Apps

Amazon Instant Video iOS app now does AirPlay

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 17, 2013

Amazon released its Instant Video client for the iPhone and iPad in August 2012 as a way for Apple customers to access its growing library of movies and television shows from their iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices. The online retail giant hasn't been updating the software much, apart from June's update with visual tweaks and personal recommendations for movies and television shows based on your past viewing habits.

My biggest gripe with any type of software that does video is the absence of AirPlay streaming support. If you get your entertainment from Amazon, you should update your Amazon Instant Video installation to the latest version which not only enables Apple's AirPlay technology, but also includes a few other nice-to-haves...

Top 10 endless runner games for iOS

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

These days, it seems like runner games are a dime a dozen. I guess it is more like they are about $20 a dozen since they are usually between one and three dollars a piece. There are so many auto-run till you die games that it is difficult to know which are the best.

Apple has a list of their favorite “Fun Runner” games, but even that list is too big. We’ve narrowed down a list of our favorites, plus added a couple that Apple didn’t think to include…

Shake App makes your agreements binding

Lory Gil ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

I’m a freelancer. If I don’t sign an agreement with someone, I am risking the possibility of losing any income I’ve earned. If I have a disagreement with a business over payment, and I don’t have anything in writing to prove the arrangement, I have nothing to support me if I end up having to go to court.

Shake App makes it possible to create a binding agreement for all kinds of arrangements. It doesn’t have to be complex and full of legalese to be legal...

Apple approving games with iOS 7 controller support

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

User excitement for iOS 7 continues to mount, as we are now less than 48 hours away from the public release. The update includes a number of new features, like AirDrop and Control Center, as well as an all-new UI design.

But there's one big change coming in iOS 7 that continues to fly under the radar, and that's support for third-party game controllers. In fact, it's been discovered that Apple is already approving games with controller support...

Apple to devs: we want your 64-bit apps ASAP

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 22, 2017

With its new flagship iPhone 5s, Apple is ushering in an era of 64-bit computing on smartphones, an unexpected move which has left rivals such as Samsung scrambling to release mobile devices running 64-bit processors at some point in 2014 - with absolutely no clear idea of how the hardware and software will work together to improve their apps.

In the meantime, Apple is now asking its registered iOS developers to optimize and submit their warez for the device's 64-bit A7 chip...

Faster Facebook Messenger with improved scrolling now available

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 16, 2013

It's been over a month since we've stumbled upon any solid piece of news concerning Facebook's standalone Messenger iPhone app. Last time we heard, Facebook has added the ability to pick photos from your Instagram albums to send to Messenger friends.

Actually, that was the only major development concerning the software since May 2012. In response to Wednesday's launch of iOS 7, the social networking giant on Monday pushed an iOS 7-ready version of Messenger with improved scrolling, faster startup times and more...

Google Play Books gets copy-paste and Single Sign-On support

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 16, 2013

With less than 48 hours until iOS 7 is let out of the cage, Apple's iOS developers have been tremendously busy updating their iPhone and iPad apps with iOS 7 compatibility. Needles to say, we're expecting a brand new and flattened version of the company's own iBooks app and its other downloadable iPhone and iPad programs, such as the free iLife/iWork suite. But those who get their electronic books from Google, however, should download the newly updated Play Books app.

Not only does it include handy support for copy and paste, there's the tremendously useful unified account sign-in feature which lets you skip typing altogether and instead log in with your Google Account real fast...

Twitter’s third major redesign to follow shortly after Wednesday’s iOS 7 launch

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 16, 2013

A lot of iPhone and iPad apps have been updated - or are receiving iOS 7 bug fixes and related updates - ahead of the software's general availability this Wednesday.

And while the micro-blogging service Twitter recently started embedding tweets right into its #music app (along with the ability to reply and re-tweet them), its plans for an iOS 7-focused update have been some time in the making but kept secret, until today.

According to people in the know and some deeply entrenched sources, Twitter is waiting until some time after iOS 7 is out to show off its brand new design, the third major revamp in Twitter's seven-year history...

Rockstar releases Grand Theft Auto V companion app ‘iFruit’

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 13, 2018

It's been a long time since I've been as excited about a game release as I am about Grand Theft Auto V. Set to go on sale at midnight tonight, the fifth installment in the popular GTA series looks impressive from every angle.

Ahead of tomorrow's launch, Rockstar has released a companion app today for GTA V called 'iFruit.' Available on both the iPad and iPhone, the app offers several useful features like the ability to customize in-game vehicles...

Good deal: 50% off Fantastical and Chatology Mac bundle

Cody Lee ∙ September 16, 2013

We're pretty big fans of Fantastical here at iDB. Flexibits' powerful, well-designed calendar and todo app has won us over on both the Mac and iPhone. So when we came across this software sale, we just had to pass it on.

The deal site Stack Social is offering what it calls a 'Flexibits Mini Mac Bundle' right now, and the promotion includes both Fantastical for Mac and Chatology for Mac at a significant discount. More details after the fold...

Google buys mobile sharing app Bump

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

In the early days of the App Store, Bump was a popular way to exchange photos, links and other items between iPhone owners, augmented by the fact that iOS to date doesn't support standard Bluetooth file sharing.

Six years later, we have AirDrop as the preferred method of beaming documents, images and just about anything between nearby iOS 7 device.

Be that as it may, if an Android-toting friend asks you politely to wirelessly transfer a photo you took with your iPhone - or a contact card or perhaps a location - over to his device, the cross-platform Bump app is still the best solution.

To all the fans of the software out there: I hope you won't mind that Google has now snapped up Bump Technologies and its namesake app for an undisclosed sum - the search monster's first acquisition since it paid $1 billion for Waze back in June...