NASA launches debut application, free

The famous children’s song “he’s got the whole world, in his hands” has been taken to a whole new level, thanks to Apple’s iPhone and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Now you have the entire universe at the flick of a finger.

The application “makes extensive use of built-in iPhone features and usability to offer compelling yet concise information in a clear and intuitive way. Receive and share dynamic NASA mission updates, out-of-this-world images, and intriguing video links. Follow the path and progress of space exploration in real time while tracking the global orbits of your favourite spacecraft, all in the palm on your hand.”

We’re holding off on the review in light of a new version somewhere on the horizon, which should bring the much-awaited NASA TV (live) right to the iPhone as well as a plethora of minor upgrades and new features. Until then, just photos:

Note: NASA app uses a data connection download photos and videos.

CNN reaches the App Store with its new flagship application, CNN Mobile. We take a look at its impressive array of features, including push notifications and live video viewing.

Tweetie 2, a first look

Whilst we have almost the entire staff looking at Tweetie 2 right now (you think we’re kidding), here’s a quick pictorial summary of what you can expect from the much-awaited application:

US iTunes Store: $2.99
UK iTunes Store: £1.79

New features include a refined interface, flick down to refresh feature, tweet drafting and much more. See the Tweetie 2 iTunes App Store page for a full list of updates. We’ll certainly have a review up on Monday after some extensive testing, but in the meantime, be sure to check after the jump for tons of screenshots.

Tapulous hit the trifecta, Tap Tap Revenge 3 on its way

Big changes and a small price tag. Tapulous have submitted and are awaiting approval of their latest instalment of the highly popular Tap Tap Revenge game, according to Business Insider. A myriad of new features include in-app purchasing of avatars and music, a new feature of 3.0, allowing users to download two tracks for $0.99 or six tracks for $2.99.

Tap Tap Revenge 3 is due to be live on the App Store “sometime next month” at the price tag of $0.99 (£0.59). The price tag was unavoidable with in-app purchasing, which Apple requires all developers to price the application itself also. Expect to hear more in the next coming weeks, and as always, we’ll have a review up within days of its release.

Twitter and Push Notifications – The Big One

With the much anticipated arrival of push notifications, Twitter clients from across the App Store (and beyond) have been updated and re-polished to support this latest feature. However, times travel fast! Jeff was right when he said to me last week: “[this article] will likely be out of date within a week or so.” No fewer than three extra clients have landed onto the App Store and into our hands this week alone. We’ve dived in at the deep end to check out them all.

Why Push Notifications?
In the olden days, for instance, whenever 148 was the maximum amount of applications that you could install, if you wanted information you had to go to it. Be it the latest news or the latest tweets, the only way that you’d find out about it is if you went to the information source – a Twitter application for tweets; or a news website for breaking news. Push notifications reverses this role and the information is brought to you. You’re updated in real time about what is happening, who is tweeting you, and why the Zune is not as good as the iPod (okay, maybe not the last one). Push is practically limitless, and developers are keen to get ahead of the game.

The Clients
There are two types of clients for Twitter push notifications. Firstly, there is the fully-fledged application that has both a Twitter interface of its own and push notifications. Secondly, there are applications that leave the tweeting to the pros (eg. Tweetie / Twitterific) and a separate application is made solely for push. We’ll look at both.

Click to see full comparison chart (300kb)

Full rundown of the Twitter apps after the break.
Continue reading Twitter and Push Notifications – The Big One »

GPush will be on App Store Monday 17 August 9.00AM EST

The long awaited Gmail Push Notification Service is not coming from the search engine giant and creator of Gmail, Google, but from Tiverias Apps: a non-related company specializing in productivity enhancing applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Tiverias Apps have released a statement saying that “GPush is the missing link between GMail and the iPhone. For the first time, receive instant Gmail message notifications”. The application was released on the App Store earlier this month but was taken down just hours after its release due to server complications. Tiverias have subsequently fixed the problem and have used this downtime to address other issues and concerns with the application. The downtime serves as both a fix and an update.

In essence, the application will mimic what it is like to receive a text message, where a user is alerted and a notification is shown on the front screen displaying what the message says. Several applications already take advantage of push notifications, but none have been posted to the App Store that allow push notifications of incoming mail.

Users should see signs of increased battery life as well, as data will be pushed instead of pulled. Under the current system, the Mail application operates under “Fetch”, a feature that pulls data to the iPhone at specified intervals (usually every 15 minutes). With the arrival of push notifications, data can now be pushed to a phone from external servers as opposed to be being pulled by phone:

Fetch (Data Pulling)
iPhone –> Talks to servers –> Pulls any data from servers

Push (Data Pushing)
Servers talk to Apple –> Apple Push Notification Service –> iPhone

As you can see, in the former (fetch) it is the iPhone that does all the work. With push, it’s the third party servers.

We’ll have a review of GPush up within a few days of its release. Check back soon!

6.00AM PST
9.00AM EST
14.00PM GMT

MobileMe iDisk Application Released

Apple has posted an iPhone and iPod Touch version of its online file storage system, iDisk, to the App Store. In an unexpected move by the company, the application gives users the ability to view and send their files that are stored remotely on MobileMe servers. Rumours had recently surfaced suggesting that an iDisk application would only be available in iPhone 3.1, of which Beta 3 has recently been released to developers.

The application, free, supports viewing of “iWork, office, PDF, QuickTime and more [file formats]“. Files can be shared publicly and an e-mail with a link to the file can be sent.

Apple are inexplicably late to the game with the iDisk app, as the mobile version of www.me.com stated “You can access this information directly from the applications on your iPhone or iPod touch.” Several third party developers have already built applications that allow access to a user’s iDisk. Notably, Air Sharing Pro were quick to offer iDisk support and QuickOffice offered full iDisk viewing and editing, an important function, from within their app. Both applications were approved by Apple to the App Store with no fault.

It is not all bad news, though. The video playback feature alone warrants installation on any iPhone or iPod touch, where users can view video of any QuickTime supported file format (this includes the much-lacked AVI).

NotifyMe is an event reminder application that utilizes Apple’s Push Notification Service. Whether it be TV Shows or To-Do events, the app will push information at a specified time. With a leaf from Apple’s minimalist tree, this application is almost flawless.

1Password securely stores all of your sensitive data in an interface that’s easy to navigate. It stores information through a hardware accelerated AES encryption that guarantees your protection. You can sync with the 1Password desktop application too, and never a lose a password.

QuickOffice to bring e-mail attachment editing in their next update

We’ve just heard from QuickOffice, the leading giant who provides office software for mobile phones, that soon iPhone and iPod Touch users should be able to edit their e-mail attachments on-the-go. This a feature that has been lacking on the iPhone natively since day 1.

Currently, Documents To Go can “talk” to mail and retrieve attachments for editing (only .doc and .docx supported at the minute – excel promised soon): however, only through Microsoft Exchange. Whilst this should accommodate many, QuickOffice hopes to accommodate all. For those who do use Microsoft Exchange for their mail, Documents To Go with Exchange Support is available for $9.99 (£5.99). For those who don’t, the best work-a-round at the minute is provided by QuickOffice themselves, who take on an Air Sharing-avec-Office role where a user can add files from their computer onto their iPhone for editing provided that they are on the same wireless network. I spoke to the QuickOffice team, and they said that “we understand the ability to open email attachments is an important feature many users want and [we] are excited to be adding this capability.”

This is rejoicing news for Blackberry users who have long had the ability to receive an attachment, edit it and send it back within a matter of minutes. Whilst the App Store’s “Business” section has been flourishing of late (as has 148Biz), it is surprising to see that it has taken this long for this feature to be available to the public.

We’ll keep you posted as we get more information – and we’ll have a review ready as soon as we can. QuickOffice is currently on the App Store for $19.99 (£11.99) and – of course – the new update will be free.

Note: current review is of an older version.

Wunder Radio is an internet radio application that gives live feeds from thousands of stations across the world. Whatever you’re in the mood for – you’ll find it in here. From the Bahamas to Poland, United States to United Arab Emirates .. there’s no shortage of choice.

LogMeIn Ignition allows you to remotely connect and control your mac or PC as if you were sitting in front of it. With some out-of-the-box thinking and design, it works over both 3G and Wi-Fi and is simple to use.

iTrade Stock Market Simulator is an application that’ll let you trade real time, real prices. You’ve been given $100,000 to invest as you see fit. It’s all recorded and logged online, so there’s no excuse for a poor return! Trade with stocks and shares in the NASDAQ and NYSE.

FlightTrack is an application that allows you to track flights in real time and real location. Pulling data from FlightStats and FlightView, it elegantly compresses everything into a screen that is easy to understand and follow.