By now, you should know the name PopCap Games as they’ve released some truly addictive game experiences in recent years, such as Peggle and Plants vs. Zombies. Another one of their addictive titles that has yet to make its way across multiple platforms is its Facebook-only game, Solitaire Blitz. That all changes this week as PopCap is announcing the game is now available on iOS.
Yes – this pretty much is a game of solitaire, but it certainly has a PopCap Games twist to it as you’ll be able to play any number card that will hit into the solitaire pile, regardless of the suit of the card. This helps in making the game fast paced, which is entirely the point as you’ll only have a little over a minute to complete your game. (more…)
The look and feel of iOS has remained largely unchanged since its unveiling in June 2007, which has led some to decry that the platform is stale, or worse, that Apple isn’t innovating as quickly as its competitors. While that’s …
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
As you begin juggling more and more devices in your daily life, running all of your text and picture messages through your smartphone can become a real chore. To help subscribers keep up with the times, Verizon Wireless has introduced a unified messaging solution known as Verizon Messages, and unlike services like Google Voice, it works through your primary number. The free service is accessible via Android smartphones and tablets, iOS tablets (but not the iPhone) and an online web app, which keeps all messages in sync and stored in the cloud for up to 90 days. As another nice touch, the app offers an auto-reply feature for times when you need to disconnect, and it also allows you to archive messages to an SD card. You’ll need to enable the service within your Verizon account, but for a peek of the new Verizon Messages, just hop the break for a video tour.
When Scott Forstall was pushed out of Apple it was said that this would usher in increased collaboration between the company’s hardware, software and services teams. His responsibilities were divided between Jony Ive, Bob Mansfield, Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi. According to a new report, this collaboration may result in a new iOS visual design. It is said that before this management shakeup software teams would be kept out of the loop by the industrial design team and that they would use their own secret software team for work on prototypes. The report suggests that Apple’s software a.k.a human interface team is now briefed on prototype devices earlier. On the other hand Jony Ive is now present at the mobile software’s review sessions and gives his input on new designs. The atmosphere of these sessions has been described as cordial, despite the fact that the leads of these two teams have very different personalities.
There’s been few Apple iOS apps that have garnered more complaints than the company’s Podcasts app (outside of Maps, at least), and it looks like it’s now finally taken some of those criticisms into consideration with the latest update (version 1.2). That includes the overly-stylized design, which has been ditched in favor of a simpler approach that’s more in line with the iTunes app (including a far more basic player interface). Along with those changes come some new features like custom stations, which are each stored in iCloud and updated automatically, and so-called On-The-Go playlists that’ll let you load up any individual episodes you like. You can find the app itself and the full list of changes now in the App Store.
The influence and cash flow Apple has right this minute may be squarely to blame for both Samsung‘s continued use of plastic to construct the GALAXY S 4 and HTC‘s trouble getting supply line at full speed for the HTC One. When you consider the vast number of products Apple creates that use large amounts of aluminum, you’ll find that the company is really rather invested in keeping their supply of this building block in order. When you consider the must-win situation HTC has with their new HTC One device, you’ll know how nervous they must be if their rumored supplier status downgrade is, indeed, a reality.
To create a massively successful device, you’ve got to be able to create enough supply to equal said device’s demand. While marketing is vastly important when it comes to creating a value proposition for prospective buyers of your product, it’s all for naught if you don’t have that product out on store shelves to sell.
Such is HTC’s dilemma right this minute.
As we’ve discussed previously, Samsung’s advertising budget (marked at $401 million in 2012 alone vs HTC’s measly $46 million) is set to play a major role in the upcoming battle between the GALAXY S 4 and the HTC One. It’s not because of a superior product that the Samsung device will be more visible in the media. HTC is currently placing a lot of hope in viral marketing and direct shout-outs at Samsung, hoping consumers will then make an informed decision based solely on device quality. Not that one device is necessarily better than the other, but HTC is likely considering this a good strategy in the face of Samsung’s continued torrential advertising downpour.
But what if I told you it was possible for Apple to (indirectly) control the components of these two devices as they go to war with one another?
Consider the amount of devices Apple sells that contain aluminum as a crucial part of their hardware. The most recent quarterly sales report has Apple shipping the following:
47.8 million iPhones 22.9 million iPads 4.1 million Macs 12.7 million iPods = 87.5 million Apple devices that require aluminum parts in their fiscal Q1 2013
According to Strategy Analytics, Samsung shipped 15.4 million Galaxy S III units through the fourth quarter of 2012. It’s not as if Samsung is hurting for cash, and it’s important to note that this is just one of several Galaxy-branded smartphones on the market (Strategy Analytics put Apple’s iPhone 5 specifically at 27.4 million units shipped in the same quarter). But when you’re up against Apple, a company with enough cash and high enough status with suppliers to potentially buy out entire supply lines of certain components, such concerns can potentially have a very real effect on your industrial design choices.
HTC simply does not have the same status with parts suppliers that Apple does. With or without the rumor linked above being true, HTC’s financial situation (when compared to Apple’s) simply does not add up to tier-one priority for suppliers. For HTC, the problem rests squarely in their choice between two evils:
1. Making a product with choice components and possible supply troubles. 2. Creating a sub-par product with no supply problems at all.
No matter how awesome your product is, you still need the parts to build it before you can bring it to market and sell it.
Will we see the HTC One in stores soon? We sure hope so. Will it be delivered early enough to take a firm grasp of the hype created by HTC here not too long after it’s initial reveal? We shall see!
And will Samsung make an aluminum smartphone any time soon? Though this supply war certainly isn’t the only factor involved in this decision-making process, a metal phone coming from Samsung is still unlikely. Do you create a device that sells 50 million units then follow up with something all new?
This week the iKit NuCharge iPhone 5 replaceable battery pack case (complete with Lightning connector) will reach its final few days of stay on Kickstarter – so we thought we’d have a go at working with one for your full preview! What you’re seeing here is the first iPhone 5 case that also works with an interchangeable 1900 mAh battery pack. It comes in a variety of colors (eventually) and offers unobstructed view of your camera, microphone, and speakers as well.
You’ll be able to work with a clear or tinted case base – that’s the part that clamps around your iPhone 5. Then you’ve got the option of working with a white or black battery pack OR any of a variety of Pantone-colored case covers. This case cover sits on the back of the case while you’re not using the battery, if you like: we’ve opted to keep the battery connected on-the-go.
The Lightning connector is made with some rather excellent and durable TPE material, being just long enough to fit down into the iPhone 5 without being obtrusive. The battery pack itself is recharged the same way you’d charge any of a number of non-Apple mobile products: with a simple microUSB cord (also included in the pack.)
Since the case bit of this amalgamation does not obstruct our view or use of any of the buttons or ports on the iPhone itself, it certainly gets a thumbs up from us there. As far as the battery itself goes – it works exactly as you’d expect it to. Charge it up, leave it on the back of your iPhone or in your pocket, and connect it when you need it.
BONUS: There’s a kickstand built-in to the battery pack. This kickstand will be a reinforced aluminum in the final model (ours is an early edition), and you’ll find a full list of changes and improvements pre-release right over at the Kickstarter page itself.
With an additional 1900 mAh of battery power at your disposal you’ll have a tough time not getting through the day with your iPhone 5 on the power you’ve got immediately handy. This case starts at a $59 price point if you’re over at Kickstater before the end of the crowdfunding venture, and final case shipments start in early April.
Yesterday, we reported that the Department of Defense was rumored to be ordering 650,000 iOS devices in order to ditch BlackBerry. It’s actually been reported for the last several weeks that the Department of Defense was aiming their sites on iOS instead of BlackBerry. However, the government agency has spoken, and has denied that they’re ditching BlackBerry for another platform.
Department of Defense spokesperson Lt. Col. Damien Pickart said that the recent reporting of the DoD dropping BlackBerry in favor of iOS “is in error.” Furthermore, Pickart notes that the DoD’s mobility strategy and supporting implementation plan states that the department is “moving towards a mobile management capability that supports a variety of devices, to include BlackBerry.”
UPDATE: BlackBerry has sent an official statement on the matter –
BlackBerry Statement
Our work with the U.S. Department of Defense is going well and the U.S. Department of Defense is moving forward with testing of BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 and the new BlackBerry Z10 smartphone. We are currently working with the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and anticipate Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIG) and Security Requirement Guide (SRG) approval for the BlackBerry Device Service, BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry PlayBook by early April. BlackBerry was the first to go through the new SRG process by the Defense Department and will be the first to successfully come out of it.
The Department of Defense was rumored to be ordering 650,000 iOS devices, which matches up with the approximate 600,000 devices currently being used by DoD employees. However, Pickart said that he is not aware of any plans to place that large of an order for iOS devices, saying that he is “unfamiliar with the figures quoted” in various reports.
Pickart notes that the Department of Defense’s mobile plan consists of including multiple platforms, including BlackBerry and iOS, as well as Android possibly. Currently, Pickart says that the department supports over 600,000 mobile devices, including 470,000 BlackBerry devices, 41,000 iOS devices, and 8,700 Android devices.
Today Apple has updated their environmental page collection and have issued a new Facilities report, showing that at this point in history, global corporate facilities inside the Apple family are at a whopping 75% renewable energy use. Apple also reports that many of their facilities are running on 100% renewable energy, including data centers in Newark, CA, Prineville, OR, and Maiden, NC. These bits and pieces are part of a report that, on the whole, shows Apple to be heading directly toward a fully renewable energy future – one we’d all like to be a part of.
According to the report released this week, Apple has increased the renewable energy use at Apple corporate facilities worldwide by 114% between fiscal 2010 and 2012. Over the last three years, Apple’s now-75% global corporate facilities using has risen rapidly from the 35% it was three years ago. One example Apple is using as a key location where they’ve made significant progress is in Maiden, North Carolina.
Above: The nation’s largest end user-owned solar photovoltaic array providing renewable energy to Apple’s data center in Maiden, North Carolina.
Apple notes that their data center in Maiden is the only data center facility of its size and type to have earned full LEED Platinum certification. According to Apple, they’ve implemented the following in their Maiden data center location for the furtherance of energy efficiency and green building:
• A chilled water storage system to improve chiller efficiency by transferring 10,400 kWh of electricity consumption from peak to off-peak hours each day • Use of “free” outside air cooling through a waterside economizer operation during night and cool-weather hours, which, along with water storage, allows the chillers to be turned off more than 75 percent of the time • Extreme precision in managing cooling distribution for cold-air containment pods, with variable-speed fans controlled to exactly match air flow to server requirements from moment to moment • Power distributed at higher voltages, which increases efficiency by reducing power loss • White cool-roof design to provide maximum solar reflectivity • High-efficiency LED lighting combined with motion sensors • Real-time power monitoring and analytics during operations • Construction processes that utilized 14 percent recycled materials, diverted 93 percent of construction waste from landfills, and sourced 41 percent of purchased materials within 500 miles of the site
It would appear that Apple is moving in the right direction when it comes to environmental and “green thinking” concerns, especially when you compare the raw numbers they present. The one significant up-turn that can be seen in their fiscal 2012 report is in electricity usage by business unit, with their Corporate segment staying essentially equal to fiscal 2011 while both Data Centers and Retail Stores, moving from 138 million kWh to 217 million kWh for the former and 122 to 159 for the latter.
Apple has also reported that the commute their employees take on the way to work has continued to decrease both for worldwide employees and for intercampus employees. Apple offered a transit subsidy for U.S. employees in fiscal 2012 that offered employees up to $100 USD a month for carpooling, also offering them special carpooling parking spots as a bonus. Over 11,000 Apple employees took part in this program in 2012.
This report also shows that Apple has achieved the fabulous 100% renewable energy usage goal in the following locations: Austin, Texas; Elk Grove, California; Cork, Ireland; Munich, Germany – and most Apple facilities across Australia. Apple’s Infinite Loop location in Cupertino also, of course, runs on 100% renewable energy at this time.
Head in to our massive Apple hub right this minute to get more information on the goings-on in the Apple universe and stay tuned as the 2013 product range comes raining down over the next few months – we’ll let you in on it all from top to bottom! Also make sure you have a peek at Apple’s Environment Pages to see what they’re up to in the green universe.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
