Tag: iPhone

Barnes & Noble Enhances Nook for iPhone, iPad, PC

Barnes & Noble announced some enhancements to it its Nook e-reading software for the PC, iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. There is a completely new app for the iphone and iPod.

"Completely new, the next-generation NOOK for iPhone application delivers the most personalized and easy-to-use eReading experience for iPhone and iPod touch owners," the company says. "NOOK for iPad adds customer-requested, in-app content rating and other improvements to the company’s popular iPad app, and NOOK for PC brings new branding to the company’s desktop software.

"We are committed to offering an easy-to-use, comfortable, and fun NOOK eReading experience across multiple platforms. NOOK for iPhone users can shop Barnes & Noble’s vast catalog of eBooks, while enjoying new, customization features and sharing their favorite eBooks with friends for free," said Douglas Gottlieb, VP, Digital Products for Barnes & Noble.com. "NOOK for iPhone puts thousands of eBooks in your pocket, and the reading experience is fantastic. It’s another way that Barnes & Noble’s NOOK offering makes it truly easy to read what you love, anywhere you like."

Barnes & Noble has been making a lot of moves to advance the Nook’s position in the e-reader competition (particularly with Amazon’s Kindle). In the last month alone, the company has launched NookStudy, an Android app, and perhaps most significantly it announced plans to install Nook boutiques in all of its brick and mortar stores across the country.

Earlier this summer, Barnes & Noble and Amazon got into a bit of a price war, in which both lowered the prices on their respective e-readers. Amazon has since announced a new generation of Kindle.

August 17, 2010
A Funny and Interesting Look Into iPhone Insurance Claims
‘I dropped it from a hot air balloon’ and ‘my dog mistook it for his favourite toy and chewed it to bits’ are among the bizarre insurance claims made for lost and damaged iPhones over the last 12 months, it emerged yesterday.

Other unusual claims include ‘I lost it while skydiving’, ‘I dropped it in a blender’ and ‘It fell into the kettle’.

The weird and wonderful claims came to light in a study by gadget insurers www.protectyourbubble.com.

It also emerged one in five iPhone users have made an insurance claim during the past 12 months.

Most common claims include cracked screens, lost or stolen iPhones and iPhones dropped in the toilet or bath.

A spokesman for Protect your bubble said: “With so many people carrying an iPhone with them wherever they go, it’s no surprise that they are being lost or damaged in a host of unusual ways.”

“Most of us know someone who has managed to drop their iPhone in a pint of beer or down the toilet – but these bizarre claims we have uncovered must be one-offs.’’

The study also found 45 per cent of claims have been for accidental damage to iPhones.

One unlucky customer lost his iPhone after leaning over the side of a boat in Cyprus, to see it fall out of the rucksack and plop into the sea.

And one owner reckons he was happily sitting in the local pub, when a friend spilled his pint of beer all over his phone.

Another unlucky male drove sharply round a corner, to witness his beloved iPhone sliding across the dashboard and straight out of his open window.

Other iPhone insurance claims include losing the phone under the wheels of a bus after it flew out of a pocket, and a teenager being forced to hand over his phone to thugs after they threatened him with a machete.

And one coffee shop assistant was busy making an espresso for a customer, only to turn around and find he had walked off with his phone which was sitting on the side.

The spokesman for Protect your bubble added: “The amazing ways people manage to be separated from their iPhone goes to show that you never know what’s around the corner – and it pays to get your iPhone insured.’’

Other more usual claims include losing internet connection, screen freeze, pets knocking the phone off a work surface and the fact the phone doesn’t charge.

TOP 10 MOST BIZARRE IPHONE CLAIMS
1. I dropped it from a hot air balloon
2. I lost it while sky diving
3. It broke when my son used it as a table tennis racket
4. I lost it while building a sand castle for the kids
5. I accidentally buried it in the garden
6. It fell into the kettle
7. I dropped it in a food blender
8. My dog chewed it to pieces
9. Juice from a defrosting piece of meat leaked into it
10. It flew out of the car window
TOP 10 MOST COMMON IPHONE CLAIMS
1. Cracked screen
2. Stolen while texting
3. Couldn’t hear the other person when making a call
4. Leaving phone on the car roof so it falls off when driving
5. Pet knocked the phone off the surface
6. Stolen from handbag
7. Internet connection completely broken
8. iPhone doesn’t charge
9. Dropped in the bath / toilet
10. Screen freezes
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August 16, 2010
Half.com Launches iPhone Comparison Shopping App

eBay owned Half.com has released an iPhone application Buying Wizard aimed at helping users comparison shop for deals on textbooks.

The Half.com iPhone app is the first eBay buying application to integrate barcode scanning technology. The app allows users to scan barcodes on items to find the best deal on textbooks, DVDs, novels and video games.

"With buyers looking to save more this Back-to-School shopping season, the Half.com iPhone app gives students access to the millions of great deals on Half.com virtually anytime, anywhere," said Steve Yankovich, vice-president of mobile platform, eBay.

"eBay has integrated barcode scanning technology into the app making it easier than ever before for students to comparison shop in their campus bookstores and find the best deals on textbooks, novels and more. And, the app’s Speedy Checkout reduces the friction of commerce, allowing users to buy with only a few quick clicks."

Other features of the app include:

*The ability to share deals via Facebook, Twitter, and email.

*Search or browse titles in books, music, movies, games and game systems.

*Based on the user’s criteria for item condition and seller feedback, theBuying Wizard identifies the lowest cost items and shipping discounts (if applicable) to help shoppers get the best deals on Half.com.

August 16, 2010
Grooveshark for iPhone, TweetDeck for Android, Social Search Tools

Grooveshark has reportedly now become available in Apple’s App store after a long struggle to get it there. This is an app that lets you search for songs, and stream them on demand . Unsurprisingly, it faces legal battles, but it has already settled some. The app has been available on Android.

TweetDeck announced today that TweetDeck on Android (beta) is now officially available.

Google made a variety of interesting announcements today. The company held a small press event in which it introduced some new Android features. One is actually a Chrome extension/Android app combination that lets you send content from Chrome to your phone. The other is called Voice Actions, which lets you enter commands with your voice to bring up various functionalities on your Android device.

In addition, Google posted a lengthy piece on "myths and facts" regarding its joint proposal with Verizon over net neutrality legislation. That evidently won’t stop people from protesting outside of Google’s headquarters.

TechCrunch points to a couple of interesting social media search tools. One, called Sentimnt, is designed to let you search through your social feeds. Booshaka lets you search what’s trending on Facebook.

Ars Technica points to a new Firefox 4 beta, which includes JavaScript optimizations and support for multitouch interaction on Windows. Mozilla’s Rob Sayre talks more about the JavaScript stuff here.

Facebook launched a new software development kit for iPhone/iPad development, which will bring the open graph to iOS apps. This means iPhone and iPad apps will be getting a lot "more social" as Facebook puts it. It means that you will be able to bring your Facebook friends into more apps.

Speaking of Facebook, you may remember that panic button that was introduced for it a while back in an effort to thwart perverts. The UK’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre said today that the app has been downloaded 55,000 times. It has received over 211 reports about suspicious behavior online.

August 12, 2010
iPhone and iPad Apps About To Get More Integrated with Facebook

Facebook has launched a new software development kit (SDK) for Apple’s iOS operating system, which powers the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. This is an update from the previous SDK launched for the iPhone last March.

"With today’s update we’ll have SDKs for both iOS and Android devices that provide an even easier way for mobile app developers to go social," a Facebook representative tells WebProNews.

The two main features that make the new SDK a step up from the previous iPhone OS SDK are use of the Graph API, which lets developers integrate Facebook’s Open Graph into their apps, and authentication with OAuth 2.0.

"With more than 150 million people actively using Facebook from mobile devices, we have a commitment to not only developing our own mobile sites and apps, but ensuring that developers can also build similar social experiences," says Facebook engineer Yujuan Bao. "Since we first launched our first mobile SDK for the iPhone, the Facebook iPhone SDK, in March 2009, we’ve worked with some of the leading mobile app developers to provide easy-to-use SDKs. These include some of the most popular app developers in the iTunes store: Electronic Arts, foursquare, PopCap, SGN, Tapulous, Zynga, and Booyah, who have worked with the SDKs to build fun, social mobile apps and increase app distribution and user engagement."

Facebook has expressed an increased focus on its mobile strategy lately, and this launch certainly plays into that. It also shows that while CEO Mark Zuckerberg may be an Android user now, iOS is still very much on the company’s mind, and the inclusion of the Graph API in the SDK should go a long way for connecting iPhone/iPad apps to the "Open Graph" the way Facebook has already been connecting the web.

August 12, 2010
AT&T Launches iPhone App for U-Verse

AT&T has launched a U-Verse iPhone app, which gives U-verse subscribers the ability to download and watch TV shows on their phones.

The company says it is the first to provide an integrated mobile app that lets you manage your DVR and download/watch select shows. The app replaces the Mobile Remote Access for iPhone app.

"We’re making it possible for you to watch TV shows on your iPhone at no extra charge. It’s just one more valuable and innovative feature available on U-verse TV," said David Christopher, chief marketing officer, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. "Our U-verse multi-screen promise is now a reality for millions of U-verse TV customers, with content available on U-verse TV, U-verse Online, and today, U-verse Mobile. No cable provider comes close to matching the cross-platform experience we’re delivering today, and we’ll continue to add unique features that further integrate these screens."

Users can browse the U-verse TV program guide, view program descriptions, schedule and manage your DVR recordings, download TV shows over any Wi-Fi connection, and watch them in full-screen mode on their iPhone.

All U-verse TV customers can download the app to manage their DVR, and the ability to download and watch content is available for customers that subscribe to the U300 package or higher.

August 9, 2010
iPhone Gets Another Chatroulette-Like App (For Now)

Apple has a reputation for being stingy with apps that could provide users with anything remotely resembling adult content (though it has made exceptions for big brands). Chatroulette has a reputation for being a place where guys show their private parts to random viewers (though the site is supposedly cracking down on this).

Given both of these reputations, it’s no surprise that Apple has removed apps with similar functionality to Chatroulette’s in the past. They keep popping up now though, and with jailbreaking legal, iPhone users have their options.

9to5Mac points to an app (via App Advice) that has Chatroulette-like functionality, but has some additional recommendation features.

"The app even promises to push out random video chats based on no similarities, FUN!" writes 9to5Mac’s Mark Gurman. "Also, Evo and iPhone 4 owners can now video chat, randomly, making Fring a thing of the past. So the moral of this story is that we’ll most likely have another post up in about a week telling you that Chatisfaction was yanked from the App Store."

Either way, it looks like Chatroulette has inspired a new trend in random video chat services, and it is very likely we’ll see plenty more. Now, Chatroulette is working with Sean Parker, who had a hand in making Facebook the powerhouse it would become (in the early days).

August 8, 2010
Apple Exec Responsible for Antennagate Gone

It appears that the "Antennagate" turned out to be not only be a hassle for iPhone users, Apple’s PR department, and the company as a whole, but ultimately Mark Papermaster, Apple’s executive in charge of the iPhone’s hardware. He is no longer with Apple.

The New York Times reported on his departure, but said it was not clear if he was ousted or if he left on his own accord. They were able to reach him on the phone, but he wouldn’t comment. However, other reports seem to indicate the former is more likely.

Bob Mansfield is next in line to take over Papermaster’s duties, the company told the NYT. He is SVP of Mac hardware engineering, and is already responsible for key parts of the iPhone, such as, the retina display and touch screens, as well as the A4 chip.

Though it’s entirely possible he wasn’t responsible for the design of the flaw, it looks like Papermaster was ultimately responsible for letting it pass.

"During a tour of Apple’s device testing facilities (where Mansfield, but not Papermaster, was present), we were told that the iPhone 4 was being tested for a full two years before its launch," writes MG Siegler at TechCrunch. "That means it was being tested before Papermaster got to Apple. While it’s not clear when the final hardware was approved for production, it’s certainly possible that Papermaster had little to do with that specific device’s hardware creation."

"That said, in the time leading up to the iPhone 4’s launch, he clearly had to be heavily involved in every aspect of it — including the antenna," he adds.

John Gruber at Daring Fireball claims to have heard a little about the situation prior to Papermaster’s departure. "From what I’ve heard, it’s clear he was sacked. Papermaster was a conspicuous absence at the Antennagate press conference," he writes. "Inside Apple, he’s ‘the guy responsible for the antenna’ — that’s a quote from a source back on July 23."

It’s not confirmed that Papermaster was indeed ousted, but it sure looks that way. Either way, it will be interesting to see where he ends up. He is unlikely to make the antenna mistake again, and companies will probably recognize that. In fact, I’m guessing the entire industry learned a big lesson from Antennagate. That’s one area of the hardware design that must require a huge checkmark before any major product release goes forward.

August 8, 2010
Lollapalooza Turns to Facebook Via Mobile Apps to Connect Fans

Lollapalooza gets underway today for the weekend, and its promoters are using Facebook to get fans connected with one another. "This year, the Lollapalooza team is using Facebook to solve one of the hardest problems people face at music festivals – finding your friends. As people are drawn to different parts of the festival and often get separated, cell phone service gets hindered as thousands of people in close proximity try to call their friends," a representative for Facebook tells WebProNews.

She adds that in an effort to combat disconnection with friends at the show the Lollapalooza’s team has updated its iPhone app to have "Friend Finder", with which users can login via Facebook to select friends, see messages from all of their selected friends in one place with the "Friend Wall" and arrange a meeting point using the phone’s GPS. Users can plant a digital flag on the "Lolla festival Map", which messages their location to friends at the event.

"Last year almost 90% of Lollapalooza fans said they used Facebook during the festival," she says. "So it made sense for the festival team to leverage Facebook as the mechanism for people to connect with each other in the updated app."

Grant Park, where the festival is taking place will have 100 acres of free WiFi access for fans (sponsored by AOL Lifestream).

There is also an Android app with many of the same features.

August 6, 2010
Apple Letting App Store Users Test Drive Apps

Apple has added a new section to its App Store aimed at letting users try out apps before paying for them. The section is appropriate called "Try Before You Buy".

As Jolie O’Dell at Mashable notes, not all paid apps are available for a free trial period, and it is unclear whether or not this will be the case going forward. Still, it can’t hurt for developers looking to gain more exposure for their paid apps. Many people are leery of paying for apps when there are so many free ones available.

In other iPhone app-related news, an Apple patent filing has raised something of a stir, though it may be for no real good reason. Om Malik points to a patent for "Systems and Methods for Accessing Travel Services Using a Portable Electronic Device".

The filing includes drawings that are identical to existing third-party apps, which has put some developers on edge – as if Apple is trying to patent their apps. However, as a commenter on Malik’s story points out, "After reading the claims, it’s clear that the spinning wheel image stolen from the 3rd party app was not part of the claimed invention at all and was just an illustration. You see this a lot in patents, where a an exemplar device such as a Dell laptop is used in a drawing but is not part of the claims."

The concern might be overblown. Still, as Alexia Tsotsis at TechCrunch points out, developers may be getting the wrong message from such diagram inclusions in patent filings.

August 6, 2010
Booyah Taps Google Maps API, Places to Take MyTown International

Booyah announced today that it is taking MyTown international.

The company has launched support for MyTown (for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad) across Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. The company says this makes MyTown the first to support global check-ins utilizing the recently launched Places Web Service via the Google Maps API.

"Booyah is the premier mobile and social gaming company on top of the exploding location graph," said Booyah CEO Keith Lee. "Our launches in the UK, Australia and Canada are just the beginning of bringing real world gaming to players across the globe."

Places returns the 20 most popular places near a given location. MyTown has over 2.8 million users, according to the company.

Last week, Booyah launched check-ins for products in MyTown, which lets users use their iPhone camera to scan barcodes of products to unlock points and earn virtual goods, and "creating a game out of real life items." Lee called this "a holy grail for marketers."

August 5, 2010
IBM Looks Into Accessible Mobile Interfaces, Google Giving up on Wave?

IBM has partnered with the Industrial Design Centre at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay on mobile web research. The initiative will focus on development of new designs of mobile device interfaces that can be used by people who are semiliterate or illiterate, as well as individuals who have limited or no access to information technology.

Google appears to have somewhat given up on Wave, at least as a standalone product. The company posts to the Official Google Blog:

We were equally jazzed about Google Wave internally, even though we weren’t quite sure how users would respond to this radically different kind of communication. The use cases we’ve seen show the power of this technology: sharing images and other media in real time; improving spell-checking by understanding not just an individual word, but also the context of each word; and enabling third-party developers to build new tools like consumer gadgets for travel, or robots to check code.

But despite these wins, and numerous loyal fans, Wave has not seen the user adoption we would have liked. We don’t plan to continue developing Wave as a standalone product, but we will maintain the site at least through the end of the year and extend the technology for use in other Google projects. The central parts of the code, as well as the protocols that have driven many of Wave’s innovations, like drag-and-drop and character-by-character live typing, are already available as open source, so customers and partners can continue the innovation we began. In addition, we will work on tools so that users can easily “liberate” their content from Wave.

Nielsen reports that the mobile Internet is more popular in China that it is in the U.S. "Widespread ownership of mobiles is only a fairly recent development in China, but consumers there have fully embraced the technology and in some ways are using it more robustly than their American and European counterparts," says Shan Phillips, Vice President, Greater China, Telecom Practice, The Nielsen Company.

Nielsen also has another interesting report looking at who is buying the iPad, and asking if they will also buy an iPhone.

WordPress has introduced its own "like" buttons. Now readers can "like" posts, although I’d say for publishers, the Facebook "like" buttons will be a lot more effective for driving traffic. Still, it’s nice to provide as many gateways for engagement as possible (without getting too cluttered, anyway).

According to the Financial Times, Motorola and Verizon have teamed up on a "TV Tablet." This is a device with a 10-inch screen that users will be able to watch television on.

Reuters reports that Sharp intends to launch a 3D smartphone this year. This would feature a 3D panel that can be viewed without special glasses and would have a 3D capable camera.

According to Unwired Review, Samsung is considering puting touchscreen functionality on the back of a tablet. This is based on a patent application for a "mobile terminal having dual touch screen and method of controlling content therein".

Meanwhile, as Engadget writes, Microsoft has been teasing an as-of-yet unannounced product via Twitter, saying, ""Don’t be so touchy…flat is where it’s at," and offering a small partial image of some object. This may or may not be a trackpad.

August 4, 2010
Report: Android on 1 in 3 U.S. Smartphones Sold
The NPD Group has released a new smartphone report, finding that Motorola and HTC have driven Android to the lead in the U.S. Android is installed on one in three smartphones sold, according to the group.

Meanwhile, for the first time since 2007, RIM has slid to the number 2 position, as Android took the lead.

While Android accounted for 33% of all smartphones purchased in Q2, RIM accounted for 28%. Apple came in third at 22% with the launch of the iPhone 4.

"For the second consecutive quarter, Android handsets have shown strong but slowing sell-through market share gains among U.S. consumers," said Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD. "While the Google-developed OS took market share from RIM, Apple’s iOS saw a small gain this quarter on the strength of the iPhone 4 launch."

This week, BlackBerry unleashed its new BlackBerry Torch and BlackBerry 6. It remains to be seen what kind of an impact this will have on the market.

"Blackberry 6 will soon offer features that have been popular in recently launched Android handsets, such as support for capacitive touchscreens and a WebKit-based browser. However, the Blackberry Torch lacks the large screen allure that has characterized the best selling Android devices at its price point, including the Droid Incredible and EVO 4G," Rubin said.

The top 5 Android smartphones sold were:
1. Motorola Droid
2. HTC Droid Incredible
3. HTC EVO 4G
4. HTC Hero
5. HTC Droid Eris
Android still has tablets and Google TV to look forward to as far as attracting more users.
August 4, 2010
Vonage Launches Mobile App for Calling Facebook Friends for Free

Vonage has launched a new mobile app for calling Facebook friends. Users can make free mobile calls to their Facebook friends who also run the app (anywhere in the world). This can be done right from their friends list with one touch.

"The Vonage Mobile app for Facebook is a tangible example of our commitment to deliver extraordinary value and a better communications experience for individuals and their social networks, across broadband-enabled devices, around the world," says Vonage Holdings CEO Marc Lefar. "This is just the start. In the future we will expand on this service to include a wide range of integrated voice and messaging services that change the way people communicate."

Just download the app from the appropriate app market, enter you Facebook log-in info one time, then view your FB contacts once the app automatically detects them. Friends will be grouped by those who can be called for free and those who are available for instant messaging.

This might be helpful in itself, at least for Android users, because the new Android app update Facebook just launched still lacks a chat feature.

The app itself is free, and is available for iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android devices. It works over Wi-Fi and 3G/4G networks in most countries.

August 4, 2010
Microsoft Promotes Shopping Aspect Of Bing iPhone App

While this development isn’t likely to amuse everyone behind the BlackBerry Torch’s launch, Apple fans may be glad to know that Microsoft acknowledged the iPhone’s importance in a small way today, discussing the new Bing for Mobile iPhone app as it relates to shopping.

This app is of course free, and the shopping section can be accessed just by clicking on "Shopping" from the homepage. As for what it’s supposed to do, the app is meant to provide a complete, start-to-finish shopping experience rather than just determine where stuff is available or compare prices.

A post on the Bing Search Blog explained, "[Y]ou can find products, see ratings, and read reviews. Search with your camera, your voice, or your keyboard to find brand-name products and compare prices. Not sure what to get for her birthday? No problem, we provide you with a list of product categories of the most popular items."

That’s not to say the app is perfect; in Microsoft’s own screenshots, you can see that a product’s price is given as $0.00, which doesn’t seem quite right. So iPhone owners might still be better off using more than one tool or just heading for a desktop computer when it’s time to do some serious shopping.

The Bing for Mobile iPhone app obviously has quite a lot to offer, though, and Microsoft’s demonstrated that it’s not focusing on the upcoming Windows 7 Phone devices to the exclusion of everything else.

That’s good news for both Microsoft and Apple, if not so much for RIM.

August 3, 2010
The Hotlist Comes to the iPhone

Geo-social aggregator The Hotlist has launched a new iPhone app aimed at letting users see the latest on their friends’ present and future social destinations, as well as venues and activities near the user’s current location.

The Hotlist launched last year, claiming to be the first geo-social aggregator. Its platform calculates the popularity of events and venues, offering analytics and ratings for social planning.

The app compiles info from sources like Facebook, Twitter and Yelp, and filters public social activities of over 100 million people worldwide.

"People work and people play. However, planning even the smallest get together can be very time-consuming and frustrating," says The Hotlist CEO Gianni Martire. "Our mobile app allows people to make the most out of their social life by giving friends a place to share their social plans, eliminating the stress of phone tag, endless text messages and disappointing evenings. The Hotlist instantly gives people information that used to take hours to figure out, a one-stop app to organize your social life."

The Hotlist claims to have over 160,000 monthly active users, and the release of an iPhone app should only boost that number significantly. Then, the company will launch Android and BlackBerry apps at some point. No specific dates for these are mentioned, but they said to expect them "shortly."

August 2, 2010
iPhone Users Flock to JailbreakMe

Comex has launched a site called Jailbreakme.com, that when visited from an iOS device, allows you to jailbreak it. This is the first jailbreak for iOS 4, and can be accessed via the mobile version of Safari. The point is to make jailbreaking easier for the average joe, I presume.

"A jailbreak is simply the ability to run apps and use themes and tweaks not approved by Apple," explains the site. "Jailbreaking doesn’t slow down your device or use any extra battery, and is fully reversible (just restore in iTunes). A jailbreak lets your device be how you want it."

Engadget has posted this video trying to jailbreak the phone, but some issues were encountered:

Apple recently gave the following statment to Cult of Mac:

"Apple’s goal has always been to insure that our customers have a great experience with their iPhone and we know that jailbreaking can severely degrade the experience. As we’ve said before, the vast majority of customers do not jailbreak their iPhones as this can violate the warranty and can cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably."

Some have had problems with FaceTime and MMS after jailbreaking, but Redmond Pie offers a solution.

August 2, 2010
Museum Of Natural History Launches iPhone App

The American Museum of Natural History in New York City has launched a free app for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad called Explorer.

The Explorer app uses Wi-Fi to act as an "indoor GPS" within the museum, pinpointing a user’s location and offering turn-by-turn directions through more than 500,000 square feet that features 45 permanent exhibition halls, theaters, restrooms, cafs, and museum shops.

The Explorer is also an educational resource that provides visitors with additional information on more than 140 specimens and objects on display, including such iconic exhibits as the blue whale and the Tyrannosaurus rex. The Explorer features customized tours, a fossil treasure hunt, and social media links for posting to Facebook and Twitter.

The Explorer runs on the museum’s free Wi-Fi network. Users will be able to download the app to their own iPhone, iPod touch, iPad or to borrow one of more than 350 devices the Museum is making available at no charge.

"We wanted to put the latest mobile technology in visitors’ hands and provide them with an app that works not only as a personal navigation system but also gives an exciting look at our collections from anywhere in the world, connecting to social networks through email, Twitter, and Facebook," said Linda Perry-Lube, senior vice president and chief digital officer at the Museum.

"The task of building a system capable of mapping visitors’ locations inside of the Museum was monumental and has laid the groundwork for future development. Explorer sets the standard for a new type of Museum experience in the digital age."

July 30, 2010
iPhone 4 Releasing To 17 More Countries This Week

Waiting for iPhone 4? you may be in luck if you happen to be in one of the following countries… Beginning this Friday, customers can purchase iPhone 4 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. iPhone 4 will be available for purchase through Apple’s retail and online stores and Appler Authorized Resellers.

iPhone 4 is currently available in France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the US for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model and $299 (US) for the 32GB model. See more HERE

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July 27, 2010
What Apple Thinks About Jailbreaking iPhones

As you have probably heard by now, the EFF has convinced the U.S. copyright office to grant exemptions to the DMCA, which mean that users of phones like the iPhone can jailbreak them. While it may be legal to do so, Apple still doesn’t want you to.

Leander Kahney at Cult of Mac received this statement from Apple on the matter:

"Apple’s goal has always been to insure that our customers have a great experience with their iPhone and we know that jailbreaking can severely degrade the experience. As we’ve said before, the vast majority of customers do not jailbreak their iPhones as this can violate the warranty and can cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably."

Kahney also speculates that now that jailbreaking is officially legal, we may see a "cottage industry" of unofficial app stores pop up. That could be interesting, particularly since Apple is notorious for being very strict with the apps it allows in the App Store.

ComputerWorld asks if it is now legal to start a business around jailbreaking phones. Mitch Wagner writes, "Would it now be legal to start a business jailbreaking iPhones for other people? Could you legally buy iPhones from Apple, jailbreak them, and then sell them? weaKnees does just that kind of business for DVRs, it sells TiVos hacked to include larger hard drives than the manufacturer standard. We’ve had one of their hacked TiVos for three years, it works great. If weaKnees decided to branch out to selling jailbroken iPhones, would that be legal?"

Keep in mind that part of Apple’s statement about violating you warranty.

July 27, 2010
Digg Updates iPhone App – More Stable, Better Twitter/Facebook Integration
Digg has launched an update to its iPhone app, which comes with better Twitter and Facebook integration and improved stability.

Digg lists the following as key changes in the app:
- Logging in to, or changing accounts on, Facebook or Twitter
- Sharing stories through Facebook or Twitter without first logging in to that service
- Digging a story without first logging in to your account
- Running a search for a random string with no results
- Navigating away from a story while it is loading
- Saving a story or trying to access saved stories
- Loading more user comments related to a story
The app was originally launched in March, then received an update in April, making some stability improvements. Those apparently weren’t enough, as most of the feedback Digg has received since then, has been about stability issues. We’ll see if they got it right this time around.
July 26, 2010