iOS

Camera compromise makes Apple's new 16GB iPod Touch a mixed bag

If your kid's been begging for an iPod Touch, I've got some bad news. Apple has quietly discontinued the most affordable entry point into the world of iOS, the $199 16GB 4th-generation iPod Touch, an update of the 2011 model with a 3.5-inch screen. It's just as well since little Junior would have suffered some peer humiliation for not sporting one of the latest, greatest 5th-gen iPod models -- clearly distinguished by their bigger screens and candy-colored aluminum casing. Those models start at $299 for 32GB, or $399 for double the storage.

Until now, anyway. Apple … Read more

Oh noes! Dots high scores disappear

If you know anything about the new hit iOS game Dots, which has already logged 3 million players and more than 250 million total plays, you know that for any serious player, it's all about high scores.

So I've been a bit upset over the last 24 hours after noticing that the Dots high score system had gone awry. On the one hand, my entire personal high score list had disappeared. But perhaps more troubling, the all-time high score list had regressed, with someone's world-beating score of 800 simply having vanished.

If this is all Latin to you, then take a trip over to the iOS App Store (Android users, help is reportedly on the way) and download Dots. Before you do that, though, clear your schedule for the next week so that your inevitable new obsession doesn't interfere with important meetings, dates, dinners, or even sleep. Now you're ready. … Read more

Sweet! Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic lands on iPad

If you're a gamer and "Star Wars" fan, your day just got a little better: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) arrived on the iOS App Store for iPad.

Supported by Apple's iPad 2 (running iOS 6) and newer iterations, Knights of the Old Republic costs a stout $10, but the 1.98GB download (which unpacks to 2.5GB) represents many hours of entertaining "Star Wars" gameplay. Game developer Aspyr ported the classic game originally created by Bioware.… Read more

Google Music All Access coming 'soon' to iOS

Google Music All Access, the company's streaming music service, will come to Apple iOS sometime this summer, according to a Google executive.

Speaking at the D11 conference, Android and Chrome chief Sundar Pichai said All Access is due for iOS in "a couple weeks."

A Google representative confirmed that, but hedged on the timeline, saying only, "Google Play All Access is coming to iOS this summer."

"[T]he teams are working like crazy to do it," said Pichai.

The service launched a few weeks ago at Google I/O 2013, the company's … Read more

Android poised to overtake Apple in tablets, ABI says

Apple's iPad has dominated the tablet market since it first launched, but that's going to change.

Apple exited the first quarter of the year with 50 percent share of all tablet shipments, but Android is poised to overtake iOS in tablets, ABI Research said Thursday. The tech research firm didn't provide a timeline for the shift but said the big variable for Android is China.

The country is "passionate about the Apple brand," ABI said, but smaller, 7-inch Android tablets grown in popularity. A push for low-cost tablets, generally less than $200, keeps Android relevant … Read more

Apple screen could react to the force of your touch

Your future iPhone or iPad could offer an interactive touch screen that reacts to the pressure exerted by your touch.

Published Thursday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark office, an Apple patent application called "Embedded force measurement" takes the concept of tapping on your touch screen at least one step further. Instead of just lightly tapping on your screen, you would actually press down on it to activate a command. The phone would measure the force of your tap and respond accordingly.

As one example, an on-screen icon could let you control the volume of your device. … Read more

Rumor Has It: Who wants to play used games on the Xbox One? Everybody!

What a week it's been, amirite? Microsoft held an hour-long event where it introduced the next-generation Xbox, called the Xbox One, and we're left with as many questions as when we started.

The most important question on everyone's lips, however, is whether the Xbox One will play used games. What do you think? If it doesn't play used games, would that be a deal breaker? Leave a comment below.

We revisit some colorful iPhone rumors, for no other reason than that they just keep popping up. Google might do something awesome across the world, and iOS … Read more

Use AlbumShare on your iPhone to create, share photo albums

There's no shortage of methods to share photos and photo albums using our smartphones. Whether you prefer Photo Stream, or Dropbox, or Facebook, or Google+, or -- well, you get the point -- there is always room for another photo-sharing service. Or is there? We'll save that debate for another post.

For now, you have to leave room for one more app. With the free iOS app called AlbumShare you can create and share a photo album through a text message, with no account required to create or view an album. Creating an album is as simple as … Read more

Does this movie have a bonus scene after the credits? This app knows

If you've seen "Iron Man 3," you know there's a quick bonus scene -- a "stinger" -- at the tail end of the credits. A pretty good one, too.

That's par for the course with Marvel superhero movies, which started the tradition following the first "Iron Man," but what about other films? Is there anything at the end of "Star Trek Into Darkness" worth waiting for? Or "Fast & Furious 6"? Does "Before Midnight" tease the inevitable "Before Nursing Home" post-credits?

Instead of … Read more