iPadiPad | iPad

Art Authority for iPad Updated with Retina Support

Patrick Jordan — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:47:16 +0000

Art Authority for iPad, the wonderful virtual art museum app for the iPad, has been updated this week – to Version 4.6.2.

The headline feature for this update is support for the new iPad’s retina display – and this is one of the iPad apps that’s best suited to benefit hugely from the retina quality display.

Here’s the full change list for this update:

- Upgraded for new iPad’s retina display: ultra high-resolution rooms, higher-res works (on all devices), enhanced frames, plaques, etc. View works as clearly as in a museum.
- Highlights buttons in all rooms
- What’s New? button to keep up to date
- View works similar to the one you’re looking at through “Art Like This”
- Tweet any work (iOS 5)

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Dinosaur Apps Get a Featured Section in the iPad App Store This Week

Patrick Jordan — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:12:46 +0000

Dinosaur apps and games for the iPad are a featured section this week in the iPad App Store. If you’ve got kids this is a surefire source of fun – and maybe the same for the grownups in your house. I know I still love a good dinosaur app.

The App Store Dinosaurs page offers a selection of 27 apps and games. My daughter and I have installed around 10 of them and a number of them are stellar apps. Particular favorites include Inside the World of Dinosaurs, Ultimate Dinopedia from National Geographic, and Dinosaur Zoo.

There are several others in this new featured section that look promising – I have a feeling we’ll be checking some them out very soon.

You’ll find this new section by going to the Featured area in the iPad App Store – just make sure you’re on the ‘New’ tab to see this and other new highlights for this week..

Want to Scare Your Friends with Your iPad? There’s an App for That

Patrick Jordan — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:32:13 +0000

Peekaboo Prank is a new iPad app that works with Apple’s Smart Cover to help you pull a prank, scare a friend or family member, and record their reaction. Here’s more detail via its App Store page:

Prank your friends and record their reactions! Peekaboo combines Smart Cover technology and the forward-facing camera to let you play peekaboo with cute little animals as if they were inside the iPad. *REQUIRES a 2nd or 3rd generation iPad with a smart cover or similar case*
-Record your friend’s reaction with the front-facing camera
-Choose from three different animations: Bunny, Kitty, or Puppy
-Share your recordings via Facebook or Email

This is not generally the sort of app that interests me, but it’s only the second app I’ve ever seen that interacts with the Smart Cover (Evernote Peek, a very different sort of app, is the first) – so I gave it a quick look. It definitely does what is says on the box. You pick from one of the 3 little animals, close and open the smart cover a couple times to see them say peek-a-boo – and then on the third time you open the cover a scary face blasts in with a roar and your reaction is recorded if you’re holding the iPad at the right sort of angle.

So this one is not recommended for use with a friend or family member who is likely to be scared enough to have a bad physical reaction (but keep in mind this is way below the shock value of a scary movie or TV show scene) or to perhaps drop a precious iPad if they’re genuinely shocked by the scary popup. On the other hand, if you’ve got kids / friends who take this sort of thing in their stride and find and find it funny then you may well want to give this one a go.

Here’s an App Store link for Peekaboo Prank; it’s priced at $0.99.

Infinity Blade: Dungeons gameplay revealed

Mike Schramm — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Our friends at Joystiq have procured the first gameplay footage of Epic's followup to the popular Infinity Blade series, called Infinity Blade: Dungeons, and you can get a look at it below. As you can see, it's set in the same world as the first two games, but features a completely different take on gameplay, using gestures to fight baddies from a top-down view rather than a fixed camera.

There are also some interesting crafting mechanics, like rubbing out imperfections on a blade you're making, or tapping dents in metal to clear them off. Infinity Blade: Dungeons was announced at the iPad 3 Apple event, and is supposed to be out later on this year.

Infinity Blade: Dungeons gameplay revealed originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 18 May 2012 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iRig Mix ships to iDevice-carrying DJs, Android app compatibility looks unlikely

Alexis Santos — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:25:00 +0000

If virtual DJs aren't your thing, you might be pleased to hear that the iRig Mix mobile music mixer is now shipping. You can forgo hefty price tags and still mix your own tunes for $99.99 with up to two iDevices at a time, audio from guitars, MP3 players, CD players and the like. In addition to physical controls for volume, gain, treble and bass, the mixer is accompanied by a roster of free apps to help with production, performing and recording. For Android fans wondering where their own version of these apps are, IK Multimedia thinks the Android audio engine has too much latency (check the comments section) to handle its real-time processing, but consoles you with the fact that the hardware is compatible with most devices. Hit the jump for the press release. Wiki wiki, y'all.

Continue reading iRig Mix ships to iDevice-carrying DJs, Android app compatibility looks unlikely

iRig Mix ships to iDevice-carrying DJs, Android app compatibility looks unlikely originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 May 2012 07:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unofficial Google+ iPad App Updated, Adds Slew of New Features

Patrick Jordan — Thu, 17 May 2012 23:46:09 +0000

iShare+ for Google+ – the unofficial Google+ iPad app – has been updated today, to Version 1.2.

This app was already a very nice way to work with Google+ on the iPad, especially as it has somehow slipped Google’s mind to release a Google+ iPad app nearly a year after launching their iPhone app.

Today’s update to iShare+ for Google+ is a pretty major one that adds a bunch of nice new features along with some enhancements and bug fixes.

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Portable Drumpad Saves You From Smashing Your Phone’s Display

Andrew Liszewski — Thu, 17 May 2012 23:20:00 +0000

There's no shortage of drumming apps and games for the iPhone and iPad, but who wants to risk damaging their device's display during an epic drum solo? That has to be the reason Dream Cheeky created this compact iDrum kit that lets you bang away without breaking your touchscreen toys. More »

iRig Mix out now, impresses with size and features

Mike Schramm — Thu, 17 May 2012 23:00:00 +0000

IK Multimedia's iRig Mix mixer has finally arrived in stores, and it's just as impressive now as it was back when we saw it in action at CES this year. The mixer is sturdy and impressively small, and it has hookups for two different sources, including two iOS devices or any other stereo input source, as well as an extra mic/instrument input. Those sounds can then be mixed together, balanced, or tweaked with EQ, and sent out to a headphone jack on the bottom, and a stereo RCA output on the top. In short, this is a great full-featured mixer for mixing together sounds from almost anywhere.

The biggest bonus here, however, is that the mixer also works with IK's apps on the App Store, so downloading DJ Rig or any of the other apps will sound extra nice coming through this thing. And there's an X-Sync feature built in to the mixer that works with the DJ app to beatmix for you, making for super simple DJing: Just start up the apps on your iOS devices, turn X-Sync on, and the mixer will beatmatch automatically.

The whole kit is very impressive, and even if you just need a mixer for occasional audio use (unrelated to your iOS devices), it would probably work great. Plus, it's out now for just $99, and good luck finding an equivalent professional mixer at that price.

iRig Mix out now, impresses with size and features originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 17 May 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Daily iPad App: Feed Me Oil HD

Mike Schramm — Thu, 17 May 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Chillingo's Feed Me Oil was released a little while ago, and it's a solid game that didn't get a ton of press when it first dropped. The reason for that is probably because it's somewhat similar to Where's My Water, in that you're trying to get a fluid simulation into a certain place on the screen by tweaking physics-enabled objects in the world. But while Where's My Water was all about digging, Feed Me Oil is much more about creation -- you place objects like platforms and wheels in the world to try and get the "black gold" flowing where you need it to go.

Like pretty much all of Chillingo's other titles, there is lots of content here to play through: Lots of levels and puzzles with an increasing number of objects to use and move around to your heart's content. And while the game is on the iPhone as well, it's much better on the iPad -- the graphics are bigger and the objects are easier to manipulate in the game's space. Feed Me Oil is an excellent game, and especially because it's on sale today for completely free. Check it out.

Daily iPad App: Feed Me Oil HD originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 17 May 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PopCap finally releases Bejeweled HD on iPad

Mike Schramm — Thu, 17 May 2012 21:00:00 +0000

Bejeweled is probably the most popular mobile game out there, but for some reason, PopCap has never actually released it officially on the iPad. It's been out on the iPhone before, and of course you could play it on Apple's tablet, but it has never run natively. Until now, that is -- PopCap has finally released Bejeweled HD, which means you can now play the grandaddy of gem matching games in full Retina Display style.

The game is now $3.99, and it's got special modes like Diamond Mine and Butterflies, four special gems to put together, and all of the usual extras that we've seen in Bejeweled games before. If you think the price is high, PopCap has sales on its titles pretty often, so we may eventually see it drop, but keep in mind this is an iPad title, and PopCap usually tries to keep those up as long as possible.

PopCap finally releases Bejeweled HD on iPad originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 17 May 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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