iPad Digital Magazine Subscriptions to Count the Same as Paper Subscriptions

Mar 17

Posted by John Hawkes in News, iPad Magazines and Newspapers | No Comments

The divide between paper and digital magazines just grew a little closer. The Audit Bureau of Circulations, which is a non-profit organization funded by advertisers and charged with auditing print circulations, recently changed the rules concerning how digital and paper magazine subscriptions are counted:

The Audit Bureau of Circulations said Tuesday that it has changed its definition of a digital magazine to accommodate the new class of tablet-style devices.

The new rules allow publishers to count paid digital subscriptions as part of a magazine’s overall circulation as long as all the same editorial and advertising material is included.

That means publishers can custom design their articles and photo spreads for Apple Inc.’s iPad, which goes on sale April 3. Without the rule change, they could only count digital editions that appear exactly the way they do in print.

This is good news all around, as it simplifies the picture for advertisers and content owners both. And good for Apple too as it help legitimize the iPad’s magazine and newspaper content.

Game Review: Plants vs. Zombies (Best of iPhone Games)

Mar 16

Posted by Tim Barribeau in Best iPhone and iPod Touch Games, iPhone Game Reviews, iPhone Games | No Comments

Plants vs. Zombies ($2.99, link) started life as a desktop tower defense game, and made the transition to an ultra-popular iPhone app. And it had the highest grossing iPhone game launch ever. So what is PvZ? The world has fallen to a cartoon zombie apocalypse, and you have to defend your home from their advances using only foliage. Each of the games 50 levels unlocks new content, so the difficulty level ramps up, but so does your plant-based arsenal.

The zombies attack along five rows of your backyard, and you need to harvest sunlight in order to grow attack foliage to stop them. This starts with pea-shooters and sun flowers (to boost your sun reserves), and rapidly expands into tower defense stalwarts—mines, walls, area effects attacks, status buffs and the like. Always plant related, of course. After ever 10 levels, the stage shifts slightly, changing the playing field. You start with your back-yard, then you have to defend it at night, then your pool, then the pool at night, and finally the rooftop.

If the harvest sunlight, grow plants method gets a bit boring, mini-games are scattered throughout to add some variety to the playstyle, and the final level of each stage provides you with a conveyor belt of plants in order to fight the zombie hordes.

I’m utterly in love with the graphics on PvZ. The zombies are adorable, and come in multiple variations—often to frustrate your defenses. The plants are all distinctive looking, and the designs manage to pack personality into just the few pixels each one takes up. The game is infused with a distinctive slapstick sense of humor, which is well appreciated.

I’m really struggling to find anything negative to say about PvZ, and nothing’s springing to mind. The loading screen when you launch is a bit long, and the level difficulty ramps up pretty quickly—but that’s not necessarily a downside. Some of the levels stretch on a bit long, so it’s not something you can just grab your phone and play for 3 minutes while waiting for a bus, but if you’ve got a bit of time free on your hands it’s perfect.

Conclusion

Plants vs. Zombies ($2.99, link) is a perfect example of the tower defense genre. It’s hilariously funny, easy to learn, but with huge amounts of content. With 50 levels, mini-games, achievements, and a free-play mode, you won’t be bored of it any time soon. If you enjoy tower defense games, and you haven’t picked it up yet, you’re doing yourself a disfavor. We highly recommend it, and give it an 8.7/10

An iPhone App to Cure Your Acne? AcneApp!

Mar 16

Posted by John Hawkes in News, iPhone Apps | 1 Comment

Tired of using ointments and creams to cure your acne? Why not use your greasy bacteria-laden iPhone screen as an alternative? AcneApp ($1.99, link) attempts to cure your acne by using “blue and red light treatments” emanating from the iPhone’s screen. These “light treatments” supposedly eliminate p-acne bacteria (a major cause of acne). The official app description claims the app is part of a scientific study done by Baylor College of Medicine. The app actually has more 5-star reviews than 1 star, so maybe there’s something to it.

Official app description:

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EA: Don’t Download Sims 3 App Update

Mar 16

Posted by John Hawkes in iPhone Games | No Comments

EA is warning users via their Facebook page not to download the latest update available for Sims 3 in the App Store, as it will delete saved games.

Due to an unforeseen technical issue please do not download the latest Sims 3 update for iPhone/iPod touch. We are investigating an issue that is causing saved games to disappear. We apologize for the inconvenience you are experiencing. The EA Mobile Sims team is actively working on the problem we will release a new update as soon as possible. As always we appreciate your support and patience.

Microsoft Revs Up the Apple Copying Machine, Publishes “UI Design and Interaction Guide”

Mar 16

Posted by John Hawkes in Apple iPhone, Microsoft, News | No Comments

To help developers maintain an Apple-ish feel and look to their apps, Apple publishes a “Human Interface Guidelines” for the Mac and iPhone platforms. Now it appears Microsoft plans to take another page from Apple’s design book for their Windows Mobile 7 platform and pump out a similar document. Via The Next Web:

Windows Mobile Apps have always been ugly and navigational nightmares. Microsoft’s native apps sucked and 3rd party apps sucked even more. With the launch of the Windows Phone 7 Series SDK Microsoft has obviously been studying Apple’s tactics as they just unveiled a 69 page document alongside the SDK launch entitled “UI Design and Interaction Guide”. The document is strikingly similar to Apple’s “Human Interface Guidelines” it publishes for the Mac and iPhone OS designers and developers. These documents outline how to design intuitive apps for the platform. They outline the design goals for the platform and user expectations to be aware of, but they also dive into the nitty gritty details for good UI design like the correct margin and padding around buttons and which font colors are to be used in particular situations.

Publisher Hearst Plans to Pump “Thousands” of Crap Apps into iTunes

Mar 16

Posted by John Hawkes in Crap Apps, News | 1 Comment

William Randolph Hearst is probably rolling over in his grave. Via MediaPost:

Hearst Corp. last week unveiled its “let a thousand flowers bloom” approach to creating digital content for the iPhone. The magazine publisher plans to churn out thousands of iPhone applications focused on niche topics within categories such as celebrities, food, hobbies, and sports.

….Hearst told The Wall Street Journal it can turn out the apps at low cost by using a similar template for each and linking to information from outside sources.

The publisher is paying for rights to photos but not other content pulled from traditional news outlets and blogs. The Angelina Jolie app, for instance, used a story from E! about why she didn’t attend the Academy Awards and other material from the gossip blog Bossip. So the apps are, in effect, mini-content aggregators, drawing from different sites around Web.

Wow. Times really are tough for publishers.

Orbino Introduces Padova iPad Case, Made From Hand-Stitched Leather

Mar 16

Posted by John Hawkes in News, iPad Accessories, iPad Cases | 1 Comment

If your taste tends toward expensive handcrafted leather, Orbino has introduced the Padova iPad case, available for preorder starting at $209. The case doubles as a stand for both landscape and portrait modes and is even dockable. And if the $209 price tag doesn’t rattle you, the Padova is also available in crocodile skin ($689) and ostrich leather ($659). We asked about human skin, but apparently that’s out of bounds.


40% of Blackberry Users Want an iPhone

Mar 16

Posted by Tim Barribeau in News | No Comments

Analytics group Crowd Science have polled users of all the major smartphone platforms for brand loyalty, and found that Blackberry users most want to change brands. Of the polled Blackberry users, 39% want to switch to an iPhone for their next phone, and 32% would switch to Android. On the other hand, Android and iPhone users both sat around 90% for brand loyalty, happily sticking with their chosen platform.

Crowd Science also polled significantly for demographics and purchasing habits, and found that Android users tend to be younger and less affluent, and iPhone users are more likely to pay to buy an application. Blackberry users were the only group to substantially use their phone only for business, some 7%. These numbers were gathered from 1,140 respondents.

Full press release follows:

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iPad Keyboard/Dock’s Shipping Date Slips to May

Mar 16

Posted by John Hawkes in News, iPad Accessories | No Comments

The iPad is still set to ship on schedule April 3, but a few of the accessories will lag behind. According to the online Apple Store, consumers will have to wait until May to get their hands on both the keyboard dock and the 10W USB Power Adapter. Also, the official iPad case won’t ship until mid-April. If you just have to have the keyboard, you can still buy the wireless version, which will work with the iPad too. It ships within 24 hours.

Free Tiki iPhone Cases at Trader Vic’s in LA, March 25

Mar 16

Posted by John Hawkes in News, iPhone Cases | No Comments

If you live in Los Angeles, Trader Vic’s LA is giving away free Tiki iPhone cases to the first 50 customers on Thursday, March 25. The owner of Trader Vic’s explained the giveaway in a press release:

John Valencia, Big Kahuna at Trader Vic’s LA, said, “We love these iTiki cases and we want our customers to know about them too. The first fifty folks who come in on March 25th will get their very own iTiki case. They just need to get here in time while we have them in stock.”

Customers should arrive promptly at 8pm to guarantee getting a case. Appearing at Trader Vic’s on March 25th will be DJ Jay Strongman.

If you miss out but still want a sweet Tiki case, they can be purchased for $30 at TikiCase.com.