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Yahoo will unveil a suite of dev tools for mobile apps at its first Dev Con Feb. 19

Jordan Kahn Dec 8 2014 - 6:51 am PT

2 Comments

Yahoo announced today that it will be hosting its first ever developer conference, The Yahoo Mobile Developer Conference, early next year in February. Yahoo confirmed it plans to use the event to unveil a new suite of developer tools for mobile apps that will “help developers better understand their users and improve, grow and monetize their apps.”

Today, Americans spend more time on their smartphones than watching TV – making the mobile experience, and the job of mobile developers, more important than ever. Join us as we announce a suite of tools that will help mobile developers better understand their users and improve, grow and monetize their apps… Breakout sessions will help developers solve some of the biggest issues they’re facing in today’s crowded app market.

Yahoo didn’t give many clues regarding what exactly those tools will include, but it did say that VP of Flurry products, the mobile analytics and advertising company that it acquired earlier this year, will appear at the event with a “State of Mobile address.” It’s likely we’ll see the latest solutions from the Flurry team since joining Yahoo. Currently the company offers analytics services for tracking app performance and a mobile app advertising platform for both advertisers and publishers. 

Developers and others interested in learning more about The Yahoo Mobile Developer Conference scheduled for Feb. 19, 2015 in San Francisco can sign up here for updates.

• Apps
• iOS
• Instapaper
• Offline reader
• Offline reading

Popular Instapaper app for offline reading updated with support for Handoff & more

Ben Lovejoy Dec 5 2014 - 6:39 am PT

0 Comments

Instapaper, the handy app that lets you grab content from the web and other apps for offline reading later, has been updated with support for the Handoff feature introduced as part of iOS 8.

Device handoff support: Start reading on one device, and pick up exactly where you left off on another device!

Version 6.1 of the app also has an improved save function, allowing you to save content directly to a particular folder, and allows you to enable a counter which displays a badge with the number of saved articles when viewing the app’s icon on the homescreen.

Instapaper is a free app, but saving content from compatible third-party apps requires a premium subscription costing $29.99 a year or $2.99 a month.

If you haven’t yet gotten to grips with Handoff, our how-to guide tells you everything you need to know.

• Apps
• iTunes
• itunes radio
• Christmas
• Holidays

The holidays arrive on iTunes Radio, with ten Holiday radio stations

Ben Lovejoy Dec 5 2014 - 5:28 am PT

1 Comment

For those worried that they might not get quite enough Christmas music this month from coffee shops, stores, bars and just about everywhere else in existence, iTunes Radio has you covered. Apple yesterday added a whole collection of new stations to its streaming music service, each of them playing Christmas music and nothing but Christmas music – mirroring the holiday movie section added to iTunes.

The ten (yes, ten) stations range from Classical Holiday to Country Holiday. As ever with iTunes Radio, the stations play ad-free for iTunes Match subscribers, while others get ads (including visual ads) every few tracks after an earlier ad-free day courtesy of Verizon.

If you’re keen on minimizing your exposure to holiday music, however, you can stay out of the stores and do most of your shopping online thanks to the links in our holiday gift guides – with additional gift ideas over on 9to5Toys.

• Apps
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9to5Toys Last Call: iOttie iPhone car/desk mount $11, WD 2TB portable HDD $75, iTunes Free App of the Week, more

Dec 4 2014 - 2:17 pm PT

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Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the brand new 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:

iOttie Easy Flex 2 Car/Desk Mount for iPhone 6 and other smartphones $11 Prime shipped (Orig. $23)

WD Elements 2TB Portable HD: $75 (orig. $130), Seagate Backup Plus 2TB Desktop HD: $70 (Reg. $120)

iTunes Free App of the Week: God of Light ($1.99 value)

WeMo and Holmes team up to take the worry out of small room heaters

More new deals:

• New! 13″ MacBook Air 1.4GHz/4GB/256GB (newest version): $1,000 (Reg. $1,199)
• New! Logitech gaming accessories, keyboards, and mice are recipients of big price drops
• New! Sennheiser Urbanite XL Over-Ear Headphones for iOS w/ $10 GC $190 (Reg. $250)
• New! Games/Apps: GTA V $50, Sonic Jump & Crazy Taxi $1 ea, more
• New! Garmin Vivofit Fitness Tracker (black): $70 shipped (Reg. $130)
• New! TP-LINK AV500 Nano Powerline Adapter Starter Kit $30 Prime shipped (orig. $70)
• New! Home: Oral-B Bluetooth electric toothbrush $80 (orig. $130), more

More deals still alive:

• eBay puts the spotlight on cutting edge gadgets and then discounts them
• Get three months of Spotify Premium for $0.99 ($30 value)
• VIZIO 38″ Home Theater Sound Bar w/ Wireless Subwoofer $118 w/ Prime (Reg. $160)
• Big USB batteries, lowest ever prices: Anker 13,000mAh: $24, Aduro 10,800mAh: $18
• Sony elicits mad nostalgia with its limited edition PlayStation 4
• Apple iPad mini Smart Covers as low as $16 from Best Buy stores (Reg. $39)
• Canon LBP6200d Monochrome Laser Printer: $40 shipped (Orig. $170)
• Sennheiser: RS120 wireless on-ears (refurb) $54, MX 365 in-ears $16, more
• Harman Kardon Onyx Studio Bluetooth Speaker $124 (orig. $400), more
• WD My Passport Ultra 2TB Portable USB 3.0 Hard Drive: $80 shipped (orig. $140)
• Get unlimited access for one month to over 15,000 digital Marvel comics for 75¢

New products/ongoing promos:

• Valve’s live gameplay broadcasting is now available to all Steam users for free
• Free iTunes holiday music playlist featuring popular country artists
• Free Guardians of the Galaxy comic with Disney Movie Rewards log-in
• Top 10 kids’ toys of 2014 per early Google Search data
• Bang & Olufsen: new lambskin lined BeoPlay H2 headphones
• ShotTracker brings Bluetooth LE and data collection to your hoop game
• Twelve South makes the best iPhone 6/iPad dock even better
• littleBits: DIY Smart Home Kit, options for creating an internet-connected home
• Internet Archive brings 900 classic arcade titles to your web browser for free
• The thinnest iPhone 6/Plus cases we’ve found so far

• Apps
• iOS
• Spotify
• App Store (iOS)

Spotify offers three months of Premium for just $0.99 – but you probably won’t qualify

Ben Lovejoy Dec 4 2014 - 6:09 am PT

19 Comments

Spotify Premium gives you no ads, offline listening, on-demand listening even on mobile and better sound quality, and normally costs $9.99. So to get three months for just $0.99 sounds like a deal that’s too good to be true.

Unfortunately, it pretty much is. While the deal is there for new users, anyone who has ever subscribed to Premium or Unlimited isn’t eligible, and nor is anyone who has ever taken a one-month free trial of Premium. So, er, just about anyone who likes Spotify, then.

Still, if you do have friends who’ve never taken up the trial, this would be the perfect time for them to try it out. They will have to provide card details and remember to cancel before the three months is up, otherwise they will start paying the usual $9.99 a month.

Spotify also recently announced a family deal of $4.99 a month for each additional Premium user. Spotify Music for iPhone and iPad is a free download from the App Store.

Via 9to5Toys

• Apps
• App Store (iOS)
• Square Enix
• Lara Croft
• lara-croft-and-the-guardian-of-light

Take another nostalgic trip back to the 90s as Tomb Raider II available on the iPhone

Ben Lovejoy Dec 4 2014 - 4:58 am PT

2 Comments

If you ever get a hankering for a wander down gaming memory lane, the classic 90s game Tomb Raider II is back – as an iPhone game. The original Tomb Raider was also released as an iPhone game last year.

Square Enix says that the game is optimized for iPhone 5, 6 and 6 Plus.

The multi award winning classic action adventure game from the glorious days of the 90s is back again in Tomb Raider II for iOS users this year!

The unstoppable Lara Croft is back in Tomb Raider II. Join Lara in her quest for the Dagger of Xian, reputed to possess the power of the dragon. But beware, Lara is not the only one in search of the dagger! Warrior Monks and crazed cult members plot against you as you travel from the remote mountain peaks of Tibet, the canals of Venice and to the bottom of the sea.

Tomb Raider II is available on iTunes for $1.99, while Tomb Raider I is $0.99.

• Apps
• iCloud
• update
• Safari
• Firefox

Apple releases Safari updates for OS X Yosemite, Mavericks, and Mountain Lion (Update: pulled)

Mike Beasley Dec 3 2014 - 2:15 pm PT

6 Comments

Update: Apple appears to have pulled this update. Apple previously pulled a Safari update when it accidentally released a beta to the general public, but this doesn’t seem to be the same type of situation. The security document for the update is still live.

Apple has released a small patch for the three most recent versions of Safari running on OS X Yosemite, Mavericks, and Mountain Lion. The new versions are 8.0.1, 7.1.1, and 6.2.1, respectively.

The updated builds include fixes for features like WebGL graphics running on Macs with Retina displays, and problems with iCloud Keychain and syncing of browsing history. There is also a new option for importing saved usernames and passwords from the Firefox browser.

You can download the updates from the Software Update tab of the Mac App Store. There are no standalone installers, as Safari is now bundled with OS X.

• Apps
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• Daily Deals
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9to5Toys Last Call: Canon laser printer $40, iPad mini Smart Covers $16, 2x JBL Lightning speaker docks $37, more

Dec 2 2014 - 3:20 pm PT

0 Comments

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the brand new 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:

Canon LBP6200d Monochrome Laser Printer: $40 shipped (Orig. $170)

Apple iPad mini Smart Covers as low as $16 w/ free in-store pickup from Best Buy (Reg. $39)

Daily Deals: Two JBL OnBeat Micro Lightning speaker docks: $37, more

Get unlimited access for one month to over 15,000 digital Marvel comics for 75¢

Other new deals:

Today only, The Sopranos Complete Series on Blu-ray and Digital HD: $110 shipped (orig. $280) http://t.co/ixw4QVMnJi pic.twitter.com/Kwqr2gJgBt

— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) December 2, 2014

• New! 10% off in-store electronics purchases at Target, save on Sonos
• New! WD My Passport Ultra 2TB Portable USB 3.0 Hard Drive: $80 shipped (orig. $140)
• New! Apple iPad Air 16GB WiFi (silver or space gray): $330 shipped (Reg. $399)
• New! Games/Apps: Destiny $45 (Reg. $60), Mini Motor Racing FREE, more iOS freebies
• New! Valve’s live gameplay broadcasting is now available to all Steam users for free
• New! Sennheiser: RS120 wireless on-ears (refurb) $54, MX 365 in-ears $16, more
• New! Harman Kardon 5.1 Channel Home Theater $189 shipped (orig. $599)
• New! Incase Cyber Week: New deals every day on iPad, iPhone and MacBook accessories
• New! Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10″ 16GB $360 shipped (Reg. $500)
• New! Home: Neato XV Pro Robotic vac in black $280 (orig. $400), more
• New! 1080p HDTVs: VIZIO 60″ 120Hz Smart $848 w/ Prime, Toshiba 40″ 60Hz $330, more
• New! Alesis Q25 25-Key USB MIDI Keyboard Controller $40 shipped (orig. $180)
• New! Harman Kardon Onyx Studio Bluetooth Speaker $124 (orig. $400), more
• New! Samsung BD-F5700 Compact/Smart Wi-Fi Blu-Ray Player: $53 shipped (reg. $100)
• New! Big USB batteries, lowest ever prices: Anker 13,000mAh: $24, Aduro 10,800mAh: $18

Quirky + GE Aros smart window air conditioner: $100 shipped (Reg. $300) http://t.co/S6EftlmvmG pic.twitter.com/BZyZzjOG0h

— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) December 2, 2014

New products/ongoing promos:

• Refurb. Apple AirPorts: Extreme (newest) $120 (Reg. $199 new), Express $60 (Reg. $99 new)
• Top 10 kids’ toys of 2014 per early Google Search data
• Bang & Olufsen: new lambskin lined BeoPlay H2 headphones
• ShotTracker brings Bluetooth LE and data collection to your hoop game
• Twelve South makes the best iPhone 6/iPad dock even better
• littleBits: DIY Smart Home Kit, options for creating an internet-connected home
• Internet Archive brings 900 classic arcade titles to your web browser for free
• The thinnest iPhone 6/Plus cases we’ve found so far

• Apps & Updates
• Apps
• iOS

Amex Mobile iPhone app adds easy account login w/ Touch ID fingerprint sensor

Jordan Kahn Dec 2 2014 - 9:11 am PT

3 Comments

American Express updated its Amex Mobile app today with one notable new feature: the ability to login into your account using Touch ID.

Log-in securely with the same user ID and Password you use on americanexpress.com. And now, enjoy quicker access with Touch ID, available for supported devices with iOS 8.

The new features utilizes Apple’s Touch ID finger print sensor, which in iOS 8 was opened to third-party apps for logins after previously being reserved for unlocking the device itself and authenticating App Store and iTunes purchases. For that reason the new feature is only supported on devices with TouchID running iOS 8. Devices with Touch ID include iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 2 Plus, and iPad mini 3. 

The updated Amex Mobile app, version 4.6.4, is available on the App Store now and also includes other “bug fixes and enhancements.”

What’s New in Version 4.6.4

•Enjoy quicker access to your account with Touch ID, available for supported devices with iOS 8
•Bug fixes and enhancements

• Apps
• keyboard
• SwiftKey
• Stephen Hawking

SwiftKey enables Stephen Hawking to communicate twice as fast

9to5 Staff Dec 2 2014 - 6:52 am PT

4 Comments

SwiftKey announced on Tuesday that it has collaborated with Intel on an ambitious project for the past two years: improving the communication system of Stephen Hawking. The custom keyboard maker makes it easier for the well-known scientist, who has motor neurone disease, to predict full words, based on a small sensor activated by a muscle in his cheek.
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• Apps
• iPhone
• streaming
• Streaming media
• Pandora

New Pandora iOS app rolling out with emphasis on personalization

Ben Lovejoy Dec 2 2014 - 6:36 am PT

4 Comments

Pandora is rolling out an updated version of its iPhone app with a strong emphasis on personalization.

Personalized genre and artist suggestions will now appear at the top of your list of stations, and a new thumbs-up icon on the now-playing screen gives you fast access to song ratings – as well as acting as a visual reminder that you only get the most from the service if you get into the habit of rating songs.

There’s also a modest visual redesign. The update will roll out to iPhones in the coming weeks (it’s not yet available from iTunes), with an iPad refresh to follow at a later date.

There had been speculation that last year’s launch of iTunes Radio might have threatened Pandora’s future, but following a move to drop its 40 hour/month listening limit, the company announced that it increased its listeners following the launch of Apple’s streaming service.

• Apps & Updates
• Apps
• Microsoft
• Microsoft Office
• Office
• email

Microsoft buys Acompli, an email app for iOS

Zac Hall Dec 1 2014 - 11:08 am PT

4 Comments

Microsoft announced today that it acquired Acompli, an email client for Android and iOS, in an effort to own more productivity apps on each mobile platform:

This acquisition is part of our company-wide effort to help people accomplish more with their mobile devices. This year we brought Office to the iPad and the iPhone, and we recently announced that we’re bringing Office to Android devices. These are significant steps in our work to deliver the best productivity experiences across mobile platforms, and we’re continuing to push forward.

Acompli also wrote about the acquisition news while discussing support for various file services:

Soon after launch we started working with a number of enterprise IT departments who believed, like we do, that great products need to be “Loved by Users, and Trusted by IT.” Right around this time we began conversations with the folks at Microsoft about how we could go farther by integrating the capabilities of their Office 365 platform into our product while continuing to provide amazing support for email and file services from Apple, Dropbox, Google, and Box. Those conversations led to today, where we have decided the opportunity to join forces in pursuit of a better, faster, more powerful email experience is something we can do better as one company.

The acquisition follows Microsoft’s announcement last month that Office for iOS no longer requires an Office 365 subscription for editing files and the debut of dedicated Office for iPhone apps including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Microsoft also integrated Office support with Dropbox as part of a new partnership between the two companies.

According to Re/code, Microsoft spent more than $200 million to buy up the email app although neither company disclosed that amount.