Mobile software

Rovio puzzler Amazing Alex keeps you coming back for more

Amazing Alex (99 cents) for iPhone or Android is a physics game where you're challenged to create chain reactions with objects to complete objectives. Our hero, Amazing Alex, is a kid who's stuck cleaning his room and tries to get creative with organizing his belongings by building Rube Goldburg-like devices.… Read more

Apple fights back at in-app freebie exploit

Apple is not too pleased with Russian hacker Alexey V. Borodin, and a hack he developed that allows iDevice owners to install in-app goods without paying for them.

According to The Next Web, Apple over the weekend blocked the IP addresses of the server Borodin used to facilitate the hack. In addition, the company issued a takedown request to his server's hosting provider. Apple even requested that the video Borodin posted showing his technique in action be removed from YouTube due to a copyright violation.

Borodin last week surfaced with an exploit that re-routes in-app purchase requests away from Apple or a developer's secured server … Read more

Restore contacts on Android after the Facebook e-mail sync

Still sorting out the Facebook e-mail sync kerfuffle that happened upon your defenseless contacts list? Luckily, Gmail will allow you to restore your contacts within 30 days of changes made to them. Google is known for having handy tools like this, but sometimes they're not in the most obvious place.

Here's how to get your contact e-mail addresses back from the cyber abyss:

Step 1: Make sure Facebook contact sync is now off!In the app, it will be under Menu > Settings > Sync Contacts. If you don't see the option, go back to your Home … Read more

Get the Jelly Bean keyboard on your Android 4.0 device

The new features of Android 4.1 are being ported to custom ROMs, but if that's not your scene, there are a few goodies that have landed in the Google Play Store. One of these is the new Jelly Bean keyboard, which boasts better prediction (among other things) -- and that's something all of our fast fingertips are craving.

Ready to check it out on your Android 4.0 devices? Here's how to make it happen:

Step 1: Install a copy of Jelly Bean Keyboard, by Beansoft, on your Android.

Step 2: Open the Settings … Read more

IMDB tunes up its mobile app for TV and movie buffs

Those of us who are fans of IMDB's mobile app will find a few healthy enhancements in the latest version.

Designed for both Apple's iOS and Android, the newest flavor of the IMDB (Internet Movie Database) app is easier to navigate in key ways and taps more heavily into the world of social media.

You can more quickly jump from one season to another of any TV series simply by clicking on the season number. You can also hop from one episode to another by clicking on forward and backward buttons. Holding down the back button now shows … Read more

Rovio tries to strike gold twice with Amazing Alex launch

Rovio's Angry Birds is still the top game in the mobile arena. But now, the company is trying something new.

The developer announced today that it has launched Amazing Alex for iOS and Android. The game will allow players to take control of 35 objects that can be set in motion to create a Rube Goldberg device. The objects can "bounce, pop, ricochet, bash, and crash into each other," Rovio says. The game is launching with 100 levels.

Rovio didn't create the game from scratch. Earlier this year, the company acquired the intellectual property rights to Casey's Contraptions, … Read more

My favorite game this year just got a major update

Ski Safari (99 cents) challenges you to swoosh down a powdery mountain to avoid an avalanche, with animal friends and other vehicles along the way to help you with your escape. This distance game quickly became my go-to time-waster on both my iPhone and iPad, so when an update was announced last week, you can bet I was at the App Store immediately. The update adds a new mountain you can choose for your run, a new animal to help you along your way, and added achievements to keep you coming back for more.… Read more

Google+ gets update for iPhone and a new iPad version

Built as a Universal update, Google+ version 3.0 adds new features to the iPhone app and is the first version that is made for the iPad with its own unique interface features.

On both iOS devices, you'll now be able to create and manage Google Events. You can create an event, manage comments, add photos, and see who is coming to the event. All the info from past events is saved as well, so you can go back and revisit them later.

Google Hangouts are now supported on both iOS devices as well, which means you'll be … Read more

Find your way around museums (and one zoo) with Google Maps

Google Maps is adding some fine art to its database, as it today gives Android users indoor maps for more than 20 U.S. museums. Joining the more than 10,000 indoor maps already available on the service are floor plans for the de Young Museum in San Francisco, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Cincinnati Museum Center, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, 17 Smithsonian museums, and the Smithsonian National Zoo.

Whether you're conducting a Google Maps search from afar or you're standing at the doorstep of a supported museum, you can … Read more