Jordan manages the internal Partner Program for sponsorships and partnerships across the 9to5 network’s media brands including 9to5Mac, 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, Electrek.co, SpaceExplored and DroneDJ.com.
While it certainly has some competition in this arena, major Apple accessory maker Belkin today announced a new ‘Grip Power Battery Case’ for iPhone 5. Similar to popular offerings from some of Belkin’s competitors including Mophie and Otterbox, the case builds in a 2000 mAh battery that claims to double the battery life of the device.
Belkin says the Grip Power case includes a shock-resistant bumper with secure-hold TPU grip, an anti-glare camera ring, and four color combinations including Civic Blue/Stone and Purple Lightning/Fountain Blue, Blacktop/Gravel and Whiteout/Blacktop.
With today’s update you will not only be able to search with your voice right within Chrome (a feature already available to users through the Google Search iOS app), you’ll also get “answers spoken back to you” for specific search results. Google first showed off the new conversational search features at its I/O event last month.
Other improvements in today’s update include faster voice recognition “with text streamed on the fly,” faster page reloads even on slow networks, and the usual stability and security enhancements. Expand Expanding Close
Google today updated its Drive app for iOS with a couple new features including the ability to access comments for Google Docs and improvements to viewing images stored in Drive.
Version 1.4.0 of Google Drive for iPhone and iPad introduces the ability to “view, create, reply, and resolve comments in Google Docs files,” something users could not previously access from the mobile app for iOS.
While it’s not the full blown card-style redesign the Android app received a couple weeks ago, Google is also making easier to quickly view photos on iOS by allowing users to swipe through images while viewing in fullscreen.
What’s New in Version 1.4.0
*Swipe through your images stored in Drive
*View, create, reply, and resolve comments in Google Docs files
We already knew that the highly anticipated second instalment of PopCap’s popular Plants vs Zombies franchise was on its way, but today the developer has posted a new launch trailer for the game and officially announced a release date.
From PopCap’s press release it sounds like Plants vs Zombies 2 is only coming to iOS, at least initially, while the company also plans an invitation only beta that will launch next week during E3. For everyone else, the game will be available on July 18 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
Unlike the original title, which is currently available for 99 cents on the App Store, PopCap is making the new game entirely free to play with some in-app purchases available, but not necessary to enjoy the full game:
Free to download, Plants vs. Zombies 2 will expand and extend the classic gameplay of the original and provide players with dozens of all-new levels, plants and zombies across multiple worlds at no cost. While the vast majority of the game will be entirely free to play (players can face every zombie and access every level in every world at no cost), Plants vs. Zombies 2 players will also be able to purchase upgrades and other in-game items.
PopCap adds that “New worlds with new levels, plants, zombies and new ways to play will be released on an ongoing basis.”
Designed from the ground up as a live service, the ever-expanding universe of Plants vs. Zombies 2continues the epic struggle of plants defending your brainz against zombies from your backyard through the vast reaches of time, both past and future. New worlds with new levels, plants, zombies and new ways to play will be released on an ongoing basis. Leveraging the touch interface of Apple’s popular mobile devices, Plants vs. Zombies 2 includes all-new touch-screen power-ups that enable players to “break the fourth wall” and interact with zombies directly, as well as via plant defenses.
In the midst of the U.S. government’s interest in Apple and other large multinationals that “avoid” paying taxes in the U.S. or repatriating funds stored abroad, RudeBaguette.com notes that the French society of authors, composers, and music publishers (SACEM) has announced that Apple owes around 5 million euros in unpaid taxes.
The funds apparently come from unpaid royalties on iPad sales for 2011 that France and other EU countries, such as Germany, collect for devices capable of transferring and displaying copyrighted material:
To give a bit of a background, the copie privée is a tax in several countries including France & Germany that is applied to all digital devices that can transfer, read, or otherwise make use of copyrighted material. The tax goes to the SACEM, which then takes the lump sum of all the taxes collected and deals them out to authors, creators, producers, actors, etc. accordingly… the problem here isn’t so much the tax, but that Apple actually charged the consumers this tax, and didn’t pay it out to the SACEM.
While Tim Cook didn’t seem to place too much emphasis on advertising being a core business for Apple when asked about mobile advertising during his recent D11 interview, BusinessInsider reports it has heard from sources that Apple is gearing up to launch an ad exchange service similar to recent efforts by Twitter and Facebook:
We heard it from an executive who is one of the biggest players in online advertising… an ad exchange would work by allowing advertisers to target users as they enter the Apple eco-system on their iPads, MacBooks, various web sites and apps. The system would alert advertisers that an Apple user arrived. Any advertiser tracking that user with a cookie (a piece of software that records previous web sites you’ve looked at) could then bid to serve an ad targeting that user.
When asked why Apple wasn’t making money off its mobile ad business in comparison to other companies such as Facebook, CEO Tim Cook told D11 attendees that the focus for advertising was making developers money, not Apple. Cook said the company would continue doing things in advertising only if it contributed to its developer community, but according to several execs in the advertising industry quoted in the report, Apple could have much bigger plans for its ad business in the months to come. Expand Expanding Close
We’ve already seen more than a few alleged iPad 5 parts pop up online. Most rumors, including images of the device’s front glass from April, and the shots of the device’s back cover we posted in January, would seem to indicate that Apple is heading for the obvious– a redesigned full-sized iPad that borrows many of the characteristics of the slimmer, smaller bezel iPad mini. Today, the image above has made its way to Apple.pro showing what is claimed to be the front-glass panel for the yet to be released fifth-gen iPad 5.
While we have no way of verifying the legitimacy of the image, the original source is one that has posted accurate information about unreleased Apple products in the past. The image does seem to line up with previous rumors showing a full-sized panel that has a narrower bezel and home button in the same position as the iPad mini’s bezel. Expand Expanding Close
With Tim Cook teasing the Jony Ive redesign of iOS 7 that we exclusively told you would be introducing a new flat design for iOS, we thought it would be interesting to get former Windows lead Steven Sinofsky’s opinion on the changes. While Sinofsky left Microsoft after 20+ years back in November of last year, he was involved in the latest releases of Windows 8 that many argue helped pioneer the flat UI design Apple is now moving towards. Our own Mark Gurman asked Sinofsky his thoughts on a new flat iOS 7 during his interview at the D11 conference earlier today. Expand Expanding Close
Originally released back in 2003, one of the most popular Star Wars titles ever is today making its way to iPad thanks to our friends at Aspyr. The company already brought the game to Mac a few years back, and today it’s released a port specifically optimized for the iPad.
The game will run you $9.99 and take up around 2.5GB of space on your iPad, but early reviews on the classic BioWare RPG seem to be quite positive.
• An epic Star Wars™ role-playing experience with unique characters, creatures, vehicles and planets.
• Learn to use the Force with over 40 different powers, plus build your own lightsaber.
• Adventure through iconic Star Wars locations, including Tatooine and the Wookiee homeworld Kashyyyk.
• Choose your party from nine customizable characters, including Twi’leks, droids and Wookiees.
• Travel to eight enormous worlds in your own starship, the Ebon Hawk.
• A streamlined user interface custom-made for the iPad’s touch screen helps immerse you in the action.
Google announced its new ‘All Access’ $9.99/month streaming service as part of Google Play Music at its Google I/O keynote presentation a few weeks ago. The service offers curated playlists, but also allows users to access a radio feature that automatically creates endless radio stations with the ability to remove unwanted songs.
Since launching, the service unofficially arrived on iOS last week via an update to the third-party gMusic client for iPhone and iPad. The app is one of the more popular Google Music clients allowing iOS users to access Google’s music services, but today is the first time Google has confirmed its plans to bring the service to Apple device’s through its own app. Expand Expanding Close
Apple has not yet made an official announcement, but several 9to5 readers noticed the pricing change early this morning. The second up 2.9GHz MacBook Pro is also now selling for $1,299 ($200 off retail compared to the $100 off most models are available for).
The extremely popular ‘Dots: A Game About Connecting’ title for iPhone, which happen to hit around 100 million games played in just a couple weeks after its launch last month, today received an update that brings the title to the larger screen with support for iPad.
Not only is Dots coming to iPad users today, developer Betaworks One is also rolling out a new multiplayer mode that allows users to pass their “iOS device between friends to compete on the same board.”
The iTunes release notes also mention that “Shrinkers now 5 / 500 dots to balance gameplay.” One thing to keep in mind: One commenter warns that on iPad dots are “so tiny now you can barely see the dots never mind connect them.”
A future update to the app will also include a new “Timeless mode.”
The update includes a couple other performance improvements as well:
What’s New in Version 1.7
What’s New
· iPad Support!
· Multiplayer mode! Pass your iOS device between friends to compete on the same board.
· High-contrast color options for color blind players
Heads Up
· Shrinkers now 5 / 500 dots to balance gameplay
Bug Fixes
· No more repeating colors dropping
· Fixes to the high score system
· Ability to disconnect from Twitter/Facebook
The update also now lets users create a custom playlist by simply titling an iTunes playlist “GTA3”.
What’s New in Version 1.30
iPhone 5 widescreen support
iCloud save game support for seamless progression across all your iOS devices.
Custom playlist support*
Various stability and bug fixes.
*To create a custom playlist, create a playlist in iTunes titled “GTA3”
We already knew that EA had plans to bring its Real Racing 3 franchise to the Middle East when it released the teaser for the Dubai Autodrome above. Today the update has officially landed in the App Store and also brings some other goodies to the extremely popular racing franchise.
On top of 6 track layouts for both day and twilight racing at the Dubai Autodrome, the game also now features Lexus vehicles including the Lexus IS-F and Lexus LFA. Other additions include the Dodge Charger RT and Dodge Charger SRT8, as well as 50+ new events to explore.
“Apple has made a bold move in hiring Lisa Jackson, a proven advocate with a track record of combating toxic waste and the dirty energy that causes global warming, two of Apple’s biggest challenges as it continues to grow,” says Greenpeace’s Senior IT Analyst Gary Cook. ”Jackson can make Apple the top environmental leader in the tech sector by helping the company use its influence to push electric utilities and governments to provide the clean energy that both Apple and America need right now.”
Jackson said she is “thrilled to be joining the team” and to continue Apple’s commitment to the environment in a statement to Politico following Cook’s announcement (below): Expand Expanding Close
As expected from a previous leak earlier this month, Google just announced on its official Gmail blog that it’s rolling out a brand new UI for Gmail on both the web and mobile that brings a new Categories based UI for easier organization of emails. The screenshots below line up with the images that we posted last week showing new customizable Categories that users can assign to manage emails according to content. For example: ‘Social’ for emails related to social networks, ‘Promotions’ for promotional material, ‘Notifications’ for reservations, bills, etc, and ‘Forums’ for mailing lists and forums.
On the desktop, the new inbox groups your mail into categories which appear as different tabs. You simply choose which categories you want and voilà! Your inbox is organized in a way that lets you see what’s new at a glance and decide which emails you want to read when.. You can easily customize the new inbox – select the tabs you want from all five to none, drag-and-drop to move messages between tabs, set certain senders to always appear in a particular tab and star messages so that they also appear in the Primary tab.
The update is not only rolling out to desktop users, but also to iPhone and iPad and mobile devices running Android 4.0 and up. On the mobile apps, users will first see their “Primary” inbox and can switch to other categories using the side navigation bar. Google says the new inbox is rolling out in the next few weeks but users will be able to try it sooner with a new “Configure inbox” option in Settings. Expand Expanding Close
Back in April we noted that the International Trade Commission had handed down a preliminary ruling that Samsung infringed an Apple patent related to a text-selection feature in a number of its Galaxy devices and other smartphones. Today, Reuters reports that an ITC trade panel will now reconsider the decision in a review of the previous ruling ahead of a final decision in the patent battle:
The International Trade Commission said late Tuesday it would take a second look at an ITC judge’s decision that Samsung had infringed one Apple patent for a text-selection feature in its smartphones and tablets.
Bloomberg adds that the panel is looking for “additional arguments on three of the four patents that Judge Thomas Pender said were infringed, and comments on how an import ban would affect the public.”
The panel will also reconsider a decision in the same case that Samsung didn’t infringe a different patent related to detecting when other devices are plugged into a microphone jack.
The ITC, which could impose an import ban on accused devices, is expected to deliver a ruling in Samsung’s case against Apple on May 31. A final decision in Apple’s case against Samsung is expected on August 1st. Expand Expanding Close
Amazon is announcing today the roll out of a new service called “Login with Amazon” t0 allow developers to easily offer an Amazon sign-in option in their apps, games, and websites. Amazon says in a trial with Zappos.com customers chose to sign in using the Login with Amazon service about 40 percent of the time, while a trial with Woot found customers using Amazon sign in “had the highest rate of order conversion”:
“Login with Amazon enables app developers and website owners to leverage Amazon’s trusted sign-in solution, allowing them to focus on providing a great experience for their customers,” said Michael Carr, Amazon Vice President, eCommerce Services. “Amazon customers now have a hassle-free way to quickly and securely sign-in to apps, games and websites, without having to remember yet another password.”
Amazon is making the service available free of charge to devs and has SDKs for both Android and iOS available to download through its new login.amazon.com website.
Live on stage during his interview at the AllThingsD D11 Conference tonight, Tim Cook has for the first time talked at length about his view on wearable technologies as competitors like Google and others push ahead with Glass and other wearable projects. While noting that broad range appeal with a product like Google Glass is “tough to see,” Cook said he thinks “the wrist is interesting” while calling the form factor “somewhat natural” compared to head mounted products.
Nike Fuel Band well made for the fitness category. Works well with iOS. The ones that do more than one thing aren’t great. They won’t convince a kid who has never worn glasses, a band, or a watch to wear one. There are lots of things to solve in this area, ripe for excitement. I think there will be tons of companies playing in this (won’t respond to Walt asking if Apple will). I see this as a very key branch of the tree… referring to the post-PC era.
Cook did note that “people want wearables to be light, unobtrusive, reflect their fashion/style” and that it would take some convincing to show people ‘why it’s worth wearing them’:
Version 4.4.0 of Google+ for iPhone and iPad now includes new Auto Enhance photo editing features thanks to some technology from Snapseed, the new intelligent related hashtags feature to get more information related to photos in your stream, and the ability to “Share short animations, panoramas, and more.”
Other new features include interactive Google Offer posts, options to upload a cover photo and edit additional profile fields, and control the frequency of What’s Hot posts in your stream. Google is also reminding us that the Hangouts service has moved to its own standalone app: Expand Expanding Close
Kickfolio, a service that allows developers to offer demos of their iOS apps directly in the browser using an HTML5-based platform, today announced it is now allowing devs to embed their iOS apps directly in the Facebook news feed. The news comes as the company raises over $1 million in seed funding and changes its ‘Kickfolio’ branding to a more suitable “App.io”.
We’ve told you about the service before, which allows devs to embed playable HTML5 demos of their iOS apps directly on webpages and press releases for as little as $9 a month. Today the company is not only bringing that functionality directly to the Facebook news feed (as pictured above), it’s also announcing that support for Android is on the way.
App.io currently has about 3000 devs signed up, most of which are using the service as a marketing tool to drive users to the App Store. The company says the average user spends about 1 minute, 19 seconds playing the demo with 12 percent making their way to the App Store and those stats are expected to increase thanks to the new Facebook integration. App.io plans to integrate its service with other ad networks and platforms in the future and also launch tracking and analytics features.
If you’re fed up with Time Capsule and looking for a reliable, feature-filled NAS solution that also packs in some killer iOS companion apps and AirPlay support, we’re huge fans of Diskstation NAS Enclosures from Synology. We’ve reviewed the Synology NAS experience in the past, such as the two bay SD212 Diskstation, but today the company has announced its latest 8-bay unit with the launch of the new “DS1813+” model.
The new unit is similar to the 5 bay DS1513+ model it launched earlier this month, features the same screwless drive bays supporting 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch drives, but also includes four GbE ports and speeds up to 350 MBps reads and 200 MBps writes. On top of some nice iOS, web, and Android apps for managing all of your content, Synology also offers apps for printer sharing, VPN server, ERP software, mail server, web server, anti-virus, and network video surveillance built-in. Expand Expanding Close
“Some member states have fairly loose or relatively liberal double-taxation agreements with third countries,” Semeta said in a Brussels speech today to the Friends of Europe group. “These very loose agreements actually allow aggressive tax planners to shift their profits through EU member states to third countries and to avoid taxation in general.”
Anyone familiar with Zagg, and with 9to5, knows the company offers more than a few high quality Apple accessories worth taking a look at. Not only will you get some of the best gear for iOS devices on the market, starting today you’ll also be able to get up to 50% off on select items as well as additional savings for other highly recommended accessories.
We’ve reviewed and enjoyed a number of Zagg products that remain high on our list of recommended iPad keyboards, charging accessories, and protective covers. Below are just a few of our reviews for Zagg products that you simply can’t go wrong with: