iPad By Davis: “TweetDeck for iPhone to exit App Store, stop functioning on May 7” plus 13 more

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• TweetDeck for iPhone to exit App Store, stop functioning on May 7
• Apple's botched MobileMe launch and the failure of fear-based management
• The iPhone Home button: A look at how it has evolved, and where it still needs to go
• Rory's Story Cubes for iPhone and iPad review: Get writing inspiration from pictures on dice
• Apps for the Great Outdoors: Featured in the iPad App Store this Week
• Apple keeps anonymized Siri data for up to two years for testing and improvement purposes
• My Newest Tablet: Not an iPad
• How to quickly access your browsing history in Safari for iPhone or iPad
• Facebook Blast: Threaded group chat could be coming soon to Messenger app
• Tuber+ for iPhone and iPad review: YouTube the way it should be
• Deal of the Day: 60% off Cruzerlite SPI-Force Case for iPhone 5
• Cool Things: iPad Hit by a Foul Ball, Shrugs It Off
• Price Drops: Montessori ABC HD for Kids Free This Weekend
• NBA Game Time for iPad Updated for the Playoffs

TweetDeck for iPhone to exit App Store, stop functioning on May 7 Posted: 19 Apr 2013 05:36 PM PDT If you're a TweetDeck for iPhone fan, Twitter's most recent update, posted just today, has some dire news for you: TweetDeck AIR, TweetDeck for Android and TweetDeck for iPhone will be removed from their respective app stores and will stop functioning on May 7. Our Facebook integration will also stop on May 7. I never liked TweetDeck for iOS, or TweetDeck in general for that matter, so I'm not exactly heartbroken to see the iPhone version get taken out back and shot. Still, I'm sure it had its share of fans, and it's approach was different enough that nothing else really takes its place. That said, if you're holding on tight to TweetDeck, once it's pried cold and dead from your still living hand, you might want to try out one of the following: Tweetbot - $2.99 - Download now Twitterrific - $2.99 - Download now

Apple's botched MobileMe launch and the failure of fear-based management Posted: 19 Apr 2013 04:04 PM PDT MobileMe launched in 2008 as a replacement for .Mac and ended up being replaced itself just three short years later by iCloud. So terrible was its launch, so tarnished was was the perception of its service, that Steve Jobs reportedly walked the halls of Apple with a flame-thrower, dressing down the troops and handing over responsibility for the service to his fixer, Eddy Cue. But was MobileMe's failings the fault of the engineers, or of the managers in charge of the project? Former member of the MobileMe team, Erin Caton believes the latter: Now, regardless of whether no one in the inner sanctum of dudes-that-Steve-listened-to-at-the-time told him all the things we told our bosses, or who-up-the-chain-of-command was not brave enough to suggest we do something not-Apple-like — this was the system that Steve created. He made himself so fearful and terrible that an entire group of amazing, talented, hard working people, ended up getting screamed at wrongfully. It was his fault that the MobileMe launch went so poorly, not ours. Steve Jobs is no longer with us, but the culture he created at Apple remains very much alive. Troubled launches with Siri and with iOS 6 Maps show that not all lessons may have been launched from MobileMe, and if Caton is right, might also show at least part of the reason why. Read the rest of her post for her full take on the events surrounding the MobileMe launch. Source: Erin Caton

The iPhone Home button: A look at how it has evolved, and where it still needs to go Posted: 19 Apr 2013 03:19 PM PDT The Home button is the most used and arguably the most important button on the iPhone. For everyone new to smartphones and to mobile computing, it's an escape hatch that they can press at any time, any where, and immediately be returned to a safe, familiar place. For more experienced users, it's a way to activate everything from Spotlight to Siri, the fast app switcher to the accessibility menu. Because the Home button serves so many purposes, for so many people, the mechanical switch itself is subject to an incredibly high level of use, and potential for wear and tear. That's why, more than any other physical button, the Home button has been a source of problems over the years, for Apple and consumers. The original iPhone The original iPhone debuted in 2007, and it introduced the Home button design, base functionality, and its rounded rectangular icon. The original iPhone's Home button was not part of the physical display assembly, but part of the docking assembly. Getting to it was no easy task and made repairing it extremely difficult. When looking at failure rates, the original iPhone didn't have nearly as many failure rates as more recent generations of iPhones, but many of the more taxing software features, the ones requiring double and triple taps, had yet to be introduced. The iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS The iPhone 3G debuted in 2008 and the 3GS followed in 2009. Both models were extremely similar when it came to the Home button. Rather than being part of the dock connector assembly, as it was in the original iPhone, it was part of the display assembly. The display assembly in both the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS is separated into two parts, the frame assembly and the glass assembly. One could be replaced without the other. Considering the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS opened from the front, the display assembly was extremely easy to remove. Since the Home button was part of the frame on the display, a faulty Home button assembly was also extremely easy to repair. Apple Retail would simply replace the entire front assembly, including the LCD, which in most cases would restore Home button functionality (unless the fault was with the contact point on the dock underneath). For the most part, the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS Home button also didn't have too many issues when it came to Home button. But again, many of the more Home button intensive features hadn't yet been introduced. The iPhone 4 The iPhone 4, released in the summer of 2010, brought with it a completely redesigned iPhone with a sleeker, slimmer profile. Because of the new design, however, the iPhone 4 had to be opened from the back, once again making the Home button more difficult to replace. To make matters worse, the iPhone 4 was also the first iPhone with the fast app switcher interface, which was activated by double pressing the Home button. That made Home button usage spike, and saw Home button failures spike along with it. The iPhone 4 Home button also used a flex cable, which introduced an additional point of failure. Thanks to that cable, in some instances the Home button would stop working complete. In others, double presses would be mis-identified as single presses. That's because the The Home button flex cable in the iPhone 4 relied on the Home button being able to depress and "click" the disc-like metal contact on the cable underneath. Over time, that disc was worn down and became less reliable as a connection point. It's an issue we still continue to see today with both the GSM and CDMA variants of the iPhone 4. The iPhone 4S Overall, not much changed with the iPhone 4-like iPhone 4S. However, did decide to secure the actual Home button to the display assembly with a rubber gasket and some adhesive. The underlying cable went untouched for the most part. It still connected to the dock connector in the same fashion and wove through the midframe to the front where the Home button sat on top of it. The area that gets depressed and flattens over time was still the same disc mechanism, and thus prone to the same failures as the iPhone 4. Interestingly, Apple also added Assistive Touch to iOS at the same time, which were meant to allow users with accessibility issues to use on-screen, virtual controls instead of hardware buttons. However, it also helped out-of-warranty owners who'd experienced hardware Home button failures. The iPhone 5 Apple's current iPhone 5, brought with it an even thinner profile. Not only was the iPhone 5 Home button completely flush to the glass in every unit, it had a different "feel" to it. It was obvious Apple had done some work on it. Similar to the iPhone 4S, the physical Home button was attached to the screen but with a much stronger and sturdy rubber gasket that left little room for a gap between the glass and button. Apple also took an extra step andput a metal shield down over the gasket. Unfortunately, underneath the shield is the same, old, troubled ribbon cable. Apple did add some some yellow tape to better pad and secure it, but it remains to be seen how much, if any difference this makes to cable wear and tear over the long term. A metal disc contact that is pressed time and time again, sometimes for 2 or more years, will wear down, and eventually fail. When you only give users one way to exit apps, multitask, or activate accessibility options, you have to put your hardware where your button presses are. Apple simply isn't doing this. Home buttons of the future We are now six years into the iPhone 5 product cycle and quickly approaching a seventh iteration, yet Apple keeps repeating the same mistake when it comes to the Home button. It's too early to tell if a metal shield and a bit of yellow tape will solve past woes caused by the Home button when it comes to the iPhone 5, but my gut tells me that the answer will be no. In the mean time, iPhone 4S Home button issues are starting to rear their ugly heads. It begs the question, is there really a logical hardware solution? Cables and components will fail over time. No physical hardware put into packages as thin and small as Apple insists on making are rugged enough, and have redundancies enough, to last. While I think Apple could be trying harder when it comes to Home button issues, I'm skeptical as to whether it's a problem that can be solved by hardware alone. There's only one real solution -- software. Features like Assistive Touch show that Apple has experimented with virtual gestures to replace hardware functionality. The iPad version of iOS even comes with a fairly good set of gesture-based navigation controls, including 4-finger swipes between apps and to reveal the fast app switcher, and a four finger pinch to return to the Home screen. Minimal as they are, they remove a lot of the navigational burden from the Home button, especially from power users who are most likely to know of, and use those features. Apple, however, doesn't currently offer similar gesture controls on the iPhone. In order to get anything like the, you need to jailbreak and install Zephyr. (And some people jailbreak just to install Zephyr, just because of hardware Home button failure. This year may or may not bring a lot in terms of iPhone hardware revisions, but we are certainly hoping that some major changes to iOS and iCloud are in store. The Home button controls a lot of the software actions we use every day in iOS and it becomes frustrating when the hardware lets us down. So perhaps it's time that the iPhone, like the iPad before it, has the same -- or hopefully even better -- gesture-based navigation options to share duty with the Home button. That would let mainstream users keep pressing an easy to find, easy to understand hardware Home button, but also allow more advanced, more sophisticated users to enjoy a more advanced, more sophisticated form of navigation as well. The iPhone would get to stay less stressful for the mainstream, but become more useful and more reliable for power users. It would also start introducing the concept of a gestures to a larger audience, in case one day Apple decides to introduce an iPhone -- or smaller device -- that doesn't have room or need for a physical Home button.

Rory's Story Cubes for iPhone and iPad review: Get writing inspiration from pictures on dice Posted: 19 Apr 2013 03:00 PM PDT Rory's Story Cubes for iPhone and iPad is the iOS version of the dice story-telling game of the same name. You roll the 9 cubes and tell a story inspired by the pictures on the dice. Rory's Story Cubes is a great way to get your imagination going and a fun tool for kids learning to write. Rory's Story Cubes includes two sets of 9 cubes: original and actions. That's a total of 108 different icons, give an seemingly endless pool of possibilities. You can choose to use just one set of cubes, or both. There is also a "voyagers" set available for $1.99 To play the game, you simple choose which sets of dice you wish to use a shake your iPhone to shuffle them. You can then move them around on the board, rearrange them in a specific order, and rotate them. Rory's Story Cubes has a great design and very nice graphics. The only thing Rory's Story Cubes includes for the game is the actual cubes. Most people play this game as a group, but I would love to see a writing section with smaller versions of the cubes displayed at the top for solitaire play. A voice recording feature is another great option for drafting a story while looking at and manipulating the cubes. The good Realistic physics - shake to roll the cubes. Move and rotate them as you tell your story. Your cubes - add to your Rory's Story Cubes collection. The app now comes with both the Original and Actions sets. Other sets available as in-app purchases. New combinations - generate a random combination of 9 cubes from selected sets. The bad Doesn't provide a way to actually write the story The bottom line Rory's Story Cubes is a great way to spark a child's imagination and creativity. Even if not playing a group, telling each other stories, a student can use Rory's Story Cubes for a writing assignment at school or just to practice his or her story writing skills. $1.99 - Download now

Apps for the Great Outdoors: Featured in the iPad App Store this Week Posted: 19 Apr 2013 01:45 PM PDT One of this week's highlighted app collections in the iPad App Store is 'Apps for the Great Outdoors'. In fact, it's a carryover from last week and it's quite an impressive collection. There are over 70 apps included in the collection, divided amongst these sections: Places, Plants, Wildlife, The Sky Above, The Earth Below, and More Outdoor Apps. In the collection you'll find everything from travel apps to specialist maps and guides to the solar system. I noticed a number of favorite apps that my family and I enjoy on the iPad – Wonders of the Universe, Solar Walk, and LIFE Wonders of the World just to name a few – and also found plenty of other enticing apps I'd not spotted before. I ended up installing four new apps just while browsing through the collection and thinking about writing this post. You can find the Apps for the Great Outdoors collection in the... Read the whole entry... » Related Stories Price Drops: Montessori ABC HD for Kids Free This Weekend NBA Game Time for iPad Updated for the Playoffs Feedly iPad App Updated: Better Title Only View & More This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Apple keeps anonymized Siri data for up to two years for testing and improvement purposes Posted: 19 Apr 2013 12:33 PM PDT After privacy concerns were raised regarding data it gets from Siri, Apple has revealed that it keeps that data for up to two years. Apple generates a random string of numbers to associate with your voice data, rather than using your Apple ID, and any Siri data they collect from you goes under that number. Data, however, is decoupled from that number. According to Wired an Apple spokesperson explained: Once the voice recording is six months old, Apple "disassociates" your user number from the clip, deleting the number from the voice file. But it keeps these disassociated files for up to 18 more months for testing and product improvement purposes. If, however, a user were to turn Siri off, any identifiers, including the data itself, is deleted. While the fact that Apple keeps Siri data for two years, whatever protections are in place, might make some wary, we should keep in mind that Siri and Apple are not unique in keeping data. We put so much of ourselves online now, and a lot of the time we don't know where it goes. It's up to each user to decide who to trust with their data, and how much they trust. Source: Wired

My Newest Tablet: Not an iPad Posted: 19 Apr 2013 11:43 AM PDT My newest tablet, just acquired today, is not an iPad. It's the brand new Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 –s shown above right between my Nexus 7 and the iPad mini. I've become quite a fan of the 7-8 inch tablet and I saw some very good early reviews of the Galaxy Note 8 and decided to try one out. I've had the Nexus 7 for months and been thoroughly underwhelmed by it thus far – so it's a good time to try out another small tablet. I went to a Microsoft store recently and wanted to see if I liked a Surface RT enough to give it a go – but it didn't grab me at all. I've had the Galaxy Note 8 for only a little over two hours – just enough time to get to know it a tiny bit and stick it on a charger really. So no deep thoughts on it yet of course – but just as a super quick early impression, I like it. I think I already like it better than the Nexus 7 and I'm very keen to get... Read the whole entry... »   Comments I've got about 50 Nexus 7s… That's the last thing I want more ... by Brandon How 'bout I send you the Nexus 7 and I just keep this guy right ... by Patrick Jordan Feel free to send it to me when you get sick of it!! :) by Brandon Related Stories Surface Sales Estimates Are Bleak, Microsoft Thinks Better Marketing Will Save the Day The New Surface Pro Ad: It's the Funky Bad Dancing Tablet? TechRepublic's Half Assed Surface RT to iPad Comparison This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

How to quickly access your browsing history in Safari for iPhone or iPad Posted: 19 Apr 2013 10:19 AM PDT It's arguable that mobile Safari on the iPhone and iPad is one of the best mobile browsers out there. Not only do you have a great browsing experience but the ability to sync iCloud tabs, search for text within web pages, and much more. When it comes to browsing history, while you can always navigate to your browsing history the regular way, there's actually a much faster way to get there... Launch the Safari app from the Home screen of your iPhone or iPad. In the bottom navigation menu, you have controls to move back and forward pages. Hold down on the back button. Your Safari browsing history will appear just like it would if you manually went to it, but you've saved yourself several menu taps. Try it out and let us know how it works for you!

Facebook Blast: Threaded group chat could be coming soon to Messenger app Posted: 19 Apr 2013 09:00 AM PDT iMore has learned that, following Facebook Home, Chat Heads, and other recent releases, Facebook has additional, incremental updates in the works for their Messenger app as well. One of the updates in the pipeline is Facebook Blast, an enhancement to how users can send messages to multiple recipients. Currently, if a message is sent to multiple friends in Facebook, it will start a group chat between all of the friends. In a lot of cases this is great, as everybody can share and coordinate ideas for the topic at hand. Other times it's not so great. Maybe you want to get some input on a big life decision and you have several people you want to ask, but don't necessarily want them all seeing one another's replies. Currently you'd have to send the same message to each person individually. With Facebook Blast, you don't. Blasts behave more like old school multiple recipient text messages. You can specify multiple recipients, send the same message to all of them at the same time, and have it start separate conversations with each of them. But group messaging lovers, fret not. Group messaging isn't going away. In its current incarnation, users are shown a split bar with both "Group Chat" and "Blast" options at the top of their messages. Depending on what's more ideal for the message you want to send, you can choose the best option. While not quite as exciting as the newly available Chat Heads and stickers features, Blast will offer a slightly better messaging experience where users have more control over how they send messages. No word yet on when this feature might be released. We've reached out to Facebook for more information and will update if/when we learn more.

Tuber+ for iPhone and iPad review: YouTube the way it should be Posted: 19 Apr 2013 08:47 AM PDT If you watch a lot of YouTube videos on your iPhone or iPad, you've probably already found that there aren't a lot of options if you don't fancy the official YouTube app. I've always felt it wasn't very full featured and by a happy mistake, stumbled across Tuber+ for iPhone and iPad last week. Not only does it have the same features of the official YouTube app, but adds even more that many regular YouTube users want. For starters, Tuber+ allows you to set default video quality, a feature that is lacking in the official app. Obviously, if a video isn't available in the quality option you've chosen, it'll just stream in what's available. You'll also notice that videos that are available in HD will say so by an icon in the upper right hand corner. When looking at Tuber+ from a UI point of view, it's got a great layout that's easy to use and navigate around. Tapping the menu button in the upper left hand corner will slide out the main menu which will allow you to log in to your YouTube account if you aren't already. Underneath that you can view your own videos, subscriptions, your watch later list, and all the rest of the usual suspects. When it comes to actually playing video, Tuber+ streams video quickly and efficiently. Tapping on any video within a playlist or a topic will take you to a summary screen. You'll see the video description and have the option to view comments, leave a comment, and view related videos. To play a video, just tap on the play button. It'll natively load inside the window but tapping the maximize button will bring it to full screen. From the video summary screen you also have the option to add it to your watch later list, add to favorites, add to a playlist, or subscribe to that channel. And of course, there's an option for AirPlay on the playback screen as well. You also have a settings menu in Tuber+ that contains quite a few options to customize the app. You can access it by tapping the gear in the upper right hand corner. Here you can customize search options, including an option to only filter HD videos, as well as some other refinement options. You can also toggle between light and dark themes or choose a default video streaming quality. The good Better interface than the native app Search refinements make results a lot more relevant Accessing commonly used features such as commenting or adding to playlists or the watch later section are easily accessible Native options to share via SMS, email, Twitter, and Facebook The bad It'd be nice if video preview thumbnails were a little smaller so more results filtered on the screen at once instead of having to do so much scrolling The bottom line There's only a handful of good YouTube apps out there that are acceptable alternatives to the native app, and Tuber+ is one of them. Everything from the way the app is designed to where controls and playback options are just make sense. The only thing I'd like to see added in an update is the ability to automatically switch from light to dark themes automatically given the time of day. It's just easier on the eyes and something a lot of users have grown accustomed to liking. It's definitely not a deal breaker though. $1.99 - Download Now

Deal of the Day: 60% off Cruzerlite SPI-Force Case for iPhone 5 Posted: 19 Apr 2013 07:42 AM PDT Today Only: Purchase the Cruzerlite SPI-Force Case for iPhone 5 and save $14.95! The Spi-Force Case is made from a shock absorbent and scratch resistant TPU, sporting a rugged design for a rugged lifestyle. This case combines a durable polycarbonate skeleton with a rugged skin underneath to completely protect your iPhone 5 from drops and scratches. The back of the case also features a retractable kickstand that gives you a convenient viewing angle for media. Available in a variety of colors! List Price: $24.95     Today Only: $10.00 Learn More and Buy Now Never miss a deal. Sign up for Daily Deal alerts!

Cool Things: iPad Hit by a Foul Ball, Shrugs It Off Posted: 19 Apr 2013 07:39 AM PDT Need any proof that the iPad's made of pretty stern stuff? Well here ya go. It took a direct hit from a foul ball at a girls softball tournament in Iowa – and it appears it didn't miss a beat. I'm not sure it's recommend by Apple to test this out in your local batting cage, but still, good to know. © patrickj for iPad Insight, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: iPad Related Stories Price Drops: Montessori ABC HD for Kids Free This Weekend NBA Game Time for iPad Updated for the Playoffs iPad Games: Freemium Is One Thing – Do We Have to Have the Shitty UI Too? This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Price Drops: Montessori ABC HD for Kids Free This Weekend Posted: 19 Apr 2013 07:28 AM PDT The Montessori ABC HD for Kids iPad app will be available for free this weekend. Its standard price is $2.99 and I will be free starting tomorrow (April 20) through the end of Sunday April 21. This is a popular and well-respected educational app – that helps kids to learn and trace the letters of the alphabet. Here are some of its key features: * Delightful animations to help your children learn letters and words in a fun and engaging way * Left hand and right hand modes * Uppercase and lowercase letters, sounds and phonics * Specially designed Parents Area to track your children's progress * Aligned to Kindergarten Reading Foundation skills of Common Core Standards My daughter spent her first years in education in a Montessori school and it gave her the superb start and foundation that has made her an outstanding student. So I'm a big believer in... Read the whole entry... » Related Stories NBA Game Time for iPad Updated for the Playoffs Feedly iPad App Updated: Better Title Only View & More Notable New iPad Apps: Twitter #music This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

NBA Game Time for iPad Updated for the Playoffs Posted: 19 Apr 2013 06:50 AM PDT The NBA Game Time for iPad app was updated yesterday, to Version 4.5.1. This update is specifically for the NBA Playoffs, which tip off this weekend. The app even has a countdown screen on its opening screen, counting down the hours until the Playoffs begin. As always, I'm looking forward to the NBA Playoffs – and NBA Game Time is a nice companion app for taking them all in over the next several weeks. Here's an App Store link for NBA Game Time for iPad; it's a free app. © patrickj for iPad Insight, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: iPad Apps Related Stories Feedly iPad App Updated: Better Title Only View & More Notable New iPad Apps: Twitter #music Pocket for iPad Updated: New Send to Friend Feature & Lots More This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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