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Apps for iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS power our modern world. 9to5Mac will update you on the latest news, review, and updates for all types of apps. “There’s an App for that”.

The term came became part of our vocabulary when Steve Jobs announced The App Store as part of the iPhone 2.0 software update in 2008.

Over the years, the term has become as common as kleenex for describing applications on all of our devices. Apple’s platforms have apps for just about anything from finance, banking, sports, social media, podcasting, music, and more. We have a guide for helping you discover the best ones as well. Apps are now on everything from our TV, to our smartphones, on our laptops, and all the way down to our wrists.

As new ones are released or existing ones have major updates, the team here at 9to5Mac will bring you the latest news and reviews. If you want to follow along with video footage, be sure to follow 9to5Mac on YouTube. Scroll down below our latest updates on all things relating to applications on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch.

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iOS 7 How-to: Use the new multitasking interface

Multitasking came out for the iOS devices with iOS 4. Multitasking is a way to manage all of the apps running on your iOS device.

Previously, when you double tap the home button, you would get a small tray on the bottom of the screen filled with apps running. To close the apps, you would have to tap and hold on one of them until it wiggles and jiggles, and then once it is wiggling and jiggling you would tap on the red minus button in the upper left hand corner of the app.

Now, with iOS 7 that is no longer the case. When you double tap the home button, it takes you out of the app you were in, and it shows you a fullscreen thumbnail preview of the app you were most recently in, as well the rest of your recent applications.

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If you want to see the rest of your open apps, you would just swipe left to right or right to left to see them all.

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The home screen even appears as a fullscreen thumbnail view. To get into any of your open apps, simply tap on the app in the switcher to bring it up.

If you want to close an app, just swipe up on any application preview. You cannot close all of the apps at one, just like before. However, if you swipe up with two fingers, it will close out two apps at a time.

This new method of multitasking is similar to the popular jailbreaking tweak Auxo. For those of you who used this jailbreak tweak, this is going to be very similar, except for the fact that there will not be a way to close all the apps at once, as well as there will not be a media control, or any setting controls. Instead, you will find these in Control Center.

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BlackBerry announces BBM for iPhone arriving on September 22

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After first announcing that its popular BBM messaging service would be arriving on iOS and Android sometime during the summer, BlackBerry finally confirmed in a blog post today that the app would be released on Sept. 21 for Android followed by a release on iOS on Sept. 22.

BBM will be available as a free download for Android smartphones running Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean (Android 4.x) beginning at 7AM EDT on September 21. BBM for iPhones running iOS 6 and iOS 7 will become available for each market on the App Store schedule of 12:01 AM local time on September 22. For more information, or to download BBM for Android or iPhone, visit www.BBM.com.

BBM for iPhone and Android will initially include chat, photo and voice note sharing, multi-person chats with up to 30 people, and the ability to post status updates and personal messages. However, BlackBerry says the apps will get BBM Channels in a future updates:

BBM will continue to evolve quickly. Later this year, BBM Channels will provide a forum for active, real conversations between you and the people, brands, celebrities, artists, service providers, communities and more, that matter to you. By creating a Channel, individuals and brands can engage their friends and communities in conversations sparked by their thoughts, ideas and passions. Subscribing to a Channel will let you join conversations with people who share your interests. In addition, BBM Video calling and BBM Voice calling are planned for availability for Android and iPhone in a future version.

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Xcode 5.0 released with iOS 7 SDK, 64-bit app compiler

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Alongside the release of iOS 7 this morning, Apple has just pushed out Xcode 5.0 to the Mac App Store. The free app includes the SDKs for iOS 7 and Mountain Lion as well as the 64-bit app compiler:

What’s New in Version 5.0

• Includes SDKs for OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion and iOS 7.
• LLVM compiler builds 64-bit apps for iOS 7.
• Automatic Configuration enables services like iCloud and Game Center with one click.
• Test Navigator helps you quickly add, edit, and run unit tests.
• Test Assistants display tests and code side-by-side for test driven development.
• Auto Layout in IB can generate constraints automatically, or allow free-form design.
• Preview Assistant demonstrates your UI in portrait or landscape, for iOS 6 or iOS 7.
• Asset Catalog organizes all your project’s images in a single .xcassets archive.
• Debug Gauges show CPU, memory, iCloud, and OpenGL ES usage at a glance.
• Source Control top-level menu enables context sensitive branching and merging.
• Modules build setting speeds compile times, and enables auto-linking system frameworks.

The update comes in at 1.96GB, which might take awhile with all of the iOS 7 downloading traffic.

Apple has also given its developer portal an iOS 7 style tweak today that brings a cleaner design to the site:

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Top App Store developers discuss their iOS 7 development and design processes

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With iOS 7 launching today, many of the apps on the App Store will be updated and overhauled to match Apple’s new aesthetic and incorporate the new features introduced in the redesigned operating system.

We asked the developers of some of the most popular iOS software how they adapted their design and functionality to iOS 7. You’ll find their answers below, along with a few first looks at some of the upcoming updates.

Please note that not all of the updates described in this post will be available today. Some are still in progress, while others have recently been submitted to iTunes and will be available shortly.


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Pocket updated for iOS 7 with improved reading view, background syncing

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Pocket, the popular read-later service formerly known as Read It Later, released an update to its iOS app today that brings several enhancements to iOS 7 users.

The first change is the introduction of background syncing. When users add items to their reading list, the Pocket app on their iOS 7 device will automatically update itself in the background to ensure the in-app list is always up-to-date the moment it is opened.

Several performance and design tweaks have been made to accommodate for the changes in the latest version of Apple’s mobile OS. Small modifications have been made throughout the app to fit into the new look.

The reading view has also seen several improvements. Typography has been improved to better match the system design, an automatic fullscreen mode has been added to allow articles to use all of the available space, and spacing and hyphenation adjustments make articles easier to read.

Pocket for iOS is available for free on the App Store.

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Screens 3 arrives with iOS 7 compatibility, a redesigned interface, and more

The popular VNC client Screens has been updated to version 3.0, bringing with it a completely redesigned interface for iOS 7 and a host of new features. Some of these features include support for pasting between a remote computer and iOS device, a new quick connection screen for quickly connecting to your favorite devices, support for multiple displays on the remote computer, and a customizable toolbar that lets you better control the functions of the app.

Screens 3 is available as a new download for all users for $19.99. It requires iOS 7.

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Photoful receives iOS 7 overhaul, iPad support, and more

Photoful, an app for taking, editing, and sharing photos and albums, has been updated with full support for the new features in iOS 7. The app has undergone a complete redesign and features a new icon, but the changes go well beyond the appearance.

One of the biggest features in the new version is iPad support. Photoful is now a universal that runs natively on all of Apple’s mobile devices. The update also includes several new sharing options, such as Dropbox, Tumblr photosets, and AirDrop. All of this is built into a custom share sheet that looks almost exactly like the built-in version.

The update should be making its way onto the App Store shortly. The app and update are free to all users.

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Clear for iOS 7 delivers iPad support, UI refinements, and more

As promised, Realmac Software has brought its modern to-do list Clear to the iPad with its latest version release for iOS 7. Clear for iOS 7 also features enhancements to its user interface that better suit it for the lighter environment of Apple’s latest UI overhaul. For the first time, Clear is a universal iOS app, meaning one purchase provides an app for both the iPhone or iPod touch and the iPad. Below we’ll take a look at the brand new version of Clear for iPad.
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Gmail iOS app gets new icon, full-screen mode for large images & better integration w/ Google apps

Gmail-iOS-icon-appA ton of apps are getting updated today, many of which include support, new features and revamped looks for iOS 7. Google isn’t listing iOS 7 related features in its update of the Gmail iOS apps today, but it has refreshed its icon and added some new features.

On top of the new icon, Version 2.4.1 of the app includes an “enhanced attachment experience,” which really means that a larger image attached to an email will now open in a new full screen viewing mode when tapping its thumbnail.

The update also includes improved integration with other Google apps:

Better integration with Google apps – Google Drive and Google+ links go directly to the app, if installed. You can turn this off using the in-app settings.

Gmail version 2.4.1 for iPhone and iPad is available on the App Store now.

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Digg iOS app gets full iOS 7 support w/ Background App Refresh & Dynamic Text

Digg-iOS-appThe Digg iOS client has been updated today to version 5.2.1 and with it comes full support for iOS 7 in addition to the usual performance enhancements and bug fixes.

While the design of the app hasn’t been dramatically overhauled like many others, the update brings a few new features made possible by iOS 7. Among them is support for Apple’s new Dynamic Type and Background App Refresh features.

Digg version 5.2.1 is available for iPhone and iPad on the App Store now.

What’s New in Version 5.2.1

◆ Full iOS 7 support, including Dynamic Type & Background App Refresh.
◆ Performance enhancements & bug fixes.

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Snapguide updated for iOS 7 with improvements to search, browsing, and notifications

Snapguide released an update today that brings iOS 7’s new interface design to the guide-building app, along with enhancements to many of the app’s main features. For those who are unfamiliar, Snapguide is an app that lets you create and view step-by-step photographic guides from your iOS device. You can share these guides with your friends and find guides for topics you’re interested in. If a guide you want doesn’t exist, you can post a request for someone who knows about that subject to create one.

Today’s update brings not only a brand-new visual style, but enhancements to most of Snapguide’s core features. The browser, which lets you find guides created by other users, has been updated with larger images, faster loading times, and an “explore” section to help you track down your desired guides more quickly.

Search has also been improved, and now allows you to search between users, guides, and requests for new guides all at once. Enhancements have been made to the notification system in the iPhone version, and iPhone users can now copy a list of supplies needed to carry out the directions of any guide.

The updated Snapguide is available to all users for free on the iOS App Store.

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Infinity Blade III debuts on the App Store ahead of iOS 7

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Update Sept. 20: Infinity Blade III gets optimizations for the 64-bit iPhone 5s:

What’s New in Version 1.0.3

– Optimized for 64-bit iPhone 5S
– The iPhone 5S features full screen anti-aliasing, bloom, full screen vignettes, distortion, high resolution shadows, and environmental reflections – it looks crazy awesome!
– Includes bug fixes to decrease load times and enable In-App purchases

Infinity Blade III, the final entry in the popular action trilogy that was initially demoed at WWDC in 2010, has been released on the App Store ahead of tomorrow’s iOS 7 launch. The newest game in the series was first demonstrated on the iPhone 5s during Apple’s media event earlier this month.

Infinity Blade III features a massive new world and console-quality graphics specially designed to take full advantage of the increased processing power of the iPhone 5s. Despite its optimizations for the latest iPhone hardware, you can play the game on almost any iOS device running iOS 6 or 7, including the fourth-generation iPod touch, iPhone 4, and iPad 2.

Infinity Blade III is available on the App Store for $6.99.

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Barnes & Noble warns of potential Nook app incompatibilities with iOS 7

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Less than a day until the launch of Apple’s iOS 7, Barnes and Noble has warned users of its Nook for iOS application of some potential incompatibilities with the new operating system. The potential issues can be seen in the copy of the email above. Barnes and Noble will prompt users when there is an update available to fix and address these issues. The company also warns that not all users will have incompatibility problems, and it is unclear which users will be the ones seeing the issues.


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Amazon Mobile for iOS adds push notifications for shipments, deals and subscription activity

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It’s building up to be a great day for Amazon iOS users. After Amazon Instant Video added AirPlay support this morning, the company has updated their Amazon Mobile app with push notifications for shipments (when they’re sent and when they have arrived), deals, and subscribe & save activity.

What’s New in Version 3.0.0

New for iPad:
• Use the new sort and filter experience on iPad to quickly find what you’re looking for

New for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch
• New notifications make it easier for you to stay on top of your upcoming shipments, Subscribe and Save orders, as well as Deals of the Day
• Bug fixes

The app still has an “antique” non-iOS 7 look, but the push notification options are definitely welcome. Amazon’s relationship with the App Store has been quite shaky to say the least. Apple began a lawsuit against Amazon for using the company’s “App Store” trademark, although that was later dropped. In addition, Amazon does not sell ebooks through the Kindle App Store app since they do not want Apple to take a 30% slice. Customers can make regular retail purchases through the free Amazon Mobile app, though.

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9to5Toys Last Call: WD WiFi router w/ 1TB HD $80, GTA V $60 w/ $25 gift card, Disney Infinity Starter $60, free apps, more

From 9to5Toys.com:

A large majority of the deals we cover each day come from a variety of ‘Daily Deal’ websites or are so popular that they don’t even last 24 hours. We know you can’t be at your computer every second, so we’re going to round up the best deals each day to make sure you have a fair shot at the deals you want. Be sure to follow 9to5Toys.com so you never miss a deal... Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+.

Today’s featured deals:

wd-router-hard-drive-deal

SOLD OUT Western Digital Wi-Fi Router w/ Built-In 1TB HDD & Wireless HD Streaming $80 shipped (Reg. $255)

Game/App Deals: Disney Infinity Starter: $60, GTA V: $60 w/ $25 Gift Card, Black Ops 2: $30, iOS freebiesmore

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The Flexibits Mini Mac Bundle: Fantastical & Chatology $20 (Reg. $40)

Other great deals from today:

The best deals that are still alive:

New product announcements & reviews:

iOS 7-optimized apps start hitting the App Store; here’s a running list of updates

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Apple has started releasing iOS 7-optmized apps into the App Store in preparation for tomorrow’s iOS 7 launch. News reader Flipboard and social check-in app Foursquare were among the first to be updated. Though neither received a substantial overhaul, a few changes have been made to each app’s interface to fit in with iOS 7.

Below you’ll find a list of every iOS 7-compatible app update. We’ll continue updating the list as more updates are released, so check back often.


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Review: Perfect Weather is a great new weather app designed with iOS 7 in mind

A beautiful new weather app called Perfect Weather for iOS launched this morning. Perfect Weather is designed for iOS 7, as it plays off of the updated color palette and uses the new weather icons introduced in iOS 7 Weather. However, Perfect Weather is a lot more in depth and informative than the default Weather app.

Upon opening Perfect Weather you can easily see the different locations in which you saved and view the weather for each. You can quickly add more locations by pressing the Edit button. To switch between the different locations just tap on the card with the city you want. Perfect Weather is able to retrieve weather data from the United States and parts of Canada. Tapping on the lighting bolts on the left hand side allows you to quickly see if there are any severe weather alerts.

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Pulling down on the white tab shows you the week view of the weather and gives you a minute-by-minute guide of the weather in an easy-to-interpret line graph. Hovering your finger on the graph shows you the time, the temperature, and the weather (sunny, partly cloudy, cloudy, raining). This feature is useful because in determining how to prepare for the day ahead.

In this view it is very easy to see when the high temperature and and when the low temperature will occur throughout the day.

Swiping right to left on the temperature chart brings you to the current conditions view, where you’ll find information such as what the temperature feels like, humidity, pressure, visibility, wind, sunrise, sunset, and dew point.

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You are also able to open a split view which lets you see a live satellite view and the forecast at the same time. By pressing the play button in the lower left hand corner, you can see the the rain and cloud patterns twenty minutes prior to the current time. You are able to switch between rain and cloud patterns by pressing the icon in the lower right hand corner. Adjusting the slider changes the transparency of the satellite view overlay on top of the map.

Perfect Weather looks pretty, but no where in the app is there a guide or  tutorial to show you how to interpret the satellite data. I’m not exactly sure how to interpret it, which limits its usefulness to me.

Overall, Perfect Weather does fit in with iOS 7 because it blends in stylistically and feels like a native iOS 7 app. It easily shows you the 7-day forecast and detailed current conditions. The temperature chart gives a unique perspective of the weather. Navigating Perfect Weather is very intuitive and feels natural. If you are looking for a more comprehensive alternative to the stock weather app on iOS 7, Perfect Weather is just the app you need at $2.99.

iOS App Store now allows legacy app downloads to support older hardware and software

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The iOS App Store has been silently updated on Apple’s end to allow users running older versions of iOS  to install legacy versions of apps that are no longer supported by their software. In the screenshot above, for example, an iPhone 5 running iOS 6.0.2 is prompted to install the “last compatible version” of Weatherbug, which normally requires iOS 6.1. Choosing to download the last compatible version grabs the most recent version of the app that supported 6.0.2 and installs it on the device.

This is especially good news for users on old hardware, such as the iPhone 3G which only supports iOS 4.2.1, or original iPhone which doesn’t support anything beyond version 3.1.3. Users of those apps will now be able to run apps that they ordinarily would have been unable to install due to their outdated OS. Also benefiting from this change are iPhone 3GS owners who cannot upgrade to iOS 7, or users of newer devices who choose not to update to Apple’s latest OS.

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Latest Mavericks Developer Preview includes updated iTunes 11.1 with new iOS app organizer, other fixes

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While the Developer Center still shows iTunes 11.1 beta 2, which was released August 16, today’s Mavericks Developer Preview 8 includes an updated version of iTunes 11.1 (build 110, as compared to 48 previously).

iOS 7 device icons are included in this build and a new “Apps” organizer for configuring apps on iOS devices (Thanks, Filipe!):

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Also noteworthy are two new buttons in the podcasts section for accessing old episodes and a new sidebar for settings.

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While listening to iTunes Radio, the history button now shows songs that were last played (along with audio preview and purchase buttons):

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When you’re down to just one final skip, “1 skip left” appears near the skip button while listening to iTunes Radio:

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With iTunes 11.1, a notification appears every time the song changes. In the latest beta, there is an option to turn off this notification in the Preferences pane and the option to keep song changes in Notification Center is also present.

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The update makes the shuffle button work again and disables the unlimited skips on iTunes Radio loophole.

iTunes 11.1, which brings with it Apple’s streaming service, iTunes Radio, is required for syncing devices that are on iOS 7 which will be released on Wednesday. Mavericks itself, however, will be released late next month.

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9to5Toys Last Call: PNY 64GB StorEdge MacBook SD card $50, Belkin Lightning dock $25, Fantastical + Chatology for Mac $20, more

From 9to5Toys.com:

A large majority of the deals we cover each day come from a variety of ‘Daily Deal’ websites or are so popular that they don’t even last 24 hours. We know you can’t be at your computer every second, so we’re going to round up the best deals each day to make sure you have a fair shot at the deals you want. Be sure to follow 9to5Toys.com so you never miss a deal... Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+.

Today’s featured deals:

pny-storedge-64gb-sale-discount

SOLD OUT PNY 64GB StorEdge MacBook SD card: $50 shipped

belkin-lightning-dock-9to5toys

Belkin Charge & Sync Lightning dock w/ built-in 4′ USB cable $25 Shipped (Reg. $40)

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The Flexibits Mini Mac Bundle: Fantastical & Chatology $20 (Reg. $40)

Other great deals from today:

The best deals that are still alive:

New product announcements & reviews:

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Facebook speeds up Messenger for iPhone, adds new languages

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Facebook has issued a notable update to its iPhone and iPod touch Messenger app, speeding the app up, improving general performance, and adding new languages:

– It’s now faster to open the app and switch between messages
– Available in more languages: Croatian, Hungarian and Slovakian
– Plus, improved scrolling and overall performance
– Bug fixes

The update is free in iTunes.


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Google Play Books for iOS updated with Single Sign-On support

Google-Play-Books-iconGoogle has been adding Single Sign-On support to lots of its iOS apps in recent months, making it easier to sign into Google apps on their iPhone or iPad. With Single Sign-On, users can sign in once in any Google app supporting the feature and will automatically be signed into all the other apps. The idea is to eliminate having to sign-in multiple times to the same Google account for different apps. The latest app to get the update is Google Play Books, which was updated today to version 1.6.1 with support for Single Sign-On and copying selected text.

Google also recently added Single Sign-On support for its Chrome, YouTube, and AdSense iOS apps.

What’s New in Version 1.6.1

Added support for Google Single Sign-On, so that you only need to sign in once to access all of the Google apps on your device.
Added support for copying selected text, if copyright allows.
Stability improvements.

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Feedie: an app that shares food pictorially and literally

A lot of people use the iPhone, to take pictures of their food, and share the pictures on Twitter and Facebook. Sharing photos of your meals online has become a phenomenon and you probably have several friends who participate in this trend. But what if you can actually make a difference for a great cause by taking pictures of your food? That’s exactly what a new app Feedie does. The pictures you take with Feedie can be posted and shared on Facebook, Twitter, Google + and Foursquare.

Because you took a picture at a Feedie restaurant, the restaurant donates to The Lunchbox FundChef Mario Batali is one of the spokesmen for Feedie and The Lunchbox Fund. The Lunchbox Fund is a non-profit organization that provides daily meals for orphaned children in South Africa. The organization works with several schools and have annually provided 240,000 meals since its inception in 2005. Feedie has provided 645 meals, since its launch in the end of April. This app is also now iOS 7 ready:


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