iphone-tastic!

Filed under: Software, Odds and ends, iPhone, App Review Outside [iTunes link] is a new, personal weather app for the iPhone/iPod touch that provides a visual forecast with some paid options for push notifications. I like the idea of the app; it has some nice graphics and a fresh approach to weather information. The GUI is based on a metaphor of looking out a window: you can get the current conditions or a five-day forecast, if you want to glance into the future. For the relevant stats, like humidity, cloud cover and winds, you just flick up the screen, and it'll tell you everything you need to know. The app also features an interesting pay model: when you buy the U.S $2.99 app, you get 30 days of push notifications for free. Then it's $0.99 for the notifications every three months. Notifications include letting you know if rain is in the forecast, the UV index when it goes above a set level, a warning if the temperature goes below your preference, and a notification that the weather... - iphone-tastic!

Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, App Review Some wood, some knobs, and a ball bearing: the traditional labyrinth game has spawned several digital descendants (including some of the simian sort); considering the iPhone's accelerometer is very adept at simulating a tilting table or a swaying bridge, it's no surprise that this genre is quite popular on the App Store. The latest entry in the fun parade, from the developers of the Pano photo app (Debacle Software), is Little Metal Ball [$1.99, iTunes link], available tonight in the App Store. We've got an exclusive gameplay trailer above, so you can see that you'll be piloting your steel BB around and through a wide assortment of obstacles, landscapes and challenges as you try to collect prize stars and finish each level (40 in total) in the minimum amount of time. While the original Super Monkey Ball was so challenging as to be frustrating for an average twitch gamer like myself (version 2 is a big improvement, according to TJ), I found that... - iphone-tastic!

Filed under: OS, Software, iTunes, Software Update, iPod touch Chitika Research, a company that helps deliver online advertising, has released numbers from its network that claim 45% of iPod touch users still haven't upgraded to the iPhone 3.x firmware. Only 55% of the users measured have paid the cash to upgrade to the latest version (because of accounting regulations around subscriptions, iPod touch users have to pay for an upgrade that iPhone users get for free). And actually, the story is even worse than you think: Chitika points out that since mid-June, every single iPod touch sold has had 3.x pre-installed on it anyway. That means the percentage of users who owned iPod touches before June but haven't yet upgraded is even higher than the overall numbers show. So how can Apple fix this (and they probably should -- lots of their best and brightest apps require 3.0, not to mention developers have spent a good amount of time upgrading them for the new firmware)? First, and maybe even... - iphone-tastic!

Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review The iPhone and iPod touch are, in many ways, the replacement for the little spiral-bound notepad that some of us used to carry around to capture reminders and ideas. The build-in Notes application works as a nice notepad, but it doesn't allow sorting of lists, and syncing to your Mac via MobileMe and Mail can be problematic. I've tried a handful of other notepad apps, but none of them have provided the simplicity of Notes with the power of cloud syncing. SimpleNote [US$1.99, iTunes Link] is an inexpensive app that is a worthy replacement for Notes. Launching the app, you're greeted with a very simple user interface into which you can type your notes. There's nothing new and different there, of course. Opening the options for the app indicates that you can set up a free account for the online web app and turn on web syncing. It's the ability to sync with the SimpleNote website that provides much of the power of the app.... - iphone-tastic!

Filed under: Accessories, iPhone, iPod touch After a dearth of car kits for iPhones and accompanying GPS navigation apps, manufacturers are starting to announce new kits on a regular basis. The latest news comes from Magellan, who will soon be introducing a new vehicle mount for the iPhone 3GS, 3G, and the second generation iPod touch. As with the Navigon and TomTom car kits, the US$129.99 Magellan Premium Car Kit includes a built-in GPS receiver for better accuracy. Other features include: Secure vehicle mounting for iPhone or iPod touch Accommodates most silicon skins and hard shell cases Adjustable mount securely rotates iPhone to either portrait or landscape mode for optimal positioning and widescreen route display Recharges battery via the vehicle power outlet Amplified speaker with volume control for loud and clear phone calls and directions Noise canceling microphone for full duplex speakerphone operation Auxiliary audio output (for connection to your car stereo) Bluetooth... - iphone-tastic!

Filed under: Hardware, iMac, Software Update We hope this will provide holiday relief for many iMac owners: Apple just released a firmware update for the graphics chipsets in 27" iMac models, intended to fix display issues. Apple states this download Updates the graphics firmware on ATI Radeon HD 4670 and 4850 graphics cards to address issues that may cause image corruption or display flickering. This update is only needed for the 27" iMac models introduced in October. This should hopefully fix the issues that many are facing with their new iMacs, including our own Josh Carr, who's had display issues with his 27" iMac. We'll let you know if this update fixes these issues for him. This update is available through Software Update, or from Apple's Support Downloads page. TUAWApple releases firmware update addressing 27" iMac screen issues originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Read |... - iphone-tastic!

Filed under: Gaming, Software, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, iPod classic If you happened to be wandering around a St. Louis, Missouri arcade in the early nineties, you'd probably find a young me, playing the Simpsons Arcade game (either that or the Avengers game, I loved that one too). It was great: beat-em-up action, The Simpsons, and impressive animations and graphics for the era. Now, EA Mobile wants you to try and revisit those days on your iPhone -- kind of. They've released something that they're calling The Simpsons Arcade [iTunes Link] on the App Store, and while it is a nice sort of tribute to the old game, it's not exactly a direct port. Trust me -- I played the old game, which had the family chasing after Maggie, and this game, which has Homer chasing after a doughnut, isn't the same thing. It's not a bad game -- it is a beat-em-up, with the standard movement stick, and an attack and jump button, which can be used in the ways you'd expect. And it does have real voices and... - iphone-tastic!

Filed under: Hardware, Rumors, Software, Apple Last night on the Talkcast, we talked about the big news last week that Psystar seemed to be down for the count, and the consensus was that we'd heard the last of them. But not so fast: their lawyer now says that they're not calling it quits just yet. The company that has gotten pummeled by Apple for selling Mac clones apparently "does not intend to shut down permanently," according to K. A. D. Camera of legal firm Camera & Sibley. According to him, they're still working on selling their Rebel EFI product (also currently entangled in legal problems), and they're planning on pushing forward on their antitrust case against Apple (which has already been thrown out once). We're not sure where they'll get the money for all of this legal action after already being ordered to give a couple million dollars to Apple, but maybe those 768 computers they sold made more than we thought. There is one bright point in all of this: while Rebel EFI is... - iphone-tastic!

Run Stats tracks your speed, distance, time, and elevation changes during a run, using the iPhone's built-in GPS. When done with a run, you can view your route on a map, and charts showing speed and elevation changes over time. It's also useful for tracking travels in a car. - iphone-tastic!

Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, iPod touch Well, even with rampant piracy, review craziness, and that funky approval process, it's good to hear that someone can still make a truckload of cash on the App Store. According to Reuters, that someone is Tapulous, who is apparently making almost a million dollars a month thanks to twenty million downloads of their Tap Tap Revenge game. We recently talked to Andrew Lacy on the release of said game back in October, and he told us that the game's in-app purchase features (you get the game for cheap, and then have a chance to buy lots of extra music to play in packs and bundles) would be the "first big test of in-app commerce at a much grander scale." Looks like the test was a success. Of course, there's not too many details on how exactly that million dollars comes in -- I'm sure there was a flurry of sales right around the release of the app (as press was dropping), and you'd expect them to be a little higher during the holidays (sales of video... - iphone-tastic!

SnoGlobe, from developer RogueSheep lets you create custom, photo-based snow globes. - iphone-tastic!

Arachnadoodle by Connect2Media takes an interesting and refreshing twist on the puzzle genre. While comparisons could be drawn to games like Peggle, Arachnadoodle manages to put a fresh spin on the gameplay. - iphone-tastic!

A Maine state legislator wants cell phones in the state to carry labels warning of brain cancer risks due to electromagnetic radiation. - iphone-tastic!

Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store, App Review For self-employed consultants and anyone else who charges clients by the hour for their services, keeping accurate track of the time worked on various projects is critical. Time Keeper! [$2.99, iTunes Link] from Netwalk is the newest in a genre of iPhone / iPod touch apps that serve as pocketable billing assistants. Time Keeper! works on a hierarchy of three elements: Clients, Projects (which are assigned to clients), and Times / Costs (assigned to projects). Once the application is launched, you can begin by adding a client at a particular rate. Time Keeper! allows any currency to be entered for the rate, making it easy to charge clients in their local currency. Once you've entered some of the necessary information about the main timekeeping elements, it's time to get to work! When you arrive at a client's office or being work on a project, you can launch the app, enter a title for the work you are performing, and then tap the... - iphone-tastic!

The only search engine option that’s currently available to some Verizon customers using the BlackBerry Browser is Microsoft's Bing, CIO reports. - iphone-tastic!

Filed under: Deals 'Tis the season shop until your brains melt (or skip it all entirely, depending on your interpretation of the term holiday). In that spirit, for the next few weeks we'll be rounding up a dozen daily deals courtesy our friends at DealNews.com. Each afternoon tune in to TUAW for this handy summary. Keep in mind that while our posts will live on, the deals won't. Each is lovingly generated by the deal-bot every day, so get 'em while they're hot. Enjoy! MacUpdate Promo: [Home & Hobbies Software] Videobox 2 and MainMenu 2 for Mac downloads for free iTunes Music Store: [iPhone / iPod Apps] App Store Freebies: Groove Golf Swing, Theme Clock Alarm, TapIt Water, more Other World Computing: [Store Events] OWC's Garage Sale: iPod accessories, RAM, video cards, more Apple Store: [MacBook] Refurbished Apple Mac Computers from $849 + free shipping via next day B&H Photo Video: [USB Hard Drives] LaCie Philippe Stark 1TB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive for $90 + free shipping PC... - iphone-tastic!

Spend some time learning running your photos through this free photo grading app, and you’ll be amazed with the results. - iphone-tastic!

The iPhone 3GS's Voice Control feature is remarkably useful and efficient; this week's installment of iPhone Hints shows you how to get the most out of it. - iphone-tastic!

Filed under: Odds and ends, Holidays Yes, it's that time of year when we empty out the TUAW swag vaults and pass the savings on. Our candidate today: He's avian, he's blue, and he might be coming to you.... Yes, it's the icon come to life who chirps his way into your heart, Ollie the Twitterrific bird. The Iconfactory's chatty quasi-mascot has been rendered into toy form (both in regular and limited-edition flocked versions) by designer David Latham and Strangekiss Art Toys, and we've got four of the wee blue birdies to give away to our lucky readers. Leave a comment below telling us about your favorite childhood toy, and you'll be entered into the giveaway. One entry per person please! We'll ship out the birds after the first of the year, so they won't make it under the tree, but they'll keep you company for all of 2010. (Bonus geek cred to anyone who rigs their Ollie up with a USB speaker and Growl to announce incoming tweets.) The rules: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United... - iphone-tastic!