Apps

Dropbox app gains larger photo thumbnails and more in latest accessibility focused update

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

Dropbox, the hot cloud-storage startup which a few years back turned down an acquisition offer from Steve Jobs, on Monday gave its mobile client for the iPhone and iPad significant new accessibility improvements to make sure it’s simple to get stuff done if your vision or hearing is impaired.

Based on both Dropbox's own customer research and feedback from the AppleVis community, the improved software makes it easier for people with disabilities to use the app with Apple's VoiceOver feature when logging in to Dropbox, navigating actions within the app and more.

The new accessibility features will be rolling out to users later today, the company said.

Dropbox is a free download from the App Store.

Spotify could soon start serving podcasts

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 17, 2014

According to code strings that developer Ethan Lee uncovered from a beta version of the Spotify 2.0 app, podcasts may be coming soon to the world's most popular streaming-music service hailing from Sweden.

Code strings directly reference podcast subscriptions, giving hope that users will be able to listen to the latest episode of their favorite podcast, in addition to streaming their music, right inside Spotify's mobile and desktop app.

GBA4iOS 2.1 now available, no jailbreak required, hitting Cydia in a few days

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 17, 2014

After developer Riley Testut saw its popular Gameboy Color and Game Boy Advanced emulator, GBA4iOS, removed from the App Store due to complaints from both Nintendo and Apple, a new version of the software is now available for download from iEmulators.com in an open beta form, no jailbreak required.

Furthermore, the app should be available on the Cydia store in the next few days, Testut wrote on Twitter.

That means all you jailbreakers out there will be able to enjoy your favorite Gameboy Color and Game Boy Advanced games on the best GBA emulator available on iOS.

Team17 slashes all Worms games to 99 cents in 19th anniversary sale

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 30, 2018

Team 17, a British video game developer behind the Worms series of games, has slashed all Worms games on the App Store to just 99 cents in celebration of the series' 19th anniversary.

Older readers will remember Worms as one of the best games for the Amiga personal computer in 1995. Team17 continued development of the various Worms games with Worms: The Director's Cut which arrived in 1997 with improved gameplay and graphics. The series has since made a jump to consoles and PCs.

Featuring cartoonish pixel art graphics, smooth multi-layered scrolling and an interesting mix of turn-based gameplay, humor and hilarious weaponry, the franchise has gone on to be very successful, selling over twelve million units worldwide to this date.

Apps of the week: Overglide, Golfinity, Endless Doves, and more

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

This was a good week for apps and games. Not only were there some new console-quality additions to the list, but also some of our old favorites received major updates, making them even better than ever. If you are looking for something new that didn’t necessarily show up on the radar this week, we’ve got a list of apps and games that we think are still worth talking about.

Type Nine keyboard lets you type like it was 1998

Lory Gil ∙ November 14, 2014

With all of these new iOS 8 keyboards now available, there is just too much fun to be had. You can translate text with Slated, code with UniChar Picker, and use ScribbleBoard because drawing is more fun than typing. It just keeps getting better. Now, the trend is for keyboards for fat fingers.

Type Nine is a big keys keyboard for those extra thick digits. Only unlike apps like Thick Buttons, this one harkens back to before there were such a thing as keypads for smartphones. So, all you old school flip phone typers will enjoy some retro texting.

Penultimate 6 is out with new UI design, improved search and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Evernote updated its popular note-taking/sketch app Penultimate this morning, bringing it to version 6.0. As the build number implies, the update is significant, ushering in a complete UI redesign, new full screen and highlighting tools, and various improvements.

The new UI design is easily the most noticeable change in 6.0, and it makes for smoother writing and better organization. The new full screen mode is also a great addition, as it allows you to write continuously in full screen without stopping—eliminating distractions.

GoodReader introduces advanced text-to-speech for PDF and TXT documents

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 13, 2014

I rely on GoodReader to manage files and documents on my iOS devices in one central location. Being a heavy reader, I mostly keep various documents and e-books stored in GoodReader.

Today's update to GoodReader's iOS app contains a whole bunch of new features, improvements and fixes, chiefly a cool text-to-speech capability that speaks passages of text in text files and PDF documents.

It's customizable with different speeds, supports dozens of languages, has playback controls, highlights spoken words in real-time, lets you multitask while listening to spoken word and more. This update is being provided free of charge to existing GoodReader users.

Download GoodReader for the iPhone and iPad for $4.99.

Halfbrick’s ‘Monster Dash’ goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

Apple has named Halfbrick's 'Monster Dash' its app of the week for this week. This means that from now through next Thursday, you’ll be able to pick up the title for free in the App Store, saving yourself a healthy buck.

For those who haven't played the game, Monster Dash is a survival platformer/runner that follows the familiar Barry Steakfries (of Jetpack Joyride fame) as he races through levels while avoiding and/or killing monsters.

Random Heroes 3 guns its way through the App Store

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated March 17, 2019

From the maker of League of Evil and Devious Dungeon comes their newest title: Random Heroes 3. If you've played any of these games before then this new title will feel very familiar to you as the mechanics are always pretty much the same. Just like in the previous editions of Random Heroes, your goal is to rid the Earth of those bad aliens, with tons of weapons available to you as you collect coins at each level.

Numerical, a beautiful iPhone and iPad calculator without the equal button, goes free

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 13, 2014

As something of a calculator nut, I can never get enough of gorgeously designed calculator experiences. For most people, the stock Calculator is more than enough to run a quick calculation here and there.

Apple, sadly, isn't shipping its Calculator on iPads, forcing you to search the App Store for a third-party solution. But you don't have to be a calculator nut or part with your cash to enjoy doing math on your Apple devices.

That's because developer Andrew J Clark of Very Tiny Machines has just slashed his beautifully done Numerical: Calculator Without Equal app from $2.99 to zero bucks.

Download Numerical at no cost from the App Store.

VSCO Cam 4.0 drops with iOS 8 and iPhone 6 support, iPad UI, Sync, Journal and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

If you needed an excuse to make VSCO Cam part of your iPhone photographer's toolkit, here's one. On Thursday, developers issued a substantial update to the free iOS app which brings a thoroughly redesigned user interface.

Now a universal app for all form factor iOS devices, VSCO Cam runs natively on iPads and brings out full support for iOS 8 and the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus resolutions.

This release is packed with half a dozen interesting new features, among them integration with VSCO' new mobile publishing platform dubbed Journal.

Download VSCO Cam free in the App Store.