The Parrot AR.drone, the flying quadricopter which is controlled by an iPhone/iPod touch, is now available for pre-order from Brookstone for $299. Using a combination of tilt and touch controls, users can fly the lightweight device to a distance of 50 meters and use its two cameras (one in front, one pointed down) to explore or race. Flight time was estimated to be about 15 minutes using the drone’s rechargeable battery.

Appletell had a first-hand experience with the AR.drone at Macworld 2010.

The drone will start shipping September 3rd, and is a Brookstone exclusive until the end of October.

Product [Parrot AR.drone]

Full Story » | Written by Bill Stiteler for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Dare I say that yet again? That we have it all? Actually, this week I’ve picked out a few more lite/free games that stood above the rest. Plus there were some useful utilities and limited time freebies this week. Take a look already!

• Digital Compass for iPhone - Yes, the iPhone already comes with a digital compass, but it doesn’t look like this.  This is one well-designed compass app.  In addition to direction, it provides exact degrees of direction, lattitude and longitude.  Plus, it looks great.  Did I mention that already?
• Sylo Synthesiser - Design your own synthesizer sound with this virtual instrument app.  You can either build a waveform or record a sound with the iPad’s mic and tweak it.  Then, play to your heart’s content.  There’s a lot of possibility here, but if you want to record or save your instruments, you’ll have to upgrade to the full version.
• Aqua Moto Racing 2 Lite - Race and trick around three courses with your jet ski in this sequel.  They say they’ve improved the game in every possible way, which apparently is quite the task since the original game was pretty well received.  This game brings me right back to the days of Nintendo 64, only my thumb hurts less this way.
• Eliminate GunRange Free - The full version of this game was one of the first to embrace the gyroscope in the iPhone 4.  Now they’ve tweaked their game and it’s possible to play with any iDevice, but it still performs the best on the iPhone 4 with the gyro.  Basically, you just shoot timed targets in this game, so it can get a bit repetitive.  There are 12 guns to choose from, though, and everyone likes guns.  The game is ad supported, so if you’re sick of them, just pay the buck for the full game.
• We Farm for iPad - If you like We Rule for iPad and Farmville, then maybe you can combine your interests and play this game.  We Farm challenges you to, well, farm.  How much farming can you take?
• Square Dare - An iPad-only version of the classic dots and boxes game.  The graphics are as nice as you could expect for such a simple game.  Just capture the squares like you used to do when “pen and paper” was still the most played game around.
• Mirro rZoom Free - The only iPhone 4 mirror app that zooms.  That is all.
• Live Journal - The year 2000 is calling with this awesome new journal service called LiveJournal.  I’m not sure anyone still uses LiveJournal, but they just made an app, so I trust someone still does.
• Flashlight - Still don’t have a flashlight app for iPhone 4?  No worries, this one does it all: flashlight and strobe without ads.  You can control the amount of time the light is on and off during strobe independently.
• Mini Webcam - Use your iPhone as a networked webcam.  You can view the output of the camera built into your iPhone via any web browser on the same network as your iPhone.  That kind of limits its functionality, but then again, the iPhone is way more expensive than a webcam.
• The Word - Thanks to Vitamin Water, you can get Colbert’s the Word app for free for a limited time.  It gives you access to every “The Word” segment he’s ever had.  Has he ever done “Bird”?  I thought that was the word. A b-b-bird bird bird, bird is the word…  Who needs to steal songs when I can just get them stuck in your head?
• Ultimate Solitaire - Free for a limited time, this app has the two most popular solitaire games: one and three card Klondike.  And I’m sure that’s more than enough for many of you, so have fun and download it before they start charging again.

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

TUAWiPad class action lawsuit heats up originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Now that mobile technology has become such a huge part of our lives, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act has to be ammended to reflect the changing technologies. Here's a look at what has changed, what has stayed the same, and what we could be facing now that Congress has ruled that jailbreaking is a totally legal activity.

This past Monday, the internet, newspapers and television were all buzzing with the news that jailbreaking your iPhone was no longer a practice frowned upon by the law. The Library of Congress, which holds sway over the U.S. Copyright Office, announced that there would be changes to the legislation governing how consumers may employ the digital software and hardware they own. Those exemptions, now in effect, have a significant impact on how and where a number of the technologies we see everyday are used, including our trusty iPhones.

The media frenzy--and indeed, the reasons why you are now able to jailbreak your iPhone (or any mobile phone for that matter)--are due to changes made to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA): a piece of legislation that governs the ways you're allowed to utilize a lot of the technologies you take for granted every day.

For those not familiar with the DMCA, it was designed to work in conjunction with the Copyright Act of 1976, protecting the companies that sell digital wares from having their goods copied or modified in an unauthorized manner.  Up until this week, there were few exceptions to the DMCA. For example, unless you were an academic sort looking to educate your students with a few well-chosen film clips, making a copy of a copyrighted video was illegal. Jailbreaking your iPhone? Verboten! Making a mix-tape of tunes from your physical or digital library for that pretty music columnist who stopped by your record store last week? Evil!

Back then, some forward-thinking government-type also caught on to the fact that technology advances faster than it was becoming possible to account for. With technology breakthroughs being introduced daily, the DMCA would need to evolve over time. As a result, it was decided that the content of the DMCA should be given a good going over once every three years. Typically, the fine print introduced or altered in the three-year rotation has served the interests of copyright holders who introduced products into the marketplace that hadn’t been considered for protection during the last time the DMCA was tinkered with.

This week, however, things ran astray of the status quo.

Thanks to the efforts of the Electronic Frontier Foundation--an organization dedicated to the defense of the digital rights of Americans--consumers have gained some pretty significant elbow room in how and where they can legally use a number of increasingly ubiquitous hardware and software technologies. The changes come as a result of the EFF’s tireless lobbying, which resulted in six exemptions to the Act. Effective immediately, you can now legally crack computer/console game DRM for the purpose of "research and investigation," bypass software security that requires a hardware component that is either broken or is no longer obtainable, and--in a huge victory for the visually-impaired--break the DRM on encrypted eBooks so that the content can be read aloud, regardless of whether or not the eBook’s copyright refuses the user permission to do so.

That’s only half of the exceptions. What about the other three? Well, we were saving the best for last.

First, all of those DVDs you own? Go ahead and rip ‘em, provided the copies don’t end up making you any cash or find their way into the hands of anyone else. Second, you now have the right to jailbreak a mobile phone and trot it over to any network you want. Last and certainly not least, it’s also game-on for jailbreaking your phone--no matter the make--in order to run any software you darn well please.

No doubt you can imagine that AT&T and Apple, along with other companies with significant cellular interests, weren’t thrilled about the last two points. With so many iPhone users complaining about AT&T’s service, the ability to port your handset to another network could see the cellular provider bleeding money. Apple, too, could lose a fair chunk of coin should a larger number of consumers opt to stray outside of the walled garden of the iTunes App Store in favor of snagging software from another vendor now that it’s a legal option to do so.

Mac|Life contacted AT&T and Apple, and, for the sake of adding a little spice to the conversation, Google and Microsoft, for their view on the changes to the DMCA. At the time that this story was filed, none of the companies have provided a response. However, Apple did voice their displeasure over the ruling in a missive sent to the U.S. Copyright Office:

“Apple is opposed to the proposed… exemption… Congress did not envision the DMCA exemption process as a forum for economic restructuring of business models. Instead, Congress set up a focused and limited inquiry – whether prohibiting circumvention of access controls will in specific instances have a substantial adverse effect on non-infringing uses of particular classes of works.”

Add to this the fact that Apple has stated that in spite of the new exemptions, jailbreaking will still void the warranties of an iPhone or iPod touch, and it becomes pretty clear that Apple has no plans to alter their current course insofar as their insular polices surrounding the App Store or their mobile hardware is concerned.

What do those working to enable jailbreaks on Apple devices think of all of this? If you ask Jay Freeman (Saurik) of the iPhone Dev Team, he’d tell you that not much will change for them.

“I think it’s definitely business as usual,” said Freeman. “People now seem to think that Apple’s now forced to do things. The only thing Apple would be forced to do now that they weren’t before is not sue us over [jailbreaking]. Back when they could have, they never sent me a lawsuit. I’ve never received any communication from Apple saying that anything I’ve done is illegal.” Freeman commented that the biggest change he'd noticed in the days since the Library of Congress’ ruling was the amount of press they were getting. “Earlier today, CNN was actually discussing jailbreaking. They had a jailbroken iPhone on set, and I think one of the guys mentioned that they had a jailbroken iPhone and they didn’t feel ashamed anymore. That means a lot of people are going to get a nice happy emotion about this. Maybe they hadn’t even heard of jailbreaking before, and now they know what it does.”

With so little time having past since the six exemptions were made, it’s difficult to forecast the alterations, if any, that Apple, AT&T and their contemporaries may make to their business practices or technology. Will Apple continue to update iOS with safeguards against jailbreaking? Most likely. Will jailbreaking become more commonplace as it gains more press? Perhaps. What is certain is that change always brings innovation, and that’s a great thing for both consumers and the companies who provide the products and services we love.

MonotoriCam is an application designed to bring an easy depth of field effect to the iPhone. It allows you to take new photos with this effect or add the effect to existing photos on your device.

What is it?

This application is a lightweight iPhone image editor designed solely for the depth of field effect. For non-shutterbugs in the crowd, this effect consists of adding a sort of blur to the top and bottom of images to make the content of the image appear to be almost miniature. It’s a simple concept that can create some pretty awesome looking images when applied to the right ones.

How does it work?

MonotoriCam is extremely simple. You just load the camera or an image you already have and then tap where you want the center of focus to be. Once the effect is applied, in about two seconds of loading you have the ability to save the image or share it on Twitter. You can also change the shape of the effect.

Is it contagious?

If you really enjoy this type of editing, it certainly can be. However, since MonotoriCam only does this one type of editing, it could get old fast.

Category: Photography
Developer: Tsuruki Oga
Cost: $0.99
Download: MonotoriCam

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Provides: Customizable iPhone 4 protection
Colors: Black, ivory, blue, green, or pink
Developer: Coveroo
Minimum Requirements: iPhone 4
Price: $29.95 (+$5 for color vs engraving of design, +$5 for custom text up to 15 characters)
Availability: Now

The HardCandy Shell case from Coveroo offers something unique—the ability to customize your case. As if this ability alone wasn’t enough to convince you to get your case from Coveroo, feel safe knowing it is a great case all around.

The custom case designing process begins with you picking an image from their library of thousands (that is also expanding quite rapidly lately as hundreds of more designs have been added even since I ordered mine). The categories for customization include everything from music and animals to college teams and TV shows. The library really is quite extensive.

After you choose the image/design you want, you then choose which case you want. Assuming you are getting this case for an iPhone 4, you would simply have to choose between the colors they offer. That said, they do also offer cases for the iPhone 3G and 3GS that I would assume are created from the same material, etc.

You’re then brought to the last steps, which consist of changing the color if you want, choosing whether you want the design engraved or in color, and if you want to add text. After that, you’re done. You can simply submit your order and wait patiently for the mailman every day for the next week or so. For my case, I choose an Iron Man graphic in color as well as the custom text, “Yeah, I can fly,” as a quote from the movie.

All those customizable features are nifty and all, but what about the quality and feel of the case? In my opinion, it’s one of the best cases you could get for your iPhone 4. For one, it easily snaps on to your phone and covers the back, left, right, and corners of the device, The top and bottom are left mostly open to allow access to the headphone jack, pin connector, etc. In fact, it fits so well that it’s actually kind of a pain to get off.

Furthermore, the case itself is very thin and doesn’t add a lot of heft or bulk to the iPhone. The phone feels just as slick with the case on as it does with it off, and the type of material used to manufacture the case also feels great to the touch. In terms of protecting the phone from minor daily scratches, this case would definitely do the trick. When it comes to dropping the phone and protecting against a cracked screen, I wouldn’t be so sure. That said, I wasn’t willing to test this ability with my iPhone 4.

If you choose to have a color graphic, this (as well as any possible text you may have added) almost looks as if it was screen-printed like with a shirt. It has a unique texture and doesn’t appear as if it would rub off easily. In terms of losing the richness of the colors, only time will tell. It seems quite durable, though. The image will be printed in the middle of the case, and any custom text appears right below that but above the Coveroo logo.

I’d definitely recommend this case to anyone looking for a slick, slim way to protect their iPhone 4 from daily usage. It looks awesome, stays out of the way, and feels great.

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

What do you get when you take two of the most common iPad accessories—a stand and a battery—and combine them in one? The HyperMac Stand. It adds 16 hours of battery life, recharges over USB and works with cased or naked iPads with two angles of view. The HyperMac Stand might just solve two or more of your problems at once, but the idea behind combining a stand and a battery has some benefits that may be less obvious.

The idea behind combining a stand and a battery has some benefits that may be less obvious.  For instance, one accessory is easier to lug around than two.  But what may be less obvious is that batteries are a bit heavy, meaning the weight of the battery will aid in the stability of the stand.  Some stands add weight to do this, but this combo is a match made in heaven since you aren’t adding dead weight to the stand unnecessarily.  Plus it looks to have a low center of gravity, further preventing your iPad from going anywhere.

The Stand connects to your computer over mini USB.  While connected, it will recharge and pass through data, so you can sync your iPad at the same time too.  The two slots will hold your iPad at either 18 or 45 degrees (from vertical) with or without a case.  When fully charged, the Stand provides your iPad with about 16 extra hours of battery life.  That’s over 24 total hours’ worth of battery.  Whatever will you do with all of that battery life?  I’m guessing spread it over the course of a week.

You can get the HyperMac Stand straight from HyperMac for $129.95.

Buy HyperMac Stand

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Real Flashlight for iPhone 4 is just like any other flashlight app you could imagine. The interface consists of an on and off button and, when on, the LED flash on the iPhone lights up.

What is it?

The purpose of this application is to help you find your way in the dark, as the iPhone’s flash is much, much brighter than the screen. However, this app is also meant for intense partying as it includes a strobe option that simply rapidly flashes the iPhone’s LED on and off.

How does it work?

Although the idea for this type of application is simple, the interface is kind of ugly. A large on and off button appears in the middle of the screen and reads “on” right away which is kind of confusing because the flash isn’t on. A simply, randomly placed slider at the bottom of the app enables strobe mode, and another button at the top allows you to turn the camera view on and off.

Is it contagious?

At $0.99, you’d be better off downloading one of the dozens of free flashlight applications. Not only do they do the same thing, they probably put more than one minute of design into their interfaces.

Category: Utilities
Developer: John H. Meyer
Cost: $0.99
Download: Real Flashlight for iPhone 4

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Due to a recent ruling from the Library of Congress (who has power to add exceptions to certain copyright laws), Apple may have a difficult time taking a stronger stance against jailbreaking of their devices. According to the New York Times, this ruling would mean it is now “... legal to bypass a phone’s controls on what software it will run to get ‘lawfully obtained’ programs to work.” What does this mean? Jailbroken app stores such as Cydia are now perfectly acceptable under the law. However, what this doesn’t mean is that getting apps free from Apple’s App Store through jailbreaking is legal. Actions such as that are still considered stealing.

While this is good news for the entire cell phone industry (people who enjoy tinkering with phones will now be able to do so legally), it is especially good for iPhone jailbreakers. I think it’s safe to say the iPhone started the jailbreak craze (at least in the mainstream eye), so the thousands of people who choose to do so are now protected. Still, according to an Apple spokeswoman, Apple holds to their belief: “As we’ve said before, the vast majority of customers do not jailbreak their iPhones, as this can violate the warranty and can cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably.”

While I don’t see a benefit to jailbreaking in terms of how I use my iPhone, plenty of people do. This new law now says, go ahead, there’s nothing stopping you.

Via [The New York Times]

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Maptool X is an application that&#151instead of helping you navigate the world—helps you navigate the stock market. Using differently sized buildings on a visual map, it’s meant to help analyze your investments.

What is it?

Maptool X doesn’t rely on charts and graphs to indicate investment performance. Instead, it lays out companies in a particular category as territories on an older style map.

How does it work?

When you launch Maptool X, you can either watch a tutorial or begin mapping right away. To map, you must pick the stock sector followed by the sub industry. This can help when you like investing in a particular field in which you may know the companies. If you simply want to see a certain stock in which you’re interested, you can search for their ticker label as well. Lastly, by tapping on them, the application can show you more detailed information about companies and their stocks.

Is it contagious?

At $20, it seems a little pricey. However, for those people who enjoy investing and analyzing their stocks in different ways that may be easier for them, it could be worth it. It is actually sort of fun to see the most highly traded companies tower over their competitors on a Darwinian map.

Category: Finance
Developer: Wall Street Images, LLC
Cost: $19.99
Download: Maptool X

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Having serious problems with your iPhone 4’s reception related to the death grip maneuver? If so, Best Buy and invisibleSHIELD would like to help. It’s not cold hard fact yet, but there are some pretty convincing images floating around that show they’re teaming up to offer the invisibleSHIELD 4fix free to any iPhone 4 user, regardless of where you purchased it.

I know, you’re saying there has to be some kind of catch. Sorry, no catch here. Unless you were thinking that you were going to get a full screen protector for free.  Nope, the 4fix covers the antennae of your reception-impaired iPhone 4.  This might be better that Apple’s free case program for some users, since this solution is about as thin as possible.  Typical invisibleSHIELD protectors cover all sides of the iPhone 4.  And if the full invisibleSHIELD product is similar to the XO Skin protector for iPhone 4 (and I think it is), then it’s likely worth what it costs.  While the 4fix won’t protect your screen, it should alleviate most problems that some users report having with the exposed antennae of the iPhone 4.  I’m betting most people won’t bother dropping by Best Buy for their free 4fix since I believe the reception issue isn’t as big a deal as some are making it out to be. 

Remember, this isn’t official yet, but Engadget says they have numerous tipsters saying it’s true.  So, before you make a special trip to Best Buy, give them a call.  Or just wait for the official announcement.

Also see:

• iPhone 4 Case Program product details
• Free iPhone 4 Bumper alternative deals

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

More and more, I’m becoming a fan of skins for my iDevices. I like that they protect the products without adding extra bulk, I like that I can still use them with cases and holsters when necessary, and I like that they provide numerous options for me to customize my case with something beyond a color or pattern. MusicSkins and GelaSkins were quick to offer iPhone 4 designs, and I’ve had the chance to try them both out.

And while we’re at it, let’s talk about the StealthArmor for iPhone 4, too.

GelaSkins for iPhone 4

GelaSkins ($14.95) is about artwork. You will find no licensed sports teams, bands, or TV shows here, just an impressive array of designs from over 100 artists, contemporary and classic. This is good, because in many instances, the designs seem tailored for use on tiny devices such as the iPhone 4.

For my test unit, I went with The Enamored Whale by Alberto Cerriteño. It’s not that I’m a fan of Alberto, per say, but that I just kind of dug that particular design for my iPhone. It does look good on it, helped by the fact that GelaSkins carries the design across the entire phone. You not only get the skin for the back, but for the sides and the top/bottom of the front as well.

In addition, they include a wallpaper you can download for your Lock and Home Screens, sized appropriately for the iPhone 4 960x640 pixel resolution.

The skins are fairly easy to apply, mainly because you can remove and reapply them repeatedly until you get the proper placement. I had no trouble with the back or front pieces, but oddly, the thinner side pieces took some work before I felt they were straight enough to leave in place. The only real problem I had here was with the cutouts for the camera, volume buttons and such, which always peeled up with the skin and were difficult to pop free.

As far as skins go, there are few sets as complete as what you get from GelaSkins. They offer complete protection from scratches and scuffs (only the edge top and bottom are exposed), and if you save your backing, you can remove them and use them again later (I tried this only once, so I can’t verify how many times this will work). You get the most for your money here, and with the wide number of artists available, you’re sure to find a design you like.

If not, you can always create your own.

MusicSkins

MusicSkins ($15.00) also allows you to create your own skin. If you’d rather access their library of designs, they also offer a collection of modern artists from which to choose. Their main focus, however, is on pop culture. As such, you can choose from bands, fashion models, cartoons, and even media outlets or the President of the United States. This is where you go when you want people to know you’re a big fan of Queen, for example, like I did.

The skin itself is comparable to that of the GelaSkins model, offering solid scratch protection in a format that can be easily applied and removed. However, you only receive the back skin here; nothing for the front or edges. This isn’t a deal breaker, but something to consider, especially seeing that the prices are about the same.

In addition, the matching graphic you can download to use as your wallpaper is only available in the old 480x320 resolution of the previous iPhone models. Not a big deal, since you can easily create your own matching wallpaper or just wait until MusicSkins upgrades theres, which I anticipate they will.

Although GelaSkins offers the better deal, it’s not significant enough to give MusicSkins a pass. The quality of the skins themselves is comparable, so I do recommend you check out MusicSkins to see if they’ve got a design you like more than what GelaSkins has to offer.

Stealth Armor

I’m not actually going to review the Stealth Armor for iPhone 4 (starting at $25), as we instead decided to give the review units away. (You did enter, right?) We recently ran reviews of Stealth Armor for iPad and Stealth Armor for iPhone 3G, so check those out for critical analysis of this skin. However, we want to make sure you’re aware of this option, as well.

The Stealth Armor is more rugged than what you get from GelaSkins and MusicSkins. The material used here was originally designed for race cars, after all. Do you need that for an iPhone? I suppose it depends upon whether you hold your phone out the window when racing home from work. But when it comes to protection, there’s no such thing as overkill. As with the GelaSkins, matching side covers are included.

The drawback to the increased strength is that getting it on your iPhone is more of a chore (it comes with a complete tool kit). Once you remove it, you’re done. Also, the designs are much more limited (woodgrain, leather, brushed aluminum, carbon fiber, etc.). They’re all quite sharp and professional looking, but you won’t be making a fashion/art statement with these.

Of course, aren’t you already doing that just by having an iPhone 4?

Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

So, Skelanimals is a thing, I guess? I went to their website, and there’s a picture of some girl from some TV show with Skelanimals on the butt of her pants. I’m thinking, “Man, what an odd iPhone app promotion, but it’d be funnier if she had Maps or Compass sewn on there.” Then I realized that Skelanimals is a fashion/toy line of some sort, and is now an iPhone rhythm game. I’ve got no thought on Skelanimals branded pants, but as far as rhythm games go, the iPhone app is not too bad.

What is it?

Whether you’re into Skelanimals really won’t affect your opinion of this game all that much. Their characters do appear (you can unlock multiple skelanimals and their “unique dance moves”), but it’s all just dressing on top of basic screen tap and slide gameplay. However, don’t get the idea this is another Rock Band, Guitar Hero or Tap Tap; your musical choices are limited by comparison, but the gameplay is quite a bit more unique.

How does it work?

Instead of tapping the bottom of the screen as the notes drop, you tap multiple points on the screen as a line sweeps over buttons in a clockwise manner. Some you tap, some you hold, some you hold and tap, etc. The better your accuracy and timing, the better your score.

As you do well, you’ll unlock new songs and characters. This is not my style of music (The Secret Handshake? The Maine? Sparks the Rescue?), but I imagine if you’re into dance tracks, this will work for you. Regardless, the music is a good fit for the graphics and gameplay. Party play and multiple skill levels are available, and you can share your scores online.

Is it contagious?

Skelanimals Dance Party is very upbeat and a little charming (I can understand the appeal of undead teddy bears, I suppose). You’d have to like the music to enjoy the game, though, as there are currently only 10 tracks from bands who pretty much all sound the same (variety isn’t a strongpoint of dance music after all). It’s a good way to kill some time while you’re waiting to get into your favorite club…provided the line’s not that long.

Category: Rhythm games
Developer: Flying Penguin
Cost: $0.99
Download: Skelanimals Dance Party

Follow Kirk on:

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Before I got my iPhone 4, I was running iOS 4.0 on my iPhone 3G, and I hated it. Even without multitasking and a background image, my iPhone 3G ran slower than I could stand for day to day tasks as mundane as sending a text. If you’ve been having the same issue and don’t want to upgrade to an iPhone 3GS or 4, there is a potential fix (outside of simply downgrading your iOS to 3.1.3).

A commenter over on Gizmodo (cleverly named acidrain69) posted an interesting tidbit in the comment section with the details:

Go to Settings- General -Home - Search Results, and shut off everything you don’t need (I disabled Music, Podcasts, Video and Audiobooks; leaving Contacts, apps, Notes, Mail and Calendar checked). Made my phone a lot quicker, more like it was with v2 (I’m still running v3.1.2, jailbroken).

Before, there was a good 2-4 second lag when exiting or loading an app. Now it’s back to it’s old speediness.

Someone on the WSJ forum mentioned a bug in spotlight, but didn’t say how to disable spotlight search. I don’t see an option to disable it entirely.

Basically, these simple instructions disable Spotlight search on the iPhone, for the most part. While this tip wouldn’t be useful if you use Spotlight a lot, if you’re like me, you’ve only used it once or twice. Even though this may only work for some users, it’s certainly easy enough to try out for a day or so considering it doesn’t require hacking.

Try it out, and let us know if you get the same results as other iPhone 3G owners are.

Via [Life Hacker]

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According to information revealed from a recent FCC filing, Sprint may have plans to release an iPod Touch case that would turn it into a full 3G-to-Wi-Fi hotspot. This ZTE device would function a lot like a Mifi or similar device in that it would use Sprint’s 3G network to bring data to the iPod Touch in the form of a hotspot wherever it goes.

However, it would also perhaps even allow other devices to connect to the hotspot to serve as an internet hub for devices other than just the iPod touch. Right now the details of this device are all speculation as Sprint has yet to announce this product to the public.

Regardless of which mobile network provider creates a case such as this, I sincerely hope it happens. Not only would it help iPod touch owners get coverage anywhere, I could also see this being adapted to Wifi iPads. Now, keep in mind that the reason people may have bought these products was to avoid having to pay any sort of monthly fee. Therefore, I would think Sprint would have to make the price point for such a product very appealing.

Via [iPodNN]

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Remember that time you were going to a fictional country in Africa and your plane crashed and you lost your memory and you couldn’t leave and you had to solve a bunch of puzzles and find a bunch of things? That’s because this is an abridged version of the PC game Paradise, which also took on this new name in its Nintendo DS version, so you’ve probably done all of this before. The game has been shortened, altered and customized for the iPhone, but it’s as pretty as ever.

What is it?

The Last King of Africa is a puzzle adventure that centers around Ann Smith, so named because she has amnesia after a plane crash, and those who found her call her by the author’s name of the book she was carrying (note to self, never lose memory in Africa while reading a book by Sparkle Hayter). Ann needs to find her identity and get back to home, and she’s going to need to solve a lot of puzzles in order to do it.

How does it work?

Unlike in its previous iterations, The Last King of Africa for iPhone plays in a static, third-person point-of-view. You don’t get the nodes with 360° movement as with some other iPhone adventure games; rather, each screen indicates where to tap if you want to explore an item or move to another location. Some usable items have that sparkly effect to call your attention to them, while others (such as the green gems you can find) require you to find and tap them on your own. It’s a simple but interesting movement/inventory system that I actually quite liked on the tiny iPhone screen.

Along the way, there are numerous puzzles of differing styles to solve. This, of course, is the main appeal of the game; you play these for the mental challenge. Unfortunately, the puzzles in The Last King of Africa aren’t terribly inventive, nor are they all that tough to figure out.

All of this is tied together by a somewhat choppy story, which research tells me is because the iPhone version is abridged (I’ve never played the previous iterations). I found this odd; considering it’s only the first episode, there’s certainly time to tell the full tale. Perhaps the developers wanted to move the first episode along quickly in order to hook gamers for episode 2?

Is it contagious?

Well, if you’d have this before, you’re likely immune to it now. The Last King of Africa is certainly very pretty to look at, and there was never a point in my play-through when I found myself getting bored. However, this first episode is somewhat short, and it’s made shorter by the fact that it’s fairly easy. This is good if you play these games for the adventure and story, as you’ll never lose interest due to puzzle frustration. But it’s bad if you’re looking for a good puzzle-solving challenge. If you have a DS or PC nearby, you may want to look into buying those versions instead.

Category: Adventure/puzzle games
Developer: Bulkypix
Cost: $2.99
Download: The Last King of Africa

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Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Adding custom wallpaper to your iPhone with its new OS is a great way to provide an extra dimension of customization. It can also be a great big pain in the butt if you do not want to choose from the basic ones that come with the phone. Yet, it can be done with iOS 4, a little bit of time, the right set of instructions, and…a jailbroken iPhone. So, let’s get down to business and get you the custom wallpaper of your dreams*.

1. Save your images as a .png with at least a resolution of 480 by 320 pixels. You can save the files in Preview if you need to convert the format. It would be best if your image was similar in dimensions to the screen of your phone. The.png format is essential because it is the only format that will work for this application. A good resolution is 160 dpi; go any lower and you may have poor image quality.
2. Name your files 127.png and higher in sequential order and save them to your iPhone. Then, make copies with the titles 127.thumbnail.png, replacing the numbers as you need to for each image in sequential order.
3. Copy the files into the directory: /Library/Wallpaper/iPhone/
4. Now turn off your phone, restart and sync it to your computer as you usually would.

* Please note that this method does require your target iPhone to has been jailbroken. Since this process is a violation of your Apple EULA, we cannot give you instructions on how to do there here (even though you now have permission from the Library of Congress). But you can find video on how to do it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj7nXPXCgPM

Full Story » | Written by Katie Gatto for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Category: Camera
Seller: Boinx
Requirements: iOS 4.0 or later
Compatibility: iPhone 4
File Size: 11.1MB
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Price: $1.99
Age Rating: 4+

You Gotta See This! from Boinx software is a camera application that takes advantage of the gyroscope in the iPhone 4. It’s main purpose it to create different sorts of virtual collages by snapping a series of pictures in a scene and then placing them around each other.

The overall interface of the application is quite simple. When first launched, the main screen will simply be whatever your camera sees. A “?” button in the bottom left serves as an easy-to-use tutorial, and a gear button in the bottom right allows you to change settings such as whether to use the flash, which camera to use, and how to focus. The main button, a camera in the middle, is used to start and stop the image taking process.

Once you start the process, you are supposed to slowly move your phone across whatever it is you want to show someone. I’ve found that it works best if you sweep slowly across a landscape or something horizontal. The app has built-in features such as a changing border color to let you know if you may be moving too fast. Once the process is done, you are brought to an interface (like the one in the image below) that allows you to view your creation in six different ways. These include Light Table Collage, Polaroid Stone, Dark Table Collage, Vintage Fabric, Magic Light, and Wall of Tiles.

Some of these collages work much better than others. For instance, I found both the Light and Dark Table Collages to be sort of nifty, while the Wall of Tiles doesn’t work very well in terms of a collage. Perhaps certain templates work better based on how you sweep the iPhone across your area.

Overall, this application can be noted as neat but not necessarily one of the best camera apps I’ve seen. You can tell this app is a version 1.0 application as it doesn’t seem quite fully baked yet. I was presented with some strange situations—the button used to start recording would sometimes not register my tap, and the interface for recording itself occasionally changed in terms of how the camera image is displayed. That said, these issues were mostly fixed by closing the app fully, as instructed at Boinx’s support page.

Furthermore, the interface overall appeared to be somewhat slow at times.

In summary, it’s a cool idea, but this could definitely use some more testing and refinement to get it to a stage where it’s worth the small purchase.

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

One of the big strengths of the App Store is its ability to provide users with concise and simple information from the Web in a neat iOS package. The latest is from Quebec-based Atomic Software, which wants to help you repair your bike while on the road.

Japan's industry ministry has warned Apple's iPod nano may pose a fire hazard and has called on the company to take action.

TUAWParrot AR.Drone now available for pre-order at Brookstone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: American Museum of Natural History Explorer app

TUAWThe American Museum of Natural History's Explorer app for the iPhone and iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here's hugely interesting: seems that in April, Apple dumped its previous location service partners, Google and Skyhook, preferring instead to use its own location databases.

Now, if you think about it, these databases must constitute at least in part some of the intellectual property Apple acquired with its Quattro purchase. That naturally boosted by iTunes and iPhone data gathering.

Apple's move to control its own harvest of location-based data makes complete sense too from the pov of a company tryiung to get iAds off the ground.

In a letter from Apple's chief legal beagle, Bruce Sewell, AAPL confirmed the changes (kudos to TechCrunch).

To provide the high quality products and services that its customers demand, Apple must have access to comprehensive location-based information. For devices running iPhone OS versions 1.1.3 to 3.1, Apple relied on (and still relies on) databases maintained by Google and Skyhook Wireless (“Skyhook”) to provide location-based services. Beginning with the iPhone OS version 3.2 released in April 2010, Apple relies on its own databases to provide location-based services and for diagnostic purposes. These databases must be updated continuously to account for, among other things, the ever-changing physical landscape, more innovative uses of mobile technology, and the increasing number of Apple’s customers. Apple has always taken great care to protect the privacy of its customers.

Apple is now in complete control of the location services on the iPhone (and iPad/iPod touch).

Looks like Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer has woken up to smell the same coffee I'm smelling -- that Apple is chasing HP to become the world's biggest PC maker, and now the MSFT top man has said he's gunning for the tablet market.

As the world waits for Ballmer's words to materialize as something with somewhat more than Zune's 1 percent marketshare, and iMac maker Quanta confirms it will make twice as many iMacs as it will make all-in-on PCs for HP, let's look at Ballmers wordage...

On Apple's storming uber-succesful iPad, Ballmer said, with great grace, "Apple has done an interesting job of putting together a product -- they've certainly sold more than I'd like them to sell."

Enchantee. Also enchanting is Microsoft's determination that Windows 7 tablets will become relevant once the company delivers a credible machine (assuming it can get hold of the components).

"They'll be shipping as soon as they are ready," Ballmer said. "It is job one urgency. No one is sleeping at the switch."

"We have got to make things happen. Just like we had to make things happen on netbooks, we have to with Windows 7 on slates. We're in the process of doing that as we speak."

Translation: Now Apple's shown us how, we're firing up the photocopiers. Or is that unfair?

iPhone headaches continue, this time French carrier, SFR, is warning iPhone 3G users that iOS 4 significantly slows down their device, while Apple promises to fix the speed flaw and potential fixes emerges from out of the chatter.

SFR Info: updating of the iPhone 3G to software slows significantly iOS 4 navigation menus. Any update is irreversible.
This information concerns only the iPhone 3G and not the iPhone 3G.

In brief: story is that 3G and 3GS iPhone owners have seen their device speed slow considerably on upgrading to iOS 4. Apple is preparing a patch for this...

Various tip sites say to clean out the Spotlight options, but according to our commentors, that doesn't work so well.  Others have had luck with Hard Resets every few days.

If you use Google’s Picasa web albums to share photos, you’ll want to be able to access that online photo-sharing service from your iPhone or iPod touch. Uvento’s iPicasso app is a simple way to upload and view your photos from your mobile device.