Smule’s latest hit: social guitar-playing game for iPhone and iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 13, 2019

Smule is among early iOS developers that have been continuously raising the bar on what's possible on Apple's iPhone. They make a bunch of social music-making applications and their latest offering is a free iPhone game called Guitar!.

Like many other Smule apps, Guitar! challenges you to play a virtual guitar on your iPhone or iPod touch and earn points based on your performance.

You can then compare your standings to your friends in global leaderboards. And as you progress, the app unlocks a range of Electric and Rock guitars that let you try out new guitar sounds. And no, you don't have to be a musician as the whole point of the game is social music making. A promo video and other highlights are right after the break...

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Another Microsoft ad disses iPad’s specs, multitasking, AirPrint and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 23, 2013

Wow, that was quick. Following on yesterday's Windows 8 commercial which uses Apple's Siri to highlight the iPad's perceived flaws - such as its $499 price point versus an Asus VivoTab Smart and lack of Office (go figure), the Redmond-based software giant today release another ad along the same lines.

Suggestively titled 'Comparison: iPad vs. Windows 8 Tablet', the commercial pits an iPad 4 against an Asus Vivo Tab RT, which is based on the same ARM CPU technology like Apple's tablet. However, the software maker has been caught cheating...

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After being dumped from App Store, AppGratis launches Android version

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

After great wailing and gnashing of teeth about its banishment from Apple's App Store earlier this year, AppGratis is back - for Android users. The app recommendation engine was yanked after Apple outlawed iOS apps which promoted other apps.

Now in the Google's Play store Android repository, developers claim AppGratis "is designed from the ground up" for the iOS rival. Yet, the service appears much like the AppGratis ejected from the app's first choice, the App Store...

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High iPhone 5 repair costs blamed on Apple’s tight components control

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 23, 2013

Eight months into its September 2012 launch, Apple's iPhone 5 is still a pricey gadget to service.

Be it a smashed screen, an earpiece that needs replacing or its most unreliable iPhone component - the Home button - some replacement components for the handset remain pricey compared against prior iPhones.

In an in-depth piece, MarketWatch looks at the iPhone aftermarket to conclude that the iPhone 5 repair costs remain high due to Apple's tight control of Asian supply chain for components and replacement parts...

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How to clear duplicates from Open With menu on Mac

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated May 30, 2017

I love my Mac but sometimes it does some strange things, such as showing me duplicate entries in the "Open With" contextual menu you get when you right click on a document. While I'm not sure why it happens, I hear it's due to the Launch Services database.

Of course, there probably is a valid explanation as to why and how it happens. Some people might even be able to convince me it's more of a feature rather than a bug, but the fact of the matter is that it drives me absolutely insane.

If like me, you are annoyed by this, I'll show you how to delete duplicates from the "Open With" menu on your Mac.

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Shazam for iPad gains exclusive background television-tagging features

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

The iPad edition of the media fingerprinting and discovery app Shazam has been updated today with a couple noteworthy enhancements.

First and foremost, the app can now auto-tag the music, television shows and ads playing around you (most likely on your telly), even when the app is in the background (you'll see the red bar when auto-tagging is running).

This interesting television-tagging capability lets you surf the web, check your email and chat with your friends, for example, while Shazam dutifully identifies what's playing on the radio or your telly. You can then revisit those tags later to pick the media you're interested in.

And, a redesigned homescreen makes it easier to see what your Facebook friends have been watching and listening to, explore popular tags by continents, countries, regions, cities and towns and browse the most tagged TV shows in the past few hours...

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Mailbox for iPad is finally here, get downloading

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 13, 2018

Mailbox, the popular Gmail-based email application for the iPhone and iPod touch that Dropbox snapped up back in March, has been updated with native iPad support. Yes, you can now triage your email on the bigger screen. Taking best ideas from the iPhone build and borrowing cues from Apple's stock Mail app on iPad, Mailbox on your Apple tablet increases your productivity by dividing the interface in landscape mode into two columns: the lefthand one which lists your email messages, with message content rendered on the right side. We've gut the full breakdown and a promo video right below the fold...

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Industry analyst Michael Gartenberg joins Apple’s marketing army

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

In a somewhat surprising move, longtime technology analyst Michael Gartenberg has joined Apple's marketing team, Forbes reported Wednesday. Although Gartenberg has yet to confirm the development via his Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, a number of retweets of other people's congratulatory tweets could be viewed as a confirmation of sorts.

Though details on his role at the company are slim, Michael will likely be evangelizing the platform given he'll be reporting to marketing head Phil Schiller...

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Bamboo Loop: send fun visual messages to your friends

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

As photography mixes more and more with social networking sites, it is becoming popular for app developers to find ways to create fun and interesting ways to share photos. Instagram is no longer the top dog when it comes to connecting friends and family through pictures.

Bamboo Loop is an iPhone app from the company that brought us Bamboo Paper and the popular Bamboo Stylus. This social app lets you upload pictures and draw funny faces on them or leave little notes. Then, they can tag you right back on the same image, thus creating the Loop…

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New Trunk Lightning cable doubles as posable iPhone Stand

Cody Lee ∙ May 23, 2013

It's almost impossible to stand out in the crowded space of smartphone accessories these days. This year's CES alone saw nearly 1000 new mobile add-ons, from 590 different manufacturers. And that's just a single 4-day trade show.

But it's no surprise that the folks over at iLoveHandles have managed to do it with their new 'Trunk' Lightning cable. The understated accessory may look like just another Lightning to USB cable, but it actually doubles as an iPhone stand...

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SMS on GV integrates Google Voice SMS into your Messages app

Cody Lee ∙ May 23, 2013

Avid Google Voice users will be happy to hear that there's a new jailbreak tweak out that integrates Google's SMS service into the stock Messages app. We've seen tweaks like this before, such as SMS GV Extension. But to my knowledge, none of them made it to iOS 6.

The tweak we're going to be talking about today, however, does support iOS 6 (as well as later versions). It's called SMS on GV, and like the others we've seen, it allows you to send and receive text messages using your Google Voice account from within Messages...

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