OpenFeint: 25 Million Users. Apple’s Game Center: 0. Gaining a huge follower-ship in a relatively short amount of time, OpenFeint spans 85 Million Devices under 1900 App Store games. That’s pretty impressive, and TUAW reports OpenFeint will be Game Center compatible, allowing one to transfer stats to the new service. A private message to investors, “This is where you should spend your iPhone play money.”
OpenFeint is Huge, Boasts 25 Million Users
Apple Quicktime Patent Could Axe iTunes Playback
So let’s say you go online to watch a movie trailer at trailers.apple.com. When that beautiful HD trailer loads, it’s of course done through Quicktime. But imagine if you actually wanted to buy the movie, but didn’t want to be redirected to iTunes. Well, Apple is certainly considering that position: allowing you to go from trailer to movie right in your web browser. Pretty cool huh? It’d certainly be more convenient.
Android vs. iPhone vs. RIM: Enterprise Edition
Honestly I’m not one to think of an Android phone being used by corporate, Blackberry toting business men and women. Considering Android devices don’t have the greatest in Exchange support or any super awesome security features, I don’t know if I could even seriously consider it. While I’m sure some companies have looked into this ‘open-source’ platform, I wouldn’t waste my time on something so young. The iPhone is getting better at these features, and we’ve even talked about how companies are starting to adopt the sleek little phone. Then again, the iPhone still doesn’t live up to a respectable Blackberrry in the eyes of the corporate.
Wi-Fi Sync Now iPad Compatible
Wi-Fi Sync, the utility available in the Cydia Store at $9.99 that allows you wirelessly sync your devices using iTunes, is now iPad compatible. The latest 1.1 introduced support for the new device, which can now be configured to sync apps / info / music without the need to plug in.
If you still haven’t, check out the preview video of Wi-Fi Sync after the break and go download it in Cydia.
Adobe Wants To Know If You’d Like PSD Viewing on the iPad
John Nack, former Adobe Photoshop Product Manager, has published a new entry on his personal weblog, asking if you’d like to be able to view .PSD files on the iPad.
“I periodically hear requests for the ability to view Photoshop PSD files on devices like the iPad (for example, browsing files that one has synced via Dropbox).
This is obviously a capability that Adobe could build. The question of course is whether we should build it (as opposed, say, to building something else).”
Sure that would be a great option for web designers on the go, that are now forced to export files to .pdf to preview them to clients. Would you like to have this feature? Go comment.
App Store Categories Get A New Look
With the iPad slowly becoming available in 9 more countries, Apple has decided to give a much needed new look to the App Store categories.
Overall, single categories now look just like the homepage of the App Store, with “What’s Hot” and “New & Noteworthy” sections and a couple of banners here and there. Charts for free and paid apps are both listed on the right, but the big refresh has been given to the “all apps” section: just like on the iPad you can change between sort by “featured” and “name”, while the whole list has a switch to browse free / paid applications. It’s easier to understand and very useful.
Well done, Apple. Take a look at a sample screenshot of the iPad productivity category after the break.
Pulse, Visual News Reader for iPad
Can you imagine if two college students reinvented the way you consume news on your iPad? Think about a small project, with no big budget and a couple of good ideas: that’s how great products usually come to life, right?
Now let’s face it, if you read news on the iPad you either do it using a Google Reader client or a website-specific application such as the New York Times one. Me too, I have downloaded some apps from the App Store to enjoy the single website experience they provide and installed the latest beta of Reeder (check out our exclusive preview here) to catch up with Google Reader.
Now let’s try something different, shall we? Meet Pulse for iPad.
From iPhone to Android
Justin Williams (@justin) developer at Second Gear, has written a very insightful piece about switching to Android. Must read.
“After a week of using Android, I’m conflicted. If you had asked me last Wednesday what phone i’d be using a week from now I’d without a doubt say the iPhone. Now that we’re here, however, I am sticking with Android until the new iPhone ships. Widgets, home screen customization, background processes and the notification system are things that I’ve grown incredibly fond of and would miss if I went back to the iPhone today.”
[via Daring Fireball]
AudioBookShelf, Bringing ‘AudioClassics’ to Life. Review & Giveaway!
Let’s step into the world of audiobooks often promoted by great figures like Leo Laporte to understand why such things are so good. One might wonder, “Why would I want to listen to a book when I can just read it?” Of course, don’t knock it until you try it. Being able to crank out MacStories rants and reviews often comes with aid of podcasts like The 404, or recently the mellifluous tones of AudioBookShelf (App Store link). If you’ve ever wanted to step into the realm of audiobooks, this is where you start.