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Apple Offers New Subscription Gaming Services In App Store





app-store

According to Bloomberg’s report, Apple launched a new class of offerings in App Store, by allowing game development studio Big Fish Games to offer its titles to iPad users on a subscription basis. Such offerings could be a new revenue stream for game publishers and new option for users, which was earlier available only for digital publications. Bloomberg reports:

“Big Fish Games, a Seattle-based game publisher, won approval from Apple to become the first to offer users access to dozens of titles for $6.99 a month. Until now, games have only been available one at a time, requiring users to download individual applications”.

The option will be available through a dedicated Big Fish app where subscribers can gain unlimited access to such games as “Mahjong Towers” and “Mystery Case Files” series.

Games that can be accessed through the subscription service are streamed to an iPad from Big Fish Games’ data centers and initially they will require Wi-Fi access to be played.

The standard subscription package from the game publisher will be offered for $4.99 a month, increasing to $6.99 monthly subscription early next year when more titles can be accessed through the app. Also the company will offer a free ad-supported option to play up to 30 minutes per day.




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Written by maxim

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011. 15:24

Steve Jobs wanted Apple to reinvent TVs, textbooks and photography



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The famous author of Steve Jobs’ authorized biography, Walter Isaacson, has revealed in his recent interview that the passed away Apple’s co-founder had free things he wanted to reinvent: the television, textbooks and photography. The most difficult for him was television with its "complicated remote controls." Isaacson said that Jobs said he felt there was "no reason" for TVs to be so difficult to use and he claimed he had managed to “crack” the secret of a simple HDTV.

That has led to a new speculation and rumors that Apple is planning to release a television set at some point in the near future. The New York Times said last month that Apple is expected to release a TV with Siri voice recognition functionality by the year 2013.

Isaacson also noted that Jobs was interested in changing textbooks and photography. Apple has already started implementation of an iPad in schools to replace standard printed textbooks and offered to use the iPad as a device for taking pictures. Apple believes that digital textbooks are more convenient and the iPad will improve quality of pictures.




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Written by Svetlana Osipova

Monday, November 21st, 2011. 13:55

LinkedIn Announced a CardMunch iPhone App For Converting Business Cards Into Digital Form



linkedin-cardmuch-for-ios-teaser

Smartphones can be useful for doing many things, especially for management of personal information. If you regularly deal with business cards, you likely found specialized applications that allow you to effortlessly scan any business card to create a new contact entry on your device. The App Store has dozens of such apps as iPhone’s Business Card Reader from Shape Services.


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Written by maxim

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011. 20:44

Apple is Now Selling Unlocked Contract-Free iPhone 4S in the U.S.



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As it announced last month, Apple is now officially selling the iPhone 4S unlocked and contract free in the U.S.A.

The unlocked iPhone includes all the features of iPhone but without a contract commitment. You can activate and use it on the supported GSM wireless network of your choice, such as AT&T in the United States. The unlocked iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S will not work with CDMA-based carriers such as Verizon Wireless or Sprint.

If you don't want a multiyear service contract or if you prefer to use a local carrier when traveling abroad, the unlocked iPhone is the best choice. It arrives without a micro-SIM card, so you'll need an active micro-SIM card from any supported GSM carrier worldwide. To start using it, simply insert the micro-SIM card into the slot on your iPhone and turn it on by pressing and holding the On/Off button for a few seconds. Then follow the onscreen instructions to set up your iPhone.

You can purchase the 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB unlocked iPhone 4S for $649, $749, and $849 respectively.




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Apple opens up replacement program for first-gen iPod nano



IPOD

Apple reported that the battery in the first-generation iPod nano may overheat and pose a safety risk. Although, Apple had previously said that less than 0.001 percent of first-generation iPod nanos experienced the overheating issue, Apple has recently initiated a replacement program for the first-generation iPod nano. The company recommended users of the first-generation iPod nano to stop using the device and replace it for free.

The defect was firstly traced in 2008, when several customers experienced overheating on their first-generation iPod nano. South Korea, Japan and Europe international government agencies even initiated a special investigation and as a result the trade ministry in Japan ordered Apple to publicize the replacement offer on its Japanese website in 2010. Now Apple is notifying purchasers of the first-generation iPod nano about the replacement program, sending out emails.

"Apple has determined that, in very rare cases, the battery in the iPod nano (1st generation) may overheat and pose a safety risk. Affected iPod nanos were sold between September 2005 and December 2006," the company wrote. "This issue has been traced to a single battery supplier that produced batteries with a manufacturing defect. While the possibility of an incident is rare, the likelihood increases as the battery ages."




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Written by Svetlana Osipova

Saturday, November 12th, 2011. 21:10

Apple Jumps to Fourth in Greenpeace's Environmental Rankings of Electronics Companies



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Greenpeace ranked 15 companies across three areas: energy, greener products and sustainable operations and released its "Guide to Greener Electronics" on Wednesday. This time Apple took fourth place in the rating up five places from the previous report. Nokia (4.9/10), Dell (5.1/10), and HP (5.9/10) were on the third, second and first places respectively. Immediately below Apple were Philips (4.5/10), Sony Ericsson (4.2/10), Samsung (4.1/10) and Lenovo (3.8/10).

The organization criticized Apple for the fact that Apple has not specified any target to reduce emissions. Nevertheless, Greenpeace gave the company credit for use of renewable energy and improved energy efficiency. Apple is also very demanding for product criteria. So all of the company's devices are free of PVC vinyl plastic and brominated flame retardants.

But Apple’s relationships with Greenpeace are not limited by positive experience only. "For years now Apple has pushed the environmentally friendly aspects of its products, countering a dispute that began with Greenpeace in August of 2006, when the organization issued a report condemning Apple for the use of toxic chemicals in its devices. Greenpeace also pulled a number of publicity stunts, such as a "Green My Apple" campaign in London in October of 2006, and a "greening" of Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue glass cube in January of 2007."




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Written by Svetlana Osipova

Saturday, November 12th, 2011. 17:57

Android And iOS Account For 58% of Portable Gaming Revenue in U.S.



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Flurry, mobile analytics firm, reports that portable gaming has seen a continuous shift from dedicated gaming devices to smartphones and other multifunctional devices.


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Adobe Released Premiere Elements 10 Editors And Photoshop Elements 10 For Mac App Store



photoshop_elements_10_editor

In July Adobe for the first time entered the Mac App Store, releasing Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 Editor, scaled-down version of its image editing software. When the company pushed out boxed version of Photoshop Elements 10 in September, Adobe noted that the development of the version for Mac App Store is under way but under a different timeline as it is a separate application.


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Written by maxim

Monday, November 7th, 2011. 21:49

Belkin’s accessory for the iPhone Will Make Group Shots Easier



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Until Siri is able to snap pictures with your iPhone on your signal, snapping up perfect group pictures is not an easy task that involves using camera apps with timer capability (such as Camera+). Accessory producer Belkin has addressed this issue and designed an accessory for iPhone that allows you to remotely release the camera shutter on your device.


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Written by maxim

Monday, November 7th, 2011. 18:57

Apple Awards 1,000,000 Shares Of Stock To Its Seven Top Executives



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Apple awarded 1 million stock shares to its seven executives rewarding them for hard work over the fiscal year when the company for the first time earned more than $100 billion.


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Written by maxim

Saturday, November 5th, 2011. 13:03

iPhone 4S Users Complaining of Audio Issues: No Audio on Outgoing Calls, Echoes, Static



iphone_4s

A number of complaints regarding problems with echo on the iPhone 4S when used with a headset, with calls is growing. Moreover, the problem seems to appear on different phone models and carriers.

When using the Apple hands free headset with the phone during a call, I get an echo problem. It does not occur immediately. It can very from 30 seconds into a call and as far up to 9 mins in before it begins the annoying echo. If I unplug the headset it goes away but will return when I plug the headset back in. I have tried 3 brand new iphone 4s headsets with the same problems. So far I have tried rebooting, and also restored phone back to factory original settings as a new phone and still no resolution. I have been told by the other person on the line a screech sound is made then the echo begins.

Other issue that affects both incoming and outgoing calls is static on iPhone 4S call. The issue also occurs on multiple handsets as users exchanged devices at Apple retail stores in attempts to address the problem

The third problem involves users experiencing no audio on a subset of outgoing phone calls.

Picked up a Verizon iPhone 4S - 32GB and on about 1 in 10 calls I get no outbound audio when dialing. Call shows the timer counting as if the call is progressing but absolutely no ring back and cannot hear the party on the other end when they answer.




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Written by Svetlana Osipova

Friday, November 4th, 2011. 21:43

Tests Revealed Parallels 7 Is The Virtualization Performance Winner On The Mac



vmbench11-01-tallies

These days there are three main players at Linux/Windows Virtualization on Macs. One of them is a basic emulator VirtualBox that was acquired by Oracle as a part of Sun in 2009. Oracle isn’t very interested in development of free Open Source projects so it is unlikely that it will become much better in the near future.


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Written by maxim

Thursday, November 3rd, 2011. 2:33

This Thursday Apple Will Launch Two New Programs In Its Retail Stores



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This Thursday, Apple will implement some interesting changes in its retail stores. These changes are self-check capability and expansion of the system allowing to pick-up online orders in Apple Stores. New features will be launched in the form of update to the Apple Store App.

Pickup of standard items will be available in about 12 minutes after placing online orders. During this time system will send the order to the retail store and employees will set aside them for pickup. Customers can skip the line and just have to sign for the item and leave.

Engraved and build-to-order devices and other out-of-the stock products, will be shipped to the local Apple Store free of charge. Then the system will let you know the date of pickup and push notification in the App will inform you about arriving it to the store. The item will be available for pickup in 12 minutes after receiving the push notification.Apple expects that most customers will finally use in-store pickup system for buying products.

Another interesting feature that Apple is going to launch will streamline the retail experience at Apple Stores. Customers will be able to buy cheaper items, like cases, without even talking to an employee. That is how it will happen: after finding the product you want to buy, like a case, you open the Apple Store app that will offer an option to buy an item in the store. In the app you will scan the item with the camera of your device, click buy and the system will charge the credit card linked to your Apple ID.

Self Check Out and In-Store Pickup will launch on this Thursday worldwide.




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Written by maxim

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011. 12:51

Adobe Releases Carousel Apps For iOS And Mac



In early September, Adobe announced a new online service named Carousel for managing photos and today the company launched native Mac and iOS clients for this service. The apps allow managing and syncing all your photos across Macs and iOS devices via the cloud.


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Written by maxim

Thursday, October 27th, 2011. 20:10

Bloomberg TV App Allows Any iPad Holders To Watch Live Broadcast



bloomberg-tv-ipad-app

Unlike many its competitors, Bloomberg TV has offered its live broadcast in a Bloomberg TV+ app. The company announced that live broadcast would be available to all iPad owners on a subscription-free basis.


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Written by maxim

Thursday, October 27th, 2011. 19:05