Apps

Apple Store app is giving away free music

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 6, 2014

As an incentive meant to drive customers to buy their iPhones straight from one of Apple's retail stores in the United States rather than from carriers and other retailers, Apple last August started offering free digital content through its Apple Store shopping app, a free download for the iPhone and iPad.

After offering Electronic Arts’ excellent take on the classic Tetris game last month, the iPhone maker has now updated its free content promo by replacing the block-dropping game with a few “exciting new tracks helping to define this year’s musical landscape".

Here's how to claim your free music now...

Sunrise Calendar now supports Exchange accounts

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2018

Sunrise Calendar [review], a free iOS calendar alternative, has finally introduced long-expected support for Microsoft Exchange accounts for corporate calendars, making it on par with the stock iOS Calendar app.

Now available free in the App Store, this much-expected feature in the new Sunrise Calendar version 2.2 makes it easy to connect your Exchange account directly in the app to access your work-related tasks and events on the iPhone and iPad.

Support for Exchange accounts is in addition to the existing iCloud and Google calendar integration. Before linking your Exchange calendars with Sunrise, you must first add an Exchange account to your device in iOS Settings under Mail, Contacts, Calendars...

Paypal updated with new security features, Smart Connect support and more

Cody Lee ∙ March 6, 2014

Folks who use eBay's PayPal payment service will be happy to hear that the company updated its iOS client this morning, bringing the app to version 5.4. The update brings about an important new security feature as well as various other improvements.

The new security feature allows you to attach your mobile phone to your PayPal account so that they can be sure it's you authorizing activity. It does this by linking the phone number(s) of the device(s) you use PayPal on to your 4-digit security PIN code...

Apple to bring full-screen video iAds to iOS apps this year

Cody Lee ∙ March 5, 2014

AdAge is reporting this afternoon that Apple is looking to roll out new video iAds for iPhone and iPad later this year. Citing people with knowledge of the company's plans, the outlet says that these 'interstitial' ads will automatically play in full-screen on iOS devices.

The way it works currently, iAds are much less obtrusive: a user must click on a mobile banner for a brand's ad video to play. Under the new format, developers could opt to display TV commercial-like ads during moments of transition, like in between game levels...

This free Mac util lets you open iCloud Tabs in any web browser

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 5, 2014

Apple's iCloud is a great way to keep your content synchronized across any number of Macs, iPhones, iPads and iPod touches.

It keeps your photos, calendar items, contacts, passwords and more up to date across devices, including Safari items like bookmarks and open tabs.

This useful feature, called iCloud Tabs, unfortunately is limited to the Apple ecosystem and only works with the company's own Safari browser for the Mac and iOS. As a result, people who rely on a non-Apple browser such as Mozilla's Firefox or Google's Chrome are unable to access the tabs they have open on their other devices.

That is, unless they consider CloudyTabs, a nifty little utility by Josh Parnham that puts iCloud Tabs right in the Mac’s menu bar...

Flipboard buys news reader app Zite for $60 million

Cody Lee ∙ March 5, 2014

Flipboard has announced this morning that it has acquired popular news reader app Zite from CNN. The company didn't disclose pricing details, but word has it that it went for $60 million and part of the deal is that Flipboard will begin syndicating CNN content inside its apps.

For those unfamiliar with the app, it's billed as an 'intelligent magazine' that helps you discover interesting things to read. Almost like a Pandora for RSS feeds, Zite analyzes millions of articles each day to offer you content on over 40K topics based on your habits and preferences...

Gmail updated with iOS 7 Background App Refresh, streamlined sign in experience

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 5, 2014

Google's free Gmail app for the iPhone and iPad is being continuously improved and that's a good thing.

Now, I myself am a Mailbox convert so the only reason for keeping Gmail on my device is to occasionally check out new features. If anything, today's Gmail update gives me two new reasons to reconsider handling my email in Gmail more frequently. Now available, Gmail 3.0 brings out two major improvements.

Firstly, the app now uses Background App Refresh, a new iOS 7 technology which lets apps ask the operating system to retrieve new content even if they're not running. As a result, switching from one app back to Gmail immediately serves up-to-date inbox, negating the need to manually refresh content.

And secondly, it improves the experience by signing you in automatically using the same Google Account defined in Google's other iOS apps, such as Maps and Google+...

Encrypted chat app ‘Cryptocat’ now available on iOS

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Popular encrypted chat app Cryptocat has launched this week for iOS. Originally available as a desktop app and a browser plugin, the app offers strong encryption and secrecy for text conversations, as well as protection from government intrusion thanks to its Swedish nuclear bunker headquarters.

This week's iOS launch comes after an initial rejection by Apple's app review team in December. Cryptocat's founder Nadim Kobeissi called Apple's reason for rejection 'illegitimate,' but it's obvious someone or something had to give because the app is now available for download in the App Store...

Walking Dead: The Game S2 Ep 2 coming to iOS this week

Cody Lee ∙ March 4, 2014

Get excited Walking Dead fans. Telltale Games has just announced that the second episode of Walking Dead: The Game — Season 2 will be landing on iOS later this week. Titled 'A House Divided,' Ep2 will continue the storyline set forth in Ep 1 released back in December.

For those unfamiliar with the game, Walking Dead: The Game follows the story of Clementine, a young girl orphaned by the undead apocalypse. Left to fend for herself, she must track down other survivors, explore new locations and make gruesome decisions to stay alive...

Facebook updates Paper with new sharing options, sound settings and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 24, 2018

Facebook has posted an update for its just-released Paper app this morning, bringing the app to version 1.0.2. The update adds a handful of new features, as well as several improvements including those in the form of reliability and performance.

On the new feature front, Facebook has added the ability to share articles via Facebook Messages, text message, or email. And you can also now turn off the app's sound effects so you can browse through the posts of your friends and family in peace...

Twitter ‘system error’ causes mass reset of user passwords

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

Folks who received an email from Twitter tonight letting them know that their password has been reset are not alone. Thousands of users have come forward over the last 6 hours claiming that Twitter has force-reset their passwords, and requested that they create new ones.

The good news is that it doesn't sound like the social network was hacked, or overrun with nefarious bots. A spokesperson for the company has confirmed to tech site Recode that a 'system error' caused the mass reset of user passwords, and the problem should be fixed now...

Primal Flame – play with fire in this atmospheric arcade game

Lory Gil ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Many popular atmospheric games use the black, white, and gray color scheme to give you a dreamlike visual experience. The characters might be shadowed in black, while the backdrop is detailed with interesting illustrations.

In Primal Flame, players are surrounded by the dark with only the glow of their flame to show them the way. The backdrops are detailed with interesting illustrations, but it’s the foreground you have to watch out for…