Apps

Marvel for iPhone turns your sketches into interactive app prototypes

Cody Lee ∙ April 11, 2014

Let's say you're an aspiring entrepreneur, and you just got this wonderful idea for an app that's going to make you a millionaire, what do you do? Chances are, your first move would be to draw out the app on paper so you could get a better visual of it. But something's missing, and that's where the Marvel app comes in.

Marvel is an iPhone app capable of capturing sketches of your app ideas and turning them into interactive prototypes. Simply take a photo of your drawing and apply ‘touch’ hotspots to the image using Marvel, and then link other photos to those hotspots. And in no time at all, you'll be tapping your way through your app...

‘Age of Empires: World Domination’ coming to iOS this summer

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 2, 2017

Last summer we noted that development studio KLab had reached a licensing deal with Microsoft to bring its popular Ages of the Empire franchise to mobile devices. And today, KLab gave the game an official title and a vague release date. 'Ages of Empires: World Domination' is coming to iPhones and iPads this summer...

Ubisoft’s Trials Frontier racer now available in the App Store

Cody Lee ∙ April 10, 2014

Good news gamers, the official mobile version of Trials is now available. First revealed at E3 last year, Ubisoft's Trials Frontier is a mobile-exclusive entry in the popular stunt biking series, and it landed in the App Store this morning with support for both the iPhone and iPad.

For those unfamiliar with Trials, it's a long-running platform racing franchise famous for its crazy characters and physics-based gameplay. And this new mobile version adds in a mix of social features, allowing you to challenge your friends and compete against other racers...

‘Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff’ now available in the App Store

Cody Lee ∙ April 10, 2014

We've been looking forward to the new Family Guy game on iOS since it was first mentioned last December, and we're happy to say that it is now available for download. Head on over to the App Store, and you can grab 'Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff' for free.

For those who have missed our various posts on the title, the game is a joint venture between Fox and TinyCo studios, and it involves you helping Peter Griffin and the rest of the Quahog residents rebuild their city after it's destroyed. Read on for a full overview...

Fire TV companion apps, Second Screen and Remote, hitting iOS soon

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

Tucked away as a side note in Amazon's Fire TV announcement last week is an interesting confirmation of a companion iOS app for the set-top box that's scheduled to launch later this year in the App Store.

The software will act as a second screen solution allowing Fire TV owners to fling Amazon TV shows and movies from their iPhone or iPad to the $99 set-top box, providing remote functionality with playback controls, support for Amazon's X-Ray technology that pulls media metadata from the web and more.

In addition to Second Screen, the official Fire TV app for smartphones and tablets will launch soon, providing virtual controls for touch-enabled games...

Apple seen testing push notifications for resolved Maps issues

Cody Lee ∙ April 9, 2014

Apple is apparently testing a new notification system for Maps, according to a report from MacRumors. The site has posted screenshots showing a new option that some users are seeing to receive a push notification when their reported issue with the app has been fixed.

It works like this: after choosing to 'Report a Problem' within the Maps app, users are given the option to be notified when engineers have fixed the issue. And once the problem has been resolved, Apple sends out a push notification to that user's device letting them know...

Downcast apps for iOS and Mac on sale for a limited time

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Folks looking to branch out in the world of podcast apps may want to check out Downcast for iOS and Mac. The two apps are considered by many to be best in their respective categories, and for a limited time, both of them are available at discounts of up to 50%.

The iPhone client, for those who haven't used it, is about as sharp as they come. It's packed with innovative features like gesture-based playback controls, and looks great thanks to its recent iOS 7 refresh. And the Mac version of the app is equally impressive...

Pocket updated with new languages, support for Medium and more

Cody Lee ∙ April 9, 2014

Last month, popular read-it-later service Pocket took its iOS client global, adding the support of French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish languages. Until then, the app could only display UI elements (not saved content) in English.

Today the service built on that achievement by adding support for 5 new languages, including both Chinese and Portuguese, via an app update. The release, marked as version 5.2.1, also features better support for Medium and other improvements....

Klout for iPhone goes 2.0: personalized content stream, topic explorer, Klout Perks and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2018

Klout started out in 2008 with the promise of measuring the world's influence. Although its rapid rise to fame has inspired a bunch of similar services, Klout has remained my favorite social media analytics.

Upon connecting your social media accounts with Klout, the service calculates your score on a scale of 1-100, depending on the popularity of your posts as measured by the number of interactions and reposts from your community, among other factors.

To derive your score, Klout processes an astounding 50 billion pieces of information every single day. Granted, Klout isn't the most accurate social analytics tool out there, but it does help you get noticed for your unique passions.

Besides, the team is dutifully adding new features on a regular basis. My only gripe with Klout: its sub-par iPhone app - and I'm using the term 'app' loosely here - that would only let me see my Klout score and nothing else.

Today's version 2.0 update changes all that by adding several much-needed features such as personalized content streams, the new content scheduler and topic explorers, Klout Perks and more...

NBC’s iOS app now streams free shows to Apple TV

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 8, 2014

Cord-cutters are well aware that the National Broadcasting Company, or NBC, is one of the rare few broadcasters that allow for free streaming of their shows right after they've aired on television, no cable subscription required.

The company has a nice iOS application which has received an interesting little update earlier today with support for wireless content streaming to the Apple TV, via Apple's AirPlay technology.

As a result, you can now send such shows as The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Days of our Lives, The Blacklist and About a Boy to your big screen TV, through Apple's $99 media-streaming box...

Persistent search bar and swiping improvements added to Vimeo’s iOS app

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 7, 2014

Back in February, the video sharing service Vimeo added support for the handy swiping gesture to its free iOS app.

You can swipe right to reveal options to share a video, like it or add it to your Watch Later list. Swiping left marks a video for download so it can be accessible on your device without an Internet connection.

Today's update, now available in the App Store, removes the Watch Later option when you swipe from left to right, leaving only sharing and liking options in the menu. But don't worry, Watch Later is now available when you swipe from right to left. As a bonus, the app now adds a clip to your Watch Later list and marks it for download at the same time.

Vimeo version 4.0.10 also includes a new persistent search bar at the top, but more on this after the break...

Amazon Instant Video gets overhauled with iOS 7 styling

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 7, 2014

Amazon on Monday issued a new version of its Instant Video for iOS app. Available free in the App Store, the new Amazon Instant Video version 2.5 now finally features a brand new user interface on the iPhone and iPad which honors Apple's human interface guidelines for iOS 7 development.

Released initially for the iPad in August 2012 and later updated with iPhone UI, the app picked up support for background AirPlay wireless streaming to the Apple TV back in September 2013.

If you live in the Amazon cloud, Instant Video for iOS is your gateway to the world of Hollywood entertainment available on Amazon's video service. Today's facelift arrives after the online retail giant announced (and started selling on the same day) its own set-top box last week, the $99 Fire TV that does voice and runs games.

Read on to learn more...