SNL tonight, dude: Jeff Bridges hosts as free Lil Wayne joins Eminem

by Bill Palmer

Saturday Night Live goes for the trifecta tonight as “The Dude” Jeff Bridges hosts while a pair of high profile rappers occupy the musical guest slot. In the midst of a major career comeback, Eminem will be joined On SNL by newly freed Lil Wayne. While Eminem has spent most of the year enjoying a resurgence in popularity on the strength of his new album Recovery, Wayne has spent most of the year in jail. No word on whether either or both artists will find their way into sketches tonight, or whether those sketches will address either of their ongoing career sagas.

Meanwhile, the hosting duties of Jeff Bridges will almost certainly include some kind of sendup of his Big Lebowski character known as The Dude, because really, how can it not? As far as tonight’s music, props to Saturday Night Live for having the guts and range to have a living legend like Paul McCartney perform one week and cutting edge hip hop artists like Lil Wayne and Eminem the next. If only the show’s sketches, which thus far this season have largely been rehashes of older sketches which weren’t all that funny to begin with, had the same range or guts. Here’s more on Saturday Night Live.

Griffin Reveal Etch Graphite case for iPhone 4: review

As part of the free case program from Apple, the Reveal Etch Graphite is pretty decent.

The Reveal Etch is a combination of rubber sides and a polycarbonate back with a sketched pattern for style. The rubber provides enough grip to make holding the phone a bit more manageable.

But since the sides are made of rubber, I noticed that they have the tendency to be pushed and pulled around the edges of the screen. This can be a problem since dirt, dust, and grim can accumulate as a result of the somewhat loose rubber sides. The case should provide enough protection to protect your device from the usual wear-and-tear of daily use.

But the cutouts for the headphones and camera with flash are precisely cut so that there are no issues. The power and volume buttons are protected with rubber, but it takes a teensy bit more pressure to press the buttons. The ringer toggle is left open with enough space to be easily accessed.

The bottom has enough space to let the case be compatible with your older and third party cables. Docks may be another question (I don’t have a dock with my iPhone 4, sorry).

Overall, this is a good option of you want a free case from Apple. It protects the phone which adding a unique look to it with the etched backing. It’s also a decent choice for $29.99.

rating: 3.5 stars out of five • GriffinTechnology.com

iPhone 4 Bumper case is worth its free price tag, not much more

Apple is offering a free Bumper case to any iPhone 4 user who wants one, an appropriate move considering that in-house tests show the Bumper to be worth nowhere near its original $29 price tag. iPhone 4 users are receiving the free Bumper (or a limited choice of free cases from other vendors) because Apple is looking to make the overblown-yet-persistent iPhone 4 antenna headlines go away. But as it turns out, the Bumpers are essentially just a piece of rubber which wraps around the iPhone’s outer edges but provides no protection for the device’s front or back – and is only compatible with the iPhone sync cable Apple provides, whereas most other cases can be used in conjunction with third party iPhone sync cables, which tend to have a taller neck.

On the plus side, the Apple Bumper for iPhone 4 does come in a wide choice of colors, which makes up for the fact that the iPhone 4 itself only comes in a choice of black or white – and even then, the white iPhone 4 model has been delayed indefinitely. As a $29 product, our in-house tests have rated the Bumper a mere three stars out of five. But as a free throw-in, you can’t beat the zero dollar price tag. Here’s our hands-on Apple Bumper case review.

However, in-house reviews have shown some of the third party iPhone 4 cases included in Apple’s free case program are likely to make for more suitable options for most users. Other pptions include free iPhone 4 cases from Belkin, Speck, Incase, and Griffin. Here’s a review of our highest rated free iPhone 4 case.

Top Bargain iPhone and iPad apps: Puzzles, Games, News and more

Here are some top bargain iPhone and iPad for the week of July 26th, 2010! Be sure to get them before the sales end.

Ancient Frog – A unique and elegantly designed puzzle game that will leave you feeling calm and a sense of zen as you play. Guide the frog around on waterdrops on various leaves and plants to capture a tasty treat. Over 100 puzzles to play. Normally $4.99, it’s on sale now for just 99 cents! Both iPhone and iPad versions are on sale this week!
iPhone Lite Version (Free) | iPhone Version (99 cents) | iPad Version (99 cents)

Finger Physics: Thumb Wars – A great followup to Finger Physics, this physics-based puzzles will tickle your brain! Definitely a great casual game with levels lasting a few seconds. With 9 tutorial levels and 10 basic levels, the free version gives you a great feel of the overall game. If you want more puzzles, consider purchasing the full game.
iPhone Lite Version (Free) | iPhone Full Version ($1.99)

Pix ‘n Love Rush – So retro and so much fun, this game will take you back to the time of pixels and short attention spans! Help the little critter make it through the levels by moving, jumping, and shooting. Collect yellow pieces and avoid or shoot purple ones. Rush through all the short levels quickly and safely. iPhone Version (99 cents)

Super 7 is an entertaining math game. Draw a line between numbers to add up to 7. The drawn line will bring them closer. Numbers can also collide with one another to add up to a bigger number piece. Prevent numbers that add up to more than 7 from colliding with one another. Your score is based on how many 7′s pieces you can create. Normally $1.99, it’s free for a limited time! iPhone Version (Free)

Office Heroes – If you enjoy games like Farmville or We Rule, you may like this too. Instead of spending time outdoors, you can create and customize your own indoors office! Design your avatar and decorate his/her office with computers, furnitures, and more! Facebook account is required to play. iPhone Version (Free)

Fruit Memory HD is a beautiful memory match game. Match fruits by taking turns flipping the cards. Can play up to 4 players at any one time using 12, 28, or 40 cards. The game is designed for young children. Beautiful user interface and graphics, making the app very easy to use. Normally $1.99, it’s currently on sale for 99 cents. iPad Version (99 cents)

Flipboard is an amazing and beautiful interactive magazine designed just for you. As you flip the pages, you will see personalized pages filled with your friends Tweets, Facebook updates, and posted photos. At least that’s who it would work if you were allowed to connect your account. They’re currently still working on the accounts portion, but it’s definitely worth the download. I suggest adding the “Tech Influencers” to your content list to get tech news, tweets, and announcements. iPad Version (Free)

ABC News for iPad – read and watch the news in a whole new way. This iPad-specific app displays a globe of news that you move around with your hand. Select the news item you want to read and click to bring up the full article. There are also options to browser and search for news on specific topics. Globe view option can also be turned off to display a website/magazine layout. iPad Version (Free)

Apple Bumper case for iPhone 4: review

Apple has started to get into the case business, with their official case for the iPad and the Bumper for the iPhone 4. The Bumper provides a simple and somewhat elegant solution to protecting your new investment – the iPhone 4.

The Bumper is merely a band of hard plastic and rubber that goes around the stainless steel band on the iPhone 4. This is great to prevent the antenna issues since it happens only when you cover up the black band, but leaves a lot more to be desired on protecting the phone. Though the Bumper does seem to add a bit of lift between the case and the front screen glass and back panel, so it would be saved from damage to the glass if dropped. I did drop my iPhone 4 on cement with the bumper on, and it escaped unscathed, only with a couple of scuffs on the bumper’s plastic.

The Bumper protects all of the buttons, including the power button and volume buttons. While the power button is protected by the rubber, the volume buttons get covered in rounded, metallic plastic that are reminiscent of the real buttons on the device, complete with the + and – buttons. The covering on the volume buttons is my favorite part of the Bumper case, simply because it just adds that touch of elegance on the case overall.

The headphone port is easily accessible with the Bumper, although the same can’t be said for the bottom connecting port. The opening at the bottom of the Bumper is small, and will only fit the newer 30-pin connector USB cables that are included with the iPhone 4 and iPad so far. The lip of the Bumper is narrower than the older cables, therefore rendering any older accessory or cable useless. The only way to make them work with the iPhone 4 is if you take the Bumper off each time. Because of this, it makes it harder to recommend Apple’s Bumper.

If you want to show off the slick glass of your iPhone 4 but want some grip and minimal protection, the Bumper is what you want. Just keep in mind the inconvenience of full protection and compatibility with older cables.

You can obtain the Bumper for free through Apple’s iPhone 4 Case Program, along with third-party iPhone 4 cases from Speck, Belkin, Griffin, and Incase.

rating: three stars out of five • Apple free case program

Looking for other options? Here’s our best and worst rated iPhone 4 cases.

Speck PixelSkin HD Case for iPhone 4: review

Speck’s PixelSkin HD case for iPhone 4 is similar to the original PixelSkin case that I’ve previously reviewed, however, the blocks on the back of the case are smaller. It’s advertised as “18 dpi” as compared to the 4 dpi of the original PixelSkin. And if you had to choose between the two, the HD is the way to go. Here’s why.

Unlike the original PixelSkin, it’s not as ‘rubbery,’ so I haven’t noticed much of the stickiness that causes dust and dirt to get stuck on the case. The entire one-piece case has a matte finish on the rubber, combined with the shinier plastic that is in between the tiny block pattern on the back. These smaller blocks combined with the matte finish give the case an overall better grip and feel than the original version.

There is dust that seems to collect occasionally around the edges of the screen. However, the case is so easy to take off and put back on that this really isn’t a problem.

There are side and top button guards that add extra protection.The opening for the ring switch is also spacious enough for those with larger fingers to be able to reach in and toggle the switch easily without hassle. The bottom also leaves enough space for the device  to be compatible with older iPhone/iPod cables.

I would say that this is one of the best cases out in the market right now. This is also one of the free cases that Apple is offering for the iPhone 4 Case Program, and probably the best one offered. So either way, it’s definitely worth it.

Rating: 5 stars out of 5 • SpeckProducts.com

Free iPhone tethering arrives via flashlight app, quickly burns out

iPhone tethering, long a contentious issue due to its continual delay in arriving as well as AT&T’s intention to charge an arm and a leg for it on top of an iPhone user’s regular monthly bill, arrived briefly in the App Store via the most underhanded of ways: buried within a ninety-nine cent app which Apple unwittingly approved because it appeared to be a simple flashlight app, says Geekologie. If you missed out it, sorry, it’s already been yanked from the App Store and the trick is unlikely to work the next time an app developer tries a similar tactic. The big surprise is not so much that it got past Apple in the first place, but that the app developer who came up with the idea is a mere fifteen years old. It’s still not clear whether any iPhone users outside the geekdom is actually interested in (the odds are that most mainstream iPhone users don’t even know what “tethering” means, let alone would be interested in jury-rigging one of their devices to the other in such a fashion), but AT&T’s continued insistence on milking the iPhone users who do want the feature is yet another motivation for iPhone users to dislike AT&T by an ever-increasing margin.

iPhone 4: less than 2% return rate, free Bumper cases for all anyway

At Apple’s iPhone 4 press conference today, Steve Jobs made it clear that the iPhone 4 is not being returned to the store for a refund by customers in any quantity. In fact, he says, iPhone 4 has one-third the return rate that its predecessor, the iPhone 3GS, had in the same timeframe after its launch in 2009. Nonetheless, despite the fact that iPhone 4 users clearly have no issue with their antenna or reception, Apple plans to give a free Apple-branded “Bumper” case to any iPhone 4 user who wants one – and anyone who already bought a Bumper will be refunded for it, says Macworld. Jobs also made it clear that only about one half of one percent of all iPhone 4 users have complained to Apple about the antenna. The issuing of free cases to iPhone 4 users, the vast majority of whom don’t feel there’s anything wrong with their antenna to begin with, appears to be aimed at giving tech journalists a victory so they’ll stop writing absurdly overblown headlines about the iPhone 4′s antenna.

Hulu iPhone app price tag angers fans, should not have been a surprise

The Hulu Plus app for iPhone is free, but unlike the television content on hulu.com, the content available through Hulu’s app comes with a price tag. This should be a surprise to precisely no one. The original Hulu business model, in which users could watch full length television episodes for free on a website an exchange for sitting through the embedded ads, is failing for the same reason that the traditional network television business model is failing: viewers skip ads. Unlike with a DVR, where viewers can fast forward through the ads, Hulu viewers don’t have such an option. But they do have the ability to mute the ad and go do something in another program on their computer, such as checking their email, in order to kill the fifteen seconds during which Hulu’s ads run. So it’s not a surprise that with Hulu’s ads being ignorable and advertisers not getting their money’s worth, the service is now looking at pay-for models, and decided that the iPhone userbase would be its testbed.

It’s not a bad idea in theory, as iPhone users are the type who are willing to pay $200-300 for the cellphone they want, as opposed to the majority of the population who still chug along on whatever free flip-phone was tossed at them during contract renewal. But Hulu has apparently mistaken taste for chumpiness, as the company thought it could suddenly get iPhone users to pay for a service whose one and only claim to fame was that it was free.

Hulu’s problem is that by offering a crappy television experience through a lame webpage for years and using the “but it’s free!” mantra to build an audience, Hulu ended up attracting the kind of users who won’t pay for anything unless they absolutely have to (and yes, a portion of the iPhone userbase does fit this description). Now that the free model has been proven not to work, Hulu now faces going back to its overly thrifty audience with its hand out, asking for money that it’ll never get from them. Worse, by virtue of gaining a “crap but free” reputation, Hulu will now have significant difficulty marketing its pay-for service to those members of the public who are willing to spend their money but only on quality stuff. If Hulu had charged a bit for its service from the start and had used that revenue to improve its user experience, the company might now be able to sell its product to those who are willing to open their wallets. But once you’re known for being a “crap but free” kind of service, you’re generally stuck with that model for better or worse.

Keep in mind that Hulu is owned by the television networks themselves and was started simply so those networks could have a bigger bargaining chip when it came to negotiating with Apple about television shows in the iTunes Store (its the same reason, in fact, that the major record labels convinced Amazon to launch AmazonMP3, which not coincidentally, is now being held back by its “crap but cheap” reputation). As Hulu has only ever existed as a pawn in a larger tactical strategy, its original business model is no longer working, and its sudden attempts to move to a different strategy are being met with outrage by existing users and indifference among potential new users, one wonders how much longer Hulu will be around one way or the other. On the other hand, the iTunes television model, in which users pay two to three dollars to “own” an episode that they’ll most likely only watch once before discarding, hasn’t exactly been a success either.

So even though it’s killing the television industry financially, driving the highest quality shows off the air, and pushing us further into reality TV hell, most of us will continue to stick with our DVRs until something finally gives. But considering how thoroughly Hulu is being run through the shredder today by iPhone users who have made it clear through their posted App Store comments that they have no intention of ever paying a dime for something as crappy as Hulu, one has to wonder what if anything will save television.

iOS 4 released today for iPhone and iPod touch via iTunes update

Apple’s new iOS 4 operating system has arrived today for iPhone and iPod touch via free software update in iTunes. If you haven’t yet found it, connect your iPhone or touch to your computer, open iTunes, click on your device in the left sidebar, and click on “check for update.” The iOS4 download will take several minutes and the installation will take up to an hour; we’re installing it now here at Beatweek and we’ll report back with our hands on findings once that installation has completed. Didn’t Apple CEO Steve Jobs say iOS 4 wouldn’t be released until June 22nd? Looks like the early release is an early gift to mark the start of summer 2010.

Apple launches free “Apple Store app” for iPad, iPhone, iPod touch

Apple has announced the launch of its own Apple Store app, which the company says allows customers to shop the online Apple Store via their iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. The app is notable in that Apple offers a mere handful of its own apps via the App Store, including iTunes Remote, Keynote Remote, and soon iMovie. Apple says that the Apple Store app can also be used for Genius Bar, hands-on workshops, and Personal Shopping appointments. Not surprisingly, the Apple Store app is free and is available for download now.

Apple pushes free iPod touch on college kids

It’s not the time of year for kids to go off to college (that’s in the fall), nor is it the time of year in which Apple would usually be preparing to introduce a new iPod touch model (traditionally the second week of September), but Apple is indeed looking to pawn off some iPod touch inventory on some college kids by offering them a free one along with the purchase of a Mac. The deal is offered through Apple’s online education store, which also offers students modest discounts. While the June timing of a college promotion does seem odd, it turns out the offer is valid through September 7th – putting it right in the date range of when Apple does typically update its iPod lineup. In any case, between now and then, students can get their hands on a free iPod touch, which would normally set them back two hundred bucks, if they buy a new Mac from Apple.

iPhone user pays $600 for free Tap Fish app

A father in Florida was hit with more than $600 in charges to his iTunes account after allowing his child to play the free game “Tap Fish” on his iPhone, according to a local NBC affiliate report. The man says his daughter purchased a significant number of additional fish via in-app purchases without realizing what was going on. The scenario is precisely what Apple had been trying to avoid when it originally didn’t allow in-app purchases via free apps, but such purchases are now commonplace, although the dollar amount racked up in this case is extreme. The man says he intends to pay the bill, but no longer plans to allow his child to use his iPhone.

Barnes and Noble app comes to the iPad

Do you need a wider selection of books for your iPad? Barnes and Noble for the iPad just arrived in the app store today! More than a million titles have been digitalized and available at your fingertips. There’s also more than half a million free classics available from Google Books for you to download.

Pages slide forward and backward in the eBooks. Users can also adjust font sizes, text justification, font type, and margin size, and background colors in the options. These options can also be saved as a theme for you to refer back to. Purchasing books however will take you to the Barnes and Noble website. After you purchase the book, there’s no way of getting back to the B&N iPad app unless you close the browser and start it back up. That would be one drawback. But other than that, it’s another great app for your iPad, especially if you invested lot of money in eBooks for your Nook.

You can download the BN eReader for iPad app here.

Pac-Man part of Google’s crappy-yet-free dominance strategy

Google is keeping its free Pac-Man game around for awhile, and whether that was always the plan or just an afterthought, the much discussed game is part of a bigger strategy for Google, despite the relative insignificance of the little browser-based Pac-Man game itself. It goes back to Google’s beginnings, when search engines were generally so bad as to provide comical results, and the company came up with a search algorithm which, will still often resulting in sifting through page after page of useless results, was a far less crappy option than anyone else was offering. The company then attacked webmail, which is crap by definition in comparison to the experience you can get via a real email client. But seeing how competing webmail options like Yahoo and Hotmail were even crappier than they needed to be, Google was able to win over that particular market simply by offering free webmail that was less crappy.

Which brings us to Pac-Man. In a year in which Google has attempted to extend its strategy by giving away everything from a less-crappy web browser to rival Microsoft’s garbage Internet Explorer, and even an entire operating system aimed at doing the same to Windows, Google’s big push in 2010 is to get its crappy-yet-free Android operating system onto cellphones. While Android is a bad operating system, it’s not a bad strategy: the only way to get a coherent operating system on your cellphone is to move to AT&T and buy an iPhone, and so for users who really want an iPhone but aren’t willing to brave the AT&T waters in order to make it happen, the Android OS offers an alternative. Yes it’s crappy, and no, the phones aren’t free. But the fact that Google is giving away the Android OS to carriers means that Android will be the dominating crappy operating system on crappy cellphones. And while Google’s PacMan is just a fun little free game and I’ve already been accused of being a sourpuss for finding something negative to say about it, the fact is that the game is yet another little cog in Google’s crappy-yet-free strategy.

While other tech companies are scratching their heads wondering why they didn’t think to rack up millions of page views by giving people a crappy free game on their home page over the weekend, Google has yet again found a way to succeed with a crap product simply by giving it away for free. Anyone who’s played any of the available Pac-Man offerings available via Apple’s App Store, and then gone back and played the free Google Pac-Man, either agrees that the Google version is crap or has absolutely no taste. But despite the fact that Google hasn’t done a thing to advance the world of consumer technology since launching its search engine, and has since become a mere copycatter obsessed with mimicking Apple at every turn except doing so in a way that attempts to return us to the dark ages in which consumer technology wasn’t suitable for anyone but the bubble-geeks, Google sure does manage to keep finding a way to get people to take interest in its crap – simply by finding clever ways to get them to consume it for free.

But if your heart is content on playing Google Pac-man, don’t let me stop you; it’s still available.

Twitter for iPhone surges to top free spot on App Store charts

While user opinions on the new official Twitter app for iPhone and iPod touch continue to be divided (with most of the criticism oddly centered around the app’s eyeless bird new icon), that hasn’t stopped the app from becoming exceedingly popular right out of the gate. While Twitter for iPhone reached the number four spot on the list of top free iPhone apps in Apple’s App Store on the day it was released, the app has now climbed all the way to number one. The app has thus far received 2658 user ratings, with a mere three and a half star average rating out of five. However, many if not most of the lowest ratings appear to have been left by reviewers who wrote that the icon is their only complaint, with a few reviewers complaining that they don’t care for the new manner in which the app, which was formerly Tweetie 2, handles retweeting.

We’ve spent some time with the new Twitter for iPhone, and here’s what you need to know before installing it.

Free iPhone 4G scams popping up on Facebook

The product hasn’t even been formally announced, and yet shady offers involving a “free iPhone 4G” have begun surfacing across the internet already. This is nothing new, as these schemes previously centered on the iPod a few years back when it was the “hot” product, and of course these online schemes have existed since the dawn of electronic communication. But the surfacing of “Get a free iPhone 4G” scams on Facebook elevates the practice to a more dangerous level, as it gives them an automatic air of legitimacy.

Suffice it to say that anyone offering you a “free iPhone” (and unless it’s your birthday and the offer is coming from your spouse or best friend) is likely attempting to scam you in one way or another, typically by getting their hands on your personal information; such sites are often marked with disclaimers such as “participation required” in the small print.

The particularly interesting aspect of these scams is that the “prize” is a product that yet officially exist.

Tweetie is still for sale

In light of Twitter’s announcement that it had acquired the Tweetie app for iPhone and iPod touch with the intention of converting it into an “official” free app, one would think that the $2.99 Tweetie 2 currently available in the App Store might become a free app in the interim. But that’s not the case, at least as of this hour, as Tweetie 2 still sports a price tag.

Sure, it’s only three bucks, and the app is worth its price tag. But one wonders if, in the name of not causing purchases to think they’ve been cheated out of their money when they later learn that the app is about to become free of charge in its next incarnation, Twitter might be best served by going ahead and converting Tweetie 2 into a free app in the interim. After all, users might want to spend that three dollars to buy a cup of coffee instead.

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Filed Under: Industry News
Tagged: App Store, Apple, buy, free, iPhone, iPod touch, iTunes, official, paid, Tweetie, Twitter

It’s official: Twitter hates money

April 9, 2010 by Bill Palmer · Leave a Comment 

Twitter did something brilliantly straightforwardly smart today in acquiring Tweetie, the most popular (and best mainstream-oriented) Twitter app for iPhone and iPod touch, with the intention of turning it into Twitter’s own official iPhone app, soon to be simply titled “Twitter for iPhone” in the App Store. The $2.99 app will also become scott free.

Here’s why the acquisition is smart, if at least a year late: the early-adopter days of Twitter are long over, and the flood of mainstream users who’ve joined the site of late aren’t the type who are impressed by the fact that dozens of cutely-named third party options are available. Just as the iPod’s mainstream success (as opposed to the continual flops among competing MP3 players) was largely due to the fact that Apple clearly made iTunes the official centerpiece of the iPod experience, it’s well past time that Twitter could point to a specific official piece of software that you’re supposed to use. Anything less and you’re scaring away the newbies by steering them to a cacophony of random Twitter apps in the App Store – or worse yet, they’re still using mobile.twitter.com on their iPhone because none of the third party apps have the resources to let mainstream iPhone users know that they even exist.

And while Tweetie isn’t every iPhone user’s cup of tea, this won’t cause other third party iPhone apps like TweetDeck or Twittelator to disappear entirely, as some users (particularly power users in the former’s case) will continue to seek out these apps.

Not sure the same can be said about the free third party iPhone apps, however, because perhaps the biggest news here is that Tweetie Twitter for iPhone will be a free app. Again, a really smart move (although one that will certainly hurt leading free Twitter app Echofon) because the last thing Twitter needs to do as it tries to challenge Facebook for true mainstream social networking dominance is to try to nickel and dime potential users. Three bucks doesn’t sound like much, but for whatever reason, those buying apps tend to be incredibly cheap when doing so – as evidenced by the fact that so many iPhone users have derided the $2.99 Tweetie as being “too expensive,” particularly when Tweetie 2.0 was released as a paid upgrade to the original version.

Here’s the thing though – Twitter has never made a dime of identifiable revenue. And yet Tweetie, which was a one-man show in the form of Loren “atebits” Brichter (who’s now joining the Twitter team himself, another smart move), had found a model in which money could be made from Twitter users. In fact it’s possible Tweetie has made more revenue from Twitter users over the years than Twitter itself ever has. And now that Twitter has acquired this potential source of revenue, what do they do? Immediately turn off the faucet by converting it into a free product.

I’t the right move. When Twitter finally does decide on a revenue stream (or more accurately, decide that it finally wants a revenue stream), it’ll be much more significant than the money that can be acquired by charging for its own official app. In the end, the size of the Twitter user base will primarily decide how much revenue the company can make over the long term – and launching an official free Twitter app for iPhone and iPod touch (and soon iPad) users will only help to improve those users’ Twitter experience and increase the size and retention rate of those users.

But man, the folks at Twitter must hate the idea of making money.

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Tagged: free, iPhone, iPod touch, Tweetie, Twitter

App review: Discovery Channel

September 4, 2009 by Beatweek · 1 Comment 

New in iProng Labs: a hands-on review of the Discovery Channel app for iPhone and iPod touch, available for free in the App Store…

review by Eric Nguyen

The Discovery Channel app is best thought of as the Discovery Channel’s YouTube channel, if it had one. The first thing you see once the program loads is a list of clips from various Discovery Channel shows such as Man vs. Wild, Deadliest Catch, and Mythbusters. These aren’t actual episodes, but rather short clips, each only a couple minutes long. For example, the current most-viewed video is titled “Moments of Impact: Big Cat Attack,” and is a couple minutes worth of an captured African leopard’s escape and attempt to climb into a ranger’s car through the driver’s side window. There are about 30 seconds of actual video in there, but the slow-motion replay and narration lengthen it to a couple minutes. This is perhaps the best way to watch the Discovery Channel: in short snippets with limited commercial interruption, varied enough that it’s impossible to become bored.

In fact, once you start playing a video from a list (say, Latest Videos or a particular TV show), after a short pause at the end of each clip, the next one will start—so, it’s a lot like watching a really varied Discovery Channel episode. There are some commercials that play in front of videos, but they only show up every once in a while. The problems with the video content involve the formatting and processing of the videos, rather than the videos themselves. First, I noticed a couple videos with noise levels that were much louder or softer than normal. This wasn’t too big of a problem, but given that the makers of the app also control all of the content, it shouldn’t be that difficult to standardize all of the videos. The second issue I noticed had to do with how each video looked on screen. The quality was fine for an iPhone screen, but by default the video size is smaller than the screen itself, leaving black borders all around the video. It is easily possible to zoom in so that the video fills the screen horizontally, but that should be done by default.

The app also has other features less-related to video clips. The most useful of these are the Discovery Channel TV schedules. You can see the schedule for the rest of the day, or if you’re searching by show, you can see the next time that show will air. It’s pretty useful if you don’t want to have to use a TV guide. Other features include quizzes, Discovery Channel photo galleries, and science news (in video format). Of course, these are not the main attraction of the program—that would most definitely be the video clips.

Speaking of video, it’s important to remember that this app is doesn’t have any actual TV shows in it, just short clips. It does, however, have links directly to each show in the iTunes Store, so if you really like a clip you can easily get more, albeit for money.

Overall, it’s safe to say that the Discovery Channel app is a great way to soak up some time while waiting for the bus. The video clips are short enough that you can probably fit one in before the bus comes, yet still long enough to be interesting. The extra features are icing on the cake. If the app creators could figure out a way to fix the video issues this app would be pretty great. Also nice would be a simpler interface—currently, some important functionality (like video search) is buried in the ‘More’ tab. It’s good to know that it’s there, but a good iPhone app should also have core functionality such as that be intuitively accessible. In the meantime, though, I’ll definitely be keeping this app.

*****

The Discovery Channel app is available for free in the App Store.

*****

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Filed Under: iPod, iPhone, iPad, and iTunes, Reviews
Tagged: Discovery Channel, Eric Nguyen, free, iPhone, iPod touch, review, TV

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