Discovery Channel and TLC apps gain new ‘Plus’ second-screen experience

By Cody Lee on Apr 23, 2013

This is pretty cool. Discovery Channel Communications has released updates today for both the Discovery Channel and TLC iOS apps with a new interactive second-screen experience called ‘Plus,’ that promises to make TV watching more enjoyable.

For those unfamiliar with second-screen apps, they essentially allow users to sync their smartphones or tablets with TV shows/movies to serve up additional—meaning more than what’s being offered through the show itself—content to them in real-time… Read More

 

Popular iPad photo editing app FX Photo Studio HD goes free for a limited time

By Cody Lee on Apr 23, 2013

Those in the market for an iPad photo editing app will be happy to hear that the folks over at MacPhun have just announced that following the success of last week’s free iPhone app offering, they’ve made their popular FX Photo Studio HD free for a limited time.

The team says that the $1.99 discount is in celebration of the iPhone version of FX Photo Studio hitting over 1 million downloads during its 3-day free promotion last week, where it became the top free photography app in the App Store of 39 different countries… Read More

 

Refurbs: 3G iPad 2 now $180 cheaper, cellular iPad 3 discounted by $170

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 23, 2013

Apple started offering refurbished iPad 4 and iPad mini back in March, bringing the used 16GB iPad mini down to $299, representing a modest $30 saving. Refurbished products are always good buys as these little-used devices are good as new: Apple tests them for defects, throws in a brand new battery and outer shell and backs them with its standard one-year AppleCare warranty.

After realizing some people were kinda hoping for deeper discounts, Apple just instituted an additional $50 price cut on the second and third-generation cellular iPad refurbs. For example, the entry-level cellular iPad 2 with sixteen gigabytes of storage originally cost $399 refurbished, but customers can now pick it up for $349 for an additional $50 discount, or a nice $180 saving over its usual $529 asking price… Read More

 

Are Apple earnings a candle in the wind?

By Ed Sutherland on Apr 23, 2013

Apple, which for years has acted as an engine for much of the tech industry, may report slowing profits for the first time in a decade. Talk of a slowdown comes as the consumer tech giant deals with the triple-threat of slimmer profit margins, falling iPhone demand and heightened competition. Ahead of Tuesday’s second-quarter earnings report, Wall Street has entered a “show-me mode” as investors look for reassurance the firm can promise a rosier future… Read More

 

Netflix announces new $12 per month family plan

By Cody Lee on Apr 23, 2013

Following the version 4.0 release of its iPhone and iPad app yesterday, Netflix announced that it was going to be rolling out a host of new “family friendly” features over the next few months. And it looks like the first is going to be a new family plan.

Traditionally, folks pay $8 per month for Netflix’s service, which allows for unlimited streaming of its content to up to 5 devices—2 devices simultaneously. But with the new family plan, families can stream to up to 4 devices at the same time… Read More

 

Twitterrific updated with notification badges, Favstar support and more

By Cody Lee on Apr 22, 2013

Following last month’s monstrous 5.2 release that brought about push notifications and other changes, Iconfactory has released another major update for its popular Twitter client, Twitterrific. Today’s update brings the app to version 5.2.1, and again adds several new features.

Perhaps the most significant part of the update is the addition of notification badges, which tells you your number of unread notifications for the app at a glance. It also brings support for Favstar and Twitter’s trending topics, and a number of other bug fixes and improvements… Read More

 

How to enable Chat Heads and Stickers in the Facebook app

By Cody Lee on Apr 22, 2013

Last week, Facebook released version 6.0 of its app for the iPhone and iPad. The update included two highly anticipated new features, Chat Heads and stickers, which the social network showed off at its ‘Home’ media event earlier this month.

Unfortunately, the two features are on a staggered rollout that Facebook said should be done “over the next few weeks,” so not everyone has them yet. But never fear. As usual, the jailbreak community has come up with an easy way around this… Read More

 

Netflix 4.0 is out with new episode selector for iPad and more

By Cody Lee on Apr 22, 2013

Netflix users will be happy to hear that there’s a new version of the iOS client available for download today. The update, which brings the app to version 4.0, includes a handful of new features, as well as the usual bug fixes and improvements.

Perhaps the most notable change in today’s release is the new episode selector in the iPad app. Netflix says this will make finding new TV show episodes, and discovering old favorites, much easier. You’ll find the full change log after the fold… Read More

 

Alleged iPad 5 rear shell highlights new design

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 22, 2013

Case maker Tactuc is on a roll lately. After the vendor, in what some people likened to a PR stunt, last week released a batch of photos purported to depict a polycarbonate shell for a rumored less-pricey iPhone model, the company is back at it today with a new leak claimed to represent the rear shell of a fifth-generation iPad. There isn’t much to glean from the photograph and, of course, we have no way of telling whether or not this is the real deal, an early prototype or a shell for some other product. However, the image does bear resemblance to iPad molds Tactus leaked earlier… Read More

 

How to set content restrictions on your iPhone

By Lory Gil on Apr 20, 2013

Earlier this month, Apple made some minor adjustments to the way app information is displayed on the App Store. In an effort to help parents clearly understand what their child is downloading, an app’s age restriction has been moved to the top of the summary page, just below its name.

This doesn’t always keep kids from sneaking a download or two when you aren’t watching. In addition to securing your iPhone from unwanted in-app purchases, you can also keep your iPhone from unwanted subject matter downloads by setting content restrictions.

Setting content restricts can be done with a few simple steps. These instructions work for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch… Read More

 

Gemini Rue makes its way to iOS, and it feels like old times

By Lory Gil on Apr 19, 2013

Point-and-click adventures are beginning to make a dent in the gaming community. There have been some well-made releases within the past few months that have certainly sparked my interest. Abyss: the Wraiths of Eden HD, for example, had me sweaty palmed and stiff necked from hours of gameplay. The more often developers port desktop games to iOS, the better it is for me because I like being able to pick up and play epic adventures anywhere.

You may have already heard of Gemini Rue. It was originally created for Windows in 2011 and was just ported to iOS a week ago. The game may only be a few years old, but it has a retro design that will put you in pixilated heaven from the first beat.

Gemini Rue, for the iPhone and iPad, takes players on a noir-like adventure set on a mining planet in a future where citizens must prove their residency or be deported off world. The game’s plot develops slowly and deliberately. One false move and you’ll be pushing up daisies… Read More

 

Essential Skeleton makes learning human anatomy fun

By Lory Gil on Apr 19, 2013

When I was in high school, one of my biology finals included memorizing every bone in the hand. That is, all of the carpals, metacarpals, and phalanxes of both hands and every digit. Of course, today there is no way I remember that information. However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I remembered more than I thought when I downloaded Essential Skeleton.

Essential Skeleton is an educational app for the iPad from 3D4Medical. The company uses a proprietary graphics engine to create lifelike digital reproductions of medical models. The skeleton in this app is fully three-dimensional, making it better than a real-life model because you don’t have to store it in your closet with your other secrets and you don’t have to pay an arm and a leg for it (my puns just keep getting better, don’t they?)… Read More

 

China app store features pirated iOS apps

By Ed Sutherland on Apr 18, 2013

It wasn’t long ago that Apple was being labeled a pirate in China. Now comes word of a pirate version of Apple’s App Store, selling iOS apps that let iPhone or iPad owners skirt iTunes and install apps, no jailbreak required. However, there’s one major catch: the website is available only within China, likely to dissuade Apple lawyers coming down like a ton of bricks.

Ironically, the service is called KuaiYong, which means “use quickly” in Chinese. We’re unsure whether this refers to ease of use or “hurry before we are shut down.” … Read More

 

Yahoo! Mail launches on iPad

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 18, 2013

With Google continuing to allocate significant resources towards improving its Gmail service and the excellent iOS client, you’d be forgiven for disregarding Yahoo! Mail. I mean, who in their right mind uses Yahoo! Mail, right? Turns out more than 281 million people do, making it the third-largest web-based email service as of December 2012, according to comScore. And the iPhone from the onset supported Yahoo! Mail.

As promised, hot on the heels of releasing a gorgeous new Weather application for the iPhone, Yahoo this morning also refreshed its existing iOS email client with native support for the iPad’s bigger canvas. Go past the fold for more tidbits and a nice promo clip… Read More

 

Google’s Nexus 10 no threat to iPad sales

By Ed Sutherland on Apr 18, 2013

Here’s an interesting tidbit we found this morning: Microsoft’s Surface tablets could actually be outselling Google’s latest Nexus 10. We understand every scuffle between Google and Apple is actually a proxy for the battle between Android and iOS, so the statement by blogger Benedict Evans caught our eyes. According to Evans, the Samsung-made Nexus 10 likely sold around 1.01 million of the Google tablets by the end of March.

This compares to the 1.5 million Surface tablets Microsoft has reportedly sold – not to mention the ten million iPad mini tablets purchased in just the last two months of the fourth quarter in fiscal 2012. While the latest Nexus tablet is no threat to the iPad, the calculations suggest something more important: strong distribution and a well-defined ecosystem can overcome big-name rivals… Read More

 

Yahoo to launch new iOS weather app and iPad email client tomorrow

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 18, 2013

According to well-informed sources, Internet giant Yahoo will tomorrow release two new iOS applications, one a standalone weather software and the other an iPad version of its native email client. The news arrives hot on the heels of last week’s claim by The Wall Street Journal, which has it on good authority that Apple and Yahoo are “in very early stages” of deepening their partnership in order to grow Yahoo’s presence on mobile devices as Apple continues to push itself further away from Google… Read More

 

Auxo coming to iPad next month

By Jeff Benjamin on Apr 17, 2013

Folks, it’s almost here. Yes, Auxo is coming to the iPad next month. As you know, Auxo is one of my own personal favorite jailbreak tweaks, and for good reason. It completely re-imagines the iOS app switcher, giving users the ability to see full screen previews of running apps.

While I always thought Auxo looked great on the iPhone 5′s larger screen, I’d imagine it will look even better on the iPad. The screenshot above pretty much says as much. Read More

 

Apple vs Samsung price war in India

By Ed Sutherland on Apr 17, 2013

In another era, Apple and Samsung would be competing gasoline retailers, locked in a war to entice more automobiles to the pump. Update the picture to the 21st century, replace gas with smartphones and you have the modern-day equivalent of a price war playing out in India, according to a Wednesday report.

Android-based Samsung smartphones initially had the majority of the India market to itself. However, now Apple is shaking things up by offering discounts on its iPhone 4 – a move fueling the company’s challenge of rival Samsung.

The South Korean company has responded with discounts on its Galaxy family of products – on top of the current payment plan. Both companies are jockeying to control a market full of potential smartphone buyers… Read More

 

Apple may have delayed next-gen iPads over fire at LG Display’s subcontractor plant

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 17, 2013

An analyst report last Tuesday disappointed folks who were holding their breath for new iPads before this summer. As iDB told you, KGI Securities’ rather accurate analyst Ming-Chi Kuo cited a number of “technical challenges” that Apple is currently facing in manufacturing the second-generation iPad mini and fifth-generation full-size iPad, leading him to believe that both products won’t hit the market until Fall.

I’ve come across an accurate report which might explain that a fire which last week broke out in one of LG Display’s subcontractor plants has forced Apple to frantically seek for alternative suppliers who could supply backlight units for iPads and MacBooks. All options are on table, including the display-making unit of Apple’s frenemy Samsung… Read More

 

Apple granted patent for iOS app folders, ‘jiggle’ interface

By Ed Sutherland on Apr 17, 2013

Apple Tuesday was granted a patent for how it manages folders on the company’s iOS devices, including the familiar “jiggle” user interface. The patent, awarded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, describes a “device, method, and graphical user interface for managing folders.” In the 2010 application, Apple said the interface relieves the “significant cognitive burden” and wasted energy traditionally required for moving files and icons on a computer desktop… Read More

 
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