There are plenty of iOS apps for forecasting the weather, but few of them carry the weight of The Weather Channel itself — and now the cable channel’s own App Store entry has received a slick update, at least for the free version.
The Weather Channel has announced the availability of a major redesign of its iOS app for the iPhone and iPod touch. Available today in the App Store, The Weather Channel version 5.0 offers a simpler user interface and a visually stunning design for a more personal weather experience.
“Our new app is more relevant — whether it’s showing a beautiful image that displays your local weather or allowing you to save your own personalized home screen image, it’s more about the weather and content that matters to each consumer,” said Cameron Clayton, executive vice president of digital product at The Weather Channel companies. “We’ve made changes based on consumer feedback to engage users through a deeper and more emotional weather experience.”
The update, which borrows a lot of style from the iPad-specific version, marks the first major redesign of the app since 2009, featuring an immediate view of weather conditions that conveys the feel of the weather and offers increased personalization and social integration with iWitness, Twitter, Facebook and email.
The only problem with the new version is that The Weather Channel isn’t saying anything about its paid, ad-free version, The Weather Channel Max, which has yet to receive the new coat of paint. That means weather junkies will have to choose between a slick new design populated by ads, or the tired old UI without them. Here’s hoping TWC will rectify the situation soon for its paid app users!
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If you’ve been avoiding Harry Potter books until you could beam them onto your Kindle, Amazon has some good news for you — assuming you’re paying per year for their Prime service, that is. Today’s update is chock full of Potter Kindle news, Proview settlement rumors, iOS 5.1 jailbreak progress and much more, so let’s dive right into this Thursday, May 10, 2012 edition.
The Next Web is reporting that Apple and Proview are in “serious negotiations” to resolve the issue of the iPad trademark in China, with Cupertino apparently jotting a figure of million on a piece of paper and sliding it across the table, only to have it rejected by the nearly bankrupt Proview. So how much does Proview want? million? million? If you guessed 0 million, you win the non-existent prize — that’s the reported amount it would take to appease the company’s creditors, including eight Chinese banks. That amount is still a drop in the bucket compared to the billion lawsuit they filed in the U.S. earlier this year, which was recently dismissed by the court. Certainly sounds like Apple and Proview are on opposite ends of the financial spectrum for now…
Amazon today announced that all seven Harry Potter e-books will be coming to the Kindle on June 19, where they will be exclusively offered to Amazon Prime members through the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, rather than being sold directly to the public. PaidContent reports that the exclusive license from Pottermore likely cost Amazon a pretty penny, but the publisher dismisses concerns that the deal may cannibalize their existing sales. “The way the deal is structured means that any lost sales are more than made up for,” explains Pottermore CEO Charlie Redmayne. “Yes, some people will borrow from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library and therefore not buy, but Amazon is paying us a large amount of money for that right, and I believe it’s a commercial deal that makes sense.” And that’s only the beginning — “new partners and new platforms for the [Pottermore] site” are promised in the next few weeks, but Apple’s iBookstore won’t be among them, at least not yet. “We’re having conversations with Apple, but there is no date, no agreement,” the CEO concludes. “Would I like to be working with Apple? Absolutely.”
The cat and mouse game was bound to wind up in the hackers’ favor sooner or later, but it seems that iOS 5.1 has successfully gotten a jailbreak on a new iPad, just as iOS 5.1.1 rolls out this week. According to Cult of Mac, Chronic Dev hacker pod2g followed up his recent success with an untethered jailbreak for his iPhone 4 running iOS 5.1 by doing the same for his third-gen iPad, but notes there’s still plenty of work to do getting it ready for public consumption. The good news, however, is that the jailbreak will work on all devices running iOS 5.1 — and that includes the iPhone 4S as well as the new iPad. The one exception is the latest 1080p-capable Apple TV, which already has a tethered jailbreak solution and appears to be “several weeks out” from a proper untethered solution.
We’re big fans of the JibJab Jr. Books app for the iPad, which is why our interest was piqued immediately to hear the company has a new app available, this time aimed at the smaller screen of the iPhone and iPod touch. “Beep & Boop turns learning good behavior into a game your kids will love,” explains JibJab co-founder Gregg Spiridellis, who along with his brother have five kids between them. “You reward positive behaviors with BEEPS and discourage negative behaviors with BOOPS. It’s way more convenient — and fun — than a sticker chart!” Best of all, the app is absolutely free and available for all devices running iOS 4.2 or later. Hit the link and start taming those little ones with Beep & Boop!
The long, strange saga of MP3.com finally comes to an end with the bankruptcy of MP3tunes.com, the music locker service founded by Michael Robertson. Cnet notes that the website was essentially “sued out of existence” in 2007 by EMI, and the legal costs involved in fighting the suit have finally taken their toll. “Four and a half years of legal costs and we’re not even out of trial,” Robertson explains. “Mp3tunes has no choice but to file. This is what they do. The labels engage in multi-year legal battles and put small companies through hell for years.” The bankruptcy likely means a final verdict may never see the light of day — ironic, considering the proliferation of cloud locker services aimed at music from the likes of Google and Amazon.
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Monday’s iOS 5.1.1 update may not have been the most exciting thing to come out of Cupertino, but it turns out the patch also includes some very welcome security updates for Mobile Safari and Webkit which didn’t get outlined in the release notes.
Apple has posted a support document detailing the security content of Monday’s iOS 5.1.1 software update for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. If the four bug fixes and stability improvements mentioned in the release notes didn’t seem like much, the update also includes security patches that are far more important to users.
The support document details three security areas patched by iOS 5.1.1. The first is Mobile Safari itself, which clamps down on a known issue where “a maliciously crafted website may be able to spoof the address in the location bar.” In response to the issue, Apple notes, “A URL spoofing issue existed in Safari. This could be used in a malicious web site to direct the user to a spoofed site that visually appeared to be a legitimate domain. This issue is addressed through improved URL handling. This issue does not affect OS X systems.”
The last two security fixes in iOS 5.1.1 involve WebKit itself, the engine that drives Mobile Safari and a number of other browsers (notably Google Chrome, although these fixes only apply to Mobile Safari).
The two issues in question are “visiting a maliciously crafted website may lead to a cross-site scripting attack” and “visiting a maliciously crafted website may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution.” The latter patch aims to stomp out “multiple cross-site scripting issues [that] existed in WebKit,” while the former fixes “a memory corruption issue existed in WebKit.”
Users are encouraged to apply the iOS 5.1.1 update, either from the Software Update panel on the device itself or via iTunes. Jailbreakers, beware: The patch will wipe out your jailbroken freedom, although the hackers have already whipped up a tethered (for now) version to support iOS 5.1.1 for those who can’t live without it.
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You won’t find a ton of new features waiting for you, but iOS devices have a new software update waiting for them on this sleepy mid-Monday that brings the version number up to 5.1.1 and squashes a few minor bugs.
Apple has released iOS 5.1.1, a modest update to iOS 5.1, which was released back in March just ahead of the new iPad. The update mostly offers some bug fixes and reliability improvements, but the changes sound promising enough to install — assuming you haven’t jailbroken your device, that is.
iOS 5.1.1 includes the following changes:
• Improves reliability of using HDR option for photos taken using the Lock Screen shortcut
• Addresses bugs that could prevent the new iPad from switching between 2G and 3G networks
• Fixes bugs that affected AirPlay video playback in some circumstances
• Improved reliability for syncing Safari bookmarks and Reading List
• Fixes an issue where ‘Unable to purchase’ alert could be displayed after successful purchase
Users can install iOS 5.1.1 using the over-the-air Software Update from your device Settings, or by plugging into iTunes and downloading it from there. As always, recommends devices are plugged into a power source while installing.
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Jetpack Joyride, an auto-runner type iOS game from Halfbrick Studios, is hands down one of the most addictive games I’ve ever played. The “just one more” urge every time a round ends, the large assortment of goofy items unlockable through coin collection – it took every ounce of my feeble willpower to pull myself away and play other worthy titles. But thanks to a massive update, the addiction is back in a big way.
As announced back in March, during the annual Game Developer’s Conference, the 1.3 update to Jetpack Joyride is more than just bug fixes and performance improvements. A whopping 15 gadgets are added to high-flying protagonist Barry Steakfries’ arsenal, changing the game drastically, for better or worse.
Gadgets are purchased through the game’s store, the Stash. Spending some collected coins – or buying a handful of coins through in-app purchases – allows you to buy any of the 15 available upgrades. Gadgets are organized into a tier system, with a particular number of purchases required to unlock the next level. Regardless of the number of gadgets in your inventory, you can only equip two at the beginning of any run.
The gadgets themselves vary in use, but they’re all designed in the typically cartoonish manner of Halfbrick. The Freeze-O-Matic, for example, places Barry in a block of ice immediately following a death, allowing him to slide along floor for those precious extra meters. Free Ride, one of the highest-tier gadgets, gives Barry a vehicle right at the start of the run. Combining certain gadgets offers a clear advantage, with some pairings – like the Gravity Belt and Air Barrys – noted in the game’s menu as “high mobility,” for example.
When the update was announced during GDC, Andrew Hayward made the accurate assumption that these purchasable devices could actually irritate some hardcore Jetpack Joyride players. A big part of the game’s draw is the competition on the leaderboard, and frankly, the gadgets do provide an edge; and edge that’s easily obtained through in-app purchases. All that said, I’m actually enjoying the new additions. Games like Jetpack Joyride are immensely addicting, but the repeated task of flying through static levels can grow monotonous. A new twist is exactly what this app needed.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to crush everyone’s score with my Ezy-Dodge Missiles.
