Apple is expected to announce the new iPhone 5 at a press event this week in San Francisco. The release of the iPhone 5 should follow shortly after that, perhaps as early as September 21st. Without any consideration of the new hardware, there are already a few hurdles that Apple will need to overcome to allow the iPhone 5 and successive devices to reach their full potential.

Took a Samsung to the knee

The problems with Samsung are really two-fold. The most immediatly pressing are the rumors that Samsung will attempt to file an injunction to stop the sale of the iPhone 5 if that device supports LTE. With their pride still quite hurt from losing their latest patent battle in the US with Apple, they are looking for a way to regain a bit of pride. What better way than to mark it’s territory and stop the iPhone 5 from being released by filing for an injunction based on their LTE patent portfolio.

On the flip side, Apple also has quite a few LTE related patents, recently purchased and the ones they already had. This should stop a judge from allowing the injunction, but you never really know with technology and judges. If this happens, expect a bit of a stock hit.

The long term problem with Samsung is their step-by-step duplication of Apple innovations. This will take Apple a long time to overcome in the courts, though recent court rulings have been both for and against Apple. It’s a long road, and unfortunately will slow down both companies, and others in the industry. The only real winners in the fight will be the lawyers, as usual.

Continue reading Opinion: Five Things Apple Needs to Overcome for the iPhone 5 to Succeed »

For far too long, us multitaskers of the world have had to suffer through the indignity of having to track two entirely different screens when we want to play a game and watch TV. There has to be a better way! Now it’s possible with the 2.0 update to the official Cartoon Network app. A selection of arcade-style games based on Cartoon Network shows have been added to the app. They shine on the iPad, where in portrait mode, a video can be played on the top half of the screen, and the game played on the bottom half. Just simply rotate to landscape to watch the video in fullscreen. Users with pay TV subscriptions can log in to watch the most recent episodes of shows, and can also stream Cartoon Network live, as announced earlier in the year. It all works with AirPlay as well. Now it’s possible to be distracted while watching Adventure Time from anywhere, not just at home!

FREE!

Cartoon Network

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2010-12-14 :: Category: Entertainment

Disney has released a tool to help make pixel art and animation easy. Pixel’d lets users make artwork that shows its pixelation and is proud of it! Users have a default 150×150 canvas to work with, though this can be shrunk to 4×4 or enlarged up to 1024×768. Users can freehand draw, generate lines or shapes, and use color fill to help make their creations. Artists looking for more advanced editing can use 3 modifiable layers to help them in their process.

Canvas backgrounds can be added and interacted with, featuring artwork from various Disney properties. A selection comes with the app for free, and others are available through in-app purchases. It’s possible to create more than just single-frame artwork, as animations up to 20 frames long can be created. Single frame artwork can be exported as PNG or GIF with animations exportable as either animated GIFs or MP4 video files. These can then be exported to the Camera Roll or shared to social networks directly from the app. Finally, it’s possible to team up with a friend using the Buddy Draw feature to collaborate on artwork via wifi.

FREE!

PIXEL'D

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-07-26 :: Category: Entertainment

There’s a new children’s book available on the App Store in the form of Aesop for Children and it’s rather beautiful to look at. Most interesting of all, however, is where it came from: the US Library of Congress.

The US Library of Congress has previously released an app about the Congressional Record, understandably so, but it’s the first time we’ve seen any books given the app treatment by the Library of Congress.

Aesop for Children is based on a 1919 book of the same name, meaning it’s now public domain and open to being turned into an app, inexpensively.

The app itself is quite delightful with the original illustrations improved with some modern animations. It sticks closely to the book’s original roots though, rather than adding a huge amount of interactivity.

It’ll be interesting to see what future app ideas the Library of Congress have planned as the potential is great.

Aesop for Children is out now and it’s free to download.

FREE!

Aesop for Children

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-07-22 :: Category: Books

There’s a plentiful supply of grocery list apps out there but new app, Grocery List – Buy Me A Pie! is hoping to stand out from the crowd with some very useful features.

Predominantly is the ability to sync lists between all the family’s iOS devices so that each person can add items on the go. This should save users plenty of time as they attempt to consolidate numerous lists, instead the app does it all.

Grocery List – Buy Me A Pie! works through not just iOS devices but also the buymeapie.com site to ensure that it’s always possible to add something to the grocery list for consultation at a later date.

Other features include a word prompting tool which suggests words, items that are automatically grouped within a list and color coded accordingly, plus the ability to create multiple lists for different situations.

Together, Grocery List – Buy Me A Pie! should prove the ideal app for those who need to save time and be more organized in their grocery shopping.

It’s out now, priced at $2.99.

$2.99

Grocery List - Buy Me a Pie!

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-01-10 :: Category: Productivity

Retro gaming and God complexes: two great tastes that taste great together. And in the case of 148Apps Editor’s Choice app The Sandbox, that’s exactly what gamers get. Now, though, the fun expands to the magical iPad screen (including full retina display support), providing a universal experience on either iOS device. Reviewer Rob Rich had this to say about the game: “Sometimes a game’s title just fits. It does a perfect job of getting the point across without bombarding the reader with unnecessary words…games like The Sandbox do titles right. It’s pretty much dead-on about what players can expect. Which is to say it’s a sandbox. A glorious, pixilated, element-manipulating sandbox.”

This latest update from developer Pixowl and Bulkypix does more than just make The Sandbox universal, it also adds 11 new tree species, 7 new backgrounds, 8 glowing gems and 30 missions to solve. That’s enough to keep any budding godling busy.

More additions are on the way, including new ways to bring lifeforms to your creation, so get in The Sandbox, start playing and ‘unleash the pixel artist dormant in you.

FREE!

The Sandbox

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-05-15 :: Category: Games

The hugely popular The Simpsons Bongo Comics have made their way to the iPhone and iPad, with an official app just released.

Simpsons Comics comes from the masters of all things iOS comic book related, ComiXology.

Much like ComiXology’s other apps, the initial download is free with new issues of The Simpsons based comics available, priced between $1.99 and $3.99. Recent and classic Bongo titles are included such as Simpsons Comics, Bart Simpson and Radioactive Man.

New Bongo comics will be available for purchase through the app within a month of their physical publication, with readers able to buy and download at least two digital releases a week, if they so wish.

Recommendations will also be available after finishing each comic book, so it’s an ideal way to steer new readers in the right direction for plenty of fun with Homer and the family.

Simpsons Comics is available now and it’s an Universal app.

FREE!

Simpsons Comics

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-07-12 :: Category: Books

In need of something to entertain the little ones over the summer? Why not give Bambi: Disney Classics a try?

Disney’s latest app tells the classic story of Bambi as he grows up and discovers the world around him, all through many beautiful illustrations. Encapsulating the interactive spirit of iOS books, the app provides plenty of animated moments as well as some delightful music and sound effects.

For those after more interaction, there’s a coloring book feature as well as a matching game and musical activity section. The coloring book allows kids to color in their favorite characters, while the matching game involves matching flowers together. Most entertaining of all is the music game that gets kids to tap a tune out as they play.

Guaranteed to charm and entertain kids, Bambi: Disney Classics is available now for both iPhone and iPad as an Universal app. It’s priced at $3.99.

$1.99

Bambi: Disney Classics

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-07-12 :: Category: Books

Juggernaut: Revenge of Sovering has been quite a hit since it was released back in May, both with us, gaining our Editor’s Choice award, and App Store browsers, gaining over one million downloads. The latest major update has just been released.

Fans will be delighted to see the level cap increased to 35, along with new achievements and a new third grade added to each school of magic. Also, a new Scorpion character, Hekate, has been included and will give a bonus on money received in combat. A new chapter in the form of Toper Burrow has been added, providing extra challenges, along with new mini-game The Mine, offering an alternative way of earning money.

There’s plenty to love here for RPG fans to sink their teeth into and now is the ideal time for new players to dive into Juggernaut: Revenge of Sovering.

The update is available now and Juggernaut: Revenge of Sovering is available for both iPhone and iPad for free.

FREE!

Juggernaut: Revenge of Sovering.

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-05-10 :: Category: Games