App Store Apps

Action RPG Battleheart Legacy hits the App Store

Role-playing games (RPG) are tremendously popular in the App Store and even though I generally dislike wasting my time playing demanding and too complex titles on a tiny smartphone screen, I'll be taking this one for a spin.

Yes, developer Mika Mobile has finally released its long-expected spiritual successor to 2011's hit mobile RPG Battleheart. After nearly two years of development, the iPhone/iPad game is now available in exchange for $4.99.

The re-imagined Legacy takes the gameplay from the original into bold new directions. The game takes place in the exquisitely rendered 3D fantasy world and has you battling hordes of enemies as a powerful wizard, a notorious rogue or some of the other available heroes like a noble knight or a savage barbarian, each with its own set of skills and items.

You'll encounter quirky characters while discovering the stories of a troubled realm along the way, all without having to spend hours just managing your heroes. Sounds tempting? Read on for the full reveal...

Adobe Revel now offers 2GB of free photo storage

Adobe updated its Revel client for iOS today, bringing the app to version 2.3. The update brings about a few design tweaks, which make the app easier to use, and a handful of bug fixes, but the big news here is the bump in free storage.

Free accounts for Adobe's cloud-based Revel service now get 2GB of storage space, or enough for around 1000 photos. That's quite the change from the previous model, where non-paying Revel users were limited to just 50 uploads/month...

iPhone email client Dispatch picks up folders, new triage features, phishing detection and more

There's certainly no shortage of email clients on iOS. Which reminds me, there used to be a time not that long ago when Apple wouldn't allow third-party email clients on iOS. Silly rules, eh? Dispatch, one of the most efficient iOS email apps, strives to make you more productive by making it easy to get rid of emails by swiping, respond faster with snippets, process emails with other task-based apps and more - all in the name of achieving the inbox zero nirvana.

Our own Lory Gil who reviewed Dispatch last August came away impressed with a robust set of email management capabilities and an accessible, easy-to-grasp interface. Today, Dispatch developers have brought the app to version 2.0. It's a pretty substantial update offering not only a brand new icon and a refreshed look, but a whole host of useful features which strive to boost your productivity even more...

Real Racing 3 gains Le Mans Prototypes, night racing, split-screen multiplayer and more

I don't think people give Electronic Arts and Firemonkeys the credit they deserve for relentlessly updating free-to-play Real Racing 3, one of the finest racing titles available in the App Store.

Following its February 2013 debut, the freemium game has thus far received at least a dozen content updates, each of which is a winner in its own right. For example, in mid-April it's brought us open-wheel vehicles and other treats.

Today's 'Le Mans' update puts you behind the wheel of the Le Mans Prototypes - the ultimate endurance racing cars. It also includes the eagerly-awaited night racing mode on the classic Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, the ability to link up to four devices via Bluetooth for an immersive split-screen multiplayer and much more...

Spotology review: simple, but addicting

I’m oftentimes surprised at how much time I spend on a single game on any given day. I know a game is going to be good when I go back to it again and again, even after I’ve finished testing it.

Spotology is one of those simple games that I first thought was good enough for a review, but a week after getting it, realized that I can’t stop playing it. We’ve got a game review of Spotology for your enjoyment below…

Reeder 2 gains iOS 7 Background App Refresh, refinements, bug fixes and more

Reeder, a popular RSS client for iOS and OS X by Italian developer Silvio Rizzi, has been bumped up to version 2.2 today.

The $4.99 iPhone and iPad application has notably picked up support for Background App Refresh, an iOS 7 technology which delivers new app content automatically and in the background, so the app is always up-to-date whenever you fire it up.

Reeder 2.2 also includes visual tweaks such as a new loading progress indicator for the in-app browser and refinements like a new setting to disable favicons for subscriptions and article lists. The full list of changes is right after the break...

The best apps for wine enthusiasts

I love to sit down with a nice glass of wine after a long, hard day of work. A glass of red wine every day is said to prolong life, which I could believe because of how nicely it relaxes you.

I wouldn’t call myself an expert, by any means. I will unapologetically drink red with fish and white with lasagna. The App Store has a very nice selection of titles that could help make you seem like an expert to your friends and you won’t have spend all that money on special wine appreciation classes. Check out our list of best apps for wine drinkers… 

The best Instagram apps for iPad

Instagram is one of the most popular social networks for sharing photos and short videos, with official apps available for iPhone, Windows Phone and Android smartphones. But one device that still lacks a native Instagram app is the iPad, as the Facebook-owned company has yet to update the iPhone version to have universal support for the Apple tablet lineup.

As you might expect, a number of iOS developers have taken advantage of this shortcoming by releasing their own third-party Instagram apps for iPad on the App Store. In an effort to save you the trouble of looking through the storefront yourself for these apps, read ahead for a roundup of four of the best Instagram apps for iPad… 

Update your Tweetbot iOS apps before they stop working

The Tapbots issued updates for their Tweetbot Twitter clients on iOS last night, bringing the iPhone app to version 3.3.2 and the iPad version to 2.8.8. Both change logs note that these are critical updates, and that older versions of Tweetbot will soon stop working.

The developers published a post on their blog to better explain the situation, noting that folks from Twitter's Platform Operations group contacted them a few weeks ago asking them to make a small change in the way that Tweetbot talks with the Twitter API...

Apps of the week: Elevate, Ruzzle Adventure, Uncanny X-Men and more

I imagine that in sunny Southern California, our resident app enthusiast Lory is enjoying a well-deserved break at Disneyland over the Memorial Day weekend. In her absence, I have volunteered to take over our weekly apps of the week column. I certainly picked a good time to fill in, because if you've been following my daily App Recap roundup, you'll know that Thursday was an action-packed day with over a half-dozen noteworthy new apps. See which apps top our list this week… 

Codemasters publishes new official F1 racing game for iPhone and iPad, F1 Race Stars

Games maker Codemasters has released a new and officially licensed Formula 1 game into the App Store.

F1 Race Stars, now available as a free-to-play download for the iPhone and iPad, includes all the cars, teams and drivers from the 2013 FIA Formula One World Championship racing across over 40 tracks from 15 F1 Grand Prix locations across the world.

But unlike other F1 games, this one's more of an arcade title than a true simulation. You can race against AI-driven opponents or against your friends, see how you rank on the global Game Center leaderboards, collect various power-us, powerslide around corners, hit jumps and more.

Speaking of jumps, hit the jump for the gameplay trailer and more information...

TeeVee 3 premiers: native iPad UI, iCloud/Trakt.tv sync, fullscreen iOS 7 layout and more

Last summer I covered TeeVee, an elegant TV show-tracking app by Tomas Perzl of the Czech Republic and Slovakia-based CrazyApps Team.

I was sufficiently impressed with its clean and unobtrusive user interface and a robust set of capabilities designed to make it dead simple to retrieve useful information about your favorite TV shows, track the ones you're watching on a regular basis and what not.

A year in the making, the new TeeVee 3 is now available in exchange for $2.99 (free to existing users). The app is now finally optimized for the iPad and refreshed with a brand new iOS 7-styled interface. It sports iCloud/Trakt.tv integration, delights with its beautifully done fullscreen browser that uses edge-to-edge poster images and much more.

Hit the jump for the full reveal...