Eliminate now available on the App Store

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Freeware, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Ngmoco's Eliminate has been building up buzz ever since it was announced, and now the first-person shooter is out on the App Store to try for yourself. As you can see above, it offers some relatively basic FPS gameplay when compared to shooters on other platforms (I've been having a lot of fun with Borderlands lately), but given that this is the iPhone we're talking about, this kind of twitch 3D gameplay is actually pretty impressive. You can play online over 3G or Wi-Fi, and as you play, you can earn credits and level up, which gives you access to more weapons and better gear. The game itself is free, but it's all based around a microtransaction system where you buy "energy" which allows you to earn those aforementioned resources. You get a certain amount of energy per day on your own, and if you use it up, you can't progress any further unless you get out the wallet or wait another day. And the game uses ngmoco's own Plus+ social interface to track leaderboards and accounts. Interesting plan, and we'll have to see if players vibe with it or not. Some have already voiced strong concerns about the in-game pay-to-play microtransaction system.

If that doesn't vibe with you, and you'd rather play some old-school (and old business model) FPS gameplay instead, id's Doom Classic also got released on the App Store last weekend. That game comes at a cost of $6.99, but then again, with old-school Doom, you know exactly what you're getting into. And you won't have to buy any extra energy to charge your BFG and slay any demons you happen to come across.

Eliminate now available on the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Eliminate now available on the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gamesalad offers $99 iPhone game publishing

Filed under: Gaming, Developer, iPhone, App Store, SDK

We mentioned Gamesalad's plans to bring their publishing system to the iPhone earlier this year, and now they've done it: for $99 a year, they say that you'll be able to design games on their game creator development tool, and then publish them straight out to the iPhone's App Store. If you don't want to bother publishing the games yourself, you can create them and have them "viewed" through the Gamesalad Viewer (which we couldn't find on the App Store quite yet), or you can export them out as full applications and publish them as your own iPhone apps (Flutterby is in the store right now as an example of a Gamesalad Creator game).

There's also a $1999 membership service that lets you customize every aspect of your games, and provides you with direct customer support, which is supposed to be for "elite users" (like, we guess, actual game companies). And truthfully, I've developed a few apps using just Xcode, and it's not too big a deal (though I've never had to go through an actual release or worked with end users, which I'm sure is most of the battle anyway). But if the thought of using professional coding tools to develop your little game idea sends you into panic attacks, and the Gamesalad creator seems more your speed, this might be a nice viable way for you to turn your gaming idea into App Store gold.

It costs nothing to download and try out the creator, so if the idea interests you, you can work on putting a game together, and then pay later when you decide you've got something you want published on the iPhone. And hey, if you do put a game up, be sure to send a tip and let us know -- we'd love to see the end products of this process.

Gamesalad offers $99 iPhone game publishing originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gamesalad offers $99 iPhone game publishing originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Who you gonna call? Irene’s Spirit haunts your iPhone or iPod touch

Filed under: iPhone, iPod touch, App Review

Irene's Spirit [US$1.99, iTunes Link] puts a fortune telling spirit into your iPhone or iPod touch (with the exception of the first generation iPod touch) as long as you're running OS 3.0.

Forget the Magic 8 Ball or Ouija Board. That's kid stuff. Irene doesn't use a 20-sided die or easily pushable planchette to give you an answer. Her answers come from the other side. The other side of what I'm not so sure, but who cares when she is dead accurate. She will make you wonder if ectoplasm will void your warranty.

I had my son ask Irene a question and he totally lost it when she told him the name of his dead grandfather. After two more passes, he got skeptical and figured out what was happening. I should have stopped while I was ahead.

Yes, it's an illusion.

I was very impressed with the best tutorial system I've seen in any app. Being an instructional designer, I know that chunking instruction and requiring feedback periodically is the best way of transferring information. Irene's Spirit is a textbook case of how to get it right.

With a bit of practice, operating the illusion is easy and distracting your audience is helped by lot of vibration noise and weird looking scrolling screens that look like something out of The Matrix.

I thought that it was a well designed, easy to learn trick that will be a hit at birthday parties, but only good for one or maybe two questions before we more skeptical grownups get wind that something's up. I had a good time with it as a casual app, and really think it's worth a look.

Take a look at this video and see Irene in action.

Who you gonna call? Irene's Spirit haunts your iPhone or iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Who you gonna call? Irene's Spirit haunts your iPhone or iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sirius XM launches SkyDock radio for iPhone

Sirius XM's new SkyDock radio is a combination of software and docking cradle that lets you listen to your XM radio on your iPhone or iPod touch

Adobe points at Apple for lack of Flash on iPhone

Adobe's gone passive-aggressive on Apple, posting a note on the iPhone version of its Flash download page that points the finger at Cupertino for the absence of an iPhone version of the plug-in.

Will Canada’s iPhone be unlocked?

Filed under: Retail, iPhone, Jailbreak/pwnage

The iPhone is slowly making it's way around the world. In Canada, there are now four major carriers that support the device: Rogers, Fido, Telus and Bell. So how will Apple continue to stock and support the iPhone with that many carriers? That's where the story get's interesting.

According to iPhoneInCanada.ca, to make stocking and inventory easier, the iPhones in Apple's Canadian retail stores will arrive completely unlocked without any SIM card. Once a carrier is chosen and a SIM card is placed in the device, it will then be locked to that carrier. So what happens if you put in a SIM card from a carrier other than the four in Canada? The simple answer: we have no idea!

While we're not entirely sure what this means, it does present some interesting ideas. The Canadian iPhones could only recognize the four possible carrier's SIM cards, but may also be entirely unlocked. It'll be interesting to see how people that want to use the iPhone on unsupported carriers will take this news.

Will Canada's iPhone be unlocked? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Will Canada's iPhone be unlocked? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Adobe engages Apple in passive aggressive warfare with iPhone’s Flash message

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/tech_news/Adobe_calls_out_Apple_on_Restricting_Tech_like_Flash'; Adobe's seemingly tried everything in its fight to get Apple to tear down enough development barriers to get Flash ported to the iPhone, culminating in a native compilation option in CS5 that... well, really doesn't solve much of anything. So far, nothing's worked. What's next? Get the masses fired up with some old-fashioned propaganda and let 'em riot down at One Infinite Loop, of course! Visiting Adobe's Flash download page from an iPhone now shows a pretty tersely-worded message informing the user that they're getting short-changed simply by Apple's refusal to budge, so yeah, if you hear an occasional cry of "this is outrageous, I'm writing Apple immediately!" while sitting at an airport gate or a coffee shop, you can safely guess what just happened.

[Via Gear Diary]

Filed under: Cellphones

Adobe engages Apple in passive aggressive warfare with iPhone's Flash message originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is Motorola Droid Really An iPhone Killer?

$30 a Month iTunes TV Show Subscriptions?

MediaMemo is hearing that Apple Internet exec, Eddy Cue, has been tasked with exploring a $30/month iTunes TV Show subscription service:

A so-called “over the top” service could theoretically rival the ones most consumers already buy from cable TV operators — if Apple is able to get enough buy-in from broadcast and cable TV programmers.

Disney, with Steve Jobs its largest shareholder, pops up as among the first to potentially get on board.

Unlimited TV on your iPhone with one monthly fee. You want?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

$30 a Month iTunes TV Show Subscriptions?

Windows 7/Intel chipset issues with iPhones

Apple’s discussion board has been jumping a bit about Windows 7, and it isn’t because they’ve all converted from Apple’s OS to Windows suddenly; it’s because many of them have been experiencing weird errors and issues with their PCs freezing out the iPhone when using Windows 7 in conjunction with the Intel P55 USB chipset. [...]

Apple Pitching iTunes Subscriptions to TV Networks?

MediaMemo reports that Apple has approached a number of TV networks in recent weeks to pitch its vision of a monthly subscription service that would allow the networks to deliver their content to consumers via iTunes with the idea of replacing consum...

Review: CNN Mobile for iPhone

News junkies won't go wrong with CNN Mobile. It's the deepest and most complete news app for iPhone and iPod touch.

Updated iPhone 3G, 3GS pricing and availability for Canada announced

Filed under: iPhone

For those of you in Canada, good news. The cell carriers Telus and Bell have announced pricing and availability for the iPhone 3G and 3GS. In addition, Rogers will be announcing an update to its pricing.

Telus is offering four plan levels with three extras each to chose from, for a total of twelve different plan options. Each plan provides subsidized iPhone pricing of $99CAD for the 8GB iPhone 3G (black), $199CAD for the 16GB iPhone 3G S (black/white), and $299CAD for the 32GB iPhone 3G S (black/white).

The actual plans from Telus do not change with respect to the iPhone you choose. The prices begin at $50CAD for 150 minutes and 500 MB data and move up to $100CAD for 500 minutes and 3GB data; all plans include a 36-month contract term. Additionally, all plans include mobile tethering with the iPhone. All plans excluding the entry-level $50CAD/mo. plan include an option for unlimited messaging.

Bell has also announced their pricing and availability; actual iPhone pricing is the same as the Telus offering ranging from $99CAD for the 8GB iPhone 3G to $299CAD for the 32GB iPhone 3G S.

Bell's monthly plans start at $55CAD and include 300 minutes with 1GB data (tethering included) and increase up to $95CAD including 500 minutes with and 3GB data. As with Telus, all plans include a 36-month contract. Unlike Telus, however, the Bell plans include unlimited Wi-Fi at any Starbucks location.

Not one to be left out of all the press buzz, Rogers may be announcing a new plan for $95CAD/mo. An anonymous tipster reports that the Rogers plan will include 700 minutes and 1GB data with tethering included. The plan will also feature unlimited messaging.

Things are definitely heating up in Canada for iPhone users. Each provider is offering a little something different in terms of minutes, data, and extras. As always, don't forget to consider your coverage area, which iPhone in Canada has helpfully compared for you here.

While I don't live in Canada myself, I am definitely jealous of all the competition going on. I would love to see three US carriers with the iPhone all competing for my pocketbook.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in, and iphoneincanada.ca for the in-depth coverage.

Updated iPhone 3G, 3GS pricing and availability for Canada announced originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Updated iPhone 3G, 3GS pricing and availability for Canada announced originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Orange Announces UK iPhone Pricing

UK wireless carrier Orange today revealed pricing plans for the iPhone, which will launch on the carrier on November 10th. iPhone pricing ranges from free with certain plan prices and term commitments up to £539 for the 32 GB iPhone 3GS on a contrac...

DOOM Is Finally Available for the iPhone, Marvel Hits the Store as Well

The timing was perfect as the long awaited DOOM title has finally been released. Those of you that were lucky enough to get it when it first hit the market were treated to a great Halloween weekend of one of the most anticipated titles yet for the iPhone games applications. For only $6.99, you [...]

Verizon and Motorola Plan an Attack Against the iPhone

It was only a matter of time before someone else jumped into the ring to face off against the iPhone. Up until now, Blackberry and the iPhone have been getting along fairly well in the battle for phone supremacy. Both cater to different markets and seem to be quite happy with where they are [...]

iPhone Hints: Lock picture orientation in Photos

If last week's iPhone hint was a little complicated, this week's is an exercise in simplicity. Here's how to keep a picture in Photos locked in either landscape or portrait orientation.

‘Endless Racing Game’ iPhone demo video isn’t endless, is endlessly entertaining

We're not going to bore you with details, but we are going to tell you that it's more than worth your while to watch this demo video for the iPhone title "Endless Racing Game." We can't attest to how fun (or not fun) the game is to play, but the clip is certainly worth your 90 seconds of attention. Check it out after the break.

[Thanks, Lena]

Continue reading 'Endless Racing Game' iPhone demo video isn't endless, is endlessly entertaining

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Software

'Endless Racing Game' iPhone demo video isn't endless, is endlessly entertaining originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone goes on sale in China

The iPhone went on sale in mainland China this past weekend, marking the first time the device has been officially available in the majority of the world's most populous country.

Apple Disabling Support for Intel Atom Processor in Latest 10.6.2 Build?

OS X Daily reports on a discovery that Apple's latest developer build of Mac OS X 10.6.2 disables support for Intel's Atom processor. While Apple's exact motive for the change is unknown, the result is that users who have modified their Atom-powered...