Hasta La Gadget!

We feared this day, and yet here it is: Apple has blocked the Palm Pre from syncing with iTunes 8 with its latest iTunes 8.2.1 update, according to Engadget Mobile.

Apple’s Software Update says in the install dialog that the new version “provides a number of important bug fixes and addresses an issue with verification of Apple devices,” as I confirmed (see above screenshot from the iMac I’m typing this on). That’s about as pointed as it gets without saying it straight out.

It’s up to the individual Palm Pre owner how much of a drag this is. There are other ways to get music onto the Palm Pre, obviously, and this is less of an issue now that Apple has finally removed DRM from its iTunes Store music tracks.

“If Apple chooses to disable
Media Sync in a future version of iTunes, we just think it will be a
direct blow to their own users,” Palm spokeswoman Lynn Fox said last month, responding to Apple’s support note that had essentially threatened this exact course of action. “We
just think it would be unfortunate if they were to choose to do that.”

Yes, it seems like only yesterday (or about 3 months ago) that Apple crossed a landmark — 1 billion apps downloaded from its App Store — and here we are again. Apple’s just issued a press release stating that it’s now seen another half a billion apps downloaded in about three months — putting them over the 1.5 billion mark. Apple doesn’t get all the kudos to themselves, though: after all, someone’s been downloading The Moron Test. A lot.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

Apple’s App Store crosses the 1.5 billion download mark originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Death is a certainty and as inescapable as the people who will prey on your grief. The new Pocket Cemetery App on iTunes lets you create virtual tombstones for “dead relatives, friends, pets, or celebrities” that you can decorate with bitmapped flower images. You can even use the on-screen QWERTY to tap out and “send” a little prayer. As Wayne Perry describes it, Pocket Cemetery is “like having a little virtual heaven in the palm of your hand.” Unfortunately, heaven will cost $2.99 and there won’t be any connectivity — this App runs isolated on your iPhone without any means to share your memorial, prayers, or grieving. But hey, maybe we’re alone in our criticism; Pocket Cemetery already has a first “user review” rating it 5 out of 5 stars by a first time reviewer just 1-hour after launch. Impressive.

P.S. Don’t just stop at the video above, Wayne’s generated a different pitch on his YouTube channel capitalizing on the deaths of Ed McMahon, Michael Jackson, Billy Mays, and Farrah Fawcett. Elvis too, even though we know he’s just in hiding.

Video: Pocket Cemetery iPhone App preys on grief, sends prayers to Flash memory originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone 3.0 has landed, and the first apps with the new features are squirming their way through the App Store‘s clenching gates of approval. How are they? Well, for starters, they all look awfully familiar.

Given that the firmware update has only been live for two days now, the vast majority of 3.0-utilizing downloads are just refreshes of older apps. In fact, you can expect that the be the case for a while; iPhone 3.0’s new features are nice, but most of them aren’t the kind of thing you’d build an entire app around. So, here are the best of the updates:

Leaf Trombone: World Stage: Apple demoed this thing way back in March, but that was pre-3.0, and most importantly for this App, pre-multiplayer. That’s the big update here: iPhone faux-trombone duets which can be played over Bluetooth. The “World Stage” aspect of World Stage is still intact, putting your performances in front of an anonymous audience for cheering and heckling, though it’s been padded out with some fluffy notification integration. It’s a buck, accompanied by a solid free version.

Textfree: Intended as a text message client replacement, this is one of the first mischievous uses I’ve seen for the iPhone’s push notifications. The app itself has been around for a while, but needed to forward texts to your email address in lieu of proper backgrounding/notifications. Now, it works all the time. It’s free for 15 texts a day, six dollars for unlimited.

Flick Fishing: Despite sounding like the king of all junk apps, Flick fishing isn’t so bad, if you’re a fan of fish, nature or accelerometers. With 3.0, it gets multiplayer and some in-app purchases. Completely bewildering fact: this is one of the top 10 most downloaded apps ever. What the hell, people?

Twittelator: There’s some smart 3.0 leveraging going on here, with an inbuilt media/web browser, wide video and audio support to complement the new voice recorder and the 3GS’s camcorder function, a Tweeter-tracking map feature, and a few more. No push though! Five bucks is a tough sell next to the free Tweetdeck, although previous users upgrade at no cost. Also, guys: What happened to your free version?

AP Mobile: Another early app gets a refresh: this one seems hell-bent on testing the practical limits of push notifications. It says it’ll only send “Breaking News” alerts, though I’m not sure what stories qualify. I’m guessing it’ll take some fine-tuning, or else it could lead the way towards Push Alert Fatigue Syndrome, which I’m pretty sure we’ll be writing about in a week or so. Free.

Bomberman 2: Volcano Party: The price reduction from the first version is enough to recommend this one, and the 3.0 features—mostly (synchronous!) Bluetooth multiplayer—are a huge bonus. As with most of the real-time multiplayer games, there’s no 3G support for latency and networking reasons. Three dollars.

Evernote: The free, does-it-all notes app now taps into 3.0’s Google Maps API, and organizes notes by location. Sound recording now much better, if a little redundant, and a raft of other features—mostly interface improvements—abound.

This Week’s App News on Giz:

• First iPhone App with In-App Purchasing: $1 App, $10 Per Month

• Sirius/XM iPhone App Is Now Live (Also)

• MLB Streaming Full Live Games to iPhone Over 3G, Starting Tomorrow

• TweetDeck for iPhone Lightning Review

• Ngmoco’s Xbox Live-esque iPhone Service Set to Launch Tomorrow

• 94 God-Awful iPhone Apps Designed in MS Paint

• iPhone 3.0 Features Slightly Clueless “Objectionable Content” Warnings

This list is in no way definitive. If you’ve spotted a great app that hit the store this week, give us a heads up or, better yet, your firsthand impressions in the comments. And for even more apps: see our previous weekly roundups here, and check out our Favorite iPhone Apps Directory and our original iPhone App Review Marathon. Have a good weekend everybody.

So now that the iPhone 3.0 launch is in full swing, we’re wondering how it’s going out there. Team Engadget appears to have made it through without any problems, but we’re hearing sporadic reports of Apple’s iTunes activation servers being slammed and potentially some kind of IE security certificate problem on Windows, which is leaving a few people with unusable phones while things get sorted out. Everything work out okay for you?

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Filed under: Cellphones

How’s the iPhone OS 3.0 upgrade going for you? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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