I love having widgets of all kinds on my iMac -- even things like the Ski Report (I live in Florida), ESPN (it's not football season), and Flight Tracker (I rarely fly). I even have similar ones (though Apple calls them webapps) on my iPod Touch. Since I've exhausted all the webapps for the touch that I'm interested in, I was glad to hear Widgetbox announced a gallery of widgets just for iPhone and the iPod touch users. Check it out via any browser, or right from your iPhone.
Now, most widgets are Flash-based, but these aren't and therefore don't use Apple's SDK, but they're cool and work well nevertheless. Among my favorites are the Yahoo! News RSS feeds, Random Quote Generator, and the Flickr slideshow.
While there's not a ton of widgets available just yet, there are around 32,000 developers in the Widgetbox community so I suspect the gallery will be populated pretty quickly. There's even a short video tutorial on how to make the iPhone widgets, in case you're curious -- or motivated.
Multiple sources are repeating Stuff.tv's report that Apple is planning to bring the Nike+ system to the iPhone and iPod touch. Nike+ is of course a special kit, originally made for iPod nano, that will record the distance and length of a walk or run -- you stick the little sensor in your shoe, and it works as a timer and pedometer to record personal workout stats.
Stuff also reports that in addition to bringing along the sensor system, the new Nike+ system may also be able to take advantage of the iPhone's and touch's wifi by sending stats from the sensor directly to Nike's online database,where a new "Coach" system will help you schedule runs and activities.
Sounds pretty amazing. Of course, this is only the beginning of the kind of "life management" software that we'll see coming out of the SDK. Stuff suggests that your iPhone will help you know when go to out and for how long, but of course we know that by the time June comes around it'll be able to do a lot more than that.
We did catch this during our liveblog of the SDK talk on Thursday, but just in case you hadn't seen them yet, it seems both the iTunes WiFi store and the calculator will be getting new icons in the iPhone's 2.0 patch. Of course, the App Store will apparently have its own icon as well, and we would assume, at this point, that each app will be able to take its own place on the home screen.
But while the Calculator icon change is kind of a strange one (does this mean the Calc buttons will also be square?), the iTunes change definitely makes sense. That will be the place to download music, while the App Store will be the place to download everything else.
I've been a happy user of Typepad of nigh on 4.5 years now, and I was quite tickled when Six Apart released their iPhone/iPod touch web app. Now only a few months later, and iPhone/iPod touch Typepaders can now check their blog's stats right on their iPhone by visiting i.typepad.com.
I tried it with my very own blog, and it works well. It loads quickly over EDGE, and is easy to navigate with one finger.
But the news doesn't stop there. The good folks at Six Apart also mention that they are hard at work with the iPhone SDK to produce a native iPhone app for Typepad blogging. I used a previous Windows Mobile native client from Typepad, and it worked well so I can only imagine what they will be able to do on the iPhone.
You can check out all the mobile features of Typepad, and sign up to get notified about the iPhone app, here.
After a brief downtime, the US Apple Store came back online this morning with updated, larger-capacity iPhone and iPod touch models. Our colleagues at Engadget called this update about five hours before it hit the street.
The iPhone is now available with 8GB (at $399US) or 16GB (at $499US) of storage.The iPod touch is now available in three models; 8GB ($299US), 16GB($399US) and 32GB($499US). Note that the 16GB iPhone and the 32GB iPod touch are both $499, while there's a one hundred dollar difference between the 16GB iPhone and the 16GB iPod model.
I guess your hundred bucks either buys you a phone or double the storage space. The choice is yours.
[Nik notes from across the pond: the 16 GB iPhone is available in the UK for £329, and the 32GB iPod touch is also £329 (inc VAT).] Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
Engadget found this slick little gem over the weekend for your jailbroken iPhone. It's a virtual guitar (a lot like Jam Sessions if you've ever played that, actually -- reaffirming my thought that the iPhone is the best handheld gaming device ever made), where you can put your fingers over the strings at the top, and then strum on the bottom to play notes and chords. Not only can you play your own songs, but you can even play along with any stored music you have on your iPhone, too. And every song, I tell you, can be improved by throwing in another guitar solo.
Pocketguitar for the iPhone and iPod touch is available on the ModMyiFone.com Community Sources packing in Installer under Toys. Load it up and strum away.
iPhone hacker eok writes to let me know that he and Samuel have gotten SIP registration and signalization working. They took a few mobile terminal shots, but the real work is being done via ssh. Samuel is working on connecting the audio in/out to the pjSIP. If you have iPhone or iPod touch coding skills and want to get involved in the project, connect to #touchmods on irc.undernet.org. It looks like most of the work will be done on European time.
Oh, and if anyone is giving away free iPods to worthy developers? eok recommends that Samuel gets one first. He writes that Samuel has been the driving force behind the compilation.
iCal integration for tracking the warranty status of the Mac you own
"iTunes Version" compatibility information to iPod models
Plus, data has been added for the MacBook (13-inch Late 2007), iPod classic, iPod touch and more (you'll find the full release notes here). The best part is that iphone.mactracker.ca has been created for use with the iPod Touch and iPhone. Now, all the information you'll need lives online, just a click away.
Mactracker requires Mac OS 10.3.9 or later (desktop version) and is freeware.
If your honey already bought himself or herself an iPhone or iPod touch, you can still brighten the holidays with these sweet little stocking stuffers. Here are a few inexpensive accessories for your iPhone-owning special someone.
As many, many readers noted, a new iPod touch ad appeared on TV over the weekend, and Apple has now posted it on their site. There's a long story behind this one that I hadn't heard yet, it would seem that the ad is a product of TBWA/Chiat/Day, just like most of Apple's ads, but the idea actually came from an 18-year-old English guy named Nick Haley. Nick created the ad (his original cut is above) back in September as a homage to Apple's new iPod, and it looks like someone in Cupertino noticed (or at least someone on Madison Avenue).
This might be old news to most of you, but I hadn't heard it and it's a good story. Apple has a reputation for getting their advertising from other sources, and it's nice to see them acknowledge an ad that came from someone who really loves their products.
Special thanks to reader running for figuring this one out for us: the song used in the ad is actually the same one used in this super weird Zune ad from last year. Even when Apple is completely upfront about the origin of their ad, they can't seem to keep from colliding with competitors in the same space.
Update: Calling it the iTouch was completely accidental, and I apologize. You guys are right-- it's the iPod touch, and I'm sorry for mistaking it. I guess the word was sitting in my brain and just wanted to come out.
BusinessWeek's Cliff Edwards recently reviewed the iPod Touch. While he gave it four-and-a-half out of five stars, he also made the same mistake that's plaguing many technophiles with regard to this device: Forgetting it's an iPod.
It's an easy mistake to make. The iPod Touch is handicapped by its resemblance to the iPhone and the fact that it was released during the iPhone media blitz. As a result, people expect it to operate just like its twin. When it doesn't, they're disappointed. For example, Mr. Edwards writes:
"The Touch...lacks the iPhone's e-mail application, as well as its microphone, camera, and Bluetooth connection...widgets for gathering stock quotes, weather forecasts, and other information."
That's not an oversight, it's an example of Apple keeping the iPod true to its primary function as a digital music player. It's tempting - but unfair - to compare the iPod Touch to the iPhone. When the iPod Touch is compared point-by-point to its older siblings, it's clear what an advancement it is. Imagine the iPod Touch in a world without iPhones. People would be tripping over themselves to buy one.
"But the iPod Touch has Safari and YouTube," you say. I'd argue that Safari was only added as a concession to public Wi-Fi hotspots that require a login, and YouTube followed as a "Why not?" feature.
Later in the article, Mr. Edwards laments the Touch's lack of a "...slower cellular data connection" as a fall back for data transfer, as well as the fact that it can't download videos from the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store. The latter isn't unique to the iPod Touch, and the former goes back to my original point: It's an iPod, not a phone.
Finally, he says that the Touch "...will appeal to a smaller audience than the Classic or Nano because of its limitations and inflated price tag."
That's true, the nano has typically been the best-selling model. While the Touch is the priciest iPod, it's hardly limited.
Copy off Springboard, patch it, put it back onto your device and reboot. It's what I'm running on my iPhone and touch right now and it works beautifully.
Of course, once you have all that space available to work with, what are you going to do with it? I put together a TUAW webpage launcher using the OpenURL kit I posted about a few weeks ago. Now I just tap to launch TUAW.
If you'd like to download your own TUAW launcher, you can grab a copy from the Samples folder in my OpenURL kit. You'll also find instructions there for creating your own website launchers.
Over at website "Jon's Thoughts on Everything", you can find a web-based equivalent of OpenURL. I actually found it harder to use. For me, it involved more work than just adding an icon and editing two lines of text but you might enjoy using it.
Apple has produced 33 different kinds of iPods (if one counts the various capacities in each type as a unique iPod) and sometimes it can be hard to tell which iPod is which. That's why I thought it would be useful to, once again, point out this Apple Knowledge Base article which gives you tips on how to tell which iPod you have.
You'll never confuse your first gen shuffle for an iPod Classic again!
Wanna set your iPod touch free and install tons of wacky apps on it but don't want to muck around with the Terminal? Now you don't have to with the debut of two new apps that will jailbreak your iPod Touch from the comfort of your Intel Mac or Windows machines (yes, there are iPod touch users running Windows).
iJailBreak is an AppleScript app that takes all the fuss out of jailbreaking. At the moment it only works on Intel Macs, so our PPC friends are out of luck. Oh, and I should mention it was apparently written by two 13 year olds, which I normally wouldn't point out but it is featured prominently on their website.
touchFree is a Windows app that'll do the same thing, only on Windows (shocking, I know).
Both apps are free, though I imagine both will void your iPod touch's warranty, so run 'em at your own risk. I don't have an iPod touch myself so I haven't tried either. If you have had experiences with either sound off in the comments.
I run my personal site using WordPress, and one reason I like using it so much is that (although this is hardly exclusive to WordPress as a content manager) is all the great plugins available for it. On another site I ran under WordPress, I loved using the WP-Print plugin-- it automatically creates a "printable" version of each page on your site. All of the printer compatibility, none of the actual work.
And now, someone's cooked up an iPhone version of that same plugin, where you simply install the WP plugin on your blog (for WordPress 2.2.1), and instantly you can see all your posts formatted specifically for the iPhone. Instead of creating a whole other, "mobile" version of your site, you can simply put in this plugin, and you can get a link that will reformat your content for the iPhone or iPod touch. Very excellent.
If you run a WordPress blog or site and were thinking about creating a version of it for the iPhone or iPod touch, your work is done. Download the iWPhone plugin from Content.Robot, install it, and you're set.
My name is Lisa and I'm a widget junkie. 
I've been a happy user of Typepad of nigh on 4.5 years now, and I was quite tickled when Six Apart 
After a brief downtime, the US Apple Store came back online this morning with updated, larger-capacity iPhone and iPod touch models. Our colleagues at Engadget 
As 
If your honey already bought himself or herself an 
BusinessWeek's Cliff Edwards 
Wanna set your iPod touch free and install tons of wacky apps on it but don't want to muck around with the Terminal? Now you don't have to with the debut of two new apps that will jailbreak your iPod Touch from the comfort of your Intel Mac or Windows machines (yes, there are iPod touch users running Windows).
I run my personal site using 
