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Author Archives: Mike Schramm

Daily iPhone App: Interlocked puts lots of physical puzzles on a digital touchscreen

Posted on by Posted in armor games, ArmorGames, flash, interlocked, iOS, iPad, iPhone, kingdom rush, KingdomRush, pieces, puzzles, release, the room, TheRoom, touchscreen

I am a big fan of The Room, an iOS app which has gained plenty of accolades here and elsewhere already. One of the most charming things about The Room, I think, is how well it replicates real-world objects on a touchscreen platform. The Room expertly turns the touchscreen interface into a series of mysterious puzzle-boxes, all very fascinating and ingenious to play with.

Interlocked is another app that does that, although without a lot of the extra mystery and setting that The Room adds to things. The app is published by Armor Games, the same company that published the great Kingdom Rush, and like Kingdom Rush, it's based on a popular Flash game you can play for free online. Also like Kingdom Rush, the iOS version has been polished and cleaned up a bit.

The game is simple: You're given a puzzle with a set of interlocking pieces, and then you can drag or swipe around the screen to try and pull all of the pieces apart. The game starts off easy, and quickly gets difficult -- just a few levels in, I had some frustration trying to figure out just how these pieces on screen fit together. If you're a fan of these kinds of manipulation puzzles, you'll love this setup for sure.

As I said, Interlocking is a pure puzzle game, so it doesn't have any of the mysteriousness that made The Room so popular (and if you haven't played that one, you should). Still, if you like these very physical puzzles, Interlocked, with plenty of content and a nice clean interface, should offer up lots of fun. It's available right now as a universal app for 99 cents.

Daily iPhone App: Interlocked puts lots of physical puzzles on a digital touchscreen originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 28 Jan 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iOS, Android grab 92% of smartphone shipments

Posted on by Posted in android, apple, iOS, iPhone, market, marketplace, shipments, shipping, smartphones

The smartphone market is quickly boiling down into a two-party system, so to speak, with both iOS and Android picking up a whopping 92% of smartphone shipments over the last quarter of 2012. In 2011, 32% of smartphone shipments consisted of other operating systems, like Windows Phone, RIM's Blackberry, or Symbian. But in the last year that number has shrunk, to the point where only 7% of smartphones shipping are not iOS or Android, and it seems unlikely to rise again.

In the same time period, about 20% of smartphones shipped were iOS devices, as compared to 70% of devices shipped being Android. That may make it seem like Apple is losing a lot of market share, to Google's operating system. And that may be true, but let's not forget why: not only do Android phones tend to be cheaper (which means device makers can make and sell more), but there are also dozens of Android devices available from nearly as many companies, as opposed to Apple's relatively small (and, of course, exclusive) product line. As a platform, Android is shipping more smartphones than Apple is. But comparing the two isn't necessarily the best comparison, especially as a factor of Apple's success in the smartphone market.

Regardless, this report shows that the smartphone market in general is more mature than ever: there are currently two big players in terms of smartphone operating systems, and it's going to be harder and harder for anyone else to gain a foothold in the future.

[via TMO]

iOS, Android grab 92% of smartphone shipments originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 28 Jan 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple R&D spending spiked at the end of 2012

Posted on by Posted in apple, Apple TV, AppleTv, budget, company, earnings, money, mother jones, MotherJones, rD, research and development, ResearchAndDevelopment, spending

Apple may be on the top of its game lately, but that doesn't mean the company isn't still looking forward. According to the LA Times, the company from Cupertino has jumped up its research and development spending over the last quarter, by a whopping 33 percent. According to the most recent earnings statement, Apple raised the R&D budget by $252 million to more than $1 billion, which is even higher than the 32% jump in the previous year. Clearly, Apple's got something brewing in the R&D department lately.

But of course, there's no telling exactly what. For its part, Apple says the increased spending is due to "an increase in headcount and related expenses to support expanded R&D activities," and we already know that Apple's making a big push at a new R&D facility in Israel (not to mention that it's following up on R&D opportunities elsewhere as well). Innovation is a huge part of Apple's success so far, and this increase is spending is just another way Apple's hoping to stay on top. Hopefully we'll see the fruits of this investment at some point in the future.

[via Mother Jones]

Apple R&D spending spiked at the end of 2012 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Apple set to relocate its Tokyo headquarters

Posted on by Posted in apartments, apple, japan, japane, Mac, move, moving, office, offices, roppongi hills, RoppongiHills, shinjuku, tokyo

Bloomberg is reporting that Apple is all set for a planned move with its Tokyo headquarters. The company will relocate its Tokyo, Japan-based offices from the ward of Shinjuku to the slightly trendier neighborhood of Roppongi Hills. The building Apple is moving to also contains offices for Goldman Sachs and Barclays, as well as an art museum, apartments, a hotel and a private club.

Bloomberg also says that rent in Tokyo has been dropping since around 2008, and the lower prices make it a great time for Apple to make this move. Apple's spokesman in Tokyo declined to comment on the move, but sources there say the company's current lease will be done in June, so the move should be all complete by then.

Report: Apple set to relocate its Tokyo headquarters originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Daily iPhone App: Food Run wants you to play with your food

Posted on by Posted in daily app, daily iphone app, DailyIphoneApp, food run, FoodRun, game, gaming, iOS, iPad, iPhone, newsletter, pixels on toast, PixelsOnToast, platformer, review

If the name Food Run sounds familiar, you've got a good memory. We featured it about a year ago (via the developer's blog post) as a gorgeous example of Retina display graphics. Now, a year later, the game is available from Pixels on Toast, and you can see those gigantic graphics in action.

The game is a nonstop platformer, similar to (though less inventive than) the great Run Roo Run. You play as a piece of food running along the screen, and you simply tap to jump at the right times, with the game doing everything else for you. Along the way, you can grab stars, dodge obstacles and jump up to grab other food items, which will run along after you.

The game's fairly simple, and the clean and clear graphics do make the whole affair very smooth. Personally, I prefer a little bit more action to my platformers (Mikey Shorts is another great iOS platformer, if you haven't played that one yet), but Food Run has a nice Zen quality, and of course all of those stars across the levels do well in pushing you to replay each one until you hit it perfectly. You can pick up Food Run on the App Store now for just US$0.99.

Daily iPhone App: Food Run wants you to play with your food originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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