Apps & Updates

Google releases free Quickoffice iPhone app for Google Apps for Business customers

Jordan Kahn

After releasing a free version of the Quickoffice iPad app for its Google Apps for Business customers in December, Google today announced free iPhone and Android versions of the app exclusively for its Apps for Business customers.

Google Apps for Business can already edit Microsoft Office files using Quickoffice on an iPad, and starting today they can do the same on iPhone and Androiddevices. From Word to Excel to Powerpoint, you can make quick edits at the airport or from the back of a taxi and save and share everything in Google Drive… iPad and iPhone users can open and edit Office files directly from the Drive app. Just open Drive and select the file, make edits using Quickoffice and save it back to Drive.

Google noted the updated apps also bring new features including support for multiple Google Drive accounts, improved chart rendering, ZIP folders from multiple files, and the ability to sort Drive files by “Shared with me, Starred, and Recent”: Read more

Nuance launches ‘Voice Ads’ platform to bring a Siri-like experience to mobile advertising

Jordan Kahn

If Nuance gets its way with the just announced ‘Voice Ads’ mobile advertising platform, soon every mobile ad could include Siri-like functionality that lets you communicate with and ask questions about the product being advertised.

Nuance, the company behind the voice recognition module now used in Apple’s Siri, today announced a new project to bring its voice recognition technology to the mobile advertising world. The basic concept of the new platform, which Nuance made available through an SDK for advertising companies, is to bring a two-way, interactive conversation to mobile ads. As highlighted by Nuance in the video above, ads that implement the Voice Ads platform will allow users to engage in a Siri-like conversation with an advertisement:

Nuance Voice Ads gives mobile advertisers and creative agencies an opportunity to go beyond the limitations of the four-inch mobile device screen and create a conversation with consumers through the power of voice recognition. Voice Ads finally creates an opportunity for brands to deepen the relationship with their consumers, with targeted interactive ads that deeply engage their core audience – much in the way that the world’s most popular mobile personal assistants have deepened consumers’ relationship with their mobile phones.

In the demo above, Nuance shows an advertisement for a fictional deodorant brand that uses a magic 8-ball theme to answer any question that users might have. The ad of course ends in a pitch for the product in question, as you might expect. Other ads could allow users to ask specific questions about a product’s release date or specs…
Read more

The Week in Tweaks: Automatic App Store updates, a new screen recorder, and more for your jailbroken iOS device

Mike Beasley

Here’s a look at some of the most fun or useful jailbreak tweaks that came out this week. If you like these tweaks, but don’t have a jailbroken iOS device, you can check out jailbrea.kr to learn more about how to jailbreak your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad.

Auto App Updater – $2.99

Auto App Updater is exactly what it sounds like. This great new tweak will automatically download and install updates to any of your App Store apps without any input from you. It comes with a ton of options for how often to check for updates, whether or not to use a celluar connection, whether to update apps when on battery or AC power, and even lets you blacklist apps from being automatically updated just in case there’s an app you’d rather keep at a certain version.

What’s more, for those of us who like to know exactly what we’re getting into with each app update, Auto App Updater will store the change log for any apps that it updates so you can check and see exactly what’s new. Of course, the only way you would know to check this change log is if you knew that there was an update to begin with. Since Auto App Updater installs the updates transparently in the background, you likely won’t even know there are change logs to read. To fix that, the tweak can show you a notification letting you know each time an update has been installed.

Auto App Updater is seroiusly impressive and it looks like a lot of thought went into making it the most comprehensive auto-update solution possible. You can get it now on ModMyi for the reasonably low price of $2.99.

Keep reading for more new tweaks

Apple launching Final Cut Pro X campaign to win back skeptical professional users

Jordan Kahn

Apple is beginning a campaign today to win back the video-editing community that abandoned its flagship video-editing software after the release of its controversial Final Cut Pro X. The LA Times reported that following several updates to the software over the last two years to fix some of the criticisms, Apple is launching a number new ads on its website today that feature professionals using Final Cut Pro X. The campaign is apparently timed to lined up with upcoming National Association of Broadcasters convention and aims to win over professional video editors by featuring professionals such as editors at the Globe and Mail newspaper:

Now, after updating the software seven times since its release in 2011, Apple is launching a campaign Thursday aimed at winning back skeptical professional users.

Starting Thursday, the company plans to begin posting three stories on its website, including Liurette’s, aimed at changing the minds of folks like Miller by demonstrating how sophisticated users have embraced Final Cut Pro X. The stories will also feature Tsui Hark, one of the biggest names in Hong Kong cinema, and TV Azteca, which produces thousands of telenovela episodes every year.

Adobe-Premiere-Pro

From Adobe’s “Why Switch” Premiere Pro website

It’s no secret that the professional video editing community was up in arms over Apple’s decision to release what they viewed as a scaled-back, prosumer version of Final Cut Pro with the release of Final Cut Pro X almost two years ago. Despite the Mac App Store dropping the cost of FCP from almost $700 to $299, pro video editors complained Apple had stripped away some of the software’s core features to create a simple experience for the average Mac user and not professionals. It earned FCPX the nickname “iMovie Pro” and criticism in the mainstream media followed by a response from Apple and eventually even refunds of the app to unsatisfied customers.
Read more

Apps & Updates

Gmail app updated with swipe to move between messages, multiple select edit mode

E. Betters

Google updated its Gmail for iOS app today with the ability to swipe right or left to move between messages without going back to the inbox.

Version 2.1 also includes the ability to enable edit mode by selecting a message in the inbox. Once in edit mode, Google said users could tap on messages to select. They can then archive, delete, etc., from the new actions bar, or they can just Cancel to exit edit mode.

Check it out:

Read more

Apps & Updates

BMW app integration, Plants vs Zombies 2, IM+, Pac-Man, StreamBoard, deals, more

Jordan Kahn

BMW-App-integration-audible

News:

BMW iOS app integration: Following some recent Siri Eyes Free news from Chevrolet, BMW announced today that it has partnered with handful of developers to bring similar eyes free experiences for a number of third-party iOS apps to its vehicles. BMW has partnered with Audible for audio books, Glympse for location sharing services, Rhapsody for subscription music and TuneIn for internet radio, all of which will be updating their apps in the weeks to come for compatibility with the BMW Apps system.

Plants vs Zombies 2: PopCap announced today that part two of its incredibly popular Plants vs Zombies title is finally going to land on iOS in additional to all the other usual platforms “early summer.”  No clues on what might be included in the second installment, but in the meantime PopCap will launch a new version of the game on Facebook.

App Updates:

IM+ Instant Messenger version 7.7: A nice update to the very popular IM+ service today offers Beep mobile-to-mobile service as an in-app purchase, the ability to preview transferred images directly in chats, and the usual bug fixes and performance enhancements. iPad users will also now be able to capture photos and videos in the app.

StreamBoard version 5.0: The Twitter client that lets you track keywords and hashtags in real-time is updated to version 5.0 with many new features and enhancements:

For this incredible milestone, StreamBoard has been rewritten from the ground up bringing to you:
- A brand new streamlined interface powered by gestures
- A reimagined filter view featuring real-time graphs that you can interact with
- Much improved engine for faster speed!
- and many more!

Pac-Man version 3.5.0: iOS 6 support and new features for the Pac-Man iPad app.

Added support for iOS 6
Fixed Game Center issue for iOS 6
Updated More Games functionality

Deals: Read more