Graham Spencer

917 posts on MacStories since January 2011

Former MacStories contributor.

graham@macstories.net

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City For iOS Release Date Set For December 6th

Rockstar has announced that the 10th Anniversary Edition of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City will arrive on iOS and Android on December 6th. Previously announced in late October, the Anniversary Edition will cost $4.99 and feature “native high-resolution graphics” with support for Retina display devices.

The game will also include “updated character models and lighting effects, new and more precise firing and targeting options and a fully customizable control layout”. It’ll be able to run on all iPads, iPhone 4 and newer, and the 4th and 5th generations of the iPod touch.

[Rockstar via Eurogamer]

Angry Birds Star Wars Now Available

Angry Birds Star Wars is now available for download on iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Mac & Windows 8. The game is the fifth installment in the Angry Birds series from Rovio (following Seasons, Rio and Space) and is a collaboration with Star Wars creator Lucasfilm.

“It’s a banner day for us,” said Peter Vesterbacka, CMO of Rovio Entertainment. “This is our best Angry Birds game yet, and we’re excited for our fans to finally meet Luke, Leia, and the rest of the gang! But it’s more than just a game launch: we think fans are going to just love the new animated trailer and the Angry Birds Star Wars products, sure to be a big hit this holiday season.”

The game features more than 80 levels at launch including bonus levels that let you play as R2D2 and C-3PO birds. According to Polygon, which has a great review of the game, Angry Birds Star Wars currently “track the events of A New Hope, while a soon-to-be-released free Hoth level pack will dig into the beginning of Empire Strikes Back”. There’s also an in-app purchase for an additional level pack that is set in Dagobah that is available at launch for $1.99.

The makers of Angry Birds Star Wars have imagined how the the original Star Wars trilogy might have looked if performed by their coterie of birds and pigs — truly, a bizarre undertaking. Angry Birds Star Wars succeeds, though, because it is more than just a Star Wars tie-in. Polygon

Rovio and Lucasfilm also held a Google+ Hangout a few hours ago where they counted down to the launch whilst discussing the game and chatting with fans - that video is available to watch now.

Angry Birds Star Wars is available on:

“We can’t wait for fans around the world to experience the fun of launching the Angry Birds characters into the Star Wars universe,” said Colum Slevin, Vice President, Head of Studio Operations for Lucasfilm Ltd. “This is the kind of creative partnership that has helped Star Wars remain vibrant and beloved for over 35 years.”

October 2012 In Review

We’re back again with another month in review, and what a month October has been. On the news front there was, of course, the October 23rd Apple event which saw the launch of the iPad mini, fourth generation iPad,  13” MacBook with Retina Display, new Mac mini and iMac. Apple also had their fourth quarter earnings call and remembered the first year anniversary since the passing of Steve Jobs.

October was also chock full of new apps and big app updates. Tapbots in particular had a big month with the launch of Netbot and Tweetbot for Mac, Marco Arment launched The Magazine, Loren Brichter made his comeback with Letterpress, Pocket released a Mac app, and iPad drawing app Paper got a big update.

On the stories front, Federico has had a lot of fun putting together a number of guides and tutorials this month and we’ve collected them all together below. Federico also interviewed Loren Brichter for the launch of his new Letterpress app, talked about the leadership changes at Apple and I mapped out the entertainment ecosystems of Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon.

Be sure to check out our previous Month in Review posts here. 

Read more

Mapping The Entertainment Ecosystems of Apple, Microsoft, Google & Amazon

Please note: An update to this article is available here, it includes the December 2012 iTunes expansion (Music & Movies) as well as Xbox Music.

 

The choice of what phone or tablet to buy is one that often involves many considerations, chief amongst those is the physical device and the operating system that it runs. But I think there is a third fundamental consideration that is growing in importance: what services and entertainment ecosystems you’ll be able to access. You need only look back to the recent criticism of iOS 6, in which Apple replaced Google Maps with their own Maps app. Summing it up generally, Apple’s Maps app is sub-par to what it was replacing and that mattered to people - enough that Tim Cook felt the need to apologise for the frustration the switch caused.

Today I want to focus specifically on the entertainment ecosystems of Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon. I’m referring to the various digital content stores that are run by Apple, Microsoft, Google and Amazon - specifically their Music, Movies, TV Shows, eBooks and App stores. In my mind, there are four general aspects that make a good entertainment ecosystem:

  • Wide selection of quality content
  • Competitive prices
  • International availability
  • Interoperable on a user’s devices

I want to explore the third aspect in depth today, because it’s something that I feel is all too often downplayed by the technology press (which, coincidentally, is based predominantly in the US). I’ll also briefly discuss the fourth aspect as well at the end. Why are these two aspects so important? Well, smartphones and tablets are devices that have universal appeal, so for Apple or any of the other three to win the smartphone or tablet “race” - an entertainment ecosystem that is available across the world, not just in the US, isn’t just a cool extra feature, it’s a necessity. The US may be one of the biggest markets for such devices today, but is there any doubt that these devices will rival the prevalence of personal computers (which are everywhere) in years to come?

I’ve collected data on which countries each service is available in and then added in population figures to create many of the graphs and diagrams you’ll see below, mixed in with some of my own analysis and thoughts. Please note that the five HTML5 map diagrams are interactive, click on the logos of the four companies to compare their coverage.

Read more

Behind The App: MoneyWiz

Early this year, I set out to find an iPad app that I could enjoy using to manage my finances. After a couple of days of looking, I settled upon MoneyWiz from the developer SilverWiz. Its developers describe it as “beautiful, powerful and easy to use”, and having stuck with the app since late January I’m inclined to agree. In my reviews of the iPad and Mac versions my overall take was mostly positive (there is also an iPhone version, but that I have yet to use).

After exchanging a few emails with Iliya Yordanov, the founder of SilverWiz, I thought it would be interesting to have a Q&A with him and learn a bit more about the app, similar to what we’ve done in previous interviews here on MacStories, but this time, I decided to change things up a bit. For this interview I’ve assembled all the various stories about MoneyWiz and the SilverWiz company that Iliya shared with me into a single story that (hopefully) gives you a fascinating and unique look behind the app and company.

Disclaimer: At the time of publication SilverWiz is one of the advertisers on MacStories; however, this article was in the works before the campaign began. Advertising on MacStories is not handled by editors but by BackBeatMedia, and has no relation to editorial content whatsoever.

Read more

Tim Cook And Apple Remember Steve Jobs

Apple has put together a short video to remember Steve Jobs, who passed away one year ago today. The video is a montage of pictures of Steve throughout his life, many of which show him holding the key milestone products in Apple’s history from the iMac to the iPod and iPhone. It’s narrated with audio from Steve Jobs speaking at various events throughout his life about Apple, its products and its culture.

The video is simply played when you navigate to Apple.com and once it concludes, there is a a short, sombre letter from Tim Cook, remembering and paying tribute to Steve.

A message from Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.

Steve’s passing one year ago today was a sad and difficult time for all of us. I hope that today everyone will reflect on his extraordinary life and the many ways he made the world a better place.

One of the greatest gifts Steve gave to the world is Apple. No company has ever inspired such creativity or set such high standards for itself. Our values originate from Steve and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple. We share the great privelage and responsibility of carrying his legacy into the future.

I’m incredibly proud of the work we are doing, delivering products that our customers love and dreaming up new ones that will delight them down the road. It’s a wonderful tribute to Steve’s memory and everything he stood for.

Tim

Tim Cook Writes Open Letter To Customers, Apologizes For Maps ‘Frustration’

Apple has just posted on its website a letter from Tim Cook to Apple’s customers, apologizing for not delivering the best experience with its new iOS 6 Maps. In the letter, prominently link to from the front page of Apple.com,  Cook describes how Apple “strives” to make products the “deliver the best experience possible”, but that the new Maps app has fallen short of this standard, frustrating millions of customers.

He re-emphasises the previous Apple statement on Maps, by saying that as time goes on and more people use Maps (there have already been nearly half a billion location searches), that the Maps app will get better. But in the mean time, Cook suggests that users try alternative map apps, and actually names some third-party apps available in the App Store such as “Bing, MapQuest and Waze” or alternatively to use “use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app”. Whilst that is certainly far from ideal, it’s quite extraordinary to see Cook actively name and recommend third party mapping solutions.

Cook explains that since they first shipped the original iPhone, they’ve been wanting to add new features such as “turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps”. Cook claims that they had to create a new version “from the ground-up” to achieve these - there is no mention of Google’s role in the letter.

Tim Cook’s full letter to customers:

To our customers,

At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.

We launched Maps initially with the first version of iOS. As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps. In order to do this, we had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up.

There are already more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps, with more and more joining us every day. In just over a week, iOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations. The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you.

While we’re improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app.

Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world. We know that you expect that from us, and we will keep working non-stop until Maps lives up to the same incredibly high standard.

Tim Cook
Apple’s CEO

Bad Piggies Is Now Available For Download On iPhone, iPad and Mac

Bad Piggies, the latest game from Rovio, is now available for download on iPhone, iPad, Android and Mac. This latest Rovio game is a twist on the infamous Angry Birds series in which you now control the pigs and must pilot them safely to the bird eggs. Unlike the simple mechanic featured in Angry Birds in which you simply slingshot the birds into the pigs and their structures, Bad Piggies requires you to make “the ultimate flying machine” and steer them through the levels.

With more than 60 levels, and free updates coming up, you have hours and hours of pig-crashing, exploding, and flying fun! Get three stars on every level to unlock 30 more puzzles! HINT: Sometimes you need to play the level several times to achieve all the objectives – try building a new device or steering in a different way to earn all the stars!

The game currently features 60 levels, with another 30 unlockable by getting three-stars on levels and will, like Angry Birds, receive free updates that add levels. There’s also 4 sandbox levels in which you can really have fun with making some awesome flying contraptions with various fans, wings, motors, balloons and other objects. If you’re interested in reading a review, check out this one by Polygon’s Chris Plante:

Bad Piggies’ levels aren’t nearly as fast as Angry Birds. They require attention and patience as the pig slowly travels from one end to the other. Unlike Angry Birds, it’s not as easy to play on a subway or during a coffee break. The main game is a fine distraction, something to do with your hands while watching sitcoms or talking on the phone.

Download links:

Jump the break to watch the Bad Piggies trailer.

Read more

Apple: iPhone 5 Sales Top Five Million Over Opening Weekend, 100 Million iOS Devices Updated To iOS 6

Apple has just issued a press release announcing that the iPhone 5 has sold more than five million units in its first three days of sales after launching on Friday in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the UK. Apple previously revealed that in the first 24 hours pre-orders of the iPhone 5 topped two million.

“Demand for iPhone 5 has been incredible and we are working hard to get an iPhone 5 into the hands of every customer who wants one as quickly as possible,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “While we have sold out of our initial supply, stores continue to receive iPhone 5 shipments regularly and customers can continue to order online and receive an estimated delivery date. We appreciate everyone’s patience and are working hard to build enough iPhone 5s for everyone.”

Apple also announced in the press release that since iOS 6 launched mid-last week, over 100 million iOS devices are now running iOS 6. The latest iOS release removed Google Maps in favour of Apple’s own mapping app which has been receiving strong criticism, a new Passbook app, Facebook integration and a bounty of other more minor new features and adjustments. Our own Federico reviewed iOS 6 and you can find all our iOS 6 coverage here.

The second ‘round’ of the iPhone 5 launch will occur this Friday on September 28th, going on sale in the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.


Jump the break for the full press release from Apple.

Read more