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Rene and Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents discuss Apple vs. Samsung, HTC, and Motorola, Microsoft licensing fees for Android, Nortel auction, Oracle vs. Google, and Lodsys vs. iOS developers. This is a special edition of iPhone Live!

Background

• FOSS Patents blog
• Editorial: How long can Google and Android afford to remain silent on patents?
• iPhone Live 151 – The Lodsys Letters

Hosts

Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie)

Florian Mueller (@FOSSPatents)

Credits

Thanks to the TiPb iPhone accessory store for sponsoring the podcast, and to everyone who showed up for the live chat!

Our music comes from the following sources:

• I Called You — iPhone Remix by Pete Leidy
via Sneakmove iPhone Ringtone Challenge

Every week a few of us from team TiPb will bring you our current favorite, most fun and useful App Store apps, WebApps, jailbreak apps, even the occasional accessory, web site, or desktop app if the mood strikes us. As long as they're iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch related, they're fair game.

To see what we picked, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break!

Wunderlist – @chrisoldroyd

This app was inspired by Leanna’s App for That post last week and I can see why she chose it. This app is superb for creating, sharing and syncing lists of to do items between users.

My wife and I share the grocery shopping in our home. We now make lists which are synced between out iPhones automatically. Once we have a list, either of us can add to it and it always stays in sync across our devices.

When you are in the store you can open the list and check off the items as you get them; and it works perfectly. I have been looking for an app like this for some time and now I have it. What’s even better is that it is multi-platform and free! Now the wife nags me silently with Wunderlist so my ears are saved! (Hope she doesn't read this)

Wunderlist syncs between iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, and Windows. Syncing is seamless and in the cloud. If you're concerned about security, Wunderlist has got you covered with SSL 128 bit encryption over HTTPS too.

[Free - iTunes link]

Day One – @sethclifford

I love, love, LOVE apps that hook into Dropbox, because it means that I don’t have to worry about re-syncing data when I restore devices (and lately, that’s often, since it’s beta season). I’ve got all kinds of note-taking apps, but I decided I wanted a different way to capture thoughts and little things that happen on a daily basis; more of a journal/diary type of app that I could look through by date and just recall the events of the day. I found Day One recently, and it’s wonderful. It’s a universal iOS app that not only syncs with Dropbox, but also has a companion Mac app that is available in the Mac App Store. It’s an elegantly designed system that is simple enough to quickly jot down what’s on your mind, and the fact that it’s on all three platforms makes it very easy to capture items before you forget them. You’ve got a passcode lock, so your more private thoughts are protected, and with TextExpander support, you can save even more time. It’s just text for now, but iCloud sync, tags, and photos are coming soon, and the developer was very responsive to my questions about future features. If you’re looking for a nice little way to log some ideas, Day One is a contender.

[$1.99 - iTunes link]

Google+ web app – @iMuggle

Ok, it isn’t an official App Store app (yet), but it’s still implemented a lot better than that “other” social network’s default iPhone app that constantly crashes or fails to push me notifications. To be honest, I use the web app version of Facebook more than the native app. Google+ is still one of the better mobile web apps I’ve seen.

I may not have push notifications (yet) but the layout is clean and easy to navigate. You can easily create a Google+ shortcut on your homescreen for easy access as well. While we all wait for Google+ to go public and for the native app to appear, the web app has managed to keep me entertained and meets my needs just fine for now. I actually find it quite enjoyable to browse and use.

Procreate – @reneritchie

Savage Interactive is going to be our guest on this Monday’s episode of Iterate, our new mobile design podcast, and so I’ve been spending some time this week using the app as preparation. And loving it. There’s such a visceral thrill that comes from finger painting with digital ink, with pushing colored pixels around an iPad canvas, from layering, from smudging, from bending it to your will until it realizes your imagination.

There are a lot of bitmap painting apps in the App Store, but Procreate offers all the power you’d expect in a UI that’s both apparent and approachable. Your tools are all neatly laid out around your canvas, they quickly come up when you call them, and they quietly go away when you tap out of them. No fuss, no muss. Just fun.

And I do mean fun. There’s something incredibly liberating about having the grid and the mouse and the pixel precision of Photoshop taken away from you. You’re left to explore the touch and the color and the spaces negative and positive, and the feel of the medium. Cool screen, hot results. Just ask my little friend, the dragon….

[$4.99 - iTunes link]

Camera – @Alli_Flowers

More and more I use the iPhone’s camera, not just for taking video or photos, but as a document camera. I realized how dependent I had become on this feature during a recent visit to relatives.

Both my nephews received shiny new laptops from their doting grandfather, and his first recommendation was to register them. I could barely contain the laughter watching these two boys tipping their laptops up so they could copy the registration number from the bottom into the form on the screen. Both of them have smartphones with cameras, so I showed them how I deal with this kind of issue. Tilt the laptop once, snap a picture of the serial number tag from the bottom – return to productivity. Not only can you now comfortably copy the serial number (and enlarge it with a simple pinch if the numbers are too tiny to read), but by saving that .jpg, you now have a permanent record in case of loss or theft.

I do this in my classroom as well. Best idea I ever had, since the person responsible for inventory loses her database at least twice a year, causing us to have to send her serial numbers for our computers, printers, smartboards, etc. I now have a file with photos. Every time she requests serial numbers, I just email her the whole folder (which, yes, I have backed up in multiple locations).

Your iPhone’s camera can be your ticket to replacements with your insurance company. In case of theft or fire, they want a list of your losses – along with serial numbers. Start now!

Numbers – @llofte

As many of you know, I am a math instructor and part of being a teacher is keeping track of grades. Numbers on my iPad is perfect for this. I have my spreadsheets set up to find the totals of each grade category and calculate their final grade. I even specifically designed them so that they determine the students’ current grades so when I’m inevitably asked “what’s my grade in the class right now”, I can whip out my iPad and give them an immediate answer.

Students (even college students) also occasionally forget to put their names on their quizzes. So while I’m returning the graded quizzes, someone ends up claiming the unnamed quiz. Before, this would be a pain for me because I’d have to write down who gets the score and remember to add it to my spreadsheet at home. Now I just pull out my iPad during class and update their grade right there.

[$0.99 - iTunes link]

Flipboard – @Moe_NYC (Reader’s Choice)

My pick of the week is Flipboard. It is the best way to access news, magazines and your social networks in a gorgeous magazine-style interface. You can add your networks and your desired content which will be added to the app desktop into tiles that look great.

In addition to the most popular social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, etc.), you have access to ever increasing content from news sources, magazines, editor’s picks and much more. The new update provides an always accessible red ribbon which you can tap to access content broken down into categories.

Flipboard is the way I would like to see online news (CNN, NYT, WSJ) done on the iPad. This is just perfect.

Your pick?

You're part of the team as well, so we will be choosing one reader to make a submission each week! Just look for the announcement on twitter or our Facebook page each weekend for a chance to be picked! In the meantime, let us know your pick of the week!

There are hundreds of thousands of iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps for just about everything — so how come the one you need, the one you know just has to be there, is so hard to find? Enter TiPb’s new weekly feature where staff and readers alike sort through the App Store and help you find just the right App for That. This week, Jonathan @MrJR84 asks:

Hey @llofte! Is there an bookmarklet/app to share a webpage or clipboard to other devices? Since we don’t have WebOS touch-to-share…

To see what we found for Jonathan, follow along after the break!

Handoff [$1.99 - iTunes link] is a universal application for iPhone and iPad that allows you to share things from your computer’s web browser to your iPhone and iPad.

First, you must head to Handoff’s website and download the extension for your web browser of choice (Safari, Firefox, or Chrome). Once you’re all set up, you’re ready to start sharing web pages, maps, phone numbers, selected text, and more between your devices.

When you send an item to your iPhone and iPad, you can receive a push notification on said device for quick accessibility to that item. You can also set up Handoff to open other apps when receiving a push notification. These apps include Safari (and some other web browsers), YouTube, Maps, iTunes, App Store, Articles (for Wikipedia), IMDB, Yelp, and Twitter.

Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for Jonathan? Let him — and all of us — know.

Having trouble finding what you need in the app store? Send us an email to iosapps@tipb.com and let us know what you’re looking for, and we’ll do our best to find you just the right App for That!

It appears that Apple has finally got on top of the iPad 2 availability problems, as it is now quoting just 3-5 business days on every model of the iPad 2. This is the first time since its launch back in March that the availability has been quoted at under a week. The delivery times are mirrored in the UK store also.

If you are planning on picking up an iPad 2, now could be the time to do it. Of course you could be put off buying one now due to the constant rumors of an iPad 2 HD coming later this year. I am going to be really upset if these rumors do turn out to be true; after just buying an iPad 2!

[Apple Store]

According to AppleInsider, Apple could be looking to launch full 1080p HD video rentals through its iTunes software as early as September. Currently 1080p content has not been available on any Apple platform through iTunes, be that via a Mac or the Apple TV. This could soon change as "people familiar with the matter" have told AppleInsider that certain films are now being submitted to Apple in three formats; including 1080p.

One such film from 20th Century Fox was said to have arrived with encoding options for SD (480p), HD (720p), and a new, third format listed as HD+ (1080p). Similarly, a small number of upcoming releases from two of the other ‘big 5′ movie studios were submitted with optional resolutions of 1920×1080 and an average bitrate encoding of 10,000 kbps.

If this turns out to be true, it can only mean that Apple is looking to release an updated Apple TV; to enable it to play 1080p content. The current iteration only supports a maximum resolution of 720p; due supposedly to hardware limitations. There has already been rumors pointing to an Apple TV 3 with the powerful A5 processor. This would be enough to handle the 1080p content!

Another problem to consider is internet bandwidth; you would need a very fast download speed to enable streaming of 1080p content. I struggle to stream standard definition content with my connection!

[AppleInsider]

 

BrainFeverMedia has updated their photography app, LensFlare, with two new lens flares: SuperFlare and Transformers. This apps gives you the ability to add lens flares to your photos.

Features:

• Amazing Realism
• Resize, Rotate and Scale
• Brightness control
• Lens Dust Effect
• Dynamic Edge Glare

Flare types:

• Cinematic Style Anamorphic Lens
• Natural Sunlight Flares
• Subtle Glints
• SLR Camera Lens Types

Lens flares used to be considered a photographic flaw and lens makers have put in a lot of effort to reduce this effect as much as possible and photographers have invested in lens hoods to help prevent it. Recently, however, it has become all the rave and viewed as artistic. Even so, not all lens flare is good lens flare, and it is very difficult to get right with an iPhone. Personally, I think LensFlare is perfect for the situations when bad lens flare is involved in my photo and I want to make it look good.

LensFlare is available for $0.99. Screenshots after the break.

[iTunes link]

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

Curious how to use the new iCloud feature that enables Automatic Downloads? Luckily for us, this feature has rolled out before iOS 5, and anyone using iOS 4.3.3 or later has the ability to use it. But what exactly is Automatic Downloads? To find out, follow along after the break!

Say, for example, you purchase 1password on your iPad. This is a universal app, so you probably want it on your iPhone as well. To do this before, you would have to either sync your iPad, then iPhone with iTunes, or manually install 1password from the App Store on your iPhone. Not any more! Now you can enable automatic downloads on your iPhone, iPad, and computers so that any music, iBook, or app purchase you make will automatically download to all your devices – and here’s how!

Enabling Automatic Downloads on iPhone and iPad

1. Open Settings
2. Tap Store (it’s located at the very bottom of the 3rd group of options)
3. You will see four ON/OFF toggles. The first three are to enable Automatic Downloads for Music, Apps, and Books. Select which ones you want ON.
4. The last toggle is to “Use Cellular”. If you don’t want to download apps over 3G (perhaps to lessen data usage) make sure this is OFF. Otherwise, turn it ON.

Enabling Automatic Downloads on iTunes

1. Open iTunes
2. Open Preferences
3. Click the Store tab
4. You will see boxes for Music, Apps, and Books. Check the ones you wish to be automatically download.

There you have it! Now your devices are ready to automatically download your purchases through the cloud. Let us know how this worked out for you and if you have any questions!

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to news@tipb.com. (If it’s especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we’ll even give ya a reward…)

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Superfunctional is our new podcast focused on ways to reduce or eliminate physical pain from your life, and restore function to your body. In our debut episode, Geoff and Rene introduce Muscle Balance and Function Development, and the benefits of standing desks.

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Feedback

Got something to say? Agree or disagree with something we said? Have something you want us to discuss on a future show? Don’t just stand there yelling at the screen, let us know!

• Email: podcast@superfunctional.tv
• Twitter: @superfunctional
• Web: www.superfunctional.tv

Hosts

Geoff Gluckman (@deadlyexchange)

Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie)