Crytek shows off iOS tactical action game ‘The Collectibles’, coming later this year with MFi controller support

Jordan Kahn

Cytek-The-Collectibles-03

Crytek, the company behind CryEngine and the popular Crysis series, is planning to release a new tactical action game later this year for iOS called ‘The Collectibles’.  We’re told the company implemented support for Apple’s new MFi gaming controller framework just in time to give developers a preview of the game and new controls during a session last week at WWDC.

Developers tell us team members from Crytek’s Budapest studio demoed the game on stage, which has the player command a squad of five through your typical war-torn environment. It isn’t the first time Crytek has released a game for iOS devices, but it is the first time it’s bringing a shooter of sorts– the genre its best known for– to the platform. There doesn’t, however, seem to be any first-person shooter elements, as the title looks to be an overhead, tactical action game from the screenshots below. Read more

Apple building a new flagship store in Palo Alto – close by the Microsoft one

Ben Lovejoy

palo

ifoAppleStore (via TechCrunch) reports that Apple is building a new “big, visually stunning” flagship store in Palo Alto – in the Stanford shopping center, close to the store Microsoft opened last year.

This store design was completed in 2011 by Apple’s long-time architectural firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. It was approved by Steve Jobs about six months before Tim Cook assumed the position of CEO in August of that year. It took another year to refine the design and obtain building approvals. Demolition on the former building began late last year.

If you’re keen to get a preview of what Apple has planned for its retail stores, Palo Alto is reputedly the place to be …  Read more

Paperback edition of Steve Jobs bio out on September 10th – with younger Steve on the cover

Ben Lovejoy

steve-jobs-book-covers

The paperback edition of Steve Jobs: A Biography will be available on September 10th, featuring a younger Steve on the cover and a new afterword, reports AllThingsD.

The photo used on the hardback, taken by Albert Watson in 2006, was based on the pose of the much earlier photo used on the paperback, taken by Norman Seeff in 1984 – the year the Macintosh was launched. Steeff also took the famous photo of Jobs posing with that Mac, which Time used as its cover photo for its commemorative issue shortly after his death …

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As Apple’s built in camera gets filters, Instagram planning to move into Vine territory with Video?

Jordan Kahn

Instagram_logoJust as Apple introduced iOS 7 equipped with Instagram-like filters built-in to the redesigned camera app (although not for video), word has it Instagram is looking to move into Vine’s territory by adding video features in an upcoming update.  According to a report from TechCrunch, Facebook’s event later this week won’t focus so much on that rumored news reader, but more so on integration of a Vine-like short video feature for Instagram: Read more

This could be one of the first Apple authorized iPhone gaming controllers

Dan DeSilva

logitech-iphone-controller-game

We already know that Apple has added support for game controllers in iOS7, but it appears that these plans are further along than first thought.  According to Kotaku, the above image shows an early  iOS gaming controller prototype made specifically for the iPhone 5 by gaming giant Logitech. While they weren’t forthcoming with details of where the device was seen or who showed it to them, Kotaku is standing firm that they believe this photo to be absolutely authentic.  The decision to support integrated gaming accessories is in stark contrast to Steve Jobs’ stance that such products would ruin the “elegance” of Apple devices (even though he got his start at Atari).

A reader reached out with this image from one of Apple’s WWDC sessions, which appears to show the same Logitech controller.

Screen Shot 2013-06-17 at 9.49.01 AM

Bluetooth gaming devices have existed for iOS devices for quite some time but most have had limited compatibility and fragmented compatibility.  An integrated, Apple authorized (MFi) gaming controller is going to be a welcomed addition for the iOS gaming community.

Screen Shot 2013-06-17 at 8.13.24 AM3rd party gaming accessories like the iCade Mobile (Above) have existed for years

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Apple responds to accusations of sharing customer data with U.S. government

Mike Beasley

Apple published an open letter late Sunday night responding to recent allegations that the company had given customers’ personal information, including phone call logs, to the U.S. government as part of the National Security Agency’s secret “PRISM” program.

In the letter, Apple notes that the government had in fact issued several thousand requests for such information, but that Apple’s legal department had carefully examined each request and turned over only the smallest amount of information necessary, sometimes rejecting requests outright.

From December 1, 2012 to May 31, 2013, Apple received between 4,000 and 5,000 requests from U.S. law enforcement for customer data. Between 9,000 and 10,000 accounts or devices were specified in those requests, which came from federal, state and local authorities and included both criminal investigations and national security matters. The most common form of request comes from police investigating robberies and other crimes, searching for missing children, trying to locate a patient with Alzheimer’s disease, or hoping to prevent a suicide.

Apple has placed a link to the full letter at the bottom of their home page, or you can read the entire thing after the break. Read more