App Updates

Real Racing 3 gaining cloud saves, Hunter game mode, new cars and 100+ events

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 5, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8rendr6pI0

If you're a fan of free-to-play Real Racing 3 (which, by the way, looks absolutely stunning on the A6 and later devices, like the iPhone 5 and iPad 4), you're in for a treat as Electronic Arts today announced an upcoming content update which will bring several new cars, a bunch of new challenges and events, a new game mode and cloud saves across all your devices.

As you can see from the above trailer for the Real Racing 3: Chevrolet Update, developer Firemonkeys is teasing at least two new cars, the Chevrolet Cobalt SS and the Camaro ZL1. I've included more tidbits right after the break...

Major SkyDrive update: revamped UI, full-res photos, iPhone 5 and iPad mini support

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

There's a good reason why Microsoft's SkyDrive cloud storage client for iOS has seen its last update in June of last year: revenue sharing. Per Apple's rules, third-party software is required to share 30 percent of proceeds from in-app sales with Apple.

For example, when you fire up Dropbox's excellent iOS client and upgrade to a paid storage tier within the app, your iTunes credit card on file gets charged and Apple earns its 30 percent share.

Though Microsoft wanted to introduce that same functionality into the SkyDrive app, it wouldn't share any revenue with Apple. Neither party would budge and a spokesperson previously said Microsoft was "in contact with Apple regarding the matter."

The two parties have supposedly reached an amicable solution because Microsoft today announced SkyDrive 3.0, a major new version rocking an overhauled interface, support for the iPhone 5 and iPad mini and a few other features...

Ahead of Opening Day, MLB refreshes iOS apps with new features, revamped UI

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 29, 2013

Major League Baseball (MLB) has some of the most highly-regarded sports apps on the App Store.

Specifically, MLB.com's At Bat and At The Ballpark software includes rich content such as in-game audio, live video streams, highlights, news and more for the entire MLB season, from Spring Training to the World Series.

With just a few days until Opening Day, MLB has updated both apps with some welcomed and timely new features, including a revamped interface, even deeper Passbook support and more multimedia content, to name just a few of them. Jump past the fold for additional details...

Twitterrific iOS app finally gains push alerts, but…

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

...but you probably won't be able to take advantage of them because native Push Notifications are still in beta so developer Iconofactory had to limit the much-needed feature to the first thousand users, as determined on a first-come, first-served basis.

The system is very similar to the reservation tickets in the Mailbox app. Luckily, I was able to reserve my spot on time so my copy of Twitterrific version 5.2 has native push alerts turned on.

Tucked away under the app's settings, push alerts can be turned on and off individually for direct messages, replies, mentions, favorites, retweets and follows.

Another handy treat: each of these can be color-coded so you get a better idea of a particular notification's importance after it appears on your screen, especially handy when these alerts start cropping up on your Lock screen...

Evernote gives its Food app OpenTable reservations, Foursquare ratings, recipe sharing

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 13, 2018

Evernote's Food app debuted in December 2011 as a must-have for both the epicures and everyday folk alike.

Though the initial download was painfully short on features, today's 2.1 update addresses some of the initial omissions by adding three new capabilities which make Evernote Food a whole lot more useful, starting with a reservation system built on OpenTable.

That's right: like Siri, Evernote Food now lets you book a table at an OpenTable-friendly restaurant right within the app. Coupling that feature are user ratings supplied by Foursquare. And, you can now share clipped recipes on Twitter, Facebook or via email. Go past the fold for more details, screenies and a video demonstration...

YouTube Capture is now optimized for iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 13, 2018

Google's standalone YouTube video recording and uploading software, YouTube Capture, has been updated today to work natively on the iPad and iPad mini.

Now a universal binary supporting all your iDevices natively, the program enables you to quickly capture a clip on your iPad, perform basic touch ups, type in some meta data and upload your work in full HD to YouTube.

We're not sure who in their right mind would want to record footage on a tablet, but editing and managing those clips surely feels much more natural on the iPad's bigger canvas...

Facebook Messenger improved with updates to group chats

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 24, 2016

Facebook has just updated its Messenger iOS app with a few new features and "other improvements and bug fixes." The new Facebook Messenger version 2.3 is all about enhancements to group conversations, says the social networking behemoth. It contains one feature I've been yearning for ever since the program's debut on the iPhone: you can finally name a group by tapping on the top of your active conversation.

And just like Facebook's main iOS client (and a growing number of other third-party apps for the Apple platform, for that matter), you can now get to your active group conversations by swipe left, which reveals them in your sidebar. I've included a few screenies along with other nice tweaks right after the break...

Twitter refines iOS app search, but also removes Vodpod, Posterous and Mobypicture

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 6, 2013

After discontinuing its mobile TweetDeck apps for iPhone and Android in favor of the web client, the micro-blogging service Twitter today refreshed its iOS client with better search, refined layouts, support for traditional Chinese and other perks.

Unfortunately, this update also kills off support for external video services like Mobypicture, Vodpod and Posterous as the company supposedly is building a rumored video uploading service of its own.

Note that Posterous, a micro-blogging platform Twitter bought a year ago, is shutting down for good on April 30. Twitter also recently acquired Vine and launched a corresponding brand new app for recording and sharing short 6-second clips that can be easily tweeted out and viewed in-line on Twitter. With this update, TwitVid and yFrog are now your only video uploading choices in Twitter’s iOS app...

Google Maps for iPhone updated with faster local search, Google Contacts integration and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 5, 2013

Google Tuesday morning pushed a new version of its native Google Maps application for the iPhone and iPod touch. It's the first update since the Internet giant released a standalone Maps software for Apple's platform in December 2012, racketing up ten million downloads in just two days and becoming the App Store's top free iPhone app in no time. New features in Google Maps version 1.1 for iOS include integration with Google Contacts, local search icons that make finding places of interest faster and easier and more...

Chrome for iOS with Messages sharing and back button history now available

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 4, 2013

Google on Monday announced a new version of Chrome for the iPhone and iPad containing two new features. In addition to the obligatory stability and security improvements and bug fixes, Chrome build 25.0.1364.86 has brought out the ability to re-visit previously visited web pages by long-taping the back button.

This invokes a drop-down menu listing a history of the web pages you visited in the current session. The feature is also available on the desktop version of Chrome as well as on desktop and mobile version of Apple's Safari browser. Another nice-to-have enhances Chrome's Sharing menu with a new option for sending a web page via Messages...

Google adds ‘send to TV’ and video recording features to YouTube iOS client

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 28, 2018

Google last updated its official YouTube iOS client on December 4, adding native iPad and iPhone 5 support, the ability to beam clips to your Apple TV via AirPlay, a brand spanking new icon and other under-the-hood goodies.

Today, the Internet giant has issued a new version which improves streaming over slow Wi-Fi connection and packs in overall stability improvements. In addition to a pair of these tidbits, two major changes stand out.

First, you can now use the new YouTube app version 1.2.1 to pair with YouTube on your Xbox or PlayStation 3 console and control playback from your iOS device. This also works with Google TV devices and Android users got the 'send to TV' feature in November 2012. Also, the program finally lets you record and upload video clips via YouTube Capture, a standalone app Google released on December 17, 2012...