Author Archives: Steve
App review: Time to Call by Vonage
You’d be forgiven for thinking that most of the innovation to be done in VOIP apps had already been done, but US-based Vonage has other ideas. A few days ago Vonage announced their new Time to Call app and to be completely honest I ignored the press release as my understanding of Vonage was that they were a US company providing services to US customers only. That’s not so with this app, which is a truly innovative VOIP solution that can be used in New Zealand and is a god-send in both terms of convenience and cost-of-use when travelling not just overseas but even within NZ.…
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Posted in All, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch
The MobileMe-to-iCloud transition is now open for developers (Updated)
Several sites including 9to5Mac and MacRumors are reporting that a transition tool for developers is now available allowing MobileMe accounts to be converted to iCloud. Until now, developers have had to use a separate account to try out iCloud. The tool is apparently available now at me.com/move however I’ve not been able to confirm this as I have no current MobileMe account to test it with. Remember, this is for developers only so don’t go trying to use this tool unless you’re a paid-up member of Apple’s iOS developer program.
Update: You will also want to install Lion 10.7.2 beta and iCloud beta 6 before doing this otherwise you may get errors on your Mac when accessing your MobileMe account via email, calendars and contacts.…
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Posted in All, Other News
iOS 5 beta 5 now available with slightly messy OTA option
Apple has release beta 5 of iOS 5 to developers this morning which can be applied as either a full build or an OTA delta update. The OTA update for beta 4 was incredibly convenient, but it’s a different story for beta 5 as in order to begin the update you’ll need to head into the Settings menu and erase and reset all of the content on your device. Icky! There’s also a new iTunes 10.5 beta to go with it. Have fun!
(Thanks, Blair!)…
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Posted in All, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch
Skype for iPad goes live (UPDATED: back again)
Wow… busy day! Skype for iPad has gone live in the last few minutes, giving those of you with an iPad 2 a shiny new app to get to grips with. We’ve not tried it yet, but why don’t you give it a go (iTunes link) and let us know what you think in the comments? Thanks to Paul for the heads-up who is totally on the ball today. You saw it here first, folks!
UPDATE: ….And it’s gone again. Skype tweeted earlier to say that it was release prematurely. D’oh!
UPDATE 2: It has now officially been released and is available in the app store here
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Read MoreNo aliases or ability to add additional mail account into iCloud mail?
Unless this is just a beta thing, there is no ability to add either aliases to your free @me.com email address under iCloud or add an additional POP mail account. In MobileMe, users could add aliases (additional @me.com addresses that all share the same inbox) and also add another account via POP3 (e.g. mail from your old ISP account). In the above screenshot of the preferences panel from iCloud mail, there was a ‘+’ button in MobileMe where the red square has been drawn.
You can see a screenshot of the MobileMe counterpart with the additional ‘+’ after the break. It’s possible that since this is a free service Apple have decided to cut out some of the whistles and bells, or it could just be that this is to be added at a later date. After all, this panel is kind of pointless unless you can actually add other accounts or aliases. What do you think?…
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Posted in All, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Other News
Apple TV update adds Vimeo support
An Apple TV update is available this morning (iOS 4.3) that adds Vimeo support. The same update also adds the ability to buy and stream TV show episodes, but this feature is only available in the US. Still not got an Apple TV? The Apple Store NZ have refurbs for $145 again: get one. Enjoy!…
Read MoreApple triples the length of song previews on NZ iTunes store
Apple has rolled out ninety-second song previews on the iTunes Store here in New Zealand, along with several other territories including Australia, Canada and the UK. This triples the amount of a song you can listen to before buying and makes it far easier to get a feel for the complete track. Thirty seconds was never really enough and previews would often cut off just before the chorus, leaving you in doubt as to whether you actually like it or not. The change is live now and affects both iTunes for Mac / PC as well as the iTunes app on iOS devices. It follows the same change being made to the US iTunes store in December of last year.…
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Posted in All, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch
From the forums: How to stop a thief turning off ‘Find my iPhone’
Today, we’re launching a new regular feature on the site: From the forums. Why? Because you guys are smart and awesome, and some of the things you discuss in the forums are front-page worthy. So every now and again, when a post catches our eye, we’re going to link to it from the front page. We’ll turn the comments off on the post, but if you’re registered with the site (and why wouldn’t you be?) you can carry on commenting within the actual forum post itself.
The first ‘From the forums’ post is a tip from reader AndrewNZ who has realised that there is a way to actually stop a thief from disabling Find my iPhone (or iPad or iPod touch). It’s incredibly simple but, I’m guessing like many of you, it never occurred to me before. Click here for the thread to check out the tip and be sure to join in the discussion. While you’re there, if you’ve never explored our forums before, this is the perfectly opportunity to acquaint yourself. Enjoy!…
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Posted in All, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch
iPhone 5 rumours: Why we haven’t posted about any… yet
By now you’re probably starting to notice a distinct lack of posts about the iPhone 5 (if that’s what it will even be called) and you’re probably starting to wonder why that is. Are we getting lazy? Are we not interested? Are we failing to keep up with developments? I’m glad to say that it’s none of those things. Keep reading to find out why we’re keeping mum on speculation over the next iPhone.…
Read MoreOfficial Facebook for iPad app is ‘hidden’ inside iPhone app
Yup, you read that right. We’ve been waiting since the launch of the first iPad for an official Facebook app but it appears that there’s been one sitting right under our noses in hidden code right within the iPhone app. The secret app was discovered by TechCrunch and looks fantastic in the screenshots.
There are some simple instructions right here to enable the iPad app without jailbreaking, but just like almost everybody in the comments I have been unable to get it to work. It’s very likely that Facebook are now blocking access via the (modified) app but hopefully Zuckerburg & Co will shortly realise that the cat’s out of the bag and just give everybody what they want. If not… you could always start a Facebook group!…
Read MoreKiwi app quick look: Gaptionary
Now here’s a blast from the past: an app version of a good old classic ‘party’ game. High technology meets retro low-tech fun. You’ll have played this a dozen times already (perhaps at school). You know: the game where you’re asked to choose a noun or a name or a verb and your choices are inserted into a story. It’s right up there with with taking it in turns to draw sections of a picture on a piece of folded paper, only to reveal a hideous man-robot-fish-thing at the end of it all. But is it as fun as it was back then? …
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Posted in All, iPhone, iPod touch, Reviews
Mac OS X Lion still caged
It had widely been rumoured that the iOS-inspired Mac OS X Lion would launch today (14/07 in the US), but now several blogs including MacRumors are backtracking a little and claiming we won’t be seeing it this week after all, pointing to the fact that Apple have only just called for developers to submit their Lion-compatible apps to the Mac App Store. Added to this, we note that the Mac App Store’s weekly refresh of header images and featured apps has gone ahead today without any sign of Lion. All we know for certain is that it will be out in July, but the wait is excruciating! We’ll keep refreshing and let you know as soon as it drops.…
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Posted in All, Other News
iOS 5 beta 3 released to developers
Apple have just begun seeding the third beta of iOS 5 to developers along with updated betas of iTunes and XCode. Unfortunately there’s no OTA update as previously hoped but we’ll keep you posted if we find any new goodies. You can do the same in the comments.
UPDATE: You can finally add your own custom text tones. 9to5mac has the full change log here.
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Posted in iPad, iPhone, iPod touch
iOS 5 puts a newsreader in your pocket
One of the lesser-discussed but frankly downright amazing additions to iOS 5 is the addition of a new ‘speak selection’ option which will literally read out any selected text in an incredibly life-like newsreader-style voice. From a cheap-thrills perspective, this is a great novelty addition that will provide a few giggles (yes, it will read out swear words, too), from a more sober point of view it can work as a great convenience tool (by reading your emails for you as walk to work), and from a perspective that the lucky majority of us will never need to consider, this will be an absolute life-line for the visually impaired.…
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Posted in All, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch
iPad + Parrot A.R Drone used to explore earthquake-ruined Catholic Cathedral
It’s a pretty amazing sign of the times when Opus engineers working on Christchurch’s quake-stricken Catholic Cathedral are able to buy an off-the-shelf iPad coupled with a $500 accessory from Dick Smith to carry out work that, in the past, would have required a massive investment in specialised equipment. An iPad, coupled with a Parrot A.R Drone has been used to fly inside and capture video footage of the interior of the Cathedral which is too dangerous for the engineers to enter themselves. Check out the footage over at the 3News website.
Thanks nz_Ark for spotting this one over in the forums…
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Posted in All, iPad, Other News
iPhone 4 now available unlocked in the US
For as long as this website has been around, we’ve been fielding emails from readers asking whether an iPhone bought in the US will work here in New Zealand, and the answer has always been ‘no’ as, unlike here in New Zealand, the iPhone has always been locked to AT&T in the USA… until now. Apple are now selling the iPhone 4 unlocked in the USA via the Apple Store retail outlets and online store, meaning it can be purchased and used on any compatible network anywhere in the world. But how much are they and how can you get your hands on one? Keep reading for the details.…
Read MoreHow to save upto 25% off OS X Lion
If you’ve got a Mac and you’re planning on buying OS X Lion when it comes out, there’s a quick and easy way to save upto 25% off that purchase. Lion will be sold via the Mac App Store which is actually the same account (and therefore the same funds) as your iTunes account. To save, all you need to do is take advantage of any sales or special offers on iTunes gift cards between now and the launch of Lion. The biggest discount we’ve seen is 25% which is just what Harvey Norman happen to have off this very weekend – they are selling two $20 cards for $30. Lion will sell in NZ for $38.99 which is already a steal for a whole new OS, but with a further 25% it’s daylight robbery so get into it.…
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Posted in All, Other News
