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Amusing Angry Birds Star Wars 2 video shows off first gameplay & new ‘telepods’ controller, lands Sept. 19

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Rovio hinted at Angry Birds Star Wars 2 late last week, but today we get an official announcement as well as our first look at gameplay footage and the new Hasbro “Telepods” toys, which appear to let users transfer new characters into the game. The Telepod controller will be available where toys are sold, according to the video, and a broken link to Hasbro is provided.

The game goes live September 19th according to the Angry Birds site
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Rovio teases July 15th announcement for brand new Angry Birds Star Wars game

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Last November, Rovio introduced a new Angry Birds Star Wars game that brought iconic Star Wars locations and characters from the movies into the Angry Birds gameplay universe. Today the developer is teasing what looks to be an entirely new Star Wars themed Angry Birds game. While Rovio’s initial tweet only mentioned a “Big new game announcement” coming this Monday, it later confirmed on its blog that the announcement will be for “a brand new game” with “the biggest character line-up ever, awesome new powers, and maybe even a few surprises!”

On top of the teaser, Rovio is also making Angry Birds Star Wars available for free today for a limited time.

We don’t get any other details, but Rovio did include the image above hinting the game might be inspired by Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace:

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Angry Birds updated w/ new ‘Egg Defender’ gameplay mode, 15 new levels, & 73 Bad Piggies contraptions

Rovio has released a big update today to its original Angry Birds app, which happens to remain as the #1 app of all time. Today’s update brings a brand new gameplay mode known as “Egg Defender,” which according to iTunes gives “Red special powers to attack the advancing pigs.”

Also included in today’s update is 15 new levels with all-new challenges, as well as “73 crazy pig contraptions” straight from Rovio’s hit spin off title ‘Bad Piggies’.

What’s New in Version 3.2.0

The #1 app of all time gets a fun new update! You may be an expert pig popper, but how will you cope with a moving target? One bird stands between the egg and the advancing pig army in the all-new Red’s Mighty Feathers episode. The fearless Red Bird faces wave after wave of Bad Piggies in their crazy contraptions. But wait! He now has some magic feathers from the Mighty Eagle himself – giving Red incredible new powers as he darts toward those pesky pigs at incredible speed!

Fun new gameplay – the Egg Defender mode gives Red special powers to attack the advancing pigs!

15 new levels – the latest Red’s Mighty Feathers episode brings fresh new challenges!

73 crazy pig contraptions – wave after wave of Bad Piggies edging closer in their wacky machines!

Adobe, Google Shopper, Calendars by Readdle, Roku, Snapguide, Cubasis, Angry Birds Seasons, more

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News: With a heavy focus on its new Creative Cloud subscriptions lately (currently 60% off), TechHive confirmed with Adobe yesterday that it is cutting off physical, boxed sales of its Creative Suite apps.

As Adobe continues to focus on delivering world-class innovation through Creative Cloud and digital fulfillment, we will be phasing out shrink-wrapped, boxed versions of Creative Suite and Acrobat products.”

Readdle-CalendarGoogle Shopper version 3.2: Google has updated its Google Shopper app for iOS today with new features including a new category result page, larger product images in a new slideshow mode, as well as “improvements to search locale detection, stability, and performance.”

Calendars by Readdle: Readdle has rebranded its paid Calendars app to “Calendars+” today in order to make room for a brand new free app that takes over the “Calendars by Readdle” name. The new free app features a UI and features similar to Readdle’s previous Calendars app, which the company tells us now has over 500,000 users.

Calendars lets you manage events both online and offline. Thanks to the unique interface you can move events simply with Drag & Drop, navigate quickly between dates, change event time and reminders rapidly with custom keyboards. Calendars supports everything you can find in Google Calendar: appointments, SMS reminders and more. Sync is really fast and your information is always up to date.

Roku version 2.1.2: The app that allows you to control your Roku from your iPhone gets official support for the Roku 3 player today:

• Support for Roku 3 player
• Minor fixes

Snapguide version 1.1.3: New photo editing features, search filters, and more:

– Introducing photo editing features! When creating a guide, you can now rotate and enhance images.
– Easily find guides you have liked. You can now filter liked guides by topics such as Food, Arts and Crafts and more!
– Bug Fixes.

Cubasis version 1.2: A massive update today for Steinberg’s iPad version of Cubase brings a ton of new features and fixes:
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Path, Fantastical, Angry Birds, Team Coco, DataMan Pro, Asphalt 7, The Croods, deals, more

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News:

The Croods: Previously announced, Rovio has today released the first official gameplay video for its upcoming iOS movie tie-in for DreamWorks’ upcoming ‘The Croods’ animated feature film hitting theatres March 22. Check out the full gameplay video above.

Updates:

Path version 3.0.1: Path is introducing some new features with an update to its iOS app today that brings a new Messaging features, handcrafted stickers, and a marketplace called “The Shop” where users can purchase “premium photo filters and handcrafted stickers.”

★ Messaging – The fast, fun, and private way to message your family and friends one-to-one or in small groups. Use your words, your voice, your location, media, stickers, and more!
★ Stickers – Say more in a single tap with handcrafted stickers from some of our favorite artists.
★ The Shop – The hand curated place to find premium photo filters and handcrafted stickers to make your Path experience more you.
✓ Performance improvements.
☂ Bug fixes.

Fantastical-screenshot-Fantastical version 1.1: Fantastical, the calendar app we recently reviewed and loved, is updated today with a number of new features including multiple alerts, time zone support, and much, much more. The app is also on sale for a limited time for $3.99 USD.

– Multiple alerts when creating events
– Time zone support
– Duplicate or move events (tap and hold an event in the event list)
– Go to a specific date (tap and hold the red title bar)
– Event list is now scrollable when using the calendar
– Today’s timed events dim after the event has ended
– Copied text containing event info can automatically be made into an event
– Added setting to highlight weekends
– Added setting to show empty days on the DayTicker
– Added setting to display the number of today’s remaining events or date on the app icon badge
– State restoration (iOS 6 only)
– A staggering number of other improvements, parser enhancements, and bug fixes

Conan O’Brien Presents: Team Coco version 3.1: Conan’s iPhone app bringing content from his Team Coco site has been completely redesigned and now includes full episodes of Conan on demand as well as the two-screen syncing experience previously only available to iPad users.

Angry Birds version 3.1.0: On top of making the previously 99 cent original Angry Birds title Free today, the app (both iPad and iPhone versions) have been updated with brand new content. The updated app includes “15 fantastic new levels for the Bad Piggies episode!”

Asphalt 7: Heat version 1.0.8: New super cars and events get added to Gameloft’s popular Asphalt 7: Heat title:
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DataMan Next, Lumify, Angry Birds Space, SoundCloud, deals, more

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New:

DataMan-Next-iOS-app1. DataMan Next: The same developer behind the popular DataMan apps for tracking data usage on your iOS devices is out today with DataMan Next for iPhone featuring an all-new design. The app lets you get real-time stats on cellular and Wi-Fi usage, receive threshold alerts, view usage by bill cycle, and more.

Updates:

1. Lumify Movie Studio version 3.0: The app that we previously referred to as an Instagram of video apps was updated today with a ton of new features including 5 new video filters, multi-track audio mixing, and a slew of new editing features.

2. Angry Birds Space for Mac version 1.4.0: 30 new levels and more in the latest update to the Mac App Store version of Angry Birds Space:

-Make a splash in 30 NEW LEVELS!

-Get ready for the ultimate underwater boss level!

-Three-star levels for 3 new bonus levels!

3. SoundCloud version 2.4.3:
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30M Angry Birds downloads for Christmas, LocalScope, Words With Friends, Chase Mobile, NY Times, Word Derby, SpringPad, and more

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AB_INFOGRAPHIC

9to5Mac has once again scoured the App Store for all the latest app launches, price drops, noteworthy news, and updates, and we have compiled everything in a roundup below. Check it out, but keep coming back as we continually refresh the list throughout the day.

News

1. Rovio | Rovio App Store Hub
The brains behind the popular Angry Birds Franchise, as well as Bad Piggies and Amazing Alex, just announced via a blog post that Angry Birds saw over 30 million downloads during Christmas week—with 8 million of them being on Christmas Day alone:

Wow, what a year! We released four critically-acclaimed bestselling mobile games, developed two top-rated Facebook games, and reached more than a billion downloads — all before our 3rd “Birdday”! Angry Birds Star Wars and Bad Piggies in particular have dominated the app charts, with Angry Birds Star Wars holding the #1 position on the US iPhone chart ever since its release! To top it all off, we had 30 million downloads during Christmas week (December 22-29) and, on Christmas Day, over 8 million downloads in 24 hours alone!

Check out the infographic above for more details.

Updates

1. Words With Friends – Universal | $2.99
Version 5.70 is now live and features the ability to play with non-Facebook-connected users. The changelog also includes enhanced support for iPhone 5 and the opportunity to post challenges to Facebook friends’ walls. The usual, yet unspecified, bug fixes and improvements are also present.

2. Snapseed – Universal | Free
This popular Google-owned photo app pushed out version 1.5.1, but the update only features a fixed issue in which opening images from camera roll could cause a crash, general bug fixes, and improvements.

3. Scribblenauts Remix – Universal | 99 cents
Version 2.7 landed yesterday and brought the ability to revert back to the original playground and icon. The changelog also boasts minor bug fixes.

More apps, updates, and deals are below.


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Chrome gets background audio, Google+ 4.0, The Witcher 2 for Mac, GoPro App, Slashtop for Business, Rovio 99 cent sale, more

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftJ-8wsI4Dg&list=PLa23C9cgXXk0MczCBYTMu_4jVxvtWM335&index=1]

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kinds Enhanced Edition (for Mac): Developers of critically acclaimed RPG The Witcher 2, originally released on PC and consoles, announced that an OS X port of the game is now available on the Mac App Store for $20.

The Witcher 2 is one of the most sophisticated games ever presented on Mac computers. Prepare to test out the gaming potential of the new iMacs in one of the best looking games for Apple’s computers. We have prepared a special app to test the game’s performance before players can buy it. To check it out just click here

Chrome version 23.0.1271.96: Google has updated its Chrome iOS app today with one highly requested feature- the ability to play sound when the app is running in the background. That means content with sound that you are playing in the browser, such as a YouTube video or mp3, would continue play when multitasking. The update also includes a fix for a character encoding bug.

-Allow sound to play when app is backgrounded.
-Fix character encoding bug.

GoPro App version 1.1.13: GoPro has updated its iOS app to include support for features exclusive to the HERO3 camera lineup.

-Supports features in HERO3 cameras

Wreck-it Ralph version 1.1:

NEW ARRIVALS IN GAME CENTRAL STATION!
• Turbo Time is here! Enter the race for gold, and drive at turbo speed in this all-new arcade racer!
• New achievements are in! Earn new achievements for Fix-It Felix Jr., Hero’s Duty, Sweet Climber, and Turbo Time.
• Added language support for Dutch and Russian

Splashtop for business version 2.2.0.1: 
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Yahoo! Mail, Find My iPhone, Angry Birds, 1Password 4, Pokédex, Fantastical, Shazam, TWC TV, price drops, and more

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha_4nrGyGPk&feature=player_embedded]

9to5Mac has once again scoured the App Store for all the latest app launches, price drops, noteworthy news, and updates, and we have compiled everything in a roundup below. Check it out, but keep coming back as we continually refresh the list throughout the day.

Announcements

1. 1Password 4 for iOS
AgileBits, the makers of 1Password and Knox, posted a teaser vid on its blog this morning (above) and revealed 1Password 4 for iOS is coming: 

An unforgettable journey. An epic battle. A fellowship strengthened. Ancient truths protected by the one password you need to remember.

1Password 4 for iOS is coming.

Just Released

1. Yahoo! Mail | Free
Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer announced on Yahoo’s corporate blog today that a new Yahoo! Mail app for iOS has launched:

We’ve redesigned the new version of Yahoo! Mail with speed in mind — getting through your emails is faster than ever before. We’ve also made your inbox more intuitive and easier to navigate, allowing you to focus on what matters most: your messages. And, because mobile is everything these days, Yahoo! Mail now has a consistent look and feel across devices.

The app features inbox access with just one tap, push notifications for new messages, continuous scroll for inbox, auto complete email addresses, swipe gestures, multi-select message options, and the ability to attach photos, preview photos, and search in folders.

2. Pokédex for iOS | $1.99
An official Pokédex for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad finally launched last night. The universal app features Retina display and iPhone 5 support, six languages, powerful search functions, and the ability to “combine Pokémon from each region to make a National Pokédex!”

More updates and price drops below.


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WordPress, Tumblr, Angry Birds Seasons, Notability, Starbucks, deals, more

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App & Updates Dec 3

WordPress version 3.3: The WordPress iOS app gets an update today that brings audio feedback with new sound effect options for “refreshing, swiping, and more” accessible from Settings. The app has also been updated with optimizations for iPad mini, support for self-signed certificates, and fixes for over 20 bugs:

★ Sound effects: get audio feedback when refreshing, swiping, and more. You can turn off Sounds easily in Settings.
• Works great on the iPad Mini.
• Added support for self-signed certificates.
• Over 20 bugs and crashes fixed.

Angry Birds Seasons version 3.1.0: Over the weekend Rovio updated its Angry Birds Seasons apps with new content for Winter. Included is 25 winter levels (one each day) and “three secret levels for some special wintry treats.” HD iPad version available here.

It’s a snowy winter night, the northern lights are ablaze, and it seems like peace on earth… until the bad piggies show up! The Angry Birds didn’t realize that they’re walking in a winter wonderham!

Tumblr version 3.2.2: The Tumblr iPhone app gets a few features today include a new blog lookup feature to find blogs by username, and a panorama view when tapping photos:

• New blog lookup feature! Go to your Account screen and tap “Find blogs” to search by username.
• New panorama view! Just tap the photo to get a closeup.
• Bug fixes, including one that made it difficult for some users to launch the app.

Starbucks 2.5.2:

* iPhone 5 Support
* Multiple Bug fixes
* Added back sound when stars drop in cup – now an option to turn on or off

Notability version 4.42: A big update goes to the popular note taking, handwriting, and PDF annotation app that brings iOS 6 support, the ability to import .doc, .ppt, and .xls files as PDFs with Google Drive, localizations, and much more:
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Rovio releases Angry Birds Star Wars app to the masses

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The highly-anticipated (and much-teased) Angry Birds Star Wars is now available in both the App Store and Mac App Store.

Developer Rovio has long been working with the recently Disney-acquired LucasArts to bulk its popular app lineup with a Star Wars-themed iteration of Angry Birds that brings new creative and play experiences to the franchise.

The latest Rovio title ditches the traditional exploding/flinging Angry Birds for a slew of new bird characters each wielding a unique weapon. The Han Solo bird, for instance, halts enemies with a three-shot space gun. The game also features iconic Star Wars locations, 80 immersive levels, “hours and hours” of gameplay, fresh mechanics, and new level-up capabilities for birds.

“Use the Force, wield your lightsaber, and blast away Pigtroopers on an intergalactic journey from the deserts of Tatooine to the depths of the Pig Star — where you’ll face off against the terrifying Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Pigs,” wrote Rovio in the app’s App Store description. “Time to grab your lightsaber and join the adventure! May the birds be with you!”

Check it out:

Angry Birds Star Wars also landed on the Android, Amazon Kindle Fire, and Windows 8 platforms today.

The full press release is below.


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Reader eBooks by Sony, Angry Birds Star Wars, BBC iPlayer, Facebook, Instagram rolls out Web profiles, app sales, and more

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXzMN9pbxCE&feature=youtu.be]

9to5Mac compiled another list of the top app news, updates, and launches in our usual roundup below. The highlights from today includes statistics on how the newly Web-geared Instagram helped capture Hurricane Sandy in real-time, a new eBook app by Sony, and a shiny teaser trailer for Rovio’s Angry Birds Star Wars (above). Oh, and a few app sales—check it out:

News

1. Angry Birds Star Wars
After releasing a string of teasers for its title landing on iOS Nov. 8, Rovio posted the first official full-length gameplay trailer today for its new Star Wars edition of Angry Birds.

Angry Birds Star Wars will be out on November 8, but until then, watch this gameplay trailer and scream “OH MY GOODNESS!!!!” to yourself in the mirror

2. Instagram | Free
Hurricane Sandy barreled through the East Coast last week, and those in its stormy path made sure to document all of the havoc in real-time with the help of Instagram. Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom revealed to GigaOM today that folks uploaded over 800,000 photos tagged with the #Sandy hashtag. Systrom specifically noted Sandy was “probably the biggest event to be captured on Instagram.” The news from Systrom this morning came as the Facebook-acquired company also announced the rollout of new Web profiles with a very Facebook-esque look (via official Instagram blog):

You’ve asked for Instagram on the web and we’ve listened. Over the next few days, we’ll be rolling out Instagram profiles on the web!

Your web profile features a selection of your recently shared photographs just above your profile photo and bio, giving others a snapshot of the photos you share on Instagram. In addition, you can follow users, comment & like photos and edit your profile easily and directly from the web. It’s a beautiful new way to share your Instagram photos!

Just launched
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Angry Birds Space, Path for iPad, Clear for Mac, Air Patriots, more

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Angry Birds Space version 1.3.1: Ten new Mars levels today for Angry Birds Space and the HD iPad version:

-Navigate 10 volcanic new levels, including the Mars Curiosity Rover boss level!
Get three stars on all levels to unlock a new antenna egg level!
-Hunt for the hidden rover to unlock a super-secret bonus level!
-All new space eagle bonus levels, one per episode! Get 100% on the space eagle destruction meter to unlock 5 new levels!

Path for iPad: Path announced on its blog a new version of its iOS app is hitting the App store later today that will bring a Path experience tailored specifically for iPad. The blog post described some of the enhancements for iPad, including: the ability to see “the day on one screen and swipe to see previous days”, and redesigned full-screen and landscape-views to show more content.

Air Patriots: Amazon Game Studios is launching its first mobile game on a number of platforms today including iPhone and iPad. The title is a tower defense game allowing you to “control a squadron of planes by drawing the paths they will follow to engage the enemy.” You can get it for free on the App Store now with a $3 map pack available as an in-app purchase.

Clear for Mac: We have covered the slick designed “Clear” to-do list app for iPhone in the past. Developers Realmac Software have now officially announced a Mac version of the app landing in the Mac App Store on November 8th for $14.99. The app includes iCloud support for easily managing lists across the iOS and Mac versions, and a “gestural interface built for your trackpad.”

SlingPlayer Mobile version 3.1: 
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Bad Piggies, Kindle, Cut the Rope, National Geographic Magazine for iPhone, more

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Bad Piggies version 1.1.0: Rovio has updated its new Bad Piggies title with 15 new levels today, as well as a new free sandbox level. The update also includes its biggest sandbox level yet, called “Field of Dreams”, as an in-app purchase.

 The Bad piggies finally did it — they finally got the eggs! But can they hold on to them with the Angry Birds in hot pursuit? Even under the cover of darkness, they’ll need all of their best machines to stay ahead! 

-Fly through 15 tricky new levels with the birds on your tail!
-Take cover in a brand new moonlit theme!
-Unleash your creativity on a free new sandbox level!
-Introducing the Field of Dreams: Our biggest sandbox level yet, now available for purchase!

National Geographic Magazine version 2.1: With this update the free app is now available to National Geographic subscribers on the  iPhone:

• Now available for iPhone!

Kindle version 3.4: A nice update to the Kindle iOS app comes following Apple releasing new features for iBooks. The app now supports Japanese with vertical text & Manga, an option to read books in the publisher suggested font, and a new “Caecilia” font choice. Also included is X-Ray for Textbooks:

X-Ray for Textbooks gives you instant access to all the most important terms and concepts in a book, with glossary definitions, links to relevant textbook pages, and related content from Wikipedia and YouTube (available on many of the most popular print replica textbooks)

Cut the Rope version 2.0: Popular Chillingo title Cut the Rope is getting updated today with new levels, iPhone 5 and Game Center support, and more. The HD iPad version gets the same update
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Angry Birds Seasons, Opera Mini, Square in Canada, Music Unlimited, more

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Angry Birds Seasons version 2.3.0: Rovio updated its Seasons edition of Angry Birds with 30 new levels for Halloween and much more. The HD iPad version gets the same update.

BOO! The pigs are hiding in their spookiest location yet: a haunted house! The Angry Birds will have to brave ghosts and ghouls to get their eggs back — if they can survive the house first! Are your eyes playing tricks on you or did that painting just move?!

-Explore the scary secrets of the brand new haunted house!
-Try to survive 30 all new spooky levels!
-Shiver and shake to the ghostly new Halloween music!
-Use the brand new ghost bricks for fun trick shots!
-Say hello to Frankenswine and the other pigs, all dressed up for Halloween!

Square Register version 2.4: Square is officially rolling out its payment service internationally today with the Canadian launch and an updated Square Register iOS app. Full details in the company’s press release here.

– Square Register is now available in Canada!

Opera Mini version 7.0.5:

 – Integration with iOS Facebook framework (iOS 6+)
– Improved performance when saving large images
– Fixed freeze after sharing via email
– Fixed video playback on youtube.com (iPhone and iPod)
– Performance and stability fixes
– Added support for iOS 4.2.1
– Various iOS 6 related fixes

Music Unlimited version 1.2: The iOS app for Sony’s subscription music service gets a decent update today with the ability to “Create channels inspired by your favorite artists” and more:

· My Channels – Create channels inspired by your favorite artists.
· Playlist management – Create and edit playlists on your mobile device.
· Some features have been improved.

Lumify version 2.0: One of our favorite new social video apps gets a big update:
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Apps and updates: Clucks by AOL, Netflix, Camera+ for iPad, The Dark Knight Rises, Real Racing 2 HD and more

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[slideshow]

Many apps updated, went on sale, or made announcements recently, and 9to5Mac gathered the most noteworthy ones in our regular round up below. Today’s crop includes new games by AOL and Rovio, updates for popular video services and social networks, more notable apps adding support for iOS 6, and huge price drops and daily deals. Per usual, we will continue to update this list throughout the day.

Check them out:


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Apps and updates: Kingdom Rush, UPAD, Any.DO, CoPilot Live (promo codes) and more

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[slideshow]

A few apps updated, went on sale, or made announcements recently, and 9to5Mac gathered the most noteworthy ones in our regular round up below. Today’s crop includes game and productivity app updates, an Angry Birds game sale, and promo codes for an iPhone 5-optimized GPS app. Per usual, we will continue to update this list throughout the day.

Check them out:


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Apps & updates: Angry Birds Seasons, Amazon Instant Video, Dunkin’ Donuts, Shazam, more

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As always, we will update our list of new apps and updates hitting the App Store and Mac App Store throughout the day:

Angry Birds Seasons version 2.5.0: New content for Rovio’s “Seasons” edition of Angry Birds rolled out today (including the HD version). The update includes 20 new schoolyard levels, bonus levels, a new pink bird, and new theme music for the playground levels.

Amazon Instant Video version 1.1: Amazon’s iPad app provides access to over 120,000 videos from the Amazon Instant Video store and thousands more Prime Instant Video titles, and it was updated today with a couple notable features. First—a new search function has been added to find specific titles from Prime. Also included in the update are an improved navigation bar and a number of bug fixes.

Shazam version 5.0.6: All of the versions of the song recognition app Shazam were updated today with an improved recognition rate and faster application startup time. The update also went to the $5.99 RED edition.

Dunkin’ Donuts version 1.0: Dunkin’ Donuts officially announced the release of its first mobile app today that allows customers to pay from the app using a virtual barcode-based DD card scanned by the cashier. Other features include a store locator, nutritional information for items on the menu, the ability to send virtual DD cards, and Facebook and Twitter integration.


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Apps & updates: Amazing Alex, Hulu Plus, Weather Channel, Tweetbot, and more

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Amazing Alex: (iPhone $.99/iPad $2.99)We recently got a little teaser for Rovio’s new game, but today we get the official launch trailer for Amazing Alex that now has a solid July 12 release date for iOS devices. Also included in today’s list of apps and updates is a refreshed Weather Channel iPad app, and updates to CloudOn and the VLC Remote app.

Weather Channel for iPad v3.3.0: The popular Weather Channel app for iPad was updated today with a number of notable new features and enhancements. Included in the update are improved radar maps, HD backgrounds for the iPad’s Retina display, and improvements to crashes experienced by first-gen iPad users. You can now also refresh data by tapping the Weather Channel logo within the app.

CloudOn v2.0.55: CloudOn allows you to access Microsoft Office on the iPad with DropBox and Google Drive integration, and today’s update brings even more functionality, including: the ability to open password protected Office files, an improved experience for Retina iPad users, and more.

Hulu Plus: Hulu Plus is now offering a free two-month trial opposed to its usual 1-month offering. The Hulu Plus iOS app is available here.

VLC Remote v6.02: The app that controls the VLC Media Player on Macs and PCs received a minor updated today that fixes issues with YouTube browsing and translations in several languages.

Tweetbot v2.4.1: A small updated to the Tweetbot iPhone and iPad client today brings the ability to “toggle smart quotes in the compose view (tap in the text input area)” and various fixes including one related to crashes for Droplr uploads.

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Apps & updates: Adobe Photoshop Express, Growl, SketchBook Express, Angry Birds Space, and more

Below is our usual list of newly released apps and updates that landed in the App Store today. Some of the more notable apps on the list include updates to iOS apps Adobe Photoshop Express, and SketchBook Express, and Mac App Store apps Growl and Angry Birds Space. We will keep the list updated as more apps and updates are released throughout the day.

Adobe Photoshop Express Version 2.5: The free universal iPhone and iPad app was updated to include the Adobe Effects Pack of “45- eye-catching effects” and the Enhanced Adobe Border Pack with 18 new borders as in-app purchases. The update also includes improvements to borders, effects, and editing, as well as Tumblr and Twitter sharing options, improvements to Facebook and Flickr sharing, and support for the iPad’s Retina display.

SketchBook Express Version 2.5: The free version of Autodesk’s SketchBook Pro app was updated today with a few new features including palm rest, a random color option in Color Editor, and other enhancements and bug fixes.

Voice Answer Version 1.3: We told you about the Voice Answer app before when Apple rejected it for being too much like Siri. Today, Apple has finally allowed an update to the app that turns the app’s AI— named Eve—into a “a fully animated 3D robot.” The update also includes voice messaging, email, and calling, and it now supports 54 languages for translations.

Growl Version 1.4:  Popular Mac notification app Growl received an update on the Mac App Store today with dozens of enhancements and tweaks to the service. The app’s release notes mentioned: “Major improvements to networking,” “Applications Tab Redesign,” and a long list of other improvements.

Angry Birds Space Version 1.2.0: The same as the iOS apps the other day, the Mac App Store version of Angry Birds Space now includes the “delicious food planet of Utopia,” which features 10 new levels for the title that recently reached 100 million downloads.

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Apps and updates: LinkedIn passwords leak, Angry Birds Space hits 100M, and Sparrow teases iPad app

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The blogosphere is abuzz this morning regarding a few key developments—some good, some bad—within notable iOS apps, including: Linkedin, Angry Birds Space, and Sparrow.

Linkedin

  • UPDATE at 1:02 p.m. PST.: According to LinkedIn’s Director Vicente Silveira: “We can confirm that some of the passwords that were compromised correspond to LinkedIn accounts.” More information about what LinkedIn is doing to remedy the situation is detailed in a blog post by the company’s director.
  • UPDATE at 10:01 a.m. PST.: LinkedIn just updated its iOS app to version 5.0.3 to bring “miscellaneous bug fixes” and “improvements in calendar.” The company promised earlier that it would no longer send sensitive data from the meeting notes section of calendar events and that it would provide a “learn more” link to offer more information on how it crops data. These improvements are also live on the Android counterpart.
  • LinkedIn’s free iOS app is in the middle of a scandal after reports from last night indicated the professional network scrubs calendar entries filled with business and personal data, and then transmits the sensitive particulars to the company’s servers without users’ knowledge. LinkedIn promptly took to its official blog and tried to reassure users that all is well. Unfortunately, the website’s troubles do not stop there: According to a report from The Verge today, a Russian forum member [translated] claimed to have hacked and uploaded nearly 6.5-million LinkedIn passwords. The company posted a tweet this morning notifying users that it is “currently looking into reports of stolen passwords.” A later tweet from the company revealed it could not confirm the existence of a security breach, but asked users to “stay tuned.”

[tweet https://twitter.com/linkedin/status/210390233076875264] 

Angry Birds Space

  • Rovio, the gurus behind the popular iOS app Angry Birds Space, announced in a tweet this morning that its latest offering in the popular Angry Birds series hit 100 million downloads across all platforms. The game passed 50 million downloads within 35 days of its launch, and the company revealed last month that all Angry Birds titles cumulatively hit 1 billion downloads across all platforms. Those are some astonishing stats for a 99-cent app.

[tweet https://twitter.com/AngryBirds/status/210363760307732481]

Sparrow

  • Sparrow launched a landing page today on its website with the message: “We are preparing something bigger.” The URL, sprw.me/ipad, is an indication that the popular email client for Mac and iPhone is now coming to the iPad. A contact field to sign up for updates is centered on the page. Once an email is submitted, an image of the iPad immediately springs from below.



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Apps and updates: Little Things Forever, Diet Coda, Sparrow, Netflix, Angry Birds Space, and more

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A few of the most noteworthy apps in the iOS ecosystem either landed on the App Store recently or received much-welcomed updates, such as the launch of Little Things Forever—the long-awaited sequel to the “iPad App of the Week” Little Things. Performance enhancements and new feature additions also arrived to Little Things,  as well as Diet Coda, Sparrow for iPhone, Netflix, Etsy, Pinterest, Angry Birds Space and Angry Birds Space HD, Flixster with Rotten Tomatoes, Google Shopper, and Djay and Djay Free.

Check out the full slate of notables below.


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Fan backlash over adverts injected in Angry Birds HD

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Last night, an update to Angry Birds HD dropped on iPad with fifteen new levels, a new golden egg and a “feature” that has immediately angered loyal fans – adverts. No, not the unobtrusive types of an AdMob or AdSense variety seen in some apps. In Angry Birds HD, a “news section” – a nicer word for advertisements – hits gamers in the face upon reaching the pause screen.

It pitches the official merchandise, forcing gamers to wait for the promotional animation to finish, thus hindering their ability to restart the level and resume the game as quickly as possible. The move backfired as agitated fans began posting despicable comments in iTunes reviews. Here’s what one avid fan wrote:


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