Apps

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...

Chrome gains full-screen on iPad, opens links in native apps, saves bandwidth and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 17, 2013

The Internet giant Google has just pushed a major update to its Chrome browser for the iPhone and iPad, sporting better voice capabilities and containing a whole bunch of new features that make the browser fully interoperable with major Google apps available on the iOS platform.

In addition to advanced voice control achieved through additional enhancements to voice search and improved text-to-speech, this edition of the Chrome 28 build boasts tight interoperability with Google's other native apps on iOS.

For starters, there's a handy option to open links for YouTube, Maps, Google+ and Drive in Google's native iOS apps instead of the browser. On the iPad side, there's a new full-screen browsing mode (finally) along with other tidbits, mentioned after the break...

Isometric lets you create beautiful geometric art

Lory Gil ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

There is something interesting about a rhombus. It looks like a square that has had its corners stretched out through a game of tug-of-war. When you put three of them together, you can make a three-dimensional object.

Isometric takes the interesting aspect of the rhombus and turns it into a fun art app. You can create simple design logos or abstract, chaotic drawings just by tapping your screen…

Tumblr posts ‘very important’ app update to patch security flaw

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

Yahoo-owned Tumblr issued an update for its native iOS app last night, bringing the client to version 3.4.1. But you won't find any new features or UI enhancements in this release—this particular update is all about security.

Apparently the popular micro-blogging service was recently made aware of a major security issue, which in some cases allowed user passwords to be compromised. So it's urging users to download this 'very important' update...

Google Maps 2.0 is out with enhanced navigation and iPad support

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

Good news iOS users! The big Google Maps update that hit the Android Play Store last week is now rolling out to Apple's mobile platform. The update, which brings the app to version 2.0, contains a number of new features including iPad support and indoor maps.

Although Apple's Maps application has significantly improved in recent months, many folks still prefer to use Google's offering. And since it launched its standalone Maps app on iOS last December, users have been clamoring for an iPad version. Well, here it is...

Enormously popular WhatsApp goes free: gains iCloud chat backups and other features

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 16, 2013

WhatsApp, arguably the most popular cross-platform chatting solution, has just gone free on the App Store. We're not sure whether the move is part of the upcoming iOS subscription switch or if there was a change of heart.

Either way, we're not complaining. Previously a 99-cent download, WhatsApp for the iPhone and iPod touch is now provided free of charge (jump past the fold for the fine print).

In addition, the app's been updated with the much-needed ability to back up your chats to iCloud so you don't loose your chat history upon reinstalling WhatsApp. Other changes in WhatsApp 2.10.1 include support for URL schemes and the ability to send multiple photos at the same time...

Little League World Series to use iPads for scorekeeping, live game updates

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

Since it was introduced in 2010, the iPad has found its way into dozens of professional and enterprise markets. Pilots are using them as flight bag replacements, executives are using them in place of their laptops, and doctors are using them to show patients their X-rays.

And now it looks like it's set to invade little league. The US Little League Baseball Softball organization has announced that it will use the GameChanger iPad app and website to keep stats and stream live game updates for their upcoming World Series events and tournaments...

Microsoft turns Outlook Web App into a native client for iPhone and iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

Despite the ongoing iPad-bashing in television commercials, Microsoft over the past month has managed to release brand new Office 365 for iPhone (check out our review) and SkyDrive Pro apps, while revamping and enhancing a cross-platform note-taking software, OneNote.

Today, the Windows giant has added another productivity app to its stable of App Store offerings, the Outlook Web App for iPhone and iPad.

Despite what the name might have you believe, it's a native app. The software offers the same email, calendar and contact functionality you get in Outlook Web App on the browser, "but with additional capabilities that are only possible through native integration of the app with mobile devices," such as notifications, Microsoft argues...

Popular private taxi service Uber updates iPhone app with fare splitting

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 16, 2013

Users of Uber, the popular private taxi service that operates in 35 cities and fourteen countries, can now use the updated version of their iPhone application to easily split fares in-app with their friends. I use taxi pretty regularly and while Uber doesn't operate in my area, our own Jeff Benjamin is ecstatic about the service, having confirmed it works as advertised (at least in the Chicago area). What's best, billing associated with fare splitting in the new Uber version 2.8.6 is now social, too...

Apple patents turns iPad into virtual CAD toolbox

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Apple Tuesday was granted a patent on a way to return some of the simplicity of traditional drafting and design to the rather complex process of Computer-Aided Design, also known as CAD. Entitled 'Virtual drafting tools,' Apple outlines how a multitouch interface - such as the iPad's - can make more intuitive tasks like drawing a straight line.

To revive the traditional drafting interface, the 2010 patent application approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the multitouch interface uses tools such as rulers and protractors...