Apple

Apple sends out invites for September 9 event: “wish we could say more”

As previously suspected, Apple will be indeed holding a major media event on September 9, 2014. As confirmed by multiple outlets, the company Thursday morning started sending out invites for the event which is scheduled to kick off on Tuesday, September 9 at 10:00am.

In years past, Apple would typically hold media events at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco or at its corporate campus in Cupertino, California.

Curiously enough, this time around the firm has invited select members of the press to gather at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts in Cupertino.

New reports suggest only more expensive 4.7-inch iPhone 6 to be unveiled next month

Apple this morning sent out invitations for a media event on September 9th, where the company is expected to unveil the iPhone 6 and a new wearable device. We've heard conflicting theories on whether or not we'll see one or two new handsets on stage, but a new report out this afternoon suggests the former.

According to website GforGames, "informed sources" are telling Chinese media outlets that only the 4.7-inch version of the iPhone 6 will make an appearance at the event, alongside a new 5s model with 8GB of storage. Apparently the larger 5.5-inch iPhone will make its debut later this year in limited quantities.

Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Apple has named Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage it's App of the Week for this week. This means that from now through next Thursday, you’ll be able to pick up the popular game for both iPhone and iPad for free—a decent savings of $1.

For those who aren't familiar with the game, it was created by Angry Birds hit-maker Rovio Entertainment and Nitrome. It's essentially a Cut The Rope-style physics-based puzzler, which has you rescuing vikings from blocks of ice.

Poll: is Apple wearable going to unmask itself come September 9?

With Apple's September 9 event now official, the speculation game can begin, again.

And with a rumored Apple wearable device ostensibly in tow for the big reveal alongside a pair of new iPhones — or that's at least what Re/code's John Paczkowski has learned from sources — the time is right to hear your thoughts on the matter.

So, is Apple going to announce a wearable device at the event, do you think? Context: an “Apple wearable” may not necessarily stand for a “smartwatch” per se — or denote an ”iWatch” at all, as the media has tentatively dubbed the elusive wrist-worn gizmo.

Go ahead, cast your vote after the break and then join us in comments for a healthy discussion from some wildly different perspectives, hopefully.

Minuum previews its height-changing keyboard for iOS 8

Popular Android keyboard developer Minuum has finally previewed its keyboard coming to iOS 8 this fall. It's not like other third-party keyboards we've seen thus far, instead, it transforms from a standard full-scale QWERTY keyboard with autocorrect and then fades away to take up only half of your visible screen.

CloudApp for Mac updated with quick screen recording, Google App support

The folks behind CloudApp released a big update for the service on Thursday, making it easier for users and companies to quickly share links, photo, texts and more from a Mac. The update is being labeled version 3.0, and brings CloudApp Motion, CloudApp for Teams, updated Pro plans, Google Apps support, and an embedded video and audio player into the mix. 

Groupon offering $15 iTunes Gift Cards for $10

The popular deal-of-the-day website, Groupon, on Thursday started offering $15 iTunes Gift Cards for just $10, representing a cool 33 percent saving on Mac and iOS apps, movies, television shows, books and other items sold on the iTunes Store, the App Store, the iBooks Store and the Mac App Store.

The offer is available on the Groupon website here and limited to one per person. Quantities are limited so better hurry up and grab your $15 iTunes Gift Card with a 33 percent discount now before it's too late.

IMDb pulls ‘On DVD/Blu-ray’ pages and external links, adds showtimes refinements

IMDb, an Amazon-owned online database of information related to films, television programs and video games, has a nice iPhone and iPad app. As of today, it's become a tad more useful while also retiring a pair of handy features.

Now bumped to version 4.4, the refreshed software makes a few unexpected changes to the experience. First up, the 'On DVD/Blu-ray' pages have been removed completely because the data source the app was using "wasn’t up to snuff".

Moreover, outgoing IMDb.com links from the app's title and name pages have fallen victim of Apple's app submission guidelines and will be no longer available within the app going forward.

Other changes in this version are outlined after the break.

Wired: iPhone will have NFC chip and feature its own payment platform

According to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Wired, the rumors were in fact true as the next iPhone is reportedly going to have a Near-Field Communication (NFC) circuitry and feature an Apple-branded payment platform.

Apple's contactless mobile payment solution is being described in the report as "one of the hallmark features" of the iPhone 6 when the device is unveiled on September 9 (alongside a rumored Apple wearable device).

"We’re told the solution will involve NFC," reads the report.

For what it's worth, the reliable John Paczkowski of Re/code has “been hearing the same” about the NFC-enabled iPhone 6.

Recent leaks of purported iPhone 6 components have indicated that the forthcoming smartphone could indeed be outfitted with an NFC chip by a semiconductor company called NXP, which currently supplies the M7 motion coprocessor for the latest iOS devices.

Quora releases iPad app, introduces rich-text editor and revamped look

Quora this morning refreshed its useful iPhone app with some new features while revamping its look and adding the native iPad interface to the experience.

Previously an iPhone and iPod touch only affair, the new Quora 4.0, available free in the App Store, is at last a universal binary so it supports natively any iPhone, iPod touch and iPad compatible with iOS 7.0 or later.

Quora, for those unfamiliar with it, is a popular question-and-answer website where folks submit questions on a wide range of topics and get answers from like-minded users.

No going back: Walking Dead: The Game — Season 2 finale now available

Nearly nine months following its December 2013 debut, The Walking Dead: The Game — Season 2 by Telltale Games has reached its gripping conclusion with the release of the final chapter in the five-episode series.

It's titled “No Going Back” and available right now as a $4.99 In-App Purchase within the Walking Dead game, itself priced at $4.99.

For those unfamiliar with Walking Dead: The Game, it's based on the namesake comic book series by the Eisner Award-winning writer Robert Kirkman. The iOS title follows the story of Clementine, a young girl orphaned by the undead apocalypse.

The penultimate episode titled “Amid the Ruins” became available a month ago, introducing new twists to the story of Clementine (with a cliffhanger ending).