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Flappy Bird to Return to the App Store in August, Will Be Multiplayer and ‘Less Addictive’

Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen today announced plans to return Flappy Bird to the App Store in August in a new interview with CNBC‘s Kelly Evans. According to Nguyen, the new version of Flappy Bird will be a multiplayer title that is “less addictive.” 

Back in February, Nguyen unexpectedly pulled Flappy Bird from the App Store after it became wildly popular, due in part to the attention he was receiving. “Please give me peace,” he tweeted just a week before removing the app from the App Store. At the height of its popularity, the game was generating approximately $50,000 per day in revenue from in-app ads, causing a media frenzy. 

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‘iWatch in 60 Days or Bust’ Analyst Claims Apple Developing a 3D Printer

Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry has made a number of outlandish predictions when it comes to Apple, and his latest claim is that Apple is preparing to enter the 3D printer market. Chowdhry shared his thoughts with Benzinga, outlining his belief that Google is pursuing a 3D printer project based on its expectations that Apple will be making a similar move. 

Chowdhry provides little to no details on Apple’s 3D printing plans, citing only the company’s experience in hardware and its intellectual property covering the technology as substantiation for his prediction.

“It’s either Apple or Microsoft [that inspired Google],” Chowdhry told Benzinga. “But developers feel that Apple is probably the focus for Google because Google considers Apple to be its prime competitor, not Microsoft. And Google really sees Apple to be a strong competitor, not Microsoft, because Microsoft has a lot of issues to worry about.” […]

“Apple does have intellectual property [in that space],” said Chowdhry. “And they often have more expertise in hardware development than, say, Microsoft has.”

Chowdhry also points to Apple’s acquisition of PrimeSense last year, with that firm’s 3D sensors made famous for their role in the original Microsoft Kinect perhaps playing a role in Apple’s 3D printing ambitions. 

As for timing, Chowdhry doesn’t specify anything for Apple but speculates that Google could announce its 3D printing intentions this June or October with product launches coming a full 12-18 months later. 

As if the unsubstantiated claims and seemingly nonsensical predictions weren’t enough to essentially dismiss the report as fanciful thinking, Chowdhry has a history of making grandiose claims. Freshest in many people’s memories is his claim earlier this year that Apple had 60 days to introduce the iWatch or the company “will disappear” as it proves itself unable to innovate in the post-Jobs era. Chowdhry’s deadline comes next Monday, with no sign of an imminent iWatch announcement.

Source macrumors.com

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Alleged ‘iPad Pro’ Model Shows What the Giant Tablet Might Look Like In-Hand

A model said to be an industrial prototype of the upcoming 12.9-inch “iPad Pro” has surfaced, giving a look at what the larger tablet might look like in-hand. Discovered on Chinese Twitter-like site Weibo by Nowhereelse.fr [Google Translation] the machined aluminum is said to be a reference for creating cases and other accessories. 

 


The design of the mock up is very rudimentary and while it is said to be the iPad Pro, it is impossible to determine the exact size of the prototype from the photos. It is also not clear if this “prototype” is based on any type of legitimate specifications as Apple is said to be multiple months away from releasing a larger tablet. Along with a larger size, the model also has an Apple logo and a rear camera cutout. At 12.9-inches, the iPad Pro would be similar in size to a 13-inch Mac Book Air and quite a bit larger than the existing 9.7-inch iPad Air. 

 

 

News that Apple was testing displays for a larger 12.9-inch iPad first surfaced in July of last year in a report from The Wall Street Journal. While initial rumors suggested Apple could release the device in 2014, reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has pointed towards a possible 2015 launch date for the device, while Digitimes indicated in March that development on the tablet had been shelved in favor of other projects. 

Rumors have suggested the iPad Pro, if released, will adopt many of the same design elements offered in the current iPad Air and Retina iPad mini, including an ultra thin chassis and narrow side bezels. It is also rumored to include an ultra high-definition display.