News tagged ‘Apple’

In this test one man writes a long paragraph on several different devices (including pen and paper) to test the speed. The results may surprise you.

The contestants are:

• Apple iPhone 3G’s software QWERTY keyboard (2009)
• Apple Newton MessagePad 2100’s handwriting recognition (1997)
• Palm Treo 650’s hardware QWERTY keyboard (2004)
• Palm VX Graffiti handwriting recognition software (1999)
• MacBook full-size QWERTY keyboard
• pen and paper

The test is not completely fair, since with handheld keyboards the speed greatly depends on how often you use them. The tester has been using an iPhone as his main handheld for 18 months.

The tester used an article with 221 words. Here are the results:

Read the rest of this entry »

Acrobat.com mobile allows you to access your acrobat.com account from anywhere to view, share, and fax your Acrobat.com documents.

You can use the iPhone 3Gs camera to scan physical documents right into your Acrobat.com account! The application comes with the ability to scan up to 5 pages and fax 2 pages for free; then it will prompt you to purchase additional scan and fax pages through in-app Purchase. This is the perfect complement to your Acrobat.com account to let you work from anywhere, at anytime!

You can download Acrobat.com mobile from the App Store for free (link).

Apple Tablet is expected to be announced on January 27. Site Macobserver has already published several photos of the tablet's glass.

On the photo the tablet looks a lot like a large iPod. One of the pictures shows the glass sitting on top of a MacBook Pro's keyboard:

More photos:

Read the rest of this entry »

Voice Band iPhone applicatin let's you make music with your voice. By simply singing into your phone, Voice Band transforms your voice into 10 different instruments in real time. Looks really cool. Take a look:

Here is another good video with "Smoke on the Water":

Read the rest of this entry »

Businessweek reports that Apple and Microsoft are currently in negotiations to replace Google as the default search engine on the iPhone with Microsoft's Bing.com. The talks have reportedly been underway for weeks.

"Apple and Google know the other is their primary enemy," says one of the people, who's familiar with Apple's thinking. "Microsoft is now a pawn in that battle."

With Google's entry into the mobile phone business as well as Apple's recent acquisition of a mobile ad company, the two businesses have encroached on each other's territories. Apple has even been said to be working on distancing itself from Google's Maps data in the iPhone.

If the negotiations are successful, it could also mean that Bing could eventually replace Google as the default search engine for Apple's desktop version of Safari as well.

A lot has been said about the rumored Apple Tablet, and after evidence was discovered that Apple was interested in the name "iSlate", many have adopted that as the most likely name for Apple's new device. New evidence however has revealed that Apple may, in fact, be positioning "iPad" as the name for the imminent tablet device.

A search in the trademark databases reveals that several companies applied for a trademark "iPad" in Canada, Australis, New Zealand, Europe and Hong Kong. The filing dates for most of these trademark applications are July 2009, the latest ones are January 15th, 2010.

We believe that Apple is behind these trademark applications for iPad and that it may be the name for Apple's new tablet device to be revealed next week.

We all love humorous Apple's "Get a Mac" ads featuring John Hodgman and Justin Long as 'PC' and 'Mac'. The site AdFreak has compiled all 66 TV spots that have aired during Apple's Get a Mac ad campaign.

You can watch all of them here.

Here is the first one that began airing on May 2, 2006:

BoyGeniusReport published the first details about the upcoming iPhone OS 4.0:

• Global multitouch gestures.
• Background apps/Multitasking.
• UI enhanced for easier, more efficient navigation (maybe refreshed homescreen).
• The update will supposedly be available for only the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS (might also be for future iPhone 4G).
• New syncing ability for the contacts and calendar applications.
• Will put iPhone way ahead of smartphone market, more like “full-fledged computer”.
• Apple people “really excited”.

The iPhone OS 4.0 firmware is expected to be announced at Apple's special event on January 27th.

Apple has issued invitations for a media event scheduled for 10:00 AM Pacific Time on January 27th. The event will be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, and the invitation's tag line reads "Come see our latest creation.".

Apple certainly will present a new product. This might be iTablet, iPhone 4.0, iPhone HD… or something completely different. Stay tuned!

Here is how invitations to such events looked like in the past:

Read the rest of this entry »

Steve Jobs has enormous presentation talent. All users in fact are waiting for the next Apple Keynote. Here is a video, that explains several techniques and secrets of Steve Jobs presentations:

Skype for the iPhone has been updated to add landscape mode, performance improvements, and a call quality indicator

With Skype on your iPhone or iPod touch you can call and instant message anyone else on Skype for free. You can also call landlines and mobiles and send SMS anywhere in the world, at great rates.

What's new in version 1.3:

• Landscape mode for IM
• Hints and Tips
• General performance improvements
• Call quality indicator
• Fixed call drop issue when returning to a held Skype call

You can download Skype from the App Store for free (link).

According to a new patent application filed by Apple, the new and upcoming iPhone OS could offer contact icons on the home screen. These icons can be used to invoke apps, retrieve and display contacts information, or can be modified to display related info, tied to an individual contact. This patent, which was filed back in July 2008.

The icon can also be used to invoke one or more applications that are personalized to the contact. The icon can be modified to display information related to the contact. In one aspect, an icon associated with an entity can be temporarily displayed on the mobile device based on the proximity of the mobile device to the entity.

The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office today has accepted Apple’s filing. This could probably mean that we may soon see this feature being introduced in the upcoming iPhone OS 4.0, which is expected to be announced with the next-gen iPhone in summer.

Mysterious designer with nickname Hdi has created a nice concept image of what the iPhone 4G would look like if Apple modeled it after the iMac. This concept mixes aluminum and glass just like an iMac.

Looks really great!

One of the most popular courses on Apple’s iTunes U education is back. The Winter 2010 semester of Stanford University’s iPhone Application Development Course is now available via iTunes U.

This is a 10 week session that will focus on updated material for iPhone OS 3.1. The videos for the course will also offer more this year. “We’re getting the videos closed captioned this time, so they’ll be even more accessible,” said Julie Zelenski, a Stanford computer science lecturer who helps coordinate the class.

The course was downloaded more than 4.4 million times last year.

MOTO Development has posted results of a DIY touchscreen analysis for the Apple iPhone, Motorola Droid, HTC Droid Eris, and Google Nexus One.

MOTO evaluated the resolution and accuracy of each touchscreen device. They used a very simple technique that anyone can perform at home. The results are very interesting. The iPhone’s touch sensor showed the most linear tracking with the least amount of stair-stepping. The Droid Eris and Nexus One tied for second with only faint wiggling – but actually performed best at the edge of the screen. Last in the line-up was the Motorola Droid, which demonstrated significant wavy artifacts or “stair-stepping.

You can find a chart with the results and a video below:

Here is a video:

Read the rest of this entry »