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angry Birds Space

2012-03-24T05:57:00.006-07:00

Great sling shot games that aren't named Angry Birds

A is the big mobile game release this week, but there are plenty of slingshot games worthy of your iOS device

With the incredible success of the original Angry Birds, few iOS gamers were probably surprised that Angry Birds Space would rocket to the top of the iTunes App Store. I've been playing the game quite a lot over the past 24 hours, and though I've noticed some bugs (kill all pigs with one bird to get one star, anyone?), the new gravity fields, interesting levels, and new bird types definitely add something new to the game.

Angry birds isn't the only game in this genre, however. When Angry Birds took off at the iTunes App Store, several developers came out with their own version of the sling-shot game mechanic and many brought new elements to add to the fun.

This week's collection of iOS apps are all Angry Birds-like destruction games, but each have an interesting twist on the original game mechanic. The first offers a heavy metal theme as you smash monster trucks into structures. The second lets you blast ragdolls through intricate levels towards a target. The third mixes game genres to add liquid physics into the equation making for unique challenges.

You get to fire some fierce looking trucks into structures, each with their own abilities.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Trucks and Skulls Nitro(Free) is a heavy metal-inspired sling shooter where you'll need to launch trucks into structures in order to destroy each levels allotment of scary skulls. The somewhat cheesey distortion guitar audio provides the perfect backdrop for the action. Big explosions add to the excitement as you try to efficiently destroy everything on screen using the least amount of trucks possible.

The control system is only slightly different than Angry Birds in Trucks and Skulls Nitro. The truck sits on the launcher, and you touch and drag a button backwards to launch the truck through the air. Different trucks have different attributes, and as you go through the challenges you'll need to choose your shots wisely to get the most destruction possible out of the available trucks.

The real charm behind Trucks and Skulls Nitro are the big explosions that occur, well, pretty much all the time. Hitting one of the required skulls gives you a huge mushroom cloud, and hitting barrels of TNT only adds to the onscreen mayhem as you chain together more explosions. It's as though director Michael Bay got ahold of Angry Birds and decided to add his own infamous spin to the game.

Trucks and Skulls Nitro comes with several aptly named worlds like Hell's Highway, The Haunted Wastelands, Industrial Armageddon, and Demon Town, for a total of over 200 levels of action.

If you're a fan of the Angry Birds games and want a little more electric guitar and fire in your gameplay, Trucks and Skulls Nitro will keep you busy for a long time.

This level requires a precise shot to get to all the coins and hit target.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Ragdoll Blasters 3 (99 cents) is the third installment in the popular physics puzzle series, and this sequel is a solid offering with plenty for puzzle gaming fans. Like the first two Ragdoll Blasters, the game concept is simple: on each level, aim your cannon and fire the rag doll to hit the target. Of course it's never quite that easy; you'll also want to grab buttons for extra points, and maps provide plenty of obstacles to make it hard to get a perfect three-star score.

As the third game in a popular series, you would expect the game to have some polish, and Ragdoll Blasters 3 does not disappoint with sharp graphics, precise controls, and well-thought-out level maps. Along with trying to arc your shots to get as many buttons as possible, you'll need to use machines like pulleys and levers in certain levels to open up access to other parts of the map. Several levels have you tipping boulders off of platforms to activate pulley systems, and other levels require you to find other creative ways to clear your path to the target. The early levels are fairly straightforward, but as you progress you'll need to really look at the level and think to try to get all the buttons and the target in as few shots as possible. You also have the option to watch your replays--extremely handy when you're going for the perfect score and brainstorming new ways to finish a level.

Ragdoll Blasters 3 comes with five unlockable worlds, each with 20 levels, different themes, and unique obstacles. You can use your collected buttons to buy new rag doll types with special abilities like the Ice Ragdoll that glides across icy surfaces, or the Pudge Ragdoll that uses its extra weight (and girth) to knock down obstacles. These different rag doll types are particularly handy as you play through the later levels, with some requiring you use a specific rag doll to pass certain areas.

If you like the popular physics games like Angry Birds or Cut The Rope, Ragdoll Blasters 3 offers similarly simple controls, but a unique gameplay concept and plenty of extras will keep you coming back for more rag doll shooting action.

In this level called Belly Flop, you want to land in the middle of the chocolate milk to cause the biggest splash.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Coco Loco (99 cents) is another solid title (for bothiPhone and iPad) that seems to mix elements from hit iOS games Angry Birds and Where's my Water to make a fun game that's visually stunning while offering unique challenges.

In this game, it's not birds, ragdolls, or monster trucks, but instead you take control of a team of marshmallows (Marshies). The surreal premise in Coco Loco has you freeing marshmallows from the clutches of evil chocolate guardians, often by using hot cocoa to wash captured marshmallows to safety. The liquid physics play a huge role as you'll often knock something loose that sends liquid (cocoa) through the level. There's also gel-like obstacles where you'll need to fire an exploding marshmallow in and then set it off to clear it out in an explosion of bright pink liquid.

That's where Coco Loco really shines is in the visuals. There are four worlds currently, each with its own theme and each with 15 levels to conquer -- all of them extremely colorful with high res graphics. Like the other games in this genre, being efficient pays off, giving you three stars if you can finish in the least amount of shots.

If you want a really unique take on this sling shot puzzle genre with beautiful visuals and precision liquid physics, I can't recommend this game enough. This well-polished and silly game adds something more to the genre and is a great fit for any Angry Birds fan.

Comixology offers free upgrade to HD comics

2012-03-24T05:55:00.003-07:00

The largest comics app on the market adds high-definition books for the new iPad, throws in free upgrades for people with supported comics, and begins basic social-networking support
.

Somebody with a chiroptera obsession has a shocking experience in this week's Batman #7. On the left, as viewed through the new iPad's Retina Display. On the right, the iPad 2.

(Credit: Screenshots by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

Comixology continues to dominate the mobile comics reading app market with new features for its iOS app, including high-definition comics that take advantage of the new iPad's Retina Display.

Updated earlier this week, Comixology's Comics 3.1 (download) lets you read comics on the new iPad with double the resolution of comics on previous models. It also supports sharing your comments on comics via Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail; and offers a Read Now button which lets you begin reading a comic before a comic has fully downloaded.

Support for the Retina Display almost didn't make it into Comixology 3.1, said Chip Mosher, the company's Director of Marketing. "Our developers turned around HD support in about five days. That's a testament to how dedicated they are."

The difference in resolution is apparent when holding a new iPad next to an iPad 2 and looking at the same comic. If you've downloaded a comic for the iPad 2, Comixology will let you download it again in HD at no extra cost.

Comixology's new sharing options: e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter.

(Credit: Comixology)

Readers can identify high-definition comics by the "CMX-HD" badge in Comixology's store, and the company plans to update its entire catalog with high-def comics over the next few months. Currently, only a selection of DC and Marvel comics are available in HD, although expect that to change rapidly. Comixology also has said that there will be no price difference for the HD comics, which are around two to three times larger on disk than the current comics.

And as with other media sharing, tweeting, Facebooking, or e-mailing from the Comixology app will insert related links and cover art to the comic book for you. While the social features are more rudimentary than revolutionary, they do show that digital comics apps -- or at least, Comixology -- are maturing as readership grows.

iPhone 5 could see June debut at Apple confab

2012-03-24T05:50:00.002-07:00

iPhone 5 could see June debut at Apple confab, report says

Apple could announce its next-gen phone at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June, according to the latest scuttlebut from Daiwa Securities.

Smartphone users champing at the bit for the nextiPhone could get a taste of it by June.

The latest rumors about Apple's flagship phone suggest that the iPhone 5 could be announced in June at Apple's next Worldwide Developers Conference. This latest report comes from analysts at Daiwa Securities as reported by the Chinese newspaper Commercial Times.

The folks at 9to5Mac are predicting that WWDC will be held from June 10 to 15 this year.

The new scuttlebut follows a recent report from 9to5Mac also pointing to a summer release for the next iPhone. Citing a "reliable source at Foxconn in China," the Apple blog site said that samples of the iPhone 5 are already "floating around" Apple. The new phone reportedly will sport a 4-inch or larger display, with a form factor that differs from the iPhone 4 and 4S in both length and width

If true, it means Apple will be returning to its usual schedule of unveiling the new iPhone in June. Last year marked an change of pace with the iPhone 4S not reaching the market until October.

The iPhone 5, as presumably it will be called this time around, will continue to use the current glass-to-glass touch panel technology, according to the Daiwa analysts, benefiting Apple's touch panel suppliers, including TPK Holding and Wintek.

People who bought the iPhone 4 in June of 2010 will of course be eligible to grab the iPhone 5 this time around. But those of you who went for the iPhone 4S last October will either have to wait or break your contract to pick up Apple's next-gen phone.

rumor: LTE and new dock plug coming this fall

2012-03-24T05:47:00.001-07:00

If you've missed the iPhone 5 rumors, they're back. The latest one claims Apple's next iPhone will sport 4G LTE and a smaller dock connector.

Apple's iPhone 4S.

(Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET)

With the third-generation iPad launch now a week old -- unless you're in today's second wave of launch countries, that is -- the rumor mill has turned its attention back to the iPhone.

The latest comes from iMore, which today posts some chewy, though anonymously-sourced hardware details about Apple's next smartphone. Those include a move to a 4G LTE radio like the one the third-generation iPad ships with, a display that's "similar if not same sized" to Apple's long-time 3.5-inch spec, and the move to a smaller dock port for charging and data transfers.

The blog, which correctly targeted the announcement date of Apple's third-generation iPad unveiling, as well as the tablet's inclusion of 4G LTE networking, added that the new phone would follow in the iPhone 4S' footsteps and launch in the fall.

Besides 4G LTE, which was rumored ahead of the iPhone 4S, this is the latest such mention of Apple working on a miniaturized dock connector to help make extra room in its portable devices. A report from Japanese Apple-centric blog Macotakara in October claimed as much, with iMoreadding to those claims last month, saying the smaller ports were headed to the iPhone and iPad so that Apple could make more room in those devices for other components.

The 30-pin adapter, which Apple uses on iPods, iPhones, and iPads, was originally designed to help make iPods thinner; Apple began with full-sized Firewire ports, later switching to USBexclusively. It's

since become the standard for third-party docks and accessories

Ahead of the iPhone 4S unveiling last October, the slew of rumors about the device took on a life of their own, due in no small part to the extended wait between models and the growing importance of the iPhone to Apple's business. Some of the big ones included mention of a complete redesign, the likes of what Apple did between the iPhone 3G/3GS and the iPhone 4, as well as the chance of multiple new models, and tweaks to longtime features like the screen size and home button.

2012-03-19T00:24:00.001-07:00

The you-can’t-believe-it’s-on-a-phone camera.

The iSight camera just might be the best camera ever on a phone. And with all-new optics, it just might be the only camera you need. Because behind every shot, you’ve got 8-megapixel resolution and a custom lens with a larger f/2.4 aperture. Not to mention an improved backside illumination sensor, excellent auto white balance, advanced color accuracy, face detection, and reduced motion blur. It all means that no matter how many people, how much light, and how much action you capture, everything looks exactly as it should. And just wait until you see the photos.
Learn more about Camera

The iSight camera gives you 8 megapixels — that’s 60 percent more pixels than the camera on iPhone 4. And they’re engineered with a higher, full-well capacity to collect even more light. With more megapixels and more light, you’ll see a dramatic difference in the resolution and details of your images.

Advanced optics with a custom lens, a larger aperture, and a new sensor mean amazing photos

your new iphone

2012-03-19T00:13:00.003-07:00

Nowadays, the number of cell phones is increasing every day and many people own one. On the market you will find a lot of phones from different brands with different characteristics. It’s important to know more about your future phone and if it worth to purchase it, and for that you should access the Internet and see there some reviews and read the technical specifications.
The iPhone is well known on the market and many people purchase it because it has a nice shape and nice features. When you take it in your hand it’s impossible not to observe the high-tech that is inside it and the astonishing applications that it has. The new iPhone comes with a better camera and many brand new apps. It’s incredible how many apps you will find for this phone. You can find apps from different domains: business, entertainment, media, finances and many others. You can purchase this new iPhone from the Internet, and many people prefer to order it from here because it’s easy and with just few clicks and you can have it right at home. However, another good thing is that you will find lower prices than the market. On the Internet you can find also accessories for it, applications and many other useful things. Some of the app are free, for others you will have to pay if you want to download and install them.