Rhythm gamers who hate leaving their plastic instruments behind when they leave the house will be pleased to hear that Rock Band Reloaded is now available on the App Store. The game features 29 new songs from the likes of Billy Idol, Nirvana and the Steve Miller band, as well as several new gameplay features and enhancements. It would seem the time has come to once again take the rock on the road.
Of the new features the one with the most potential (and the most potential embarrassment) is vocal recognition which will let you sing along with the songs. Much like its console brethren, Reloaded will score your performance based on how closely your pitch matches that of the song. Don’t worry if you don’t know the words, the game only cares that you’re hitting the right notes, not saying the right thing. Other new features include a landscape mode so you can play the game horizontally and a new Expert difficulty setting.
While we’re happy to see a new Rock Band on iOS we can’t help but feel a little underwhelmed by the set list. Even though Reloaded packs more songs than last year’s edition and a bunch more than Guitar Hero, most of them are retreads and rehashes from the console versions. Yes, we still love Hungry Like the Wolf, but after playing it six dozen times in Rock Band 2 we’re not particularly thrilled to see it yet again. Also, while the inclusion of vocals is cool, how functional is it going to be on a mobile version of the game? The only place where you can really let lose and sing along is at home, and if you’re in your living room why not fire up one of the console versions of Rock Band instead? But hey, if rhythm games are your thing then don’t let us talk you out of it. Rock Band is still a ton of fun, so by all means stick it on your iOS device and enjoy.
iPhone hacker P0sixNinja just posted an update on Twitter saying his GreenPois0n jailbreak should be updated to support the recently released iOS 4.2.1 within a few days. According to his words, the jailbreak will be tethered or semitethered, whatever that means.
Earlier today, the Dev Team also gave us an update about the iOS 4.2.1 jailbreak and unlock saying they were working hard on it. Things look pretty good and it seems everyone will be able to get a jailbreak relatively soon. Older devices like the iPhone 3G and 3GS will most likely even be untethered and unlockable… Read More
This one was all rather rumory to begin with, but play along if you don’t mind a pile of unconfirmed reports to start the day. A few weeks back it was said that Apple was working with Gemalto to create a non-removable, software-reconfigurable SIM that would be built right into European iPhones, saving a number of headaches for users and, more importantly, for Apple. This decidedly unconfirmed report was supposedly enough to get European carriers all worked up in a tizzy, angry that, among other things, customers would never need to actually interact with those carriers themselves — all actions, including activation, could be handled right through the App Store. Now, for the final layer of unconfirmed reporting in this delectably speculative layer cake, we have word from The Daily Telegraph that Apple has apparently given up on this plan and will continue to ship hardware to Europe with honest to gosh SIM cards, just like it always has. In other words: carry on, nothing to see here.
Hanukkah is almost here! In less than two weeks, the Festival of Lights will commence…but have you thought about Hanukkah cards yet?
Inevitably, buying (or making) a dozen or more holiday cards feels superfluous and even a little silly. Should you really be spending this much money on cards? And what if you’re giving a digital gift, like a gift certificate—is a physical card necessary? E-cards are cool, but let’s admit it; most websites make mailing digital cards a hassle.
Happy Hanukkah is yet another app attempting to bridge this dilema. It’s almost an e-card app, in that you’re sending a pretty picture instead of a few lines of text, but the image is embedded and thus requires no clicking through to an outside site.
The app contains over 70 different cards to choose from, featuring dreidels, menorahs, hanukkiahs, and (naturally) the words, “Happy Hanukkah!” From the Happy Hanukkah app, you can pick which image to use, and then drop into into an email. Then, you can add a bit of personalized text above the embedded image if you want to before sending the virtual card on its way.
Simple? Certainly, but that’s the aim of Happy Hanukkah anyway.
The below video showcases some of the different images included in the app. If it appeals to you, check it out on the App Store for $0.99. Now if only it could buy presents for you, too…
Looking for more than just a regular standalone iPad dock? Then you might want to consider Xtreamer’s new iXtreamer system, which is an iPad dock that also doubles as a media streamer. Of course, it will also work with iPhones and iPods, and the “dock” is quite capable all by itself as well — it’ll accommodate a 3.5-inch hard drive and up to two USB hard drives, and it’ll support just about any audio or video content you can throw at it, including content stored on your computer or networked hard drive. Interestingly, Xtreamer also notes that it would like to let you use iOS apps on your TV as well, but it says that’s up to Apple to allow — in other words, don’t bet on it. Head on past the break for a video overview, and look for the device to set you back €175, or roughly $235.
Of the new features the one with the most potential (and the most potential embarrassment) is vocal recognition which will let you sing along with the songs. Much like its console brethren, Reloaded will score your performance based on how closely your pitch matches that of the song. Don’t worry if you don’t know the words, the game only cares that you’re hitting the right notes, not saying the right thing. Other new features include a landscape mode so you can play the game horizontally and a new Expert difficulty setting.
Hanukkah is almost here! In less than two weeks, the Festival of Lights will commence…but have you thought about Hanukkah cards yet?
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