Author Archive for Louis

Freebie of the Day: Squids Wild West

Squids, a well crafted turn-based strategy game that first hit iOS back in late 2011, remains one of my favorites in the genre. Now, its equally fun sequel Squids Wild West (TMA review), has gone completely free on the App Store (was $1.99).

SQUIDS Wild West has a unique mix of action strategy and RPG: build your team of heroes for challenging turn-based battles against corrupted crabs and shrimp! This sequel is even better than the original, with many surprises in store: devious new enemies, four new playable characters, and nearly twice as many levels. You can even ride seahorses into battle!

Quick Pick: PDF Cabinet for iPad

Besides using my iPad 3 for surfing the web, working on TMA articles when I’m on the road or watching movies/TV shows, I love my PDF apps for reading ebooks, documents and magazines. For the longest time, my two favorite have been the ever reliable GoodReader and PDF Expert. However, I recently came across a lesser known app in the crowded genre by Com-Tec-Co - PDF Cabinet - and it’s quickly won me over. Not only is it well designed, but it’s also got one of the most intuitive and easy to use annotations interface I’ve come across.

FAA’s Free App of the Day – Blosics

We’re working together with the team at Free App Alliance to highlight a great free app for you to check out everyday.

Looking for another physics-puzzler? If so, Blosics could be for you. In Blosics, you have to clear screenfuls of colourful blocks by firing equally colourful power balls at them. They come in 13 different varieties – each of which features a unique ability.

There are 120 levels to play through in this offering from FDG Entertainment (creators of Blueprint 3D), and plenty of achievements to unlock. Blosics for iPhone is free for a very limited time, while Blosics HD for the iPad is currently on sale for $0.99.

 FDG Entertainment, Blosics - Free

iBooks app updated with improved social sharing, continuous scrolling and more

The new version of the iBooks app showcased during this afternoon’s Media Event is now live on the App Store. The 3.0 update shows all your ebooks purchases in the cloud right from the bookshelf (iOS 6 only), as well as an all new scroll theme that lets you continously scroll through your ebooks should you wish to ditch the page turns. And sharing quotes is now made possible by highlighting selected text, and sharing them via Facebook, Twitter, Messages or Mail. Here’s the complete list of What’s New:

Introducing iBooks 3

• See all your iBookstore purchases in iCloud—right on your bookshelf with iOS 6
• Scroll vertically through your books with the flick of a finger using the new Scroll theme
• Receive free updates to purchased books—including new chapters, corrections, and other improvements
• Look up definitions for words in German, Spanish, French, Japanese and Simplified Chinese with iOS 6
• Share quotes or thoughts about your favorite book with friends on Facebook, Twitter, Messages, or Mail

 Apple, iBooks - Free

iPad mini Smart Cover will come in 6 colors, retail for $39

Just as the iPad mini has shrunk down in size, Apple’s Smart Cover has done likewise to protect the iPad mini’s 7.9-inch screen. The biggest difference from before is that the metal hinge that snaps onto the iPad’s side has been replaced by a new design that essentially wraps the device in a single piece of polyurethane material.

The cover that wakes up, stands up, and brightens up iPad has been redesigned for iPad mini.¹¹ And what a smart pair they are. iPad mini and the iPad mini Smart Cover, that is. Magnetic technology built into each one really pulls them together. The Smart Cover snaps perfectly into place to protect your screen — without adding bulk. Open the Smart Cover and your iPad mini wakes up. Close it and your iPad mini goes to sleep. Fold the Smart Cover and it becomes a stand. It’s all just so, well, smart.

The iPad mini Smart Cover will come in 6 colors and retail for $39. Check out the official Apple video after the break.

13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display now shipping on Apple.com

The 13-inch Macbook Pro with Retina Display joins its bigger 15-inch sibling with the distinction of having the highest resolution found on any laptop. Announced during today’s Apple Media Event, the new 13.3 inch MBP has a Retina Display with 2560 x 1600 pixels (the 15-inch version has 2880 x 1800 pixels), which is nearly double the pixels found on an HDTV. The screen has 29% higher contrast ratio, 75% reduced reflection, IPS technology for 178 degree viewing angle and 300 nit brightness. Just as impressive is that it’s only 0.75 inch thick and weighs 3.57 pounds, nearly a pound lighter than its 13-inch predecessor.

New iPad updated with faster A6X chip, lightning connector

The 7.9-inch iPad isn’t the only new tablet unveiled earlier today. The “New iPad” with Retina Display, which was first released 6 months ago, has been updated with the iPhone 5′s lighting port, along with a more powerful A6X chip.

The new A6X chip inside iPad is our most powerful mobile chip yet. It delivers up to twice the CPU and graphics performance of the A5X chip. And it makes iPad feel faster and even more responsive. Apps launch instantly and run smoothly. Graphics-intensivegames are fluid and lifelike on the gorgeous Retina display. And with improved image signal processing built into the A6X chip, the photos and videos you take with the5-megapixel iSight camera look sharper and even more Retina worthy.

iPad Mini page now up on Apple.com, watch the intro video

The iPad Mini product page is now live on Apple.com. Head over to get a closer look at the latest 7.9-inch iPad and see for yourself why it’ll blow all other similarly sized tablets out of the water. The nearly 5 minute intro video to the iPad Mini has also been uploaded, so be sure to check that out if you missed the live stream earlier.

Update: the iPad Mini intro video has been embedded below.

Apple Introduces the 7.9-inch iPad Mini

After months of endless speculation, Apple has finally unveiled the iPad Mini. This slick iPad has a 7.9 inch diagonal display and is just 7.2mm thick, which is 23% thinner than the original iPad. Phil Schiller has compared it to being as thick as a pencil and as light as a pad of paper. Here are the iPad Mini’s main features:

• 1024×768 resolution – same as the original iPad
• Weighs only 0.68 pounds
• Dual-core A5 chip
• FaceTime HD camera
• 5 megapixel iSight on the back
• LTE support
• 10 Hour battery life

Watch the Apple Special Event at 1PM EST online or Apple TV

In about two hours time, at 10AM PST/1PM EST, you’ll be able to watch the Apple Special Event (aka iPad Mini Announcement, among other Mac related news) live directly from Apple.com on your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Mac. The keynote will also be streamed live to the Apple TV.

Watch a live video stream of the special event online or via Apple TV starting at 10:00 a.m. PDT.

Live streaming video requires Safari 4 or later on Mac OS X v10.6 or later; Safari on iOS 4.2 or later. Streaming via Apple TV requires second- or third-generation Apple TV with software 5.0.2 or later.

This will be the first time that Apple has live streamed a product launch event since October 2010.