Leander Kahney's Blog, page 1479

November 22, 2011

Google's New iOS App Gets It Right [Review]

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The revamped Google Search app for iOS, which we reported on yesterday, is a huge improvement on what went before.

It's slick, speedy, and simple. Everything you want in a web search app. Enter your query and results show up as you type, thanks to Google Instant (you can switch this off if you like). If you'd rather not type, it accepts spoken input just as well.

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The browser pane for viewing results slides in from the right, over the top of the results list. If you use the official Twitter app, you'll be familiar with the idea. It works beautifully, and makes flicking through several pages of results much easier. Even little details look good: the bottom edge of the browser pane's toolbar acts as a progress bar, thin but functional and squeezed in without sacrificing useful space elsewhere.

Beyond search, though, Google has sneaked some very ChromeOS-like extras into this app. There's an applications page, where you'll find big friendly icon shortcuts to stuff like Gmail, Google Reader, Google Calendar, and so on.

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Interestingly, this applications page has a dot above it, suggesting that in future you'll be able to add more applications here and swipe between them, just as you do on the iOS Springboard. So although this app is called "Google Search", it has much in common with Google's Chrome browser.

Google's done an excellent job with this new release. Bravo.

Rating: ★★★★★

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Published on November 22, 2011 01:48

November 21, 2011

Tour Japan For Free With This Nice Photo Guidebook [Review]

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Fotopedia Japan is a lovely photographic tour of modern Japan, available for free right now on the iOS App Store.

Thanks to unobtrusive sponsorship by Narita airport, you get access to 1,300 high quality images of Japan, properly indexed, tagged and located on maps.

That means you can browse through the collection in various ways: just sit back and watch a slideshow, or browse by region, or flick through smaller selections based on chosen tags like "Shinto Shrines", "Temples", or "Cosplay".

All aspects of Japanese life are here, from the modern to the traditional, including city life, dramatic landscapes, and everything in between. It's a great introduction for the armchair traveller, and a useful educational tool for kids.

For those of you unfamiliar with it, Fotopedia is a Wikipedia-like photographic guidebook for the world. Anyone can contribute photos, and the quality is consistently high. This is not the site's first app, either: they have a selection of photo tours on offer, but not all free. This National Parks guide costs three dollars, for example.

The Japan guide is a nice freebie, worth grabbing if you have any interest in photography, Japan, travel or education.

Rating: ★★★★½

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Published on November 21, 2011 19:05

Replace Your Boring iTunes Icon With Currently Playing Song's Album Art [How-To]

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If you liked that top earlier today about adding track information to your iTunes dock icon, here's another great tip from you: it's easy to replace the boring old iTunes icon in the dock with the album art for whatever track is playing. Here's how.

To use this trick, you're going to want to download DockArt, a free iTunes plugin that works in version 10.4 or above.

Once you've downloaded Dock Art, you're going to want to follow the following instructions from OS X Daily:

1. Unzip the DockArt2.zip file to a folder.

2. From the OS X Desktop, hit Command+Shift+G to bring up the "Go To Folder" window and enter the following directory path:

~/Library/iTunes/iTunes Plug-Ins/

3. Drag the 'DockArt.bundle' file into that folder

4. Relaunch iTunes and start playing a song

Once you do, you should see the album art replacing the iTunes icon for any playing song. If there's no cover art, the regular iTunes icon will pop up instead.

Want to play with DockArt's options? No problem. In iTunes, just go to View > Visualizer > Dock Art, make sure it is selected, then go there again and select Options. From there, you can change the way the cover art is displayed, tick off a badge notice for unplayed podcasts and more.

Fantastic stuff. Between this tip and our previous tip about displaying track information right over the iTunes icon, who needs any other app?

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Published on November 21, 2011 15:14

NVIDIA To Replace AMD As Graphics Chip Supplier For 2012 MacBook Pro [Rumor]

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After Apple finally converted its entire Mac lineup to AMD, SemiAccurate is reporting that Apple is switching back to NVIDIA as the graphics chip supplier for the upcoming MacBook Pro model in 2012.

While the report doesn't specifically say why Apple is planning its move back to NVIDIA, it looks as though the rumored MacBook Pro refresh for 2012 will include NVIDIA graphics and possibly the Intel Ivy Bridge processor.

Yes, your read that right, Nvidia has won the next round of Macs, likely starting with the Ivy Bridge models next spring. About three years after the decision to boot Nvidia out of the company was made, and two years after the first ATI/AMD Macs in recent memory hit the shelves, you will see Nvidia macs reappearing. I guess 'never' at Apple means single digit years.

SemiAccurate also explains the state of GPUs in laptops:

Of late, GPU attach rates are not dropping much overall, but there is a precipitous drop in the GPU attach rate for the smaller and thinner notebooks. To add pain to the numbers, each new CPU that comes out with integrated graphics cuts out more and more potential market share out of the low end GPUs. The upcoming AMD GPU line no longer has a low end ASIC, with Llano you get a mid-range GPU for free, and Ivy Bridge will raise Intel's GPU performance to roughly twice that of Sandy Bridge. GPUs in laptops have their days numbered.

While it's unclear as to if the next-generation MacBook will be labeled as a "Pro" or an "Air," the 15-inch device is expected to have significantly improved internals, regardless of who's making the silicon.

(via MacRumors)

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Published on November 21, 2011 13:13

This Amazing Superhydrophobic Spray Can Make Any iPhone Totally Waterproof Forever [Video]

Inside of every iPhone are a dozen little moisture indicators that turn pink the second your iPhone is exposed to excessive moisture. Apple uses them to tell when to deny you warranty service because you've accidentally dropped your device in the drink or left it out in the rain, but wouldn't it be better if Apple never had to worry about replacing a water damaged device again?

We could be a year away from just that, thanks to Never Wet, a superhydrophobic coating that does such a good job resisting moisture that devices literally can never get wet when slathered in the stuff. Don't believe us? Check out the video above, in which an iPhone 3G functions while submerged in water for over thirty minutes.

This does not appear to be a scam. The coating was developed by the minds over at Ross Nanotechnology, and not only does Never Wet make it possible to keep electronic devices water proof for over a year at a time, but it's also great for preventing ice damage, corrosion and making devices less prone to picking up harmful bacteria.

Just watch the video. There don't appear to be any camera tricks: all they did was spray every inch of the outside with Never Wet, then dumped it in a bowl of water with the stopwatch app going. 30 minutes later, the device was still perfectly functional.

According to Ross Nanotechnology, Never Wet's still at least a year away from being deployed commercially. It can't come to market soon enough, in my opinion. Just think: every iPhone's just a squirt and a couple years away from being totally waterproof.

Needless to say, Ross is making some bold claims, but we don't see anything that stands out as fake in this video, and it's got the guys over at Wired convinced. If you know otherwise, let us know!

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Published on November 21, 2011 12:49

Select A Fun Or Stuffy Font In The Notes App [iOS Tips]

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I've heard people complaining about the fonts in the iOS default Notes app for longer than I can remember. Most of the time people thought the default font was pretty cartoony and they wanted something a bit more professional.

I think Apple has finally offered up a solution for the font dilemma. The default font is no less cartoony or fun, but they now offer one font for business people and another I'll let you categorize. Pick your favorite — fun or stuffy. You decide.

If you aren't satisfied with the default font in the Notes app, you can launch the Settings app and then tap Notes. You will see a screen like this:

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You can select one of the three available fonts: Noteworthy, Helvetica, or Marker Felt. Just tap the one you want and the font will change in the Notes app for all existing notes and any new ones you create. Helvetica is a traditional font that will appeal to just about anyone, and it should definitely please the overly professional people in our lives. Noteworthy is more festive and fun, but Marker Felt is somewhere in between and rather tiny and hard to read if you need reading glasses.

Bonus: the last option at the bottom of the Notes setting screen allows you to select the Default Account to use for your notes. I recommend keeping them on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch or in iCloud. This should make syncing across devices a breeze.

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Published on November 21, 2011 12:13

Cult Of Mac's Guide To The Best Black Friday Deals For Apple Fans Nationwide [Updating]

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It's time once more to prepare for the onslaught of sales targeting Black Friday shoppers, those courageous souls able to lift themselves out of post Thanksgiving induced sleep to grab the most outrageous bargains. As a public service, we present a running account of Apple-related deals offered by retailers nationwide. We'll be updating it through the week, so if you know of any deals we've missed, please let us know in the comments or better yet, (sorry, you need Javascript to see this e-mail address)

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Published on November 21, 2011 11:52

Gnash Gnash! The Beano's On The App Store With Five Free Issues [Review]

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Iconic Brit kids comic The Beano has made its debut on the iOS App Store, with a hidden treat inside for kids: five free issues for the grabbing.

So if you're a fan of Dennis the Menace, Minnie the Minx and the Bash Street Kids, you'll be able to relive all your childhood reading-comics-under-the-sheets memories inside the comfort of your iPad.

The five free issues is a generous extra. Too many Newsstand publications offer very little, if anything at all, in the way of try-it-and-see content for people who may be considering a subscription. Five full issues is an excellent taster, though.

A nice Newsstand touch I spotted here that I've not seen elsewhere: during download, you're given the choice of downloading storage-hungry video files or streaming them later on.

Rating: ★★★★½

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Published on November 21, 2011 11:48

Google Updates iOS Search App With Google+ Style iPad UI And Many More Improvements

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Google's been redesigning many of its web services like Gmail and Reader lately to follow its new Google+ UI template, and now it appears its time for Google's apps to get the same new coat of paint. The newest version of Google's official Search app for iOS not only gets a new design for the iPad, but a fullscreen mode for iPhone and numerous other fixes and additions.

The iPad half of the universal binary is where the changes really shine. Not only does Google Search get a nice new UI with four grayscale icons as shortcuts for History, Applications, Voice Search and Googles, but there's a new side-by-side view that allows you to browse webpages and check search results simultaneously, as well as a fullscreen mode for images. Nice, especially given the addition of Google Instant results.

On the iPhone side, Google Search users get the full screen image mode, as well as a bunch of other fixes.

You know, I never use the Google Search app, so I always forget just how useful it is. What about you? Does Google's app have a place on your device, or is iOS's built-in Google functionality good enough?

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Published on November 21, 2011 11:45

AT&T Raised The Price Of The iPhone 3GS Price To Prevent Fraud

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Photo by Patrick Haney - http://flic.kr/p/9ekTdn

If you've wondered why AT&T recently increased the price of the iPhone 3GS from free to 99 cents, you weren't alone. One of the best explanations so far involves the minimal price reducing a growing amount of fraud.

Although Apple cut the iPhone 3GS price to free with AT&T contract when announcing the iPhone 4S, there was quite a bit of head-scratching over the carrier's pricing move, particularly due to the GSM-only handset eliminating an competitive reason for the carrier's pricing change. Although AT&T gave no clue to the reason behind the price switch, the carrier CEO Ralph de la Vega remained "confident consumers will agree that [the iPhone 3GS] remains one of the best deals for a leading smartphone."

Perhaps too good of a deal. AT&T had warned about possible shortages of the phone should it be offered completely free. Indeed, a plausible reason for the new 99-cent price could be to reduce such demand. However, the reader of one tech blog suggested AT&T wanted to ensure the free offer did not encourage fraud.

"I work at AT&T, this is being done to help prevent fraud as the 99 cents cannot be billed to your bill," claims a MacRumors reader identified only by the handle Metcury46l. "Fraudsters are using stolen identities to steal these handsets," the user explains, a problem that began when the handset was made free. By selling the iPhone 3GS, rather than giving it away, AT&T can require a credit card or debt card and an associated billing address. Mystery seemingly solved.