G4TV

Have you finished watching Morgan Webb's World of Warcraft interview blowout? We hope not. Let's not kid ourselves. WoW is a massive game and to do it justice, we feel the need for a second set of interviews to satisfy that massively multiplayer online hunger.

First off the bat, listen in on former Star Wars: Galaxies developer, now turned seasoned Blizzard production director, J. Allen Brack, as he chats about his storied fanboy past with Blizzard and how he has progressed into a key development member for World of Warcraft.

Then, Morgan Web visits the long-time (15 years running!) Blizzard production veteran Shane Dabiri to chronicle his rise through the Blizzard ranks and the inception/progression of the MMO behemoth WoW franchise.

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Not very good at RTSes? Don't watch this, it'll only intimidate you more. Blizzard's latest Starcraft II Battle Report, rolls through the remade classic "Lost Temple" map as elite players Yeon-Ho Lee (Protoss) and David Kim (Terran) go head-to-head in another intense play-by-play battle.

Prep your missile silos, this one's jacked up and good to go with plenty of nukes.

Ah, finally. Apple has announced developers can now implement in-app purchases for free applications. This is a massive change in policy for Apple and over the course of the next few months could potentially restructure the entire application economy.

Since the launch of the application store, there's been a massive problem for every application (especially games): there are no demos or trial versions. Developers came up with own solution to the problem with the ever-popular "lite" (and free) version of applications, which essentially doubled the amount of content on the application store unnecessarily and created more work for applications interested in making money.

I've always balked at paying $9.99 for the Beejive instant messaging application for the iPhone and there's no "lite" version. I understand Beejive's argument. They don't want to offer a demo version that could possibly be just enough for what I want from the application, stopping me from ultimately buying the full-featured application. Now, however, Beejive can offer a limited demo version for free and provide me with incentives within the application itself to upgrade. This is a powerful tool for games.

It'll take time for developers to upgrade existing applications and it's possible this will be a movement better embraced by new applications, but it was a move Apple should have made ages ago.

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Apple's apparent rejection of Google Voice for iPhone is silly. The company claims that it's evaluating the product and hasn't approved it because it duplicates some of the iPhone's features and might confuse its users. As much as I admire certain Apple executives and enjoy the company's products, its line of reasoning has me thinking one thing: what a load of crap!!! Let's break it down.

Google Voice duplicates iPhone features: It sure does...but so do several other programs that are available on the iTunes App Store. Whether you're talking about TomTom's GPS app, Spotify, Vonage, or countless other applications, Apple has approved many programs that duplicate the iPhone's functionality. This "concern" is garbage.

Google Voice might confuse iPhone users: Apparently all iPhone users are stupid, unable to tell the difference between the phone's native dialer and Google Voice's. Or maybe iPhone users are stupid for paying AT&T's rates for sending text messages and making international calls -- things Google Voice can do for free and cheap, respectively. Seriously though, there are many iPhone users that aren't tech savvy, but I have to believe that the majority of iPhone owners aren't complete morons. I don't see how the app is confusing to a reasonably intelligent person.

So what's the real reason for the "rejection" of Google Voice? That's easy: Apple doesn't like it. As I explained last month, Apple and Google are competing in more and more areas. Apple doesn't want a filthy Google product infecting its precious iPhone. Furthermore, the iPhone is Apple's house and any visitors have to abide by its rules. I wish the company would fess up and just say that, instead of making pretentious claims about confusing its users.

Anyway, that's my rant on the matter. What do you guys and gals think? Do you think Apple is genuinely concerned about duplicating features and confusing users? Or is that all a bunch of hot air?

The war between Apple and Google just got a wee bit more interesting -- an unredacted version of a document filed with the FCC shows Google claiming that it was informed of Google Voice's rejection from the iTunes App Store by Apple senior vice president Phil Schiller. According to the Google-filed document:

"The primary points of contact between the two companies were Alan Eustace, Google Senior Vice President of Engineering & Research, and Phil Schiller, Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing. On July 7, Mr. Eustace and Mr. Schiller spoke over the phone. It was during this call that Mr. Schiller informed Mr. Eustace that Apple was rejecting the Google Voice application."

As I reported in August, Apple filed a document with the FCC that claimed, "Contrary to published reports, Apple has not rejected the Google Voice application". The whole affair has become a "he said, she said" matter and I'm sure both sides are going to claim miscommunication. Certainly someone's pants should be on fire because one of the parties isn't telling the truth.

What do you make of this latest information? Who's telling the truth? Did Apple reject Google Voice? Or is Apple merely evaluating the product (over the course of several months)? Leave a comment and let me know (please)!

Source via Engadget Mobile

Apple introduced new versions of its iPod Touch media players last week. In addition to models available with higher storage capacities, the new iPods are nearly 50 percent faster than their predecessors. MacWorld ran a series of benchmarks that support this claim. The site's Dan Frakes wrote:

"For gamers, the more exciting improvement is that the 32GB and 64GB models are allegedly 50 percent faster than the second-generation models and include support forOpenGL ES 2.0, which provides advanced graphics capabilities to mobile devices.

Just as the iPhone 3GS was faster than the iPhone 3G at everything, the new iPod touch feels much faster at any task you throw at it: applications launch (and quit) faster, Web pages load more quickly, processor-intensive games and programs perform better -- you name it."

The improved performance will be even more apparent as more OpenGL ES 2.0 games come out. Even though the iPod Touch's improvements should keep it reigning as the king of all media players, stiff competition has arrived in Microsoft's Zune HD. Personally, I'm extremely disappointed that the new models do not have camera functionality. I'm happy that a deactivated iPhone 3GS is my current media player.

Any of you picking up a new iPod Touch?

Source

Today started off with a bang, as Apple held its annual iPod-related press conference in San Francisco and unveiled a series of new upgrades for line of music players, not to mention a seriously needed serious of tweaks for the iTunes service and even a little update for the iPhone, too.

Want to know more? Here's G4tv.com's complete online coverage of the event:

• Madden NFL 10 Now Available For iPhone And iPod Touch
• Apple Drops iTunes 9, Adds Home Sharing, iTunes LP, Movie Extras, More
• iPod Nano Receives Major Upgrades -- Video Camera, FM Tuner, Mic, Speaker
• Apple Introduces New iPod Touch Units With Updated Graphics, Capacities, And A Price Cut
• No Beatles Announcement At Apple's Press Conference
• Attack Of The Show Interview With Engadget's Joshua Topolsky

Hopefully, Madden fans have found a way to add a few more hours to the day, because Electronic Arts’ Madden NFL 10 for the iPhone and iPod Touch is now available on Apple’s App Store. The mobile version of the perennial king of the gridiron features all of the authenticity fans have come to expect from a Madden game including some 2,000 players from all 32 teams, commentary from John Madden, Tom Hammond and Cris Collinsworth, and more.

One of the coolest new features is the ability to draw your own passing routes on screen. You can also go into slow-motion using Action Control Time and pick the best move for that situation. And don’t worry about losing your progress in a game if someone calls or texts you. The game will auto-save and then reload right where you left off, which is always a much appreciated feature. EA also plans to add multiplayer support, roster updates and throwback jerseys sometime in the near future.

Currently, the game is available for $7.99, but that will only last until 8:30PM EST Thursday, when it jumps to the standard $9.99.

Anyone checked out mobile Madden? Impressions?

In addition to dropping welcomed upgrades to the iPod Nano hardware, Apple introduced the latest evolution of its music sharing, selling and organization software, iTunes. The latest update, iTunes 9, isn't a revolution, but it does introduce some welcomed tweaks. You can download iTunes 9 for yourself right now, but here are the biggest changes:

• iTunes LP -- Essentially, bringing the album experience to a digital format with downloadable photos, behind-the-scenes videos, liner notes, etc.
• Improved Home Sharing -- Share music and videos via iTunes among the select authorized computers on your home network
• Re-Designed iTunes Store -- Enough said
• iTunes Extras -- It's the iTunes equivalent of DVD extras
• Genius Mixes -- The previously introduced Genius feature is now on the iPhone App Organization -- You can now reorganize your iPhone home screens from your computer (finally!)
• Facebook/Twitter Integration -- It's basic right now, but it's there

Keep reading for screen shots of these new features in action

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Apple hasn't forgotten about the iPod Nano. In fact, of every device highlighted at Apple's press conference in San Francisco today, the iPod Nano probably received the most loving upgrades. The new iPod Nano now features a video camera, an FM tuner, a microphone to record voice memos and a speaker to play back music and videos.

Oddly enough, the iPod Nano was the device no one really expected to come equipped with a camera upgrade. All signs pointed to the iPod Touch, but last-minute rumors about a delay related to a hardware issue appear to have been true. The iPod Nano's camera captures VGA quality (640 x 480) H.264 video, with up to 30fps and AAC audio.

The new iPod Nano also features a slightly larger 2.2 inch screen and Live Pause for the FM tuner. When you're listening to a radio station, the iPod Nano is constantly buffering the station. If you need to take a quick break, you can actually pause the radio station and pick up where you left off. You can rewind as far back as 15 minutes.

You can purchase the upgraded music device right now from Apple's store. The 8GB model will run you $149, with the 16GB model costing $179. It's available in silver, black, purple, blue, green, orange, yellow, red and pink.

Today, Apple introduced new models in the iPod Touch family, bringing support for OpenGL|ES to the line along with a 64GB model, and a price cut for the 8GB entry-level device. The new line-up is 8GB ($199), 32GB ($299), and 64GB ($399). Apple has moved over 20 million iPod Touches and it's the fastest growing iPod line to date.

The $199 price-point is a big deal, especially with Apple's pushing of the platform as a gaming device. At $50 cheaper than the upcoming PSPgo and offering more than the DSi beyond gaming, it could make a serious dent in that market, but I'm not quite ready to give it up to the iPod Touch as a major gaming platform.

On that note, during the presentation of the new iPod Touch line, Apple's senior vice president of marketing Phil Schiller took a shot at Sony's PSP and Nintendo's DS. Apple contends that the iPod Touch is a more powerful device because the other two:

• Do Not Have A Multi-Touch Interface
• Their Games Are Expensive
• Have No App Store
• Don't Have iPods

Those points are almost entirely true, but the DSi has an online store that sells downloadable games and the PSPgo will launch with PSP Minis, small apps and games available for purchase and download through the PlayStation Store. Regardless, Phil also notes the difference in the amount of games available on each platform, putting the PSP at 607 titles, the DS at 3,680, and iPhone OS at a whopping 21,178. It is unclear how many of those 21,178 apps make fart noises.

Apple also brought some developers on stage to show off new games including Assassin's Creed II, which will launch the same day as the console versions, Madden NFL 10, which is available today, and an impressive looking FPS game from Gameloft called Nova.

Available today, firmware 3.1 for the iPhone and iPod Touch, which will hook up with iTunes 9 and bring the new Genius Mixes feature to your portable device. The upgrade is free for iPod Touch 3.0 users, but will cost money if you haven't snagged 3.0 yet. The device did not get updated with a camera as rumored.

Source

It seemed like the stars were finally aligned. Today, The Beatles: Rock Band lands on store shelves, the band's catalog has been remixed packaged in several ridiculously expensive box sets and Apple was holding a press conference dedicated to its annual updates to the iPod lineup, which usually includes some iTunes announcements, as well. Would The Beatles finally come to iTunes? No.

Apple king Steve Jobs surprised the crowd and appeared on stage to present and discuss the company's announcements, but the hour-plus event went without a single mention of Paul, John, George and Ringo. The Beatles may be coming to iTunes eventually (at this point, it's a question of when, not if), but it's not happening today, unfortunately.

Buzz over The Beatles coming to iTunes started to die down, until the Sky News fiasco. Sky News reportedly published a quote from Yoko Ono stating The Beatles were, in fact, coming to iTunes. Just as soon as the article was published, however, the article came down, the Google cache was erased and no one has issued official comment on what actually happened.

That's irrelevant, though. The event is over. No Beatles on iTunes. Yet.

Well, it’s finally happening. No, that crazy Duggar woman isn't getting her tubes tied. AT&T has announced that it is releasing support for Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) for Apple’s iPhone 3G and 3GS starting September 25th.

Presumably part of the iPhone OS 3.1 update, the long-awaited feature will let iPhone users finally send audio, pictures and videos to other mobile devices like civilized human beings, rather than having to rely on sending primitive e-mail attachments.

Now, while this is certainly great news for most iPhone users, the new feature, as Apple revealed earlier in the year,  will not be available for first-generation iPhones. Although to be honest, I wonder how many people this will impact, since I'm assuming most early adopters have already traded up for a 3G or a 3Gs by now.

What’s the first thing you plan on sending via MMS? Nothing inappropriate I'm sure.



 

If you have an iPhone or an iPod Touch, chances are you have, or have at least played, one game developed by Gameloft. (I have three that I play fairly regularly: Hero of Sparta, Let’s Golf! and Assassin’s Creed: Altair’s Chronicles). Given the amount of exposure enjoyed by the company, it’s hardly surprising to hear that the developer is doing pretty well for itself in the sales department as well.

The mobile game dev announced today that it has sold over 6 million games via Apple’s App Store. Not too shabby. Of Gameloft’s 35 titles, 18 have appeared on the worldwide Top 10 Paid Games list at one point or another. Some of the company’s 2009 hits include Gangstar: West Coast Hustle, NFL 2010, UNO, The Oregon Trail and Guitar Rock Tour 2.

Gameloft chairman and CEO, Michel Guillemot, said in a statement:

“From the distribution model to the types of games available, the App Store has completely revolutionized the way handheld games are played, perceived and received…Our strategy from the onset has been twofold. First, we deliver an aggressive line-up of high quality games, and then we adapt in real time to consumer needs. With over 6 million paid games sold, it has proven to be quite successful.”

And the future looks to be even busier for the developer, as it plans to release between 15 and 30 games on the App Store before the end of the year.

How many of those 6 million sales are you responsible for?