Author Archive for Enuh Iglesias

ToyHopper for the iDevice: Holiday Shopping Made Easy

Busy working moms and dads dreading the holiday crush now have a reason to rejoice – Disney’s FamilyFun has come out with a handy app for your holiday shopping needs.
With a circulation of over 2 million, FamilyFun has firmly established itself as the go-to parent resource for creative recipes, crafts, and games for the whole family. Just in time for holiday shopping, they’ve released a new toy finder/shopping app called ToyHopper for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

A World of Difference: iPad developer Days Of Wonder Responds to UK Press

Small World for iPad

Curiouser and curiouser.

Stories of video/computer game obsession are not new, but a news article about a mom in the UK convicted for neglecting her children and let her dogs starve to death for playing Small Worlds obsessively on Facebook stirred up  an even more bizarre controversy – this time involving Days of Wonder’s Small World for iPad, erroneously tagged as the culprit.

Griffin’s upcoming PartyDock – a whole new dimension of gaming?

Griffin, renowned third party Apple accessories maker hints at expanding the media and gaming possibilities with its FCC filing of the PartyDock, an interesting device that will allow up to four players using iPads and iPhones to play casual/family games via iTunes which are specifically adapted to the PartyDock. In addition, the device is also optimized for viewing photos, movies and videos. Furthermore, PartyDock plays music and supports composite and component video.

Griffin promises an easy set-up out of the box, with three free mini-games and one full-version game, four controllers, cables and power supply thrown in.

From the looks of it, PartyDock just might be the next step in mobile gaming development. More images after the gap.

iApps for Students – Best bang-for-the-buck back to School Apps

As summer draws to a close, there’s a bigger and better reason for going back to school this September – shiny new apps for your shiny new iPad and iPhone 4.

Check out the ongoing sale at iApps for Students and take a pick from a wide selection of useful apps for school for your Mac, iPhone and iPad – massive discounts ranging from 20 to 99% off will certainly make app shopping easier on the wallet. These apps make student life a little easier with its selection of educational, personal finance management and notetaking tools, with games, entertainment, photography apps thrown in.

You might want to revisit last year’s cream of the crop back to school app roundup by TMA and check if you have these recommended apps in your collection already. So it’s time to shine that gorgeous new baby of yours and go back to school with a bang!

iPods, iPad and iPhone Due For an Early Revamp?

Apple's image

It’s clear that 2010 is a busy, busy year for Apple. A heady combination of new and old, Apple unveiled the highly-anticipated iPad, released the sexy (and controversial) iPhone 4, and  a bigger, meaner iMac together with the Apple Magic Trackpad.

Rumors abound from a number of reliable sources that the iPod line will see a major product refresh – a tiny touchscreen shuffle, the iPod Touch will finally get a camera and the fabled retina display on the iPhone 4, and – gasp! – a tinier, 7-inch iPad in the works? Another rumor that might ignite a fresh wave of controversy is the rumored iPhone refresh amidst the antenna issues hounding iPhone 4.

A more recent rumor is the introduction of a cheaper  TV device renamed the Apple iTv said to cost only $99 with a 99 cent tv show rental deal in the works.

With the scheduled September 1 event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, these speculations will soon be put to rest. Major announcements for the iPad and iPhone however, might come a bit later in the year or early 2011.

iPad 101: iAnnotate PDF on Stanford’s Med School Course List

Apple recently announced a trial program that integrates the iPad into academics wherein educational institutions will now be able to buy apps in bulk through iTunes. It’s not surprising, then, that Stanford Medical School is poised to take the plunge. Stanford University is a staunch supporter of Apple’s education initiatives and last year began teaching iPhone app development courses for free to its students.

Monster Dash By Halfbrick Close On the Heels of their iPhone Hit Fruit Ninja

Following the phenomenal success of Fruit Ninja, Halfbrick Studios will soon be rolling out a promising new iPhone game – Monster Dash.

Monster Dash is an action game that follows the adventures of Barry Steakfries as he runs and shoots monsters with nothing to lose! Steakfries travels through portals to visit exotic world locations, battling demons, mummies, vampires and more!

This platformer makes use of two buttons only – jump and shoot. This is a marked change from the free-for-all swipe controls previously found on Fruit Ninja. However, if you’re concerned about ramping up the difficulty, the action speeds up and changes gears with each new location, with weapon and health pickups along the way. There are a variety of hilarious weapons such as the one shot Pacifier, Mr. Zappy, and the ultimate Machine Gun Jetpack!

The game is all about running as far as possible while shooting monsters along the way. Compete on the Openfeint leaderboards for top score and to collect awards. Expect a lot of pizzazz and a quirky new hero in Halfbrick’s upcoming release. Are you ready to do the Monster Dash? Video trailer after the gap!

Weak iPhone 4 Reception? Papermaster off Apple’s team

Rumors are swirling around the unexpected departure of Mark Papermaster, Apple’s Senior VP of Devices Hardware Engineering.

An IBM stalwart before moving to Apple, Papermaster worked in the company from 1998-2008 where he served as Vice President of the blade server division. His controversial exit from IBM became the subject of a court case which was ruled on the scope and validity of the ‘non-compete’ clause in his employment contract with IBM.

Farewell Again, Michael Jackson a.k.a. Dancing Zombie

In an update that combined unexpected crashing and the disappearance of the beloved iconic Dancing zombie from their iPhone version, fans are up in arms over Popcap Games’ upsetting ‘business decision’ to remove the Thriller-era Michael Jackson lookalike from the roster of the lovable undead in Popcap Games’ runaway tower defense hit, Plants vs. Zombies (TMA review)

Acting on the request of the Estate of Michael Jackson, the developers have promptly given the Dancing Zombie a makeover with a new one and ramped up the update with 12 new iPhone exclusive achievements and bug fixes.

India’s iPad Killer: A Race to the Bottom

As demand continues to outstrip supply, and with the limited availability of iPads in developing countries continue to jack up retail prices all over the world, India steps up to offer a low-cost contender. Fully supported by the their national government, India’s prototype is estimated to cost only $35, a fraction of the iPad’s cost. Design decisions which trim down hardware costs as well as open source software can bring down the price to as low as $20.