The iPhone Blog


No podcasts tonight, see you Wednesday!

Posted: 29 Jan 2012 04:57 PM PST

iPhone Live

Sadly there will be no Apps and Accessories Live or ZEN and TECH tonight as Rene is delayed en route back from Macworld 2012 and Seth is, according to Rene, too busy nerf herding. So relax, enjoy a night off, and we’ll see you back here on Wednesday for iPhone and iPad Live with a complete recap of all the action from the show, and all the news for the week.

If you need a fix, we have a huge back catalog of episodes available for your viewing and listening pleasure — with no Hollywood style broadcast blackouts or delays! New media win!



What new hardware are you most looking forward to from Apple in 2012?

Posted: 29 Jan 2012 01:51 PM PST

There are a thousand rumors floating around about new Apple hardware this year but we’re only interested in one — your most wanted. As expected, both CES 2012 and Macworld 2012 have come and gone without a peep from Apple, but they did give us an education event with some iBooks 2, iBooks Author, and iTunes U goodness. But I’m about ready for new hardware.

iPad 3 is likely up next, and the big rumor is Retina display on the order of 2048×1536. Less certain but still desirable are quad-core chips and LTE networking. Much the same rumors apply to the iPhone 5, just replace the already-present Retina display with an oft-requested 4-inch screen. You could throw a 7-inch iPad in there for good measure to.

Is it something subtler you’re waiting for, like NFC support, or something more dramatic like 3D?

Apple TV hasn’t been updated in over a year, so are you really craving some 1080p or are you all about the Apple iTV televion rumors now?

Maybe it’s the Mac you want — more specifically a 15-inch MacBook Air? A redesigned Mac Pro? If you could get just one big hardware gift from Apple this year, what would it be?

Give us your vote up top and then give us the details in the comments below!



How to take a screen recording on your iPhone or iPad [Jailbreak app for that]

Posted: 29 Jan 2012 12:05 PM PST

How do you record the screen of your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad? That’s the question several of our readers have asked this week. Sure, you can use a fancy HDMI-out dongle and a video capture card to mirror and record your display if you have the hardware and can get it working right. But if you’re jailbroken there’s an easier way to go about recording your iPhone or iPad display.

Yes, there’s a jailbreak app for that!

Cydia, the Jailbreak app store, has a little something that should suit your screen recording needs pretty well. It’s called Display Recorder and it allows you to take screen recordings directly on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Once you’re done, you can choose to upload the screen recording to YouTube or connect over Wi-Fi and move it over to your computer.

I’ve used Display Recorder in the past for tutorials and walk-throughs. You can adjust the output quality and file type as well. The only down side I’ve found to Display Recorder is that it doesn’t record audio. I’ve always solved this problem by recording the audio with voice memos or another external microphone and editing them together in iMovie or a similar program.

Display Recorder is available in Cydia now and is already compatible with iOS 5.

$4.99 – Cydia Search Link

Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for screen recordings?

Having trouble finding what you need in the app store? Head on over to our App for That Forum and let us know what you’re looking for. The iMore community will do our best to find you just the right App for That!



Apple posting Steve Jobs pictures, quotes at Cupertino Campus

Posted: 29 Jan 2012 11:48 AM PST

Apple posting Steve Jobs pictures, quotes at Cupertino Campus

Apple is continuing to enculturate the legacy of Steve Jobs, this time by placing memorable quotes and iconic images of their late co-founder around their Cupertino campus. The images include everything from the original Mac to the lasted MacBook Air, from Jobs’ earliest days to his final appearances.

Mark Gurman from 9to5Mac reports that they’re meant to serve as guidance and motivation for the next generation of Apple employees.

I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what's next.

Previously, Apple recruited prominent business school professors to compile and teach case studies on Apple, for Apple, and to Apple, to ensure future management would share the same vision — the same stance at the cross-roads of technology and liberal arts — that Apple was imparted under Steve Jobs. Termed Apple University, it was intended to keep the unique start-up-like mentality first and foremost at Apple, now as Tim Cook has taken over as CEO, and one day when he’s succeeded as well.

Most companies don’t endure, at least not at the heights of their influence, power, relevence, and growth. It will be interesting to see if Apple’s conscious, focused efforts to productize themselves and institutionalize their co-founder’s values lets them avoid the same pitfalls IBM, HP, Microsoft, and others have faced.

Check out more posters via the link below.

Source: 9to5Mac



Hands on with the Jot Touch, a pressure sensitive stylus by Adonit

Posted: 29 Jan 2012 08:14 AM PST

Complete iMore coverage of Macworld 2012The folks at Adonit have been working hard on their new product, the Jot Touch, a pressure sensitive stylus with a built-in antenna and a free SDK kit for drawing app developers. Adonit was showcasing the Jot Touch at Macworld, so I had a chance to check it out.

I will admit that the style of the Jot stylus lineup with the clear, flat nib has always seemed a bit awkward to me, but it only took a few minutes of use before I understood why this is a superior design. Because of the clear nib, I was able to see exactly where my markings would appear even if I was using a very fine line setting in the drawing app. This, combined with the Jot Touch’s pressure sensitivity, will make this stylus a fantastic choice for artists.

The Jot Touch is set to release in late March or early April.



Hands on with Taglists for iPhone and iPad

Posted: 28 Jan 2012 10:53 PM PST

Complete iMore coverage of Macworld 2012Taglists is an iPhone and iPad app that lets you create and share playlists made up of music, videos, and photos that can be streamed for free by you and your friends. Just tag all the media with the same hashtag label and Taglists will generate the playlists for you. Want to enjoy these playlists via a different medium? No problem; Taglists lets you use Airplay or DLNA to play them on connected TV, A/V receivers, iPod docks, stereos, Apple TV and more.

We took a closer look at Taglists at Macworld 2012.

Taglists lets you create and share playlists that mix free music, videos, and photos from multiple places, including Facebook, YouTube, Picasa, and SoundCloud.

  • Create a Taglist by tagging songs, videos, and photos with the same hash-tag, like #inthedark (See #inthedark here: http://eye-c.tv/twv)
  • Share Taglists on Twitter and Facebook automatically, and let friends add to your playlist to build your own shared channel that others can watch on any computer
  • Play Taglists on your iPhone or iPod touch or iPad or use Airplay or DLNA to play them on connected TV, A/V receivers, iPod docks, stereos, Apple TV and more.

Taglists is available on the iPhone and iPad for free.

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

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The Omni Group talks iPad apps, user interface, and the future of the platform

Posted: 28 Jan 2012 05:38 PM PST

Complete iMore coverage of Macworld 2012The Omni Group is famous for their high quality, thoughtfully designed, and enormously useful productivity apps for iPhone, iPad, and Macs, including OmniFocus, OmniGraphSketcher, OmniGraffle, and OmniOutliner. They were one of the earliest high profile developers to go all-in on the iPad, bringing several of their premium apps to platform on launch day. Not believing the “consumption not creation” mantra of the usual suspects, they took cues from Apple on model controls and full screen workflows and re-imagined their apps until they became a way to almost finger-paint with productivity.

In addition to their user interface and user experience work, they’ve also been early adopters of new iOS features, such as adding location to task management and implementing iCloud sync.

Live from [Macworld 2012], Ken Case talks about all of the above and more, and where The Omni Group might be going next.

Check out the video above, and find all of the Omni Group’s finely crafted apps on the App Store via the links below.

The Omni Group talks iPad apps, user interface, and the future of the platform



Hands on with iStopMotion animation app for iPad

Posted: 28 Jan 2012 05:19 PM PST

Complete iMore coverage of Macworld 2012iStopMotion brings the power and magic of stop motion animation to the iPad. Stop motion, and the slightly more advanced go-motion animation techniques, are what brought everything from the original Clash of the Titans and Star Wars movies to Wallace and Gromit to our screens, and now you can do it right on your iPad.

iStopMotion helps with a lot of the heavy lifting. Set up your stage, place your actors, and put your iPad in place and you’re good to go. Snap a picture, slightly move the scene, then take the next picture. Repeat. Once you have all your frames, you have your movie.

Live from Macworld 2012, Boinx shows us how you can set a time in iStopMotion to automatically take the frames for you at regular intervals, and even set up your iPhone as a better, more positional remote camera. An overlay shows you the last frame so you can more easily place the next, and if you take a bad frame — who’s hand is that?! — and once you’re done you can ad a soundtrack and share your creation, including to YouTube.

Yes, you can finally take that old AT-AT Walker out of storage, get the kids’ lego Batman sets all built up, or put the classroom Transformers toys to work. It’s Harryhausen time.

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iFixit Thirsty Bag for iPhone, iPad review

Posted: 27 Jan 2012 11:32 AM PST

“The iFixit Thirsty Bag can be a life-saver when it comes to salvaging water-damaged iPhones and iPads… if you happen to have one around when an accident happens.”

The iFixit Thirsty Bag is for those who worry about dropping their precious iPhones, iPod touches, or iPads in water. Whether you reach down to pick up something and your Phone slips out of your pocket and into the river or lake, or you turn too quickly and knock your iPod touch off the counter and into the toilet, a time may come when all that stands between you and a replacement is quick action, moisture absorbing materials like the Thirty Bag, and prayers to whichever Apple god you so choose to believe in.

iFixit's Thirsty Bag needs to be bought ahead of time and stored... just in case of water damage to your iPhone or iPad.

When your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad splashes down, and the waves of water crest over it just as the waves of panic crest over you, there are several important things to remember. First, retrieve your device as quickly as possible. Second, dry it off fast so as to minimize exposure time. Third, put it somewhere with highly moisture absorbing material to dry it out. In a pinch, if you have no other option, dry rice is the DIY option. If you’ve thought ahead, however, you can use materials specifically designed for moisture absorbing. The iFixit Thirsty Bag contains just such a material.

Inside the iFixit Thirsty Bag you’ll find two “molecular sieve packets”. Each of these contains powerful liquid absorption material that, according to iFixit, can reduce the atmospheric humidity to 1% RH and suck up pretty much all liquid inside your device over night. They don’t say exactly what the liquid absorbing material is, so I don’t know if it’s the same as the silica gel packets that sometimes ship with electronics to keep them dry, but they work in a similar fashion.

You can use the iFixit Thirsty Bag to remove potentially damaging water from and iPhone or something as large as an iPad, though for larger devices they recommend placing everything in a sealed, ziplock-type bag.

iFixit Thirsty BagReviewed by iMore

iFixit Thirsty Bag for iPhone, iPad review

$6.95

Buy now

The Good

  • More absorbent and efficient than rice
  • Small and easy to store
  • Each bag contains 2 sieve pouches

The Bad

  • Needs to be bought ahead of time
  • More expensive than DIY solutions like rice

The Conclusion

The iFixit ThirstyBad can be a life-saver when it comes to salvaging water-damaged iPhones and iPads… if you happen to have one around when an accident happens. Since they’re small and relatively easy to store, if you spend a lot of time around water, or are simply clumsy and/or paranoid, keeping a couple around just-in-case is a no-brainer.

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