Governor Barbour Demonstrates New Emergency Radio System For First Time
August 30, 2009
Apple, AT&T face yet another iPhone MMS lawsuit
August 30, 2009
(Credit: Apple)For at least the third time this month, Apple and AT&T are being sued by a consumer complaining of being duped into believing that multimedia messaging, or MMS, was already available on the iPhone.
Filed in the Northern District of Ohio on Wednesday (PDF hosted by Wired), plaintiff Deborah Carr says Apple and AT&T misled the public into believing that the iPhone 3GS was capable of sending and receiving MMS messages on the device. The lawsuit claims that Apple’s “print and video advertisements…on television, the Internet, the radio, newspapers, and direct mailers” all mention the availability of MMS on the device.
Two similar cases–one in Illinois and another in Louisiana–were also filed against the companies in August.
According to the latest lawsuit, first reported by InformationWeek, customers were told that MMS would be enabled on June 17, 2009, when iPhone OS 3.0 was released.
That seems rather strange, considering that Apple and AT&T announced on June 8, during Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote that MMS would not be available until later in the summer. AT&T confirmed that time frame to Wired on Friday.
“We absolutely will offer MMS on iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G with 3.0 upgrades in late summer, once we complete some system upgrades that will ensure our customers have the best experience with MMS,” an AT&T representative said in a statement cited by Wired.
Carr’s lawsuit does admit that Apple has a notice on its Web site explaining that support for MMS would be available from AT&T in late summer. However, the suit characterizes the note as a “mouseprint disclaimer,” referring to the small print.
Technically, Apple has enabled MMS in iPhone OS 3.0. The proof is that 29 carriers around the world activated MMS on the iPhone when the new operating system was released on June 17. It’s not available in the United States because AT&T isn’t ready to activate it yet, which was disclosed on June 8.
Originally posted at News - Apple
Apple says it’s not to blame for ‘exploding’ iPhones
August 30, 2009
Apple’s iPhone may be the darling of the mobile-phone industry right now, but some users in France aren’t singing its praises, claiming that the device explodes or cracks without warning.
(Credit: Apple)However, after conducting an internal investigation into the cause of the broken touch-screen glass, Apple denies that there is an underlying iPhone flaw. In fact, Apple said that in all cases it investigated, some kind of force was applied to the iPhone, causing the glass to break, according to a BBC report Friday.
“The iPhones with broken glass that we have analyzed to date show that in all cases, the glass cracked due to an external force that was applied to the iPhone,” Apple said in a statement cited by the BBC.
Last Tuesday, in response to a European Commission investigation into accusations of overheating and exploding iPhones, Apple referred to its internal investigation, saying, “We are waiting to receive the iPhones from the customers.”
As part of its investigation, Apple also looked into complaints of the iPhone battery overheating but again said it found no problems. “To date, there are no confirmed battery-overheating incidents for iPhone 3GS, and the number of reports we are investigating is in the single digits,” according to the statement.
The investigation’s findings don’t mean much to France’s Frank Benoiton, a consumer who said his wife’s iPhone cracked, and it “was not dropped and experienced no unusual shock,” he told the Associated Press.
France’s trade minister declined to comment on a meeting with Apple about an investigation that the country’s consumer protection agency is conducting into the reports, according to Bloomberg.
The European Commission also issued a warning using its rapid-alert system, Rapex, which warns of dangerous consumer products.
Originally posted at News - Apple
FCC leaks TomTom’s iPhone Car Kit details
August 29, 2009
Engadget published FCC documentation today that confirms that TomTom’s
iPhone Car Kit is quite real and may be worth an add-on for the previously released
iPhone app.
According to the FCC, the kit comes with a few extras that we’ve been expecting. It should feature a mount and dock for the iPhone that will charge when docked, Bluetooth functionality for hands-free calling, and the “SiRFstar GPS chipset,” which will definitely give users better location accuracy than the TomTom iPhone app alone.
For the full scoop on the kit, to browse photos, read its manual, and see FCC certification tests, click over to the FCC’s Web site.
Physics-based motocross and zombie survival shooter: iPhone apps of the week
August 29, 2009
(Credit: CNET)Apple recently announced that September 9 will be the date of their 2009 iPod event. For the past four years, Apple has hosted these events in San Francisco to unveil its latest generation of iPods. This year, there has been much speculation at rumor sites that Apple will introduce camera capabilities to its iPod Nano and iPod Touch media players. Many sites are also posting that we will see iTunes 9 with rumored social networking features. As with all things Apple, you can never know what its going to announce at the event, but as we get closer to September 9, check our Download blog for the latest rumors.
Both of this week’s apps are games. The first app is a close remake of a physics-based motocross Flash game, and the second game is a new survival shooter with RPG elements to keep you playing.
Tilt your iPhone to land safely so you don't lose your momentum.
(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)
Moto X Mayhem (99 cents) is a fun physics-based side-scrolling game that’s been popular at the iTunes store in recent weeks, but I’ve been reluctant to write about it. In the game, you use your accelerometer to lean forward or back, and press the screen to accelerate as you navigate your way through a 2D course. You get five lives to try to complete seven different courses in a row to finish the game. The graphics are cartoon-smooth and the controls are excellent, but once you’ve played a few games, you’ll be able to finish fairly easily.
I was reluctant to write about this game because I used to play what I assume was the original–a free game called TG Motocross–at Teagames.com a couple of years ago. At the time, I was obsessed with getting the best times and thought it was a great free time waster (and so was the sequel), but now that it’s on the iPhone, I feel as if it isn’t enough. Teagames hasn’t had any new games for quite awhile, so maybe this iPhone game is its new endeavor. In any case, Moto X Mayhem is quite a good game, but if it added more levels or a way to pull off tricks, I would feel better recommending it at 99 cents. I guess the good news is that you can try it online before you buy.
Don't forget to reload (bottom center) or you may end up surrounded.
(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)
Alive4Ever is part survival shooter and part RPG in which you’ll fight off zombies using onscreen joysticks. It’s similar to iDracula: Undead Awakening, a survival shooter game I’ve reviewed here before, but adds several new elements to make it even better. In Alive4Ever, you choose between four characters with varying strengths and weaknesses, and you play through 30 missions of increasingly hard zombie mayhem. When you’re low on health or ammo, you can often fight your way to pickups to replenish your supplies. As you complete missions, you’ll earn experience to increase your character’s capabilities and extra cash to buy new and more powerful weapons.
While it is a top-down 2D survival shooter, Alive4Ever also borrows a lot of elements from Left4Dead (yes, even the name is similar), the 2008 game-of-the-year first person shooter from Valve. There are four characters to choose from and even some of the zombie characters resemble those in the popular PC game. But probably the best element borrowed from Left4Dead is the capability to play co-op multiplayer over a Bluetooth connection with your friends. We tried it here in the office with a couple of iPhones and had a great time working together to stay alive as long as possible. Overall, Alive4Ever is an excellent and well thought-out app that combines good elements of two popular games to make probably the best survival shooter for iPhone. One word of warning: it can get quite bloody so it might not be right for the whole family.
What’s your favorite iPhone app? Is Moto X Mayhem just fine the way it is or do you agree with me that there should be more? What do you think of Alive4Ever? Let me know in the comments!
Originally posted at The Download Blog
University of Washington offers iPhone development certificate
August 29, 2009
(Credit: University of Washington)If you’re anxious to develop an iPhone app but don’t know where to start, the University of Washington offers iPhone and Cocoa development certificates that teach the basics of iPhone and Mac development.
The courses include Programming with Objective-C and Cocoa Framework, Developing with the iPhone SDK, and Advanced Cocoa and Mac OS X Development. Currently, the courses aren’t offered online, but the university hopes to have online versions next year. You can download a program overview (PDF) of these courses for more information.
Experienced iPhone and Mac developers from Apple, Disney Interactive, Google, Microsoft’s Mac Business Unit, NewsGator, and Omni Group developed each course syllabus. What’s more, the instructors are experienced Mac and iPhone developers with a combined level of 55 years of experience developing apps on these platforms.
If you don’t live in Seattle, there are many alternative ways to learn iPhone development including numerous books and Web sites. There’s also Stanford’s free iPhone developer course at iTunes U.
Are you interested in developing apps for the iPhone? Have you taken iPhone development courses somewhere that you would recommend to others? Tell us
about it in the comments.
Rearrange your iPhone apps
August 29, 2009
As I’ve already told you, managing hundreds of apps on your iPhone isn’t easy. To date, I’ve acquired via evaluation license, beta testing, downloaded, or purchased a total of 292 iPhone apps, though only 207 currently reside on my iPhone.
The dilemma stems from the fact that new app icons typically go to the first available space on your home screens. You’ll also find your existing icons rearranged after you install updates, delete apps, or perform a restore. Rearranging them again can be tedious.
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Fortunately, Jeff Stieler, an intrepid iPhone developer, has come up with an application that takes the pain out of app management for jailbroken iPhones. Movement uses your Mac to rearrange your apps on your iPhone or iPod Touch.
The video demo of this new Mac OS X iPhone app management utility is embedded below:
A solution for non-jailbroken iPhone users may be around the corner. iTunes 9, which is rumored to be coming soon, should have support for arranging app icons on the iPhone and iPod Touch like the proof-of-concept we covered previously.
Augmented reality now on the iPhone: It’s real, and it’s secretly inside Yelp
August 29, 2009
The hot trend of 2009 has to be augmented reality, particularly with all the impressive tech demos and futuristic games currently in development across the world.
On the iPhone in particular, several companies have promised Twittering, search, and other navigation using layers of real-time data overlaid onto live video from the iPhone’s camera. Imagine a heads-up display on reality itself, and that’s what augmented reality is promising.
Yelp shows me what's outside my window.
(Credit: Scott Stein/CNET)
Apple has been onboard with these developments, promising that the upcoming OS 3.1 will provide full compatibility for AR apps. But it turns out we don’t need to wait after all. In addition to French and British AR map programs hitting the App Store early, a much better and cooler solution has been lurking under our eyes the whole time.
Called “Monocle,” it’s an Easter egg within Yelp. As in, Yelp 3.0, the one that’s currently available on the App Store. When I first read a tweet about it, I was disbelieving. But all you have to do is shake your phone three times like in some fairy tale to trigger the Monocle button, which suddenly appears on the top of the screen.
Launching it brings up honest-to-goodness overlaid restaurant and bar information that moves as you move, aided by the iPhone 3GS’s built-in compass. It resembles the demos seen by the Layar browser.
That compass is key for AR apps to work properly, because it senses direction. GPS alone won’t cut it, which means you’d better have a 3GS to pull this off. Give it a try, though, and let us know if your 3G will work on it. And don’t forget to update the Yelp app before shaking.
Will we use this? Maybe not so much, but we sure will enjoy showing it off.
(Via Fast Company)
Get free app codes at Promo Dispenser
August 29, 2009
Good news for freebie junkies like me: Promo Dispenser offers free, no-strings-attached promo codes for iPhone apps.
Good news for developers: Promo Dispenser offers a free and easy way to promote your apps.
Here’s how it works: Developers add their apps’ info and promo codes to the site. Users (who must register with an e-mail address) grab the allotted codes on a first-come, first-served basis. (There’s no waiting and no random draw, as with previously mentioned AppGiveaway.)
Score free App Store promo codes at Promo Dispenser.
Users are limited to one code per day, and you can’t get another code without first commenting on and rating the previously downloaded app.
That’s good news for the developer, as it ensures at least some feedback. And Promo Dispenser encourages users to copy their reviews to the App Store, so this can actually improve sales.
In other words, the site helps developers promote their apps, not just give them away. (Find out more on Promo Dispenser’s FAQ page.)
And for users, of course, it’s a simple way to score freebies. Definitely worth a look!
Speaking of freebies, check out these previous posts on gratis apps:
- Twitter feed notifies you of newly free iPhone apps
- Another way to find free iPhone apps
- Win (and promote) iPhone apps at AppGiveaway
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August 29, 2009
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