Apps

Scanbot gains new gesture, B&W filter, OCR enhancements and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 25, 2014

Scanbot, the popular PDF and QR code scanner, has received an update bringing the app to version 3.1.1 and introducing a few new features for basic and Pro users alike.

When scanning a document, a brand new black and white filter can be used to achieve more accurate scans that preserve more structure from images. When reading a PDF file, you can now swipe to go back.

Finally, the app now bundles a 'Get Started' document to help get users up to speed and a few nice-to-haves for Pro users listed after the break.

Apple updates GarageBand for iOS with new RED Loop Pack

Cody Lee ∙ November 23, 2014

Apple pushed out an update for the iOS version of GarageBand on Sunday, bringing the popular music-making app to version 2.0.5. The update adds the option to purchase the RED Loop Pack, a limited-time in-app purchase that features an exclusive collection of 300 guitar, bass, synth and drum loops in a variety of genres.

The pack will only be available until December 7, via a $0.99 in-app purchase, but of course once paid for it will be permanently accessible from the GarageBand loop browser. Apple says 100% of the proceeds will go to the RED foundation, a charity that raises money for a global fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Certify your English proficiency using Duolingo Test Center for iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 30, 2018

The language certification industry commands some surprisingly insane fees so how about fair language certification for all?

Your prayers have been heard: the free learning platform Duolingo on Friday released an iOS app which allows anyone to certify their English proficiency right on their iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.

Not only can Duolingo Test Center certify your language skills right on an iOS device, but does so at a significant lower price, too.

And because there's no need to travel long distances to examination facilities available only in select major cities, you can get certified in the comfort of your home, in under half an hour.

EA Mobile teases upcoming game “Need for Speed No Limits”

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

EA Mobile has posted a new teaser trailer for its upcoming game "Need for Speed No Limits." The game is being built by Firemonkeys, the combined teams of Firemint and IronMonkey Studios, who both have racing backgrounds.

The video features professional rally driver Ken Block, of the Hoonigan Racing Division, playing the new Need for Speed on his iPhone 6. The gameplay footage shown is fairly impressive, flaunting sharp graphics and intense gameplay.

Vimeo gains finely graded notification settings, more informative layouts

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 20, 2014

Following up on its August update which brought out uploading functionality in addition to some interesting private sharing options, Vimeo on Thursday issued a brand new version of its iPhone and iPad client.

Now at version 5.1.1, Vimeo's video pages have gained more informative layouts with the title, creator, play count and other information.

Active Vimeo users often complained about an avalanche of notifications from the site. Feeling their pain, the video sharing site has finally made it possible to cherry-pick notifications to receive in the Vimeo app.

Jump past the fold for other Vimeo 5.1.1 highlights.

Telltale posts first trailer of upcoming ‘Game of Thrones’ game

Cody Lee ∙ November 20, 2014

After dropping some details regarding its upcoming 'Game of Thrones' game last week, Telltale Games today released its first trailer. The video sets the stage for what could be Telltale's biggest releases, given how popular HBO's GOT franchise has become.

The game will tell the story of the House Forrester, a noble family from the north of Westerns, loyal to the Starks Winterfell. Players will take on the role of different members of the Forrester household, and determine their fates. Here's the new trailer.

Evernote for Mac rewritten for speed and energy performance, iOS app gets Work Chat and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 20, 2014

Evernote, the popular note-taking and productivity platform, on Thursday issued a major refresh to its Mac app while adding a new Work Chat for sharing and collaborating to the iPhone and iPad client, among other items.

After a complete rewrite, Evernote 6.0 for Mac is now significantly faster, more reliable and consumes less energy than ever before.

As if that weren't enough, the new Mac app comes with half a dozen new features, including sleek new look optimized for OS X Yosemite, search improvements, the ability to resize images and tables, to mention just a few.

iOS and OS X editions of Evernote are available free of charge.

You can now privately share tweets in DMs

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 28, 2018

After previewing future platform enhancements and features during its Analyst’s Day event, the popular social service Twitter on Thursday began rolling out one of the mentioned new features: the ability to private share a tweet through Twitter's direct messaging function.

Think about sharing tweets privately with any of your followers in terms of discussing public content in private conversations, the micro-blogging platform suggested.

To do this from Twitter's main iPhone client, long-press the tweet in your timeline and choose the new “Share via Direct Message” option. The person you share a tweet with will get a push notification, said the company.

Moreover, the tweet will display directly in the conversation.

You can now adjust focus and lighting of photos in Facebook Messenger

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 20, 2014

Facebook on Thursday issued a small update to its Messenger app for the iPhone and iPad, bringing out additional features to touch up the photos you take within the software using the built-in camera feature.

Now available in the App Store at no cost, Facebook Messenger 16.0 fixed an issue with sending messages while introducing a pair of new controls to adjust the focus and lighting of photos you take in the app.

Carousel by Dropbox gains native iPad UI, sharing to Instagram and WhatsApp and web app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 29, 2018

Released in April of 2014, Carousel is a great app to enjoy all your photos stored in Dropbox, but I've always resented that it didn't have a native interface on the iPad. The Dropbox-owned software has received a refresh Thursday, at last adding the native interface on Apple's tablets.

In addition, Carousel now lets you share images from your Dropbox to Facebook-owner Instagram mobile photography service and WhatsApp mobile messaging platform. And as a nice bonus, the team has thrown in a compelling Carousel web app.

Carousel is available free in the App Store.

Download Things for iPhone and iPad, Apple’s latest Free App of the Week

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 12, 2018

Things for the iPhone and iPad, the popular task management application by Cultured Code, is now available at no cost in the App Store until next Thursday, courtesy of Apple's ongoing Free App of the Week promotion.

You're looking at a cool combined savings of $30 on both the iPhone and iPad edition of Things which normally sell for $9.99 and $19.99, respectively.

Things for Mac has received a nice discount to celebrate the promotion and can be now downloaded for $34.99 in the Mac App Store, 30 percent off its full price of $49.99.

Download Things for iPhone and iPad at no cost until next Thursday, November 28.

Pocket updated with support for 1Password extension, Dynamic Type and more

Cody Lee ∙ November 19, 2014

Popular read-it-later service Pocket pushed out a notable update for its iOS client today, bringing the app to version 5.6.2. The update includes a number of improvements, including support for Dynamic Type and the 1Password extension.

The addition of Dynamic Type support means that text in Pocket will now reflect whatever you have set as your system font size preference. And of course 1Password extension support means users can now login to Pocket with Touch ID.