iPad

From the latest news to the most comprehensive tutorials, learn how to get the most out of your iPad with our step-by-step guides and expert tips.

FreedomPop adds LTE iPads to its no-contract free data, text and voice plans

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 30, 2014

FreedomPop, a startup backed by Skype founder Niklas Zennstrom which provides free or inexpensive Internet service on the Sprint network, today added the original iPad mini and other cellular-capable iPads to its stable of supported devices.

Apple's LTE iPads, along with Samsung's seven-inch Galaxy Tab 3, are now eligible for FreedomPop's no-contract, free of charge voice, data and text plan.

It's basically the same plan that the company originally offered to smartphone owners. Additional voice and data is available for a fee.

Regardless of whether you're buying a little used iPad mini from FreedomPop or bringing your device over from another carrier, FreedomPop will treat you to gratis 500MB of LTE data, 200 voice minutes and 500 text messages.

But how does one take advantage of voice minutes and text messages on LTE iPads which only support data connections over cellular? Read on for the full reveal...

Amazon updates Kindle app with placeholders, note exporting, Wikipedia integration and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 29, 2014

Hot on the heels of announcing a standalone all-you-can-eat subscription for books and audiobooks costing ten bucks per month, the online retail behemoth Amazon has issued an interesting update to its free Kindle for iOS app.

In addressing customer complaints, the company has brought out several new features that make sync and navigation easier. For starters, Kindle 4.4 lets you create placeholders to explore other areas of the book without losing your current place.

I'm exited about Wikipedia integration: you can now easily learn more about a word by selecting it to read an entry from Wikipedia in the Info Card at the bottom of the page...

Spotify gains equalizers, revamped Artist page for iPad and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Not to be outdone by soon-to-be-Apple's Beats Music, which yesterday pushed an update adding new features like Tune Your Taste, Sentence History and Verified Badges, rival Spotify has moved to refresh its iOS client this morning.

Now sitting at version 1.5, the free Spotify for iOS has picked up several nice-to-haves such as brand-new audio equalizers accessible within the app's settings interface, a much-revamped Artist page for iPad, now with latest release and merchandise, and more...

Yelp app updated with new video review feature

Cody Lee ∙ July 29, 2014

Yelp posted an update for its mobile app yesterday that's been garnering quite a bit of buzz in the tech community. The update, which brings the client to version 8.1, adds a new feature that enables users to post and view video reviews.

Using your iPhone, you can now take 3-12 second videos of your experiences at your favorite bar or business and post them to Yelp via the mobile app. You can also view videos in-app, giving you a better idea of a place's atmosphere...

Activator receives major update with new icons, developer APIs and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

Popular jailbreak tweak Activator has been updated today, bringing the package to version 1.9. Developer Ryan Petrich says that this is the "largest release" for the tweak in over a year, as it brings about many new features and enhancements.

We've posted the lengthy change log down below, but just to give you an idea of what to expect, Activator 1.9 includes several new icons, new developer APIs and custom actions. It also offers a number of bug fixes and various other improvements...

Facebook disabling messaging in main mobile app, forcing users into Messenger

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

It appears that folks using Facebook's Messenger service will soon have to download the standalone app, or look at other messaging options. Over the next few days, the social network is going to disable messaging from its main iPhone and Android apps.

The move is an attempt to push users over to Facebook Messenger, which the company says will have several benefits. For one it will enable it to streamline the mobile chat experience, and two, Facebook says users respond faster when using Messenger...

Beats Music gains Tune Your Taste, Sentence History, Verified Badges and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2018

Beats Music, a music-streaming service that uses a combination of algorithms and good ol' human curation to make it easy to enjoy music based on your location, activities and other criteria, has just been updated with several new features.

The free iPhone and iPad app, now sitting at version 2.2, has brought out the ability to further tailor music to your tastes by changing your favorite genres and artists.

And, folks can now view their most recently played songs from The Sentence. Also, avoiding fake profiles is easier than ever because the app now has verified profiles - just look for a new red checkmark indicating a profile has been "certified as legit by Beats"...

T-Mobile unveils time-limited $100 per month family plan with 10GB LTE data

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 28, 2014

"Leaving my office last week, I pulled alongside a bus covered with yet another ad for AT&T’s 'Best-Ever Pricing' for families," writes T-Mobile USA's outspoken CEO John Legere in a blog post Monday.

As is his wont, Legere couldn't resist offering a scathing critique of AT&T's family plan, calling it "funny" because "their deal is no deal at all" compared to the pricing of T-Mobile’s Simple Choice Family Plan.

Regardless, Legere went on to announce a new competitive offering which will be launching later this month to give a family of four a total of ten gigabytes of high-speed LTE data (2.5GB each) in exchange for a cool hundred bucks per month. By comparison, AT&T's “Best-Ever Pricing” offers four lines for $160...

Tweetbot 3 quietly rolls out animated GIF support via iOS media player

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

You're probably aware that Twitter began supporting animated GIFs via its web interface in mid-June. If so, you may also recall that Twitter's iOS client has picked up support for this popular file format a mere week later.

The feature isn't exclusive to the company's own mobile apps: Twitter soon after updated its API to let makers of third-party clients implement direct GIF sharing via pic.twitter.com links.

Tapbots' Tweetbot, one of the best Twitter clients for the Mac and iOS devices, does not officially recognize animated GIFs. That's why tapping a pic.twitter.com GIF link in Tweetbot for iPhone opens the detail view for the tweet itself rather than play the embedded animation inline.

This has been driving me nuts - but not anymore. As it turns out, Tapbots yesterday issued a maintenance update to Tweetbot for the iPhone and iPod touch which apparently adds support for animated GIFs via Twitter's pic.twitter.com links. Strangely enough, the official release notes make no mention of this nice little addition whatsoever...

Official Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie game arrives

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 25, 2014

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the official mobile game of the upcoming movie, has made its surprise debut on the App Store, well ahead of the movie's August 8 premiere.

Created by the same that which brought you Combo Crew [Universal, $1.99], this movie tie-in classes as a classic beat 'em up where you play as one of the four classic turtles.

You'll have to learn powerful combos and counter-attacks to defeat Shredder's minions, chain multiple attacks to build up your Turtle Power meter combo to unleash your other turtles and much more.

The $3.99 iPhone and iPad game sneakily includes a bunch of In-App Purchases to boost your scores and stats...

Select ComiXology titles now available to download without DRM restrictions

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 25, 2014

I downright hate digital-rights management (DRM). No, I'm not a cheapskate who'd rather pirate someone else's hard work rather than support publishers with my wallet - my average monthly spending on iTunes is about $50, for those wondering.

Now, it's perfectly understandable that content owners should be entitled to imposing copy protection on their digital products, but the annoyances to consumers far outweigh the benefits to content owners, methinks.

ComiXology is a typical example. But, but - comics want to be free of the clutches of DRM! Having realized as much, ComiXology on Friday sent out en email informing customers they can now download backup copies of select titles from certain publishers without the dreaded DRM restrictions, using its free iOS app...

‘TMNT: Rooftop Run’ goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Cody Lee ∙ July 24, 2014

Attention gamers, Apple has just named 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Rooftop Run' its App of the Week for this week. This means that through next Thursday, you’ll be able to pick up the game for both iPhone and iPad, for free—a sizable savings of $4.

TMNT fans will feel right at home in this endless-combat-runner. Set in New York, the game pits Leo, Donnie, Raph, Mikey and other unlockable characters against the Foot Clan and company, and players must run, jump, fight and even drive to save their city...