Several users report that Apple started allowing iPod touch owners to upgrade to iPhone OS 3 for no charge.
The information initially comes from PocketGamer's Tracy Erickson:
Syncing a second generation iPod touch today with an older version of the software prompted me to accept the free upgrade. How exciting.
Just as when asked to download and install the latest firmware on an iPhone, iTunes simply asks for confirmation - no signing in to pay for the software.
Sounds like free a good price for iPod touch 3.1.3 upgrade.
PS: Jailbreakers: think before updating - you might lose the ability to jailbreak your device if you upgrade the firmware.
Update: Several users confirmed the free update. However a number of users report that they are still asked to pay for the update.
WordPress for iPhone has been updated to v2.2. The major addition is the ability to reply, edit, and highlight comments.
Manage your WordPress blog from your iPhone or iPod touch. With WordPress for iPhone, you can moderate comments and create or edit posts and pages. All you need is a WordPress.com blog or a self-hosted blog running WordPress 2.7 or higher.
What's New In Version 2.2:
Reply to comments
Edit comments
Highlighting for new items in the comment list
You can download WordPress from the AppStore for free (link).
The official Mobile Spectator Guide for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games is now available for iPod Touch and iPhone. It can be downloaded for free from the App Store.
This application is a location-aware schedule that details more than 2,000 sport and cultural events taking place for 17 days between February 12 and 28, 2010.
Apple's finally announced the iPad (Apple Tablet). It is perfect for tasks like browsing, email, photos, e-books and videos. It's a half-inch thick and weighs just 1.5 pounds (680g), with a 9.7-inch capacitive touchscreen IPS LCD display and it's running a custom 1GHz Apple "A4" chip developed by the P.A. Semi team. The 10-hour battery life and a month of standby is quite exciting.
There will be devices with 16, 32 and 64GB. All iPads will get a 30-pin Dock connector, a speaker, a microphone, Bluetooth, 802.11n WiFi and optional 3G, as well as an accelerometer and a compass. There's also a keyboard dock, which connects underneath in the portrait orientation. iPad supports up to 1024x768 VGA out and 480p composite out through dock adapter cables. There is a camera attachment kit that lets you import photos from your camera over USB or directly through an SD reader.
The device is managed by iTunes, just like the iPhone and iPod Touch. iPad can run iPhone apps: either pixel-for-pixel in a window, or pixel-doubled fullscreen. Developers can also target the new screen size using the updated iPhone OS SDK, which is available today.
The 3G version runs on AT&T and comes with new data plans: 250MB for $14.99 and an unlimited plan for $29.99 a month contract-free. Activations are handled on the iPad, so you can activate and cancel whenever you want. Every iPad is unlocked (!) and comes with a GSM "micro-SIM".
The price starts at $499 for 16GB, 32GB for $599, and $699 64GB. Adding 3G costs a $130 per model, so the most expensive model (64GB / 3G) is $829. The WiFi-only model will ship in 60 days, and the 3G models will come in 90.
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).
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).
IM iPhone apps are very popular. There is however a whole bunch of them out there and it can be hard to decide which one will suit you the best. Appadvice put together all im apps in one comparison table, so it is much easier to choose the right one:
Our colleagues from Engadget.com released their own iPhone / iPod touch app to bring different tech news directly to our famous devices. The app features a whole bunch of useful features such as offline viewing, built in streaming and different customization options.
According to research conducted by Chitika, nearly 45% of users still have the old iPod Touch firmware 2.0 installed and have not upgraded to the 3.0.
The reasons are numerous and starts from the need to pay for the upgrade - $10 could be an issue. However the main reason is the lack of motivation for upgrading. Unless you want to play with copy/paste, the 3.0 update doesn’t bring much to the iPod Touch - Push notifications are useless on Wi-Fi and many games still run on 2.0.
Who knows, maybe Apple will decide to make the next update to version 4.0 free just to encourage upgrades. Updates are free for iPhone users nad wee see that almost 95% of users have updated to 3.x.
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 (link).
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]
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.
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 (link).
Phil Shiller, Apple Senior Vice President of Marketing, was asked what his favorite iPhone Apps were, and here’s what he said:
Shazam [Free - iTunes link]: “There’s just something so amazing about being anywhere, and some music starts playing and you just hold up your phone and can find out what it is,” Mr. Schiller said. “You never again have to say ‘That’s a great song! Who is it by?”
CNN News [$1.99 - iTunes link]: “It’s really cool having the news in your pocket.”