News

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPhone, App Review

Several readers have urged me to try the Gokivo Navigator for the iPhone [iTunes link], so today is the day. The app is U.S. $4.99, but that only provides you with GPS navigation for 30 days. After that, the app costs $4.99 monthly or you can purchase a year of service for $39.99. That's quite a bit less that the AT&T nav solution [iTunes link], and makes the Gokivo app quite competitive. The app includes a Traffic Tracking Center, text to speech so street names are announced as you drive, and it has iPod controls so you don't have to leave the app to change your music.

Like the AT&T app, if you are out of range of the data network, you won't get maps. And like most of the competition, Gokivo gives you an estimated time of arrival, distance to your destination, and your current speed.

The map doesn't work in landscape view, which I consider a strong negative. It's easy to navigate to your addresses in your Contacts app, and the feature is nicely integrated.

Continue reading Gokivo updates navigation app for iPhone, lowers the price

TUAWGokivo updates navigation app for iPhone, lowers the price originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Steve Jobs, Apple History

As Dave Caolo told TUAW readers a few days ago, Fortune named Apple CEO Steve Jobs "CEO of the Decade" for his phenomenal leadership at Apple and how he has remade four industries (music, movies, mobile telephones, and computing) in the past ten years.

Part of the Fortune article was a collection of rarely seen photographs of Steve Jobs. From the early days with Steve Wozniak, to his recent battles with pancreatic cancer, the photos chronicle the life of the iconic CEO.

Two of my personal favorites in the gallery are a photo taken in 1982 of Jobs and the Mac team having a working lunch as they hammer out the design of the first-generation Mac, and another of a barefoot Jobs meeting with Bill Gates at the Jobs home in Palo Alto to talk about the future of computing for Fortune.

The entire set of posts, along with the photos and video, are a fascinating look into the many successes and few failures of the engimatic Mr. Jobs. If you have a chance, take a look at it this weekend.

TUAWFound Photos: Rarely seen Steve Jobs originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Software, Odds and ends, Bluetooth, Apple

Apple, being the innovative corporation that it is, applies for patents many times per year. While many of these items may never make it to market, the company is proactive in making sure that possible patents are filed as soon as possible in order to protect the intellectual property that's been developed.

One such filing from last year describes a fascinating cloud-based, cross-platform sync service referred to as "Grab & Go." The filing showed up earlier this week and demonstrates how synchronization of data over multiple devices could be simplified. Grab & Go creates pre-defined data sets with categories like family, entertainment, or business that a user could literally "grab" and move to a device. The patent document shows how sharing files between devices (whether the device is a smartphone, computer, tablet, or even a game console) could be made easier.

The software is flexible enough to adapt to different connection types (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, to name a few) and can provide different levels of encryption and security. The filing even discusses a possible requirement of having two or more devices within a certain distance of each other in order for synchronization to begin.

If you're up for a long, but interesting read over the weekend, head on over to the US Patent & Trademark Office and check out the details of Grab & Go. It could be a foretaste of things to come, or just another long legal document.

[via AppleInsider and Engadget]

TUAWApple patent application details simple "Grab and Go" sync originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Software, Internet, Internet Tools

Bambooapps has released a simple and useful utility called Quiet Read that has earned a spot on my Mac's menubar. With a simple drag-and-drop, it lets you save a web page for later review.

Of course, there are many apps that do this, including Instapaper and Evernote. Instapaper gets the job done via a bookmarklet; just give it a click while at the desired URL and it's saved. Evernote does pretty much the same thing, thought their bookmarklet behaves differently between Safari and Firefox. In addition, they have the Mac application for tagging and organizing.

I spent the day using Quiet Read instead of the other two. Here's what I liked and disliked. First, adding a URL is as easy as possible. Simply drag it out of your browser's address bar and drop it onto the menu bar icon. The display keeps track of how many you've collected. A tidy drop-down lets your browse the saved articles for easy selection.

What I disliked is that once an app is gone, it's gone. Instapaper saves read articles.

But Quiet Read isn't Instapaper. If you're looking for a free, simple way to save articles for later reading (and you're running 10.6 or later), Quiet Read could be the solution.

TUAWSave URLs for later with Quiet Read originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hardware, Retail, Odds and ends, Apple, Holidays

As a guy who likes shopping online, but who still appreciates the act of going into a retail store for big purchases, I love this news. Apple has introduced a "Reserve and Pick-up" service for the holiday season.

The name is a little unwieldy, but it gets the point across. You go onto the Apple web site to find what you want, click to reserve the product at a nearby Apple Store, and then go to the store and pick up the goods while you're doing your holiday shopping between December 15 to 24.

For many folks, this might seem awkward -- why not just buy the product online and get it shipped, or just go to the store and buy it? For guys like me, it's perfect -- all of the convenience of choosing a product online, with the added bonus of being able to check out the retail store during the holidays.

iLounge notes that there's no AppleTV on the list, so if you were planning to pick one up as a gift, you'll have to go a more traditional route. There's also no way to actually reserve an iPhone. Instead, you're told to get an iPhone gift card to give to some lucky recipient. Nevertheless, I like the idea of reserve and pick-up, an interesting mix of online shopping and in-store purchasing for the holiday season. It's Apple take-out.

TUAWApple introduces reserve and pick-up originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Software, Odds and ends, Developer, Deals, iPhone

Want an iPhone app business without all the boring hassle of actually programming and releasing iPhone apps? Boy, does Brice Milliorn have a deal for you! He's auctioning off his iPhone app business, which he says has 87 different apps for sale, over on eBay.

Milliorn says he started out developing apps on his own, but the business is just too big for him to keep up so he's selling all of the apps and their rights, all of the source code, and technical support for two months to transition everything over to the new owner. He doesn't specifically say that he'll transfer the developer account on Apple's App Store to your name (he says he'll send over a DVD with the source code and transfer "the whole kit and caboodle" to you), but we presume that's what will happen -- of course if you go for it, you're doing this at your own risk.

What will a burgeoning App Store business, complete with apps like iSexyRef and Swine Flu cost you? Just a cool $100 grand. That's the starting bid in the eBay auction, which has just over a week left and no bids as of this writing. There are certainly less expensive ways to get started selling apps on the store. It only costs $100 to register in Apple's Developer Program for a year, and then you just need to find a developer you can pay -- or even do it yourself with a helper service).

If you'd rather start off with a bunch of marginal to silly 99-cent apps and happen to have an extra $100,000 lying around to spend (maybe for a nice holiday gift?), here's your opportunity.

TUAWFor sale on eBay: One iPhone development business, batteries not included originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Apple Corporate, Retail

Apple typically opens retail stores in high-end shopping areas, and this one is as high-end as it gets.

Beneath the great glass pyramid that marks the entrance to the Louvre Museum in Paris is Carrousel du Louvre, home to shops, a gourmet food court, exhibition space and, as of this Saturday, an Apple Store. This will be the first Apple Store in Paris and in France. Another Apple Store is poised to open in the seaside town of Montpellier next Saturday.

This location has the now iconic glass spiral staircase that's featured in other flagship stores and two levels total. If you can't visit Apple Store Carrousel du Louvre this weekend, check out the photos and coverage from ifoAppleStore as well as these photos on Flickr. C'est Magnifique!

Also notable this week is the new Musee du Louvre app that's available for free from the App Store [iTunes link]. Coincidentally, of course.

TUAWApple Store Carrousel du Louvre opens today originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Video, TUAW Business

Need a Mac or iPhone developer? TUAW job boards are here!
Notice anything new at TUAW? We've had our job boards up for a week now, making sure all the tape would stick when new jobs were posted, and I'm proud to say that the doors are wide open for job...
TUAW Video: a tour of Freeverse
Welcome to the first of what we hope will be many, many TUAW Videos to come. We've done lots of video on TUAW, from Macworld Expo coverage to WWDC interviews to fart apps and more. This time we're... Hands-on with the Magic Mouse
Well, I got my Magic Mouse a few days ago, and I've been using it for my everyday tasks for a few days (and I'm still using it), and here are my impressions. Packaging: This packaging is... Also of interest:

• TUAW Review: Kanex HDMI + audio adapter works fine but costs extra
• TUAW Gift Guides: Gifts for tech-savvy women
• Waveboard on the iPhone, Google Wave access slightly better than Mobile Safari

TUAWThe week in TUAW originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Rumors, Wireless, Apple, iPhone

If you're tired of dropped calls and dead zones, and pondering the merits of turning in your iPhone for a DROID... hold on there, champ. AppleInsider says it's received a copy of a report by OTR Global, claiming that Apple has signed contracts to produce a UMTS / CDMA hybrid iPhone to be released in the third quarter of 2010.

The hybrid handset, built around a dual-system chip from Qualcomm, would allow the iPhone to run on virtually any GSM/UTMS cellular network worldwide -- and also on the CDMA2000 networks of US carriers like Verizon and Sprint. In particular, Verizon is cited in the report as the target carrier for the new devices.

The report states that Foxconn, the Taiwan-based sole-source provider of iPhone hardware at this time, will not build the new device. Instead, a subsidiary of Asustek known as Pegatron has been selected to kick off manufacturing. It's also rumored that the hybrid device uses a 2.8" screen, making the handset smaller than the current model which uses a 3.5" display.

Photos of the smaller display were first featured on iLounge in June of 2008 (see photo at right), sparking widespread rumors at the time that an "iPhone nano" was on the way. Over a year later, neither the smaller iPhone nor a Verizon model are available. However, if the leaked report is any indication, 2010 could be yet another year of incredible growth for the iPhone economy.

TUAWRumor: Smaller iPhone on tap for Verizon in Q3 2010? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Software, Blogging, Internet Tools, iPhone, App Store

After a long wait, Squarespace customers finally have an iPhone app of their own. Squarespace is a hosted blogging/CMS service that competes with the likes of WordPress.com and Typepad. Having used all three, I can say that interacting with Squarespace (posting, changing your site's look and feel, etc.) is unlike the others. Instead of a separate control panel/dashboard, Squarespace previews changes in real time on the same screen. It's really nice.

The iPhone app [iTunes link] seems to be an extension of its browser-based sibling. For example, check out the live preview mode pictured at right. You can also manage multiple accounts, post, upload multiple images at once (awesome) view stats and more. The UI looks nice as well.

While bloggers on other platforms have had compatible apps in the App Store for a while now, this is Squarespace's first solution. We're eager to play around with it. Squarespace for iPhone is free and requires a paid Squarespace account.

TUAWSquarespace hosting/CMS service launches iPhone app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Software, iPhone

We're seeing a lot of updates to navigation applications, and the latest is for the CoPilot Live app [iTunes link] for the iPhone. As promised, the company has updated the map data to fix mistakes or omissions that were reported by users. The latest update also adds iPod controls within the app, which many users were requesting.

The update fixes a reported address search issue, improves GPS reception and makes some improvements to the user interface.

The previous version of the U.S. $34.99 app added text to speech and a better method of text entry.

As we've mentioned before, the competition in nav apps is going to get very interesting if Apple allows the Google nav app into the app store. It will be free, and has a host of features that are not currently available in the paid apps that are shipping for the iPhone now.

With the FCC watching the relationship between Google and Apple, I'm thinking Apple will have to let the app in, but Apple has surprised me before, and not always in a positive way.

TUAWCoPilot Live for iPhone updates features and maps originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Software, Deals

How does a 20% discount sound? How about 20% off software from over 30 developers? This list has been growing since One Finger Discount started this week and continues to grow as developers jump on board with a pretty darn good deal if you're in the market for any one of these awesome applications. They run the gamut from productivity to games to blogging software.

Kudos to Daniel Jalkut of Red Sweater Software for putting these deals together on one page, somewhat cheekily as a response to MacHeist, it would seem. The One Finger? Well, that comes from 1/5, 20% discount as opposed to a five-finger discount (free). 20% is still a steal, right? Very clever, Mr. Jalkut -- we'll leave the readers to consider which finger they should order with.

[via Macworld]

TUAWTons of software on sale thanks to One Finger Discount originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This week we've been chasing down information regarding TBWA\Chiat\Day's campaign work for Infinity Ward and Activision-Blizzard's latest game title, Modern Warfare 2 &#151 which, according to some predictions, could be the highest grossing entertainment release of all time. That means it would be bigger than Halo 3, Grand Theft Auto IV, and Dark Knight. Word on the street is last Monday, Activision-Blizzard (the game's publisher) pulled the plug on Chiat's campaign, calling it too racy, graphic.

Various sources have confirmed the same story, both noting that an outside agency has been called in to cut together some in-game clips for the national campaign that will effectively replace Chiat's. That shop: LA based Ant Farm, we're told.

The game launches next Tuesday, November 10, and according to GameStop has the most pre-orders of any game, ever. Activision is predictably giddy as well, with Chief Executive Officer Bobby Kotick reiterating that it could outsell all other entertainment titles before it.

So the question arises: what kind of campaign is needed. Considering this is a holiday game, we're presuming many pre-teens will be asking for it as gifts. That means their parents probably won't but it if all they see are gory ads.

Even still, as recently as this summer, Acti-Blizzard (nickname) CEO Brad Jakeman was all about the agency's work &#151 which was handed to TBWA after a review including Razorfish and Droga5. Per AdAge: "We believe the idea that TBWA presented to us delivers on that goal," said Mr. Jakeman. "What we liked most about the TBWA campaign is that it's an idea that's big enough to be articulated in lots of different kind of media ... that is always the acid test for a great idea."

Well, not anymore. There's no verdict on exactly what lead up to Acti-Blizzard cutting the work. They have yet to respond, and from what we hear Chiat has moved on from taking our calls to calling us mean names. We miss you Chiat, can't we make amends?

The Martin Agency produced the work you've already seen (video after the jump). It targets gamers old and young by pulling on the trash talking heart-strings of humorously immature kidults who will gladly drop $60 for a taste of modern carnage.

More: "Obama's In Game Advertising"

continued...

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Filed under: Hardware, Rumors, iPhone

Photo courtesy of flickr: Thijs Jacobs Back in April 2009, TUAW's Dave Caolo posted a video showing off the potential (and some of the potential annoyances as well) and possibilities of an RFID-enabled iPhone world via an iPhone RFID prototype by Near Field. And, according to a Near Field Communications blog posting, Apple is said to have equipped prototypes of the next-generation iPhone with RFID readers.

How awesome would it be if, instead of using my Mobil Speedpass, I could turn to my iPhone and swipe that against the gas pumping station to pay for gas? And, because there may eventually be "an app for that," I may also be able to view my current balance and fuel economy statistics. Or, instead of needing to put a FasTrak transponder atop my windshield (which is annoying), I could simply put my iPhone on the dashboard as I cross the toll road. I could then view my balance, as well as fill up my credits on the fly. These are just some examples of RFID applications in use today.

TUAWRFID coming to iPhones? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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-Hyundai tapped Havas' MPG to handle its estimated $300 million international media planning/buying account. link

-Google advertising Droid on its homepage. link

-Agency folks do the darndest things. link

-New Zealand lets Kiwis have their say. link

-Apple will open its Upper West Side NYC store on November 14th. link

-Lookee, R/GA has a new website. link

-A federal judge in Kentucky basically said fuck you to Big Tobacco's request to block new marketing restrictions. link

-DraftFCB launched a cross-network philanthropic event today called "The Global Day of Giving". link

-When is it OK to start your holiday ad campaign? link

-NBC taps social networks to promote the 2010 Winter Olympics. link

-Marketers still believe in banner ads. link

-Arby's invades Hipsterville. link

More: "Thursday Odds and Ends"

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Filed under: Accessories, Reviews

Like many of the others at TUAW who really wanted to see this remote, I got my new Apple Remote a few days ago, and here are some of my impressions.

Continue reading Hands-on with the new Apple Remote

TUAWHands-on with the new Apple Remote originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iLife, How-tos

Like smart playlists in iTunes, smart albums in iPhoto provide a way for you to better organize your photos. Whether it's a list of your most recent photos or photos with a specified aperture range, there are countless smart albums you could create to fit your needs. Here are a few of my favorite.

Recently added: I always like having my most recent photos with me, and this is the smart album that gives them to me.

• Match the following condition.
• Date is in the last "90 days" (or whatever date range you prefer).

The smart family album: Say there are three family members in a family -- Tobias Fünke (dad), Lindsay Fünke (mom) and Maebe Fünke (daughter) -- and you want pictures of all of them in one place.

• Match any of the following conditions.
• Face is "Tobias."
• Face is "Lindsay."
• Face is "Maebe."

The camera-specific smart album: We've recently added a new member to the camera family, the Canon EOS 40D. But, like many a household, ours is one with several different cameras, and sometimes it's nice to see where each photo originated from.

• Match the following condition.
• Camera Model is "Canon EOS40D"

A smart album for videos: Some digital cameras these days can also function as "good enough" alternatives for camcorders. Here's a smart album that collects all of your videos imported from your digital cameras.

• Match the following condition.
• Photo is "Movie."

The best of the best: Your highest rated photos in one place

• Match the following condition.
• My rating is greater than "*" (or however many stars you desire)

Readers, tell us about some of the iPhoto smart albums that you've created.

TUAW5 smart albums to help you organize your iPhoto library originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The first thing that came out of my mouth when I saw the latest Reebok EasyTone ad (above, semi-NSFW)"What?! No way." But I was wrong, so, way. The premise: your ass looks so good thanks to your Reebok EasyTones that your breasts are jealous. Just like a product manufacturer to play up a woman's product by showing close-ups of supple female bits.

Ladies, ladies, can't we all be happy, together? No, we can't, because all women are in competition with one another, even the chest versus the buttocks. The only ladies who aren't against eachother: the left and the right. If one of them goes down, the whole ship goes with it. This ends now.

More: "Reebok Gets in on the Butt Game"

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Tel Aviv-based agency Mizbala has launched "TubePetition", which utilizes YouTube's shared annotations technology to basically create a petition within a video that promotes climate change awareness. As dramatic music plays, you can click in the video to "sign" the petition and leave a note. While not quite as, um, eye-catching as 350.org's climate change campaign, Mizbala's effort is nevertheless intended to also reach world leaders who will be attending December's COP15 conference in Denmark.

Credits:

Creative team: Guy Dayan, Dori Ben Israel
Musical Director: Yishay Raziel (Jingles & music 4 ads)
Voice: Jeff Laurence Gill (Autumn Hill Studios, North Carolina)

More: "AKQA Brings Back JFK for Greenpeace Ad"

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

The Japanese sure know how to get us in the back-to-school mood. Here's a spot featuring an enthusiastic lady who's dressed like what appears to be a Hooters server doing her best Billy Blanks/Tae-Bo impression all in the name of selling backpacks. Your move, Jansport.

Via

More: "The Passion of the Easter Specials"

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.