Apps

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

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

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

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

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

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...

Readdle updates Calendars with new iPad UI, custom reminders on iPhone

Ukrainian developer Readdle has updated its free and paid Calendar apps for iOS with a refreshed user interface on the iPad sporting better layout and improved navigation. On the iPhone, the new Calendars 5.4 lets you set customer reminders and both editions include a pair of maintenance fixes and other improvements.

Now available to download in the App Store, both the free Calendars app and the $2.99 premium Calendars have been updated with the aforementioned features...

Nintendo DS emulator that runs on both non-jailbroken and jailbroken iOS devices arrives

Back in February, GBA4iOS 2.0 released with iOS 7 controller support and Dropbox integration, running fine on both non-jailbroken and jailbroken devices.

If you're not a big fan of Game Boy Advanced, Game Boy Color and original Gameboy games, how about a similar iOS emulator that lets you play Nintendo DS titles, no jailbreak required whatsoever?

Enter NDS4iOS, now available to install through an over-the air download via the NDS4iOS website. This app has been available for ages, but not for non-jailbroken devices. Starting today, NDS4iOS supports both non-jailbroken and jailbroken iPhone and iPad devices, allowing you to play Nintendo DS ROMs though you'll need to set your device's date back to February 8, 2014 to install it properly...

Readdle’s Printer Pro for iPhone is free today only

AirPrint, Apple's wireless printing technology is great except when it is not. The problem with AirPrint: limited vendor support. Unless you own a printer that works with AirPrint, you're out of luck.

But things don't have to be this way and thanks to a myriad of printer-related apps on the App Store, you can easily send images, documents and other content in select iOS apps to non-AirPrint printers.

One of the best printer apps on the App Store, Printer Pro for iPhone by Ukrainian developer Readdle has gone free for the next 24 hours. This nicely done and powerful productivity app normally retails for five bucks a pop so now's a good time to grab Printer Pro for iPhone free of charge if you haven't already...

Mextures 2.0 comes with new features including full photo editing, shared formulas and more

Last May, we took a look at Mextures and found it to be one of the best filter apps for adding subtle effects and layered textures to your photos. The app uses “Formulas” that are similar to what you might see in a photographer’s dark room. Mextures has also made an appearance on a multitude of our photography-related app lists, and was named photo app of 2013 by Apple.

Today, Mextures received a major update with a plethora of new features, including formula sharing, photo editing, new Formulas, and more. The app also received a user interface redesign and is now faster than ever at processing and exporting images…

Apps of the week: Rollercoaster Tycoon 4, Trials Frontier, Carousel, and more

If someone told me that I wouldn’t be able to use my iPhone and iPad for a whole week, I might fall apart. It's not that I need to stay connected to friends and family (although I do care about their well-being). The real problem is that I am a little bit addicted to finding new apps and games to check out.

Because I love testing new apps and games so much, it makes it easier for you to decide what to pick up. If you are looking for a fun title to pass the time, or maybe need to organize all of your Dropobox pictures, we’ve got a list of apps and games you may like this weekend…

Harmonix announces upcoming ‘Record Run’ game for iOS

The name Harmonix is legendary in the console gaming world, as it was behind a number of popular games in the early 2000's—Guitar Hero, Rock Band and Dance Central to name a few. And now it's hoping that success will translate into the mobile world.

The studio announced its first mobile game yesterday at PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) East called 'Record Run.' It's an endless runner of sorts that asks players to avoid various obstacles and collect vinyl records, while jogging to the beat of a custom soundtrack...

Deluxe Edition of Sim City 4 launches as $19.99 Mac App Store exclusive

The Mac edition of Sim City, an open-ended city-building video game which debuted on the PC back in 2003, was released in August of last year.

Previously available as a boxed product, Aspyr Media on Friday announced that SimCity 4: Deluxe Edition has made a triumphant return to the Mac. The game's available in the Mac App Store as a digital download that'll join Steam and other Mac digital outlets in coming weeks.

Deluxe edition of Sim City includes both SimCity 4 and the Rush Hour expansion pack, which gives you more control over your city’s transportation options and challenges you to build out a region of cities. And, you get two bonus disasters: UFO attack and Autosaurus Wrecks.

On top of all the goodies you've come to love about Sim City, Deluxe edition includes a nice Mac-exclusive feature allowing your iTunes library to be played in the game.

The $19.99 game can be found exclusively in the Mac App Store...