Federico Viticci

10876 posts on MacStories since April 2009

Federico is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of MacStories, where he writes about Apple with a focus on apps, developers, iPad, and iOS productivity. He founded MacStories in April 2009 and has been writing about Apple since. Federico is also the co-host of AppStories, a weekly podcast exploring the world of apps, Unwind, a fun exploration of media and more, and NPC: Next Portable Console, a show about portable gaming and the handheld revolution.
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@viticci.macstories.net
viticci@macstories.net

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Watch Youtube Live Streams On iOS Devices

Youtube has been experimenting with live streams for concerts and other events for a few years now, but it was only earlier this month when the service officially unveiled Youtube Live, a new section of the website that integrates live streaming capabilities into Youtube’s standard interface to allow broadcasters to share their live video content similarly to how other platforms like Ustream and Justin.tv enable users to start a live video recording, and share it with the rest of the world.

Youtube Live, however, has one major limitation: the stream is entirely Flash-based and Live videos don’t work on mobile devices like iPhones and iPads. YTLive, a new web app launched this week, aims at fixing this problem by providing live conversion of the Flash stream to generate an embedded live video that’s playable on iOS devices. To use the web app, you only have to paste the URL of a Youtube Live video here, and wait for the YTLive to process it. Once the service has generated an embedded video like the one in the screenshot above, you can tap Play and start streaming. The live feed is the same, but from what I understand the Flash stream is being converter through YTLive’s servers before it’s delivered to an iPhone or iPad. I don’t know how the service will hold up in the coming weeks as more and more iOS users start using it (the Royal Wedding is going to be an interesting first test), but it works fairly well right now.

Head over Youtube Live, pick a channel, and try it with YTLive on your iOS device now. [via TUAW]

Unsurprisingly, CutYourSim Discontinues “Permanent Unlock” Service

Two weeks ago we reported about a company called CutYourSim that, alongside iPhone SIM cutters and adapters, began offering a $169 “permanent and universal” unlock service that would allow users to use any GSM iPhone – likely one purchased in United States – on virtually any carrier with no jailbreak required. The service offered by CutYourSim quickly made the rounds of the Internet as, in spite of CDMA model incompatibility, it simply required users to pay an activation fee without needing to jailbreak a device, or install additional software. Speculation arose quickly about the company having gained access to Apple’s (or a carrier’s) IMEI database – thus being able to “whitelist” devices on a network by adding a GSM phone’s IMEI number to the database. As you can guess, unauthorized access to the database was likely achieved thanks to a “source” within Apple or a carrier that had access and could quickly import devices to whitelist through the IMEI identifier.

After two weeks and an alleged explosion in sales, the service has been shut down. CutYourSim doesn’t provide a real explanation on their official website, but after speaking with the founder of the company Cult Of Mac reports CutYourSim doesn’t know what’s going on, either: Apple may or may not be behind the discontinuation of the service, but CutYourSim can’t (or perhaps, doesn’t want to) detail why their service stopped working.

Unfortunately, we were not able to complete the rest of the unlocks waiting in our queue due to our suppliers being unable to offer the service anymore,” CutYourSim told Cult of Mac. “Our suppliers have told us that there is a possibility that the service may return, but they do not know when, so we have decided to start processing refunds for any orders that we were not able to complete.”

“To tell you the truth, first our supplier told us there were server issues, then after that they just told us that they will not be offering the service anymore. We are not sure where the service comes from, or whether it’s a contact through AT&T or Apple. We do know that the service is performed in the UK, but that’s about it.

CutYourSim claims the service might come back online in a few days, but the fact that they’re already offering refunds to customers who paid and couldn’t get the unlock in time is telling. Clearly Apple wasn’t pleased with the effects of a service that somehow enabled users to have their device whitelisted for any GSM network, and either through a carrier or direct investigation within the company’s database managed to track down whoever was manually adding IMEIs to the database.

You can read more about CutYourSim’s discontinued service here, and even find alternatives with a bit of Google research – but as we said in our original post, we don’t recommend any of these services. They are destined to be blocked by Apple, or carriers.

iPad 2 Shortages Due To Display and Speaker Production Issues?

Following Apple’s Q2 2011 financial results and the number of iPad 2 sales in the quarter  lower than expected by Wall Street analysts at 4.6 million units, speculation has arisen as to whether or not Apple had to face shortages due to Japan’s earthquake and tsunami that affected production of key components for the tablet. While Apple COO Tim Cook assured that they’re making as many iPads as they can with no “supply or cost impact in fiscal Q2 in result of the tragedy”, a new report by IHS’ iSuppli sheds some light on the actual production issues that determined the shortage of iPad 2s in the first quarter of 2011.

The report notes how “quality concerns” over LCD screens might have affected Apple’s estimated number of iPads to ship during the quarter, together with “production shortages” with the redesigned speaker that Apple implemented in the second-generation device. iSuppli also mentions “lamination issues with one of the touch suppliers” and “shortfalls” in the end-unit production.

While Apple is now on track to significantly increase its production volume in the second quarter,” according to the Thursday’s iSuppli News Flash, “the company reportedly is still falling substantially short of its target production goal for April.”

As a result, iSupply has lowered its 2011 iPad shipment forecast to 39.7 million from the 43.7 million forecast in February.

At the earnings call, Tim Cook said demand for the iPad 2 was “staggering” and the company was “amazed” with the results. However, he also went on to say they were “heavily backlogged” at the end of the quarter, later calling the iPad 2’s production the “mother of all backlogs” with Apple working as fast they possibly could to get the device in the hands of consumers. Earlier reports of Apple willing to pay more to suppliers to ensure a steady flow of components and executives visiting Japan soon after the tragedy to sign pre-payment deals suggested the company was focused on avoiding possible delays and shortages, although iSuppli hints at LCD and speaker issues as the cause of lower shipments in the first quarter.

iBooks 1.2.2 Released

A few minutes ago Apple released a minor update to iBooks, its eBook reading application for iPhones and iPads available for free in the App Store. iBooks 1.2.2 includes “important stability and performance improvements” that should make the app more responsive as well as fix a series of issues reported by users in the previous versions of the app. The update addresses an issue with videos being played from enhanced books purchased from the iBookstore and fixes a problem with some books opening in a different font than expected. Last, books with several items in their table of contents should feel more responsive overall.

iBooks 1.2.2 can be downloaded here.

Apple’s Cloud Music Service Almost Ready to Launch?

According to Reuters, Apple “has completed work” on its rumored cloud-based music service that will allow users to store their music online, and access it anywhere using a computer or an iOS device connected to the Internet.

Apple Inc has completed work on an online music storage service and is set to launch it ahead of Google Inc, whose own music efforts have stalled, according to several people familiar with both companies’ plans. Apple’s plans will allow iTunes customers to store their songs on a remote server, and then access them from wherever they have an Internet connection, said two of these people who asked not to be named as the talks are still confidential.

Reuters also claims Apple hasn’t secured any deal with music labels yet, and industry sources said several labels are hoping to close these deals before the service’s launch. Similarly to Amazon’s recently launched Cloud Drive and Cloud Player, Apple could introduce a service that works on the web and mobile devices, and offers a way for users to “digitally lock” their own media in the cloud – quite possibly without even needing the blessing of music labels to do so. Amazon, for instance, was initially rumored to be in a lot of trouble with licensing deals after the Cloud Player launch, but as of today no major music label has sued the online retailer – which basically gives its users an online space to store their DRM-free songs. Amazon, however, is reportedly in talks with labels anyway to come up with a more “advanced” plan that meets the music industry’s expectations and requirements.

Apple, on the other hand, might launch a service that acts as a remote backup location for a user’s iTunes library, and it could be part of the rumored new MobileMe – a complete revamp of the suite of online sync tools that’s also expected to be free, and deeply integrated into future versions of iOS. A number of reports in the past months indicated Apple was building an online iTunes backup solution with built-in streaming capabilities, although others claimed the company was also focusing on a subscription-based model for streaming the entire iTunes Store catalogue – similarly to how music service Spotify requires a premium subscription to stream music you don’t own.

Last, Reuters reports:

Apple and Google are keen to offer services that give music fans more flexibility to access their media wherever they are rather than tying them to a particular computer or mobile device.

In late 2009, Apple bought Lala, a cloud-based music company, but closed it down in April 2010, leading to speculation that it would launch an Apple-branded cloud service.

Interestingly enough, a series of downtimes and errors in iTunes and the App Store during the past 2 days lead many to believe Apple moved its iTunes servers to the new data center in North Carolina, which was set to become fully operative in Spring 2011. Read more

Conan O’Brien Introduces The Apple iDea

Brought to you by the minds of Conan O’Brien and TeamCoco, the iDea is the latest product in Apple’s multitouch line-up – except it’s not clear what it is, yet. Clearly inspired by Apple’s latest iPad 2 promo videos and ads, the iDea commercial touches some key parts of Apple’s marketing machine: gestures, voiceover, higher price point for bigger model, thinner design in the second-gen version. It’s got everything the Apple marketing team would be proud of.

Check out the video below. [via TUAW]
Read more

“Select Developers” Testing iPhone 4 Prototypes Running A5 Chip?

According to a report by 9to5mac, Apple has begun testing a prototype version of the iPhone running the A5 chip with “select developers.” The units, carrying the usual Apple model numbers for prototypes, are apparently based on the iPhone 4 hardware, with the only exception of the Apple A5 processor – clearly aimed at enhancing speed and graphics performances on the next-generation device. The report goes on to say these modified iPhones featuring the A5 CPU have been given to “high-level gaming outfits” in order to start writing gaming applications for the iPhone 5 that will, allegedly, be announced in September. As with the first-generation iPad, Apple is forcing these developers to keep the prototypes in a safe in the company’s offices at night – likely under strict surveillance from Apple employees or security staff.

Apple isn’t taking the next iPhone’s A5-power lightly. They already have select developers working on versions of their iPhone applications that take full advantage of the next-generation iPhone’s speedier and much more powerful hardware. These developers, seemingly from high-level gaming outfits, have been given what is essentially an iPhone 4 but with an A5 processor instead of an A4. The device itself is virtually identical to the iPhone 4, and there is no way anyone can tell it’s not an iPhone 4 based on the phone’s exterior.

According to the report, these early units are nothing but modified iPhone 4s with an A5 chip inside – even the OS is the same iOS 4 that’s currently shipping to customers, only slightly tweaked to work with the new processor. As far as the design goes, these developers haven’t seen anything about the next-generation iPhone that’s not already available to the public with the iPhone 4. From a software perspective, it makes sense to start giving prototypes of a device that’s going to be very similar to the final version away to developers now: the A5 processor will surely find its way in the iPhone 5, and game developers will have plenty of time to test their improved graphics. And as soon as iOS will be previewed at the WWDC ‘11 and released in beta form, these same developers will have a chance to test an A5-enabled iPhone running the new OS.

If the iPhone 5 is really going to be a minor refresh of the existing iPhone hardware, being able to test the A5 – which will likely be the most important addition – five months ahead of the rumored release date must sound like a great plan to these developers.

ListBook: A Simple List App for iPhone

ListBook, a new iPhone app from the developers of MoneyBook, wants to be the simplest solution to create lists on an iPhone, and check off completed items with ease. The App Store is full of apps that enable you to create lists: just think about Simplenote, the popular note-taking application for iPhone and iPad (and the web) that, among other things, also allows you to convert notes to lists. Not to mention the hundreds – if not thousands – of Dropbox-enabled apps that you can use to set up quick shopping lists, todos and reminders and have them always available anywhere you go. The ListBook’s developers, though, recognize that setting up a Dropbox account and having to mess with plain text files, folders and, why not, Markdown support might be a pattern average iPhone users aren’t ready to learn. We, as geeks, love to fiddle with OTA sync, filenames and tags: the majority of iPhone users, however, might not want to do that. And that’s why ListBook doesn’t come with any of these features, but still enables you to create lists, with a beautiful interface and a clever use of gestures.

In ListBook, you create lists and assign new items to them. There are no due dates or tags – you just check off an item once it’s been taken care of. Every list can have a name, as well as a badge on the homescreen to tell you how many tasks you still have to complete. There is no sync or iPad version, no web app or Dropbox integration. You can navigate between lists in a Safari-like UI that displays lists as “pages” in the browser; you can also pinch & zoom to reveal a list and close it.

ListBook won’t satisfy the geeks, but it should be a good alternative to Apple’s Notes app for most iPhone users. Get it in the App Store at $0.99.

iCade iPad Arcade Cabinet Now Available, But Backordered

What began as an April Fools’ joke based off the concept of enabling iPad users to turn their device into an old-style arcade cabinet – the iCade – eventually became a real product with Atari’s official backing and a slew of games built specifically for the cabinet’s Bluetooth-based controls. When the product was “unveiled”, many thought that, in spite of the actual quality of the joke, it would never see the light of day. However, as we saw in January, ThinkGeek announced that the iCade made it after the design and pre-production stage and was set to go on sale this Spring.

And indeed, the iCade became available at $100 earlier today, only to be backordered until May within a few hours of online sales. If you were looking to buy an iCade before Easter: I’m sorry, you’ll have to wait. But of course, there’s always the DIY way to come to the rescue. [ThinkGeek via Engadget]