App Store

There’s no doubt that a soundtrack can significantly enhance the immersiveness and emotional impact of films and TV programs. But can some audio accompaniment do the same thing for books? New York City-based startup Booktrack thinks so and has released an iOS app – with an Android app also on the way - that adds soundtracks to eBooks. As the user reads they can listen to ambient background noise relevant to the book’s current setting, specific sound effects synchronized to the text as it is read, and music. But does a soundtrack “boost the reader’s imagination and engagement” as the company states, or does it just create another distraction to be overcome when delving into a book on the bus on the way home? I decided to download the app and find out.  Read More

The world has changed greatly for Apple in the past few years. As of their earnings statement released Tuesday, three quarters of all income comes from the iPhone and iPad and the number of users of iOS is already at least four times that of Mac users. After the under-the-hood tweaks and rationalizations of previous operating system update Snow Leopard, the mission for Mac OS X Lion was clear - make the Mac OS comfortable and familiar to the new Apple mobile user audience without putting off established Mac veterans. Can they pull it off?  Read More

I named Instapaper a killer app in my review of the first-gen iPad last year, and I was but one of many. So how did its developer Marco Arment feel when the Instapaper-inspired Reading List function in iOS 5 was announced at WWDC? This one word tweet says it all.  Read More

In another notable announcement ahead of the 2011 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple has revealed that its iWork productivity apps are now universal binaries meaning that, in addition to an iPad, they can now be used on iPhone (3GS and 4) and iPod touch (3rd and 4th G). The price of the individual iWork apps - Keynote, Pages and Numbers - is still the same and existing iPad iWork app users will now be able to use the apps on any other compatible iOS devices they may own thanks to a free update.  Read More

Filling a gap that has long been a source of complaints for publishers of content-based apps, Apple has finally revealed details of a subscription service on its App Store for digital content including magazines, newspapers, video and music. Expectations of such an announcement rose two weeks ago following the launch of The Daily and the new subscription service will follow the same subscription model ushered in by News Corp.’s tablet-specific newspaper.  Read More

Let's talk for a minute about the female orgasm. For a lucky minority of women, these exist in abundance, ready to be plucked ripe off a well-fruited vine at a moment's notice. If you're one of these girls, you can stop reading now and get back to washing your hair with that herbal goop that makes you bellow like Meg Ryan. If you're at the other end of the scale, where orgasm is a fleeting, furtive animal that must be hunted with patience and skill, then this device might be up your alley … so to speak.  Read More

First announced by Apple in October 2010, the Mac App Store is now open for business. Available as an update through a Mac’s built-in software update or as a download from Apple’s website, it brings the same App Store functionality already familiar to owners of iOS devices to Mac laptops and desktop computers. However, instead of going through iTunes, the update to OS X 10.6.6 places a standalone App Store app in the dock alongside the Finder.  Read More

Following a stream of incidents where teenagers or cyclists have been hit by a car or truck because they were listening to music with headphones on, London based company Essency has released Awareness! The Headphone App. The philosophy behind the app is to allow users to listen to music, whilst remaining street safe and street smart. When listening to music (at any desired volume) a user will be able to hear important sounds, like a siren, shout or directed conversation. The application utilizes the inbuilt microphone on the iPhone and iPod Touch to record outside sounds and by recognizing the street level sound it will then “bleed” all louder noises through the headphones.  Read More

Apple has caused a lot of confusion for iPhone app developers by banning them from creating apps using any compiler not created by Apple, but then approving apps that break this rule – even going so far as to promote them in the App Store. Finally it looks like Apple has seen the light (and presumably the benefits) and announced that it has relaxed restrictions on its iOS developer license, opening the doors to native Flash and AdMob applications – as long as the resulting apps do not download any code.  Read More