We knew this was coming and here it is: the Netflix application, heretofore reserved only for iPad users, has trickled down to iPhone and iPod touch devices. Version 1.1.0 makes the TV show and movie streaming app universal — so long as your universe is known as iOS — and looks to massively expand the available audience for Netflix’s mobile effort. What are you waiting for, go get it already.

Read the full story

Popularity: 1% [?]

Who knew that credit card processing would be the new hotness for smartphones? The Square mobile payment system has been making waves by letting small businesses receive credit card payment directly on their smartphones. Now, mophie and Intuit are looking to get in on the same action with their Complete Card Solution for iPhone. It’s a $179 package that includes both mophie’s card-swiping phone case and the 3.0 version of Intuit’s GoPayment app. After a quick application users are said to be approved (or, erm, declined) within 15 minutes and can immediately start accepting payments. Full details, including just how much users will be forking over in fees, after the break.

Initial targeted clients were people like plumbers and electricians, but we can definitely see tech-minded farmers at the market relying on this sort of system, along with craftmeisters who shun Etsy and prefer to sell face-to-face. A single account can also cover up to 50 users, meaning an entire sales team could be equipped with these devices. Intuit’s site provides lots of data on transactions and the like, but for the full ability to reconcile to invoices and track payments you’ll need to use Intuit’s QuickBooks suite, either on the PC or Mac.

The big question is, of course, what it’ll cost you to use the thing. $179 up-front is hardly a small commitment, and a further $12.95 per month makes the minimum cost quite a bit higher than Square, which offers free hardware and no monthly fees. Likewise, per-transaction fees here are between $.30 and $.34, double the $.15 fee of the Square. However, Intuit and mophie will take a smaller chunk of the overall payment: 1.7 percent usually, though that could climb as high as 3.7 percent depending on the type of card being used. That compares favorably to Square’s 2.75 to 3.5 percent.

Whether this is a value proposition for your business depends largely on the size and frequency of transactions you plan to receive. But, there is one definite advantage Square has over this system: compatibility. This case, which encrypts every credit card number before it gets to the phone, will only work with the iPhone 3G/S. We’re told an iPhone 4-compatible version is in the works, but it’s anyone’s guess when that will show up. We do, however, know that this current version is available now in Apple retail stores and will be hitting Apple’s online site in the very near future. So, go on now. Get paid.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Apple loves to tout the HD video recording and editing capabilities of its new iPhone 4. Shoot.Edit.Share, says the slogan. Unfortunately, something nasty happens between the shooting and YouTube sharing: compression. Apple squashes your magical 720p memory into a rather glum looking 360p video just as soon as you select “Send to YouTube.” And there’s no easy way around it. That is, until we stumbled upon a little app called 720tube from Drakfyre’s Software.

It’s simplistic in its design but works exactly as advertised. Once you’ve shot or exported your video from iMovie, simply launch 720tube, login to your YouTube account (credentials can be saved) and select the video from the iPhone camera roll. Read the full story

Popularity: 1% [?]

Independent app developer Dante Varnado Moore has announced the release and immediate availability of Songwriter’s Pad 1.0.3, a professional lyric writing app designed specifically for the iPad. Songwriter’s Pad allows songwriters to write, arrange and store all of their lyrics and song concepts in one app. It also includes a digital audio recorder for capturing vocal ideas when inspiration strikes. It contains “powerful idea generating tools that are designed to inspire creative expression and eliminate writer’s block” says independent app developer Dante Varnado Moore.
Read the full story

Popularity: 1% [?]

Snappy, an iPhone camera app that launches quickly by pressing the status bar, has been updated with iOS 4 support.

Never miss a photo opportunity again! Snappy is a camera app for the iPhone that launches and is ready to take pictures in one second, without having to exit your currently running application. Snappy is also accessible directly from your lock screen. Simply tap and hold the status bar (the bar at the top of the screen with AT&T logo, signal bars, battery, etc) to launch and you are immediately ready to take pictures; compare that to the five to six seconds it takes to exit a running application and launch the native camera app.
Read the full story

Popularity: 1% [?]

Now here’s a surprise. Apple isn’t exactly known to be super friendly when it comes to video compatibility, and we can sympathize to an extent. However, for some inexplicable reason, Steve’s brethren decided to give this CineXPlayer app the green light for general consumption, thus finally allowing iPad users to load up their stash of Xvid AVI files — sans conversion — via iTunes. While this is worth a quick celebration, it’s still rather absurd having to resort to underhanded apps for Read the full story

Popularity: 1% [?]