Apps

Tikr puts a social twist on a countdown app

I am the kind of person that can’t stop thinking about fun things coming up in the future. I am especially bad with trips. I love to countdown the days until a big trip to Yosemite or Disneyland. I mark my calendar and tick off the days until it happens.

Tikr is a countdown app that does more than just offer a time counter. It also finds dates and events for you to track. You’ll never be without something to look forward to…

Apps of the Week: Documents 5, ETA, Globo, and more

I’m starting to worry about the weather in California. In my area, it rained pretty hard all day yesterday, but now the sun is shining down like it is a spring day today. Even in California, I’m just not used to all of this winter sunshine. “Winter is coming,” my foot.

If you are planning a trip to my side of the country this weekend and need to know how long it will take, or need a better way to manage your files, we have a list of apps and games we think are pretty darn good, rain or shine…

Solve challenging physics puzzles with Enigmo: Explore

The 2-D puzzle games in Enigmo have been fan favorites since Pangea Software presented them in 2003. The original title launched a sequel in 2009 that feature not just 3-D graphics, but the puzzles themselves are 3-D.

Pangea handed off the series to another game company, Team Chaos, who recently launched the third title in the series on iOS in the form of Enigmo: Explore…

Tony Hawk working on new skateboarding game for mobile devices

Skateboarding legend and mogul Tony Hawk revealed last night that he's working on a new skateboarding game for mobile devices. During an interview with Larry King, Mr. Hawk said that the game will have swipe-based controls and is coming this year.

Unfortunately, very few other details are known about the game—we're not even sure if it's going to launch under the familiar 'Tony Hawk Pro Skater' branding—but given Hawk's track record, we're excited. We have a clip of the Larry King interview below...

Pocket picks up Google Account login support, offline sharing to Evernote

The popular read-later service Pocket (formerly Read It Later) has been bumped to version 5.1. The new build adds a pair of useful features and squashes a few bugs (and likely introduces new ones). Now available free in the App Store, the new Pocket 5.1 lets you use your Google account to sign up and log in to Pocket.

This tremendously useful feature allows new users to start using the app without too much hassle.

Previously, you had to create an account with Pocket before you could use their service. I wish all apps supported standard logins via Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo. There's nothing worse than being prompted to create a brand new account with a service - that's yet another username and passwords to worry about.

I've included additional information about the other new feature right after the break...

Google Maps now lets you choose multiple modes of transit

Google has been dutifully adding new features to its native Maps application for the iPhone and iPad. Just earlier this month, we saw Google Maps gain a new feature allowing users to get notified when a faster route becomes available when heading towards a destination in the navigation mode.

Today's minor update, now live in the App Store, includes the obligatory bug fixes and another new feature: an improved route planning with multiple modes of transit.

Although it seems like a minor addition, the feature is quite handy when planning your route because you are no longer limited to defining a route based on either walking, driving or biking and can instead choose multiple modes of transit...

Nearly one-third of new iOS games are Flappy Bird clones

It's been nearly three weeks since developer Dong Nguyen pulled Flappy Bird from the App Store, but its presence is still very much felt in the Top Charts. It seems every other day another clone of Nguyen's hit game pops up in the list of the most popular apps.

That's not too surprising though, considering that according to The Guardian, a big chunk of new iOS games are Flappy Bird clones. How big of a chunk? Well, looking at a group of 300 new games over 24 hours, the outlet says that one-third were FB knockoffs...

‘Tiny Firefighters’ goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Apple has named 'Tiny Firefighters' by Wonderkind its App of the Week for this week. This means that through next Thursday, you’ll be able to pick up the application for both your iPhone and iPad, for free—a nice little savings of $1.99.

For those unfamiliar with it, Tiny Firefighters is an interactive app/book/game for kids that's both fun and educational. Help the firefighters and police officers perform their duties around town by putting out fires and catching burglars...

Google Hangouts 2.0 is out with iOS 7 redesign, full iPad support, video messaging and more

Google updated the iOS client for its popular messaging platform Hangouts today, bringing the app to version 2.0. The update brings about a number of improvements including full optimization for the iPad and iOS 7 and more.

A few new features have also been added, such as the ability to share animated stickers and record and send video messages up to 10 seconds long. Additionally, you can send a map of your current location to other Hangouts users...

Instapaper update adds AirPlay support, send to Kindle functionality

Instapaper, which has long been the go-to 'read it later' service for iOS users, updated its iPhone and iPad client today, bringing the app to version 5.1.5. The update brings about a number of new features and improvements.

On the features side of things, 5.1.5 adds support for Instapaper's 'Daily' trending story service, as well as a new Send to Amazon Kindle function. And as for improvements, it adds better AirPlay support, back gestures and more...

ABC to live stream the Oscars via its iOS ‘Watch’ app this Sunday

ABC has said that it is going to stream the complete Academy Awards ceremony this Sunday to mobile phones. The network has long offered highlights of the event on mobile, but this is the first time it'll stream the event live.

The feed will be funneled through the 'Watch ABC' app, which means that if you have it installed on an iOS device and meet the requirements, you'll be able to catch the show. Unfortunately, the requirements are pretty stringent...