News

It is hard to believe but not everyone obsesses over their smartphone, and a lot of people probably don't realize how much iOS 7 is going to change the look of their Apple devices. This leaves no doubt that iOS 7 is going to confuse and anger many users once it becomes public in September, but Apple is making sure that its technical staff is ready to handle the backlash.

Apple is requiring that its AppleCare staff complete iOS 7 training by the "second week of September," according to 9to5Mac. Apple is also asking part-time employees to become full-time members in anticipation of a busy September launch. Requiring that its staff be prepared for a new product is nothing new, but Apple employees may be fielding a lot more calls than usual when it comes to iOS 7.

Dead Defense is now available for all current iOS devices. It is a typical Tower Defense game where you must use a variety of towers and special abilities to defeat waves of various monsters and bosses. The controls are very simple, but the game play can be kind of difficult. The game does not allot you enough time between waves to set up your towers, and too many different types of monsters come at you from a variety of different directions. It also takes a few seconds for each tower to be built or upgraded, making it hard to adjust on the fly and learn the layout of each level. The restart button will be your best friend in this game.

Make sure to pay close attention to the tutorial and learn about each individual tower's abilities before you start the game. There is no encyclopedia or in-game information to help you along the way. Tapping a tower's icon during the game does not bring up its individual stats, and tapping a power up icon will only bring you to an in-app purchase screen if you do not have enough crystals to use it. Not having enough time to plan your defense, and not having easy access to a individual tower's information can make Dead Defense seriously frustrating.

UPDATE: You can see the specs for all the towers under the "Research" section.

Rovio Entertainment has released nine character trailers for Angry Birds Star Wars 2. The characters include Jar Jar Binks, Jedi Youngling, Luke Skywalker Jedi, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker Endor, Droideka, TIE Fighter Pilot, Zam Wesell and Emperor Palpatine. You can watch all nine videos on the official Rovio Entertainment YouTube page.

Angry Birds Star Wars 2 will be available for iOS, Android and Windows Phone devices on September 19. The game will be $0.99 to download and will feature additional toys that can be bought separately and used to unlock certain characters within the game. Angry Birds will be the third video game plus toy line released this year. Earlier this month, Disney launched its own iPad app to tie-in with its Disney Infinity video game, which also includes NFC-enabled collectible action figures.

Sure there's a default app switcher in iOS, and there are enhancements to this dock such as the must-have jailbreak tweak Auxo. Reminisce brings something different to iOS, a slick-looking app switcher dedicated to quickly launching recently used apps. Swiping from the side of the display brings up the last five apps that were opened on the jailbroken device.

After these apps appear, simple hold your finger down and drag across to the app to launch. Once your finger is lifted off the screen, this recently used app opens and Reminisce will disappear. The gesture used to launch and use Reminisce is fast and fluid, making the tweak feel much like it's part of the default iOS interface. Of course, there are several settings that can be customized once Reminisce is installed from Cydia.

T-Mobile has reportedly blacked out employee vacations between September 20th and 22nd, according to TMO News. Employee vacation blackouts normally occur around big product launches to ensure there are enough employees around to assist customers. The only known upcoming announcement is the Samsung Galaxy Note III on September 4th, but it is more likely T-Mobile is preparing for the launch of the rumored iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C.

Apple is expected to announce both the iPhone 5S and low cost iPhone 5C on September 10th. Apple typically announces new devices on a Tuesday or Wednesday before releasing them on a following Friday. This means a September 20th release date would fall in place with previous Apple product launches.