Apps

Apple updates its App Store guidelines to allow for virtual currency apps

Good news for iPhone and iPad users that are into cryptocurrencies. Following the unveiling of iOS 8 during Apple's WWDC keynote yesterday, the company has updated its App Store review guidelines with a new section dedicated specifically to virtual currencies.

It seems that after pulling the Bitcoin wallet app Blockchain, and other crypto wallet-related titles from the App Store, Apple has had a change of heart. It's now ready to accept applications that deal in the transmission of virtual currencies—at least to a limited degree...

Apple announces 2014 Design Awards winners

Apple has selected twelve apps that it feels "combine design and technology in creative, compelling, and powerful ways" as its 2014 Design Awards winners. The company announced the winners as part of its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco this afternoon.

The winners are as follows: Sky Guide: View Stars Night or Day, Cinemagraph Pro, Storehouse - Visual Storytelling, Monument Valley, Threes!, DEVICE 6, Blek, Leo's Fortune, Day One, Yahoo News Digest, Teachley: Addimals Adventure and PanoPerfect. Read ahead for a rundown of each app…

Apple unveils new ‘Health’ app for iOS 8

As several reports predicted, Apple is getting into the Healthcare industry with iOS 8 by introducing a new app called 'Health.' Health provides an easy-to-access hub where iPhone owners can store and monitor important fitness and health-related metrics.

As explained by Craig Federighi, this is a huge improvement over the current situation, where this kind of information is spread across multiple apps and services. And of course, Apple also introduced HealthKit for developers, which means 3rd-party integration...

The best recipe apps for iPhone and iPad

Even if you don't cook on a regular basis, it's always nice to have a good recipe book on hand. Whether you're trying to impress that special someone, or you've been tapped to bake cookies for the office party, there are occasions when you need to flex your cooking skills.

Luckily, the invention of smartphones and the App Store have put thousands of great recipe books in the palm of your hand. And wouldn't you know it, the iDB team has taken the time to sift through all of the noise to pick out the best recipe apps for iPhone and iPad.

Mobile hit ‘Candy Crush’ made more money than all Nintendo games last quarter

Critics have been saying for years that Nintendo should get into the mobile gaming business. It's not just that the company's hardware business is slipping, or that it's losing money, but mobile games happens to be a very hot space right now.

Case in point is this recent report from research firm Newzoo, which ranks public companies by game revenue. According to the firm's data, hit mobile title Candy Crush generated more money last quarter than all Nintendo titles combined...

Apps of the week: Dragon Quest VIII, EverClip 2, TwoDots, and more

I’m back in business again this weekend. Thanks to Joe for taking over for me last week. He did a bang up job of letting you guys know about great new apps and games to check out for the weekend while I was burning the midnight oil for 24 hours at Disneyland.

This week, if you are like me and plan on keeping your feet propped up on a chair while doing nothing important all weekend long, we’ve got a list of apps and games that are sure to preoccupy your time, mind, and energy…

Item printing resurrected in 1Password for iOS, iTunes backups added

1Password by AgileBits, one of the finest password management utilities on iOS and OS X, has received an update in the App Store today.

For starters, the new version 4.5.2 brings back the item printing feature after previously being removed. Next, this edition of 1Password adds another syncing option, in addition to Dropbox and iCloud: iTunes.

This allows you to store backups of your passwords, notes, credit cards and other private information as local files that can be accessed and copied to your computer using the iTunes File Sharing feature. You should also experience faster syncing and more reliable performance overall.

1Password for the iPhone and iPad is $17.99 in the App Store...

1TapVolume makes audio adjustment a snap

I know what you might be thinking right now. Why would we be spotlighting such an ugly looking app, right? This is one of those occasions where looks don’t matter. It’s ability that counts, especially in the case of this volume control app.

1TapVolume is a utility app that makes it possible for you to turn your iPhone’s volume up to full, mute it, or adjust it to any preset level with a single tap, no jailbreak required. No more futzing about with those pesky volume buttons, especially if those buttons have stopped working on your iPhone…

Google Play Music adds Downloaded Only filter, playlist editing, Shuffle Artist and more

Google's iOS client for its Play Music service has received a little update today bringing a few useful enhancement to make the experience better and less frictionless. For starters, the new Google Play Music version 1.2.1.1787 has removed a major annoyance: you can now finally edit playlists on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. Needless to say, any changes made to a playlist on one device instantly reflect on all your others.

And when sorting through your cloud music library, the app now makes it dead simple to filter only the tracks that you've downloaded to your device for offline listening. There are two other additions, explained after the break.

Google Play Music is free in the App Store...

Rdio gains push notifications

Rdio has updated its free radio streaming app for the iPhone and iPad with some bug fixes and a brand new, albeit long overdue, feature: push notifications. That's right, you can now elect to received push alerts for various social activities going on in your stream.

The Internet radio app offers a catalog of 25 million songs and now you can get notified when someone shares a song with you, follows you on the service, subscribes to your playlist and more.

Push alerts settings are granular so you can choose to receive alerts for specific events and mute alerts for the others. For example, you could tell Rdio to send notifications to your device only for new songs shared with you...

TwoDots hits the App Store: there goes your productivity again!

So you've burned lots of midnight oil playing Dots, an insanely addictive game about connecting that the fine folks at Betaworks put out a year ago?

Fans who used to call in sick due to migraine headaches (caused by prolonged starring at a small iPhone screen) should get themselves ready to be creative again with a new round of excuses, evasions and lies for their bosses because the official Dots sequel has arrived.

It's called TwoDots, but don't let the unimaginatively titled game fool you - the Dots follow-up is bound to ruin your productivity, all over again. Free for the iPhone and iPad with (optional) In-App Purchases that you can do without, TwoDots brings an interesting twist to the already proven and wildly popular Dots formula...