Apps

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9to5Mac once again gathered the most noteworthy apps that announced news, launched, updated, or went on sale recently and added them in our usual roundup below.

Today’s selection includes a new Japan-only app by Nintendo, updates to popular games like Kingdom Rush HD, and notable iOS and Mac app price drops including big cuts by TomTom for its popular line of GPS apps. Keep checking back for more, though, as we continually update this list throughout the day.

New

1. Pokédex | 170 Yen (about $2.06 USD)

Japan-based Nintendo just released its first paid iOS app, called “Pokédex“, in its home country. According to EuroGamer, a version of the existing 3DS Pokédex app is available for iPhone, iPad, and iPhone in Japan’s App Store. The Pokédex app is initially Japan-only, but it comes with the full Pokémon encyclopedia, and users could purchase four additional monster packs for about $6.18 USD each. The paid app is not Nintendo’s sole iOS app, however, as the game developer also released a Japan-only free app, called “Pokémon Say Tap“, for a limited time last year.

Check out more below.

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Soon after Facebook issued a fairly major update to its iOS application, social network Twitter has released an update to its iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch application with new features for the Discovery tab, searching, and account management.

• Discovery: A personalized stream of tweets that are tailored to users’ interests are now in the Discover tab. Additionally, for easier engagement, article, photo, and video previews are now present in the tab.
• Improved search: Now at the top of your search results will be a stream of photos that are relevant to your query. Additionally, like with the updated Discover tab, media previews will be present.
• Account management: Password reseting and follower management (for those with private Twitter accounts) are present for the first time in the iOS app.

Twitter also says general improvements and bug fixes are present in this 5.1 release.

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After updating its iOS app with new messaging features, multiple photo sharing, and Facebook Gifts in version 5.1 earlier this month, Facebook just released a new version of the iOS app with more new features. Facebook updated the app’s news feed to include a new Share link for reposting stories and a button next to News Feed in the left sidebar to sort your feed. Other improvements in version 5.2 include the ability to tag people in any post, comment, or photo and new heart and smiley emojis in messages.

What’s New in Version 5.2:

Now you can share the best stories from your news feed with just one tap.
• New Share link to re-post stories from your news feed
• Tag your friends in any post, comment or photo
• Smileys, hearts and other emoji in messages
• To sort your feed, tap the button next to News Feed in the left sidebar
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[slideshow]

9to5Mac once again gathered the most noteworthy apps that announced news, launched, updated, or went on sale recently and added them in our usual roundup below.

Today’s selection includes an iPhone music-mixing app by Algoriddim, an updated app from Disney, a new episode for the Walking Dead game, price drops for many official PAC-MAN games, and notable Mac apps sales for Call of Duty 4, Tomb Raider: Underworld, and more. Keep checking back for more, as we continually update this list throughout the day.

New

1. vjay for iPhone | 99 cents
Algoriddim, the developer behind the popular djay apps for iPad, iPhone, and Mac, as well as vjay for iPad, just released an iPhone version of its vjay app. The “mashup machine for your music and videos” launched at introductory sale price, and it essentially brought the same functionality as the iPad version with the following feature highlights:

• Media Access
• Real-time video transitions, audio visuals effects
• Live Movie Recording
• Instant Facebook and YouTube sharing
• Support for external displays
• Built-in camera integration
• Integration with iTunes Store
• And much, much more.

Check out more below.

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Flipboard, the popular news reading application for the iPad, iPhone and other devices, now includes a Books category that integrates with Apple’s iBookstore. Flipboard announced the new category on its blog today, noting that the new Books category includes 25 sections of the most popular books from the iBookstore. “It’s like browsing in a bookstore, right from your Flipboard,” the company blog says.

Whether you’re into cookbooks or computer books, fiction or non, all of the iBooks pages have been specially designed and optimized for Flipboard. The books sections’ clean, white pages offer a well-lighted space in which to decide what to read next. In addition to a write-up of the book from the publisher and an image of the book, each “article” also contains a quick way to download the book from the iTunes store. Once you get it, you can naturally enjoy all the features of iBooks on your iPhone or iPad, including fully illustrated books like children’s picture books, art books, photo books and cookbooks.

The iBookstore integration allows users to read a summary of individual iBookstore books from within Flipboard. The app also provides an easily accessible button to download the complete book to the iBooks app via the iBookstore. The book reading feature is available in multiple countries including U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, The Netherlands and Brazil.

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Camera+ version 3.6: A ton of new features for the Camera+ iPhone app (as well as the iPad version) including Front Flash, Horizon Level for taking straight photos, Live Exposure to see and change exposure parameters like ISO and shutter speed, Accurate iPhone 5 Framing, and much much more. Both apps are also on sale for a limited time to celebrate the updates.

imo messenger version 3.3: We gave you a preview of imo’s newly redesigned app last week and now the updated app is officially available in the App Store.

DataMan Pro for iPad: Just released on the App Store, the popular DataMan Pro app for getting real-time alerts on data usage is out with an iPad version today. To celebrate, both the iPhone and and new iPad version are 50% off for a limited time.

Palringo Group Messenger version 5.4.1:

• iPad support
Palringo now looks amazing running full-screen on your iPad, with benefits such as a bigger keyboard and split panels for chat and contact lists.
• Updated Themes
We’ve thrown in a new “Dark” theme for free, and another for Premium Account holders. What’s more is they’ve been expanded to many more screens around the app!

Expedia Hotels version 2.0:

• Check the home screen for beautiful pictures of the best hotels deals near you.
• Lightning-fast checkout lets you book in under 30 secs. Faster than a TSA scan!

Deals:

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While a native Google Maps iOS app has yet to hit the App Store, Nokia said today it plans to release a new free maps for iOS under the “Here” brand in the coming weeks. “Here” is a cross platform effort for mapping applications that the company described as “the first location cloud to deliver the world’s best maps and location experiences across multiple screens and operating systems.”

San Francisco, California – Today Nokia introduced HERE, the first location cloud to deliver the world’s best maps and location experiences across multiple screens and operating systems. With the new brand, HERE, Nokia aims to inspire a new generation of location services and devices that make the mobile experience more personally significant for people everywhere… To further extend its location services, Nokia is launching a maps application for iOS under the HERE brand. 

The new HTML5-based iOS app, also called “Here”, will arrive in the App Store in the coming weeks and feature “offline capabilities, voice-guided walk navigation, and public transport directions.”
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Skype for iPhone version 4.1.2: The Skype iOS app finally gets official support for the iPhone 5’s taller display this morning:

-Support for iPhone 5 display.
-Bug fixes.

Adobe Photoshop Express version 2.6: A nice update for Adobe’s Photoshop Express iOS app brings new sharing and editing features including the ability to “tap to eliminate red-eye” and and make more precise edits with numerical values:

• Easily tag faces while sharing photos to Facebook.
• Share photos more quickly with updated sharing screens.
• Simply tap to eliminate red-eye.
• Make more precise edits now that adjustment sliders display numerical values.
• View animated Help content to get up and running quickly.
• Use the app on the latest Apple devices thanks to support for iOS6.
• Count on bug fixes, performance boosts, and in-app notifications for greater speed and ease-of-use

Overgram: Creators of the Over iPhone app for adding creative typography to photos and sharing them on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr & Instagram is out today with a free version of the app called Overgram. The free version provides 10 of the 225 fonts found in the paid Over version.

In only a few seconds you can add captions, quotes, jokes, memes, poems or anything else you can think of to a photo… STUNNING FONTS: We ♥ typography! We carefully selected 10 amazing fonts that will make your photos beautiful and engaging.

TiVo version 2.1: Official iPhone 5 support and performance improvements for the TiVo iOS app:
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NYTimes for iPad version 2.5.3: The New York Times has updated its iPad app today with optimizations for the new iPad’s smaller display:

– Optimized for the iPad Mini

Facebook Messenger version 2.02: On top of “other improvements and bug fixes,” Facebook has added the ability to give feedback about its iOS Messenger app from within settings:

What’s New in Version 2.0.2
– Visit your settings to give feedback about the app
– Other improvements and bug fixes

FX Photo Studio version 2.6:

– MacBook Pro Retina display support
– Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion compatibility
– New look
– Overall memory usage and performance improvements
– Color processing improvements
– Enhanced adjustment for all filters
– Bug fixes

Aperture 3.4.3:

-Addresses an issue that could cause a licensed copy of Aperture to prompt for a serial number with each launch

iDisplay Mini: A new iPhone and iPod touch only version of the app that allows you to use your iOS device as a second screen for Mac or PC is out today. Instead of getting the $5 universal app, you can get this iPhone only version for 99 cents.

Shazam version 2.8.0:
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In June, Google decided to update Google Play with a very useful feature for developers: the ability to respond to the user reviews attached to their apps in the store. The feature is an important one, allowing developers to respond to criticisms, provide updates on necessary upcoming fixes, and perhaps most importantly, communicate directly with their users. Google’s decision to introduce the feature made it clear the App Store needs to revamp its customer support—and developers agreed.

Apple has yet to introduce any sort major overhaul to its App Store customer support and rankings. However, Freshdesk, creators of cloud-based help desk software, introduced a product today that provides direct, in-app customer support for iOS developers.

The free “MobiHelp” SDK allows a developer to implement customer support directly within their iOS apps using a single line of code. This will allow developers to not just respond to comments in the store like Google Play, but also communicate directly with their users from within the app. From there, devs can view and respond to feedback inside of FreskDesk HTML5 app on the desktop or mobile:

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Parallels introduced a big update today for Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac. It includes new features for Windows 8 users, full USB 3.0 support, and improved Retina display settings. On top of support for Windows 8 tablet gestures, Parallels is including a Windows 8 tile that allows users to access shared Mac apps. According to Parallels, the update also includes faster USB 3.0 performance, an increased limit for virtual machines running large apps, and “Smooth transitions when entering and exiting Coherence mode”:

Now Mac users can enjoy new features including Windows 8 tablet gestures and use a Windows 8 interface tile to access shared Mac apps.  These updates, plus the already deep Parallels Desktop 8 integration of Mac OS X and Windows 8, enable people to also use Mountain Lion’s Dictation feature in Windows applications, add Windows apps to Launchpad and the Mac Dock, enjoy brilliant Retina display resolution for Windows apps and more – making Parallels Desktop 8 an ideal way to run Windows 8 on a Mac without rebooting.
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News:

Pay with Square at Starbucks: We already knew Starbucks was signed up to bring Square payments to 7,000 of its stores via the newly renamed “Square Wallet” app. Starbucks just confirmed in a press release that starting today it will officially begin accepting Square payments via a scanned QR.

Fantastical for iPhone: Those familiar with the Mac OS X desktop version of the Fantastical app will be pleased to know developers Flexbits have announced an iPhone version is in the works and coming soon. The Mac version is a slick, menu bar item calendar app for access to reminders and calendar functions, but also has support for iCal, BusyCal, Entourage, Outlook, iCloud, Google Calendar or Yahoo! Calendar. You can sign up to find out when it becomes available here.

New app releases:

Clear for Mac: We knew it was coming and today the Mac App Store version of the popular Clear to do app for iPhone officially makes its way to the Mac.

Jingu Friends:Originally available as a BlackBerry app with more than a million downloads since May 2011 and 3.5 million messages sent monthly, the developers of the Jingu Friends app have released an iOS version of the app today on the App Store. The app allows you to discover new people to chat with through a lounge environment that “immediately drops you into a global conversation stream where you can listen or participate.” From there you can find out more about the messaging apps participants use:

All messages posted on Jingu Friends are public, but users can take their conversations private through seamless integration into smartphone messaging apps like BBM, Hookt, WhatsApp and Kik.

Dragon’s Lair: The classic arcade game already made its way to iPhone and iPad earlier this year, and now the Mac version is available on the Mac App Store for $9.99 now.

FreshBooks for iPad: FreshBooks is coming to the iPad today with version 1.1 introducing a universal app that now supports both iPhone and iPad.

FreshBooks – The Fastest Way To Track Time, Organize Expenses & Invoice Your Clients, Anytime, Anywhere.

Updates: 

Pinterest version 2.1: Pinterest is introducing a new feature today that allows users to create up to three secret boards to share with friends and family. In a blog post, Pinterest explained how to use the new feature: “go to your profile, tap on the Boards tab, and scroll down to the bottom until you see a button that says Create a Secret Board.”

• Block or report other users
• Create up to 3 secret boards
• Edit boards from your device

Clear version 1.2: Clear for iPhone gets a big update today that brings iCloud support, the ability to share quotes on Twitter and Facebook, quick list switching, and more:
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=e54gK0UpAxs#!]

The Google Now-like voice recognition features introduced to the Google Search for iOS app last month have been getting a lot of attention. Maps might not be the only area Apple cannot compete with Google. As highlighted in a video comparison we posted earlier this week, Google’s voice search feature has Siri beat. And many users are taking note. Today, AppAdvice pointed us to a new Jailbreak tweak called “NowNow” that allows you to call up Google voice search (from within the Google Search iOS app) by holding down the Home button—just like Siri. It appears you can also select alternate methods to invoke the feature, so you should be able to continue to use both if want. The tweak is available via the BigBoss repository now for free.

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Xbox SmartGlass: Microsoft updated its My Xbox LIVE app for iPhone and iPad last night, renaming the app “Xbox SmartGlass” and introducing a number of new features. The app now works as the full fledged second screen “SmartGlass” experience for Xbox that Microsoft originally unveiled for Windows 8 devices.

Xbox SmartGlass lets you:
• Navigate your Xbox 360 with swipe and tap
• Use your phone’s keyboard to type to your Xbox 360
• Browse the Internet on your Xbox 360 with full keyboard and zooming
• Play, pause, fast forward, rewind, and stop videos and music on your Xbox 360
• Search the full Xbox catalog of music, video, and games
• Enjoy rich, interactive experiences from select game and entertainment content creators
• Track and compare your achievements with your Xbox friends
• Change up your 3D avatar
• Message your Xbox friends
• Edit your Xbox profile

Sparkling Maps version 1.1: Apple has decided to accept an update to Sparkling Maps that brings “vastly improved turn by turn navigation” and “better StreetView” powered by Google data. According to its developers,”This is now the first available app on Apple devices that offers streetview and turn by turn navigation on google maps data.”

Curiosity – what’s inside the cube: Developer of the Fable series Peter Molyneux is out with an interesting cross-platform title that is also now available on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. The game consists of users tapping away at a giant cube made up of billions of smaller cubes. Nobody knows what’s inside (unsold copies of Fable?), but users will work together across platforms to find out the mystery inside of the cube.

Deep in the centre of the cube is something life-changingly amazing, but only the first person to reach the centre will discover what’s inside.

Tweetbot for Mac version 1.0.1: The Tweetbot Mac App Store app was just updated with a ton of new features, fixes, and improvements. Included in the update is support for “Reading list as a Read Later service” on 10.8 and up, the ability to disable Streaming from within preferences, as well as better keyboard support in “people searcher”. You can also now navigate the timeline using the jk keys. A full list of what’s new is below: 
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