How to use fancy gestures on the iPad (and why you should)
Apple added 4- and 5-finger gestures last October, but the features don't seem commonly used. After two weeks with my new iPad, however, I'm suddenly taking advantage of these gestures and they make the iPad experience even better. Here's a quick list of these useful gestures.
Clear(ly), it’s time to say bye-bye to buttons
With its new iOS app, Clear, Realmac Software has taken the “less is more” axiom to its ultimate conclusion. Fjord's Alfred Lui and Aynne Valencia explain why we'll soon see more of this stripped-down approach to interface design, thanks to three big industry trends.
Meet Sony’s new CMOS image sensor, good candidate for future iPhones
Sony Corporation unveiled its next-generation back-illuminated CMOS digital image sensor on Monday, which boasts a stacked design that saves space, lowers power requirements and increases quality, all of which adds up to a veritable mating call for Sony component customer Apple.
Apple reportedly pays $5 million to settle touch patent case
At least one of Apple's patent disputes has come to and end on Thursday, according to the other party in the case. Elan Microelectronics Corp has settled with the Mac maker, the Taiwanese company said, in a deal that involves a $5 million payout from Apple.
Quick tip: Use Notification Centre as an app launcher
One of the jailbreak features I really wish would come to the platform legitimately is the ability to use launchers to quickly start an app without digging through multiple home screens. Luckily, you can mimic the behavior of a quick launcher with iOS 5's Notification Centre.
On UI inconsistency in iOS 5
A while back, designer Jake Marsh commented on an inconsistency in Apple's use of linen textures in iOS 5 (hat tip to Daring Fireball). In both OS X Lion and iOS 5, the linen texture is "underneath" other UI elements in almost every instance. In Lio...
iTV
The moment I read the “I’ve Cracked the TV” quote from the Steve Jobs bio, I knew what the subject of the next few months at the rumor mill would be. Here it is in context: “‘I’d like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use,’ [Jobs told Isaacson]. ‘It would...
Size matters: why the iPhone has a 3.5-inch screen
One of the things Android phone owners love to brag about -- particularly those who have the new Samsung Galaxy S II with its 4.27-inch diagonal screen -- is that the larger screens are much easier to read and watch videos on. Dustin Curtis has ow...
Labeling iOS’ Back Button
Labeling iOS’ Back Button Neven Mrgan shares a solid piece of advice for iOS app designers and developers: A Back button labeled “Back” is never a good option. As he notes, Apple never labels the “Back” button — the left-pointing arrow at the top of most iOS apps — “Back”. They provide context as to how...
Apple keyboard gets touchy-feely with wooden tactile mod
This seems to be the day for keyboards. First, I wrote a review of the Scosche freeKEY flexible and water-resistant Bluetooth keyboard. Now we have word from CreativeBits of a wonderful keyboard mod that uses the tactile feel of sandblasted wood g...
Standard Controls and HIG: They’re there for a reason
One trend trend that has picked up momentum of late, is applications sporting custom user interfaces. It started off with minor customisations to the tab bar, or maybe a different shade of blue, but has somehow mushroomed out into complete disregard for what makes iOS the platform it is today. Publishing Beautiful Pixels, a blog...
