Sunday, August 7, 2011
Skype for iPad now available on the App Store
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Application gives special-needs users a voice
At $189.99, Proloquo2Go is far from the cheapest App Store offering. Believe it or not, though, that price is actually a bargain--one a certain market is seriously happy to pay.
The target market? Parents of kids with special needs--specifically those with autism, apraxia, and other disabilities that affect their communication. Many of these kids can't speak, or can't speak as fluently as their peers, but they understand what's going on around them, and they do have things they'd like to say.
Augmentative and alternative communication, or AAC, devices can supplement existing speech or replace speech that is not functional to improve social interaction, school performance, and--not for nothing--to give the kids a better sense of self-worth. Electronic AAC aids use picture symbols, letters, and/or words and phrases to create messages. Equipped with an AAC device, a child with cerebral palsy whose speech is limited suddenly has a way to tell you, "I want to go to Grandma's house this weekend!" or "I ate cake!"
Proloque2Go is just one of a growing number of AAC apps quickly gaining ground in the special-needs community. The reason is hardly surprising: before these apps came along, AAC devices could cost upward of $10,000--a cost many insurance companies would not cover. And for that hefty price, you got a heavy, clunky device that screamed, "I am different!" You would have looked cooler lugging an actual Commodore 64 around--though, at least then, you could have rocked the whole retro-chic look.
Kids aren't the only ones benefiting from these apps, of course--stroke and accident victims, as well as adults with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease) and other progressive degenerative diseases are also tapping into this growing market
Part of the reason Proloque2Go and other similar apps work so well is that they offer Apple's familiar--and intuitive--iOS interface, relatively reasonable pricing, and the ease, portability, and cool factor of an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad: tap items in a grid or list view to insert them into the Message window, then tap to speak. Tap and hold to access conjugations, plurals, or possessives. Edit standard items, add custom words or sentences, or customize settings such as icon size or background and text colors.
Users can also reorder items within categories, which--as the quick-start manual explains--is critical because users quickly learn where items are located and can concentrate more on what they want to "say."
"Proloquo2Go is supereasy to program," said Ellen Seidman, mom to Max, a 7-year-old with cerebral palsy. "In five minutes, I created a 'Weekend folder' with photos I'd copied from the Internet ('I visited Aunt Judy'; 'I went to a park with Daddy'; "I ate chocolate ice cream'; 'I found a ladybug in my house')."
Retelling events is an important developmental skill, and giving kids a way to do that--without having to rely on a speech therapist to program an expensive device--is truly a breakthrough for many families.
My developmentally disabled 6-year-old was still away at camp when I first got the app loaded on my iPod Touch, so I had to improvise. My (neurotypical) 4-year-old had the app up and running, with no prompting, in moments. He was ecstatic to request dessert, tell me that he needed to go to the bathroom, and insist that it was not bedtime (no dice), all by tapping on the Proloque2Go screen images.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Tornado-detecting dual-iPhone alarm clock
Taking a page from the boombox trend of the 1980s, iPod-docking alarm clocks are taking on an absurd amount of features in an effort to stand out from the herd. Case in point: the iLuv iMM183, a dual-dock alarm clock capable of charging two iPhones or iPods. This little bedside beauty comes with a remote control, FM radio, EQ control, aux input, and last but not least--an NOAA emergency alert system with localized weather warnings.
Aside from the emergency/weather alert display, you're basically looking at the same iLuv iMM173 we saw last year. Still, the list of iPhone-supported alarm clocks is pitifully short and if you're a two iPhone family living in a hurricane zone, the iLuv has you covered.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
iPhone Nano cases appear online
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Apple branching out in 2009?
Familiar Apple rumors are making the rounds again this week as Macworld looms in the distance, one month away.
Trip Chowdhry of Global Equities Research put out a research note Monday morning spotted by D: All Things Digital saying that Apple plans to release something from "a completely new device category" next year. He fails to explain exactly what such a product might encompass, but speculates that it will be based around a processor designed by the former P.A. Semi engineering team.
As a result, the usual rumors (Mac tablet, iPhone Nano, iKindle) are under discussion within the Mac universe. Chowdhry believes that Apple patent filings will be released early in 2009 that will make everything clear, and also notes that P.A. Semi should have an iPhone chip out around that time that improves performance and battery life.
Earlier this year CEO Steve Jobs implied Apple was watching small-device categories like tablets and Netbooks to see if they actually take off as a mega-trend, but in the meantime the company had other priorities. Mac tablet rumors stretch back for years, and in the past Jobs has quickly shot down talk of an Apple-produced competitor to Amazon's Kindle, which has been interpreted as a sign Apple was doing just that.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Hackers boot Linux on iPhone
Point-and-click search on the iPhone
A company called Proximic says it has developed an easier way for consumers to do complex searches from their cell phones.
While Apple's iPhone has helped make surfing the Web from a mobile device easier, it's still difficult to type in complex search queries. But Proximic has introduced a new application called Promixic Agents for the iPhone that will help. The new technology, which is language-independent, uses point-and-click technology to highlight bits of text. This means that users don't have to type in a long string of search terms.
Unlike other search engines, which rely on keywords to find results, the search technology from Proximic looks for patterns in the text to see where these patterns overlap. It then delivers relevant results based on these patterns. Proximic co-founder and CEO Philipp Pieper believes that conducting searches in this manner provides more contextualized and relevant search results and also makes conducting complex searches much easier. "Mobile phones today lack ease of use when it comes to complex searches," he said. "But with our technology users can click on a paragraph or a whole Web page and get other relevant stories or information." The application is initially being offered on the iPhone through the Apple App Store. It's free to download. But Pieper said that the technology will eventually be available to other smartphones. Future releases of the software will also allow users to do much more, like find more relevant search results based on location. Other search companies such as Yahoo and Google are also using location-based technology to provide local search results for mobile devices.
But Pieper believes that the Proximic technology will be able to take location-based search a step further. For example, in future releases of the software, users will be able to go into a store and take a picture of a product description and then be able to search for that product or a product with similar features. Users will then get reviews of that product or will even get results for where they can buy that particular product nearby.
"Imagine you're shopping for a TV in Best Buy," Pieper said. "You punch the product description or take a picture of the description, and you can get search results that show you the same TV is being offered for a lower price down the street at another store."
Pieper went on to say that these kinds of search results could be a boon for mobile advertising.
"Advertisers are looking for useful ad placements," he said. "Especially now in the current economy, advertising needs to be useful and relevant to users. It has to be something that users value and engage in to make it worthwhile to the advertisers."
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
New iPod Touch faster than iPhone 3G
iPods, iPhones and the Enterprise Data Clampdown
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
iPhone Firmware 2.2: On November 21?
It's rumor time again. A Greek site has reported, on the basis of information from 'reliable sources,' that iPhone's much awaited firmware v2.2 will be out sooner than expected. According to them, the destined date is November 21.
Although the list of updates is still unconfirmed, a few notable additions expected are over-the-air podcast downloads, Google Street View, revamped App Store, and the ability to turn off the auto-correction feature.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Tethering Part of AT&T's Vision for Apple's iPhone
Apple gambling on Papermaster's leadership skills
Apple knew full well that Mark Papermaster would have to learn his new role as iPod and iPhone chief "on the job" when it hired him.
Papermaster's former employer, IBM, filed a lawsuit against him last week, claiming that he broke the terms of a noncompete contract with IBM in accepting a high-profile job with Apple. InformationWeek spotted Papermaster's formal response Friday morning, in which he declares that the two companies are not competitors and that his experience at IBM is not the primary reason why Apple sought his services.
The court filings reveal the interesting process Apple used to hire Papermaster to replace Tony Fadell, a longtime executive in charge of Apple's iPod group. And contrary to speculation, it appears that Papermaster--a well-respected chip executive--will have nothing to do with chip design at Apple on Day 1.
Apple began searching within the consumer electronics industry in October 2007 for a lieutenant and eventual successor to Fadell, but it couldn't find anyone it liked, according to the court filing. Instead, the company decided to search for an executive with strong overall technology skills who would be a good fit inside Apple, modeling the search on the process used to find current Mac hardware leader Bob Mansfield.
Mansfield was the one who suggested Papermaster as a candidate, though he didn't exactly roll out the welcome mat for his college buddy. On a list of potential candidates sent to Vice President of Human Resources Danielle Lambert (who is married to Fadell), Mansfield described Papermaster: "Mark fits the bill wrt (with respect to) systems and semiconductor understanding, but in every other way is a long shot."
Nonetheless, he was brought into Cupertino in February 2008 to interview with CEO Steve Jobs and Fadell. Apple liked Papermaster in many ways, but it wasn't sure that his experience in server development was the proper background for the role--especially in light of the fact that in February, Apple was working hard on getting the iPhone 3G out the door, and it wanted someone who could hit the ground running.
However, as Lambert said in a statement attached to Papermaster's response, "nobody questioned Mark's ability to lead a development team." The company offered him a role designing laptops, and while Papermaster was intrigued by the possibility of working at Apple, he wasn't all that crazy about that particular role.
But after Apple got this year's crop of iPods out the door in September, the search for Fadell's replacement intensified. Papermaster was offered that role, and he jumped at what he called "the opportunity of a lifetime."
Friday, April 27, 2007
Steve Jobs: “People want to own their music”
Apple’s Steve Jobs, perhaps the most important person in the music industry today, says again that Apple is not planning on selling music via a subscription model like many of his competitors.
The strategy certainly makes sense as long as as Jobs continues to win territory in his war against DRM, and the subscription music services fail to lure a critical mass of consumers.
More than 2.5 billion songs have now been purchased from iTunes and they control 85% or so of the download music market. DRM free songs on iTunes cost 30 cents more, almost certainly creating greater margin for Apple per song.
The subscription music services are highly competitive, leaving little profit for the providers. As long as Apple can keep selling tracks for a dollar or more per track, they’ll resist entering this market.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Audio Accessories
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Friday, April 13, 2007
Apple puts new operating system on hold for iPhone
Software engineers and quality assurance teams were shifted from working on Leopard to crafting and testing the iPhone, according to the Cupertino, California-based company.
"iPhone contains the most sophisticated software ever shipped on a mobile device, and finishing it on time has not come without a price," Apple said in a statement.
"Life often presents tradeoffs and, in this case, we're sure we've made the right one."
Apple chief executive Steve Jobs in January unveiled the iPhone, a new mobile phone that can also be used as a digital music player and camera.
Apple said its heralded Leopard operating system will be finished by June but will still be in the testing phase. Leopard should ship in October, according to Apple.
"If they were going to slip a project, it was better they slip Leopard rather than iPhone," said analyst Michael Gartenberg of Jupiter Research.
"It is not likely to be a big issue at all. It does tend to be a little embarrassing for them, but that is in the intrinsic nature of trying to deliver a complex operating system and the iPhone simultaneously."
Macintosh computers represent less than five percent of the global market and owners tend toward cultish loyalty that makes it likely they will tolerate a delay in the release of Leopard despite any disappointment, analysts said.
The iPhone system is built on the Leopard, or Mac OS X, operating system so it is natural for the projects to be interdependent at Apple, according to Gartenberg.
"Any time you do a complex operating system release and you give a target date you are bound to run the risk of missing it," Gartenberg said. "These kinds of things are inevitable and, knowing Apple's track record, it wouldn't surprise me if they shipped Leopard before October."
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Apple Tells Vloggers: “Fix Your Videos”
Apple is giving vloggers a few hints on how to optimize their videos for iTunes so that a single format will look ok on both an iPod as well as the new Apple TV, which is probably connected to a large screen HDTV.
An email went out today to content creators who already work with iTunes, pointing them to this spec page. In the email they also make a few specific recommendations:
- Encode at 640×480 or 640×360. This will look much better than 320×240 on HDTV, and will still port to the iPod. While 720p looks great, they say, it won’t work on an iPod.
- Don’t make two formats for different resolutions - it dilutes the popularity of the podcast and reduces exposure in charts.
- Don’t add letterboxing to make videos to a 4:3 aspect ratio. Leave them at 16:9.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Now Apple iPod in 80GB
Apple 80GB iPod with Video - White (MA448LLA)
•Up to 20,000 songs •Up to 100 hours of video •60% brighter screen | •Up to 20 hours play time •Gapless playback •Searchable interface |
| Customer rating | |
| 4.2 | |
How to Get It | |
Apple 80GB iPod with Video - Black (MA450LLA)
•Up to 20,000 songs •Up to 20 hours play time •Up to 100 hours of video | •Gapless playback •60% brighter screen •Searchable interface |
| Customer rating | |
| 4.5 | |
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Apple - iPod nano 2nd Generation MP3 Player
MP3 Players
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