Tag Archives: Apps

Flipboard for iPhone finally arrives, includes new social Cover Stories feature

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With the Flipboard iPad news application only growing in popularity, the company behind the software is launching an iPhone version. The iPhone variant of Flipboard looks just like and functions almost like its larger iPad sibling but is obviously formatted for the iPhone’s much smaller display. Flipboard explains Cover Stories, Flipboard’s latest enhancement:

With Flipboard for iPhone we’re introducing Cover Stories. Think of Cover Stories as the feed to check when you’re in line at the coffee shop, commuting on the train or just hanging out at home. It contains a constantly updated selection of interesting articles and photos being shared with you right now.

Cover Stories come from all your Flipboard tiles, including social networks like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. As you add more sources to your Flipboard, their posts will begin to appear in your Cover Stories.

Flipboard’s Cover Stories feature is currently exclusive to the iPhone and iPod touch, and an iPad version is coming at a later date. Flipboard for iPhone appears to still be propagating through iTunes, but is available for some. We have more screenshots of Flipboard for iPhone after the break. 




Apple Updates iBooks With Nighttime Reading Theme, Full-Screen Mode, And More

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Apple has issued an update to its iBooks app on the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Version 1.5 of iBooks brings two major additions: a nighttime reading theme and full-screen mode.

The update also brings several new fonts, more covers for public domain books, pop-up footnotes, and a redesigned annotation palette.

What’s New in Version 1.5

iBooks 1.5 adds the following new features as well as some stability and performance improvements:

• Nighttime reading theme makes reading books in the dark easier on the eyes.
• Full-screen layout lets you focus on the words without distraction.
• iBooks now features an improved selection of fonts, including Athelas, Charter, Iowan, and Seravek.
• Beautiful new classic covers for public domain books.
• A redesigned annotation palette makes it easier to choose a color for your highlighted text.

The new full-screen mode is great because you don’t have to turn it on or off. The app automatically hides your reading options and iOS status bar once you start reading. Simply tap anywhere on the screen to see your options in either landscape or portrait orientation.

iBooks 1.5 can be downloaded for free in the App Store.

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iBooks updated with nighttime reading theme, full-screen option, and more

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Apple has pushed out a fairly major update to its iBooks application for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The 1.5 update includes a new nighttime reading theme for a better digital reading experience in the dark. In addition, the new iBooks update adds a full-screen option – does wonders on the iPad – to focus on content and remove the tool bar, page numbers, and other distractions. The updated iBooks application also packs new “beautiful covers” for classic titles, popup footnote support, and an improved annotation system. On top of all of this, the free update includes performance and stability enhancements. (Thanks @chronic) Apple’s release notes:

iBooks 1.5 adds the following new features as well as some stability and performance improvements:

• Nighttime reading theme makes reading books in the dark easier on the eyes.
• Full-screen layout lets you focus on the words without distraction.
• iBooks now features an improved selection of fonts, including Athelas, Charter, Iowan, and Seravek.
• Beautiful new classic covers for public domain books.
• Support for pop-up footnotes, included in select iBookstore titles.
• A redesigned annotation palette makes it easier to choose a color for your highlighted text.

Full screenshot gallery of the new iBooks update is after the break: 




Photo Toaster Offers A Whole Lot Of Image Editor For One Dollar [Review]

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Photo Toaster for iOS

Photo Toaster is a photo editor for iPad, packed with features and on sale now at a bargain price.

The name might suggest an app that just does one thing, but don’t be fooled. You don’t just throw images in and wait for them to cook. Photo Toaster gives you plenty of options for editing your images and exporting them to a good variety of services and other apps.

One very nice feature is a choice of editing modes. If you just want to select from some presets, visible as thumbnails of the image you’re currently editing, you can do that.

But tap an icon and instead of the presets you’ll see sliders, giving you access to precise controls. Nicer still, once you’ve changed to this “advanced” mode (for want of a better name), you’ll stay inside it even if you switch to a different set of controls. A small detail, but it adds to the overall effect.

The app works fast (especially on an iPad 2), and handles your images with care using non-destructive processing. You can experiment all you like, without worrying about damaging the original image.

Some of the in-app icons seem a little odd. The vignette tool has a little stars on it, which suggests an auto-enhance mode or magic touch-up tool to me. And the button used to switch to super-simple “toaster” mode (again, for want of a better word) is a globe, rather than, well, a toaster.

These are just small quibbles, though. Overall, Photo Toaster is a pretty damn good image editor for your iPad, at a price that even peanuts would find insultingly cheap. Worth grabbing.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

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Celebrity Alec Baldwin gets kicked off American Airlines flight for using his iPad

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Baldwin, who among other things Tweets like crazy from his iPhone, was taken off an American Airline plane for playing addictive iPad game Words with Friends.

The “30 Rock” actor was asked to get off a New York City-bound flight for playing “Words with Friends” while the plane idled at a gate Tuesday, said Baldwin’s spokesman, Matthew Hiltzik.

“He loves `Words with Friends’ so much that he was willing to leave a plane for it,” said Hiltzik, who added that Baldwin boarded another American Airlines flight to New York.

Prediction: Words with Friends does some pretty good business this week.




Kids: The next big thing for iOS apps and accessories

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Apps just might be the next action figures, and iPad accessories the new Tickle-Me-Elmo. Judging by the influx of PR activity I’m getting about kid-focused iPhone and iPad products, and the apparent interest those targeted kids have in getting their hands on iPhones, iPads and iPod touches, Apple won’t just be the device-maker of the future; it’ll be a toy-maker on par with the likes of Hasbro and Mattel, too.

Kid-friendly and kid-loved

The iPad and the iPhone have a knack with kids, as any parent and iOS user will tell you. The brightly lit, touch-screen technology that appeals at an emotional level to adults is no less effective on children, who are more liable to indiscriminately touch things to see how they react to begin with. Kids are also voicing their demand for iOS devices as soon as they’re able to; recent surveys found that iPhones, iPod touches and iPads topped the wish lists of children ranging from the very young to the nearly adult. In fact, 52 percent of children between the ages of zero and eight already have access to a mobile device of some kind, many of which are probably running iOS.

Cross-branding opportunities

Accessories and apps seem to be either fueling or cashing in on this trend, too, at a growing pace. Consider the partnership announced Tuesday between Disney and iHome, maker of audio accessories for iOS devices. Characters from Disney’s stable of brands will be adorning iHome iPhone docks, headphones, and speaker systems starting this holiday season, at major outlets like Toys ‘R’ Us and Bed Bath & Beyond. Think about it: A Kermit the frog docking alarm clock assumes a lot of kids either are already or will be sleeping next to iPhones next year.

Disney and iHome aren’t the only ones cashing in on the youthful appeal of Apple’s mobile gadgets. Perennial Apple accessory maker Griffin is partnering up with Crayola to create the iMarker, essentially a branded stylus kids can use in conjunction with a coloring book app. Both Disney and Crayola are playing it smart, taking parent-trusted brands and combining them with the expertise of industry-leading third-party gadget manufacturers who already know the ins and outs of making devices for Apple products.

A new vector for content-makers

It isn’t just accessories getting the kid-friendly treatment. Content producers have kids in mind with their iPhone and iPad offerings, too. PBS announced Tuesday (.DOC link) that its PBS KIDS video app for the iPad is now available on the iPhone and iPod touch, too. The iPad app, which launched in May, has delivered on average two million video streams per day to its more than 450,000 users, growing steadily since its introduction. Reaching out to iPhone and iPod touch users broadens the potential audience, so that kids can check out full episodes of programs like Sesame Street and Super Why on smaller-screened devices if they don’t happen to have a tablet handy.

This is just the beginning of a coming flood. Whereas once the kid appeal of iPhones and iPads was an unexpected bonus to a parent’s purchase, now parents are seeking out Apple devices with full knowledge that they also make good distractions and educational tools for their young ones. And since people are often even more willing to spend money on their children than on themselves, the market for kid-focused apps and accessories has likely only begun to heat up.

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Minecraft For iOS Is Getting Crafting, Monsters, Caves And More

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We eagerly waited for Mojang to release the much anticipated port of Minecraft for almost a year, and while we ended up loving Minecraft: Pocket Edition on its own merits, it was missing a lot of stuff from the desktop game, including crafting, monsters and more.

If you were disappointed by Minecraft: Pocket Edition, though, turn that frown upside down. A post on the official Mojang blog says that their future plans include bringing many of the desktop’s best features to the mobile edition.

Mojang’s Minecraft: Pocket Edition lead Daniel Kaplan posts over at the official blog:

The plan now is to start digging into making Minecraft – Pocket Edition with Survival features!! Please note that we will NOT replicate Minecraft and try to bring all the features that are already out. This is not possible and does not match the touch platform. I’m trying to be as detailed as possible to show you why some stuff may take some time.

This is what the plan looks like right now and being worked on:

* A new file system – to make sure we can support items and mobs in the world
* Item system – to be able to pick up items
* Crafting – we know you want this :) This will probably need some iterations since the interface will be customized for the touch devices
* Inventory system
* Mobs – animals and enemies!
* Optimizing rendering code – we are experimenting with caves but need to make it work better before we are able to release it
* Clean up of code and overall optimization

Even though that’s not everything Minecraft offers on the desktop, it’s most of the stuff I care about, frankly. I’d be absolutely swimming in satisfaction if they got monsters and crafting into Pocket Edition.

Unfortunately, Mojang’s not willing to commit to exact dates for when any of these features will come to iOS, but the future’s bright for iOS Minecrafters.

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Shopper update illustrates Google’s priorities on iOS

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Google just updated its Google Shopper app for the iPhone with the addition of Google Offers purchasing and subscriptions, which allows users in some specific U.S. cities to browse for local deals a la Groupon, then also buy them directly from the app, something that wasn’t possible in the previous version. The free app is just the latest recipient of a string of updates from Google aimed at bringing feature parity (or more) to iOS versions of many of its mobile products.

In the old version, users had to purchase their offers via other means, then could redeem and track them via the Google Shopper app. Now you can buy the offers directly, and also subscribe to offers for specific locations right from an iPhone. The purchases you make bypass Apple’s in-app purchase system entirely, and instead use Google Checkout to complete the transaction via an in-app browser interface.

But the Shopper update is just one of three major recent Google software changes that bring features previously only available on Android devices to the iPhone and iPad. Just Monday, for instance, Google+ got an update that brought improved notifications, full resolution photo uploading, and search function. And late last month, the Google Search iPad app got a considerable overhaul, which introduced slick built-in quick-access interfaces for Google Apps, making it almost like a limited version of Chrome OS within an app.

Google’s doing a good job right now of making sure its experiences reach as broad an audience as possible, but which experiences, specifically? Google+, its fledgling social network, is a major play to win back some of the ground it has already given up to Facebook in terms of being a destination on the web. In order to succeed at its goal of amassing as many users as possible, Google is aware that it has to reach mobile users on the platform where they live, even if that’s not its own.

Google Shopper, especially now with its local offers, is likewise a product that benefits Google most by being in front of as many eyes as possible. It’s purely about advertising reach and selling to groups, so it makes sense that Google would want to count iOS users among potential customers.

With the Google Search app for iPad update, the goal is once again to make sure as many people as possible are using its search products and apps like Docs, all of which help drive traffic to its primary properties and therefore, encourage ad revenue, too.

In short, Google’s improvements to its iOS business are strictly self-interested, which means users hoping to gain some of the more useful elements of Google services on Android devices will likely ultimately be disappointed. Don’t expect turn-by-turn navigation in Maps, for instance, or an official Google Music native player; these are things that remain valuable as competitive advantages for Android devices, rather than as standalone efforts to be promoted in and of themselves.

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BBC iPlayer app coming to iPhone and iPod touch Thursday, December 8

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In July BBC’s iPlayer iPad app went global by adding eleven European countries to their subscription-based streaming service, and recently added Canada, Scandinavia, and Australia to top sixteen territories globally. Today the company has announced the app will be landing on iPhone and iPod touch starting Thursday, December 8 (via TNW).

President Worldwide Networks and Global BCC iPlayer, Jana Bennett, took the stage at this morning’s keynote:

“This platform extension shows how Global iPlayer isn’t just about moving TV to tablet devices, it’s also about a mobile strategy – about truly getting TV everywhere in a way that it hasn’t been before. We also want the global BBC iPlayer to be truly representative of the whole gamut of British creative output, to represent everything that is great about British content – not just the Best of British TV but the Best of British Culture.”

Bennett also unveiled a selection of new content to be made available through the app in 2012 including programming from DRG such as Peep Show, Black Books, Shameless, Father Ted, and Green Wing. They are also planning on adding new “Music” and “Arts and Culture” genre categories as well as selected speech programs from BBC radio. To wrap up the keynote, Bennett also noted some stats about the app:

–35% of viewers watch more than one show per visit, an average of 75% of subscribers use the app every single day, and 25% continue browsing programs after watching a show.

The iPhone and iPod touch version of the BBC iPlayer app will be available on Thursday. Until then you can grab the free iPad app here.




How To Get Something Like Siri On Your Older iPhone Right Now, No Jailbreak Required

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Voice Actions for iOS

Say hello to Voice Actions. She’ll say hello right back.

Voice Actions is a basic Siri alternative, available right now in the iOS App Store.

For those of you with iPhone 4S envy, it lets you control your older iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad with spoken commands (although you need iOS 3.0 to make it work).

I confess I was skeptical when I first heard about it. My expectations were low. But the app surpassed them, and even made me laugh out loud.

It’s not perfect, but hey, not many things are. Unlike Siri, there’s no scrollable view of recent actions and requests. In fact there’s very little visual polish at all. Not all the functions seem to work that well – I couldn’t get image searching to show me any pictures of kittens. The app understood what I’d asked for, but got stuck when trying to find it for me.

But the speech recognition was better than I expected. Voice Actions understood almost everything I said, and behaved pretty much as I expected it to.

It was able to open new SMS messages and emails to the right contacts, but wasn’t able to transcribe the message contents.

It could tell me the time in foreign cities, forecast the weather, define and spell words, and source simple facts from the internet.

And guess what – Voice Actions has a sense of humor too, just like Siri. Ask her “Do you love me?” and she replies: “I love everyone, especially you.”

Ask her: “What are you wearing?” and she replies: “A white robe.”

Ask her to open the pod bay doors, and of course, she replies with “I’m sorry Dave, I can’t do that.”

Voice Actions is $4.99 right now (£2.99 in the UK) and I think it’s worth a try. Don’t expect miracles. Don’t expect Siri. But if all you want is to set reminders and do other basic tasks with your voice, shelling out for this app is a whole lot cheaper than buying a brand new iPhone 4S.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

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