Hive Hatches On iTunes and Google Play – Evolve Baby Aliens in Sliding Tile/Match-3 Hybrid

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - March 21, 2013 - Appxplore today launched Alien Hive, a sliding-tile puzzle game about evolving baby aliens that’s free to play for both iOS and Android. Pastel watercolor graphics and a cute alien protagonist make the game appropriate for all ages, yet challenging enough for puzzle veterans. This mellow title is the latest from Appxplore, known for their award-winning game Lightopus (published by Bulkypix) as well as their recent biological puzzler Sporos. Harvest resources to grow and evolve new species of aliens, deploy massive power-ups, zap the villainous Naughty Bots and collect dozens of Supreme Aliens – there truly is life on Mars! Download Alien Hive today, free for iOS and Android.

Watch the trailer on the official website: Appxplore.com/index.php/games/alien-hive 

Alien Hive is all about evolving aliens, blending match-3 with sliding tile puzzles for a game that feels both familiar and fresh. Swipe tiles to make matches – combine eggs to hatch cute baby aliens, and then help them fully evolve into Supreme Aliens.

Match resource tiles for upgrades that let you take command of the board, with the goal of building the ultimate alien hive. Strategically avoid the Naughty Bots, who block your progress, by crafting power-ups to eliminate these baddies. As you advance, you will uncover the mystery of the hidden aliens… can you tame the Red Planet?!

Alien Hive Features:                                   

  • Evolving-aliens puzzle gameplay: hybrid of match-3 and sliding tile puzzles… it’s a whole new type of casual fun
  • Match tiles to harvest resources, grow new species of aliens and zap the villainous Naughty Bots
  • Chill out: pastel graphics and mellow soundtrack, with no time limit to harsh the vibe
  • Advance the alien society: collect and unleash dozens of Supreme Aliens
  • 70 Achievements to suit all styles of play
  • High Score and Achievements sharing via Facebook
  • Free-to-play universal app for iPad, iPhone and Android
  • iCloud & Game Center Support, with Scoreloop support on Android

Apple: 25 Billion Songs Sold Through iTunes

Apple just announced that it has sold more than 25 billion songs through iTunes. That’s incredible. The 25 billionth song downloaded? Monkey Drums” by Chase Buch, Apple said, and the song was bought by a user in Germany. The user will receive a €10,000 iTunes gift card as part of the celebration.

“We are grateful to our users whose passion for music over the past 10 years has made iTunes the number one music retailer in the world,” Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue said.

Cue also noted that Apple sells about 15,000 songs every minute. We have a feeling the 50 billionth download isn’t too far off.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Apple opens iTunes Music Store in 56 new countries, four get movies too

Just days after finally pushing out its redesigned iTunes 11 software, Apple has thrown open the doors to its iTunes music store in 56 new countries today. The list of countries includes Russia, Turkey, India and South Africa where customers can download DRM-free tracks from both major labels and local acts. Additionally, movies from a number of distributors large and small are now available in Russia, Turkey, India and Indonesia, with "select additional countries" gaining access soon. That brings the iTunes store count to a total of 119 countries where it's pushing media, while the App Store offers 700,000 apps in 155 countries around the world. There's a few more details (although oddly not an official list of all the countries, but MacRumors appears to have worked them out if you're interested) in the press release after the break, international listeners can just open up iTunes and see if that buy button is clickable.

[Source: Engadget]

Variable iTunes gift cards hit retailers just in time for holiday shopping

Instead of combing through the gift card aisle for just the right iTunes denomination, you'll soon be able to get one of these newly released variable gift cards. Just bring the card to the cashier, pick an amount between $15 and $500, and it'll get validated for that amount. The Cupertino company has offered variable pricing for regular Apple Store gift cards for awhile now, but iTunes cards had previously only been available in $15, $25, $50 and $100 options. These cards should also be compatible with an iTunes 11 feature that lets you redeem gift cards by scanning the code with your computer's camera. We're not sure which third-party retailers are offering these just yet, but it sounds like a decent last-minute impulse gift for your iOS-loving pals.

[Source: Engadget]

Sandy got you down? Comcast offering free WiFi to affected regions, iTunes allowing Red Cross donations

Hurricane Sandy's taken out more than the electricity of hundreds of thousands of Northeastern USers -- it's also pillaged the internet connections of many, leaving our Netflix and Hulu Plus subscriptions unused, and subsequently our Eddie Murphy '80s movie marathons unmarathoned. Comcast understands this to be the dire situation it is, and is offering its Xfinity WiFi service free of charge for folks living in Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Washington D.C., and West Virginia (sans New York City, as there aren't any hotspots in the Big Apple, sadly). Just select "Complimentary Trial" from the landing page and you're in like Flynn until November 7 (when the deal ends).

[Source: Engadget - Click here to read more]

iTunes refresh delayed till 'end of November'

We were all a little shocked when Apple failed to deliver a redesigned iTunes at its last keynote. The company promised a major revamp of the service would land in October yet, here we are with one day left in the month, and no iTunes overhaul in sight. Today Tom Neumayr, a spokesperson for the Cupertino firm, confirmed to AllThingsD that the software release had indeed been pushed back by a month. Only a few short days ago CFO Peter Oppenheimer was touting the refresh during the company's earnings call saying, "We look forward to looking to launching a redesigned iTunes. The new iTunes has a dramatically simpler and cleaner interface." But he made no mention of a delay. Neumayr says the goal now is to release the update before the end of November stating that development is "taking longer than expected and we wanted to take a little extra time to get it right." While the issue primarily cited in Neumayr's statement is "seamless integration with iCloud" we wouldn't be shocked if it's rumored internet radio service also is playing a role in the delay. Read the complete statement below.

"The new iTunes is taking longer than expected and we wanted to take a little extra time to get it right. We look forward to releasing this new version of iTunes with its dramatically simpler and cleaner interface, and seamless integration with iCloud before the end of November."

[Source: Engadget]

iTunes leaks mention of iBooks 3.0 ahead of next week’s Apple media event

Apple’s iTunes Store has leaked a mention of iBooks 3.0 ahead of Apple’s October 23rd media event. This media event will discuss a smaller iPad, which will likely be education oriented. French site iGen first discovered the listing, and The Next Web snapped the above screenshot in the French iTunes Store. The current version of iBooks is iBooks 2.0, which was announced earlier this year with digital textbook support.

[Source: 9to5Mac]

Fare thee well, Ping: 2010-2012

With an exit far more quiet than its heralded beginnings, Ping officially closed two years and a month after it was launched on Sept. 1, 2010. If you happened to have your iTunes still open from yesterday, see Ping in the menu, and click on it, you'll get the message seen above. Hit OK, and Ping disappears from your iTunes forever.

Ping has been succeeded by Facebook and Twitter integration in iTunes.

[Source: TUAW]

Apple iPhone 5 & New 2012 iPod Nano & iPod touch ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

Whilst Dave is away on business, the Apple world never sleeps. The founder of Geekanoids still finds time to keep you up to date with the lates products launched by Apple Inc. Check out the videos below and leave a comment on YouTube with your views on the new products.

Apple announces redesigned iTunes for Mac, Windows and iOS devices

It's gone through quite a few minor revisions as of late, but Apple has today taken the wraps off a fairly big redesign of not just iTunes for OS X and Windows, but iOS devices as well. The latter will be making its debut with iOS 6 on the 19th, and you can expect a simpler interface in all incarnations -- "dramatically simpler," according to Apple's Eddie Cue -- with a carousel up top paired with a flattened grid of icons below. The desktop version also sports a new mini player, which now boasts search functionality while staying decidedly minimalistic, and a new "Up Next" feature lets you cue up songs and see what's coming at a glance. Those UI changes naturally extend to the store component as well, and Apple is also promising improved performance throughout. No firm release date for the desktop version just yet, but Apple says we can expect it sometime in "late October."

[Source: Engadget]

PS Vita firmware update adds button controls, iTunes playlists and more

If you're a Vita owner, then this week must feel like running through rain of joy, as new features and functionality keep coming. Well, why not splash in a puddle or two along the way, as we learn what treats the next firmware update for the handheld -- version 1.80 -- will bring. First up is the ability to use the console's buttons on the home screen and within some applications -- yeah really! In addition to that mind-bomb, you'll also be able to fast-forward and rewind video, import playlists from the PS3 and iTunes (10.6.3 or later) as well as use the rear touchpad for scrolling and zooming in the browser. There's a bunch of other minor tweaks, too, just skip down to the source for the breakdown or wait until "late August" for the download.

[Source: Engadget]