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Indiegogo App Now Available for the iPhone and iPad

It seems like everybody and their brother are crowdfunding something these days and now even celebrities are getting in on the action. For example, Zach Braff's Kickstarter funded movie Wish I Was Here just hit theaters, and Rob Zombie is offering his fans the chance to support his new film 31 through fanbacked.com. Love it or hate, crowdfunding isn't going away anytime soon, and to make matters worse, Indiegogo users now have a way to beg for money 24-hours a day.

Indiegogo

Indiegogo is a crowdfunding service that allows users to keep donations even if they don't reach their goal. The company today released its first app for iOS devices. The app allows users to moderate comments, upload updates including pictures, and promote their campaigns on social media directly from their iPhone or iPad. Users can also receive alerts every time they receive a contribution and send messages to their Indiegogo contacts and Facebook friends.

Yelp Adds Video Support to Mobile App

Yelp updated its iOS app to version 8.1.0. The update allows users to upload short videos of businesses to their Yelp reviews. This will help users share aspects like "ambiance, lighting and noise level" with other users, according to Yelp. The new video feature is not intended for posting video reviews, instead users are encouraged to only post 3-12 second long clips from their point-of-view.

Yelp Version 8.1.0

To upload a video, just open your Yelp app then click the star icon at the bottom of your display and then select the purple "Photo or Video" option. This will open a search page for local businesses if you have location services enabled. From here select or search for the business you want to review and then select the video camera icon to start recording your video.

Kingdom Rush Endless Challenge Trailer

Ironhide Game Studio released a new teaser trailer for Kingdom Rush and Kingdom Rush Frontiers. The video shows the new endless challenge modes coming to both games. The Frontiers' level seems to have an Egyptian theme. You can see the bottom of a pyramid and Anubis-like bosses in some of the gameplay clips. It is also nice to know that Ironhide Game Studio took the time to add new enemies instead of just recycling the old ones. This is what makes Kingdom Rush and Frontiers two of the best tower defense games ever released.

It is still unknown if this will be the last update for the franchise. Developers typically only release an endless mode when they are finished with a game. This isn't necessarily a bad thing because the ending of Frontiers does hint at a possible third game. It is also hard to imagine that Ironhide will abandoned the popular franchise since they have been adding fresh content since Kingdom Rush was originally released in 2011.

Apple to Acquire Swell, News and Podcast App for $30 Million

With its Beats Electronics and Beats Music acquisition recently approved by the European Commission, Apple plans to further bolster its streaming radio services by purchasing the news / podcast app Swell, according to Re/code. The deal worth $30 million will nab Apple the app which carries news from NPR, ABC, ESPN, BBC, CBC, TED and more. The Swell app will also be pulled from the App Store sometime this week.

Swell Radio

Apple bought Beats Electronics, along with the Beats Music for $3 billion back in May. Apple plans to offer Beats Music as its own separate service instead of incorporating it into its own upstart iTunes Radio. The Beats Music app is still available on the App Store for free, but it requires a $10 monthly subscription fee to access its features. iTunes Radio will remain Apple's free music streaming option through the stock Music app available on all iOS devices.

Apple Weekly News Roundup: Unlocking Cellphones Legalized, iWatch Patent Filed and more

The biggest news last week was the approval of the Unlocking Consumer Choice Act legislation by the the House of Representatives. Up until now, wireless carriers having been "locking" their devices, forcing customers to sign a new contract with them after their current one expires, rather than going to another carrier. The penalties for unlocking your phone are stiff, including fines and, believe or not, jail time. No longer though, once Obama signs the bill into law, which he is happy to do, cell phone owners will be able to change carriers and keep their phones when their contracts are up.

House approves unlocking consumer choice bill

Apple's Q3 earnings report was issued on Tuesday. Even though they dipped from Q2, it was a record third quarter for iPhone sales. Much of the success was attributed to the 55% year-over-year increase in sales in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China).

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