• apple,  iphone,  pre

    Consumer Reports: Palm Pre vs. Apple iPhone

    September 5, 2009 /

    The September 2009 edition of the Consumer Reports magazine has a 1/3 page “mini review” of the Palm Pre as it compares against the Apple iPhone 3G S. There is even a video review of the two phones on the Consumer Reports website.

    As readers of this blog know, the iPhone and the Palm Pre have a lot in common and the decision as to which one is right for you will end up coming down to personal style and preference. I like the ease of use of the iPhone, however, the primary use for my smartphone is email, and for that I want a physical keyboard and so the Pre wins.

    The article in Consumer Reports is short, you can read it while in the check out line, you’ll want to pick this issue up at your favorite newsstand because the issue also contains a good review of portable GPS units and reviews of the best drugs for allergies, colds, and the flu – a must for anyone who has kids heading back to school.

    For more details, check out the Consumer Reports website.

    Read More
  • apple,  att,  iphone

    MMS Coming to iPhone 3G, 3GS – 9/25/09

    September 3, 2009 /

    It’s official! AppleInsider.com is reporting that AT&T will be bringing MMS – multimedia messaging – to the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS on September 25, 2009.

    “It was important to give our customers a positive experience from day one,” AT&T said. “We support more iPhone customers than any other carrier in the world so we took the time necessary to make sure our network is ready to handle what we expect will be a record volume of MMS traffic. We truly appreciate our customers’ patience and hope they’ll understand our desire to get it right from the start.”

    According to AppleInsider.com, the new feature will come in the form of iTunes downloadable update for 3G and 3GS owners. Unfortunately, owners of the original iPhone will be left out in the cold as they will be locked out from getting the update. I guess that is a subtle hint from AT&T that you need to upgrade.

    [Via AppleInsider.com…]

    Read More
  • astraware,  dataviz,  iphone

    Briefly Noted: DataViz DTG, Astraware Solitaire Updated

    August 15, 2009 /

    I noticed earlier today that DataViz Documents To Go for iPhone OS was updated to version 1.2 and Handmark Astraware Solitaire was updated to version 1.15, also for iPhone OS.

    DataViz Documents To Go

    The minor updates baked into the latest maintenance release of Documents To Go for iPhone OS 2.2 and later include:

    • Change font type and size
    • First line indenting
    • Shake undo/redo (requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later)

    The update screen, found in the App Store application on my iPod touch, in the Update tab, also indicates that the next planned update will, drum roll please, include Excel spreadsheet editing!

    The update has a date of 5/25/09, however, I’ve yet to see the update before, and is free to all owners of Documents To Go for iPhone and iPod touch.


    Astraware Solitaire

    The updates to Astraware Solitaire for the iPhone and iPod touch include the following minor changes:

    • Support for landscape rotation
    • New backgrounds
    • Various minor bug fixes

    Solitaire has a date of 8/14/09 and is a free update for existing customers.

    You can update both application either from iTunes on your Mac or PC, or directly from your iPhone or iPod touch using the App Store application.

    Read More
  • apple,  astraware,  iphone

    Astraware Casino Comes to iPhone, iPod touch

    July 30, 2009 /

    Handmark(R) today announced the release of Astraware Casino – a fun, easy-to-use pack of 11 of the most popular casino games from around the world – on the App Store. Astraware Casino is the first new game release from Handmark to use the iTunes Library Integration feature of iPhone OS 3.0. Users with iPhone OS 3.0 compatible devices can select My iPod Music from the game’s Options menu and choose individual songs from their collection to create the perfect casino-themed playlist!

    Handmark will be incorporating iTunes Library integration into a range of their existing and forthcoming iPhone and iPod touch games, allowing players to create their own soundtrack for each game. Updates to existing titles with this great new feature will be rolled out over the summer.

    “We are excited to be able to use these new APIs to enhance our games offerings,” said Cassidy Lackey, vice president of Handmark Studios. “It’s great to be able to design your own playlist to accompany Astraware Casino – there’s nothing like a bit of relaxing lounge music when you’re enjoying a game of Poker!”

    Astraware Casino includes all the usual games you’d expect to find in casinos – Texas Hold ‘Em No Limit and Limit Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette and Slots, as well as some more specialist games like Baccarat, 3 Card Poker, Video Derby, and Keno. Astraware Casino gives players $1,000 virtual dollars to begin playing with and also includes a fun trophy system – the Souvenir Suitcase – with awards given for a range of achievements in the game.

    Astraware Casino is available at the introductory price of $0.99 for a limited time from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at the iTunes App Store.

    You can read my review of Astraware Casino here. In addition to the iPhone/iPod touch edition of Astraware Casino, there is also versions available for the Palm Centro and Windows Mobile-powered Palm Treo smartphones. For more details on other editions of Astraware Casino, please visit the Astraware website.

    Read More
  • apple,  iphone,  itunes

    Read “Comics” on Your iPhone, iPod touch

    July 25, 2009 /

    Iconology Inc., at the San Diego Comic Con, has launch of its Comics by comiXology app on the iTunes App Store. The Comics by comiXology App is a digital comic store, library and reader for iPhone and iPod touch that is launching with over 100 titles available from twenty popular comic publishers and many independent comic writers.

    “The stunning display and innovative multi-touch user interface of iPhone and iPod touch have finally made comics appealing in a digital format,” said David Steinberger, CEO of Iconology, Inc. “By combining great comics with iPhone OS 3.0’s In-App Purchasing and location awareness features we are creating a revolution in the way comics are sold and read which could only happen with iPhone and iPod touch.”

    Comics by comiXology heralds an entirely new comic book publishing and connected commerce model. Comic book enthusiasts can now not only read their comics in a format designed to preserve the comic book experience on an iPhone or iPod touch, but also locate and connect with local retailers to purchase the printed version of the titles. Through relationships with comic book retailers, Comics by comiXology will increase both digital and print sales of comics and deliver a powerful mobile marketing tool for comic book publishers and retailers.

    Comics by comiXology offers a “guided view” that keeps the entire page of a comic intact, unlike other solutions where the page is cut into individual pictures the user browses like a photo application. Comics by comiXology is a reader app that contains all a user’s comics and offers its own digital comics store that supports multiple publishers.

    Among the twenty publishers that have already signed up to deliver their titles through Comics by comiXology are many well-known industry icons including:

    * AdHouse Books
    * Arcana Comics
    * Asylum Press
    * Bluewater Comics
    * Com.X
    * Creative Impulse Entertainment
    * Digital Webbing
    * eigoMANGA
    * First Salvo
    * Image Comics
    * Markosia
    * Moonstone
    * Red 5
    * Th3rd World Studios
    * Zenescope

    Additionally, popular comics writer Robert Kirkman has agreed to deliver his titles exclusively through Comics by comiXology making it the only place to get “Walking Dead” and “Invincible” for iPhone and iPod touch.

    The Comics by comiXology App is now available, including over 30 free comics, for $0.99 from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

    Read More
  • astraware,  iphone,  itunes

    Astraware Releases Phaze Lite

    July 6, 2009 /

    Astraware, the Handmark games unit, today released Phaze “Lite”. Phaze, a unique game available only on the iPhone and iPod touch, is an exciting new futuristic racing game that offers players an exhilarating race experience as they select their ship and race around rollercoaster-like tracks with stomach-flipping twists and turns, and velocity-increasing boost pads, while collecting powerups and avoiding their competitors’ weapons!

    The Lite version, available now, includes one race craft, one location and two difficulty levels so players get a chance to try out Phaze for FREE! If they enjoy the game, the full version additionally includes Championship mode, a total of four difficulty levels, 15 more locations (with 64 tracks across all difficulties), and a total of 10 race craft (some are unlockable).

    You can download Phaze from the Apple iTunes App Store.

    Read More
  • apple,  iphone,  splashdata

    SplashData File Magic 2.0 Review

    July 6, 2009 /

    Have you ever felt constrained by the types of data you can sync to your iPhone or iPod touch? Apple’s iPhone 3.0 software can read Microsoft Office files and Adobe Acrobat documents that have been sent as email attachments, but there is no easy way to get commonly used documents on to your device. Wouldn’t it be cool if all it took to sync documents with your iPhone was to simply drag and drop the files into a window? If that seems like something you want, then you need SplashData’s File Magic!

    File Magic is a two-piece solution. File Magic, the desktop application, is a drag-and-drop file transfer tool. The desktop application looks for the File Magic application on your iPhone and then establishes a Wi-Fi link between the two. With File Magic it easy to quickly load documents on your iPhone so you don’t have to waste anymore time emailing documents to yourself. In addition to Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat files that I have already mentioned, File Magic also supports: plain text files (.txt), web pages (.htm, .html), non-DRM music files (.mp3, .aac, .wav), images (.jpg, .gif, .png, .tif) and MPEG-4 videos (.m4v).

    File Magic is easy to learn. After playing with the software for a few minutes I felt that I had a handle on all of the features. To help you get up and running quickly, SplashData has included a Quick Start Guide that is accessible right from the mobile application. If you want to see what File Magic is capable of before you purchase the software, or if you are the inquisitive type and want some additional information, SplashData also has a user’s guide available on their website. For most people, the on device guide will be all they will need to read.

    There are two ways to get documents into your iPhone. The first is to synchronize File Magic running on your iPhone with your computer. The computer and the iPhone or iPod touch must both be on the same Wi-Fi network for this to work. You can also send or receive files directly into or out of your device when the person you want to share your document with is on the same Wi-Fi network and has a copy of File Magic installed. Since SplashData has their own application for managing the files you load on your device, you can send a document from the SplashData data store to anyone else by attaching the document to an email message and sending it to any valid email address.

    File Magic makes the document transfer process so easy, that you have to wonder why Apple didn’t include this feature in their software from the get go.

    There are two things that I did find annoying about the installation and use of File Magic. The ah-hoc networking between the iPhone and desktop application uses a networking service called Bonjour. If you are using a Mac, Bonjour is all ready installed on your computer. PC users, on the other hand, will have to install it. The thing that I didn’t like was that the File Magic installer couldn’t figure out if Bonjour was already installed on my Windows Vista PC. (SplashData does tell you how to manually check to see if Bonjour is already installed.) The other thing that I found annoying was in the photo browser; you can’t use the iPhone OS gestures to flick to the next or previous photos. To move forward and backward in the deck of photos that have been loaded into File Magic you must use the left and right arrow navigation buttons at the top right of the screen. Both of these issues can be addressed as software updates and shouldn’t cause any serious problems in the long run.

    All-in-all, I thought that File Magic is the must have application for those people who like to take their important documents with them. The software is easy to use and the document transfer between the desktop computer and an iPhone or iPod touch worked without any issues during my testing.

    File Magic will work with any iPhone or iPod touch that has iPhone OS 2.1 or later installed. The desktop application works with Mac OS X 10.4.11 and later, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. You can purchase File Magic for iPhone and iPod touch for $4.99 from the Apple iTunes App Store. For more information, or to download the free desktop application, please visit the SplashData website.

    Read More
  • iphone,  mobile apps 360

    Mobile Apps 360: FlightControl

    July 5, 2009 /

    Mobile Apps 360 takes a look at great mobile software for your iPhone, iPod touch, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile smartphones that will help keep your favorite mobile gear fresh with new software.

    FlightControl is an original, super addictive game from FireMint, that puts you in the critical role of an air traffic controller. It is up to you to safely land airplanes, jets, jumbo jets, and helicopters. You can learn how to play this action/strategy game in minutes and will have you coming back for more.

    You control the aircraft on the screen by tapping them, and then dragging it to the run way. Sure, it sounds easy, until you start playing. The game starts off slow, but before long, you will find yourself trying to manage a sky full of plans and helicopters. You will need to keep an eye on both planes that are coming in for a landing and new aircraft arriving into your air space, one mid-air collision will end your game!

    FlightControl features three different locations for you to play: a land locked air field, an airport in Hawaii with island and water runways, and a military aircraft carrier.

    Game play is super addictive. I lost an hour immediately following the installation of this game on my iPod touch. The graphics, background music, and sound effects are well done. If your iPhone 3G, 3GS or second generation iPod touch has iPhone OS 3.0 or later installed, you can go head-to-head with your friend and you can also post your high scores to the FilghtControl leader board which has a cool Google Maps and Twitter integration so you can see who else is playing near you. Original iPhone and iPod touch owners can still play, however, they won’t be able to use the multi-player feature.

    FlightControl is normally $2.99, but is on sale for a limited time for $0.99. For more details, checkout the FlightControl website, or head over to the iTunes App Store if you’re ready to buy.

    Read More
  • astraware,  blackberry,  iphone,  windows mobile

    Happy Independence Day!

    July 4, 2009 /

    The 4th of July marks the birth of the United States, and Smartphone Fanatics wishes all of our readers a Happy Independence day!

    To help celebrate the day, our friends at Astraware, Handmark’s games division, has once again posted their free Handmark Fireworks application!

    Handmark Fireworks features a selection of patriotic backgrounds including the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore and the Stars and Stripes, and offers a choice of stirring tunes including the Star Spangled Banner and Stars and Stripes Forever!

    Handmark Fireworks is available for Windows Mobile and BlackBerry smartphones and for iPhone and iPod touch. (Sorry BlackBerry owners – this time round you’ll have to hum your own marches! This edition of Fireworks for BlackBerry does not include music.)

    What better way to celebrate 4th of July than with some Fireworks? Download your copy today – it’s available for a limited time only!

    Download your free copy of Fireworks by using one of the links below:

    Apple iPhone and iPod touch
    BlackBerry Smartphones (non-touchscreen, touch screen)
    Windows Mobile Professional (touchscreen)
    Windows Mobile Smartphone (non-touchscreen)

    Read More
  • apple,  dataviz,  iphone,  motionapps,  palm,  pre,  splashdata

    iPhone OS 3.0, webOS 1.0.3 and New Apps

    June 20, 2009 /

    I’m a fan of both Apple and Palm. That is why I’m using a MacBook to write this blog and record my 1SRC Pre|Switcher podcasts. My phone of choice is the Palm Pre smart(er)phone.

    This weekend looks like it is going to be a busy one. Just in the last few days, I’ve gotten my hands on new software for both my Apple iPod touch and my Palm Pre.

    On Wednesday, Apple released the iPhone OS 3.0 update for existing iPhone and iPod touch devices. I also received copies of DataViz Documents To Go and SplashData File Magic. I’ll have reviews of iPhone OS 3.0 and both both applications soon.

    Palm Pre customers will also want to download and install the webOS 1.0.3 update to their phones using the Updates application. If you also use MotionApps Classic on your Pre to run all of your old Palm OS applications, you should read the Classic FAQ before performing the upgrade.

    Read More