Out with the old and in with the new. That’s how Square is starting the week as it pulls one app from the App Store and replaces it with another. Square Wallet, the commerce company’s not-so-popular mobile payment app, is no longer available on the App Store as the company begins to promote its new mobile payment app called Square Order.
Although Square Wallet boasted support for “thousands of neighborhood businesses” including a deal with Starbucks, it never really felt like its presence was really promoted nor was it more convenient than traditional payment methods. In the case of Starbucks, its support came after the coffee company’s own smartphone app included mobile payments including support for Apple’s Passbook system… Expand Expanding Close
Square has just released a redesigned version of their Square Wallet, their local directory and checkout app. By opening up the application (or setting the app to auto-check in when you’ve entered your favorite store), the cashier can see your name on the Square Register app and take your payment without having to swipe a credit card. Prior to the newest 3.0 version, users had to open the app, find the store they’re in, and press the “Pay Here” button. Now, the last step has been taken out. Just tapping on the store checks you in and puts you on the customer list. For Starbucks locations, tapping on the location pops up a very large QR code that can be scanned to pay.
The new design is very media-rich, with pictures from the merchants taking front stage. Rather than having a table view of the local vendors, it takes on a gallery design to show the logos and products. This is definitely a much-welcomed update.
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.
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: Expand Expanding Close
News: