Apps

Instagram and Facebook stepping up fight against spammers

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 16, 2014

Facebook-owned Instagram has responded to complaints from users who have noticed a sharp increase in the number of fake accounts and followers that are spamming them. If you fire up Instagram's free iPhone app and hit the Following button, you'll see a message about changes in followers.

"We've removed deactivated and spam accounts," the message reads. "Your list of followers and people you follow may have changed" as a result.

This is a welcomed albeit way overdue change.

I've been a frequent victim of spammers on Instagram. Some of these guys are really smart in how they get on your Following list with the ultimate goal of populating your feed with spammy posts often disguised as so-called viral images and videos...

Fandango app updated with new design, new rating system and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 9, 2018

Whether you use it or not, the Fandango Movies app for iOS is a fairly big deal. Not only does it offer up movie info and trailers, but it also facilitates theater ticket purchases. In fact, you can start the process with Siri, as Fandango is deeply integrated into the assistant.

Anyway, the app got a major makeover this morning, with the release of Fandango 6.0. You'll notice the visual changes right away—particularly in movie pages, theater lists—as well as the all-new ratings system, spotlight carousel, and a number of other enhancements...

Real Racing 3 updated with new ‘open wheel’ vehicles, expanded roster and more

Cody Lee ∙ April 15, 2014

Hot on the heels of its major Aston Martin update last month, the folks at EA have posted another new version of its popular Real Racing 3 game today that brings about new 'open wheel' vehicles, an expanded roster and more.

The new vehicles fall under the new 'Open Wheelers' category, and include classics such as the Caterham Seven 620R, Ariel Atom 3.5 and Atom V8. The 2014 Porsche 911 RSR and Hyundai Veloster Turbo have also been added...

Google launches new ‘Helpouts’ iPhone app

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 21, 2019

Google this afternoon launched an iPhone client for its growing learning and tutorial service called Helpouts. The app gives users the ability to find and schedule Helpouts, start their own free Helpout, read reviews and listing details, and send other users messages.

For those unfamiliar with Google's 'Helpouts' service, it's a website that connects you to experts from various fields including cooking, health and Art & Music. These experts hold video classes teaching you how to do everything from playing the guitar, to editing photos...

China Mobile iPhone sales boosting App Store downloads in China, pushing revenue up 70 percent

Jake Smith ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

App Store downloads and sales have risen vastly in China, following the deal between Apple and China Mobile to launch the iPhone on the world's-largest carrier during the first quarter of 2014.

Research website App Annie found in a report released Tuesday morning that China was the key market for iOS App Store growth during the first quarter of 2014, boosting revenue on the China App Store up around 70 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2013.

Screens VNC 3.0 for Mac is out with all-new design, menu bar icon and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2018

Fans of Edovia's 'Screens' application will be happy to hear that the studio has updated the popular VNC client for Mac to version 3.0. The release follows a major update to the iOS app in December, and brings an all-new design, several new features and various other improvements.

For those who haven't used Screens VNC before, it enables you to connect to your Windows, Mac or Linux computer from virtually anywhere in the world. The remote connection is secure, and provides access to your files, applications, media, text documents and much more...

A&E and History Channel apps updated with live TV streaming

Cody Lee ∙ April 15, 2014

A little over a year ago, A&E Networks updated its iOS clients with on-demand programming. It was a fairly big move, as it allowed users to watch their favorite episodes of TV shows like Duck Dynasty and Storage Wars while on the go.

Today, A&E issued another major update for its mobile clients, this time adding live TV streaming to both A&E and History Channel iOS apps. So now you can watch live programming from each of the channels on your iPhone or iPad...

Tempo Smart Calendar gains free conference calls, app icon date and new alert sound

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 28, 2018

Tempo Smart Calendar by Tempo AI, Inc. is one of the best calendar apps for the iPhone. Best of all, Tempo is totally free (unlike some other premium calendar apps on the iOS platform). Today, the app got bumped to version 1.3, offering a new conference calling feature with up to five participants, free of charge and without ever leaving your calendar.

There's also a new custom alert sound and an option to add the current date to the Home screen app icon. The update is now live in the App Store...

$7 per month Office 365 Personal subscription plan launches with iPad editing

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2018

Microsoft last month released its native and rather nicely done Word, PowerPoint and Excel iPad apps as free downloads from the App Store. You're limited to using these apps to view Microsoft Office documents on your tablet as editing and creating new ones requires one of the many Office 365 subscriptions available.

The iPad apps launched with Microsoft's entry-level Office 365 Home subscription plan costing $9.99 per month. If you don't want to pay ten bucks per month just to edit Office documents, Microsoft now offers a more affordable Personal plan for $6.99 per month...

Amazon revamps Cloud Drive Photos for iOS 7, adds Timeline and other new features

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 14, 2014

Amazon today refreshed Cloud Drive Photos, its free iOS app that lets you store, view and access photographs and video files in the company's cloud-based storage service, Cloud Drive.

The app's been bumped to version 3.0 and completely redesigned with iOS 7 look and feel in mind that promises to "bring enjoyment back to viewing photos and videos on the go."

On top of the new looks, Cloud Drive Photos 3.0 brings out a Timeline thing (more on that later) that looks great on the iPad, has a simpler navigation with new sorting features, boasts upload enhancements with improved background fetching and more.

The update is now live in the App Store so grab it while it's hot...

MiniPlayer iOS jailbreak tweak is now available for Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

MiniPlayer, a gorgeous jailbreak tweak by Italian developer MPow, has been available on iOS for quite some time and with time, it's gotten even better.

As Jeff noted in his review of MiniPlayer 2.1 last May, this tweak makes it ridiculously easy to control your music directly from the app's interface with a simple tap and hold gesture on the now playing album art.

Subsequent updates have added more stuff like Play Next, enhanced scrubbing and search and what not. And yes, it's an iOS 7 compatible tweak.

If you've been loving MiniPlayer on your jailbroken iOS device, you can now have that compelling experience and minimalist user interface (courtesy of Surenix) on your Mac, too! Read on for the full reveal...

Pandora alarm clock now available on iPad, launches Pebble app for iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 14, 2014

You've been able to wake up to your favorite Pandora station since last December, assuming you're enjoying the popular Internet radio service on your iPhone. On Monday, Pandora has finally rolled out the useful alarm clock feature to the iPad.

It's pretty straightforward and works a lot like the alarm clock feature in the iPhone edition: you just pick your favorite song or station to play as your alarm, knowing you'll be woken up to your favorite music.

And should you decide you could use a few extra minutes of sleep instead of waking up early to eat breakfast, you can do so by adjusting your snooze time...