iPhone & iPod touch tips and tricks | Touchtip

Worm Hits Jailbroken iPhones; Apple Plans Jailbreak Crackdown [del.icio.us]

touchtip — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:41:11 PST

A number of jailbroken iPhone owners in Australia have found their lock screen wallpaper replaced by Rick Astley, as the first real worm spreads itself around. That's just one more reason any jailbreaker should change their root password immediately. Meanwhile, PC World points out that Apple is looking to hire either a new or replacement leader for team working on boot-up, cryptography, partitioning, security threats, and other areas that seem to have a fairly strong anti-jailbreaking theme in common.

Forget iPhone MMS, Share 100 Pictures In An Instant With Knocking [del.icio.us]

touchtip — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:40:14 PST

As we were all painfully aware, it took AT&T forever to bring MMS to the iPhone. A new app has just been released that hopes to one-up it. Knocking, made by Pointy Heads Software, is basically a photo-sharing app on steroids. With it, you can pretty much instantaneously share up to 100 photos at once between two iPhones. This works by establishing a connection between the two phones, during which one user selects another user with the app and “knocks” the pictures over to them. The video below shows just how simple and fast this process is. Naturally, for this to work, both people must have the Knocking application. But the app, which is free for the first 50,000 downloads, has other advantages, such as being able to control the photo viewing experience on another phone.

Google Serves Up Free Wi-Fi at 47 Airports for the Holidays [del.icio.us]

touchtip — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:39:13 PST

Holiday season air travel just got a little less crappy—freebie access starts today, and runs through to January 15. Read on for the full list of airports, and info on free Wi-Fi promos from Yahoo and Microsoft, too. You may also remember that Google already said it would foot the bill for Virgin America Wi-Fi during the same period. The catch? Once you log into the network, you'll be pestered if you want to set Google to your homepage or try Google Chrome. But that's it. I can deal with that. You'll also have the option to make a donation to Engineers Without Borders, the One Economy Corporation or the Climate Savers Computing Initiative. Meanwhile, Yahoo is providing free Wi-Fi for an entire year in Times Square, and Microsoft and JiWire will give free Wi-Fi at airports and hotels if you make one search on Bing. I like free stuff

When It Comes To In-App Purchases On The iPhone, Games, Social Networking, And Books Rule [del.icio.us]

touchtip — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:37:36 PST

Now that in-app purchasing has been live for a few weeks in the iTunes App Store, and Apple is now ranking the top-grossing apps, whether they start out as free or paid, we have some initial data on what kinds of apps are pulling in the most money from in-app purchases. (In-app purchases allow apps to offer a free version and then make money by requiring consumers to pay for additional features or content). Today, Distimo put out a report (download it here) which breaks down the top 40 grossing in-app purchasing titles by category (see chart below). Games, social networking, and book apps are doing the best job upselling consumers from free apps to paid enhancements. Music, news, and finance apps, not so much.

Mobile Application to Diagnose Disease by Hearing you Cough [del.icio.us]

touchtip — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:36:32 PST

Feeling a bit under the weather? Soon you'll be able to cough into your mobile phone for an instant diagnosis. A research firm called STAR Analytical Services is working to develop software that can analyze the sound of a cough and identify it as either associated with a common cold, the flu, or something worse - like pneumonia or another serious respiratory disease. Just as doctors have been doing for years, the software will "listen" to the wetness or dryness of a cough and determine whether all you need is a lozenge or if you need to come in for a doctor's visit instead.

Control Your Computer from Anywhere with Jaadu VNC for iPhone and iPod touch

Dean Lucas — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:58:05 +0000

It was clear that we had the power now, and that filled our hearts with magical, nerdy joy. Yeah, we’re control freaks just like you so we know how elated you were to discover Apple’s official remote control app only to…

Happy Birthday Star Walk – Special Price .99 Cents Today Only!

Dean Lucas — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:29:46 +0000

The creators of one of our very favorite iPhone apps, Star Walk, is lowering the price from $4.99 to only .99 cents to celebrate the app’s first birthday. Read our review, Star Walk – An Absolutely Dazzling Guide to the Universe,…

Like X-Ray Specs, Nude It iPhone App Sees Through Clothing

Dean Lucas — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:22:32 +0000

The augmented reality iPhone app, Nude It, is sure to get rejected from the App Store, but it would make millions if it didn’t. We’re betting this app could command a pretty steep price especially from people who like to…

App Store officially passes 100,000 app mark [del.icio.us]

touchtip — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:39:38 PST

We’ve known it was coming for a while now, but the milestone has finally been passed: Apple announced on Wednesday that the App Store now boasts more than 100,000 applications available for download. And download the people have, more than two billion times in 77 countries As you might expect, Phil Schiller weighed in on the announcement, calling the App Store “a major differentiator” for iPhone and iPod touch customers, of which there are more than 50 million. (Schiller didn’t comment on rumors that he had also asked his staff to address him as “Major Differentiator.”) Apple’s App Store has seen tremendous growth, having only been open for business for just over a year and a quarter. The store hit one billion downloads about six months ago, at which point it had more than 35,000 applications. In September, when it hit two billion downloads, Apple said the store then boasted 85,000 applications.

Apple Stores Will Use iPod Touches as Checkouts [del.icio.us]

touchtip — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:38:40 PST

Until now, the Apple Stores have used Windows CE-based handheld computers to check out your purchases. The convenience of not having to queue at a counter to pay meant that Steve Jobs has doubtless spent the last few years squirming that his company relied on a Microsoft product. Store staff weren’t too happy either. According to Apple Insider, “the system has drawn complaints from employees about software crashes, sluggish operation and the need to frequently reboot.” Now that the iPod Touch can run applications that interface with add-on hardware, everything has changed. The new payment system uses an iPod in a hard plastic case that can scan barcodes and swipe credit cards. This is married to an application called EasyPay Touch, which will process cards, issue returns and even let you buy and activate an iPhone on the plan of your choice. If the Apple employee hits the “cash” button, a register drawer will open somewhere in the store in which to deposit the filthy lucre.

The Price Is Wrong: 13 Overpriced iPhone Apps [del.icio.us]

touchtip — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:35:22 PST

We love apps on the iPhone. Lurve them. They are capable of keeping track of your budget, translating foreign languages and even delivering ample doses of cow bell. But we can’t give every app out there a ringing endorsement. More than a few stinkers don’t work as promised, are endlessly confusing or are horrifically expensive. The latter group is what we’ve got in our crosshairs today. These get our vote for the top 13 overpriced iPhone apps. While some are fairly useful (Wolfram Alpha, we’re looking at you) others make about as much sense as a Faberge hackey sack. (A special thanks to Krapps, the iPhone-app review site, for a few contributions to this list!)

New Study Paints iPhone Owners as Materialistic, Fickle Egomaniacs [del.icio.us]

touchtip — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:34:26 PST

Are iPhone users really that bad? We're not buying it. It's odd that a consumer electronics outlet would sponsor a study that paints such a lousy picture of iPhone owners, but that's exactly what shopping site Retrevo.com has done. (Perhaps they want to sell more Blackberry phones?) For whatever reason, the results of their recent report on smartphone owners in the U.S. has returned some unflattering figures about those who own Apple's ubiquitous handheld, the iPhone, as compared to the more business-minded folks who choose a Blackberry instead. According to this study, iPhone owners are more likely to judge potential partners based on their gadgets and not their college degree, handle breakups via email or text, and yet somehow still think of themselves as "intellectuals" despite the fact that they spend more time than their counterparts texting, watching videos, and visiting adult sites on their phones.

Awesome 12mail Video Messenger for iPhone, Works with Twitter and Facebook

Dean Lucas — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:41:11 +0000

Andy Warhol is perhaps most well known for uttering those infamous words, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” Ironically, that only took Andy about 12 seconds to say. Nevertheless, his point was made. Humans were progressively…

The Best Halloween iPhone Apps

Dean Lucas — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:14:56 +0000

Fright night is almost upon us once again, so here’s our round up of the best halloween themed iPhone apps we’ve been playing with recently. This year’s batch includes a lot of entertaining apps, some for adults and others perfect for…

Attack of the Zombie Bikini Babes from Outer Space

Dean Lucas — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:53:22 +0000

Nothing says “Halloween” like a horde of zombies hell-bent on killing you, especially when said zombies come from outer space and were perhaps hot babes at one time but now just merely babes, and those zombie babes are wearing bikinis.…

Doom Classic soon to hurt us plenty on iPhone [del.icio.us]

touchtip — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:38:58 PDT

An electronic device isn't a game machine these days until it passes the crucial "Does it run Doom" test. John Carmack has been hard at work on Doom Classic, an official port of id Software's groundbreaking FPS for iPhone, and now he reports that it's been submitted to Apple for approval, only four months after Carmack said it would be ready. Soon – provided Apple gives the okay to a tour of Hell – we'll be swiping and tilting our way to a symphony of exploding barrels.

Gmail for iPhone gets 'never-ending' compose box [del.icio.us]

touchtip — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:38:28 PDT

Even with the most practiced digits, composing long e-mail on the iPhone's virtual keyboard is the slow, awkward pits compared with typing on a desktop keyboard. However, Google released a small new feature on Monday just for long-winded iPhone e-mail authors that makes typing lengthy Gmail messages easier on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Before, the composition box was fixed. Starting today, verbose e-mailers will see blank lines appear below the cursor as you reach the bottom of the window. If there's a limit to how many lines you can add in a Gmail message, we haven't found it yet. We went crazy with the carriage return and created an estimated extra 100 lines for text without trouble. To review your message, just swipe up and down to scroll.

eBay-toting iPhone users like to Buy It Now [del.icio.us]

touchtip — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:37:50 PDT

eBay, the Internet’s garage sale or auction house, depending on your point of view, is reaping the benefits of having a free iPhone app. According to this Financial Times report, users of eBay’s iPhone app have spent over $400 million over a variety of items from the service. It seems that some people have even bought more expensive things like cars and a $150,000 boat, in addition to the more standard eBay fare of books and clothing.

WOW: iPhone Reaches 100,000 Approved Apps [del.icio.us]

touchtip — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:36:49 PDT

It hasn’t been publicly announced by Apple, who like pointing out milestones that make them look great, but if you look at the stats over at unofficial iPhone App directory App Shopper, there are currently 101,751 approved apps available for the iPhone. In August, we reported that there were 65,000 iPhone apps available. It took about 2 and a half months for that number to reach 100,000 – truly a remarkable feat. Have in mind that this is the number of approved apps; the actual number of available applications is a bit lower; according to App Shopper, it’s currently at 93,035. As far as the competition goes, it’s hard not to rub it in. One needs only a quick look at (for example) Palm’s App Catalog or even the powerful Nokia’s Ovi Store to see where they stand compared to Apple’s numbers. Windows Mobile has been around for over six years, and its Windows Marketplace for Mobile opened up a couple of weeks ago with 246 apps.

The Next App Store: Google Wave [del.icio.us]

touchtip — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:35:50 PDT

Google Wave may still be in its infancy, but it’s already looking towards the future – a future that includes monetization. And part of that monetization will apparently come from an iPhone (or Android)-like app store, where developers can market Wave apps and consumers can buy them, with Google presumably taking a cut. According to The Next Web, Google confirmed an app store is in the works at an event in London on Monday. The blog speculates that “a Wave marketplace could stock in-Wave applications, along with desktop applications, browser extensions and a world of devices, from laptops, phones, tablets and more with built in Wave support.” The development doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as Google Wave already has an extensions platform for adding functionality. Back in June, we wrote that “we wouldn’t be surprised if entrepreneurs created robots or gadgets for businesses they could charge for, and expect applications that rival the usefulness of Twitter apps.”

Augmented Reality App Shows Recovery.gov Funding Near You [del.icio.us]

touchtip — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:34:54 PDT

Want to see who got part of the hundreds of billions of dollars in Recovery.gov funds near you? Now you can point your iPhone 3Gs or Android phone in any direction and see the closest recipients, thanks to the publication of the official data set onto the Layar Augmented Reality platform. Sunlight Labs published the marked-up information and the results are fascinating. This may be the most accessible way to view this information yet. I must confess, I am surprised to see that an auto shop and a Bible college in my neighborhood received a lot more money than the technical college, eco-car company and Native American youth program down the road. Fire up Layar on your phone, search for "Sunlight" and you can see the effects of the funding program on your own neighborhood. This is the kind of thing that standardized data makes possible.

iPhone Remote Controlled Minivan – Like James Bond for the Soccer Mom

Dean Lucas — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:38:41 +0000

Remember watching that James Bond car chase where he jumps out of the car and drives it with his cell phone? Remember thinking to yourself, “yeah, sure, only in the movies”? Well, a German engineering team has created a remote…

iPhone Poker Apps

Dean Lucas — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:50:35 +0000

What makes the iPhone special is its apps. It seems like almost everything you could ever want is at your fingertips with an iPhone and a simple app download. While this may not be completely accurate, it is a statement…