Apps

Day One journaling app becomes a publishing platform: you can now post diary entries online

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 27, 2018

Two days ago, Day One journaling app for iOS and OS X by Bloom Built has celebrated its third anniversary.

Having been a user since Day One's inception, I couldn't be happier with its clean and elegant design, rich Markdwon support and carefully balanced set of features letting me keep my personal memories, photos and life's best moments neatly organized in one place.

To this date, virtually not a day has gone by without me firing up Day One on my iPhone to capture my thoughts and feelings or simply snap up a memorable moment in time and spice it up with a punchy caption.

I also love Day One's inline photos, how it integrates location data from Foursquare, pulls weather information for entries and keeps my diary synchronized between iOS and Mac devices through iCloud. These are just some of the factors that prompted Apple to name Day One its 2012 Mac App of the Year and 2011 #1 Best App in the Mac App Store.

And now, Bloom Built has updated the iOS edition with Publish, a major new capability that turns your private entries into attractive web pages, available to anyone or just the people with whom you've shared the URL of the entry - the choice is yours.

Jump past the fold for the full breakdown...

Will Flappy Bird ever return to the App Store? The developer says it might

Cody Lee ∙ March 11, 2014

It would appear that the Flappy Bird saga is still far from over. The game's creator Dong Nguyen, who pulled the title from iOS and Android at the height of its popularity, says that he is considering returning the game to app stores.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Nguyen talks about a wide range of things, including why he pulled Flappy Bird in the first place, and how it has affected his life. He also says that he has been contemplating bringing the game back...

Snip & Chu is a handheld electronic game for the next generation

Lory Gil ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

In the 1980s, handheld electronic games were all the rage. They ranged from clamshell style devices that were later used for Nintendo’s DS, to mini games that you could play on a watch. They featured an LCD screen with pre-set custom designs and a visual output similar to digital watch displays.

Snip & Chu harkens back to the old days with an iPad version of the handheld electronic games that we envied as kids and hoped to see in our Christmas stocking every year…

Instagram for iPhone introduces Lux filter slider

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 11, 2014

Facebook-owned Instagram has introduced the popular Lux filter via a free update back in February 2012. Lux is admittedly a nice new way to enhance your photos, but there's just one slight problem: Instagram's one-touch implementation leaves a lot to be desired.

For starters, the effect has no options to fiddle with. For those unaware of Lux, it reduces overexposure and uses sharpening and fill light tweaks to make your shots warmer and people prettier.

It's quite handy in low-light and low-contrast situations, even more so if you take lots of selfies using the iPhone's sub-par front-facing camera. Realizing folks need more control over Lux, Instagram has updated its free iPhone app with a custom Lux slider...

Yahoo Search app updated with new iOS 7 design

Cody Lee ∙ March 11, 2014

Yahoo has updated its official Search client for iOS this morning, bringing the app to version 3.1. The update doesn't include much, but is instantly noticeable thanks to the all new design. Yahoo calls it 'minimalist,' but we often refer to this as iOS 7-style.

For those who aren't familiar with it, the app is pretty much your standard web engine with a built-in browser, but of course with Yahoo's services. So for folks invested in the ecosystem with either Mail or Tumblr, it could offer more than Google or Bing...

Rovio teases yet another new Angry Birds game

Cody Lee ∙ March 11, 2014

It hasn't even been a month yet since Rovio unveiled its new game 'Angry Birds Stella,' and the studio has already begun to tease a new title for its hit franchise. A 30-second clip showing a bird wearing a suit of armor popped up on Rovio's YouTube channel over the weekend.

The trailer instructs users to prepare for the most 'epic soft launch ever,' suggesting that the new game will be launching in the near future. It also tells us that the game will be arriving in Australia and Canada first, with other countries to follow shortly after. View the clip below...

Apple updates Remote app with better iTunes Radio control, purchased content support, more

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 10, 2014

You're probably aware by now that Apple today released iOS 7.1 with CarPlay support and improvements to Siri, Touch ID and more (jailbreakers should stay away from this update, for now).

Additionally, the firm's unleashed a companion Apple TV 6.1 software update with a new way to hide Home screen icons and seeded Xcode 5.1 and iAd Producer 4.1.2 (both with iOS 7.1 compatibility) to its registered iOS devs.

And now, the iPhone maker's free Remote app for the iPhone and iPad has received an update with support for accessing your past TV show and movie purchases and more. Remote 4.2 is available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch free in the App Store...

Tweetbot 3.3 is out with larger images, Avenir font, mute enhancements and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

Just in time for the SXSW conference, Tweetbot developer Tapbots has just issued a new version of its popular Twitter client for the iPhone and iPod touch. Tweetbot 3.3 is now available as a free update to existing owners and includes a larger image thumbnail option, another option to hide current tweets after muting, the ability to use Avenir as a new font option in the display settings and more. I've included some additional tidbits, the screenies and your official changelog right after the break...

Medium iPhone app is coming next week

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 9, 2014

Medium, a rising blog publishing platform dedicated to high-quality writing, is launching its native iPhone application next week, The New York Times' Bits Blog reported yesterday. Filing as Medium's first mobile application since the service's inception in 2012, the app will initially be strictly focused on reading Medium posts and won't include editing functionality akin to, say, WordPress's free iOS app.

The service already has a great mobile site that looks business on small form-factor devices and releasing a native iPhone app could go a long way toward boosting its appeal among mainstream users...

Updated iTunes Festival channel added to Apple TV for SXSW

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Following the release of an updated iTunes Festival app for iOS on Thursday, Apple has rolled out a new TV channel for its Apple TV. For us, the icon is showing up in the second row of icons, right in the middle, so it's almost impossible to miss.

Clicking on the icon takes you to the Festival channel, where you can get the low-down on all of the major acts that are going to be playing at Apple's SXSW event this week. You can also view their concert dates and listen to samples of their music...

Brushstroke turns your pictures into paintings you can mount on your wall

Lory Gil ∙ March 8, 2014

Most of the time, filter apps give you some interesting tints, atmospheric frames, or tilt-shifting blur effects. There are even a few that will turn you into a cartoon or pencil sketch. Sometimes, though a photo effects app will really do something special to your image.

Brushstroke is one of those effects apps that completely remakes your pictures into a faux painting. Even more interesting, you can buy a mounted canvas print of your image and hang it on your wall…

Apps of the Week: SXSW GO, CASHFLOW, Cryptocat, and more

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 27, 2019

This has been a great week for apps and games. New titles are coming out that are exciting, useful, and entertaining. Old titles are getting awesome updates to make them even better than before.

If you are like me, always searching for something new to try out in the App Store, we have a list of apps and games that will occupy your brain cells this weekend…