Year: 2014

IGN names ‘Hitman Go’ its Free Game of the Month

Heads up gamers, IGN has named Square Enix's ‘Hitman Go′ its Free Game of the Month for September. We named the game one of our ‘Apps of the Week’ for the iPhone and iPad back in April, and it normally retails for $4.99.

For those unfamiliar with the title, Hitman Go is a turn-based strategy game based on the hit console franchise. Players must navigate fixed spaces on a beautiful diorama-style grid to avoid enemies and complete their missions.

Apple said to be dominating shipping capacity out of China ahead of iPhone 6 event

TechCrunch is out with a late report this evening regarding Apple's supply chain movements ahead of next week's iPhone event. The outlet claims that it has once again taken over a majority of the shipping space out of China, likely to help move its new handsets.

In fact, Apple's shipping volume is apparently so high right now, that it's begun displacing shipments from other manufacturers. TC's Matthew Panzarino says that shippers, such as FedEx and UPS, are so booked up, it's causing delays for other major device makers.

CVS and Walgreens also said to support Apple’s new payment service

Recode reports that Apple has signed on the country's two largest pharmacy chains—CVS and Walgreens—to participate in its new mobile payment service. The company is expected to unveil the service, alongside two new iPhones, at a media event in Cupertino next week.

This is a big deal for a few reasons. For one, CVS and Walgreens have a combined total of over 15,000 retail locations, giving Apple's new payment service a significant initial footprint. And two, due to the nature of their business, they tend to see a high rate of transactions.

Renowned designer Marc Newson joining Apple’s design team

Vanity Fair is reporting this afternoon that world-famous designer Marc Newson will be joining Apple's design team. His exact role is unknown at this time, but he will be working closely with long-time friend Jony Ive, and his design team, to help shape future products.

The outlet says that Newson will continue to be based out of the United Kingdom, but he will frequently travel to Cupertino. The designer has in the past collaborated with Ive on design work for Apple, but today's announcement makes his input and participation official.

Fun Friday: IKEA spoofs iPad ads, Joy of Tech pokes fun of Apple’s product cycle

Ikea channels Jony Ive to promote its 2015 furniture catalog, Joy of Tech spoofs the seven phases every true Apple fan goes through in between product launches — dang, it must by a Friday!

To help you get prepared for the weekend, I've cherry-picked a pair of linkbait memes that've been making rounds this week. You should find the Ikea video amusing and the Joy of Tech comic hilarious as you head out for the weekend, your very last weekend before Apple's big reveal on Tuesday changes everything, all over again.

New report sets low expectations for iWatch battery life

The Information is out with a new scoop this afternoon, offering up some last-minute details on the so-called iWatch. Most of the report corroborates previous chatter, regarding what the device will look like and do, but it does bring a new topic to light: battery life.

According to the site's Jessica Lessin, people with knowledge of the project have set low expectations for the iWatch's battery life. These sources say that the uptime on the wearable will be "disappointing," although Lessin does say that Apple could be sandbagging.

SetBack allows you to revert back to your previously saved jailbreak setup

When you try new themes, you might be tempted to change the Home screen setup in order to bring a better look to your device. Even when you install new jailbreak tweaks, you'll definitely have to disable the conflicting ones and this might ruin your current setup. SetBack is a new jailbreak tweak that overcomes this annoyance.

Developed by GroovyCarrot, SetBack allows you to easily switch between different saved jailbreak setups. The tweak allows you to save the current state of your setup for future use. This said, it stores all the installed tweak settings, applied Winterboard themes, icon layouts on your Home screen as well as wallpapers. With the touch of a button, you can quickly revert back to a saved setup.

Claimed rear camera with OIS and other iPhone 6 components surface in new photos

Modified Russian accessory vendor Feld & Volk, known for customizing iPhones with luxury parts like solid gold volume buttons, Friday on its Instagram profile published photos it claims show a rear camera with optical image stabilization for a 5.5-inch iPhone 6 version, along with an assortment of other claimed components such as the microphone, speaker and the power button with rubber seal.

Jump past the fold, give the images a quick look and join us in comments for an analysis.

Apple-owned TestFlight surfaces in App Store as native app ahead of iOS 8 launch

TestFlight, a service allowing developers to beta test mobile apps on the fly, is now available as a native iPhone and iPad application in the App Store.

Apple snapped up Burstly, the company behind TestFlight, back in February to help its registered developers distribute their iPhone and iPad apps to beta testers before pushing them to the App Store for release.

TestFlight is available free of charge and requires iOS 8.0 or later.

BGR: iOS 8.0.1 with ‘further enhancements’ in the works

With four days until Apple's big reveal and the impending public launch of iOS 8, the Cupertino firm is already preparing the first iOS 8.0.1 update, BGR reported Friday. The software contains unspecified "further improvements" and Apple is going to seed it to its carrier and testing partners shortly. Note that BGR has a pretty solid track record in predicting carrier-related news.

Just recently, the site correctly claimed that the current iOS 8 Beta 5 would be the final beta released to developers ahead of a Gold Master. Indeed, the iPhone maker last month exclusively released iOS 8 Beta 6 to carrier partners for testing ahead of the iOS 8 launch.

Sony’s side-scrolling CounterSpy stealth game now available on iOS

After releasing on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita last month, Sony's CounterSpy is now available on Apple's iOS platform.

Developed by Dynamighty and published on the App Store by Sony Computer Entertainment America as a premium $4.99 download, CounterSpy is set in an alternate history Cold War era and puts you in the shoes of a budding agent for C.O.U.N.T.E.R.

Your goal in this action stealth side-scrolling game: stop a crazed superpower from unleashing a devastating nuclear missile attack unto the entire world.

Motorola’s Android Wear-powered $249 Moto 360 smartwatch arrives

Having previewed it in March, handset maker Motorola today launched its Moto 360 smartwatch with wireless charging, a rounded face, optical heart rate monitor, “all-day battery” and other perks.

Starting at $249 and available through Motorola's website, Google's Play store and Best Buy, the device runs Google's Android software for wearables dubbed Android Wear and features premium materials making the circular smartwatch feel “comfortable and familiar” on your wrist.