iHologram
September 4, 2008 | Categories: Apple / Art / Design / Technology

Lately I’ve been putting more and more applications on my iPhone, something I didn’t think I’d be that excited by, but I’ve gotten a fair amount of use out of them. But the app above is in a entire different ballpark all together. It’s called iHologram, and features a kitty that looks like he’s walking around in 3D space when you view the screen from a 35-45ยบ angle. Yeah, all he does is walk around, but look how big his eyes are! He’s adorable!

I think it’ll be interesting as time goes by to see how applications like this progress, going from things like games to more arts based projects like this one. The video was created by David O’Reilly, who created the little kitty as a part of his cartoon PSS, and he also has a bunch of other fun video content as well, so be sure to check out there rest as well.

Bobby

The New York Times iPhone GUI
July 14, 2008 | Categories: Apple / Design

It’s a strong held belief of mine (and many others) that good design is the design you don’t notice. It sits there like it’s always belonged there, such as the stop sign and the red cross. So when I came across these GUI (Graphic User Interface) designs for The New York Times iPhone application, they reminded me of something you wouldn’t notice, they just worked. The GUI was put together by Felix Sockwell, Khoi Vinh, and Caryn Tutino, who had to create the icons in greyscale and black and white at a size of 29 x 29 pixels.

Felix’s website has a nice exploration of the their ideas as well as Felix’s thoughts and a bit of the process as well. One of the most interesting parts is how much The New York Times flip-flopped on the GUI for the Obituaries section, as they deemed many of the ideas too morbid, finally deciding upon using a flower to signify death. Does that seem a bit off to anyone else? Anyhow, check out the rest of the sketches and ideas, it’s an interesting inside look.

Bobby

Rolando
July 2, 2008 | Categories: Apple / Design / Games

I’m pretty excited by the idea of having games to play on my iPhone. I have a feeling it’s going to be a lot like playing on a PSP, plus it’ll keep me busy while I wait places. One game that I just came across is called Rolando, it looks like it’s going to be damn fun. Basically, you control a bunch of colorful circles with funny faces on them, trying to get them to their home, which kind of looks like a cave. You control the cute little guys gesturally, like swiping left and right, and dragging a box around the circles to select them.

The circles themselves are way fun. There’s are two types of orange guys, one with yellow Wayfarers, the other with horn rim glasses. There’s a blue guy that can stick to surfaces, even upside down, a pink guy who has a little hat on his head, a big fatty guy who kind of looks like a king, and another big, drippy-looking, purple guy who can pick up the other little guys with his stickiness.

What makes the game seem even more fun is that they use The Clapping Song by Shirley Ellis. It’s absolutely infectious and would make an amazing soundtrack, though I highly doubt it’ll be used. Check out the video and see for yourself!

Bobby

It’s Going To Be An Apple Day
June 9, 2008 | Categories: Apple / Design / Technology

So that’s it! Basically what we learned today was that the new iPhone is now the iPhone 3G, it’s going to have 3G and GPS built in. The iPhone 3G will come in black and white, 8GB and 16GB versions. The 8GB goes for $199 and the 16GB goes for $299, the white version will come in only the 16GB version. What’s scary is that I bought an iPhone last December, but for $200 I would totally buy a new one. What does everyone think about all the new stuff?!

11:52: Did I mention it comes in white as well? haha… way cool.

11:46: THE 8GB IPHONE IS GOING TO BE $199!!! Shut the front door. That is so totally insane. And that price is for the whole world, no matter where you are. They just killed, raped, mauled and utterly destroyed all competition. The 16GB is going to be $299, and they’ll be realeased, in all selected countries, on July 11th.

11:44: Built in 3G ANNNDDDD GPS. Google Maps on the iPhone is hands down one of my very favorite things about it. I feel bad for all those people who make GPS systems, they are major screwed. The iPhone 3G should be available in over 70 countries by this fall.

11:36: And there she is, the new iPhone 3G. Still pretty much the same but a little smaller, black, plastic back. The new 3G phone is wayyyy faster I guess, nearing WiFi speeds. Hopefully AT&T can step up their game and make this worthwhile.

11:19: MobileMe. Takes all of your info, stores it in an “information cloud” that constantly updates all of your connected devices. Change a date in your iCal or update a contact on your iPhone? Your computer knows soon after. Works with Mac or PC, even in Outlook. Me.com is going to be the most popular site on the net VERY soon.

11:09: Wow. You can view all iWork documents on the iPhone now, as well as all MS Office docs as well. Bulk delete and move in email, save images from an email to your iPhone, scientific calculator, added languages. iPhone 2.0 software will be released in July. Free for iPhone, $9.95 for iPod Touch users. The update can be downloaded wirelessly!

11:01: Whoa, crazy game by Digital Legends. Kind of God of War-esque.

10:53: News to make my roommate Garrett happy. MLB.com is going to have an app that allows for instant scors, real-time video replays, even minutes after they just happened. Dudes everywhere now want an iPhone.

10:49: More new games, Cromag and Enigmo, try them now, $10 for the iPhone. Also a British insurance salesman made a game call Cow Terry, which is musical instruments on the iPhone, piano, drums and a “blues application”.

10:45: A slew of new interfaces like eBay, Typepad, Loopt, and even The Associated Press. Wordpress is also coming out with one, so says the guys at Gizmodo. Helloooooo mobile blog posting.

10:31: Oh Shit, Monkey Ball! And it only costs $10! I hope they announce that I can buy the game in like 2 hours, or I might be a little annoyed, haha… The images look like the Nintendo DS, easy. Fun times!

10:20: So far they’re just talking about the SDK and how you’ll be able to write your own programs, as well as how they’ve been working with big Fortune 500 companies to make the iPhone more big business friendly. YAWN!

Today is the big day! Apple is releasing all sorts of new goodies, so I’m going to try and keep up and post the things I find to be really cool! I think most people are going to be salivating for the new iPhone most of all, but I’m sure they’ll be more surprises then just that!

Bobby

Poolga
April 22, 2008 | Categories: Apple / Art / Design / Illustration

When I started doing the Desktop Wallpaper Project, I made the iPhone and PSP versions because I knew that I wanted to carry around these awesome images as well. But the DWP only comes out once a week, so if you’re ever in need of more backgrounds for your iPhone, head over to the folks at Poolga.

Poolga works on the same mantra that the DWP does, make awesome backgrounds for your iPhone. The ones above were created by an artist named Eika, or Karina Eibatova, an artist from Goteborg, Sweden. She’s just one of over 30 artists who’ve contributed, so you could basically have a new background every day of the month if you wanted. Definitely pop over and check out all the great images!

Bobby

Snapture
April 8, 2008 | Categories: Apple / Photography / Technology

Even though it’s not the best one out there, I’ve really grown to love the camera on the iPhone. Maybe it’s not the camera itself per se, it’s really not that great, but I love how easy it is to snap a picture of something and then send it to my Tumblr, or email it to myself or a friend. And honestly I don’t really care if the pictures don’t turn out to be works of art, I like them because I’m able to document something that catches my interest right away. So coming across an iPhone application like Snapture is kind of exciting.

Snapture basically takes the ultra-minimal contorls of the iPhone photo application and beefs it up with some new features. With Snapture you can do things like zoom, tap any button on the phone to take a photo, change your photos to grayscale, or even have a timer. These are all very simple ideas done in a very simple way so that you’re not left with a bunch of technical choices or ways to screw up your phone. The icons themselves could use a little bit of polish, they aren’t the most attractive, but they’re certainly easy to understand.

So far the application is only available for jailbroken phones, but hopefully they create and official application soon so that any normal iPhone user (like myself) can enjoy having more photo options!

Bobby

iPod Shuffle Is Now $50
February 19, 2008 | Categories: Apple

As of this morning, there’s no reason that any reasonable person shouldn’t own an iPod. Apple today dropped the price of their 1GB Shuffle from $79, to $49, and will also be releasing a 2GB model later this month. I have a last-gen 60GB iPod, but I would love to have a Shuffle to go running with, and this is such a good reason to get one now. Do you know how many middle school and high school kids are going to get Shuffles for graduation? And come X-mas time, it’s gonna be nuts. These will be even MORE of a stocking stuffer item.

But does this also mean that possibly something else could be coming out? Usually when Apple makes a move like this it means they’re trying to get rid of existing stock to usher something new in. What that could be, I have no idea… possibly a flash hard drive? A tiny-ass screen thrown onto the 2GB version? haha… I have no idea.

Bobby

Current State Concept by The Greener Grass
February 4, 2008 | Categories: Apple / Design / Technology

Sort of like the Starbucks QuickOrder Concept I posted about last month, The Greener Grass has come up with a program that could be extremely beneficial in so many ways.

The concept is called Current State, and basically it would show you how much energy your house or apartment is using, as well as taking control of it. The idea starts with the “Plug-Ends”, which plug into electrical outlets, and then you plug your lamp or toaster into the Plug-End. This allows you to turn whatevers plugged into it on or off remotely through your iPhone. Then you have the software, which gives you real time stats about your house’s energy usage, including a room by room display, and detailed room displays letting you know how much energy each outlet is using.

This is kind of sci-fi, I will admit it, but it’s definitely not impossible. Having something like this would save people money, as well as help the environment. The only head scratching part is how the program would know what your house or apartment looks like. I’m sure someone could create a program a la The Sims that would allow you to map your house out.

I can’t wait for a slew of new programs to pop up for the iPhone!

Bobby