The Iphone Blog

Archive for the ‘Iphone Nano’ Category

Apple started teasing us today when the company posted its iOS 4.2 for iPad “Coming Soon” software update webpage. That webpage serves as a little reminder to us about the exciting new features coming in the next version of iOS for the iPad. If you haven’t been paying attention to the news lately you’ll be [...]

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iTunes 10 was released yesterday and brought with it a few UI overhauls. The loss of color in the sidebar for one, along with the change of orientation of the window controls at the top of the window. There currently isn’t a way to bring back the colored icons in the sidebar, but there sure is a way to get the window controls back to their former positions.

It’s simple enough, and requires just one line to be entered into Terminal. Quit iTunes, wait for it to close completely, then fire up Terminal, which can be found under Applications ? Utilities. Either type or paste the following code into the Terminal window and hit Return:

defaults write com.apple.iTunes full-window -1

Now when you reopen iTunes, the ‘traffic light’ controls should be back along the top of the window, side-by-side. It does a lot for keeping the look of OS X consistent across applications. Of course, perhaps this is Apple’s way of telling us that in the next version of the Mac operating system, all the windows are going to be laid out like this.

Should you ever want to restore iTunes 10′s default setting, and put the controls back down the side, enter this code into Terminal (again with iTunes closed):

defaults write com.apple.iTunes full-window -0

Now we have a fix for the window controls, all we need is a setting to bring back the color in the sidebar. If you know a way, shout out in the comments!

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After each Apple press event, there is a visible track of turbulence online, in the technology market and on Wall Street that some cannot help but get caught within. There is no denying that when Apple decides to head in a particular direction, it will lead. And all that is left for the rest of us to decide is whether or not we will follow or get out-of-the-way.

When you continually take such wide strides in innovation, intentional or unintentional, there will always be casualties. In 2010 alone, Apple held no less than five major media events that in some way affected the way markets were defined and revenues were earned for a significant number of companies.

Dead or Dying Already

This year we have witnessed the fall of HP’s Slate that Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer introduced at CES, a massive shift in consumer purchasing behavior in the netbook market and media moguls struggle with the hard decision between propping up traditional print or adopting newer digital technologies. When it comes to development platforms, Steve was more than willing to speak out and share his thoughts on the subject, while evidence continues to mount that he was right about Adobe Flash on mobile devices. With just one of two new lenses, two consumer markets were affected: the digital snapshot camera and the handheld HD video recorder. I loved my Flip Mino HD video recorder (past tense). With HD video recording capabilities, on-device editing, and the ability to share instantly online, the justification for a separate Flip video recording device just did not make sense any more.

September 2010 Media Event

There is a reason the entire tech industry pauses a moment to see what Steve will say next at these major press events. Many are holding their breath to see if their bottom line will be affected in either a positive or a negative manner. Every time Steve talks, things change. And yesterday’s event was no different. In many ways, the latest media event from Apple will shake more things up than any previous media event yet this year.

Multi-Room Entertainment Systems: AirPlay has some pretty big names backing it including Denon, Marantz, B&W, JBL and iHome. Simply having the ability to stream music simultaneously to multiple rooms could add some serious competition to products like the Sonos Music System, Bose SoundLink, Yamaha MusicCast and Klipsch LightSpeaker to name a few. Apple is potentially cannibalizing its own product by competing with the presently available AirTunes capability of the AirportExpress.

Print Apps in App Store: So what will happen to the sale of printing apps now that Apple will support printing on the iPad? Until we see exactly how printing will work, it is hard to say at this point. But rest assured that consumers’ willingness to pay a premium for specialized printing abilities will be at a minimum. Currently there are more than a dozen apps for the iPad that can print. Many of these are currently priced anywhere from $4.99 to $9.99. These price points will likely drop, as will support for some of the apps simply because the market will shift in this category.

HDR Apps in App Store: Just as the 5.0 MP camera that Apple introduced with the iPhone 4 has likely cut into the sales of casual point and shoot digital cameras, updating the on board camera app supplied with each iPhone will undoubtedly affect the sales of HDR Apps. This includes wonderful Apps like HDR Camera, TrueHDR and Pro HDR. I have tried these apps and I must say that the when the camera is held steady, the results are stunning.

Roku and Boxee media Devices: While the new Apple TV is not revolutionary, the price point sure is. At the magical price point of just $99, it will be hard for any household with iPads, iPhones, iPods and iMacs to refuse. Especially when this device will make it easier than ever to view all of the memories captured, organized and edited with each of those iPads, iPhones, iPods and iMacs. If Apple would ever decide to make MobileMe free to Apple customers again, this one time cost would be easy to justify. Devices like Roku and Boxee now have some serious competition to contend with.

Everyone wants to lead, but just how far out in front is Apple? Can any company, including Google, have as dramatic of an impact across the entire technology industry, each and every time they decide to have their CEO invite the media over for a chat? In fact, it may be a good idea to check with Steve before you make any sudden moves in the tech industry.

So how has Apple affected your life in 2010?

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With all the Apple hoopla yesterday, we missed the fact that Epson announced a new all-in-one printer it says is the “fastest in its class.” The wifi-equipped all-in-one Epson Stylus NX625 printer will run at a blazing 15 pages/minute in black (but only 7.2 in color) — compare that with the Artisan 710 we tested [...]

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Its name suggests it might be a ’70s-era diet soda laced with LSD, but the Galaxy Tab is actually the latest iPad challenger from Samsung — a 7-inch tablet unveiled today at Germany’s version of CES. Seems Samsung’s stuffed the Android-powered Galaxy Tab (giggle) with enough hardware to make it a worthy challenger: a bright [...]

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As revealed yesterday, The latest version of Apple’s iTunes media-managing software, iTunes 10, is now available to download through Software Update or via direct download here. iTunes 10 has long been rumored to be the first version of iTunes that capitalized upon Apple’s acquisition of Lala and brought cloud-streaming to the masses, but Steve Jobs [...]

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The findings of a recent survey by Coupons.com has all the trappings of some sort of offensive, stereotypical joke… but without the punchline. Analyzing the findings of how both users on both the Android and iOS operating systems use their website, Coupons.com came to some interesting findings as to what separates the two. iPhone users? [...]

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The FCC has just beaten our the guys over at iFixit to the device vivisecting punch by tearing down and publicly airing the guts of Apple’s brand new iPod Touch… and it looks nearly as gorgeous on the inside. While managing to slim down the iPod Touch’s already thin form factor, Apple managed to cram [...]

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AirPlay was one of the most nebulous topics up for discussion today at Steve Jobs’ special press event regarding iOS, iPods, iTunes and Apple TV. In many ways, it’s something we already know a lot about, since it’s the successor to AirTunes. In others, it’s a mystery.

AirTunes, for those who didn’t know, was the technology that allowed iTunes users who also owned AirPort Expresses to wirelessly stream their iTunes music library to speakers connected to the portable routers. It was good, but you had to pay $99 for every AirPort Express, and connect them either with optical audio or mini stereo cables to your sound system or receiver.

Now, AirPlay will provide the ability to stream directly to devices that support it, which will include offerings from Denon and JBL, among others. Along with music, AirPlay will also stream track and artist information, including album artwork, either over a wired ethernet connection or wirelessly using Wi-Fi.

That’s not all AirPlay is good for. It’ll also allow you to stream video and audio content from your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 4.2 when that drops in November. You’ll be able to stream your content from those devices to the Apple TV, for one, as Steve demoed today during the press event.

Here’s where things get murky: Will you be able to stream content to your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad from other sources, like your computer? Jobs cleverly eluded any mention of such a feat, which makes me suspect that the streaming magic is one-way only. That’s troubling news, especially when Google’s acquisition of Simplify Media means such a feature is likely on the way for Android devices.

Many might also wonder why Apple doesn’t just put to use an existing open standard for media streaming, like, say DLNA, that’s already got the backing of many hardware manufacturers. My guess? DLNA has received some major hate, and not without reason. Apple might want to sidestep that debate altogether, and at the same time retain tight control over which hardware partners they work with. AirPlay is less about freeing your music and video and more about a controlled expansion of the iTunes ecosystem.

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