Apps

Mobile-exclusive Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution 2 arriving July 2

Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution 2, a mobile-exclusive sequel to the original Civilization game, is coming early next month to iOS devices, publishing label 2K Games and developer Fireaxis announced Monday.

The game has been designed from the ground up for mobile devices, unlike the current Civilization Revolution which is basically an iOS (and console) port of the 2008 PC original.

Revolution 2 is slated to launch on July 2 and we'll make sure to tell you all about it as soon as it hits the App Store...

Two-character messaging app Yo breaks past one million users

Yo, that stupendously simple viral messaging app which lets people exchange ultra-short two-character "Yo" messages, now has over a million users.

The free of charge app, born out of an April Fool's Day joke and released just four days ago as a single-tap zero character communication tool for the iPhone, immediately got featured on the App Store's Top Free charts and is currently sitting at the ninth place...

Amazon updates Instant Video for iOS with First Episode Free, HBO content and more

The online retail giant Amazon has issued a pretty substantial update to its free video-streaming iOS app, Instant Video. Now bumped to version 2.7, the app offers the ability to stream the first episodes of selected TV shows for free, as part of the Amazon First Episode Free feature, with advertising breaks before and during video playback.

Additionally, you'll notice all-new playback controls, the addition of HBO shows such as The Sopranos, The Wire and Deadwood and more...

The best apps for diabetics

Diabetics must pay close attention to the things they do and don’t put into their bodies. Keeping track of important data can be a daunting task.

We’ve got a list of what we think are the best apps for diabetics. Check them out to see if one of them is right for you.

Grub turns the classic game of ‘Snake’ into something worth playing again

Do you remember the game Snake? Some might even argue that it was the earliest mobile game, at least on a phone and not as a separate device. Players would control a stack of pixels that would grow every time the snake would reach the tiny dot. If you touched the edge, you’d die. If you got too long and ran into yourself, you’d die.

Grub takes the basic concept of snake and reimagines it for today’s mobile needs. It is much more colorful and animated than the 1997 version. Plus there is more to the game than trying to catch one tiny dot…

Apps of the week: PlunderNauts, Grub, Fuse, and more

This may not have been the best week for new apps and games, but the good ones that did come out really brought back some memories for me. Sometimes I forget that life goes on.

This week, we’ve got a list of apps and games that we think you’ll find interesting. Maybe some of them will even spark your memory and we can share a moment of nostalgia together. Check out our list of Apps of the Week below…

Godfire review: this game is about as console quality as it gets on iOS

These days, game developers are trying harder than ever to push the boundaries of what is possible with mobile gaming. No, we still aren’t there yet, but every day brings us closer to console quality gaming in the palm of our hands.

Godfire: Rise of Prometheus is one of those games that maxes out the iPhone and iPad’s abilities by offering a graphically complex game with fast action gameplay in a fairly large world. Read our game review of Godfire below…

Path jumps on the private messaging bus, releases new Talk for iPhone app

Path, the private social network for families and close friends, is jumping on the messaging bandwagon with launch of a new privacy-focused, standalone messaging software for the iPhone.

Available free in the App Store, Path Talk is basically a spin-off of Path's in-app messenger. For starters, your message exchanges get automatically wiped out from the servers after 24 hours.

And, Path Talk has a nice Ambient Status feature that automatically lets your friends know when you’re in transit, in the neighborhood and even low on battery, possibly helping reduce some misunderstandings in online communication...

Sega discounts Sonic games to 99 cents

Encouraged by strong response to April's 99-cent sale of Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the Japanese games maker Sega has put in effect a massive Sonic games sale.

Valid for a limited-time only, as many as seven Sonic releases have been slashed from a few bucks to just 99 cents, including Sonic Jump, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing and Sonic CD, to mention a few.

Go past the fold for the full list of discounted games along with their download links...

Yo hack compromises your phone contacts, but fix is underway

Yesterday, I told you about Yo, a ridiculous new messaging app which lets people exchange two-character "Yo" messages. Some like Stephen Colbert have eviscerated Yo for being utterly useless and plain dumb while others point out the fact that it's received more than $1 million in VC-backed funding as a proof that the mobile messaging space is booming with innovation.

Be that as it may, turns out the controversial software poses something of a security risk as a pair of college students have found a vulnerability allowing them to compromise any Yo user’s phone number, spam them with unsolicited messages and more.

Yo founder Or Arbel has confirmed that the app was “having security issues” and has promised to deliver a fix “in next few hours”...

Air Stylus turns iPad into pressure-sensitive drawing tablet for your Mac

Both FiftyThree's Surface Pressure technology coming to its Pencil stylus this Fall and Adobe's new Ink stylus offer a glimpse of iOS 8′s variable touch sizing technology that allows these accessories to vary the pressure, thickness and width of lines you create.

Say you're an artist in a desperate need of a drawing tablet. Sure, you could pick up a dedicated Mac drawing tablet from the likes of Wacom, Intuos and others.

But why spend hundreds of dollars on a dedicated drawing surface when you already have one in your home - your iPad? All you need to turn your beloved Apple tablet into a pressure-sensitive drawing tablet for the Mac is Air Stylus, a $19.99 app from Avatron...

Warner Bros. releases ‘LEGO Marvel Super Heroes: Universe in Peril’ for iOS

In a somewhat surprising move, Warner Bros. has released a new game from its popular Lego franchise for iOS called 'LEGO Marvel Super Heroes: Universe in Peril'. The title, which landed on PCs and consoles last year, is now available on both the iPhone and iPad.

Like most LEGO games, Marvel Super Heroes: Universe in Peril falls in the action adventure genre. Players take control of Iron Man, Spider-Man, the Hulk and other Marvel characters in an effort to stop villains from building weapon capable of destroying the world...