Creator of 'Magic: The Gathering' making new iOS game 'Map Monsters'

Richard Garfield, the creator of collectible card game Magic: The Gathering, is designing a new game for the iPhone and iPad, and he's turning to Kickstarter to fund it. Map Monsters, described as a free-to-play location-based adventure game, centers around capturing monsters and uses real-world raw map data and your device's GPS to place you in a fantasy world. The developer, BodSix, is keen to point out that location is a secondary mechanic — although users will advance in the game faster if they do, it's not absolutely necessary to physically get out of the house to play the game.

Map Monsters has already been in development for over 12 months and the game engine, art assets, and core mechanics are all completed. Garfield says the development team needs $40,000 to add additional content, secondary mechanics, and social elements to the game. He's also planning to port the title to Android and says additional funds will go towards making that happen. As the final product will be free, contributors to the project are to receive their investment back in the form of in-game cash, with the higher tiers getting more and more elaborate gifts to go along with the credit. Funding will close on May 5th, and given the size of Garfield's fanbase we're pretty certain he'll reach his target.

iTunes 10.6 rolls out same day as iOS 5.1

It's not just iOS device users getting a software update today. Apple has also now made iTunes 10.6 available for download, which includes support for 1080p movies and TV shows to match those available on the new Apple TV. The update also brings with it a number of improvements to iTunes Match, including better song matching, and improvements to the way album artwork is downloaded and displayed. You can find it at the link below or download it via Apple's Software Update tool.

iOS 5.1 rolls out today for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch UPDATE: Adds 4G symbol to AT&T connected devices

Well, it looks like we didn't have to wait long for that iOS 5.1 update promised for today. The update is already rolling out to iPhones, iPads and compatible iPod touches. That brings with it a number of improvements and bug fixes, including the previously-announced Japanese language support for Siri, a redesigned camera app for iPad, the ability to delete individual photos from Photo Stream and, somewhat curiously, an "updated AT&T network indicator." What's more, as previously rumored, the camera shortcut is now also always visible on the lock screen for iPhone and iPod touch users.

Update: As a number of commenters have pointed out, it turns out that update to the AT&T network indicator is a change to display "4G" in the status bar, even though the device's connectivity of course remains the same speed as ever.

Appstore App Review: Cards; Apple Goes Hallmark

Now that the holiday season is over, and it’s about that time to send those thank you cards, you may want to consider taking a close look at an app first introduced back in October: Cards.

The app allows you to create a custom made card, (complete with pictures and envelope) and send it anywhere in the whole wide world.

Fees start at $2.99 for anywhere in the U.S and $4.99 for outside the U.S.  You’ll even get a push notification the day it’s scheduled to arrive.

Full app review after the break.

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E-Book Publishers being investigated in the United States as well as Europe for price fixing

Just two days after the European Commission announced that it was investigating Apple and major international publishers for possible e-book price fixing, the US Justice Department has made it clear that it's also launching a probe into the possibility of "anticompetitive practices involving e-book sales." Although Justice Department officials didn't name which companies they're looking into, it's very likely that they're focusing on the same agreements between publishers and the major e-book platform owners -- either Apple or Amazon or both.                                                      

Flipboard finally releases for iPhone and iPod Touch

Flipboard has now arrived on a slightly smaller board. Previously available as an iPad-only app, the popular magazine and social media app has now launched on both the iPhone and iPod Touch, bringing graphics-laden aggregation to a larger spectrum of the iOS community. This new universal version features much of the same functionality you'll find on its iPad predecessor, along with a new Cover Stories interface, which collects and displays all your recent photo uploads, shared articles and status updates from select social networks. If you're intrigued, you can download it for free from the app store right now.

Office for iPad in 2012???

Microsoft's released a few apps here and there for the iPhone and iPad but has kept one of its big ticket items out of the iOS family. According to The Daily, that all might change in 2012 with the launch of Office for iPad. The publication claims that this new release will play nice with Office 365's cloud-based service, and iPad documents should be compatible with the desktop versions of Office. In fact, this closely mirrors both Office for Windows Phone and iWork on the iPad, with document syncing and compatibility between mobile and desktop apps. Office for iPad's price point also is rumored to be similar to iWork on iOS's $10 per app pricing. The Daily claims a new Office for Mac will be coming out closer to the end of 2012, but the iPad apps are likely to launch much sooner. It looks like Microsoft's big 2012 is getting bigger.

Apple cuts prices for Black Friday

It's not exactly official yet but 9to5Mac has what appears to be legitimately leaked collateral detailing Apple's Black Friday plans for 2011. Each year Black Friday rolls around and Apple announces its sale without any prices. It then starts rolling out the deals globally, starting with New Zealand, before finally making its way to the place where this ritual of crazy consumer mayhem began: the US. Consider this your shortcut through all the noise.

As usual, the sale reflects cuts in the range of about five to ten percent on Apple gear, although deeper discounts are available on third-party items. Read on after the break for all the deals.

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Gmail for iOS is back and it works

A few weeks back, Google released a Gmail app for iOS users and then in less than a half an hour, they removed it from the app store.  Well as of this morning, the app has reappeared and is available for download on your iOS devices.  It is optimized for iPad as well, so load it all over.  A couple of glaring omitions however, are multiple account support, robust notifications, and only 25 messages at a time.  The Gmail team responded to the omitions with this:

We’re just getting started with the Gmail app for iOS and will be iterating rapidly to bring you more features.

IOS users can use Apple’s Mail app to manage their Gmail accounts, but the Gmail app does provide some extra convenience, delivering all the features you’d expect from a Gmail service via a straightforward, mobile web-like interface. A handy slide-out menu provides access to your inbox, starred items, sent mail, and folders you’ve created.

Minecraft comes to iPhone!

According to the description, the game will allow players to "move beyond the limits of your computer and play Minecraft everywhere you go." Gameplay is limited to Creative Mode (no Survival Mode) and features randomized worlds with 36 different kinds of blocks for building. Players will be able to invite friends to visit their world via local Wi-Fi, and multiplayer worlds can be saved to your device.

The release date isn't confirmed for other territories, but it's likely to be the same since MineCon begins on Friday in Las Vegas.

Adobe says Flash is dead for all mobile devices. HTML 5 wins

Adobe will no longer update its Flash plugin for mobile browsers, though it will continue to issue security updates and bug fixes. The company issued a statement to developers conceding that "HTML5 is now universally supported on major mobile devices, in some cases exclusively," adding "that makes HTML5 the best solution for creating and deploying content in the browser across mobile platforms." This is a stark about-face for the company, which has heretofore vehemently defended Flash for mobile devices, and spent years attempting to optimize the software for better performance on lower powered systems. We're following the news as it happens, so stay tuned!

Palm Pre-iPhone Hybrid makes a TV debut

Last week I noticed this on the series premiere of NBC's Grimm.  Pretty trippy. Engadget.com has a service called, Screengrabs, which is a service dedicated to the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV.  If you see one you can send it to screengrabs@engadget.com

A Palm Pre device ringing like an iPhone. The phone then switches to the typical webOS interface we've long admired, picking up reception on AT&T along the way. We're torn over whether they're using a Pre 2 or another Palm family member, though the screen looks too dinky for it to be the mythical Pre 3. But in a world of monster hunters and big bad wolves, we guess anything's possible.

ThinkGeek releases HAL 9000 Siri Integration

The comparisons between Siri and HAL 9000 were pretty tough to avoid, and the guys over at ThinkGeek have now come through to do what they do best: take things to a ridiculous extreme. In this case, that comes in the form of the IRIS 9000, a the familiar face of a super computer that doubles as a dock for your iPhone 4S. It has a remote that lets you activate Siri from afar, a built-in mic and speaker that lets you interact with Siri (or make phone calls) and, of course, a glowing red LED eye that makes Siri suitably menacing. Now, ThinkGeek has been known to produce some fake products in the past, but last we checked it wasn't April Fools' day, and the company has assured us that this is indeed real and set to be available in the spring of next year for $60. Video of your new favorite desk mate is after the break.

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The iPod turns 10 today.

It is crazy to think that the iPod has only been in our lives for a decade. It feels like there was never a day without one. When I use my iPhone as the iPod it was built around, I feel as though it was natural. Before the iPhone I owned the second generation iPod, the first generation black iPod nano, a first generation black iPod video, and than a second generation iPod touch. The iPod was not the first portable digital media player, but it was the one that ushered in the digital media age. Many believe it is the single device that helped turn around Apple's second coming, and really made Apple what it is today. I will never forget the day that Steve Jobs came on stage and pulled that 10GB white brick with physical buttons and turn wheel out of his pocket. Happy Birthday iPod, you made the world of music consumption the way it is today.

iTunes Match getting close to launch?

While Apple launched iOS 5 and iCloud last week, the company pushed back the debut of its paid iTunes Match service in the United States until what they said would be the end of October. Apple appears to be moving closer to a launch of iTunes Match in the United States, as the Music section of the Settings app in iOS 5 has now gained a toggle for turning iTunes Match on and off. And with the end of October drawing near, a launch could be coming very soon.

   Settings before (left), and after (right). 

iOS 5, Lion 10.7.2, and iCloud are here!

iOS 5, iCloud, and OS X Lion 10.7.2 are all here!  Go plug your devices in and get to updating!  About 3 GB worth of updates, but bring on the fun!

Apple Rolls out iTunes 10.5, with iCloud support

As far as iTunes updates go this is a pretty big one.  Version 10.5 brings with it what Apple's calling iTunes in the Cloud, which allows for automatic downloads of purchases to your Mac or Windows computers and all of your iOS devices, as well as the ability to download previous purchases on said devices as many times as you want. It's not exactly a traditional cloud-based service, but you do always have access to all of your purchased media, regardless of the device (so long as it runs some form of iTunes). As expected, it also finally adds WiFi syncing for your iOS devices, although you'll still have to wait a bit longer for the iTunes Match service, it's slated to roll out closer to the end of the month. As usual, you can look for it in Apple's Software Update, or you can hit the link below to download it directly.

iTunes 10.5

Apple wants to "Talk iPhone" (Officially)

Well, well, well.  Just as we thought.  The rumors are true.  Apple has officially announced the October 4th event will be taking place and we will be seeing the next iPhone.  Apple has been none too subtle with the hints, offering up some familiar app icons in the artwork and the tagline "Let's talk iPhone." Tune into The Geek Domain for more info as it happens!

App Store Watch: Zed's Alchemy. Human and alcohol make what?

For those of us that simply MUST HAVE the latest greatest app for your mobile phone, check out Zed's Alchemy. In Zed's, you start off with 4 basic elements; fire, wind, earth, and water. By combining the elements, you can create a new element. to combine elements, you simply press and hold the element, and drag it over to another element. Pretty fun if you ask me.  So if you have an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, hop on the app store and give it a download for free.

iOS 5 shows off more features as the beta gets out.

There were the main points of the keynote last week at the World Wide Developer's Conference, but many other features are now reering their heads as more and more developers get their hands on the beta version.  Some of the key features that were not talked about are listed below:

Apple has added the ability to make FaceTime calls over 3G -- though rumor has it that this may be a beta-only feature, which carriers can choose to disable, over obvious data usage concerns.

AirPlay Mirroring has been shown off. The feature lets users display video from an iPad 2 on an HDTV, by way of Apple TV, for those times when you just can't keep your tablet content to yourself. 

The new software also offers up the ability to sync 1080p video to iOS 5 devices, opening the door to speculation that future iPads and iPhones may be able to play back content at full 1080p. 

Like to play your iTunes over your car stereo? Good news, iOS 5 will transfer audio information like album, track, and artist names over Bluetooth.