So, it’s finally here — Google released an official Google Maps app for the iPhone, and we love it. Not only is it back with a brand new look, it also has new features, and of course, the accurate data we’ve all been missing since Apple released iOS 6. Also in our roundup is a brand new 1Password app from AgileBits, a new Flickr app from Yahoo!, and more.
It’s that time of year again. A time where we are getting busier and busier by the hour. A time where there doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day. And a time where stellar deals come along all across the web.
But very few of these deals pack a ton of apps that not only offer a little something for everyone, but they all offer the ability to save significant pockets of time for everyone as well. That’s what The Mac Productivity Bundle 3.0 does, and while the regular price of all 9 apps would be $1150 if sold separately, Cult of Mac Deals has it for just $50!
One of the better Yuletide traditions is the venerable holiday Advent Calendar, in which each day of December leading up to Christmas is marked off on a special calendar by opening its corresponding door to find a small gift, toy or chocolate squirreled away inside.
This year, we here at Cult of Mac decided we wanted to give our readers their very own Apple-themed advent calendar, filled with the year’s best apps, gadgets, stories and other curios. So each day in December, we’re going to lovingly peel back the door on the Cult of Mac 2012 Advent Calendar to reveal another delicious morsel, something really special that came out this year that we think every one of you should enjoy.
So what’s behind the door on Saturday the 15th? Arcane Legends for iOS, a free-to-play, massively multiplayer online game (MMO) that’s bound to please.
This week’s must-have games roundup begins with a wonderful new building game called Middle Manager of Justice, in which you take charge of Justice Corp., a team of superheroes that are on a mission to save the city’s inhabitants. We also have Monsters, Inc. Run, a new running platform game from Disney; Sport Interactive’s latest Football Manager Handheld title, and more.
One of the best cloud-based services out there, Dropbox, has gotten its iOS app updated with a shiny new design and photo gallery, which adds its own tab and a scrollable timeline of the automatically uploaded photos from your iOS device of choice.
Following the launch of Windows 8 and the Surface RT, Microsoft’s head of Windows, Steven Sinofsky, abruptly left the company. Some assumed Sinofsky would become the next CEO so it left many to wonder about the fate of Windows 8 and the approach they will take to software in the future.
Julie Larson-Green has been tapped to replace Sinosky and she’s started her reign by talking to the media about what makes Windows 8 special. While many view Windows 8 and the Surface RT as responses to the iPad’s popularity, Larson-Green claims that Microsoft totally didn’t even think about the iPad and iOS when designing Windows 8.
When Apple rolled out a new App Store redesign with iOS 6, the Cupertino company removed the ability for customers to gift apps and games to their friends via email. Just in time for Christmas, that’s now back, making gift-giving for those getting new iOS devices a whole lot easier.
Ok, so we may not be rockstars (yet), but we just hit 1,000,000 downloads of The CultCast, our fun, quirky, totally off-base podcast covering everything in the wonderful world of Apple. That’s like earning a platinum record! Now we know what Led Zeppelin felt like… But we couldn’t have done it without our smart, good-looking, worldwide audience supporting us all the way. If you’ve ever listened to an episode of The CultCast, thank you, we love you, and we would like to hold your hand.
But enough self sycophancy! On our newest episode, we talk Google Maps reborn on iOS. We’ll tell you what we love, what we don’t, and if it scratches the itch we’ve all had since the demise of the last Google Maps.
Plus: why Twitter wants to be your next Instagram, and a new Flickr app rises from the ashes—but is it too little too late?
Join us on our newest CultCast! Subscribe now on iTunes, or easily stream new and previous episodes via Apple’s free Podcasts App.
Have you ever used Google Chrome on your iOS devices to listen to music on YouTube, only to find it stops playing when you close the app? Sometimes that’s a good thing — you don’t always need videos to continue to playing in the background when they’ve been closed. But sometimes it’s annoying, like when you’re listening to music.
Thanks to the app’s latest update, you can prevent that from happening.
A very long three years ago, one of the very first appcessories we ever saw was this crazy-looking hardware clock that mimicked a virtual clock on the face of the iPhone. Whee! Yeah, we weren’t too impressed either. But these guys have the right idea about how to make the iPhone a better clock: add a massive snooze button.
Ever since 2008, when its first smash-hit, Ocarina — an app that turns your iPhone into a playable flute — debuted, Smule has proved itself over and over again as a magical outfit guaranteed to drop jaws with every release. Their newest app, Strum, is out today, and it’s no less wondrous an app than any of their previous efforts. But there is one very big difference: Instead of sticking to their musical background (one of Smule’s founder is, after all, an assistant professor of computer music at Stanford), they’ve taken their music fairy dust and sprinkled it on the world of video.
I present a lot of talks these days, and wanting to make sure they sound right is of paramount importance. Having the ability to have your computer read your work talk back to you in a situation like that is a valuable thing. That’s why today’s offer from Cult of Mac Deals is such a winner in my books…and not just because it’s free!
Narrator is an awesome app that can help you make sure what you’ve written is what you want conveyed – and we’re offering it to you for free for a very limited time!
Amazon has updated its Instant Video app for iOS today, introducing support for the iPhone and iPod touch. The service has been available on iPad since August, but this is the first time it has come to smaller iOS devices, giving Amazon Prime subscribers more than 30,000 free videos in their pockets.
Google released an official Google Maps app for the iPhone on Wednesday evening — I’m sure you’ve already downloaded it to your device — and as you might expect, it’s already incredibly popular. Users have since been rushing to reclaim the mapping service that Apple booted out of iOS with its latest iOS 6 update, helping Google Maps rocket to the top of the App Store’s free chart in just seven hours. It has knocked Apple’s own 12 Days of Christmas app down to second place.
Samsung might be Apple’s biggest rival, but it’s clear to see the Korean company loves its work. It’s been trying to make its Android smartphones more like the iPhone for many years — that’s hard to deny, no matter whose side you’re on — and it’s spawned retail stores, tablets, and even charging adapters that are remarkably similar to those form the Cupertino company.
Even Samsung’s executives can’t fight their love of Mac and iOS devices. One, Young Sohn, a chief strategy officer, admits to using a Mac, iPhone, and iPad at home, and praises Apple’s unique ecosystem.
In case you hadn’t already heard, Google finally released an official Google Maps app for iPhone on Wednesday night, and I must say, I think it’s terrific. It’s super quick, it looks fantastic, and it brings back all the mapping features you had on your iPhone before Apple gave Google Maps the boot — including Street View and transit directions. Google has also thrown its own turn-by-turn navigation into the mix for good measure.
In fact, the new Google Maps app for iPhone is so good that Google admits it’s better than the Android version. It also promises an iPad version is coming soon.
Scheduled as a December 13th launch, 1Password, version 4.0.2, is available now on the iTunes App Store.
The updated app brings a host of new features, and is available for $7.99, which is 50 percent off the typical price of the security app from atebits software.
One of the better Yuletide traditions is the venerable holiday Advent Calendar, in which each day of December leading up to Christmas is marked off on a special calendar by opening its corresponding door to find a small gift, toy or chocolate squirreled away inside.
This year, we here at Cult of Mac decided we wanted to give our readers their very own Apple-themed advent calendar, filled with the year’s best apps, gadgets, stories and other curios. So each day in December, we’re going to lovingly peel back the door on the Cult of Mac 2012 Advent Calendar to reveal another delicious morsel, something really special that came out this year that we think every one of you should enjoy.
It’s Day 12! That means KitCam, one of the best camera apps for the iPhone.
In the battle of the mobile platform wars, Android has been extending its lead over Apple’s iOS platform at a steady rate for over a year. Google’s Chairman Eric Schmidt believes that the battle between Android and iOS is similar to Microsoft’s desktop expansion in the 1990s.
Schmidt say down with Bloomberg to talk about the mobile war with Apple and said that with 1.3 million new Android devices being activated per day, he thinks it’s pretty obvious that Android is winning now.
Logitech produces some of the best portable keyboards there are for the iPad, and it’s just announced another that will also work with your Mac, too. But not only is it compatible with both Mac and iOS devices, its awesome ‘Easy-Switch’ feature allows you to connect to up to three via Bluetooth at the same time and then quickly switch between them at the touch of a button.
Google is finally getting around to updating the Google News experience for tablet users. While this change most likely has to do with the surge in Nexus tablet sales, it’s a welcomed update for all. Tablet users (yes, even you iPad users) will now enjoy a more intuitive experience when catching up on current news via the Google News website.
We’ve seen a number of stories over the years where Find My iPhone helped iPhone and iPad owners reunite with their lost devices. Now Apple’s making things even easier for people hunting down their devices by including driving directions to each device.
Find My iPhone for iOS will now tell you the exact route you should take to get your lost iPhone back. To use the driving directions features, users must be updated to iOS 6 because Find My iPhone gives driving directions through Apple Maps.
Coming on the heels of the new Instagram update, Twitter announced yesterday that their iPhone app was coming soon and that it would have all kinds of photo filters. The updated Twitter app just hit the App Store and is ready to be downloaded.
The free Twitter 5.2 update comes with photo filters powered by Aviary. The eight different filters will make your Twitter pictures more like Instagram photos, which is kind of nice seems how Instagram decided to stop displaying their pictures inside of a Twitter, but does the world really need more filters?
Here are the full release notes on Twitter for iOS version 5.2:
If you have faith in the supernatural deity named Gene Munster, and believe with all your heart that Apple is going to release the iTV in 2013, then you’ve probably got all your pennies saved so you can drop some fat stacks on Apple’s flatscreen next year.
Apple products usually aren’t cheap, and we figure the iTV will be no different if Apple ever releases one, but according to a new survey, over 46% of Americans are totally fine with having to pay over $1,000 for an iTV.
The original Angry Birds game for smartphones, the title that started it all back in 2009, celebrates its third birthday this week. And what better way to do that than with lots of new content. In addition to support for Apple’s new iPhone 5 (finally!), you can look forward to 30 brand new levels and more on Android and iOS.