Tag Archives: apps

The new Apple TV – First Impressions plus Reviews of Apple TV Games

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The new Apple TV arrived today and was ready waiting for when I got home from work. The new Apple TV replaces my 2nd generation Apple TV.

Setting up was a breeze. It asked if I wanted to use my iPhone to set up and copied the settings across. However, I decided to start again and proceed with a manual set up as I have both a UK iTunes account and a US iTunes account. The US iTunes account enables me to watch US TV shows and films normally well ahead of the UK releases and also provides a wider selection of media.

This is where the 4th generation Apple TV scores highly in my book. It allows you to log in to iCloud, Game Center with whichever account you want, and then with the iTunes/App Store account you can add more than one account which is what I have done. So I have my UK and US accounts added and can switch on the fly by going into the settings, accounts and select whichever option I require.

For the initial installation, I used my UK iTunes account as I have all my apps associated with this account. It showed 30 apps/games already available for Apple TV. I have decided install the following games – Crossy Road, Oceanhorn, Canabalt, Badlands, Asphalt 8, Jetpack Joyride, Edge Extended and 10 Pin Shuffle Pro Bowling. Apps I have added are YouTube, Flickr, Sky News, Netflix and YouTube. BBC iPlayer is not available yet but the BBC have stated a dedicated app is coming.

I have to say the set up process is a breeze and the layout is great. What is not so great is app discovery and there is no categories. Under app purchases, categories do exist, so I imagine it won’t be difficult for Apple to tweak the app discovery to include categories.

The new remote control is excellent. I would suggest not rushing to buy a MFI Game Controller until you have tried the new remote. Siri on the Apple TV is a bit hit or miss. I asked for the film “The Martians” and it kept coming up with “The Motions”. I then told Siri “You are dumb”. Siri replied “I tried my best”. I laughed out loud! But when it works it really works well but does need some improvement.

Within the settings app, there are loads of other settings which have loads of options for the quality of the audio and video. Neat.

Storage. Now you can buy the Apple TV with 32gb or 64gb storage capacities. To give you some idea of the space taken up by the games, Oceanhorn is top at 185mb, Asphalt 8 is 95mb, so based on that I cannot see the need for 64gb at all. Of course, the extra storage might be used to store films and TV shows which could burn up the space quickly, but seriously 32gb should be fine.

Wallpapers. The aerial wallpapers are beautiful and if opted to use, will need a download of 600mb per month. You can select how often to download these too.

So what are the games like to play?

Oceanhorn – on start up needed to download the game chapter. This took 2 mins. After that the remote was used and worked brilliantly.

Asphalt 8 – took 10 mins to download first part of game which clearly got deleted after playing. You turn the remote horizontal and go off racing. I thought the odd frame got missed, but seriously it was great fun to play. Each level took just over a minute to download.

Games – I have played quickly all the games installed and they all work really well. Canabalt was better on the big screen than my iPhone. Edge Extended applied itself superbly to the Apple TV. Crossy Road is just a ball of fun. Badlands is a good game and adapts nicely to the Apple TV.

So how does this compare to the Amazon Fire TV? Well voice control on the Amazon Fire TV is better and more accurate. Amazon Prime becomes a bonus with the Fire TV along with the content available, but when it comes to apps or more importantly games, I really believe Apple already has the edge and its only just launched.

My final thought. This is a brand new Apple TV which is all about the apps. Based on my initial experiences I do believe Apple has already got the edge on the gaming front, and the potential/future looks even more promising. If you have any other Apple devices, this new box is recommended.

Update – I have been playing Oceanhorn for a while now and this game does work well. In terms of other non gaming apps, there is a shortage versus other systems but I hope this gap is bridged as developers release new apps. If you already have an Apple TV, I don’t see the need to rush out and get one of these unless you like the idea of a new Apple TV and the ability to play games from your TV.

The Apple Keynote and the long list of new products and software – my views

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Yesterday Apple announced changes to its own Apps, iLife and iWork, launched OS X Mavericks for Macs with support on some really old devices dating back to 2007, launched 2 new iPads and new smart cover and cases, the iPad Air and iPad Mini Retina, updated its MacBook Pro line and introduced the new Mac Pro.

If you want to read all about the new hardware and software in crazy detail, go to http://www.Apple.com .

So what’s my view on all this Apple news. Simply, it is one of unity and trying to deliver a complete eco system across media, productivity and all hardware regardless as to whether you are using a Mac, iPhone or iPad.

Apple does not want you to use other services, or other cloud services os by offering free software and software updates it accelerates this unity towards an even stronger one eco system reliance. And from what I have seen it is going to do this really smoothly and slickly.

And then the was the new full size iPad, renamed as the iPad Air, and at its thickness of 7.5mm and weighing 469g it is seriously thin and light. I previously owned the Sony Z Tablet which weighed 495g and that was amazing, but the iPad Air is a much smaller profile too and has smart covers, something the Z Tablet could have done with.

Most people might sway towards the iPad Mini Retina as it is a smaller more portable affair. It also has the identical spec compared to the iPad Air, just a smaller screen and naturally weighs less at 331g. The retina Mini is a fraction thicker than the old Mini but it is hardly noticeable. But don’t lose sight of having a larger screen on a lightweight frame will really be a wow moment.

But, here is an interesting fact. The iPad Air has a 264 ppi screen resolution vs the iPad Mini Retina which comes out at 326 ppi. So the Mini screen will look better as it is smaller. As a comparison the Sony Z Tablet 10.1 inch is 224 ppi and the Google Nexus 7 2013 is 323 ppi so practically identical to the iPad Mini Retina.

Also surprising is the fact that both iPads are now available in 128gb memory capacities.

And the one fact with Apple that no other company has learnt to do, is make an announcement on a new product/updates and then immediately or within a week or two, you are able to buy the new product. Apple has made the iPad Air available on 1st November and all the new MacBook’s from today. That is fantastic.

But really, my question is which iPad would you buy and why?

iOS is all about the Apps

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So I am several weeks in with my iPhone 5S and it is clear that iOS simply has a superb range of depth and breadth of apps across a much wider spectrum.

As an example on my iPhone 5S I have the following photography apps –

iPhoto, Photogene, Snapspeed, Diptic, Diptic PDQ, AutoStitch, Flickr, Camera360, ColorSplash, Phoster, Camera+, DMD Panorama, SloPro, VSCOcam and PhotoFusion.

I own other photography apps too. Overall I am really pleased with the versatility and choice, plus quality of these apps.

So do you have a hobby, and find your platform has a decent selection of app(s)? If so, please share below in the comments.

iOS Apps and Games

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Even though I have not got any more iOS devices, I still have been updating my extensive iOS apps and games on iTunes. It has been interesting reading the new update descriptions.

Developers have been making their apps more iOS 7 in appearance, while adding in extra compatibility and or functions. I imagine, if I was to buy an iOS device and reinstall my apps I would be shocked at the difference.

And then it got me thinking. iOS really does have a better selection of apps and games than any other platform. Android is catching up rapidly, but it still does not have the breadth and depth. This gap is even more noticeable with tablet apps. In addition, iOS apps generally look better presented.

You can see why people stick to the Apple brand and their iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch’s.

However, despite my findings I decided not to buy a new iPhone but a Sony Xperia Z1. I simply prefer a larger screen than the 4 inches of the iPhone.