Marvel announces ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ coming to iOS in April

Marvel and Gameloft have announced this week that they are teaming up to bring The Amazing Spider-Man 2 to smartphones and tablets this spring as the official game for the film of the same name. Both are slated to land in mid-April.

For those that didn't play the original Amazing Spider-Man, it was actually quite successful—it has a rating of 4.5 stars on the App Store. And version 2 appears to offer similar gameplay with better controls and graphics. Here's the trailer...

Users are now warned of 15-minute in-app purchase window in iOS 7.1

Apple released iOS 7.1 earlier this week, and among its many other changes is a new warning message for users regarding the 15-minute in-app purchase window. The window allows you to buy IAPs on an iOS device for 15 minutes after a password is entered without authorization.

The move is likely part of Apple's efforts to make good on its settlement with the FTC regarding a lawsuit over IAPs. The company told the commission that it would issue refunds to those affected, and modify its in-app billing system to make the whole process more clear for users...

Eddy Cue and Phil Schiller on hand for Apple’s SXSW iTunes Festival

Apple's SXSW iTunes Festival kicked off last night at the Moody Theater in Austin, Texas. The 5-day concert is the first that the company has hosted in the United States, and will feature performances by a number of high-profile musicians.

London Grammar kicked off the Festival last night, followed by the Imagine Dragons and Coldplay. And a couple of Apple execs were on hand for the show, including SVP of Internet Software Eddy Cue and SVP of marketing Philip Schiller...

iTunes Radio now the third most popular streaming music service in US

A new report from Edison Research says that iTunes Radio has become the third most popular streaming music service in the US. The marketing research firm says that Apple's Radio service, which is less than 6 months old, just surpassed Spotify to take the #3 spot.

According to the data iTunes Radio now sits behind Pandora, who has 31% of the US streaming music market, and iHeartRadio, which has 9%. Then it comes in at 8%, Spotify at 6% and both Google Play All Access and Rhapsody come in at 3% and 2% respectively...

ProWidgets: a groundbreaking widget suite with multitasking features

Cydia has been the originating point for lots of groundbreaking ideas over the years. Copy and paste originated here, card-based app switchers began here as well. And let's not forget Notification Center and Control Center — each had its roots firmly planted in Cydia before debuting in stock iOS.

It goes without saying that Apple has been keen on seeing many of the developments unfold by some of the brilliant minds that make up the jailbreak community. It's even hired ones because of the work they've done with jailbreak apps and tweaks, and iOS hacking in general.

Today, we're happy to reveal the next big blockbuster tweak for jailbroken iPhones and iPads. Hopefully, it will help generate ideas for Apple's next big feature in iOS. Today, we'd like to introduce to you a brand new upcoming tweak called ProWidgets. We've got the very first exclusive hands-on coverage of ProWidgets, and we think you'll agree with us when we say it's one of the best looking jailbreak tweaks we've seen in some time...

Fantastical gains WhatsApp and 1Password integration, new alert sound and more

Fantastical by Flexibits is arguably the most advanced calendar and to-do application on the iPhone - my daily productivity is now dependent on it running on my iOS devices and Macs.

If you're not familiar with the app, it features natural language processing so you can just type in something like 'lunch with Dad in two weeks at Mom's place at 1pm' and it'll automatically create a reminder or an event for you. And yes, it integrates with your iOS Calendar and Reminders database.

Fantastical is even better on the Mac and developers should be praised for keeping their user base loyal by expanding on the feature set with regular refinements and new capabilities. In today's update, now live in the App Store, Fantastical brings out a whole bunch of tweaks and improvements along with a few new features.

Notable highlights include an option to send text messages in WhatsApp, support for opening links in 1Password and the Mercury web browser, a new custom sound they've made for event and reminder notifications and lots more.

The full changelog is right below the fold...

Apple to open small stores in India with a focus on low-end iOS devices

Citing sources familiar with the company's retail plans, The Economic Times is reporting today that Apple is working with local distributors in India to set up small shops in larger cities to push some older-model iPhones and iPads, as well as some lower-end Macs.

The initiative is part of Apple's ongoing efforts to make inroads into the country, where its iPhone only accounts for about 2% of the smartphone market. These new shops, according to the report, will focus on cheaper devices like the iPhone 4 and 4s, and the iPad 2...

Star Trek Online MMO is now available for the Mac

Today's a good day to be a Mac gamer. First, Blizzard unleashed Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, its free-to-play fast-paced strategy card game set in the Warcraft universe, and now this. Avid gamers will be quick to point out that PC users have been privileged to enjoy Star Trek Online since its release back in 2010.

Unfortunately, as developers Cryptic and Perfect World originally failed to introduce the Mac edition alongside the PC version, it's taken them three long years to produce the Mac edition of Star Trek Online, with a little help from conversion specialists TransGaming and its Cider technology.

Now available on a free-to-play basis, Star Trek Online is a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game set in the 25th century, in the original Star Trek universe.

It's awesome that all of the familiar themes, sides, races, locations and vessels are in there, including the embattled Federation, the mighty Klingon Empire, the Romulan Empire, the Dominion - even the Borg Collective is included.

Who's ready to explore strange new worlds and seek out new life and new civilizations in a vast, expanding universe? Good, I've included more tidbits after the break so read on...

Blizzard releases free-to-play Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft on the Mac

Following a brief public beta period, the acclaimed games maker Blizzard Entertainment (a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard) on Tuesday released its Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft on the Mac (Windows, too).

Now available on a free-to-play basis from Blizzard's website, Hearthstone is a strategy card game set in the Warcraft universe which pits you against your Battle.net friends and aims to “evoke the spirit of a friendly match played beside a crackling tavern fire”.

Each player starts with a deck of thirty Magic-style cards, with additional cards becoming available once you win battles or buy new cards through the in-app purchasing mechanism (that's why they call it a free-to-play game).

There are hundreds of unique cards to choose from. Each player’s card deck focuses on a hero representing one of nine Warcraft classes - customized with a set of minions, spells and weapons - and features iconic characters like Jaina Proudmoore, Gul’dan, Uther the Lightbringer and Thall...

24 hours later, iOS 7.1 adoption hits 5.9 percent of active devices in North America

In its first 24 hours in the wild, Apple's new iOS 7.1 software is now on 5.9 percent of active devices in North America, research firm Chitika reported Tuesday. The figure was derived from "tens of millions" of iOS-based online ad impressions generated within the Chitika Ad Network in the United States and Canada from March 9 through March 11, 2014.

By comparison, the number is comparable to the crucial iOS 7.0.6 update which fixed a nasty SSL security exploit, with iOS 7.0.6 users generating six percent of all iOS 7.0.6 traffic 24 hours post-release (or a nice 13.3 percent adoption in 48 hours)...

New Version of Microsoft Office coming to Mac this year

Microsoft is preparing to release a long-awaited update to its Office productivity suite for Mac this year. The current version, Office:mac 2011, lags far behind its Windows counterpart in terms of user interface and functionality.

The news first came from Microsoft's Business Group Lead Thorsten Hübschen and has since been confirmed by a spokesperson, who says the company is indeed working on the update and it will provide further details soon...

Day One journaling app becomes a publishing platform: you can now post diary entries online

Two days ago, Day One journaling app for iOS and OS X by Bloom Built has celebrated its third anniversary.

Having been a user since Day One's inception, I couldn't be happier with its clean and elegant design, rich Markdwon support and carefully balanced set of features letting me keep my personal memories, photos and life's best moments neatly organized in one place.

To this date, virtually not a day has gone by without me firing up Day One on my iPhone to capture my thoughts and feelings or simply snap up a memorable moment in time and spice it up with a punchy caption.

I also love Day One's inline photos, how it integrates location data from Foursquare, pulls weather information for entries and keeps my diary synchronized between iOS and Mac devices through iCloud. These are just some of the factors that prompted Apple to name Day One its 2012 Mac App of the Year and 2011 #1 Best App in the Mac App Store.

And now, Bloom Built has updated the iOS edition with Publish, a major new capability that turns your private entries into attractive web pages, available to anyone or just the people with whom you've shared the URL of the entry - the choice is yours.

Jump past the fold for the full breakdown...