iOS

Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots is more than just a promotion

Fruit Ninja was one of the early hits at the iTunes App Store, and continues to endure as a perennial top-10 favorite in the paid apps category for its simple, but satisfying game mechanic.

Today Halfbrick--the makers of Fruit Ninja and hit game Jetpack Joyride--released another version of Fruit Ninja, but this time with a movie tie-in. Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots offers the same fruit-slicing action, but adds a new game type that fans of the game will definitely want to check out.

Though Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots is an obvious promotion for the upcoming Dreamworks Animations … Read more

What humanizing Siri, Ice Cream Sandwich says about us

commentary Like it or not, chances are that one of your most prized relationships is with your smartphone.

You love a phone design or you viscerally hate it; you can't stand this wallpaper, so you add that one. Your phone's design or color is a statement of your identity. Like all products it says something about you: you're hip and edgy, you're a top-notch professional, you're more subtle and value utility. If you invest in custom cases or stickers, is it only for protection, or also an act of self-expression?

Then there's the wallpaper you choose, the ringtones and alarms you set, the apps you download, that all create an environment uniquely shaped by and descriptive of you.

All this is a good thing, at least if you make or sell smartphones, and it's a tacit principle that the mobile industry thrives on. People don't just like their phones, we need them. And if you lose or leave behind your phone, you mourn every minute it's outside of your possession. Have you ever thought: my life is on my phone?

Yep, it's not for nothing that cell phones are called the most personal of consumer electronics.… Read more

How to make free ringtones and text tones in iOS 5

A little-known feature in iOS 5 is the new option to create free, custom ringtones and text message alert tones.

The iTunes store is flooding with tones for $0.99 to $1.29, prices that are high enough to make you stick with the iPhone's default tones. But now, with a few easy steps, you can make unique tones that set your phone apart from the many others who share the same standard tones.

Watch the video to learn how:

How to keep Siri from exposing your personal data

While you were busy asking Siri for her hand in marriage, CNET discovered that Apple's new voice command service in the iPhone 4S is sporting a serious security issue. Even if your phone is passcode-locked, a perpetrator can activate Siri and use the service to access your personal data.

Apple enables access in the lock screen for convenience so that if you're driving or jogging, for instance, you can quickly complete tasks using Siri without having to enter a passcode.

In testing, we were able to access contact information, addresses, calendar appointments. We could even send text messages … Read more

Siri surrogate: Voice commands with Dragon Dictation

Are you feeling ignored because your iPhone 4S-toting friends are spending more time conversing with Siri than with you? If you have an older iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4, you can run the newly released iOS 5, but it doesn't come with Apple's vaguely British virtual assistant. What's a lonely, old iPhone owner to do?

One idea is to give Dragon Dictation a try. From Nuance, the makers of Dragon Naturally Speaking software (and who may have had a hand in developing Siri), Dictation is a free iPhone voice app that lets you engage in one-way conversations with your iPhone. It won't answer your queries like Siri does, but it does an impressive job of translating your spoken words into text. So, while you can't ask Dragon Dictation where you can find the best burrito in your vicinity (I'm pretty sure Siri would tell me to leave the state of New Hampshire for such an item), you can dictate text messages and e-mails as well as Facebook and Twitter updates. … Read more

iPhone 4 vs. iPhone 4S: Graphics

With the iPhone picking up steam as a gaming platform, one of the biggest announcements for gamers was that the iPhone 4S' graphics would be seven times faster than its predecessor's. Even though no developers have released a game optimized for the device so far (Infinity Blade II is set to launch December 1), I decided to put some of the more high-quality current games side by side on the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S to see if we could spot any difference.

The reason for all the extra speed is the iPhone 4S' dual-core A5 processor, which supposedly has enough horsepower to render complex 3D graphics with significantly high frame rates. This bump in processor power should become particularly apparent once we see some of the new games being developed for the device, but I simply didn't want to wait that long.… Read more

iOS 5 tip: How to enable LED flash alerts

iOS 5 introduced a number of new and varied notifications, from the Notification Center and different alert tones for different apps to custom vibration patterns and a new visual alert.

Buried in the accessibility settings is a new feature that uses the LED flash next to the rear-facing camera on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S to notify you to incoming calls and alerts. It's a great feature for the hearing impaired and anyone who would rather receive visual rather than audio alerts.

To set it up, to to Settings > General > Accessibility and then scroll down until … Read more

How Apple screwed up the iPad music app with iOS 5

commentary "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," is a motto that Apple should have applied to the iPad's new Music app.

iPad users who updated to iOS 5 may have noticed that the old iPod app is now named Music, a name that makes sense. But other changes to the app have ticked off users by making playing and managing music on the tablet decidedly less user-friendly.

What's even more confusing is that these changes are specific to the iPad. The music app on the iPhone and iPod Touch works the same as … Read more

Four handy iOS 5 tricks for the iPad

iOS 5 further improves the iPad as a productivity device, with new features that streamline navigation and speed up word processing. Four of these new features stood out to us, two of which are only available on the iPad.

All of these tools are built in, so you can start using them right away. Watch the video and follow the tips to get started:

1. Multitasking gestures With iOS 5, the Home button is nearly obsolete, as you can now navigate and manage your iPad using multitouch gestures. To enable gestures, go to Settings > General, and turn on multitasking … Read more

iPod Touch 2011 review: Still the best

This was probably the easiest review of my life.

I mean, sure I was disappointed that Apple's new iPod Touch for 2011 is just last year's model with a new coat of paint and some new software. But let's be honest. At just $199, there's nothing else out there that even comes close to what the iPod Touch offers. The competition literally gave up.

The closest competitor to the iPod Touch is a product that isn't even out yet--Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet. But even if we assume the Kindle Fire is a perfect 10, it's ultimately a different class of product. If nothing else, it's around three times the size of the iPod Touch. Let's also not forget that the iPod includes Bluetooth, AirPlay, FaceTime, an HD video camera, a gigantic app store, up to 64GB of storage, iMessages, maps, and dozens of other worthwhile features that seemingly aren't included on the Kindle. … Read more