Convertible is one of the most peculiar and fun iPhone apps I’ve downloaded recently. On the surface, it’s a unit converter that uses “nested levels” to show conversions: levels start from the top with type (Length, Time, Currency, etc), then move to category (Metric, US & Imperial, Atomic, etc), and end with the actual unit you want to convert (Celsius, meters, Dollars, etc). The interaction is interesting: you can tap a level to bring up a list (therefore expanding the entire level), but you can also scroll horizontally to avoid taps. The animations are smooth and responsive. There are color schemes to choose from in the Settings, as well as an option to show or hide the iOS status bar.
I’ve thought about converter app UI for a long time. All of the alternatives on the App Store that I have tried are pretty much terrible, with the exception of Convertbot. Convertbot evokes a clear sense of care, but there was still an inherent clunkiness in use that I felt could be removed — I just failed to work out how.
However, today MacStories alerted me to Convertible and I was bowled over by its brilliance.
The funny thing is, Convertible isn’t new. In fact, relative to the lifetime of the App Store it is actually quite old. Somehow, I never found this gem in the App Store before.
It takes the UI metaphor of collapsible panels to the extreme. The interaction is similar to how folders work on the Home Screen. It’s even cleverer though; Convertible guides you through the necessary steps with its interface. The next step is the next panel downwards. Simple. Convertible avoids the default modal picker concept by using a non-modal sliding list. An ingenious little invention which removes even more UI complexity typically found in this category of applications. In the end, the computed result appears logically below the input; simultaneously straightforward and elegant.
Aside from the UI advances, there are some whimsical constants inbuilt that really trigger a smile. It is fun to convert lengths in terms of celebrities’ heights, or lengths of an Olympic swimming pool or whatever. Whilst these additions aren’t practical in any way, they trigger a sense of delight that any exemplar app should. It makes you want to keep it for when you do need it for something useful.
In my view, it’s the closest anyone has got to conversion app utopia on the iPhone to date. I recommend it wholeheartedly.
The problem with the Z10 is that it doesn’t necessarily do anything better than any of its competition. Sure, there are arguments that could be made about how it handles messages or the particulars of its camera, but no one could argue that there’s a “killer app” here. Something that makes you want or need this phone because it can do what no other phone can do. That’s not the case — in fact if anything is the case, it’s that the Z10 can’t yet do some things that other devices can. Or at least, can’t do them quite as well.
Sounds like the predicament Windows Phone has experienced since launch. Being “good” isn’t enough.
Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablet, due on February 9th, will have a smaller amount of storage space than expected. A company spokesperson has confirmed to The Verge that the 64GB edition of Surface Pro will have 23GB of free storage out of the box. The 128GB model will have 83GB of free storage. It appears that the Windows 8 install, built-in apps, and a recovery partition will make up the 41GB total on the base Surface Pro model.
I think Apple’s decision to release a 128 GB iPad is a bit strange. However, Microsoft’s decision to ship an OS — targeted specifically at space-constrained devices — that weighs in at 41 GB is downright insane.
Apple® today announced a 128GB* version of the fourth generation iPad® with Retina® display. The 128GB iPad with Wi-Fi and iPad with Wi-Fi + Cellular models provide twice the storage capacity of the 64GB models to hold even more valuable content including photos, documents, projects, presentations, books, movies, TV shows, music and apps.
Still confused by why now, but hey — it’s here if you want one. Prices follow tradition, $100 above the 64 GB models. This does confirm, though, that the fifth-generation iPad won’t be here very soon, suggesting an autumn release timeframe.
That’s what the analysts at Detwiler Fenton think is happening. They contend that checks find that Apple is working on “a new product” aimed at the low-end of the market that will be built around a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.
Whilst it would be very weird for Apple to go back to using third-party processor designs, in light of their investments into their own SoCs, I suppose it isn’t an impossibility.
At the end of the day, Apple would rather sacrifice its personal pride to create a better product. Also, Apple’s own processors are designed to hit ever-higher levels of performance. In a lower-end product, that kind of power (and cost premium) would simply be a waste.
In the clip, Jobs (played by Ashton Kutcher) is raving about the operating system that Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak (played by Josh Gad) created. While Jobs is certain that this will become a ubiquitous product for mass consumption, Wozniak needs convincing.
“Nobody wants to buy a computer,” says Wozniak.
“How does somebody know what they want if they’ve never even seen it?” Jobs replies.
The actor playing Wozniak is a bit off-the-mark, in my view, but Kutcher is fantastic. The last line of the clip is delivered perfectly.
On an even better note, the film’s director has finally seen sense and dropped the downright stupid working title (“jOBS”) for a much less cliché, albeit a bit bland, “JOBS”.
The future may not exactly be password-free, but it will at be least free of those complex, hard-to-remember passwords, says Grosse. “We’ll have to have some form of screen unlock, maybe passwords but maybe something else,“ he says, “but the primary authenticator will be a token like this or some equivalent piece of hardware.”
I’ve pondered Apple’s AuthenTec acquisition ever since it was revealed. Last week, on rumours of a fingerprint sensor in the iPhone 5S, I thought that AuthenTec technology combined with NFC could form a clever solution for mobile payments.
But, also, I suppose it makes sense as a general password. Strong passwords are not meant for mobile devices. They have to be long, and require tedious character entry. Biometrics match up with this problem really well — you can authorise very securely near instantly. Fingerprint to replace PIN phone unlocks, fingerprint to provide strong security for your mobile services.
Now that I think about it properly, I don’t know why fingerprint sensors haven’t already proliferated our smartphones. It fits so well with the usage cases for on-the-go mobile devices, especially if they can integrate it into the Home Button.
Imangi Studios today announced that Temple Run 2 was downloaded over 20 million times in its four days of availability on the App Store. The game rocketed to #1 Free App just eight hours after release, and is currently the #3 Top Grossing App.
Shame that it lags on the iPad 3. It’s not an occasional annoyance, but a consistent frame drop during gameplay.
In December, the Google Nexus made by Taiwan’s Asustek Computer Inc. accounted for 44.4% of all tablet sales by volume electronics retailers. That’s according to a survey of 2,400 stores nationwide by market research firm BCN Inc., released Wednesday.
Google’s figure beat Apple’s 40.1% share, dethroning the iPad for the first time since it went on sale in May 2010.
Impressive. Fluke, seasonal Christmas surge, or an example of an underlying trend? The Japanese market is a dwarf compared to the US and China, with sales of four million tablet sales total across the entire of 2012, but the fact that the Nexus was able to beat the iPad in any market is noteworthy, especially a quarter in which the iPad lineup was updated.
He called in a few favors and got a meeting with the leadership at Apple. He explained that he had offers from the largest mobile OS competitors and that they wanted to acquire his music startup. Cue knew if Google obtained Lala the ownership of the service coupled with search dominance could be disruptive to their stronghold. Bill was notorious at getting great deals with the music elite, usually through Lala’s investor, Warner Brothers Music.
At the time, everyone on the outside — including myself — thought the Lala acquisition was part of a master plan for a streaming music service …
It’s funny that, in reality, the reasoning was very bland and monotonous; a defensive move to protect the iTunes ecosystem.
Still a remarkable operation, but one that seems to follow the more traditional model of giving customers what they want, rather than the Jobs model of dictating to consumers what they will want.
Don’t believe me? How are you enjoying that iPad Mini that Steve told you you’d never want?
I’m sorry, but what?
Jobs didn’t “dictate” what consumers want; he just knew what consumers would want and put Apple on a path to do that. I see no difference to how Cook is running Apple today. The iPad mini is a great product that many people found out they liked.
You can’t trust what Jobs said about the Mini publicly as proof ‘he would have never have done it’. As most sane people know, Jobs changed his mind on lots of stuff that he previously declared terrible. There are emails from the Samsung trial that say Jobs was “receptive” to the idea.
Regardless of Jobs’ stance on the matter, if the product is good, and by all measures the iPad mini is very good, why is there a need to complain? Are you telling me that you would prefer Apple to ditch a good product from being released because Jobs expressed his dislike whilst he was still alive? Now, that is an example of a dysfunctional company.
Considering Apple to be failing because it isn’t channelling Jobs is just bad logic. Nobody knows what he would think about their current product lineup and — despite the fact that many people forget — Jobs was not a god who never tripped over. Defying Jobs can very well be a good thing.
At the end of the day, what matters about Apple’s stability and growth is whether they are making the best products in their class and selling them in increasingly higher quantities. That is the parameter by which Apple needs to be judged.
In early January, Facebook began testing free calling over Wi-Fi and cellular data for all Messenger for iPhone users in Canada, and said that a US launch could be coming soon. Apparently, the test went well — a new free calling button has appeared in the app. Facebook has confirmed to The Verge that the feature began rolling out to US users today, and requires no update through the App Store.
Facebook really wants to emphasise the “freeness” of this feature; the button to call is literally labelled “Free Call”. Although a bit obnoxious visually, I think it is a smart design choice. I am asked all the time by family whether they will be charged for FaceTime, because it’s unclear. I would expect the consumer uncertainty surrounding free ‘traditional’ voice calls to be even greater than ‘new’ Skype-like video chat.
Give the option to Joe Customer to let Joe Developer reply to him about his issue either directly or publicly, or not at all. With this strategy the customer is always in control (which will please Apple) however, if the customer is legitimately interested in getting a response from the developer on said issue, he can give permission for the developer to respond privately or publicly. In the end, Joe Customer can make his point and optionally get a response and Joe Developer at least has a chance (assuming that’s what Joe Customer chooses) to respond to what could be a very explainable issue.
Whatever the solution, Wray is spot on that customers need the keys to end communication with the developer at any time.
That being said, I think Wray’s distinction between public and private seems unwieldy. Reviews are public, so it makes sense that replies to reviews are as well. By forcing publicness, the procedure is simplified (encouraging users to actually enable feedback) and helps to keep the members of the conversation in check.
I think it should be implemented as follows:
There is a checkbox when leaving a review for the customer to allow responses from developers; the default should be to leave the option unchecked.
Responses appear on the app’s page beneath the original review. The customer is alerted to responses by some UI in the iTunes Store and, maybe, a push notification on their iOS devices.
At any time, the original reviewer can close the discussion ‘thread’ to any more responses. This decision should be displayed in the review section to clarify that it was the customer’s choice to end the conversation, rather than the developer’s lack of care to reply.
If the original rating or review is changed, the associated thread is deleted. This ensures that future readers are not confused by mismatching incongruent comments, as well as preventing App Store pages to clutter with outdated information.
On the topic of that cheaper iPhone, Misek says that the device “looks close to being greenlit or may already have been” and offers some “likely specs” in order to help bring Apple’s costs down:
“Similar to the iPad mini, we expect a concentrated low-cost iPhone rather than a “cheap” one. Likely specs: polycarbonite case with 4” non-Retina display and no LTE. We believe a new low-cost iPhone would increase Apple’s share, decrease [gross margins], but have little impact on [earnings per share].”
If you take non-Retina at four inches to mean half the iPhone 5’s resolution, that is 568x320. That’s a PPI of 162; the same pixel density as the iPhone 3GS (a device that is four years old).
When I first read Jeffries report, I thought it was ludicrous to say that Apple would sell such a low density screen nowadays. However, I then remembered that Apple released the iPad mini in October, a device that, conveniently, has a display with exactly 162 pixels per inch. So now it doesn’t seem so crazy.
“The tragic and heartbreaking information you received is, regrettably, true,“ confirmed Swartz’ attorney, Elliot R. Peters of Kecker and Van Nest, in an email to The Tech.
I never spoke to him, let alone knew him, but his impact on my life, through his contributions to the web, has been profound.
The good news keeps rolling in for BlueStacks, the startup best known for making technology that enables one and all to download and use Android applications on their desktop PCs — and more recently, their Macs. In anticipation of CES, the company announced today that it has secured a global distribution deal with Chinese PC maker, Lenovo.
Is it time to simply refer to them as “apps” then?