Sprightly Software Updates Wallpaper by David
Barcroft for iPad & iPhone

post from prMac on 21 March 2012 09:20:00 PM. © prMac

Sprightly Software today announced Wallpaper by David Barcroft 1.3, an update to their popular photo wallpaper app for iOS. Featuring hundreds of photographs by renowned Canadian photographer, David Barcroft. Photos can be used for either wallpaper or the lock screen image. The app is available as a free download with 36 photos included and more available through in-app purchase. New features in 1.3, the app has been translated into French and Spanish, and features a new photo set of Alberta.

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http://prmac.com/release-id-40088.htm

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Nyan Cat Adventure - Internet Phenomena Pop Tart
Cat comes to iOS

post from prMac on 21 March 2012 07:10:00 PM. © prMac

21st Street Games today is proud to introduce Nyan Cat Adventure 1.0, the addictive new game featuring the most popular internet cat of all time, is now available for iOS on the iTunes App Store. Nyan Cat Adventure has been a top-selling Xbox Live Indie Game since it's release this past December. The game was released by 21st Street Games, makers of the top-rated and top-downloaded Xbox and iOS game Techno Kitten Adventure. filled with a variety of fun and addictive challenges.

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New 3D Running Shooter Game 'Mars Smash'
Officialy Released on iPhone

post from prMac on 21 March 2012 03:23:00 PM. © prMac

SixDead Entertainment introduces Mars Smash 3D Free 1.0 for iOS. On this 3D running shooter game, Martians started invading Earth. Survive countless Martian Soldiers in this endless shooting adventure. Run as far as possible and use multiple weapons, accessories and special pickups item to shoot martians and complete your objectives. Some features include; countless hours of gameplay with 3 different adventure worlds, upgrade your gun to run even further and over 30 achievements.

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http://prmac.com/release-id-39933.htm

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Animoto’s iPhone app adds automatic video
editing

post from Apple on 21 March 2012 03:03:23 PM. © Apple

Animoto updated its iPhone app Wednesday, adding a much requested feature — the ability to add videos in addition to photos when creating video slideshows on mobile devices.

The startup is best known for creating automatic slideshows from user content, both on the Web and with its mobile app. Animoto already had the ability to incorporate video clips through its web-based interface, but the addition to the mobile app is new. Now, Animoto iPhone users can uploaded photos and videos to its cloud-based interface, which then remixes those assets and sets them to music, creating a more interactive and engaging experience. Those videos can then be shared with friends via email and on social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

Animoto isn’t the only company hoping to provide automatic video editing on the go: There are other apps, like Magisto and Vidify, which provide similar functionality. The key differentiator is mainly just that while those newer apps launched with a focus primarily on video, Animoto still has legacy roots in the photo slideshow business.

One other key differentiator is that Animoto runs on a freemium subscription model, rather than one-off app sales like some of its competitors. Users can create videos of up to 30 seconds for free, but if they want to make longer videos or add other features, they are charged $4.99 a month of $29.99 a year.

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Daisey, Daisey, Give Me Your Answer, Do

post from Daring Fireball on 21 March 2012 03:03:21 PM. © Daring Fireball

This week’s episode of The Talk Show:

John Gruber and Dan Benjamin discuss how dinosaurs publish digital magazines, the speed and signal of LTE on the new iPad, and the Mike Daisey fiasco.

I really enjoyed our discussion on the Daisey fiasco — a good follow-up to my piece here on DF yesterday.

Brought to you by Gitbox, Freshbooks, and BBEdit.

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http://5by5.tv/talkshow/84

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Crummy Non-Retina iPad Magazines

post from Daring Fireball on 21 March 2012 03:03:21 PM. © Daring Fireball

It’s always been a bad idea for iPad magazine apps to deliver “pages” as static 1024 × 768 images, but now, with the retina display iPad (3), it’s even worse. They look terrible.

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http://thepixelpeeps.com/post/19598477265/the-new-yorker-on-the-new-ipad-updated

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FreedomPop’s plan: an iPhone, a WiMAX shell
and 1 GB free data

post from Apple on 21 March 2012 02:03:33 PM. © Apple

FreedomPop?s plans to launch a ?freemium? mobile broadband aren?t just ambitious, they?re a bit zany ? zany bordering on genius. Instead of providing a stand-alone smartphone and dealing with pesky issue of providing voice, it?s leveraging its data-only deal with Clearwire to sell a WiMAX modem shell. Customers then fit that shell over iPhone 4 or 4S and get instant broadband access. Getting the iPhone itself ? and accompanying voice plan ? appears to be the customer?s concern. But FreedomPop is providing them a lot of incentive to go to the trouble: 1 GB of free data.

TechCrunch broke the story on Tuesday and FierceWireless confirmed it with FreedomPop VP of marketing Tony Miller, though some of the details are still fuzzy. It?s not clear, for instance, if the 1 GB is a one-off deal, which switches over to metered data plans once the initial bucket is used up, or if it?s a recurring month-to-month allotment of gratis data. Either way, FreedomPop plans to get paid. After customers use up the gig they?ll be charged a 1 cent for every additional megabyte consumed, Miller told Fierce, which falls in line with what the average $10 per gigabyte most of the major operators charge for overages.

The WiMAX shell is essentially a mobile hotspot, which connects to the iPhone and up to 8 other devices through Wi-Fi, according to TechCrunch, and Fierce reported the roughly $75 cost of the shell will be fully refundable once service is canceled, as long as it?s still in relatively good shape.

FreedomPop?s WiMAX deal with Clearwire has its limitations. Its 4G network covers 130 million people today, but Clearwire hasn?t announced any plans to continue its nationwide expansion. The bring your own iPhone model could present a problem as well, as AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint, all require you to sign up for a data plan when activating the iPhone. Even at a bare minimum plan, customers will still be forking over $15 to $20 a month for data connectivity they may have no intention of using.

What would be interesting is to see if FreedomPop sparks a movement toward buying unlocked iPhones. Customers could theoretically get a micro-SIM from AT&T or T-Mobile for a voice-only plan, and then use FreedomPop?s WiMAX for data, falling back to Wi-Fi where 4G is unavailable. The price of entry is steep though. Apple started selling an unlocked version of the iPhone 4S in November for $849.

The other big question is how FreedomPop can sustain such a business model if it truly does give away 1 GB a month for free. According to a recent report from wireless analyst Chetan Sharma, only the top 30 percent of U.S. smartphone users consume more than 1 GB a month. FreedomPop will likely attract a lot of hard-core data users in the 30^th percentile, but there?s a good possibility many customers will never breech that 1 GB cap. NetZero is also trying its hand at a free 4G service ? and is also using Clearwire?s network ? but it?s drawing the line at 200 MB a month before it expects customers have to sign up for a paid plan.

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ata/

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China now leading source of iOS, Android
activations

post from Apple on 21 March 2012 02:03:33 PM. © Apple

China could soon be the most important mobile market in the world. Not only did the country become the leading source of iOS and Android device activations in the first quarter of 2012, according to new research from Flurry, but it could enjoy the world?s largest installed based of mobile users before too long.

Flurry?s data–gathered from the analytics software that its clients install in their apps–shows that China accounted for more iOS and Android device activations than the U.S. for the first time in February. Around 24 percent of activations running either of those operating systems in March are expected to come from China, according to projections for the month, while 21 percent of activations will come from the U.S.

China’s growing influence in mobile isn’t really a surprise to anyone paying attention to mobile developments, but the February milestone is worth noting nonetheless. In just a year, China has gone from 8 percent of all device activations to its current position, an astounding growth rate of over 1,100 percent that dwarfs the second-fastest growing smartphone market, Argentina.

There are already twice as many iOS and Android users in China than in the U.K., Flurry said. China has a ways to go before it overtakes the U.S. when it comes to the iOS/Android installed base (currently double the size of China’s market) but its huge population and hunger for smartphones makes it almost inevitable that China will reach that point one day.

Earlier this year Apple CEO Tim Cook highlighted China as an extremely important priority for Apple over the next several years, as much of the growth in the smartphone market is expected to come from countries like China and Brazil. It’s a little more complicated for those on the Android side of the world, given the complexity of the Android app-buying experience in China, but the same opportunity exists.

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Shocking Wall Street Journal Exposé: Video
Streaming Consumes Data

It’s almost amusing watching news sites manufacture bogus problems with the iPad.

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http://www.loopinsight.com/2012/03/21/video-streaming-eats-up-data-plan-smashing-
ipad-with-hammer-with-break-it/

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Hipstamatic, Instagram to Unveil Photo-Sharing
Partnership

Austin Carr, Fast Company:

Later today, Hipstamatic is set to unveil a partnership withInstagram that allows photos taken on the camera app, whichenables users to snap professional-looking pictures with stylizedfilms and vintage-era lenses, to be ported directly intoInstagram’s network with just one click. It represents the firsttime Instagram has opened up this platform API to third parties,and marks a move toward letting photos freely flow intoInstagram’s network from outside sources.

Cool news.

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http://www.fastcompany.com/1824797/exclusive-hipstamatic-instagram-partnership-ap
i-import-photos-social-network-kevin-systrom

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