Apps

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Last Call Updates:

Aether’s Cone wireless speaker gains a couple new tricks, still looks beautiful
ZAGGkeys MINI 7 Case/Keyboard (refurb) for iPad mini $9 shipped (orig. $90)
Panasonic’s new Bluetooth smart air conditioner does more than just keep you cool
Best Buy 2 Day Camera Sale: Canon Rebel T5 w/ lens kit $400, GoPro bundles, more
Download more than 300 hits from the 1960’s for $4
HDTVs: Samsung 48″ 1080p $545 (Reg. $670), 55″ LG 4K UHDTV $1,300 (Reg. $1,799)
Nike extra 20% off clearance: MLB Dri-FIT hats $24, NFL long sleeve shirts $20, more
Home: Breville Mini Smart Oven (refurb) $105 (orig. $250), more

Charge up to 5 iPhones, iPads and other USB devices at once in your car for $14 Prime shipped

Put a 128GB microSD card in your Android phone/tablet, GoPro, MacBook + more for $80 shipped, 64GB for $26 Prime shipped

SanDisk’s groundbreaking microSD card will stuff an extra 200GB in your MacBook, GoPro, more

Groupon 10% off: Xbox One bundles $315, Lenmar iPhone battery case $18, more

Small States Review – Bolt Briefcase from WaterField Designs is an ideal work and travel companion, $249 giveaway

More new gear from today:

Best Buy cuts Gamers Club Unlocked to $30 starting March 8, 20% off new games and amiibo

New! Daily Deals: RCA 55″ HDTV $450, Panasonic wearable action camera $130, more
New! Games/Apps: MagicalPad for iPhone free/iPad $1/Mac $4, iOS freebies, more
New! Magazine subs from $5/yr: Wired, GQ, Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, more
New! Mood-Light Your Home From Your Phone, Was $50 now $34

Back in stock! WD My Passport Ultra 2TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive $80 shipped (orig. $140) http://t.co/fb0lXR6ioQ pic.twitter.com/Z4EnlDn0TR

— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) March 3, 2015

More deals still alive:

PNY Turbo 256GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive: $70 shipped (Orig. $130)

Mac App Store sale: BioShock, LEGO, Metro, Transistor, more $10 each (Reg. up to $45)
Receive up to $100 off or Amazon credit w/ select Bose & HEOS by Denon products
Apple iPad mini 2 WiFi: 16GB $250/32GB $300 w/ free shipping ($50 off)
Apple MacBook Air 13.3″ Laptop (previous gen) 1.3GHz/4GB/128GB $830 (orig. $1,099)
Free download: Transparent soundtrack featuring Bob Dylan, Neil Young, more
Mpow Solar-Powerd Wireless LED Motion Sensor Light: $11 Prime shipped ($19 off)
Sennheiser HD 439 over-ear headphones in black $40 shipped (orig. $100)
DC Comic Issue #1s on Google Play for Free: Batman, Superman, more
JLab Grab Bag – headphones, Bluetooth speakers, more: $7.50 shipped
Incase Maki Canvas Jacket for iPad 2/3/4 case $10 shipped (Reg. $40)
Google Play’s Birthday Sale includes $0.99 albums, $3 movies, discounted apps, more
Readdle’s wireless printing app Printer Pro goes free on iOS (Reg. $7)
Amazon Spring Break Fashion Sale: Reef Sandal $32, Oakley Sunglasses $72+, more
Audio-Technica Headphones: PRO700MK2 on-ears $128 (Reg. $170+), more
Beats Studio Wired Over-Ear Headphones $230 shipped (Reg. $300)
Elgato 256GB Portable Thunderbolt Drive $368 shipped (orig. $500)
Pioneer’s SPH-DA120 adds Apple CarPlay to your car for $445 (Reg. $600)
Dr. Seuss Birthday Sale: up to 80% off more than 60 iOS book apps/collections

New products & more:

Sony’s new BSP60 voice-controlled smart Bluetooth speaker is a virtual assistant on wheels

ADATA found an ingenious home for a microSD card on its new microReader
senseFly’s eXom drone flies autonomously using sensors or iPad controls
Pansonic’s Nubo weatherproof, 4G-equipped monitoring camera is poised to slay Dropcam
NeatherRealm announces Mortal Kombat X hybrid card-battler for iOS and Android
Mad Catz brings console style controllers to Android devices with the L.Y.N.X.3

RadPad now lets you easily split rent with roommates using Apple Pay

Jordan Kahn Mar 4 2015 - 7:07 am PT

RadPad, an app we told you about back in November when it launched as one the first to let you pay rent using Apple Pay, now lets you easily split rent with roommates.

Pay with RadPad Roommates makes it really, really easy for renters who have roommates to pay their rent together, using their own credit, debit card or Apple Pay… A roommate signs up and invites their other roommates to pay rent together: RadPad sends invites to each roommate, via text and email. The roommate receives the invite, accepts it and then enters in their credit or debit card or elects to use Apple Pay. That’s it!

You’ll also be able to see when your roommates are slacking with status information on their half of the rent. The app allows up to four roommates to split the rent and sends a check to the landlord on behalf of the tenants. You can even setup rent payments to your landlord through the app if they aren’t using RadPad.

RadPad tells us it’s expecting to process $14M in annual rents this year after launching in October.

The RadPad app is available on the App Store for free.

Waze app to get AMBER alerts, help users look out for missing & abducted children

Ben Lovejoy Mar 4 2015 - 5:48 am PT

Waze, the free crowdsourced navigation and traffic app, is to get AMBER alerts in the U.S., helping users look out for missing and abducted children. You’ll only see alerts for children in your local area, and for safety reasons details will only appear once your vehicle has been stationary for at least ten seconds.

AMBER alerts are created by law enforcement agencies to quickly alert members of the public to children who have been reported missing or are believed to have been abducted. Waze says the app will scan for new alerts every ten minutes, though once you’ve dismissed an alert it won’t be shown again for a further week.

Alerts will display all the information available, which will normally include a photo of the child, their name, age, description, where they were last seen, what clothing they were wearing and details of any vehicle known or believed to have been involved.

The update is expected to roll out shortly in the U.S. only. Waze is a free download from iTunes. It was last updated in December, with an iOS widget and improved traffic data.

Facebook added AMBER alerts to its mobile apps in January.

Intuit’s Mint app adds new bill reminder features, accessibility improvements, more

Zac Hall Mar 3 2015 - 8:45 am PT

The popular Intuit-owned Mint finance management app updated to version 4.1 today adding new bill reminder features, more accessibility support, and general improvements all around.

Highlighted in the new version is the ability to manage bill reminders right from the app. For the iPhone version, bill reminders can be created, edited, and managed from the latest version of the app. A change to the Overview tab wraps all this together.

Mint has also enhanced the newly added Updates view to show upcoming bill due dates. The new Upcoming Bills Card will present any bills with a due date within the next seven days.

In terms of accessibility, Mint has added support in a number of areas of the app. This includes the login, signup, split transactions and transaction detail pages.

Mint 4.1 for iPhone and iPad is available for free on the App Store.

Sonos Controller app updated w/ quick Rooms access, new iPad UI, improved search, more

Jordan Kahn Mar 3 2015 - 7:57 am PT

Sonos is today rolling out version 5.3 of its Sonos Controller app for iOS to introduce a few new features and a tweaked user interface.

The feature being highlighted above others in the update is easier access to controlling the app’s Rooms feature: Effortlessly move your music around your home with a more accessible ROOMS menu available by tapping the top of any screen in the Sonos app. Group and ungroup rooms from the ROOMS menu to play music in perfect synchrony throughout your home.

Also new in the update is an updated user experience for iPad users that offers new, separate views for currently playing music and discovery features:

More engaging browse experience for tablets. Version 5.3 provides separate views for music discovery and what’s currently playing.
Last browsed on a phone or tablet. Quickly return to the last place you browsed.
- Touch to view the last place you browsed. On your phone, you can also go back to the last place you browsed by swiping down on the Now Playing screen.
- Touch the collapsed Now Playing screen at the bottom of the screen to return to full-screen view.

Sonos highlighted a few other new features including more readily available search and a new playback progress slider.

The updated app, version 5.3, is available on the App Store now.

What’s New in Version 5.3

SIMPLER ROOM CONTROL AND FASTER ACCESS TO ALL YOUR MUSIC.

Effortlessly move your music around your home with a more accessible Rooms menu available by tapping the top of any screen in the Sonos app.

A more engaging browse experience for tablets with dedicated screens for what’s playing and music discovery.

Simplified track progression bar, just below the album art in the Now playing screen. Drag it to whatever point in the song you want to play. This is only applicable for music sources that allow this.

Switch between screens by swiping down from the Now Playing screen to go back to browsing your music. Then swipe from far left to right to show all your music sources.

Search is now more readily available so you can quickly find and play music.

Microsoft continues its iOS app acquisition spree with Prismatic, a news reader startup that Apple eyed

Zac Hall Mar 2 2015 - 9:14 am PT

Since Satya Nadella took the reins from Steve Ballmer just over a year ago, Microsoft has been on an aggressive acquisition spree of cross platform apps and services. Most recently, the company bought the iOS email app Acompli then relaunched it as Outlook for iOS. Microsoft also bought Sunrise, the popular calendar software with an iOS app.

Aside from Microsoft and Apple, other interested buyers include or included Facebook, Google, and Yahoo (anyone missing?). Competing with Apple’s TestFlight acquisition last year, Microsoft even bought the beta distribution service Hockeyapp at the end of last year.

Adding to its list of recent mobile app acquisitions, TechCrunch reports that Microsoft is now eyeing Prismatic, a social recommendation network with apps for both iOS and Android. Prismatic describes itself as a personalized and social news reader.
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Cook teases ‘ton’ of Apple Watch announcements, including Panera Bread, Salesforce enterprise & fitness apps

Mark Gurman Mar 2 2015 - 8:03 am PT

54 Comments

In addition to discussing the international Apple Watch launch and accessibility efforts at a briefing in Germany, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased “a whole ton of announcements coming shortly about all of the apps coming” for the Apple Watch, according to employees in attendance. Cook first highlighted the use of the Apple Watch in hotels by saying that “some of the best hotels in the world” will allow Apple Watch users to use the wearable to unlock room doors.

Additionally, Cook said that the Apple Watch hotel applications will even be able to replace the check-in processes for some hotels. “So people are beginning to think about doing not only cool things with their apps, but how it changes their whole business,” Cook said. As highlighted at the first Apple Watch event in September 2014, Starwood Hotels has already announced that it is working with Apple on an app for the Apple Watch…

Apple & IBM partnership delivers 3 new enterprise iOS apps

Zac Hall Mar 2 2015 - 6:48 am PT

Apple and IBM today unveiled three new enterprise apps developed for iOS as part of their ongoing ‘IBM MobileFirst for iOS’ partnership. The new apps include Advisor Alerts, Passenger Care, and Dynamic Buy. The three apps, a combination of both iPhone and iPad software, join the original set of 10 announced last year and another new app recently announced bringing the collection of apps announced under the deal to 14 total across eight industries including retail, banking, and transportation.

Launch Center Pro is coming to the Apple Watch

Benjamin Mayo Mar 1 2015 - 9:01 am PT

2 Comments

David Barnard, CEO of Contrast, has today announced that they will be bringing a slimmed down version of Launch Center Pro to the Apple Watch. You can see how the app has been transformed from the grid appearance of the iOS version to a simple list, to optimise screen real estate on the Watch’s much smaller display. This means users can initiate quick actions from their wrist, rather than digging their phones out of their pockets.

The company will ‘hopefully’ have the app available in the App Store when the Watch ships sometime in April.

Another tweet indicates that the company is working on more WatchKit apps as well.

I’m incredibly excited about Apple Watch, and am working on other apps for it. I’m not at all skeptical it’s going to sell really well.

— David Barnard (@drbarnard) March 1, 2015

MLB At Bat app redesigned, updated with new features for Spring Training

Jordan Kahn Feb 27 2015 - 11:17 am PT

2 Comments

The MLB.com At Bat app for iPhone and iPad gets a big update today in time for Spring Training bringing Spanish language support, new features, and all the details on what content will be available. Most of the app has also been redesigned including all new UI’s for team pages, scoreboards, and the newsreader.

Also new in the app for version 8.0.0 and 2015:

• New UI for all 30 team pages & the league-wide scoreboard (iPhone only)
• Player search expanded to include all active and historical MLB player cards (iPhone only)
• Re-designed UI for the newsreader (iPhone & iPad)
• Team-by-team statistical data filters (iPhone only)
• Native resolution to optimize At Bat for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus
• Easy access to every game with new team schedule navigation (iPhone only)
• Application available in Spanish language, requires device language set to Spanish (iPhone & iPad)

As for Spring Training content, here’s what you’ll get with the usual $2.99/month or $19.99/year subscription:

Watch live streaming of more than 200 available Spring Training games with an MLB.TV Premium subscription (iPhone, iPad, select Android phones and tablets, Kindle Fire, Fire Phone)
Listen live to available Spring Training radio broadcasts (all)
Multi-platform live audio access for At Bat Premium subscribers (portable to Mac or PC with a valid MLB.com account)
Universal support for At Bat Premium subscribers, with accessibility on iPhone, iPad and other supported smartphones and tablets
Track batter-by-batter action for every Spring Training game (all)
Comb through sortable batting, pitching and fielding statistics (all)
Stay on top of breaking news, schedules, interactive rosters and player stats for every team (all)
Customize At Bat’s home screen to feature your favorite team (all smartphones)
Access to a video library archive, searchable by player, team or keyword (all smartphones)
Classic games video archive, featuring dozens of baseball’s most legendary games (all)

The updated MLB.com At Bat app for iPhone and iPad is available on the App Store now.

Vesper note-taking app adds first iPad version, landscape support for iPhone

Zac Hall Feb 27 2015 - 9:39 am PT

12 Comments

Q Branch is out with a big update to Vesper, the alternative note-taking app for iOS.

Vesper 2.005 adds landscape support to the app for iPhone so you can now browse, manage, and create notes outside of portrait orientation.

The 2.005 update also includes Vesper for iPad, the first time the note-taking app has been available with a version optimized for the tablet. Vesper for iPad features the same support for landscape use as the iPhone, and Q Branch’s syncing feature keeps notes between both apps up-to-date.
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VLC for iOS back on the App Store, OS X app updated alongside massive cross-platform release

Stephen Hall Feb 27 2015 - 9:28 am PT

19 Comments

VideoLAN has today launched several updates to VLC across its apps on iOS, Android, OS X, and every other platform where the app is available, marking the first time that the company has pushed such a massive coordinated release and the re-release of the iOS app. The new versions (with the main app numbered 2.2.0), include several features across the various platforms, and VLC says it took more than a year of volunteer work to put them together…

9to5Toys Last Call: iPhone 6/Plus Gift Card w/ Purchase, Beats Studio Headphones $230, more

Justin Kahn Feb 27 2015 - 9:00 am PT

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Last Call Updates:

Upgrade to a new smartphone (iPhone 6/Plus) at Best Buy, get a free $150+ gift card
Mad Catz brings console style controllers to Android devices with the L.Y.N.X.3
Pioneer’s SPH-DA120 adds Apple CarPlay to your car for $445 (Reg. $600)
Incase Maki Canvas Jacket for iPad 2/3/4 case $10 shipped (Reg. $40)
Free Xbox Live Gold Games for March: Rayman Legends, Tomb Raider, more
Netflix March Preview: House of Cards S3, Aziz Ansari Live standup, Mad Men S7, more
Home: Vitamix 5200 blender (refurb) $247 (orig. $449), more
Garmin Forerunner 310XT Waterproof Running GPS $140 (Reg. $170)

Monoprice MFi Lightning cables extra $5 off + free shipping: keychain, metal, micro-USB combo, more

Beats Studio Wired Over-Ear Headphones (matte black, white, titanium) $230 shipped (Reg. $300)

Elgato 256GB Portable Thunderbolt Drive $368 shipped (orig. $500)

Crucial M500 960GB SATA 2.5-Inch Internal SSD $315 (Reg. $420), Inatek SSD Enclosure $10 (Reg. $25), more

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnkVkwH2qbE?rel=0]

Readdle’s wireless printing app Printer Pro goes free on iOS for the first time (Reg. $7)

iPad Air 2 16GB for $400 shipped ($99 off)

Life Hack: Fix your iMac’s biggest annoyance by moving its USB ports, deals from $6 Prime shipped

LAST CHANCE! Small States: Etwas builds timeless bags with legacy and heirloom design in mind – giveaway worth $380

More new gear from today:

New! Games/Apps: Wii U console $260 (Reg. $300), Transistor 50% off, freebies, more
New! Daily Deals: BeyerDynamic Headphone amp $200, LG Tone BT Headset $30, more

More deals still alive:

Speck 50% off sitewide sale: MacBook cases, iPhone 6/Plus cases, more
Jabra Solemate Bluetooth Speaker in black $60 shipped (Reg. $95+)
Amazing Indie Game iOS sale: up to 50% off Kingdom Rush, Banner Saga, more
Radically upgrade your PS4, Xbox One or Wii U hard drive for $100 or less
Magazine subs from $5 per yr: Rolling Stone, ESPN, National Geographic, more
Dr. Seuss Birthday Sale: up to 80% off more than 60 iOS book apps/collections
OontZ Angle Bluetooth speaker by Cambridge SoundWorks $28 Prime shipped (Orig. $70)
Rearth Ringke cases for iPhone 5 and 6/Plus from $5 shipped (Reg. up to $15+)
Samsung 55-inch 1080p 120Hz Smart LED HDTV $700 shipped (Reg. $800+)
3-pack of Apple-certified MFi Lightning Cables $21, 4-pack $27 Prime shipped
Bose QuietComfort 20 Noise Cancelling in-ear headphones w/ mic $245 shipped (Reg. $300)
Kitchenaid 300w Stand Mixer Tilt 4.5-Quart (Metallic/Red): $180 shipped
Media: Target discounts Blu-rays down to $4.50 each, iTunes movies from $8, more
Acoustic Research Portable Wireless Bluetooth Outdoor Speaker $19 (orig. $130)
Kensington Clicksafe Combination laptop/device lock $15 Prime shipped (Reg. $25+)
Griffin MFi Apple-Certified retractable Lighting cable $10 shipped (orig. $20)
Incipio NGP impact-resistant iPhone 6 case in black $9 Prime shipped (Reg. $20)
Headphones: Klipsch X11 $100 (Reg. $132+), Sennheiser HD205-II $25 (Reg. $50)
Numark iDJ Live II Lightning DJ Controller for Mac, PC, iPad, iPhone $67 (Reg. $100)
D-Link Day/Night WiFi Surveillance Camera w/ iOS or Android Viewing $60 (Reg. $140)

New products & more:

These AA and AAA batteries can be recharged from any USB power source
Control Siri, iTunes and your iPhone’s camera from afar w/ Satechi’s Bluetooth buttons
Get the new Forza Horizon 2 Fast & Furious stand-alone expansion pack for free
Kitchen Tech: Carbonating tools turn water into soda, fruit and desserts into fizzy magic
Microsoft announces free Office 365 for students and teachers worldwide
LifeProof finally begins accepting preorders for its first waterproof iPhone 6 Plus case
Leica uses mid-century military design with its limited edition M-P camera
Here’s a look at Pioneer’s new all-gold limited edition DJ controller
WaterField Designs has a new travel pouch for your tech from its San Francisco workshop
Bang & Olufsen’s Bluetooth speaker is a must-see with its anodized aluminum gold finish
Gaming For Couples: Catch up on 9 great video game columns!
Target turns up the heat on Best Buy/Amazon by slashing its free shipping threshold

Google Maps for iOS adds POI quick facts, upcoming events for select venues, more

Zac Hall Feb 27 2015 - 8:28 am PT

4 Comments

: POI quick facts

: Upcoming events

Google is packing even more useful information into the latest version of its Maps app for iOS. Google Maps 4.3.0 for iPhone and iPad adds several contextual data points to locations like nearby businesses for address searches, quick facts for notable locations, and even event information for select venues.
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Pages, Numbers, & Keynote apps arrive on iCloud.com for users without Apple devices

Jordan Kahn Feb 26 2015 - 12:50 pm PT

9 Comments

Apple has opened access to its Pages, Numbers, and Keynote apps at iCloud.com to all, even those without an Apple device (via TechCrunch). Earlier this month Apple opened the apps to those without an Apple device while offering 1GB of free storage (an iCloud account with an Apple device has free access to 5GB). However, previously access to the apps for those without an Apple device was limited to the iCloud beta site at beta.icloud.com where Apple frequently tests new iCloud features before launching them to the primary site. Today they move to the main site at iCloud.com.

While the apps themselves remain in beta mode, they are now accessible to all through iCloud on the web.

Apple has a new FAQ with all the details regarding web-access to iCloud and the Pages, Numbers, and Keynote apps on its website.

Tapbots aiming to release major Tweetbot updates for iPhone & iPad before June, Tweetbot 2 for Mac coming next

Benjamin Mayo Feb 26 2015 - 11:56 am PT

6 Comments

Tapbots has announced on its website that it is officially discontinuing some of its apps to focus on Tweetbot and Calcbot, for the time being. Convertbot’s features have been built into Calcbot, as we covered last week, so it’s not surprising that app is going away. Pastebot and Weightbot have also been discontinued. Although Pastebot is getting pulled, Weightbot is now free on the App Store for “sentimental value” as it is the app that started Tapbots as a company. The blog post says that the company may return to Pastebot in the future.

9to5Toys Last Call: Printer Pro for iOS goes free, Speck 50% off sitewide, iPad Air 2 $99 off, more

Feb 26 2015 - 9:07 am PT

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Last Call Updates:

Amazing Indie Game iOS sale: up to 50% off Kingdom Rush, Banner Saga, more
These AA and AAA batteries can be recharged from any USB power source
Radically upgrade your PS4, Xbox One or Wii U hard drive for $100 or less
Magazine subs from $5 per yr: Rolling Stone, ESPN, National Geographic, more
Dr. Seuss Birthday Sale: up to 80% off more than 60 iOS book apps/collections
Home: Dyson AM05 Hot+Cool fan/heater (refurb) $140 shipped (orig. $400), more

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnkVkwH2qbE?rel=0]

Readdle’s wireless printing app Printer Pro goes free on iOS for the first time (Reg. $7)

Speck 50% off sitewide sale: MacBook cases starting at $25, iPhone 6/Plus cases from $17, more

64GB iPad Air 2 $500 shipped or 16GB for $400 shipped ($99 off)

Life Hack: Fix your iMac’s biggest annoyance by moving its USB ports, deals from $6 Prime shipped

Small States: Etwas builds timeless bags with legacy and heirloom design in mind – giveaway worth $380

More new gear from today:

Jabra Solemate Wireless Portable Bluetooth Speaker w/ NFC in black $60 shipped (Reg. $95+)

New! Daily Deals: VIZIO 42″ Smart TV refurb $305, 2-Pack MFi Lightning Cables $13, more
New! Games/Apps: Duet Display $8 (Reg. $16), iOS freebies, more
New! OontZ Angle Bluetooth speaker by Cambridge SoundWorks $28 Prime shipped (Orig. $70)

More deals still alive:

Power Banks: Goal Zero Solar/Hand Crank $60 (Reg. $80), 11,200mAh $20 (Reg. $30)
Rearth Ringke cases for iPhone 5 and 6/Plus from $5 shipped (Reg. up to $15+)
Samsung 55-inch 1080p 120Hz Smart LED HDTV $700 shipped (Reg. $800+)
3-pack of Apple-certified MFi Lightning Cables $21, 4-pack $27 Prime shipped
Southwest Airlines has one-way flights from $73 to cure your winter blues
Bose QuietComfort 20 Noise Cancelling in-ear headphones w/ mic $245 shipped (Reg. $300)
Kitchenaid 300w Stand Mixer Tilt 4.5-Quart (Metallic/Red): $180 shipped
Media: Target discounts Blu-rays down to $4.50 each, iTunes movies from $8, more
Acoustic Research Portable Wireless Bluetooth Outdoor Speaker $19 (orig. $130)
Kensington Clicksafe Combination laptop/device lock $15 Prime shipped (Reg. $25+)
Griffin MFi Apple-Certified retractable Lighting cable $10 shipped (orig. $20)
Incipio NGP impact-resistant iPhone 6 case in black $9 Prime shipped (Reg. $20)
Headphones: Klipsch X11 $100 (Reg. $132+), Sennheiser HD205-II $25 (Reg. $50)
Numark iDJ Live II Lightning DJ Controller for Mac, PC, iPad, iPhone $67 (Reg. $100)
HDDs: Seagate 5TB desktop $130, Seagate Slim portable 2TB (multiple colors) $85
D-Link Day/Night WiFi Surveillance Camera w/ iOS or Android Viewing $60 (Reg. $140)

New products & more:

Control Siri, iTunes and your iPhone’s camera from afar w/ Satechi’s Bluetooth buttons
Get the new Forza Horizon 2 Fast & Furious stand-alone expansion pack for free
Kitchen Tech: Carbonating tools turn water into soda, fruit and desserts into fizzy magic
Microsoft announces free Office 365 for students and teachers worldwide
LifeProof finally begins accepting preorders for its first waterproof iPhone 6 Plus case
Leica uses mid-century military design with its limited edition M-P camera
Here’s a look at Pioneer’s new all-gold limited edition DJ controller
WaterField Designs has a new travel pouch for your tech from its San Francisco workshop
Bang & Olufsen’s Bluetooth speaker is a must-see with its anodized aluminum gold finish
Gaming For Couples: Catch up on 9 great video game columns!
Target turns up the heat on Best Buy/Amazon by slashing its free shipping threshold

Apple Maps adds animated 3D imagery starting w/ UK’s London Eye & Big Ben (Videos)

Jordan Kahn Feb 26 2015 - 8:37 am PT

16 Comments

Apple has added some nice new touches to Apple Maps with animated 3D imagery for iconic landmarks starting with the UK. Apple Maps now shows the correct time on Big Ben and a rotating London Eye when users viewing the landmarks access the app’s 3D Flyover feature.

Videos showing off the animated London Eye and Big Ben in Apple Maps are below:
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Spotify’s Mac app getting integrated Musixmatch lyrics in the coming weeks

Ben Lovejoy Feb 26 2015 - 4:53 am PT

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI7KH14PAwQ]

If you’re a fan of impromptu karaoke sessions, Spotify is about to make life easier by integrating Musixmatch lyrics into its desktop apps.

Simply fire up any song on our desktop app and hit the new Lyrics button. You can also search and browse popular lyrics from Spotify’s top songs using the Explore feature.

The music streaming service is also improving the Friend Feed, to make it easier to see what your friends are listening to, and introducing daily viral charts, showing you the most-shared tracks both globally and in your own region.

Spotify says the rollout of the updated app will take place “gradually” across all its desktop apps over the coming weeks. The company updated its iOS app last month with a touch preview function and new swipe gestures.

Apple Maps adds GasBuddy and GreatSchools as data providers

Jordan Kahn Feb 25 2015 - 11:54 am PT

15 Comments

Apple has recently added two new companies to its list acknowledging data providers for Apple Maps. The two latest additions, GasBuddy and GreatSchools, first spotted by applemapsmarketing.com, are likely a sign that Apple intends to add additional features or points of interest to its maps apps for iOS and Mac.
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First Hollywood film edited with Final Cut Pro X hits theaters this week

Zac Hall Feb 25 2015 - 11:51 am PT

30 Comments

It’s no secret that Final Cut Pro X, the overhauled follow up to Apple’s widely used video editing software, wasn’t exactly a hit with its users when the app was first released in 2011.

A comprehensive change in the way the software functioned and a lack of legacy features from the prior version gave the app a reputation for being “iMovie Pro” rather than a true professional desktop video editor. Soon after its launch, Apple addressed the flood of criticism with an FAQ site and a promise that more features would slowly become available in the new version.

Nearly four years later, the first Hollywood film edited in Final Cut Pro X is set to be released. To showcase the movie debut and FCPX’s role in the film, Apple has launched a microsite detailing the production.
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Skype 7.5 for Mac adds 14 new languages, several performance improvements

Zac Hall Feb 25 2015 - 9:21 am PT