Jibbigo has just release their bilingual translation app for the iPhone and iPod touch with the capability of translating a user’s speech directly into another spoken phrase.
Users record one sentence of English or Spanish at a time, which the app then translates into a synthesized counterpart. A vocabulary of 40,000 words is included, generally skewed towards travelers and doctors.
Unusual in the software is the requirement of an iPhone 3GS for full functionality. Two-way translation is supported, but only on the 3GS. Older iPhones and the second-gen Touch are limited to unidirectional translation, and also said to operate more slowly. The app costs $25, and requires iPhone 3.0 firmware.
According to Techcrunch and TUAW the new Tap Tap Revenge 3 game for the iPhone and iPod touch should be live by now, but still doesnt seem to be.
The new app brings with it plenty of gameplay enhancements, but the biggest change here is support for in-app song purchases. This means you’ll be able to choose from a roster of premium songs created by well known artists and buy the ones you like — giving users more choice than ever, and giving Tapulous a lucrative new source of revenue.
Tapulous CEO Bart Decrem says that the company has sold over 500,000 premium apps at $5 each, so obviously they weren’t exactly struggling. Now they’re be able to sell track packs through a single application.
Up until now the basic Tap Tap Revenge games have been completely free with Tapulous only selling premium games for specific artists. However, with the release of the iPhone 3.0 firmware in which now allows in-app purchasing, this now means that Tap Tap Revenge 3 costs $0.99 in the USA iTunes store.
Here’s a sampling of the tracks available:
BLINK 182 – “Adam’s Song” / “All the Small Things” / “Dammit” / “First Date” / “The Rock Show” / “What’s My Age Again”
FALL OUT BOY – “Thanks for the Memories” / “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” / “Dance, Dance” / “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race” / “I Don’t Care” / “American Suitehearts”
FOO FIGHTERS – “The Pretender” / “Wheel” / “My Hero” / “Best of You” / “Monkey Wrench” / “All My Life”
THE KILLERS – “Mr. Brightside” / “Sweet Talk” / “Human” / “When We Were Young” / “All These Things That I’ve Done” / “Read My Mind”
Apple has created at least three separate prototypes of its tablet computer. Let’s call it “iPad.”
Version 1 was designed with a 7” screen, which was judged to be too small. The latest version has a 10.7” screen.
It runs iPhone OS.
There have been reports that it looks like an iPhone. They’re sort of true. It looks like an iPhone 3G, complete with a curved back.
It will come in two different variations: one with 3G networking capabilities, and one without 3G networking capabilities. Think of the 3G version as a bigscreen iPhone 3GS, and the non-3G version as a bigscreen iPod touch.
Screen resolutions will obviously jump considerably from the iPhone and iPod touch 480×320-pixel displays, enabling easy reading of full-sized book and magazine pages, plus cropped newspaper pages. Expect something like 5-6 times the resolution of an iPod touch or iPhone screen (720p or thereabouts) and 7 times the touchable surface area.
It is designed to expand the iPhone and iPod touch media concept to its next potential level: as a slate-like replacement for books and magazines, plus all of the media, gaming, app, and web functionality of the iPhone and iPod touch.
It is not meant to compete with netbooks. It’s an iPhone OS media player and light communication device.
Apple is currently planning to announce it on or before January 19, 2010, and to use an iPhone-like hype buildup period to start selling it in May or June.
It is apparently awaiting a final green light from Steve Jobs; chances of it appearing in the market are believed to be 80% at this point.
Here at Crenk we were lucky enough to get our hands on the Luna Voyager from XtremeMac.The Luna Voyager is a compact, full-featured alarm clock and personal audio system for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Features include:
Wake to iPhone, iPod or buzzer
Compact design perfect for home or travel
Easy-to-read display with brightness control
Set clock automatically from iPhone
AC power with battery backup for alarm
Line-in jack for connecting iPod shuffle and other devices
Charges iPhone/iPod while docked
Custom speakers ideal for personal listening
Im a really big fan of the design of the Luna Voyager however for my personal needs im not too sure where an iPhone specific alarm clock fits into it. I already have a very basic alarm clock right next to my bed and it seems as though the alarm clock can pretty much do exactly the same things as the iPhone itself. The key difference is that the Luna Voyager has much better speakers and it is great for someone who travels a lot, apart from that another key difference is that the Luna Voyager is $79.95 from the Apple store, when I could potentially just get an iPhone app that does the same thing for $0.99 via the app store.
Apple’s has more news for us, and they are going to make it official this Wednesday, September 9 at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. So, what’s going to be? New versions for iPod Touch with cameras included (maybe including iPod nano) and new features for iTunes.
There are a lot of rumors, which unfortunately are only that, just rumors. Marco Arment made a few guesses around all those and here’s a quick review about what he said:
New iPod touch version with the following features: camera, double the storage capacities, and new pricing: 8 GB for u$s149, 16 GB for u$s199, 32 GB for u$s249, 64 GB for u$s349.
New iPod nano version with camera. But they will offer only one model: 8gb for u$s99
iPod classic out of the market.
New pricing for the iPod shuffle: u$s59.
You want more? iTunes will include new social network features; and this event will possibly have a special guest: Steve Jobs.
Yes, I didn’t mention anything about the Apple Tablet. Seems that there’s not going to be any announce around that, and they could possibly wait until next year to say something official about it.
A previously rejected iPhone title offering emulated play of Commodore 64 titles has been approved after the developer made changes to align it with Apple’s SDK. It allows the iPhone to act as a system that was what was once Apple’s staunch competitor.
According to a report by TouchArcade, Manomio’s $4.99 C64 title was rejected in June despite having lined up all the proper licensing rights.
The iTunes app store is reportedly worth $2.5 billion and this is bringing more and more developers to the platform. If your a develop the first thing you do is sit down and sketch out your idea.
Introducing the iPhone Design Template Sketchbook:
The iPhone is the most recognisable smart phone in the world. Its popularity meant that it was the first phone that really was built for apps. There are now literally thousands of companies churning out hundreds of thousands of apps for both the iPhone and the iPod Touch. Many people have hundreds of apps on their iPhone for every task imaginable such as splitting up the cost of a bill, getting your horoscope or booking flights. But organising them can be an issue which can result in you messing up your app pages.
Now, a new program called ‘Movement’ has been released for Mac computers which allows you to sync all of your apps with your computer and rearrange them on a big screen with easy to use tools. Then, just transfer the info back to your iPhone and all of your apps will be just how you like them such as in alphabetical order, popularity or in different sections depending on what they’re for.
I think this is a cool piece of kit for anyone with an iPhone or an iPod Touch. There is a catch for users however, their device must be jail broken to allow the sync to take place.
Twitter is one of the hottest startups at the moment and we thought that we would put together the top 10 Twitter iphone applications. Some of these applications are paid apps but we have also added some great free ones also. Of course there are some of the most popular apps missing, but we thought we would promote some fresh and interesting apps.
Tweetie ($2.99)
Everything in one app, including multiple accounts, favorites, deleting, following, trends, location, re-tweets, photos and more. Notably, Tweetie is also blazing fast. The interface is lacking in visual-flair, leaving it feeling a little empty, though. Still, it’s robust, quick and all the features to tweet on the go are present and correct.
Tweetsville ($3.99)
Although there’s no location-based functionality or multiple accounts, everything else is present and correct, from retweeting to trends, and search to favorites. The overall presentation is polished yet refined, with a simple box-style list layout or the option to change this to a Tweetie/iChat style bubble design. For four bucks though, Tweetsville has either got to step up to the plate with some new features or back down and drop that price a little.
iTweets ($0.99)
With its iPhone SMS-influenced design, iTweets is an ultra-simple solution, perhaps most appropriate for the infrequent tweeter (with few friends). There’s no photo-support, no trends, no search: just one stream of tweets. Put simply, there are better apps than this available for free. And the app icon is, frankly, a vile blemish on the vibrant and youthful face of my lovely iPhone.
Twittelator Pro ($4.99)
As the name suggest, this is the Pro version of Twittelator (a free app). The app is painfully rich in features, unfortunately to its detriment: it feels cluttered and confusing. The app may be rich in functionality (there’s even a help button, perfect for those Jack Bauer emergency situations), but it’s poor in accessibility and, ultimately, a disappointment.
Twitterrific Premium ($9.99)
The premium version features an alternative theme and is ad-free. The adverts in the free version, though, are unobtrusive and serve as handy bookmarks when scrolling through unwieldy streams (which helps as scrolling is very jerky). Light on features, the appealing, functional interface design and super-cute tweeting sound are plus points. Certainly not worth ten bucks, especially compared to the competition.
Twinkle (free)
From the guys behind Tap Tap Revenge, comes a gorgeous looking Twitter app. It was the first one I used for iPhone but I eventually abandoned it due to various unsolved issues with the obligatory Tapulous ID. Like Twitterific, it’s light on features but has bags of character and also includes an impressive tweet-stream from nearby strangers.
TwitterFon (free)
The focus in this app is on basic features delivered in a speedy, stable package. There are only four screens in the app: a stream of tweets from the folks you follow; replies to you; direct messages; and search (including location-based search). TwitterFon feels a little bare but for purist tweeters, it’s the perfect little package.
NatsuLion (free)
An iPhone version of a functional and compact desktop Twitter-client, NatsuLion is robust and smooth with a simple feature-set for light tweeters. Like TwitterFon, there are four main screens, although instead of search, NatsuLion incorporates a somewhat useless unread tweets page.
Twittervision (free)
Twittervision incorporates an almost useless but nevertheless impressive world map feature: watch people tweet live across a map of the planet. Strange, hypnotic and downright fun. This app is the weird guy at the party who insists on showing you his magic trick — a little odd at first but ultimately amusing and impressive.
Gyazickr (free)
Perfect for iPhone tweeple with a penchant for amateur photography, this app is focused purely on posting pics. With its curious name, Gyazickr allows users to take a photo using the iPhone camera or pick one from the camera roll. Plus, there’s a funky little slideshow that displays other images recently posted to Twitter.
Tweetdeck is one of the most popular twitter iphone applications in the market at the moment, and their iPhone version is simply amazing. You can even tell the popularity of this application from the comments left on this article. Create groups, search Twitter, manage multiple accounts and easily post your tweets or share photos, link and much more. Plus sync your existing TweetDeck columns between your desktop and iPhone. Nice and easy.
There are quickly becoming more and more companies entering the Application development space. Some examples are Tapulous and GClue. Today Gclue have announced a new iphone application that is the next musical instrument to hit the app store, the iHarp. The iHarp is of course a harp for the iphone and ipod touch. This new application has a clean UI and various functions such as an octave and half range or half tones controls.
iHarp allows users to record and play your music. There are also built-in songs so that if you dont know how to play a harp, you can learn.
Main functions:
12 tones from Fa(F) to Do(C) and half tones
Sparkle effect (Playing each string will generate a sparkle)
Switch tones (2 ways)
Record and play (unlimited file size)
Skin selection (select your favorite theme)
Background selection (select pictures from your Photo gallery)
The Wall Street Journal reports that Dell has been developing a Mobile Internet Device (MID) based on Google’s Android operating system. The device is reportedly slightly larger than Apple’s iPod touch, with which Dell’s offering would presumably compete in many respects should it eventually be released.
Another person who was briefed on the company’s plans said Dell may begin selling the device later this year, though this person said the plan could be delayed or scrapped entirely.
The development effort is one of the first experiments by a big-name PC maker in a nascent category of products known as mobile Internet devices, or MIDs,which are designed to fill a perceived gap between mobile phones and laptop computers.
Dell is expected to use ARM processors for the new device, the same platform that powers the iPhone and iPod touch. Back in 2003, Dell introduced its “Dell DJ” music players to compete with the iPod, but the line was discontinued by the end of 2006.
Groucho Marx was an American comedian and film star born in 1890. Despite his devotion to the stage one of his most famous quotes was “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read!” Well, he was right up until dBelement decided to release the ‘Reader’ for the iPhone.
This app allows you to read books ranging from new releases to some of the all time classics such as Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. DBelement say “Discover new books, re-read some of the classics, and enjoy the convenience of having Reader’s Public Library at your fingertips”. Reader has a one touch page turning option allowing easy usability and a good, simple interface that allows you to browse through your titles and download more to add to your digital literary collection.
It also has an arsenal of helpful features such as a search facility so you can find that book you always wanted and digital bookmarks so you can stop reading and come back to it another time. DBelement have described their latest app as a “revolutionary application” that “will inspire a new generation of readers”. They may be slightly exaggerating with the whole new ‘generation of readers’ thing, but at least I guess now you can red inside a dog with that powerful iPhone backlight.