July 23, 2008

“The App Store—oh, man, the App Store.”

“It’s a candy store, dude,” David Pogue (nytimes.com) exclaims — a “single, centralized, utterly complete source of software” that makes “the iPhone (or the iPod Touch) do absolutely amazing things…stunts a cellphone has no right to perform.” And because the new App Store “is beautifully integrated with the iPhone itself,” it makes “it fast, simple and idiot-proof to download and install new software morsels.”

Enjoying “blazing fast” iPhone 3G performance

After taking it on a test drive across Michigan for ten days, Mike Wendland (freep.com) concludes that “the 3G network makes the iPhone about as close to a laptop in convenience and functionality as a mobile phone can be.” Yet “it’s the new iPhone 2.0 software upgrade that is the most impressive — allowing users to connect seamlessly to business e-mail and run hundreds of new games and programs.”

Four stars for FileMaker Bento

Bento, the personal database application for Mac OS X Leopard, ”may be one of the most user-friendly relational database applications I have ever encountered,” suggests Tom Nelson (about.com). “For a remarkably low price of $49, FileMaker has created a truly easy-to-use database product.”

Coming Attractions - The X-Files : I Want to Believe

Week after week, season after season, the series captivated the country as FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully investigated the paranormal and bizarre in The X-Files. Now David Duchnovy and Gillian Anderson reprise their roles as Mulder and Scully in The X-Files: I Want to Believe. The film, directed by Chris Carter, who also created the television series, opens in theaters on Friday, July 25.

July 22, 2008

Macs help Trek get the message out

“We’ve got some incredible products,” says John Burke, president of Trek Bicycle. “But if you don’t tell people about them, it doesn’t really matter.” Not about to let that happen, Trek uses their Macs to create videos as marketing and training tools. “We’re using podcasting to talk” directly to consumers about Trek bicycles. As a result, “they’re walking right into the retailers asking for the product.”

App Store Pick of the Week: Exposure

With Exposure, you can take Flickr on the road, browsing and enjoying the billions of photos on Flickr on your iPhone or iPod touch. Both Exposure (free) and the ad-free Exposure Premium ($9.99) let you browse your own library, flip though a contact’s recent uploads, create favorites, add comments, even search through Flickr’s vast library of images.

July 21, 2008

Apple reports record third quarter results

In financial results for its fiscal 2008 third quarter, Apple reported its best June quarter for both revenue and earnings in Apple’s history, posting revenue of $7.46 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.07 billion, or $1.19 per diluted share. It also set a new record for Mac sales, shipping 2,496,000 Macs during the quarter, representing 41 percent unit growth and 43 percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter.

July 18, 2008

Apple golden in 2008 International Design Excellence Awards

In its special report on the IDEA 2008 winners, BusinessWeek reports that the iPhone, MacBook Air, and the Apple Wireless Keyboard won Gold awards and iMac won a Silver award in the prestigious annual competition sponsored by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA).

Now playing on iTunes U: “Ask a Biologist”

Hosted by Dr. Biology (CJ Kazilek) and brought to us by Arizona State University, “Ask a Biologist” features interviews of prominent scientists who discuss tiger beetles, marine biology, the history of fire, microbes, bird song, arachnology, and a wide range of other life science topics. Whether you listen to the shows, read the transcripts, or both, “Ask a Biologist” makes for an enjoyable and thought provoking experience.

July 17, 2008

Five stars to iPhone 2.0 software

From the new App Store to easier mail management to support for Microsoft Exchange and MobileMe, PC Advisor steps you through the major and minor additions and improvements offered by iPhone 2.0 software. Awarding it five stars for its value for the money, PC Advisor concludes that iPhone 2.0 offers “a welcome step-up for what was already arguably the best mobile platform on the market.”

New App Store offers addictive fun

So far as Ed Baig (usatoday.com) is concerned, “the App Store for iPhone and iPod touch” is “the killer app many of us expected,” an application that “turns the iPhone into an important new computing platform.” In his review, Baig takes a look at some of the apps — Pandora, AOL Radio, Super Monkey Ball, MooCowMusic: Band, Etch A Sketch, and five others — that can make “you feel like a kid in a toy store.”

Unleashing a flood of apps for iPhone

“If you have an iPhone,” cautions Rik Fairlie (NYTimes.com), “you just might forget that the device is capable of making phone calls,” considering all of the diverting applications available on the new iPhone App Store. “Simple to use, thanks to its elegant and intuitive interface,” the App Store offers “an object lesson for other cellphone makers and carriers on how to make your customers’ phones indispensable.”