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With only a few hours to go before Apple unveil the next iteration of the iPhone OS, I find myself wondering what they have in store for us. Last year everyone thought Copy  & Paste was coming, but Apple stated it was too far down the priority list for OS 2.0. This year is different though, as the OS matures I feel we will see more and more noteworthy features added. So what am I hoping for? What can we firmly expect?

Expected

Copy & Paste – Already well talked about on the rumor sites, this would be a welcome addition for most. Latest news suggests you will double tap on a word which then invokes the magnifier bubble, you then use it to select your text.

Multi-tasking – Ever been using an IM client and clicked on a link someone sends you? It opens Safari, then closes down your chat! Multi-tasking could solve this, but I fear it is too memory hungry to work flawlessly. I can’t see me opening a memory intensive game like Chop Sushi, then switching to Mail to read emails, then going back to the game, without any crashes.

Push Notification – Promised by Apple last September, this uses a ‘Cloud’ system where an App could store live data while it was closed, once you reopened the App, it streamed back the data off the Cloud to leave you back where you started. Either Apple have given up on it, or they have been fine tuning it all winter.

MMS - sending picture messages to other mobile users, would be handy for some, but I honestly find myself using email more and more these days. That said, being able to receive them direct to an Inbox would be a lot easier than going through your carriers website. I use an App called MMS [iTunes] for it at the moment

Wanted

Turn-by-Turn Sat Nav – If you’ve ever used your iPhone to plan a car journey you will know it’s basically no good. In fact, if you are driving alone it can become quite dangerous fiddling with the maps trying to figure out where you are! The fact no solution has been offered by a 3rd Party could be a clue.

Photo Booth – With the iPhone’s built in H264 and Core Image hardware, then why not? It works well enough with the iSight. It could even offer a video recording mode.

To-do’s – Where on earth are these? Why have Apple had the facility in Mail and iCal for so long and it’s nowhere to be seen on the iPhone? I’m putting money on this showing up in OS 3.0.

Notifications – Why does the iPhone only alert you to a text message or missed call? Why not emails too? I know it sounds bad, but a Windows Mobile style Agenda view with upcoming iCal events, To-do’s and Emails would be great.

Forwarding SMS – Ever been sent a funny joke and want to pass it on? It’s not possible without retyping it! I propose a method of holding your finger on a text bubble to bring up an menu of choices, such as Forward, Delete etc.

Phone number search – Currently you can only use the contact search to search by name. There’s been many times where a friend has asked me “whose number is this?” only for me to go through my whole phonebook looking for it!

Well that’s enough for now. I’ll be blogging my thoughts later on tonight after I’ve had a good watch of the Keynote. Stay tuned.

With the announcement that Apple are to stage an event on Tuesday 17th March to showcase the upcoming version 3.0 of the iPhone OS, everyone is left wondering if this means a new iPhone is also on the way.

It happened last year..

This time last year Apple did a similar thing. They held an iPhone OS 2.0 software roadmap event on the 6th of March. During this event they unveiled the new OS to the public, showcasing some of it’s more impressive features. The update was dated for a June 2008 release. Around the corner was Apple’s next big event, WWDC 2008, here they officially announced the iPhone 3G, and told us it would come with OS 2.0 installed.

Repeat performance?

This year the OS 3.0 event is taking place slightly later in the month, but the fact it is taking place at a similar time is interesting. Is this going to be a yearly focus? I certainly hope so. Website iPhoneFootprint have worked out possible dates for this years WWDC based on bookings taken by the Moscone Centre. The two possibilities are May 16th-22nd and June 6th-12th. The latter of which seems to be the more likely choice. So this keeps everything in a similar time frame to last years goings on, but is there any evidence yet of a new iPhone?

CSI Cupertino..

So all we really have to go on is dates. What other evidence has cropped up? Well, earlier this year we were treated to some ‘leaked’ pictures of a new iPhone casing, supposedly showcasing a new metal back, akin to the iPod Classics. Then just a few days ago we heard news of O2 UK planning on cutting the iPhone prices in May. When you put all the circumstantial evidence together, it sure does seem like a new iPhone is imminent.

Pump it up, while your feet are stompin’, and the jam is pumpin’, ahhheeeem

Apple released iTunes 8.1 on Wednesday to coincide with the release of the new iPod Shuffle. Initially we expected Genius to spread it’s wings to accommodate Movies and TV Shows, this didn’t happen. Why Apple pulled it at the last minute remains to be seen. What we were promised though was a much quicker iTunes, obviously support for the new Shuffle, CD ripping in iTunes Plus quality, Autofill for any manually managed iPod, and lasty, iTunes DJ. The last addition being my focus for this article.

Can we really all be DJ’s?

Not quite. Apple have revamped the Party Shuffle playlist, and renamed it iTunes DJ. So what makes it so different? Well the ability to ‘Request songs’ via an iPod Touch or iPhone with Apple’s Remote [iTunes] app. Once you start playing a song in iTunes DJ, you can then open the Remote app on your iPhone or iPod and connect to the Library. You don’t need to have paired your device with iTunes for this to work. Once connected, you’ll see the current song, and also a list of upcoming songs. At the bottom of the screen is a nice fat ‘Request song’ button, hit this and you are taken to a scrolling list of the host machines entire Library. From here you can browse by the usual methods, Artist, Albums etc, or even Search. Once you find a song you fancy, select it, and this will bump the song up to be played next in the DJ queue. If another song is then requested before the intial request has been played, the newer request will be queued behind the first.

Selecting DJ Library then shows 'Now Playing' screen

After choosing a song, it's bumped up the list!

The request is reflected in iTunes

Your right to vote!

Onto another cool feature within iTunes DJ, voting. As I just mentioned the request feature works well enough in it’s own right. By turning on voting though, it gets even better. Everytime a song is requested it receives a vote, you can also hit the heart icon next to any song in the upcoming list to give it a vote. Songs with more votes jump the queue, simple as that!

This is a nice little refresh by Apple. Party Shuffle had gotten very stale to be honest. When it was first introduced I used it quite a bit, but with every subsequent release of iTunes I found myself using it less and less. Eventually it got demoted  from the main Library sidebar, down to the Playlists menu. iTunes DJ gives it a new lease of life, and I can’t wait for the iTunes Partay to begin! Any questions feel free to leave me a comment and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. In the meantime, fire up Software Update, and get downloading.

As I reported earlier, the Apple Store was down this morning for a couple of hours. There hadn’t been a mention of any possible updates floating around the internet, but sites quickly found it was supposedly for a new iPod Shuffle. This indeed turned out to be the case. Introducing the all new 4GB iPod Shuffle, with VoiceOver technology.

As you will notice from the picture, this Shuffle has no control buttons on the unit itself, apart from the Shuffle switch at the top. The Play, Pause, FF, Rew and Volume controls are all inline on the remote control. While this may seem like a nice idea, some users will be venting their frustration at being forced to use the included Headphones, and not their own.

New Features: VoiceOver & Playlists

The main new feature on the Shuffle is the introduction of VoiceOver. Taken from OS X, this new system enables the Shuffle to actually speak to you, letting you know what track or playlist is currently playing. You can also use a button on the remote control to verbally run through all your playlists before choosing the one you want to listen to. You may have noticed I mentioned playlists, as in plural. That’s right, the Shuffle finally has the ability to sync multiple playlists from iTunes. Interestingly Apple say VoiceOver can speak in 14 different languages, not bad for something so tiny!

As with most significant iPod updates, these new features will obviously require an update to iTunes, and Apple are obliging with version 8.1, which is due out anytime today. As I write this it is yet to show on the Software Update, but keep checking.

Final Thoughts

Overall this is a tidy update from Apple. I am almost certain they are using the Shuffle as a means of introducing VoiceOver control to the public in a low risk manner. I can see the technology evolving onto the iPhone and iPod Touch in the future, with even a chance of us controlling the playback options with our voice. How many times have you had your iPhone tucked away in your pocket and want to choose a new playlist? It’s a pain getting it out, unlocking the screen, navigating to your playlist etc, VoiceOver would work a treat in this situation. As I mentioned earlier, the only real downside is waiting for an adaptor to use your own Headphones, and also so you can control it while it’s plugged it into an AUX input.

NOTE: Old iPod Shuffles are still available to buy from the Apple Store. I don’t know how long they’ll be up for, but at least people still have the option.

I just went for a check on the Apple website to see if they have a Mini Display Port to HDMI cable available yet. To my suprise I found the Store is getting updated again. Whether this is just a minor update for the introduction of new Software etc I don’t know. I’ll keep my eyes peeled anyway.

I just like to add that I’d laugh my head off if an Apple Netbook suddenly appeared on the site in an hours time. (Even though it would obviously get it’s own special event)

[Update]

After a quick mooch about, it seems likely there’ll be a storage update to the iPod Shuffle, taking the capacity to 4GB. Seems like an awful long time just for one little update though. I’m still sure there’s something else going on!

Since the App Store opened there’s been a flurry of games added every single day. I’m sure you would all agree, many games are cheap and nasty. Now I’m not disrespecting any particular developer out there, because I know how hard it is to code these apps. But a lot are merely tech demos showing what the iPhone is capable of, without any real depth to their gameplay. Prices have been constantly falling since the store opened, can anyone remember paying £5.99 for Super Monkey Ball? I can.

Up steps Chop Sushi, I bought this game towards the end of January, and basically spent the whole of February playing it! Whenever you boot up the game it gives you the option of whether or not to enable sound, I find this a very nice touch, especially if you fancy listening to your own tunes while playing, instead of the ingame music. What immediately hits you once the game has loaded is it’s excellent presentation, menu’s are slick, colourful and well laid out.

The Game Modes consist of ‘Adventure’ ‘Quick Battle’ and ‘Challenges’. Obviously Adventure is the main quest which takes you to a variety of islands where you battle against odd looking characters. By beating them, you release them of their Demons, and they become Shop keepers who will sell you Challenges and Recipes. You use Fish as the games currency. You can either catch your own fish (at start of every island) or you can earn Fish ingame by matching three or more in a row. Challenges can be bought using Fish, and come in Easy, Medium or Hard difficulties. Challenges involve matching all the Sushi onscreen in a predetermined amount of moves.

Onto the main game then, it works by matching three or more of a kind. But the way you match the Sushi is a bit strange to get use to at first. When I first started I expected it to be along the lines of Bejeweled, merely swapping pieces around. It’s a bit tougher than that, and requires a lot more careful planning if you are to pull off combos to earn extra turns.

Take the picture above, I can line up four green blobs (Wasabi’s) by picking up the stray one and sliding my finger to the right, this sends it all the way to the end of the row, and shuffles everything else to the left. Because I made a line of four, I automatically get given another go, which is very handy! Whenever you line up three or more Wasabi it takes health power off your opponent. You win the match when your opponents health is depleted, likewise, you lose if he clears your health. The orange coloured Fugu build up your experience points, the more you collect, the higher the experience multiplier is at the end of each match. You may notice from the screenshots there are Stones mixed in with everything else. These cannot be matched, but once you run out of moves, instead of the game ending, these Stones all crack open revealing more Sushi, Fish, Fugu or Wasabi!

So why do we need the Sushi? Well, once you’ve won a couple of matches you slowly get introduced to Recipes. These consist of Boosts, Traps and Specials. If you activate a Boost ingame, it has a negative effect on your opponent. If you activate a Trap, it has a negative effect on you. You activate the Recipes by matching up Sushi in the order and amount shown on the tabs to the left of the screen. Sometimes you will find there is no other move left but to activate a Trap, and this puts you out of luck!

Graphically the game is a joy to behold, excellent artwork is backed up by great character design and nice animation. Sound wise the game is very quirky, personally I find the battle music to be very catchy and am sometimes left with it stuck in my head all night. It’s very much like the soundtrack to a Bruce Lee film!

Overall there enough lasting appeal to make this game well worth the £1.79 asking price. Compared to many games on the App Store, this is packed full of enough Levels and Challenges to keep you occupied for weeks to come. This is easily one of the best puzzlers on the iPhone, so I am awarding  it my App of the month award for February, go buy it! [iTunes Link]

If you would like to ask anything about the game that I may not have fully covered in the review, don’t hesitate to leave a comment and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

With all the hype surrounding the iMac and Mac mini updates, a quick look on the ‘New to the Store’ section on Apple’s website shows another interesting little addition. They’ve released a wired version of the cut down wireless Keyboard with two USB Ports. Seems a little odd to me, where is the wireless version of the full keyboard…?

Also, the MacBook Pro has seen a minor speed bump, the mid-range model going from a 2.53GHz to a 2.66GHz, with a BTO option of a 2.93GHz for an extra £206. Apple don’t deem this an update worthy of a ‘New’ badge in the corner of the product picture though.

Apple take their wireless routers to the next level by introducing a new way of using both a 2.4GHz frequency, for wireless ‘G’ devices such as the iPhone, while at the same time sending out a 5GHz frequency for wireless ‘N’ devices. This results in must faster transfers and range, while still retaining compatibility with the older wireless G spec. Currently you must choose to run your Time Capsule or AEBS in either 2.4GHz or 5GHz mode and not a mix of the two. It would have been nice if this was possible with a firmware update but alas I suspect it is a hardware update involving another transmittor. Apple tell us..

Simultaneous dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi base station.
Time Capsule is also a full-featured 802.11n Wi-Fi base station. And now it operates in 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands simultaneously to ensure the best possible performance and range for all your Wi-Fi devices

Prices are as follows:

AirPort Extreme Base Station
£139.00

Time Capsule 500GB
£229.00

Time Capsule 1TB
£379.00

With all the talk surrounding the iMac and Mac mini, many failed to spot the leaked product codes for the Mac Pro. The update wasn’t earth shattering, but here we go.

Quad-Core

One 2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon “Nehalem” processor
3GB (three 1GB) memory
640GB hard drive
18x double-layer SuperDrive
NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512MB
£1,899.00

8-Core

Two 2.26GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon “Nehalem” processor
6GB (six 1GB) memory
640GB hard drive
18x double-layer SuperDrive
NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 512MB
£2,499.00

I’ll take one of each thanks.

After over a year without a single update, the Mac mini is officially back. The last update to the Mac mini came way back in August 2007 when they received Core 2 Duo processors. They are still using Core 2 Duo processors, and not the Intel Atom as many feared. There is no change to the speed, only the processor revision, which is the same that’s used in the entry level Alu MacBook. Elswhere the graphical prowess has been boosted thanks to NVIDIA and their rather tasty 9400m Chipset/GPU combo chip, which offers up to 5 x the performance over the Intel GMA950 GPU in the existing Mac mini. Also a welcome boost is the inclusion of N-spec WiFi, the lack of which some found as a limitation when using the previous model as a Media Server, many ended up connecting it via Ethernet.

2.0GHz : 120GB

2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
1GB DDR3 Memory
120GB Hard Drive
8 x double-layer SuperDrive
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M Graphics
£499.00

2.0GHz : 320GB

2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB DDR3 Memory
320GB Hard Drive
8 x double-layer SuperDrive
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M Graphics
£649.00

Not much bang for your buck I’ll have to be honest. Very dissapointed to see the top end model only have a 2.0GHz CPU, what about the 2.4GHz? You can get a 2.26GHz BTO option on both models, at a whopping £120! No thank you Apple.