Swivl intros companion iPhone app, we make sweet video with it
Sure, when we first encountered the device formerly known as Satarii Star it may have been a pipe dream in dire need of funding (and frankly a better name), but after playing with the company’s latest Swivl prototype we can confirm it’s very much real and honestly, pretty darn cool. For those unaware, the $159 “dock” of sorts, rotates whatever you stuff into it a full 360-degrees all while chasing a portable marker. New today, is an accompanying iPhone app that can remotely trigger recording from the marker all while including other niceties like the ability to lock focus during capture. So how did we get along with our limited time with the startup’s latest prototype? Hop on past the break to find out.
Gallery: Swivl press pics
Gallery: Swivl hands-on
Continue reading Swivl intros companion iPhone app, we make sweet video with it
Swivl intros companion iPhone app, we make sweet video with it originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Dec 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Navigon finds itself atop TUAW Best of 2011 voting results
The results of our reader poll for the best iPhone navigation app of 2011 are in. Navigon’s iPhone navigation products lead the pack with 46.7 percent of the votes, besting second-place TomTom with only 21.7 percent.
Navigon’s products include regional, national and continent-wide GPS navigation apps. Starting at US$19.99 for the Navigon U.S. West, Central or East apps and going up to $69.99 for the complete Navigon Europe, these apps are full-featured. They are easy to set up and run, give understandable voice turn-by-turn instructions, show the lane that you’re supposed to be in for turns off of major highways, include a 3D map display, and can even provide pedestrian navigation in major cities.
Congratulations to Navigon for coming out on top in this highly-contested category in the TUAW Best of 2011 voting.
Navigon finds itself atop TUAW Best of 2011 voting results originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 27 Dec 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Navigon finds itself atop TUAW Best of 2011 voting results originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 27 Dec 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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iPhones, iPod Touches still on iOS 3.1.3 can’t download new apps directly from the App Store
While fragmentation is a rare(r) problem on iOS there’s still quite a few users rocking older versions on their devices. Unfortunately for them, ever since a recent update on the 16th they haven’t been able to download any new apps from the App Store straight to their devices. While users of older iPod Touches and iPhones stuck on 3.1.3 by choice or incompatibility with newer OSes can still update the apps they already have and transfer software from iTunes on a computer, they can’t buy or install new ones directly from the device. We were able to confirm the issue on one of our own devices, while there’s a pretty lengthy thread in Apple’s support forum about the issue, but no official response yet. We’ll keep you posted if word comes that this is just a glitch or if the company has decided to leave those old versions on the outside looking in.
[Thanks, Domo]
iPhones, iPod Touches still on iOS 3.1.3 can’t download new apps directly from the App Store originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Daily iPhone App: SkySafari
SkySafari from Southern Stars is an app for the astronomy enthusiast with an iPhone. It’s the perfect companion for a new telescope owner, who can use the app to help locate celestial bodies in the sky, or the casual observer who wants to know the name of that bright star cluster overhead. It’s also useful for the seasoned astronomer who wants a pocket reference that’s chock full of information.
The basic app (US$2.99) displays over 120,000 stars and has images of all the major planets and their moons. It also includes information on well-known asteroids and comets. SkySafari lets you look up details on each heavenly object including its catalog number and its coordinates in the sky. The app also explains the history and mythology behind each celestial object, so you can learn about the object as well as find it in the sky.
If you have an iOS device with a compass or gyroscope, you can point the app at the sky and use an augmented reality view to locate stars and planets. It even includes a night mode which preserves your dark-adjusted vision when you’re out stargazing at night.
One of the best features is “Tonight’s Best,” which lists the best celestial objects to observe that night. The app generates this list based on your location and the local date and time. The app also has SkyWeek, a list of notable astronomical events pulled from Sky and Telescope Magazine’s popular weekly column. Both Tonight’s Best and SkyWeek are fantastic places to start if you’re new to astronomy and don’t want to miss an important event.
SkySafari is also available in a Plus ($14.99) and Pro ($59.99) version which includes information on millions of stars, deep sky objects and every comet or asteroid ever observed. If you have a motorized GoTo mount, the Plus and Pro versions also let you control your telescope using the iPhone app.
SkySafari is similar to Star Walk, another iPad and iPhone-based astronomy app. Both apps give you an augmented reality view of the sky and have information on the objects that you see. SkySafari, though, has additional features like SkyWeek that’ll appeal more to the serious hobbyist than the casual observer. The depth of the information available and the option to control your telescope make SkySafari one of the leading astronomical apps available for iOS.
Daily iPhone App: SkySafari originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 27 Dec 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Daily iPhone App: SkySafari originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 27 Dec 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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iPhone 4S passes last hurdle to launching in mainland China
The People’s Daily is reporting that an Apple device with the model number A1431 has received China’s Compulsory Certification. This is the model number for the iPhone 4S that recently received a network entry permit, indicating that the phone has cleared the remaining hurdles before it can be sold in mainland China.
This positions Apple to release the iPhone 4S in the new year, most likely coinciding with Chinese New Year on Jan. 23.
[via CNN/Fortune]
iPhone 4S passes last hurdle to launching in mainland China originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
iPhone 4S passes last hurdle to launching in mainland China originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Study finds many iOS activations during the holidays
We all expected that iOS sales would be incredible during the holiday season, but now a study by Localytics reported on GigaOM shows that the activation level for new iOS devices was even greater than expected.
The study showed that 12.5 times more iOS devices accessed games and apps using Localytics’ platform during the holiday weekend than over previous weekends. That’s the worldwide average — in the US and Germany, the average was 15 to 16 times greater than the average new device activations. For the competing Android platform, the gains were in the 11 to 12 times greater range.
Other fascinating numbers from the Localytics study include the fact that in the US, activations of iPod touch devices were 21 times greater than usual, while iPhones were activated at 14 times the standard rate.
Apple ruled the roost in terms of activation gains in the US, UK, and Germany, while Android won the contest in other European countries and in Asia.
Study finds many iOS activations during the holidays originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 27 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Study finds many iOS activations during the holidays originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 27 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Find My Car Smart app uses Bluetooth 4.0 to help iPhone 4S owners do the obvious
Find My Car Smart app uses Bluetooth 4.0 to help iPhone 4S owners do the obvious originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Satechi BT Wireless Pocket Speaker review
Small Bluetooth speakers for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad seem to be the current rage. Recently, I did a review of the Logitech Mini Boombox, an amazing small speaker that packs a punch. However, I felt that the bass end on that speaker was bit on the weak side. Satechi has recently come out with the new BT Wireless Pocket Speaker (US$44.99) with a unique patented fold-out resonator that is designed to boost the bass without increasing the size of the speaker. How did this work? Read on for a full review of this little speaker.
Design
The design of the Satechi BT Wireless Pocket Speaker is completely unique. It’s a small four-sided blob that is reminiscent of a small turtle. There are no visible buttons — they’re hidden under a chrome bezel strip that winds its way around the exterior of the device. On top of the speaker is a rounded area that, when rotated, causes a resonator to pop out. While the drawings in the user manual seem to show the resonator more than doubling the height of the speaker, it actually only pops up about a half-inch.
The Pocket Speaker comes with a USB to mini-USB cable for charging, as well as a small pouch for protection. On the bottom of the speaker is a short cable that neatly tucks into place if you’d prefer to plug the Pocket Speaker into your iPhone’s headphone jack or chain several of the Pocket Speakers together to make an über-speaker.
Gallery: Satechi BT Portable Speaker System
It’s cute, it’s tiny, and it is attractively priced. But how does the Satechi BT Wireless Pocket Speaker sound?
Functionality
The speaker pairs with your iPhone, iPad, or pretty much any Bluetooth device. The pairing process is simple — you press and hold the power button (designated by the universal power icon on the chrome bezel) until you see the blue light flashing. Once that happens, going into Settings > General > Bluetooth reveals the unpaired device, and typing in 0000 as the pairing code makes the connection.
Unlike the more expensive Mini Boombox, the Pocket Speaker is not a stereo speaker. Basically, you’re getting monaural sound from the device and hooking up more of them in series is only going to give you monaural sound from a bunch of speakers. Multiple speakers would make the sound louder, but wouldn’t give it true stereo.
The volume is adjusted either on the device or using the Music app controls. I found it worked best to turn the Pocket Speaker’s volume to the maximum and then use the Music controls to adjust the level.
The maximum volume on the Pocket Speaker isn’t all that loud. While the Logitech Mini Boombox would work admirably to blast music at a noisy party, the Pocket Speaker would probably be drowned out by conversation. I didn’t find the sound quality to be as good as that of the Mini Boombox either — a side by side comparison showed that the resonator on the Pocket Speaker, while a good idea, just didn’t add any “punch” to the bass. Both of the speakers are rather weak and low in terms of bass, but that just seems to be a side effect of small size.
Like many of the other speakers of this type, the Pocket Speaker can be used as a speaker phone for your iPhone as well. The same button that allows you to turn up the volume or go to the next track on a playlist also answers an incoming call, while the play/pause and power button also serves to reject or end a call. Note that the Pocket Speaker doesn’t have a built-in microphone — instead, it’s using the microphone on your iPhone.
Finally, the speaker “Safety Rules” in the owner’s manual gave me a good laugh, especially rule number 3 — “Take note that this speaker is not edible and should not be placed in your mouth.”
Conclusion
This is without a doubt the smallest Bluetooth speaker that I’ve seen so far, and it works reasonably well. The small size of it keeps the bass sounding rather weak despite the innovative design of the resonator, and it’s not a stereo speaker, so if you’re looking for big bass and good stereo separation, look elsewhere.
On the other hand, if you just need a small travel speaker that doesn’t take up a lot of room, works as a speaker phone, and has an eye-catching design, then the Pocket Speaker might be the one for you. The low price is also a plus for the Pocket Speaker. Satechi also has an even smaller speaker that is designed for the iPhone and iPod touch — the SD Mini Portable Pocket Speaker — that sells for $29.99. Kudos to Satechi for creating these tiny speakers and making them affordable for everyone.
Satechi BT Wireless Pocket Speaker review originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 27 Dec 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Satechi BT Wireless Pocket Speaker review originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 27 Dec 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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New iPhone? Try these must-have free apps
If you have that new iPhone you received for the holidays, you’re probably looking to load it up with some apps that will enhance your mobile experience. Let me suggest some of the best of the free apps. Of course, everyone will have their own list, but here are my 5 favorites that I think most new iPhone users will love to use and to show off their new iPhone.
If you’re a news junkie, by all means get Zite, newly released for the iPhone. It sets you up with news categories of interest to you, then learns what you like by keeping track of stories you click on. Over time, it gets smarter and smarter, so in essence it creates a personalized magazine for you. Their are other news readers and aggregators, but the presentation of stories in Zite and its ability to learn make it my first choice.
Glypmse is one of my very favorite apps, the kind of app I would pay for if it wasn’t free. While some of the location-tracking functionality it offers is covered by Apple’s iOS 5-only Find my Friends app, Glympse is more flexible and cross-platform to boot.
With Glympse you send a message (email or SMS) to someone with information on your location; the link is set to expire when you want it to, so your friends can’t track you indefinitely. Let’s say you are meeting someone for lunch. When they get your message, they click on the included link, and Glympse loads a map showing a moving pin (that’s you) along with your ETA. The person you are meeting doesn’t need an iPhone, just any web-capable device, including laptops. It’s a great service, and in practice I’ve found it to be super reliable.
Tango does what Apple’s FaceTime won’t do, which is to allow you to video conference with another cellphone using 3G (FaceTime requires WiFi). Tango has added clients for Android and Windows Phone, so it’s a great way to visually keep in touch with friends. I even tried it with a friend touring China and it worked. An update last week allows you to leave video mail for your Tango buddies.
For more intellectual pursuits, try the recently released TED app. It’s a collection of great talks from people in the arts, literature and the sciences. The app has been updated to work with Airplay, so you can stream the audio to another device like an Apple TV 2. I try to watch a TED talk at least once a week, and it’s always a treat.
Finally, for pure fun, try Action Movie FX. From the creators of the new Mission: Impossible movie, you can add rather impressive special effects to your own movies. With the free version you can add a missile strike or a car crash to your own video. It looks great, and the price is exactly right. Reviews are glowing. There are some other modules you can buy, like a tornado or helicopter crash, but I was fine with the free effects. It’s more fun than you should be allowed to have for free.
Enjoy that new iPhone. These free apps should help get you started. I’ll add one bonus free app to the mix. Don’t forget the free TUAW iPhone app to help you keep up with the latest and greatest Apple news. Happy Holidays!
Correction: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this post stated that Find my Friends did not allow you to set up an expiring location tracker; it does allow this, via the ‘Temporary’ group sharing option. It still requires all participants to be using an iOS 5 device, while Glympse is cross-platform (as is Google Latitude, which also offers an iOS app). We apologize for the error. -Ed.
New iPhone? Try these must-have free apps originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 26 Dec 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
New iPhone? Try these must-have free apps originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 26 Dec 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Infinity Blade 2 tips from Chair Entertainment
There are a ton of great games to buy and play from the App Store today if you happen to have found an iOS device under your tree this past weekend. Infinity Blade 2 is one of the best you’ll find, with high-end graphics, tight gameplay, and a whole bunch of fun features that really build on the last popular game in the series. Whether you’re a Blade newbie or a veteran, Chair Entertainment has released some tips for the game that will really help you roll through the generations.
Some of them are very straightforward (no kidding — you need to parry in the same direction for it to work?) but some of the tips are things you might not have picked up otherwise. I didn’t know that parrying with Heavy weapons gives a block charge back, or that a parry in general will open up more combo moves than just a standard dodge or block against an attack.
It’s also worth looking through the rest of the official Infinity Blade blog. There are some cool developer interviews, some other solid gameplay tips, and more Infinity Blade news to read. This is definitely one of the best games on the platform, and having tips like this will really help you explore all that it has to offer.
[via App Advice]
Infinity Blade 2 tips from Chair Entertainment originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 26 Dec 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Infinity Blade 2 tips from Chair Entertainment originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 26 Dec 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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