Articles by Casey Chan
iPhone firmware 2.0 was detailed in WWDC with some rumored features finally seeing the day of light. Features include:
- iWork and Office document viewing
- Save images from E-Mail directly to photo library
- Contact Search
- E-Mail/SMS Bulk Delete & Move
- Scientific Calculator when switched to Landscape Mode in Calculator
- Support for a TON of languages including Chinese, Japanese
Firmware 2.0 will be available for iPhone users come ‘Early July’ for free and for iPod Touch users at a reduced fee (compared to the last update) of $9.95.
WWDC hasn’t even started yet and the news is already getting crazy. Sling Media, the creator of the Slingbox, is developing an iPhone version of SlingPlayer Mobile that’ll allow your iPhone to stream media via your Slingbox.
For those who don’t know, Slingbox is a TV streaming device that allows users full control of your TV set at home through the internet. It’s basically a combination of technological prowess and fairy dust that enables this VERY sweet product to “just work”. Meaning if you’re a Dodgers Fan on a business trip in the East Coast, you can watch their games as if you were in your own living room. If you saved the season finale of Lost to your PVR, you can watch that too.
Now that convenience is coming to your iPhone. Which is fitting since SlingPlayer Mobile has been available for WinMob, Palm, and Symbian for some time now and we all know none of those platforms offer a screen quite like the iPhone. Though it’s still very, very early in development, Sling has a proof-of-concept version of SlingPlayer Mobile running on jailbroken iPhones.
SlingMedia will also be holding live demonstrations of SlingPlayer Mobile on the iPhone and iPod Touch for those attending WWDC. Their Product Manager Vicky Shum will be at the Starbucks at 120 4th Street, San Francisco (across from the Metreon) between 10am and 4pm Pacific Time on Monday, June 9th. The demo is open to everybody, so if you’re in the bay area for WWDC feel free to check it out!
Thanks MegaZone for the tip and Rob for the heads up!
Before we hit the sure-to-be-craziness of WWDC, TiPb has some definite house cleaning to do. Meaning lucky for you readers, more roundups! With Rene handling every roundup possible for the iPhone 3G and beyond I thought it’d be a great time to focus on the device we’ve all been unconsciously neglecting: the iPhone!
Every few weeks, I’ll present you with a quick list of web apps, native apps, and games that should tie up any loose ends that we might have missed. Click on each link to learn more about the program and be sure to mention your experience in the comments or forums. Before we start, with the iPhone 3G just mere days away, make sure you participate in TiPb’s Wait-A-Thon-Tastic and give yourself a chance to win a FREE iPhone 3G!
Read on for the Rest of the Software Roundup!
Freeverse Software, one of those Mac game developers still kickin’, has developed a racing game called Wingnuts Moto Racer for the iPhone. Freeverse is known for their bizarre, offbeat games that appeal to those looking for a hilarious joyride.
As such, they would have loved to give you a preview of the game but due to their NDA they’re forced to edit some portions of their preview detailing the specifics of the game.
So is the preview much ado about nothing? I mean there aren’t any actual in-game screenshots just artwork. The controls aren’t specifically defined rather described by an intern. Supposedly, it’s a racing game for the racing enthusiasts and non-racing folks alike. Pick up and play is the idea behind the games they’ll design for the iPhone.
At the very least, it’s a hilarious read from a free-spirited company. Hopefully, they’ll follow through in delivering games with the same fun factor.
Ubisoft, the publisher of game series such as Rainbow Six, Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, and Prince of Persia, is reportedly very interested in developing games for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Pauline Jacquey, Executive Producer of Ubisoft’s “Games for Everyone” recently said,
“At the minute, we’re only showing DS and Wii games, but we’ll be working on all other platforms. We’ll be making games not only on PC, PS3 and 360, but on iPhone and iPod touch as well.”Hopefully, the iPhone will start with “Games for Everyone” and then extend to deeper, more immersive games such as the aforementioned Rainbow Six or Prince of Persia series. Because currently the “Games for Everyone” lineup is well, uhm, how would you say it, lacks pizzazz?
Ubisoft may be waiting to see how well EA and Sega develop real games for the iPhone and what kind of market there will be for iPhone gaming before jumping in. But no worries Ubisoft, as we stated on TiPb many times before, we love iPhone gaming. And none of us ever want to go back to that mobile version junk.
Another day, another leaked picture. These pictures add another layer to the already interesting pie that is the iPhone 3G. The leaked images show that there will be a front facing camera used for video conferencing on the iPhone. iPhone-to-iPhone video calls would be made possible with the 3G network while iPhone-to-iChat video conferencing will require WiFi.
As the images say, “The video calling revolution has begun”.
Other interesting tidbits from these leaked photos is the back-facing speakers, the tapered edges, and the color selection (black or (product)red). The tapered edges make a lot of sense with the thicker vs thinner rumor battle: thicker in the middle and thinner on the edges (guess we should have seen that coming). The speakers were probably moved because of the edge’s thinness. And for the color choices, Apple has always been in line with the (Product)Red campaign, so it’s not too surprising. Also of note, iChat is supposed to be released for Windows (XP2 or Vista), so everybody can join in on the fun.
Personally, I don’t think mobile video conferencing has matured enough in the US for Apple to include it in the iPhone 3G. What do you think? Let’s start a manhunt for Carlos Rodriguez? Or should we RUMOR SMASH this already?
A VoIP company called iCall has developed a program for the iPhone that enables seamless switching of calls from GSM to WiFi. Meaning: iCall will prompt you to switch your phone calls, mid-call, to WiFi so you don’t waste your minutes. Meaning: It’s Free! Though the desktop version of iCall is only available for Windows (Mac Support is on the way) this will probably be one of the more useful VoIP clients for the iPhone.
People who are familiar with T-Mobile’s use of UMA and HotSpot@Home technology will tell you that calls over Wi-Fi are not only free (with the right plan), but often times even better. Using VoIP instead of your minutes would help ease the drain for plenty of users who are always near WiFi and potentially offer international travelers free calls back home.
Currently, iCall is in private beta but plans for a public release very soon. In fact, you won’t even have to jailbreak for this app because the folks over at iCall are confident it’ll be a part of the App Store.
Are you one of those people who love Flickr? The ease-of-use, best-in-class community, and (for pro users) unlimited storage space? Well I actually am one of those people. I love my Flickr. And the iPhone plays really nice with Flickr in part because of Flickr’s ability to upload pictures through E-mail. Take a picture. E-mail to Flickr. And it’s posted.
But for jailbroken iPhones there is another method that is in ways much more integrated. This Week’s Native App-a-Week will take a look at this program, iFlickr. iFlickr is a native app that is dedicated for Flickr uploads. Meaning you take pictures for the pure purpose of posting it to your Flickr account. How does it work? Is it more effective than the current iPhone Camera->E-mail->Flickr set up?
Read on for the rest of the review!
VLC is a popular media player that supports countless audio and video codecs and multiple file formats. Because of such versatility, a lot of folks use VLC as their computer’s main video player. And now thanks to ZodTTD, it’s available for the iPhone (jailbroken ones only, sorry)!
The project is currently in private beta but a public release is planned for ‘very soon’. In its current iteration, VLC supports drag and drop files for MPEG/MPG, AVI, and MP3 formats. Support for FLAC and OGG are well on their way and they are currently researching playback for DivX, VCD, WMA, and WMV. The project is even asking for YOUR input on what codecs you want to see supported, feel free to click the Read link to let your voice be heard.
I firmly believe that this will be a game changing program for the iPhone and the jailbreaking scene in general. Imagine being able to play ANY video format like the desktop version of VLC, that freedom from iTunes will undoubtedly lead people to jailbreaking. Keep up the good work ZodTTD!
A lot of people have criticized the fact that there isn’t a Mobile iChat or any other Instant Messaging program on the iPhone. From a technological standpoint, there is absolutely no reason for it to be missing. Also, an IM client is a common offering among smartphones and feature phones alike. A IM program is often very useful to quickly stay in touch with your contacts and well, for ‘instant’ communication.
The Web App JiveTalk from Beejive, a company who makes the similar program and uber-popular JiveTalk for Blackberry, is the answer for those who need a chat program but aren’t ready to jailbreak their iPhones. How does it perform? Should you give it a go?
Read on for the rest of the review!
