If you take a second to launch the iOS App Store and check out the top paid and free charts, it becomes immediately apparent how successful mobile based gaming has become on Apple's range of iOS devices. We've seen time and time again that some of the biggest app launches that attract the most attention come from established and independent game developers and have managed to thrust mobile based gaming directly into the limelight.
Readers of a certain age will remember Duke Nukem from before it became the laughing stock of the gaming world. Following a huge delay of Duke Nukem Forever that saw it skip at least one console generation, the game finally made it onto shelves only to be universally panned by critics and gamers alike.
Apple is a company which rarely takes the easy route and conforms to trends in the market just for the sake of keeping up an appearance. This individual approach to the design and development of new products and services has served them well in the past, but has also meant they have come under fire from investors and analysts who believe they may get left behind as they look for the next big innovation. One of the latest key features that is set to be introduced in the next wave of smartphones and tablets is wireless charging, and although Apple have spoken out about this in the past, it looks like they could be in the process of coming up with a solution of their own for future iPad tablets.
A leaked video uploaded to, and subsequently pulled from YouTube has the internet aflutter tonight with news that Google may be about to bring its latest crown jewel to iOS.
Throughout the history of iOS, several third-party browsers have made it to the platform, although the built-in Safari browser is the only one that can be integrated deeply into the system. At a panel at SXSW, a conference taking place in Texas, Mozilla Vice-President of Product Jay Sullivan made it clear that Firefox will not be making its way to iOS until Apple opens up to third-party browsers.
There's no denying that the Philips hue iOS controlled lighting system is an amazing and extremely sought-after product, but if you had asked us about the potential for awesome third-party apps to be created on the back of the release, then we would have been hesitant. Still, even the initiated are sometimes off the mark, which is extremely evident in this case with the launch of the Ambify iPhone and iPad app that literally turns music into light.
Everyone loves a good feature packed update to an already extremely functional application, which is why the latest version of the Showyou video discovery app is bound to invoke a wave of downloads as well as sounds of satisfaction from existing users. Investor funded Remixation has been keeping a close eye on the usage habits of users while inspecting the development of the social scene in parallel with that research, all of which has resulted in version 4.1 of the app going live with a wave of new social-based features.
The tablet and smartphone markets are certainly crowded, although all devices in these two categories perform the main task that is expected of them: allow users to browse the Internet on the go, even 36,000 feet above the ground. However, a new study by in-flight Internet provider Gogo suggests that a vast majority of its usage takes place on tablets, most of them Apple iPads.
For almost as long as there have been casual iPhone and iPad games, Angry Birds has been one of the titles that every iOS user generally downloads almost immediately after purchasing a new device. For the first time, however, the original version of Angry Birds is now available free of charge for the iPod touch, iPhone and iPad, and you can download it today if the price tag was putting you off.
Apple has its fair share of hardware and software partners the world over, but one new partner may come as something of a surprise.
