Mobile Apps

iPad Owns Black Friday Mobile Shoppers
November 28, 2012

Apple's retail stores were bustling with shoppers this Black Friday, but this year, its iPad tablet won the day as the favorite mobile device for online shoppers to use while buying other things. Mobile shopping overall was on the rise this year, according to a report from IBM.

iOS App Turns the Dyle on Mobile TV
November 20, 2012

For more than half the nation, live broadcast television can now be in the palm of their hands. A new accessory for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad allows the devices to receive live broadcast TV feeds through a free service offered by Dyle Mobile TV in 35 markets covering 55 percent of the U.S. population. The EyeTV Mobile accessory costs $99.95 and is made by Elgato.

Stan Lee's 'Verticus' Starts With Awesomeness, Then Falls Flat
November 19, 2012

When I saw that comic book legend Stan Lee was involved in a new iOS game released last week, Verticus, I was stoked enough to drop $1.99 and give it a try. After all, we're talking about Stan Lee here, and if you don't appreciate his contribution to the entertainment world -- co-creator of Spider-Man, Hulk, X-Men, Iron Man, and more -- a new iOS game won't mean much to you.

Social Mag Flipboard Takes Readers on an iBookstore Tour
November 16, 2012

Flipboard, an iOS app that turns social media feeds into personalized magazine-like pages, added books to its repertoire Thursday by integrating with Apple's iBookstore. Users of the app for the iPhone and iPad will find a new books section on the software's content page. The section is organized into 24 categories, such as arts and entertainment, comics and graphic novels, history, and mysteries and thrillers.

Nokia's Mapping A-Team to Challenge Google, Apple
November 14, 2012

Nokia on Tuesday introduced a revamped maps application, Here, that will be available across several platforms and could compete with Google and Apple maps. The cloud-based maps application will feature LiveSight technology that offers worldwide 3D views, voice-guided navigation tours, and driving directions including traffic notices for more than 500 cities.

iCloud Revisited: My Mind's Somewhat at Ease
November 12, 2012

Last week I railed on iCloud and claimed that it was breaking my mind. I'm still sane, and iCloud isn't all bad. I've learned quite a few things as I've gone in, messed with settings, and tested the results. iCloud is sort of an invisible mishmash of services from Apple, and depending on what you own and what you care about, some, none, or maybe all of it might be valuable to you personally.

How Is Tim Cook Not Livid When Apple Steals From Children?
November 08, 2012

I cannot believe that Apple, my favorite company in the whole world, still has its head stuck in the sand over deceptive in-app purchases in games targeted at small children. Sure, I heard the horror stories about Smurfs and zoo animals and buying food and supplies with children tap, tap, tapping their way to hundreds or thousands of dollars of in-app purchases.

iCloud Is Breaking My Mind
November 05, 2012

In the history of Apple applications and features, there's only one that consistently makes me feel like I'm an idiot: iCloud. The problem is, I can't tell where iCloud begins and where it ends. I can't tell when it's working, when it's not working, and when I've just selected the wrong setting.

Shatner's Love for Language Shines in Shatoetry App
November 01, 2012

Have you ever asked yourself, "If I were William Shatner, what kind of iPhone app would I be?" I certainly haven't, but if I had, I would now have the answer: Shatoetry. Think refrigerator-magnet poetry, read by Shatner in all his dramatic glory, and you pretty much have the idea. Launching today, Shatoetry is Shatner's contribution to the app world, and it's a pretty good one.

Google Plants Voice Assistant Flag on Siri's Turf
October 31, 2012

Google revamped its search application for iOS this week, adding an enhanced version of voice search technology that could compete with Apple's voice assistant Siri. Voice Search is an extension of Google's core search engine that now provides contextual, intuitive, spoken results for voice queries and Web searches on Apple's mobile OS.

Atlas by Collins: Pretty but Plodding
October 30, 2012

Atlas by Collins is a globe-view app similar in concept to Google Earth. Similar, that is, in appearance, but if you really want a robust Earth-view app, don't bother spending the money on this one. To begin with, you can't zoom past about the 30,000-foot view without encountering a serious lag in the data loading.

Pocket Stretches to the Mac
October 29, 2012

The single feature I like most about Pocket, an app and online service that lets you snag articles online and save them for reading later, is speed. I've been using Pocket for iOS on my iPhone and iPad for months, and the interface is clean and the action is all fast. Idea Shower has created a native Mac OS X version of Pocket, thereby extending the Pocket-accessible universe.

Alright Already Apple, I'll Try Google's YouTube App!
October 22, 2012

When Apple gathered up Google's clothes, shoes, toothbrush, Maps, and YouTube app and kicked them off the Cupertino campus with its big iOS 6 boot, I shrugged my shoulders. It wasn't as if I spent hours each day with the old YouTube app anyway. But then I started missing YouTube and the old-school brown TV app icon. The app was simple, clean and uncluttered.

Passbook Is a Better Idea Than a Product
October 16, 2012

Passbook isn't so much an app by itself as a container for other apps' data, such as tickets, gift cards and coupons. The idea is brilliant: Take all of those loyalty and gift cards that clutter up your wallet and put them on your phone. Sprinkle in a little bit of location-based razzle-dazzle that brings up the card you need when you get to the store, and you've got yourself a pretty neat e-wallet.

Rockmelt for iPad Lets Pictures Do the Browsing
October 12, 2012

Rockmelt brought social browsing to the desktop in 2010 with an innovative Web browser, and now it hopes to do the same for the iPad with a new browser introduced on Thursday. Unlike traditional browsers, Rockmelt for iPad presents a user with two columns of floating tiles containing information that the user may be interested in based on past browsing. It chooses what to display based on an analysis of a user's Internet activity, social networking interactions, manual choices and other factors.

Bad Piggies Indulges a Little Creative Nastiness
October 09, 2012

The ever-popular Angry Birds franchise has spawned a spinoff, known as Bad Piggies. In this adventure, rather than playing the part of the birds who are trying to thwart the pigs' kidnap attempts, the player is cast in the role of builder of piggy transports. The app is accompanied by the familiar upbeat music and cheerful wacky sound effects Angry Birds fans already know and love.

Larklife Wristband - a 24/7 Personal Trainer That Never Quits
October 08, 2012

Lark on Monday introduced its new Larklife wristband, which is designed to track not only the number of steps taken or calories burned, but also food consumed and even hours of sleep. The principle behind the device is that getting in shape and staying fit isn't just about the time spent working out -- it's what you do the rest of the day as well.

Bizness CRM Homes In on SMB Prospects
October 05, 2012

There are countless of CRM apps for small businesses, Bizness Apps CEO Andrew Gazdecki readily admits. But CRM apps aimed at companies that sell to small businesses? Not so much. Enter Bizness Apps, which has launched Bizness CRM, a Web-based app, as well as native iPhone app, that is aimed precisely at this constituency.

Can Google Map a Path Back to iOS?
September 27, 2012

Google is reported to be working on a standalone map app for iOS, about three months after Apple replaced the original Google map app in iOS with its own product, for iOS 6. The news comes as Apple is plagued by almost daily reports of problems with its own mapping app. Whether Apple will approve a standalone Google Maps app for inclusion in its iTunes App Store remains to be seen.

iPhone Sales May Perk Up but the Maps App's Another Story
September 26, 2012

Apple's iPhone 5 is a loser, judging by the market's response. Apple reported moving 5 million phones in the first weekend following its launch, despite despite lingering disappointment in the homegrown maps technology it released with iOS 6. While other smartphone makers might have killed for that kind of sales performance in one weekend, Apple's stock fell after the numbers were released.