News / Reviews

Apple has just been sued by a group claiming that the iPad overheats and can’t handle high temperatures. They’re seeking seeks unspecified damages and class action status, claiming the iPad “does not live up to the reasonable consumer’s expectations created by Apple” because it “overheats so quickly under common weather conditions.” According to the complaint, in direct sunlight, it “turns off, sometimes after just a few minutes of use.”

All electronics have a temperature range that they’re able to happily operate in, and if they exceed that, they have to shut down for a little while to cool down. The question is if the iPad’s temperature limits are too low, to the point where it infringes on everyday use. It’s been a markedly hot summer for many so far, are any of our readers having trouble with their iPad in the heat?

[via 9 to 5 Mac]

WebIS's new update of Pocket Informant can notify you when you're "near" your tasks, if you're running iOS 4.

Filed under: iPhone

Here's a fun video of four generations of the iPhone -- original, 3G, 3GS, and 4 -- performing the same tasks simultaneously. From launching intensive apps like Plants vs. Zombies and Google Earth to shutting down and booting up, the differences in task durations are often significant.

As you'd expect, the iPhone 4 out-performed its peers on most tasks. For example, it had Plants vs. Zombies ready to play in 8.5 seconds, while the original iPhone took 26 seconds to reach the same point. Likewise, the iPhone 4 had Google Earth ready to go in 21.4 seconds while the original took just over 37 seconds.

Now, don't think the iPhone 4 won every contest, because it didn't. The original iPhone was the first to complete the shutdown process at 8.2 seconds, while the 3GS was the first to successfully boot up at 26.4 seconds.

You can watch the video after the break.

Continue reading Found Footage: Four generations of iPhone compared

Found Footage: Four generations of iPhone compared originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Found Footage: Four generations of iPhone compared originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Here’s a great little app falls under the category of “didn’t realize I needed it.”

I listen to a dozen or so podcasts on a regular basis but I rarely bother to sync my iPhone to iTunes  — thus the concept of subscribing to a podcast and having it download the episodes onto my desktop isn’t very helpful for my purposes. So if you’re like me, how do you get new episodes of your favorite podcasts?  Well, until recently you would sign into iTunes via your iPhone, check each podcast manually, and see if there was a new episode posted.

Now, as podcasting fans know, it doesn’t exactly work like network television.  The very best podcasters try to update their shows on a regular basis, but many are more erratic in their scheduling.  This means you can waste a good deal of time checking on your phone for something that’s just not there yet.

Podcast Push is the solution.

(...)
Read the rest of Review: Podcast Push for iPhone

© David Goldstein for Just Another iPhone Blog, 2010. | Permalink | | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: podcast push, podcasting apps

37signals, makers of a Web-based collaborative chat service for businesses called Campfire, has purchased, updated, and re-released one of the leading third-party iPhone clients for its service.

Plunderland is Apple’s App of the Week this week. Does it deserve it? Yes and no. Developer JohnnyTwoShoes has made a solid effort to bring pillaging across the sea in the hands of eager gamers.

The premise of Plunderland is you are a ghost with pirates that sail across the sea to attack and sink enemy ships, pillage tribes people and take money from their monuments then make it to the next port. Sounds fun? Well, get used to it because that is what you do over, and over, and over again with little variety. Call me a stinker, but I don’t see the allure with this game.

Sure, the water physics are nice. You tilt the iPhone left or right to make your boat move in that direction. When there is a storm, etc, the water behaves in a more erratic manor, making maneuvering more difficult. Once you are on the high seas, you come across your enemy; the British warships. You have a couple ways to take them out. First is to use your ships cannon. You have a nifty way of angling the cannon to shoot your targets, just move your finger along the bottom and you will get a reticule via a line that helps your aiming. Release your finger and you fire your cannonballs. Second, you can use the enemies cannonballs against themselves. Before the enemy launches an attack, the cannon will puff smoke, that is your cue to ready your finger and deflect the cannonball back upon the enemy ship and with luck, split it in two!

I know, I make it sound exhilarating, and it is the first two or three times you do it. Sadly, Plunderland does little to keep your attention. Future attacks add blimps and more, but the fun is gone by that point. The attacking villagers is a simple “tap, tap. tap” on the totems to get money and fling some villagers around in an effort to extract some more dough. Again… zzzz…

There is nice upgrade system though, you can upgrade your ship, cannons and bowsprits by earning said money above. The game has excellent promise. The controls, physics and graphical style all lend them selves to a success. However, the bland  I really, really wanted to like this game, being highlighted on Apple’s App Store, but alas, mateys, I just can’t bring myself to recommend this lack-luster treasure.

[$2.99- iTunes Link]

UPDATE: I had a delightful Twitter chat with the developers. I explained that I had played 50% thorough the game and became unchallenged with the levels and objectives. They understood and are looking at a way to unlock the more exciting and complex levels earlier for more “hardcore” gamers. I also said that when I find the time to complete the game 100%, I would update this review to include my findings. I am hopeful that by the time I do this, they will have some new content available. You can follow the developer on Twitter here.

Pros

• Great graphics
• Solid frame-rate
• Good physics engine
• Upgrade system

Cons

• Very, very, very repetitive
• Takes a while to become a challenge (the end of the second chapter)

Plunderland for iPhone- app review is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

YouTube Link

The Belkin Max Sleeve for iPad not only does a great job of protecting your iPad, but it gives you a little extra room to stick some of your accessories in as well. The case is made of a fabric material that is pleated on the front. This is what allows you to have a zipper compartment in the front to stick your other gadgets in.

The inside of the case is a foamy white mesh material. It’s extremely soft so you don’t have to worry about it scratching your iPad. It’s also a loose fit, which means you won’t damage your iPad while taking it out and putting it back in the case. There’s always a down side to a case not fitting snugly though, and that’s if you forget to zip it and pick up the case by the wrong end, it’s very likely your iPad could go crashing to the floor. We didn’t have this happen with this case, but I could see that being a problem as the material on the inside doesn’t offer any grip.

The way we cast that fear aside was to put a silicon case on the iPad and then put it in the Belkin Max Sleeve. The silicon provides the grip and solves the issue. I know a lot of people wouldn’t want to buy 2 cases so it isn’t an ideal situation. My advice? It’s a great case worth the money, just be careful how you pick it up, or make sure you always zip it up.

Other than the sliding out of the case issue, this is a great case and well worth the money. It offers superior protection in an unobtrusive form factor. Even though it’s small, it still lets you stow away other objects, which is nice. If there’s any girls out there like me that hate carrying around a laptop/iPad bag and a purse, this is awesome. Simply throw your phone, credit cards, etc in the front pouch and you’re good to go.  You can purchase the Belkin Max Sleeve for iPad from the TiPb Accessory Store.

Pros

• Allows for extra storage room in the front pocket

• Material on the outside is easy to grip on to

• Material on inside won’t scratch your iPad

Cons

• Inside material is a little slick so forgetting to zip up could cause an iPad to fall out

• Zipper on front pocket is sometimes a bit hard to pull

Belkin Max Sleeve for iPad – accessory review is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Bump is one of those iPhone apps that are instantly like-able, feature a simple idea that’s very well executed, and offer a bit of a ‘wow’ factor when you show them to your iPhone-owning friends.  Bump lets you simply fist-bump with another iPhone user who’s running the app to exchange contact information.

I reviewed the app last year and was very impressed with it – so I’m happy to see it has a big new update to Version 2.0, and some snazzy new features, including:

• Calendar: users can send calendar invites and compare schedules by bumping
• Social networks: Instant friending on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Users can also compare their networks to find mutual friends.
• Chat: Bump now includes a chat feature that allows you to keep sending messages, photos, and invites to your friend without another bump!

(...)
Read the rest of Bump for iPhone Updated – Adds Calendar, Facebook, Twitter and Chat Support

© PatrickJ for Just Another iPhone Blog, 2010. | Permalink | | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bump, iphone apps, iPhone social networking apps

Monsoon has followed up its HAVA series of placeshifting media streaming devices with the Vulkano. T...


Monsoon - placeshift - Broadcasting - MediaStreamer - YouTube

Looks like Apple may be canceling free bumper orders from Puerto Rico over the last 24hrs, as several readers have sent us copies of the following notification:

We are unable to complete your order. We do not ship to international, freight forwarder, APO, FPO, or P.O. Box addresses.

We offer the following information:

International Shipping: We are unable to ship to an international address. Therefore your order has been cancelled. Please visit the Apple Store Worldwide for the Apple Store Store in your country of residence.

Freight Forwarders: We do not ship to Freight Forwarders. Therefore your order has been cancelled.

APO, FPO or Post Office Boxes: Our carriers are unable to deliver orders to these addresses. Please visit http://www.apple.com/orderstatus to change your address to a physical address, so that we may continue processing your order. If we do not receive a response from you within one week, your order will be cancelled. You will need to login to your account with your Apple ID to locate this order.

Anyone else in a US territory seeing this?

Apple canceling bumper orders to Puerto Rico? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

T-Mobile today quietly retired the world's first shipping Android phone, the G1. The HTC-made devic...


Android - HTC Dream - T-Mobile - Handhelds - Google

Share this post

Just brilliant. 

Via: The Onion

© PatrickJ for Just Another iPhone Blog, 2010. | Permalink | | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: humor, off topic

Amazon on Thursday said the late Stieg Larsson is the first author to join the Kindle Million Club, ...


Stieg Larsson - Amazon.com - Kindle Million Club - Kindle - Amazon

Gameloft's zombiefest features cool graphics and solid gameplay, but, like its namesake monsters, its lack of originality and depth will eat your brains out.

ZumoDrive, the creators of a namesake remote storage iOS app, today started taking signups for a pub...


ZumoDrive - IPhone - Smartphone - Handhelds - Cloud computing

Cloud Music is a new iPhone app that allows you to stream music files from an unlikely source: Google Documents.

ShutterSnitch is a hybrid iPad/iPhone app that lets you transfer photos from your wireless-enabled camera or memory card.

We are stuck with AT&T here in the US, but Canadians can now buy an unlocked iPhone and use it where they wish directly from Apple. The downside is that the device is expensive with the new iPhone 4 selling for about $638 USD in 16GB form and $755 USD in 32GB size.

Citi bank iPhone app users have cause to worry today. Citi has stated that its iPhone app was accidentally saving user information into a hidden file on the device.

Apple has announced that despite the new DMCA ruling that it is not illegal to jailbreak the iPhone that doing so will void your warranty. The new ruling may bring the mostly underground jailbreaking community into the spotlight.

“Your current wait time: 28 minutes.”

Everyone’s endured the dreaded waits on the phone to speak with customer service of some sort. But with the new LucyPhone app for the iPhone, you can let “Lucy” do the waiting for you and avoid wasting precious cell minutes listening to elevator music on hold with the electric company.

In this installment of Does it Work?, we take a look at the new LucyPhone app to see if it’s patient enough to stay on the line with customer service while you skip the wait.

Read more after the jump

How it Works:

LucyPhone allows you to place a call to a customer service line, either by entering the number in yourself or searching the LucyPhone directory for the line you’re looking for. (Pretty much every service is already listed.) LucyPhone will punch you through after a brief message from someone sounding like she could be “Lucy,” then you proceed with entering any information or following any prompts to get you through to a waiting line or operator. Once you’ve received a waiting time, you can leave the call while Lucy stays, then the app will notify you when the wait is over and you can hop back on the call.

The Test:

Once you select the company you want to call from the directory, Lucy will ask for a callback number (your cell number), then you can tap “Start Call.” Lucy then calls you and says: “Hey, it’s Lucy. Let’s see if we can get these guys on the line. Press 1 to be connected…now connecting. Go ahead and make whatever selections you want. And remember, press ** to end the call at any time.”

The call I placed (to American Airlines, randomly) then went through to the customer service line, as it normally would. I went through a few prompts (asking for flight information and such), then when I was put on hold to wait for an operator, I pressed ** on my keypad.

The “call” I was on (from my native Phone) then switched back to the app’s home screen. After just a few minutes, Lucy called back, as promised, when a line opened up and an operator was available. No wait, whatsoever.

After the call ended, a push notification told me how long the call duration and the hold duration were. The Recent Calls tabs in the app also keeps track of details of previous calls I’ve made through the app and gives me the option to redial whenever I want.

Conclusion:

After trying calls through LucyPhone to a few different customer service lines at various points throughout the day, the app didn’t fail me once. Though there were a few times when I used the app when it wasn’t all the necessary and actually became a bit of a burden more than a help, the times when I tried to reach a student loan company and got put on hold for 35 minutes were much helped by LucyPhone.

I could do without the ad at the top of the screen–hey, what are you going to do, it’s a free app!–and the directory could use a bit of fleshing out (multiple entries for many customer service lines that give no details on which line it actually is), the app definitely works and is well worth the price of FREE.

The final verdict? It works! Download it.

LucyPhone
Price: FREE