App Store

http://vimeo.com/60564626

News:

Clear for Mac + Leap Motion: We’ve brought you a couple hands-on demos of the Leap Motion controller before, and today popular productivity app Clear for Mac announced it is working on bringing support for Leap Motion to Clear. There’s no timeframe yet, but Realmac Software provided the short preview above.

Updates:

Runtastic version 2.10.1: Personal fitness tracking app Runtastic gets a nice update today that brings more Sport types, improved Facebook integration, and number of other bug fixes and performance enhancements.

DataMan Pro version 6.3: After some trouble getting by Apple review guidelines with its last update, DataMan Pro is back on the App Store today and is 50% off for a limited time to celebrate. The app has also been completely redesigned:

The resurrected DataMan Pro has been completely reinvented to feature a stunning new interface, an intelligent real-time data usage forecast, and most advanced app tracking… The powerful App Watch technology that users love is also back. You can see the usage statistics for all apps. This amazing capability empowers you to root out data-hungry apps… The new DataMan Pro includes Smart Forecast and the beautiful interface that were recently introduced in DataMan Next. Combined with precise real-time tracking, you can say goodbye to overage.

Orbitz Flights, Hotels, Cars 3.0: Yesterday Orbitz launched its first “fully native, in-app search and book experience” for the iPad with an update to its Orbitz Flights, Hotels, Cars app that brings support for the larger screen and new iPad-specific features:

Our award-winning app (App Store Editors’ Choice & Hall of Fame inductee) is now also optimized for iPad and iPad mini! iPad users enjoy *all* the same app features as iPhone users, plus iPad-exclusives like a dual list/map view of hotels and the ability to compare details of multiple flights, rental cars, or hotels from a single screen.

Adobe Muse: Adobe announced today that it is updating Adobe Muse with some highly requested new features:
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[vodpod id=Video.15797906&w=1000&h=350&]

Last time we checked in on the in-app purchase class-action lawsuit against Apple, courts refused Apple’s request to throw out the case brought on by parents arguing the iOS freemium model, i.e. in-app purchases, allowed children to easily rack up hundreds or thousands of dollars. Today, Law360 (via GigaOM) reported Apple has agreed to pay a settlement and will be contacting 23 million iTunes users that “made a Game Currency purchase in one or more Qualified Apps.”

According to the report, Apple will pay $5 in iTunes credit to those who claim in-app content was purchased by a minor without their permission. For purchases above $30, users will be able to request a full refund. However, credits will likely not get to users until early 2014 when the settlement meets regulatory approval:
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Update (Feb 21st): This has been fixed according to a reader. The iTunes and App Stores use HTML on the backend so Apple can “push” updates via backend code changes:

As of this morning, the bug is gone! No update required! Looks
like the somehow they pushed the update! I can no longer change the
account in the App Store or iTunes store! This reminds me when I was
beta testing 6.0 and Apple changed the behavior of downloading updates
not requiring a password (they also allowed free apps with no password
for a short while). That didn’t need an update to change either.
They seem to have ways of fixing App Store behavior without needing to
update iOS. I’m still running 6.1 on my devices, haven’t gone to
6.1.2 yet.

Would be nice for an official answer from Apple, but so far, it’s
working correctly! Also, I see redeem and send gift are grayed out
also, at the bottom of the App Store. Same for iTunes Store.

For those unaware, iOS 6 received some beefed up Restriction settings when it was released that allowed users to select “Don’t Allow Changes” for an entire account linked to an iOS device. This option was particularly useful for schools and organizations that wanted to limit a device to a specific account and keep students and others from installing apps not approved by the institution. Without the restriction, students or employees could easily change the iTunes account linked to the iOS device. Unfortunately, as noticed by one frustrated 9to5Mac reader, it seems there are several backdoor methods of bypassing the setting…

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Kickstarter: Today Kickstarter announced that it is finally launching an official app for iPhone and iPod touch. The app provides users with the majority of features accessible through the website including the ability to find, filter, and back projects, watch project videos, follow and keep up with projects in an always up-to-date Activity tab, and receive notifications when someone backs or launches a project. The app also includes creator tools such as a feature to “take pictures and videos with their iPhone camera and post them as project updates straight from the app.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fv6Sj5ot3c8&feature=youtu.be

DIE HARD: Fox Digital Entertainment today released the official DIE HARD iOS game in support of the upcoming “A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD” feature film. You play as Jack McClane as you “blast your way out of Moscow’s mean streets and travel to the radioactive wasteland of Chernobyl.” The developer called the game an “endless shooter”– a combination of “the “endless runner” and “first-person shooter” genres. It’s available now for 99 cents.

With DIE HARD, the mission was to develop an app with the gameplay and attitude to match the groundbreaking nature of the DIE HARD franchise, its longtime hero John McClane and new protagonist Jack McClane.  In a twist on the endless runner genre, where the player runs from danger, DIE HARD equips the player to face the action head on, running towards foes and confronting them from a first-person perspective.

Skype 6.2 for Mac: Skype was updated with a few new features and improvements. Users can now send Skype credit as a gift through an eGifting feature, as well as send “one-way SMS without verifying your mobile number. ”

QuickBooks Online for iPad: Intuit announced today a new iPad app for QuickBooks Online. It’s free for subscribers, but the app also provides a 30 day free trail and monthly and annual subscriptions for $13 and $125. Full list of features below:
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Calendars. Contacts. Maps. Emails. Text messages. Facebook. LinkedIn.

There are a lot of things you can do with the iPhone. Each of those things is scattered across the phone in it’s own separate app, however. Sure, there’s some integration of those services, but most of the time you’re going to have to switch apps to get from one function to the other. It’s easy to get annoyed or overwhelmed trying to manage your time while everyone up-to-date on the things that matter.

Tempo is a new app from SRI (the company that originally developed Siri) that aims to bring all of those functions together—at least as far as the concern your schedule—into a cohesive system for managing your life. But how well do all of these different services coexist in the same application?

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Mailbox, the highly anticipated third-party Gmail client for the iPhone from Orchestra, is now available in the App Store. Here’s the essence of why Mailbox is meant to be a better mobile email client:

• Mailbox is light, fast, and mobile-friendly.
• Swipes make checking mail from your phone a delight.
• Snoozes let you put off an email until later and remind you when the time has come.
• Mailbox makes getting to inbox zero, and staying there, a breeze.

The app is free, but you’ll need a reservation code to use it today. These codes were given out on a first-come, first-served basis a few weeks ago to anyone who signed up for the app in advance. This system was put in place to prevent the company’s servers from being overwhelmed, as there is substantial demand for the free app.

Screenshots and video overview:

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Rabbit: Launching today in closed beta, Rabbit is a new video chat and content sharing app– initially available exclusively for Mac– that has been getting a lot of attention. The app lets you chat with an unlimited number of people, create and customize chats, as well as watch movies, listen to music, and share content in chats in real-time. If you are a pre-teen who hasn’t heard of Google Hangouts, you might want to check this out.

Rabbit is kind of like a virtual living room. It runs in the background on your computer just like Skype, so you can always find your friends online and invite them to watch a movie or listen to music at any time. You can share this content directly from your computer, or you can use the Rabbit “SharePad” of integrated content sites to instantly launch TV shows, videos and music you want to watch and listen to with your friends.

Foursquare version 5.4.3: Foursquare gets an update today that brings improvements to check-in notification settings including an “Always” option to get notifications for all check-ins, as well as new “Nearby” and “Off” settings to apply to specific users.

✓ Choose “ALWAYS” for close friends and family you always want to keep up with. You’ll get notifications for all their check-ins, no matter where they are in the world.
✓ Choose “NEARBY” for friends you’d like to hear about from time to time. We’ll only notify you when they’re close by.
✓ Choose “OFF” for those acquaintances you don’t really want updates from. And that bike messenger friend who checks in at every spot on his route.

TomTom version 1.13: TomTom updated the majority of its iOS navigation apps today. On top of the most up to date map data, users can also now backup and restore settings and stored destinations from iCloud. With today’s update TomTom is also providing a free 30 day trial to its HD traffic subscription. In addition, the app now includes compatibility for iPad mini.

Borderlands Legends version 1.1.0: 2K’s Borderlands Legends (and the HD iPad version) is updated today with new features including a new sniper mode, new enemy and mini boss types, night versions of the Wasteland map, iPhone 5 & Game Center support, new Eridian Weapons, and more.
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Wow! 270,000+ active users on http://t.co/YQrXEeVQ!!! #evasi0n

— pod2g (@pod2g) February 4, 2013

If you have not jailbroken an iOS device in a while, you might wonder what all the excitement is surrounding today’s launch of the evasi0n jailbreak tool for iOS 6. (Note: Some people are having issues with the default Apple Weather app after install.)

[tweet https://twitter.com/MuscleNerd/status/298543670888644608]

Over the years, many features that were once jailbreak-only made their way to iOS or via third parties through the App Store. However, there are still many things you can do with jailbreak tweaks that aren’t possible on non-jailbroken devices. With over 270,000 active users at any one time on evasi0n today, we put together a list of some of the most interesting and useful tweaks that caught our attention in recent months:

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Our usual list of newly released and updated apps below. 9to5Toys also shares 15% off iTunes gift cards (All denominations available) + free shipping to get your downloading started.

New:

Tesla Model S: Users over on the Tesla forums noticed last night that the official Tesla Model S iPhone app has now made its way onto the App Store, at least in the US. The app will let Tesla Model S owners check, stop and start charging progress in real time, turn on heating and cooling, locate their vehicle, lock and unlock the car, and more.

– Check charging progress in real time and start or stop charge
– Heat or cool Model S before driving — even if it’s in a garage
– Locate Model S with directions or track its movement across a map
– Flash lights or honk the horn to find Model S when parked
– Vent or close the panoramic roof
– Lock or unlock from afar

Updates:

Tweetbot for Twitter (iPhone) version 2.7: One of the more popular Twitter iOS clients gets an update today that adds the ability to open links in Chrome and 1Password, as well as support for inline images from Vine and Flickr and a number of other new features.

– Added the ability to open links in Chrome and 1Password
– Added inline image support for Flickr
– Added inline image support for Vine
– Better support for muting Tweets with URLs
– Various bug fixes
– Still no jokes in the release notes

Skype for iPad version 4.5: Skype iPad app was updated today with a few welcomed new features. First, users in United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, France, and Estonia will now be able to add money to their Skype account directly from the app. The release notes also said the app now “automatically reconnects a dropped call when your wifi or mobile network reception is poor.”  More new features and fixes below:
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A demo of Angry Bots iOS app embedded using Kickfolio

We told you about a service called Kickfolio in December that would allow developers to demo their iOS apps directly in the browser using a new HTML5-based platform. The service converts a zipped version of an iOS app into a private test page with a completely interactive HTML5 and CSS version of the app. Today, the service got a few updates including the ability to embed app demos on any webpage using an iframe. You’ll find embedded iOS apps above and below that Kickfolio sent over for us to try. Kickfolio also now supports iPad apps, and it is making the service much more affordable for all. This is a powerful tool for developers promoting their apps online, and it’s one I expect many to take advantage of when providing free demos to potential customers and press on their website.

Kickfolio originally had some feedback for users about plans starting at $50 a month. The good news: the company just slashed the cheapest plan to $9 a month (that includes 500 embed sessions). Every plan now also includes unlimited apps, and the company is reopening 15-day free trials so everyone will get a chance to try the new features.

Another embedded app demo from Kickfolio below:
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Apple has released iOS 6.1 to iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and Apple TV users. This public release follows five beta seeds to developers. The update is currently coming through over-the-air. To download the update directly from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, head to Settings, then General, then Software Update. Your device will include installation instructions and release information here.

The update includes the following improvements for iOS device users:

• LTE support for more carriers (Apple previously announced that it would add more LTE carriers this week). 36 additional iPhone carriers. 23 additional iPad carriers. 
• Purchase movie tickets through Fandango via Siri (US only)
• iTunes Match subscribers can now download individual songs from iCloud
• New button to reset the Advertising Identifier.

As we previously noted, Apple TV users will enjoy new Bluetooth keyboard compatibility. We found that using a Bluetooth keyboard greatly enhances the Apple TV experience. Additionally, Apple has included new iOS 6.1 APIs for developers to be able to better integrate Apple’s mapping database into their App Store apps.

In a press release announcing the release of 6.1 (below), Apple’s Phil Schiller noted with “nearly 300 million iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices on iOS 6 in just five months, it may be the most popular new version of an OS in history.”

We have posted more details on the Apple TV software update here. Direct iPhone, iPad, iPod touch links and Apple press release:

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YouTube Capture version 1.1: Google has updated its newly released YouTube Capture app with some welcomed features including 1080p video uploads:

· 1080p uploads!
· Improved audio sync
· More detailed upload feedback
· Share to networks after uploading
· Bug fixes & stability improvements

Vine — Make a scene version 1.0.2: Just released yesterday, the app for sharing short video clips (and recently acquired by Twitter) today updated with improvements to profiles and more reliable Twitter integration:

* Logging in through Twitter is more reliable
* You can now update your profile photo from your Camera Roll
* Character limit for usernames and bio field
* International keyboards have better support
* Various bugs that caused crashes have been fixed

Google Currents version 2.0: Google is updating another one of its apps today, its magazine style news reader for tablets and smartphones now sports a new catalog design. The update also includes an Edition sidebar for quick access to categories, a new fast scan feature (Vertical swipe to scan an edition, horizontal swipe advances to next edition), and a new breaking stories section ranked by Google News. You can also now star to save stories for future reading:
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