While there may be only 30 apps in the Pre's app store, the store is nearing 700,000 downloads. Were not sure if its going to outpace Apple's App Store, but we do know that when the SDK does come out, there may spike in the amount of downloads in Palm's App Store. As you can see in the above chart, it generally seems that a little less than 100,000 apps are downloaded each day. Not bad Palm, not bad...
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick says that if Sony does not drop the price of the PS3 and the PSP, Activision will drop Sony. Apparently, he had came to the conclusion that the number of games being sold will drop without a cut in prices. He also said that it was a lot cheaper to make games for Microsoft and Nintendo, and that Activision payed $500 million in royalties to Sony. With 23 million PS3's, its really hard to see Activision ignore Sony's consoles completely. Now only if Activision could realize how much they charge people for gaming peripherals that are a necessity for their games. (i.e. Guitar/DJ hero, Tony Hawk Ride)
Engadget writes: As the international date line swung around to the States and rain finally stopped in NY, a few hundred people lined up outside the Fifth Avenue Apple Store today for Apple's new iPhone, with the those The iLife guys up front descending into the store at 7AM to the sound of applause from the cheery horde of Apple Store employees. It was a far sight from the mayhem of previous launches -- the whole line was able to be contained in the elevated portion to the right of the store, no sidewalk necessary -- but it was still a fairly impressive turnout for a spec-bumped phone and a rainy night. Stand by for video from the launch, and be sure to send in your own launch impressions.
"Gotta love these umbrella and fine bloggers under them."
Well, iPhone fanatics and "The iLife" blog are waiting 24Hrs for the 7AM release of 3GS. Sounds crazy right? Well "The iLife", we from DiTechite congratulate you for being one of the first people to get the iPhone 3GS. As you wait in the rain in front of an Apple store in NYC, some will have to wait inpatiently for their Pre-orders. But you stand for all we want in an awesome Apple fan. Plus where is the fun in staying inside waiting for a package? Hope I was there with you. Good luck and once again congrats on being one of the first!
First off, I just want to say that the title can be a little deceiving because, it does matter, but just not as much as everyone thinks. It worth noting that we don’t see the Wii as a “gamer” console. While it has some games that appeal to gamers, its general appeal goes to the kid, adult, and elderly demographics which pretty much excludes the regular “gamer”.
The ancient and everlasting debate between the Sony Playstation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 is food for ignorant fanboys. Why does there have be hate when two company’s are selling generally the same item. A competition between two companies will always happen and is needed but for some reason, a 360 fanboy wants Sony to be crushed and quit. Vise versa for a Sony Fanboy.
Everyone who thinks/wants this is an idiot. If there is a competition, companies compete by giving you (the consumer) great things to bribe us against the other company. For 360, they have a reliable online experience and for PS3, online is free and it works. If one company fails, so do all the things that can potentially make the console better. Since there is competition, the company doesn’t have to waste money to make us happy; because where would we go? We’re gamers and fanboys, and they know that we will never stop gaming and future kids wont stop gaming, and the only way to game is to buy their console. If there a monopoly then the price will increase, online service fees will increase, and games and technology won’t be at its best because there isn’t going to be any competition to base an improvement on. Don’t believe your favorite company will do this to you? Your wrong! Microsoft is just not a console company but also a software company and possibly may focus all their attention to Windows if Sony fails with the PS3. If Microsoft fails, PS fans are out of luck. This is because Sony may potentially turn their attention to making TVs, DVD players, Blu-Rays, Cell phones, laptops, etc. because they would not have to worry about their console. If there is no competition then in turn, we lose. Not to mention the loss of thousands of jobs. Still don’t believe me then read a history book. A big example would be NASA vs. Russia in the “race to space”. In 10 years we launched a man to the moon and made great advancements in technology. We haven’t done anything near as great except destroying multiple rockets and kill brave men and women after Russia became a joke. We stop trying once we have no one to compete with.
Why does it even matter if one console is better than the other? Do we need to argue in countless and pointless articles? It’s not even comparable because the fact of the matter is it’s truly based on the individual preference. The PS3 is a multi-media connector that plays true Hi-Def movies and TV shows. The 360 is a way to connect with people all around in an easy online fashion. Both with great games and incredible features. Like comparing Apples and Oranges, it can’t be done. I’m not crying out for people to stop fighting and all I want is peace. I just want people to realize that arguing about another console is annoying. Everytime I go on a gaming site, I see “Microsoft to fail?” and “Sony’s last Hope?” I mean come-on really? Literally there are thousands of articles made by amateur writers (Like us) writing about their own opinions on how a multi-million and multi-billion dollar company works, since we own one right?
For young fanboys and fangirls, what do you accomplish by bashing each other. How many minds have you changed, really? Unfortunately, some of us, wiser ones should know why we should stop bashing, but if not keep reading. We will always show favoritism towards our favorite gaming machine and try to change other peoples mind towards our own views. Great minds and companies are “Thinking different.” – Apple.
And we need to change ourselves as well. Companies are suffering through a depression just like us (civilians); and bashing them is not going to help even if it makes you feel good. Because all your doing is proving what you are, in life we all need to bite our tongue, because if we keep bashing companies we will lose by them quitting. “Ignorance is shown by irrational arguments and statements.” –DiTechite
So in a nutshell, fanboyism is “okay” to an extent. Its good to cheer on favorite console, but don’t bash the competition with pointless articles and statements. This is because its annoying, and honestly not many people care. Plus, there will always be competition, and we should not try to shoot it down. Without competition, the gaming communities and probably the gaming market would not be as “golden” as it is now.
There was lots of anticipation of Apple's new mobile OS, iPhone OS 3.0. Lots of new features that were wanted "pre-3.0" were released. Copy/Cut/Paste, more landscape typing, Push notifications etc. Other things we did not expect: Spotlight, bluetooth, etc. also made it on to the update. In this article, we will give you the basic new features in the iPhone OS 3.0 and we will also say how/if they worked.
Spotlight
if you liked Spotlight on the Mac, you will like the one on iPhone OS 3.0. It works uber-fast, often searching as you type. With spotlight, you can find virtually anything: apps, music, videos, emails, notes, etc. Not only can you search, you can also tap the item you are looking for, and it will open the app, or the appropriate app for which the item belongs to (i.e. song-music).
There are some shortcuts and settings that go along with Spotlight. If you want quick and easy access to the Spotlight feature, you can have it automatically launch by double clicking the home button (you can change this setting in Settings > General > Home). Just as you have the ability to order search results in Spotlight on your Mac, Spotlight on your iPhone allows you to do the same type of order. Just navigate to Settings > General > Home > Search Results. From this screen, you can enable/disable certain search results and control the order in which the search results are shown. Video below...
Push Notifications
Unfortunately, I did not get to see proper notifications yet, even after hours of use. I have received tons of e-mails, and not one notification on my iPod. Plus, I did not get any Pushes on Aim or Tap Tap Revenge 2 (probably b/c I havent been playing much, though I did get asked if I wanted the notifications). I guess its just the fact that most of my apps are not able to do it yet. Its ok though, I dont really need it, but I'm sure some of you guys would really want it for some reasons.
Landscape
So far, Notes, Mail, Safari, Music, Contacts, and Stocks are the only standard apps with landscape functionality. Calendar, Clock Photo (browsing), Video, and Maps are the ones without "real;" landscape functionality.
Maps
Maps was mildly improved. A noticeable feature is when you set your start and end destinations, not only do you get regular directions, you also get directions for public transportation (departure/arrival times), walking (and walking distance/time), and driving (distance/time), or a combo of all three.
Bluetooth
On the iPhone, you already had bluetooth, but the update enables "Stereo Bluetooth", allowing you to wirelessly hook it up to select car kits, stereos, etc. The same goes for iPod touches. Unfortunately, iPod Touches (2 gen) will not be able to be paired with BT mics (as far as I know, me trying 3 BT mics). I was able to pair my iPod with my Mac and my Phone, but there was no notable functionality.
Hopefully we can get BT tethering (Cell Phones -> iPod) so we can get out iPods on the internet anywhere.
Internet Tethering
For iPhone users only, tethering will be enabled. Functionality will be based on your phone's carrier, and unfortunately for AT&T customers, you will not get to officially tether for quite a bit. I would check with your carrier before tethering because some fees may apply.
MMS
Finally, iPhone users have the ability to send MMS to others. Now, you can practically send pics, vids, etc. to others, in addition to sending regular texts. Again, AT&T users will have to wait...till summer.
Photos
Pictures on the iPhone have long been a hassle to share with friends and family via email. When you navigate to the new Photos application and attempt to share some of your favorite pictures, you will see several new sharing options. You can now select up to 5 pictures to send via email, MMS, or MobileMe; you can also copy even more pictures than that and paste them into your favorite application. You can delete multiple pictures just by selecting them.
Youtube App
It went over a major overhaul. Individual video pages include comments, description, rating (and the ability to rate), the ability to comment, and flag.
Find My iPhone/ Remote Wipe
If you lose your iPhone or it gets stolen, you can track it, or have the phone's data wiped out.
Shake to Shuffle
It works one you get used to it. Typically, you have to quickly shake and stop. I guess this is to avoid random shuffles. Plus, it only works when the phone is unlocked (unlocked meaning after "Slide to Unlock").
iTunes/App Store
The iTunes application now gives you even more purchasing options. You can now purchase and download videos, including whole television shows and movies. You also have full access to downloading sections from iTunes U and Audio books. The AppStore now allows you a better view of application screenshots, a section that lets you find out which applications need updating, and a place to redeem those ever-so-popular app promo codes.
Cut, Copy, and Paste
No matter how excited you were about the iPhone supporting push notifications, I bet nothing can top your excitement for the new cut, copy, and paste integration. Any application that has text boxes or text areas will now allow you to cut, copy, and paste text to and from those boxes. Even if the application wasn't specifically built for the iPhone 3.0 in mind, I found that most applications could take advantage of the new feature.
To select text for cutting or copying, just double tap in the text area. The blinking cursor will turn to two blue insertion point markers that you can drag to select the text you want to copy or paste. Optionally, you can hold down your finger on the text area and then let go -- a balloon will pop up asking if you want to select, select all, or paste. Tapping select will bring up the two blue insertion points and let you highlight the appropriate text; the select all option will highlight all of the text in the box, and the paste will paste any text from the clipboard into the text area.
When you are ready to paste your text into an application or text area, just single tap and hold for a few seconds, then let go. A balloon will display the paste option. Selecting this option will place the clipboard contents inside of the text area. To undo/redo your paste just shake the iPhone left and right -- a dialog will ask if you wish to undo or cancel.
Other Features:
-Better Parental Controls -Automatic WiFi logins -Voice Memos (iPods require mics) -Encrypt your iPhone and iPod Touch backups in iTunes
Check out the video above for an iPod Touch demo, since I don't have my hands on an iPhone.
It is available on iTunes as an update. iPhone users can get the update for free while iPod Touch users will have to shell $10 for it. Video and details in a little bit
You can contact the team on the DiTechite Email Address: DiTechite@aol.com
Kenny "Bol" - Creator/Editor in Chief/Managing Editor/SIte Designer Twitter
Joe "Dark" - Co-Founder of DiTechite/Site Design/Contributing Writer/Tutorialist/Editor
Calling All Writers! We need you!
Do you want to be part of the DiTechite team? Download the DiTechite Application, fill it out, then send it to the DiTechite Email Address: DiTechite@aol.com
The DiTechite Podcast
Click the arrow on the upper tab on the player to see the list of podcast episodes.
All contents copyright (C) 2009 , DiTechite.tk and Ditechite.blogspot.com All rights reserved.
DiTechite background, videos, and header pictures may not be copied or used without direct permission from Ditechite, unless we do not own the picture(s).
