One of the many, many games on sale through the Because We May promotion is Spirits by Spaces of Play, and even though it's two years old, it has weathered the test of time well enough to be featured by Apple, and we figured it was worth a fresh review.

At its core, Spirits is an artsy version of Lemmings. You have to guide a mindlessly-advancing troupe of spirits to a beautiful swirling exit by transmogrifying them into different creatures which will alter the path of those following. These transformations include leaf bridges which shoot off the ground at an angle, clouds which blow your buddies across threatening chasms (or tiny black holes to block prevailing winds), and burrowing to create new paths beneath obstacles.

In each stage, you'll only have access to a few of these tools, which is bound to test your patience and imagination. Every level has at least a few plant sprouts which act as bonus objectives, provided you can get one of your spirits to cross it on the ground or drop a neat little spirit bomb thingie on it while jumping overhead. There are 43 levels total, so you'll be relying on those plants for a fair bit of the replay value.

Despite being two years old, Spaces of Play has kept the graphics in Spirits fully up-to-date and optimized for the new iPad's Retina display. Wind particles are extremely fluid and impressive as they change course and merge with other wind sources. The spirits have a faint glow, and as you might expect, spirits are very light and prone to being whisked away with fluid, hypnotic animations. The background and level textures have a dark, rusty, natural feel to them, which is perfectly in line with the game's autumnal theme. The audio is equally polished. The contextual sound effects for transformations and other in-game actions blend seamlessly into the incredibly smooth and relaxing soundtrack. You can take a listen over here if you're interested. One of the bonuses of being an older game is relatively good backwards compatibility; Spirits is compatible all the way back to iOS 3.1.2, which means I could play this on my first-gen iPod touch should need arise.

For ranking, there's only a bare-bones in-house system, but Game Center is there to track achievements. It would really be great to see some in-app purchases for additional levels (along with some new abilities, maybe), since the 43 that come along with the game can get chewed through relatively quickly by dedicated players. Spirits is also not universal, which means you'll have to pay separately for the iPhone and iPad titles, which also means you'll have different progress saved on either device.

The good

• Relaxing, charming art style and soundtrack
• Simple but rich gameplay
• Scales excellently from old iOS devices to new ones

The bad

• Limited replay value
• Not universal, lacks cloud saving

The conclusion

What I really like about Spirits is that it has managed to find a kind of timeless quality; the gameplay is good, and it's not aiming to be photorealistic, which has enabled it to age gracefully. The developer is still showing the game love, even if there are a few things like additional levels and Game Center leaderboards to add. Spirits is also versatile enough to be appealing to a wide age range - I could easily see mom, little Billy, and grandma all have a good time with this one. In the end, Spirits is calming, clever, and as close to interactive art as you could ask for.

$1.99 (on sale from $4.99) - Download Now (iPad)

$0.99 (down from $2.99) - Download Now (iPhone)

The best iOS podcast in the world returns tonight to talk all the latest iPhone and iPad news, how-tos, and app and accessory reviews. This week we begin our WWDC 2012 preview with special guest David Barnard of App Cubby. You don't want to miss it!

Want to go full screen? Head to iMore.com/live. Want to watch via iPhone or iPad? Grab the Ustream app and search for "mobilenations"!

Code and text editor apps for iPad are making it easier for web developers to make quick changes and access sites while on the go (or, frankly, from poolside). Gusto, Textastic, and the newly released Diet Coda will all get the job done -- but does one do it better than the rest?

Diet Coda vs. Gusto vs. Textastic: Overall design

Diet Coda is very much like its big brother for the Mac. If you've ever used Coda or Coda 2 you'll be right at home. The layout is very similar and exactly what you'd expect from a developer like Panic. There's really nothing to second guess; the controls are obvious. Where you think they'd be, that's where they are.

Launching Diet Coda, you'll see a pin board of all the sites you have set up. To add another one, just tap on the "+" sign and type in all your information. Diet Coda will populate a preview on the pinboard and display the name underneath. To access a specific site, just tap into it and your files will begin to load.

To navigate through files, just tap into your file system. Diet Coda will show your path along the top via a breadcrumb trail. To backtrack, just swipe back to the left or tap the tab you'd like to return to in the top navigation pane. Once you find the file you need to edit just tab the Edit in Diet Coda button to start editing. When you're done tap the green check mark to save and upload your changes. The layout and design really couldn't be any more convenient.

Gusto has been around for quite some time and was my go-to code editor for on the fly changes mainly because it reminded me of Coda, which is my main editor on my Mac. Even though the main screen shares a striking resemblance the the way Coda pins sites in an easy to organize board, Gusto has its own flow once you're inside documents.

Just like Diet Coda, the main page will show you a splash page of all the sites you've set up access to. Tapping into any one of them will bring up a main page. The first time you tap into a site, select the wrench in the top and select Connect to www.yoursite.com in order to pull a list of files.

Once you've connected your screen will split into two panes: one for localhost files and one for remote files. From here you can navigate through files and copy them over locally to start editing them. When you're done, just select the local files you want to upload, navigate to the directory you want them in, or create a new one, and tap Upload.

Unlike Diet Coda, you won't see a breadcrumb trail at the top. You'll have to tap back through files. That can be a bit tedious if you've got several directories to navigate through often. Other than that, Gusto is extremely simple. The first few times you launch it, Gusto will provide you with hints and tips that will get you familiar with the general workflow in just a few minutes. Obviousness is great, hints for when things aren't obvious are still appreciated.

Textastic isn't as user friendly as Gusto or Diet Coda but does have a workable interface. Just like Gusto you'll find that your screen is split into two panes that will house both local and remote files. Anything you download will appear in the left pane under that site while the right will show remote files.

To add a site just click the "+" sign under Connections and enter your information. Once you've got all your information entered just tap into the site to view a list of remote files. You can add as many sites as you'd like.

Just like Gusto there is no breadcrumb trail so you'll have to tab out of files to backtrack. The two-pane layout is great for keeping track of your workflow but some users may find it annoying that both Gusto and Textastic require you to download files. Many may prefer editing them remotely and making better use of screen real estate.

When it comes to design there's no mistaking the time and effort that went into creating a client like Diet Coda. While the other two are just as functional, the entire package design wise just isn't as refined.

Diet Coda has the best design and experience. Hands down.

Diet Coda vs. Gusto vs. Textastic: Feature overview

Diet Coda's features are organized in a logical fashion. Many of the most commonly used features such as moving, deleting, or copying items are available from the main navigation page of your site. You'll find a lot of the controls you expect to find along the top while editing, including find/replace, preview, search, settings, and save. Tapping the documents tab in the upper left corner will bring down a top bar that allows you to switch between documents or open terminal or your main sites panel.

Diet Coda also allows you to switch quickly between syntaxes by tapping on the gear at the top of any page. Diet Coda supports CSS, HTML, JavaScript, PHP, and Ruby. It should pick up on the correct syntax but in case it doesn't, you can change it or set it when creating a new file.

If you do a lot of editing or developing, you probably already know that lines of code can start to blur after a bit. The zoom bar in Diet Coda is a great way to alleviate that problem. Just hold you finger down like you would normally on your iPad to activate the text editing magnifier loupe, and drag your finger up and down to make use of the built-in zoom bar. It's little features and add-ons like these that make you appreciate using Diet Coda even more.

Gusto offers a lot of the same functionality as Diet Coda but you'll need to download the files locally in order to edit them, and then re-upload them when you're done. This is a feature I actually like so I can edit files on the go even if I don't have an internet connection. Once you enter a site you'll see your local files right away. When you're ready to connect remotely, just tap the wrench and connect. Copy over the files you'd like to edit and then go back to your remote file list in order to start editing them in the built-in editor.

Navigation stays fixed to the left hand side of the screen while the built-in editor appears to the right. The keyboard has a top row of keys of commonly used brackets and tags. Putting a breadcrumb trail at the top would allow for more screen real estate to be used by the editor. By the time the keyboard comes up you're staring at a tiny square of code that you endlessly have to scroll through. You can resolve this by tapping into settings and turning the file browser off but it's still annoying to have to toggle between them.

Gusto also allows you to change the syntax highlighting theme as well as assign quick keys. Changing the quick keys will change the quick access bar above the keyboard. The defaults are commonly used brackets and tags but you can change them to whatever you'd like.

I had issues with Diet Coda's preview working correctly and actually prefer Gusto's. You can preview locally or remotely and toggle between them. Preview in all code editors, desktop or mobile, is flaky but I always found Gusto's to be pretty reliable.

Textastic offers a lot of the same features as Gusto and Diet Coda just packaged differently. It also allows you to change fonts and themes for the editor. To edit a file you'll need to download it locally just like you would with Gusto. Once you're done downloading local files they'll show up in your files list and you can tap them to edit them. You can easily hide and view the file list to expand the editor window which is a bit better than Gusto where you'll need to go into settings and hide/unhide it each time.

Gusto also has a row of keyboard shortcuts and all the commands you'd expect to find along the top. Another feature of Textastic that I really like is the symbol menu. Tapping on any type of element will find that grouping within your code. This makes it a lot snappier when looking for something within a large file.

Textastic also supports the greatest variety of syntaxes with tons to choose from. Everything from JavaScript to Python to Objective-C is supported. Gusto supports about 20 while Diet Coda support far less and Textastic supports over 80. If you need a versatile editor, I'd choose between Gusto and Textastic.

When it comes to feature set they're all neck and neck but the abilty to edit files locally may be important to some and Diet Coda just doesn't offer that (yet) and Gusto and Textastic both do.

While all three apps provide enough features for most users, Textastic supports far more syntaxes than the other two and offers pretty much every feature Gusto does on top of it.

Textastic offers the most features and versatility.

Diet Coda vs. Gusto vs. Textastic: Security

If you manage multiple sites you've got a lot of passwords and settings to enter. You'd probably also like a way to password protect the app so you don't have to enter those passwords each and every time you need to access or FTP into a site but still have a way to prevent unauthorized access.

Gusto and Textastic allow you to set a master app password which is a lot more convenient than having to type in site information each and every time. Password protection can be turned on in either app under Settings.

Tie between Gusto and Textastic.

Diet Coda vs. Gusto vs. Textastic: Workflow

Diet Coda provides a great workflow thats extremely easy to follow and a breadcrumb trail that makes it simple to jump between files. The dropdown menu at the top lets you toggle between sites, terminal, and all open pages, and make the overall process of using Diet Coda a joy.

Code snippets are an awesome thing to have on an iPad and takes a lot of the grunt work out of entering common functions and tags. Just open the snippet tab at the top and choose from predefined snippets to insert or create your own if you'd like.

The fact that you can edit remotely makes it really easy to just jump into a file and start making changes. While I wish that Diet Coda gave the option to save and edit locally, it is nice to be able to jump into a file and start editing right away without having to save files first, which is what Gusto and Textastic require you to do.

The editor in Diet Coda also makes the best use of screen real estate out of all three apps. The breadcrumbs at the top take up minimal space and there are no menus to hide. All your most used functions are accessible within one or two taps and everything else that doesn't need to clutter up the screen is removed. You can even use Diet Coda as a screen preview with Coda 2 for Mac.

Gusto and Textastic's password protection feature also makes getting to work a lot easier. This is great for users that manage multiple sites since you can just jump right in after typing a 4 digit pin. I got irritated quickly with typing in my password everytime I returned to the main sites screen of Diet Coda. Sure you can save your passwords but without an app passcode I'm just not comfortable doing that and many others won't be either.

Textastic and Gusto are very similar when it comes to overall workflow. You manipulate your files and download them in almost the exact same way. You also need to return to your local files to open them in the editor, and once done, you have to re-upload them.

If you'd prefer just editing remotely, Diet Coda is the only app that's going to allow you to do so.

Workflow is where Diet Coda really shines through. Everything just flows and flipping from the editor to another file or copying a path or filename is simple. Diet Coda was obviously designed around how you're going to want to interact with it.

When it comes to a seamless workflow, you won't get a better experience than what Diet Coda offers.

Diet Coda vs. Gusto vs. Textastic: Wireless syncing

While Coda 2 on OS X can sync site settings between Macs, Diet Coda hasn't yet been invited to the party. No iCloud, no Dropbox, no Web-DAV. It's already a great companion app, but iCloud sync would make it even better.

Gusto and Textastic both support Dropbox and Textastic supports Web-DAV via a built-in server that will allow you to wirelessly transfer files between your PC and Mac.

Textastic has the most syncing options.

Diet Coda vs. Gusto vs. Textastic: Conclusion

Most users who have a need for a code editing app will probably still spend most of their time doing the heavy lifting on their desktop computers. A code editor on the iPad will be secondary and a way to make quick changes in a pinch or when a computer isn't handy.

No code editor for iPad is going to be as powerful as a computer, but then it doesn't need to be. For most users, all three of these apps will do what you need them to and then some.

Textastic is best for those who need the biggest, broadest range of syntax support possible. If you use a less popular language, or a lot of languages, Textastic will probably have you covered.

Gusto is best if you're working on common web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and really need local file editing support. Textastic does that as well, but Gusto has a much better interface.

Diet Coda is best if you're working on popular formats, don't need local support, but do want the very best interface, and among the smartest features, available on iPad. It's intuitive to use, makes great use of screen real estate, and has a host of clever, well considered touches that just make it a pleasure.

Diet Coda is currently the best code editor for iPad.

Diet Coda - $19.99 - Download Now

Gusto - $9.99 - Download Now

Textastic - $4.99 - Download Now

Yesterday, we saw a clear picture of what was supposedly the casing part for the iPhone 5 launching this fall, and today we have this shot of its manufacturing schematic.  

Unfortunately, all of the figures have been blurred out, but we're pretty sure that with the added length, the screen size should be around 4 inches measured diagonally. Everything else seems to line up with what we saw yesterday, including the new bottom placement of the headphone jack, new micro-dock connector, and a Facetime camera directly above the earpiece (rather than off to the side, as on current iPhone models). Of course, one always has to be wary of taking this stuff too seriously; this could still easily be yet another Chinese iPhone knock-off, however elaborate it may be.

Personally, I'm cool with the new design, if this actually pans out to a production iPhone 5. The two-toned matte/glass rear looks classy enough, and a bottom-mounted headphone jack would make it easier to listen to tunes on an iPhone 5 while having it placed right-side-up on a desk for regular usage; in its current spot, headphone wires have to wrap around and I find tend to get in the way. I'm also curious to see if that rumor about new colors pans out; a little variety beyond black and white would be nice to see. The new micro-dock connector is likely to peeve a few people who have invested heavily in accessories, but Apple's never been shy about making a clean break from the past for the sake of pushing onwards into the future.

Do you guys think this is actually what the iPhone 5 will end up looking like? Would you rather a different layout, perhaps something a bit wider? Where do you stand on the whole 16:9 aspect ratio debate? Here are a few cleaner pictures of the black and white casing the bubbled up yesterday for your consideration.

Source: iLab Factory via AppleInsider, 9to5 Mac

We've been hearing an awful lot about Apple making their own TV set lately, and now rumors are being mongered that we may actually get a glance at the operating system that will be powering it next week at WWDC 2012. Details are scarce, but apparently the iTV OS will include a control out API for accessory manufacturers and other third parties, which could quickly turn an Apple-made television into the connected hub for your home.

We've heard all sorts of crazy rumors about Apple's plans for TV, including that it will boast Siri voice recognition and Kinect-style motion controls. It seems likely that Apple will eventually produce something beyond the current Apple TV, regardless of feature set, considering Steve Jobs had claimed once upon a time that he had "cracked" the formula for the ideal TV. Odds are we won't see one on store shelves this year, so don't get too excited.

Tim Cook was tight-lipped about their plans for TV at the D10 conference last night, but did mention that they've already sold 3 million Apple TVs this year, which was the sum total for all of 2011. That pales in comparison to iPhone and iPad sales, but still shows that Apple has a foothold in the TV world, and that they're gaining momentum. Transitioning to full TV sets could further estrange their relationship with Samsung, with whom Apple competes in the world of smartphones, but also relies upon for many iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV parts. Would Samsung also be willing to supply them for TV, too?

Apple TV owners, what kind of OS changes would you like to see in the next iteration? How likely do you guys think it is that Apple will, in fact, make the jump from set-top boxes to full-blown television sets? Will they be able to compete with the big boys like Samsung?

Source: BGR

The Electronic Frontiter Foundation (EFF), an electronic rights activist group, has recently labeled the iPhone and iPad app ecosystem as a "crystal prison" for developers and end-users. The EFF's main justifications for this conclusion include Apple's content filters, restrictions on code usage (like ones tapping into AirPlay uninvited), and limiting developers to using Apple's payment infrastructure (though some devs seem pretty happy with the current set-up).

Much of the essay harps on the necessity to jailbreak an iPhone to have full control of the device. The EFF posits that Apple's primary motivation to maintaining this degree of control is to lock down their 30% cut from sales, but I have trouble agreeing with that since Apple openly admitted that they pretty much break even on App Store costs. To amend the situation, the EFF proposes that four core rights are granted to end-users.

1. Installation of arbitrary applications on the device. If the user wishes to, they should not be limited to what is included in one particular proprietary "app store."
2. Access to the phone OS at the root/superuser/hypervisor/administrator level. If consumers wish to examine the low-level code that is running in their pockets, to check for invasions of privacy, run the anti-virus software of their choice, join VPNs, install firewalls, or just tinker with their operating systems, phone and device companies have no legitimate basis for preventing this.
3. The option to install a different OS altogether. If people want to install Linux on their iPhones, Boot to Gecko on their Windows phones, or just run a different version of Android on their Android phones, the company that sold them the hardware must not prevent them. Using a cryptographic bootloader to defend against malware is a fine idea, but there must be a way to reconfigure this security mechanism to (1) allow an alternative OS to be installed; and (2) to offer the same cryptographic protections for the alternative OS.
4. Hardware warranties that are clearly independent of software warranties. Apple denies warranty coverage to users who have jailbroken their iPhones. While nobody is asking Apple to support jailbroken or modified software, it is inexcusable that the company threatens not to cover, say, a faulty screen, if the customer has chosen to modify the software on their device.

For all of its criticisms, the EFF openly admits that Apple may not be the worst perpetrator in closed operating systems, and that writing software for mobile before iOS was considerably worse, but that Apple is still in a position to raise the bar. After all, "no place, and no system, can be perfect if it denies its citizens the freedom to change it, or the freedom to leave."

This issue doesn't come as much of a surprise to anyone who has become involved with Apple products; it's hard not to get an iPhone and Mac and not know that from here on in, you're expected to do things The Apple Way.

To be honest, this attitude is exactly what traditionally turned me off from Apple products, but as we all know, a crystal prison is still a pretty nice place to hang out.

I'm mostly interested in the idea that Apple necessarily has to be the restrictive (but safe and polished) option, and Android is by default the free, open, and chaotic developer playground. I get the distinct impression that developing on iOS isn't nearly as bad as it's made out to be by folks like the EFF, and that Android isn't as open as Google might like you to think.

Devs, care to weigh in? Jailbreakers, how happy would you be to see Apple formally adopt something like this digital bill of rights?

Source: EFF via TUAW, pic

For today only, the iMore iPhone Accessory Store has the Case-Mate Horizontal Hipster for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 on sale for only $17.95. That's a huge 49% off! Get your before they're gone!

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Shop Case-Mate Horizontal Hipster for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 now!

As the head of a publicly traded company -- THE most publicly traded company -- when asked on the D10 Conference stage about ongoing patent litigation, Apple's Tim Cook went straight into CEO mode.

Cook basically repeated his previous line -- that Apple shouldn't be the developer to the world. Apple wants competition but wants competitors to stop copying Apple and start making their own stuff. That's why Apple has been going after Android original device manufacturers (ODMs) like Samsung, HTC, and (now Google-owned) Motorola. (Apple has cross-licensing deals with Microsoft and has reached settlements with Nokia.)

As to whether or not the current patent system stifled innovation, Cook said Apple can't spend time and effort making a painting just for someone else to come along and sign their name on it. He said that was the worst feeling.

When asked about Apple copying other companies, Cook cast all counter-suits as morally questionable. In patents, there's a concept called FRAND (free, reasonable, and non-discriminatory), which basically means if you want your patent to become part of a standard, like 3G networking, you have to agree to license it to everyone else for roughly the same price, using roughly the same terms. Otherwise things like phones simply wouldn't work.

Cook says Apple has never sued over a FRAND patent, but claims their competition have sued, countersued, or been blocked from suing used FRAND patents (to try and force Apple to license proprietary patents they otherwise would not license.)

While that assertion seems to be true, Cook never got around to addressing the issue of Apple violating and getting sued for non-FRAND patents as well. (Which, for example, is why Apple users in Germany currently have no push email.)

We wouldn't expect Cook to address ongoing litigation in any way that may harm Apple, of course, so it's a question that would never be answered, but it does highlight the ongoing chaos that is the global patent system.

Which Cook himself did categorize rather adeptly -- as a "pain in the ass".

As part of his D10 Conference interview last night, Apple CEO Tim Cook used the occasion to once again respond to critics of Apple's China policies and remind them key parts of the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad are in fact made in the U.S.A -- including the Corning Gorilla Glass screens and the Apple A4, Apple A5, and Apple A5X chipset "brains".

The story of how Apple came to use Corning's Kentucky made Gorilla Glass for the iPhone is well known, involving Steve Jobs, some keys, a scratched iPhone prototype, and a demand to change an entire manufacturing process just weeks before launch. Apple has previously admitted and even touted the connection on their jobs creation page.

Samsung, who fabricates the chips designed by Apple for the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and Apple TV, shifted manufacturing to Austin, Texas some time in 2011. The Apple A5 chipset found in the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S, and likely subsequent chipsets have been produced there ever since.

Riffing on Apple's ongoing patent litigation, which was also discussed, Cook went on to describe how Apple is taking the lead in supply chain responsibility, making it more open and transparent, and reporting on progress more frequently than ever before.

Rather than stealing Apple intellectual property, Tim Cook said he wished Apple competitors who rip off some of that.

Full video below.

PayPal looks like it could steal some attention away from NFC (Near Field Communication) payments in the UK with the release of its latest app. The new app, which is called PayPal inStore, allows UK shoppers to use their iPhone to pay for goods within certain stores. Those stores currently include fashion chains Coast, Oasis, Warehouse, and Karen Millen.

The PayPal inStore app, available for Android and Apple iOS (iPhone and iPad) devices, brings the flexibility of online shopping to the high street. If you want to use your mobile to pay for your new summer outfit, our app simply generates a unique barcode and transaction number, which the shop cashier scans to take payment from your PayPal account. It even works when there is no mobile or Wi-Fi signal!  Safety and security are at the heart of everything PayPal does and this is no different when it comes to mobile payments.  You unlock the application with a unique PIN number, and no personal or financial information, or money, is stored on your phone.

PayPal is actively talking to many other stores so it shouldn't be long before the technology gets rolled out to other retailers. PayPal may have a fight on its hands as NFC is certainly seen as the standard that most credit card companies are backing for contactless payments. However there has been very little seen of the technology in the mobile world with the exception of Google Wallet. Apple has been rumored to include the technology in its next devices but there is still no concrete plans in place to embrace the technology. That may well change with the release of the next iPhone but until then, PayPal may have built up a nice lead in the UK high street.

I very much like the idea of ditching my cards and simply using my iPhone to pay as I go; after all, it is always with me wherever I am. It will be interesting to see if  Apple has anything to say about NFC or a similar system at WWDC 2012.

If you are in the UK and would like to give the app a try, you can download it from the link below.

Free - Download Now

Source: PayPal Blog

 

Kevin from CrackBerry.com, Phil from Android Central, Derek from webOS Nation, Daniel from WPCentral, Gary from Mobile Nations, and Rene from iMore talk iPhone 5 and iOS 6, BlackBerry 10, Samsung Galaxy S III and Jellybean, Windows 8, ecosystems vs. best of breed, and... the Facebook Phone. This is Mobile Nations!

• Our podcast feed: Audio | Video
• Download directly: Audio | Video
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Agenda

• The 4 inch, 16:9 iPhone
• WWDC 2012
• BlackBerry 10
• State of the RIMMpire
• Samsung Galaxy S III
• Google IO 2012
• Recruiting and keeping talent is important. Really important.
• Windows Phone 8
• Amazon Instant Video comes to Xbox 360
• FacePhone in the works
• Facebook once again rumored to be making a phone, this time with iPhone talent

Hosts

Phil Nickinson (@philnickinson) of Android Central

Kevin Michaluk (@crackberrykevin) of CrackBerry.com

Derek Kessler (@dkdsgn) of webOS Nation

Daniel Rubino (@Daniel_Rubino) of WPCentral

Gary Mazo (@GMazo1 of Mobile Nations

Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie) of iMore

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 sit there yelling at the screen, dammit, let us know!

• Email: podcast@mobilenations.com
• Twitter: @mobilenations
• Web: www.mobilenations.com

Credits

Our music is pROgraM vs. Us3R by by morgantj. Introduction by Joseph Holder.

Thanks to the Mobile Nations network of store for sponsoring this podcast, and to our fantastic live chat members for keeping us honest and making us smart!

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Twig is a rather innovative charging cable for your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch that looks to solve your cable clutter problems.  We all use the Apple supplied cable for charging and syncing our devices and the length of it probably means that it gets tangled up in your bag and it all becomes a bit messy. The Twig looks to solve that problem as well as offering a few extra features too.

The Twig is only 4 inches long and has a strong bendable wire skeleton with three legs; this enables it to be bent into shapes like a tripod. You can bend Twig to make an instant wall charger dock, FaceTime tripod or use it for a self-timed photograph; it really is a clever little invention.The video showing how the Twig was developed is especially interesting when you see where the inspiration came from.

The Twig has been developed by Jason Hilbourne who is the founder of 3D Product, a company based in Portland, Oregon. If you want to get an early piece of the action, you can get your hands on one when / if they are released from as little as $18. For the Twig to become a reality however pledges need to reach over $50,000; it currently stands at $22,000 but still has 28 days to go.

Source: Kickstarter

 

Apple CEO Tim Cook hit the D10 Conference stage to share some insight surrounding all things Apple today, which ended up to be rather subtly revealing. The event itself wasn't streamed for the masses but now All Things D has started to post up the videos from the event.

Given the event was Cook's first appearance at a D Conference; along with it being his first interview appearance outside of Apple events it's certainly an interesting set of videos to take in.

As of right now, there is eight videos posted but there may be more on the way and hopefully, the full-uncut version will make it up as well.

Source: All Things D

During the D10 Conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked about Siri, the iPhone 4S virtual assistant, and why it seems to alternate from working almost like magic to not working at all. Walt Mossberg pressed Cook about Siri being a beta, and asked if Cook was satisfied with its performance so far.

Cook gave a stock answer about Siri's popularity, but also said a lot of people at Apple were working on Siri, and that in the coming months, we'd be seeing more, including more "breadth". He said Apple had some "cool ideas" about what to do with Siri.

Siri has proven, according to Cook, that natural language interface and context-aware, personality-driven voice interactions are something people want to use. He stressed that Siri-like technology used to be the stuff of dreams, and that now it was a mainstream reality.

Cook also revealed that S in the iPhone 4S named did in fact stand for Siri, which is different than the S in iPhone 3GS which stood for speed.

Interviewer Walt Mossberg asked Cook about product naming in general, and specifically Apple's choice to revert to simply the "iPad" as the name of Apple's third generation tablet rather than iPad 3 as a follow on to iPad 2.

iPod was consistently called iPod until there was an iPod mini, then nano, then shuffle. Yet each generation of those products kept the same, unnumbered names. As have Macs since the introduction of the iMac.

Cook feels either way works, and nothing about reverting to simply "iPad" should shocked anyone.

Tim Cook's interview at the D10 Conference returned several times to Steve Jobs, his legacy at Apple, what he meant to Cook, and how Apple may or may not be changing since Jobs passed away.

Cook said the saddest day of his life was when Jobs died, and no matter how much he knew it was coming, he could never have prepared for it. Then he was shaken out of it and his sadness was replaced with a determination to continue Apple's journey.

Jobs taught Cook the "joy of the journey", which Cook said was a revelation. With life being fragile, and tomorrow never being guaranteed, Cook learned to give everything he had. To focus, and not just on Apple but on life. To do great things and cast aside the rest.

As expected (by everyone but people who write dumb Apple stuff, apparently), Cook revealed that some of the so-called "changes" attributed to his assuming the CEO job at Apple were actually known about and begun under Jobs, including the new charitable matching program.

Cook also said "what would Steve do" wasn't a question asked by Apple leadership, and something Jobs himself had told Cook to never do. Jobs wanted Cook to make the right choice, not what he assumed Jobs' choice would be.

Apple will keep growing and doing things like the stock dividend, like doubling down on security on their products beyond even Jobs' famous levels, and like being more socially responsible and transparent about China and the environment, because that's what they believe is right.

Cook admitted to not spending as much time on marketing and design as Jobs, because that's almost all that Jobs spent his time on, and Cook has a broader focus. Cook also claimed the role of "curator" or "editor" is passed around, and that that was true when Jobs still ran Apple as well. Cook pointed out no one at Apple was Superman. That no one person could do it all.

Like Jobs, Cook wants to build great products and he believes revenue will follow.

The most shocking thing about being CEO of Apple, Cook concluded, is the email he receives, and the connection he feels customers have with Apple, and now with him.

When asked, as part of his D10 Conference interview, about the status of Apple's relationship with Facebook, Apple CEO Tim Cook said they could definitely do more.

Cook praised Facebook -- which just completed it's IPO -- as a great company, and one with which they enjoyed a good relationship, but also advised interviewer Walt Mossberg and the audience to "stay tuned" for more.

Because Facebook's user base is so big, Apple wants to make sure that those users are having the best Facebook experience possible on Apple products. This, of course, comes after Facebook integration was rumored to have been pulled from iOS 4 before it was released, and was very publicly yanked from Apple's Ping social music network after Facebook turned off API access.

When asked about Steve Jobs' comment that Facebook's terms for collaboration were "onerous", Cook countered that Facebook simply has their own way of doing things, and that many people say the same about Apple. While that's true, the nature of complaints about Facebook are different in kind than those about Apple -- mostly centered around privacy and ownership of personal information.

Whether or not that means the Apple/Facebook relationship has gotten better, especially considering rumors of Facebook hiring former Apple engineers to build a Facebook Phone, is hard to tell. Maybe we'll see some signs of it at WWDC 2012 next week when iOS 6 is expected to debut. If Facebook integration is part of the future of iOS devices, then obviously things have improved.

Cook also added that Apple wouldn't have bought Instagram the way Facebook did. As part of an ongoing discussion about Apple increasing their already legendary secrecy, Cook said he wouldn't even advise the world Apple bought a company if he didn't have to. Cook did say, however, that while Apple preferred smaller talent and IP based purchases, and ones that matched up with Apple product plans, he wouldn't rule anything out. Even an Instagram style purchase if one ever made sense.

As part of his talk at the D10 Conference today, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that while they'd sold nearly 3 million Apple TVs during their entire 2011 financial year, they'd already sold 3 million in the first two quarters of 2012 alone. That's double the rate of sales for last year so far, and we're not even in the traditionally strongest holiday quarter yet.

Likely spurring sales of the Apple TV is the new model released alongside the new iPad, which included an upgraded processor capable of displaying 1080p content.

While this sales volume and its associated revenue stream is trivial compared the behemoths like iPhone and iPad, which sell in the tens of millions, and make billions of dollars for Apple a quarter, Cook defended the Apple TV as being a great product. He did conceded that it's unusual for Apple not to give up on smaller, less successful ventures to refocus on larger, potentially more successful ones. However, due to the growth and to trends in the market in general, Cook continues to think there's legs to the Apple TV, even if they can't yet form a leg of their own for Apple's business.

Interviewer Walt Mossberg pushed Cook about the lack of content on Apple TV, and said Apple wasn't solving every living room problem yet. Cook agreed.

Cook wouldn't comment on whether or not Apple would go into original programming the way some other services have or might, but said Apple didn't have a problem acquiring content, though outside the U.S. it was more challenging.

A flight game called Air Mail landed on iPhone and iPad last week, carrying cargo of sharp visuals, smooth controls, and a whole lot of charm. You control an old-school pontoon plane through a series of story missions, delivery challenges, and exploratory expeditions around the fantasy island kingdom of Domeeka and its environs. Even as a grown-up, it's hard to play this and not get a little taste of child-like wonder.

Game types are pretty standard, and include pick-up, drop-off, and flying through target rings. These are often framed as interesting and diverse tasks, like dusting fields, or scaring off pigeons. Through each level, you're scored out of five stars based on accuracy, speed, and how banged up your plane gets. Finding objectives is generally pretty easy, as there are beams of light landing directly where you need go next. Even if you're dealing with really cramped field of vision, there's an overview map on the pause screen to get you situated, plus there's an in-game indicator arrow that pops up if you're just flying around aimlessly.

The core tilt controls are very good, but Air Mail tries to get a little too fancy with an advanced control set, which includes manual pitch, tilt, yaw, and throttle control. This advanced control scheme isn't particularly great, despite the extended handling; the two tilt control sliders on the side also act as throttle up and down if you tap on them, which not only means you can accidentally crank up or down your speed when you're trying to do a barrell roll, but the function is also redundant with the throttle slider along the bottom. Beyond that, the sliders don't coincide with the standard inverted layout for flying controls, as sliding both controls down points your ship to the ground; usually that action should pull you upwards, and unfortunately, there's nothing in settings to set invert those controls. Stick with the standard tilt controls and you'll be fine, though I wouldn't mind a setting option to adjust the sensitivity. There's also touch controls if you prefer something more traditional.

Throughout the single-player game, you're taken to a variety of fantastic settings, all with distinctive flavors and great visuals which are optimized for the new iPad's Retina display. Cutscenes between missions use little more than 2D cut-outs, which is a pretty sharp contrast to the excellent in-game graphics. The audio in Air Mail is wonderful, and features full Disney-style orchestral adventure music. The voice acting of your piloting mentor is a bit grating in his pleasantness, but other chapters aren't that bad at all.

I don't see a whole lot of replay value in the game once you've plowed through the single-player campaign, unfortunately. The desire to five-star every mission is only vaguely present, since there isn't anything in the way of unlockables for getting those achievements. Luckily, Air Mail is geared towards kids, who probably won't be interested in the game long enough for that to become an issue.

Air Mail is universal, so you only have to buy it once to play across iPhone and iPad, but unfortunately saved games don't sync over the cloud. Game Center is enabled for leaderboard tracking on the handful of challenges included in the game, as well as keeping tabs on achievements.

The good

• Fluid, sensitive gyro controls
• Eye-popping Retina-optimzed graphics
• Distinctive childlike charm

The bad

• Little appeal to adults
• Mediocre cutscenes
• Limited replay value

The conclusion

Air Mail is a great game for kids who are into wide-eyed, Disney-esque adventure, and even adults who are young at heart, but older children and serious grown-ups might think they're too cool for this kind of thing. All in all, Air Mail for the iPhone and iPad delivers a top-notch flying experience full of whimsy.

$4.99 - Download Now

 

 

Foxconn, Apple's major manufacturing partner, has pledged to double salaries by the end of the year to $700. Though that might not sound like a lot, keep in mind that the current $350 base salary is well above the minimum $240/month wage set by the state, though well above the $145/month they were paying in early 2010. It's expected that Apple will be fronting this bill, considering the margins for Foxconn's parent company, Hon Hai, are only around 4%.

This pay increase, though relatively huge, is to be expected since following the extensive independent audit, Foxconn had pledged to reduce worker hours, but employees were worried that meant a pay cut as well.

From the sounds of it, this is actually setting the bar pretty high in the world of Chinese factories, and could result in a huge influx of interested employees. Foxconn is looking to significantly grow their workforce for the ramp-up to the iPhone 5 launch this fall, so cranking up the interest in potential employees might be just what they want, but if you've seen the stampede to the front gate on hiring day, things could get a little messy. Still, high fives for Apple for increasing wages in China, or should they be reserved for the massive amount of PR pressure that pretty much forced Apple to go above and beyond the current standards?

Source: Sina via ZDNet

A rather concise walkthrough video of Apple's anodization process has been making the rounds, and may be relevant to our interest in the iPhone 5 if the latest rumors of colored models are to be believed. Bill Hammack, from the University of Illonois' Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering explains that Apple is basically rusting the casing, which opens up pores in a honeycomb grid, which are injected with dye, then boiled to seal the pores and lock in the color. That way, the aluminum is part and parcel with the color, enabling devices like the iPod to stay brilliant even after wear and tear. Of course, Apple isn't the only one playing with this process; some of Nokia's latest Windows Phones are boasting a very colorful selection thanks to anodization.

As is, Apple has plenty of experience doing this kind of manufacturing process with iPod models right up to the nano (but not the iPad touch). It would be surprising if they didn't start applying that expertise to their hottest products, namely the upcoming iPhone 5, but also the iPad. Of course, there's plenty of logistical hassles, such as making sure stores are stocked with at least a few of each color, new product codes, more choices that buyers have to hum and haw over. Ordering online would certainly give customers all the time they need to decide, and shift the stock hassles from the store to the warehouse, where I would imagine it's easier to handle that sort of thing.

So far, we've only seen the supposed iPhone 5 casing in black and white, but which colors would you like to see it available in? The primary colors would be a good start - red, blue, yellow... Maybe a green one? The iPod lineup has set a nice precedent for selection, that's for sure. Before we start brushing off device color as a fickle and vain affair, let's just remember how much of a big deal the lack of a white iPhone 4 was not so long ago.

Enough fashion, here's the science lesson. If you're interested in more smartphone engineering stuff, be sure to check out his other video about accelerometers, or better yet, buy this guy's book, called Eight Amazing Engineering Stories.

$8.28 - Buy Now

Source: Cult of Mac