Half a million. Most app stores would be happy to have half a million users, but that’s just the number of apps Apple has in the App Store. And while they are bragging about their big swinging stats, Cupertino’s got another one to announce: over 100 million apps have been downloaded from the Mac App Store since its debut in early November last year. Wow.
2011 is quickly drawing to a close, and before we shut down our computers and get drunk for Christmas, we thought it would be a good idea to celebrate some of this year’s finest iOS games. We’ve compiled a list of our favorites and we’d like you to vote for the game the you think is this year’s greatest.
Following their annual holiday tradition, Apple has just published iTunes Rewind 2011, their list of their own personal best apps and games across twenty-one categories. And as usual, there’s some surprising choices.
During an interview at the Le Web expo in Paris this week, Google chairman Eric Schmidt took a stab at Apple and insisted his company’s Android operating system is way ahead of iOS in a number of ways, including affordability and choice. What’s more, Schmidt claims that in six months, Ice Cream Sandwich will offer better functionality.
Microsoft has released its official iOS companion app for Xbox LIVE users. My Xbox LIVE is now available as a free download in the App Store for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
The new app allows users to interact with their Xbox LIVE accounts and talk to friends.
There’s a lot to like about iOS 5’s Notification Center, but unfortunately, it’s not nearly as configurable as it could (and perhaps should) be.
If you want to wring more power out of your Notification Center, though, we’ve got good news: there’s a really simple way to turn Notification Center into a quick launch bar for all your favorite settings and contacts. Even better? Unlike many Notification Center tweaks, there’s no jailbreak required.
Evernote has release two new apps for the iPhone today, named ‘Evernote Hello’ and ‘ Evernote Food’, that will help the forgetful record and remember the people they meet, and the food that they eat. Now you’ll never forget the name of that guy who gave a talk in last week’s meeting, or that awesome meal you had with your friends at the weekend.
Apple has issued an update to its iBooks app on the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Version 1.5 of iBooks brings two major additions: a nighttime reading theme and full-screen mode.
The update also brings several new fonts, more covers for public domain books, pop-up footnotes, and a redesigned annotation palette.
Photo Toaster is a photo editor for iPad, packed with features and on sale now at a bargain price.
We eagerly waited for Mojang to release the much anticipated port of Minecraft for almost a year, and while we ended up loving Minecraft: Pocket Edition on its own merits, it was missing a lot of stuff from the desktop game, including crafting, monsters and more.
If you were disappointed by Minecraft: Pocket Edition, though, turn that frown upside down. A post on the official Mojang blog says that their future plans include bringing many of the desktop’s best features to the mobile edition.
Say hello to Voice Actions. She’ll say hello right back.
Voice Actions is a basic Siri alternative, available right now in the iOS App Store.
There are many other development tools available besides the free copy of Xcode that comes with every Mac. LiveCode 5 (starts at $99; $49 for upgrades), a development tool running on Mac OS X and other operating systems from RunRev, gets it inspiration from the programming language HyperTalk. It is designed with an intuitive user interface to make application development easier using a language that uses an understandable English-like syntax. You can use it to create your own iOS apps.
Weathermob is new and hip on the App Store this week. It’s a weather app with a twist – it’s social. Think of it as Instagram for clouds. Kinda.
This is iF Poems, a new educational app aimed at children, but with much to offer to grown-ups too.
Onmaway is a location sharing app designed to let you concentrate on your travels, rather than interrupting them to tell everyone where you are.
The revamped Google Search app for iOS, which we reported on yesterday, is a huge improvement on what went before.
It’s that time of the year. The busiest shopping day in existence is nearly upon us: Black Friday.
As Apple and iOS fanatics, we naturally look to the App Store for useful apps when life’s obstacles are thrown our way. The topic of Black Friday is no exception, so we’ve collected some of the best, free iPhone apps available to help you make the most out of your shopping experience this year.
Today’s – probably this week’s – Best Thing Ever is the amazing, ear-exploding wonder that is Brian Blessed Alarm Clock.
Mixel is a free digital art and social networking app for iPad. It works beautifully; you and your kids will love it. The only downer is its unfortunate requirement that you link it to Facebook. No Facebook means no Mixel.
Apple has made a subtle change to its App Store app for the iPad today, but subtle though it may be, it makes navigating the store a much nicer, and much faster, experience.
Evil Twin is a joke photo app that makes use of something called the Thatcher Effect.
It’s here. It’s Minecraft. And now you can play it on your iOS device. Clap your blocky hands together and praise Notch.
If you’ve played Minecraft before, this isn’t quite the game you’re used to. As it stands, Minecraft: Pocket Edition is a stripped-down version that removes what many existing fans of the game will say are the best bits. Don’t pay too much attention to the complaints, though, because there’s still a lot of fun to be had with what remains.
Fanhattan is absolutely the required guide for TV/Movie junkies who frequently view titles on the iPhone. Just like on the iPad version, the app acts as a gateway to entertainment — it gathers a heap of information about shows or movies that can be watched on the iPhone, then serves up that information in a super-cool, easy-to-navigate interface (that looks absolutely stunning on the iPhone 4).
(Photo by Adam Riggall, used with thanks under Creative Commons license)
Former Englishman-in-New-York Sting has been speaking to journalists to plug his solo career retrospective album, the 25 Years box set. And in his opinion, the music industry is facing another big change. The CD is dead. And its replacement is apps.
We’re unabashed fans of Mojang’s Minecraft, and we’ve been waiting forever for the popular block-based exploration game to hit the iPad. Now it’s just twelve or so hours away from being here, but for those of us hoping for the full Minecraft experience, think again.