Android – Iphone – Applications

November 26 is a dangerous yet thrilling day to be an American shopper, as it marks Black Friday. As US consumers know, the day after Thanksgiving is typically when retailers offer their biggest sales and best incentives in the hope of kicking the holiday shopping season off with a bang. Further complicating an already hectic day is the fact that if you’re looking to buy an iPad or iPhone for a loved one then you’d best make the Apple Store or another electronics retailer your first stop, as they’re poised to go fast.

According to a survey conducted by BlackFriday.com, the iPad is the most sought after holiday gift this year, and the iPhone comes in third. That means that if you’re looking to buy either item then you might want to go ahead and get in line at your local Best Buy right now, because both are likely to be sold out about ten minutes after the store opens on November 26 and then remain MIA through New Year’s. The upside to all this is that the iPod Touch isn’t in the top 10 list of most-wanted items (it lands at number 11), so while all the other crazed shoppers are fighting over the other iOS devices you should be able to snap up an iPod with minimal fuss.

What’s most surprising about the Black Friday predictions in general is just how tech-centric they are. Every item in the top 15 is some sort of gadget or gizmo, and nearly 60 percent of survey respondents said they wanted some form of electronics as a holiday gift. In fact, tech dominates the list, with most folks saying that they want things with microchips inside them under the Christmas tree this year. And remember, this isn’t some tech site running the survey, but rather a general interest website which is devoted solely to helping people find good sales. In other words, its target market is the average American consumer, and it seems that such consumers really want iPads and iPhones. Looks like Apple is shaping up to have a very happy holiday season.

[via BlackFriday.com]

[ iPad and iPhone Top Black Friday Lists is a post from 148Apps ]

written by husain \\ tags: black-friday, electronics, ipad, Iphone, ipod, year

One of the main compliments typically paid to Apple is that the company does a great job of making sleek, attractive hardware that is generally easy to use. That’s why it’s such a surprise how badly the company has flubbed past attempts at creating first-party Bluetooth headsets for the iOS market. It seems that won’t be an issue much longer though, as a recent acquisition should allow Apple to grow much more competitive in the Bluetooth market.

The company has apparently bought Wi-Gear, a small, San Francisco based Bluetooth headset manufacturer which specialized in iOS devices. Wi-Gear created the iMuffs style of headsets as well as releasing a Bluetooth 2.0 adapter which allowed older model iPhones and iPods to play nice with newer gear. Now it seems that the company will begin creating Apple-branded headsets which will become the “official” Bluetooth devices for iOS machines (and possibly Mac as well). As of yet no firm timetable has been set for Wi-Gear’s first official Apple product.

With an arrangement such as this the sky is the limit for iOS Bluetooth integration. With a new company brought in specifically to handle this aspect of the business, we may finally see Apple fully embrace the technology, which will be a huge boon to business consumers and those who prefer a hands-free setup. While the iPhone has always supported Bluetooth, making it a focus will likely be a net gain by improving functionality and building features with Bluetooth support in mind. Also, could this mean that future iPhones may even come with an official Apple Bluetooth headset? At this point it’s just wishful thinking, but such a pack-in would definitely be welcomed by many consumers.

We’ll keep an eye out for any official product announcements from Wi-Gear. We’ve got our iMuffs plugged into our ears and await their call with more official info.

[via 9to5Mac]

[ Apple Reentering Bluetooth Arena is a post from 148Apps ]

written by janyton \\ tags: Apple, apple-bluetooth, apple-branded, Bluetooth, bluetooth-arena, business, first-official, imuffs, Iphone, ipod, the-technology, typically-paid, wi-gear

Bang and Olufsen come out with a lot of gourmet electronics in the past, such as the Ear Set 2, Ear Set 3, and the Samsung Serenata. They have just unveiled this massive iPad dock, with huge cone-shaped speakers (yes, they are cones and not circles). It will also accept the iPod or anything else [...]

written by margs \\ tags: accept-the-ipod, accessories, Apple, b and o, bang and olufsen, come-out, gourmet-electronics, ipad dock, ipad docking station, ipod, not-circles, olufsen, past, samsung, the-past

There are many games in the App Store offer a quick, casual experience, and very few which offer any sort of true depth and complexity. Furthermore, of those which do try and take a more thorough approach, many end up as a convoluted mess that can be more of a chore to a play than a joy. This isn’t the case with Demon Hunter – The Return of the Wings, which is not only a visually impressive game, but an incredibly fulfilling RPG.

The game is controlled via onscreen buttons, which work well for the most part. Different combinations create different attacks, and a robust magic and skill system gives you plenty of ways to lay the smack down on enemies. The branching skill tree and diverse abilities offer also ensure that you’ll be able to craft a character just the way you want it, which is a huge plus in the eyes of most RPG gamers.

Demon Hunter is also a visually striking game, evoking memories of the Neo Geo. The rich colors and detailed environments are quite memorable, and it’s clear the developers put a lot of effort into making sure the game looked great on iOS machines.

One area where focus was sorely lacking in development was apparently on the translation, which is a mess of broken English and missing words. The whole thing was lazily localized, feeling like someone ran the text through Google Translate and even then left out some words. While we’re willing to forgive a few issues when English isn’t a developer’s first language, the amount of mistakes in Demon Hunter is inexcusable. Hopefully one of the future updates to the game will include a properly translated script, because while it’s kind of funny to catch an error or two early on, as it stands right now the game’s constant assault on the language is irritating and borderline offensive.

Those who can work through the localization issues will likely be very pleased with Demon Hunter. This is a fully fleshed-out RPG which would be right at home on a traditional console or handheld gaming device, but is instead available for your iOS machine. While there are definitely a few issues, the game -minus the script issues – is really rather impressive.

[ Demon Hunter Review is a post from 148Apps ]

written by gunturbabu \\ tags: bicore, demon, demon hunter, developers, down-on-enemies, Game, Iphone, iphone apps and games, ipod, overall-rating, price, rating

I’ve had a chance to try out the iMuffs before by Wi-Gear, and the wireless headphones worked out pretty well with my iPod. For some odd reason, Apple has acquired Wi-Gear and bought the company’s tech. Perhaps Apple wants to put its name on some serious Bluetooth headsets, and corner a new market. Why not? [...]

written by tanloc2t \\ tags: Apple, Bluetooth, imuffs, ipod, name-on-some, perhaps-apple, pretty-well, put-its, some-odd, some-serious, wi-gear, wireless, worked-out