Apple’s new Maps app has been quite accurate for me during the little bit of time I’ve actually used it. The only time it gave me odd results I simply switched to list view to find the pizza place I actually wanted (instead of the one that was three hours away). A little annoying, but far from the frustrations that others have had with it.

Anthony Drendel, developer of Sunstroke, proves that I’m not the only one that isn’t having problems with the new maps app:

It seems like people really hate the new Maps in iOS 6. Now, I’m not disputing that Maps does give a lot of strange results to a lot of people all around the world, but for a large, large number of people, iOS 6 Maps has been a huge improvement over Google Maps. I’m talking about those of us who live in China (you know, the place with 1.3+ billion people and the second-largest economy in the world). Google Maps was always pretty terrible here. In the big cities and tourist centers, it was passable. Once you left China’s large metropolises, however, you were pretty much on your own.

So, at least a few people are going to be seeing better results with the new app. I guess it’s not a strict downgrade.

I haven’t had any trouble with the maps app yet. However, it appears there’s still quite a bit of work to do.

Update: Jim Dalrymple reminds us that you can still use the web version of Google Maps by going to http://maps.google.com/ on your iOS device and adding it to your home screen.

I absolutely love this bit from the beginning of his review:

Niceness is my explanation. The bored-by-the-iPhone tech press/industry experts surely value niceness, but they do not hold it in the same top-tier regard that Apple does. They are not equipped to devote an amount of attention to niceness commensurate with the amount of effort Apple puts into it. Apple can speak of micron-level precision and the computer-aided selection of the best-fitting of 725 identical-to-the-naked-eye components, but there is no benchmark, no tech spec, to measure nice. But you can feel it.

And that is what resonates with millions of people around the world.

It’s the type of thing that I’ve been trying to put into words for over five years — whenever anyone would ask me why I bought an iPhone. And, it’s the exact type of thing that the tech press is absolutely horrible at explaining to consumers. Apple hardware is just nicer than anything else I’ve ever used. From the large, extremely comfortable to use trackpads on their laptops to the beautiful Retina displays on their mobile devices. Everything feels nice.

Apple devices are much greater than the sum of their parts and Apple takes the time to make sure that is the case. When you spend any meaningful amount of time with these devices you can tell the difference between something that’s truly well made and something that was hastily put together, to be sold alongside the company’s six other similar offerings. Nobody else designs gadgets quite as nice as Apple’s.

Gruber also addresses a concern I had regarding the larger screen size:

Consider the windshield wipers on a car, and how, because they swing in a radial arc, they can’t reach the passenger-side top corner. Using the iPhone 5 is like that. There are two specific touch targets where this gives me trouble, both of which I invoke frequently.

I’m a little worried this will become an issue for me. My hands are (I would guess) slightly smaller than average and I have a feeling that I’ll have trouble reaching touch targets in the corners opposite from the side my thumb is on. I’ll certainly have to try using the iPhone 5 for a bit before I know for sure, but it’s definitely a concern for me.

The further we are from Twitter’s acquisition of Tweetie, the worse the app gets. If you have $1, just buy Tweetbot.

I’m hoping Ive will put some innovations into his design and that other camera companies will be “inspired” by it. Camera designs are already quite good in the high-end but Ive could have an interesting perspective and make some changes that others wouldn’t have thought of.

(Via Cult of Mac.)

Preshit Deorukhkar doesn’t really like the Android keyboard. Even with the short time that I’ve spent with the Android keyboard, I agree with Preshit. The keyboard just isn’t good enough yet.

4-inch display (the same as the iPhone 5), 5-megapixel camera, A5 processor, a brand new super-thin design, and starts at $299 for 32GB.

What if Apple marketed this as a point-and-shoot camera? Like their old ad campaign that positioned the iPod touch as a competitor in the handheld gaming market.

I think it’s interesting that their tagline is “completely renanoed.” Part of me feels like the previous “watch-face” nano wasn’t well received and they decided to go with a design that’s more like the older iPod nano. I’ve also fell in love with the volume clicker on the side of the new nano that has a button in the center that functions like the clicker on Apple’s earbuds, it’s quite clever.

I always liked Ping but it never really caught on. I just wish there was a better solution for sharing your music interests.

And here I was thinking that Nokia stole their Lumia design from the second-, fourth-, and fifth-generation iPod nano.

Apparently if you add a touchscreen and increase the size of the display, it’s a brand new design.

Apple today announced the iPhone 5 with a brand new design (that you may have seen running around the web lately) and some incredibly impressive internals. 4-inch Retina display, LTE, brand new A6 processor, all-new Lightning connector, etc.

Pre-orders will start September 14 and will be priced at $199, $299, and $399 for 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models respectively. They will also be available in stores September 21.

The all new Kindle Paperwhite, the new Kindle Fire, and Kindle Fire HD — looks like an incredibly impressive lineup. If you’re not sure what one to buy, I’d follow Marco Arment’s suggestion and go with a Kindle Paperwhite Wi-Fi with ads.

Of course, that is if you actually want a device like this. I received a Kindle for Christmas four months before the iPad was released. I couldn’t even tell you where my Kindle is right now.

No. But, they did save the pocket watch. Although, their version has quite a bit more features than the traditional pocket watch.

So, I guess this means that the RSS feed of my Twitter favorites is no longer available. I’m going to have to find a new way to siphon links in my timeline into my RSS reader.

MG Siegler on Twitter:

Word is that Twitter made the call today: Twitter for Mac is done. They won’t kill it outright, but no further updates. Goodbye, old friend.

It was a long time coming. Anyone surprised by this probably must’ve been living under a rock for the past year. Thank god for Tweetbot (sort of).

They couldn’t even build a new version of Notepad. What a joke.

Event wishlist:

• Release a replacement for Frontrow.
• Release iOS 6 GM.
• Call it “The New iPhone” (regardless of what that shadow suggests).
• Don’t release those hideous rumored headphones.
• Make the dock connector Magsafe.

I don’t actually expect anything on my wishlist to come true — aside from the GM release  — but I am still excited for the announcement. The iPhone’s always been ahead of the competition and with every new release it seems like it’s getting further and further ahead.

Marco Arment:

The much more likely explanation is that iPad2,5 and iPad2,6 are the new “iPad Mini” in Wi-Fi and GSM[…] If so, this suggests that the iPad Mini is, effectively, an iPad 2: an A5 with 512 MB of RAM and enough GPU power to drive the Gruber Display, but not a Retina Display.

Remember this when iFixit does their teardown.

Matt Warman writing for The Telegraph:

Sources familiar with the iPhone-maker’s plans said that Apple wants to improve the AirPlay wireless music streaming technology, which currently requires Airplay speakers and a WiFi network. The new version will require just speakers or a hifi and an iDevice; the iPhone, iPod or iPad would form its own network to allow a direct connection and music playback.

Tinhte is at it again with another leak, this time they have what they claim to be Apple’s redesigned earbuds that will likely debut alongside the next iPhone on September 12. It’s quite an odd design but (assuming they’re real) I can’t wait to hear the design changes explained on stage.

(Via MacRumors.)

Paul Haddad writing on Tapbots Blog:

A lot of our Tweetbot for Mac Alpha users have worried about what’s going to happen to them now that the Alpha has been pulled. A few folks have suggested that we release a new version but without the ability to add any new accounts, we thought it was a good idea and have done that.

There’s lots of bug fixes, so if you’re already using the Alpha go ahead and grab the new beta from the aforelinked page. The real news here is that because of Twitter’s recent API changes you will no longer be able to add or reauthorize Twitter accounts using the beta. I really hope that Twitter realizes how this impacts developers. Twitter became what it was because developers were building on it, they shouldn’t stifle that innovation and potential user growth.

It’s hideous if you ask me. But, my girlfriends reaction was better than anything I could have wrote about it:

Is it supposed to be Samsung’s grave or something?

Wrong company, but it does look a bit like a headstone.

Nilay Patel does a great job explaining what the Apple vs. Samsung verdict actually means and what will come about because of it.

Brian Chen:

Public Knowledge, a nonprofit group that focuses on Internet law, says that by prohibiting its other customers from using the video-calling feature on the network, AT&T is violating net-neutrality rules by blocking a service that potentially competes with its own.

No word from the FCC yet, but I hope they do the right thing and keep AT&T from blocking FaceTime for its non-shared data customers. I’ve been holding onto unlimited data since the release of the original iPhone and would prefer to keep it rather than move over to the shared data plans just for FaceTime.

I don’t play video games too often anymore but I’ve spent a lot of time playing the original Plants vs. Zombies. It’s disappointing to hear that I’ll have to wait until next year to get my hands on the sequel but I’m sure I won’t forget how fun it was to line up Threepeaters and protect my home from the zombie hoard.

Ian Paul regarding an internal Hulu memo obtained by Variety:

In September, Hulu’s owners including Comcast, News Corp., and The Walt Disney Co. are expected to buy out their fourth partner, the investment firm Providence Equity Partners. If that happens, the networks will have full control over the site’s content deals, which could significantly affect what shows up on Hulu.

Changes will likely bring more ads and end of videos appearing exclusively on Hulu before appearing on other video sites.

It’s almost as if these networks are determined to shoot themselves in the foot during this transition to digital — doing everything they can to keep more people watching traditional television for as long as they can. Didn’t they learn anything from the music industry?

It’s sad. Twitter was built upon its users and the work of independent developers working with their API. And now, Twitter has decided to throw that all out the window and ignore everything that made them great.

I’ll continue using Twitter for the foreseeable future. But unless something changes, I may take my social networking elsewhere.

Jordan Golson writing for MacRumors:

AT&T will not charge customers for using the FaceTime over Cellular feature in iOS 6, but will require users to be on one of its new Mobile Share data plans.

Sounds like I might have to give up my unlimited data plan.

This new feature will allow the iPhone to fall back to the cellular network when it’s having trouble connecting through Wi-Fi.

In short, his iMac’s hard drive died after 21 months of use and he’s peeved that he couldn’t talk the Apple Genius into giving him a free replacement. He didn’t buy AppleCare and ended up bringing the iMac to a “one-man shop about 10 blocks away from [his] apartment” and paid $120 for the repair.

He wished he bought a MacBook Pro with an external hard drive, I wished he would have spent his time reviewing another pair of headphones.

An in depth piece by Gruber thinking through all of the design aspects of the iPad Mini. He even writes about how wide the bezel needs to be around the display. Read this if you haven’t already.

I love how Apple just adds new features to existing products without so much of a press release. I haven’t signed up for the free week yet — I have far too many hours of the olympics left to watch. But, once they have concluded I’ll be signing up to see if I can drop Netflix down to one DVD out-at-a-time.

Clare Jim and Lee Chyen Yee reporting for Reuters:

Apple’s next generation iPhone expected to go on sale around October, will come with a 19-pin connector port at the bottom instead of the proprietary 30-pin port “to make room for the earphone moving to the bottom”, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

I’ve been calling for the end of the dock connector for three years now (I guess I’m a little ahead of the curve). So, I’m not entirely sure why Apple feels the need to keep it around. But, I guess they’re better off erring on the side of caution rather than jumping head first into a world where everything syncs over Wi-Fi and regular users don’t really know how to get the CD they just ripped onto their iPhone. At least we don’t have to look at the current — ugly — dock connector for too much longer.

That is, if Apple does update their entire lineup to the smaller dock connector as iMore’s Rene Ritchie believes they will.

9 to 5 Mac has compiled a list of what Power Nap actually does while your computer is sleeping.

If you’re wondering where the feature is it can be located in Energy Saver under System Preferences after you install the latest firmware update.

Update: Apple has also published a Knowledge Base article detailing Power Nap’s features.

Sparrow’s Dom Leca, in an email to current users:

We will continue to make available our existing products, and we will provide support and critical updates to our users. However, as we’ll be busy with new projects at Google, we do not plan to release new features for the Sparrow apps.

Not really what I want to hear from the maker of my favorite email client. I’ll hold onto Sparrow as long as I can but it’s inevitable — I’m going to be switching back to Apple Mail.

Another quick thought: how long can big companies continue to acquire and shutter applications and web services before everyone starts to realize that these big companies don’t care about their users?

Nick Wingfield and Nick Bilton reporting for the New York Times:

The company is developing a new tablet with a 7.85-inch screen that is likely to sell for significantly less than the latest $499 iPad, with its 9.7-inch display, according to several people with knowledge of the project who declined to be named discussing confidential plans. The product is expected to be announced this year.

Sounds pretty definitive.

Jason Schreier writing for Kotaku:

Surprise: this could be the most pirated console in gaming history. Users who jailbreak or modify its hardware won’t have to worry that they might be doing something illegal or breaking their expensive systems for good. And they won’t have a very difficult time finding easily-accessible ROM and ISO files for every game imaginable, from NES classics to brand new Ouya titles.

This was the first thing I thought of when I first watched the Kickstarter video for Ouya. Sure, it sounds like a great idea and I’d love a world where it would work. But, we don’t live in that world. In this world, it will come to market, have little support from major gaming companies and will eventually be eclipsed by an Apple TV SDK.

Interestingly enough, this reminds me of another product that started development during a time when Apple was rumored to release a similar product. And, we all know how that went. I have a feeling this may be history repeating itself.

Tapbots’ Mark Jardine:

Tweetbot for Mac is finally available! However it may not be quite as you had hoped. Developing for the Mac is no easy task, especially a full-featured Twitter client. However, we’ve gotten to a point where while not complete, it is useable.

They’ve released a public alpha that can be downloaded from their website. The app is a little buggy (as alphas tend to be) and certainly not feature-complete, but it’s a great work-in-progress.

And might I say, the app’s icon as superb.

I spent a lot of time playing the original Tiny Wings, and I have a feeling I’ll be doing the same with the sequel.

And, I absolutely love this teaser video.

Marco Arment:

As part of my 2012 computer-setup shuffle, I also replaced my laptop with a Retina MacBook Pro, and the first thing it screams for is a high-resolution desktop wallpaper. Great, I thought, I’ll just use one of my photos[…] Almost nothing I’ve shot since 2010 is usable.

Most of the photos I’ve taken over the past few years have, like Marco, been taken with my iPhone. I’ve thought about the implications of taking photos with an inferior camera but largely ignored them because taking photos with the iPhone was so much more convenient. But, Marco points out that we won’t be able to settle for much longer. Retina displays will eventually find their way into all of our devices. And, when they get there I don’t want all of my photos to look like junk on them. I hope that Apple will be able to dramatically improve the quality of the iPhone’s camera system by then, but I’m not sure if that’s a realistic expectation. Needless to say, I have a feeling I’ll be in the market for an SLR some time in the not-too-distant future.

MG Siegler on the problem with the Microsoft Surface:

First of all, for everything Microsoft did show off yesterday they left out some of the most important details. Namely, the price and the release date. Microsoft is once again late to this game. Every day wasted is a day further behind — and a further day closer to the next iPad.

The biggest problem I see with the Surface is that it will have to compete more with the next iPad than the current one. And, Microsoft doesn’t actually know what the next iPad will feature. Why wouldn’t they wait until September to announce it with it in stores just a week or two later?

I’d like to see some real competition for the iPad, but I’m skeptical that Microsoft has it with their Surface without some major changes to the way their doing things.

It’s also worth noting the differences between “Surface for Windows RT” and “Surface for Windows 8 Pro.” From Siegler’s aforelinked piece:

What are there differences? There’s quite a few actually. The biggest is that one works on ARM chips (RT) and one works on Intel chips (8 Pro). But they’re also different sizes, different weights, have different displays, different inputs, different release dates, and run different OSes — and thus, different apps.

Good luck with all that.

Peter Kafka:

People familiar with Apple’s plans tell me that when its new iOS 6 software becomes widely available this fall, podcasts will have their own app, where users will be able to discover, download and play them on mobile devices. Users who access iTunes via laptop and desktop machines will still find them in that version of iTunes, though.

I hope the app will have automatic episode downloads but I’m afraid that won’t be the case. Automatic downloads doesn’t seem like the kind of thing Apple would be interested in. But who knows, maybe Apple’s implementation will at least send you a push notification when a new episode is available.

Apple is now the most important technology company in the world. More than that: it’s the only one right now that really, truly sets the trends and the pace when it comes to both hardware and software.

To say otherwise would be foolish. But that’s what Gizmodo keeps saying. Again. And again. And again.

I’m glad that someone is pointing out the ridiculously biased reporting that Gizmodo has made a habit of publishing since the stolen iPhone 4 incident.

Shawn Blanc on the design changes in the new version of Reeder:

Likewise with Reeder, much of the application’s design has been cleaned up and simplified. And all of it for the better. Articles have a more defined hierarchy and less visual clutter; menus have better contrast. This is not to say that the previous design of Reeder was poor — far from it — but the new design is unquestionably superior, and it makes the previous design instantly feel dated.

The design has been simplified, but I don’t think it’s an improvement I’m not happy with the buttons along the bottom, they blend into the background much more than I’d like them to. Maybe I don’t read my RSS feeds like everyone else does — I spend most of my time starring things that I plan on getting to later — and I guess I like my buttons a little more visible.

I’m also not happy with how Reeder 3.0 deals with Sparks in Fever, which is to say: not at all. I use Sparks as a place where I put RSS feeds that are “on the bubble” — either on the way to being deleted or getting ready to move into Kindling. Not having access to Sparks is a deal breaker for me.

John Paczkowski:

Sources close to the company say that Ping, which still exists today in iTunes 10.6.3 and the iOS 6 beta — where it doesn’t work, will be gone with the software’s next major release, likely scheduled for this fall. And at that point Apple’s social networking offerings will shift to Twitter and new partner Facebook entirely.

New Maps app, Passbook, and advancements in Mail, Safari, Siri, and more. iOS 6 looks great, but I’m a little disappointed that the original iPad isn’t supported. I can’t say that I’m surprised, Apple was going to cut it off eventually, but it was a little sooner than I would have liked.

John Gruber:

Starting with the opening gag with Siri doing stand-up comedy and continuing through to Apple’s new maps and Siri’s new features, there was an unmistakeable “Fuck you, Google” undertone to the whole keynote. Apple is forcing Google out of iOS. Even the Facebook integration feels like a “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” alliance.

The amazing new MacBook Pro with Retina Display. What an amazing piece of technology. And, for everyone complaining about the price, just remember that the MacBook Air debuted at $1799 and now starts at $999. We’re just a few short years away from Apple knocking nearly $1000 off that $2199 price point.

Also, I suggest watching the MacBook Pro video, I absolutely love how they designed the fan system to help keep the perceived noise level to a minimum.

From a T-Mobile spokesperson in response to this story on 9 to 5 Mac:

The time and location of this test is just coincidental.

Very interesting.

I’ll finally be able to read email on my iPad again.