Version 1.1.0 Of Netflix App Brings Streaming Support To iPhone, iPod

Falling neatly into the category of "I should have written about this sooner but I was too busy enjoying it," the good people at Netflix rolled out an iOS App Store software update today, effectively delivering to iPhone and iPod touch users the ability stream movies directly from their handset.

version 1.1.0 of the Netflix app now supporting iPhone and iPod Touch in addition to iPad is a welcome arrival to Netflix subscribers (at least those with unlimited memberships) and a new opportunity to soak up as much content as they desire from their Instant Watch queue. Version 1.1 requires iOS 3.1.3 or later. In case you're wondering, the streaming service does in fact work over 3G on the iPhone - just like the iPad. According to the hugely popular video rental service, the software made available through this latest update utilizes "adaptive technology" which allows for instant switching between Wi-Fi and 3G connections.

For months (since April, in fact), the people at Netflix have promised to supplement their iPad app with a corresponding iPhone/iPod app. Although this "eventuality" took longer than many Netflix lovers had hoped, today they are reveling in the arrival of this neat little app, which is so totally cool that it even makes some restless in anticipation of getting back to it.

AisleBuyer Brings In-Store Self-Checkout to iPhone

AisleBuyer, a start-up company located in Boston, is partnering with retailers to bring the ability for consumers to scan and pay for items in brick and mortar stores to the iPhone, negating the need for shoppers to stand in line to make purchases. AisleBuyer’s first retail partner is Magic Beans, a small chain store that sells children’s toys and accessories in the Boston area and the Magic Beans app hit the App Store earlier this month.

With the Magic Beans app shoppers can use the iPhone’s camera to read barcodes and see production information for the scanned item. Scanned items can be added to the shopper’s virtual shopping cart.


When you’re done shopping, you can check-out virtually by entering your credit card information in the app and completing the purchase, which will generate a virtual receipt. A store employee will review your purchases against your virtual receipt when you leave the store.

AisleBuyer states that national retail store partners are in the works though the names of these retail partners have not been announced yet. Currently, AisleBuyer retail partners can offer special deals to users through the app, as well as provide coupons and push notifications for upcoming sales and deals. In a future app update to be submitted soon, Magic Beans will offer access to reviews and UPC manual entry. The ability to scan and save items for future/review purchase is also planned.

An Android version is also under development with a release planned for October.

One of our favorite apps to use when shopping in brick and mortar stores is RedLaser that shows prices for scanned items in nearby physical stores as well as online. While AisleBuyer won’t provide comparison shopping like this, it could make shopping for items that aren’t practical to buy online, like groceries, office supplies, and toiletries more easily purchased at a local store, far more efficient and enjoyable for the tech geeks out there. We’d be thrilled to see AisleBuyer apps for stores like Target and grocery chains to make shopping that much easier and look forward to seeing more retailers partner up with AisleBuyer.

Keep Up With Your Favorite Showtime Network Series With The Official iPhone App

The official Showtime app allows you to keep up with the latest info, get exclusive content, and receive upcoming episode notification for your favorite Showtime Network original series and sports shows.

Showtime, the iPhone app, has actually been around for over a year now. However, I felt the need to make a reminder for those who’ve never heard of it or for any of those millions of new iDevice owners out there looking for some useful apps. Whether you’re a fan of Californication, Dexter, Weeds, or even a sports nut that watches Inside The NFL or Inside NASCAR regularly, this is the app to keep you apprised of new episodes and content.

The app is updated as new shows premiere, but it currently offers content for:
• Californication
• Dexter
• La La Land
• Lock ‘N Load
• Nurse Jackie
• Penn & Teller
• Secret Diary of a Call Girl
• The Big C, The Green Room
• The L Word
• The Real L Word
• The Tudors
• Tracey Ullman’s State of the Union
• The United States of Tara
• Weeds

• Fight Camp 360º
• Inside NASCAR
• Inside the NFL
• ShoBox: The Next Generation
• Showtime Championship Boxing
• Strikeforce
• Strikeforce Challengers

• Plus a number of featured films

So what sort of features do fans get to enjoy? Foremost, choose which shows you want to get notifications for. This way you will never miss another episode. For those just too excited, or to help out friends and family not fortunate enough to have iDevices and be able to keep up, share information for a specific episode or movie via a tweet or post to your Facebook wall.

Series content offers an About section, where you can read a brief synopsis of the show, start or stop alerts (notifications), and see upcoming airtimes. The Episodes section provides a guide to all previously aired episodes with brief summaries, related videos, and any upcoming airtimes or availability from on-demand. There’s a videos section for access to any related videos and sometimes even full previous episodes. If the show has a dedicated Twitter feed or iTunes content available, you’ll be able to quickly find it under the Extras tab. Sports shows offer up the About, Videos, and Extras portions. However, Inside NASCAR lacks related videos.

The official Showtime app by Showtime Networks is available for free in the App Store, though, Showtime premium cable channels are not free.

Those of you who are big Dexter/Weeds fans, like myself, will likely find this app to be indispensable, especially since the season 6 premiere of Weeds is tonight and the season 5 premiere of Dexter is on September 26th. For those curious enough, check out the series premiere of The Big C following the new episode of Weeds tonight as well.

Hackers Release Browser-Based iPhone 4 Jailbreak

The unlocked iPhone 4 is now technically legal and technically possible.
Just days after the U.S. Copyright Office ruled that bypassing a manufacturer's protection mechanisms to allow "handsets to execute software applications" no longer violates federal copyright law, the iPhone Dev Team on Sunday released a jailbreak for the iPhone 4 at JailbreakMe.com.

Unlike previous jailbreaks, which required the device to be connected to a computer to run the update, the latest jailbreak is accomplished completely via mobile Safari loaded on the device. The browser-based software bypass reportedly works on all iOS devices, including iPhones, iPads, and iPods running iOS 4 and iOS 4.01, but it will reportedly not work on devices running the iOS 4.1 beta.

Also, some users report the jailbreak disrupts FaceTime and MMS functionality on the device.

However, as of this writing, demand for the jailbreak is apparently so strong that the site's servers can't keep up, and many visitors report difficulty in getting through.

Jailbreaking allows devices to run apps not approved by the company producing the operating system--such as Apple, the main target of such bypasses. Jailbreaking also allows devices to run on nonauthorized networks.

While the U.S. Copyright Office has declared the software legal, Apple discourages users from loading the bypass, reminding them that doing so will void their device's warranty. "As we've said before, the vast majority of customers do not jailbreak their iPhones as this can violate the warranty and can cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably," Apple said in a statement earlier this week.