Apps

Facebook app gains faster Events, better Places editing, souped up photo viewer

The social networking giant Facebook just issued an update to its native Facebook client for iOS devices. In what is the first 'point' update since the major Facebook 6.0 release from a month ago, the new Facebook version 6.1 enhances your experience with three helpful additions.

For starters, your Facebook Events now load faster on the iPhone and iPod touch. And, if you check in to a venue on your iPhone or iPod touch device, you'll notice that Facebook has improved the Places editing experience.

In addition to these two iPhone-specific enhancements, I bet you'll love the improved photo viewer button on both the iPhone and iPad. For more on that, go right past the fold...

Huge 1Password update brings lots of changes

1Password is something of a hit with some members of the iDB team. Though I can obviously speak for myself only, I happen to know Jeff is a fan so it goes without saying we're both pretty excited about today's update.

The new 1Password version 4.2, now available as a free download to registered users, comes with a whole bunch of changes. For starters, it's got an optimized in-app web browser that on iPad includes the Strong Password Generator capability.

The improved browser can automatically submit passwords after using AutoFill for login items and now also recognizes a URL in the clipboard and offers to open it for you. That's just scratching the surface, go past the fold for the full changelog...

SoundCloud now has Google+ Sign-In and sharing

Nearly a year ago, the Internet giant rolled out Google+ Sign-In as a way to counter Facebook Connect, a feature web site owners predominantly tap to simplify the sign in and account creation process for their users.

The Google+ SDK for iOS was released shortly after, giving Apple's registered iOS developers a set of tools and social plugins to write programs that are deeply integrated with the Google+ thing.

Although apps that support Google+ Sign-In are few and far between, at least relative to Facebook Connect-enabled mobile software, more and more developers are integrating Google+ features into their warez. The latest example: SoundCloud, an online audio distribution platform that today updated its iOS app with support for Google+ Sign-In and sharing...

Flipboard update brings SMS sharing, revamped profile pages, Friends category

Flipboard, the social news reader for iOS and Android, was updated today with a bevy of features and improvements. The new version includes the SMS sharing option which lets you send story URLs to your friends via text messaging.

Moreover, the app's Share menu has been re-worked for better usability so you can now share content with fewer taps than before.

Another welcomed (and way overdue) feature: if you seen an image you like, Flipboard now finally lets you save it to your Camera roll by tapping its Share icon and tapping 'Save to Camera Roll.' Go past the fold for improvements to Flipboard's custom magazine feature and other tidbits...

Amazon Cloud Drive Photos app now available

Folks who keep their music, photos, documents and other stuff stored in the Amazon cloud are aware of the online retailer's dedicated iOS software aptly named Cloud Player which can stream songs from your cloud locker to your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices.

Although Amazon has yet to release the official Cloud Drive app for Apple's mobile platform (it's available on OS X), today it inched toward that goal by releasing a brand new photo management application for iOS.

As the name suggests, the Amazon Cloud Drive Photos application lets you browse image files stored in your Amazon cloud storage, download individual images to your iPhone or iPad, upload on-device images to keep them securely backed up in the cloud and more...

Netflix update brings better second-screen experience, new post-play features

After announcing a new $12 per month family plan and having rolled out a major version 4.0 update with a new episode selector on iPads, on-demand Internet streaming media provider Netflix today updated its iPhone and iPad mobile client with an enhanced second-screen experience, recommendations for movies and auto-play episodes for television shows. More information on the changes right below the fold...

LinkedIn updates its Pulse iOS app with new sharing options

LinkedIn, the world's top social network for people in professional occupations, recently purchased the popular news reader Pulse for nearly a hundred million bucks as part of its ongoing efforts to become a media company. Nearly a month following the transaction, LinkedIn has updated Pulse mobile software with the expected LinkedIn sharing. Other new features in Pulse version 3.1 include the much-needed ability to save stories for later reading to such popular read-later services as Pocket, Evernote and Instapaper...

Google Now likely coming to Macs via Chrome

Isn't it interesting how Google circumvents Apple and builds its own platform on top of iOS? Not only are the Internet giant's popular services like Maps, Gmail, YouTube and Search available as native iOS apps, they're among most downloaded App Store items.

Despite early complaints of excessive battery drain (and Google's mild response), the potentially disruptive Google Now feature is now available on iOS devices through Google's standalone Search iOS app. And now, Google Now could be heading to Macs...

Google spotlights Chrome integration tool for iOS developers

Hot on the heels of yesterday's Gmail update—which added the ability for users to choose to use Google's iOS apps over their stock counterparts—Google has published a blog post reminding iOS devs that they too can utilize Google's offerings.

Particularly, it spotlights Chrome integration in the post, informing third-party developers that they can use a simple callback function in their apps that will launch web links in Chrome (if it's available, obviously) instead of mobile Safari...

Amazon’s Cloud Player can now stream songs to Ford’s SYNC AppLink vehicles

Not to be outdone by the popular Swedish streaming music startup Spotify, which a month ago updated its mobile client with support for Ford's SYNC AppLink platform, the online retail giant Amazon today issued a similar update to its Cloud Player mobile app.

The app integrates with AppLink vehicles so you can control music playback using your voice and the steering wheel buttons.

Other changes new accessibility features via improved support for the iOS VoiceOver features and an "improved experience" when adding songs to a playlist...

RunKeeper gains Pebble smartwatch integration

RunKeeper, the popular mobile fitness and GPS tracking app, received an update Tuesday which allows for some interesting Pebble smartwatch features. Thanks to deep integration with the Bluetooth Smart-enabled E-paper wrist device, RunKeeper users can keep track of their workout stats on their Pebble.

This includes the stuff like displaying elapsed time, distance and pace or using the wrist device to pause and resume RunKeeper. The application also supports an additional seven languages and includes the obligatory bug fixes.

RunKeeper also said future updates will enable even deeper Pebble integration. I've included a nice promotional video and more details for you, right past the fold...

Apple widens net on discovery app crackdown

Apple's removal of AppGratis last month sent a clear message to developers that it's going to start clamping down on app discovery apps. That was the second time in the past six months that it had pulled such an app from the App Store.

And it doesn't look like it's going to stop with just app discovery apps either. According to a new report, Apple has begun rejecting third-party applications that allow you to filter, bookmark, search for, or share App Store apps as well...