The next update to Angry Birds Seasons will be a Valentine's Day special. Rovio has announced that the update will be coming in the next week.

The update will include 15 new levels, bonus content, surprises and fun, all in the spirit of Valentine's Day! So expect loved up birds and pigs, fluffy hearts and cupid arrows flying around your screen.

The app will be arriving for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, so keep your eyes peeled. Don't forget you can check our daily post, New and updated iPhone and iPad apps for more news on all your favorites.

[iTunes Link, thanks Gregory]

Angry Birds Seasons getting a Valentines update is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Apple has issued a statement saying they haven’t changed any App Store guidelines in response to rumor this morning concerning the purported rejection of a Sony Reader app for not using Apple’s in-app purchase system.

Since this could have a broader impact on apps like Kindle, Netflix and Hulu+. All Things Digital spoke with Apple’s Trudy Miller who stated the following:

We have not changed our developer terms or guidelines, we are now requiring that if an app offers customers the ability to purchase books outside of the app, that the same option is also available to customers from within the app with in-app purchase.

According to Apple these guidelines have been in place all along but haven’t been enforced until now. Looking further into Apple’s App Store review policy shows the following requirements:

11.2 Apps utilizing a system other than the In App Purchase API (IAP) to purchase content, functionality, or services in an app will be rejected

11.3 Apps using IAP to purchase physical goods or goods and services used outside of the application will be rejected

So the bottom line seems to be Sony, Amazon, and anyone else can keep offering web-based and other outside-App Store content options but users also have to be able to buy the same content via in-app purchase through Apple’s iTunes.

Content sellers would have to give 30% of sales to Apple but would receive Apple’s hosting, credit card transaction processing, seamless integration, and other benefits in exchange.

Do you think this is a good move on Apple’s part, or could it have a negative impact if companies like Amazon and Sony decide not to play ball? Let us know what you think in the comments!

[All Things Digital]

Apple responds on Sony Reader rejection: “We have not changed our guidelines” is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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As rumored, Apple has just released Apple iOS 4.3 beta 3 [build 8F5166b] for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and Apple TV to developers. No word yet on what, if any, differences it might contain from previous betas (see our iOS 4.3 beta walkthrough) but if you notice any drop us an email or add them to the comments below.

More as this develops…

[developer.apple.com]

Apple seeds iOS 4.3 beta 3 for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and Apple TV is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Trying to figure out how to get your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad Calendar event locations to show up in Maps? If you will be traveling a lot being able to click on your Calendar and quickly pull up Maps is very helpful and can make all the difference in getting to your destination. This easy to follow tip will show you exactly how you can do that and get to where you need to go without worry!

To get your Calendar event or appointment location to open up in Maps:

1. Launch your Calendar app
2. Find the event you want to add the location to
3. Tap Edit in the top right
4. Tap Notes on the bottom of the list
5. Enter the address for the event
6. Tap Done in the top right
7. Tap Done once more in the top right
8. When its time for the event click on the event one more time and under notes you can now tap on the address and it will open up in the Maps app and you can choose to navigate to the address

Now not only will you never forget an event, you’re much less likely to get lost on your way there. Hope this has helped out some new users! If you have any questions or extra tips please let us know in comments. If you need any extra expert help, check out the TiPb Forums!

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it’s especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we’ll even give ya a reward…)

Daily Tip: How to map a calendar event location is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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It appears as if Netgear’s CEO is trying to back peddle his way out of those harsh words he had for Steve Jobs and Apple yesterday. In an email, Patrick Lo says he still feels the same towards Apple keeping iOS closed but says he does apologize for the remarks he made about Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs.

Hi. As many of you know I spoke in Sydney on Monday, at a lunch with more than a half dozen of Australia's leading technology and business journalists. We covered a wide range of topics including the emergence of new IP protocols, cloud computing, wireless routers/repeaters in the home, the National Broadband Network (a current major Government project in Australia) and much more. During the course of the discussion, I shared my views about the future of Apple and Microsoft, as well as the surge of Android. Some of my comments were covered by the media who attended, and were reported more broadly outside Australia by media and bloggers who picked up on the story.

I stand by the opinions I stated on the business issues. Supporting open standards and environments in order to ease seamless networking integration of multimedia content is good for the consumer and good for content providers.

However, I deeply regret the choice of words I used in relation to business decisions Apple must grapple with in the future in relation to open vs. closed systems, which have been construed by some to be references to Steve Jobs' health and which was never my intention. I sincerely apologize that what I said was interpreted this way, and I wish Steve only the very best.

Patrick Lo, NETGEAR Chairman and CEO

Many people were fired up by his harsh words towards Jobs so now that he’s apologized does he get let off the hook or was this just PR recovery?

[ MacDailyNews ]

Netgear CEO issues email apology for Steve Jobs comments is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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The mophie juicepak plus for iPhone 4 is serious charging power for serious power users. If you’re on the go, if your iPhone can’t run down, won’t run down — if you need a case that can get you through twice the work and play, then here’s your solution. To see how it held up for me under the rigors of CES 2011, read on for the review after the break!

Trade shows are the ultimate test of any battery for me. I’m on the go for 18 hours a day and my iPhone 4 is my lifeline to the world. It keeps me in contact, it lets me help run TiPb, and on top of all of that it lets me shoot all the show video and photos you see here on the site. It’s bad enough AT&T hits my iPhone 4 battery like a freight train but the constant usage would run any device down. Enter the mophie juicepak plus.

Hardware

The mophie juicepak plus is all black, all soft-touch, and surprisingly solid. Mophie’s done a lot of engineering work to prevent breaks around the cutouts and increase protection and it shows. It is a slider case and there have been some worries about slider cases scratching the glass but I didn’t have any problems. (I also wipe down my iPhone before sliding.) Also, it sometimes takes a few, wiggling tries to get the iPhone dock port lined up and properly seated.

There are cutouts for the 3.5mm headset jack, rear camera and flash, and mute switch and extender buttons for sleep and volume. The cutouts are deep due to the size of the juicepak but didn’t interfere with usage. The button extenders are well built but if they weren’t set just right it would take a few presses to make them work.

The micro-USB charger is at the bottom right. Not using a dock cable to charge means you have to carry a separate micro-USB cable around with you, and doesn’t let you use your existing dock-compatible car or video cables while the mophie is on. Understandable given the size of a 30-pin dock port but still annoying at times.

On the handy side there’s a series of battery level lights so you can always tell how much of a charge your mophie is packing with the touch of a button

Usage

The juicepack plus is the bigger, badder charging solution in mophie’s stable. It weighs more than the juicepak air but it also provides more power. More than double the power. That’s twice the talking, twice the surfing, twice the tweeting, twice the recording, twice the watching, and twice the getting stuff done. Phew!

In my CES tests those results weren’t just marketing. It’s really tough to judge consistently since usage patterns always vary but when I slapped on the juicepak air I could pretty much go as long as I had on the iPhone-only charge. (I carried a juicepak air with me as well — them were long days!)

When you charge the mophie via micro-USB it passes the charge on to the iPhone as well, so at night you can charge them both without having to plug in multiple charges for each one, or get up and switch.

Conclusion

The mophie juicepak plus ads bulk, no doubt about it. It makes your iPhone 4 bigger and heavier but that’s the price of power. And the plus packs a ton of power. If you’re away from a charger for a significant period of time the juicepak makes the difference between getting your work done and carrying around a dead brick for the rest of the day. That’s an easy tradeoff to make.

Get your mophie juicepak plus for iPhone 4 now from the TiPb iPhone 4 Accessory Store…

Pros

• Convenient case form factor
• Complete re-charge for iPhone
• Pass-through recharge for simultaneous charge
• Solid construction

Cons

• Button extenders can be finicky
• Uses Micro-USB so not compatible with dock accessories
• Big charge means big case

TiPb review rating

Photos

mophie juicepak plus for iPhone 4 – battery charger review is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Could iOS 4.3 beta 3 arrive for developers today? BGR claims their sources say it is so and build 8F5166b no less. There was only a week between beta 1 and beta 2 which is faster than Apple’s usual 2 week pace but there was no new beta last week.

New iOS 4.3 features have included personal hotspot for iPhone 4 and multitasking gestures for iPad (which won’t make it into the final release. Grrrr!)

If Apple’s gone back to the every second week today does seem like a good day to seed beta 3. But if we do indeed get beta 3 today when will iOS 4.3 GM come out and when will it be released? With Verizon iPhone getting iOS 4.2.6 yesterday it doesn’t seem like February 10 is on the table. April with iPad 2 maybe? Sooner? Give me your best guess in the comments and we’ll update as soon as (if) iOS 4.3 goes live!

[BGR]

Apple seeding iOS 4.3 beta 3 to developers today? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Looks like iOS 4.3, at least in the current beta, finally brings with it the ability to cancel app downloads/installs. Hit the App Store, start a download, and if you suddenly have second thoughts — maybe you don’t have time or bandwidth at the moment — just tap and hold to enter jiggly mode and the X badge shows up on the downloading app. Tap the X, confirm you really want to delete, and the download and install stops and the icon vanishes.

Under current and previous versions of iOS, Jiggly Mode wouldn’t provide the X badge for downloading/installing apps.

If you’ve just purchased the app you won’t get refunded, of course, but if its a big game, huge navigation app, or for any reason you have second thoughts about downloading, you can now kill it and try again at a better time.

Small but great feature addition. Anyone else hoping it makes its way into the final release?

For more, see our complete iOS 4.3 beta walkthrough…

[AppAdvice]

iOS 4.3 features: Cancel app download/install is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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According to the New York Times, Apple has rejected a few apps recently including Sony's Reader app, based on the way content is purchased for use within the app. Sony’s Reader app is an eBook platform similar to Apple's own iBooks app and the Amazon Kindle app. Content can be found and purchased outside the app, bypassing Apple’s iTunes Store and therefore bypassing Apples slice of the pie.

According to Steve Haber, president of Sony's digital reading division, Apple told him that from now on, all future in-app purchases would have to go through Apple and this includes eBooks. Currently the Amazon Kindle bypasses the App Store too; when you select Kindle Store from within the Kindle app, you are taken to a web page where you can select, buy and pay for your book. This happens outside of iTunes and the App Store; Apple does not take any revenue from Kindle book purchases, but that now looks set to change.

Maybe this change is coming with the new magazine subscription service we expect to be implemented in iOS 4.3 and the launch of The Daily newspaper. Either way, this is another blow to the consumer, who will no doubt end up paying more and have less control of their content. What do you think? Let us know in the comments!

[The New York Times]

Apple rejects Sony Reader app, changing stance on purchases made outside the App Store? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Every day, TiPb gets flooded with announcements for new and updated iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps and games. So every day we pick just a few of the most interesting, the most notable, and simply the most awesome to share with you!

• Portal – Full Screen Browser: This full-screen web browser for the iPhone has only one discrete “portal button” that gives access to features but can easily be hidden away. [$1.99 - iTunes link]

• Magical Images: Bring images to life with the 19th century illusion trick of overlaying a grid consisting of black vertical stripes. [$0.99 - iTunes link]

• BiteSMS (Jailbreak): New 5.1 release with many new features including a new privacy feature that allows you to easily hide any of your conversations for complete privacy.

• Bump: App Sharing! Now you can “bump” your favorite apps to a friend and they’ll get direct links to download. [Free - iTunes link]

• Seesmic: Lots of new features, most notably the ability to post to Facebook pages you’re an admin for. [Free - iTunes link]

Any other big apps or game releases or updates today? If you pick any of these up, let us know what you think!

New and updated iPhone and iPad apps for Tuesday, February 1 is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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