Apps

Flurry: US app audience nearly equals online laptops and desktops

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Apps (whether iOS or Android) are attracting huge audiences in the United States. Indeed, during a recent month apps attracted nearly the same number of people as used laptop and desktop to go online. What's more, for a prime-time period during the week apps attract 52 million users, equivalent to the circulation of the top 200 weekend U.S. newspapers and three television shows, according to numbers released by a mobile analytics firm Thursday...

FocusTwist: boost your iPhone photography with refocusable photos

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 24, 2013

There is no such thing as too many photography apps. Being an avid iPhone photography fan, I've found that every single photography app I downloaded from the App Store - and boy did I download ton of these - serves a slightly different purpose, letting me go the extra mile adding something unique to my photos.

Enter FocusTwist, a new iPhone application from Arqball which gives you ability to capture your snaps now and focus later. The software achieves refocusable photography by taking several images rapidly, each at a different focus setting.

The clever software then combines those snaps into a single image that can be posted online for your friends to interactively refocus later...

Companies still deploying iOS first as Android remains MIA online

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

You would think, given Android's raw numerical advantage, that app developers would first build for the larger market. However, Apple's iOS appears to offer companies other, more valuable qualities. Indeed, one need only look to last Friday, when Twitter unveiled its #music service - available initially only to iOS users. Another iOS exclusive, Twitter's Vine, has yet to hit the Android platform.

Key to why companies are still developing apps first for iOS are findings that Apple's mobile software is both used more often and the users are more loyal to the apps they download. What is Android's response: change how such things are measured....

Mailbox app security fail exposes your contacts, attachments and email messages

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 26, 2017

Orchestra's Mailbox has quickly become my default iPhone email application. As you know, Mailbox offloads backend email management to the cloud so the thin client running on your device can let you zip through your inbox at a rapid pace while rethinking the workflow with abilities such as snoozing individual messages as if they were reminders and more. So is there anything not to like about Mailbox?

Apparently there is. According to one app developer, a database Mailbox maintains on your device is unsecured, potentially exposing your contacts, attachments and message contents to anyone who has physical access to your device, using just a simple file transfer tool like iExplorer or DiskAid...

Tumblr iOS app updated with read later and social sharing features

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 24, 2013

Tumblr is the home to over a hundred million blogs that have published nearly 50 billion posts. In between blogging for a living here on iDB, checking out new gadgets and just leading an ordinary life, I have little time to maintain a personal blog. But if I did, I'd definitely consider Tumblr as my blogging platform of choice. If you run a Tumblr blog, updating your posts on the go has just become a tad easier as a new version of the official Tumblr iOS app has been released on the App Store with a couple noteworthy additions...

Apple bans smileys and other special characters from app descriptions

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 23, 2013

From time to time, Apple updates its iTunes marketing requirements. The goal is to provide the most accurate and reliable descriptions for the mobile applications, movies, television shows, songs and other media content types customers download from iTunes.

In the most recent example, the iPhone maker has reportedly taken issue with app blurbs. Long story short, Apple is no longer willing to turn a blind eye on luring would-be buyers with "enhanced" app descriptions that contain exclamation marks, stars, smileys and other special characters.

The change was communicated via the iTunes Connect web portal, a venue registered iOS developers use exclusively to upload their submissions and iTunes marketing materials...

Google releases Fiber TV iPad app

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 23, 2013

Google's Fiber, a broadband network infrastructure using fiber-optic communication, has gone live in Kansas City which became the first U.S. community where the Internet giant deployed this promising technology.

Just a quick recap: the most obvious benefit of Google Fiber is the hundred times faster data rates, in both downlink and uplink, compared to the traditional broadband services.

Following last month's release of the Fiber TV app for Android devices, the search monster today issued a build for Apple's iPad tablet. Should you happen to live in select areas of Kansas City, go download the Fiber TV iPad app and start browsing, buying and watching television shows and movies that are airing live, right on your iPad...

TweetBot 2.8 released with Media Timeline and overhauled image viewer

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

TapBot's TweetBot isn't the most affordable Twitter client on iOS, but the download is definitely worth every cent, at least as far as I'm concerned.

And with Twitter killing off its TweetDeck software on iOS, Android and AIR platforms beginning May 7, the selection of free Twitter clients on the App Store is about to become a little less comprehensive.

If you were looking for an excuse to treat yourself to a copy of TweetBot - which costs three bucks for the iPhone/iPod touch and an additional $3 for the iPad edition - you'll be wise to consider taking the plunge following today's update, TweetBot 2.8. Check out the new features right after the break...

App recommendation software AppShopper returns as social tool

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

When is it okay for an app to recommend other apps? Only when your friends recommend them via any third-party software designed to curate crowdsourced app recommendations, according to Apple. In other words, get social. That's the word from AppShopper Social (formerly AppShopper), an app recommendation service which returns from banishment by Apple after allowing users to view lists of apps recommended by friends. Developers have discovered that by adding the slight wrinkle of social interactivity, they can avoid at least one Apple ban: being "similar to or confusing with the App Store"...

Delicious Library iOS app is coming soon

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

I've been a long time fan of Delicious Monster's excellent cataloging software, Delicious Library. The handy Mac application allows me to catalogue my physical media and gadgets while the handy barcode scanning feature makes adding new content a breeze. Its wooden bookshelf design also may have inspired Apple's iBooks app.

But in today's increasingly mobile world, Delicious Library has lost some of its allure because we now carry iPhones in our pockets and developers never saw fit to create an iOS version of Delicious Library. That's about to change as Delicious Monster has now confirmed plans to release a companion iOS app focused on scanning barcodes, letting you easily add content to your Delicious library wherever you go...