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February 1st, 2010, 17:21 Posted By: wraggster
DIY iPhone apps firm Mobile Roadie is setting its sights beyond the App Store, according to CEO Michael Schneider.
"We’re launching our Android client next month - it’s really great: you can put everything in once to our system, flick a few switches and there it is," he says in an interview.
"I think Android is going to be huge by the end of this year. Partly because of the launch of Google’s Nexus One handset, but there are 20 or 30 more devices in development."
Mobile Roadie started off working with bands to make their own iPhone apps, but has since diversified to support anyone who wants an app - charging a $499 setup fee, then $29 a month to cover hosting costs and new features.
Schneider says the company is also "looking very closely" at BlackBerry and Symbian, but warns that Nokia's strategy is still causing him concern.
"They keep changing their minds," he says. "They have this Ovi Store with Symbian apps, but now they’re releasing a new OS [Maemo] that has nothing to do with Symbian. We’re a small company, so where do we put our resources?"
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/35845...droid-and-more
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February 1st, 2010, 17:24 Posted By: wraggster
Delicious Monster founder claims iBooks copies Delicious Library
The founder of Delicious Monster, an iPhone app developer, has claimed that Apple stole the user interface for his Delicious Library app and used it to create the iBooks feature that was demonstrated on the iPad.
According to the SuperSite Blog, Wil Shipley immediately twittered his thoughts during the product demostration last week.
“No, Apple didn’t license iBooks from me. They just copied me. Ah well,” he wrote, before adding: “I guess it’s not enough Apple has hired every employee who worked on Delicious Library, they also had to copy my product’s look. Flattery?”
The Delicious Library app received the Apple design award twice and was a runner-up once, so Shipley is adamant that the duplication is not a mistake.
“Now, of course Apple couldn’t contact me ahead of time and say, ‘Hey, we’re taking your idea, thanks.’ Their lawyers would worry they’d open themselves to a huge lawsuit, for one, and they’d also be leaking a secret,” speculated Shipley. “Nor could they write me a check. Even a token one would be an admission (in their lawyers’ eyes) that they were copying something.”
http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/33087...ooks-interface
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February 1st, 2010, 17:33 Posted By: wraggster
Apple has confirmed that the iPad, the latest addition to the tech giant’s fashionable product line, will be available in the UK next month.
Furthermore, the higher-spec 3G models that offer over-the-air downloads will begin shipping a month later in April.
How much the machine will cost in the UK is yet to be seen. A direct translation according to current exchange rates would see the entry-level 16GB wi-fi model cost £308, with the top-end 64GB 3G model costing £512. However, UK prices can realistically be expected to start around the £400 mark.
It has not been announced which UK operators will offer the iPad as part of a monthly data usage contract, though all three main mobile operators – O2, Vodafone and the soon-to-be-merged T-Mobile and Orange – are said to be in talks with Apple.
The iPad uses microSIM cards as opposed to traditional sims, meaning users won’t be able to use their existing cards in the device.
http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/33088...-iPad-in-March
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February 1st, 2010, 18:48 Posted By: wraggster
Apple showed biggest year-on-year growth of all vendors in Q4
53 million smartphones shipped globally in the fourth quarter of 2009 – up 30 per cent year on year, research has found.
According to a study by Strategy Analytics Nokia increased its global smartphone share to 39.2 per cent – 20.8 million units – while RIM (the manufacturer of BlackBerry) and Apple increased their portions to 20.2 per cent and 16.4 per cent respectively (10.7 million and 8.7 million units).
Of those firms, Apple showed the biggest growth, upping its market share from 10.8 per cent in Q4 2008.
"This was the strongest period of growth since Q3 2008 and smartphones are leading the handset industry out of recession," says senior analyst Tom Kang. "Sales are being driven by stronger consumer demand and a stream of attractive new 3G models tempting buyers into retail stores."
Smartphones from vendors other than Nokia, Apple and Rim shipped 12.8 million units in Q4 2009, taking a market share of 24.2 per cent - down from 33.6 per cent in Q4 2008.
"The smartphone market will become ultra competitive in 2010," says director Neil Mawston. "Samsung and LG have ambitious plans to grow volumes and expand their app stores, while emerging players like Dell and Huawei are strengthening their device portfolios and courting major operators."
http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/33089...t-of-recession
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February 1st, 2010, 18:49 Posted By: wraggster
There is a video floating around of a Nokia N900 smartphone running the full desktop Mac OS X 10.3. From the author, Tomi Nikkanen: 'I believe this makes the N900 the first smartphone ever to run a full version of Mac OS X (at any speed, slow or otherwise). As you can see from the heavily edited video, it took almost 2 hours to reach the "About my Mac..." window. Keep your eye on the time display as that will give you an impression of just how uselessly slow it is.
http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/10/...e-Running-OS-X
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February 1st, 2010, 18:56 Posted By: wraggster
Okay, folks, you know the drill: here lies new hardware, may we see it hacked to run unintended software. Today's contestant is Pandora, once thought to be relegated to the realm of vaporware and now in full production. One of the lucky, open source-friendly buyers decided that the native Linux distribution was just not for his liking, and instead opted for Google's little green man mobile OS. Touchscreen support isn't there yet, but you gotta start somewhere, right? Video of Android on Pandora after the break. Now we wait until the time we can gleefully say "Pandora (the app) on Android on Pandora" while we listen to some rocking streamed tunes.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/01/a...-or-something/
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February 1st, 2010, 21:39 Posted By: wraggster
It ain't the first company to do it, but Logitech's new iPhone app is certainly one of the easiest to get into. Oh, and did we mention that it's completely free to download? Available now in the App Store, Touch Mouse transforms your handset into a wireless trackpad or keyboard, and thanks to its reliance on vanilla WiFi signals, you won't need any proprietary equipment to get it up and running. It's fully compatible with both Mac and PC platforms, and it's obviously a pretty fantastic way to control your HTPC without dragging a full-fledged keyboard / mouse into the living room. Hit the source link for more details, and be sure to let us know how it goes in comments once you give it a roll.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/01/l...ad-or-keyboar/
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February 2nd, 2010, 17:22 Posted By: wraggster
EA Mobile's European boss Luca Pagano says the publisher is ready to invest more heavily in smartphone platforms beyond the iPhone.
"It’s where our business in the future will drive from, so we are ready to capture the opportunity when it arrives," he tells ME, while admitting that conditions are "not completely perfect" on the stores of some of Apple's rivals.
"The challenges have been widely discussed. Billing is one of the key ones. But we are looking forward to those challenges being properly tackled, and working together with Nokia, Google, RIM and the others," he says.
Meanwhile, EA Mobile may also look to experiment more with game pricing in the future, for example with in-app payments and freemium models.
"There is an understanding that we could actually do a favour to the business as well as to consumers by experimenting with different models," he says.
"That doesn’t necessarily mean giving things away for free though. It may be about giving a different engagement to the consumer with a very small barrier to entry, and then a way to monetise that further down the line."
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/35856...-opportunities
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February 2nd, 2010, 17:27 Posted By: wraggster
Twelve of the 20 top grossing games in the UK App Store this week are based on console or PC brands.
In fact, the top four places in the chart are filled with console/PC-derived titles: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars; Rock Band; Broken Sword: Director's Cut; and Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies.
Others in the Top 20 include Driver, Spore Creatures, The Sims 3, Championship Manager 2010, FIFA 10, Worms, Sonic the Hedgehog and Need For Speed Shift.
It's more evidence that despite constant talk of the pressure on publishers to cut their iPhone game prices to $0.99 (59p here in the UK) to compete with the hordes of casual titles, it's pricier console brands that are making the most money.
In fact, only three of the 20 Top Grossing games cost 59p this week: Doodle Jump, All-In-1 Gamebox and Trenches.
The average price of the Top 20 is £3.19, compared to an average price of £1.83 for this week's Top Paid Games chart on the UK App Store, which measures number of downloads rather than overall revenues.
EA Mobile has seven games in the 20 Top Grossing Games chart - the only other publisher to have more than one is Gameloft, which has two.
No wonder EA's Luca Pagano claims the publisher is "dominating" on iPhone, at least here in the UK. This week's UK Top Grossing chart is reproduced below:
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/35862...Grossing-chart
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February 2nd, 2010, 19:20 Posted By: wraggster
The Wall Street Journal today examines "Why Playfish Sold Itself to EA." Um, wouldn't you sell yourself for $300 million? While such an investigation might seem trivial, the WSJ calls in Playfish president and GM Kristian Segerstrale, who reveals that several hundred million is merely chump change. Playfish certainly considered a road to riches paved in the arduous process of going public as an independent company, but "as we advanced our conversations with EA, what became clear was that this would be genuine opportunity to accelerate our pace of growth and build a billion-dollar business faster," Segerstrale explains.
To realize this dream -- to get rich really quick -- Playfish clearly saw it would take more than its prowess as a stand-out developer in the burgeoning social games arena. It would take brand power. According to the WSJ, as suggested by Segerstrale, "there will be a social game based on a well-known EA brand this year." Hardly a revelation, to be sure, but it's at least confirmation of a killer strategy. Take an established IP -- likely EA's The Sims -- and adapt it for a network of social gaming experiences that spans persistent platforms like Facebook and the iPhone. Oh, so that's why Playfish sold itself to EA.
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/02/02/ws...nown-ea-brand/
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February 2nd, 2010, 21:53 Posted By: wraggster
If somehow you've become concerned that another iPhone might not be on the way to market, you can now rest easy. Our ingenious tipsters have discovered yet another fascinating factoid deep within the Frameworks of the iPhone OS 3.2 SDK, namely: the codename of the next iPhone. Buried way inside the platform simulator lies a set of folders dedicated to specific models of iPhone OS-ready devices, including the iPhone 3GS, second generation iPod touch, something called the "K48" (yep, the codename we were told was the internal name for the iPad), and... the "N89." Sure, it sounds like a Nokia phone just waiting to happen, but this is -- according to our extremely knowledgeable and trusted sources -- likely the codename of the next iPhone (previous versions were called the M68, N82, and N88). We can't take too much away from this beyond the fact that the model exists, though we're certain that with a little more digging, some detail is sure to rear its head (attention hive-mind). Interestingly, Apple's just released firmware (3.1.3) also includes another new model, the "N80," which we're told will most likely be the next version of the iPod touch. We're going to keep researching here, so stay tuned for more.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/02/n...atest-sdk-and/
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February 3rd, 2010, 02:05 Posted By: wraggster
Gameloft has posted its year-end results, with sales up 11 percent to 122 million Euros. Growth was driven by iPhone game sales, up over 230% to 18 million Euros ($25 million).
The French outfit has released dozens of iPhone and iPod Touch games in the last year including branded game heritage titles such as The Settlers and Earthworm Jim, licenses like Avatar and Derek Jeter Real Baseball, and original product such as Castle of Magic and Siberian Strike.
Gameloft departed from the packaged goods sector in 2009 to focus entirely on mobile games. It blamed a comparatively weak fourth quarter on this decision, and the strength of the dollar. In Q4, sales were down six percent to 32 milion Euros. Profits have not been disclosed but are expected to come in at around 8 percent of revenues.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/37410/Game...ales-hit-25mrn
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February 3rd, 2010, 02:07 Posted By: wraggster
Trailrunner7 sends in a threatpost.com article on exploiting flaws in the way the iPhone handles digital certificates.
"[Several flaws] could lead to an attacker being able to create his own trusted certificate and entice users into downloading malicious files onto their iPhones. The result of the attack is that a remote hacker is able to change some settings on the iPhone and force all of the user's Web traffic to run through any server he chooses, and also to change the root certificate on the phone, enabling him to man-in-the-middle SSL traffic from that phone. ... Charlie Miller, an Apple security researcher at Independent Security Evaluators, said that the attack works, although it would not lead to remote code execution on the iPhone. 'It definitely works. I downloaded the file and ran it and it worked,' Miller said. 'The only thing is that it warns you that the file will change your phone, but it also says that the certificate is from Apple and it's been verified.
http://apple.slashdot.org/story/10/0...es-Web-Traffic
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February 3rd, 2010, 15:46 Posted By: wraggster
ScrollMotion is signing deals with a variety of educational textbook publishers, to take their titles to Apple's iPad.
That's according to the Wall Street Journal, which names McGraw-Hill, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt K-12, Pearson Education and Kaplan as involved in these deals.
What's more, the article suggests that Apple is firmly focused on the education sector as a key market for the iPad, despite last week's launch concentrating on consumer usage of the device.
The device could also link into the existing iTunes U service for students.
"This is the beginning of handheld education," says ScrollMotion CEO John Lema.
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/35876...deals-for-iPad
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February 3rd, 2010, 15:48 Posted By: wraggster
The excitement around Palm's new generation of webOS smartphones has ebbed somewhat since the Pre was hailed as a potential iPhone killer last year.
Even so, Deutsche Bank analyst Jonathan Goldberg thinks the company is set for another upswing this year, predicting that the company is being under-estimated by investors.
"If they can grow their installed base of users and keep the carrier momentum going, this value should become more apparent," he writes in a research note.
Goldberg also predicts that Palm will sell 7.3 million handsets in 2010, and then 11.3 million in 2011, fuelled by its upcoming launch with Verizon Wireless.
He also thinks that by the end of this year, there may be more apps available on Palm's App Catalog than are on BlackBerry App World - a more controversial assertion, given RIM's recent announcement that its developer community is now 200,000-strong.
However, Palm's success may not lead to a standalone future for the company. "There is real potential for Palm to be acquired in the next two years," writes Goldberg.
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/35878...OS-renaissance
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February 3rd, 2010, 20:47 Posted By: wraggster
Bejeweled and Plants vs. Zombies mastermind PopCap reckons Apple's new iPad could "kickstart" a creative revolution.
"PopCap loves to see devices that offer new experiences and force us to look at our games and rethink how we can make the best game using those new features," Andrew Stein, PopCap bigwig, told Destructoid.
"As a developer, the iPad offers the same easy development environment as the iPhone but amps that up with tremendous technical specs and a potential whole new way for somebody to interact with a game.
"As a consumer," he added, "the iPad has the potential to kickstart a whole new wave of creative innovation similar to the wave kicked off by the launch of the App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch."
Stein promised that iPad games by PopCap won't be iPhone ports. "As we're fond of saying, we don't port, we adapt – we keep the essence of what makes our games and then rebuild them to take best advantage of the features offered by the specific device," he said.
As such, the delay to the iPhone version of Plants vs Zombies is unrelated to the iPad. "It will be launched on the iPhone before the release of the iPad [in March]," said Stein. It just needed more time.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/po...art-creativity
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February 3rd, 2010, 22:47 Posted By: wraggster
An anonymous reader links to Greg Kroah-Hartman's explanation of a rift (hopefully mendable) in the development culture of Google's Linux-based Android OS and the Linux kernel itself.
"As the Android kernel code is now gone from the Linux kernel, as of the 2.6.33 kernel release, I'm starting to get a lot of questions about what happened, and what to do next with regards to Android. So here's my opinion on the whole matter
http://linux.slashdot.org/story/10/0...rnel-Community
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February 3rd, 2010, 22:55 Posted By: wraggster
Google's been doing some pretty slick stuff with QR codes lately, and now it looks like The Weather Channel's getting in on the fun -- it's running a little on-screen graphic prompting Android owners to download their app by scanning their TV screens. Sure, it's not the craziest thing in the world -- it just takes you to a webpage -- but it's certainly fun, and one of the more mainstream uses of QR codes we've seen in a while.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/03/w...creen-qr-code/
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February 3rd, 2010, 22:58 Posted By: wraggster
Android's devised one of the slickest, most widely-deployed systems for delivering over-the-air operating system updates to smartphones, but there's a problem: you've got to wait until your carrier (or manufacturer) blesses you with them. They're typically deployed in rolling batches so that it's easier for the company to do one final test of the code's veracity and limit potential damage before sending it to a wider audience -- but where there's a will, there's a way, right? As is often the case with these things, some folks have found a way to get the Nexus One's glorious new multitouch code on the phone before Google's willing to give it to you, and for anyone who's done this before, it's a fairly standard-issue procedure: copy the update to the root of your microSD card, reboot into recovery mode, and apply the binary. We've tested the procedure and it works like a champ, so if you're feeling impatient, go ahead and pull the trigger -- we're going to go out on a limb here and say that the risk of bricking is pretty low.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/02/n...hout-the-wait/
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February 3rd, 2010, 23:05 Posted By: wraggster
Assassin's Creed II Discovery has only recently hit iTunes, and Ubisoft is readying another dose of portable professional killing with Assassin's Creed II: Multiplayer, an online game of kill-or-be-killed for the iPhone.
Coming soon to iTunes, Assassin's Creed II: Multiplayer is an online multiplayer game for the iPhone, which uses a Wi-Fi connection to connect you with up to three other players in a game of hide and go die. The goal is simple: kill the other players before they kill you. Players will be able to blend into the crowd in order to avoid detection in three different environments inspired by cities of the Italian Renaissance. You can even use one of six different power-ups, just like real assassins!
Ubisoft is packing the game with features, including a dynamic notoriety ranking system, a built-in friends list, and 24 achievements you can post to Facebook, where the world goes to find out what you've been up to.
The initial screens may be a bit small and simplistic, but I've always been a big fan of games where you can kill Bob. Man, I hate that guy.
http://kotaku.com/5463391/online-mul...-to-the-iphone
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February 3rd, 2010, 23:12 Posted By: wraggster
New from Divineo China
Supply power to your PSP GO, PSP-3000, PSP Slim, PSP-1000, NDSi-XL, NDSi, NDSL, NDS, iPod, Nano, Shuffle, iPhone 2G/3G/3GS ,Nokia mobile phone and other AV electronic appliances in your car with this car-lighter adapter which provides power supply to the rechargeable lithium battery pack.
It comes with a red light indicator that will light up when the console/device is charging.
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February 4th, 2010, 17:54 Posted By: wraggster
CasualGaming.biz can reveal that Cobra Mobile’s excellent iPhone action title iBomber has been downloaded over 1.5m times since its release last year. Furthermore, the coming weeks will see the release of an update to the game will for the first time introduce in-app purchases. And that's not all...
The franchise is set for an even bigger evolutionary step, however, with news that Cobra is currently working on versions for console platforms – with Xbox Live Arcade and PSN being the most likely candidates.
Cobra last year announced its intention to port the game to Sony’s PSPgo.
The developer has also confirmed that it is already working on iBomber 2.
“Since release, we have managed to successfully build a really strong gaming brand from the ground up with iBomber and we are now expanding the game out onto a host of new platforms to build out the whole experience,” Cobra CEO Mark Ettle told CasualGmaing.biz.
“Cobra’s slogan is ‘We Create, You Play’ and with iBomber there has been an awful lot of playing.”
We’re big fans of iBomber on Casualgaming.biz, naming it as our Game of the Week last August.
http://www.casualgaming.biz/news/297...-soar-past-15m
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February 4th, 2010, 17:59 Posted By: wraggster
iPhone users are much more interested in games than Android or BlackBerry users, according to stats released by app discovery firm Mplayit.
Games make up only 20% of the 130,000 iPhone apps available to browse on Mplayit's Facebook service, yet they account for 47% of the traffic for the site's iPhone section.
Only 20% of the traffic to Mplayit's Android section is games-related, while the proportion is 30% for its BlackBerry section.
The data was collected from the browsing habits of more than 50,000 users in the last two weeks of January.
"iPhone developers are driving this phenomenon, putting out simply fantastic games that get people excited," says Mplayit boss Michael Powers.
"But the developer catch up is underway on Android, and although BlackBerry is renowned for apps, it continues to be underrated and overlooked as a games platform."
While the most active game categories were roughly the same across all three smartphone platforms according to Mplayit's data - Arcade, Casual, Card/Casino and Puzzle - there were some differences in tastes.
The company says music games were more popular among iPhone users, while Android users showed more of a preference for games using GPS, camera and augmented reality features. And BlackBerry gamers? They like TV and movie spin-offs.
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/35886...ackBerry-users
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February 4th, 2010, 18:07 Posted By: wraggster
Gameloft CFO Alexandre de Rochefort has said that he expects mobile game sales to quadruple over the next 3-4 years – even if actual mobile phone penetration remains the same as it is today.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz following Gameloft's release of its 2009 year-end financials, de Rochefort said that as Java handsets are replaced by the new generation of smartphones, game sales will increase exponentially simply because the games that can be made for those handsets are of such higher quality.
"If I look at the long term growth for Gameloft and for mobile gaming in general, what I see is that the attach rate on Java phones is around 3 per cent, whereas on the next generation of smartphones, beginning with the iPhone, the attach rate is above 10 per cent. On the iPhone several studies have shown it's even as high as 15 per cent," he said.
"My point is that, basically, there is absolutely no doubt that in the next 3-4 years all Java phones will have been replaced by the next generation of smart phones. And this means that even if we have a similar install base – I'm not even betting on the increased penetration of mobile phones in the world, I'm just saying at equal install base - we are capable of growing this market 3-4 times just due to the fact that because the games are so much better on the next generation smartphones than they are on Java phones, because of that the consumer experience is much better and therefore – and we are living and experiencing this as we speak – the tie ratio is much higher on these phones.
"Just keep in mind that a Gameloft Java game is a 1MB game whereas a Gameloft smartphone game like on the iPhone is 100 – 400MB. So there's no question that the consumer experience is much better."
Mobile game revenue accounted for 94 per cent of the company's total in 2009, while iPhone sales grew a staggering 231 per cent on the previous year. In total the company has sold over 10 million games through the App Store since 2008 – an achievement that de Rochefort puts down to Gameloft's focus on creating quality, 3D games for mobile phones early on, and also to its fearless approach to new platforms.
"When we started to work on the Nokia N-Gage, I remember a lot of analysts were quite dubious about our reasons for going there. The thing is, we've been preparing Gameloft to be able to develop 3D games since 2004. And the reason why Gameloft has such high market share on the App Store, along with EA, when Glu and the other companies are nowhere to be seen, is really because we've been preparing for this shift for years now," he said.
He adds that the company "isn't shy" about investing in new devices – even when it doesn't know how those devices are going to perform in the long term.
"Gameloft was, as far as I know, the only European company invited by Apple to present on stage for the launch of the iPad and, to a certain extend, I believe this was because we've shown to Apple that we were ready to invest on new devices really as ahead of the new device as possible," he said.
"We're not shy, we are not fearful of investing – even if we don't know what the output will be. We've been investing on Google phones, on the Palm, on the iPhone and we're going to continue doing this and clearly it is our will to be present on the iPad when it is launched. I don't know with how many games but we'll be there."
On the subject of the iPad, de Rochefort is reluctant to offer an opinion - "I personally have not seen the device myself," he says. But he offers some insight as to its potential in the gaming market.
"The processor seems to be more powerful than that of the iPhone, the definition of the screen seems to be even better than on the iPhone, and the size of the screen is obviously much bigger. So, all things considered, my guess is that it's going to be a good device to play games on."
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...next-few-years
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February 4th, 2010, 18:10 Posted By: wraggster
Developer Fabien Sanglard has written a code review for id Software's iPhone port of Doom. It's an interesting look into how the original 1993 game (which he also reviewed to understand its rendering process) was adapted to a modern platform.
"Just like Wolfenstein 3D, Doom was rendering a screenframe pixel per pixel. The only way to do this on iPhone with an acceptable framerate would be to use CoreSurface/CoreSurface.h framework. But it is unfortunately restricted and using it would prevent distribution on the AppStore. The only solution is to use OpenGL, but this comes with a few challenges: Doom was faking 3D with a 2D map. OpenGL needs real 3D vertices. More than 3D vertices, OpenGL needs data to be sent as triangles (among other things because they are easy to rasterize). But Doom sectors were made of arbitrary forms. Doom 1993's perspective was also faked, it was actually closer to an orthogonal projection than a perspective projection. Doom was using VGA palette indexing to perform special effect (red for damage, silver for invulnerable...).
http://games.slashdot.org/story/10/0...For-the-iPhone
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February 4th, 2010, 18:12 Posted By: wraggster
An anonymous reader links to Greg Kroah-Hartman's explanation of a rift (hopefully mendable) in the development culture of Google's Linux-based Android OS and the Linux kernel itself.
"As the Android kernel code is now gone from the Linux kernel, as of the 2.6.33 kernel release, I'm starting to get a lot of questions about what happened, and what to do next with regards to Android. So here's my opinion on the whole matter ..."
http://linux.slashdot.org/story/10/0...rnel-Community
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February 4th, 2010, 20:48 Posted By: wraggster
Don't shy away at the sound of that "S" word. I've got some reassuring news for anyone who's ever thrown their N95 across the room in horror. Starting today, Symbian^2 will be offered as a free open source download for anyone wanting to tinker with it. The details are a bit thin on the ground so far, but at least it shows Symbian is finally starting to view Android as a threat.
Once Symbian^3 is launched later this year, it won't be quite as attractive fooling around with Symbian^2 behind its back, so best to start early and get in a few months of quality time together before the jealousy sets in.
http://gizmodo.com/5463970/symbian-g...rce-from-today
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February 4th, 2010, 20:52 Posted By: wraggster
Since the last time we mentioned it, the MyTether app for WebOS phones has gone up in price from a requested $10 donation to $14.95, but that's still considerably cheaper than Verizon's $40 per month Mobile Hotspot plan. We're still leery about what usage/overusage could mean for your contract & bill, but a new beta version has been posted that officially supports the Pre Plus and according to the developer "makes use of the API calls behind MHS" to let it work more smoothly. Even with the Pre's openness to hackery we had some issues getting the beta installer to operate on our Windows 7 machine but once it was installed it worked as promised, giving comparable speeds to a dedicated EV-DO card on the same network. Other new features include automatic tracking of data usage and the ability to manage connected devices directly on the app. Other than some compatibility issues with WebOS updates there hasn't seemed to be any blowback from Sprint or Palm on this app so far, we'll see if Verizon has any issues with its premium priced turf being encroached upon.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/03/w...tspots-to-ver/
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February 4th, 2010, 22:32 Posted By: wraggster
ABBYY FotoTranslate is an innovative solution for travel and business trips. Translate words with a single button push, wherever you are - you don't need to type unknown foreign words by hand. The program automatically recognizes the words taken on the camera of your smartphone and shows the translation. Snap a foreign word - get an instant translation using OCR (optical character recognition) - almost 30 language combinations are available!
http://my-symbian.com/s60v3/software...Auto=780&faq=3
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February 4th, 2010, 22:33 Posted By: wraggster
RAMblow from CellPhoneSoft aims to maintain a healthy amount of available RAM memory to help running the phone smooth for a long time. The application provides automated memory management, as well as manual termination of running programs. The memory boost feature can blow RAM up to amounts never before seen. RAMblow is very simple to use, just let it run in the background, and you will never again find your phone lacking memory.
Major features:
* Unattended and manual management of running apps.
* Maintaining a healthy amount of free RAM for smooth phone operation.
* Memory optimization for executing large programs.
* Automatic memory cleanup after set idle time.
* Examination and manual closing of unwanted programs.
* Reporting the results of memory cleanup.
* Compatible with all Symbian S60 3rd and 5th edition phones by Nokia, Samsung, LG and Sony Ericsson.
http://my-symbian.com/s60v3/software...Auto=779&faq=1
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February 5th, 2010, 14:55 Posted By: wraggster
There may be trouble ahead for iPhone apps (and mobile ad networks) looking to make use of location-based advertising.
In an 'App Store Tip' posted on its iPhone Developer website, Apple appears to have nixed the idea.
"If you build your application with features based on a user's location, make sure these features provide beneficial information," says the tip.
"If your app uses location-based information primarily to enable mobile advertisers to deliver targeted ads based on a user's location, your app will be returned to you by the App Store Review Team for modification before it can be posted to the App Store."
Of course, the grey area comes in the use of the word 'primarily'. If the main use of location in an app is for the app itself - think social location apps like Foursquare and Gowalla - is it okay to include ads targeted by location?
How about sponsored listings within augmented reality apps like Layar? And, if we're getting really cat/pigeons about this, what does the ruling mean for Google's plans for location-based advertising within iPhone apps?
Apple has always made a point of stressing that consumers are its prime consideration when it comes to its App Store policies - including app approvals.
The new move can be seen as the latest example of the company trying to protect its customers from being pushed intrusive ads with no real benefit.
However, there's another angle, which is to wonder how Apple's new mobile advertising division - the recently acquired Quattro Wireless - will fit into this.
There's a page on the Quattro website covering its targeting and ad serving technology, which specifically mentions that campaigns can be targeted by "location and time".
The conspiracy theory already being discussed in the blogosphere is that at some point, developers wanting to use location-targeted ads will be forced to use Apple's own ad units - and thus not those of competitors like Google-owned AdMob.
Time will tell, but for now, the grey areas around what counts as 'primarily' using location for ads will be what concerns developers most.
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/35906...in-iPhone-apps
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February 5th, 2010, 14:58 Posted By: wraggster
Glu Mobile has launched an innovative location-based game for iPhone, which uses GPS and Google Maps around a Pokemon-style collecting dynamic. The game is called 1000: Find 'Em All! and it launched on the App Store last night - the title has shades of Nintendo's 'Gotta Collect 'Em All!' slogan from the past.
Players guide a character around the game world, trying to find 1,000 special items.
However, it's the location features that are interesting. One involves sprinkling items on a Google Map of the player's current location, and getting them to physically walk to the items to find them.
Meanwhile, another feature involves 'gifter' characters appearing from local Wi-Fi hotspots - I found one from Chicago Rock Cafe in Bishop's Stortford last night, for example - who offer more items.
It's an intriguing game, and certainly far removed from the big brands that Glu made its name with. It's the latest sign of how iPhone is re-stimulating the creativity of mobile games firms.
http://www.casualgaming.biz/news/297...in-Glus-latest
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February 5th, 2010, 21:14 Posted By: wraggster
Obviously still sore from Apple’s ongoing strategy of locking Flash out of its iPhone OS products – including the new iPad – Flash creator Adobe has once again launched a scathing attack on the Mac platform holder.
“Some have been surprised at the lack of inclusion of Flash Player on a recent magical device,” begins a fresh blog post from Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch.
“We are now on the verge of delivering Flash Player 10.1 for smartphones with all but one of the top manufacturers. Flash in the browser provides a competitive advantage to these devices because it will enable their customers to browse the whole Web.
“So, what about Flash running on Apple devices? We have shown that Flash technology is starting to work on these devices today by enabling standalone applications for the iPhone to be built on Flash. This same solution will work on the iPad as well.
“We are ready to enable Flash in the browser on these devices if and when Apple chooses to allow that for its users, but to date we have not had the required cooperation from Apple to make this happen.”
As entertaining and the public bickering between the two companies is, the consumer remains the real loser in this face-off. Enabling Flash on iPhone would arguably represent a larger step forward than any of Apple’s previous hardware revisions.
http://www.casualgaming.biz/news/297...Apple-outburst
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February 5th, 2010, 21:15 Posted By: wraggster
Apple has told a software developer that its application cannot be included in the iPhone App Store if it mentions Google Android. The developer just wanted to mention that the app was a finalist in Google's Android Developer's Challenge."
The developer complied with apparent good humor. Here is their blog post, which includes the text of the iPhone store's not-quite-rejection.
http://apple.slashdot.org/story/10/0...hone-App-Store
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February 5th, 2010, 21:47 Posted By: wraggster
When we saw the iPad at Apple's less-than-exciting unveiling event, we noted that the upscaling on iPhone games was a bit blurry. But, hey, we're no certified graphicsologists or anything. Luckily, Kevin Ng is, and through the help of the iPad SDK, he's compared the appearance of his game WordCrasher running on the device in several ways: at native iPhone resolution; using the iPad's zoomed-in "2X mode" and -- through a little bit of tweaking with the SDK -- full iPad resolution.
His results in running WordCrasher at native iPhone resolution and in "2X mode" pretty much mirrored our own observations: standard and pretty ugly, respectively. When blowing up the iPhone version's graphics on the iPad, jaggies became prominent and it was a pretty ugly experience overall. However, when Ng rolled up his sleeves and started fiddling around, he found that tweaking his game to run at the iPad's native 1024X768 resolution helped create some strong visuals.
Ng credits the device's support of OpenGL ES 2.0, which allowed him to "use bump maps and other shader techniques to present more realistic materials." Again, we're not graphicsticians (see? we can't even get the term right!), but it seems like the initial cries at the device's inability to make teh purty pics may have been a bit unfounded.
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/02/05/ip...odes-compared/
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February 5th, 2010, 21:49 Posted By: wraggster
Okay, internet, deep breath. In. Out. Good. Now, the news: It turns out that the recently revealed iPhone title, Assassin's Creed II: Multiplayer, is totally, 100 percent NOT the multiplayer Assassin's Creed game that Ubisoft announced last month. While Ubisoft didn't see fit to respond to our (multiple) inquiries, the company informed MTV's Multiplayer that the two different projects are, in fact, two different projects. Specifically, when asked if the iPhone game and the multiplayer project were the same, an Ubisoft representative responded, "Nope."
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/02/04/as...ltiplayer-gam/
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February 6th, 2010, 01:08 Posted By: wraggster
Game Developer Research says that Apple is winning the race among handheld game developers: 19 percent write now for the iPhone and iPod touch. That's more than double the amount of Nintendo DS and Sony PSP developers. Other interesting figures:
• Handheld games are now 25 percent of the whole gaming market, up from 12 percent before the iPhone/iPod touch phenomenon.
• During the last three quarters, all handheld game developers are writing for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch.
No wonder why Nintendo's President not a fan of the iPad
http://gizmodo.com/5465347/iphone-is...ame-developers
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February 6th, 2010, 22:43 Posted By: wraggster
Earlier today, it emerged that Apple is telling iPhone developers that it won't approve apps that use location primarily to push geo-targeted ads at users.
Although the exact details are still unclear - it's possible the ban will only apply for apps that don't use location in other ways already - it could have an impact on the plans of mobile ad networks like AdMob.
So, we asked the company for its response, and it just provided us with this statement:
"Apple’s iPhone and App Store platforms have been critical in driving the growth of mobile advertising. We’ve heard about this change from a number of worried application developers and share their concern. We hope this is not indicative of a new approach by Apple and that many different companies will continue to have the ability to contribute to the rapid innovation in mobile advertising on the iPhone."
With Apple now owning its own mobile advertising network - Quattro Wireless - and getting increasingly competitive with Google (which is buying AdMob), it remains to be seen what this new approach means.
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/35925...cation-ads-ban
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February 8th, 2010, 12:50 Posted By: wraggster
Consumers unwilling to pay for latest model make false claims, insurer says
iPhone insurance fraud goes “through the roof” when a new or upgraded model of the device becomes available, an electronics insurer has said.
As new generations of Apple’s smartphone are launched, older models are frequently ‘lost’, ‘stolen’ or damaged by consumers with "iPhone envy" who know they will receive the latest version as a replacement, Supercover Insurance director Carmi Korine said.
According to Supercover, iPhone owners are 60 per cent more likely to take out insurance than other mobile phone users. Policies for the devices are the fastest growing type of cover in the gadget sector.
"While most customers take out insurance because they value their iPhone, we started to notice increases in claims as new and upgraded iPhones were launched - for short periods around new model or upgrade launches, claims for lost, stolen or damaged iPhones go through the roof,” Korine said. “For the unscrupulous, £8.99 a month insurance is cheaper than £500 to buy the latest iPhone.”
‘Accidental’ iPhone damage the insurer had seen included hammer marks, heel imprints, toilet bleach and “fire damage which the claimant found very difficult to explain”.
"The issue appears to be that most iPhone owners can only go for so long realising that they're a generation behind the latest must-have spec before they resort to extreme measures; they can't upgrade before their contract ends, so those who can't wait will try practically anything to get back on level fashion terms with their friends," Korine said.
http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/33116...nsurance-fraud
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February 8th, 2010, 12:54 Posted By: wraggster
It’s been clear that games developers have been flocking to iPhone ever since the launch of the App Store in July 2008, but a new survey from Game Developer Research puts some figures on it.
The survey of more than 800 developers found that 25% are now making mobile games – double the 12% in last year’s survey. Of those, nearly three quarters are targeting iPhone and iPod touch.
The report points out that this is twice as many developers as are supporting Nintendo’s DS and Sony’s PSP.
Numbers isn't the whole story about iPhone gaming, of course. There are tens of thousands of companies making games for the App Store, but many of those games aren't much cop (and aren't selling many copies either).
However, the new GDR report shows that iPhone is picking up more interest from traditional console and handheld developers.
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/35933...-mobile-titles
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February 8th, 2010, 18:55 Posted By: wraggster
UK games retailers have mixed feelings towards Apple’s new iPad.
The device was revealed last week after months of speculation and is due for launch early next month. Senior execs at Gameloft and EA presented new games for the device at its unveiling.
Already, some UK retailers have confirmed plans to stock the device – with the likes of GAME for one already promoting its upcoming release online.
“It’s always great to see another format hit the market where publishers and developers can create new content for consumers,” The Hut’s product marketing manager Sarah Jasper told MCV.
“When and if stock becomes available, The Hut Group would definitely be excited about stocking this.”
Morrison’s gaming buyer Jon Biggs added: “The iPad has promising potential across business, communication and entertainment and of course it’s part of what could possible be the most iconic family of products over the last ten years.
“In terms of gaming it seems to hit a sweet spot of having a massive screen whilst retaining a large degree of portability due to its slim profile. It might not fit in your pocket but in the car or on the train it will deliver not only gaming but a raft of other features, which will make it a popular choice.”
Gaming is a major part of iPad’s proposition following the popularity of games on iPod Touch and iPhone.
At the time of writing, the top four grossing games on the Apple App Store are all major video game brands – Grand Theft Auto, Rock Band, Broken Sword and Call of Duty.
However, specialist retailers are cautious over the machine due to its digital-only nature – and slow sales of the last download-only console, PSPgo.
“We do not see the iPad as the kind of product that we would welcome for our core customers,” said ShopTo CEO Igor Cipolletta. “Once the unit is sold, we would have no further customer interaction or sales opportunities.
“We still feel that, despite the relative successes of the iPhone and iPod Touch, the majority of gamers still prefer to purchase a physical product, that they can trade in or sell once finished with.
“We were correct in our assumption that PSPgo would be a sales flop, both in terms of its price and in its method of delivery. The majority of the gaming community definitely doesn’t share the developers’ thoughts on downloads.”
Grainger Games is also not convinced the iPad is ideal for their customers.
“After looking into the Apple iPad we can see that it is a great bit of kit, but it is not something that we will look to stock at this point,” said commercial director Chris Harwood.
“Being an Apple product we have no doubt that it will sell well – it just does not fit our brand proposition at this point in time. Our expectations would be that this product will undergo a number of iterations until it becomes more mass-market. Perhaps then, with more gaming support, we would look to stock it.”
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/37481/Reta...iPad-potential
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February 8th, 2010, 18:55 Posted By: wraggster
Its Tap Tap Revenge games have been downloaded more than 25 million times on iPhone, but now Tapulous has launched a new game called Riddim Ribbon.
Developed in collaboration with Will.I.Am from the Black Eyed Peas, the game (App Store link) is a futuristic racer with three of the band's songs preloaded.
As players speed along the undulating track, they can choose to shift paths, triggering different remixes of the songs.
The game offers extra tracks via in-app purchases, with songs from Tiesto and Benny Benassi available at launch.
Early purchasers are also being offered a free MP3 remix download, and 100 credits to use to buy songs in Tap Tap Revenge 3.
http://www.casualgaming.biz/news/297...bbon-on-iPhone
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February 8th, 2010, 21:19 Posted By: wraggster
Linus Torvalds, the inventor of the Linux kernel, has an absolute disdain for mobile phones. All of the ones he has purchased in the past, the man writes on his personal blog, ended up being 'mostly used for playing Galaga and Solitaire on long flights' even though they were naturally all phones run on open source operating systems. Things have changed now, he adds, now that he has caved and bought Google's Nexus One a couple of days ago.
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/10/02...ds-Doesnt-Hate
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February 8th, 2010, 21:23 Posted By: wraggster
There was inevitably some cultural friction when Apple's secretive CEO took his new iPad around to New York's professionally indiscreet media. Exhibit A is a single tweet from a Wall Street Journal editor, which purportedly made Steve Jobs go ballistic:
The Journal's online executive editor Alan Murray quickly deleted the Feb. 4 tweet, which, it is now obvious, was issued during Apple CEO Jobs' show-and-tell with select Journal staff. A tipster told us the deletion ultimately traces back to a furious Jobs. We asked Murray for comment, and he wrote back "I would love to talk about this, but can't." In a later email, he added:
I will say that Apple's general paranoia about news coverage is truly extraordinary— but that's not telling you anything you didn't already know.
If Jobs did give Murray a tongue lashing — his withering verbal abuse is infamous — the editor can console himself with the knowledge that this is is an especially touchy time of year for the paranoiac. And not just because of the pressures of shepherding and unveiling a new product.
At Jobs' meeting at the Times, the CEO was mostly on point, painting a utopian picture of happy future world awash in iPads. But at one juncture in the meeting, we hear, he took a detour, telling assembled newspaper staff that he gets tons of hate mail from people whenever he launches a new product — people who have never even used it, including angry Apple "fans." Jobs reportedly described the mail as "really nasty stuff... [things] like '**** you and your family.'"
It sounds like Jobs has been fighting this sort of backlash his whole career, judging from this 1994 Rolling Stone interview:
"I've always been attracted to the more revolutionary changes. I don't know why. Because they're harder. They're much more stressful emotionally. And you usually go through a period where everybody tells you that you've completely failed."
Of course, "**** you and your family" sound less like fanboys than regretful stock speculators. That's the sort of e-note to go ballistic over.
http://gawker.com/5466906/the-ipad-t...ged-steve-jobs
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February 8th, 2010, 21:26 Posted By: wraggster
Well, well, well. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal today, Apple management is going to remain "nimble" in iPad pricing if sales start off slow. Hey, wait a minute—are you thinking what I'm thinking?
The scoop originates from a Credit Suisse analyst, who apparently met with Apple executives recently to discuss all things tablet. In addition to the execs pitching how the iPad wouldn't cannibalize Apple's other product lines, they outright stated that they'll adjust pricing if they have to:
"While it remains to be seen how much traction the iPad gets initially, management noted that it will remain nimble (pricing could change if the company is not attracting as many customers as anticipated)."
This actually isn't all that surprising, if you think back to the iPhone's launch in 2007 and the dramatic $200 price cut that followed just a few months later. That caused sales to surge 200% and garnered no small amount of publicity for the new device.
Bottom line: I don't exactly have $500 to $830 burning a hole in my pocket to spend on a first-gen device. So spread the word! And for goodness sake, stay strong and don't buy an iPad. Yet.
http://gizmodo.com/5466857/hey-every...nt-buy-an-ipad
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February 8th, 2010, 21:32 Posted By: wraggster
Okay, so Google has this expansive online translation service, which we all know, use, and sometimes even love. Google also has its own branded phone, with a voice recognition function that we frankly adore. So what's a brave new age company with bottomless pockets to do but try to splice the two together into some kind of omnilingual instant translator? Speech-to-speech translation -- long the exclusive plaything of fanciful sci-fi writers -- is said by Franz Och, Google's head of translation services, to be a viable possibility within a measly couple of years. The Mountain View approach to overcoming the inherent problems of variable pitch, tone and accents in speech will be to use each person's phone to accrue data on his or her linguistic idiosyncrasies, so that the more the phone's voice recognition is used, the more accurate it becomes. Sounds tres bien to us.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/08/g...ining-synergy/
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February 8th, 2010, 21:34 Posted By: wraggster
While the list of tweaks is absurdly small in the latest iPhone OS update, we know that some of you simply have to run the latest and greatest OS at all times regardless of risk. Fortunately for you, the Dev-Team has stepped to with a new version of PwnageTool (v3.1.5 for Mac OS X) that handles the update to iPhone OS 3.1.3 with aplomb while preserving your device's ultrasn0w unlock and jailbroken state. As usual, there's a litany of precautions depending upon the device you own so hit the source link and read the dev-team's words carefully before proceeding. With a little luck, patience, and undue stress, improved accuracy of your device's reported battery level can be yours -- Huzzah?
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/08/p...sion-obsessed/
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February 9th, 2010, 16:48 Posted By: wraggster
A new trailer promoting the iPhone version of Plants Vs Zombies has been released, revealing that the game is to be launched on February 15th. The tower defense title has so far proved extremely popular on the PC and Mac platforms, for which it is currently available as a download and physical product.
As reported by Touch Arcade the trailer, which is available to view below, shows that the iPhone version of Plants Vs Zombies apes the gameplay of the original, challenging players to cultivate mutated and aggressive sentient plants in an attempt to stop waves of marauding undead.
Using the iPhone's touch screen, users can select and plant different botanical aberrations to tackle a huge variety of enemies in the suburban setting that so often plays host to zombie invasions.
Plants Vs Zombies is created by the huge casual publisher PopCap, which is behind the Peggle and Bejewelled series.
http://www.casualgaming.biz/news/297...r-iPhone-dated
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February 9th, 2010, 23:05 Posted By: wraggster
Apple's reticence to reveal details prior to a product's launch is legendary. But when Apple extends this silence beyond a product's unveiling, historically this has meant that the product cannot deliver the functionality that analysts and journalists are asking about. InfoWorld's Galen Gruman lists eight key questions for the iPad, about all of which Apple has kept silent. Can you save and transfer documents to the iPad? Does the iPad support Microsoft Exchange email? Does the iPad support VPN? Configuration management? 'I have no doubt the iPad will be compelling to some users. But I now have major concerns that it will fulfill the potential beyond being an iTunes delivery screen that I and other industry observers saw,' Gruman writes.
http://apple.slashdot.org/story/10/0...le-Wont-Answer
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February 9th, 2010, 23:27 Posted By: wraggster
While Ubisoft has three relatively big-name games on or making their way to the iPhone by March, the company still remains on the fence about the potential of the iPhone market.
During their quarterly conference call, Ubisoft said that while they plan to launch a "few games" on the iPhone, they will continue to split development between internal teams and teams at sister company Gameloft.
The early results for iPhone sales were good, they said, but not good enough for the company to release their popular casual titles on the platform because, "it doesnt seem to be as profitable there as on the other platforms."
So no Imagine games. No Petz. At least not yet.
http://kotaku.com/5467835/ubisoft-re...-iphone-gaming
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February 9th, 2010, 23:33 Posted By: wraggster
Remember back in late January when the world was all abuzz with iPad news and, more specifically, we named a handful of game genres we'd like to see on the upcoming tablet? If our spidey sense is functioning correctly, the recent announce of "Gender Wars: The Battle" -- a "turn-based tactic game" (read: RTS) -- seems to indicate Last Flight devs Bloober Team are avid Joystiq readers (obviously BT got its ideas from our post -- don't be so foolish!).
The game (as described by lead designer Peter Bielatowicz) is intended to be "easy to pick up and play" with what sounds like paired down tactical commands for "casual players." Producer Piotr Babieno explains the iPad development focus by saying, "We believe that tactic games will be one of [the] best and most successful games on [the] iPad platform." He also notes that the game will be released at a "very low price" to entice players to get hooked on the "series" and prepare them for future "Gender Wars" titles. And no, neither Beilatowicz or Babieno explain why it's called Gender Wars, but we'll hopefully find out when the game releases this March alongside Apple's new device.
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/02/09/la...e-an-ipad-str/
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February 10th, 2010, 17:16 Posted By: wraggster
Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger and Guardian editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger have both praised Apple's iPad tablet, and its potential impact for their businesses.
Iger described the device as a "game changer", and suggested it will new kinds of spin-offs from the company's ESPN and ABC TV networks.
"The interactivity that it will allow as a portable device with such a high-quality screen will enable us to develop product that’s different to what we see on internet connected computers and TVs," Iger said, following Walt Disney's latest financials.
Of course, he'd be unlikely to slate (ahem) the device, given that a certain Steve Jobs is one of the biggest shareholders in Disney.
Meanwhile, the Guardian's Rusbridger suggests that the success of the newspaper's iPhone app could herald even better returns from the iPad.
"It’s perfectly possible that the iPad, if we get the right functionality and design, could produce interesting, significant revenue streams," he tells Reuters.
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/35971...uardian-bosses
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February 10th, 2010, 19:33 Posted By: Shrygue
via Gizmodo
The $500 16GB, Wi-Fi only iPad costs Apple less than half that to build, according to a recent component breakdown from iSuppli. And for the 64GB 3G iPad, Apple clears nearly $500 in profit. Here's how it breaks down:
This will no doubt be updated once iSuppli and others are able to do a teardown of an actual device, but those estimated profit margins are pretty stunning, particularly on the higher-end models. iSuppli also points out that the 32GB versions of the iPad only cost $30 more to make than their 16GB counterparts, yet retail for $100 more—a good indication that that's where they expect the sweet spot to be in the market.
Goes a long way to explaining why Apple's so willing to be flexible on the price, no?
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February 10th, 2010, 22:58 Posted By: wraggster
Opera is launching a version of its Mini browser for the iPhone in what could prove a landmark decision for Apple's app gatekeepers. Apple has been traditionally hostile to rival browsers, with Mozilla claiming that Apple made it 'too hard' for its rivals to develop a browser for the iPhone. However, Opera remains bullishly confident that its app will be approved. 'We have not submitted Opera Mini to the Apple App store,' an Opera spokesperson told PC Pro. 'However, we hope that Apple will not deny their users a choice in web browsing experience.'"
I can't imagine what would motivate them to do that.
http://apple.slashdot.org/story/10/0...Apples-Resolve
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February 10th, 2010, 23:12 Posted By: wraggster
A touch of history might be appropriate here. Back in March 2008, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen proudly proclaimed that his team was about to start coding a Flash player for the iPhone, only for his company to promptly backtrack on those words a day later. Then, about this time last year, Apple and Adobe again announced that they were collectively working on putting the ubiquitous format on Cupertino's mobile devices, but you won't be surprised to hear that hasn't born any fruit yet either. In fact, relations seem to have grown a lot frostier thanks to the iPad's Flash-less introduction, and an escalating war of passive aggressive words culminated in Steve Jobs calling Adobe lazy. Lazy or otherwise, Adobe is keeping track of its download stats, and it's taken the chance to boast that it received a cool 7 million download requests for Flash player from iPhone and iPod touch devices during December. We're hardly shocked by this number, but it seems to illustrate well the fact that so long as the two heavyweights continue playing an increasingly complacent form of hardball with one another, the only winners will be their competition.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/10/a...-requests-for/
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February 10th, 2010, 23:23 Posted By: wraggster
As you may have noticed, there were a few reports making the rounds earlier today that suggested Flash 10.1 for Android would be limited to phones running Android 2.1. Adobe itself didn't seem to be saying much about the matter, however, so we inquired with them and received a statement that raises about as many questions as it answers. According to Adrian Ludwig, group product marketing manager for Flash Platform:
Adobe, Google, and other members of the Open Screen Project are working together to make ensure the full Web experience can be delivered on largest possible number of devices. Support for full Flash Player 10.1 requires some enhancements to existing versions of Android. These enhancements are expected to be available as an upgrade to existing devices and for new devices starting in Q2 2010.
The key detail there, obviously, is that support for the full Flash Player 10.1 will indeed require "some enhancements" to current versions of Android, meaning that one way or another you'll have to update, and that an update for every Android phone isn't necessarily guaranteed. What the statement doesn't confirm, however, is whether those "enhancements" are, in fact, Android 2.1, or an update of some sort that will follow Android 2.1 -- we'll let you know if we get any further clarification on that.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/09/a...o-existing-ve/
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February 10th, 2010, 23:23 Posted By: wraggster
You've got to be one of the cool kids that shelled out a Benjamin to get into the iPhone Developer Program to get access, but if you're already a card-carrying member, it looks like you've now got a green light to download beta 2 of the iPhone SDK for OS 3.2. We don't know what's new, changed, or removed, but presumably, most of the updates would center around the sundry changes Apple has made to support the iPad in the latest version of its mobile platform -- so drop us a line and let us know what you find, alright?
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/09/i...2-busts-loose/
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February 10th, 2010, 23:27 Posted By: wraggster
You can now pick up a copy of Doom II RPG for your iPhone or iPod Touch for $4.
The game includes nine maps, three playable characters, more than a dozen weapons, 11 enemies and plenty of upgrades. Game dev Zenimax, aka id, say there's about eight hours of gameplay tucked away in Doom II RPG.
Here's there official description:
A mysterious distress signal calls your team-two hardened Marines and a rookie scientist-to a Union Aerospace Corporation research facility on Earth's Moon, but you were unprepared for what awaits you. The forces of Hell itself have taken hold of the station and its inhabitants! Zombies and demonic monsters roam the halls, killing all who cross their path. Your backup squad is dead. Mysterious scientists conspire against you. Even the facility's AI cannot be trusted. You are being hunted from all sides. Now, you must fight to survive, and try to stop the invasion-and uncover the truth-by any means available. The fate of all humanity is at stake!
Ample gameplay for fans of Doom and their take on role-playing games, but I think I'll give this a pass. I enjoyed Wolfenstein RPG, but I'm not sure there's enough new here to attract me to another mobile RPG.
http://kotaku.com/5468798/doom-ii-rp...phone/gallery/
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February 11th, 2010, 17:18 Posted By: wraggster
Bill Gates has given his opinion in Apple’s iPad, saying that he still thinks that a netbook offers better functionality.
Speaking to BNet, he said: “You know, I’m a big believer in touch and digital reading, but I still think that some mixture of voice, the pen and a real keyboard - in other words a netbook - will be the mainstream on that.
“So, it’s not like I sit there and feel the same way I did with iPhone where I say, ‘Oh my God, Microsoft didn’t aim high enough.’ It’s a nice reader, but there’s nothing on the iPad I look at and say, ‘Oh, I wish Microsoft had done it.’”
It has been noted, however, that this is almost exactly what he said about the iPod, before going on to launch the Zune.
http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/33140...riticises-iPad
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February 11th, 2010, 19:25 Posted By: Shrygue
via Engadget
Looks like someone at Google should fast forward those Nexus One design videos to the radio integration portion and figure out what went wrong, because it seems like the 3G coverage problem still hasn't been fixed, even after that last big OTA update. What's more, many in Google's support forums are noting that the phone will drop a weaker 3G signal merely when held by the bottom, as the video below clearly shows. Oops. We're not at all sure what's going on here, but we're hoping this issue can yet be solved with a software patch -- things are going to get messy if this is purely a hardware issue.
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February 11th, 2010, 21:23 Posted By: wraggster
What do you call a long press in the gesture area on a webOS phone? Well, it doesn't matter, because unless you said "meta-tap" you're wrong. That's what Palm has decreed such a touch will be called and so it shall be called -- at least officially. A long press in that area plus a key, like X, C or V to cut, copy, or paste, has been given this moniker by Palm in something of a nod to the concept of a UNIX meta key, a keyboard modifier that works like the Apple Command key or Windows Alt and Ctrl keys. Why bother with the clarification? Well, for one thing, "meta-tap X" is a heck of a lot easier to type than "hold your finger in the notification area and then press X on the keyboard," and that's the sort of efficiency we can get behind.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/11/p...ris-admins-wo/
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February 12th, 2010, 19:39 Posted By: Shrygue
via Engadget
We'd figured that RIM's ambitious (if not questionable) project to port the juiciest morsels of BlackBerry OS to a virtual machine running atop Windows Mobile was abandoned long ago, and for all we know, it has -- but the half-baked remnants of the undertaking are finally available thanks to the good folks at xda-developers.
BlackBerry Application Suite, as its known, has finally found a proper home in a CAB file that's making the rounds on the forums, and it's apparently been bolted together with enough duct tape to work on an AT&T Fuze. Well, "work" is a relative term -- you've apparently got to be on a BES server for it to work, you need to generate a valid PIN, and actuating the touchscreen requires a double-tap, but when you're ready to stop punishing yourself with this craziness, the cold comfort of WinMo is just a couple clicks away.
If you think you need this, odds are you really just need a Storm2, but hey, feel free to ruin your weekend trying to get this to work.
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February 12th, 2010, 19:45 Posted By: Shrygue
via Gizmodo
The WSJ has confirmed that Mic will introduce their newest mobile phone OS on Monday at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona. WinMo 6.5 is dead; long live Windows Phone 7.
The announcement will almost certainly come during Steve Ballmer's Windows Phone press conference, scheduled for 3pm local time. According to the WSJ, Windows Phone 7 will have an entirely new user interface that closely resembles that of Zune. This backs up what we'd heard from a tipster last month.
Apparently, Windows Phone 7 will look to fix the mistakes of WinMos past by working more closely with OEMs:
With Windows Mobile 7, similarly, Microsoft has gotten more involved in hardware design by creating detailed plans for a small number of handset "chassis" on top of which hardware manufactures can build their devices, people familiar with the effort said. The idea behind the plan, these people said, is to limit the wild variation in quality of Windows phones and to make it easier for independent application developers to write software that runs well on them.
One of those devices to run off of Windows Phone 7 is expected to be Microsoft's Project Pink/Zune phone, although that handset's considered unlikely to be part of next week's announcement.
It's still going to be some time before we see any Windows Phone 7 devices on the market, but it's good to see Microsoft getting in gear to replace the inexcusable WinMo 6.5.
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February 12th, 2010, 20:57 Posted By: wraggster
PopCap believes the iPad will need around three years and a hardware update before it will really impact the market.
But when that time does come, PopCap co-founder John Vechey told Eurogamer that Apple's new invention "will change gaming", be "phenomenally successful" and "fulfil a need consumers don't even know they have yet".
"The iPad's important but I think it's going to be more important in three years. Look how long it took the iPod to get the momentum where everyone has one. It's probably going to take the second generation [iPad] to make it really, like, 'Wow!'" Vechey told us.
"This is my opinion and I think it's going to be phenomenally successful. I really do. It's very simple; it's not like it has a magical set of features, just a great package. I know what I'm getting when I have to get my mum a computer now: an iPad. Because she can't screw it up, she can't download a bunch of stuff... That's the perfect mum computer, right? And it's the perfect computer for ten year-olds to play with.
"I think it will change gaming," he added. "Here's this new device that gets to more people with a really great e-commerce model attached to it. It's really easy to buy on the iPhone - that's part of what makes it successful."
Vechey was cagey about the company's plans for the iPad. "I believe so," he answered, when asked if PopCap was porting iPhone games to iPad. "I don't know," he followed, when asked what.
"I don't know if this is a PopCap position or my word, but we're certainly going to support it - I want to play Plants vs Zombies on that," he said. "It feels good to touch, right?
"The iPad would be perfect for real-time strategy. You can't have this really immersive gaming experience but it may actually be more fun than a lot of different game experiences you can get with a PC or console."
Exactly how PopCap will differentiate between iPhone and iPad games is another grey area.
"You know, we're still trying to figure that out," said Vechey. "It is a different thing but it's not that different. On iPhone we made the interface smaller and made touch controls. On iPad we've got the touch part down and now we need to make the UI better.
"I don't think it's going to be it's own thing separately, nor do I think it's just going to be what's on the iPhone. It's going to be, 'Oh, here's some more features for the iPad' - a little bit more cool, a little bit more immersion, but with the same core similarities."
"We're excited," he added. "The iPad's going to be awesome."
PopCap - maker of Bejeweled, Plants vs. Zombies, Zuma, Peggle, Bookworm and more - has big plans for the year ahead. Take a peek at Eurogamer on Monday for our full - and bloody long, actually - interview with John Vechey to find out what.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/po...-change-gaming
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February 12th, 2010, 21:08 Posted By: wraggster
Is anyone really surprised that Microsoft Senior Product manager, Mike Tedesco, said, "Yeah, it's something that we're looking at," when asked by T3 about Office for Mac running on the Apple iPad? Like any responsible corporation, Microsoft must keep an eye on developments in computing and align its resources accordingly. And when the majority of its wealth comes from the 1-2 punch of Windows and Office, you can bet Microsoft is looking at every opportunity that comes along. So while we fully expect Microsoft to take a wait-and-see approach to the numbers Apple can generate from the current dead zone between laptops and smartphones
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/12/m...fice-for-ipad/
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February 12th, 2010, 21:09 Posted By: wraggster
Eager to get in on the whole "using your iPhone to pay for stuff" revolution? Too bad your wallet is vehemently disagreeing right now. At any rate, the folks behind the Square iPhone payment system have finally seen fit to open up their solution to the public, but only in the form of a pilot. If you're interested to be one of the few scratching the impulse-buy-itch with a cellphone dongle, hit that source link to sign up.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/11/s...ayment-system/
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February 12th, 2010, 21:11 Posted By: wraggster
Oh boy. Research firm OTR Global is making some waves today with a report claiming that Palm ordered all Pre and Pixi manufacturing to be halted, but apparently they didn't look at a calendar -- or, you know, call Palm. We just talked to Palm and here's the real deal: Pre and Pixi orders were halted for the Chinese New Year on the 14th, and production will go back online at the end of the month. That's the whole story -- Palm also told us that production for Verizon was ramped up early in the year to cover the downtime, so there shouldn't be any effect on availability. We'll be getting an official statement soon, we'll update as soon as we get it.
Update: Here's the official word from Derick Mains, Palm's director of corporate communications:
Palm regularly adjusts its product manufacturing levels to manage inventory. In anticipation of the Verizon Wireless launch and Chinese New Year, we increased production levels prior to February, and anticipate ramping production back up after the Chinese New Year ends.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/11/d...t-on-hold-for/
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February 14th, 2010, 13:33 Posted By: wraggster
I'm more excited about Final Fantasy 1 + 2 coming to the iPhone than just about any upcoming iPhone game. It's Final Fantasy! For iPhone!
This is what it looks like in motion. You still have to use the traditional iPhone control scheme of putting your left thumb over 1/6 of the screen, and your right thumb over another 1/6. But still, it's not like this is an action game where you need to see everything on the screen at once. And that's why it'll theoretically transition well to the iPhone, letting you pick up the action whenever you've got a free second, but being able to save/pause when it's your turn at the post office.
http://gizmodo.com/5470649/heres-wha...will-look-like
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February 14th, 2010, 13:37 Posted By: wraggster
There's very little to go on at this point, just a series of photos posted to a forum by a device repair company, but if their suspicions are correct, this could be the front panel of the presumably upcoming "iPhone 4G." iResQ claims to have obtained the sample part from a "reputable source" that has provided genuine parts to it in the past, parts which iResQ uses for repairing products -- even if those products don't exist yet. Interestingly, the LCD is factory glued to the digitizer on this 4G wannabe (like on the original iPhone), as opposed to them being separate elements on the 3G and 3GS, meaning higher replacement costs. But most notable about this face part is the fact that it's roughly 1/4-inch taller than previous generations. Your guess is as good as ours as to why it's taller, since the screens themselves seems very similarly sized. We're also incredibly curious as to whether this here face would line up with that supposed 4G midboard we saw a little while ago. So, elaborate scam by iResQ to get its name up in lights? Prank played by a fun-loving parts supplier? Earth shattering iPhone form factor change unearthed? And just what is that "reflective surface" supposed to be for? Beats us.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/13/i...the-iphone-4g/
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February 14th, 2010, 13:56 Posted By: wraggster
Now the above headline invites all kind of mental imagery, we know, but we assure you this isn't some kind of sexual euphemism. That hunk of Brat you've been carrying around in your pocket (again, not a euphemism) can do more than provide you with a tasty snack. It can also help you play Peggle on your iPhone, if you happen to work in a milkshake factory or, like these Koreans, use the subway during those cold winter months.
According to machine translation of a Korean news article, CJ Corporation's snack sausages have seen a sharp rise in sales lately, most likely due to the sausages' close size and shape to that of the human finger. As the above image shows, sausage is all the rage with Korean male iPhone users. Again, not a euphemism!
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/02/13/us...e-in-the-cold/
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February 14th, 2010, 13:57 Posted By: wraggster
Both the DS and PSP versions of GTA Chinatown Wars have been well-received by gamers and critics alike, which inevitably spurred a release on the iPhone. And if you're an iPhone fan who's been looking to pick up the Apple platform port, now's a good time: it's on sale for 30 percent off this weekend only in the App store.
That brings the game down to a very manageable $6.99, and you can download it for that price up until 12am ET Sunday night, at the conclusion of Valentine's Day. We'd offer that it's also a good gift idea for that special someone in your life, but we wouldn't want to help produce any modern day Bonnie and Clyde types now, would we?
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/02/13/gt...-this-weekend/
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February 14th, 2010, 14:01 Posted By: wraggster
The headphone remote for the third generation iPod shuffle has a special chip that identifies it to the iPod itself. [David Carne] posted an in-depth report about the process he used to reverse engineering that protocol. He’s discovered that the remote uses a peculiar signal to identify it as authentic when the device powers up. We’ve talked about Apple’s use of peripheral authorization before and it seems this is no different. [David] did manage to emulate the authentication using an ATmega88. If you’ve got a shuffle 3G sitting around this info will allow you to operate it with a microcontroller in your next project.
http://hackaday.com/2010/02/13/ipod-...se-engineered/
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February 15th, 2010, 08:32 Posted By: wraggster
We'd already seen first hand what kind of GPU improvements Apple made with the iPhone 3GS (in comparison to the iPhone 3G, anyway), but if you've ever wondered how Cupertino's latest stacked up against Google's Nexus One in the graphical department, your answer is just a click away. The technical gurus over at Distinctive Developments set out to determine which handset was capable of pushing more frames per second when really taxed, and through a series of pinpoint tests, they discovered that the Nexus One (in general) lagged behind. The reason? Reportedly, Google's phone isn't using Neon floating-point optimization, but if it did, the scores you'll see just past the break could be quite different. Hey Mountain View, you getting all this?
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/15/i...te-test-video/
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February 15th, 2010, 08:35 Posted By: wraggster
Patently Apple has sniffed out the latest, and most comprehensive, trademark registration acquired by Apple on the subject of the iPhone and we thought we'd have a peek. Already entitled to use the brand name under international categories 9 (mobile phone and digital audio player) and 38 (electronic data-transmitting device), Apple has now added category 28, which reads shortly and sweetly as a 'handheld unit for playing electronic games.' Before you freak out and start fusing this into your iPhone 4G fantasies, note that Apple filed the claim for this trademark way back in December 2007. So nothing necessarily new on the tech front, but this document provides the broadest brand protection yet -- including the bitten apple graphic alongside the name -- and could strengthen Cupertino's case in its forthcoming battle for the iPad moniker.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/14/a...ronic-games-c/
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February 15th, 2010, 08:41 Posted By: wraggster
The Symbian Foundation has taken the wrappers off the first purely open-source version of its smartphone OS: Symbian S^3.
It's expected to be "feature complete" by the end of March, and could appear in smartphones in the third quarter of this year.
Improvements include an iPhone/Android-esque homescreen that lets users splash their widgets (so to speak) across several pages, flicking between them at will. There's also a built-in widget manager to find new ones, and the ability to install single widgets several times - for example for two different social networking accounts or news feeds.
HDMI support is also native to S^3, so users of its handsets can plug their devices into a TV and watch HD movies. There's also music identification and store capabilities built into the S^3 radio, so people can tag songs and then buy them from whatever store is available.
S^3 has also tightened up its memory management to allow more apps to multi-task at the same time, including on less high-end devices. Meanwhile, its graphics architecture is fully down with hardware acceleration and OpenGL ES, which should prove a boost for rich Symbian games and multimedia apps.
But - and this may be the biggest new feature from developers' standpoint - S^3 also promises 'one-click connectivity for all applications... without interrupting the user'. No more scary warning pop-ups when apps try to connect to the internet!
"S^3 is another huge milestone in the evolution of our platform," says Symbian Foundation executive director Lee Williams. "Now that it is fully open source, the door is open to individual contributors, device creators and third-party developer companies, as well as other organizations, to create more compelling products and services than ever before."
Even so, the Foundation is already looking ahead. "We are now looking to build on this momentum and remain on course to complete S^4 later this year," says Williams.
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/36037...an-S3-platform
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February 15th, 2010, 21:19 Posted By: wraggster
At least two of them sure seem to think so! Jailbreak scenesters Sherif Hashim and iH8sn0w are both reporting bannings—by Apple ID, strangely—following their latest hacks. Is Apple attacking jailbreak from the bottom up? Maybe.
Both Sherif Hashim and iH8sn0w were behind the discovery of recent iPhone exploits, and both are currently receiving a "This Apple ID has been banned for security purposes" notification whenever they try to log into the (actual) App Store to download an app. But. But! While Sherif's exploit was publicly documented, IH8sn0w's was shared only with the Dev Team. So: Is Apple somehow detecting certain exploits and banning automatically? Unlikely. Are the keeping an ear to the ground and banning active jailbreak scene hackers? Possibly, but that would be petty, and it wouldn't really stop them from doing their work. Is something incidental happening here? Probably.
The content of the error message is telling: It's the same dialog that pops up in OS X apps that use your Apple ID when said ID has been locked out due to a suspicious number of failed login attempts. My guess, though it's firmly a guess, is that some behavior or glitch associated with the hacks these people are attempting triggers some kind of heuristic response from Apple's servers, not explicitly because a phone is hacked or owned by hackers, but because something's just off.
Then again, this could go the other way, and signal a future in which jailbreakers—not just hackers—risk blacklisting their Apple IDs should they crack their phones. That'd be a terrible PR move on Apple's part, but it could be one of the easiest ways to quell the massive rise of piracy outside the App store. This would be kind of terrible! But I wouldn't rule it out.
http://gizmodo.com/5472033/is-apple-...iphone-hackers
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February 15th, 2010, 21:28 Posted By: wraggster
As expected, Microsoft's Steve Balmer announced Xbox Live support for the upcoming Windows Phone 7 series at the Mobile World Congress, but what exactly will Xbox Live users be able to do on their phones?
According to the official press release, not all that much. Accessing Xbox Live through the Windows Phone 7 Games hub will allow you to collect achievements, building your Gamerscore on the go, check out Xbox Live leaderboards, and manage your friends list. You'll be able to play certain turn-based games, though not in real-time - one player takes a turn, and then waits for the other to receive it and respond. And you'll also be able to look at your Xbox Live avatar, which you can do with any phone with a web-browser right now anyway.
"Windows Phone 7 Series was built from the ground up with entertainment in mind, and its unique design allowed us to bring some of the best gaming and community features of Xbox LIVE to the Windows mobile platform," said Ron Pessner, general manager of Xbox LIVE Mobile. "It has always been our vision to expand the Xbox LIVE service to connect people to their games, entertainment and friends wherever they go, and the launch of Windows Phone 7 Series is an important step toward that goal."
Mind you he says it's a "step toward that goal." Hopefully that means that we'll eventually have much more to be excited about as far as Windows phones and Xbox Live are concerned.
http://kotaku.com/5472043/how-xbox-l...hones-7-series
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February 16th, 2010, 19:59 Posted By: wraggster
Sony CEO Howard Stringer has revealed that the company's "committed to extending" the "rapidly growing PlayStation Network" to Sony Ericsson mobiles.
Stringer said during a speech at the Mobile Phone World Congress (via Lost Gamer):
"PSN is a not so secret weapon... Leveraging PSN we are building a new network service that will connect many more network enabled products including Sony Bravias, Viaos and Blu-ray players.
"And as part of these initiatives we are also exploring consistent user interfaces across Sony and Sony Ericsson products to ensure a seamless and integrated experience for the consumer.
"Sony's unique position as a company with global assets and expertise in entertainment content, as well as hardware and software, will continue to benefit these initiatives," Stringer added.
Just yesterday Microsoft said that its new Windows Phone 7 Series, set for release before Christmas, will support a range of Xbox Live features.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS
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February 17th, 2010, 22:52 Posted By: wraggster
The BBC has announced it will offer iPhone applications for its news and sport content from April.
The free apps will be followed by versions for BlackBerry and phones running Google's Android software.
The BBC said they had been developed because more people use "sophisticated handheld devices" to view content.
Several other news organisations offer iPhone apps, including Sky and the Daily Telegraph - which are free - and the Guardian - which costs £2.39.
Analysts at research firm CCS Insight said the apps would "increase tension between publishers of paid-for content and those reliant on other revenue".
The news industry is currently struggling to find a business model for the digital world.
"Whilst the BBC's impulse to enter an already crowded news and sport apps market place is understandable, the move belies the fundamentally competitive nature of the Corporation's approach to new services," Emily Bell, director of digital content at the Guardian, told BBC News.
"Applications are a long way away from being 'broadcast' media, and, unlike the web, they form a market which the BBC is seeking to disrupt."
In addition, she said, the "considerable cost" of developing apps for all platforms meant the BBC was in "territory most publishers could not afford to inhabit".
But Erik Huggers, BBC director of future media and technology, said the BBC audience "want to access the digital services that they have paid for at a time and place that suits them".
"Today's announcement means that we are catching up with our audiences," he told the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
'Open platforms'
The news app, to be released in April, will offer content from the BBC News website, including written stories, correspondent blogs as well as audio and video.
Users will also be able to send comments and pictures directly to the newsroom.
The BBC said the sports app will be released in time for the World Cup, which starts in June, and will initially focus on football.
Our approach has always been simple: web equals mobile; mobile equals web
Pete Clifton, head of editorial development
Read Pete's thoughts in full
It will combine content from the BBC Sport website and 5 Live radio, including live commentary and scores, and will allow fans to watch sports matches live on their phone.
The apps will be updated later in the year to include more content, including Formula 1.
A different version of the apps will be offered to international audiences, supported by advertising.
The BBC said it was also considering releasing apps later this year for its popular iPlayer service.
The on-demand video and audio player serves up 20 million requests for TV and radio programmes every week.
The BBC has said that it will initially focus on building applications for the iPhone but follow with applications for Google's Android operating system and RIM (BlackBerry).
It said it would also "work with other providers to enable these applications on their mobile devices".
However, the organisation did not mention specific plans for an app for Symbian, the world's most popular smart phone operating system.
According to figures from analysts CCS Insight, Symbian software is used on 47% of all smartphones.
BlackBerry accounts for 21% of the market, compared with Apple's 15%, Microsoft's 9% and Android's 5%.
The BBC does however already offer a BBC iPlayer app for certain Symbian phones.
Jim Killock, of the Open Rights Group, said that the BBC should concentrate on developing "open platforms" rather than building apps for closed systems such as the iPhone.
"That way everyone can access the content regardless of what device they are using," he told BBC News.
Several unofficial apps already exist on Android handsets and the iPhone.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8519783.stm
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February 18th, 2010, 01:00 Posted By: wraggster
An iPhone insurance carrier says that four in six claims are suspicious, and is worse when a new model appears on the market. 'Supercover Insurance is alleging that many iPhone owners are deliberately smashing their devices and filing false claims in order to upgrade to the latest model. The gadget insurance company told Sky News Sunday that it saw a 50-percent rise in claims during the month Apple launched the latest version, the iPhone 3GS.
http://apple.slashdot.org/story/10/0...urance-Company
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February 18th, 2010, 01:09 Posted By: wraggster
We came, we saw, and we're still scratching our heads over what Opera is up to with its Mobile World Congress demonstration of its Opera Mini browser running on the iPhone 3GS. But before we get into that, let's talk performance: it's fast. Opera Mini is very, very fast on the iPhone. Loading the New York Times, for example, was about 5x faster than loading the same page in the iPhone 3GS' stock browser. Pages loaded smoothly and were interactive just as quickly as the content began to load -- not unlike the Safari browsing experience. From a functionality standpoint, Opera Mini operates exactly as it does on other, less-contentious platforms. So while double-tap to zoom is supported, pinch-to-zoom is not. The iPhone version does, however, remember the state of the browser when you exit Opera Mini. As such, you'll find your tabs and recent pages right where they were when you last used the app.
The impressive performance gain has to do with how Opera Mini works. First, it's not doing any rendering of the pages or code processing locally. Web pages are processed by Opera's servers before sending just the results to the iPhone. Not only does this speed up the local processing but it also limits the amount of data sent -- a potential big money saver for people browsing while data roaming (like us in Barcelona) or for those without unlimited data plans.
Unfortunately, Opera refused to let us or anyone photograph the app or take any video of it in action. We couldn't even photograph the Opera icon in the launch bar or the wallpaper adorned with the Opera logo. Why? It looks just like Opera Mini beta on any other device so it's not like we're exposing any competitive intelligence. And it's not like Opera would be violating any Apple NDA related to the SDK or the app approval process. Unfortunately, Opera was unable to give us a valid reason other than, "you just can't."
So why is Opera making such a fuss about this before it has even submitted to Apple for approval? We have three theories that we discussed with Igor Netto, Senior Product Manager within Opera's Mobile group. Click through if you like conspiracies.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/17/o...-fast-but-why/
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February 18th, 2010, 16:10 Posted By: wraggster
The International Trade Commission is launching an investigation into iPhones and BlackBerrys with digital cameras, after Kodak accused the devices’ manufacturers of infringing its patents.
The commission said it had voted to go ahead with the probe, after Kodak filed a complaint against Apple and Research in Motion on 14 January.
Kodak has requested that the ITC impose an exclusion order and cease and desist orders in order to prevent Apple and RIM from importing the allegedly offending devices.
According to Reuters, Kodak has also filed two lawsuits against Apple, alleging infringement of patents that cover image preview and size functions on cameras, as well as certain other processes.
http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/33164...-Apple-and-RIM
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February 18th, 2010, 16:11 Posted By: wraggster
There's a popular perception that Apple has much work to do when it comes to its support for iPhone games developers.
Its approvals process is murky, its rejections are brusque and often without explanation, and its games teams reside in an ivory tower far blithely ignoring the concerns and requests of its developer community.
That's the theory. However, in talking to numerous developers this week at Mobile World Congress, and in recent weeks, a very different picture has emerged.
Apple has ramped up its behind-the-scenes efforts to work with key iPhone gaming firms - which includes some of the most talented indie developers, as well as giants like EA Mobile and Gameloft.
For much of 2009, the mobile games industry was effectively trying to guess Apple's tastes, as developers and publishers hoped for coveted featured spots on the App Store.
In 2010, certainly in Europe, Apple's games team has been visiting games firms to give direct, in-person feedback on what it likes and dislikes about their games - and about what it's looking for when allocating those featured spots on its store.
With tens of thousands of games developers, of course the vast majority aren't getting this personal treatment.
But the companies that are can ditch the guessing games about 'what Apple thinks' when developing their new titles.
This isn't a hymn of praise to Apple for the sake of it. It's just that there's an interesting contrast between the public image of Apple as aloof from its games community, and its private efforts in its role as a platform owner.
The company is starting to steer iPhone gaming, through these meetings and its choice of featured games. A fascinating development in the light of its rivals' efforts to court iPhone games developers, promising them more support and two-way communication.
That's why Apple's recent efforts are significant. Many of the key iPhone games in the coming months will have had the company's hand in them.
Arrogant? Anything but. As rivals launch more powerful handsets and look to get their app stores in order, Apple is taking its role as a games platform owner more seriously than ever.
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/36106...mes-developers
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February 18th, 2010, 16:16 Posted By: wraggster
EA Mobile has announced a licensing deal with THQ Wireless and Team17 for the mobile rights to the Worms franchise. The publisher has already released a new version of Worms, while also assuming the rights to previous games including Worms 2008, Worms 2007, Worms Forts 3D, Worms Crazy Golf and Worms 2.
However, developer Team17 is hanging onto the iPhone rights to the franchise, having taken Worms to the App Store for the first time last year under its own steam.
The deal isn't particularly surprising, given that THQ Wireless exited the non-smartphone market last year, leaving Team17 in need of a new partner for non-iPhone platforms.
It is, though, a sign of EA Mobile's desire to cement its position as the leading mobile games publisher in that business, having previously signed deals to distribute and/or publish games by Taito, Eidos and Namco Bandai.
It's now openly acknowledged in the mobile games industry that Java and Brew revenues are in decline - both Gameloft and Glu admitted as such in their recent financials.
Deals like Worms will help EA Mobile stem the slide in that market during this industry transition, while continuing to invest heavily in iPhone and other smartphone platforms.
http://www.casualgaming.biz/news/298...-mobile-rights
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February 18th, 2010, 16:20 Posted By: wraggster
Microsoft has launched the latest version of its mobile phone operating system, called Windows Phone 7 series.
The software has a redesigned user interface and incorporates many Microsoft services such as Xbox LIVE games and the Zune music service.
The software was introduced at an event at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
According to research firm Canalys, Microsoft's software currently has around 9% of the smartphone market.
That puts it fourth in the global market behind Symbian, Rim (makers of the Blackberry) and Apple's iPhone OS.
The new system follows the launch of Windows Mobile 6.5 in October 2009.
The new operating system has at its heart the three must-have features of the modern mobile world - search, social, and location
Rory Cellan-Jones
Technology correspondent, Barcelona
Read Rory's thoughts in full
"This is obviously a huge step forward," analyst Pete Cunningham of Canalys told BBC News.
"Microsoft have really struggled with windows mobile 6 and 6.5 and have been losing market share off the back of it."
However, he said, the firm could not "rest on its laurels".
"Although it looks good today and competitive today, the other other firms haven't revealed their hand.
"It doesn't launch for another eight or nine months and that's a long time in the mobile world."
For example, in a little over 30 months Apple has claimed 15% of the smartphone market, according to Canalys figures, whilst Google's Android operating system has claimed 5% of the market in around two years.
Games machine
Microsoft's new operating system is built around a series of so-called 'live tiles', which pull in real time content from a users web sites and social networks.
Microsoft's Joe Belfiore unveils the Windows Phone 7 series new pinch interface
User can create their own tiles, for example, to keep tabs on the latest posts and pictures from friends or relatives on social networks.
"We wanted the software experience to fundamentally focus on what is most important to each individual user," said Joe Belfiore of the firm at the launch.
The new interface also has a series of "hubs", which bring together related content from the web, applications and services into a single view.
The six hubs are people, pictures, games, marketplace, music and office.
The games hub, for example, incorporates elements of the firm's online gaming network Xbox live, including games and the ability for gamers to access their online profiles.
The music hub brings together music and video content from a user's PC, online music services and an in-built FM radio.
The first phones using the new operating system will be available later this year from manufacturers including Samsung, LG, HTC and Sony Ericsson.
"We have a chance to make an impact on the market," said Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer.
Although Microsoft will only provide the software for the phones, it will specify certain hardware requirements to manufacturers.
For example, all handsets will be multi-touch and will come with a dedicated hardware button for Microsoft's search engine Bing.
Manufacturers will also be restricted to the smart tile user interface, according to Mr Cunningham. Other operating systems - such as Android - allow manufacturers to customise the look and feel of the interface.
"That may make [Windows Phone 7] less attractive in the long term," he said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8515915.stm
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February 18th, 2010, 20:44 Posted By: wraggster
The drive for free software may be great news for iPhone gamers, but the increased price pressure on App Store releases has claimed a very high-profile victim – namely, Rolando 3.
The Rolando series – which is more than a little reminiscent of Sony’s LocoRoco games – was once hailed as the poster child of iPhone gaming. It was often cited as an example of strong iPhone-specific titles that allowed Apple’s device to stand chin-to-chin with established gaming rivals such as the DS and PSP.
But Ngmoco’s recent ‘freemium’ successes such as technically impressive shooter Eliminate has lead to the developer abandoning plans for traditionally priced titles. The result of this? Rolando 3 has been scrapped.
“Rolando 2 was right at the point where we decided we're moving this business to freemium,” Ngmoco boss Neil Young told IGN. “So I think none of us were really particularly delighted with the sales performance of Rolando 2.
“When we made the decision to go free-to-play, we said to ourselves, 'if we can't make the game free-to-play, we're not going to release it'. And Rolando 3 as it was envisioned at that time was not a free-to-play product. So we've just taken the time to try to figure out how to do that franchise really effectively in free-to-play space.”
Young does point out, though, that Rolando 2 has still delivered some of the goods that were expected of it – and a sequel of some sort remains a distinct a possibility.
“That being said, Rolando 2's done fine,” he adds. “It just hasn't done gangbusters. It sells every day and we don't really play around with the price on it. We just kind of keep it there and it does good, but not stellar.
“We're thinking about it and at the appropriate moment we'll deliver a new Rolando experience that takes full advantage of everything we've learned from the free-to-play world.”
http://www.casualgaming.biz/news/298...ead-and-buried
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February 18th, 2010, 23:17 Posted By: wraggster
According to Steve Jobs, running Flash video on the iPad would cut its battery life from 10 hours to a measly 1.5. At least, that was his pitch to Wall Street Journal execs recently. But could it possibly be true?
Well, yes and no. Jobs is picking and choosing here between hypothetical versions of Flash. If the iPad version of Flash were to have hardware acceleration, which Flash 10.1 offered up for desktops (though not OS X), that wouldn't be remotely the case. If Flash on the iPad were to support hardware video decoding where available, it wouldn't require nearly as much CPU. You'd lose battery life, sure, the same way you lose battery life watching any type of video on any system, but nothing near as dramatic as 85%.
Of course, that hardware acceleration isn't currently possible on Macs, because Adobe doesn't have access to the appropriate APIs. So Jobs can easily on a imaginary version of Flash that doesn't have hardware acceleration and come up with an imaginary battery life impact.
Jobs's bigger fib might be his description of ditching Flash as "trivial." It's not. While HTML5 is good, it's not great—yet. And even when it becomes great, it'll take major sites years to make the switch—however long it takes for the majority of internet users to stop using outmoded browsers. And that won't be for a very long time. Certainly longer than the first few generations of the iPad.
So. Would Flash make the iPad's battery life only 1.5 hours? Maybe, maybe not. But the bigger question is: will we ever get the chance to find out for ourselves?
http://gizmodo.com/5475005/steve-job...-life-15-hours
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February 19th, 2010, 19:51 Posted By: Shrygue
via Gizmodo
The guys at 9to5Mac have put together a profile you can install on your iPhone using a corporate development kit that gives you an alphanumeric passcode lock—versus the standard 4-digit PIN-style lock.
The settings profile's easily removed if you don't like it, but make sure you don't lock yourself out of your phone by forgetting the passcode. Also, it's entirely at your own risk, you know, in case it does blow up your phone forever.
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February 20th, 2010, 00:46 Posted By: wraggster
How good — or bad — are fake iPhones? PC Pro blogger Steve Cassidy has a friend who paid £25 ($40) for an 'iPhone' in a bar, and he's got the photos and full lowdown of what's inside this not-so smartphone. The phone looks convincing enough from the outside, with a genuine-looking backplate, but things start to go wrong when you switch it on. What's a "Java" and "WLAN" App button doing on the screen? And how about that Internet Explorer icon? It's like you're handling an artefact from an alternate history, dropped in via a spacetime wormhole. It has dual SIM handling, too, and came with a bizarre auxiliary battery festooned with warnings about not pressing a button mounted on the front of the top-up device.
http://apple.slashdot.org/story/10/0...Phone-In-a-Bar
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February 20th, 2010, 00:49 Posted By: wraggster
PC World reports that Google has acquired a popular iPhone application called reMail that provides 'lightning fast' full-text search of your Gmail and IMAP e-mail accounts. The app downloads copies of all your e-mail which can then be searched with various Boolean options. reMail has only been in the application store for about six months — with a free version limited to one Gmail account and a premium version which can connect to multiple accounts. 'Google and reMail have decided to discontinue reMail's iPhone application, and we have removed it from the App Store,' writes company founder Gabor Cselle, who will be returning to Google as a Product Manager on the Gmail team. Google isn't saying what the fate of reMail might be. Some are suggesting reMail could be integrated into Gmail search or live on in some form as a part of Android, Google's mobile platform. Another possibility is that Google may have snapped up reMail just to kill it, not because reMail was a competitor to anything Google had, but because reMail made the iPhone better or the acquisition may have more to do with keeping good search technology away from the competition, as opposed to an attempt to undercut the iPhone. 'Perhaps Google is just planning to buy up all the iPhone developers, one at a time, until Android is the only game in town,' writes Bill Ray at the Register.
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/10/02...h-App-Kills-It
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February 20th, 2010, 00:57 Posted By: wraggster
We'd already heard that Apple hoped to bring at least some TV shows down to the 99-cent mark on iTunes in time for the iPad launch, and it looks like CBS is now the first to officially come on board. While a final deal apparently isn't done just yet, CBS CEO Leslie Moonves has flatly told the Financial Times that there "are certain shows that will be sold on Apple for 99 cents" -- not exactly much wiggle room there. Other networks aren't speaking on the record just yet, but the Financial Times has previously reported that some have already agreed to similar terms, and are expected to start selling shows at the lower price -- possibly coinciding with the iPad launch.
Update: Peter Kafka at All Things Digital has some more info on this -- sources tell him Moonves was speaking off the cuff, and while CBS is open to a deal with Apple, there's nothing in place quite yet. Unfortunately, no one's going on the record here, so the situation remains hazy -- we'll just have to wait and see what happens.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/19/c...-for-99-cents/
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February 20th, 2010, 15:55 Posted By: wraggster
The Polish website Moje Jabluszko ran an experiment that proves the poor reliability of the liquid contact indicators (original, in Polish) installed by Apple in the iPhone. They performed three different tests to challenge the LCIs, which they recorded as a movie. They decided to mimic regular usage of the iPhone — meaning, you go outside where it could be cold or warm, then move inside in a building where temperature might be dramatically different, but still within covered conditions. So, they placed the iPhone in its box for one hour outside at -11 C, then moved it inside at room temperature for 24 hours. They repeated the experiment 3 times, and after the third cycle they could show that the LCI located in the audio jack plug started turning red! This is a clear proof that LCIs are not reliable and could turn red while the iPhone has been used under the defined environmental requirements defined by Apple. Here, only the condensing water could have been in contact with the sensor. In other words, even moving in and out during regular winter time will make you iPhone LCI turn red!"
(In the tech specs for the iPhone, Apple rates the non-operating temperature range as -20 to 45 C.)
http://apple.slashdot.org/story/10/0...Wintertime-Use
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February 21st, 2010, 21:50 Posted By: wraggster
I'm a full-time Flash developer and I'd love to get paid to make Flash sites for the iPad. I want that to make sense — but it doesn't. Flash on the iPad will not (and should not) happen — and the main reason, as I see it, is one that never gets talked about: current Flash sites could never be made to work well on any touchscreen device, and this cannot be solved by Apple, Adobe, or magical new hardware. That's not because of slow mobile performance, battery drain or crashes. It's because of the hover or mouseover problem. ... All that Apple and Adobe could ever do is make current Flash content visible. It would be seen, but very often would not work.
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/10/02...screen-Devices
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February 24th, 2010, 17:57 Posted By: Shrygue
via Eurogamer
Capcom plans to charge $10 for Street Fighter IV on iPhone next month - a figure that translates to around £5.99 here.
The price was revealed by GamePro along with confirmation that on iPhone there will be only eight Street Fighter IV characters to play as: Ken, Guile, Blanka, Chun-Li, Dhalsim, M.Bison, Abel and of course Ryu.
Street Fighter IV works on iPhone by displaying a directional pad on the left of the touch-screen and face buttons on the right. This appears to work very well, if a videoed demonstration can be trusted. Which it probably can't. The console-like presentation alone is worth a look.
There's no specific date locked down, but we'll let you know when one is.
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February 24th, 2010, 18:22 Posted By: Shrygue
via Gizmodo
I like the idea of this titanium iPhone body replacement, and that's why it's too bad is just a nice hyper-realistic 3D render. The fact is that, despite what the student who made it claims, it's not real.
First, the making of a custom, very intricate titanium part like this is a complicated and expensive process, one that would require ultra-precise CAD work and manufacturing. For CNC you will need a very high resolution machine, and molding is not available to anyone. Only someone at an aerospace company, a high end prototyping shop, or a factory would be able to pull this. That's why you don't see custom iPhone bodies in the market—I want them, please—unless they are Chinese mass produced plastics.
But the most important thing is the fact that there is not such a thing as a "special titanium alloy that is RF transparent." Titanium makes radio signal reception and emission very difficult. It's a radio insulating material, which is why the Titanium PowerBook G4 had such a crappy Wi-Fi reception. Sadly, the alleged alloy simply doesn't exist. And if it does, you would only find it at Boeing or Lockheed Martin's secret development facilities. Or Area 51.
If he discovered it, I suggest he patents the hell out of it and sell it to the military. They would love it. There's the issue of having the mute button in the wrong direction too, but it's ok. If you can create objects from nonobtamium, you can rearrange the circuitry inside the machine too.
More images at Gizmodo
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February 24th, 2010, 23:14 Posted By: wraggster
Apple has made the decision to ban thousands of apps containing adult content from the App Store, prompting fury from developers who say the company is ruining livelihoods and exercising double standards.
The BBC reports that thousands of apps with adult-themed content have been removed from the store since Friday - a move that, according to Apple, came about as a result of complaints from parents.
"It came to the point where we were getting customer complaints from women who found the content getting too degrading and objectionable, as well as parents who were upset with what their kids were able to see," Philip Schiller, head of worldwide product marketing at Apple, told The New York Times.
He added that a small number of developers had been submitting "an increasing number of apps containing very objectionable content" over the last few weeks.
According to iPhone developer ChilliFresh though, which has seen its app Wobble removed from the Store, Apple needs to be clearer on what it will and won't permit.
"On Friday evening we got an e-mail out of the blue which basically said, thanks very much but we don't want you any more. Apple said it was removing all overtly sexual apps," developer Jon Atherton told the BBC.
He said the company had gone from making £320 a day from its apps to £5 since the ban and called on Apple to publish its new guidelines so that developers were clear on the content they could and could not use.
"My view is that this is a knee-jerk reaction. Apple is very controlling. These apps are getting popular but the App Store doesn't have an adult section.
"I'd have thought there was a technological way of fixing the problem rather than pulling the rug out from under people's feet," he added.
Atherton also questions Apple's logic in deciding what to remove from the store. While many of the apps deemed likely to cause offence have been removed, some - such as those from Playboy and Sports Illustrated - are still there.
"The difference is this is a well-known company with previously published material available broadly in a well-accepted format," explained Schiller.
However, Atherton said his explanation was "wrong on so many levels."
"What makes it worse is that a LOT of people now think that the store is a safe place for their kids to go to without supervision – it just isn't because Apple have applied their guidelines unevenly."
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...pps-from-store
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February 24th, 2010, 23:24 Posted By: wraggster
US mobile games firm Factory Games has launched Valet Hustler, a game which aims to raise awareness about gay and lesbian marital rights.
The company is pitching the game (App Store link) as Tetris meets Diner Dash, offering 3D arcade puzzles around a virtual car valet business.
However, the two central characters - Ren and Akira - are both gay, with their sexuality central to the storyline as players progress through the game.
"We set out to not only create a game that is an absolute blast to play with incredible visuals and top notch audio, but we also wanted to make a social statement that gays and lesbians should have the same marital rights as heterosexuals," says CEO Andrew Littlefield.
A portion of the revenues from the 99-cent game will be donated to the Human Rights Campaign.
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/36153...lesbian-rights
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February 24th, 2010, 23:34 Posted By: wraggster
Galen Gruman writes about the dark side of the recent flood of Android smartphones: versions run amok. 'That flood of options should be a good thing — but it's not. In fact, it's a self-destruction derby in action, as phones come out with different versions of the Android OS, with no clear upgrade strategy for either the operating system or the applications users have installed, and with inconsistent deployment of core features. In short, the Android platform is turning out not to be a platform at all, but merely a starting point for a universe of incompatible devices,' Gruman writes. 'This mess leaves developers and users in an unstable position, as each new Android device adds another variation and compatibility question.' In the end, Google's naive approach to open sourcing Android may in fact be precipitating this free-for-all — one that might ultimately turn off both end-users and developers alike."
As reader donberryman points out, you can even put Android onto some Windows Mobile phones, now.
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/10/02...atible-Devices
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February 24th, 2010, 23:54 Posted By: wraggster
Whether you love it or loathe it, there is now no way to deny the spectacular success of Apple's iTunes Store. The proprietary digital media player, organizer and salesperson has just now recorded its 10 billionth song download, marking a truly unique achievement in the still nascent world of digital distribution. Congratulations to Apple, whose response has been to thank you all for spending so much cash and making El Steve look like the techno pied piper. Hit the source link to find out what the most downloaded songs of "all time" were... you might not be surprised by the top three, but you should definitely be horrified.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/24/a...way-to-the-ba/
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February 25th, 2010, 14:43 Posted By: wraggster
Zeemote has announced that its JS1 Bluetooth controller device has been accepted into Nokia's new Accessory Developer Program. That means the device - which started as a joystick for mobile games, but can now be used to control all aspects of smartphones - will be sold with a 'Works with Nokia' logo plastered on its packaging.
The company, which was recently acquired by Japanese firm Aplix Corporation, says it will be selling the standalone JS1 in Europe for €29,99.
"This is great news for mobile game fans who now have even more opportunity to purchase a Zeemote Controller and interact with their Nokia handset in an entirely new and fun way," says Zeemote's head of business development Jim Adams.
"By passing the Nokia accessory developer criteria under the Works with Nokia program we are one of a select group of accessories, which will be showcased internationally."
http://www.casualgaming.biz/news/298...al-for-Zeemote
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February 25th, 2010, 14:43 Posted By: wraggster
A new adult option for iPhone apps disappeared almost immediately
The controversy around Apple's policies regarding sexual content in iPhone apps got a new twist yesterday, when it seemed as if the company was about to allow adult apps again.
Cult Of Mac reported that a new category had suddenly appeared in the iTunes Connect service used by developers to submit their apps to Apple - 'Explicit'.
However, no sooner had it appeared and been reported on, then the category disappeared.
Tech blog Gizmodo talked to an iPhone app developer who claimed to have asked Apple about the mystery category, and been told that "it's not going to happen anytime soon".
http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/33192...-apps-category
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February 25th, 2010, 14:44 Posted By: wraggster
Russians are to finally gets their hands on the iPhone 3GS through official channels, eight months after the device began rolling out elsewhere in the world.
Distorted-Loop reports that each of the three major operators have now struck deals with Apple to offer iPhone 3GS from next month.
Prices will remain uniform across the networks, with VimpleCom advertising the 16GB model on its website for Ru29,990 ($1,000).
According to the article, VimpleCom, MTS and MegaFon have been trying to renegotiate terms of their original iPhone deals for sometime, leading to the eight-month delay in 3GS availability.
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/36172...ly-into-Russia
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February 25th, 2010, 14:46 Posted By: wraggster
New research from AdMob shows Google has work to do if it wants Android to be as big a market for paid apps as iPhone.
The company's January Mobile Metrics report includes a survey of consumers, which finds that while 50% of iPhone users buy at least one paid app a month, only 21% of Android users do.
The survey also focused on overall downloads - free and paid. On average, iPhone and Android users download nine new apps a month, while Palm webOS users download six.
However, iPod touch users download an average of 12 apps a month, making the device top dog in this metric.
What's more, iPod touch owners use apps more, spending an average of 100 minutes a day using applications, compared to 87 minutes for webOS users, 80 minutes for Android users, and 79 minutes for iPhone users.
The iPod touch is clearly appealing to a younger audience, too. AdMob says 78% of iPod touch users are younger than 24, and that the average iPhone user is 14 years older than the average iPod touch user.
The survey also found that 73% of Android users are male, compared to 56% of iPhone OS users (including both the iPhone and iPod touch).
Another interesting finding from the report: 17% of AdMob's ad requests in January came from non-phone devices - up from 12% in July last year.
The company also asked people if they were interested in buying an iPad. 16% of iPhone users said they were, compared to 11% of webOS users and 6% of Android users - with the latter group equally interested in buying a Kindle.
The survey focused on 960 respondents, although one gap is that BlackBerry owners weren't canvassed, since AdMob doesn't serve ads into BlackBerry apps.
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/36174...Android-owners
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February 25th, 2010, 21:17 Posted By: wraggster
Palm has warned that its revenues for its 2010 fiscal year will be "well below" its previous estimates of $1.6-$1.8 billion, due to sluggish sales of its smartphones.
In a statement, the company lays the blame on lower than expected order volumes from mobile operators.
"Driving broad consumer adoption of Palm products is taking longer than we anticipated," says chairman and CEO Jon Rubinstein.
"Our carrier partners remain committed, and we are working closely with them to increase awareness and drive sales of our differentiated Palm products."
Palm will give further details in its third-quarter financial conference call on 18th March, but says it expects its Q3 GAAP sales to be between $285 and $310 million.
Today's announcement will only increase speculation that Palm may become an acquisition target for rival handset makers in 2010.
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/36178...artphone-sales
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February 25th, 2010, 21:28 Posted By: wraggster
A new daily build of Scummvm has been released for the Wii, Iphone, Dreamcast, PSP and GP2X, heres the release news:
It's time once again to go out and test all your favorite ScummVM games as we gear up for another release of our humble little software. We have several new games announced as supported:
Blue's Art Time Activities
Blue's Reading Time Activities
Dragon Historie
Freddi Fish 5: The Case of the Creature of Coral Cove
Pajama Sam: Games to Play on Any Day
Spy Fox 3: Operation Ozone
TeenAgent
So, go grab your favorite games, and play through them using a daily build. If you find any bugs, report them on the bug tracker. Once you've completed a game, please report it on the forums so it can be added to the release testing wiki page. When reporting, make sure you provide the version, language, and platform of the game you're testing. Any other questions? Go see the Release Testing guidelines.
Download Here
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February 25th, 2010, 23:05 Posted By: wraggster
An anonymous reader writes
"Over the last two months I ported Quake 3 to Android as a hobby project. It only took a few days to get the game working. More time was spent on tweaking the game experience. Right now the game runs at 25fps on a Motorola Milestone/Droid. 'Normally when you compile C/C++ code using the Android NDK, the compiler targets a generic ARMv5 CPU which uses software floating-point. Without any optimizations and audio Quake 3 runs at 22fps. Since Quake 3 uses a lot of floating-point calculations, I tried a better C-compiler (GCC 4.4.0 from Android GIT) which supports modern CPUs and Neon SIMD instructions. Quake 3 optimized for Cortex-A8 with Neon is about 15% faster without audio and 35% with audio compared to the generic ARMv5 build. Most likely the performance improvement compared to the ARMv5 build is not that big because the system libraries of the Milestone have been compiled with FPU support, so sin/cos/log/.. take advantage of the FPU.''
http://games.slashdot.org/story/10/0...-3-For-Android
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February 25th, 2010, 23:08 Posted By: wraggster
In a talk intended to woo investors, Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook said the iPad will win over potential netbook buyers, but not because of specs or features. No, Cook said, the iPad's magical properties will seal the deal. 'The netbook is not an experience people are going to continue wanting to have,' Cook said, according to Macworld. 'When they play with the iPad and experience the magic of using it ... I have a hard time believing they're going to go for a netbook.'"
Another thing that would help would be a camera and a $100 discount, but hey Magic is cool too, provided they have enough mana.
http://apple.slashdot.org/story/10/0...oks-With-Magic
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February 26th, 2010, 20:17 Posted By: Shrygue
via IGN
Square Enix Inc., the publisher of Square Enix interactive entertainment products in North America, announced today that two RPG classics, FINAL FANTASY and FINAL FANTASY II, are available now for the iPhone and iPod touch. The games can be downloaded from the Apple Store priced $8.99.
Originally released for the NES in Japan back in 1987 and 1988, these two classic adventures return for a new generation to enjoy, available for the first time ever on the iPhone and iPod touch, featuring graphics, sounds and controls that utilize the capabilities of the new host systems.
In addition, to celebrate the releases, for a limited period only, five additional Square Enix apps will be available at new lower prices.
Both FINAL FANTASY and FINAL FANTASY II feature optimized control systems specifically developed for the iPhone and iPod touch interfaces, enabling users to play the game as intuitively as possible by simply touching the screen. Both games also feature extra dungeons, not available in the original 1987/1988 versions, allowing players to continue these epic adventures after completing the main story.
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February 26th, 2010, 20:20 Posted By: Shrygue
via MCV
The iPad will cost as little as £389 when it eventually arrives in the UK – that’s the claim being made by Geeky Gadgets which says it has received leaked launch price information from a mystery source.
The site says that the base 16GB model will cost £389, with the 32GB costing £439 and the 64GB coming in at £489.
If correct, UK consumers do indeed face a premium compared to their US counterparts. Across the pond the 16GB will cost $499 (£308), the 32GB $599 (£370) and the 64GB $699 (£433).
The site doesn’t yet have any information concerning the top-of-the-range 3G models.
The source also claims that the first shipments will arrive in the UK in April and not in March as Apple had previously suggested.
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February 27th, 2010, 21:16 Posted By: wraggster
If your handset doesn't get you out and about, tramping through mud, climbing around and hunting for hidden treasure, then something needs an upgrade. The iPhone, Blackberry's Storm and Bold lines, and many Symbian and Android handsets, now sport GPS, which makes your smartphone the ticket to join a global movement of outdoor games. These are outbound challenges that pit teams and solo players against themselves and each other in the search for hidden treasure, undiscovered landmarks, and hidden spots all over the world. This article delves into several of the best smartphone-friendly real-world games, each of which is a bridge between the online and offline worlds."
http://games.slashdot.org/story/10/0...our-Smartphone
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February 27th, 2010, 21:25 Posted By: wraggster
Hot off of game developer Gameloft's Twitter feed is this juicy nugget: Rayman 2: The Great Escape is coming to the iPhone on March 1.
That's Monday for you calendar-challenged readers out there.
The game features all 45 environments of the original 3D game and appears to use a virtual thumbstick and two buttons. What other Ubisoft titles would you like to see, or not see, make the leap to the iPhone?
http://kotaku.com/5481455/dreamcasts...hone-next-week
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February 28th, 2010, 21:42 Posted By: wraggster
Since 2006, Apple has regularly audited its manufacturing partners to ensure that they conform to Apple's Supplier Code of Conduct (ASCC), which essentially codifies Western ethical standards with regard to the environment, labor, business conduct, etc. Core violations of ASCC 'include abuse, underage employment, involuntary labor, falsification of audit materials, threats to worker safety, intimidation or retaliation against workers in the audit and serious threats to the environment. Apple said it requires facilities it has found to have a core violation to address the situation immediately and institute a system that insures compliance. Additionally, the facility is placed on probation and later re-audited.' Apple checks 102 facilities, most of which are located in Asia, and these facilities employ 133,000 workers. The most recent audit of Apple's partners revealed 17 violations of ASCC. The violations include hiring workers who were as young as 15 years of age, incorrectly disposing of hazardous waste, and falsifying records. In Apple's recently released Supplier Responsibility 2010 Progress Report (PDF), they condemned the violations and threatened to terminate their business with facilities that did not change their ways.
http://apple.slashdot.org/story/10/0...abor-Discovery
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February 28th, 2010, 21:54 Posted By: wraggster
When the iPad was unveiled in January, everyone could agree on one thing: it did look a lot like a big iPhone. Begeek.fr extends Apple's consistent design to its logical conclusion in the company's next two revolutionary devices.
I hear the iBoard's going to implement twenty finger multi-touch and the iMat's even going to support Flash.
http://gizmodo.com/5481923/what-comes-after-the-ipad
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