You know what? iMovie does run on the iPhone 3GS

What you see above is iMovie running on my iPhone 3GS. And it's supposed to work on the 3G too. I guess it will work even better on the iPad. Here's a sample project:



However, there's some problems that do justify the iPhone4 official exclusivity:

Browsing existing videos is fast, but when it comes to a big photo gallery, it does slow a bit.

Export only works in the lowest 320p setting, and for simple projects (have to run more tests to see if it is the duration that causes problems)




That said, a Apple could easily have released a specific 3GS version.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Speed Forge Extreme: iPhone´s first real Wipeout killer

Still doubt the iPhone 3GS/iPod Touch 3G can rival anything seen on the PSP? Then look at this video from upcoming Open GL ES 2.0 based game, Speed Forge Extreme

iNotifyEx - GriP replacement coming! Notification system for iPhone!

Just two days after i lamented the lack of development on GriP (Growl for iPhone), KennyTM made a quick edit to his project page, that refers to iNotifyEx, the new project that will replace GriP and make our dreams of a proper global notification system for iphone to come true.

Here are some details:

As a redesign, iNotifyEx shall have characteristics of following APIs:
* Growl-like notifications
* Android-like notifications
* Some GriP-specific addition
* Some iNotifyEx-specific addition

More information here. Notice the reference to android notifications (yay!).

One step closer to a proper notification system for iPhone OS

With the advent of push notification apps, it become pretty obvious that the iPhone OS notification system SUCKS. Comparing it with the way Android and WebOS elegantly handle notifications, make the iPhone look poor. I mean, obtrusive popups in the middle of the screen? Sounds? Badges?

That´s why GriP (Growl for iPhone) is easily one of my three must have jailbreak apps (the others being SBSettings and Backgrounder/Kirikae). Even on it´s current beta state, its so much better than the normal system.

It gives users much more control over the way information from SMS, email and push notifications is displayed, in a non-obtrusive way. When receiving push notifications, you are able to see all of the messages sent to you, and not just the last one.

The more recent Double Height Statusbar theme, seen above (made by the author of the SMS GriP extension, GauraVK92) , added another type of notification alert, that is similar to what can be seen on the latest versions of the iPhone Facebook app.

However, GriP also introduced a resource that if implemented correctly would bring it closer to the awesome Android notification pane, the Message Log. Problem is, this log is normally buried in Settings.app, something that made its usage a nightmare.

Well, despite the 2 month hiatus seen on project development (c´mon KennyTM, speak to the fans!), the community came to the rescue, namely tom.blum85, that figured a way to creat a SBSettings toggle to quickly access GriP´s message log!
I can tell you, after some days of usage, this is AWESOME. At any given moment, i can now have a clear image of all the SMS, Emails and various Push Notifications apps outputs received in a period. All without missing a single message, without having to flick through pages of apps to find badges, and without having to open every single app to find out what´s new.

Like i said, it´s unfortunate that a project with such huge potential has been apparently suspended by it´s developer. Surely people would give the necessary support, finantial or otherwise, if he asked for it. Also, the delay in releasing GriP officially on Cydia is a shame, because so many people are unaware of such a great jailbreak application. So i ask you, please RT and share this information. Spread the word :)

Concept: Coverflow multitasking for iPhone

Face it. Sooner or later, Apple will add multitasking for third party apps to the iPhone, even if in a very controlled way. The 3GS has more than enough RAM for it, so i think come iPhone OS 4.0 we will finally see something.

Problem is, how will Apple implement it? Well, look at at concept showed above. It´s pretty much what i want.

Granted, like it´s said on youtube comments, there´s already an app called Kirikae for jb iphones, that allows multitasking/task switching (together with backgrounder), although without this awesome interface. So, can the jb devs implement this (yet again) before Apple?

iPhoneVM - Virtual RAM is now a reality for the iPhone!

If you have an iphone 3GS, RAM is not an issue. However, the older models struggle sometimes, because lack of free RAM for 3rd party apps like games.

Well, there is a new tool on Cydia, via http://repo.beyouriphone.com source, that is said to have great results in increasing free RAM, iPhoneVM. Check the video above.

What this seem to do is making the iphone work like the new Nokia N900: it can use virtual RAM besides the normal physical RAM. Mind you, the N900 runs a variety of Linux (MAEMO), but in terms of hardware its a twin of the 3GS: same processor, graphical chip and RAM.

Ping! - SMS killer for iPhone

From time to time, there´s an iPhone app that ties simplicity with innovation. HeyWay was a great example, and now i found another.

Ping! is a very simple, yet very attractive messaging aplication, that uses Apple´s Push Notification infrastructure to deliver a SMS replacing solution. Effectively, Ping! is great for people wanting to text friends in other networks, or in other countries. It also alows easy sending of texts to multiple recipients. Ping! has all it takes to become hugely popular among iphone users.

If you want to pick it up, get it now while it´s free.

My biggest gripe with it, right now: like the majority of iphone apps, it does not work on wifi networks that are behing proxy servers - i hope this situation is adressed soon.

UCWEB - the only non-webkit based browser for iphone

Just 2 days ago, Opera Mini 5 beta was released, and the general consensus is that it improves an already awesome product. Among other features, what makes OM special it´s the speed, something that is result of it using a proxy server to compress web pages before sending it to the phone. This is specially useful for people with limited data plans (i´m one of them), because it uses much less data than "full" browsers (like safari), and for slow 3G or evem slower GPRS/EDGE connections.

I tested OM 5 and was left thinking how good it would be to have such an alternative to safari on the iPhone. Well, i remembered there is something - UCWEB, a browser that rivals OM on the java space, and uses the same kind of proxy technology. Better, it has an iPhone version (jailbreak required, of course), that i used on the OS 2.x days. Even better, it now has an OS 3.x compatible version.



Of course, the main limitation is obvious - it´s in chinese! Nevertheless, i can tell you it´s even easyier now to use it without understanding a bit of the language, because there´s now alot of self-explanatory icons.

To test it, add http://wap.ucweb.com/iphone/cydia to your cydia sources, and start saving some data and gaining speed when not using Wifi or HSDPA connections.

HeyWay Pro is out!

Following my last post, Apple decided to release HeyWay Pro!

I already tested it, and can say the new insert text note feature is awesome and works as expected.

HeyWay - Pro version coming soon to the Appstore

HeyWay was one of the first iPhone apps with push notifications enabled. Since then, it remained one of my favourite apps of all time, something impressive for a little free app.

HeyWay is a location service that lets you keep track of where friends, family and colleagues are. Send alerts with your current location to your followers, or send "Hey, Where Are You?" alerts requesting their location. All this using Push Notifications. It´s sweet.

Good news is that Niftybrick is bringing a premium version, that will add my #1 feature request: ability to add quick notes to the notifications! If the price is right, this is an instant buy for me!

Stay tuned!

(thanks to @mechanical_mind for the heads up)

Google Fast Flip

Lately, Google and Apple are no getting along very well. However, that does not stop Google to keep presenting iPhone users with awesome webapps, and that way avoiding the stupid Appstore approval process.

After Latitude, Google now releases Fast Flip,"a new reading experience that combines the best elements of print and online articles. Like a print magazine, Fast Flip lets you browse sequentially through bundles of recent news, headlines and popular topics, as well as feeds from individual top publishers". The specially adapted iphone (and android) version has even tactile page flipping.

It´s just fantastic. Try it at http://fastflip.googlelabs.com/mobile

Real Football 2010 - online multiplayer is a go!

I expected this for so long. A football game for the iphone platform with online multiplayer! Not only that, it will support all the Gameloft Live service features, namely push notifications to hook up with friends, like we can already do in UNO!

More details about Gameloft´s Real Football here. Nevertheless, i have a feeling RS competition will folow - both FIFA 2010 and X2 Football should have online multiplayer by the end of the year.

Apple´s It´s only Rock & Roll - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Here´s my views on the latest Apple keynote:

The Good

Steve´s back!
iTunes 9 with slick new features, namely app organization, home sharing
OS 3.1 release
Apple´s commitment to the iPhone has a gaming platform
Apple´s considering iPhone/ipod touch has pocket computers


The Bad

OS 3.1 is a bit lame. iPhone UI needs some changes (proper notification system, live widgets, etc). It also bring more problems for jailbreak
iTunes 9 still slow on windows
Ringtones store
Not giving the 8gb iPod touch the new processor/RAM used on the

The Ugly

No camera on the new ipod touch - this is nuts, i think it will cost them alot of sales. Lot´s of angry people out the 3GS

Gamelof does it again: Blades of Fury

3D platformer, check (Assassins Creed/Hero of Sparta), 3D Sandbox game, check (Gangstar), FPS, check (Modern Combat: Sandstorm), sports game, check (Real Soccer). Game genre after game genre, Gameloft has been proving nothing is impossible to be done right on the iPhone platform.

Yesterday, they delivered the first proper fighting game for the platform, Blades of Fury. Another very impressive console quality game, specially when we see how well it controls with touch input.

ngmoco renames their iphone FPS...again

Feeling the pressure made by Gameloft´s amazing Modern Combat:Sandstorm, ngmoco released new information regarding their upcoming online multiplayer FPS, now renamed to Eliminate, after being called LiveFire and Killtest. Will it be the last time?

Nevertheless, they did release some information that is actually very cool: users will earn credits based on how well they play in the game. Nice idea. Now release the game, please!

Modern Combat: Sandstorm: FPSs do work on the iPhone

Not that i had any doubt. I´ve been playing iFPS Online for some months, and that game, after some control fixes, showed me FPS games can work better on the iPhone than on any current handeld console (ds or psp), even for multiplayer online.

However, it lacked popularity, and specially, graphical refinement and a solid single player campaign. Well...once again, Gameloft stepped in and showed what can be done with iPhone´s /iPod touch hardware, even the older models. Modern Combat: Sandstorm is the definitive proof FPS games work on the iPhone and an amazing portable gaming experience.

However...it´s not perfect, because it lacks online multiplayer. Lets hope they´ll add it soon, or else ngmoco might grab the place of definitive online shooter with Killtest.

iFooty World Plus updated - now with Push!

Sometime ago i took advantage of a sale to get iFooty World Plus, based on the promise it would get push notifications through an update. However, people were getting worried because this update was submitted to Apple in late June, and was not getting approved. Well, finally, the appstore monkeys have let the update go through.

iFooty World Plus is the best app available to follow football (the real one) news and games, and with push notifications available for following your favorite teams, it became perfect. It´s closest contestant is Goal!, however it lacks many features and seems way to basic when compared, and it´s even more expensive right now (1,59€ vs 0,79€).

Word Ace - get it while it´s free!

Want something that combines classic word game and Texas Hold´Em, with superb online multiplayer, for FREE? Then grab Word Ace NOW.

Letmeknow: use push notifications to gather information

Find iPhone apps at AppStoreHQ

It may be obvious by now that one of my favourite iPhone OS 3.0 features are Push Notifications. It's something that when used properly can make apps/games become much more usefull - Beejive, UNO, Pushmail, are great examples.

Letmeknow is an information tool. It alows getting updates from websites, weather, youtube, etc, but my favourite source are RSS feeds. Unlike a similar app available on the AppStore (rsspush), Letmeknow actually shows text from rss articles on the notification (this is a must).

WunderRadio - run radio on background on non-jb iphones

Today i noticed last version of iPhone app WunderRadio now allows running radio streams on background, on non-jailbroken iPhones!

Sometime ago, it was discovered that while being one of few apps authorized to run in background, Safari was also able to maintain streaming media playing while other apps are being executed. Sadly, this does not happen with gps logging, and that's why Google Latitude webapp is severly handicaped.

Well, WunderRadio devs cleverly took advantage of the said fact, integrating this feature in a very elegant way: