features posts

Helsing's Fire is an interesting little title with a pretty original gameplay premise. The idea is that you place torches in an area full of objects and walls, and you have to target or hide certain creatures with that light. The backstory of the game is about the adventurer Van Helsing and his fight against the undead, but it's more of a strategy title; the idea is to line up the light and shadows in just the right way in order to conquer various monsters on the playing field.

While it doesn't start out very tough, more gameplay features slowly get added (eventually you have to match color attacks with certain colored monsters, and you only get a set number of attacks per stage, so you have to plan things out pretty carefully). And while the backstory is really just a frame for the gameplay, it's got a fun edge to it; it's a nice satirical spin on the old "fighting Dracula" theme, and there are a few fun celebratory fist bumps in between stages with Helsing and his assistant.

For 99 cents, Helsing's Fire offers up a good bit of original gameplay that spans 90 different levels. A survival mode and full Crystal integration add some extra fun as well, so the game is well worth the buck.

If you didn't see the thorough reports from AnandTech and Richard Gaywood on the behavior of the iPhone 4 in low-signal areas, one of the conclusions they came to is that 'bars are bogus.'

The behavior of the signal indicators on the phone is wildly shifted toward the optimistic, with over half the available signal range displayed as a cheery five bars. This contributes to the death grip problem: users who are giving up some antenna sensitivity when they grab the phone may not realize that their signal was iffy to begin with.

Guess what: Apple agrees with them, at least in part. The company posted a letter/press release today (unsigned, rather than the attributed-to-Steve past Thoughts on Music and Thoughts on Flash; they could have called this one Thoughts on Bars, but that would have been a little cruel) that admits "We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars, and it is both simple and surprising." The letter continues: "Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong."

Totally wrong? Golly.

Apple says it will be releasing a software update to recalibrate the signal display so that users will be aware of the low signal that they didn't think they had, and as a result the problem of not being able to make calls when they hold the phone 'the wrong way' will be less evident. I guess.

We're all for clarity in signal displays, but what's not clear is how a more sophisticated formula for computing the "more bars in more places" will help users who have bought bumpers, or returned phones, because their iPhone 4s could not make calls in places their 3GS phones did. As Apple notes, there are plenty of users who are not having problems, and in fact get better reception and fewer dropped calls than they did with previous generations; all that does not invalidate the issues that are causing grief for Death Grip Nation.

In their review, Anandtech acknowledged that the iPhone 4's antenna capabilities and performance in low-signal areas are much improved over the earlier generation, with the ability to hold calls in conditions where the 3GS would have dropped them. Still, their conclusion is sound and straightforward: "At the end of the day, Apple should add an insulative coating to the stainless steel band, or subsidize bumper cases. It's that simple."

Note: Whether you are having reception issues or not, please be respectful and constructive in your comments.

Disney has bought Tapulous outright, according to Techcrunch. The iPhone gaming company was one of the first on the App Store, and has been extremely successful with its Tap Tap Radiation and Tap Tap Revenge music titles.

There's no word yet on how much money was involved in the deal, but Disney has been interested in both gaming and the iDevices for a while, and obviously Tapulous proved that it could meet the Mouse House's needs. Bart Decrem, Tapulous' CEO, will reportedly become a VP at Disney.

Very impressive on Tapulous' part. There are more details coming, according to Techcrunch, so we'll update this post when we see any other news on the deal.

Whenever word gets out about a potential software update, as it did for iOS 4 back in January (then called iPhone OS 4), you don't have to look far to find speculation about features or functionality the new version will include.

This is especially true for major revisions of the OS, which is ironic when you consider that developers get access to beta versions of the OS for testing purposes -- most smaller updates are kept under wraps right up until they are released.

When Apple does officially announce a major update, it usually is quick to list the big changes that the update brings as a way to persuade developers to get in and start updating their apps to make use of the new features. Quite often, everyone focuses their attention on these main features, and discussion moves to whether or not the new OS will support things like dashboards and today screens or whether or not Feature X will live up to expectations. This discussion usually continues well after the OS has been released, and it tends to overshadow many of the smaller changes that have been made throughout the OS.

Whether these changes are minor tweaks in how something works or the addition of new functionality that subtly enhances the users' experience, they often go unnoticed for one of two reasons: either they "just work" so well that the user doesn't need to know they exist, or they require the user to do something extra to enable or locate the feature. Since both of these involve the user not being aware of something, we think it's safe to assume that bringing these little-known features to light will help.

Read on for a list of five little-known features in iOS 4 that we think deserve more attention.

After our post that iBooks 1.1 doesn't deliver what Apple promises, Apple has quietly updated the language on its iBooks page to accurately reflect what iBooks 1.1 can do as far as PDF handling goes. Two days ago we pointed out that the copy on Apple's iBooks page read:

Tap a PDF to read it and it fills the screen just like an ebook. You can flip through pages, add bookmarks and highlights, or zoom in for a closer look.

The problem with this was that you couldn't actually flip through PDF pages or highlight them -- those were features of books purchased from the iBooks store, not PDFs.

While some readers thought I was being picky that Apple used the word "flip" instead of "swipe" to move to the next PDF page, Apple seems to have agreed with me. Flipping a page involves the iBooks page-curl eye candy. Swiping a page moves one page off screen as the next appears. As of today, Apple has changed the copy on the iBooks page to accurately reflect how you can interact with PDFs in iBooks 1.1. The new copy reads:

Tap a PDF to read it and it fills the screen just like an ebook. You can swipe through pages, add bookmarks, or zoom in for a closer look.

Here's hoping that Apple does add page flipping and text highlight functionality to PDFs soon. iBooks is shaping up to be a wonderful app and I can't wait to see where it goes in the future.

I was at a bar the other night having a beer with friends, during which we talked about things guys talk about at bars. Would you rather have the power to see the future or to read someone's mind? Who's better, Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant? And, lastly, if you couldn't use an iPhone, which phone would you use?

The four of us sat there confused trying to answer the last question, and actually never got around to answering it.

The reason we never finished our answers was that it became more a question about how ingrained and integral the iPhone is in our lives than a feature-for-feature comparison of the iPhone against its competitors.

But if there was no such thing as an iPhone, which would you pick? Here at the virtual TUAW bar, we each have our own picks and reasons for them.

The retail madness continues; Apple reported this morning that it has sold 3 million iPads in 80 days. You'll remember that the first million were sold within 28 days of the US launch, and that 2 million had found owners in "less than 60 days." Let's assume the second million sold within 31 days of the first batch. That would put the 2 million mark at 59 days.

If 2 million were sold within 59 days, the third million went out the door in 21 days, meaning the pace had actually picked up. Of course, the the international release introduced a huge new pool of potential customers, but that doesn't detract from how impressive these numbers are.

The release also cites "over 11,000 apps" built specifically for the iPad, which is up from the 8,500 mark as of WWDC 2010.

I'm really looking forward to the financial conference call that includes iPad and iPhone 4 numbers. Analysts are already revising their AAPL price targets upward.

We've received a flood of overnight tips from excited readers today telling them that that their iPhone 4 orders will be arriving early. Apple is apparently sending out confirmation emails to customers who placed their orders on the 15th, stating that their phones are scheduled to arrive on June 23rd, not the 24th as originally promised (see above).

Apple notes that while FedEx may still list the 24th as your delivery date, customers should check the FedEx site on the morning of the 23rd to see if their iPhone 4 is out for delivery.

If your new iPhone does indeed arrive on the 23rd, please let us know.

[There is an odd grammatical error in the email, "you can check the FedEx website the morning of the June 23rd" -- we have no reason to believe this is anything but a legit Apple Store email at this point, but if you have any worries that this may be a phishing attempt, you can simply skip the link in the email and go to http://store.apple.com/ in a browser to check your order status.]

Navigation is one of the iPhone app categories that will really benefit from multitasking, and Navigon will shortly release a free update to provide that highly desired functionality.

You can leave the app when a call comes in, and when you end the call you'll still be navigating. Better yet, any voice alerts will be heard while you are on a call.

The US and Canada version will be updated first, with the regional versions of the apps to follow shortly. Navigon has continued to be very aggressive in delivering features, and this latest update will be an important leap forward. No release date has been announced yet for the 1.6 update, but it's in review with Apple now.

If you'd like to see the new features in action, Navigon has posted a video of the new version in operation. I can't wait for this update, and I expect I'm not alone. TomTom has also announced it will be supporting multitasking shortly after the new OS is released.

[via MacRumors]

It's arrived; either via Software Update or from Apple's iTunes page, the new version 9.2 of the used-to-be-a-music-player, then-a-media-manager, now-a-software-store, gosh-we-should-probably-change-the-name multitasker supreme is now available for download. Both the Mac and Windows versions are live and ready.

Features and improvements (aside from compatibility with iOS 4 devices) include:

• Sync and read books with iPhone or iPod touch with iOS 4 and iBooks 1.1
• Organize and sync PDF documents as books. Read PDFs with iBooks 1.1 on iPad and any iPhone or iPod touch with iOS 4
• Organize your apps on your iOS 4 home screens into folders using iTunes
• Faster back-ups while syncing an iPhone or iPod touch with iOS 4
• Album artwork improvements make artwork appear more quickly when exploring your library

Security fixes aren't published yet, but when the list is ready you'll find it here.

Head on over to Software Update to find the latest OS X dot release.10.6.4 is now available -- and in addition to the usual split between delta and combo updates, and regular/server versions, there's another wrinkle here: the Mac mini released today gets its very own flavor of the 10.6.4 update, presumably because of late changes that couldn't be tracked back into the trunk version of the OS.

The size of the update may vary if you pick it up via Software Update -- we saw 315 MB on a MacBook Pro running 10.6.3. The combo update for all 10.6 systems weighs in at a bandwidth-hogging 887.4 MB.

Here's Apple's write-up on the matter:

The 10.6.4 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard. It includes Safari 5 and general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes that:

• resolve an issue that causes the keyboard or trackpad to become unresponsive
• resolve an issue that may prevent some Adobe Creative Suite 3 applications from opening
• address issues copying, renaming, or deleting files on SMB file servers
• improve reliability of VPN connections
• resolve a playback issue in DVD Player when using Good Quality deinterlacing
• resolve an issue editing photos with iPhoto or Aperture in full screen view
• improve compatibility with some braille displays

For overall details look here, or find security information here.

Amidst all the excitement over iPhone 4 being available for pre-order, Apple also snuck an update to the Mac Mini under the radar -- and it's a pretty big update. The new Mac Mini comes in two flavors:

2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2 GB RAM
320 GB hard drive
$699

or the "server class" Mac Mini:

2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4 GB RAM
Dual 500 GB hard drive
$999

Both models of Mac Mini have been updated with NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics, the same integrated GPU present in the MacBook and MacBook Pro.

The Mac Mini has received far more than a simple spec bump, however. The enclosure itself has been updated to a unibody aluminum construction similar to the MacBook Pro, and the "server" Mac Mini omits an optical drive entirely in favor of dual hard drives [this was the case for the previous server model –Ed.]. Perhaps more important than that, the Mac Mini is now the first Mac ever to include built-in HDMI. You read that right: the Mac Mini has HDMI. The Mac Mini also has an SD card slot in the back. [Ed: This is one sexy little machine!]

Apple has also addressed the well-known difficulty of upgrading the Mac Mini's RAM. There's now a removable twist-off panel on the Mac Mini's bottom that allows for easy access to the Mini's RAM slots. We're not sure yet if the hard drive will be as easy to upgrade, but at the very least, a RAM upgrade looks like it'll take less than a minute with this new model.

The Mac Mini is available now.

We can't validate it independently, but reader Chris has sent in what would appear to be his receipt from a Best Buy in Westchester County, NY where he was able to reserve his iPhone 4, well ahead of when it was supposed to be available. You probably can't find an open store that's taking preorders already, but rest assured that when the stores open tomorrow, you too may have a piece of paper looking like this -- complete with the painfully ungrammatical "Reserve Your's Today" barcode form. Really, now, Best Buy?

If you've got a choice of stores where you can reserve your new phone, may we suggest you consider Radio Shack? Edible Apple reports that the fine folks at the Shack (as noted on the company's Twitter account) are accepting trade-ins for discounts on the iPhone 4. In fact, if you've got a 3GS in good working condition that you're willing to give up, you might get $200 off your purchase -- meaning that you could pick up a new 16GB iPhone 4 for a grand total of nothing, plus tax.

Thanks Chris and John

As we wait for iOS4 to be released, I think it's important to try to help folks keep reasonable expectations for what iOS 4 will and won't do, especially as it relates to "multitasking." Apple has to take some of the blame for this hype, especially when it's listed as the #1 feature of iOS 4, saying "Now you can run your favorite third-party apps - and switch between them instantly - without slowing down the performance of the foreground app or draining the battery unnecessarily."¹

Did you notice that ¹? The big print giveth and the little print taketh away. Down at the bottom of the page, Apple tells you that multitasking is "available with apps that have been developed to work with iOS 4." That means that any app that isn't tweaked to be multitasking-aware simply won't play nice with the feature.

And even that isn't the whole truth.

Read on for more...

Chris Rawson and I like to tag-team, and this time I pulled the counterpoint to his "Mac ain't dead" point. I'm going to enter into this conversation delicately because, like Dan Lyons, I don't think the Mac is dead. Yes, you read that correctly, I agree with Lyons when he writes, "To be sure, Apple won't kill off the Mac."^[1] And that's because both Lyons and I recognize that the Mac has an important role both internal and external to Apple.

You need a Mac to compile (unless you're into serious jailbreak mojo -- which Apple is not) with Apple's internal IDE and tool creation suite. You need a Mac to create professional graphics and video suites. You need a Mac for high-end publishing and so forth. So all of us agree: The Mac lives and OS X for the desktop is not imperiled.