Entertainment Dominates iPhone/iPad Apps In 2010

Apple broke down this year's lists into two segments: those for the iPhone/iPod Touch, and those for the iPad. Each segment has three lists in it, rating the top 10 paid apps, the top 10 free apps, and the top 10 grossing apps.

All 10 of the top paid apps for the iPhone are games or entertainment related. Two of the year's most popular games, Plants vs. Zombies and Angry Birds, are included in that list. Switching to the top ten free apps, we start to see more social networking and utilitarian apps. For example, Facebook, Skype, The Weather Channel and Bing make it to the top 10 free apps. Google's Mobile Search App, Twitter apps, and others like them are conspicuously missing.

Even the top grossing iPhone apps fail to include any productivity apps. The closest it gets is the TomTom navigation app, and that's not really a productivity app (unless you work in a moving vehicle).

Moving on to the iPad, we see a slightly different picture. Productivity apps show up in the top 10 paid apps for the iPad, including Apple's Pages software and its Numbers and Keynote programs. Each of those apps costs $10, and are substitutes for Microsoft's Office productivity suite. GoodReader and WolframAlpha round out the top paid apps when it comes to productivity apps.

The top free apps for the iPad are all about info-gathering and entertainment. Google Earth, Amazon's Kindle App, Pandora Radio, and Netflix are just a few in that category. Apple's software still leads the top grossing category for the iPad, with Pages, Numbers and Keynote leading the way. The full lists are included below.

Top 10 paid apps (iPhone/iPod touch)
1. Angry Birds 2. Doodle Jump 3. Skee-Ball 4. Bejeweled 2 + Blitz 5. Fruit Ninja 6. Cut the Rope 7. ALL-IN-1 GAMEBOX 8. The Moron Test 9. Plants vs. Zombies 10. Pocket God

Top 10 free apps (iPhone/iPod touch)
1. Facebook 2. Angry Birds Lite 3. Words With Friends Free 4. Skype 5. Tap Tap Revenge 3 6. The Weather Channel 7. Paper Toss 8. Bing 9. ROCK BAND FREE 10. Talking Tom Cat

Top 10 grossing apps (iPhone/iPod touch)
1. MLB.com At Bat 2010 2. Angry Birds 3. Call of Duty: Zombies 4. Bejeweled 2 + Blitz 5. FriendCaller 3 Pro 6. Zombie Farm 7. TomTom U.S.A. 8. TETRIS 9. Plants vs. Zombies 10. Doodle Jump

Top 10 paid apps (iPad)
1. Pages 2. GoodReader for iPad 3. Numbers 4. Angry Birds HD 5. Keynote 6. Glee Karaoke 7. WolframAlpha 8. Pinball HD 9. Friendly for Facebook 10. Star Walk for iPad

Top 10 free apps (iPad)
1. iBooks 2. Pandora Radio 3. Netflix 4. Google Mobile App 5. Solitaire 6. Movies by Flixster 7. IMDb Movies & TV 8. Kindle 9. Google Earth 10. Virtuoso Piano Free 2 HD

Top 10 grossing apps (iPad)
1. Pages 2. Numbers 3. Keynote 4. LogMeIn Ignition 5. SCRABBLE for iPad 6. Documents To Go Premium 7. Angry Birds HD 8. Real Racing HD 9. Plants vs. Zombies HD 10. Proloquo2Go

Watch StarCraft II Being Controlled By An iPhone

In August we told you about an app that would let StarCraft II players control the game using their iPhone or iPad. Now we're showing it to you.

Dan Hellerman's RTS Gameboard for StarCraft II was supposed to see release last month, but missed the mark due to some play testing and optimization. Now it's due out sometime this month, and Hellerman has released a video of the app in action to give players something to look forward to.

Is it worth looking forward to? It's definitely technically impressive, but as many have pointed out it's pretty useless when it comes to fast-paced competitive play. So far the most impressive feature, according to one of the players that regularly orbits Kotaku Tower, is the ability to add a unit to a specific group in a speedy fashion, rather than selecting a group, adding a unit to the selection, and then resaving the selection.

The app definitely speaks of the potential of future interactivity between the PC and devices like the iPhone and iPad.

Edit: A reader pointed out that holding down shift instead of CTRL when creating a group merges the new group with an exsiting one. Our StarCraft II playing friend's response: "FML."

RTS Gameboard for StarCraft II [Official Website]

Can Game Center be the Success that Apple Hopes to Make it?

Social networking has been finding its way into our everyday lives for quite sometime now. Most recently, it’s become a part of our gaming space. Of course there were always online multi-user dungeons (MUD) and multiplayer shooters, but social gaming has gone far beyond the stereotypical image of a lone gamer in a dark hunched over a controller or keyboard with a lifeless stare into a glowing screen. Gaming has gained popularity with people of all ages, and games like FarmVille have struck some magic chord with people and kept them playing solely for the social aspect: sending and receiving gifts, showing off their farm or just because it gives them something to do in the office.

Apple’s latest addition the social networking space, Game Center, comes several months after it was originally announced and a mere week after Apple launched Ping, yet another venture into the world of social networking. Online networks like Xbox LIVE (XBL) and PlayStation Network (PSN) have already been doing this for quite sometime, but truly became relevant this console generation thanks to Microsoft’s strong push into online gaming. Luckily, it’s paid off for the technology giant, as they seem to have the most successful of the online gaming networks available. Xbox LIVE has become so successful, that not only does it generate a steady revenue stream for the console maker, it has become one of the system's main selling points. Microsoft’s old nemesis, Apple, is hoping to do the same by introducing a social gaming network of their own.

Game Center, as you may know, is an online gaming network created for Apple’s iOS devices that will let users play games together, challenge each other, view high scores and learn about new games from their friends online. Achievements are available just as they are with other online gaming networks, but what’s so different about Apple? Why this sudden desire to become a major player in the handheld gaming business even to go so far as to launch a social network with iOS4.1? Will it attract the casual gamers as well?

While we think many of the gadget geeks and gamers will definitely jump on board, simply because they have an iPhone, we aren’t sure if an online network like Game Center has the same appeal towards casual gamers as a social networking site like Facebook. Now, perhaps Game Center doesn’t need Mom or Dad to be a great service. They are happy enough with their iPhone version of FarmVille or Peggle.

Maybe Game Center is just Apple’s way of saying, “Look, we can do what Xbox and PlayStation do, but now you can take it anywhere you go!” Keep in mind that the online options on the PSP and the Nintendo DS aren't nearly as robust as Game Center. Of course each has their place, and one can argue that the DS' limited online functionality is an excellent way to protect children (They cannot communicate by voice or chat with users they haven't exchanged a "Friend Code" with, and the code must be obtained outside of the game.). At this point it’s too early to tell whether or not Game Center will be a success, but we are most interested in how the crowd of gamers typically referred to as the hardcore will use the service. Will they accept it as a hardcore gaming platform? Or will they take to Sony’s iPhone is “built for texting your grandma, and calling your girl,” mentality?

Sony's "Step Your Game Up" ad Campaign has Poked Fun at the iPhone in the Past

If Apple has any say, they won't let Sony make them out to be a casual gaming system. In the gaming space, Sony and Nintendo do have a huge advantage over the iPhone, established IPs that people love. It's hard to find a game that can match the quality of the Mario series on any platform, and at this point, the iPhone hasn't found its "Mario," but we doubt it ever will. It's worth keeping in mind that the iPhone does have games like Street Fighter and Assassin's Creed. Full-fledged games like Chaos Rings from Square Enix, are very high-quality RPGs that narrow the gap between the usual perception of a "phone game" and what you may see on a console or dedicated gaming handheld.

This is because we've seen Apple push their way into into the handheld gaming space by providing high-quality games at a low price. This is in part thanks to digital distribution. Apple even provides the store that gamers can easily shop at. Some of us tried to discount the iPhone as a gaming machine, but the platform has become hard to ignore because the games are selling. Seems Apple's done their homework. Their next major step is simply to convince those core gamers that Game Center is a viable online network. This may be somewhat easy thanks to the ability to use your iTunes account to join the service.

We can’t leave out OpenFeint, which has been doing the social gaming network on iPhone for longer than Apple. It’s been met with success, but by making Game Center a part of iOS, users who own compatible devices will have the the App installed on their iPhone as soon as they choose to update their OS. Still, it doesn’t surprise us. It’s not the first time we’ve seen Apple create their own answer to a popular App. The question remains, will users enjoy it?

Apple returns to ‘normal’ return policy: no more free cases

Trying to close a chapter on the "Antennagate" controversy, Apple will stop giving away free iPhone 4 bumpers at the end of the month.

Calling the Antennagate problem “even smaller than we originally thought,” Apple has officially decided to end the free iPhone 4 case program on Sept. 30. After Sept. 30, users still needing the free bumper will need to go through AppleCare.

“We are also returning to our normal returns policy for all iPhone 4s sold after September 30. Users experiencing antenna issues should call AppleCare to request a free Bumper case,” Apple said on the bumper giveaway’s site.

Apple offered free cases and bumpers this summer after users complained of the death grip problem on the iPhone 4. The phone was dropping its wireless signal depending on how it was being held. Along with the free cases, Apple instituted a no-restocking-fee return policy, in case users wanted to return their phones. Apple also extended the normal 14-day return policy to 30 days to give users time to decide.

After Sept. 30, the window for returning the phone returns to 14 days, and users wanting to return the phone will go back to paying a 10-percent restocking fee.

While free bumpers will still be available, there is a catch. Instead of using an app, you have to prove there really is a problem with the phone’s antenna. You can either call into AppleCare and convince the phone representative over the phone, or head into your local Apple Store to talk to the employees directly. If AppleCare or the store’s employees decide your phone is suffering from antenna issues, Apple will happily supply you with a free Bumper case.

If Internet speculation is right, and Apple has been quietly adding a nonconductive coating to the metal band on the sides of the iPhone 4 to prevent the death grip problem, or that there is a redesigned iPhone 4 on the way, then users with phones sold after Sept. 30 shouldn’t need to call AppleCare. Apple looks good by not ending the support program entirely, and users wind up not needing the bumpers. Who wins? The shareholders, who don’t have to weep thinking about all the lost revenues from giving away the bumpers.

10 (More) Free iPhone Games to Kill Your Boredom

By Umar Anjum on September 13, 2010

Smashing Apps has been featured at Wordpress Showcase. If you like Smashing Apps and would like to share your love with us so you can click here to rate us.

Wondering how to have fun with your iPhone? One obvious way is to play games on it. And I have found 10 great iPhone games which you won’t need to pay anything for. Read on my list of top 10 free iPhone games. Try them all out – they’re free!

You are welcome to share if you want to share more iPhone Games that our readers/viewers may like. Do you want to be the first one to know the latest happenings at SmashingApps.com just subscribe to our rss feed and you can follow us on twitter as well.

* Note: All these games are compatible with iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad.

TapDefense

TapDefense is a tower defense games. Like all games in this genre, your job is to fight against waves of enemies by building towers; these towers repel your enemies with various weapons. The game has 42 levels, 6 types of tower, 7 different enemies, and 6 game modes to play. Get TapDefense from here.

Topple

In Topple, you have to balance an increasingly wobbly stack of colorful shapes. You slide them into place using the touchscreen controls; to prevent the shapes from tappling, you can tilt your iPhone. The expressions on the ‘faces’ of each shape adds humor to the game and makes it very fun. Get Topple from here.

iBall3D

iBall3D is a remake of the classic Labyrinth game, but in 3D you’ll have to guide a ball from a location to another. You do this by orienting your iPhone or iPod touch, avoiding the holes. Once a level is completed, you’ll be able to send your score to the iBall3D server, and consult your world ranking position. Get the game from here.

iSplume

A ‘splume’ in this game is the round figure you see in the image above. The objective is to connect as many similarly colored splumes together. This completes the level and moves the game forward. You use the iPhone’s accelerometer to play iSplume. Get iSplume from here.

Cube Runner

This game is one of the early entries on the App Store. The game’s objective is quite simple: you use the phone’s accelerometer to guide your triangular spaceship through the landscape of cubes, trying to avoid them. Players can even create their own levels thus presenting challenges to their friends. Get Cube Runner by clicking here.

Trace

In Trace, you have a little character which needs to get from point A to B without falling for the obstacles in the way. The ‘rough’ graphics are justified because Trace needs you to draw a path for your character. As you draw, the path becomes visible and your character can walk left / right on it. Download Trace from here.

iMafia

iMafia is a fun game in which you build up the ranks of your characters by having him complete different mafia-related jobs. You can grow your mafia by getting other iMafia players to join in. Get iMafia from here.

Chess with Friends

This simple game lets you play chess over the network with a friend or a random player. The game’s simple functionality and cool graphics make the game worthwhile. Get Chess with Friends from here.

JellyCar

In JellyCar, everything is made of jelly. You have a jelly-like car which you drive through a jelly-like track around jelly-like obstacles. You rely on physics to speed up your car. The great graphics of the game make JellyCar very enjoyable. Get it from here.

Scramboni

This game is a must-have for all scrabble fans. Scramboni has you unscrambling words by tapping on tiles that appear on the screen. Your game is connected to other players on the network; the person to guess most words accurately and fastest wins. Get Scramboni from here.

First look: Taking HDR photos with Apple's iOS 4.1

When iOS 4.1 ships next week, iPhone and iPod touch users will have a new feature that allows for better photos in bright lighting: High Dynamic Range. AppleInsider offers a first look at the new technology built right in to the iOS Camera application.

HDR photos allow for superior pictures in daylight or other bright settings. Particularly when a shadow is cast on the subject or a part of the photo, it allows for a more accurate representation that doesn't allow the light or shadow sources to overpower the picture and result in a murky or discolored photo.

The new feature aims to prevent photos that are "blown out" with too much light. It accomplishes this by taking three photos in rapid succession: one with normal exposure, one underexposed, and another overexposed.

By combining these three photos, iOS 4.1 uses what Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs referred to in his keynote Wednesday as "pretty sophisticated algorithms" to produce an HDR photo.

"It's really remarkable in some photos," Jobs said. He then showed examples of how HDR allows a picture to capture colors in the sky and details in the foreground that otherwise would have been blown out by the light of the sun.

Tested on an iPhone 4, the HDR function is in fact a great option for users built right in to the native Camera application. If a picture is appropriately focused before it is snapped, the resulting photo is often superior to the regular picture.

On the left, without HDR. On the right, with HDR enabled.

Based on the conditions of the shot, HDR option won't always provide a better photo, but through the Settings application, users can elect to save both the "normal" photo and the HDR photo, and they can go back and decide which shot looks better. Users are asked if they want to save both HDR and regular photos the first time they boot the application after installing iOS 4.1.

In general, focusing the iPhone 4 camera lens on a darker area results in a better picture with HDR enabled. Focusing on a brighter area, however, can sometimes have the opposite effect, and create in a photo even more blown out -- particularly if the photo is a bright subject being snapped from the shade.

On the right, HDR fixes the overpowering sunlight seen in the normal photo.

Photo taken from shade, HDR photo on the right results in a more washed out sky, though areas in shadow have more detail.

On the left, without HDR. On the right, with HDR enabled.

The HDR feature does not work with pictures snapped with the forward facing camera on the iPhone 4. Selecting HDR also automatically turns off the flash function for the rear camera. Changing the flash back to auto or on will likewise disable HDR.

When taking a photo, the Camera app presents an on-screen toggle
to switch HDR on or off, wedged between to the flash and camera swap controls.

When browsing photos in Camera Roll, HDR snaps are identified appropriately in the upper left corner.

HDR options in the Settings app.

Other changes in 4.1

iOS 4.1 also fixes bugs that have existed in iOS 4, including a problematic proximity sensor issue that would cause the touchscreen to sometimes become active when a user was on a call. It also addresses problems with Bluetooth connectivity, and slow performance for users running the iPhone 3G.

The latest version of iOS also brings the ability to upload HD video over Wi-Fi, including uploads to YouTube. It also allows for TV show rentals, which were unveiled alongside the new Apple TV introduced Wednesday. And iOS 4.1 also ships with Game Center, Apple's social media service for gamers with friends lists and achievements.

iOS 4.1 will become available for recent generation iPhones and iPod touches next Wednesday Sept 8. It will be followed by iOS 4.2, which will bring wireless printing and AirPlay to the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad in November.

For more on iOS 4.1, see AppleInsider's previous in-depth look: Inside Apple's iOS 4.1 update: proximity sensor fix, Game Center, more.

NPD: Android is now top-selling OS in American smartphones

By Vlad Savov posted Aug 4th 2010 10:46AM

58diggsdiggStep aside, BlackBerrys and iPhones, the American consumer has voted with his wallet and picked Android as his favorite flavor in the quarter just gone. NPD's number crunchers have just announced their findings for Q2 2010, concluding that 33 percent of phones sold during the period had Android on board. This marks the first time in eons (Q4 2007, to be more precise) that RIM has not held the crown of most purchased smartphone OS on US soil, with its BlackBerrys accounting for 28% of the market and Apple's iPhone occupying third spot with 22%. Motorola and HTC are the key suspects fingered for Android's continuing ascent, with the "large screen allure" of their handsets playing well with the buying public. Skip after the break for a more detailed breakdown.

Flashlight app secretly lets you enable iPhone tethering

courtesy of macworld

Handy Light, a newly-available flashlight app for the iPhone, isn’t actually a flashlight app at all—it’s a sneakily disguised tethering utility that lets you share your phone’s Internet connection with your laptop. In other words, it’s an app that’s surely not long for this world.

It’s not surprising that Handy Light managed to trick its way past Apple’s App Store reviewers. To enable tethering, you need to configure an ad-hoc wireless network on your Mac, connect the iPhone to it, tweak some network and proxy settings, launch the app, and then literally tap a coded sequence of flashlight colors. No one could possibly discover the hack by exploring; you need to read detailed step-by-step instructions to get it to work.

Of course, now that the instructions are live, the app surely soon won’t be. Like the $10 NetShare app—which was axed by Apple nearly two years ago, the $1 Handy Light shares your Internet connection without AT&T getting a cent (unless, with all that tethering, you go over your new data cap).

The only question now is when Apple will pull Handy Light from the store, and perhaps whether Steve Jobs will send some heavies to the developer’s house to deliver a knuckle sandwich.

Handy Light requires an iPhone running iOS 4.0 or later, and at least mildly lax moral standards.

Consumer Reports gives thumbs down to iPhone 4 reception woes

At first, Apple said there was a simple fix for the iPhone 4's reception problems -- hold the phone differently. Then it said it was working on a software fix to make it better.

Now the venerableConsumer Reports says that because of the reception issues, it can't recommend the iPhone.

"Our findings call into question the recent claim by Apple that the iPhone 4's signal-strength issues were largely an optical illusion caused by faulty software that 'mistakenly displays 2 more bars than it should for a given signal strength'," writes Consumer Reports in a blog post. "The tests also indicate that AT&T's network might not be the primary suspect in the iPhone 4's much-reported signal woes."

The issue: touch the new antennas on the side of the iPhone and the signal can easily get either lost or weakened.

Consumer Reports said it tested three iPhone 4s in the New York area, and compared it to the earlier iPhone 3GS model and the Palm Pre, neither of which had signal loss issues.

Apple initially recommended that consumers buy cases for the iPhone to cover the antenna and shield it from your hands. Consumer Reports also suggests duct tape "may not be pretty, but it works."

Despite its qualms, Consumer Reports still loves the iPhone, saying it has the "sharpest display and best video camera we've seen on any phone," and beats previous models with better battery life.

"But Apple needs to come up with a permanent -- and free -- fix for the antenna problem before we can recommend the iPhone 4."

ALSO: Judge OKs iPhone class action against Apple, AT&T
APPLE RESPONSE: Company "surprised" by reception issues

By Jefferson Graham

courtesy of USAToday

Judge applies class action status to lawsuit against Apple, AT&T

The Associated Press reports a federal judge will allow a lawsuit filed against Apple and iPhone wireless carrier AT&T to proceed as a class action.

At issue is Apple's control over what applications can be installed to the iPhone as well as their exclusivity deal with AT&T. The lawsuit alleges actions taken by the two companies is hurting competition, says AP.

The lawsuit also claims the following, from the AP:

"Apple secretly made AT&T its exclusive iPhone partner in the U.S. for five years. Consumers agreed to two-year contracts with the Dallas-based wireless carrier when they purchased their phones, but were in effect locked into a five-year relationship with AT&T."

The lawsuit seeks an injunction to stop Apple from selling iPhones locked into AT&T's network and more freedom for installing software to the smartphone.

Apple did comment to AP, disputing the impact on competition in the market.

ALSO: Consumer Reports won't recommend iPhone 4

By Brett Molina

courtesy of USAtoday

Steve Jobs' Magic Trick

The complete guide to the iPhone's new OS

The new iOS 4 firmware update has arrived for newer iPhone and iPod Touch models. Here's what you need to know to get the most out of the new, improved operating system.

First off, have you actually upgraded? If not, here's how.

Afterwards, be sure to go to iTunes and download the apps updated for iOS 4. Now, let's look at what the new OS will do for your phone or iPod.

Multitasking and fast app switching
The big one. Here's how you try it.

1. Open the phone app
2. Hit the home button once, then open Safari and go to any site
3. Double tap the home button, which will bring up a little menu tray
4. Select one of the "open" apps to switch directly to it

You can also swipe left and right to scroll through the different "pages" of apps you have open. If your app is multitasking-enabled, it will resume exactly where you left off. Games will continue from pause mode, web pages will be where you left them, music will continuously play even while you're in another app, and so forth. The standard multitasking benefits.

So yes, this allows you to listen to Pandora in the background while you do other stuff. Well, as long as you grab that new version of Pandora. Strangely enough, YouTube backgrounding does not work, even though I remember specifically talks of that working. Not sure what happened there, or if the YouTube app needs an update.

The big picture is you can do a lot of stuff now that you couldn't do before. You can have a Skype phone call and use your phone simultaneously, have a GPS turn-by-turn navigation app keep your place and keep routing you even while you go and send a text message, or even just load up a web page and have it full in in the background while you go change a song.

To close a running app
Steve Jobs doesn't recommend that you even deal with closing running apps, because the phone will take care of it automatically. But if you want to shut off Pandora, or AIM, or anything else that's running in the background and giving you alerts or doing something you want to end, here's what you do.

1. Double tap the home button from any app
2. Press and hold on an app icon. The dismiss "minus" icon will pop up on each app and the icons will start shaking
3. Click the minus icon to kill an app. You can do so repeatedly for all the apps you want to close.
4. To get out of this mode, hit the home button

App folders
The hell of countless app screens is finally gone — or at least manageable in a sloppy way now. The folders in iOS 4.0 aren't perfect but they help organization just a bit and they're simple to use.

All you need to do is press-and-hold any app to trigger rearranging app icons and you'll be able to drag them onto each other to create folders. Done. Your iPhone will even automatically suggest a name for the folder based on the type of apps you're sticking in there (though you can change that with a tap).

Folders aren't exactly perfect though. They fit twelve apps, but only show tiny versions of 9. Once opened, folders show apps in rows of four — which leaves a net nine-app folder looking awkward once open. No matter though, we're content with being tossed at least a scrap here and hope that future iOS upgrades will address the some of the shortcomings of folders.

It's not surprising, but it's good to know that you can in fact stick folders into the dock.

Improved Mail features (mail threading)
We're glad to see that the Mail app received a bit of a feature makeover of sorts. All the new changes appear to be in response to complaints we've had our heard from other iPhone users.

The email threading feature is surprisingly solid. When you've got it turned on, emails will be grouped by replies — like in Gmail for example — and you'll see a little number indicator next to the most messages in your inbox to show you how long a thread is. Tap that most recent message and all others will pop up.

Speaking of Gmail! Those users will be happy to see that the "delete" button that shows up after a swipe has turned into an "archive" button. Makes things just a bit more logical.

We're also happy to see that there are now "smart" links in emails now. This means that you can tap on dates to add events to your calendar, press tracking numbers to pull up the UPS website, or open the Maps app when there's an address included.

And the best change to the Mail app? The long-awaited unified inbox. You can finally view emails by inbox or in one large dump. When replying to a message from the unified inbox, your iPhone will automatically use the correct email account.

If you receive an email from a person who has a picture in your contacts, you'll now see a tiny image of him or her in the corner. Kinda cute.

Note syncing
There is now an option to sync notes over-the-air with some email accounts—such as those through MobileMe.

New iPod multitasking controls
While you can no longer get a pop-up set of iPod controls by double-tapping the home button, you do have a decent replacement in the multi-tasking drawer. By swiping over to the very left of the drawer, you'll be able to access some minimal iPod controls next to the orientation lock. Play/pause, forward, back. It's just enough to make some quick adjustments to song selection, but we still miss the old pop-up-style controls a bit.

iBooks
That book e-reader program that's already out on iPad is coming to iPhone! (Yay.) But it's not built in. (Wha?) You have to hit the App Store and manually download the iBooks ap. It's free. Maybe for competitive purposes? Who knows.

In any case, you can sync ePub and PDF books directly from iTunes by using the iBooks section. If you have books in other formats other than ePub, use calibr to convert them.

Custom homescreen wallpapers
If you have an iPhone 3GS or a late-model iPod Touch, you can set backgrounds for your home screen. Like on the iPad. Here's how.

1. Go to Settings
2. Tap Wallpaper
3. Tap on the two icons that represent your two current homescreen/lockscreen wallpapers
4. Choose a picture from either the Wallpapers list that Apple included, or use one of your own photos from your photo album
5. Decide whether you want it on your lock screen, your home screen, or Both
6. Hit the home button to see your new home screen

Unfortunately, iPhone 3G users don't get to have Wallpapers. But if you want those Lost wallpapers, here you go.

Digital zoom
Keep in mind that this is digital zoom, so the already-wanting quality of the iPhone 3G/3GS camera will get even worse when you go 5x bigger. This is no enhance, enhance, enhance magic.

But to do so, just open up the Camera app, tap somewhere on the middle of the screen and the slider will appear. Slide it right to zoom, left to un-crappify. Note, zooming doesn't work on videos, where you can only tap to focus, but not zoom.

Bluetooth keyboards
Pairing a Bluetooth keyboard — almost any Bluetooth keyboard, not just the slender Apple-branded kind — is as simple as pairing any other Bluetooth device. Turn the keyboard on, turn on Bluetooth, let your phone detect the keyboard, and tap a few numbers. Done. It works quite well, though it takes a while to get used to not having the on-scree keyboard pop-up while a Bluetooth one is connected.

Turn off cellular data
If you're traveling abroad and want to make sure you stick only to Wi-Fi, you can now turn off cell data. Go to Settings, General, and then Network.

Tethering
You can now tether your phone to your computer over USB or Bluetooth. But how? The first step is turning on tethering on your account, which you can do by going to att.com/mywireless and enrolling in the tethering plan. It's an extra $20 a month, and you get to share whatever data plan you have on your phone with your computer.

Charging an extra $20 just for the privilege of using the same data you're already using on another device seems seems pretty lame, but that's a gripe for another time.

iAds
What, you're in such a hurry to look at ads on your iPhone? You'll have to cool it for a bit, because the ads themselves aren't available until July 1. What you can do, though, is opt-out of the targeting portion of the ads by going to oo.apple.com, but that isn't live until July 1 either.

Making playlists on your phone
You can do this now! Just hit the "Add New Playlist" from your playlists screen, and follow the on-screen instructions.

Quick Web, Wikipedia search
Swipe left from the home screen to get to the quick search area, where it now brings up not just local results, but gives you web and wikipedia links as well.

Speed
This isn't exactly something you "try", but compared to 3.1.3, iPhone 4 (on a 3GS) is definitely faster. Everything is snappier and quite fluid. Any of the sluggishness found in the betas is definitely gone.

New contacts screen
Adding a new contact is streamlined so that you don't need to keep jumping to a new input page in order to add a field, making everything just slightly faster.

Sync Events, Faces and Places from iPhoto
If you use iPhoto, you can sync discrete Faces, Events and Places from within iTunes, making it easier than setting up a hack-workaround album solution that doesn't work quite as well as Apple's native feature.

Spellcheck
There's a built-in spellchecker, which is useful, unless you're deliberately going for misspelled words in an ironic text, then it's horrifyingly annoying.

Search with Yahoo or Bing
Under Settings, Safari, Search Engine, you can change your default search engine to one of the non-Google alternatives, if you're the type of person who likes those engines more.

Send full-sized, any-sized photos when you're emailing
No longer do you have to sync your iPhone to your computer to get full-sized photos off of it. You can also have the option of resizing to a small, medium or large size, in case it's something you don't need super clarify for.

SMS character count, MMS disabling, searching
Like the Mail app, the Messaging app got a few new features. For the most part the changes are minor — there are now options to toggle off MMS and grouping of messages with multiple recipients as well as a character count. The best new feature though is the SMS search. It's not really different from any other search in the iOS. It simply live-updates results as you keep adding to your query.

Easier adjustment of location services

Now with apps being able to grab and use your location in the background, there might be multiple apps knowing where you are at the same time. The locations menu lets you keep track of who's used your data in the last 24 hours, or if you want, you can shut off location for certain apps entirely.

Better enterprise support

There's a small segment of you that will care about this, but the iPhone OS 4 can do a bunch of Enterprise stuff. And here it is, courtesy of Ars Technica:

• You can now encrypt your e-mail or attachments with your iPhone PIN code. The API for this is also available to developers so that you will be able to encrypt data inside of third-party apps as well.
• Apple now offers a mobile device management solution so that someone deploying lots of iPhones within a company can manage them.
• Wireless app distribution: no longer do you have to deploy apps across your company's iPhones with a physical connection. You can distribute apps to anywhere in the world from your own servers.
• As we mentioned in the Mail section, you can now have multiple Exchange accounts on a single phone.
• There's now support for Exchange Server 2010.
• There's now also support for SSL VPN.

Improved lock codes

For the frustrated and paranoid, Apple has finally added an option to toggle from four-digit "simple passcodes" to longer alphanumeric lockcodes.

Custom dictionaries
You can now finally stop telling people to go "duck" themselves because they're such "ducking" idiots by adding your favorite terms to a custom dictionary. The only stupid thing is that the option to edit a dictionary only appears if you add a foreign keyboard in the "International Keyboards" menu.

Cosmetic changes
Plenty of minor cosmetic changes in iOS 4. A few settings — like the Spotlight search customization — are now easier to find and some app icons are just a tiny bit prettier. A few of the changes are actually useful though, such as the ability to finally view your Photo Roll in a horizontal orientation and YouTube in a vertical one.

How it runs on iPhone 3G
There's no multitasking in iOS 4 for the iPhone 3G. (Or wallpapers or Bluetooth keyboard support.) Which would be fine, if iOS 4 delivered that other thing iPhone 3G owners really wanted: speed. It's no faster than OS 3.1. The hangups, the stuttering and the chugging, still make the iPhone 3G kind of infuriating to use, or at least make you really want to buy a new iPhone.

But iOS 4 still makes it a better experience overall: The unified inbox and folders alone make it worth the jump. After all, it's not any worse than 3.1.

What we still didn't get (and want in iOS 5)
SMS tone customization. Seriously! C'mon!'

• Facebook integration, or any kind of cloud-contact syncing
• iTunes cloud streaming, direct from an iTunes.com
• Better multitasking, because only having four icons visible at once is arbitrarily clumsy. Why swipe through so many apps to find the one to "quickly" switch to
• A solution to the modal popup problem. I don't want to be locked out of what I'm doing whenever I get an IM
• Widgets in the multitasking tray
• A lock screen that shows email count, IM count, SMS count and other info to be determined by the user
• Home screen widgets even
• Free turn-by-turn application (Android can do it, why not one for iPhone)
• Ability to remove Apple's default apps
• Horizontal homescreen
• Ability to disable spotlight searching entirely, for both privacy reasons and for clumsy-swiping reasons
• iChat mobile, with FaceTime on iPhone 4 somehow worked in to video chat with desktops
• A "mark all as read" or "select all" button in the Mail app would be nice.
• Email account specific email signatures could help us avoid forcing our work signature on all our personal email accounts.

Copyright 2010 by Gizmodo.com

iPhone 101: Getting started with iOS 4

Woman gets iPwned!

With everyone talking about the new iPhone selling like crazy, I thought it would be appropriate to revisit an old video. When the first iPhone was released (2G BABY!!!), there was a high demand for them. Therefore AT&T put a one-iPhone-per-customer-policy in effect to prevent people from buying a lot of them and then selling them on ebay (you know who you are). This lady obvious didn't get the memo.

Pair Arrested for Trying to Trade iPod Touch and Marijuana for iPad on Craigslist

courtesy of Mashable.com

Earlier this week, police arrested two men in Arizona for attempting to trade a third generation iPod touch and about seven grams worth of marijuana for a 32G iPad via an ad on Craiglist, a local ABC station reports.

After receiving a tip about the ad, which included photos of both the iPod touch and marijuana (see below), police officers sent an e-mail purporting to be interested in the exchange. When the police met up under the pretense of completing the trade, 20-year-olds Jacob Walker and Jacob Veldare were instead arrested when Walker offered up the marijuana. Both now face charges for possession and the attempted sale of an illegal substance.

Not only were the two unwise enough to post pictures of marijuana on Craiglist, but they were also gullible enough to believe that anyone would trade a 32G iPad, which costs $599 for the Wi-Fi version and $729.00 for the 3G version, for a $299 32G iPod touch and a quarter ounce of marijuana of dubious quality.

[img credit: Edible Apple]

This is Probably True

iPhone Hacked to Run Android 2.2

courtesy of wired.com



If you are stuck with an old iPhone but wish you had an Android device, there’s a way to combine the two, creating a smartphone with the body of the former and the brains of the latter.

A recent hack shows how to run the latest version of Google’s mobile OS, Android 2.2 aka FroYo, on Apple’s iPhone 3G. The mod still has a few bugs and isn’t stable enough for everyday use, but it’s a first step towards creating a hacked Android operating system for the iPhone.

Android 2.2 isn’t widely available on devices yet. Google made the operating system official last month, and while it’s available to developers, it hasn’t made it to many customers. A few Nexus One users are the only ones to have gotten the upgrade.

This is not the first time someone has attempted to port the Google-designed Android operating system onto an iPhone. Last month, a PC World editor documented his progress in getting the Android OS onto his Apple phone.

DIYers are now boldly modding phones so they are not limited by what smartphone makers offer. For instance, some intrepid smartphone users have hacked their Windows Mobile phones to run Android, giving them a new OS without any expense. It also offers access to new features and to applications in the Android Market.

The latest Android-iPhone isn’t as sophisticated. It only allows the modified iPhone to send text messages and make calls. It does not support Wi-Fi and the phone can get hot in just a few minutes of use.

And as the video makes it clear, it is really not to be attempted at this point unless you are a developer or a curious tinkerer. But as a proof of concept, it’s pretty amazing.



Read More http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/06/iphone-hacked-android-froyo/#ixzz0qJ0A5kah

Re-branded Tweetie now available as Twitter for iPhone

courtesy of MacWorld.com

Ever since the announcement thatTwitter was acquiring Loren Brichter’s company Atebits and its flagship program Tweetie to create an official iPhone application, everyone’s been waiting to see the result. Wait no longer: Twitter for iPhone is now available on the U.S. store.

The app, simply called Twitter, became available in the U.S. on Wednesday after scattered reports the previous day regarding the app’s availability in other countries. According to Twitter, this update and rebranding isn’t just a name change—”we’ve added a bunch of new stuff.” Sadly, one of the features notadded was an iPad-specific version; you’ll have to continue using it in super-sized fashion.

While the new app has kept most of Tweetie’s overall appearance, the search page has been completely revamped. Searching tweets and users has been simplified into one screen, and you now have the option to search phrases in and around your location.

Twitter’s Top Tweets has also made it to the Search page, featuring a side-scrollable box where you can read the latest featured tweets from celebrities and thinkers. Further down on the page, users can browse trends and see suggested users.

There are a couple of few miscellaneous fixes, too: changing tweet rendering in the app to match the way it looks on Twitter.com, and the addition of a Retweet button on the main actions bar.

For those without a Twitter account, searching, browsing users, trending information, and top tweets are still available within the app at the launch screen. If they like what they see, users can sign up within the account itself, and even pick who to follow through the Suggested Users list.

Current Tweetie users can upgrade to 3.0 by checking the update section of the App Store, while new users can download the free application directly from iTunes. Twitter is compatible with all iPhone OS devices running 3.0 or later.

WiiMote used to play game on iPhone

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