New retro-styled JRPG puzzle game Block Legend made it to the App Store today — and it’s accompanied by the most entertaining game trailer we’ve seen in ages.
Inviting players to travel through a range of different lands fighting monsters and completing quests, Block Legend combines tile-breaking gameplay with a massive world populated by different characters.
According to a new report, iPhone users are 46% less likely than other smartphone owners to need a replacement device due to accidental damage — but 65% more likely to have their device stolen or lost.
The insight comes from third-party insurance company ProtectCell, who based their findings on 2 million policies with various mobile device owners.
Award-winning Reuters photojournalism app The Wider Image has just been updated to version 3.0.
Originally arriving on iOS platforms in October 2012, The Wider Image lets users explore the world through captivating visual stories from award-winning Reuters photojournalists.
In addition to images, each story provides additional interactive content in the form of expanded facts and quotes, along with audio materials, and more.
Twitter’s video sharing social network Vine will no longer tolerate porn.
In a new blog post, the company claimed that it has no problem with explicit sexual content on the Internet — they just prefer not to be the source of it.
“As we’ve watched the community and your creativity grow and evolve, we’ve found that there’s a very small percentage of videos that are not a good fit for our community,” Vine wrote.
Stack Motion is a fin new app that helps you cut somebody or something out of your photos and overlay it on top of another photo, or even a video. That’s pretty much the whole premise right there, but there are some clever features to help make it easy.
How much coffee do you drink? If you drink any at all, then the answer is probably “Too much.” And how does all that caffeine affect you? Now, with Jawbone’s new Up Coffee app, you can find out.
Findery, from inventor of Flickr Caterina Fake, is like Instagram for places, or maybe Foursquare for everywhere – even that street corner you like or the park bench you read on sometimes on Sundays.
Findery is a an iOS app and web site, and it lets you save pictures and make notes about places, and either share them with anyone, or just people you know, or even just yourself.
Wello is an iPhone case that costs $200, and monitors your vital signs like a pocket Dr. McCoy. Why would you buy such a thing? Science, bitches! Also, Stanley Kubrick stars in the promo video.
Native Union’s Gripster case is now available for the iPad Air, and it looks like the perfect accessory for folks who own an iPad air and also have hands. Yes, hands – those prehensile utilihooks at the ends of your chestal meat-sticks.
The case combines a grip, a stand and a cover, and is possible even better suited to the Air than it is to the mini, for which it is already available.
Hey dorks, great news! Toady is the day you get to fill up your utility belt with… With really dorky stuff. The brand new Modular Pixel Pocket Rocket is perhaps the hottest thing that’s gonna get near your pants pocket this year. You lucky dog you.
It was only a matter of time, but here it is: TwelveSouth’s BookBook Case for the iPad Air, which makes your fifth-gen Apple tablet look the very model of some ancient, dusty tome, just plucked off of the shelf from the Library of the House of Usher.
Both obfuscating your iPad’s value from thieves and protecting it, the BookBook Case is a perpetual fave here at Cult of Mac.
Like previous models, it allows you to prop up your iPad at a 30 degree angle, both for typing and movie viewing. It comes in black and brown leather varieties — no red yet, sadly — and costs $79.99.
Source: TwelveSouth
Apple’s surprise announcement of CarPlay turned a lot of heads. Bizarrely running on Blackberry’s QNX platform, of all things, CarPlay will launch through partnerships with Volvo, Mercedes, and Ferrari. But how hard will it be for other developers to add CarPlay support to their apps?
The good news is the answer is: ‘not very.’ But the bad news is, Apple’s the gatekeeper to when that happens, and they won’t open up access until they are convinced CarPlay is safe.
It was only a week ago that Apple released OS X 10.9.2, a critical update that fixed a major SSL vulnerability that allowed anyone on the same WiFi network intercept your data.
In Apple World, though, things never stop moving. So here comes OS X 10.9.3’s first beta, which is now available to developers via Software Update or Apple’s developer portal.
There’s no explicit release notes, although Apple has asked developers to focus on graphics and audio. Thankfully missing is any mention of Mail, which has experienced a number of problems since OS X Mavericks was released last October. Perhaps the debacle is finally over.
An updated version of the iTunes Festival app has appeared in the App Store. According to Apple’s release notes, the update includes a “refreshed design” and the ability to stream the upcoming festival at SXSW next week.
While the update is visible in the App Store, it can’t be downloaded in the U.S. currently. Instead, a message saying the app is temporarily unavailable is displayed.
A recent rumor said that the iTunes Festival SXSW update would require iOS 7.1, but Apple has yet to release that update. The App Store says iOS 7.0+ is needed to install the new iTunes Festival 5.0 app.
Update: Users in most countries are able to download the app now.
Source: App Store
Via: MacStories
As laptop speakers go, those built into Apple’s MacBooks aren’t bad — particularly if you have a MacBook Pro. But they can be so much better. Plug Twelve South’s BassJump 2 into one of your USB ports and you have a mini sound-system that dramatically improves your MacBook’s audio performance.
Whether you’re listening to music, watching a movie, or just enjoying a podcast, the BassJump 2 subwoofer gives you significantly richer and fuller sound that you won’t believe is coming from your MacBook. There’s no need for expensive external speakers that take up too much room in your bag, or headphones that limit the experience to just one person.
The BassJump 2 is priced at $69.99, and Twelve South calls it “an essential road tool for listening to and editing tracks on the tour bus, hotel room or anyplace else your music takes you.” Now, I’m no musician or music producer — but I definitely agree.
After turning your device on and off throughout the day it can be easy to get tired of your lock screen. While normal wallpapers can offer you a basic lock screen experience, the app FancyLock can offer so much more. Create your own personalized lock screens in seconds, thanks to tons of cool themes.
Take a look at FancyLock and find out what you think.
This is a Cult Of Mac video review of the iOS application FancyLock brought to you by Joshua Smith of “TechBytes W/Jsmith.”
Browsing the App Store can be a bit overwhelming. Which apps are new? Which ones are good? Are the paid ones worth paying for, or do they have a free, lite version that will work well enough?
Well, if you stop interrogating me for a second, hypothetical App Store shopper, I can tell you about this thing we do here.
Every week, we highlight some of the most interesting new apps and collect them here for your consideration. This time, our picks include a granular finance system, an especially informative compass, and a really complicated camera.
Here you go:
Nobody hopes for a war or a natural disaster or an alien invasion from beyond the stars, but they like to know that if any of those things do happen their family will all be on the same page about where to go and what to do.
Emergency Plan helps out by keeping meeting locations, contacts, and even basic medical information all in one place so nobody has to dig or guess about anything while they’re running in a zigzag fashion down Main Street to throw off the cybertanks’ laser-guided heat rays.
Or if there’s like a tornado or something. Either one.
Emergency Plan – Free | Another Cup of Coffee
I don’t know who makes these rules, but apparently, “society” wants men to wear clothes.
But how does one decide which clothes to wear? Dapper wants to help. It’s a shopping app that collects items from several different stores and arranges them into categories like office, casual and active. When you see something you like, you can add it to your “Daplist” or put it in your cart. You can swipe left on items you don’t like and banish them to the Phantom Zone.
You can create an account to purchase right from the app, or you can just be one of “those customers” and nose around with no intention to buy. That’s what I do.
Dapper – Free | Dapper Shopping, Inc.
You’ve probably seen the do-it-yourself, social media comics called Bitstrips in your Facebook feed at one time or another, and maybe you want to see more, or you’d like to find some that might actually be funny.
Best Strips for Bitstrips can help: it only posts strips that pass muster with the moderators. You can rate what’s there and even submit your own for consideration, if you’re feeling confident and/or brave.
Or you can just keep taking your chances with the ones in your feed, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
Best Strips for Bitstrips – Free | Echo Bay Apps
GyroScan is a little intimidating.
It works a lot like the panorama function on your iPhone’s camera, but you can capture a complete 360-degree image either horizontally or vertically by spinning in a circle or rotating your phone up or down. When you look at the instructions, it all gets very technical, but once you work with it for a little while — and maybe rig something up to keep your phone still — you can get some really good results.
You can also scan in “stereo mode” and make 3D pictures, but that’s just showing off, GyroScan.
GyroScan – $0.99 | Intelligent Gadgets
Alright, so your iPhone already has a compass built right into it, but if you want a little more information in your orienteering, you might want to look into this app.
In addition to the standard “North is over there” bit, DueNorth will also give you your latitude and longitude, and plunking your finger down anywhere on the screen will tell you which direction and heading you’re prodding. Plus, the display has a Night Mode, so you can figure out how to get out of the woods without every bear in the vicinity knowing that you’re lost.
Mac game publisher Aspyr Media announced Thursday the release of the latest update of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, the iOS port of the classic role-playing game set in the Star Wars universe.
The update is free and includes much-asked for support for Made-For-iPhone (MFi) controllers like the Steel Series Stratus, Moga Ace Power Controller, or the Logitech PowerShell. In addition, the team has added iCloud saves and new supported languages including English, French, Italian, German and Spanish.
After four years of strong growth thanks to the introduction of the iPad, tablet sales are already expected to start leveling off over the next year, according to the latest estimates from IDC.
Slowing consumer purchases is mostly to blame, says IDC, as tablet owners aren’t keen to purchase new devices as frequently anymore, but are opting for higher quality devices to be used longer term.
It’s not likely that anyone consistently takes pictures that look like one of the supervillains’ hideouts in the old Batman TV show, but even a slight tilt can make a photo look strange. Orient is an app that will eliminate your photography’s chronic case of the skews by using your iPhone’s gyroscope to ensure that every shot you take is level and straight.
You can choose from a bunch of aspect ratios, and then Orient works almost exactly like your regular Camera app, complete with Instagram-style filters.
Just, you know. Straighter.
Sometimes, you just gotta break something.
But you probably don’t want to break your own stuff, and people get mad when you smash up their things. This is where gaming often enters the picture: It’s an environment in which you can demolish the crap out of things with no consequences. And it’s even more satisfying when the things break realistically.
Smash Hit is a game about literally that, and it’s incredibly satisfying.
Compact Bluetooth speakers are one of the most useful electronic inventions since the MP3 player. Though smaller, more portable speakers are great on the go, but they lack the power often needed around the house or in the backyard. Cult of Mac Deals has a special edition Bluetooth speaker that doesn’t just sound great…it looks great, too.
Freaq n’ Fabulous is a re-envisioned version of Soundfreaq’s highly-praised, compact Bluetooth speaker, the Sound Step. This hi-fi speaker delivers crystal clear audio with its signature sound profile, crafted for natural bass response and vocal clarity. And you can get it for only $99 – 34% off the regular price – during this limited time offer from Cult of Mac Deals.
One of the lesser known functions of the Keychain on OS X is its ability to add Secure Notes, notes that require you to enter your Keychain login password to view them.
There are a ton of third-party apps out there that allow you to password protect your notes, but Keychain is built right in to Mac OS X, and has been for a while; it’s a pretty nifty thing to have when you need it.
Better yet? The current version of Keychain will let you put images and video into your notes, making it a snap to secure your media files to your password.
Apple has today had its request for a permanent injunction on Samsung’s patent-infringing products denied. The Cupertino company was awarded $929 million in damages, but it argued that the monetary sum was insufficient, and that a number of Samsung products should be banned.
Unu’s new Enerpak Extreme is an update to my favorite battery backup brick. In fact, I have one here on my desk ready to review, but I thought I’d tell you about it first.
The Enerpak Extreme is a 14,000mAh battery pack that can charge an iPhone or an iPad, or both at the same time. It has two full-sized USB ports, one 1-Amp and one 2.1-Amp, plus a microUSB port for charging the device itself.