Angry Birds Star Wars now available for download

After teasing it for over a month, Rovio has finally released Angry Birds Star Wars. The game is available for download on iOS, Android and OS X and although a Windows Phone and Windows 8 versions are promised neither are currently available for download.

The game is priced at $0.99 on iOS for the iPhone version and $2.99 for the iPad version. Meanwhile, Android has two versions, one that is free but comes with ads and another ‘HD’ version, which despite the name looks identical to the standard version but costs $2.99 and does not include ads. The OS X version costs $4.99.

After playing it for a few minutes prior to writing this article, the game seems very similar to the standard Angry Birds, which means not all that exciting. Of course, I plan to play further and hopefully it gets better. You can expect a full review later this week.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Google Earth for desktop gets tour guide feature and additional 3D imagery

Google Earth 7 is now available for download, with the Mountain View company adding the tour guide feature from the Android and iOS versions together with a load of new 3D imagery.

The latest version of Google Earth for desktop computers was rolled out on Wednesday, bringing many of the features that Android and iOS users of the virtual-globe software have been enjoying for a few months now.

Version 7 brings with it the tour guide feature, which Google describes as “a local expert”. To try it out, look for thumbnails appearing at the bottom of the screen as you’re viewing various locations around the world. These thumbnails indicate that a tour has been created. Click on one that looks appealing and you’ll be taken on a virtual flyover of the landmark or location, with various relevant facts and figures pulled from Wikipedia showing up on screen.

As you might expect, the feature works best with cities where buildings have been rendered in 3D by Google, rather than in locations like Paris which are still waiting for a makeover. Flying around an Eiffel Tower showing up as flat as a pancake is, of course, no fun at all. The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and Rome’s Colosseum, on the other hand, both offer a superb demonstration of the feature. To view the buildings in 3D, you need to first check the 3D Buildings box in the layers column on the left side of the screen. To find out more about which landmarks are currently viewable in 3D, check out Google’s dedicated webpage here.

Locations updated with 3D imagery on Google Earth 7 include those that have been available on Android and iOS devices for several months such as Boulder, Boston, Charlotte, Denver, Lawrence, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Portland, San Antonio, San Diego, Santa Cruz, Seattle, Tampa, Tucson, Rome and the San Francisco Bay Area (including the Peninsula and East Bay).

And there’s more – from Wednesday additional 3D imagery is showing up for a number of other places including Avignon, France; Austin, Texas; Munich, Germany; Phoenix, Arizona; and Mannheim, Germany.

“The experience of flying through these areas and seeing the buildings, terrain and even the trees rendered in 3D is now consistent across both mobile and desktop devices, making all of your virtual travels more realistic than ever,” Google Earth product manager Peter Birch said in a blog post announcing the update.

Uou can download Google Earth 7 here.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Bad Piggies now available on iOS, Android and Mac OS X

Rovio’s next anticipated title – Bad Piggies – is now available for download. The first platforms to get it are iOS, Android and Mac OS X.

The gameplay of Bad Piggies is closer to Amazing Alex puzzle game, rather than the Angry Birds platformer.

Bad Piggies (SD, HD) is free on Android, costs $0.99 (SD) and $2.99 (HD) on iOS, while the Mac version will set you back $5. Rovio is preparing Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 versions as well, but the pricing and the availability is yet to be announced.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

BBC iPlayer update brings offline viewing to mobile devices

Users of the BBC's iPlayer catch-up and video-on-demand service will be pleased to know that an app update out on Tuesday will make it possible to download shows to mobile devices for viewing offline. Previously, it was only possible to stream TV shows to smartphones and tablets.

The BBC’s iPlayer catch-up and video-on-demand service is being updated to allow users to watch shows offline on their smartphones and tablets, meaning viewers will be able to download programs to watch later on the train, in the car or even on vacation. Before now, viewers using the app could only stream content to their mobile devices.

The new feature is being rolled out in an app update for iOS devices on Tuesday, and is also expected to be introduced soon for Android handsets and tablets.

“This fundamentally changes one of the most annoying restrictions about viewing programmes,“ Daniel Danker, the BBC’s general manager of on-demand programs, told the Guardian, adding that the update will allow even greater freedom when it comes to choosing where and when to watch a TV show.

Danker continued, “With mobile downloads, you can now load up your mobile phone or tablet with hours and hours of BBC programmes, then watch them on the road, on the tube, on a plane, without worrying about having an Internet connection or running up a mobile data bill.”

After downloading a show onto a device, users have 30 days to watch it.

The Guardian report says the move by the BBC comes in the wake of program requests on iPlayer leaping by 142 percent in the last 12 months to 30 million a month, brought on in part by the rapid increase in ownership of smartphones and tablets.

The iPlayer has been a huge hit since it came on the scene in 2007, allowing users to enjoy BBC TV shows and radio programs on mobile devices, PCs and many TV sets.

The service is free to those located in the UK, though last year the BBC launched a paid-for video-on-demand (as opposed to a catch-up) service in 11 countries, including Canada, Australia and a number of European countries.

The global iPlayer is part of a year-long pilot scheme, and with that year just about up, we might soon be hearing news of a US launch for the BBC’s popular service.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com