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Find My Friends MobileMe feature found in iOS 4.3 beta release
Yesterday, Apple rolled out iOS 4.3 beta to developers, and the first look at the latest iOS version yielded up some gems, including multi-touch gestures, hotspot functionality, a return of the orientation lock and new camera effects. Earlier today, MacRumors uncovered settings for a feature called "Find My Friends" in this recent beta. This string was associated with MobileMe and may be a social feature similar to Google Latitude or Facebook Places, two services that let you locate and communicate with nearby contacts. This is not the first time Apple has toyed with the idea of using location to help find others around you. A patent filing for a concept application called iGroups surfaced last year. The patent describes a location-based service that would let members of a group locate one another using GPS coordinates. Group members could also use encrypted tokens to share information. The patent specifically mentioned trade shows and rock concerts, so this idea, if it ever materializes, may have limited usage. It will be interesting to see what Apple may have in store for iOS in this growing area of location-based services. While many third-party applications use location information in novel ways, the core operating system and built-in iOS applications only scratch the surface of what is possible with direct access to always-on location information. [Via Engadget]
TUAW's Daily App: Corel Paint it! Now
Corel was a big deal back in the days before Photoshop -- I remember CorelDRAW as being one of the most premiere art apps out there. It still is, of course, but Corel has fallen to the wayside now that Photoshop and Illustrator have become so popular. However, Corel has made an interesting step onto the App Store with the awkwardly-titled Corel Paint it! Now (free). Not a drawing app, Corel Paint It! Now lets you apply artistic filters to your photos, like oil or pen and ink. It works well and does its job in an interesting way, as you can watch it "draw" the resulting image, suggesting some sort of drawing engine is at work. You can create some pretty funky pictures, and then you can send them off via email, Facebook or Flickr. At even 99 cents, I'd question what this app is for, but at the current price of free, it's probably worth a download just to see it in action. In fact, Corel tells TUAW that the app has seen over 175k downloads already, so you'd be in good company. I wouldn't depend on it for anything important (the resolution is sadly low), but it's a nice little trick to spice up some pictures that could use a cool effect on them.
Twisted Pixel chooses not to sue Capcom over iOS ripoff
Capcom Mobile recently released a new game for the iOS App Store called MaXplosion, and soon after, a few fans noticed the game bears a striking similarity to a game by Twisted Pixel for Xbox Live Arcade called 'Splosion Man. Aside from the names themselves, MaXplosion also allows the player to jump three times by exploding each time, has a similar-looking character also running around a lab space, and it even has a similar soundtrack. We've noted before that intellectual property theft has run rampant on the App Store, and Gameloft has even earned a reputation for "borrowing" game styles from bigger console games. But this one's pretty flagrant -- not only is the ripoff pretty clear, but it's from Capcom's European development unit, a traditional gaming company that should know better. There's one more wrinkle: Twisted Pixel says it even pitched the game to Capcom's US offices before releasing it themselves on Xbox Live. Despite the problem, Twisted Pixel has responded by saying it won't sue. Not only is the battle probably not worth it for the relatively small developer, but as CEO Mike Wilford says wittily, "we owe them one for inventing Mega Man, so we'll let them slide." He promises Twisted Pixel will put the extra time saved into a quality mobile game of its own. Fair enough.
Smule's Dr. Ge Wang on what's next for the company and the App Store
Smule is one of the oldest names on the App Store. Ocarina was one of the App Store's first big successes, and they've continued to make music and social-based apps like their most recent app, Magic Fiddle for the iPad. Dr. Ge Wang is not only the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of the company, but he's also an assistant professor at Stanford. We caught him right after his CES keynote last week and asked him a few questions about what Smule's been up to lately and what they're working on next. Magic Fiddle has done very well, Wang told us, after releasing last year. "The very next day, it was actually our fastest app to reach the number one paid iPad app. We saw off the charts engagement with the app. So it's been really positive." Lots of users they've heard from are not necessarily violinists or magicians, just people interested in using their iPads to make music. Read on to hear more from Dr. Wang about why Smule's apps have gotten more complicated over time, and what the next app from Smule will be like.
New iOS beta released offering new gestures, Xcode updated with AirPlay services for apps (updated)
Well hello there, here's something new. On Apple's developer page for iOS 4.3 beta there's this gem: "Test Multi-Touch Gestures for iPad This beta release contains a preview of new Multi-Touch gestures for iPad. You can use four or five fingers to pinch to the Home Screen; swipe up to reveal the multitasking bar; and swipe left or right between apps. We are providing this preview before releasing them to the public to understand how these gestures work with your apps. Test them and give us your feedback on the Apple Developer Forums." So we're getting some new wibbly wobbly gestures? Too bad they won't change the orientation lock back to the way it used to work. Still, these new gestures make a lot of sense for Apple's tablet and its touch-centric interface. A new version of Xcode (Preview 6 beta) was also released to support the beta iOS build and adds Airplay and Apple TV services (not apps on Apple TV -- yet) for apps. Specifically: "AirPlay Video support is now available as an option for developers in the MPMoviePlayerController class. It is also available to web authors via the QuickTime Plug-In or media element." Developers, check it out and let us know if you find anything else of note. Updates: Thanks to our commenters! Looks like you'll be able to revert the orientation lock functionality in 4.3 so that you can use it as a mute or orientation lock. Also, hotspot functionality is there, but it'll work like tethering on AT&T, likely with those fun-time data caps. And last but not least ... well, iPhone 3G seems to be left in the cold, so maybe it is the least. Update 2: Some folks are diving into the info.plist file and finding some new camera effects. Neat!
Iomega's SuperHero backup and charger for iPhone syncs without a PC
Iomega was at CES last week showing off its upcoming SuperHero Backup and Charger for the iPhone. You may ask why anyone needs a backup system for the iPhone as iTunes backs up your iPhone when you sync. The Iomega rep explained that many iPhone users don't plug their iPhone into a PC or Mac. They simply use a wall charger, downloading apps directly onto the phone, almost never syncing up with iTunes. Sources at Apple retail confirm this is the case. Personally, I plug my iPhone into iTunes every night to update my podcasts and apps as often as possible. For those who don't sync, however, Iomega is releasing the SuperHero. It's super simple -- you just download an app onto the phone, and then whenever you plug the iPhone into the dock, the app will turn on and backup your contacts and pictures onto an included 4 GB SD card. Lose your iPhone, and you won't lose your important information. Yes, for family members or friends who don't ever sync through iTunes, this might be helpful. But wouldn't it be worth it to teach them how to do it? Syncing seems simple enough to me. Then again, if you don't own a PC or Mac and use your iPhone like a small computer, this would at least give you some assurance your data will persist. The Iomega SuperHero backup and charger should be available by the end of next month for US$69.99.
Hauppauge announces Broadway: live TV streaming for iPhones and iPads
Here's another solution for streaming TV in your home or over 3G: Hauppauge Computer Works has just announced the new Broadway box. The US$199 device has a built-in HD H.264 video compressor, an ATSC tuner for local broadcasts and support for QAM digital cable, so if that's all you want, the box can be used on its own. It also allows hookup to your cable or satellite box. The programming you select can be viewed over Wi-Fi or the internet on any iOS device. Details are a bit sketchy, and despite the announcement at CES 2011, the Broadway hasn't even shown up on the Hauppauge website. It looks like a solid competitor to the Slingbox line, but we'll wait until we actually see one before making our mind up. The Broadway should be available in mid-February.
Avatron's Dave Howell on the future of Air Display, Air Sharing and Print Sharing
Last week at CES 2011 we met up with Dave Howell, whose Avatron Software has delivered three apps to the App Store so far. Air Display and Air Sharing are already TUAW favorites, and Print Sharing is a relatively new app targeting one feature specifically: printing to a shared printer directly from your iPhone or iPod touch. Howell walked us through his three apps, then talked a little bit about the future roadmap of each and the rest of what Avatron is up to. Air Display is still Avatron's most popular app; two different engineers are working on it, with one working on solving connectivity problems, and the other ironing out performance issues. Avatron wants to make Air Display more useful, even away from the computer it's sharing a screen with, so the company is working on allowing users to zoom or scale the display as they use it. Video out is also coming soon, so you'll be able to send a shared display out to a TV or any other display. Air Sharing's main goal now is to add as many sharing services and document types as possible. The app lets you dive in and view documents from Dropbox and Box.net already, and Howell says Google Documents is next to come to the service. Print Sharing is a much more focused app, but Howell says it's been popular, too. Print Sharing's current goal is to support as many file types as it can; Howell said Print Sharing would get the same updates that the engineers working on Air Display will provide.
TUAW's Daily App: Push Panic
Appular released Push Panic last November, and it got somewhat lost in the midst of big iOS releases. At its core, it's a Tetris-style falling block game, though it has elements of the old Same Game, too. Blocks fall from the top of the screen, and you have to tap and target same-colored blocks to delete as many as possible before the screen fills up. The action goes from simple to frenzied, and four different modes have you race to delete a certain number of blocks, chase scores and combos, or try to delete as many blocks as possible within a time limit. Push Panic version 1.1.1 is quite polished, with complete integration on both Game Center and OpenFeint for achievements and leaderboards. It also has an excellent soundtrack. Appular has told TUAW that the app is free to download today, so don't miss this chance to pick it up and play for free.
Tom Tom: Smartphones and nav devices are complementary
As one of our last appointments on the floor of CES, we went out to a meeting room way back in the back of the South Hall to talk to Tom Murray, Senior Vice President of Market Development for Tom Tom -- one of the leading companies selling navigation devices and software. We've covered Tom Tom and its products many times here on TUAW before, so it was great to finally sit down with the company and talk about their business. Perhaps the most interesting thing Murray told me last week was that the company doesn't see the iPhone (and other smartphone devices) as competitors to its portable navigation device (PND) business. Instead, Murray sees Apple's platform and others like it as "complementary" to the traditional GPS devices that Tom Tom makes and sells. Murray did admit that the rise of smartphones has "had an impact on our core PND category," but given that Tom Tom has found success with a number of regional apps on the iOS Store, Murray says that "the iPhone has been accretive to our business." The biggest device for Tom Tom at the show was the Go 2505m Live unit. It will arrive in April, and it will bring a number of improvements, including a service called HD Traffic, which not only pulls in information on roads all over the US generated by Tom Tom's own devices, but connects to "partner vehicles" (like delivery and fleet vehicles) to convey real-time information and accurate routing as you drive around. That service isn't on the iPhone app yet (in the US, anyway -- it is up and running in Europe, we were told), but Murray says it would be "reasonable to assume" that kind of information will eventually find its way into the company's iPhone app.
Gear4's Pocket Loops keyboard creates music with your iPhone or iPod touch
Gear4, maker of the Unity Remote we saw at CES last week, also designed the Pocket Loops keyboard, which represents something I think we'll see a lot more of: devices designed to work only when paired with a smartphone or tablet device. iPhones and iPads are leading the way into a new era of mobile devices, and many future toys and products will do what the Pocket Loops keyboard does: offload the heavy lifting of processing to a mobile device, and instead focus on bringing an interface into play. As you can see above, the keyboard has a dock that an iPhone or iPod touch can plug right into. From there, the device works with a free app that will be released in about three months, which is basically a MIDI recorder and sampler with up to 16 loops running from 29 different keyboard sounds. The app will also enable you to record, remix and even share tracks through the device's email system. Choosing a set of voices gives you various sounds to play on the keyboard; you can play and record loops as you wish, even editing in echo and chorus effects with the touchscreen interface. It works fairly well so far. There were a few software bugs while we demoed the device, but I was told those would be ironed out by release. The whole idea is interesting, because the keyboard doesn't have its own screen or even a battery. Instead, everything comes from the iPhone. Gear4's rep said the device would have been over US$200 if the iPhone hadn't been utilized to do most of the work. Instead, the Pocket Loops keyboard is due in a few months for a retail price of $69.99.
BodyMedia introduces the Armband BW at CES, body monitoring for iPhone
BodyMedia had quite a presence at CES last week, with one of their employees running around town and even jumping out of planes to show off the company's new product, the BodyMedia FIT Armband BW. I stopped by their booth to talk to company founder Ivo Stivoric about the product, and how it connects up to an iPhone app to help you monitor not only your body's activity level but also steps taken and calories burned. The band itself is nicely designed; it's just a little device that straps around your upper arm comfortably. It's designed to be worn as much as possible -- Stivoric said that some users just wear it during workouts, but many wear it more often than that. It's got a three-axis accelerometer on board, and it has equipment for monitoring your body's skin temperature and conductivity, as well as a few other measures of health and activity. The "BW" in the product's name marks the fact that it's Bluetooth-enabled. That means it can hook directly up to the company's free app, which it will do after being paired whenever the two are in proximity. What you get is a solid record of your body's activity throughout the day, and by inputting your calorie intake and even sleep records into the app, BodyMedia can help you work steadily toward your own fitness goals.
Nike talks iPhone, running and its connected devices
Nike was at CES last week to premiere its new Nike+ SportWatch GPS, a sports watch hooked up to GPS via TomTom-based technology, designed to work with the popular Nike+ system. While the idea of the watch is cool (it will track all of your runs, even if not hooked up to the GPS system right away), the interface is nowhere near as a nice as any given Apple product. It would have been better to bring the same functionality to an iPod nano app that you could then strap on to your wrist. We did get to chat with Nike about its iPhone app, Nike+ GPS, which is consistently seen at number one in the Health and Fitness category on the App Store and has earned over a half million downloads around the world. Nike says it plans to continue supporting the app, and a recently released version added some interesting social functionality called "Cheer Me On," allowing Facebook friends to send you motivational messages during a run, and last week the app got versions for non-English speakers. Nike says its goal with the app is motivation -- Nike+ started because it discovered that "music is motivating to athletes," and it's since learned that having feedback on your location while running is motivating as well. As for what's next with the app, Nike was tight-lipped, only saying "we've nailed it with what we have." Over the five years since it's been live, Nike+ has picked up 4 million members, and users have run 320 million miles so far. It looks like Nike's plan to motivate users is working.
iRig Mic brings a vocal microphone to the iPhone and iPad
The iRig Mic was one of the last products we saw at CES last week. It's a full-featured vocal microphone made by IK Multimedia (the folks behind Amplitube and the iRig kit that our own Matt Tinsley reviewed a while back) that plugs directly into your iPhone or iPad. I went ahead and sent a few sweet vocal sounds through the mic, and they sounded great. It's not a super premium microphone, but it'll do the job, and a few different condenser settings allow for some nice remote recording possibilities as well. The mic comes with a dual-jack connector to plug into your iDevice, so you can also wear headphones as you record. The mic works best hooked up to an official app called Vocalive, which you can see on the iPad's screen in the pic above. In addition to recording and playing back audio tracks, the app can also throw in some vocal effects, from reverb to frequency modulation, and a metronome for getting your timing just right. The iRig Mic will be available for just US$59 in the first week of March. IK Multimedia told us that they'd be at Macworld later this month, so we'll be sure to get them on video there. In case you're wondering, that iPad is being held onto the mic stand by an IK product called the iKlip, which became available last December; for $40, it will clip your iPad onto a mic stand for use during a show. That way, iPad bands can keep both hands free for jamming.
Oxygen Audio's O Car deck turns your iPhone into a car stereo
Like the idea of having your iPhone with you in your car, but looking for an alternative to a Bluetooth transmitter or cabled hook-ups? You may want to check out the Oxygen Audio O Car stereo deck, which basically turns your iPhone itself into your car stereo. Brought to our attention by Gizmodo, the O Car deck allows users to control all the regular car stereo functions, like volume and tuning, along with their iTunes library, internet radio station apps, GPS navigation, Google maps -- and anything else one uses their iPhone for. By clicking the iPhone into the dock/charger (for both landscape and portrait use), it becomes a slick part of your car's dashboard. Sure beats the look of your regular old standard car stereo deck, that's for sure. Priced at US$349, the O Car has pre-amp outputs and FM/AM preset station options, it puts out 4 X 55 watts of power (max), and it supports the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4. While it is seemingly a little pricey, it's a neat implementation for in-car iPhone use. I have been using my iPhone to listen to Pandora streaming in the car via a wired connection, but my phone always ends up somewhere on the passenger-side floor when I take a corner too fast. Having the ability to click it in place right on the dash would be a welcome addition to my car. Of course, I could just install an in-dash iPad for even more features, but my Mini Cooper doesn't really have that kind of space. [via Gizmodo]
Dear Apple: It's (past) time to let us customize our alert tones
Picture this: you're hanging out at a friend's house, and the familiar "doodle-dee!" of the iPhone's Tri-tone alert sound goes off. But four people simultaneously start reaching for their iPhones, because they're all using that sound for SMS/MMS alerts. Or how about this: you're on a bike ride and getting audio feedback on your pace from RunKeeper Pro. As you ride along, you hear the Tri-tone alert go off half a dozen times. Is it someone sending you an important text message, or is it just Twitter spamming you with @reply notifications? If you're using Tri-tone for Messages alerts, there's no way to tell the difference unless you stop pedalling and check. Now imagine that your iPhone is more than 10 feet away from you, or you're in a room where the ambient noise is above whisper level, and you get a new email. How would you know? The New Mail notification sound is so unobtrusive, even with the iPhone's volume maxed out, that it barely ever registers. I don't know about you, but I've encountered all three of these scenarios with distressing frequency. It's well past time that Apple allows us to customize our alert tones.
Boxee demonstrated on iPad at CES 2011
As soon as we heard that Boxee was demoing their iPad version at this year's CES conference, we had to hunt them down and see it. We found them over at Iomega's booth (stay tuned for a writeup of an Iomega product designed to help iPhone backups as well), and asked to see the app. It's about what you'd expect from a Boxee interface -- slick and clean, with four different options across the top. Friends videos are first, allowing you to tune in to any videos your friends have flagged on various social networks. Featured videos is the second option, where you can watch any videos that Boxee wants to show off. Watch Later allows you to watch any videos you've marked on the Boxee service. And Files is the last option, letting you pull up any videos (in almost any format) stored via a Boxee media server on a Mac or PC on the same network. As you watch any of the videos, you can click a button in the iPad's interface that will also send that video right off to your own Boxee installation to watch. It's pretty awesome -- browse around for a video on your iPad, set it to start playing, and then either watch it there, or send it AirPlay-style right out to your Mac, PC, or a media player equipped with Boxee. Boxee says the app will be released for free later on this year, with another version for iPhone and iPod touch eventually as well.
Hands-on with Sphero at the CES 2011
Sphero is this year's AR.Drone here in Las Vegas. Last year, the Parrot AR.Drone turned heads with an iPhone-controlled quadricopter, and this year, Sphero is creating a little buzz as an iPhone-controlled, well, ball. That's right -- the Sphero is a ball that both glows colors and rolls around at your iPhone or iPad's command. A company named Orbotix is working on releasing the ball sometime this year for no more than $100, and earlier this week at CES' ShowStoppers event, we got a chance to roll and control the ball ourselves. What's the verdict? It's a little tough to control, but then again the AR.Drone was as well, and that sold all right when it was released late last year. Setting up the free, not-yet-released iPhone (or iPad, or Android) app for Sphero is simple, and once it's up and running, you just need to face the ball in the right direction by dragging a little icon around a round area on screen. When the ball's aligned in the direction you want it facing, you just press the screen, and the ball moves the way you drag it -- forward, backwards, left or right. You can also adjust the ball's speed and the screen's sensitivity, and you can dive into another menu that allows you to change the (completely cosmetic) color of the LED inside with a few RGB sliders. It's fun, though, since it's still a prototype, it's tough to make the ball do exactly what you want, and most of the time, you just have to settle for what it does anyway. The dev told us that they're opening the platform up to anyone to make games or create applications, and the team has been working with ideas like turning the ball into a car with augmented reality. Our suggestion: let a cat play with this thing. They'd love it.
Microvision runs TV out apps, including Rage HD, on the SHOWWX+ pico projector
Last year at Macworld 2010, I got to see the SHOWWX pico projector in action. Back then it was just a prototype, and the company was still shopping around the technology to try and get a unit into production. MicroVision has released the SHOWWX projector at a unit price of US$299. This year's model, however is the SHOWWX+, and while it's still a little unwieldy (and $100 more, at a $399 price point), it's brighter and clearer than ever, and a few tweaks to the iPhone have made it much more useful. First up, TV out was simply a lament last year, but since Apple made it official with iOS 4.0, lots of developers are including a TV out function in their apps, and the SHOWWX+ can project all of them. There's the standard ideas of kicking out regular videos or Netflix (which looks terrific, even on a solid 3G connection), but MicroVision pulled up what we really wanted to see: Rage HD. id added TV out to its app recently, so the projector can put the video on a wall, but id also added support for the in-phone gyroscope. Since the projector is portable, the MicroVision rep can move it around while playing the game, so as the projection on the wall moved, so did the in-game angle. The effect was somewhat fleeting (the gyroscope feature isn't quite perfect, and the image was distorted as it moved around the square walls of the room), but there was a definite virtual reality feel, as if the projector was showing a dynamic window into the world of Rage. So what's the drawback? While the projector is a quality product, and there probably at least a few people out there who could pick one up and use it, even MicroVision agrees the technology has a little way to go before it gets to prime time.
iFrogz shows off cases and headphones at CES 2011
We stopped by the iFrogz booth at this week's CES 2011 here in Las Vegas to see the company's line of cases and headphones for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. We also got to hear some interesting behind-the-scenes information about the business of selling accessories for Apple's devices. The best-selling case color of all time? We heard from multiple companies, including iFrogz, that you can always bet on black. But iFrogz' cases come in a bevy of colors -- "you need something to attract the eye," iFrogz told us. Still, even though you need a whole slew of colors on the shelf, anyone who sells cases knows that black is what sells. iFrogz' most popular design is the Luxe case -- it's an iconic two-piece design that was released early in the iPhone's life cycle, and customers like the combination of a case that looks good and the function of being able to remove the bottom for easy access to the dock connector. Of course, the Luxe cases are also sold in AT&T stores, and iFrogz said that having cases available right when the device is purchased will always help sales.
