Apps

Sunrise for iOS gains push for Google Calendar, search and Todoist integration

Sunrise, the popular alternative to Apple’s stock iOS Calendar, today refreshed its nicely done iPhone and iPad application with push for Google Calendars, the search feature and Todoist integration, the company noted in a blog post Wednesday.

A long-overdue feature, search is finally available in Sunrise to let you sift through your past or future events by title, location and attendees.

Push is now available for Google Calendars and fans of Todoist will appreciate Sunrise's integration with this popular task manager for personal productivity.

Sunrise is available free in the App Store and Mac App Store. Against all odds, Sunrise the company has raised over a whopping $8 million in funding thus far. Not too shabby for a calendar app, wouldn't you say?

VMware Fusion 7 now available with OS X Yosemite and Windows 8.1 support

Following the recent release of Yosemite-enabled Parallels Desktop 10, rival WMware on Wednesday announced immediate availability of VMware Fusion 7 and VMware Fusion 7 Pro, major new versions of its virtualization software which now includes built-in support for OS X Yosemite, OS X Yosemite Server and Windows 8.1, along with a bunch of other perks.

Also compatible with OS X Mavericks and OS X Mountain Lion and available in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Simplified Chinese and Japanese, WMware Fusion 7 and VMware Fusion 7 Pro take virtualization on the Mac to the next level with a speedier performance, a redesigned appearance, improved connectivity, support for Macs with Retina displays and more.

eBay gains Now feature, in-app alerts, better search, bonus offers, charity donations and more

eBay, an e-commerce website, has a nice iPhone and iPad app which has just gotten a whole lot more useful. Now available as an iOS 7.0-only download from the App Store, the new eBay version 3.4 offers a plethora of new features, refinements and improvements that advance the experience.

For starters, the software now delivers important alerts inside itself when using the app.

Moreover, the eBay Now feature for finding and buying products from local stores is now integrated and you can check a buyer's location when reviewing a Best Offer. You can also explore bonus offers from eBay sellers, donate a percentage of your sales toward charity purposes and more.

Amazon updates Cloud Drive Photos with AirPlay, photo/video metadata, cache settings and more

The online retail giant Amazon on Tuesday refreshed its Cloud Drive Photos application for the iPhone and iPad with some much-needed new features.

Used to synchronize and protect your photos and personal videos on your iOS device with Amazon's cloud-based storage dubbed Cloud Drive, the free application now supports AirPlay, a media-streaming technology from Apple, so you can stream your photos and videos wirelessly to the big screen TV through the Apple TV box.

Also, you can finally rename albums and easily change an album's cover photo by swiping left/right on the album artwork. Most importantly, the app finally applies proper metadata to your photos and videos, including date taken, resolution, image type and file name.

Microsoft updates Office for iPad apps with more affordable monthly subscriptions

Windows maker Microsoft has just refreshed its Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps for iPad with support for month-to-month Office 365 subscriptions, the team announced today in a blog post.

Before, users were only able to buy a yearly Office 365 subscription within the Office for iPad apps.

Starting today, the refreshed Word, Excel and PowerPoint applications allow you to take advantage of Apple's In-App Subscription feature to buy recurring monthly subscriptions for Office 365 Personal and Office 365 Home.

Netflix Recommend with Facebook-enabled private video sharing now available

Netflix for the iPhone and iPad now allows you to privately recommend movies and television shows to a cherry-picked selection of Facebook friends who have connected their Facebook account with Netflix, but fortunately without spamming their News Feed, wrote the firm Tuesday in a post over at the official blog.

The social recommendation feature is available to Netflix users in the United States and Canada starting today.

Dubbed Netflix Recommend, it's “another great way to discover your next favorite show,” as the popular on-demand streaming service put it.

Official ‘Ask Me Anything’ app from Reddit now available on iPhone

Reddit, the popular social and news website where users themselves submit content, today released a native iPhone application solely dedicated to its popular 'Ask Me Anything' interviews with everyone from movie stars to astronauts to artists and more.

The app lets Reddit fans browse the latest and best interviews from the popular service (both current and archived ones), ask a question when someone is marked as active, discover new personalities in any field or subject, vote for your favorite interviews (and share them with friends) and much more.

The free of charge software is now available to download in the App Store.

This app lets you track your kids Fitbit activity and reward them for reaching goals

Sure, you are doing a great job of staying fit. You eat right, exercise everyday, and have all the latest gadgets from Fitbit to track your activities. But, what about your kids? Fitcubs is a tracking app that lets you monitor your children’s activity via Fitbit and lets you reward them for meeting goals. You don’t have to fight with your kids to get them to stay fit.

Apps of the week: Bioshock, 8bit Doves, Walking Dead Pinball, and more

This has been the biggest week in new apps and games I’ve seen in a while. It also came around just at the same time we found out about the upcoming iPhone event. The world is coming up Apple. If you are ready for a weekend full of epic games, retro fun, and sweet beats, we’ve got a list of apps and games that will fill you your restful hours.

New Snapchat update allows you to follow live events via Stories

Snapchat pushed out an interesting update for its mobile apps today, bringing the iOS client to version 7.0.6. Though the change log in the App Store only mentions 'improvements and bug fixes,' what went on behind the scenes is actually fairly significant.

Users will notice a new 'Live' section in the app, courtesy of Our Stories, a product Snapchat introduced during the summer that lets anyone contribute snaps to a single story. With Live, users will be able to follow events as they unfold, from various angles.

MZR combines music and puzzles into one intense game

Anytime you download a game that comes with a seizure warning, it’s gotta be worth a look. That is, unless you suffer from seizures. Then, you should avoid it altogether. MZR is a Dubstep-themed puzzle game that features blinking white lights, shaky awkward camera angles, and puzzle mazes that challenge your skills in spatial recognition.

Invaders! From Outer Space is a highly stylized arcade shooter

I love the idea of taking a popular video game from decades ago and giving it a twenty-first century makeover. Turn flat, pixelated programs into fully realized creations and see what it looks like under today’s graphics.

Invaders! From Outer Space is an arcade shooter that uses the benefit of today’s technology on one of our most beloved sci-fi games. Stop the alien invasion before they steal all of our cows.