Instacast, a podcast subscription manager, has received a big update that includes many new features such as AirPlay support, chapter lists, continuous playback, and optimized UI elements. Alas, Instacast no longer supports iOS 3.
If you pick this one up, let us know what you think! Check out the screenshots after the break.
[$1.99 - iTunes link]
Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.
Double-billed, have a purchase you didn’t make, or just have a problem with an iTunes purchase and wondering who to contact an how? There are millions of users and credit cards on file with iTunes, so every once in a while weird issues are bound to pop up. Unfortunately iTunes doesn’t have a phone line to call but they do have a pretty good support team that answers e-mails and deals strictly with iTunes billing issues. Keep reading and we’ll show you how to contact them!
All you’ll need to do in order to contact iTunes customer support is find the problem invoice on your iTunes account and e-mail them a little blurb explaining the issue. You can find your invoice in either the email receipt iTunes sends you after you purchase an app (or a few apps, they try to bundle them to lower credit card transaction fees), or by logging into your account via the iTunes desktop app and then clicking on Purchase History.
Once you have the right invoice…
I’ve always had a great experience when dealing with them. They always seem to respond promptly and resolve the issue at hand. What was your experience? Let us know!
Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to news@tipb.com. (If it’s especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we’ll even give ya a reward…)
Rene, Seth, Ally, and Georgia talk iPhone turning 4, iOS 5 beta 2, “Sherlocking” apps, SHSH blobs, tiered pricing, and Google+. This is iPhone Live!
Thanks to the TiPb iPhone accessory store for sponsoring the podcast, and to everyone who showed up for the live chat!
Our music comes from the following sources:
Tweetbot for iPhone has been updated to 1.3 and brings new features and improvements such as the ability to view local trends and translate direct messages.
Tapbots has also put up a blog post explaining why there are no push notifications (they need approval for the beta streaming service from Twitter), why they’re not making an iPad or Mac version any time soon, and why they choose not to support Twitlonger. Check out the link below for the details and if you pick this one up, let us know what you think!
[$1.99 - iTunes link, Tapbots blog]
Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.
Starbucks for iPhone as been refreshed with a new look and brings the ability to send eGifts via email or Facebook. You can now also transfer balances between cards within the app.
If you pick this one up, send me an eGift and let us know what you think! Screenshots after the break.
[Free - iTunes link]
Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.
The App Store hits another major milestone as there are now over 100,000 fully
During Apple’s iOS 4 press event five days after iPad’s April 3 launch in 2010, Steve Jobs had said that the App Store featured 3,500 apps designed for the iPad. Then a month afterwards, that number shot up to almost 6,000. The rest is history, as growth happened at an aggrandizing rate and will continue to do so, seeing how there is no end in sight.
As of the beginning of this month, there are over 425,000 apps total in the App Store. Of course, that means that about 25% of apps are optimized for iPad or universal for all iOS devices. (Though over 99% of apps can run on Apple’s tablet as intended for iPhone if necessary.) Due to the popularity of all iOS devices across the board, developers have been striving to make apps accessible to as many customers as possible with multiple versions.
In comparison to other app markets, the iOS App Store truly puts them all to shame, for lack of a better way to say it. Running through statistics for apps on other devices is nothing short of embarrassing for companies involved. So, let’s continue. The webOS store on the HP Touchpad has 300 apps. As for other stores such as what is on Blackberry PlayBook and Android Market, well, neither RIM or Google are bragging about the tablet app selection so statistics are difficult to dig up.
Let’s make a
Tweetbot for iPhone has been updated to 1.3 and brings new features and improvements such as the ability to view local trends and translate direct messages.
Tapbots has also put up a blog post explaining why there are no push notifications (they need approval for the beta streaming service from Twitter), why they’re not making an iPad or Mac version any time soon, and why they choose not to support Twitlonger. Check out the link below for the details and if you pick this one up, let us know what you think!
[$1.99 - iTunes link, Tapbots blog]
The folks over at MacStories have spotted a very important milestone in the life of the iPad: there are now officially over 100,000 apps available on the platform. Noticed while browsing the app lists, this comes after the app store hit 75,000 apps in the end of March.
100,000 apps. For comparison, there are about 1,300 apps for Android tablets. In the 16 months since the iPad has debuted, there are now 100,000 apps that will run natively, without being upscaled iPhone apps. That’s more than 6,000 apps a month, more than 1,500 a week.
Now, how many of those are actually good apps is a whole different story.
Wouldn’t it be great if all that was required to bring your devices into the 3D era is a thin piece of film? Well, Pic3D has a promise to make that pipe dream a reality. Considering how we are talking about a 3D pipe dream, glasses are not required. (You can use them to be a third-dimension hipster, but they will not affect the experience at all considering how this is designed to be glasses-free.)
Pic3D’s magic is supplied courtesy of lenticular lens technology, which magnifies the screen in a way that provides an illusion of depth. The Pic3D film will be able to work with special side-by-side video (with half of the video optimized for the left eye and the other half for, you guessed it, the right eye). All that is required by a user is to purchase the film and place it over their device of choice, then anybody can play around with optimized content to his or her heart’s content.
Fujitsu has already released a
When the film will be available to purchase in August, the iPhone version will be about $25. There will be other models for various screen sizes, including a version designed for the
To see the technology demonstrated on multiple devices, take a look at the video below:
[via
According to Apple’s on-device counter, the iPad App Store is now home to over 100,000 apps and games, this less than a month after Steve Jobs announced 90,000 during the WWDC 2011 keynote.
This is obviously a huge advantage, especially when Google’s Android Honeycomb devices, RIM’s BlackBerry Playbook, and HP’s webOS TouchPad are launching with very, very few native tablet apps in their own markets.
How many iPad apps have you downloaded?
[[MacStories[(http://www.macstories.net/stories/the-ipad-now-with-100000-apps-available/)]
Today, June 30, is supposedly the deadline for apps like Kindle to remove buttons or links to their external web stores or risk expulsion from Apple’s iPhone and iPad App Store. Originally, Apple was requiring developers to not only remove external store links but also match any external sales and pricing with identical in-app purchase options (which would require giving Apple 30% of the price). Apple quietly stepped back from the content and price matching provisions earlier this month, but not the prohibition against external links.
So will Amazon update the Kindle app today with the Kindle Store button removed, will Apple “Sony” the Kindle app, and pull it from the App Store after the deadline expires, or will the Kindle app keep the button and stay in the store (either with Apple’s permission or convenient silence)?
Apple makes and markets the competing [iBooks](http://www.tipb.com/tag/ibooks] and associated iBookstore for iOS.
If you close your eyes, you can almost see the transport ship racing towards the blockade lines…
Last year saw Puzzle Agent, a uniquely quirky and darkly humorous puzzle game, hit the app store to much critical acclaim. Think of it as Twin Peaks meets Fargo meets Profesor Layton. Sorta. Anyway, the second title in the series has finally arrived for the iPhone ($4.99) and iPad ($6.99). Maybe we can finally get to the bottom of those cursed red gnomes…
Here’s the official description:
CREEPY PUZZLE ADVENTURE WITH MYSTERY & DARK HUMOR!
Agent Nelson Tethers just solved the biggest case of his career. So why isn’t he satisfied? There’s still the case of a missing eraser factory foreman, a whispering madness is still creeping from mind to mind, and a troubling recurrence of… creatures… is lurking into the town.
The FBI’s Department of Puzzle Research has marked the case closed — are they sweeping it under the rug? Or worse, do they not even care? Worried that the case will languish forever unsolved, Tethers must go rogue and venture back to the eerie town of Scoggins, Minnesota to solve the mystery of “the Hidden People” once and for all.
To celebrate the launch of their newest iOS Street Fighter installment, Capcom is instituting a frankly bizarre pricing scheme for STREET FIGHTER IV Volt: the longer you wait, the more it costs. Each day from today, they’ll add a buck to the pricetag, until it hits the originally planned price of $6.99 on the sixth of next month.
“Starting” 2011/6/30 : $0.99
From 2011/7/1 00:00am GMT : $1.99
From 2011/7/2 00:00am GMT : $2.99
From 2011/7/3 00:00am GMT : $3.99
From 2011/7/4 00:00am GMT: $4.99
From 2011/7/5 00:00am GMT: $5.99
From 2011/7/6 00:00am GMT: $6.99 (Fixed price)
To celebrate the fourth of July, TomTom has dropped the price on two of its apps for the next 48 hours. TomTom U.S. & Canada is now $39.99 (was $59.99) and TomTom U.S.A. is $34.99 (was $49.99). These will transform your iPhone into a fully fledged GPS, with spoken navigation, traffic reports and the whole nine yards.
Finally, iPad music mixing app djay has halved its price down to $9.99, and added a cart of new features:
- Added support for Numark iDJ Live controller for djay
- Added PFL buttons for individually assigning pre-cueing channel
- Added Cue/Mix slider to fade between master and pre-cueing output
- Added pre-cueing “Auto Select” option in Advanced settings
- Improved pre-cueing auto-select behavior
- Improved update of speed slider range when syncing tracks
- Improved Bounce Loop with Key Lock enabled (iPad 2)
- Improved cue point set accuracy in certain cases
- Added support for high efficiency AAC files
- Fixed occasional freezing of audio when switching from background
- Fixed occasional sound drop when activating Key Lock (iPad 2)
- Fixed drop outs when playing recordings on iPod touch 3rd gen
- Various other improvements and fixes
Many of you are aware of the makeover we have given the TiPb forums, but we have no intention of stopping there. We are constantly thinking of new add-ons that will make your experience even better.
Enter the “Like” button.
So what’s the difference between the existing “Thanks” button and the new “Like” button? “Thanks” values the author, “Like” values the content. So, when you “Thank” a post, you’re giving credit to another forum member because they answered your question, provided a link or guide that helped you out, etc. It gives them a pat on the virtual back. When you “Like” a particular post, you’re recommending the information. You’re giving it a thumbs up.
Clicking the “Like” button on a post will put a “Like” tree at the top of that particular thread. Clicking that then drops down the most liked posts of that entire thread. So in a single click you can get to the best posts that may be deep into a thread vs. having to scroll through page after page of posts.
So that’s our new “Like” button. Be sure to check it out along with all of the other improvements we’ve made by visiting the forums today!
Last week, I
Despite the application still lacking proper push notifications, (they are only available, at the moment, if you have downloaded the application Boxcar) Tweetbot is still in position to be a killer of a Twitter utility – especially if new features are added almost monthly. What was added yesterday, and the significance of some of the new features:
- Improved multiple account switching: If you have multiple accounts that you tweet from, Tweetbot made it easier to switch between each. Instead of having to go back to the accounts and settings page, the application now opens a small window, when desired, which will easily let you switch between accounts.
- Local trends (can be set in the account settings): This new page in the accounts and settings page lets you select a country to see trending topics, and in some cases from cities within those countries.
- Improved recipient selector when creating a new direct message: When composing a DM, or direct message, Tweetbot now displays a list of all of the people you follow along with a search bar. All in all, it’s much more user-friendly and easy to select someone.
- Ability to copy, delete, and translate direct messages (swipe on a thread to delete a whole group): The DM conversation list is improved now, with the ability to copy, delete and translate individual messages just by clicking on them. It’s nothing new to Twitter clients but is new to Tweetbot.
- “Add to List” feature improved and renamed to “Manage List Memberships”
- Added “go to user” feature in people search (shows when typing into the “Search People” box): Before, you could not automatically go to a user’s page if you already knew their Twitter username. Now, if you know the “@…”, you can go straight to their user profile and further see their tweets, replies, favorites, etc.
- Gaps now load above or below depending on position of gap when button is invoked.
- Compose Tweet from hashtag (by holding down on a hashtag in a tweet): If you see a tweet in a trend list or from your followers that has a hashtag you want to use, you can simply click and hold on the hashtag, which will start a new tweet with the topic already copied in.
- Drafts button now displays # of drafts: <---
Says it all
- Support for Favstar (hold fav button to invoke ‘tweet of the day’, double-tap profile tab to see your own favstar page)
- Various bug fixes.
Again, despite the app’s lack of push notifications, it seems complete due to the constant addition of new features in every update.
Australian schoolgirl Holly Bligh has started using an iPad to assist her learning in her school, and it is reaping huge rewards. Holly has albinism, which has badly affected her vision to the point that she needed a large magnifying glass to see textbooks and papers. Now, with the use of an iPad, all it requires is a simple tap or pinch gesture to blow up the area of interest and she can join in with the rest of her class. The iPad has also brought about a cool factor for Holly compared with having to use a chunky magnifying glass.
Holly’s mother claims that the iPad has increased Holly’s attention span and estimates that visual fatigue now takes twice as long to set in. She was so impressed with how the iPad has improved her daughter’s life that she emailed none other than Steve Jobs to thank him; and received a response too.
Thanks for sharing your experience with me. Do you mind if I read your email to a group of our top 100 leaders at Apple? Thanks, Steve.
Can’t get enough of the Casey Anthony trial? Thanks to Progressive Lifestyles, you can now stream the trial live to your iPhone for only 0.99 cents! Progressive Lifestyles claims that 100 people were streaming the trial live on Thursday, which they bragged placed it at the number one spot for awhile.
“So an hour into thursday there are 100 Casey Trial LIVE Streaming iPhone,
A couple’s wedding day is said to be the most important day of their lives. One particular couple decided to risk their special day’s memories by only shooting the photographs and video using an iPhone 4. Sure the iPhone 4 has a very good quality camera but is this taking it a little too far?
Well it is not quite as risky as it seems. the couple brought in professional photographers and videographers for the big day and the results are quite impressive. Of course more than one iPhone 4 was used in gathering all the footage and the final editing we assume wasn’t done on the iPhone either. Either way it is apparently the first time that this has been done.
Take a look at the video after the break. Let us know what you think of the final result. Would you risk an important occasion such as a wedding solely to the iPhone 4’s camera?
[YouTube]
In Zoombie Digger World Tour, you must defend United States, Australia, Russia, and Mexico against zombie attacks. Don’t let their cute appearance fool you, these zombies are quite evil!
If you pick this one up, let us know what you think! Check out the trailer and screenshots after the break.
[Free, with in-app purchases - iTunes link]
Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.
iOS 5 brings the much heralded iMessage service to the Messages app, beta 2 has added a small but long-requested feature all its own — the ability to swipe away the keyboard. In current versions of iOS, one you tap into the text entry box it’s a bit of a chore to get rid of it again, which is annoying if you want to see the full screen view of your messages.
Now, with iOS 5 beta 2, you simply touch above the keyboard and swipe downwards, and the keyboard goes away. Simple. Sweet.
Again, a minor feature to be sure, but one that will no doubt be appreciated by many.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Every day, TiPb gets flooded with announcements for new and updated iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps and games. So every day we pick just a few of the most interesting, the most notable, and simply the most awesome to share with you!
Rhythm Guitar: Play guitar with your iPad! [$2.99 for iPad - iTunes link]
Tagged Recorder: Simply
record conferences, lectures, seminars, talks and easily find your records by tags and location. [$1.99 for iPhone - iTunes link]
Horse Zoom: – Over 2000 images of Horses by renowned professional photographer. Mark J. Barrett. [$11.99 for iPhone and iPad - iTunes link]
Miso Music: Plectrum: Learn how to learn to play the guitar, ukulele, bass, banjo and mandolin. [Free for iPad, with in-app purchases - iTunes link]
Busy Gears: Tap anywhere on the screen to jump from gear to gear to spring to air puff while reaching the bonus stars. Watch out for the spikes, flying razers, speed gears, and invisible gears. [$0.99 for iPhone - iTunes link]
Any other big apps or game releases or updates today? If you pick any of these up, let us know what you think!
Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.
According to trade rag Digitimes, Apple has large plans for the iPad 2 in Q3 of 2011.
As the IT market approaches the third quarter, the traditional peak season, Apple is turning more aggressive in placing orders for its iPad 2 and is set to ship 12-14 million units in the quarter, up from 7-9 million units in the second, according to market watchers.
You know, I can’t help but feel that Apple could have been selling that many every quarter since launch, if they had just managed to keep them on the shelves. I personally spent weeks trying to get hold of the model I wanted before finally breaking down and ordering online. If Apple could just keep up with demand, I can easily see them hitting more than 1o million in sales.
Yesterday marked the fourth anniversary of the industry shattering iPhone. Defying any and all expectations, the iPhone fundamentally altered the smartphone market, and despite what anyone says, if it wasn’t for the iPhone, every other smartphone on the planet would function very differently.
The good folk over at Mashable have put together an incredible infographic about the iPhone, which we’ve embedded after the jump. Because it’s huge. Really, really big.
If you are rightfully cautious, then it would not be a bad thing to have an app on your iPhone that can “Skin Scan” for
After taking a picture of a mole and the skin around it with the camera, Skin Scan examines the image to then analyze any abnormalities. Of course, if it finds the mole to not be anything worth worrying about, medical help should still be sought based on a user’s own opinion. The purpose of the scanning is to alert users if the algorithm utilized creates data that suggests that a mole is potentially cancerous and requires medical attention.
Especially since tanning is a regular activity for many during this time of year, $5 is a small price to pay to stay on the safe side. A quick examination by Skin Scan of any oddities that arise cannot hurt. In fact, early detection is the most important step in curing cancer.
According to
If we were to take the word of an iTunes reviewer, it seems the app’s algorithm may be fairly effective. A user that has a wife with melanoma found that the app was consistent with their doctor’s evaluations.
Though you cannot fully trust an app for medical advice, Skin Scan presents an easy-to-use, hassle-free detection method. Even if it should not be considered completely reliable, the instantaneous feedback makes it effortless to check regularly, thus checking for issues becomes a more convenient, accessible task. Skin Scan may truly be a life saver.
[App Store
