Sure, it’s like Christmas carols in August, too much and too soon, but it’s only going to keep coming. So with all that preamble, check out the photo above let us know what you see, a new iPhone 5 with a larger screen and bigger, more rounded edges, a regular old iPhone in a case, an Android device, Elvis, Sasquatch, you know, whatever.
[9to5Mac]
Apple has made it on the personal vendetta list of various hacking groups. However, few have been as successful and perhaps benevolent as redsn0w, which aims not only to crack through the code, but also to give iOS users the level control over their devices that Apple is not yet willing to concede. The latest target of this organization is the iOS 5 beta releases.
The iOS 5 is meant to be a revolutionary upgrade featuring new and improved features, a better user interface and a wide array of security mechanisms. However, Apple would be disappointed to imagine that its new OS would be free from the scrutiny of hackers including Redsn0w. Now the battle has taken one-step further as it released yet another update to further enhance the tethered jailbreak. A previous update by the group (0.9.8b3) failed to jailbreak iOS 5 beta 4 by directing it to a previous IPSW. In response, the iPhone Dev Team released 0.9.8b4 to add the particular supporting feature. This also supports the jail breaking of all previous iOS 5 beta versions.
Furthermore, keep in mind that except for the iPad 2 the beta redsn0w version supports all iDevices, which can work with the iOS 5 beta updates. It also works with both OS X and Windows operating systems. If you are developer, you know you are going to have fun with these latest updates. However, if you were an average consumer, it would be better to wait for a more stable updates.
This coincides with AT&T rolling out some LTE devices later this year, and the assumed launch of the next iPhone.
From the sounds of things, once you hit a predetermined data limit for the month, your speed will slow down significantly — but not stop.
Sorry jailbreakers, no more torrenting over your iPhone!
Armor Games have updated their iPhone and iPad game, Siege Hero.
Tap the screen to fire. Find the weak spots. Loot the treasures. Save the innocent villagers.
Tear down the 150 castles across two Ages. If you’re good enough to earn Gold on each castle you’ll unlock the extra looting levels in the Treasure Map. Over 5-hours of gameplay with much more to come.
The update includes:
I’ve played some of the first few levels of Siege Hero and I’ll definitely be playing some more. It reminds me a little of Angry Birds, but instead of catapulting birds in the 3rd person, I’m throwing weapons in the first person. It’s fun!
Siege Hero is available for $0.99 on the iPhone and $3.99 on the iPad. Screenshots after the break.
[iPhone iTunes link] [iPad iTunes link]
Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.
The video below can speak for itself, and quite well I must say. Honestly, it only needs a short introduction since it is something you will have to see yourself: the video is of a real product for the iPhone that can be purchased by you once we reveal exactly what this is. Keep in mind that no camera editing is used to create the effect and “what you see is what you get.” (We did not record the video ourselves, it was supplied by the creator.) Go hit “play” and prepare to be amazed, as this is where the future is heading one day.
Uh, did you see that? Virtual items displayed on the touchscreen were brought into reality. No, this is not a Willy Wonka/Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-esque special effect, though it sure does accomplish bringing the infamous “candy bar sample over TV scene” into the world outside of Oompa-Loompas. It has to be reiterated for the rightfully skeptical that what you just saw is indeed a real product that will accomplish this.
Commenters need not spoil the secret. (For the three people in the world who already know what this is, please do reveal it just yet.)
Of course, watching a video of something that was almost impossible in the past leads to the question: what is it? We will answer that within the next week. Suspense and hype are always fun, right? We seem to think so. Once we do decide to be the first blog to reveal the inconceivable setup to the technology world, look for a full overview and a link to order the “accessory” if so inclined.
Something is telling me to put a “;)” at the end of this. Maybe “;p” is more fitting. Either way, try all you want to take this delicious Wonka chocolate bar (that was unfortunately discontinued, though you should still get the reference):
Every day, TiPb gets flooded with announcements for new and updated iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps and games. So every day we pick just a few of the most interesting, the most notable, and simply the most awesome to share with you!
Astroslugs Deluxe for iPad (Sale): A colorful and soothing puzzle board game for your iPad. The game is set in a long forgotten age “when the universe still looked like an old parchment”. Free for today! [Free for iPad - iTunes link]
Agent 351: Logic Bomb: Your name is Agent 351. Your mission? Stop the notorious bank robber and expert bomb maker Jacques Le Petite from pulling off the greatest heist in history! [$0.99 for iPhone - iTunes link]
play2win: Play games to win real rewards – coffee at your favorite Café, dinner at a restaurant, massage at a local spa, discounts from national retailers – you name it! [Free for iPhone - iTunes link]
Warblade HD: A shoot’em up type of game like the old classic arcade game Galaga. [$2.99 for iPad - iTunes link]
Dollar Origami 3D: The easiest way to learn Dollar Bill Origami. [Free for iPhone - iTunes link]
Any other big app or game releases or updates today?
Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.
OtterBox is no doubt the best of the bests when it comes to making durable, rugged cases for all of your electronics, and they’re certainly mine and many others’ favorites. All of their cases, no matter what series, are at the top of their brackets, and that’s rightly so. iPhone 4 users are in for a treat as OtterBox have decided to show some of their love for Summer by giving their customers more variety!
OtterBox are now offering their iPhone 4 Commuter Series Case in two new colors, matching the theme of summer as they’re vibrant, bright and everyone’s favorites. The case now comes in black and yellow and black and blue alternatives, which both give your iPhone a flashy look. Usually their products aren’t portrayed incorrectly on their website with pictures, so with all honesty these new options look genuinely nice.
Previously, I thought that any OtterBox cases weren’t for people that preferred visually attractive cases, but rather for people who wanted to solely protect their devices. However, OB have gone ahead and proved me wrong by offering these colors and many other colors that they now offer.
The case is available for $34.95
The days of paper grocery bag book covers may be coming to an end! Students from Lake Minneola High School are receiving iPads instead of textbooks to use in the classroom and at home this school year.
The school is the first public school in Central Florida to purchase iPads for all their students to reduce cost of textbooks. According to the Orlando Sentinel, other private schools are adopting the same program. Lake Wales High School, a Florida charter school, used donations from to buy iPads for their students, and the Jewish Academy of Orlando is doing the same.
Public schools in Florida are moving to all digital materials by 2015, and the state plans to follow Lake Mineola’s progress with their iPads to see how the transition works out.
Mary Jane Tappen, deputy chancellor for curriculum, instruction and student services at the Florida Department of
The Lake Minneola School received a nice discount spending around $700,000 on 1,750 devices. This could help reduce costs by allowing students to use one device for all their courses instead of several textbooks. iPads in the classroom will also allow schools to cutback on buying computers and other expensive technology in the future. However, how are schools going to be able to keep up with the latest tech trends?
It’s already rumored that Apple might release the
[via the
The US Patent and Trademark office just published fourteen new patents recently awarded to Apple. Among them are design patents for the MacBook Air, iPhone 3G, Apple remote, their battery charger design, and many more.
Considering Apple recently sued Samsung for copying the iPhone and iOS look and feel, these patents could end up with many other manufacturers in court. Lots of notebooks have recently mimicked the design of the MacBook Air or other variations of the MacBook line. None of the patents seem too design specific. If Apple has the ability to sue based on the overall appearance and design, I definitely think we’ll see more lawsuits springing up sooner rather than later.
There are tons of options for users wanting to extend the reach of their iOS device; utilizing their ability to also be a GPS device alongside their primary job of being phones and entertainment systems is just one of the many ways. Among the top contenders on the App Store is
The user-interface here (UI) is, simply put, amazing! To say the least, the menus are crisp, efficiently laid out and most easily navigable. From the menu, you’ll be able to access your route information, where you can edit the route, settings, POI, favorites and more.
“albeit with just a few, tiny caveats” -
The small problems with Gogo Navigator are definitely not game-changing, though certainly worth a mention: I encountered several bugs throughout my testing phase of the application, which caused the whole app to completely bug out and become completely unusable. It usually required either a hard-reset (home button + sleep button for ten seconds) or refreshing the application by killing the un-responsive process thanks to the multitasking bar. Again, it’s not something that I would consider as a reason not to purchase Gogo Navigator, though it could be a pretty annoying problem, especially if it happens when you’re relying on the application and are in a huge hurry to get to your destination. (
The application also does crash every once in awhile, which can be extremely frustrating especially since you could be in the middle of doing something. Again, not something to change my view on the app, but surely something that needs to be addressed in future updates.
It would’ve helped if Gogo Navigator’s various icons, screens and sprites were more polished. In its current state, it seemingly doesn’t utilize the iPhone and iPod Touch’s retina display and some of the menu buttons are missing that crisp, polished, shiny sort of look that contributes an application’s professionalism and overall quality. These very few instances definitely don’t affect usage of the application much, though.
Considering the application takes up nearly 2 GB of space, it’s great that you don’t need a solid Wi-Fi or 3G connection for planning new routes and accessing all of the GGN’s features. This means the application works just as well on the iPod Touch or Wi-Fi
The eternal patent battles continue, and two recent blows have been dealt against Apple.
Meanwhile, the ITC has ruled that Mac OS X
Mac computers have an operating system that infringes two S3 patents related to graphics chips, U.S. International Trade Commission Judge James Gildea said.
This month saw S3 bought out by
As the weekend nears, mine and your reliance on iPhone titles to pull us through the two days are growing. So, I decided to compile a list of all of the new Thursday releases (as Thursday is always the day of the week with the largest releases seeking and deserving attention) and freebies for today, so you can pick and choose which ones peak your interest. Check them out below:
There are a few more applications that were released today, in fact probably a whole ton more, but I’ll save the rest of your reserve to read this article for the freebies below.
If you’ve made it this far, congratulations. Now please just let us know how you like the games listed above. I just wrote this whole article at one time without break, so I’m going to go ice my fingers. I’ll regretfully do this again next week, but I’m not promising anything.
Leave your impressions below.
The now classic top-down Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars has dropped to just $2.99 on both
If you haven’t played any of the GTA games, they’re darkly humorous tales of rampant theft, violence, murder and working your way up the chain of command in an inner city gang — this time a triad. That said, this game is worth the sticker price just for the astonishingly fun drug trading minigame.
The BBC’s iPad app, BBC iPlayer is now leaving the shores of England and headed to Western Europe, and over the course of the year will spread to more nations, including the USA.
This brand-new video on demand subscription service, launching first in Western Europe, will deliver the award-winning programming upon which the BBC’s history and heritage is built, to viewers in 11 markets. For €6.99 a month (or €49.99 for an annual subscription), the app will initially be available in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Republic of Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.
The app will allow both streaming of video, and saving for later offline viewing. The selection sounds pretty phenomenal, including classics like Fawlty Towers, new hits like Sherlock, Top Gear and access to the Doctor Who archive.
This is marked as the “pilot phase” of the service, and according the Guardian, the USA, Canada and Australia
Full press release after the jump:
BBC Worldwide Brings Best of British TV to European Fans with the BBC iPlayer App for iPad
LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–BBC Worldwide, the BBC’s commercial arm, is from today offering audiences across Europe the first-ever opportunity to delve into a digital mix of classic and contemporary British TV programming with the launch of the new global BBC iPlayer app, available exclusively on iPad www.bbc.com/iplayer/tv.
“We have an exciting vision for what this service could become and will develop it based on feedback from within the markets.”
Subscribers will be able to access a rich selection of captivating English language programmes across eight genres: News Specials & Documentaries; Entertainment; Drama; Comedy; Science & Nature; Family & Kids; Music & Culture and Lifestyle. The app brings together classic comedies such as Fawlty Towers and Only Fools & Horses, thrilling drama series Sherlock, Luther and much loved Pride and Prejudice, recent episodes of the UK’s famous soap EastEnders, global motoring phenomenon Top Gear, the Doctor Who archive and the adorable children’s show Charlie & Lola. Hours of new programming will be added to the service every week, along with imaginatively themed collections curated from the BBC’s extensive archive, including David Attenborough and the story of the Royal Family.
Designed to be intuitive and easy-to-use, a key feature of the app allows subscribers both to stream and to download shows for offline viewing for when they can’t access Wi-Fi connectivity. The stylish and simple interface enables users to build a personal library of shows.
John Smith CEO BBC Worldwide said: “I’m proud that we’re one of the first international broadcasters to give access to our shows in a perfectly packaged app. This launch is an important route to market in our strategy of pursuing multiple platforms for our programmes and brands, taking British programmes to new digital audiences around the world. Today marks a significant next step on a digital journey that has already seen 12m BBC Worldwide apps downloaded across brands as diverse as Lonely Planet and Good Food.”
“Based on the soaring success of the UK’s pioneering BBC iPlayer service, the app combines technical innovation with editorial creativity to transport users to the heart of the BBC and British television and on a journey of discovery, wherever and whenever they want,” said Jana Bennett, BBC Worldwide President of Worldwide Networks and Global iPlayer “We have an exciting vision for what this service could become and will develop it based on feedback from within the markets.”
The global BBC iPlayer App is now available to download for free from the App Store in the launch markets on iPad at www.bbc.com/iplayer/tv.
The global version of the BBC iPlayer app launched today marks the start of a pilot phase for the service.
Join your hosts Marianne Schultz and myself for The Show: 32 – “Colorful Language”. You can subscribe to our show on
Hosts:
Christopher Meinck
Marianne Schultz
Possibly the greatest thing to happen to the iPhone, well, since the iPhone:
I finally got my Spotify invite last night and couldn’t setup an account and start listening fast enough. I even had the free iPhone App downloaded before my account was setup.
If you haven’t heard about Spotify, it just came to the US a couple weeks ago and is changing the way people listen to music. Spotify is a Swedish music streaming service that started in 2008 and is finally in America.
Want to hear a specific song but Pandora won’t play it? Don’t want to spend $1.29 to download it from iTunes? Don’t want to risk getting a virus by pirating your music? That’s where Spotify comes in!
There are three different plans, the free plan,
It even synced with all of my iTunes last night. Don’t need to wait for the iCloud now to get all my music on my phone, I already have it with Spotify.
So with all of this being said, I have two invites for the first two people to email contest@iphonealley.com. All I need is your email address! Ready, GO!
The BBC iPlayer (Global) iPad app is now available outside of the UK for the first time with the launch in eleven countries. The iPad app is now available in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Republic of Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. Still no love for the United States, Canada or Australia; but the BBC does say that it will be available there too, later this year.
The iPlayer app will offer a limited amount of ad supported content for free but the majority or programs will be offered via a subscription model. The monthly cost would be €6.99 ($10) or a yearly fee of €49.99 ($72).
Watch a selection of the best classic and contemporary British shows on demand, including Doctor Who, Top Gear and Blue Planet. Download the app and explore plus enjoy free clips and taster episodes. Subscribe today for unlimited access – even when you’re offline.
[Free – iTunes link]
We’ve been hearing about the iPhone nano, aka the budget iPhone, for a while now and Vietnamese set Tinhte might finally have scored a prototype.
3 pictures below are photographs handset is said to be the next version of iPhone 4 from a very reliable source. Really hard to convince you to believe this because it is exactly like the iPhone 4 white appearance. Some other information that you want to transfer to you is that this machine seems to run faster than the iPhone 4, lighter weight and two glass front and back seem to have been replaced by two plastic sheets, type of sensation and cry other than the iPhone 4. According to information leakage, predictable from the English website, the more likely Apple will introduce the iPhone 4s (cheap version) and the iPhone 5 next month. And it looks like the iPhone that you see below is the iPhone 4s.
That Apple was working on a cheaper iPhone for new entrants and emerging markets has always been assumed — because it makes sense — but how exactly they’d go about doing it was and is the big question. Just like the MacBook Air and iPad are to the netbook, Apple has a way of filling holes in the product line-up in unpredictable but often high effective ways.
Instead of making an iPhone physically smaller, or using iPhone 3GS parts, if these pictures prove to be genuine, and this prototype hasn’t already been abandoned, the idea of plastic instead of glass and possibly other lower-end components could very easily make for a cheaper iPhone that’s still binary compatible with the existing App Store apps and perhaps even current accessories (and Jailbreaks?).
But then would iPhone 5 have to look different so fashionistas don’t worry about it being mistaken for the cheap phone?
If you thought that you have already seen the most ridiculous
From the conception of a British mind, luxury designer Stuart Hughes, comes “iPad 2 Gold History Edition.” 12.5 cts of “Flawless” diamond, 53 gems, and a solid 24ct gold make up… just the Apple logo. The remainder of the back is covered in 2,000 grams of solid 24ct gold.
Where the “Gold History Edition” design really excels and reveals its distinction is on the front bezel. Oh, and also where the last two words of its name come from. Not only is it “made from the oldest rock the world has to offer” with the 75 million year-old Canadian stone Ammolite, but also a real 65 million year-old T-Rex’s thigh bone. Of course, the luxury does not stop at the home button. That is made with a 8.5ct flawless diamond inlaid in platinum and surrounded by 12 outer diamonds
Even though it costs 10,000 times more than the standard iPad 2 that consumers typically buy, Apple’s design still manages to hold its own against $8.1 million worth of extra – uh, I am not sure “luxuries” is the right word so let’s go with design elements. In all seriousness, the design is beginning to grow on us a little. Though not enough for us to consider opening our checkbooks to money we don’t and may never have.
You can own one of the two made by visiting Stuart Hughes’
One question I have is: will the people who buy these actually use it as their iPad? That would be stupider than dropping $8.1 million dollars on it because if the iPad 2 is dropped, then that $8.1 million will have literally been dropped.
[discovered by
The article also states that November is when the iPad 3 will launch, calling it a delay until Thanksgiving due to component shortages.
[via
With great power comes a great big target painted on your security systems. At-least this is how Apple’s experience with security is evolving. Every time it released a security updated, thousands of hackers (for good and bad reasons) begin spending countless hours trying to break through the code. Some do it for the fun of it, others to jail break their devices and let us not forget those who want to steal your personal details or spread malicious bits of code via the Apple devices. Apple’s relatively small team of tech wizards must feel hopeless outnumbered.
A testament to this fact is the recent Apple security update (iOS 4.3.5), which was released only 2 weeks after yet another security updated. The latest one is said to protect the device from “an attacker with a privileged network position” who may be able to “capture or modify data in sessions protected by SSL/TLS”.
According to security experts, this means that an attacker would already need an access to a network in order to control or modify these SSL sessions.
Put together, this means that an attacker could steal all your data while you are innocently surfing the web but only if he already has access to the network that you are working on.
It is highly recommended that you keep your iOS devices updated at all times. Right now, you need to get attach your device to a computer and updated it by clicking “check for updates” via the iTunes button. However, keep in mind that the 4.3.5 version update is meant for the AT&T iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad, iPad 2 and iPod Touch devices (3rd and 4th generation devices only). Users on the Verizon network will also get the update but it will be labeled as 4.2.10. Due to the nature of the update, this certainly ranks as high-priority.
According to a report by China Times, the iPhone 5 will be released in the second week of September with 4 million units set to hit the streets at launch. The same source also claims that the iPad 3 has been delayed until after Thanksgiving due to component shortages.
This release date for the iPhone 5 does seem like a popular choice with many rumors now pointing to a September launch. This would also coincide with the fall release of iOS 5; although the official start of fall this year is September 23. We also know that Apple is recruiting temporary sales staff throughout the UK, starting in mid August. This would allow them to be trained to Apple’s exacting standards, prior to the iPhone 5 launch.
The delay to the iPad 3 is a little more mystifying, not quite sure how an unannounced product that is rumored to be released outside of its normal product refresh cycle can be delayed!
The China Times has a hit and miss record with Apple rumors so take this one with the usual pinch of salt. It does however have close links with Apple’s supply chain in China.
[China Times via MacRumors]
There are many users out there who belong to the Apple eco system and own the iPad 2, the iPhone and the iPod Touch. If you are tech-geek or an Apple fanatic, someday you will come up with the problem of managing your devices. Now that problem is solved thanks to the Apple iPad 2 Display dock that will allow you to use all three of your favorite Apple devices.
Apple prides itself for its manufacturing technique and the iPad 2 Display Dock does a lot credit to this ideology. It features a high quality, custom milled, hand polished clear acrylic. It sound like they made a “Mercedes-Benz” version of the display dock. The functionality is also impressive because it comes with two ports for the best viewing angle for the iPad 2. The iPod Touch and the iPhone can also be attached via 2 more additional ports. A second version will allow you to only attach your iPad 2 and features adhesives to keep it in place. This makes sense if you have already invested a lot of money on docking accessories for your iPhone and iPod. However, if you want convenience then the first model might still be a good idea.
Overall, the iPad 2 Display Dock measures 10 x 9 x 1.25 inches and weighs in at 2 pounds. It also comes with slots for charging cables and headphones. However, what really sets this dock apart from its competitors is the sheer elegance and dedication that has gone into crafting it.
The 3-in-one Apple iPad dock, which also allows you to attach your iPhone and iPad, will cost $74.95. Meanwhile, the iPad only display dock will cost $69.97. As mentioned earlier, what you choose really depends on your viewing habits. If you want all your devices kept neatly in place then this would be ideal. However, if you generally use them apart, then perhaps a single iPad dock would be good enough.
If you’re walking and texting, jogging and listening to iPhone or iPad, or flat out running to get back to your iPad, this is the podcast for you. Help say goodbye to pain and hello to geeky five-toe shoes and more.