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Nine Different iPhone GPS Navigation Apps Compared
MacWorld compared nine different iPhone GPS Navigation applications:
- AT&T Navigator
- CoPilot Live N.A.
- GoKivo GPS Navigator
- iGo My way 2009 (N.A.)
- Magellan RoadMate 2010 N.A. Ed.
- MobileNavigator N.A.
- MotionX GPS Drive
- Sygic Mobile Maps U.S.
- TomTom U.S. & Canada
Prices ranged from $4/month to $100 to own. Overall the AT&T Navigator ($10/month) and MobileNavigator ($90) received the best ratings.
Here are some results in tables:
Leave a commentType n Walk App Lets You See Where You're Going While Texting
Texting while walking is dangerous, but we all do it regulary. The new iPhone app called "Type n Walk" solves this problem by using the camera to make the phone transparent. Type n Walk displays a transparent viewport of what's directly in front of you. This combined with your peripheral vision is just enough to help you avoid obstacles.
Despite the name, Type n Walk is useful while you're sitting or standing too. Use it anytime you would like to keep an eye on your surroundings while you type.
Avaliable for $0.99 via AppStore ().
Air combat simulation game "F.A.S.T." becomes free
The iPhone game F.A.S.T. (Fleet Air Superiority Training) is an air combat simulation game with online multiplayer functionality. Yesterday it was updated and today it became free. The regular price was $0.99. The discount is probably due to the addition of some new paid content that is avaliable through the in-app purchase.
Why not try it for free? Go ahead and download via AppStore ().
Watch the video:
Apple Releases '12 Days of Christmas' iPhone Ad
Apple today launched a new holiday-themed iPhone commercial entitled "12 Days of Christmas". The ad reworks the standard Christmas carol of the same name to feature twelve iPhone applications related in some way to the holiday season:
- 12 cookies cooking: The Betty Crocker Mobile Cookbook [App Store, Free]
- 11 cards a' sending: Postman [App Store, $2.99]
- 10 gifts for giving: My Christmas Gift List [App Store, $0.99]
- 9 songs for singing: TabToolkit [App Store, $9.99]
- 8 bells for ringing: Holiday Bells [App Store, $0.99]
- 7 slopes a' skiing: Snow Reports [App Store, $1.99]
- 6 games for playing: Christmas Fever [App Store, $0.99]
- 5 gold rings: Anna Sheffield Jewelry [App Store, Free]
- 4 hot lattes: myStarbucks [App Store, Free]
- 3 flights home: Flight Search [App Store, Free]
- 2 feet of snow: Weather Pro [App Store, $3.99]
- And an app that can light up the tree: Schlage LiNK [App Store, Free but hardware required]
Let's watch the video:
Popular Tower Defense iPhone game "7 Cities" becomes free
The iPhone game 7 Cities is a Tower Defense type game available in AppStore. The price varied from $0.99 to $4.99. Today it is offered for free. This is limited time offer, thich means it is free for a short period of time.
The game is very nice and well done, the graphics are rich but not too confusing. The goal is to defend against different attacks and to do that user has types of 5 towers and 12 different skills.
Download via AppStore ().
Microsoft Released Bing iPhone App
Microsoft just released an official application of its search engine "Bing". The app looks really good and is well done. It allows you to find websites, images, videos, maps, shopping, news and offers step by step directions to navigate from one point to another! There is even a voice search, a business directory, ability to add pushpins and save locations.
Bing app is avaliable for free via AppStore ().
Apple-developed PastryKit WebApp Framework
It seems Apple is continuing to invest in advancing web-based technologies to provide a more full feature experienced on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Daring Fireball describes in detail an impressive new web framework called PastryKit. This kit is for making HTML, CSS, and JavaScript-based WebApps.
It is already deployed in Apple's iPhone User Guide web page (when viewed from an iPhone). You can watch the video at hte end of this post.
Apple has implemented a few key interface features in Javascript that could make web-apps feel much more like native iPhone apps. These include:
- Completely hiding the address bar
- Allowing for fixed-position toolbars that don't move when you scroll
- Allows for scrolling with momentum so you can quickly scroll long lists
Since these features have been implemented by Apple in Javascript, they could be available to any web developer.
Let's watch the video:
MacWorld Lists Top 20 Apps of 2009
MacWorld has listed their 20 favorite apps of the year for the iPhone and iPod touch. With over 100,000 apps in the App Store, MacWorld focused on 20 categories and narrowed it down to the best performer in each category.
Here is the list:
Best Messaging App:
Best Photo App:
Best Notification App:
Best News App:
Best Book App:
Best Social Networking App:
Best Casual Game:
Best Search Tool:
Best Reference App:
Best Reader:
Best Multimedia App:
Best Education App:
Best E-Mail App:
Best Designed Game:
Best Sports Game:
Best Shopping Tool:
Best Platform Game:
Best Strategy Game:
Best Twitter Client:
You can read a bit more about these apps MacWorld's .
Apple Approves Video Recording App for the iPhone 2G/3G
Apple has approved iVideoCamera, an application which lets you record video on any iPhone including the iPhone 2G and iPhone 3G. Now you don't need a 3GS to record and share videos with your friends and family. Works with firmware 3.1 OS installed and includes:
Ability to save to your camera roll or "Photos" and share via:
- YouTube
- Vimeo
- Twitter and more coming soon
Limitations:
- The iPhone can only capture about 3 frames per second
- Videos are limited to about 1 minute in length
- Resolution is low: 160x213
You can purchase iVideoCamera in App Store for $0.99 ().
This is a great step forward, because Apple did not allow such apps to be in Appstore before. The quality of the recorded video is quite low, however it might be improved in the future. Could the acceptance of iVideoCamera open the door for Cycorder, popular video recording app that can be installed via Cydia?
Apple started iPhone firmware 3.1.3 and 4.0 testing
TheBoyGenius report that they have found some very interesting data while analyzing the access statistics to their web site:
We can see that this data is related to the new iPhone firmware 3.1.3 and 4.0!
The iPhone OS 3.1.3 should only be a minor update over the current version and could be released even in several days. Firmware 4.0 will probably be released after testing phase and several private beta versions for developers. Rumors say this new version 4.0 will be released together with iPhone 4 some time in June or July next year.
Multitouch tablet device video, Apple iTablet?
French site Nowhereelse.fr has published a very cool video of what appears to be a multitouch tablet device. The user is browsing through an electronic version of an Ikea catalog. The device itself is very slim and has several Apple technologies: cover flow, shake to shuffle, etc.
Is this the Apple iTablet? That's how I imagine the interaction with the Apple Tablet. However the video is fake, a clever fake over a blue screen (as you can notice on the hands' edges and shadows).
Anyway, a good concept video. Let's watch it:
Official Playboy App for iPhone Approved
On Tuesday, December 8, the official Playboy iPhone app hopped into the App Storу. Everybody can buy it for just $1.99.
The app is a scaled-down iPhone version of the largest selling men’s magazine, Playboy, and includes portions of the text from the following well known features … Playboy Interview, Playboy Advisor, 20 Questions, Party Jokes, Fashion and more.
However do not expect to see everything you can find in the magazine. Apple does NOT allow nudity in the App Store. So the application includes the Playmate’s intro, data sheet, preview pictures and exclusive behind the scenes preview video. Theresa Hennessey explained: “The pictures are all non-nude or cropped, either from the magazine pictorial or from the Playmate’s Playboy.com pictorial.”
Read the rest of this entry »
iTablet Rumors: Coming March for $1000
MarketWatch reports that Apple will begin mass production of its much-rumored iTablet in February ahead of a launch in late March or April.
The report claims that the device will include a 10.1" multi-touch LCD screen. There were rumors that iTablet will have OLED screen and therefore delayed till the second half of 2010.
Current rumors also say that Apple has begun contacting book publishers about distributing their books through Apple for consumption on the new device. Apple is reportedly proposing a similar business model to its App Store, where Apple would retain 30% of each download's sale price with 70% going to the publishers. Amazon, for example, uses 50/50 model.
The estimated cost of the future device is $1000. Apple may sell 1-1.5 million tablets per quarter. The name of the future device is still unknown. Rumors say different vartiants: iTablet, TabletMac, MacTablet or just Apple Tablet.
Apple Picks Best Games of 2009 on iTunes
Apple created a list of the best iPhone games of 2009. The list is part of their iTunes Rewind 2009 where they are highlighting the best content across 2009 in music, movies, TV shows, audiobooks, podcasts, and apps.
Here is a list with links to AppStore.
Congratulations to all developers who created these impressive applications.
Developers, do not lie to Apple. They will pull your apps out!
If you are a developer, make sure you do not make fake reviews for your applications. Apple in fact, has taken serious steps, blocking the accounts of a developer and removing 1011 applications because of fake reviews.
The developer "Molinker" had many apps. Each of them had about 50 reviews. The developer was using his promocodes (every developer gets 50 of them for every app) to write reviews for his own apps. One of the users, who bought several apps, investigated this issue and wrote to Phil Schiller. The apps and all the reviews were removed very very quickly from AppStore.
What’s incredible is that the developer had 1011 apps, which is almost 1% of the entire App Store. Well that’s 1% of the App Store that no longer exists.
The developers shouldn’t be surprised, but they are:
We got email from Apple yesterday [Sunday 6th] which told us our contract is changed to pending status.
Actually, we do not know what’s wrong so far. We had contacted Apple for such sudden changes, hope we can get quick response and actions from Apple.
Nice, isn't it?