Archive for May, 2009

May200931

Jonah Grant

0

iPhone 3G 2009 Leaked?

iphone3g2009jpgOver the weekend a Hong Kong blog posted images of what is thought to be the iPhone 3G 2009, or leaked applications for it.  In my opinion, these look very, very real to me looking at the way they have been designing the iPhone lately.  The pictures show the rumored integrated compass, auto-focus camera, updated camera application with video recording, and the other images are clearly the 3.0 software coming this summer so this may just be hidden features that Apple has yet to release to developers and/or unlock.  The iPhone itself does not match up with rumors and what’s thought to be leaks but after all, what do we know, Apple itself has not said anything.

May200927

Jonah Grant

0

Apple launches US Back to School Promotion

Alongside today’s minor update to its white MacBook, Apple announced the launch of its annual Back to School promo for U.S. education customers. This year’s program offers rebates of up to $229 on the full line of iPods when purchased with a qualifying new Apple computer, which includes all Macs except the Mac mini.


Both the Mac and iPod must be purchased at the same time on the same receipt, and purchases must be made either directly from Apple or at an Apple Authorized Campus Store. This year’s program runs through September 8th, 2009.

This year’s promotion had been rumored to extend to the 8 GB iPhone this year, but the claim did not come to fruition.

Apple is currently running a similar promotion in Canada, and typically offers such programs in a number of other countries later in the year.

(via MacRumors)

May200923

James Donnellon

0

Tap Tap Revenge: Dave Matthews Band Review

286952_3jpg

The highly anticipated and rumored game from Tapulous has finally hit the app store. Tapulous is most known for its Tap Tap games with its free versions as well as its premium versions such as Coldplay, Weezer, and Nine Inch Nails.This latest installment of their premium applications follows suit with its addictive gameplay, fun music, and stunning graphics. TTR: DMB features 8 hit songs from Dave Matthews Band and two more songs from their new CD “Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King” giving their fans a sneak peak at their up and coming album. The gameplay has you listening to these hit songs while pinball style balls come rolling down the screen in sync with the beat. Tap the beats with the song to gain points. Sounds simple right? Not exactly. As you progress in the game unlocking boss tracks and playing the extreme difficulty the beats become faster and more complicated. Hold notes, multi-taps, and shakes add for additional fun and challenging maneuvers. As you succeed through a song without missing a note you gain a multiplier from 2X to 8X to increase your score. To get to the 8X (50+ note streak) you shake your device to enter Revenge Mode and the lights on the screen flash. Once you complete a song you have many options afterwards; you can register your scores with the online leader board, challenge a friend via email, visit the band’s website, and click the link to buy the track on iTunes.

286952_2jpgAs you continue to play you unlock a boss track in each difficulty. These boss tracks have unique themes and include an experience of you playing on stage at a Dave Matthews Band concert (picture seen above). Lights flash around you and pictures of the band pop up on screen as you tap to their music. It is truly a fun and enjoyable experience. This game is a must have for any Dave Matthews Band fan.

You can also play TTR:DMB with a friend on one device (Picture seen to the left) This adds an extra element of fun for eveyone to enjoy.

With the news feed that displays as soon as you open the application you will never miss out on DMB news. While the game may lack a large music library, you will never get bored of tapping to these great songs and spectacular
visuals.
Tapulous has succeeded once again in creating a fun user experience for anyone to play. For those that are not even DMB fans, like myself, I promise you that you will be hooked on their music and will truly enjoy it. I highly recommend this game to everyone.

The Loop Blog gives Tap Tap Revenge: Dave Matthews Band a 9.7/10 stars.  You can download Tap Tap Revenge: DMB on iTunes for $4.99

May200918

admin

0

Apple Begins Testing Push Notification

picture-14And so it begins. With WWDC and presumably the release of iPhone OS 3.0 just around the corner, Apple has deemed it time to begin stress-testing their Push Notification servers. We just received a letter from a (very) trusted source, in which Apple invited them to download a pre-release version of the Associated Press iPhone application, specifically tuned to make a high number of background push requests.

Upon adding the application, an iPhone-wide “Notifications” toggle is added to the iPhone OS 3.0 Settings screen, along with the option to toggle Notifications on an app-by-app basis. Screenshots and the full text of the letter available after the jump.

As a developer actively working with iPhone OS 3.0 beta, we would like your help in testing the Apple Push Notification service. We have selected a pre-release version of the Associated Press app for iPhone OS 3.0 to create a high-volume test environment for our servers.
To participate, we ask that you follow these steps:
1.
Download the pre-release version of the Associated Press app for iPhone OS 3.0 from the iTunes Store via your desktop by entering this unique redemption code in the ‘Redeem’ section of iTunes, found under the ‘Quick Links’ section:
[CODE REMOVED]
This unique redemption code and the functionality of the application will expire in seven days.
2.
Install the application on a development device running iPhone OS 3.0 beta 5 by synching it to iTunes. Make sure to accept notifications when prompted after installation. This application can only be installed on devices running iPhone OS 3.0 beta 5.
3.
When you first run the app, choose U.S. English as your region when prompted. The U.S. English region will receive alerts, the Canadian English region will not. For purposes of the test, AP will be sending a high-volume of real news alerts.
4.
If you do not receive notifications from the app within 48 hours after installation, let us know

(via TechCrunch)

The Loop Blog:  I can confirm that I have just recvieved this email and am installing it as I speak

May200916

admin

1

iTalk for iPhone Review

pastedgraphicHey guys. Zalman here,

The folks of Bitix down in Brazil were kind enough to send us a copy of their app, iTalk, which is a cool app for starting conversations.

The UI is very clean, and I couldn’t think of a better way of displaying the info. You can either press the ‘Talk Now!’ button, or you can shake your phone or iPod to refresh.

The questions include

‘How do you envision yourself in ten years?’ or

‘Would you prefer a job that you don’t like but pays well, or a job that you like but pays less?’

I personally tried these out with family and they did turn out to be good in a conversation.  As for pricing, it runs you $1.99, which could definitely be brought down. $.99 would be a good price for this fun, little app.

Overall, this is a great app with a solid UI. It may have only one use, but it is a good one. It’s a very clever idea to make an app like this, and iTalk should be successful. The guys down South(ern Hemisphere) did a great job, and I highly reccomend iTalk.

The Loop Blog gives iTalk a 8/10 star rating.  You can buy iTalk on iTunes for $1.99

May200911

admin

7

Flash Installer Update #2 [UPDATED]

Just a few hours ago I received an email about Flash Installer 1.1.1.  It was declined.  It violated the human interface guidelines.  I did not like the way the UIButton looked so I changed it to a custom button, in which Apple was not so happy about.  It has been changed back to normal and I am going to be submitting Flash Installer 1.1.2 to Apple within the next half hour.  For more news follow me on Twitter as jonahman2003 or theloopblog.

[UPDATE] Flash 1.0.2 has been rejected for the same issue as before.  This is very hard to have it be exactly how Apple likes it.  I do think I know what is wrong and will have Flash 1.0.3 submitted by this Sunday.  Sorry guys, it’s my fault.

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