This has been a terrific week for gaming for those with an iOS device. Gameloft’s hugely impressive N.O.V.A. 3 leads our roundup having set an incredible standard of mobile FPS games, with stunning visuals and terrific gameplay. We’ve also got a wonderful sequel to Frontier Developments’ LostWinds, an original skateboarding game from Penny Skateboards, and lots more.
You see that giant table of smartphones and tablets? Those are all of the Android devices app development firm Animoca uses to test its apps. You see, when you have dozens of manufacturers cranking out phones, tablets and phablets running different versions of Android, you run into a development issue. How do you make sure your app will work on the majority of Android devices? For Animoca, you test your apps on 400 different Android devices.
That’s what Steve Jobs meant when he said that Android was “fragmented.”
Following the site’s report that Apple is planning a 7-inch iPad for an October release alongside the next iPhone, iMore today says that Apple hasn’t finalized the design of its sixth-gen smartphone (commonly referred to as the “iPhone 5”). All of the metal casing and 4-inch display rumors are still up in the air, but Apple has zeroed in on a smaller dock connector, according to iMore.
May is Mobile Management Month at Cult of Mac,
JAMF specializes in Apple management technologies. The company Casper Suite is a full featured Mac client management solution as well as an iOS device management product. Being devoted specifically to Apple technologies, JAMF is able to include features not found in other products at this time including the ability to integrate with Apple’s enterprise sales and warranty system known as GSX, the ability to distribute ebooks to iOS devices, and deployment workflows that integrate with Apple Configurator.
While Casper Suite is an excellent option for organizations that are predominantly or completely Apple-based, organizations with a mix of desktop and mobile platforms may find the product somewhat limiting. In addition to Casper Suite for Mac and iOS management, JAMF also offers Mac enterprise deployment and asset management tools. Finally, it’s worth noting that JAMF offers significant licensing discounts for education institutions implementing Casper Suite.
Have you ever wanted to know the definition of a word without having to perform a Google search or open an app? If you have an iPhone 4S you can use Siri to look up definitions, but older iOS devices are have immediate way to show a definition.
Apple has a built-in dictionary in iOS that’s easy to forget about, but luckily a jailbreak tweak called SpotDict makes it simple to lookup words on the iPhone. SpotDict uses Apple’s dictionary to let you quickly define words from the Spotlight window in iOS.
It’s lunch time on the West Coast. I’m starving. Like, I could eat a zebra-porcupine hybrid right now, that’s how hungry I am. Things are only getting worse after I ran into this trove of beautiful iPhone app icon concepts that make my iPhone and iPad good enough to eat. The steak icon looks so tender. So succulent. I’m going to go grab a burrito before I start trying to eat my iPad like that poor little Taiwanese girl, but you should definitely check out these gorgeous app icons.
Earlier today we showed you that Apple was working on bringing the iOS Notes and Reminders apps to iCloud.com, and Apple has since removed the evidence from beta.icloud.com. After others have dug around to see what Apple is up to with its iCloud beta URL, an interesting find shows a new iCloud developer icon.
It looks like Apple is working on new iCloud developer tools or at the very least some sort of web portal for devs to access beta iCloud features. Will we see new iCloud features at WWDC this summer?
Droplr, the popular web and app service for sharing files and links online, has launched its Droplr Pro plan. In case you didn’t know, Droplr is an incredibly slick way of sharing and storing media in the cloud. The iPhone and Mac apps can also be used to share files with shortened links, much like CloudApp.
Droplr Pro offers a completely ad-free experience, views/downloads statistics, increased storage, private drops, customized drop views, and custom domain configuration for short URLs. The service costs $3 per month or $30 per year.
Most companies grappling with the BYOD trend think in terms of allowing personal iPhones, iPad, and Android devices. Virtualization heavyweight VMWare looked at the situation quite a bit differently. Instead of allowing personal devices, VMWare’s CIO Mark Egan decided to require employees to use their personal smartphones in the office.
The move, unorthodox to say the least, seemed to Egan the best option when he found himself sandwiched between the rock of corporate-owned smartphone expenses and the hard place of users clamoring for the choices of BYOD.
Finding apps is hard work. Seriously, folks, there are over 500,000 of them out there, each with their own iTunes page, ratings, and version history. It’s confusing, disheartening at times, and just plain difficult. There are several discovery apps out there, including the recently purchased Chomp and AppShopper. Today’s tip is about the discovery app that won the Best App Ever Award for Best App Bargain, the app that voters thought was worth way more than they paid for it.
As a rule, I don’t like thick folio-style iPad cases, and especially not ones that zip closed. So when I spied the Spigen Zipack in a consignment of cases that arrived some weeks ago, I put it on the bottom of the “to review” pile and ignored it.
However, it turns out that the Zipack’s combination of weird features, featherlight weight and decent amount of protection is a winning one. As there will likely be many folio-haters like me out there who would pass over this case on principal, I thought I’d give it a chance to be seen.
The official Etch A Sketch iPad case might be the coolest thing, like, ever, but does it actually turn your iPad into a working Etch-A-Sketch? No, it doesn’t. But the Etcher does, which somehow makes it even cooler.
The general reaction to Google’s release of its new Google+ app has been very positive. Lots of people have been saying how good it looks and how nice it is to use.
Yes, it is pretty. Pretty enough to give Google+ the usage boost it seeks? Now that’s a very different question.
Looks like applications that were once getting rejected due to their use of the Dropbox API are once again being approved in Apple’s iTunes App Store. What apparently was at issue was Apple’s rules regarding “out of app” purchases that bypassed Apple’s app store as well as it’s 30 percent cut of the fees.
The iPad currently dominates the business tablet market so thoroughly that you can pretty much call it the entire market. A big point of debate in many business and IT circles is how long Apple will be able maintain such a position. One research firm reframed that debate by simplifying the question.
Which operating system do you think will become the preferred business tablet option over the next 12 months?
50% of respondents said that they expect the iPad to maintain its lead in business environments.
There are a few ways to make in iPad easier to hold, and it seems that these methods are getting weirder and weirder. The most obvious answer, employed by almost everyone, is to put the tablet into a case. It’s convenient, protective and — most importantly — it doesn’t change the basic shape of the iPad within.
Another way would be to stick a handle on the thing, making it hard to put into a bag, not to mention making the user — you, in other words — look stupid. And you don’t like to look stupid, do you?
A great example of this second school of thought is Octa’s Tablet Tail, a ridiculous concoction which puts a plastic whale tail on the back of the iPad. Seriously.
If you login to iCloud.com with your Apple ID you can access Apple’s Mail, Address Book, Calendar, Find My iPhone, and iWork apps on the web. Interestingly, beta.icloud.com briefly featured two more apps this morning that are currently unavailable to regular iCloud.com users. Apple pulled the icons after they were discovered a few minutes ago.
The beta version of iCloud.com revealed Apple’s plans to bring its Notes and Reminders iOS apps to the web. You would assumedly be able to see your notes and reminders as they are synced between your iOS devices by logging into the website.
Is today’s new $8,000 M Monochrome a little too rich for you? Then why not have a taste of Leica’s other new camera, the cheap-o ($2,000) X2?
The X2 is a fixed-lens camera with a 16.2MP APS-C-sized sensor — the same size found in most DSLRs. The lens is a 28mm, which works out to 36mm in old money, and the ISO goes up to 12,500.
Spotify announced a major update to its Mac and Windows desktop apps today. Version 0.8.3 has begun rolling out to users of the popular music streaming service, and the update brings several new features and improvements.
Pandora-like radio stations can now be created based on Spotify playlists. Like Google’s search results, Spotify has also added Instant Search for immediately displaying search results. Playable song buttons can now be copied and embedded with HTML on the web. Sharing options have also been expanded for social networks like Tumblr.
A couple days ago, Rovio thanked fans for slingshotting Angry Birds past 1 billion downloads with a short video that teased a possible new game. Today, Rovio has confirmed they will, in fact, be releasing a new game entitled Amazing Alex. Amazing Alex is expected to launch in “two months’ time,” and confirms previous rumors that the game would be based on the Casey’s Contraptions game.
Apple and Samsung are neck and neck when it comes to U.S. smartphone market. In Japan, which represents roughly 5% of the global smartphone market, however, the iPhone is significantly beating Samsung’s range of Android handsets. Apple, in fact, has a more than 20% lead over Samsung in Japan – significantly higher than its current 5% lead over Samsung in America.
Earlier this week, one iPhone Dev-Team member teased a new version of Redsn0w that would allow users to downgrade their A5-powered devices — including the iPhone 4S, the iPad, and the new iPad — to iOS 5.0.1 and above for jailbreaking.
That update is now out and available to download.
Next week, the iPhone will launch on three additional U.S. regional carriers. This move follows last month’s roll out to five regional carriers plus last year’s addition of C Spire and Puerto Rico-based Claro Puerto (Apple’s first deasl with regional carriers).
Apple’s regional expansion prompted Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty to issue a note to investors saying that the new partnerships will help ensure sustained iPhone growth. She also noted that she doesn’t expect to see carriers dropping subsidized pricing for the iPhone – a concern that has also made investors hesitant when it comes to Apple.
During a press conference in Shanghai this week, Foxconn president Terry Gou finally confirmed that the company is making preparations to begin production of the upcoming Apple HDTV. Production is yet to begin, so you may not see the set before Christmas. But Apple certainly plans to bring Steve Jobs’s set to market.
Following Apple’s acquisition of several mapping companies over the years, it has always seemed inevitable that the company would one day wave goodbye to Google Maps in iOS in favor of its own, in-house service. That’s exactly what will happen when iOS 6 makes its debut later this year, according to one report.
Apple is expected to launch its own maps service, which offers an innovative 3D view mode, allowing you to view city stunning cityscapes in all their glory.