Filed under: iPod Family, iPhone, App Store

iUseThis.com’s new iPhone app ratings pages let you browse for software based on other user’s recommendations. It’s basically a Digg for iPhone apps. It offers new releases, new apps, top apps and reviews. Just started, the site is building up steam and users. When last I checked, it still had fewer than 200 apps listed. But given the growth of the iPhone application space, this site shows early promise should it manage to attract a large enough user base. Pop on by and see whether it suits your needs.

[Via Chockenberry]

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Filed under: Accessories, iPod Family, iPhone

Electronista reports on a patent filing for an iPhone/iPod touch dock that could grant you to both charge and play video in landscape mode, simultaneously. The patent was filed on September 5, 2007 — near the time of the iPod touch debut. The so-called “dock” looks more like the tiny holder that ships with the iPod touch, with the exception of a dock connector plugged in.

Apple does, however, file patents that it might not ever use — as do most other companies. What do you think? Could this be a new dock design, or is it the patent for the included iPod touch stand?

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Filed under: iPod Family, How-tos, TUAW Tips, iPhone

Many iPhone users have expressed negative feelings toward the default Marker Felt font used in the Notes application. Personally, I dislike it enough that I used a manual hack on my previously jailbroken phone to get some Helvetica relief, but since I haven’t felt the need to jailbreak since the 2.0 upgrade, I’ve been living with Marker Felt for now. We got a tip today, though, that offers a quasi-solution for those willing to deal with a little extra hassle.

A quick Google search reveals that we’re not the first to discover this, but we thought it was worth sharing. If you’re interested in trying it, go into the International keyboard settings in the General section of your iPhone or iPod touch Settings and choose any of the Chinese keyboards in addition to your current keyboard.

Now, go into an existing note or create a new one in the Notes application. Switch the keyboard to the Chinese keyboard using the globe icon to the left of the spacebar and enter a single character. Backspace it and switch back to your native keyboard. Presto, the note should be free of Marker Felt. Saving the note will reveal that the title in the list has also undergone the same font change, and future edits will maintain it.

Adding new notes will require this tiny tweak each time, so it’s not an all-around solution to the lack of font selection in Notes. If you’re really, truly bothered by Marker Felt, however, it’s a step in the right direction.

Thanks David!

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Filed under: iPod Family, iPhone, App Store

Josh Anon’s $9.99 FlipBook [App Store link] offers a well-designed animation building tool. Like other flip book drawing products, it lets you create movement frame by frame. What makes FlipBook stand out from the crowd of iPhone drawing tools is its fine attention to interface details and the addition of the flipbook.tv sharing site for the animations you create.

Read on for TUAW’s take on this new AppStore offering, and see the gallery below for some screenshots of the delightful interface.

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Continue reading TUAW Hands on with FlipBook for iPhone

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Filed under: Analysis / Thought, Gaming, iPod Family, iPhone, App Store

I have a confession: I like playing games on my iPhone. But I also like listening to my own music. Like chocolate and peanut butter these are two things that should go together. The only problem is that many iPhone games have their own (generally lame) music that stops the iPod app from playing.

So for the sake of myself, and others like me, I thought it would be good to get a list of iPhone / iPod touch games which grant you to play while listening to your own music. Unfortunately, I don’t have the budget to buy all of the hundreds of games on the iTunes Store for research purposes, so I thought I’d throw it out to the readers. I’ll get us started with a couple of my favorites: Enigmo and Moonlight Mahjong Lite (both iTunes links).

What games allow you to play while listening to your own music?

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Filed under: iPod Family, iPhone, App Store

With my girlfriend in the process of refurbishing her kitchen, I found myself in need of (and without) a carpenter’s level yesterday afternoon. But then I remembered Bubble Level, an application for the iPhone and iPod touch.

A penny short of a dollar later, I had myself a working, surprisingly accurate level right in my iPod touch.

Bubble Level grants you to calibrate it (for example, with an actual bubble level) so its measurements are accurate enough to use for household chores and hobbies. (Professionals might still need the precision that a traditional liquid bubble level provides.)

Bonus: it tracks how level the device is in three dimensions: laying your iPod or iPhone on a table grants the bubble to travel toward the center circle on the interface.

Bubble Level is 99 cents, and available in the App Store now. You can also check out A Level, a similar app that’s expected to support calibration in the next release (it’s from Posimotion, winners of TUAW’s Most Risque iPhone App Name award).

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Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPod Family, Retail, Macbook Pro, MacBook

AppleInsider reported today that Apple is advising resellers to stock up on the better-selling iPods and MacBooks, as factory supplies are expected to slow to a trickle in August. There’s speculation that this could be due to a release of new models.

For 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pros and the standard MacBooks, Apple was recommending that channel partners place orders that would give them a 3-week supply. For iPods, a 4-week supply was advised.

Apple usually notifies resellers via bulletins like this when they’re getting ready to refresh a product line. This points to a product introduction for the new laptops and iPods (most likely the iPod touch and nano) in late August or September. While this is late for the school buying season, it could mark an early entry into the holiday buying season with an agressive launch of new products.

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Filed under: iPod Family, iPhone

Dear Auntie TUAW,

I’ve been looking to see if there was a post about this, but have people been noticing that the 2.0 firmware on their original iPhones has made them slow, partially responsive, and more buggy? I’m looking for a way to downgrade mine until they get it figured out. Thanks!

Signed, David C.

David, read on for the answer from Auntie TUAW.

Continue reading Dear Auntie TUAW: Is My 2.0 iPhone Slow and Buggy?

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Filed under: iPod Family, Odds and ends

Beverly Hills, 90210 is a show that is near and dear to many people’s hearts… at least I assume so, because how else do you explain this Beverly Hills, 90210 limited edition iPod nano? CBS is selling 2000 of these suckers for $269. For your money you get an 8 gig iPod nano engraved with a picture of the 90210 cast and a slogan of your choice (as long as it is 30 characters or less) and all the normal accessories that come with an iPod nano. If a 4 gig iPod nano is more your speed, you’re in luck because you can get one of them for $219.

I think I’ll be passing on this iPod nano, but CBS has a whole line of iPods branded with various shows. They have everything from CSI iPods to Amazing Race iPods. I will pay good money for a Barney Miller iPod nano (which I have helpfully mocked up to the right. Oh, Wojciehowicz, you card!).

[via Engadget]

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Filed under: Hardware, iPod Family, Hacks, Found Footage

Jason W. has submitted a video demonstrating his latest innovation: a glove liner with magnetic contacts which functions as a wintertime remote and looks like a sweet way to geek out your cold-weather gear. It might quite possibly also be a less-expensive solution than some previously available winter gear.

Jason designed the interface — which assigns functions to each finger and is activated by touching that finger to a receiver — after watching a snowboarding friend repeatedly remove her gloves to control her iPod. I spend a fair share of time in the cold, and know the inconvenience well. I also happen to lack the ninja skills needed to control an iPod located in some of the awkward positions that armbands and winter jackets can place one in, which only heightens my interest in this invention. The subtle nature of the glove-bound controls promises a chance for me to look like that much less of a dork when attempting winter sports.

I haven’t been able to determine whether this is compatible with an iPod touch/iPhone yet. I would find it infinitely more useful with a touchscreen than with a clickwheel, which I had actually become relatively adept at using upside down and backwards before the advent of the iPhone. Some older remotes work fine, so perhaps this might already be an iPhone match.

You can see the video of the iPod glove liner on YouTube and revel in the chilly possibilities.

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