Similar to the Meglio whose Kickstarter we promoted yesterday, we’d be remiss if we didn’t talk about The HandStand for your iPad. A velcro strap secures the iPad to the palm of your hand, and allows the iPad to rotate a full 360 degrees for comfort and mobility. It offers a slight typing angle with its studded back, and provides full protection against scratches and dings. It might not be as functional in the movie stand or hanging shelf department, but this could be a better alternative for iPad walk-a-roos. You can get one for $49.95 if you’re holding on to your original iPad (an iPad 2 version is coming in the Spring).
The HandStand: The iPad Case With A Hand Strap
In-App Purchases Require Password Reentry for iOS 4.3
According to the Washington Post, Apple iOS 4.3 included a change that requires users to re-enter their iTunes Store password in order to confirm in-app purchases, even if the user already entered their password to download the application. This could be Apple’s answer to all the questions they have received about concerns of children and others buying thousands of dollars of in-app purchases on games such as Capcom’s Smurfs’ Village.
The Cupertino company’s move affects users of its most recent operating system and comes amid growing concern by federal and state enforcement agencies that consumers, including children, were not adequately informed or aware that they were incurring charges on iTunes accounts because of a 15-minute period that allowed for purchases without a password. Apple said its new device software, iOS 4.3, made available Wednesday, will come with a feature that requires a password when purchases are made within an application after it is downloaded.
An Apple spokeswoman said that this change to iOS 4.3 should prevent people without knowledge from ‘accidentally’ buying in-app content.
We are proud to have industry-leading parental controls with iOS,” said Trudy Muller, a spokeswoman for Apple. She said users have always been able to use parental control setting and restrictions of in-app purchases to protect their iTunes accounts from accidental charges. “With iOS 4.3, in addition to a password being required to purchase an app on the App Store, a reentry of your password is now required when making an in-app purchase.
Please remember that that giving passwords to children, or anyone other than you, is considered a bad practice, especially now that they can re-enter them for in-app purchases without asking. Parents: next time you hand an iPad or iPhone to your kids just to “keep them happy and quiet”, think about the consequences; because you can’t blame Apple or any other tech company if your children break the bank.
[via MacRumors]
Apple Rolls Out “Like” & “Post” to Ping for iOS 4.3 iPod App
Announced yesterday but not enabled until a few hours ago, the iPod app on iOS 4.3 got two new features: you can now “like” songs and “post” them to Ping directly from the iPod app on iOS 4.3. We’re not sure right now whether this feature only works with tracks and albums purchased from the iTunes Store or music that matches the exact information stored in iTunes servers (try it with your Amazon MP3s, and let us know if it works), but as it stands now Apple has definitely updated the iPod app remotely to integrate the Ping functionality. It wasn’t there yesterday, and there it is now (see screenshots).
To like or post a song, Make sure to be signed into Ping from the iOS iTunes app. Open the iPod app, tap the artwork to bring up the top toolbar and check out the Ping icons. One is to like a song, one is to post it. Both will show up in your Ping activity stream, also accessible from the iOS iTunes app.
Update: it looks like the Ping buttons only appear in tracks purchased from the iTunes Store.
Your Verizon iPhone Won’t Send iMovies To Your Apple TV Just Yet
The Verizon iPhone might lessen dropped calls, but it’s getting the short end of the stick thanks to the lack of Apple’s latest iOS 4.3 update. Heads up: a note in the iMovie support documents indicate that the Verizon iPhone isn’t compatible with the Apple TV just yet, as sending a movie from iMovie to the Apple TV requires the iOS 4.3 update for your iPhone, as well as the Apple TV Software 4.2. AirPlay has recently been vastly expanded in the iOS 4.3 update, adding support from Photos to other supporting apps, and you’ll need to hold on a little longer if the movie buff in you can’t wait to share home movies on the big screen.
#MacStoriesDeals - HUGE Thursday
So who’s getting a new iPad 2 tomorrow? 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!
GarageBand for iPad Now Available
Following the release of iMovie for iPad, Apple also pulled the trigger on the second app unveiled at the March 2 event, GarageBand for iPad. The app is available now in the App Store at $4.99.
GarageBand for iPad features an intuitive interface depicting real music instruments you can play with your fingers and multitouch; with Smart Instruments, users who are not musicians but still want to play music can use the tools provided by the app to easily switch between chords and notes without actually having to precisely know music. For medium to advanced users, GarageBand offers a semi-professional music making and mixing environment with multi-track audio recording, exporting features, touch instruments with a realistic interface for drums, guitars, synthesizers, pianos and many more. GarageBand for iPad really is a full-functional port of the Mac version with the addition of multitouch that allows you, for example, to play instruments at different sensitivity levels thanks to the built-in support for pressure recognition through the accelerometer.
GarageBand looks like a must-have for iPad owners and an app that we’ll thoroughly test next week once we get our hands on the iPad 2. You can find it here at $4.99. Full changelog below. Read more
Apple Releases iMovie for iPad
As announced in a press releases earlier today, Apple has just released the new iMovie for iPad. It is available now in the App Store at $4.99 here. iMovie is a universal app for iPhone 4 and iPad 2, a free update for existing customers.
iMovie for iPad takes where the Mac and iPhone versions left off to bring a powerful yet easy to use movie editing experience to the iPad, deeply based on multitouch technology. Users of iMovie for iPad can easily import their photos shot on the iPad 2, or iPhone or iPod touch (or any other camera) through the Camera Connection Kit; movies recorded at 720p through the iPad 2’s back camera can be accessed from a Library popup menu to start editing right away. With a split-screen interface you can visualize the movie you’re editing in the top section, and manage or trim video and photo segments in the lower part of the iPad’s screen. You can pinch to zoom to additional parts of a video, use the precision editor to adjust videos with accuracy.
You can import songs from your iPod library to use for background audio, or use the built-in effects in iMovie. You can share videos on the web through Facebook, Youtube and a variety of other services, beam your creations to the Apple TV via AirPlay, or simply export to iTunes.
The iPad: Does It Need Programming Apps?
Many things have been said about the iPad as a content creation tool, rather than a device to consume media like music, movies and photos. In spite of the plethora of apps released in 2010 that proved you can actually do stuff on an iPad, at the iPad 2 event last week Steve Jobs himself wanted to remember the audience how the tablet is “no toy”, also thanks to the upcoming iMovie and GarageBand apps. But no matter how many apps allow you to produce and create original content using only your fingers and the virtual keyboard, there’s still a niche market Apple hasn’t addressed yet: coding apps. Read more
Developers Can Still Enable Multitasking Gestures in 4.3 Final with Xcode
With the final release of iOS 4.3 final yesterday, several readers asked us whether or not Apple pulled the multitasking gestures that had been implemented in developer betas of iOS 4.3. As we noted in January, multitasking gestures for iPad were only meant for testing purposes so developers could test the integration of gestures in their apps. The feature needed to be activated with Xcode.
We received word from several developers that the multitasking gestures can still be enabled in the final version of iOS 4.3 (build 8F190, same as GM), but you will need Xcode and an Apple Developer account to register the device for development and activate the gestures panel in the iOS Settings app. Again, the process takes less than a minute and you can find the instructions here.
The gestures in iOS 4.3 final are the same of earlier betas: four or five finger pinch to Home screen, swipe up to reveal the multitasking bar, swipe left or right to switch between apps. So if you have Xcode and a dev account, update your iPad to 4.3 final and you’ll still be able to activate gestures. [via RazorianFly]