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Sony unveils Apple TV competitor ‘PlayStation TV’

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

During its high profile E3 keynote yesterday, Sony unveiled the PlayStation TV, a rebranded version of the PS Vita TV it showed off last fall. The device is small enough to fit in your hand and costs just $99, making it a direct competitor to the Apple TV.

Like the Apple TV, the PlayStation TV will support a variety of streaming services including Hulu, Netflix, and of course Sony's own content. But unlike Apple's set-top box, it'll have a heavy focus on gaming, supporting some 1000 popular titles at launch...

Genie unlocks your iPhone with simple gestures

Joe Rossignol ∙ June 10, 2014

On a recent article that I wrote, a reader was surprised after reading that I am generally disinterested by a lot of jailbreak tweaks. It might not make sense, given that I write for a blog that is consistently on top of covering the jailbreak scene. Allow me to explain: it's not that jailbreak tweaks do not pique my interest, but rather that some are simply too complex or cumbersome to provide a meaningful purpose.

That's not to discount the fantastic work that developers put into creating jailbreak tweaks. There are just as many good tweaks as there are less impressive ones. Genie is a new Lock screen extension that is a good example. Not only does it provide useful functionality for unlocking your iPhone, but it is a lightweight tweak that isn't dragged down by dozens of confusing settings or unnecessary features. Check it out…

ESPN Radio talk shows and local NPR stations now airing on iTunes Radio

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 18, 2016

Right on cue, Apple's free iTunes Radio service has now started delivering the World Cup 2014 audio stream and other national and global news content from ESPN, as well as over forty new National Public Radio (NPR) stations bringing live programming for news, talk shows and more.

And in addition to the World Cup stream, iTunes Radio now offers original ESPN programs, including such national sports talk shows as SportsCenter All Night, SVP and Russillo, Mike & Mike, The Dan LeBatard Show and The Herd.

As for NPR, a total of 42 NPR stations have made their way to iTunes Radio, including New York Public Radio, San Francisco’s KQED, Washington, D.C.'s WAMU and more, plus a number of popular programs like All Things Considered. Additional iTunes Radio stations are already being planned...

Skype 5.0 now available on the App Store

Joe Rossignol ∙ June 10, 2014

Just one day after teasing a brand new design for Skype for iOS, Microsoft has released the updated app on the App Store for iPhone. Our own Christian Zibreg walked through several of the new features, ranging from a sleeker user interface and faster performance to cross-platform read receipt syncing and the ability to start group chats from the hub. Details ahead…

$14.99 iTunes movie collections: The Dark Knight, LOTR, Matrix, Lethal Weapon and Ocean’s

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 4, 2017

I'm a big spender on digital warez sold on Apple's content stores. Typically, I would pick up various digital books and iOS/Mac apps on a regular basis - music not so much, that's what Spotify is for.

I'd also rent TV shows and buy movie downloads from time to time. You couldn't go as far as to say that I'd buy anything because I'm very particular and as such purchase only items that have really piqued my curiosity. The problem is, my interests are very diverse and my wallet can only bear so much.

But if you're a movie buff and don't mind having your movies tied to Apple devices (hello, FairPlay DRM!), you must have spotted Apple's movie bundles before, some of which are sold at a deep discount.

In this not-to-be-missed opportunity the California firm is currently offering several memorable movie trilogies in high-definition, including The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings and more, priced at $14.99 each...

Apple said to expand its in-house advertising team to 1000 employees

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Following a report last week claiming that Apple is shifting more of its TV advertising in house, Ad Age has taken an extensive look at the company's new marketing strategies. To regain its edge amid tough competition, Apple has been working hard on assembling an in-house creative team that will eventually number 1000 employees. The company is going after some of the top advertising talent, even poaching executives from its longtime partner TBWA/Media Arts Lab.

Apple now employs the controversial tactic of pitting TBWA against its internal team, siding with whoever comes up with the best creative ideas and running with it. The in-house team has already won at least a few campaigns, including an ad for the iPad Air last year showing off the thinness of the tablet. The internal team was also behind another iPad Air called Your Verse, featuring American actor Robin Williams…

Screens VNC app now supports Dropbox, in addition to iCloud

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2018

An app called Screens is one of the best and most elegant pieces of software for accessing your desktop through the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices, over Wi-Fi or cellular. It lets you connect to remote computers as if you were sitting in front of them, run apps remotely, copy documents between machines and lots more.

Edovia Software, the company behind Screens, has updated both the $19.99 iOS client and $34.99 Mac client with support for Dropbox for seamless syncing of your saved screens across devices...

Macphun Bundle offers $260 worth of pro photo-editing Mac software for just $99.99

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 10, 2014

San Diego, California based developer MacPhun is kicking off the summer with an attractive bundle which appeals to your inner photography buff.

The prolific developer is responsible for some of the top-rated photo-editing software on iOS and OS X platforms and you could imagine I've gotten pretty excited about their new promotion. Beginning Tuesday, June 10 and through Sunday, June 22, you can get a $260 worth of Mac software for just $99.99.

That's a cool $160 saving right off the bat. The MacPhun Bundle includes Creative Kit Plus which is comprised of Intensify Pro, Snapheal Pro and Focus 2 Pro apps. They're also throwing in a ViewBig Premium membership and a free copy of a brand new app, when it ships later in the summer...

Traces of Preview, TextEdit, standalone iTunes Radio and Siri API discovered in iOS 8 code

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

As a prominent iOS developer noted on Twitter, looks like Apple is actually toying with a standalone iTunes Radio app, as previously suspected.

In addition, Apple looks to be prepping new stock iOS 8 apps - TextEdit and Preview - as well as potentially enabling third-party Siri access.

Code hooks and hidden assets discovered in the iOS 8 Beta code seem to support these findings, largely corroborating much of the earlier findings by prominent Apple blogger Mark Gurman.

Note that this is no guarantee that Apple will roll out these features - that is, it will only introduce them when they're ready for prime time. For example, The New York Times previously reported that split-screen functionality didn't make the cut in iOS 8. With that in mind, it's fairly safe to speculate that Preview, TextEdit, third-party Siri access and a standalone iTunes Radio could be slated for the iOS 8.1 update...

Apple could be laying the groundwork for custom UI themes in iOS 8

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

There's no doubt that Apple for the first time in iOS history is opening up its mobile operating system by giving developers the tools to create previously unheard-of features like custom iOS 8 keyboards, new filters for the Photos app, custom Share sheet actions and several other types of App Extensions.

It would also appear that Apple is testing a feature that would allow end users to choose alternate looks for the iOS 8 user interface with different font types, custom color schemes and more.

This could be a huge boon to tinkerers and a great selling point because never before has Apple allowed people to customize the iOS look and feel without jailbreaking their devices...

Amazon updates Kindle for iOS with in-app support for Audible content

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

Amazon today issued a nice little update to its Kindle iOS app to make it easier to enjoy Audible content.

Previously, listening to Audible audio books required opening a separate apps, but the new Kindle version 4.3 for the iPhone and iPad now includes support for Audible content.

As a result, you can listen to Kindle books enriched with their respective audio companions right within the Kindle app itself.

Audible, for those unfamiliar with it, is owned by Amazon. Your changelog and additional information can be found right after the break...

Apple clamping down on music downloading apps, ones incentivizing ad watching and social sharing

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Apple appears to have been cracking down on iOS apps which enable users to download music and software making it possible to download other file types from file-sharing networks.

But that's not all, as the Cupertino firm is seemingly asking developers to stop with the practice of incentivizing people to watch in-game ads and share promotional messages on social networks in exchange for in-game coins, virtual items, etc.

Although iOS 8 has relaxed the rules pertaining to third-party development by providing APIs to extend system functionality and create custom keyboards, custom actions in Share sheets, photo and video editing extensions for the Photos app and more, it's obvious that Apple wants to bring order to its App Store and is now prohibiting iPhone and iPad applications that promote apps by other developers...