Mosaic unveils, Action Movie FX, Dropbox, Kroger Co, Modern Combat 3, and price drops

Élyse Betters | Oct 22 2012 - 9:16 am PT

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/51841853 w=600&h=381]

A few apps updated, went on sale, or made announcements recently, and 9to5Mac gathered the most noteworthy ones in our regular round up below. Today’s selection includes a new app by Mosaic and Yobongo, updates to popular action-packed games, and a couple huge price drops. Per usual, we will continue to update this list throughout the day.

New:

1. Mosaic | Not yet live
Mixbook, a scrapbook, calendar, and photobook company, acquired chat service Yobongo earlier this year, and the two forces have been working on an iOS project, called “Mosaic,” that unveiled at 12 p.m. EST today (video above). 9to5Mac was able to get a sneak peak:

Mosaic is basically a product app that lets users build and create formatted photo albums from images stored on their iOS devices. The app’s UI is clean, fast, and fluid, and the limited options provide an easy “1,2,3-step” experience. Simply select the photos, choose a mat color preference, and then place the order.

The Mosaic photobook costs roughly $20, but it ships fast, arrives in sturdy, eye-pleasing packaging, and the entire product feels very high in quality. In fact, when I created my Mosaic, I chose low-lit, grainy, blown-up pictures, because I wanted to see how well the images would appear after going through Mixbook’s printing press. Much to my surprise—they came out crisp, clear, and stunningly vivid (pictures below).

While Mosaic is just an app for putting digital images into a nicely printed photobook, its user-experience and caliber of artisanship make it certainly worth noting. Check it out: www.HeyMosaic.com

More updates and price drops below.

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Updates:

1. Action Movie FX | Free
Version 2.1 rolled out last night with exclusive access to four effects inspired by Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (Hellstorm missle, EMP, Dragonfire Drones, and the Claw). Additional updates include:

Optimized for iPhone 5 & iPad!
Audio/video bug fixes including for iOS5 on iPad
Free, one-step update to HD of all previously purchased FX!

2. Kroger Co. | Free
Retail chain Kroger Co. pushed out version 7.1 of its app today with the following updates:

Optimized for iPhone 5 and iOS 6
Find Kroger Fuel Locations and Kroger Affiliate Fuel Locations
Locate Kroger affiliated convenience store.
Sign up for personalized offers like digital coupons and exclusive promotions
Fonts and color updates to make the app more visually appealing
Miscellaneous user experience improvements and bug fixes

3. Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation | 99 cents
Version 1.4.0 hit the App Store today with a security fix to “kick speed hackers.”

4. Dropbox | Free
Version 1.5.6 is now live, and it includes support for the iPhone 5, full-size photos used when printing and saving to the camera roll, bug fixes, and improved support for iOS 6.