News tagged ‘Time’

Rumors of the Apple tablet reaching new highs. MacRumors has found evidence that Apple acquired the domain name iSlate.com presumably in preparation for the new device. Remember how Bill Keller, executive editor of the New York Times, referenced an Apple slate two months ago?

MacRumors discovered that the domain was originally registered in October 2004 by Eurobox Ltd. In 2006 it changed hands to Data Docket, Inc. In 2007 it was transferred to registrar MarkMonitor.com, a site which handles registrations and trademark protections for Apple among other companies.

However Apple’s name was temporarily exposed as the actual owner of “iSlate.com” for several weeks in late 2007. It was quickly back, but MacRumors has found the historic record proving Apple ownership of the iSlate.com domain:

What do think? Is iSlate the name of Apple's Tablet? Is it a good one?

iTablet rumors continue today, with the New York Times blogging that, according to an some Apple employee:

“I can’t really say anything, but, let’s just say Steve [Jobs] is extremely happy with the new tablet.”

Apple has had a tablet in the labs for years, but Steve Jobs and others didn’t see a mainstream market for the device or were not "extremely happy". It looks like now the situation is different.

Moreover, the NYT post adds that former Apple employee has told them:

“You will be very surprised how you interact with the new tablet.”

Anyway we have to wait for another month. Remember? Rumors say iTablet will be announced on January 26th.

The Financial Times reports that it has received information that Apple has scheduled a special media event for Tuesday, January 26th in San Francisco. A stage at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco was rented for several days in late January. Apple is expected to make a major product announcement. The topic is unknown. However, everyone is sure that it will be an iTablet!

Want more proof? Recently Apple asked app developers to prepare for a demo scheduled for next month. Notably, Apple has requested that the developers prepare their applications to run in "full screen" mode rather than limiting display to the iPhone and iPod touch's 320 x 480 pixels.

Exact specs of the tablet remain unknown. There are long-standing rumors of a 10" display and recent claims of a 7" display. Apple might make multiple models of the new device.

OmniVision Technologies is the current manufacturer of the iPhone 3GS 3.2-megapixel CMOS image sensor. Digitimes sources are claiming that OmniVision won a new contract with Apple to provide new sensors for the next-generation iPhone (iPhone 4G?). The new CMOS image sensors are 5 megapixels. The orders are expected to be increased too, from 20-21 million estimated this year, to 40 to 45 million CMOS for the 2010.

Media research firm Nielsen released its lists of top U.S. mobile phones, sites, and brands for the first ten months of 2009. The iPhone 3G took the top spot among mobile phones with 4.0% of the market. The iPhone placed slightly ahead of Research in Motion's BlackBerry 8300 series at 3.7%, and well ahead of the remainder of the pack, which was led by Motorola's RAZR V3 series at 2.3%.

Apple also made an appearance on Nielsen's list of top ten brands accessed via mobile networks for the January-September 2009 timeframe, taking tenth place on a list topped by Yahoo! and Google.

Here are the results:

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The Unreal Engine 3 is a modern 3D gaming engine which powers games such as Bioshock, Gears of War and Unreal Tournament 3.

Anandtech spent some time with Mark Rein (Epic Games) last week and was shown a demo of the Unreal Engine 3 running on a 3rd Generation iPod Touch. The demo included a flythrough as well as a playable level from Unreal Tournament.

The game engine requires OpenGL 2.0 so this will restrict the game to 3rd generation iPod Touches and iPhone 3GSs only. Epic is planning on making the engine available to licensees at some point, opening the door eventually to Unreal-powered iPhone games. Epic tells Anand we're going to see Unreal running on another mobile platform at CES.

Let's watch the video demo:

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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 (link).

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 (link).

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: BeeJive IM
Best Photo App: Best Camera
Best Notification App: Boxcar
Best News App: CNN Mobile
Best Book App: Eucalyptus
Best Social Networking App: Facebook 3
Best Casual Game: Flight Control
Best Search Tool: Google Mobile App
Best Reference App: iBird Explorer Plus
Best Reader: Instapaper Pro 2
Best Multimedia App: MLB.com At Bat 2009
Best Education App: Pocket Universe
Best E-Mail App: Postage
Best Designed Game: Ramp Champ
Best Sports Game: Real Soccer 2010
Best Shopping Tool: RedLaser
Best Platform Game: Rolando 2
Best Strategy Game: Strategery
Best Twitter Client: Tweetie 2

You can read a bit more about these apps MacWorld's site.

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.

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.”
• Facebook [Free - iTunes link]
• MLB.com at Bat 2009 [Currently free - iTunes link]
• NBA Game Time 2009 [$9.99 - iTunes link]
• ESPN ScoreCenter [Free - iTunes link]
• Eliminate Pro [Free - iTunes link]
• geoDefense [$1.99 - iTunes link]
• Best Camera [$2.99 - iTunes link]

Great apps!

Magazine publishers seem to already be getting on board with the concept of a media tablet even based on just the possibility that Apple will enter the market in the near future. The latest concept design comes from Time Inc who developed this design prototype to show off their plans. They think that digital magazines will replicate the print version, including advertising, and will include add-ons like multimedia and links to the Web. The publisher imagines that it will port all its titles into the new format, which it says will be ready for primetime by the middle of next year or sooner.

The ultimate design is planned to run on "whatever tablet Apple or any[one] else has up their sleeves" according to All Things Digital:

Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter, launched the new service named Square (still in beta) that allows you to make or take payments using your iPhone.

All this happens through an accessory able to process credit cards that is connected to the the device.

User just need to enter the amount, the security code and the signature directly on the touchscreen. There are no charges of any kind, except a U.S. cent on every transition, which is donated to charity.

The system is able to display a bill with lots of information: the map, the amount, the number of times that we used this system of payments in that particular store, and much more.

The system is currently being tested in the US. Maybe one day we will all use it everywhere.

A couple of years ago, a company called Axiotron announced an aftermarket modification for the MacBook that converted the Apple laptop into a tablet. The modification remains for sale at $699 and takes a stock MacBook, removes the keyboard and screen, and adds a Wacom pen-based screen to give the device a tablet form factor.

Axiotron originally began marketing the devices as a "TabletMac" and filed a trademark for the term. Sometime in the past year, however, the trademark was transferred from Axiotron to Apple, and Apple is now listed as the owner of the trademark:

Now Apple could potentially release a product called the TabletMac. So what name? iTablet, MacTablet, TabletMac or maybe MacBook Tablet?

Apple today posted two new iPhone commercials to its ad gallery and also began airing them on prime-time television. Here is a list of applications, that are used in these videos:

Song
- Jamie Oliver's 20 Minute Meals [App Store, $7.99]
- Credit Card Terminal [App Store, $0.99]
- Facebook [App Store, Free]
- The Sims 3 [App Store, $6.99]
- Redfin Real Estate [App Store, Free]
- Shazam [App Store, Free]

Gift
- Target [App Store, Free]
- ColorChange [App Store, $2.99]
- The Snow Report [App Store, Free]
- Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition [App Store, $4.99]
- HotelPal [App Store, Free]
- Zipcar [App Store, Free]

Watch the videos:

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