Football season is fast approaching and why not prepare for the upcoming season by checking out the newly released Madden 2011 for not only the iPhone but on the iPad as well. The iPhone version will run you $7.99 while the iPad version is a bit steeper at $12.99. Yes, these two are pricier than we’d like to see but this is EA’s cream of the crop and has been for many years so it was to be expected. If you are not in a hurry to pick these up, simply wait a few weeks and it’s very possible you will soon see the prices come down.

The game itself contains some pretty great graphics for a portable device but also has some killer features carried over from the console versions as well.

• TDC ("Total Defensive Control") makes playing defense pure fun. Press the TDC button to pause the action, position your defensive players, and feel the thrill of delivering game-changing hits like never before.

• GameFlow lets you to choose your play without having to go back into the playbook. Stay on the move with more streamlined gameplay.

• Match up all 32 NFL teams featuring updated rosters and nearly 2,000 real players.

• This season, get more gameplay depth with Hot Routes Everywhere. Now draw up Hot Routes for passing, running, and defense. Even save your best (or craziest!) routes as audibles.

EA also states that multiplayer will be coming in a soon to be released update for the iPad version.

[Via TUAW]

Madden 2011 released into App Store for iPhone and iPad is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

The folks over at OkCupid have performed a little study where they analyze photography from a numerical angle. The finding we found most interesting is that iPhone users have more sex than other smartphone users.

The above chart compares the number of sexual partners of 30 year olds who use an iPhone, Blackberry, or Android phone. They also broke down the data of the number of sexual partners by age. The iPhone wins on that chart too.

The mathematical part of me has to ask, are iPhone users attracting more partners because they use an iPhone, or is that that these people prefer iPhones (perhaps because of all those dating apps)? In the chance that it’s the former, any Android users ready to make the switch?

[OkCupid via Daring Fireball, Andy Baio]

iPhone owners get the most sex is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

When iPhone first launched there were a lot of calls for an “iPhone Pro” or “iPhone Slider” with a physical keyboard. Some believed that iPhone would never be a serious messaging, getting-things-done device without that tactile, hardware feeling. Others believed the keyboard was a crutch — something long time smartphone users had grown accustomed to but not something new users, users who upgraded from feature phones, would even consider.

Since then competitors have counter-programmed iPhone with a physical keyboard. While still at Apple, Jon Rubinstein is rumored to have argued with Steve Jobs for the keyboard. Now as CEO of Palm, they’re using keyboards as their differentiator. RIM’s CEO, Mike Lazaridis infamously said neither her nor any of his friends could type on glass — right before introducing the BlackBerry Storm. Yet RIM’s BlackBerry Bold 9700 and now BlackBerry Torch 9800 are designed for those who want the physical keyboard. Likewise, the first really successful Android smartphone in the US was the sliding Motorola Droid, though its keyboard hardly received rave reviews. Still, after the slab form factor Droid Incredible and Droid X, Verizon and Motorola are set to introduce the next-generation slider, Droid 2.

Yet talk of an iPhone with a physical keyboard has all but disappeared. (I’ve gone so far as to, only semi-facetiously, declare the age of the hardware keyboard to be over). Have people come to the realization Apple will simply never, not ever, produce an iPhone with a slider or front facing keyboard and, if they really want one, moved on to another device? Has Apple’s outstanding virtual keyboard combined with other features been enough to change minds and hearts? Is there a split between what new, mainstream users want and what long time, power users demand? All of the above?

Bottom line, does anyone still want an iPhone with a physical hardware keyboard?

Does anyone still want an iPhone with a physical hardware keyboard? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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The TiPb forums are naturally a great place to talk, commiserate, celebrate, get help, and offer advice to your fellow iPhone users. In order to create a new thread of your own or reply to any of the existing threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is easy and free so if you haven't already head on over and register now!

• For those of you using an iPhone 3GS and updated to iOS 4, how has your battery life been treating you?

• Some of our forum members are reporting their iPhone 4’s are heating up to a uncomfortable level. Have you had any heat issues with your iPhone 4?

• With the latest web-based jailbreak many of you are just beginning to learn about all of the great apps available if you jailbreak. If you want to find more or simply want to share some great apps you are aware of, do so here: Top 5 Jailbreak Applications.

• The comparisons between Android and iPhone are inevitable. But more specifically for those who have used both, why do you prefer one or the other?

See you in the forums!

iPhone 3GS & iOS 4 battery life, iPhone 4 heat, Top jailbreak apps, Android vs iPhone – From the Forums is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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While Apple has said the white iPhone 4 was being delayed until later this year, Orange is now emailing UK customers to tell them that pretty much means end of the year.

We wanted to let you know that there won't be any white iPhone 4's in the UK until the end of the year.

If you're happy to wait another few months we'll let you know as soon as they're back in stock. want an iPhone 4 now?

Alternatively, if you want it now, click here or visit your local Orange shop to get the iPhone 4 Black 16GB or 32GB today. Best wishes

Orange

Whatever production problem Apple is having, it’s not showing signs of ending any time soon. Are you still waiting for a white iPhone 4, or have you given up hope and gone with black?

[Thanks Hassan]

Orange says no white iPhone 4 in the UK before end of year is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Like Star Wars? Like tower defense games? Then you might want to take a look at THQs recent release Star Wars: Battle for Hoth for iPhone. 

The game premise is that of all tower defense games; prevent your enemy (in this case the Imperial Empire) from reaching the other said of the map. As you play the game you get a fairly diverse set of units to deploy in defending Hoth. But, before I get into that, let’s look at play mechanics first. 

You start Battle for Hoth with some simple ground troop units and a shovel. The shovel allows you to alter the landscape of the level and force units to move a certain route. This is a great tool in later levels as you can really funnel the Empire to their doom. When you place your units and they destroy a wave of Imperials, you are rewarded with a green wrench icon you have to touch to collect. This gives you points to build or upgrade units. You have to be fast though if you wait too long the wrench will change color to orange then red, decreasing the point value. Wait too long, and your points are gone forever.

As you play through the 15 levels you unlock more types of units including; seated blaster units, radar lasers, turrets, snow speeders, x-wings, shield generators and ion cannons. Some of the more complex units like the ion cannon, shield generators and turrets require an energy generator placed next to them. The energy generator is required to power those units. If you upgrade a unit (say the shield generator) without upgrading the energy unit, you run the risk of losing power to that unit so you always have to keep it in check. 

You can upgrade your existing units to make them more powerful and sell them as needed. I found the most fun in the game building up units under the safety of the shield generator and then taking out AT-ATs with relative ease once my units were upgraded to the maximum.

When writing this review, I have to admit I had some distaste for this game. Simple and not a lot of variety in what appeared to be a shameless use of an awesome gaming license. However, after I made my video review above, I am having a bit of a change of heart. I think I am trying to make Battle of Hoth more than it is;  a simple Star Wars-themed tower defense game to kill a view minutes in your day while standing in line to get groceries. Should you get it? If you are a Star Wars fan I think you will enjoy. If not, I would pass. 

[$2.99- iTunes Link]

Pros

• Fast gameplay
• Fun in small chunks
• Fast forward the game action
• Familiar Star Wars universe
• Units behave as they should

Cons

• Original game music is not the Star Wars music we love
• Easy is too easy
• Lacking variety of Star Wars units and ships

Star Wars: Battle for Hoth – app review is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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No one outside a very few at Apple and AT&T know exactly how long iPhone will remain exclusive in the US. While the original deal was for 5 years, deals are subject to all manner of renegotiation, renewal, termination, amendment, and service level agreements. It could run out earlier than expected or it could continue on longer. While we can’t see the dark matter that is Apple and AT&T exclusivity, we can see some of the gravitational ripples around it.

Holding out for BlackBerry, Android, and Palm heroes

Since launch in 2007 through 2009, iPhone was AT&T’s single hero phone. iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS were not only the biggest they were the one and only flagship release of the year. They were also the only real, full screen, touch-centric devices on AT&T’s network. You went to AT&T for iPhone and some even stuck with abysmal AT&T service in their area just to get iPhone.

In 2010 iPhone 4 was still a huge deal. The hugest deal perhaps. But for the first time it wasn’t the only deal. AT&T got Palm Pre Plus. They didn’t do much with it, of course, nor with the first Android phone they got — the unfortunate Backflip. In July they added a real Android, the Samsung Galaxy S branded as the Captivate. Both the Palm Pre Plus and the especially the Captivate offer very iPhone-like experiences. They’re both real, full screen, touch-centric devices on AT&T.

Then August brought the BlackBerry Torch. Back in May we wondered what this device meant for AT&T and iPhone. While media reception to RIM’s first slider has been lukewarm to say the least, the device itself was built specifically for and with AT&T, and was introduced by AT&T head honcho Ralph de la Vega who reportedly ordered millions of them.

Again, real, full-screen, touch-centric device on AT&T’s network, and this time with a huge network push behind it.

From zero comparable devices/OS to three in a year? The pace is being picked up.

Look at the locks

In recent SEC filings AT&T has gone further than ever to try and assuage investor fears about what losing iPhone exclusivity would mean to the carrier. Much of this involves new iPhone 4 customers who are just beginning a 2 year contract stint, but also states that 80% of iPhone users are locked into hard-to-transport corporate and family plans. And there’s that new ETF.

AT&T also remains the only US carrier fully compatible with current and past GSM/HSPA iPhones. T-Mobile is compatible for EDGE data but their 3G bands are another story and Verizon and Sprint use CDMA/EVDO radios that would require a completely different radio.

That AT&T is taking the time to point all this out, and doing it now, at the same time they’re releasing other hero phones in noteworthy. That they’re pointing it out to investors — the people who know just how much of AT&T’s profits and ARPU (average revenue per user) have been tied to iPhone over the last few years — is noteworthy.

Lies, damn lies, and iPhone on Verizon

It used to be that everyone was talking about the next iPhone having a hardware keyboard. No one cares about that anymore. 4 years later and they’re still talking about the next iPhone coming to Verizon. That they care about. And the punishment for that caring is year after year, rumor after rumor, that an iPhone on Verizon is just around the corner. Always, just around the corner.

Better service is one of the most closely held hopes. Whether AT&T has a poor network or any single network would suffer under the sheer volume of iPhone usage — or both — the reality and perception is that, for many users, Verizon is their network of choice.

We heard back at CES in January, and many other outlets have heard since, that the technology for a Verizon iPhone was in place but Verizon and Apple couldn’t come to an agreement. Two such controlling companies, go figure?

Since then it’s been revealed that Apple has flirted with Verizon several times over the years but never pulled the trigger.

Follow the money

The bottom line is, there will come a point where everyone who wants to or is willing to use AT&T for an iPhone will have one. Apple will reach saturation on a single network. 4 years in, old contracts are done, new towers are in place, the price is cheap-ish and brand awareness is through the stratosphere. It’s becoming an upgrade, not a new user business for both AT&T and Apple in the US.

AT&T obviously knows this, hence the Palm Pre Plus, Android Captivate, and BlackBerry Torch. Users who actually like AT&T but for some reason don’t like the iPhone might just come on over for one of those. (And, of course, when iPhone does go non-exclusive, AT&T will have other platform bases established from which they can attempt to build).

For Apple, selling tens of millions of additional iPhones in the US means getting on Verizon. (Or, okay, Sprint and T-Mobile since why leave any money on the table?). Verizon tried and failed to appease would-be iPhone converts with the BlackBerry Storm, and tried and succeeded with the Android Droid line, but while that stemmed the bleeding it didn’t suck in the massive iPhone market. An iPhone on Verizon would.

Apple probably won’t let Verizon paint a huge logo on iPhone, stick on garbageware, or BOGO it come January, but Verizon has Droid now for all that.

It’s just, and all, about the money both will make from the deal at this point — if they can reach it.

But what about the LTE, man?

While AT&T and Verizon don’t have compatible 2G or 3G networks, they’re both moving to 4G networks based on LTE (Long Term Evolution). This makes many believe Apple will wait for LTE before releasing a Verizon iPhone.

Maybe.

It has less to do with LTE and more to do with timing. When Apple and Verizon have a deal in place, iPhone will ship on Verizon. If that’s after LTE is ubiquitous, it will be an LTE iPhone on Verizon. If not, it will be CDMA. The first AT&T iPhone didn’t even support 3G.

Sure a CDMA iPhone will be a re-design, but so would an LTE iPhone and the only thing that matters — again — is what return on that investment Apple figures they’ll make.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Time is running out on AT&T iPhone exclusivity. AT&T knows it; they’re lining up alternative hero phones and preparing their investors for the day their profit reports aren’t lined with Apple gold. Apple knows it; they’ve been talking to Qualcomm about CDMA chips and seeing what multiple carriers have done for them in almost every other market outside the US. We all know it, hence the annoying amount of rumors that keep hitting the interwebs.

It’s just a matter of time and Apple and Verizon making the deal.

Regarding AT&T, Verizon, and iPhone exclusivity is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

iOS 4’s new fast app switcher interface also allows you to kill both Apple and 3rd party App Store apps that may be causing problems in the background.

To access the fast app switcher in iOS 4, double click the home button on iPhone 4 iPhone 3GS, or iPod touch G3. The interface will slide up and reveal a second dock-like set of app icons “in the background”. To kill an app, tap and hold the app until the icons begin to jiggle, then tap the minus symbol (-) at the top left corner. The app will then disappear, “deleted” from the background dock (but not from your iPhone or iPod).

This force quit or kill action will do a couple of different things depending on the type of app.

First, with built-in Apple apps, if you kill them from the fast app switcher, they will still keep running in the background. For example, if you kill Mail you will still receive Mail (it doesn't kill the background thread that checks, sounds/vibrates, and updates the badge). Instead, it will force the background thread(s) to restart. If something isn’t working right with Mail — messages aren’t showing up properly — this is a great way to clean in out and get it going again. Likewise, it can force Safari to reload pages, iPod to fix weird behavior, and otherwise quickly handle problems that might not need a full reboot.

For App Store apps, if you kill them from the fast app switcher they will no longer function in the background. You’ll still get push notifications because those are handled by an external server, but you’ll lose things like background music playing, navigation, VoIP, and saved state (when you next launch the app, it won’t be where you left it but will relaunch from the beginning). Again, if an app is misbehaving or otherwise giving you problems, killing it can be a quick way to force a refresh without having to resort to rebooting your iPhone or iPod touch.

Remember, you don’t generally have to manage background apps in iOS 4. For apps that aren’t streaming music, location (turn-by-turn navigation), or VoIP (like Skype) you only ever need kill them if they’re obviously not working right. When it does come to streaming music, location, and VoIP, those can effect your battery life (especially background Skype right now), so you may want to keep a closer eye on them and kill them if you won’t be using them for a while.

Note: for iOS 3.x, iPhone 3G, iPod touch G2, and earlier devices, you can kill all active background tasks by holding down the sleep button until the “slide to power off” screen appears, and then holding down the home button until you’re reset to the home screen.

If you ever make use of the background app kill, let us know how it works for you. For more features, see our complete iOS 4 walkthrough.

iOS 4 features: Background app killing is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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