Apps

Apple comments on two day-long developer center outage

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

If you've tried logging in to Apple's dev center over the past few days, but were unsuccessful, you weren't alone. The portal, which is where the company stores downloads, documentation and other resources for developers, has been down for 48 hours.

This isn't your typical 'maintenance' downtime, as those only usually last a couple of minutes—or at worst, a few hours. And as you can imagine, developers are starting to get frustrated with the service, which Apple charges a $99 subscription fee for...

Realmac teases Ember, a digital scrapbook for your Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 27, 2016

Realmac Software, the guys who brought you the popular Clear multitouch to-do app for the iPhone and the delightful Analog Camera for iOS, to name just two, is working on a brand new Mac application that wants to become your ultimate digital scrapbook.

Called Ember, it appeases to designers who are desperate to “save, organize, annotate, and share” their work, but it can also be used by ordinary users who are looking to manage their projects and present them as media-rich scrapbooks...

Rovio’s game-syncing ‘Account’ now available worldwide on iOS

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

Back in May, Rovio began rolling out ‘Account,’ a cloud-based service that allows users to save their progress in games across various devices. And today, the Finnish game-maker announced that it's now available to all iOS and Android users worldwide.

As before, Accounts is currently only available for gamers of the Croods and the original Angry Birds title, but the company says that it is intent on expanding it to other Angry Birds and non Angry Birds titles soon. More on the announcement after the fold...

Evernote updated with shortcuts, Skitch integration and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

Popular note-taking and all around productivity app Evernote has posted a solid update for its iOS client today. The update brings the app to version 5.4 and brings about a number of new features including shortcuts, Skitch Integration, and more.

For folks unfamiliar with Skitch, it's a screenshot editing and sharing utility for both iOS and Mac that allows users to add shapes and text to an image, and then share it online. And with today's update, users can access the app from within Evernote...

Official ‘Firefly’ game coming to iOS next year

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

Fans of FireFly, the cult television series by Joss Whedon, will be happy to hear that an officially licensed social online role-playing game in will be coming to iOS and Android devices next year. Fox Digital Entertainment made the announcement today at the San Diego Comic Con event, and released this trailer...

Flurry: average iPhone app costs 19 cents, 50 cents for iPad

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated February 27, 2018

When it comes to apps, free is best. New research finds consumers are willing to accept ads in their apps to avoid paying for their favorite iOS or Android apps. According to Flurry, the number of free apps available in the App Store and Google's Play store continues to rise.

Matter of fact, the trend toward free apps has grown to comprise 90 percent of applications in Apple's App Store. The overwhelming vote for free means the average iPhone app cost nineteen cents, with iPad apps averaging fifty cents.

For Android apps, the fascination with free is even greater, driving the average cost of apps using Google's mobile software down to just six cents...

VLC media player makes a comeback, following a 2-year App Store hiatus

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 18, 2013

Following a range of issues with copyright holders that had forced the team to pull it from the App Store some two years ago, the popular video player VLC has returned to Apple's platform as a brand new iPhone and iPad app.

Re-written from the ground up to take advantage of modern technologies, the new VLC brings with it a refined user interface that's reminiscent of the original release and features such as subtitles and support for multi-core decoding and a bunch of iOS-unfriendly media formats, including .mkv files.

Jump past the fold for the full reveal...

NYT spells out Apple’s living room strategy

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 18, 2013

Apple's plans for the living room have rested largely on the Apple TV the company's leadership continues to call "a hobby project." While there's been talk that the tech giant could unveil its own television set, rumors of revamping the television experience have been greeted with industry concern and fruitless negotiations.

However, now comes word Apple wants to be friends with Time Warner, Disney and other content producers - and along the way improve some of the worst aspects of current television viewing.

One result of the partnerships is an upcoming Time Warner Cable Apple TV app that would turn Apple's $99 set-top box into a channel guide for live and on-demand programming much superior to the clunky software now offered by the distributor...

Some of the best board game apps for iOS

Lory Gil ∙ Updated March 14, 2018

If you’ve read some of my previous reviews, you’ll know that I am a huge fan of board games. The more complex and challenging, the more I like it. I love punching out 100 different little cardboard tokens. I like the sound of two six-sided dice clicking together in my hand.

This week, I’ve made a list of some great board game apps that are based specifically on real-life games that I’ve played. It is by no means a full list of the best board game apps out there, but it features games that I’ve tested in both digital and cardboard environments…

HalfPeeled releases Ruby app for easy Reddit viewing

Jim Gresham ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

For the Reddit fans out there looking for a slick way to interact with your feeds and threads, a new app will solve your woes. Until now, there were limited options in the App Store for easy Reddit enjoyment. Today Ruby hits the market, granting easy access to your favorite threads in a crisp package. Having been a beta tester for the app over previous weeks, I really like the UI and functionality.

This is not HalfPeeled's first time around the app development block. When it comes to apps, their innovation is starting to show. Published by Nate Chiger, a 2012 and 2013 WWDC Scholarship Recipient, Ruby is his newest offering and follows several other quality apps. Take a step inside for a quick run down of the nice features...

Pacific Rim review: giant mechs and sea creatures battling? Yes please!

Lory Gil ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

Today is the perfect day to write a review of the iOS version of the Pacific Rim game. I just watched the movie last night. I won’t give anything away for those of you who have not yet seen the epic tale of robots and monsters. But I will tell you that some of the features in the game make more sense after seeing the film.

Pacific Rim is a battle game that pits enormous weaponized robots against colossal sea-dwelling aliens in a melee fight for the possession of humanity…

Alien Blue for iPad 2.2 brings Reddit to the Apple TV

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 24, 2018

Reddit, for those who aren't familiar with the social news and entertainment site, is an interesting place. You can find almost anything there—GIFs, photos, videos, you name it. In fact, most of the viral stuff you see online probably started here.

There are many apps available for browsing the site on your iPhone or iPad, but what about the Apple TV? Don't you wish sometimes that you could watch that funny video or GIF on the big screen? Well, now you can with Alien Blue for iPad 2.2...