In a world where Apple’s far and away the most valuable brand in existence, it’s easy to forget that once upon the time it was “the little guy.”
Which is why it’s nice to see Apple highlighting indie game developers in a new section of the App Store called “Indie Game Showcase.”
The section looks set to highlight different indie developers on a regular basis — both shining some much-neeeded light on particular titles, and also offering behind-the-curtain looks at particular indie studios.
There was a time when practically every new console or games computer you bought came with a title called something like Winter Olympic Games.
That time was the 1980s — and the games in question tended, for the most part, to suck. While it was probably just a way of getting rid of unsold stock, the games seemed purposely designed to rob your excitement at receiving a new console — featuring uninspired graphics, repetitive sound, and controls that didn’t work worth a damn.
Jump forward a few decades and I had severe flashbacks of that sinking feeling while settling in to play Cubed Snowboarding.
Q) What’s safer than keeping your iPhone in a soft case to protect against unexpected falls and impacts? A) a soft case that just happens to give you accidental damage insurance.
That’s the neat concept behind iSkin’s new Claro GearCare combo, which combines the clarity of a hard plastic case, the protection of a soft-gel case and the security of, well, a good warranty service — thanks to an included GearCare Accidental Damage Warranty Service.
Want to know what a library created by Apple might look like?
A public library in San Antonio, called BiblioTech, has become the U.S.’s first bookless public library — letting patrons check out five e-books at a time either on their home devices, or using the tablets or one of the 48 iMac computers featured in the Apple Store-inspired library.
Since updating to iOS 7.1, a number of users have complained of tethering issues — meaning that information doesn’t save when trying to entering custom APN settings into a device’s Cellular menu.
In the update, Apple has apparently disabled users from setting up Personal Hotspots on carriers who either aren’t official iPhone partners, or who don’t support the feature.
If you’re looking for a one-stop-shop to aggregate all your recent updates from various social networks, you may want to take a look at the newly-launched Recents iOS app.
Currently supporting Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr, the app features a clean interface optimized for viewing different types of content — whether that be an article from Facebook or Twitter, or a photo or video from Instagram or Tumblr.
Employees at the Minneapolis-based FirstTech store — the world’s first Apple reseller — learned on Wednesday that the store will be closing down at the end of March, after 73 years in business.
“I had no idea it would happen this soon,” onetime FirstTech worker Tom Schmidt tweeted. “But I honestly thought it was inevitable.”
BlackBerry CEO John Chen recently dismissed iPhone users as “wall huggers” due to his suggestion that they constantly have to hug walls looking for electricity sockets to stop their phones running out of battery midday.
Two patents published Thursday show that Apple is not taking similar criticism lying down, as it actively investigating the possibility of intelligently discerning when, where and how we use our iOS devices — and utilizing this information to tweak performance to prolong battery life.
Venus — the 256-foot super-yacht, commissioned by Steve Jobs — has been sighted in Mexico’s Cabo San Lucas bay.
Despite telling journalist John Markoff in 1980 that, “There’s no yacht in my future,” Jobs began working on building his dream sailing vessel around 2008 prior to his liver transplant. Jobs commissioned legendary French designer Philippe Starck to design the yacht, which cost more than €100 million to build, although Jobs died before he was able to use it.
Recently Cult of Mac described how among Siri’s Easter eggs is a whole back story — programmed by her creators, and accessible by asking just the right questions.
Beginning life as a five-year DARPA-backed project to build an intelligent virtual assistant, Siri certainly has some stories to tell: if only we could gain access to them.
When I wrote my story a couple of weeks ago, I asked readers to send in any insights they managed to unlock. Dallas-based tech columnist and CoM reader Jim Rossman read the article and sent in some interesting screenshots from his own conversations with Siri — revealing some insights that go beyond her usual “I was designed by Apple in California” spiel.
As great as it when a new game, specifically designed for iOS, makes its way to the App Store, just as good is the appearance of new ports of classic games.
The latter is what we have with the newly-released Shin Megami Tensei — only with the added twist that this classic game has never previously been officially released outside Japan.
Video sharing website Vimeo has acquired Cameo, a video-making app which launched last October.
Giving users the ability to create sophisticated video effects, including the ability to combine footage from multiple cameras, Cameo received plaudits from Apple, who named it in their “Best of 2013” awards.
Cult of Mac described the app as “Vine, but all grown up with muscles, a flashy wardrobe and a hip music collection.”
Want to be able to order and pay for burgers using your iPhone?
Burger King has announced that it will be releasing a dedicated mobile app, featuring a Passbook-style virtual card that allows users to load on cash and then use this to make payments.
According to an article published by Bloomberg, the Burger King app will also include “coupons for deals, such as $1 any-size drinks and free fries, as well as nutrition facts.” A feature allowing you to place an order for pick-up at a later time will additionally be included.
Apple’s brand value is more than the total cost of the Apollo Space Program in today’s dollars, according to a new report by brand consulting agency Brand Finance.
Apple topped a list of 500 firms — including heavyweights like Walmart, Google, and AT&T — to be named the most valuable billion-dollar U.S. brand name.
Brand Finance compiled the list by estimating the royalty rate that would be charged to use a company’s brand, taking into account current and expected future revenue. Notably Apple was the only brand to have surpassed the $100 billion mark, being valued at $104.7 billion.
People who were gaming during the late 1990s may well have fond memories of the long-dormant franchise RollerCoaster Tycoon franchise.
A series of construction and management sims that let you build and run your own theme park, developers Atari recently announced that they are creating a mobile version of the game called RollerCoaster Tycoon 4 Mobile, which is set to debut on iOS very soon.
In the time it took you to type the words “Cult of Mac” into your web browser and read up to here in this article, Apple made approximately $162,585.
That’s the amount the Cupertino company earns every 30 seconds according to a new data visualization created on behalf of WorldPay Zinc — showing just how much revenue and profit Apple and its fellow tech giants make on a rolling basis.
Writing a book about any technology company is hard. Books take a long time to write, and a longer time to make it into print and arrive in stores. Technology, on the other hand, moves quickly. As a tech author, you have two options. One is to write a book that tries its best to be timely by making it to market as soon as possible. The other is to wait until a book-length narrative has unfolded, and then to write about it. Tech writers, I suggest, would typically prefer the latter. Book publishers prefer the former.
For many people, their iPhone has long cemented its place as their primary camera.
A newly granted patent, published Tuesday, looks to build on that reputation by adding a remote control capable of operating the iPhone camera.
The “Systems and Methods for Remote Camera Control” patent describes a wireless iOS attachment, featuring a built-in display for both previewing and reviewing photos. The accessory would let users to remotely switch between different typing types of recording (both stills and movies), and also between camera and playback mode.
Rovio Entertainment has soft-launched its latest Angry Birds title.
Named Angry Birds Epic, the turn-based RPG (yes, really!) is available for iPhone and iPad in the New Zealand, Australian and Canadian App Stores now.
Siri didn’t become a feature of iOS until the launch of the iPhone 4s in October 2011.
A patent published Tuesday, however, shows how the idea of the “intelligent automated assistant” that would become Siri was being worked on as far back as 2006 — before the first iPhone was even unveiled.
It’s well known that Apple can be very controlling about what makes it into the App Store — cracking down on everything from Flappy Bird clones to games which feature the word “enemy” in recent times.
But Apple’s latest target might surprise you a bit more: Steve Jobs apps.
The duo who discovered this were sibling developers John and Grant Gill. They created an app called Quoth Steve, which offered daily quotes from Apple’s late CEO on everything from business and design, to love and regrets. The pair submitted the app late in December, hoping to launch it January 1.
Production of the iPhone 6 is set to begin next quarter.
According to a report in the Commercial Times, Taiwan’s Pegatron Corp — which assembles the iPhone and iPad — is opening up new factory space and recruiting new workers in China to meet the orders it has received from Apple for the iPhone 6.
It is not known how many units would be manufactured by Pegatron, although it is suggested that fellow Taiwanese contract assembler Foxconn will be the iPhone 6’s other primary manufacturer.
Apple has re-introduced its fourth-generation iPad, this time with only a 16GB capacity.
The revived model replaces the aging iPad 2 — originally released in early 2011 — in Apple’s lineup. Like the iPad mini with Retina Display, it is priced at $399, making it $100 than the iPad Air. A cellular model is also available for $529.
The iPhone 5c flopped in the U.S. — and now figures released by Umeng, China’s largest app analytics platform, suggest that things aren’t much different in China.
In the fourth month since its launch in China, the colorful iPhone 5c accounted for slightly less than 2% of all active iOS devices on Umeng’s app analytics network.
By comparison, the iPhone 5s represented 12% of the market — while the iPhone 5 remains a consistent seller.
Fancy playing a strategy game that takes you back to the heyday of the genre, with classic series like Heroes of Might and Magic?
Newly-launched iOS game Braveland is a turn-based game that lets you begin as a humble warrior’s sun and rise up, using your wits and skill, to become a commander of your own army.
Taking place on a hexagonal battlefield, it includes RPG style elements that allow you to evolve your hero and customize your army, as well as high definition illustrated cartoon art.