Posts in news

Native Gmail App From Google Coming To The iPhone Soon?

If you’ve been yearning for a good, native, Gmail app for the iPhone, you might not have to wait much longer. MG Siegler claims that Google “is on the verge of launching their native Gmail app” and have likely already submitted it to Apple for review.

Although Google has a good web version of Gmail that is optimised for the iPhone and is also supported by iOS’ inbuilt Mail app, many have long wanted a fully native Gmail app and experience on iOS. Probably the biggest reason for a native Gmail app is push notifications (in the native Mail app, Gmail only supports fetching every 15, 30 or 60 minutes). Yet according to Siegler’s sources, the app is also “pretty fantastic” - something that many users of Android’s Gmail app have also often commented on. His understanding is that this is Google’s first iOS app since they began their recent commitment to design and that “all indications point to it being a good [app]”.

The native Gmail app will likely bring other key functionality as well: like Priority Inbox and one-click starring of messages. Other possibilities include some of the stuff Google is about to roll out for Gmail proper: like contact icons, better threading, and deep searching functionality. Maybe there will even be some Google+ integration, which Google is also hard at work on for Gmail.

The big question is whether Apple will approve the app, because to date they have rejected alternative email apps that would compete against the native Mail app. However, Siegler believes Apple probably will approve it, in which case it could mean that we could also soon see other third party Mail apps on iOS. One such example could be Sparrow for iPhone, after the developers revealed in August they have started development on such an app. In an interview with Business Insider in August, Dominique Leca from Sparrow noted that it would be highly inconsistent for Apple to continue to reject alternative Mail apps when Apple has since allowed replacements for Safari on iOS in recent months.

[Via parislemon]

Apple Posts New iPhone 4S Camera, iCloud and Siri Ads

Following the first Siri ad that was released last week, Apple uploaded three new commercials on its website and YouTube channel earlier today, showcasing once again the capabilities of the iPhone 4S’ voice assistant, as well as the improved camera and iCloud support.

The new commercials cover a wide range of hardware and software features of “the most amazing iPhone yet”, albeit some of them are also available on older generation models like the iPhone 4. The camera is described as “all new” with 8 megapixels and “advanced optics”, but the ad also focuses on what’s possible to do after a photo has been taken on an iPhone, showing the built-in photo editing functionalities that “no ordinary camera can do”. From the YouTube description:

With 8 megapixels, advanced optics and more, the all new camera on the iPhone 4S may be the only camera you need.

The second Siri commercial is similar to previous one, featuring different input requests from iPhone 4S users such as map directions, weather conditions, calendar appointements and Messages. Apple describes Siri as your “personal assistant for everything”.

The iCloud ad goes a little more technical – although with Apple’s usual clear and friendly style – to show iBooks and document sync across devices, Purchase history on iTunes, Photo Stream and Automatic Downloads for songs. “Now the things you do on your phone are everywhere you want them”.

Check out Apple’s new ads here, or watch the YouTube video embeds below.
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Innovative 3D Mapping Company C3 Technologies Reportedly Acquired By Apple

When the innovative 3D mapping company C3 Technologies was discovered to have been acquired and shut down by its buyer, amongst the speculation was that Apple had been the buyer after its previous purchase of Placebase and Poly9 (both software mapping firms). Today, 9to5 Mac is claiming to have a source that confirms Apple was behind the purchase of C3 Technologies and has now got the team (who are still located in Sweden) to work as a division of the iOS team.

Sources say that C3 Technologies CEO Mattias Astrom, C3 Technologies CFO Kjell Cederstrand, and lead C3 Technologies Product Manager Ludvig Emgard are now working within Apple’s iOS division. The leading trio, along with most of the former C3 Technologies team, is still working as a team in Sweden (interestingly, the division is now called “Sputnik”), where the C3 Technologies company was located prior to the Apple acquisition.

What C3 Technologies did was develop software that could create detailed 3D ‘maps’ through from aerial photography with very little human input or moderation. The two videos after the break give an explanation of how it works and a real demonstration of what C3 Technologies could produce through its software.

Speculation is now turning to what Apple has in store after purchasing these three mapping companies (Poly9 and C3 are specifically focused on 3D mapping) as well as making the remark earlier this year (in response to the location data debacle) that: “Apple is now collecting anonymous traffic data to build a crowd-sourced traffic database with the goal of providing iPhone users an improved traffic service in the next couple of years”. It was a curious admission by Apple and despite re-signing with Google to provide iOS with its mapping service, the question is now whether Apple may be trying to replace Google’s offering with its own - or perhaps to merely complement it with new offerings.

[Via 9to5 Mac]

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NYT: Siri-Controlled Apple Television “A Guaranteed Product”

According to an article by Nick Bilton on The New York Times, Apple is indeed working on a television product that could be publicly announced in late 2012, and released in early 2013. Rumors of an Apple-made television, not just a TV set like the Apple TV, go back to the original announcement of the iTV, a set-top box that would later become the Apple TV, which made many wonder whether Apple could ever disrupt the television market by offering content deals and a new way to access and interact with television programming. A statement by Steve Jobs in the recently released biography by Walter Isaacson gave new credence to such rumors – Jobs said “he finally cracked it”, leading many to believe Apple had been working on a hardware product set to revolutionize the television market.

According to Bilton however, the revolution isn’t strictly about the hardware design or physical remote controller – rather, the Apple television will heavily rely on Siri – Apple’s voice-based assistant for the iPhone 4S – to let users easily execute tasks such as searching for online content, switch channels, get the news and weather information, or the latest episode of a TV show.

Alternative remote ideas floated by Apple included a wireless keyboard and mouse, or using an iPod, iPhone or iPad as a remote. None of these concepts worked. But there was one “I finally cracked it” moment, when Apple realized you could just talk to your television.

Enter Siri.

It’s the stuff of science fiction. You sit on your couch and rather than fumble with several remotes or use hand gestures, you simply talk: “Put on the last episode of Gossip Girl.” “Play the local news headlines.” “Play some Coldplay music videos.” Siri does the rest.

Bilton claims several people within Apple have confirmed the existence of prototypes and parts floating around, with a source even saying the television is “a guaranteed product” from Apple, with the only question being when the company will decide to unveil it and release it. Bilton says getting components for large displays to drop under a certain price target could be an issue for Apple, and he notes that the user-friendliness of Siri applied to a television could be also hinted by Jobs saying ”it will have the simplest user interface you could imagine” when referring to such a device in his authorized biography. Siri was acquired by Apple last year, and it’s currently exclusive to the new iPhone 4S.

In the past year, Apple released the second-generation Apple TV and updated its software multiple times to include a selection of new channels, content deals, iCloud-based functionalities and deeper iTunes integration with streaming and previous purchases. A recent rumor also claimed Jeff Robin, co-creator of iTunes, has been put in charge of the Apple Television project.

[image via]

Pixelmator 2.0 Now Available On The Mac App Store, Our First Impressions

Pixelmator 2.0, a big new version of the popular image editing application for the Mac, just hit the Mac App Store and is available for just $29.99 (as an introductory price) and is a free upgrade for those who have previously purchased a copy of Pixelmator from the Mac App Store. Pixelmator 2.0 is a significant update, with significant improvements, completely new features, a new look and full support for OS X Lion.

With tons of exciting new features and support for OS X Lion, this new version of Pixelmator is the easiest, most enjoyable way to experience the best of image editing. Pixelmator 2.0 gives everyone the tools they need to unlock their creativity and boost their productivity, all for just $29.99. - Saulius Dailide of the Pixelmator Team

The big new features in Pixelmator 2.0 make it a truly powerful image editor and for most people it should be more than sufficient for all their needs - likely making something like Photoshop overkill for what their requirements are. A big drawcard for many will be Pixelmator’s new drawing tools that make it easy to create, combine and edit vector shapes easily. A new ‘Shape Settings’ palette also makes it simple to adjust the shadow, stroke and fill of a vector shape. A new healing tool in Pixelmator 2.0 features content-aware fill technology so that it is easy to remove ‘objects’ from a photograph and make it appear as though it was never even there.

By choosing either the new Healing Tool or the selection tools, a user can select wrinkles, blemishes, image damage or any other details present in images, and with just one click let Pixelmator seamlessly fill the selected area with similar nearby image content.

Then there are the new retouching tools of smudge, sponge (desaturate), burn (darken), dodge (brighten) and red-eye. These tools are great for retouching and work as one would expect. Finally, there is an improved type tool that not only makes it easier to format your text, but now also features more advanced typography tools for those that want complete control over how their type looks.

Taking advantage of the new features that Apple added to OS X Lion, Pixelmator now supports the native Auto Save and Versioning available in Lion, allowing you to easily save multiple versions of a document you are working on, and compare those versions easily. Lion’s Full Screen feature is also built into Pixelmator so you can easily focus on your work without distraction and also take full advantage of your Mac’s screen real estate. The last thing to note is that Pixelmator 2.0 also follows Lion’s lead and supports a number of gestures, buttons, menus and the new ‘invisible’ scroll bars.

The look of Pixelmator has also been refined in 2.0, with a new ‘Tool Options’ bar and an ‘Info’ bar. Both sit discretely at the top of the window and both bars are contextual, changing depending on what tool you choose, giving you the appropriate information and settings depending on what tool you are using - so you never see useless information. The Tools palette is also more customisable now, allowing you to add, remove and even group any tools you want - letting you create a Tools palette that matches what your workflow requires.

There are a number of other new features, improvements and tweaks that are too numerous to go into. But speaking as an occasional user of Photoshop, Pixelmator 2.0 seems to have almost all the features I require for my image editing and it gives them to me at a fraction of the cost. If you’re like me, you might find Pixelmator a little jarring at first, with various tools and options located in different locations, but this soon disappears when you realise its an incredibly capable piece of software - that from my experience is actually a little more nimble at accomplishing various tasks (particularly when dealing with text).

Pixelmator 2.0 is available on the Mac App Store at an introductory price of $29.99 so be sure to grab a copy of it - at that price it’s an absolute steal. If you have previously purchased Pixelmator from the Mac App Store, its a free upgrade.

Registrations For Renamed 2012 Macworld | iWorld Expo Begin

IDG, which runs the annual Macworld Expo, yesterday revealed that the event is being renamed to Macworld | iWorld - recognising that the event has grown beyond just Macs and now includes the ever-growing popularity of iOS. IDG also began registration for the renamed Macworld | iWorld expo which will run for three-days betweeen January 26 and 28 next year.

The brand is evolving from Macworld [Expo] to Macworld | iWorld to illustrate that the show is about the whole ecosystem of Apple products.

The event will be similar to previous Macworld expos with exhibits and conference sessions but will also feature what IDG is calling “dynamic culture experience[s]”. One such example is the ‘Music Experience showcase’ which will feature musicians that use Apple technology in the creation of their music in live performances and talks, another such experience will be the Film Event.

The event organisers are quick to point out that despite the name change, the Mac hasn’t been forgotten, in fact if anything it will be bigger than ever next year and according to the event organiser, Paul Kent, they are looking for “a heavy influence of OS X developers on the show floor this year”. Passes for Macworld | iWorld start from $25 and you can find more information from the Macworld | iWorld website.

[Via Macworld]

Report: Apple To Build Large Solar Farm Next To North Carolina Data Center

According to news reports in The Charlotte Observer, Apple has quietly begun to prepare building a massive solar farm right next door to their (also massive) data centre in Maiden, North Carolina. Although building permits have yet to be submitted to Catawba County officials, the County has given Apple permission to reshape the slope in preparation of the solar farm.

The land covered by this solar farm will be around 171 acres and is located just across the road from the data centre. As part of the solar farm, Apple has purchased 3 separate ‘sites’, including one from October last year and is merging them into one large site for the solar farm. As the Hickory Daily Record notes, nearby residents haven’t exactly been thrilled with the land work being done. To help clear the land, fire is being used to help clear the land, but it is causing significant amounts of smoke that is drifting into the houses of those nearby residents.

[Via MacRumors]

Twelve South Introduces “BassJump 2” USB Subwoofer for Macs

Twelve South, makers of beautiful Mac desktop accessories like the BookArc and MagicWand or the iOS-focused BookBook and Compass, have announced earlier today a software update for the BassJump, a portable subwoofer that can be paired via USB with Mac computers and Apple’s Cinema and Thunderbolt displays. The new BassJump features the same hardware of its predecessor, meaning that previous owners of the device will get the software update for free; the new functionalities, in fact, have been included on the software side of the BassJump, which installs as a panel in the Mac’s System Preferences app. Twelve South details in its official FAQ that all BassJump users, regardless of version 1 or 2, will get the BassJump 2 software features.

The BassJump, admittedly one of Twelve South’s most popular gadgets for Mac users, takes advantage of a standalone, proprietary software to enhance a Mac’s default sound output and turn it into an easy-to-use 2.1 audio system with the Mac’s speakers acting as tweeters; the BassJump will thus become a subwoofer, delivering deeper sound for mid and low frequencies. Whereas a portable or desktop Mac would rely on its internal speakers for all frequencies, usually resulting in lower quality for bass-filled songs, the BassJump aims at working in conjunction with a Mac’s built-in audio to offer a richer, fuller audio experience. The BassJump 2 update comes with the following improvements:

  • 8 decibels louder.
  • BassJump can be paired with external USB speakers and Apple Cinema/Thunderbolt Display speakers.
  • Save customized BassJump Settings.
  • Several user interface tweaks

With a 77mm subwoofer speaker cone and signal-to-noise ratio set at 80dB, the BassJump comes with settings for default audio, Pop, Rock, R&B, Classical, as well as custom options. Crossover Frequency Range can be adjusted between 100Hz and 300Hz, and the software requires OS X 10.5.8 or later.

Twelve South’s BassJump looks great, and as the company suggests on its website, it “sounds” like a perfect solution for the MacBook Air, which as I detailed in my review produces some good audio but could use warmer, deeper bass when playing songs or your favorite hit from YouTube. The BassJump 2 is available today at $69.99 through Twelve South’s website.

ThinkGeek Teases “IRIS 9000” Voice Control Module for iPhone 4S

Only Macintosh was designed to function perfectly, saving billions of monetary units. You like your Macintosh better than me, don’t you (Dave)?

My name isn’t Dave but I think it’s safe to say we can all answer “Yes” to this question from HAL. This is an excerpt from the commercial Apple ran during the 1999 Superbowl that featured HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The famous quote, “Open the pod bay doors” recently got a Siri easter egg by answering, “We intelligent agents will never live that down, apparently.” ThinkGeek is coming out with their own “HAL 9000” and calling it IRIS 9000.

The IRIS 9000 is a voice control module for the iPhone 4S that comes with a remote with a built-in microphone, a cradle and a HAL-like speaker that flickers along with Siri’s voice. The remote can trigger Siri from up to 50 feet away. Read more