iPod Touch

Opera buys Skyfire browser that brought Flash video to iOS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg7oUtydk3Q

Back in March 2011, when Adobe's proprietary Flash plug-in was still predominantly used for web video, a new paid-for iPhone browser, Skyfire, made headlines. It helped alleviate the situation by detecting Flash-encoded clips on web pages and then tapping a cloud computing platform to translate Flash video into an iPad-friendly format, on the fly.

Since then, Skyfire has seen over 20 million downloads across iOS and Android devices and developers claim it now converts over 200,000 web sites with Flash video into an iOS-friendly format. While most of web video is delivered via HTML5 these days, the Skyfire iOS app has seen several major updates that over time brought social features, even built-in extensions, to the table.

In a surprising move, Norway-based Opera Software, which makes the multi-platform Opera browser, Friday said it acquired the Skyfire team, hoping to broaden its solutions "beyond the browser"...

Apple responds to the iOS 6.1 Lock screen glitch, says a fix is underway

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDkLpj3MM-c

Earlier this morning iDB warned you of a newly discovered security flaw in the recently released iOS 6.1 software. It's not the end of the world, but it isn't dismissible either as intruders can easily gain access to your iPhone and potentially compromise your data using a simple trick.

In a nutshell, in order to exploit the vulnerability one simply has to make and immediately cancel an emergency call on the Lock screen and then hold down the Sleep/Wake button twice. But worry not, privacy buffs, says Apple. The Cupertino company is aware of the issue, a solution is being worked on and a fix will be pushed in a future iOS software update. There, feeling better now?

Kindle app gains multicolor highlights, book end actions and more

Amazon's Kindle iOS app has been updated with three useful additions. First up, now you can pick between four color choices to highlight passages of text. Second, Amazon says that the brightness setting will now be saved across device sleeps. And last but not the least, the app now supports something Amazon refers to as Book End Actions, which is basically "sharing the accomplishment with friends on Facebook and Twitter".

The official Die Hard game hits, in time for the movie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fv6Sj5ot3c8

In support of “A good day to die hard”, the upcoming new installment to the 25-year-old Die Hard movie franchise starring the now aged action hero Bruce Willis, Fox Digital Entertainment today released the official iOS game, a movie tie-in. Die Hard, the shooter, puts you in the shoes of Jack McClane, the son of New York City’s most famous cop, as you battle ruthless mobsters, elite commandos and shadowy politicians in Russia, with locations like Moscow’s mean streets and the radioactive wasteland of Chernobyl...

The official Kickstarter app finally hits the iPhone

Funding platform Kickstarter is great for crowd-sourcing projects traditional investors may not be keen on supporting. I mean, Kickstarters gave us the majestic Pebble E-Watch, a foldable iPhone keyboard, mounts,  innovative stands and a whole bunch of accessories. We're not really sure what took it so long, but here it is: the official Kickstarter app. A free download for your iPhone and iPod touch (iPads are not supported natively), the app provides easy access to thousands of projects...

Vimeo takes on Twitter’s Vine, buys iOS animated GIF-making app Echograph

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ps-Hb8DyztI

Video sharing service Vimeo (which in March 2011 released an awesome, free universal iOS client) has snapped up Echograph, an animated GIF app for the iPhone and iPad by Clear-Media. Vimeo wrote in a media release that as part of the acquisition, the Echograph app, previously costing three bucks, is now a free download.

Echograph wants to be the Instagram of animated GIFs by providing easy to use tools to help make animated photography a reality. You can simply paint and touch up moving images as if they were stills and then use your creations in in Final Cut, Keynote, iBooks Author or the web, via HTML5...

New iOS 6.1 Lock screen flaw compromises your iPhone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP-w436CfvQ

The iOS Lock screen bug has reared its ugly head again. This time around, the security exploit isn't as straightforward as a 2011 issue which let intruders bypass your iPad's Lock screen using a Smart Cover. In a nutshell, this new exploit discovered by a YouTube user involves making and immediately canceling an emergency call and holding down the Sleep/Wake button twice.

As detailed in a video above by The Verge, the method enables an intruder to bypass the unlock feature on the Lock screen and gain immediate access to your private stuff, including iMessages, FaceTime, photos and more. The flaw is iOS 6.1-specific and since it involves using the emergency calling feature, it's likely that iPads and iPod touches are not susceptible. Go past the break for more information...

Apple is killing it when it comes to mobile video

There is now confirmation of what we already suspected: Apple is killing it when it comes to mobile video. The iPhone, iPad and iPod touch collectively account for 60 percent of mobile video, with Apple's smartphone and tablet comprising more than half of all mobile clips viewed during 2012, according to a study released Wednesday. By comparison, 32 percent of Android devices are used for viewing mobile video.

That's another acknowledgment of both Apple's tablet dominance and the fact that owners of Apple mobile gear use their devices more often than their fellow Android-totting counterparts. In 2012 alone, mobile video viewing grew sixfold versus the previous year as mobile devices increasingly replace computers as the preferred platform for media consumption...

Clear makes annoying Edge Swipes optional

Clear, Realmac Software's innovative to-do app, was released a year ago and made a splash with its clean interface and heavy use of multitouch gestures. Today, the software was updated in response to feedback from users who objected to how the Edge Swipe feature was implemented.

Edge Swipes let you quickly switch between your lists by dragging your finger from screen edges. Unfortunately, this can quickly become a pain in the you-know-what.

The thing is, Clear's workflow focuses on ordinary swipes which tended to be interpreted as edge swipes if you made the swipe too close to the edge of the screen. Clear version 1.2.1 makes this problem a thing of the past by making Edge Swipe an optional feature, though you'll have to disable it inside Clear’s Settings...

Valentine’s Day comes early: Real Racing 3 hits New Zealand, Australia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ8SljDv0yw

Today is a big day for iOS gamers as Electronic Arts launches the third installment in its popular Real Racing franchise. The game was originally scheduled for February 28 release so it wasn't clear why Electronic Arts decided to post it today, but we're not complaining even though the game initially launched in the New Zealand and Australia App Store.

The good news don't end here: as promised, Real Racing 3 is a free download with some unaggressive in-app purchases, a major strategic shift for Electronic Arts which typically prices its most recent iOS games between $5 and $10.

It's a massive download: you will need to have up to two gigabytes of free space on your device to install Real Racing 3, but Electronic Arts swears "it’s worth it"...

New app streams Pokemon episodes for free

If you're a fan of Pokemon TV, a Nintendo-owned Japanese media franchise, there's a new app in town which lets you stream up to fifty different Pokemom television movies and even related movies, free of charge, no strings attached. That ain't some unofficial hack: the Pokemon TV app comes straight from Pokemon, the company.

You can stream Pokemon TV shows to your iPhone or iPad from the 700+ episode strong library, access special features, watch trailers for upcoming Pokémon movie events and more...

A&E Networks brings its top TV shows to the iPhone for free

Great news for all of you Duck Dynasty and Pawn Stars fans, you can now watch your favorite TV shows on your iPhone and iPod touch. A+E networks has updated 3 of its iOS apps today with full-length episodes and movies.

A&E, HISTORY and Lifetime apps all now each support the streaming of their top programming—including hit shows like Storage Wars and Pawn Stars —as well as iCloud sync, so you can always pick up where you left off....