News - page 1683

Google Maps for iPhone was basically a hit before it even launched in the App Store. Anticipation was so high leading up to the release last week that the app shot to the top of the App Store’s charts in only a few hours. Given the widespread criticism of Apple Maps in iOS 6, Google Maps is a breath of fresh air for those that miss the iOS Maps of old.

While Google Maps may be great in its own right, Apple’s restrictions mean that it cannot replace the new, default Maps app in iOS 6. You can choose to use Google Maps for iOS whenever you want, but map links and directions in other apps will always open Apple Maps no matter what.

Luckily, jailbreakers now have a way to make the new Google Maps replace Apple Maps and become the default app of choice. If you’re wondering how to make Google Maps default on iPhone, there are methods to set it as your preferred navigation tool.

So, it’s finally here — Google released an official Google Maps app for the iPhone, and we love it. Not only is it back with a brand new look, it also has new features, and of course, the accurate data we’ve all been missing since Apple released iOS 6. Also in our roundup is a brand new 1Password app from AgileBits, a new Flickr app from Yahoo!, and more.

Have you been waiting for Google Maps to come back to the App Store before you update to iOS 6? Given the incredibly harsh media attention that Apple Maps has received since iOS 6 went live back in September, you’d think that there would be a significant number of users holding out for Google Maps to make its triumphant return.

Since the release of Google Maps a few days ago, there hasn’t been a noticeable spike in iOS 6’s adoption rate. In fact, it’s had no real impact on users updating to iOS 6 at all. Was the ‘Mapplegate‘ fiasco really that exaggerated?

One of the better Yuletide traditions is the venerable holiday Advent Calendar, in which each day of December leading up to Christmas is marked off on a special calendar by opening its corresponding door to find a small gift, toy or chocolate squirreled away inside.

So what’s behind the door on Saturday the 15th? Arcane Legends for iOS, a free-to-play, massively multiplayer online game (MMO) that’s bound to please.

This week’s must-have games roundup begins with a wonderful new building game called Middle Manager of Justice, in which you take charge of Justice Corp., a team of superheroes that are on a mission to save the city’s inhabitants. We also have Monsters, Inc. Run, a new running platform game from Disney; Sport Interactive’s latest Football Manager Handheld title, and more.

One of the best cloud-based services out there, Dropbox, has gotten its iOS app updated with a shiny new design and photo gallery, which adds its own tab and a scrollable timeline of the automatically uploaded photos from your iOS device of choice.

Tower offense game, Anomaly Korea, will be out in time for Christmas, says developer 11bitstudios. The sequel to Anomaly Warzone: Earth will feature new weapons, new levels, and new game styles, as well as the dynamic tower offense game play of the original game.

The aliens are back, and this time, they’re fighting in Korea. You’ll get to command a squad of troops and use tactical planning touch controls to lead them through 12 new missions against the new alien enemies.

If you’ve been waiting for a great time to buy the iPhone 5 Walmart is ready to seduce your money out of your wallet.

Walmart announced today that they’re going to drop the price of the 16GB iPhone 5 down to $127 starting today, and they’ve got other great holiday deals on other Apple products too.

Following the launch of Windows 8 and the Surface RT, Microsoft’s head of Windows, Steven Sinofsky, abruptly left the company. Some assumed Sinofsky would become the next CEO so it left many to wonder about the fate of Windows 8 and the approach they will take to software in the future.

Julie Larson-Green has been tapped to replace Sinosky and she’s started her reign by talking to the media about what makes Windows 8 special. While many view Windows 8 and the Surface RT as responses to the iPad’s popularity, Larson-Green claims that Microsoft totally didn’t even think about the iPad and iOS when designing Windows 8.

When the iPad mini first became available in Apple retail stores, it was hard to gauge just how popular it was among fans — and how well it was selling. It seemed that the tablet wasn’t moving as quickly as other iOS devices on their first day, and for many customers it was easy to walk into store once the queues had died down and find one still in stock. Some assumed people didn’t want a device that started at $329, didn’t have a Retina display, and featured older hardware.

Despite that, the iPad mini’s on track to become a hugely successful product during its first year. NPD DisplaySearch expects it to reach 100 million shipments during 2013, eclipsing sales of the larger fourth-generation iPad.

Apple just unleashed the iPhone 5 on China today so things should be going really well for the company on Wall Street as well, but they’re not. According to initial reports, the debut of the iPhone 5 has been somewhat muted thanks to a snowstorm hitting Beijing and a pre-order requirement to prevent rioting.

Adding to Apple’s pain, the company’s stock hit a 10-month low today and is trading at $511.58 – the lowest its been since February.

Apple’s been focusing their retail expansion overseas the last few years. They recently announced plans to build their first store in South America, and they’ve continued to open up new flagship stores in Asia.

Hong Kong already has two Apple Stores, but a third store is opening up in the Causeway Bay area this Saturday that is both massive and beautiful. The main feature of the Causeway Bay store is its 30-foot glass curtain wall that allows customers to see all three stories of the store while walking by on the street.

If you’re an AT&T subscriber and are having problems accessing your visual voicemail, it’s not just you. We’re hearing reports that a widescale problem is preventing AT&T subscribers from accessing their visual voicemail.

The Daily was the first bold publishing experiment on the iPad, the project that was supposed to be a shining light to show journalism the way through the murky path of the 21st Century.

Instead, it was sadly shut down earlier this month, with December 14th marked as the last day for the world’s first iPad-only newspaper.

Well, today’s December 14th, and the remaining staff of The Daily have opted to go out in style, sweetly releasing their own version of “So Long, Farewell” from The Sound of Music… with modified lyrics calling out various Apple products and the newspaper they’d worked for. Here’s the video.

Rovio, one of the most successful iOS developers around, has slashed all of its iPad games to just 99¢ for a limited time. That includes all titles in the Angry Birds series, the new Bad Piggies game, and Amazing Alex. Has Christmas come early?

Just as they did yesterday with the iOS App Store0, Apple today has launched their Best of 2012 awards for the Mac App Store… and this time, the clear winners are actually clear winners instead of head-scratching WTFs.

Almost three months after making its debut in the United States, Apple’s iPhone 5 goes on sale in China and 32 addition countries today. As is often the case when Apple launches a new gadget, fans lined up in droves in an effort to get their hands on the Cupertino company’s latest smartphone before it’s all sold out. Some stores, however, were unusually quiet.

When Apple rolled out a new App Store redesign with iOS 6, the Cupertino company removed the ability for customers to gift apps and games to their friends via email. Just in time for Christmas, that’s now back, making gift-giving for those getting new iOS devices a whole lot easier.

Ok, so we may not be rockstars (yet), but we just hit 1,000,000 downloads of The CultCast, our fun, quirky, totally off-base podcast covering everything in the wonderful world of Apple. That’s like earning a platinum record! Now we know what Led Zeppelin felt like… But we couldn’t have done it without our smart, good-looking, worldwide audience supporting us all the way. If you’ve ever listened to an episode of The CultCast, thank you, we love you, and we would like to hold your hand.

But enough self sycophancy! On our newest episode, we talk Google Maps reborn on iOS. We’ll tell you what we love, what we don’t, and if it scratches the itch we’ve all had since the demise of the last Google Maps.

Plus: why Twitter wants to be your next Instagram, and a new Flickr app rises from the ashes—but is it too little too late?

Join us on our newest CultCast! Subscribe now on iTunes, or easily stream new and previous episodes via Apple’s free Podcasts App.

Yeah, this is one of the least surprising rumors you’ll hear all day. But it’s sure to delight those who are holding out for an iPad mini with a Retina display. According to industry sources in Taiwan, Apple will indeed be “enhancing” the display resolution of its second-generation iPad mini, introducing a 2058×1536 panel with 326 pixels-per-inch.

One of the better Yuletide traditions is the venerable holiday Advent Calendar, in which each day of December leading up to Christmas is marked off on a special calendar by opening its corresponding door to find a small gift, toy or chocolate squirreled away inside.

This year, we here at Cult of Mac decided we wanted to give our readers their very own Apple-themed advent calendar, filled with the year’s best apps, gadgets, stories and other curios. So each day in December, we’re going to lovingly peel back the door on the Cult of Mac 2012 Advent Calendar to reveal another delicious morsel, something really special that came out this year that we think every one of you should enjoy.

What’s the prize for Day 14? A wonderful little app called Hueless that will drain all the color from your photos..

Have you ever used Google Chrome on your iOS devices to listen to music on YouTube, only to find it stops playing when you close the app? Sometimes that’s a good thing — you don’t always need videos to continue to playing in the background when they’ve been closed. But sometimes it’s annoying, like when you’re listening to music.

Thanks to the app’s latest update, you can prevent that from happening.

A very long three years ago, one of the very first appcessories we ever saw was this crazy-looking hardware clock that mimicked a virtual clock on the face of the iPhone. Whee! Yeah, we weren’t too impressed either. But these guys have the right idea about how to make the iPhone a better clock: add a massive snooze button.

What are you supposed to do with all the Apple logo stickers you get with each iPhone, iPad, and Mac purchase? Like, yeah I guess you could put one on your car if you’re into that, but then what do you do with the other 24 stickers you’ve collected over the years?

Redditor ebinellis decided to go super-meta and make an Apple sticker made out of Apple stickers. He says it’s still a work in progress, but unless he turns it into a Steve Jobs Apple-sticker-mural we think his work here is done.

Source: Reddit

The critically acclaimed RPG The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is now available on the Mac App Store. The development team promises that your choices really do matter, and will determine the fate of the people and kingdoms in the game. You’ll fight blood-thirsty monsters as protagonist Geralt of Rivia, as well as navigate politics, lies, and gorgeous environments.