If you want to pass like Tom Brady from the comfort of your living room chair, then you should grab a copy of NFL Flick Quarterback for the iPhone. The app is a flick-style passing game that lets you take on the role of an NFL quarterback. The game isn’t a full-fledged football simulation like Madden 2012, but a passing game as its name suggests.

Even though it focuses on only one aspect of the gridiron game, NFL Flick Quarterback is a lot of fun. You star as a quarterback of your favorite team and get to choose your jersey number. Your goal is to complete passes to receivers down field. Sounds easy until you throw in a defender or two who’ll try to deflect your pass.

You throw the pass by flicking the ball out of the quarterback’s hand. The faster and straighter you flick the ball, the harder and straighter your pass will be. Once the pass is in the air, you can swipe left or right to nudge the ball in either direction. The game is easy and enjoyable which makes it perfect for the casual iPhone gamer.

NFL Flick Quarterback is available for $.99 from the iOS App Store.

Daily iPhone App: NFL Flick Quarterback originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple set to reveal next iPhone this summer, according to reports.

Chichester, United Kingdom – CodeStore has announced the availability of an updated iOS app templates Story Book App v1.3, and Comic Book App v1.2. The iOS app template projects are a quick and easy way to create an interactive book-style app, without the need to learn software development. The easy to use templates load your pages in JPEG format, and output native iPad or iPhone apps, ready for the App Store.

The Story Book App v1.3 project has the following features:
* Loads pages from image files – simply save your pages as .jpg files and the Story Book App will display them in sequence. (page1.jpg, page2.jpg, page3.jpg, etc)
* Swipe between pages, or use the menu to jump to any page
* Animated page transitions. Animated launch sequence on iPad
* Supports an unlimited number of pages, example book included
* Universal – supports full resolution on iPhone & iPad, including Retina Display
* Portrait & landscape books supported
* Narration audio (save your files as page2_narrate.mp3, page3_narrate.mp3, etc)
* Button to link to website or App Store on the in-app menu (eg, link to paid app from your free ‘lite’ app)
* New: Include printable extras such as coloring pages, activity sheets, or posters. (simply name print1.jpg, print2.jpg, print3.jpg, etc). Printable extras can be printed wirelessly via AirPrint or shared via email
* New: Add ‘tap sounds’ – MP3s which play when the user taps on each page (name them page2_tap.mp3, page3_tap.mp3, page4_tap.mp3, etc)
* New: Add an extra layer to your pages with PNG files (eg. popup speech bubbles)
* New: Animated startup sequence for both iPhone & iPad
* New: Choice of page transition styles (flip, fold, slide)
* New: Right-to-left option for Arabic, Hebrew, Chinese books
* New: Includes Universal (iPad iPhone), iPad-only, and iPhone-only projects

The Comic Book App project v1.2 has the following features:
* Loads pages from image files, easily add pages to the project, no coding required
* Simply save your pages as .jpg files and the Comic Book App will display them in sequence. (page1,jpg, page2.jpg, page3.jpg, etc)
* Tap-to-zoom, adapt the zoom level to suit your comic
* Supports high-resolution images for great detail even when zoomed. (up to 1536×1920)
* Optional background music, simply add a file named background.mp3, easy
* Swipe between pages, or use on-screen buttons
* Quickly jump between pages with the on-screen menu
* Link to your website or other apps from the on-screen menu
* Animated page transitions, and app launch animation
* Supports an unlimited number of pages. Example comic book included
* New: Pages can be printed via AirPrint

CodeStore offers a range of projects for producing apps for iPhone and iPad, the projects on offer allow authors who may not be familiar with coding or software development to easily create an app from their content. The projects are apps that load content in JPEG and MP3 format – so no knowledge of the Objective-C programming language is required to create a native iPad and iPhone app using the templates.

The CodeStore templates have opened up the App Store market to a world of authors who had previously got stuck at the hurdle or either learning iOS software development, or paying an expensive price to have an app built for them. Hundreds of projects have been sold, and many of the best creations are showcased on the CodeStore website, along with links to download them from the App Store.

Requirements:
* Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or 10.7 Lion
* Xcode 4.2 (Free download via Mac App Store)

Pricing and Availability:
The Story Book App v1.3 project can be purchased for $29.00 (USD). The Comic Book App v1.2 project can be purchased for $29.00 (USD). One purchase allows an author to release as many apps as they like. A bundle of CodeStore template app projects can be purchased together for just $59.00.

CodeStore
Demo Video
Story Book App Screenshots

Chris Mayer is an iOS and Mac developer based in Chichester, UK. Chris has developed apps in a number of categories, mostly focusing on games, entertainment titles and books. Copyright (C) 2010-2012 Chris Mayer. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod, iPad and Mac are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Gizmodo has raised awareness a serious problem regarding an iMessage bug that, under the wrong circumstances, might result in your messages being seen by others, or you seeing someone else’s messages. It’s not a new issue; Ars Technica reported on it in December with stolen iPhones, and the problem is an ongoing one.

The behavior is most likely linked to Apple retaining the UDID of older phones in its database. The theory is that when a new UDID from a replacement device is linked to an Apple ID, the old identifier is not being removed. In the scenario Gizmodo discusses, the phone involved is owned by a minor who’s now seeing iMessages that an Apple retail employee is sending to friends and loved ones — all without the employee being aware. Gizmodo believes that when the minor’s iPhone was taken to the Apple Store for repair, the employee swapped his SIM card — not a standard practice — with the phone being repaired, which is enough to cause the issue.

As underscored by the previous reports, this is a serious problem. But Gizmodo, apparently not having learned its lesson from a couple years ago, decided to make its point about this security flaw by plastering the Apple retail employee’s iMessages on its site.

Gizmodo boasts that it’s found a plethora of information on the employee, dubbed “Wiz,” including his home address, Facebook, email, where he exercises and the Apple Store where he works. “We know enough about this guy to stalk him, blackmail him, and harass him, using nothing more than what we’ve picked up,” writer Sam Biddle brags. The site has posted screenshots of Wiz’s iMessages, which involve attempts at getting a date, discussing Apple’s first quarter financial results, photos alone and with friends, and more.

While Gizmodo has made its point, it does so in a way that outs an employee who was just doing his job by repairing the kid’s phone — and he probably had no idea that this was happening until his photos and iMessages began to be plastered all over the Internet today. While the employee’s name and face were blurred out, enough identifying details remain that it wouldn’t be hard to figure out who he is. If Gizmodo can find him, so can anyone smart enough to do a bit of digging on Google.

What Gizmodo has done is sensationalistic and in extremely poor taste, even drawing criticism from content partner MSNBC, which chastised the site for posting the iMessage images. The sensationalism only serves to draw attention away from the bigger issue of people’s information being compromised. Gizmodo could have gone about this in a different manner. Exposing the employee’s private life to this degree was not necessary to make the point that something is seriously wrong with iMessage.

iPhone bug opens up stranger’s life to the world originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Don Lee, CEO of Nomad Brush, was kind enough to meet with us for a few minutes on the floor of Macworld | iWorld 2012 last week to chat about his creation, which is one of the nicer brushes available for virtual painting on Apple’s devices. Nomad’s got a few different makes and models for various uses, but Lee says his goal for them is all the same: To provide a “good bridge between analog and digital painting.” The brushes all do that — they’re solid brushes that respond well to the iPad’s screen.

But what they don’t do is what all brushes and styluses can’t yet do, and that’s invoke pressure sensitive information onto Apple’s glass screen. Lee says that it’s actually a choice on Apple’s part. He says that the software can determine the size of a touch on the screen — in other words, if your finger touches it only slightly, that’s a smaller screen space than if your finger (or a capacitive brush) is completely pressed up against the glass. But Apple doesn’t allow developers to take advantage of that information with their apps. “If they were to let that open,” says Lee, he’d obviously be able to sell more useful brushes, but until then, brushes are basically finger substitutes, not the full tools they could be.

Now developers, being developers, have come up with lots of little tricks to get around this lack of pressure information. The app Zen Brush, which Lee says makes a nice example for his brushes, actually uses the speed of your finger swipe (along with “projected” virtual ink on the screen) to make a more realistic representation of how the brush would interact with an actual page.

Nomad doesn’t have its own app, but Lee says the company “would love to talk to some developers” about possibly making an app built to work with its brushes. In the meantime, of course, they work just fine with almost any drawing app.

As for the brushes themselves, Lee says the biggest difference between them is basically just the size of the tips — some are wider and better used at painting bigger strokes, and some are better for closeup work (only in the feeling, of course — again, the size of the brush’s contact on iOS’ surface doesn’t really matter, and all of the various brush settings have to be worked on in the actual software). But one thing Nomad is thinking about doing that customers have asked about is creating brushes with interchangeable tips, so that users can customize their handles with whatever brush they’d like to use.

There are a few different choices in terms of brush styli for the iPad and iPhone, but Nomad seems like a good option, and it was interesting to talk to Lee, who’s actually an architect by trade. All of Nomad’s brushes are available on its website now.

Nomad brushes with wide strokes at Macworld | iWorld 2012 originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Magic Window was one of the first apps on the App Store when the store launched. It is a simple idea, but wonderfully executed and now available for the Mac as well as iOS. Magic Window is time-lapse photography — for iOS it serves as a relaxing “picture window” and on the Mac it can play on your desktop. Plus, by adding a projector (in the video below it is connected to an iPhone) you could have an enormous wall of a sunset slowly changing over time.

There’s really a bit more to Magic Window than mere novelty, including weather (supporting micro-climates as you find here in San Francisco), sleep timers and an efficient use of your processor. Check out the demo below by Josh from Jetson Creative, the smart folks behind this wonderful app.

See beautiful time lapse images with Magic Window on your Mac, iPad or iPhone originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

XMG Studio is an indie iOS developer in Toronto that’s gotten to work with some very decidedly un-indie licenses. They have made a few popular and original iOS games already (including Cows vs. Aliens and Cannon Cadets), but lately they’ve been getting more and more involved in licensed work. They delivered an Inspector Gadget game last year, have an app out about the Canadian TV series Degrassi High, and now they’ve wrangled the official Ghostbusters license for iOS. And VP of Game Development Adam Telfer told us this week at Macworld that they’re making a location-based game with it, of all things.

The game will be out this summer, and will use the iPhone’s location tech to have players track down virtual ghosts in their real-world environments, both searching them on a map and then using the iPhone itself as a PK meter. They’re using a Foursquare-style service to place the ghosts, too, so a ghost might appear at your regular Starbucks stop, you’ll get a notification, and once you search for it, you’ll be able to earn items and upgrades for searching for and capturing more ghosts. Location-based gaming is a genre that’s kind of foundered on the iPhone, but Telfer says he and XMG have some ideas they’re excited about, and he thinks the Ghostbusters franchise is a perfect fit. The game is set for a “soft launch” in Canada in a few months, with a launch in North America sometime in June.

As for XMG as a company, Telfer says that “this year we exploded.” While the company started out with just six people working on an original game, the office is now up to about 45 employees, and rather than original IPs, Telfer says XMG is looking more for licensing bigger properties, and co-production on titles. Totally Amp’d is another example of that — it’s an app centered around a video series, where you can not only watch the video content, but also interact with the show and its characters in various ways.

We’ll look forward to that Ghostbusters app as well. XMG is definitely finding some interesting business deals — hopefully their take on the location-based gaming genre will live up to the much-loved movie license.

Macworld | iWorld 2012: XMG Studios working on a location-based Ghostbusters game originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Valve has released Steam Mobile for iOS, a free app for the iPhone. According to Valve, “With the free Steam app for iOS, you can participate in the Steam community wherever you go. Chat with your Steam friends, browse community groups and user profiles, read the latest gaming news and stay up to date on unbeatable Steam sales.”

That’s the promise of the app, anyway; Steam Mobile has launched in “limited beta,” meaning you first need to input an activation key on your PC or Mac. Entering your username and password into the Steam Mobile app is apparently enough to “express interest” in the beta, but for now that’s pretty much all the app does until you receive an activation key.

It’s interesting that this app was approved; Apple has traditionally frowned on apps that require users to register for access in this manner, so it’s odd to see Valve granted an exception.

Also worth noting is that Steam Mobile will not serve as a front end to Steam selling games for the iPhone. All Steam Mobile will allow you to do is access the community and buy games for your Mac or PC from your iPhone.

Valve debuts free Steam Mobile iPhone app originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

CES 2010 was where we first heard of the Parrot AR.Drone, a radio-controlled quadricopter that hooked up via Wi-Fi to an iPhone app. And now, two years later, that product is out and successful, and Parrot used CES 2012 a few weeks ago to introduce the AR.Drone 2.0, a brand new version of the flying drone that’s set to arrive for the exact same price later on this year.

Last week at CES, we got to fly the drone around through its paces, and there is actually a very noticeable difference in the new version once you get behind the wheel: It’s much, much harder to crash. Part of the reason for that is updates in the drone’s app and firmware, but the model for 2.0 makes the craft much sturdier, and a new onboard compass (along with some other tech) means it’s easier to fly as well. Things are much more stable, so the drone itself can do much more of the work of just staying in the air, while you the flyer can focus on moving it around.

In addition to general adjustments, there’s also a new mode implemented called “Absolute Control”, which allows the drone to stay in a certain direction, no matter where you tell it to go. It’s tough to explain in just text, but the AR.Drone 2.0 “knows” where it’s looking, even when you turn it around, and for most people, keeping it facing the same way while tilting your iPad or iPhone to move the device is much more intuitive than having to track both the direction you’re actually tilting and the direction the drone is flying. Explaining how it works is confusing, but it makes flying the drone much less so.

The drone design itself looks a little smaller than before, but it’s actually not at all. Instead, some of the hardware has been strengthened, with the weak points on the initial model being the main targets for the refresh. There are also new cameras on board, that will shoot up to 720p HD video, which means even on a tablet, video from the drone is clear and crisp.

Parrot has seen a lot of action with the drones on YouTube as well (in fact, while we played with the drone at CES, there was also a world championship of sorts going on, with all kinds of flyers from around the world competing after having entered by posting videos online). The new model’s software (still a free download from the App Store) will now allow you to not only see video live from the drone, but also take pictures and even record full HD video directly from the device. That should make for a lot of interesting viewing online, even if you don’t buy one yourself.

The AR.Drone 2.0 is a significant improvement on Parrot’s already popular model. At $299, the AR.Drone is a pretty expensive toy (professionally made as it might be), but the more stable control scheme and the addition of the 720p camera and its capture features mean the Drone 2.0 is worth another look, even if you passed the first one by. We’re set to get a review model later on this year, so stay tuned for an even more in-depth look at how it all works, and the device itself is supposed to be available in Q2.

Parrot updates the AR.Drone for a second version originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Verizon may tout its 4G LTE network, but its quarterly earnings show that customers want the iPhone and are choosing the 3G phone over its 4G counterparts. It’s not just a small number either; about 55 percent of all smartphones sold in the quarter were iPhones.

The carrier announced that it sold 4.3 million iPhones during the final quarter of 2011. This figure accounts for more than half the 7.7 million smartphones the carrier sold and more than doubles the 1.6 million LTE smartphones the carrier sold in the last three months of the year. It’s also 2 million more than the 2.3 million 4G LTE devices the carrier sold (1.6 M smartphones and 700,000 LTE devices), which is impressive when you consider that it’s the iPhone 4 and 4S versus the 20 LTE devices in Verizon’s lineup.

In its aggressive ad campaign, Samsung may dangle its 4G smartphones in front of Apple fans like a carrot, but these quarterly figures show that customers are just not buying that message.

iPhone accounted for more than half of all smartphones sold by Verizon Wireless in Q4 2011 originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments