This Week's Sponsor:

Inoreader

Build your own newsfeed and cut through the noise

Posts tagged with "apple"

Another Apple Patent, Further Details on Touch Bezels

A few weeks ago, I published an article about the idea of “smart bezels” in iOS devices to avoid conflicts with third-party applications using multitouch gestures. With Apple playing around with the concept of “multitasking gestures” in the latest iOS 4.3 betas, it has become an issue for developers to find a way to enable 3,4 or 5 finger gestures without interfering with Apple’s own implementation:

The problem with the new gestures is that Apple decided to make them system-wide, activated with a preference panel in the Settings app. Once gestures are enabled, they override any other four or five finger gesture developers may have implemented in applications. Personally, in fact, I have experienced issues trying to use multi-touch gestures in Edovia’s Screens or other piano apps — software that makes extensive use of gestures above two and three fingers. Apple’s implementation overrides options set by developers, and there is no way to let the iPad know whether a user wants to perform an app-specific gesture or a system one, like “open the multitasking tray”.

Read more

Are iOS Game Prices Creating Culture of Disposability? Nintendo Boss Thinks So

The head honcho of Nintendo North America, Reggie Fils-Aime has criticized the price levels of apps in the iTunes App Store claiming that the low prices create a “mentality” for consumers that portable games should only be a few dollars. Fils-Aimes who is the Nintendo North American president and chief operating officer felt that such a mentality also breeds a culture that believes content is disposable because of the cheap price and that this was one of the gaming industries biggest risks today.

Whilst Fils-Aime’s is not the most independent commentator on this issue with his company’s Nintendo DS platform directly competing with the gaming aspects of iOS, his points do have some validity. Games on the App store have tended to be below $5 compared to DS and PSP games that are typically well above that range. The presumption is the Fils-Aime’s fears that the App store prices will spread across to all platforms and lead to more gimmicky, simplistic games rather than well though out, in-depth game experiences.

Read more

Instagram Shifting Focus to an Open Platform With API

Instagram has been a phenomenal success story gaining a user base of 2 million people in just four months that are now uploading 300,000 photos a day and now the developers are inviting developers to sign up for access to an Instagram API. In a blog post, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom said that the guiding principle for Instagram was to “create and maintain an open ecosystem that changes the way we see our world,” opening up Instagram to other developers is their next step to fulfilling that principle.

The opening up of a developers API seems to indicate a shift by Instagram from one of giving users an app to edit photos and share, to one dominated by creating a social image sharing service. This could allow other apps such as Hipstamatic to hook into Instagram and let users share their Hipstamatic photo’s on through Instagram. The blog post doesn’t quite make it clear if this is their intention but it most definitely seems like the logical iteration.

Read more

Apple Planning Retail Store in Grand Central Terminal?

The New York Observer has a lengthy piece today on Apple’s rumored new location for a retail store in NYC: Grand Central Terminal. The Observer reports:

Sources tell The Observer that the maker of ubiquitous iGadgets—from computers to cell phones—hopes to open a store in the transportation and retail hub, though it has yet to begin the long approval process necessary for opening in a city landmark.

The publication also notes Apple and Grand Central’s leasing agent obviously declined to comment; Apple’s most popular stores in New York, the Fifth Avenue store and the one in Upper West Side, share a similar design approach with glass (Fifth Ave.) and stone walls (UWS). Recently, Apple has been rumored to be considering a revamp of the current Palo Alto retail store basing on the design guidelines from New York’s Upper West Side location.

As The Observer also notes, if the rumors are to be believed and Apple is indeed in the early planning stages of a Grand Central store, it will be interesting to see how Apple will manage to put a full-featured store in the famous retail hub. Although we think Apple’s shiny glass and minimal design philosophy would be a great fit for Grand Central.

Apple: No More iPad Cutting Board

When Apple’s lawyers give you a call, perhaps you’d like to re-consider what you’re doing and, you know, just stop it altogether. That’s what happened to Dean Kaplan, creator of the iPad cutting board (not the one we featured here, which looked more like a giant iPhone).

From his personal blog:

A few months back we received a call from Apple lawyers and we were told to stop selling them. The reason given was based on “likeness” issues. A Wood cutting board. Lord have mercy on my soul.

Is Apple evil, or they just trying to protect a trademark? It was just a cutting board after all… [via AppAdvice]

Verizon iPhone 4’s Starting to Arrive Today For Those Who Pre-Ordered

If you are one of those who stayed up till 3am last week and ordered the Verizon iPhone you might be one of the lucky first few to get your hands on the long awaited phone. Engadget reports that it is receiving lots of tips that deliveries are happening this Monday morning.

Boy Genius Report also got their Verizon iPhone 4 delivered this morning and they have an unboxing gallery up for your viewing pleasure!

[Via Engadget, Boy Genius Report]

2011 WWDC Rumored to be June 5 – 9

Setteb.it has done some investigating and it seems that if Apple follows previous trends from past WWDC’s, it would appear that the 2011 dates for WWDC would be June 5 - 9. The above image gives a rundown of booked events in the Moscone center in downtown San Francisco and the dates of June 5 - 9 are just labelled as a ‘Corporate Meeting’, as Apple has done so in past years.

WWDC, or the World Wide Developers Conference has been the place Apple has revealed it’s new iPhones (except the original) and major updates iOS updates. The keynote on June 5th would also be a really nice tie in for the launch of the iPhone 5! Last years WWDC was on June 7 - 11.

[Via 9to5Mac, Setteb.it]

Update: AppleBitch spotted the rumored WWDC dates last week.

iPads to Enter Yet Another Parliament, This Time in Britain

The British House of Lords is set to soon allow it’s parliamentarians to use the iPad and other tablets, smartphones and e-readers, for a one year trial period. This embrace of the iPad is just the latest in a long line of examples where the iPad has gone beyond just a consumer entertainment device to one that is for students, Fortune 500 companies and politicians across the world.

The British parliamentarians will however be restricted to only accessing parliamentary documents and other clearly related files and websites to ensure that the devices do not detract from the key role of the House. This is undoubtedly a rule to try and avoid what happened last week in Italy when a member of their parliament, Simeone Di Cagno Abbrescia was caught browsing certain escort agency websites on the iPad during a parliamentary sitting.

Read more

The Plaza Hotel Deploys iPads in Every Room

The five star The Plaza hotel in New York city has recently deployed iPads to every single one of it’s rooms and has a seriously cool iPad app running on them. The application allows the hotel visitors to do everything from turning lights on, changing the air conditioning, making restaurant reservations, ordering amenities and much more.

According to The Plaza’s general manager they had previously tried a similar system that was a touch panel but it “wasn’t sophisticated enough for what we wanted to do” and the iPad was chosen because “it is a great piece of equipment that is here to stay and won’t disappear tomorrow.”

Jump the break for a demo of the iPad app, made by Intelity, and its wide range of abilities.
Read more