Apple’s September 2010 Event and Mobile Genealogy

Well, what did we learn today from Apple’s September Event, and what impact, if any, will it have on mobile genealogists? First off, there is a new iPod nano and iPod shuffle, but neither of those interest me since they can’t run genealogy apps. They are really awesome and very well designed, but I already have an iPhone and don’t need a second music player.

General news:
* iOS 4.1 is coming out next week, with some bug fixes and minor updates.
* iOS 4.2 will be out in November and it adds Multi-tasking and folders for iPads. It also brings wireless printing. That is big for some of us.

New 2010 iPod touch and notes about the iPod touch
* iPod touch is currently the most popular iPod
* 1.5 billion titles download to it
* 2010 design is thinner than pevious iPod touch
* Inherits the “Retina” display that the iPhone 4 has, which means a higher resolution and better-looking screen. Big deal for genealogists using iOS apps.
* A lot faster than previous model (good for big genealogy databases)
* Comes with a front-facing camera to work with Apple’s Facetime – two-way video chatting
* Rear-facing camera capable of HD-level video. It doesn’t do much in the way of still photos – very low resolution. Not surprising – Apple wants you to get into the iPhone 4.
* 8GB model – $229, 32GB – $299, 64GB – $399
* All three start shipping next week

iPad News
* iOS 4.2 updates really focus on the iPad, including wireless printing

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Families 1.0.2

Families has received another fairly significant update – it now supports Apple iOS 4.0. Whether this includes full multi-tasking support, I’m not sure. It also had an alternative synchronization option added via USB through iTunes. This is significant, since Families works directly with Legacy Family Tree software, which is Windows … Read more

GedView 2.16.1

A new version of GedView is available. Version 2.16.1 consists of only bug fixes. GedView is an iOS/iPhone OS genealogy application that revolves around importing GEDCOM files. You don’t need to be using a specific Windows or Mac OS X genealogy application/software package to use it. There are several ways … Read more

Research Logger 1.2

Research Logger 1.2 is now available. Research Logger is an iOS/iPhone OS app for genealogists that helps you keep track of your genealogy research, both the research that you’ve already done, and the research you need to do or will be doing. Version 1.2 is another major upgrade. You now … Read more

iWork and ePub, Assorted App Updates

Apple has released iWork 09 version 9.0.4. This is of interest to mobile genealogy fans as Pages version 4.0.4 can now export to the standard ePub file format. That means that iBooks users on iPhones, iPod touch, and iPad, as well as owners of Barnes & Noble’s nook, Sony’s Reader … Read more