Remember when your first discovered Wikipedia and spent hours hyperlinking from page to page, reading random entries on everything from the numbering of U.S. highways to John Cage’s “As Slow As Possible?”
I had that feeling again over the weekend when I found Das Referenz, a new iPad app which takes it inspiration from old encyclopaedias and typeface design to create what is almost certainly the most beautiful Wikipedia browsing experience out there.
HTML5 is a language that is designed to work on all platforms. That means you can code your app or website and it will work on mobile devices, tables and computers. The best part is that you can put these HTML 5 apps right into an Xcode project – meaning you can design and program an HTML 5 app and upload it to the App Store – without having to write more than a couple lines of code in Objective-C. You won’t find a more efficient way to publish your hit app idea – and Cult of Mac Deals has a video course on sale that will help you deliver the goods!
With over 12 hours of content, the Master Web Apps Video Course will show you how to code in HTML 5 and deploy it to a native environment. Right now you can can get this course from Cult of Mac Deals for just $69 – a savings of 86%!
Recycling is generally perceived as a good practice to help save the Earth. In the new game Scrap Squad, it’s quite the opposite: You sort and recycle to dominate the world.
Tap and drag bottles, cans, paper and other refuse down a conveyor belt and into corresponding colored robots as fast as you can. Do you think you’re a good enough evil genius to top the high-score charts?
Take a look at the video and see what you think.
Forget about a close run race — the iPad is absolutely obliterating Android tablets when it comes to web traffic stats.
The data, which comes from Chitika Insights, looks at the distribution of Web usage across leading tablet devices for early April 2014.
Based on a sampling of tens of millions of U.S. and Canadian tablet-based online ad impressions, it leaves no question who’s ruling the tablet roost.
When a product wins both Red Dot Design and iF product design awards you have to take notice. We definitely did, and jumping on board with Gum Plus became easy.
Gum Plus is a stylish portable backup battery for iPod, iPhone, iPad and USB-powered devices. Unlike most backup batteries, the Gum Plus is Apple-certified. The aluminum shell makes this high capacity battery backup a durable and elegant looking unit that will provide you with all the charge you need for your fast paced lifestyle. And Cult of Mac Deals has the Gum Plus for just $64.95!
The app store is notoriously known for having tons of endless runner games. While some developers are sticking to the running genre, others have taken to jumping. The new app Jumping Jaxx is an endless jumper where players must swipe platforms on the screen to keep the character from falling into a giant wave. Dodge piranhas, catch powerful boosts and collect as many flowers as possible to reach a new high-score and purchase upgrades. How high do you think you can help Jumping Jaxx reach?
Take a look at the video to see what you think.
Police in Milan busted an iPad thief who used the device to take photos of himself, apparently unaware that the images could be accessed remotely.
Barely two months after I bought the original, Logitech has updated the Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for iPad, with matching new models for the iPads Air and Mini. The Bluetooth keyboards still work as covers and stands for your iPad, but now they also hold the iPad at an adjustable angle, and have a hidden hinge that pops out when your need it.
It’s easy to get a thrill from the action portrayed in the movies. While these characters perform bank heists and other risky situations, these are all far from being like our average days. When the office isn’t giving you a rush, the new app Bike Assault is perfect for you. Tilt your way through traffic shooting an armored truck, and catching as much money as possible, without crashing. Just how much loot will you be able to pick up?
Take a look at the video and see what you think.
Murky water and alligators may not exactly be something you see everyday. While some may live the swamp-life, others can get an entertaining feel of it in the new app Swamp Attack. Protect your home with your trusty weapons, tapping all incoming waves of enemies to progress from level to level. Do you think you can fight off all alligators, raccoons, turtles and more to keep your land safe?
Take a look at the video and see what you think.
iOS devices might be ruining your child’s ability to play with building blocks, according to a recent report.
Members of the UK’s Association of Teachers and Lecturers claim that addiction to iPad and iPhones mean that children aged between 3 and 4 have no problem swiping a screen, but have difficulty understanding real space, and possess “little or no” dexterity in their fingers.
“I have spoken to a number of nursery teachers who have concerns over the increasing numbers of young pupils who can swipe a screen but have little or no manipulative skills to play with building blocks or the like, or the pupils who cannot socialize with other pupils but whose parents talk proudly of their ability to use a tablet or smartphone,” says teacher Colin Kinner.
Wall Street consensus is that when Apple announces its Q2 2014 quarterly earnings on Wednesday, Apple’s year-over-year iPad numbers won’t look good. On the low end, at least one Wall Street analyst says that Apple will have sold 23% fewer iPads this year than last year in the same quarter; on average, Wall Street expects Apple’s iPad sales to have declined 0.7% year-over-year.
How can this be? This is the year that Apple unveiled the Retina iPad mini and the beautifully redesigned iPad Air, after all. How is it possible that these iPads can be selling worse than the inferior iPads a year ago?
Ex-Apple exec Jean-Louie Gassée has a theory, and it’s not one that Apple fans are going to be happy to hear: the iPad is a big tease, and fundamentally less useful than both a smartphone or a laptop.
Enter another dimension in the new app Unpossible. Dodge all incoming obstacles as you use tilt or touch controls running your way along a 3D pipeline. Avoid hitting obstacles at all costs as speeds increase and obstacles get harder to see. Do you think you can dodge your way to the top of the high-score charts?
Take a look at the video and see what you think.
You can also check out an interview with the developer behind Unpossible here: https://www.cultofmac.com/270311/play-cult-mac-game-developers-conference-liveblog/#liveblog-entry-157439
It’s looking like it might be a dreary quarter for Apple. Not only has iPhone growth pretty much leveled off, but most Wall Street analysts believe that when Apple announces its quarterly numbers, iPad sales will have actually declined year over year. Is Wall Street wrong?
Sometimes in life you just want to experience the excitement portrayed in every action-packed book, movie and television show you see. While your regular day-job may not consist of being a hitman on the run, in the newly released app Hitman GO this is your sole occupation. Strategically swipe your hitman across squared grids helping him reach his targets in this addicting new puzzler. Do you think you have what it takes to take out all of your targets?
Take a look at the video and see what you think.
I didn’t pay much attention in high school chemistry class, which probably put my grades even lower than Jesse Pinkman’s, but if the study of matter and science gets your curiosity boiling, ChemLabs has a chemistry learning app that would please Mr. White himself.
One of the most popular trends in app store gaming is incorporating birds into gameplay. While developers have created games based off of angry and flappy birds, one of the newest additions Burds keeps it plain and simple. Swipe and remove like colored birds from the board while coming across bombs, coins and so much more. Do you think you can handle this fast-paced race against the clock?
Take a look at the video and see what you think.
The StackUp iOS App Bundle is offering 12 iOS apps valued at $113 for just $36. Several of these apps are geared towards making your iOS experience a more productive one, which is why this particular bundle caught my attention.
To pick up any (or all) of the apps in The StackUp iOS App Bundle, you can head to the Deals page and click on the “Buy Now” button or use the “Text Me” option to get texted a link so you can directly download the app to your iPhone.
Knights of Pen & Paper +1 Edition combines two fantastic things: a brilliantly funny de-construction of a pen and paper role-playing game like Dungeons & Dragons and a mobile game that uses those very same mechanics to create a habit-forming experience.
Best of all? It’s going free on Wednesday at 8 am Pacific, so you should go get yourself a copy of it. Like, right now.
This story first appeared in Cult of Mac Magazine.
In Apple’s drive toward simplicity, one of the things which fell into the category of “things we can do without” were physical paper manuals.
While the Cupertino company does offer a 140-page online User Guide — which provides a passable intro to using your iPad (and currently has the advantage of being one of the few iOS 7.1 guides around) — Apple’s refusal to create manuals has fostered a cottage industry with rival products.
Ever think that the majority of freemium iOS games are basically mindless tap-fests, with demands only for cold hard cash, and none for meaningful strategy?
Take Jurassic Park Builder, for instance: a game I reviewed back in January, and was forced to grudgingly admit was “effectively FarmVille with velociraptors” thanks to in-app purchases (IAPs).
The game looks nice enough but — unless you’re happy to cough up money to get goals done quicker — all it asks of players is to tap the screen every few minutes to check on their dinosaurs or earn in-game currency.
If that sounds the kind of job a dumb robot could do, you’re not wrong — that same idea occurred to senior art director and amateur robot builder, Uli Kilian, who built a Lego robot to carry out the task for him.
Ever since Office for iPad launched a few weeks ago, folks have been claiming that it costs $100 just to use it. This isn’t true at all. And as of now, with Microsoft’s new Office 365 Personal plan for $7 per month (or $70 per year), it’s even less true.
Grovemade’s neat iPhone bumper cases offer protection to your phone, and although they’re a bit bulky they’re light and they look great. This new MacBook Back, a self-adhesive walnut panel, offers no useful protection, but it only adds 1.8 or 2.5 ounces to the weight of the whole package.
While many apps in the app store claim to have impossible gameplay, only some present true gamers a real challenge. The app Stickman Impossible Run is an endless runner that boasts tons of tough difficulty modes. Tap to help the stickman jump from platform to platform without dying as the speed gradually increases. Do you think you have fast enough reflexes to top the high-score charts?
Take a look at the video and see what you think.
This week we look at lightweight, easy-to-carry camera bags that are perfect for carrying a mirrorless camera, an iPad and a couple of other bits – because the days of crushing your shoulders with a giant backpack filled with DSLRs and MacBook Pros are over.