02/15, 12:00am
Uses 'heat index' for priority sorting
While iOS and the App Store have no shortage of ways to create and manage to-do lists, RealMac Software along with Impending are offering up Clear, a new to-do app now available for $1 for a limited time. Clear is a visually-oriented, iPhone-centric task and note app that offers basic features but done in an elegant way. Though the app is compatible with iPad, the company says an iPad-centric version is in the works.
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02/14, 11:00pm
Now shares to Flickr, new e-mail templates
Adobe has updated its iOS photo-adjustment app Photoshop Express (free) to version 2.1, adding a new in-app purchase of frames and borders known as the Adobe Border Pack. The optional purchase, which costs $2, adds 22 new borders and frames, and users can try out the frames before they buy. The new version also brings support for direct Flickr uploading, enhances e-mail sharing of pictures with pre-populated subject lines and image captions, and more.
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02/14, 8:25pm
Inkling Habitat aims to compete with iBooks
Inkling is set to launch its free e-book publishing platform that aims to compete with Apple's iBooks. The platform, known as Inkling Habitat, enables users to publish cloud-based interactive e-books complete with embedded HD videos and 3D content.
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02/14, 3:35pm
Subscribers can watch directly on their PC or Mac
Time Warner, which last month launched an app to let its subscribers watch streamed content on iOS devices, has released a beta version for computers. The company's TWC TV app now lets its users stream live TV to their Windows PC or Mac as long as they're on the local network. It also lets them manage their DVR or set-top box.
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02/14, 11:20am
Main functions limited to reading, annotating
Developer Final Draft has announced that the company's first iOS app, Final Draft Reader, should launch on February 16th. The iPad title is a companion to Final Draft 8, an industry-standard screenwriting application. Reader users can import FDX files via email, iTunes, or Dropbox.
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02/14, 9:15am
Developer complains of App Store wait
The Readability iOS app is still waiting for approval at the App Store, according to a Twitter post by one of the developers, Geoff Teehan. The delay has been long enough, Teehan remarks, that an Android version of Readability has already been finished in the interim. That app is not yet available on the Android Market.
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02/10, 1:00am
Works with older iPhones, searches outside US
While Android users don't have Siri, some of them have a tenable alternative in Speaktoit, which has just become available on the App Store for iOS devices. While not exactly the same as Siri, it does offer most of the major features, customizable avatars to talk to, is compatible with older iPhones rather than just the iPhone 4S. It also offers some extra functionality Siri doesn't in some areas.
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02/09, 10:00pm
Adds narrative, ties into Mass Effect 3
Electronic Arts has revealed that will soon be bringing a tie-in version of its Mass Effect sci-fi game series to iOS devices with a new game, Mass Effect Infiltrator. The game is an all-combat version of the console Mass Effect games, and ties into the current version, Mass Effect 3, by having the main character feed intelligence to Commander Shepard, the protagonist of ME3. Despite the combat emphasis, MEI will still feature some of the "decision points" of the console games.
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02/09, 3:00pm
Incorporates Bing, Messenger, Hotmail
Having originally launched it in the UK, Microsoft has finally brought MSN for iPad to the US and Canada. The app mainly presents MSN articles in a magazine-style format, divided into categories like News, Autos, Video, and Entertainment & Celebrities. An offline mode can be toggled for reading away from Internet access.
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02/09, 2:15pm
Mobile banking from NatWest
Slidevana, a new template package designed for Keynote, has been launched at the discounted price of $69. More than 130 slides are included in the bundle, ranging from simple lists, tables, and charts, to more complex timelines and business frameworks. Currently, slides are available in both Mac and iOS Keynote optimized formats, however, Slidevana has stated that a PowerPoint template will soon be available.
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02/08, 9:00pm
Developers tease new auto-updating feature
IGG Software, which is planning to release a version of its iBank financial software for the iPad sometime later this year, has teased a new feature of the unreleased app on its developer blog. The product now has a name -- iBank Access -- and will feature a new optional service to automatically keep bank records and the app in sync every time the app is launched. The new feature, which expands the number of institutions available, will be available by subscription.
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02/08, 4:15pm
Tweetbot gets big overhaul with tablet version
Tapbots revamped its signature Twitter apps in large form on Wednesday, starting with the surprise release of Tweetbot for iPad ($3, App Store). The new version both adapts to the bigger canvas of the tablet and shares its support for creating multiple timelines from one account and gestures to save time. Likewise, it can save content for later through Cloudapp, Instapaper, and Read it Later.
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02/08, 2:50pm
Vonage Mobile app undercuts Skype in calling
VoIP provider Vonage has just released a new Vonage Mobile app that will allow for free calling and texting between users who have it installed on their smartphones, as well as discounted calling rates to those who don't. It uses Wi-Fi, 3G or 4G data networks and is now available for iOS (free, iTunes) and Android (free, Android Market) devices. The app is meant for frequent travelers, or those who have friends or family abroad and want to use their phones to contact them.
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02/08, 12:35pm
Fixes regular complaints
Evernote has released a new version of its iOS notetaking app, v4.1.8. While relatively minor, the update does make two important changes. These include "predictive" note titles, which will give otherwise untitled items a label based on factors like time, location, and other pieces of contextual data.
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02/07, 6:30pm
Telus goes all-in on Optik console and mobile
Telus' Optik IPTV service got much more control over non-traditional viewing on Tuesday. Optik TV for Xbox 360 takes advantage of the fall Xbox 360 Dashboard update to use the console as the set-top box, including for remote DVR viewing if there's a traditional DVR on the same network. The support includes full Kinect motion control.
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02/07, 2:40pm
AT&T U-verse iPad app now live, brings EPG, more
AT&T has now released the U-verse iPad app (free, App Store), meant as a companion to the TV watching experience. U-verse TV subscribers can get extra information and bonus content through the app on the TV show they're watching, such as photos, cast and crew data, similar shows, a synopsis, and more. The app will also turn the iPad into a remote control and a guide, letting users schedule DVR recordings and see what's coming up.
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02/06, 11:30pm
Using bots to drive up rankings results in banning
On the heels of a drive to kick out "copycat apps" that rely on name confusing and similar graphics to get sales intended for original apps, Apple is also warning developers to avoid using third-party marketing services that are known to employ "bots" to automatically download free apps that rely on in-app purchasing for monetization to push up rankings, AppleInsider reports. Simply hiring a third-party marketer that uses such tactics can get the developer banned, Apple says.
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02/06, 4:55pm
Pedal can be programmed using iPad, iPhone or iPod
Harman has started delivering its DigiTech iStomp programmable effects pedal. Users can program the the guitar stompbox using their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to make potentially any sound, not just distortion or other effects associated with filters. Twenty alternative sound effects are available for download.
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02/06, 2:10pm
Where To? expands navigation integration
Future Tap has updated Where To?, its iOS tool that can help find the closest and best rated restaurants, shops, and services, with support for five additional navigation apps. Building upon existing support, version 4.1 adds integration with Sygic, Waze, Navfree, Navmii, and Navigon Urban. Additionally, the update includes multiple images for listings, additional reviews, and landscape support for the homepage viewer. Where To? 4.1 can be purchased in the App Store for $3, with the option to add a 3D Augmented Reality mode through a $1 in app purchase.
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02/06, 1:10pm
Interface should avoid web limitations
Microsoft is at work on several mobile app versions of its Dynamics CRM platform, a preview (PDF) reveals. This includes an app for iOS devices, which will require iOS 5, but have access to native iPad and iPhone interfaces. Other apps are planned for Microsoft's own Windows Phone platform, as well as Android and BlackBerry.
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02/03, 7:15pm
Takes another shot at widespread problem
Users who have been recommended to get a certain game but are not totally clear on the name of the app are the target market of "copycat" games that have similar names and borrow gameplay and other elements from more successful apps, hoping to cash in on brand confusion, TechCrunch reports. Titles like "Plants Vs. Zombie" and "Tiny Birds" are "fast fakes" of real apps. Apple is again removing such apps from the App Store, highlighting an ongoing problem.
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02/03, 7:00pm
Offers reviews as well as link to download
Yahoo has launched an app filtering tool to its search engine. Yahoo's main page now gives a user a tab for Apps as well as the traditional Web, Images, Video, Local and More. With it, users can get app only search results and filter them for either iOS or Android apps.
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02/02, 8:00pm
Free app guides attendees around Indianapolis
The NFL has released its official app for Super Bowl XLVI. The app provides fans attending Sunday's upcoming contest between the New England Patriots and New York Giants a guide to Lucas Oil Stadium and the surrounding areas of Indianapolis (free, App Store, Android Market). The app provide viewers with a virtual 3D view of the stadium as well as a guide to nightlife and official NFL events.
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02/02, 3:00pm
iPad training courses from FMC
Quest Visual has updated its augmented reality translation tool, Word Lens, with the ability to translate between French and English. The software uses the device's built-in camera to identify text, and is capable of performing real-time translations without an internet connection. The app itself is available as a free download in the App Store, however, individual language packs are sold as $10 in-app purchases.
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02/02, 11:05am
Scaled-down app still allows editing, effects
Avid has released a new, scaled-down iPad version of its Avid Studio editing suite. Users assemble video clips in a Storyboard view, and use tools like the Precision Trimmer to make more exact cuts. Completed videos can also contain photos and audio; in every case, media is pulled either directly from an iOS library or an externally connected device.
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02/01, 9:15pm
Easier checklists, tables, more
Cloud-based snippet and document storage system Evernote has updated its free Mac client to version 3.0.6, which includes a complete redesign of the note panel for viewing previously-stored documents. According to a blog post announcing the new version, the update also makes creating checklists and tables easier, with automatic continuation of checkboxes with each new line after the first one and the ability to add or remove rows and columns in tables.
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01/31, 10:00pm
Intended for portfolios, galleries, presentations
Appafolio is a new app for the iPad and iPhone that enables users to create gallery-type portfolio apps in order to share photos, videos, artwork, catalog or product images or other presentations with other iOS users. Developer Treemo Labs has used the same tools found in Appafolio to develop apps for Beyoncé, The Roots and other clients. The resulting apps are not sold on the App Store but are available via the free Appafolio app itself or through the Appafolio web site.
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01/31, 9:00pm
Chip giant will sponsor Technology section
Zite, the magazine-style feed aggregator for the iPad, iPhone and HP Touchpad has announced in a blog post that chipmaker Intel will be sponsoring the Technology section of the app, the second such sponsor the magazine has had. The company says the sponsorship will last "a few months" and will consist of the usual assortment of tech articles along with "promoted" news stories.
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01/31, 3:30pm
Keeps logins, other data in sync across devices
Norton has begun a beta of a new cloud-based security service, Identify Safe. The technology is meant to save and sync private web form data across multiple browsers and devices, primarily logins and credit card information. So far the only computer platform to support the Identify Safe client is Windows, but test apps are already available for iOS and Android.
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01/30, 4:45pm
Obama campaign takes on Square for donations
The Obama campaign has began using the wallet-free and wireless payment technology from Square for its fundraising purposes. Readers are being given to staff who work on the campaign, who can then use their Android smartphones, iPhones, and iPads to collect donations. This should make the process more streamlined, as the alternative involves filling out a form and writing a check or giving out credit card information or cash to the fundraiser.
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01/30, 4:45pm
US plans unknown
Remastered versions of the first three Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney games are coming to iOS, reports say. Players assume the role of Wright, a defense attorney who must both investigate the facts of cases and then challenge prosecution during trial. The series is already present in the App Store, but the new ports will sport better graphics.
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01/27, 9:15pm
Company debuts cloud service
Of the numerous app developers that brought their latest offerings to the Macworld iWorld expo, WebIS' updated Pocket Informant utilities captured the attention of many attendees. MacNN checked out Pocket Informant 2 for the iPad, along with the company's cloud services that will eventually enhance the iOS apps.
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01/27, 12:00am
Navigation company embraces social networking
Although Garmin would seem to fit in better at CES rather than the Macworld iWorld expo, the navigation company brought its latest iOS apps to San Francisco this week to show off the latest features. MacNN played around with the updated version of StreetPilot onDemand, which now enables users to take advantage of social networking features.
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01/26, 11:00pm
New in-app purchasing, video output support
Id Software's non-franchise game for iOS devices, Rage HD, has now been updated to version 2.0. The game, which puts players in the middle of a "reality TV" show called Mutant Bash, is a first-person rail shooter that now includes in-app purchasing of additional episodes, higher-resolution player and weapon graphics, better video out support for VGA, component cables and HDMI under iOS 5, and various performance enhancements for controlling the game.
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01/26, 7:45pm
Tracker now lets users share links to live maps
New social media functions, new apps and new features for its iOS apps mark navigation software and hardware maker Garmin's presence at MacWorld/iWorld, currently going on in San Francisco. Among the other features, updates will let users "check in" using social services via their navigation apps, integrate their exercise with Garmin tools, go on a digital treasure hunt, plan private-plane flights and send out map links to a live tracking map to others.
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01/26, 7:00pm
Shaderlight accurately renders lighting fixtures
iPhonso has announced that its mobile financial tool, Gekko, will be launched in the App Store on January 31. The universal app is fully customizable and allows users to follow financial news from their favorite websites. Gekko also includes a smart caching system and built-in ad blocking to help improve page load times, as well as raw financial data for every stock. Other features include Evernote, Read It Later, and Instapaper integration, as well as support for sharing content via e-mail, SMS, and Twitter. Pricing has not yet been announced.
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01/26, 12:45pm
New Sam & Max episode includes extra iOS content
Adventure developer Telltale Games has released two new titles for Apple platforms. One is the first iOS episode in a new Sam & Max season, Beyond Time and Space. In Episode 1: Ice Station Santa, Sam & Max face off against Santa Claus in a bid to save the world's children. Story and design are by the creator of the Sam & Max comics, Steve Purcell, and the iOS version includes a soundboard plus a "Whack da Ratz" minigame.
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01/25, 6:00pm
Available as $1 companion for direct upgraders
Mac app developer Smile has introduced a version of its business-oriented PDF editor PDFpen to the iPad, allowing users to add text, images and signatures to PDFs, fill out forms and perform many other editing, annotation and management functions with PDF documents, will full iCloud support to allow seamless transfer between iOS and Mac OS X machines. The company also release a new version of PDFpen for Mac for both Mac App Store and direct-update customers.
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01/24, 7:40pm
Digital versions offer limited viewing options
Paramount has become the first movie distributor to sell movies using the UltraViolet digital distribution system directly to customers. Up until now, UltraViolet digital downloads were available only as part of a DVD/Blu-Ray disc
package deal or from a retailer such as Amazon.
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01/24, 4:05pm
App is 1st Microsoft news app for mobile devices
MSN in the UK has added its own news app for the iPad. The MSN UK App brings to the tablet current news, sport and entertainment articles, and videos (free, App Store). This is Microsoft's first news information service to run natively as an app on a mobile system without first having to go to a Microsoft portal site.
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01/23, 6:30pm
Counterfeit apps an even larger issue for Android
While Apple screens submitted apps for "reliability, technical, content and design criteria" according to its own developer page, the company does not yet seem to have found a foolproof way to prevent "counterfeit" apps from gaining approval. Recently a copycat version of Tap Tap Tap's Camera+ was spotted at the App Store, though it was pulled after being reported to Apple. The issue has also been seen on the Android platform on a larger scale.
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01/23, 4:05pm
Rocketboost sound gets iOS and Android apps
Best Buy gave owners of its Rocketboost wireless audio system a way to steer it independently with both desktop and mobile apps. Both a Windows controller (above) and an iOS app (free, App Store) let users pipe audio from a Rocketboost host device to any Rocketboost audio system on the same local network, including Insignia TVs and soundbars. It lets users mix and match sources and destinations, also giving them a signal strength for each device to give a hint of how reliably it will play.
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01/23, 2:35pm
SixtyFour helps manage system memory
Epson has launched a new iOS app that allows users to wirelessly display documents and photos on networked Epson projectors. iProjection is a free tool that works with most iOS devices running iOS 4.2 or later, including the iPad 2, iPhone 4S, and iPod touch. In addition, the app also features cloud integration, allowing users to access files from several cloud services such as Dropbox. Full support is offered for Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Keynote, and PDF documents, as well as JPG, TIFF, and PNG images.
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01/23, 8:30am
Tracking estimate shows Apple at 350K
Apple may have seen as many as 350,000 iBooks textbooks downloaded since launch. Global Equities Research claims to have a special tracking method that showed the relatively brisk take-up. As many as 90,000 copies of iBooks Author had been downloaded at the same time.
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01/20, 10:40pm
Turn iPads into guitar and drum effects boxes
Audio accessory maker Alesis has debuted a number of new devices for musicians, including three new USB MIDI keyboard controllers along with a set of iPad- and iPhone-specific amp docks. All are on display at the company's booth (#6400) at the 2012 NAMM show in Anaheim, CA. The keyboards include two 61-note models as well as a 25-note compact model. The iPad and iPhone amp docks are based on the company's successful iO docks.
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01/20, 8:35pm
App use help students be 'more engaged'
Backing up some of the arguments made by Apple during its presentation yesterday on the advantages of e-textbooks, publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) announced encouraging results from its pilot test of a digital Algebra I textbook running on iPads versus traditional textbooks. Following encouraging early results, the spring 2011 California Standards Test showed roughly a 20 percent improvement with students using the app over those using textbooks.
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01/20, 12:30pm
Raspberry Pi shown running AirPlay YouTube video
The sub-$40 Raspberry Pi single-board computer has now been shown to be able to support Apple's AirPlay wireless media streaming thanks to a tweak. The ARM-based, Debian Linux-running system can stream from an iPad to a connected HDTV, as shown in the video below. While there was a bit of a delay before it started, the YouTube video otherwise played back without a hitch on the big screen.
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01/20, 11:20am
Touchtv for iPad and LG arrives
Startup firm SkyGrid has formally rolled out a platform for on-demand streaming of major TV networks. Touchtv, launching first on the iPad (free, App Store), includes TV from the four major broadcast networks as well as Discovery, ESPN, and others. Viewers make personalized channel listings in a format meant to partly replicate traditional TV.
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01/19, 11:30pm
App for iPad a response to customer requests
Music software company MakeMusic kicked off its NAMM industry trade show presence with a pair of announcements: in February, the company will make an as-yet-untitled iPad viewer app available for its Finale sheet-music users that will let them view print and play electronic sheet music. It also announced an improved 2012 version of its ">Finale NotePad.
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01/19, 9:15pm
Controller doubles as iPad case
Akai has introduced the MPC Fly, a compact music production center designed specifically for the iPad 2. The tablet connects to a dock connector within the hinged case, enabling users to take advantage of buttons, including 16 backlit pads and several other controls, while working with Akai's MPC app on the iPad's touchscreen display.
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