Recently, Google gave their social network, Google+, a complete makeover on its website, but the iOS app was still left in the cold. However, today, Google+ for iPhone received an well needed facelift. The new user interface is entirely different to its predecessor, opting for a sleek black theme across the app. The stream now displays larger images with larger profile images so you can easily who is posting, or sharing. They’ve removed the old side-by-side navigation of ‘circles’ and replaced it with a simple single drop down menu which makes it much easier to change which circle you are viewing, so you can view the posts from the people who are important to you. One massive update is that you can now finally start ‘Hangouts’ on the go through the messenger. Just start a conversation with a single friend or circle; and then tap on the ‘camera’ icon. Unfortunately, there is still no sign of an iPad app. Will this iPhone app update get you interested in Google+ again? Writer for iMore, YouTube Vlogger, and Host for [TEChBrits] Read More
Every week the editors at iMore carefully select some of our favorite, most useful, most extraordinary apps, accessories, gadgets, and websites. This week’s selections include a utility, a unique Twitter client, a classic video game, a social networking iPad app, a fun photography app for creating comics, and an addicting puzzle game. To see what we picked, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break! This week’s pick is a little utility that helps me manage the files and folders on my NAS (Networked Attached Storage). I have just bought a D-Link NAS to store all my movies, TV shows and photographs and was looking for a way to access the content from my iPad or iPhone. FileBrowser does it all and more. FileBrowser lets you enter the address of your NAS and then view all the files and folders right on your iPad iPhone or iPod touch. It lets you manages files, delete files, rename files and also download files and open them in apps installed on your device or even stream media in Apple approved formats. This week, I decided to go ahead and choose just a simple app that to me, really has no purpose yet I use it almost every day. TweeTV does nothing more than show a bunch of streaming tweets based on any number of things. It can be from a topic, a person or even just a word. I like to go ahead and airplay it to my TV while I’m working and looking for things to write. For example, set it to only pull in Apple tweets and you’ll catch headlines and tweets from all over the world about Apple. It’s not overly functional for collecting “up to date” info but it’s fun to just watch tweets from everywhere on Read More
iMore isn’t just a website, it’s a community fueled by millions of people who comment on the stories, give and get help on the iPhone and iPad forums, and join us each and every month in discovering great new ways to enjoy our iPhones, iPod touches, and iPads. This month we chose Ty (aka EmceeGeek) and she is exactly that kind of super engaged, incredibly helpful, truly awesome iMore community member. But enough from us, let’s let Ty do the talking. Tell us a little about yourself? My name is Ty, I’m an unordinary girl from Metro Detroit. I’ve been into technology my whole life, and have been fortunate enough to have the means to support my Tech Addiction. I’m a student majoring in psychology; pre-major computer science. I am also a YouTube partner; with hopes of expanding my channel. I just need more subscribers! EmceeGeek Channel How long have you been an iPhone or iPad user? I’ve been a iPhone user since the 1st Gen was available. I had it jailbroken, and was using it on T-Mobile. I haven’t missed a model since. I started using the iPad when the iPad 2 was released. Stood in line at Best Buy on release day and was hooked! When the 1st gen came out I wasn’t interested enough, I knew the 2nd gen would have a lot more in store; knowing Apple’s history. What brought you to iOS? I’ve been a Apple user all my life, so when they moved into phones and tablets it was just a given. I love the interface, how smooth it runs, its user-friendly and great for those who are just learning. What brought you to iMore? I like forums and iMore was a iOS community that I felt fit. iMore grabbed my attention back when I Read More
Babies equal photos. It’s really just that simple. Nothing sells more camera gear or generates more images than a newborn baby. Whether it’s yours, your family’s, or your friend’s, the moment a newborn baby appears our fingers fly to the shutter. Babies are the celebrities of our lives and we all want the best possible photos of them we can get. Now you may seen especially dreamy photos of babies in galleries or on the web and wished you could capture similar images of the baby in your life. Well, you can! All you need is your iPhone, the right tools, and the proper techniques! Before we jump in, I should mention that the best age to get the types of images you’ll see in this article is between 5 and 14 days old. This is when a newborn baby is most sleepy, flexible, and tolerant of being touched when sleeping. Note: Every newborn image used in this article was taken with an iPhone and edited with iPhoto for iPhone and iPad. There will be a follow up article on how to edit newborn photos with iPhoto. First things first, let’s talk about what tools you need to get great images. The most important element is light. You could make things work without anything else, but light is a requirement. My favorite source of light is simply a window. Avoid direct sunlight, however. If sunlight is shining through the window, you may want to wait until a different time of day. Most of the images of newborns taken by professional photographers are of sleeping, naked babies curled up in adorable little poses. So the question on your mind is probably “how?” The first trick is heat. The general rule of thumb is to dress newborns in 1-2 more layers than yourself, Read More
Every week the editors at iMore carefully select some of our favorite, most useful, most extraordinary apps, accessories, gadgets, and websites. This week’s selections include apps a beautiful iPad weather app, apps for sports and politics, a fun camera app, an app filled with inspirations, a puzzle game, a music app, and an alternative to Instagram. To see what we picked, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break! It’s been a crazy week, so I’m going simple with my pick – simple and beautiful. Leanna reviewed a weather app called Living Earth recently and after reading her post, my need to see just how great this app really was took over immediately and I downloaded it. You might find a weather app that does more or has more geeky weather options for meteorology nerds, but with the possible exception of Weather HD, I’ve yet to see a weather app this cool. It’s a universal binary, so you get apps for both your phone and your iPad. The app has a nice forecast view as well as a cool alarm clock feature, but the interactive globe that loads live cloud and sunlight information from real-time satellite data is my favorite part. Sometimes just marveling at nature is all I’ve got the energy for. You can read Leanna’s review for all the gritty details, of which there are plenty. I’m just going to sit and spin the Earth and hypnotize myself for a while… This week’s pic is all about the beautiful game and the team that play’s it in the most beautiful way. My first love is my local football team Newcastle United. My second love belongs well and truly with the most famous football club in the world FC Barcelona. Barcelona play the game the way it Read More
Last week, Robot Entertainment launched a new army for their excellent turn-based strategy game for iOS, Hero Academy. At PAX East 2012, they were appropriately showing off the greenskins next to their upcoming dungeon-trapper PC game, Orcs Must Die 2, so we decided to check out the update. The Tribe differs significantly from the structure set by the other armies in Hero Academy in that they only have one armor upgrade, but have two hero units in their bag of tricks. The Tribe also includes a new tidal wave spell which can move whole armies towards or away from you. The update also offers a new map which is available even if you don’t dish out the $2.00 for The Tribe. It has crystals that are able to fire thorns at nearby assailants once a turn, and a new bonus square which provides magic resistance. Marcin, one of the game’s devs, described the Tribe as relentless and aggressive, and as far as I can see, they’ll really mix up the flow of gameplay. The guys at Robot Entertainment were also clear that they’re working on a port for Android, which is great news if they’re able to include cross-platform multiplayer. Besides the new army, this update also includes universal support, so it counts as one app across iPhone and iPad. If you aren’t already playing Hero Academy, be sure to pick it up for free and at least give The Council a go. Despite the cartoony graphics, the tactics in this game are very rich, and have had me hooked for awhile. Read More
Every week the editors at iMore carefully select some of our favorite, most useful, most extraordinary apps, accessories, gadgets, and websites. This weeks selections includes a music app, a couple baseball apps, a photo app, an app for DIY-ers, an app for Canadian hockey followers, and more. To see what we picked, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break! I’m a big fan of internet radio, and have been for a long time. I’ve tried so many different radio streaming apps throughout my tenure as a smartphone user, going all the way back to my Windows Mobile days. I first got into it with my Treo 700wx (ah, memories) and have been hooked ever since. There are a wide variety of apps in the App Store that let you stream seemingly innumerable radio stations from around the world, but the best one I’ve found is TuneIn Radio, specifically the Pro version. It’s an App Store favorite that I’ve been aware of for a while, but only now am I rediscovering how great it is. First off, it’s a universal app – big win there. Second, it allows you to not only stream internet stations, but can use your location to provide access to local radio as well. Lastly (and most importantly for me), you can create a TuneIn account, save your favorites and sync them between the web and your devices. I can’t tell you how great this is, because one of the biggest headaches I faced when trying different radio apps was always searching for and re-adding all the stations I like to listen to over and over again. This makes things so easy, it’s beautiful. The app is nicely designed, with tons of options. You can browse stations (over 50,000) based on location, genre, language, Read More
OK, maybe they didn’t have iPads at the first Seder, but you can be sure that lots of Jews will have their iPads out at this year’s Seder. Thankfully, there are plenty of apps this year that can keep you connected to the action and otherwise engaged during some of the “less” interesting parts. The Passover Seder is the meal that involves the telling of the story of the Biblical Exodus from Egypt. The narrative of the journey from slavery to freedom is called the Haggadah and it is filled with stories, traditional food and blessings and sometimes regional or familial customs. If you have lots of kids around the Passover table, you might want to download Story Chimes’ Passover: The Journey to Freedom – a free interactive book about the Exodus. This app tells the Passover story, has matching games for the kids, had beautiful illustrations and music. Read along or have your child read from Journey to Freedom If you want to be “green” this Passover, consider using a digital Haggadah. There are several versions in the App store: The Ultimate Digital Haggadah, from Downhill Publishing is really a work of art. Pages look they came out of a rare illuminated Haggadah (probably because they did) and the Hebrew is magnificent. This one is a bit “traditional” in translations and not exactly “gender neutral” in its God references – but it is beautiful to behold. The Ultimate Digital Haggadah is visually stunning and interactive “The Haggadah” from Melcher Media is a more contemporary Haggadah. Text and illustrations are also beautiful in this edition and there are recipes and activities to engage the kids during the Seder. The “Haggadah for Passover” from Kosher Penguin is much less expensive and is a little more like the bare bones approach found in the old Read More
The new iPad is just that. Not iPad 3. Not iPad HD. Certainly not iPad 2S. It’s the 3rd generation tablet from Apple, released March 16, 2012, and the simplicity and focus of the name tells you almost everything you need to know about the product. The iPad. Better than any iPad — any tablet — that’s come before. That’s not to say there aren’t compromises or criticisms, because there are plenty of both. But everything about the new iPad confirms once again how Apple envisions the future of personal computing, and how they’ll continuously, relentlessly drive themselves, the industry, and the world around them towards that future by sheer force of will, audacity of engineering, and discipline of design. Whether that future, and this iPad, is for everyone remains the question. The greater your focus, the more you exclude from your field of vision. Did Apple manage to strike the right balance? The new iPad builds on the foundation of what came before. For a full, more contextual view of the evolution of Apple’s tablet platform, see our previous reviews. Design-wise, the new iPad is almost identical to the iPad 2, only very slightly thicker and heavier. 0.03 inches (0.6 mm) thicker, to be exact, and 0.11 pounds (51 g) heavier. That’s not a bad thing. The iPad 2 was the absolute best tablet of 2011. Wisely, instead of trying to re-invent the wheel or impose change simply for change’s sake, Apple chose to address those things about the iPad it wanted to make better. A Retina display denser at its size than anything seen in a consumer product before. LTE radios that outperform many home internet connections. A camera with not only a proper lens but a good one. And an Apple A5X chipset to bring it all together Read More
The new iPad is really an amazing communication tool. In addition to all the regulars; email, iMessage and FaceTime, the iPad also works with Skype. In fact, most of the great features we love about Skype on our PC or Mac work great on the iPad. After you create your account, you’re ready to log in to Skype on your iPad. To do so, follow these steps: Skype login screen Search for Skype contacts Touch the contact and then choose Video Call or Voice Call Simply touch the Camera key along the bottom row of icons and choose whether you wish to display the Front Camera, Back Camera or No Camera on the screen. If you choose No Camera, Skype will still work, but you will just have a voice call without any video image. Choose Front Camera, Back Camera or No Camera to change the camera view From this section you can: Touch the icon of yourself to see the My Info screen and options Below those icons is the History icon. Touch this to see your recent Skype history. Skype keeps a history of your Skype IM discussions and call logs which is very useful in order to retrieve potentially important information. Touch the History icon to see your Skype history Use Skype IM to quickly communicate with friends and family Skype for iPad supports: Group video chat and sending files are not supported on Skype for iPad. Are you using Skype of your iPad? How is it working for you? Let us know in this forum thread. Read More
