Apps

Instagram: A Beautiful Photography App And Social Network

Alex Heath ∙ Updated July 24, 2016

Instagram is a new camera app for the iPhone with a focus on social networking. The app offers some wonderful, lomo-like filters to make your photos not look so crappy. There are dozens of photography apps that do this well, so what makes Instagram special?

Sharing your photos through social networking is a huge part of Instagram. The app’s developer, Kevin Systrom, descibes Instagram as not merely a camera app, but “a community focused on helping you collect, organize, and share the images of your life from your mobile phone.” Instagram packages this community very elegantly. The look and feel is clean and fast, and there aren’t any gimmicks...

Google Goggles Arrive on the iPhone

Alex Heath ∙ October 5, 2010

The Google Mobile app for iPhone was just updated to support Google Goggles, a feature that has been available on Android for awhile. So what is Google Goggles? And why is it a big deal?

Google Goggles is the next step toward merging the physical world with the online world. While it’s definitely a baby step, Googles is still groundbreaking in the search and mobile space. Goggles allows you to take a picture of essentially anything in real life: buildings, books, wine bottles, or just plain text, and get results from Google about that object...

Potential Game Changing App Update Coming “Out in a Few Weeks…”

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Pleco Software, the masterminds behind the aptly named -- Pleco Chinese Dictionary -- announced today that after minor delay, the latest update to their Chinese language software should be out in a few weeks. Why is this news for iPhone owners, and why should you care?

Well besides the fact that it’s one of the best tools available for learning Mandarin, Pleco’s latest update features a potentially game-changing Optical Character Recognition (OCR) feature that undoubtedly has other developers taking note...

Google Books on Your iPhone

Alex Heath ∙ Updated April 5, 2018

I’ve always wanted an easy way to have a digital library of what I’ve read, what I’m reading, and what I want to read. A Kindle or iBooks library is helpful in having reference on what to read and what has already been read.

However, I haven’t found a good way to handle the recording of physical books I’ve read or books that I’ve read online in another format. I’ve been searching for an easy, cloud-based digital “shelf” for my reading life.

How silly of me to not look farther than Google for my answer. I am reliant on Google in my daily life for email, documents, RSS feeds, and of course, search. I’ve used Google Books only a couple of times to find something like an excerpt from a public domain book. It was not until today that I saw the “My Library” feature of Google Books. Lo and behold it was exactly what I was looking for...

Netflix iPhone App Now Gets Video Out

Guest Author ∙ October 4, 2010

The latest update for the Netflix iPhone app just hit the App Store. It now boasts video-out capabilities for the iPhone 4 and iPod touch 4th generation. This update is huge for those of us who use out iDevice for everything.

I'm a little curious if this will make any difference in quality for those on the 3G/3GS using DisplayOut, TVOut2, or Resupported. Regardless, I'm excited to test out the new functionality, and may opt for some extension cables to make my iPhone AV cable reach the TV from the couch.

Yap Transcribes Your iPhone Voicemails

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated April 2, 2018

Yap is a new application available in the App Store that will turn your iPhone voicemails into a readable text. If you think listening to voicemails is a waste of time (I do), then Yap will be the perfect companion for you.

Google Voice already offers the option of receiving transcribed voicemails but not everybody has a Google Voice account. Yap is available in the App Store for free. Give it a try.

[TechCrunch]

Yup, You Can Install Apps on the Apple TV

Sébastien Page ∙ October 4, 2010

iOS developer Steve Thoughton-Smith confirmed earlier today on Twitter that it is indeed possible to install applications on the new Apple TV. Great news, right?

Well don't rejoice just yet. While you can install apps on the Apple TV, you actually can't launch those applications. So in short, the apps are on your Apple TV but they are useless since there is nothing to make them work.

Since the Apple TV has already been jailbroken, my guess is that the jailbreak community will come up with a way to actually run applications on the Apple TV. And of course, Apple will most likely natively run apps by next year's next big software update.

Thoughts?

Apple Approves a BitTorrent Application

Guest Author ∙ Updated May 11, 2018

Apple has approved a BitTorrent‐based app for the App Store despite rejecting other BitTorrent apps in the past, citing piracy concerns.

The app was developed by Derek Kepner and is called IS Drive. Available now at the App Store for $4.99, it basically utilizes ImageShack Drive, which is a paid, torrent‐based service for downloading files. Users search for torrents on the app and can also download torrents from ISOHunt and Mininova...

EU Drops Investigation into Apple

Guest Author ∙ September 27, 2010

When we reported that Apple had relaxed their App Store guidelines we anticipated the arrival of apps that had been put on hold. What was left out of the conversation was the affect it would have on its pending investigation by the European Commissions office.

It was over a month ago when we originally brought you the news that the EU would be joining the Federal Trade Commissions in investigating Apple for their conduct in the dispute regarding Adobe and Flash. It turns out that when Apple opted to relax their rules it relaxed the temperament of the authorities...

Compare Hotel Prices with HotelCalculator App [Sponsored]

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated May 11, 2018

Suddenly you have to change your hotel reservations or immediately book accommodation. It does not have to be another stressful situation anymore. Wherever you are, with HotelCalculator’s iPhone app you can book hotels in almost every city across the globe. You can use the HotelCalculator iPhone app anywhere you can get an Internet connection.

This “pocket size” search engine will help you find absolute best market prices available because it compares prices of accommodation found on the various travel websites. Save your time with this app that can automatically search aggregates data from over 20 hotel reservation websites and compare the prices for you. Smaller screen but still the same efficient and affordable way to hunt for the best deals...

Google Voice App GV Mobile+ Free For A Few Hours

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated March 5, 2018

A quick alert to let you know that GV Mobile+, the Google Voice application by Sean Kovacs is free in the App Store for a few hours. According to Sean's Twitter update, GV Mobile+ will go back to its normal price ($2.99) at around 10pm PST.

GV Mobile+ was released in the App Store last week after Apple loosened up the app approval process. It is the second Google Voice iPhone app to be approved in the App Store this since Apple changed the app approval process. GV Connect was the first one.

You can download GV Mobile+ from here. Hurry up!

UPDATE: The developer of GV Mobile+ is apparently pissed that we (and other sites) shared the news. As a result, the app is not free anymore.

UPDATE 2: The dev says on Twitter the app should be free again for just a few minutes. Hurry!

Adobe CEO Gives Apple Just Minor Praise

Guest Author ∙ September 23, 2010

I thought when Apple announced they were loosening up their restrictions as far as the App Store was concerned, that life things would snap in the other direction as far as the relationship with Adobe went. Turns out wounds don't heal at the drop of a few guidelines.

While it is certainly better, 9 to 5 Mac reports that an Adobe CEO calls the effect that Apple's new stance has had is "muted". It didn't stop there though. The entire conversation has Shantanu Narayen talking about anything except the iPhone or Apple as a whole...