The written musings of a long-time Apple //e and Macintosh tech nerd. Opinions are my own.
Since applying the iOS 5.1 software update on my iPhone 4S (Sprint) back on March 7, I’ve noticed much improved battery performance. While I still can’t go two days without having to recharge, I can go a day and little bit before I have to share up again.
As part of today’s massive software deployment from Apple, our old friend iPhone received an iOS, touch enabled makeover and is now available as a $4.99 app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
“With iPhoto for iOS, Apple brings Multi-Touch to photography in a breakthrough way. Browse, edit, and share your photos from your iPad or iPhone, like never before – all the powerful tools you need are at your fingertips. And with iCloud, you can share your experiences as stunning photo journals.”
iPhoto for iOS is compatible with iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPad 2 Wi-Fi, and iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G and requires iOS 5.1 or later.
You can purchase iPhoto for iOS from the iTunes Store.
Earlier today, while unveiling the new revolutionary iPad with Retina display and the third generation AppleTV, Apple released iOS 5.1.
The new iOS update can be used to upgrade the following iOS devices:
To receive the update on your iOS 5 device, go to: Settings > General > Software Update. If you prefer to update your iDevice the ‘old fashioned’ way, or haven’t yet installed iOS 5, connect your handset to your computer running iTunes 10.6, also released today, and sync your device. Then select your iDevice from the iTunes source pane and click the “Check for Updates” button in the pane on the right.
With today’s release of iOS 5.1 for current generation iDevices, Apple is also rolling out a number of software updates to their iOS titles. iOS applications receiving an update today include:
While some of the updates are specific to the new iPad and it’s new Retina display, there are some goodies for those of us with older iPads, iPhones, and iPod touches.
The iOS versions of the iWork applications – Pages, Numbers, and Keynote – all received updates to take advantage of iOS 5.1 and the new iPad, but also gained support for creating and viewing stunning 3D bar, line, area, and pie charts. The new versions of the iWork apps for iOS also include general performance improvements.
To download the new software, I recommend first upgrading to iOS 5.1 on your supported iDevice, and then using the App Store application on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to make sure you have all the latest software installed.
Take this one with a grain of salt; a big one. According to The Daily, the iPad only News Corp. daily newspaper, Microsoft is working on a version of Microsoft Office for the iPad. Just imagine being able to run Word, Excel, and PowerPoint natively on your iPad.
Sounds too good to be true? It might be. Microsoft has come out denying that they are working on an iOS edition of Office and that The Daily flat out got bad information for their exclusive scoop. I read the report this morning, interestingly enough, on my iPad while reading The Daily. You can read the full story on The Daily website.
Following up on the story, The New York Times wrote today:
“A Microsoft spokeswoman issued this statement: “The Daily story is based on inaccurate rumors and speculation. We have no further comment.” She added that a screen image included with The Daily’s article showing an Office product for iPad was “not Microsoft’s software,” she said.
But perhaps that isn’t the entire story. Peter Ha, tech editor at The Daily, said that a Microsoft employee had demonstrated a version of the app on an iPad. “The launch screen may not be final, but the app itself is real,” Mr. Ha said. “We were told that the app was done and it was being tested internally.””
So is Microsoft working on a version of Office for the iPad? They might be. And they might not be.
Pros:
1. Windows and Office have long been cash cows for Microsoft. By releasing Office for the iPad, Microsoft opens the door to some 55 million plus new customers.
2. Microsoft Office is the de facto office productivity suite, and now we can get Office on our Windows, Mac, and iOS devices; there by eliminating a number of cross platform translation and formatting headaches.
3. Chances are that you’ve used a version of Office before and you will be instantly familiar with how to use the software.
Cons:
1. Microsoft wants to keep Office as a Windows Phone 7, Windows 8 Tablet Edition exclusive to help differentiate tables and phones running Windows from those running Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android, or RIM’s BlackBerry OS.
2. The iPad is regarded, by-and-large, as a content consumption device, not a content creation device. There may not be a strong demand for Office-on-an-iPad to justify the cost to develop the software.
3. The development of iOS applications will draw resources away from the Windows and Mac OS X Office development teams.
Personally, I think Microsoft is testing the water for iOS applications. They’ve already released Bing, MSN for iPad, OneNote and Microsoft Lync 2010 for iPad. There are a few iPhone applications also, including SkyDrive, Windows Live Messenger, and Photosynth. That’s a lot of toes to dip in the water without developing a full blow Office suite. I think OneNote and Lync 2010 are strong indications that Microsoft is at the very least, considering releasing a version of Microsoft Office for the iPad. Only time will tell.
[Via The Daily, The New York Times…]
Documents To Go for iOS was updated today to include fixes for launching Excel files from the iOS search screen and other undocumented minor bug fixes.
Documents To Go is an office suite for iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad that allow you to work with native Microsoft Office documents. Documents To Go also features the InTact Technology that keeps the original file formatting ‘in tact’ after it has been edited on your iOS device.
Documents To Go is $9.99 in the App Store (link), $16.99 with Exchange Server support (link). The update is free to all who have previously purchased the software.
Earlier today, Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke at Goldman Sachs technology conference. If you missed the event, like me, you can still read a transcript of the Q&A session with Cook thanks to the efforts of the good folks over at MacRumors.com.
“Apple is this unique culture and unique company. You can’t replicate it. I’m not going to witness or permit the slow undoing of it. I believe in it so deeply.
Steve grilled in all of us over many years, the company should revolve around great products. We should stay extremely focused on a few things, rather than try to do so many that we did nothing well. We should only go into markets where we can make a significant contribution to society, not just sell a lot of products.”
How can you not love Apple’s products? Like Apple or not, the company is in good hands and will continue to lead the technology sector for years to come. I’d think Steve would approve.
You can read the full Q&A transcript on MacRumors.com.
[Via MacRumors.com…]
Get ready for another update to Angry Birds Seasons this weekend. Rovio Mobile has posted the trailer for the Year of the Dragon update to Seasons. You can check out the latest teaser trailer below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUNuuneCtqU]
Chair, the Epic game studio that brought us Infinity Blade and now Infinity Blade 2 has released Infinity Blade 2 1.0.1. The update is designed to fix a start up crashing issue that customers, including myself, have been experiencing on the iPad 1 and iPhone 4.
The game was released back on Wednesday. Infinity Blade 2 is a universal game, meaning that you will be able to run the game on both your iPhone/iPod touch and iPad/iPad 2 without having to pay for it again.
Infinity Blade 2 sells for $6.99 via the iTunes Store. The 1.0.1 Infinity Blade 2 update is free to people who have already purchased the game already.
Infinity Blade is an amazing game for the iPhone and iPad. Starting at 11:00pm Eastern time later this evening, Epic is expected to begin selling Infinity Blade 2 for iOS.
“Beyond the enhanced visuals, Infinity Blade 2 also advances the storyline of the original game and expands the combat experience to include more options and less predictable enemies.”
Infinity Blade is one of those games that I can play often and not get bored with. I’m looking forward to more stunning graphics and touch-tastic RPG play tonight.
[Via MacRumors.com…]