If you didn’t already know, we’ve set up a new twitter account for Deals, it’s @MacStoriesDeals. We’ll tweet the daily deals there as well as exclusive weekend deals too. Help spread the word! Here are today’s deals on iOS, Mac, and Mac App Store apps that are on sale for a limited time, so get ‘em while they’re hot!
Posts tagged with "iOS"
#MacStoriesDeals - Exclusive Wednesday
N.O.V.A. 3 Will Use Unreal Engine, Coming Later This Year→
N.O.V.A. 3 Built On Unreal Engine, Coming Later This Year
Pocket Gamer reports an interesting tidbit about software development studio Gameloft and its first-person shooter game N.O.V.A. for iOS:
Gameloft has confirmed what we already knew down here in the Rumour Mine - it’s busy working on four games utilising Epic Games’s Unreal Engine 3. But the Paris-based publisher hasn’t revealed what those games are.
Word has it that shooter sequel N.O.V.A. 3 is among the four titles built around the engine and will be out later this year.
I’m not a huge fan of Gameloft’s console-like approach to iOS, but I think it’ll be interesting to see how a new N.O.V.A. developed with the same engine that powers Infinity Blade will fit in the iOS gaming scene. Gameloft has plenty of time to make N.O.V.A. graphically more impressive than Infinity Blade or Rage HD come the 2011 holiday season. And – we’ll see if I’m wrong – I have a feeling a brand new N.O.V.A. with stunning graphics could make for the perfect demo at a certain Apple fall event.
Also: who else thinks Infinity Blade is going to win an Apple Design Award in June? [via Steve Troughton-Smith]
HOW TO: Use Amazon Cloud Player With iOS Devices→
HOW TO: Use Amazon Cloud Player With iOS Devices
One of the standout features of iCab Mobile is the ability to change the browser User Agent. In other words, this lets the website think that you are visiting from a browser other than Mobile Safari. Changing the Browser ID to “Safari 5 (Mac)” will allow users to download music using the Mobile Safari method, even if Amazon does change how it serves downloaded files.
Christina Warren notes that there isn’t a technical limitation preventing Amazon from serving content to iOS devices, but currently you have to either use an alternative browser to change the User Agent or download each song one-by-one for playback in Safari. I’m still miffed that Amazon isn’t flexing their muscle and aggressively pursuing the iOS platform at launch, considering that’s really where the market for cloud based music streaming exists. The uploading and playback tools might be a little rough around the edges, but Amazon’s integration and incentives need to give Apple a run for its money on the platform that counts.
#MacStoriesDeals - Tuesday
If you didn’t already know, we’ve set up a new twitter account for Deals, it’s @MacStoriesDeals. We’ll tweet the daily deals there as well as exclusive weekend deals too. Help spread the word! Here are today’s deals on iOS, Mac, and Mac App Store apps that are on sale for a limited time, so get ‘em while they’re hot! Read more
Amazon Cloud Player Doesn’t Work On iOS — But It’s Not A Flash Issue→
Amazon Cloud Player Doesn’t Work On iOS — But It’s Not A Flash Issue
On Android devices, Cloud Player works by way of the Amazon MP3 app. This app does not exist on the iOS platform because it would compete with Apple’s iTunes Store. Presumably, Amazon could make another stand-alone app for Cloud Player or include it in one of their other Amazon iOS apps, but Apple new platform rules on subscriptions make this a bit murky (Amazon’s Cloud Drive is free for 5 GB but costs a yearly fee for more storage).
You’d think the alternative would be to simply launch an HTML based web-app at this point. @GlennF points out that Safari can support background audio with iPhone 3 software as well, though Siegler reminds us the audio player simply doesn’t work. I worry that the lack of support for iOS devices at launch is a huge missed opportunity, especially when you could have directly insulted Apple by playing on their own turf. Now, the talk won’t be about that Amazon launched cloud based storage and streaming, but that they aren’t on the most popular media devices at launch. I’m under the presumption that Amazon wants a native app in the App Store (but can’t), but then again we’re talking about the same company that requires Android owners to install the Amazon Appstore in eight steps. Thankfully for the Amazon MP3 app, it only takes one.
On the upside, 5 GB (then 20 GB for a year if you simply buy an album) of free cloud storage is incredibly generous, and I suspect John Gruber might be right about the development of a tablet or phone to coexist with a new media ecosystem (see the 8-Steps link above).
WWDC ‘11 Sold Out In Less Than 10 Hours
The WWDC 2011, announced earlier today, is already sold out, as you can see on Apple’s official webpage for the event. This year’s conference sets a new record for Apple and the developers community: last year, WWDC tickets sold out in 8 days. For the 2011 edition, Apple managed to sell all tickets (which start at $1,599) in less than half a day since the announcement this morning – which saw developers from all around the globe quickly buy tickets to secure their presence in San Francisco from June 6 to June 10.
As a quick recap, the WWDC 2011 will focus on “the future of iOS and Mac OS” with:
- more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers on a wide range of technology-specific topics for developing, deploying and integrating the latest iOS and Mac OS technologies;
- over 1,000 Apple engineers providing developers with code-level assistance, insight into optimal development techniques, and guidance on how they can make the most of iOS and Mac OS technologies in their apps;
- the opportunity to connect with thousands of fellow iPad®, iPhone® and Mac developers from around the world;
- Apple Design Awards which recognize iPad, iPhone and Mac apps that demonstrate technical excellence, innovation and outstanding design.
LogMeIn for iOS: Remote File Transfer Made Easy
Reviewed a couple of times in the past by our editor Cody Fink, LogMeIn Ignition for iOS has been around for a while in the App Store. In fact, in spite of popular apps like Edovia Screens and iTeleport allowing users to remotely access their computers’ screens, thousands of users installed LogMeIn’s software for the iPhone (and later, iPad) on day one and never thought of going back to another app. That’s what Cody did, whilst I settled with Screens as my go-to app for displaying my Mac’s desktop on iOS devices. Recently, however, I decided to take LogMeIn Ignition for a spin, and I was surprised to find out the new features introduced in the latest update are exactly what I was looking for.
LogMeIn comes with VNC functionalities, but I will keep on using Screens for that. It’s a matter of a personal preference, and you can read more in my Screens review. Edovia’s elegant and simple solution to remotely connect to a Mac’s screen has incredibly useful, reliable and easy to configure for me, so I won’t switch over to LogMeIn as far as screensharing is concerned. Rather, I’ve been intrigued by LogMeIn “file transfer” option added in version 2.0, which aims at offering users a simple way to copy and move files across computers and iOS devices using LogMeIn’s desktop companion. Best of all, once you spend your 30 bucks to purchase LogMeIn Ignition in the App Store, screensharing and file transfer will be offered as free services with no need to buy an additional LogMeIn Pro subscription. Read more
#MacStoriesDeals - Monday
If you didn’t already know, we’ve set up a new twitter account for Deals, it’s @MacStoriesDeals. We’ll tweet the daily deals there as well as exclusive weekend deals too. Help spread the word! Here are today’s deals on iOS, Mac, and Mac App Store apps that are on sale for a limited time, so get ‘em while they’re hot!
WWDC To Be Software Focused, No iPhone 5 Launch?
There is speculation today from Loop Insight that this year’s WWDC, to be held from June 6 , will not include any new hardware announcements – namely the iPhone. Apple said in its press release earlier today that WWDC ’11 will focus on unveiling “the future of iOS and Mac OS.”
Based on information from his sources and the focus of the press release, Jim Dalrymple believes that this means more than just a strong focus on iOS and OS X, but a complete focus on the software driving Apple’s hardware forward. The iPhone 5 has, until now, largely been expected to launch as previous iPhones have, during the WWDC launch. Dalrymple contemplates that instead of a new iPhone taking stage it would be Lion, which is set to launch around WWDC and the ever-important iOS.