App Store Now on Twitter

The App Store now has a Twitter account with 50,000 followers and counting. The tweets will feature apps and promotions.

If you're not on Twitter (like me) you can follow the account's RSS feed.

iPad and Xoom Specs Comparison

A head-to-head comparison of the hardware specs of the iPad which has been out for nearly a year and the soon-to-be released Motorola XOOM, running the Android Honeycomb OS.

Naturally, the XOOM wins the hardware comparison since it was designed after the release of the iPad. The software, usability and app comparison is still up for debate.

The release of the iPad 2, however, will make for a fair comparison.

Aside: There was a rumour that the read-facing camera on the iPad2 will be 1MP (that will be a disappointment if it were true.)

Dual Cameras Confirmed in iPad 2

MacRumors found an image of the iPad desktop, used to display wallpaper settings, in the iOS 4.3 Beta 2 that shows apps for the rear- and front-facing cameras. This image all but confirms the existence of cameras in the iPad 2 (iPad HD or whatever it might be called).

Rumours of the (unbelievably) higher resolution screen, device size and shape, bezel width, removal of the home button and the SD card slot are currently unconfirmed.

There is also the cost of the device which is unconfirmed. The iPad 2 could be a "Pro" model of the iPad at a much higher cost.

8th-grader Writes App that Dethrones Angry Birds Lite

Bubble Ball, written by an 8th grade student and his Mom, has risen to the No. 1 free app downloaded from the App Store, dethroning Angry Birds Lite.

Nomad Paintbrush

A handmade conductive paint brush for the iPad.

It's only a matter of time before the cheap, mass-produced knock-offs arrive.

Kindle Lending Club

Amazon recently allowed Kindle ebooks to be lent out (the lender is unable to read the ebook they lend out for 14 days).

There is now a Kindle Lending Club website where borrowers and lenders can get together.

Those with the iPad Kindle app should be able to take advantage.

PadPivot Stand for iPad (Kickstarter Project)

Jim Young, a Seattle designer, has started a Kickstarter Project looking for funding to build the PadPivot, an iPad stand that works both on your lap and on a desk.

It looks interesting, but I'm not too keen on gluing something to the back of my iPad.

New Features of iOS 4.3 (Beta)

New multi-touch gestures and Personal Hotspot (tethering) are among the new features of the developer release of iOS 4.3.

Support for magazine/newspaper subscriptions will also arrive, possibly by the 17th or 18th of January. It is uncertain whether 4.3 will be released around that time or whether that release will be an intermediate 4.3 release.

VLC pulled from the AppStore

VLC, the video player for AVI format files, was pulled from the AppStore because its GPL license was incompatible with the AppStore Terms and Conditions.

Since GPL apps are no longer welcome, it means that Emacs (once ported, of course) will never  appear on the AppStore and will only be available if the iPad is jail-broken.

Even if GPL licensed apps were welcome, there was still the restruction of an apps running interpreted code  being disallowed.

I would be willing to jailbreak my iPad to get Emacs.

Crayola ColorStudio HD

Crayola ColorStudio HD App works with a digital stylus, called Crayola iMarker.

iMarker safely interacts with iPad's Multi-Touch display, allowing the ColorStudio HD app to differentiate between the child’s input (fingers, swipes, etc.) and the iMarker automatically. This allows intuitive, creative play that brings the accuracy and ease of a stylus but, for the first time, allows the user to both manipulate the creative space and color, without having to toggle the app between modes.

This app and marker is great for kids, what what about artists who want different thicknesses and variety of brushes?

I hope we will soon see something for artists who want to use the iPad.

Notion Ink Tablet at CES

One if many new tablets which will be demonstrated at the 2011 CES will be the Notion Ink running Android Honeycomb (I think).

The multi-tasking demonstration showing thumbnail views of the running apps is just how I imagined I wanted multi-tasking to be.

Test-driving MobileRSS HD Free for iPad

I am currently testing MobileRSS HD Free, a new RSS feed reader that syncs with Google Reader.

Initial impressions (compared to my current reader, Feeddler):
- prettier aesthetics
- the feeds can be sorted manually into a preferred order rather than appearing alphabetically
- switch to a night mode by changing the theme
- it displays favicons (a nice touch)
- IT REMEMBERS THE LAST ARTICLE I WAS READING, WHEN I RE-ENTER THE APP! YAY!

I discovered this reader via the Appsfire Appstream app, which I highly recommended you go download now and which definitely gives a better apps-discovery experience than browsing the AppStore.

Update: Jan 4, 2011, I have switched over from Feeddler. Review to come.