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1,949 'App Store' stories December 2010 - February 2013

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Weekend deals roundup: $1349 Retina MacBook Pro, 50% off ZAGG iPad keyboards, 99 cent apps galore & more

Feb 16 2013 - 11:44 am PT

From 9to5Toys.com:

While you’ve been enjoying your weekend we have been scouring the net for the best deals in consumer electronics. Most of these deals are only for a limited time so be sure to cash in on these savings if you find a deal you like. Due to Presidents’ Day weekend, we expect to be adding a lot of deals throughout the next two days so be sure to check back.

Also bookmark 9to5Toys.com/Daily-deals for 25+ of the top daily deals across most of the biggest shopping sites in the US including Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, Target, and many more.

The best deals this weekend:

13″ Retina MacBook Pro to $1349 ($150 off)

Accessories

BodyGuardz 15% off sitewide discount; iPad, iPhone, iPod and Mac accessories
Western Digital Elements 3TB External Hard Drive for $115 + free shipping
50% off refurb. Genuine Apple iPad Smart Cover $19, (PRODUCT) Red Leather only $29 + free shipping
Scosche Lightning cable accessories now available, 10% off for a limited time
iCADE iPad Arcade Cabinet $79 (Reg. $99)
50% off select ZAGGfolio & ZAGGkeys for iPad and iPad mini (Check our review)
ZAGGkeys FLEX Bluetooth Keyboard for iPhone / iPad for $35 + free shipping
Lightning power bundle including cable, wall and lighter charger: $8
22″ 1080P AOC monitor from Best Buy: $99.99
You can still get an External portable USB BluRay Player with software for less than the price of a Superdrive.

Apps

Gameloft 99 cent iPad & iPhone game sale: Amazing Spider-Man, Silent Ops & Avatar
iPad app, Splashtop 2 Remote Desktop, temporarily 99 cents (Reg. $4.99)
EA Games iOS Presidents’ Day sale, 50 titles up to 90% off
iPhone & iPad game, Infinity Blade, free for the first time ever (Reg. $5.99)
iPhone & iPad productivity app, Smart Office 2, temporarily free (reg. $10)

iOS 6 bug lets institutional users bypass ‘Don’t Allow Changes’ account restriction, install unapproved apps (Update: fixed)

Jordan Kahn Feb 15 2013 - 7:11 am PT

Update (Feb 21st): This has been fixed according to a reader. The iTunes and App Stores use HTML on the backend so Apple can “push” updates via backend code changes:

As of this morning, the bug is gone! No update required! Looks
like the somehow they pushed the update! I can no longer change the
account in the App Store or iTunes store! This reminds me when I was
beta testing 6.0 and Apple changed the behavior of downloading updates
not requiring a password (they also allowed free apps with no password
for a short while). That didn’t need an update to change either.
They seem to have ways of fixing App Store behavior without needing to
update iOS. I’m still running 6.1 on my devices, haven’t gone to
6.1.2 yet.

Would be nice for an official answer from Apple, but so far, it’s
working correctly! Also, I see redeem and send gift are grayed out
also, at the bottom of the App Store. Same for iTunes Store.

For those unaware, iOS 6 received some beefed up Restriction settings when it was released that allowed users to select “Don’t Allow Changes” for an entire account linked to an iOS device. This option was particularly useful for schools and organizations that wanted to limit a device to a specific account and keep students and others from installing apps not approved by the institution. Without the restriction, students or employees could easily change the iTunes account linked to the iOS device. Unfortunately, as noticed by one frustrated 9to5Mac reader, it seems there are several backdoor methods of bypassing the setting…

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Kickstarter for iPhone, DIE HARD, Autodesk 123D Creature, Skype for Mac, QuickBooks for iPad, deals, more

Jordan Kahn Feb 14 2013 - 8:04 am PT

Kickstarter: Today Kickstarter announced that it is finally launching an official app for iPhone and iPod touch. The app provides users with the majority of features accessible through the website including the ability to find, filter, and back projects, watch project videos, follow and keep up with projects in an always up-to-date Activity tab, and receive notifications when someone backs or launches a project. The app also includes creator tools such as a feature to “take pictures and videos with their iPhone camera and post them as project updates straight from the app.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fv6Sj5ot3c8&feature=youtu.be

DIE HARD: Fox Digital Entertainment today released the official DIE HARD iOS game in support of the upcoming “A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD” feature film. You play as Jack McClane as you “blast your way out of Moscow’s mean streets and travel to the radioactive wasteland of Chernobyl.” The developer called the game an “endless shooter”– a combination of “the “endless runner” and “first-person shooter” genres. It’s available now for 99 cents.

With DIE HARD, the mission was to develop an app with the gameplay and attitude to match the groundbreaking nature of the DIE HARD franchise, its longtime hero John McClane and new protagonist Jack McClane. In a twist on the endless runner genre, where the player runs from danger, DIE HARD equips the player to face the action head on, running towards foes and confronting them from a first-person perspective.

Skype 6.2 for Mac: Skype was updated with a few new features and improvements. Users can now send Skype credit as a gift through an eGifting feature, as well as send “one-way SMS without verifying your mobile number. ”

QuickBooks Online for iPad: Intuit announced today a new iPad app for QuickBooks Online. It’s free for subscribers, but the app also provides a 30 day free trail and monthly and annual subscriptions for $13 and $125. Full list of features below:
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Review: Tempo for iPhone – How smart does a calendar need to be?

Mike Beasley Feb 13 2013 - 7:59 am PT

Calendars. Contacts. Maps. Emails. Text messages. Facebook. LinkedIn.

There are a lot of things you can do with the iPhone. Each of those things is scattered across the phone in it’s own separate app, however. Sure, there’s some integration of those services, but most of the time you’re going to have to switch apps to get from one function to the other. It’s easy to get annoyed or overwhelmed trying to manage your time while everyone up-to-date on the things that matter.

Tempo is a new app from SRI (the company that originally developed Siri) that aims to bring all of those functions together—at least as far as the concern your schedule—into a cohesive system for managing your life. But how well do all of these different services coexist in the same application?

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Mailbox for iPhone goes live for free in the App Store, reservations now being filled

Mike Beasley Feb 7 2013 - 10:00 am PT

Mailbox, the highly anticipated third-party Gmail client for the iPhone from Orchestra, is now available in the App Store. Here’s the essence of why Mailbox is meant to be a better mobile email client:

Mailbox is light, fast, and mobile-friendly.
Swipes make checking mail from your phone a delight.
Snoozes let you put off an email until later and remind you when the time has come.
Mailbox makes getting to inbox zero, and staying there, a breeze.

The app is free, but you’ll need a reservation code to use it today. These codes were given out on a first-come, first-served basis a few weeks ago to anyone who signed up for the app in advance. This system was put in place to prevent the company’s servers from being overwhelmed, as there is substantial demand for the free app.

Screenshots and video overview:

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Rabbit, Foursquare, Skype, TomTom, Cut the Rope, Borderlands Legends, deals, more

Jordan Kahn Feb 7 2013 - 7:02 am PT

Rabbit: Launching today in closed beta, Rabbit is a new video chat and content sharing app– initially available exclusively for Mac– that has been getting a lot of attention. The app lets you chat with an unlimited number of people, create and customize chats, as well as watch movies, listen to music, and share content in chats in real-time. If you are a pre-teen who hasn’t heard of Google Hangouts, you might want to check this out.

Rabbit is kind of like a virtual living room. It runs in the background on your computer just like Skype, so you can always find your friends online and invite them to watch a movie or listen to music at any time. You can share this content directly from your computer, or you can use the Rabbit “SharePad” of integrated content sites to instantly launch TV shows, videos and music you want to watch and listen to with your friends.

Foursquare version 5.4.3: Foursquare gets an update today that brings improvements to check-in notification settings including an “Always” option to get notifications for all check-ins, as well as new “Nearby” and “Off” settings to apply to specific users.

✓ Choose “ALWAYS” for close friends and family you always want to keep up with. You’ll get notifications for all their check-ins, no matter where they are in the world.
✓ Choose “NEARBY” for friends you’d like to hear about from time to time. We’ll only notify you when they’re close by.
✓ Choose “OFF” for those acquaintances you don’t really want updates from. And that bike messenger friend who checks in at every spot on his route.

TomTom version 1.13: TomTom updated the majority of its iOS navigation apps today. On top of the most up to date map data, users can also now backup and restore settings and stored destinations from iCloud. With today’s update TomTom is also providing a free 30 day trial to its HD traffic subscription. In addition, the app now includes compatibility for iPad mini.

Borderlands Legends version 1.1.0: 2K’s Borderlands Legends (and the HD iPad version) is updated today with new features including a new sniper mode, new enemy and mini boss types, night versions of the Wasteland map, iPhone 5 & Game Center support, new Eridian Weapons, and more.
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Today’s iPhone 5 Evasi0n Jailbreak sees record numbers: Here are 10 cool things to do with your newly-Jailbroken iOS device

Jordan Kahn Feb 4 2013 - 2:22 pm PT

Wow! 270,000+ active users on http://t.co/YQrXEeVQ!!! #evasi0n

— pod2g (@pod2g) February 4, 2013

If you have not jailbroken an iOS device in a while, you might wonder what all the excitement is surrounding today’s launch of the evasi0n jailbreak tool for iOS 6. (Note: Some people are having issues with the default Apple Weather app after install.)

[tweet https://twitter.com/MuscleNerd/status/298543670888644608]

Over the years, many features that were once jailbreak-only made their way to iOS or via third parties through the App Store. However, there are still many things you can do with jailbreak tweaks that aren’t possible on non-jailbroken devices. With over 270,000 active users at any one time on evasi0n today, we put together a list of some of the most interesting and useful tweaks that caught our attention in recent months:

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Tweetbot for iPhone, Tesla Model S, Skype for iPad, XFINITY Connect, deals, more

Jordan Kahn Feb 4 2013 - 8:32 am PT

Our usual list of newly released and updated apps below. 9to5Toys also shares 15% off iTunes gift cards (All denominations available) + free shipping to get your downloading started.

New:

Tesla Model S: Users over on the Tesla forums noticed last night that the official Tesla Model S iPhone app has now made its way onto the App Store, at least in the US. The app will let Tesla Model S owners check, stop and start charging progress in real time, turn on heating and cooling, locate their vehicle, lock and unlock the car, and more.

– Check charging progress in real time and start or stop charge
– Heat or cool Model S before driving — even if it’s in a garage
– Locate Model S with directions or track its movement across a map
– Flash lights or honk the horn to find Model S when parked
– Vent or close the panoramic roof
– Lock or unlock from afar

Updates:

Tweetbot for Twitter (iPhone) version 2.7: One of the more popular Twitter iOS clients gets an update today that adds the ability to open links in Chrome and 1Password, as well as support for inline images from Vine and Flickr and a number of other new features.

– Added the ability to open links in Chrome and 1Password
– Added inline image support for Flickr
– Added inline image support for Vine
– Better support for muting Tweets with URLs
– Various bug fixes
– Still no jokes in the release notes

Skype for iPad version 4.5: Skype iPad app was updated today with a few welcomed new features. First, users in United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, France, and Estonia will now be able to add money to their Skype account directly from the app. The release notes also said the app now “automatically reconnects a dropped call when your wifi or mobile network reception is poor.” More new features and fixes below:
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Valve’s Gabe Newell says Apple TV, not consoles, is the biggest threat to Steam Box

Jordan Kahn Jan 30 2013 - 3:23 pm PT

Polygon covered a recent talk today given by Valve’s Gabe Newell at the University of Texas, where he said Apple, not the big gaming console makers, is the biggest threat for the company’s upcoming Linux-based Steam Box hardware. Newell said he thought the biggest challenge for bringing the massively popular Steam service to the TV will be if “Apple moves on the living room before the PC industry sort of gets its act together.” He also said Apple could “shut out the open-source creativity” that Steam hopes to bring to the living room:

“The threat right now is that Apple has gained a huge amount of market share, and has a relatively obvious pathway towards entering the living room with their platform,” Newell said. “I think that there’s a scenario where we see sort of a dumbed down living room platform emerging — I think Apple rolls the console guys really easily. The question is can we make enough progress in the PC space to establish ourselves there, and also figure out better ways of addressing mobile before Apple takes over the living room?”

He continued:

“The biggest challenge, I don’t think is from the consoles,” Newell said. “I think the biggest challenge is that Apple moves on the living room before the PC industry sort of gets its act together.”

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says Office without iPad support ‘makes a lot of sense’

Jordan Kahn Jan 30 2013 - 10:40 am PT

Microsoft officially took the wraps off the latest updates to Office and its new Office 365 online offering yesterday, but many were focused on the lack of an iOS announcement. Although we’ve seen several references to Office mobile apps for iOS devices, we’ve yet to get official word from the company. Speaking with Bloomberg, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer commented on the Office launch and possible iPad app:

I have nothing to say on that topic. We’re very glad with the product, very happy with the product that we’re putting in market. It makes sense on the devices like the Mac and the PC. We have a product that we think makes a lot of sense. We do have a way for people always to get to Office through the browser, which is very important. And we’ll see what we see in the future.

App Store earning over 3.5 times as much as Google Play with record revenue in December

Jordan Kahn Jan 30 2013 - 6:29 am PT

App Annie is out today with its January 2013 index that covers revenue from mobile app sales in the App Store and on Google Play. While Apple was able to hit record revenues in December, increasing revenue by one-third during the month and growing by one-fifth from Q3 to Q4, Android posted even stronger growth by doubling revenue quarter-over-quarter. Despite stronger growth for Android, according to the report, the App Store earned 3.5 times as much revenue as Google Play during December 2012. Bloomberg noted that App Annie doesn’t provide exact figures for revenue, as it currently sells that data, but the report provided a break down of revenue by country and publisher. Apple has previously said the App Store brought in around $333 million per month between June and December.

iOS App Store revenue grew by about one-fifth from Q3 to Q4. In particular, it achieved record revenues in December, as monthly revenue increased by about one-third from November to December 2012; this gain surpassed even the standout revenue increase from November to December last year. As highly-desired holiday gifts in many countries, new iPhones and iPads (including the recently launched iPad Mini) typically lead to a jump in app downloads, and consequently, app revenue.

When it comes to revenue by country, App Annie said that United States, Japan, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada continued to account for 60 percent of App Store revenue in Q4. However, China experienced significant growth during the quarter:
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Kickfolio lets you embed iOS apps on any webpage, adds iPad support, slashes pricing

Jordan Kahn Jan 28 2013 - 2:14 pm PT

A demo of Angry Bots iOS app embedded using Kickfolio

We told you about a service called Kickfolio in December that would allow developers to demo their iOS apps directly in the browser using a new HTML5-based platform. The service converts a zipped version of an iOS app into a private test page with a completely interactive HTML5 and CSS version of the app. Today, the service got a few updates including the ability to embed app demos on any webpage using an iframe. You’ll find embedded iOS apps above and below that Kickfolio sent over for us to try. Kickfolio also now supports iPad apps, and it is making the service much more affordable for all. This is a powerful tool for developers promoting their apps online, and it’s one I expect many to take advantage of when providing free demos to potential customers and press on their website.

Kickfolio originally had some feedback for users about plans starting at $50 a month. The good news: the company just slashed the cheapest plan to $9 a month (that includes 500 embed sessions). Every plan now also includes unlimited apps, and the company is reopening 15-day free trials so everyone will get a chance to try the new features.

Another embedded app demo from Kickfolio below:
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Apple releases iOS 6.1 with more LTE carrier support, Siri/Fandango movie ticket purchasing, iTunes Match song downloading

Mark Gurman Jan 28 2013 - 10:04 am PT

Apple has released iOS 6.1 to iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and Apple TV users. This public release follows five beta seeds to developers. The update is currently coming through over-the-air. To download the update directly from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, head to Settings, then General, then Software Update. Your device will include installation instructions and release information here.

The update includes the following improvements for iOS device users:

LTE support for more carriers (Apple previously announced that it would add more LTE carriers this week). 36 additional iPhone carriers. 23 additional iPad carriers.
Purchase movie tickets through Fandango via Siri (US only)
iTunes Match subscribers can now download individual songs from iCloud
New button to reset the Advertising Identifier.

As we previously noted, Apple TV users will enjoy new Bluetooth keyboard compatibility. We found that using a Bluetooth keyboard greatly enhances the Apple TV experience. Additionally, Apple has included new iOS 6.1 APIs for developers to be able to better integrate Apple’s mapping database into their App Store apps.

In a press release announcing the release of 6.1 (below), Apple’s Phil Schiller noted with “nearly 300 million iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices on iOS 6 in just five months, it may be the most popular new version of an OS in history.”

We have posted more details on the Apple TV software update here. Direct iPhone, iPad, iPod touch links and Apple press release:

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Users of Twitter’s new Vine app greeted with porn as top Editor’s Pick

Jordan Kahn Jan 28 2013 - 6:48 am PT

Update: Twitter said in a comment to BusinessInsider that the content was displayed as an Editor’s Pick due to human error:

A human error resulted in a video with adult content becoming one of the videos in Editor’s Picks, and upon realizing this mistake we removed the video immediately. We apologize to our users for the error.

Just a week after the popular photo-sharing app 500px was pulled from the App Store over concerns of nude photos and possible child pornography, the launch of Twitter’s new video-sharing app Vine is running into similar issues. Users began noticing pornographic videos were making their way to the service this weekend, but they were only viewable to users searching for pornography-related tags. That is arguably not as big of an issue as 500px (many apps—Instagram included—have similar problems), but Darrell Etherington at TechCrunch pointed out today that porn has somehow made its way to the top of Vine’s “Editor’s Pick”.

We confirmed, as highlighted in the screenshot to the right, that the pornographic content in question is displayed as the first thing in a new user’s stream upon launching the app. The post has since been removed, but this is clearly an issue for Twitter’s new video service, and it is something that highlights the larger conversation brewing around Apple’s App Store guidelines and adult, user-created content.

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YouTube Capture gets 1080p uploads, Vine, Google Currents 2.0, price drops, and more

Jordan Kahn Jan 25 2013 - 7:28 am PT

YouTube Capture version 1.1: Google has updated its newly released YouTube Capture app with some welcomed features including 1080p video uploads:

· 1080p uploads!
· Improved audio sync
· More detailed upload feedback
· Share to networks after uploading
· Bug fixes & stability improvements

Vine — Make a scene version 1.0.2: Just released yesterday, the app for sharing short video clips (and recently acquired by Twitter) today updated with improvements to profiles and more reliable Twitter integration:

* Logging in through Twitter is more reliable
* You can now update your profile photo from your Camera Roll
* Character limit for usernames and bio field
* International keyboards have better support
* Various bugs that caused crashes have been fixed

Google Currents version 2.0: Google is updating another one of its apps today, its magazine style news reader for tablets and smartphones now sports a new catalog design. The update also includes an Edition sidebar for quick access to categories, a new fast scan feature (Vertical swipe to scan an edition, horizontal swipe advances to next edition), and a new breaking stories section ranked by Google News. You can also now star to save stories for future reading:
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Twitter launches ‘Vine’ video sharing app, 50% off Things for Mac, Textilus Word Processor, Cycloramic, more

Jordan Kahn Jan 24 2013 - 8:49 am PT

Vine — Make a scene: Today Twitter announced on its blog the launch of Vine, a mobile app it acquired a few months back that allows users to capture and share abbreviated, looping video clips. The free iPhone app is available now in the App Store and offers unlimited, free video uploads, Twitter and Facebook integration, and the developers noted a Twitter account would not be required to sign up.

Today, we’re introducing Vine: a mobile service that lets you capture and share short looping videos. Like Tweets, the brevity of videos on Vine (6 seconds or less) inspires creativity. Now that you can easily capture motion and sound, we look forward to seeing what you create.

Hotels.com version 3.7:

-You can now leave hotel reviews once you have completed your stay
-The app now supports iPhone 5
-Many bugs fixes

Cycloramic version 2.0: The app that uses your iPhones vibrating motor to shoot 360 degree video hands-free was updated today with new hands-free panoramic shooting modes and more:

Just place your iPhone in an upright position on a smooth and level surface and press GO. The Phone will automatically rotate 360 degrees while taking multiple pictures, instantaneously stitch them, generate the panoramic picture and finally open it and immerse you in our 3D viewer.

PANORAMIC PHOTO MODE
1) Guided Mode (iPhone 4/4S/5)
2) Hands-free Mode (iPhone 5 only)
With this update, Cycloramic brings you a whole new way to take panoramic pictures.

Textilus Word Processor version 1.5.9:

– New feature: Improved the file browser for local documents and Dropbox documents. Create, delete edit new documents and folders in Dropbox directly from the file browser
– New feature: Scrivener sync support (via Dropbox) for unlimited number of nested folders and sub-folders, preserving locally the document original path
– New feature: Green highlight color in Style menu
– New feature: Greek alphabet in the Math symbols
– New feature: Latest Dropbox SDK 1.3.3. Support for international characters in Dropbox file and folder names (Chinese, Japanese, etc.)

Call-It-Out: Officially launching today, Call-it-Out is a new app that aims to blend elements of YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest allowing users to “easily rate, capture, and share life through comments, images and videos.

Deals:

Things for Mac | 50% until Jan. 31 (usually $49.99)

Temple Run 2 hits 20m downloads, Twitterrific for Twitter, Cubase iC Pro, JampUp, more

Jordan Kahn Jan 21 2013 - 1:12 pm PT

News:

Temple Run 2: After launching the follow up in its popular Temple Run series late last week, developer Imangi Studios announced today Temple Run 2 hit over 20 million downloads in just four days on the App Store.

The game rocketed to #1 Free App just eight hours after release, and is currently the #3 Top Grossing App. Free to download, Temple Run 2 is the sequel to the mega-hit original endless runner, Temple Run, which has been download over 170 million times across the App Store, Google Play and the Amazon Marketplace.

New apps:

Cubase iC Pro: Released on the App Store today, Steinberg Media have launched “The most advanced Cubase remote control app” for controlling Cubase 7/6.5 from your iPhone or iPad. The app syncs with Cubase on your Mac or PC, provides a project overview, a mixer with up to a 4 independent cue-mix, and the ability to customize macros and key commands.

Connecting deeper to Cubase than any other app, Cubase iC Pro is the most advanced Cubase control app with a clear focus on recording, making it your very personal recording assistant. The project overview page and the mixer allow you to see your project as you know it from Cubase, while the key command page gives you a powerful tool to set up your most-used keyboard shortcuts and macros.

Updates:

Twitterrific for Twitter version 5.0.2: A big update today goes to one of the runner-ups in our Twitter app showdown. Twitterrific for iOS was updated today with a simplified reading mode, image previews in the timeline, and images without frames in the photo viewer. The update also included a ton of improvements and bug fixes:
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Report: Apple plans to open R&D center in Beijing

Jordan Kahn Jan 15 2013 - 12:00 pm PT

According to a report from Chinese news portal Tencent Tech (via MacRumors), Apple CEO Tim Cook’s recent trip to China included talks regarding a new R&D center in Beijing. The report also claimed Cook said Apple will “move a certain amount of its servers for App Store and iTunes to China in order to improve the downloading speed for users in China.”

The servers could point to Apple’s new Hong Kong data center, but the report also noted Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, or Inner Mongolia as potential locations for a new data center.

At a meeting with Beijing’s acting mayor Wang Anshun on January 8, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company plans to set up an R&D center in Beijing, an unnamed insider source told Tencent Tech today. Cook also noted that Apple will move a certain amount of its servers for App Store and iTunes to China in order to improve the downloading speed for users in China.

Hands on with ‘i-Massager’ iPhone-controlled electrical nerve stimulation and other iOS massage accessories

Jordan Kahn Jan 9 2013 - 12:44 am PT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlRkhIS1VD4&feature=youtu.be

Amongst the crowded booths of case makers and Bluetooth speaker products at CES, today we came across a few interesting new iOS accessories hitting the market in the near future. The first is the i-Massager from China-based company E-Tek. The i-Massager is a certified medical TENS product (Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) that uses an iPhone app to control the frequency and intensity of the massaging pulsations it emits. The app will be available on the App Store when the product eventually launches sometime in March, and it provides access to preset massage patterns while also allowing you to fine tune the experience and even save your preference to the unit for use without your iPhone at a later date. There will be a 30-pin version of the product for iPhone 4/4S and iPad 3, but also a Bluetooth variant that will launch for compatibility with Lightning iOS devices. The company hasn’t set a retail price, but hinted it should be well under $100.

The i-Massager wasn’t the only iOS-connected massage product being shown off at CES today. Below is a product called iMusic BodyRhythm. It is a massaging vest that syncs with the music on your iOS device. The product launched on a Kickstarter this morning, and it comes with a companion app that will allow you to select a song to sync the massage to, increase the intensity, and even play drums or shake the device to control the thumping of the massage while playing along to a song. You’ll also be able to use the massage vest without syncing it to music or an app. iMusic BodyRhythm is supposed to hit mass production for $149 retail in March, but we went hands-on today at CES:

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Turn your iPad into a real hardware DJ controller with Ion Audio’s ‘Scratch 2 Go’

Jordan Kahn Jan 6 2013 - 7:26 pm PT

Straight from the CES Unveiled event in Las Vegas, audio accessory maker Ion just introduced us to one if its latest creations— a hardware DJ controller kit called “Scratch 2 Go” that puts a physical crossfader, two sets of three control knobs for pitch, EQ, etc., and a two small platters right on the display of your iPad. The company also announced updated versions of its other DJ and Guitar controllers for iPad and iPhone…

The hardware controls attach to your iPad’s display via suction cups and essentially work like a stylus, allowing you to control elements of several DJ apps on the App Store. The hardware controls are designed specifically for the iDJ 2GO app that will also work with Ion’s just announced updated Lightning version of its iDJ 2 Go hardware DJ controls. However, Ion confirmed to us that it would also work with the popular djay app for iPad.

It could also work with other iOS DJ apps provided the stylus-like tip of any particular element of the 5-piece kit lines up with the controls inside the app you’re using. Ion is making the new Scratch 2 Go kit available in April for $30 through select retailers.

A video of the kit in action from the CES show floor below:

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Belkin debuts the Thunderstorm Handheld Home Theater, an iPad case with integrated front-facing speakers

Jordan Kahn Jan 6 2013 - 3:49 pm PT

We just looked at the latest range of audio accessories from Griffin, and now well-known accessory maker Belkin is showing off a new audio product for CES 2013: The Belkin Thunderstorm Handheld Home Theater. Available starting this month on the Apple Store, the otherwise traditional-looking iPad case packs in front-facing ported speakers, thanks to a little help from Audifi, and doubles as a stand with various angles.

The case works as a dock, meaning Belkin will release two models to accommodate for both 30-pin and Lightning connectors. Belkin is also making a free companion app available that will allow users to customize sound profiles for different types of media. The Thunderstorm app isn’t available yet in the App Store, but it should début alongside the 30-pin version of the Thunderstorm Handheld Home Theater case sometime this month. A lightning-compatible version of the dock will become available in the spring. Both models will sell for $199.99 from Amazon, the Apple Store, and additional retailers.

We’ll bring you full hands-on from the CES show floor shortly.

Update: We had a chance to listen to the product on a loud crowd floor. While the sound was definitely a significant improvement over the built-in iPad capability, it was a little tinny/thin and didn’t add as much base as we would have liked. We’ll have more when we get some hands-on time later.

Updated Gallery below:
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Flurry: Holiday 2012 sees new 1-week record with 50M iOS & Android activations and 1.76B app downloads

Jordan Kahn Jan 2 2013 - 2:24 pm PT

Flurry today released its stats for worldwide app downloads during the 2012 holiday season. It recently released some stats for Christmas Day, including a huge 332 percent increase over previous years to 17.4 million new iOS and Android activations and 328 million app downloads. Today it shared some stats for the entire week starting on Christmas and ending New Year’s Day, noting it recorded the highest number of activations and app downloads for any week in history. As highlighted in the images, Flurry estimated 50 million devices activations and an increase of 65 percent to 1.76 billion app downloads:

The final week of the year, between Christmas and New Year’s Day, grew by 65% over the early-December baseline, historically breaking through the largest single week record previously set during the same week of 2011. While several weeks since late November delivered billion+ week download levels, the holiday week delivered a record-shattering 1.7 billion downloads… Looking forward to 2013, Flurry expects the trend of one-billion-download weeks to become the norm, and that the industry will surpass the two-billion download week during Q4.

New York makes real-time subway arrival data available to devs, releases free MTA Subway Time iPhone app

Jordan Kahn Dec 28 2012 - 11:47 am PT

As noted by AllThingsD, New Yorkers will now have access to accurate arrival times for seven of the city’s subway lines as the Metropolitan Transit Agency today released a new app that provides access to the real-time train location data. Available on the App Store, the MTA Subway Time iPhone app is a test app released by the MTA for the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and S 42 Street Shuttle lines. It displays the same data as the countdown clocks inside stations, and the MTA will make the data available on its website for developers to use in third-party apps.

The app covers the 156 stations where the MTA has installed countdown clocks that provide arrival estimates in minutes for upcoming trains. This app joins MTA Bus Time™, Metro-North Train Time™, LIRR Train Time™, and MTA Bridges and Tunnels’ Travel Time in the MTA’s expanding list of real-time data tools for customers.

As for the remainder of the subway lines, The Wall Street Journal explained it could take until 2016:

The new signals were installed at a cost of more than $228 million over 11 years, the MTA said. Two other lines are already being overhauled in a way that will eventually allow real-time updates: the L line running between northern Brooklyn and Manhattan’s 14th Street, which already uses an advanced signal system; and the No. 7 line between Queens and Midtown Manhattan, which is receiving the same upgrade.

The L line should be added to the data stream that feeds Subway Time within six to 12 months, the agency said. The improvements that would add the No. 7 to smartphone apps won’t be completed until 2016.

Today, New York City Mayor Bloomberg attributed an increase in the city’s annual crime index to a rise in iPhone and iPad thefts.

Google launches web ad promoting its iOS Dev team, encourages iOS developers to do work that ‘matters’

Jake Smith Dec 28 2012 - 11:35 am PT

[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG2Wn2dm5-4″]

Since the removal of YouTube, and Maps as preloaded Google apps within iOS, Google has been especially adept at developing its own set of iOS apps. We previously detailed how Google wants to own the iOS ecosystem on the apps level, providing users with an alternative universe to most of the core features of Apple’s mobile operating system. It appears Google now has a dedicated iOS app team which builds cohesive apps rather than having each business unit build its own apps.
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