Microsoft Says It Was Surprised by iPhone
In possibly one of the biggest “ya think?!” moments of all time, a Microsoft UK executive has admitted that they were ‘caught napping’ by Apple. According to a story on Cult of Mac, Microsoft UK’s Phil Moore recently told delegates at the Connect! tech summit in London that “we’re still playing catch-up,” when comparing Windows Mobile to the iPhone. “When Apple came on to the scene a couple of years ago, it threw away the rulebook and reinvented it,” Moore continued. “It’s true, Apple caught us all napping. It launched something that was very iconic, new and unseen with a very good user interface.”
Cult of Mac reports that Moore also confirmed at the conference that Windows Mobile 7 has now been pushed back to late 2010, which means in real terms that the iPhone will have another year of total market dominance over Windows Mobile.
Unresolved iTunes 9 bugs plague users
Since Apple introduced iTunes 9 several months ago, we’ve received a fair number of complaints about two particular bugs.
iPods, navigation devices dominate holiday gift buying
Apple products, including the iPod Nano, dominated a list of top-selling holiday gifts online.
Mmm… Simpsons Arcade Coming to iPhone
Simpsons fans bemoaning the fact that there aren’t any decent Simpsons games on the iPhone can breathe a sigh of relief as Homer finally drags his donut-chasing self onto iPhone and iPod Touch for The Simpsons Arcade game. The premise of the game is a simple but familiar one: Homer is chasing a donut. That’s it! Of course on his quest for round, sugary, goodness, he stumbles on a devious scheme hatched by sinister Springfield forces, all of whom are out to get between him and his donut, of course. It’s your job to help Homer reach his beloved snack in one piece, using the touch-screen controls to punch, grab and flip, kick, butt slam, jump, pick up and throw objects, belly flop and dodge enemies.
Aside from Homer, lots of favorite characters will be featured, including the likes of Krusty, Chief Wiggum, and Squeaky Voiced Teen. And let’s not forget about Homer’s beloved family – by activating Family Frenzy power-ups you can summon help from Marge, Maggie, Lisa and Bart, although in Bart’s case “help” might not be the word you’re looking for!
There are over 25 levels and six different environments to explore, including Krusty Land, Channel 6 and Downtown Springfield. Featured mini-games include Slap Homer (self-explanatory!), Donut Dreams (ditto!) and an Inflato-Head balloon blowing up contest. There’s even a feature that enables you to listen to your own music when playing the game, could you ask for anything more?!
The Simpsons Arcade is due to be released to the iTunes Store in December 2009. Price and exact release date have yet to be confirmed.
Chillingo’s 3-Day Wild $0.99 sale
To celebrate Christmas, Chillingo has some great games for sale and they include:
- Touch KO ($.99)
- Defender Chronicles ($.99)
- Jules Verne’s Secrets of the Mysterious Island ($.99)
- Julse Verne’s Return to Mysterious Island ($.99)
- Cash Cow ($.99)
- iDracula ($.99)
- Toki Tori ($.99)
MacRumors: Verizon Claims Network Ready for iPhone Should Apple Choose to Strike Deal
A BusinessWeek report from last night has received significant attention today for its focus on Verizon’s claimed readiness should the company and Apple strike a deal to bring the iPhone to the largest U.S. wireless carrier next year.
SourceHoliday Gift Guide: Picking the Ideal MP3 Player
This year a ‘ as every year a ‘ kids and adults alike clamor for new digital music players for the holidays.
Mitek Systems Announces $1.0 Million Private Placement
Mitek Systems, Inc. ; today announced that it closed a financing transaction, principally with institutional investors, to generate gross proceeds to Mitek of approximately .0 million.
The Macalope Weekly: Histrionics lesson
It’s a good idea to check your blood pressure regularly—especially if you’re going to go anywhere near any of the latest brouhahas erupting over Apple this week.
Review: Aliens Invade for iPhone
Fans of the old Space Invaders arcade game will appreciate this mobile offering, which provides a 21st century refresh on the old “When aliens attack” genre. Aliens Invade is fun and addicting, and you’ll want to blast away often
Are iPhone Users Wearing Rose-Tinted Specs?
Chris Matyszczyk on CNET’s Technically Incorrect blog has an interesting report on an opinion piece by Strand Consult, which Matyszczyk paraphrases as saying that iPhone users are “really quite nuts!” Elsewhere, 9to5Mac have also taken slight umbrage at what they refer to as Strand Consult’s “generally anti-iPhone analysts”. If you read the actual report, snappily titled “How will psychologists describe the iPhone syndrome in the future?” it refers to the “hype” surrounding the iPhone and focuses on the overly defensive nature of Apple’s “loyal and fanatic customers.”
According to Strand Consult, iPhone users are so blind to what they refer to as the phone’s “technological shortcomings” that they are suffering from “iPhone Syndrome”, which they liken to Stockholm Syndrome, made most famous by Patty Hearst, whereby kidnap victims develop sympathy for their captors. Seems a little hyperbolic, to say the least. Sure, us iPhone and iPod Touch users can sometimes get a little evangelical about our favorite gadget, but to liken the iPhone to a hostage-taker wanting to do harm to its owner seems to indicate that Strand Consult are the ones doing all the fanciful thinking, rather than iPhone users!
‘Dragon Search’ Comes to the iPhone
Dragon Search [App Store, Free], the follow-up to the highly-publicized Dragon Dictation iPhone application released last week, has appeared in the App Store. Dragon Search utilizes voice recognition technology to allow users to search by vo…
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MacRumors: International Performance Seen Driving iPhone and iPod Touch Growth
AdMob has released its November 2009 Mobile Metrics Report, offering a featured look at the iPhone and iPod touch’s international growth during 2009 as seen by data collected through its ad network. The data shows that, while the U.S. has seen stron…
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iPhone sales grow abroad as Apple dominates mobile traffic
With the iPhone and iPod touch on track to sell 40 million units this year, most of the growth from 2009 has come from outside of North America.
Daily Deals: MacBook Pros, iMacs, iPods and App Store Price Drops
Daily Deals: MacBook Pros, iMacs, iPods and App Store Price Drops 1:03 pm, December 15th, 2009, Ed Sutherland With 10 shopping days left before Christmas, we have a bonanza of Apple hardware bargains, ranging from MacBook Pros to iPod nanos.