jueves, 23 de agosto de 2012

iPad By Davis: “Monster Coloring Book for iPhone and iPad review” plus 19 more

iPad By Davis: “Monster Coloring Book for iPhone and iPad review” plus 19 more


Monster Coloring Book for iPhone and iPad review

Posted: 23 Aug 2012 12:28 AM PDT

If there's one thing that all kids love to do, it's to color. They also love cute monsters. Put the two together -- and you get Monster Coloring Book! This iPhone and iPad app will allow your kids to color and paint without the mess or risk of markers making contact with your carpet or one of the other many disastrous things that can happen to your home when your child decides to express his artistic side.

Monster Coloring Book includes 175 different monsters to color, giving your child a plethora of options to choose from. They are separated into 7 different categories: starters, swimmers, sleepers, creatures, flyers, grab bag, and hairies.

Once a monster is chosen, you can select between nine different brushes and a wide selection of colors. For the younger kids who haven't mastered the skill of coloring inside the lines, they can use a paint bucket that automatically fills in the regions with the selected color. In addition to colors, Monster Coloring Book allows you to select between many different patterns. These patterns work nicely for clothing or the background or whatever your kid may decide! Lastly, a coloring book isn't complete without stickers, so Monster Coloring Book also includes stickers of hats, speech bubbles, balloons, glasses, hair, monsters, and more.

To use a sticker, you must activate it. When you first select the sticker, it will be automatically activated, but if you place it, you must hold your finger down on it to re-activate. When activated, you can adjust its size and rotation by pinching to zoom and rotate.

While coloring your monster, you can tap the magnifying glass to zoom into the picture. Intuitively, you may want to use two fingers to scroll around the picture when zoomed-in. Unfortunately, this doesn't work. Instead, you must tap the arrow buttons to scroll. I do understand why this may be favorable for small children because they might accidentally scroll with multitouch, but there are plenty of children who love to color that are old enough to understand the concept of multitouch. At the very least, there should be a setting that let's you decide what kind of scrolling will be best.

When you're done coloring your photo, you can save it to the in-app gallery where you can print your masterpiece, share it via email, turn it into a puzzle with the Monster Puzzles app, or export to your Camera Roll.

The good

  • 175 different monsters
  • Wide selection of brushes, colors, patterns, and stickers
  • Fun, classical music
  • Ability to activate a Child Lock to disable promotional messaging, sharing, and printing
  • Universal for iPhone and iPad

The bad

  • No undo button
  • Have to scroll with a button -- no multitouch scrolling
  • No sharing to Facebook or Twitter

The conclusion

Monster Coloring Book is a great iPhone and iPad coloring book for kids. Well, I keep saying it's for kids, but as an adult, even I find it enjoyable and relaxing!

$2.99 - Download Now




Apple removes highly criticized Genius ads from its website and YouTube channel

Posted: 22 Aug 2012 11:29 PM PDT

Apple removes highly criticized Genius ads from its website and YouTube channelApple has removed the set of three Genius ads from its website and YouTube channel with no explanation; they have just vanished. The three ads were originally aired during the Olympic Games London 2012 opening ceremony and received a very mixed reception. The ads were quite different to anything Apple had done in the past and mixed strange situations with a bit of humor.

The three ads were called Basically, Labor Day and May Day. Basically showed an Apple Genius laughing at not-Macs (Windows) and showing the customer all the add-on value of using a Mac. Labor Day showed an expectant Father knocking on the Genius's door at 4am; asking for assistance with a birth announcement card even as he should be calling the hospital. Finally, May Day was set on a plane with the Genius coming to the aid of a customer who has forgotten his anniversary and asks for help making an iMovie.

The ads received some severe criticism as they did tend to make Apple's customers appear a little simplistic and clueless when it comes to using Apple products. Of course the other argument was that the ads were aimed at attracting new customers to Apple products, customers who weren't aware of what exactly a Mac could do. Either way, the ads have now been completely removed from YouTube and Apple's own marketing webpage. After we heard the other day that the Genius Bar receives over 50,000 visits a day, maybe Apple doesn't need to advertise its services; as its customers seem well aware of what it offers.

What did you think of the ads? Are you sad to see them go or did you think they were ill advised?

Source: MacRumors




Forums: Transfer files without iTunes, Google Voice app suggestions, iPad 3 or wait?

Posted: 22 Aug 2012 09:41 PM PDT

From the iMore Forums

Found an interesting article you want to share with iMore? Have a burning question about that feature you just can't figure out? There is ALWAYS more happening just a click away in the forums. You can always head over and join in the conversation, search for answers, or lend your expertise to other members of our community. You check out some of the threads below:

If you're not already a member of the iMore Forums, register now!




Take your notes to the next level with Drafts 2.0 for iPhone and Drafts for iPad

Posted: 22 Aug 2012 09:04 PM PDT

Take your notes to the next level with Drafts 2.0 for iPhone and Drafts for iPad

Drafts, by Agile Tortoise is all about getting down your thoughts and ideas quickly and efficiently -- and it's now available on the iPad (as a separate purchase) with the ability to sync content between your iPhone and iPad based on the Simperium platform. The iPhone version has also gone 2.0 and features a fresh new look.

Every time you launch Drafts, you are immediately presented with a blank canvas to fill with your thoughts and ideas. Getting your text down quickly is the priority in Drafts, but it also offers extensive output options that let you send text to Twitter, Facebook, email, SMS, a Calendar event, quickly save it to Dropbox or Evernote – or forward it to a growing list of other Apps such as OmniFocus, Things, The Hit List, Byword, Sparrow and more.

Some of the other new features include the ability to swipe down on the toolbar to see your draft full screen for reading, add links for phone numbers, addresses, and web links, and support for more apps including Phraseology, Writing Kit, Threadnote, Appigo Todo.

So who's excited about Drafts 2.0 and the release of Drafts for iPad? Out of curiosity, what type of content do you add to Drafts? Topics to write about? Jokes? Reminders? Clever status updates for Facebook? Let us know in the comments below!

$1.99 for iPhone - Download Now

$2.99 for iPad - Download Now




Drafts iPhone app gets update and iPad version

Posted: 22 Aug 2012 08:00 PM PDT

Drafts iPhone app gets update and iPad version Software developer Agile Tortoise has updated its note-taking app for the iPhone and created a separate, iPad-only version at the same time.


How to fix login problems with the iMore Forums app

Posted: 22 Aug 2012 08:03 PM PDT

How to fix login problems with the iMore Forums app

Yesterday we launched the highly anticipated iMore Forums app, and while we've gotten tons of great feedback on it, we've also had a few users who experienced problems logging in. We immediately deployed the crack forum commandos and code curing ninjas to look into it, and the good news is, we've got it licked.

Don't ask me to explain why, because when the tech team starts talking about deep Drupal and VBulletin integration, my eyes roll back into my head and I start going through the early stages of a Scannersplosion, but it looks like a few users aren't properly synched between the two systems. That's what's causing the problem. Luckily, there's an easy way to fix it:

Head on over to your iMore user page and change your password. That should force the forums to re-synch and fix all your login issues. Apologies for the inconvenience, but it's quick, painless, and hey, a good excuse to make sure you're using a nice strong password!

Give it a try, and let me know how it works for you!




Griffin Binder Insert Case for iPad review

Posted: 22 Aug 2012 02:43 PM PDT

The Griffin Binder Insert Case for iPad is a brilliant idea. I'm actually shocked I haven't seen more of these! It seems like the prefect accessory for those headed back to school.

The basic idea for the Griffin Binder Insert Case is this -- take an iPad case, press three standard spaced holes along one side, and make it perfectly fit a school or work binder. I love it. There's even a built-in pen holder which you can use for a regular pen to take your paper notes, a stylus to take your iPad notes, or even better, a hybrid stylus pen that lets you do both all in one.

The Griffin Binder Insert Case makes it easy to get your iPad 2 or new iPad in or out. It's also bi-directional, with the same cutouts on both sides, so it doesn't matter which way you put it in. It has a soft, plush suede-like interior to protect your iPad's back, and a really nice looking stitched black faux-leather exterior so it works well not just for school, but in business and executive settings as well.

The construction on the Griffin Binder Insert Case is really solid, even the stitching. It's not real leather, but that cuts down on the price and makes it more environmentally friendly if that's a concern. In my tests it held up to all the binder-thowing, desk tossing, and (not locker) door slamming I could come up with. Depending on how thick your binder is, and how many notes you have in it, the paper even works as extra protection.

And stealth! What better way to hide an iPad than in the plain site of your workbook?

The good

  • Good looking and durable
  • Easy to use
  • Convenient

The bad

  • Not real leather
  • Won't appeal to non-binder users (of course!)

The conclusion

If you or anyone you know has an iPad and uses binders, be it for school or for work, the Griffin Binder Insert Case is an excellent buy. It lets you keep your digital workbook and traditional workbook -- your iPad and papers -- in once convenient place, with room for your stylus, or pen, or stylus pen as well!

$24.99 - Buy now




How To Stop Your iPad Data Plan from Auto-renewing

Posted: 22 Aug 2012 02:27 PM PDT

iPad Cellular Data Account login

iPad cellular data plans – whether they're 3G or the latest 4G and LTE – are set to auto-renew once you have set them up. You should receive regular email notices reminding you that your plan has been renewed each month.

One question I've seen a number of iPad users ask recently is how to stop the data plan from auto-renewing. It's easy to do and can be done on the iPad with no need to call your cellular carrier. Here's how:

– Open the Settings app and tap on Cellular Data in the left sidebar

– Tap on View Account on the Cellular Data screen

(...)
Read the rest of How To Stop Your iPad Data Plan from Auto-renewing (182 words)


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iMore Weekly Photo Contest winner: Shadows!

Posted: 22 Aug 2012 01:37 PM PDT

Shadows by LaPs

If there's one thing iMore loves even more than iPhones and iPads, it's giving cool iPhone and iPad accessories and apps to our awesome readers. This week we have...

Weekly Photo Contest: Shadows!
LaPs

Congratulations LaPs! You'll be contacted during the week with information on claiming your prize. This week's photo challenge is Silhouettes. If you'd like more information and to enter, you can head over to the forums at the link below.

Enter iMore's Weekly Photo Contest: Silhouettes




How to increase the privacy of iMessage previews and alerts on your iPhone and iPad

Posted: 22 Aug 2012 01:27 PM PDT

How to customize iMessage previews and alerts on your iPhone and iPad

By default, iMessage and SMS messages will show previews and alerts on the Lock screen and Home screen of your iPhone, and iMessage previews and alerts on your iPad and iPhone. If you'd rather keep your messages -- be they big business dealings or super secret sextings, we don't judge! -- away from prying eyes, and give yourself some privacy, it's easy to do.

How to turn off iMessage and SMS previews on your iPhone and iPad

By default iOS will show a short preview of your iMessage (or SMS) on both the Lock screen and Home screen. If you'd rather have your notification only show the sender's name, however, you can easily adjust the settings of the Messages app to do so.

  1. Launch the Settings app from your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad Home screen.
  2. iPhone general settings
  3. Tap Notifications and then Messages.
  4. iPhone notification center main
  5. Scroll down to Show Preview.
  6. Toggle the option to Off if you don't want iMessage or SMS previews. That will make sure only the sender's name will show in the notifications.
  7. iPhone turn off iMessage previews

How to turn off message alerts on your iPhone and iPad

If you'd like to additional privacy when it comes to iMessage and SMS, or just want to conserve battery life by minimizing the amounts of alerts you get, the Messages app also allows you to customize the kind of alerts you receive and how often for both iPhone and iPad.

  1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
  2. iPad general settings
  3. Tap Notifications and then Messages.
  4. Under the Alert Style section you can change the type of notification alerts you receive. For maximum privacy you can completely disable alerts by selecting None.
  5. iPad edit messages alert style

Changes will affect both iMessages and regular SMS messages. Even though you turned off the alert notification, unless you disable sound separately, a tone will still play, however, no alerts will pop up.

Not only will this add more privacy but it'll maximize battery life by not waking up the screen every time you receive an iMessage or SMS.




New, miniature iPhone and iPad Dock connector cable possibly caught on camera

Posted: 22 Aug 2012 12:03 PM PDT

Photo shows what could be new sync cable for next gen iOS devices

Veister, a company specializing in USB cables, has posted a photo to their Twitter account of what could be the sync cable for the next generation of iOS devices and revised versions of current products that will work in conjunction with the much expected micro dock connector.

New mini dock sync cable photo leak

The cable in question could be what we'll see ship with the next generation iPhone. How many pins the dock will have is still up for debate but most sources claim 8 or 9 pins even though this would greatly reduce backwards compatibility with current accessories.

Regardless, we should find out in a little under a month from now when Apple is expected to make an official announcement.

Source: 9to5Mac




Hulu gives its site a major makeover

Posted: 22 Aug 2012 11:45 AM PDT

Hulu gives its site a major makeover Hulu has redesigned its streaming video site to simplify content discovery and make it more appealing.


Tonight on the greatest iPhone and iPad podcast in the world...

Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:42 AM PDT

The iMore Show returns LIVE tonight and we'll be talking about what LTE means for the iPhone, and what the iPad mini means for our holiday shopping plans! Plus, we'll be answering your questions so leave them in the comments below, #imoreshow them on Twitter, or email them to podcast@imore.com.

So join Rene, Georgia, and Seth, and the best looking chat room in mobile, LIVE tonight at 6pm PDT, 9pm EDT, 2am BST for all the action.

We'll also have a live ZEN and TECH Parenting for you tonight immediately thereafter. Topic is children and food/eating, so stay tuned!

Seriously. Set an alarm. Bookmark this page. Be there.

Want to go full screen? Head to iMore.com/live. Want to watch via iPhone or iPad? Grab the Ustream app and search for "mobilenations"!




Skype for iPad Updated – Adds Clumsy Send & Receive Photos Ability

Posted: 22 Aug 2012 10:29 AM PDT

Skype iPad app

Skype for iPad – the iPad app for the ever-popular VOIP service – has been updated this week, to Version 4.1.

The one noteworthy feature in the update is this one:

Send and receive photos

Unfortunately, this new feature is not usable during a Skype call. It only works when you're in simple chat / instant message mode – and the ability to send a photo in an IM app is nothing to write home about. Hopefully Skype will issue another update soon to make this feature work as I expect it was intended to, and allow photos to be sent while on a Skype call.

Here's the remainder of the change list for this update:

Updated privacy setting
Fixed bug related to Bluetooth and calls
Minor visual improvements across the app
Other minor bug fixes


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Will Apple soon be worth one trillion dollars?

Posted: 22 Aug 2012 09:16 AM PDT

Will Apple soon be worth one trillion dollars?

The value of a company is whatever people are willing to pay for it. And for public companies like Apple, that value equates to an open market stock price times however many shares there are in existence. Street lingo for this is market capitalization, or simply "market cap".

Apple is the world's most valuable company. Period. Not just among technology companies, but among all companies in the world. Apple is worth a staggering $624 billion as I write this paragraph. It's stock price is hovering around $673 and since there are 937 million shares outstanding, multiplying those two numbers together gives us that immense market cap.

To hit a $1 trillion market cap, the stock price needs to climb to $1067, which is 59% higher than today's price. Of course, one trillion dollars is an arbitrary number. But lots of public companies are worth over $100 billion, and the next zero to be added gets you to a trillion. So it's psychologically important. Will Apple be the first company to achieve it?

I've said before that I think they will. Back in February, when I said, "I'm in the camp that believes Apple will become the world's first trillion dollar company", the stock price was about to reach a new high of $500. We're already up 35% since that date. And while the stock price gyrates, and Wall Street gets upset with Apple's latest financial guidance (yet again), the growth continues.

Apple's creation of iOS has single handedly transformed the company from a Mac + iPod business into a mobile computing business. In the last year (Street folks call this "trailing twelve months"), Apple generated revenue of $149 billion. iPhone and iPad sales account for the majority of this.

China is one factor fueling Apple's growth. On the company's Q2 conference call, held back in April, Tim Cook talked about how sales in China had grown threefold year over year. China had gone from nowhere to 20% of total company revenues in one year.

As much as the iPhone has driven huge sales, I am honestly more excited about the iPad. Compared to a laptop computer, the iPad is infinitely more portable, always on, delivers much better battery life, and costs a lot less. Consuming content on it is much more comfortable. Parents worry less about their kids getting their grimy hands on it, or spilling a bit of apple juice onto its surface. In education, it offers to dramatically reduce the cost of textbooks. In short, the iPad, for many people, is superior to a laptop in many use cases.

Despite Android dominating the smartphone market in China, the iPad has over 72% share of the Chinese tablet market. But this is still a tiny market, with Apple selling less than 3 million iPads last quarter in a country with well over a billion people.

The tablet market, including iPad, is also small on a global basis when you compare it to the PC market. Apple sold only 17 million iPads last quarter (Q3 fiscal 2012). Annualize this and you get 68 million. The PC market is closer to 500 million units. Industry analysts expect units sold in the tablet market to exceed the PC market by 2015. I'm not sure if the date will turn out to be accurate or not, but I have no hesitation in adopting the view that tablets will outsell PCs at some point in the next few years.

This is the revolution that matters, and Apple owns it. Look back to the Mac vs. PC battle of decades past. Apple always held onto about 6% of the market. But today, in mobile, they're set to hold onto a much larger chunk. Who knows what the percentage share will settle at, but I think we can all agree that it will be a lot more than 6%.

Right now, Apple has held onto its pricing power, to boot. How has it done this? Part of it is sexy hardware and great software, as usual. But the real reason comes down to ecosystem. iPad, iPhone, iPod, Mac, iTunes, iOS apps and iCloud all play well together, by design. Apple has a strangle hold on its users, even though we (as users) probably think of it as more of a cuddle, less of a choke.

So how high can Apple's stock go? That really depends upon the time frame, I suppose. But if Apple can actually own 30-60% of the mobile computing market while hanging onto its fat profit margins, then we're going to look back at the one trillion dollar market cap goal and laugh. For investors ... laughing all the way to the bank.




Disabling Google auto updates

Posted: 22 Aug 2012 09:15 AM PDT

Disabling Google auto updates Did you know that Google applications automatically update themselves? Where some find convenience, others are concerned. Chris Breen shows you how to stop it.


Mozilla sets end of Firefox for OS X Leopard

Posted: 22 Aug 2012 09:00 AM PDT

Mozilla sets end of Firefox for OS X Leopard Mozilla will drop support for Apple's OS X 10.5, or Leopard, after it ships Firefox 16 in October, according to company developers.


AT&T responds regarding FaceTime over cellular restrictions

Posted: 22 Aug 2012 08:26 AM PDT

AT&T responds regarding FaceTime over cellular restrictions

AT&T has responded to concerns about their new FaceTime Over Cellular policies which will require their customers to be on a mobile share plan in order to utilize the feature. While many believe this restriction violates the FCC's net neutrality laws, AT&T doesn't think it does.

While the FCC does restrict companies from blocking apps, AT&T says that only applies to downloadable apps and not pre-installed apps. Since FaceTime comes pre-installed on every iOS device, they have the right to restrict use.

The FCC's net neutrality rules do not regulate the availability to customers of applications that are preloaded on phones. Indeed, the rules do not require that providers make available any preloaded apps. Rather, they address whether customers are able to download apps that compete with our voice or video telephony services. AT&T does not restrict customers from downloading any such lawful applications, and there are several video chat apps available in the various app stores serving particular operating systems. (I won't name any of them for fear that I will be accused by these same groups of discriminating in favor of those apps. But just go to your app store on your device and type "video chat.") Therefore, there is no net neutrality violation.

Whether or not the FCC will agree with AT&T isn't yet clear. The New York Times recently stated that AT&T actually is in violation of FCC regulations and that the carrier can not block applications that compete with a carrier's own voice or telephony services.

Regardless whether the app is pre-installed or not, FaceTime should probably be considered a competing service. The fact that a specific data plan is required in order to use it is another contention point. Data is data and regardless what tier you're on, you're paying for the same bits and bytes. It still begs the question, why should one tiered data plan be treated different than any other? If customers go over their allotment, charge them appropriate overages and call it a day. Forcing customers on a plan they don't want or need doesn't seem to be in anyone's best interest.




Hands on with Quark DesignPad

Posted: 22 Aug 2012 08:30 AM PDT

Hands on with Quark DesignPad Quark, which has historically catered to the creative pro designer community, has branched out to offer a free iPad app targeted to novice designers.


AT&T responds to FaceTime-over-cellular plan criticism

Posted: 22 Aug 2012 07:50 AM PDT

AT&T responds to FaceTime-over-cellular plan criticism AT&T is sticking to its plan to limit FaceTime calls over cellular to Mobile Share plan customers only, come iOS 6. In a stern blog post, the company defends its planned FaceTime limitations as both legal and necessary.


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