Apple

Snapchat opens up Geofilters feature to everyone

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 18, 2016

Back this summer, Snapchat introduced Geofilters, a set of custom image filters that only work on photos taken in specific geographic locations. Up until now, only Snapchat devs have been able to create these. Tuesday, the company has opened up Geofilters to the community at large.

Now everyone can create interesting images and share them with friends who will be able to see them when they're in a specific location.

Once shared, your little pieces of art will be also available through the newly set up Community Geofilter website.

Apple TV seen losing ground to Roku and Google’s Chromecast

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 2, 2014

Apple's $99 Apple TV box is reportedly losing ground to rivals in the media streaming space, according to a new study by market research firm Parks Associates shared by CNET.

At a time when as much as ten percent of U.S. households with a broadband connection have bought a media-streaming device in the first nine months of this year, Apple's market share went down to seventeen percent.

As a result of increased competition, the Apple TV fell down to the number three slot, with Roku and Google's Chromecast holding the #1 and #2 slot, respectively.

Department of Justice compelling smartphone makers to bypass encryption

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 2, 2014

The United States Department of Justice is reportedly pursuing an unusual legal strategy to compel cellphone makers to assist investigations by removing device encryption on iPhones and other mobile devices, according to findings by technology website Ars Technica.

Tapping the All Writs Act, feds want Apple’s help to defeat encrypted phones, as revealed by newly discovered court documents from two federal criminal cases in New York and California.

Sprint will cut your wireless bill in half if you switch from AT&T or Verizon

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 30, 2017

You know holidays are around the corner when greedy carriers start putting out promotions offering substantial savings and other perks if you jump ship. Announced on Tuesday, Sprint's new promotion promises to cut your wireless bill in half if you switch to Sprint from AT&T or Verizon Wireless beginning Friday, December 5, for as long as you remain on the Sprint plan.

Plus, Sprint will buy out your contract up to $350 per line. “You’ll get unlimited talk and text to anywhere in the U.S. and we’ll match your data,” the carrier teased. As an example, a Verizon customer paying $140 per month for four lines and ten gigs of data can get four lines and the same ten gigs of data on Sprint for $70 per month, or half the Verizon's price.

Jump past the fold for the full reveal and fine print.

Pandora previews UI redesign with emphasis on thumbing, new Station Personalization and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 2, 2014

Pandora, the popular U.S. based music streaming and automated music recommendation service, on Tuesday showed off an upcoming iPhone app update sporting a revamped interface with new Station Personalization features, greater focus on thumbing and more.

Though still a few weeks away, developers were kind enough to share a few screenshots showing the streamlined interface featuring a thumbs-up icon on the Now Playing screen for rating songs, personalized genre and artist suggestions at the top of your list of stations and more.

Developers of Clear release Typed, a gorgeous Markdown editor for Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 9, 2016

Realmac Software, the creators of Clear, Ember and many other apps, on Tuesday released a beautiful Markdown editor for the Mac, Typed. Whether you run your own blog on a daily basis or just want an easy to use app for writing, Typed has you covered with full support for Markdown.

For those unaware of Markdown, it's a plain text formatting syntax designed by Daring Fireball's John Gruber which makes it easy to style your documents and easily convert them to HTML and many other commonly used document formats.

Typed features a minimal user interface with Auto Save support, customizable keyboard shortcuts, the ability to generate, preview and export HTML code and much more.

Video mockup gives a feel of iPad Pro size

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 2, 2014

Thanks to YouTube user Canoopsy (via Nowhereelse.fr), we now have a good sense of the size of Apple's allegedly upcoming 'iPad Pro'. The mockup video depicts how a 12.2-inch iPad would stack up against the current-generation current iPads, iPhones and 13-inch MacBook Pro in terms of size. The video is included after the break so give it a quick watch and meet us in comments.

Apple broke its own rule by pushing a (RED) promo message. So what?

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Apple on Monday tapped its Push Notifications mechanism to remind users that they can donate money to (RED) charity by purchasing (RED)-branded iPhone and iPad apps.

The company has also created a donation page in the App Store (the first banner below ‘Games for (RED)’ section) for simple, convenient and frictionless donations of $5, $10, $25, $50, $100 or $200.

A dedicated donation webpage is available at RED.org, but it requires you to use a web browser and type in your credit card information, as opposed to the simplicity of iTunes billing.

Reminding folks to “get great apps and help (RED) fight AIDS” via a push alert did not sit well with some nit-picky watchers. I'm talking about Instapaper and Tumblr creator Marco Arment whose blog post insists Apple broke its own rule about using Push Notifications for promotions.

Google revamps Play Books for iOS with Material Design, adds new features

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 1, 2014

Google on Monday issued a major update to its Play Books client in the App Store, introducing a thorough Material Design rethinking of the somewhat neglected iPhone and iPad software. The app now includes a host of much welcomed new features.

For starters, the ability to read the previously uploaded PDF and EPUB files is now available in the new Play Books 2.0.

Next, you can now access the books you’ve read most recently in a new Read Now view, where you can also tap to read free samples of e-books carried on Google's store.

Jump past the fold for the full list of changes in Play Books 2.0.

Dropbox for iOS now lets you rename files and folders in latest update

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

Dropbox on Monday issued a small refresh to its iPhone and iPad client, bringing out the notably missing ability to rename files and folders on the go to the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Bumped to version 3.6, Dropbox has also gained a new more actions button when viewing files which on iPhones includes additional item details such as the full file name, size and more.

A new swipe gestured has been added as well, with the recently announced ability to Edit Office documents and save them back to your Dropbox now being added for everyone.

Microsoft buys email app Acompli for $200+ million

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 30, 2018

Confirming an inadvertent leak last month, Windows and Office maker Microsoft on Monday said it's buying Acompli for more than $200 million. For those who haven't heard about Acompli, it's an efficient email app for iOS and Android that features an integrated calendar.

Framed as “part of our company-wide effort to help people accomplish more with their mobile devices,” the deal will bring San Francisco-based Acompli team together with work currently in progress by the Outlook team.

Microsoft's stated goal is to“ deliver fantastic cross-platform apps that support the variety of email services” people use today to help them accomplish more and Acompli seems to fit the bill nicely.

“It will expedite our work to deliver the full power of Office to mobile devices,” said the software giant.

Grab Guardians of the Galaxy: The Universal Weapon for free

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 30, 2018

Lost in the sea of Black Friday holiday deals and discounts on tons of Mac, iPhone and iPad apps and accessories, Guardians of the Galaxy: The Universal Weapon is now available at no cost through Thursday, courtesy of Apple's ongoing Free App of the Week promotion. That's a savings of $4.99 for the iPhone and iPad download.

In this action-role playing extravaganza, Marvel's cosmic antiheroes face Roman, Nebula and other familiar foes.

The game features cartoonish visuals, familiar characters like Star-Lord, Rocket, Groot, Gamora and Drax, in addition to piles of unlockable ones such as Beta Ray Bill, a story co-written by comic-book scribe Dan Abnett and much more.

I know what you're thinking so I'm happy to report that there are no In-App Purchases in this game and no Internet connection is required to play.