A musical scratchpad on your iPhone
Filed under: Audio, Software, iPhone
I’ve built a recording studio on my iPhone … kind of. It doesn’t output production-quality mixes — or anything close — but it makes a great scratchpad for recording and developing musical ideas. It didn’t take any special effort, just a few apps which I’ve found really handy, especially when working with acoustic instruments.
Tuning up
First, I’ve been using GuitarToolkit ($9.99US in the App Store) for tuning, general metronome needs and finding chord phrasings. There are dozens of apps available with similar features, and I haven’t tried enough of them to fairly judge merits (if you know of an outstanding app, let’s hear about it in the comments!). I grabbed GuitarToolkit when it was a little narrower of a field, and it’s been a sturdy, steadily-improving app which has never given me reason to look around.
Read on for the rest of the “mobile studio” …
Continue reading A musical scratchpad on your iPhone
A musical scratchpad on your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
A musical scratchpad on your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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First Look: Mouse House
Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, iPod touch, First Look
Mouse House is a very adorable and surprisingly complicated puzzle game from Plaid World Studios. At first look, it seems like a very simple game with graphics that appear to be on par with Super Nintendo games. But, it’s actually surprisingly tough and addictive.
The game’s premise is simple — eat cheese and progress through the unlocked doors once they open. Along the way, you have to dodge bees, evil rats, crumbling floors and try not to get pinned in a corner by pushing balls the wrong way. It looks simple, but isn’t. After completing the 8-level tutorial, it took me a few retries to get through the next few levels.
The sound effects are truly what make this game stand out. The little noises from eating cheese and getting through an open door successfully are quite adorable. The controls are easy to use — tap the screen in a vertical or horizontal line from where the mouse is and he’ll move to that spot. There’s no game soundtrack other than the sound effects. Instead, you can listen to the music already loaded on your iPhone or iPod Touch and the sound effects will play over the music. However, I enjoy the effects so much I simply play without the music.
Mouse House (link opens iTunes) is currently available for US$.99
First Look: Mouse House originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
First Look: Mouse House originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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TUAW Interview: Rolando’s Simon Oliver is ready for release
Filed under: Gaming, Features, Interviews, iPhone, App Store, SDK
Rolando has been a long time coming — we first heard about the game on a tip directly from Simon Oliver, the game’s creator himself, while he was working with an unofficial iPhone development kit part time on a little physics-based puzzle game. And now, six months later, he’s working full-time as an iPhone dev, his little game has expanded into a full-fledged story-driven platforming game with more hype and expectation behind it than perhaps any other App Store release, published by one of the biggest companies to come out of the iPhone gaming scene so far. Not to mention that the App Store itself has grown from a crazy experiment Apple thought up to distribute iPhone software, to a multimillion-dollar enterprise.
So today, on the release of one of the first games that really got us excited about the potential of the iPhone as a gaming device (yes, you can buy it right now if you want), we sit down again with Simon Oliver for an exclusive interview, this time to talk about the road he’s traveled over the past few months, and how far both he and his game about little rolling “Rolandos” has come. He talked with us about the Ngmoco partnership and how it helped him as a developer, the viability of Rolando as a $9.99 game, and the future of both what he’s working on and what the App Store needs as a gaming platform.
Continue reading TUAW Interview: Rolando’s Simon Oliver is ready for release
TUAW Interview: Rolando’s Simon Oliver is ready for release originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
TUAW Interview: Rolando’s Simon Oliver is ready for release originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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iPhone thief thwarted by MobileMe sync
Filed under: Humor, Odds and ends, iPhone, MobileMe
To say that MobileMe hasn’t made everyone happy may be a bit of an understatement. We don’t generally hear from the satisfied customers, but we have received a fair amount of email from dissatisfied users of Apple’s “cloud computing” solution. Given the barrage of negativity, it’s nice to hear a positive take now and then. TUAW reader Rob had just the thing …
While at the dry cleaner one day, Rob’s iPhone was stolen. He immediately chalked it up as gone forever, and proceeded to purchase a brand new one that same evening. It was the next day when unfamiliar contacts began to appear on the new phone. The (not-too-bright) thief was unwittingly supplying him with names and phone numbers of his or her closest friends, via the magic of MobileMe synchronization from the stolen phone to the cloud and eventually to his new phone. “It didn’t take long for me to realize that MobileMe was leading me right to the thief!” wrote Rob.
Thanks to the fact that he caught on to it before he’d had time to remotely disconnect his account, MobileMe provided the groundwork for a little social engineering. Rob made quick work of wrangling a name and phone number from the provided contacts, supplying the police with everything they needed to get Rob his phone back. By the end of the night, he had his original iPhone in his possession.
There you have it, a MobileMe success story! Sure, this doesn’t make up for the problems which have plagued MobileMe, but it’s a great story. The recovered phone is “pretty much brand new,” according to Rob, and is currently up for auction on ebay.
Thanks for sending this in, Rob!
iPhone thief thwarted by MobileMe sync originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
iPhone thief thwarted by MobileMe sync originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple’s Greg Joswiak touts iPod touch as the future of handheld gaming
We speculated in our review of the new iPod touch that Apple had designs on more than just consumption of music and video, and now an interview with company VP of iPod and iPhone product marketing Greg Joswiak all but confirms that sights are set on the gaming market. In a conversation with T3, Joswiak boasts that the devices are breaking through as a viable alternative to established handhelds (such as the PSP or DS) due mostly in part to competitive software pricing and the company’s content delivery system. While much of the interview focuses on iPod sales figures, it does delve into more detailed comparisons of platforms, with Joswiak stating, “The 3D graphic power here [iPod touch] is significantly greater than what you have here [picks up Nintendo DS]. So this allows people to do significantly higher quality games.” While it’s not unusual to hear Apple’s honchos hyping their products like they just skipped across some water to heal a few lepers, it is a new trend to see the company aggressively going after gaming platform mainstays so directly. With Sony and Nintendo just getting up to speed on non-traditional content delivery, Apple may find an edge come holiday season with casual gamers — the real question is whether the hardcore will bite.
[Via Eurogamer; Thanks, Zach M.]
Filed under: Gaming, Portable Audio, Portable Video
Apple’s Greg Joswiak touts iPod touch as the future of handheld gaming originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tweetie: Twitter client with "oomph"
Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, First Look
Yesterday, Dave published an awesome gift guide for the Twitter addict. It wasn’t meant to be an all-encompassing list, nonetheless, the omission of Tweetie [iTunes link] — one of the newest Twitter clients to hit the iPhone — generated a ton of response via the comments, our inbox and of course, via Twitter. Because Twitter is my crack, I decided to take Tweetie out for a spin. Developer Loren Brichter was even nice enough to get me in on the Tweetie beta so I could take a sneak peek at some of the features coming in future releases.
My initial thoughts are very, very positive; I now know why so many of you were so vocal about your Tweetie love. No sooner did I crown Tweetsville the current champion in the Twitter for iPhone Battle Royale, Tweetie shows up with some serious moves. At this point, I don’t even know if I can adequately name a “champion.”
Another Twitter client?
As I’ve said before, Twitter and the iPhone are a perfect combination — they just go together. That said, Dave makes a solid point: the number of available Twitter clients for the iPhone is getting a tad ridiculous. I have tried almost every Twitter application available for the iPhone/iPod touch (see below) and they can tend to blur together.
And these are just the apps I’ve purchased or downloaded for free
This is where Tweetie really stands out. On the features front, it is pretty similar to what Twitterlator Pro, Tweestville and Twitterfon offer, but its interface is extremely clean and unobscured. In fact, it took me a little while to figure out where some of the more advanced settings for the app are. They are actually in the main “Settings” panel, rather than inline the app itself. That makes sense, and is apparently something Apple recommends, but it’s worth noting because otherwise you might miss where some of the features actually are.
Gallery: Tweetie
Continue reading Tweetie: Twitter client with “oomph”
Tweetie: Twitter client with “oomph” originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tweetie: Twitter client with “oomph” originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Walmart to test iPhone sales with employees starting today
Engadget is featuring an image allegedly showing details of Walmart’s “soft launch” for the iPhone, scheduled to go on sale at 9 a.m. on December 28.
The note indicates that 488 Walmart stores were chosen for a “pilot” exercise, whereby each store will be given five iPhones to sell to Walmart employees between now and the 28th.
Associates will be able to purchase the phones for “full contract price and a two-year service agreement,” but they can take advantage of a 15 percent discount on the contract as employees.
The purpose of the pilot program is to sort out any issues with the sales or activation process prior to the public launch date. If anything, it will make for a happy holiday for 2,440 Walmart associates.
Walmart to test iPhone sales with employees starting today originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Walmart to test iPhone sales with employees starting today originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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In France, Apple must let other carriers sell iPhone
Filed under: Apple Corporate, iPhone
The French government’s competition watchdog told Apple that it must allow other carriers besides Orange to offer the iPhone. Orange is a subsidiary of France Telecom.
In September, Orange competitor Bouygues Telecom SA filed a complaint with the Competition Council about the exclusivity agreement. While a decision hasn’t been reached on the merit of Bouygues’ argument, today’s order was a “protective measure” as the Council continues its investigation, likely to take a year or more.
Both SFR (the second-largest carrier in France) and Bouygues Telecom (the third largest) hope to begin selling the handsets soon.
In a statement, the Competition Council said that the Apple-Orange agreement posed a “serious and immediate threat” to competition among carriers, and higher costs for customers.
France Telecom plans to appeal the decision.
[Via BusinessWeek and Reuters.]
In France, Apple must let other carriers sell iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
In France, Apple must let other carriers sell iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Mobispine’s iPhone MMS application… for the entire universe?
We heard yesterday that Telia customers might be getting an MMS app for their iPhones, and that it was being developed by the carrier themselves, with plans to launch in the next two months. Well, today we’ve gotten word that Mobispine is likely the developer of said application, and that they have plans to offer it to carriers all over planet Earth. Mobispine says that the app will be branded to each particular operator, and distributed via Apple’s App Store, but we don’t know when all of this is going to go down. Now we’d just like to meet the caveman owner of the iPhone pictured above who needed to be told (on November 15th!) that “Obama will be our next president.”
[Thanks, Mike]
Filed under: Cellphones
Mobispine’s iPhone MMS application… for the entire universe? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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MMS-capabilities coming soon to a Swedish iPhone?
The oft-bemoaned lack of certain, um… capabilities of the the iPhone is forcing individual companies to take desperate measures, it seems. It’s not entirely clear, but MacWorld says it’s confirmed with Telia that the Swedish-Finnish carrier’s developing an MMS-enabling app for the iPhone. MacWorld says the app will hit the market in the next two months, which is great news for everyone in Sweden. If you live anywhere else in the world, however, you’ll just have to continue on, rueing the day you ever encountered Apple’s MMS-spurning, copy and paste-hating handset.
Update: Though the source is Swedish, it’s entirely reasonable to believe that this’ll spread across all of Telia’s markets (and the world?). Thanks, commenters!
[Thanks, Martin]
Filed under: Cellphones
MMS-capabilities coming soon to a Swedish iPhone? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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