Hasta La Gadget!

Is the self-proclaimed King of All Media ready to jump ship yet again? According to a tweet from a Sirius stock Twitter account, Howard Stern is ready to abandon satellite radio in favor of contract with iTunes,

Howard Stern on the verge of signing $600 million 3 year agreement with Apple to host an Internet/TV/iTunes broadcast.

Stern’s contract with Sirius is up in January of 2011, and the shock jock hasn’t announced where he intends to land after that time period. An exclusivity contract with iTunes seems like an odd fit–though staying off of terrestrial radio would certainly help him continue to run his mouth outside of the watchful gaze of the FCC.

But it’s hard to take too much stock in such a high priced rumor–after all, the aforementioned Twitter account doesn’t appear to have any formal conection to Sirius–and if did, it likely wouldn’t announce the department of one of the country’s best known radio personalities, right?

The iOS App Store might already have its fair share of addictive and compelling games on offer, but when John Carmack comes calling with his latest megatextured shoot-em-up, you’ve got to sit up and pay attention. Rage HD: Mutant Bash TV isn’t so much a full-fledged game in its own right as it is a teaser for the forthcoming Rage FPS for the PC, and yet even in its pretty limited running time, it managed to woo and thrill us with its visceral gameplay and arresting visuals. It’s easily the best-looking game we’ve yet seen on a mobile device and provides a fine demonstration of just how far Apple’s hardware — on the iPhone 4, iPad, and fourth-gen iPod touch — can be pushed when some appropriately adroit hands are at the graphical controls. But, of course, games are supposed to be fun to play, not just to look at, so why not join us after the break to see how well Rage HD handles its mutant-bashing duties?

Continue reading Rage HD review (iPhone)

Rage HD review (iPhone) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  iTunes  | Email this | Comments

Though the FiOS Football app for iPad only showed up on the App Store for a short time a couple of weeks ago, it was long enough for us to fall in love with having access to RedZone Channel video and stats in our laps while keeping the TV tuned to one key game. Assuming one is at home in front of their FiOS TV with an iPad and a subscription to the Redzone Channel (a remarkably specific set of circumstances, we must admit), it’s hard to imagine a better companion on football Sundays that doesn’t come with an unending reserve of one’s favorite adult beverage on tap. Check out our hands-on for more screenshots and impressions or hit the source links for Verizon’s FAQ and the official iTunes page.

[Thanks, Michael]

Verizon’s RedZone Channel-streaming FiOS Football app for iPad shows up on iTunes (again) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Nov 2010 10:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Verizon FAQ, iTunes  | Email this | Comments

Yesterday…yesterday Apple told the world about its big new
announcement. And today? Today it’s all about the Beatles. The Fab Four
dominated the front page of the iTunes music store, with  their full catalog (Abbey
Road, Help, Let it Be, Sergeant Pepper’s, et al.),
a giant full-catalog box set, concert footage,  new Apple ads, and more.

The Beatles catalog has long been a huge missing link in
Apple’s online music offering, thanks in no small part to a long-time naming
dispute between Apple Inc. and the band’s own Apple Corps Ltd. Record label/corporation.

The records are priced at $12.99 for single discs and
$19.99 for double discs (The White Album, et al.) The Beatles Box Set features
all of the band’s studio albums and the Past Masters collection for $149.99.

Update 10 AM: Apple now has more information about the new musical additions, including TV spots.

We’re still holding out hope for a cloud-based subscription service to make that full-page teaser on Apple.com seem worthwhile, but it looks like today’s unforgettable iTunes announcement will indeed just be the arrival of the Beatles to the store — the Fab Four’s page just went live, about 20 minutes before the official announcement. It looks like the entire catalog is available in a $149 box set complete with iTunes LP content, and there’s also a few videos for your enjoyment. We’re sure some of you are super-stoked about being able to buy this stuff in yet another format — and we’re glad Steve and Yoko worked it out — but unless something else happens today we’re feeling like we just witnessed a lot of empty hype.

Update: Yep, it’s official — the Beatles are on iTunes. No streaming announcement, no subscription service. Apple’s given its entire front page over to a full-size shot of the boys, and as a bonus the “Live at the Washington Coliseum, 1964” video will stream for free for the rest of the year. Ringo, can you sum this up for us?

“I am particularly glad to no longer be asked when the Beatles are coming to iTunes,” said Ringo Starr.

You were always our favorite, Rings. PR after the break, along with a screencap of Apple.com for posterity.

Continue reading The Beatles show up in iTunes

The Beatles show up in iTunes originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 09:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Apple  | Email this | Comments