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Twitter for iPhone updated with in-line photos and Vine videos, quick-actions in the timeline

Twitter for iPhone was updated today to version 5.12, which includes in-line photos in the main timeline view rather than using photo links. Vine videos now show up in the timeline as well, although it seems other video services will still require you to tap a link first.

The update also adds buttons to quickly reply, retweet, or favorite a tweet without having to swipe or tap it first. The new version of Twitter for iPhone is available for free in the App Store now.

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9to5Toys Last Call: RAVPower 10400mAh power bank $26, Kindle Matchbook, Battlefield 4 $43, FREE apps, more

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

Today’s can’t miss deals:

RAVPower Element 10400mAh (that’s about 4 iPad Air charges) external power bank $26 shipped (Reg. $36)

Amazon launches Kindle Matchbook, offering Kindle versions of print books for $3 or less

50% off Final Fantasy IV for iOS, Battlefield 4 $43, Rayman Jungle Run $1, iOS freebies, more

In-ear headphone deals: Logitech 500vm $33, MEElectronics M9P $10 / Sport-Fi M6P $23

Western Digital Red 3TB NAS-optimized hard drive as low as $110. Synology DS213+ still $299… http://t.co/TiZzShYC2D

— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) October 29, 2013

Other great deals from today:

• New! Class 10 Memory Cards: Eye-Fi 16GB Pro X2 SDHC $70, SanDisk Ultra 64GB SDXC $44 / Pixtor 64GB microSDHC $44
• New! Fitbit Force Wireless Activity/Sleep Wristband pre-order: $110 shipped (Reg. $130)
  
• New! This Week In Entertainment: Eminem preorder, Toby Keith, Arcade Fire, R.I.P.D., Monsters Univ, more
• New! Kingston MobileLite wireless card reader/power bank for smartphones/tablets $45 shipped (Reg. $60)

The best deals that are still alive:

• Logitech Ultrathin Bluetooth keyboard for iPad/mini (Refurb.) $30 shipped
• Toshiba Canvio 1.5TB USB 3.0 portable hard drive $70 shipped (Reg. $100)
• Griffin PowerDock 5 charging station for iPhone, iPad, Android: $80 shipped (Reg. $100)
• Gateway 22″ Class LED Backlit 1080p Monitor $100 shipped (Reg. $120)
• $10 for $20 to Overstock
• Get a free Sonos wireless bridge ($49 value) w/ the purchase of any Sonos Play wireless streaming speaker
• The best Apple-certified (MFi) Lightning cables in various lengths, colors, and styles

Mac software bundles:

• The SuperStacked Mac Bundle: Over $3,000 Worth Of Premium Developer & Designer Tools – $49 today, but price increases everyday it’s on sale.

New product announcements & reviews:

• JBL releases new Pulse Bluetooth speaker covered in LEDs that dance along to the music
• Amazon increases free shipping order threshold to $35, Prime becomes even more valuable in run up to holidays
• Pyle Audio releases new mini Hi-Speed HD sports camera
• Synology introduces new, faster SOHO NAS w/ hot-swappable drives for $330

• Apps & Updates
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• iOS
• Facebook
• Android
• WhatsApp

Facebook announces it will revamp Messenger apps with new design, phone number integration

In line with my report from earlier this month, Facebook has announced that it will be revamping its Android and iOS Messenger apps. As we previously noted, the new apps have an entirely new design that is flatter and distinct from the standard Facebook application on Android and iOS. The Verge was given a preview of the Android version has some new features besides the new design:

In terms of functionality, there are a host of under-the-hood improvements to make sending and receiving messages faster, says product manager Peter Martinazzi. There are also some front-end tweaks that makes the app faster — especially on Android, where the SMS texting feature, which let you text friends who don’t have Facebook, has been removed.

The highlight feature, however, of the new apps is phone number integration. The repot summarizes the functionality as a WhatsApp competitor:

While Facebook won’t let you text a phone number from Messenger, the company plans to use phone numbers in a new way: to identify its users, just like in WhatsApp. Upon opening Messenger for the first time, it will ask you to provide your phone number. Then, the app can match you with people whose numbers you have, but whom you aren’t Facebook friends with. Facebook guarantees your messages will reach somebody’s inbox if you have their phone number.

The Android version is available as a test with a limited number of users beginning today and iOS in the near-future. Also incoming, we previously reported, are updates to the main Facebook app that integrate Graph Search, but Facebook has not confirmed this as of yet.

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• Apps & Updates
• Apps

Amazon releases Cloud Player app for Mac

Amazon announced today that it’s releasing Amazon Cloud Player for Mac, a desktop client for its Amazon Cloud Player service that was previously released only for PC users earlier this year. You’ll be able to store all of your Amazon and iTunes music, browse and purchase Amazon MP3’s 25 million strong song catalog to purchase new songs, and also take advantage of features like AutoRip for getting free digital copies of CDs or vinyl purchased through Amazon’s AutoRip collection.

Once uploading and purchasing music for your Amazon Cloud Player app through the new Mac App, you’ll be able to access your whole collection on any device through apps for iPhone, iPad, iPod, Android devices, Roku, Sonos, and Samsung TVs.

You can download the Amazon Cloud Player for Mac app for free here. The 45MB download is available for Macs running OS X 10.6 and up.

Amazon Cloud Player for Mac features include:

• One-place for all your music: Play your Amazon and iTunes music all from one place, even when offline.
• A music library that is always up-to-date: Cloud Player automatically detects and adds new music to your library even if you bought it from iTunes or ripped a CD. The app does all the work for you.
• An integrated MP3 Store: You can shop from the Amazon MP3 catalog of more than 25 million songs and discover new music with personalized recommendations, all without having to leave the app.
• AutoRip: Buy an AutoRip CD or vinyl record from Amazon and a free MP3 version of the album will be added to your Cloud Player for Mac library.
• Built for speed: Forget bloated players with extra features you don’t need or use. Cloud Player for Mac is lean, mean and made for your music. It’ll get you from launch to play in seconds.
• Music management made simple: Download your MP3 purchases automatically or with one click. Export your music to other music players. Create and manage playlists using simple drag-and-drop.
• Instant search & play: Find music easily and quickly. Type anywhere to search for an artist, album or song and play directly from the search results.
• Rich artist content: See artist photos, bios, tweets, and gorgeous, large album art.
• Anywhere access: Music purchased using Amazon Cloud Player for Mac is securely backed up in the cloud for free and made instantly available on any Kindle Fire, Android phone or tablet, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Samsung TV, Roku, Sonos, PC or web browser.

• Apps
• iPad mini
• 9to5Toys
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• Daily Deals

9to5Toys Last Call: Logitech/ZAGG iPad keyboards from $20, Anker 5-port USB charger $16, Logitech Mac trackpad $30, more

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

Today’s can’t miss deals:

iPad Bluetooth Keyboards refurbished w/ free shipping: Logitech Ultrathin $30, ZAGGkeys Mini 7 $20

Anker 5-port Family iPad/tablet/iPhone USB Charger: $16 shipped

Logitech rechargeable multi-touch trackpad for Mac $30 shipped (Reg. $60)

Get a free $5 Starbucks card with their new “tweet-a-coffee” promo https://t.co/SaTDJWKCBm

— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) October 28, 2013

Today Only: Free Redbox 1 day DVD rental (or $1.20 off game/BR) with code LTYN674T

— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) October 28, 2013

Other great deals from today:

• New! Apple authentic Lightning to 30-pin adapter (Refurb.) $10 shipped (Reg. $30 new)
• New! $10 towards Toys R Us purchases for $5: Save on Toys, Games, Electronics, more / $10 for $20 to Overstock
  
• New! Game/App Deals: Tiger Woods 14 Historic Edition $10, Xbox 360 Kinect holiday bundle $240, Calculator HD Pro: FREE, iOS freebies, more
• New! Apple 4th gen. Time Capsules: 2TB $170 (Reg. $299), 3TB $229 (Reg. $399)
• New! Apple iPad mini 16GB WiFi $280
  
• New! Griffin PowerDock 5 charging station for iPhone, iPad, Android: $80 shipped (Reg. $100)
• New! Pyle Rugged and Waterproof Wireless Marine Grade Portable Bluetooth Speaker $45 shipped (Reg. $145)
• New! Toshiba Canvio 1.5TB USB 3.0 portable hard drive $70 shipped (Reg. $100)
• New! Gateway 22″ Class LED Backlit 1080p Monitor $100 shipped (Reg. $120)
  

The best deals that are still alive:

• Up to $300 off Canon lenses and FREE accessories w/ purchase of select DSLR cameras
• Get a free Sonos wireless bridge ($49 value) w/ the purchase of any Sonos Play wireless streaming speaker
• The best Apple-certified (MFi) Lightning cables in various lengths, colors, and styles

Mac software bundles:

• The SuperStacked Mac Bundle: Over $3,000 Worth Of Premium Developer & Designer Tools – $48 today, but price increases everyday it’s on sale.

New product announcements & reviews:

• JBL releases new Pulse Bluetooth speaker covered in LEDs that dance along to the music
• Amazon increases free shipping order threshold to $35, Prime becomes even more valuable in run up to holidays
• Pyle Audio releases new mini Hi-Speed HD sports camera
• Synology introduces new, faster SOHO NAS w/ hot-swappable drives for $330

• Apps & Updates
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• update
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Clear iOS apps updated with support for iOS 7’s Background Refresh

The popular Clear productivity apps for iOS have been updated today with support for Apple’s Background Refresh feature new in iOS 7. That means your lists in Clear will now update more often, refreshing from iCloud in the background so they’re always up to date across all of your devices running Clear.

The update is available for the $1.99 Clear app for iPhone and the $4.99 Clear+ for iPhone and iPad now. Developer Realmac Software also teased that it’s working on other big new features for a future update:

We’re hard at work on some great new features for Clear – and today we’re releasing a small update to Clear and Clear+ to take advantage of a great new iOS 7 feature: Background Refresh.

iOS 7 launches your most frequently-used apps in the background throughout the day, allowing them to refresh their data. This means that, with today’s update, Clear will refresh your lists from iCloud to ensure they’re always up to date on all your devices.

• Apps & Updates
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• iPad
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NBA Game Time apps updated for 2013-14 season w/ iOS 7 redesign, new free content, and much more

The NBA Game Time apps for both iPhone and iPad have been updated today with a redesign for iOS 7 alongside full support for the 2013-2014 regular season and new content for both free and paid subscribers.

On top of the redesign pictured in the screenshots above, the apps add home and away broadcasts for every game and archives for each nationally broadcast game for those that have an NBA League Pass. It also adds new content for free users, however, including the Game Recaps, Team Video, Player Statistics, Team Rosters, and Team Statistics features previously only available to paid users.

Version 5.1 of NBA Game Time also includes alerts for live streaming videos and push notifications for League Pass subscribers.

NBA Game Time is available for free from the App Store now as separate downloads for iPhone and iPad.

What’s New in Version 5.1

Redesigned and Optimized for iOS7

Full support for the 2013-2014 NBA regular season

NBA League Pass subscribers will now be able to enjoy both the home and away TV broadcasts from every game.

NBA League Pass subscribers will now be able to enjoy archives from each nationally broadcast game.

Game Recaps from every game now free.

Team Video from every team now free.

Player Statistics, Team Rosters, and Team Statistics now free.

Live Video alerts let you know when we’re streaming press conferences and events live.

League Pass Push Notifications now let NBA League Pass users know when games they can watch get exciting.

Many performance improvements.

• Apps & Updates
• Apps
• iOS 7
• Dropbox
• Boxie

Boxie Dropbox iPhone app gains passcode lock, smart text selection & folder-by-folder sorting

Boxie, a new Dropbox client that was launched last week, is already receiving significant updates to make this an even more powerful alternative to the Dropbox app.

Boxie version 1.1 has a lot of behind-the-scenes improvements and optimizations. The update fixes issues with deleting items and offline access. It also adds support for more language including Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Dutch, German, and Portuguese. The new version introduces new error notifications when uploading items into a shared folder fails. It also adds automatic smart selection of text when renaming folders.

New folder-by-folder sorting options let Boxie remember your sorting settings for each folder rather than the app as a whole, allowing you to use customized views in each folder without having to change the view every time you change the folder. Last but not least is an important security setting that allows you to set a passcode to open Boxie, complete with customizable time interval settings and the ability to securely wipe local data.

If you have not tried Boxie yet, check out our in-depth review to learn more about all the features and benefits. Boxie is available in the App Store for $2.99.

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• Apps
• iTunes
• remote

New iOS Remote icon in iTunes tips upcoming app redesign for iOS 7

As discovered by 9to5Mac reader Nicholas, Apple’s Remote application might finally see an iOS 7 makeover alongside a redesigned icon that is seen in the latest version of iTunes (version 11.1.2). While many of Apple’s apps were updated yesterday, Find My Friends, iBooks and Remote didn’t see iOS 7 redesigns or new releases.

When adding a new remote to iTunes, the potentially new icon is shown in the device dropdown. It matches the grid system and looks like an iOS 7 icon. The app was last updated January of this year and currently sports an iOS 6 design.

• Apps & Updates
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• Fandango
• movie tickets
• Fandango for iOS 7

Fandango movie tickets app redesigned for iOS 7, gains improved search

Fandango, the popular app for browsing movies and theater information, has been redesigned to fit iOS 7’s new interface aesthetic. The new design is simpler and has lots of white space. In addition to the fresh design, the app includes improved trailer playback in the main menu, more powerful search, and exclusive video content.

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• Apps & Updates
• Apps
• Mac
• Mac App Store
• iWork
• mavericks

How to get your free iWork apps for Macs purchased after Oct. 1

When Apple unveiled its updated iWork suite during its iPad Air event earlier this week, it also confirmed that it would be making the apps free for all new Mac purchases. That means new Macs shipping with Mavericks would allow users to download Pages, Keynote, and Numbers– previously $20 each– for free from the Mac App Store. That offer also extends to Macs purchased on or after Oct. 1 and yesterday Apple made an Up-To-Date Program available on its website for those that purchased qualifying Mac.

Apple has instructions on its website for applying for the Up-To-Date Program, which requires users to enter their Mac’s serial number, purchase date, and provide Apple with “an electronic copy of a dated, itemized sales receipt indicating the marketing part number(s) of the qualifying product(s) purchased.” Apple will then send codes to customers within 24 hours of confirming the purchase that can be redeemed on the Mac App Store to download the apps.

For those that purchased between Oct. 1 and Oct. 22, you’ll have to apply to the program by Nov. 21. Purchases made after Oct. 22 will have 30 days to qualify.

Apple also says that the program is only for the United States (50 states and the District of Columbia) and Canada, but it’s unclear if it will have similar programs for customers in other countries.

• Apps & Updates
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• LinkedIn
• Polar
• LinkedIn Intro

Are LinkedIn users largely disinterested in its new Intro service?

Yesterday LinkedIn presented a new service called Intro that integrates LinkedIn contact information directly in your iPhone’s Mail app, but it looks like the social networking service is launching to a rather dismal reception.

According to a quick poll held by Polar, more than 80% of users answered negatively when asked if having email proxied was worth native LinkedIn headers.

Personally, I found the setup process especially unfriendly for the audience being served (it’s much more technical than downloading an app via the App Store). Of course, if you have no quibbles with LinkedIn mediating your email for the benefit of a little integration, you can try the service for yourself here.

Us?

This sounds like my worst nightmare “@MikeIsaac: linkedin basically integrating with the iPhone email app in a big way.”

— Seth Weintraub (@llsethj) October 23, 2013

• Apps & Updates
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• Twitter
• Vine
• Video Sharing
• social networks

Vine iOS app updated w/ ‘Time Travel’ editing features & ‘Sessions’ for saving drafts

Vine updated its iOS app today with a few new features that allow users to save and maintain multiple drafts of posts and edit their vines before posting.

The first new feature Vine is calling “Sessions.” These are essentially drafts of posts that you can save and access for future editing before posting:

Save any post and come back to it later –– work on up to ten posts at once. Simply tap the new icon in the bottom right corner of your camera to save a new session or open an existing one.

Vine is also including new editing features that it’s calling “Time Travel”. These features allow users to “remove, reorganize or replace any shot within a post at any time.” Now, when shooting a video you’ll see a new green bar that allows you to organize shots as well as a new “Edit” button when in preview mode.

The updated Vine app is available on the App Store now.

https://vine.co/v/hpMLHZea65u