App Cubby

Launch Center (0.79 €; App Store-Link) tobt als App-Schnellstarter im eingezäunten iOS-Gehege. Programme lassen sich darüber nicht nur starten sondern verweisen auch direkt in Programm-Untermenüs und melden sich obendrein über lokale Benachrichtigung in der iOS-Mitteilungszentrale. Drei kurze Praxisbeispiele: Die Verknüpfung erfolgt über URL Schemes (“appname://” ), die mit Zusatzbefehlen direkt Aktionen auslösen (“E-Mail an Person XY”). Unter iOS 5.0.1 können diese Shortcuts auch in die Systemeinstellungen verweisen (“Bluetooth deaktivieren”). In den Betas von iOS 5.1 funktioniert dies allerdings nicht mehr. Sicher ist jedoch, dass die Launch-Center-Links zu den angebundenen iOS-Apps auch nach dem nächsten OS-Update noch korrekt schalten. Read More

By Carter Dotson on February 2nd, 2012 Major update to a third party app launcher and notification system. Launch Center has gotten a major new update that brings new automatic app detection. While the app launched with support for built-in notifications, now the app supports launching third-party apps with specific commands, that can be scheduled to appear as notifications on iPhone and iPod touch. The way it launches third-party apps is that iOS lets apps register with the device a specific URL scheme. Like how websites begin with http://, apps can register as tweetbot:// or facebook://, for example. Thus, when the device prompts to open up one of these URLs, the app will open. As well, special commands can be added after the // that will perform actions in those apps. Launch Center has commands for a selection of apps with registered URL schemes that it can launch. Those apps that are installed are displayed at the top of Launch Center‘s list, and then the specific control options are given. Then, the command can either be just displayed in the Launch Center main list, or scheduled to be appear at a certain date and time. The uses for this are many. Want to be reminded to post a tweet with Tweetbot, with the specific text automatically entered in, at a certain time? That can be done with this app. As well, an app like Camera+ that supports launching from external apps can be queued up, reminding users to launch it at a certain time. These notifications can also be customized with particular titles in Notification Center for greater convenience. Note that the feature is not perfect: apps sometimes crash, or work better if they’ve been closed from the multitasking bar, instead of being loaded into an app currently in memory. These are more the fault of the apps in question, rather than anything Launch Center does, as it is just using the app URL schemes that apps have baked in to them. This update to Launch Center is available now as a free update. $0.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad Released: 2011-12-21 :: Category: Productivity Read More

Macworld | iWorld was last week, and as Apple-watchers expected, the emphasis was on the i-part. The iPhone and iPad are becoming blockbusters, so this must have been an exciting year to be at that show. I wasn't cool enough to be there, but I'm pretty sure I read the blogs of every single person who was. And there's one iPhone app they're all talking about this week: Launch Center. To a hardcore iPhone user, it seems like it should be relatively easy to explain what Launch Center does. But as the many meditative blog posts show, there's more here than meets the eye. Launch Center's creators at App Cubby are still figuring out for themselves what they're onto here. They've broken into something fundamental about iOS that it doesn't have yet, and they've made a $0.99 app we can all use to figure out together exactly what that is. Launching An Experiment Launch Center is one app for launching tasks across many apps. It can be a simple speed-dial-Mom or text-my-girlfriend launcher, or it can hook deeply into an app and, for example, go straight to Instagram's camera screen. You can also link to any Web URL, which it will open in Safari. It also comes loaded with some neat shortcuts like a "Flashlight" button to turn on the phone's LED. An update last week added scheduled tasks, so you can now associate an in-app action with a timed reminder. This all sounds so useful, but it's surprisingly hard to figure out how to work it in. @JonMwords hmm. I have "call girlfriend" and backup website. I talked to App Cubby founder David Barnard today, and it sounds like he and developer Justin Youens are still figuring it out, too. Barnard says they only put Launch Center in their iPhone docks themselves in the last week or two. They're experimenting now with different kinds of interfaces, beyond a simple list of actions, as well as different kinds of tasks to launch. They're also working with developers of other apps to create good URL schemes for inclusion in Launch Center. iOS apps have URLs for different screens or actions, just like websites. For example, to launch Instagram straight to the camera screen, the URL is instagram://camera. Launch Center users can input URLs themselves, and developers often make these publicly available. But it also comes loaded with some easy and common ones Read More

Welcome to our weekly installment of Picks of the Week at iSource where we provide our expanded coverage of Apple accessories and applications Here we will promote our favorite iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac and Apple TV related items, as well as bring you occasional tips and tricks. Hopefully many of our favorite items will also be of interest to you. Please feel free to comment on our selections, and suggest picks of your own. Check out this week’s picks after the break. Amazon Mobile  [v1.8.0] Picked by: Jay This week is a “see one, get one free” for my Pick! With the state of the American economy in such fluctuation, I am always seeking the best prices for things I need and want. Over the holiday shopping season Amazon has two apps that have become my pocket saviors while shopping. By having direct access to my Amazon.com account, the online site becomes a shopping competitor while on-the-go. For Amazon.com-only information, Amazon Mobile has become my staple. If I want to know what the reviews of a certain Nintendo DS game happens to be, I can scan the barcode which takes me to see the price and its reviews at Amazon. If I don’t see the box with a barcode, I could use “Snap It” to take a picture of an item on the store shelf and within seconds, the app looks up what the item is, and off I go to the product page. And having access to my Amazon.com account means I can also save these product searches to Wish Lists I’ve already set up. Price Check  [v1.2.1] Amazon also offers a less-powerful app, Price Check, to price compare among Amazon.com and its online merchants where you can enter the price you see at the brick-and-mortar vendor (“this helps ensure our prices remain competitive”). For example, at a local Barnes and Noble, I found the BookBook iPhone 4/4S case for $59.99; using Price Check, I found it for $31.99 (already expired) from an Amazon’s Featured Merchant. Whether you’re finishing you last minute shopping, or preparing for the clearance items after Christmas, give both of these free apps a worthy look to help save money! Tweetdeck by Twitter  [v1.1.1] My Pick this week is a recommendation for the new Tweetdeck for desktop. This app replaces the Adobe Air version which I’ve used for YEARS, so needless to say I was at first reluctant to make the switch. When the Twitter gods Read More

The iPhone 4S is now out and in customers' hands, and that means a flurry of App Store action as those customers fill up their new iPhones with apps to match. Developers are, of course, looking to take advantage of all of those apps sales, so here are some of the many price drops (in addition to what we saw yesterday) going on this weekend. Have at 'em! Lots of great games and apps in there, so for just a few bucks you can pick up plenty of app goodness to play with and use on your new iPhone. Read More

iPhone App $0.99 Our Review By Jason Wadsworth on October 11th, 2011 Rating: :: SOMETIMES USEFUL An app that will read tweets form your twitter feed out loud to you. Developer: Price: $2.99 Version Reviewed: 1.0 Device Reviewed On: DEVICE iPhone Integration Rating: User Interface Rating: Re-use Value Rating: Overall Rating: Many twitter users may find themselves inundated by tweets and updates. It can be a real chore reading through hundreds of tweets. Tweet Speaker is an app that will read all the tweets in a user’s twitter feed out loud to them. Users can log in to their twitter account in Tweet Speaker and the app will load up the most recent tweets in the user’s feed. Users can also choose to load up tweets from any specific lists they have set up on their Twitter account. Once loaded, the users can scroll through the tweets to view and read them normally. The user can choose any tweet and press play to have the app begin reading the tweets from that point on. The digitally rendered voice then reads through each tweet, one after another first announcing the name of the user who posted the tweet or the user who retweeted the original tweet. The text of the tweet is read aloud and any links are identified as links and the titles of the linked page is read as part of the tweet. This is a nice feature because it gives the user an idea of what is linked without having to actually click through to the link. At the bottom of the app is a timeline that shows approximately when the tweets users are listening to that moment were posted. Users can also scroll through this timeline to find tweets from a specific time. Users can also tweet, reply, and retweet from within the app. Unfortunately, any app that “reads” text out loud is only as good as the rendered voice and its ability to create understandable speech from text. Here, Tweet Speaker suffers from the same shortcomings as other apps that render digital speech from text. Generally, the speech is clear and understandable. If tweets only consisted of normal, out of the dictionary words then there would be no problem. But when abbreviations and slang enter the equation, the speech becomes much harder to understand. So while the issues with translating text to speech limit the usefulness of Read More

Looking for a new app this weekend?  Here are ten great new apps for the iPhone and iPad that you may want to check out! Like Apple’s own forthcoming Cards app, but a little cheaper and for postcards.  The app is free to download and each postcard costs $1.99 or equivalent, and can be posted to UK and US addresses.  Images come from your camera and you can add you own message too.  Free. Another postcard app, this time with the chance to create them yourself, add locations and text and even tag friends, then send them through email.  Free. An iPad only book where the history of the universe can be visualized through 300 images along with animations and videos.  $7.99/£5.49. Konami celebrates Frogger’s 30th anniversary with this Frogger/pinball mashup, with three stages, a story and challenge mode plus Game Center support.  It’s also a universal app for the iPhone and iPad.  $1.99/£1.49. Develop your ideas for songs with this intuitive beat sketch pad, complete with sampling, an extensive library and 16 pads for playing drums and samples.  Other sets can be purchased in the app.  $4.99/£2.99. Using the Unreal Engine, this beautiful fairytale-style adventure game has one of the most amazing worlds you’ll see on an iOS device.  It’s universal for the iPhone and iPad, and has Game Center support.  $5.99/£3.99. An app which reads tweets out to you, or broadcast them to another source using AirPlay.  $2.99/£1.99. Add effects to your pictures, edit them using rotations and flips, then export them via email or share them via social networking.  Interesting SLR interface.  $2.99/£1.99. The latest from BBC Good Food, with 160 recipes using more than 50 seasonal favorite ingredients, including vegetarian dishes, one-pot dishes and cakes.  $2.99/£1.99. The sequel to the first Jaws game has three new worlds, 30 levels, shark upgrades and simple controls.  It also works on your iPhone and iPad along with offering Game Center support.  $0.99/£0.69. Read More

By Lisa Caplan on October 7th, 2011 A look at some of the newest apps you may have missed in the past week. There were fewer new games released this week than we’ve seen, with the usual suspects putting out few if any new titles. There were some apps released worth noting that you don’t want to miss. Many are free, and there’s something for every age. If we missed your favorite from the past week, let us know in the comments below. NHL Game Center 2011-2012 Put out by the NHL in time for the first frosts in the North East, and featured by Apple as App of the Week. NHL Game Center allows hockey fans to access scores, stats, game photos, schedules, news, standings and a “3D Ice Tracker” on any iOS device. Users can upgrade in-app to a Premium service for $19.99 which adds in-game video highlights, live radio and other perks and for a full $159.99 die-hard puck-a-holics can subscribe to NHL Game Center Live (or use an existing account) and never miss a moment of the action. The premium version can also be purchased separately. FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad Released: 2011-10-05 :: Category: Sports $19.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad Released: 2011-10-05 :: Category: Sports AMEX for iPad This optimized-for-iPad app from the credit card giant lets cardholders manage all their account activity from scheduling payments to checking out membership rewards program points. The app supports most of the most popular AMEX card products. Check the app description to see the complete list. FREE! iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad Released: 2011-10-05 :: Category: Finance Tweet Speaker – Listen to Twitter Since Twitter and Apple are getting cosy in soon-to-be-released iOS 5, this app might well be renamed tweetPod even if neither giant is behind it. Tweet Speaker is Twitter out loud, ideal for times when not only hands, but eyes, are occupied. The app reads feeds, has Tweet Marker support, Airplay and a really nice interface reminiscent of an older dial radio. $0.99 $1.99 Released: 2011-10-06 :: Category: Social Networking Toca Store Turn an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad into a virtual playset with the newest Toca Boca digital toy for children. Kids learn basic cooperation skills along with a little math and even resource management playing with 28 saleable objects. Kids set Read More

By Rob LeFebvre on October 7th, 2011 This app will read out tweets to us, and even sync up with other Twitter clients for a very accessible experience. Check this out – TweetSpeaker, a new app from App Cubby, allows users to listen to their tweet stream. Picture listening to twitter on a walk, in the car, during a commute on the bus, wherever reading them isn’t an option. Individuals with disabilities that cannot read text for whatever reason (visual or motoric disability, for example) can finally use a well-designed Twitter client made specifically for listening instead of reading the social media service. Folks without a disability can also revel in the well designed, pretty interface that allows us all to access our Twitter stream in just about every environment we have network access in. TweetSpeaker also features Tweet Marker support, a web service for setting and getting the “last read” tweet for a given Twitter user. It can be used to sync where a user was last across multiple Twitter clients and platforms – a helpful thing if switching between a standard Twitter client like or and TweetSpeaker. TweetSpeaker is available now in the iTunes App Store for $2.99. $0.99 $1.99 Released: 2011-10-06 :: Category: Social Networking Read More

By Leanna Lofte, Saturday, Jun 11, 2011 | Every week a few of us from team TiPb will bring you our current favorite, most fun and useful App Store apps, WebApps, jailbreak apps, even the occasional accessory, web site, or desktop app if the mood strikes us. As long as they’re iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch related, they’re fair game. To see what we picked, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break! I have gone for another game this week that you can play over the internet with other iPad users. This week’s pick is Pool Bar – Online Hustle. Pool Bar is an excellent pick up and play game for Pool lovers. The graphics and physics of the game are perfect. The balls move as you would expect and the sounds are really authentic too. With different skill levels and three different game modes, this one covers all your needs for that real Pool experience. You have 9 Ball, 8 Ball US and 8 Ball UK to choose from. I have been playing this for the last few nights online with my brother and it is a lot of fun. An additional feature is the text and voice chat features which you can use whilst playing the game. A great way to catch up with your friends and family over a game of Pool! My pick of the week is iOOTP. iOOTP (short for Out of the Park) is an iPhone import of a great simulation baseball game that has been around for quite some time. With iOOTP, you can simulate various aspects of baseball – from being a general manager to being the manager of a team. You can play in three different modes – major league, historical, or a fictional league. Personally, my favorite way to play is as the general manager – making trades, trying to entice free agents to the team, drafting new young players. But if you want a more hands on approach, you can ultimately control every facet of even the daily games – when to steal, hit and run, bunt, pinch hit, etc. Keep in mind, this isn’t a baseball simulation, so you won’t be acting as the player. But if simulation baseball is your fancy, iOOTP is a definite must try. I swear I’m almost paying $1.50 a liter for gas these days (roughly $5.67 a gallon for Read More