Apps

Apple’s Remote app gains iTunes 11 support, Up Next, revamped iPad UI and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 29, 2012

Following the official release of iTunes 11 for Mac and Windows and an incremental Apple TV firmware update, today's update bonanza continues with the release of a minor update to Apple's Remote iOS app. It now plays nice with iTunes 11, of course, and includes a redesigned interface on iPad tablets that takes design cues from the new iTunes, just as the previous version was reminiscent of desktop iTunes. As for iTunes 11 support, the updated Remote app now includes overhauled library views, an expanded view for your media, improved search results, the new UpNext feature and more...

Revamped iTunes 11 arrives: Up Next, new MiniPlayer, deep iCloud integration, more

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 29, 2012

The Wall Street Journal, Apple's unofficial mouthpiece, was right reporting yesterday that iTunes 11 would launch at some point today. Yes, the eleventh major version of the decade-old media jukebox software just went live on Apple's servers. You can download it manually by heading over to Apple's iTunes Download page (and reload if necessary). Alternatively, choose Software Update from the Mac's Apple menu or run the Software Update app available in the Start menu in Windows...

Google’s Chrome iOS browser gains Passbook support, better PDF handling

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 12, 2017

Hot on the heels of rolling out the improved Drive app with spreadsheet editing capabilities, Google today also refreshed its excellent Chrome browser for the iPhone and iPad. Google Chrome version 23.0.1271.91 (seriously? what's up with the versioning scheme?) is now available for download, bringing with it support for Apple's Passbook app on iOS 6 devices, better handling of PDF documents in external applications, new text encoding setting and more. Jump past the fold for your changelog and more tidbits...

Beautiful 500px app arrives on the iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 28, 2012

500px (pronounced five hundred pixels), a web-based photography community, launched in October 2009 and quickly established itself as the premium photo sharing destination. If your photo needs go beyond Instagram's recognizable filters and low resolution snaps of people's food and pets, you may have stumbled upon the 500px web site where people share only their best work in a manner that has nothing to do with the simplification (some would say, dumbification) of Instagram.

The Toronto-based startup has now updated its iPad app, released a year ago, with native iPhone support and boy is it gorgeous...

Reimagined Vimeo app ditches video editor, simplifies video uploads and sharing

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 28, 2012

http://vimeo.com/54298665

Vimeo has updated and reimagined its iPhone app to simplify video uploads and improve sharing via Facebook and Twitter. Vimeo was released on the iPhone back in March of last year. It was updated in January with native iPad support and full-screen video playback. Today's update is the first build created entirely in-house and features a cleaner interface that forgoes the grid system in favor of a tab-based navigation.

The clunky video editor is gone and the program now begins uploading your videos in the background while you're still editing tags, captions and other meta data. Go past the jump for more information and changelog....

Skype update enables chatting with Messenger, Hotmail and Outlook.com contacts

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 24, 2016

Skype was recently updated with a taller UI tailored for the iPhone 5. Today, Microsoft pushed another update, bringing a few new features to the popular communications client. For starters, you can now merge your Skype and Microsoft account, which also enables the software to connect to Microsoft's other messaging properties. Most notably, this means you can now chat with Messenger, Hotmail and Outlook.com contacts right from Skype...

Seagate’s GoFlex Satellite touts 500GB of mobile wireless storage [review and giveaway]

Jim Gresham ∙ November 27, 2012

Moving toward a more connected world, we need our digital stuff more frequently and certainly when we are on the go. Whether you are a jet setter that hops around the world or a family man that needs to share the family pictures with dear old mom, size and portability matter greatly. Combine that digital need with the post-PC era, where the jet setter sized down to an iPad for space, convenience, and weight, and dear old mom just cannot figure out how to use a computer. Shake that up and you get a USB-less conundrum and, oh yeah, optical drives are out now too - check out Christian's article to approve it.

That leaves us with a need to move large quantities of data with us, including documents, movies, photos, music, and other digital necessaries in a small device that connects wirelessly. After reviewing a competing Wi-Fi enabled external hard drive, you, the readers, called out for a larger, yet similarly mobile storage option. Today, I am happy to review the Seagate GoFlex Satellite Mobile Wireless Storage 500GB external hard drive. And, because I aim to please, I teamed up with Seagate to give one away...

Dropbox gains enhanced video playback, support for password-protected Office docs

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

Cloud-storage startup Dropbox has quickly become my favorite solution for storing and sharing files in the cloud, collaborating on projects, backing up my photos and more. Today, an update to the free Dropbox iOS client has been issued, bringing with it a couple new features and tweaks. For starters, streaming of video files from your Dropbox is now improved. Another nice-to-have: Dropbox finally features support for password-protected Microsoft Office documents, an iOS 6-only capability...

Facebook urges employees to switch to Android

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

This is kind of an interesting story. Apparently Facebook has launched an internal campaign to get its employees to trade in their iPhones for Android devices. After years of giving its workers Apple handsets, the social networking giant is urging them to make the switch to Google's platform in an effort known as Droidfooding...

Sparrow updated with iPhone 5 and Passbook support

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 13, 2018

After Apple rejected Sparrow's iPhone 5 update earlier in the month, critics cried foul and commentators happily pointed out Apple was attempting to derail the popular email client for iOS devices and Macs. There was little hope left for new features after Google acquired Sparrow in June. Plus, the search giant acknowledged as much when it said the Sparrow team would move to Google's Mountain View offices to work on new Gmail features. It's a welcome sign, then, that a new version of Sparrow just surfaced on the App Store. Though short of features, it does bring out two major nice-to-haves: support for the iPhone 5's taller display and Passbook integration...

App economy: a reality check

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 18, 2012

The App Store launched in the summer of 2008 with 500 apps. Though late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs initially resisted opening the iPhone to developers, the store went on to change the device from a simple cell phone into a powerful mobile computer. Thirty-five billion downloads later, Apple has progressed to pay a total of $6.5 billion to developers in app revenue after taking a customary 30 percent cut of the action.

But of the more than 700,000 apps now available on the App Store - or a 'candy store' as tech columnist David Pogue nicknamed it - including more than 275,000 apps designed specifically for iPad, only a small selection turned their makers into instant millionaires.

The vast majority of developers barely break even. And of those who turn notable profits, not many quit their day jobs. Yet, the dream of becoming a millionaire overnight with a hit app lives on. So what's wrong with this picture?

Warner’s new iOS app streams paid TV shows the day after airing in the US

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

Aptly named Day After US, a new mobile application for iPhones and iPads by Warner Bros. brings you the goodness of the studio's prime television shows, provided you can wait 24 hours after the episodes aired on television. A free download from the App Store, it works natively on any iPhone, iPod touch and iPad with iOS 4.3 or later. You can download individual episodes directly to your device over Wi-Fi for offline viewing. Warner Bros. is throwing in the first episode of each show free of charge. Want more? Have your credit card handy...