iOS - page 145

With access to over half a million apps in the App Store, getting things done on our iPhones has never been easier. So instead of running around like a headless chicken this Christmas Eve in a desperate bid to buy gifts for all your friends and family, why not sit back, stick your feet up, and do you Christmas shopping on your iPhone?

We’ve compiled a list of the App Store’s best apps for Christmas shopping that will help you plan, save, shop and send cards directly right from the palm of your hand.

Apple Giveth, and Apple Taketh Away. The Walled Garden approach Apple has taken with its App Store means that not everything you once bought is still available. However, that doesn’t mean you’re out of options for installing software that was previously downloaded:

Hello, I got the iTether app yesterday before Apple pulled it out, but my daughter didn’t get the chance to download it. How will I install it to my daughter’s iPhone? I back up my phone to my PC and I have the app in my file. Please help.

Rodante

Photo Toaster is a photo editor for iPad, packed with features and on sale now at a bargain price.

Did you love that gorgeous “Here’s To The Crazy Ones” letter press poster we showed you earlier today, only to balk at the $200 asking price?

Here’s a poster that might float your boat, especially if you’re an App Developer: this beautiful radial infographic shows off the last ten years of the iPod and iTunes. And if you’re willing to print it yourself, it could cost you as little as $99!

We heard it was coming, but now, we’ve got a release date: Grand Theft Auto III is coming to iOS next week!

One of the things that really stands out using an iPhone is just how smooth it feels compared to using Android. Where as Android is laggy, with a measurable interim between when you touch the screen and when the OS responds, iOS almost seems to anticipate what you want to do before your finger touches the display.

How has Apple managed this incredible feat? A better question might be: “How has Google managed to screw up Android’s multitouch so much?” According to Andrew Munn — a software engineering student and ex-Google intern — Android is so messed up that Google might never be able to match an iPhone or iPad’s performance. Ouch!

The next time you are pulled over by police you may encounter a familiar face: your iPhone. Faster than you can say “Book ’em, Dano,” Apple’s handset is quickly becoming law enforcement’s favorite tool for identifying unknown fingerprints. The iPhone’s touchscreen will even be enlisted by the FBI to spot terrorism suspects.

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.

Amazon is using its Price Check app for the iPhone to lure shoppers away from physical retail stores by offering tasty discounts that can only be used online on Saturday, December 10. The company issued a press release today in which it announces its plan to “incentivize” shoppers to buy online, “ensuring they are really getting a deal.”

Today’s tip is a simply one, but it’s a question I get asked a lot when people see the battery percentage in my iPhone’s status bar. The iPhone ships with this feature disabled by default, and Apple hides the option away within the device’s general settings. So, here’s how to enable it!

Hot on the heels of its Google+ update this morning, Google has issued another update to one of its iOS apps, this time in the form of a much-improved Google Shopper. Version 2.0 introduces Google Offers integration to the app, allowing shoppers to subscribe to and take advantage of the latest deals in their city.

Fruit Ninja is one of those titles almost every iOS gamer has experienced at some point — just like Angry Birds. And like the aforementioned bird game, the makers of Fruit Ninja are hoping to cash in on their popularity this holiday season with these incredibly adorable Fruit Ninja plush toys.

Ever since Electronic Artists (EA) started investing in the mobile games scene, the company has produced a flurry of titles that have been a big hit with Apple fans. With the combination of console to iOS ports (FIFA 12, NBA JAM, Dead Space) and original content made exclusively for iOS (Max & the Magic Marker, Fantasy Safari), EA has become one of the hottest game developers for the iPhone and iPad.

Now that we’re rolling into the holiday season, EA is starting to feel the Christmas spirit and has created a “Daily Deals” page that highlights new deals on their most popular games.

Having the Maps app on the iPhone is a lifesaver for me. Not only does it help me navigate my way around places I don’t know, but it’ll also tell me how to get there when I leave the house.

However, trying to read directions from an iPhone while driving isn’t ideal, and it’s certainly not safe. Fortunately, iOS 5 allows you to print your directions from directly within the Maps app as long as you have a printer compatible with AirPrint. Here’s how!

I’ve had to return three iPhones to the Apple store for the same problem since I began using the device in 2007. That problem was a faulty home button, which seems to be a common issue with Apple’s iOS devices after they’ve taken years of abuse.

This simple concept for a new iPhone gesture developed by Max Rudberg wouldn’t just prolong the life of the home button on your iPhone, but it would also improve the way in which we multitask on the device.

Although it is widely believed that Apple refuses to license its patents to competing companies, it turns out that’s a huge misconception. In fact, the company licenses a patent covering iOS touch-based scrolling to the likes of IBM and Nokia, and it offered the same deal to rival Samsung, who wasn’t at all interested. If it had taken Apple up on the offer, however, it could have spared the Korean company a whole load of trouble in court.

Following its debut on the iPhone 4S back in October, it seems every iOS user wants to get their hands on Siri. A number of developers have attempted to port the feature to older devices, but because it needs to talk to Apple’s servers to function properly, they’ve had little success. Until now!

A fully functional (and possibly illegal) version of Siri has made its way to the jailbroken iPhone 4 via Cydia.

It’s Monday morning, and oh gawd, I need this: a faucet of espresso I can just pour into a cup by pulling my iPhone out and launching an app.

Everyone knows that OS X has code names, and how they work: each version of OS X comes branded as a carnivorous big cat, ranked from smallest to largest. Likewise, Android’s got code names up their wazoo, twee little monikers taken from the realm of desserts like Gingerbread, Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich.

But did you know that iOS has code names too? They aren’t publicized, but internally, Apple refers to the latest version of iOS by a number of cool monikers.

Ever wondered how long you spend on your iPhone playing Angry Birds, or watching videos on YouTube? Well, if your device is jailbroken, there’s a handy new tweak called App Stat that will tell you exactly how much time you put into each app.

I think I mentioned in a previous post that I have a worrying addition to Call of Duty, and I love having the opportunity to get my fix on iOS when I’m away from home. I’m a huge fan of Call of Duty: Zombies, which has been available for the iPhone and the iPad for some time. But now it has a successor called Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies… and it’s awesome.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrsoluSjuKc

Hey Geronimo, an indie-pop band from Australia, have brought a number of iOS games to life for their latest music video that sees titles like Plants vs. Zombies, Flight Control, Cut the Rope, and, of course, Angry Birds played in the real world.

The humorous clip perfectly suits the band’s famously kooky image, and I think you’ll love it if you’ve played any one of these releases before.

[via VG24/7]

With the recent controversy surrounding Carrier IQ, U.S. Senator Al Franken has jumped back into the fight for privacy and sent an open letter yesterday to Carrier IQ asking the company to answer a number of questions concerning the company’s key-logger and data logging software. Senator Franken’s letter contains 11 pointed questions mostly asking why the company logs information, what type of information they’re tracking, who receives the information, and how is it used?

Carrier IQ’s software is currently running on millions of smartphones in the U.S. Apple released a statement on Thursday promising to eradicate all traces of Carrier IQ’s software with a new software update. Android manufacturer HTC released a statement today blaming carriers for the inclusion of CarrierIQ on their phones. Samsung also released a similar statement.

Thanks to the success of Apple’s iOS devices and its iTunes music store, the company’s iTunes software is installed on more than 250 Million Macs and PCs all over the world, making it one of the most popular media players available. It may not have been so popular, however, had users known it came with a security flaw that allowed government intelligence agencies and the police to monitor them.

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.