This Week's Sponsor:

TRMNL

The E-ink Companion For Your Favorite Tools

Adobe Releases Flash 11 and AIR 3

Following a series of announcements from Adobe MAX yesterday, the company has released new versions of Flash Player and Adobe AIR, reaching versions 11 and 3, respectively. Initially seeded as betas in July, Flash 11 and AIR 3 bring a series of improvements, including hardware accelerated 2D and 3D graphics rendering through Stage 3D in what Adobe claims to be up to 1,000 times faster rendering performance over Flash Player 10 and AIR 2. With the Stage 3D API, Adobe promises console-quality browser games and apps with possibility for developers to animate millions of objects simultaneously at 60 frames per second.

Additionally, these two releases bring optimizations for HD video, improved 64-bit performances and, for AIR 3, native extensions to allow developers to take advantage of a hardware’s native capabilities such as gyroscopes, light sensors, multiple screens, and NFC if supported. The inclusion of H.264/AVC software encoding for cameras will enable higher quality real-time communications from within Flash Player as well.

You can read more on Flash 11 and AIR 3 directly on Adobe’s blog. The download are now live on Adobe’s website here, and here.

Grazing 2.1 & Grazing for OS X: Push Links Back to the Mac

When Grazing 2.0 was released in July, I wrote it was my favorite iOS browser. Three months into this summer’s major update, it still is: Grazing, available on the iPhone and iPad, managed to find the right combination between offering “alternative features” that would make a paid app worth its price (Apple’s Safari, a more than fine browser, comes pre-installed on all iOS devices and is gaining some sweet improvements in iOS 5), while at the same time being simple enough for the average user to be able to approach it without feeling overwhelmed by a custom interface and overly designed functionalities. Grazing doesn’t look like Safari and it’s got a few more buttons and actions than Apple’s browser, but it does feel and work like a regular desktop browser, only ported to the iPhone and iPad. Things I loved about Grazing included tabs, gestures, combined search/address bar, possibility to push links between devices, and several customization options for the sharing menu and settings.

With the 2.1 update released last week and a new free Mac companion app for push notifications, my favorite features of Grazing have been taken to the next level, offering a simple solution for something I’ve been looking for since February. Read more

Dialvetica 2.0→

Dialvetica 2.0

Dialvetica is one of my favorite iPhone apps – it has replaced Apple’s Phone app in my dock thanks to its powerful search functionality and built-in dialpad. If you missed my previous article about it – it’s basically a continually updating list of most-contacted people in your Address Book that is kept up to date based on your habits. So, in my Dialvetica, the top entries are my parents and close friends, with anyone else down in the list.

The new 2.0 version released today adds an iPad version, which I’ll never use in spite of Dialvetica’s support for email adresses, and, more importantly, a completely rewritten engine. Search is visibly faster on my iPhone 4, and the custom keyboard feels snappier, too. Also from the 2.0 changelog:

- Google voice support.

- Search by company title.

- Slight interface improvements. Check out settings to customize.

- Tighter control over data. You can clear your history, reset a contacts call count, etc.

Apple is expected to unveil Assistant tomorrow, and I wonder if there will be some voice-related functionalities to ask iOS to call or text someone in your Address Book, and let the OS figure out on its own which phone number or address to use. We’ll see. In the meantime, you can download Dialvetica 2.0 on the App Store. It’s $2.99.

Permalink

Growl 1.3 Now On The Mac App Store: $1.99, Completely Rewritten


Back in July, we reported the next version of Growl, a popular notification system for OS X, would be available exclusively on the Mac App Store as a paid app. The reason behind the choice to go Mac App Store-only at $1.99 was to provide users with an app up-to-date with Apple’s technologies and standards for software that can released on the Mac App Store. As we noted in our article, that meant the Growl team had to rewrite the app completely, and start contacting third-party developers – over the years, Growl has generated its own ecosystem of apps compatible with desktop notifications – to make sure their software would be compatible with Growl 1.3.

The new Growl is now available on the Mac App Store at $1.99. While we’ll have a detailed, in-depth review of the app later this week, it’s worth noting now that Growl has indeed made the transition to paid app, but it’s also sporting a whole new architecture, UI, notification list, and themes.

Growl 1.3 comes in a new app form that has a menubar icon to activate/pause notifications, and a new Preferences window to see notification history, supported apps, configure themes, and more. History can be customized to show only a certain amount of recent items and days, and you can even search past notifications and events. The new Growl comes with almost 20 themes pre-installed, and you can style an application’s overlay notifications (the ones that Growl will briefly display on screen) in Growl’s Preferences. You can also create and install your own themes with basic CSS/XHTML/Javascript language.

One of the biggest new features of Growl 1.3 is the Rollup window – from a first look, it appears to be Growl’s unofficial response to Apple’s Notification Center for iOS. Because Growl keeps working even while you’re away from your computer, the Rollup window will collect the notifications you’ve missed in a single place, allowing you to review them later. There’s also a new Network option that enables you to forward notifications to another Mac, or to receive them from another computer running Growl.

Other features mention in the App Store’s description:

  • Speech display for hearing your notifications.
  • Send Growl notifications from Cocoa, AppleScript, or over the network.
  • Networking so that two or more Macs can forward notifications to each other.
  • Can work with the iPhone and iPad via Prowl.

Growl 1.3 is available on the Mac App Store at $1.99. Make sure to check out the app’s new website and Screenshots page, whilst Developers can visit this links to learn more about Growl 1.3 and its technical changes. Looks for a full review of Growl 1.3 on MacStories soon.

Sprint To “Bet the Company” on $20 Billion iPhone Deal

It was previously reported the next-generation iPhone would be available on U.S. carrier Sprint, and today The Wall Street Journal adds some details to its initial report, claiming that Sprint is “betting the company” on a $20 billion iPhone deal that will see Sprint purchasing 30.5 million iPhones over the next four years.

New details, not previously reported, give a rare look at Apple’s closely guarded dealings with carriers, and reveal just how high the stakes are for Sprint.

Mr. Hesse told the board the carrier would have to agree to purchase at least 30.5 million iPhones over the next four years—a commitment of $20 billion at current rates—whether or not it could find people to buy them, according to people familiar with the matter. In order to keep the price people pay for the phone low and competitive with rivals, Sprint would be subsidizing the cost of each phone to the tune of about $500, which would take a long time to recoup even at the high monthly fees iPhone users pay.

Sprint’s board called the iPhone “project Sony” internally, and a person familiar with the matter has been quoted by the WSJ saying “We have to have it”. The deal’s hit on Sprint’s operating income is “staggering”, according to another source. In a lawsuit filed against the AT&T / T-Mobile merger in September, Sprint said the company “has had to compete without access to the iPhone for nearly five years”.

Apple is expected to introduce a new iPhone tomorrow in Cupertino at 10 AM Pacific time. Check out our roundup for a breakdown of rumors and predictions.

Apple Won’t Offer Live Video Stream of Tomorrow’s Event

Apple won’t provide a public webcast of tomorrow’s “Let’s talk iPhone” media event, according to an Apple PR representative contacted by 9to5mac. The company will make a private feed available for the European press in its Covent Garden retail store in London, but there won’t be a public live stream on Apple.com.

Apple streamed the September 2010 music event as well as “Back to the Mac” in October 2010, but didn’t provide a live stream for the iPad 2 announcement and iOS 5 preview earlier this year. The 2010 live streams were based on Apple’s HTTP Live Streaming technology and required a Mac or iOS device running Safari.

However, Apple is expected to make streaming and downloadable versions of the event available a few hours after the keynote. Apple has a dedicated webpage for media events, and Apple Keynotes can also be found on iTunes.

MacStories will offer real-time tweeting of updates tomorrow through the @MacStoriesLive Twitter account. Come back at 10 AM Pacific tomorrow for our complete coverage of Apple announcements on the site’s front page.

Adobe Bringing Six New Apps to iPad In 2012

With a series of press releases issued today, Adobe has announced new software initiatives and acquisitions, including PhoneGap and Typekit. In a separate announcement, the company has formally unveiled six new Touch Apps for tablets that will be available for Android devices this November, and on the iPad next year. An iPad announcement about the release date is expected in “early 2012”, but Adobe has already confirmed this new suite of apps will work with Creative Cloud, the company’s new web hub to ” access desktop and tablet applications, find essential creative services” and share works online. Creative Cloud will come with 20 GB of storage and allow users to view, sync and share files created with desktop Creative Suite and mobile Touch Apps.

Inspired by Adobe Creative Suite software, these stunning new apps bring professional-level creativity to millions of tablet users. The apps address multiple areas of the creative process: image editing; ideation; sketching; mood boards; website and mobile app prototyping; and presenting finished work. They are headlined by Adobe Photoshop® Touch, a groundbreaking app that brings the legendary creative and image-editing power of Photoshop to tablet devices for the first time.

Available soon as standalone apps, Adobe Touch Apps are essential components of Adobe Creative Cloud, a major new company initiative also announced today (see separate release). Adobe Creative Cloud will become a worldwide hub for creativity, where millions can access desktop and tablet applications, find essential creative services, and share their best work. Files created via Adobe Touch Apps can be shared, viewed across devices or transferred into Adobe Creative Suite software for further refinement – key features of Adobe’s vision for the Creative Cloud. With stylus capabilities expected to become a key feature on some next generation tablets, Adobe Touch Apps are designed to work with both finger and stylus input.

Adobe Photoshop Touch: Core Photoshop functionalities available in a new app for tablets, with support for gestures, layered images, and Refine Edge technology.

Adobe Collage: Combine inspirational images, drawings, text and Creative Suite files into modern, conceptual mood boards. Files can be shared with Photoshop.

Adobe Debut: Quickly open Creative Suite file formats to preview designs to clients.

Adobe Ideas: Vector-based drawing tool already available on the App Store.

Adobe Kuler: Generate color schemes and browse creations by the Kuler community.

Adobe Proto Create wireframes and prototypes for websites and mobile apps on a tablet.

Links to video demos and previews are available in Adobe’s press release. Adobe says the new Touch Apps have been built on top of Carousel, the upcoming solution for storing and syncing photos across computers and mobile devices.

“App Rentals” Coming to iOS?

According to a series of code strings found in the latest iTunes beta by The Tech Erra (via 9to5mac), Apple may soon introduce support for app rentals – allowing users to rent an app for a limited time, test it and, eventually, buy it at full price. A string in particular seems to suggest app rentals may soon be available:

Apps are automatically removed from your iTunes library at the end of the rental period.

The mention of an “iTunes library” also seems to suggest that this functionality may be related to iOS apps, which are stored in iTunes on desktop computers. The lack of trials/demos for iPhone and iPad apps has always been a popular argument against Apple’s App Store ecosystem, especially considering recent competitors like Microsoft have introduced support for trials in the Windows Phone 7 marketplace. Rentals would obviously be different from free trials, but they’d allow users to better consider a purchase before clicking the Buy button; it’s not clear if “app rentals” would simply be time-based, or also allow developers to exclude certain functionalities from the rental version. The use of “Do you want to start playing the app…” in the code reference is interesting, too.

Apple’s iCloud will allow users to instantly push new app purchases across devices, but the company has been unwilling to tackle the App Store demo/rental idea so far. If these strings are of any indication, there’s the possibility Apple will announce new app rental features at its media event tomorrow.