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

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iPad 2 Launch Delayed In Japan, Donations Now Accepted in International iTunes Stores

In the wake of the recent earthquake and tsunami that hit last week, Apple won’t launch the iPad 2 in Japan on March 25th. As reported by Reuters the company isn’t providing a rescheduled date for the launch, but it’s very clear that Apple is focusing on helping out people and their staff in Japan rather than planning a product launch.

We are delaying the launch of the iPad 2 in Japan while the country and our teams focus on recovering from the recent disaster,” said Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris.

The iPad was originally scheduled for a launch in Japan on March 25th. In the meantime, iPadevice reports Apple has extended donations to the Red Cross through iTunes in various international Stores including the Italian one. Donations in the US iTunes Store were launched last week.

Apple: Donate Your Old iPads to Teach For America→

Apple: Donate Your Old iPads to Teach For America

Apple is asking US customers to donate their old first-generation iPads to Teach For America on its official Retail webpage. By visiting this link, you’ll notice a box on the right that says:

Your old iPad can help teach kids a thing or two. Donate your old iPad at an Apple Retail Store, and Teach For America will give it to a teacher in a low-income community.

As noted by Macnn, there’s no mention of tax deduction for the donation, but Teach For America is a corporation listed among those that provide tax deductions for direct donations. So if you’re interested in donating your old iPad for a good cause, give your nearest Apple Store a call to get more details. I wish there was such a program in Italy.

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Due, The Best Reminder App for iPhone, Now Available on the iPad

Due, a popular reminder and timer application for the iPhone we at MacStories reviewed several times in the past, was updated last night to include a native iPad version that, together with OTA sync through Dropbox introduced in version 1.3.1, now allows you to have your reminders, timers and logbook always in sync and available across a variety of devices.

Due for iPad sports a completely new interface for the tablet that reminded me of the official Twitter app at first with a vertical navigation bar on the left and a middle panel to add and customize your reminders and timers. The bar on the left lets you switch between the sections of the app, as well as the Settings which now have their own dedicated tab. As you may know Due syncs with Dropbox upon launch and exit, so if you’re running both the iPhone and iPad versions at the same time don’t expect changes to occur simultaneously. It’s highly recommended that you only use one version of Due at a time to avoid sync conflict issues. That said, sync is pretty reliable and fast enough to enable you to switch from a device to another within seconds.

New design aside, Due for iPad follow the steps of the iPhone app to offer an easy to use solution for your reminders and timers. Many of the interface elements are the same so you’ll feel comfortable when using the new Due for iPad. This update also introduces a number of fixes and various improvements, such as the possibility to relaunch the app in its previous state (reminders / timers tabs), double tap to edit reminders and timers, extended undo support. When adding new reminders, the app will now open the “quick panel” automatically to customize snooze and repeat quickly – this one is a very welcome addition to further streamline Due’s workflow and usability.

Due keeps getting better on each release, and this iPad version plays an important role in making Due a ubiquitous way to have your reminders and timers available all the time. You can get the app for $4.99 in the App Store, and check out the full list of changes and fixes below. Read more

djay for iPhone Now Available, iPad Version Updated

djay by Algoriddim is an excellent music-mixing application for the iPad we reviewed in December that, with a beautiful user interface design and powerful features, managed to become the top solution for all those looking for a serious, yet accessible DJ solution on the tablet. Today Algoriddim is releasing an updated version of djay for iPad, as well as a brand new iPhone counterpart that brings the djay experience to smaller screens without compromising the usability and design of the app.

First off, djay for iPad got a major update (version 1.1) that adds auto, manual and bounce looping, 3 additional cue points and an improved library search to find songs that you’d like to mix. The update also adds compatibility with Bluetooth audio devices, extended support for AIFF and WAV files thanks to iOS 4.3 and a series of bug fixes meant to address the memory issues of the app. We wonder how well will this thing run on an iPad 2. djay for iPad is a $19.99 download in the App Store.

djay for iPhone, on the other hand, takes the basic principles of the iPad version and brings them to a smaller screen that should still enable you to mix your songs on the go. The turntable interface is still the same, as well as many of the commands and menus on screen. Only one turntable is displayed on the iPhone in portrait mode, to keep the experience as streamlined and elegant as possible. Two buttons at the bottom allow you to switch between songs, check how much time is left and regulate the volume output. Many of the other features of djay for iPad such as BPM auto-sync, equalizers and pre-cueing have been successfully ported to the iPhone, too.

djay for iPhone is available in the App Store at $9.99. Check out the promo video below. Read more

iPad 2 Getting Augmented Reality Apps

With two cameras on board, it’s no surprise that developers are considering the possibility of photography and video apps for the tablet – in spite of its form factor that’s not exactly meant for quick picture taking or video shooting. Still, as Apple has proved at its March 2 event, there’s plenty of room for iPad apps that use the camera without forcing you to hold the device upright – such as FaceTime or Photo Booth, two pieces of software that use the iPad’s cameras to create unique (and funny) experiences. So while it’s likely that we won’t see a Camera+ for iPad in the near future, I believe several developers are playing around with the idea of alternative applications for the iPad that revolve around the use of the camera.

Self-portrait photography and video-mirroring apps sounds pretty obvious right now, and augmented-reality software for the iPad looks more promising in my opinion. As reported by All Things Digital, developers Total Immersion have announced AR Magic Mirror, an augmented-reality app that’s based on the camera to let users virtually try out different “hairstyles, outfits and accessories”. It sounds very similar to the French app for iPhone that let you try virtual glasses using a face-tracking technology, and indeed Total Immersion will use a technique to recognize a user’s face in order for this to work.

With the portability, processing power and broad consumer adoption of the iPad 2, a simple face tracking app today could soon become an essential makeover tool with beauty products at retail. Likewise a traditional game of online chess could become a massive, multiplayer game in the real world playing alongside vivid 3D characters and environments.

AR Magic Mirror will be a free download in the App Store, and it will be among the first augmented reality apps for the iPad – a trend that will evolve and proliferate in the next months. Check out the video below. Read more

Chipworks’ Teardown Confirms A5 Comes From Samsung, Twice The Size of A4

Following the various teardowns of the iPad 2 we saw last week, Chipworks decided to take a closer look at the Apple A5, the dual-core processor that powers the iPad 2 and contributes to its impressive gain in speed and performance. Whilst Chipworks’ teardown isn’t something the average Apple geek would be able to fully appreciate (there’s some highly technical stuff in there, like microscopes and layers of aluminum being closely inspected), there are some interesting points worth mentioning.

By looking at the internal structure of the A5, Chipworks concludes it was manufactured by Samsung in spite of the rumors suggesting Apple would go with TSMC due to the competition arisen with Samsung in the cellphone and tablet market.

At  this scale even electron microscopes start to run out of steam, so not the clearest of images in either case, but good enough to see the similar shape of the transistor gates and the dielectric layers.  So at least this sample of the A5 is fabbed by Samsung, just as all Apple’s processor chips have been for the last while.

Other notes by Chipworks include the ARM cores with ~4.5 Mb of cache memory each, and the A5 being roughly twice the size of the old Apple A4 chip from the iPad 1. Just in case you had any doubts about the performances guaranteed by the A5, this teardown is here to confirm that Apple went with Samsung once again to produce a chip that’s twice the size, dual-core and optimized for a tablet’s battery life. [via TUAW]

On Stage: iPod Companion App with Wikipedia Integration

On Stage, a new app by German developer Fabian Kreiser, is a lightweight companion to the iPhone’s iPod application that, together with a custom UI design, comes with neat Wikipedia integration that also supports Sophiestication’s Articles out of the box.

If you’re looking for a more powerful iPod replacement that does a bunch of things like Wikipedia lookup and recommended artists, make sure to check out My Artists, which we reviewed a couple of times on MacStories. On Stage is a smaller alternative with a feature set focused on letting you pick music from the iPod library and display Wikipedia information for the playing album, song, or artist. The app also displays lyrics like in iPod.app but has a function to retrieve lyrics online if missing. Read more

Inside Apple’s Temporary Store in Austin

As you may have heard, Apple has been busy setting up a temporary store in Austin, TX for SXSW attendees willing to buy an iPad 2 during the days of the event. Following high demand for the new device and to make it easy for SXSW folks (which are many, and usually geeks) to buy a new iPad, Apple decided to take a temporary location to turn into a “popup shop” for two weeks.

In the video below posted by Cult of Mac, you can see the huge line formed this morning from people wanting to get their hands on the iPad or check out the new store. Some people were in line since 8 AM, others likely even before, but they weren’t exactly sure the Apple Store was going to be there as the company didn’t confirm anything until this morning, when Apple employees walked out cheering, telling customers to get in. Basically, that was a line made of hype and blog’s coverage of a rumor. It needs to be mentioned, though, that Apple’s black clothes are usually a good indication of a store being set up to accomodate a new launch.

Also in the video: Apple employee casually dancing inside the Store. Read more

Eighth Beta of 10.6.7 Seeded to Developers

As noted by MacRumors, Apple has seeded a new build of OS X 10.6.7 to developers earlier today. Build 10J869 doesn’t list known issues and, according to developers, Apple keeps asking to focus on Safari, Mac App Store, AirPort, Bonjour, SMB, and Graphics Drivers testing.

The seventh beta of 10.6.7 was seeded last week. This leads us to think the final release of the OS update is nearing completion, also considering the small increment in build version number from last week’s beta.