Tweetbot for iPad Blows Away The Competition

Tweetbot — A Twitter Client with Personality for iPad ($2.99) by Tapbots is the Twitter app that we’ve all been waiting for. I’m not kidding.

If you have used Tweetbot for iPhone at all, then you know what to expect from the new iPad version. I nearly squealed from excitement once I saw the first tweets zoom by in my timeline, and I must say, the iPad version does not disappoint.

The iPad version has a slightly different color scheme – it seems to be a tad lighter in the iPad version, and even features a light gray gradient. I actually found this to be a welcome change, because the colors still go very well together. But enough of that, let’s get on to the real stuff.

The iPad version of Tweetbot can be viewed in both portrait and landscape mode. I actually prefer the landscape mode more, as it just feels more comfortable to use the iPad in this way. Regardless, both screen orientations will feature a split pane view, though the portrait version is more like a slim sidebar, and doesn’t show text.

The Timeline (and Mentions) view features everything that we know and love from the iPhone version, even the stuff from the huge update earlier. Links and usernames are now tappable with a single tap, and you can view images (from supported services) right from within the timeline. The Auto-Refresh feature works flawlessly (an interval of every five minutes), and you will see a count of how many new tweets have arrived with the thin, translucent gray bar at the top of the Timeline (depending on your setting).

If you want to switch out of the normal Timeline to one of your lists, just tap on that button on the upper left corner, select a list, and it will replace the Timeline. Repeat the process to get back to the normal Timeline. Fast and flawless, it’s the perfect implementation of Twitter lists.

A single tap on a user’s avatar image will take you to their profile, where you can view their stats, as well as see their tweets, @ mentions, favorites, and lists. The top half of the profile turns into a separate pane when you scroll down, which will allow you quick access to toggle between the other tabs (mentions, favorites, and lists). And just like the iPhone app, you can manage their list membership, view in Favstar, mute, block, report spam, or unfollow.

The Direct Messages section utilizes the new, iChat-like interface that was introduced in Tweetbot 2.0. Of course, thanks to this new UI, reading your messages is even better, as it’s much easier to follow along compared to that rather cluttered view (comparatively) that they were previously using.

The Compose screen is pretty much the same as in Twitter on iPhone, but with a lot more space. If you are using multiple accounts, you can quickly select which account to send the tweet from by tapping once on your avatar.

Two of the most used features for me on Tweetbot for iPhone was the Conversation view and Replies view. The conversation view could be accessed by swiping left-to-right on a tweet, and it would reveal a Twitter conversation between multiple people (if they replied correctly). Replies to a tweet could be seen if you swiped right-to-left on a tweet.

Now, while both of these gestures have come over to the iPad version, you may think that a short conversation (such as two or three tweets back and forth at each other) would not make the best use of the screen space of the iPad. While this is true, I discovered that this space under the conversation or related tweets can be used to navigate back to the timeline view with a two-finger swipe from left-to-right.

Tweetbot is a fully interactive app, and there are plenty of gestures (both swipes and taps) to be found. If you are familiar with the gestures from the iPhone version, then you will more than likely feel right at home with the iPad version, since they are pretty much the same. If you don’t know them, try them out! They all feel natural and intuitive, so just play around with it – you may end up discovering something new.

One of the new iPad features is the ability to hide elements of the navigation bar that you don’t use. To do this, just tap on Settings, then Navigation. This allows you to toggle which views you want to be access from the sidebar. You can have Favorites, Search, Profile, Lists, Retweets, and Mute Filters. This allows you to make Tweetbot for iPad fully your own, and get rid of unnecessary gunk that you never check. It’s a feature that is really great for power users.

When you view a link, there a native Readability toggle that will provide a better reading experience. When this toggle is activated, you get a clean, text-only (and images) version of the website, with no ads. This is genuinely a welcome feature that could justify the purchase alone, if you are always finding content to read from Twitter (people share great links!).

These are all very small, minuscule details, but that’s what I love about Tapbots — their attention to detail. Their devotion to the app and getting it just right, it is simply astounding.

Just like with the iPhone version, you can customize the appearance of Tweetbot even further from the Settings. Options like sounds, display (font size, display name, date format, and hiding or having a persistent new tweets bar), triple tap on a tweet (you can reply, retweet, favorite, translate, or view in Favstar). Each account you have can also get their own notification alerts, and various services.

After using Tweetbot for iPad for several hours, it has become one of my favorite ways to browse Twitter. I love the fact that I have the same gorgeous pixels, smooth animations, and soothing sounds, now native on my iPad. I have been using the app on my first gen iPad, and have not had any real issues. I have gotten an occasional crash here and there, but that’s expected from my old hardware. I’m sure the performance is much better on an iPad 2.

I only wish that they would allow you to change the interval of the auto-refresh (one minute would be nice), but maybe this can be a feature added in the future (along with the iPhone version).

Prior to today, there hasn’t been much choice in finding a great Twitter app on the iPad. But now there is Tweetbot, and nothing even comes close. This app is well worth the $2.99 admission price (in fact, it’s worth so much more than that, honestly).

If you haven’t grabbed Tweetbot for iPad yet, do it now! It’s truly a great app that will justify your iPad purchase.

View the original article here

Rumor: Siri to Gain Support for Chinese, Japanese and Russian Next Month

Siri, iOS’s newest personal assistant feature available on the iPhone 4S, currently has support for English (United States, United Kingdom and Australia dialects), German, and French.

Apple has already promised new languages on their Siri support page, but today, a new report from DoNews (via Tech in Asia) says that Siri will be gaining support for Chinese, Japanese, and Russian next month.

From this source it claims that Siri will launch in Chinese next month, and is already undergoing internal testing this month.

In addition to understanding and speaking Chinese, Siri will soon also be able to give local information and navigation – something that’s currently limited only to the US. At present, the Siri assistant speaks English, French, and German. So if you’re Chinese, you’ll have to ask it stuff in English for the time being.

The Chinese aspect of Siri will be closely related to the US version, the report says. Siri will be able to give directions and local information throughout China, a feature that is enjoyed by many in the US.

Deploying Siri throughout China would be a huge feat for Apple, considering the amount of traction the iPhone is seeing in that country. The iPhone 4S launched on China Unicom last month, and is close to launching on China Telecom very soon. China has a very big market of people wanting to use the iPhone.

The report says that Siri Chinese will only have support for the standard Mandarin Chinese, leaving out the Cantonese dialect that is spoken by many people throughout China.

As for Japan and Russia, they’re both other key markets Apple will want to take advantage of. Besides the rumored Chinese and Japanese, Apple has also promised to roll out Korean, Italian, and Spanish versions of Siri sometimes this year.

Is your country still missing support for Siri?

[MacRumors]

Supposed iPad 3 Backing Reveals Subtle Changes

The iPad 3 has been rumored to launch sometime this Spring, but there haven’t been many other rumors besides that. In a new report from Fix iPhones, they show us the supposed backing of the iPad 3 compared to the iPad 2, demonstrating that the new tablet will apparently only have a few subtle changes.
The most biggest changes Fix iPhones found was the possibility of a new screen and larger battery…

1. You can see here that the mounts for the logic board are very different, which means the logic board shape will be different allowing for . . . .
2. More battery. The width of where the logic board sits on the iPad 2 appears much larger than that of the iPad 3. We have long heard that the iPad 3 was going to provide longer battery life, and this back housing seems to support that.
3. The camera is different. It is hard to make a judgment just by looking at the casing, but what we can expect is a different camera on the iPad 3 than what we had on the 2.
4. LCD will be different than what we have had before. Whether or not it will be the super screen we have seen reported will have to wait. But the different mounting does mean that the LCD has been redesigned at the very least.

Due to the change in where the logic board sits on the iPad 3, it will allow for a larger battery that will give more battery life, the report mentions. In typical fashion, Apple has usually increased the battery life across their new devices, so this certainly makes sense.
Next, the report mentions the possibility of a new camera on the iPad 3. There’s no word on what kind of camera exactly, but they expect it to be different than the VGA 30 frames per second front facing camera and HD (720p) 30 frames per second rear-facing camera that the iPad 2 sports.
Lastly, the report touches on the possibility of the new LCD that has been rumored to be included with the iPad 3. They don’t go as far as saying it will be retina quality, but that the iPad 3's backing definitely has different mounting that indicates a redesigned screen.
What do you think about this latest rumor?
[MacRumors]

Tweetbot for iPad Now Available

Following the release of the new Tweetbot version 2.0 earlier today, the Tweetbot team has just released Tweetbot for iPad, now available on the iTunes App Store. The new iPad version includes many of Tweetbot for iPhone’s new features, and also features new iPad specific gestures.
Tweetbot for iPad sports the following features:
Multiple Timelines. Quickly switch between your lists as your main timeline.Smart Gestures. Use Twitter more efficiently with time-saving and configurable gestures.Native Push Notifications.Customizable Navigation. Hide the navigation tabs that you never use.Support for multiple services like Read it Later, Instapaper, Cloudapp URL Shortening.Save drafts, add locations and POI’s, attach photos/videos, manage your lists, and much more.

You can download TweetBot for iPad on the iTunes App Store for $2.99.

Developers Caught Manipulating App Store Rankings

An interesting thread sprouted up in TouchArcade’s forums over the weekend entitled the “Biggest FRAUD in the Top 25 Free Ranking.” The thread spotlights a recently discovered problem with some app developers using seedy marketing services to move their apps up in the App Store rankings.
Walterkaman, who started the thread, said, “I came across this ad network which guaranteed to get my app into the Top 25 in the App Store for $5000.” The service uses bot farms to automatically download their clients’ apps to drive up their rankings. And not only does this work, but it works well…
Walterkaman points out that there are currently 8 apps (outlined in the above image) in the App Store’s Top 25 Free apps list using the aforementioned ad network. What’s worse is that Apple has known about this scam for a while, and has been extremely quiet on the matter. Until yesterday.
In response to the TouchArcade thread, and the media attention that followed it, Apple posted this message on its Developer site:

“Adhering to Guidelines on Third-Party Marketing Services
Once you build a great app, you want everyone to know about it. However, when you promote your app, you should avoid using services that advertise or guarantee top placement in App Store charts. Even if you are not personally engaged in manipulating App Store chart rankings or user reviews, employing services that do so on your behalf may result in the loss of your Apple Developer Program membership. Get helpful tips and resources on marketing your apps the right way from the App Store Resource Center.”

Apple has been putting forth quite a bit of effort over the last few months to clean up its App Store. Just last week we told you that the company was working to remove several misleading applications, and it’s also been actively fighting piracy.
[AppleInsider]

Do You Want to Win One of These Custom Made Cleaning Clothes for Your iDevice?

We’re big fans of the Mobile Cloth here at iDB. I remember the very first time I used one of their microfiber clothes to clean my iPhone screen. I didn’t expect much at all but I was blown away by the results.
In a matter of seconds the Mobile Cloth removes fingerprints and smudges, but it also removes up to 98% of germs, without the need of any chemical…
And it’s a pretty inexpensive product too. They start at $6.99 for a 2-pack.
You’ll probably agree that there isn’t much to be excited about when talking about cleaning cloth though. And you’re right. How do you make a cleaning cloth more exciting? Well, maybe by adding the iDB logo on top of it!
That’s what the guys over at Mobile Cloth have done. It’s actually part of their new offering for businesses, or anyone who would like to create a custom cleaning cloth. I think it’s a great idea for app developers or for companies that exhibit at trade shows for example.
They are offering an intro custom package of 200 cleaning clothes, including 100 Classic and 100 Nanos for $359 – that includes shipping anywhere in the US & Canada. That’s about $1.80 per package, and that is a good deal. So if you work for a company that’s looking for original schwag, maybe give Mobile Cloth a try.
Now enough with the product pitch. Let’s get to this giveaway, shall we?
The Mobile Cloth folks were kind enough to offer 10 custom branded packs to iDB readers. Each pack includes 2 cleaning clothes: one Classic, and one Nano, as shown on the picture above.
Step 1: Friend us on Facebook.
Step 2: Click here to retweet this message.
Step 3: Write a comment below including you Twitter username, and give us 2 reasons why you should win.
There is no age or location restriction, so anyone can enter to win. We’ll pick a winner on Thursday, at 6pm PST. The winners will be contacted via Twitter DM with further instructions.
Thank you all for playing, and thank you Mobile Cloth for giving away those awesome cleaning clothes to few lucky iDB readers.

How to Check Where Jailbreak Tweaks Are Installed

Have you ever wondered what files a specific jailbreak tweak places on your device? Have you ever wondered where the files are stored?
If so, you could always fire up iFile or use an FTP utility to go digging around in your file system. Or, you could just head to Cydia and utilize a provision that’s available for every package you have installed on your device…

If you open any Cydia page for an app or tweak that’s currently installed on your device, you will notice a Installed Package section. Under Installed Package is a version number of the tweak or app, along with a Filesystem Content section. If you tap on Filesystem Content, you will receive a page that shows a breakdown of everything installed by the app or tweak in question.
This is a great way to troubleshoot and/or customize your favorite jailbreak apps or tweaks. For instance, you can use it with ColoredKnob to find the location of the PNG files used to create the colored lock screen nub. There are various other uses as well, but these are a few of the most common.
Have you ever used this feature?

How to Use Activator Actions Via Terminal

Let’s just chalk TerminalActivator into the “I do it just because I can” category.
TerminalActivator, as its name might suggest, allows you to execute Activator actions via a terminal emulator.
It works well, but the developer is obviously targeting a very small audience. Full video demonstration inside…

The only reason I could see using TerminalActivator, is if you wanted to perform automated commands from the terminal that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to do, or wouldn’t be able to do without using an extremely lengthy set of commands.
TerminalActivator makes executing commands, launching apps, adjusting toggles, and more, extremely simple via a terminal. You can use any terminal, Mobile Terminal, Prompt, whatever you fancy.
TerminalActivator is definitely a niche tweak, but nonetheless, at least it’s interesting. It could be worth your time if you seek to run automated commands via terminal, or if you just want to experiment creating batch commands.
What would you use it for?

Change Your iPhone’s Keyboard Layout From Qwerty to Dvorak

The Dvorak keyboard layout was patented in 1936 by Dr. August Dvorak (thanks Wikipedia). Proponents of the layout believe that it requires less finger motion than the traditional QWERTY style, allowing you to type faster with fewer errors.
If you happen to be a fan of the Dvorak layout, or would just like to see what it looks like, a new jailbreak tweak has just surfaced in Cydia that will install the keyboard on your iOS 5 device…
Installing Drew Hamilton’s Dvorak Keyboard iOS 5+ tweak is about as easy as it gets. In fact, it’s done automatically once you’ve downloaded the package from Cydia. And the only way to disable it is to delete it.
Hamilton notes that installing this tweak will erase the Russian keyboard, so be aware if that’s something that you use. Otherwise, if you want to check out Dvorak Keyboard iOS 5+, you can find it in the BigBoss repo for free.
Have you tried the Dvorak Keyboard?

Alter Your App Switching Animations With ‘Jepit’

Jepit is a jailbreak tweak that attempts to add new app switching animations to your iDevice.
Along with animations, Jepit also includes the ability to change the speed of said animations.
Sadly, its lack of polish hinders what could otherwise be an eye catching tweak. Take a look as we go one-on-one with Jepit inside…
The stock iOS app switching animation features a horizontal wrap-around motion that hides the previous app behind the newly selected app. Jepit adds onto this stock animation and allows you to add additional effects — app fade, vertical, vertical stretch, and horizontal stretch being among them.
Sadly, not all of the animations work, and some of the ones that do are mislabeled, misspelled, or a combination of the two.
In addition to animations, Jepit allows you to adjust the speed of an animation. Again, I had some very mixed results with this; some worked well, while others didn’t work at all.
The bottom line is that Jepit is a tweak that needed a few additional coats of polish before it was released. It’s hard to recommend using it for free, let alone paying the $1.59 asking price.
What do you think?

iPhone Developers Now Required to Submit Retina App Screenshots

As noted by MacRumors, Apple has notified its iOS developers that future app updates and submissions are now required to include screenshots that meet Retina resolution specifications.
The requirement applies to both iPhone and iPod touch developers, and it looks like Apple won’t be approving apps that don’t qualify…
In its message to developers, Apple writes:

“Required iPhone & iPod touch Screenshot Upgrade for Retina Display
When you create or update your apps in iTunes Connect, you must upload screenshots that are high-resolution. We require your screenshots as high-resolution images so that your app is optimized for the Retina display.
The requirements for high-resolution images are 960 x 640, 960 x 600, 640 x 960, or 640 x 920 pixels. Images must be at least 72 dpi, in the RGB color space, and the file must be .jpeg, .jpg, .tif, or .png. You can update your screenshot files at any time in iTunes Connect.”

The move makes sense, considering Retina display-equipped devices have been on the market since 2010.
The news also comes at an interesting time, given all of the rumors we’ve heard that Apple’s next iPad, expected to debut next month, will itself feature a screen with Retina resolution.

Issue with iPhone 4S and China Mobile SIM Cards Confirmed

Apple has confirmed that some people are experiencing compatibility issues when marrying a China Mobile SIM card and the new iPhone 4S. China Mobile itself has also confirmed that a potential issue has reared its ugly head.
The list of symptoms is varied but all follow a similar theme, with connectivity issues the main problem. Reports of users being unable to activate their handsets are rife, with others claiming to be unable to connect to the network completely.
Apple has reportedly already discovered the cause of the problem, and is hard at work on a fix…
Junghua.cn reports that there may be a temporary and manual fix that users can try right now, which includes changing the iPhone’s network settings and then upgrading to Apple’s 9A406 release of iOS. While this may get things moving at least temporarily, we have no way of knowing how long this fix will continue to work for.
The real question we have is whether Apple will roll out a separate fix for this particular issue for China Mobile users, or whether we will see iOS 5.1 make an appearance in the near future with this fix included.
News on iOS 5.1 has gone very quiet of late, and the steady stream of beta releases has also slowed to a crawl.
[TNW]

Path Uploads Your Entire Address Book to Its Servers

Blogger Arun Thampi accidentally discovered that Path uploads your entire address book to its servers. Path CEO quickly explained why the company chose to take this path (pun intended):

We actually think this is an important conversation and take this very seriously. We upload the address book to our servers in order to help the user find and connect to their friends and family on Path quickly and effeciently as well as to notify them when friends and family join Path. Nothing more.

We believe that this type of friend finding & matching is important to the industry and that it is important that users clearly understand it, so we proactively rolled out an opt-in for this on our Android client a few weeks ago and are rolling out the opt-in for this in 2.0.6 of our iOS Client, pending App Store approval.The app that everybody loved a few months ago is now the app that everybody loves to hate. I’m sure it won’t last long though. Path will fix “the glitch” and get praised by everyone for how quickly they came through. But that’s only assuming MG Siegler or Gruber don’t put them on the gallows first.

Simplexity: A Simple Yet Complex Method for Viewing the App Switcher

Looking for yet another alternative to the stock App Switcher? I know, there’s no shortage of alternate app switchers, but there’s always room for one more, right?
Well, on second thought, maybe not. Simplexity is a recently released jailbreak tweak on Cydia that wholeheartedly lives up to its name. While it’s simple in some aspects, it can make what should otherwise be a no-brainer function overly complex…