Apps

Apps of the Week: Monument Valley, Fantastical 2 for iPad, and more

So, last weekend, I took a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth. I and my companions each had a different “line” app that was supposed to tell us how long the wait times were for each ride. What I learned that day is that none of them are accurate and all of them make you want to just sit down and eat a churro because you know about how long the line is before you even get to the ride.

If you are looking for something to entertain you while waiting in ridiculously long lines, we have a list of apps and games that should keep you from losing your cool…

TinyCo posts teaser video for upcoming Family Guy game

We've been following the progress of the Family Guy mobile project since it was first announced last year. The series is one of the most popular on television right now, and many believe the game has the potential to give The Simpsons: Tapped Out a run for its money.

In fact, the two games will be very similar. TinyCo has said that 'Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff' will be a free-to-play title with various resource management elements. And today, the developers offered up even more information on the project along with a new teaser...

Kotoro lets you mix colors in a fun puzzle game

When you were a kid, you probably learned about colors. First, we learned about the basic spectrum of primary colors, red, yellow, and blue. Then, we learned about secondary and tertiary colors. Red and yellow make orange. Red and orange make red-orange, etc.

Kotoro is a puzzle game that combines a similar game mechanic as Osmos, but uses colors instead of creatures.  Mix colors to create new ones. Don’t mix the wrong ones or you won’t be able to get the right hue…

Expedia now giving away free travel-related iOS apps, starting with Over

If you're the type who enjoys seeing new places and meeting new and interesting people, chances are you're using Expedia to plan your trips.

Originally started by the Windows giant Microsoft, the online travel service was later spun off as a separate entity because it was "no longer about software intensive technology" and they were "concerned that they would not do their best at this."

Since then, Expedia's been doing great: it's grown into a multi-billion dollar business and is now the world's largest full-service online travel company. Expedia.com is ranked the 138th website in the United States by the web traffic reporting service Alexa.

They have a decent iOS application and now Expedia is offering free iPhone and iPad apps related to traveling as part of its new 'Media Lounge' service.

Expedia Hotels & Flights for iOS has been bumped to version 3.6 and can now be downloaded free from the App Store. Hit the break for more info...

Facebook Pages Manager 3.0 is out with new pinning and editing features

Facebook has posted an update for its Pages Manager this afternoon, bringing the app to version 3.0. The update includes the usual bug fixes and performance improvements, as well as a handful of new pinning and editing features.

Pages users can now pin and unpin posts to the top of their Page timelines from within the app, allowing them to highlight important events and other announcements. You can also now create and edit events on the iPad, and more...

Kodak launches new ‘Moments’ photo book app for iPad

A familiar name popped up in the App Store under the 'Photography' section today. Just 6 months after officially exiting bankruptcy, Kodak has released a new app called 'Kodak Moments for iPad' that allows customers to create and order photo books, prints and enlargements using drag-and-drop on their tablets.

The app is the product of Kodak Alaris—the personalized and document imaging businesses group that retained the license to the Kodak brand following Eastman Kodak's exit from bankruptcy last fall—which already has a handful of low-key iPhone apps. But this is the firm's first significant software release for iPad...

IFTTT now plays nice with iPad, offers iOS Notification Center integration

IFTTT (If This Then That) is a powerful web automation services that lets you create complex rules called recipes to automatically perform actions when certain values change or criteria are met.

For instance, I use an IFTTT recipe which automatically changes my profile pic on Twitter and other social networks whenever my Facebook profile image changes. Used it wisely and IFTTT can save you from repetitive task.

And beacuse I'm not an animal, I've grown to like IFTTT a lot and depend on it. In its latest version 2.0 update that surfaced on the App Store earlier today, IFTTT now plays nice with iPads while introducing new triggers and Recipe collections, including the tremendously useful iOS Notification Center one!

Hit the break for the full reveal...

Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote for iPad hit 12M downloads

Seven days into the Office for iPad release on Apple's platform, the native Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote applications for the iPad have been downloaded twelve million times, the Windows giant confirmed on Twitter this morning.

Microsoft released Word, Excel and PowerPoint as individual downloads for the iPad on March 27, 2014. The software giant's note-taking app, OneNote, hit the App Store ten days earlier, on March 17, 2014.

OneNote got refreshed the same day native Word, Excel and PowerPoint debuted on the App Store to bring it in line with the rest of the Office for iPad suite. You can download Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote individually in the App Store, for free...

Twitter’s Vine app updated with direct messaging, custom profile colors and more

Twitter's Vine app today received its largest update since it debuted last year, bringing the iOS client to version 2.0. The update includes a number of improvements, but easily the biggest change is the addition of a new private video messaging feature called Vine Messages (or VMs).

The concept behind a VM is simple. All you do is select the new 'Messages' option in the navigation menu, record a video and send it out to your friends. You can send VMs out to anyone, but users have the ability to choose who they want to receive messages from—friends followers, etc...

Facebook rolling out free VoiP calling in Messenger to everyone

Ever since launching its totally redesigned Messenger app last November, the social networking giant Facebook's been dragging its feet in terms of enabling VoIP calling for everyone.

For users in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, this useful feature has been part of the old Messenger app for quite some time now.

Today, Facebook issued a minor update to Messenger for iOS that seemingly enables free voice calling over Wi-Fi and low-cost calls over cellular for everyone.

The update is available in the App Store so grab it now and check out free calling in Facebook Messenger...

Pebble iOS app is back on the App Store

Smartwatch maker Pebble recently issued an update to its companion iOS app, but was quickly forced to pull the software over a fatal flaw that broke the Bluetooth connection between the smartwatch and the iPhone, rendering your Pebble non-functional.

As developers fixed the issue, the Pebble app has just been re-released on the App Store.

Available now free of charge, Pebble version 2.1.1 fixes issue with the previous version while introducing new watchfaces and a couple new features.

Jump past the fold to learn more...

‘Warhammer 40,000: Storm of Vengeance’ hits the App Store

Wow, it has been an absolute monster day for iOS game releases. First there was 'Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft,’ which hit App Stores in select countries, then FTL for iPad came out, and now we have 'Warhammer 40,000: Storm of Vengeance.'

Games Workshop's Storm of Vengeance is a lane strategy game for PC and mobile devices set in the dark, gothic universe of Warhammer 40K. Players can play as both Dark Angels and Orks, tasked with either defending their planet, or destroying it...