pods

iPhone owners bracing for possible power outages from the "storm of the century" can make sure a flashlight is handy by downloading a virtual one onto their devices.

No matter how much I try to prepare for an impending storm and loss of power, I can never seem to find a flashlight when I need one. That's why I always keep at least one flashlight app on my iPhone, which I'll certainly use if Sandy yanks my power today or tomorrow.

Flashlight apps work by tapping into the iPhone camera's LED flash, so the light … Read more

Despite the realistic 3D graphics of today's first-person shooters, RPGs, and other games, platform games continue to thrive on iOS. There's something about jumping through levels, solving puzzles, and collecting coins that keeps gamers entertained. Also, the capability to play through a single level while on the go makes platformers perfect for short bursts of play on your iOS device.

While a console controller is probably the ideal way to play these sometimes precise running and jumping games, iOS game developers have come up with unique ways to make them work.

This week's collection of iOS apps is all about modern platform games. The first is the most traditional platformer, but adds an interesting twist for passing levels. The second has an uncommon control system, but a unique art style and fun, varied gameplay make it a great option. The third is the most polished of the collection, with challenging puzzles and a somewhat grotesque storyline.

Note: There are no Android versions for any of these games.… Read more

Apple's knack for surprises held up in its quarterly earnings today.

The company narrowly beat expectations on revenue, but missed on profits.

Buoyed by sales of the iPhone and iPad, the company reported revenue of $36 billion and profits of $8.2 billion, or $8.67 per share, for the quarter ended September 29.

Wall Street expected Apple to report $35.80 billion in sales, with earnings per share of $8.75. Apple's own forecast for the quarter was $34 billion, with earnings per share of $7.65.

"We're very proud to end a fantastic fiscal … Read more

On Tuesday, Apple unveiled its well-received holiday lineup of products and saw its stock continue to sink. Stock analysts are predicting that like Google, Apple will miss consensus estimates for the current quarter, mostly due to lower-than-expected iPhone sales and production delays for the iPhone 5. Apple reports its quarterly earnings after the bell tomorrow.

Read: Apple earnings preview: All eyes on iPhone, iPad

But now the analysts have some fresh meat, and are considering how the iPad Mini will impact Apple's fortunes, especially its pricing. The mini-tablet space is becoming a hot spot, one crowded with competitors. … Read more

iBooks users can now scroll through a book, instead of having to turn through it page-by-page. To get the new scrolling feature, make sure you're running the latest version of the app, iBooks 3.0, available in the App Store right now.

Once you have updated the app, open a book and then tap on the font icon at the top. Then tap on Themes and select Scroll. When you go back to the book, you'll be able to scroll up and down just as you would when using mobile Safari, or reading an e-mail. For me, the … Read more

iOS 6 has been out for just over a month and is already installed on more than 200 million iOS devices across the globe. With such a big user base in such a short amount of time, hopefully we will begin to see an increase in the amount of companies integrating Passbook into their product offerings.

We have already discussed Valpak passes, Starbucks integration, adding random gift cards and even how to create passes for Passbook. All of which were equally useful. And now we can add 20 more big-box retailers to the list, as Coupons.com has rolled out … Read more

No doubt Apple's fresh gadget, the iPad Mini, is a tempting proposition, but starting at $329, it certainly isn't an impulse buy. To be honest, it's downright exorbitantly expensive, and that's not even when stacked up against the Android competition. For instance Apple's own iPod Touch costs $299 for its base model, which offers twice the storage and can tackle practically anything the Mini can. … Read more

Apple's new Lightning specification is living up to its speedy name.

Just one month and 11 days after announcing the connector, which replaces its decade-old 30-pin connector on devices like the iPhone, iPod and iPad, Apple has put it into all its relevant products.

There is, of course, a cost of the speed. The newly-announced, fourth-generation iPad replaces the 7-month, 7-day-old third-generation model the company debuted at its event earlier this year and that still had the legacy 30-pin adapter.

The move has left many recent buyers incensed, but the changeover overall is impressive -- especially when you look … Read more

iTunes users waiting for the new version could find their wait over sometime tomorrow.

Reports cited by MacNN and other blog sites say that Apple will officially kick off iTunes 11 at its iPad Mini event tomorrow.

Apple showed off the latest update to iTunes at its iPhone 5 launch event on September 12, promising that the new version would come sometime in October. So tomorrow does seem a likely candidate.

iTunes 11 offers the latest refresh to the now 12-year-old music player. The interface itself has been redesigned, while iCloud support is now built in. And the new mini … Read more