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Apple Releases iBooks 2.0.1 to Address Issue with Textbooks Not Opening - Fri, 03 Feb 2012
Apple today updated iBooks [App Store] to version 2.0.1, bringing a fix for an issue that resulted in some iBooks Textbooks not opening in the application.

Apple is not terribly specific about the issue, but it may be related to a complaint shared by USA Today almost immediately after the iBooks 2.0 launch and for which Apple had promised a fix.

We're aware of a small number of iBooks 2 users having issues with the playback of the introduction movies when opening iBooks textbooks. It will be fixed soon in an upcoming software update.

iBooks 2.0.1 is of course a free update to the already-free iBooks applications. A handful of iBooks Textbooks have launched, with most priced at Apple's maximum allowable price of $14.99.

'The Daily' Reports 100,000 Paying Subs on One-Year Anniversary - Thu, 02 Feb 2012
One year ago today, News Corp. launched its iPad-only newspaper called The Daily. It was the first app to take advantage of the "In-App Subscription" feature that Apple launched the same day.


The Daily is available to subscribers for $0.99/week or $39.99/year and Mashable reports that the newspaper currently has more than 100,000 paid subscribers on the iPad alone. Rupert Murdoch, head of The Daily's parent company News Corp. said when the paper launched that it would take 500,000 paying readers to break even, though publisher Greg Clayman told Mashable that profitability is in sight:

From what I’ve seen, the average time it takes for a new magazine publication to get profitable is five to seven years. We’re on track to be ahead of that, which is great. When you calculate magazine profitability, you have to take into account the rising costs of paper and ink. We don’t have any of those costs. We’re in a very good place.

The Daily recently launched its first Android edition for Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablets, and is preparing to release a version for iPhone and Android phones "in the next month or two".

The Daily for iPad is a free download on the App Store. [Direct Link]

Apple Grabs Another Gaming PR Executive for App Store - Thu, 02 Feb 2012
MCV reports (via The Next Web) that Apple has nabbed yet another gaming PR executive, this time hiring Microsoft's European chief of Xbox Live marketing Robin Burrowes to oversee App Store marketing in Europe.

Burrowes worked at Xbox for seven years, and was in charge of Xbox Live. He was one of the execs promoting the latest Xbox dashboard update, even attending London Games Conference and Gamescom last year.

Prior to Xbox, he has worked for MSN and HMV. He joins Apple this year in charge of marketing the App Store for iTunes Europe.

Apple has been drawing PR and marketing talent from the gaming industry for some time now as it seeks to bolster iOS's positioning as a competitive gaming platform. Last year, the company poached longtime Nintendo executive Rob Saunders as well as Nick Grange, who came from Activision after stints at Microsoft and EA.

Dexim Visible Green iPhone Cable Makes Charging More Visible - Tue, 31 Jan 2012

While most USB-charged Apple products like the iPhone and iPad come with a USB charging cable in the box, there is a thriving third-party market for these easily lost accessories. Dexim's $20 Visible Green USB-Dock Connector cables have a distinctive twist: they use electroluminescence to "visibly show the electrical current flowing through the cable". Completing the illusion is the fact that there are multiple speeds that the current can "flow", adjusting with the battery life of the device it's charging.

While perhaps not the most practical iPhone charger, particularly for bedside nighttime charging, the Visible Green cable is certainly the coolest.

Dexim's Visible Green cables are available via a number of retailers, including Amazon and others.

Steam Companion iPhone App Now Available to All Users - Tue, 31 Jan 2012
Launched in beta last week, Valve has opened up its Steam iPhone companion app to all users.

The app allows Steam users to view their Steam friends list, see what games their friends are playing, and chat with players in-game.

Gamers can also browse and purchase from the Steam library of titles from the iPhone, to play later on a PC or Mac. However, there is no purchasing of iOS games through the app, something that, aside from the fact that Steam doesn't support any iOS games, Apple would surely frown upon.


Steam Mobile for iPhone is available free on the App Store. [Direct Link]