Apple : Buying Guide: If you loved Breakout then you'll love these iOS games

Buying Guide: If you loved Breakout then you'll love these iOS games
Apple may end reliance on Samsung chips, as relationship 'deteriorates'
Apple patents fingerprint sensor for biometric iPhone unlock
iPhone 5 generating more web traffic than Galaxy S3, sales haven't stopped due to Maps
Apple agrees to licensing deal over iOS 6 clock dispute

Buying Guide: If you loved Breakout then you'll love these iOS games

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Breakout began life as a single-player version of Pong, and considering the simplistic approach of batting a ball around to clear bundles of bricks, it's no wonder that the formula has flourished on handheld platforms.

Atari itself has released several versions of the game, but that hasn't stopped other developers from unleashing scads of similar titles over the years - from Nintendo's Alleyway on the original Game Boy, to a bevy of freeware knock-offs for graphing calculators that kept students blissfully distracted from their work.

Naturally, the genre proved immensely popular on early mobile phones, and that trend hasn't faded on the iPhone and iPad, where both official Breakout entries and various interpretations of its template are available en masse.

Just one brick-breaking affair won't be enough to satisfy true genre fans, so we bashed through a slew of the best titles available to see which warrant the attention.

The most authentic and unadulterated versions of the game are found in Atari's Greatest Hits (Free, Universal), a throwback app that comprises touch-enabled arcade and Atari 2600 versions of 100 games. While the app download is free, accessing the games in question is not: £6.99 unlocks all 99 premium titles (only Missile Command is gratis with download), or you can pay 69p each to download the two packs that contain the three distinct versions of Breakout.

The original Breakout, adapted from the Atari 2600 version, is admittedly a mess - the ball bounces off the paddle awkwardly, and at times passes right through bricks without clearing them from the screen.

Luckily, the home version of Super Breakout fares better, with multiple variations on the theme - such as alternating two-player gameplay, plus a Cavity variation with extra balls trapped within the wall - available in the set.

The arcade version of Super Breakout, meanwhile, offers better-defined bricks and less obnoxious sound effects. All three include multiple touch-based control options, and like every game in the app they support both the iCade and Atari's own Arcade Duo Joystick.

Breakout Boost

If the faded pixels and straightforward design of the originals fail to amuse, Atari recently updated the concept with Breakout: Boost+ (69p, Universal), which packs in 100 levels with sleek-looking bricks and balls, not to mention a small array of power-ups.

What really sets Breakout: Boost+ apart from past iterations is the ability to control the speed of the ball using a slider on the left side of the screen. Increasing the pace amps up the challenge, but also boosts your score multiplier, adding a unique variable to consider while playing. A free version, Breakout: Boost (Free, Universal), is also available with 10 levels included, and both offer access to additional premium level packs.

Arkanoid

Arkanoid has long been the top and most-copied competitor to vanilla Breakout, adding in powerups from which many titles (including Breakout: Boost+) have drawn inspiration. The iOS versions of Arkanoid (£2.99, iPhone; £2.99, iPad) offer perhaps the best overall genre experience on the App Store, though the lack of Retina-display support hurts, especially on iPhone.

Both feature powers such as multi-ball triggers and laser shots from the paddle, as well as boss battles that pit your bat and ball against large monsters. That Retina deficiency is easily overlooked in the face of the game's other qualities.

Among the more traditional iOS takes on the genre, Gameloft's Block Breaker 3 Free+ (Free, Universal) shines, with glossy production values and elaborate boards that often span multiple screens through winding pathways. It's a slick, meaty option that rivals Arkanoid for overall quality, though the unavoidable free-to-play system - in which you may eventually need to spend money to buy balls to keep playing - aggravates. Having the option to simply unlock the full experience from within might have made this our absolute favourite, but it's nowhere to be found.

Brick Breaker Escape! HD (£1.49, Universal) impresses thanks to a few key twists on the common design, such as inventive power-ups (like a truly massive ball) and a smaller playing field on some stages, not to mention slick art design. The pace drags at times, though the myriad level layouts help keep things interesting.

Jet Ball Premium (£2.49, iPhone; £1.49, iPad) moves a bit further from genre norms with circular and sometimes spinning clusters to bust open, giving the game a unique feel. A couple of other titles make use of a similar core structure, but shift the perspective to offer up a distinct experience.

3D Brick Breaker Revolution (Free, iPhone) was an early iPhone favourite - and hasn't changed much since then, going by the lack of Retina support. Still, the tilted board and polygonal blocks change the game a bit, and it's quite fun, aside from the small virtual buttons that can send your paddle flying to either edge if mis-tapped.

Brick Breaker +

Brick Breaker + (69p, iPhone) takes things a step further by placing you behind the paddle as you fling the ball towards blocks seen straight ahead in the distance. The goal is the same, though the different viewpoint dramatically changes the feel and flow of the game.

Some of the top Breakout-esque titles on the App Store actually blend elements from the genre with other classics - notably the awesome Breakeroids (£1.49, Universal), which lets you swat a ball at Asteroids-style space rocks that bust apart as they're hit. It's an equal mix of retro favourites that really shines, but it's not the only one of its kind.

Space Out (69p, Universal) similarly swaps pixelated aliens like those in Space Invaders for the familiar bricks, and while not as enthralling as Breakeroids, it's another entertaining play on established themes.

Breaking blocks with a bat and ball translates perfectly to a touchscreen interface, which is a large part of why the genre has flourished on iOS devices. More notably, it's such an enduring, satisfying and straightforward concept that even the original Breakout still entertains 36 years later - though as proven here, the App Store has many more stellar options to choose from.

Apple may end reliance on Samsung chips, as relationship 'deteriorates'

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Apple is exploring avenues to lessen its dependence on Samsung to manufacture processors for iOS devices, reports have claimed.

Apple has established a relationship with the Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company who will build chips using its advanced 20 nanometer manufacturing process, according to reports in Asia.

TSMC's 20nm manufacturing process is said to yield chips that are 30 per cent faster and 25 per cent more efficient than the 28nm tech it currently uses.

Ramping down Samsung

Piper Jaffray chip analyst Gus Richard had heard a similar tale and said Apple will turn to TSMC and lessen the amount of 32 nanometer Samsung-built A6 chips for devices like the iPhone 5.

Richard said: "They'll ramp down Samsung and ramp up TSMC. And some products will get some of one and some of the other.

"TSMC has allocated a disproportionate amount of resources to Apple. And has pushed out other [TSMC customers] in the process," he added.

Fulfilling contractual obligations

Apple's reported efforts to marginalise Samsung comes following a long courtroom battle, which has left extremely bitter feelings on both sides of the Pacific Ocean.

One industry source told CNET that the relationship between the two companies has effectively broken down and will result in the two companies parting ways at the end of existing agreements.

The source said: "The Apple-Samsung relationship has deteriorated to such a poor point that they're just looking to fill contractual obligations, then make a change."

Apple and Samsung have helped each other earn billions in the past few years, but it seems that elongated period of dragging each other's names through the mud may bring that mutually beneficial arrangement to a close.

Apple patents fingerprint sensor for biometric iPhone unlock

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Afraid someone over your shoulder just figured out your four-digit passcode on your brand new iPhone 5? This won't matter if Apple makes use of its recently approved fingerprint patent.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office just granted Apple a two-step unlock screen patent that incorporates a fingerprint reader into the bottom right corner of an iOS device.

Illustrations shows a familiar slide-to-unlock screen on an iPhone, followed by a new prompt that asks the owner to place his or her thumb on top of a window situated next to the home button.

Interestingly, PatentlyApple suggests that the new security window may blend into the iPhone, as it changes "between opaque and transparent configurations using a polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) window."

Apple's symmetrical iPhone design would remain intact.

Eyes, ears and e-commerce

There's more to this security-focused patent than the fingerprint homepage unlock screen.

Smiling from ear-to-ear is illustrated as an alternate method of getting beyond the homepage unlock screen. Additionally, eye recognition acts as another owner-only way of accessing the device.

Beyond getting past the homescreen, the illustrations detail the ability to sign-off on e-Commerce purchases. The drawing doesn't specify whether these secure transactions can be performed online, offline, or both.

Patent ties into Apple's recent acquisitions

This scifi-like method of verifying one's identity is in line with Apple's recent purchases of two security firms.

Apple bought AuthenTec for $356 million this summer, and the Florida-based company has a history of making fingerprint scanning technology for mobile devices.

The patent is given further weight with Apple's recent interest in biosecurity firm Microlatch. The two companies are said to be working together in an effort to shore up technology for NFC in future iOS devices.

Given Google Wallet's year-long experience with NFC and the fact that Microsoft Wallet has been shown off already, Apple may already have fast-tracked this idea from patent to production for the next iPhone.

iPhone 5 generating more web traffic than Galaxy S3, sales haven't stopped due to Maps

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Despite Apple's current struggles with the much-maligned Maps app, the company is still enjoying quite a bit of success.

The iPhone 5 has already sold more than 5 million units, and iOS 6 is being adopted by users at an impressive rate.

Even though Maps' struggles have been highly publicized, there are still plenty of consumers interested in purchasing an iPhone 5.

A new study from ChangeWave not only revealed more consumers were interested in the iPhone 5 than they were the iPhone 4S, but also that an overwhelming percentage of Maps users had no issue with the app whatsoever.

Maps issues overhyped?

ChangeWave's numbers found 19 percent of people polled were "Very Likely" to purchase an iPhone 5.

When it ran a similar survey during the iPhone 4S' launch in October 2011, ChangeWave found just 10 percent of those polled answered the same way,

In fact, the iPhone 5 results outclassed those of the iPhone 4S in every single category in ChangeWave's survey.

Additionally, ChangeWave polled current iOS 6 users in an effort to find out just how much of an issue Maps really was.

The majority of respondents, 90 percent, reported having no issue at all with Maps, while only 3 percent of those polled said Maps was a "Very Big Problem."

"In comparison to the iPhone 4 Antenna/Reception issue, the current Apple Maps issue is of marginal concern to iPhone 5/iOS 6 users," said ChangWave in its report.

"Simply put, Apple Maps is not considered a problem by the overwhelming majority of users."

iPhone 5 leads in web traffic

Perhaps even better news for Apple is the latest Chitika web browser report, which gives the iPhone 5 the lead over its competitor, the Samsung Galaxy S3.

With Apple already holding onto 72 percent of all smartphone web traffic, it should come as no surprise to learn the iPhone 5 is again leading the charge against its chief rival.

Pitting only the web traffic generated by the iPhone 5 against that of the Galaxy S3, Chitika found a slight majority in Apple's favor.

The iPhone 5 is responsible for 56 percent of all web browsing between two smartphones, compared to the Galaxy S3's 44 percent.

Considering the iPhone 5 is only a few weeks old, and Samsung's smartphone has been out for months, that much of a gap already existing between the two is quite impressive.

Teamed with the record-breaking sales of the iPhone 5, Chitika said "new 4G browsing speeds which encourage data usage, are the most likely explanation for this tremendous growth."

If those ChangeWave poll-takers soon pick up an iPhone 5, that gap could grow even more before the end of the year.

Apple agrees to licensing deal over iOS 6 clock dispute

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Apple has agreed to pay a licensing fee to the Swiss railway network service after Cupertino was accused of ripping off its trademarked clock design for an iOS 6 app.

The timepiece in question belongs to the Swiss Federal Railway (SBB), and hangs in train stations around the nation. The clock is based on a 1944 design by one of its employees.

When Apple launched the "identical" Clock app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, SBB said it was pleased the design had been recognised, but said Apple definitely did not for permission.

Amicable agreement

"We are proud that this icon of clock design is being used by a globally successful company," Reto Kormann told The Associated Press on Sept. 21.

"We've approached Apple and told them that the rights for this clock belong to us," he added, before saying SBB would be seeking an "amicable agreement" with Apple.

It appears that the company got its lawyers on the case as Friday SBB confirmed that Apple has agreed to pay the piper on this one.

SBB told CNET that the details of the agreement will remain confidential. Apple is yet to comment, but TechRadar has reached out to the company.

Yahuui Blog

Sunday, October 14, 2012