Apps

Facebook ‘totally’ ready to launch Messenger for iPad on Tuesday

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 8, 2016

You may have heard that Facebook has issued invites for a media event due this coming Tuesday to “come and see what [they're] building”. People in the know claim the news conference is a pretty big deal as Facebook could announce a brand new mobile operating system, even a so-called Facebook Phone of some sort. And now, another source has stepped forward with knowledge that the social networking giant will also launch an iPad version of its mobile Messenger app, which in a recent update has gained VoIP capabilities...

Cut the Rope gains a new Steam Box of 25 levels

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 17, 2018

Red hot UK developer Chillingo has refreshed its popular physics-based puzzler, Cut the Rope, with a brand new Steam Box containing 25 levels. The charming game invites you to feed candy to your little monster.

Released two years ago, it's been downloaded 250 million times across platforms. With this new update, which is free to those who've purchased the game, Cut the Rope now sports a whopping 325 levels spread across thirteen boxes and Chillingo is promising more to come. Just like Angry Birds, Chillingo has been constantly adding new content to Cut the Rope with free content packs.

Rovio also yesterday updated its Angry Birds Space game with 30 new aquatic levels and while I'm a huge fan of the series, I must admit I've been feeling a little Angry Birds fatigue lately so this Cut the Rope update should keep me busy. It's very entertaining and I love its charming characters and crisp graphics. If you haven't already, I urge you to at least check out a out free demo version...

‘Pig Dipper’ update adds 30 new aquatic levels to Angry Birds Space

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCPD3z6iWWE

Rejoice, Angry Birds fans. Just like clockwork, Rovio has updated its Angry Birds Space game with an ambiguously titled Pig Dipper episode bringing thirty new galactic-aquatic levels to your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Android devices. This episode introduces a new planet called Splash that features pigs in boats - how bizarre is that?.

Also look for strange aquatic extraterrestrial life and water-based physics allowing for some nice trick shots. The game adds power-up specific leaderboards and amuses with the stuff like inflating the pigs with Pig Puffer and creating black holes with Space Egg, to name a few. I wonder if the giant fish is the boss...

Google releases a brand new iPhone application, Coordinate

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

Google has just release a brand new application for the iPhone on the App Store. Dubbed Coordinate, it's a workforce management tool aimed at business users that the company says will improve the efficiency of your mobile teams. The Mountain View, California-headquartered search Goliath explains that by getting real-time visibility into where teams are and what jobs they are doing, "work can be allocated in a smarter, more efficient way" using the mobile Coordinate app. The software is targeted at businesses so it doesn't work with consumer Google accounts...

Quick review: Keycard unlocks your Mac when you’re nearby, but…

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

http://vimeo.com/52132178

Keycard from Appuous is a nifty new app which keeps your Mac secure by locking your OS X user account automatically when you're not around. It does this by using your Bluetooth connection to check for your iPhone or iPad's presence, thereby detecting when you've stepped away from your computer or returned to it. Of course, unless you remember to take the paired device with you, Keycard won't be up for the task.

On the surface, the idea seems pretty useful as the app turns your iOS device into a personal 'keycard' of sorts. However, it isn't without pitfalls and the flashy promo video doesn't mention the fine print. I installed the program and after spending a few minutes with it immediately noticed a couple issues you should be aware of...

App Store tops 40B downloads, 20B in 2012

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 7, 2013

Apple just announced that its application store for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch software, the App Store, has topped a whopping forty billion downloads so far, with almost twenty billion downloads added in the calendar 2012 alone. These are unique downloads that exclude re-downloads and updates. The iPhone maker has also confirmed that as of today the App Store is home to a total of 775,000 active apps for the iOS gadgets (though a million apps passed through the store so far), with 300,000 tailored specifically for iPads...

It was a very appy holiday season for iOS, Android

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 23, 2018

Good news for developers: iOS and Android together accounted for a massive 1.76 billion app downloads around the world between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve, per research by ad firm Flurry. That's more than a marked improvement compared to the 1.2 billion apps that were downloaded last year across both Android and iOS. Think about it, 1.76 billion downloads in just seven days.

In fact, a number of weeks since late November delivered more than a billion downloads. It wasn't that long ago that a billion downloads was considered a remarkable achievement throughout the span of the entire year, let alone weeks or months.

And if that data point didn't give you a pause, consider this: based on historical data, Flurry expects app downloads to regularly hit the one billion milestone each week going forward. Doing a quick math in your head, at that rate both iOS and Android should account for at least 52 billion downloads in 2013...

YouTube, Google Maps top list of most downloaded apps on Christmas Day

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

Given the fact that millions of iPhones, iPads and iPod touches were given as gifts this year, and that a number of apps and games were on sale, it's no surprise that there was a huge spike in app downloads on Tuesday.

In fact, app analytics firm Distimo found that daily downloads in the App Store increased by 87% on Christmas Day compared to the December 2012 average. So what was everyone downloading? Read on to find out...

FlashArmyKnife has a hidden tethering feature [update: it’s gone]

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

You'll wanna act on this one right now coz Apple's gonna pull it sooner than later. The innocently titled FlashArmyKnife combines seven little utilities into one iPhone app: flashlight with adjustable brightness, built-in web browser with bookmarks, fully functional trigonometry calculator, satellite view map, currency converter, compass and battery indicator. As useful as these are, you'll want FlashArmyKnife for its hidden tethering feature.

We're not really sure how it managed to escape the attention of Apple's eagle-eyed censors, but you can bet Apple's gonna nuke the program out of orbit the instant they find out about tethering. So, if you've been looking to share your brand spanking new iPhone 5's Internet connection with other devices without purchasing a tethering plan from your carrier, this app gets the job done and without requiring a jailbreak, too...

Nielsen publishes list of top 10 iPhone apps for 2012

Cody Lee ∙ December 21, 2012

Nielsen, a highly regarded information and measurement firm, released its "Digital Tops of 2012" lists yesterday, which included topics like the top 10 Internet brands, and the top 10 iOS apps for the year.

The apps were picked based on average unique users from Q1 of 2012 to Q3, and as you might have guessed, four of the top 10 chosen are (were) native iOS apps like Maps and YouTube. We've got the full list after the fold...