Square-Enix recently brought its popular Final Fantasy series to the iPhone, and now another heavy-hitter, Capcom, is bringing yet another marquee title to the platform. That title is Street Fighter — and Street Fighter IV, a port of the latest installment in the series, is now available for purchase in the App Store for $9.99. But wait, that’s a fighting game. On the iPhone. Which has no physical controls. Sure, there’s been a few to date, with mixed results, but there must be a reason the genre hasn’t caught on with developers with the ferocity of, say, accelerometer-based driving games, no? That’s definitely what I thought, but I purchased and downloaded the game anyway, against my better instincts, because I love the series, notably Street Fighter IV for the PS3. And because when I was considering a purchase, it had only received five-star reviews, which is rare even in the early going for any iPhone game. Luckily, I was not disappointed

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Drums are awesome; there’re few things as satisfying as making sounds by thumping something with a stick — even if that stick is virtual. Now, for a buck, the iPhone can be turned into a virtual museum of virtual drums, thanks to Vintage Drum by developer OutOfTheBit. Nine drum kits are available to choose from,

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Watching the iPad’s first television spot on the Oscars Sunday night, I got giddy all over again in anticipation of getting my hands on this hot new product. Though it’s still a few weeks away , I’m even more excited for the applications that will be coming to the platform. Here’s my top 10 list of apps that I want to see developed for the iPad. Coda As a graphic designer and web developer, Coda is a staple in my workflow. It features a built-in FTP system, which could be problematic to port to a mobile device, considering there isn’t a traditional file structure to store data. However, perhaps the iPad’s new file storage system will provide an adequate solution. Regardless, as someone who codes, it would be awesome to sit next to a client and modify code and push changes to a site all from my iPad while they load and test the revisions on their own desktop. Photoshop Before you laugh, remember that Adobe has already released Photoshop Mobile for the iPhone, and all things considered, it’s not such a bad application. A larger iPad version could allow support for opening and manipulating native Photoshop files as well as working between multiple files. CS4 introduced a new tabbed approach to viewing multiple documents at once. A similar setup could easily be implemented on the iPad. Katamari Damacy What’s a fun touchscreen device without a fun game? Katamari already exists as an iPhone app so it’ll scale up decently on the iPad. But given the advanced graphics of the iPad and the larger screen, a native iPad version is a must.

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First there were the bits of OS X information found in the latest Steam UI beta. Then Valve began sending mysterious images of their game properties to various blogs pointing to their games being available on the Mac. Finally, after teasing the Mac gaming community for weeks, Valve has announced that their social gaming service, Steam is in fact coming to the Mac. Steam for Mac will be available as a public beta beginning sometime in April. The announcement comes with word that all of Valve’s current lineup will be available on the Mac on day one, including the newly announced Portal 2 . If you’re a Mac user who just happens to have a Windows machine with Steam already installed, no worries. You can use the same license for all of your Valve games on your Mac. Just sign in with your account and download your Valve games. Valve is offering this ability to third-party game developers. So keep a look out to see if your favorite game’s developer begins offering the service. For Mac users unaware of the awesomeness of Steam, we have a quick beginner’ guide to all the features Steam brings to gaming. We also had a chance to ask Steam’s Project Manager, John Cook about porting the service to the Mac .  Here’s all the important info from the Steam team: Valve announced today it will bring Steam, Valve’s gaming service, and Source, Valve’s gaming engine, to the Mac. Steam and Valve’s library of games including Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal, and the Half-Life series will be available in April

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Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad , iDevice Accessories , Macintosh / Apple Hardware , Laptops , Peripherals , Reviews Provides: Extended battery life Developer: HyperMac Minimum Requirements: MacBook or iDevice needing enhanced battery life Price: $199.95 Availability: Now What’s worse than seeing your MacBook’s battery dip below 10%? Seeing it hit zero? Okay, fair enough. But if this happens to you often, you need a solution. HyperMac has an entire line of batteries just for this purpose. And yes, they come with MagSafe connections. But even if you just have an iPhone or iPad, the HyperMac MBP-060 has you more than covered. Actually, if you need an external battery for a MacBook with MagSafe connector, HyperMac is still your only choice. The MagSafe connector, that magnetic thing that charges your MacBook, is proprietary to Apple (read, they won’t sell the connection by itself to anyone for any purpose).  Basically, HyperMac is the only company willing to buy Apple MacBook power adapters and hack off the ends simply for the cable. Is it a waste? Maybe, but it’s not HyperMac’s fault, it’s Apple’s for not licensing the connection. Anyway, back to the review. They have numerous options, but the best option with both price and portability in mind is the smallest external battery aimed at notebooks, the MBP-060.  It’s ideal for when you need extra power on the go for a single day.  For most users, that’s enough.  And it’s not limited to just your MacBook.  You can also use it to power any of your USB gadgets, which makes it a perfect accessory for the iPad.  While Apple claims 10+ hours of battery life, in practice, that may be different.  And even if it is correct, there are times when you just don’t have access to a power outlet for an extended period of time.  This battery will keep you going. Now a quick word of warning; while this battery can, and will charge a 15.4 or 17 inch MacBook Pro, it doesn’t do so efficiently.  These models draw more watts than this model of battery is most efficient at providing.  They say the this may reduce the charging abilities of this battery for these models of MacBook Pros to 70%.  That’s still pretty useful, though, and not an issue for any MacBook with a smaller screen.  It’s also not a concern of the iPad.  Okay, back to our regularly scheduled program. This battery is a bit different from the larger capacity batteries offered by HyperMac.  Its design is a bit more sleek, and since it’s targeted towards MacBook Air users, it has the MacBook Air connector as the default option.  Mind you, the Air MagSafe connector will work just fine with other MacBooks, even larger Pros.  And honestly, it looks nicer

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Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad , iPhone , iDevice Apps , Originals Wow, there were a ton of free apps this week new to the App Store. Lots of camera utilities. Thankfully, there’s more. Why don’t you check out my list? Gibson Learn & Master Guitar Application – What a title! Gibson is known for great guitars, but a great guitar does not a great song make (not alone, anyway).  So, they’re trying to get you motivated to get better at playing that six string.  This app comes with a Chromatic Tuner with alternate tunings, a metronome to keep you on time, a chord library and some free video lessons from Steve Krenz. Plus, the app has a very appealing interface. This is a definite download for any guitar players (or wannabes) out there. Boxed FREE – A fresh take on the four color connect and remove style of games. This one has you drawing a square with all four corners landing on the same color anywhere on the screen.  Then all of the blocks in between vanish.  I like the idea. Plus, it’s OpenFeint enabled, always a good thing. Note Recorder Free – This app one-ups other audio recording apps by letting you draw notes along with the recordings. And it’s synced, so you can scrub back through your notes and listen to what was going on while you were scribbling. Your iPhone might be a bit small for this sort of task, but you can zoom in and out, and who knows, this might prove more useful on an iPad in the future

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Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad , iPhone , iPod touch , iDevice Apps , Mac Software Macintosh and iPhone/iPod/iPad product updates and announcements for March 1, 2010: Macintosh iPod Macintosh Divine Fiat has announced The Complete Set , their entire collection of high quality themes for Apple’s Keynote presentation software. All 14 themes are now available for 60% off the individual theme set price. This is a collection representing great variety and value. Every theme comes in both standard and Widescreen formats. Each theme also includes extras such as fully customizable icon objects, custom texture and color palates and video tutorials. SimpleLeap Software has released Cram 1.3.4 , an update to its popular flashcard and multiple-choice testing study app for Mac OS X. Cram is perfect for students, teachers, or anyone else looking to prepare for any subject matter on their Mac with flashcards and practice multiple-choice tests. Cram features multiple study modes, and the ability to share test material with friends. Version 1.3.4 updates with new easy installer and minor bug fixes. Keynote Zone has announced KeynoteZone Collection 7 . All the best of Keynote Zone themes are now available for special price. Keynote Zone Collection 7 includes seven HD version themes.

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(Image courtesy of the “iPad Research Team”) It was the late, great showman P.T. Barnum who presumably said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Of course, that was before the days of the Internet and Facebook, where hundreds (maybe thousands) of suckers are born every second. The latest pipe dream comes courtesy of the “iPad Research Team,” a Facebook page that promises a free Apple iPad for being an early beta tester. “Because of all the hype around the upcoming iPad, Fortune 500 companies are stocking up iPads to giveaway for review purposes,” the page claims. “We have been asked to give out as many iPads as possible for people to review and keep! So follow the instructions below and apply to get one as soon as they’re available!” Of course, the first step in any great Facebook scam is for the member to “Become a Fan” of the page in question. “Click the button below and Step Two will get revealed,” the page promises. And what is Step Two? Why, annoying all of your Facebook friends by inviting them to also join in your stupidity — or is that gullibility? “IMPORTANT: If you do not invite ALL of your friend you may not be eligible,” the page now warns. “There’s an easy way to quickly invite all your friends. Click here to learn how!” Needless to say, we ventured no further than Step Two. But that didn’t stop others from doing it — the page has 3,905 fans (and counting) and was “liked” 172 times. Better yet, it features such comments by braniac fans like “Aaron” who says, “So awesome, can’t wait to get mine!” and “Alexis,” who gushes, “Just signed up for one, my bf (boyfriend) is going to love it

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Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night can keep the new 14.6MP Pentax K-7 down–tight weather seals and low noise at high ISOs ensure that if you have the chops, this camera will deliver no matter what the conditions. The K-7 retains much of the great feature set of its predecessor, the K-20 (5 out of 5 stars, Dec/08), with a few additions. It now sports a brilliant 3-inch LCD viewscreen, 5.2-frames-per-second continuous shooting, 1/8000-second shutter speed, and a whisper-quiet shutter. Its innards are protected by a weather-resistant body, and HD video capture has been added. All fine improvements. Redesigned (and repositioned) controls also make the camera handle like an ergonomic dream. Most are now logically grouped to the right of the LCD. Playback and delete buttons have been moved below the mode dial, where they’re within easy reach of the left thumb, and the Exposure Value (EV) compensation button is now next to the shutter-release button (for lightning-fast, forefinger access), instead of being buried in the camera’s back. We frequently used the EV button to improve image quality by varying exposures on extremely dark or bright scenes. While you can set the camera to bracket exposures, using EV compensation is faster and more precise. In its new location, we could now easily access the EV button–thumbing the control to change values without removing our eye from the viewfinder. Pentax’s K-7 offers weather seals and an ultrafast 1/8000 shutter speed. The K-7 draws power from a new, more powerful Li-ion battery, and we took nearly 900 shots (about a quarter of them with the camera’s built-in flash) before it required recharging. Up to and including ISO 1600, image quality at all megapixel settings–14.6, 10, 6, and 2–was virtually noiseless with excellent color accuracy. Output up to 13×19 inches on an Epson R2880 was also sharp and clean

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Sure, the unibody MacBooks have longer-lasting batteries. But for many, those improvements came at too high a cost–no swapping of spare batteries can be a lethal limitation. But for the folks at Sanho, it presented a dreamy business opportunity, and their line of batteries delivers the plug-and-go power that many of you crave, though you’ll pay a premium for it. Sanho claims its batteries can be recharged 1000 times. Our intern wept when we asked him to test that stat, so out of mercy, we haven’t verified it. We tested the 150-watt-hour HyperMac, which clocks in at 2.4 pounds and $399.95. That’s both surprisingly pricey and surprisingly heavy for its 8.9×4.9×0.8 inches.

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