11-point multitouch tracking might sound nifty in a theoretical spec throwaway, but what does it mean to an end-user? Likely still not much, but thanks to FingerMgmt we can at least see it in action now — on a MacBook glass trackpad at least.
Apple may have debuted their modern multitouch in the iPhone, but they’ve quickly spread the technology out to their MacBook glass trackpads and now Magic Mouse for desktops. Ultimately that’s good for all of Apple’s products, as innovation in each one can benefit the others on their next revision as well. Now, 11 points might be overkill for any practical need on a display this small, but when we start dreaming of unicorns and larger form-factor iTablets… Oh the games they could make (never mind the obvious jokes about just what constitutes that 11th finger…)
In App Purchase is being rapidly adopted by developers in their paid apps. Now you can use In App Purchase in your free apps to sell content, subscriptions, and digital services.
You can also simplify your development by creating a single version of your app that uses In App Purchase to unlock additional functionality, eliminating the need to create Lite versions of your app. Using In App Purchase in your app can also help combat some of the problems of software piracy by allowing you to verify In App Purchases.
Visit the App Store Resource Center for more details about how you can add In App Purchases to your free apps.
So in one email, Apple ends the clutter of Lite apps, provides a real possibility for demoware (a developer can provide 1 level of a game, for example, for free, and 10 more via in-app purchase), and offers developers the carrot of anti-piracy measures at the same time.
Previously, Apple was resolute about “free apps stay free” so as to avoid user confusion. What changed their mind, all of the above? And will in-app purchases in free apps be extra-carefully marked to avoid just such confusion?
There has been so much jailbreak/unlock news as of late, it’s enough to make your head spin. So let’s end this week with two more tidbits of news from the community.
The Dev Team has released yet another demo video. This time they are showing off their iPhone 3GS 3.0 ultrasn0w unlock. Please keep in mind for the unlock to work you cannot update to 3.1 — and yes, this includes the 3.1 beta.
It’s pretty well known in the jailbreak community that the Dev Team delayed releasing their iPhone 3GS jailbreak for their own reasons. Well someone else has stepped up to the plate to bring you a iPhone 3GS jailbreak alternative. iPhone original hacker, George Hotz, has released purplera1n which is currently only available to Windows users (not Windows 7 though). Mac users don’t panic, your version is coming soon!
In his latest blog post, not only does George explain the steps you must take to jailbreak your iPhone 3GS, he is pretty vocal on why he has decided to release purplera1n to the public.
Normally I don’t make tools for the general public, and rather wait for the dev team to do it. But guys, whats up with waiting until 3.1? That isn’t how the game is played. We release, Apple fixes, we find new holes. It isn’t worth waiting because you might have the “last” hole in the iPhone. What last hole…this isn’t golf. I’ll find a new one next week. Also your purplera1nyday files ensure that you can always get back to a jailbroken state, so if you have it it’s just a matter of tools.
Has this brought back to life a heated rivalry? It’s time to sit back, relax, and jailbreak!
And as always, TiPb and staff take no responsibility for any bricking, failures, security risks, etc… that may occur during the jailbreak process. Proceed at your own risk!
[Not iPhone-friendly video -- we know -- please encourage them to post video to YouTube in the future. Thanks to everyone who sent these in!]
There are no demos available in the App Store, we know this. No try before you buy, no download now, pay later. According to Erica Sadun at Ars Technica, even mentioning demo in your verbiage, like beta, will get you a swift kick in the rejection button. Free “Lite” versions are the only way to go.
Zach Epstein over on the Boy Genius Report wonders out loud why Apple, in its infinite usability, can’t create a mechanism where Apps get downloaded free, and then expire after a short period of time unless you decide to buy and keep them.
So, does Apple really not know how to handle App Store demos yet? Or do they suspect, as TiPb does, f that demos would kill the $0.99 novelty App (and CrApp) impulse-buy business dead? After all, how many would really not tire of the gags before the demo period expired?
I’ll fess up that the Lil John “YEAH!” “OKAY!” “WHAT!” travesty App would never have eaten my $0.99 had there been a demo! What percentage of Apps you’ve bought, do you think having had a demo period wouldn’t have made sure you didn’t buy instead?
The fine folks at Sling were kind enough to give TiPb a demo of their soon-to-be submitted to the Apple iTunes App Store SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone client and it looked all shades of sweet. In addition to great H.264 quality and video overlays, they went all the way and implemented “swipe to change channels”. We. Want. This. Now.
Watch the video for the full on demo, and let us (and Sling, and Apple) know what you think.
Accidentally fall asleep when developers went over 190832 apps during the keynote? Numb your mind and index finger by maddeningly refreshing your browser? Miss all the apps that were showcased in the iPhone? Fear not, TiPb will give you a quick nitty gritty update on the lot.
eBay – A fairly basic eBay app that didn’t really showcase any advancements from the basic web app. Sure it was nice and integrated but really, isn’t an eBay webapp good enough? Certainly, they could have gotten someone better to demo their app.
Loopt – A location-based social networking application. Now this is kind of cool, it displays your friend’s location on a map and works with other platforms. Basically, I imagine it to be similar to Boost Mobile’s Where You At?
TypePad – A mobile blogging app that is pretty straightforward. The interface looked similar to the iPhone’s E-mail client and well, at least you can add photos via camera or photo roll
Mobile News Network – Basically enables viewing videos and pictures of news stories from various sources. It also allows you to directly report the news if you have a first hand account of something
Band – This is a fun app, basically a collection of virtual instruments: piano, drums, bass, 12-bar blues ‘instrument’. I’ve seen iterations of ‘Band’ in the jailbreaking scene and it makes for good fun
MLB.com – This app is nice! It gives iPhone users direct access to video highlights right after they happen! It also displays a live detailed scoreboard for quick updates on baseball games.
Modality – A medical application used to easily learn names of body parts, etc. Mildly useful for me, incredibly useful for doctors I presume
MIMvista – Another medical application that takes advantage of the iPhone’s screen to zoom in, out, and scroll around. Basically, an interactive way to view medical imagery?
Whew, that was a lot of Apps to go through. It goes to show the versatility of third party applications and how far it can push the iPhone into becoming a true ’smartphone’. Best of all, many of those apps were priced as FREE. Now hopefully we can get to play with these apps ourselves instead of watching them on a 60 foot screen.
