After three years and having been ported to every platform under the sun (including, of course, the Mac and iOS), the botanical is once again ready to go head-to-head against the zombological: Pop Cap has just announced that Plants vs. Zombies 2 is “germinating” and will hit the App Store in early 2013.
Here’s what we know. We know that the next iPhone and the forthcoming iPad mini will have smaller dock connectors. We also know that these smaller dock connectors will require Apple to sell adapters so that the next iPhone and iPad can interact with the existing ecosystem of 30-pin accessories out there.
The big question is, what will these adapters look like? Over at Metablog, they’ve got some interesting thoughts.
How long would it take you just to read the names of all the apps in the iOS App Store? According to an infographic (what we old timers used to call a “chart” or “poster”) by Tap Mag, this simple task would take you a whole week. And that’s far from all…
Hey, you! Like free money? Free music? Free apps? Then head on over to Walmart: the mega-retailer is selling an $100.00 iTunes digital gift eCard for just $80.
Sure, in the grand scheme of things, it’s still just the translation of real-world money into a virtualized credit system, but hey, if you’re reading this site, you’re going to spend $80 through iTunes eventually anyway. You might as well pay that $80 now and get an extra $20 free.
Source: Walmart
I have to admit, I’ve been a big fan of the Stickies app that Apple has included with its operating system since way back in System 7.5. It’s fantastic to be able to have a little floating place to type notes and keep track of things right on the Mac, without having to resort to anything as mundane as an actual sticky note.
The one thing Stickies hasn’t had was a good way to access those notes when away from the computer. With OS X Mountain Lion, however, you can make this happen using Notes and iCloud.
The iPhone has been an incredible success for Apple. So much more of a success than we all predicted when it was unveiled back in 2007. It’s the hottest smartphone on the planet, and at five years old, it’s now bigger than Microsoft’s entire business put together. With $22.7 billion in sales last quarter, the smartphone outsold everything Apple’s biggest rival has to offer.
It’s not difficult to open up the Settings app and activate or deactivate things like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or Airplane Mode. But it could be a whole lot quicker. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could have an icon on your home screen that allows you to toggle these things instantly — without having to navigate the Settings app? Thanks to IconToggles, you can.
Kicking off this week’s must-have apps roundup is a brand new update to Instagram — the world’s most popular photo sharing service — that introduces an improved user interface and new features. We’ve also got a new Food Network app that every foodie should have, the official WWE app for wrestling fans, and a great educational app for the iPad that promises to teach your little ones how to write capital letters quickly and efficiently.
Like movies? Me too. Just watched ParaNorman (fun, cool animation, good for older kids) in the little theater down the block. Anyway, I also like to watch movies on the go, on my iPad for example. I have a good few movies on DVD and when I rip them to my Mac it’s great, just not very portable. I know I’m going to be heading to Comic Cons every month for the rest of the year (Columbus, Austin, then New Orleans) and that means flying. Flying means either I write or I watch movies. Sometimes I do both.
And how am I going to get more movies on my iPad? Well…MacX iPhone Video Converter Freebie
We reviwed the STM Velo earlier this year, in our first encounter with the Aussie-based outfitter, and came away with the distinct impression that, wow, these guys really know how to make a great bag.
Our time with the STM Scout ($50), a tablet-specific, heavily-padded canvas satchel, proved that the outfit can make a sharp-looking protective bag for your Thrive, Galaxy Tab or iPad too — though it didn’t blow us away like the Velo did.
Unique deal here today. For $25 you get to spend $50 at incase. If you’re a Mac, iPhone, or iPad owner you’ve probably seen (or own) some incase before. The Apple Store stocks their gear, so do most other places who sell Apple gear. Why?
Quality.
I own several things from incase, including a bag that I’ve abused but still looks great. And funny that we should be talking about incase, because Charlie Sorrel just highlighted an incase product in his recent blogging from the iPad post—the incase Origami Workstation.
This deal ends today! Seriously get it. The Origami Case is as awesome as I thought!
Yesterday a nasty iPhone SMS spoofing hack was detailed by iOS hacker pod2g. Someone with malicious intent could theoretically change the reply-to number in a SMS message without your knowledge. For instance, you could receive a SMS from a number pretending to be your bank. If you replied with a password or other sensitive data, your security would be compromised. The hack also allows for someone to send a completely spoofed message from a random number.
This bug has been on the iPhone for years and is still present in the iOS 6 beta. Apple today released an official statement addressing the issue.
We’ve seen multiple iPhone 5 part leaks in the months leading up to Apple’s rumored September 12th announcement, and new tidbits continue to surface as the event draws near. Today more alleged components have hit the internet, including a fully assembled front panel for the next iPhone.
The panel shows a taller display with a centered FaceTime camera above the earpiece.
When Apple announced its Facetime two years ago, it looked like an appealing, easy-to-use feature that might finally make video chat mainstream and routine.
The best thing about Facetime has always been its seamless integration into Apple’s Phone and Contacts apps. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much the only good thing about it.
From the beginning, Facetime has been almost unusable because of limitations. Not small limitations, enormous ones. Here’s what I’m talking about.
Kicking off this week’s must-have games roundup is a new game from Zynga that will blow your mind. It’s called Horn, and it’s a third-person action game with incredible, console-quality visuals and great gameplay. That’s accompanied by Mad Skills BMX from the creators of Mad Skills Motocross; Jack Lumber, the first game from the SEGA Alliance; Cafeteria Nipponica from Kairosoft, and more. Look out for the awesome new platformer from Ravenous Games, creators of the award-winning League of Evil.
Still having trouble deciding which way the wind will blow at the end of the patent trial currently being waged between Apple and Samsung? Apparently, you’re not alone,
The Joy Of Tech geniuses, Nitrozac and Shaggy, are at it again in this hilariously designed flow chart to help you make the call about who copied who in the Apple vs Samsung case. It’s fairly obvious that the comic creators are biased, but c’mon – aren’t we all, a little bit?
As we’re an Apple-facing website, we thought it our duty to bring you this, our favorite comic breakdown of the now famous patent case.
11 Bit Studios has had some success with Anomaly Warzone Earth, a real-time “tower offense” game that was originally released on Mac in April of 2011, then iOS in August of that same year. The company also released the game as an Xbox Live Arcade title the following April, and has a version of the title coming to the PlayStation Network soon.
This year at Gamescom, the big European video gaming conference, 11 Bit Studios announced a sequel, called Anomaly Warzone, and two new games, all coming to Mac and iOS as well as PC and Android, in the coming months.
Today, Bloomberg reports that Google’s Motorola Mobility unit has filed a new case against Apple with the International Trade Commission (ITC). In the claim, Google asserts that seven of Motorola’s patents have been infringed by the Cupertino-based company.
The patents Google is claiming in the case include location-based reminders, email notification, and video players, oddly enough. The suit itself seeks a ban on US imports of devices like the iPhone and iPad as well as Mac computers, all of which are manufactured out of the US, in China.
With Samsung running out of its allotted testimony time of 25 hours by mid-afternoon, Apple took advantage of its two-hour lead by stacking the stand with a whirlwind of appearances from its design experts including Ravin Balakrishnan and Karan Singh. They testified against Samsung claims of prior art potentially invalidating Apple’s patents.
Sprint is looking to entice families (or individuals with numerous lines) away from their current carriers by offering an instant $400 store credit towards the purchase of “qualifying devices.” While that $400 is sure to catch your attention, it’s the “fine print” that caught mine. In order to receive this promo, you have to activate three or more lines on an Everything Data Share or Simply Everything Data plan — one of which, must be ported over from a non-Sprint company (Virgin Mobile, Boost Mobile, and Common Cents Mobile are subsidiaries of Sprint). The stipulations don’t end there.
We’ve seen plenty of iPhone 5 leaked parts in recent weeks, and Apple is expected to host a huge media event next month revolving around all things iOS. On the iPad mini front, certain parts have started surfacing more recently, although we have yet to see the device’s rumored 7.85-inch display in all of its glory.
New leaked parts for what would allegedly be a smaller iPad have been released today, and a high-res shot of the dock connector reveals the smaller 8-pin design that’s also rumored to appear in the next iPhone.
A handful of studies recently have looked at the impact of the iPhone, iPad, and other mobile devices used for both work and personal pursuits is having on the work/life balance for professionals across a range of industries. One recent study showed mobile devices have contributed to the average American working seven hours each week, the equivalent of a full work day, out of the office and after hours. Another pointed how that many of us will work while on vacation thanks to our mobile devices.
For one segment of the workforce, however, iPhones, iPads, and Android devices and their ubiquitous connectivity have actually improved the work/life balance. That group is salaried IT professionals.
Months ago, it was discovered that AT&T would likely charge for FaceTime over Cellular in iOS 6. You can’t actually use the feature in the iOS 6 beta on any carrier, and it was believed that AT&T would charge it as an additional service, like tethering.
Today AT&T has revealed that it will in fact not charge for FaceTime over Cellular, but customers will have to be on one of AT&T’s new Mobile Share data plans.
Today is the final day of witness testimony in the Apple-Samsung trial and attorneys from both sides are squeezing as many last-minute evidence into the record. Apple is seeking more than $2.5B in damages from the Korean giant due to charges of infringement of the former’s patents, which include designs for major parts of the iPhone and iPad.
Guys. Gals. We totally just landed on Mars. Again! Ok, that news is almost two weeks old, but my chest is still pumping with adrenaline after watching those NASA nerd geniuses dominate the red surface with their radioactive robot.
Images of space always make the best wallpapers, and your Mac deserves something better than the default space wallpaper Apple provides in OS X. Here are 10 breathtaking retina wallpaper alternatives that will launch your Mac into space.