Call Of Duty: Strike Team For iPhone And iPad Hits The App Store, Offers A New Perspective For CoD Fans

We’re headed towards that time of year again when Activision releases its next installment of Call of Duty. This year’s offering – Call of Duty: Ghosts – is not due for a while yet, but to whet the appetites of the many Call of Duty fans, a new mobile title has just made its way to the iOS App Store. Call of Duty: Strike Team is set in the year 2020, and with more of that first-person action fans love now refined for mobile space, it’s not one to be missed. Details, as well as the download link, can be seen after the jump.

Call of Duty has become something of an institution to many a gamer, and although it has faced stern criticism from those who see the regular releases as the milking of the proverbial cash cow, the franchise continues to dominate in unwavering fashion.

Call of Duty: Strike Team mightn’t be as rich an experience as the real deal, but for the time being, it provides plenty of combat warfare to keep addicts entertained until Ghosts does find its way to market.

Although Call of Duty is renowned as a first-person experience, one can also switch to third-person, which some find more comfortable when playing. Considering the display size of the iPad, it’s a smart move from Activision, and with an abundance of "cinematic moments in diverse locations around the world," should be a whole lot of fun.

In order to get started with Call of Duty: Strike Team, you will need to be running iOS 6 or newer on your device, and also in ownership of an iPhone 4S / iPad 2 or newer.

It costs $7, so if you’ve been itching to get stuck into some Call of Duty and don’t want to continue waiting around for Ghosts, check out Call of Duty: Strike Team right now via the download link provided. Oh, and if you do grab it, be sure to let us know of your thoughts by leaving a comment section below!

(Download: Call of Duty: Strike Team for iOS on App Store)

Microsoft: Xbox 360 Has Three Years Of Life Left

With the Xbox One almost upon us, it’s easy to forget that its predecessor, the Xbox 360, still has a fairly important role to play in the gaming world. With several key releases upcoming, including Grand Theft Auto 5, consumers will continue to purchase the console in their thousands. With that said, support for the older machine will eventually begin to dwindle as the Xbox One takes a stronghold, and Microsoft has just suggested that Xbox 360 support could cease in 2016.

After a long wait, we’ve finally gotten our November 22nd release date for the Xbox One, but while excitement levels are increasing for the next-gen console, many have wondered just how long the Xbox 360 will continue to play a part.

Speaking at this week’s Citi Global Technology Conference, Yusuf Mehdi, the Redmond company’s Xbox chief marketing and strategy officer seemed to imply that the current console will see another three years of support before being deemed obsolete:

If you look at 360, that platform lasted for seven to eight years and it’s going to go for another three years.

The statement is by no means a clarification, and can be interpreted as the console’s support being completely cut off, or simply games no longer being released.

If Mehdi does indeed mean that support for the console will end, the company will likely still offer Xbox LIVE to consumers sticking with the older hardware, as well as the general hardware support.

Either way, by then, the Xbox One will have become by far the more popular choice, and it makes sense for purpose of evolution that Microsoft would focus its attentions almost squarely on its more recent, advanced export.

The good news for those planning on keeping their Xbox 360 for the time being, is that Mehdi reiterated the point of the Xbox 360′s continued support:

We’re going to continue to invest in Xbox 360, and the two devices can work in concert. So it’s not like the day we ship Xbox One your 360 won’t work. We’ll continue to support it.

Not everybody’s a keen early adopter, and with the bundled Kinect sensor driving up the cost of a new Xbox One over its rivaling PlayStation 4, it’s good to see that money doesn’t necessarily need to be spent to get the most out of the Xbox product range.

Nokia Takes The Fight To Samsung And Google With A Well Placed KitKat Ad

Nokia is in between a big transition and in the process of being fully acquired by Microsoft over the coming days, but that isn’t stopping its German arm from having a bit of run on the way down.

Posting to its official Twitter account, Nokia Germany decided to take a pop at Google’s just-announced new version of their mobile operating system, codenamed KitKat – or Android 4.4 KitKat as it will also be known.

The not-so-subtle dig at Android – and indeed Samsung, as it turns out – came in the form of a photo that featured the famous KitKat slogan of “Have a break, have a…” Instead of finishing the sentence with the usual ‘KitKat,’ Nokia replaced the chocolate with a photo of a Galaxy S4 snapped in two in the same way KitKat shows its chocolates being separated. Cunning! Very,very cunning indeed.

The picture made us giggle more than these things usually do, and top marks to Nokia Germany for their quick thinking. Hopefully the folks at Samsung and Google will take in good humor, too.

With Nokia being acquired by Microsoft, the pair are no strangers to poking the competition when advertising their own wares. Nokia has placed Apple firmly in its sights when advertising its Windows Phone devices in the past, and Microsoft has done similar things when trying to extol the virtues of its Windows 8 tablets over their iOS counterparts.

Google’s newly announced, and still in development iteration of their mobile operating system, Android 4.4 KitKat is the first to receive a name that follows a brand, and not just any brand, but a big name brand. What it does is enable all kinds of cross-advertising, with special KitKats now being sold that offer the chance to win both a Nexus 7 and Google Play Store credit. We’re told no money has changed hands, so this is simply a mutually beneficial situation that the two companies have found themselves in.

Let’s just hope this doesn’t become too much of a habit.

What do you think of the pop at Samsung? A bit on the harsh side, or a well-timed dig? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

(Source: NokiaDeutschland [Twitter])

Install WhatsApp On iPad And iPod touch Without Jailbreak [VIDEO]

As smartphone adoption continues to increase around the world, cross-platform messaging has never been of higher importance. The most popular cross-platform instant messenger remains to be WhatsApp, and for good reason. WhatsApp is a fantastic application, with seamless integration for iOS, Android, Windows Phone and other devices. With that being said, one thing which WhatsApp continues to disappoint with, is support for any other iOS device other than the iPhone. Users of the iPod touch or iPad cannot currently download and activate the application, and will be presented with an ugly error if they try.

There is a way of getting WhatsApp to become fully functional on both Apple’s tablet, the iPad, and their iPod touch range. The best thing about this, is that no jailbreak is required. You simply need a computer, and brief access to an iPhone for the activation part of the setup.

Simply borrowing a friend’s (and then annoying them when you delete their WhatsApp app) will suffice. We’ve put together a full video tutorial for the entire process, and it can be found below:

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I demonstrated this process using an iPod touch, but as you saw at the end of the video, WhatsApp is fully functional on my iPad as well. It follows the exact same process, so you shouldn’t have any issues. I also used a Mac throughout this tutorial, but a Windows PC will work just as well. I’ve outlined the few differences below.

There are a only few minor differences between the process depending if you’re on a Mac or PC:

• You’ll need to download the specific version of iFunBox for your operating system. Either Mac, or PC. You can download it from: i-funbox.com
• On your Mac, the file directory to find the WhatsApp ipa is as follows:~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Mobile Applications/
• Whereas on Windows, the file directory to find the WhatsApp ipa is:C:\Users\Username\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Mobile Applications\

There we have it. By simply following along with the process outlined in the video, you’ll be able to have a fully functional version of WhatsApp Messenger on your iPod touch or iPad. I’m running iOS 7 on both of these devices, so I have no reason to suspect it is incompatible with Apple’s newest software, it should work with any software version that WhatsApp itself supports.

If you’re jailbroken, then you might want to give WhatsPad for iPad a try. The tweak is free, and provides an easy way around the process which we’ve outlined above.

Canopy For iPhone Adds A Bunch Of Handy New Features To Mobile Safari

With so many third party Web browsers available on the iOS App Store, and one of those being the ever popular and constantly improving Google Chrome, Safari is leading something of a charmed life for many iOS users. In fact, if it wasn’t for the inability to change the default browser on non-jailbroken devices, it’s arguable whether some of us would ever use Safari on iOS at all.

If you do happen to be a big fan of Apple’s own Web browser though, then adding a little more functionality is never a bad thing, especially if some of that functionality is something that you’ve been crying out for. Jailbroken iPhone users who find themselves in that particular boat may want to check out a new tweak that is just popping up in Cydia, going by the name ofCanopy.

Costing a dollar, Canopy adds new features on top of the existing Safari installation that you’re already using, rather than installing a new app completely. Configuration is handled via the Settings app too, so Canopy really is as transparent as possible. But what does it actually do?

Once installed, Canopy brings additional Safari functionality to the table, some of which is borrowed from Google’s Chrome.

One feature that could be a favorite amongst some is the ability to add all currently open pages to Safari’s Reading List, as well as a feature that allows those items already there to be marked as read or unread, allowing additional link management for those that require it.

Tapping and holding on certain elements also offers new options, so holding on a bookmark for example brings up sharing options amongst other things. Holding on an item in your History makes it possible to add it to the Reading List, or maybe your bookmarks too. If that’s something you’ve been hankering after, then your dollar will be well spent on Canopy.

The app is currently in its early release stages, so it’s possible that it will change as bugs get squashed and new features requested. It’s a good start though, and if you’re a Safari user with a jailbroken iPhone, Canopy is well worth checking out.

You can download Canopy from the BigBoss repo, which is one of the default sources in Cydia unless you’ve opted to delete it.

Be sure to check out our iPhone Apps Gallery and iPad Apps Gallery to explore more apps for your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Apple To Reportedly Announce New Apple TV At September 10th Event

With September 10th fast approaching and Apple now officially confirming that it will hold an event on that date, all the focus and attention is squarely on what will be announced at the company’s Cupertino HQ. Up until now all the talk has been about the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, both of which are expected to be shown off publicly for the first time on the 10th, with a release happening less than two weeks later. But there may be more to it than that.

Another Apple product that is overdue a refresh is the humble Apple TV. Long called a hobby by Apple, the device has been growing in features with each software update, and with iOS 7 just around the corner that is set to continue. You can only do so much with software however, and eventually you need to beef up the internals to really get things moving. Is Apple going to drop a new Apple TV on the 10th, too?

New York-based global trade intelligence platform Panjiva believes that it just might, after it used its own shipment search tool and found the original bill of landing data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Intrigued? We thought you might be.

According to Panjiva, that information suggests that on the 25th of August, Apple took delivery of a shipment labeled as containing a “Set Top Box with Communication Function.” Coming from BYD Precision Manufacture in Shenzhen, the shipment certainly raises the eyebrows.

A week before that, on the 18th, a similar shipment arrived, this time labeled as ‘Set Top Boxes.’ The previous week saw the first delivery from BYD, and the first mention of the “Set Top Box with Communication Function.”

Now obviously this doesn’t prove anything, but the timing is interesting and with theSeptember 10th iPhone event around the corner it’s possible to deduce that the Apple TV will see a refresh on the 10th. We’ll find out soon enough, but with two new iPhones coming out of the same event, we wonder whether anyone would even notice a new Apple TV being announced on that day.

Apple is also going to host another iPhone event in China on September 11th, on which, it is expected that it will announce the new iPhones for China Mobile.

(Source: Panjiva)

Surface Pro 2 Specs Leak: Intel Haswell, Extra RAM For Power Users And More

Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablet mightn’t have caused the level of fuss that the Redmond company was hoping for, but there’s no doubting that it is a very capable device. Offering the Windows experience as the software maker intended, the tablet-plus-notebook has almost hit the end of its shelf life some nine months after its initial release, and with IFA now underway, talk of its successor has been rife. Today, Neowin has gotten hold of some interesting details pertaining the Surface Pro 2, which will get the customary spec bump as well as a newly-designed kickstand. More information can be found after the leap!

Apple’s MacBook Air range is already reaping the benefits of the Intel Haswell processor, and with the MacBook Pro range also set to follow suit in the near future, it looks as though the next Surface will be able to benefit from the new energy efficient chips. Like its processor, the Surface Pro 2 will be of the Intel Core i5 specification, allowing users to readily complete tasks with ease, and with the Haswell effect bringing an additional two hours of battery life on top of the five already offered by the current model, it’s a general win for productivity.

Notably, it’s looking like there will be two RAM options available to prospective Surface Pro 2 buyers – the standard 4GB and 8GB for the power user. This is not, at this stage, guaranteed, but it looks as though the next-gen slab will carry a very strong list of specs.

Aesthetically, it will probably be more of the same, with a reworked kickstand being the only noteworthy alteration. Essentially, the new prop-up contraption will allow the device to sit in two different positions for added comfort, but overall, those hoping for a radical redesign will have to wait this one out.

Still, the Surface Pro 2 will be a significant enough upgrade, and while the RT model of the current Surface has taken its fair share of flak, Microsoft is sticking with it – for now. Apparently, its successor will ditch the “RT” moniker and instead be named just the “Surface 2,” but whether this changes its fortunes is really anybody’s guess.

We’ll keep you informed of any developments, so stay tuned!

(Source: Neowin)