Articles by Rene Ritchie
Daring Fireball links to a translation of a Swedish MacWorld rumor (Google translation) that quotes Telia as saying as MMS app would soon be available for the iPhone. Phew! Broken telephone much? Tries to clarify Gruber:
Not sure if this means Telia is writing their own MMS iPhone app, or if they’re suggesting that Apple is adding MMS support to the system software. I haven’t seen any reports of MMS support in the iPhone OS 2.2 betas.
Could this be a surprise feature? Personally, I never use it. I prefer device independent protocols like email and IM to handle my communications, but I know many of my fellow TiPbsters are still dying to get their multi-touch on this baby, so what do you think?
Apple bringing it? Telia? And if so, would other carriers like AT&T follow suit with MMS apps of their own? Do we want that kind of fragmentation, after it’s taken so long to get even the little interoperability that currently exists?
Nelson wrote in to tell us a little about WaKi SNAP!, a new game now available in the iTunes App Store:
WaKi SNAP! was created as our first project for the iPhone and we wanted to create something that used the touch capabilities of the iPhone in an innovative and immersive way…basically, something that allows two players to both enjoy the game on the one phone at the same time, which is different to the majority of the games out there.
We wanted to make something that was fun, simple to play, and almost universally known by both children and adults. The challenge was also to keep the interface as clean and minimalist as possible so that there was little clutter and the main focus was on displaying the graphics of the cards in as large a size as possible. Thus, WaKi SNAP! was born!
If you check it out, be sure to let us know what you think!
Update: The App Store is now pushing out the update. Enjoy!
NOTE: If you don’t see the microphone icon immediately in the top right corner, tap the Settings button at the bottom right, and switch the slider to “Enabled”.
Original post:
Well, it’s definitely later than last Friday, but it doesn’t look like anyone, including Apple, delayed this long: Google’s Mobile App (iTunes link) now includes the much talked about Advanced Voice Search feature… sorta.
According to Jeremy, iTunes isn’t pushing the update yet, and you actually have to delete the app first if you’ve already installed it in order to get the latest, greatest, chattiest version on your iPhone. (Yup, you read correctly, this isn’t a new App, but an update to Google’s existing iPhone search App.)
Of course, I don’t have an iPhone right now, but if you do, try it out, ask it just how tall Everest really is, and let us know what kind of response you get!
And for you privacy advocates out there, is the coolness factor of this enough to give Skynet, er… The Matrix, um… Google access to your voice ID?
(Thanks to Trevor, Josh, Craig, Bob, for sending this in!)
State of the Apps: PCalc Hits 1.2, Dirty Tactics, and a Warning to Developers: Charge More for Apps!
TiPb has been exploring issues surrounding the App Store, especially how developers can earn a living, the various attempts to market apps in a sporting manner, as well the gaming and foul play going on.
In the bright lights category, developer James Thomson (ha! spelled it right that time!) has taken a decidedly humorous approach with the launch of his updated PCalc 1.2 (iTunes link) calculator app:
I think we got off to a bad start last time with version 1.1. It was my fault entirely. I came out with this big release I’d spent months on, sent out my press releases, and not a soul ran a story with the exception of that nice Mr Gruber fellow [Although TiPb did run an interview -- thanks again, James!]. Sales were quite poor and we both said some things we regretted in the morning.
But I understand, don’t worry. You’re tired of the deluge of iPhone press releases, and everything you see just starts to look the same after a while. I didn’t do anything to make it an interesting read and, let’s face it, I’m kind of fighting a losing battle with a calculator which – I’ll be the first to admit – is next to the flashlights and to-do list apps in terms of reaching saturation point on the store.
Not quite. I rock PCalc on my iPhone, with narry a flashlight in sight!
While PCalc chose humor, some others have gone decidedly darker…
[This is an official Smartphone Experts Round Robin post! Every day you reply here, you're automatically entered for a chance to win an iPhone 3G, Case-Mate Naked Case, and Motorola H9 Bluetooth Headset! Full contest rules here!]
Everything is going according to Smartphone Round Robin’s designs: While I’ve been learning the ways of the Android, Casey shows the iPhone is still strong in him.
Head on over to Android Central, and be sure to tell him what you think: his own council should he keep, or do you find that it is he who is mistaken… about a great many things?
Remember, each SPE site is giving away their signature smartphone and accessories, so it’s not just an iPhone 3G up for grabs! Every day you comment on Casey’s video, or my thread in the Android Central Forum, you get two more chances to win a T-Mobile Android G1, along with a BlueAnt Z9 Bluetooth Headset, and SPE Screen Protectors!
According to Macrumors, Adobe and ARM, which is the chipset Apple uses to power the iPhone, have announced they’re making a special version optimized for mobile devices. (And, yes, to be snarky, I’ll believe that when I get a version optimized for Intel on the Mac, b’okay?)
Never the less, none other than chief Androidika Andy Rubin himself showed up at Adobe MAX today to show off Flash running on that other handset — the one I’m Round Robin‘ing this week, the G1.
Will that put pressure on Apple? Or if people start suffering Flash exploits, are subjected to Flash cookies, or get tired of jumping monkey ads, will it only harden Apple’s resolve?
[This is an official Smartphone Experts Round Robin post! Every day you reply here, you're automatically entered for a chance to win an iPhone 3G, Case-Mate Naked Case, and Motorola H9 Bluetooth Headset! More below!]
Okay, fair enough, I’m having a little fun up there, but with the Smartphone Empire Experts Round Robin officially under way and my iPhone frozen in carbonite for the next month, the G1 could be my only hope!
I’m still trying to figure out if this is the ‘droid I’ve been looking for, however. Do I understand the awesome power of the open-platform of the Google? Or is it more concept now than device, twisted and confusing?
Check out the video, then head on over to Android Central to help me out. Every day you post, you get entered to WIN one of FIVE smartphone prize packs! And you can enter each site’s contest, so don’t forget to help turn Casey back to the iPhone side as well!
May the forums be with you!
Prize details after the jump…
We’ve talking about i.TV here on TiPb before, so what could get us to do it again? How about Netflix. How about built in? How about now!
Justin writes in to tell us about the awesomeness:
Netflix integration on [brings] a catalog of over 100k DVDs to our popular iPhone application. In addition to this, users can now manage their Netflix DVD and instant streaming queues straight from their iPhone or iPod touch.
Mark wrote in to tell us about Arcade Hoops, and was gracious enough to share some great info:
I think one interesting thing about the game is its back story. It was developed by Garry Kitchen and David Crane. David was a co-founder of Activision and Garry co-founded Absolute Entertainment. These guys worked together on some famous old school games like Donkey Kong for Atari, Pitfall and Decathlon.
They’ve decided to put these skills to work in a very new medium, and I hope you’ll be impressed with the results.
The other story is the quality of the game and the intensity of the game play. You can look at virtually any review online, either on the iTunes site or off- they are all glowing. People are really amazed that this game is available for $1.99. I think it’s because of the soundtrack, the 3D imagery, and the speed of the game play – plus some extra touches like a trash-talking jumbotron.
Any giving it a try? Let us know what you think!
The intertubes are a flood with rumors that Apple may be building their own search engine. Does this mean they’re going into competition with Microsoft Live! Search? With Yahoo!? With Google?! (After all, Google went into competition with Apple in the smartphone market!)
Probably not, according to TechCrunch:
The answer is they’re not. But the rumors persist, and we believe they have a nugget of truth. Here’s what we think is really going on: Apple doesn’t like the search experience on its mobile devices, and may be building a radically different user experience which is much more visual than exists today. It will likely still be powered by Google results, but Apple may present it in a very different way that suits mobile users much better.
Apple’s already proven with the iPhone Map application that they can produce absolutely killer front-ends for Google’s data pipes, could they do the same for search? And what would it be like?
