Mobile Apple Me

We’re less than a month away from E3 2012, and some high profile game developers who will be exhibiting at the show have been releasing iPad, iPhone and iPod touch games leading up to the event.

Square Enix

Victorian Mysteries: Woman in White has been adapted from Wilkie Collins’ 19th century novel The Woman in White — widely considered one of the first and finest mystery novels ever written in the English language. The story centers on Walter Hartright, a poor drawing teacher, whose future is intertwined with an elusive woman in white who harbors a dreadful secret. Explore Victorian mansions, search for clues and artifacts, complete mini games, uncover diabolical plots, root out the lies, and discover the truth about the woman in white.

To learn more about Victorian Mysteries: Woman in White go to the official site, or go to the App Store where you can get it for $0.99 for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad or $2.99 for the HD version for the iPad.

SEGA

Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing for iOS received a major update with a ton of new features that add more fun and features to this racing game. Two new challengers have entered the race—Knuckles the Echidna and Shadow the Hedgehog—ready to race on the brand new Sunfair track. Players can keep tabs on who they’re speeding past as the mini-map now displays character faces in single-player and Game Center profile pictures in multiplayer. HDMI and Airplay video-out modes, iCloud data saving and sharing, and in-game commerce support were also added.

You can get purchase Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing at the App Store for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad running iOS 3.1.2 or later for $1.99.

NAMCO BANDAI

In Rocket Fox, players take control of Guy Fox in his unending quest to ride legendary jet-like flow rockets to light up the sky with jaw-dropping explosions and bursts of color. With the help and guidance of his master sensei Zenko, the cheerful and curious Guy Fox must conquer five worlds filled with fun and challenging 3D maps using intuitive accelerometer controls to spring from one flow rocket to the next, earning points and foxfire along the way. With foxfire currency, players can obtain special powers to enhance game play and customize Guy Fox with colorful and charming attire, including new headgear, shirts, accessories and more.

The first world of Rocket Fox is available for free from the App Store on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch running iOS 4 or later. 52 additional levels are available for $1.99 through an in-app purchase.

SNK Playmore

Okay, so SNK Playmore won’t be at E3, but they should be. Their newly released King of Fighters-i 2012 is the second game in the series which was enhanced with the addition of new fight rules, previously available only in the PS3 / Xbox 360 version. You can play with opponents using Game Center in a variety of modes (Rank Versus, Friend Versus, Time Attack) with four new teams of characters. Including the ART OF FIGHTING, PSYCHO SOLDIER, KIM, and IKARI teams, bringing the total number of playable fighters to 32. The game also includes six bonus background stages, including popular console stages Plaza of Snow and Blue Sky Open Café and additional features like Ending Movies for each default team, new challenges, trading cards and illustrations.

You can buy The King of Fighters-i 2012 on the App Store for $6.99 for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad running iOS 4.2 or later. For more information you can go to the official website.

Apple announced this week that they are planning to launch their latest iPad in 13 new countries around the South American region this Friday, May 11. The Latin American countries included are Brazil, Argentina, Aruba, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Ecuador, French Guiana, and Peru.

An additional set of countries around the Middle East can also expect to see the launch of the new iPad on May 12. And it appears Apple launched the new iPad in Turkey this past weekend.

Apple is making a fast international launch with the latest iPad, adding up a total of around 90 countries. Appleinsider reports that the only country still without the new iPad is China, where Apple is awaiting final product approval.

Via Appleinsider

There’s a movie out right now in which Edgar Allen Poe fights crime. Don’t be that person who sees a movie in which Edgar Allen Poe fights crime. Spend your time and money reading some of Poe’s stories, instead. They’re often brilliantly told and severely messed up and great for scaring the kids (or yourself)  before bedtime…especially with Play Creatividad’s unfortunately named iPoe – The Interactive and Illustrated Edgar Allen Poe Collection.

What is it?

It’s atmosphere, really. Reading the works of Edgar Allen Poe is already frightening enough, but imagine doing it with chilling sound effects and music in the background. With startle scares. With creepy illustrations to set the mood.

iPoe gives you everything you need for a good reading of psychological horror, whether you’re reading to yourself or to others.

How does it work?

Upon launching iPoe, you’re presented with a title screen that allows you to select one of the three included stories: The Oval Portrait, The Tell-Tale Heart and The Masque of the Red Death. I assume that more will be added—either via updates or in-app purchases—considering the high profile titles that are missing here.

The app also contains a biography of Poe and a collection of his sketches. The text of the stories is available in English, Spanish and French.

But the good stuff comes in the stories themselves, which are presented as text on worn paper with some slight animations and interactivity (you get to dismember the corpse!).

The stories are illustrated by David Garcia Forés in a manner that’s almost as creepy as the words themselves. And although I’m a reader, not a fighter, I totally get now how that old dude’s eye could drive someone to murder.

If interactivity isn’t your thing, no worries. You don’t need to spend too much time with flashlights and photos, and can focus solely on reading the text along with the background music and timed sound effects (I hope that beating is coming from your iPad and not from your own floorboards). The touch interface can be a bit picky, as it seems you have to first tap the screen in order to then swipe it turn the page, which is then delayed a bit. This doesn’t interfere with the overall experience, however.

Is it contagious?

It is if you like a good story. Including only three of Poe’s stories—two of which are lesser known but still pretty good—seems kind of slight, but hopefully more are on the way.

iPoe works not because of the interactivity, but because of how well the entire package is presented. The artwork and audio come together very well to enhance the psychological horror of Poe’s tales, not to detract from it, and they do a fantastic job of presenting the period in which they’re set.

This is Poe the way he should be presented to new audiences: haunting, cautionary, and brilliant.

Not solving crimes.

Category: Books
Developer: Play Creatividad
Cost: $3.99
Buy: iPoe – The Interactive and Illustrated Edgar Allen Poe Collection

T-Mobile is the only major mobile carrier within the U.S. that still is not offering Apple’s iPhone. Now, the company’s CTO, Neville Ray, is stating the wireless carrier will offer compatible networks by the end of this year. Despite the fact that there are reportedly over a million T-Mobile subscribers using an unlocked iPhone on that network, they’re still limited to 2G speeds largely due to the iPhone incompatibility with the 1700/2100 MHz bands used by T-Mobile for its faster data networks. Philipp Humm, T-Mobile CEO, stated that frequency band incompatibility was the “key reason” that T-Mobiledoesn’t officially offer Apple’s iPhone to their customers.

During a dinner event on Monday, T-Mobile announced they will use 1900MHz spectrum for its upgraded HSPA+ 4G network that would allow owners of the iPhone to gain access to the faster 4G speeds.

“As part of the company’s network modernization effort, T-Mobile also plans to launch 4G HSPA+ service in the 1900 MHz band in a large number of markets by the end of the year,” the statement read. “Rolling out 4G HSPA+ services in the 1900 MHz band will also provide customers with the ability to use a broader range of devices, including the iPhone, on T-Mobile’s 4G network.”

All Things D noted that these spectrum to which T-mobile is referring is the spectrum gained from the breakup fee of the attempted merger between AT&T and T-Mobile in 2011.

While T-Mobile remains very positive about next generation of Apple’s iPhone being compatible with the carrier’s 1900MHzSpectrum, it’s too early to tell if the company has any future plans for acquiring the iPhone.

Via AllThingsD and ABC News