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:

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
Acoustic Research Portable Wireless Bluetooth Outdoor Speaker $19 (orig. $130)
Media: Target discounts Blu-rays down to $4.50 each, iTunes movies from $8, more
WaterField Designs has a new travel pouch for your tech from its San Francisco workshop
Samsung 850 EVO 1TB 2.5-inch Internal Solid State Drive $380 shipped (Reg. $450+)
Home: 2-pack down pillows up to 70% off, Hario stainless steel kettle $34, more

iTunes gift cards 20% off w/ email delivery from PayPal: $100 for $80 or $50 for $40

Lumsing 4-port USB wall charger $11, Bluetooth speaker and dual USB car charger $25 Prime shipped

One-year magazine subs from $5/yr: Architectural Digest, Wired, Dwell, Runner’s World, more

LifeProof finally begins accepting preorders for its first waterproof iPhone 6 Plus case

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

More new gear from today:

Headphones: Klipsch X11 in-ears $100 (Reg. $132+), Sennheiser HD205-II over-ears $25 (Reg. $50)

New! BenQ 1080p 3D Full HD 2,200 Lumens DLP Projector $699 shipped (Reg. $799+)
New! Daily Deals: Changhong 55″ 4K $600, iPad Air 2 $400, more
New! Games/Apps: Kirby and the Rainbow Curse $36, iOS freebies, more
New! Kensington Clicksafe Combination laptop/device lock $15 Prime shipped (Reg. $25+)
New! Belkin Secured Wired Keyboard for Android MicroUSB Tablets $10 shipped (Reg. $30)

Today only, Kindle Fire tablets 15% off: HD6 $84, HD7 $118, HDX8.9 $322, HD Kids Edition $126 http://t.co/wmOXNhq5Dz pic.twitter.com/C3QobYQpCH

— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) February 24, 2015

More deals still alive:

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)
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)
HDTVs: Samsung 48″ Smart $548 (orig. $848), Samsung 51″ Plasma $348 (orig. $879), more
Home: Rachael Ray 10-pc cookware set $100, Celestron FirstScope Telescope $34, more
Stack these two Microsoft promos for 200GB of OneDrive storage for free
iTunes Free App of the Week: Duet Game ($2.99 value)
Sony 48″ 1080p Smart HDTV (refurb) $400 shipped (orig. $650)
Etekcity portable wireless Bluetooth speaker $16 Prime shipped (orig. $46)
TP-LINK AV200 Nano Powerline Adapter Starter Kit $21 shipped (Reg. $30+)
Grab Lightroom 5 at a steep discount w/ free external storage
VIZIO 50-inch 4K Ultra HD 120Hz Full-Array LED Smart TV $698 in-store (Reg. $1,000)
Samsung 50-inch 1080p 120Hz Smart LED HDTV $599 shipped (orig. $1,200)
Hunger Games: Catching Fire eBook free (Reg. $7), iTunes movie trilogy $30 (Reg. $55)
Patagonia jackets, shirts & accessories up to 50% off: Down Jacket $137 (Reg. $229), more
Audio-Technica Pro Headphones: ATH-M40X $79 (Reg. $139), ATH-M30X $55 (Reg. $99)
iPad deal roundup: iPad mini $200, iPad Air $339, iPad Air 2 $424, more
BJ’s 1-Year Inner Circle Membership + $25 Gift Card $35 (~$75 value)
Amazon Fire TV streaming media player $34 w/ Sling TV subscription or $84 w/o
Mass Effect Infiltrator is IGN’s free iOS game of the month ($4.99 value)

New products & more:

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
The latest batch of Halo toys: authentic Needler blaster and McFarlane’s new Master Chief
Rovio releases new matching puzzle game ‘Jolly Jam’ for iOS and Android
Trendnet’s new 1200 AV2 MIMO equipped Powerline kit is now available
Ray’s 4.8-inch touch screen Super Remote takes TV watching out of the dark ages
Marshall’s Major II headphones with updated audio and same iconic style are now available
Kitchen Tech: Spherification lets you make your own caviar from fruit juice, more
Make awesome ice spheres, cubes, Death Stars, diamonds and more for only $10
Take your iPhone 6 Back to the Future with this highly detailed Delorean case
Truffol’s wood/aluminum USB chargers w/ protection power up to five devices

FTC fines apps that falsely claimed to detect melanoma using iPhone camera

Jordan Kahn Feb 24 2015 - 8:35 am PT

The FTC is fining the creators of two different smartphone apps, both of which were previously available as paid apps on the App Store, for falsely claiming to detect symptoms of melanoma. The two apps, MelApp and Mole Detective, have long been removed from the App Store (although a version of Mole Detective remains on Google Play for $4.99), and Apple appears to have cracked down on similar apps that were available on the store as recently as early 2014.

The Federal Trade Commission has challenged marketers for deceptively claiming their mobile apps could detect symptoms of melanoma, even in its early stages. In two separate cases, marketers of MelApp and Mole Detective have agreed to settlements that bar them from continuing to make such unsupported claims. The agency is pursuing charges against two additional marketers of Mole Detective who did not agree to settle.

It’s not the first and it likely won’t be the last time app makers face scrutiny from government officials over health care claims as fitness becomes more of a focus on mobile devices and companion wearables. As recently as November, the FTC was said to be pressing Apple on how it plans to use sensitive health related data collected from its upcoming Apple Watch launching in April.

Microsoft extends free Office 365 offer to students & teachers outside the U.S.

Ben Lovejoy Feb 24 2015 - 4:37 am PT

U.S. students and teachers have been able to get free access to Microsoft Office 365 since 2013, and the company has now extended the deal to a range of other countries.

Millions of students around the world are eligible for free Office from their school and today we are announcing that we’ve made it easy for all eligible students globally to sign up themselves to get Office 365 and install free Office.

That includes the 5.5 million eligible students in Australia, the nearly 5 million eligible students in Germany, 7 million more in Brazil, 1.3 million at Anadolu University in Turkey, every student in Hong Kong and millions more.

Qualifying students and teachers can install the latest version of Office on up to five Macs, as well as a further five mobile devices. The deal is available if you study or teach in a school with an Office license.

To check if you’re eligible for the deal, you’ll need your school-provided email address, then visit the eligibility-checker for students or for teachers.

Via Windows Central

Apple reportedly acquired audio software developer Camel Audio in January

Mike Beasley Feb 23 2015 - 8:03 pm PT

5 Comments

Audio software developer Camel Audio announced in January that it would be shutting down for good and removing its software from sale, but no one knew quite why. However, it now appears that the company has been acquired by Apple.

Today Camel Audio updated some of its corporate information, including its address and directors, as listed on the UK government’s Companies House website. The new address is 100 New Bridge Street in London, which also happens to be the address of Apple’s UK offices.

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Tweetbot for iPhone gains support for Twitter videos, improved GIF handling, and more

Mike Beasley Feb 23 2015 - 4:09 pm PT

Tweetbot for iPhone 3.5.2 has been released today to support the native videos introduced by Twitter recently. The update allows users to play back the clips recorded and shared natively in the official Twitter app. Today’s new build also adds improvements to how the app handle’s GIFs shared using the pic.twitter.com service and fixes a variety of bugs.

The developers have also promised “exciting updates” coming to the app soon. You can get Tweetbot for iPhone for $4.99 on the iOS App Store.

What’s New in Version 3.5.2:

We’ve got some exciting updates coming up over the next few months. Stay tuned…

– Support for viewing Twitter videos
– Better support for Twitter GIFs
– Various bug fixes

9to5Toys Last Call: LifeProof iPhone 6 Plus case pre-order, JLab up to 80% off, Incipio iPhone 6 case $9, more

Feb 23 2015 - 9:02 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:

LifeProof finally begins accepting preorders for its first waterproof iPhone 6 Plus case
Bang & Olufsen’s Bluetooth speaker is a must-see with its anodized aluminum gold finish
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)
HDTVs: Samsung 48″ Smart $548 (orig. $848), Samsung 51″ Plasma $348 (orig. $879), more
Home: Rachael Ray 10-pc cookware set $100, Celestron FirstScope Telescope $34, more
Gaming For Couples: Catch up on 9 great video game columns!

Griffin MFi Apple-Certified retractable Lighting cable $10 shipped (orig. $20)

Amazon Gold Box – JLab headphones up to 80% off: in-ear buds w/ mic $10 Prime shipped, more

Incipio NGP impact-resistant iPhone 6 case in black $9 Prime shipped (Reg. $20)

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

More new gear from today:

Xbox One w/ 2 controllers & 3 games $349 shipped (Reg. $443+), PlayStation 4 + free PSTV $400 shipped (Reg. $470+)

New! Target turns up the heat on Best Buy/Amazon by slashing its free shipping threshold
New! Games/Apps: Hyrule Warriors $49, Xbox Live Gold $40, King of Fighters $1 ea, more
New! Daily Deals: Sennheiser Sports Headset $20, Acer 27″ Monitor $170, more

$50 eBay gift card for $45 shipped (10% off) http://t.co/iwhOHc2gIT pic.twitter.com/WgOi2kEjVk

— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) February 23, 2015

More deals still alive:

Stack these two Microsoft promos for 200GB of OneDrive storage for free
iTunes Free App of the Week: Duet Game ($2.99 value)
Sony 48″ 1080p Smart HDTV (refurb) $400 shipped (orig. $650)
Etekcity portable wireless Bluetooth speaker $16 Prime shipped (orig. $46)
TP-LINK AV200 Nano Powerline Adapter Starter Kit $21 shipped (Reg. $30+)
Grab Lightroom 5 at a steep discount w/ free external storage
VIZIO 50-inch 4K Ultra HD 120Hz Full-Array LED Smart TV $698 in-store (Reg. $1,000)
Samsung 50-inch 1080p 120Hz Smart LED HDTV $599 shipped (orig. $1,200)
Hunger Games: Catching Fire eBook free (Reg. $7), iTunes movie trilogy $30 (Reg. $55)
Patagonia jackets, shirts & accessories up to 50% off: Down Jacket $137 (Reg. $229), more
Audio-Technica Pro Headphones: ATH-M40X $79 (Reg. $139), ATH-M30X $55 (Reg. $99)
iPad deal roundup: iPad mini $200, iPad Air $339, iPad Air 2 $424, more
BJ’s 1-Year Inner Circle Membership + $25 Gift Card $35 (~$75 value)
Amazon Fire TV streaming media player $34 w/ Sling TV subscription or $84 w/o
Mass Effect Infiltrator is IGN’s free iOS game of the month ($4.99 value)

New products & more:

The latest batch of Halo toys: authentic Needler blaster and McFarlane’s new Master Chief
Gaming For Couples: Captain Toad Treasure Tracker and Kirby & The Rainbow Curse
Rovio releases new matching puzzle game ‘Jolly Jam’ for iOS and Android
Trendnet’s new 1200 AV2 MIMO equipped Powerline kit is now available
Ray’s 4.8-inch touch screen Super Remote takes TV watching out of the dark ages
Marshall’s Major II headphones with updated audio and same iconic style are now available
Kitchen Tech: Spherification lets you make your own caviar from fruit juice, more
Make awesome ice spheres, cubes, Death Stars, diamonds and more for only $10
Take your iPhone 6 Back to the Future with this highly detailed Delorean case
Truffol’s wood/aluminum USB chargers w/ protection power up to five devices

YouTube Kids iOS app arrives w/ family-focused content & parental controls

Jordan Kahn Feb 23 2015 - 7:05 am PT

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUmMAAPX6E8]

Google just announced that its new YouTube Kids app is available for both iOS and Android devices starting today. The new app for kids is the first of its kind for Google, but the launch follows reports that Google was preparing kid-friendly versions of YouTube, Chrome, Search and other apps.
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9to5Toys Last Call: Free App of the Week, iPhone 6/Plus kick stand case $5, 200GB OneDrive Storage free, more

Justin Kahn Feb 20 2015 - 9:04 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:

Monoprice 15% off on orders of $50 or more: Bluetooth On-Ears $68 (Orig. $90)
NETGEAR N300 802.11n WiFi Range Extender $31 shipped (orig. $60)
Sony 48″ 1080p Smart HDTV (refurb) $400 shipped (orig. $650)
Fashion: Macy’s up to 60% off suits, Lucky Brand Jeans more than 50% off, more
Etekcity portable wireless Bluetooth speaker $16 Prime shipped (orig. $46)
Gaming For Couples: Captain Toad Treasure Tracker and Kirby & The Rainbow Curse
The latest batch of Halo toys: authentic Needler blaster and McFarlane’s new Master Chief
Home: Panasonic electric shaver $70, Cuisinart Auto Bread Maker (refurb) $55, more

iTunes Free App of the Week: Duet Game ($2.99 value)

Baytek iPhone 6/Plus kick stand case $5 Prime shipped (Reg. $15)

Confirmed! Stack these two Microsoft promos for 200GB of OneDrive storage for free

$40 Mac Bundle: Things, ScreenFlow, Typed, Civ, ExpanDrive, Aftershot Pro 2, more

LAST CHANCE! – Small States: Cord Shoes churns out handmade boots with a story behind every pair, $250 giveaway

More new gear from today:

New! TP-LINK AV200 Nano Powerline Adapter Starter Kit $21 shipped (Reg. $30+)
New! Four-pack WD 3TB Red NAS drives $400 shipped (orig. $800)
New! Daily Deals: Bluetooth sportbuds $70, iPad mini leather smart case: $29, more
New! Games/Apps: $50 PlayStation gift card for $40, iOS freebies, more
New! Google Play Movies from $3 – $5: A Million Ways to Die, Inception, many more
New! Rovio releases new matching puzzle game ‘Jolly Jam’ for iOS and Android

Now at Amazon! Brother Wi-Fi Duplex Laser Printer w/ AirPrint $70 shipped (orig. $140) http://t.co/2edr7sRNwA pic.twitter.com/aSVDBZy46q

— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) February 20, 2015

More deals still alive:

Grab Lightroom 5 at a steep discount w/ free external storage
Brother Wireless Laser Printer w/ AirPrint & Duplex Printing $71 shipped (orig. $140)
SoundBlock Ultra Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker $30 Prime shipped (orig. $140)
VIZIO 50-inch 4K Ultra HD 120Hz Full-Array LED Smart TV $698 in-store (Reg. $1,000)
iOttie Easy Flex 3 Car Mount for iPhone 6/6 Plus, more $12 shipped (Reg. $25)
Samsung 50-inch 1080p 120Hz Smart LED HDTV $599 shipped (orig. $1,200)
Hunger Games: Catching Fire eBook free (Reg. $7), iTunes movie trilogy $30 (Reg. $55)
Patagonia jackets, shirts & accessories up to 50% off: Down Jacket $137 (Reg. $229), more
Microsoft Office 365 Personal ($70 value) FREE w/computer/iPad/tablet purchase
Audio-Technica Pro Headphones: ATH-M40X $79 (Reg. $139), ATH-M30X $55 (Reg. $99)
iPad deal roundup: iPad mini $200, iPad Air $339, iPad Air 2 $424, more
Mophie Juice Pack Helium for iPhone 5/5s (multiple colors) $35 shipped (orig. $80)
Quirky President’s Day Sale + extra 25% off: Metal Cordies cable keeper $3.75, more
Media: SNL 40th Anniv. free stream, discounted Blu-rays, $10 iTunes movies, more
Samsung 2TB M9T PlayStation 4/laptop storage $100 shipped (Reg. $120)
BJ’s 1-Year Inner Circle Membership + $25 Gift Card $35 (~$75 value)
TP-LINK Dual Band Wireless N600 Gigabit Router $47 shipped (Reg. $56+)
Free Google Play download of Jason Aldean’s latest album Old Boots, New Dirt
Amazon Fire TV streaming media player $34 w/ Sling TV subscription or $84 w/o
TDK TREK Micro Bluetooth/M Portable Weatherized Speaker: $25 shipped (orig. $60)
Acer 11.6″ Chromebook 2.16GHz/2GB RAM/16GB SSD $160 shipped (orig. $200)
RapidWeaver 6 Mega Bundle – themes, stacks, and plug-ins $80 ($673 value)
Canon Printer w/ AirPrint + Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop $70 (~$220 value), more
Mass Effect Infiltrator is IGN’s free iOS game of the month ($4.99 value)

New products & more:

Trendnet’s new 1200 AV2 MIMO equipped Powerline kit is now available
Ray’s 4.8-inch touch screen Super Remote takes TV watching out of the dark ages
Marshall’s Major II headphones with updated audio and same iconic style are now available
Kitchen Tech: Spherification lets you make your own caviar from fruit juice, more
Make awesome ice spheres, cubes, Death Stars, diamonds and more for only $10
Take your iPhone 6 Back to the Future with this highly detailed Delorean case
Truffol’s wood/aluminum USB chargers w/ protection power up to five devices
LEGO brings Jurassic world to life ahead of its summer release
Blub Uno USB desk clock uses 1950’s Nixie tubes to display time, temperature and more
Kitchen Tech: Catch up on 10 great food and drink tool columns!

Yahoo unveils new suite of dev tools including search integration for other apps

Zac Hall Feb 19 2015 - 12:27 pm PT

After announcing its first dev con last December, Yahoo today kicked off its mobile developer conference in San Francisco where it unveiled five new products for mobile app makers. As suspected, Yahoo revealed the latest tools from Flurry, the mobile ad and analytics firm it acquired last July.

This includes Flurry Analytics Explorer, a new dashboard for the Flurry Analytics system which it says enables developers to discover more insights with than before, and Flurry Pulse, which lets app builders “share app signals with partners using their existing Flurry SDK implementations and the click of a button.”
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9to5Toys Last Call: iTunes Free App of the Week, Lightroom 5 bundles, Brother laser printer $71, more

Feb 19 2015 - 8:47 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:

iTunes Free App of the Week: Duet Game ($2.99 value)
Dropbox users can get an extra 100GB of OneDrive storage for free
Trendnet’s new 1200 AV2 MIMO equipped Powerline kit is now available
Hunger Games: Catching Fire eBook free (Reg. $7), iTunes movie trilogy $30 (Reg. $55)
Patagonia jackets, shirts & accessories up to 50% off: Down Jacket $137 (Reg. $229), more
Home: Cuisinart hand blender (refurb) $35 (orig. $75), more

Transitioning from iPhoto/Aperture? Grab Lightroom 5 at a steep discount w/ free external storage

Brother Compact Wireless Laser Printer w/ AirPrint & Duplex Printing $71 shipped (orig. $140)

SoundBlock Ultra Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker $30 Prime shipped (orig. $140)

VIZIO 50-inch 4K Ultra HD 120Hz Full-Array LED Smart TV $698 shipped (Reg. $1,000)

$40 Mac Bundle: Things, ScreenFlow, Typed, Civ, ExpanDrive, Aftershot Pro 2, more

Small States: Cord Shoes churns out handmade boots with a story behind every pair, $250 giveaway

More new gear from today:

New! Samsung 50-inch 1080p 120Hz Smart LED HDTV $599 shipped (orig. $1,200)
New! iOttie Easy Flex 3 Car Mount for iPhone 6/6 Plus, more $12 shipped (Reg. $25)
New! Games/Apps: Table Tennis Touch $1 (Reg. $4), Sticky Notes HD free, more freebies
New! Daily Deals: Apple iPad 4 32GB refurb: $260, Seagate 2TB personal NAS: $100, more

More deals still alive:

[tweet https://twitter.com/llsethj/status/568071035926523904 align=’center’]

Microsoft Office 365 Personal ($70 value) FREE w/computer/iPad/tablet purchase including this $50 Android at Best Buy

Audio-Technica Pro Headphones: ATH-M40X $79 (Reg. $139), ATH-M30X $55 (Reg. $99)
iPad deal roundup: iPad mini $200, iPad Air $339, iPad Air 2 $424, more
Mophie Juice Pack Helium for iPhone 5/5s (multiple colors) $35 shipped (orig. $80)
Quirky President’s Day Sale + extra 25% off: Metal Cordies cable keeper $3.75, more
Media: SNL 40th Anniv. free stream, discounted Blu-rays, $10 iTunes movies, more
Samsung 2TB M9T PlayStation 4/laptop storage $100 shipped (Reg. $120)
BJ’s 1-Year Inner Circle Membership + $25 Gift Card $35 (~$75 value)
TP-LINK Dual Band Wireless N600 Gigabit Router $47 shipped (Reg. $56+)
Free Google Play download of Jason Aldean’s latest album Old Boots, New Dirt
Save $25 on your first Google Express order
Amazon Fire TV streaming media player $34 w/ Sling TV subscription or $84 w/o
TDK TREK Micro Bluetooth/M Portable Weatherized Speaker: $25 shipped (orig. $60)
Acer 11.6″ Chromebook 2.16GHz/2GB RAM/16GB SSD $160 shipped (orig. $200)
RapidWeaver 6 Mega Bundle – themes, stacks, and plug-ins $80 ($673 value)
Canon Printer w/ AirPrint + Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop $70 (~$220 value), more
Mass Effect Infiltrator is IGN’s free iOS game of the month ($4.99 value)

New products & more:

Ray’s 4.8-inch touch screen Super Remote takes TV watching out of the dark ages
Marshall’s Major II headphones with updated audio and same iconic style are now available
Kitchen Tech: Spherification lets you make your own caviar from fruit juice, more
Make awesome ice spheres, cubes, Death Stars, diamonds and more for only $10
Take your iPhone 6 Back to the Future with this highly detailed Delorean case
Truffol’s wood/aluminum USB chargers w/ protection power up to five devices
LEGO brings Jurassic world to life ahead of its summer release
Blub Uno USB desk clock uses 1950’s Nixie tubes to display time, temperature and more
Kitchen Tech: Catch up on 10 great food and drink tool columns!

Tapbots, makers of Tweetbot, release major update to Calcbot for iOS w/ iCloud sync, Convertbot features, more

Zac Hall Feb 19 2015 - 7:40 am PT

Tapbots, the developers behind the popular third party Twitter app Tweetbot, is out today with a major new version of their advanced calculator app Calcbot. As the ‘bot’ theme implies, Calcbot approaches the stock calculator experience and applies character through animations and sounds while delivering more function than the out-of-the-box calculator from Apple.

The completely new version follows the debut of Calcbot for Mac last fall and includes support for quick iCloud sync between the Mac and iOS versions. While the new version of Calcbot is free, an in-app purchase unlocks additional features including what was previously a separate app called Convertbot.
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IFTTT simplifies experience with 3 new ‘DO’ apps; rebrands original app as ‘IF’

Ben Lovejoy Feb 19 2015 - 6:55 am PT

I’m a huge fan of IFTTT, the iOS app (and web app) that allows you to do really clever things completely automatically, just by creating or downloading an ‘if this then that’ rule–which IFTTT calls a ‘recipe.’ For example, if you’d like to save a copy of a photo anytime you are tagged on Facebook, there’s a recipe for that. Want to switch on a WEMO-controlled light when the sun goes down, there’s a recipe for that too. Pretty much anything you might want to automate has an existing recipe–and if it doesn’t, you can create your own.

But while IFTTT is incredibly powerful, the developers found that some people found it so overwhelming they didn’t know where to start. The company has now addressed that by creating three cut-down apps, each of which can perform only three functions: Do Button (geared for controlling hardware), Do Camera (to automatically post, share or save photos) and Do Note (to quickly write something and save it as a note, make it a calendar entry, tweet it and so on) …
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Photoshop celebrates 25th anniversary today of app originally created on a Macintosh Plus

Ben Lovejoy Feb 19 2015 - 5:26 am PT

21 Comments

Adobe is today celebrating the 25th anniversary of Photoshop, which first launched as a Mac-only app on 19th February 1990.

What went on to become the industry standard image editing app started life in 1987, when Thomas Knoll, a computer vision doctorate student at the University of Michigan, began developing it on his Mac Plus. Known then as Display, the app was designed to do nothing more than display grayscale images on the Macintosh’s black-and-white monitor. As Adobe showcases in the video below, the app has come rather a long way since then …
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Inbox by Gmail iOS app now has full iPad version, still requires invite at present

Ben Lovejoy Feb 19 2015 - 4:41 am PT

8 Comments

Inbox by Gmail, which Google appears to view as a replacement for the popular email client Sparrow, has been very quietly updated, notes TechCrunch, to include a native build for iPad. The app is currently only available in some countries (including the U.S.), and neither the App Store description nor What’s New entry mention the iPad build.

The app, which our hands-on last October described as “a marriage between Gmail and Google Now,” has tended to polarise views, some loving it, others hating it–with very few falling between the two …
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Microsoft’s OneNote for iPad app gets handwriting, and same OCR functionality as Mac app

Ben Lovejoy Feb 19 2015 - 3:53 am PT

4 Comments

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOpxNVJ7tZ4]

A day after Microsoft updated its OneNote for Mac app, adding OCR scanning of text within images, it has today updated its iPad app. OneNote for iPad gets the same OCR functionality, along with the ability to add handwritten notes–a feature previously available only on the Windows and Android versions of the tablet app.

As many of you have pointed out, one major feature that has been missing from OneNote for iPad is handwriting. With today’s update, you can pen notes. To get started, just tap the new Draw tab on the ribbon. Select a pen, marker, or highlighter and write, sketch or doodle until your heart’s content.

Handwritten notes can be made using either an iPad-compatible stylus or your finger, with customizable ink color and pen thickness …
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Southwest Airlines app for iOS updated with Passbook support

Mike Beasley Feb 18 2015 - 7:49 pm PT

Southwest Airlines has updated its mobile app with support for Apple’s Passbook, allowing users to quickly access their boarding passes from the lock screen when boarding a flight. The Passbook card also presents critical information about a passenger’s flight, including departure time and gate, and flight number.

The new version of the app also includes fixes for issues reported by users. It’s available now from the App Store for free.

Apple releases iTunes 12.1.1 update for Windows w/ playback improvements, Outlook syncing fixes, more

Zac Hall Feb 18 2015 - 1:43 pm PT

6 Comments

After releasing iTunes 12.1 in January adding a Notification Center widget for OS X Yosemite users on the Mac, Apple has released a minor update to iTunes 12.1 specifically for Windows users.

According to the release notes, iTunes 12.1.1 addresses an issue that caused audio playback to glitch while also improving syncing between Outlook and iPhones and iPads. Apple also says the update “improves compatibility with screen readers.”

The latest version is rolling out now so iTunes users on Windows should be able to update soon.

9to5Toys Last Call: Office 365 free w/ iPad purchase, VIZIO 50″ 4K $698, Audio-Technica M50x $130, more

Justin Kahn Feb 18 2015 - 9:02 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:

Ray’s 4.8-inch touch screen Super Remote takes TV watching out of the dark ages
Marshall’s Major II headphones with updated audio and same iconic style are now available
Kitchen Tech: Spherification lets you make your own caviar from fruit juice, more
Apple-certified MFi Lightning cables: 3.3ft: $7 or 10 ft: $10 Prime shipped
Media: Gravity Blu-ray/UltraViolet $5, Her & Great Gatsby Blu-ray $9 each, more
Home: Neato XV-S Robotic Vacuum $285 (Reg. $310+), more
Make awesome ice spheres, cubes, Death Stars, diamonds and more for only $10

[tweet https://twitter.com/llsethj/status/568071035926523904 align=’center’]

Microsoft Office 365 Personal ($70 value) FREE w/computer/iPad/tablet purchase including this $50 Android at Best Buy

VIZIO 50-inch 4K Ultra HD 120Hz Full-Array LED Smart TV $698 shipped (Reg. $1,000)

Amazon Gold Box: Audio-Technica M50x Headphones $129 shipped (orig. $239)

Audio-Technica Pro Headphones: ATH-M40X $79 shipped (Reg. $139), ATH-M30X $55 shipped (Reg. $99)

iPad deal roundup: iPad mini $200, iPad Air $339, iPad Air 2 $424, more

Mophie Juice Pack Helium for iPhone 5/5s (multiple colors) $35 shipped (orig. $80)

$40 Mac Bundle: Things, ScreenFlow, Typed, Civ, ExpanDrive, Aftershot Pro 2, more

Small States: Cord Shoes churns out handmade boots with a story behind every pair, $250 giveaway

More new gear from today:

New! Jabra REVO Wireless Bluetooth Headphones in black $90 shipped (Reg. $148+)
New! Samsung 2TB M9T PlayStation 4/laptop storage $100 shipped (Reg. $120)
New! Daily Deals: Acer 28″ 4K monitor: $380, Oscar-Nominated Movies from $5, more
New! Games/Apps: Metro Redux $25, Xbox Live Gold $36, iOS freebies, more

$50 PlayStation Network gift card for $40 w/ email delivery via PayPal (20% off) http://t.co/RJzp6QT0zG pic.twitter.com/YWf8nxVzwv

— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) February 18, 2015

More deals still alive:

Quirky President’s Day Sale + extra 25% off: Metal Cordies cable keeper $3.75, more
BJ’s 1-Year Inner Circle Membership + $25 Gift Card $35 (~$75 value)
Samsung SSDs: 512GB 850 Pro $283 (Reg. $300), 250GB 840 EVO $103 (Reg. $130+)
TP-LINK Dual Band Wireless N600 Gigabit Router $47 shipped (Reg. $56+)
Free Google Play download of Jason Aldean’s latest album Old Boots, New Dirt
Save $25 on your first Google Express order
Home: Chefman Stainless Steel Kettle $23, more
Magazine subs from $4.75/yr: National Geo, Rolling Stone, Runner’s World, more
Amazon Fire TV streaming media player $34 w/ Sling TV subscription or $84 w/o
TDK TREK Micro Bluetooth/M Portable Weatherized Speaker: $25 shipped (orig. $60)
Acer 11.6″ Chromebook 2.16GHz/2GB RAM/16GB SSD $160 shipped (orig. $200)
RapidWeaver 6 Mega Bundle – themes, stacks, and plug-ins $80 ($673 value)
Canon Printer w/ AirPrint + Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop $70 (~$220 value), more
iTunes Free App of the Week: Dr. Panda’s Restaurant 2 ($2.99 value)
Get a free Fire TV/Roku streaming stick when you sign up for Sling TV
20% off new video games for 2 yrs w/ Best Buy Gamers Club Unlocked: $30 in-store
Mass Effect Infiltrator is IGN’s free iOS game of the month ($4.99 value)
Adobe Creative Cloud (PS CC + Lightroom): $10/month w/$25 Amazon credit

New products & more:

Take your iPhone 6 Back to the Future with this highly detailed Delorean case
Truffol’s wood/aluminum USB chargers w/ protection power up to five devices
LEGO brings Jurassic world to life ahead of its summer release
Blub Uno USB desk clock uses 1950’s Nixie tubes to display time, temperature and more
Kitchen Tech: Catch up on 10 great food and drink tool columns!
The entire Star Wars saga is represented in LEGO’s upcoming releases, current sets now $8
Gaming For Couples: Last-minute Valentine’s Day gifts for gamers
Mitsubishi’s new iNSTICK cordless vacuum doubles as an air purifier

Microsoft OneNote for Mac adds OCR for scanning & copying text from images, full search coming soon

Zac Hall Feb 18 2015 - 8:04 am PT

5 Comments

OneNote, Microsoft’s cross-platform application for taking and organizing notes, received a useful update on the Mac adding support for OCR, or optical character recognition. OneNote version 15.7.1, which is rolling out on the Mac App Store now, adds the ability to scan images from OneDrive notebooks for text.

Once OneNote’s OCR system has ran, you can actually copy the text and save it to your notes just like if it were a editable text file from the start. Searching images for text is currently possible for new images added to OneDrive notebooks, but a future version will make text search possible on existing images as well.

The update also includes the ability to toggle viewing authors and closing the window without quitting the app. Microsoft also added support for iCloud Drive on its iOS versions of Office yesterday. Full release notes below:

NBC updates iOS app with live streaming in select markets and partial catalog of classic shows

Mike Beasley Feb 17 2015 - 10:38 pm PT

All users will be able to take advantage of the other new feature added in version 3.0, however…

NBC has followed in ABC’s footsteps and released an update for its iOS app that introduces live streaming of the network’s content directly to an iPhone or iPad. Similarly to ABC’s offering, the feature is only available in a few select cable markets that this time and requires a subscription to a cable or satellite partner.

VLC 3.0 will gain support for Chromecast streaming from iOS devices and Macs

Mike Beasley Feb 17 2015 - 4:09 pm PT

8 Comments

The popular VLC media player will be upgraded to version 3.0 soon, introducing a whole host of features to the software, including support for Google’s Chromecast streaming device. The change was mentioned in a VLC change log on the VideoLan website.

VLC for iOS was recently re-added to the App Store after being pulled several times for licensing issues and other problems.

Chromecast support in VLC will allow users to stream their stored media to their TVs from supported devices, including iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Android devices and computers running Windows are also expected to get the upgrade.

VideoLan, the development company behind VLC, hasn’t announced the availability date for version 3.0 yet. You can grab the current version of the iOS app from the iTunes App Store.

Dropbox gets more powerful on iOS 8 with new sharing extension

Zac Hall Feb 17 2015 - 10:02 am PT

10 Comments

Dropbox for iPhone and iPad users is getting a lot more powerful today as the latest version includes a new action extension for iOS 8. This allows you to save information from various apps to Dropbox on iOS without having to open the cloud-syncing app.
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9to5Toys Last Call: iPad deals galore, Audio-Technica headphones 20% off, Mophie iPhone 5/5s $35, more

Feb 17 2015 - 9:16 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:

Save $25 on your first Google Express order
Truffol’s wood/aluminum USB chargers w/ protection power up to five devices
Take your iPhone 6 Back to the Future with this highly detailed Delorean case
Home: Schlage Plymouth Keypad locks 70% off, Chefman Stainless Steel Kettle $23, more
Samsung 11.6″ Chromebook 2 1.9GHz/4GB RAM/16GB SSD $250 shipped (Reg. $300)

iPad deal roundup: iPad mini $200, iPad Air $339, iPad Air 2 $424, more

Audio-Technica Pro Headphones: ATH-M40X $79 shipped (Reg. $139), ATH-M30X $55 shipped (Reg. $99)

Mophie Juice Pack Helium for iPhone 5/5s (multiple colors) $35 shipped (orig. $80)

Quirky President’s Day Sale + extra 25% off: Metal Cordies cable keeper $3.75, more

Small States: Cord Shoes churns out handmade boots with a story behind every pair, $250 giveaway

More new gear from today:

New! BJ’s 1-Year Inner Circle Membership + $25 Gift Card $35 (~$75 value)
New! Samsung SSDs: 512GB 850 Pro $283 (Reg. $300), 250GB 840 EVO $103 (Reg. $130+)
New! Magazine subs from $4.75/yr: National Geo, Rolling Stone, Runner’s World, more
New! Games/Apps: Real Pool 3D free, Mac games up to 75% off, freebies, more
New! Yamaha Portable Bluetooth Powered Speaker $55 shipped (orig. $1 80)
New! Free Google Play download of Jason Aldean’s latest album Old Boots, New Dirt
New! Daily Deals: GoPro HERO4 Black: $430, Two 3ft. Lightning cables $10, more
New! TP-LINK Dual Band Wireless N600 Gigabit Router $47 shipped (Reg. $56+)

More deals still alive:

Amazon Fire TV streaming media player $34 w/ Sling TV subscription or $84 w/o
TDK TREK Micro Bluetooth/M Portable Weatherized Speaker: $25 shipped (orig. $60)
Acer 11.6″ Chromebook 2.16GHz/2GB RAM/16GB SSD $160 shipped (orig. $200)
RapidWeaver 6 Mega Bundle – themes, stacks, and plug-ins $80 ($673 value)
Canon Printer w/ AirPrint + Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop $70 (~$220 value), more
iTunes Free App of the Week: Dr. Panda’s Restaurant 2 ($2.99 value)
Caseology iPhone 6/Plus cases in multiple styles/colors from $6 w/ free shipping
Sennheiser HD 518 over-ear headphones $65 shipped (Reg. $130)
Get a free Fire TV/Roku streaming stick when you sign up for Sling TV
Canon EOS Rebel T3i DSLR (refurb) w/ 18-55mm Lens Kit $336 shipped (orig. $599)
20% off new video games for 2 yrs w/ Best Buy Gamers Club Unlocked: $30 in-store
Mass Effect Infiltrator is IGN’s free iOS game of the month ($4.99 value)
Adobe Creative Cloud (PS CC + Lightroom): $10/month w/$25 Amazon credit

New products & more:

LEGO brings Jurassic world to life ahead of its summer release
Blub Uno USB desk clock uses 1950’s Nixie tubes to display time, temperature and more
Kitchen Tech: Catch up on 10 great food and drink tool columns!
The entire Star Wars saga is represented in LEGO’s upcoming releases, current sets now $8
Gaming For Couples: Last-minute Valentine’s Day gifts for gamers
Mitsubishi’s new iNSTICK cordless vacuum doubles as an air purifier

Google removes Sparrow email client from iOS & Mac App Stores following Inbox launch

Chance Miller Feb 17 2015 - 8:38 am PT