Mac|Life iPod touch RSS Feed

iPod touch Camera Rumors Live Again

J.R. Bookwalter — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:11:58 -0600

They won’t stay dead! Despite all of the anecdotal evidence prior to September’s event announcing new iPods, the iPod touch still doesn’t have a camera. But that may be changing soon enough, if a new rumor is to be believed.

The Examiner is quoting an “inside source” who claims that a new iPod touch model will arrive next spring with the same video-only camera capability as the fifth-generation iPod nano, which landed at the same event in September.

Popular belief in the rumor mill holds that the iPod touch released in September was originally intended to include the camera, but the feature was scrubbed just before the announcement due to bad parts. Rather than delay the release, the decision was supposedly made to release the unit sans camera.

After the release, a teardown of the 2009 iPod touch disclosed that the unit indeed featured the space necessary for such a video camera, as seen in early prototype models that circulated around the Internet in advance of the release. A number of third-party manufacturers also had new case designs showing a hole for the camera as well.

If the iPod touch does get a spring refresh, it will be the first since February, 2008 when it received a mid-cycle bump with double the memory. Historically, Apple has otherwise only added news features to the touch once a year, at the September events.

Powered Wheelchair Users Now Have an App for That

Matthew Tilmann — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:17:35 -0600

Dynamic Controls unveiled a unique app at Rehacare in Germany, which will enable powered wheelchair users to utilize many features through their iPhone and iPod Touch.

According to 9 to 5 Mac, the company has managed to integrate an iPhone into its power wheelchair electronics, which allow users to use the wheelchairs as normal while still gaining access to a variety of information and control system access of their chair while using the app.

The app solution connects a user's iPhone or iPod touch to the wheelchair system to display chair information in real time, as well as speed information in kph or mph and gives a compass heading. A cradle mount is also available.

Charlotte Walshe, Dynamic Controls CEO said, "We recognized the iPhone has revolutionized the way people communicate and saw the opportunity to develop this solution for wheelchair users, taking full advantage of Apple's 'Works with iPod/Made for iPhone' developer program."

The technology works with iPhone 3G, 3GS, iPod touch V2.0 and 3.0.

TomTom Provides Update to App For iPod Touch/First-Gen iPhone Users

Matthew Tilmann — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:24:23 -0600

Fans of TomTom who use an iPod Touch or first-gen iPhone can now not only navigate their music, but can navigate around town too according to Apple Insider. The catch is, one needs TomTom's car kit, due to the Touch and phone lacking a GPS chip.

Version 1.2 had been submitted to Apple on November 12th and was released yesterday. Users can now look forward to newly updated maps and IQ Routes. Additional features include lane guidance, text-to-speech, and iPod player support.

TomTom's app sells for $99.99 USD from the App Store, and TomTom's car kit is available on their website for $119.95 USD.

Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies Arrives on App Store

Cory Bohon — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:55:19 -0600

Touch Arcade is reporting that Activision has released Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies for the iPhone and iPod touch.

The game, adapted from the console version, is a zombie survival mode that allows you to shoot endless waves of Zombies right on your iPhone!

COD: World at War: Zombies comes equipped with only one map, but others will later become available as add-on purchases. The game has single player and multiplayer support over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. In the online match, you can pair up with 3 other players and shoot Zombies to your heart's content.

The game is now available on the App Store [iTunes link] for $9.99.

Apple to Offer Submitted Apps Tracking in the App Store

Andrew Villa — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:43:28 -0600

According to Wired, Apple has rolled out a new way for iPhone developers to track the status of apps they have submitted to the App Store,. The tracking system allows iPhone app developers to view Apple's progress on accepting their app.

The status column can read a few different options, "Ready for Sale," "In review," or "Waiting For Review." The previous system was clunky and inaccurate and developers could only see a graphic showing the average wait time for all developers. Apps are usually accepted within 14 days of submission.

This new system doesn't provide a solution for App Store's inconsistent approval rate, but it should help those developers eagerly awaiting to hear back from the App Store.

Malicious iPhone Worm Threatens Jailbroken Devices

Cory Bohon — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:50:10 -0600

iPhone jailbreakers beware: a malicious worm for the iPhone is making its rounds.

iPhone owners with jailbroken devices running a Secure Shell network (SSH) are the only users affected due to the owner not changing the default SSH password, making their device vulnerable to hackers.

Once infected, the user will be tricked into thinking they're being Rickrolled with a wallpaper that features Rick Astley and the words "ikee never gonna give you up."

This isn't the first time that this hack has been used against unsuspecting iPhone owners, but this new malware is the first to spread from affected devices to other jailbroken iPhones using the default SSH password.

Ars Technica is reporting that there are at least four variants of this worm that are making their rounds.

The worm debuted in Australia on the Optus mobile network and has currently spread to Optus iPhones in other countries.

Protecting yourself from this virus is as simple as getting rid of the default password on your Jailbroken iPhone's SSH feature. You can get the instructions for doing this on the F-Secure website.

Sophos anti-virus firm has more details on this worm on their website.

Once again, this shows the potential security risk that could arise from jailbreaking your iPhone/iPod touch.

100,000 Apps in App Store!

Liam Widman — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:35:03 -0600

Apple announced today that their iTunes App Store has surpassed the 100,000 apps mark, making it the largest application store in the world. iPhone and iPod touch customers in 77 different countries can go online and download from the amazing range of 100,000 apps within 20 different categories.

App Store users have downloaded over 2 billion apps making it the most popular application store as well. “The App Store has forever changed the mobile gaming industry and continues to improve,” said the Vice President of Worldwide Studios, EA mobile. “With a global reach of over 50 million iPhone and iPod touch users, the App Store has allowed us to develop high quality EA games that have been a huge success with customers.”

Apple recently updated the App Store with things like Genius for App Store Essentials selections, sub-category listings, and more valuable customer reviews. Plus, the new iTunes 9 is making it easier for users to organize and sync their apps and have them appear on your iPhone or iPod touch with the same layout. Additionally, the new in-app purchase feature allows people to buy the full version of an app, from within the free version.

Apple Stores' New Easy Pay iPod touch

Andrew Villa — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:18:47 -0600

According to ifoAppleStore and AppleInsider, in about two weeks, Apple stores will start retiring their current Windows CE portable computers and start using custom iPod touches to check out customers.

Apple's new EasyPay system uses the the touchscreen interface of the iPod touch to help any customer with purchases and returns. Apple is wrapping the iPod touch in a hard plastic, two-piece shell with a magstripe reader in the back, and a barcode scanner installed on the top of the device. Inside the shell a rechargeable battery will help power the card reader and scanner, and there is a set of four lights on the back to help indicate the state of the battery's charge.

Credit card transactions are very similar to the current method, customers will write their signature on the iPod touch using a Pogo Sketch stylus.

The iPod touch scanner can read all four barcodes printed on the iPhone box, and automatically fills in the data fields on the order screen. "The software even displays the iPhone 'Terms and Conditions' for the customer to read, and then accepts the customers signature to verify their acceptance," says AppleInsider.