Easy VHS to DVD for Mac is a hardware and software combo that lets you convert and preserve analog video.

As rumors about the next generation iPhone continue to roll in, our panelists try to make sense of it all. Show notes can be found at iPhoneAlley.com/podcast. If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, email us at Podcast[at]iPhoneAlley.com.

I was hoping Apple’s third generation iPhone — widely expected to be announced at WWDC 2009 — would have a huge screen and lend itself perfectly to the name iPhone HD. After all, Apple has been promoting HD a lot lately with their iTunes offerings.

Absent that huge screen, however, the last Phone different podcast had Dieter and I wondering what else Apple could have up their black, turtle-necked sleeves when it comes to branding?

• iPhone 4G would require 4G LTE wireless networks, which haven’t even begun to be rolled out yet, so last year’s scheme is out.
• iPhone 3.5/3.9G is likewise a non-starter. HSPA+ radio or not, that’s just too inelegant for Apple,
• iPhone 32GB is what the telco leaks have been splashing all over the internet. This too seems unlikely, as it paints Apple into every bit as much of a techno-corner as the radio-based names.
• iPhone Pro fits with Mac Pro and MacBook Pro (and even Final Cut Pro), but Dieter points out that beyond my little Apple-verse, that terms is already used and abused by Palm Treo Pro, HTC Touch Pro, and a variety of other stylus-wielding Windows Phones. That alone might sour Apple.
• iPhone, sans descriptor is always a possibility. After all, it’s not iMac X, Y, or Z, it’s just iMac. Whether internal documents say iPhone 2,1 or iPhone 3rd Generation, Apple could be ballsy enough at this point to just stick with the unadorned moniker.

What do you think, one of the above or something else entirely? Come WWDC, when Schiller or Joz or whomever whips out that new iPhone, what are they going to call it?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

What Will Apple’s Next Generation iPhone 2,1 be Called?

Zen Jar looks like an interesting experiment in social networking. You write something, send it off into the iPhone inter-ether, and see what karma — good or bad — other users ascribe to it. Personally, I prefer the direct bludgeoning I take for ill-conceived comments on Twitter, but for those tiring of the same-old micro-blogging, status-updating experience, Zen Jar is certainly an alternative. It comes in Lite (Free - iTunes link) and Paid ($0.99 - iTunes link), and you can check out Bela’s review in our iPhone Apps & Games forum for more.

If you give it a whirl, let us know how your karma turns out — mellow harshened, or child-like sense of wonder restored?

Namaste!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Quick App: Zen Jar Karmic Social Networking for iPhone

Artist Jorge Colombo used the iPhone app Brushes to create this week's New Yorker magazine cover.

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

French jeweler / watchmaker Cartier provided some unexpected humor over the long Memorial Day weekend after the company filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Apple regarding two iPhone apps. The lawsuit and the quick response by Apple were covered by the Wall Street Journal in several posts and noted briefly in our weekend news roundup.

A small iPhone development shop, Digitopolis Game Studio, had created two apps -- Fake Watch and Fake Watch Gold Edition -- that showed the time on a choice of high-end timepieces. Among the "watches" were images of Cartier's luxury "Tank" watch. Although the free Fake Watch app had first appeared in January of 2009, Cartier apparently didn't notice until Friday, when lawyers representing the company filed suit against Apple for allowing the apps to be sold in the App Store.

Apple's response was quick; they pulled the apps from the U.S. App Store almost immediately. Cartier responded late Friday by withdrawing their lawsuit, stating that their "concerns had been addressed".

What do you think? Did Cartier have a valid concern that their trademark was being infringed upon or do you think they ought to spend more time chasing down the guys selling Cartier knockoffs in Times Square? Leave your comments below.

Cartier kerfuffle bags bogus bangles originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 25 May 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Cartier kerfuffle bags bogus bangles originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 25 May 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

A MacTalk Forums user has found an icon within the current iPhone 3.0 SDK which may be a depiction of the next iPhone. Two versions of the icon, a black and white, are labeled iPhone2,1 (which has been previously referred to as the next-gen iPhone) and show no noticeable changes between it and the iPhone 3G icon. If the image is an accurate depiction of the next generation iPhone, it may indicate that we'll see no major changes in the next model. However, it is also possible that the image is simply a copy of the iPhone 3G image and is being used as a placeholder.

You can compare the images of iPhone2,1 to the other iPhone models in our image gallery below.

HoudahSpot 2.5 adds the ability to search the “any text” attribute using a single criterion. The Dream Capture video recording application and Backup Loupe Finder-based file browser for Time Machine backups also saw updates.

Filed under: iPhone, Graphic Design, App Store, iPod touch

Looking at the cover of the June 1 New Yorker Magazine it is pretty hard to believe that it was created with a US$4.99 app on an iPhone.

The app is Brushes [App Store] and it allows painting on the iPhone /iPod touch screen using your fingers and a variety of brush styles. If you have a Mac, you can export your work at resolutions up to 1920x2880. The app also saves a record of your brushstrokes and other actions and can replay them on your Mac. The artist who did the New Yorker cover, Jorge Colombo, obviously has impressive talent. You can see some of his other iPhone work here.

Colombo told the New York Times he loves the app because it "made it easy for me to sketch without having to carry all my pens and brushes and notepads with me, and I like the fact that I am drawing with a set of tools that anybody can have easily in their pocket."

This video will show you a stroke by stroke look at how the cover was created.

If you're looking for more info on this app try the developer site here. Another similar app at the same price is Colors, [App Store] which has also been responsible for some impressive artwork.

Wow. Just wow.

Can you believe it? New Yorker cover done on iPhone app. originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 25 May 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Can you believe it? New Yorker cover done on iPhone app. originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 25 May 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Odds and ends, Other Events, Apple, Developer, iPhone, App Store

CES expands iPod, iPhone exhibit space at next year's show originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 25 May 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

CES expands iPod, iPhone exhibit space at next year's show originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 25 May 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments