iLounge

Madfinger Games has released Shadowgun, a third-person action shooter built on the Unity development platform. Shadowgun puts players in the role of John Slade, a professional bounty hunter in a futuristic world who must hunt down a rogue scientist infiltrating his fortress and battling an army of mutants and cyborgs. The game provides console quality graphics taking advantage of the capabilities of modern iOS devices with advanced lighting effects and detailed environments in an immersive storyline with multiple possible outcomes. In addition to military style tactical combat players must also solve hacking mini-games to progress and advance the plot. Shadowgun is a universal app requiring iOS 4.2 and is available from the App Store for $8. The game requires an iPhone 3GS/4, iPod touch 3G/4G or iPad.

Apple today has invited select members of the press to a special “Let’s talk iPhone” event for the next-generation iPhone. As previously reported, the event will be held on Tuesday, October 4 at Apple’s Town Hall Auditorium on its corporate campus in Cupertino, CA. The invitation includes four classic iPhone icons, showing the Tuesday date, 10:00 (AM/Pacific) event start time, Infinite Loop location, and Phone app with the number “1” next to it.

Apple is widely expected to introduce at least one new iPhone at the event, and will also likely announce a release date for iOS 5, as well as one or more new iPod models, although no specific reports related to the latter have surfaced in recent months. As the company occasionally hides hints in the icons and text of its invitations, it’s possible that the event may focus solely on a single new iPhone model, rather than the two that have been rumored for some time.

Skype has released an update for its iOS applications adding support for Bluetooth audio on recent devices. Skype for the iPhone and iPod touch now supports Bluetooth headset devices on the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, fourth-generation iPod touch and the iPad 2; the iPad version of Skype has also been updated to add Bluetooth support for the iPad 2. Additional improvements in the iPhone and iPod touch version of Skype include a redesigned user interface with support for emoticons and enhanced video with image stabilization. Both of the Skype applications include bug fixes related a security vulnerability nd are now ad-supported—advertising will be shown to users who do not have a Skype subscription or Skype Credit in their account. Skype for the iPhone and iPod touch and Skype for iPad are available separately as free downloads from the App Store.

Mobigame has released an update to its popular block-rolling puzzle game Edge adding a new 3D engine and Game Center integration. With the new engine the latest version of Edge now runs a full 60 FPS and users can sync progress between their devices using Apple’s Game Center. The update also includes graphics optimized for the Retina Display and iPad 2 multisample anti-aliasing along with optimizations for older first- and second-generation devices. Users can also now play against a ghost block and several bug fixes are included to improve playability. Edge 1.7 is a universal app and is available from the App Store for $3.

Alawar Entertainment has released Farm Frenzy 3, the third instalment in its popular farming sim series for the iOS platform. The latest game features a revamped art style, new gameplay and introduces a new storyline presented in comic-book style interludes. In Farm Frenzy 3 players take on the role of a new character, Scarlett, whose must earn the trust of the community by building a successful farming business and unseat the greedy president of the Farmers Union in the next election. The game provides 95 levels where players must manage local farms across exotic locations from the South Pole to Africa, feeding animals, protecting the farm, collecting produce and manufacturing goods. Game Center and OpenFeint integration also provide tracking of 16 different trophies and achievements and the developer plans to offer sequels via in-app purchase providing additional levels and new challenges. The full game is available in two versions: Farm Frenzy 3 ($3) for the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and third- or fourth-generation iPod touch and Farm Frenzy 3 HD ($5) for the iPad. Free Lite versions are also available that provide a more limited set of levels and animals.

Canon has announced that it has added AirPrint support to three PIXMA printers. According to the announcement, the PIXMA MG8220, MG6220 and MG5320 Wireless Photo All-In-One inkjet photo printers will now support AirPrint wireless printing from the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. In addition, the company also announced that the majority of PIXMA inkjet printers launched from this point forward will include support for the feature. Introduced in iOS 4.2 last November, AirPrint allows for configuration- and driver-free printing to supported printers directly from iOS devices.

Apple has signed a foundry partnership agreement with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), according to a new report. Citing industry sources, Digitimes reports that under the new agreement, TSMC will use its 28nm and 20nm process technologies to produce Apple’s next-generation CPUs. Reports linking the two companies date back to as early as June, as tensions between Apple and A5 manufacturing partner Samsung became increasingly evident. The report goes on to state that Apple and TSMC have not yet discussed backend manufacturing, and suggests that Apple may have TSMC and other dedicated packaging and testing houses split the orders due to TSMC’s limited backend services capacity.

Capcom has released two new classic game titles for the iPhone and iPod touch: Final Fight and Street Fighter II Collection alongside an update to Street Fighter IV: Volt adding two new fighters, Fei Long and Yun.

In Final Fight, the player takes on the role of a character who must rescue a kidnapped young woman named Jessica from a ruthless street gang. The beat-‘em-up action side-scrolling action game allows the player to choose from one of three characters—Guy, Cody or Hagger—each with their own unique fighting style and abilities. The iOS version also adds an additional finishing move button that allows the player to blow up enemies when in danger. Two players can also team up for co-op gameplay via Bluetooth. Final Fight requires iOS 4.1 or later and an iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 or third- or fourth-generation iPod touch and is available from the App Store for an introductory price of $1.

The Street Fighter II Collection combines the original Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II: Champion Edition and Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting into a single app with features optimized for the iPhone and iPod touch interface. The game also includes support for cooperative multiplayer Bluetooth games and an easy-to-use one-button finishing move. Street Fighter II Collection requires iOS 4.1 or later and an iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 or third- or fourth-generation iPod touch and is available from the App Store for $4.

SkyGrid has released an redesigned version of its iOS news aggregator app improving the user interface and navigation. SkyGrid 2.2 now allows users to select the Photo Grid view across all sections and provides a separate Following Grid for every source and topic being followed. Image quality has also been improved throughout the app and users can now swipe between home screens and take advantage of more seamless scrolling to view additional stories. The new version also includes an updated Choose Your Interested Guide providing more content and allows users to add more topics or sources to their following grid from any page simply by tapping on the green ribbon in the top right corner. SkyGrid is available from the App Store as a free download.

New code discovered in Apple’s iChat instant messaging client suggests that the company is preparing to add iMessage support to the app. Citing information provided by a developer, Mac Rumors reports that the version of iChat in OS X Lion contains properties for “_timeDelivered” and “_timeRead,” suggesting that the application will offer the tracking of delivery and read receipts for instant messages. Such features, however, are not offered by any of iChat’s current native messaging services, but are offered by iMessage. As noted in the report, support for iMessage in OS X Lion would allow Mac users and iOS 5 users to exchange messages with one another in real time, and would serve as a compliment to Apple’s FaceTime video chat service, which also allows for direct communication between Macs and iOS devices.

Parallels has updated the iOS companion application for its recently released Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac adding support for remote control of the Parallels host Mac in the same manner as remotely controlling virtual machines. The new version also adds audio support, allowing users to play back music and audio remotely from the host Mac or other virtual machine, and iOS clipboard support for copying and pasting text between the iOS device and the remote computer. Additional improvements in the update include better support for external displays and keyboards, the ability to limit connections to Wi-Fi only, and a number of general stability, performance and usability improvements. Parallels Mobile is a universal app requiring iOS 4.0 or later and is currently available from the App Store for an introductory price of $5, reduced from the normal price of $20. The app requires Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac or later; remote control of the host Mac requires Parallels Desktop 7.

The developers of the popular iStudiez class and schoolwork management apps for iOS devices have released iTeacherBook, a new app focused on providing class management tools for teachers. Created in response to multiple requests from teachers using iStudiez Pro, iTeacherBook now only allows planning a teacher’s schedule and tasks but also provides options for tracking and recording student attendance, sending assignments out via e-mail and marking and tracking student progress and grades for multiple courses and classes. A variety of grading systems are supported and attendance and grades can be entered in real-time or for past events and assignments and the app provides various types of built-in reports for attendance, grades, and student information as well as the ability to export data in CSV format. The application also provides notifications for events, assignments to hand out and scheduled tests and exams. Integration with iStudiez Pro is also planned for a future update. iTeacherBook requires iOS 4.1 or later and is available from the App Store for $5.

Apple intends on releasing its eighth beta version of iOS to registered developers this Friday, according to a new report. Citing a trusted source, Boy Genius Report claims that following the release of iOS 5 beta 8, Apple plans to release the Gold Master (GM) build of the software on or around September 23, and that that build will be loaded onto already-assembled iPhone 5 hardware that is waiting for final software. Finally, the report claims that Apple will then request carrier partners to give technical acceptance to the GM by October 5, although it remains unclear what Apple plans to do should the GM fail to receive acceptance.

According to a new report by Stop the Cap, Netflix has recently started to enforce streaming restrictions on subscribers, limiting streaming content to one device at a time. Although the Netflix Terms of Use previously included this limit as an official policy, it was not enforced, enabling users to stream multiple movies or TV shows at once to different devices.

While the policy applies to all Netflix-capable devices, it would appear that it is not yet being consistently enforced within the Netflix iOS app. Our testing today demonstrated that different Netflix content could concurrently stream on up to three iOS devices over both Wi-Fi and 3G connections, or on an Apple TV and a single iOS device, provided the Apple TV stream was already running when the iOS stream began. It is unclear at this time whether this behavior is intentional or not, however the Netflix Terms of Use do not provide any exceptions for specific devices. [via Mashable]

Update: A follow-up report from GigaOM indicates that this seems to be the result of a technical glitch rather than an actual policy change, citing an e-mail from Netflix VP of Corporate Communications Steve Swasey in which he stated that “No Netflix member is limited to less than two concurrent streams. A few Netflix members have heard differently from us, which is an error that we are correcting.”

Video game specialty retailer game stop may soon begin offering the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad in its stores, according to a new report. Citing several unnamed sources, 9to5Mac reports that the announcement was made to dealers at a recent trade show in Las Vegas. GameStop also recently began accepting iOS device trade-ins for store credits, and may be planning to offer used products before phasing in new offerings. Such a move by GameStop would likely bolster iOS’ growing reputation as a viable gaming platform.

Vito Technology has released an update to Solar Walk adding support for displaying content on an external 3D TV. Solar Walk is a 3D interactive virtual model of our solar system that allows users to navigate through space and time exploring the planets and their moons along with several of Earth’s satellites and hundreds of named places on Earth’s Moon, Mars, Earth and Venus. A Time Machine feature allows users to adjust time back or forward moving planets and satellites along their real trajectories. Version 1.8 adds support for connecting to an external screen including 3D TV support along with 3D models of Earth’s ten main satellites with real-time trajectories and more detailed Earth textures. The update also adds three new educational movies: Tidal Phenomena, Major Circles of Latitude and Zodiacal Constellations. Solar Walk 1.8 is a universal app and is available from the App Store for $3.

Apple has seeded its seventh beta version of iOS 5 for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch to registered developers. Listed as build 9a5313e, the release is also available as an over-the-air update for devices running the prior beta, and is once again accompanied by matching beta versions of the iOS 5 SDK, iTunes 10.5, and Apple TV Software. iOS 5 beta 7 is now available to paid iOS developers from the iOS Dev Center.

Apple organized a team in 2008 to crack down on the spread of knockoff iPods and iPhones in China, according to a new report. Citing a September 2008 memo from the Beijing embassy that was published online by WikiLeaks, CNN reports that despite Apple’s move, progress has been slow, as gadget piracy isn’t a high priority for the Chinese government. The report states that members of Apple’s global security team were recruited from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer after it executed a series of crackdowns on counterfeit Viagra production in Asia, and that former Pfizer security chief—and former FBI agent—John Theriault leads the team. It goes on to say that China’s Guangdong province has become a hub for manufacturing and selling counterfeit Apple products, as Apple manufacturing parter Foxconn operates factories there. According to the report, the Chinese counterfeit ring is also responsible for supplying knockoff goods to India, where officials had discovered shipments that came from China through Hong Kong.

Tapbots has released an update to Tweetbot for the iPhone and iPod touch adding support for the Tweet Marker API for bookmarking timeline positions. First introduced earlier this month in Twitterrific for iOS and Mac, Tweet Marker is a third-party service that allows applications to automatically register and save the last read tweet for a user so that the information can be used to sync reading positions between multiple Twitter clients.

Tweetbot is now the second iOS Twitter client to add support for the new service, allowing users of both Tweetbot and Twitterrific to store and synchronize reading positions for the main timeline as well as mentions, direct messages and even lists and searches even between the separate applications. The latest Tweetbot update adds several other enhancements as well including improvements to username searches when composing new tweets, location improvements and bug fixes. Tweetbot 1.6 is available from the App Store for $3.

OfficeTime Software has released an iOS version of its popular desktop time and expense tracking app. Aimed at consultants, freelancers, attorneys and other professionals who need to track their time for billing purposes, OfficeTime for iOS is designed to balance features and ease of use, making it simple and intuitive to enter time and expenses. The application includes support for multiple timers, easy switching between tasks and continuing timing in the background while using other iOS applications.

Advanced features include one-touch report generation by project or time period, tracking billable hours against fixed cost estimates and contracts and exporting reports and data to Microsoft Excel and Apple Numbers. OfficeTime for iOS can also synchronize data with OfficeTime for Mac and Windows including support for aggregating data from multiple iOS devices for team reporting and billing. OfficeTime for iOS is a universal app and is available from the App Store for $8. A free version is also available which provides limited projects and categories and excludes data export and desktop synchronization capabilities.