App Store Apps

In time for Season 4 debut, HBO releases the official Game of Thrones Ascent game for iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2019

If you, too, take part in HBO's international Game of Thrones phenomenon, the official iPad game's a no brainer.

Available now free of charge in the App Store, Game of Thrones Ascent for iPad comes ahead of Season 4 debut, courtesy of developer Disruptor Beam who teamed with Kongregate to bring the game to Apple's iPad and Android.

Based on the award-winning HBO show and literary works of George R.R. Martin, the iPad edition improves upon the Facebook and web editions of Game of Thrones Ascent (which already has 2.5 million players) with crisp Retina graphics, Game Center leaderboards, full iOS 7 support and thousands of story-driven quests, regularly updated each Monday with content seen on TV the night before...

The New York Times launching NYT Now app next week with cheaper subscriptions

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 26, 2014

The New York Times newspaper is scheduled to launch new digital offerings on the iPhone come next Wednesday, April 2. I cancelled my digital subscription to both the Times and The Wall Street Journal a year ago due to their overpriced subscriptions and sluggish apps.

Realizing as much - and taking note of sleek looking apps such as Flipboard and Facebook's Paper - the paper sent its digital team back to the drawing board with the goal of rethinking the company's digital offerings and how its content should be reformatted for mobile devices.

The result of their work is a brand new iPhone application that offers staff-curated content wrapped inside a nicely done interface, called NYT Now...

Twitter for iOS updated with enhanced photo sharing and uploading experience

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2018

Twitter has just updated its free iPhone and iPad client with unspecified "enhancements to sharing and uploading photos". Behind the cryptically worded iTunes description is a slightly reworked interface for attaching a photo to a tweet, akin to Facebook's Paper app. The update is now live in the App Store and I've included a detailed description along with a few screenshots depicting the feature in action...

Realmac teases Reminders coming to Clear to-do app in early-April

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 18, 2016

Not to be outdone by fellow developer Flexibits who yesterday teased the upcoming iPad edition of its popular calendar and to-do app, Fantastical, today Realmac Software shared a few tidbits concerning a forthcoming Clear update featuring Reminders integration.

The company is currently wrapping up work on the iOS and Mac releases of Clear with Reminders integration. They were originally shooting to launch the apps in March, but refining the Reminders functionality took longer than expected so now they're looking to release the updates in early-April.

Read on for more...

Ubisoft’s upcoming social racing title, Trials Frontier, arriving April 10

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 14, 2018

Ubisoft yesterday announced that it will be releasing a brand new iOS game, Trials Frontier, on April 10.

Trials Frontier is being billed as a social racing title with physics-based gameplay, featuring a compelling storyline, friendly competition and "a massive content stream."

The game will release for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad and you can trust us to keep you in the loop.

In the meantime, jump past the fold and check out a nice gameplay video and learn more about this promising looking title...

Scan barcodes to build your own kingdom in this original game

Lory Gil ∙ March 25, 2014

I know what you are thinking. A game that requires you to scan products… Why would I go down to the grocery store to take pictures of cereal boxes with my iPhone just to play a game? Well, for one thing, it will get your lazy butt out of the house for a few minutes. Plus, if you are clever, you can find ways to scan barcodes without having to leave the house. Lazy.

Barcode Kingdom is a role-playing game that mixes a bit of real world technology with a fantasy world of fighting. Scan items from around the house to get more soldiers, weapons, armor and potions. Hopefully, you have plenty of boxes lying around the house…

Apple updates iTunes Movie Trailers with notifications, AirDrop support and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 9, 2018

Apple has posted an update for its iTunes Movie Trailers iOS client this afternoon, bringing the app to version 1.4. The app is universal, supporting both the iPhone and iPad, and provides mobile access to trailers reviews and more for new and upcoming films.

Today's update brings about a handful of useful features including the option to be notified when a movie you have marked as a favorite debuts in theaters or pops up in the iTunes Store. You can also now read critic reviews in-app, and share links via AirDrop...

Flexibits teases Fantastical for iPad coming

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2018

My daily productivity depends on a powerful and flexible personal information management system and Flexibits' Fantastical for iPhone has quickly become an indispensable part of that workflow.

I use this versatile app to save reminders for upcoming stories and industry events, create calendar entries for meetings and daily schedules, organize my weekly/monthly planning and lots more.

It's fast, has powerful search, looks business and lets me safely paste passages of text knowing its intelligent natural-language processing will automatically parse entries like 'conference call with Seb next Monday at 1PM PT' to create related events.

My only gripe with Fantastical stems not from the app itself, but from the iPhone's four-inch screen as I often find myself squinting rows and columns of small text.

I guess you could say that until Apple delivers a rumored large-screened iPhone, I'll be left yearning for the Fantastical experience on the iPad's 9.7-inch screen. But not for long, it seems. Tuesday, developers posted a new page teasing the upcoming edition of Fantastical for iPad...

Twitterrific 5 takes the freemium route, demands in-app purchases for advanced features

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 25, 2014

Iconfactory has just issued a new version of Twitterrific in the App Store. Previously a $2.99 download, the new Twitterrific version 5.7 has changed the business model from paid to free. Sort of.

The iPhone and iPad application, now supported by revenue from Deck Network ads displayed at the top of the timeline, is available free of charge for new customers, but some of the more advanced features like push notifications, Today view, ad removal and tweet translation are hidden behind a one-time in-app purchase.

That's an interesting change for Iconfactory, but what about Twitter-imposed token limits? Developer Sean Heber ensures customers that Iconfactory has grandfathered a whole lot of tokens so going free should not be a concern. Besides, they can always switch from the freemium model back to the paid one...

Braveland is a turn-based game inspired by old-school strategies

Lory Gil ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

I recently watched an adventure movie from 2008 called “In the Name of the King.” It told the story of a farmer who didn’t want to get involved in any kind of battle, but found himself fighting against an enemy who invaded his land, burned his village, and destroyed his way of life (I don’t recommend it).

Braveland reminds me of that movie, only with better dialogue, more exciting battles, and a more interesting storyline (sorry to fans of the movie). It is also a turn-based strategy game with elements of board game mechanics, which is right up my alley…

Roku for iPhone gets facelift, introduces content search and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 24, 2014

Roku has finally updated its companion iPhone app for the company's set-top box with a brand new design, ability to search through your content and a few bug fixes and other enhancements.

The new look, a radical departure from the previous design, feels more at home with iOS 7's flatness and is easier to use thanks to streamlined navigation.

As for search, you can sift through your content by entering a movie, show, actor or director information.

"When you settle on something to watch, choose from the available services and jump right into the Channel, ready to watch," Roku writes in iTunes release notes accompanying the 3.5MB download.

The freshly updated app is now live in the App Store...

Twitter pulls #music app from the App Store ahead of April 18 shutdown

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

Twitter will discontinue its #music app on Friday, April 18. Conveniently, April 18 marks the app's first (and obviously last) anniversary. Yup, Twitter #music is officially dead. As part of the move, the micro-blogging startup has already pulled the free iPhone and iPad application from the App Store.

Whenever a piece of software gets removed from the App Store, it becomes unavailable for download or re-download so folks who plan on continuing to use the music discovery app have better backed it up in their iTunes library on their computer.

If you only keep Twitter #music on your iOS device, transfer it to desktop iTunes by connecting your device to a computer and choose the Transfer Purchases option nested under iTunes' File > Devices menu...