Angry Birds Gets Game Center, Retina Display Support

Angry Birds, a very popular game for the iPhone, has been updated with Game Center and Retina Display support, as well as, new levels!

The survival of the Angry Birds is at stake. Dish out revenge on the green pigs who stole the Birds’ eggs. Use the unique destructive powers of the Angry Birds to lay waste to the pigs’ fortified castles. Angry Birds features hours of gameplay, challenging physics-based castle demolition, and lots of replay value. Each of the 195 levels requires logic, skill, and brute force to crush the enemy.

What's New In This Version:
● GAME CENTER SUPPORT
● RETINA DISPLAY SUPPORT
● 15 TOUGH NEW LEVELS
● AN AWESOME NEW GOLDEN EGG SOUND BOARD
● LOCALIZATION FOR EFIGS, CHINESE AND JAPANESE
● OPTIMIZED MEMORY USAGE

You can purchase Angry Birds from the App Store for $0.99.

HeyWire: Free International Text Messaging With A Real Number

On September 22nd, a new service and app was added the iTunes App Store without much notice. A company called MediaFriends has created Hey Wire, a service which allows anyone with an iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Mac or PC to send text messages to people around the world for free. HeyWire is the first and currently only multi-platform texting and chat service that delivers free international messaging with a real phone number.

Not only does HeyWire give you a real number, the service also enables users to text eachother worldwide, anywhere, and even supports all major languages, thus allowing people to communicate in their native language.


The App is available in the Apple App Store and the Web PC/Mac Beta versions can be found at HeyWire.com. HeyWire will soon be available for Android, GoogleTV, gaming devices and e-Readers in 2011.

Google Docs Coming To iPad, Android

Owners of iPads and Android devices looking to be a little more productive may be in luck.

Google plans "in the next few weeks" to offer its Docs productivity suite for Apple's iPad tablet and for devices with Google's Android OS, the company announced at its Google Atmosphere event in Paris yesterday.

Google didn't say which Android-based devices will work with Google Docs. The company did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Google's decision to bring its productivity suite to the iPad could be the most important aspect of its announcement. Currently, Apple sells its iWork suite, which includes Pages, Keynote, and Numbers, to iPad customers for $10 per application. If Google offers Docs for free, it might make some wonder why they should opt for Apple's alternative.

Google's Web-based Docs suite allows people to create and share items such as documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and forms.


Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20017086-17.html?tag=mncol;title#ixzz10ISTtlEE

Microsoft Updates Live Messenger iPhone App

Microsoft has beefed up its Windows Live Messenger iPhone app with a few new features.

Launched on Monday, Live Messenger 1.1 now lets you incorporate your Facebook account directly into Messenger. You can view updates from and chat with your Facebook friends and update your own profile. Through your Windows Live Service account page, Microsoft gives you some control over the Facebook integration, so you can limit who sees what.

Also new to Live Messenger is a filter for your friends list. You can choose to view all your friends, only those in certain groups, or only those currently online, a handy option for those of you with lengthy contact lists. You also now have easier access to your status screen, so you can more quickly change your status or sign out completely.

Live Messenger 1.1 takes advantage of the fast switching feature introduced in Apple's iOS 4, which means you can pause the app to do something else and then quickly return to it without having to launch it from scratch. To reach out to more of the world, the app also now supports 31 different languages, including Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Turkish.

The 1.1 update represents the first refinements that Microsoft has made to Live Messenger for the iPhone since the app's debut in June. The Facebook integration new to the mobile version also gives us a taste of what to expect with the upcoming Live Messenger 2011 desktop version. Currently in beta, the new desktop edition will offer Facebook chatting among a host of other enhancements.

iOS 4.1 For iPhone, iPod Touch Released

The latest software for the iPhone and iPod Touch is available starting Wednesday for download from Apple.

The company foreshadowed the arrival of iOS 4.1 at its annual fall press event last week and included an overview of the latest features. The download is free via iTunes for iPhone and iPod Touch owners.

Besides upgrades to new features for games, photos, and high-definition videos, Apple is using this software update to zap several bugs at once.

Among the issues Apple CEO Steve Jobs promised would be fixed with the installation of 4.1 are: proximity sensor problems that were causing some accidental dropped calls; the painfully slow performance of the iPhone 3G with iOS 4.0; Bluetooth connectivity problems with certain car stereos and headsets (that CNET noted as soon as the iPhone 4 was released); and problems related to the Nike+iPod software.

Other upgrades in iOS 4.1 include: the ability to upload HD videos over Wi-Fi, TV show rentals on iTunes from an iPhone or iPod Touch, new HDR (high dynamic range) photo function, and the delayed GameCenter.

GameCenter was announced in April at the iOS 4.0 press event, but was not included in the initial release of the software. GameCenter is a social-networking feature that allows iPhone and iPod Touch users to play games on their devices against friends in real time.

CNET's Kent German will have a hands-on review of the latest software for iPhone and iPod Touch as well as screenshots later today, so be sure to check back.


Read more: http://news.cnet.com/apple/?tag=hdr;snav#ixzz0yybkMSay