Leander Kahney's Blog, page 1444

December 22, 2011

This $30K iPhone Is Also A Three-Timezone Pocketwatch

Presumably, it takes intelligence to become rich, which is what makes it so mystifying to me that so many "luxury products" are things that only swollen-tongued mooncalves would actually buy. Take, for instance, Gresso's custom iPhone, which costs $30,000, and tries to justify that with three in-laid clocks with ten year time reserves apiece… despite the fact that if you just turn it on, the iPhone has an infinitely more accurate clock for as many time zones as you care to throw at it. Oh, there's also the ubiquitous slathering of Swarovski crystals, if crushed glass floats your boat. Horf.

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Published on December 22, 2011 07:03

Apple Unlikely to Knock Galaxy Tab 10.1N Out of Germany

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Photo by mikemccaffrey - http://flic.kr/p/71Hju4

Apple is unlikely to convince German courts to block sales of Samsung's newly-revised Galaxy Tab 10.1N tablet. That's the opinion of one report, citing comments that the device "has moved sufficiently from the legally protected design." In this instance, looks are everything and the South Korean company appears to have dodged a legal bullet using cosmetic sleight of hand.

The Galaxy 10.1N is a response from Apple's September court victory in Germany, a judge ruling Samsung's tablet gave consumers "a clear impression of similarity." In reaction, Samsung quickly unveiled the 10.1N with a metal border and front speakers. The minor tweaks apparently were enough to satisfy a German court that the Galaxy Tab no longer could be confused with the iPad's continuous glass edge.

Thursday's comments by Dusseldorf-based Presiding Judge Johanna Brueckner-Hoffman both signal an eventual ruling for Samsung as well as a potential courtroom strategy Samsung may use in another battle with Apple — this time in Australia. The Australian legal dispute centers on Apple's argument that iPad sales could be hurt by the similar-looking Galaxy Tab 10.1. If the court upholds that claim, Samsung could quickly introduce the Galaxy 10.1N, thus reducing potential lost sales.

The trouble is such a 'confused consumer' allegation does not bolster Apple's central charge that the Android operating system is a poor alternative to iOS. As we reported Wednesday, HTC — dealt a blow by the U.S. International Trade Commission — already has a fix for an offending portion of Android. The handset maker said the offending Apple patent involved a "small UI experience."

For Apple to truly deal a blow against Android in the courtroom, it must find a core component of Google's mobile operating system. While the more than 30 lawsuits between Apple and Samsung provide drama, the Cupertino, Calif. company is getting little bang for its legal bucks. Perhaps another tact should be followed in 2012?

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Published on December 22, 2011 07:00

Steve Jobs Wins A Grammy

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Although he couldn't play the guitar or drums to save his life, few individuals have had as much of an impact upon the business of music than Steve Jobs, and now he's being posthumously recognized for it by the industry he helped save by getting his own Grammy.

This week, the Recording Academy announced they'd be honoring Jobs with a Grammy Award.

"As former CEO and co-founder of Apple, Steve Jobs helped create products and technology that transformed the way we consume music, TV, movies, and books. A creative visionary, Jobs' innovations such as the iPod and its counterpart, the online iTunes store, revolutionized the industry and how music was distributed and purchased," a statement on the Grammy website reads.

This isn't the first Grammy Apple has won. For example, in 2002, Apple received a Technical Grammy "for contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field."

The Grammy award ceremony will take place on February 12, 2012. I wonder who'll accept the award in Steve's place.

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Published on December 22, 2011 06:45

Real Racing 2 Comes To The Mac App Store, And You Can Steer With Your iPhone!

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This is turning out to be a gamer's Christmas on the Mac App Store. Following yesterday's surprise release of Limbo for Mac, Firemint's beloved Real Racing 2 has also arrived on OS X, with all of the best features of the iOS version, including a 16 car grid, Quick Race and Career modes, 15 racing tracks and over 30 officially licensed cars including the 2010 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500, 2010 Nissan GT-R (R35), 2012 McLaren MP4-12C and more. In our eyes, though, the killer feature is the ability to steer your car using your iPhone or iPad. Get Real Racing 2 here.

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Published on December 22, 2011 06:32

December 21, 2011

"Siri: The Holiday Horror Movie" Now Coming To A Theatre Near You [Humor]

The iPhone 4S is out for blood this holiday season.

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Published on December 21, 2011 15:56

iMAME Retro Arcade Emulator Appears In The App Store, Get It While You Can!

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The Simpsons Arcade running on an iPad 2 http://bit.ly/vQkywj

Apple has never shown favor to emulators in its App Store (with the exception of examples like the Commodore 64 app), so it's surprising to see iMAME available in the App Store for free right now. iMAME allows you to run thousands of classic arcade titles if you're lucky enough to have the original ROMs.

The emulator app includes 9 less-than-popular arcade games to run, but the possibilities are pretty endless if you know what you're doing.

It seems that you can sideload a ROM .zip file to iMAME with a tool like iExplorer. No jailbreak is required. Mario on the iPhone, anyone?

Apple's review team has let several questionable apps into the App Store as of late (iTether and QuickPick, for example). It will be interesting to see if these types of Apple Store slips continue to become more frequent.

So, what are you waiting for? Get iMAME before it's gone!

(via TouchArcade)

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Published on December 21, 2011 15:41

HTC Already Has A Workaround Finished To Sidestep Apple Patent Infringement [Report]

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The International Trade Commission (ITC) recently placed an import ban on several HTC devices in the United States for violating an Apple design patent. The ban wasn't set to take place until April of 2012, but Apple's win would effectively end HTC's short-term business in the US if HTC failed to develop a workaround.

Noting that it was already working on "alternate solutions" to sidestep the patent infringement issue when the ITC's ban was announced, HTC has today confirmed that it has already developed a fix that will keep its Android-powered devices safe from Apple's lawyers for the foreseeable future.

Bloomberg reports:

HTC Corp. has already completed a technical workaround to skirt a U.S. agency ruling that found a user interface in some handsets infringed an Apple Inc. patent.

"It's actually quite rarely used," HTC Chief Executive Officer Peter Chou said of the feature. The company will continue to work withGoogle Inc. to "protect ourselves," Chou said in a media briefing at the company's Taoyuan, Taiwan headquarters today.

The patent that HTC infringed on was a system-level part of the Android OS that HTC has now removed altogether. When the ITC ruled its decision two days ago HTC said that the Apple patent was a "small UI experience" that would be easy to remove.

It's unclear as to if Apple will be able to pursue other Android handset-makers with this same design patent.

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Published on December 21, 2011 14:59

Atmospheric, Award-Winning Game Limbo Comes To The App Store

It's been a long time coming, but the award-winning, multi-platform platformer Limbo just hit the Mac App Store for $9.99. The story of a boy searching the afterworld to find his sister, Limbo's an atmospheric puzzler from Playdead studios, most well known for its challenging gameplay and atmospheric aesthetic, Limbo's one of the best indie games to have been released on the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 in recent memory, so it's delifghtful to finally see it available for Macs. I know what I'm playing this afternoon.

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Published on December 21, 2011 13:18

What Clark Griswold's House Would Look Like Had He Been Introduced To Angry Birds [Video]

Some people's affinity for Angry Birds goes way beyond that of normal standards, as well as some people's love for Christmas lights (Clark Griswold). The person who made this video seems to suffer from both. Introducing the Angry Birds Christmas light game.

One talented (borderline insane) individual created an amazing Christmas light spectacle featuring the insanely popular and overly marketed Angry Birds franchise. I can't even imagine the sheer time and energy that goes into creating such a work of art, but kudos to whoever had the patience to do it.

If you have a few minutes to spare and enjoy a good Christmas light show, you'll want to give this one a look. Poor little green pigs, they just can't seem to catch a break.

Source: Android and Me

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Published on December 21, 2011 12:14

Specify Which Albums Are Displayed In Photo Frame On iPad, Or Disable The Feature Completely [iOS Tip]

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Photo Frame is a nifty feature on the iPad that allows you to show off your photo collection by turning your device into a digital photo frame when it's not in use. By default, the feature cycles through all of the photos stored on your device, which could mean that an embarrassing image can pop up at any time and spoil the afternoon tea you were enjoying with friends.

Did you know that you can set Photo Frame to display images only from selected albums, or disable it completely to stop unwanted access? Here's how to customize your Photo Frame and prevent that shot of you in your Justin Bieber pajamas from popping up again.

First, open up the Settings app on your iPad, and tap the 'Photo Frame' tab. You now have three options: to display all photos, to display only selected albums, or to display only selected faces. Tap on the option which is better suited to you. I prefer to choose certain albums.

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You can now select which albums and faces you would like to display. Simply tap on those you want to show so that a blue check appears next to its name. Those without a blue check will not be shown while the Photo Frame feature is in use.

Alternatively, you can disable Photo Frame completely to prevent unwanted access to the feature. To do this, you'll need to have a passcode lock active on your device. You can then open up the Settings app, tab the 'General' tab, and then choose 'Passcode Lock'. You'll have to enter in your passcode to gain access to the settings.

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You now have the option to turn Photo Frame off — simply toggle it off to remove the Photo Frame button from your lock screen completely.

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