Founder and Editor in Chief with the 148Apps Network since July 16, 2008
Hi there, I'm the founder and publisher of this site, the best gosh-darn iPhone site this side of Mars. My team and I do our very best to bring you the best reviews and iPhone news every day. If you think there's something we've missed, let me know.
Cheers!
At Macworld | iWorld this week, OmniGroup leader Ken Case showed off the end cap to the suite of iPad applications his company released right after the iPad was announced. OmniPlan, a popular desktop project management app, is now available for the iPad.
Featuring all of the main features you would need while pouring over project plans in meetings or while on the go, OmniPlan is the mobile cousin to the desktop app of the same name. While the version we saw isn’t finished, it already shows an impressive interface with the familiar gantt chart interface and support for multiple project plans. All of this data syncs back to the desktop version of OmniPlan.
No current release date or price is known, but the price will probably hit around $39.99 if past OmniGroup app pricing is an indication.
It was an amazing year. With over 1.5 million votes cast (over three times the number cast last year) and a record number of nominations, we now have the winners of the 2011 Best App Ever Awards. Thanks to all that voted, nominated, and made these fantastic apps!
Halfbrick made iOS the winner of the Best App Ever by beating the top Android vote getter by nearly 10:1. Here are a few more interesting stats:
1,565,833 total votes cast
1.1 million unique voters
36,431 number of votes the top vote getter, Jetpack Joyride, got across all categories
1,692 unique apps in the awards
53.9% of the votes were for iOS apps
46.1% of the votes for Android apps
1 Best App Ever winner, Jetpack Joyride from Halfbrick Studios!
Thanks again for voting, we’ll be back again next year for our 5th Annual Best App Ever Awards!
Read on for the full list of winners or check out the Best App Ever Awards site for full details on all categories.
The nominated applications for the 2011 Best App Ever Awards have just been announced. This year saw a huge increase in the number of nominations placed and the number of applications nominated. The big change this year was the introduction of Android applications to the awards, with each category (other than the Best App Ever category) having a winner from each platform.
The Best App Ever Awards are the most prestigious (if we do say so ourselves) and longest running mobile app awards. Last year saw nearly 500,000 votes cast in the awards, and this year the goal is over a million. Here are a few more stats on this year’s awards:
2011 Best App Ever Awards, By The Numbers:
287,643 nominations placed by users at the site
7,243 different applications submitted for nomination
1,692 different application are final nominees
1,336 different developers have apps nominated in the awards
109 app / game categories in the 2011 awards
76% of the nominations submitted were for iOS applications, 24% for Android applications
42 Gameloft app nominations, Gameloft leads the pack with the most of any publisher
20 nominations per category (10 for iOS, 10 for Android)
1 Best App Ever category winner (it’s iOS vs. Android)
The overall winner, the Best App Ever will be chosen in a no-holds-barred cage match between the 10 top iOS and 10 top Android nominees. Only one supreme app will reign supreme as the single best app on its mobile platform. Which will it be? The iOS nominees are listed below:
Voting is open now through January 25th with the final winners to be announced at the 2011 Macworld / iWorld Expo in San Francisco, CA. Shortly after, they will be posted to the Best App Ever site, and we’ll point you to them there as well. Make sure you get your votes in early, and take advantage of the social sharing option on the site to rally support for your favorite apps.
Hit the jump (or see the Best App Ever site for the full list of iOS apps nominated in the 2011 Best App Ever awards in the other 108 categories.
Smell that? Is it cinnamon? No, not quite, sweeter. Is it some form of Christmas cookie? Nope, sweeter still. Ah, I know what it is! It’s the huge annual iOS app sale! That’s right, it’s that time of year when thousands and thousands of iOS apps and games go on sale for the post-Christmas rush. It’s some of the best prices we’ll see on these apps all year. With all of those new devices unwrapped, app developers and publishers are vying for your gift card cash. To help grab as much of that as they can, they put there apps on sale so new and experienced users alike can take advantage of the great deals.
And as we usually do, we’ve waded through the thousands and thousands of great app deals and present you here with our very favorites. The best of the best deals on the apps that everyone should have. Want to look though the full list of thousands of iOS apps on sale? Check out our iOS Price Drops page and browse to your heart’s content!
Our usual warnings apply, but with a modifier this time. If you see something you like, grab it while it’s on sale. Prices can change at any time and you don’t want to miss these deals. The one modification to that is that it appears that Apple has locked down the app store, so price changes won’t update until next Wednesday. That said, it is possible it will open early, or a change or two could slip in. Err on the side of caution.
Now, to the apps!
We’ve split them into three sections for easier browsing.
iMAME has hit the App Store — but for how long? Rarely has an emulator been allowed in the App Store, only when it has been tightly controlled have we seen them. That’s why it’s most surprising that the most popular emulator of all time shows up in it’s i-device glory, iMAME.
MAME traditionally offers emulations for literally thousands of coin-op arcade games – mainly classic ones, but still pretty amazing. This build includes support for iCade. Put this thing on your iPad, with a few thousand roms, slip it into your iCade and reach classic gaming nirvana.
If classic gaming is your thing, I highly suggest you grab it right this very second, if not sooner. It can’t last long.
Update: For those of you looking to, ahem, get more out of iMAME, check the source link below at Touch Arcade for all you need to know. Woo hoo! Classic gaming Christmas!
The team behind the great Hipstamatic artistic photography app today revealed a new app that brings the disposable camera into the digital age. Releasing Thursday, the new Hipstamatic’s D-Series app allows a group of friends to share a 24 exposure digital roll of film across multiple devices.
D-Series has the same retro camera hardware feel and pixel perfect design that the original Hipstamatic app has. D-Series adds an interesting social slant by allowing a group of friends to share a virtual roll of film. One user starts off by selecting the camera to use and inviting friends. From there the invited photographers start shooting and each user sees a shared shot count. Once all shots have been taken, and only once all shots have been taken, all invited users get to see the shots taken.
I got a chance to try out the new app and can report that Hipstamatic D-Series does indeed bring back the nostalgic memories of sharing a disposable camera and swapping double prints into the digital age. It’s a great idea and well executed. There’s even the anxious need to burn the last shot by taking a picture of your foot, just to get the roll developed quicker. It’s indeed very fun.
And this app wouldn’t be a Hipstamatic app without the unique selection of cameras and films that it is so well known for. When you download the app there will be one unlimited use camera included. Link up your Facebook account and you’ll get a second infinite use camera. Beyond that you’ll have the opportunity to buy unique limited use cameras as well. The way this works in a group is that just one user needs the camera for all to be able to use it.
Synthetic Corp previously released the 2010 App of the Year, Hipstamatic, one of my favorite photography apps Incredibooth (an old style photo booth simulator), and Swankolab (think Instamatic for any photo).
Hipstamatic’s D-Series will be released tomorrow in the App Store. Check our Twitter stream for a link once it goes live. Check out this (unfortunately non-embeddable) video for more details and the photo gallery below THAT for a bunch of photos from the new app.
The 2011 Best App Ever Awards have launched. It’s time to nominate your favorite apps and games of 2011.
In it’s fourth year, the Best App Ever awards is a people’s choice awards for apps. Last year over 500,000 votes were cast in the quest to find the best apps, not just the best selling. This year it’s back bigger and better than ever.
In a big change this year, not just iOS but also Android applications and games are up for nomination in the awards competition. Users can nominate their favorite apps and games in any of the multiple categories by heading to the app nomination page and choosing a category.
Nominations are open through the end of the year. After that the nominations will be tallied and the top 10 iOS and Android apps in each category will fight it out for the awards. In addition, the 10 iOS and 10 Android apps that get the most nominations overall will fight it out for the title of Best App Ever.
What app do you think will win for Best App Ever in 2011?
The third AppNation conference will be held November 30-December 1 at the Concourse at the SF Design Center and we are a proud media sponsor. The agenda is shaping up to be yet another great one this time around. Some of the great speakers and panel members lined up include:
Doug Purdy, Director of Developer Relations, Facebook
Baudouin Corman, VP Publishing Americas, GAMELOFT
Gibu Thomas, SVP Mobile and Digital, Walmart
Ben Keighran, CEO, Chomp
Brandon Watson, Senior Director, Windows Phone, Microsoft
Dave Castelnuovo, Founder & CEO, Bolt Creative (PocketGod)
Want to attend AppNation III? 148Apps network readers can get a 30% discount on the registration fee by using code 148APPS on the registration page.
More About APPNATION
APPNATION is an ambitious and bold thought leadership conference and exposition focusing exclusively on the burgeoning consumer applications revolution and global app economy. The third annual APPNATION event will feature speakers and exhibitors from leading companies from across the app economy. DEVELOPERS: Submit your app and have a chance to pitch at the AppCircus@Appnation! Isobar is sponsoring an NFC Hackathon and check out the AppNation Bootcamp.
App sales are nothing new, but the biggest of the year is here, and we’ll be tracking the best of the sale apps right here. Expect lots of updates over the weekend. And a reminder, app prices change quickly. We’ll try to keep the list below updated, but if you see something you want, grab it when you see it, the price could change next time you see it.
We’ve got games, educational, navigation, and other apps on the list. Make sure you look through all of the pages for the full list.
Updates:
- 11/23, 11:45am – added a few EA titles and others of interest.
- 11/23, 10:00pm – A bunch of great new games and apps added. Some really great sales.
- 11/24, 2:00pm – lots more added, tons of games from Disney, Activision, and great apps as well.
- 11/25, 10:00am – as the Thanksgiving meal coma subsides, we found a couple dozen more great apps on sale.
- 11/28, 12:00pm – updated for Cyber Monday app sales
Black Friday: Game Apps on Sale
iBlast Moki 2 HD - price returned to $4.99, was on sale for $0.99
While many are arguing that the Kindle Fire is or isn’t an iPad “Killer,” I think that whole line of thought is way off. The idea of an iPad “Killer” is a device that can do everything the iPad can, but better and maybe cheaper. But it doesn’t just matter if the Kindle Fire is a true iPad Killer, it’s in the same category of devices and will take a large number of consumers away from the iPad. In the current market, consumers are very uninformed about what a tablet device is capable of or why they need one, they just know they want one. And because of that, the Kindle Fire, at around 40 percent the cost of the iPad, is a strong competitor for consumer purchases this holiday season.
Today, Amazon released their much talked about Android based tablet, the Kindle Fire. The reviewscameoutlastnight and they aren’t all together that great. While most say it’s a pretty good limited use device, Wired sums it up as little more than a “‘shopping portal.” David Pogue at the NY Times notes that you will “feel that $200 price tag with every swipe of your finger.”
There are a few fundamental things wrong with the Kindle Fire. For one, it was developed outside what Google calls the Open Handset Alliance. Those are the companies that pay into the Android ecosystem to help in the growth of the platform. These are the only companies that get access to the full set of Google Apps like GMail, Maps, and most importantly, the Android Market. This means that the Kindle Fire will only be able to access apps from the still rather small Amazon App Store. In addition, the Fire is based on a version of the Android OS that was never intended for tablet use. It’s just not designed or architected in a way that works really well on tablets.
On the flip side, there are quite a few things that the Amazon Kindle Fire does right: one-click access to the huge catalog of books, magazines, newspapers, music, and video that Amazon offers, for instance. Remember how everyone considered the iPad “simply” a media consumption device? Amazon gives Kindle Fire users plenty to consume, having also launched their own App Store earlier this year. However, by far the number one plus for the Kindle Fire is the price. $199 for an 8GB seven inch tablet is an amazing price point.
And that’s my key point: the price of this media-centric device is just $199. That makes it much more accessible to a broader audience than the $499 iPad 2. Even a number of consumers set on the purchase of an iPad 2 may be put off by the cost of the device when knowing they can get a Kindle Fire much cheaper.
So while the Kindle Fire is around 40 percent the cost of a base level iPad, it’s capabilities are even less. It just so happens that those capabilities match up well with what a typical consumer uses a tablet device for. Because of that, the Kindle Fire will be a strong competitive device to the iPad. When it comes down to it, it’s the cost that matters to a very large portion of the buying public, not the capabilities.
We got a chance to go hands on with a few new titles from Ubisoft. Let’s take a look at the most casual title, Monster Burner.
Monster Burner is a casual puzzle shooter where you send fireballs up the screen to burn the advancing monsters. Part Puzzle Bobble, part Space Invaders, Monster Burner has 40 levels, power-ups (spells), and enough interesting social features to keep you interested for a while.
In our short look at the app, due out next week on November 3rd, we were pretty impressed. The game offers an interesting take and we’re looking forward to the release.
I must admit I was more than a little surprised to see this game on iOS. It’s a pretty big hit on the Wii and I know a lot of kids both young and old that really love it. How can a Wii-Motion game / rhythm game translate to iOS? So far, pretty well.
The idea of The Michael Jackson Experience is that you are MJ, dancing away to his greatest hits. In try rhythm game fashion, you trigger events at key beats in the song. These events can be slide left, right, taps, and curve etc. The harder the level, the more events you need to trigger. All timed to and set to everyone’s favorite Michael Jackson songs. This version of the game is a port from the PSP Vita version. And while the final list of songs to be included is still being negotiated, you can expect all of the greatest hits here when it releases.
No release date or price has been set, but we’re really looking forward to this one. Take a look at the video of the Wii version below for a fairly good idea of what to expect from the iOS port.
Ubisoft really rolled out the new titles this year. They are taking over development of their titles, formerly developed by Gameloft, and are kicking it into high gear.
We saw not one but two new Assassin’s Creed titles. Assassin’s Creed Multiplayer Rearmed is the overhead multiplayer game we first saw earlier this year. Removed from the App Store, retooled, redone, and now retitled Rearmed. Also now it works on the iPad. Interesting experiment, but we’ll see if the new version will take off where the old version failed to gain a following.
Assassin’s Creed Recollection is a really impressive looking card based game. Deep and complex, this one will take a while to dig into. I know a couple writers here at 148Apps that will love this game.
Rabbids Go HD was the disappointment of the day. Rather than a real Rabbids game, it’s really just an interactive toy. You can do all the usual stuff, poke, prod, swipe. The Rabbid reacts. Repeat.
Prince of Persia The Prince of Persia we saw seemed to be the original retro title, much like the Prince of Persia Retro available in the App Store now. Same game, but graphics spruced up and made more modern. We’re still stuck with on screen controls and no a real touch control system though. No release date or price is known.
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon An early build of this was shown, and while it seemed to be far from complete, we can reveal that they seem to be going for a turn based strategy game set in the Ghost Recon world. Graphically it was pretty impressive, top-down, well done 3D graphics. Could be a good one, we’ll see. No known release date for this one.
For families and multiple device owners, there’s a lot of confusion on how to set up iCloud and iTunes under iOS 5. Under iOS 4 there was just a single iTunes login that members of a family or work group could use to share iTunes purchases. Now, under iOS 5 there are now multiple logins on a single device, leading to confusion. We can help.
The problem under iOS 5 is that users do not want to share their contacts, email, photostream, calendar, or other iCloud services with family members or co-workers. Yet they still want to share iTunes purchases across multiple devices and users. Luckily Apple has left a simple solution for this in iOS 5.
First, each user in the group should have their own iCloud account. This will maintain privacy across all of the iCloud services like calendars and contacts. It will give each user a unique identity. Next, the users in the group can share a single iTunes account for store purchases. Here’s how to do it.
Under the settings in iOS, there are two unique sections for iCloud and for the iTunes Store (listed as just Store in settings).
iCloud Settings: Under iCloud, set up each user with their own account and turn on the services they wish to use.
iTunes Store Settings: Under the Store section in Settings on each of the iOS devices in the group, sign in with the shared iTunes account for purchases from the App Store, etc.
If you have multiple iTunes accounts, you can sign in and out of the different accounts without issue from the Store settings. That is unless you turn on automatic downloads. New to iOS 5 are automatic downloads for the iTunes Store for Apps, Books, and Music. If this device only uses the one account, it’s safe to turn on any of these that you wish. But, turning this on will lock this device to this iTunes account for 90 days. So if multiple accounts are used, do not turn on automatic downloads.
It should also be noted that previously as many devices as needed could share iTunes purchases. But now, officially only five devices can share purchases. Though it seems as though this currently only applies to music.
We hope this has helped at least a little bit in one of the more confusing parts of iOS 5. Still confused? Hit us below in the comments.
Note: Forgive us, this article isn’t something that we would normally publish. But last week was not an ordinary week. We’re still trying to adapt to it all.
I’ve started to refer to this moment during Tuesday’s special event as the Schiller sigh. The first time I noticed it, it seemed like a very odd reaction. But we now know it was a moment of true emotion escaping in a very important presentation. With hindsight I understand the reaction and the strong emotion behind it, and it speaks volumes. Take a look at the video below, if you missed it during the presentation.
That reaction has haunted me ever since noticing it upon re-watching the special event stream. This week has been a very emotional week and after noticing Phil Schiller’s reaction, I could not get it out of my head.
Was that a sigh and did he look sad right after announcing the new flagship iOS phone? He should be really proud after announcing a new product. People should see in your face and reaction how great the product is and how proud of it you are. But no, that was a sigh, and a very sad face.
Initially I thought that perhaps Phil didn’t like the iPhone 4S or name. Then I quickly realized it wasn’t the name but the fact that he was up there announcing it. A product who’s real creator could not be up there to announce it himself. Only the next day did we understand exactly why.
That was just a single moment in the middle of a very subdued presentation. Not the traditional Apple presentation we are used to. Phil let his emotions tell what, out of respect to the family, he couldn’t say with words. The life of a great man, the one whom everyone in that room admired and respected, was coming to an end. The executive team knew it. They went on with the event, most likely because Steve expected them to. They were all very professional, but the emotional toll on the presenters was evident.
Looking back, they held up amazingly well. I can not imagine how tough it must have been to be up there. But they are professionals who knew that Steve would be watching and expect nothing less from them. And the products announced, which Steve was responsible for, deserved it.
An empty seat that can never be filled. Reserved last week at the iPhone 4S announcement.
News from Apple today that Steve Jobs has lost his battle with cancer. The following is from Apple.com.
Apple is also requesting that if you would like to share your thoughts, memories, and condolences, please email rememberingsteve@apple.com.
Personally I’d like to thank Steve for all he did and all he inspired. It should be obvious, but without what he created this site that I love and labor over wouldn’t be here. He will leave a void that may never be filled.
We know what’s on everyone’s mind right now: “That new iPhone 4S looks like a killer phone, the object of much desire. And I’d really like to upgrade. I wonder how much it will cost me? And should I really do it?”
There are a lot of factors that go into that decision. And since we’re all going through that decision process, too, we decided to make a guide to help everyone.
Some of the things you are going to need to decide about deals with your current service? What is the best service provider for you?
How’s Your Service?
When the iPhone was launched it was only available on AT&T. So that decision was easy. Now it’s available on three large carriers in the US. So you have options. That’s good. And bad. The best carrier varies widely based on your needs and your location.
Verizon beats AT&T – who would have guessed? We asked our readers to give us some feedback on their current carrier for the iPhone, how good it was, and what their future plans were. Across the board, AT&T scored lower than Verizon. Particularly in call quality and data connection quality. Verizon scored nearly 20% higher in each category.
Also in our survey, nearly 50% of the respondents are planning on switching carriers this year.
Get the Coverage Details
AT&T coverage is notoriously horrible in large cities. New York City and San Francisco, particularly. If you live in one of those areas and you are looking to jump to a new carrier, this is just about as good of a time as any.
There are a few tools you can use to check the coverage in your area.
CNET Coverage Maps – This is a resource that shows actual coverage based on thousands of samples. You can zoom in and find the coverage of the major carriers in your area and the areas you travel to both in voice and data quality. This same data is also available with Root Metrics CellCoverage app, a free Universal iOS app.
Cell providers publish their own coverage maps. These show unfortunately theoretical data on where coverage should be. Coverage? is a $1.99 Universal iOS app that combines all of those maps and overlays them on a Google map so you can see what official coverage is available in your area.
Decide on a Carrier
So, that said, let’s look at what your options and prices are if you want the iPhone in the US. For this we’re going to look at the cheapest option for a single iPhone 4S on each of the carriers that offer it in the USA. This generally means the lowest service level, fewest number of minutes, lowest data plan, pay as you go texts, etc. We will leave off any other options like enhanced calling options, insurance, etc.
What we found is pretty much what we thought we would. AT&T is the cheapest, by $15/month for the most basic level of service, with only 200 MB of data. Sprint is the only carrier that offers unlimited data – a great deal if you are a heavy data user.
Upgrade Now or Later?!?! Check Your Upgrade Eligibility.
Check your eligibility to see what your upgrade date will be. This will tell you if you want to stick with your current carrier, when you can upgrade for the lowest price. You can check with your carrier site or use the page at Apple to check when you can upgrade. Of course, you can always purchase the iPhone without an upgrade price, though it is a significant difference.
What About Waiting?
Hate to start the rumor mill early, but there will, most certainly be, a next iPhone. And it could come out anytime between 6 months and 18 months from now. It will also likely be a major upgrade and a new form factor. Probably true LTE 4G as well. There, I said it. Rumor mill restarted.
Should you wait? Depends on what kind of user you are. If you are a tech geek, we both know you aren’t going to wait. If you are happy with sticking with a phone for a couple of years maybe you will wait for the next one.
But the iPhone 4S is a great phone. If you have an iPhone 3G or non-iPhone, this is the best time to get one. The jump from an iPhone 3G to an 4S will be huge. You won’t believe what you are missing.
Trade-In Your Old iPhone
One other way you can save money, if you decide to go for the iPhone 4S is to trade in your old phone. There are a variety of services that do this, and most likely your new provider has partnered with one or two. So far the best deals we’ve seen are trade-in at Amazon, for an Amazon gift card. They are offering up to $360 for an 32GB AT&T iPhone 4.
If you are unhappy with your current carrier and get the latest iPhone every time it’s released: Now is probably the best time to change horses. Early termination fees (ETFs) generally go down based on the number of months you are into you contract. With this iPhone coming later than normal, you will save a few bucks on your ETF. Pick the carrier you prefer and jump ship now.
If you want to stick with your carrier and aren’t eligible for the early upgrade: Well then you’ll likely end up paying more. $250 or so more. Check your options. On AT&T, many users are reporting that it will be cheaper to cancel their contract and get a new one than it will be to pay the upgrade fee. The ETF and your eligibility for a cheap upgrade are based on a lot of things, so you need to check with your carrier to see what the details are for you. Check your upgrade eligibility date as well. You might need to wait a few weeks, but that might save you hundreds of dollars as well.
If you are happy with skipping the iPhone 4S: Then by all means do so. Stay with your current carrier and you will, most likely, be out of contract by the time the next iPhone is released. You will then be at the best position to look for a new contract as you won’t suffer any early terminations fees.
Don’t have an iPhone, but want to get one now: It really comes down to this. If you live in a large city, you are probably best with Verizon. If you live outside a city, AT&T will probably save you a few bucks. But you should also check the coverage maps listed above to check who has the best coverage in your area.
So, Are You Going to Get the iPhone 4S?
We’d love to hear from you. Let us know if you are going to get the iPhone 4S and on what carrier. Or are you one of those strong will people and going to wait for the next iPhone?
At 10am, Tim Cook – the fresh new Apple CEO – took the stage to announce what will change everything, again. Not wearing Steve Jobs’ usual turtleneck, he instead wore a nice slate colored dress shirt – setting his own style. Tim delivered updates on what’s happening in Apple retail, the iPod line, iOS 5, iPad, and the iPhone 4. Want to watch the keynote online? It’s up now at Apple.com.
First up we got the usual statistics recap. Stats of course can be spun however the speaker wants, but here are some pretty solid and interesting bits. Apple now has 357 retail stores, has sold 300 million iPods. iPods have has a 70%+ marketshare the entire time they have been available. For reference, Sony took 30 years to sell 230k Walkmen cassette players. Apple sold 300 million iPods in 10 years.
iTunes now contains 20 million songs and in total has seen 16 billion downloads. Apple is reporting 500,000 apps in the app store — as usual they are a bit premature on that as it’s currently about 20,000 shy of that number. But there are well over 125,000 iPad apps available. The App Store has had 18 billion downloads with over $3 billion paid to developers, with 1 billion app downloads per month. That’s billions, with a B, right there.
The really big number here, though, is that there are 250 million iOS devices now out there.
Let’s skip right to what we are all came for, shall we? The new iPhone:
The new iPhone 4S – looks like the old iPhone
One of the worst kept secrets was that the iPhone 4 was going to get a bump in features to a new model, named the 4S. While there are only minor changes to the hardware case itself, this is a pretty substantial update on the inside. The main processor chip is now the same dual core A5 chip that runs iPad 2, increasing the speed and upping the memory. That means apps will have more resources to use and more apps can be run at the same time. In fact, Apple claims graphics can run at up to 7x the speed of the iPhone 4.
A killer new 8MP camera – the coolest hardware feature of the new iPhone 4S is the new camera. The camera has been upgraded to an 8MP backside illumination f2.4 camera. Meaning? This camera pulls in up to 73% more light per pixel – that means better pictures in just about all situations but especially so in lower light. Really a great camera on paper, better than most small cameras and even some DSLRs. Of course, we’ll have to see how it does in real life situations.
The camera also includes 1080P image stabilized video recording, face detection for quick focusing, and quick image capture – 1.1 seconds to first picture, 0.5 seconds for successive images.
Siri – the intelligent assistant to get things done just by asking – The coolest new feature is the Siri assistant. This feature is rather hard to describe, but it truly is an assistant. It will allow users to interact with the phone with only their voice, getting responses via a computer voice. Things like reading your SMS messages, replying to them, setting calendar appointments, playing music, replying to email, and searching Wikipedia can all be done by voice. I think we’re seeing just the tip of the iceberg here with Siri. I expect this to continue to expand with future iOS versions.
Take a look at the video below from Apple for more great examples of what you can do with Siri.
Siri launches only on the iPhone 4S. The processing power apparently required apparently is only available on the 4S. [Editor's note: what wasn't mentioned, of course, is the availablity of Siri on the iPad 2, which has the same processing power as this new 4S device]
Now on Sprint The iPhone 4S will be be available on three carriers simultaneously for the first time. AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint – all will launch at the same time.
More new iPhone 4S features Some other new features include a single dual mode phone, which can be used on all US carriers. Technically this dual mode feature is a huge deal. But in real life, not so much. Carriers will still have the device locked down so users can’t easily switch between them. And even the unlocked phone version of this will apparently not work on the CDMA carriers anymore (Verizon and Sprint). It’s a mess – and we can blame the carriers for that.
Barely mentioned in the keynote, the iPhone 4S will do Airplay Mirroring just like the iPad 2 – a feature that lets users see their device screen wirelessly on an Apple TV. Great for games, this sleeper feature will be huge one day, when Apple decides actually back the Apple TV more.
iPhone 4S Available on October 14th – the iPhone 4S will be available on October 14th in the US, Canada, Australia, UK, France, Germany, and Japan. Pre-orders will start on October 7th: this Friday. The price will be $199/$299/$399 on two year contract for 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB versions.
In addition, the iPhone 4 will be available for $99 for an 8GB model while an 8GB 3GS model will be available for free with contract.
New Applecare+ One great new options is the Applecare+. For $99, Apple will extend your warrantee to two years. One great new feature here is that Apple will replace an iPhone up to twice due to accident – dropped, submerged in water, etc. “Coverage for up to two incidents of accidental damage from handling, each subject to a $49 service fee.”
Our Take on the iPhone 4S
While internally the iPhone 4S is a pretty decent jump, it still is lacking compared to some of the other devices (Android, Windows Phone 7) being released. Don’t get the wrong idea, the iPhone 4S is still the best phone out there, but it may just lack the sexy features the some people will look for. Dual core processors are great, but the screen size is on the very low end these days.
If you have an iPhone 4, I’d say skip this upgrade. Wait for the next one and you should be out of contract and able to switch carriers if you wish. If you don’t have an iPhone, it’s the best iPhone we’ve ever seen, I’d say make the jump now.
Overall, this a good device, but there aren’t enough compelling or new features to justify the 16+ month wait. We wanted more. A lot more.
iPod touch
The iPod touch didn’t get an update at all this year. Oddly it’s the same device, just slightly cheaper at around $30 less than last year prices. It is available in white now as well as black. But that’s not really an upgrade.
Our Take on the iPod Touch Update – Or lack of update. Apple is now touting the iPod touch as the most used game device. And while it may be, it’s not that competitive anymore. Without an A5 processor upgrade, the iPod touch is now quite a bit behind the iPhone 4. Not unexpectedly, as the iPod touch is usually a bit behind the iPhone; it got a retina display a couple months after the iPhone. Overlapping the upgrade of the iPhone with the iPod touch made me hope it would at least get an upgraded processor.
iOS5 Release – October 12
The iOS5 release was officially announced to be October 12th, a little over a week from now. It’s a free upgrade. No real new features were mentioned beyond what was announced at WWDC. Refer back to our earlier coverage for more and we’ll have a full guide for you on launch day.
Our Take on iOS5 – while we had hoped to see some further updates to some of the core apps and perhaps some new features, iOS 5 is a really solid upgrade. Lots of great new features and much needed improvements. Highly recommended if you have a iPhone 4, iPad 2, or iPod touch 4th gen.
Older devices may not fare so well with this upgrade. So if you have an older device and your device is officially supported, iPhone 3GS, original iPad, and iPod touch 3rd gen, let others try the upgrade first to see how it functions in real life.
iCloud and iTunes Match
As you may remember, iCloud is the name of Apple’s new group of cloud based services. The basic level is free, and something everyone should use. For a quick overview, take a look at the video below.
No new features were announced beyond what we heard about at WWDC. But we did find out that iCloud will launch on October 12th with iTunes Match following up in late October. We’ll have more on iCloud in a follow up article and expect this to be something that Apple iterates regularly. And let’s hope so. Both products seem like they are a little unfinished and missing features – we had hoped for some finishing touches to be announced. We’ll just have to keep waiting.
New Apps from Apple
Cards – is a new app from Apple that will allow you to create greeting cards on your device. Those cards will then be printed and mailed to whomever you choose for $3 in the US, $5 internationally. If you ship it to the US you can get a push notification when it’s delivered.
Find My Friends — Hinted at for a while, this is a feature that lets you share your location with your friends. Friends can request where you are and the app gives you some interesting control over how long and when they can get that information.
Both of these apps will launch on the App Store with iOS 5 on October 12th.
Summary
It’s hard to really get too excited over this announcement. We only saw one really revolutionary thing from Apple, by the name of Siri. I think a lot of people assumed that with the delay in release of a new iPhone we were in for a huge set of announcements. Things like whole new maps app, Facebook integration, a truly new device, and hopefully a lot of things we hadn’t even heard of.
Instead we got a really solid, but very safe phone. Some great announcements, but nothing revolutionary, and nothing that changes everything – safe. And nothing that seemed to tie up the loose ends that are iCloud and iTunes Match. They just seem like unfinished products.
The big question for me, and for anyone contemplating an upgrade, is when will the next iPhone come out. Apple has thrown out their usual calendars this year. The usual cadence of a new iPhone every summer is gone. We could see the next, expectantly revolutionary iPhone, anytime from next Spring to two years from now, which makes long term planning and contract scheduling hard. Rest assured, though, that we’ll be here to help get the information out as it arises.
It’s almost like Christmas and your birthday morning all wrapped up into one! But for this holiday you will be compelled to spends lots of money. Today Apple will make a bunch of announcements around the iPhone. It’s pretty much a lock that we will see at least one new iPhone today, final iOS 5 details including some that have been unseen so far, iCloud, and probably a new Apple iOS app, perhaps iPhoto.
While the rumors have been all over the place, the crazy crazy rumor mill have pretty much all settled on the new iPhone to be announced today being an iPhone 4S. An updated version of the iPhone 4 with perhaps a faster processor, more memory, a bigger camera (8 MP), and perhaps a few more features. This isn’t the iPhone 5 that we think Apple needs to make a statement, but such is Apple. They take their own paths — and let’s be honest, it usually works out for them.
It’s almost assured that we will see some new features in iOS 5 that haven’t been seen in the betas. And hopefully more details around iCloud and how it will work.
One area where iCloud is really lacking is photos. We’re expecting Apple to announce some new features around that and perhaps even an iPhoto for iOS. With each of the recent hardware releases Apple have released an iOS version of one of their core apps (iMovie, Garage Band, iWork, etc.) — it follow that they will continue this and I’m hoping we see something photo related today.
And maybe, just maybe, we’ll see the death of Ping today.
Tim Cook will be presenting the new information today, his first big presentation gig as new Apple CEO. Break a leg, Tim!
We’ll be reporting all of the big announcements as they happen on our Twitter and Facebook streams. Check there for the very latest info. And we’ll be posting an analysis of the announcements later in the day.
Is this the next iPhone? I hope so. (photo credit: This is my next...)
Earlier this week, Apple announced their next major media event entitled “Let’s Talk About the iPhone.” Nearly 18 months after the announcement of the iPhone 4, Apple is expected to unveil the successor. The rumors this time around have been all over the place. From speculation that the next iPhone will be a device very similar to the iPhone 4, simply a spec bump of the current version called and iPhone 4S, to a full blown larger screen iPhone 5, to even seeing both.
I believe that Apple needs an all new iPhone 5, failure to release that would imply, to many, a lack of innovation on a platform that they re-invented. And failure to see an iPhone 5 on Tuesday would look bad for the new Apple CEO and the stock price.
There have been rumors going around since the spring of an iPhone 5 with a larger screen, tapered back, and faster processor. First reported by This is my next, the device looks strikingly like the current iPod touch. But more recent rumors have pointed to that much less innovative iPhone 4S as the next iPhone.
Now let’s play devil’s advocate for a moment and think of how the lack of an all new design iPhone 5 being revealed on Tuesday would be received by the media and public. While the following can be seen as a bit overblown and even preposterous, I think we’re used to that from some segments, and I did say I was playing devil’s advocate.
For Apple to wait nearly 18 months to release an iPhone that is basically the same as the iPhone 4 would be thought of as a triple mistake. It would look bad for Tim Cook, new CEO of Apple, it would impact the stock price, and would give Android a further foothold in the smartphone market.
Tim Cook took over for Steve Jobs as CEO of Apple in August. This will be his first big product reveal and in the worlds eyes, his first big test. For Apple to continue to be thought of as a leader in the smartphone area, they need to continue to innovate. Without a new iPhone, it will appear, at least on the surface, that Apple has stopped innovating and that Tim Cook has failed in his new role. In other words, we waited 18 months for this?
Let’s end devil’s advocate mode for a moment. This is of course preposterous. A little truth that many won’t think about is that products like the iPhone are developed over a 24-36 month period. Meaning we won’t really see what Tim Cook is capable of for another two plus years. The iPhone that will be announced Tuesday has likely been in development since at least 2009, perhaps earlier.
Without a new iPhone, and the perceived lack of innovation in the smartphone market, Apple should be prepared to take a rather large stock hit. Though it will likely recover, it may take some time and a couple product launches to get back to it’s stellar highs.
In this same time period since the iPhone 4 launch, the high end segment of the Android market has been taken over by large screen, dual core processor, 8MP cameras, beasts of devices. The iPhone 4 is really closer to a small screen these days compared to the current crop of large candy bar phones with beefy processors, huge amounts of memory, and large lens cameras. And Android has already surpassed the iPhone in smartphone sales. I now see more Android handsets in use in San Francisco than I do iPhones. While the iPhone 4 is still the most common single device, the number of Android devices I see easily outnumber the iPhone two to one.
More pragmatically, people crave new devices. They want the hot new thing in their hand to look cool, stylish. If you see someone with an iPhone 4S, one that looks just like the last model, you won’t know they have the cool new phone as it looks like the used to be cool old phone. So products like the iPhone need to look different frequently to cause people to want them and to sell.
Ok, enough of devil’s advocate, let me put the record straight. I think we will see the iPhone 5 on Tuesday. My sources say it is done and ready and is pretty much what we see above. But there are still possible hiccups. There could be production delays, supply problems, or any of a number of contractual and legal reasons that it won’t be announced on Tuesday. The chances of that at this point late in the game, are I believe fairly slim. I do believe those reasons are why we didn’t see the iPhone 5 in June, the usual iPhone launch timeframe.
Chomp, the leading app search company, has totally redone their iOS application making it quicker to search and easier to discover new apps.
The real story with this update, though, is the new discoverability features. Chomp goes beyond an app search app to provide the user with some great features to help find new apps either in pre-defined ranking groups or via groups based on an app category. Chomp powers our app search here are 148Apps. They also happen to have one great iOS app to search for and discover new apps. This 3.0 update brings some great app categorization beyond what the App Store does. These categories can help users find some great new apps.
The search box has been updated to provide live search. Just start typing and it will quickly suggest apps and app categories for the search. In addition, there are some new top level features to find the most popular apps, newest apps and all of the newly free apps. This feature is one of my favorites. With so many daily free app sites, this feature will give us all one single place to go to to get all those free apps, all in one place.
Check out the Chomp app and let us know what you think.
Got a minute? What? No? How about a minute of your time for a chance to win an iPad 2?
Yeah, sounds better? We’re doing a quick non-evil survey. The goal is to allow potential advertisers know who they are advertising to. Lets face it, no one really likes advertising, but that advertising you see on the site allows us to bring you nearly 20,000 quality words worth of iOS related content every week. The top notch writers here do a heck of a job, and we enjoy being able to pay the writers for the great content they contribute to the site. (BTW, we’re looking for more writers, in case you missed it.)
So this painless little survey will only take a few minutes and help us greatly. Your responses are greatly appreciated and might be handsomely rewarded with a killer iPad 2.
The first HTML5 Developers Conference is set to launch next week. And just announced they will be hosting a hackathon with a special focus on mobile gaming.
Everyone is talking about HTML5 — it’s the future, right? Developers from all over the world are getting together to learn more about HTML5 and those ubiquitous plans next week in San Francisco.
The HTML5 Developers Conference has already announced some fantastic speakers like Douglas Crockford (discoverer of JSON), Yahoo!, Ben Savage, Sibblingz, Steve Souders, Google, and Jason Hoffman. Take a look at the full lineup of speakers, looks like it’s going to be a packed day.
The HTML5 Developers Conference takes place next Tuesday, September 27th at the Westin Hotel in San Francisco. You can register with 10% off using the code HTML5vibe.
And for the full details on the hackathon, hit the jump. For more information on the HTML5 Developer Conference, hit up html5devconf.com.
Turntable.fm, the site that lets you create your own DJ avatar and play music in front of a virtual room of friends or just random folks. If you haven’t used the website, it can be a lot of fun. Specialized rooms can be created, you can invite friends, save favorite songs, and give feedback to the DJ. When you become the DJ you can choose what song others hear. Here’s how the developers describe the experience:
turntable lets you play music together with your friends and other people online. Each DJ takes a turn playing a song and the entire virtual room hears the song. You can vote on whether the song is awesome or lame and if it receives too many lame votes, it gets skipped.
turntable is also truly social. You can chat with people in your room or fan your favorite DJs so that you can find them later. Help people discover new great music or just sit around and listen to the best curated music experience online.
Grab it now and let us know what your favorite room is.
Another holiday weekend in the US means one thing — apps on sale! This time around we are seeing good, but not best ever sales from Gameloft, EA, Namco, Big Fish, and many many more. Hit up the list below, we’ll try to update it a couple times this weekend — but I’ve got a grill to attend to as well!
And as always, you can keep track of the latest and greatest app price drops on the Price Drops page and RSS feed.
Update: 9/4, 1pm – Labor Day weekend continues. The grill is hot, the beer is cold. Should be a perfect day. Oh, and here are another 30 great apps that are on sale for super cheap.
Update: 9/5, 11am – More apps, more great sales!
We first set our eyes on the iBlueK keyboard at CES in January. From the start, it was obvious that this was a whole new class of iPad keyboard case and one to look out for. With the integrated yet removable keyboard design in a good looking folio case, it was something we hadn’t seen. It took many months to reach our hands, but we finally got in one to try out. Let’s put it through its paces.
The iBlueK securely holds the iPad 2 in place with a standard leather frame around the border of the iPad 2. The other half of the folio has the removable keyboard, sturdily held in place by magnets, yet easily removed.
The folio can be held closed by another magnet on the flap. This flap does a good job of keeping the folio closed while in a bag or being carried. On the back of the folio is an easel flap that flips out and allows you to place the case in its one upright position.
Unfortunately, this is the first downside to this case — there’s only one position available to place the iPad 2 in while using the folio. The closure strap, which I originally thought to be very annoyingly covering the screen, easily connects to the easel in the back with the built in magnet, to keep it out of the way. The real problem with this is that the case can only be held upright while leaning on this easel and placed on a large flat surface. This case can’t be used on your lap for example. This single position also means that you can only use the case in horizontal orientation.
A keyboard case is really all about the keyboard, right? So, how is this one? There’s good news here. The keys are large and have a nice travel to them. The layout is good with two shift keys and a proper inverted T for the arrow keys. Oh, and don’t forget that the keyboard is removable and easy to position as close or as far from the iPad as you wish. The keyboard itself is super thin too.
The one real downside to the keyboard could be the closeness of the keys. While a good typist can get used to that quickly, I’ve had my struggles with it while writing this review. The only other negative I could say about the keyboard is the single width backspace key. My preference is for a double-width backspace key, and this keyboard, while having it in the right position, is only a single width.
Overall the construction of the folio is very good, with quality stitching and solid assembly. It feels sturdy. Initially there was a problem with the smell of the folio right out of the packaging. Reeking heavily of chemical production smells, it needed to be left open for a few days, to air out, before I could use it.
I must admit that I was a little disappointed overall by the iBlueK. Partially because of the 6+ month wait. While it’s a competent keyboard and a good case, it now just feels behind. The 6 months in production, after announcing it at CES, now makes it feel a bit dated. While it was innovative in January, it just feels bulky and a generation behind. Other manufacturers, led by Apple and the Smart Cover, have gone for more sleek and thin cases.
The good news is that this is a well constructed case, and a great start. I’m expecting the next revision of this case to be stellar. If the added size and weight don’t bother you, this is a great, well-constructed folio with the added bonus of a keyboard.
Thanks to Dexim PR who sent us the iBlueK for this review as quickly as they could get it. You can pick up the iBlueK for under $100 at Amazon.com, J&R, and other retailers.
This case popped up recently and looked like it had a chance to be something unique. While it borrows heavily from the Zagg mate, it makes a few improvements and is a heck of a lot cheaper. Let’s take a look at the Aluminum Keyboard Buddy case for it iPad 2.
This keyboard for the iPad 2 is sold as a case, but it’s not truly a case. Rather, it is more of a smart-cover-enabled clam shell with a keyboard included. The iPad sets, face down, into the tray of the keyboard with the edges coming up to enclose the sides of the iPad. And here we see the first issue with this keyboard.
To place the iPad 2 into the case for storage, users need to wedge one wide side of the iPad under two tabs on the edge of the keyboard. Then, users close the iPad by easing it down over the keyboard. To get the iPad wedged under both of these tabs is not a super easy thing. And once the iPad is closed into the keyboard, it is not as secure as the iPad was in the Zagg keyboard. The friction seems a bit lacking – it easily works itself out when stored in a bag or carried in your hand. Perhaps a little forceful adjusting of the aluminum edge of the keyboard would help, but I’m not willing to risk breaking it to do so.
Using the actual keyboard is much better than expected. It’s a similar Bluetooth design to most other non-folio type keyboards. The iPad 2 wedges into a groove on the front of the keyboard and leans back either in portrait or landscape orientation. The keyboard base then becomes the platform to hold the iPad 2 and use as a keyboard. This works quite well and is in my opinion the best method for typing. The solid base allows you to use this on a table or even in your lap, though using it in your lap with the iPad in portrait mode can feel a bit unbalanced. The one issue with this keyboard in particular is that the iPad bounces considerably when touching on the screen. The tabs holding the iPad in place are perhaps a bit soft for this or the overall design is a bit less rigid than it needs to be.
What about the keyboard? Well this is where this device really shines. While it has very small keys, they have great separation from the other keys. This really has given me unparalleled accuracy in typing on an iPad keyboard device. Add to that my preferred double-width backspace, inverted T arrow keys, and the usual compliment of iPad quick access keys, and this could be my favorite small iPad keyboard.
When closed up, the keyboard adds very little bulk in comparison to other keyboard cases. The whole package is just under double the thickness of the iPad alone. This keyboard also includes the special iPad 2 magnet in just the right place to automatically wake up your iPad when you pull it out of the case. Perhaps this could be an issue for battery drain if the iPad is popping out of the case in your bag, however.
Overall, the Buddy iPad 2 case is a good specialized keyboard. While half the price and not nearly as good as the Zagg mate, it is half the price. While for pure typing pleasure you can’t beat the Apple Bluetooth keyboard, in a pinch this one will work and is considerably more portable. Add to that the rather cheap price at under $50, and it might be the perfect keyboard for some.
This iPad 2 keyboard shell is available for $49.90 from MIC Gadget in either white or black. Full specs from the manufacturer are below, or after the jump.
App conferences are becoming a lot more common. From conferences that focus on the business of marketing apps, hard core development conferences, and even grass roots community driven ones. App Developers Conference, coming to Santa Clara, CA on October 26-27, hopes to unite developers and marketing folks into a single conference.
148Apps is a proud media sponsor of the event. If you’d like to join us there, you can use discount code 148vip to get $100 off the registration fee.
More on the conference, direct from Engage Digital, the creators of App Developers Conference is at 148Apps.biz
Readdle have created some of the best business focused apps we’ve seen for iOS. And to celebrate being in the app business for 4 years, they are having a 30% off sale on all of their apps. In addition, they are giving away 4 iPads in a retweet contest.
Some other interesting stats. Readdle have seen over 3,150,000 people are actively using Readdle apps. 900,000 users of the Readdle Terra Browser, Scanner Pro has seen over 250,000 users on the iPhone.
Posted July 21st, 2011 by Jeff Scott Our Rating: :: NOT SMURFTASTIC
While Smurfs' Village has been in the App Store for a while now, it's getting a second life with the Smurfs movie coming out soon. Unfortunately the Smurfs deliver very little gameplay by limiting the amount of paly time in the game actively doing anything other than looking at Smurfs wander the forest.
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The nominated applications for the 2011 Best App Ever Awards have just been announced. This year saw a huge increase in the number of nominations placed and the number of applications nominated. The big change this year was the introduction of Android applications to the awards, with each category (other than the Best App Ever category) having a winner from each platform.
The third AppNation conference will be held November 30-December 1 at the Concourse at the SF Design Center and we are a proud media sponsor. The 
:: A GEM
Today, Amazon released their much talked about Android based tablet, the Kindle Fire. The 
At 10am, Tim Cook – the fresh new Apple CEO – took the stage to announce what will change everything, again. Not wearing Steve Jobs’ usual turtleneck, he instead wore a nice slate colored dress shirt – setting his own style. Tim delivered updates on what’s happening in Apple retail, the iPod line, iOS 5, iPad, and the iPhone 4. Want to watch the keynote online? It’s 
A killer new 8MP camera – the coolest hardware feature of the new iPhone 4S is the new camera. The camera has been upgraded to an 8MP backside illumination f2.4 camera. Meaning? This camera pulls in up to 73% more light per pixel – that means better pictures in just about all situations but especially so in lower light. Really a great camera on paper, better than most small cameras and even some DSLRs. Of course, we’ll have to see how it does in real life situations.
Siri – the intelligent assistant to get things done just by asking – The coolest new feature is the Siri assistant. This feature is rather hard to describe, but it truly is an assistant. It will allow users to interact with the phone with only their voice, getting responses via a computer voice. Things like reading your SMS messages, replying to them, setting calendar appointments, playing music, replying to email, and searching Wikipedia can all be done by voice. I think we’re seeing just the tip of the iceberg here with Siri. I expect this to continue to expand with future iOS versions.
It’s almost like Christmas and your birthday morning all wrapped up into one! But for this holiday you will be compelled to spends lots of money. Today Apple will make a bunch of announcements around the iPhone. It’s pretty much a lock that we will see at least one new iPhone today, final iOS 5 details including some that have been unseen so far, iCloud, and probably a new Apple iOS app, perhaps iPhoto.
The first HTML5 Developers Conference is set to launch next week. And just announced they will be hosting a hackathon with a special focus on mobile gaming. 
Readdle have created some of the best business focused apps we’ve seen for iOS. And to celebrate being in the app business for 4 years, they are having a 30% off sale on all of their apps. In addition, they are giving away 4 iPads in a retweet contest.
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