Steal and blow up your opponents’ words in Scrabble-like game War of Words for iPhone and iPad

War of Words is a word game similar to Scrabble or Words with Friends, only with War of Words, you can steal and blow up your opponents’ words! War of Words has action tiles in addition to the traditional letter tiles. With them, you can place bombs or land mines on your opponents words, allows yourself to spell words backwards, gain an extra turn, or even earn the ability to place your word anywhere on the board.

In comparison to War of Words, Scrabble and Words with Friends are so innocent.

War of Words is the next generation online crossword game. It starts with the turn-based word spelling gameplay you know and love – and adds bombs! Have you ever wanted to blow up your opponent’s words? Or maybe steal some words for yourself? Now you can.

War of Words is available on the iPhone and iPad for $1.99. There is also a free, ad-supported version available.

[Free App Store link] [$1.99 - App Store link]

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New Gestures For Swiping and Holding Are Unveiled in Apple Patent

Earlier today, Apple released iOS 5.0.1. Among other things, this update added multitasking gestures to the iPad 1. According to information uncovered by href="http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2011/11/apple-reveals-new-powerful-gestures-in-the-works-for-ios-devices.html" target="_blank">Patently Apple, these may not be the last gestures we’ll need to learn.

According to the site, a patent application published today by the the US Patent & Trademark Office points out two new ways to navigate iOS devices. They are called, aptly, “Swipe Then Hold” and “Hold then Swipe,” so you can probably picture how they’ll function.

But what problems are they intended to solve? Simply put, they get around the issue of navigating around a large amount of visual information on small screens. Panning, pinching and spreading maps or photos can move you through information precisely, but not necessarily quickly. These gestures would be less precise, but they would allow users to zoom, scroll or scan quickly.

For example, if you were looking at a map and wanted to zoom in quickly, you might be able to swipe your finger in the general direction you wanted to zoom, then hold your finger on the screen. The map would then zoom along the direction vector of your swipe, and you could adjust your finger or tilt your device to alter its course.

“Hold then Swipe” would work similarly, but would let the user remove their finger from the display after the gesture is completed and watch as information scrolls by. An example of this presented by Patently Apple examines the use of this gesture in a photo app. The user could select a face and then swipe to scroll through other photos of that person.

These both sound like useful gestures, especially for smaller devices. But as with any patent application, there is no guarantee we’ll see these implemented in a future iOS update. If we do, it will likely only happen after Apple ensures that the iPhone is capable of distinguishing these gestures from those that currently exist without confusion.

Source:href="http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2011/11/apple-reveals-new-powerful-gestures-in-the-works-for-ios-devices.html" target="_blank"> Patently Apple

Daily Tip: How to configure the iPhone’s Weather and Stock widgets in Notification Center

Curious how to setup notifications in iOS 5? With all the various banners and popups, badges and sounds, widgets and lock screen options, it can be a little tricky for first-time users, but worry not — we have you covered! First up, here’s how the new Weather and Stock widgets work!

The Stock widget pulls stock information directly from the native Stocks app in iOS 5. By turning the Stock widget to ‘On’ you’ll see a scrolling ticker displaying your favorite stocks. If you want to change the stocks that are displayed in the Stock widget, just follow these quick steps:

Now, the stock that you’ve just added to the Stocks app will show up in the scrolling Stock widget within Notification Center!

Apple also included a weather widget that displays current weather information as well as a full five-day forecast. Just swipe to the left or right to reveal the five-day forecast. The weather widget pulls information from Yahoo! Weather locations stored in the native Weather app in iOS 5. In order to add or change weather locations, follow these steps:

Now the location you’ve manually setup will be displayed in the Weather widget. If you have more than one location in the Weather app, the Weather widget will only display the 1st location. If you have no manual locations set and have the Local Weather feature on, you’ll only see the temperature relative to your geographic location (make sure you have Location Services turned on!)

There you have it, how to configure your Notification Center widgets. We’ll cover the other elements, like Mail and Messages notifications, Lock Screen info, etc. next time. Meanwhile, if you have any favorite Notification Center tips, let us know in comments!

Daily Tips range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it’s especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we’ll even give ya a reward…)

Prepo Makes Life A Little Easier for iOS Developers

Developers love to create apps, but there are some requirements to the app development process which can be a little tedious. In order to submit your app to the App Store, you need to create a number of icons in various sizes. Thanks to a new app called Prepo (href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/prepo/id476533227?mt=12">Mac App Store link), available for free in the Mac App Store, this process is now made easy.

href="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/prepo-mac-app-store.png" class="lightbox" >class="alignnone size-full wp-image-25160" title="prepo-mac-app-store" src="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/prepo-mac-app-store.png" alt="Prepo" width="553" height="345" />

Drop the icon artwork into Prepo, select the device and then hit export. Prepo prepares the files you ned and the plist, all ready for Xcode.

 

UK voice of Siri didn’t know Apple has used him until he saw the TV commercial

The provider of the voice for the UK version of Siri has been revealed and what makes the story even more intriguing is the fact that the guy who provided all the sounds didn’t even know it was him until he saw Apple’s commercial. The voice, known as “Daniel”, was provided by former technology journalist Jon Briggs; but it was not provided directly to Apple. The voice over work was originally done six years ago for a company called Scansoft which was later purchased by Nuance, which subsequently licensed it to Apple.

He is certainly not bitter that it is now being used by Apple. He was paid well originally by Scansoft for his work and he loves Apple products. Jon Biggs also provides the voice for many other technology products including satellite navigation units for Garmin, TomTom, Jaguar, Land Rover, Audi and Porsche.

Source: The Telegraph

Smash some birds with Raging Pigs for iPhone and iPad

Raging Pigs is an iPhone and iPad game where it’s you, a single pig, versus a flock of birds. It is your goal to smash and destroy them all. Each level has a different challenges including crates, special powers, platforms, and weapons.

Raging Pigs also has a companion app for the controls if you want to use your iPhone as a controller for your iPad or with AirPlay.

I’m am still undecided about Raging Pigs. The controls are on the screen and take a little getting used to. The more familiar with the controls I become, the more I like it. The iPad version has a free trial version, so I definitely recommend picking that up first and giving it a try.

The pigs are back and boy are they pissed! Control the raging pigs as they smash, squish and squash birds through 168 levels of pig jumping arcade fun.

Each level presents different challenges and puzzles to solve including pushing and pulling crates, platforms to activate, hot chili pepper powers, arrow shooting crossbows, protective helmets, fire platforms, disappearing platforms, falling crates and the everlasting infinity level.

Enjoy hours of fun as you win up to 3 eggs per level in this fast paced arcade puzzler! Game Center integration is included for achievements and leader boards as well.

Raging Pigs is available on the iPhone for $0.99 and on the iPad for $2.99. The iPad version also has a free trial version. Raging Pigs Joypad is available on the iPhone for free.

[iPhone - App Store link] [iPad (Free) - App Store link] [iPad (Full) - App Store link] [Joypad - App Store link]

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

iOS 5.0.1 Released to Public, How to Update Without iTunes

It seems that Apple decided to go ahead and give the go to iOS 5.0.1 earlier than we had initially thought. Releasing today, the update brings along multiple new minor features, the most significant, however, being the highly anticipated iPhone 4S battery patch. id="more-22498">

The update, which was slowly released worldwide according to region, mainly addresses a few bugs. The main fix that most people were greatly waiting for, was of course, the promised patch to rectify the iPhone 4S battery issues. I haven’t used iOS 5.0.1 long enough to see how much of a difference the battery life is from before, but I’m just hoping that it’s significant…

Here is what accompanies iOS 5.0.1:/> -Fixes bugs affecting battery life/> -Adds Multitasking gestures for original onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.ipadngravy.com');" target="_blank" title="iPad" href="http://www.ipadngravy.com">iPad/> -Resolves bugs with Documents in the Cloud/> -Improves voice recognition for Australian users using dictation

I didn’t see that many people across various forms were having problems with battery life – not only limited to 4S users. And some people were ticked that Apple was only fixing the issue for 4S users. I’m guessing by that first note above that other devices’ battery issues have also been corrected.

Now, the good part. This is probably the first time of many that you’ll be updating straight from your devices, of course only if you have iOS 5. It’s simple to do so:

1. Navigate to Settings/> 2. Click on General/> 3. Further, click on Software Updates/> 4. By this time, the update should be available worldwide, so it should show up immediately on your screen. Just click the update, and you should be all set. Your device will download the update and then will update your device followed by an automatic restart./> 5. Voila!

Let us know below if you noticed any changes in your battery life regardless of the device that you own.

Stanza Updates a Final Time with iOS 5 Support

One of the saddest things about major iOS updates is the apps that get left behind. href="http://itunes.apple.com/app/stanza/id284956128?mt=8" target="_blank">Stanza, an e-reading app that’s now owned by Amazon, seemed like it was going to end up that way. It wouldn’t run under iOS 5, and Amazon has been completely silent on the issue in the weeks that have followed.

href="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/3462951.jpg" class="lightbox" >title="3462951" src="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/3462951.jpg" alt="Stanza" width="250" height="262" />

Stanza fans have now had their patience rewarded. The app updated this afternoon for the first time since February, bringing iOS 5 compatibility. From our testing, this has successfully fixed the crashes that have recently plagued the app, restoring it to full usability on iOS 5.

Sadly, this update will be Stanza’s swan song. Amazon has confirmed to href="http://www.macworld.com/article/163524/2011/11/amazon_updates_sunsets_stanza_app.html" target="_blank">Macworld that this will be the app’s final update. The company has no plans to support it going forward. Amazon is instead focusing its efforts on maintaining its Kindle app. That’s probably to be expected, but must still be a big disappointment for the folks from Lexcycle and Stanza fans alike.

Stanza was one of the first popular e-reading apps available on iOS, and it still offers more customization options and supports more file types than its major competitors. Those users who haven’t already moved on to a new app should be happy to have it back. If you’re one of them, however, you might want to consider moving your e-books over to href="http://itunes.apple.com/app/ibooks/id364709193?mt=8" target="_blank">iBooks or another app — there’s no telling how much longer Stanza will work, but at least it works again for now.

Source: href="http://www.macworld.com/article/163524/2011/11/amazon_updates_sunsets_stanza_app.htm" target="_blank" class="broken_link">Macworld

Get social with your art with Mixel for iPad

Mixel is a new iPad app that brings art and social networking together. With Mixel, you can create collages from Mixel’s collection, the web, or your library. Once your creation, or Mixel, is complete, share it with the Mixel community and Facebook. Now, this is just the beginning of Mixel’s social skills – now that you’ve shared your Mixel, it is available for other users to remix and make as their own. Each version of a collage is saved so that the evolution of changes can be seen.

Check out the promo video for Mixel below!

Mixel is a new, free creativity app for iPad that completely reinvents collage so that everyone can do it. Everything in Mixel can be shared and remixed, making it the world’s first truly social art app. It’s fun, easy and totally different.

Mixel is available for the iPad for free.

[App Store link]

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

Introducing Mixel for iPad from Mixel App on Vimeo.

Apple Releases iOS 5.0.1

Apple today pushed one the faster updates we’ve seen in recent years, with the release of iOS 5.0.1, which includes the vaulted battery fix.

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The official changelog includes:

How to use Siri to access Bluetooth and other Settings (kind of)

bamf-hacker in our iPhone 4S Forum wrote up a quick but smart tip on how to use Siri to access Bluetooth and other Setting with only… the power of your voice.

All you need to do is create a contact and in the Web site field put the code for the system preference. for example.

Contact name is Bluetooth and the Web address is prefs:root=General&path=Bluetooth

Then activate Siri and say “Bluetooth” the contact card will open with a clickable link right to the Bluetooth settings.

It’s not the much-sought-after “Siri, turn off Bluetooth” feature we’ve all been hoping for, but it’s better than the nothing we have now.

bamf-hacker has also posted the URL schemes for other popular Settings, so hit the link below and get the details!

Source: bamf-hacker from the TiPb iPhone 4S Forums

How to update your iPhone or iPad software over the air (OTA)

Curious how to update to iOS 5.0.1 — or any future iOS update — over-the-air (OTA) directly on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch? Yes, Apple finally pulled the big test switch in the cloud and you can go from beta 3 to beta 4 via a svelte, under 200mb, bit differential (delta) update-in-place rather than the usual beefy 700MB+ iTunes restore of updates past. We’ll show you how, after the break!

Initiating an OTA update for iOS is really easy. You might see a red notification badge on your Settings app to alert you to an update, or get a popup notification telling you it’s ready to install, but you can always check on your own, at any time.

Not only does iOS 5 update OTA, it updates in place using bit-differential (delta) files, so you should get a faster, much more efficient process. For example, there’s no need to restore from backup afterwards or re-download your stuff.

Seriously, once the download finishes it’s amazing quick and smooth. Apple may not have invented OTA updates (Chris swears BlackBerry has had them for ages, and Nokia likely invented them in 1812…) but if this is any indication, they’re doing them right.

Apple releases iOS 5.0.1 to the masses, includes bug fixes for battery life

With the developer build having now been out for a while, and some folks claiming to have already received the update via Apples customer care — Apple has now sent iOS 5.0.1 to the masses. You can either go to Settings: General: Software Updates on your device and get it over the air (OTA) or plug into iTunes and get to downloading it right now. As noted in the change log:

• Fixes bugs affecting battery life


• Adds Multitasking Gestures for original iPad


• Resolves bugs with Documents in the Cloud


• Improves voice recognition for Australian users using dictation

Safe to say quite a few people who have been experiencing issues with their battery on the iPhone 4S will be looking carefully at this update to ensure it really does address their concerns. Full release notes are past the break for you all as well as a list of compatible devices.

This update contains improvements and other bug fixes including:

• Fixes bugs affecting battery life


• Adds Multitasking Gestures for original iPad


• Resolves bugs with Documents in the Cloud


• Improves voice recognition for Australian users using dictation

Products compatible with this software update:

• iPhone 4S


• iPhone 4


• iPhone 3GS


• iPad 2


• iPad


• iPod touch (4th generation)


• iPod touch (3rd generation)

For information on the security content of this update, please visit this website:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

iPhone Live 179: Talk Siri to me

Adobe puts a bullet in the head of Flash Player mobile, Charlie Miller exploits the Safari JIT compiler, photos under glass and the future of touch, where should settings go, secret panorama mode, and Rene, Georgia and Seth talk Talking with Siri with Erica Sadun and Steve Sande of TUAW. This is iPhone Live!

Our music comes from the following sources:

The Voice Behind Siri That Apple Doesn’t Want You To Know

The Telegraph this morning features an interview with Jon Briggs, the voice behind Apple’s popular Siri personal assistant in Britain. Briggs alledges that a public relations representative from Apple contacted the vocie-over specialist asking that he not speak publically about its product saying, “We are not about one person“.

href="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/jon_2051056c.jpg" class="lightbox" >src="http://cdn.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/jon_2051056c.jpg" alt="" title="jon_2051056c" width="460" height="287" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-25124" />

Briggs however had not been contracted by Apple, but instead by Scansoft, who merged with Nuance prior to be acquired by Apple. Briggs recorded over 5,000 sententces over a three week period.

“I did a set of recordings… spoken in a very particular way and only reading flat and even,” Mr Briggs said.

“Then they go away and take all the phonics apart, because ‘I’ have to be able to read anything you want, even if I’ve never actually recorded all those words.”

In the US, the default Siri option is female and her identity remains unknown. If Apple doesn’t contact Briggs, there is no story. Their secrecy is far more headline grabbing then revealing the man behind the mic.

Source: href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/8879643/Apple-tried-to-silence-voice-of-Siri.html">The Telegraph

How To Delete Photo Stream Photos

Many people have asked if there is a way to delete Photo Stream photos. Often, they mean delete individual photos. At this time you cannot delete individual Photo Stream photos but you can delete all of them at once. Follow this short guide on how you can delete your Photo Stream photos.

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This will not remove the Photo Stream libraries already on your iOS device(s). If you want to remove them too you will have to go into Settings, iCloud and turn of Photo Stream. This will remove all Photo Stream photos from the device. You can then turn Photo Stream back on.

If you want to remove only a “select few” Photo Stream photos you cannot do it directly. But you can save the ones you want, delete all Photo Stream photos as outlined above, then add only the ones you choose back to Photo Stream.

This tip comes from href="http://www.everythingicafe.com/forum/members/tinman.6512/">Michael from our href="http://www.everythingicafe.com/forum">forums. Have a tip that you’d like to submit. Visit our href="http://www.everythingicafe.com/guest-blogger-submission/">guest blogger submission and share your knowledge with our community.

Adobe also kills Flash for TV

While the big news yesterday was Adobe putting a bullet in the head of Flash Player for mobile, Ryan Lawler over a *GigaOm” noted a similar end for Flash for TV.

Adobe will continue to support existing licensees who are planning on supporting Flash Player for web browsing on digital home devices and are using the Flash Player Porting Kit to do so. However we believe the right approach to deliver content on televisions is through applications, not a web browsing experience, and we will continue to encourage the device and content publishing community down that path.

Apple TV, of course, never supported Flash Player, instead creating apps for YouTube, and a long while later, Vimeo and other web-based video sites. Google, however, decided to go all in with Flash — effectively turning their backs on a tradition of open, standards based web support — just to have a checkbox they thought would hurt Apple and help their ODM‘s compete.

Hopefully now, with all giant ships pointing in the same HTML 5 direction, users on all major platforms will get better technology, faster.

Source GigaOm

iO5 5 has a hidden auto-correct word bar, can be enabled without jailbreak

iOS 5 appears to have a hidden word correction bar which can be enabled without the need for a jailbreak. Discovered by Sonny Dickson, the word correction bar works in a very similar way to Android devices. This is the second hidden feature of iOS 5 that has been discovered this week. On Monday we heard that iOS 5 had a hidden camera panorama mode too.

If you want to turn on the auto-correct bar, the good news is that you do not have to have a jailbroken device. Having said that, it is a bit fiddly so if you decide to try it, be careful and remember this is at your own risk! Sonny Dickson has put together a short guide showing what’s required to get this enabled.

The hack appears to work on the iPhone, iPad  and iPod touch. If you give this one a go, let is know what you think of it!

Source: Sonny Dickson via 9to5Mac