In the Electronic Arts booth here at E3, nestled in among the raucous noises of various first-person shooters, is a completely white room with a few cell phones on tables. This is the EA Mobile space, and it was here that we got to play Spore Origins, the iPhone version of Will Wright's sure-to-be masterpiece.
Like the EA Mobile space, Spore Origins is pretty simple and clean, and stands out as a fairly calm experience among the racket of a lot of other iPhone games. Spore takes you through a civilization from ameoba to space travel, but Spore Origins sticks with just the ameoba stage. You play a creature of your own creation and float through the microbial ether, eating things that are smaller than you, and running away from things that are larger.
Read on for TUAW's impressions of one of the most anticipated iPhone games, and why it might not be all we had hoped.
If you are running the new 2.0 firmware on your iPhone or iPod touch, you might not have noticed a new handy shortcut in Safari.
When you type in your address, hold down the ".com" button to get a selection of 3 other domain name endings: ".net," ".edu," and ".org." When you tap on any of the endings, it will be automatically inserted in the address bar.
Want more iPhone/iPod touch tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's iPhone 101 section to learn more.
Over the weekend, the rumor mills went crazy with reports that Apple had bought a new domain name from their registrar (Mark Monitor). The domain name in question: me.com, which would agree with previous reports of Apple re-branding their .Mac service as "Mobile Me."
As we reported earlier it seems Apple is re-launching their .Mac service as an Exchange style service that might even be moving onto other mobile platforms as well as other OSes (including Windows).
As an additional reconfirmation of this rumor, the same tipster that told TUAW first about the .Mac refresh contacted us again to say that the rumors are in fact true. This is still solidly in the rumor category, but it is certainly shaping up to be an interesting WWDC.
"I installed [NewtSMS+ 1.10a beta] on my Newton MP 2100. I put the SIM card into my Nokia Card Phone. Plugged the card phone into my Newt. Let NewtSMS+ know the PIN of my SIM card, and was ready to go...For my money (exactly 35 euros / about 48 USD in this case), the Newton does a brilliant job."
He goes on to note that the Phone Card also works with his eMate and old Compaq laptop, plus the SIM card works with his Nokia 6310i. Nicely done!
Don't feel badly, I can't resist that green mermaid logo either. Since I like to check the mail and surf the web while I drink my usual, I make sure my Mac is secure while on the T-Mobile Hot Spot.
There's a great tip at Mac OS X Hints about locking down your Mac for that very situation. The process involves creating a new 802.1x configuration in Internet Connect, resulting in a secure TTLS setup. It's not too tricky, but will take some clicking around. Good luck, and take your caffeine with confidence.
Yesterday my co-blogger Dave Caolo was lamenting the fact that there's no easy way to get his iPhone and Google Calendar to sync (although purchasing Spanning Sync is certainly an option). While it is true that the iPhone's Calendar app only syncs with iCal on a Mac (or, via this trick, Entourage as well), I replied to Dave's woes with: who needs sync, anyway?
I am a happy iCal/iPhone/Google Calendar syncher, thanks to Spanning Sync, but I realize that one man's cup of tea is another man's grubby water. For those that would prefer to simply stick with Google Calendar for all their calendaring, the service actually scales incredibly well for an iPhone. This isn't an iPhone-specific UI or portal like so many other companies are launching. Rather, it seems to be their streamlined UI designed for most mobile phones. Either way, the list of upcoming events looks great, and all you need to do is visit the standard calendar.google.com on your iPhone to get redirected.
This is yet another moment where I wish I was cool enough to get Erica's iPhone screenshot utility working, because this is pretty impressive: visiting Amazon.com in MobileSafari on an iPhone will display a small alert at the top of the page, prompting you to visit their new beta iPhone portal. The customized site is pretty slick and offers a healthy array of navigation options. The top of the page has a search box, with side-scrolling image thumbnails of the top selling music albums just below. Next in line is a pull down menu of top selling products across what looks like the entirety of Amazon's category selections, including Baby, DVD, Electronics, Health, etc. Next is a big fat 'iPhone beta site feedback' button - a great idea if I do say so myself - and finally, a list of links for the basics such as signing into your account, viewing your shopping cart and the Help section.
For a beta site it's a nice first offering, but I am a bit more surprised by the fact that Amazon - the King Kong of online retail - has introduced a shopping and searching portal specifically for the iPhone. Could they have started a trend, inspiring other retailers to make it easier than ever for you to spend money with one of the most expensive gadgets you've ever bought? Only time will tell.
[Update: Thanks to commenters reminding me about iPhoney, I was able to snap an actual screenshot of the site on an iPhone.]
Netvibes is one of the largest players in the web2 portal game, allowing users to add all sorts of content and communication widgets to customizable pages, acting as a dashboard for your online realm. You can add widgets to watch RSS feeds, email from lots of services like Gmail and .Mac, weather, search engines, podcasts that can play in the page, calendars and a massive world of user-generated stuff that can extend Netvibes' portal in just about any direction you would want. For a while now, Netvibes has offered a mobile version of their portal at m.netvibes.com for regular phones, but now they have an iPhone-specific portal at m.nv1.netvibes.com (I know, I think they could've made it a prettier URL too). It offers complete access to all your tabs with that increasingly popular iPhone-like UI, and each tab lists the widgets it contains in a single column view, optimizing space and legibility. Even complex widgets like that Facebook widget the company recently introduced work fine, and the Twitter widget counts the characters I type in real time.
Since my NetNewsWire feed list now tops 330, I've been looking for an easier way to stay on top of a few of my favorite feeds in a simple UI when on the go with my iPhone. I still think the .Mac Reader is a good solution, but having all those feeds along with handy todo and social widgets in a slick UI is even cooler. This Netvibes iPhone page just landed near the top of my must-use mobile bookmarks.
German-based Nova Media landed on our radar last year with their iSync plugin that supports more phones than Mac OS X's default set. Not content with mere syncing, however, the company also makes an Address Book plugin, recently updated with more supported models, that allows phones from Nokia and Sony Ericsson to shake hands with Apple's contact manager for all sorts of phone call integration. Sending calls to voicemail, replying via an SMS, logging the call and even starting one are all possible from within Address Book. And while AB supports these operations with the default batch of iSync-supported phones, Nova Media's Address Book plugin enables these operations with a large set of Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones that Apple likely never will support.
Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be a demo available for download, but at roughly $8.50 USD (Euro 6,50), I bet it would be hard to go wrong. After all, I can say from personal experience that $8.50 would be a small price to pay for the satisfying ability of clicking a button in a Mac OS X dialog to send someone directly to voicemail.
Looks like we might finally have some reliable information regarding the specifics of the long rumored iPhone. MacRumors has posted a description provided by a "reliable MacRumors.com source" of the upcoming device as well as an artists rendition of what the phone might look like. Judge for yourselves, but this certainly strikes me as the first mock-up we've seen that I could really see Apple releasing. The sleek simple design closely follows the look of the 5G iPod line, and it makes sense Apple would take advantage of user familiarity with the interface and the recently announced iPod games. According to the source, the clickwheel will slide down to reveal a standard numeric keypad.
Alright boys and girls, WWDC is less than a week away, rumors are flying and now: so are the images. This 'iChat Mobile' device could exist only in Photoshop for all we and Engadget know, but the possibilities sound pretty delicious. If you let your imagination run wild for just a little bit, however, even that slogan can sound like something Apple would produce.
Could this somehow tie into iChat itself, fulfilling so many of those VoIP + Leopard rumors that have been flying around? Might this also offer a true iTMS experience, packing iPod-nano sized memory, sans a song cap? Time will only tell if WWDC reveals anything about one of Apple's worst kept secrets as of late.
Mark/Space, purveyors of the Missing Sync line of software which allows all kinds of non-iSync compatible devices shake hands with your Mac, has released Missing Sync for Windows Mobile version 2.5. This update includes support for a wide array of Windows Mobile 5 devices. This update also includes improvements to syncing with Address Book, iCal and Microsoft Entourage 2004.
I helped test out the alpha a couple of months ago, back when I temporarily lost my senses and *gulp* actually owned a Windows Mobile 5 device (the Cingular 8125, if you're interested). While I ditched the device because I couldn't stand the Windows Mobile OS (or: 'regained my senses'), I must say: the syncing worked well, and I would realistically recommend this app for anyone who wants or needs to make a Windows Mobile device work with their Mac.
Missing Sync for Windows Mobile 2.5 is a free upgrade for owners of version 2.0, and a $20 upgrade for owners of version 1.x. A fresh licenses costs $40.
As we gear up to launch a study on how long it takes patents like this to actually reach market (if ever), feast your eyes on the latest iPod-related patent that Macsimum News tracked down. Now it apparently isn't from Apple, but that doesn't stop what might be some sort of an iPod accessory from boasting capabilities like iChat AV-esque video chats, acting as a video server and *gasp* we think there's even a mobile phone-like keypad in this shot - make of that what you will. Check out the full patent if you're into that kind of stuff, but don't whip your credit cards out just yet - we still need to get moving on that aforementioned study.
Congrats to our friends at iLounge who recently launched iLounge Mobile. Are
they starting to cover cell phones you wonder? No, but if you lust for cell phone info go give Engadget Mobile a look (how's that for smooth internetwork promoting?).
Back to iLounge Mobile, which is a slimmed down version of iLounge for your mobile devices (perhaps your
iPhone?). Need to know about the latest iPod cases, or iPod lawsuits and you are on the Autobahn? No problem, put the
pedal to the metal and fire up the browser on your cell phone.
You've spent a
tremendous amount of time setting up your Mac rig, arranging everything just so, selecting the perfect desk, chair,
speaker system, mouse and so on. Why not show it off? To that end, we've created the TUAW Mac Rigs Flickr Pool. Upload your best shot of your rig at home,
you set up at school, your mobile solution or your tower of power. Every day, we'll select one shot to feature here on
TUAW as the Rig of the Day.
We may also select your photos to illustrate our posts,
providing full credit, of course - so be sure to include any links you'd like us to use in your Flickr profile. So
let's see those sweet rigs!
If you are running the new 2.0 firmware on your 
Over the weekend, the rumor mills went crazy with reports that Apple had bought a new domain name from their registrar (
Who needs an 
Don't feel badly, I can't resist that green mermaid logo either. Since I like to check the mail and surf the web while I drink 
This is yet another moment where I wish I was cool enough to get 
German-based Nova Media landed on our radar 
Looks like we might finally have some reliable information regarding the specifics of the long rumored iPhone. MacRumors has 
Congrats to our friends at iLounge who recently launched 
You've spent a
tremendous amount of time setting up your Mac rig, arranging everything just so, selecting the perfect desk, chair,
speaker system, mouse and so on. Why not show it off? To that end, we've created the 
