Apps

Gmail iOS update brings Google apps integration, full screen image attachments

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Wow, you have to give it to Google for trying to take over the experience by creating a nice little ecosystem right inside Apple's iOS.

See, the Internet giant has been quite diligent about integrating its popular iPhone and iPad apps to work seamlessly together.

Take Gmail, for example.

Not only has today's update enabled a prettier attachment experience, but it's also brought out tight integration with Google apps. This is quite handy as links in email messages to Google Drive and Google+ content can now go directly to Google's native iOS apps, if installed...

Super Brothers brings a very familiar platformer style to iOS

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

For fans of the Super Mario Bros franchise that have hoped the world’s favorite platformer would someday get ported to iOS, the fire has died and reality has drained all optimism that it will ever happen.

Since you can’t have the real thing, why not experiment with a game that is not entirely unlike it. Super Brothers is a reproduction that is not an exact copy, but comes close enough to make you question whether the app’s developers are violating some kind of copyright laws…

Yahoo Mail iOS app gets folder management, improved attachment handling

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 27, 2013

The struggling Internet giant Yahoo released its native Mail app for the iPhone last December, but it fell on deff ear.

Fourth months later, a revamped version with native iPad support has arrived and Yahoo has since enhanced the experience by adding a couple improvements, including the useful business-focused support for multiple personal and Business Mail accounts.

As part of the sweeping streamlining announced on its blog this morning, Yahoo has pushed an incremental update to its iPhone, iPod touch and iPad client, the new version now allowing you to open attachments in other apps and manage multiple folders with ease...

Apple TV gains apps from Vevo, Weather Channel, Disney and Smithsonian, we go hands-on

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 31, 2017

Just as we've been expecting, Apple has updated its $99 Apple TV set-top box with 24/7 music video streaming by way of Vevo TV. But that's not all, Apple has surprised us all by adding support for several other premium content sources. In addition to Vevo, the update has brought out four additional apps: Weather Channel, Disney Channel and Disney XD, as well as Smithsonian Channel, co-owned by CBS and the Smithsonian Institution.

What's really interesting is that Weather Channel seems to be the real app rather than just a simple streaming channel, although both Smithsonian Channel and Weather Channel offer on-demand clips. Go past the fold for the full reveal and Jeff's video hands-on.

UPDATE: people who use a DNS trick called PlexConnect to stream media to their non-jailbroken Apple TV through the Trailers app should be aware that this morning's update appears to have broken the hack. More on that here...

Google posts Chromecast iOS management app

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 27, 2013

Google today released a brand new iOS app which allows owners of its Chromecast media streaming dongle to manage their $35 gadget from their iPhone, iPod touch or iPad devices. Available now on the App Store, the free Chromecast app lets you set up a Chromecast device to work with your Wi-Fi network and manage your Chromecast settings such as changing your device name, Wi-Fi password and so forth....

Apple patent turns iPhone into smart home remote

Ed Sutherland ∙ August 27, 2013

The introduction of numerous media devices - from your television to DVD player and stereo - coupled with the growth of smart homes would seem to cry out for Apple-like simplification. It just so happens, there is a patent for that. Apple has patented a way to control your home media collection right from your iPhone.

The patent, filed a half-decade ago by the creator of the iTunes Remote app, uses "scenes" to adjust your home multimedia to fit settings like "Romantic Movie Night", "Dinner," or simply "Relax."...

Feedly Pro accounts launch for everyone

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

If you were not among the first 5,000 people to sign up for Feedly's lifetime account, you were left out in the cold. Well, I may be exaggerating because anyone could get a free Feedly account. But if your daily productivity depends depends on RSS and your needs go far beyond a basic set of features, passing on that once in a lifetime opportunity, in hindsight, was a bummer.

The Feedly team has always maintained they're building their web app for scale and today they announced that Feedly Pro accounts are now available to anyone interested...

Plex iOS app is just $1.99, for a limited time only

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

My home theater setup depends on the Plex Mac/iOS apps for hassle-free access to both local media stored on my Mac and networked drives and to a variety of online media sources.

While the Mac client is provided free of charge, the universal iPhone and iPad app costs five bucks a pop so many users instead opt for some of the plentiful free alternative solutions offered on the App Store.

That's too bad because Plex comes with a bunch of premium features and is capable of rendering literally any obscure media file type I throw at it. If you've been sitting on the fence, Plex has just sweetened the deal by dropping the iOS app to $1.99...

CBS Sports app updated with new Football GameTracker, Power Rankings and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

With this year's NFL season set to kickoff in less than two weeks, football fans will be happy to hear that CBS has just updated its Sports app with some significant improvements to help them keep track of all the action.

The update, which brings the client to version 6.1, includes a new feature called Football GameTracker, which offers live play-by-play data and current drive play chart. It also adds Power Rankings, Stat Leaders, and more...

Pixel Gun 3D review: now with worldwide multiplayer mode

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

PixelGun 3D has been hovering around the top spot for paid apps for a while now. Maybe it’s because it comes with a custom skin maker for Minecraft. Maybe because it has that retro pixel look that old school gamers go gaga over.

It could also be because the game, now called Pixel Gun 3D, is actually a good first-person shooter game that fans of the genre will enjoy…

Apps of the Week: Asphalt 8, Think Dirty, Tetra, and more

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

This weekend, my mom is coming to visit. She and I both share a love for the iPad. I love telling her about great new games and apps I’ve discovered and she gives me hand knitted iPad covers that she makes.

This weekend, I’ve got quite a few interesting apps for both the iPad and iPhone to tell her about. Whether you are racing to win, trying to figure out what your shampoo is made of, or getting ready for the longest music festival in history, we’ve got a list of apps that you’ll want to tell your mom about, too…

Rdio gains station tuning, improved search and album art view

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 13, 2018

Yesterday, the music streaming service Pandora announced plans to remove the 40-hour mobile listening cap come September 1 and released a minor update to its iOS and Android client to enable a handy sleep timer feature.

In a surprisingly brisk move, the rival Rdio service has now responded by issuing an update of its own, bringing with it three useful new features to the party.

First up, the application now has the station tuning feature where you adjust any station to "play more familiar or more adventurous" tracks. With iTunes Radio around the corner and the likes of Spotify and Pandora doubling-down on personalization and recommendation, this has got to be a much-needed improvement on Rdio's part.

But wait, there's more...