Google-owned Nest acquires Dropcam for $555 million

Smart thermostat-maker Nest announced on Friday that it has reached an agreement to acquire Dropcam. The company, which itself was purchased by Google earlier this year, says that the all-cash deal is worth a hefty $555 million.

For those unfamiliar with Dropcam, it's behind the popular line of Internet-connected home monitoring cameras. Major selling points for the cameras include easy setup, 2-way audio and remote streaming via any PC or mobile device...

Apps of the week: PlunderNauts, Grub, Fuse, and more

This may not have been the best week for new apps and games, but the good ones that did come out really brought back some memories for me. Sometimes I forget that life goes on.

This week, we’ve got a list of apps and games that we think you’ll find interesting. Maybe some of them will even spark your memory and we can share a moment of nostalgia together. Check out our list of Apps of the Week below…

iWatch said to feature blood glucose and sweat sensors

Rumors regarding the iWatch have reached a fever pitch this week. We've heard 3 reports in just the past 2 days, and we've got another one to add to the list this morning. It seems that everyone is interested in Apple's highly anticipated wearable.

Today's report comes from Chinese website Laoyaoba, which claims that Apple has finalized the design and specifications of the watch, and is now awaiting FDA approval. The site also says that the device will include blood glucose and sweat sensors...

Photos of alleged 5.5-inch iPhone 6 LCD part surface

New evidence of the larger iPhone 6 surfaced online this morning. 9to5Mac has posted a pair of images believed to be a display component for Apple's oft-rumored 5.5-inch smartphone—one of two handsets the company is believed to be launching this fall.

While we've seen plenty of case and part leaks for the 4.7-inch iPhone 6, physical evidence of the larger model has been far more scarce. These photos, in fact, are said to be the first showing an iPhone 6 component that matches the 5.5-inch device rumors...

iOS 7.1.2 coming soon with fixes for Mail, Lock Screen and iBeacon issues

Apple is preparing to release iOS 7.1.2 in the coming weeks, according to a new report from MacRumors. Citing sources familiar with the update, the site says Apple plans to use the release to address a handful of long-standing issues.

Perhaps the most prominent issue the firmware will resolve is the 'email attachment encryption bug' that surfaced last month. It also includes a fix the just-publicized Lock screen vulnerability, which could allow access to limited apps...

Apple turns to professional athletes for testing of iWatch fitness capabilities

With just four months remaining until Apple is expected to unveil its oft-rumored iWatch, a new report claims that the iPhone maker has teamed up with professional athletes to test the smartwatch's fitness capabilities in intense training environments. The report, citing a source with knowledge of the testing, adds that Apple has invited players from the MLB, NBA and NHL to its Cupertino headquarters on numerous occasions for this testing.

Apple is reportedly working with Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Kings right winger Dustin Brown and at least a few other star athletes, one being an unidentified player for the Boston Red Sox. The athletes have been forced to sign non-disclosure agreements that prohibit them from discussing the existence of the iWatch or their involvement in the testing process… 

Why Apple dumped Yahoo for The Weather Channel to power weather data in iOS 8

Apple announced several new flagship features in iOS 8 at its WWDC keynote a few weeks ago, but one of the quiet changes uncovered was that Yahoo has been replaced by The Weather Channel for weather data. The move came as a bit of a surprise, given that Yahoo has been aggressively pushing to have more of its services integrated across the iPhone software platform.

So, why did Apple make the switch? Interestingly enough, Yahoo weather services have actually been powered by The Weather Channel for quite some time. By cutting the middleman out of the equation, the iPhone maker benefits from more specific weather data and technologies that The Weather Channel did not provide to Yahoo… 

Godfire review: this game is about as console quality as it gets on iOS

These days, game developers are trying harder than ever to push the boundaries of what is possible with mobile gaming. No, we still aren’t there yet, but every day brings us closer to console quality gaming in the palm of our hands.

Godfire: Rise of Prometheus is one of those games that maxes out the iPhone and iPad’s abilities by offering a graphically complex game with fast action gameplay in a fairly large world. Read our game review of Godfire below…

Path jumps on the private messaging bus, releases new Talk for iPhone app

Path, the private social network for families and close friends, is jumping on the messaging bandwagon with launch of a new privacy-focused, standalone messaging software for the iPhone.

Available free in the App Store, Path Talk is basically a spin-off of Path's in-app messenger. For starters, your message exchanges get automatically wiped out from the servers after 24 hours.

And, Path Talk has a nice Ambient Status feature that automatically lets your friends know when you’re in transit, in the neighborhood and even low on battery, possibly helping reduce some misunderstandings in online communication...

T-Mobile confirms signing up more than 12,000 people to take home a free iPhone 5s for a week

The nation's fourth-largest wireless carrier, T-Mobile, is close to getting acquired by Japan's Softbank-owned Sprint in a deal valued at $40 billion, but that's not stopping them from solving customer pain points.

At last week's ‘Uncarrier 5.0.’ event in Washington, the Deutsche Telekom-owned company has announced a pair of new initiatives - ‘Music Freedom’ and ‘Unradio’.

More importantly, it's launched a new program called ‘Test Drive’ which borrows would-be switchers an iPhone 5s for a seven-day period to test-drive its LTE network. And believe it or not, the carrier has already seen more than 12,000 sign-ups for Text Drive ahead of June 23, when the service actually opens.

Note to Legere: call Apple for more iPhones...

Sega discounts Sonic games to 99 cents

Encouraged by strong response to April's 99-cent sale of Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the Japanese games maker Sega has put in effect a massive Sonic games sale.

Valid for a limited-time only, as many as seven Sonic releases have been slashed from a few bucks to just 99 cents, including Sonic Jump, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing and Sonic CD, to mention a few.

Go past the fold for the full list of discounted games along with their download links...