Street Fighter IV coming to iPhone

Filed under: Gaming, Software, iPhone, App Store

I've wondered before just how a fighting game on the iPhone would work, and now I'm going to find out: Capcom has announced that they're releasing the latest Street Fighter game (they're up to IV now) on the iPhone. You can see how it works over at IGN -- there's a virtual joystiq on one side, and four virtual buttons on the other. I have no idea how it will actually work in practice; it certainly seems like your thumbs would cover up both your character and the enemy while fighting, and that's assuming that your thumb has the dexterity to know which buttons you're pushing without tactile feedback. But we'll see -- Capcom says the game will have a large number of fighters to choose from (though probably not as much as the full retail game), and the ability to play multiplayer via Bluetooth.

One other interesting note on this one: Street Fighter IV has only been released on the major consoles, and the iPhone will be the game's first handheld relase (that we know of so far). This could be Capcom's experiment -- if they can release it on the iPhone before putting a port out on the DS or PSP, and see some success, we could see other larger developers releasing ports earlier (or maybe even exclusively) on the iPhone in the future. But let's not count our hadouken before it's completed -- first we have to see if a game like this will even work on Apple's little handheld touchscreen.

Street Fighter IV coming to iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Street Fighter IV coming to iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New York Times’ Print and Digital Units Reportedly Disagreeing Over iPad Content Pricing

Silicon Alley Insider reports that a "turf war" has erupted at The New York Times, with both print and digital units within the company vying for control over iPad content distribution and pricing. According to the report, the Times' print unit sees...

TUAW Smackdown: iPhone time management games

Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, App Review

Time Management games challenge you to run some kind of business operation while balancing your resources against the demands of customers. In the following write-up, I tested five popular time management App Store games to see how well they delivered the fun and strategy of challenging yourself against time. As you'll see, not every game delivered the same level of fun and overall gameplay. Here's how they stacked up.

At $2.99, Sally's Spa is our absolute favorite of the time management games we tested for this write-up. In this game, you run a virtual spa, providing steam baths, massages, manicures, pedicures, and more. You aim to keep your customers happy and radiant (literally) by dragging them from one station to the next, applying spa services, and balancing their needs against your limited resources of time and equipment.

As your salon earns money, you re-invest into improvements such as hiring employees to automate some of the stations and upgraded equipment to provide higher levels of satisfaction. The challenges grow more sophisticated over time (although I could have done without the whole eyebrow tweezing service that appears late in the game), as you attempt to perfect your spa-fu.

Continue reading TUAW Smackdown: iPhone time management games

TUAW Smackdown: iPhone time management games originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TUAW Smackdown: iPhone time management games originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google and Microsoft Competing For iPhone Search Deal?

Quick App: Plants vs. Zombies for iPhone and iPod touch

The popular PopCap Mac tower defense title, Plants vs. Zombies, [iTunes Link - $2.99] has finally arrived on the iPhone and iPod touch!

The premise is simple, defend your home from invading zombies with an arsenal of 49 zombie destroying plants. The plants (a.k.a. weapons) available to you include peashooters, wall-nuts, cherry bombs and more to dismember the 26 different types of zombies. Along with all of this zombie action you get five game modes:

• Adventure: 50 levels — Play through day, night and fog, in a swimming pool and on the rooftop.
• Mini-Games
• Puzzle
• Survival
• Stress Free Zen Garden

Plants vs. Zombies is a highly addictive must buy for any tower defense fans. Buy it now!

Video after the break!

Quick App: Plants vs. Zombies for iPhone and iPod touch is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Review: PhotoSpeak for iPhone

This novelty photo editor offers simple, fun concept -- adding basic animation and audio to your images -- that delivers surprisingly impressive results.

Shazam adds Last.FM integration to iPhone apps

Filed under: iPhone

Shazam is one of my favorite iPhone apps, and it was one of the first I downloaded from the App Store. Every time I'm in a store or listening to the radio and hear a song I like but don't know, I let Shazam listen. The free version is still in the store, but just recently they've also released Shazam Encore and (Shazam)RED, two paid versions of the app that offer up more functionality (the RED version gives part of the purchase price to charity). Among that new functionality is Last.FM integration: now, you can apparently send any songs you "tag" straight over to the Last.FM app (assuming you have it installed), and make up a radio station directly from there. Pretty slick, and the iTunes description for both apps says that Pandora works as well.

Unfortunately, reviews for the paid version say that the app still includes ads (a weird choice for a paid app), and there are a few reviews that even say the app crashes occasionally (though I've never experienced the problem of it not finding a song for me -- even with rarities and b-sides, it's always come through). But it's a real shame that reviewers are having problems -- while Shazam definitely needs to find a way to monetize its service, failing to provide a premium experience on a premium app obviously isn't the way to do it. Still, if you made the jump to the paid app already, or use Last.FM and/or Pandora often, it might be worth a look.

Shazam adds Last.FM integration to iPhone apps originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shazam adds Last.FM integration to iPhone apps originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TUAW review: Create perfect self-portraits with Self Image

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, App Review

How many times have you tried to take a picture of yourself or you and a buddy with your iPhone, only to end up with your face well out of the frame? The folks who brought you the fun panoramic photo app, Pano, have just delivered their latest creation to the App Store -- Self Image is now available for just US$.99.

Self Image uses sophisticated face-detection algorithms to let the iPhone camera know when it has a face or two in the field of view, at which time it begins a countdown to get you ready for a photo. The app is simple to use -- you launch it, press a button marked with a "1" if you're taking a photo of yourself, "2+" if taking a photo of yourself with a friend or two, or "self-timer" if you want to just take a photo with a self-timer.

If you're taking a self-portrait, Self Image searches for a smiling face (or faces, if you are with friends), and then begins a three-beep countdown when it finds one. When the picture has been taken, it is saved to your camera roll. In practice, this works very well provided your face is properly lit. In dark conditions, Self Image might have trouble finding your face, at which point you'll want to find some light.

Self Image is definitely tuned for human faces. I tried unsuccessfully to get it to recognize my cat's face, and I only succeeded in annoying the cat. Be sure to take a look at the gallery below for some screen shots of the app in action, although unfortunately the only portraits you're going to see are of my face. Arrrrgh.

TUAW review: Create perfect self-portraits with Self Image originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TUAW review: Create perfect self-portraits with Self Image originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iBluetooth or iBluenova 2.0 For iPhone OS 3.0 And Above Released

Opera Mini for iPhone: Will Apple approve it?

Opera has announced the company will be submitting a native-app iPhone version of the company's mobile-phone Web browser. But will Apple approve it? We take a look at its chances, along with the limitations of Opera Mini as a Web browser.

LogMeIn previews more solutions for remote access on the run

At this week's Mobile World Congress, LogMeIn is showing off three new enhancements to its service to better accommodate remote access with iPhones and Android devices.

$1000 iPhone law exam review app sends traditional publisher running for cover

Filed under: Multimedia, Retail, Software, iTunes, Apple, iPhone, App Store

You readers were skeptical that BarMax, the iPhone app that offered up a full law prep system for $1000, would make too big a splash in the law prep community. But apparently that's exactly what happened -- three weeks later, BarBri, one of the more traditional competitors to the new app, has made significant changes to their pricing and service that appear to be aimed at keeping law students away from BarMax. First, they've decided to offer complete online access for free to every student that takes their courses (we don't know how much they charged previously, but it used to be an additional cost). Second, in direct opposition to BarMax's "buy once, use forever" deal, they've allowed students to save at least $2000 every time they retake the test courses, by offering retakes for free as well.

That's pretty incredible. Just by offering up one much cheaper alternative through Apple's iPhone platform, BarMax has already started to revamp the entire business. Of course, I couldn't tell you anything about the quality of these two programs (and whether either BarMax or BarBri is worth using at all), but clearly BarBri smells danger in the wind. It's just not possible to publish content the old way when even one competitor has an alternative through cheaper channels, and the App Store model is as cheap a channel as you can get.

Just imagine what's going to happen when the iPad opens up iBooks and launches the revolution in education publishing that everyone's talking about. The next twelve months are going to be very interesting for textbook customers and/or publishers.

$1000 iPhone law exam review app sends traditional publisher running for cover originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

$1000 iPhone law exam review app sends traditional publisher running for cover originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Silly to make way for sophisticated in App Store

Super-smart iPhone apps will replace silly iFart-like apps in the second wave of iPhone app development, according to iPhone app developers at Macworld Expo.

Vodafone CEO Calls For Change In Carriers’ Business Model To Cope With Increasing Bandwidth Demands

TiPb on APR Marketplace Discussing Wholesale Application Community vs. iPhone App Store

American Public Radio’s Marketplace was gracious enough to have me on yesterday to discuss the new 24 telco Wholesale Application Community with Stacey Vanek Smith.

Can a coalition agree on standards and deploy them fast enough to keep up with Apple’s App Store juggernaut, or is this just a play to get trendy, hot apps on low end feature phones?

Listen in, and then let me know what you think…

TiPb on APR Marketplace Discussing Wholesale Application Community vs. iPhone App Store is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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NPD: Strong Mac and iPod Sales in March Quarter So Far

Silicon Alley Insider reports on new data from market research firm NPD relayed by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster showing strong Mac and iPod sales for Apple's March quarter so far, well ahead of most analysts' expectations. NPD's numbers show M...

Google readies Flash for Android devices

Google will soon add the capability to play Flash videos to its Android mobile phone operating system.

Apple Launches Extended Repair Program for Hard Drives on Early MacBook Models

Hardmac notes that Apple has launched a MacBook Repair Extension Program for Hard Drive Issues, allowing customers of Apple's early MacBook models to receive free repairs or compensation for previously-paid repairs related to hard drive failure. Bla...

Microsoft Attacks iPhone In New Windows Phone 7 Teaser Ad

Apple iPad to Be Sold in AT&T Stores?

The Boy Genius has been hearing from his AT&T contacts that it is highly likely AT&T will be selling the 3G version of Apple’s iPad in their corporate stores across the country.

Don’t get too excited thinking AT&T will offer any sort of subsidy, however, because that is simply not in the cards. The rumored plan is that AT&T will be pushing prepaid data plans along with transforming some of the in-store netbook display sections into substantial iPad display areas.

Would you prefer to visit an AT&T location over an Apple store to pick up your very own iPad? Sound off in the comments!

[Via BGR]

Apple iPad to Be Sold in AT&T Stores? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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