New Apps & Games

Tadaa may be the upmarket Instagram we’ve been looking for

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Instagram may be the top dog when it comes to fancy photo sharing, and it may have Facebook behind it to make sure it stays there, but it's not all been plain sailing. Instagram's had more than its fair share of privacy issues, and its own terms of service have been less than clear on who owns the photos posted to it.

Such goings on have led many to at least consider dumping Instagram, but where do you go instead? We've wondered that too, and Tadaa may be a good alternative especially when its latest update is taken into account.

If you've ever wanted an up market Instagram, then we might just have something right up your street...

Ruin your productivity with Dots for iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Dots, a simple iPhone game about connecting, launched a week ago on the App Store as a free iPhone download.

Seven days later, Dots was downloaded more than a million times, has become the #1 app in eight countries and is a top 5 app in fifteen other countries. Basically a digital take on Connect the Dots, it sports clean UI, a delightful use of sound and addictive mechanics.

Make no mistake about it, Dots is guaranteed to keep fans of puzzlers glued to their iPhone...

Ngmoco’s classic iOS game Topple 2 makes a comeback on the App Store

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

Ngmoco (short for "Next Generation Mobile Company) used to be my favorite iPhone developer, their classic games like Rolando and Topple defining the golden age of iOS gaming.

The Tetris-like Topple with its physics-based twist is particularly interesting: the game has you balancing and stacking playful blocks using multitouch and accelerometer controls.

After a long hiatus, the sequel to Topple, Topple 2, has been revived from the archive and re-released on the App Store. The new version, in addition to supporting the iPhone 5's taller screen, includes 30 levels scattered across six new worlds, while enhancing the experience with four new game modes, head-to-head multiplayer, Mobage social game network support for online leaderboard, game progress synchronization across devices and more...

PopCap reveals Plants vs. Zombies 2 coming in July

Cody Lee ∙ May 6, 2013

Good news Plants vs. Zombies fans! Seattle-based game publisher PopCap revealed today that there is a sequel to the game in the works. The team released a video teaser earlier today, announcing that the highly-anticipated title will debut this summer.

Although sought-after on all major consoles, Plants vs. Zombies has been particularly popular on iOS since it landed on the mobile platform in 2010. In fact, Apple says it ranks #12 for all-time paid iPhone apps. Now here, check out the teaser for version 2...

T-Mobile releases new ‘T-Mobile TV’ app for iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

T-Mobile this week has quietly released a new app for iPhone owners called T-Mobile TV. As the name suggests, the app provides access to the carrier's subscription-based streaming service that offers live and on-demand content.

The service has been around for quite some time now, with an Android version of the mobile app landing in 2010. And it includes a range of programming, including sports, news, and kid channels like Disney and Nickelodeon...

As seen on TV: Heads Up! arrives on iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 2, 2013

If you're a fan of the Ellen DeGeneres Show, you must be aware of an amusing party game Impending created specifically for the show. Hellen can be seen using the app to challenge her guests to name celebrities, sing, decipher silly accents, guess words written on the card on the guest's head and much more.

Guess what? Now everyone can become Ellen by downloading the Heads Up! to their iPhone.

Just invite your smartypants friends and let the party begin. The game is getting some surprisingly good reviews, it's backed by the Ellen brand and created by the same guys who brought you popular to-do list app Clear. What more could you want?

Popular offline map app ForeverMap2 lands on iOS

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

With Google Maps launching as a standalone app last fall, and Apple's own Maps app getting progressively better, you probably aren't in the market for an alternative GPS application. But we're going to tell you about one anyway.

ForeverMap2, a maps app that uses OpenStreetMaps tech, has finally landed on iOS. Its claim to fame is its advanced compression technology, which allows it to serve up offline maps without taking up much space on your device...

Facebook-enabled Angry Birds Friends launches free on App Store

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

As promised, Finnish mobile games maker Rovio today launched the mobile edition of Angry Birds Friends. The Facebook edition launched on Facebook a year ago.

Given that the Facebook edition of Angry Birds Friends sees 60+ million monthly installs and has over 1.2 million daily users, the iOS and Android editions of Angry Birds Friends should prove pretty popular.

If you're a fan of social gaming experiences, Angry Birds Friends will let you invite your Facebook friends to play, brag about your achievements by spamming your Facebook friends' Newsfeed, spend cash on virtual gifts and coins, earn bronze, silver and gold trophies and more. I've included the launch trailer, screenies and more info after the break...

Adobe shows off Lightroom-esque iPad app with RAW support, cloud syncing

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 2, 2013

Photoshop maker Adobe has a few more or less useful apps on the App Store, most of them tied to its Creative Cloud offering and the Creative Suite family of desktop products for pros.

Although the company caters to photography buffs with iPhone and iPad versions of Photoshop Express, Photoshop Touch, Ideas and other apps, they're pared down versions conceived as companion apps to their desktop counterparts.

But pro photographers have reasons to rejoice as Adobe's group product manager for Lightroom Tom Hogarty today on Photoshop guru Scott Kelby’s show The Grid showed off a yet unnamed prototype iPad app that will bring pro-level photo editing and image manipulation capabilities to the owners of the Apple tablet.

Among the features being promised: RAW image support, seamless sync that leverages Adobe's cloud technologies and advanced Lightroom parameters, such as exposure, clarity, shadows, highlights and white balance...

Instacast for iOS makes a jump on the Mac, now available in Public Beta

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 28, 2018

We love Instacast as much as the next avid Apple fan. It's the ultimate podcasting app for the ultimate podcasters: Instacast lets you both manage and stream podcasts on your iPhone and iPad, and do so in style. As a cloud-based streaming solution, it can be best described as Netflix for podcasts.

Since its March 2011 debut, Instacast has seen numerous updates that brought additional features, with an iPad version arriving in November 2011. It certainly leaves Apple's stock iOS Podcast app in the dust and beats every other podcasting app out there. That said, small wonder developer Vemedio has responded to popular demand and brought Instacast over to the Mac...

Keep track of movies you want to watch with TodoMovies

Jim Gresham ∙ Updated February 13, 2018

The summer blockbuster movie season is upon us. Well, maybe in a couple more weeks, but I'm going to give Oblivion credit for starting things off this summer. Here is the problem, I didn't even know when Oblivion released. Sure, I could use the iTunes Movie Trailers app to watch the trailer, and even see the release date. But, what I cannot do, is set a reminder.

Thanks to the guys at TapHive, the newly updated and beautifully designed TodoMovies app solves problems caused by my memory deficient brain. TodoMovies helps discover new, upcoming, and past movies, while providing an elegant way to create a watch list and set release reminders.

After using TodoMovies for a while, I am thoroughly impressed. Not many dev teams are able to adequately combine beauty and useful function. Thankfully, TapHive knows how to produce useful content in a nice package...

Infuse, a versatile iOS media player by FireCore [review]

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

Over the past few days I've been testing Infuse, an iOS media player by FireCore, the team that brought you the aTV Flash Black for your jailbroken Apple TV.

Given their expertise in bringing support for streaming dozens of file formats to Apple's set-top box, it goes without saying I was very much looking forward to testing Infuse for iPhone and iPad.

The App Store is home to some nice media players, Plex being my personal favorite, but none fully taking the pain out of properly rendering iOS-unfriendly video file types on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices.

In my personal opinion, Infuse addresses the media conundrum in one fell swoop while incorporating possibly the best subtitles support on iDevices to date and taking full advantage of Retina screens and Apple's newest and most powerful mobile chips...