apps

iPhone users aren't the only ones to get cool apps

The long-awaited flood of Google Android devices is about to hit the market, which should help bring more cool applications to new Android phones.

Motorola will be the next big manufacturer to announce its Android phone. The company plans to formally unveil it at an event on Thursday in San Francisco. Motorola has already been reaching out to developers to get them on board to create new applications that it hopes will drive demand for the new phones.

Mobile applications for smartphones are hot. The fact that Apple's App Store has had more than 1 billion downloads after only … Read more

Swine flu apps you'll want on your iPhone

The H1N1 Influenza, better known as the swine flu, is a real concern for just about everyone this year, making keeping up to date on the latest news paramount.

But considering we're all so busy, remembering to visit government Web sites can be difficult. Installing some basic apps onto your iPhone isn't. Check out some of these apps that will keep you abreast of all the latest news about the swine flu.

Swine Flu apps CDC News Reader If you want the latest and most up-to-date information on the swine flu, CDC News Reader is probably a good place to start.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides all the latest information available on the swine flu. And since it also provides information on other outbreaks the organization is tracking, you're likely to find some of the best health data of any app in this roundup. For 99 cents, it might be worth it.

H1N1 Cases by State If you want daily updates on how the swine flu is spreading, H1N1 Cases by State will fill you in.

H1N1 Cases by State automatically downloads daily all the new instances of swine flu in each state in the U.S. When you click on a new outbreak, you'll be brought to a page detailing it. You can also see how many deaths have occurred because of the outbreak. For 99 cents, it's not a bad app to have with you when you need some updates.… Read more

Flickr versus m.Flickr: Which one should you use?

As a heavy Flickr user, half the time I'm accessing the site from my phone instead of my computer. So when Flickr got its very own iPhone application late Monday night (download link), I was excited to give it a spin. What I found though, is that despite some of its niceties, there are certain things you can only do on the mobile Safari version--many of which are important.

This in itself is odd. After all, native iPhone apps almost always do things Web apps can't, like store data locally, or make use of on-board hardware. This app does a little bit of both but is missing a few features that I think make viewing and managing your Flickr photos a more compelling experience in Safari's browser.

For instance, browsing photos cannot be done in landscape mode from the get-go. You're limited to viewing little thumbnails, then having to click on the image to load it again before being able to view it sideways. The need to do this every time there's an occasional photo in landscape mode can be a bit tiring, although you're encouraged to just stay in the full-screen mode. This isn't so bad if you're on a good connection, but if you're on EDGE, or a spotty 3G connection it, can drag on as it takes time to load each image.

But that's just a small quibble. My real complaint is that the app doesn't let you make any changes to photos you've already uploaded. For instance, you cannot rename a photo or video or give it a description unless you're uploading it. You're also unable to add tags or change its privacy level and licensing rights. This could get you into a sticky situation if you, say, uploaded a photo as public that you later wanted to change to private. Such an action would… Read more

Facebook app for Android released

While iPhone owners have long had a powerful Facebook app with a wide range of functionality, Google Android users have had to make do with the mobile version of the social networking site (called Facebook Lite). Not only does it offer limited features, but also it is clunky and rather difficult to navigate.

But that changed Tuesday when a new and long-awaited Facebook app hit the Android market. The free app offers many of the features that you've come to expect on the iPhone app and the full version of the site. You can scan your news feed, view … Read more

Commodore 64 iPhone emulator approved, yanked

The Commodore 64 emulator application for iPhone, previously rejected by Apple, was approved for availability in the App Store over the weekend, only to get pulled days later.

Apple blocked the sale of the iPhone app, dubbed C64, from the store on Tuesday without explaining why, according to developer Manomio. And while Apple was not immediately available for comment regarding the C64 app, which is designed to enable users to play classic Commodore 64 games and run applications, Manomio says it believes that the yanking is related to an available work-around that enables users to activate the Commodore BASIC interpreter, … Read more

Blame the iPhone's 3G network woes on you, me

There's been a lot of talk lately of AT&T customers--especially iPhone users--getting fed up with the quality of service they're getting with AT&T. Issues include dropped calls, shoddy coverage, and slow data speeds. People are upset that they have a fancy device that loses much of its usefulness when the network drops out. I can feel their pain.

Indeed, I saw the effect myself this last weekend. The Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), one of the world's largest gaming conventions, took place in Seattle, where I live. Thousands of the world's nerdiest nerds were here, and, as you'd expect, many were using iPhones, meaning many were using AT&T's 3G service.

PAX, which opened Friday, also had a handy guide on expojunkie.com for convention goers made especially for the iPhone. It featured maps, agendas, and other quick reference information to make PAX a better experience. The side effect was thousands of visitors using Seattle's 3G coverage at the same time--in addition to the thousands of locals who already use it. Service slowed to a crawl.

By Saturday, the service was back up-to-speed for most of Seattle. AT&T may have hit a switch and turned on more towers. It has a team that monitors areas with major events and tweaks the network when one causes problems. Whatever the company did fixed it.

The blessing and the curse But here's the question: what are we to expect from AT&T when Apple sells millions of units of a revolutionary product that depends on its network and then provides millions of apps that put a huge burden on the same network? Do we really expect AT&T to be able to handle that much data?… Read more

This Week's Apple Byte: Is Snow Leopard finger friendly?

CNET TV's Brian Tong takes a look at the latest news stories from the last week involving our favorite Cupertino computer maker, Apple. This week, Apple confirms that September 9th will be the date for the now annual music event which generally unveils the latest iPods and iTunes features. Brian also delves into the possibility that Snow Leopard is touchscreen compatible and how MobileMe's Find My iPhone feature has once again been used to fight crime. All this, and a look at the new Facebook 3.0 iPhone App in this week's Apple Byte.

HP kicks off HP TouchSmart Printer App Store

HP just opened up its new Printer Application Studio to coincide with the release of the HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web slated for the end of this month. The site will offer visitors the chance to browse apps that extend the usability of the Web-connected printer, all available as free downloads directly to the device.

In a similar fashion to Apple's iPhone App store, HP's version can also be accessed using the "Get More" button on the large 4.33-inch touch screen. I had a chance to preview the store in a live demo with HP and the layout is very simple, with small icons and a place to submit user ratings, reviews, and suggestions for future applications. The marketplace is already populated with several applications from HP's partner companies. Some examples include:

Snapfish: View, edit (lightly), and print your snapshot photos Google Maps: Print maps and directions Fandango: Buy and print movie tickets DreamWorks Animation: Print coloring pages and movie-themed games for the kids Weathernews Inc: Print up-to-date weather information Web Sudoku: Print out puzzles and games

HP also has the last piece of the puzzle in the form of the HP Software Developers Kit that will eventually give consumers and developers the tools to create their own Apps for submission to the App Studio. In the meantime, HP will continue to update the store with new apps throughout the year.

More pictures after the break.… Read more

iPhone app helps you become a real guitar hero

So you finally got tired of faking it and bought a guitar. Congratulations! Now what do you do? Most beginners start with some basic lessons to learn how to hold the thing and finger some very simple chords. So far so good. Then they buy a tablature book, which shows you how to finger chords and scales. This is where a lot of would-be guitarists give up and decide they'll become lead singers instead.

A new iPhone app called iPractice can make the chore of learning and practicing your fundamentals a bit more fun. It's a lot more … Read more