Author Archives: Dan
iTunes Match available now – no really it is! Still $39.99 per year
Ok so this time it’s for real… After yesterday’s shenanigans iTunes Match has gone live and is available to New Zealand as of right now. We’ve received confirmation from a number of users saying they have been succesful and have also confirmed it ourselves.
UPDATE: And now, to mitigate any concerns that this may be another mistake, we’ve had confirmation from Apple that the service is now officially available:…
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Posted in All, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Other News
FTW: Apple Releases Apple TV Software Version 4.4.4, Tweaks iOS 5.0.1 for iPhone 4S
Apple today released a software update for the second-generation Apple TV, bringing the set-top box to version 4.4.4. The update arrives as Build 9A406a, but it is not yet clear what improvements are included in the release.
Apple TV software 4.4.3 was released last month and added support for Netflix streaming in Mexico and an audio output issue when the connected television set is turned off.
Curiously, Apple also appears to have released a slightly tweaked version of iOS 5.0.1 for the iPhone 4S [Apple Releases Apple TV Software Version 4.4.4, Tweaks iOS 5.0.1 for iPhone 4S – Mac Rumors.…
Read MoreiTunes Match available now, maybe?? – $39.99 per year [updated: looking like a mistake]
As reported on a number of other international sites today iTunes Match (the service that makes your entire iTunes music library available in the cloud) has been coming on and offline for most of the day for countries outside the U.S.
We have just taken a look ourselves and it would appear that whilst it is accessible to New Zealand we may be having the same issues as well. It’s possible that it going live is just a mistake or it could be that the servers are getting hammered. Either way at the moment even though we get a confirmation email to say we have subscribed it is erroring and asking us to sign out and in again. Once you have done that and you go back to your account it does say that you have a subscription and it will expire in a years time, but as yet I cannot get to the iTunes Match tab to actually use the service.…
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Posted in All, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Other News
iOS 5.1 beta 2 seeded to devs… you can now delete photos from Photo Stream!
I am not sure I have been this excited about a beta in some time. Normally they come and go and eventually you get your GM release. But this one had me at hello.
iOS 5.1 beta 2 is available for developers now and with it comes the ability to delete/remove individual photos from iCloud’s Photo Stream, something that I, and many others, feel should have been there from day one.
The update is available for all the usual suspects, iPhone (4, 4S and 3GS), iPad (1 and 2), iPod touch (3rd and 4th gen) and also the Apple TV 2. Keep reading for more or head over to the developer site to download.…
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Posted in All, Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch
AppView: Align It!
A new game from the inventor of Blokka, comes Align It! A fun tile game for people of any age! Frustrating, addictive, difficult. Very simple rules. If you think you’re good at puzzle games then ‘Align It!’ is a must to prove you’re that hot.
This puzzle game is not only smart but very easy to understand.…
Read MoreNZiDev is underway
NZiDev got underway today and if last year is anything to go by this is going to be a great weekend for iOS developers. As we previously said unfortunately we are unable to make it this year however if you are there and want to share your weekend with us then make sure you add the #NZiDev tag to your tweets and why not leave a comment below on your experience at NZiDev.
You can also post a longer articles on particular subjects to our NZiDev forum post.…
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Posted in All, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Other News
FTW: iOS 5: Cable Releases for Photography
If you’re a photographer, then you know that a cable release is a tool to take a picture without touching your camera. Now, the iPhone can do this, too.
iOS 5 introduced many new features for photographers. Among these is the ability to use the Volume up button to take photos. As a result, the Volume up button on your headphones also works to take photos! It seems perfectly obvious that it should after the fact, but it’s not something most of us are likely to try.…
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Posted in FTW, iPhone, iPod touch
New Zealand Developers Showcased by Apple
We already knew that we had some great developers here in New Zealand and now, for AlphaSprite, Apple know it too.
You may remember back in September last year we took a look at CoachPad, an app for the iPad that allows you to sketch out and display formations and tactics all using your iPad in a simple and intuitive way. Well now that same app has been included in Apple’s latest iPad 2 television advert.
Airing in November 2011, it revolves around the emotive theme of ‘Love’ and how people engage with the iPad 2 on a daily basis. CoachPad appears at the beginning of the clip where a basketball coach shows a gameplay strategy to his team on an iPad 2.
Congrats AlphaSprite.…
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Posted in All, iPad, Other News
iOS 5.1 beta available to devs now
Apple have today released iOS 5.1 beta to the development community for testing. Along with it they have also released Xcode 4.3 beta which is required if you are wanting to develop and test your applications with iOS 5.1 devices.
According to reports there are a number of bug fixes and changes in this release including references to an iPad 3 and a new “geofencing” setting that apparently stops battery drain in the Reminders app when it’s not in use.
Head over to the developer site to download and see the full notes.
More info on 5.1 here: iOS 5.1 roundup: new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV references, minor tweaks…
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Posted in All, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch
NZiDev 2.0 coming to Auckland 3rd-4th Dec 2011
That’s right, NZiDev is back for another year [Last year was a massive success with over 100 iOS developers from all over New Zealand gathering to discuss everything iOS and we had the great pleasure of attending. Unfortunately this year we will not be able to make it, however keep reading to get the low-down on all you need to know about this years event.…
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Posted in All, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Other News
#4SonXT Launch parties how did they go? [video] [gallery]
As you may or may not have heard Telecom threw a couple of launch events last night to celebrate getting the iPhone 4S. Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch seemed to get the queues whilst Dunedin didn’t have much of anything. However in the other three centres a great time was had by all and, as far as we know, no one went home disappointed or empty-handed. Keep reading to see our launch party thoughts, video (nicely edited by Steve) and gallery of pictures.…
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Posted in All, iPhone, Other News, Telecom XT
iOS 5.0.1 goes live… promises to fix battery woes and more
This morning iOS 5.0.1 has gone live to the public and according to the release notes, among other things, will fix battery issues from iOS 5 and will improve voice recognition for dictation with an Australian accent. No doubt it will also seem a lot snappier, smoother and faster then any previously release of iOS as well… but don’t all new updates?? See below for full details of the update.…
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Posted in All, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch
Details for Telecom’s iPhone 4S launch parties [poll] [launch-pics]
With less than 24 hours to go we thought we’d make sure you know what is happening for the launch parties (yes, parties!) Telecom will be hosting at 12:01am and what happens if you are not in a “main centre”.
You’ll find a poll below to let us know your plans are and our live blog will kick off in earnest later on this evening. Click here for that. (moved all the pics over to flickr to save bandwidth)
Now, before anybody asks why we haven’t done a post like this for Vodafone, the reason is simple: Vodafone haven’t announced any launch details for us to give you. Telecom have been very up-front with prices, plans, launch times and registration processes with very little left in doubt and that’s a massively refreshing approach compared to the fiasco of last year’s iPhone 4 (un)launch from Vodafone. If we do hear anything from Big Red, we’ll let you know. Info on the Vodafone launch can be found here.…
Posted in All, iPhone, Telecom XT
Finally!! Telecom to get the iPhone 4S!
Finally after much will-they-won’t-they and then the whole website-links-coming-and-going thing, Telecom have finally stepped up and announced that they will indeed be offering the iPhone (all versions) and what’s more they will be launching the devices at 12:01am on 11th in the 4 major centres (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin). Keep reading for more info and the full press release… including plans.…
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Posted in All, iPhone, Telecom XT
iOS 5 available now…Go Go Go!!
Finally the day has come… iOS 5 is available for the general population to download. The update is available now via iTunes for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod touch 3rd and 4th gen, iPad, iPad 2, and Apple TV 2.
There’s a whole raft of new features (over 200 of them), too many for us to go through, but below is a list of the main ones (via Apple). We thought we’d leave it up to you guys to tell us what you think, what you’ve found, what you like and what you dislike. So hit the comments below and let us know what you think of the new features and what’s your favourite.…
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Posted in All, Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch
iTunes in the cloud now available from New Zealand store
Amongst other updates that are coming with iCloud, Apple has quietly updated the iTunes Store on iOS 5 to now allow for iTunes in the Cloud, meaning the music you purchase in iTunes appears automatically on all your devices and you can also download your past iTunes purchases.
It needs to be activated by going to “Settings >> Store” and then you will see that under Automatic downloads there is now a Music option. This will likely already be there once you download iOS 5 if you are not a dev and don’t currently have it. Once you have done that you will see purchases in the iTunes app and you will be able to download your pas purchases.
Unfortunately iTunes Match is still only available for U.S account holders. Image gallery after the break…
Hat tip to JarrodM for the heads up…
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Posted in All, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Other News
iCloud now open to all
A short while ago Apple removed the beta and developer tags from iCloud.com and the iCloud preferences in the latest version of OS X Lion (which is still only available for devs right now). iWork won’t work fully just yet as it requires an update to the iWork apps, which we assume will be available tomorrow along with iOS 5 and OS X Lion 10.7.2. Anyway, hit the link above to start your transition to iCloud, oh and you may want to read some of the FAQ’s first: MobileMe to iCloud Transition FAQ’s…
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Posted in All, Other News
