News tagged ‘Apple’

Apple just announced that iTunes users now have the ability to gift apps to one another. The process is quite simple, like gifting a song - all you have to do is click the 'gift app' button. You must use your credit card on the account and cannot use gift cards or any other types of promotional payment to gift apps.

If you want to use this feature you have to sign into your iTunes account and accept the new terms policy.

From Apple:

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A UK user wrote an email to Steve Jobs asking about Picasa Albums on the Apple iPad. Steve Jobs answered. However instead of just telling him that Apple (obviously) wouldn't support Google's Picasa library format, Jobs writes that iPhoto has a "much better Faces and Places features" than Picasa.

Here is the header infomation below and yes Steve Jobs is still using the old 3.1.2 firmware.

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Two days ago Steve Jobs joined the meeting with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at the Lucile Packard Hospital for Children in Palo Alto, California. The event was aimed to  help advance organ donation legislation.

In 2009 Jobs received a liver transplant in Tennessee. He said he was fortunate he could get a new organ, because without it he could die.

So now Jobs, obviously, wants to help save more people's lives. If the legislation will be passed, Californians will be able to affirm their preferred organ donor status much easier. Apple's CEO says the current system is an obscure process.

It seem like Apple have always been concentrated on Macs and iPhones/iPods/iPads, so their Apple TV product may be considered more like a hobby. But the company's main rival thinks of  it as of another field to work on.

Intel, Sony and Google created a team to work on the device called GoogleTV. The latter already has its prototype. The New York Times says it consists of Intel's Atom processor and Android OS with Chrome web-browser. The project has been under development for a few months and there is still a work to do, but preliminary the device will be introduced this summer. To test their set-top box Google cooperates with Dish Network.

The NYT's source say:

“Google wants to be everywhere the Internet is so they can put ads there.”

It sounds plausible, because GoogleTV device is planned to allow users to browse the Internet, watch YouTube videos, check out Hulu content and even run Web apps and games.

Here is a humorous look at the iPad's capabilities produced for a Comm 340 class and posted on YouTube by Brian Johnson.

The video is an assignment for our Comm 340 class. The goal was to make a media product with the highest consumption as possible. We completed it March 2, 2010. Our professor is Dr. Warnick, and our group members are: Brian, Justin, Laura, Mike, and Rashel.

Take a look:

Navigon created a series of regional U.S. GPS turn-by-turn navigation applications for the iPhone. Each costs just $24.99. This is significantly cheaper than its more comprehensive MobileNavigator North America ($79.99).

These apps divide the United States into three overlapping segments, permitting customers to purchase discounted versions covering their area of the country. Additional regions are available through in-app purchasing for $12.99. Here are AppStore links: U.S. East, U.S. Central, U.S. West.

Navigon reports that сгккуте prices are valid through April 12th. After that date MyRegion apps will cost $29.99 for the application and $14.99 for in-app expansions.

Starting today Apple will be accepting developers' iPad apps for review. If you want your application to be considered for the grand opening of the iPad Store, then submit it by March 27, 2010. Company says they will let developers know about the readiness of their apps so they will have a chance to make necessary changes before a final review submission.

Here are several screenshots from updated iTunes Connect interface that now allows submitting iPad applications.

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Macworld reports they have information from vendors who wish to stay anonymous that Apple will no longer sell screen protectors (and any other adhering products) for their devices. Some sources say the reason is an installation difficulty that leads to a higher rate of returns. Another explanation is that Apple tries to reduce the impression that its products require screen protection.

It is interesting that ban is related to any films, even anti-glare and those for the laptops, so many case vendors are looking now for the best and quickest way to repackage their products.

Apple hasn't yet commented on this situation.

Almost twenty years ago Scientific American posted an article of Xerox PARC. Its authors were thinking about the future technology and decided the next stage of it will be the ubiquitous computers.

"Ubiquitous computers will also come in different sizes, each suited to a particular task. My colleagues and I have built what we call tabs, pads and boards: inch-scale machines that approximate active Post-It notes, foot-scale ones that behave something like a sheet of paper (or a book or a magazine), and yard-scale displays that are the equivalent of a blackboard or bulletin board.”

They were right - tabs are the iPhones and iPods Touch and pads are iPads. But does it mean that we can expect from Apple something really huge like big-screen hubs? Such devices have already been developed (the best example is Microsoft's Surface table, the other one is Samsung MultiTouch Board shown on the picture), but they are still too expensive because of a flat-screen TV components.

When Apple started accepting iPad pre-orders it was announced the iPad Case will be shipped April 3rd and iPad keyboard Dock - April 20th. But as we see from the screenshot above both of these accessories are delayed. What is it, another manufacturing delay?

The iPhone OS is a great operating system and is also one of the safest. That's why Apple rejected the anti-virus application developed by Kaspersky Lab. Such app will never make it to AppStore, just because users don't need it.

Some users who run the jailbreak might catch a virus. However if they do everything right - there will be no troubles and no viruses.

Another popular antivirus program is eset nod32 antivirus.

For the last few months we have been witnessing the competition between Google and Apple that becomes more and more significant. We tried to analyze some facts and made a conclusion that the confrontation is more personal than corporate.

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Apple posted a new document on its website about iPad battery replacement, where it is said:

"If your iPad requires service due to the battery’s diminished ability to hold an electrical charge, Apple will replace your iPad for a service fee."

Apple also added that your data will not be moved to a new iPad, so you'll need to sync your device to iTunes to backup all the personal information it contains.

The battery replacement will cost you 99$ (and 6.95$ for shipment). Apple claims the process will take one week from sending the iPad to receiving replacement device. You can replace your battery in local Apple Store or at the office of Apple Authorized Service Provider. To get further information contact Apple Technical Support.

New page featuring iBooks for iPad has been rolled out on the Apple's official site. The app will be available as soon as the new device will be launched (the official date is April 3rd). Apple confirms iBooks will use the open ePub standard and the same version of FairPlay DRM that continues to be applied on video content distributed via iTunes.

iBooks will allow users to switch portrait and landscape modes, change fonts and text sizes and even tap on words to see its definition from Wikipedia or built-in dictionary. It is compatible with VoiceOver functionality that makes content to be read aloud automatically.

For some time iBooks will be available only in USA, but as we know Apple already seeks for professionals to expand their book business internationally.

iSMEStorage is the first application for iPhone with cloud storage virtualization service that allows users to manage more than 10 different storage clouds from their device in 1 Cloud file. Clouds include Google Docs, FTP-as-a-cloud, Email-as-a-cloud, Gmail-as-a-cloud, Miscrosoft SkyDrive and LiveMesh, Apple Mobile Me and Amazon S3 and other.

SMEStorage CEO says:

"We are very happy to add the iPhone to the list of clients that users can use to get access to their files from our platform... It is the first [application] to virtualize storage clouds and make them available from one Cloud File System, and it is the first App of any kind in the App Store that enables access to Microsoft SkyDrive files."

iSMEStorage v1.01 is available here in the Productivity Category from the AppStore only for 0.99$.