Apple has discussed charging 'around $400' for its wearable 'iWatch' - report Posted: 30 Aug 2014 04:10 PM PDT Apple's anticipated "iWatch" may carry a price of around $400 when it goes on sale, though the wearable device is likely to be offered at a range of price points, according to a new report. 
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Beamdog Studios, who previously released enhanced iPad versions of the classic PC Dungeons and Dragons RPGs Baldur's Gate I and II, is doing it again with another D&D-based game, Icewind Dale, which will be launched for the iPhone and iPad later in 2014.
Icewind Dale was first developed by Black Isle Studios and published by Interplay in 2000, using the Forgotten Realms setting in the D&D universe. Beamdog Studios is going back and making a lot of improvements for the new version, along with adding new content, which is why their game is titled Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition.
Here's a list of what's being added to the game:
In addition the UI in the game has been improved with new Zoom capabilities and a Quickloot Bar. The game will be released for the PC, Mac, Linux and Android platforms as well. The price for the PC version will be $19.99 but there's no word on what the price will be for the iOS version.
Are you planning to play this improved version of Icewind Dale on your iPhone and iPad when it comes out?
Source: Icewind Dale
A Tweet today from developer Steven Troughton-Smith points out that the graphics shown on the display during this booting process "*seem* to confirm" John Gruber's arguments in favor of the device being equipped with a 1334 x 750 display at the same 326 pixels per inch density of previous Retina displays. More specifically, the evidence points toward an approximately 667 x 375 point display, which would presumably arrive in the form of a 2x Retina display at 1334 x 750 as Gruber suggests.
Sparked by Troughton-Smith's observation, we have independently examined photos of the booting device provided to us by Feld & Volk and come to the same conclusion.
iPhone 6 (left) and iPhone 5s (right) shown booting to recovery mode. Letterboxing on iPhone 6 visible below Lightning cable.
This would account for the margin of black seen between the cable and the bottom of the display, and measuring the ratio of the space (plus a presumed equal one at the top) to the overall display size should yield an approximation of how much larger the viewable area is in points on the iPhone 6.
4.7-inch iPhone 6 display showing apparent letterboxed areas (red) with image optimized for 4-inch display (blue)
(Click for larger)
Assuming the aspect ratio of the screen remains the same as in the iPhone 5s, which by all indications it does, this would mean a 667 x 375 point (1334 x 750 pixels Retina) display for the iPhone 6. Performing the calculation in the horizontal dimension is more difficult due to nature of the recovery mode image, with no portion of the visible graphics extending to the side edge of the overall image to determine how much letterboxing space is on the sides.
Some observers have questioned the legitimacy of the video given the unfamiliar gear icon at initial startup and the blue iTunes logo that does not match the new red logo used on iOS 8, but Troughton-Smith notes the device is likely simply running Apple's BurnIn tool rather than full iOS 7 or 8.
This analysis obviously addresses only the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 that Feld & Volk has acquired parts for. Gruber suggests the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 will likely contain a 2208 x 1242 display at a sharper 3x factor than the current 2x Retina. As pointed out by developer James Thomson and 9to5Mac , the current iOS 8 beta is indeed showing some behavior indicating a preference for displaying 3x images when available.
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We're back with the latest and greatest iPhone and iPad apps that launched in the last month. Some fantastic new photography apps came to iOS in August, namely from Google and Instagram. There are also some outstanding new games for casual players as well as the hardcore. In fact, Swing Copters started as one, and turned into the other.
Ready? Crack open the App Store and let's get downloading.
Apple has reached an agreement with American Express to work together on its new iPhone payments system, according to sources familiar with the talks. American Express is one of several partners Apple will need to sign up before it can launch its new payments plan, which sources say it plans to announce at its September 9 product event.
Every week Apple adds tons of new media content on iTunes — music, books, movies and more. It's impossible to keep up with all of it, but it's not impossible to pick out the very best. Here they are! This week we've got new music from Prince, doom soul from Cold Specks, Godzilla and more!
Only Prince can get away with releasing two albums on the same day. Prince is back with Warner Bros, the same label he split from back in the 1990s when he painted the word "Slave" on his face and changed his name to a symbol. They've kissed and made up, and the result is not one but two albums. Art Official Age contains 13 tracks while Plectrumelectrum includes 12, and the tracks available for download now sound like classic Prince, which is what we've been promised since he first hinted at the new music earlier this year. Both albums are available for pre-order with a few tracks ready for download now; the rest drop in late September.
Art Official Age
Plectrumelectrum
"Doom soul" is an appellation that Al Spx's applied to her own music when her debut album I Predict A Graceful Expulsion appeared in 2012. Her delivery is heavily influenced by the gospel music of the Deep South, but it's got a much heavier, gothic influence and musical arrangement. Her backing band is much more prominent on this record compared to her debut, which adds a bit of tension between singer and band. In most cases that works out well, adding complexity to songs, though it does get a bit muddied in places. A solid sophomore effort.
Director Gareth Edwards' debut movie Monsters was another monster movie, but it cost a shoestring budget of $1 million to make and he did all the monster effects on a laptop. Now he's been given the reins of a reboot of the most iconic kaiju in history: The mighty Godzilla, King of Monsters. Some criticized him for the movie's pacing — you never actually see Godzilla in all his glory until the second act — but what he's done is a solid homage to the original Godzilla, while thoroughly updating the movie with a modern sensibility and a modern message. Also, it's a Godzilla movie! Yay!
Sean Bean (Game of Thrones) is Martin Odum, a deep cover operative for the FBI. A misfit within the ranks, he assumes the identity of his cover like no one else, thoroughly becoming the person he's pretending to be ("legends," in deep cover parlance, are the stories you craft to create a convincing back story). A stranger attacks him and tells him that he's a legend, which throws his world into turmoil.
Science fiction author John Scalzi focuses on the near future with a story about what the world looks like after a new virus ravages the population, creating "Haden's Syndrome:" Its victims are awake and aware, but can't move — they're locked in their own bodies. Integrators are those who can let those who are locked in borrow their bodies for a short time. FBI agents are sent to investigate a murder involving an integrator, and what they learn uncovers and implicates the highest halls of corporate power. Sold without DRM.
There are my media picks for this week. What have you found in iTunes that you love? Let me know in the comments.
