March 17, 2011
Earlier today a study that compared the iPhone to Android for Web browsing speed was found to be flawed. The company doing the test didn’t realize the embedded browser didn’t have the faster Nitro JavaScript engine, which was recently released as part Mobile Safari. Daring Fireball’s Jon Gruber has a look at why. This is where Gruber excels — a great read.
Web apps that are saved to the home screen do not run within Mobile Safari. They’re effectively saved as discrete apps — thin wrappers around the UIWebView control. (That’s why they show up individually in the task bar, just like apps from the App Store.) Home screen apps may well eventually get access to the Nitro JavaScript engine — Apple simply hasn’t yet done (or perhaps finished?) the security work to allow it. It is not an oversight or a bug, or the result of a single person at Apple wishing to hinder the performance of web apps.
Why the Nitro JavaScript Engine Isn’t Available to Apps Outside Mobile Safari in iOS 4.3 [Daring Fireball]
Boy Genius Report has a weekly feature called Throwback Thursday and this week’s was just too good to pass up — the Atari Lynx. For the time, it was pretty advanced, but unfortunately for Atari, it was released the same year as the GameBoy. Even though it had a color screen, it went away.
As the world’s first portable gaming device to boast a color display, the Lynx packed a host of other innovative features — including the ability to be held with the D-pad on the left or right for ambidextrous gameplay.
Throwback Thursday: The Atari Lynx [BGR]
I know that some people think I’m being mean to RIM, calling them out on not shipping any products and not really having a tablet strategy other than following Apple. I decided to change that and visit RIM. (more…)
I have had my share of rants about how RIM has handled its PlayBook introduction and the fact that they can’t seem to ship anything, but the non-existent tablet isn’t the only problem the company has. (more…)
Apple CEO Steve Jobs emailed Apple employees in Japan offering support of the company after the devastating earthquake and tsunami that ravaged the country last week.
If you need time or resources to visit or care for your families, please see HR and we will help you. If you are aware of any supplies that are needed, please also tell HR and we will do what we can to arrange delivery.
Steve Jobs Offers Support to Apple Employees Affected by Earthquake [MacRumors]
A Canadian software company, Blaze Software, released a report today of what it calls the “largest ever research study of smart phone browser performance.” The problem is, the study is flawed. (more…)
March 16, 2011
I had an interesting Twitter chat yesterday with a fellow that wanted to do Podcast recording on his iPad 2, but couldn’t find the right software to do it. He said he was excited about the thought of GarageBand for iPad, which was just recently released, but it didn’t really do what he wanted. Ultimately, he may have found a solution and I wanted to make sure I shared it with everyone.
My ideal podcasting situation is one that uses my MacBook the least. I envisioned myself recording the show on an iPad 2 connected to my mixer. Since I do no post production, I’d save it to Dropbox wirelessly, grab the public URL, and post it to iTunes. If I wanted the intro and outro, I’d throw those files onto my iPhone and use that as an input. Boom. If I needed to use the laptop at all, I’d be able to remote in via Screens for some quick edits.
The Perils of Podcasting on an iPad & Your Face [ballsmoke]
News Corp. chief digital officer Jon Miller told the audience at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit that The Daily faces a “moment of truth next week” when free digital subscriptions to the digital paper run out. The Daily has been available as a free trial since it launched in February, but that free trial will expire – only those who have actually paid for subscriptions will be able to view The Daily’s content.
“Although the Daily has been free so far, it is understood that a few thousand people have already signed up to the year-long subscription. News Corp has not released any numbers, but it is estimated that the figure is in the region of 5,000.”
News Corp. made a splash when it introduced The Daily as a daily digital newspaper premiering on the iPad. “New times demand new journalism,” News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch said, “…and a new service edited and designed specifically for new devices.”
The Daily set for Europe availability; editions next? [paidContent.org]
I have to congratulate you on the restraint you’ve shown over the past month. You haven’t announced a new version of the PlayBook that isn’t shipping yet, which is a huge step forward for you. (more…)
Motorola Mobility on Wednesday announced the forthcoming release of a Wi-Fi-only version of its Xoom tablet. The tablet is expected to be released in the United States on March 27 and will cost $599. (more…)
Big Sandwich Games is readying Mac and PC releases of its hit strategy game Hoard. The game will be released through Valve’s Steam game service on April 4, 2011 and will cost $9.99 (though users can pre-order and save beginning March 21). (more…)
FileMaker on Wednesday announced the release of Bento 4 for Mac, a major new release of its personal database software. For the first time, it’s available from the Mac App Store. It costs $49, and users of previous versions are entitled to a $20 rebate. A $99 “family pack” of five licenses is also available. (more…)
Adobe has released Photoshop Express 2.0, a new version of its universal image editing and sharing software for iOS. It’s a free download from the App Store. (more…)
March 15, 2011
RIM was taken completely taken off guard when Apple’s iPhone became an overnight success, according to a former RIM employee. (more…)
Apple will delay the launch of the iPad 2 in Japan following the enormous earthquake, tsunami and ensuing devastation of last week, Reuters has learned. (more…)
T-Mobile and Samsung on Tuesday unveiled the new T-Mobile Sidekick 4G by Samsung, a rebirth of T-Mobile’s popular phone and messaging device. The phone was previously announced by T-Mobile USA CEO Philipp Humm at a press breakfast in January. Pricing was not announced; T-Mobile said the device will be available this spring. A Web page for the new device enables users to sign up for more information. (more…)
Apple is working with Teach for America to encourage customers buying iPad 2s to donate their original iPads for a teacher’s use in low-income community, reports MacNN. You can donate your old iPad at Apple retail stores, and they’ll coordinate the rest. (more…)
March 14, 2011
iPad 2 shortages mean one thing — some people are going to make a lot of money selling their iPads to you. If you consider yourself an entrepreneur, you may have purchased several iPads for the sole purpose of selling them on eBay. Judging from what Joe Wilcox found today, iPad 2 profiteers are doing very well.
Apple’s second-generation tablet is pretty much sold out everywhere. If you want one, good luck trying. Shortages are sure to intensify demand, and crazy buying behavior. It’s a psychology-of-buying thing, like customers running on the bank to get out their cash. People afraid they won’t get iPad 2. The next couple of weeks are going to be ugly, as desperate masses fight to get Apple’s tablet, further feeding hype and desperation, further pumping up demand (and prices).
Profiteers feed off iPad 2 shortages [Betanews]
The major competitor to the iPod — or at least what they hoped would be a major competitor — Microsoft’s Zune, is dead. (more…)
Jon Bon Jovi is laying his cards on the table and the blame for the demise of the music industry at Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ feet. (more…)
99 cent games rule the roost on the App Store top games list, and it hurts the visibility of high-end games like Infinity Blade. That’s the message from Donald Mustard, Chair Entertainment’s CEO – they make Infinity Blade, the hit swordfighting game.
“We want to play more games of the scope and production value of Infinity Blade, and it would be great if the App Store could support that more widely.”
Chair: App Store should support more high-end games [Gameindustry.biz]
I saw this video this morning and thought it was really interesting. I don’t know if it’s real, but it certainly looks good to me. (more…)
Apple on Monday said demand for the iPad 2 during its first weekend on sale was “amazing.” (more…)
March 13, 2011
It seems the iPad 2 sold out in its first weekend. That’s the word from Piper Jaffray on Sunday. (more…)
March 11, 2011
Just in time for the iPad 2’s release, Firemint has announced the release of Real Racing 2 HD, a new version of its flagship iOS racing game optimized specifically for iPad and iPad 2. It costs $9.99. (more…)
Mozilla VP of products Jay Sullivan calls HTML5 “the longer-term answer” to problems caused by Adobe Flash.
“With Firefox 4, Internet Explorer 9, and Chrome, to the extent that we provide functionality in enough browsers, then the developers will switch over to HTML5, especially in mobile, where you can’t have Flash popping up on every page just to do some little animation. The idea that you’d have to embed an entire instance of the Flash player just to play a 30 second audio clip? It’s crazy.”
What’s more, Flash causes more crashes in Firefox than any other plug-in, according to the company.
Firefox VP: Flash is going away [Fast Company]
Many of us watched in horror last night as a tsunami hit Japan, after the country was suffered a devastating earthquake. By early morning, Google launched a tool to help people find missing friends and relatives. (more…)
March 10, 2011
One of the things I was really looking forward to when GarageBand for iPad was released was sharing my songs with the Mac version of the app. (more…)
Marco Arment on Thursday released a major update for his popular Instapaper service. (more…)
