Federico Viticci

10776 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

Apple Confirms: iPad 2 in 25 More Countries This Friday, Launching at 5 PM

Apple just posted a press release confirming that the iPad 2 will launch in 25 more countries this Friday, thus denying the rumors of a delay we heard in these past days. The iPad 2 will be available at Apple retail stores and authorized resellers at 5 PM, with online orders starting at 1 AM. The device will be released in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and “other countries” in April.

Apple® today announced that iPad® 2, the second-generation of its third post-PC device, will go on sale in 25 additional countries this Friday, March 25. iPad 2 will be available at Apple retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers at 5 p.m. local time, and online through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com) beginning at 1 a.m. Apple today also announced that all models of iPad 2 will be available in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and additional countries in April.

This is the Italian pricing (and hopefully the same of other countries with Euro currency): €479,00 for the WiFi 16 GB model, €579,00 for the WiFi 32 GB model and €679,00 for WiFi 64 GB. The WiFi + 3G models will be available for €599,00, €699,00 and €799,00.

UK pricing: £399.00 for the 16GB model, £479.00 for the 32GB model, £559.00 for the 64GB model. Wi-Fi + 3G  models will be available for £499.00, £579.00 and £659.00.

Australian pricing: iPad 2 WiFi: 16GB - $579;  32GB - $689;    64GB - $799;  iPad 2 WiFi + 3G: 16GB - $729;   32GB - $839;    64GB - $949.

Overall, it seems like the iPad 2 is cheaper than the iPad 1 across Europe and Australia, a clever move considering Apple priced the iPad 2 just as the iPad 1 in the United States. Press release below.

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Watchlater: iPad App That’s Like Instapaper For Video

Instapaper is one of my favorite apps ever made for iOS: it allows me to save any article for later, and enjoy it in an uncluttered view on the iPhone or iPad without the stress of the web browser. Offline access makes sure I can read everything even when an Internet connection is nowhere to be found, and the recently introduced social sharing capabilities enable me to stay up to date with items liked by people I read and trust. Instapaper is a great tool, but it works for text. And besides text, I happen to consume a lot of online video, too.

The idea of an Instapaper for video always came back to me as an intriguing experiment someone had to try: just like Instapaper, you hit a bookmarklet and the video is saved in your online account. You fire up an iOS app, the videos are automatically retrieved and cached, and you can watch them whenever you like. Without the anxiety factor offered by Youtube’s website design or, again, the information overload of the desktop browser. Just video.

Watchlater, a new iPad app available at $2.99 in the App Store, wants to become the “Instapaper for video” on iOS, and admittedly it’s a pretty neat application. I’ve tested the app over the past months, it’s got lots of potentialities and still a few issues to fix / missing features. But it is available now, and allows you to collect videos from Youtube and Vimeo in a single place. Read more

Apple Sues Amazon→

Apple Sues Amazon

According to a brief note posted by Bloomberg, Apple is suing Amazon over the use of the “App Store” name. The popular online retail is indeed about to launch its own “Amazon Appstore” for Android devices, a marketplace to distribute and download apps. Yes, pretty much like Apple’s App Store – which counts more than 400,000 apps for iPhones and iPads and generated more than 10 billion downloads since its launch in Summer 2008.

Apple, in a complaint filed March 18, accused Amazon.com of trademark infringement and unfair competition and asks for a court order to prevent the company from using the “App Store” name as well as for unspecified damages.

Recently, Apple had a similar dispute with Microsoft. Clearly the folks at Cupertino aren’t happy with everyone using the term “app store” these days, and they’re now taking action against Amazon.

Update from Bloomberg with Apple’s statements:

Amazon has unlawfully used the App Store mark to solicit software developers throughout the United States.

We’ve asked Amazon not to copy the App Store name because it will confuse and mislead customers,” said Kristin Huguet, a spokeswoman for Apple.

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iPad 2 First Impressions: Is This The iPad I Was Waiting For?

Today I got my iPad 2. A WiFi 16 GB Black model, bought in the United States and shipped through UPS’ Worldwide Saver Express. After a bit of trouble with the Italian customs (luckily, I didn’t pay additional clearance fees) and a missed delivery because I didn’t wake up in time this morning (hey, I stayed up until 6 AM last night reading Instapaper), I finally managed to get my hands on the iPad 2.

Before I share my thoughts: this is not a review. I’ve had the device for less than 6 hours and I’m just getting started with it. Rather, this is a collection of thoughts from a blogger who waited 10 days for the shipment of a device he had to write about regardless of the lack of availability in his country. I watched the unboxing videos, read Cody’s articles, saved dozens of reviews in my Instapaper queue. But getting one, in spite of the fact that I basically knew everything about it, is different. Read more

Google Latitude for iPhone Gains Check-In Capabilities

With an official announcement on the company’s blog, Google unveiled a few minutes ago a new version of Latitude for iPhone. Google Latitude, also available for Android devices, uses the iPhone’s GPS functionality to display your current location on a map and allows you to see what your friends are up to. The new 2.1 version, available here, lets you “check in” places and automatically be checked out if Latitude is set to update your location in the background. In this way, your friends will not only see your location, but know exactly what you’re doing – say drinking coffee at a nearby Starbucks. A huge Check In button in the app makes the process easy, and privacy settings let you share the check in with everyone, your friends only, or make it entirely private.

Tap the “Check in” button to start checking in at nearby places. Keep checking in every time you visit your favorite places to start gaining special status there. You’ll not only progress to become a Regular, VIP, and then Guru at your favorite places, but if you’re near Austin, Texas, gaining status lets you unlock check-in offers at over 60 places.

Just like with sharing your location, you can control your Latitude check-in privacy. Checking in is 100% opt-in, and you can choose to share any check-in with your friends on Latitude, publicly on the web and your Google profile, or just yourself.

With this update Google is clearly trying to create an alternative to popular check-in services like Facebook Places and Foursquare, which have become the de-facto standards for sharing your location and earn points or badges. We don’t know whether the new Google Latitude will take off or not, but you can check out the app here and tell us what you think. It’s a free download.

Mac OS X 10.6.7 Now Available [Direct Links]

Apple just released Mac OS X 10.6.7. The new version is available now in Software Update (or through the direct links below) and weighs at around 300 MB. The new build includes a series of fixes for Back to my Mac, SMB servers and the new MacBook Pros.

The 10.6.7 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes that:

Improve the reliability of Back to My Mac

Resolve an issue when transferring files to certain SMB servers

Address various minor Mac App Store bugs

For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4472.

For information on the security content of this update, please visit: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222.

We also appreciate this very specific Mac App Store fix:

Resolves an issue in which clicking the Updates tab in the Mac App Store could cause the Mac App Store to become unresponsive.

Additional improvements after the break. Download links:

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The Most Expensive iPad 2 In The World→

The Most Expensive iPad 2 In The World

If you’ve always wanted to spend £5,000,000.00 to buy the most expensive (and exclusive) iPad 2 in the world, look no further than Stuart Hughes’ latest creation: a 3G iPad 2 encrusted with diamonds, gems, gold, a 75 million year old Ammolite rock and a 65 million year old dinosaur bone. Seriously.

This iPad 2 is a mix of non-sense and luxury made for those willing to throw their money away.

Undoubtably the world’s most unique gadget is the Ipad 2 Gold History Edition. Encrusted with 12.5 cts of ‘I’F’ Flawless diamonds, a magnificent total of 53 individually set sparkling gems dwell beautifully in solid 24ct Apple logo with rear section formed again in 24ct gold weighing an immense 2,000 grams. The unrivalled imagination towards the craftmanship of the iapd is down to its main front frame which is made from the oldest rock the world has to offer in the form of Ammolite , sourced from Canada this stone is over 75 million years old. However to make this masterpiece even more individual, sections of a 65 million year old T-REX Dinosaur’s thigh bone was splintered and then shaved into the Ammolite , then finished off with ultimate jewel , as single cut 8.5ct flawless diamond inlaid in its own platinum surround with 12 outer flawless diamonds. A magnificent combination of top of the industry technology and unique thought were involved in creating this piece of History.

I’m disappointed, however: Hughes didn’t made a diamond-encrusted Smart Cover. I was thinking to buy this iPad, but the lack of Smart Cover: Dinosaur Edition is forcing me to reconsider my purchase. I guess I’ll just go with a new Ferrari, the new one with an iPad-enabled dashboard.

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New York Times: A Future iPhone Will Include NFC, Perhaps Not The iPhone 5

After all the recent rumors and speculation about Apple willing to implement Near Field Communication (NFC) technology into the next-generation iPhone, The New York Times weighed in earlier today to confirm that according to “two people with knowledge of the inner workings of a coming iteration of the Apple iPhone” a future version of the device will indeed include NFC.

The NYT report is rather curious as they’re not sure whether or not Apple will deploy this feature in the iPhone 5, set to debut this summer:

According to two people with knowledge of the inner workings of a coming iteration of the Apple iPhone — although not necessarily the next one — a chip made by Qualcomm for the phone’s processor will also include near-field communication technology, known as N.F.C. This technology enables short-range wireless communications between the phone and an N.F.C reader, and can be used to make mobile payments. It is unclear which version of an iPhone this technology would be built into.

The New York Times also claims that according to another person familiar with Apple’s plans the iPhone will use NFC to enable mobile payments tied to users’ iTunes credit – something that was also reported in the past months, although some people speculated Apple could also consider providing an option for billing users through their carrier, rather than iTunes. At this point, however, it seems very clear that Apple will strongly invest in the iTunes payment option to give users the possibility to “keep it all together” in iTunes. Currently Apple has more than 200 million active accounts in iTunes with credit card information stored on their servers.

In the past months, rumors suggested Apple could also rely on NFC and MobileMe to enable remote computing and usage of App Store apps. Several reports pointed to the iPhone 5 featuring / not featuring NFC, and others also reported such a feature was being considered for the iPad. An e-Wallet application for iOS also made an appearance in a patent design published last year.

iPad 2 + FaceTime for Mac: Enabling Auto-Answer For Remote Monitoring

So I just got my iPad 2, and right after restoring from an iPad 1 backup and syncing all my apps, I wanted to try FaceTime on it. Mainly to test the quality of the cameras (they do decent videos, but they’re not really that great) and the FaceTime application itself, I immediately set up a new email account to use with the iPad 2.

FaceTime on the iPad asks you to create a new email address on first launch; however, you can further tweak your settings, Apple ID and available email addresses in the Settings app under “FaceTime”. In this tab, I logged in with my Apple ID and assigned a new email – different from the ones I use on my MacBook Pro (Apple ID) and iMac (2nd email address). On the iPad, I set up a third email so I can make sure calls are always routed to the right device. I noticed that the verification process failed at first (I didn’t get any email from Apple), so I deleted the email address, entered it again and waited for the confirmation email. After a few minutes, FaceTime was correctly functioning on my iPad 2.

With FaceTime up and running, I wanted to give a shot to an old trick we first covered in October: auto-answering FaceTime calls on a Mac. Why would you want to do that? Simple: to turn your desktop computer into a remote monitoring tool for when you’re not around. Stuff like remotely checking on your room or home office. I leave my computers always on most of the times I have to go out, so it’s not a big deal for me. Plus, I think it’s just neat that you can fire up your iPhone or iPad 2 while on the go to call your Mac and automatically see what’s going in front of the iSight without needing a person to hit the Confirm button. Read more