Episode 2 1
This Week in iPad #21 with Woody Sears of FrogDog Media
Thursdays at 5pm PDT
This week, we have Woody Sears, Founder of FrogDog Media, the makers of the iStoryTime apps.
Hosts
Intro
- We want to know what apps you want to see on the show! Write us: lon@thisweekin.com or tweet us, @TWiiPad
- Winners of our iPad cases from last week:
@duvallgeek (adjective: “mind-blowing”)
@brmore (adjective: “profligate”)
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App Review
Game: “Avatar”
Very similar to “Iron Man 2″ game and other Gameloft shooter/slasher games (“N.O.V.A.”)
COST: Was $9.99, then available for just $0.99! Now it’s $4.99.
PRO:
- Pretty graphics
- Realizes Pandora in a pretty accurate-to-the-film way
- Great soundtrack (original “Avatar” score)
CON:
- Controls, as with all these games, are not very tight
- Action can be kind of choppy, especially when the screen gets busy
- FPS is REALLY hard with touchscreen…You can’t tell when your finger slips off the “control button”
- Feels like the game is sort of playing FOR you; buttons change depending on what you need to do in any given scenario, which sort of takes the fun away
- It’s very not clear what’s part of the game and what’s scenery. Especially with platform/jumping levels.
VERDICT: Meh. Worth $1 if you love “Avatar” or really want to play an action game on your iPad. Not worth it if you’re just looking for a game that’s a fun diversion. Arcade-style games or puzzle games work WAY better.
Interview: Woody Sears
The interview touches on the process of bringing a story from the conceptual stages to a finished iPad storybook. Sears discussed a bit about his company’s relationship with DreamWorks Animation, which has contracted them to make games that go along with big film and TV properties such as “Shrek Forever After” and “How to Train Your Dragon.” We also get a sneak peek at the upcoming iStoryTime app for the popular TV cartoon “Penguins of Madagascar,” coming in a few weeks. (Another future iStoryTime book will feature the story from the forthcoming DreamWorks film “Megamind.”)
Finally, Sears talked about the plans for iStoryTime’s future, which include making books that are more interactive, and which include the sorts of fun activities and games that you would have found in a classic children’s storybook, updated for the iPad. He feels that the potential uses for the iPad as an educational and entertainment tool are still being discovered.
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News
Electronista posted this brief YouTube video featuring Samsung’s Android-based tablet, the Galaxy Tab, being tested in Australia.
The tablet is expected to debut on September 2nd at the IFA trade show in Berlin, Germany. A teaser video was also released to the Web this week.
Bloomberg is reporting that, in an effort to stave off competition from Netflix and Hulu, Apple is in talks with NewsCorp to offer TV show rentals for 99 cents through iTunes. Viewers could then have Fox programs on their computers or iPads for 48 hours, increasing access to some of TV’s most sought-after shows. Apple already offers an option to rent films through iTunes, but if you want TV shows, you currently have to buy them, typically for around $3.
The company reportedly plans to announce the deal on its September 1st event in San Francsico, during which it may also debut the new iPod Touch with higher resolution, and the new $100 version of the Apple TV set top box.
AppleInsider got its hands on an FCC filing by a company called Shenzhen Paoluy Silicone Technology for an iPad case that essentially turns the device into a laptop computer. It includes a clamshell case with a built-in keyboard connected via Bluetooth. The case is expected to be available in the US soon after the UK, where it will apparently be called “The KeyCase Ipad Folio with Bluetooth Keyboard.” It’s expected to cost about $92.
The battery of the case (which is separate from the iPad itself) will last about 45 hours and takes 4 hours or so to charge.
One of the most popular iPad games is Rovio’s “Angry Birds,” centering on a group of the titular animals facing off against evil pigs who have stolen their eggs. The game has been edownloaded more than 6.5 times on iPhones and iPads. Variety has now revealed that there may be an “Angry Birds” film in the works. along with possible TV show, comic book and toy tie-ins. Rovio CEO Mikael Hed disclosed that the company has been discussing ways to reformat the “Angry Birds” storyline into a cartoon for a potential toy franchise, but cautions that a full animated feature could take up the 3 years to produce.
Bizarre story from Reuters this week. Apparently, the governing body that controls Japanese sumo wrestling has decided to distribute iPads to wrestlers who want to use smartphones but struggle to make them work with their bulbous, massive hands. The sumo association will hand out iPads to Japan’s 51 sumo “stables” (their word for clubs), hoping to improve communication between the wrestlers who struggle to use traditional means of communication like the telephone. This could be a great iPad add. The iPad is…PLUS SIZED.
Apple Patents Touchscreen Desktop Computer
Apple has filed a European patent for a possible new version of the iMac that would fuction both as a traditional desktop computer as well as an iPad-esque touchscreen interface. The computer may come with both iMac’s OS X and the iOS that debuted on the iPhone 4, and would have a swivel allowing it to sit upright as well as lean down for touchscreen interface.
Closing
We ran out of time, so no “Planet of the Apps” this week. We’ll return next week with a look at Chat apps.
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