Apps

ComScore has taken a look at the most used mobile apps across the iOS and Android platforms. Though mapping is a crucial feature on smartphone and tablet devices, Facebook’s mobile application actually surpassed the usage of Google Maps on iOS and Android in 2012.

ComScore says that a drop in Google Maps usage occurred this past fall because of its removal from the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch with iOS 6. However, even though it still is behind Facebook on the list, Google’s Maps software once again picked up steam when it came back to iOS via the App Store…

Expand
Expanding
Close

The highly anticipated Mailbox alternative email application for the iPhone will be available in the “coming weeks,” according to its creators. Orchestra, the application development team behind Mailbox, calls Mailbox “the inbox reinvented for a world on the go.” We’ve been testing the application and feel that it truly is the reinvention of email for mobile devices.

Orchestra has also announced that the Mailbox application will be available for free via the iTunes App Store when it launches. The company says that it plans to keep Mailbox free “forever.” The company hopes to monetize in the future via a premium set of features. However, the company is yet to share details on what these extra, paid features will provide.

Because of the high-demand for the server/cloud-focused email app, the company has now opened up a user reservation system. You can reserve your spot in line for using Mailbox right now at this link. Reservations will be filled on a first-come, first served basis. Orchestra explains the reservation process:

Expand
Expanding
Close

News:

Temple Run 2: After launching the follow up in its popular Temple Run series late last week, developer Imangi Studios announced today Temple Run 2 hit over 20 million downloads in just four days on the App Store.

The game rocketed to #1 Free App just eight hours after release, and is currently the #3 Top Grossing App. Free to download, Temple Run 2 is the sequel to the mega-hit original endless runner, Temple Run, which has been download over 170 million times across the App Store, Google Play and the Amazon Marketplace.

New apps:

Cubase iC Pro: Released on the App Store today, Steinberg Media have launched “The most advanced Cubase remote control app” for controlling Cubase 7/6.5 from your iPhone or iPad. The app syncs with Cubase on your Mac or PC, provides a project overview, a mixer with up to a 4 independent cue-mix, and the ability to customize macros and key commands.

Connecting deeper to Cubase than any other app, Cubase iC Pro is the most advanced Cubase control app with a clear focus on recording, making it your very personal recording assistant. The project overview page and the mixer allow you to see your project as you know it from Cubase, while the key command page gives you a powerful tool to set up your most-used keyboard shortcuts and macros.

Updates:

Twitterrific for Twitter version 5.0.2: A big update today goes to one of the runner-ups in our Twitter app showdown. Twitterrific for iOS was updated today with a simplified reading mode, image previews in the timeline, and images without frames in the photo viewer. The update also included a ton of improvements and bug fixes:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Welcome to 9to5Mac’s new Smackdown series, where we compare the top hardware and software accessories for your Apple products.

If you’re anything like me, you’re constantly on some form of social media or another. You’re not a self-proclaimed “social media guru” or some kind of “expert” on getting people to follow you, just someone who enjoys talking to interesting people online.

For most of us, our network of choice is Twitter. But, when it comes to using Twitter while on-the-go, there is a ton of different apps to choose from. To help make this decision easier (and save you a few bucks in the process), we compared five of the most popular Twitter clients available for the iPhone.

Everyone uses Twitter for something different. The features you want may not be the same features I want. Whether you’re a long time iPhone user or just stepped into the world of iOS for the first time over the holidays, we have an app for you. If you’re a Twitter power-user, we got you covered. If you just want to read your timeline and keep up with your friends, there’s something here for you, too.

Expand
Expanding
Close

New:

1. DataMan Next: The same developer behind the popular DataMan apps for tracking data usage on your iOS devices is out today with DataMan Next for iPhone featuring an all-new design. The app lets you get real-time stats on cellular and Wi-Fi usage, receive threshold alerts, view usage by bill cycle, and more.

Updates:

1. Lumify Movie Studio version 3.0: The app that we previously referred to as an Instagram of video apps was updated today with a ton of new features including 5 new video filters, multi-track audio mixing, and a slew of new editing features.

2. Angry Birds Space for Mac version 1.4.0: 30 new levels and more in the latest update to the Mac App Store version of Angry Birds Space:

-Make a splash in 30 NEW LEVELS!

-Get ready for the ultimate underwater boss level!

-Three-star levels for 3 new bonus levels!

3. SoundCloud version 2.4.3:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Dolphin for iPad

9to5Mac has once again scoured the App Store for all the latest app launches, price drops, noteworthy news, and updates, and we have compiled everything in a roundup below. Check it out, but keep coming back as we continually refresh the list throughout the day.

Updates

1. Dolphin Browser for iPad | Free
Version 6.0 of this alternative mobile browser is now live and features a brand new design, one-tap share to social networks and email, saving options via Evernote or Box, Dolphin Connect, which is the ability to use Dolphin with Chrome, Firefox, or Safari extensions to send tabs, images, phone numbers, or directions between desktop and mobile and syncing capabilities for bookmarks, tabs, history, etc., across all devices, as well as Wi-Fi webcast to share web pages over wireless, and annotate options for drawing comments or pictures on a web page. Users can also now customize Dolphin and set the browser to open to a home screen or all tabs from a previous session. The latest version further includes various stability and performance improvements.

Download extensions for Safari: http://goo.gl/ZDWTq

Get more apps and updates below.

Expand
Expanding
Close

The introduction of the Mac App Store, at least for the Mac’s biggest game publisher Aspyr Media, hasn’t been entirely smooth. Aspyr recently outlined some issues with bringing multiplayer to Mac games due to Game Center and sandboxing restrictions of the Mac App Store, and developing separate versions of games for Steam and the Mac App Store continues to be a hurdle. An example is Borderlands 2. It took Aspyr just two months to ship the Mac version, but the Game Center multiplayer won’t arrive until sometime early this year. However, executives at the company promise Apple’s enthusiasm toward gaming on Mac is stronger than ever thanks to the Mac App Store. Aspyr also said it has much planned for 2013 in Apple’s store and remains platform agnostic, despite running its own competitive GameAgent store.

9to5Mac recently had the chance to speak with Aspyr Vice President of Publishing Elizabeth Howard, with input from CEO Michael Rogers and other execs, about the process of porting games to the Mac App Store, the company’s relationship with Apple and publishers, and the possibility of bringing iOS titles to OS X.

In case you’re unfamiliar, Aspyr is one of the biggest Mac game publishers bringing PC and console titles to OS X. It regularly leads many of the top paid and grossing charts on the Mac App Store thanks to high-profile releases such as Borderlands 2, RAGE, Call of Duty: Black Ops, and much more. Go below for the full interview and a chance to win Borderlands 2 for Mac.
Expand
Expanding
Close

When it comes to getting stuff done, I’m a bit lazy. I procrastinate a lot. I put off my homework, stuff around the house, and just about anything I need to do.

Clearly, I have a problem with procrastination. It’s not just that I want to put things off until the last second. It’s that I’m incredibly bad at scheduling and forget a lot of things.

Sometimes I create a to-do list in Reminders or put items on my iCloud calendar. Then, the night before those items are due, Reminders or Calendar finally shows an alert informing me that I have a very short period of time to actually do it. Of course, that means I end up moving the due date back, or just failing to accomplish whatever task is on the list. Essentially these strategies are useless to me.

Luckily, a new app called Finish seeks to solve this exact issue. The app was designed by two high school students frustrated with the way existing to-do list managers handled things.

So, did they pull it off? Did they finally design a to-do app that helps end procrastination? Keep reading to find out.

Expand
Expanding
Close

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fluKWYRC_w&feature=player_embedded]

9to5Mac has once again scoured the App Store for all the latest app launches, price drops, noteworthy news, and updates, and we have compiled everything in a roundup below. Check it out, but keep coming back as we continually refresh the list throughout the day.

News

1. Google Coordinate | Free
Google launched its Coordinate app on the Apple App Store, but it is a mobile workforce management tool for businesses and requires a Google Coordinate license to work. Non-consumer Google account users will need iOS 5.1 or later to install it.  The iOS app has an Android version, called Google Maps Coordinate, available on the Google Play Store. The iPhone version touts following features:

• Share real-time location. Google Coordinate enables easy collaboration by enabling businesses to leverage real-time location sharing in just a few clicks.
• Manage jobs. Google Coordinate makes it easy to capture all the information needed for a job and to assign them to your team members with instant notifications.
• Collect data. Google Coordinate allows the admin to customize the fields that the mobile team needs to capture and collect – from measurements to client contact details – directly in the app.

Updates

1. Angry Birds Space HD for iPad | $2.99
Version 1.4.0 is now live. Roxio gave the following update description:

The Angry Birds have landed in the weirdest galaxy yet! All the planets are filled with water, strange aquatic life and worst of all — Bad Piggies in boats! Use the unique physics of these water planets to set up some fun trick shots! Also, check out the brand-new power-ups: Flock of Birds, Space Egg, and Pig Puffer! HINT: Make sure to check how Ice Bird and Pig Puffer react to water!

The change log includes 30 new levels, an underwater boss level, three-star levels for there new bonus levels, the ability to use Flock of Birds for a pack of destruction, daily free power-ups, and Power-up specific leaderboards in addition to regular leaderboards.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Live from the CES show floor at the Las Vegas convention center, accessory maker Incipio just finished showing us their new product for iPhone. Known as a Cashwrap, and landing in March 2013, it is an NFC-enabled iPhone case that allows iOS users to take advantage of the ISIS Mobile Wallet service that officially launched in October on AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon for NFC-enabled Android devices in select regions. Incipio also informed us that it has teamed up with AT&T on the project—making Cashwrap AT&T’s ISIS solution for iPhone coming.

The product will launch for iPhone 4 and 4S initially and will be available for sale through AT&T brick-and-mortar locations for $60 to $70. Incipio’s full press release and a short video of the Cashwrap up close and personal from the CES show floor below:
Expand
Expanding
Close

9to5Mac has once again scoured the App Store for all the latest app launches, price drops, noteworthy news, and updates, and we have compiled everything in a roundup below. Check it out, but keep coming back as we continually refresh the list throughout the day.

News

1. Netflix | Free
Netflix and Warner Bros. Television Group today announced a licensing agreement today that allows U.S. Netflix members to get access to eight shows, as well as potential future shows, produced by Warner Bros:

Among the shows coming to Netflix next year will be “Revolution,” a drama for NBC from J.J. Abrams ‘ Bad Robot Productions set in a post-apocalyptic America which ranks as the #1 new series of the 2012–13 television season; “Political Animals,” the USA Network miniseries with Sigourney Weaver in a Golden Globe– and Screen Actors Guild Award–nominated role as a former First Lady serving as Secretary of State; “Longmire,” A&E’s top-rated Western mystery series based on the novels by best-selling author Craig Johnson ; and “666 Park Avenue,” the ABC supernatural thriller starring Terry O’Quinn and Vanessa Williams.

Get all the details in Netflix’s press release.

More apps and updates are below.

Expand
Expanding
Close