Twitter enables inline images/Vines, adds quick reply/retweet/favorite buttons

The micro-blogging service Twitter just refreshed its mobile apps and the web interface with in-stream previews for images and Vine videos so you can see attached media without having to click the hyperlinks like crazy.

It's a marked improvement over Twitter's Media mode that similarily infests your timeline with media previews at the expense of completeness, because all non-media tweets get omitted from Media view.

Additionally, this edition of Twitter for iPhone and iPad includes a set of handy buttons to quickly re-tweet, reply or favorite someone's tweet right from the timeline...

Facebook previews new-look Messenger with phone number integration

We were told last month Facebook had been working on a new version of its iPhone client with Graph Search and testing a major rethinking to the standalone instant messaging software, Facebook Messenger (a free download from the App Store).

Today, the social networking behemoth announced a new Messenger experience is now available for limited testing on Android and coming soon to iOS. Representing a major refresh, Messenger has undergone a substantial facelift and now lets folks instant-message each other using only their phone numbers, putting Messenger on a collision course with WhatsApp...

Classic platformer remake Everyday Spelunker launches in App Store

In 1983, a fun and deadly platform game made its way into the hearts of gamers. Spelunker was best known for its requirement of precision timing and multiple ways to die. If you could master Spelunker, you could master anything.

Everyday Spelunker, a revised version of the classic platformer has just been released in the App Store. It is a nearly identical recreation of the NES original, except that there are a few new features to help you reach your goal instead of dying over and over again…

Google+ iOS app to get full-res uploads, background sync

The Internet giant's 'A Morning with Google+' event is underway and the company's just made it official: the Google+ app for the iPhone and iPad will soon be updated with the ability to upload full resolution images to Google+ Photos, previously Picasa Web Albums and now part of Google's social thing.

Another new feature being mentioned is support for Background Refresh in iOS 7 which will allow the application to automatically synchronize your photos in the background, even when it's not running.

Currently, background photo sync only works if you have the app open...

iPhone captures one-third of smartphone market in Japan

Apple is having great success in Japan. Not only is the iPhone maker surviving one of the most competitive tech markets on the planet, but breaking sales records. The company's smartphone now has 34 percent of the country's market, new research shows.

The figure - more than double that of just months ago - shatters a sales record that's stood for ten years. Apple's success in Japan even overshadows the world's largest market, China...

Amazon releases Cloud Player app for Mac

After releasing its native Cloud Player app on the iPhone back in June 2012 and adding the iPad edition eight months later, the king of online retailing, Amazon, today announced that the software is finally available to Mac owners as a free download.

Amazon Cloud Player lets you access your Amazon cloud storage for music and manage your music library, whether it's saved locally or in the cloud.

You can use the app to play your Amazon and iTunes music all from one place, even when offline, and even buy new tracks from the integrated Amazon MP3 Store with a catalog of more than 25 million songs...

Steve Jobs’s Los Altos home is now a protected historic site

The house in Palo Alto where Apple's late co-founder Steve Jobs spent much of his childhood years since the seventh grade has now become a protected historic site, according to a report Tuesday by the San Jose Mercury News. The house is also famous for the fact that Steve along with his sidekick Steve Wozniak co-founded Apple and built the first hundred Apple 1 computers there.

The Los Altos Historical Commission voted unanimously to add the ranch-style property at 2066 Crist Drive in Los Altos, California to its list of historic resources due to its association with Apple's charismatic leader and famous inventor...

Disney to unveil new cartoon spaghetti western series on tablets before cable TV

Disney is after your kids' tablets. The entertainment megalith will unveil a cartoon spaghetti western series on tablets before cable. 'Sheriff Callie West,' a female animated character (pictured top of post) the Mickey Mouse house hopes will become the next Hello Kitty merchandising bonanza, will be unveiled on the Watch Disney Junior app November 24.

The series will then appear later in 2014 on cable's Disney Junior. The move is a recognition that children increasingly are turning to the iPad and other tablets for entertainment. Both Disney and Apple have deep ties. Not only is the entertainment giant's CEO Bob Iger on Apple's board of directors, but the Steve Jobs trust has a large stake in Disney...

Rumor: five inch iPhone 6 will be first phablet optimized for one-handed use

Apple's next-generation iPhone, likely to be marketed under the iPhone 6 moniker, will be akin to today's phablets in that it'll include a five-inch screen with full HD resolution of 1,920-by-1,080 pixels at Retina-friendly 440 pixels per inch density.

The screens itself will be provided by long-time supplier LG Display, which is also believed to be close to striking a deal to supply iWatch OLEDs.

But unlike a bunch of jumbo-sized Android phones that rock screens measuring five or more inches diagonally, Apple's device is ostensibly designed with one-hand operation in mind, according to a new report Tuesday...

Rumor: LG nears OLED iWatch deal, Google smartwatch due ‘within months’

LG Display, a prominent Apple supplier that provides LCD panels for the iPad, MacBook and iMac devices, is apparently close to striking a deal to supply a portion of flexible OLED screens for Apple's rumored iWatch wearable device. Furthermore, Apple is understood to have discussed the possibility of a similar deal with its biggest supplier Samsung, but talks apparently fell apart.

In addition to LG Display, the rumor also mentions Taiwan's RiTDisplay as another possible iWatch screen supplier...

Samsung now selling 1 out of each 3 smartphones

Although Apple sold 33.8 million iPhones during the third quarter, up from 26.9 million a year ago, South Korean Samsung continues to dominate smartphones on a global scale. The company sold more than 88 million smartphones during the same period, comprising 33.2 percent of the worldwide smartphone market, according to one market research firm.

Despite its uptick in unit sales, Apple's share of the smartphone market for the quarter slipped to 13.4 percent, down from 15.6 percent - something that should be corrected in the fourth quarter, as sales of new iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s smartphones come into full view...

Chromic brings professional video filters to iOS for free

Photo filters have been a big hit in the App Store, especially since Instagram turned iPhone photography into a phenomenon. However, video filters have not enjoyed quite as much success.

Chromic is a video editing app that adds high-quality filters to your clips so you can turn your memories into rich, expressive movies. Now, videos of your cat will look as good as those picture of food you always post on Instagram…