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2,155 'App Store' stories December 2010 - June 2012

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Previously jailbreak only, Apple allows iOS Display Recorder app into App Store

Jordan Kahn Jun 18 2012 - 7:32 am PT

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Update 2, July 03, 2012: It looks like Apple has now pulled the Display Recorder app from the App Store.

The ability to record your iOS display was a functionality previously limited to a Cydia app for jailbroken iPhone users that is called “Display Recorder.” As noted by JBN, Apple has allowed an app of the same name, and with even more screen recording functionality, into the App Store. The App Store version of Display Recorder, released by Bugun Software, allows you to export to YouTube or your Camera Roll, adjust video and audio settings, and settles for recording and merging audio picked up by the built-in microphone.

It appears the app might take a succession of screenshots to compile the video. Apple does not allow third-party screen capturing apps for even screenshots into the App Store (apart from third-party browser apps), because it would mimic the native screenshot functionality in iOS. It is possible Apple will pull the Display Recorder app, but it is still available in at least the U.S. and Canadian App Stores for $1.99. A video of the app in action, courtesy of JBN, is below. We will let you know if Apple decides to pull it.

[tweet https://twitter.com/rpetrich/status/214745592310661121]

Update: The developer of the original Cydia Display Recorder app, Ryan Petrich, confirmed in a tweet (above) that he is not affiliated with the new app. He also filed a complaint with Apple.

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Review: Griffin StudioConnect audio/midi interface & dock for iPad

Jordan Kahn Jun 17 2012 - 5:12 pm PT

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We first told you about Griffin’s StudioConnect audio interface when it unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year. There are more than a few products on the market that make it easy to hook up your guitar, mic, or MIDI controller to the iPad for use with the many iOS apps that include built-in DAWs with CoreMIDI support (such as Apple’s own GarageBand). While it might not be the prettiest iPad dock we have seen, there are a few reasons why it beats the competition.

With StudioConnect, in terms of inputs and outputs, what you get is pretty basic: standard 5-pin MIDI in and out, one 1/4-inch mono input, and left and right RCA output. The large knob out front controls the 3.5mm headphone jack below it, while a separate volume wheel on the side is for your main output. It is more than enough to plug in supported mics, a guitar, or a MIDI controller, but it is clear that Griffin did not build the StudioConnect with professionals in mind. Most pros will not do anything too heavy-duty inside of an iOS app at this point. The inputs above will likely be sufficient for most musicians using the iPad as a mobile or writing setup.

While it does not offer some of the standard inputs and outputs that pros are familiar with, Griffin used its experience making iOS accessories to nail the design where the competition gets it wrong….

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Apple launching Podcast app with iOS 6 and working on podcast-producing technology

Jordan Kahn Jun 15 2012 - 12:43 pm PT

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Much like Apple did when introducing its standalone iTunes U app at its education event last January, it is also planning to launch a standalone app for podcasts. A report from AllThingsD first mentioned Apple’s plans to include the app in iOS 6 this fall. We also heard that the app is in the works for a release with the final version of iOS 6.

People familiar with Apple’s plans tell me that when its new iOS 6 software becomes widely available this fall, podcasts will have their own app, where users will be able to discover, download and play them on mobile devices. Users who access iTunes via laptop and desktop machines will still find them in that version of iTunes, though.

Apart from the podcast app that AllThingsD noted would allow users to “discover, download and play” on iOS devices, we heard separately that Apple is working on podcast-producing technology, perhaps for inclusion into this app.

As part of its process of breaking the different content categories into standalone apps, many noticed with iOS 6 that Apple removed the Podcasts, Audiobooks, and iTunes U sections from the iTunes app.

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‘Rage of Bahamut’ game reaches No. 1 on iOS and Android, pulls similar revenue from both platforms

Élyse Betters Jun 13 2012 - 10:31 am PT

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Japan-based DeNA announced that its “Rage of Bahamut” app became the No. 1 grossing game on both iOS and Android yesterday, while earning roughly the same revenue per day from each mobile platform.

The game’s success pokes holes in recent findings from Flurry, which claimed revenue generated per active user is four times greater on iOS than Android. The analytics firm noted that for every $1 earned on iOS, a developer could expect to earn about 24-cents on Android.

“Contrary to what we read, we’ve been very happy with Android monetization. There is not a big discrepancy between the two now,” said DeNa Director Neil Young to TechCrunch.

Rage of Bahamut is a free trading card game that lets users battle either through a live single or multiplayer action mode against a “database of battle hungry foes.” It is on Apple’s App Store and boasts a 4.5-star rating on nearly 4,000 reviews as of press time.

TechCrunch further elaborated:

The game had the top slot on both platforms yesterday, but Kabam’s Kingdoms of Camelot took back the #1 iOS slot in the U.S. this morning. […]Young says Rage of Bahamut is seeing some impressive revenue numbers per day per user. In casual games, you usually see an average revenue per daily active user of a couple cents to 10 cents per day on mobile. The better games can get to 15 to 25 cents per day per daily active user. But Young says Rage of Bahamut has been able to do 4 or 5 times that. He didn’t say how much revenue overall the title is earning, but we’ve seen dual platform hits like Draw Something earn anywhere between $5 and 10 million per month through in-app purchases and advertising.

Those numbers are welcomed news for developers with growing concerns about mobile platforms lacking solid business models that encourage monetization.

This article is cross-posted on 9to5Google.

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Phil Schiller: App Store is more democratic than traditional retail, Passbook is not a direct payment service

Jordan Kahn Jun 13 2012 - 9:39 am PT

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In a recent story about growing concerns among app developers who want better ways to promote their apps in the App Store, The Wall Street Journal published quotes from an interview with Apple’s Vice President for Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller about the “tremendous amount” of work Apple does to help new apps get discovered. Schiller also talked about how things will improve with the redesigned App Store, Facebook integration, and new user tracking tools for developers in iOS 6:

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Two new Apple iOS apps to be announced today: Organize.app and…

Seth Weintraub Jun 11 2012 - 8:08 am PT

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Fox News’ Clayton Morris tweeted today that he got word there will be two new iOS apps revealed today:

[tweet https://twitter.com/ClaytonMorris/statuses/212195055782469632]

We detailed one called Organize.app:

Get Organized… with an all-new app from Apple?

iOS 6 will likely feature everything we’ve reported thus far (above: Siri on iPad, a 3D Apple-based Maps application, and features from OS X Mountain Lion), but there has been one possible feature that we’ve been hearing whispers about, but not full, concrete details like we heard for other features. Apple is working on a new in-house application for iOS called “Organize,” but we’re not sure if Organize will be announced with iOS 6 at WWDC, or if it is a future App Store app from Apple, a future iOS enhancement, or something scrapped all together. The application is said to be a virtual pocket, and the app’s purpose is to be able to replicate a person’s pocket and store things such as coupons, travel information, credit card info and more. We speculate that Apple will be using the neat camera-based scanning software that we reported to be in development for the scanning in of business cards, receipts, and using that to provide virtual items that get used when shopping and travelling. We can’t help but think that this application will eventually tie into the rumored Apple wallet/NFC service at some point in the future.

So, what is the other app?
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Apps & updates: Adobe Photoshop Express, Growl, SketchBook Express, Angry Birds Space, and more

Jordan Kahn Jun 8 2012 - 1:01 pm PT

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Below is our usual list of newly released apps and updates that landed in the App Store today. Some of the more notable apps on the list include updates to iOS apps Adobe Photoshop Express, and SketchBook Express, and Mac App Store apps Growl and Angry Birds Space. We will keep the list updated as more apps and updates are released throughout the day.

Adobe Photoshop Express Version 2.5: The free universal iPhone and iPad app was updated to include the Adobe Effects Pack of “45- eye-catching effects” and the Enhanced Adobe Border Pack with 18 new borders as in-app purchases. The update also includes improvements to borders, effects, and editing, as well as Tumblr and Twitter sharing options, improvements to Facebook and Flickr sharing, and support for the iPad’s Retina display.

SketchBook Express Version 2.5: The free version of Autodesk’s SketchBook Pro app was updated today with a few new features including palm rest, a random color option in Color Editor, and other enhancements and bug fixes.

Voice Answer Version 1.3: We told you about the Voice Answer app before when Apple rejected it for being too much like Siri. Today, Apple has finally allowed an update to the app that turns the app’s AI— named Eve—into a “a fully animated 3D robot.” The update also includes voice messaging, email, and calling, and it now supports 54 languages for translations.

Growl Version 1.4: Popular Mac notification app Growl received an update on the Mac App Store today with dozens of enhancements and tweaks to the service. The app’s release notes mentioned: “Major improvements to networking,” “Applications Tab Redesign,” and a long list of other improvements.

Angry Birds Space Version 1.2.0: The same as the iOS apps the other day, the Mac App Store version of Angry Birds Space now includes the “delicious food planet of Utopia,” which features 10 new levels for the title that recently reached 100 million downloads.

Apps and updates: Little Things Forever, Diet Coda, Sparrow, Netflix, Angry Birds Space, and more (9to5mac.com)
Apps and updates: LinkedIn passwords leak, Sparrow teases iPad app, and Angry Birds Space hits 100M downloads (9to5mac.com)
Adobe Photoshop/Premiere Elements 10 $47/ea or $70 for both (9to5mac.com)
Adobe Photoshop Touch updated to version 1.2 (9to5mac.com)

Phil Schiller explains why Apple removed Rogue Amoeba’s Airfoil Speakers Touch app (Update: Rogue responds)

Jordan Kahn Jun 8 2012 - 9:47 am PT

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Update: Rogue Amoeba replied to Phil Schiller’s email in a response published on its website. The full response is below.

Following Apple’s decision to pull Rogue Amoeba’s Airfoil Speakers Touch app for a feature allowing iOS devices to stream to one another over AirPlay, Apple explained the app was removed for the feature’s use of non-public APIs. It currently only allows Apple TV and certain third-parties such as speaker manufacturers to access the AirPlay streaming protocol. The app was earlier this week allowed back into the App Store without the iOS-to-iOS streaming feature, but today we get word from Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller who explained in an email the reason behind removing the app.

An email to Apple’s CEO Tim Cook from concerned consumer Kevin Starbird regarding the app’s removal was met with a direct email response from Schiller. 9to5Mac independently confirmed the emails are authentic. Here is Kevin’s full email addressed to Cook followed by Schiller’s response:

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Facebook’s iOS App Center going live tonight?

Jordan Kahn Jun 7 2012 - 10:28 am PT

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[tweet https://twitter.com/sondheim4dinner/status/210812155879096320]

Update: Facebook confirmed to TechCrunch it has been “testing it with a small percentage of users” since it launched last month, but the social network has “no further details to announce at this time.”

The image above is a screenshot just posted by TechCrunch. A reader who claims to be seeing the Facebook App Center already live in the iOS app sent it. As noted in the report, Facebook has an “app-themed” event in San Francisco tonight where we could see more of the App Center. The company announced the new HTML5-based App Center last month and said the iOS and Android Facebook apps would have access to the app marketplace in the coming weeks.

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Apps & updates: OmniPlan for iPad, IM+, SoundHound, NFL ’12, more

Jordan Kahn Jun 7 2012 - 10:09 am PT

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As always—we keep you updated on notable apps and updates that are released throughout the day. A few to already land in most App Stores today include the new OmniPlan for iPad app from Omni Group, Retina support for the popular IM+ messaging apps, a SoundHound update, and more.

OmniPlan for iPad: Omni Group released its OmniPlan for iPad app to fulfill “the company’s two year commitment to bring its core, premium apps to the iPad.” The organization and project planning tool packs many of the Mac version’s features including enhanced collaboration, visual timelines, and change tracking, and is available now for $50 from the App Store.

IM+ Pro Version 6.5: One of the most popular third-party, cross-platform messaging apps updated today with “complete optimization” for the iPad’s Retina display, as well as the addition of support for Mamba.Ru and Fetion. The service dropped support for the MySpace IM service going forward, but existing users can continue to access their accounts. The free version received the same update.

SoundHound Version 5.0: Another notable update today goes to music discovery and recognition app SoundHound. The update includes even faster music recognition, “big, beautiful album art and hi-res artist photos,” and a redesigned home screen and SoundHound Player. There are also improvements to LiveLyrics, and a “cleaner, easier to use interface.” The free SoundCloud app also received the update.

NFL 12′: The official NFL ’12 for iPad app was just updated with bug fixes, and it now has the entire 2012 schedule.

Incredible vjay iPad video mixing app goes live

9to5 Staff Jun 7 2012 - 6:29 am PT

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[slideshow]

Algoriddim released its highly anticipated Vjay app for iPad [iTunes $9.99] today following up on the popular Djay app.

As of this writing, every review is 5 stars. The downside is that it does not work on the original iPad.

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Apple lets Airfoil back into the App Store, without its coolest feature

Seth Weintraub Jun 6 2012 - 3:12 pm PT

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Apple removed Rogue Amoeba’s Airfoil from the App Store last month shortly after it began offering the ability to AirPlay music from one iOS device to another, effectively making your old iPod touch an AirPlay speaker. Some thought the app removal was due to use of private APIs. Apple gave a statement on the matter:

The feature in question permits any iOS device running the app to play back audio beamed from a variety of sources using Apple’s AirPlay wireless streaming protocol. Apple presently only allows designated products to act in this capacity — such as the Apple TV and (often expensive) AirPlay-enabled third-party hardware

From a post today, it seems pretty clear that Apple just did not want that functionality in the app and that third-party hardware vendors were to “blame.”

You may be asking why Apple would want to prevent users from having this functionality. Only Apple can provide a full answer here. We do know that Airfoil Speakers Touch’s ability to receive audio directly from iTunes and iOS enabled some users to forgo purchasing expensive AirPlay hardware, hardware which Apple licenses. It seems Apple has chosen to use their gatekeeper powers to simply prevent competition.

Perhaps as part of its costly AirPlay licensing, Apple gives speaker manufacturers exclusive rights to the AirPlay protocol. Maybe some of these makers cried foul when Airfoil allowed other iOS devices to sling audio to each other. Apple was then forced to remove it, otherwise breaking their exclusivity agreement. That does not seem too outlandish to me.

Oh, and there is a workaround.

Apple removes Rogue Amoeba’s audio streaming app without reason (9to5mac.com)

Apps and updates: LinkedIn passwords leak, Angry Birds Space hits 100M, and Sparrow teases iPad app

Élyse Betters Jun 6 2012 - 9:00 am PT

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[slideshow]

The blogosphere is abuzz this morning regarding a few key developments—some good, some bad—within notable iOS apps, including: Linkedin, Angry Birds Space, and Sparrow.

Linkedin

UPDATE at 1:02 p.m. PST.: According to LinkedIn’s Director Vicente Silveira: “We can confirm that some of the passwords that were compromised correspond to LinkedIn accounts.” More information about what LinkedIn is doing to remedy the situation is detailed in a blog post by the company’s director.
UPDATE at 10:01 a.m. PST.: LinkedIn just updated its iOS app to version 5.0.3 to bring “miscellaneous bug fixes” and “improvements in calendar.” The company promised earlier that it would no longer send sensitive data from the meeting notes section of calendar events and that it would provide a “learn more” link to offer more information on how it crops data. These improvements are also live on the Android counterpart.

LinkedIn’s free iOS app is in the middle of a scandal after reports from last night indicated the professional network scrubs calendar entries filled with business and personal data, and then transmits the sensitive particulars to the company’s servers without users’ knowledge. LinkedIn promptly took to its official blog and tried to reassure users that all is well. Unfortunately, the website’s troubles do not stop there: According to a report from The Verge today, a Russian forum member [translated] claimed to have hacked and uploaded nearly 6.5-million LinkedIn passwords. The company posted a tweet this morning notifying users that it is “currently looking into reports of stolen passwords.” A later tweet from the company revealed it could not confirm the existence of a security breach, but asked users to “stay tuned.”

[tweet https://twitter.com/linkedin/status/210390233076875264]

Angry Birds Space

Rovio, the gurus behind the popular iOS app Angry Birds Space, announced in a tweet this morning that its latest offering in the popular Angry Birds series hit 100 million downloads across all platforms. The game passed 50 million downloads within 35 days of its launch, and the company revealed last month that all Angry Birds titles cumulatively hit 1 billion downloads across all platforms. Those are some astonishing stats for a 99-cent app.

[tweet https://twitter.com/AngryBirds/status/210363760307732481]

Sparrow

Sparrow launched a landing page today on its website with the message: “We are preparing something bigger.” The URL, sprw.me/ipad, is an indication that the popular email client for Mac and iPhone is now coming to the iPad. A contact field to sign up for updates is centered on the page. Once an email is submitted, an image of the iPad immediately springs from below.

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Review: ‘JamUp’ multi-effect guitar app for iPhone & iPad

Jordan Kahn Jun 1 2012 - 8:27 am PT

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Written by Travis Tucker

First off, let me just say this is by far the best and most intuitive amp modeling iOS apps that I have seen to date. If you know how to move and manipulate the app layout of your iPhone/iPad, you will be up and running on JamUp in no time. The app has five main sections: Amp/FX, preset, songs, sampler, and tuner.

The Amp/FX section is what you would expect. It is an area for you to experiment with by adding and manipulating amps and effects in various locations in your signal chain. Various staple amp models are featured, as well as the tried-and-true lineup of effect pedals. The amp sounds are genuinely warm and sound noticeably better than comparable models in Amplitube’s amp modeling app. With that said, some of the amp features are not as faithful to the models they are based upon. On-board tremolo and decent clean sounds are noticeably absent on some heads. The pedals sound great. A feature I would like to see added is the ability to stack the same model pedal in series, instead of using it only once.

The Preset section is a collection of sound patches pre-programmed by PositiveGrid that serve as nice launching points for tinkering and coming up with your own sounds that can then be saved. It is self-explanatory, but what makes this work as easy as it does is the fast and intuitive interface. It is also much less daunting and intimidating than similar apps.

The Songs section is great, because it allows you to jam along with any audio file in your iDevice’s music library. You can sort/find the songs in your library in a variety of ways, and control the volume mix. You can even vary the pitch/speed of the music playing! I loved this feature for playing along with some bands that detune a half or whole step. The pitch change alone does not vary the speed. These features are a great practice tool for breaking guitar parts down and playing through setlists by bands with various tunings.

The Sampler section allows you to record yourself playing a section of music, and then you can play something along with it, after the fact, in loop fashion. This is another great tool for practicing and songwriting. I especially liked the ability to export and share recordings as song ideas.

The Tuner is self-explanatory, although, again, I really like the interface choice (the vintage “note wheel”). It also cuts the audio output, so no one is forced to hear your droning notes being tuned.

HARDWARE

Another great feature of this app is the interoperability that it provides with many guitar input interfaces. More than half a dozen other interfaces work with the app besides PostiveGrid’s own JamUp Plug. I compared the audio response of IK Multimedia’s iRig and the JamUp Plug, but the JamUp model was undeniably better sounding. However, noticeable clipping is evident while using some sound combination choices, regardless of input level and interface chosen. This is a problem not unique to this app, but it frustrates nonetheless.

SUMMARY

I think the JamUp is a wonderful tool for guitar players looking to experiment with different amps and pedals before buying the real deal. It is also quite handy in helping to decipher songs and putting simple song ideas together. It sounds much better than Amplitube. It does not offer the ability to dive as deeply into sound tweaking as the rival app by Agile Partners, but its interface is much smoother and intuitive.

JamUp Pro is available for $19.99 here. The company also offers a free, scaled-back lite version available.

Apps and updates: Little Things Forever, Diet Coda, Sparrow, Netflix, Angry Birds Space, and more

Élyse Betters May 31 2012 - 11:41 am PT

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[slideshow]

A few of the most noteworthy apps in the iOS ecosystem either landed on the App Store recently or received much-welcomed updates, such as the launch of Little Things Forever—the long-awaited sequel to the “iPad App of the Week” Little Things. Performance enhancements and new feature additions also arrived to Little Things, as well as Diet Coda, Sparrow for iPhone, Netflix, Etsy, Pinterest, Angry Birds Space and Angry Birds Space HD, Flixster with Rotten Tomatoes, Google Shopper, and Djay and Djay Free.

Check out the full slate of notables below.

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Nuance releases Dragon Express Mac app in 7 additional countries, 3 new languages

Jordan Kahn May 31 2012 - 7:49 am PT

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Nuance announced it is releasing the Dragon Express Mac App Store app today to seven new countries in three new languages. Originally released last year, the app is now available in the following countries for around $50:

Dragon Express 1.1 now supports the French language in Canada, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland, the German language in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, and the Italian language in Italy.

Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Switzerland (French), Switzerland (German)

According to iPhonehellas [translated], Nuance also held a press event today in Greece to announce the availability of Dragon Dictation for June 6.

The full press release from Nuance is below:

Nuance’s Dragon Express for Mac OS App Store Now Available in French, German and Italian Languages

BURLINGTON, Mass., – May 31, 2012 – Nuance Communications, Inc., (NASDAQ: NUAN) today announced that its Dragon Express App, an introductory voice recognition app for Mac OS X Lion, has debuted in seven additional countries, supporting three additional languages. Dragon Express 1.1 now supports the French language in Canada, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland, the German language in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, and the Italian language in Italy. Available exclusively for download from Apple’s Mac App Store, Dragon Express is an easy and fun way to put words to work without the hassle of typing, allowing users to do more in less time.

Released in late 2011, Dragon Express quickly rose to the top of the charts in the Mac App Store. It’s a fast, hands-free way to quickly turn speech into text, whether sending email, surfing the Web or posting an update to Facebook and Twitter. Dragon Express is priced to provide people with an opportunity to experience the power and performance of speech recognition.

“The excitement for Dragon Express has been overwhelming, and we’ve heard our customers’ requests for additional language support,” said Peter Mahoney, chief marketing officer, senior vice president and general manager, Dragon, Nuance Communications. “We know that people around the world are embracing speech as a useful and fun interface, and we’re excited to bring the Dragon Express app to a broader worldwide audience.”

Dragon Express can be conveniently accessed from the menu bar at any time and doesn’t require a network connection. Users dictate directly into the Dragon Express window, using the internal Mac microphone or a USB headset microphone (which can be purchased via http://www.nuance.com), and the text instantly appears in the Dragon Express window. When finished, Dragon Express places the transcribed text into the application of choice. The download comes with a short enrollment so that the app can better recognize a user’s unique voice.

Dragon Dictate, the most full-featured and advanced speech recognition software for Mac OS, was recently updated to version 2.5. Dragon Dictate 2.5 includes many features beyond those in Dragon Express. These features include the ability to dictate directly into applications, edit, format and correct recognition errors by voice, open and close applications by voice, control the mouse by voice, create custom voice commands and support for the Dragon Remote Mic app for iPhone.

Fantastical Mac Calendar gets updated with iCal and iOS reminders, bugfixes (9to5mac.com)

Spotify updated with push notifications

Jordan Kahn May 29 2012 - 8:10 am PT

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Spotify just released version 0.5.1 of its universal iOS app. The new version adds push notifications for updates to playlists that you are subscribed to, new subscribers, and when a friend joins Spotify. The update also brings a number of fixes, updated artwork for Retina displays, and Retina graphics for offline playlists. We are not so sure how many people will find push for Spotify useful, because those subscribed to many playlists will likely be bombarded by notifications. The good news is you can switch them off from Settings. Unfortunately, you cannot specify notifications for specific playlists. You can check out the full list of changes from the update below:

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PhotoBeamer: Imaging tech company Scalado introduces first iOS app; beam photos to any browser

Jordan Kahn May 29 2012 - 5:19 am PT

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_dJOvJQv8o&feature=youtu.be]

You may not be familiar with the name Scalado, but there is a good chance you have used one of its imagining technologies without even knowing it. The company’s photo applications helped power camera and image apps for over 10 years, and they are currently baked in to 1.5 billion phones (adding about 500 million mobile phones every year). Most recently, we revealed Scalado’s Rewind technology is integrated into BB10’s camera app, and Scalado is introducing its first iOS app today called “PhotoBeamer“, which we have tested over the past month.

While it usually works directly with OEMs, the company recently released its first app directly to users late last month as an Android-only photo viewer called “Scalado Album“. The new iOS app, PhotoBeamer, serves to quickly and wirelessly display photos stored on your iOS device to any display with a web browser.

We already have a ton of third-party apps for transferring and viewing photos from iOS devices to a bigger screen. Even Apple’s own Photo Stream feature makes things easy for accessing photos on your other iOS devices and almost as easy on your Mac, and iPhoto’s beam feature allows for wireless sharing of images between iOS devices. Getting images to our other devices is not a problem, but PhotoBeamer’s zero-configuration, no registration, and extremely snappy, patented imaging tech might make it your go-to app.

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iOS Games and Apps on sale for Memorial Day!

May 25 2012 - 12:24 pm PT

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From 9to5toys: Many iOS game and app developers are slashing prices of their most popular titles to celebrate Memorial Day this weekend. We will continue to update this post as we find more great deals for you.

Universal Apps (iPad, iPhone, iPad)

Grand Theft Auto 3 for iPad, iPhone, iPod, regular 99 cents, regular $4.99
Infinity Blade II, $2.99, regular $6.99
Mass Effect: Infiltrator, $2.99, regular $4.99
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, 99 cents, regular $9.99
Burnout CRASH!, 99 cents, regular $4.99
Combat Arms: Zombies, $1.99, regular, $6.99
Solar Walk 3D Solar System, $1.99, regular $2.99

iPad Apps

NBA Jam for iPad $1.99, regular $4.99
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 for iPad, 99 cents, regular $4.99
Real Racing HD for iPad $1.99, regular $4.99
Need for speed Hot Pursuit for iPad, 99 cents, regular $4.99
Fifa Soccer 12 for iPad, $2.99, regular $9.99
Battlefield Bad Company 2 for iPad, $1.99, regular $9.99
Monopoly Here and Now: World Edition, 99 cents, regular $9.99
Skyfire web browser, $2.99, regular $4.99
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars HD, 99 cents, regular $9.99
Dead Space, $1.99, regular $9.99
Madden NFL 12, $2.99, regular $6.99
Tiger Woods: PGA Tour 12, 99 cents, regular $4.99
Flight Control HD, 99 cents, regular $4.99
Battleship HD, 99 cents, regular $4.99
Fight Night Champion by EA Sports, 99 cents, regular, $4.99
Monopoly, 99 cents, regular $6.99
Star Walk for iPad, $2.99, regular $4.99

iPhone Apps

Fifa Soccer 12 for iPhone, $1.99, regular $4.99
Need for Speed Undercover, $99 cents, regular $2.99
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, 99 cents, regular, $4.99
Real Racing 2, 99 cents, regular $4.99
Skyfire web browser, $1.99, regular $2.99
Battlefield Bad Company 2, 99 cents, regular $2.99
Dead Space, 99 cents, regular $6.99
Madden NFL 12, 99 cents, regular $4.99
Hipstamatic, 99 cents, regular $1.99
Star Walk, $1.99, regular $2.99
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, 99 cents, regular $4.99

Apple removes Rogue Amoeba’s audio streaming app without reason (Update: Apple explains)

Jordan Kahn May 24 2012 - 1:03 pm PT

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Update May 25: Following yesterday’s story, The Verge reported today that Apple has confirmed it removed the Airfoil Speakers Touch app after its recent 3.0 update introduced the ability to stream over AirPlay from other iOS devices. Apple said it is against Review Guideline 2.5: Apps that use non-public APIs will be rejected. Verge explained:

The feature in question permits any iOS device running the app to play back audio beamed from a variety of sources using Apple’s AirPlay wireless streaming protocol. Apple presently only allows designated products to act in this capacity — such as the Apple TV and (often expensive) AirPlay-enabled third-party hardware

We have seen Apple both reject and remove apps for many reasons in the past. It is often due to an icon or name that is too close to one of Apple’s own apps. Sometimes, however, apps are removed if they boast features that mimic or are too similar to the core functionality of iOS. Today, Daring Fireball pointed us to a post from Paul Kafasis of developer Rogue Amoeba, who wrote that the company’s Airfoil Speakers Touch app that is designed to send audio between Macs and iOS devices has now been removed from the App Store after being available since 2009.

Although Kafasis noted Apple has not given a clear reason why the app was removed, many are speculating it is due to a new feature introduced in a recent update to the app:

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Google Search iPhone app completely redesigned for speed and full screen searching

Jordan Kahn May 23 2012 - 8:28 am PT

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Google updated its Google Search iPhone app to version 2.0.0 today, which introduced a completely redesigned app that focuses on improvements to speed and full screen browsing features. Among the new features are an auto full screen mode that hides controls when scrolling down and reveals when scrolling up, and a new full-screen image search view.

The updated app also includes “major speed improvements,” a built-in text finder for webpages, and quick links to Gmail, Calendar, Docs, and search options such as images, places, and news. The iPad did not receive the same update, but both the iPhone and iPad will now be able to save images to the iOS camera roll.

A full list of features is below, while the updated app is available on the App Store now.

✓ Complete redesign

✓ Major speed improvements

✓ Auto full screen: scroll down to hide controls, scroll up to reveal

✓ Beautiful full-screen image search

✓ Swipe away webpages to quickly return to search results

✓ Search within a webpage using the built-in text finder

✓ Easily switch between images, places, news, and more

✓ Fast access to Google apps like Gmail, Calendar, Docs and more all from one place

Cross-posted on 9to5Google.com

Apps & updates: Diet Coda goes live, Draw Something & Opera Mini go Retina, more

Jordan Kahn May 23 2012 - 7:23 am PT

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A few newsworthy apps and updates already landed in the App Store today including the Diet Coda development platform that we told you about a few days ago, and some Retina graphics updates for popular apps such as Draw Something and Opera Mini. Another notable app in the news today is Blizzard’s recently released Diablo III. The company announced on its site that it sold more than 4.7 million copies on launch day and more than 6.5 million in a week.

We will update the list throughout the day as more notable apps and updates are released:

Draw Something: OMGPOP’s massively popular Pictionary-style drawing game was updated today with “Bright, high resolution graphics” for users of the new third-generation iPad’s Retina display. Other improvements included in the update are a new password recovery system, a new loading screen, and the usual bug fixes. The free version of the app received the same update.

Diet Coda: We told you a couple days ago that developer Panic planned to release an iPad version of its Coda developer platform, and the app has already landed on at least the New Zealand store today. It is listed as $13.99, but it should go for $9.99 USD when it hits the U.S. App Store later today. That is a 50 percent discount as a launch special good until Thursday.

Some of the app’s features include remote editing of documents, FTP and SFTP File Management, Syntax Highlighting, and a “Revolutionary Super-Loupe” that allows for easy positioning of the cursor in iOS. It also has an “AirPreview” feature that allows you to use “your iPad as a dedicated preview window for Coda 2 on the Mac.”

Opera Mini Web Browser: Opera’s Mini web browser app for iPhone and iPad has always been a great third-party browser option on iOS, and it gets even better with a new UI today for the third-generation iPad’s Retina display, as well as a Data Usage option in the main menu, and various bug fixes and stability improvements.

Mint Personal Finance app: Intuit has updated its universal Mint.com Personal Finance iOS app today adding “two of your most requested features.” On both iPhone and iPad, you can now create and edit budgets as well as spilt transactions into multiple categories.

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Apps & updates: Hulu Plus, Time Warner Cable, Men In Black 3, Fox Business, more

Jordan Kahn May 22 2012 - 2:21 pm PT

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A few notable apps and updates landed in the App Store today including a significant update to the Hulu Plus iOS app, Retina optimizations for the Time Warner Cable app, and the official Men In Black 3 game from Gameloft. A full list of noteworthy app releases and updates from today is below:

Hulu Plus: The most significant app update today goes to the universal Hulu Plus iOS app. The new update brings a number of improvements, including: a “re-engineered, optimized video player”, support for the new iPad’s Retina display, and enhancements to AirPlay mirroring, and HDMI support. The update also includes a new UI for iPad and search options for new shows by genre.

Time Warner Cable TV: Much like just about every other iPad app update that takes advantage of the third-generation iPad’s Retina display, the TWC TV app for iPhone and iPad was updated today with optimizations for Retina displays—in addition to the usual bug fixes and performance enhancements.

Men in Black 3: Gameloft just released the official iOS tie-in for the new Men in Black 3 movie that appears to be a top-down strategy game of sorts. It is available as a free universal download for iPhone or iPad. It is already live in the New Zealand store and should hit the U.S. and elsewhere soon.

Fox Business for iPad: Financial news and videos from the Fox Business app get landscape mode, a new Data Wizard feature for tracking market activity, and news sub-sections to “drill down deeper into the news that matters to you.”

NBC Sports Talk for iPad: A decent update for the iOS app that brings the latest news and analysis from the NBC Sports network today adds support for Retina displays. It also includes the addition of CollegeBasketballTalk and ProSoccerTalk with other small UI tweaks.

NASA App for iPhone: NASA’s official iPhone app was updated with its biggest redesign since launching in 2009. The update includes a new interface, weather forecasts, a ton of new content and programs, and new features like the ability to favorite content and bookmark images.

CNN App for iPhone: CNN has a few iOS apps, but the latest update to its CNN App for iPhone turns it into one global consolidated app that offers CNNMoney and Opinion headlines, CNN blog stories, and the rest of the network into a single app including both U.S. and global news.

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Coda 2 and Diet Coda for iPad bring a new level of web development to Apple developers (May 24)

9to5 Staff May 21 2012 - 1:17 pm PT

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Update: Coda 2 is $49.99 at the Mac App Store now (half off today only) and Diet Coda is now available as an iPad App for $9.99. [iTunes]

Panic, the makers of Coda, a popular development platform for web developers, just announced a new $9.99 iPad version and a second version of its Mac software. The demo videos (here and here) look delish.

The software will land May 24 and be available through the App Store for both platforms.

[Via]

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