• apple,  att,  iphone,  itunes

    iPhone Adventures

    December 29, 2009 /

    On Monday I picked up a used first generation 8GB Apple iPhone. (Thank you Shirley!) The phone is in good working condition. What I didn’t know, is that that you must activate the iPhone before you can use it; even if you plan on using it, essentially, as an iPod touch.

    So what did I learn with my adventures activating my iPhone? First of all, there is no problem with you walking into an AT&T store an signing up for a new service plan with the original G2 GMS iPhone. Secondly, you can use a pre-paid AT&T GoPhone SIM card in your iPhone. To use a pre-paid card, you will need to purchase and activate the pre-paid SIM card in a phone and then move it into the iPhone once it is setup and then activate the iPhone in iTunes as an existing customer. The CellFanatic blog has a good run down of how to do this.

    But what if you are like me and don’t want to have to deal with another monthly cell phone bill and just use the iPhone as a glorified iPod touch (with a camera), then you may want to go with the slightly shady jail breaking route. My SIM card was disabled because I hadn’t used it in 6 months or more and I wasn’t planning on throwing $15-30 away on a new one just to activate the iPhone. I used the Blackra1n jail breaking utility to by pass the activation process and make the phone available in iTunes. I did end up putting my “dead” AT&T SIM card into the iPhone to keep it from constantly reminding me that there was no card inserted.

    The good news is that everything, minus the Phone and Messages applications, are working normally. If I change my mind, and want to activate the voice and SMS text messaging features, all I need to do is to put in a new, activated 3G AT&T SIM card and I’m ready to rock ‘n roll.

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  • iphone,  itunes

    Citrix Receiver Updated for iPhone, iPod touch

    December 21, 2009 /

    Citrix has released an update to Citrix Receiver for the iPhone and iPod touch. As you can see, there is literally a boat load of enhancements and fixes in the new release.

    The things that I think users will like, include the seamless handling of Citrix accounts, the new user interface, and the ability to change session resolution.

    You can read more about Citrix Receiver for iPhone OS on the Citrix website. You can download Citrix Receiver 2.0 for iPhone OS from the Apple iTunes App Store. [iTunes link]

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  • apple,  astraware,  iphone,  itunes

    Astraware Releases Police Range for iPhone/iPod touch

    December 2, 2009 /

    Astraware, the gaming branch of Handmark, has released Police Range for the iPhone/iPod touch.

    “Put your skill and accuracy to the test as you train on the shooting range to become a crack police marksman. Compete against your friends or others worldwide to post the best scores on the online high score table and show off your shooting skills!”

    Police Range offers two modes of play: Target Practice and Crime Alley. Use the Target Practice mode to improve your accuracy and reaction times on the shooting range. And when you are up to the task of taking out the trash, and change over to Crime Alley to take out targets of potential perps lurking in windows and doorways. Just be sure not to accidentally shoot any civilians.

    Police Range is available now for $0.99 from the iTunes App Store (iTunes link). For more information, or to watch a YouTube video of Police Range in action, visit the Astraware website.

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  • apple,  dataviz,  iphone,  itunes

    Documents To Go for iPhone/iPod touch 2.1 Update Released

    December 2, 2009 /


    DataViz Documents To Go for iPhone and iPod touch has been updated to version 2.1 and is now available for download from the iTunes App Store.

    The 2.1 update is the result of customer feedback and adds a number of refinements to the PDF To Go application, which includes the following enhancements:

    • “Go to” page
    • Maintaining last viewed location
    • Opening password-protected PDFs
    • Thumbnail, Fit To Screen, Fit To Width & Actual Size views
    • Full screen view with floating navigation controls
    • Tap zooming
    • File opening speed improvements

    “Documents To Go” (iTunes link) and “Documents To Go with Exchange Attachments” (iTunes link) are available for $9.99 and $14.99 respectively from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at: www.dataviz.com/itunes. All customers who purchased a previous version of Documents To Go for iPhone/iPod touch will receive a free update to version 2.1.

    “Documents To Go with Exchange Attachments” has the same functionality as “Documents To Go” and includes a Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync client for sending and receiving Exchange email WITH attachments.

    For more information, visit the DataViz website.

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  • apple,  iphone,  itunes

    Apple Releases iPhone OS 3.1.2 for iPhone, iPod touch

    October 10, 2009 /

    On Thursday afternoon, Apple released iPhone OS 3.1.2 for all editions of the iPhone and iPod touch handsets. This free update addresses the following three issues:

    • Resolves sporadic issue that may cause iPhone to not wake from sleep
    • Resolves intermittent issue that may interrupt cellular network services until restart
    • Fixes bug that could cause occasional crash during video streaming

    The update is available now and must be downloaded and installed via iTunes.

    [Via AppleInsider…]

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  • apple,  itunes,  pre,  web os

    Apple Responds to Palm’s Reenabling Meda Sync in webOS 1.2.1

    October 6, 2009 /

    I just saw that Jimmie posted this over on GadgetsOnTheGo.net:

    After Palm’s latest fix to re-enable Palm Pre syncing with iTunes, Apple has issued a statement regarding it.

    “As we’ve said before, newer versions of Apple’s iTunes software may no longer provide syncing functionality with unsupported digital media players.” “Presumably, iTunes 9.0.2 will disable Palm’s latest fix.”

    Read the full All Things D article…

    [Via GadgetsOnTheGo.net…]

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  • itunes,  pre,  sprint,  web os

    Palm Releases webOS 1.2.1 Update

    October 3, 2009 /

    On Friday afternoon, Palm released the Palm webOS 1.2.1 update for the Sprint edition Palm Pre. The following is the list of fixes that 1.2.1 brings. Note that there are no new applications installed by the 1.2.1 updater.

    Feature changes to existing applications

    Email

    Resolved an issue where after installing the 1.2.0 webOS update some customers running Exchange 2007 could no longer synchronize with their Exchange account for Email, Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks.

    System

    • Resolves an issue preventing media sync from working with latest version of iTunes (9.0.1).
    • Media sync now synchronizes photo albums, maintaining the album structure in the Photos app.
    • Media sync now allows for synchronizing photos without requiring the full-resolution originals. This provides faster display of high-quality full-screen images and enables users to store more photos on the phone.

    Web

    Resolved an issue where if a user tried to play streaming music or video, the media stream might drop out or have a long delay before starting.

    Security

    Addresses a security issue encountered by webkit developers. This issue did not impact end users.

    You can learn more about the Palm webOS 1.2.1 update on the Palm website.

    As a fan of both Palm and Apple, I’m glad to see that Palm has once again given their customers a way to sync naively with Apple’s iTunes jukebox software.

    The webOS 1.2.1 update is about half the size of the webOS 1.2 update (38MB vs. 79MB) that was released earlier in the week. My upgrade took about 6 minutes to install after downloading and validating the update file.

    All-in-all, a nice surprise for a rainy Saturday afternoon! Now I have an excuse to take a spin in my car to make sure the Bluetooth features are working. 😉

    UPDATE:
    I just tested the Media Sync feature with Apple iTunes 9.0.1 (9) and everything appears to be working normally again!

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  • apple,  itunes,  palm,  pre,  web os

    Apple iTunes 9.0 vs. Palm webOS Media Sync

    September 10, 2009 /

    Yesterday, the world got it first look at Apple’s new jukebox software, iTunes 9.0. Yesterday Pre owners also learned that the Apple/Palm cat and mouse game with iTunes and Media Sync is still very much alive and well.

    So, Pre owners, what are you going to do? Are you going to stick with iTunes 8.2.1 and Media Sync or are you going to make the jump to iTunes 9.0?

    After watching Apple’s keynote presentation last night, and yes, Steve Jobs did take the stage, I’ve decided to make the jump to iTunes 9.0 and iPhone OS 3.1 for iPod touch. In my opinion, there where just too many cool new features in Apple’s new software that I wasn’t going to hold back.

    Take for example, the new sync features for iPod touch and iPhone. I welcome the expanded sync controls over what content lives on my Mac and on my iPod. It becomes super easy to make sure that I have some of my favorite movies (Iron Man) and TV shows (Looney Tunes, Mythbusters, Law & Order) always with me without having to keep marking them as new.

    I also like the new control of your applications for the iPod touch. I have some 60-70 apps on my touch and the newly redesigned applications tab will greatly help my quickly add new apps and reorganize the ones I already have.

    And let’s not forget the new Home Sharing feature in iTunes 9.0. If you have more than one computer in your home, this is going to be a great feature to have. I’ll be able to quickly keep my MacBook and Mac Pro iTunes libraries in sync so I always have all of my music with me when I’m at home or traveling for work and play.

    With brings me back to my Palm Pre and the Media Sync feature. I was really surprised when Palm announced the Media Sync feature and I quickly started syncing content to my Pre from iTunes. With iTunes 9.0, Apple has chosen to close the door to the webOS Media Sync feature. I’m sure Palm or someone from the webOS homebrew app community will figure out a way to re-enable native syncing with iTunes. The bottom line for me is that my iPod touch, combined with iTunes, still represents the best over all user experience for purchasing content, loading it on my device, and interacting with it on the go.

    So for now, the iPod wins, and iTunes 9.0 is on my MacBook. The good news is that I can still sync the Pre with my Mac Pro which I’ve left back at iTunes 8.2.1. Sure, I can’t use the Home Sharing feature, but at least I can get my iTunes Plus tracks synced down to my Pre easily.

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  • 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/.

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  • apple,  itunes,  pre,  web os

    Palm Releases webOS 1.1.0 Update

    July 25, 2009 /

    On Thursday afternoon, Palm released the webOS 1.1.0 update for the Pre smartphone. There is a laundry list of fixes and enhancements that are delivered in this update, including a patch that “resolves an issue preventing media sync from working with latest version of iTunes (8.2.1).”

    In addition to correcting the iTunes, um “issue,” Palm has also baked in updates for calendar, camera, clock, contacts, email, messaging, phone, system, web, and YouTube. As with all Palm webOS updates, the package can be downloaded and installed to the Pre, over the air, by using the Updates application. The webOS 1.1.0 update runs just under 90MB and will take a few minutes to download and verify before the update can be installed on your phone.

    I installed this update first thing on Friday morning and I did notice some improvement in cellular coverage while I was at the office. I’m not sure if that just happened to be a coincidence or due to the software update. I’ll have to keep and eye on the phone over the next few days to see for sure.

    I’m also excited to see that Palm has restored the ability to sync the Pre with iTunes. I know that doubleTwist is a great free option for doing the exact same thing as the Media Sync feature with iTunes, however, I’d rather sync my Pre to my Mac without having to install any extra software. This situation is probably temporary as I’m sure Apple will try to counter Palm’s counter move. So I’ll be sure to enjoy it while it lasts. And when Apple does finally pull the plug on Palm’s iTunes sync ambitions for good, I’ll make the jump to doubleTwist.

    To read all the details about Palm webOS 1.1.0, check out the Pre webOS update page.

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