The Iphone Blog

Archive for April, 2010

I’m waiting here like a kid at Christmas, pulling the curtains, hoping to see the UPS truck outside. Some of you guys on the east coast may have got yours by now. Let us know in the comments. And send us pictures; we’ll post them.

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It’s time for our weekly digest of tiny iPhone reviews, courtesy of iPhoneTiny.com, with some extra commentary exclusive to Cult of Mac.
This time, we review Asteroid Panic (iPad), Dizzypad, Doppelgänger, PapiJump for iPad, and Super Turbo Action Pig.

APP OF THE WEEK
Super Turbo Action Pig: One-thumb iCopter-like survival game with fantastic art direction and loads of [...]

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“The Future of the Web is HTML5,” Microsoft declared. The software giant, in throwing its weight behind the Apple-approved standard, also announced its upcoming Internet Explorer 9 will not use Adobe Flash for video playback.
“Microsoft is deeply engaged in the HTML5 process with the W3C,” the Redmond, Wash.-based company announced in on its Internet Explorer [...]

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Announcing just release of the new app for iphone, ipod touch and ipad called 8 bit rebellion- new game created by rock band LINKIN PARK, game developer Artificial Life, Inc. and Warner Bros. It is a big surprise for music fans and gamers!

The main idea of the game is to retrieve the band’s brand new, unreleased music track – Blackbirds, that is stolen. In the end, after completion of all missions during the game you can unlocked the song which was made exclusively for the game by Linkin Park. App offers adventurous game with six unique districts each demonstrating the bend’s members specific style.

The game includes8-bit remixes of several Linkin Park tracks. Idea and actually production of the game started more then a year ago. Linkin park 8-Bit Rebellion is a result of Close cooperation of Linkin park, Artificial life and Warner bros. Bend members avatars were designed by Mike Shinoda the vocalist of linkin park.
For iPad’s larger screen the user interface has been specially redesigned. The iPad app also includes two control schemes, allowing players to choose the setting that best suits their gaming style.

Additional game features include:

• Personalization of players’ avatars and apartments provide a unique community experience
• Non-player characters (NPCs) inhabit the world, adding drama to the gaming experience
• Shopping for virtual items with coins awarded by winning fights and completing missions
• Earning trophies for adding friends to the rebellion
• A news feed to stay up-to-date with Linkin Park
• Facebook and Twitter integration connecting millions of social network users worldwide

The iPad app features include:

• Enhanced graphics to allow players to see their avatars and the six districts come to life in great detail
• Optimized user interface for the larger screen makes menu items easy to access at all times: equip weapons and change music tracks without ever leaving the main screen.
• Multiple controls so gamers can choose between two control schemes to best fit their playing styles. The iPad-specific D-pad setup has been implemented for players more comfortable with button-oriented controls.

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The Today in iPhone Podcast has done some pretty serious investigative work into a website that accepts money from developers to highly rate their apps. The website is YourAppReviewed.com, and they charge around $10 per review on the app store. While the site denies that it posts fake reviews, Today in iPhone actually did some digging, and found the same reviewer reviewing apps covering: subliminal messages,  Acne, Weight, keeping new years resolutions, finding a mate, improving his sex life with the mate he was looking for, being successful, being happy, and an app for Marathoners and Triathletes.

Rob Walch compiled a list of both the users identified as working for this group, and the apps they’ve reviewed. The worst offenders were Various Prof McMurphy’s Subliminal Techniques Apps, with some 44 fake ratings, then Super Camera 2: ALL-IN-1 with 19.

It’s a pretty damning list, and really raises concern about this practive.

We’ve stated it before, but it’s worth re-iterating: Everything iCafé does not accept money from developers for reviews. We will use free download codes, but that’s it.

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iPhone analytical group Distimo have released their most recent monthly report, and unsurprisingly, the iPad app store is doing gangbusters. There are now 4,870 iPad apps since launch, and during the last two weeks, the number of titles increased 32.7%. A full 32% of the iPad apps are games, with some 1,577 titles in that section, followed by 455 in Entertainment and 396 in Books.

Also interesting are the comparisons between apps for the iPhone and the iPad. For the iPhone, 73% of the apps are paid, but for its big brother, that goes up to 80%. The average price on the iPhone is $3.82, compared to $4.67 on the tablet.

So which section will suck up the most of your money? Medical applications have an incredibly high average price of $42.11, and Finance will also hit you in the wallet, $18.48 on average. Those same section on the iPhone? $10.74 and $5.74 respectively.

I guess the iPad may have a future as a medical device after all.

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Last December, Apple picked up music sharing service Lala, a purchase that prompted many to guess that iTunes in the cloud might be happening soon. For the last six months, no major updates have occurred, and now it appears Apple is shutting the service down. Lala is no longer accepting new sign-ups, and existing users can use the service until the end of May.

For existing customers, their web songs and current balance will be transferred into iTunes credit.

Does this mean we’ll finally start seeing some sort of cloud/web access for iTunes? It does seem that way, especially now that Apple is closing down Lala’s own service. Maybe we’ll see an official notice of the new features at the WWDC in early June.

[via Tech Crunch]

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Wired is reporting that the gentleman who found the missing iPhone prototype and then sold it on to Gizmodo is one Brian J. Hogan, a 21 year old from Redwood, California. According to Hogan’s lawyer, he didn’t believe he was selling the phone to Gizmodo, but rather charging them for access to it.  His attorney says he regrets not doing more to return the device to its owner. “He made a mistake,” said the Lawyer. “He should have just immediately turned that phone in.”

Jeffrey Bornstein, Brian’s lawyer, issued a statement about the situation, which also mentioned  that Gizmodo told Hogan “that there was nothing wrong in sharing the phone with the tech press.”

It will be interesting to see if this indicates that Hogan will try and shift some of the blame to Gizmodo?gawker or not.

The San Mateo County DA has not decided if they’re considering this a crime or not.

Disclosure: I write for the Gawker media site io9.com, covering science news.

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There is no doubt that the launch of Adobe Creative Suite 5 has generated a LOT of buzz and excitement. One of the number one questions I get asked is "when it shipping?" The answer is TODAY! Not only is Creative Suite 5 shipping today, but today marks the first day in Creative Suite history that the Creative Suite Trials are also available on the day of ship. Typically the trials lag several weeks behind the shipping product. However, you can get your CS5 groove on right now by downloading fully functional 30 day trials here. <-Give Adobe.com a few minutes to update.

 

 

Check out the new features of CS5 by watching videos here and here.

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Firgs

Title

I asked someone this once, the response was "You're Firgs! That is your title!"

Company 

Design By Firgs

Chicago, IL

 

Your blog/website?

http://designbyfirgs.com

 

Favorite Gadget(s) -

The iPhone. Is there anything that device can't do?

 

Your cellphone/smartphone (make/model):

A MotoW385 that really needs to be upgraded

 

Won't leave the house without -

My laptop, it's an extension of my arm!

 

Blogs you read regularly

Too many to list here! All of the NAPP sites, and a lot of the personal blogs of members and instructors of NAPP, as well as Rands In Repose – I love that guy!, Design Informer, and my brother's site- stevegast.com

 

Mac or PC

Both! I have a PC laptop and a Mac desktop. I'm a crossover kid!

 

Laptop or Desktop

Both, but mostly my laptop because it's portable.

 

Favorite App/Software

PHOTOSHOP! And a FireFox plug-in called FireBug. I really love that program and I recommend it to every designer that works on or with the web. My life wouldn't be the same without either of these programs.

 

Technology that you're most looking forward to that hasn't been invented yet?

Teleporting. Or anything that makes it easier and cheaper to visit people that live far from you.

 

What do you wear to work?

My PJs. I work from home.

 

Favorite Quote

"If you're going through Hell, just keep going." Winston Churchill and "There comes a point in your career when you have to stop asking questions and just figure it out." Zack Arias

 

Favorite Restaurant

A Chinese restaurant in Chinatown called Lao Sze Chuan – the food there is amazing!

 

What time do you go to bed?

Usually between 1 and 3am.

 

What time to you wake up?

Usually between 8:30 and 10am.

 

What's the first thing you do when you wake up?

Curse. I'm not a morning person.

 

Describe your perfect day

Any day that involves lots of sunshine and warm weather, lots of my NAPP friends, lots of laughter, lots of creative energy, lots of talking, and lots of good food. Also, any day where I know I've hit a home run with my writing.

 

Anything else?

If I had one piece of advice to give people it would be to push yourself. Be it in the direction of your dreams, to try new things, to learn more, to rise above, to take better care of you, or to just be a nicer person. If we all worked really hard at being better individuals, then we would also be a better "us" as a whole. Test your limits, the possibilities of this life are endless.

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