Good news, everyone! The software update that was “coming soon” to resolve iOS 4.0’s terrible performance on the iPhone 3G has gone “gold master” (GM) and should be available to the general public next week. I’ve had the opportunity to test this update out on my wife’s iPhone 3G, and I’m happy to report that it does indeed appear to resolve all the stuttering, crashing, and generalized slowness the iPhone 3G was suffering under even previous beta builds of iOS 4.1.

I tested her iPhone 3G out under the iOS 4.1 GM by doing things that would have brought her iPhone to a standstill before. First, I started a playlist in the iPod app and let it play in the background. Then I went into Safari, where she had four “tabs” open, and navigated to an image-heavy page.

Normally just loading such a page would have caused the background music from iPod.app to start stuttering, but even though I started scrolling back and forth through the page before all images finished loading, I couldn’t get Safari to freeze or iPod.app to stutter.

Next, I loaded up the Maps app and started navigating along an input route with music still playing in the background. This was a guaranteed way to bring her iPhone 3G to a screeching halt before, but no matter how much demand I placed on the iPhone, it took it like a champ. I tested Google Earth’s app as well, and it was far more responsive than I’ve ever seen it in iOS 4.

I’m not sure what under-the-hood changes Apple made to get iOS 4 running on the iPhone 3G at an acceptable speed (finally), but I did notice one thing: Spotlight Search on the iPhone 3G no longer searches through text messages. I verified this by comparing the Spotlight settings side-by-side with my iPhone 4; “Messages” was missing as an option on the iPhone 3G. On previous iOS 4 builds, one of the most popular suggestions for improving iPhone 3G performance was disabling Spotlight, so maybe that was the problem all along.

Your mileage certainly may vary, but for at least one iPhone 3G, iOS 4.1’s gold master release has finally made the phone just as responsive and useful as it was before iOS 4. And there was much rejoicing.

iOS 4.1 release may finally resolve your iPhone 3G woes originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iOS 4.1 release may finally resolve your iPhone 3G woes originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Normally, to get a game of Tichu going, you need to round up three friends. If you don’t have any card-playing friends who know Tichu, then maybe you have to tell them you’re going to have a Bridge party, then *bam!* you bust out the 56-card Tichu deck at the last minute. This sort of gamer subterfuge is a thing of the past, thanks to the brand-new Tichu app from Steve Blanding. Now, any number of players can enjoy the card game at any time: one person can play against three computer opponents or link up with other people on their iDevices (the $2.99 app is universal) and the computer will fill in any empty seats.

Why bother with all of this? Because Tichu is one of the best - and most well-regarded - card game around. The rules will be familiar enough to people who enjoy trick-taking games but it’s different enough to present a fresh challenge and is enjoyable every time. Keep reading to find out all about it.

Continue reading App review: Tichu card game ups the ante for digital trick taking

App review: Tichu card game ups the ante for digital trick taking originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

App review: Tichu card game ups the ante for digital trick taking originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Normally, to get a game of Tichu going, you need to round up three friends. If you don’t have any card-playing friends who know Tichu, then maybe you have to tell them you’re going to have a Bridge party, then *bam!* you bust out the 56-card Tichu deck at the last minute. This sort of gamer subterfuge is a thing of the past, thanks to the brand-new Tichu app from Steve Blanding. Now, any number of players can enjoy the card game at any time: one person can play against three computer opponents or link up with other people on their iDevices (the $2.99 app is universal) and the computer will fill in any empty seats.

Why bother with all of this? Because Tichu is one of the best - and most well-regarded - card game around. The rules will be familiar enough to people who enjoy trick-taking games but it’s different enough to present a fresh challenge and is enjoyable every time. Keep reading to find out all about it.

Continue reading App review: Tichu card game ups the ante for digital trick taking

App review: Tichu card game ups the ante for digital trick taking originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

App review: Tichu card game ups the ante for digital trick taking originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The great Shazam app, which I’m still using after downloading it to my iPhone on day one, has released another update, bringing the whole suite of apps (including the paid Shazam Encore and the Shazam (RED) version) to version 3.3. This one updates the app for iOS 4.0 and includes Retina Display graphics and support for fast app switching. Version 3.3 also adds some setting customization options like “tag on startup,” improved artist info, a new Discover tab with tag charts and preview clips for the top songs tagged in 20 different countries, and quick shortcut icons for sending the music off to iTunes or to Facebook and Twitter.

Additionally, the free Shazam app now offers a subscription model upgrade to the paid version, which allows for as many tags as you want, extra features like “Drive and Tag,” and more information about the songs you hear with the app. For a limited price of $2.99, you can get access to Shazam Encore for an entire year, or for $4.99 (the price of the paid app on the App Store), you can get a “lifetime subscription.” Clearly Shazam wants to offer something a little cheaper for customers who aren’t sure if they’ll use the app that much, but honestly, if you want the pro options, the Encore version is worth the $5.

On the other hand, all I’ve ever had is the free version, and for the occasional “hear a song on the radio or in a store and wonder what the heck it is,” Shazam has served me quite well. Good to know it’ll now look and run better on the iPhone 4.

Shazam updates for iOS 4.0, adds subscription model for Encore features originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shazam updates for iOS 4.0, adds subscription model for Encore features originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just an FYI before you start your Labor Day weekend (and any associated trips): Telltale Games has released its latest title, Puzzle Agent, for the iPhone and the iPad. The game got middling reviews on Metacritic, but I think that’s mostly because of the genre — if you’re a fan of sharp writing and interesting puzzles to play on the drive or flight out to the country for your vacation, it’s a worthwhile title to fill the time with. Even if all of the puzzles aren’t perfect, the game’s atmosphere is excellent, and the art style is exactly the kind of thing we need more of on the iPhone. Nelson Tethers’ adventures as a Puzzle Agent exploring the Scoggins Eraser Company are a worthy addition to the App Store. You can get the small-screen version for US$4.99.

The game’s also available on the iPad as Puzzle Agent HD, for a premium price of $6.99, though it doesn’t offer up any extra features besides of course the larger graphics (and easier to read text in some cases). But whichever one you choose is mostly just a matter of practicality — both are excellent to play through.

And this is an extra bit of news unrelated except for the “Puzzle” connection, but it’s always nice to go into a holiday weekend with something to look forward to: Namco has announced that it will be bringing the great Puzzle Quest 2 to the iPhone sometime this fall, complete with Game Center integrated for full multiplayer. We’ll look forward to that one for sure.

Telltale releases Puzzle Agent on the iPhone, iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Telltale releases Puzzle Agent on the iPhone, iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chuck Gnome was chosen as our Daily App here on the site about a month ago, and now Movable Sprites has offered us a few copies to give away to you readers. Since we last posted about it, the game has updated to version 1.1 and added in a new episode, a new mini game, new music, and lots more. Plus, the price was lowered to 99 cents (and there’s still a lite version available for you to check out).

But if a buck is still too much for you to check out this gnome tossin’ good time, you can enter below to win one of 10 copies from TUAW and Movable Sprites!

To enter the giveaway, leave us a comment telling us what you’d like to chuck Chuck at in real life. Here are the official rules:

• Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
• To enter, leave a comment telling us what real-life object, place, or thing you’d like to throw Chuck Gnome at.
• The comment must be left before midnight on Monday, September 6, 2010, 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time.
• You may enter only once.
• Ten winners will be selected. All will receive one promo code for Chuck Gnome, valued at $0.99 each.
• Click Here for complete Official Rules.

Good luck!

TUAW Giveaway: Chuck Gnome originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TUAW Giveaway: Chuck Gnome originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Crokinole is a beautiful, simple game with a long history. In the tradition of pool and Carrom, Crokinole is a dexterity game that pits two (or four) people against each other around a circular wooden board. Players try to flick little wooden discs towards the center, knocking out opponent’s discs if they’re in the target area. It takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to get frustrated at because you’re just not good enough.

The trouble is, if you want a decent Crokinole board at home, it’ll set you back a few hundred dollars; $130 or so is the minimum, and you can always pay more if you really want to go all out. It’s not hard to find boards costing $400 or more (don’t ask how much the Death Star board costs) and you need someplace to store it when it’s not in use. These things are about a meter across, and made of heavy wood, so this isn’t a trivial issue.

With the Croke iPhone app, you can have a somewhat similar experience on a touchscreen. It’s not the same thing, but it’s also only $1.99, so you’re getting to play without paying through the nose. Read on to see if this flick’s for you.

Continue reading Flick this! Croke puts Crokinole on the iPhone

Flick this! Croke puts Crokinole on the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Flick this! Croke puts Crokinole on the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Epic Games, creator of the Unreal 3 game engine, has been working on getting Unreal Engine 3 running in iOS for a while now. They showed off some of their efforts with a demo of “Project Sword” at Apple’s iPod event, and Mike Capps of Epic Games talked about the direction he saw gaming on iOS devices taking in the future.

The fact that the Unreal 3 engine now runs seamlessly on iOS devices is a huge deal. This is the same game engine that’s responsible for many high-quality titles on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, so having it run games on a device that fits in the palm of your hand is pretty mind-blowing. You can get a taste of Epic Games’ Unreal 3 in iOS efforts with Epic Citadel, available on the App Store — but because of the demanding graphical requirements, it’s only compatible with the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad, and 3rd and 4th generation iPod touches. If you don’t have one of those devices, the demo likely won’t run at all.

A demo is really all Epic Citadel is; it’s not a game as such, since there’s really nothing for you to do except wander around and gape at the environment. And gape you will, because this is console-quality graphics on a 3.5 inch screen. While wandering through the castle grounds, I exclaimed several times, “I can’t believe this is running on a freaking cell phone.” The graphics in Epic Citadel easily surpass anything I’ve seen on the iPhone before, and they put the Nintendo DS to shame. Even the Wii doesn’t put out graphics with this level of detail. To my eyes, only the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC games are competitive with the graphical richness I’m seeing in Epic Citadel on the iPhone.

Don’t just take my word for it, though. Either download the demo yourself ,or if you can’t run it on your device, check out our coverage in the video above. The game engine is truly amazing on the iPhone 4, especially with the Retina Display. And if this is the future of gaming in iOS, … Nintendo and Sony had better step up their game.

Epic Citadel shows the bright promise of iOS gaming’s future originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Epic Citadel shows the bright promise of iOS gaming’s future originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Usually, we like to use this space to highlight developers and apps that could use a little more exposure, not call out big-budget titles from developers like Electronic Arts. But this one’s worth it — Mirror’s Edge is a pretty terrific, completely original translation of the plaforming game that arrived on consoles last year. It was out on the iPad at launch earlier this year, and now the game has made its way to the iPhone, bringing Retina Display graphics and the same well done gameplay.

Out of all of the “major” game publishers, EA has shown Apple quite a bit of love in the past, and this is probably the company’s best original (in mechanics, if not actually name or premise) title for the iOS platform. It’s a real shame that it took so long for this one to make it around to the handheld, but now that it’s here, it is worth the $4.99 purchase price for those looking for a premium iPhone experience.

And heck, if that’s too much, just be patient another eight months or so and you’ll probably see the game on sale. If you’re interested in this gameplay at all — basically a complicated Canabalt, with heroine Faith running, sliding and shooting her way across rooftops — definitely give it a look.

TUAW’s Daily App: Mirror’s Edge originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TUAW’s Daily App: Mirror’s Edge originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gamasutra cornered Epic Games’ Mike Capps (he of the very impressive Epic Citadel demo yesterday at the Apple special event), and Capps confirms that what you see running on your iPhone is the real deal — Unreal Engine 3, with all of the bells and whistles that it has on the major HD consoles. The actual game that Project Sword will become is being designed by Chair (which is the same group that did the popular Shadow Complex game for Xbox 360), and we’ll see the full project soon.

Capps also confirms that UE 3 needs at least an iPhone 3GS to run, but he says that in terms of hardware, Apple’s devices are right where they need to be. High-resolution textures are an issue (you can’t install a 15gb game on an 16gb portable device), but the memory and speed are actually there, says Capps. “You’ve got 16 gigs of flash memory,” he says, “which is way better, faster memory than what most people have generally on a home PC. So that stuff works really well.”

The biggest issue holding handheld gaming back is larger environments, but game developers are getting better and better at designing worlds that render quickly and well to all kinds of platforms. And Capps looks into the future, and sees even more possibilities for Apple and their product lines. “It doesn’t take a whole lot of leaps of faith to say, ‘Right now, I can display from my iPad to my Apple TV on a big screen TV.’ How far away are we from ‘that’s my game console, and it’s displaying wirelessly to my television set?’ It’s not far away.”

That’s kind of a trippy thought — that Apple had to finally move away from the Mac to earn a larger foothold in gaming. It’s very heartening, as a gamer and an Apple fan, to hear Capps as excited as he is about the possibilities for iOS and the App Store.

[via Joystiq[

Epic’s Mike Capps talks about Epic Citadel and the future of iOS gaming originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Epic’s Mike Capps talks about Epic Citadel and the future of iOS gaming originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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