Apps

Facebook launches quick-loading, interactive ‘Instant Articles’ as an iPhone-exclusive feature

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 13, 2015

Facebook today announced a new ‘Instant Articles’ feature which is rolling out to its iPhone application later today. As the name implies, this iPhone-exclusive capability lets cherry-picked publishers craft versions of news stories for mobile screens that load in a fraction of a second.

The new, mobile-optimized reading experience includes interactive features from Facebook's Paper app, with support for rich media such as photos and video and other embeddable content types like multitouch maps and more.

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Paper by FiftyThree now lets you create diagrams, charts and wireframes

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 12, 2015

Keeping true to its promise, developer FiftyThree today updated its iPad drawing application Paper with support for a new set of drawing tools collectively dubbed the Think Kit.

With Think Kit, Paper users can take advantage of brand new Diagram, Cut, and Fill tools to create diagrams, charts and wireframes with ease. Think Kit is entirely free and comes as an automatic update for existing users of the Paper app.

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Nintendo to release first smartphone game this year, 5 games by 2017

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

After years of waiting, we could see Nintendo's first smartphone game within the next 6 months. The Verge passes along comments made by CEO Satoru Iwata during a shareholders meeting, in which he stated the company is aiming to debut the game before the end of the year.

Additionally, Iwata explained that Nintendo plans to release 5 mobile titles between now and March 2017. "You may think it is a small number," he said. "But when we aim to make each title a hit, this is not a small number and should demonstrate our commitment to smart devices."

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‘Toca Nature’ goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Cody Lee ∙ May 7, 2015

Apple has just named “Toca Nature” its App of the Week for this week. This means that from now through next Thursday, you’ll be able to download the award-winning education software for both iPhone and iPad for free—a great savings of $2.99.

Geared towards kids, Toca Nature allows you to shape nature and watch it develop. Want to grow your own forest? Go for it. Want to create a mountain range and enjoy the view? You got it. Plants, animals, landscapes and more are at your disposal.

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Google confirms snapping up Timeful, iPhone-only time management and scheduling app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 31, 2018

The Internet giant Google today announced via the official Gmail blog that it is buying Timeful, an iPhone-exclusive productivity application designed to help you get things scheduled so you can get them done.

The nicely designed application, positioned as your calendar and to-do list with intelligent assistance to make the most of your time, is available on the App Store for the time being but its functionality will be eventually folded into Google Apps, including Gmail, Calendar and more.

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T-Mobile again offering free MLB At Bat Premium subscription to customers

Cody Lee ∙ April 30, 2015

Football season has long been over and basketball is getting there, but baseball season is just getting started. And for fans of the sport who are either on T-Mobile, or thinking about it, you'll be interested to know that the carrier is once again offering MLB At Bat Premium to customers.

As noted by Droid-Life, the promotion is season-long, beginning May 1 and running through the end of September. To qualify, customers must download the MLB At Bat app on Android or iOS while on T-Mobile's network—you will not get the discount if you are on Wi-Fi or roaming.

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‘Mighty Switch Force! Hose It Down!’ goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Cody Lee ∙ April 30, 2015

Apple has just named WayForward's "Might Switch Force! Hose it Down!" its App of the Week for this week. This means that from now through next Thursday, you’ll be able to download the award-winning pick-up-and-play puzzler for iPhone and iPad for free—a solid savings of $1.99.

For those unfamiliar with the game, you play as a member of Planet Land's Fire Brigade that has to help put out fires around Tangent City and evacuate any trapped Hooligan Sisters. You accomplish this by strategically moving and rotating tiles to direct your water towards the flames.

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Premium Star Wars games discounted deeply on Mac App Store and App Store

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 30, 2015

With only five days left until the annual Star Wars Day celebration (May the Fourth Be With You, says the marketing tagline), Aspyr Media is celebrating the occasion in advance by temporarily slashing five premium Star Wars titles for the Mac by fifty percent.

The Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Star Wars: Empire At War, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed games have gone half price each, in some cases even lower, on the Mac App Store. Put together, these downloads normally sell for a combined $70, so you're looking at a cool $40 saved if you download the five Mac games while this promotion lasts.

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Amazon’s Instant Video for iOS can now stream content in HD and over cellular

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 30, 2015

Amazon's Instant Video client for the iPhone and iPad has received an update Thursday, bumping version number to 3.0 and bringing out several improvements to streaming video quality.

Users can now stream Instant Video content on their iOS device through their carrier's cellular network while controlling their mobile data usage settings. In addition, the ability to watch video streams in high-definition has been added, too.

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Facebook Messenger launches video calling

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 27, 2015

Merely a week after flipping the switch on audio calling in the popular WhatsApp service, Facebook today started rolling out video calling to its Messenger app on iOS and across other mobile platforms.

As you know, Messenger already offers people the ability to make voice calls to friends around the world. By enabling cross-platform video calling across the ubiquitous messaging service, which commands 600 million users, the firm has enabled users to engage in face-to-face conversations with their friends and the people they care about, regardless of the platform of their choice.

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