The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

ZGrip iPhone from Steve Weiss, Zacuto USA on Vimeo.

A few weeks ago, I shot a video of myself riding a bike around. The result was a bit jumpy, as you might imagine, so I used iMovie 8's stabilization feature to eliminate the shakiness. The result is nice and smooth, but also artifical looking. I assure you, I was not moving that slowly. If only there was a steady cam-like apparatus for the iPhone.

Check out the Zgrip iPhone PRO by Zacuto. The fully articulated arm holds the iPhone in place and several adjustable pivot points allow you to get interesting angles. We haven't played with one, but it sure looks pretty cool. Before you scoff, check out what some people have done with video on the 3GS. The Zgrip iPhone PRO is available now and costs $295US (a low-cost consumer version is forthcoming).

[Via Coudal Partners]

Last week, several readers were pointing out stories of white iPhones that had taken on a yellowish hue. It was assumed that heat was the issue. Keen to tempt fate, I played Star Defense [App Store link] for 30 minutes straight last night with my iPhone resting on my bed. It warmed up pretty good, but stayed white.

Earlier today, frenchiPhone.com reported that the issue is most likely the combination of a hot iPhone and a certain case, though they did not specify which one. Additionally, they state that cleaning the effected area with a cloth and some rubbing alcohol will remove the stain. We haven't tried this, so we can't confirm that it works/won't damage your phone.

Our best advice, based on the limited information we have, is to remove your white iPhone from its case if you're going to be doing someting intensive for a long time, like play StarDefense, run a GPS app, etc.

I probably don't have to tell you this, but just in case ... do not apply stain stick to your iPhone.

Apple's service options for iPhones have improved since 2007. Back then, long-term repairs meant traveling to an Apple Store and paying the $29US fee for a loaner. Later that month, Apple released the Apple Care Protection Plan for iPhone. Among other things, this plan extends technical support to two years from the date of iPhone purchase, and extends hardware coverage to two years from the same time period.

This week, Apple announced that a specific repair, screen replacement, can be performed at Apple Store Genius Bars while the customer waits. The service is free if your phone is under warranty, otherwise it will cost you $199. Yikes. Of course, "Under Warranty" refers to the date purchased as well as other factors like liquid damage* or jailbreaking.

Here's hoping you won't need this service (hold on tight or buy a case), and if you do, you aren't 200 miles from the nearest Apple Store like yours truly.

Speaking of repairs, we've seen iPhones and iPod touches survive some serious knocks, like a run-in with a pickup truck.

*Note that Apple will let iPhone owners swap their liquid-damaged iPhones for replacements, provided that it succumbed to an out-of-warranty encounter with liquid.This post was about screen repair specifically.

Ah, the loose lips on those 3rd party case manufacturers. This time we're seeing what looks like an iPod case with a hole cut out for... yes, a camera. Macrumors has a few juicy shots of both nano and touch-sized iPod cases with said holes. These match up with sketches reported by iLounge back in May and rumored by HardMac before then.

Personally I think it's brilliant and logical to add a camera to the nano and I doubt a touch with video would scuttle many iPhone sales. More importantly, the touch is likely to get the same "upgrade" treatment the 3GS did: oleophobic screen and speed boost. Adding a camera just turns the touch into what people wanted anyway: pretty much an all-in-one device.

Taking a holiday drive with the music blaring is a very American thing to do, but getting your iPod or iPhone to take part has often caused a world of confusion and crude jury-rigged solutions.

Apple has reported that 90% of all current cars are iPod/iPhone enabled, but I have never met anyone who bought one of those cars, so this short article will give you an overview of what's left for the rest of us.

There have been many ideas slung around on how to best integrate your car stereo with an iPod or iPhone. Some time ago we covered a 'complete solution to iPhone car integration. The solutions provided in the referenced iLounge article tells of many combinations of power adapters, FM transmitters, Bluetooth earpieces etc. But that's not the best way.

There is a much more elegant (if expensive) way of doing it, and I would like to scratch the surface on that topic.

Read more →

TG Daily (via Fortune) is reporting that Japanese market research company BCN's latest rankings of cellphone sales in Japan are showing that Apple's smartphone is the the current market leader in that country.

I did a quick check at BCN this afternoon while writing this post, and the iPhone 3GS 32GB is listed in first place in sales (see screenshot at right), with the iPhone 3GS 16GB in second place. The 3GS was just introduced in Japan on June 26th, and the sales figures are from the week of June 22 - 28. BCN's source of data includes point-of-sale information from many of Japan's largest electronics retailers, including Amazon Japan, Eiden, Bic Camera, K's Denki, and Best Denki.

Akky Akimoto at Asiajin is providing some perspective on the numbers. It's not unusual for a new phone to jump to the top of the list as it is released. As he notes, the Sony Network Walkman was #1 in the BCN ranking of music players at one time in 2005, but for the complete year, Apple iPod had a 60% share of the Japanese market.

Still, this is good news for Apple, and as Mr. Akimoto says, "Becoming No. 1 even for a week is better than never being No. 1..."

Last week, Mike S. and the gang hosted a lively discussion of the week's news, including the merits of MobileMe and the possibilities of Find My iPhone. You can download the show, along with all past shows, from Talkshoe or subscribe in iTunes.

We're live again tonight with a roundup of the holiday week. It's been kinda quiet, but we should find a topic or two to discuss -- like the just-announced Mac version of the purplera1n jailbreaking utility for the iPhone 3GS. Join us, won't you?

To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, or you can try out the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 10 pm Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VOIP lines (take advantange of your free cellphone weekend minutes if you like): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *-8. Talk with you then!

Update: As noted in the call tonight, next week is our big 100th show (give or take a show, depending on exactly how you count) and we're looking forward to celebrating with all of you. Got suggestions for how we should commemorate the occasion? 100 favorite iPhone apps, or 100 moments in Apple history? Give us your input in the comments, and thanks for sticking with us for 100 episodes.

Recording support for the talkcast is provided by Call Recorder from ecamm networks.

Shooting photographs of fireworks can be a real challenge. The good shots happen quickly, cameras don't always get the focus right, and there is a lot of movement that can make for blurry pictures. The iPhone is not the best camera in the world for demanding photo jobs -- that's true for all cell phone cams, with the possible exception of digital cameras that happen to include phones as a bonus feature.

Nevertheless, we asked our readers around the U.S. to send us their fireworks images, and that they did. Actually, the iPhone acquitted itself pretty well, both with still images and in movies done with the new 3G (plus one movie done with a jailbroken 2G and Cycorder).

Look below for a gallery of some of my favorite stills. Many were sent anonymously, so we can't always credit the photographer. Some were uploaded directly from their phones to MobileMe and YouTube.

Thanks to all who participated and made our 4th of July sparking and colorful. Visit this link to see the full collection of entries, check out comments in our request for pictures article yesterday for more YouTube links, and view the gallery below for our selection of some great images from around the country.

If you have an older iPhone or the newer 3GS, we'd love to see how you do shooting your local fireworks displays tonight. We'll put our favorites into a gallery and publish them tomorrow.

We know the iPhone isn't a Nikon or a Canon, but it still amazes us how good the images can be. The new 3GS phone has a bit more megapixel firepower and you may get better focus, but all cameras are welcome. If you have one of the newer iPhones, short videos are also in order. Please let us know where you took the images, and if there were any special techniques you used to make your photos stand out. If you tart your pix up with any apps or filters, let us know what you did.

Have at it. Email your pix or videos to tuaw_fireworks@drop.io, tag them "tuawfireworks" on Flickr or upload them here to share them with our readers worldwide. And happy, snappy, 4th of July!

For pro photographers who care about color fidelity on a laptop screen, there's good news from Rob Galbraith on the revamped MacBook Pro line: the new laptops offer improved color performance, which Rob's review describes as "better colour accuracy than any Apple laptop we've profiled since...2001." Color accuracy, display evenness and grayscale viewing are all noted as excellent; the only sore spots are viewing angle and the grating lack of matte screen options for anything but the 17" top model. He notes that TechRestore may begin offering matte-screen replacements for the smaller units soon, for those who can't tolerate the glossy glare.

Not everyone is satisfied with the MBP screens, however. Designer Louie Mantia of the Iconfactory has a bone to pick with the screen quality of his new 13" unit; it's sporting a 6-bit display, which has been an issue with color-sensitive professionals for years now. To add insult to injury, the Apple store sold Louie the wrong DisplayPort adapter for his external display, and nobody at Apple HQ is willing to give him an answer on whether or not an 8-bit panel is even an option (hint: it's not, sorry about that). One could argue, as he does, that a 'Pro' machine ought to have a professional-quality panel... but that campaign's not likely to get much traction in the halls of Cupertino.

Via Apple Hot News