iTweak looks to be a lightweight, web-based jailbreak app store set to compete with Cydia and, from what we understand, will allow you to install applications from the web app directly onto your jailbroken device.

Developed by @roktheworld27 and @mtamermahoney, the description reads as follows:

Welcome to iTweak! iTweak is one of the best places to get all of your Tweaks, Themes, Utilities and more on your jailbroken iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad! We serve as an alternative to Cydia, and the Apple App Store. For more information on multiple different topics, such as security information, our Mac and PC clients, or how to use iTweak, please tap 'More Information' below.

It looks as if users will have logins just as they do through Cydia. We don't know what type of payments will be supported or how that will be handled as of yet.

There were jailbreak app store before Cydia, and competitors that have sprung up in the past. They either seem to fade away or get acquired. We've also seen rumors of other web based jailbreak app stores in the recent past that haven't come to fruition just yet.

We've got our own issues with Cydia and some good competition may be a great thing for the jailbreak community. The developers of iTweak plan on a launch within a month or so's time, and we'll update you as soon as we hear more.

In the meantime check out the screenshots below, and let us know -- are you interested in a Cydia alternative? And if so, is a web based app store like iTweak a plus or a minus in your book?

More: iTweak Store, @itweakstore, @roktheworld27 and @mtamermahoney, via @applecpugeek

HP has made good on releasing a roadmap for their webOS open source initiative and, as part of it, have fully open sourced the Enyo 2.0 application framework. But what does all this mean for the iMore crowd? In the short term it means you'll be seeing at least a few webOS apps made available in the App Store and in your browser. In the longer term it means you're likely to see a day where webOS is compiled to run on other hardware, though if that's possible with Apple's locked-down designs is another question entirely.

We'll tackle the apps thing first. At its core Enyo is based on web tech like everything webOS (whereas the iOS framework is based around Objective-C). Going open source means that developers who have written in Enyo can compile their apps to be loaded in a browser or on webapp-supporting operating systems like iOS and Android with little issue. In fact, it's already happening - multiple webOS Enyo apps are available through WebKit-based web browsers -- like Safari -- and at least one, an Instapaper client called Paper Mache, is available now in the Android Market. Of course, there's some tweaking that'll have to be done to make things nice and smooth, but apps like Paper Mache look and behave (minus the lag and jitter) exactly as they do on webOS.

The second major announcement was that HP is dumping their custom kernel and coopting the standard Linux kernel for use in Open webOS. This is the basic principle behind Android's kernel by making the switch webOS will gain support for a wide breadth of hardware. Where there's Cyanogen for the Android Open Source Project we certainly expect the same to happen with webOS. The question is… will anybody want to install it?

Google has revamped Google Image search results on the iPad (and other tablets) and implemented a new carousel style user interface making it much easier to navigate. Gone are the days of viewing the full resolution image and having to go back to the results to see the next one; here are the days of simply swiping to the next full resolution image! Need more information on a particular image? Not a problem as all you have to do is tap the link in the lower left corner and the site begins to load. From the outside it looks exactly the same, but the new functionality is another page in Google's redesign book.

Source: Google Mobile Blog

Add Walmart's VUDU streaming video service to the growing list of content companies creating HTML5 web apps for iPad to neatly step around Apple's revenue sharing requirements.

Beginning today, iPad users can go to VUDU.com and browse through VUDU's entertainment content library, which includes more than 20,000 blockbusters, Hollywood classics, independent films and TV episodes, then rent or purchase and watch them instantly. For one touch access to VUDU, customers can add a VUDU icon to their iPad desktops by clicking the "Add to Home Screen" button when on VUDU.com.

No word yet on whether or not it works with AirPlay, and as our commenters repeatedly -- and rightly -- point out, if you do "Add to Home Screen" you don't get multitasking background support, so it's not yet an ideal solution.

Still, Apple and Steve Jobs have repeatedly said that HTML5 is iOS' second great development platform. Nice to see more and more companies calling them on it.

Will you do the VUDU that you do over web app for iPad?

[VUDU.com]

Amazon just let us know that their Kindle Cloud Reader is now live, and lets you read any of their over 950,000 Kindle books right in Safari on iPad, Mac, or Windows, or Chrome on Windows, Mac, or Linux, without needing the Kindle app or hardware.

While there's no iPhone or iPod touch (it tells you your browser isn't supported and you should download Safari or Chrome, though hopefully a better intercept screen is in the works), it's a full HTML5 web app and includes offline storage. I've tried it out on iPad and it works quickly and cleanly. The Kindle Store is built in, so there's no jarring transition to the Amazon.com version of the store, and all the menus and options work really well. Likewise, the text is just a legible as it is in the app, and the WhisperSync works perfectly. Hopefully it keeps up that level of performance when personal libraries get really big.

With the controversy that arose in the wake of Apple's App Store subscription service, and the requirements to match pricing (since dropped) and remove links to external stores (still in effect), it felt like only a matter of time before Amazon would go this route. It will be interesting to see how many others follow.

Details and screen shots after the break. Anyone going to stop using the app and switch to the web app?

[www.amazon.com/cloudreader]

“We are excited to take this leap forward in our ‘Buy Once, Read Everywhere’ mission and help customers access their library instantly from anywhere,” said Dorothy Nicholls, Director, Amazon Kindle. “We have written the application from the ground up in HTML5, so that customers can also access their content offline directly from their browser. The flexibility of HTML5 allows us to build one application that automatically adapts to the platform you’re using – from Chrome to iOS. To make it easy and seamless to discover new books, we’ve added an integrated, touch optimized store directly into Cloud Reader, allowing customers one click access to a vast selection of books.”

Features of Kindle Cloud Reader include: - An immersive view of your entire Kindle library, with instant access to all of your books - Start reading over 950,000 Kindle books instantly within your browser - An embedded Kindle Store optimized for your web browser makes it seamless to discover new books and start reading them instantly - New Kindle Store for iPad is built from the ground up for iPad’s touch interface - Your current book is automatically made available for offline use, and you can choose to save a book for reading offline at any time - Receive automatic software updates without the need to download new software - Select any book to start reading, customize the page layout to your desired font size, text color, background color, and more - View all of the notes, highlights, and bookmarks that you’ve made on other Kindle apps or on Kindle - Sync your last page read across your Kindle and free Kindle apps so you can always pick up where you left off

Kindle Cloud Reader is available for Safari on iPad, Safari on desktop and Chrome starting today. Kindle Cloud Reader on the iPad is optimized for the size and unique touch interface of iPad. Without even leaving the app, customers can start shopping in the Kindle Store and will find a unique and immersive shopping experience built specifically for iPad’s Safari browser.

Kindle Cloud Reader will be available on additional web browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, the BlackBerry PlayBook browser, and other mobile browsers, in the coming months.

iCloud.com is now live... if you have an Apple ID that works with iCloud. Here's the thing -- it's meant for developers right now, and Apple IDs are still fragmented to the extent that for some people, iCloud might not be too useful yet.

For example, you may try to login with your MobileMe ID and be told it hasn't been migrated to iCloud yet. You might try to login with your iTunes ID and then, once you're in, be told you need a MobileMe address to access Mail. You can set up a new, free iCloud ID, but then all of the content you have connected to your existing Apple ID(s) won't be there.

So, yeah, meant for developers. Still, it's nice to see it up and running, and get a preview of the design (which we're guessing is a fairly straight front-end port of the SproutCore web app code from Me.com, now running on the all new iCloud backend.)

Current web apps available include Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Find my iPhone, and the new Documents, which currently offers Apple's iWork formats for Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. (The last three of which require the new iWork for iOS beta apps, downloadable via Apple's developer site.)

Gone are iDisk and Gallery. iCloud is no doubt an attempt to abstract away the file system-like behavior for the former, but will a web front end for PhotoStream be made available to replace the latter?

Meanwhile, on iPhone you just get a placeholder card, nicely rendered, and the ability to get more information and a link to the developer beta.

Gallery of screenshots after the break.

Every week a few of us from team TiPb will bring you our current favorite, most fun and useful App Store apps, WebApps, jailbreak apps, even the occasional accessory, web site, or desktop app if the mood strikes us. As long as they’re iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch related, they’re fair game.

To see what we picked, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break!

Wunderlist – @chrisoldroyd

This app was inspired by Leanna's App for That post last week and I can see why she chose it. This app is superb for creating, sharing and syncing lists of to do items between users.

My wife and I share the grocery shopping in our home. We now make lists which are synced between out iPhones automatically. Once we have a list, either of us can add to it and it always stays in sync across our devices.

When you are in the store you can open the list and check off the items as you get them; and it works perfectly. I have been looking for an app like this for some time and now I have it. What's even better is that it is multi-platform and free! Now the wife nags me silently with Wunderlist so my ears are saved! (Hope she doesn’t read this)

Wunderlist syncs between iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, and Windows. Syncing is seamless and in the cloud. If you’re concerned about security, Wunderlist has got you covered with SSL 128 bit encryption over HTTPS too.

[Free - iTunes link]

Day One - @sethclifford

I love, love, LOVE apps that hook into Dropbox, because it means that I don't have to worry about re-syncing data when I restore devices (and lately, that's often, since it's beta season). I've got all kinds of note-taking apps, but I decided I wanted a different way to capture thoughts and little things that happen on a daily basis; more of a journal/diary type of app that I could look through by date and just recall the events of the day. I found Day One recently, and it's wonderful. It's a universal iOS app that not only syncs with Dropbox, but also has a companion Mac app that is available in the Mac App Store. It's an elegantly designed system that is simple enough to quickly jot down what's on your mind, and the fact that it's on all three platforms makes it very easy to capture items before you forget them. You've got a passcode lock, so your more private thoughts are protected, and with TextExpander support, you can save even more time. It's just text for now, but iCloud sync, tags, and photos are coming soon, and the developer was very responsive to my questions about future features. If you're looking for a nice little way to log some ideas, Day One is a contender.

[$1.99 - iTunes link]

Google+ web app - @iMuggle

Ok, it isn't an official App Store app (yet), but it's still implemented a lot better than that "other" social network's default iPhone app that constantly crashes or fails to push me notifications. To be honest, I use the web app version of Facebook more than the native app. Google+ is still one of the better mobile web apps I've seen.

I may not have push notifications (yet) but the layout is clean and easy to navigate. You can easily create a Google+ shortcut on your homescreen for easy access as well. While we all wait for Google+ to go public and for the native app to appear, the web app has managed to keep me entertained and meets my needs just fine for now. I actually find it quite enjoyable to browse and use.

Procreate - @reneritchie

Savage Interactive is going to be our guest on this Monday's episode of Iterate, our new mobile design podcast, and so I've been spending some time this week using the app as preparation. And loving it. There's such a visceral thrill that comes from finger painting with digital ink, with pushing colored pixels around an iPad canvas, from layering, from smudging, from bending it to your will until it realizes your imagination.

There are a lot of bitmap painting apps in the App Store, but Procreate offers all the power you'd expect in a UI that's both apparent and approachable. Your tools are all neatly laid out around your canvas, they quickly come up when you call them, and they quietly go away when you tap out of them. No fuss, no muss. Just fun.

And I do mean fun. There's something incredibly liberating about having the grid and the mouse and the pixel precision of Photoshop taken away from you. You're left to explore the touch and the color and the spaces negative and positive, and the feel of the medium. Cool screen, hot results. Just ask my little friend, the dragon....

[$4.99 - iTunes link]

Camera - @Alli_Flowers

More and more I use the iPhone's camera, not just for taking video or photos, but as a document camera. I realized how dependent I had become on this feature during a recent visit to relatives.

Both my nephews received shiny new laptops from their doting grandfather, and his first recommendation was to register them. I could barely contain the laughter watching these two boys tipping their laptops up so they could copy the registration number from the bottom into the form on the screen. Both of them have smartphones with cameras, so I showed them how I deal with this kind of issue. Tilt the laptop once, snap a picture of the serial number tag from the bottom - return to productivity. Not only can you now comfortably copy the serial number (and enlarge it with a simple pinch if the numbers are too tiny to read), but by saving that .jpg, you now have a permanent record in case of loss or theft.

I do this in my classroom as well. Best idea I ever had, since the person responsible for inventory loses her database at least twice a year, causing us to have to send her serial numbers for our computers, printers, smartboards, etc. I now have a file with photos. Every time she requests serial numbers, I just email her the whole folder (which, yes, I have backed up in multiple locations).

Your iPhone's camera can be your ticket to replacements with your insurance company. In case of theft or fire, they want a list of your losses - along with serial numbers. Start now!

Numbers - @llofte

As many of you know, I am a math instructor and part of being a teacher is keeping track of grades. Numbers on my iPad is perfect for this. I have my spreadsheets set up to find the totals of each grade category and calculate their final grade. I even specifically designed them so that they determine the students' current grades so when I'm inevitably asked "what's my grade in the class right now", I can whip out my iPad and give them an immediate answer.

Students (even college students) also occasionally forget to put their names on their quizzes. So while I'm returning the graded quizzes, someone ends up claiming the unnamed quiz. Before, this would be a pain for me because I'd have to write down who gets the score and remember to add it to my spreadsheet at home. Now I just pull out my iPad during class and update their grade right there.

[$0.99 - iTunes link]

Flipboard - @Moe_NYC (Reader's Choice)

My pick of the week is Flipboard. It is the best way to access news, magazines and your social networks in a gorgeous magazine-style interface. You can add your networks and your desired content which will be added to the app desktop into tiles that look great.

In addition to the most popular social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, etc.), you have access to ever increasing content from news sources, magazines, editor's picks and much more. The new update provides an always accessible red ribbon which you can tap to access content broken down into categories.

Flipboard is the way I would like to see online news (CNN, NYT, WSJ) done on the iPad. This is just perfect.

Your pick?

You’re part of the team as well, so we will be choosing one reader to make a submission each week! Just look for the announcement on twitter or our Facebook page each weekend for a chance to be picked! In the meantime, let us know your pick of the week!

Google+ is the search giant's take on a social network, and while it will get its own iOS app eventually, it's already got it's own world-class web app (would you really expect anything else from the company that's defined the modern web?). Here's a quick look at it, primarily the profile, circles, and friends elements.

Check it out the photo gallery, after the break.

Google has finally taken the wraps off their long awaited, highly-anticipated (what?) social network, Google+ and it looks like a really clever take on the age-old problem of mapping personal relationships to a virtual space. It will eventually roll out across Google's web properties, but rather than one monolithic service, it's comprised of several parts:

• Circles, which let you define your relationships and how much you want to share with who and when. These are usually annoying to set up so no one uses them. Google aims to change that.
• Sparks, which brings you content based on your interests and hopes to strike up conversations
• Hangouts, which is multi-person video chat. FaceTime is currently only one-to-one...
• Mobile, which lets you share and upload from your devices (iOS app in the works?)
• Huddle, a group messaging platform now in competition with the mature BBM on BlackBerry and nascent iMessage on iOS

Google hasn't had much luck with previous projects like Wave and Buzz, but this feels both more ambitious and far better considered. Whether it will be enough to put a dent in Facebook's 750 million member and growing dominance of the social space remains to be seen. (See how I snuck them into the post? I thought you did.)

One thing is clear, with Apple integrating Twitter into iOS and introducing Game Center, Ping (no snickering), and replacing MobileMe with iCloud, they're getting more serious (if not yet more adapt) at Social. And Google's just re-entered, once again, that game in a big way. Are you going to switch?

Videos after the break.

[Google blog via Android Central]

Google +

Sparks

Circles

Hangouts

Mobile (Instant upload)

Huddle

Google has an interesting tool up called Swiffy, which converts Flash FLV files to "HTML5" formats which should be compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. (I put HTML5 in quotes because it represents not just the HTML5 standard itself, but typically and conveniently includes CSS3, JavaScript, H.264 video, and other technologies).

Swiffy converts Flash SWF files to HTML5, allowing you to reuse Flash content on devices without a Flash player (such as iPhones and iPads).

Swiffy currently supports a subset of SWF 8 and ActionScript 2.0, and the output works in all Webkit browsers such as Chrome and Mobile Safari. If possible, exporting your Flash animation as a SWF 5 file might give better results.

Flash is more than just video, however, and Flash games, interfaces, and other media types can't yet be replicated by HTML5. Still for content that Flash -- and its overhead -- aren't needed for, this sounds like a great tool. (It also sounds like something banner ad companies will jump on...)

I'm trying it out now on some simple Flash slideshow files but getting errors. If I get it working, I'll update with the results.

[Swiffy via Daring Fireball]

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It's boys night as Rene, Seth, and Marc talk Apple Store 2.0, web apps vs. native apps, #dickauth, Playboy for iPad, Sideways racing, and a bit of design. This is iPad Live!

• Show notes

Hosts

• Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie)
• Seth Clifford (@sethclifford)
• Marc Edwards (@marcedwards)

Credits

Thanks to the TiPb iPad Accessory Store for sponsoring the podcast, and to everyone who showed up for the live chat!

Music Hear me Roar by iPad Live theme song contest winner, DieselJesus!

While the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad come with built in, Apple made Gmail, Maps, and YouTube native apps, Google also provides Google made Gmail, Maps, and YouTube web apps. Apple native apps gain all the benefits of being part of the OS, including attachments, uploads, contact integration, etc. but Google updates their web apps quickly, gives you labels, stars, and ties them into the rest of your Google info, and keeps the experience the same regardless of the device you're using.

Do you have a preference? Do you prefer Apple's design and the unique iOS look and feel of Mail, Maps, and YouTube, or you prefer the Google vibe and want everything to look like the web regardless of where you're accessing it from?

Apple vs. Google. Native vs. Web.

Vote in the poll and give me the details in the comments!

Bang on time as per Hugh Hefner’s recent tweet, Playboy for iPad is now live. As we thought, it is a web app rather than an App Store app. The site designed specifically for the iPad, contains every single back issue of Playboy. These are not cut down versions of each magazine either; they contain every word and page that appeared in the printed version and every woman ever photographed.

To get access to the content, you have to subscribe and there are various options for this. If you are prepared to sign up for 2 years, it will cost you $100. 1 year is $60. If you only want to commit for a month at a time, the price is $8.

There is a video demo on the home page which shows how the site works on the iPad. It looks to have been implemented really well with easy navigation and page scrolling. This is not just a website!

Are any of our readers planning on subscribing to iPlayboy? Can you see this opening the flood gates to other magazines of this type? Let us know in the comments!

[iPlayboy]

While iOS 4.3's Safari is roughly twice as fast as previous versions thanks to the newly ported Nitro JavaScript engine, asynchronous mode, and HTML 5 application cache, it looks like Web Clips (web pages saved to the home screen as icon bookmarks) and WebViews (web browsers embedded in apps) are still using the significantly slower iOS 4.2 tech.

The Register suggests a conspiracy -- that Apple is deliberately throttling Web Clip and WebView performance so web apps can't compete with the App Store and cut into Apple's 30% share of revenues. Of course, many web apps are free and Apple's 30% share of similarly free App Store apps is exactly zero. Likewise, lack of WebView support hurts the performance of App Store apps, not web apps. (iTunes and App Store on iOS are native wrappers around a WebKit UI, after all.)

So, while such theories are dramatic and link baity, like with the just-improved AirPlay and still not-fixed AirPrint, sometimes Apple can only implement so much of a new feature in the first release cycle. Therefore, it's probably safer to assume it's a bug unless and until it remains unfixed in a subsequent update. At which point even TiPb will start sharpening the pitchforks and lighting up the torches, b'okay?

UPDATE: Looks like the reason is security.

[The Register]

Have an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, looking for more and better apps but need help sorting through the hundreds of thousands piled up in the app store? Want to find more apps like your favorite or get alerted when apps and games go on sale? No worries, we've got you covered. Read on for TiPb's top 5 apps -- and web sites! -- that help you find more and better apps!

Genius for apps

Genius for apps is Apple's own recommendation engine built right into the App Store app on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad under the Featured Tab. Since you bought your apps from the App Store, they know what you have and try to find and show you more apps you like. If you share your device and iTunes library with another person, for example your young children, you'll probably see a lot of recommendations that interest them and not you but you can always swipe an item to remove and help "train" the Genius system. It's not the most robust or feature packed app discovery system but again, it's already there. Both iPhone and iPad. [Free - Built in]

AppStart for iPad

By the fine folks at AppAdvice.com, AppStart for iPad's goal is as simple as it is welcome -- to help new iPad owners with a specific focus find the apps they need to do what they want. Sorting the massive App Store and trying to curate it based on task or user type is no small feat so if you know what you want but don't know how to get started, AppStart is there to do some of the heavy lifting for you. [$0.99 - iTunes link]

Also check out:

• AppAdvice: Their titular app and available as a universal app for both iPhone and iPad. [$1.99 - iTunes link]
  

AppShopper

From AppShopper.com, the app brings all the great website services -- new and updated apps, price drops and sales, wish lists and popularity trackers -- and puts it right on your iPhone and iPad. It'll even sync to your AppShopper web account. Universal app - download once, use on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. [Free - iTunes link]

148apps.com

Named after the original iOS 2 limit of 148 apps for device, the site has grown almost as fast as iOS 4's 11 screen, 12-apps per folder-stuffing potential. They track new apps as well as price drops to help you stay updated and on budget. [Free - Web link]

apps.tipb.com

apps.tipb.com is powered by App Tap and brings their social app recommendation engine right into TiPb.com so you can search for apps from our sidebar (look to your right!), see how other users and sites have rated them, and pretty much figure out what's what -- and what's not -- across a fair slice of the web. [Free - Web link]

Your top apps?

So there you have them, our top 5 apps that help you find more and better apps. Be sure to check out our Picks of the Week and iPad App and Games Forum for more recommendations, and if we missed any of your favorites leave them in the comments below!

Now that AT&T isn't the exclusive US iPhone carrier anymore, CEO Randall Stephenson saw fit to express some frustration with the way Apple runs the iPhone App Store. Stephenson believes customers should be able to buy an app once and run it on any device they so choose, including iPhone, Android phones, Windows phones, etc.

"You purchase an app for one operating system, and if you want it on another device or platform, you have to buy it again," Stephenson said in a keynote speech at the world's largest mobile-phone trade show in Barcelona, Spain. "That's not how our customers expect to experience this environment."

And the way to do this of course is by building them as HTML5 apps and selling them through the AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile run Wholesale Applications Community (WAC). Now I don't know about you but I always get suspicious when a big company talks about what's better for customers (yes even Apple). Right now Apple and developers make all the money on apps but if carriers ran the store they would get a cut of the revenue, right?

I do think it would be nice to be able to take my apps with me if I ever change platforms but even the sweetest HTML5 apps are still very limited compared to native iPhone apps. There's no Infinity Blade in HTML5 yet and even if there were trying to make one app work on multiple platforms often leads to a lowest common denominator approach. Is saving a few dollars with a truly universal app worth losing features that are unique to each platform or device?

What would you prefer, a carrier-run HTML5 app store or Apple's current App Store?

[USA Today]

Google has added some much awaited functionality to Google Docs today -- you can now edit your docs on-the-go with iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad!

The feature will be rolling out over the next few days and means that:

• You can work on that important memo...while on the bus or train to work.
• If you’re behind on a group proposal, but really want to make it to the ball game tonight, your whole team can work on it from the bleacher seats.
• You can take minute-by-minute notes at a concert so you’ll always remember the setlist. And your friends can jealously follow in real-time at home.
• ...and the list goes on!

If you utilize Google Docs all you have to do is visit docs.google.com in Safari on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad and select the document you would like to edit. Once the document is open simply select the edit button and you will be switched over to their mobile editor.

Let us know if you are excited for the seemingly much anticipated feature and if you use it how it worked out for you!

Check out a video of Google Docs editing on-the-go in a video after the break!

[ Google Mobile Blog ]

Adobe Illustrator CS5 HTML5 Pack adds several HTML5 authoring features to the venerable vector-based design program including:

• Efficiently design for web and devices by exporting Illustrator Artboards for unique screen sizes using SVG and CSS3 media queries.

• Create web widgets with Illustrator by generating dynamic vector art for data driven web work-flows.

• Take advantage of the latest enhancements to SVG and Canvas to generate interactive web content.

• Map artwork appearance attributes from designer to developer tools—export from the Illustrator Appearance Panel to CSS3 for streamlined styling of web pages.

Whether or not Adobe is finding themselves in a Kevin Smith catch -- hate the idea of biting into Flash, still want to make money from anything that does -- it's great to see them adding support for HTML5 to one of the most popular design packages on the market. It's relagated to an Adobe Labs add-on right now, but HTML5 needs a killer IDE and that's something Adobe could deliver. (Then, of course, devs could more easily make us even more killer HTML5 apps for our iPhones and iPads.)

[Adobe Labs via Technologizer]

Google has a nifty update ready for users of their Finance web app, and while it won't work on iOS (of course), we're sure many in the US will appreciate the new Google Voice integration with Gmail as well. Here's the low down on Google Finance Mobile:

We heard your feedback and are please to announce we’ve launched the new Android/iPhone edition of Google Finance for mobile! The markets don’t stop when you leave your desk, so we’re bringing the markets to you. Our new design gives you a unified experience across desktop and Android or iPhone phones, offering nearly all the same features and functionality on both. You can easily access the new site when you do a Google search for stock tickers or company names on your mobile device, or when you tap the "Finance" tab on the Google mobile homepage.

For more on the new Google Voice in Gmail, we refer you to the video... after the break.

[Google Finance, Gmail, via Android Central]

Google continues to rapidly reincarnate their iPad Gmail web app, this time introducing Apple Mail-style stacks into the mix. Back when the iPad optimized version of Gmail was launched, Google emphasized their new code base would allow for just this kind of fast feature development, and now hot on the heels of the new compose screen, stacks will allow for easier grouping and organizing of mail. They also gave Google's team a chance to play with CSS transitions to try and get closer in look and feel to native apps.

Our question is -- how many of you are using Gmail via the web browser on iPad rather than via GoogleSync or IMAP in the native mail app? Are the extra features like labels and star worth the lack of notification and native performance?

[Google, Mobile Blog thanks trevor!]

OpenAppMkt aims to be an App Store for HTML5 web apps. Apple considers HTML5 web apps to be the second major iOS platform, and the unregulated one where you can find everything from Google Voice to porn. OpenAppMkt lists them, features them, and includes ratings. Well, except for porn; they don't include that. Google's Voice web app currently has 4 stars though.

HTML5 apps can apps initially open in Safari but with a tap of the + button and a Add to Home Screen, they can cache locally and work, more or less, like native apps. They don't perform quite as well and can't do quite as much -- yet -- but they work surprisingly well for an ever increasing ranges of things.

Unlike Apple's web app gallery, there's even an iPhone version of OpenAppMkt you can add to your home screen. If you give it a try, let us know what you think.

[OpenAppMkt via Daring Fireball]

I just launched iCal (by accident!) and was greeted with the dialog box above, asking if I'd like to upgrade to the new MobileMe Calendar beta. Um. Okay. I went through the upgrade, which launched Safari and had me log into my MobileMe account, only to get a server error and a request to try again. Second time was the charm, though, and all my events were updated and I now have the shiny new -- clearly iPad-inspired -- MobileMe Calendar Beta at my beck and call.

For the MobileMe Mail Beta, I requested an invitation and received an email confirmation, so this was different. Anyone else getting "invited" into the MobileMe calendar beta this way?

Update: I received an email notification for the beta a few minutes later with instructions to log into MobileMe on the web to begin the upgrade procedure. I guess iCal was just a second upgrade vector. Still, a nice surprise.

More screenshots after the break.

Google's YouTube has deployed a significant update to their mobile site, m.youtube.com. As is typical with Google's web apps, it works well and looks even better. Here's their hit list:

It's really fast. The user interface incorporates larger, more touch-friendly elements, making it easier to access videos on the go. It incorporates the features and functionality you’ve come to expect from the .com site, like search query suggestions, the options to create playlists, the ability to designate “favorite,” “like” or “unlike” videos directly from your device. As we make improvements to Youtube.com, you’ll see them quickly follow on our mobile site, unlike native apps which are not updated as frequently.

Sure, iPhone has a built-in YouTube app but it gets its updates only a few times a year when iOS gets updated. Theoretically, m.youtube.com will get updates any time YouTube feels like it, hopefully as fast as the main YouTube site. And hey, who doesn't like options?

Video after the break.

Apple is launching a new version of the online MobileMe calendar web app, and much like they did with the new version of online mail, the design influence of the iPad app is unmistakable. Want in on the beta? Here's what you have to do:

To sign up, go to me.com/calendar and click "Request an invitation." You will receive an email notification when you have been added to the beta (we will add members in the order of their request over the coming weeks).

New features include:

• The aforementioned new, iPad-like UI.
• Shared calendars (for family and friends).
• Published calendars (for groups and teams).
• Event invitations with RSVPs (yes!).
• Based on CalDAV standard.

It's good to go on iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and Mac, with Outlook support for the PC coming soon.

So, how does it sound? Enough of an upgrade? Anything major still missing? Anyone get in on the beta yet?

Full feature descriptions after the break.

[MobileMe News]

Beautiful new web application
The Calendar beta includes a new web application at me.com with great-looking calendar views. You'll find redesigned day, week, and month views, as well as a new list view to make scanning your events easier. Your calendars will also load faster, thanks to improved performance. The new web application works best with Safari 5, Firefox 3.6, and Internet Explorer 8.

Share calendars with family and friends
You can easily share your calendars with one or more MobileMe members to keep everyone on the same page. For example, create a shared calendar called "Kids" for school and weekend activities. You can allow the person you're sharing a calendar with to edit events, and set up email notifications to tell you when they make a change.

Publish a calendar for a group or team
The Calendar beta lets you share a read-only public calendar that can be viewed by anyone, perfect for publishing an events calendar such as a soccer team schedule. After setting it up you can send the team members a link to view the calendar on their iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or PC.

Event invitations with RSVPs
Inviting any guest to an event is easy from the MobileMe Calendar beta. Just add their email address to the event (they don't have to be a MobileMe member) and your guests will get an invitation email they can respond to directly by clicking a link. Your event then automatically updates, making it easy to track RSVPs right in your calendar.

Works on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac
The MobileMe Calendar beta uses the CalDAV standard so you can view and edit your calendars using the built-in calendar applications on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac. Please note that support for PCs with Microsoft Outlook is coming soon.

As was widely expected, Apple's MobileMe web apps -- me.com -- are back online after their scheduled maintenance, and sporting an updated look and some new features.

The new Mail has come out of beta and now everyone can enjoy server-side rules, which is terrific if way overdue. In the not-so-terrific pile, previously you could instantly switch between apps using a conventional menu bar. Now you have to figure out that clicking the cloud icon top left will bring up and icon bar which you can then click to switch tasks. Less discoverability and efficiency in one update? Not very Apple.

(They've standardized on the iPhone app icons to represent Me.com tasks, however, which is good. And they look great.)

Are you trying to new Me.com? What do you think?

UPDATE: Apple's MobileMe email announcement, after the break.

Service Update: New MobileMe Mail, Find My iPhone, and more.

Today we're making available to all MobileMe members an all-new Mail web application, a Find My iPhone app, and a new way to navigate between applications at me.com. Read on for details.

All-new Mail at me.com

MobileMe Mail on the web (now out of beta) has been completely redesigned with powerful new features such as widescreen view for reading email with less scrolling, rules to keep your email organized everywhere, and faster performance. For more details on these and other new Mail features, please read this news post.

Find My iPhone app and more

You can now download the free Find My iPhone app, enabling you to locate a misplaced device directly from iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch while on the go. After installing it from the App Store, just launch the app and sign in to quickly locate your devices on a map and access the other Find My iPhone features — Display a Message or Play a Sound, Remote Lock, and Remote Wipe.*

The Find My iPhone web application on me.com has also been updated with a full-screen map view. Clicking your missing device on the map lets you access all the Find My iPhone actions to help you recover your device and protect the information on it.

Learn more about improvements to Find My iPhone here.

New way to get around me.com

We've also given me.com a new look and a new way to navigate between applications. Simply click the cloud icon in the upper left of the page, and choose from Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Gallery, iDisk, and Find My iPhone. To access account information, help, or to sign out, just click your name on the top right.

We recommend accessing me.com with Safari 5, Firefox 3.6 or later, or Internet Explorer 8. If you have questions about this update, please read this FAQ.

We hope you enjoy these improvements to MobileMe. Thank you for being a MobileMe member.

Sincerely,

The MobileMe Team

*Find My iPhone and Remote Wipe are not available in all countries.

Apple is taking MobileMe's web apps down for maintenance from 10pm to 12am PST tonight. MacRumors has heard this may just be to tweak the interface and add new functionality that:

will see the rolling out of several new enhancements, including an official launch of the redesigned Mail interface for MobileMe that has been available in beta form for the past month. Included in this rollout will be push functionality for the Web-based Mail client, providing real-time updating as messages arrive.

Apple is also reportedly removing the MobileMe "toolbar" for the various Web applications offered by the service, replacing the toolbar with a single "application switcher" icon that will allow users to switch between Web applications.

They've also heard a dedicated, universal iPhone and IPad app for Find My iPhone is on its way as well. That would be a first, since Apple hasn't so far updated any of their existing iPhone apps for iPad.

I guess we'll see come tomorrow.

[MobileMe System Status, MacRumors]

Whether or not you agree with Apple going all-in on HTML5, they're certainly putting their clout where their mouth is, launching a new showcase on Apple.com, complete with some terrific demos and a link to developer.apple.com for those who want to roll their own interactive, standards based solutions.

Every new Apple mobile device and every new Mac — along with the latest version of Apple’s Safari web browser — supports web standards including HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. These web standards are open, reliable, highly secure, and efficient. They allow web designers and developers to create advanced graphics, typography, animations, and transitions. Standards aren’t add-ons to the web. They are the web. And you can start using them today.

Interestingly, Apple's previous iPad ready HTML5 site listing, and Steve Jobs' Thoughts on Flash article are both featured at the bottom of the page.

If there was any remaining, lingering doubt, HTML5 and Safari are Apple's open app platform and they're going all in. How far are we from a future where HTML5 and web apps are legitimate peers to native apps in terms of delivering the functionality and features users need?

UPDATE: 9to5Mac points out you can get these to open in other HTML5 browsers like Chrome or Firefox by going to the developer.apple.com page. Weird.

[Apple.com]

Dashboard for iPad is a Jailbreak app that will appeal to anyone who likes having widgets -- like that little tiger puzzle -- on their desktop computer.

Since Apple won't allow widget apps on the official App Store, it's Jailbreak only. You can get it free through Cydia and is a decent tweak for being in it's beginning stages.  As of now, you're stuck with whatever default widgets are at the bottom. Actually, a user in our comments section brought to my attention you CAN install new widgets through SSH.  If you plan to SSH, as always, approach with caution.  Not recommended for beginning jailbreakers! I'd assume we will see some start popping up in Cydia and Rock soon.  Video after the jump!

YouTube link

Well, technically not Apple the entity, but an employee of Apple named Anders Carlsson announced WebKit 2 yesterday and for geeks it could easily have been a Jobsian "One more thing..."

This is a heads-up that we will shortly start landing patches for a new WebKit framework that we at Apple have been working on for a while. We currently call this new framework "WebKit2".

WebKit2 is designed from the ground up to support a split process model, where the web content (JavaScript, HTML, layout, etc) lives in a separate process. This model is similar to what Google Chrome offers, with the major difference being that we have built the process split model directly into the framework, allowing other clients to use it.

They're also offering non-blocking API which Clint Ecker at Ars Technica

should result in much more responsive applications which hook into WebKit2. Theoretically, while the renderer is rendering something, the main application loop can move on to doing something else as requested by a user.

WebKit is the open-source browser rendering engine that originated as KHTML/Konquerer on Linux but was taken under Apple's wing and became the core of Safari on both the desktop and the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. (Google also uses it for Chrome, Android, and Chrome OS, Palm for the webOS browser, and RIM is developing a WebKit browser for BlackBerry).

What this means for iPhone and iPad users, of course, is that we'll eventually get faster versions of Safari that when one page crashes just drops us back into another page rather than taking the whole browser down with it. Put that together with the other advances in HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript (including frameworks) Apple has been pushing out, and the future of the web for developers and users gets really interesting.

Done21.com has discovered something interesting in the online iPad user-guide: a new JavaScript framework they've dubbed AdLib (after its filename) that allows for very native app look and feel in the decidedly web-based app.

AppleInsider notes that it appears to be related to the PastryKit framework used for the iPhone user-guide (which stands to reason), and the TuneKit framework used for iTunes LP and iTunes Extra. And that the name may tie-in to the iAd rumors, and to internal efforts on Apple's part to raise the bar of web apps and diminish the need for plugins like Flash and Java.

Could we find out more at Apple's iPhone 4.0 event tomorrow? We certainly hope so. As much as some decry the closed nature of the App Store, developing for Safari is wide open and a new class of better, faster, stronger web apps is ultimately good for everyone.

Video after the break!

YouTube link

Google continues to lead the pack when it comes to web apps, so we're not surprised to see them announce an experimental Gmail site up and optimized in time for the iPad release.

We’re releasing an experimental user interface for the iPad built on the Gmail for mobile HTML5 web app that we launched last year for the iPhone and Android devices. Those devices have large screens compared to other phones, and tablets like the iPad give us even more room to innovate. To take advantage of the iPad’s large display, we’ve created a two-pane view with your list of conversations on the left and messages to the right.

Some other Google web apps will present iPad-optimized versions, while a few will retain their desktop look. Google fired up their iPhone 3.2 SDK for iPad simulator, checked things out, and decided what worked best.

When you get your iPad give it a shot and let us know how they did!

[Google via MacRumors]

MacRumors reports on an email being sent to users of Apple's iWork.com document sharing site that outlines a few updates to the service, including one for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad:

Refined user interface. A redesigned Sign In and Shared Documents page for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch makes it easy to access your documents while on the go. The new interface and improved scrolling help you find your shared documents faster. Visit www.iwork.com from your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch to view your shared documents.

iWork.com has been in beta since it was introduced at Macworld 2009 and it's still unclear exactly how much effort Apple is putting into it compared to say iWork touch recently unveiled for the iPad, and whether or not Apple will ever release full-on Web App versions of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote to compete with Google Docs and Microsoft's new Office 2010 Online.

If you use iWork.com, let us know what you think of the changes.

TechCrunch links to noted developer Tim Bray who's taking a position as "Developer Advocate" at Google for Android but who announces it while taking a swipe at Apple's iPhone:

The iPhone vision of the mobile Internet’s future omits controversy, sex, and freedom, but includes strict limits on who can know what and who can say what. It’s a sterile Disney-fied walled garden surrounded by sharp-toothed lawyers. The people who create the apps serve at the landlord’s pleasure and fear his anger.

Which is completely and utterly wrong, of course. That's Apple's vision of the mobile, curated App Store which they intend to be a family friendly, corporately liable software repository. Apple's vision of the mobile internet is Mobile Safari and its WebKit rendering engine and other technological underpinnings, most of which are open source and heavily supported by Apple.

You can, now, today, get porn on the iPhone via Mobile Safari. You can get Google Voice. You can pretty much get anything and everything without any interference from or need for approval by Apple. It's the definition of the Winer-ian vendor-less platform Bray quotes. Never mind:

I’m going to have to get savvier about HTML5-based applications, because a lot of smart people think the future’s there, that the “native app” notion will soon seem quaint.

And HTML5 (which allows web-based apps to behave more like native apps) is something Apple has been pushing very hard as well (from promotion at Apple's Developer Tech Talk World Tour to WebKit.org itself). And again, now, today, you can code and run some of the best, most robust HTML5 applications for mobile to run well on iPhone Safari -- and other WebKit-based mobile browsers.

We've said many times Safari is Apple's open app store, and Apple even includes it beside Mac and iPhone on developer.apple.com. That's what confuses us about comments like Bray's and TechCrunch's mention of former Facebook for iPhone developer Joe Hewitt (who has since said the iPad is "everything he's wished for").

We'll stop short of assigning motives to Bray's comments, given his new job. It's awesome for Bray and Google and Android and developers to even have that sort of person in that sort of position, and we congratulate and wish all of them well. But it's important to point out that while Apple's App Store might be "closed as in managed", Mobile Safari is wide open; if you're a web developer it's delivering as well or better than anyone else on the promise of of that platform today.

Apple has changed MobileMe's me.com site, previously inaccessible from iPhone or iPod touch Safari, to not only allow access to Find My iPhone, but to offer help in setting up accounts and getting additional apps. iTunes Preview, meanwhile, has duplicated even more of the media and app browsing experience on the web by adding support for categories.

First up, when you used to go to http://www.me.com on your iPhone, you used to see an intercept page telling you to set up the services on your iPhone and that was it. Now the new page (above) has a link to setting up those services, a direct link to Find my iPhone, and links for getting Apple's free Gallery and iDisk App Store apps.

Obviously, Find My iPhone from an iPhone or iPod touch (or iPad, as we presume that's what Apple is setting all this up for) is the Big News here. The link itself is a bit clunky still and the Find My iPhone page hasn't been optimized for the iPhone, but having it available online and mobile is huge.

Next, TUAW shows how Apple has once again expanded iTunes Preview -- the web browser-based front for the iTunes store -- adding full on category pages to the previous app and music rollout. Another piece in the rumored iTunes.com cloud-based puzzle?

Let us know what you think of these changes!

[Thanks Jason for the tip!]

Is it possible that web apps can return from the dead? It seems to me that the 2.0 firmware pretty much buried the poor web apps six feet under. Even if they are not used nearly as often since we have 3rd party apps along with the App store, it seems as if Apple are quietly tweaking the iPhone for them.

According to a reader over at AppleInsider.com:

One unpublicized feature introduced by Apple's latest iPhone software updates is the ability save Web Apps to the home screen and have them launch in full-screen mode without the Safari wrapper, essentially mimicking the experience of a native app.

The reader also notes that the capability is "only present in Web applications specifically authored to include the full-screen code". Pretty clever trick Apple. But is this enough for you to start using web apps again? Or have you never given up on them even though we have the App Store?

We here at TiPb are curious what you think, sound off in the comments!

[Via AppleInsider]

The news used to be more simple. You had your choice of three major television networks, newspaper, magazines, or radio. Twenty-four-hour cable news was yet to come and the Internet was not even a glimmer in Al Gore's eye. If the constant bombardment of information via satellite broadcast wasn't enough to overwhelm the mere mortal, along came the Internet with the rise of blogging (ahem) and countless web sites feeding information. Something had to be done to make information easier to digest for the busy person on the go, and Spreed:News uses an innovative way to deliver it. Read on for the review!

What is Spreed:News?

Spreed:News

There are a variety of pre-set news sources to choose from, like CNN Top Stories, Blog Maverick, ESPN - Headlines, and People.com, to name several. The ability to customize the types of news and articles you are interested in is also a feature of Spreed:News.

Using Spreed:News

Also on the main page of the site is a "Customize" button. Tapping on it permits you to choose from several different categories so that each time you visit Spreed:News, you can select from sites and read news and articles that match your interests.

As I see it, there are three main benefits of using Spreed:News, and they are somewhat interrelated. First, it increases your ability to read faster. Second, it presents the information in such a way that, as you learn to read faster, you can digest larger amounts of information in shorter periods of time. Finally, it makes it much easier to read on a mobile device, like the iPhone. Although the iPhone sports a best-in-class Internet browser for rendering full web pages, it goes without saying that ALL mobile devices leave much to be desired for reading large amounts of information due to the small screen real-estate. Even the iPhone, with it's expansive screen, benefits greatly from this eye-friendly presentation of information.

Once you have customized your interests and selected a news source, just tap on the stories that interest you, set your desired WPM, and start reading the word groupings as they flash in front of your eyes - it's that easy. Or is it?

What's It REALLY Like?

A Spreed:News user and fan, Michael, has put together a helpful video here, so I recommend you take a look so you can get a feel for how it works. Thanks, Michael!

The exciting thing about Spreed:News, aside from the obvious way in which it speeds up your ability to digest news and information, is the fact that the company is very responsive to user feedback and improvements are implemented all the time. Also, once you finish reading an article, you are presented with a screen with several options. Users can rate articles so you can see what is recommended reading and what isn't, post the article on Twitter, send it to a friend, post it on Facebook, and leave feedback. Spreed:News is not only a great way to read information, but it's also a great way to share the information with others in a variety of ways.

Final Impressions

It is challenging at first to get used to the innovative method of reading word groupings at a high rate of speed on your iPhone, but if you hang in there for a little bit, you will be rewarded with increased reading speed, surprising comprehension, and time savings in dealing with your daily information overload. I highly recommend you give it a try - at the low price of FREE, what are you waiting for?

RATING:

Even though the folks at Apple are toting the iPhone 3G as being business-friendly by offering some extra functionality and Exchange support via the iPhone 2.0 upgrade, the iPhone has always been a worthy platform for the business and finance-minded user (in my humble opinion).   Case in point,  the list of twenty-five (yes, 25!) different financial apps for the iPhone at currencytrading.net. I'll cover briefly just a few of these apps in today's Tip and you can explore the rest to your heart's content.

iCalc Mortgage Calculator is great for finding out what your mortgage payment will be when buying a new home, or you can use it to figure out what your payment WILL be once your interest-only payments expire (ouch!).

Another useful app is Currency Exchange. Given the free-fall of the dollar, it's not a bad idea to have a way to see how it stacks up against other world currencies.

iTIPZ Tip Calculator is exactly like it sounds - let this app compute your tip, split it as many ways as you have payers, and even let it round off the number for you.  Sweet!

Compound Interest Calculator helps you compute how much moolah ($$$) you can save over a period of time.  Remember when you were young (cough) and someone much older and wiser told you that if you saved $5 a week for 30 years you would have a gazillion dollars due to the magic of compound interest?  Yeah, well, I didn't save the $5/week either, but at least if you start now, you can use this app to set your goals.

These are just four of the twenty-five apps at currencytrading.net.  Just head on over there at the speed of a click to see the rest.  If you have finances on the brain, there's bound to be an app there that will be useful.

That's it for this week's Tip.  If you have a tip of your own that you would like to share with the rest of us, please leave a Comment or you can email me at: brian.hart@tipb.com.

Disclaimer:  Tip o' the Week makes no guarantee, express or implied, that any tip found herein will be new or particularly useful to the reader (ok, ok.  I may have exaggerated the "gazillion" you can save via compound interest if you sock away $5/week.  It's more like a bazillion).

In an article over at Brighthand, Antoine Wright raised an interesting and thought-provoking point, that Apple should have ignored developer's wishes and maintain their web app platform. He believes that Safari, one of the most capable mobile browsers available, could have paved the way for an even better web experience by offering very polished web apps. He lists examples such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and banking sites as those who have created great web apps.

Apple, with its own browser, Safari, and a fresh mobile platform, had the opportunity to really change the game when it came to making web applications. These could have become a standard type of software platform model for mobile devices. The company chose instead to listen to developers.

Though we at TiPb would have loved to see Apple make some headway in Web Apps and do see a future in it, we just don't think straying away from Native Apps would have been the answer. Native Apps provide a distinct advantage, they work without an internet connection and offer a more immersive experience. Native Apps aren't trapped to the confines of Safari and theoretically, offer limitless potential. TiPb's vote goes to Native Apps FTW.

What do you guys think? Web Apps all the way? Or did Apple make the smart decision in admitting an error and allowing 3rd party native apps?

Read

Before we hit the sure-to-be-craziness of WWDC, TiPb has some definite house cleaning to do. Meaning lucky for you readers, more roundups! With Rene handling every roundup possible for the iPhone 3G and beyond I thought it'd be a great time to focus on the device we've all been unconsciously neglecting: the iPhone!

Every few weeks, I'll present you with a quick list of web apps, native apps, and games that should tie up any loose ends that we might have missed. Click on each link to learn more about the program and be sure to mention your experience in the comments or forums. Before we start, with the iPhone 3G just mere days away, make sure you participate in TiPb's Wait-A-Thon-Tastic and give yourself a chance to win a FREE iPhone 3G!

Read on for the Rest of the Software Roundup!

Web Apps

HyperOffice promises to make your iPhone a mobile business collaboration and productivity tool. With HyperOffice, you can share your data with associates and clients. Also, you can access your data in Outlook and even remain in sync. HyperOffice is an award winning software that makes things easier for iPhone business users.

iZoho

Zoho is a web office suite that includes tools for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, note-taking, wikis, etc. With the launch of 2.0, Zoho has completely revamped their web app, iZoho, for the iPhone. The new design introduces tabbed interface for easy navigation between Zoho Apps. I gave iZoho a twirl and couldn't manage to edit my documents as promised, viewing was a cinch though. However, the interface is slick and I remain hopeful that the customizability of Zoho can translate to the iPhone.

Mobispine

Mobispine is a free mobile news reader that offers easy categorization and over 250,000 global sources to comb through. It's a great way to streamline your daily blog visits and quicken the pace for how you read websites. The best thing is it's easily customizable!

Widgetop

This web app allows you to run single Dashboard widgets from the Widgetop catalog without loading Mobile Widgetop Desktop. Essentially, it puts the widgets on the homescreen of the iPhone which allows for easier access to the widgets.

Games

A FPS that uses the accelerometer and multi-touch for controls is planned to be released very soon. There is a video of gameplay footage and graphic-wise it is pretty amazing. This is probably a first glimpse of many, many FPS to come to the iPhone.

Tribal

For jailbroken iPhones this game has a basic premise but is executed beautifully. The graphics and animation are definitely exciting but the gameplay leaves a lot more to be desired. The whole idea behind the game is to "shoot the targets that pop up on the screen". As simple as it is, it's a great time killer when waiting for the next appointment.

temper4iPhone

An old favorite for the oldies. Temper4iPhone is an emulator of TurboGrafx-16 also known as PC Engine for the iPhone. Which basically means, you can play Bonk on the iPhone. Emulators are a sweet way to gain access to incredibly vast game libraries rich with history.

Native Apps

This Native App for jailbroken iPhones allows you to post new web logs to your LiveJournal account. With a simple interface, it serves as an extension of your LiveJournal page and could be extremely useful for anybody who wishes to blog-on-the-go. Since it's in the beginning stages of development there is still much more work that can be done.

RetroPhone

Ever wanted a rotary dialer for your iPhone? It's trendy these days to use our advanced technology to recreate ancient technology, isn't it? It'll be available through the AppStore. Can't wait for a developer to create a telegram machine for the iPhone..

And that's it for this roundup! Hope you guys listened to Dieter on how to prep for WWDC. And be sure to be a part of TiPb's Live Color Commentary Blog!