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German court says Apple’s customer data-sharing policies violate privacy laws

Cody Lee ∙ May 7, 2013

While Apple has been praised for its security efforts in iOS, it does not get the same applause for its privacy policies. The company is currently involved in a US-based lawsuit over its information-sharing practices, and today, a German court ruled against it.

This morning, the Berlin Regional Court in Germany ruled that Apple's sharing of customer data violates its privacy laws. It said that Apple cannot request "global consent" for use of a customer’s data without telling them where and how the data will be used...

RunKeeper gains Pebble smartwatch integration

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 7, 2013

RunKeeper, the popular mobile fitness and GPS tracking app, received an update Tuesday which allows for some interesting Pebble smartwatch features. Thanks to deep integration with the Bluetooth Smart-enabled E-paper wrist device, RunKeeper users can keep track of their workout stats on their Pebble.

This includes the stuff like displaying elapsed time, distance and pace or using the wrist device to pause and resume RunKeeper. The application also supports an additional seven languages and includes the obligatory bug fixes.

RunKeeper also said future updates will enable even deeper Pebble integration. I've included a nice promotional video and more details for you, right past the fold...

Apple patents smart audio splitter

Ed Sutherland ∙ May 7, 2013

Many of us have shared a pair of earbuds with a friend. The problem crops up when you enjoy rocking out at max volume while your friend enjoys a more modest audio level. Enter Apple with what's essentially an intelligent audio splitter.

Instead of enduring the default sound level of the iPhone or iPod, an adapter envisioned by Apple would allow you to customize your individual audio, according to a patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Tuesday.

Additionally, the headphone splitter would permit two people to use built-in mics to speak over the soundtrack, opening up some wild possibilities with gaming...

Apple manufacturer Foxconn looks past iPhone, anticipates iTV orders

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 7, 2013

Hon Hai Precision Industry - better known in the Western world as Foxconn - is the world's top manufacturer of consumer electronics. And with Apple products - the iPhone in particular - accounting for at least 40 percent of its revenue, the contract manufacturer's fortunes are tied to Apple's.

Needles to say, the company's leadership never complained about relying on Apple so much as long as sales were growing substantially. But with Apple's growth cooling off amid a broader sales lull affecting pricey high-end smartphones like the iPhone, Foxconn is now looking to lessen its exposure on the Apple smartphone and is apparently gearing up for a mass-scale production of an Apple-branded television set, the rumored iTV...

Viber hits desktop, iOS app gains video chat, live call transfer, new stickers and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 7, 2013

Viber, the popular instant messaging service and WhatsApp's chief rival, has fallen behind a bit in the past year or so. Not only did WhatsApp take the lead - the service claims to handle an astounding eighteen billion messages every day - but the search monster Google is getting ready to unify its many chat services under a new Bable IM brand.

Small wonder then that Viber in a major move on Tuesday announced a brand new desktop application for Mac and Windows PCs. Available as a free download from the Viber's web site, Viber for Mac lets you send free messages as well as make free calls to other Viber users.

The much-welcomed software release now enables one to keep their communication in sync across mobile and desktop devices because in addition to desktop, Viber is now available on iOS, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, Nokia and Bada platforms.

Moreover, Viber - which was founded by American-Israeli entrepreneur Talmon Marco - has revamped its mobile iOS/Android client with video messages, an improved voice engine said to help improve call quality and lots more. Go past the fold for an introductory video and more tidbits...

Rovio rolls out cloud Account to sync your game progress across devices

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 9, 2016

You know what has been ticking me off for ages? That we're living in the 21st century and yet the vast majority of mobile games won't save progress in the cloud. Think about it: gamers spend hours playing a title only to lose all their progress after removing the game from their device. There has got to be a better way to keep those game saves in sync.

Showing signs of progress, several major developers have already implemented - or are implementing - their own solution to the problem. For example, Japanese games developer DeNA (formerly ngmoco) has just re-released classic iOS block-stacking game Topple with the newly implemented support for Mobage social game network that stores your progress and keeps it synchronized across devices.

Angry Birds maker Rovio is also among the devs who dare to think different. On Tuesday, the Finnish games maker rolled out its own cloud-based Rovio Account which lets you store your game progress and continue playing on another device...

Tigris & Euphrates turns your iPad into an empire

Lory Gil ∙ May 7, 2013

As a self-proclaimed board game fanatic, I feel compelled to seek out every digital version of my favorite games, as well as ones that I’ve never played. Sometimes, a low-priced digital board game will prompt me to spend the big bucks on the real deal.

Reiner Knizia’s Tigris & Euphrates is an empire building board game that uses tile placement as a means to take over a kingdom. This is one of those games I’ve seen on the shelf at my favorite board game store, but never had a chance to play. If the physical version is anything like the digital, I’m in…

Ngmoco’s classic iOS game Topple 2 makes a comeback on the App Store

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

Ngmoco (short for "Next Generation Mobile Company) used to be my favorite iPhone developer, their classic games like Rolando and Topple defining the golden age of iOS gaming.

The Tetris-like Topple with its physics-based twist is particularly interesting: the game has you balancing and stacking playful blocks using multitouch and accelerometer controls.

After a long hiatus, the sequel to Topple, Topple 2, has been revived from the archive and re-released on the App Store. The new version, in addition to supporting the iPhone 5's taller screen, includes 30 levels scattered across six new worlds, while enhancing the experience with four new game modes, head-to-head multiplayer, Mobage social game network support for online leaderboard, game progress synchronization across devices and more...

How to turn on vision accessibility features in iOS

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 13, 2016

Touch screen devices like Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, are not particularly usable for visually impaired people. If you are blind, or simply have a difficult time seeing the small images and texts on the screen, iOS devices are effectively useless.

Apple has worked to make their touch screen products usable for those with impaired vision. Apple’s accessibility features offer a variety of options for vision including VoiceOver, zoom, inverted colors, and more. We have a basic tutorial for activating these features, plus an explanation of what each one does…

Apple widens net on discovery app crackdown

Cody Lee ∙ May 7, 2013

Apple's removal of AppGratis last month sent a clear message to developers that it's going to start clamping down on app discovery apps. That was the second time in the past six months that it had pulled such an app from the App Store.

And it doesn't look like it's going to stop with just app discovery apps either. According to a new report, Apple has begun rejecting third-party applications that allow you to filter, bookmark, search for, or share App Store apps as well...

Facebook Messenger updated with Stickers, swipe-to-delete

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 6, 2013

The social networking giant Facebook today issued an update to its standalone Messenger app for the iPhone and iPod touch. Facebook Messenger version 2.4, available now, has brought out the popular Stickers feature that was rolled out nearly a month ago in the major Facebook iOS client update. And if Stickers are getting on your nerves, perhaps the reappearance of the swipe-to-delete functionality is just what you needed all along? I've included a few more tidbits right below...

PopCap reveals Plants vs. Zombies 2 coming in July

Cody Lee ∙ May 6, 2013

Good news Plants vs. Zombies fans! Seattle-based game publisher PopCap revealed today that there is a sequel to the game in the works. The team released a video teaser earlier today, announcing that the highly-anticipated title will debut this summer.

Although sought-after on all major consoles, Plants vs. Zombies has been particularly popular on iOS since it landed on the mobile platform in 2010. In fact, Apple says it ranks #12 for all-time paid iPhone apps. Now here, check out the teaser for version 2...