iPod Touch

Convert and push media into any Apple device with WALTR 2, no jailbreak or iTunes needed

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 19, 2017

Softorino, a purely European crew packed with talented developers, recently released WALTR 2 as a successor to the original app that's captured more than 500,000 downloads worldwide in just under 20 months since its debut.

A well-deserved success, if you ask me, because WALTR made it super easy to convert audio and video files encoded in “foreign” formats, such as DivX/MKV movies with subtitles and FLAC audio files, without requiring a jailbreak.

I raved about WALTR in my review, underscoring how its drag-and-drop simplicity allows just about anyone to bypass the mess that is iTunes. And boy, does it fly: in my tests, WALTR transcoded a 2.64-gigabyte MKV file on my 1.3 GHz Intel Core i5 mid-2013 MacBook Air into an iOS-friendly format and sent it over USB to my iPhone 6 in under two minutes.

Building on this remarkable engine, WALTR 2 is now available with new features like support for more than two-dozen legacy iPod models and other devices starting from iOS 5. It uses automatic metadata recognition that works perfectly, gives you the ability to transfer media to your device wirelessly, supports PDF and ePUB file formats and much, much more.

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21 pay TV apps and 10 providers now support Apple’s new Single Sign-On feature

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 8, 2016

Single Sign-On, Apple's new feature that permits compatible video-streaming apps to unlock additional content by using your saved cable credentials, became officially available yesterday. Just a day after launch, apps from ABC and Disney have now gained support for Single Sign-On on the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV, as well as Freeform, FXNOW and a few other apps, The Verge reported Thursday.

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Apple seeds iOS 10.2 beta 7 to developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 7, 2016

Just two days after releasing iOS 10.2 beta 6 to members of the Apple Developer Program and Apple Beta Software Program and five days since iOS 10.2 beta 5 dropped, the Cupertino firm on Wednesday morning seeded a seventh beta of what would become the second major software update to iOS 10 since its September 2016 launch.

iOS 10.2 beta 7 (build number 14C92) is available as an-over-the-air download via the Software Update mechanism on devices with a prior beta and an appropriate configuration profile installed. A standalone installer is available via Apple's dedicated portal for developers.

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Alto’s Adventure creators announce new game Alto’s Odyssey is coming in 2017

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 7, 2016

Snowman, the brains behind the award-winning endless snowboard game titled Alto's Adventure, today said that the time has come for something new in the form of Alto's Odyssey, their brand new game scheduled for release some time in 2017 (we're thinking early-2017).

Snowman's Ryan Cash told me via email that long before Alto’s Adventure had even been released, they started working on an idea for what might come next.

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In November, App Store captured highest monthly sales ever in its history

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 6, 2017

According to Phil Schiller, Apple's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, the App Store last month enjoyed the highest monthly sales ever since its inception in the summer of 2008. “November 2016 was a record breaker for the App Store—the highest monthly sales ever in its history,” reads the tweet.

Although Schiller didn't provide any hard numbers, in just two weeks during last year's holiday season the App Store raked in a massive $1.1 billion revenue from sales of iOS apps and In-App Purchases.

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Upcoming Instagram update will let you turn off comments on a per-post basis & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 8, 2017

In its never-ending fight to curb abuse on its service, Instagram today said an upcoming new tool will let you completely turn off comments on individual posts.

As reported by The New York Times this morning and confirmed by Instagram itself, in addition to being able to turn off comments on individual posts users will be also permitted to remove followers on private accounts and like other people's comments as well.

Back in September, Instagram launched keyword-based comment moderation as another measure to fight spammers and abusers who have been harassing honest users with unwanted comments and marketing messages.

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Netflix becomes top-grossing iOS app following offline playback introduction

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 6, 2016

After gaining the long overdue offline playback feature last week, Netflix's mobile app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch has emerged as the top iOS app on the App Store's Top Grossing charts for the first time ever, overtaking apps like Spotify and Candy Crush Saga, according to stats from app tracking firm SensorTower. By comparison, just last month Netflix was the #7 top-grossing iPhone and iPad software overall in the United States.

At the time of this writing, Netflix's iPhone and iPad app was the top-grossing item on App Stores in the United States, India, Mexico and Colombia.

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App Store refund policy under fire from Korean game publishers

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 5, 2016

Apple's app refund policy on the App Store has come under fire from South Korean game developers who are complaining about a loophole that permits ill-minded users to purchase charged content multiple times, request refunds and continue to consume the content without actually paying for it.

The Korea Times is reporting that the issue stems from Apple's policy of withholding information about those who have been issued a refund.

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You can now start Chrome in Voice Search or Incognito mode from Spotlight Search

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 5, 2016

Google added Spotlight Search integration to Chrome for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch back in January 2016, allowing you to search for your Google bookmarks using iOS's Spotlight feature. Today, the Internet giant issued a small update to Chrome for iOS, bumping version number to 55.0.2883.79 and adding a pair of enhancements.

The first lets you start Chrome in Voice Search mode or open a new Incognito tab right from Spotligh.

As for the other change, Google has now removed the folder named All Bookmarks from your bookmarks view in Chrome “by popular request”.

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How to read and write messages in landscape orientation on iOS 10

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 5, 2016

Apple's much improved, expressive Messages app is one of the hallmark new features of iOS 10. We've noticed that some people have been wondering if Apple has removed the message compose in landscape mode from Messages on iOS 10.

In iOS 9 and earlier, turning the device upside down allowed you to read and write messages in widescreen mode. On iOS 10, Messages defaults to showing a dedicated interface for handwritten messages in landscape orientation.

Thankfully, iOS 10 still supports reading and composing messages in landscape orientation with a tap of a special button, let us show you how.

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