App Review: Swackett

Swackett for iPhone is a weather app, but a different kind of weather app, just as it's advertised. Instead of gibing you just a forecast with a graphic representing the weather, Swackett gives you the forecast and a graphic of a person dressing accordingly. Now, that sounds not much different, but everything, the fonts, the graphics, and the overall experience make the app feel unique.

Before, with any weather app, I didn't go in and check the weather because I just couldn't be bothered. With Swackett, that has changed, I enjoy seeing the colorful and unique graphics using the app.

But wait, there's more. There's a Mac version!

Swackett for Mac is very much like it's iOS counterpart, but it takes advantage of being on a larger display, but it still looks and operates the same.

Both apps are free, but there is a paid version in the Mac App Store.

iPhone 4S(teve)

As any Apple fan knows, today was the launch of the iPhone 4S. This has been the most successful iPhone launch, and the most successful Sprint handset launch ever. The launch brought Apple stock up to $422 a share, which overall brought the capital of the company from 388 billion to 391 billion.

If Apple's product launches continue like this, Apple will be set for a long time.

AppAdvice has Gone Free!

For those who don't know, AppAdvice is a news site that covers Apple's products and apps for them on a daily basis. They are a terrific site with a terrific (universal) iOS app. Normally, that app sells for $1.99, but for this weekend only, it has gone free in celebration of iOS 5 and the iPhone 4S! So what are you waiting for? Download the app now!

A "Hard Drive in the Sky" for iOS

At the WWDC Announcement of iCloud (Unfortunately the final Stevenote), Steve himself said that the cloud was more than a "hard drive in the sky" and then went on to talk about the features of iCloud. While iCloud does a great job at what it was designed to do, but it still does not solve any storage issues people are having on their iOS device. Yesterday, Box.net announced that until early December, new accounts get a free 50GB upgrade for life when you download their iOS app. This means you can store virtually any file in the cloud and view or download it on your iOS or Android device, giving the service a big advantage over Dropbox (at least for free accounts). This will definitely be helpful if you have a lot of photos & video. So, if you are having storage issues on your mobile device, definitely check out Box.net on the App Store.

Woz Can't Wait for the iPhone 4S, Either

So it turns out Apple's co-founder Steve Wozniak can't wait to get his iPhone 4S tomorrow. He tweeted around 2pm today from the Los Gatos Apple Store:

The long wait begins. I'm first in line. The guy ahead was on the wrong side and he's pissed. (@ Apple Store)

After that, Twitter user Parth Dhebar (@pdparticle) Tweeted the above photo with the following message:

NBC Bay Area interviewing Woz

I personally would have thought Woz would get his iPhone reserved for him, but I guess not. Maybe it's fun for him to wait like every other Apple fan would. Either way, it's cool that Woz is still a huge fan of the company he helped to start.

How to Hide iOS 5 Newsstand

If you're like me, then you probably don't want to use that Newsstand feature that Apple introduced with iOS 5. It's just been sitting there taking up space on your homescreen. Don't you wish you could put it in a folder? It's really a bummer that you can't do so. Or can you?

Various sites have reported that there is a glitch in iOS 5 that allows you to put Newsstand in a folder. If you take two apps to create a new folder, then hold on the Newsstand icon as the folder is being created, it will go inside the new folder. The only (very little) problem with this is that if you try to launch Newsstand, it will crash SpringBoard. So if you want to actually use Newsstand you will have to remove it from the folder first.

UPDATE: Turns out that when you sync up with iTunes, Newsstand will come out of the folder and be place don your first Homescreen.

Thoughts on iOS 5?

By now you've had a day to play around with iOS 5 and iCloud, so tell me what you think! What can be improved? What has Apple nailed? Was it worth the wait? Tell me in the comments section!

For me, I really like the Twitter integration and Notification Center, although you should be able to quickly compose a regular Tweet from anywhere using Notification Center. I really like the keyboard shortcuts, iMessage, the Safari improvements, and many, many more of the features.

Apple Apps

Along with the iOS 5 release, Apple also released some new apps in the App Store today, as well as updated Remote and iBooks apps.

First up, there is Cards and Find my Friends. Both were shown at the Let's Talk iPhone event on October 4th, to be released alongside iOS 5. Cards basically brings iPhoto's card-making system to iOS. Find My Friends is exactly that: finding your friends on a map using their location data that they decided to share. It could be useful if you are on a trip with your family and want to keep track of where they are, but I don't see much of a purpose for it.

Two unexpected apps from Apple also hit the App Store today, ITunes Movie Trailers and AirPort Utility. iTunes Movie Trailers does exactly what you'd expect: watch movie trailers from iTunes, and I found this quite enjoyable. The trailer for The Avengers was especially awesome. AirPort Utility was actually hinted at by a screenshot from the iOS 5 Golden Master release a few days ago, but for the most part no one really saw it coming. All it does is allow you to manage your AirPort-based Wi-Fi network from your iOS device, truly allowing you to go PC Free.

Have you downloaded these apps? Which ones? Do you like them? Let me know.

iOS 5, iCloud, and the Works

Today saw the official public release of iOS 5, the long-awaited update bringing a much needed improvement in Notifications, Twitter integration, and integration with Apple's iCloud service, basically a (free) revamped version of MobileMe which allows you to truly go PC-Free. Because of the demand for this release, however, Apple's servers have been clogged, causing extremely slow downloads and verification errors. The errors are so bad, that ERROR 3200 became a worldwide trending topic on Twitter today. Let's take that in for a moment. Apple's servers are unable to process the mass of people trying to download iOS 5. Think about that, Apple must have some of the best servers available. Various sites have reported that the only way to get iOS 5 during this rush is to continue trying until your request goes through. Also released today was Mac OS X Lion 10.7.2, which brought iCloud integration to the Mac, as well as few other minor improvements, such as being able to rearrange Spaces and Fullscreen Apps.

I, fortunately, am a part of the lucky few that upgraded this morning without a problem. I must tell you, iOS 5 was definitely worth the wait. Notifications are so much more tolerable now, the Twitter integration is seamless and well thought-out, and the overall speed of any device has increased. iCloud is incredibly convenient, and I love not having to plugin to sync and backup. I only wish you could consolidate your Apple IDs. I have 2, which are difficult to manage.

My entire upgrade was not entirely painless, though, my Apple TV required a restore to update, and after that, it took a few times to sign in with my Apple ID. It wasn't necessarily frustrating, just inconvenient. An update that should have taken 10 minutes took an hour. I had tried 3 times through Update Software option in the Settings menu, each time taking 5 minutes to download the file with no problem, but applying the update took another 5 minutes just to tell me "The Update was Not Successful." After browsing the Apple Support Forum, I found a post that said to try a restore. I did, and it worked.

Have you updated to iOS 5? Are you having errors? Tell me in the comments.