iPod Touch

Netflix app gets a facelift, new features

If you get your entertainment via Netflix, you will love an updated version of the company's streaming app for iPhones, iPods and iPads that was just released for a "more immersive experience". What that means is a crisper, less packed interface which combines your previously watched content, recommendations and latest titles into a single view, with search available throughout the program. Here's your video...

Twitter for iPad gets Facebook-style header photos, in-line content, revamped UI

Twitter today finally pushed out an update to its aging iPad app, sporting a major user interface overhaul focused around the newly redesigned profile pages with Facebook-style cover photo, expandable tweets with in-line photos, videos and web pages, full-screen mode and more. Gone are the sliding panels and photo streams are now displayed right below most recent tweets in both mobile apps and on the web. More tidbits right below...

Check out first Bad Piggies gameplay footage

Angry Birds spinoff called Bad Piggies is slated to arrive on September 27 for iOS, Android and the Mac, but Rovio still wouldn't reveal gameplay video. Luckily, an exclusive hands-on by Yahoo! Games shows us the game's mechanics which takes cues from Amazing Alex, another physics-based game from Rovio.

This means Bad Piggies tasks you with building all sorts of funny vehicles and flying aircraft so that the pigs can steal more eggs. Contrast this to smashing things up in the Angry Birds series. That being said, the safest way to think about Bad Piggies is as the sibling of Angry Birds rather than its sequel. Check out exclusive gameplay footage right below...

Inexpensive third-party Lightning adapters surface on Amazon and eBay

It is no secret that Apple enjoys quite a nice profit margin on its own accessories, cables and adapters for iOS devices. The new 80 percent smaller Lightning interface found on the iPhone 5, fifth-gen iPod touch and seventh-gen iPod nano is no exception.

If you have a bunch of legacy accessories sitting around, chances are you will need Apple's Lightning to 30-pin adapter, available in $29 direct-plug and $39 cable flavors. But if you're shopping on a tight budget or Apple's decision not to include a free adapter with the iPhone 5 has been ticking you off, do check out some nice unofficial, much cheaper alternatives that have cropped up on Amazon...

Google buys Snapseed developer Nik Software

Google is always on an acquisition spree but if their recent deals are anything to go by, it's hard to escape the notion that the search Goliath is specifically going after very successful iOS developers.

It snapped up mobile productivity maker Quickoffice earlier in the summer and in July bought the Sparrow team and merged it with the Gmail team while saying 'no' to new features for the popular iOS and Mac email client of the same name, much to the horror of die hard fans.

If you use Snapseed, a popular photography and image editing app for the Mac and iPhone/iPad, you probably won't like this: Google just bought them for an undisclosed sum...

Could the new iPod touch be the latest threat to point-and-shoot cameras?

First the iPhone turned the concept of mobile phones on its head, offering consumers apps as well as a dialtone. Soon, handsets became the go-to devices for taking snapshots. Now the iPod touch -- a master at upending the market for music -- is set to become your favorite point-and-shoot camera.

The new iPod Touch gains a 5-megapixel camera that also includes high-def images and Panoramic views. Now experts say the Touch has all the makings of a rival of the grab-and-go digital point-and-shoot camera. "I think this new Touch will appeal to many people both young and old, who are looking for a point and shoot camera that does more than just take photos," writes Glyn Evans at the iPhoneography blog.

Law student sues Apple over Siri sponsored responses

Apple's Siri digital secretary, now a feature present on the iPhone 4S/5, the new fifth-generation iPod touch and third-generation iPad, is infamous for Apple's over-the-top advertising, availability issues and inaccuracies.

Still in beta, Siri in iOS 6 is more reliable and faster. It can now display sports scores, help you make restaurant reservations, discover showtimes, watch movie trailers in-line and more. It is also tightly integrated with Apple Maps and more broadly available.

A law student is taking issue with how Siri responds to questions like "what's the best smartphone/tablet ever". As you know, based on web customer review average scores, Siri briefly used to name the Lumia 900 the best smartphone ever unitl Apple recalibrated her to favor the iPhone (with responses like "the one you're holding"), much to Nokia's disgust...

Shazam gets ability to tag any TV show on any U.S. channel

Shazam, a popular music identification service, announced today a major update and milestone to its mobile apps. Shazam now commands an astounding user base of 250 million, with more than two million users added each week. The London, England-headquartered startup was founded in 1999 by Chris Barton, Philip Inghelbrecht, Dhiraj Mukherjee and Avery Wang.

Since their inception, Shazam mobile apps for iOS, Android, Windows Phone and other platforms have remained amongst the top ten most downloaded apps of all time. Shazam updated these apps today with new features, including ability to tag any television show on any channel in the United States in order to find out what music is playing, who the actors are and more...

Wirelessly streaming files to your iPhone with Wi-Drive

You just preordered the new iPhone 5, but did not want to splurge on the 32GB or 64GB model. While you wait for Friday to arrive, you are growing more and more concerned about the lack of storage space on your shiny new iPhone. After all, you are going to want to watch widescreen movies in their 16:9 glory, but alas, you need all 16GBs to store family vacation photos to show Grandma on your Thanksgiving trip home.

Critically, you scoff that she doesn't have WiFi at the assisted living center, so you can't pull them from iCloud or Dropbox. This Thanksgiving, be thankful for Kingston's Wi-Drive, which will store everything needed in a compact design and wirelessly broadcast the files without an existing network. Even the nagging kids in the backseat can simultaneously enjoy different movies...

Apple could be close to shifting CPU orders away from Samsung

The iPhone 5 comes with a brand new Apple-designed A6 chip for a twofold jump in CPU/GPU performance. In fact, the iPhone 5 could easily be the first ARM Cortex-A15 smartphone on the market. The A6 is likely manufactured on Samsung's 32-nanometer process, but probably not for long as Apple has been looking to take its chip contract elsewhere.

There ain't many places to go: Intel sucks at power management and Samsung is #2 chip vendor in the world. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), however, is the world's largest dedicated independent semiconductor foundry and Apple could be closer than previously thought to shifting production contracts away from Samsung and towards TSMC.

Can you say "stock plunge"?

You gotta see Apple’s awesome ad for new iPods

Apple yesterday refreshed the iPod lineup alongside the new iPhone 5 (here's your keynote) and boy do these colorful iPod touches look sexy. The company also revamped the popular iPod nano, making it taller and giving it a widescreen display with multitouch user interface, Bluetooth (we envision interesting accessories for the new nano).

Yes, the new touch comes in a bunch of attractive colors as well. The entry-level iPod shuffle also saw a slight redesign. But how do you go about advertising the updated iPods in a memorable, attractive and easy-going manner? Here's how...

Everything you need to know about today’s iPhone 5 event

The iPhone 5 is finally here.

After Apple in 2011 unveiled the iPhone 4S -- when everyone and his mother expected the iPhone 5 -- the wizards of Cupertino introduced a smartphone for everyone. Want something smaller? Check. How about a big screen? Got you covered. Need power? No problem. Although this was the first post-Steve Jobs iPhone rollout, there was enough technology and geekitude on display today that even the Man in Black would have had a tough time fitting in just one more thing.

Most of the rumors about the iPhone were confirmed. The iPhone 5 sports a 4-inch (1136 x 640) display enclosed in an aluminum and glass shell. That larger display is becoming defacto on smartphones. Not to be outdone designwise by Android, Apple pushed suppliers to use an in-cell manufacturing technique that embeds the technology used in an edge-to-edge touchscreen, eliminating the need for a separate layer.