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Top 5 Free Apps

Release Date: August 05, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: May 22, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: August 29, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: March 27, 2009
Release Date: August 07, 2009

iTunes New Music Releases

Release Date: September 29, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: September 20, 2009
Release Date: September 15, 2009
Release Date: August 25, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: August 25, 2009

Top 5 Paid Apps

Release Date: April 22, 2009
StickWars $0.99
Release Date: March 31, 2009
Genre: Games
Bloons $0.99
Release Date: April 05, 2009
Genre: Games

Discover New Music

  • Velocifero

    • 6 out of 10
    • Ladytron
    • "Back to the future" isn't the right turn of phrase for Ladytron's newest album,

  • How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb

    • 6 out of 10
    • U2
    • U2's latest entry is a mostly underwhelming collection of songs that does very little to sound any different from its equally pedestrian predecessor, 2000's "All That You Can't Leave Behind." While

  • An Evening with George Shearing & Mel Torm�

    • 10 out of 10
    • Mel Torm� & George Shearing
    • Of the three men who taught me how to sing, the last was Mel Torme. Apparently, Mel Torme is a joke to anyone more than a decade older than me, a living parody of a Vegas crooner. But I stumbled on th
  • Every Day: The Best of the Verve Years

    • 8 out of 10
    • Joe Williams
    • Joe Williams was Figure Two in my three-man education in singing. A brilliant vocalist, scatter, and interpreter of jazz and blues, Williams produces music that's totally unique, yet sounds so effortl
  • Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

    • 8 out of 10
    • Arctic Monkeys
    • Get on your dancing shoes
      You sexy little swine

      -Arctic

Reader Specials

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News

Looking at the iPod’s Other New Genre

iTunes movies may be getting a lot of attention right now, but Apple on Tuesday also addressed a genre that was also rumor mill grist: iPod games. Nine of them are available now, and Macworld's Peter Cohen gave all of them a try, concluding that the games are worthwhile, but the platform needs more original development to really shine.

iPod games work with all video-capable iPods -- older ones simply need a firmware update that iTunes now handles internally. Mr. Cohen noted that the line-up "is bound to deflate the expectations of 'hardcore' gamers, but it's a robust collection of casual games, puzzle titles, and tried-and-true classics that should appeal to a wide swath of iPod users."

He tested the games on an original 5G iPod, discovering that "the processing and disk access needed to keep up with the games is probably pretty taxing on the iPod's battery. I heartily anticipate that brand new iPods have better results." Mr. Cohen had a little trouble using the click wheel for some of the games, but noted that each title is "simple enough in its control scheme that the limited input the click wheel allows works well enough."

He concluded: "Time will tell whether iPod games are enough of a success to merit further expansion and development of the platform for gaming--I'm willing to bet that other games are on the way, for sure ... I hope Apple will ultimately let the developers that have supported the Mac for so long in on the game, because they have some great ideas on how to make iPod gaming fun. And more importantly, I hope Apple will actively foster the development of original gaming titles that help the iPod shine in its own right as a game system."

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