Monthly Archives: September 2010

Where is Reckless Racing?

Posted on September 19, 2010 by Shaun

Deliverance was announced by pixelbite back in March 2010 and many of us were super impressed by the trailer video (below). It brought a completely new dimension to top down racing on a mobile device and I eagerly awaited its release. Here I am 6 months later still waiting…

Eventually EA Mobile bought the rights to the game and prior to that the name was changed to Reckless Racing (expected for Android, iPad and iPhone). We all expected a release by the end of August, but still nothing. Emails and Tweets to EA Mobile offer no response so we still wait. It’s only a game and not important, but I find myself searching the app store for it every other day. Anyone have further information?

UPDATE: Apparently the game appeared on webOS a while back, but now seems to not be available. Gets stranger all the time?

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2.2 Froyo coming to HTC Desire (T-Mobile UK)

Posted on September 19, 2010 by Shaun

The 2.2 update should be coming to HTC Desire owners on T-Mobile UK any day now. Here’s the full comment from T-Mobile (via Softpedia)- “We have some exciting news for all our Desire users. The 2.2 firmware update (FroYo) will be available from today and will be sent over the air (OTA) direct to your phone over the coming weeks.

Be sure to save all your personal data before you start downloading. That’s because the upgrade will delete all personal info including software applications from the device.”


This update will give 720p video capture, Flash support, enhanced Caller ID, and HTC’s App Share widget. Thanks to Jah.

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10 reasons to love the Galaxy Tab

Posted on September 18, 2010 by Shaun

Samsung has started its Galaxy Tab marketing push in the US with a long press release (here) detailing every single aspect of the device. Verizon has also chipped in with 10 reasons why you should own the Tab. Image via Droid Life.

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Samsung Windows 7 Phone on video: looking good

Posted on September 18, 2010 by Shaun

This isn’t the best quality video in the world, but this Windows Phone 7 Samsung handset looks good, and more importantly so does the OS. I think it’s fair to say that we will soon have a new (old) major player in the smartphone game. Thanks to Ryan.


Windows Phone 7 by Samsung – GT -i8700
Uploaded by wapcamer. – Videos of the latest science discoveries and tech.

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QOTD: Analogue life?

Posted on September 18, 2010 by Shaun

Could you consider going back to a life without all of the technology we use today? I sometimes wonder what it would be like to dump my smartphone, remove myself from social networks and leave the internet alone, and the thought is appealing… for about 30 seconds.

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Back to BASIC

Posted on September 18, 2010 by Shaun

Oh those heady days. Back in the 80′s I fondly remember my time with the Sinclair Spectrum and Commodore 64, those hours spent copying code from magazines into my computer so that I could play the game that was spat out the other end (after numerous spelling corrections). Those tense moments waiting for the tape recorder to finish singing its bizarre and scary song into the computer so that I could play a proper game that I had spent a full £1.99 on, a game with a cover on the cassette tens times more wonderful than the images that would flash over my screen once I got it home.

That was me, inept at programming and without the patience to learn more than the standard 10 PRINT “MY NAME IS SHAUN” 20 GOTO 10. I just wanted to play games and didn’t really care what went on in the background.

28 years later the latest version of the iPhone Commodore 64 emulator has been updated to include the BASIC programming language. I am sure that some of you cut your teeth on this language and it must be a strange feeling to see it return.

Despite my ignorance of the language, it really is wonderful to see it pop up on my mobile phone screen. Who would have imagined such a thing all those years ago?

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Player For YouTube Pro for BlackBerry

Posted on September 18, 2010 by Shaun

YouTube on a BlackBerry is not the most pleasing of experience, unless you have a new Torch, but Player For YouTube Pro is looking to change all of that. It’s available for $2.99 and compatible with any device running OS 4.6 and upwards.


Player for YouTube Pro provides all the same features as the free version, except this version does not have any advertisements, please buy this version in order support us and help us keep improving the app. The Pro version also supports uploading videos to YouTube, which the free one does not.

Player for YouTube allows you to browse, play, search, share and bookmark YouTube videos on your BlackBerry® device with a very easy to use interface.

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TETRIS for iPhone Weekend Sale

Posted on September 18, 2010 by Shaun

The perennial iPhone favourite, Tetris, is on sale this weekend for only £0.59 / $0.99. Hard to argue with that price for a game that has transferred itself from platform to platform with ease over the years.

Now celebrating over 100-million paid downloads on mobile! Discover why millions of players around the world have made the TETRIS® game one of the biggest blockbusters in mobile gaming history.

ENDLESS HOURS OF FUN
Enjoy Classic Marathon mode, slide, rotate & drop your tetriminos into place with touchscreen controls.

TAP INTO TETRIS®
Listen to & control your iTunes® while you play.

TRACK YOUR STATS
Know and improve your high score.

INTRODUCING MAGIC MODE
Keep it fresh with 5 new versions: Wrecking Ball, Minimizer, Bubble Wrap, Magic Crayon & Smashdown.

JOIN THE HUMAN TETRIS® PROJECT
Submit your photo to the infinite cascade of human Tetriminos celebrating 100 million downloads of the TETRIS® game. Be a part of the biggest TETRIS® board in history! Learn more at www.humantetrisproject.com.

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Pocket Informant for Android screenshots

Posted on September 17, 2010 by Shaun

webIS has just posted a couple of Pocket Informant for Android screenshots and they look as good as we could have hoped for. The main one is below, but there is a second one here.

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Warner Bros. exec dislikes Apple’s 99-cent TV plan

Posted on September 17, 2010 by Shaun

The Chief Executive of Warner Bros. has said that he does not like Apples 99 cent TV rental idea because it would hurt sells of full seasons. I can see his point; you can’t buy a 16 episode season, for example, for $15.84. However, you wouldn’t pay as much as $15.84 to rent it either. Not sure where the whole Apple TV rental idea is going to go at the moment

From Yahoo! Finance- “LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chief Executive Barry Meyer says Warner Bros. didn’t participate in Apple Inc.’s plan to offer TV show rentals for 99 cents because the price was too low and would have hurt sales of full seasons.

Meyer made the comments Thursday at an investor conference hosted by Merrill Lynch in Newport Beach, Calif.

Apple launched its 99-cent show rentals on iTunes at an event two weeks ago where it unveiled a cheaper version of its Apple TV set-top box. News Corp.’s Fox, The Walt Disney Co.’s ABC, ABC Family and Disney Channel, and BBC America participated…”

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QOTD: Purchase considerations?

Posted on September 17, 2010 by Shaun

When you decide to purchase a new smartphone, do you consider compatibility with your desktop system, email account etc.? I must admit that I only ever consider the phone itself and worry about all the other bits later.

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Worldwide gaming

Posted on September 17, 2010 by Shaun

I have never been one for online gaming and showing off my scores to the world. It is a process that has annoyed me because I prefer to play a game, enjoy it, and take satisfaction from beating my own personal best. If I am better than others then that is great, but if not it really does not matter. We all lead different lives; some work all day, some look after children all day, some live in their Mother’s basement and play games and hack the Pentagon all day and others do so many different things that comparing scores in games becomes a pointless exercise.

And then I started to play WordPop! on the iPhone and found myself desperately trying to get a score on the leaderboards. The problem is that I am so bad at the game that I barely get close to the top scores and despite continually playing it every week I fail miserably. It takes me back to my original premise of simply trying to beat my own high score and not worrying about the rest of the world.

Then Flick Kick Football arrived and my view changed a little. At one point I was in the top 20 in the world out of over 130,000 scores and am currently languishing around the 60th place mark. This is still a great achievement considering how many people are playing the game and one that has finally opened my eyes to the world of trying to beat the achievements of people I do not know and will never meet.

The fact that I happen to be good at the game is probably the main reason and if I was hovering at position number 50,000 the notion of even checking my online scores would bypass me, but this particular game is working in this area for me. And this brings me on to Game Centre.

OpenFeint has been king of online gaming on the iPhone platform and rightly so. With many games supporting the service it became the de facto choice for developers and users alike. Apple decided to challenge this and has come up with a solution that feels more like a social network than merely a games scoring system and in some ways it is succeeding. When enough games are included it could increase this obsession many people have with showing off their scores to the world and that will increase the amount of time they play the games. This will bring big benefits to the iPhone gaming sector, but OpenFeint will be going multi-platform and this is where the big money will be.

Gaming is universal and OpenFeint could take advantage of this fact and leave Apple stuck servicing an ever decreasing percentage of mobile game players.

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The Rise of Apps Culture

Posted on September 17, 2010 by Shaun

Pew Internet has polled 2000 mobile users and come up with some app related findings based on their answers. Here are the highlights-

35% of adults have cell phones with apps, but only two-thirds of those who have apps actually use them.

Apps users are younger, more educated, and more affluent than other cell phone users.

App use still ranks relatively low when compared with other uses of cell phones.

29% of adult cell phone users have downloaded an app to their phone.

One in ten adult cell phone users (10%) had downloaded an app in the past week; 20% of cell phone users under age 30 download apps this frequently.

One in eight adult cell phone users (13%) has paid to download an app.

Among cell phone users with apps, the average adult has 18 apps on his or her phone.

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Windows Phone Developer Tools Are Final

Posted on September 17, 2010 by Shaun

I have spoken to three separate people who have tried Windows Phone 7 and all have been more than impressed by how it works. The latest information from Microsoft is that the developer tools are finished and the company has also posted some demo videos. Video demos of Netflix, Twitter, Flixster, OpenTable and Travelocity running on the platform are included in the above link.

When the Windows Phone 7 OS went gold two weeks ago, the Windows Phone ecosystem began the final preparations for the upcoming launch. OEMs and mobile operators have begun final testing of their handsets, but developers have had to wait just a little while longer to complete apps and games. Today, that wait is over. The Windows Phone Developer Tools have gone final, and we have released to the Web. This release is English only, but we will be releasing the French, Italian, German and Spanish language versions in the next couple of weeks.

For developers to put their apps into the marketplace, opening in early October, you will need to download this version of the tools. Any application built with a previous version of the tools will fail application certification in the Marketplace. When you do submit your application, you can expect it to take about five days to pass or fail certification, though you can check the status of your app submission at any time at the developer portal. For more information on passing certification, please see the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace policies.

Apart from announcing the release of the tools, there’s quite a bit of new information to share, so buckle up…

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Sims 3 has Ambitions on the App Store

Posted on September 17, 2010 by Shaun

Sims 3 Ambitions has landed on the App Store and will be welcomed by those of you who are already fans of mobile Sims. Looks quite good and is fairly priced.

THE MOST AMBITIOUS EXPERIENCE OF THE SIMS™ ON THE APP STORE! Now your Sims can turn passions into professions…Build dream homes or businesses…Even have BABIES! Get everything you love about The Sims and more from this all-new member of The Sims™ family of games for iPhone® & iPod touch®.

CAREER MODE! MAKE A DREAM A DESTINY
For the first time ever on iPhone & iPod touch, turn your Sims’ hobbies into fulfilling jobs. Will your Sim become a Firefighter? Rock Star? Artist? Teacher? Chef? Sports Star? Get down to business with new career-oriented goals, mini-games, outfits, and locations. Follow your Sims to work and see them get happier as they make their dreams come true.

BUILD MODE! CREATE A DREAM HOME OR BUILD UP A BUSINESS
Think big with the improved and expanded Build Mode feature. Resize, add, or delete rooms, floors, walls, doors, and windows as you make a new home for your success-driven Sim. Buy and sell furniture and objects. And now you can also build workplaces like a Bistro, a Preschool, or a Night Club for your musical Sim to rock.

BABIES! WHAT YOU’VE BEEN WISHING FOR!
Your most requested feature is here! For the first time on iPhone & iPod touch, your Sims can have babies! Feed them, play with them, and put them to bed! Watch Sims babies become Sims toddlers. Take them to the park, play hide-and-seek, or give them a little cuddle. Having Sims children changes everything!

IMPORT & EXPORT BETWEEN OTHER SIMS GAMES FOR iPHONE & iPOD
Bring in your favorite Sims from The Sims™ 3 and The Sims™ 3 World Adventures for iPhone & iPod touch. Give them the chance to pursue their dreams, too!

A COMPLETE EXPERIENCE! THE BIGGEST, BOLDEST YET
With all-new features, plus more of the Sims gameplay you know and love, this really is the fullest experience of The Sims ever made for iPhone & iPod touch!

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