TamsIJungle

I recently had the opportunity to venture into an Austrian electronics store and get my hands onto an iPod touch 2G for a few minutes. Here’s what I found out!

At a first glance, one can immediately see that the device’s back is now convex rather than flat. Also, the headphone jack was cut out in a more “aggressive” fashion. The two volume buttons on the side feel stable - from a mechanical point of view, there’s little not to like.

The internal speaker is nothing but a joke. I tried it out in the store, and had problems hearing it even at full volume. Devices like the Nokia N96 are a lot louder - I am pretty sure that nobody will want to use his iPod touch 2G as a jukebox.

The software of the device is largely the same as the one found on my 2G. However, the toggles look different on the German OS - on my English iPod touch, the toggles say on and off rather than I and O:

Furthermore, a new item was added to the settings:

I personally had the feeling that the 1G has the better screen - as I didn’t have it on me at the time, I will perform this test another time.

A bit of persuasion led to a clerk revealing the following information:

The iPod touch 2G sells pretty well here (especially as Christmas is coming close). However, there is one extremely interesting trend: most of the devices sold are 8GB versions. The 16 and 32GB versions are tied, but both sell an order of magnitude less than the 8GB version (which goes for just 229 Euros, editor).

In the end, I am not too sure if the iPod touch 2G is too valuable an upgrade. Even though it feels mechanically well-made, I am not sure of the internal qualities. People who already have an iPod touch should definitely save the money - people who currently want one should probably get an 8GB model as it is about as expensive as used 1G devices and comes with warranty.

P.S. I might go and buy one with my AMEX (thank god for the return protection) and do a shoot-out - if anyone of you is interested, please let me know!

Apple’s iPod devices have had TV out capability for quite some time – if customers were willing to drop another 50$ into Apple’s throat for a video cable, that is. So far, the TV out was limited to multimedia programs in the IOS – but it looks like iPhone apps will get access to TV sooner or later.

AppleInsider reports that the latest version of the SDK contains a hidden class called MPTVOutWindow, which does exactly what the name implies.

Unfortunately, the call currently is limited to landscape mode and disables the touchscreen while invoked – nevertheless, I expect that quite a few innovative TV-out capable programs could follow in the future…

P.S. Renegade developers have hacked together a small program demoing the APIs. It is controlled via the accelerometer…hit the link above for further info!

P.S.2 I have no idea why Apple limits the API. IMHO, they are the ones who benefit if more customers are motivated to buy their overpriced TV cables…

The fine folks from iphone-dev have just posted the following PSA to their blog - as it is highly important for iPhone 3G and MacBook owners, I repost it here in its entity:

1) GOLDEN RULE: If you have a 3G iPhone and want potential soft unlock in the near future do NOT use QuickPwn, and do not use the official ipsw or the iTunes update process without using PwnageTool.
2) Read item 1 again and again.
3) At the bottom of this post are the bittorrent files for the latest versions of PwnageTool and QuickPwn.
4) These are suitable for the recent 2.2 release.
5) Please read all parts of this post before downloading and using these tools.
6) The ‘late 2008’ MacBook/air/pro line of computers have an issue with DFU mode. While it’s possible to go from Pwned 2.1 -> Pwned 2.2 (using PwnageTool), you can’t yet go from stock to pwned. If in any doubt use a different machine.
7) Choosing the correct tool is crucial. Be warned!

As usual, further information on a variety of interesting topics can be had at the link above!

The folks at Apple’s IMHO have a new enemy of choice - the British Advertising Standards Authority, which is a self-appointed watchdog organization responsible for all kinds of ads.

Apple already netted a complaint about the lack of Flash support: their latest issue revolves around device performance, which is shown in an unnaturally accelerated way in a series of ads.

After receiving a barrage of complaints about the ad above, the ASA banned it - the official ruling is as follows:

The ASA noted Apple maintained that the ad was intended as a comparison between the older 2G technology and the newer 3G connectivity upon which the advertised iPhone was based. Although we acknowledged that the majority of viewers would be familiar with mobile telephones, we considered that many might not be fully aware of the technical differences between the different types of technology. We also noted the ad did not give an explicit indication of a comparison with the older 2G iPhone.

We noted the voice-over claim “really fast” was used in conjunction with each of the functions shown in the visuals. Although we noted the on-screen text disclaimer, “network performance will vary by location”, we considered that the visuals, in conjunction with the repeated use of the claim “really fast”, were likely to lead viewers to believe that the device actually operated at or near to the speeds shown in the ad. Because we understood that it did not, we concluded that the ad was likely to mislead.

Sometimes, being a huge company is just great. When two big companies which once were partners start to duke it out, things get really interesting. Reason for post: Google has just admitted that its recently-released Voice Search program uses undocumented APIs, which is prohibited under Apple’s SDK/App Store terms.

The whole blogosphere currently is bonkers about the topic; wondering if/when Apple steps up and tells Google to abide by the SDK terms like other developers. Some Apple reps probably drown in email by now…

At TamsIJungle’s, we didn’t even bother to email Apple. The reason: we know that absolutely nothing will happen. Apple needs to have Google on-board, as its entire GPS and Maps stack is based on their technology.

If Apple would start to bug Google, their response could be firm and fast: discontinuation of all Google products for the iPhone. Google has little to loose, as they have a mobile platform of their own - Apple, on the other hand, would have to deal with thousands of extremely pissed off customers who want their Google Earth back.

Austrian parent law includes a concept of “very known brands”, which have almost complete protection. Google is such a brand - and I don’t think that Apple will want to stand in their way.

P.S. If they do, things will get very interesting…

Japanese have traditionally loved gaming - this seems to have changed this Autumn due to the global recession. Times Business reports that sales have surprisingly plummeted, leaving Japanese console makers wondering about how recession-proof their business actually is.

According to unnamed Japanese analysts, Christmas sales will be ok. But: things will get worse quickly after that. Publishers have to take part of the blame, as they are accused of not producing enougnh games which appeal to the Japanese market.

Furthermore, the global growth of casual gaming seems to stop slowly but surely. A KBC Securities analysts states that:

“Nintendo will never say it, but casual gamers, almost by definition, are happy with just a few games and will easily cut gaming out of their discretionary spending as the downturn hits their wallets. The market seems to be expecting casual gamers to act like hardcore gamers and they just won’t.”

Image: Wikimedia Commons/Masato OHTA

Hospital wards all over the world fill up as more and more snake oil salesmen get cerebral stroked and heart attacks. Austria’s hospital system is breaking down, parent mortality rate exceeds 50%.

The horror scenario outlined above could very well become truth if Keith Bakker, head of Europe’s only clinic for gaming addicted people, gets more media attention. His bold claim:

“These kids come in showing some kind of symptoms that are similar to other addictions and chemical dependencies,” he says.

“But the more we work with these kids the less I believe we can call this addiction. What many of these kids need is their parents and their school teachers - this is a social problem.”

Paddy Maguire (BBC News) visited him in Amsterdam, and interviewed him on a variety of gaming-related topics. Another popular myth was debunked in the process:

This kind of aggression is not uncommon in young gamers who feel frustrated with their real lives. Besides addiction, aggression and violence form part of the ongoing debate about the influence of gaming on impressionable minds.

When two students killed twelve pupils and a teacher in the Columbine High School shooting in the US in 1999, many believed that their common interest in playing violent games had helped to trigger the massacre.

Research at Smith & Jones seems to imply that feelings of anger and powerlessness often pre-exist a compulsion to play violent games. In some cases these people find each other in the gaming world and form a bond based on those feelings of alienation and anger.

Do your editor a favour and be a good net citizen: pass this story on to your friends and colleagues. Millions of gamers will love for you…it’s a karma thing. Deal? Thank you!

The iphone-dev folks have dug up an interview where Steve Wozniak talks about the iPhone and the hacker community - here are some of the juicyest quotes:

# 04:10 “I also side with the hackers”
# 04:18 “I don’t think the hackers would do it if it were not a Cat and Mouse game”
# 04:23 “[The hackers] are not doing it to make money, they are not doing it to hurt people”
# 04:35 “The Cat and Mouse game is good”

More can be found at iphone-dev!

Apple’s iTunes Plus is an offering which allows customers to download music in a DRM-free format for a slight premium (AFAIK 30 cents over the regular price). So far, EMI was the only label to parcitipate in this scheme - the three other major labels refused to chime in.

Renowned German Apple blogger Florian Schimanke claims that the three labels will soon cave in and will offer their music in a DRM-free format.

He furthermore states that some tracks can already be found in iTunes Plus, but can not be purchased as of now. According to him, Apple usually overhaules iTunes on Tuesdays…which means that iTunes Plus heads could be in for a nice treat soon…

MobiSpine has been all over the news recently due to their bold announcement of an MMS client for iPhone. As many questions remained after the initial announcement, the boys now posted a short Q&A:

Q: Is it approved by Apple yet?
A: The app is not approved by Apple yet and will go through the approval process each time a local carrier decides to launch Mobispine’s MMS app to their subscribers. We don’t see any problems why the app won’t be approved and we will of course support the carier in order to make it simple.

Q: When will the app come to my carrier?
A: Good question… We discuss of course the solution with many major carriers. At the end of the day it is their decision to 100% about if it will come and when. We want to do it the earlier the better of course.

Q: How will users be notified when new MMS arrives to the phone?
A: The Notification API will be used when released officially which should happen pretty soon. Some carriers are thinking about using SMS for notification before API is available.

Q: What is the business model for operators?
A: Business model is still up for discussion. Somehow carriers want to make money out of this MMS traffic going through their networks, either per message or as some kind of bundle that might be sold in the app store.

Further information can be had here!