iLounge

By Charles Starrett

Senior Editor, iLounge
Published: Wednesday, October 29, 2008
News Category: Mix

As expected, rock group Snow Patrol has released a free iPhone and iPod touch application as a companion to their new album A Hundred Million Suns. The new app offers lyrics, videos, and links, hidden inside origami stars (as seen on the album cover) which need to be opened using two-finger gestures. In addition, the artist Pink has also released a free application, Pink’s Funhouse, which offers previews of her new album, artist news, images, and more. Both apps are available now from the App Store.

New legislation introduced in Canada this week would make it illegal to use your iPod while driving. Under Ontario’s proposed “distracted driving law,” drivers who use their cell phones or portable DVD and media players would face fines of up to $500. Transportation Minister Jim Bradley called the fines “significant,” adding, “If I want to change stations on the radio ... I can do so; that is not prohibited. But if I were holding a hand-held device and did that, I would be in trouble.”

An alleged screenshot from the latest beta version of iPhone Software 2.2 suggests that Apple is preparing to enable user to download podcasts directly to the iPhone or iPod touch. The inclusion of such a feature might explain the rejection of the app Podcaster, which Apple said duplicated “the functionality of the Podcast section of iTunes.”