Month: May 2013

Blockbuster finally brings its On Demand streaming app to iOS

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

You really have to feel for Blockbuster. After filing for bankruptcy in 2010, the one-time video rental giant has struggled to make any sort of comeback in a market now dominated by digital services like Netflix. But that doesn't mean it's going to stop trying.

Today, the company announced that it has launched a new iOS application for its On Demand streaming service. The app will allow you to rent and watch movies from Blockbuster's library of over 100,000 titles (across all genres) from your iPhone or iPad...

LockscreenToggles updated with new dropdown toggles, icons, and more

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

LockscreenToggles is a very interesting tweak that we reviewed earlier in the week. An update to the tweak was just published on Cydia, which brings a variety of new options to the fore.

The biggest update to LockscreenToggles is the new dropdown toggle functionality. This new type of toggle, aimed at improving compatibility with other tweaks such as Forecast, Pluck, and others, provides you with a row of toggles under the stock Lock screen clock.

YouTube Capture gets updated with ‘Wi-fi only’ upload option and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 13, 2018

It looks like it's 'release your updates' day today for iOS developers. Earlier this morning we saw software updates seeded by Apple and Instagram, and now we have one from Google for its popular YouTube Capture app.

Today's update brings the app to version 1.3, and it includes a handful of new features and improvements. For starters, it features a new 'only upload on Wi-Fi' option, and there's also HD and speed enhancements on board...

Instagram rolls out Photos of You

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Good news, iPhone photography lovers! Facebook-owned Instagram has issued an update to its iOS and Android client today, introducing a new Photos of You feature - another way to share and discover stories on Instagram, basically a dedicated profile section which collects photos you’ve been tagged in.

As part of the roll-out, Instagram said users can now tag people as easily as you add hashtags. What's more, you can even tag any account on Instagram, "whether it’s your best friend, favorite coffee shop or even that adorable dog you follow". They also created a nice promo video to promote the feature, jump past the fold to watch it...

The 16GB version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 only has 8GB of usable storage

Sébastien Page ∙ May 2, 2013

In their review of the new Samsung Galaxy S4, CNET found out the following:

Nearly half of the S4's storage space (after a factory reset, our 16GB Galaxy S4 showed 8.49GB of available room) is taken up with the phone's operating system and built-in apps, limiting the amount of data you can store on the company's quad-core monster.

Now the question is, should Samsung sell it as an 8GB phone?

Behind the data: iPad market share fell below 40 percent, or did it?

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated February 28, 2017

In the latest lesson on how to be a smart tech news consumer, we focus on why research pointing to Apple gains somehow is trumpeted as losses for the iPad maker.

Wednesday, research firm IDC announced Apple's tablet saw a 65 percent year-over-year gain in first-quarter shipments.

Yet several news outlets blared headlines of the iPad's market share falling below 40 percent. How was Apple's strong growth spun into an Android win?

Popular offline map app ForeverMap2 lands on iOS

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

With Google Maps launching as a standalone app last fall, and Apple's own Maps app getting progressively better, you probably aren't in the market for an alternative GPS application. But we're going to tell you about one anyway.

ForeverMap2, a maps app that uses OpenStreetMaps tech, has finally landed on iOS. Its claim to fame is its advanced compression technology, which allows it to serve up offline maps without taking up much space on your device...

Apple’s battery patents hint at rounded gizmos

Ed Sutherland ∙ May 2, 2013

The days of boxy computers are history, so why are the batteries which power them still the same shape? That's the question a pair of new Apple patent applications seek to answer. The patents filed in 2011 with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office describe "non-rectangular batteries for portable devices."

The iPhone and iPad maker outlines a way to customize the shape of batteries to fit the flexibility of today's consumer electronics, including the growing array of wearable devices, such as the highly-discussed iWatch or Google's Glass eyewear...

Facebook-enabled Angry Birds Friends launches free on App Store

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

As promised, Finnish mobile games maker Rovio today launched the mobile edition of Angry Birds Friends. The Facebook edition launched on Facebook a year ago.

Given that the Facebook edition of Angry Birds Friends sees 60+ million monthly installs and has over 1.2 million daily users, the iOS and Android editions of Angry Birds Friends should prove pretty popular.

If you're a fan of social gaming experiences, Angry Birds Friends will let you invite your Facebook friends to play, brag about your achievements by spamming your Facebook friends' Newsfeed, spend cash on virtual gifts and coins, earn bronze, silver and gold trophies and more. I've included the launch trailer, screenies and more info after the break...

Despite Android’s gains, iPhone and iPad still account for 59% of mobile web usage

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 28, 2017

Despite Apple's iPad growing 65.3 percent year over year, the company's share of the total tablet market dropped from the 58.1 percent a year ago to an IDC-estimated 39.6 percent during the first quarter of this year, largely thanks to Apple not participating in the sub-$300 segment.

The rise of these cheap tablets improved Google platform's web usage share, with Android smartphones and tablets now owning 26 percent of all web traffic, a 35 percent annual gain as measured by research firm NetApplications.

In other words, one out of each four mobile devices used on the web are Android-branded, though Apple's iPhone and iPad still account for a commanding 59.4 percent of the Internet's traffic generated by mobile devices...

Adobe shows off Lightroom-esque iPad app with RAW support, cloud syncing

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 2, 2013

Photoshop maker Adobe has a few more or less useful apps on the App Store, most of them tied to its Creative Cloud offering and the Creative Suite family of desktop products for pros.

Although the company caters to photography buffs with iPhone and iPad versions of Photoshop Express, Photoshop Touch, Ideas and other apps, they're pared down versions conceived as companion apps to their desktop counterparts.

But pro photographers have reasons to rejoice as Adobe's group product manager for Lightroom Tom Hogarty today on Photoshop guru Scott Kelby’s show The Grid showed off a yet unnamed prototype iPad app that will bring pro-level photo editing and image manipulation capabilities to the owners of the Apple tablet.

Among the features being promised: RAW image support, seamless sync that leverages Adobe's cloud technologies and advanced Lightroom parameters, such as exposure, clarity, shadows, highlights and white balance...

Qantas releases Passbook-enabled iPhone app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 5, 2018

Australia's airline Qantas said back in November it would enable Passbook integration for boarding passes for domestic flights. In the meantime, Qantas partner American Airlines rolled out support for Passbook boarding passes, as did a bunch of major airlines around the world. Making good on its promise, Qantas yesterday finally released its own iOS app with Passbook integration for digital boarding passes, mobile check-ins, real-time flight changes and frequent flyers...