...deutsche Xing AG veröffentlicht eine neue Version ihrer iPhone- und BlackBerry-Anwendung, mit der ein digitaler ‘Händedruck’ zum leichten Aus... Read More

The big knock against smartphones, iPods and iPads is that no one really needs one. There is no question you can get by without any of the nearly 300,000 mobile apps on the market. But if you ever felt the need to express yourself with music, and you test out some of the better apps, your definition of “need” may quickly wither. Tricked out with apps like Glee ($1), Band ($4), Bebot ($2) and others, the iPhone is history’s most versatile music creation device. The iPad offers a different and, in many ways, expanded dimension to the iPhone’s musical abilities, with apps like Magic Piano ($1), Air Harp ($2), Xewton Music Studio ($15) and Korg’s iElectribe ($10). And although users of other types of mobile phones, like the Android and the BlackBerry, are so far without these particular apps, they can still find a few decent ones to help tap into Read More

Wie Pocketgamer.co.uk korrekt ankündigte, erschien am heutigen Freitag plattformübergreifend FIFA 10 von Electronic Arts. Die iPhone-Version der Fußball-Simulation sieht sehr berauschend aus und spielt sich auf den ersten Metern ganz passabel. Gerade bei dieser Art von Sporttiteln fehlt mir jedoch die haptische Rückmeldung eines Joysticks. Die offizielle Mannschaftsliste fällt mit 570 Team recht lang aus und die Spielmodi gestalten sich umfangreich. Damit auch mal ein paar deutsche Teams in den YouTube-Welten vertreten sind, oben ein unkommentiertes Video meiner ersten (nicht erfolgsgesegneten) Spielminuten. Dev-Team Mitglied cpich3G verkündet über seine Twitter-Seite, dass es gelungen sei eine individuelle 3.1 Firmware auf einem 3GS-Gerät einzuspielen. Die Vorraussetzungen begrenzen jedoch den Spaß: Auf dem 3GS muss die Firmware 3.0 mit Jailbreak vorhanden sein um den ‘Gefängnisausbruch’ auf Firmware 3.1 ‘hinüberzuretten’. Zum derzeitigen Stand würde dies bedeuten, das der ‘Jailbreak’ für Firmware 3.1 von einem Exploit in 3.0 profitiert. Benutzer, die das letzte, offizielle Apple-Update eingespielt haben, Read More

Smule, the creators of hit iPhone music apps like Ocarina and Leaf Trombone, have partnered with hip hop/R&B star T-Pain to bring you a brand new iPhone app that utilizes Antares’ Auto-Tune technology to make your singing voice sound pitch perfect. You don’t need to know who T-Pain is or what Auto-Tune is to enjoy Smule’s I Am T-Pain, but here is a crash course anyway.  T-Pain, along with many other artists, use Antares’ Auto-Tune technology to change the pitch of their voices to make it sound unique or to disguise inaccuracies.  The technology has become standard equipment in professional recording studios and somehow Smule was able to cram it into an iPhone app. So how does I Am T-Pain work?  Simply launch the app and choose your favorite song, or you can choose to go freestyle.  The app allows you to sound like T-Pain, or you can customize the settings Read More

As the weeks go by with iPhone OS 3.0, an unsettling realization has set in. Am I out of touch with the mainstream? I still find it immensely surprising that apps with Push Notifications are almost entirely absent from the most downloaded lists. I posed the following question on twitter. “Question for all: Why do you think few (any?) Push Notification apps have made the top 25 in the App Store?” Here are some of the responses: Simon Ings (@ingzee) I don’t think the average iPhone/touch user really understands the push concept, it doesn’t excite them like it does a geek. Nate Orloff (@nato64) New technology is hard to (implement) flawlessly to the point where the masses want/need it. Once facebook does it well… T.J. Butler (@TJButler) b/c the apps that push that are available are “too” niche Ian Bernardo (@frizull) Push apps are scarce because people outside the geek circle Read More

The iPhone OS 3.0 apps have been trickling out slowly but surely. I’ve been trolling the RSS feeds, the App Store, Twitter and the Internet non-stop for the past week to keep our Peer To Peer, Push Notification and Mapping Applists completely up to date. Some of the new apps and app updates have been impressive. Others, not so much. This week I’m going to take a bit of a departure from the typical hidden gems format and give you a rundown of what’s hot, what’s not and what’s still in the offing for OS 3.0 apps. For days after iPhone OS 3.0′s debut we wondered where the Push Notification chat applications were. Instead of Meebo, AIM, BeejiveIM and IM+, we were treated instead to interesting but unsatisfying offerings like AP Mobile, Tap Tap Revenge, Star Defense and a handful of others. Sure it’s cool that AP Mobile sends you breaking Read More

Who could have possibly thought that a musical wind instrument could be made out of the iPhone? I seriously doubt whether Apple knew this can be done with their device. I still remember playing Ocarina on the iPhone for days when it was released. I was like a child playing with a new doll super excited. Victor did the same thing. The silly part is none of us has that musical talent, and we contribute nothing to the iPhone Ocarina community at the end. Yes, Smule showed something that we all didn’t even imagine could be possible on the iPhone. The story does not end there, Smule’s latest wind instrument, Leaf Trombone: World Stage is here to test our musical skills and to tease our imagination again. Like Ocarina, you would be able to play the Leaf Trombone easily, but getting out melodious notes out of it would be tough if Read More

iPhone 3.0 has landed, and the first apps with the new features are squirming their way through the App Store's clenching gates of approval. How are they? Well, for starters, they all look awfully familiar. Given that the firmware update has only been live for two days now, the vast majority of 3.0-utilizing downloads are just refreshes of older apps. In fact, you can expect that the be the case for a while; iPhone 3.0's new features are nice, but most of them aren't the kind of thing you'd build an entire app around. So, here are the best of the updates: Leaf Trombone: World Stage: Apple demoed this thing way back in March, but that was pre-3.0, and most importantly for this App, pre-multiplayer. That's the big update here: iPhone faux-trombone duets which can be played over Bluetooth. The "World Stage" aspect of World Stage is still intact, putting your Read More

Hopefully, you've been able to get the new 3.0 firmware installed and activated on your iPhones or iPod Touches. If you are looking for do something with the new functionality, here are a few new 3.0-updates that were announced today. Besides push notification support, peer-to-peer play, and iPod music support, we're already seeing in-app purchasing add ons. The actual updates are free for those who own the apps, but a couple introduce in-app purchasing which may require additional money to gain new content. ■ Flee from the Farmer, at all costs. Your days of peacefully living in the chicken coop are gone. It’s that dreadful time of the year, and Farmer Brown is looking for the next unfortunate chicken to fit in his freezer. Miraculously, the pig next door lets you out of the coop just in time! Now it’s up to you and your little hot wings to make the Read More

The iPhone 3G S and OS 3.0 introduce a raft of updates to the device, representing another leap ahead of the competition. We spoke to three App Store developers to find out what to expect in the coming weeks. The new device, iPhone 3G S, stays with the form-factor of its predecessor but squeezes in more raw processing power, greater storage, and even a compass. The updated software, OS 3.0, introduces an array of new features, including in-app purchasing, push notification, and device access — meaning greater integration with third-party peripherals, such as Tom Tom’s GPS navigation dock. With so much potential packed into the new device and OS, it’s important to find out which new features the app developers will be focusing on in the coming months, and what this will mean for iPhone users. Tapulous is one of the App Store’s shining stars. Its flagship game, Tap Tap Revenge, Read More

by Not even 15 years ago, we were listening to our favorite tunes on compact discs, lugging around our Walkmans, and singing along to the FM radio (Collective Soul, anyone?). But with the rise of the web and social media, music has been transformed into an even more vibrant and accessible art. No longer do you have to be signed by a major label or own a massive collection of CDs to dive into the world of music. So how has the web impacted music? At the beginning, it was simply a tool for easier access to music. Turning music digital made it possible to burn CDs and make your own music mix. It was also the rise of a pirating culture – peer to peer networks like Napster and Kazaa made it possible for people to circumvent legal purchases in favor of illegal downloads. But the early, lawless web also Read More

The folks at Smule know that once you try Leaf Trombone, you will be hooked, that’s why they created and released a new version titled Leaf Trombone: Lite & Free.  This will allow you to get a taste of the gameplay without having to spend that measly $.99. Leaf Trombone: Lite & Free allows you to free play by either blowing into your microphone or just by sliding the leaf (for iPod touch users).  You can also play a single default track from the full version of the game (Auld Lang Syne), witness the judging of actual live performances, and compose your own songs on smule.com, which you can then play on your own Leaf Trombone. Leaf Trombone: World Stage, which is the full version of the game, contains all of this and tons more.  You can play multiple tracks, compose your own music, compete online in front of judges, judge Read More

7 May 2009 alle 16:30 Eccoci ad un nuovo appuntamento con iSpazio Redeem, il nostro servizio quotidiano, nel quale offriamo codici promozionali per scaricare gratuitamente le applicazioni dell’AppStore. Oggi tocca a “Leaf Trombone”, un’applicazione molto divertente. Abbiamo 7 codici a disposizione per scaricarlo gratuitamente e potrete vincerli tutti su estrazione. Come? E’ semplicissimo! Per vincere i 7 codici su estrazione, basta lasciare un commento (con un indirizzo email valido), scrivendo una frase che abbia al suo interno la parola “Partecipo“. Qui non conta la velocità, quindi potete fare commenti anche più elaborati.. Più tardi, chiuderò i commenti (in maniera tale da non accettarne di nuovi) e insieme allo sviluppatore procederemo all’estrazione. Ovviamente se qualche utente farà commenti multipli verrà preso in considerazione 1 sola volta, come tutti gli altri. Il fortunato vincitore verrà contattato via email e non appena risponderà, provvederemo ad inviargli il codice, che una volta utilizzato aggiungeremo in Read More

04.29.09        App Score: 10/10    Leaf Trombone: World Stage – There’s something vaguely intimidating about being assigned to review an application and, upon doing a little research, finding out that it’s an extremely hotly-anticipated app from a developer with a line of very successful, high-profile offerings. So as I sit here, preparing to review Leaf Trombone: World Stage by smule (tons of additional info and tutorials can be found on the smule website, by the way), I can’t help but find myself thinking you’d better get this right! And speaking of getting it right, Leaf Trombone certainly seems to do so. Billed as the “First Massively-Multiplayer Music Game,” Leaf Trombone: World Stage follows in the footsteps of smule’s smash hit Ocarina, turning your iPhone into a bona fide wind instrument. While Ocarina turned the iPhone into a magic flute, Leaf Trombone goes a little more earthy; developer Ge Read More

Leaf Trombone is yet another creative app that takes your phone and turn it into an interactive musical instrument. Developed by Smule, the makers of the ocarina, leaf trombone brings a whole new dynamic to how users can play on their device. The team has now created a trombone, complete with 3 different octaves and a whole lot of sliding. Starting up the app, users are given the option to play a song, jump onto the world stage, or just mess around in free play. Playing a song will allow users to play a song created by users, with the notes being highlighted as you play. Choosing world stage will allow you to show off your skills to the world or judge someone else's. Free play is probably the best place to start.Once in, you can choose to use the wind mode, which allows for blowing into the mic, or use Read More

Leaf Trombone: World Stage fué una de las aplicaciones presentadas en la última Keynote. Esta aplicación viene de las manos de Smule, los creadores de la exitosa aplicación Ocarina. Esta vez, vuelven con una aplicación musical, que nos permite tocar un raro instrumento que suena como un trombón. Para ello, podemos usar el modo manual o soplando, así que podrá ser usada tanto en un iPhone, como en un iPod Touch. Podremos seleccionar varias canciones ya preparadas o tocar de manera libre. Además podemos crear nuestras propias partituras desde su web. La parte “más” interesante o curiosa, según queramos llamarlo, es la que hace referencia a la segunda parte del nombre: World Stage, que nos permitirá tocar junto a otra gente a través de Internet, así como valorarlos y ser valorados por oyendes de cualquier parte del mundo. Disponible: App Store Precio: 0,79€ Read More

In anticipation of the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference coming up June 8 - 12 in San Francisco, Apple has posted four videos highlighting developers who are creating apps with the iPhone SDK. Each video shows how the developer is creating a unique app with the iPhone SDK, using the tools and frameworks, and then selling the app through the App Store. The videos highlight: In this cynical world, it's great to see four people who are so positive about the iPhone platform and the SDK. Read More

[appreview] title=Leaf Trombone image=http://gigapple.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/leaf_trombone_icon.png price=$0.99 url=http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=309080428&mt=8 rating=gold [/appreview] Learn to play the leaf trombone, perform your repertoire before a global audience, and prepare to be judged. Since the App Store’s launch last year, Smule has been steadily building an impressive portfolio of sound-based social apps for the iPhone. With Dr. Ge Wang — an assistant professor in Music and Acoustics — at the helm, among a smattering of clever and fun sonic toys, their biggest hit to date has been the multi-award winning Ocarina. Smule’s latest app, Leaf Trombone: World Stage, is a social musical instrument designed specifically for the iPhone. Players can download new songs and perform before a judging panel of other leaf trombonists. In terms of igniting the musical imagination of touch and iPhone owners around the world, Smule’s standout moment has been the creation of Ocarina. The app is an enchanting recreation of the palm-size wind instrument, Read More

I've been down on the fine folks at Smule in the past -- I've said that their app Ocarina seems kind of silly (even if people have created some pretty awesome stuff with it and other less annoying music apps). And about the only thing they could have done to make it up to me was to develop some sort of super massively multiplayer music app, some app in which you could play a tune and have it sent all around the world. So I guess I have to call off my pretend grudge against them once and for all, because that's exactly what they did: Leaf Trombone: World Stage is in the App Store right now. This is, of course, the app with the strange name that we saw at Apple's iPhone 3.0 demo. It features a Chinese leaf-type instrument that sounds, as you can hear above, like a trombone. Read More