Friday Poll: Should Apple pull the NRA shooting app?

The National Rifle Association's recent release of an App Store game called NRA: Practice Range has stirred up an impressive amount of controversy lately. Supporters and detractors alike are chiming in on the app and an online petition has been started demanding its removal from the App Store.

The reviews in the App Store range from complaints about the bad controls to users praising the gun safety tips.

I checked out the app for myself. As far as first-person shooters go, it's pretty innocuous. There's no blood spurting out from the vaguely humanoid indoor range targets. For … Read more

Shaq Versus Evil Mutant Zombies

Are you tired of the whole zombie craze yet? What if those zombies happen to be mutants in a post-apocalyptic wasteland? What if the hero protagonist in all this mess was, oh, I don't know, 7'1'', 325-lb former NBA Superstar Shaquille O'Neal?

Yes, someone on this earth not only conceived of this, but managed to produce it, even going so far as getting the man of steel himself to lend his voice.

ShaqDown (Android, iOS) is One Spear Entertainment's first outing. Their business model apparently consists of building mobile games around celebrities, and we'll see … Read more

Avoid zombies (and dystentery) on the Organ Trail

Oregon Trail is a classic educational PC game from the 1970s (revamped in the 1990s) that still haunts those students who tried to make it from Independence, Missouri to Oregon's Willamette Valley, hunting bison and bear and losing party members to cholera . Some say Pong or Tetris launched video gaming into the mainstream--but neither Pong nor Tetris had you struggling to control an internal tantrum in the middle of math class when you lose your wagon while fording a river.

Originally a Flash game and Facebook app, Organ Trail garnered so many positive reviews that the developers launched a … Read more

Software makes a showing at CES 2013, but underwhelms

LAS VEGAS--While the presence of software and apps at CES has certainly grown over the past few years, the fact remains that downloads still sit in the shadows of home theater components, gaming equipment, mobile devices, and other hardware at the annual show. At this point, we're beginning to think that software may never take center stage at CES. From an economic standpoint, it might not make much sense for a company to double down on an expensive booth to showcase a straightforward, downloadable app when the show continues to gravitate toward colorful plastics and shiny metals.

Rather, we … Read more

10 amazing apps for new iPhone owners

Are you the proud owner of a new iPhone 5? Or perhaps a slightly used iPhone 4? Heck, maybe you scored an unlocked 3GS on eBay. Whatever the case, you need apps.

Ah, but which ones? Apple's App Store is home to some 80 gazillion, I believe, and if you're new to the iOS universe, you may have some trouble separating the app wheat from the app chaff.

Have no fear. I've rounded up 10 of my very favorite iPhone apps. They're not all new, mind you, but they're definitely indispensable -- and most of … Read more

Turn your mobile devices into a walkie talkie

Walkie talkies have been around since before cell phones, but until now they weren't easily accessible on the same device. Sometimes when you need to send out a quick message, making a phone call can be time-consuming (especially if you don't have the time to chat), and sending out a text message can be a hassle. Typing out those longs strings of letters and hitting 'send' is a huge pain when you're juggling five things at once. That's where these apps come in. Voice messaging finds a happy middle ground between the solemn phone call and … Read more

Let TLDR summarize stories for you

LAS VEGAS--TLDR is software that summarizes Web information automatically when you don't have time to read the whole story. It's available now as a plug-in for Firefox, Chrome, and Safari, but developers Stremor say the Android and iPhone apps have been submitted to the major app stores, so you'll be able to use it on your smartphone as early as this week.

A quick demo was all it took to see how well this software works. Once you download the free plug-in for your Web browser, you simply restart and you're ready to go. The … Read more

Parrot jazzes up sleek Philippe Starck speaker

LAS VEGAS--Wireless peripheral maker Parrot is showing off an update to its Philippe Starck-designed Zikmu Solo wireless speaker system. Due sometime this year, the system doesn't differ much aesthetically from the original model introduced back in 2009. The latest version, does, however, offer improved innards, powerful sound, and a lower price point.

The $999 Zikmu Solo has 2x100-watt output and a built-in 1GHz ARM A8 processor that the company says "controls the path of the coil of the bass loudspeaker in real time" to greatly reduce distortion during playback.

The 2.1 stereo audio speaker system features built-in Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC (for quick pairing). Aside from the array of connectivity features, the Zikmu also jives with DLNA for networked streaming and can even connect with another Zikmu (over Wi-Fi) for even more output. A built-in speaker dock at the top of the device works with older iPhones and iPods with a 30-pin power port.… Read more

Apple App Store hits 40 billion downloads; 20 billion in 2012, alone

Apple's App Store has reached a new milestone in total app downloads.

The iPhone maker announced today that there have been 40 billion unique application downloads in its App Store since the marketplace launched in 2008. Apple's unique download tally excludes redownloads and updates. Of the 40 billion apps downloaded so far, nearly 20 billion were downloaded in 2012, the company said.

Apple's App Store now has over 500 million active accounts, and 2 billion apps were downloaded in December alone, making it the best month in the marketplace's history. The App Store has 775,000 … Read more