Mac, iPhone, iPod and iPad product news – March 16, 2010

Macintosh and iPhone/iPod/iPad product updates and announcements for March 16, 2010:

• Macintosh
• iPod

Macintosh

• Selznick Scientific Software, LLC has announced PasswordWallet 4.5, a major update to their best-selling password management solution for Macintosh and iPhone. The app now allows the user to automatically share all of their passwords between their Mac, iPhone and MobileMe accounts, as well as their Windows, Android, Windows Mobile and Palm Pre devices. Simple and secure, PasswordWallet encrypts and stores passwords and other private information in one, convenient location.
• Yazsoft has announced Playback 1.5.1, an important update to their popular zero configuration media server for Mac OS X. Playback allows anyone to share their media with any Playstation 3, Xbox 360, or other supported UPnP compatible device. Playback can also share media stored in folders or even make entire disks available to a Playstation 3 or Xbox 360. By default, Playback will share almost any content on the users system.
• Pogoplug, the multimedia sharing device that allows users to access their media anywhere on the web, has added two new features to the award-winning device. Starting today, Pogoplug users can stream content to Xbox 360 and PS3 game consoles. The enhanced Active Copy feature now automatically copies files to a Pogoplug in another location. With game console support, Pogoplug owners can now easily access, share, and stream their media directly to their Xbox 360 or PS3 from any local or remotely located Pogoplug. Gamers can watch home movies from their Pogoplug connected external hard drive on their Xbox 360 or PS3, share slideshows or listen to their entire music library without ever putting down their game controller. The Xbox 360 or PS3 automatically sees the drives connected to the Pogoplug and the contents of other shared Pogoplugs.
• Xeric Design has announced EarthDesk 5.3, an update to its award-winning, real-time dynamic desktop map. EarthDesk replaces your static desktop with an image of the Earth showing current sun, moon and city illumination, as well as real-time global cloud coverage, allowing you to track hurricanes and other weather systems on your Macintosh or Windows desktop. Version 5.3 provides a work-around for a long standing screen saver hang in OS 10.6.
• In January, Steve Jobs announced that Apple had more than 140,000 applications in its App Store. That’s a lot of apps, and the number grows every day. Users are now tempted to create their own software programs to join in the action. But developing on the Mac, iPhone and iPad isn’t easy for beginners—they need a guide to show the way. In his new book, Beginning Mac Programming: Develop with Objective-C and Cocoa, author Tim Isted shows that the path from user to software developer is within reach. Step by gentle step, Isted shows non-programmers how to move from idea to application.

iPhone/iPod/iPad

• apfelbaumGROUP UG has released TIOnixie – Alarm Clock – Stop Watch – Timer 1.1.1 for iPhone and iPod touch users. This three-in-one application has added even more functions to its retro Nixie tube timekeeping program. Now, in addition to the alarm, stop watch and timer, developers have included a flashlight, icon dimming and connection to a user’s iPod library. The clock can show the time in a twelve or twenty-four hour format with both modes displaying the hour, minute and seconds.
• Spurrier Group has released eyeBuy Visual Search 1.5 for iPhone and iPod touch users looking for price deals. The application offers a myriad of local shopping search engine results, which can be obtained with barcode scans, photos or used manually to find the best online deals for specific products. A combination of learned image recognition and a speedy performance makes eyeBuy Visual Search a fast, easy resource for bargain hunters.
• ScavoMed has released Pocket Therapy 1.0 for iPhone and iPod touch users. It is the only application available that gives very specific therapeutic routines for the fifteen most common injuries. The Pocket Therapy app is like having a physical therapist in your iPhone, providing injury specific information, advice and exercises, complete with photo and video demonstrations. The included photos and video demonstrations serve to help patients understand and safely follow the treatment steps.
• 24x7digital today announces Smiley Sight Words 1.0, an educational flash-card app for iPhone and iPod touch. Smiley Sight Words is a comprehensive learning tool containing over 1,500 high-frequency sight words, compiled from many sources including Dolch, Fry, and UK word lists. Students may tap the sight word to hear professionally recorded American-English pronunciations, swipe flash-cards to navigate the stack of words, and shake their iPhone to shuffle the flash-cards.
• IMAGIO Co., Ltd. has updated GO! GO! Rangers!, it’s J-RPG style turn-based strategy game for iPhone and iPod touch. A new hero has been added, bringing the total to 15. A new monster has also been added, for a total of 9. Character design has been refined, and a few bugs have been fixed.
• TheBusinessDesk has become the first regional business publisher to offer a free iPhone app, making it even easier for users to access its three business news sites while on the move. The application is available to download free and will complement the online news service’s websites in Yorkshire, the North West and the West Midlands. Registered users of the website will have full access to every story published on the site’s three regional homepages and more.
• Sperm Killer has been released on Apple Store. What’s the aim of the game? Sperm and viruses are flying to the “destination place.” The player’s obligation is to catch them with the help of special gun, which is firing condoms. If you miss at least one of viruses, the game is over! On each level, the speed of the sperm and viruses increases.
• PhatWare Corporation has announced an updated PhatNotes 1.3 for iPhone and iPod touch devices. PhatNotes allows users to create notes and organize them by category, color, subject, priority, creation, authorization, and modification dates. It offers natural handwriting recognition input in addition to keyboard entry as well as full synchronization with PhatNotes Desktop software. Version 1.3 features improved handwriting recognition engine and spell checker, and much more.
• Use your iPhone to keep up with breaking news from over 40 of your favorite print, television or online sources—such as USA Today, The New York Times, Digg, CNN and Fox News—with Tapmode’s News Addict. News Addict’s clear interface helps users find stories fast from news Web sites formatted for the iPhone. You can easily scroll through pages by simply tilting your iPhone.
• Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. has announced that Frogger Inferno for the iPhone and iPod touch is now available on the App Store for 99 cents. In Frogger Inferno, players must employ familiar dodge-and-run tactics to safely guide Frogger across the busy highway to his home marsh while avoiding cars, trucks and alligator-filled waters ready to stop him in his tracks. Upping the ante, players are challenged to complete their mission without the ability to double back, as trails of fire are left wherever Frogger goes.
• Wonder Warp Software has released Etude, a new iPhone app for learning music on the piano. The app combines traditional sheet music with an on-screen keyboard whose keys light up to reveal which notes are being played as well as a MIDI synthesizer that simultaneously plays the piece aloud. It also has its own in-app music store with hundreds of songs, all of which are currently offered free to users who buy the app.
• Four new limited-edition Fitted Artsprojekt cases are now available exclusively on Apple Store shelves, simultaneously bringing original designs and protective fabric-wrapped comfort to art-loving iPhone owners everywhere. Created by select members of Artsprojekt’s burgeoning international syndicate of artists, these creative cases offer original and authentically crafted artwork in an expanding array of head-turning motifs.
• i-Got-it Corp. has announced the launch and immediate availability of i-Got-Control, a plug-and-play accessory and iTunes app that boast an industry-leading database of more than 40,000 IR codes for consumer electronic devices worldwide—turning an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad into a universal remote. i-Got-Control allows users to control virtually any infrared device—TVs, stereo systems and more—at home or on the go.
• iLuv has announced that their 2010 CES Innovations and Design award winning creation, the iMM190 App Station, is now available to consumers nationwide. iLuv’s App Station, a new type of dock for iPhone and iPod fans, features a unique application called “iLuv App Clock” that transforms it into alarm clock with a large digital display and current weather conditions. The iLuv App Clock application is available globally as a free download from iTunes App Store. The App Clock also allows full cross-functional access to the user’s iTunes library while using the App in order to change alarm settings or to simply listen to music. In addition to the App, this multimedia speaker dock combines powerful amplifiers with dynamic, acoustic speaker chambers to enhance the audio experience while listening to music, watching movies, or when using VoIP chat services; thus making it the perfect iPhone accessory.
• App Cubby has announced KaleidoVid 1.0, their new app for iPhone 3G, 3GS devices. KaleidoVid is a video kaleidoscope for iPhone that creates beautiful kaleidoscopic images from every day objects using the iPhone’s built in camera. Point the camera at everyday objects to create beautiful kaleidoscopic images. Tap the screen to freeze the image. Save or share it on Twitter, Facebook, or via email, then tap to do it again.