The MacTrack – iPhone, iPod, iPod Touch and Mac News

Washington, DC – LizzardWerks has announced an update to Wide Email, a landscape email program for the iPhone. Write emails on the iPhone much faster by tapping just a few letters to automatically insert common phrases, sentences, or even whole paragraphs. The latest update to Wide Email, a landscape email program for the iPhone, adds this time-saving feature, called “Typing Shortcuts.”

For example, typing “adr” could automatically insert a user’s entire 3-line mailing address. Or typing “js” could insert “John M. Smith Jr., MD, Ph.D.” Users can add, edit, and delete an unlimited number of custom typing shortcuts.

Wide Email also lets iPhone users type emails faster and more accurately by using the wider, landscape-mode keyboard, which is not available in the iPhone’s built-in email program. The horizontal keyboard has wider keys that are easier to see and to hit, even for people with big thumbs. Combined with the wider keyboard, typing shortcuts makes writing emails on the iPhone much faster and more enjoyable.

Wide Email is the only landscape email app for the iPhone that has this feature. This new feature adds to the other features in Wide Email, including unlimited saved drafts, full international character support, and auto-saving of drafts and sent drafts.

Wide Email
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LizzardWerks is an independent iPhone developer based in Washington, D.C. Copyright 2008 LizzardWerks. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Vilnius, Lithuania – Jumsoft debuts five new Sandvox templates – Sensitive Steel, Color Beauty, Business, Paradise and Rainbow. The present designs were chosen due to their popularity and feedback from happy users. Each template contains 10 page types that a Web site creator is likely to need: “Rich Text,” “Photo,” “Contact Form,” “External Page,” “File Download,” “List of Links,” “RSS Feed,” “Site Map,” “Video,” and “YouTube.” All templates require Sandvox 1.5.

Jumsoft’s aim is to give customers more and more fascinating options to show their creativity in building or refreshing their personal, leisure, entertainment, or business Web site. That is why Jumsoft gives customers a way to create their Web site with Sandvox, which has more Web site building features to go.

“We have decided to prepare the present designs for Sandvox, such as Sensitive Steel, Color Beauty, Business, Paradise, and Rainbow, which have been designed for iWeb. These five designs were chosen due to their popularity among our customers as well as high feedback,” said Algirdas Unguvaitis, the General Manager of Jumsoft.

Each of the five new templates for Sandvox has exceptional designs and is perfect for those who desire to stand out from the crowd. The atmospheres range from neutral to bright; others are artistic or just have a solid image, so everyone will be satisfied. Sandvox templates are created for all areas in life – personal or small business, as well as leisure and entertainment.

Sensitive Steel
This theme stands out against two different things art and steel. The unconventional and successful image of fancy steel lends a feeling of warmth, though the prevailing color in this theme is grey. Sensitive Steel does not work well for strong and serious business images, but it perfectly reveals your artistic spirit and provides a cozy atmosphere for your Web site.

Color Beauty
Three main colors prevail in Color Beauty theme – white, black, and a bright one that you will choose. Surprisingly, the loudness of the bright colors is not too intense. There are also sheets for the particular layouts so customer’s Web site content will be noticed quickly.

Business
The background blends from a light color to white, enabling your visitors to keep their attention on the important information. The atmosphere of the Business theme is in between solid and fun, so neutrality is guaranteed.

Paradise
The Paradise theme has a solid atmosphere with a little bit of fun. The neutral background, which blends from black to grey, allows you to play with other colors without the fear of a too-loud color scheme.

Rainbow
Rainbow theme is vivacious and colorful, providing a bright contrast to white space. The theme is especially good for those who have a convivial outlook on life, but it is also great for anyone wanting to make documents more engaging.

Requirements:
Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Sandvox 1.5

Pricing and Availability:
Each Sandvox theme may be purchased for only $9.99 (USD). The bundle of five Sandvox themes may be purchased for only $24.99 (USD).

Jumsoft
Sandvox Themes
Samples

Based in scenic Vilnius, Lithuania, Jumsoft is a privately funded company founded in 2002. Committed to providing the highest quality software, Jumsoft is a dedicated group of Apple Macintosh experts whose goal is creating and marketing exciting, easy-to-use and powerful applications for the Mac Platform. Jumsoft most recently focused its attention on maximizing the potential of Apple’s iWork, quickly becoming the leading provider of Keynote themes and objects. Copyright 2002-2008 Jumsoft. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Duesseldorf, Germany – Young German start-up company HOT CHILI APPS. launches a speed communication centre enabling the user to create individual iPhone-buttons. In just a few taps of the finger, a personal address book can be designed using photos, colours, text and symbols. Communication via phone, email and SMS is now also possible with one single finger tap on the customized button, styled in the Apple look.

Com Centre is a speed-dial/-email and sms-application offering many special features. Buttons can be created and named individually by the user. Millions of colours are available just by using the colour picker. Photos can be added and combined easily. All typical iPhone-functions are integrated, for example the possibility to turn, arrange and enlarge or reduce the size of pictures via touchscreen using two fingers. Also extraordinary is the design of symbols, frames and logos in Apple design. This gives every iPhone a real corporate design but stays individual at the same time.

“We have always thought highly of the typical Apple style, and have expanded on the iPhone-design” says Farid Zendagui, founding director of HOT CHILI APPS. “This was the start-up for our idea to create an application with intelligent features in this typical look.” Because of its functionality Com Centre is more than a high-light in design. HOT CHILI APPS also considers the practical needs of the user. “Speed and a maximum ease-of-use-level are further benefits of our application.”, emphasizes Farid Zendagui. “Com Centre enables the user to contact everybody in just one second via phone calls, sms and emails. Only one finger tap is necessary to choose the right numbers and addresses of a specific person and build up the connection. For any question or need we have integrated a special help-function.”

The Dusseldorf based HOT CHILI APPS GmbH has experience in developing iPhone apps enhancing the user’s creativity. The c@rds-family, an iCard oriented application, offers multiple choices to create personalized e-cards.

Says Zendagui, “The success of our c@rds was the first step to our customized Com Center. In the Apps-Store you can find many speed dial apps, but none of them offer the use of all these great iPhone features to build up a personal design”. This innovative freedom-in-personalization, combined with extraordinary speed communication functions, connections and messages with just one finger tap – makes the Com Centre unique.

Com Centre
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The development of creative applications for the iPhone is the core concept of the Duesseldorf based HOT CHILI APPS GmbH a company founded specifically for this purpose shortly after the SDK keynote was published. The brain behind the business is an experienced specialist in video production and multimedia design who has been an Apple enthusiast for many years and is intrigued by the potential uses for the innovative iPhone. Copyright 2008 HOT CHILI APPS GmbH. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Starnberg, Germany – algoriddim’s music player and DJ software “djay” has just been made even more attractive for all iTunes users who want to turn their Mac into an easy-to-use yet powerful DJ setup. djay 2.2 now lets users control almost all functions of its award-winning turntable-style user interface through intuitive Multi-Touch finger gestures on notebook trackpads, thereby significantly improving the user experience and superseding expensive DJ equipment with a simple all-in-one notebook setup.

“djay takes the Multi-Touch capabilities built into recent Mac notebooks to the next level,” says Karim Morsy, CEO of algoriddim. “By fully leveraging the potential of Apple’s cutting-edge trackpad technology, djay allows users to control almost all aspects of its user interface faster and more precisely than using the keyboard – similar to real physical devices, but much more versatile.”

djay supports a variety of trackpad gestures. Similar to using the iPod’s click-wheel, users can use rotate gestures on the trackpad to quickly browse djay’s built-in iTunes library and throw a selected song on one of the turntables with an intuitive swipe gesture. Two-finger gestures allow scratching MP3s on the virtual turntables, crossfading between songs and adjusting speed, volume and equalizer sliders just like with a real turntable and mixer setup.

Two-finger gestures are supported on all Mac notebooks featuring two-finger scrolling, making the feature available to most users with iBook, PowerBook, MacBook or MacBook Pro computers. For even more control, users of the MacBook Air and the latest MacBook and MacBook Pro models can use the additional three-finger swipe and rotate gestures.

Pricing and Availability:
djay is available for $49.99 (USD) or €39.99 as an immediate download from the algoriddim website, or as a high-quality product box from the Apple Online Store and Apple Retail Stores worldwide. For more information and to download a free demo, please visit their website.

djay 2.2
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Screenshot
djay Box Shot (TIFF)

About djay
djay is a groundbreaking music player and DJ software. Turning your Mac into a full-blown DJ setup using your iTunes library, djay lets you mix your favorite music with two interactive virtual turntables. You can perform live, create and record your mixes at home, or let djay mix any playlist from iTunes automatically with seamless DJ-style transitions. Unprecedented ease of use combined with powerful and innovative mixing capabilities make it the perfect tool for every skill level.

About algoriddim
algoriddim is a Germany-based software company that specializes in developing Mac audio and multimedia applications for the next generation. The company’s mission is to develop software that is easy to use and accessible to the average consumer while offering the quality and power of professional level software.

Parma, Italy – Shiny Frog is pleased to announce Img2icns 1.0, their icon creation tool for Mac OS X. Img2icns is a simple, quick application for converting images to icons or icons to images, keeping them neatly filed and ready to use. Creating an icon is just as easy as drag’n'dropping one or more images on to Img2icns and choosing an export format – the same goes for creating images from icons.

Img2icns will make attaching icons to files an easy task. Just drop some files on the preview box, and the icon will be applied immediately. The history will track all the icons you’ve created, so you can apply them later. Img2icns can also convert Icons into Images in the same easy way.

Img2icns highlights:
* Convert all Mac OS X-supported image formats, including Illustrator and Photoshop files
* Export icons as .icns files, Finder folders, iPhone icons, or Favicon web icons
* Attach icons to any file by a simple drag’n'drop
* Extract and export icons into images from any file
* Keep all icons ready at hand in the History
* Automatic update via Sparkle

Minimum system requirements:
* Mac OS X Version 10.5 Leopard or higher
* Universal Binary for PowerPC and Intel

Pricing and Availability:
Img2icns is available in a lite or pro version. The lite version is free, a pro single user license is priced at only $12.90 (USD) and may be used by a single person on any number of Macs as he/she is the only user of the license.

Img2icns 1.0
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Shiny Frog

Shiny Frog is an Italian creative firm based in Parma, that focuses on web design and Mac OS X software development. “Keep it simple” is our company philosophy: a keen eye for cutting-edge solutions, and a commitment to excellence. We always strive to deliver cool, up-to-standard products, true to our motto – keep it simple.

Oakland, CA – SuperSync takes another step toward simplifying the process of managing iTunes libraries across multiple Macs, PCs, and iPods, with the release of SuperSync 3.0. Combining power with simplicity, SuperSync lets users visually compare, merge, and access their media files and playlists from anywhere. SuperSync 3.0 is a major upgrade with many new features that makes managing multiple iTunes and iPod libraries easier.

SuperSync 3.0 Adds:

A new playlist viewer and improved playlist synchronization.

A scheduled library rescan option to keep iTunes libraries up to date. This feature is especially helpful if multiple users are accessing a common network disk-based music library.

Updated meta data tracking and merging. When a track’s meta data (genre, album, artist, track info, rating, etc.) gets updated in one library, the updated track will be flagged so a user can update other copies of the track in other libraries.

Improved remote library features lets multiple users update a common music library–adding or deleting files, updating meta data, and sharing playlists. Password protected access works over a LAN or WAN Internet connection.

Improved iPod support lets users intelligently access their music, video, and playlists.

Improved Tivo server support – allows Tivo Series 2 & 3 owners to access their music from their Tivo-enabled TV.

SuperSync 3.0 also includes a fix to enable support for accessing SuperSync network libraries from iTunes 8, improved unicode text sorting, and improved duplicate track avoidance.

How SuperSync Works:
SuperSync starts by reading in your local iTunes library. A second, remote library can then be opened, with tracks color coded by whether they are local (gray), remote (blue), or synchronized (green). A remote library can be a disk or directory of music and videos, an iPod, or another networked SuperSync library.

Once two libraries are loaded, the user selects tracks they want to copy from one library to another. Tracks are added and saved in the correct location in the user’s iTunes library. Once copied to both locations, the tracks turn green marking them as synchronized. Similarly, playlists can be selected and copied from one library to another.

Tracks that have modified meta data can have their tags updated. Ratings and playcounts can also be updated, so if you mark a track as 5 stars in one library, you can also have it updated in any other library.

SuperSync makes it easy to create a main library, and have a subset on computers and laptops around the house. Any new content that you’ve added on one computer can be uploaded to the master library. SuperSync can help reduce the likelihood that two family members will accidentally buy the same music download.

Pricing and Availability:
This update is free to all registered users. A limited demo version is available to try most of the features for a limited number of file transfers. The full registered version is available for $29 (USD) for 2-pak, $39 USD for 5-pak, or a best value $59 (USD) 10-pak. Licenses can be used for any machine (Mac OS-X or Windows) that music is stored on. A separate license is not required for iPods or to import music from a disc or hard drive. 5- and 10-pak licenses can be split among two or more people to keep the cost-per-license down.

SuperSync 3.0
Screenshots
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How it works
SuperSync Application Icon

SuperSync is a personal music library synchronization software company, committed to building tools for easy-to-use access to personal music collections. For more information, please their website. SuperSync is licensed only for reproduction of non-copyrighted materials, materials for which the copyright is owned, or materials users are legally permitted to reproduce. UPnP is a trademark of the UPnP Implementers Corporation. Tivo is a registered trademark of Tivo, Inc. SuperSync is not affiliated with iTunes or Apple, Inc. Mac, iPod, and iTunes are registered trademarks of Apple, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.