Apps

6,381 'Apps' stories April 2010 - June 2014

Learn about the latest news for iOS, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV apps

Apps for iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS power our modern world. 9to5Mac will update you on the latest news, review, and updates for all types of apps. “There’s an App for that”.

The term came became part of our vocabulary when Steve Jobs announced The App Store as part of the iPhone 2.0 software update in 2008.

Over the years, the term has become as common as kleenex for describing applications on all of our devices. Apple’s platforms have apps for just about anything from finance, banking, sports, social media, podcasting, music, and more. We have a guide for helping you discover the best ones as well. Apps are now on everything from our TV, to our smartphones, on our laptops, and all the way down to our wrists.

As new ones are released or existing ones have major updates, the team here at 9to5Mac will bring you the latest news and reviews. If you want to follow along with video footage, be sure to follow 9to5Mac on YouTube. Scroll down below our latest updates on all things relating to applications on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch.

Fleksy previews its third-party keyboard already running on iOS 8

Zac Hall Jun 4 2014 - 9:09 am PT

9 Comments

In less than 48 hours since Apple officially announced native support for third-party keyboards as a major feature of iOS 8, Fleksy has already implemented their own keyboard on their iOS 8 test devices. Fleksy is also currently taking signups to join its beta program.
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Microsoft updates its SmartGlass mobile apps with a universal remote for your TV and cable box

Mark Hearn Jun 4 2014 - 8:29 am PT

1 Comment

Today, Microsoft released a highly anticipated update for its SmartGlass mobile apps for Xbox One. Following suit with a full system update for Redmond’s newest game console, this refreshed companion app adds fast access to all of your TV and app channels with the introduction of OneGuide support. Also new to SmartGlass are the abilities to compare Achievements, filter recorded game clips and organize your console’s pins remotely. But the standout new feature here is the addition of a universal remote that can be used to control your cable, satellite box or TV.

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New iOS 8 feature makes it easier to track missing devices

Mike Beasley Jun 3 2014 - 5:40 pm PT

15 Comments

A new feature in Apple’s iOS 8 software might make it easier for users to track down missing or stolen devices. The setting seen above can be found in the Find My iPhone panel of the device’s iCloud settings, and enables the phone to automatically send its last known location to Apple’s iCloud service if the phone’s battery is almost dead.

The data will apparently be stored for 24 hours after the phone’s battery dies, so even if the phone is no longer turned on users can at least have some idea of where it was active.

Of course, there’s still a chance that thieves could just turn off the device before the battery reaches a critical level and avoid being caught by this feature. Perhaps a future update will allow the phone to send this information as part of its regular shutdown process, but for now it’s at least a step in the right direction.

iOS 8 turns iPhone into the ultimate game controller for iPad & Mac, Game Center hits 130M monthly active users

Jordan Kahn Jun 3 2014 - 12:22 pm PT

20 Comments

Apple took some time to talk gaming during a presentation closed to the public yesterday at WWDC. While noting that gaming is now an area that Apple is “pushing on very strongly”, the company also announced a new feature coming for gamers and developers: Controller Forwarding.
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Apps

Apple shows off completely redesigned iTunes Connect coming later this year

Jordan Kahn Jun 3 2014 - 11:45 am PT

3 Comments

During its Platforms State of the Union presentation at WWDC yesterday, Apple showed off more features for developers that didn’t make the cut for its publicly streamed keynote event. One announcement made for developers is a redesigned version of iTunes Connect— the web app developers use to upload and maintain content on the App Store.
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9to5Toys Last Call: Jawbone UP $80, Backblaze online backup 50% off, iPad mini $240, WD 3TB external HDD $94, more

Jun 3 2014 - 10:09 am PT

0 Comments

Be sure to follow 9to5Toys to keep up with the best gear and deals on the web: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Last Call updates:

Jawbone UP fitness wristband for iOS/Android $80 shipped (Reg. $130)

9to5Toys Specials:

1-year of Backblaze online backup storage (PC/Mac) for $25 (Reg. $50) – ends in 3 days
Scrivener 2: Winner – Best of the Mac App Store $20 (Reg. $45) – ends in 11 days
PasswordBox Unlimited Subscription $9.99 (Reg. $72) – ends in 2 days

Apple iPad Mini 16GB Wi-Fi (1st gen) $240 shipped (Reg. $299)

Western Digital Elements 3TB external desktop drive: $94 shipped (Reg. $150)

Bond 50 Blu-ray collection $74, Breaking Bad Complete BR $130, Jack White First Play, more

Seiki 39-inch 4K Class Ultra HDTV w/ HDMI: $400 shipped (Reg. $700)

Other new deals:

New! Games/Apps: Splashtop 2 Remote Desktop FREE, 70% off PC/Mac titles at Origin
New! TigerDirect Coupon: $15 off orders of $100 or more (stacks with other discounts)
New! Home Deals: Coleman extra $20 off $100, Air Purifiers from $39, Lowe’s coupons
New! TP-LINK N300 wireless home router: $25 shipped (Reg. $50)
New! Logitech unveils its new $70 mini X300 wireless Bluetooth speaker
New! Daily Deals: 15.4″ Macbook Pro: $900, Roku 3 Media Player: $68, more
New! Pioneer DDJ-S1 DJ Controller: $530 shipped (Reg. $699)

More deals still alive:

Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro w/ Retina display 2.4 GHz/4GB/128GB (newest version) $1,100 shipped ($200 off) http://t.co/AiTm8p3UfP

— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) June 2, 2014

Get a $50 Amazon credit and 6 months of Google Play w/ a Sonos PLAY:3 or PLAY:5
Netatmo Weather Station for iOS and Android Devices $150 shipped (Reg. $179)
Bluetooth Speakers: Sony Portable NFC system: $98 shipped (Reg. $150), more
iPad Deals: iPad Air 64GB WiFi $580 (Reg. $699), free $50 gift card w/ iPad Air, more
LifeProof frē water/shock proof case cover for iPad Air: $66 shipped (Reg. $110)
Printers: Canon Portable w/ AirPrint $75 (Reg. $100), HP All-in-One $230 (Reg. $300)
Up to 30% off MacPaw apps: Gemini, Hider 2, CleanMyMac, more
OtterBox Commuter Series for iPhone 5c (multiple colors): $17 shipped (Reg. $35)
Samsung 32-Inch 1080p 60Hz Smart LED HDTV $260 shipped (orig. $499)
Take $100 off any Verizon smartphone priced $200 or more with a new 2-yr agreement
Infinity Blade II goes free for a limited time (Reg. $7)
RadioShack offers $79 iPhone 5s on contract, $30 iPhone 5c, or free with trade-in
Synology DiskStation 2-Bay NAS (DS214+): $300 shipped (Reg. up to $440)
uNu DX iPhone 5/5s 2300mAh MFi Battery Case (white): $50 shipped (Reg. $90)
$50 of Brookstone credit for $25 (online and in-store)
$400 Off Home Solar Power systems from SolarCity with Free Installation

New products/useful info:

Giveaways presented by SlickWraps: Apple TV, $100 iTunes gift card, $50 SlickWraps gift card, more

The above contest is now over, congratulations to our winners: @Jemarch86, @austinkeith and @robertburnspr – stay tuned for more great giveaways…

Become an Adorama VIP for FREE ($149 Value)
Apple acquisition: Beats tries to solidify its high end (sound) rep with new Solo2 cans
Take $150 off early 2014 MacBook Airs (requires .edu email), deals from $750 (up to 17% off)

Microsoft/Google/Android:

Amazon Fire TV and Kindle Fire HDX 7″ 16GB Bundle $249 shipped (Reg. $328)
More than 50% off select ‘Scroogled’ apparel
Sonos product w/ get six months of FREE Google Play Music ($60 value)
The Hisense H6 is a 55-inch Android-powered TV priced under $650

Flappy Bird recreated in Swift, Apple’s programming language announced just hours ago

Zac Hall Jun 3 2014 - 9:17 am PT

2 Comments

Okay, it may just be Flappy Bird, the addictive game that once took over the news cycle for days and still threatens to return again some day, but the thing here is it was written in Apple’s new programming language for developers called Swift. What’s so special about that? Swift was only announced yesterday, less than 24 hours ago, so what this simple Flappy Bird clone really means is Swift is off to a good start given its only a few hours old. You can view the code for the Swift version of Flappy Bird by Nate Murray on Github, and read more about Apple’s new programming language Swift on iBooks.

Creators of Alfred say OS X Yosemite’s Spotlight is not another case of the Sherlocks

Zac Hall Jun 3 2014 - 8:25 am PT

7 Comments

Sherlocked. It’s a word that often gets thrown around after Apple casually integrates a feature offered by some other software into one of its operating systems. Its origin goes back to a time before OS X’s Spotlight feature when Sherlock was the Internet and file search software offered by Apple. Watson, at the time, was a third party utility by Karelia Software that offered very similar functionality, and one of Apple’s versions of Sherlock closely resembled the popular Watson.

Yesterday Apple introduced a more powerful version of Spotlight on OS X after quite a while of letting the feature remain unchanged. The easiest way to describe the updated version of Spotlight is to compare it to the popular Mac utility Alfred. For this reason, several Alfred users voiced concern about Alfred’s fate going forward, enough people that its creators addressed Alfred’s place in a Yosemite world on their blog:

A few users have voiced concerns that Spotlight in Yosemite looks more like Alfred, and wonder whether this changes anything for Alfred and his future.

What you have to remember is that Spotlight’s primary objective is to search your files and a small handful of pre-determined web sources. Meanwhile, Alfred’s primary objective is to make you more productive on your Mac with exceptional and powerful features like Clipboard History, System commands, iTunes Mini Player, 1Password bookmarks, Terminal integration, fully bespoke and customisable user-created workflows and much, much more.

Their message is very similar to last year’s WWDC when Apple introduced its iCloud Keychain which closely resembles a specific feature of 1Password and similar apps. 1Password has since shipped several updates adding new features to its software on the Mac, iPhone, and iPad, and it sounds like Alfred is planning to do just the same.

In fact, we’ve been working on some pretty special and truly amazing new features that you’ll hear about over the next few months. We think these will blow your mind and can’t wait to tell you more.

Here are all 24 new dictation languages arriving in iOS 8 & OS X Yosemite

Jordan Kahn Jun 3 2014 - 6:55 am PT

52 Comments

During its unveiling of iOS 8 and OS X 10.10 Yosemite yesterday, Apple mentioned that it’s adding 24 new dictation languages, but it didn’t specify what those languages would be. Dictation, a feature available on both iOS and OS X, uses speech-to-text technology powered by Nuance to let users input text using only their voice rather than a keyboard or touchscreen.

Apple has gone from just 8 languages (with a few variations for some) to over 30 in Yosemite. In case you’re curious if your language will make the cut by the time the new operating systems are released this fall, below we’ve included a full list of new supported languages and variations by country:

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A closer look at iOS 8’s Health app (Video)

Dom Esposito Jun 2 2014 - 8:55 pm PT

17 Comments

Apple has officially announced its Heath app and HealthKit SDK confirming our detailed reports from earlier this year. The new HealthKit platform will allow developers of various health and fitness apps to have all related data populate within the Health app in iOS 8.

Apple’s Health app will serve as a central hub for all incoming data from companies like Nike, fitness apps, devices, and even possibly information from your doctor. Apple is working with the Mayo Clinic and other healthcare related companies to expand the Health app’s functionality and provide you with the most important information about yourself…

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Apple replaces Google with Bing search in OS X Yosemite’s redesigned Spotlight?

Jordan Kahn Jun 2 2014 - 4:14 pm PT

22 Comments

One big change for Apple with the unveiling of OS X Yosemite today is Bing web searches in the completely revamped Spotlight feature. Spotlight, which allows users to look up anything locally on their Mac as well as perform web searches, received a redesigned user experience in Yosemite, but it might have also received a switch to Bing from Google search.

To be fair, the “web search” feature of spotlight prior to Yosemite actually just defaults to the default search engine in your browser of choice. If that happens to be Safari or Chrome like it is for most users, that meant Spotlight would typically send users to a Google search results page if they hadn’t changed their default preference. Now, Apple is listing Bing searches– but not Google– as a feature of Spotlight regardless of the default option (pictured above). We’ve yet to confirm that Bing is the only web search option for Spotlight in OS X Yosemite, as we’ve not yet been able to get the new Spotlight web search feature to work properly in the first beta.

While Spotlight is going to use Bing, Apple’s revamped search bar in Safari still uses Google as does iOS 8. Its easy to imagine Apple is only continuing to use Google search in Safari due to contractual agreements, but it’s harder to imagine it just decided to use Bing for Spotlight with no plans to possibly use it in its other products down the road.
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9to5Toys Last Call: free Amazon credit w/ Sonos, Netatmo iOS weather station $150, Seiki 39″ 4K $400, more

Jun 2 2014 - 3:00 pm PT

2 Comments

Be sure to follow 9to5Toys to keep up with the best gear and deals on the web: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Get a $50 Amazon credit and 6 months of Google Play w/ a Sonos PLAY:3 or PLAY:5

Netatmo Weather Station for iOS and Android Devices $150 shipped (Reg. $179)

Seiki 39-inch 4K Class Ultra HDTV w/ HDMI: $400 shipped (Reg. $700)

Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro w/ Retina display 2.4 GHz/4GB/128GB (newest version) $1,100 shipped ($200 off) http://t.co/AiTm8p3UfP

— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) June 2, 2014

Other new deals:

New! Bluetooth Speakers: Sony Portable NFC system: $98 shipped (Reg. $150), more
New! Games/Apps: Diablo 3 $20, up to 66% off Batman Arkham (Mac), iOS freebies, more
New! LifeProof frē water/shock proof case cover for iPad Air: $66 shipped (Reg. $110)
New! iPad Deals: iPad Air 64GB WiFi $580 (Reg. $699), free $50 gift card w/ iPad Air, more
New! Up to 30% off MacPaw apps: Gemini, Hider 2, CleanMyMac, more
New! Printers: Canon Portable w/ AirPrint $75 (Reg. $100), HP All-in-One $230 (Reg. $300)
New! Daily Deals: Beats by Dre Solo Headphones: $80, Pioneer 4K Receiver: $250, more
New! More than 50% off select ‘Scroogled’ apparel

New Daily Deals: Jawbone JAMBOX $75 (Reg. $150), Samsung EVO 250GB SSD $135 (Reg. $190), Chromecast $30 (Reg. $35) http://t.co/VcMQkuVJC5

— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) June 2, 2014

More deals still alive:

OtterBox Commuter Series for iPhone 5c (multiple colors): $17 shipped (Reg. $35)
Samsung 32-Inch 1080p 60Hz Smart LED HDTV $260 shipped (orig. $499)
Take $100 off any Verizon smartphone priced $200 or more with a new 2-yr agreement
Infinity Blade II goes free for a limited time (Reg. $7)
RadioShack offers $79 iPhone 5s on contract, $30 iPhone 5c, or free with trade-in
Synology DiskStation 2-Bay NAS (DS214+): $300 shipped (Reg. up to $440)
uNu DX iPhone 5/5s 2300mAh MFi Battery Case (white): $50 shipped (Reg. $90)
$50 of Brookstone credit for $25 (online and in-store)
$400 Off Home Solar Power systems from SolarCity with Free Installation
Amazon Fire TV and Kindle Fire HDX 7″ 16GB Bundle $249 shipped (Reg. $328)
Beats by Dre Pill XL portable BT speaker w/$50 Amazon GC: $253 shipped ($350 value)

New products/useful info:

Giveaways presented by SlickWraps: Apple TV, $100 iTunes gift card, $50 SlickWraps gift card, more

The above contest is now over, congratulations to our winners: @Jemarch86, @austinkeith and @robertburnspr – stay tuned for more great giveaways…

Become an Adorama VIP for FREE ($149 Value)
Apple acquisition: Beats tries to solidify its high end (sound) rep with new Solo2 cans
Take $150 off early 2014 MacBook Airs (requires .edu email), deals from $750 (up to 17% off)

Microsoft/Google/Android:

Sonos product w/ get six months of FREE Google Play Music ($60 value)
The Hisense H6 is a 55-inch Android-powered TV priced under $650

Apple updates WWDC iPhone & iPad app w/ video download support, bug fixes

Zac Hall Jun 2 2014 - 1:43 pm PT

0 Comments

Apple has released WWDC 2.1 for iOS bringing with it the ability to download session videos. Previously, viewing session videos required an active connection to the Internet and watching videos over again required a stream as well. The update also includes bug fixes according to the release notes. WWDC for iPhone and iPad is available for free on the App Store.

https://twitter.com/gregbarbosa/status/473585851180777472

Apple opens up Touch ID fingerprint sensor to third-party app developers

Jordan Kahn Jun 2 2014 - 11:36 am PT

4 Comments

Apple just announced during its WWDC keynote that it’s opening up its Touch ID fingerprint sensor on the iPhone to third-party app developers. Apple showed off the personal finance management app Mint (pictured above) using the Touch ID feature to allow users to login instead of using the keyboard to enter a password. Previously Apple limited this feature to its own App Store and iTunes purchases as well as unlocking the device itself.

Apple also shared some stats on Touch ID noting that it has improved security by getting a much higher number of users using a passcode to protect their device:
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Apple announces new iCloud pricing: 5GB free, 20GB for $1/month, 200GB for $4/month, up to 1TB

Jordan Kahn Jun 2 2014 - 11:23 am PT

8 Comments

Apple just announced new iCloud pricing coming soon to compliment a ton of new cloud features unveiled for iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite today.

The new pricing starts with the same free 5GB for all users and introduces a new 20GB for $1/month tier as well as a 200GB for $4/month tier. Currently Apple offers 5GB for free and charges $20.00 for an extra 10GB, $40 for an extra 20GB, or $100 for 50GB per month.

Apple didn’t say exactly when it would be flipping the switch on the new prices, but it did confirm that tiers up to 1TB will be available under its new pricing scheme.

Apple officially introduces iOS 8 “Healthkit” platform & “Health” app

Jordan Kahn Jun 2 2014 - 11:13 am PT

7 Comments

Following our reports earlier this year that exclusively revealed details and screenshots of Apple’s Healthbook app, Apple today just officially announced the app confirming the details of our reports. Apple’s new platform, codenamed Healthbook, will be officially known as ‘HealthKit’ on the developer side of things, and will come with an accompanying app for iOS 8 called ‘Health’.
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Review: VoiceSnap allows you to control your iOS camera remotely with voice commands [giveaway]

May 31 2014 - 12:00 pm PT

0 Comments

VoiceSnap, a new app from MocaApps LLC, allows you to take photos using voice commands on an iPhone or other iOS device. Rich in features, the app is very customizable and includes the settings needed to make it an effective solution for taking photos.

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Apple’s OS X 10.10 WWDC banner appears to point to ‘Yosemite’ or ‘El Capitan’ name

Jordan Kahn May 30 2014 - 2:07 pm PT

54 Comments

We’ve been watching as banners go up at Moscone West in preparation of Apple’s WWDC developer conference on Monday, and now the company appears to have revealed “Yosemite” as the name for its next OS X release. The image, however, appears to be of El Capitan, a rock formation in Yosemite and another name Apple has reportedly trademarked as “El Cap”. For that reason, there’s a possibility Apple could go with either the El Cap or Yosemite name for 10.10 on Monday”

The banner above (Via The Verge) shows an image of what appears to be a section of Yosemite National Park in California, as pointed out by our own Michael Steeber:
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1Password iOS app gets automatic backups accessible in iTunes, item printing, more

Jordan Kahn May 30 2014 - 10:13 am PT

3 Comments

Popular password manager app 1Password received a nice update today for iPhone and iPad that introduces a few notable new features and the return of one previously removed. Version 4.5.2 of the app now includes automatic backups of data that users can access via iTunes. It also sees the return of item printing, bug fixes and more.

The app also makes some overall performance improvements. Developer AgileBits notes “Sync is now much sync-ier” and “That pesky flickering while viewing an item’s details is no more.”

Version 4.5.2 of the 1Password app for iPhone and iPad is available on the App Store now.

What’s New in 4.5.2

◆ 1Password now keeps automatic backups of your data that are accessible via iTunes
◆ Item printing is back, baby!
◆ Sync is now much sync-ier
◆ That pesky flickering while viewing an item’s details is no more
◆ The report of bug deaths is *not* an exaggeration

9to5Toys Lunch Break: Samsung 32″ smart HDTV $260, GoPro HERO3+ Black $330, Giveaway winners announced, more

Justin Kahn May 30 2014 - 10:07 am PT

0 Comments

Be sure to follow 9to5Toys to keep up with the best gear and deals on the web: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Giveaways presented by SlickWraps: Apple TV, $100 iTunes gift card, $50 SlickWraps gift card, more

The above contest is now over, congratulations to our winners: @Jemarch86, @austinkeith and @robertburnspr – stay tuned for more great giveaways…

Samsung 32-Inch 1080p 60Hz Smart LED HDTV $260 shipped (orig. $499)

GoPro HERO3+ Black 1080p Cam w/ WiFi: $330 shipped (Reg. $400)

Take $100 off any Verizon smartphone priced $200 or more with a new 2-yr agreement

Other new deals:

New! OtterBox Commuter Series for iPhone 5c (multiple colors): $17 shipped (Reg. $35)
New! RadioShack offers $79 iPhone 5s on contract, $30 iPhone 5c, or free with trade-in
New! Beats Deals: Pill BT speaker refurb/new $140/$150 (Reg. $200), headphones, more
New! Daily Deals: Nexus 7 2nd Gen $140, iOS Remote Control Helicopter: $28, more
New! Games/Apps: Buy Watch Dogs get 40% off second game, Mario Kart 8 $50, more

More deals still alive:

iPad mini w/ Retina display 32GB WiFi $430 shipped (Reg. $499)
Infinity Blade II goes free for a limited time (Reg. $7)
Synology DiskStation 2-Bay NAS (DS214+): $300 shipped (Reg. up to $440)
Home: Dyson DC39 Vacuum $250 (Reg. $375), Dyson fan $100 (Reg. $200+), more
uNu DX iPhone 5/5s 2300mAh MFi Battery Case (white): $50 shipped (Reg. $90)
$50 of Brookstone credit for $25 (online and in-store)
Apple iPad mini 64GB WiFi in Black or White $349 shipped (Reg. $629)
Media: X-Men, Wolverine Collection w/ Days of Future Past: $25, more
1 year magazine subs: Pop Science $5, Macworld w/ digital $7.50, more
Sonos product w/ get six months of FREE Google Play Music ($60 value)
$400 Off Home Solar Power systems from SolarCity with Free Installation
Become an Adorama VIP for FREE ($149 Value)
Amazon Fire TV and Kindle Fire HDX 7″ 16GB Bundle $249 shipped (Reg. $328)
Beats by Dre Pill XL portable BT speaker w/$50 Amazon GC: $253 shipped ($350 value)
Samsung 840 1TB SSD: $429 (Reg. $850), Seagate 1TB hybrid SSD: $90 (Reg. $149)
Yamaha NX-P100 Portable Bluetooth speaker: $100 shipped (Reg. $200)
Motorola Dual-Charge 4000mAh Power Pack refurb $18 shipped (Reg. $50)
djay 2 for iPhone is now a free download for the first time, iPad version is 50% off
Toshiba 5TB Canvio Black USB 3.0 Hard Drive: $185 shipped (msrp. $300)
Belkin 20% sitewide coupon: Thunderbolt Express Dock w/ cable $184 (orig. $330), more

New products/useful info:

Apple acquisition: Beats tries to solidify its high end (sound) rep with new Solo2 cans
Eyefi Mobi 16GB SDHC memory card w/ 1-year of Eyefi Cloud for $100 shipped ($130 value)
Deal Analysis: Is the Kinect-less Xbox One for $399 a good value?
Take $150 off early 2014 MacBook Airs (requires .edu email), deals from $750 (up to 17% off)

Microsoft/Google/Android:

The Hisense H6 is a 55-inch Android-powered TV priced under $650
Download 5 free Android apps from the Amazon Appstore, get 1,000 Coins ($10 value)
Acer Chromebook 11.6″ refurb $100 AR (Reg. $200)
OtterBox Defender Series for Kindle Fire HD 8.9 $15 shipped (Reg. $80)

Google Play Music iOS app updated with editable playlists and more

Ben Lovejoy May 30 2014 - 6:26 am PT

0 Comments

The iOS version of the Google Play Music app has been updated, allowing you to edit playlists directly in the app rather than having to login to the website to do it.

Google has also introduced a few more goodies: Shuffle Artist, which does exactly what the name suggests, and a filter to show only the music you’ve actually downloaded – handy when you want to narrow your selection to your favourites.

Google Play Music is a free download from iTunes.

BlackBerry announces upcoming BBM for iOS update with easier signup and friending

Mike Beasley May 29 2014 - 6:26 pm PT

2 Comments

BlackBerry has announced an upcoming release of its BBM client for iOS devices that includes an easier signup flow and an improved process for adding new contacts.

The new simplified registration process will request only a name, password, and email address, as opposed to the current app which requires much more information. The update will also improve the process for adding new contacts. Currently users who get an invite need send their own PIN back to the other party so they can be mutual contacts. In the new version that step will be automated. Tapping the invitation link in the email will complete the entire process.

The update also adds new emoticons to the app’s existing selection. BlackBerry Messenger 2.2 will be available on the iOS App Store in the coming days.

Beats Music streaming service worth less than $500M of $3B Apple paid for whole company

Jordan Kahn May 29 2014 - 4:47 pm PT

5 Comments

With most agreeing that Apple was mostly interested in the talent behind the Beats Music streaming service rather than the headphone business, there has been lots of speculation about just how much that part of the business is worth. According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, it’s actually around $500 million of the total $3 billion ($2.6B in cash and $400m in equity) that Apple paid for the company.

The report notes that the $500 million valuation for the streaming service unit of Beats is actually considered generous considering the young service’s still small subscriber base. It has just 250,000 paying subscribers at $10/month contributing to the $1.3 billion the business as a whole brought in during 2013:
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Rdio music streaming service adds push notifications to iOS app

Jordan Kahn May 29 2014 - 2:54 pm PT

0 Comments

Subscription music streaming service Rdio updated its iPhone and iPad app today with one notable new feature for version 2.5.9: Push Notifications.

The new push notifications feature will allow you to get notified for a number of different activities within the app such as music that’s being shared with you, subscribers to your playlists, new followers, and more. You’ll also be able to select which notifications you’d like to receive if you, for example, only want to know when users share new music with you and not every time someone subscribes to one of your playlists.

The app also includes “various UI improvements and minor bug fixes” in the latest release.

Version 2.5.9 of the Rdio app for iPhone and iPad is available on the App Store now.

What’s New in Version 2.5.9

– Push Notifications. Get notified on your mobile device about the activities of your choice, such as music shared with you, new followers, subscribers to your playlists and more.
– Various UI improvements and minor bug fixes.