Apps

Voice Search coming to Chrome for iOS soon

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 22, 2013

Google is on a roll these days. Hot on the heels of updating its desktop Chrome browser with Siri-like conversational search earlier today, the Internet giant just published a post over at the official Chrome blog confirming that Chrome for iPhone and iPad with voice search is "coming soon."

A Chrome update for the iPhone and iPad will be ready "over the coming days" and will let you speak your searches into Omnibox, which in Google's parlance means Chrome's combined search and address box.

You'll even get certain results spoken back to you, right in the Chrome browser - how cool is that?

TextExpander 2 for iOS is out with new features and improvements

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Fans of Smile's TextExpander, the app that allows you to type lengthy words or phrases using text shortcuts, will be happy to hear that version 2 is out for iOS. The update includes a number of new features and improvements, and brings the mobile app more in line with its highly-regarded Mac sibling...

Pinterest update introduces more useful pins

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 24, 2018

Just a week ago, the Pinterest app in a major update gained a handful of new features and improvements like push notifications, user mentions and search suggestions, to name a few. Today, another update has gone live on the App Store, bringing additional improvements related to Pinterest's new look. Specifically, your pins now have more info like pricing, availability, ingredients and movie ratings. More on that right after the break...

Video Filters app launches with over 100 real-time video effects

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 20, 2013

Lots of avid iPhone photography fans don't just use their iPhone, iPod touch or iPad to capture stills, but shoot video as well.

I usually fire up Apple's excellent iMovie application ($4.99 universal binary) whenever my clips need touching up, but now a new software has come along to go beyond what you thought was possible on your iOS device.

Video Filters by i4Software packs in over a hundred fully customizable video effects with live previews, which is kinda big deal because only a few years ago nobody thought we'd be able to edit full HD footage on tablets, in real-time...

Samsung’s $800,000 competition lures devs to write exclusive Galaxy apps

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated August 24, 2016

Samsung wants more developers writing apps that require features exclusively found on its own devices, such as the Galaxy S4 flagship smartphone - and is willing to pay. In an $800,000 competition, the South Korean conglomerate is seeking entries which highlight its own sharing service and proprietary software development kit.

The first-prize winner takes home $200,000, three second-place finalists receive $100,000 each, while six third-place finishers get $50,000 each, according to the Wall Street Journal. The competition's goal is to improve Samsung's standing against Apple's iPhone...

Apple pulls controversial ‘Bang With Friends’ app from App Store

Cody Lee ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

Apple has decided to pull Bang With Friends, a controversial app that lets users anonymously pick which of their Facebook friends they'd like to hook up with, and then notifies them when there's a match, from its App Store this afternoon.

There's no word yet on why the app was removed. But between Apple's staunch attitude toward all things vulgar, and its app review team's track record for pulling software on a whim, we're not at all surprised to see Bang With Friends gone...

BlackBerry Messenger will be iPhone-only at launch

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 17, 2013

If you've been looking to enjoy BlackBerry's upcoming Messenger app on your iPad, bad news. Blackberry’s software portfolio chief Vivek Bhardwaj tells Trusted Reviews that the app will only target the iPhone and Android smartphones, at least initially. Although he wouldn't ruled out the possibility of an iPad edition down the road, he didn't specifically mention it either.

That's hardly surprising given BlackBerry's lackluster PlayBook tablet and the firm's general failure in the tablet space, though it's hard to escape the feeling that BlackBerry Messenger for iPad would make sense for the business types who've come to depend on their Apple tablet for work...

Try Google’s new Hangouts app now

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 26, 2017

Previously code-named Babel, Google yesterday announced its new cross-platform unified messaging product called Hangouts. Shortly after, the software surfaced on Apple's App Store and Google's Play store for Android.

In replacing Google Talk, Hangouts supports one-on-one and group chatting across desktop, Android and Apple devices and includes photos, emoji, and video calls.

In a nutshell, the app integrates messaging from Google’s GTalk, Google+ Messenger, Hangouts and Voice products. But that's just scratching the surface as Google obviously has big plans with the product...

Apple reveals 50 billionth app download winner

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 5, 2018

Apple crossed a major milestone yesterday afternoon, with the official App Store Twitter channel confirming the company hit 50 billion app downloads. As part of its countdown promotion, the iPhone maker today issued a press release revealing the lucky winner who won a $10,000 iTunes Gift card, good for apps, videos, books and music. Additionally, per Apple's rules fifty additional lucky winners will take home $500 iTunes gift cards each...

App Store hits 50 billion downloads

Cody Lee ∙ May 15, 2013

Apple's App Store just crossed a major milestone this afternoon. Just a few moments ago, the digital storefront passed the 50 billion download mark, bringing the company's "50 Billion App Countdown" to an end.

The winner of the countdown promotion, who has yet to be revealed, will be given a $10,000 iTunes gift card, good for apps, videos, books and music. And fifty additional lucky winners will receive $500 gift cards...

Google announces Play game services coming to iOS

Cody Lee ∙ May 15, 2013

Google is in the middle of its I/O developer conference keynote right now, and so far it's been pretty boring. There's been no mention of consumer products yet, just some talk about developer API access and some new software and services.

The search giant did, however, unveil a new game service. Flying under the Google Play flag, the service resembles Apple's Game Center, hosting leader boards, achievements, and facilitating real-time multiplayer. Oh, and it's coming to iOS...