19 percent of all game developers are writing for the iPhone and iPod Touch, according to a new study from Game Developer Research. It is more than twice as high as for the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS and results in 3/4 of all mobile game developers writing for Apple’s gadgets.
Developers claim their choices of platform dictated by the level of market influence and ease of writing code. The cost of development and the ability to port code are important too.
The transition to the iPhone is evident through the number of ports. While many companies are producing original titles, games like Civilization Revolution and Assassin’s Creed series are actually Nintendo DS versions modified to use the touchscreen and the better performance of Apple’s devices.
Google released a software update for Android-based Nexus One smartphones. The update offers a number of enhancements, but the most interesting one is a support of the multi-touch technology in phone's Browser, Gallery and Maps applications. The new functionality is called "pinch-to-zoom".
Google previously had an agreement with Apple, that Android OS would not support multi-touch in the U.S. Now it looks like all the agreements are gone.
Engadget posted a video of the Nexus One's pinch-to-zoom functionality:
A new photo of the iPhone 4G had been published by gadget blog Engadget just in a few hours before the iPad presentation, and because of the latter it has been lingering for nearly a week undetected.
Due to authorized sources the device on the photo is a prototype of the handset that will hit the market in about five months. As Engadget says, this fairly distorted shot is all that they have at the moment.
So it seems that iPhone appears without its iconic aluminum bezel. It looks like it is surrounded by a black plastic or maybe it's just rubberized somehow. Also a whitish spot on the left of the earpiece grill points to a camera lens, but it may also be just a reflection from some other source.
As it was claimed by authorized sources from Apple, the new iPhone 4G will have a customized system-on-a-chip package (like an iPad has) and improved battery.
Here is the first video of Apple iPad that was announced just couple hours ago. It is made by engadget specialists and shows the tablet in action. Let's watch:
Today Apple announced it's tablet computer - it is called Apple iPad. The screen is gorgeous, tilting is responsive, and the device is insanely thin and light. Here are first high quality photos from engadget:
Engadget has received some very interesting photos that could refer to the Tablet from Apple that will be presented today.
Okay, we obviously can't confirm this, but we just got two very interesting images of what certainly looks like a prototype Apple tablet.
The device appears to have a very iPhone-like Maps application with UI elements consistent with the current iPhone. Obviously, the screen is much larger with a much larger viewing area. There appears to be a home button at the bottom of the device, and a Wi-Fi signal near the top with "No Service" indicating no cellular service at the time the photo was taken.
Our colleagues from Engadget.com released their own iPhone / iPod touch app to bring different tech news directly to our famous devices. The app features a whole bunch of useful features such as offline viewing, built in streaming and different customization options.
This wonderful accessory plugs into the docking port on an iPhone (or iPod Touch), and turns Apple mobile platform into the holy grail of living room devices — a full programmable, multitouch universal RI remote. Included features are: an extensive library of IR codes, customizable buttons, and RF learning from other remotes. The accessorywill be used along with an app.
There is not much information about this gadget yet, but it will be officially announced at CES in just a few weeks.
Motorola Droid is a new Verizon phone based on Android platform. The guys from Engadget, as usual, have already been able to try and test this interesting device. Here are the results:
China Unicom published a press release which officially announces that the company has come to an agreement with Apple to sell the iPhone in China:
On 28 August, the Company and Apple reached a three-year agreement for the Company to sell iPhone in China. The initial launch is expected to be in the fourth calendar quarter of 2009. This will provide users with brand new communication and information experience.
The carrier will offer two different iPhones to its 141 million subscribers. Neither Apple nor China Unicom will reveal specs on the phones (WiFi?) or pricing.
Each European App Store is also carrying a fifth TomTom application offering a more narrowly localized version for the respective countries at a lower (~$30-40) price than the complete Western Europe version.
Benelux (iTunes link): offered in Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and covers those three countries
D-A-CH (iTunes link): Germany, Austria and Switzerland
France (iTunes link): France and covers France, Monaco and Corsica
Iberia (iTunes link): Spain and Portugal and covers Spain, Portugal, Andorra, Gibraltar, the major islands of the Balearic and Canary Island groups.
Italy (iTunes link): Italy, San Marino and Vatican City
Nordic (iTunes link): Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden and covers those four countries
U.K. & Ireland (iTunes link) - the U.K. and Ireland
Nice video of several different gadgets, including Nintendo DS, DSi, iPhone, iPod Touch and a Kaossilator. They all run various music apps. Take a look at the result: