iPhone and iPod touch users without an iPad have been watching enviously from the sidelines as tablet users have the fun of using Apple’s iWork apps — until now. Apple has announced new updates to Pages, Numbers and Keynote for iOS that make them universal at last.
Apple has announced the immediate availability of a 1.4 update for Pages, Numbers and Keynote for iOS — collectively known as iWork. Each of the .99 apps are now available to iPhone and iPod touch owners as well as those already running the iPad version, thanks to native universal support introduced with the new versions.
“Now you can use Keynote, Pages and Numbers on iPhone and iPod touch to create amazing presentations, documents and spreadsheets right in the palm of your hand,” explains Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “The incredible Retina display, revolutionary Multi-Touch interface and our powerful software make it easy to create, edit, organize and share all of your documents from iPhone 4 or iPod touch.”
Supporting any iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, third or fouth generation iPod touch or iPad running iOS 4.2.8 or later, the updated versions now offer a new document manager to easily sort your documents and organize them into folders.
Pages and Numbers also get improved usability, including Smart Zoom for viewing and editing data, while Pages alone adds the ability to change font style and size directly from the ruler when editing text. Finally, Keynote adds the ability to be controlled from the separate 99-cent Keynote Remote app.
Of course, these new features are on top of the existing feature set, which includes importing and exporting documents from iWork for Mac and Microsoft Office, wireless printing via AirPrint and beautiful Apple-designed themes and templates.
Pages, Numbers and Keynote version 1.4 are all available now from the App Store for .99 each; if you already own one or more of them, the universal update is free as usual. Now, Apple… how about a universal update to that Apple Store app to give the iPad some love, hmmm…?
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Although most of us are expecting a modest spec bump for this year’s iPhone, a new report has surfaced that claims Apple may be planning to use a “curved cover glass” in the next model, similar to the iPod nano from a couple generations ago.
MacRumors is reporting that the face of the iPhone may no longer be flat with the next iPhone. According to Taiwanese website DigiTimes, industry sources are claiming that Apple may adopt what they’re calling a “curved cover glass” for the next handset — even going so far as to buy the costly equipment needed to make them.
“Cover glass makers are reluctant to commit investment to the purchase of glass cutting equipment due to the high capital involved, said the sources,” noting that Apple has purchased between 200 and 300 of the glass cutting machines necessary to get the job done.
“There has been no timetable yet for the volume production of iPhone 5 as Apple is currently still working with related suppliers including those involved in cover glass, glass cutting, lamination and touch sensors to improve yield rates,” DigiTimes sources concluded.
This wouldn’t be Apple’s first foray into curved glass — the iPod nano from a couple of generations back also featured a curved design. The method is also not new to smartphones, with the Samsung Nexus S using what MacRumors calls “a concave curved screen” designed for comfort.
“Our tipster tells us Samsung’s been shopping this curved display technology to carriers for a while — as early as CES at the beginning of this year behind closed doors — claiming that its research showed such a design improved perceived usability over a perfectly flat display,” claims an Engadget report from last November.
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(Image courtesy of MacRumors and DailyMail.co.uk)
If there was ever a relevant moment in the original Star Wars trilogy, it would have been during the Empire Strikes Back when an ancient Jedi Master named Yoda calmly stated that “Size matters not.” Yoda then proceeded to lift a multi-ton spaceship out of a muddy bog and placed it exactly where he wanted it using nothing more than the force. With that inspirational moment in mind, we think of Sony’s recent unveiling of the much-anticipated, next-generation handheld console, currently codenamed the “Next Generation Portable” — or “iPod touch killer” in some circles.
The NGP has been outfitted with some very impressive innards, and Sony has also recruited the backing of big name gaming studios like Square Enix, Ubisoft, Capcom, Epic and Activision to develop titles for its next mobile platform. The launch day line-up will also consist of big name titles like Call of Duty, Little Big Planet 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4. The criteria, in addition to the claims that the NGP’s graphics capabilities would be comparable to those found on the PlayStation 3, indicate that Sony’s got quite a bit of arsenal ready to fire at the iOS competition. But will it really make a dent in an already established mobile gaming market?
Many have commented that the NGP is Sony’s response to a gaming atmosphere saturated by Apple’s iOS devices and the availability of cheap, easy-to-dive-into iOS games. But it’s doubtful that the NGP could ever put a dent in iOS gaming. With a 9 to 10 month lead time between its announcement and its intended holiday release, this gives Apple enough time to give the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad the extra push it needs to stay in the lead.
While we hesitate to say that the NGP follows a “if you can’t beat them, join them” kind of philosophy, it is following Apple’s trend toward touchscreen technologies, working to one-up Cupertino with a 5-inch OLED touchscreen. The same can also be seen in the move towards a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, as well as the Imagination Technologies SGX543MP4+ graphics processor. Sony’s pulling out all the stops with a previously only-dreamed-about set of hardware for its miniature behemoth.
The company also took a page from Apple’s book regarding the community aspect of iOS gaming. Sony’s LiveArea feature will mimic Apple’s own Game Center, enabling users to share scoreboards, use location-based services, access digital downloads and interact with message boards while working to make the games downloadable via 3G or Wi-Fi connections.
Beyond the hardware, Sony’s largest focus may be this: making its marketplace more accessible on the fly. Since the inception of the App Store, iOS users have been able to readily snag games, music, programs and other content via mobile devices and almost at a whim. Want a Beatles song or an Angry Birds add-on? Tap over to the iTunes Store and App Store applications on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch and there it is, accessible through either a 3G or Wi-Fi connection. Nintendo has also been able to pull this off to an extent with its Nintendo DS and DSi units, though not to the near-ubiquitous degree that Apple has been able to achieve. With the new NGP hardware and interface, the new focus seems to be towards getting customers to the LiveArea store, get them conveniently signed in and offer them as many ways for them to get what they want on the fly, then return to their gaming experience.
Even though the hardware and connectivity may improve with the introduction of the NGP, there seems to be no guarantee that Sony will make itself more accessible to the developer community. Though Apple has had a sometimes-controversial approvals process for programs submitted to the App Store, there have been success stories in which anyone with an interest in coding for iOS devices — even 13- and 16-year-old teenagers — could submit to the App Store, have it approved, and watch the greenbacks roll in.
This may not be the case according to Dan Kitchen, Vice President of GameShastra, a video game development, publishing and testing service. “Historically, developing for Sony hardware has required that the developer be approved by Sony. In the past Sony has been very strict on who they approve,” said Kitchen. “Additionally, the development systems that a publisher would use to create the game can run into the tens of thousands of dollars. I don’t envision Sony will change their practices for this next PSP system.”
Kitchen then went on to state that Sony would most likely want to stick with its current base of professional developers and companies as opposed to making a software development kit widely available and then taking the time to review and approve new applications as they’re submitted.
Currently, there have been no reports of what the NGP — some humbly refer to it as the Playstation Portable 2 (PSP) — will cost, though it is expected to hit the shelves before the holidays. What Sony has done with its portable hardware is taken a giant, but logical step, throwing in all the features its customers have wanted for a long time while making some radical advances in hardware by adopting a quad-core CPU. No one can tell how 2011 will pan out for Apple or Sony in terms of their portable gaming hardware, but ten months provide a fair amount of time for development on both sides.
The digging into iOS 4.3 beta 2 continues, with the latest discovery a string that seems to indicate the iPad 2 may wind up with the same back-facing camera as the iPod touch — which means 720p video recording may indeed be a reality.
9to5Mac is reporting that they’ve found evidence in the latest iOS 4.3 SDK that the next-generation iPad will not only have both front and rear cameras, but that they’ll likely be the same ones used in the current fourth-generation iPod touch. The rear camera will be “something close to a one megapixel camera,” which the website speculates will be the current 0.7 megapixel back camera used on the iPod touch.
“That means you’ll be able to take some unwieldy 720P video with your iPad (whether you’ll be able to view that 720P video natively is another question),” 9to5Mac notes. As for the front camera, it looks to also be the same as the iPhone 4 and current iPod touch, which means VGA for FaceTime and/or photos and video you want to include yourself in.
9to5Mac arrived at their conclusions because their sources have revealed that the internal codename for the iPad 2 is “K94” — but interestingly, the SDK also refers to a “K95” in the same section, which the website speculates may be a 3G version of the iPad 2, or even a dual-band model capable of working on either AT&T or Verizon.
Coupled with this week’s leak of a screenshot which shows FaceTime, Camera and PhotoBooth apps on the iPad, we’d say there’s a pretty good chance that one or more cameras are coming to the iPad 2 — although when that may be happening is still some subject for debate.
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(Image courtesy of 9to5Mac)
It seems that when Nintendo announced Apple as the enemy of the future last year, they may have been on to something. Apparently, Apple could be planning on including glasses-free 3D technology in the next iteration of the iPod touch, putting it in direct gaming competition with Nintendo’s upcoming 3Ds hendheld gaming console.
The Apple aficionados at Macotakara allege that a trusted source has informed them that a Japanese manufacturer is currently preparing to produce a large quantity of glasses-free 3D capable LCD panels for the next generation iPod touch. An interesting rumor to be sure, but does it hold any water. In our opinion, not likely. While Apple does own a number of patents for 3D technology, the company’s traditionally slow adoption of new technologies into their hardware (take Bluray, for example) would seem to exempt them from pushing new fangled-tech like glasses-free 3D into one of their most popular products… for the time being, at least.
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