Apps

Exclusive hands-on: Get the full version of Hulu on your iPhone (or iPad) with PlayOn

Web video streaming has always been a selective experience on Apple devices, limited to specialized apps and HTML5-enabled Web sites. Even the recent announcement of Hulu Plus doesn't fully solve the problem, with its selective library and high monthly cost.

The makers of PlayOn, a useful media-streaming program for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, have a new solution, in the form of an iPhone version of the PlayOn app. It will be available in the iTunes App Store as a free download starting July 15, but it requires you to own the PC-based PlayOn software, which unfortunately recently moved from a one-time purchase to an annual subscription model, with rates running from $5 to $40 per year, depending on whether you're an existing customer (discounted deals are occasionally offered as well).

Previously, I described how PlayOn helped me decide to mothball the media center PC connected to my home theater setup, as it provides for on-the-fly streaming and transcoding of Hulu (and content from a handful of other online sources), plus video files from the local PC the PlayOn server software resides on. It's an imperfect, sometimes clunky solution, but the ability to get Hulu running on a big-screen TV via your game console makes it a killer app.

The new iPhone app works much the same way, streaming the content from Hulu and other sources from a base PC on your network to your iPhone. Simply download and install the PlayOn software on a laptop or desktop (there's a two-week free trial), and have it run in the background. Once you install the PlayOn app on your iPhone, it will see the PC and connect, then let you choose from a variety of media sources. … Read more

PriceGrabber releases free Android app

PriceGrabber.com expanded its mobile portfolio beyond the iPhone on Tuesday when it released its Android application. The free title, which is available in the Android Market, offers many of the shopping tools found on the company's Web site. At its core is the ability to search the massive catalog spanning millions of products from thousands of merchants. Other features include product reviews from users and experts and the capability to purchase items directly from the handset. It's also possible to create a "wish list" with your favorite products.

PriceGrabber's BottomLinePrice also makes the jump … Read more

Update to Apple's MobileMe iDisk App could signal cloud-based iTunes coming soon

In what would have been an otherwise mundane update, Apple has released its MobileMe iDisk App for iOS 4, including support for iPad. The update may also hint at possibilities of a cloud-based iTunes in the works.… Read more

Update to Apple's MobileMe iDisk App could signal cloud-based iTunes coming soon

In what would have been an otherwise mundane update, Apple has released its MobileMe iDisk App for iOS 4, including support for iPad. The update may hint at possibilities of a cloud-based iTunes in the works.

In the update notes, Apple lists the ability to "play audio from your iDisk while using another app." This is an interesting feature addition for many reasons, but mostly because it could be the first step to establishing a cloud-based streaming media solution for iPhone and iPad users.

If Apple is using iDisk as a test for future plans to launch an &… Read more

DriveGain app claims $205 annual fuel savings

Driving greenly is one of those things that should be easy to do: treat the accelerator and brake pedals like eggshells and generally keep your speed under control. For drivers who need a little more help or motorists who are obsessed with eking every last mile out of a gallon of fuel, there will always be apps and gadgets that claim to boost your fuel economy. For example, the DriveGain app for iPhone aims to coach drivers toward higher MPGs with visual and audible prompts that encourage greener driving. The developers of this app go so far as to claim … Read more

Report: More than half of Android apps are free

Google's Android Market offers the largest share of free apps at 57 percent, while the Windows Mobile Marketplace offers the smallest share at 22 percent, says a report on mobile app stores released last week by Distimo.

The report looked at trends in the U.S. for May 2010 among the major app stores, including Apple's App Store for the iPhone, Apple's App Store for the iPad, RIM's BlackBerry App World (worldwide), Google's Android Market, Nokia's Ovi Store, Palm's App Catalog, and Microsoft's Windows Marketplace for Mobile.

A large percentage of free … Read more

Dev aims to get Flash running on iPad

iPad owners who are still upset that Apple won't allow Flash in iOS might soon have a solution.

A new application for jailbroken iPads called Frash allows owners to run Flash in their Mobile Safari browser. The app was developed by Comex, a company that created the Spirit jailbreak.

Frash isn't currently available for wide release. The app, according to its developers, just isn't stable enough to justify releasing it just yet. Realizing that, Comex has decided to make the app's files available on GitHub to allow any developer to tweak and improve the software for … Read more

Reports: iTunes accounts, App Store hacked

Various blogs are reporting that it appears some iTunes customer accounts have been hacked and that funds from those accounts may have been used to purchase apps in the iTunes App Store.

Earlier Sunday, Engadget reported an inexplicable uptick in sales of book apps by a developer identified as Thuat Nguyen. According to the blog, at the time of writing its report, Nguyen apps accounted for 42 of the top 50 books by revenue in the Books section of the iTunes App Store. Engadget went on to mention "a number of people reporting up to hundreds of dollars being … Read more

Report: AdMob alive and well in iPhone apps

AdMob may not be locked out of iPhone applications just yet.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that application developers using AdMob as their in-app advertising provider are having their applications approved by Apple without incident, despite Apple's decision to change the terms of the iPhone developer agreement in a way that appeared to ban AdMob. Back in June, AdMob lashed out at Apple for making this change, saying, "this change is not in the best interests of users or developers."

The change to the agreement said that developers were not allowed to use ad networks that … Read more

RIP Sidekick

Thanks for watching Loaded today. We will be off Monday for the long Fourth of July weekend. Why we get off July 5 when the holiday is a day earlier, I am not quite sure. But I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth! Have a happy and safe Independence Day!

Links from Friday's episode of Loaded:

The U.S. government releases four new smartphone apps Disney purchases Tapulous Google acquires travel software company ITA Microsoft is licensing technology that allows batteries to work no matter how you put them in your gadgets Sex.com … Read more