9to5 Staff

It would seem that the Mac App Store, a central -but not exclusive- online repository for Mac software, has renewed the interest amongst game developers for the Mac platform. Perhaps it is the hype, maybe it is due to Apple’s marketing, or the iCloud allure, or lower app prices, or the sheer size and convenience of an Apple-branded distribution channel. Nevertheless, evidently, more triple-As have become available on the Mac these days – good news for gaming aficionados.

Firemint, the developer that previously ported its popular Flight Control onto the Mac, is bringing another smash iOS hit, Real Racing 2, to the Mac desktop. Available for $12.99 (non-U.S. users, follow this link), the 711MB download lets you enjoy high-definition racing powered by Firemint’s proprietary Mint3D engine.

You can also use your iPhone or iPad as a steering wheel. Firemint highlighted noteworthy features, such as the 16-car grid, Quick Race and Career modes, and 15 racing tracks. It also has a decent selection of 30 officially licensed cars, including the 2010 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500, 2010 Nissan GT-R (R35), 2012 McLaren MP4-12C and more.

In addition, Firemint recently updated the iPad version with native 1080p video output via AirPlay. It is discounted for a limited time from $10 to just 99 cents. More Mac gaming news is featured after the break.

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Evernote acquired Skitch in mid-August and re-launched it as a free download on the Mac App Store. Yesterday, the company made good on its promise to release an iOS version of the program. Skitch for iPad is here, allowing users to take notes, annotate, edit screenshots and more on the 9.7-inch Apple tablet.

The app lets users annotate and draw anything, just by using their fingers. It works with photos, web pages, screenshots, maps, or users can start a new blank canvas. Projects can be shared on Twitter, sent through email, saved to Evernote and beamed wirelessly onto Apple TV with AirPlay.

The drawing tools include your finger, pencil, arrows, text, shapes, crop, color and thickness and more. Evernote also noted in a blog post that Skitch for iPhone is in the works. Skitch for iPad is a free download from the App Store. Full release notes and nice screen shots are below.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0KQbLOPDvc]

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Who has the most spectacular tablet display: Amazon, Apple or Barnes & Noble? That’s what Dr. Raymond Soneira, president of DisplayMate Technologies Corporation of Amherst, N.H., set out to find out in his IPS tablet display technology shoot-out where he pitted Apple’s iPad 2 tablet against Amazon’s Kindle Fire device and Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet. The goal was to figure out which device packed the best IPS display. By the way – LG Displays, the world’s leading manufacturer of IPS LCDs – is the supplier of IPS panels for the three devices used in the shoot-out.

The iPad 2, the test note said, remains the gold standard in tablet displays while Motorola’s Xoom and Acer’s Iconia Tab serve as prime examples of low-quality LCD displays. The shoot-out praises iPad’s 132-ppi displays as being “virtually identical in performance to the impressive iPhone 4 Retina Display.” It is well calibrated, delivers bright images with excellent contrast, “reasonably accurate colors,” and very good viewing angle. A major drawback is that it has a reduced color gamut, although it is somewhat mitigated with the increased color saturation by steepening its intensity scale.

As for Amazon’s and Barnes & Noble’s tablets…

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFsmyTIEz0c]

Amazon issued an update yesterday to the $199 Kindle Fire that is supposed to fix some of the mainstream problems, but we are still a fan of the Kindle-as-iPad-app that also got an update this morning.

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Google updated its Google Voice client for iOS devices with minor tweaks and a biggie: The program now integrates with Sprint, allowing users to send all calls to the native dialer when the phone is integrated with Sprint. This means, theoretically speaking, a Sprint iPhone should now operate as a native Google Voice phone. Other changes include multi-recipient texting with contact auto complete and multi-line text entry field with character count. Google Voice for iOS is a free download from the App Store.

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Electronic Arts and Gameloft are arguably the most prolific interactive entertainment publishers and it is especially true on Apple’s platform that helped mainstream gaming on smartphones. Per usual: the two publishers launched respective holiday game sale promotions. There is a lot to look forward to because triple-As that used to cost anywhere between a $2 and $10 are now temporarily slashed to just $0.99

See all games here: (Gameloft iTunes) (EA iTunes)

These games include the latest and greatest releases as well as best sellers, such as Gameloft’s Nova 2 for iPad and Electronic Arts’ Need for Speed series. If you have been looking to bolster your gaming credibility, now is the time to take the plunge. In all, over 100 EA games and nearly 20 Gameloft titles are on sale this Christmas. Check out the full list of discounted games below.

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Similar to the Complete My Album feature that debuted on iTunes in the summer of 2009, Apple today launched a similar offering for television shows aptly named “Complete My Season Pass”. As you know, iTunes Season Pass lets users buy an entire television show season and have individual episodes automatically downloaded up to 24 hours after they air on the tube.

So, let’s say you previously purchased individual episodes of Desperate Housewives and now want to upgrade to the entire season, but without having to re-purchase the episodes you already own.

Well, per MacRumors:

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UPDATE [Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 7:25am ET]: A Samsung spokesperson chimed in, providing us with the official statement, included at the end of this article.

After Samsung confirmed the addition of four more complaints to its German patent offensive (two are standard-related patents, the other two being utility patents) on Monday, Apple this morning fired back by extending its Australian patent complaint to include Samsung-made cases for Galaxy tablets and smartphones, according to Bloomberg.

Apple issued the notice of infringement to Samsung in Australia over the cases, and will file a statement of claim, Apple’s lawyer Stephen Burley said at a hearing in Sydney today. Samsung’s lawyer Katrina Howard said at the same hearing the company was served with the notice that the cases infringe at least 10 patents.

The two companies are embroiled in a complicated legal fight that already includes more than 30 lawsuits filed against each other across the globe. The exact nature of Apple’s patent infringement claim concerning smartphone and tablet cases is not known, but 9to5Mac can’t help but wonder whether it has something to do with this.

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UPDATE [Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 7:35am ET]: Apple has made some backend changes fixing the App Store bug. Users of iThings running iOS 3.1.3 are apparently able to download App Store apps without a hiccup. Let us know if the bug has been fixed for you down in the comments.

As you know, Apple launched a replacement program last month addressing the overheating issues stemming from defective batteries from one of their suppliers. The company told the public to stop using the original first-generation iPod nano and have it replaced free of charge. Surprisingly, it appears Apple is issuing the current-generation iPod nano replacement units, because they have apparently run out of refurbished first-gen models, according to MacRumors.

Several users have reported over the past few days that they have received emails acknowledging shipment of their replacement devices and checking the serial numbers of the replacement devices on Apple’s support site has shown them to be sixth-generation models.

We were able to confirm that some people have already received their sixth-gen iPod nano replacement units. Robert, from comments:

FedEx just dropped off my new Nano and it looks like the latest Gen. I forgot about this and to my surprise I have a new nano. So merry Christmas to me from Apple.

Dave, too:

Just checked my new replacement serial number too — it also shows a 6th gen ipod. Sweet!!!

In the meantime, some iOS 3.1.3 users are reporting issues downloading apps from the App Store.

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Analytics firm Millennial Media, the second-largest mobile advertising platform behind Google, on Tuesday, released its monthly Mobile Mix report for November. Similar to their October survey that saw Android’s growth slowing (and iOS gaining). Compared to the summer period for November, both Apple’s and Research in Motion’s respective platform grew at the expense of Google. Specifically, Android went from 56 percent ad requests in October to 50 percent in November.

Meanwhile, iOS went from 28 percent ad requests in October to 30 percent in November. The BlackBerry platform recorded the biggest gain of all mobile platforms, increasing its share of ad requests from 13 percent in October to 17 percent in November. Because both iOS and BlackBerry grew their combined ad impressions by six percentage points, the same amount Android lost in the period, it is safe to assume that Apple and Research In Motion gained traction at the expense of Google’s mobile platform.

The findings are in stark contrast to the seemingly unstoppable Android growth that appears to have slowed down during the crucial holiday sales period. Android in November doubled iOS in ad impressions, but last month – its respective share changed to 50 percent for Android versus 30 percent for iOS. The Kindle Fire vs. iPad adoption figures and more info graphic charts are available below.

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From 9to5Toys.com:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUIL9GsXoFQ]

Affiliate partner MacUpdate today offers their new $49.99 Dec 2011 Bundle headlined by TechTool Pro, TotalFinder, Postbox 3 and FontPack Pro Master Collection and seven more quality apps for $49.99.  TechTool Pro, which retails for double the entire bundle price, includes a bootable DVD disk for disk repair and diagnostics.

8 of the 11 100% Mac OS X 10.7 compatible apps are available as demos, which can be downloaded in a single dmg from here. (TechTool Pro 6, FontPack Pro Master Collection, and Neverwinter Nights 2 do not have demos)

As a bonus, the all-new IconBox 2.5 goes to the first 15,000 buyers. $49.99 at MacUpdate

Full rundown below:
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Although T-Mobil USA wrote in the September letter to customers that they were “interested in offering all of our customers a no-compromise iPhone experience,” the fact of the matter remains that the carrier’s network bands are not supported on the iPhone 4S.

T-Mobile’s 14.4 HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) GSM/UMTS network operates on the rather odd 1700/2100MHz frequency bands that are incompatible with iPhone 4S and other UMTS phones supported by standard 850/900/1900/2100MHz bands. However, some unlocked iPhone users are detecting 3G signals on parts of T-Mobile USA’s network utilizing the 1900MHz bands, according to Tmonews.com:

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Pictured above: The Paradox iPod nano watch kit

The New York Time’s Nick Bilton, who reported in October Apple’s alleged television plans describing “large parts floating around” Apple’s supply chain that looked like they “could be part of a large Apple television,” is back with a new story. He recently implied Apple’s researched prototyped small and wearable devices.

According to the article published last night, both Apple and Google have worked for years on wearable computers that interface with smartphones (having the ultimate goal of selling more smartphones):

A person with knowledge of the company’s plans told me that a “very small group of Apple employees” had been conceptualizing and even prototyping some wearable devices. […] Apple has also experimented with prototype products that could relay information back to the iPhone. These conceptual products could also display information on other Apple devices, like an iPod, which Apple is already encouraging us to wear on our wrists by selling Nanos with watch faces.

Interestingly, a year ago, Apple hired wearable computer wizard Richard DeVaul. He is believed to be developing secret wearable product prototypes under the guidance of Jonathan Ive, Apple’s senior vice president of industrial design. Specifically, aNew York Times story described a curved glass iPod:

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From 9to5toys.com:

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For a limited time, Walmart is offering the $50 iTunes gift card for $40. That’s 20 percent off and the lowest price yet. The card comes immediately through email, and it counts toward free shipping on other items.

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Analyst Andy Zaky overestimated Apple earnings by 20 percent last quarter.

Here’s his take right after: Why Apple’s big miss doesn’t matter. This miss is just a minor blip due to analysts getting overzealous with their estimates.

Today, he wrote: Apple Fiscal Q1 2012: The Biggest Earnings Blowout in History

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As noted by RazorianFly, Siri can now help users retrieve the best deals for consumer electronics and gadgets sold at Best Buy. How does she handle this, you might ask? Well, Siri gets some of its answers from the acclaimed answer-engine Wolfram|Alpha.

Wolfram Research announced yesterday they are leveraging data from Best Buy’s public application programming interface, allowing users to browse more than 35,000 appliances and consumer electronics products sold by Best Buy.

Third-party applications and services that integrate with Siri automatically benefit, so Siri is now able to deliver answers to your product-related queries sourced from Best Buy’s vast database.

In addition, taking into account Wolfram|Alpha’s clever decision-making and analysis engine and Siri’s natural-language interface, you can ask her to, let’s say, list plasma TVs larger than 50-inches. Even though Best Buy-sourced answers are laid out as any other information Siri sources from the web, Apple could -in the future- take advantage of Best Buy’s public APIs to produce rich results sporting product images, categories, more meta data and so forth.

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Apple’s iPhone 4S hit Chile and Brazil this evening, and boy is it overpriced. The company’s online store has the R$ 2,599 price tag attached to the 16 GB SIM-free version. The 32 GB/64GB versions of the popular smartphone sell for R$ 2,999/R$ 3,399. The exchange rate of Brazilian dollar is approximately R$ 1.71 to USD 1.00… so you get the picture.

Just to give you a little feel, the unlocked 64 GB iPhone 4S in Brazil sells for three times its $849 United States asking price, or a whopping $2,000. This slideshow cleverly depicts what this amount of money can buy folks in Brazil. Turns out you can get a decent fridge, a big screen Sony Bravia TV or even an entry-level Ford car for the price of an unlocked 64 GB iPhone 4S.

So, why those exorbitant price points?

A comparison of approximately two times higher iPhone prices in Brazil compared to the U.S. The chart is courtesy of The Next Web.

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Avatar, a 2009 epic sci-fi flick written and directed by James Cameron, has marked a major technological breakthrough and ushered in a new era in digital effects. Although development on the movie began in 1994, when Cameron wrote an 80-page scriptment for the film, the director soon found he would have to wait for the necessary technology to become available if he were to achieve his vision of the film.

Beginning Dec. 20, a special edition of Avatar is landing on Apple’s iTunes Store packing in interesting iTunes Extras unavailable on other platforms. According to the press release, these interactive digital enhancements let fans:

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As originally reported on our sister blog, the search Goliath has published its annual list of top search queries, a tradition that started eleven years ago. It comes as little surprise that ‘iPad 3’ and ‘iPhone 5’ were among the fastest-growing search terms of the past year. More specifically, ‘iPhone 5’ was the sixth fastest-growing search term on Google.com in 2011, while ‘iPad 3’ ranked tenth.

Feverish iPhone 5 speculation hit its highest point in search the week of September 25, just a week ahead of the October 4 iPhone 4S presser. Searches for ‘iPhone 5’ rose 1,658 percent between 2010 and 2011, easily outnumbering those for the iPhone 4S, as seen in the above chart from the Zeitgeist site. Searches for ‘Steve Jobs’ grew 982 percent in 2011, enough to score the ninth spot.

Called Zeitgeist, the project “sorts billions of Google searches to capture the year’s ten fastest-rising global queries and the rest of the spirit of 2011″, per the official Google blog post. In a testament to the popularity of the Kindle Fire, positioned as an inexpensive iPad alternative, Amazon’s tablet placed ahead of Apple’s new phone, the iPhone 4S, which ranked second in the fastest-rising consumer electronics category, followed by the HTC Sensation, the Samsung Nexus Prime, Sony NPG and the yet-to-be-released iPad 3 (#9).

Two unreleased products piquing such a commanding interest – the cell phone that never materialized and the forthcoming tablet – wow, talk about the power of the Apple hype machine. More below the fold.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAIEamakLoY]

Apple’s late co-founder Steve Jobs made the list (mark 1:50) was the ninth fastest-growing search term on Google.com in 2011.

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Apple opened up its proprietary 30-pin dock connector to third-party developers back in 2008, with iOS 3.0 APIs enabling hardware accessories to communicate with your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad via dedicated apps. The way it works today, plugging in your accessory puts up a prompt telling you to automatically download an appropriate app. This is supported only by some accessories so in most cases users are required to navigate their way around the App Store and find that app themselves. But Apple’s penchant for providing simple and seamless solutions once again becomes evident in a new patent application filed in June 2010 with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.

Entitled “Method and System for Locating an Accessory and an Application for Use With a User Device”, it describes a plug-and-play system where plugging in your accessory automatically produces a list of multiple compatible apps that go with it – not just that one companion app from your accessory’s vendor. Additionally, the invention would work the other way around to allow easy discovery of hardware accessories compatible with the apps you actually have installed on  your device by utilizing an in-store kiosk, pictured in the above patent drawing.

Speculating further, the proposed solution would pave the way for a new (and lucrative) market where accessories play nice with apps.

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Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty wrote in a note to clients issued yesterday (via Fortune) that U.S. consumers are expect to buy more iPhones in the first calendar quarter of 2012 than even the holiday quarter this year. This is noteworthy as the holiday quarter has traditionally been Apple’s strongest three-month sales period.

Not even the two recent Samsung television commercials (here and here) that poke fun of line waiters seem to be slowing the iPhone momentum (unless you believe a YouGov survey, chart included below the fold). Huberty is now projecting CQ4 iPhone sales anywhere from 31 to 36 million iPhones versus the previous model calling for 30 million units (Wall Street: 28 million). For the first quarter of the next year, Huberty is projecting an astounding 41 million units based on last week’s comments from AT&T and an Alphawise survey conducted for Morgan Stanley the week after Thanksgiving.

That’s a 46 percent increase over her previous 28 million estimate (Wall Street: 26 million). In all, Huberty wrote, Apple should sell 190 million iPhones during the calendar year 2012. As for iPad…

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