iPhone

When Apple released iOS 4 in June, it came with a new advertising system, called iAd, that it developed after acquiring Quattro Wireless. The early reviews from developers interviewed by CNET about the iAd platform are positive.

"When we looked at iAds, the experience and execution is in line with how we feel about brand advertising--communicate without interrupting the user," Shravan Goli, president of Dictionary.com, told CNET. "That makes the iAds really remarkable."

Before iAds, when an ad was clicked from an app, the user would be taken out of the app and into a … Read more

You'd think that, nearly two months after launch, post-antennagate, an iPhone 4 should be fairly easy to come by.

As recent reports have stated, the iPhone 4 seems to be sold out in a number of Apple stores, despite supplies that are constantly arriving. Apple's Web site states a three-week wait before new iPhone 4s are being shipped.

It's worse than that, I discovered. Not only is it hard to come by, but there are still lines nearly as long as they were on the original launch day, even on August 13. How can this be? … Read more

Several months ago I downloaded the AT&T iPhone app Mark the Spot, which has now been updated to version 2.0. Cell phone service isn't too bad in my New York apartment, but every time I had a dropped call, I'd fire up the app and register my complaint.

Now, the area where I live is in one of the denser residential areas in the city, so I don't think I was alone in registering my complaints. But just a couple of days ago, I received a text message from AT&T telling me … Read more

Brace yourself for a lot of video game news on today's episode of The 404 Podcast as we discuss Wilson's obsession with throwing pigs at cats, Street Fighter experts offering lessons for $50 an hour, Rage running on an Apple iPhone, and BioShock Infinite!

Fresh off the success of this year's BioShock 2, the creators of the original game just announced a complete reimagining of the franchise in the form of BioShock Infinite. The original BioShock enjoyed countless game of the year awards, thanks to its creative storytelling. Ken Levine, creative director at Irrational Games, tells us … Read more

Id Software held an eye-opening demonstration of the company's latest project, Rage, at this week's QuakeCon 2010. However, instead of demoing the first-person shooter on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or the PC, CTO John Carmack actually showed Rage on an iPhone 4. CNET sister site Gamespot was there covering the action.

Sure enough, the game is able to run at a staggering 60 frames per second (see video below) with all of the lighting effects and textures we've come to expect from a standard console title. Carmack went on to say that lack of buttons on an … Read more

Adobe's Photoshop is one of those ubiquitous tools that touches everyone's life in one way or another. As the universal default program for photo and image manipulation, you may have used it to crop and retouch snapshots, create Web site ads or graphics, or just played around with making your own fake future iPhone design mock-ups. And if you're not actually a user, rest assured, pretty much every image you see online or in a magazine has been put through the program to some degree.

As a bit of a Photoshop wiz (I'd call myself a … Read more

The OtterBox Defender Series case is arguably the most popular tough iPhone cases out there and we've got a Defender for the iPhone 4 ready to give away to one lucky winner. OtterBox says the Defender has a textured silicone exterior for an improved grip and the touch-screen membrane that protects the iPhone's display resists fingerprints. The case also includes a holster, and we have to say that this Defender has a better overall design than the Defender for the iPhone 3 and 3GS. It doesn't look and feel quite as bulky.

Normally, the OtterBox Defender case … Read more

How much do you love your iPhone?

Do you think about it late at night? Do you secretly keep it under your pillow and occasionally stroke it when your more human loved one isn't looking? Or do you allow your son to play ping-pong with it?

This is not a spurious question. I want all iPhone users to be at one with their machines. Which is why I was close to being a victim of nefarious embalmment when I read information from Protectyourbubble.com, which seems to be a site that makes money out of insuring things like, oh, your iPhone.

According to Protectyourbubble's research, a fifth of iPhone owners made an insurance claim last year. The most popular were "cracked screen" and "stolen while texting." But the details of some of the claims might make you wonder about the source of humanity's difficult direction.

You see, apparently, one iPhone owner declared that he had "lost it while skydiving." This, at first, made me sputter uncontrollably. But then I realized that if I were ever insane enough to go skydiving, I, too, would take my phone to make one or two last calls in the event that the chute had been tampered with. Still, don't those flying suits have zippers?

The skydiving excuse isn't even at the top of Protectyourbubble's list. That would be, "I dropped it from a hot-air balloon." Again, I can understand this. The individual was taking pictures, a gust of unexpected wind affected balance, and the iPhone sank to a difficult demise.

Can one, however, find sympathy for the individual who claimed that their iPhone had fallen into a kettle? What kind of suicidal iPhone does that? Why would anyone be holding an iPhone while filling or emptying a kettle? … Read more

The trajectory of the "Danny the Dragon Meets Jimmy" story was fairly standard, as far as modern stories go. First, it was an illustrated book. Then a DVD. Then iStoryTime developed it as an iPhone app.

But it went a step further. As of last week, the award-winning children's book by Tina Turbin and illustrated by Aija Jasuna is the first to be available as an iPad app with a sign language mode.

"We are extremely proud to release the first-ever children's book app for the deaf community," says iStoryTime co-founder Woody Sears. "… Read more