Tagged: iPhone

How to quit multitask apps on your iPhone

With Apple’s release of iOS4 for iPhone and iPod Touch we finally received multitasking, a feature requested since apps became available. However, if you’re not paying attention, you can quickly find yourself with 16 apps open, with no obvious way to quit them.

Quitting apps in iOS4

Quitting apps in iOS4

You activate multitasking by double-clicking the Home button at the bottom of your iPhone or Touch. This sends the active app into a sudo-hybernation mode. You can access those opened apps by double-clicking the Home button at any time have the multitask dock slide up from the bottom of the screen and display the open apps. Swiping to the right will show you up to 4 screens of open apps, all using battery life – though only a bit.

I’m not sure why Apple didn’t make it more obvious, but you can quit those apps simply by pressing and holding your finger over any app icon until a circular red icon appears on each icon. Clicking that red circle will close the apps. Press the Home button one more time to resume working.

Download iPhone UI elements in vector and PSD format

With iOS4’s recent release, you may be searching for UI elements to build your iPhone app, or use various elements in your designs. Here are two fantastic resources for you to download the UI elements, and they’re absolutely free.

iOS4 iPhone UI elements

iOS4 UI elements in PSD format

iOS4 (iPhone 4) GUI in PSD format – Teehan+Lax has released their latest PSD file with updated and accurate UI elements.

iPhone 3 OS UI elements in vector format – These elements are older, but since they’re in vector format, they’re much easier to work with.

iPhone & iPad app review site

While I’ve come across many reviews for iPhone, iPad and iPod apps scattered across the web, I haven’t found a decent site that specialized in it. The closest I’ve found is Appshopper.com, a site that pulls descriptions, screenshots and links from the iTunes Store down and presents it in a blog-style site.

Appshopper

Appshopper brings your app exploration to a blog-style site

While appshopper does little more than reorganize what is already available to you, it does offer a better way to just explore, finding apps you may not have thought of checking out or searching for. If you like a particular app, the site will also display a list of other apps by that developer. You can also add apps to your own wishlist.

Appshopper isn’t as useful as I would like, but it’s a great start, and I’m not aware of any site that offers more. If you know of one, please share the link in the comments!

Lower iPhone pricing just doesn’t make sense for me or Apple!

I must admit it… I really want an iPhone. I love my iPod Touch, but it lacks the “anywhere access” to the Internet that would make it truly useful for me (beyond being a great music player). The thing that prevents me from buying an iPhone is the price. So you would think that the latest rumor of Apple preparing to release a lower priced iPhone would interest me.

Unfortunately it doesn’t interest me, and it shouldn’t interest you either.

Rumored lower cost iPhone

Rumor has it Apple is prepping a lower cost iPhone

No, the cost of the iPhone is not the issue. It’s the cost of the plan that prevents me, and probably many of you, from owning an iPhone. With a minimum monthly fee of $70, probably hovering around $80 after taxes and other B.S. fees from AT&T, the iPhone is placed just out of reach of millions of potential buyers.
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iPad GUI elements in a layered PSD file

Apple iPad GUI Elements

Apple iPad GUI Elements in a layered Photoshop file

Teehan+lax has made available a layered Photoshop file containing all the iPad GUI elements you could possibly need. The file is built using vectors, so it’s all still fully editable. If you need to mock up something quickly for a client, this layered Photoshop file will certainly do the trick.

You can download the 24MB layered Photoshop file here.

And if you have the need for an iPhone version, grab the 9MB layered Photoshop file here.

iPod: It’s faster to talk than it is to type

Dragon DictationIt doesn’t take a genius to figure out that it’s faster to talk than it is to type. But after decades of tried and failed attempts by several software vendors, Mac OS X is still left without a viable solution in the speech-to-text arena.

If you own an iPhone or iPod Touch though, you’re no longer left out in the cold. And better yet, it won’t cost you a dime!

Nuance has a version of Dragon Dictation for both devices that works superbly. I dictated this article on my iPod Touch using Dragon Dictation with only one minor error.

The only major complaint is that the app has a time limit of 20-seconds on the length of the recording that gets converted into text, making it cumbersome for lengthy speech-to-text conversions.

The app requires a second or third-generation iPod Touch or iPhone with a microphone (Apple’s built-in headphone/mic combo works fine), and an Internet connection (WiFi or 3G works more than adequately, though Edge is a bit slower, obviously). The Internet connection is necessary because the app actually uploads the data to the Nuance servers for the translation.

Dragon Dictation

Dragon Dictation is easy to use, requiring only a tap of a button to do its job

Using Dragon Dictation is easy. You simply hit the Record button and speak. When the recording hits the 20-second mark, or you stop speaking, the app converts the recording to text. If you have a long email or message to dictate, you’ll have to hit the record button again to continue adding to the text. When you’re finished, you can copy the text to the clipboard, send it as a text message or email it.

Dragon Dictation is free, and is available from the iTunes store.

Pantone Turns iPhone into Color Studio on the Go

Pantone iPhone appmyPANTONE, an iPhone application, offers graphic, digital, multimedia, fashion, interior and industrial designers the freedom to capture, create and share PANTONE Color Palettes – wherever they go and whenever they find inspiration. With myPANTONE, designers have access to all the PANTONE Color Libraries, including the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM for coated, uncoated and matte stock; the PANTONE Goe System for coated and uncoated stock; PANTONE PASTELS for coated and uncoated stock; and the PANTONE FASHION + HOME SMART Color System. The application also enables designers to easily create harmonious color palettes by finding complementary, analogous and triadic combinations for selected colors. myPANTONE takes advantage of the iPhone’s built-in camera to let designers capture whatever inspires them – from architecture and street scenes to fashion and nature. Colors can be extracted from any photo on the iPhone and then matched to the closest PANTONE Colors. Color palettes can be emailed to colleagues and clients as color patches, or as application-ready swatch files for use in design applications including Adobe Creative Suite (.ase), CorelDraw and QuarkXPress. You can purchase the myPANTONE application for $9.99 from Apple’s iPhone App Store, for use on the iPhone or iPod Touch.

Adobe releases Photoshop for iPhone, iPod Touch users

Adobe has released Photoshop.com Mobile for iPhone application, allowing users a convenient way to edit photos, apply effects and share images in – all with the flick of a finger. Integration with Adobe’s free Photoshop.com accounts enables photo sharing and data back-up, saving valuable space on your iPhone or iPod Touch. Photoshop.com Mobile for iPhone provides users a simple way to view photos with full-screen previews and edit images with gesture-based editing. You can transform your photos with basic editing tools like crop, rotate and flip; as well as adjust color with saturation and tint tools, enhance exposure and vibrancy and convert images to black and white.

Photoshop for iPhone

Photoshop for iPhone

The app also offers eye-catching special effects. The Sketch tool helps photos look like drawings, and Soft Focus can give photos a subtle blur for artistic effect. With a single click, you can also apply dramatic changes to the look and feel of your photos with effects such as Warm Vintage, Vignette and Pop. Edits or changes can be undone or redone so you can experiment without the worry of losing the original photo. The Adobe Photoshop.com Mobile for iPhone application is available as a free download from Apple’s App Store on iPhone and iPod touch, or by clicking here. The application is available in the U.S. and Canada only. While you’re certainly not going to use an iPhone for anything remotely resembling heavy-duty image editing, it’s nice to see Adobe recognize a market, and move quickly to fill the need. Quite frankly, I’m kind of surprised Apple didn’t build-in more of these types of features. The only thing that irks me about this is that iPod Touch users don’t have the benefit of having a camera to really take advantage of the features Adobe offers with this app.

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