Appletell

We all love the iPhone as we love Google Reader. Now there’s one more reason to love using both, as Google just launched a spanking new Reader made specifically for the iPhone. The new version of the iPhone Google Reader mimics the same feel as you were using the desktop version. Google Reader users who are familiar with the list view when browsing their RSS subscription on their desktop via the Google Reader would be glad to know that the iPhone version sports the same functionality. It’s as simple as tapping the Reader links to expand and read the entire items, right on your iPhone’s display screen.

In addition to this, users could also use the other features of the regular desktop Google Reader. They can star, share and keep unread items without leaving the list view. The Reader page refreshes automatically whenever any of these three actions are performed.  That takes care of the Google Reader’s speed and ease of use on the iPhone.

What was not mentioned though was whether the Reader for the iPhone will be synchronized with the Google Reader desktop. We might as well try it out to find out for ourselves whether marking an item via the iPhone Google Reader would reflect the said mark on its desktop counterpart.

The Google Reader for the iPhone is available at this link - http://www.google.com/reader/i.

Via [The Official Google Reader Blog]

Apple has now opened up its iPhone and iPod Touch developer program to areas outside of the United States.  Why does this matter?  Now, developers outside of the States can create official, Apple accepted apps that can be published in the App Store that is to come out with the new iPhone software in June.  All of this news comes from a TUAW reader who says he has been accepted into the program but lives in the UK.

This is great news not only for the developers who will now be able to create apps, but also for everyone who owns an iPod Touch or iPhone.  This creates a potential for hundreds of more apps created by the large population of Apple developers outside of the States.  I’ve said it before, the SDK announcement is going to be huge, and I have a feeling the App Store is going to be filled with hundreds of goodies to waste some time trying out and using.  The usefulness of the iPhone will skyrocket with third party apps, and I can’t wait.  Are you excited?

Twitter is an amazing social network - there’s no doubt about it. Most Twitter users find themselves addicted to the thing, and therefore need ways of catching up with friends’ updates, and even posting their own on-the-go. Thanks to the iPhone’s sophisticated Safari web browser, iPhone-specific web apps using Twitter’s API can be created. In my opinion, Dean Robinson‘s Hahlo is the best iPhone Twitter web app out there.

Hahlo 3, the highly anticipated version of Hahlo, has just been released to the public and is no longer in beta testing. All users who visit Hahlo.com on their iPhone or iPod Touch will be able to notice the new features and design immediately. In addition to the newly designed user interface, Hahlo 3 has full search capabilities through Summize.

Via [TUAW]

According to the latest iPhone firmware release, Apple is currently working on an iTunes controller for your iPhone called, you guessed it, iControl.  This application would allow you to wirelessly browse your iTunes library from a local source and stream your music and other content.  This information came from a group of strings in the latest beta release of the new iPhone software and could be one of the apps Apple will be releasing themselves when the SDK comes out.  If you’ll remember, back in July, Apple applied for a patent for this sort of thing.  That patent stated:

A portable multimedia player (such as the iPod. manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.) is used to wirelessly access and control a media server (such as a personal computer running iTunes software) that is streaming digital media by way of a wireless interface to a media unit (such as a stereo/speakers in the case of streaming digital audio).

This all sounds pretty cool to me and would be another great addition to the phone.  However, it leaves me wondering whether or not, like above, other iPods will get the same functionality.  It may be kind of hard at this point considering all iPods (besides the Touch) have yet to receive some sort of wifi connectivity.  Could this be a sneak peak of things to come?

Via [TUAW]

As you know, the new iPhone SDK beta 4 has recently come out, but there is something interesting about this one.  Originally, developers believed that the iPhone would not allow background processes, such as receiving instant messages from one application while in a different one.  A reason for this could possibly be the drain it could cause on the battery, or simply Apple just wanting to keep the device stable.  However, the new SDK beta now supports the UIApplication delegate class which, according to TUAW:

“There are definitely some very interesting methods added to UIApplication’s delegate, including methods for badging the Springboard icon, and methods related to gaining and resigning “active” status - seems like background apps may be permitted somehow.”

So is this concrete proof of background processes, or is this whole idea just blown out of proportion to begin with?  I’ll let you be the judge, but I, for one, sure hope that Apple will allow apps to run in the background.

A few days ago, Apple quietly release the fourth installment of its iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK), and it is available on the Apple Developer Center site. 

The most publicized and prominent change in the newest SDK version are certain changes to the iPhone simulator.  Previously, a developer would be unable to render 3D graphics in the iPhone simulator, and would be forced to test out those changes on the iPhone or iPod touch.  The Simulator now supports OpenGL ES, allowing the previously mentioned rendering to happen within the iPhone simulator, right on your computer.  Another prominent addition to the SDK is code signing, so though invalidated code will work in the iPhone Simulator, it would be worthless on the iPhone. 

Other less significant changes in the SDK include a slimmed down program, while still maintaining the full capabilities of the last version.  Xcode 3.1 has been included, along with UIFont, UIApplication, Audio ToolBox, and more NSXMLParser support.  With 200,000 subscribed developers and counting, you can be sure to expect a good handful of great new apps available when the App Store opens its doors in June

Via [MacNN]

It seems Adobe took Apple’s latest Aperture 2.1 release as a challenge with the release of Lightroom 2 beta. We’re not quite sure when the full version will be released, but the beta version expires on August 31 this year. But, Adobe definitely took a swing at Apple, read for yourself:

“One thing we can say, however, is that we plan to continue with a more aggressive release schedule than we’ve seen from Apple, which took over two years between release of Aperture 1.0 and 2.0.”

The new beta also offers local corrections via the Develop module, which is in direct competition with Aperture 2.1’s new plug-in editing tool. It shows how much Adobe is gunning for Apple. Many worried Adobe would limit Lightroom functionality so Photoshop would still be the number one program, but I believe Lightroom and Photoshop both serve different functions. Lightroom is geared towards organizing photos for professionals, or a standalone app for beginners. The pros will always be using Photoshop, but Lightroom serves a much better process than Bridge.

If you are a licensed user of Lightroom, you can check out the Lightroom 2 Beta and use it until August 31. Adobe seems to be aiming for Apple, so it brings up the question; Will Apple ever create a Photoshop competitor?

Lightroom 2 Beta [Adobe] Read [Ars Technica]

Apple has released the second beta of their iPhone SDK. Registered iPhone developers will have received an e-mail and can download the latest version from the iPhone SDK website. The latest beta build has an improved Interface Builder, with now drag-and-drop integration of graphical components which can be linked to Objective-C code created in Xcode. Beta 2 is a large 1.3GB download from Apple’s iPhone developer website. If you’re not already a registered developer, you can sign up in less than a minute with your Apple ID. Apple’s iPhone SDK uses the interface and language used by Apple itself, plus the iPhone-exclusive Cocoa Touch, an API designed to make it easy to add touchscreen input.

Via [MacNN]

Parallels, the makers of the most popular virtualization software for Mac, have just announced Parallels Server Beta 2 available for public download, due to positive results from the private beta testing beforehand. Parallels Server enables efficient and easy-to-use server virtualization. They managed to bring virtualization to the consumer world, their server alternative looks promising too. One of the biggest concerns with server virtualization is the fact that a lot of resources are used, Parallels have done a good job on trying to reduce the amount of resources used by their software. It also offers virtual support for four-way symmetric multi-processing, which allows users to assign up to four virtual cores to a virtual machine; providing enhanced performance under heavy workloads. Parallels Server beta 2 is available for download from their website.

Via [MacNN]

Safari has received its fair share of complaints from Mac users, and now Windows users. Even though Apple claims it to be “the world’s fastest browser”, its speed could be better. That doesn’t stop me from using Safari, though. I’m not sure why, but on the Mac, I can’t get into Firefox - it just doesn’t feel right. Safari starts up much faster, and it looks and feels like a native Mac OS X app should. Safari’s compatibility has also developed; although still not as much so as Firefox, it’s a lot better than it used to be.

It’s great to hear that Safari 3.1 will be receiving a large speed boost. Seth Weintraub, a writer for Computerworld’s Apple blog, has been testing the latest beta build of WebKit – and says that performance typically peaks at 2.5 times that of Safari, even in its currently unoptimized state. This is good news for Safari users out there, and might even get some Firefox/Camino switchers back to Safari. The performance boost does sacrifice CPU usage, but only by 1 or 2 percent. Safari 3.1 will most likely be a part of Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.2.

Via [MacNN]