Monthly Archives: December 2011

Recalled 1st generation iPod nanos being replaced by refurbished 6th generation nanos

I have not received my first generation recalled iPod nano replacement. However, MacRumors reports that others have and are reporting that some have received current generation sixth generation nano devices.

Apple Indeed Replacing Recalled iPod Nano Units with Current-Generation Models

I’ll report if I received a first or sixth generation nano after my replacement unit is delivered.

Garageband for OS X needs 180MB compatibility update for Garageband for iPad

I’m reviewing Griffin’s Guitar Connect Pro this weekend. One of the things I wanted to test was copying a multi-track recording from the iPad to a Mac by downloading the tracks via iTunes to try to clean up my sloppy playing by quantizing the guitar tracks. Having never done this previously, I learned that the already up-to-date Garageband for OS X needs a compatibility update in order to import the tracks from its iPad counterpart. Note that the informational screen that popped up on my Mac specifically mentions Garageband for iPad. I have not tried this with Garageband running on an iPhone (which is a Universal app).

Beatles Yellow Submarine multimedia ebook available for free in Apple’s iBookstore

Apple is providing a multimedia ebook of The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine for free. The book has audio, limited animation, and video clip components to it. It is categorized as a children’s book. But, any Beatles fan will probably get a kick out of it.

Navigation through the pages feels a lot jerkier than other iBook ebooks on my iPad 2. I do not see this kind of page turning hesitation when reading conventional iBook ebooks.

[Video] Mini-review: Doodle God for Windows Phone

Doodle God for Windows Phone is a logic puzzle game that I consider to be in the casual game category. You can spend as little or as much time as you like and get entertainment for whatever time is spent. The game starts with four basic elements that are combined to create new ones. One goal is to create all 135 elements (really “compounds”) possible. Not all compounds are intuitive. For example, combining “life” and “ash” creates a “ghost”.

In addition to the main game play mode, Doodle God has minigames and quests. And, like other Xbox Live games, it has achievements and leaderboards.

Doodle God is priced at $2.99.

Disclosure: Microsoft provided the game free of charge for evaluation purposes.

Smule’s Magic Guitar for iPhone is fun. But, it needs “strings” IMHO

Smule’s CTO & co-founder, Ge Wang, makes it look easy in the video embedded above. But, Smule’s new Magic Guitar, presents challenges even if you know how to play a real guitar.

I found I wanted to see actual guitar strings to give an indication of where fingers should rest while waiting for song notes to appear. The app is designed for the iPhone and iPod touch. It doesn’t scale for play on an iPad.

The app has achievements, badges and leaderboards to let you compete with friends if you like. Smule says that the app’s songbook offers a huge catalog of legendary artists including The Rolling Stones, Coldplay, KISS, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Sublime, Credence Clearwater Revival, Santana, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Styx, Poison, Bruno Mars, Train and more. The app is free and comes with a couple of free songs. In-app purchases of song packs range from $2.99 to $9.99.