Apps

Qantas releases Passbook-enabled iPhone app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 5, 2018

Australia's airline Qantas said back in November it would enable Passbook integration for boarding passes for domestic flights. In the meantime, Qantas partner American Airlines rolled out support for Passbook boarding passes, as did a bunch of major airlines around the world. Making good on its promise, Qantas yesterday finally released its own iOS app with Passbook integration for digital boarding passes, mobile check-ins, real-time flight changes and frequent flyers...

Twitter for iOS updated with better Vine support, location-based Trends

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 1, 2013

Twitter, the popular micro-blogging service which in March 2013 passed 200 million users, on Wednesday updated its mobile apps for iOS and Android platforms. Twitter version 5.6 for the iPhone and iPad now lets you see location-based Trends or browse Trends tailored to your interests. The application also features improved playback of Vine videos and contains a few other minor tweaks, included after the break...

AT&T U-verse subscribers can now access streams in WatchESPN, Fox Now iOS apps

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 17, 2019

If you're subscribed to AT&T's U-verse, are a sports fan and love Fox shows, good news here as the nation's second-largest carrier has cut deals allowing users of the WathESPN and Fox Now iOS apps to stream content and watch live feeds.

The latter app also added another provider for TV episodes, Suddenlink. U-verse subscribers should go download these updates to immediately gain access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPNU live feeds and such shows as Hell’s Kitchen and Family Guy, straight in these apps...

Instacast for iOS makes a jump on the Mac, now available in Public Beta

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 28, 2018

We love Instacast as much as the next avid Apple fan. It's the ultimate podcasting app for the ultimate podcasters: Instacast lets you both manage and stream podcasts on your iPhone and iPad, and do so in style. As a cloud-based streaming solution, it can be best described as Netflix for podcasts.

Since its March 2011 debut, Instacast has seen numerous updates that brought additional features, with an iPad version arriving in November 2011. It certainly leaves Apple's stock iOS Podcast app in the dust and beats every other podcasting app out there. That said, small wonder developer Vemedio has responded to popular demand and brought Instacast over to the Mac...

Infuse, a versatile iOS media player by FireCore [review]

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

Over the past few days I've been testing Infuse, an iOS media player by FireCore, the team that brought you the aTV Flash Black for your jailbroken Apple TV.

Given their expertise in bringing support for streaming dozens of file formats to Apple's set-top box, it goes without saying I was very much looking forward to testing Infuse for iPhone and iPad.

The App Store is home to some nice media players, Plex being my personal favorite, but none fully taking the pain out of properly rendering iOS-unfriendly video file types on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices.

In my personal opinion, Infuse addresses the media conundrum in one fell swoop while incorporating possibly the best subtitles support on iDevices to date and taking full advantage of Retina screens and Apple's newest and most powerful mobile chips...

Jawbone opens API for its UP fitness bracelet to third party devs

Cody Lee ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

Jawbone, a company well-known for its bluetooth headsets and speakers, ventured into the world of fitness accessories last year with its UP bracelet. Well I should say re-entered. That was its second attempt with the UP, after hitting early manufacturing issues.

Today, reviews of the UP still seem to be a mixed bag, but Jawbone is looking to sweeten the deal with third party app support. Earlier today, the company unveiled its new 'UP Platform,' which it says will allow developers to integrate UP data into their apps...

Handle, new iOS email and task management app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

The market for iOS email client has been bursting with activity lately. As Apple relaxed its iOS development rules to allow third-party email clients for its iPhone and iPad, the App Store saw an influx of applications that seek to redefine the web's most popular service.

In addition to Apple's stock iOS email and Google-owned Sparrow, users can now choose between Dropbox-owned Mailbox, Southgate Labs Limited's excellent Triage and many other applications that more or less successfully take the pain out of day-to-day email management. The latest arrival: Handle, a handy iOS email and task management app from Siri investor Shawn Carolan...

Post-PC news: China zooms past US in PC sales, netbooks on life support

Ed Sutherland ∙ April 30, 2013

For US PC buyers accustom to receiving items from China, here's a switch: new research indicates more computers are being shipped into China than America. After China became the largest PC market in terms of buyers, the country is now also the world's top market when it comes to shipping.

According to IHS iSuppli, in 2012 69 million PCs were shipped into China, compared to 66 million units headed for the United States. Despite its size, China still has some catching-up to do with the rest of the world. For instance, while most countries have moved on from desktop computers, a full half of PCs shipped to China are desktops.

That's just one of many intriguing differences in the world's largest PC market...

Cash cow is dying as messaging apps overtake SMS by volume

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

For the first time, more messages are being sent via applications such as iMessage, WhatsApp and Viber than traditional texting. That's the message of a new study which found that messages sent using such apps outnumbered those sent through carrier-based SMS in 2012.

That lead is expected to widen this year as chat apps send twice as many messages as texting. The study by Informa suggests the lucrative business of text transmissions could be winding down for carriers.

Although traditional SMS has a larger user base, iMessage, WhatsApp or other chatting apps are sending more texts per user, giving them the momentum...

Google’s iOS Search app, now available with Google Now

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 29, 2013

Boom, just like that Google has issued an update to its excellent Search app for the iPhone and iPad which enables some of the most popular Google Now features on the iOS platform. At least initially, Google Now on iOS devices doesn't support some of the features Android users have come to love.

Boarding passes, activity summary, events, concerts, Fandango and Zillow cards aren't included in the update.

All told, 22 of the 29 card types found in Android have made their way to the iOS edition, including weather, traffic, transit schedules and sports scores. Also: Google Now doesn't have Push Notifications, which makes the feature less useful than on Android, where Google Now can notify users via alerts of their upcoming appointments, changes to their flight schedule, weather and more.

Your promotional video, screenies and additional details are after the break...