Fomola has updated their iPad blogging app, Blogsy, with the ability to edit WordPress pages.

Blogsy is a tool designed specifically to take full advantage of the iPad's unique touch functionality. Adding your photos and videos is as easy as dragging them from the media sidebar and dropping them into your blog post. This makes writing blog posts as easy as it should be, saving you from the hassle of manually copy/pasting embed codes or links. Simply put, we think that Blogsy makes writing so easy that you will use it instead of your computer.

• Easily drag and drop images from Flickr, Picasa and Google Image Search, or using the built-in Web browser (yes, easily drag and drop images from any website!) Drag and drop videos from YouTube. (Either using the new iFrame or the old flash embed method with colors, borders and related videos.)
• Found a good article? Drag and drop it's URL to instantly create a hyperlink in your blog post.. No coding required!
• Style your blog posts with the tap of a button – bold, italics, text alignment and more.
• Full support for multiple accounts/blogs for all supported services.
• Easily change image and video properties and alignment through menus.
• Write and edit HTML. Though using Blogsy's ‘Rich Side’, you'll probably never want to; everything from bolding text to creating links to image alignment can be done with the tap of a finger.
• Set or create lables/tags and categories, toggle comments on and off, and set visibility.
• Create scheduled posts, online drafts, and pending-review posts.
• Support for local drafts.
• Edit or delete online posts.
• Upload images from your iPad photo library to WordPress, Picasa, or Flickr.

I’ve never been one to blog from my iPad because of the limitations that most apps (and Safari) have on photo management. Blogsy has the potential to change that.

Blogsy is available on the iPad for $4.99. 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.

Apple has apparently started testing display panels made by Samsung and LG for its next generation iPad 3 according to The Korea Times. The article claims that both companies are close to signing a deal with Apple.  The screens are thought to have a huge resolution increase over the current iPad 2 display which is 1024 x 768. The new panels are believed to be "Retina" displays at a resolution of 2048 x 1536; with the same 4:3 aspect ratio.

Apple's upcoming iPad 3 will feature an improved display to support quad extended graphics (QXGA), a display resolution of 2048×1536 pixels with a 4:3 aspect ratio to provide full high definition (HD) viewing experience,'' said a source close to the talks.

The display panels are said to be going through various tests at laboratories in China and should be complete in the third quarter of this year.

Now when you put this rumor alongside the recent story of a second iPad release this year; with a retina display, it all starts to make a little sense. If the panels pass all of Apples tests in the third quarter, we may well see the rumored release in October. Of course you never know anything for sure until it is officially announced. I still think it is a bit of a long shot and really don’t think it’s going to happen this year!

[The Korea Times]

MacPhun has updated their iPhone photo editing apps, FX Photo Studio, with a new Masking Studio. This allows the user to apply a filter to only part of an image.

Masking tool allows applying effects on a particular part of the image. With a selection of 194 effects, which can be customized and mixed, masking tools gives close to unlimited creative possibilities when it comes to image processing on your iDevice. Masking studio lets users choose a brush type and supports maximum iPhone 4 image resolution.

Here are all of the update details:

• Masking Studio: apply effects to any part of the image
• 7 new effects, including 3-D filter
• Performance improvements – with some filters 2X faster processing
• Improved editing tools: gamma, saturation, hues, etc
• Improved in-app camera
• Possibility to import images from Facebook
• Instagram sharing
• Centering for Tilt Shift, Radial Blur effects
• Printing
• Square crop option
• Enhanced user interface
• Restore in-app purchases from inside the app

The Masking Studio is such a great feature! I’ve never been much of a fan of drastic filters because although they make part of the picture look great, they commonly ruin (in my opinion) another part of the photo (like skin). I’m looking forward to seeing the type of images I can get out of FX Photo Studio with masking.

The good folks at MacPhun have given us a couple promo codes to give away to you! For a chance to win, let us know how many photos are in your camera roll!

FX Photo Studio is available on the iPhone for $1.99. Screenshots and video 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.

Apple just might have had the iPhone nano — or whatever you’d prefer to code-name the second, lower budget version of the iPhone family — ready to go as early as WWDC 2011, though they chose to make that keynote focus exclusively on OS X Lion, iOS, and iCloud. What people mean when they talk (or leak) about iPhone nano is still unclear, however. Just like “Apple is working on a TV” ultimately turned out to be a 27-inch iMac, and Apple’s “interesting ideas in the netbook space” ultimately turned out to be iPad and the 11-inch MacBook Air, what “iPhone nano/budget iPhone” turn out to be will no doubt be difficult to predict in advance but obvious in hindsight.

Today, BGR reported:

According to our source, Apple will indeed be launching a prepaid / lower cost iPhone this year. We are told the handset will retail for no more than $350 without contract. Ready for the really interesting part? It's entirely possible that the low-cost iPhone will in fact be the iPhone 3GS. [[BGR]http://www.bgr.com/2011/07/18/apple-to-launch-low-priced-iphone-for-350-iphone-4s5-end-of-summer/)

We’ve long speculated that iPhone nano might be a stripped down iPhone 3GS, same lower resolution screen and lower cost, high volume, components, but a smaller, tighter, refreshed package. Again, that’s pure speculation but based on iPhone nano not being a straight up iPhone 3GS. (Or just a new name for the discounted iPhone 4 when iPhone 5 goes on sale.)

Apple has been tremendously successful at dominating the high end, premium phone market, and have grown by adding Verizon as a carrier. They’ve also done a good job in grabbing those who transition from feature phones to smartphones; an ever increasing number. That last group is hugely important, as are emerging markets. Low cost options are important to them, but so are low cost plans. Apple could make an iPhone nano free on a 2 year contract but AT&T and Verizon voice and data plans make that difference negligible when it comes to total cost of ownership (Saving $100 when you’re spending $2000 is nice but not transformative.)

Cheaper plans on alternate carriers in the US, and certainly internationally, are one way to address this. (The other is a non-app phone, but it’s hard to see Apple pull a ROKR again.)

Either way, it’s going to be interesting to see if Apple finally decides to pull the trigger on a second class of iPhone, and how they choose to market it. iPod nano became the best selling MP3 player in history. Could that lightning strike again in the smartphone space?

TiPb’s developer spotlights are like DVD/iTunes Extras for the App Store — a weekly look behind the scenes at the programers and designers that bring you the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps and games you love. This week Rene talks with Jonathan George and Josh Viney of Boxcar.

What should we call you? Jonathan George, Josh Viney

What should we call your company? Boxcar (App Remix Corp.)

Where are you located? Wichita, KS and NYC

What’s your website address? http://boxcar.io

What are your Twitter handles? @boxcar, @jdg, @joshviney

What apps do you make? Boxcar

What apps, other than your own, are currently among your favorites? Jonathan: iA Writer, Tumblr, Alien Blue (unofficial Reddit client), Instapaper, Calendar. Josh: Foursquare, Calculator, Netflix, Instagram, Words with Friends

How long have you been a developer? Jonathan: Developer / 16 years, Entrepreneur / born with it. . Josh: Product Manager / UX Designer 12 years

How long have you been an iOS developer? Jonathan/Josh: ~3 years

Do you develop for any other platform in addition to iOS? Jonathan/Josh: Web

What primary computer setup do you use for your iOS development? Josh: Macbook Air. Jonathan: MBP 15″ + 27″ Dell Monitor

What iOS device(s) do you personally use most often? Josh/Jonathan: iPhone 4 and iPad

What mobile devices, other than iOS, do you currently use? None.

What’s your favorite thing about developing for iOS? Josh: Mobile interfaces that don’t suck, and being able to reach a wide audience. Jonathan: Being able to immediately show (and relate what you’re doing) to people you interact with everyday.

What’s your least favorite thing about developing for iOS? Josh: It can be tough to QA and changes can’t be made as quickly as on Web. Jonathan: Apple’s draconian, yet understandable, policies around the app store.

What feature would you most like Apple to add to the iOS 5 SDK? Josh: Make call and sms data available via API. Jonathan: Greater flexibility around notifications

What feature would you most like Apple to add to the App Store? Josh: Better ways for people to tell their friends about their favorite apps. Jonathan: More insight and analytics into where your users are coming from.

If we were to eavesdrop on you while you were coding, what curse word would we hear you use the most? Josh: The usual, but louder and with more frequency. Jonathan: “What the f–k?”

What do you do when you’re not coding iOS apps? Josh: Designing UX and thinking up new ways to get people to connect. Jonathan: Race motorcycles and practice putting my pants on.

What should we look for from you next? Jonathan: Boxcar 5. Just guess.

How do you use Boxcar? Josh: I use Boxcar for two things. For work, I use it to quickly reply to and manage customer service for Boxcar, and check out the newest Github commits. Socially, I use it as a replacement for RSS readers, and as a way to keep track of social happenings on Twitter and Foursquare

Jonathan: I use Boxcar to follow people. Using our Twitter @anyone service, I follow the people I care about, and know when they do something.

Thanks Josh and Jonathan

CNN has updated their iPhone and iPad apps with the ability to watch CNN live TV.

Now you can watch your favorite CNN shows LIVE on your CNN Apps for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. We've added CNN TV live – 24/7 – to all the great features that you love about your app.

• Watch LIVE CNN TV, video coverage of live events, and video clips
• Get the latest breaking news, US, world, politics, health and entertainment headlines
• Be the first to know with breaking news alerts pushed to your home screen
• View, record and submit video and photo iReports directly from your phone
• Get local news and weather for cities across the U.S.
• Share stories via e-mail, SMS, Twitter and Facebook

CNN is free on the iPhone and iPad but requires a cable subscription. Screenshots after the break.

[iPhone iTunes link] [iPad 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.

An administrative judge at the International Trade Commission (ITC) has issued an initial determination that HTC is infringing on 2 Apple patents, which — in a worst case scenario — could result in an import ban of iPhone-competing HTC Android smartphones. HTC’s stock has taken a hit since the ruling, obviously, but it’s important to remember it’s an initial ruling and a lot can change between now and any final decision, including an agreement between HTC and Apple, similar to HTC’s existing agreement with Microsoft.

Florian Mueller from FOSS Patents doesn’t think that’s likely, however.

For Apple this is not just about money. They’re not going to let HTC build fully functional smartphones and tablets in exchange for $10 or $20 per device unless HTC owns patents that Apple absolutely needs to license.

It’s a fallacy to assume that Apple v. HTC is just the usual patent dispute between two large players, and therefore going to have the same kind of happy end. This one is different. From a shareholder value point of view, what Apple needs to achieve — even if it costs a lot of time and money — is as much of a technological gap as possible between its own products and the Android-based products offered by HTC and other vendors.

In other words, as Florian discussed in our World War Patents podcast, while Microsoft seems to want to make Android more expensive (through licensing fees), Apple wants to make it less usable.

HTC meanwhile, could be fighting back using a company called S3 as a proxy. HTC’s chairwoman is a major S3 shareholder, but S3 has to do what’s best for S3 and that could end up being a licensing agreement with Apple that doesn’t end up providing any cover for HTC.

I could imagine a situation in which Apple might agree on a partial cross-license that would grant Apple access to all of HTC’s and S3′s patents while HTC would get access to only some of Apple’s patents: maybe just enough so that HTC can at least continue to sell Android-based products of some kind, but those products could be limited and there might be substantial degradations of the user experience.

Google, for their part, is continuing it’s terrifying silence on all things patent related, including a remarkable non-answer by Larry Page during the latest financial results conference call. This probably means they’re either playing their cards very close to their ninja vests, or they’re just not concerned with how this might play out, including the unlikely possibility of HTC switching to Windows Phone exclusively, just to avoid any more patent-related headaches.

Check the link below for Florian’s full rundown and his excellent “battlemap” visualization of the dispute.

[FOSSPatents]

Every day, TiPb gets flooded with announcements for new and updated iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps and games. So every day we pick just a few of the most interesting, the most notable, and simply the most awesome to share with you!

• Countdown+: A timekeeper that tells you exactly how much time has passed or is remaining for all the events that are important to you. Can also notify you in advance of an upcoming event so you’ll never miss an important date ever again. [$0.99 for iPhone and iPad - iTunes link]

• Gatsby’s Golf: A miniature golf game! Now with iPad support. [$0.99 for iPhone and iPad - iTunes link]

• Sober House: Keep track of how many drinks you’ve had. See totals for the week, month, and year. [$0.99 for iPhone and iPad - iTunes link]

• The Treasures of Hotei: Collect the lost magic coins and bring them to Hotei. If you can make it back, Hotei’s Jewels will be yours! [$1.99 for iPhone - iTunes link]

• FreakyAlarm: Forces you to wake your brain because you will have to solve a series of logical-mathematical games otherwise it will not stop ringing. [$0.99 for iPhone - iTunes link]

Any other big app or game releases or updates today?

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.

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The WINGStand is a clever two piece plastic stand designed to work with the official Apple Bluetooth keyboard. It clips onto the Apple keyboard and then an iPad can be used in portrait or landscape mode; you can even use the iPad while it is in its case. The stand works with the original iPad, iPad 2, iPhone or even other tablets. If you don't want to use a keyboard, the WINGStand also works fine as a stand for your device.

The WINGStand has been developed by student Daniel Haarburger who is currently studying at Stanford University. It has already reached its target funding figure of $9,500 with more than 38 days remaining; looks like this one is going to be a very popular accessory.

You can still make a pledge and guarantee yourself one of the first ones off the production line. $20 will get you one in white, $30 if you want an exclusive black one and you can even get a package including the Apple keyboard; that will set you back over $100.

I really like the look of this and hopefully it will be available very soon. Take a look at the video after the break!

[Kickstarter]