iOS posts

Apple has been awarded a trademark for the phrase, "There's an app for that." The tagline has been used to promote the App Store and iOS devices almost since their inception, and has really caught on. From tech articles to jokes told around the water cooler, many people have adopted the phrase.

The trademark, which Apple filed for on December 4th, 2009, covers "Retail store services featuring computer software provided via the Internet and other computer and electronic communication networks; retail store services featuring computer software for use on handheld mobile digital electronic devices and other consumer electronics."

Congratulations to both Apple for their new trademark, and to me for avoiding a lame "there's an app for that" joke.

Jailbreak limera1n was released today for 4.1 iDevice users in what appears to be a contentious situation in the hacking community. Windows-only, the new jailbreak is not expected to work with Apple TV or debut on Linux and OS X for a bit.

The previously announced dev-team jailbreak, which was due out tomorrow, may be put on hold while the team works on revising their tools for the limera1n exploit rather than exposing multiple exploits that will quickly be patched.

Jailbreaking, while legal, is based on finding system weaknesses to allow hobbyists to inject code that will open their devices to full system read-write access. It is this full access that allows third party developers to customize the OS and install new applications and extensions.

Having looked forward to developing for Apple TV starting tomorrow, count me among the disappointed.

Update: The Limera1n page has updated to indicate that Apple TV jb is "technically supported". I can confirm that I put my ATV2 into DFU mode and was able to "jailbreak" it. But since no AFC services or OpenSSH were installed (let alone APT), there's nothing that really can be done with it at this time.

I've been away at GDC Online this week, so I almost missed it, but a brand new Sonic the Hedgehog game (that Sega is calling part 4, Episode 1) is out now for the iPhone. This is a pretty big deal -- not only is this a brand new title in the Sonic series, but it's also not coming out for other consoles until next week, so Sega has actually premiered this game on Apple's iOS platform. Early reviews on the game are terrific. It's a 3D title that plays from a 2D angle, so this is old-school Sonic platforming with brand new levels, graphics, sounds, and music. Plus, there are two exclusive levels on the iPhone and iPod touch, so Apple is really getting some love from Sega here.

Of course, this is being labeled as a premium title, so the price of US$9.99 on the iPhone-only version might provide a little sticker shock for players used to cheaper games. Still, the title is selling for five dollars more on other platforms, so when you consider that you're getting this game early, as a native title, with exclusive content, the $10 price is about as justified as it's going to get.

But even if you don't go for the purchase, this will definitely be one to watch. The app's currently number 3 on top grossing and number 11 on the top paid apps list, but a huge success here will mean a lot for both Sega's and other large publishers' strategies on the App Store going forward.

Steve Jobs admitted it. Apple TV is a hobby. He has stated so more than once. But there are compelling reasons to believe that the newly released Apple TV Mark 2 matters even more than its expected sales (currently estimated at about a million devices per quarter) might indicate.

Here are some of the points that I believe are why Apple TV matters.

Apple skipped PVR and moved straight to content on demand. With the concept of a shared data cloud growing ever more important, a limited storage device that feeds on streamed content offers an exciting peek at our future. Apple's rent-don't-buy model transforms Apple TV into a controllable point-of-entertainment device outside of the iTunes purchase and TiVo recording model that has dominated the last decade. If you want to Netflix your entertainment, Apple TV provides that feature at a great price point, as well.

Click "Read More" to check out the other four reasons.

Pocket Legends has been out on the App Store for quite a while now, but if you (like me) haven't seen it in a while, you might want to check it out again. Spacetime Studios has been steadily updating the game, and the title they showed off at GDC Online 2010 this week was pretty impressive -- an instanced MMO, running in full 3D with three character classes, dungeons and loot, and almost all of the other trappings you'd expect from the genre.

This week, I got to sit in on both Cinco Barnes' panel about the studio and its up-and-down background. I also chatted with the company's CEO, Gary Gattis, both about Spacetime's history and what it's done with Pocket Legends so far, and what's in store for the growing title.

Hey Auntie TUAW,

I just ordered my new Apple TV, and have a ton of footage in MKV, AVI, etc. which probably won't work with iTunes, let alone my Apple TV.

What can I do to batch convert and import all my movies to iTunes, which will work with Apple TV and be as high-rez as possible?

With all my love,

Ari

Simple graphics, deep gameplay. That's what the 2007 board game Wabash Cannonball promised and delivered. The Winsome train game, with a small print run of around 300 copies (we think), quickly sold out. The game was then licensed to Queen Games and re-released as Chicago Express. This version sold well enough that an expansion pack was released. Now, the game comes to the iOS market as an app called Wabash Cannonball [US$4.99]. It's got everything (almost) that the earlier, nearly identical games have, but it's all packed into a tiny screen – maybe a little too packed – along with a few digital friends to play against. Very different from your normal iPhone time-waster app, Wabash is a gamer's game, and it deserves attention. The name might refer to a fictional train, but there's a lot of real gameplay here. Read on for the full ride and to see if you'd like to hop aboard the Wabash Cannonball.

One of the best reasons to come to a conference like GDC Online (which I'm at this week in Austin, Texas) is touching base with others in the iPhone and iPad community and sharing your favorite apps with each other. I've been hooking as many people as I can on Pocket Frogs (I just passed 50% of awards completed, and the app just added Game Center integration in a new update), and my colleague Jeff Scott of 148Apps recommended Blue Defense: Second Wave! to me. Blue Defense is a top-down shooter with an iPhone twist -- instead of moving your ship around as it shoots down enemy ships in 2D, you tilt your iPhone (or just touch the screen) to aim a planetary cannon, taking out ships as they come to you.

The tilt interface is very intuitive, and there are even some fun multitouch functions. You can split your fire by double-tapping anywhere to create fixed aiming sights, or even grab and drag away from the planet to shoot a gigantic screen-clearing gun. This is actually the second version of the game, so there are multiple modes to get through, including two infinite modes that you can use to try and raise your score up on the game's leaderboards. There are also lots of levels to play and medals to earn while doing so. The graphics are 2D, with a simple but smooth and well-designed look, and the Retina Display makes the game look great.

Blue Defense: Second Wave! is an excellent title for just US$1.99. It's also a universal build, so I bet it'll look even better on the iPad. I've heard some other good app recommendations from the panels and attendees here at the show, so stay tuned all week for more.

Saving Private Sheep is a fun one, especially if you like Angry Birds (and there are plenty of you out there who do). Saving Private Sheep is another physics-based puzzler. This time, instead of throwing birds at pigs, you have to save sheep from wolves by tapping various wooden objects in a scene and blowing them up to try and land the pentagonal sheep safely on the ground. It may sound confusing, but once you play the game (which you can do in a free trial), it makes much more sense.

The game's 80 levels will have you exploding crates, breaking ice, dropping pulleys, tossing objects around, and trying to earn as many gold medals as you can (by exploding as few items as possible as quickly as possible). And the best part is that the game's on sale for just 99 cents right now. It's not exactly the same as Angry Birds, but the game has a very Angry Birds-style feel to it, so if you like that one, give this one a shot as well.

Logos, a cross-platform Bible study program for Windows, Mac, and iOS, has been updated to version 4. To celebrate, they are offering some great deals on their base packages and upgrades at Logos.com. Students should checkout their academic pricing as well. There's a good overview of new features available on their website, including a list of 100 new features in Logos 4.

Look for a more detailed review after I've had some time to live with the official release. In the meantime, there are a slew of great resources available to show you around on the official website.

Note: off-topic comments will be deleted. If this app (or religion in general) isn't for you, just move along to the next article.

Open-First recently conducted a survey of 110 App Store developers to examine how much they've been earning vs. their initial expectations. Nearly half of respondents -- 48% -- revealed that they're earning more than the expected.

The study was conducted between August 30th and September 10th, 2010 via online questionnaire, followed-up by phone. In the end, 78% of respondents rated themselves as satisfied, very satisfied, or somewhat satisfied with the experience of publishing to the App Store, and 99% said they'd continue to do so.

Of course, not all developers surveyed were happy. A full 28% said they're making less than expected. Still, they must be hopeful, as nearly 100% of participants said they'd continue to sell mobile apps through Apple.

[Via Macsimum News]

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I have the worst memory. I also have a bad short-term memory. This makes it tough to remember the things that pop into my head throughout the day, and it makes it especially hard to keep track of tasks and other actions that I must take. I've wanted to use my iPhone to "bottle" these fleeting thoughts for years, but nothing on the App Store allowed me to do this without some sort of distraction.

Enter Captio, a new app from Ben Lenarts of Boonbits. It's a small note taking application that allows you to capture thoughts, ideas, tasks, and other tidbits of information as they come to you. You may say, "But there are a million of those apps on the store, Josh, you handsome man!" Given, but Captio has one killer feature that everyone else has failed to deliver on: nothing. For example, here's how it works:

Step 1: You open the app.

Step 2: You type what you need to remember.

And that's it. Your idea is in your email inbox. That's what makes Captio so great. You can add a quick photo before Captio whisks the idea out of your mind, but the feature is hidden quite well under the keyboard (as not to distract you). It's one fast app, too. I don't mean that in the same way that reviewers normally say it, either. Captio could outrun Usain Bolt strapped to a rocket cheetah. My iPhone 4 loads it from a cold start in about a second, and it's even quicker when loading from multitasking memory.

If you're looking for something to capture everything you need to remember (and capture it quickly), I highly recommend picking up Captio. It's available now on the App Store for a fantastic $0.99. Just be prepared to break the news gently to your iPod icon, though; he won't be happy to lose his spot on the dock.

Apple has posted several new betas for members of the paid iOS developer program. Point your browser to the developer site, and use your credentials to log in. You'll find new betas for iOS 4.2 as well as several other items that we're not sure we can specifically mention without breaking NDAs.

Download. Enjoy. Have fun.

Thank you everyone who pinged us!

It's been Apple TV-palooza here at TUAW today. Shortly after discovering that the Apple TV iOS firmware could be downloaded and unpacked, we took our first peek under the hood and saw just how similar the new Apple TV, with its Lowtide software, was to previous Apple TV releases. Soon after, we discovered that the Lowtide application was built with multi-device support, including the iPad, in its list of supported hardware.

Now, developer Dustin Howett has managed to port Lowtide to an iPod touch and run it under iOS 4.1. You can see him running the Apple TV Lowtide software in this video. It's really amazing to see just how compatible the diverse systems are.

As TUAW posted earlier, the iOS 4.1 firmware distribution for Apple TV has just gone live on Apple's Phobos web server. TUAW downloaded a copy and used the dev-team's decrypt keys to peek under the hood. Here's what we found about the "Mojave" Apple TV distribution.

First, as expected, there's no SpringBoard.app in Core Services. SpringBoard is the application that runs your iPhone's home screen, letting you launch applications by touching them. Instead, Apple TV seems to run Lowtide, an application responsible for all user interactions, which is derived from the previous Front Row application. Lowtide handles media playback, rentals, DRM management (Fair Play, of course), and other basic services.