iPad

Excitement is building in Adelaide, Australia ahead of this Saturday's opening of their first Apple Store, and judging by these photos the store is looking fantastic! iMore forums member mglivesey kindly sent us some photographs of the completed store as he eagerly awaits the big day. The interior is as we've come to know and love from an Apple Store; rows of tables adorned with the products, very clean, minimal styling. And, as mglivesey points out, that is a guard that's been hired to keep watch, and he had to snap the photos quickly while he wasn't looking! The first 1000 people through the doors after the 10am opening are set to get the now traditional commemorative t-shirts. So, to all our Australian friends, will you be joining mglivesey at the grand opening of the Adelaide Apple Store this Saturday? Shout out in the comments, and enjoy the rest of the photos while you're waiting! And if you grab any shots of the grand opening, be sure to share them with us too! Thanks mglivesey for the photos!

An update is due to hit for Google Chrome on iOS in the coming days, and with it we'll see their new voice search capabilities added to the Omnibox. Having just rolled out a similar feature to Google Chrome for Mac -- albeit using the Google home page instead -- it seems the iOS version is next on the list. When you touch the Omnibox in the updated version, a microphone appears for you to speak your queries directly to Google. In some instances you will receive a spoken response, just as on the desktop version. As well as all this voice searching business, Google is also improving the speed at which webpages will reload by better using the cache when the network speed is slower. Speaking queries to your iPhone and iPad all sounds mightily familiar, but would you use this in place of Siri at all? It is only for web searches after all, but if you're a heavy Chrome user is this something you'll be putting to use? Look for the update to land in the App Store in the coming days. Source: Google Chrome Blog

Twitter for Mac has received its second update in a matter of weeks, and this time we're treated to Notification Center support. It's been a long time in coming, especially considering the number of competing apps that already have the same support, but it's better late than never. This comes just a few weeks after the app was updated to support the Retina Display MacBook Pro. In addition to the Notification Center support, Twitter has thrown in a bunch of fixes, the most notable of which is the fix for Growl notifications not working for users in Lion and Mountain Lion. Grab a copy right now from the Mac App Store, and be sure to tell us if this latest update finally makes you happier with the official Twitter client, or if you're still happier using something else? Free - Download Now

For today’s Daily Deal we’ve found 38 great apps to add to your iPad collection.  We have 3 productivity / entertainment apps and 35 game apps in today’s bundle. We used our PadGadget Apps Tracker to find these great deals and we’ll continue to look for the best app deals as they pop-up. Some of these apps are up to 90% off, several are even free, so be sure to check them out because they are on sale for a limited time. Game Apps Angry Birds Space HD – This insanely popular pig smashing game has a 4 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $2.99. Avengers Initiative () – This comic based action game has a 4 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $1.99 instead of $6.99. This app is a whopper, it weighs in at 1.54 GB so be sure that you have enough space on your iPad and that you are on a speedy network before purchasing. BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2 for iPad – This EA action game is now available for $0.99. That’s a savings of 90% off the apps’ normal price of $9.99. This app weighs in at 265 MB so please be sure that you have enough space on your iPad before downloading. BATTLESHIP for iPad – This hit board game is now available for $0.99. That’s a savings of 80% off the apps’ normal price of $4.99. Bejeweled HD – This insanely popular jewel matching game has a 5 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $0.99 instead of $3.99. Bop It! for iPad – This fun iPad game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $0.99 instead of $2.99. Burnout CRASH! () – This iPad car game has a 4 star App Store rating and is now available for $0.99. That’s a savings of 80% off the apps’ normal price of $4.99. COMMAND & CONQUER RED ALERT for iPad – This strategy game is now available for $0.99. That’s a savings of 80% off the apps’ normal price of $4.99. Dead Space for iPad – This space game from EA has a 4 star App Store rating and is now available for $0.99. That’s a savings of 90% off the apps’ normal price of $9.99. This app weighs in at 437 MB so please be sure that you have enough space on your iPad before downloading. Draw Jump HD – This adventure game has a 4 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $0.99 instead of $2.99. DreamWorks Dragons: TapDragonDrop () – This movie inspired game has a 4 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $1.99. FIFA SOCCER 13 by EA SPORTS () – This top soccer game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for $0.99. That’s a savings of 80% off the apps’ normal price of $4.99. This app is a whopper, it weighs in at 1.38 GB so be sure that you have enough space on your iPad and that you are on a speedy network before purchasing. Flight Control HD – This awesome aircraft landing game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for $0.99. That’s a savings of 80% off the apps’ normal price of $4.99. MADDEN NFL 12 by EA SPORTS For iPad – This football game is now available for $0.99. That’s a savings of 86% off the apps’ normal price of $6.99. This app weighs in at 363 MB so please be sure that you have enough space on your iPad before downloading. Max and the Magic Marker for iPad – This fun adventure game has a 4 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $0.99 instead of $2.99. Mirror’s Edge for iPad – This EA game has a 4 star App Store rating and is now available for $0.99. That’s a savings of 90% off the apps’ normal price of $9.99. MONOPOLY for iPad – This hot board game is now available for $0.99. That’s a savings of 90% off the apps’ normal price of $9.99. MONOPOLY HERE & NOW: The World Edition for iPad – This Monopoly game with a twist has a 4 star App Store rating and is now available for $0.99. That’s a savings of 90% off the apps̵

Clear, the beautiful, gesture-ridden list-keeper for iPhone, has been updated with the ability to share lists via email. Instead of just a text based email, Clear also includes an attachment that allows recipients to open the list with the Clear app. To share a list, simply shake your iPhone to bring up the email option. Realmac Software also teases of a couple new secret themes and the promise of an iPad version of Clear in the future. What do you think of the new update? The ability to share a list that can be opened with Clear is very cool. I'm also very excited about the idea of an iPad version. Are there any other features you'd love to see added to Clear? $1.99 - Download now

Lenovo's just announced its Q4 and full year 2012/13 financial results, and its good news on all the indices for the Chinese computer maker. It took in $7.8 billion in revenue for the quarter and $34 billion for the full year, both records for the company, while earning $635 million for the full year -- another new high. The only sore spot for Q4 was Lenovo's laptop business, which dropped two percent over last year to $4.2 billion, but that's a far milder plummet than many PC makers saw. Otherwise, desktop PCs held flat for the company in difficult times, and the company held firm as China's number two smartphone manufacturer, seeing shipments grow at 206 percent year-over-year, double the average rate. It remains to be seen if Lenovo can continue to buck the downward PC trend that's continued unabated with the release of Windows 8 -- but if so, maybe we'll finally see some of its smartphones over here. Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Lenovo Comments Source: Business Wire

HTC's Desire line of mid-range Android smartphones have typically used the alphabet to denote different models, but the company is now switching to numerals. At least according to a Taiwanese certification page, we can expect a Desire 200. Some leaked benchmark results also indicate that a Desire 600 will head to market. We don't know much about the Desire 200 apart from its name. It's listed as the HTC 102e on the certification page, and there's plenty of speculation that this handset is the G2 we heard about earlier this year. It's a different story for the Desire 600: the benchmark results indicate this device sports a 960 x 540 (qHD) display with an unspecified 1.2GHz chip. The benchmark sheet also reveals this is a dual-SIM model destined for Europe. That's it for now, but more details are sure to follow shortly. Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC Comments Via: Pocketnow Source: GFXBench, VR-Zone

iPhone and iPad accessory maker Otterbox has announced that they're buying iPhone and iPad accessory maker LifeProof. "OtterProof" -- as I'm sure someone will be calling them since "LifeBox" is probably taken? -- CEO Brian Thomas had this to say: The joining of OtterBox and LifeProof is a way to combine two great brands and provide customers with even more great products, services and choices for smartphone accessories. Both companies are successful because we foster an environment where everyone takes pride in being part of a culture that knows how to identify opportunities and grow them quickly. Our goal in this acquisition is to create more value for our customers than we ever could have generated while operating individually. I love both companies' products, and we our accessory division sells both companies' products in the iMore store so here's hoping they become greater than the sum of their parts and put out even more spectacular products post-merger. Anyone else looking forward to a sleeker, slimmer, even more rugged OtterProof Defender? Or are you already lamenting the deal? Source: Otterbox

Comparing the best online photo storage options from Flickr, Google+, 500px, Dropbox, Amazon, Instagram, Facebook, and more! We've talked on numerous occasions about how great of camera you have included with your iPhone and have taken a look at some great photography apps to accompany it, but once you take all those photos and edit them to perfection, where are you going to store them? You can store them locally on various devices and hard drives, but what about in the cloud? Other than Photo Stream, what are other cloud storage options for all those memories you're accumulating? Facebook, Instagram, Twitpic, and other non-options Before we jump into the various great options out there, let's first discuss the fact that posting to Facebook, Instagram, Twipic, and any other little photo sharing service is not good enough. It may be easy to think "oh, I posted that to Facebook, so if anything happens, I know I can always retrieve my photo from there." Well, yes, as long as you don't cancel your account or do something that gets you banned, your photos are there, but even though Facebook has a "high resolution" option, it's not actually full resolution. The max size Facebook will save your photos is 2048px along the longest side. A photo taken with an iPhone 4S or iPhone 5 is larger than this. The quality of your images saved on services such as Instagram, Twitpic, and other "little" sharing services is even worse. You should not consider these as good options for storing photos. So if Facebook and Instagram aren't good choices, then what are? Between Flickr, 500px, Dropbox, Google+, and Amazon Cloud Drive, you're sure to find a great option to meet your needs. Flickr Flickr just updated with an enticing new overhaul that includes 1TB of free storage. Yes, 1 terabyte. For free. Flickr also features a gorgeous new interface and an established community of users. In addition to just storing your photos, you can also publicly share them and join groups and discussions. If you're serious about photography or simply just looking for a place to save your images, Flickr is an excellent option and completely free (with upgrade options). Flickr Flickr for iPhone - Download now 500px 500px is a unique choice in that, in addition to being a place to store photos, you also have the option to sell your photos in the 500px market. It's also a social network where you can follow specific users and like and comment on their work. 500px does have more of a "professional" vibe that markets towards quality photography, so if you identify yourself as a photographer, 500px will likely be a great fit. A free account allows 20 uploads per week, and accounts with unlimited uploading begin at $25/year. 500px 500px for iPhone and iPad - Download now Google+ Although Google+ is primarily a social network, it also offers a solid option for photo storage. With the Google+ app, you can even choose to automatically upload your photos from your iPhone to Google+ so that you don't even have to remember to do it yourself. However, when uploading from your iPhone, Google+ will store them at "Standard size" which is a max of 2048 pixels on the longest side. If you want to store full size images, you must upload from your desktop. Full size uploads count against your Google Drive storage quota which starts at 15 GB with a free account. Paid accounts begin at $2.49/mo for 25 GB, but may be changing in the coming weeks. Google+ Google Drive Google+ for iPhone and iPad - Download now Dropbox If you're not into the social integration associated with Flickr, 500px, and Google+, Dropbox is another excellent choice for storing your photos. It's not a social network, but strictly a storage service; however, if you do wish to share your photos, you can share a link to your folders and Dropbox will nicely display them for you. You can also set up the iPhone and iPad app to automatically upload your photos when you launch the Dropbox app. A free Dropbox account includes

Ahead of the All Star game in New York in July, MLB has released a new game into the App Store; MLB Home Run Derby. I love Baseball, despite being British, so as soon as I saw this in the App Store I had to take a look. It's a free download, and bases itself solely around one of the fun-to-watch extras of the All Star weekend, the Home Run Derby. So, a perfect casual game for the Baseball fan? Let's find out. I'll start with the best part. The graphics are really good. My first thought was that it looks very similar to the gameday view in the main MLB At Bat application. There's only one stadium to play in, Citi Field the host for the All Star game, and it looks fantastic. With this being the Home Run Derby, you only have to worry about one thing -- hitting it out of the park. There are two different control methods, a drag and release to aim and swing, or aim with your left hand and tap to swing with your right. Home Run Derby has two different game modes, arcade and The Derby. Arcade mode is playable as many times as you like, and is done against a one minute time limit. You have a series of targets around the ground to aim for to increase your score, and the further you hit the ball the more points you get. Simple. Points means prizes, in the form of coins that are useable in the game to buy certain things with. The Derby follows the run of the real thing, so 10 outs and you're done. There's no time limit, you just keep going until you're all out of chances. To win, you have to progress through two rounds to get to the final. That's the good stuff. It's a fun little game to play, and if you hit a bigger home run that 457ft, then you've topped my best so far. The bad stuff is the in-app purchases. Sadly, the overriding feeling is that the game is designed around the purchases, and not the other way around. The first example; you get three 'tickets' to play the Home Run Derby. Once these are gone, it's a matter of hours before the next ticket arrives. You can make this quicker, and get more tickets, by paying. The in-game currency can be won, but you have to do well in the Home Run Derby several times before you have enough to really buy anything. The green notes aren't won in the arcade mode. Another example; You start out with one batter. More batters means more tickets to The Derby, and that means paying for them. Again, you either have to play and do well a lot over some time, or stump up the cash. You can improve your batters performance by way of a purchase, but you have to also purchase an additional slot to add this performance boost too. So, a double purchase. Whether it's your real money or your in-game currency, there is far too much emphasis on having to buy things to progress and ultimately get more out of the game. I'm happy enough slugging away in arcade mode personally, but it's sad that a fun little game feels so held back by the freemium model. More worrying too is that the App Store listing says "download free for a limited time only." If you think you might want this, I strongly recommend grabbing it right now while it's free. As a paid download I think I'd have a hard time recommending this. If the in-app purchases are overhauled, then it could be a different story. The Good Excellent graphics Simple, easy to pick up controls Authentic players, stadium and rules The Bad Too much emphasis on in-app purchases tarnishes the experience Glitches from time to time where menus stay visible over gameplay Apparent limited time offer on free download considering the level of in-app purchases The Bottom Line MLB Home Run Derby is a freemium game done wrong. Instead of building a game where in-app purchases boost progress, too often it feels like not paying up hurts. Three goes at the main Derby mode just isn't enough when it takes so long for another ticket to appear to play again. Thankfully, the Arcade mode isn't so constrained and is plenty of fun on its own to play. I like it though, really I do. I just don'