Apps

Facebook removing messaging feature from iOS app in favor of Messenger

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2018

Feeling chatty? Love Facebook? Good, get ready to embrace Facebook's polished Messenger app if you haven't already.

That's because the social networking giant is reportedly gearing up to kill chatting in its main iPhone and iPad application (available free in the App Store) and force users to download the nicely done Messenger software, also a free download.

The writing has been on the wall ever since Facebook revamped the Messenger app and rechristened the full-featured messaging tab in its mobile client as 'Messenger'. Instead of showing your messages, tapping that tab yanks you out of the Facebook app to launch Messenger...

Twitterrific 5 for iOS enhanced with several usability improvements, bug fixes

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 10, 2014

If you've been reluctant to purchase Iconfactory's excellent Twitter client for iOS, Twitterrific, there's no longer any reason not to give it a whirl as the team last month took the freemium route by making the app free with ads.

Of course, in-app purchases are available to unlock specific advanced features such as push notifications, ad removal and tweet translation. Now available free in the App Store, the freshly updated Twitterrific version 5.7.1 brings out several improvements and bug fixes, detailed after the jump...

‘Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff’ now available in the App Store

Cody Lee ∙ April 10, 2014

We've been looking forward to the new Family Guy game on iOS since it was first mentioned last December, and we're happy to say that it is now available for download. Head on over to the App Store, and you can grab 'Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff' for free.

For those who have missed our various posts on the title, the game is a joint venture between Fox and TinyCo studios, and it involves you helping Peter Griffin and the rest of the Quahog residents rebuild their city after it's destroyed. Read on for a full overview...

R.B.I. Baseball 14 hits a homerun in the App Store

Lory Gil ∙ April 9, 2014

Fans of the greatest baseball game of the late-1980s can finally get a chance to play the MLB’s modernized version of R.B.I. Baseball on the iPhone and iPad. Instead of trying to sell you on an overpriced port, or letting you download it for free only to hit you with a pay wall a few games later, MLB.com has revised the game for a new generation of baseball fans with a reasonable price tag and no in-app purchases.

R.B.I. Baseball 14 has been “reimagined” with modern day graphics, touch screen controls, and an old-school aesthetic that will take you back to your childhood, but not bore your kid to tears wondering where the action is…

Mailbox lands on Android, coming soon to OS X

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 13, 2018

Mailbox, the popular Dropbox-owned email client, announced this morning that it would be bringing its app to two new platforms: Android and OS X. The Android version will be available later today in the Google Play store, and the team says that the OS X version is "coming soon."

First launched on iPhone in February 2013, Mailbox is an email client that syncs up with Gmail, Yahoo Mail and iCloud. It's not feature-rich, but it stands out thanks to its gesture-based navigation and procrastination features, which let you delay various email actions to a later time...

Fire TV companion apps, Second Screen and Remote, hitting iOS soon

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

Tucked away as a side note in Amazon's Fire TV announcement last week is an interesting confirmation of a companion iOS app for the set-top box that's scheduled to launch later this year in the App Store.

The software will act as a second screen solution allowing Fire TV owners to fling Amazon TV shows and movies from their iPhone or iPad to the $99 set-top box, providing remote functionality with playback controls, support for Amazon's X-Ray technology that pulls media metadata from the web and more.

In addition to Second Screen, the official Fire TV app for smartphones and tablets will launch soon, providing virtual controls for touch-enabled games...

Apple seen testing push notifications for resolved Maps issues

Cody Lee ∙ April 9, 2014

Apple is apparently testing a new notification system for Maps, according to a report from MacRumors. The site has posted screenshots showing a new option that some users are seeing to receive a push notification when their reported issue with the app has been fixed.

It works like this: after choosing to 'Report a Problem' within the Maps app, users are given the option to be notified when engineers have fixed the issue. And once the problem has been resolved, Apple sends out a push notification to that user's device letting them know...

Downcast apps for iOS and Mac on sale for a limited time

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Folks looking to branch out in the world of podcast apps may want to check out Downcast for iOS and Mac. The two apps are considered by many to be best in their respective categories, and for a limited time, both of them are available at discounts of up to 50%.

The iPhone client, for those who haven't used it, is about as sharp as they come. It's packed with innovative features like gesture-based playback controls, and looks great thanks to its recent iOS 7 refresh. And the Mac version of the app is equally impressive...

Pocket updated with new languages, support for Medium and more

Cody Lee ∙ April 9, 2014

Last month, popular read-it-later service Pocket took its iOS client global, adding the support of French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish languages. Until then, the app could only display UI elements (not saved content) in English.

Today the service built on that achievement by adding support for 5 new languages, including both Chinese and Portuguese, via an app update. The release, marked as version 5.2.1, also features better support for Medium and other improvements....

Flashout 2 review: race in a future with flying cars and rockets

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 26, 2018

Racing games all have pretty much the same game mechanic. Drive fast, beat your opponent, and sometimes upgrade your car. No matter how many different versions of the game I play, I love every one of them. Racing is fun. Especially when you can blow your opponent to smithereens.

Flashout 2 is a racing game set in an utopian future where cars can fly, money litters the streets, and it is legal, in some cases required, for you to destroy your opponent…

Klout for iPhone goes 2.0: personalized content stream, topic explorer, Klout Perks and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2018

Klout started out in 2008 with the promise of measuring the world's influence. Although its rapid rise to fame has inspired a bunch of similar services, Klout has remained my favorite social media analytics.

Upon connecting your social media accounts with Klout, the service calculates your score on a scale of 1-100, depending on the popularity of your posts as measured by the number of interactions and reposts from your community, among other factors.

To derive your score, Klout processes an astounding 50 billion pieces of information every single day. Granted, Klout isn't the most accurate social analytics tool out there, but it does help you get noticed for your unique passions.

Besides, the team is dutifully adding new features on a regular basis. My only gripe with Klout: its sub-par iPhone app - and I'm using the term 'app' loosely here - that would only let me see my Klout score and nothing else.

Today's version 2.0 update changes all that by adding several much-needed features such as personalized content streams, the new content scheduler and topic explorers, Klout Perks and more...

Adobe Lightroom for iPad now available

Cody Lee ∙ April 8, 2014

Nearly a year ago, Adobe’s Tom Hogarty showed off an unnamed prototype iPad app that brought pro-level photo editing and image manipulation capabilities to the Apple tablet. Then in January, the company let it slip that an iPad version of Lightroom was in the works.

Today that app has landed in the App Store as Adobe Lightroom for iPad. From afar, the software looks powerful, capable of editing RAW DSLR photos and more. But, as with many professional mobile tools, you'll have to be a subscriber to Adobe's Cloud service to use it...