The Beatles may not have arrived in the iTunes Music Store just yet, but it’s not all disappointing news: the App Store has been updated with a new look and a stack of new iPhone apps have been released. As ever, here are my picks from the latest additions.

My top pick for this week is Hitchcock, plus I’ve also checked out Newsstand, Blades of Fury and Rhapsody.

Hitchcock ($19.99)
There’s a fantastic range of apps on offer to budding iPhone-based photographers at the moment. Tools such as QuadCamera and ColorSplash make for fun and effective photo-enhancing toys, and, once you’re done touching up your latest masterpiece, you can share your photography on Flickr via their official app. For folk who want to take their photography a step further and start dabbling in film, Hitchcock has arrived. Don’t let the messy interface fool you, this is a powerful app that’s packed with seriously useful features. Essentially a storyboarding tool, the app allows you to drop in photos as panels, outline camera movement, set shot durations and even add audio notes. Once you’ve laid out your latest shoot, you can export as a PDF too. Possibly a tad pricey but potentially an indispensable tool for indie film directors.

Newsstand ($4.99)
Byline might have been the most useful RSS reader on the block, but there’s a new news-gathering app in town and it’s got a great feature-set and good looks too. Newsstand incorporates a gorgeous newspaper rack style interface, fusing traditional with modern, allowing you to skim the latest headlines in style. Alongside Google Reader syncing, Instapaper support and sharing via Twitter, Newsstand also incorporates two essential RSS features: offline browsing and an embedded browser. I like to be able to open the app up and sync the latest news and happenings across the web for reading later. And for when I’m connected, an embedded browser is essential for those moments when I want to explore a story a little further.

Blades of Fury ($6.99)
There are two interesting things about this app. First up, this game is effectively classic Japanese coin-op and console beat-em-up Soul Calibur, shrunk on to the iPhone. It’s 10 medieval fantasy characters, each brandishing a different sort of pointy stick and an array of special moves. And secondly, Gameloft has seriously upped its quality on the iPhone. It’s heavily leaning on the ideas of other more-successful gaming franchise, like Gangstar’s GTA-style gameplay and Modern Combat’s Battlefield vibe, but it’s releasing good games nonetheless. Just like it’s predecessors, Blades of Fury is derivative, but that’s only noticeable because it does such a stunning job of re-creating Soul Calibur. The artwork and graphics are a true achievement, I’m surprised to see that the iPhone can be pushed so far and while the control scheme isn’t perfect, it certainly works well enough to make for a fun hack ‘n’ slash fighter.

Rhapsody (free)
The joys of Spotify might not have reached the U.S. just yet, but that doesn’t mean that those of you who are stateside can’t enjoy the benefits of all-you-can-eat music streaming. Real Networks, the folks behind the wonderfully bloated ad-touting Real Player, launched its own iPhone app this week. Rhapsody hooks into Real’s music network, giving you wireless access to their gargantuan library, apparently touting more than 8 million songs. There are some neat music browsing features, like Rhapsody Radio and Charts, however, as our own Darrell Etherington noted, the sound quality isn’t so hot. It’s worth checking out though as, although you’ll need to be a paying subscriber to use the app on a regular basis, Real is currently offering a seven-day free trial of the service.

That’s all the picks for this week. I’ll be back in seven days with a fresh selection of App Store recommendations.

In the meantime, what apps have you been using this week?

Want to premiere a feature film starring some A-list Hollywood celebs? There’s an app for that. Or at least there will be, come Sept. 21. That’s the day Berlin Film Festival hit “Rage” premieres on the iPhone and iPod touch, where it will appear before satellite, DVD or online.

“Rage” is written and directed by British filmmaker Sally Potter, and is an episodic tale of a behind-the-scenes look at a New York fashion show. It’s shot to look like a schoolboy is recording events with his mobile phone over a seven-day period. The movie will be released in seven episodes, downloadable via a free application for the iPhone and iPod touch, and be available starting Sept. 21.

In case it takes star power to sway you, “Rage” boasts quite the cast list. Dame Judi Dench takes part, as does Jude Law. Other stars taking part include Steve Buscemi, Eddie Izzard and John Leguizamo. Nothing to sneeze at for something that’s going to be competing with fart simulators and novelty noisemaker applications.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, following the app’s release on the iPhone platform, “Rage” will debut on DVD in the U.S. on September 22, on satellite in the UK on Sept. 24, and online via Babelgum (who is also behind the iPhone app) on Sept. 28.

Of course, in this case, the iPhone’s preferential treatment is due largely to the nature of the film in question. It makes sense to premiere a film shot to look like it was made with a mobile device on a mobile device. But could this be the beginning of a new distribution model for filmed media?

TV and film already have launch day access to the mobile market, of course, via iTunes sales. But there’s a new breed of content that falls between that and YouTube-type independent productions. Xbox’s “The Guild” is a good example. These kinds of programs would benefit from a separate, app-based distribution model, taking advantage of iPhone OS 3.0’s new in-app purchasing feature to charge per episode. That way, they don’t necessarily need the backing of a major distribution partner, and they can provide show context, cast and crew information all from the same place users get their content.

Whether or not you’re a fan of Dame Judi or Mr. Law, and regardless of whether you care about New York’s fashion scene, be sure to check out the free premiere of “Rage” when it comes out in a couple weeks. At the very least, you’ll be witness to an ambitious failed experiment. At best, you’ll be watching the start of something new.

Like many of you, most recorded footage of my youth was on those archaic black plastic things called VHS tapes. As the rest of society moves into the digital age, I’m facing a battle of preserving my childhood memories on something a little more robust and modern than 800 feet of mylar tape. With many video capturing solutions on the market, I settled on a new product by Elgato, called Video Capture.

As new formats for recording video footage come to market, the quality of these mediums greatly improves. Since the VHS system is considered “analog” and is composed of interlaced video, converting to a digital solution requires some special equipment. These breakout boxes work by allowing you to connect your device via some type of connector (depending on the quality of the box) and to your Mac via USB or FireWire.

Since we’re using the breakout box as an intermediary and there are three devices in the chain, there is a potential for less than stellar quality due to any number of reasons: the breakout box in particular, the video tape you’re capturing from, or the VCR deck itself. Considering most of these devices are in the same price range, they are probably all comparable in quality. (Though as you will read on the Internet, everyone has a different opinion as to which one is the best.)

Elgato’s solution, retailing for $99, is a very simple dongle that attaches either via composite or S-video to your device and via USB to your Mac. The biggest concern many have about these types of devices is the flexibility they will have with capturing their video. Elgato includes their own video capture software with their device, though it is quite simple. For many, this is all you will need.

Getting Started

When you start the software, you are asked simple questions about how you have chosen to connect your media device and the aspect ratio of your footage. For folks converting from VHS like me, you’ll want to pick 4:3. The video will be captured at 640×480 resolution.

The biggest oddity about the way the software functions is that before recording, it asks the user to determine the overall length of the recorded project. There are several options to choose from, at varying intervals from 10 to 180 minutes, each giving you an estimate of the final output size. You can stop recording at any point before your pre-set time has elapsed. If you have footage recorded in “EP” or “LP” modes, your tapes could have more than 3 hours of footage on them, making it awkward for bulk captures.

Recording

Once you begin recording, it is pretty much hit or miss. When you hit stop recording, the application is done and saves your file. For some, this may not be a concern as they plan to further split up clips or edit their footage in something like iMovie. Others may find this problematic if they are looking for a bit more control. Some of these concerns can be assuaged as the application does allow users to trim the start and end points of their captured footage.

After you stop recording, you have options within the software to instantly play the file in QuickTime, add it to iTunes, edit with iMovie or upload directly to YouTube. The videos are output in either H.264 or MPEG-4.

Based on the footage I have captured thus far, I have been quite impressed with Elgato’s solution. Sometimes the quality may not be the best but again, in my case, this is VHS we’re talking about. How many times in your home movies are there other concerns to worry about, like somebody panning the camera too fast?

I’m rating Elgato’s solution four out of five stars. Its software is simple and easy to use, and they included all of the cables I would need to plug its device directly into my VCR. The only cons are the limited in-application editing options and the awkward “time restrictions.” The good news is that these could easily be corrected with a future software update.

For some, they may criticize the lack of higher definition inputs, such as component video or HDMI, but these types of capture devices exist and are much pricier. It really just depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Why go overboard for something simple? As a quick and simple way to preserve VHS tapes, this is a great solution and feels a bit stronger than some of the other slightly cheaper options.

If you’ve had an opportunity to use the Elgato video capture or one of the other competitor products, let me know in the comments below.

Just when you thought the weekend couldn’t get any better, along comes a selection of the freshest picks from the App Store.

This week I’ve selected four playful picks for you to toy with over the weekend. It’s not all fun and games, though, as before we get to the apps, I’ve got a roundup of the week’s news.

Another week closer to the release of the iPhone 3.0 update means another leaked addition to the new OS. This time, Apple is bringing video purchasing to the iPhone. All well and good, but I can’t imagine how downloading a 2GB movie is going to work over 3G.

Our own Nick Santilli procured a selection of apps that raise the potential for photos taken with the iPhone’s camera. It’s essential reading for iPhone owners who are disappointed with the device’s awful camera. My pick of the bunch is QuadCamera — it makes shooting with the iPhone fun again.

The iPhone made the front cover of The New Yorker this week, though not in the way you might expect. Using Brushes, a cute little painting app for iPhone, artist Jorge Colombo created the cover illustration for the latest issue. Brushes isn’t exactly a pro-level art package, but it can generate stunning results — budding artists can grab the app for four bucks (it’s currently on offer) and start practicing now.

Tweetie for Mac, the excellent older sibling to the iPhone Twitter client Tweetie, received a fun little upgrade this week. The app now allows video tweeting, via the iSight camera or a quick .mov file drag ‘n’ drop. This article is particularly worth checking out because you get to watch a Twitter video of me, playing Sigur Rós, on the glockenspiel — blog-based musical interludes do not get better than that.

And finally, there could be an Apple game console on the incredibly distant horizon. This is according to the CEO of gaming giant Ubisoft. Frankly, I don’t see it happening, but then who am I to argue with the CEO of the company that brought us Splinter Cell and a refreshed Prince of Persia franchise?

Moving on to the picks, this week I’ve been looking at Space Ace, Light Wars, BeatRider Touch and Drum Tracker.

Space Ace ($4.99)
A quick refresher for readers who may not have come across Space Ace — the game is a gorgeously illustrated animated adventure from the folks behind Dragons Lair. Those who remember the original will be pleased to note that, visually, it’s still as vibrant as ever; however, it’s also just as frustrating in terms of gameplay. The game is essentially one long animation in which you just perform the correct actions at the correct time to keep the story moving forward. Frequently silly, regularly annoying, but it’ll have you coming back time and time again.

Light Wars (99 cents)
One glance at this game and any seasoned gamer will tell you that it’s a direct rip of Geometry Wars — an excellent console mini-game that brings classic messy shoot-em-up Robotron to mind. Light Wars is incredibly fast-paced and frenetic, throwing tron-style nasties at you from all angles as you speed across the vector map, dodging enemy ballistics and racking up insanely high scores. Currently on sale at 99 cents and definitely worth checking out for fans of arcade-style shoot-em-ups.

Beatrider Touch Lite (FREE)
Tap Tap Revenge may be the current king of rhythm-action games on the iPhone, but that shouldn’t stop other titles from trying to topple the game from its well-earned throne. Beatrider Touch incorporates more sliding than tapping, plus it brings something entirely new to the genre — song uploading. Upload your favorite tune and you’re able to play it as a level in Beatrider. The free Lite version supports one song upload, the premium version — retailing at five bucks — lets you upload up to 20.

Drum Tracker ($1.99)
If you’re not in the mood for gaming, but beats are your thing, then Drum Tracker may be the app for you. The developers, a team calling themselves Simple is Beautiful, have squeezed a fully-featured drum machine down into one gorgeous-looking iPhone app. This is a tool that, while it could be tons of fun for anyone looking to toy around with a few beats, could prove useful for electronic music producers on the go. Worth checking out for the more musical readers of TheAppleBlog, especially as it’s priced so competitively for a sound app.

That’s all the picks for this week. I’ll be back in seven days with more news from the week and picks from the App Store.

In the meantime, what apps have you been using this week?

The world slows down for another couple of days as we hit the weekend and take a few moments to catch our breath. It’s been another hectic week here at TAB, we considered the potential arrival of a Nintendo Wii-style iPhone, rejoiced at the release of a multi-touch Firefox Beta, extolled the virtues of Mac-augmented exercise regimes and explained how you can make your Mac even cooler (it’s a poor pun and yet I’m not apologizing for it).

Now it’s that special moment that happens ever Saturday at TAB where, after a week of trawling through the latest App Store releases, I hand-pick a few interesting specimens especially for your perusal.

This week I’m looking at Songbird Remote, Slydial, TED and DTESS Aphid Attack.

Songbird Remote (free)
TAB’s Bob Rudis gave the most recent release of Songbird a thumbs-up not so long ago. The desktop app is an alternative to iTunes, managing your music, video and all that entertaining jazz. This app adds to Songbird’s already impressive functionality, incorporating remote control via iPhone. I’m well aware we already have a very robust remote app for iTunes, but choice is a good thing and this certainly makes swapping to Songbird more-so appealing.

Slydial (free)
Ever have one of those moments where you’re calling someone and would really rather go straight to voicemail, cunningly avoiding some kind of an awkward and poorly-worded explanation? For folk are lacking in, or too lazy to use, social skills and tact, comes Slydial – a tool that sends you straight to voicemail when calling someone (U.S. only). There’s something unscrupulous and horridly calculating about this app, nevertheless it’s an interesting (and free) addition to the App Store which some people may find to be an invaluable tool.

TED (free)
The TEDtalks are a wonderful series of live recordings – available on iTunes – from TED, a conference for the world’s brightest and most brilliant minds. The talks themselves are a meeting place for über-smart folk to discuss, deliberate and schmooze everything from arts and entertainment to world politics and artifical intelligence. The TED app takes it all a step further than the podcast subscription, with searching and bookmarking through their vast back-catalogue.

DTESS Aphid Attack (free)
The new Keanu Reeves vehicle, The Day The Earth Stood Still, is currently hitting cinema-houses here in the UK. It’s a remake, where this time the entire world faces off against Reeves as a calm but irate humanoid alien. This is a game promoting the movie where you send nasty aphids (in this case, big alien bugs) to destroy global iconic landmarks. Yes, it’s in ever-so-slightly bad taste. But no, it’s not so great — it could be good fun, but it’s got as much depth as Reeves’s acting. Woah.

Like an iPhone-toting Columbo, I’ve brought you some exciting leads to follow up on, but before I hurry on my way, there’s just one more thing. There have been some exciting developments for iPhone owners this week, one is officially sanctioned by Apple and the other, while not official, is a step in the right direction.

Starting with the former, in yesterday’s Daily Apple post, our very own Darrell Etherington mentioned Apple’s changes to the App Store layout. Setting aside the developers for a moment, the big question for consumers is, “What does that actually mean for us?” 

Perhaps the most noticeable and useful change is that the listing of most popular apps has been split in two, resulting in a separate paid and free top ten charts. This is a welcome step in the right direction for highlighting which apps we should shell out for a few bucks for.

On the unofficial front, another solution for the lack of Copy-Paste on iPhone has arrived. Pastebud is our savior’s name and it works, not as a downloadable app, but a series of Safari-based javascript bookmarklets. It’s a clever solution indeed and we’ll follow this up with a proper posting explaining the intricacies of using Pastebud.

That’s all for this week, I’ll return next Saturday with a cavalcade of new apps to tell you about, in the meantime drop by the comments and let me know which apps you’ve been downloading this week.

Apple has officially announced the 2007 Insomnia Film Festival.

On Saturday, October 13 at promptly 9:00 a.m. (Eastern Time), Apple will open the floodgates for all high school and college students to create a 3-minute film (using some parameters provided by Apple). The kicker? You have to write, cast, shoot, edit, score, and upload the film in 24 hours.

The films will then be put up for everyone to vote on. The top 25 from that will be screen by industry pros and each member of the team with the winning film will receive a MacBook Pro, Final Cut Studio 2, Logic Studio, and Shake. Snap!

You can register now. Teams must consist of 5 people, all of whom must be in high school or attending an accredited college or university.

[via Daring Fireball]