Gameloft is offering up two of its most popular games for free this weekend. Both N.O.V.A. 3 - Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance and Gangstar Rio: City of Saints can be downloaded at no cost for the first time ever.


Originally released last year, N.O.V.A. 3 is a first person shooter with impressive graphics and a science fiction theme. Like many of Gameloft’s games, it includes a multiplayer mode that supports 12-player battles and voice chat to communicate with friends in real time. Our sister site TouchArcade has a review of both the single player portion of the game and the multiplayer component.


Gangstar Rio: City of Saints was released in late 2011 and is Gameloft’s version of Grand Theft Auto. The game, which takes place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, provides players with more than 60 missions to complete across five different neighborhoods. TouchArcade reviewed the game when it was released and found that Gangstar Rio offered a robust open-world crime game experience, despite a weak storyline.


Both games are universal and free through the weekend.

- N.O.V.A. 3 - Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance [Direct Link]

- Gangstar Rio: City of Saints [Direct Link]

Haunting Melissa, from Hooked Media Digital and "The Ring" producer Neil Edelstein, is an app that aims to deliver movies on mobile devices in an entirely new way.

Much like a TV show on iTunes, the film is broken up into segments that can be unlocked by sharing a user's viewing experience on Facebook, purchasing each episode within the app for $1.99 or paying $6.99 to $14.99 for the entire film. In an interview with Bloomberg, Edelstein declined to comment on how many episodes would be available.

Edelstein also said that Hooked Media Digital wanted to find a way to present movies and TV on mobile devices as studios have struggled to account for the rise of mobile video.

"The way stories are consumed has changed, so we set out to alter how stories are told," said Neal Edelstein, founder of Hooked Digital Media, in an interview. "It's terrifying to studios the drain that these devices have placed on the industry, so we have to find a new way to harness them."

Although the film could have been released in Apple's iTunes Store, providing it through an app gives Hooked Digital Media greater control over the way the content is delivered. It also gives the studio the ability to add additional story elements at any time, providing users with a unique film viewing experience. In 2011, "The Godfather" director Francis Ford Coppola experimented with similar technology in theaters.


Haunting Melissa is a universal app that is available for free in the App Store. [Direct Link]

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has begun sending educational letters to app developers to make them aware of upcoming changes to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) that was updated back in December.

The two letters [PDF, PDF] inform developers that the restricted collection of personal information of kids 13-and-under has been expanded to include photographs and video and audio with a child's image, among other things. Previously, only identifying information such as the child's name, address, and telephone number was restricted.

Please note that we have not yet evaluated your apps or your company’s practices to determine if they comply with COPPA as it is now – or as it will be starting July 1, 2013. We are sending you this letter to both alert you to the upcoming COPPA Rule changes and to encourage you to review your apps, your policies, and your procedures for compliance.

The revised COPPA Rule requires all developers of apps that are directed to children under 13 – or that knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 – to post accurate privacy policies, provide notice, and obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting, using, or disclosing any “personal information” from children.

App 'platforms' like Apple's App Store and Google Play are explicitly exempted from the law and stores are not required to verify that apps are in compliance with the law; instead, it's up to individual developers to verify compliance.

Thanks Jules!

eBay today released updates to its iPhone and iPad apps, offering a redesigned user interface that includes multiple search views, an improved bidding process for ending auctions, and new shopping cart functionality.

With the new shopping cart, users can add multiple items to the cart and purchase them at the same time with a single payment. The app also features larger photos and better search results, with the iPad version of the app sporting new photo editing tools.


The iPhone app has also gained an interesting new function, allowing users to scan in their drivers licenses with the iPhone's camera to quickly create new accounts.

- New and improved look and feel
- Checkout multiple items at a time with the new eBay Shopping Cart (US and UK only)
- Tap the grid icon at the top of search results to see larger photos (iOS 6 required)*
- Scan your drivers license for fast and easy eBay registration (available in select US states)
- Improved last minute bidding
- Selling support for Spain
- Many bug fixes and enhancements

Both the iPhone and iPad eBay apps can be downloaded from the App Store for free.

- eBay for iPhone [Direct Link]
- eBay for iPad [Direct Link]

Google has updated its Google Play Books iOS app following its keynote address at Google I/O this morning, adding support for user uploaded PDF and ePub files.

Google Play, the world's largest eBook collection, just got bigger. Now, you can upload your own files to Google Play Books to access on Android, iOS, and the web. Whether you're a student with a backpack full of PDF printouts or an avid reader with hundreds of pages held captive on your computer, relieve your back and start adding files today!

After uploading your files, you can enjoy reading them with all the nice features available: bookmarks, highlights and notes, dictionary and more. What's more, your reading progress, highlights etc are synced to the cloud, so if you have multiple devices, you can easily pick up reading anywhere!

The Google Play Books app has also been redesigned to add a Read Now section, featuring books that have been recently purchased, upload, or read. This update also brings both stability and performance improvements.

Apple has long supported the ability to upload both ePub and PDF files through iTunes so the new version of the Google Play Books app brings it up to speed with iBooks.

Google Play Books is a universal app that can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

DirecTV today updated its iPhone app with the ability to search channels and discover new entertainment with voice commands. The app allows users to view search results on the TV (via a supported DirecTV DVR) or on the iPhone.

Similar to how one would interact with Apple's Siri, the app allows DirecTV customers to ask questions like "what action movies are on tonight?" or to make requests like "record True Blood" or "show me comedy movies." The app also allows searches for programs by title, channel, actor, time frame, genre and more.

What's New in Version 2.5.0

NEW IN THIS VERSION

Search and discover entertainment with the power of your voice.

- Just talk as you would to a person and the app finds what you’re looking for.
- Search for programs by mentioning title, channel, keyword, actor, time frame, genre and more.
- Switch to TV mode to see your dialogue and search results on your TV screen. HD DVR (HR24+) required. Your phone and HD DVR must be connected to same Wi-Fi network.
- See personalized recommendations as soon as you switch to TV mode.

DirecTV for iPhone is a free download on the App Store. [Direct Link]

Verizon is offering a $100 discount on iPhone 5 upgrades to certain current Verizon customers, reports Gotta Be Mobile.

The change makes the iPhone 5 available for $100 with a two-year contract, one of the lowest prices we've seen for the device. However, Verizon said the discount is only being offered to certain "basic phone customers [who] are interested in moving to a smartphone".

The carrier did not elaborate on what qualifies customers for the deal and it also stressed that not every basic phone customer will be getting the offer, only those that it has identified as those who are interested in potentially upgrading to the iPhone 5.

The promotion will last until the end of next month which means that it will last through Apple’s WWDC developer conference which is set to kick off in the middle of the month.

Apple is expected to release a new model of the iPhone at some point this summer or fall.

Mophie today announced the Juice Pack Plus, a new 2100mAh battery case for the iPhone 5. The case is the third that the company has released for the iPhone 5, though this new $120 case has the largest battery of the three.

The $80 Juice Pack Helium has a 1500mAh battery, and the $100 Juice Pack Air has a 1700mAh battery.

The mophie juice pack plus is made for the user who puts their iPhone 5 through the paces morning to night, maxing out features, apps, video, email and web browsing while on-the-go. The case features a 2100mAh battery, translating to an added 120 percent of extra battery life and offers the most power of mophie’s battery case solutions for the iPhone 5 to date. For protection, the juice pack plus’ dual-injected sleeve is engineered with a shockproof band and anti scratch guides to help buffer the impact of falls.

Like the other cases, the Juice Pack Plus uses a microUSB cable to charge.

The Mophie Juice Pack Plus is available for $120 in black, white and PRODUCT (RED) from Mophie's website and elsewhere.

Limelight, from 9:42am, is a new iPhone app that is designed to allow users to create a comprehensive movie database filled with films that they have watched and films they want to watch in the future.

Unlike similar movie library apps like TodoMovies, Limelight focuses on social interactions, allowing users to follow one another to share movie recommendations among friends. It is similar to Goodreads, the social cataloging site that lets its users share book recommendations and reviews.


While Limelight does not support in-depth reviews, it does provide users with a 5-star rating for movies along with Rotten Tomatoes scores. It also offers movie trailers and pulls cast information from TheMovieDB.

In addition to showing movie choices from followed users, the app displays movies in categories like popular, upcoming (to be released), in the theater, and top rated. There is a curated Editor’s Choice list filled with top movie picks to further facilitate content discovery.

With Limelight, you can:
- Organize your entire movie library
- Keep track of movies you want to watch, and when they’re released to theaters
- Follow your friends libraries, so you can always find something good to watch tonight
- Rate movies you’ve already seen. Let your friends know if you liked it or not!
- Browse thousands of movies. Find new movies to watch, and rekindle memories of ones you have already seen. You can get lost for days!
- Watch beautiful trailers in our custom video player designed specifically for movie trailers. Did we mention that you can use AirPlay, too?

Limelight is an iPhone-only app that can be downloaded from the App Store for $0.99. [Direct Link]

American television network ABC has updated its iOS app with new live streaming television from local stations in Philadelphia and New York City. The change is an attempt to encourage viewers to keep their cable subscriptions as more and more users are ridding themselves of pay television and "cutting the cord", reports The New York Times.

Viewers will need to establish eligibility by verifying that they have an eligible pay-TV account with a local cable or satellite television company, and that they are within the local viewing area.


ABC may be expanding viewership on its iOS app, but it will be stepping back the availability of its shows through Hulu and ABC.com, limiting access to paying cable and satellite subscribers.

The Walt Disney Company, which owns ABC, says its live stream will be available in six cities where Disney owns the local affiliates later this summer, plus 13 more markets where Hearst Television owns the local stations including Boston and Pittsburgh.

The company is negotiating with the conglomerates that own the more than 200 ABC affiliates to livestream those channels as well.

The Watch ABC app is available free for iPhone and iPad on the App Store. [Direct Link]

Realmac Software, part of the team behind the intuitive gesture-based to-do app Clear, has just announced a new iPhone photography app called Analog Camera.

Analog Camera has been designed as the iOS version of the company's Analog photo editing app for the Mac. Like Clear, Analog Camera will feature a gesture-based interface along with a number of different filters and camera modes.

For Analog Camera, we've really focused on the core features that were important to us - stunning filters, incredibly fast and easy to use, and most importantly, FUN! With a beautiful fluid interface, and all your favourite services ready to share a photo to, Analog Camera is all about making photography fun again - and coming soon to your iPhone!

As can be seen in the preview video above, Analog Camera uses a simple, no-frills design with easy access buttons for both filters and photo sharing. The app is expected to be released later this month and interested users can sign up to be notified of its debut.

Groupon has launched Breadcrumb POS, new point-of-sale app designed for small business owners that will compete with offerings from companies like Square.

The Breadcrumb name comes from the hospitality point-of-sale system that Groupon acquired last year. Breadcrumb POS will exist alongside the company's recently renamed Breadcrumb Pro app, which is targeted at larger retailers like restaurants and cafes.


With Breadcrumb POS, merchants can accept payments and manage finances on the iPad. The app works with the Breadcrumb card reader, which is purchased directly from Groupon.

To compete with services like Square Register and PayPal Here, Groupon is offering low rates, charging just 1.8 percent per credit card swipe or 2.3 percent for keyed-in purchases, with a $0.15 fee for each transaction. The app has several additional features, including functionality for printed receipts, menus, and discounts.

- Easy Account Creation, Simple Setup, Fast Customer Checkout
- Multiple Tax Rates, Custom Items, Flexible Discounting
- Employee Roles, Menu and Tip Customization
- Beautiful Real Time Sales, Product Mix, Till Reports
- Email Receipts, Custom Printed Receipts, Prints Kitchen Tickets
- Supports One or More Printers, Optional Cash Drawer
- Just 1.8% + $0.15 per swipe for Visa, Mastercard, and Discover (Amex rates vary)
- $5000 in Free Processing with purchase of secure card reader (limited time)
- Free Live Support

Breadcrumb POS is an iPad-only app that can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Credit card processing company Square has added another product to its growing repertoire of small business solutions, today announcing the Square Stand -- a $299 iPad stand with a built-in credit card swiper and USB ports to add peripherals like a cash drawer, receipt printer and barcode scanner.

The stand is meant to pair with the Register checkout app that the company unveiled last year to give retail stores a cheaper option than pricey full-featured point-of-sale systems. Square updated its Register app with barcode scanning last month.


Though existing Square customers can purchase other stands, or simply use a free-floating iPad with Square's card swiper, AllThingsD spoke to Square CEO Jack Dorsey about the unserved market that he believes the Square Stand serves:

But that, Dorsey said, is where the point of the product comes in. There’s basically two areas being served by POS systems right now — the very small merchants, who use the company’s existing card reader software out there (or ones from competitors like PayPal or Intuit), and the big, cumbersome (and rather ugly) POS systems used by restaurants and others that cost somewhere in the area of ten grand or more. For Square’s setup, you could slap a $500 iPad on a $300 stand and, perhaps buy one or two of the ticket-printing peripherals to go with it, and be set up for under a grand.

The stand is available for $299, with a USB-compatible cash drawer ($199), receipt printer ($199), and barcode scanner ($99) available as add-ons. Retailers can add an entry-level iPad 2 and have a full register setup for under $1,200.

The Square Stand is available for preorder now, shipping July 8th.

Facebook today updated its iOS app with more options when viewing photos, including sharing a photo on a users' timeline, saving a photo to the iOS camera roll, or saving a photo as a profile picture, in addition to other improvements.

Prior to the 6.1 update, users could only Like, Comment or tag users in a photo within the iOS app.

What's New in Version 6.1

- Photo viewer button lets you save, share or make profile picture
- Improved places editing when checking in on iPhone
- Events load faster on iPhone

Facebook for iOS is a free download from the App Store. [Direct Link]

AgileBits has updated its password management app 1Password to version 4.2, adding several enhancements to 1Browser along with improvements to search and sharing.

Go and Fill bookmarks have been added to the 1Browser on the iPad, along with the ability to use the Strong Password Generator. An auto-submit option for login filling has also been added.

The update includes the ability to share items through Messages or email, and the app's search capabilities have been improved to allow for expanded search results across all fields. Here's a full rundown of the changes:

1Browser
- Added Go and Fill bookmarks in 1Browser on iPad.
- Added the ability to use Strong Password Generator in 1Browser on iPad.
- Added the ability to auto-submit on login filling.
- Added fill animations to make it easy (and fun) to see where fields are filled.
- Added Copy to Clipboard in the Share menu to copy the current URL to the clipboard.
- Closing the last tab will now direct you back to vault mode.

1Browser Settings
- Added 1Browser settings menu.
- Added the ability to adjust auto-submit and fill-animation defaults.
- Added the ability to clear the Web Data (eg. Cookies) from 1Browser.

Sharing
- Added the ability to share items through Messages or email.
- Shared items include a special 'Add to 1Password' link which allows you to directly add them to 1Password.

Search
- Added the ability to expand search results across all fields.
- Search results now includes the primary URL of the item.

Other
- 1PasswordAnywhere (1Password.html) will now display custom fields.
- 1Password will prompt to open in the web view when launching 1Password with a URL in your clipboard.
- Improved translations and the addition of Greek.
- Improvements to Dropbox syncing.
- Many bug fixes and improvements.

1Password is a universal app that can be downloaded from the App Store for $17.99. [Direct Link]

Flipboard for iOS has been updated to version 2.0.2, adding profile pages for its users along with a new "Friends" category and the ability to share articles via SMS.

Profile pages are designed to work in conjunction with the Magazine functionality that was introduced with the 2.0 update, allowing Flipboard users to create and share personally curated content. Profile pages are meant to give insight into "readership and curation activity."

The new Friends category in the Content Guide also enhances personalized magazine discovery, making it easy for Flipboard users to find magazines created by their friends.

Update 2.0.2 offers improved sharing tools as well, with the ability to share stories through SMS and save Flipboard images to the camera roll.

What's New in Version 2.0.2
- Get a window onto your readership and curation activity with new profile pages.
- Discover magazines by friends quickly in new Friends category in the Content Guide.
- Select a social network and access options more easily in the improved share menu.
- Share magazines and stories with friends and family via SMS text messaging.
- Save images directly to your device. Tap item's share icon, then "Save to Camera Roll."
- Improved navigation for Google Reader RSS folders

Flipboard can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Amazon today launched Amazon Cloud Drive Photos, an iOS app designed to give Amazon Cloud users a way to access, view, and manage cloud photos from the iPhone.

With the app, users can both upload iPhone photos to their accounts and browse existing photos. Photos can be queued for download and uploaded automatically whenever the Cloud Drive app is opened.

- Store and secure thousands of photos in your Amazon Cloud Drive
- Protect your memories – photos from your iPhone or iPod touch are automatically saved to Cloud Drive whenever the app is running
- Have access to your entire photo collection in the Amazon Cloud, even those that aren't in your Camera Roll
- View your photo albums in stunning layouts from your iPhone or iPod touch
- Share your Cloud Drive photos on Facebook, Twitter, and through e-mail

Photos stored in Amazon's cloud can be viewed through the iOS app or through a browser, which gives Amazon Cloud Photos a slight boost over competing Apple service Photo Stream. Like many other cloud services, access to Amazon's Cloud Drive is free, with 5GB of storage included. Additional storage space costs $0.50 per gigabyte per year.

Amazon Cloud Drive Photos for the iPhone can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Apple has expanded its two-step verification system to a number of new countries, including Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Russia, among others, notes 9to5Mac.


Two-step verification is designed to provide Apple users with an extra layer of protection through the use of a trusted device and a security code. When Apple first introduced the feature in March, it was limited to users in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand.

Apple has yet to make an official announcement or update its documentation, but it appears that quite a few countries are gaining access to two-step verification today.

Paracable is a new company that is hand-wrapping Lightning-to-USB cables with paracord, a lightweight rope originally used in parachutes. The cables are not official 'Made for i' cables, but Paracable founder Travis Beck told MacRumors that they have sourced high-quality cables from China and have tested them thoroughly.

The company buys cables without the USB-end attached in order to wrap the paracord, then attaching the end and using a hardening resin to ensure it is firmly attached.

As Paracable explains, they were trying to create a cable that would not be destroyed by the founder's cat Baxter quite as easily as Apple's OEM Lightning cables.

After much thought and prototyping, the first Paracable was born. As a byproduct of the Baxter-proof cable, we had also created a beautifully textured and colorful cable worthy of the iPhone's gorgeous industrial design. "We can make these in all sorts of colors and patterns," we thought. And so we did.

Each cable is hand assembled and soldered one at a time using a unique process that ensures it's longevity and durability. We spent many months perfecting the process in order to create the best cable possible. One that not only looks good, but will last.

Paracables are available in more than 20 different colors for $27.95 each from the company's website.

Earlier today, Nowhereelse.fr highlighted new part photos posted by Japanese vendor Moumantai showing what is claimed to be from the iPhone 5S or perhaps Apple's lower-cost iPhone. The part corresponds to an iPhone 5 part attached to the top end of the main logic board, but does contain some layout differences.


Nowhereelse.fr and other sites have speculated that the part is related to camera functionality given its proximity to the front and rear cameras on the iPhone, but we chatted with iFixit's Miro Djuric and determined that it appears to be primarily related to wireless antenna functionality, although its exact role has not been confirmed.

The corresponding iPhone 5 part houses a low noise amplifier from Skyworks that is involved in cellular connectivity. The part shown in the new photos also contains an antenna connector, which appears to correspond to one located nearby on the main logic board in the iPhone 5. That iPhone 5 connector is believed (but not confirmed) to be for the device's Wi-Fi antenna.


While Apple has tweaked the layout of this part somewhat, it is very similar to the corresponding iPhone 5 part and does not immediately reveal any major changes for the device that will use it.

Minor parts for the next-generation iPhone have been leaking over the last several months, although identification of the devices associated with those parts has been made more difficult by rumors that Apple is looking to introduce both an iPhone 5S and a lower-cost iPhone later this year. In past years, Apple's strategy has been to release just one new model while keeping previous models available at lower price points.