iPhone:Federal rules ensure Apple’s iTunes has right to Comcast’s NBC content
In the terms of the acquisition approved by the U.S. government, cable provider Comcast has agreed to let online rivals that compete with its own cable subscriptions and online “Fancast” product license NBC programming, according to The Associated Press. Though NBC’s shows are already available on the iTunes Store, NBC has not participated in Apple’s 99-cent iTunes TV show rental model for the new Apple TV.
“We do not think 99 cents is the right price point for our content,” former NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker said last year. Zucker was fired by Comcast in September. “We though it would devalue our content.”
But now it’s also possible Comcast could allow NBC content to become available for rent on the Apple TV and iTunes in order to appease the federal government, based on the terms the company agreed to. Regulators scrutinizing Comcast’s acquisition of NBC showed concern that online media services like iTunes would suffer from a cable provider owning a broadcast network.
Products like iTunes are sometimes used by customers to “cut the cord” and cancel their cable subscription. There’s also the possibility that Comcast could “throttle” bandwidth for services like Netflix and iTunes, making downloads slower or streaming content stutter and become unwatchable.
Federal officials reportedly attached dozens of conditions to the government’s approval of the Comcast-NBC deal. Specifically, Comcast must sell its content to online video services, though no specific provisions were made related to 99-cent Apple TV rentals.
In addition, Comcast may not interfere with video traffic for other, competing services over its broadband network, and it must sell standalone Internet services with 6 megabit download speeds for about $50 per month, without being tied to a cable TV package.
“Although these requirements offer no guarantees of success for new online video services, they aim to ensure that Comcast cannot impede the online businesses,” the report said. “They also break new ground by giving Internet rivals some of the same protections that have long been available to satellite companies and other subscription TV competitors.”
NBC has had a tumultuous relationship with Apple and its iTunes service in the past, before the Comcast acquisition. In August of 2007, NBC abruptly pulled its content from iTunes after Apple wouldn’t agree to doubling the wholesale price of each TV episode.
NBC eventually returned to the iTunes Store in September 2008, when Apple began offering high-definition content for $2.99 per episode, compared with the standard-definition pricing of $1.99 for an episode. The new requirements from federal regulators would make it more difficult for Comcast to pull NBC content from iTunes again.
And while NBC has continued to hold out from offering content for the new streaming-centric Apple TV, rival networks Fox and ABC both agreed to be launch partners by offering 99-cent TV episode rentals. TV executives were said to be “uncomfortable” with Apple’s pricing model, but some were willing to go forward with what they consider to be an “experiment.”
iPhone:AirMusic App Allows Users To Stream Music From iPhone, iPad And iPod Touch To PS3, XBox 360 And Windows PC
If you don’t have an Apple TV 2G, no problem, Plutinosoft has released an iPhone app called AirMusic, which allows users to stream music from iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch to PS3, XBox 360 and Windows PC or any supported DLNA device.
Here’s how to use it:
■ Connect your iPod, iPhone or iPad to the same WiFi network as your XBox, PS3 or PC.■ Start AirMusicAs you can see its very simple to use and it works as advertised. You need iOS 4.2.1 to install the app from the App Store.
■ If you have an XBox, turn it on, navigate to the Music Library and select your device in the list
■ If you have a PS3, turn it on, navigate to the Music Note and select your device in the list
■ If you have a PC running Windows Vista or Windows 7, start Windows Media Player, your iPhone will show up under ‘Other Libraries’
AirMusic costs $0.99 and you can download it using this iTunes link.
You can also checkout the hacks that allow AirPlay streaming from an iOS device to Mac and Windows.
Let us know what you think of the AirMusic app in the comments section below.
iPhone:iOS 4.3 Features Walkthrough
Here is the list new features and changes in iOS 4.3:
Personal Hotspot (iPhone Only):
The personal hotspot feature will allow users to share their iPhone’s 3G data connection with up to 5 mobile devices.
The Personal Hotspot feature can be enabled via the Settings app.
iOS 4.3 will bring the Personal Hotspot feature to GSM iPhone users. It is already available to Verizon iPhone users.
AirPlay:
Apple had introduced the AirPlay feature in iOS 4.2. It allowed users to stream digital media wirelessly from their iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch to Apple TV 2G or any AirPlay-enabled features. However, AirPlay feature was only limited to pre-installed apps like YouTube and iPod/Video app.
iOS 4.3 will allow users to stream media wirelessly from other third-party apps, Safari mobile browser and also the pre-installed Photo app, thus unlocking the full potential of the feature.
Side Switch Toggle (iPad Only):
In iOS 4.2, Apple had changed the rotation lock to mute switch like the iPhone.
In iOS 4.3, iPad users will get an option to select the side switch at the top right corner either as a rotation lock switch or mute button.
New font for Notes:
Apple had given users the option to select from two new fonts in iOS 4.2: Helvitica and Chalkboard instead of only Marker Felt.
In iOS 4.3, Apple has replaced the Chalkboard font with the Noteworthy font.
Cancel/Delete App Installations Mid-way:
iOS 4.3 finally gives users the option to cancel downloading apps and delete them mid-way. Earlier the only option, one had was to pause the download.
Customize Alerts for Messages (iPhone only):
iPhone users will be able set the number of times they want to be alerted for an unread SMS/MMS.
Repeat Alert option has changed to Play Alert Tone and you can select from Once, Twice, 3 Times, 5 Times and 10 Times.
Redesigned App Store Updates page:
The App Store gets a redesigned updates page for the iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad. It will make it easier for users to install apps that you’ve already purchased (that they had deleted previously).
Push Notification For Ping:
iOS 4.3 allows users to setup push notifications for Ping – Apple’s social network for music so that they can find out what their favorite artists or friends are up to as soon as possible.
New Wait Button:
Apple has added a wait button to the Add contact extended keyboard and has moved some of the buttons around.
Tapping on the Wait button will add a semicolon to the number as opposed to pause which adds a comma.
The pause button has moved to where the ghosted 4 button used to be, the plus button has moved to where pause was, star has moved to where plus was and a new wait button has been added to where the ghosted 6 button used to be.
Below is the screenshot of the Add contact screen with extended keyboard in iOS 4.2.1:
And the Add contact screen with extended keyboard in iOS 4.3:
Parental Controls:
iOS 4.3 gets a new parental control for Ping – Apple’s social network for music.
Location Services Settings:
Location Services settings in the Settings app has been moved to the top-level instead of under General to make it more easily assesible.
Compatibility:
iOS 4.3 is compatible with iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch 4th generation, iPod Touch 3rd generation and iPad. Unfortunately, iOS 4.3 will not available for iPhone 3G and iPod Touch 2nd generation, which means that iOS 4.2.1 is the last iOS software update for these devices.
It needs to be seen if all the new features and changes mentioned above makes it to the final version of iOS 4.3 and if Apple will surprise us with additional new features.
So are you excited about the iOS 4.3 software update? Which one is your favorite feature? Let us know in the comments below.
[iPhone]Verizon CEO: iPhone 4 sales strong, more coming from Apple on LTE
The Verizon iPhone launch was characterized by fewer and shorter lines at both the carrier’s retail outlets and Apple stores. According to Mead, this was not a reflection of low demand, but the carrier’s plan to stagger the launch.
“It was a conscious decision to spread the launch over three phases,” said Mead, who also confirmed that 60 percent of iPhone sales were processed online. Verizon held two pre-sale opportunities on February 3 and 9 and kicked off the official launch on February 10.
Besides the iPhone 5, Mead hinted that Apple was interested in LTE technology and working on devices compatible with Verizon’s 4G network. Mead said, “You’ll see more coming from Apple on LTE. They understand the value proposition of LTE and I feel very confident that they are going to be a part of it.”
Apple recently addressed LTE, and COO Tim Cook confirmed the Cupertino company is not ready to adopt this 4G technology. Speaking at the Verizon iPhone launch, Cook said, “the first-generation LTE chipsets force some design compromises, some of which we wouldn’t make.”
Hopefully, Apple can work with chipset manufacturers to iron out these kinks, and we can look forward to 4G speeds combined with Apple’s solid hardware and slick mobile OS.
iPhone:iPhonewzealand app proceeds donated to NZ Red Cross Earthquake Appeal
The site’s old iPhone app has been withdrawn from the App Store, and in its place is an updated app with access to news, comments and forums on iPhonewzealand’s site. iPhonewzealand focuses on local Kiwi developers and apps, too, so if you live in New Zealand and have an iPhone, this site and its app are a great resource.
Of particular interest to users outside of New Zealand, the app also contains iPhone carrier settings for New Zealand’s mobile providers, streamlining the process of getting your iPhone working while you’re visiting New Zealand.
The app is priced at US$1.99 (NZ$2.59) until the end of March. After Apple takes its 30 percent cut, all further proceeds go directly to the New Zealand Red Cross. In the wake of the recent earthquake in Christchurch, which sadly seems to be shaping up to be the worst natural disaster in New Zealand’s history, every little bit of help counts. If you’re in New Zealand and have an iPhone, this purchase is a no-brainer, and it’s also a good purchase if you’re an international iPhone user planning on visiting down here.
Citing its terms and conditions for the App Store, Apple forced iPhonewzealand to redact any mention on iTunes of its app’s proceeds going to charity. Thankfully, Apple has no say on where the developer’s profits go after the company takes its 30 percent off the top, so even though iPhonewzealand can’t announce its charitable intentions on the App Store, we can still do so on the site’s behalf.
If you’re not interested in the iPhonewzealand app but would still like to donate to the New Zealand Red Cross and support its efforts to help the city of Christchurch in its time of need, you can do so directly at the Red Cross website.
[iPhone Game]App Review: Kamon is a great two-player strategy game, but a bit pricey
Kamon (US$1.99 for the iPhone version) and Kamon HD for the iPad (available separately for $2.99) should really be one universal app. There isn’t enough meat here to justify the five dollar price tag for both versions -– not when the top-of-the-line board games like the Settlers of Catan cost $4.99. Two dollars for a universal version sounds about right in today’s App Store economy/price structure, but I also want more and more board games to come to iOS, and developers need to make their money somehow. So, with that in mind, I can recommend Kamon to anyone looking to expand their app library of well-designed two-player strategy games.Kamon was created by renowned designer Bruno Cathala who was recently responsible for the particularly good game Cyclades. The elegant leather and wood version has been hard to find in the U.S., but now everyone has access to this simple (yet hard to master) game. Keep reading for more.
Gallery: Kamon iPhone App
The Game
Kamon is a game of putting discs on a hexagon board made up of 37 smaller hexes (technically circles, but they function the same as hexes). To start the game, 36 marker pieces are randomly laid out on the board, along with the start piece that is immediately removed from its random location. These markers each have one of 6 icons on them and a value of 1-6. What those icons are is kind of unclear. I see fish hooks, a bowl, a ginko leaf, a moustache, a flattened mushroom and a lotus flower. I’m sure I’m wrong about some of these.
The start player needs to place his first piece on one of the border (not corner) locations. After that, where you go is up to you, as long as you follow Kamon’s main rule: each piece can only be played to a location that matches either the value or the icon of where the other player just played.
The game is perhaps most interesting for its three separate win conditions (players of the abstract strategy games Six or Hexade will find this familiar). In Kamon, these conditions are:
- Form a line of connected stones that extends from one side of the board to another (with corner pieces counting as either side they touch).
- Completely enclose at least one opponent’s piece and/or an empty space.
- Make it impossible for the opponent to make a legal play.
In Pharao’s gardens, by the lily pond, two architects are involved in a tricky game. Who will first finish the footbridge where the princess can take a walk without wetting her feet?Aww, isn’t that nice? You’re not only moving pieces on a board, you’re being chivalrous.
The three win conditions are what give this games its depth. More than once, I got so focused on the way I was trying to win that my opponent was able to sneak past me using another method. Kamon is a good game for people who really like to plan their moves in advance. Since you can limit where your opponent can go (remember, totally limiting them is a way to win the game), you can sometimes guide their play –- or at least try to. Just like when playing Puerto Rico, you can imagine what your opponent will do, but they can still surprise you.
The App
Aside from being easily available and a great game, the Kamon app (Version 1.0.3 reviewed here) also includes a clever puzzle version where you alternate white and black plays and need to be able to NOT let either side win while you fill the board. As you play the game (any version), there is a nice floating background of salamanders, dragonflies and cobras (at least, I think they’re cobras) and a vaguely Egyptian/Japanese look going on. Like any abstract strategy game, the look is secondary to the gameplay, but in this case, it all works well together. There is no hidden information here, so it works great to plop the iPad down on a table (softly, perhaps) between two players and get started.
The iPhone and iPad versions have a few differences. For one thing, the iPhone board shows the piece icon and a number instead of simply repeating the design on the piece the X times to indicate the value, as it is on the iPad. Also, the iPhone version says “Game Rule” on the main screen, while the iPad version says “Game Rules.” Even better, on the iPhone, you play against the AI opponent. Minor things, but there you have it, and all the more reason for the developer to just make this a universal app and clean everything up.
The latest update made the game iOS 4-compatible, so games are saved when you exit the app, but there’s no way to exit, change a setting and come back to the game. If you touch “Exit” on the game screen, even by accident, the game is over. This needs to be changed.
You can adjust music (a decent-enough soundtrack) and sound effects, how fast the AI plays and whether or not the board displays your legal moves. There is no undo button, which is too bad, but the UI is generally intuitive and simple. Unfortunately, once you enter the rules screens, you need to tap through to the end. There’s no way to get back to the main menu. We’re throwing screen grabs of the entire ruleset into our gallery, but that’s no excuse for clumsy UI design in this area.
Sadly, there is also no way to enter player names, no leaderboards or online capability. This is strictly a barebones affair with the focus on the game itself. You’re probably better off playing against a person than the device, too. The Normal AI (mid-level) allowed me to create a loop around its piece even though I hadn’t yet forced it to give me that move. The expert level is harder, but not impossible to beat by any means.
All these criticisms shouldn’t scare you away from checking out Kamon, especially if you like the idea of having interesting games in your pocket. As a two-player abstract, you could do a lot worse. If you’re looking for it on the App Store, don’t be tricked by Kamon Maker (Kamon means family crest in Japanese). Instead, get it here for iPhone or iPad. For more on the game (tabletop version) click here or here.
iPhone 4:T-Mobile notes the “4″ in iPhone 4 does not mean 4G
Nearly nine months after Apple‘s official announcement, T-Mobile finally points out to its customers that the “4″ in iPhone 4 does not refer to 4G. T-Mobile’s latest advertisement for its HSPA+ network takes a shot at both the Verizon and AT&T iPhone 4 with the two carriers illustrated as turtles, while T-Mobile is a hare. The eye-catching graph points out that T-Mobile has blazing fast 4G handsets while Apple’s popular smartphone is still 3G.
Of course, this slick marketing piece fails to recognize the “4′ in iPhone 4 actually refers to 4th generation as it is the fourth handset in the iPhone series. Apple never claimed the iPhone 4 had 4G LTE or HSPA+ connectivity. As is often the case, this promotional material focuses on sensationalistic claims, not the truth.
[iPhone]Tim Cook on Cheaper iPhone: ‘We Don’t Want To Be For Just The Rich’
- Cook says Apple is doing “clever things” to attack the prepaid market, because he doesn’t want Apple to be “for everyone,” not “just for the rich.” Cook also recognizes “price is big factor in the prepaid market,” but Apple is not “ceding any market.”
- Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer said Apple would not let carriers dictate terms, which Sacconaghi says reinforces, “the notion that Apple might be willing to act to disintermediate carriers with a soft-SIM.”
- Apple COO Tim Cook strongly suggested we will see a cheaper iPhone in the near future
iPhone:Lion lets you play tunes in the iTunes Artwork screen saver
It seems that Apple has tweaked just about every corner of the operating system for Mac OS X 10.7 Lion even down to the screensavers.That’s right, screensavers. On the popular ‘iTunes Artwork’ one that pulls all your music album art from iTunes, you can now actually hover over an album cover and the song will start playing. Music on your screen saver. In Lion. Magical. Revolutionary. We think ‘Mac Dre’ is an appropriate artist for the screenshot. Thanks, Wayfarer87
iPhone:This is iOS notifications done right (video)
iPhone:Apple testing Android-like gesture-based lock screen for iOS
Apple has been working on a new gesture-based lock screen for iOS devices that works similarly to Android’s “dots” lock screen feature. The user sets up a pattern and needs to input that same pattern in, instead of a password or a four number code. Apple has already deployed this new lock screen internally for use in the employee ‘Apple Connect’ application for iOS devices.
There is no word on whether or not this new lock screen will make its way to iOS devices for users. We were told, though, that Apple will be pushing this lock screen down to some of their internal applications in the future. For example the applications retail-store employees use.
Apple is even planning on bringing this down to their new mobile payment system business, on the EasyPay machines. The lock screen looks just like Android’s lock screen, which Google probably has patents on, so this might never see the fingers of consumers. Three more screenshots of the system are after the break.
iPad 2: also comes in white?
(Click twice for larger)
Imagine the look on our faces when these pictures of a white second-generation iPad part landed in our inbox. Yes folks, it looks like the new iPad could come in white. That seems strange since Apple could not pull off an iPhone 4 with a white front, but I’m sure they figured out a way. Also, one of the reasons for the black frame that surrounds most of Apple’s displays is that it presents the image better visually. However, this image above, seems to refute all of that.
The piece that we have (from Shenzhen City), thanks to the folks at the iFixYouri iPhone repair shop, is the “digitizer” sometimes known as the the thick bezel.
If you look closely at the back of the part, below, you will see the camera hole, which happens to fit perfectly with the iPad 2 screen protectors from our friends in Asia. This is in addition to the ambient light sensor found on the top of the first-generation iPad. We don’t know whether or not the new iPad will also come in a black finish but, we’ll surely know all come March 2nd. The iPad 2 is expected to be thinner, faster, sport cameras, and work on both GSM and CDMA networks.
iPad channel inventory dries up
MB292LL/A – iPad 16GB WiFi – Constrained – No ETAThe retailers we’ve talked to say that they only have what is currently on the shelves and could be sold out today or tomorrow – which sounds exactly right.
MB293LL/A – iPad 32GB WiFi – Constrained – No ETA
MB294LL/A – iPad 64GB WiFi – Constrained – No ETA
MC349LL/A – iPad 16GB 3G – Constrained – No ETA
MC496LL/A – iPad 32GB 3G – Constrained – No ETA
MC497LL/A – iPad 64GB 3G – Constrained – No ETA
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