App Store

Apple Trademarks the Phrase “There’s an App For That”

Alex Heath ∙ October 12, 2010

Apple's trademark filing for their famous catchphrase, "There's an App For That" has been approved by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The patent is filed under the Advertising, Business and Retail Services, Computer and Software service and Scientific services categories.

The trademark applies to, "Retail store services featuring computer software provided via the Internet and other computer and electronic communication networks; retail store services featuring computer software for use on handheld mobile digital electronic devices and other consumer electronics."

This doesn't mean that there can't be anymore cheesy blog headlines with the catchphrase (which I have been guilty of a couple of times). It does mean that Apple can pursue a commercial infringement of the trademark with much greater ease in court...

MarkdownMail – Composing HTML Emails on the iPhone

Alex Heath ∙ Updated July 24, 2016

MarkdownMail is an iPhone app from Second Gear Software for creating HTML emails. The app is based on John Gruber's Markdown markup syntax. MarkdownMail converts your Markdown formatted message into a HTML message for emailing. If you're not familiar with how HTML works, don't worry. After five minutes of learning the Markdown syntax, you're ready to start writing yourself.

It's dead simple...

Want Video Calls on Your iPhone Over 3G? Then it’s Time to Tango!

Guest Author ∙ Updated December 26, 2016

Tango Video Calling by Sgiggle, Inc. (available free in the App Store) is a video-calling app that’s similar to FaceTime, but has a few more features that gives it a definite edge over Apple’s built-in video calls.

The most notable difference? Tango works over 3G. This is often the complaint I hear most about FaceTime. It’s been promised 3G functionality is coming to FaceTime… someday. We also heard that about tethering and how long did that take?

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Arrives on the iPhone

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Some of you have been waiting for 16 years to see the day when Sega finally releases the sequel of its most successful game: Sonic the Hedgehog. Available in the App Store for $9.99 (*choke cough*), Sonic 4 [iTunes link] picks up right where Sonic and Knuckles left off.

It's as fast as it ever was. The only downside I can see to this so far is the price. Let us know what you think about this new game if you decide to download it.

Hulu+ App Store Reviews: Fending off the Naysayers

Guest Author ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Hulu+ just updated their app last week, so I thought this would be a good time to address the absurd amount of negative reviews they have in the App Store.

I love Hulu+. I got my invite August 1st and have been using the app on my iPhone 4 several times a week to watch shows — catching up with Glee while at work (shhh!), and watching the first season of Modern Family at the gym (FYI—laughing on the treadmill will immediately provoke stares and glares.) I think the Hulu service is smart and having it readily accessible on my iPhone 4 is convenient.

So why are there so many negative reviews of it in the App Store (It’s currently at 1.5 stars)? Most comments seem to be some variation of these complaints:

Instagram: A Beautiful Photography App And Social Network

Alex Heath ∙ Updated July 24, 2016

Instagram is a new camera app for the iPhone with a focus on social networking. The app offers some wonderful, lomo-like filters to make your photos not look so crappy. There are dozens of photography apps that do this well, so what makes Instagram special?

Sharing your photos through social networking is a huge part of Instagram. The app’s developer, Kevin Systrom, descibes Instagram as not merely a camera app, but “a community focused on helping you collect, organize, and share the images of your life from your mobile phone.” Instagram packages this community very elegantly. The look and feel is clean and fast, and there aren’t any gimmicks...

Google Goggles Arrive on the iPhone

Alex Heath ∙ October 5, 2010

The Google Mobile app for iPhone was just updated to support Google Goggles, a feature that has been available on Android for awhile. So what is Google Goggles? And why is it a big deal?

Google Goggles is the next step toward merging the physical world with the online world. While it’s definitely a baby step, Googles is still groundbreaking in the search and mobile space. Goggles allows you to take a picture of essentially anything in real life: buildings, books, wine bottles, or just plain text, and get results from Google about that object...

Potential Game Changing App Update Coming “Out in a Few Weeks…”

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Pleco Software, the masterminds behind the aptly named -- Pleco Chinese Dictionary -- announced today that after minor delay, the latest update to their Chinese language software should be out in a few weeks. Why is this news for iPhone owners, and why should you care?

Well besides the fact that it’s one of the best tools available for learning Mandarin, Pleco’s latest update features a potentially game-changing Optical Character Recognition (OCR) feature that undoubtedly has other developers taking note...

Google Books on Your iPhone

Alex Heath ∙ Updated April 5, 2018

I’ve always wanted an easy way to have a digital library of what I’ve read, what I’m reading, and what I want to read. A Kindle or iBooks library is helpful in having reference on what to read and what has already been read.

However, I haven’t found a good way to handle the recording of physical books I’ve read or books that I’ve read online in another format. I’ve been searching for an easy, cloud-based digital “shelf” for my reading life.

How silly of me to not look farther than Google for my answer. I am reliant on Google in my daily life for email, documents, RSS feeds, and of course, search. I’ve used Google Books only a couple of times to find something like an excerpt from a public domain book. It was not until today that I saw the “My Library” feature of Google Books. Lo and behold it was exactly what I was looking for...

Netflix iPhone App Now Gets Video Out

Guest Author ∙ October 4, 2010

The latest update for the Netflix iPhone app just hit the App Store. It now boasts video-out capabilities for the iPhone 4 and iPod touch 4th generation. This update is huge for those of us who use out iDevice for everything.

I'm a little curious if this will make any difference in quality for those on the 3G/3GS using DisplayOut, TVOut2, or Resupported. Regardless, I'm excited to test out the new functionality, and may opt for some extension cables to make my iPhone AV cable reach the TV from the couch.

Yap Transcribes Your iPhone Voicemails

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated April 2, 2018

Yap is a new application available in the App Store that will turn your iPhone voicemails into a readable text. If you think listening to voicemails is a waste of time (I do), then Yap will be the perfect companion for you.

Google Voice already offers the option of receiving transcribed voicemails but not everybody has a Google Voice account. Yap is available in the App Store for free. Give it a try.

[TechCrunch]

5 iPhone Features That Apple Needs to Make Happen

Jeff Benjamin ∙ October 4, 2010

The iPhone has significantly improved in nearly every facet since its initial release. The camera’s improved, the interface has gotten better, organization has been stepped up. Really, I could go on for the next half an hour, it’s just that much of a refined experience.

But you know what they say, the biggest room is the room for improvement! Hence, we’ve compiled a list of 5 features that could ultimately make the iPhone a much more user friendly and functional device...