Everything is a Remix: the iPhone edition

By Christian Zibreg on Dec 12, 2013

The Everything is a Remix video series by New York-based filmmaker Kirby Ferguson plays on the remix culture and its key mantra that everything around us is a remix of previously made stuff and that all original material builds off of and remixes previously existing material.

The four-part video series and the companion website covers songs that remain the same, explores the remix techniques involved in producing films, details how innovations truly happen and criticizes the laws that fail to recognize the derivative nature of creativity.

The fifth one (not part of the series, it’s a standalone video) is about the iPhone. Go ahead and hit the More link to watch it now, you know you want to… Read More

 

Instapaper goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

By Cody Lee on Dec 12, 2013

Apple has named the popular read-it-later app Instapaper its App of the Week for this week. This means that through next Thursday, you’ll be able to pick up the application for both your iPhone and iPad, for free—a savings of $4.

For those unfamiliar with the app, Instapaper bills itself as the simplest way to save and store articles for reading. You can save content on virtually any device, like a bookmark, and return to it later for reading at your convenience… Read More

 

You can now control iTunes Radio via Remote app

By Christian Zibreg on Dec 12, 2013

After refreshing its free Remote app for the iPhone and iPad with some radical redesign to match the overall iOS 7 aesthetics, Apple has just put out a minor update adding a nicely done ability to control iTunes Radio from your iOS device.

But rather than stream iTunes Radio songs directly (and what would the point be in doing so knowing iTunes Radio is available within the stock iOS 7 Music app), the application simply controls the feature running in iTunes for Mac or Windows.

Previously, you could only control playback of music and other media kept locally in your iTunes library. If anything, this update will go down in history as a handy little enhancement that makes it ridiculously easy to control your iTunes Radio stations, skip songs and more, right across the room… Read More

 

iPhone 5s is best-selling smartphone at US carriers, 5c is third best

By Cody Lee on Dec 12, 2013

According to research by Canaccord Genuity analyst T. Michael Walkley, the iPhone 5s has been the top-selling smartphone at the four major US carriers for the past 3 months. That’s not too surprising, considering new iPhones usually fair well right after launch.

But what did surprise me was the fact that the iPhone 5c has also been in the top 3 selling smartphones at AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile since September. You know, the same handset that Apple has reportedly been cutting production for due to poor sales…

Read More

 

Google takes on spammers by caching all Gmail images on its servers

By Christian Zibreg on Dec 12, 2013

Doesn’t it bother you that Gmail on the web and mobile puts up the Show Images link at the top of your email messages that contain images, like HTML newsletters? That message will be no more real soon as Google changes how Gmail handles images in emails.

According to the official Gmail blog, both Gmail on the web and Gmail for the iPhone and iPad (and Android) will now let you see all Gmail images automatically.

Moreover, the linked images will no longer load from their original external host servers and will instead be served through Google’s own secure proxy servers. And because the images will be checked for known viruses or malware, the change will make Gmail safer and more secure, the search monster argued… Read More

 

The Room Two is finally available in the App Store

By Lory Gil on Dec 12, 2013

In 2012, Fireproof Games made a puzzle game that wowed iPad users. The Room’s interactive Pandora’s Box style artwork and multi-level intricate puzzles were impressive, to say the least. Apple awarded it the Game of the Year in 2012. Fireproof Games promised more to the story.

Today, the game company came through with its promise and The Room Two is now available for the iPad in the App Store. It is just as impressive as its predecessor… Read More

 

Twitter for Mac 3.0 is here with redesigned profiles, inline photo previews and more

By Christian Zibreg on Dec 12, 2013

The micro-blogging platform Twitter on Tuesday refreshed its free iPhone and iPad client with the simplified menu bar, improved search, tweaked design and the ability to send images in Direct Messages, the latter currently off limits to third-party clients such as Tweetbot or the completely redesigned Osfoora 2.

Today, Twitter’s Mac counterpart has undergone a similarly substantial revision which includes a significant facelift and a few great new features, like image previews in timelines, detailed tweet view, revamped profiles and more.

Jump past the fold for the full reveal… Read More

 

Dropbox app updated with support for viewing PDF annotations

By Cody Lee on Dec 12, 2013

Good news for Dropbox users this afternoon. The cloud storage company has posted an update for its iOS client, bringing the app to version 3.0.2. The update includes a number of bug fixes, as well as the ability to view PDF annotations.

For those unfamiliar with the term, PDF annotations are things like notes, highlights and other edits made to a PDF document. And until now, users were not able to see these edits in Dropbox without using a 3rd party app or workaround… Read More

 

Sega releases remastered Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for iOS

By Cody Lee on Dec 12, 2013

This has been a big week for iOS games. Following the release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Sega’s anticipated, remastered Sonic the Hedgehog 2 update has landed in the App Store.

First announced in October, the free update sees the game rebuilt by Christian Whitehead and Simon Thomley— the same guys who did the first Sonic the Hedgehog iOS game remaster—with better graphics, FPS and much more… Read More

 

FCC and carriers finally agree on cell phone unlocking

By Christian Zibreg on Dec 12, 2013

Threatening regulatory action, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was able to drive U.S. wireless carriers into a corner concerning their stance on cell phone unlocking. As much as carriers would want to lock phones to their network to make switching service that much harder, the FCC and major U.S. wireless companies have reached an agreement which will make it easier for people to unlock their devices and switch from one carrier to another.

The wireless association called CTIA, which represents U.S. carriers like AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and U.S. Cellular, released a statement on Thursday confirming that all named carriers have agreed to the new cell phone unlocking principles put forth by the government… Read More

 

IFTTT can now trigger actions based on your location

By Christian Zibreg on Dec 12, 2013

The increasingly popular iPhone automation app, IFTT, (stands for IF This Then That) has received a notable little update today which enables iOS Location Recipes, allowing you to build recipes that trigger various actions based on your device’s GPS location.

The new iOS Location channel was created to allow apps and websites to use information from cellular, Wi-Fi and GPS networks, in addition to iBeacons, to determine your approximate location. This opens up some interesting and really useful possibilities.

For instance, you could program IFTTT to turn off lights when you get home, via the built-in support for the Philips Hue smart light bulb. Or, why not automate social announcements when you’re at a not-to-be-missed party? And how about simply notifying your family about your whereabouts as you move about the day? Read More

 

Apple refreshes the design of its online support portal

By Cody Lee on Dec 12, 2013

In recent months, Apple has been making various moves to make its users more aware of its self-help options. Last month, it updated its Genius Bar reservation page with a link to its online support portal to give customers the option to ‘save a trip to the store.’

And today, Apple has updated its online support portal to make it more user-friendly with a new, simpler design. The UI now looks more in line with iOS 7, with large, sharp images on a white background, and makes the page much easier for customers to navigate… Read More

 

Apple comments on death of 15 year-old Pegatron factory worker

By Cody Lee on Dec 12, 2013

Apple and its Asian supplier Pegatron, which manufactures the iPhone 5c, have come under heavy fire this week following the unexplained deaths of at least five factory workers. Even worse is that one of them, a boy, was just 15 years old.

It’s since been determined that the teenager used forged identity documents saying he was 20 years old to get the job. And today, Apple gave an official statement on the incident, saying it has sent independent medical experts to investigate…

Read More

 

Launch Center Pro gains Fleksy keyboard integration, lists, Share Sheets and more

By Christian Zibreg on Dec 12, 2013

Earlier this morning, I told you about Fleksy, a free iPhone application that one-ups Apple’s stock iOS keyboard with eyes-free typing experience.

The San Francisco-based startup behind the app has decided to open up its alternate keyboard methods to select-third party developers by way of an official software development kit (SDK). This is great news as Fleksy’s keyboard sports a patent pending text prediction engine and a powerful autocorrect engine.

Contrast iPhone and iPad automation app, Launch Center Pro ($4.99 on the App Store), is one of Fleksy launch partners and today’s update enables support for Fleksy’s innovative input method for keyboard prompts.

More on that right after the break… Read More

 

Instagram 5.0 launches in App Store with Instagram Direct support

By Christian Zibreg on Dec 12, 2013

And just like clockwork, Instagram’s newly-updated mobile app is now live in the App Store with support for Instagram Direct, a new feature announced just an hour ago at the company’s Share a Moment media event in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. This capability that some mistakenly refer to as a private messaging feature introduces much-needed granularity to sharing by allowing users to send a photo or video not only to a group of their Instagram followers, but also to those not following them on the service… Read More

 

Instagram Direct announced: limit photos and videos to select groups

By Christian Zibreg on Dec 12, 2013

iPhone photography fans, rejoice! Facebook-owned Instagram is holding its Share a Moment media event in Midtown Manhattan, New York City and co-founder and CEO Kevin Systrom has just taken the wraps off Instagram Direct, a new feature designed to make it easy to limit specific photos and videos to select groups of friends.

The capability is available now through Instagram’s just-updated free iPhone app. As for Instagram metrics, Systrom said Instagram grew from 80 million users at the beginning of 2013 to 150 million users worldwide, with half of Instagram’s users accessing the service on a daily basis… Read More

 

Fleksy launches third-party iOS keyboard SDK

By Christian Zibreg on Dec 12, 2013

Although the stock iOS keyboard has come a long way since the original iPhone, Apple in past six years has largely made incremental improvements to one of the most important features of touch devices. For example, a new keyboard in iOS 7 features a number of smart functions such as the improved auto-correct function, while introducing new light and dark themes.

Enter Fleksy, a San Francisco-based startup which has offered up its own keyboard app for iOS devices for the past year and a half. They have now created a software development kit (SDK) allowing Apple’s registered iOS developers to implement additional keyboard layouts and looks in their apps to augment Apple’s rather restricted stock choices… Read More

 

Seoul court rules that iPhone 4s and iPad 2 don’t infringe on Samsung’s patents

By Christian Zibreg on Dec 12, 2013

Back in 2011, the legal spat between Apple and its frenemy and key supplier Samsung started to really escalate as the parties began filing a bunch of lawsuits around the world against each other. The Galaxy maker was hoping to gain the upper hand by filing a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple in its home turf over claimed short message display methods and messaging grouping features.

However, a Korean judge has now tossed Samsung’s claim out of the window, with the Seoul Central District Court ruling that Apple’s iPhone 4s and iPad 2 do not infringe on Samsung Electronics’ commercial patents… Read More

 

Review: Armorz tempered glass skin for iPhone

By Jim Gresham on Dec 12, 2013

Screen protectors are either hit or miss. As a naked iPhone user, I use neither a case, nor a skin. There is too much room for disappointment with many iOS device skins. Consequently, I am a true iPhone nudist. I am however not opposed to giving screen protections a try for review.

Inside, I take a quick look at the Armorz Stealth Extreme Lite Tempered Glass for iPhone 5/c/s. After receiving one from Armorz, I installed it on my wife’s 5c and was more impressed than originally anticipated. My wife is still currently enjoying it, even though she prefers a nude iPhone as well. There are all types of screen protection on the market, but the Armorz is my first experience with a tempered glass variety… Read More

 

LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga hits the App Store

By Cody Lee on Dec 12, 2013

Warner Bros.’ LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga is now available in the App Store. The game is based on the Star Wars-themed toy line by the Lego Group, and was first released on consoles back on November 6, 2007.

For those who haven’t played the title, it’s a mashup of Lego Star Wars: The Video Game and its sequel Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, and it includes content, characters and storylines from all 6 Star Wars films… Read More

 
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