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BBC Rolls Out iPad iPlayer App To 11 Western Europe Countries, Coming To The US This Year

Last month we reported that the BBC was preparing to launch its iPad video-on-demand service iPlayer internationally for a fee under $10 by the end of the year. That day has come with the BBC today (Thursday, July 28) launching the iPlayer iPad app in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.

Some iPlayer content will be available for free, but for full access users will need to pay either €6.99 a month or €49.99 a year. The program’s director spoke with The Guardian about the launch and reinforced previous statements by noting that the international version of iPlayer is a video-on-demand service, not a catch-up service as it is in the UK (primarily). The catalogue will include popular shows such as Top Gear and Doctor Who but will also offer a deep catalogue of shows that the BBC has aired over the past decades. At launch that catalogue is roughly contains roughly 1,500 hours of content – the BBC says it aims to add another 100 hours to that each week.

“What we’re trying to test in the pilot is the ability to drive exploration and discovery through a programming approach rather than an algorithm-based approach,” said Bradley-Jones. “We’re not trying to compete against a Netflix or a Hulu. This has to be tailored and hand-crafted, so we can create a tone of voice.”

Unlike the UK version of the app that was released earlier this year, the international version allows users to stream shows over 3G and even pre-download (cache) shows that they want to watch later, helpful for downloading a bunch of shows for a trip. For that feature they worked closely with Apple due to problems with iPad’s auto-sleep functionality interrupting downloads - ultimately Apple was happy with the app disabling the iPad’s ability to sleep whilst downloading shows.

If you don’t live in one of those 11 Western European countries that today got access, don’t stress because the BBC is going to continue to launch the iPlayer iPad app in further countries this year. In particular, Australia, Canada and the United States (the BBC notes it will probably charge around $7.99, roughly comparable with Hulu and Netflix) will see the iPlayer iPad app by the end of the year.

[The Guardian via The Next Web]

Sidekick Automates Your Mac’s Settings Based On Your Location

Last week, I ordered a new MacBook Air from Apple’s website. My MacBook Pro was getting old, so I decided it was time for an upgrade – and the new MacBook Airs looked like a worthy upgrade. As with the Apple online store’s tradition, the computer showed up at my doorstep in roughly three days. As soon as I got it, I opened it up, set up my personal information, and connected it to the Internet to start downloading my first apps. I was at my office, and in less than two hours I had my new MacBook Air up and running with my favorite applications, Dropbox, work documents, and so forth. A few hours later, when it was time to go home for dinner, I took my MacBook Air, got home, and placed it on the desk in my room. Thirty minutes later, I opened the MacBook’s lid again, fired up Spotify and Google Chrome, launched MacStories’ internal chat URL, and opened iTunes to check for app updates. Sure, the computer was new, but the pattern of actions that followed the opening of the lid wasn’t uncommon: this is what I do every day after dinner. I fire up some music, talk to my co-workers overseas, and browse iTunes. My laptop may be changing location travelling from my office to my house and everything in between (usually a coffee shop downtown), but the workflow is the same.

Sidekick, a new app by Oomph, aims at automating the tedious process of changing your Mac’s settings basing on the location of your computer. Read more

Getting Started with Mail in Lion

Maybe you’re new to Lion (welcome newly acquainted Mac users), or maybe you’re not much of a Mail user to begin with. Well, “Hello From Cupertino, CA”! Much of the hype around Lion has revolved around the iOS-inspired changes made to Mail, which aims to make reading messages, composing email, and navigating through conversations really easy. To do this, Mail likes to hide the Mailbox List, while getting you comfortable with the new Favorites Bar. Lion’s new vertical message list and message-preview pane better make use of wide-screen displays, especially while full-screen. If you’re not familiar with this terminology yet, don’t worry. Grab a cup of coffee, your favorite morning or afternoon pastry, and get ready to set up Lion with your account.

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Kickstarter Project: c/dock - Retro Clock/Docking Station for iPhone 4

The c/dock by Hatchet Goods‘ James Aloysius is an iPhone charging station, media viewer and clock (compatible with any clock app) for your bed stand, desk, or wherever you want to charge your iPhone and keep it close. The c/dock was “born out of necessity, desire, many a prototype, and some late nights.”

Many of us keep our iOS devices close to us at all times, even when we sleep at night. Our devices double as alarm clocks, ambient music players and news broadcasters. Battery life can be an issue with running any nightly clock app, and if the battery happens to die it could mess up our whole schedule. The c/dock is a modern twist on a classic design that is different than most iPhone docking stations available.

The c/dock, with a patent pending design, is a thick piece of solid walnut with a brushed aluminum or glossy resin face plate with an attached-6 foot USB cable for charging. Once the iPhone is placed into the c/dock, fire up your favorite app (bedtime or not) and get some rest knowing your iPhone’s battery won’t die. The c/dock is also a great video viewer too - hands free and focused.

Video after the break.

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Google Testing Clean New Google Search Design For Tablets

Multiple users are today reporting that Google is trialing a new tablet-optimized Google Search page that merges the recent design changes from the desktop version with a more touch-friendly design for tablets. Digital Inspiration managed to take a few screenshots of the new design running on their iPad which we’ve included above and below the break.

The new look uses just a single column layout, keeping the old sidebar options minimized below the search box instead. The new orange, dark gray and blue color theme is also present in this new design, which certainly feels cleaner with large amounts of white space. The one final design change that is of note is that the rather famous ‘Goooooooooogle’ at the bottom of the page that links to following search pages is gone – instead all that exists is the numbers one to ten.

This new design is currently being tested, and as is normal with Google product changes, is being randomly presented to a certain percentage of users. It may yet be a few weeks or possibly even months before this rolls out to everyone. Jump the break for some more screenshots.

[Digital Inspiration via The Next Web]

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Distimo: Mobile Game Prices Fall, In-App Purchase Revenues Soar

In a new report released by Distimo today, the firm highlights how mobile gaming trends have changed over the past year. It found that the prices of mobile games have declined by 28% from $2.01 to $1.44 over the past year. The ‘Games’ category on the Apple App Store is also the most popular category, with 56% of the top 300 free applications being games.

In-app purchases have dominated in mobile games, particularly in free games where 35% use some form of virtual currency to monetize their app. However over the past year the amount of revenue generated by ‘free’ games and their in-app purchases has increased ten-fold. The revenue-share of games that solely charge an upfront cost now only occupy 27% of revenue raised in App Store games, whilst of those, the top 10 publishers dominate with a 56% share of the revenue. An interesting note is that Andreas Illiger (creator of Tiny Wings) managed to enter that list of top 10 publishers and is ahead of others including SEGA and even Gameloft.

When comparing the various app stores to see which had the highest percentage of games in their catalogues, the iPhone App Store came first and the iPad App Store second – followed by the BlackBerry PlayBook, WP7 Marketplace, Palm App Catalogue, Nokia’s Ovi Store, Android Market, GetJar and lastly the BlackBerry App World. In terms of the growth of games in the app stores, only the iPhone App Store and GetJar saw a faster rate of growth for games – the others all saw the number of other applications growing at a faster rate.

MacStories Product Review: The HandStand

The combined weight of the iPad with its aluminum chassis makes for a tablet that can easily slip out of your hand. It’s heavy, the frame offers little grip, and it’s not always comfortable to hold in one hand. While I personally have no problems in just using the iPad 2 naked with or without the Smart Cover, I do recognize the need for third party cases in the market, which offer a verity of grippy textures, widths, and additional functionality that add a personal or professional touch. If we’re aiming for professional and handy, the HandStand by Hub International offers a unique take on appearance and ergonomics by adding a rear grip and elastic strap. Clearly, this is a product designed to address walking around with the iPad and holding it with a free hand.

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Screens for Mac Makes VNC Easy and Organized

I’m a big fan of Edovia’s Screen VNC client for the iPhone and iPad. Whilst I still use LogMeIn when I need to access my computer’s filesystem remotely and I enjoy the service’s social features and network-recognition capabilities (when combined with Hamachi), my basic VNC needs can be easily satisfied with Screens, which provides a very intuitive interface to set up new computers, connect to them, and use them. I don’t recall a single time I haven’t used Screens at least once a day in the past few months to quickly connect to my iMac while I’m on the couch, and fire up some Spotify through the room. For quick connections, Screens is a great app – it even works on 3G and remote Wi-Fi networks thanks to a companion desktop app that will make your Mac available outside your local network.

In my overview of the improved Screen Sharing app in OS X Lion, I detailed how Apple enhanced the system utility with new clipboard features, per-user login, and possibility of grabbing a screenshot of the connected machine. With Screens for Mac, released last week, Edovia offers an alternative to Apple’s default Screen Sharing app that doesn’t have new breakthrough functionalities, but dramatically improves the organization of your remote desktops, and gives you more control over what you’re connecting to. Read more