iWorld News

Dance Praise features hit songs by Newsboys, tobyMac, Superchick, Audio Adrenaline and other Christian artists. Players have to tap while following onscreen arrows. Lyrics in step with the beat are displayed on the screen. 3D dancers show off their dance moves in the background. There are 15 songs, 4 levels of play ranging from easy to expert and 60 different dances. Your Love is Better than Life by Newsboys, Dive by Steven Curtis Chapman, Made to Love by tobyMac, If We Are the Body by Casting Crowns, and more are the various Christian music tracks featured in the game.

"Dance Praise is the first full-featured iPhone game with Christian music," comments Tom Bean, President and CEO of Digital Praise. "Dance Praise builds on the popularity of current tapping games and adds deeper scoring, onscreen action, arcade mode and quality music to reach players of all ages. The Dance Praise franchise was first released in 2005 for PC and Mac users and the current game is based on that model. Bean continues. The iPhone App Store allows us to reach an even broader market with this game. We're very excited about its potential."

Given that the current generation is referred to as "iPod2,1″ it would seem to indicate that Apple has a new version in the works. It's too soon to say what the new iPod Touch will look like or what its feature will be, but rumours point to a camera that takes video as being a likely addition. Other rumours indicate a larger screen, new wireless features, a digital compass, and GPS.

While fans would love to see more iPhone-like functionality in the new device, Apple has to make sure it doesn't give too much away: make the iPod too much similar to the iPhone and it removes much of the reason to buy an iPhone. Apple's last upgrade to the Touch line came last September, thus it would seem reasonable to assume that the next one would be this coming September. You can be sure more info will slowly come out in the months to come.

Skype says it has also improved the "look and feel" of the application, particularly when calling phones using the dial pad. Users can download the update in iTunes, or launch the App Store on their device and select "Updates" to get the latest version while there's more info on the Skype site.

Language support has also been improved - now available in Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish and traditional Chinese as well as English.

"AdSense for Mobile Applications allows developers to earn revenue by displaying text and image ads in their iPhone and Android applications," she adds. Because of the built-in GPS chips on the iPhone and Android handsets, Google can target advertising by location, as well as keywords and demographics. It is also possible to filter out inappropriate adverts.

Google conducted a small-scale test of the platform with a handful of popular iPhone applications including Backgrounds, Sega, Shazam and Urbanspoon. The service is now open to applications from all developers.

Woolworths is set to sell iPods, iPhones and TVs online. The UK retailer who was the biggest casualty during the UK economic downturn is using the power of their brand to lure consumers online with low cost gear.

In January Woolworths closed 807 shops in January, resulting in the loss of 27,000 jobs. In a statement issued in the UK Shop Direct asked one million British families what they would be likely to buy from the relaunched Woolworths brand, taking a poll via its own blog, email, as well as social-networking sites Twitter and Facebook.

"Customers wanted a more targeted offer, " Shop Direct Chief Executive Mark Newton-Jones said in an interview. "It will be a one-stop-shop for the family. "

Woolworths is set to offer free movies to consumers who buy technology goods from them including the latest movie blockbusters. The company has also said that they anticipate making a profit in their first year.

Apple has announced that "third-party game accessories" are on their way to the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch. A listing of new OS 3.0 benefits for the iPod Touch says: "Connect fun new game accessories via the iPod touch 30-pin connector and Bluetooth."

Better Bluetooth wireless accessory support is one of the features inside OS 3.0 for both the iPod Touch and iPhone. And Apple is clearly beginning to understand how big gaming is for its devices and the iTunes Store. So it's not surprising that wireless (and apparently wired) controllers specifically to enhance gameplay are on their way. What is surprising, if anything, is how long they've taken to arrive.

Pricing and availability have not yet been announced for any controllers.

Dunkin' Donuts, the popular fast food chain famous for its coffee and baked goods, has released Dunkin' Run, a free app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It's designed to make it easier for Dunkin' Donuts customers to make group orders - a social application, according to the press release.

"I'm making a run to Dunkin' - does anyone want anything?" is a refrain heard in workplaces near where Dunkin' Donuts are common. The Dunkin' Run app and its companion Web site help to make it easier for Dunkin' customers to solicit and place those group orders.

"Runners" initiate the group order, then interactive alerts are sent to the Runner's friends and co-workers, informing them when a trip is planned and inviting them to place an order online. The Runner can then print the order or use their iPhone to produce a checklist, to make sure everyone gets what they wanted.

The eyes of the technology industry will be watching Californian giant Apple this morning, following reports over the weekend that chief executive Steve Jobs had undergone a liver transplant.

The Wall Street Journal ended months of speculation about Jobs's health late on Friday by reporting that the billionaire technologist had been admitted to a Tennessee hospital two months ago for the procedure.

The report on his condition was not attributed to any source - a highly unusual step for the Journal - but said that Jobs was currently in recovery and would return to the company on a part-time basis. Others have since confirmed the news. The report broke shortly after the US stock markets closed, with Apple's share price riding high on the successful launch of the latest model of its iPhone handset.

O2, which has the exclusive rights to sell Apple's new iPhone 3GS in the UK, said by 1.30pm that it had sold more of the phones this year than it in the entire day of the previous model's launch last year.

A spokeswoman for the company said that the sales total includes both the 3GS and older 3G model, which was released last year, but as the price of the 3G has not changed the difference is probably accounted for by sales of the 3GS.

O2 said that some stores may sell out today, to be restocked at the weekend. According to the company, "We sold more iPhone 3G S devices in the first two hours than all handsets we'd normally sell in an average day."

Apple has posted an updated version of its iPhone User Guide online. The new guide, which is labeled as "For iPhone OS 3.0 Software," features several sections on iPhone 3G S-exclusive features, including entire chapters dedicated to the compass and Nike+ iPhone integration.

Also mentioned in the guide are iPhone 3G S controls for the Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic, Voice Control, complete with instructions on how to use the feature, MMS messaging, and a section on how to shoot and edit videos on the iPhone with the Camera application.