Sportpong – It’s Fun Being a Paddle
Feb 9th
In Switzerland you can play Pong. Yeah, I know, you can play Pong for about 30 years all around the world, but you could never play it like this – outside, with your legs serving as paddles.
3 vs 2 Rorschach kids… from Sportpong on Vimeo.
It’s nothing new either – you could have rent the setup for the game for at least a couple of years. The company behind it writes:
The setting is very simple: a reflector on each foot is the only physical tool to interact with Sportpong. The interface is integrated in the field which is projected on the floor. The players control the game with their feet, nothing else. This control is intuitive, naturalistic and very direct.
I really, really, can’t wait to try it out. Last year I had a session of Atari Pong (the first in twenty years) and enjoyed it immensely. This looks even better. Would be great having it on ARE or ISMAR.
More details on sportpong.ch via SwissMiss.
Apple iPad A4 Chip Designed by PA Semi Team… or Not?
Feb 9th
Venture Beat claims a “very trusted” source has informed them that Apple’s PA Semi team might not have been behind the new iPad’s Apple A4 chipset:
PA Semi didn’t do the A4. It was the existing VLSI team. Apple has made custom chips for years like the Northbridges for G4 and G5.
This information was appended to an article that focused on how great, and power-efficient, PA Semi’s chip design really was. So why wouldn’t Apple use them? Gizmodo speculates:
there likely isn’t a whole lot “custom” going in the A4’s actual design, which by all appearances is an ARM Cortex A9 wrapped up with a PowerVR graphics core and some other parts in a custom SoC. So, new question, if it’s true: What’s PA Semi, which Apple said would be working on chips for iPhones actually working on? A more customized chip would be interesting, since PA Semi’s true talent was in designing chips with ridiculous power efficiencies.
So, we won’t see PA Semi until… Apple A5?
Apple iPad A4 Chip Designed by PA Semi Team… or Not? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
Apple to iPhone Developers: So… Happy with the App Store?
Feb 9th
TechCrunch is reporting that Apple has started sending developers invitations to take a satisfaction survey with regards to the App Store in general, and the App Store approval process in specific.
Apple asks you to answer with: “Very dissatisfied,” “Somewhat dissatisfied,” “Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied,” “Somewhat satisfied,” “Very satisfied,” or “Don’t know.”
They also ask, “What one thing could Apple do to make the iPhone Developer Program better?” and give you a text box to write anything you want. A few months ago they certainly would have gotten some interesting responses there.
Indeed and as we suspected, “wait for developers and bloggers to get really ticked off and then have Phil Schiller email them” wasn’t a scalable solution. TechCrunch speculates that the improvements in the App Store approval process starting 2010 involve more and better trained staff, since approval speed has improved and reportedly even communications between Apple and developers is better.
So, if you’re a developer, what will you be telling Apple? And if you’re not a developer, does it matter to you that Apple is trying to improve their developer relations?
Apple to iPhone Developers: So… Happy with the App Store? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
MyTouch 3G 1.2 Shipping With Swype
Feb 9th
While T-mobile has been getting ready for the new MyTouch 3G 1.2 (just a MT3G with a little more RAM and a 3.5mm jack), by doing things like lowering the price of the original MyTouch to $99, more and more news keeps coming to the surface about this mysterious device. This particular tid-bit happens to be of the Swype variety (you know, that crazy new keyboard input method). Tmonews has gotten a tip from one of their ninjas that the MyTouch 1.2 will be shipping with Swype as the default keyboard. I don’t really know what would prompt this decision (other than the fact that Swype is AMAZING), but it may be the start of a virtual keyboard revolution. If you haven’t seen Swype in action yet head over to our article where you can find it live in action on a G1. Viva la innovative software revolucion!
Via Tmonews
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Coroflot Launches Job Board with Brand New
Feb 9th
It is with great excitement that we welcome our newest Coroflot job board partner – Brand New – into the fold! Brand New is *the* go-to site for seeing and discussing new corporate and brand identity work. Topical subjects like the most recent Super Bowl identity receive scores and scores of comments from their community of design pros — not surprising given that Brand New is an off-shoot of the legendary online design community Speak Up.
So please extend them a welcome by joining the conversation at Brand New and, if you need some branding help of your own, post a job!
Steve Jobs Reportedly Demands Deletion of Tweet Sent From iPad
Feb 9th
Valleywag reports that The Wall Street Journal’s online executive editor Alan Murray posted to his Twitter account last Thursday, claiming that that he had done so from an iPad. The tweet was quickly deleted, however, and it appears that it had been…
Rumored 4th Gen Apple iPhone Parts Show Little Design Change
Feb 8th
Above is a image that is claimed to belong to the upcoming 4th generation iPhone, courtesy of iPhone repair Web site iResQ. As iResQ points out, there are a few interesting things that stand out in the photo.
- “The LCD appears to be factory glued to the digitizer which is more similar to the first generation iPhones than the iPhone 3G and 3GS. The digitizer can be separated from the LCD on the 3G and 3GS models, which should be interesting to all, but for the repair folks like us–this means that the 4G screen repair price will be higher since both parts will have to be replaced at once.”
- “The iPhone 4G front panel seems to be about 1/4″ longer than its predecessors.”
- “There is an interesting reflective, mirror-like surface directly above the speaker. This is likely a spot for the proximity sensor. If that’s what is is, it’s in a different location than previous models.”
Here at TiPb we are hoping for something more drastic in terms of design changes but based on these latest images it’s hard to tell if the “A+” upgrade Steve Jobs promised will hold true. These images may turn out to be bogus or simply be scrapped before the final product is put together. We’ve seen it happen before with the matte backing.
We are willing to give Jobs the benefit of the doubt on his A+ upgrade for the time being, how about you?
One more image after the break!
[Via Apple Insider]
Rumored 4th Gen Apple iPhone Parts Show Little Design Change is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
