Apps

Nest app overhauled top to bottom, now with full support for Protector smoke detector

Nest, a startup run by the iPod Godfather and brilliant engineer Tony Fadell, made a name for itself with a sleek, intelligent thermostat (check out Jeff's hands-on) and the beautiful smoke and carbon monoxide detector dubbed Nest Protect. Today, the company has announced a big update coming soon to its companion application for the iPhone and iPad to allow for easier and, well, eye-candy management and robust remote control of your app-enabled Nest devices.

For starters, the app's been redesigned from the ground up and now supports both landscape and portrait orientation and includes gorgeous animated weather and more detailed Where location settings for Nest devices.

The headline new feature is support for both the Nest Thermostat and the upcoming Nest Protect smoke-detector, making it a one-stop solution for Nest device management, from the palm of your hand...

I dare you to beat my score at ins and outs

Thanks to Game Center, Facebook, and plenty of other social networking connected sites and services, we can play games against friends and family without having to be in the same room with them. We don’t even have to be on the same continent as them. Actually, we don’t even have to know them at all, in some circumstances.

ins and outs – a casual and competitive puzzle game is one of those games that focuses on competing against others in a friendly game of connect-the-dots. Instead of just inviting them to play the game, you get to entice them by putting the “dare” into it…

Best apps for your commute

Driving back and forth every day to the office can be a burden if your commute is more than 20 minutes on average, which it is for most people. If your drive lasts at least as long as a broadcast sitcom, you probably have a routine for keeping yourself from going mad on the road. If you don’t you should.

We have a list of apps that we think will help make your commute easier by letting you know what the traffic is like, how soon your bus will arrive, and where to find the cheapest parking lot in the city…

United Airlines app updated with new iOS 7 design, new features

United Airlines has posted an update for its iOS app this morning, bringing it to version 2.0.1. Well it's calling it an update, but it's been completely rebuilt with an iOS 7-friendly design and several new features.

Included in the new design are what United is calling 'travel cards,' which look like Windows Phone Live Tiles that provide quick access to info like flight status, and more. We've got the release notes after the fold...

Gameloft releases ‘GT Racing 2: The Real Car Experience’

Great news gamers, Gameloft has made good on its promise to release a sequel to their popular sim-racer GT Racing today. It's called 'GT Racing 2: The Real Car Experience' and it's now available for download.

The game bills itself as 'the richest handheld racing simulation this year,' allowing players to race one of 67 licensed cars, from over 30 manufacturers, on 13 detailed tracks from around the world, in 1,400 events...

Death Tower: a good old-fashioned dungeon crawl for iOS

If you are looking for a new tower defense game, this is not the app you are looking for. If you are looking for a good old-fashioned dungeon crawl, complete with a well-rounded adventuring party, then you are in luck.

Death Tower is a turn-based battle heavy role-playing game that gives you four fighting characters that explore the vast expanse of a dark dungeon, killing bad guys and collecting loot…

MapQuest app finds relevance again with beautiful iOS 7 redesign

When the subject of the best iOS maps app comes up, typically you'll only hear a few names mentioned. There's Apple Maps, which is the most popular by default, and Google Maps, and then a mix of Waze, HopStop and other user favorites.

But today, MapQuest has thrown its name back into the conversation with its major 4.0 update. The app has been completely rebuilt from the ground up (apparently a 9-month endeavor) with an all-new look, and several handy new features...

iWork for iCloud gets collaboration enhancements, printing and folders

Apple ahead of the September 22 iPad keynote teased "great new features coming to iWork for iCloud". The company's head of Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue, during his keynote segment took us through some of the enhancements that increase productivity by allowing multiple users to work simultaneously on Pages, Keynote and Numbers documents from iOS devices, Macs and even the web interface.

Today, Apple's taken iWork for iCloud further by rolling out several new capabilities such as printing and the ability to organize your documents in folders, right in your web browser. The full list of changes is right after the break...

Apple’s iBooks and iTunes U apps finally receive iOS 7 makeover

Apple by now has updated much of its own iPhone and iPad applications that area available on the App Store, with the two major holdouts: iBooks and iTunes U (also pending in the update queue: Find My Friends and Keynote Remote, a Keynote presentation software companion).

Now, Jony Ive's been feeling your pain so today Apple issued a pair of long-expected updates bringing iBooks and iTunes U in line with the general iOS look and feel.

The revamped iBooks "has been updated with a beautiful new design for iOS 7," says Apple. The refresh includes a completely revamped iBook Store.

Did they kill the page curl? Read on for the full breakdown...

BBM updated with compatibility for Wi-Fi-only iPad and iPod touch devices

Following numerous delays, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) finally arrived last month as a free download on iOS and Android as the Canadian smartphone maker's survival remains uncertain. The app saw five million downloads in the first eight hours of availability, emerged as the No. 1 on the iTunes download charts and brought a cool 20 million new users to the BBM platform within a week. BlackBerry tweeted today that the iPhone-only release would get updated later today to support Wi-Fi-only iPhone touch and iPad devices.

The new version is live now, but there's a catch...

Gmail gets full screen view on iPad and more iOS 7 goodies

Boom, Google has just updated its Gmail app for the iPhone and iPad with additional iOS 7-specific user interface tweaks and a brand new iPad full-screen view for the message compose sheet and message list in portrait. You're also going to dig a slimmed down navigation bar in landscape which you can use to quickly switch between inboxes and accounts. Finally, Google says the updated software now includes "better scrolling" experience...

Reliable leaker corroborates Google Music iOS app late-November launch

Google Music launched back in November 2011 with a music store, Google+ integration, artist hubs, carrier billing and initial support from Universal Music Group, EMI and Sony Music Entertainment, along with other smaller labels. Fast-forward two years and we still don't have a native iOS app.

Google in its typical fashion has tried to appease its disgruntled Apple audience with a Google Music iOS web app.

Alas, nobody cared!

The search Goliath later promised to bring a native app and a report recently claimed it would launch later this month. Today, a prominent leaker has corroborated that the native Google Music iOS app is indeed due by the end of the month...