Apps

Apple loses fight to stop patent troll Lodsys

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

The beat goes on for primo patent troll Lodsys. Apple's attempt to intervene in a concerted clipping of iOS developers failed after a patent-owner friendly judge dismissed the tech giant's legal motion. U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap in East Texas ruled Apple's motion "is far outside the scope" of his courtroom.

The decision effectively opens the door to Lodsys settling all cases with defendants, thereby ending a 2011 effort by Apple to shield hundreds of thousands of individual iOS developers from being sued for patent-infringement by Lodsys...

Yahoo updates ‘Sportacular Pro’ with iPad support and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 19, 2018

Right now is a great time to be a sports fan. College and pro football are in full swing, and we're on the verge of post-season Major League Baseball and the beginning of the 2013-14 basketball season.

And with so much going on, it's nice to have a sports app around to help you keep up with everything. And while there are several, Yahoo is hoping its big 4.2 update for Sportacular Pro will win you over...

Volkswagen shows off augmented reality iPad app for repair technicians

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Apple's iPad has been used for a number of various augmented-reality applications which impose real-world information over live video feed. The car industry seems to be particularly keen on embracing the Apple tablet. Cody last month told you about eKurzinfo, an Audi app that uses an iOS device camera to help identify parts and features on your car.

Today, Volkswagen is highlighting a similar augmented-reality software, but aimed at repair technicians and car dealers. It's called MARTA (Mobile Augmented Reality Technical Assistance) and Volkswagen showed it off ahead of the InsideAR Conference, the world's largest augmented reality conference slated to run October 11, 2013 in Munich, Germany...

Rdio promises to bring back Recommendations

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 13, 2018

As of recently, Rdio has been making a number of moves in a bid to fight off the Apple iTunes Radio threat. Just a few days ahead of Apple's September 10 iTunes Radio launch, Rdio unveiled a new ad-supported music service in partnership with radio operator Cumulus.

And back in August, the popular service gained such abilities as station tuning, improved search, Pandora-style personalized Stations and more.

Rdio's latest effort to re-introduce some of the original magic involves bringing back Recommendations, a feature popularized by the inaugural 1.0 version of Rdio...

Umano app reads you the news so you don’t have to

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

Apps that read you the news are all the rage right now. Well, at least a few of them are raging hard in the App Store. Just a few days ago, we reviewed Uttr, which reads you the headlines of your favorite RSS feeds.

Umano is another news related app that reads to you. This one features real-life narrators. Sorry Siri, there’s a new voice in town…

New GBA emulator found in the App Store, get it while you can

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

At any given time, there are dozens (if not hundreds) of apps floating around the App Store with built-in ROM emulators. These apps are disguised as calculators and sketch pads, but feature the hidden ability to play old-school games.

And everyone once in a while we find out the name of one of these apps, and how to activate its secret feature, before Apple has the chance to pull it. And that just so happens to be the case with this newly-posted app called Earthquake 7...

Remino review: a simple task reminder for keeping you focused

Lory Gil ∙ Updated March 14, 2018

Lists, lists, lists. I love lists. The more the merrier. Not really. Actually, too many lists can be confusing and make you feel even less organized. The best way to make lists efficiently is to keep it simple.

Remino is an app the does one thing. It reminds you to do something. There are no categories, additional buttons, or priorities. If you need to create a quick reminder, you’ll have one in seconds…

Apps of the week: Newsy, Pocket Trains, gMusic, and more…

Lory Gil ∙ Updated March 17, 2019

So, you’ve had iOS 7 for about a week now. What do you think of it? Most people, including jailbreak fans, have had positive things to say about Apple’s newest mobile operating system. Not everything is perfect though. There have been security issues, complaints of motion sickness, and there is sure to be more problems in the future.

This weekend, forget about what everyone else is saying about iOS 7 and sit back with this list of apps to help you enjoy the next two days off…

Apple working with MLB on interactive Ballpark app

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

Apple has teamed up with Major League Baseball developers to enhance their 'MLB.com at the Park' app, according to a new report from Mashable. They're said to be working to create custom, interactive stadium experiences for fans.

The app, which has apparently been worked on by the pair since February, takes advantage of Apple's new iBeacon micro-location APIs in iOS 7 to provide users with info on their devices specific to where they're at in the ballpark...

Apple patent envisions digital autographs

Ed Sutherland ∙ September 27, 2013

Have you ever read a book or listened to music and wanted an autograph of the author or artist? For printed items, the wish is easily granted - not so for their electronic equivalent. Now Apple has filed to patent a method for embedding autographs in ebooks and other digital material.

The patent application, titled 'Embedding an autograph in an electronic book,' describes a way an author can use a special application to digitally sign an ebook, video, song or author content, then share it with owners of the iPhone, iPod touch or iPad devices...

Chainsaw Warrior review: save the world from the Darkness

Lory Gil ∙ Updated April 13, 2018

In 1987, Games Workshop launched a single-player zombie fighting board game that made it possible for lonely souls to play a full game all by themselves. I know what that is like. It’s not as sad as it sounds.

Recently, Auroch Digital re-imagined Chainsaw Warrior for iOS. Now, you don’t even have to read the complicated directions in order to kill zombies, destroy the Darkness, and save New York…

Pocket Trains rolls in to become App Store Editors’ Choice

Lory Gil ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

Fans of NimbleBits will be happy to know that a new simulation game has been added to their portfolio, alongside the likes of Pocket Planes and Tiny Tower.

Pocket Trains is an 8-bit simulation game that has you toting goods across Europe, and eventually the world, with your miniature railroad empire. Soon after its launch, this game has grown in popularity so fast that Apple has given it the coveted Editor's Choice award in the App Store for this week…