Final Fantasy And Final Fantasy II For iPhone Released

ngmoco’s We Rule for iPhone hits Canadian App Store

Once again, a new ngmoco’s game has hit the Canadian App Store first — this time it’s kingdom-builder We Rule [Free with in-app purchases - iTunes link]. Hey, there’s no Hulu or Google Voice in Canada, so fair’s fair!

Like all recent ngmoco games, We Rule leverages the social gaming element via their Plus+ network, and has in-app purchases for “Mojo” which basically speed up things like growing crops and building homes, so you can pay if you don’t want to wait. In this case, Mojo can run from $0.99 to for 1 to $49.00 for 800. You don’t have to buy it, you just have to be patient if you don’t.

It seems like you do have to log in to play, however, which is handy since you can keep one game going over multiple devices (like your iPhone and iPod touch, as long as they’re logged in to the same Plus+ account), but if you don’t care about that and just want to launch and play on your own, it’s an step you can’t skip.

No doubt ngmoco is doing what they do best here, taking a popular category of game and making it their own — and making it excellent for the iPhone OS platform. If you’re a fan of these types of farming, kingdom building games, you’ll likely be a big fan of We Rule.

Again, Canadian only for now, though @ngmoco is giving away codes to allow early US access on Twitter. If you download it — or score a code — let us know what you think!

Ton’o pictures and a video… after the break!

ngmoco’s We Rule for iPhone hits Canadian App Store is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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TUAW redux: The future of iPhone OS and Mac OS

Filed under: OS, iPhone, iPad

One of the big topics of discussion yesterday in our TUAW back channel was this post from the New York Times Bits blog. In "Why can't PCs work more like iPhones," Bilton pointed out that the iPhone has given Apple a chance to build a new OS from the ground up.

This is a familiar viewpoint to us here on TUAW. Last year, I asked whether the future of the Mac OS would turn out to be the iPhone. In my write-up, I pointed out that the iPhone OS was built from scratch to work with Objective C 2.0 with its properties and other modern language features. Its API, far from being cobbled together, showed ever increasing design maturity without the weight of heavy backwards compatibility concerns. I concluded that Apple might take a lesson from the iPhone OS and consider offering a ground up redesign for Mac OS X, at least in terms of core OS principles.

In his post, Bilton considers how Mac OS X might integrate iPhone OS features into its user experience, suggesting a possible Front Row-like overlay layer, running an iPhone OS interface. The goal would be to craft iPhone-style GUI simplicity onto the desktop experience, so that users could move seamlessly between their mobile and desktop worlds.

But as much as we believe that Apple is heading cautiously in the direction that Bilton suggests, the TUAW consensus is that a desktop OS needs far more structure and, at the same time, flexibility than what the iPhone OS offers.

Continue reading TUAW redux: The future of iPhone OS and Mac OS

TUAW redux: The future of iPhone OS and Mac OS originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TUAW redux: The future of iPhone OS and Mac OS originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Valve’s Steam Heading to the Mac?

A forum thread has been generating some buzz around the Mac web by suggesting that Valve will be porting their Steam platform to the Mac. Steam is a digital distribution system for PC games -- essentially an PC game App Store. A Mac versio...

Associated Press App Coming to iPad

MacRumors points us towards the Associated Press‘ announcement that they’re setting up a new digital unit to target “next wave of Internet-connected devices such as Apple’s iPad”.

The AP’s iPad app could compete with offerings from some of its member newspapers, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, which also are believed to be mulling whether to sell subscriptions on the iPad to take advantage of its format. [...] The plans reflect the news media’s hope — still untested — that consumers will be more willing to pay for content on the iPad and similar handheld devices than they have been on traditional computers that depend solely on Web browsers to surf the Internet.

There’s no definitive word on pricing, though it’s suggested it might start off free. Subscription, however, remains the goal of newspapers in order to support their news-gathering business.

Whether or not the continued talk of individual newspaper apps for the iPad, like the New York Times, means the odds for an Apple-centric solution like iBooks is diminishing is unknown.

Let us know which future you’re looking forward to, diverse App Store offerings, or a unified iNews Store?

Associated Press App Coming to iPad is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Apple May Lower Price Of iPhone 4G To Boost Adoption Rates

iControlPad: Play iPhone Games With Physical Buttons And Joystick

Review: Snood for iPhone

Snood might not hold your attention for too long, but it’s great for a quick five-minute session, has memorable graphics, and puts a character-driven spin on the "match-three" genre.

Associated Press Announces Plans for iPad Application

The Associated Press today announced plans to create a new business unit known as "AP Gateway" that will focus on mobile platforms, with an application for Apple's iPad tablet device set to serve as the launch product from the division. AP G...

Apple Claims Display Issues on 27-Inch iMac Have Been Addressed

Gizmodo reports that it has received official word from Apple that the company has addressed issues with flickering and yellow tinting on its 27-inch iMac models.

We've addressed the issues that caused display flickering and y...

Can An iPhone OS Layer On Top Of Mac OS X Bridge The Platform UI Differences?

Plants vs. Zombies racks up iPhone sales

Apple's App Store may have over 150,000 applications, but none have sold as many as Plants vs. Zombies in their introductory sales period.

Line2 adds a second line to your iPhone for $15 a month

Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, iPad

Would you like to add a second line to your iPhone? Perhaps you'd like to add a business number to the phone, but your existing phone is currently tied to your personal mobile number. You could always carry a second phone, but that's an expensive proposition, particularly if you're an iPhone addict.

VoIP provider Toktumi has a solution that may work out well for you. They're now selling an app called Line2 (US$0.99) that mimics many of the capabilities of the standard Phone app, complete with a form of visual voice mail. Purchasing the app provides you with one month of free VoIP service. After that point, each month's continued service costs $14.95 for unlimited calls within the US and Canada. The service is purchased in-app, and was a point of confusion for me -- the app listing in the iTunes store shows a "Top In App Purchase" at a cost of $19.99 for a month. Toktumi's website and the promotional video (above) do show the lower monthly rate.

While many VoIP solutions require a Wi-Fi connection to work, Line2 works over both 3G and Wi-Fi. The app has many of the features you might want in a business phone, including call waiting and call transfer, the ability to create conference calls with up to 20 participants, and even integration with Toktumi's hosted PBX service.

For small businesses that want to present a more professional image to callers, Line2 might be just the right solution. Toktumi notes that the app also works with both the iPod touch (Wi-Fi only) and iPad (Wi-Fi or 3G).

Line2 adds a second line to your iPhone for $15 a month originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Line2 adds a second line to your iPhone for $15 a month originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Accessory Makers Gear Up for iPad Launch

The Wall Street Journal reports on strategies being employed by accessory manufacturers as they prepare for the launch of Apple's iPad next month. The companies, many of them already experienced with pushing out accessories for the iPhone, a...

Student Makes iPod Explode During Class

A high school student had her iPod explode on her desk yesterday and luckily not a single student was injured. This is not the first time we’ve heard of exploding iPods or iPhones but this particular case seems to be a little different so don’t be so quick to blame Apple. Gizmodo points out that another student has told the true story.

“The iPod did not just explode. It was broken so a kid took the entire thing apart and was rubbing wires against the battery, which became very hot, then exploded. This is not a faulty product that caused a danger to people. This was bored kids, in a classroom with a substitute all week, who found a dangerous way to entertain themselves.”

Moral of the story, if you don’t know what you are doing and it can be dangerous… don’t do it!

[Via Gizmodo via Newburyport Daily News]

Student Makes iPod Explode During Class is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

TiPb Give Away: Motorola H17 Bluetooth Headset for a TiPb Facebook fan!

We’re moving TiPb’s Facebook presence from the old group and page to a newer, shiner, and — soon to be — better, unified TiPb Fan Page!

The bad news: since we can’t rename the old iphoneblog.com page or transfer the group to go with new, we have to apologize for asking everyone to move over with us, but we’ll do our best to more than make up for the hassle — that’s a promise!

So, please jump on over and become a fan of our new TiPb Facebook Page — we’re waiting for you!

THE GOOD NEWS: the TiPb iPhone Accessory Store has been gracious enough to let us give away a brand new Motorola H17 Bluetooth Headset [$89.95 - TiPb Store link] to one of our Facebook fans to help ease the transition. The give-away starts now and ends Monday, March 1st, 2009 at 12pm PST so get to it!

(And this being Follow Friday, if you’re kind enough to follow @TiPb on Twitter and subscribe to our iTunes and YouTube feeds, we’d appreciate it — and you just might get in on some additional, upcoming give-aways to boot! Shhhhhh!)

TiPb Give Away: Motorola H17 Bluetooth Headset for a TiPb Facebook fan! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

AT&T rolling out MicroCell to five more markets

Filed under: iPhone

We've previously written about AT&T's MicroCell device and service here at TUAW. It's a tiny cell tower that you plug into your home cable or DSL connection to boost your phone reception. This is particularly handy for those with home offices who may currently be plagued with poor reception on their iPhones.

WMExperts is reporting that AT&T is adding five more markets to the short list of trial areas. If you live in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Las Vegas, or San Diego, you can have the opportunity to spend an additional US$19.99 per month on top of your existing iPhone service plan to get 5 bar service in an area up to 5,000 square feet around your MicroCell.

To determine whether or not you're currently in one of the target zones for the service, visit the AT&T 3G MicroCell website and enter your zip code into the appropriate spot. If you're one of the lucky ones, a list of retail locations where you can purchase the MicroCell will appear. You'll also have to pony up $150 for the device in addition to the monthly charge, but for those who really need perfect 3G phone service in their homes or offices, it's worth the cost.

[via TiPb]

AT&T rolling out MicroCell to five more markets originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AT&T rolling out MicroCell to five more markets originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple doubles app download limit, iBoob app causes UK row, Line2 app gets approved

This is some very good news; Apple has doubled the download limit for app size over 3G. Previously the limit was 10MB and now the limit is 20MB. No more waiting until you get home to grab that new game! The iBoob app that animates the boobage of women in photos ...

Apple doubles iPhone’s 3G app download limit

Apple has apparently boosted the maximum size of an iPhone app download over 3G from 10 MB to 20 MB. Previously, users who wanted to download an app larger than 10 MB had to switch to a WiFi connection. The most obvious reason for the limit in the first place was ...

Review: Spore Creatures for iPhone

Unfortunately, Spore Creatures for the iPhone is not quite as expansive or impressive as the original Spore—in fact, it’s watered-down a lot. EA Games has created a beautiful 3-D world—there just isn't much to do there.