Sprint wants customers to buy the iPhone 4S and is offering a US$100 credit for the 4S to anyone who brings in an older iPhone as a trade. Details of this trade-in offer was published by TechnoBuffalo, who received it from a trusted source. This offer is supposedly available to both new and existing customers who agree to a new two-year contract and will last until June 30.

Sprint to offer $100 towards iPhone 4S upon trade-in originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 18 May 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sprint's CEO Dan Hesse signed an estimated US$15.5 billion deal with Apple to carry the iPhone. After a less than stellar quarterly performance, the CEO is trying to quell shareholder discontent by publicly defending his decision, says a report in AllThingsD.

Speaking at an annual shareholders meeting, Hesse assured investors that "carrying the iPhone will be quite profitable." Customers will join Sprint to get the iPhone on an unlimited plan and will stay because most people who buy the phone are happy with their purchase. The iPhone will increase the number of long-term customers with revenue-generating data plans which is good for Sprint's bottom line. Sprint won't see these benefits until 2015, but the CEO believes the iPhone is worth the wait.

Dan Hesse certain the iPhone will be profitable for Sprint originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 17 May 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Inkling is an e-book publishing platform that's currently running an app on the App Store, and while Apple has been making an official push for more textbooks in iBooks, Inkling is strengthening its own holdings. The company has made a deal with Follett to bring hundreds of Inkling titles into college bookstores, where students can buy the ebook content right there in person.

The company is selling whole textbooks, or it's also offering a program called "Pick 3," which allows students to grab three chapters of a book at a time, keeping costs down if teachers or students don't need the whole book. Overall, this may not be cheaper, however -- don't forget that students who buy real books can often have a chance to resell them, or can buy them used, and with ebooks, there's obviously no resale value.

The Follett deal should be ready by the time students head back to school in the fall.

Inkling to sell iPad textbooks in over 900 college bookstores originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 15 May 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I first saw Chillingo's latest title, This Could Hurt, at GDC earlier this year, and back then I didn't really get into it. It's a one-button title that I thought looked a little too simple. But after giving it a longer try post-release, there's actually a lot of surprising depth here. Yes, there's only one control (touch on the screen to make your character stand still), but developers Orange Agenda do an impressive job of wringing a whole lot of gameplay out of just that one mechanic.

As your character runs along, he'll come across lots of strange contraptions designed to hurt him, and the goal of the game is to time your stopping just right so that he isn't harmed by whatever dangers await him. There are powerups in the game, but they mostly just involve moving slower or faster, so really, the game is just a list of ways to test your timing skills. And that list is surprisingly long. There are forty levels in the game, and each one of them puts a new spin on ways to try and avoid getting hurt.

This Could Hurt does a whole lot with very little, and on the App Store, that's always impressive. It's available for 99 cents right now.

Daily iPhone App: This Could Hurt dodges danger with ease originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 14 May 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I'm always looking for impressive free apps to show what the iPad can accomplish, and I've done that this week with 123D Catch from AutoDesk.

This iPad app (iPad 2 and new iPad only) allows you to use the iPad camera to photograph any object from a number of angles and elevations. Then the app sends your images up to an AutoDesk server where the object is rendered as a 3D file. You can even create 3D files for large objects, like a building, by moving parallel to it to allow the rendering to display the changing perspectives. Even people can be rendered in 3D if they don't move during the imaging sequence. It's all covered in the included help files and videos.

This is pretty amazing on any computer, and even more impressive on a tablet. Once you get the image back, you can rotate it in 360 degrees, zoom in or out, and even change elevation if you provided the appropriate images for the rendering. You can submit up to 40 images. Rendering can take a bit of time. Some complex objects took about 20 minutes but the app will send an alert when your file is ready.

The resulting 3D object can be shared with other AutoDesk users, or viewed on a Mac or PC with a free viewer. Just trying it out on some household objects worked very well. The renderings were complete and in sharp focus. It's pretty amazing to do this on an iPad and it is a good demo if you don't mind waiting for the rendering to finish.

AutoDesk also offers an app we've previously reviewed called 123D Sculpt. It allows you to create a virtual 3D sculpture on your iPad. I consider these free apps sort of a gateway drug to get people interested in the amazing capabilities of the AutoDesk family of products. AutoDesk even sells some of its industrial strength products through the Mac app store.

Give this free iPad app a try and prepare to be impressed.

Gallery: AutoDesk 123D Catch

AutoDesk provides impressive 3D captures on an iPad with a free app originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 14 May 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's Mother's Day here in the US and in a handful of other countries around the world. To celebrate this holiday, I've compiled a list of five outstanding apps that are perfect for all the iPhone-toting mothers out there. These titles will help Mom get organized, share memorable moments and have some fun.

iAllowance ($3.99)

iAllowance is a versatile chore manager that lets you set up comprehensive chore charts for several children. Besides listing each child's responsibilities, you can assign a value to each task and let your child earn money, stars or time for each job they do. The app keeps track of each child's earnings, so you can dole out rewards when they reach a specified amount. iAllowance is chock full of features that'll make doing chores as much fun as possible for both parents and their children.

Pic Collage (Free)

Pic Collage is a free app that lets you choose the best photos of your kids and assemble them quickly and easily into a collage. You can import photos from your camera, your photo library or even Facebook. All photos are dropped onto the canvas and you can resize, rotate and move them to get the right look. Once you've arranged your photos to your liking, you can change the background, add some text and send the masterpiece off to the grandparents.

Day One ($1.99)

If want to remember those precious times with your kids, you can't go wrong with Day One, a terrific journaling app that makes it easy to jot down your daily thoughts. Day One's strongest feature is its cross-platform availability. You can use Day One on your Mac, iPhone or iPad and sync your entries across devices. Unfortunately, Day One doesn't let you import photos, so you can't add that precious photo of your baby to an entry. Photo support is on the developer's list of upcoming features, and, for me, Day One is such a good journal that I am wiling to wait. If image support is a must-have, then you should check out alternatives like MyOwnDiary HD, My Daily Journal or Dailybook for the iPad.

SpellTower ($0.99)

There are so many iOS games, but one that always seems to be at the top of my list is SpellTower. The word puzzle game challenges you to spell words using adjacent letter tiles. The game includes several modes including a Tower mode that lets you spell as many words as possible, and a Puzzle mode that adds a row of letter tiles every time you spell a word. There's also a local multiplayer mode, so you can challenge your spouse or kids.

AllRecipes Dinner Spinner Pro ($2.99)

AllRecipes Dinner Spinner is a cooking app that'll help you find the perfect meal. The DinnerSpinner lets you add ingredients, shake your phone and retrieve a matching recipe. You can read reviews for each recipe and add the ingredients to your shopping list. If you're an AllRecipes member, the Pro version of Dinner Spinner lets you view your recipe box on your iOS device. You can also share your favorite messages with your family and friends via Facebook, Twitter or email.

5 apps for Moms on Mother's Day originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 13 May 2012 12:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Swordigo is a really impressive venture on iOS. It's a 2D-action platformer with a lot of nice RPG elements. In other words, it's a 2D Legend of Zelda title, and it lives up to that comparison quite well.

There are a few weak points. The graphics aren't exactly impressive though they do get the job done, and the story is barely there and hamstrung by some translation issues, I think. But neither of those things matters much, because the game is well designed. Every swing of your sword pops up XP into a meter, which feels very rewarding and makes the whole affair a lot of fun.

Plus, Swordigo is free today, so you should probably just go download it. It's a quality game anyway, but for zero dollars, it's a must-get.

Daily iPhone App: Swordigo hacks and slashes in 2D originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 11 May 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In April, AT&T ended a policy of offering data feature packs to its lowest end Pay as You Go plans (specifically, the $1/day and the $0.10/minute plans). At that time, TUAW was told by an AT&T spokesperson that customers on those plans could still pay a pay-per-unit (PPU) rate for data, approximately a penny for 5Kb, if I have my numbers right.

Although most users would not welcome paying $1536 for a 750MB movie, PPU data would allow them to at least check their email on the go, albeit at a more expensive rate than they'd been used to.

Yesterday, TUAW started hearing that users were unable to access PPU data on their handsets. We are unsure if this is because users need to update their configuration profiles or if the PPU system itself is experiencing difficulties.

I personally tested on my 3GS handset with both 3G and Edge access (10c/minute GP01 plan) and was unable to access the Internet at all.

TUAW has contacted AT&T and asked for them to look into the matter. If and when they reply, I will update this post.

Are you able to access PPU data on your PayGo phone without opting into monthly plans? Let us know in the comments.

Pay-per-unit appears to go MIA on AT&T for some iPhone users originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 10 May 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This is one of the weirder claims in the already strange area of patent claims going on around cellphone technology lately. A company based in New Jersey named Golden Bridge Technologies has come forward saying that it owns patents on some technologies that were eventually used to create the 3G phone protocol standard, and that it's holding device manufacturers such as Apple, Barnes & Noble, and others accountable for the patents. A complaint filed in California earlier this week says that Golden Bridge's patent covers 3G tech, and that anyone using that tech owes them money.

You can find a full copy of the complaint online. This is just the beginning of the legal battle. Presumably Apple and the other companies in the complaint will try to either contest the patent itself or the claim that they used it illicitly.

Company sues Apple, others over claim of patent on 3G originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 09 May 2012 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

SIM card maker Giesecke & Devrient attended CTIA and talked to The Verge about the nano-SIM it's designing using Apple's proposed standard. G&D said Apple listened to Nokia's complaint about its design and modified the shape so it would be almost impossible to jam it accidentally into a micro-SIM slot. With Nokia's major gripe now alleviated, Apple's design has a good chance of being approved when the European Telecommunications Standards Institute votes on the standard. According to the report, voting is back underway and could be decided as soon as this week.

Apple revises nano-SIM design to address Nokia concerns originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 09 May 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.