Apps

Official Pokémon trading card game now available on (Retina) iPads

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 1, 2014

The official Pokemon trading card game which was demoed in August is now available for the iPad in the App Store. Titled Pokémon TCG Online, the 504-megabyte download supports any iPad with the Retina screen and online multiplayer.

The game challenges players to collect a deck of Pokémon cards, customizes and use them against other computer opponents or human players in battles.

Your decks and card collection are stored in your Pokémon Trainer Club account so you can easily switch devices with ease without losing anything.

You will use a dedicated iPhone app to put apps on and manage your Apple Watch

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 30, 2014

Rather than browse an App Store for third-party Apple Watch software on the device's tiny Retina touchscreen, fans will be instead using a dedicated iPhone app to manage their Apple smartwatch and apps, Ariel Adams noted two days ago in his hands-on article on A Blog To Watch.

The iPhone app, he learned, will be used to download apps onto the Apple Watch, “as well as likely manage Apple Watch settings”.

Facebook Messenger and Amazon Kindle apps updated for iPhone 6

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Although Apple's new iPhones have been in stores for more than a week now and developers are scrambling to update their apps with native display support for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

And while users are still waiting for an iPhone 6 optimized edition of WhatsApp, the social networking giant Facebook has now updated the Messenger iOS app with native iPhone 6 support.

Another important piece of software has also received its iPhone 6-focused refresh today, Amazon's Kindle for the iPhone and iPad. Both Facebook Messenger and Amazon Kindle are available free of charge in the App Store.

Jawbone launches all-new HealthKit-enabled Up software, no fitness band required

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 17, 2019

San Francisco, California headquartered wearable products company Jawbone on Monday released a brand new Up software for the iPhone in the App Store (not to be confused with the firm's existing Up app).

Announced earlier in the month, the app features iOS 8 HealthKit integration, personalized fitness advice and other features, but without requiring Jawbone's UP or UP24 fitness band.

The app lets you share Up's food, fitness and sleep tracking data with iOS 8’s Health app, and vice versa. Jawbone has opened up its platform to third-party development so more than a hundred health and fitness applications and accessories for the iPhone and iPad now integrate with Up, with or without HealthKit, including Strava Running & Cycling, Wello, IFTTT, RunKeeper and MyFitnessPal.

Words for Evil is both an RPG and a word game combined

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 30, 2018

Two of the things I like about a fantasy role-playing games (RPG) are looting and killing. Those are basically the best parts. Some games have even condensed their mechanics down to just those two features. What if there were a game that let you loot and kill, but you had to spell words in order to do so?

Words for Evil is just that. This iPad game combines the battle tactics of a good old-fashioned RPG with Boggle-style word finding mechanics. Find words to attack your enemy. If you are too slow, you’ll spell your own death.

Waze gains car-parking features and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 29, 2014

Waze, the popular GPS-based maps and traffic app that Google purchased for undisclosed sum in June of 2013, has received an update Monday bringing out half a dozen new features and improvements, including enhancements related to remembering where you parked your car.

A free update, Waze 3.9 lets you add driving related information if a place has a parking lot or drive-thru. The app also saves your parking location so it's now a lot easier to find your vehicle in the parking lot.

The best blogging apps for iPhone and iPad

Lory Gil ∙ Updated September 2, 2020

If you participate in the digital information age through blogging, then you know how difficult it is to keep up with your daily posts. Whether you are just too busy, or don’t want to sit in front of your computer after your workday is over, writing and publishing can be a daunting task.

There are a handful of excellent mobile apps that make it easier to stay active in the blogosphere while on the go. We’ve got a list of what we think are the best blogging apps for the iPhone and iPad for you today.

Facebook fixes iOS 8 Notification and Camera Roll issues plaguing its Paper app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2018

Social networking behemoth Facebook at last has gotten around fixing a pair of annoying issues with its Paper application on the iPhone and iPod touch devices running Apple's refreshed iOS 8 mobile operating system.

In addition to unspecified performance improvements that should ensure Paper is as fast as ever, the new version has solved problems with Facebook Push Notifications and Camera Roll access on iOS 8 devices.

PDF Expert 5 and Documents 5 updated with iCloud Drive, Touch ID and other enhancements

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 28, 2014

Yesterday, Ukrainian developer Readdle released a pretty big update to its PDF Expert 5 and Documents 5, apps that let you edit, annotate and manage PDFs and other documents on your iPhone and iPad.

I wanted to share a few key improvements with you quickly because the app's now a showcase example of how iOS 8 enables a whole new level of inter-app integration.

A free update to existing owners, PDF Expert 5.2 features a number of enhancements, including a few iOS 8 exclusives such as support for iCloud Drive document storage and Touch ID authentication to unlock the app instead of a regular passcode.

New App Store section features “Apps for Health,” a collection of apps that support HealthKit

Timothy Reavis ∙ Updated January 30, 2018

The App Store has been updated Saturday afternoon with an "Apps for Health" section in the Featured tab, which lists several apps that use iOS 8's Health app to aggregate health and fitness data into a unified location for users.

After delaying HealthKit-compatible apps due to a critical bug in the first version of iOS 8, Apple released iOS 8.0.2 on Thursday and quickly began approving apps that take advantage of the health-tracking features the following day. Now, Apple has created this new section in an effort to promote apps that have received their HealthKit updates.

Although there may be more out there – and more are sure to come – Apple has 14 apps listed, and we've compiled them below with links to each.

A first look at TouchPal keyboard for iOS 8

Lory Gil ∙ September 27, 2014

I’ve gone through a handful of the most popular third-party keyboards for iOS 8 and each one has a little special something that makes it stand out from the rest. We’re not talking about simple color changes (although I do like those), but real functions that push them beyond the norm.

TouchPal Keyboard is another such app that promises unique functionality and delivers the goods. Whether you prefer tapping or swiping, this is a well-rounded keyboard with plenty of useful features.

Apps of the week: GIF Keyboard, Fist of Fury, Fotograf, and more

Lory Gil ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

This week could not have been worse for Apple. The company felt the heat from users with bent iPhones, bugged iOS updates, and security exploits that can directly affect OS X. I’d be three bottles deep in whiskey by now. Not really. I’m so small that three bottles of whiskey would kill me.

Thank goodness for new apps and games to distract us from a crappy week. You can dive into a story-heavy game, reorganize your life with a productivity app, or simply check out a new way to share photos. If you are looking for some kind of distraction, or maybe you just want to have a reason to play with your new iPhone, we’ve got a list of apps and games you might enjoy.