apps

Channel your inner Link with 'Ocarina'

Smule has quickly become my favorite iPhone app developer.

It's not that their apps have been particularly useful, but they're the ones I get the most excited about. From Sonic Lighter to Sonic Boom and Sonic Vox, these guys are IMO currently the masters of fun, cool, quirky iPhone apps.

Now they're going completely bohemian with their latest release, Ocarina. According to Smule, this is the first true musical instrument for the iPhone with no precompiled riffs.

By simply blowing into your iPhone's mic you'll create sound, and by holding the "holes" on … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 855: The iPhone changes everything

On today's show, Brian Cooley announces that he's made the switch...I mean, the big switch. He bought an iPhone. The world briefly stopped rotating, and when it resumed, we laid down the smack on poor Jerry Yang, the Justice Department, the XM-Sirius merger, and subsequent channel flipping, and some poor guy who thought it was a good idea to call our show. Good times!

Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 855

Yahoo's Jerry Yang to step down, as a search for new CEO commences http://kara.allthingsd.com/20081117/yahoos-jerry-yang-to-step-down-as-a-search-for-new-ceo-commences/ Jerry Yang's entire memo … Read more

Facebook app verification smells like open source

TechCrunch calls Facebook's new Application Verification Program a "protection racket."

That's a bit harsh, but the marketing behind the move does smack of The Godfather: "Yes, my son, you could use that unverified application, but you don't want to get hurt, do you?" TechCrunch's take:

Basically, application developers (there are 48,000 applications on Facebook today) can apply to become a verified app. If they pass, they get a badge and special placement in the application directory, plus increased communication limits with users, increased visibility in the news feed, and some free … Read more

Speak your search

Voice search is improving all the time, and Google brings the best we've seen to date. Its stellar iPhone app uses the accelerometer to activate search. When you hear a beep after lifting the phone to your ear, start speaking your search term. The accuracy of the listening software combined with the newly added MyLocation feature brings (mostly) spot-on search results that are localized to your whereabouts. As with versions of the Google Mobile App on other mobile platforms, this one also includes a tab of shortcuts to other Google services, including Talk, Reader, News, and Photos (Picasa Web).… Read more

Office Web Apps won't work offline

SAN FRANCISCO--Microsoft's forthcoming Office Web Applications will allow users to create and edit spreadhseets, presentations and Word documents through a browser--but only so long as there is an active Internet connection.

In an interview Monday, Microsoft senior vice president Chris Capossela said that, at least initially, the browser based versions of Excel, Word and PowerPoint won't have an offline mode.

"In the first generation we are certainly looking at having them be connected," he said. "For offline usage of course the Office suite is incredibly powerful." (See YouTube video below for his full comments … Read more

SlyDial launches mobile apps for easy weasel calls

SlyDial, the telephone service that lets you dial directly to someone's voice mail, has launched three new mobile applications for users on Windows Mobile, Research In Motion's BlackBerry, and Apple's iPhone. The new apps have direct access to your phone's contact list so you can begin a SlyDial call without having to first phone in to the service then remember your contact's number.

All three are free, and with the exception of the iPhone app--which is pending Apple's approval, are available right now. The iPhone version is also the only one of the three … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 854: Death to the Moon

We thought about calling this podcast graves in space, or delicious Yak, or Jason makes the earth move. But soup_n_salad in the chat room nailed it. A new company wants to send 5,000 capsules full of cremated remains to the moon for burial. Natali and Jason think this is littering, essentially. I think they gotta go somewhere and the Moon has space. We also talk about the new Asus phone, Flash on Windows mobile, and more. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 854

Obama can’t use his BlackBerry http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/us/politics/16blackberry.html… Read more

Where is Google voice-powered search?

Reporters were put into a frenzy this week when Google announced it was set to launch version two of its mobile search application for the iPhone that included the addition of voice-powered search, allowing you to skip the keyboard altogether. But now the question is, where is it?

My colleague Josh Lowensohn reported on the application on Thursday, and duly noted on Friday afternoon that it still wasn't available in Apple's App Store. But as of Saturday afternoon, the application was still MIA. A search on the App Store returned only the older version of the Google Mobile … Read more

Weather Channel's iPhone app hails videocasts

Weather apps have been a fixture on the iPhone and iPod touch since Day 1, but it wasn't until this week that it gained a full-featured contribution from The Weather Channel.

The free Weather Channel Interactive Interactive makes use of tabs to cram in localized weather, extended forecasts, and video. There's a tab for severe weather advisories and an e-mail function to send a weather notice to a friend in your address book.

The Weather Channel is making much ado about a feature in the Explore Map tab that lets you add "map layers" and neighborhood … Read more