Major SkyDrive update: revamped UI, full-res photos, iPhone 5 and iPad mini support

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 3, 2013

There’s a good reason why Microsoft’s SkyDrive cloud storage client for iOS has seen its last update in June of last year: revenue sharing. Per Apple’s rules, third-party software is required to share 30 percent of proceeds from in-app sales with Apple.

For example, when you fire up Dropbox’s excellent iOS client and upgrade to a paid storage tier within the app, your iTunes credit card on file gets charged and Apple earns its 30 percent share.

Though Microsoft wanted to introduce that same functionality into the SkyDrive app, it wouldn’t share any revenue with Apple. Neither party would budge and a spokesperson previously said Microsoft was “in contact with Apple regarding the matter.”

The two parties have supposedly reached an amicable solution because Microsoft today announced SkyDrive 3.0, a major new version rocking an overhauled interface, support for the iPhone 5 and iPad mini and a few other features… Read More

 

iOS 6.1.3 is out with fixes for Lock screen vulnerability, Japan Maps improvements

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 19, 2013

Apple has just issued iOS 6.1.3 (build 10B329), an incremental update to its mobile operating system powering iPhones, iPads and iPods. This particular update brings fixes to the widely reported Lock screen vulnerability, first discovered a month ago, which lets people with access to your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to easily bypass your passcode and get to your personal information on the device.

Today’s firmware also contains Maps improvements for Japan. If you’re jailbroken, you’ll want to stay away from this update until we collect more information… Read More

 

Cut the Rope ‘Lantern’ box arrives in time for Chinese New Year

By Christian Zibreg on Feb 7, 2013

Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year, is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. Ahead of the upcoming festivities which come with a seemingly endless stream of colorful lanterns being released in the sky, Cut the Rope maker Zeptolab and UK publisher Chillingo have issued a content update which brings a brand new Lantern box full of – you guessed right – floating paper lanterns. With the 25 new levels, Cut the Rope now has a total of 350 levels spread across fourteen different boxes. Not bad for a 99-cent game… Read More

 

Evernote’s Penultimate handwriting app goes free, Hello gains business card scanning

By Christian Zibreg on Jan 31, 2013

Acquired last year, Evernote’s Penultimate iPad app helps you jot down notes and draw sketches using your finger. It’s like having a Galaxy Note just without, you know, a pen. Penultimate 4.0 was launched this morning and Evernote kindly decided to offer it free of charge (it used to be a paid download). It’s tightly integrated with Evernote and your handwritten notes now sync fully via the cloud with your other Evernote content.

In fact, you can now open handwritten notes on any device that has the Evernote app. Plus, Evernote search is fully baked in and it’s quite clever, too: the cloud is able to parse your digital ink notes and turn them into easily searchable text. The new version also comes with more sharing options and support for eleven languages. Did I mention that Penultimate now doesn’t cost a dime? Read More

 

Apple pulls 500px app over nude photos (update: it’s back)

By Christian Zibreg on Jan 22, 2013

I’ve grown to love the 500px photography service. Unlike filtered shots of people’s food and pets, snaps served on 500px are of high quality and the built-in store means I can offer some of my best photos and earn 70 percent of the revenue from sales. The company released its iOS app last November and said more than half of its 1.5 million registered users are using 500px on their iPad. Moreover, 93 percent of return users and session times stood at 40+ minutes.

Unfortunately, looks like Apple’s review team has an issue with the latest update because the search feature might produce some candid shots of naked men and women. This was apparently enough for the puritan Apple police to remove the 500px app from the App Store.

UPDATE [January 29, 2013 at 8:50am Pacific]: the 500px app has returned to the App Store following pornography removal. Read More

 

Dolphin gets browser sync, easier sharing, Evernote integration

By Christian Zibreg on Jan 17, 2013

Dolphin, the popular third-party browser for iOS and Android, received a major update today. In addition to the obligatory stability and performance improvements, developers added a few new features you’ll be excited about. For starters, Dolphin now has browser sync that keeps your environment and settings flawlessly consistent across desktop and your mobile devices powered by iOS or Android.

You can also send tabs, images, phone numbers and directions from a mobile device to your computer, share to social networks and email articles. And if you live in Evernote, Dolphin now lets you grab any web content and save it directly to your Evernote (or Box) account, useful for saving a particular article or document for later, especially if you are not a huge fan of Instapaper or a similar read-later service… Read More

 

Readdle revamps Documents for iPad with cloud integration and powerful media management

By Christian Zibreg on Jan 16, 2013

If you use your iPad even occasionally to edit Office documents on the go, chances are you were disappointed hearing that Google snapped up Quickoffice, the maker of the popular mobile productivity suite of the same name. Worry not, Readdle comes to the rescue. Depicted above is their freshly updated Documents software which in this new incarnation becomes the perfect document and media manager for your iPad.

It’s tightly integrated with iCloud and other popular cloud-based storage solutions for seamless experience across multiple devices. While Documents won’t let you edit your stuff, you can view your media and documents and it’s a pretty decent file manager. Best of all, it’s free of charge… Read More

 

Cut the Rope gains a new Steam Box of 25 levels

By Christian Zibreg on Jan 11, 2013

Red hot UK developer Chillingo has refreshed its popular physics-based puzzler, Cut the Rope, with a brand new Steam Box containing 25 levels. The charming game invites you to feed candy to your little monster.

Released two years ago, it’s been downloaded 250 million times across platforms. With this new update, which is free to those who’ve purchased the game, Cut the Rope now sports a whopping 325 levels spread across thirteen boxes and Chillingo is promising more to come. Just like Angry Birds, Chillingo has been constantly adding new content to Cut the Rope with free content packs.

Rovio also yesterday updated its Angry Birds Space game with 30 new aquatic levels and while I’m a huge fan of the series, I must admit I’ve been feeling a little Angry Birds fatigue lately so this Cut the Rope update should keep me busy. It’s very entertaining and I love its charming characters and crisp graphics. If you haven’t already, I urge you to at least check out a out free demo version… Read More

 

‘Pig Dipper’ update adds 30 new aquatic levels to Angry Birds Space

By Christian Zibreg on Jan 10, 2013

Rejoice, Angry Birds fans. Just like clockwork, Rovio has updated its Angry Birds Space game with an ambiguously titled Pig Dipper episode bringing thirty new galactic-aquatic levels to your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Android devices. This episode introduces a new planet called Splash that features pigs in boats – how bizarre is that?.

Also look for strange aquatic extraterrestrial life and water-based physics allowing for some nice trick shots. The game adds power-up specific leaderboards and amuses with the stuff like inflating the pigs with Pig Puffer and creating black holes with Space Egg, to name a few. I wonder if the giant fish is the boss… Read More

 

Angry Birds visit Mars, new Star Wars clips with Han Solo, Chewie, R2-D2 and C-3PO

By Christian Zibreg on Nov 1, 2012

Finnish developer Rovio’s really been an adept exploiter of the space theme. Its latest Angry Birds installment, Angry Birds Space, has just been updated with ten volcanic levels on planet Mars and the special Mars Curiosity Rover boss level. This release also contains an antenna egg level (get three stars on all levels to unlock it) and a “super-secret bonus level” that will unlock upon discovering the hidden rover.

Additionally, the company released a new interesting video giving us a hint of gameplay in the upcoming Star Wars tie-in called Angry Birds Star Wars, due November 8. An earlier trailer featured Princess Leia. Don’t also miss another gameplay video from Monday that dropped humorous hints of a romance in the making between Luke Skywalker and Leia.

And while we’re at it, as part of NASA and Rovio once again joining forces with the Red Planet episode for Angry Birds Space, Rovio released three interesting NASA clips about planet Mars. Plus, we also get to see R2-D2 and C-3PO characters in an exclusive Angry Birds Star Wars gameplay video. Don’t worry, we’ve included all of the aforementioned videos right below… Read More

 

Bad Piggies get 15 new levels in a ‘Flight in the Night’ episodic update

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 25, 2012

Following up on yesterday’s Angry Birds Seasons update which has brought out 30 new Halloween-themed levels, Finnish developer Rovio today pushed its first content update to Bad Piggies, its Angry Birds-style game from the piggs’ perspective, launched a month ago. The new ‘Flight in the Night’ episode contains fifteen new levels, a brand new moonlit theme, a new sandbox mode to test your creativity, a new item and more… Read More

 

Angry Birds Seasons get 30 spooky Halloween levels

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 24, 2012

Angry Birds maker Rovio has issued an update to its Angry Birds Seasons game, adding a Haunted Hogs episode which brings out thirty new Halloween-themed levels. As the piggies get all dressed up for Halloween, there’s also a hilarious new Frankenswine character to get excited about. You’ll be playing at the haunted house, with the ghostly Halloween music helping you get in the right mood. And watch out for those ghost bricks that behave differently from regular blocks – use them for fun trick shots… Read More

 

Apple reportedly readying iOS 6.0.1, iOS 6.1 due post-holidays

By Christian Zibreg on Oct 22, 2012

Apple has allegedly begun testing iOS 6.0.1, a maintenance release that should address the annoying screen flicker which some users reported as happening when the iPhone 5 keyboard pops up. The release should also fix another issue with the camera’s flash not going off. Apple is also working on iOS 6.1, the first so-called dot update to its mobile operating system powering iPhones, iPads and iPods. This release is not expected until after holidays, indicating that the upcoming iPad mini will initially run the current iOS version… Read More

 

Camera+ updated with iCloud sync, Facebook single sign-on, taller iPhone 5 interface

By Christian Zibreg on Sep 27, 2012

Taptaptap’s Camera+ sold over nine million copies since its inception in June of 2010 and it’s remained my favorite go-to photography app ever since. A major new version just hit the App Store this morning, bringing several new features.

Most notably, version 3.5 enables iCloud sync and Facebook sharing with single sign-on. The former lets you automatically sync your Lightbox between devices and the latter simplifies Facebook authorization.

And best of all, the team confirms that Camera+ for iPad is around the corner. Count us excited! Read More