Posted by alect on February 7th, 2010 in
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It’s the “holy crap it’s been a while iPad! CES! Christmas!” edition. This month (or so), we’ve got m-m-m-multitouch maps, good eats, movies and blawgs.
To see everything on one page, click here.
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Other Android App News
• An Embryonic Build of Firefox for Android
• Motoblur Makes Its Way to Verizon via Devour
• A Neat Video of 50 Android Games
• How to Overclock the Crap Outta Your Droid
• How to Circumvent Android 2.1’s Word Filter
• T-Mobile’s Bundling DoubleTwist for Media Syncing with New Android Phones
• A Guide to Tethering Your Android Phone
• HTC’s Espresso Sense UI for Droid, If You Can Hack It
• Our Nexus One Review
This list is in no way definitive. If you’ve spotted a great app that hit the store this month, give us a heads up or, better yet, your firsthand impressions in the comments. And for even more apps: see our previous monthly roundups here. See ya next month.
Posted by alect on February 5th, 2010 in
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A B&N employee (who’d just updated their store’s Nooks) sent us all the details of the new Nook firmware 1.2 update that, according to the date on this memo, should hit later today. Tweaks include:
• Enhanced in-store seamless connectivity to enjoy free Wi-Fi, with More In Store content promotions exclusively for Nook owners
• Improved opening of eBooks and ePeriodicals
• Improved response to Reading Now and Settings buttons
• Current reading page and bookmarks on all eBooks are properly saved when you power your Nook off
• Eligible LendMe eBooks in your library have LendMe flags
• Easier navigation of daily subscriptions with issues rolled into one folder
• Improved “back” button functionality for navigating eBooks and ePeriodicals
• Personal files downloaded and displayed in My Documents can be sorted by author and title
• Overall system improvements and battery optimization.
We’re also told that the touchscreen fades in and out now (rather than flashing on and off), plus it “feels snappier.”
Each of the bullet point updates is fairly vague, as words like “improved” are tough to gauge until actually seeing them implemented. But in terms of making the Nook generally more pleasant to use, firmware 1.2 looks like it’s stepping in the right direction. Something as simple as being able to power down the system without losing one’s page is definitely a biggie, and battery optimization, well, that’s always welcome.
Posted by alect on January 30th, 2010 in
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In this week’s pixel-doubled app roundup: AT&T’s entire business model, potentially vaporized! Gears and pipes, diligently organized! Google Voice, web-ized! Restaurant menus, analyzed! Ski slopes, virtualized! “Ist” sites, app(et)ized! Ebook apps, plagiarized! And more…
If you’d like to view this gallery as a single page, click here.
Fring: It’s the oldest VoIP app in the App Store, and Fring has always been pretty good, even though you were limited to Wi-Fi VoIP calls. As of Wednesday, the latest version of the SDK allows for VoIP calls over 3G. Read that again, and soak it in, because it’s completely true. This means free, unlimited calls over 3G, assuming you’ve got an unlimited data plan.
I’ve tested the app and Skype calls work fine over 3G, but right now, I can’t seem to connect any SkypeOut calls—that’s the paid service, which would allow me to call landlines—which is worrying, since there’s no technical difference, client side, between a SkypeOut call and a Skype call. Is there some kind of caveat to the new dev policy, or is this just an early version hiccup? Either way, yes. Free.
MenuPages: If you live in one of the cities it covers, MenuPages is as good as food recommendation apps gets. Nearly every restaurant listing (and there are TONS) comes with a full menu. The expected map and contact info features are all here, as well as table booking through OpenTable. Free, somehow.
Zagat 3.0: Still $10, but you get a lot more for your money now. Specifically, you can sync listings and reviews offline, and, because this is The Done Thing now, you can also view listing in a through-camera augmented reality mode. Anyhow, the real value of Zagat is the content, and, uh, that’s still there. So.—Thanks, Jackie!
RealSki
Gizmodo helm-man and keen snowman Brian nearly creamed his pants when he heard about RealSki’s augmented reality iPhone app, and rightly so-the app uses the camera, accelerometer, compass and GPS to map ski-trails of over 80 US mountains.
You’ll need to be running at least OS 3.1.2 on your iPhone 3GS to use RealSki, and to make it work you move the phone around you on the ski-trail, so it can map the location. Then, digital overlays will appear within the app, showing you where the lifts, lodges, restrooms and restaurants are, as well as trails (and their level of skill) and any other parks or features of that resort
The real issue here is that the app isn’t really going to be free for many people. That said, the map purchases aren’t toooooo expensive, and the concept is co—wait, what do I say here? Rad? Rad.
Google Voice: Hey, so there’s still no Google Voice in the App Store. The next best thing has always been Google Voice’s web interface, but the problem is, it’s never been very good. Today, it is. In fact, if you create a little shortcut launcher and can ignore the Safari’s navigation elements, it’s practically a replacement phone interface. A true app would be better, obviously, but this is definitely tolerable, especially if you’re one of those not-as-rare-as-you’d-expect Google Voice fanatics.
Istaverse: Gothamist, LAist, Londonist, Shanghaist: This are very good sites! If you don’t know whether or not you have one of these local blogs in your city and don’t feel like hazarding a guess at what the “ist” suffix would look like on some variant of your city’s name, just download their new multi-city app. It’s free.
Guerilla Bob: A two-stick top-down shooter in the style of the wonderful Minigore, TouchArcade puts it well: Featuring multiple weapons, a level progression (instead of simply an open arena like most dual stick shooters), and even a ridiculous plot line that focuses on a battle between Guerrilla Bob and Minigore’s John Gore, it almost seems like the developers of Guerrilla Bob went down a wish lists of our forum members and turned them in to a game. If you’ve never played Minigore, you’re in for a surprise, and a treat. A surprise that is also a treat! I don’t know. If you have, well, John Gore is actually in this game, so you know what you’re getting in to. $3.
Cogs: Slot together a variety of cogs, pipes, bells, and various other components in a sort of 3D, steampunk-style sliding squares game. Like most iPhone puzzle apps, you can pick it up and play immediately; like few iPhone puzzle apps, you’ll keep going for hours. Cogs has impressive graphics, but more importantly a coherent artistic vision. The (quality + fun)/cost quotient is very high here, though I’m not sure what the units are in that equation. Maybe I should have used a ratio, I don’t know! Back to Cogs. $1.
AliceX: From the AliceX website:
On January 24th 1984, Apple unveiled the Macintosh. The one and only game Apple ever sold for the Macintosh was also shown that day: Through The Looking Glass.
Steve Capps had sketched out the game a few years earlier, but personal computers in 1980 weren’t capable of the type of animation he wanted. Finally, the Macintosh was powerful enough and Capps wrote the game over Christmas 1982. The game quickly was a hit inside the cloistered Mac group and became Capps’s “ticket” to joining the exclusive Mac team.
If this means nothing to you, you probably won’t get much gratification out of this app. For anyone familiar with the original title, though, this partial adaptation will make you vomit uncontrollably out of pure nostalgic happiness, which is a thing that happens to old Apple fanboys on rare occasions. (I’ve seen it). $2.
Classics: Classics is not new. And though it’s good, it’s not my personal first choice for iPhone ebook apps. (I’ve kinda got a thing for Stanza). But here’s the thing: This week, Apple introduced a service called iBooks for the iPad. The interface looks very, very similar to Classics’, which is odd, since Classics has been out for months. Credit where credit’s due, I say!
The Classics guys have reduced the app’s price to $0 for the time being, to make it abundantly clear who came first, and to make their plight known, or something. So, enjoy? And then enjoy iBooks less, ideologically speaking? Something like that. Free.
Warheads: Missile defense, in subtle 3D. The gameplay is a lot like any other good missile defense game, and the visuals make up for the lack of variation. Well, the visuals, and the price. $1.
This list is in no way definitive. If you’ve spotted a great app that hit the store this week, give us a heads up or, better yet, your firsthand impressions in the comments. And for even more apps: see our previous weekly roundups here, and check out our Favorite iPhone Apps Directory. Have a great weekend, everybody!
Posted by alect on January 30th, 2010 in
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It doesn’t really matter what you think of the iPad itself, because love it or loathe it, it will irreversibly change the landscape of the App Store. Here’s how.
Apple Will Finally Have to Fix Fragmentation
Fragmentation in the App Store is a problem already. Even across devices with the same screen size, same core feature set and same product name, you find subtle differences in capability. A first-gen iPhone doesn’t have a compass, so it can’t run augmented reality apps. A second-gen iPod Touch can support mic input, while my first-gen model—purchased just a few months before—can’t. An iPhone 3GS will run a 3D game like N.O.V.A. beautifully, while a regular old 3G struggles to keep a viewable framerate playing Sonic the Hedgehog.
Part of the current problem is the lack of division between products in the App Store. Developers generally say what kind of device is supported in obvious cases—a compass-based app will most of the time be listed as 3GS-only—but there’s almost no enforcement by Apple, meaning that it’s easy to download an app that you can’t really use. It’s getting to the point that there needs to be separate sections for each device, or some kind of rudimentary search or sort parameter for filtering out incompatible software.
We’ve needed a fix for fragmentation for a while, and hopefully the iPad, being such an obviously distinct device, will give Apple the kick in the ass they need to implement one. The iPad may run all iPhone apps, but the iPhone will not necessarily run all iPad apps, so assuming downloads aren’t required to be packaged together as dual-mode iPad/iPhone apps, there will have to be a way to prevent purchasers from accidentally purchasing something they can’t use at all on their iPhone. An improved, properly segmented App Store storefront or download system is inevitable; we’ll just have to wait and see what it looks like.
Data Will Be Freed
In some iterations, the iPad is a 3G-capable device, and in all, it has a microphone. What it never has is built-in voice capabilities—that is, unless you download them. According to early reports, the new iPad and iPhone SDK has lifted the restriction on voice calls over 3G data (VoIPo3G?). Opening up voice over data services for the iPad could have a larger effect on iPhone apps than on iPad apps, since, you know, they’re for phones.
AT&T isn’t the first wireless company to allow voice over 3G data, and the iPhone is far from the first phone to support it, but for both to now be onboard with a technology that threatens a core feature of carriers’ business plans is a very, very good sign.
In-App Purchasing Will Finally Take Off
The iPad will ship with a book store, but what about all those fancy magazines? (Or to adopt their parlance, “WHITHER THE PERIODICAL?”) If print publications were placing their future success in Apple’s hands, Apple’s just handed it right back. Unlike books, which will be sold directly through an iTunes-style storefront and viewed through a common interface, magazines and newspapers will be in charge of selling their own apps, with their own interfaces, and their own business models. But this could turn out to be a good thing.
Imagine an icon on your iPad. When you tap it, it’ll open up your favorite magazine, in full color, with magazine-style formatting and interactive content. The app itself is free, but the content is not—new issues come either individually, at newsstand-ish prices, or through a subscription. They will compete with one another to provide the best e-magazine experience. Unique, miniature storefronts, selling content for anything from a single publication to an entire publishing empire: this is the kind of thing the App Store’s in-app purchase system was made for.
What’s funny about this is that in-app purchases are still App Store transactions, carried out through the same payment system and with a portion of revenues set aside for Apple. Nothing will change except the packaging, but that alone will be enough to fundamentally change the App Store economy, and how we pay for print content. (Increased dependence on in-app purchases could help stem the tide of piracy as well, but that’s another discussion entirely. Soon!)
Note: Apple may be faced with some resistance in this model, though, since magazine publishers would much rather handle billing themselves, if just for the valuable data they could glean about their subscribers.
“Apps” Will Grow Into “Applications”
Apps are small, they’re simple, they’ve got a short title. They’re like applications, but nuggetized. And that’s fine! We call software on phones by a different name than we call software on PCs, because something about the products feels different. The iPad could bridge that gap.
The SDK has been out for less than two days, so nobody has had time to really delve into the app potential of the iPad. Except, of course, Apple. Steve Jobs spent what probably seemed like too long on iWork for the iPad, a set of $10-a-pop apps that Apple fully redesigned for the iPad’s touch interface which are an order of magnitude more complex than anything on the iPhone right now. (Our friend John Mahoney at PopSci goes so far as to say these are a sneak preview of Apple’s entire future software philosophy. He could be right.)
Of course, these are Apple apps, so you’d expect them to be executed well, and to use Apple’s device to its maximum potential. But with more screen real estate, more power, serious text entry abilities and a more mature SDK at their disposal, the developers are going to give us apps of an entirely new caliber, not just a new size.
Apple Will Rule With an Iron Fist, Or Learn to Let Things Go
With iBooks, Apple is setting itself up for an awkward situation. Apple has strict (if sometimes inscrutable) rules about what types of apps are permitted, mostly concerning appropriateness of content and the safety and stability of the app’s code. The prohibition that always rubbed developers and customers the wrong way, though, is the ban on apps that duplicate the functionality of Apple’s apps, like email clients, new browsers, and by extension, alternative music stores and app stores. These are now joined by iBooks, which is unique in that its actually invading territory inhabited by preexisting apps, like Amazon’s Kindle app and indie favorites like Stanza. So what does Apple do? Do they purge Kindle and co. from the App Store, or mark ereader apps as incompatible with the iPad? The Kindle app is to iBooks what an Amazon MP3 store app would be to iTunes, all the way down to the competing file formats and DRM systems (iBooks renders a proprietary type of ePub file, while the Kindle sells books in a proprietary AZW format), so even if this would be a terribly dickish thing to do, it’s possible.
The more likely path is a continuation of the gradual erosion of Apple’s tight grip on the App Store. Along with explicit, proactive feature additions like the ones we saw in OS 3.0, Apple’s been letting more and more types of apps slide through the approval process. The Rhapsody app may not provide a plain music download service like iTunes, but it is music that you pay for, in an app that doesn’t come from Apple. you may not be able to download a browser with an entirely new rendering engine, but now you can download a cornucopia of alternative browsers that render through WebKit. Some apps can stream video over 3G now; others can broadcast voice communication over AT&T’s data network. It’s too early to presume, but if iBooks doesn’t murder its competition, Apple could be charting a course toward a more open App Store, not a more tightly controlled one.
[The iPad on Giz]
Posted by alect on January 29th, 2010 in
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We weren’t sure things could get any more interesting with Microsoft’s mobile rumor mill, but along comes Zune Boards with some tantalizing findings in the latest Zune software update. First up is the eEndpointFamily files, which lists all the compatible hardware — ZuneHD, for example. Also found, however, were entries for “PmxPure” and “PmxTurtle.” PMX, if you recall, seems to be a reference to Microsoft’s
Premium Mobile eXperiences group, the remnants of the Danger acquisition who have been whispered to be working on Project Pink. As for Pure and Turtle, let’s go back all the way to September 2009, when we first heard those names as the initial Pink duo — there were some supposed renders, too. If that’s not enough, two PMX table entries pointed to a snippet of text stating that “Studio members” can “View and manage pictures and videos taken with your phone at the Studio,” followed by a link that for now redirects to Zune.net. Could the mysterious Project Pink and the oft-rumored “Zune phone” be one in the same, with some “Studio” service for uploading media to the cloud? Is this all some red herring perpetuated by some amused Microsoft staffers? We don’t know, but it’s mean to tug at our heart strings like that, Microsoft, and worse that it makes Mobile World Congress even more painful to wait for. #tmdp
Zune software references rumored Project Pink devices, a video upload service? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by alect on January 29th, 2010 in
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No CommentsWe weren’t sure things could get any more interesting with Microsoft’s mobile rumor mill, but along comes Zune Boards with some tantalizing findings in the latest Zune software update. First up is the eEndpointFamily files, which lists all the compatible hardware — ZuneHD, for example. Also found, however, were entries for “PmxPure” and “PmxTurtle.” PMX, if you recall, seems to be a reference to Microsoft’s
Premium Mobile eXperiences group, the remnants of the Danger acquisition who have been whispered to be working on Project Pink. As for Pure and Turtle, let’s go back all the way to September 2009, when we first heard those names as the initial Pink duo — there were some supposed renders, too. If that’s not enough, two PMX table entries pointed to a snippet of text stating that “Studio members” can “View and manage pictures and videos taken with your phone at the Studio,” followed by a link that for now redirects to Zune.net. Could the mysterious Project Pink and the oft-rumored “Zune phone” be one in the same, with some “Studio” service for uploading media to the cloud? Is this all some red herring perpetuated by some amused Microsoft staffers? We don’t know, but it’s mean to tug at our heart strings like that, Microsoft, and worse that it makes Mobile World Congress even more painful to wait for. #tmdp
Zune software references rumored Project Pink devices, a video upload service? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by alect on January 26th, 2010 in
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No CommentsToday, Google released an updated version of its Chrome web browser for the Windows platform, adding a highly requested feature: extension and bookmark syncing. Linux fans, although currently able to install extensions, won’t have access to bookmark and extension syncing…
Posted by alect on January 25th, 2010 in
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As the late, great Rodney Dangerfield would attest, DoubleTwist has been jonesing for some respect for quite some time. For those unaware, said software essentially acts as an iTunes for everything else, giving users of all those non-Apple devices a somewhat familiar interface and portal to sync media, playlists, etc. Up until now, Android users have been forced to figure out content management on their own, and while geeks have obviously had no issue, those expecting iTunes to take the wheel have found themselves in an uncomfortable position. Reportedly, T-Mobile USA has decided to partner with the company and pre-load the software onto a number of new Android devices — the Fender myTouch 3G included. The only real pitfall here is that Amazon’s MP3 Store integration is missing (or so we’re hearing), but we should learn more as T-Mob goes official with the details later today. Is this the big break DoubleTwist has been waiting for? Time shall tell.
DoubleTwist to partner with T-Mobile for Android music management? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by alect on January 25th, 2010 in
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No CommentsAs the late, great Rodney Dangerfield would attest, DoubleTwist has been jonesing for some respect for quite some time. For those unaware, said software essentially acts as an iTunes for everything else, giving users of all those non-Apple devices a somewhat familiar interface and portal to sync media, playlists, etc (video demonstration is after the break). Up until now, Android users have been forced to figure out content management on their own, and while geeks have obviously had no issue, those expecting iTunes to take the wheel have found themselves in an uncomfortable position. Reportedly, T-Mobile USA has decided to partner with the company and pre-load the software onto a number of new Android devices — not just the Fender myTouch 3G. The only real pitfall here is that Amazon’s MP3 Store integration is missing, but we should learn more as T-Mob goes official with the details later today. Is this the big break DoubleTwist has been waiting for? Time shall tell.
Continue reading DoubleTwist partnering with T-Mobile for Android music management
DoubleTwist partnering with T-Mobile for Android music management originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Posted by alect on January 23rd, 2010 in
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In this week’s distracted app roundup: Grand Theft Auto, committed! Live video, streamed over 3G! Photos, psycedelicized! Blocks, stacked, smashed, and squeezed through holes! Casual gaming norms, subtly subverted! Spying spouses, caught! Songs, made with magic! Barack, Obama’d! And more…
If you want to view this post as a single page, click here
Chomp: Following in the footsteps of Chorus, Zensify Apps and Apple’s own Genius, Chomp is an app for finding more apps. If you’re a regular, well-rounded human, this may sound excessive! If you’re reading this column, less so. Chomp brings a slick, consciously simple UI to the table, and has an extremely handy bookmarking feature. Here’s how you should use it: once you find an app you think you might like, or that made you chuckle (see: Fishbate), bookmark it, and just wait 24 hours. Your wallet will thank me.
Crush the Castle: Too often on the iPhone, I see castles being defended. This is incorrect! They should be crushed. With trebuchets, if possible. This little gem’s got decent graphics, a great physics engine and respectably deep gameplay. $2.
Finger Physics: An all-around fantastic stacking game, Finger Physics isn’t the newest app in this roundup, but I’m pretty sure I’ve wasted more time on it this week than all the others combined. It’s a very simple concept built atop a very simple engine: just stack your pieces, some of which have special functions, until you hit your goal. $1, though there’s a meaty free version as well.
GTA: Chinatown Wars: I’m not sure what I was expecting, really, but this game came as a total surprise to me. I mean, I knew it was coming, I just didn’t expect it to be so good. It’s basically the exact same game you get on the PSP or DS—that is, a sprawling Grand Theft Auto title in a hybrid top-down/3D style, which costs around $30 on those platforms—for $10. Ignoring the character animations, this game is one of the most visually impressive I’ve seen on the platform, I’ve barely even explored the city after a few hours of play, and I’ve only scratched the surface of the available missions. $10.
iTrust: Displays a fake, dead homescreen, and records any attempted screen presses, so you can show your would-be phone snooper the evidence of their intrusion. I can’t imagine a situation in which this app actually solves a problem, but I can think of plenty of people who’d use it anyway. So yeah, stick it right to that stupid asshole! person you love! For a dollar!
PhotoTropedelic: Image processing apps are a dime a dozen, so in order to matter, a single-filter app has to be pret-tay, pret-ray, pret-tay cool. The trick here is that PhotoTropedelic doesn’t just run a straight, predictable filter; it interprets sections of photographs and applies different filters to each. Instead of a mishmash of colors, you get stripes, stars, and other designs. Plus you can export to scalable PDF, which you’ll probably want to do after seeing what kind of results you get. At $2, though, the price is a little steep.
Qik: Qik’s video streaming app used to be tethered to Wi-Fi, which chopped its usefulness by about, oh, 99/100ths. Now you can broadcast video over the air, even from non-3GS iPhones. Free.
SkyBox: This is a simple concept, executed sparsely: you guide blocks of varying shapes as they fall through holes in walls of varying but generally accommodating shapes. So why is it so intense? I flinch every time my blocks are about to pass through another plane, even I’m sure they’ll be fine. This potency pays of when you get better, making you feel like a REAL BLOCK HERO in the later stages. $2.
Voice Band: Hey, this doesn’t seem like it should be possible! Sing, hum, or “DUURR” into your iPhone, and Voice Band will approximate your tones into a variety of instrument sounds, and if you have the time, a full track. $3.
White House: Do you love Barack Obama? Would you like to see and hear more of him, even when you’re away from the TV or computer? Alternately, do you hate Barack Obama? Do you absorb his every word, only to spew it back in his general direction, drenched in venom? Or you really not care, but enjoy the occasional candid photo of a Portuguese Water Dog? Whatever, it’s free.
This list is in no way definitive. If you’ve spotted a great app that hit the store this week, give us a heads up or, better yet, your firsthand impressions in the comments. And for even more apps: see our previous weekly roundups here, and check out our Favorite iPhone Apps Directory. Have a great weekend, everybody!
It’s the “holy crap it’s been a while iPad! CES! Christmas!” edition. This month (or so), we’ve got m-m-m-multitouch maps, good eats, movies and blawgs.
