Thursday, July 8th, 2010
YouTube (Google) has released a new tantalising mobile web app version of its website aimed at modern mobile phones.
The old website was geared towards those clunky brick-like phones with the numeric keypads and the obscenely tiny screens. Now, however, phones are generally touch-based portable computers with ‘full internet’ and so a need for a more advanced website was satisfied with the release of this long overdue web app.
What is interesting is that the web application is enhanced for the iPhone(with a prompt telling you to save the site to the home screen). Apple has provided a native YouTube application on its iOS (and previous iPhone OS) since the very beginning and now it looks like YouTube wants to take control. After all, Apple’s native application is lacking many of the newYouTube features and hasn’t adapted to the changes on the site.
I prefer the stability and consistency of a native application, but YouTube’s new mobile site is wonderful.
It should be noted that it is not real HTML5 video at this point, despite what some blogs and news sources claim.
Tags: Apple, Browser, Google, Internet, iOS, iPhone, iPhone OS, iPod, iPod Touch, Mobile, Safari, Web, YouTube
Posted in Technology |
Monday, June 7th, 2010
Apple’s newly announced and much anticipated mobile operating system has been updated and it proudly touts an astonishing hundred new features. Whilst I don’t have the will to meticulously go through every single feature with a fine-toothed comb, I intend to guide you through the new strangely named OS without boring you into a coma.
Firstly, it should be noted that the operating system (formerly iPhone OS) is Apple’s universal mobile operating system, it is what powers the iPhone, the iPad and the iPod Touch. The iOS isn’t just a name change, it marks a massive change in the underlying technology of Apple’s mobile devices that hasn’t been seen since the initial release of the OS or the iPhone.
It’s worth mentioning that the upgrade is free for all eligible devices (albeit some features do not work on older models). In the past when Apple released an iPhone OS update, iPod Touch users would have to sulkily dip their hands into their pockets and fork out $5 to $10, so I’m sure that there are a few customers out there who welcome the freebie with open arms (even if a lot of the functionality doesn’t exist in older devices).
Multitasking is one of the most monumental upgrades to the OS, but it only functions on new models, much to the disappointment of some. There is no technical reason as to why other older devices can’t multitask (all jail-broken iPhones, for example, are very capable of this), Apple just doesn’t want you to be able to do it. Logically, why would Apple want to allow their biggest new feature to work on older devices? I have to admit that I love the feature, but not the selective release favouring newer and more expensive models.
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Tags: Apple, iOS, iPhone, iPhone OS, iPod, iPod Touch
Posted in Technology |
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009
The long-awaited game for the iPhone/iPod Touch, Ramp Champ, has been released to the masses and naturally, I rushed onto the App Store to go get it this morning.
As a fan of seaside arcade games and the whole atmosphere of the cheap and chirpy British (or indeed any seaside) atmosphere, full of piers, mediocre beaches, slightly above average attractions and the wonderfully diverse array of people and culture, I thought this game would be for me.
I have played Skee-ball before but was rather skeptical about whether a game on a small device could replicate the feel of a popular seaside game. Amazingly, it did. The sound track and the sound effects, combined with the game play and absolutely stunning graphics contributed to the making of one of the best games you can get on the iPhone.
Tags: Design, Download, Game, iPhone OS, iPod, iPod Touch
Posted in Design, Technology |
Saturday, June 20th, 2009
Before I cause trouble, it must be stated that I love my iPod and my Mac, Apple to me are the superior creator of everything within their field. Everything they do, they do brilliantly.
However, iPod Touch users have had to pay several times for updates (notably this week for the 3.0 software update). I did this and was proud to do so. They are not making profit from me to use the phone capabilities like they do from iPhone users, so theoretically, we should pay for these updates (even though it is arguable at the very least that this weeks update isn’t really worth it, since most features are iPhone only*).
That said, Apple has gone out of their way to take features away from the iPod Touch that are available to iPhone users (and with no technical reason why iPod users can’t have it). For example; don’t like the battery bar on the iPhone? You have the option to display it as a percentage. A small, but very handy feature. It is a feature that as an iPod user, I’d like, but we don’t have the option for that.
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Tags: Apple, iPhone OS, iPod, iPod Touch
Posted in Technology |
