TUAW giveaway: HexaLex for iPhone

Filed under: iPhone

We featured HexaLex as our daily app a little while back. It's an excellent Scrabble alternative, and it mixes up the tried and true formula just enough that, if you and your friends are looking for something different to play, it's worth checking out. And we're here to make that easy for you. TUAW's got 10 promo codes to give away to 10 lucky readers, so you can download a copy of HexaLex for free!

To enter the giveaway, leave us a comment telling us the highest word score you've ever earned in a word game (or make one up if you've never played before). Here are the official rules:

• Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
• To enter, leave a comment telling us the highest word score you've ever earned in a word game.
• The comment must be left before midnight on Monday, August 2, 2010, 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time.
• You may enter only once.
• Ten winners will be selected. All will receive one promo code for HexaLex, valued at $1.99 each.
• Click Here for complete Official Rules.

Good luck!

TUAW giveaway: HexaLex for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TUAW giveaway: HexaLex for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 for iPhone

Konami's beautiful Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 is not an iPhone soccer game...it's a soccer game that happens to run on the iPhone.

News Corp Considering Dedicated News Product for Tablets

CNBC reports that News Corp, the Rupert Murdoch-led media conglomerate behind such outlets as The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, and The New York Post, is considering launching a new news unit dedicated to content for tablet devices such as t...

Amazon updates Kindle app with inline dictionary, more

Amazon updated its universal Kindle app with an in-app dictionary, fast app switching support under iOS 4, and more.

Buying an iPhone 4 from a Canadian carrier? It’s locked

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/Canadian_iPhone_4_s_sold_from_carriers_are_NOT_Unlocked'; We've been tipped this morning (and have now been able to confirm, thanks to our own Myriam Joire braving the lines) that if you buy an iPhone 4 in a Canadian carrier's store today, you leave with it locked to that carrier -- despite Apple's trumpeting that you can buy it SIM-free. It appears as though the activation process might be responsible for causing the carrier lock -- either that, or the carriers' subsidized models are shipped locked, unlike the full-price devices you can buy directly from Apple. Either way, it's a bummer, and it's certainly something to take into consideration before you buy.

[Thanks, Chris]

Update: We've now confirmed that the lock is happening at the time the phone is activated -- in other words, it begins life carrier-agnostic. Pretty wild stuff.

Update 2: Tipster Mika G. tells us that unlocked phones purchased directly from Apple do not lock upon carrier activation, which jibes with Apple's wording that "you can change carriers at any time." Carrier-purchased phones, however, definitely do lock.

Buying an iPhone 4 from a Canadian carrier? It's locked originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Where To? updated for iOS 4

FutureTap has updated its points-of-interest app, Where To?, to embrace the features of iOS 4 and the iPhone 4.

Apple to Open Covent Garden Retail Store in London on August 7th

Apple has officially announced the grand opening of its new retail store in the Covent Garden district of London, with the store set to open to the public on Saturday, August 7th at 10:00 AM. The store appears to be Apple's largest by total ...

Just get an international iPhone 4? Here’s what you need next!

Today Apple’s iPhone 4 added 17 new countries to its have list, which means a bunch of you either just got one or are just about to get one. Unlocked or carrier subsidized, pre- or postpaid, once you’ve got it powered up and ready to do, you might just be wondering –what’s next. Don’t worry, TiPb’s got your back:

• Get up to speed. We have a complete iOS 4 feature walkthrough up and waiting to help you figure out all the new stuff Apple has jam-packed into their latest OS. Save yourself some time and check it out.

• Get apps and games. There are hundreds of thousands of iPhone apps in the iTunes App Store and more and more of them have now been updated to really show off that new Retina Display. We’re keeping track of iOS 4 optimized apps for you, and review iPhone apps on a weekly basis. Check them out.

• Get accessories. Sure Apple is giving away free bumpers and cases. And you can get them in any color you want as long as it’s black, black, or… black. The TiPb Store has just started offering iPhone 4 accessories and not only can you get full, fabulous, colored cases, you can get chargers, Bluetooth, headsets, and much, much, more.

• Get talking. If you just want to talk about your new iPhone 4 and all those apps and accessories, or if you need help getting started (or to trouble-shoot bugs), or advice and recommendations, we have the best dang community on the web waiting for you: iPhone Device and Help Forum and iPhone Apps and Games Forum.

Just get an international iPhone 4? Here’s what you need next! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

iPhone 4 international speed tests

You know the drill — iPhone 4 just went on sale in 17 additional countries so hit up your favorite speed test (I used the speedtest.net app) and let us know how the new HSUPA (high speed upload) radio is treating you.

(And if you’re in the US and have just gotten yours fixed, let us know how that’s working as well).

iPhone 4 international speed tests is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

TUAW’s Daily App: The Screetch

Filed under: iPhone, App Store

The Screetch is a great game with a funny name. At its heart, it's a match three game; you want to match three of a kind for a certain round gem while you're constantly dropping them from above (Tetris style). The game's namesake is where things get slimy, though. The Screetch is constantly "infecting" gems that are dropped onto the board, and you can only clear it out by matching three gems and putting the slimy, oily dude into a flask.

It sounds complicated, but of course, it starts out simple and builds up from there. As the game progresses, the Screetch moves faster, requiring you to drop gems in the right places quickly. There are also lightning gems that will clear out whole lines of the board and quite a few levels to ramp up the difficulty as you play along. The Screetch element adds a fun, new twist to the standard match three gameplay, and the graphics are pretty well polished to boot.

The game is available on the App Store right now for US $2.99, and the addition of online league play and trophies extends the playability a little bit. If you're a fan of match three games or just want a fun thrill to pick up and play for a few minutes at a time, check it out.

TUAW's Daily App: The Screetch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TUAW's Daily App: The Screetch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft thinks Apple is selling too many iPads

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, under whose watch Office, Windows, and Server profits have soared while mobile has stumbled and faltered, was bombastically candid when addressing Apple’s 3.3 million strong iPad install base:

“they’ve sold certainly more than I’d like them to have sold.”

In response, Microsoft is hard at work on a Windows-based alternative (which is curious given Bill Gates’ almost singular drive to popularize Tablet PC over much of the last decade):

“They’ll be shipping as soon as they are ready,” Ballmer said, offering few details on the products, which he said will come from partners, not Microsoft itself. “It is job one urgency. No one is sleeping at the switch.”

So Microsoft won’t be making their own tablet the way they made their own Zune music player or Xbox gaming console, nor will they be using the panoramic Windows Phone 7, set for release this fall:

“We have got to make things happen,” he said. “We’re in the process of doing that as we speak. We’re working with our hardware partners. We’re tuning Windows 7.”

Apple of course didn’t try to put Mac OS X on the iPad, they went with iOS. HP has gone out and bought Palm webOS, and Google is readying both Android and Chrome OS, and even RIM is showing signs of life. There were tons of Windows-based tablets being touted at CES 2010 back in January, but none have really appeared on the market yet and while Microsoft’s Courier project was interesting but they KIN’ed it pre-launch. 3 months and as many million sales later and iPad pretty much still has the category it created to itself. It needs competition (from more than just the Kindle).

Hey, maybe if they call it WinPad?

[CNET, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Microsoft thinks Apple is selling too many iPads is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

The Omni Group releases OmniFocus for iPad

The Omni Group on Friday released OmniFocus for iPad, a version of its task management software specifically coded for Apple's tablet.

Reviewed: Apple’s iPhone 4 Case Program cases

Apple is providing a free case to any iPhone 4 owner who has experienced reception issues due to the device's external-antenna design. While eight cases are available, all are essentially variations on the same basic design: a shell that covers the back and sides of the iPhone but leaves the screen exposed. So which one do you choose? We're here to help with reviews of the available options.

Apple Moved Location Services In-House With iPad and iOS 4

TechCrunch reports on an overlooked detail from Apple's response to federal legislators earlier this month regarding privacy concerns, noting that the company disclosed that it moved its location services...

Parrot AR.Drone now available for pre-order at Brookstone

Filed under: iPhone, iPad

Good news, everyone! The long-awaited Parrot AR.Drone (as seen being crashed into one of Parrot's PR reps by yours truly) is finally available for pre-order over at Brookstone. And as promised back at E3, the iPhone-controlled quadricopter will be available for US $299.

It's available in a couple of different color schemes, comes with a free "flight bag" (if you're within the first 300 orders), and requires a shipping fee of $10. Unfortunately, there's no shipping outside of the United States, and of course, the iPhone or iPod touch is sold separately. According to the pre-order page, orders are "expected to ship" on September 3rd, 2010; that's just over a month from now.

The $299 sticker price is a little steep if you ask me, but then again, if you have a need for an iPhone-controlled quadricopter with not one but two cameras on board, you probably have a couple hundred bucks to put into it. If you do order one, be sure to keep us updated on when it ships, and let us know what you think of the device. Happy flying!

Parrot AR.Drone now available for pre-order at Brookstone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Parrot AR.Drone now available for pre-order at Brookstone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Validas study finds Verizon smartphones consuming more data than iPhones

You know how we've good reason to believe that Verizon Wireless is at least mulling the switch to capped / tiered data plans? Yeah. An independent Validas research report has found that, between January and May of this year (pre-AT&T caps), Verizon's stable of smartphones collectively averaged more data consumption per month that Apple's iPhone. Of course, this quite literally compares an Apple to every smartphone on Verizon save for BlackBerries, but given how much squalling we've heard from Ma Bell about this rampant iPhone data usage, we're pleased to see a few facts that spin things the other way. The company's full report is due out in September, but investigation of over 20,000 wireless bills found that VZW smartphones "are consuming more wireless data than AT&T iPhones by a ratio of roughly 1.25:1," with the average Verizon user eating up 421MB per month and the average iPhone user consuming 338MB per month. It also points out that "nearly twice as many Verizon Wireless smartphone users are consuming 500MB to 1GB per month compared to AT&T iPhone users." You learn something new everyday, right?

Continue reading Validas study finds Verizon smartphones consuming more data than iPhones

Validas study finds Verizon smartphones consuming more data than iPhones originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: Griffin Technology Motif for iPhone 4

Griffin's Motif is one of the more protective cases available through the iPhone 4 Case Program, despite not adding much bulk to the iPhone, and the Motif's appearance and feel are unique.

Review: Speck Products PixelSkin HD Case for iPhone

The PixelSkin HD provides decent (non-screen) protection without adding much bulk to your iPhone.

Review: Belkin Shield Micra for iPhone 4

The Shield Micra offers moderate protection without adding much bulk and without hiding the iPhone's design.

Review: Apple iPhone 4 Bumper

Apple's edges-only iPhone 4 case provides minimal protection, but it alleviates the "bridged antenna" issue while letting you see as much of the iPhone 4 as possible.