Sega discounts Sonic iOS games to just 99 cents

If you're anything like me, you're a heavy gamer who plays tons of games on your iDevice - and on a pretty much regular basis, too (or at least when the time schedule permits).

That's why I'll only make a passing mention of productivity deals like Readdle’s premium Calendars+ going free for a limited time.

If that fell on deaf ears with you, don't despair - iDB has you covered as games maker Sega has slashed all its Sonic games on the App Store to just 99 cents.

The promotion includes the original Sonic The Hedgehog along with the second and fourth installment, as well as Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing and Sonic CD. Jump past the fold for quick details...

New Nokia ad pegs iPhone users as mindless zombies

You know you're doing something right when your competition spends more time in its commercials bad-mouthing you and your products than it does actually advertising its own. So Apple must be doing something extremely right.

We've seen it with Samsung, we've seen it with Microsoft, and now Nokia is getting in on the action. The Finnish handset maker released a new ad this morning that portrays iPhone users as mindless zombies. Full clip after the fold...

First full trailer for Ashton Kutcher’s ‘Jobs’ film released

The first official trailer for Ashton Kutcher's 'Jobs' was finally released today, giving the general public its first glimpse at the movie. We saw a snippet of the film earlier this year, when it debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, but it never really made it beyond the tech world.

'Jobs' has had an interesting year thus far. After receiving mixed reviews at Sundance, the film's April release date was canceled and the project was shelved. Then, earlier this month, we learned it would finally be hitting theaters in August. So without further ado, here's your trailer...

Apple’s iTunes owns 75% of digital music sales

Apple's iTunes is one of those happy ironies. Begun as a way to boost sales of Macs and other hardware and content with breaking even, the service now rakes in $20 billion per year selling digital warez such as video, books, apps and music - a whole lot of music. In fact, Apple now sells 75 percent of all digital music, according to a new analysis.

In a series of peeks into how iTunes earns all that revenue, independent analyst Horace Dediu paints a picture where more than a half-billion users are pointing to a future where apps surpass digital music sales...

iPad mini to finally hit Brazil next Tuesday following eight-month wait

It's widely believed an unknown portion of iPad mini production is being handled by Foxconn’s recently built manufacturing facilities in Brazil. It's remarkable then that the iPad mini is still unavailable in the country. The situation is finally set to take a turn for the better as the iPad mini is slated to arrive in Brazil next Tuesday, June 25. As you know, Apple launched the iPad mini in the United States and several other key markets eight months ago, in October 2012...

Samsung reportedly cutting Galaxy S4 production, S3 going in early retirement

The unstoppable advance of Samsung may have hit a bump in the road. A report from South Korean claims the Apple smartphone rival plans to reduce production of its just-released Galaxy S4 by 10-15 percent, while sending the S3 to an early retirement.

The South Korean-based firm also believes the flagship Galaxy S4 won't be able to increase its share of the smartphone market alone, requiring a range of new models to do the job, the Thursday report claimed...

Virgin Mobile to land iPhone 5 next Friday

After months of speculation, Virgin Mobile announced it will finally start carrying Apple's iPhone 5 starting Friday, June 28. The handset will be offered on a subsidy basis on a two-year contract and with one of the Beyond Talk plans, starting at $35 a month for unlimited 4G LTE data and messaging. Virgin Mobile is owned by Sprint and supports both Sprint's CDMA 3G and LTE 4G radio technology (see coverage map here)...

FTC to launch inquiry into patent trolls, including issuing subpoenas

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is expected today to approve an investigation into so-called patent trolls, according to the New York Times. Results of the investigation could be used as part of a possible antitrust lawsuit.

FTC chairwoman Edith Ramirez has said the technology involved in one smartphone could spur thousands of patents. In 2012, patent trolls - politely referred to as patent-assertion entities - comprised 60 percent of some 4,000 patent lawsuits. In 2011, the number of patent lawsuits were half that amount, the Times reported...

Apple starts charting iOS adoption, 96% of users are on iOS 6

Apple has started charting the iOS adoption figures via a portal for its registered developers. While Google's been doing this for quite some time now, it's the first time Apple offered the continuously updated official iOS adoption data.

Key takeaway: a whopping 96 percent of Apple customers are now using iOS 6, as measured by the App Store during a 14-day period ending June 3, 2013.

There is a massive difference compared to Android 4.x versions that, according to Google's dashboard web page, was on 58.6 percent of Android devices accessing the Android Play store during a 14-day period ending on June 3, 2013.

And with 39.8 percent of Google customers on the now outdated Android 2.2 Froyo and up to Android 3.2 Honeycomb software, Apple's huge advantage in terms of platform fragmentation is undisputed...

Preview: PatternUnlock

PatternUnlock is an upcoming jailbreak tweak that brings Android inspired Lock screen security to the iPhone. It features user customizable unlock patterns and various Lock screen themes that can be user customized as well.

The tweak, which will sell for $1.99 on Cydia's BigBoss repo, is due to touch down some time this weekend. For now, check out our brief preview video of the tweak inside.

Tokyo court finds Samsung guilty of infringing on Apple’s ‘rubber banding’ patent

On Friday, a Tokyo court found a number of Samsung's legacy smartphone models to be guilty of infringing on one of Apple's patents. More specifically, it's the infamous 'rubber banding' patent, which Apple has used in a number of courtroom battles.

For those unfamiliar with the 'rubber banding' property, it covers the software action that triggers the bounce-back animation when a user reaches the end of a scrolling document. And the Japan court feels older Samsung handsets infringe upon it...

New photos of alleged iPhone 5S with dual LED flash surface

As the iPhone 5 nears the end of its 12-month life cycle, rumors regarding Apple's next-generation handset are beginning to pick up. It's believed that the phone, which is expected to be called the iPhone 5S, is already in production.

And when devices go into production, it becomes harder to control component leaks. That might explain how the folks who took these two photos got their hands on what appears to be a nearly complete (minus the display) iPhone 5S...