Flick this! Croke puts Crokinole on the iPhone

Crokinole is a beautiful, simple game with a long history. In the tradition of pool and Carrom, Crokinole is a dexterity game that pits two (or four) people against each other around a circular wooden board. Players try to flick little wooden discs towards the center, knocking out opponent's discs if they're in the target area. It takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to get frustrated at because you're just not good enough.

The trouble is, if you want a decent Crokinole board at home, it'll set you back a few hundred dollars; $130 or so is the minimum, and you can always pay more if you really want to go all out. It's not hard to find boards costing $400 or more (don't ask how much the Death Star board costs) and you need someplace to store it when it's not in use. These things are about a meter across, and made of heavy wood, so this isn't a trivial issue.

With the Croke iPhone app, you can have a somewhat similar experience on a touchscreen. It's not the same thing, but it's also only $1.99, so you're getting to play without paying through the nose. Read on to see if this flick's for you.

Continue reading Flick this! Croke puts Crokinole on the iPhone

Flick this! Croke puts Crokinole on the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Flick this! Croke puts Crokinole on the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Jobs Defends New iTunes 10 Icon Against Criticism

With the release of iTunes 10 on Wednesday, Apple has revamped the application's icon for the first time in many years, doing away with the traditional design of music notes on top of a CD. Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the change at Wednesd...

Social brings native Facebook experience to iPad

Facebook's desktop Website doesn't work quite right on the iPad, and the company has yet to announce an official client for the device. Social is the latest third-party attempt at filling this gap, offering a native Facebook experience and a number of perks.


Facebook - Social network - Online Communities - Apple - Google

Shazam Music Discovery Apps Get Major Update; Brings New Features, Support For iOS 4 And Retina Display

Apple Adds Showtimes to Movie Trailer Site

Macworld reports that Apple has added listings of showtimes to its movie trailer site, offering a slick HTML5 interface that utilizes geo-location to find theaters in your area.

When you visit the page, your Web browser will a...

Apple Removes Custom Ringtone Creation in iTunes 10

Apple's former custom ringtone editor, no longer present in iTunes 10
As noted by Mac|Life, iTunes 10 appears to be lacking the ability to create ringtones from songs purchased from the iTunes Store. The feature had allowed users to s...

Review: Looptastic HD for iPad

Despite some minor inconveniences, Looptastic HD is well worth your musical while for creating and mixing loop-based tracks on the go. It's easy to use, includes lots of loops and depth, and offers enough fun to eat up hours of your time.


Apple - IPhone - Music - Looptastic HD - Arts

Epic Citadel shows the bright promise of iOS gaming’s future

Epic Games, creator of the Unreal 3 game engine, has been working on getting Unreal Engine 3 running in iOS for a while now. They showed off some of their efforts with a demo of "Project Sword" at Apple's iPod event, and Mike Capps of Epic Games talked about the direction he saw gaming on iOS devices taking in the future.

The fact that the Unreal 3 engine now runs seamlessly on iOS devices is a huge deal. This is the same game engine that's responsible for many high-quality titles on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, so having it run games on a device that fits in the palm of your hand is pretty mind-blowing. You can get a taste of Epic Games' Unreal 3 in iOS efforts with Epic Citadel, available on the App Store -- but because of the demanding graphical requirements, it's only compatible with the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad, and 3rd and 4th generation iPod touches. If you don't have one of those devices, the demo likely won't run at all.

A demo is really all Epic Citadel is; it's not a game as such, since there's really nothing for you to do except wander around and gape at the environment. And gape you will, because this is console-quality graphics on a 3.5 inch screen. While wandering through the castle grounds, I exclaimed several times, "I can't believe this is running on a freaking cell phone." The graphics in Epic Citadel easily surpass anything I've seen on the iPhone before, and they put the Nintendo DS to shame. Even the Wii doesn't put out graphics with this level of detail. To my eyes, only the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC games are competitive with the graphical richness I'm seeing in Epic Citadel on the iPhone.

Don't just take my word for it, though. Either download the demo yourself ,or if you can't run it on your device, check out our coverage in the video above. The game engine is truly amazing on the iPhone 4, especially with the Retina Display. And if this is the future of gaming in iOS, ... Nintendo and Sony had better step up their game.

Epic Citadel shows the bright promise of iOS gaming's future originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Epic Citadel shows the bright promise of iOS gaming's future originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Regarding Skyfire and proxied Flash on iPhone

Skyfire is a browser on other mobile platforms that was at one point purely proxy-based like Opera Mini (where everything was pre-rendered on a server then pushed out to the device via compressed files) but is now an all-grown up WebKit engine where Flash content is still proxied (processed server side and sent out as iOS friendly video).

They’re submitting it to the App Store — we know because, also like Opera, they announced their intent to submit — for iPhone and some concerned internet denizens are wondering whether or not it will get accepted, and what if anything it may mean about Apple’s current stance on Flash.

Short answer: nothing.

Long answer: Skyfire for iPhone would use the built-in WebKit viewer any app could use, and would probably proxy Flash the same way Microsoft claimed they worked with Apple to serve Silverlight. That means you’ll have a way to watch video, but probably not interact with punch-the-monkey adds. Win. [Hat tip to @sachasegan]

Why is it an apparent issue then? Because Skyfire posted about submitting it, because Apple conspiracy theorists love to conspire about theories concerning Apple, and because the App Store approval process remains utterly opaque and at times seemingly arbitrary.

Hopefully Skyfire gets approved and works well. My guess is it will get approved partly because it won’t work well — on-the-fly transcoding Flash to H.264 is a daunting task for developers (getting Flash to run native on Android is still hit and miss), and will be an exercise in patience and perseverance for users accustomed to things that just work.

We’ll see.

[Skyfire]

Regarding Skyfire and proxied Flash on iPhone is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

$0.99 iTunes ringtone creator no more?

It seems like only yesterday Steve Jobs introduced make-your-own ringtones in iTunes, where you could take a song you already bought, and pay again just to use it in cut-down form as a ringtone. And — whoosh! — now it’s gone from iTunes 10?

The recording industry is no doubt to blame for the $0.99 price tag — they manage to both charge consumers and stiff artists on those, keeping all the money for themselves — but I’m guessing there were at least a few people for whom the ease of use was worth the price.

You can still roll your own ringtones outside iTunes, or purchase them pre-made by Apple (though reader John shows you may be subjected to a humorous iOS downgrade image, after the break).

I never used the ringtone creator myself, so I won’t lament it, but surely someone is going to miss it? Right?

[MacLife]

$0.99 iTunes ringtone creator no more? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Speck PixelSkin Case for iPhone 4 – Accessory Review

I spent the past week using the PixelSkin Case for iPhone 4. Speck has a lot of great accessory lines from iPhone cases and skins to everything iPad and iPod as well, but I was a little hesitant at first as I’m not a fan of cases that add bulk and most pattern or etched cases do.  I was pleasantly surprised with this one and still have it on my iPhone. 

I’ve never been a huge fan of textured cases, but this one is deceiving. It isn’t really “textured”. Most of the square pattern you see is actually smooth on the outside of the case. It feels nice in the hand and slides in and out of pockets incredibly easily. Part of the reason I have always preferred smooth cases is I’m not a purse girl by any means. I prefer keeping my phone in my pocket. I carry about a messenger type bag with me for all intensive “purse purposes”. Throwing my phone in there, it would take me 20 minutes to find it when I needed it. Pockets are quicker and easier. So I’ve always looked for cases that don’t fight me when trying to slip it back into my pocket. Finding smooth, thin cases and not sacrificing any protection is always a tough battle.

This particular case not only feels good in the hand, but protects the sides of the phone and allows the screen to be a bit recessed without adding extra bulk. I’m the master at dropping my phone and I dropped it once with this case on it. It landed face down on hard wood floor with no damage to be seen. Since the case comes up over the edges, it helps for those times when you’d like to set your phone screen down, or Jobs forbid it, you’re like me and just have the clumsy gene. Either way – if you’re looking for a case that provides a decent amount of protection without adding “too” much bulk, check out the Speck PixelSkin case for iPhone 4 in the TiPb Accessory Store. It’s available in purple, pink, and black. If you already have it, let us know your thoughts on it in the comments as well! Still not the case for you, browse the rest of our case selection in the TiPb iPhone 4 Accessory Store!

Pros

• Doesn’t collect dust or pocket lint

• Extremely smooth despite being silicone

• Rugged look but smooth in your hand

• Doesn’t add bulk

• Doesn’t get dirty quickly like many silicone-based cases

Cons

• Stretches out a bit after being taken on and off

• Some 3rd party chargers and accessories may not fit into the dock connector with the skin on

Speck PixelSkin Case for iPhone 4 – Accessory Review is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Apple Reportedly Looking to Push Monthly iPad Production to 3 Million

According to a new research note from Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty, Apple's manufacturing partners are now pushing out two million iPads per month, with Apple urging them to boost production to thr...

Shazam 3.0 gets more content, iOS 4 support

A major upgrade to this music discovery app brings more media, like artist biographies and videos from YouTube, as well as support for multitasking and high-resolution graphics for the iPhone 4.


IPhone - YouTube - Shazam - Handhelds - Smartphones

Review: SlasherDerby for iPhone

SlasherDerby, a boxing game with a strange name, gets in a few good punches, but never lands a knock out.


Boxing - sport - iPhone 3G - Smartphones - Handhelds

iOS Passes Linux to Become Third-Most Popular Internet Browsing Platform

As noted by Computerworld, Internet research firm Net Applications has calculated that Apple's iOS has passed Linux to become the third-most popular Internet platform, surpassing Linux to trail only Windows and Mac OS X. According to Net App...

iOS 4.1 features: HDR photos

iOS 4.1 adds HDR photo capability to the iPhone — and now iPod touch — Camera app. HDR stands for high dynamic range and usually involves a photo with one or more identical photos that are over and under exposed and then combined together so that far more light and shadow information is available than a single exposure would allow. These high dynamic range images can then be tone mapped to provide a far greater amount of detail, far more like what the human eye can see. (That’s my lay person, non-photo geek understanding of it anyway — feel free to tear me apart in the comments, but only if you can explain it better).

So basically, you can see detail in the sky and in the shadow under the tree, rather than having one blown out or the other lost to black.

To enable HDR you simply tap the HDR button, much like the LED Flash button under iOS 4. Then, when you take the picture, iOS takes not only the regular shot but one overexposed and one underexposed. Shooting the picture seems to take roughly the same amount of time, but saving it takes noticeably longer.

So far, based on the results we’ve seen online, iOS HDR does a good job pulling color and detail back into what were previously blown out skies, but an only okay job revealing detail in shadowy areas.

For non photo geeks, however, all they’ll notice is better pictures with bluer skies and brighter people, which is probably why Apple added the feature in the first place.

iOS 4.1 features: HDR photos 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: Mirror’s Edge

Usually, we like to use this space to highlight developers and apps that could use a little more exposure, not call out big-budget titles from developers like Electronic Arts. But this one's worth it -- Mirror's Edge is a pretty terrific, completely original translation of the plaforming game that arrived on consoles last year. It was out on the iPad at launch earlier this year, and now the game has made its way to the iPhone, bringing Retina Display graphics and the same well done gameplay.

Out of all of the "major" game publishers, EA has shown Apple quite a bit of love in the past, and this is probably the company's best original (in mechanics, if not actually name or premise) title for the iOS platform. It's a real shame that it took so long for this one to make it around to the handheld, but now that it's here, it is worth the $4.99 purchase price for those looking for a premium iPhone experience.

And heck, if that's too much, just be patient another eight months or so and you'll probably see the game on sale. If you're interested in this gameplay at all -- basically a complicated Canabalt, with heroine Faith running, sliding and shooting her way across rooftops -- definitely give it a look.

TUAW's Daily App: Mirror's Edge originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TUAW's Daily App: Mirror's Edge originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iOS now 3rd most popular internet platform after Windows, Mac

Net Applications is reporting that iOS has passed Linux to become the third most popular platform accessing the internet. With a 1.1% share, they’re still behind big brother Mac OS X’s 5% and way behind Windows all-encompassing 91.3% share. However, for a mobile OS, especially considering the next most popular mobile OS, Android, is at 0.2%, that’s a fairly huge accomplishment. According to Vince Vizzaccaro, VP of NetApps:

“Whatever the sales are, we’re seeing iOS totally dominate the market on the Web. iOS has nearly a 6:1 advantage over Android.”

Eh. Given the high adoption rate of greeks and mainstream now, Android will probably catch up quickly. Linux probably won’t. Mobile as a whole is on a tremendous growth curve.

[NetApps via 9to5mac]

iOS now 3rd most popular internet platform after Windows, Mac is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Are the new iPod nano and Apple TV running iOS?

Apple introduced a new iPod nano this week with a multitouch screen, and a new Apple TV with an A4 chipset, but didn’t make clear if either or both were running iOS. Unlike iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, where they shout iOS from the rooftops, they’ve historically kept mum about iPod and Apple TV OS.

iPod nano looks like it’s running iOS. It has an iOS-like user interface with a subset of iOS-like built-in apps controlled by iOS-like gestures. There’s inertial scrolling with elasticity. You can even put icons into jiggly mode and rearrange them. In fact, when demonstrating that during his keynote, Steve Jobs said (emphasis mine):

Say I that on the home page, I can just push down, jiggle it, and move it, just like I can with my other iOS devices

Not official confirmation to be sure, but think about it this way: given their focus on iOS of late, would Apple spend the effort to re-create that interface on the old iPod OS just for iPod nano, or to spend it getting iOS running on iPod nano hardware?

Apple TV on the other hand looks nothing like iOS. However, it’s running on an Apple A4 chipset which has, thus far, only been used for iOS devices. Again, given Apple’s focus on iOS, would they spend the effort porting OS X to Apple A4 just for Apple TV, or recreate the Apple TV UI for iOS?

I didn’t hear Jobs mention anything about iOS during the show but Daring Fireball’s John Gruber claims it’s definitely iOS.

I’d love to know for sure, but for now my guess is Apple sees iOS as their future and any effort they put in to new mobile or media devices is going to be put into iOS, including iPod nano and Apple TV.

Are the new iPod nano and Apple TV running iOS? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Apple Details Features in iOS 4.2 for iPad

Apple has posted a dedicated page detailing the new features coming to the iPad in November. iOS 4.2 is the unifying release that finally brings the iPad and iPhone in feature sync. The iPad was originally launched with iOS 3.2 and has sin...