Apple

Shazam gains auto-listening feature, WhatsApp and Pinterest integration and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 19, 2013

The increasingly popular music discovery and fingerprinting service Shazam has just refreshed its free iPhone and iPad application with a new Auto Shazam feature that basically listens for songs and television shows in the background and tags them automatically, even if the device is locked, courtesy of new iOS 7 technologies. You can now share your Shazam Tags with people on WhatsApp, pin them to your Pinterest boards and send them to others via the iOS Messages platform.

Jump past the fold for more on Auto Shazam...

Google Search app gets iOS 7 styling, true full-screen browsing and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 19, 2013

Google's standalone Search application has been updated with barely visible iOS 7 styling and a pair of under-the-hood improvements allowing for the native fluid Image Search experience on the iPad as well as smarter integration with the Google Maps app.

Other than that, release notes mention no new features for Google Search version 3.2, which is now available as a free download from the App Store. I've included additional tidbits right below, if you're interested...

Mac Pro shipping estimates slip to February 2014 hours after release

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 19, 2013

Wow, that was fast - just hours after its radical new pro desktop, the Mac Pro, went on sale this morning, shipping estimates on the Online Apple Store have slipped to as far back as February 2014. Apple's new pro desktop is being assembled in Austin, Texas, where its cylindrically-shapped enclosure is also being manufactured.

Apple originally quoted shipping estimates of "by December 30" for stock configurations, but now all stock and build-to-order configurations show a new estimate of February 2014...

Android based ioPhone rips off iPhone 5c wholesale

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 19, 2013

You'd be forgiven for mistaking the ioPhone for Apple's iPhone 5c. This Android-based knock-off handset features the same plastic shell as Apple's device and is available in the same five bright colors: yellow, red, green, blue and white. Made by Japanese manufacturer Iosys, ioPhone is almost an exact replica of Apple's handset, down to the curvature, the physical buttons and other detail.

The handset will go on sale in Japan tomorrow and we have the weirdest promotional video ever for your viewing pleasure, right after the break...

‘Ausar Rising’ update now available as Infinity Blade III goes half price

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2019

Chair Entertainment's Infinity Blade franchise has received a massive content update this morning. Hot on the heels of releasing the first major Soul Hunter content pack, Infinity Blade III Ausar Rising is now available as a free download for those who've purchased the game.

Featuring a new Arena mode that will test your skills and give you a chance to earn new skills by challenging you to fight a series of progressively harder tests against a horde of Titans, a second dragon named Pisci, three new quests, nine new enemies, over 60 new items and holiday helmets for both Isa and Siris, eight new skills and a host of new goals, potions and gems, it's the most comprehensive Infinity Blade update yet...

Apple’s new Mac Pro is now available for order

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

As promised yesterday, Apple's all-new Mac Pro desktop computer is now available for order via the company's website. Ready-made models are shipping right now by December 30 and upgraded versions are showing 'available to ship' dates in January.

The new Mac Pro comes in two flavors: a $2999 model equipped with a 3.7 GHz quad-core Intel Xeon E5 processor, 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of flash storage, and a $3999 model with a 3.5 GHz 6-core E5 chip, 16 GB of RAM, and a better graphics card...

San Francisco DA wants Apple to enable Activation Lock by default on all iPhones

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón released survey results yesterday that he says makes an argument for Apple to enable its Activation Lock security feature on all iPhones. The DA has been publicly leading the charge for a solution to rising cell phone thefts.

Gascón's survey indicated that 78% of respondents who owned an iPhone have enabled the security feature, and according to him, that's a clear sign that Apple should begin enabling this tech on all of its phones as a standard. He believes that it should be completely 'opt out.'

Google-owned Zagat is now available on iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 19, 2013

Six months after releasing its native Zagat for iPhone app, Google on Wednesday finally updated the restaurant guide application with a nicely done native interface on iPad devices.

Zagat's 1.0 release brought restaurant recommendations for nine major U.S. cities - Austin, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington DC - with subsequent updates expanding Zagat to more than a two dozen new cities.

In today's free Zagat update, Google has added Charleston, South Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee, bringing the total markets covered to 42. Another major new feature: ratings and reviews for hotels and shopping establishments in each city...

iMDb refreshed with iOS 7 look, Road to the Oscars section and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 19, 2013

iMDB, the Internet's vast database of information related to films, television programs and video games, has a nice free app for the iPhone and iPad which has been updated today with the iOS 7-friendly look, a new section providing the Oscars coverage, reworked navigation and homepages on the iPhone and iPod touch, the voting feature, the ability to name lists, new sorting and filtering options and more. Go past the fold for the full reveal...

Apple optimized Final Cut Pro, Compressor, Motion and Logic Pro apps for Mac Pro and 4K

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

When Apple teased its new Mac Pro at WWDC a few months ago, the company's marketing honcho Phil Schiller put up a slide showing a guy in an editing room in front of three huge 4K monitors, all hooked up to the machine. "You could be that guy," he quipped, provoking a laughter from the audience.

Schiller also said Apple was working on a Final Cut Pro update optimized for the Mac Pro's powerful dual AMD FirePro graphics and he wasn't lying: just as the new Mac Pro launched on the online Apple Store this morning, Apple followed up by pushing updates to Final Cut Pro, Compressor, Motion and its other pro apps, all optimized for the Mac Pro's hardware and with 4K content, 4K monitoring support via Thunderbolt 2 and HDMI on select Mac computers and a whole bunch of additions and performance enhancements...

MyGlass app for iOS is available again on App Store, texting isn’t supported

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 19, 2013

Google's official Glass app for iOS, MyGlass, launched in the App Store on Tuesday only to be pulled a few hours later as it "spilled the beans" too soon. The search giant promised to bring back the app later this week and it's now available for download.

Labeled with version 0.3, the 15.2MB download requires iOS 7 and allows you to configure and manage your pricey $1,500 Glass eyewear from the palm of your hand.

The companion application can be used to set up Glass, get directions on the go, screencast anything you see on Glass to your iPhone, add third-party Glassware applications, contacts and more...

Rdio revamps profile views and adds Sleep Timer

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 13, 2018

After countering Spotify's recent service expansion and its brand new (and somewhat limited) free streaming feature by expanding into twenty new countries, the popular music subscription service Rdio today refreshed its free iPhone and iPad application with a handy sleep timer function to stop playback after a period of time.

The new Rdio 2.5.4 also includes redesigned profile views with your photo right at the center, various subtle interface improvements and minor bug fixes...