App Store Apps

Luna Calculator puts a unique twist on a basic calculator app

I don’t normally focus too much attention on calculator apps. Some of them can be pretty cool. But for the most part, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. There has to be something special about a calculator app to catch my attention.

Luna Calculator is an app that has something special. In addition to the simple mathematical equations that the average calculator app includes, this one lets you create lists of numbers and save them for future reference…

Ridge Racer Slipstream goes free until next Thursday as Apple’s Free App of the Week

Today, like any given Thursday, Apple is refreshing its Free App of the Week promotion by making a new iOS tittle free for the next seven days.

Last week's promotion brought us the free download of Mildmania's Darklings [review], a gesture-driven endless atmospheric adventure game that incorporates visually enticing Noire-style graphics akin to Limbo and Badland.

Today, Namco Bandai's Ridge Racer Slipstream has gone free as the App Store's new Free App of the Week.

Normally a $2.99 download, but now available free in the App Store until next Thursday, Ridge Racer Slipstream recreates this ultimate arcade racing franchise on your iPhone and iPad with pretty graphics, Career and Arcade game modes, twelve beefy cars with plenty of horse power, over a hundred racing competitions across six Grand Prix series, real-time multiplayer and lots more...

Asphalt 8 with Twitch broadcasting, The Great Wall tracks, new cars and more now available

Earlier this week, Gameloft, the prolific maker of mobile games, has announced a partnership with the live streaming video game platform Twitch that would bring the first ever mobile streaming game experience to Asphalt 8: Airborne.

The following day, Gameloft teased the forthcoming update and it's now live in the App Store so best thing you grab it now and live stream some action right away.

In addition to Twitch integration, Asphalt 8 now includes six new tracks scattered throughout the gorgeous Asian-inspired location, the Great Wall, as well as new soundtrack, new cars, new events in career mode, an improved main menu and more...

Starbucks 3.0 is out with new iOS 7 design, shake-to-pay and tipping

That big Starbucks app update we told you about last week has arrived in the App Store today. The update, which brings the client to version 3.o, includes the long-awaited redesign for iOS 7 as well as a handful of major new features and improvements.

On the new features side, we have shake-to-pay, which will allow you to bring up your barcode with the flick of a wrist to pay for your Starbucks order. There's also a new digital tipping function that lets you tip your barista, and a new Dashboard view...

Pandora upping monthly ‘One’ fee, dropping annual subscriptions

Pandora announced this week that it is going to making some significant changes to its Pandora One subscription service over the next couple of months. Most notably, it's going to be raising the monthly subscription cost and eliminating the annual option.

Citing rising licensing costs, Pandora says that it's raising its 'One' fee from $3.99 per month to $4.99 per month, and taking away the discounted annual plan altogether. The company says that royalty rates it pays to artists have increased 53% since it began...

On-rails shooter Star Horizon now available in the App Store

Great news gamers, that beautiful on-rails space shooter 'Star Horizon' we told you about earlier this month is now available in the App Store. This means you can download it now to your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch (running iOS 6 or later) and get to playing.

Star Horizon was developed by Tabasco Interactive, and is powered by the brawny Unity engine. The game follows John, a private in the service of the Federation, in his journey through the cosmos as he rescues friends and battles the enemy in his warship...

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes companion app hits the App Store

Konami today released the next installment in its popular action-adventure stealth franchise, Metal Gear Solid. The game is officially called Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and available for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

And to go with it, Konami has created a namesake iOS companion app, now available free in the App Store.

Although the iPhone and iPad application connects to the main Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, some modes do not require console connectivity. Jump past the fold for full details...

Checkmark 2 review: this location-based reminder app gets even better

In July of 2012, Christian wrote a very positive article about Checkmark, calling it the app that Reminders should have been. Thanks to location and time-based reminders, the app made it much easier for users to be notified at the right time and place about an upcoming event or task.

Checkmark 2 just launched in the App Store. Not only has the app received a complete iOS 7 redesign, but it also now includes iCloud sync and recurring reminders. Plus, a whole slew of new features make Checkmark 2 the app that Checkmark should have been…

Flappy Bird developer confirms he’s bringing back the hit game

Watch out Flappy Bird copycats, the original is making a comeback. Developer Dong Nguyen has confirmed with fans on Twitter that he is restoring his hit game to its rightful place in the App Store, although he hasn't given a specific launch date.

Nguyen is also on hand at this week's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, and several developers and gamers that have run in to him at the event have said the same thing: that Flappy Bird will be making its highly-anticipated comeback...

Leo’s Fortune, arguably the most gorgeous iOS platformer, is coming real soon

I'm a huge, huge fan of both physics-based and platform games (especially side-scrolling ones), dating back to the golden Amiga days and home consoles. The App Store has some really nice platformers, but the upcoming Leo's Fortune by looks like it could top them all with unbelievable graphics, novel gameplay and butter smooth execution.

Co-developed by two Swedish game developers, Leo's Fortune has you controlling a green puff thing named Leopold, tasked with hunting down the thief that stole his gold. He can inflate himself to float which - coupled with physics-based concept and puzzle elements - adds a bit of variety to the otherwise oversaturated genre.

I'll let the video do the talking so jump past the fold and have a look...

Vimeo snatches up video-making iPhone app Cameo

For the second time in the past year, Vimeo has acquired an iOS app-maker. Following its purchase of Echograph, an app for creating GIFs, in early 2013, the video site has bought Cameo, an iPhone application for making short, high quality movies.

If you've never heard of Cameo before, that's probably because it just launched in October of last year. But it's been turning heads during its 6 months in the App Store—we named it one of our apps of the week, and Apple gave it a 'Best of 2013' award...

RollerCoaster Tycoon coming soon to iOS

I'm what you would call a '90's' kid. I grew up during the decade, watching cartoons like Doug and Rugrats and playing video games like Sim City. And over the years, I've seen a lot of these video games get remade for,or ported to, iOS—except for my favorite one: RollerCoaster Tycoon.

Well I'm happy to announce that this is going to change soon. Atari has confirmed via the original game's landing page that it is working on a mobile version of RollerCoaster Tycoon, and it will be coming to the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch shortly. Oh and don't worry, we have a trailer...