Apps

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoVlNc2mEiw]

Parrot, the company best known for its AR Drone quadricopter, today unveiled a few of its latest iOS controlled vehicles including a smaller quadricopter called ‘MiniDrone’. We shot the videos above and below tonight during the official CES Unveiled press event and were quite impressed with the MiniDrone’s agility. Unlike its bigger brother, Parrot’s new drone sports removable wheels on either side allowing it to run smoothly along the floor, wall, or ceiling before taking off again into mid-air. It’s also extremely agile thanks to a number of built-in sensors, an auto-pilot mode, and a super lightweight design, as you’ll see in the video below.
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CES 2014: Belkin shows off app controlled WeMo lightbulbs, Crock-Pot Slow Cooker, & ‘Maker’ DIY kit

Jordan Kahn Jan 6 2014 - 12:10 am PT

2 Comments

Belkin is the official sponsor of 9to5Mac’s International CES 2014 coverage

At CES this year Belkin is focusing on expanding WeMo, its lineup of home automation products that allow you to control power outlets and connected products using an iOS app. We reviewed the company’s original WeMo kit, but it’s come a long way from just the socket and motion detector it first launched. Today we got a look at three new WeMo products coming soon, including: smart LED lightbulbs, a Crock-Pot slow cooker, and a new DIY kit dubbed “Maker”.
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Apple wraps up 12 Days of Gifts with free Rolling Stones live album

Mike Beasley Jan 6 2014 - 12:00 am PT

Apple has released the 12th and final gift in its 12 Days of Gifts campaign. The last free item from the iTunes Store is a three-track live album from the Rolling Stones—Sweet Summer Sun, Live in Hyde Park 2013. The album was first released on New Years Day and features live performances of “Beast of Burden,” “Tumbling Dice,” and “Doom & Gloom.”

This marks the end of Apple’s campaign for this year, which was the first time the promotion has ever been available in the United States.

Just in time for the NFL playoffs, Yahoo Sports updated with iOS 7 design, gif creation tool

Chance Miller Jan 3 2014 - 11:25 am PT

Just in time for the NFL playoffs, the Yahoo Sports iOS app has been updated with a plethora of new features, the biggest of which are a totally new iOS 7 design and a new “Loops” service (via TechCrunch). Loops allows users to search through a game, select a short portion of it, and create an animated gif with that footage, along with captions, effects, and looping. Right now, Loops is compatible with the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, and NCCAB, though Yahoo says it plans to expand support to other leagues soon.
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Anki Drive iOS app updated with new car upgrades, customization options

Chance Miller Jan 3 2014 - 10:44 am PT

Anki Drive got the ultimate endorsement last summer when Apple allowed the company to demonstrate its product on stage at its WWDC conference. For those unfamiliar, Anki Drive is a platform that allows hardware cars to be raced around a track and controlled wirelessly with an iOS device. Today, the company updated its iOS app with a host of new features, upgrades, and customization options. With today’s update, players can now take advantage of 20 new upgrade options, in addition to be able to further customize their car.

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9to5Toys Last Call: Western Digital 2TB HD $90, iPhone wallet case $7, Monoprice $10 off $30, Cowbom 20% off, more

Jan 3 2014 - 9:49 am PT

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

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Last Call Updates:

Onkyo TX-NR network A/V receivers (refurb): 5.2 channel $200 (Reg. $500 new), 7.2 channel: $300 (Reg. $600 new) + $5 shipping
Logitech On-Ear Headphones (dented box): UE 4000 $30 (Reg. $100), UE 6000 $70 (Reg. $200)

Western Digital My Passport Ultra 2TB portable USB 3.0 hard drive $90 shipped (Reg. $180)

iPhone 5/5S Wallet Case $7 shipped (Reg. $30)

Monoprice $10 off $30 Coupon: Save on cables, headphones, chargers, more

Cowboom 20% Off Sitewide: Save on iPads, game consoles, laptops, more

iOttie One-Touch iPhone Car Windshield/Dashboard Mount $12 shipped (Reg. $25)

Other great deals from today:

New! Game/App Deals: XCOM: Enemy Unknown for 360: $12 shipped (Reg. $40), Sesame Street iOS sale, freebies, more
New! Sony MDR-EX58V earbuds w/ in-line control $10 shipped (Reg. $30)

More great deals still alive:

Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Episodes I-VI) on Blu-ray $60 (Reg. $140) http://t.co/HAqox7WJd5

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

Kingston Digital 120GB V300 2.5″ Solid State Drive $70 shipped (Reg. $194)
Insignia 32″ 720p LED $150
Amazon Kindle Wifi 6-inch eReader: $50 shipped ($20 off)
Samsung Galaxy Gear Smart Watch $240 shipped (Reg. $300)
Free Month of Redbox Instant Streaming + 4 DVD Rentals Free
Pad & Quill: $5 off any product
Olloclip 4-in-1 iPhone 5/5s lens kit: $50 shipped (Reg. $70)
Mpow 12000mAh Backup Battery Portable Charger Power Bank $41 shipped (Reg. $66)
Dell ST2421L 24″ 1080P LED Monitor w/HDMI for $110 shipped
OtterBox offers up to 15% off sitewide
HP X2401 24-Inch ultra-thin 1080P LED display with HDMI: $160 shipped

Review: StorySkeleton, an iPad story-planning app and Scrivener companion

Ben Lovejoy Jan 3 2014 - 6:42 am PT

15 Comments

As you doubtless gathered from my recent Scrivener review, I’m a massive fan of the best Mac app I’ve ever used for creative writing. The TL;DR version is that I wouldn’t dream of attempting to write a novel in anything else. My only real grumble is that we’ve as yet seen no sign of the long-promised iPad version of the app.

I’ve used PlainText with a Dropbox sync as a way of working on Scrivener projects on my iPad, and that works well enough at the writing stage. At the planning, stage, though, I love the corkboard interface. I was thus really interested to see an iOS app that not only provides a very similar corkboard view, but which can export and import to and from Scrivener …
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Scanner Pro for iOS available for free as the first iTunes App of the Week in 2014

Mike Beasley Jan 2 2014 - 4:16 pm PT

4 Comments

Scanner Pro, the document-scanning app for iPhone and iPad created by Readdle, is available for free this week as part of Apple’s “App of the Week” promotion. The app uses an iOS device’s camera to scan documents, complete with real-time border detection for perfectly-sized scans, and stores them as PDFs in a variety of cloud services, including iCloud and Google Drive.

The app also supports outgoing faxes directly from the app, in case you need to fax a signed document back to someone. Outgoing fax credits are available as in-app purchases.

You can grab your free copy of Scanner Pro on the App Store for this week only. After that the price goes back to the regular $6.99.

Starbucks now supports redeeming Pick of the Week cards with iOS 7’s camera feature

Sarah Guarino Jan 2 2014 - 4:03 pm PT

11 Comments

Starbucks, this week, updated their iconic Pick of the Week promotion to take advantage of iOS 7’s ability to use the device’s camera to redeem iTunes gift cards. Before that, customers had to pick up a physical card featuring a promo code to redeem the Pick of the Week app and manually type the code into the iTunes Store. Earlier this year, Starbucks began offering the promotion via an App Store app. The pick of the week promotion allows customers pickup cards from participating Starbucks locations and download an app or other piece of iTunes media for free:

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CES 2014 to host iBeacon scavenger hunt w/ official mobile apps

Jordan Kahn Jan 2 2014 - 3:02 pm PT

Today, the Consumer Electronics Association announced that it will be using Apple’s new iBeacon technology to host a unique scavenger hunt of sorts at its International CES event scheduled for next week. Using the official CES mobile apps for iOS or Android, attendees will be able to collect badges for encountering the location-aware Bluetooth iBeacons placed throughout the CES showfloor. CEA is using a Bluetooth iBeacon development kit from Radius Networks (pictured above) and Texas Instruments’ SensorTag technology. It hopes the scavenger hunt will encourage attendees to explore more areas of the show.
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No Bible available? NY swears in politician with iPad Bible app

Jordan Kahn Jan 2 2014 - 1:11 pm PT

35 Comments

NewsDay reports Republican Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano was sworn in for his second term today using an iPad and Bible app when officials were unable to locate a physical copy of the Bible:

Addressing a standing room audience at Bethpage High School, where he graduated in 1980, Mangano took the oath of office on an iPad featuring a text of the Bible when a printed copy could not be located.

Not surprisingly there is much debate heating up online over whether or not an iPad and Bible app should qualify as a replacement for the real thing. Video from the ceremony is available here.

NFL playoffs! Some great apps and free AFC streams from CBS Sports

Jordan Kahn Jan 2 2014 - 10:52 am PT

According to a report from Broadcasting & Cable, CBS for the first time will live stream its coverage of the AFC portion of the NFL playoffs starting with a game between the Chargers and Bengals this weekend. In addition to the wildcard matchup this Sunday, the network will also live stream two divisional round games and the AFC conference championship. The live stream will be available to users tuning in on desktops, laptops, and tablets through the CBS website, but there’s no mention of mobile phones or apps.

While you may or might not be able to get the live stream through the official CBS Sports mobile app, there are a number of great iOS apps to keep up to date on the latest as the NFL playoffs kick off this month. Here are a few of our favorite NFL apps to keep you up to date on all the official news coverage, video highlights, customized team alerts, real-time scores and more during the playoffs:
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9to5Toys Last Call: iOttie iPhone windshield mount $12, tons of app price drops, HP 27″ IPS monitor $355, Blu-rays, HDTVs, more

Jan 2 2014 - 9:50 am PT

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

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Last Call Updates:

Sharp 32″ 1080P LED HDTV display $200, Insignia 32″ 720p LED $150, LG 55″ 1080p Smart HDTV $600 shipped
Amazon Kindle Wifi 6-inch eReader: $50 shipped ($20 off)

Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Episodes I-VI) on Blu-ray $60 (Reg. $140) http://t.co/HAqox7WJd5

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

iOttie One-Touch iPhone Car Windshield/Dashboard Mount $12 shipped (Reg. $25)

Game/App Deals: Scanner Pro: FREE (Reg. $7), Hotline Miami PS3/PS Vita: $2.50 (Reg. $10), Xbox One games $40, iOS Sonic & All-Stars Racing out now, iOS freebies, 3D Blu-rays, more

HP 27″ LED IPS Monitor w/DisplayPort, Dual-Link DVI & 4-Port USB Hub (refurb): $355 shipped

Other great deals from today:

New! Kingston Digital 120GB V300 2.5″ Solid State Drive $70 shipped (Reg. $194)
New! Free Month of Redbox Instant Streaming + 4 DVD Rentals Free
New! Samsung Galaxy Gear Smart Watch $240 shipped (Reg. $300)
New! Amazon Kindle Wifi 6-inch eReader: $50 shipped ($20 off)

More great deals still alive:

Pad & Quill: $5 off any product
Olloclip 4-in-1 iPhone 5/5s lens kit: $50 shipped (Reg. $70)
Mpow 12000mAh Backup Battery Portable Charger Power Bank $41 shipped (Reg. $66)
Google Nexus 7 (2013) 16GB: $200
Dell ST2421L 24″ 1080P LED Monitor w/HDMI for $110 shipped
OtterBox offers up to 15% off sitewide
HP X2401 24-Inch ultra-thin 1080P LED display with HDMI: $160 shipped

Google-owned Bump and Flock announce January 31st shutdown, app store removal

David Beren Jan 1 2014 - 7:01 am PT

From 9to5Google:

With the acquisition of the company in September, Bump and Flock CEO and co-founder David Lieb quietly announced last night that both apps were shutting down effective January 31st. According to a brief blog post on the Bump site, Lieb says his team is “deeply focused on our new projects within Google” and given that the acquisition appears to be talent-driven, the shutdown comes as little surprise.

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Tesla’s Model S App is 9to5Mac’s Best iPhone Application of 2013

Seth Weintraub Dec 30 2013 - 7:01 pm PT

41 Comments

There have been a lot of important apps released for iOS (and Mac) this year. As you can imagine, we’ve covered many of the big ones. But for me, nothing has been a bigger game changer than Tesla’s Model S App. I’m sure many folks will pooh-pooh the idea that an app that is for 30,000 or so households should even get mainstream coverage. But bear with me here. The company has revolutionized the ways in which cars interact with smartphones and these advancements will trickle into more car/apps over the coming years..

For those out of the loop, the Tesla Model S is a fully electric car that can seat up to 7 people, propel them from 0-60 in about 4 seconds and has a battery range of about 250-300 miles fully decked out. It has the lowest coefficient of drag of any mass produced car, has gained the best safety rating ever from the NHTSA and has more interior storage space than many minivans and SUVs.

Many have compared its disruptive nature and its charismatic CEO Elon Musk to Apple and Steve Jobs.
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Tweetbot for iPhone adds support for viewing photos in direct messages

Mike Beasley Dec 30 2013 - 2:24 pm PT

Tweetbot for iPhone was updated today to add support for viewing photos send via the service’s direct messaging feature. Tweetbot is one of the first third-party apps for iOS to support the photo feature, which was introduced in the official Twitter client earlier this month.

Unfortunately Twitter does not allow third-party clients to send photos in direct messages, so you’ll still have to use the official Twitter app to send them. The update also includes miscellaneous bug fixes.

You can grab Tweetbot for iPhone for $4.99 on the iPhone App Store.

What’s New in Version 3.2.1

– Added support for viewing images in Direct Messages. Sending images in Direct Messages is not yet supported by the Twitter public API.
– Various bug fixes

Fitbit app taps into iPhone 5s M7 motion processor for new MobileTrack feature

Jordan Kahn Dec 30 2013 - 9:41 am PT

5 Comments

The Fitbit iPhone app received a notable update today that brings basic tracking features directly to the iPhone 5s without the need of one of FitBit’s tracking watches. The new “MobileTracker” feature, which takes advantage of Apple’s new M7 motion co-processor, provides some of FitBit’s basic activity tracking features right on the device. The new feature, due to the new M7 motion co-processor, is currently only available on the iPhone 5s. The company is yet to make an official announcement, but with CES right around the corner we’d expect to hear more about the update soon.

As noted by the Fitbit employee in the tweet below, the update will allow iPhone 5s users to try basic features of the app before investing in the hardware.

The app also receives a number of other new features today including redesigned silent alarms, the ability to a set a custom water goal, and a revamped profile editor, tracker settings, and sign-up screen. A full list of what’s new in version 2.1 of the Fitbit app is below:

What’s New in Version 2.1

The Fitbit app now features MobileTrack which offers basic Fitbit activity tracking directly using your iPhone 5s.
Redesigned Silent Alarms settings. Set, switch, edit, and remove alarms faster than ever.
Set your own custom water goal.
Redesigned profile editor.
Redesigned tracker settings.
Redesigned sign-up and sign-in.
Tap on people in Friend Finder to see their profile.
Swipe on friends on your leaderboard to Cheer, Taunt, or Message.
Tap on tabs to auto-scroll to the top.

[tweet https://twitter.com/barrycburton/status/417710071804489728]

Google launches new Google+ auto-backup utility for Mac with latest Picasa update

Mike Beasley Dec 29 2013 - 10:33 am PT

The latest version of Picasa includes an additional bit of software called Google+ Auto Backup, as reported by Google Operating System. The new software can be used to automatically backup photos and videos from user-selected directories to your Google+ account. Interestingly, the app has nothing to do with the Picasa service, even though it ships exclusively with the Picasa app.

The app can save unlimited 2048px photos to your account, or upload full-quality versions at the expense of Google Drive space. It can also intelligently copy media from storage cards and other devices that are attached to the system. Furthermore, the app can be configured to backup all media to a designated location on the local hard drive, putting all of your backed-up media in one convenient place.

You can get the Google+ Auto Backup app by downloading the latest version of Picasa.

Tweetbot for Mac updated with several much-needed bug fixes

Mike Beasley Dec 27 2013 - 3:08 pm PT

Tweetbot for Mac was updated today to version 1.4.1. The new update brings a collection of sorely-needed fixes to some of the biggest bugs affecting users of the previous version, including the inability to see new tweets when they load, problems with multi-monitor setups, and direct messaging issues. It also includes all of the updates to version 1.4, including smooth scrolling on OS X Mavericks, quick-reply from notifications, and more.

The update is available for free to all current users. New users can grab the app for $19.99.

What’s New in Version 1.4.1

– Fixed the issue where you can see “x unread items” but can’t scroll up to see them
– Fixed the issue where direct message images would not load when clicked
– Fixed the issue with some users seeing hangs related to iCloud syncing or playing audio
– Fixed the issue where the main Tweetbot window could move from the secondary to primary monitor after restarting the app

Apple’s 12 Days of Gifts app offering free download of Tiny Thief iOS app

Jordan Kahn Dec 27 2013 - 11:25 am PT

5 Comments

On the second day of Apple’s “12 Days of Gifts” promotion, the app is now offering a free download of Rovio’s ‘Tiny Thief’ app. This morning the 12 Days of Gifts app was offering a free pilot episode of TV show Once Upon a Time, but Apple appears to have now switched the gift to the ‘Tiny Thief’ app. It’s unclear if Apple mistakenly offered the TV show download for a short period of time or if it plans to offer various gifts throughout the day as part of the promotion.Yesterday the 12 Days of Gifts app was offering a free download of Justin Timberlake performances from the recent iTunes Music Festival.

Rovio actually dropped the price of Tiny Thief from $2.99 to free a few days back, and the app remains available for free directly through the App Store as well. You can grab Apple’s 12 Days of Gifts app on the App Store in select countries.

Nokia: ‘HERE’ iOS Maps app removed due to iOS 7 changes that “harm the user experience”

Jordan Kahn Dec 27 2013 - 10:19 am PT

If you were wondering why Nokia’s HERE maps app for iOS disappeared from the App Store earlier this month, today the company has issued an official statement on the situation. While citing issues with iOS 7 that “harm the user experience,” Nokia unfortunately does not go into detail about specific problems with the development of the app for Apple’s latest version of iOS. It does, however, point users to the official web app, which is essentially the same experience the company wrapped into the iOS app minus many of the bugs users reported with the release of an iOS 7 update. No word on if Nokia will bring back the native app at any point, but for now we get the following statement issued to the TheIndianExpress (via Engadget):

“We have made the decision to remove our HERE Maps app from the Apple App Store because recent changes to iOS 7 harm the user experience. iPhone users can continue to use the mobile web version of HERE Maps under m.here.com., offering them core location needs, such as search, routing, orientation, transit information and more, all completely free of charge.”

9to5Toys Boxing Day: Mohu HDTV antenna $25, ZAGG InvisibleSHIELD/OtterBox BOGO, Belkin Thunderbolt dock $199, more

Dec 26 2013 - 10:21 am PT