Siri for iPhone is like the proverbial Genie in a bottle

Filed under: iPod Family, Freeware, iPhone, App Review

We're getting closer and closer to some of the stuff we see it science fiction literature and films. Siri [iTunes link] is a small Silicon Valley startup with a really breakthrough product that for now only works on the iPhone.

Here's the deal. You download the free app, start it up, and tell it what you want. It could be "Will it snow in Des Moines today?" or "Where can I find the nearest burger" or it could be "Find the nearest parks". It parses your comments, runs out to the web for a few seconds and comes back with a lot of suggestions. It gives you buttons to call the places you've found, or to show them on Google Maps and get you directions.

I tried to get a bit fancier saying "Make me a reservation for 2 at the nearest Olive Garden tonight at 7." The app figured out Olive Garden didn't take reservations through their service, but it provided me a number for the nearest Olive Garden and offered to map it.

Continue reading Siri for iPhone is like the proverbial Genie in a bottle

Siri for iPhone is like the proverbial Genie in a bottle originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Siri for iPhone is like the proverbial Genie in a bottle originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 5 February 2010 | 12:00 pm

10 reasons to pass on the iPad? TUAW fact check

Filed under: iPod Family, Portables, Odds and ends

Over at TechRepublic's 10 Things blog, Debra Littlejohn Shinder has posted an article called "10 reasons why I'll be passing on the iPad." Some of her reasoning is sound, but quite a few of her points are easy to refute. It's worth looking at her post and the points it tries to make, because it's indicative of a widespread misunderstanding of not only the iPad's capabilities, but also its intended consumer base.

1. There's no physical keyboard

Debra's correct that the iPad has no physical keyboard. But what she fails to account for is that not only will Apple sell a keyboard dock for the iPad, the device can also be paired with any existing Bluetooth keyboard. Apple's reasoning for not including a physical keyboard on the iPad is even more compelling than for the iPhone, because unlike the iPhone, you at least have the option of pairing the iPad with a physical keyboard. In order to put a physical keyboard on the device itself, there'd be two options: keep the iPad the same size and sacrifice a third of the screen's real estate, or increase the iPad's size beyond what some (including Debra) already consider unwieldy in order to include a keyboard.

In landscape orientation, the iPad's virtual keyboard is nearly the size of a conventional keyboard, too, so while touch typing is going to be a challenge, it's a fair bet that typing on the iPad will be much faster and easier than the high end of 30 - 35 WPM thumb typing many people (myself included) achieve on the iPhone's far smaller keyboard. The lack of a physical keyboard on the iPhone hasn't measurably affected its sales; the iPad isn't likely to suffer many lost sales from this, either.

(Note: a few people have asked for a source on the Bluetooth keyboard issue, particularly my assertion that you can use any BT keyboard and not just Apple's wireless models. During her hands-on with the iPad following the device's announcement, Jacqui Cheng at Ars Technica verified that "You can use any bluetooth keyboard you want, instead of Apple's keyboard dock. You could use the case/stand with your existing bluetooth keyboard. You cannot use a bluetooth mouse, however.")


Check out the other nine points by clicking the Read More link below.

Continue reading 10 reasons to pass on the iPad? TUAW fact check

10 reasons to pass on the iPad? TUAW fact check originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

10 reasons to pass on the iPad? TUAW fact check originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 4 February 2010 | 9:00 am

In praise of the iPad: A contrarian view

Filed under: iPod Family, iPhone

If there has been an editorial theme about the iPad over the last few days, it's been this: it disappoints. Pundits and consumers alike have been underwhelmed by the name (I mean, seriously, does anyone in the product naming department use feminine hygiene products? How many of these devices are going to be named "Max"?), by the physical design (Can you say "Un-Ives-like Bezel" three times fast?), by the missing features (no camera, no multitasking, still no Flash), and so forth. And yet, despite these seeming flaws, I'm wildly enthusiastic about the tablet. I think part of that enthusiasm is attributable to the fact that I'm a dyed-in-the-wool netbook user... and we are the actual target audience for the device.

Steve Jobs laid out the raison d'etre for the tablet right at the start of his presentation. Apple was going after the part of the market that wanted light computing: more than a phone could deliver and less involved than a laptop demanded. Ergo, the netbook. The list of things in the middle column of his main slide reflected the exact way that netbook users operate: checking the mail, surfing the web, enjoying some media. That's exactly how my parents use their netbook, how my friends do, how I do. We're coffee-shop, hotel, and passenger-seat netbook users. To that, you can add city commuters and airline passengers among those who have driven the netbook craze.

Netbooks are great. They are small, they are insanely cheap, and they offer just enough functionality to get a few things done without jumping into serious work that would demand a full-sized screen and keyboard. I know approximately three badzillion netbook users, and with very few exceptions, they are all Windows users.

Continue reading In praise of the iPad: A contrarian view

In praise of the iPad: A contrarian view originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In praise of the iPad: A contrarian view originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 29 January 2010 | 12:30 pm

Found footage: Jailbreak BTstack support extended to 1st gen iPod touch

Filed under: iPod Family, Cool tools, Hacks, iPhone, Jailbreak/pwnage

The BTstack project that we've covered before on TUAW, offers a way for iPhone and iPod touch units to communicate with arbitrary external Bluetooth devices. To date, it's been used to connect keyboards, mice, and wiimotes with iPhone software.

This system has now been extended to the first generation iPod touch, bringing all six iPhoneOS models into the Bluetooth arena. Since the 1st gen touch does not provide its own built-in system, it requires an external module. This video uses the dongle described at this blog post to demonstrate the keyboard connection functionality.

Although the 1st generation touch is an increasingly deprecated system, it's nice to know that it hasn't been left out of the Bluetooth picture. Old touch units make excellent hobbyist systems. When jailbroken, access to a full suite of Unix tools offers a budget-priced platform with great prototyping potential. With this new Bluetooth stack support, the 1st gen touch has just become an even more exciting system for projects like remote monitoring.

Found footage: Jailbreak BTstack support extended to 1st gen iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 24 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Found footage: Jailbreak BTstack support extended to 1st gen iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 24 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 24 January 2010 | 11:00 am

Rumor: Apple gunning for iPad trademark

Filed under: Hardware, iPod Family, Odds and ends, Apple, Mac Pro

Even though the WSJ pretty much broke the story on next week's tablet announcement (when the mainstream media prints something as true, it's true, right?), that hasn't kept the crazy tablet rumors from coming in. Earlier in the week, MacRumors and the no-comment-on-the-name JesusTablet.com delivered more evidence that Apple is fighting for the "iPad" trademark. While it's already nailed down the name elsewhere, in the US, Fujitsu actually originally applied for the moniker, though Apple has made the case to the FTC to pick it up since Fujitsu has "abandoned" it and no one else has used it. There are filed requests to keep the deadline open for complaints against Fujitsu's claim, with an FTC ruling that holds the trademark unclaimed through February 29th. Could be that Apple just wants to avoid confusion with iPod -- it could be the tablet's new name.

Of course, if Apple does name the tablet "iPad," I'll eat my hat. That's a terrible name, even worse than the already hated "iSlate." I can see why Apple would want to get the "i" in there, but what will be interesting is to see if they consider this device an extension of the iPod and iPhone lines or part of the Mac series. Personally, I'd much rather buy a Mac Slate or a Mac Reader (or just an Apple Slate) than an awkward name with the "i" squeezed in front of it. And yes, Canvas is pretty good, too. We'll have to see what the company eventually decides on later this week.

[via Mashable & MacNN]

Update: A legal source of ours says this is not tablet related -- not only does Fujitsu have more right to this trademark than Apple does, since they're the senior user and they've actually sold a product, but Apple is probably only filing for it so they can keep a lock on anything that sounds like "iPod," not because they want to call the tablet "iPad." False alarm. We guess that we'll see plenty of those in the runup to next week's announcement, so keep your cynical hats on.

Rumor: Apple gunning for iPad trademark originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rumor: Apple gunning for iPad trademark originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 22 January 2010 | 4:30 pm

Apple releases new, slimmer European power adapter for iPod/iPhone

Filed under: Accessories, iPod Family, Peripherals, iPhone

A quick note to our European readers. Apple has released a new, slimmer USB power adapter for iPods and iPhone.

This new adapter supports all iPod nanos, iPhones, iPod Touches, iPod classics, the second and third gen iPod shuffle, the fourth and fifth gen click-wheel iPod, and even the iPod mini.

Here is the Google Translation link to the Norwegian Apple Store new Apple USB Power Adapter page.

Thanks to reader Christian S. who sent this in.

Apple releases new, slimmer European power adapter for iPod/iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple releases new, slimmer European power adapter for iPod/iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 21 January 2010 | 8:00 am

Dear Aunt TUAW: What's the low down on battery packs?

Filed under: iPod Family, TUAW Tips, iPhone

Dear Aunt TUAW,

Boxcar is killing my battery life (at least, that's what I'm guessing -- I love Boxcar, but since I began getting 20+ notifications a day, I'm seeing the battery drain quite a bit faster). What kind of battery pack can you recommend to help my poor iPhone stay online and available? I need to stay connected.

Thanks in advance from your favorite nephew,

Mikey

Read on for Auntie's reply

Continue reading Dear Aunt TUAW: What's the low down on battery packs?

Dear Aunt TUAW: What's the low down on battery packs? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dear Aunt TUAW: What's the low down on battery packs? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 14 January 2010 | 4:00 pm

App Store approvals and the tablet: why it matters

Filed under: iPod Family, Odds and ends, Other Events, Developer, iPhone, App Store, SDK

When iTunes Connect returned after its Christmas break, developers noticed that things had changed quite a bit on the App Store approval front. Applications that had formerly taken ten to fourteen days to work through review were now getting processed in a couple of days or less. The upshot? Happier developers, better bug releases for users, and a healthier App Store ecosystem.

There's another consequence of the new, speedier approvals: the tablet. With the device due to ship March/April (late Q1, early Q2), and no announced 4.0 SDK, developers were left wondering how they'd have the time to bring their software up to date. Under the old review process even a single procedural rejection, which are quite common for small GUI details, would have exhausted nearly all of February in non-productive "wait mode".

With the enhanced review system in place, it's likely that developers will be able to spend those extra weeks refactoring their software, allowing it to ship in a timely fashion once the actual device appears on-scene. Apple is expected to push their SDK to developers within two weeks of their late January product announcement, probably by 15 February. Assuming a 2 April product launch, that leaves nearly six weeks to update and test software.

Not that developers are waiting. Many devs are already working on resolution independent versions of their applications. They are tasking their designers to re-imagine screens, to test hand-held cardboard prototypes, and otherwise start the process of scaling their products to new dimensions.

It should be noted that some of the App Store heavyweights have suddenly become quite tight-lipped in recent days, refusing to talk in any specifics about how their upgrade process is proceeding. The rest of us will have to get by on guess work, at least until the product announcement at the end of this month.

Without specific leaks regarding hardware changes (for example, will there really be a front facing video camera? and if so, will expanded Image Picker/Media Player classes support access?), it's hard to pin down exactly what new features can be leveraged in third party software. But it's a fairly safe bet that nearly all features available on the current iPod touch line will be in play on the new tablet. And that alone is enough to hedge some safe business bets about pushing forward with large screen development.

It's still too early for most of us to start playing -- those tight-lipped folk have a bit of the wild "Apple will kill me if I speak" look around their eyes -- but it's not too early to begin planning and working. Even without specifics, there are ways to move forward on the development front. Carpe diem. There's not much time left before the yet-unannounced tablet ships.

App Store approvals and the tablet: why it matters originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

App Store approvals and the tablet: why it matters originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 12 January 2010 | 11:30 am

The Street: Features can't sway Apple customers' trust

Filed under: iPod Family, Odds and ends, Apple, iPhone

Jason Schwarz over at TheStreet has written an article analyzing Apple's current position in the marketplace and what Apple's competition needs to do in order to catch up.

The article focuses mostly on Apple's iPhone/iPod + iTunes ecosystem, which isn't surprising. Though Mac sales bring in a fair amount of cash to the company, Apple's handheld market is the company's most current success story, and everyone from Microsoft to Palm to Google has spent the past several years trying (and failing) to duplicate that success.

Schwarz notes that Steve Jobs's recent claim that, "We see no signs of the competition catching up anytime soon," doesn't necessarily apply to the feature set of the iPhone or its integration with iTunes, but rather Apple's financial success and brand impression. He has a point. Recent ads have been trying to sell the Droid on its feature set, telling us all the things that Sega does that Nintendon't - er, I mean, all the things Droid does that the iPhone doesn't, but trying to sell the Droid on features hasn't exactly toppled the iPhone's dominance quite yet, and all indications are that the Nexus One isn't likely to take a big chunk out of Apple's smartphone sales, either.

Continue reading The Street: Features can't sway Apple customers' trust

The Street: Features can't sway Apple customers' trust originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Street: Features can't sway Apple customers' trust originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 11 January 2010 | 7:00 pm

CES Watch: Apple accessories from the show floor

Filed under: Hardware, iPod Family, Multimedia, Odds and ends, Apple, iPhone, Music

CES 2010 is in full swing in Las Vegas, and while we aren't there, we have been able to scour the webs and bring you the latest, the greatest, and the weirdest new Apple-related peripherals and accessories from the show floor.

• Griffin has announced a few new devices, including a Display Converter ($40) to send your display out to HDMI or DVI video, a car charger ($30) that opens up another charging spot, and something called the TuneFlex Aux ($60), a cradle that sends iPhone audio out to an AUX port in your car. They've also got new versions of the RoadTrip and iTrip FM transmitters/cradles coming out later this year for the iPhone .
• IvySkin sent word of their Zappack unit, a battery backup for the iPhone available for $50, the SmartCase, a case with an integrated battery pack for $80, and the CardClip, a case for the iPhone with a money/wallet clip attachment for $20.
• Engadget posted a hands-on with Parrot's AR.Drone, which we mentioned yesterday. Short take: it's awesome.
• Geneva Labs has the most beautiful set of iPhone/iPod speaker docks we've seen yet. They're still useless, but they do look good.
• On the other hand there's the Trik / Triq iPod dock (above), a speaker dock so wild that Sony named it twice. Yeah, that is... wow.
• Pioneer announced a car nav unit that will stream Pandora via the cell connection on your iPhone.
• I'm sure there are induction power charging pads aplenty on the show floor, but this is the only one we're bothering to link to.
• Macally has announced another round of accessories, from earbuds to chargers. The most interesting is probably the PowerGo charger, which will use an AC adapter, a car lighter, or a USB plug, so no matter where you are, you can recharge your iPod.

iPod accessories, everywhere! CES continues through the weekend -- we'll keep an eye on anything else Mac or iPod-related that shows up in Vegas.

CES Watch: Apple accessories from the show floor originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

CES Watch: Apple accessories from the show floor originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 7 January 2010 | 3:00 pm

Second-generation Blue Microphones Mikey announced, uses free app

Filed under: Accessories, Audio, Hardware, iPod Family, iPhone, iPod touch

The audio wizards at Blue Microphones have wowed Mac and iPod fans with their Snowball, Snowflake, and Mikey microphones. Now, just before the start of CES 2010, Blue has announced the US$99.99 second generation Mikey Portable Recorder for iPod and iPhone.

While the new Mikey hasn't yet achieved iPhone certification, it promises to be a powerful professional recording solution for iPhone owners when it arrives in the spring. Mikey still features two Blue mic capsules for pro-quality stereo recording, but now has improved acoustic circuitry for better recordings of loud events such as concerts.

The new Mikey also has a 3.5mm line input for those times that you want to plug in a sound source like a guitar or mixer. There's also a USB pass-through connection for charging and syncing. A newly designed case makes Mikey usable with most iPhone cases, and the mic can be adjusted to seven fixed positions within a 230-degree range for optimum positioning. But wait, there's more! Blue is also throwing in a soft carrying pouch for Mikey, along with a headphone extension cable for playback monitoring with the iPod touch and nano.

Blue has also put a high-fidelity field recording app for iPhone and iPod touch into the App Store. Blue FiRe [Free, iTunes Link] has been out for a few months and is optimized for the second generation Mikey. The combination of the high-quality mic and free software produces a complete mobile recording experience.

Expect to see the new Mikey at Apple Stores, Guitar Center, and Amazon.com this spring.

[via Engadget]

Second-generation Blue Microphones Mikey announced, uses free app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Second-generation Blue Microphones Mikey announced, uses free app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 5 January 2010 | 5:30 pm

iPhone devsugar: Working with tablet resolutions

Filed under: iPod Family, Developer, iPhone, App Store, SDK

Rumors are hitting the ground hard and strong about exactly what to expect in the upcoming (yeah, yeah, possibly mythical) Apple tablet device. And the most important of those rumors, the fact most consistently cited, is the introduction of extra pixels. You might roll your eyes and say, "of course a tablet means more pixels," but what exactly does that extra resolution mean to you as a developer? After all, we don't know what the pixel count will be or whether the (possibly mythical) tablet will offer widget-mode applications using the current iPhone resolution size or full-screen options. So let's look at some of the challenges having extra screen space might offer up developers.

Continue reading iPhone devsugar: Working with tablet resolutions

iPhone devsugar: Working with tablet resolutions originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iPhone devsugar: Working with tablet resolutions originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 4 January 2010 | 3:30 pm

Found Footage: iPhone/Mouse integration

Filed under: iPod Family, Cool tools, Hacks, Found Footage, iPhone, Jailbreak/pwnage

What happens when you combine two amazing jailbreak utilities on the iPhone? You achieve remote mouse based support! iPhone developer Lance "ashikase" Fetters, author of the amazing Backgrounder jailbreak app, wrote a VNC style extension for the iPhone called MouseSupport. It provides a floating window with a virtual cursor that can be controlled with synthesized pointer events.

A second utility, developed by Matthias Ringwald, is called BTstack Mouse. It integrates with ashikase's MouseSupport and Ringwald's open source BTstack implementation to provide iPhone/mouse integration. The video shown here uses Apple's Magic Mouse to demonstrate the BTstack Mouse extension. BTstack Mouse will shortly be available on Cydia and will retail for free.

So why does this all matter? Who cares about using a mouse with an iPhone when most people have perfectly usable fingers? Where does a mouse fit into the iPhone world? This effort is part of a larger project to create a nomadic computing environment on the iPhone. To put yourself into the right mindset, try thinking of an iPhone as a portable pocket-sized Unix system instead of as a mobile cell phone.

Practical work-ready peripherals that can move as you move, without need for carrying along a laptop, act as an important part of that vision. You can be on the go with just the phone itself -- as you know, a naked iPhone offers a perfectly usable mobile solution for light computing needs -- or you can start accessorizing to upgrade your computing efficiency.

By providing hooks for these accessories, the iPhone opens itself up to better desktop-style computing in addition to its existing mobile tools. In the end, when the vision of this project is fulfilled, you'll be able to move the iPhone between desktop set-ups where it can connect itself into a "dockable" Bluetooth-enabled work system, to your pocket on the go, to a lightly-accessorized system for coffee house use.

Found Footage: iPhone/Mouse integration originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Found Footage: iPhone/Mouse integration originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 4 January 2010 | 1:00 pm

Apple nabs four of Engadget's 10 gadgets of the decade

Filed under: Hardware, iPod Family, OS, Apple, MacBook, iPhone

Our friends over at Engadget have selected their top 10 gadgets of the last decade (the naughts, as I like to call them), and Apple has come up big: four out of the ten choices are made by the company from Cupertino. The iPhone is on the list (of course), as is the iPod. The original Titanium PowerBook fills a spot for its "category-shaping design" and its influence on laptops since its release in 2001.

Perhaps most interesting, Mac OS X is on the list right alongside Windows XP as a co-gadget of the decade. Engadget says that both operating systems provided fresh and clean restarts for their respective companies, and that while OS X took a little while to "become a usable daily OS" (ouch), it still helped to "set a new standard for computing."

Being the Apple weblog that we are, we might argue that Windows XP provided a solid update to Windows 98, while OS X offered up some actual innovation in the operating system market (and Apple still carries the banner on commercial UI innovation today). But we're nitpicking on that one -- 40% of their gadgets that shaped the decade were made by one company, and that's good enough for us.

Apple nabs four of Engadget's 10 gadgets of the decade originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple nabs four of Engadget's 10 gadgets of the decade originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 30 December 2009 | 7:00 pm

Apple wins appeal over iPod hearing loss

Filed under: iPod Family

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a 2008 ruling dismissing a 2006 case brought against Apple, which claimed that the iPod music player caused hearing loss.

In the original suit, a Louisiana man had claimed that the iPod had the potential to cause irreparable hearing loss, citing the design of the ear buds as encouraging too-deep placement within the ear, and the lack of volume meters.

He had sought to have the suit classified as a class action suit against Apple, but in 2008, the District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed the suit, agreeing with Apple's assertion that the design did not cause an unreasonable risk of noise-induced hearing loss. The judge stated that the lawsuit had merely pointed out ways to make the device safer, not shown that the device itself was dangerous.

The suit also alleged elements of unfair competition, which were also dismissed and affirmed on appeal.

Apple wins appeal over iPod hearing loss originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple wins appeal over iPod hearing loss originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 30 December 2009 | 4:45 pm

iPhone devsugar: SwapKit

Filed under: iPod Family, Developer, iPhone, SDK

iPhone developer Emanuele Vulcano has been working on a new iPhone OS data exchange protocol called SwapKit [Apple Dev account required for link]. Hosted on GitHub, SwapKit provides App Store-friendly application-independent ways to publish data with custom metadata for sharing between applications.

SwapKit can automatically find all other SwapKit-using applications on a device and determine which of those applications can perform specific actions on that data. For example, a developer might send a string to the first Twitter-ready client it finds and request that client to post the string as a new tweet. SwapKit basically offers a Mac-style LaunchServices for iPhone.

Open source and provided under the MIT license (basically "use however you like"), SwapKit remains in early development. The screencast shown above demonstrates basic SwapKit features, demoing both sending and receiving functionality.

iPhone devsugar: SwapKit originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iPhone devsugar: SwapKit originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 28 December 2009 | 3:30 pm

BTstack Keyboard jailbreak app provides iPhone text entry

Filed under: iPod Family, Bluetooth, iPhone, Jailbreak/pwnage

Due to hit the Cydia store momentarily, Matthias Ringwald's BTstack Keyboard app allows users to type text into any iPhone application using an external Bluetooth keyboard. Built on the open source BTstack project, BTstack Keyboard runs a daemon in the background of any jailbroken iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS or iPod touch with Bluetooth support. As you type text on the keyboard, the daemon generates synthetic keyboard tap events; the effect is the same as if you'd typed that text using the on-screen keyboard.

You will need to install BTstack and the BTstack Keyboard packages on a jailbroken 3G or later iPhone or 2nd generation or later iPod touch. The software has been tested with an Apple Bluetooth keyboard, a Think Outside Stowaway Universal keyboard, and a Palm Wireless keyboard. There's no reason to think it won't work with any standard Bluetooth keyboard, i.e. one that uses standard BT protocols.

With this small utility, users will be better able to take notes on the go using a standard keyboard in any text-based iPhone application. Yes, you'll have to haul around the physical keyboard, but the availability of folding on-the-go Bluetooth solutions makes this an exciting development for anyone who wants to expand their text entry possibiilities.

Expect to pay $5 for BTstack Keyboard when the software goes live. For more details, see Ringwald's Keyboard information page at his website. Ringwald is the same developer whose BTstack work brought iPhone-Wiimote integration into play recently.

BTstack Keyboard jailbreak app provides iPhone text entry originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

BTstack Keyboard jailbreak app provides iPhone text entry originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 23 December 2009 | 4:45 pm

TUAW Livechat: Developing for the (possibly mythical) Apple Tablet

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, iPod Family, iPhone, App Store, SDK

With just three months left before the expected launch of the as-yet unannounced Apple Tablet, what can application developers do to prepare their products for this likely new platform?

Today, TUAW chats with Craig Hockenberry of Furbo.org and Daniel Jalkut of Red Sweater Software. Hockenberry is the senior software engineer for Iconfactory, a software and design house that ships both Macintosh and iPhone products. Jalkut, formerly of Apple, is the founder of Red Sweater Software (aka the "MarsEdit" people). Both Hockenberry and Jalkut bring multi-platform Apple development expertise to table as we discuss possible hardware directions and how developers can proactively prepare their place in a new market.


Application Development for the Apple Tablet

TUAW Livechat: Developing for the (possibly mythical) Apple Tablet originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TUAW Livechat: Developing for the (possibly mythical) Apple Tablet originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 18 December 2009 | 11:45 am

A bevy of iPhone and iPod accessories

Filed under: Accessories, iPod Family, iPhone, iPod touch

As seen on Engadget.

A bevy of iPhone and iPod accessories originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A bevy of iPhone and iPod accessories originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 16 December 2009 | 4:30 pm

Adweek Media's Campaign of the Decade: Apple's Get a Mac ads

Filed under: iPod Family, Odds and ends, Apple

As Apple fans, we've loved Apple's "Get a Mac" ad campaign. With Justin Long as the cool, laid-back Mac and John Hodgman starring as the stodgy, uptight PC, the ads have managed to make us laugh since they first appeared in 2006. The campaign has spawned the "I'm a PC" response ads from Microsoft, which aren't nearly as fun or effective as the original (if we do say so ourselves).

The ads have been incredibly effective at getting Apple's message across -- Macs just work, with no bloatware, few viruses and little malware, and Mac users can do a lot with the provided iLife software.

AdweekMedia has paid tribute to the campaign in its Best of the 2000s awards, giving the Campaign of the Decade plaudits to Apple and TBWA / Media Arts Lab for the memorable ads.

That's not the only Apple campaign that received an award -- the iPod "Silhouettes" campaign won the Out of Home Ad of the Decade prize. Out of Home ads (AKA outdoor advertising) consist of those advertisements that are shown on billboards, buses, and kiosks rather than on television or in print. The awards were voted upon by the editors of AdweekMedia, and reader's choice awards were also listed. The "Get a Mac" campaign was third place in reader voting, while "Silhouettes" picked up the number one spot from readers in its category.

Adweek Media's Campaign of the Decade: Apple's Get a Mac ads originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Adweek Media's Campaign of the Decade: Apple's Get a Mac ads originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted on 14 December 2009 | 6:00 pm