apps

Atari debuts iOS Pong app honoring game's 40th birthday

Here's something to make early video game enthusiasts feel old -- Atari's Pong is celebrating its 40th birthday today.

It was 1972 that Atari's first consumer product was created sending people into a playing frenzy. Rumor has it that lines of gamers vying to try out Pong at the arcade sometimes went at least 60 people deep. It wasn't until 1975 that the home version of the game was released.

Now, to honor the trend-setting game, Atari has launched a free iOS Pong app today called Pong World, which is available for iPhones and iPads.

"… Read more

iOS app revenues four times higher than Google Play

Apple's iOS platform generates four times as much revenue as Google's app store, Google Play, according to a new study.

In its first research report (PDF), App Annie Intelligence, an app analytics company, reported that Apple is pulling in four times as much revenue from iOS sales as Google does from sales of apps for the Android platform.

However, the study, reported on by The Next Web, also suggested that Apple's App Store is a far more mature business than Google Play -- and has less upside over time. According to the App Annie report, Google Play … Read more

Delete downloaded app history from Google Play

Downloading apps, especially free apps, can be quite addictive. You see a random free app featured on a blog, linked to in a tweet or mentioned by a friend and you promptly download it. You soon realize the app adds no real value to your life, so you delete it from your device. Somewhere down the road you want to re-download an app from your Google Play Store history. You browse on over to your download history only to find a never-ending list of apps.

In the past you'd be stuck with this long list of apps; unable to … Read more

Create a Web site right on your iPhone

It's been about 18 months since I first wrote about Zapd, a clever app that lets you build simple, attractive Web sites using nothing more than your iPhone.

Why would you want to do that? To chronicle something cool, of course, like a wedding, vacation, party, or even a work project. I mean, your photos are already in the phone, right? The next logical step is to publish them where friends and family can have a look.

Of course, most such events involve your friends, family members, and/or co-workers, who will no doubt be snapping photos of their … Read more

Give annoying Facebook friends an imaginary time-out

A new Facebook app lets you poke fun at your friends who post annoying content by putting them in a virtual time-out and announcing it to the Facebook world.

Defriendtion, which launched today, has users fill out a form explaining why they want to "dislike" their friends temporarily, along with evidence in the form of links, photos, or quotes and the number of hours of "defriendtion" you want them to serve.

When you put your friends in this virtual detention, the app posts a message to their wall and Timeline, as well as the news ticker. … Read more

Windows 8 sales off to brisk start

Wednesday's CNET Update is watching Windows:

A Microsoft executive revealed that 40 million licenses of Windows 8 have been sold since it came out last month. These numbers include both consumers and manufacturers, so Windows 8 isn't in 40 million homes. But to compare, Windows 7 hit sales of 60 million the first two months. Some say Windows 8 is off to an awkward start, and there is a learning curve with the new system.

Also in today's tech news roundup:

- Gmail works with Google Drive to let users send 10GB files.

- Vimeo makes it … Read more

Vimeo launches 'reimagined' free iPhone app

Video-sharing service Vimeo has launched a new iPhone application that has been built from the ground up.

The company's redesigned application, which hit the Apple App Store today, allows users to both create and share videos all from within the app. In addition, users will now find easier access to their video queue and simpler navigation. " In a company blog post, Joseph Schmitt, lead developer at Vimeo, touted the "reimagined iPhone app" as "awesomer, sleeker, more beautiful, way awesomer, and also much more awesomer than ever before."

It appears that Vimeo's focus with … Read more

Appstore the latest Amazon marketplace to hit Japan

Amazon's Appstore is now available in Japan.

Amazon announced the news today, saying that the application marketplace includes both popular worldwide apps, such as "Fruit Ninja" and "Cut the Rope," as well as Japanese favorites like "Mushroom Garden."

The e-retailer has been making a significant push for the Japanese market as of late. Last month, Amazon launched its Kindle Store in Japan, allowing customers to buy its e-books. A few weeks later, Amazon launched its backlit Paperwhite e-reader in the country.

The Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD are currently available for preorder … Read more

Robots invade iPad with content-rich app

I was once served tea by Honda's Asimo, arguably the most advanced humanoid robot in the world.

Watching the machine sidle up to my table and serve the tea with the elegance of a veteran waiter, and then bow to me before retreating, was nothing short of astonishing.

The experience reinforced my belief that no matter how many times you see robots in photos or videos, nothing can match a real-life experience.

Asimo can be hard to meet, but with a lavishly illustrated new educational app from IEEE Spectrum, you can get interactive with him and 125 other bots -- from Rethink Robotics' Baxter assembly bot to Waseda University's keyboard-playing Wabot 2, and learn all about them. It's the next best thing to seeing robots up close. … Read more

Kill mobile ads with Adblock Plus for Android

Released yesterday, Adblock Plus for Android offers a no-nonsense way to completely remove ads from your mobile computing experience. Simply download and install the app, and let it run behind the scenes. From there, you should notice that display ads, video ads, push notifications, and even many in-app ads are no more.

So far, I've seen AdBlock Plus kill ads on several Web sites, including Google, and within the ad-supported Pandora app. According to its developers, though, AdBlock Plus does not work when browsing with Firefox for Android, since Firefox does not support Android's system proxy settings.

Adblock … Read more