Podcasts

When Apple released the iPhone SDK, it’s intentions were to protect developers by wrapping each App in it’s FairPlay DRM scheme which would crack down on piracy. However, it’s now easier than ever to download pirated Apps for free and one developer speaks out.

The developer of the game The Little Tank That Could reveals how much piracy has affected him.

“After the first release of my iPhone game ‘the little tank that could’, I was very excited. I thought the game was fun to play, and could possibly do very well on the appstore. That turned out not to be the case. For the first 5 days on the store, it sold 20, 10, 5, 2 and 8 copies. A total of 45 copies sold. That was disheartening. To my astonishment, I found out that ‘the little tank that could’, which sold a total of 45 copies in 5 days, actually had 1114 different players contacting the leader board server.”

That comes down 96% of download were pirated thus costing the developer $2,138 in the first 5 days the App went on sale.

Via: iPhone World

Podcasts on the iPhone are great but giving them the same controls that command 4-minute long songs didn’t seem feasible for multi-hour audio files. Answering our gripes, Apple has implemented easier navigation through Podcasts in Firmware 3.0.

From left to right in the pop up iPod controls, an email link allowing you to direct a friend to that Podcast’s page on the iTunes Store. Replacing the Genius button (because that worked so well) is a button allowing you to skip back in 30 second intervals. Dominating the far right is a speed up feature which does just that, it speeds up the rate of your Podcast so you can digest more information in a shorter amount of time, if your ears are up for it. In addition, you can adjust the scrubbing rate to better suit your taste.

A screenshot of the new controls

Via: The iPhone Blog

Since Apple enabled Podcast downloads in the mobile iTunes Store, the general census has been pretty hateful towards the nasty 10MB limit which restricted you to downloading said Podcasts over Wi-Fi. Apple changed things up (for the better) and has removed the limit.

Most speculated that the harsh limit of 10MB per episode over the cellular connection was put in place to prevent massive traffic from going through the carrier’s networks ultimately upsetting them. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore as the limit has been removed so you can download any Podcast episode (video included) over the cellular connection without the need to be tethered to a short range Wi-Fi network.

Ironically the 10MB limit for App Store downloads is still in effect.

Via: iPhones Talk

Want to actually hear the people behind iPhone Matters? If so, be sure to check out our new Podcast coming soon to an iPhone near you!

We may be a little late in the Podcast market, however, we feel now is as good as time as any.

Each week, we will discuss hot stories of the week, reviews, and more.

We will be sure to let you know when our first podcast will be hitting the net.

Stay tuned…

You’ve heard about Apple’s September 9th event called Let’s Rock. The event has most people convinced we’ll see new nano or an extended version of the Bobby versus Satan Kids in the Hall skit. But it can’t just be a new nano, that would be far too boring. Plus Steve saves nano announcements for times he finds himself on stage with Motorola CEOs.

So there has to be something more to event than Steve whipping out an even smaller nano. Though if he does it like he did the first time it will be pretty cool:

what else could be going on? If you’re a podcast maker or listener you know that you can create enhanced podcasts. You also know that record companies are looking for ways to add value to your music buying experience. Well, that last part isn’t true. Mostly record companies seem to want to complain that they need more money but bands are being smarter and at least one is releasing an enhanced version of their album to increase your enjoyment.

The band is Snow Patrol and their… more...

I just posted a special episode of one of my four podcasts - Light On Light Through - and realized, as I was finishing up the show notes, that podcasts are doubly relevant to iPhones.

You can of course browse the web via iPhone, and find podcasts just as you would do on your computer.

But there are several sites that serve you podcasts on telephone - including your iPhone - free of charge.  Podlinez.com is the one I use - both to upload my own podcasts and to listen to others.  I just took a look at their page, and, guess what, among the most recently added podcasts are three about the iPhone.

Podlinez has more than 700 podcasts available for your phone.  You can easily browse through the site, and find ones you like.

And, I don’t know exactly why, but there’s something especially enjoyable about listening to podcasts on your phone.  If you have a car with Bluetooth (I drive a Prius, which does), you can hear the podcast over your radio speakers…

If you get chance to listen to Light On Light Through - you can get it at 415-223-4122 - let me… more...

Last Wednesday I brought the news of Today in iPhone submitting the first ever podcast regarding the iPhone, something that I’m sure appeals to many with talks of iPhone rumours, news and opinions, plus future interviews.

Today though, Editor-in-Chief of iPhone Matters, Greg Ng, is guest on the show with creator and host, Rob Walch, and talks about possible carriers of the phone in Europe with the possibility of two carriers taking a firm grasp on Apple’s iPhone. More so, Greg goes on to talk about the start of iPhone Matters and how and why we’re here reporting to you on a daily basis, plus goes a little bit more in depth on 5 of our most recent posts.

Feel free to check it out now on iTunes or via Today in iPhone’s website - 25MB in size and 32 minutes in length. Do enjoy!

I never saw this one coming: an iPhone podcast. Yes, whilst sites such as iPhone Matters report to you all the latest happenings regarding the iPhone, you now have even more choice in grabbing hold of some of your iPhone needs by listening to a podcast.

Created and narrated by Rob Walch, host of the award winning podCast411 Podcast and co-author of the book “Tricks of the Podcasting Masters”, the podcasts aim to deliver all the latest news, tips, tricks and whatever else that iPhone has to offer in vocal form. At time of press three episodes have been released, with one promotional episode featuring Steve Ballmer (what!?). Yeah, shocking I know. The latest episode talks about rumours of when the iPhone will be out and apparently “much, much more”.

I haven’t listened to the entire podcast just yet, especially as I find podcasts incredibly cheesy/annoying, but I’m sure given the coverage it has been given it’ll be a hit!

Check it out - Today in iPhone