February 12th, 2011

Greenpois0n Strikes Again, For Apple TV Too

With the latest GreenPois0n release, we are now able to jailbreak the latest iOS update, iOS 4.2.1. All iDevices including the Verizon iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and now Apple TV 2, can undergo untethered jailbreaking. The latest GreenPois0n, RC6, can be applied over RC5 and will fix general bugs with the emulators. → Read More

September 3rd, 2010

Plancast Schedules A New iPhone App, Eventbrite Integration, And Local Events

Back in March, on the eve of SXSW, Plancast got an iPhone app out just in time. Now, with more time to work, they’ve perfected it with the launch of version 2. And that’s not all they’ve been working on.

Over the past couple of weeks, Plancast has rolled out a new site design, a new plan social invitation system, and Eventbrite integration. On top of that, they’re also testing out two other new… → Read More

July 29th, 2010

Kindle iPhone/iPad App Now Smarter With A Dictionary, Wikipedia, And Google

Despite their clear commitment to the hardware version of the Kindle, Amazon continues to make the Kindle apps that run on the iPad and iPhone better. Today, version 2.2 of the app brings a full dictionary with it. This matches the functionality of Apple’s own iBooks app, but the Kindle implementation is even a little better.

Now in the Kindle app when you highlight a word, a definition will… → Read More

July 9th, 2010

Loopt Hits 4 Million Users, Propelled By iOS 4 And Android

“Foursquare gets all the hype.” It’s something I hear just about every day from just about every other location-based startup. And it’s true, though I would argue that it’s warranted — and investors seem to agree. But it’s also important to keep some perspective. While Foursquare is just shy of 2 million users, other services like MyTown have quickly surpassed that number. Same with Google… → Read More

July 2nd, 2010

How popular is iOS 4 and where?

JiWire has been watching their 30K hotspots throughout the U.S. to see how popular iOS 4 is. The results are interesting, if not entirely predictable. As you can see from the slide above, iOS 4 accounted for just over 22% of all iOS WiFi traffic on JiWire hotspots. That’s a pretty respectable number for a brand new operating system’s first week of existence. I think it’s also a testament to… → Read More

July 1st, 2010

Foursquare Goes iOS 4 Native: Brings A New Map View, But No Background Location

The iOS 4-compatible apps continue to roll-in. The latest is Foursquare which now includes fast app switching and high resolution artwork for the iPhone 4′s retina display. And this latest version, 1.9, includes a little bonus: a new map view. One thing not included, however, is background location.

The new map view allows you to see avatar representations of your Foursquare friends overlaid on… → Read More

June 30th, 2010

Facebook App Is Finally iOS 4-Compatible. Fast App Switching, High Rez Graphics

Well, it took a bit longer than other iPhone apps that aren’t, you know, the most downloaded apps of all time, but Facebook has finally today updated its iPhone app to be iOS 4-compatible.

A couple weeks ago, I ripped Facebook for releasing an update without this support (and a broken UI to boot). Competitors like Twitter and LinkedIn were iOS 4-compatible either before or immediately after the… → Read More

June 30th, 2010

Waze Taps Into Geo Tweets. Facebook, Foursquare, iOS 4 Come Along For The Ride

When it comes to mapping applications, Waze is probably the most fun one out there. It turns turn-by-turn navigation into a social experience, and a game (think: Pac-Man). It also happens to be free. And a few new features rolling out in the updated iPhone app today make it even more interesting.

The biggest new feature is the use of geolocated tweets for realtime traffic updates. One of Waze’s… → Read More

June 25th, 2010

Apple Carves Out A Special App Store Area For "Awesome iOS 4 Apps"

By now, many of you have your new iPhone 4s. And even more of you have an iPhone equipped with the latest iOS 4 software. So you want to find the apps tailored to run on it, right? Well, now Apple has a section of the App Store for that.

Apple has singled out 36 apps that it dubs “Awesome iOS 4 Apps” to get you started with the new OS. Not surprisingly, they highlight many of the ones we→ Read More

June 22nd, 2010

Twitter For iPhone Quick To Add Multitasking And Retina Display Support

When Twitter bought Atebits, the company behind the excellent iPhone Twitter client, Tweetie, there was some concern it would slow down development of that app. Luckily, it doesn’t look like that has happened. As today, Twitter for iPhone version 3.0.1 has just launched, and with it comes suport for both iOS 4 and iPhone 4.

In fact, while other huge apps on the iPhone, such as Facebook, lag… → Read More

June 22nd, 2010

Updated Apple policy: partners may "collect, use, and share" precise location information

Don’t worry, this isn’t that post. You know, the one where it turns out Apple is Big Brother, in league with the NSA and Interpol. I expect that shortly, though. No, this is just an update to let you know that unless you opt out, you’re likely making your exact location available to anyone in Apple’s rolodex. Here’s the relevant portion of the privacy policy, recently updated. → Read More

June 21st, 2010

Apple's Small Problem: iOS 4 And iPhone 4 One-Up The iPad

The tech world is buzzing about iOS 4, the latest version of the iPhone operating system that Apple released today. And rightly so — it’s an improvement over the previous version in every way. In fact, once you’ve been using it for a while, it’s hard to go back to using iPhone OS 3.x. And there’s an unfortunate casualty there: the iPad.

I’ve been using developer builds of iOS 4 (then called… → Read More

June 21st, 2010

SimpleGeo Becomes iOS 4-Aware. Geofencing And Background Tracking Ready To Roll

As you’ve undoubtedly heard by now, iOS 4 is out and spreading across iPhones like wildfire. With it, comes the ability for third-party apps to run certain tasks in the background. One of those tasks is background location — an awesome feature which we previewed in our review of Loopt 3.0 earlier today. But Loopt has been in the location game for a long time — what about startups that want to… → Read More

June 21st, 2010

Loopt 3.0 Marries Background Location With The Check-In

When Loopt first launched on the iPhone alongside the App Store in 2008, it looked to be an awesome new location-based service. Apple clearly agreed, as they gave the app plenty of face time: demo slots on stage at major events, appearances in commercials, promotion in the App Store, etc. But the early version of Loopt had a fatal flaw: to work properly, the app had to be running all the time. → Read More

June 19th, 2010

The Best iOS 4-Ready Apps So Far

We all know that the iPhone 4 launches this coming Thursday. But on Monday, current iPhone users get an early treat in the form of iOS 4, the new iPhone operating system (formerly known as iPhone OS 4). It comes with several enhancements, but the ones people seem most excited about involve multitasking (or background tasks). A little over a week ago, Apple began urging developers to submit their… → Read More

June 16th, 2010

Apple Releases iTunes 9.2, hurry before they sell out

Okay, they aren’t really going to sell out. For those who will receive the new iPhone next Thursday, you need to first update iTunes to its new version. In it, you will find mostly minor updates that prepare you computer for iPhone 4.

Click ahead to find out what. → Read More

June 13th, 2010

iOS 4 Is Going To Up The Ante For Location-Based Startups

Yesterday, Robert Scoble wrote a post about “Foursquare’s Yelp problem.” It’s an interesting read, with some good thoughts about how Foursquare can withstand feature-copying from a much larger rival. He asked for my thoughts, so I figured I’d jot some down here. Most importantly, his post got me thinking about the next phase of location, which I think we’re just about to enter.

First, Scoble’s… → Read More

June 10th, 2010

Apple Begins Urging Developers To Get Their iOS 4 Apps In For Launch

Today, Apple has begun emailing iPhone app developers to let them know they’re now accepting iOS 4-compatible apps in the App Store. Just as it does each time before a new OS launches (such as earlier this year with the iPad OS, which was iPhone OS 3.2 — yes, it’s a little confusing), Apple wants to make sure it has apps to show off when the new OS hits on June 21 (three days before the… → Read More

June 9th, 2010

iOS usage around the world: US has 3.45% iPhone/iPad/Touch penetration

Our buddy Jack Deneut of Nelso looked at some of the AdMob mobile metrics reporting and came away with an interesting look at the penetration of iPhone/Touch/iPad (iOS) around the world. The biggest user of iPhones by population? You’ll never guess. → Read More

June 8th, 2010

How to test iOS 4.0 right now

If you’re the excitable type, you may want to try the iOS 4.0 Gold Master right now. This is probably the most dangerous thing you can do to your phone aside from run over it with a car, so don’t say we didn’t warn you. There are many sources, obviously, so do a Google search. → Read More