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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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9to5Toys Last Call: iPhone 4 on Virgin $199, Asphalt 8 for iOS: Free, 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:

Virgin slashes 8GB iPhone 4 to $199, (4S: 20% off) unsubsidized w/$30/month unlimited data plan

Other great deals from today:

The best deals that are still alive:

New product announcements & reviews:

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9to5Toys Last Call: $279 Time Capsule 2TB (Newest), $15 credit for a new Incase iPhone case, games/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:

apple-time-capsule-deal

Apple Time Capsule 2TB (newest version) 802.11ac wireless router/backup device $279 shipped (Reg. $299)

incase-deal-iphone-case

Trade in ANY old iPhone case and get $15 credit towards a new one from Incase

Other great deals from today:

The best deals that are still alive:

New product announcements & reviews:

  • Steam Family Sharing lets you share and borrow full game libraries, launches next week
  • Infinity Blade 3 debut trailer, coming September 18
  • Sony launches new mini home console, the Playstation Vita TV
  • Amazon announces the all-new Kindle Paperwhite e-reader, now available for preorder starting at $119
  • Western Digital fills out its NAS-optimized RED hard drive line with new 2.5 inch versions
  • Review: The Just-Mobile UpStand, a functional iPad stand wrapped in a beautiful design
  • Sony officially begins serving up 4K Ultra HD video downloads with one big caveat

A look at what some high-profile apps will look like when iOS 7 hits

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Apple announced on Tuesday that iOS 7 will be publicly available on September 18th. The revamped OS moves completely away from the realistic designs of the past six generations, dropping almost all “artificial shadows” (as Apple SVP Craig Federighi called them), gloss, and even button borders. Instead, the Jony Ive-inspired interface features an entirely rethought design language that focuses heavily on large icons, lightweight fonts, whitespace, transparency, and conservative use of color.

We previously took a look at what some of Apple’s own in-house apps could look like when redesigned for iOS 7. During Apple’s September 10th event, Federighi flashed up a slide displaying the upcoming iOS 7 updates for many third-party applications. None of the apps were labeled, but we’ve tracked down names for most of them.

The apps featured are:


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Chrome for iOS adds faster search results, data cost savings features & voice search pronoun support

Image (1) chrome-a_512.png for post 72530Google is rolling out an updated version of its iOS app for iPhone and iPad today that brings a few new features including faster search results. Google says after clicking back in Chrome to return to a search results page results will now “instantly appear, ready for you to choose the next one.”

The update also adds data cost savings features, rolling out to all users shortly, that provides a view of data savings in Bandwidth Management settings. Also new is voice search pronounce support:

Try queries like: “Who is the president of the United States?” followed by “Who is his wife?”

The updated version of Chrome for iOS also includes improvements to Single Sign On for other Google Apps, bug fixes, and other performance and security improvements.

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TeeVee 2.2 introduces unwatched episode tracking, iCloud sync, and more

The popular TV guide app TeeVee was updated late last night to version 2.2. The update brings a new design to the app’s main page, along with other tweaks to the iconography and typography throughout the app. Other notable new features include iCloud syncing of saved shows and unwatched episodes across devices, and an episode tracking feature that displays how many episodes of a show you have missed on the main page.

As with previous versions, you can view schedules for your favorite shows, schedule notifications before or after a new episode of any given show airs, get a summary of any episode, watch iTunes previews of most shows, and more.

TeeVee 2.2 is a free update for existing users and a $.99 purchase for new downloads.

Review: Grades 3 is a great way to track your classes and projects

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Earlier this year, at long last, I took my final exam and finished college. While I was in school, I tried a bunch of apps to keep track of my assignments and projects. I also spent a lot of time calculating how many projects I could ignore completely as well as the lowest possible grade I could get on the ones I actually did in order to maintain my GPA and scholarships.

Most of the time the apps didn’t help much and I just gave up and hoped for the best. This scared the heck out of my parents, who then proceeded to bother me about school even more.

When I saw the promo video for Grades 3, I’ll admit I got a little upset. I spent four years in college, and as soon as I get out, the app I always wanted finally exists. While I would never really wish to be back in school all over again, if I had to, Grades 3 would be the first app I put on my phone. Let’s dive in and see what this app can do for you.


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iPhone’s M7 motion processor to integrate with Maps as Apple develops indoor mapping, public transit

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Besides the main 64-bit A7 processor in the new iPhone 5s, Apple has included a dedicated motion co-processor called the M7. The chip powers many of the sensor technologies in the iPhone, such as the accelerometer, compass, and gyroscope in order to move the weight off of those technologies from the phone’s main chip. This, in turn, will make the new iPhone more efficient for both performance and battery life for the user.

Apple briefly explained some of the consumer-facing abilities of the M7 motion chip, highlighting that the chip could greatly enhance fitness apps such as those from Nike. But, just like with the new iPhone’s Touch ID fingerprint scanner, Apple’s ambitions for the M7 are greater than those discussed earlier this week. According to a source with knowledge of the chip’s development, Apple plans to tightly integrate the chip with its own Maps service in the coming years.

On its official website, Apple presents a brief teaser of what the M7 can do, highlighting a feature in the iPhone 5s (which was not discussed during the keynote presentation):


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Readdle releases ‘Calendars 5’ w/ new design for iOS 7, natural language input & much more

Developer Readdle has officially released the latest version of its popular Calendars app, which appears to be replacing the paid Calendars+ app that it rolled out back in May. Calendars 5 for iPhone and iPad introduces a new interface that focuses on upcoming events and a new look and feel designed specifically for iOS 7. It also adds new features including additional view modes, full offline support, natural language input for quickly creating events (much like Fantastical), and a new powerful task manager that syncs with iOS reminders.

Calendars 5 is available now on the App Store for an introductory price of $4.99 and Readdle’s free Calendar app also remains available.

A full list of what’s new in Calendars 5 is below:

What’s new:

1. Natural language event processing.

It’s the most natural way to enter an event. Everybody can understand and use it. But you can create events in Day view by tapping and holding, some might find that faster and more natural. Just try it yourself since we support it as well.

2. Clean UI focused on YOUR events.

There are no colorful bars or buttons in the elements of Calendars+5. The only elements in color on the screen are your events or buttons that need your attention. iOS 7 design philosophy is in its essence.

3. All complexity is hidden.

When you create an event in iOS calendar you see a 12-fields-dialog that confuses and disorients you. In Calendars+5 you have a single field to start with. The rest will unfold as you need it.

4. No compromises, you have ‘Day, Week, Month and List’ views of your events.

Depending on the situation you might need to see a different perspective of your schedule. We designed the best possible representation of your Day, Week and Month for the small iPhone screen.

5. Integrated task manager – syncs with iOS reminders.

Tasks and events should live in the same application while you may want to see all your tasks in your calendar when needed. At the same time a task manager should be first-class product and support everything you might ever need to successfully control your undertakings. I think we’ve done just that. And yes, you can sync your iOS reminders with the task manager in Calendars

6. Great for power users.

I know that till now I’ve been advocating for a perfect calendar for an ordinary person. But I hate compromises and I wanted to provide a remarkable tool for power users too, especially since our CEO is exactly this kind of person. Appointments, locations, notes and calendars with 10 000 events are something that you can easily manage with Calendars+ 5.

Moreover, you can create and events like “Do something every second month of the year on weekdays of the 1st, 2nd and last week”. Calendars+ 5 is the only iOS application that allows you to create custom recurring events.

7. First-class iPad app.

Calendars+ 5 is the first smart calendar for the iPad, since all other great calendar applications are for the iPhone only. I don’t get it because the iPad’s large screen is great for viewing your Weekly or Monthly schedule and enables richer interaction with events.

8. Transparent information sync between iPhone and iPad.

Your tasks and events are synced seamlessly in the background between all your devices. It just works, period.

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Adobe Revel cloud service gets updated iOS app with support for video

AAdobe-Reveldobe has updated its Adobe Revel app today, which allows users to store and access photos and videos in the cloud and sync across Mac, PC, and iOS devices. Previously only available for photos, Adobe has updated its iPhone and iPad apps today to include support for uploading, watching, and sharing videos with the service.

The Adobe Revel service provides unlimited uploads for the first 30 days for free, and 50 photos every month after that. Adobe didn’t specify if the same limits will apply to videos,  but upgrading to Revel Premium for $5.99/month will provide unlimited photo and video imports.

In other app news, Apple appears to have started accepting apps compiled with the iOS 7 SDK. We noticed one of the first– Local Cloud Pro— has been updated today with full iOS 7 support including iOS 7’s Dynamic Type and other new features.

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9to5Toys Last Call: D-Link wireless camera with iPhone/iPad support $29, 13″ / 17″ refurb. MacBook Pros from $650, 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:
dlink-wireless-network-camera

SOLD OUT  D-Link DCS-903L wireless network day camera w/ iOS integration $29 shipped (Reg. $50)

mac-refurb-pro-deal

Refurb Macbook Pro’s: 13″ Intel Core 2 Duo $650, 17″ Intel Quad-Core $1499

Other great deals from today:

The best deals that are still alive:

New product announcements & reviews:

Apple confirms Cards app for iOS is discontinued, recommends iPhoto

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We’ve received multiple tips indicating that Apple’s Cards app and service for iOS has stopped functioning. Cards was launched alongside the iPhone 4s in fall 2011 and served as an easy way for users to create custom-made letterpress cards and have them shipped to another person.

Apple has confirmed that Cards has been discontinued as of today:

Cards ordered before 1 PM Pacific time on September 10, 2013, will be delivered, and push notifications will continue to work. You can view your previous purchases by tapping Saved Cards in the app.

As a replacement, Apple recommends creating letterpress cards on iPhoto for Mac. Thanks, Zac Coffman!


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Apple makes iWork apps, iPhoto, and iMovie free with all new iOS devices

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Apple has just announced that setting up any new iOS device will ship with free copies of iWork, iPhoto, and iMovie for iOS. The 3 iWork apps including Pages, Keynote, and Numbers, in addition to the two iLife apps– iPhoto and iMovie– will be available for free to users purchasing a new device. During the setup process, users will be prompted to download the five Apple apps for free. Apple will be making the apps available to all iOS 7 compatible devices purchased after September 1st.

Prior to today’s announcement, we suggested that Apple could make the apps available for free after announcing its new iWork for iCloud web apps.

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Apple changes featured stations in iTunes Radio – likely for a demo today

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Apple has updated the Featured Stations in iTunes Radio, likely in preparation for a demo of the service during today’s iPhone launch.

The featured stations include Spin the Globe, Trending on Twitter, iTunes Top 100: Pop and the Pepsi-sponsored Pulse #Now.

iTunes Radio will be available on all iOS devices, including Apple TV, as well as in iTunes on both Macs and PCs, as a free ad-supported service. There will be one audio ad every 15 minutes, and one video ad per hour. However, iTunes Match subscribers will be able to listen to the service free from ads.

Thanks, Nick!

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9to5Toys Last Call: Up to 55% off Toshiba storage, Samsung EVO 250GB SSD $165, games galore, Logitech mini Boombox $80, 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:

amazon-ebay-storage-deal-9to5toysStorage deals:

ps-vita-tv

Gamers’ Deals:

Other great deals from today:

The best deals that are still alive:

New product announcements & reviews:

  • Amazon announces the all-new Kindle Paperwhite e-reader, now available for preorder starting at $119
  • Western Digital fills out its NAS-optimized RED hard drive line with new 2.5 inch versions
  • Review: The Just-Mobile UpStand, a functional iPad stand wrapped in a beautiful design
  • Sony officially begins serving up 4K Ultra HD video downloads with one big caveat
  • LifeProof’s new protective nuud case for iPad mini now available
  • JBL Spark Bluetooth speaker features a fresh design and promises big sound
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Yahoo! Screen app for iOS brings TV-like remote experience for Yahoo! content

Yahoo today announced the release of a new app called ‘Yahoo! Screen’ for iOS devices that it created to a be a TV-like remote control or channel guide experience for content from Yahoo!. The app, which is available starting today for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, will allow users to browse trending content, search for shows, and even switch between channels like a traditional TV experience by swiping up and down. Users will also be able to switch between episodes for the show they are currently viewing by swiping right and left.

As for content, Yahoo! has made new deals with Viacom that will bring new content from Comedy Central and elsewhere:

To get you going, we’re proud to announce a brand new deal with Viacom to bring you clips from some of Comedy Central’s best shows, including The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report. Together with the exclusive digital clip archive of Saturday Night Live, Yahoo Screen now offers you access to some of the most storied franchises in comedy history, on any device. In addition, the Fall 2013 Comedy Lineup is now live. Whether you want to get lost in the best clips of Saturday Night Live or get hooked on new shows featuring stars like Jack Black in Ghost Ghirls, John Stamos in Losing It With John Stamos, you’ll have over 1,000 hours of comedy to watch.

Yahoo! Screen is available for free on the App Store now. 

Photoshop CC update brings open source ‘Adobe Generator’ tool for real-time image asset generation

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Updates out today for Photoshop CC (version 14.1) bring new features for Creative Cloud members including a brand new open source technology that Adobe is calling “Adobe Generator”. The new feature will allow users to automatically create image assets in real-time without the need “of copying, slicing and exporting each layer manually.” Here’s how it works:

Simply add a file extension to the name of your layer or layer group, and Photoshop will automatically create a JPG, PNG or GIF from the contents of that layer. If you make a change to that layer, the file is immediately updated. This means that you now have a folder of images that are always up-to-date with your Photoshop design. If you need larger dimension images for Retina displays, you can also quickly create those by adding a scaling factor.

In Photoshop, Adobe Generator can be turned on by navigating to  File -> Generate -> Image Assets and renaming layers with supported tags. Adobe notes some examples in its blog post. For example,  “200% logo-retina.png, logo.png” produces both a 2x and a 1x asset, while “heroImage.jpg10” produces a 1x asset with max quality.

Adobe noted that the new generator feature also provides “a real-time connection between Photoshop and Edge Reflow,” allowing users to bring in assets from Photoshop with a single click. Generator is an open source project, which will allow users who know JavaScript to modify or write their own plug-ins using the technology. The company posted the video below that shows developers who are using Generator to write a custom plug-in for a mobile game that allows them to “change the UI of a game in Photoshop while the game is being played.”
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VMware Fusion 6: optimized for new operating systems, hardware, and more powerful VMs [Review]

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VMware Fusion 6

Prologue: I’ve been a Parallels Desktop user since the Windows XP days (and recently reviewed the latest version, Parallels Desktop 9). However, I’ve always been watchful of VMware and their offerings. This review of Fusion 6 is from my perspective as a Parallels user and potential switcher.

Mac users who need to pull up Windows, Linux, or guest OS X virtual machines usually don’t care too much for the whistles and bells of the virtualization software – they simply want a solid, fast experience to get in, run professional programs or play a few games, and get out. For VMware Fusion users in particular, they tend to care more about the CPU performance for professional apps rather than 3D graphics and frame rates. 
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Microsoft releases Xbox Music for iOS with ad-free music streaming and cross-platform syncing

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Microsoft released a brand-new Xbox Music app for iOS this evening. The app features ad-free streaming from Microsoft’s massive song catalog, with custom stations built around specific artists, songs, or albums. These playlists can be synced to your other Xbox Music-capable devices, such as an Xbox 360.

The app requires an Xbox Music Pass to work, which comes in both free or paid varieties. The app description doesn’t state that a paid subscription is needed, but free accounts are limited to only ten hours per month after the first six months of use.

The iOS app is available now for free on the App Store.


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Amazon issues “required” iOS Kindle app update to install prior to iOS 7

Amazon’s Kindle for iOS app got an update today to prepare for iOS 7’s upcoming release. According to the change log, the update is required before users update to iOS 7. Failure to install the new version of the app prior to updating to iOS 7 could cause users to have to login again and re-download their books.

While this issue isn’t as signficant as losing all of your Google Authenticator tokens, it could be a bit of an annoyance for users to have to re-download their reading material.

The Kindle update is available on the App Store now.

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VLC for iOS updated with improved international support, FTP server discovery

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VideoLAN’s VLC application for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch has been updated with some significant enhancements. Notably, the version 2.1 release includes improved international support. This includes subtitle options for non-western languages, and localization to the following languages: Bosnian, Catalan, Galician, Greek, Marathi, Portuguese, Slovenian.

Improvements are present for subtitles, VoiceOver, Accessibility, video output, and password locking.

In terms of new features, audio-only playback is now supported. Additionally, FTP server discovery for streaming and downloading, UPNP network compatibility, and improved Bonjour featured are present in the update.

VideoLAN tells us that the launch version had 2.5 million downloads during the first week of availability. The update is available for free on the App Store.


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Parallels Desktop 9: Noticeably faster, smarter setup and ready for Mavericks and Windows 8.1 [Review]

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With over 90% market share in Mac desktop virtualization software (according to NPD), Parallels is the clear leader in the industry. Now, Parallels has introduced Parallels Desktop 9 for Mac, bringing in new features, improving performance, and preparing for Mavericks and Windows 8.1. How does this version stack up? Is it worth the price? Read on to find out.

Performance

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With the software at its ninth version, some may be content with their version of Parallels and think the upgrade isn’t worth the price. However, as a previous PD8 (and all the way back to PD3), allow me to be straight-forward: this upgrade gives the biggest noticeable performance boost ever. The company claims the updated software provides 40% better disk performance, 25% faster virtual machine shutdown times, 20% faster virtual machine suspend times, and 15% faster web browsing and 3D graphics.
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Hands-on with new iPad DJ controllers from Philips & Pioneer at IFA 2013 (Video)

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Philips announced this week at its IFA press conference in Berlin that it’s teaming up with DJ and music producer Armin van Buuren for a brand new DJ controller designed specifically for the iPad and iPhone. It certainly isn’t the first controller on the market designed for iOS devices, and Philips isn’t exactly a company that comes to mind when we think DJ controllers, but its new M1X-DJ does have a few unique features apart from the celebrity endorsement. It’s also another win for Algoriddim’s djay app that Philips makes a point of noting is fully supported.

Rather than trying to mimic professional DJ controllers like the recently announced DDJ-WEGO2 controller from Pioneer (which we also got hands on time with this week at IFA), the M1X-DJ is aiming to reinvent the ghetto blaster by building in an 80-Watt speaker system underneath the controller. It’s clearly aimed at beginners with much more simplified controls compared to your standard controller (no quick looping functions and FX built-in like Pioneer’s), while Pioneer’s new model takes the other route by essentially shrinking down its higher-end professional products for the iPad. They are aimed at slightly different audiences: the Philips M1X-DJ has obvious upsides for casual, social settings, and the EUR 399.95 price tag might be a little easier to swallow when it also comes with a built-in Bluetooth speaker that packs in some serious punch. The much more capable DDJ-WEGO2 controller will sell for $429 when it goes on sale in October.

The M1X from Philips is set to launch in November.

We went hands on with the DDJ-WEGO2 at IFA today:
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iBooks Textbooks category leaks out on iOS 7 iPhone App Store

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Following some adjusted wording on iBooks Textbook pages inside of iTunes that ignited speculation of iBooks Textbooks finally becoming compatible with the iPhone, a new iBooks Textbooks category has begun populating on the iOS 7 App Store for iPhone. The section is currently accessible via the Education category of the store.

As you can see in the screenshots above and below, the category is not currently populated or fully functional. However, there is promotional imagery for several categories (including Life Sciences, Humanities, and a High School Core Curriculum) that is fully optimized for the size of the iPhone’s display…


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BlackBerry Messenger for iPhone submitted to the App Store two weeks ago

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BlackBerry’s Messenger (BBM) app for the iPhone and iPod touch was submitted to the App Store two weeks ago, according to a Tweet from a BlackBerry Senior Manager who is working on the software.

Earlier this year, BlackBerry announced that it would be bringing its popular messaging platform beyond its own devices and onto the application stores for both iOS and Android…


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