Is the “free re-download to iPhone” gravy train over?
Filed under: Rampant Speculation, Rumors, That's Weird..., iPhone
While beta testing the iPhone’s 3.0 software, Michael over at iAPPetite noticed that Apple seems to not be as generous with its bandwidth as it was with the version 2 software.
Currently, when you delete an app from your iPhone, and then find you’d like to have it back while you’re out and about, you can redownload it to your iPhone again for free - no computer required. However, when trying this with the new firmware, Michael got the following message:
“You’ve already purchased this. You can redownload it for free on your computer, or tap Buy to buy it again.
We’ll have to wait until the offical release to see if this new “feature” makes the cut to the iPhone 3 firmware, but it looks like Apple (or more likely AT&T) is trying to trim their iPhone-related bandwidth needs. Somehow I feel like those “direct to iPhone movie downloads” are going to be a Wi-Fi only deal.
[via iAPPetite]
Games you SHOULD be playing: :Shift:
As we all know, I happen to live under a rock (for financial reasons) so somehow I missed hearing about the (apparently) popular online Flash game :Shift:. Well, the game has come to the iPhone (iTunes link :Shift: 99¢), and while I never heard of it before today, I can see why it has a loyal following.
What at first glance may appear to be a simple “run and jump” platformer is actually so much more creative and fun than that. :Shift: is actually more of a puzzle solving game, and it’s its unique controls that make it so fun. The goal of each level is to get to the exit (the door) while avoiding spikey hazards. To do this, you will need to occasionally “shift” (invert) the screen, causing the elements which were black to turn white, and the white ones to turn black. By alternately doing this, you can run and jump your way to the various parts of the board necessary to get to the exit. The idea of shifting may sound a little confusing, but check out the video below (taken from the Flash version) to see what I’m talking about.
The game has wonderfully simple black and white visuals (with an occasional splash of red when you mess up), as well as a great control scheme and overall sense of humor. Even if you are familiar with the Flash version of the game, there is reason to check out the iPhone version, as 25 new iPhone exclusive levels have been added.
If 99¢ is a little too much to part with based solely on my recommendation, then try out :Shift Lite:, the free version of :Shift: to get a feel for the gameplay. In either case, :Shift: is a game you should be playing now.
Spot the iPhone
Filed under: Apple Fanboyism, Awesomeness, Celebrity Mac Chick, iPhone
Faithful Macenstein reader Jake swears there’s a white iPhone somewhere in this picture of Brazilian model Luciana Morad, but for the life of me, I can’t find it. In fact, I’m not even sure that woman has a head.
I have a better chance of finding Waldo.
[via Celebslam]
It’s bikini season!
No, not summer… WWDC!
Yes, faithful Macenstein reader Paul sent us this link to a Craigslist ad for WWDC Bikini models. We’re not yet sure who the company is soliciting for the girls (we assume they want girls, although the ad doesn’t say), but they are offering $100 an hour, so start doing them crunches ladies! You only have until June 8th!
Speaking of bikini bodies, on a related note, we are actively seeking new Mac Chicks for our Mac Chick of the Month feature(and these WOULD be females we’re looking for), so if you or someone you know would look great holding a Mac in a bikini, please let us know. Oh, and while we’re wishfully thinking, we are extra super duper actively seeking twin Mac Chicks. Spread the word!
WTF? Palm Pre syncs with iTunes? Let the countdown to the next iTunes update begin!
Faithful Macenstein reader Jimmy Schapira did what I did not have the time (or quite frankly, the interest) in doing today – he actually followed Engadget’s live Palm Pre event at D7. And good thing he did. First, we learned that the Walt Mossberg-hosted event was for some reason hosted in barber chairs.
But secondly, and almost as important, is that apparently through some sort of evil, blasphemous hackery, Palm has found a way to get iTunes to sync music and video from iTunes to the Pre. On a Mac, no less!
As you might expect, the media needs to be DRM-free, but nowadays just about any music you buy from iTunes WILL be DRM-free. Of course, we fully expect an iTunes update citing “bug fixes” to be released soon after the Pre goes on sale, but this is still actually pretty big news. Now, ordinarily I would say that we should all run out and sell our Apple stock, but coincidentally on the day of Palm’s big coming out party comes rumors that Steve Jobs showed up at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters today, doing one-armed pushups with 2 female interns on his back. So I am predicting a 4% jump in AAPL tomorrow despite this iPhone-killing announcement.
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