{ Apple, Mobile Phones }

Opera Mini 5 Browser for iPhone Is Fast, Unapproved For Now

Opera has recently submitted a new iPhone/iPod touch app that looks to set the new speed for internet browsers on Apple’s little devices. The video above, which demonstrates some blazing speed, is the Opera Mini 5 browser. It’s very intuitive, fast, and — dare I say — better than Apples default browser. Sure it’s not approved by Apple, but lets hope it does.

[Engadget]

{ Apple }

App Store ‘Top Paid’ Ratings Mysteriously Disappear (Update: Fixed!)

Apple must be tweaking some settings in the back-end of the App Store because ratings are missing from the Top Paid applications.

It’s not just in the Top 25 section either. If you scroll to any number of sections, say Games for example, they’re missing there as well. I’m sure Apples working on getting the ratings back, just give them some time.

If you really need to know the rating for a specific app, just search it or head towards the Free or Top Grossing areas. These two sections don’t seem to be affected.

UPDATE: Looks like Apple fixed the issue. Ratings are back!

{ Apple }

The Apple iPad: It’s Here, But Is It Ready To Change The World?

For the past couple of years, since the dawn of the iPhone, the internet has been eagerly anticipating Apple’s foray into the tablet category. Fast forward to [January 27th,] 2010 and Apple finally pulls the curtain on its secret multi-touch tablet and calls it the iPad.

So what is an iPad? Do you set it on the floor to capture your dogs pittle? Do you take it with you to use as a cushion at Friday night’s game? Does it breed golden unicorns for the sole purpose of taking us the Apple Store? There’s been lots of speculation — some good, some out of this world — but we all know one thing, it was supposed to be the next-generation of touch screen computers. Read more

{ Apple }

RumorBot: January’s Apple Event To Take Over The World

Apple’s January event is confirmed by numerous sources; but what can the Cupertino, CA based computer/software giant bring us that can get us drooling like the old iPhone days? Here are my thoughts and a good amount of rumors thrown in for shits-and-giggles.

If you’re a fan of the iPhone or iPod Touch, you’re probably going to be excited about the Apple tablet (aka the iSlate). This rumored device has apparently been in the works for quite some time, despite being killed numerous times by Steve Jobs. With the success of the iPhone and iPod touch, every user has only imagined playing with one as large as a laptop, but imagine it no more. The rumor –which I’ll restate one more time for good measure: it’s just a rumor — is that Apple will be unveiling the iSlate. This devices is supposed to offer the same functionality as the iPhone and iPod touch only with a 10 to 11-inch screen. Oh yeah, start drooling my friends.

Another rumor flying around the internet is that the iPod touch will finally come with a built-in camera. I honestly don’t understand why the first go-round didn’t include a 1-megapixel camera, but it didn’t. Still to this day, the iPod Touch doesn’t come with a camera but I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple’s finally taking the plunge. My theory leans to this because with the introduction of video recording on the iPhone, this opens up the device to a whole other audience. I believe in this so much that I can see the iPod Touch taking over Flip as the cheap(er) alternative for video recording.

Other random rumors from the net: better iPhone/iPod SKD’s, a front facing iPhone/iPod camera for video conferencing, iSlate SDK, new mobile batteries, golden unicorns.

[Wall Street Journal, Engadget, AppleInsider]

{ Apple }

2009′s Nerdiest Costume Goes To iPhone 3GS Guys

Looking for the coolest nerdiest costume of all-time? Have a look at these two iPhone 3GS costumes. Yes, the two guys strapped 42-inch LCD TV’s to their chests to create fully-functioning iPhone 3GS costumes for Halloween. You figure people spend a couple hundred on creating one-of-a-kind items but this costs more than $2,000. Oh, and they don’t regret it. Makes you wish you had two grand hanging around that you can just throw away, right? You can watch them get their touch screen on after the break. Warning: horrible techno beats included. Read more

{ Apple }

Video: How Apple Should Handle Multitasking On The iPhone

There’s a video currently floating on the interwebs which shows a iPhone multitasking with “Cover Flow.” The idea comes from Swedish company, Ocean Observations. While no one’s heard of this company, you sure do now. They’ve come up with a mock-up of how Apple should handle multitasking — a much needed feature currently missing from the iPhone. Ocean Observations combined the cover flow taskbar with the traditional app icons for a very interesting approach even Apple may enjoy. Is this the future of the iPhone? Lets hope so.

{ Apple }

SmartScreen Bringing Widgets To Jailbroken iPhones, iPod Touch

Wouldn’t it be nice to have weather and other various informational widgets available when your screen is locked? You know, just to get a quick glance at certain items without having to unlock your phone and open the application. I certainly think so. Well, a developer out of Montreaux, Switzerland is doing just that — but there’s a catch. MediaPhone says you have to be running the iPhone 3.x OS and have jailbroken your device. Read more

{ Apple }

World of Warcraft Mobile Armory Receives Version 1.0.1 Update

While I still haven’t grasped the concept around the World of Warcraft Mobile Armory app for the iPhone and iPod Touch, that didn’t stop Blizzard from rolling out version 1.0.1 a couple of days ago. Here’s a list of items that were added, fixed or updated:

• Guild mates can now be sorted by name, rank, level, race, class, and by achievement points.
• A saved password no longer automatically clears after a connection error or expired session.
• Login now properly accepts passwords that contain complex characters.
• And… other bug fixes and UI improvements.

I honestly couldn’t tell the difference between version 1.0 and 1.0.1, but it could be that I use it very rarely. I would, however, like to see Blizzard add full 3D models of our characters to the app. That way I can at least show off to others in the “real world” before I go back to my cave.

{ Apple }

Western Wind For The iPhone Isn’t A Breath Of Fresh Air

By the sound of it, Western Wind for the iPhone sounds like it could be a wild west role-playing game or other western-style shoot’em up. But believe me, it isn’t. If you dug any fart game on the iPhone, however, you’ll probably dig this one.

Western Wind was developed by Rock Ridge Games, a small iPhone developer. They only have a number of iPhone games under their wings but are clearly on their way to knowing the ins and outs of Apples mobile OS. Ok, so the game is basically another fart app. But, unlike many other fart simulators Rock Ridge Games at least put some effort into it with a Simon Says-esq game and recording feature. Read more

{ Apple }

Theives Break In And Raid Apple Store In 31 Seconds

That’s exactly what five guys did with a brick in a Marlton, NJ Apple Store. The stolen property included 23 MacBook Pros, 14 iPhones, and 9 iPods. The news reporter notes that some of the devices cost more than $3,000 each.

These guys obviously knew what they were doing as you can see at one point in the video two of them were going down the isle in unison, grabbing everything they could hold. Police haven’t been able to identify the five males and local authorities are looking for public assistance.

[Gizmodo via TUAW]

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