Archive for the 'Applications' Category
2.2
As previously announced, Apple has released the new iPod Touch and iPhone Update 2.2. And there’s a lot to like about what they have done. They’ve tweaked and added some great new features.
- Podacast downloading over WiFi AND Phone Internet service. However, we’re not happy that you can’t subscribe or download huge podcasts; there is a cap on the size ( a 10MB cap).
- Apple has also tweaked the visual voicemail and removed some bugs from the overall fluidity of the GUI.
- After Google introduced “Street View” on the G1, Apple really wanted that same technology and have now added it to Google Maps. Yet, unfortunately, this only works on the iPhone 1 and 2G and not on the iPod Touch.
- Apple has done some great work on the App Store. New sorting options of “Top Paid,” “Top Free,” and “Release Date” are available when browsing categories like “Games” or “Productivity” which allows for more pleasant control over what you see. A large icon taken from a popular application is now also displayed next to each category name to help identify it. Plus, when viewing a specific application’s details, all screenshots for the application are now accessible on the devices through a nice slide show.
- Another big thing they have added is rating. When you delete icons they will now ask you if you want to rate the App. before deleting it. Of course, you can always respectfully decline.
- You can now also turn of the “auto-correction” while typing.
- They have added new feature where pressing the Home button when viewing any Home screen application page will bring you to the first page.
- The new 2.2 OS has also solved the problems with Mail’s fetching schedules, and it has also improved formatting of wide HTML e-mail.
- Now this may be the placebo effect but everything seems much faster. Apps start faster, the system is more responsive, google maps pinpoints your location faster, and even safari seems smoother.
Of course, the iPod is still missing some things that would be very helpful. ”Cut and Paste” is said to be on its way. But the single most awaited feature, the “Push alerts feature”, which would allow more apps to run in the background, which was supposed to arrive on the 2.1 update, has still not shown its face.
Overal, this update is a nice improvement in amaturing OS.
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The Dev team has just released great news: QuickPwn & PwnageTool released for Firmware 2.2!!
They suggest that if you are still waiting for the 3G iPhone soft unlock the you should not us QuickPwn or use the official ipsw or the iTunes update process without using PwnageTool.
And depending on what you have:
SIM Free/SP Unlocked/Factory Unlocked iPhone 3G
Since your phone is already unlocked you need only to update to 2.2 using iTunes and use QuickPwn to Jailbreak. This, of course, will also add Cydia and Installer.
Locked iPhone 3G – Preserve Baseband
For people who have a locked 3G and want to update to 2.2 and at the same time preserve the current baseband software. To keep the baseband you have to create a custom .ipsw with PwnageTool. The only problem for this, of you course, is that PwnageTool is only available on Mac OS X.
Locked iPhone 3G
If you are using your iPhone with one carrier and have no interest in the possibility of an iPhone 3G unlock in the near future then just restore or upgrade to 2.2 using iTunes and use QuickPwn to Jailbreak and add Cydia and Installer.
iPhone 2G (1st Generation)
Update or Restore your iPhone 2G with iTunes then run QuickPwn.
iPod Touch 1G (Original iPod Touch)
Update to 2.2 with iTunes and run QuickPwn.
iPod Touch 2G (New iPod Touch)
Sorry but still no good news here.
And here are the torrents:
PwnageTool 2.2.1 for Mac OSX is here
QuickPwn 2.2 for Mac OSX is here
QuickPwn 2.2 for Windows is here
For those of you who don’t know, Snow Leopard is the next version of OS X for Apple. This morning this new version (10A190 (Mac OX 10.6) was seeded to the developers. Shipping is expected to start in about one year.
Snow Leopard will focus on quality and performance instead of new feature ; Apple has made it clear that there will be efforts to improve support for multi-core processors and GPU processing. Apple says it will support:
- Support for connecting to Microsoft Exchange 2007, servers will be included in Adress Book, Mail, and iCal
- Faster installation times and smaller hard drive footprint.
- Support for up to a theoretical 16TB RAM by further developing 64-bit kernel technologies.
- Grand Central: a parallel-programming technology by Apple that aims to have the OS take full advantage of multi-core CPUs and Graphics Processing Units.
- QuickTime X which will feature optimized support for modern codecs.
- Open Computing Language (OCL): allowing developers to code applications to use the GPU for non-graphics purposes.
- And a 64-bit kernel which provides a complete 64-bit environment for applications, along with 32-bit support for older Macs.
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T-Mobile just released G1
Featured Google Products integrated on the G1:
- Google Search (Obviously), but its “OneTouch” which puts the Google Search just one Touch away from your home page.
- Maps which supports StreetView
- Youtube
- Gmail
- Calender
- Talk
- Contacts
- One Great thing about all of these apps is the seamless movement between them. They are all very well integrated. Kudos to Google for that.
How does it compare to the iPhone:
Although the iPhone is currently a much better phone in regards to Apps, Appearance, Speed… and pretty much everything else, it is not as open to adjustment as the G1. Apple allows people to submit Apps but allows for no real open-sourcing. The G1, on the other has the potential to flourish over time. The Visuals are currently OK. The Zooming is awkward and slow. Color not as vibrant. Speed just does not match up… yet… give it time and it will become the iPhones greatest competitor!
With its Flip-out Keyboard it may have a easier learning curve but all that constant flipping may get annoying. It also houses some extra buttons and has a smaller screen than the iPhone. Yet its the cheap and the to-be popular alternative.
PRICE:
- $179
- Two-year contract with T-Mobile.
T-Mobile:
- The Android Market (T-mobile download Store) is offering free downloads to G1 owners 90 days after the purchase.
- Existing T-Mobile users can place their orders online Today.
- T-Mobile to offer two data plans
- $25 with unlimited data with some messaging allowance or
- $35 with unlimited data and messaging.
- -These are really really cheap compared to iPhone. Another Pro.
- Sim Card
- Reads Word, pdf, excel file types (but not Exchange)
- Available on 3G networks, but T-Mobile has very few of these where as iPhone has a ton. But give it awhile and T-Mobile will most likely catch up.
- Also available outside 3G
- NO SKYPE SUPPORT
- Will not feature desktop sync! Will sync online with Gmail, Yahoo!, Microsoft and AOL mail!
Sweet Stuff:
- ShopSavvy is awesome! Just line up a camera with just about any bar code, wait one second, and you will be able to check that items price just about anywhere:
- online stores
- stores in the area
- even make wish list and send them to your friends
Google’s phone will also introduce some cool other apps like:
- EcoRio - your own personal Global Warming Records Monitor
- BreadCrumbz – Make your own map off the beaten path
- the Amazon Mp3 Store! – down them directly
- Locale – Customize your GPS like never before
The G1 will launch across the UK in early November with Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and the Netherlands expecting a launch date in Q1 of 2009.
Some of you might be experiencing some problems with (jailbroken) App crashes. This is due to a changing of repositories and websites by BigBoss and Sleepers. Those of you familiar with them know that these are big names in the repo/Cydia world. There was some sort of falling out with the site people, causing BigBoss to move to his own site. This is ok for us, though, because the repos will be back to perfection in no time.
BigBoss has updated his site and his repos now, so there should be no problem there. He says:
I finally got the repository web apps working again. Remember that with these apps you can view everything in my Cydia repository without actually having Cydia open. You can see what’s new using the New Apps link, and you can see entire listing with the Hosting / Repository link (almost at 500 packages yay)…….I generally update the repository every day so check back often.
So far, Sleepers’ (lead writer Shaggy now) site is changing right now, s because of the extensive remodeling of the site (which looks pretty good, If i do say so myself). He says:
We are in the process of changing many things on the site. Some of these things include this new custom developed theme.
We understand that some people will not like the changes that are being made, this we apologize for.
We will still be focusing on supporting applications for the iPhone, while adding a few very exciting features to help the developers …
These updates shouldn’t affect the repos for long, as I have App problems fixed as of now. Good luck to both sites/repos, and continue the good work.
Currently the top free app, i.TV amazes…
This app helps you find what shows and movies are playing and on which channel or theatre they are airing at. Find new shows and keep up on old ones. It is a very usefull App for movie and TV show lovers alike.
- 144,000 TV shows
- 5,000 Local Theatres
- 6,000 TV previews and Movie Trailers
- You can also share favorites with your friends and write reviews
What is more exciting than the actual app though, is whats coming in the future.
- Watching Actual TV
- Remote Record TV shows to your DVR
- Mange your Movie Rentals
- Even Buying movie tickets
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Yes… Apple may shut down the iTunes Music Store. The Copyright Royalty Board in Washington, D.C. is expected to rule this Thursday on a request by the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) to exponentially increase royalty rates paid to its members on songs bought from online music stores like iTunes. This sucks because they will raise the rates from 9 cents up to 15 cents per track. This may not seem like a big deal but for iTunes, that’s a raise of 66%! Apple pays an estimated 70 cents of every dollar it collects per song to the record companies responsible for each track. The record companies turn over nine cents to the music publishers who control the copyrights to these songs. This doesn’t leave too much money for iTunes and they are not too happy.
Apple Inc. is highly against this act and shows its clear displeasure:
Eddy Cue; Vice President of iTunes said, “Apple has repeatedly made it clear that it is in this business to make money, and most likely would not continue to operate [the iTunes music store] if it were no longer possible to do so profitably.” AHHHHH!
The iTunes Music Store has been the Internets most successful music store for over five years. Piper Jaffray estimates that Apple will sell approximately 2.4 billion songs this year which gives Apple about 85% share of the digital music market. That’s a lot.
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1. Crow-Mag Ralley
Guide your Caveman (or Women) thru multiple courses found in the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages that wind to and fro, past hazards (lava pits, tornados and such), while you pick up power ups (like bones you can throw as weapons, extra traction for your tires, and oil slicks) you can use against the your opponents.
You Can either:
a. Race – in which you must beat your opponents to the finish line
-or-
b. Gather – in wich you must pick up more items than your opponents.
-or-
c. Multi-player
- 9 different tracks
- 9 different power-ups
- 11 different vehicles
Stone Age:
Desert
Jungle
Glaciers
Bronze Age:
Crete
The Great Wall
Giza
Iron Age:
Medieval
Viking Village
Atlantis
Single Player:
In one-player mode, you can practice on each track or go into tournament mode, in which you must win all the first three races in the Stone Age before going to the other Ages.
Multi-player Mayhem:
With two player, one can race head-to-head on a split screen or try or try any of the following alternate playing methods:
- Keep Away Tag: One character is “it” and has to tag another player within a certain amount of time to avoid elliminaion from play.
- Stampede Tag: One character is “it” and the other characters attempt to tag him. If player “it” avoids getting tagged for 2 minutes he or she wins.
- Survival: In this mode, the goal is to blast and ram all your opponents off the raceway before the players own health diminishes.
- Quest For Fire: This game is played with two teams in which each one hides the six torches of the other team throughout the land. The other team must find the six torches and get them back to home base without being rammed off the course (CTF Crow-Mag Ralley version)
Pros:
- Amazing Visual Perforamance that utilizes the accelerometer for steering and sounds effects from the original.
- You can change the difficulty as well as steering sensitivity, vibration toggel (which drains the battery), and other preferences.
- It’s great Fun!!
Cons:
- On-screen controls are a bit awkward for some people
- Drains Battery like most games
- The “Hot Spot” for the gas pedal can be quit annoying because your finger slips off of it randomly and you suddenly slow down for no reason
- Some say the game gets boring quickly (but obviously the majority of buyers love the game enough to buy it and recommend its use to others.
- Pricey
Overall a good fun App. worth buying if you enjoy racing games and don’t have to tight of a wallet. Tell us what you think
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The iPod Touch 2G
The new Touch is finally here . . . and what a pod it is. Only 8.5mm thin, with a great new contour design to fit perfectly and comfortably in the palm of your hand.
New Speakers: Just like the iPhone it now houses a external speaker so you can hear your music even without headphones.
Its Genius: 
The iPod Classic, iPod Nano, and iPod Touch all have a built in personal DJ. Genius is a smart playlist maker on the iPod that picks songs based on other songs and places them nicely in a playlist for you (Before, only iTunes could do this).
Example:
1. Your playing a song and like it so much you want to hear others just like it. 2. While playing the song, you tap the Genius symbol near the top of your iPod Touch.3. A new playlist appears in your playlist with that song as its title and songs like it as its contents.
Of Course, it has a great 3.5 In display with superb 3D positional sound, a built in Application store, built in Wi Fi, accelerometer, and kind of a GPS. The GPS tells you your “approximate location, gives you directions, and traffic in that area.
The iPod Touch 2G also includes a Nike Plus iPod Sports built in reciever (You still have to buy the one for your shoe though) – Your own personal trainer for your work outs.
A new Battery & Size:
- Music playback time: Up to 36 hours when fully charged
- Video playback time: Up to 6 hours when fully charged
Weight:
4.1 inches (110 mm)
Width:
2.4 inches (61.8 mm)
Depth:
0.33 inch (8.5 mm)
Weight:
4.05 ounces (115 grams)
Prices for the iPod Touch 2G:
8 Gb : $229.00 16GB : $299.00 32GB:
1,750 songs 3,500 songs 7,000 songs
10 hours of video 20 hours of video 40 hours of video
- Watch the Guided Tour Here:
http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/guidedtour/
Expected release date: September 9th
Due to the reduced iPhone prices, Apple’s new releases will most likely be accompanied by some more price cuts. Steve Jobs hinted at some great releases in a presentation of Apple’s third fiscal quarter results on July 21:
“We set a new record for Mac sales, we think we have a real winner with our new iPhone 3G, and we’re busy finishing several more wonderful new products to launch in the coming months.”
The new iPods and iPod Nanos will probably have more storage space and a new (but not too new) design. The iPod Nano will be thinner (6mm), longer, and will have a wider screen. The iPod Touch 2G will most likely have volume controls on the side, be a bit thicker, and resemble the iPhone 3G (no Camera though).
The only other hints so far revealed for the design of the iPod is a iPod Nano 4G Case made by Hamlin and
the CAD specs (Below). Concerning the actual look and color, I guess well just need to wait and see.
New iPod Touch 2G & Nano 4G Dimensions
Apple also just announced the release of its new MacBooks. More memory (up to 4gb), more storage (250gb), the lastest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, and the multi-touch track pad first introduced in the iPhone!
Of course to top it all of they had to also release the fastest Internet browser currently available: Safari 3.0! (The new Google Chrome, however, may give it a run for its money)
Please comment on any new Apple rumors and leaks!
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