Rovio Officially Introduces “Amazing Alex”, Launching In July On iOS and Android

Initially teased back in May, Finnish game maker Rovio formally announced its next game for iOS and Android today, launching a dedicated website, a set of wallpapers, and a video to reveal more details of the upcoming title. Coming “in July 2012” for iOS and Android (in May, Rovio said the game would launch within two months), Amazing Alex will be a puzzle game focused on letting Alex – the main character – build chain reactions across different locations, levels, and using a variety of objects to create fun and engaging Rube Goldberg-like devices and machines.

Rovio acquired the game from developers Snappy Touch and Mystery Coconut – it was originally called Casey’s Contraptions – and reworked it with a new physics engines, new graphics, and further developing the character of Alex.

Whilst it’s still unclear whether Amazing Alex will be a paid title or a “freemium game”, Rovio is already promising 100 levels, regular free updates, 35 interactive objects, and the possibility of building and sharing puzzles with your friends. A promo video posted on Rovio’s website (and also embedded below), doesn’t show any actual gameplay footage, but suggests a highly colorful and distincitive setting for the game.

You can check out the teaser site for Amazing Alex here, and follow @amazingalex on Twitter for future updates.
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Bloomberg: Apple Preparing To Overhaul iTunes With Deeper iCloud Support & Improved Sharing

In a report today, Bloomberg claims that Apple is set to overhaul iTunes by the end of the year by more closely integrating iCloud support and adding improved sharing features. Bloomberg is light on exactly what deeper iCloud support will entail, focusing instead on the fact that Apple wants to make it easier for users to manage and organise all their libraries of music, videos and applications. It’s also insinuated that Apple may yet carve more features out of iTunes and into separate apps, like the new Podcasts app that Apple released earlier this week.

The other half of this overhaul relates to how users find new content on the multitude of content stores that Apple runs. According to Bloomberg’s sources, this will entail making it easier to share songs and even allowing “users to listen to a song sent to them from a friend for free”. A big part of the improved sharing will no doubt be the baked in Twitter and Facebook sharing options that Apple showed off in their iOS 6 preview at WWDC. The new sharing features are also likely to replace Ping, which according to a report by John Paczkowski of AllThingsD earlier this month, is set to be removed from the next major version of iTunes.

Bloomberg refutes suggestions that Apple will offer a music subscription service like rdio or Spotify, but notes that music labels have been urging Apple to do so.

[via Bloomberg]

Google+ Coming to iPad Soon→

Google+ Coming to iPad Soon

Drew Olanoff writing for The Next Web:

The app is absolutely gorgeous, and it definitely takes some cues from Flipboard’s approach to content display and digesting. I found that after using the app for a few minutes, navigating your way through all of Google+’s features was simple, and more importantly, natural. It’s a hybrid of Flipboard and Apple’s coverflow.

I’m not a Google+ user, but the new social features found in the Android and iPad versions look to imaginative, and in some cases, quite clever. Google+ Hangouts is built in, so you can chat with groups of family and friends — similar to FaceTime. Commenting looks easy, pictures are laid out like magazine images, and Google has seems to have managed to retain a modern and friendly interface that doesn’t feel abstract or robotic. You’ll want to check out The Next Web for more images and hands-on with the tablet app.

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Apple Wins Preliminary Injunction Against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 In The US

Apple has today won a preliminary injunction against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the US, just a day before Google’s I/O conference begins. Issued by US Disctrict Judge Lucy Koh, it means that Samsung can no longer sell their tablet in the United States.

Although Samsung has a right to compete, it does not have a right to compete unfairly, by flooding the market with infringing products. While Samsung will certainly suffer lost sales from the issuance of an injunction, the hardship to Apple of having to directly compete with Samsung’s infringing products outweighs Samsung’s harm in light of the previous findings by the Court.

The judgment from Judge Koh also came before Friday’s hearing that was meant to cover the preliminary injunction. She said in her order that the strength of Apple’s case left her no choice but to grant the injunction, deciding she didn’t need to hear further arguments on the issue in Friday’s hearing. As noted by AllThingsD, she had previously denied a preliminary injunction request against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 by Apple back in December.

Once Apple fronts up with a $2.6 million bond (for Samsung if it is later ruled the injunction should not have been granted), the order will become effective. Speaking to an Apple representative, AllThingsD got a familiar statement on the matter:

“It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging

[via AllThingsD]

A Fine Impression of Apple’s Modernized Podcasts App

Apple’s Podcasts app is an acknowledgment that podcasts make up a substantial part of entertainment on iOS devices — more people than ever are subscribing to, learning from, and taking part in conversations around the topics that interest them. Long neglected with basic playback controls and mediocre syncing in the Music app, Podcasts is now its own standalone application. You couldn’t miss the news either — the Music app notifies you of this change on your iPhone or iPad when you open it.

With large and indie media networks recording weekly, if not daily, audio and video content, listeners who want “radio on their own time” can subscribe to and take part in discussions that they otherwise can’t be a part of through traditional radio or broadcast TV (i.e. time slots). Podcasts, while not a new concept, give listeners the opportunity to stream and download often short, consumable chunks of content that that’s more accessible than written text — it’s the way to catch up on news if you’re sitting in rush hour traffic, taking the dog for a walk, or doing the dishes.

Over the years, consuming podcasts becomes an incredibly intimate experience. Because people choose to listen on their own time, and often when they’re doing specific activities where they otherwise can’t read or listen to an available live stream, people look for specific features tailored to provide a custom listening experience. Being able to increase the playback rate of podcasts, set sleep timers, create playlists, add bookmarks, and stream podcasts over wireless networks has become increasingly important. Features, more-so than fancy user interfaces, are often preferred by users who regularly listen to podcasts.

Apple’s Podcasts application on iOS is their new central hub for finding, subscribing to, and listening to podcasts on your own terms. In consideration of how Apple’s podcast directory (their Catalogue) and podcatcher intermingle, it’s a pretty typical Apple experience. And in places where I thought Apple would fall short, I’m actually impressed at the amount of stuff they’ve added to their once featureless podcatcher. While Apple has certainly gone above and beyond my expectations in what they’ve provided, I think there can be some room for improvement.

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Apple Launches Podcasts App for iOS 5.1 and Later

When Peter Kafka at AllThingsD hinted at an upcoming Podcasts app for iOS, we didn’t expect to see it until this Fall. Some early tells clued us in that Apple was working on something, and today our best guesses and inside sources held up: Apple has launched their forecasted Podcasts app, and you can download it right now from the App Store.

Wearing Apple’s iconic purple colors in its icon, Apple podcasts app centralizes the podcast player and podcast section of the iTunes Store in a standalone application. Able to playback audio and video podcasts, Podcasts continues the retro-styled playback controls first seen in the updated Music app on the iPad, and shares the the catalogue views from the updated App Store and iTunes Store on iOS 6. At first glance, Apple’s Podcasts podcatcher appears to be a rather basic player, leaving room for power-listeners to continue using their favorite apps like Downcast and Instacast.

With Apple’s standalone podcast player breaking away from the Music player, you’ll want to check out all of the new features below:

• Enjoy all of your audio and video podcasts in a single app
• Explore hundreds of thousands of podcasts including shows in over 40 languages
• Try the innovative new Top Stations feature to find new podcast series in a variety of topics, including arts, business, comedy, music, news, sports, and more.
• Browse by Audio or Video podcasts, or see what’s most popular in Top Charts
• Tap subscribe for your favorites and automatically receive new episodes for free as they become available
• Stream episodes or download to listen while offline
• Skip forward and back using simple playback controls
• Turn on Sleep Timer to automatically stop playing a podcast while listening in bed
• Share your favorite episodes with friends using Twitter, Messages and Mail
• Optionally sync your favorite episodes from iTunes on your Mac or PC
• Sync your episode playback for seamless transition between devices

Podcasts required iOS 5.1 and iTunes 10.6.3 for optionally syncing episodes. Download Podcasts (a universal app) from the App Store.