The last of the four location based social networks I had a chance speak with at SXSW Interactive 2010 was actually one of the early services into the space. You may remember seeing Loopt on one of the many iPhone television commercials to dominate the airwaves in the last year or so. Loopt’s original broadcast model was a bit different than the more pervasive check in model we see trending nowadays, but the company’s soft-spoken and articulate Co-Founder/CEO Sam Altman was quick to note that Loopt actually offers both broadcast and check in methods for communication with friends. See Sam’s reactions to the same 5 or so questions I have asked each company and standby for part 2 of our conversation soon.

Also check out some more sweet shaky-cam moments and my awesome bit-o-redundancy in the differentiator question – (hey, it was Tuesday in the a.m. and fatigue was definitely setting by then).

Here is the original:
SXSWi 2010: Q&A with Loopt Co-Founder/CEO Sam Altman – Pt 1

If city building and managing is your thing, you should be happy to hear that EA has a new enhanced version of SimCity in the works titled SimCity Deluxe.

SimCity Deluxe is basically the same SimCity you know and love, but with enhanced graphics, control, and UI.  The game will feature improved detail levels, so when you zoom in on your city everything should look crisp and clear.  EA states that the visual style will more closely resemble that of SimCity 4.  The frame rate has also been greatly improved in the Deluxe version.  UI improvements include larger buttons, a more logical flow, and more items will be accessible without digging through as many menus.

SimCity Deluxe will feature modifiable terrain, where you will be able to paint in water, land, and trees with the tip of your finger, providing more control over your city’s landscape.  It will also include four seasons each with their own unique disasters.

To add to the re-playability, SimCity Deluxe will include seven scenarios and seven starter cities.

SimCity Deluxe will be available this Summer.

This announcement is a bit of a mixed bag.  Current SimCity owners can’t be too happy about the fact that EA is jumping to a new version without fixing some of the bugs that have consistently plagued the original.  But those who haven’t invested in the original SimCity yet have to be somewhat excited about this enhanced version.  Building and blowing up cities with unique disasters just never gets old.

Related Posts

• SimCity Price Drop, Now Only $4.99

See the original post here:
SimCity Deluxe Details And Screenshots Emerge

Despite criticism, and an overall frustrating experience, Google is definitely not ready to give up on Buzz. The latest indication comes today by way of a new Android widget that makes it easier than ever to post updates to the service.

The new Google Buzz widget for Android allows you to post text or photos to the service without having to launch any app on the device. And, if you choose, you can easily tag your location to your buzz, as well as determine if it should be public or private. This widgets extends the already solid support the Android platform is offering the young service. For example, Buzz is built into Google Maps on Android, as well.

This new widget looks very slick — easily one of the best widgets for Android yet. And it furthers my opinion that Buzz should have been launched as a location-based service first. Of course, this simple functionality wouldn’t be possible on the iPhone, which doesn’t allow for widgets (and who knows if they’d even accept a Buzz native app at this point — or if Google would even create one for them).

Google talked about Buzz quite a bit this past week during a panel at SXSW. They apparently are thinking about letting users pre-test new features now.

This new widget works on Android 1.6 and later. To find it, search for “Google Buzz Widget” in the Android Market.

See original here:
With A New Widget, Google Further Turns Android Phones Into Buzz Machines

HTC has finally spoken out regarding the pending lawsuit Apple launched against the smartphone maker regarding its use of multi-touch as an interface navigation mechanism, and around 20 other technologies. It should surprise absolutely no one that the Taiwanese company doesn’t see eye-to-eye with the iPhone maker regarding the appropriateness of its use of the tech.

HTC CEO Peter Chou released a statement Wednesday addressing the recently filed suit directly. According to Chou, as quoted by InformationWeek, “HTC disagrees with Apple’s actions and will fully defend itself.” HTC’s stance, like that of Apple, is that it respects and values healthy competition and innovation. Of course, that shared premise leads both companies to quite different conclusions.

Chou elaborates HTC’s position further in the official statement:

HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done, but we will continue to embrace competition through our own innovation as a healthy way for consumers to get the best mobile experience possible.

Apple is no stranger to suits from other companies, and it certainly hasn’t shied away from pursuing legal action itself in the past. A suit against Nokia along similar lines is still ongoing. HTC shouldn’t be surprised about the move, either, considering the fact that multi-touch wasn’t officially introduced as a launch feature on the Nexus One, even though the hardware supported it. It was added later by Google to the device via a software update. Sure seems like an attempt to dodge the ire of multi-touch’s proclaimed originator to me.

The Nexus One is almost certainly the catalyst for this suit, and with good reason. Despite the fact that the device itself isn’t selling anywhere near at the level of the iPhone, recent evidence suggests that the phone has raised the profile of Android, which seems to be positioning itself to make a serious bid on Apple’s smartphone market dominance. If Apple is ever to strip Google of some of that momentum, the time to do so is now.

But are the claims Apple is making valid, or is it just an attempt to strike down any and all competition before the consumer gets a chance to choose? I’m no legal expert, but it seems to me that Apple is going after some very basic concepts in its legal claims, ones without which the concept of a modern smartphone would be untenable. I’m all for giving credit where credit is due, but if we’re to see cell tech progress, it has to be at the behest of the free market, and that means not unduly placing restrictions on Apple’s competitors.

View original here:
Surprise! HTC Doesn’t Agree With Apple Regarding Suit

Posted by Larry Dignan @ 12:54 pm

Categories: Apple, General

Tags: Apple Inc., Sales Strategy, Sales Force Management, Sales, Larry Dignan

Apple has reportedly sold “hundreds of thousands” of the iPad so far and the device’s sales could top the iPhone’s debut after three months.

The Wall Street Journal reported the iPad’s sales figures, citing “people familiar with the matter.” The Journal’s story detailed how Apple was racing to secure content deals ahead of the iPad’s launch April 3.

[Complete ZDNet coverage: Apple iPad]

Apple and media companies are negotiating pricing on TV shows. Deals with publishers—newspapers, magazines and textbooks—have been put on the backburner for now.

Not so surprisingly, media players are apparently weighing the risks and rewards of making Apple the content gatekeeper.

In any case, it appears that the iPad won’t be launching with its full content arsenal when it hits the streets.

Original post:
Apple’s iPad: ‘Hundreds of thousands’ sold and content squabbles

Chad and Rene discuss iPad pre-orders, GDC 2010, iPhone 4.0 rumors, Google vs. Apple, Windows Phone 7 series, and all the week’s news. Listen in!

Credits

Thanks to the the iPhone Blog Store for sponsoring the podcast, and to everyone who showed up for the live chat!

Our music comes from the following sources:

• I Called You — iPhone Remix by Pete Leidy

via Sneakmove iPhone Ringtone Challenge

TiPb Live Podcast #89 — Game On! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Miami, Florida-based Labotec has landed a round of funding from Kima Ventures, a European early-stage investment fund founded by entrepreneurs and angel investors Jeremie Berrebi (Zlio, Net2One) and Square backer Xavier Niel (Free, Iliad).

The VC firm thus joins Kipost and FS Ventures as investors of the crowd-sourced mobile app development venture. The size of the round remains undisclosed, but we hear the amount of financing totaled just south of a seven-figure sum, so we’ll peg it at in between $800,000 and $999,999.

Labotec offers a relatively unique way of mobile app publishing, based on crowd-sourcing ideas from third parties. Basically, people who have ideas for mobile applications on any of the major platforms but lack the time, development skills or resources to actually build them can submit their ideas through the Labotec website.

The ideas are subsequently evaluated by Labotec, and if one gets thumbs up from a committee of unnamed field experts associated with the company, Labotec funds the entire development, distribution and marketing of the app. The IP is co-owned by whoever submitted the idea – targeted are carriers and handset manufacturers – and Labotec.

The ‘Inspirer’ (the person or organization that brought forward the idea for the app) doesn’t pay a cent, but if the app ends up generating revenue, the first $25,000 that it makes goes to Labotec – no matter how long it took to get to that point. After that, the Inspirer gets 50% of any revenue that may follow. Labotec notes that they’re still testing this model and that it is subject to change in the future.

Labotec says that it has received hundreds of new project ideas from 27 countries since its inception in May 2009. A total of 3 applications out of those ideas have launched (iSOS for Android, iMove2Music and FakeSMS for iPhone) and 20 are slated for release by the end of this year – which basically means a lot of the submitted ideas are junk.

The company says it plans to use part of the just-raised capital to hire 10 more developers of mobile apps for platforms such as iPhone, Android, iPad and BlackBerry.

Read the original post:
Labotec Raises Funding For Crowd-Sourced Mobile App Development Venture

By Kasper Jade

Published: 03:25 PM EST

Apple is putting the finishing touches on a pair of new products targeted at its professional customers, namely a larger version of its LED Cinema Display and a major update to its Mac Pro workstations, AppleInsider has been told.

Targeted for release by June is the Cupertino-based company’s second LED-backlit Cinema Display, measuring 27-inch diagonal and largely resembling a slightly magnified version of its existing 24-inch model (review), which was introduced to much fanfare back in October of 2008.

Two people familiar with the upcoming display say its been lingering in Apple’s labs for quite sometime, where it’s frequently referenced by the unique identifier/codename “K59.” The Mac maker is believed to have been waiting patiently for the cost of the larger LCD panels, which sport a resolution of 2560 by 1440 pixels, to shed some of their premium before introducing the model to market.

Thanks to the success of its 27-inch iMacs, which sport similar components, Apple’s now believed to be in a position to market the display more affordably. The company also recently put behind it problems with the same size panels that slowed the momentum of its larger iMac offerings for several months following their October 2009 introduction.

Meanwhile, Apple is also wrapping up development of its brawniest update to the Mac Pro ever, also slated to arrive by June, despite external reports that inaccurately pegged its release to show up as early as January or as recently as this week.

While details are scarce, people familiar with the matter were stern in stating that Mac maker’s plans call for a dodeca-core model, sporting a pair of Intel’s latest Westmere-based hexacore chips for a total of 12 cores.

Mockup of Apple’s existing 24-inch LED display next to its upcoming 27-inch model.

Though AppleInsider is still awaiting confirmation, it’s suggested that Apple will likely stick to its existing Xeon strategy, employing a pair of pricey Xeon 5600 Series “Gulftown” chips into a wallet-crunching dodeca-core Mac Pro, while offering a single processor model with 6 cores at prices similar to today’s $2,500 quad-core model.

The 5600 series will be available within the next 45 days in 2.66, 2.8, 2.93, and 3.33GHz configurations, ranging in price from $996 to $1663 in lots of 1000. These new 32 nanometer chips have 12MB of L3 cache, and 6 cores with 12 threads for each CPU. Apple typically bundles the most affordable of these pricey multi-core chips into its standard dual-processor model, offering the higher frequency chips as build-to-order options.

Still, there have been persistent rumors (1, 2, 3) that Apple would abandon its Xeon strategy and adopt two of Intel’s $999 3.33GHz Core i7-980X Extreme Edition uniprocessor chips for a 12-core Mac Pro. However, Intel clearly lists this chip as uniprocessor model, meaning the Mac maker would need to adopt a dual motherboard strategy to make that happen.

Outside of potential for cost cutting, the benefits of such a strategy aren’t particularly apparent given the low volumes Apple sees in regards to Mac Pro sales.

What else is in Apple’s pipeline

Apple’s iPhone 4.0 software to deliver multitasking support

Apple prepping first Macs with HDMI – sources

Apple plans dual graphics enhancements on future MacBook Pros

Apple to target iPad at business users with added features – sources

Continued here:
Apple preps 27-inch LED Cinema Display, dodeca-core Mac Pro

NAVIGON’s new MyRegion is a customizable version of their turn-by-turn MobileNavigator app for iPhone that basically lets you buy just the navigation you need, when you need it, and expand via in-app purchase later.

Three “regions” are available in the US — Western [iTunes link], Central [iTunes link], and Eastern [iTunes link]. Each region is currently on sale for $24.99 until April 12, at which point they’ll be regularly priced at $29.99. Getting an additional region via in-app purchase will cost $12.99 on sale ($14.99 regularly).

What’s included?

NAVIGON MyRegion includes all the features and capabilities as MobileNavigator 1.4 plus NAVIGON MyRoutes. This new feature will be added to MobileNavigator North America via an upcoming update to 1.5.0 due this spring. NAVIGON MyRoutes is an industry first feature that learns from the users driving style to provide customized and better route recommendations. The feature also offers up to two alternative routes clearly displayed on a map including ETA, distance and driving time. This lets user choose the route that best serves their individual situation.

If you don’t already have MobileNavigator and on-board maps are a must-have but not necessarily a have-all, give MyRegion a shot and let us know what you think!

NAVIGON Brings MyRegion Turn-by-Turn Navigation to iPhone is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

If you take advantage of every moment off, every meal or plane ride to watch video on your iPhone, you’re probably suffering from some serious wrist strain by now. That is unless you’re bothering yourself with a bulky iPhone stand or you’re savvy enough to make your own.

Well, Gruber posted today what looks like a nice middle ground. It’s called the MoviePeg, aka “the super portable iPhone tilting wonder.”

In short, it’s a small piece of shaped “recyclable material” that fits your iPhone and will keep it standing at the right angle, in both portrait and landscape mode.

It’s fairly cheap (about $10) and while the shipping delay is a joke (3 weeks? Are you kidding me?), it looks like a very convenient solution.

I just ordered mine so I’ll get back to you about what it’s really worth.

[Movie-Peg]

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Read the original:
MoviePeg Makes A Smart iPhone Stand

iGroups is a social-networking and location-sharing app developed by Apple.

(Credit:
Patently Apple)

Looks like Apple may be the latest to succumb to the geo-madness gripping the mobile-development space right now.

Patently Apple dug up an Apple patent application Thursday for a social-networking service called iGroups that uses geographic location data to connect iPhone and other mobile-device users.

iGroups would let friend groups attending an event to stay in touch and share information in real time. If that sounds familiar it’s because similar geo-location apps that accomplish the same thing are popping up more frequently–apps like Foursquare, Gowalla, Whrrl, Loopt, and others. According to the patent, iGroups is a bit different underneath, however. Using Apple’s MobileMe service, iGroups users who don’t have GPS on their phone can still participate in the stream of information sharing with “virtual GPS,” according to the patent.

Apple files for many patents, and just doing so doesn’t automatically mean there’s an actual product on the way. But this particular patent is interesting, not only because of the geo-frenzy taking place right now, but because of what happened last summer. Though Google Voice getting rejected from the App Store got a lot more attention, Apple refused entry to Google Latitude on the iPhone too. Latitude allows users to broadcast their location to their friends, which sounds similar to iGroups.

Another clue there may be more to come on this front? Several months after the Latitude skirmish, Apple purchased a company called PlaceBase, and the founder and CEO Jaron Waldman, became a member of Apple’s “Geo Team.”

Original post:
Apple to join the geo-location craze?

Things just couldn’t be any better for BlackBerry turned iPhone users right now.  First the popular local search app Poynt was reimagined for the iPhone, and now the popular note-taking app BugMe! gets new life on our favorite touch-screen device.

BugMe! is simple and flexible app that’s perfect for those moments when you just need to jot down a quick note while on-the-go.  The tip of your finger acts as your digital pen in BugMe! for the iPhone, unlike previous versions of the app where text was entered via keyboard.  When creating a new note you can choose from a variety of different background colors and pen colors, or you can add a picture from your camera roll to the background to annotate it. Finished notes can be rearranged on the screen by tapping and holding to lift the note and dragging to the desired spot.

Notes can also be shared via a variety of methods.  You can send the note to Twitter, send it to a friend via email, add it to your photo album to transfer over to your computer, or save it as an icon to your home screen to act as a tiny reminder.

Those very important notes can be set-up with alarms that will sound at a specified time and send you a notification.  The only downside is that alarms require an Internet connection to sound off, so iPod touch users may not want to rely on this feature.

BugMe! is the perfect app for anyone looking to jot down simple notes, and it’s clean interface makes doing so a breeze.  At the introductory price of $.99, it’s worth checking out.

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Originally posted here:
Popular BlackBerry Note-Taking App BugMe! Now Available For iPhone

Apple director Jerome B. York passed away today at the age of 71. President and CEO of Harwinton Capital, former CFO of IBM and Chrysler, and former vice chairman of Tracinda, he joined Apple’s board when Steve Jobs came back to the company. Apple’s CEO had the following to say:

“Jerry joined Apple’s Board in 1997 when most doubted the company’s future. He has been a pillar of financial and business expertise and insight on our Board for over a dozen years. It’s been a privilege to know and work with Jerry, and I’m going to miss him a lot.”

Apple is also paying their respect via the Apple.com home page (pictured above).

All of our hearts and condolences go out to the York family.

Apple Board Member Jerome B. York, 1938-2010 is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Today, Amazon announced the release of Kindle for Mac, a service designed to allow Mac users to purchase, as well as access, the content of the Kindle e-book library right from their Mac. Amazon is touting the following features of Kindle for Mac application:

• Purchase, download, and read hundreds of thousands of books available in the Kindle Store
• Access their library of previously purchased Kindle books stored on Amazon’s servers for free
• Choose from 10 different font sizes and adjust words per line
• Add and automatically synchronize bookmarks and last page read
• View notes and highlights marked on Kindle, Kindle DX, and Kindle for iPhone
• Read books in full color including children’s books, cookbooks, travel books and textbooks

Amazon seems to be feeling the proverbial heat as the release of Apple’s iPad, and accompanying e-book store, looms. As some of you may recall, just days after the announcement of the iPad, Amazon began to renegotiate pricing terms with its content publishers — something they had been unwilling to do for quite awhile. Not exactly earth shattering news, but another toy for Kindle-loving Mac users to play with. Hit the read link for the full press release.

Read

See more here:
Amazon releases “Kindle for Mac”

I’m not a Getting Things Done kind of guy. I’ve never understood people who live and die by their Franklin Planners. I’ve never understood the huge proliferation of scheduling and reminder applications for the various computing platforms I’ve used over the years. I’ll reveal my secret at the end, but for now we’re going to take a look at BugMe, a reminder application now available for the iPhone.

BugMe is simple enough: it’s basically a note taking application. The iPhone version is all touch — no virtual keyboard. Draw, scribble, doodle, and handwrite notes on your iPhone. They get saved onto a virtual corkboard. You can drag individual notes around to manually arrange them, or you can shake your iPhone to have the re-arranged for you.

You can create notes on various colored papers, or you can use (or take) a photo to use as a background for your note. Obviously, you could just use a photo with no note on top of it as a visual reminder, if you want.

Notes can be assigned a due date, which will allow you to receive a reminder of the note when it is due. Notes only work on the iPhone, not iPod Touch or iPad, and since they rely on push notifications they only work when you have network access. From their iPhone product page:

We must stress that you’ll need to have internet access on your phone to make alarms work and that you should use these alarms as casual reminders – not for really-important-disaster-if-forgotten tasks! Unfortunately, alarms are not supported on the iPod Touch or iPad at this time.

One of the much-toted features of the BugMe iPhone app is the ability to send a note to your iPhone home screen. Indeed, at first blush this seems like a really nice idea: if the note is front and center on your phone, you’re much more likely to remember it! Unfortunately, the process for actually adding an item to your home screen is convoluted:

I don’t blame BugMe for this. They’re going the best they can within the confines of what Apple permits. It just doesn’t seem like such a great idea, to me, to be jump through this hoop in order to put an icon on my home screen to remind me to do something.

You can also push your notes out to Twitter, if you want the entirety of the Internet to remind you to do something.

At ninety nine cents, BugMe for iPhone isn’t going to break the bank, so if this is the only way you’re going to remember to buy flowers for your mom, you can get on with your life.

As for me, I simply add items to the regular iPhone calendar. It’s decidedly low-tech, doesn’t rely on additional applications, and works for me. The fewer apps I need to actually get on with my productivity, the better off I am, I think.

Read the original here:
Review: BugMe for iPhone

The Apple patent to actual Apple product ratio is pretty terrible, but sometimes you just want them to follow through. Like with iGroups! It’s a location-based social network that instantly puts you in touch with iPhone-having people around you. More

Here we have the Gracie Gear sports tops with handy PowerPouch for your iPhones or iPods for about $25.00 to $50.00. Gracie calls it the handsfree experience and yes, it is liberating. These tops are great for anyone who enjoys getting fit and for those who simply want to look like they are getting fit (I’m eating chocolate as I write this!).

Stay with us till after the break to find out more about Gracie Gear and how to enter the giveaway !

Design

The tops are made of a very strong and comfortable polyester spandex blend. They give your body lots of mobility without sacrificing support where you need it. The Racer back allows you to move around with ease and comfort. The high necked front on the tops also give you much more coverage.

iPhone PowerPouch

The PowerPouch is a wonderful three pocket design with a zipper enclosure so that everything stays in place. It has a small hole in the top side for your headphone wire, which allows the zipper to stay securely closed as you listen to the latest TiPB Live podcast. You can carry your keys and money in one compartment and not worry that your iPhone will be damaged or — gasp! — fall out. The loop on your shoulder strap keeps your earphone wire neatly in place as you train.

The Giveaway

This one is for the ladies only. (Sorry guys, you’ve had plenty of turns!) Gracie Gear [Gracie Gear Shop Link] has graciously offered to give away five (5) shirts to our TiPB readers. Just choose one of the three shirts displayed in the gallery (Black bra top, Yellow bra top, or Blue halter top) and leave a reply on our TiPb Forums thread telling us which you want, and telling Gracie what you think of their gear (don’t be shy to make suggestions!)

TiPb Give-Away: Gracie Gear workout clothes for women with iPhone holder built in! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Have iPhone, download lightsaber app. It’s almost a pre-requisite for iPhone owners. From next month you’ll need a new saber app though—the Bluetooth-enabled Lightsaber Duel which pairs with other iPhone users for proper dueling sessions. More

Universal has set out to change the way you play rhythm-based games on your iPhone or iPod touch by attempting to offer a more authentic guitar experience in their new game Six-String.

In Six-String, notes and cues still stream down your screen like every other rhythm game, but instead of simply tapping on each and every thing that flies by, you will be plucking, changing chords, and strumming your six guitar strings on your way to rock glory.

As you may have guessed, Six-String features a total of six guitar strings on your screen.  Musical notes and cues stream down these strings until they reach your guitar pickup, or as I like to call it, your tap and strum zone.  When a green or yellow note is over the top of the guitar pickup, simply tap on it or tap and hold.  When an arrow passes by the zone it indicates that you need to strum in whichever direction it is pointing.  You must be sure to strum only the amount of strings the arrow is covering, otherwise your guitar will make a nasty sound warning you of your mistake.

Six-String also adds to the usual tap-based gameplay by requiring you to change chords in the medium-hard difficulties.  When a large blue bar passes over your guitar pickup, you must tap the “change chord” button located in the lower left-hand side of the screen. Notes will immediately follow these chord changes, so if you fail to hit the button, you will miss all of the subsequent notes until the chord changes back.  This adds another dimension to the game.

Six-String features two different game modes: Practice Mode and Studio Mode.  You must first participate in Practice Mode to get the hang of and unlock new songs before heading into Studio Mode where you will be competing for the highest possible score.  Scores can be sent as challenges to friends, and since Six-String features Plus+ integration, you will also be able to compare your scores with the world and unlock awards.

But what’s a rhythm game without some decent music?  Six-String ships with six tracks:

• Bon Jovi – “You Give Love A Bad Name”
• Tom Petty – “Runnin’ Down A Dream”
• Peter Frampton – “Show Me The Way”
• Fall Out Boy – “Thnks Fr Th Mmrs”
• Scorpions – “Raised on Rock”
• Orianthi – “According To You”

Other tracks from bands including Angels & Airwaves, Beck, Dashboard Confessional, G.B.H., Gary Go, Hinder, Hollywood Undead, Kaiser Chiefs, Maroon 5, No Doubt, Papa Roach, Peter Frampton, Rise Against, Robert Palmer, Sum 41 and more can be purchased for $.99 each.

If you are looking for a new twist on the rhythm game genre, Six-String absolutely delivers.  The strumming and chord switching may take a bit to get used to, especially for those who haven’t mastered the genre already, but the challenge is worth it.  Six-String’s only major downside is its $4.99 price tag, which is rather steep for a game that ships with a total of six songs.

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See the rest here:
Looking For A More Authentic Guitar Experience In A Rhythm Game? Check Out Six-String

Apple’s Genius feature is great in theory, but less than awesome in practice. Sometimes you don’t want a playlist based off of a certain track, but rather one based on a general mood; it also seems to focus too much on genre. At any rate, Genius gives you scant control over the playlists it generates. Moodagent is a free alternative. As the app name suggests, it generates a playlist from your library based on five different attributes: Sensual, Tender, Joy, Aggressive, and Tempo. It isn’t perfect either, but it’s a great way to dig deeper into your library and often turns up some solid playlists.

The first thing you’ll want to do is profile your music—in layman’s term, make sure that Moodagent has enough data to use them. When you start up the app, Moodagent will automatically load data for your tracks if they already exist in its database. Unless you have extremely mainstream music, however, you’ll likely have a chunk of “unprofiled” songs. For me, about a third of my songs were unprofiled. Moodagent provides a simple desktop application (for Mac and PC, though both are in beta) that will create profiles for your songs, and it works easily, quickly, and well. After running that, I only had 9 unprofiled songs on my iPod. Not bad!

Now for the real deal. Moodagent’s main interface provides you with five sliders, which control corresponding attributes: Sensual, Tender, Joy, Aggressive, and Tempo. Adjusting the sliders will automatically change the playlist, which appears on the bottom half of the screen. It’s all instant, which is great; almost no time is spent analyzing! Tweaking the sliders allows you to set the music to your mood. So, for example, if you’re looking for upbeat music, dialing up the Tempo and Joy sliders with maybe a dash of Aggressive is the way to go.

The correlation between the different attributes isn’t always obvious, however. What exactly is “Tender”? “Joy” can sometimes trigger sad songs, and even “Tempo” doesn’t always give you faster songs. Still, I was mostly pleased with the combinations of music it produced. Even if it didn’t always match my intentions, a few tries were all it took to generate some good playlists. Most of the time? The app worked as advertised, and the playlists matched pretty well with the sliders. You can save and name playlists that you like for later playback.

The other drawbacks are mostly minor. First is that song lists are limited to 25 songs; a 50 or 75 song option would be nice. Also, when you delete tracks from the list, Moodagent doesn’t add more to fill the space. Other than that? Everything works.

The app might not always be reliable, but Moodagent will still provide you with a solid mix of music. For a free app, it’s phenomenal, and the idea of creating playlists based on mood rather than by more generic attributes (i.e., genre) allows you to really create a playlist for the moment. In short? If you’re looking to mix up your listening experience, go grab Moodagent now. Genius pales in comparison.

View original here:
Moodagent

Jack Dorsey’s Square was unveiled last December as an innovative way to let people quickly and easily accept physical credit card payments from their mobile phone.

Since then, Square, which has been in limited beta, has been used in a variety of use cases. E.g. philanthopic organization charity:water recently used Square at the SXSW festival to collect donations.

A local flower cart in San Francisco is using Square to take payments from customers. Denim, a jeans store in New York is using Square to take payments from shoppers. We even used Square at this year’s Crunchies to raise money for the UCSF Foundation.

Here’s how Square works: A small device attaches to the phone via the headset/microphone jack. The device gets the power it needs to send data to the phone from the swipe of the card, and sends the information over the microphone connection. The device is compatible with both the iPhone and Android. It’s similar in some ways to PayPal, but anyone can now accept physical credit card payments, too. With no contracts or monthly fees. People are sent receipts by text and email. If you haven’t seen Square in action, check out this video.

And now, a new use case has popped up for Square: political fundraising.

Square is currently being used in two campaigns. Silicon Valley VC Josh Becker, who is running for state assembly in California’s 21st district, has been using Square at fundraising events. And lawyer Reshma Saujani, who is running for Congress in New York’s 14th district, is using Square at campaign fundraising events, including at an event in San Francisco on Friday.

Square is ideal for taking money at political fundraisers for several reasons.

Currently, if you want to donate money at a fundraising event, you often have to fill out a form and hand over a check or cash at the event. If you don’t have your checkbook or cash handy (which, many of us don’t), credit cards are the only option. You can write down your credit card number and info for fundraisers to charge at a later date, but you have to trust that the fundraiser keeps track of that information and paper.

With Square, there is both a convenience added for both the payee and fundraiser. The donation is instantly processed, and Square will send the receipt via SMS or email to the payee. Of course, political contributions and donations are a little more complicated because of the reporting requirements associated with donations.

For many types of donations, you need to take the donator’s name, occupation, address, and other information. Currently Square doesn’t allow users to input all of this information but Dorsey says that they are releasing Square’s API to allow fundraisers to build additional applications on top of Square, where they could input all of the necessary data. Once this is enabled, Square will allows fundraisers to eliminate paper collection and payments all together.

Dorsey says he’s already getting significant interest from politicians and political candidates across the country, but because Square is in limited beta, is being selective about how the service is distributed. Dorsey expects Square to be open to the public sometime in the next few months.

Valued at $40 million even before launch, Square is off to an impressive start. And technology’s most notable investors and leaders seem to think so as well.

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, investor Ron Conway, Google’s Marissa Mayer, Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley, Digg creator Kevin Rose, investor Esther Dyson and a host of others have invested in Square. The company also raised funding from Khosla Ventures.

Go here to read the rest:
Square Now Being Used For Mobile Payments At Political Fundraisers

Oh man, strap yourself in for a complete mind-freak. THQ Wireless will release next month Star Wars: Light Saber Duel, an iPhone App that works with Bluetooth. You can see where this is going. Since it works with Bluetooth, you’ll be able to duel your other iPhone-owning friends. Adios, productivity.

You can almost picture all the videos that will be posted all over the Internet. It’s a real shame that this wasn’t released in time for SXSWi, because I think the whole conference would have stopped functioning. People at the digg party flailing about, people trying to Lightsaber duel the bouncer who wouldn’t let them into the Facebook party, and so on.

No idea how much the App will cost, but I imagine THQ Wireless could charge, like, $100 and people would still buy it in droves.

More here:
Get ready to lose your mind: Star Wars: Light Saber Duel iPhone App, now with Bluetooth

If you’re of the camp that believes your iPhone or iPod touch’s screen needs some kind of additional protective layer to prevent it from getting damaged, you may want to head to the Apple store soonish to stock up on said accessories. In the very near future, you might not be able to find them, at least not through Apple’s official channels, according to sources speaking to Macworld.

The sources, who are described as Apple accessory makers who want to remain anonymous for fear of arousing Cupertino’s ire, maintain that Apple has informed them it will no longer be carrying any films or covers aimed at protecting iPhone screens from dust or scratches, or even those that claim to prevent glare and ensure privacy.

If the sources are correct, all of these types of accessories will be pulled from the Apple Store, both in its online and physical retail incarnations, as will any other accessories that stick to the surface of Apple devices. The blanket ban on anything adhesive makes sense, since these apparently have a very high return rate because of the difficulty in applying them properly.

The ban on films that “protect” the screen also makes a good deal of sense, mostly because that’s a ludicrous claim to begin with. It’s like being sold insurance against possible gryphon attack. It’s just not going to do anything, besides maybe instill a false sense of security. Think about it: do you buy protective films for your eyeglasses?

Because it’s the same exact thing. Or maybe even more ridiculous, depending on the quality of your glasses. Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch screens are made of optical glass, which is the most scratch-resistant glass in existence. I personally have owned two iPhones and two iPod touches, none of which have ever borne any kind of screen protection. I’ve dropped them all countless times, and even kept them in pockets with change and other knick-knacks, and the screens are pristine. The back cases? Not so much.

I’m not advising against due diligence here. Generally speaking, I keep my iPhone in a pocket designated for it alone, or with a pack of gum or something else non-abrasive, though sometimes I forget and throw it in with my keys. Still, keeping it loose in a bag of sand probably isn’t a great idea.

But Apple’s doing a great service to customers with this move, even if that what’s motivated it to begin with. The absence of screen protectors on Apple Store shelves should hopefully go a long way toward curbing unnecessary accessory purchases. Unless you shop at Best Buy, in which case you’ll probably come home with three screen protectors and a product service plan.

Go here to read the rest:
Apple: Our Screens Don’t Need No Protecting

The “location wars” between rival mobile check-in services, the unmet expectations of the Twitter keynote and the hordes of newbies crowding out regulars (as they do every year) were some of the leading threads at SXSW this year. And — rightfully so — everyone was talking about them. Meanwhile, from the outside, skeptics pooh-poohed geeks getting drunk on promo budgets while pretending that changing the world had anything to do with why they were there. Also fair. But somewhere in between those two takeaways fall my three highlights from SXSW, which I think showed us the way social technology will work in the near future:

Foursquare tattoos seemed as ubiquitous at SXSW as people staring down at their phones when they walked into a room.

• While the competition among location-based services will hopefully result in a winner, loser or combination thereof sooner than later (because honestly, who cares), using either Foursquare or Gowalla in Austin this past week was a really cool experience. Rather than seeing scattered updates from the few friends you have who happen to avidly use social media, at SXSW location-based services were able to take a larger-scale pulse of where people were moving. So as you walked down the hall, the wisdom of crowds would tell you that 300 people were listening to a session in Ballroom D, or that 200 were already drinking over at Six Lounge. Sure, that just pushes hordes towards hordes, but it also reveals a vibrant ecosystem — and felt completely different than using mobile social sites at home.

• It was totally awesome to have reliable and quick AT&T phone service and mobile Internet. As I tweeted on my first day in town, “My breakout stars of #sxsw so far: excellent, ubiquitous Wi-Fi and great AT&T service. No joke.” And trying to use my iPhone upon returning to San Francisco has made it all the more obvious how awful we have it by comparison. It’s no fun to be a second-class mobile citizen after you’ve gotten a taste of what could be. I completely support MG at TechCrunch’s take: “Dear AT&T, Whatever You’re Doing At SXSW, Please Do It In San Francisco.”

A snapshot of Austin check-ins from SimpleGeo’s Vicarious.ly mashup

• You’ve undoubtedly heard horror stories about exposing the backchannel of audience conversation during conference panels and how that detracts and distracts from the core content. But I had a really excellent experience engaging with tweets during the panel I moderated. First of all, the crowd helped direct us to choose a less unwieldy hashtag than the one assigned — #contentme instead of #contentrelevanttome. Then I kept a Twitter search page open to see what people were saying. When the tweetstream was drowned out by fun facts about coincidences on Hunch given by panelist Hugo Liu, the company’s chief scientist (for instance, if you tell Hunch you like to dance, there’s a very high correlation that you’ll also say you like using Macs), it got harder for me to pick out audience questions. So I asked them to direct the questions to me by mentioning @lizgannes in a tweet. When I got too many questions to process, I was able to choose the ones that had been retweeted by other people on Twitter (who may have not even been in the room).

That’s kind of a long story, but the point is that I hadn’t actually planned to do any of it. But because so many people in the room were using Twitter at the same time, we were able to use it to better tweak the panel on the fly in order to address their needs. (Though I did feel afterwards that I should watch a video of the panel; multitasking is damn hard!)

Top photo courtesy of Flickr user schatz.

Continued here:
The 3 Best Things I Saw at SXSW

There once was a time I owned a Blackberry. If there was one feature it performed flawlessly, time and again, it was the “push” email feature. When I switched to the iPhone, I was dismayed when I learned it did not support/possess “true” “push” capabilities. I naively assumed that a phone which can pretty much do everything my laptop (not to mention my old Blackberry) does (and better) would offer me “push” email capabilities through my Gmail account.

I rely heavily on my phone’s ability to quickly/efficiently manage my email. The iPhone’s “Fetch New Data/Push” features do “push” data to my phone, but lack the instant notification features I need daily. It checks for email at specific intervals (15 minutes, 30 minutes, hourly and manually), but it’s not “instant,” and provides no visual alerts/notifications.

Conversely, true “push” clients/services, such as instant messaging programs, maintain a constant connection between the client/service and their server, forwarding a “push” notification to users as content becomes available. Google does provide iPhone Gmail users “push” services by using Google Sync to link an MS Exchange account with Gmail, but this service lacks visual alerts/notifications and other features offered by paid “push” apps (such as “Quiet Hours” settings). This is where Push for Gmail (formally Gmail Push) comes in.

Push for Gmail provides “true” push notifications to its users, accompanied with visual alerts that show users a preview of the email (sender, subject and message preview). Additionally, users can view new emails with the in-app Gmail mobile browser or with the iPhone’s native mail app. When receiving a notification, a prompt message appears on the iPhone’s screen, providing users with the choice to Cancel or View the email:

Pressing “Close” simply removes the alert/notification from your screen. Tapping “View” opens Push for Gmail but, instead of opening/bringing you to the email, it brings you to the application’s main screen.

Among Push for Gmail’s features:

• Instant and reliable Gmail push notification with sound, text and badge(s),
• Support for Gmail and Google Apps account(s),
• Full-screen and landscape mode viewing,
• The ability to set “quiet hours” to disable notifications as you need,
• Customizable notification text displays with 28 different notification sounds,
• Forwarding capabilities,
• Auto logging into Gmail mobile browser,
• Options to open new mail with Push for Gmail’s in-app mobile browser or native mail app,
• In-app browser with tab support to allow users to read email and browse web pages at the same time,
• Advanced privacy settings (users can turn off sender, subject, mail preview in notification text),
• SSL-enabled security, and
• Offline access capability.

There are a number of Gmail applications in the app store. A search of “Gmail” yielded approximately 61 results. Narrowed down, approximately 6 of these are “push” email apps or offer Gmail “push” functionality. When reading customer reviews for the afore-mentioned paid “push” apps, “Push for Gmail” had consistently favorable reviews (approximately 64 of 77).

Setting up your Gmail account using Push for Gmail is simple. Launching the application brings you to the “Settings” screen. Simply enter your account and password and press the “Activate” button. The program then “validates” your account and allows you to set your configurations, e.g. Ringtone, Customization Notification options (Badge, Sender, Mail Subject and Mail Preview), Forwarding Mode, Pass Code Lock, etc.:

Push for Gmail features an option which allows users to set “Quiet Hours,” i.e. the days and times they want Push for Gmail to remain silent without “pushing” notifications, so they can use their iPhone at night, while sleeping, etc., without being bothered/awakened by push notifications. This feature is only available in Push for Gmail, but should be standard in every app featuring push notification capabilities. Users can configure “Quiet Hours” on multiple days, at multiple times:

In addition, from the main screen (top), users can compose a new email, search emails, refresh email and access their folders/labels. The bottom of the screen contains a “sign-out” option and a link to Google Mobile Help:

As far as functionality, Push for Gmail allows users to perform those functions available using Gmail in their mobile browser, such as labeling, conversation threading, starring, etc. and automatically syncs with your desktop account.

Push for Gmail’s main screen is basically a browser devoted to Gmail and provides its users with those options found in its desktop counterpart, e.g. read, label, archive, mark as read/unread, etc. It also allows its users to access other Google features/programs, such as “Talk,” “Buzz,” “Calendar, etc. The font size, relative to the device’s display is adequate, but can present problems, making finger-gestures sometimes challenging (mentioned below):

Push for Gmail’s main screen toolbar (located at the bottom of the screen) displays 8 icons (from left to right): “Previous Page,” “Next Page,” “Home,” which returns users to their main mail menu screen from other screens, “Compose New Mail,” which, according to Push for Gmail’s developer, currently does not work correctly, opening the “Folders” page instead of new mail, a “Settings” icon, “Rotation Lock,” “Show Address Panel,” which pulls up an embedded, tab-enabled web browser (you can hold down on a link to open it on another tab) and a “Show/Hide Toolbar” icon, which toggles the appearance of these icons (show/hide):

Push for Gmail is not without flaws: The main screen toolbar icons are small (so as not to “impose” on the main screen’s real estate) and may take users multiple taps before the icon responds to their touch (and visa-versa). Moreover, the screen’s relatively small size can inhibit touch accuracy. While other users may find this frustrating, it is not a problem for me and the added bonus of being able to “hide” these icons is a nice feature. Push for Gmail currently only supports one Gmail account and because it offloads push- processing onto its servers, users must rely on Google/Gmail and Push for Gmail services/servers to remain uninterrupted/on-line.

Also, if you are reading your Gmail using Push for Gmail and you receive a push notification, the on-screen prompt (mentioned above) does not take you directly to the message; it takes you to the app’s main screen, instead. As for battery life/usage, because I spend so much time on my iPhone, I’ve not noticed a decrease while using the application. That’s not to say it doesn’t affect battery life; I’ve just not noticed.

I’ve used Push for Gmail shortly after its debut in the app store and, when compared to similar apps, find it is a superior alternative to its app store counterparts. It’s fast, reliable, works as advertised and I’ve never missed an email using the app. Push for Gmail is a quality third-party resolution which dutifully answers the failure to support “true” push email with visual notifications.

In all, at $1.99, Push for Gmail is a simple, straightforward, decently-priced (considering what you get), application providing “real-time” visual Gmail notifications. If you simply want “bare-bones” “push” Gmail without visual alerts/notifications, you can hit the jump to learn how to use Google Sync to get your Gmail pushed directly to your iPhone.

Regardless of your Gmail use frequency/intensity, I heartily recommend this app to Gmail users who want “push” email with visual alerts and the option to defer the service on days (and at times) they choose.

Push Gmail for iPhone

Original post:
Push for Gmail

It’s a common belief that Apple’s iPad is a threat to Amazon. While I do think the iPad  is simply going to kill their hardware reader, it could on the other hand be very beneficial to their eBook selling business, and it looks like they’re on the right way to make that happen.

Indeed, as you probably know, Amazon’s eBook platform is not limited to their Kindle reading device. You can very simply install their reader software on a PC or even an iPhone and access their large library directly from there. Well, since last night, you can now do as well from your Mac and very soon from your iPad too.

While they’re somewhat discrete about it in the press release, this is a big announcement. Amazon has put together an impressive collection of eBooks over the years and since we’re not quite sure how Apple will price its iBooks yet, or if they’ll ever make it overseas, this guarantees iPad owners cheap eBooks, anywhere in the world.

In short, it’s now official, Apple’s iPad will give you the best of both eBook worlds.

Related Posts

• Barnes & Noble eReader iPad App Coming In April, Pending Apple’s Approval
• Apple Takes On Amazon With iBooks, iPad’s New eBook App
• Which Write is Right? A Comparison Between eBooks and Their Prehistoric Cousins
• Amazon Launches iPhone-Optimized Kindle Store
• Kindle For iPhone Is Now Available

Read the original here:
Amazon’s Kindle Is On Its Way To The iPad

Posted by Ryan Naraine @ 7:22 am

Categories: Apple, Browsers, Exploit code, Google, Google Chrome, Hackers, Responsible disclosure, Vulnerability research, iPhone

Tags: Apple iPhone, Apple Safari, Vulnerability, Exploit, Chrome, Smart Phones, Apple Mac OS X, Security, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology

Hackers at this year’s CanSecWest Pwn2Own contest will definitely break into an Apple iPhone by exploiting a remote code execution vulnerability.

That’s the prediction from Charlie Miller and Aaron Portnoy, two security researchers who are monitoring events leading to next week’s hacker challenge.

Portnoy, a vulnerability researcher at TippingPoint and an organizer of this year’s contest, believes the iPhone will be the only mobile device to fall despite a bigger bounty on smartphone vulnerabilities.

Here’s Portnoy’s public prediction:

While last year’s contest did not see any pwnage of the mobile devices, there have been a number of devices added to the list and with all the recent research on mobile phone security being presented worldwide, these devices are quickly becoming a ripe target. Plus, we announced the mobile targets with more lead time this year, so I don’t expect these to survive this go around. First to fall: the iPhone. Survivors: BlackBerry, Symbian, Android.

In a live chat over on Threatpost, Charlie Miller provided more details around his iPhone-will-fall prediction:

Someone I know quite well says they have an exploit for it and plan on using it. But to answer your question in a more general way, from an exploitation perspective, iPhone is no harder than OS X now that Snow Leopard has DEP. In fact it is easier because it lacks ALSR all together. (Interstingly, there was a year when iPhone had DEP and OS X didn’t and so iPhone was way harder then). These statements are true for Pwn2Own at least.

In real life iPhone is harder because you can’t just exec a shell (since there is no /bin/sh). You have to write your return oriented payload to do all your dirty work, which can be a pain. In Pwn2Own, you just have to prove you have code running, not actually do something useful, so the bar is lower. The only thing iPhone has going for it, which coincidentally is stopping me from attacking it this year, is a smaller attack surface. There isn’t as much exposed code on the iPhone. Safari for Mac OS X can do anything, render any file, etc. Not so on iPhone. There are some file types MobileSafari can’t display, some they display incompletely, and of course, iPhone lacks Java and Flash which comes by default on Safari. The easy to exploit bugs I know about happen to live in the code that Safari (on OS X) has but MobileSafari doesn’t, so no go for me.

Read more:
Pwn2Own predictions: iPhone will be hacked

See original here:
Windows Phone 7 tablet concept is just a big iPhone (video)

KaleidoVid is a fun little app from App Cubby and Polar Bear Farm. Two developers that spend their time making serious apps decided to take a little break and create something fun. Seems like a great idea!

The app is really pretty simple. It’s like those little cardboard tube kaleidoscopes we all had as kids. Fire up your iPhone (this app requires a camera), and point the camera at something colorful. The app takes a triangular part of the image and reflects it just like the ones you had as a kid. I guess the difference is those cost 75 cents, this one costs $500.

The app lets you grab the screen at any time and save it as a unique image or share it on Twitter, Facebook, or via email. Pretty good way to create unique backgrounds for your iPhone too.

The app is available now for the crazy price of just $0.99.

KaleidoVid – Video Kaleidoscope

Category: Photography
Released: 2010-03-15
Price: $0.99

Go here to see the original:
First Look at KaleidoVid – Video Kaleidoscope for the iPhone

GigaOM released today another one of their great infographics about the Smartphone Market and this time, they’re focusing on Mobile OS’s, market shares as well as sales over the last three years.

We already mentioned most of these statistics before, but presented so well, they tell a much better story, check it out:

Related Posts

• Google Versus Apple, The Infographic Timeline
• Infography: The Apple App Store Economy
• Why AT&T Messed Up, An Infography
• Where Does The iPhone Money Go?

Go here to see the original:
Infography: iPhone OS & The Smartphone OS Market

This news would have made my week if not for one little caveat: “Upcoming Features Include: Snow Monster.” It’s like a Rolling Stones reunion tour without Keith Richards. [iTunes via SAI] More

The Windows Phone 7 platform has caused quite a stir this week as the nitty gritty details under the pretty exterior are being exposed for the world to see. One of the details causing the greatest amount of consternation is the reported lack of copy & paste, a feature that was an integral part of Windows Mobile and one that was touted as a benefit Windows Mobile had over the first two generations of the iPhone. According to well-known Windows blogger Long Zheng, copy & paste will be an integral part of  Windows Phone 7 Series, just not at launch. Rather than delay the launch of Microsoft’s latest mobile platform, a decision was apparently made to pull the feature and roll it out soon after launch. The development team has reportedly worked out all the details on “how” Microsoft will implement the copy &  paste feature but they just needed additional time to integrate the mechanism into the the codebase. Windows fans can possibly now stop fretting about copy & paste and turn their attention towards the ensuing difficult buying decision they face — do they jump on board with the first handsets at launch or do they delay gratification until a feature complete OS is out in the wild?

Read

Original post:
Windows Phone 7 to get copy & paste post-launch

Posted by Larry Dignan @ 6:10 am

Categories: Amazon, Apple, Apps, Ebook, General

Tags: Apple Macintosh, Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Amazon Kindle, Kindle, E-books & E-Readers, Personal Technology, Larry Dignan

Amazon launched Kindle for the Mac Thursday and now has most of its bases covered ahead of the Apple iPad launch.

The e-commerce giant—and e-reader leader for now—has been making its Kindle store and e-books available for multiple platforms in recent months.

With Kindle for Mac, Amazon has the PC, Mac, iPhone and BlackBerry covered. The Kindle for Mac move was critical given that Apple’s iTunes will soon launch a book store. The message: The Kindle is more than Amazon’s device. That point will be especially noteworthy when Apple’s iPad launches with its bookstore. It remains to be seen whether the iPad is a Kindle killer, but it’s important that Amazon’s Kindle content be visible on Apple’s latest device.

Matthew Miller: Kindle for Mac is now available

By going to multiple platforms, Amazon is making sure that distribution isn’t limited to any one device. It’s a nice way of keeping users in the fold. For instance, I don’t own a Kindle any more, but did read some of my Kindle books on the BlackBerry. The experience wasn’t half bad, but I did miss the paper-like reading feel of the Kindle. When you look at a PC screen all day for a living the last thing I want is to look at another for leisure reading.

[Complete ZDNet coverage: Apple iPad]

[Get Amazon email alerts]

[Get Apple email alerts]

By moving to multiple platforms, Amazon can swamp any one device. All it needs now is an Android app.

How does all of this add up? Amazon has been positioning itself ahead of the iPad launch in just a few days. To wit:

• It is hiring developers to improve the Kindle’s browsing abilities.
• Amazon acquired touch screen startup.
• The company launches BlackBerry app.
• Rolled out a new Kindle Development Kit for apps.
• Tweaked its royalty model.
• Jousted with publishers over pricing ahead of Apple’s book store launch.
• And gave us a vague hint of Kindle sales.

Meanwhile, the Amazon Kindle pitches are hitting my inbox more than usual. Those pitches go like this:

Simply put, Amazon is in position to battle the iPad. It’s not a zero sum game, but the battle will be fun to watch. The big question: What will get me to go to the Kindle camp? A price cut may do the trick. If the Kindle falls below the $200 mark it’s worth a look as a reading only device.

Also: Apple’s iPad vs. Amazon’s Kindle: It’s not zero sum

Apple iPad: Open market for content rivals?

More:
With Kindle for Mac app, Amazon covers bases ahead of Apple iPad launch

When you’ve been making iPod and iPhone docks since the beginning, what is there to do but tweak the design every once in a while? That’s JBL’s situation, and these “new” docks are pretty much what you had before, but no one would choose the old ones over the new ones. “Greater versatility and compatibility” is their way of saying “it ain’t broke.” Let’s take a look.

The On Time 200P is the new version of this thing, which looks almost identical. The 200P has a nicer screen, though, and seems to have a significantly smaller footprint. I doubt the sound has changed a whit, though, otherwise they would have mentioned it. 24 total watts, 75-20,000Hz, iPod dock, mini jack, and radio. Alarm too, of course. $250.

The On Time Micro is what it says, a smaller alarm clock dock like the 200P. Same number of buttons, however, and we all know that’s what really matters. Kind of looks like a really bad controller attachment for the iPhone. Smaller size, smaller sound. Also $250.

The On Stage Micro II is, predictably, the sequel to the On Stage Micro. You can probably count on about six total watts here. $130, which works out to about $20 per watt. I do the math so you don’t have to!

Read the original here:
JBL makes slight changes to iPod dock lineup

By Katie Marsal

Published: 09:00 AM EST

Related AppleInsider articles: Open source community ‘hopelessly confused’ by… Nokia, Apple courtroom showdown to wait until… Apple sues HTC for alleged infringement of 20… ITC to review Apple’s patent infringement… Kodak sues Apple on claims of iPhone-related…

Apple rival HTC on Thursday issued its first official remarks on a lawsuit filed against it by the iPhone maker, saying it “disagrees” with the claims and is fully prepared to defend its reputation as one of the most innovative companies in the smartphone sector.

“HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done, but we will continue to embrace competition through our own innovation as a healthy way for consumers to get the best mobile experience possible,” HTC chief executive Peter Chou said in a statement. “From day one, HTC has focused on creating cutting-edge innovations that deliver unique value for people looking for a smartphone.”

In a formal complained filed earlier this month with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and in a U.S. District Court in Delaware, Apple accused HTC of treading on 20 of its patents related to the iPhone’s user interface, underlying architecture and hardware. The patents cover everything from unlocking a handset with a finger gesture to power conservation techniques.

“We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it,” Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said in statement the same day the lawsuit was filed. “We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.”

Although Apple did not name Google in the suit, HTC is responsible for a number of high-profile phones based on the search giant’s Android mobile operating system. In addition to the first Android phone, the G1, HTC is behind the recently released Nexus One, which features multi-touch technology similar to that offered by the iPhone. As such many observers have suggested Apple’s actions were a carefully orchestrated, indirect attack on Google.

Defending its reputation, HTC as part of its statement Thursday noted that the GSMA recently awarded the HTC Hero as the “Best Phone of 2009.” It also rifled off a list of other claimed technology firsts, including the Windows PDA (1998), first Windows Phone (June 2002), first 3G CDMA EVDO smartphone (October 2005), first gesture-based smartphone (June 2007), first Google Android smartphone (October 2008), and first 4G WIMAX smartphone (November 2008).

“HTC has always taken a partnership-oriented, collaborative approach to business. This has led to long-standing strategic partnerships with the top software, Internet and wireless technology companies in the industry as well as the top U.S., European and Asian mobile operators,” said Jason Mackenzie, vice president of HTC America. “It is through these relationships that we have been able to deliver the world’s most diverse series of smartphones to an even more diverse group of people around the world, recognizing that customers have very different needs.”

In an interview with Reuters, Mackenzie added that HTC plans to issue a formal response to Apple’s claims within a matter of weeks but declined to outline the measures his firm will implement in its defense.

Apple’s lawsuit against HTC is the latest in a growing pool of legal complains filed with the ITC bearing the iPhone maker’s name. In recent months the company has sued Nokia, and is also being counter-sued by the Finnish handset maker. The ITC has agreed to look into both companies’ complaints of patent infringement.

The ITC has also recently begun investigating claims made by Kodak against Apple. The camera company has alleged that Apple is in violation of patents that relate to the previewing of images, and processing them at different resolutions.

For more on Apple’s suit against HTC, see AppleInsider’s previous segments covering the 20 individual patents at issues and list of HTC devices that are allegedly in violation of Apple’s intellectual property.

Read the original:
Confident HTC says no plans to back down from Apple lawsuit

Mobile analytics startup Motally is bringing in a seasoned analytics executive, John Forese, as the startup’s new CEO. Forese was previously Nielsen Mobile’s Senior Vice President of Product Management. Additionally former Google Vice President of Product Development, Doug Garland, has joined Motally’s board of directors.

Prior to his tenure at Nielsen Mobile, Forese was a senior vice president at mobile metrics and research company Telephia where he led overall product strategy and had P&L responsibility across the company’s product lines. Telephia was eventually acquired by Nielsen in 2007. Forese also worked at several telecom and technology based start-ups, including Flashpoint Technologies, Netro and Pacific Bell Mobile Systems.

In addition to their new CEO, Motally has also elected Doug Garland to its board. Prior to joining Google, Doug was an executive in residence at the venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers. Earlier, he was a senior vice president at Yahoo!, where he led the launch of the broadband access business and the company’s mobile efforts.

Motally has been expanding and innovating at a rapid pace over the past several months. The startup just launched an analytics platform for mobile game developers, rolled out an extension of their mobile analytics to include content developed on Apple’s iPad and released a flexible API.

Currently, Motally supports analytics for applications on the iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry platforms as well as the mobile web. For a young startup, Motally has seen significant traction as a mobile analytics provider. Backed by renown investor Ron Conway, Motally’s clients include Twitter, Yelp, Fandango and Verizon.

Original post:
Motally Nabs Nielsen Exec John Forese To Lead Mobile Analytics Startup

Posted by Dana Blankenhorn @ 5:52 am

Categories: Apple, Development, General, Google, Hardware, mass market, mobile

Tags: Apple iPhone, Developer, Mobile, Quantcast, Bray, Open Source, Dana Blankenhorn

If you wanted to make money whose side would you rather be on, the guy with 64% market share or the guy with 15% market share.

Open source developers want to be with the 15% share, according to a new analysis from Black Duck Software. (Picture from Quantcast.)

Are they a bunch of daffy Donalds, or do they know something?

Many are no doubt standing on principle.

That principle got a human face when Tim Bray joined Google recently from Oracle (Sun). Ol’ Tim came in  filled with piss and vinegar, calling Android “an unambiguously good thing” and saying of the iPhone, “I hate it.” It’s not Mel Gibson in Braveheart, but we’re hoping this movie turns out differently.

Apple’s suit against HTC, focused on its introduction of multi-touch technology, has hardened hearts on both sides. If there’s one thing open source developers like it’s a crusade against an easily-identified villain. Bray’s appointment was well played.

For developers, Android is the momentum play. The iPhone market is still growing. It’s just that the Android market is growing faster.

Android also lets developers play with multiple vendors on both the carrier and phone fronts. You can support the Motorola Droid as well as the HTC. Your data can go through Verizon as well as AT&T. Developers like that.

But for Android to keep this momentum among developers it needs to keep its momentum in the marketplace. Google needs more carriers and more manufacturers, people who worry about things like lawsuits.

And it needs to expand beyond North America. Quantcast says the iPhone is actually stronger in Europe, a more mature mobile market, than it is here.  Mobile market trends don’t usually start here and flow outward. For years they have been starting in Asia, moving to Europe, and then sweeping through the Americas.

Still, this year is going to be fun.

See original here:
Mobile open source developers turn to the underdog

HTC has sent out a press release in response to the patent infringement lawsuit Apple recently fired in their direction. CEO Peter Chou is quoted:

“HTC disagrees with Apple’s actions and will fully defend itself. HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done, but we will continue to embrace competition through our own innovation as a healthy way for consumers to get the best mobile experience possible.”

The full presser lists out all of HTC’s “firsts” in the industry but gives no indication about what, if any, counter-suit and patent infringement claims of their own they might use to return fire.

We did say this could take years, right?

[via Android Central]

HTC Responds to Apple Patent Lawsuit is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Rene talks to Marc Edwards of Bjango about iStat [$0.99 on sale - iTunes link] for iPhone, iPod touch, and… iPad!

iStat lets you monitor the resources on your iPhone, including voice and data usage, RAM, storage, networking, up time, processes, and more, and remotely monitor resources for your Mac, Linux, or Solaris server. Additional tools include ping and traceroute. If you want to sit on the sofa and watch your octocore’s CPU’s to see when that big transcode or render is done, or if you want to try and narrow down a problem on your server floor from the coffee shop, give iStat a shot and let us know what you think.

Note: If you’re a fan of iStat Menus on the Mac, they’re running a poll [Google Spreadsheet link] on future versions so head on over and let them know what you think about price points and features.

Watch along after the break!

YouTube link

TiPb Apps 5.4: iStat for iPhone is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Posted by Larry Dignan @ 5:16 am

Categories: Apple, General, Legal, Smartphones, iPhone

Tags: High Tech Computer Corp., Apple Inc., Intellectual Property, Smart Phones, Cellular Phones, Handhelds, Keyboards, Research & Development, Business Operations, Consumer Electronics

HTC said Thursday that it will “fully defend itself” against Apple and its patent lawsuit, but will need more than a history lesson in court.

In a statement, HTC said it outlined its disagreement with Apple and gave a history lesson. HTC added that it advocates intellectual property protection, but disagreed with Apple. HTC noted that it shipped its first touchscreen phones in 2002 and has added 50 models since then. It also added that HTC (all resources) had the first gesture-based smartphone in June 2007.

Also see: HTC responds to Apple – the long-term hit? · Apple sues HTC · Apple’s complaint

HTC posts response to Apple lawsuit with a walk through HTC history

Apple’s HTC lawsuit pays off: Rival roadmaps disrupted

The company also added that its HTC Sense user experience was “fundamentally based on listening and observing how people live and communicate.”

What is missing from HTC’s statement is the specific patents it would own to disprove what Apple is complaining about. HTC’s official reply in court is likely to have that information. So far HTC’s trip down memory lane won’t cut it.

HTC CEO Peter Chou said:

“HTC disagrees with Apple’s actions and will fully defend itself. HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done, but we will continue to embrace competition through our own innovation as a healthy way for consumers to get the best mobile experience possible. From day one, HTC has focused on creating cutting-edge innovations that deliver unique value for people looking for a smartphone. In 1999 we started designing the XDA(i) and T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition(ii), our first touch-screen smartphones, and they both shipped in 2002 with more than 50 additional HTC smartphone models shipping since then.”

Related: Apple’s HTC lawsuit: Is it biting off more than it can sue?

Excerpt from:
HTC will ‘fully defend’ Apple’s patent suit, but needs more than history lesson

By Sam Oliver

Published: 07:45 AM EST

With Apple’s eBook-capable iPad looming ominously in the face Amazon’s fledgeling electronic book business, the online bookseller on Thursday released a new application for Mac users as part of its ongoing bid to promote its proprietary Kindle platform and prevent defection of its existing user base to a emerging array of alternatives.

Released as a free beta application for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and higher, the software allows Mac users to purchase and download from Amazon’s growing catalog of over 450,000 eBooks without the need to purchase its $259 Kindle 2 or larger $489 Kindle DX hardware. With the release, Amazon notes that Kindle books can now be read on many of the world’s most popular digital devices, including the iPhone, iPod touch, BlackBerry, Windows PC, Mac, and soon the iPad.

“Kindle for Mac is the perfect companion application for customers who own a Kindle or Kindle DX,” said Jay Marine, director, Amazon Kindle. “For those customers around the world who don’t yet have a Kindle, Kindle for Mac is a great way to instantly access and read the most popular new releases as well as their old favorites.”

Kindle for Mac features Amazon’s Whispersync technology that automatically saves and synchronizes bookmarks and last page read across devices. This way, customers reading Kindle books on a Kindle, Kindle DX, or one of the free Kindle applications, can always have their reading with them and never lose their place.

Among the features of the new Mac application are:

Purchase, download, and read hundreds of thousands of books available in the Kindle Store
Access their library of previously purchased Kindle books stored on Amazon’s servers for free
Choose from 10 different font sizes and adjust words per line
Add and automatically synchronize bookmarks and last page read
View notes and highlights marked on Kindle, Kindle DX, and Kindle for iPhone
Read books in full color including children’s books, cookbooks, travel books and textbooks

Amazon said it plans to add several features to the Kindle for Mac app in the near future, including full text search and the ability to create and edit notes and highlights.

Excerpt from:
Amazon releases free beta of Kindle for Mac eBook reading software

By Slash Lane

Published: 07:00 AM EST

Related AppleInsider articles: Apple exploring motion compensation in mobile… New Apple patent filings cover device… Apple looks towards fingerprint-based… Apple looks towards digital media sharing… Apple’s still working on iChat video answering…

Apple has been brainstorming a new capability that could allow iPhone users to transmit data — such as simple text messages — to each other over voice channels, forgoing a reliance wireless carriers’ backend servers, in a manner similar to Nextel’s walkie-talkie feature.

The concept is detailed in a company filing made this past November and discovered for the first time by AppleInsider on Thursday. As Apple explains, conventional text messaging systems require the use of what is referred to as a backend server that may be limited in the amount of information that can be handled at a particular time and is therefore capacity limited.

Furthermore, the company notes that reading of text messages can be troublesome due to in part to the small size of the typical display screen on a handheld device, especially in situations where the recipient is impaired or preoccupied with another task, such as driving.

“With the rapid deployment, proliferation, and technical advancement of mobile personal communication devices, such as cell phones, a user of these devices is presented with any number of ways to communicate with another user,” Apple wrote in the filing.

“For example, a user can send type a text message using, for example, Short Message Service-Point to Point (SMS-PP) protocol as defined in GSM recommendation 03.40 where messages are sent via a store-and forward mechanism to a Short Message Service Center (SMSC), which will attempt to send the message to the recipient and possibly retry if the user is not reachable at a given moment. Therefore, SMS-PP requires the use of a backend server to provide the necessary support for transmission of data between sender and receiver.”

As such, the iPhone maker calls for a new mechanism whereby data is passed between a sender and receiver unit by way of voice channel only, bypassing use of the data channel used in conventional arrangements.

“In this way, a sender can select that data which he/she desires to send to a receiver unit using by first converting the data into an appropriate vocal/voice format which is then forwarded to a receiver unit by way of the voice channel,” Apple said. “Once received at the receiver unit, the vocalized data can be converted to an audio signal, which is then output by way of an audio output device (such as a speaker, earphone, etc.).”

More specifically, the filing suggests that a sender would be able to vocalize any textual data on their display screen — such as a phone number — in order to pass it by way of a voice channel to another iPhone or any number of other iPhones or compatible personal communication devices. Once received by the recipient, processing of the vocalized data would be performed based upon a prompted user request or based upon a pre-selected protocol.

“For example, once received [by an iPhone], the vocalized phone number can be passed to an audio output device that (in the case of a speaker) generates an audible rendition of the vocalized phone number,” Apple wrote. “In another case, the vocalized phone number is forwarded to a voice mail server where the receiver records the vocalized phone number as a voice mail message for subsequent playback.”

In the latter case, Apple notes that the sender can pre-select the option that forces the generated audio message to stored in the receiver’s voice mail server. Alternatively, the company said additional processing can be performed whereby any vocalized multimedia data received is automatically converted back to text and displayed and/or converted to an audible message.

Additionally, Apple said the concept is open to alterations and permutations, which would include a walkie-talkie-like feature, where the sender transmits a voice snippet rather than text clippings. The filing made November 23, 2009 is credited to iPod grandfather and former Apple vice president Anthony Fadell.

View post:
Apple exploring iPhone audio text message, walkie-talkie feature

Japanese video gaming powerhouse Square Enix has released a handful of hit titles for the iPhone already (including Final Fantasy I and II), but the next one, an RPG named Chaos Rings, is poised to blow them all out of the water. Officially announced [JP] today, the game’s trailer shows absolutely amazing graphics.

There will be five scenarios in the game, a turn-based battle system, boss fights, and “five 2-person teams that enter into a battle tournament to the death” (the game’s main storyline revolves around said tournament). Square Enix says Chaos Rings will be an original iPhone title with optimized touch controls. And it seems to have the best graphics seen on the iPhone so far.

The company released the trailer for Chaos Rings just a few hours ago. It’s in Japanese, but that doesn’t matter too much in this case. Expect the title to hit the App Store “soon”, at the very least within this year (judging from the trailer, the game could be pretty much finished).

Here it is:

Via andriasang

Here is the original post:
Chaos Rings: Square Enix releases fantastic trailer for iPhone-exclusive RPG

For the past couple of years now, when talking about the Apple TV product, Apple likes to throw out the word “hobby.” It’s as if they’re ashamed of the device. And considering sales are anemic next to Macs, iPods, and iPhones, it’s no big surprise that they talk this way.

But there’s actually nothing to be ashamed of. The Apple TV is a good product. Apple just needs to put some proper time and energy into it, to expand it to its full potential. And news today about the so-called “Google TV” should do just the trick.

Apple and Google are on the verge of war. The formerly close allies are increasingly competing in key spaces for both, and the living room is likely to be a new battleground because it’s still very much up in air. As the New York Times reported yesterday, Google is working with partners including Intel, Sony, and Logitech to bring a Google TV experience into the living room. This is, of course, where the Apple TV resides. And Apple would be foolish to simply cede any ground it does have to its new favorite rival just because it’s focused on other things (*cough* iPad *cough*).

That’s a Microsoft move.

As Nick Bilton points out, this Google TV would be based around the Android platform. This means that the key idea is likely to have third-party developers work on it to make applications built for a television set. That’s easier said than done, but Android’s open nature should yield some interesting results rather quickly.

Apple, meanwhile, is of course anything but open with regard to their devices. In fact, the Apple TV is entirely closed right now, as only Apple is able to modify its software (without hacking it, of course). I suspect that will change, following this revelation.

The idea of running iPhone-style applications on the Apple TV has long been a sexy one. Hell, people have even ported apps over to a TV screen to show how well it could work. The main problem with developing iPhone apps for the Apple TV seems to be resolution. With the iPhone (and iPod touch), Apple offers only one screen size/resolution, ensuring developers have an easy time making great-looking apps — while at the same time, making sure end users have a great experience.

But the iPad has already changed everything. With their new device, Apple has kept things as simple as possible by making iPhone apps scale up two times to work on the bigger display, but it’s still shows a willingness to move beyond the one screen size. Unfortunately, with the Apple TV, it can be attached to a screen that could be a huge variety of sizes, so it would be hard to control that.

Google doesn’t care about that because Android already runs on dozens of phones with different screen sizes. But Apple clearly cares about how apps look on its devices (so much so that the iPad itself was likely designed at a strange ratio simply to make scaling apps look as good as possible). So does that mean they start offering an actual Apple TV (as in a screen)? Rumors of that have been around for a long time. Or maybe they black-box apps to a certain resolution — similar to what they’re doing on the iPad when an app isn’t scaled up?

Who knows. But what I do know is that upon hearing this Google TV news, the Apple TV became a little less of a “hobby” yesterday.

Aside from calling it a hobby, Steve Jobs has referred to the Apple TV as being a potential “fourth leg” of a chair Apple is building. Leg one is the Mac, leg two is the iPod, leg three is the iPhone, and Jobs had hoped the Apple TV would complete the chair one day. But it seems clear now that he thinks the iPad could be the fourth leg instead.

Screw that. I think it’s time for Apple to build a whole dining room set of furniture. We, as consumers, need a living room arms race between Apple and Google (and Microsoft, TiVo, Roku, Boxee, and the rest) to kick the cable companies’ shitty television user experience to the curb.

Original post:
Google TV Should Finally Push Apple TV Beyond A “Hobby”

The folks over at HTC have finally released an official answer to Apple’s recent lawsuit against them over patent infringements and while we don’t know yet if they are planning to countersue, they apparently have the intention to “fully defend themselves”.

Their timid press release, released earlier tonight, mostly emphasizes on HTC’s “passion for innovation” while reminding about their long standing presence on the market. It’s pretty dull if you ask me, but here is it:

HTC Disagrees with Apple’s Actions

Seattle – March 17, 2010 – HTC Corporation today outlined its disagreement with Apple’s legal actions and reiterated its commitment to creating a portfolio of innovative smartphones that gives consumers a variety of choices. Founded in 1997 with a passion for innovation and a vision for how smartphones would change people’s lives, HTC has continually driven this vision by consistently introducing award-winning smartphones with U.S. mobile operators.

“HTC disagrees with Apple’s actions and will fully defend itself. HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done, but we will continue to embrace competition through our own innovation as a healthy way for consumers to get the best mobile experience possible,” said Peter Chou, chief executive officer, HTC Corporation. “From day one, HTC has focused on creating cutting-edge innovations that deliver unique value for people looking for a smartphone. In 1999 we started designing the XDA and T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition, our first touch-screen smartphones, and they both shipped in 2002 with more than 50 additional HTC smartphone models shipping since then.”

The industry has recognized HTC’s contributions through a variety of awards including Fast Company’s 2010 Top 50 Most Innovative Companies and MIT Technology Review’s 2010 50 Most Innovative Companies. The GSMA also recently awarded the HTC Hero as the “Best Phone of 2009.” Some of HTC’s technology firsts include:

First Windows PDA (1998)
First Windows Phone (June 2002)
First 3G CDMA EVDO smartphone (October 2005)
First gesture-based smartphone (June 2007)
First Google Android smartphone (October 2008)
First 4G WIMAX smartphone (November 2008)

In 2009, HTC launched its branded user experience, HTC Sense. HTC Sense is focused on putting people at the center by making phones work in a more simple and natural way. This experience was fundamentally based on listening and observing how people live and communicate.

“HTC has always taken a partnership-oriented, collaborative approach to business. This has led to long-standing strategic partnerships with the top software, Internet and wireless technology companies in the industry as well as the top U.S., European and Asian mobile operators,” said Jason Mackenzie, vice president of HTC America. “It is through these relationships that we have been able to deliver the world’s most diverse series of smartphones to an even more diverse group of people around the world, recognizing that customers have very different needs.”

For more information on HTC’s history of innovation, please visit: www.htc.com/history.

[via Gizmodo]

Related Posts

• Nokia VS Apple Lawsuit : There Won’t Be Blood
• Apple Sued Over Touch Screen Patents
• Apple Sued Over iPhone’s Screen Rendering Technology
• After Nokia, Apple Sues HTC
• Patent Watch: Control Your iPhone By Swiping The Camera Lens

Original post:
HTC Responds To Apple’s Patent Lawsuit – “Disagrees”

(Credit:
Amazon)

First came the Kindle electronic book reader device itself. Then the applications for the iPhone, BlackBerry, and for Windows. Now Amazon has brought the e-reader software to Mac OS X.

The Kindle for Mac beta version, as with the other apps and devices, lets people read electronic books they’ve purchased through Amazon’s Kindle Store, the U.S. version of which currently has 450,000 books for sale.

The free software lets people purchase new books, read books they’ve already bought, view notes and highlights but not make new ones, and synchronize bookmarks and the last page read across other Kindle technology.

A future version of the software will add full-text search and the ability to make notes, Amazon said. The software requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later.

Amazon also is working on a version of Kindle for Apple’s iPad, a device that already comes with Apple’s own electronic book technology.

Continued here:
Amazon releases Kindle app beta for Mac

Related GigaOM Pro Research Report (sub req’d):

The App Developer’s Guide to Choosing a Mobile Platform

Infographic by Column Five Media

See the original post:
iPhone vs Others: The Mobile OS Market

The iPhone offers a couple of different options when it comes to viewing media. You can search video using the YouTube app, download and sync your own movies using iTunes or browse for video on compatible websites with Safari. A new app called FirstClip is aiming to integrate each of those three options into one app to enable video searching, streaming and downloading of internet video straight to your iPhone.

Searching for video on FirstClip is like any other search engine. Enter the keywords of your search and FirstClip will scan the web for iPhone compatible video encoded in MPEG or H.264 format. By default, the search engine will look through YouTube and Google Videos for media but you have the option of adding your own compatible websites in the settings tab. Searched videos can then be streamed and viewed immediately or downloaded straight to the app for offline viewing.

The app works fairly well and having the ability to save videos for viewing any time is a nice convenience, especially if you have an iPod Touch or find yourself in an area with limited data service.

FirstClip is priced at $4.99 which may be a costly amount for some to have the ability of being able to download short internet clips. The developers do offer a Lite version to give you a chance to see how the app works but it does come with some limitations. For instance, the search engine will only scan from two sources at a time and you’ll only be able to download 10 total videos for offline viewing.

If you’re looking for a fast and simple way to take internet video with you without having to convert video files or sync your device to a computer, FirstClip does the job as advertised. It’ll just be a matter if you can justify the $4.99 asking price.

FirstClip and FirstClip lite are available now on the App Store.

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Read the rest here:
Search And Download Internet Video To Your iPhone With FirstClip

SXSW Interactive is now over. While a clear winner in the “Location War” has yet to be determined, the truth is that many of the location-based services won, as all of them got a huge amount of exposure over the past week. And look for that trend to continue in a big way, as Apple is now highlighting several of them in the App Store.

As you can see in the images in this post, Apple is highlighting five of the key location players both in the App Store on iTunes, as well as on the App Store on the iPhone itself. On the iTunes version, the apps have their own area right below the “New & Noteworthy” area. On the iPhone, the five apps takes up the top five slots of the “What’s Hot” area. Simply put: This promotion is huge.

So what are the five apps? The names should be familiar to you because we’ve covered each very recently. Foursquare (our coverage), Gowalla (our coverage), Loopt (our coverage), Whrrl 3 (our coverage), and MyTown (our coverage). I’d like to think Apple picked these guys to feature after reading TechCrunch, but who knows what goes on behind the doors of the secretive company.

As any app developer will tell you, having your app featured can make or break it. Even the two most-hyped players, Foursquare and Gowalla (the two key players in the most recent Location War), stand to benefit from Apple’s ability to reach all kinds of different audiences with the App Store. Foursquare announced earlier that it had gained 100,000 new users in just the past 10 days — that type of growth may actually continue as long as Apple keeps featuring the app.

The other three, have all benefited in the past from previous Apple promotions. Notably, this helped MyTown surpass both Foursquare and Gowalla in size in under a month after its launch.

Game on, says Apple.

Read more:
Apple Gets Location Fever Too In The App Store

Posted by Matthew Miller @ 10:36 pm

Categories: Apple, Kindle, ebooks

Tags: Apple Macintosh, Amazon.com Inc., Kindle, Desktops, Hardware, Matthew Miller

Last fall Amazon rolled out Kindle for PC so you could enjoy your purchased Kindle content on your Windows computer. Last night Amazon released a beta of Kindle for Mac so you could enjoy Kindle content on a Mac. Remember that a Kindle is not needed to use either of these clients or the clients for the iPhone and BlackBerry devices.

Kindle for Mac supports automatically synchronizing between devices via Whispersync, bookmark creation, annotation viewing, and shopping for the more than 450,000 books in the Kindle Store. Amazon stated in the press release that the Kindle application will soon be coming to the Apple iPad, but we already have a Kindle application on the iPhone so they may be working on an optimized version as well. It is nice to see Amazon roll out these applications across as many platforms as possible since it is all about the content and not the reader.

Thanks to MacWorld for the tip on the news.

Here is the original post:
Kindle for Mac is now available

We still really don't know anything about Square Enix's upcoming iPhone-exclusive RPG that we haven't already mentioned, but this trailer for Chaos Ring is absolutely amazing. The graphics are insane, and the game looks like a Playstation-era RPG. Needless to say, we're extremely excited about this:

Originally I suspected this might not be released for quite some time, since the only release date we've found anywhere is simply 2010, but the trailer looks like a surprisingly complete game. I wish we had more details to share right now, but needless to say, we're going to be following Chaos Ring very closely.

Update: Forum member GDSage has done a phenomenal job at piecing together tons of details about Chaos Ring in the Chaos Ring thread on our forums.

Read more here:
‘Chaos Ring’ Trailer Released – Looks Incredible

Every few weeks (and sometimes even more often than that), dozens of techies gather together for regional Startup Weekends — fast-paced code writing frenzies where entrepreneurs and developers conceive of and build a new application in less than 60 hours (and lose quite a bit of sleep in the process). Many of the apps die off soon thereafter, but some of them live on. And now they’re becoming acquisition targets: Learn That Name, a game that uses your LinkedIn contacts to help you remember the names of your business acquaintances, has been acquired by Gist. Terms of the deal aren’t being disclosed, but the LTN guys say they’re “very, very happy” with the result.

Learn That Name was built last August at a Microsoft-sponsored Startup Weekend and won top prize (which was amusing, because it was built for the decidedly non-Microsoft iPhone). The app’s idea came from layer Eric Koester, who was inspired to create it after he failed to remember someone’s name earlier during the event. A team of 14 people came together to build the app that weekend, and since then, a subset of the original LTN team has continued working on it, releasing an updated iPhone version, Palm WebOS app, and Flash app.

The deal is for LTN’s tech assets, and the proceeds are being split among the 14 original team members. Going forward, the standalone iPhone and Palm applications will still be available, and the game is also integrated into Gist’s own iPhone application, which you can find here. The Gist version will tap into Gist’s database of contacts (the original uses LinkedIn).

For those that haven’t used it, Gist offers services that help you keep tabs on the people in your professional network. The service’s web interface allows you to see past messages and attachments from each contact, news about their company, and their recent messages on services like Twitter. Gist also offers an Outlook plugin that shares similarities with Xobni. Given the business oriented nature of Learn That Name, this seems like a good (and fun) fit.

Given the success of the Learn That Name team, it will be interesting to see if more Startup Weekend teams continue working together following the conclusion of their events.

Go here to see the original:
Gist Acquires Startup Weekend App ‘Learn That Name’

Google is reaching out to mobile companies for help in getting their proposed Admob acquisition cleared by the FTC. Specifically, they’re asking select companies to write letters in support of the deal, which Google will then forward to the FTC.

We spoke with one mobile advertising company this afternoon that received the request from Google. The company was asked to write their thoughts on “Do you think mobile advertising is going to keep growing, and that Google’s acquisition of Admob won’t hurt your business or decrease competition in the mobile market?”

Last week Bloomberg reported that the FTC had reached out to Admob competitors about the deal. Our source that was contacted by Google says they were also contacted by the FTC months ago about the deal. Since then, silence.

Oddly enough, we had also heard recently that Google was actually looking for ways to back out of the Admob deal, which clearly isn’t the case based on this new information today. But there is speculation that Apple will change their SDK to require application developers to use Quattro Wireless if they want to include ads in their iPhone/iPad apps. That change would likely be paired with an argument that consumer safety requires Apple to filter these ads.

See more here:
Google Asks Mobile Companies For Help With FTC Over Admob Deal

Real estate listings and search site Zillow,Android app to allows users to search its 95 million listings on the go. The startup has seen considerable success with its iPhone app, which launched in April of last year and has seen 1 million downloads with more than 2 million homes viewed each month on the app. The Android app is expected to hit the Android Market by tomorrow.

Zillow’s Android app has similar functionality to the iPhone app. The Android app uses GPS technology to find and follow users on an aerial map, and displays values, homes for sale, homes for rent, listings and recently-sold data on the homes around their local area. Users can also search for homes, even if they’re not nearby, utilizing the Android’s voice search capabilities. You speak the address, neighborhood, zip code or city into the phone and the app will instantly take the user to the location on the map.

And the app leverages Google Street View by displaying curbside images of homes and streets. Each listing features the same details as the listing on the web, with multiple photos, home details, and contact information on homes for sale or for rent. Users can also filter their home searches by sale price, rental price, number of bedrooms and bathrooms and listing type (for sale, for rent, and recently sold).

Zillow, which launched as a mortgage marketplace in 2008, recently added rentals to its business, opening up the site to a new market in the wake of the burst of the real estate bubble. Zillow is also hoping to IPO in 2011 and according to reports, is currently courting Wall Street investors.

Continued here:
Zillow Launches Android App To Browse Home Sales And Rental Listings On The Go

There is something special about skin-tight spandex and inverted underwear that positively warms our hearts. Chillingo and Traplight Games have captured the essence of that specialness and synthesized it for the iPhone, with the release of The Hero [AppStore].

The Hero is a largely understated title for a game that puts you squarely in the rubber shoes of a top-heavy, Mr. Incredible-esque crime fighter with a penchant for destruction derby and loop-the-loops. Our brave hero zooms in from space, taking it upon himself to fly around each gorgeously crafted city to complete a number of tasks (by ramming them with his head) to keep secure his charges (the fair citizens), whilst causing as little damage as possible to the surroundings itself.

Of course, asking our Hero to go about his duty of catching falling babies, putting out fires, culling down the army, killing giant insects or downsizing orbital laser-barraging satellites (to scrape but the surface of his repertoire) without the occasional high-five would just seem rude. If The Hero has started to sound absolutely insane, that's only because it is. That simple fact can also be credited with why collecting High Fives from the town's citizens is the fuel source for your three super powers — Freeze, Blast or Zap– each of which help cut down your foes when you're feeling overwhelmed.

And overwhelmed you will be, as though The Hero starts of at a very relaxed (almost boring) pace for the first 5 or so levels, those who stick with it are rewarded with a manic adventure that will test your digit reflexes. The Hero has two control options to direct his flight, a virtual analogue stick or a tilt option; your Hero handling much more like a bi-plane than a Batman. This may seem frustrating at first, as you attempt to wrest your Hero into pulling tight turns to little avail, until you realise that the controls more closely resemble games like MiniSquadron, requiring you to loop to turn around. You attack enemies by simply ramming them, assisted by a boost button or by letting loose with one of your superpowers, which are gradually unlocked in the Campaign mode.

The Hero measures your progress each level by your ever present Fame meter. If you fail to stop the incidents being brought to your attention or if you receive damage yourself, your fame will decrease. If your fame reaches zero before completing all the assigned tasks it's “Fame Over”, and you have to restart the level, something you'll see quite regularly as The Hero is certainly no walkover. The Campaign levels pose their own individual challenges too, tied together in a very loose but very funny storyline. There are 15 Campaign levels to complete on both Easy and Hard difficulties. There is also a Survival mode with 4 increasingly large and challenging cities that are gradually unlocked, where your Hero faces all manner of obstacles to build up the best score possible.

It's hard not to recommend The Hero simply due to its terrific style and over the top humor. Whilst some may find the airplane-like handling of The Hero to be counter-intuitive and awkward, those open to the gameplay will undoubtedly enjoy cannonballing through an army of enemies, including a number of challenging boss archetypes too. The open-ended Survival mode will whet competitive appetites and potentially add many more hours to The Hero's already substantial content. Oh, and did we mention you get to fight Zombies?

Be sure to check out the gameplay trailer above for a further look at The Hero. Impressions from our discussion forums are flowing in thick and fast, and are overwhelmingly positive. And a heads up to you lucky 3GS owners, there's an easily overlooked option which switches on a 'high' 60-fps mode.

App Store Link: The Hero, $1.99.

View original here:
‘The Hero’ – A Highly Stylized and Manic Superhero Escapade!

Posted by Joel Evans @ 5:31 pm

Categories: Apple, Microsoft, Windows Mobile, iPhone

Tags: Team, Paste, Copy, Microsoft Windows, Team Management, Human Capital Management, Operating Systems, Software, Management, Human Resources

I was going to cover the rumors earlier that had surfaced that were stating that Windows Phone 7 Series wouldn’t have copy and paste, but they just seemed too far fetched. Instead, I was waiting to confirm with some people “in the know”. I still haven’t heard first hand but now the folks at istartedsomething have it on good authority that Windows Phone 7 Series will have copy and paste eventually.

According to the post, copy and paste is

“definitely a scenario and feature that the team is putting a lot of thought about and hope to bring to the platform soon after initial release.”

It goes on to say that the team itself knows how they’re going to implement copy and paste in Windows Phone 7 Series but did not think they could implement it without affecting the release schedule.

I only have one word for this: phew! Seriously though, how can Microsoft release its new mobile operating system without copy and paste? Didn’t the company learn anything from Apple’s release of the iPhone and its two-year delay in getting copy and paste implemented into the platform?

Now we have to wonder if the company really had planned on implementing copy and paste in the platform eventually. I bet that the team had planned to roll it out but is now fast tracking the rollout since it’s getting hammered for its explanation that most users don’t need copy and paste.

Regardless, copy and paste is coming, so that’s a good sign. Unfortunately, it’s not coming on day one and even though the platform will ship with Office support, even the Office apps themselves won’t do copy and paste.

In the end the lack of copy and paste may turn out to be a good thing for the folks behind QuickOffice and Documents To Go. If they manage to implement copy and paste, they could see some serious sales on launch day.

One more thing: I want to give props to Jason Dunn of WindowsPhoneThoughts. Not only has he been passionately following every moment of this debacle and keeping me aware of many of its layers, but he has not been shy about his opinions either.

Read the original post:
April Fools a little early: Windows Phone 7 Series will have copy and paste

St. Patty’s day has arrived and what better way to celebrate then with your iphone. We are bringinig you tons of apps to help you drink, cook, sing and laugh all with a green theme. We have all this and more on today’s AppAdvice Daily St. Patricks Day special.

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Original post:
Appisode 93: St. Patrick’s Day Special!