So you think we’re done reviewing apps to read news on the iPad. No, and we’ve got even more coming. Actually, I think news apps on the tablet are the new “Twitter clients for iPhone”. They’re everywhere. They’re good. Developers can’t stop releasing them.
Today we’re taking a look at a new app for iPad called News Kiosk which - you guess - allows you to read your favorite blogs’ news in an all-new fashion.
As usual, we’ve also got some codes to give away.
Thanks everyone who entered the Expenditure and Blogshelf giveaways.We also want to thank the developers for the promo codes they offered to MacStories readers.
Check out the winners after the break.
Last night a bunch of blogs reported that the latest iOS 4.1 beta didn’t fix the “Death Grip” problems with the iPhone 4 antenna. We linked to those reports because I had the chance to test the new firmware in a low-signal area and, apparently, the Death Grip was still there.
Today I woke up early and decided to go out for some field testing with my iPhone 4 running iOS 4.1 Beta 1. I took a walk in strong-signal areas (very strong-signal - Viterbo is covered pretty well by 3G and HSPA) and, surprisingly enough, I wasn’t able to reproduce the grip issue.
What happened with iOS 4.1?
Bloomberg writes this morning on Apple’s senior antenna expert, Ruben Cabellero, who personally warned Steve Jobs (a year ago) about the potential antennae issues with the iPhone 4.
Last year, Ruben Caballero, a senior engineer and antenna expert, informed Apple’s management the device’s design may cause reception problems, said the person, who is not authorized to speak on Apple’s behalf and asked not to be identified. A carrier partner also raised concerns about the antenna before the device’s June 24 release, according to another person familiar with the situation.
Nothing else is revealed about the Caballero other than he was made unavailable for comment. Apple’s press conference is tomorrow, so it looks like Bloomberg will just have to wait.
[via Bloomberg]
Of all the bad habits I have, one I managed to kick is falling asleep with music. Yes, I used to go to bed with my earphones on and music playing until I was unable to listen to it. I read a lot of people do it - but I couldn’t stand waking up with cables all over my bed. I felt stupid for that habit.
Now we (I, actually) have a problem. There’s this new iPhone app, Decrescendo, which helps you falling asleep with your music, it’s “intelligent” and looks great on the Retina Display. Oh boy.
We pretty much figured that FaceTime would eventually end up on the iPod relatively soon, but we didn’t think we’d hear millings about the iPad just yet (considering it doesn’t have a front facing camera). Sure the iPad would make the perfect FaceTime device – but this leads us to ponder whether Apple will release an updated model this Fall.
Questions aside, Boy Genius Report does ask a valid question: how the heck can you call an iPod touch or iPad without a phone number? The answer lies in your Apple ID. Using your email address (which I do not like the idea of at all), people will be able to make FaceTime calls to your device. Kind of like how Textie on the iPhone and iPod touch works. Push Notifications will alert you to calls, and Boy Genius Report admits that there’d have to be some minor changes in iOS 4.x to make it happen. Chalk another one up on the rumor mill kids - this one is pretty good.
[via Boy Genius Report]
Another success story in the making, Archetype has managed to garner 160,000 players within a week of launch according to TUAW. Amidst a massive advertising campaign, Archetype has become somewhat of an behemoth in mobile gaming, delivering a “big budget” experience Apple’s mobile devices, directly competing with titles like Nova and ngmoco’s Eliminate.
There are so many apps in the App Store - can you remember when there was no App Store though? We all used to save webclips on our iPhone pages, Safari was the only way to let the iPhone see something new.Then the App Store launched and the rest is history. iFart. Pocket God. Weightbot. Tweetie. You know, apps changed our life.
But hey, there’s always place for creativity and I’m sure some developer out there is working in this exact moment on the app that will change the way we use our phone in the next months. That’s what’s great about the App Store - you don’t settle. There will always be room for a better app - one that didn’t even exist before.
That’s what David Pogue did with his latest NYT column: he asked for help to his followers in order to round-up great ideas for apps that don’t exist yet. It’s genius. Check out the most interesting ones after the break.
