Hasta La Gadget!

This week the Autodesk crew have announced a new collection of apps for the iPad, each of them released under the title “STEAM”. This new term from Autodesk sands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. The education begins with a new Applied Mechanics app, moves on with a Visual Design app, and rolls out with a Measurement app for… well… good measure!

With the Autodesk Digital STEAM Applied Mechanics app, you’ll be using a game-based learning engine to explore energy, work, force, power, loading, and more. With this simple-to-understand set of games, students will be learning both basic principals of applied mechanics as well as simple mechanics along the way.

With the Digital STEAM Visual Design app, students will be exploring the many sides of Industrial Design as well as a more all-encompassing design. You’ll see Elements and Principals split up into basics like Space, Shape, and Color – Balance, Unity, and Proportion. This app is less of a game interface and more of a straight up reading and visual example setup.

The Digital STEAM Measurement app provides students with every single different kind of measurement involved in 2D and 3D objects, showing how their applied to each object that student may be creating or working with. This app and the Design app go hand-in-hand with the Applied Mechanics app to create a suite that’ll be expanding through the future, too!

You can have a peek at the Autodesk Digital STEAM Workshop portal now and check the full Autodesk app suite out today on the iOS Appstore! You’ll be creating masterpieces in no time!

Autodesk Digital STEAM app collection hits the iPad is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple launches a new ad campaign that simultaneously boosts their iPad’s brand image while attacking every other tablet out there. Their new ad campaign features both the iPad and iPad Mini, but the main focus is the “300,000 apps” that are available and optimized for Apple’s tablets. Apple highlights that there is an app out there for every type of consumer, and they have been made to take full advantage of the screen real estate on both iPads.

The first category of apps they feature is titled ‘Ear Opening’ and is meant to be aimed at music lovers. Whether it’s apps to view your favorite music videos, make your own music, or play a variety of music games, it’s all available and optimized for the iPad. The second section is titled ‘Elementary’ and it represents the educational apps in the app store. Not only is it great for teaching kids, but there are several titles that are helpful for adults as well. The ‘Well Versed’ section showcases the literature apps that should enhance both your mind and your vocabulary, and it also features apps that help you read music notes as well. Finally, the last section, titled ‘Mind Watering’, displays all of the apps that appeal to artists or those who love art in general.

300,000 apps optimized for iPads is definitely an impressive feature on Apple’s part. But not only that, Apple’s App Store in general, both apps for the iPhone and iPad, total over 775,000 titles. Apps for the iPad have gone a long way since the launch of the iPad 2, when Steve Jobs made it very apparent how well the iPad tablets compared to its Android competitors. At the time, the iPad had over 65,000 apps optimized for it, while the Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablets only had about 17. And while both tablet app stores have increased in the number of apps optimized for their bigger screens, the iPad is still way ahead of Android.

Another thing brought up by many Android tablet users (and Android haters) is that many of Android’s apps are just stretched to fit the screens of their Android tablets. They also say that the Google Play store search engine could have a better search feature for tablet apps. While the app stretching may not be a big deal for those with a 7-inch tablet, those with a 10-inch tablet definitely notice the difference. Google’s Android tablets have a long ways to go in catching up to the iPad’s capabilities.

[via AppleInsider]

New Apple ad focuses on the 300,000 apps available for the iPad is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Thumbs twitching, in an attempt to get on that new Spotify beta? You might have had a frustrating morning. Multiple users are reporting that when trying to purchase or download apps on their Windows Phone they are instead receiving error code 805a0193. As handy as the code is, there’s no further information about what is causing the problem. Unlike previous issues that seemed more localized, this current instance appears pretty widespread with reports coming from the US, and France amongst others. Are you affected? Let us know in the comments. In the meantime we’ve contacted Microsoft to see what’s up.

[Thanks to all who sent this in]

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft

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We got to see a lot of funny and great commercials during the Super Bowl last night, including a short teaser for Star Trek: Into Darkness. However, at the end of the trailer, you’ll notice that the link to the official app uses a new AppStore.com vanity URL, which is the first time we’ve seen such a thing in public.

A document from Apple’s developer webpage was released last week talking about the new shorter URLs, but this is the first time we’ve seen it in action. Going to AppStore.com/StarTrekApp will take you to the app’s page in the app store, instead of using the longer URL form that involved a bunch of numbers that no one would be able to remember.

The vanity URLs will be able to allow developers to create shorter links for developer app pages, as well as landing pages for both iOS and Mac apps. These new URLs will no doubt increase the exposure that developers give their apps. In the past, promotors would simply display a banner or icon that said to look for the app in the App Store, but now they can add in a direct link, which will certainly increase the exposure of the app.

If you’re up for a little history lesson, the late Steve Jobs actually acquired the AppStore.com domain from Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff as a personal gift in 2008 after the iTunes App Store was officially announced. And not like it’s a huge surprise or anything, but the Cupertino-based company and Amazon are currently in a legal battle over the “app store” name, in which the court ruled that it was a general term and was not to be trademarked.

[via CNET]

AppStore.com vanity URLs teased during Star Trek teaser is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you’re not familiar with the legal battle between Apple and Amazon, the two companies have been fighting over the term “app store” for quite some time now, and they have a trial date set for August 19 later this year. However, the judge presiding over the case has ordered the two companies to talk it out first before heading into the court room.

According to Bloomberg, representatives and lawyers from both companies will be required to meet on March 21 in order to attempt to reach a settlement. And while both sides could end up just going ’round and ’round, the judge has strictly enforced that “no participant in the settlement conference will be permitted to leave the settlement conference before it is concluded.”

Of course, it’s very likely that a settlement won’t be reached. Apple and Amazon have been battling over use of the “app store” term for almost two years now. Apple says that Amazon has inappropriately used its App Store name to promote the Amazon Appstore, and the Cupertino-based company says it’s their trademarked name, while Amazon argues that it’s a generic term.

Recently, however, the court dismissed Apple’s claim that Amazon’s use of the term was false advertising, but the larger infringement case is still set to occur later this year. So while Apple and Amazon will be forced to meet in a conference room to discuss their differences, we’re not sure how it will turn out exactly — stay tuned until late March when the two companies face one another.

[via Bloomberg]

Apple and Amazon ordered to meet over App Store court case is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.