MacRumors iPhone and iPad Blog: Apps, News, and Rumors

Last week, the BBC introduced its iPlayer for iPhone app for UK television license payers. The app allows domestic viewers to view live BBC TV and radio and watch catch-up TV over Wi-Fi and 3G. It's a major app in the UK and was downloaded 1.1 million times in its first week of availability, with 500,000 of those downloads to users who had never downloaded the iPlayer app previously. The BBC...

iTether is an iPhone app that allows users to share their iPhone's internet connection with their Mac or PC computer over USB. However, the application was available for only a few hours on the App Store before Apple removed it over "carrier concerns". There are two parts of the iTether app -- an iOS app and a computer-side application. Though the iOS app isn't available for sale anymore,...

A firefighter in the Pennsylvanian town of East Brandywine experienced a close call with his iPhone 4 earlier this month, according to a post on the East Brandywine Fire Company's website. While charging the phone using the Apple provided computer connection, the phone spontaneously caught fire. After the phone fell to the floor igniting the carpet, the phone was thrown out a nearby...

Yamaha used some technological trickery to enable Siri to play a concerto on a Yamaha Disklavier Grand Piano. By converting a MIDI songfile into an audio file that the iPhone can play and connecting the audio output of an Airport Express to the analog input of a MIDI-enabled Disklavier piano, the iPhone can "play" the MIDI file via AirPlay and control the multi-thousand dollar piano. As expl...

Reuters reports that Apple's manufacturing partner Pegatron has acknowledged that a "small explosion" has occurred at one of its factories in Shanghai, China. The report notes that there have been some injuries as a result of the incident, but there are no reports of fatalities at this time.Pegatron said in a statement released early on Sunday that there was some damage to machinery but it can...

Specialized search engine Wolfram Alpha, one of Apple's launch partners for Siri, has partnered with Best Buy to deliver shopping results. As a result, iPhone 4S users can now search a number of products and categories from Best Buy's catalog, and get prices and descriptions returned. From Wolfram Alpha's blog post announcing the feature: Just in time for the holidays, we’re introducing a ...

Sonic CD and Marathon 2: Durandal have made their way to the iPhone and the iPad, more than 15 years after their original release. Sonic CD was originally released in 1993 as a game for the Sega CD, Sega's CD-ROM add-on for the Genesis console. Unfortunately, the Sega CD was a complete flop, and, according to our sister-site TouchArcade, never got the attention it deserved. I'd still say...

It appears that a bug in iMessage allows texts to be sent to a stolen iPhone, even after a remote wipe and disabling the SIM card, reports Ars Technica. iMessage, introduced in iOS 5, is similar to RIM's BlackBerry messaging service. It sends text, picture, and video messages over Apple's servers instead of via the carrier's SMS service. This can lower the user's text messaging charges and...

TeleNav has launched a browser-based turn-by-turn navigation service for mobile phones written in HTML5. The service will be free for consumers and developers of mobile websites and apps will be able to integrate turn-by-turn directions into their products. Similar to TeleNav's award-winning GPS navigation application, the HTML5 navigation service will include full-color moving maps, audio...

SiriusXM radio has updated its iOS app to include DVR-like pause and rewind capabilities, the ability to restart a show in-progress from the beginning, and the ability to go back in time up to 5 hours on a particular channel to catch-up on missed content. SiriusXM Internet Radio is free for the iPhone and iPad, but requires a $12.95/month standalone subscription or a $3/month fee for existing...

Danish company Scanomat has introduced the TopBrewer, an iPhone-controlled coffee faucet. The tap is part of an advanced brewing system that can be built into any tabletop. The company has patented the world's smallest milk foamer which heats milk on-demand and foams it to the correct texture. The brewer cleans itself after each cup, and can dispense drinking water, cold or hot milk, steam, or ...

The FAA has granted approval to American Airlines to use the iPad during all phases of flight, according to ZDNet. The first iPad-enabled flights are set to begin Friday on American's Boeing 777 aircraft. On Friday, American Airlines is the first airline in the world to be fully FAA approved to use iPads during all phases of flight. Pilots will use iPads as electronic chart and digital flight...

Microsoft has released an iPhone client app for its SkyDrive cloud-storage service. The app allows uploads of videos and photos to SkyDrive, as well as opening and managing files. SkyDrive is your personal cloud for your documents, notes, photos and videos. Move your files into SkyDrive and immediately they’re available from any web browser anywhere in the world. As we detailed a few days ago,...

As noted by The Next Web, Apple has launched its Apple TV set-top box in Brazil, offering users the ability to stream content from iCloud, iTunes, computers, and iOS devices. The addition comes alongside the roll-out of iTunes Store music and movie content in 16 Latin American countries including Brazil. Brazil is also the first country outside of the United States to see iTunes Match go live,...

Microsoft's Office team introduced an iPhone version of OneNote to-do/notes application earlier this year, and has now followed it up with an iPad edition. Whether you need to track and share shopping lists, gift-giving plans, recipe clippings and collections, or event and travel planning, you'll never forget or miss a thing with OneNote by your side. What’s new in this version OneNote for ...

Research firm NPD today announced the results of its latest survey of tablet and notebook usage trends, finding that the share of tablet users taking advantage of cellular connectivity for their devices has declined compared to earlier this year. According to NPD's numbers, 60% of users reported using their tablets on Wi-Fi only back in April, but that number has risen to 65% over the past six...

Case-Mate has partnered with Marvel Comics to offer iPhone cases emblazoned with comic book heroes. Each Marvel star -- Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Thor, and the X-Men -- appears on three different cases for the iPhone 4/4S and 3G/3GS. “We all remember running around the kitchen wearing a cape, fighting evil villains and pretending to be our favorite superhero,” said Shashi...

The BBC's iPlayer for iPhone has arrived in the United Kingdom with 3G streaming of live BBC TV and radio. In a blog post announcing the app, the BBC noted that 1.5 million users have installed the iPlayer for iPad app, and 16.5 million programs were watched on mobile devices, up 129% year-over-year. With the new iPhone and iPod Touch app, that number should continue to aggressively increase....