Recent LEGO game Bricktales arrived last fall on most platforms except for mobile devices. Now the puzzle adventure is set to debut on iOS and Android on April 27 and the creators think players are going to love it on touchscreens.
Expand Expanding Close
LEGO today has officially launched its LEGO AR Playground app on iOS, incorporating ARKit technology to merge real LEGO sets with augmented action. The first ARKit Playgrounds app from the company arrives with a NINJAGO theme.
Take some Lego, an e-paper display, a Rasberry Pi Zero and what do you get? Something that may well qualify as the cutest Lego project ever: a Wi-Fi-enabled Macintosh Classic with the ability to remotely change the display.
Apple fans are a dedicated bunch. Many of us diehards run out and buy every new gadget, making it nearly impossible for friends and family to come up with an original gift idea related to one of our biggest passions. My holiday gift guide includes items that you can’t buy from your local Apple store, but are sure to delight any fan of the company. These aren’t complementary products like a nice iPhone stand or Apple Watch band, but rather hard-to-find swag and collectibles that only real Apple fans would appreciate. Head below to take a look at my outside-the-box gift ideas for the Apple lover in your life:
Expand
Expanding
Close
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
[tweet https://twitter.com/9to5toys/status/626815891154567168 align=’center’]
[tweet https://twitter.com/9to5toys/status/626810599402512384 align=’center’]
[tweet https://twitter.com/9to5toys/status/626764461634920448 align=’center’]
[tweet https://twitter.com/9to5toys/status/625692013636263936 align=’center’]
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
This 6ft MFi Lightning cable has a built-in LED status indicator: $12 Prime shipped (Reg. $16) http://t.co/Croc6xjuYw pic.twitter.com/8HI96o5pft
— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) July 29, 2015
Gold Box: 2-pack Philips Sonicare Easy Clean Electric Toothbrushes $100 shipped (Orig $137+) http://t.co/fz7zP1GVHg pic.twitter.com/C8CblCyZvb
— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) July 29, 2015
Apple iPad Air 2 Wi-Fi 16GB in all colors for $400 shipped (Reg. $499) http://t.co/6m0iOdNOIA pic.twitter.com/gqknmZ9WtM
— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) July 27, 2015
Earlier in my reviewing career, I always tried to estimate the likely audience for products I tested: was an accessory likely to be universally appealing, somewhat popular, niche, or poorly received by virtually everyone? Many reviews (and reader comments) later, I learned there was at least a small audience for virtually anything, and conversely, that some people found reasons to dislike even the best-designed and best-reviewed products. I eventually concluded that there is no such thing as “universally appealing” or “universally bad” — just products for different audiences of different sizes.
SwitchEasy’s Blocks ($20) and Colors ($15) are as close to a test of my conclusion as anything I’ve covered so far for Apple’s $350-$17,000 Watches. Blocks lets you build your own Apple Watch dock from 92 plastic pieces that just so happen to be “compatible with Leading Manufacturer building blocks,” code for “works with Legos.” Colors is an inexpensive Apple Watch case designed to match three Apple Watch Sport bands. Toy-like in appearance, the designs are clearly not “universally appealing,” particularly for owners of expensive Apple Watches and Editions. But it’s possible that one or both of them may appeal to you, anyway…
Expand
Expanding
Close
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
Amazon Gold Box: T-fal 12-Piece Hard Anodized Nonstick Cookware Set $80 shipped (Orig. $200) http://t.co/5QG5sje1kc pic.twitter.com/BbVWesHquI
— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) May 4, 2015
nexpaq’s iPhone 6 case enables killer features to be added and removed on-the-fly
If you’re a fan of LEGO games on your Mac, or any of the many other games made by Mac gaming specialist Feral Interactive, you have six days to grab a bargain in the latest Mac App Store sale. This is the first time that the entire catalogue of apps from a developer has gone on sale, with discounts of up to 75 percent.
Notable titles include LEGO Star Wars Saga; the racing game GRID, which claims to combine the best of both arcade racing and driving sim worlds; defending the Earth from alien invasion in XCOM: Enemy Unknown (Elite Edition); and the award-winning Batman Arkham City GOTY.
Via TNW
If you your kids play with LEGO Technic, and the standard infra-red receiver feels just a little 1990s, a new Kickstarter project has the answer. The SmartBrick is a Bluetooth LE receiver that forms a direct swap for the IR one, enabling you to control your hi-tech LEGO projects with your iPhone.
The SmartBrick has four ports, enabling it to control four functions, and if that’s not enough you can control up to 16 SmartBricks from the app, providing a total of 64 controls. Because it’s Bluetooth LE, you can embed the controller inside your model, and you get around 300 feet of range – and even control your device over the Internet.
The app allows you to choose the remote control profile you’d like for your device. Joystick, gamepad and gyroscopic controls are offered as standard, and you can create your own custom controls.
A pledge of £40 ($68) gets you a brick from the first production run, but there are still some Early Bird specials available for £29 ($49).
[kickstarter url=http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cchu/palette-a-freeform-interface-that-controls-any-sof width=640]
Trackpads and keyboards are great for many things, but there are some tasks where there’s no substitute for a physical dial, slider or button. In video editing, for example, there’s a reason that professional kit uses a rotary dial to move forward or backward through the video clip. Photo editing and audio work are also far easier with physical dials and sliders.
While there’s a whole world of dedicated hardware controllers out there, the Palette project on Kickstarter takes a particularly neat approach: a modular system that you can design to your own requirements. There’s a power block, button, rotary dial and slider, and you can mix-and-match them in any layout you like, and they can be made to work with any software …
Expand
Expanding
Close
From 9to5Toys.com:
iOS and Mac developers alike are slashing prices of their hottest titles to celebrate the 4th of July. 9to5Toys will be keeping you in the loop all week long on the best deals. The links highlighting the new price will take you directly to iTunes to purchase immediately, no matter what device you’re on! Read on for the deals below:
Expand
Expanding
Close
