Apple had five percent of the revenue from U.S. video game software sales in 2009. While 5 percent doesn’t sound like much, its a 500 percent jump when compared to the one percent the Cupertino, Calif. company held in 2008.

Such a jump in a relatively short period of time was deemed “significant” by Flurry Analytics, which released the figures. The numbers were even more stark when compared to the overall U.S. video game software industry, which slipped to $9.9 billion in 2009 versus $11 billion in 2008.

Peter Farango, Flurry’s vice president of marketing, said console games lost ground to portable devices, including the iPhone. But the good news for Apple doesn’t stop there.

If you exclude the big-three gaming consoles: the Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360, games sold in 2009 via iPhone’s App Store grew to 19 percent of the U.S. portable gaming market, up from 5 percent in 2008.

The rise of the iPhone and iPod touch in gaming meant the market share owned by Sony’s PSP line was cut in half, while Nintendo’s top-dog status fell from 75 percent down to 70 percent, according to Flurry. In late 2009, Nintendo announced corporate profits fell 52 percent, or a $702 million loss. Some reports suggested the increased competition by the iPhone and iPod touch was a factor in the lower profits.

Nintendo isn’t standing still amid this new threat. Earlier this week it introduced a 3D version of its popular Nintendo DS platform reportedly to be called Nintendo DS3.

Apple is also making more blatant efforts to capture the gaming sector. In 2009, Apple released new version of the iPod touch with beefier graphics capabilities. In November 2009, the Cupertino, Calif. company began a search for an AAA game developer. A month later began seeking a video game artist for the company’s iPhone Gaming Group.

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Robovie mR2 is a 30-centimeter-tall humanoid robot developed at Japan’s ATR Robotics and Communication Laboratories. It speaks Japanese (in a kind of creepy-cute voice) and can communicate info from an iPod Touch that you insert in its stomach.

According to ATR, it is not only possible to control Robovie mR2 by touching the screen of the iPod Touch, but also via Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) or Bluetooth.

Think of it as a modern-day Teddy Ruxpin. Instead of cassette tapes, this robot can speak what’s on your iPod. Considering the ubiquity of Apple handheld devices, there is a potential market for these kind of products.

And while iPod products tend to be used by teens and adults, there are some interesting scenarios for eBooks and learning games to make this robot enjoyable for gadget lovers and kids alike.

Robovie is a research platform created at ATR’s Intelligent Robotics and Communications Laboratories in order to develop communication functionality such as voice dialog and skin sensing in robots.

Enter iPhone Explorer, a free utility that effectively turns your iPhone or Touch into a flash drive–no jailbreaking required.

In other words, it provides a drag-and-drop interface for the contents of your device. And it’s available for both Windows and Mac.

Before you download it, a word of warning: This is not a tool for novices. The first time you run iPhone Explorer, a decidedly confusing pop-up asks which root directory you want.

What’s more, monkeying with the files and folders on your device could cause unintended problems.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for an easy way to copy, say, photos and music from your device to your PC, or you just want to leverage available storage space to transport some files, iPhone Explorer provides exactly the tools you need.

iPhone browser is a lightweight application that has an easy drag-and-drop interface that lets you browse the contents on your iPhone. You can manually transfer your photos, music or movies from your device back to your computer, or just add files to the iPhone and fill up the unused space as extra storage. There’s even an image preview for transferring photos. The best part about the whole thing, though, is that you don’t need to jailbreak to use it. If you do have a jailbroken device, though, iPhone Explorer becomes even more useful—It can access the root of jailbroken phones and browse the files inside, with no need for complicated SSH setups.

The only issue I had was that multiple selection didn’t work so well—whether I was trying to transfer files to or from my iPod touch, doing it one file at a time worked much better than trying to do more. So if you need to transfer large batches of files, you may be better off putting them in a folder beforehand to avoid crashes.

iPhone Explorer is a free download for Windows and Mac OS X 1.5+, requires iTunes 8 or 9 to use.

Just two days after Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad, Sourcebits, a Bangalore, India-based company responsible for over 150 iPhone apps, announced plans to shift more than half of its 150-person development team over to a newly created iPad Lab. That venture will focus on building what Sourcebits touts as “super apps” for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch.

“A super app is a ‘wow’ app, that unlocks something, that is more engaging,” said Brian Meehan, global head of product development for Sourcebits and steward of the new iPad Lab. But the “super apps” concept isn’t a new one for Sourcebits, which has followed that same approach when it comes to building iPhone and iPod touch applications.

Take Knocking Live Video, for example: The social networking app allows iPhones to stream live video to one another. Another Sourcebits offering, TweetGlobe, allows users to get GPS readings of the people they follow on Twitter.

Though Sourcebits followed its “super apps” approach long before rumors of an Apple reached fever pitch, Meehan is excited about the prospect of taking the super apps concept to the big screen, even if Apple’s tablet has been dismissed in some circles as an oversized iPod touch.

Meehan disagrees with that criticism. “My feeling is, people were unsure of the Amazon Kindle, and it’s had tremendous success,” he said. “But it has not one tenth of the iPad’s functions.” The iPhone met similar uncertainty after its unveiling in 2007, Meehan adds. “And even today, the iPhone’s capabilities are still being unlocked.”

For the next three months–the time between the iPad’s unveiling, the March release of initial iPad, and the arrival of the 3G-enabled version of a tablet in April–iPad Lab’s team of 80 developers plan on burning the midnight oil so that the iPad early adopters can expect a multitude of supercharged super apps will be waiting for them when they get their hands on a tablet.

Knocking Live will be one of the first apps upgraded for the iPad, though the new device’s lack of a video camera will limit it to the receiving end of video streams, much like second-generation iPod touch users. Meehan won’t divulge further what the iPad Lab is working on, only that high profile clients including GE and the Coca-Cola Company have already signed on. “We’re pretty much in 24-hour development right now,” he said.

Despite the iPad’s size and unique functionality when compared to Apple’s other mobile handhelds, the development processes turn out to be not much different, according to Meehan. As with most other iPhone apps, the older versions of Sourcebits’ offerings will run on the the iPad in an iPhone-sized window; you’ll also be able to double them in size with some pixelation. Meehan says that new apps will be compatible with both devices, meaning anyone who owns both an iPhone and an iPad will be able to buy a Sourcebits app once and sync it to both devices seamlessly.

Though Meehan is enthusiastic about the iPad’s enhanced capabilities compared to iPhone, he doesn’t anticipate that it will steal any of the iPhone’s thunder. “Gaming is obviously going to be a better experience on the larger screen,” he said. “But I don’t think we’re ever going to take away focus from the iPhone. The iPhone is always in your pocket.”

What Meehan does expect, though, is the decline of a different portable device. “When I think of my friends, family, students, I don’t think they’re buying a laptop,” he said.

Though Sourcebits will devote a huge portion of its task force to iPad development, the company is still developing apps for multiple platforms, including Palm Pre, Android, and BlackBerry. In general, the company works mostly with big name clients to produce what Meehan describes as “branded apps,” contracting with companies who want their own apps but don’t keep a developer on staff.

With the iPad as the new frontier in app development, Sourcebits has an opportunity to not only add a new dimension to its work with existing clients, but also use the iPad’s unique features to bring in new clients.

“We are focused on giving clients insights into what we can unlock,” Meehan said. “There’s a tremendous amount of things that developers will bring to the iPad.”

one man… one car… loads of crazy sheep… that’s it… try to survive and gain as many points as you can.

• one year of development works
• one year of research and analysis of sheep flock behaviour
• close cooperation with sheep breeders from all over the world
• real-life sounds
• strict adhesion to the laws of physics
• quite a lot of cars destroyed in crash tests
• speed
• demolition
•  AGGRESSIVE BEASTS
• INNOCENT VICTIMS

Don’t forget you can become a “fan” of Country Driver on Facebook: info about incoming updates, more screenshots, discussions…

NEXT UPDATE:
- “bear who woke up from hibernation”

if you have any question,go to Country driver support.

Read: iPhone 4G Codename & Found in New iPod Touch SDK & Firmware [Next-Gen Codename seem iPhone, iPhone OS 3.1.3 software update includes some minor updates] 03 TFTS C Technology, Gadgets &

Buried within the iPhone OS 3.2 SDK the codename of the next iPhone has been found along with the codenames of other mobile devices made by Apple including the iPhone 3GS, the iPod touch 2G and the iPad. The code of this new iPhone 4G is supposed to be N89. Previous iPhone versions were called M68, N82 and N88 so it’s pretty obvious why one would assume that the N89 is the next iPhone in line.

The next iPod touch version is also included within firmware 3.1.3. N80 is the codename for the upcoming device but at this point I don’t think we need a new iPod touch version, do we? Considering that Apple will launch the new phone and the iPad later this year there’s basically no need for upgrading the iPod touch so soon, is it?

Speaking of iPhone OS 3.1.3, the new software is now available for download and you will be able to update your iPhones and iPod touch immediately. Don’t expect anything spectacular out of version 3.1.3. The update will bring you just minor bug fixes and improvements including the following:

• Improves accuracy of reported battery level on iPhone 3GS
• Resolves issue where third-party apps would not launch in some instances
• Fixes bug that may cause an app to crash when using the Japanese Kana keyboard

So there you have it, folks! Just as expected iPhone rumors have started to come in fairly quickly after the launch of the iPad. The following weeks should bring us lots of new handsets since the MWC 2010 is almost upon us. Should we also expect leaks and rumors regarding the next-gen iPhone? You know, just so Apple can generate some buzz around its products while its main competitors are getting ready to start revealing their mobile plans for this year.

Ben’s entire family sacrificed a summer trip to an amusement park and instead donated their loose change fund to the cause. Half went to Haiti relief at West Frederick Middle and half at Parkway Elementary School, where his sister Anna is a student.

Thanks to the generosity of a reader, Angeline has her iPod Touch.

The donor called the school Friday morning and said she would like to buy the coveted item for Angeline, said teacher Leslie Williamson.

“By 10:30 this morning, the woman was here with the iPod Touch, a two-year service contract and a $25 Best Buy gift card so Angeline could get accessories,” Williamson wrote in an e-mail on Friday. “Oh my goodness! We were all crying.”

West Frederick raised more than $3,000 in its campaign for Haiti, a number that Williamson found overwhelming.

Now, if anyone wants to spring for Hersheypark tickets for a family of four, contact the school.

‘Board Chat’ returns

“Board Chat,” a talk show featuring members of the Frederick County Board of Education, will return from 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday.

The topic will be the school system’s operating budget.

Residents may call 301-644-4004 to ask questions during the live broadcast. If time permits, board members may respond to questions submitted by noon Wednesday to boardchat@fcps.org.

Poetry recitation

The Cultural Arts Center of Frederick County will host the regional Poetry Out Loud competition at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Students from Allegany, Baltimore, Montgomery and Frederick counties and Baltimore City will participate in the poetry recitation.

Winners will advance to the state competition Feb. 27.

Open houses

Trinity School of Frederick , 6040 New Design Road, will hold an open house from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Friday.

Good Shepherd Preschool, 1415 W. 7th St., will hold an open house, with an information session and tour, at 9:30 a.m. Monday. Individual tours will also be offered. For information, call 301-695-5855.

School receives accreditation

Brook Hill Weekday Preschool recently received its Certificate of Accreditation from the Maryland State Department of Education.