TomTom Navigation App with real-time traffic updates for the Apple iPhone version 1.3

I’m not much of one to use standalone GPS navigation devices, I can’t even recall the last time I needed one as I prefer to use the free Google Maps application on my Nokia smartphone.  But that’s not to say traditional GPS makers aren’t gonna go down without a fight.  TomTom, still one of the world’s leading providers of navigation solutions and digital maps, is shifting their focus to the world of smartphones. More specifically, enhancements for the iPhone TomTom app.

TomTom’s press announcement explains how full real-time traffic information will be available from the TomTom iPhone app (version 1.3), getting you around those nasty traffic jams rather than taking what is suggested as the fastest route. Need to stop at a dry cleaners, perhaps a falafel? You can find out by accessing the local search powered by Google.

Nifty pinch and zoom is one of the neatest advanced features added to the Version 1.3 list of enhancements, new map updates, automatic day/night mode, music fading, and the ability to save locations from other iPhone apps are also added to the TomTom app.

Existing users get the update for free. New customers can buy the app that includes US maps, for $59.99. If you want to add Canadian maps, the total price is $69.99. The traffic portion is $19.99 extra for 12 months of service.  Other versions available are for the U.K. & Ireland, Western Europe, Australia and South Africa.

All hail king Android

Early in the mid-70’s the first Apple computer was nothing more than a motherboard designed by co-founder Steve Wozniak. Hardly a personal computer. Apple was a rising underdog competing against IBM in the personal computing market. How times have changed!

Remembering Apple’s 1984 TV commercial. Apple was always anti-establishment struggling to bring down Big Brother (Big Blue) and spread originality of thought and defy the computing conformity.

How far the apple has fallen from the tree! The roles are now reversed and it’s Google that is the underdog trying to break Apple’s Big Brotheresque dominion over the mobile computing industry.

Steve Jobs’ business tactics are “Machiavellian” in nature. A leaked legal document distributed by the digital freedom crusaders EFF, discovered the legal red tape (pdf link) Apple binds its iPhone developers by. Truly draconian in nature the contractual documentation that Apple uses with developers for its systems allows it to reject any application developed even if the application meets the iPhone’s requirements.

“You may not issue any press releases or make any other public statements regarding this Agreement, its terms and conditions, or the relationship of the parties without Apple’s express prior written approval, which may be withheld at Apple’s discretion.”

Absolutely no reverse engineering for the iPhone’s operating system, nor any reverse engineering for the iPhone software development kit is permitted. Apple can also cease to support your application at anytime from their App Store for no reason whatsoever.

It’s no prophetic revelation that Apple’s upcoming iPad, current iPhone and iPod Touch, are what is referred to as closed systems, in which programming routines are kept secret from third party developers. Apple’s legal contracts with developers proves how closed those systems are. In fact Apple is so petrified of unauthorized code running on its iPhone (referred to as jail-breaking) that it has notified the US copyright office that jail-breaking should be illegal and consequences need be put in to place for it. What an assault on the open source community.

However, this is in stark contrast to Google’s App Marketplace which is supported by cloud computing architecture – a simply amazing idea, where developers are encouraged to create applications for Google’s products and unleash them on the community, a much more democratic process. Allowing the end-user to decide. Developers pay a flat one hundred dollar fee to write an application for the marketplace, in exchange they get 25 % revenue on sales for each application sold, and access to it’s 25 million user-base.

It’s really that simple. Create an application, send it on to the marketplace, once approved buyers can add them to their Google accounts. All these great applications can be triggered and started within your e-mail, like YouTube videos or even payroll software because they are all embedded within your mail, accessible in the cloud’s immense pool of resources. Google is offering developers the chance to set apps to be triggered by certain emails, events, or specific types of content.

While Apple emanates the Roman Empire. Rome started to decline as soon as it refused help from Germanic mercenaries. Which led to the mercenaries revolting and deposing Emperor Augustus. Apple may find that the developers may revolt and stop developing for their products by becoming more Google-centric.

Google may find itself building an Empire from Apple’s ashes. History is full of examples of proud computing companies that fell and are no more, just like IBM’s personal computing division once was mighty but now humbled. But with Apple’s current marketshare and customer loyalty, it’s a far fetched scenario that would make for a dream in Android-land.

iPhone 4G concept rendering by ADR Studio

The jury is in, and the verdict is iPhone owners are loyal to their master. If you currently own an iPhone, Strategy Analytics believes you are very satisfied with it and you are also very likely to buy the next-generation model. According to their recent research which found a strong correlation between satisfaction and repeat purchase intentions.

Mobile Magazine’s poll completed by over 2000 readers has shown the most requested enhancement for the iPhone 4G (4th generation) would be improved battery life. That is #1 above all, just give us all more juice, they say. Followed by multi-tasking, yes, they want to be jail broken by Apple. A larger OLED screen was the third most requested enhancement, that’s not asking for a lot is it uncle Steve? I’m sure he could make it all happen with a couple memos and a click of his mouse.

The least most requested enhancements? Well, it seems that everyone is satisfied with the mobile gaming end of things, and the native applications currently available on the iPhone are just dandy. A front facing-camera came in second to a high-definition camera. Apparently video-conferencing is not as hot a topic as we thought.

So we ask, is it true? As a current iPhone owner, will you be buying the next-generation iPhone 4G? Or will you be moving on to “other” things? Let us know by simply voting below.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Street Fighter IV for the Apple iPhone

Hadouken! Sonic Boom! I’ve been big into fighting games ever since I first played Street Fighter II in a smelly old arcade, so this news hits really close to home. If you’re ready to take Ken and Ryu with you on the road, you’ll be glad to hear that Street Fighter IV is now available for the iPhone and iPod touch via the App Store.

Not surprisingly, there are several things missing from the iPhone version of the game compared to its console counterpart. For starters, you don’t get all 19 characters. Instead, you are restricted to just eight world warriors: Ryu, Ken, Guile, Blanka, Chun-Li, Dhalsim, M. Bison, and Abel. I would have liked to see Akuma and Gouken in there, but no such luck.

In terms of controls, you’ll be using the touchscreen with an overlaid virtual gamepad. Instead of the three punch and three kick configuration, you are given one punch button, one kick button, and what appear to be a couple of special buttons (for supers and ultras, presumably).

There’s a “Dojo” mode for practice and multiplayer is achieved via Bluetooth. Based on early reviews, it’s a great mobile version of Street Fighter IV. The graphics look decent too. Find it in the App Store for ten bucks.

Street Fighter IV for the Apple iPhone Screenshots

Come on down! To the Price is Right.

The newest version of The Price is Right video game has just been ported to the iPhone and iPod Touch. A sequel to 2008’s The Price is Right, the popular game already owned by many, so the question now is whether I upgrade to the new version or has the price gone wrong?

The Price is Right 2010 has all of the features and controls of the original Price is Right app, plus several improvements.  New games are added such as Golden Road, the avatars now get customizable wardrobes, the look of the game got a huge overhaul, and the prices and prizes are updated for the new decade.

The look of the game is the major change.  At first glance, you’ll notice the set has changed from Bob Barker to the new Drew Carey.  It would have been nice to have the option to choose between Bob or Drew, but I guess Bob’s time has truly past. More apparent to casual fans of the popular game show is the massive improvements to the graphics.  Everything looks more carefully designed and rendered, including the backgrounds, avatars, and most dramatically, the crowd.  The sounds are pretty much the same thing as you’ll hear on the TV version, so it’s fine too.

The Touch controls are perfect on the iPhone and iPod Touch.  In my opinion it is these touch screen controls that make it superior to the Nintendo Wii version, despite the fact that it has videos and more games.

The bottom line:  The Price is Right is a fantastic app to own, especially if you don’t have the original Price is Right app it will be a pleasant surprise.  If you have the original like I did,  you should consider grabbing the new one. The various improvements made are worth the $4.99.  The game is flat out great I think is better than the original at the same price, and way better than the $30 Wii version.

The Price is Right 2010 for the Apple iPhone

iPhone Pro 4G Concept by ADR Studio

When Apple’s 4th generation iPhone  smartphone (iPhone 4G) gets revamped this summer think of how it will compare to the iPad tablet.  The iPad is essentially an oversized iPhone, so where will the next gen iPhone be when you lay them out side by side on the table? Is the iPad to the iPhone what the Nano was to the iPod?

It could evolve and advance into other realms of mobile entertainment. Perhaps to fend off a much anticipated launch of a Sony’ PlayStation Portable smartphone (PSP Phone).  Sony is a strong player and is notorious for coming out with something big just when you forgot all about them. If Apple were to adapt to a mobile gaming platform, which there is probably no way in hell they would, this what it might look like.

The iPhone Pro, that has a nice ring to it. Is a concept by ADR Studio. It’s got a nice big screen, a 4.5-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 612 x 1024. Running the new iPhone OS 3.2 optimized with a 1 GHz Apple A4 processor. The sophisticated design allows for a mechanism to hide two paddles which slide out for mobile gaming controls. Throw in an accelerometer and it becomes a gaming marvel.  A front facing camera is hidden inside the top paddle. The cumbersome Apple connector port has been replaced by a MagSafe power port, sweet.

Antonio De Rosa, Marketing & Communication Consultant of ADR Studio believes what his company is doing is important: “This is a simple exercise of style, because you have to throw docks, accessories and everything else in the mix. It’s largely thanks to Apple fans like me and you. We need to squeeze our brains and make all of our imaginations become living dreams.”

What are your dreams for a next-generation Apple iPhone? How will it look like, what will it have? Leave a comment or jump over to our poll to let us know.

iPhone 4G Pro Concept Image Gallery

Chart: AdMob
The gap between Apple iPhone and Google Android app downloads is disappearing quickly.

Apps are an integral part of smartphones and their appeal to us.  They are essentially enhancements for a device that lets us do useful, silly, fun, and important things.  A recent study has broken down the number of app downloads per device, and the results are somewhat surprising.

In a recent report from AdMob, app downloads of over 900 people were tallied and averaged to determine how many apps were downloaded per month.  The results found that iPod Touch owners downloaded the highest amount of apps per month from the iTunes app store – at 12.1 apps per person.  The next highest app downloads were neck and neck from iPhone and Google Android users at 8.8 and 8.7 downloads per month respectively.  This is surprising as the Android platform has not been in existence for very long, and for it to be able to match the iPhone in app downloads is dangerous to the iPhone’s success.  Palm’s WebOS brought about 5.7 downloads per user.

While the Android has closed in on the iPhone, and the iPod Touch for free download app stats; it is the iPhone that averages the highest average of paid app downloads per month at 1.8.  This is a bit higher than the Droid’s 1.1 and slightly higher than the iPod Touch’s 1.6.  Palm’s WebOS came in at 0.6 paid downloads per user.

It is astounding to see how apps are coming to the forefront of importance on smartphones.  It is even more unusual to see the iPhone look so vulnerable to the Droid in app downloads, the iPhone’s bread and butter.  It will be interesting to see how the Apple iPad plays this out, how will it compare? Consider that the iPad will be heavily reliant on app downloads to make it successful.

Figure 1: Control a future iPhone or iPad by finger swiping the camera lens

Apple, in its never ending quest to make their gadgets more James Bond like with each generation, has bought a patent involving motion sensing controls through a camera.  This would allow the user of an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, more control over the device in a much more “touchy” way.  If applicable to the next generation of Apple products, it could be a major coup for Apple.

The patent, according to Patently Apple, will allow for almost total control of the iPhone through motion sensors in the devices camera.  By simply swiping or tapping your finger across the camera in a certain direction, you will be able to access voicemail, fast forwarding and rewinding voicemails, merge calls, and almost completely control the interface by using a distinct pre-configured motion.

Apple’s patent Figure 1 shows a front-side camera in use while the user is on a telephone call or checking voicemail. Another figure shows a user sliding his finger across the back-side camera, this could control the call or voicemail playback. The camera lens would not need to be actually touched, just the motion in front of it should give the command.  “Tap-detection,” is also another possiblitiy, tap on the phone with a finger to control various routines set out for the phone, like switch to call waiting, or perhaps to mute the call.

The new patent could really give it a leg up against the Droids, Nexuses, and ok, we’ll even include Windows Mobile.  Innovations such as this are classic Apple moves to stay ahead of the game in the smartphone wars.  Only time will tell however if this feature will make its way the iPhone 4G, 5G or any iPhone at all.

Figure 2: Control iPhone interface navigation by finger swiping the camera

The latest iPhone 4G Concept by ADR Studio Italy

The Apple iPhone 4G is expected to cost significantly less than previous models.  Industry Analyst Katy Huberty, from Morgan Stanley believes 85% of the market is not willing to shell out the amount of money Apple want’s for their devices, therefore a price drop is in order for the next-generation smartphone.

“We expect Apple to launch new iPhones in June that offer both a lower total cost of ownership and new functionality, potentially including gesture-based technology,” she explained in a note to investors Friday.

Along with a price drop, the rumor tree blossoms specifications for the iPhone 4G consisting of WiFi N, a 5MP camera, an A4 chip clocked at 600MHz, perhaps faster, and AMOLED touchscreen from Samsung.

Here are new concept images just released from ADR Studio in Italy, courtesy of Antonio De Rosa.  He took readers comments into consideration from his previous set of concept designs.  He appreciates the criticism, and the praise,  and has taken the criticism and tried to improve the concept, with rounded shapes, ‘improving’ the ergonomics, and correcting some mistakes.

“My job is not to be “absolute”. I’m an Apple fan like the others, and I use my work to give shape to small dreams:) This is a tribute to an icon of technology that has radically changed the understanding of mobile communication.  That’s all folks. I’m imagining new gadgets, new scenarios for this remarkable device, which I hope to show you soon.”  said Antonio De Rosa.

Update Note: The name “iPhone 4G” is in reference to the iPhone’s 4th Generation design slated to be released this summer. In all reality it will not be named the iPhone 4G at launch, for more on this check the Clearing the air on iPhone terminology: 4th generation vs. “4G” over at TUAW.

iPhone 4G Concept Images by ADR Studio

Apple did not use OLEDs in the iPhone 3G because of its heavy power consumption when browsing the web or checking emails, according to sources of OLED-Display.net. Apple has a longstanding arrangement with LG Display, but there is no OLED type of displays suitable for the iPhone 4G currently being manufactured by the company. Samsung is the only contender with a display capable enough to be used in an Apple product, when considering the large production and quality control involved. Just announced was the Samsung Halo phone using the Super AMOLED display in question, it’s a 3.7-inch WVGA (800×480) screen very suitable for an iPhone.

In our interview with Rapid Repair on the iPhone 4g, Aaron Vronko Service Manager believes Apple would choose the next-generation of Samsung display technology, one of the deciding factors would be the increase in size and a 25% brighter screen. Currently 45% of Mobile Magazine readers believe a larger screen would be a feature they would like in the iPhone 4G, along with improved battery life and multi-tasking capabilities. Dual cameras for video-conferencing was only supported by 34% of voters.

Over at Apple Insider, a patent application with a sketch showing an iPhone or iPod type device with a forward facing camera was uncovered. The application entitled “Apparatus and Method for Compensating for Variations in Digital Cameras,” explains plans for superior picture and video recording performance on portable devices. Apple fans hoped for a forward facing camera on the recently announced iPad, this would allow for video conferencing and communication similar to the that on a MacBook, but the device never had a camera of any sorts.

Cast your vote here.