Instagram is available in the App Store right this second for an update to 1.6, which includes a new filter (Brannan), improved network performance for faster uploads and downloads, and stability and bug fixes related to cameras on iOS 4 enabled devices. Instagram aims to solve both memory and performance issues with subtle network tweaks and camera fixes that are minor, but keep the everyone’s favorite photo utility snappy as you take pictures and share the results with friends. The new Brannan filter offers a new effect to play with in editing your shots, offering yet another faded vintage look (reminds me of Earlybird but lighter) . You can download the newest update from the App Store.
Instagram 1.6 Gets A New Filter, Speedier Performance
Instapaper Adds Revamped Dictionary, Terminology Integration
An update to Instapaper for iPhone and iPad was released a few minutes ago in the App Store, and it adds a series of new features to the built-in offline dictionary that improve the efficiency of the “define” button during a reading session. First off, the design of the inline dictionary has been revamped to host more definitions, and interlinking between words. Everything’s faster, more compact, yet with more content than before. Thanks to a collaboration with Agile Tortoise, Instapaper’s dictionary can now also forward a definition directly to Terminology, which we’ve reviewed before. Terminology will automatically find the definition for the word you’ve selected, and show a button to go back to Instapaper thanks to the implementation of the the new x-callback-url draft standard. Handoff should also be supported in version 3.0.2.
You can find Instapaper in the App Store here. Read more
New Xcode 4.1 Build Hints At Lion Developer Preview 3
Alongside an update to the OS X Lion Developer Preview 2, Apple also released a new version of Xcode 4.1 to developers, which reaches “Preview 3” status. The new build contains bug fixes and it’s available now in the Mac Dev Center.
This release requires Mac OS X Lion Developer Preview 2 Update and includes iOS SDK 4.3. Continue to use Xcode 3.2.5 or Xcode 4 on a Snow Leopard partition if you plan to submit Mac or iOS apps to the App Store.
An interesting tidbit from the release notes: Xcode 4.1 Preview 3 has been “updated to support Mac OS X 10.7 Lion preview 3” – which hasn’t been released yet. Mac OS X Lion DP 2 was seeded on March 30th, a few minutes after Apple posted an update for the Developer Preview 1.
Apple Releases Lion Developer Preview 2 Update
Apple just informed registered OS X developers that an update to the OS X Lion Developer Preview 2 is now available. The update can be downloaded from Software Update on computers that have DP 2 already installed.
From systems that have developer preview 2 of Lion or Lion Server installed, run Software Update and download Mac OS X Lion Developer Preview 2 Update. You must also download Xcode 4.1 Developer Preview 3 available from the Mac Dev Center to build apps with this version of Lion.
If you have not yet downloaded developer preview 2 of Lion and Lion Server, get your redemption code from the Mac Dev Center then proceed to the Mac App Store to redeem your code and download Lion.
Three weeks ago, Apple released an update to the original OS X Lion Developer Preview to enable “downloads of Mac OS X Lion seed builds from the Mac App Store”. It is unclear what kind of changes went into today’s update to Developer Preview 2, but we’re hearing build number is 11A430e. Mac OS X Lion DP 2 was released on March 30th.
Update: from the changelog, Apple says this update is recommended to all users running Lion Developer Preview 2.
#MacStoriesDeals - Friday
We’ll tweet the daily deals at @MacStoriesDeals as well as exclusive weekend deals too, so please follow! Here are today’s deals on iOS, Mac, and Mac App Store apps that are on sale for a limited time, so get ‘em while they’re hot!
Apple Supplier Cirrus Reports Manufacturing Issues with New Audio Component
Cirrus Logic, a component manufacturer that supplies analog chips for audio applications in Apple’s iPad and iPhone, are reporting manufacturing issues with a new component presumably slated for its biggest customer. In May 2010, Seeking Alpha reported that the bulk of Cirrus Logic’s revenue was derived from iPad and iPhone sales, followed by September rumors that the company could be acquired by Apple. This morning, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that a new component is having initial manufacturing problems off the line:
Cirrus late Thursday said it had determined an earlier test for a particular function of a new audio product–which analysts assume is for Apple–was insufficient to guarantee that all products met a certain standard. After a more rigorous test was developed, Cirrus found fewer working chips than previously expected, with that yield loss rising as volumes increased.
Capstone Investments analyst Jeff Schreiner said the yield issue was exacerbated by the fact the device was for Apple, which ramps new products very quickly and at high volumes.
While Cirrus has told reporters that they’ve developed a fix to mend product problems, Apple shares dropped $2 to $330.24.
[Wall Street Journal via 9 to 5 Mac]
Image via: chipworks
Wired Adds Sharing and Shopping Features, Gives Away May Edition For Free
Conde Naste is set to offer its May iPad edition of Wired free for 30 days, thanks to a sponsorship with Adobe. The free edition is also being used as a way to promote the app’s new sharing and shopping features in a hope to attract, and bring back, subscribers who have fallen of the Wired iPad edition bandwagon.
The new sharing features, somewhat overdue, allow readers to share links to articles on Facebook and Twitter, including those that are not yet up on the Wired website or won’t ever be. However for articles that aren’t available on the Wired website, the link will lead to a web page that encourages others to download the relevant issue of the Wired magazine. As for those shopping features, Wired readers will be able to click a “buy now” button that opens an in-app browser (sponsored by MasterCard) displaying the relevant Amazon page for a product featured in an article, and any purchases will give Conde Naste a referral payment.
Wired’s monthly subscriber base for the iPad edition has apparently settled into the 20,000 to 30,000 range, which is considerably lower than the first issue which managed to hit over 100,000 downloads. Yet Wired is by no means ditching the subscription model, apparently determined to grow their business through user subscriptions, and ad revenue, which complements subscriptions.
However, Wired VP-publisher Howard Mittman, said that they felt it was time to show users how the Wired app has improved and making it free was a prominent way to do so. Mittman also admits that the social elements need to be enhanced, noting that “’social’ is real interactive, comment-able experiences, so that user feedback and feedback from our community creates a two-way or three-way conversation between the users and between the users and us.”
[Via AdAge]
Project Mag Has A Gyro-enabled Cover for iPad 2
Project, the iPad-exclusive magazine launched by Richard Branson’s Virgin last year, was updated yesterday to include a new issue that, unlike the previous ones, makes extensive use of the iPad 2 hardware to bring an HTML5-based, gyroscope-enabled animated cover to the readers. Project has always stood out as an example of a digital magazine willing to experiment more than the competition with interactive elements and on-screen graphics; and although it’s not perfect – like most magazine, text isn’t selectable and the overall navigation is based on old print schemes – I have to say I’m always curious to see what the Project team comes up with for each issue. It started with a video-like animated cover, and it continues in the latest Issue #5.
The design team told us the new issue uses the gyroscope to control HTML5 canvas objects: you can pan horizontally by moving your iPad around and see the various movies characters featured by Project in this month’s cover. You can’t do much with this feature, but we think it’s really interesting that magazine designers are starting to play around with the iPad’s hardware capabilities – and we’re definitely looking forward to more examples of this kind of integration with content and hardware.
The latest issue of Project is available as a $2.99 in-app purchase.
Printopia 2.0: AirPrint From iOS To Your Mac Apps
When I first reviewed Printopia by Ecamm back in November, I was impressed by how easily the app allowed me to send documents from an iOS device to a shared printer on OS X via AirPrint. The problem with AirPrint we discussed in November – which Apple hasn’t fixed yet – is that unlike the first betas of OS X 10.6.5 and iOS 4.2, the final versions of these OSes didn’t ship with AirPrint support for shared printers. AirPrint works out of the box with a bunch of HP printers, but Apple promised last year that it would also work with any printer previously configured and shared on a Mac. No need to install additional drivers on iOS: as long as a printer was shared on OS X, it would show up in AirPrint. With 10.6.5 final, that wasn’t the case. AirPrint support for shared printers was pulled at the last minute, and a series of unofficial hacks surfaced to re-enable it without reverting back to a beta of 10.6.5 (Mac OS X has reached version 10.6.7 since then). Among those hacks and apps, Printopia was without the doubt the most elegant one because it provided a GUI in System Preferences to manage shared printers, and allowed you to print a document to a virtual location on your Mac or Dropbox.
Version 2.0 of Printopia, released yesterday, builds on the great virtual printing functionality by adding support for unlimited printers in any location (could be your Downloads folder, the Desktop – you name it) and PDF workflows and applications as well. The feature is more exciting than it sounds on the changelog: with Printopia 2.0, you can send a document from your iOS device (through AirPrint) to any app on your Mac that can preview, say, PDFs. Example: I’m on my iPhone, and I find a PDF I want to read on my computer. Both devices are on the same local network (but it should work with this kind of VPN setup as well), and Printopia is running on my Mac. I take the PDF, and “print it” to Evernote. The document will automatically open in the Evernote app on my desktop. I tested this with Google Chrome, Preview, DEVONthink, Yojimbo, Numbers, Pages – it works really well. But there’s more. Not only you can print to applications, you can also print a document to an Automator workflow that supports the file type. Here’s another example: last night, I sent a PDF document to CloudApp’s own “Upload with Cloud” workflow, and AirPrint sent the document to CloudApp, automatically returning the file’s URL on my desktop.
Printopia 2.0 opens the door to a lot of possibilities for virtually printing documents anywhere on your computer, and of course support for physical shared printers is still there. Printopia 2.0 also introduces support for passwords you can assign to any virtual or real printer and settings for paper size / tray and colors.
If you want to get the most out of AirPrint and you have a Mac, Printopia is the utility to install. With support for real and virtual printers and system-wide integration with apps and Automator, Printopia is a full-featured solution to get any document from iOS on to the desktop. A demo version is available, and a full license can be purchased at $19.95. More screenshots below. Read more