Swipe Issue 39 Sampler

NEWS 4 APPS 11 FEATURE 25 HOW-TO 29

iPhone SWIPE

NEWS • REVIEWS • TIPS

Welcome

mag

A note from the editor We’ve worn out our thumbs and fingers for this issue testing three of the available game controllers in our Feature section.

And some of those games that may need a controller are platformers. In Apps we’ve picked our top five including Mikey Hooks and Rayman Fiesta Run. You can also check out reviews of some of the newest apps such as Rocket Robo, Unread – An RSS Reader, and The Room Two. In How-to, we finish off our look at Numbers, Apple’s Spreadsheet app, and give you the top five tips for the Maps app.

Lastly, in News there’s rumors of Apple making displays out of sapphire-crystal and Flappy Bird is no more after being removed from the App Store.

We’ll see you in two weeks!

Thanks for reading

Meet the team

Contributors Steve Jarratt Craig Grannell Joe White iOS, iPhone, iPad, AirPlay, AirPrint, iTunes, Safari, iCloud, iMessage, and any other trademark is a trademark of Apple inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

Screenshots are for illustrative purposes only and all prices are correct at the time of publishing.

NEWS

Image: Pocket-Lint

A new display Crystal clear

W

hile the iPhone 5s may be only just over five months old, the rumor mills are already turning their attention to the next iPhone, likely to be the iPhone 6. One thing that looks to be certain is that Apple is experimenting with implementing a sapphire-crystal screen for a future device, with evidence of Apple purchasing enough Sapphire Crystal furnaces to produce between 100-200 million units. Last year Apple made a deal with GT Advanced to open and operate a manufacturing facility in Arizona, and Apple hope to make it live and operational in February 2014.

A video from Aero-Gear, which produces screen protectors for devices, published a video (below) showing what happens if you drag a concrete block across a screen protected by sapphire. Despite making for slightly uncomfortable viewing, the screen survives without a scratch and shows the durability of the material.

Rumors of a larger screen also continue, with The Wall Street Journal believing that Apple are planning to release an iPhone with a screen measuring four-and-a-half inches diagonally, and a second model with a display bigger than five inches. The iPhone 5s and 5c currently measure in at four inches diagonally.

The Wall Street Journal compares the current iPhone to larger screen rivals

The four-and-a-half-inch model is believed to be further along in the development process, while the fiveinch version is still in preliminary development, meaning it’s unlikely we’ll see a version this year. This can be seen as Apple looking to compete with the five-inch screen size of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and other Android devices. Bigger screens are particularly popular in China, and with Apple targeting growth in Asian markets, this could be a way to get a larger slice of purchases. n

Flappy Bird removed Clipped wings

D

espite the breakout success of Flappy Bird, the simple but addictive game, developer Dong Nguyen decided to remove the app from the App Store, a decision many saw as bizarre as it was rumored to be making Nguyen roughly $50,000 per day from advertising revenue.

However, Nguyen explained in an exclusive interview with Forbes the reason he removed it, stating: “Flappy Bird was designed to play in a few minutes when you are relaxed, but it happened to become an addictive product. I think it has become a problem. To solve that problem, it’s best to take down Flappy Bird. It’s gone forever.”

Following its removal, many clones of the game soon took its place in the top charts, such as Splashy Fish and Ironpants, hoping to take advantage of the sudden removal. However, Apple has now responded by banning new apps submitted to them that use the word ‘flappy’ in the name. Current clones seem to be unaffected by this but Apple may move to have them renamed as well.

Flappy Bird quickly became a global hit and spawned many clones

Nguyen declared to Forbes that he will continue to make games and has no plans to sue any copycats. n

APPS

L

eaping between platforms has long been a mainstay of gaming, but which iOS titles jump higher than the rest?

Age has a lot to do with what you might imagine on hearing the words ‘platform game’. In the early days of gaming, titles like Lode Runner and Manic Miner challenged your reflexes, before the golden age of home consoles unleashed Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog. More recently, Spelunky has captivated modern gamers worldwide.

But all of these games are heavily reliant on tight level design, absolute precision and responsive controls – something iOS touchscreen games don’t tend to cope well with. Still, some titles buck the trend, providing console-like platforming action on your iPhone, often with the smattering of puzzles and craziness well known to iPhone gaming aficionados.

Mikey Hooks Price: $1.99/£1.49 Version: 1.3 Size: 32.8 MB

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n Mikey Shorts, the titular hero had to run, jump and slide his way through over 80 levels, in order to rescue his friends. But as fans of platform games know all too well, friends just won’t stay rescued for long. In this sequel, Mikey sets out to again liberate his chums, with the aid of his new secret weapon: swinging by a rope from handy hooks dotted about the place.

Mikey swings for his life, hoping to avoid death-by-spikes

Mikey Shorts was already a great Mario-style platform effort, and the new hook dynamic ramps things up a step further, improving the level design and fluid nature of the game.

It’s fast and exciting, not least if you take the time-attack challenge and figure out how to complete each level as fast as possible.

Yeah, thanks — we hadn’t noticed

The game’s not the best-looking example around, with a fairly plain and dull art style, but looks can be deceiving: beneath the surface, this is probably the best platform game available on iOS.

Mikey’s super sliding power obliterates a foe as a ghost follows

Excellent level design Solid touchscreen controls Uninspiring art style A bit short DOWNLOAD

Beyond Ynth Price: $1.99/£1.49 Version: 1.7 Size: 40.0 MB

S

omeone should probably point out to Kribl the bug that he can in fact fly. But rather than take to the air, Kribl instead gets about the place by rolling about in boxes. His mission is to bring back the light to his kingdom, and so you’d think he’d stop mucking about.

A grinning Kribl is safe from the cold inside his wooden box

But Kribl’s idiosyncrasies are your gain, because Beyond Ynth is a unique and brilliant platform game. Each box has a unique configuration, and the challenge is to use the platforms within to rotate each box so you can access the next, sometimes shifting and utilizing items (tumbleweeds, acorns, and so on) accordingly.

Acorns: hazardous to any tiny bugs mucking about in boxes

Matters are further complicated by hard-to-reach gems that can optionally be collected along the way. There are also deadly weather conditions to contend with in some levels – if Kribl spends too long in the freezing cold or searing heat, he rapidly becomes an ex-bug.

The huge map boasts 80 varied levels

Beautiful art style Unique gameplay Later levels insanely tough Can be a bit fiddly DOWNLOAD

FEATURE

iOS Gaming Controllers Take charge of your games

W

hen people first started developing games for the iPhone, they had to deal with controls unlike anything ever seen before on a mobile device. The screen was a blank canvas, but there were no physical buttons; instead, the player had to tilt the device and use multitouch to interact with in-game worlds.

These methods of interaction ushered in many innovative iOS titles but left traditional gaming in the lurch.

Playing platform games using virtual joypads was frequently unsatisfying, and third-person shooters were all but impossible to successfully port across from other platforms.

Sonic the Hedgehog on iOS suffers because of its virtual controls

iOS games controllers aim to address such issues, providing you with a more traditional set-up for controlling games. In this round-up, we test the three joypads currently available, but it’s worth being mindful that it’s early days yet for this aspect of iOS gaming. Games have to specifically add support for controllers, and even those that have aren’t always fully compatible, either requiring you to specifically choose the controller from an in-game menu, or navigate menus via touch rather than the joypad.

Still, despite various shortcomings, we did find certain games suddenly came to life with the better controllers, and when kicking back with an iPhone, a controller and an Apple TV, a rather different future for Apple and gaming is easy to imagine.

The controllers Logitech PowerShell

Price: $99.99/£89.99 Compatibility: iPhone 5s or 5; iPod touch (5th generation) VIEW ONLINE

Moga Ace Power

Price: $79.99/£79.99 Compatibility: iPhone 5s, 5c; iPod touch (5th generation) VIEW ONLINE

SteelSeries Stratus

Price: $79.99/£69.99 Compatibility: iPhone 5s, 5c or 5; iPod touch (5th generation); iPad mini; iPad 4th-gen or iPad Air VIEW ONLINE

Testing Design and build The units on test are all very different.

The Powershell and Ace Power are both cases, whereas the Stratus is a standalone unit. This means the Stratus connects via Bluetooth to any supported device, but the others must have a device enclosed in order for them to work.

The Powershell initially feels the most polished controller, its sturdy, sleek build being reminiscent of a thin PS Vita. But it loses points for the lack of a headphone port – a bundled (and easy to lose) plastic extension seemingly being an admission of error – and the lack of a multiple-LED charge indicator.

The Powershell doesn't add much width to your iPhone

By contrast, the Ace Power feels cheap, bulky, flimsy and plasticky, although it’s better when an iPhone is snugly enclosed. It also has a proper means of connecting headphones. The Stratus’s small form is almost comical next to its rivals, but it looks smart and feels solid, despite a distinct lack of heft.

Ergonomics and comfort All three controllers are at least fairly comfortable to hold, and all are light enough that they don’t tire your arms after any length of time: both the Powershell and Ace Power units together with an iPhone weigh roughly the same as the original PS Vita; and the Stratus is a disarmingly light 0.165lbs/75g – about half that of its rivals without the addition of an iOS device.

The Ace Power proved the most comfortable

Over time, the Ace Power proved the most pleasant device to hold, due to its ergonomic curves, sensible size and button layout. The Stratus proved good for shorter gaming sessions, but tended to be a bit cramp-inducing after an hour or so.

HOW-TO

Get started with

Numbers part two

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n the last issue of Swipe we began showing you how to use Numbers, by creating a new document, adding data and formulas, and formating the table and cells. To finish off your spreadsheet, we’ll show you how to add new sheets and forms, as well as placing graphs to visually show off your data.

Add new sheets While it can be handy to have all your information on one sheet, you may need to separate your data to make each table easier to read or for different purposes. To add a new sheet, tap the icon with a gray background and choose New Sheet.

This will then present you with a blank table that you can enter data into.

Add a new sheet to your document to add more data To edit the name of any sheets, simply double-tap on the name in the gray bar across the top.

Copy data If you’d like to use the same data from previous sheets then you can do so.

Double-tap a cell, then tap the symbol. Now select the option next to the text entry box and tap the .

This reveals the names of the other available sheets and you can tap on any to switch to it. Now select the cell, row, or column that you wish to use and tap the ‘tick’ icon. The same information is then copied across. If you change any of the original cells, then they will also change here.

Reuse data from one table to another, such as player names in our example

Use a form Another option for entering data is to create a form. To do so, tap the gray + again and select New Form. You will then need to select from the available tables. This automatically adds the data from the table to the form.

Use the form to quickly add new entries to your main table While looking at the form, tap the + button to create a new entry. In our example, we can add new players to our main table. Each text box will be empty and you can enter the data.

If you return to the original table, you’ll see that the new entry has been added automatically.

If you add new columns to the original table, then they are also added to the forms and you can enter the data in the form.

Make a graph After you have a table with several entries you can then create a graph to show off the data visually. To create a graph, tap the + icon followed by the ‘graph’ option. Select 2D, 3D, or Interactive and swipe across the screen to access the different color schemes. Tap on one to add it to the current sheet.

After you’ve chosen your graph style you need to add the data At first the graph will be empty.

Simply tap on it to choose the range of cells to draw the data from. Tap a cell and then drag the blue dot to select the required range of cells and tap Done. The data will then be displayed visually in graph form. If you update the table, the graph will also change to match.

iPhone SWIPE

NEWS • REVIEWS • TIPS

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