Have you head about Bang With Friends? It’s a Facebook app that checks out your friends list, asks you which friends “who are down for the night,” then “makes the connection” if any of your friends feel similarly.
Bang With Friends is coming to the iPhone next.
A mobile phone in the hands of your kid can be a liability. But it can also be guardian angel — it all depends on how it’s used. MobileKids is a free iPhone and Android app that enhances a phone’s guardian angel-like qualities while putting the liabilities on lockdown.
This is the Scandock, a $480 stand that turns your iPhone or Android handset into a better scanner. There are already some great scanner apps out there — here’s an iOS example, and here’s one for Android, both of which are around $5. The Scandock is almost a whopping 100 times more expensive, but claims improved results.
There are weather apps, and then there are weather apps; Nooly is, apparently, the latter. Nooly is so accurate, its press release claims, the app “is capable of predicting the exact minute it will rain or snow and can do so effectively, wherever you are, for every 0.4 square miles.” That’s pretty precise.
iPhones and iPads aren’t the only products receiving some love from Apple today. Along with the surprise release of iOS 6.1, Apple just pushed out an update for the Apple TV as well.
The new Apple TV software version 5.2 can be downloaded right now. It includes a number of new features such as support for Bluetooth keyboards, iTunes’ Up Next feature, and iTunes in the Cloud.
Following a last minute Friday release of developer beta 5, Apple has officially released the final iOS 6.1 for all compatible devices… which, of course, opens the door to the imminent iOS 6.1 Jailbreak.
The headlining new feature of iOS 6.1 is that it adds LTE support to 36 iPhone carriers and 23 iPad carriers around the world. You can also purchase movie tickets through Siri now, and the Apple TV gets new Bluetooth functionality, iTunes 11’s Up Next functionality, and iTunes in the Cloud support. There’s also a host of new bug fixes.
Most excitingly? The official release of iOS 6.1 heralds the long delayed availability of an untethered iOS 6 jailbreak for all devices short of the Apple TV 3.
iOS 6.1 final is the same as iOS 6.1 Beta 5, so if you downloaded that over the weekend, you won’t have to install anything more. Press release and direct download links are after the jump.
When it comes to buying a smartphone right now, there are pretty much only two choices – Android or iPhone. Yeah, you could go buy a Windows Phone or a BlackBerry if you really want to, but no one else is.
Both the iPhone and Android ecosystems are growing so fast that competitors can’t catch up. According to the latest figures from Strategy Analytics, 92% of all global smartphone shipments in Q4 of 2012 where either an iPhone or Android.
Jailbreaking your iPhone gives you the ability to tweak and customize nearly every facet of iOS, but new jailbreaks are few and far between these days. For example, there still hasn’t been a full jailbreak for iOS 6 from last summer, although one is on the distant horizon.
People jailbreak their iPhones for all sorts of reasons, whether it be free tethering, themes, or quick access to settings. The most common reason to jailbreak is actually more of a philosophy. There are millions of iPhone owners out there who want to be able to have greater control over their iOS experience. What if you want to hide stock apps you don’t use, or even just get rid of your carrier logo?
Fortunately, you can actually do those last two things on a non-jailbroken iPhone with relative ease, and here’s how:
We’ve been waiting a long time for an iOS 6 jailbreak to be released, and hopefully we won’t have to wait much longer. The iOS 6.1 jailbreak sounds like it’s going to be awesome because almost everyone will be able to use it, and it will be an untethered jailbreak which is always nice.
Making things even better, Evad3rs, the team behind the upcoming jailbreak, let it be known today that the upcoming iOS 6.1 untethered jailbreak will work on every device that can run iOS 6.1. That’s a whopping 22 devices in total, and maybe even 23 if the Apple TV 2 update is out in time.
Back in 2011, an app called iMAME surfaced in the App Store that allowed you to run thousands of classic arcade titles by sideloading the games onto an iOS device. Apple has never really allowed emulators in the App Store, and iMAME was swiftly pulled.
Now another app has crept into the App Store that allows you to emulate old games. It likely won’t be in the App Store long, so get it while you can!
For the first time, we’re rolling our weekly must-have apps and games features into one to make them a little easier to digest. Kicking off this week’s roundup is an awesome new Ghostbusters game in which you’ll be freeing New York City from some creepy spooks and spirits. We also have a brand new video sharing app from Twitter called Vine, a great little app that’ll help you pack for your next trip, and more. Read on for this week’s best iOS releases.
Samsung has gone before the Seoul Central District Court to ask to see Apple’s iOS source code. The goal of seeing the source code is to confirm whether Apple’s iOS 6 infringes on any of Samsung’s software patents. Yes, this is the same Samsung that Apple won $1 billion+ in damages against for patent infringement in U.S. court last year.
Since the innards of iOS are full of valuable company secrets, Apple has of course declined Samsung’s request, “calling it ridiculous.”
The official YouTube Capture for iPhone and iPod touch has today been updated to introduce support for 1080p video uploading — a feature which many felt should have been included from day one. Prior to this update, which also promises improvements to audio sync and upload speeds, users were limited to uploads in 720p resolution.
Vine is a new, free toy from Twitter. It replaces text with video, but only six seconds of it at a time, shot instant-by-instant. And it’s much cooler than I expected it to be.
Apogee is the first name that pops into my head when I think “mobile, Mac-powered music-making studio.” Today, the company has revamped three of their user-friendly recording devices: the One, the Quartet and the Duet, upgrading their capabilities and making them all iPad-compatible.
Even though Apple has tried to slowly wean itself from being dependent on Google Maps, YouTube, Search and other fun stuff, Google has managed to become one of the top developers for iOS.
In 2012, five of the six most-used apps in the U.S. were made by Google. Facebook just barely beat out Google Maps for the number one spot.
The Bookcase is a three-dollar pocket database for your book collection, one that takes its role very seriously and might be best suited to people with a professional requirement to manage a large library.
I love gaming on my iPad, but for certain titles, virtual controls just don’t cut it. First-person shooters, fast-paced platforms, and even sports simulators are much better with physical controls. And there are plenty of them for iOS devices, but the Audojo for iPad could be the most convenient.
It’s a case with built-in analog sticks and triggers that turns your iPad into a real handheld gaming machine. But there is one thing missing.
Drafts, the default inbox for text on your iOS device, has just been updated to version 1.5 on the iPad and v2.5 on the iPhone. And, man, what an update!
Previously, Drafts was a great way to scribble down a note, and then send it off to pretty much any text-based app you could think of. Now, with two big new features called “URL Actions” and “Dropbox Actions,” Drafts not only becomes more powerful than you could possible imagine, it also lets you automate a whole lot of notetaking tasks.
How powerful are we talking about here? How about controlling your Mac at home from your iPhone by just jotting down a note?
Things, one of the most popular task management applications for Mac, has had its price tag slashed in half until the end of January. It’s the first time Things has been reduced since it hit the Mac App Store in July 2011, but you can now pick it up for just $24.99. If you already use Things on iOS, it’s a must-have.
The first batch of Pebble smartwatches began shipping on Wednesday, nine months after the device broke Kickstarter records by securing more than $10 million in funding. Reports had suggested, however, that the accompanying Pebble iOS app would be delayed due to Apple’s approval process — but it just appeared in the App Store.
Photopoll is a sort of mashup between Instagram and Polldaddy, the super-useful poll tool we often use here at Cult of Mac. Just plug in some photos from Instagram, Amazon.com or your iPhone’s Camera Roll, and ask friends to vote for photos based on an accompanying question. Wild-yet-informative wackiness ensues.
Apple Maps has been the butt of an exhausting number of bad jokes. People in Australia have been stranded in the outback thanks to Scott Forstall’s mishap.
For most of us, glitches in Apple Maps are just a minor inconvenience and you can just switch over to Google Maps when you have a problem. But for one restaurant in Portland, Oregon, Apple Maps has cost them about $50,000 worth of business since it was released in September.
There’s nothing worse for your productivity – or your sanity – than trying to find that elusive document you need right at that moment. This Cult of Mac Deals offer will set you up so that you never come across this again – thanks to iDocument. And you’ll get this document organization tool for just $25…but only for a limited time!
Pebble was at CES earlier this month to announce that its much-anticipated smartwatch had entered mass production and was ready to begin shipping today, January 23. The company has now begun notifying some early backers that their order is on its way, but the vast majority will have to wait a little while longer. The device has been hit by supply issues that have somewhat scuppered its rollout, and the first batch is said to include just 500 units.
Meanwhile, the Pebble app for iOS is delayed, too.