Category Archives: App Store

May
23
2013
0
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Mailbox Launches on iPad

Posted by at 9:35 am

Mailbox for iPad

Mailbox [iTunes link], a popular third-party mailing solution for iOS devices, has been updated with support for the iPad. The app has larger panels that are optimized for the full-sized tablet, with the same swiping gestures as on iPhone for organizing your inbox.

Mailbox, which was recently scooped up by Dropbox in a multimillion dollar acquisition, still requires a Gmail account to function. The mailing platform gained a lot of notoriety for implementing a first-come, first-serve reservation system upon launch, which at one point had over 600,000 users queued in line.

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May
21
2013
36
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John McCain Tells Tim Cook He’s Sick of Updating His Apps

Posted by at 7:01 pm

Apple CEO Tim Cook took witness earlier this morning at a congressional hearing. He faced U.S. senators who questioned him as well as finance boss Peter Oppenheimer and Tax Operations head Phillip Bullock on the company’s foreign tax practices. Near the end of the hearing, John McCain had a bit of personal grilling to do with the Apple CEO. ”Why the hell do I have to keep updating my apps on my iPhone all the time and why you don’t fix that?” McCain asked. “Sir, we’re trying to make them better all the time,” Cook promptly replied.

It may seem like he was just kidding or cracking a “grandpa joke,” but I think we should actually consider this concern. Why do we have to always be updating our apps? Why isn’t there a function in place that streamlines this process and updates our apps automatically? Is there any kind of argument against this? I think this would be a great feature to add as part of iOS 7; it would definitely follow suit with Apple’s “it just works” philosophy. Do you think automatic app updates would be a welcome addition?

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May
17
2013
14
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Which iOS App Needs the Biggest iOS 7 Overhaul?

Posted by at 3:39 pm

iOS

There is a profusion of built-in iOS apps, but I think there are some that need an overhaul more than others. The next iteration of iOS is expected to ship with a general redesign system-wide, but let’s take a look deeper in to each app’s core functionality. A fresh and “flat” look will be great, but I think some of Apple’s apps are simply not as useful as they could be. (more…)

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May
16
2013
6
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Apple Announces Winner of 50 Billionth App Download

Posted by at 9:06 am

Say the Same ThingApple announced on Thursday that total App Store downloads have eclipsed the 50 billion mark, an achievement set just fourteen months after the 25 billionth app was downloaded. iOS users are downloading 800 apps per second, resulting in over 2 billion apps downloaded per month.

A new word game Say the Same Thing by Space Inch, LLC was the 50 billionth app, downloaded by Brandon Ashmore from Mentor, Ohio. Ashmore receives a $10,000 iTunes gift card from Apple to commemorate the historic milestone.

“Apple would like to thank our incredible customers and developers for topping 50 billion apps downloaded,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “The App Store completely transformed how people use their mobile devices and created a thriving app ecosystem that has paid out over nine billion dollars to developers. We’re absolutely floored to cross this milestone in less than five years.”

[Apple]

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May
15
2013
4
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Updates to Google Maps Across the Board

Posted by at 4:32 pm

img_8673

The Google Maps Android API v2 allows you to easily embed Maps directly into your app, but today, Google took it one step further. The launch of three new Location APIs will bring services that improve the overall maps experience. Moreover, the next version of Google Maps for iOS and Android was previewed today, packing a bunch of new features. (more…)

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May
15
2013
13
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50 Billion Apps Have Been Downloaded

Posted by at 3:52 pm

2013-05-15 17_18_45-Apple - iTunes - 50 Billion Apps Countdown

Not even two weeks ago, we told you that Apple announced its 3rd app download milestone giveaway. Today, we get to follow up on this to tell you that said landmark has been reached–the 50 billionth app has now been downloaded. As we mentioned previously, Apple has expanded on this giveaway greatly this time around. Not only will the grand prize winner be receiving a $10,000 app store gift card, but the 500 subsequent downloads will be receiving a prize as well in the form of a $500 gift card. (more…)

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May
14
2013
46
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Do You Use an Internet Messaging System?

Posted by at 7:26 pm

messages

News broke today that BlackBerry will be releasing their venerable BBM messaging platform for both iOS and Android, creating a truly multi-platform product out of a service that once existed on only BlackBerry devices. This announcement has triggered various reactions, but it seems that the most prevalent argument is that most people are already using an internet messaging system.

Some see this announcement as a desperate ploy for BlackBerry to gain back some users to its services, while others see it is a way to prevent current BBM users from defecting to other devices. Regardless of which it is, the question remains: are internet messaging clients and protocols really as popular as BlackBerry would have you believe?

Whether it’s the popular WhatsApp client, something more old-school like AIM or Google Talk, or even built-in services like iMessage, do you routinely use a messaging client to communicate with friends, family, or coworkers?

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May
13
2013
17
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Mysterious New Icon is Gone: Facebook 6.1.1 Released

Posted by at 6:42 pm
Untitled

Facebook 6.0 on the left, Facebook 6.1 on the right, Facebook 6.1.1 on the left.

Today, Facebook unleashed version 6.1 of its iOS application. The update is packed with a few handy new features such as an improved Photo Viewer which adds options to “Save Photo,” “Share Photo,” or “Make Profile Picture.” Other improvements include faster loading events pages, information editing when checking in to locations, and some have even reported that the update brings the new Timeline to their iOS device. (more…)

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May
11
2013
6
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Tricky Shot – Freestyle Soccer At Your Fingertips

Posted by at 10:40 pm

Tricky Shot

With more than 250 million players across 200 countries, soccer — also known as football or futbol — is by far the world’s most popular sport. That inspired Dream Apps Lab to create Tricky Shot, a free pick-up-and-play freestyle soccer game on the App Store. The game, designed for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, involves flicking a soccer ball at various targets throughout more than 50 challenging levels: lockers, tires, pylons, shopping carts, trucks, balloons and so on.

Before I go any further, Tricky Shots is seriously addictive. I’m already immersed in hours of gameplay, trying to juggle and flick the three-dimensional soccer ball towards targets throughout levels that get progressively harder. If you lose patience while attempting to complete a particular challenge, a Golden Ball is available as an in-app purchase for 99 cents, which removes in-game ads and allows you to skip levels at any time.  (more…)

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