Facebook is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire mobile navigation app Waze for between $800 million and $1 billion. Talks between the two companies began around six months ago, and a term sheet has already been signed, according to business daily Calcalist.
Most Mac users will experience one of three reactions after reading the word “Rosetta.”
The first involves breaking into a cold sweat, and possibly hives, after remembering that Apple no longer supports the translator that ran all those old, useful apps written for PowerPC-based Macs after Apple switched over to Intel chips.
Option two, imagining the Rosetta Stone itself, the magical key to unlocking ancient script, stumbled upon by Napoleon’s troops
Or there’s an association with foreign phrases, mall carts and almost certainly the most recognizable name in language software, Rosetta Stone.
We’re focusing on that last one here, and about how Rosetta Stone has finally brought their language software, in the form of the Navigator series apps, to the iPhone — for free.
EveryThink, an amazing get-it-all-done-and-in-one-place app, has just updated to version 1.3.1, bringing a host of improvements to an already pretty great app.
The new update adds Dropbox to the already existing Google Drive support, meeting invitations from within the app itself, Siri Reminder integration, and Facebook support, which brings contact photos and Facebook calendar events in automatically.
New usability features have also been added, including a guided introduction to the many features of the EveryThink app, as well as landscape orientation, so you can hold your iPhone the way you want to and still use the spatial organization central to the app’s interface.
Rovio’s Bad Piggies game for iOS has today received a brand new update that delivers 15 new levels, new gadgets, and new features. Aside from the new levels, one of the biggest additions is the ability for gamers to record their best tricks and then share them through their favorite social networks.
We’re big fans of Clear, a simple and elegant to-do app by Realmac Software that has set entire new design standards across iOS apps thanks to its intuitive, easy-to-use swiping system.
The app itself is only $2, and worth every penny, but Realmac Software has teamed up with Starbucks this month to make the app free to all. Just follow the link below to get the app for free. Nice way to start the day, isn’t it?
Source: Starbucks
Via: Lifehacker
Google has begun integrating its notification center into Chromium for Mac, paving the way for Google Now for OS X. The Chrome OS feature was first ported to Chromium and then Chrome Canary for Windows back in March, but this is the first time it has been spotted on Mac.
Readdle is great at regularly updating its popular productivity apps for iOS, and today PDF Expert app for iPad has today received more than 20 new features and improvements. Among some of the new additions is a selection tool, the ability to copy and paste annotations, and a custom keyboard that makes it easier to enter times and dates.
After giving Gmail some link support for Chrome, YouTube and Google Maps yesterday, Google is now ready to help developers integrate Chrome for iOS into their apps.
Google just published a new blog post reminding developers of some new Chrome integration tools for iOS developers that will let users open a webpage in Chrome and then come back to the app with just a tap. Despite iOS’s closed system that doesn’t let users set a default browser, the new Chrome tools will let users have the choice to open a link in Safari or Chrome.
Apple has been facing a number of privacy issues and lawsuits in the U.S. for the last year or so, but things aren’t going any better abroad either. A German court ruled that Apple will have to change some of its practices for how it handles consumer data.
The Berlin court recently struck down 8 of 15 provisions Apple’s listed in its general data-use terms. The court found that the 8 terms deviate too much from German laws because Apple is asking for “global consent” to use consumer data without telling them how the data will be used.
Finding pizza late at night can be difficult. You go to one restaurant and it’s closed. By the time you make it to your next option you realize it sucks and there’s something better down the way. There’s a new app that’s going to change all that, and it’s called Pizza Compass.
Pizza Compass isn’t just an app, it’s a tool for slice success. The app basically helps you find the nearest pizza joint in a hurry. You can spin the pizza slice to discover pizza joints nearby and the slice will steam when you’re close to a good place.
You can share you favorite pizza spots with friends, find restaurant hours and see reviews so you know you’re not going to eat something that tastes like cardboard. It sounds like a silly app, but it’s probably the greatest tool ever invented for those that like to do some late night drinking on the town.
Check out the Pizza Compass promo video and just try and tell me you’re not excited to give into your next pizza craving:
For the last couple months the Internet has been chalk full of rumors that Apple is losing its edge, and that the iPhone isn’t as cool as it once was. Maybe some of those rumors are right, maybe not, but Apple’s ex-Ad Guru, Ken Segall, predicts that the iPhone’s biggest years are still ahead of it.
In a recent blog post, Segall speculates that the iPhone will follow a similar development cycle as the iPod. For the first few years Apple has worked on evolving and perfecting the device, but 2013 will be the year that Segall thinks we’ll finally get an iPhone Mini, iPhones in color, and maybe even a big iPhone.
The Boingo app for iOS now allows users to buy Wi-Fi using in-app purchases that are charged to your iTunes account. It makes it quicker and easier to get connected on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, and means you no longer have to navigate Boingo’s website.
The RunKeeper apps for Android and iOS have today been updated to add a number of new features, the biggest of which is support for the Pebble smartwatch. Users can now see all kinds of data, such as their pace and the distance they’ve ran, with a quick glance at their wrist while they’re on the go.
Foxconn has been forced to make preparations for life after Apple following reduced demand for the iPhone and other iOS devices which has caused the company’s revenue to nosedive, The New York Times reports.
The manufacturer has been doing well off the back of Apple’s hugely successful devices in recent years, which have been contributing at least 40% of its revenue, according to analyst estimates. But after suffering a 19.2% drop in revenue during the first quarter of the year, thanks to declining iPhone and iPad orders, Foxconn is now looking at ways in which it can be less reliant on Apple.
Viber, the popular cross-platform messaging service for smartphones, is no longer just for smartphones. The company has today launched new desktop applications that allow you to chat with friends; send stickers, emoticons, and photos; and make calls from a Mac or PC.
Rovio has launched a new service called Rovio Accounts, which allows you to pick up your saved games on any mobile device. So if you complete ten Angry Birds levels on your Android smartphone, you’ll see the same progress when you login on your iPad.
Rovio Accounts isn’t just compatible with Angry Birds, but other titles from Rovio as well. The service will initially launch worldwide inside The Croods, as well as in the original Angry Birds game for iOS in Finland and Poland.
Despite announcing the sequel to its hit game Plants vs Zombies last year, PopCap still hasn’t gotten around to releasing Plants vs Zombies 2. The “late-Spring 2013” release period PopCap originally promised is about to pass by, so they’ve officially announced that the new game is coming out this July.
Four years have passed since the release of the first Plants vs Zombies, which means we should get a treasure trove of new features, weapons, plants, and zombies once the game hits. We haven’t seen any gameplay footage, but we’re sure it’s going to be great. It has to be. And to make up for the long drought, PopCap says it’s also going to release a spinoff game called Plants vs Zombies Adventures that can be played though Facebook.
Here’s a new trailer for Plants vs Zombies 2: It’s About Time –
Even though we love the HTC One, there are really only two smartphone manufacturers in the world right now that matter: Apple and Samsung. The two companies have been fighting for every square inch of the global smartphone market, and have managed to take all of the profits in the process.
A new report from Canaccord Genuity shows that while some manufacturers made improvements in the March quarter of 2013, Apple and Samsung still account for 100% of the industry’s profits, with Apple taking 57% and Samsung snatching up the remaining 43%.
Despite being a bitter rival of Apple, Google still makes some of the best iOS apps on the planet. One of my biggest gripes against Google’s apps though has been if you click a link inside Gmail, it opens up a Safari browser version of YouTube or Google Maps rather than opening the app directly.
Google has finally fixed that big annoyance by adding link support to Gmail for YouTube, Google Maps, and Chrome. The free update was just pushed out to the App Store. Now when you click on those links, the corresponding app will open up. You can turn the feature off if you want, but users who live and die by Gmail will certainly appreciate this simple feature.
Here are the release notes on the update:
With deep strategy titles Civ Rev and Sid Meier’s Pirates in back catalog, just-released Haunted Hollow and the hotly anticipated iOS version of XCOM: Enemy Unknown due out this summer, one could argue that 2K Mobile isn’t the hottest name in iOS strategy games right now — but it’d be a steep uphill battle.
Then add this bombshell to support the argument: Sid Meier’s Ace Patrol, due out next Thursday, may be the best 2K iOS strategy game yet.
Path is a social network for our more private groups of friends and family, distinguishing itself from services like Facebook and Twitter in two ways. One, it’s not on any website, as it’s only accessible from your iPhone or iPad. Two, while it can be connected to those services, it does not have to, allowing you to keep things as private as you’d like, depending on the number of people you invite to the service as connections.
The new update, which went live just a few minutes ago, brings a new option to the app settings, allowing you to hide yourself in global search, which will keep even your friends from finding you or your activities if you don’t connect to them directly. This seems like a direct move to help Path feel more private, adding to a previous update, which brought private messaging (and stickers) to the app itself.
With the countdown to 50 billion App Store downloads now underway, Apple has begun highlighting the “top 25 all-time” free and paid apps on iOS. The Cupertino company did a similar thing in the run up to 25 billion downloads last year, and for 10 billion downloads in January 2011.
Some of the apps included in the list are no surprise, with the likes of Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Skype topping the free chart, and Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, and Doodle Jump topping the paid chart.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is the best thing that ever happened to the “Games” folder on my iPad. It’s one of my favorite games of all time, and I love that I can play it whenever, wherever now that it’s on iOS. If you haven’t already snapped it up, now’s a great time, because it’s on sale for the first time since it hit the App Store.
Google brought its intelligent Google Now service to iOS earlier this week with an update to the Google Search app, and for many, the feature works very well. For a lot of others, however, Google Now appears to be causing a significantly negative impact on battery life — as we reported on Wednesday.
Google has since responded to these reports, calling them “incorrect” and insisting that Google Now does not have a battery drain issue.
Apple has just released a surprise iOS 6.1.4 update! What’s new? What incredible new features and bug fixes can we portend?
Nothing, pretty much. The sole change in the log is “updated audio profile for speakerphone” with no other enhancesments or bug fixes listed.
A month ago or so, it was said that the iOS 6.1.4 patch would be pretty much dictated by the lawyers, but it looks like Apple has somehow avoided the change to the “Always On” VPN setting that was requred in the aftermath of its patent lawsuit with VirnetX.
The iOS 6.1.4 release seems to only be for the CDMA and GSM versions of the iPhone 5, at least right now. Let us know if you see anything new.