All Articles Tagged Apple

Welcome to From the Forums, a regular post here at TiPb that gives you, our readers, the chance to get involved in our ever growing community. To get yourself started please register, it will only take a moment of your time, we promise. Now that’s out of the way, lets dive right into some of the better threads for today.

Our first thread today comes to us from iLoveiPhones and she brought up a good topic regarding data prices for our iPhones. Will the data prices rise, stay the same, or can we possibly see different pricing tiers? Personally we feel we may just start to see different pricing tiers. Granted high data prices don’t seem to be slowing people from buying the iPhone but lower data prices could open the flood gates.

Next thread was started a while back by ExBBUser and he wanted to know, what are you top 5 App Store apps? This one has been highlighted here before but with the App Store hitting the one billion mark, why not toss this thread back into the mix?

Sticking with the theme of iPhone apps, cjvitek started a nice little thread titled iPhone CrApp List. It’s simply a thread that you can go to and relieve your frustration on a app you may have purchased just to find out it is pretty pathetic… we have all had this happen at some point or another so share your experience.

Our last thread today is one that I started a while back but with the rumors of AT&T beefing up their 3G network in preparation for the next iPhone, how fast or slow is your 3G data speed? Test your speed out and feel free to post a screen shot in your reply. (Just make sure you have 10 posts to be sure you can post any images.)

See you on the forums!

Lately all has been quiet in regards to Apple’s MobileMe service and shady activities. In the past we’ve told you about a few separate cases of phishing scams going around. Well today we’ve heard that Oscar nominated actress, Salma Hayek’s account has been hacked.

Honestly, this is something that is really not that difficult to do, especially depending on how much information you have about a person. Sarah Palin’s Yahoo! account was famously hacked last year using information from Wikipedia, as have several other celebrities.

In this particular case, all that was needed was Salma’s birthday and the answer to her security question which just happened to be “What is my favorite character?”. Just in case you were wondering what the answer was, it was “Frida” which was Hayek’s most popular role in a movie. (And yes, I’m sure it is now something a bit tougher to figure out so don’t bother trying.) In the end, that is all of the information that was needed to gain access to all of her emails, calendar information, etc…

Moral of this story, choose your security questions and answers wisely… And if you’re well known, make up a fake set of answers, memorize them thoroughly, and don’t tell anyone else.

[Via Macworld]

No, SlingPlayer Mobile is still not available in the App Store. Are any of our readers getting sick of hearing about SlingPlayer for iPhone and the numerous reasons/rumors on the applications delays in making it’s debut in the App Store?

Well maybe, just maybe we have a bit of good news for you today. Sling has recently updated their web page to give the iPhone world a little more insight on the status of their SlingPlayer Mobile.

“The team has been working hard to bring the SlingPlayer Mobile experience to the iPhone and iPod Touch. We’ve submitted the first release of our application to the iPhone App Store. We are in close contact with our partners at Apple and are optimistic that it will be approved soon. We hope the wait won’t be much longer.”

They “hope” [emphasis ours]? That’s not a very confident word. We don’t know about you, but TiPb will believe it when we see it.

[Via Sling]

For those of you who are not familiar with our Apps for Less posts, they are simply a way for us to point out a few good applications in the App Store on sale or at a price that we feel is worth mentioning to our valued readers.

First up we have an Apps for Less favorite, BeejiveIM [iTunes Link]. This application has been spotlighted in Apps for Less 3 times with the price dropping as low as $9.99. We have some good news for you, BeejiveIM is once again on sale for the low price of $9.99. You may be thinking that the price is still too high but honestly, you will not find a better IM client on the App Store, plain and simple. So if you are looking for the best out there, this is the one for you.

Next up we have a good one for all of you Kung Fu + word game fans. WordFu [iTunes Link] is a dice-based word game that combines a Kung Fu theme with many elements of other popular word games. Your task is to assemble as many words from the given letters as possible. All in all it’s a fun game that is pretty simple to play and for the low price of $.99 can you really go wrong? Just keep in mind it is a limited time sale. The price will be increasing so grab it as soon as possible!

The last app we have for you today is a little game called Enigmo [iTunes Link]. Enigmo has been one of the most successful games within the App Store.

“Enigmo is the most unique game that you’ll find for the iPhone or iPod Touch. It is a 3D puzzle game where you manipulate slides, bumpers, and other pieces to control streams of flowing liquid. Liquids (water, oil, and lava) fall from “droppers” and will bounce around the walls of a puzzle. You move and rotate the various puzzle pieces in order to divert the flow of the falling droplets so that they can reach their target. The faster you complete each level, the more bonus you will receive.”

This is one great game with an even greater price. For a limited time you can now purchase this app for the cheap price of $.99! That’s $3.00 off the regular price so don’t delay!

Hopefully some of you can take advantage and get in on these deals before it is too late! Enjoy!

UPDATING ON LIVE CONFERENCE CALL:

• Waiting for call to start, any minute now. Will post updates only when major iPhone-ish news is announced (or inner fanboy takes over).
• Covering Macs
• iPod touch growth, customers embrace superior features and apps.
• US market share for MP3 players 70%, gaining share in most international markets
• UK, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, China, growing.
• iTunes store had good quarter.
• DRM free now all 4 major labels and indies.
• App Store unparalleled succes.
• 35,000 apps, +20,000 since last call
• Almost at 1 billion downloads

More after the break!

Read the rest of this entry »

Our good friend, Dieter, over at PreCentral.net has just got his hands on a leaked internal AT&T document that puts our beloved iPhone 3G into the ring up against the yet to be released Palm Pre. We are beginning to wonder what will happen first, Palm going out of business or the Pre actually being released… (Yes, we kid because we love…)

While some of the things that made the list are cold hard facts that every Palm fan will have to swallow, AT&T seems to be reaching on a few as well. Here are a some of the better ones:

• The iPhone has a “thinner, lighter, bigger screen; metal and glass design” compared to the Pre’s “plastic casing”.
• The iPhones App Store has over “25,000 Apps” while the Pre has an “Unproven App Catalog app store”.
• The iPhone sports “Global GPS; aGPS for maximum speed, accuracy and reliability even in built-up areas” while the lonely Pre “Can’t receive map updates or location assist information in most of the world due to lack of GSM capability”.

What also caught our eye was:

• The Palm Pre “Touchscreen control gestures not intuitive” whereas the iPhone features “Patented Multi-Touch screen” and “Fast and responsive navigation.”

If the Palm Pre cloned some of the iPhone’s UI interactions, didn’t AT&T just dash our chances for some lawsuit action?

What do you think? AT&T simply stating the facts or could they possibly view the Palm Pre as a legitimate threat? Now head on over to Precentral.net to check out the full leaked AT&T memo!

The forums continue to grow here at TiPb and that is without a doubt a great thing. We are rapidly approaching a crazy time with WWDC coming up this June so the rumors and new iPhone talk is a buzz. All of the following threads have to do with, you guessed it, iPhone OS 3.0 software and new hardware.

If you are reading this site, chances are you are a big fan of Apple and it’s ever popular iPhone. But with that said, most of us know that it’s not a perfect device. So new forum member, lindawittsell, wants to know what are the 3 biggest drawbacks of the iPhone?

The next thread we have for you today is one for anyone thinking about purchasing an iPhone now or in the near future. The big question being, should I wait for new hardware to be released or bite the bullet now? We here at TiPb think it would be in your best interest to wait but if you see a deal that simply can not be passed up, go for it. One thing is for sure, technology never slows down so no matter when you pick a device up, around the corner a newer better version will become available.

This thread was started by PirateNinja and he may have gotten some false information from a AT&T sales rep. This rep claimed that there absolutely will be no new iPhone hardware this summer. In the end, they are salesmen who want to sell you anything they can. While we are 99% sure there will be new hardware, what types of stories have you heard from other AT&T reps? The best advice we can give you here is don’t believe everything you hear or read. As for me personally, I’ve learned that you get the more accurate information from places like TiPb and it’s forums than you will from any type of sales rep from any cellular company.

Lastly, we would like to point out that if you are a developer or a current user of the iPhone OS 3.0 software be sure to check out TiPb’s iPhone Developer Forum. Feel free to discuss the new features, bugs, unannounced features, etc… Just don’t ask anyone for the software or developer codes or you risk being banned from the forums.

See you on the forums!

There have been a lot of rumors lately about the next generation of iPhone hardware having a 3.2 megapixel camera, but right now we have to deal with what has been given to us: a decent 2 megapixel camera with zero features.

That brings us to a great post that we noticed today on PCMAG.com, 22 Ways to Make Your iPhone a Better Camera. One of the most useful apps they list has to be Photogene. [iTunes Link] This app allows you to:

• Enhance photos with multiple color adjustment options and a sharpen filter.
• Crop and straighten.
• Add fun effects like text balloons, frames or special filters

Be sure to check out PCMAG.com’s article for a boatload of tips and apps to make the best with your iPhone’s camera!

I will be honest here and say I’ve never been a fan of any refurbished products and AT&T is not making refurbished iPhone 3G’s any more enticing. It seems that AT&T has once again gotten some stock of refurbished 16GB iPhone 3G’s and are dumping them for the price of $149.99.

So you’re saving 150 bucks from the price of a new iPhone 3G, but is getting locked into a two year contract worth it at this point as all signs point to a new iPhone coming in the next few months? How about a measly 90 day or more warranty depending on the life of that particular phone? And finally, how about the chance your refurbished phone comes with a few dings and scratches?

Refurbished Phones and Devices Refurbished phones are previously owned devices that have been unused or lightly used and returned during the 30-day trial period. Each refurbished phone is independently quality tested and loaded with the latest software to meet current factory standards. Some refurbished iPhone 3G devices will have minor scratches. Refurbished iPhone 3G devices carry a warranty of 90 days or more. For details about the warranty on your refurbished iPhone 3G go to www.apple.com/support/oss/.

We say pass on this deal and either go in for a new device or hold out until this summer for the rumored new iPhone. If you simply do not care about the above concerns, this deal is for you.

*If you do make this purchase and want to check the status of the warranty go to Apple’s site and input your serial number here.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Rumor is that Hulu is working on a application that will be available in the App Store sometime in the near future. Silicon Alley Insider has learned about it from a “plugged-in industry executive” and it is said that the application itself will be as slick as Hulu’s website and it will work on 3G as well as WiFi. Judging from the popularity of Hulu and their really cool commercials, this app could be a huge hit.

This app coming to the App Store may seem a bit hard to believe at the moment based on the whole ordeal with SlingPlayer. Although, there are other apps within the App Store, such as i.TV, that actually stream video, granted the quality is poor. But full length TV shows and movies? Unfortunately, whatever is holding up SlingPlayer from becoming available still remains a mystery. Whatever the case may be, what are the chances of this Hulu app seeing the light of day? And what are the chances AT&T will really let it stream over 3G?

[Via Silicon Alley Insider]