Dave Caolo
Articles by Dave Caolo
Stringer is an interesting way to make a playlist
Stringer for iPhone (free with in-app purchase) is an interesting way to shuffle music music on your iPhone. The app solves what was a problem for me, namely the desire to easily update a custom playlist on the fly. Its UI is quite unique in that it "strings" your music together. Adding music is easy and fun, though the app really is just for people who like to shuffle their music. Here's our look at Stringer. Looks Stringer focuses so closely on the visuals that this aspect deserves a good look. The idea here is that all of your songs are "strung" together, so a long "string" is the app's main feature, and it bisects the screen. The songs in your playlist are "attached" to the string, and the background takes on the colors of the current track. When you swipe left or right to access additional functions -- more on that later in this post -- the string "jiggles" into place as you move it. I'll tell you right now, skeuomorphism opponents will experience debilitating heart palpitations over this app. It's all about albums on a taut, bouncy string that you flick around with your finger. Take deep breaths, people. That's not to say there aren't any flat elements. Other than the stringed album art, everything else is flat enough to slip through a mail slot. So Stringer's looks will either leave everyone happy ("Best of both worlds!") or no one ("Why did they include that aspect?!"). I'm guessing a combination thereof is the most likely. Use Like I said in the intro, Stringer wants to solve a problem, and it does. Here's the scenario. You've set your iPhone to shuffle your Music library. As you're listening, you think, "Ooh, I'd love to hear that other track on this album, too." Apple's Music app lets you "flip over" the current album and select those songs. But doing so pulls you out of shuffle mode. D'oh! What if you wanted to add those to tracks to the current playlist? That's Stringer's bread and butter. While you're "listening to a shuffle" as Stringer's developers call it, simply swipe to the left. The current album's tracks appear along side the string. To add one or more, simply tap and drag it onto the string, thereby modifying the shuffled list on the fly. Neat, huh? You aren't limited to adding songs from the current album, either. After swiping left, swipe down to jump to add music from previously played albums. Note that you can't jump ahead in this way. There are a few other options here. To play/pause a track simply tap its album art. Press-and-hold a song to either mark it as a favorite or to tell Stringer to ignore it in the future. Additionally, the app's settings let you enable shake-to-shuffle, play music stored in iTunes Match and prevent screen lock. For the rest, you'll need to upgrade to premium. Stringer offers additional functionally for a one-time in-app purchase of US$4.99. Specifically, that purchase lets you: See related music. Swipe right to see all the other albums you've got from the current artist Import iTunes playlists Save custom strings for future playback Create strings quickly based on your favorite tracks Conclusion Stringer works great out of the box, and will be fun for people who like to hit "shuffle" and just let the thing run. It gets a lot more useful once you upgrade to premium. The ability to save strings is really nice and you're going to want that. That said, it's not for everyone. For every shuffle addict, I imagine there's someone who wants to hear Escape in its entirety every day. If you're among the former, give Stringer a try. The basic app is free, so why not?
Fleksy breaks Guinness World Record again
The Fleksy Keyboard for iOS 8, which we reviewed here, has broken a Guinness World Record for texting speed on a touchscreen device. The previous record holder? Fleksy Keyboard. Marcel Fernandes Filho, 17, was able to use Flesky on his iPhone 6 to type the following in just 17.00 seconds: "The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human." Previously, the record was held by...Marcel Fernandes Filho, who typed the preceding sentence in 18.19 seconds using Fleksy Keyboard. Are you using third-party keyboards? I've tried several but keep going back to Apple's. Old dog/new tricks I guess. Maybe if I was as fast as Marcel...
BRUVELO would be your iPhone-powered coffee powerhouse
What is it with Apple fans and coffee? Perhaps it's the fact that you can totally "geek out" on the process, the beans, the hardware and so on. Add your iPhone to the mix and you've got Apple-loving Coffee Nerd Nirvana. BRUVELO is a coffee maker and companion iOS app, currently on Kicktarter, that will scratch your coffee nerd itch. Typically we save items like this for our "Crowdfunding" post, but the clock is ticking on this one and we think it's worth mentioning. Here's where it gets cool. Connect your BRUVELO to WiFi and store a "recipe" on your iPhone. A recipe lets you get as nit-picky as you like, storing bean-specific instructions on steep times, ratios, temperature and more. Then, the next time you've got that bean in the pot, all you need to do is tap the recipe and the BRUVELO executes all of your instructions. From a single tap on you phone. Neat, eh? There's about a week left to back this, as of this writing. If your blood runs as dark as the beans you roast, this might be the connected coffeemaker of your dreams.
Overglide is a game for your iOS notification screen
The "Today" pane of Apple's Notification Center is meant to provide useful, at-a-glance information. That doesn't mean we can't stick a game in there. Check out Overglide (US$0.99), a new game widget for iOS 8. You've got to pilot your paper airplane through a barrage of obstacles, which becomes more difficult the longer you play. It's not the most involved game you'll ever experience, but it's fun knowing it's always a swipe away. Plus, it reminds me of the classic Glider Pro, which I loved back in the day (and is currently out for iOS as well).
Monument Valley update brings new levels
One of my favorite iOS games of 2014, Monument Valley (US$3.99), has been updated to version 2.0 with all new levels. The beautiful, intriguing puzzler features a young hero who you must guide through several levels of changing, mind-bending architecture before she reachers her ultimate goal: to defeat the meddlesome "crow people." To call Monument Valley pretty is to call the sun warm. It's a stunner and the engaging (and occasionally frustrating) puzzles make it very difficult do put down indeed. Download version 2.0 today and kiss your productivity goodbye.
Burger King app available across the pond
Good news, far-flung fast food fans. Burger King has announced that its iOS app (free) is now available in the UK and Ireland. What does it offer? Discounts for one, plus an overview of the chain's menu and a convenient way to find the restaurant nearest you. Lastly, it provides nutritional information for those interested. You can grab the app now and be chowing down by lunch time.
Apple partners with Southwest for in-flight Beats Music
Travelers boarding Southwest planes are about to find a new in-flight entertainment option as Apple/Beats Music has partnered with the airline to offer streaming Beats Music. The whole things starts today and is limited to planes that offer Wi-Fi. The service will be free to Southwest customers, and the on-board experience will offer the same features that earthbound customers enjoy, like The Sentence and curated playlists. All you'll need is a device that can access Wi-Fi and use the browser-based web app. To celebrate the partnership, Southwest has decked out a 737-700 with appropriate graphics.
Ginger Page, keyboard offer a wealth of text, keyboard options
I collect text editors the way other people collect stamps. Do people still collect stamps? Let's assume they do, and in great abundance. When a new editor comes out I've got to see what it does. This week I played with Ginger Page for iOS (free, universal). This handy little app offers several features to make writing easier and more fun, including a built-in alternate keyboard for iOS 8. Here's my look at Ginger Page and keyboard. Ginger Page, the text editor, does several things. It corrects mistakes. It translates text. It can read your text aloud and share what you've written in several ways. There's a lot more, which I'll get to, but for now I want to emphasize how efficiently all of this functionality is packaged into the app. When first launched, Ginger Page presents a keyboard, writing area, toolbar and a button for reaching the advanced tools. The six options across the main toolbar are rather useful. You get: 1. Rephrase a sentence 2. Speak 3. "Star," or mark as a favorite 4. Copy to the clipboard 5. Clear 6. Send as a text. I'll go over these in a moment, but first a complaint. While helpful, these tools are not customizable. As you'll see, there are additional functions that do not appear in the toolbar, like translate and define. It would be nice to be able to customize which six functions appear in the toolbar, but that's not an option. For example, if I intend to use Ginger Page for a lot of translation, it's a hassle to leave the writing area and open the hidden tool preferences repeatedly. Now, let's look at the default tools. The rephrase option is interesting. Once you've typed a sentence or a series of sentences, you can use Ginger Page to suggest alternate wordings. In my experience, this was hit or miss. When I wrote intentionally convoluted sentences, Ginger Page did a good job of suggesting more efficient alternatives. However, when I wrote brief sentences, it offered questionable variations, some of which changed the meaning of the original. For example, I wrote: "I'm going to the market with Martha to buy ingredients for dinner. We'll be back around 4:00. See you then." Suggestions for the first sentence included "I'm traveling to the market with Martha to buy ingredients for dinner," which is fine. It also suggested "I'm conking to the market..." and "I'm blending to the market...", which don't make sense, unless it's using colloquialisms I'm unfamiliar with. If your writing tends to be verbose, Ginger Page can help. Otherwise, it just gets weird. The other default tools work as you'd expect. Starred items are stored in a list and can be reused. This is handy if you want a database of boilerplate text messages, for example. The speak function does what it says on the tin, as does copy and clear, which deletes everything you've typed in the current session. Finally, the text option opens a text window with your words all ready to go. Ginger Page also offers real-time, contextual spelling and grammar checking. Spell checking works great and has at least one benefit over Apple's solution, in that it lets you correct an error that occurred several words ago. For example, if I write, "I'm giong to the market with Martha," it'll recognize "giong" as wrong and keep the suggestion "going" available as I type the rest of the sentence. A single tap fixes it. The grammatical suggestions work well for the most part. I made several errors and it caught the vast majority, offering acceptable fixes. A few errors did slip past, but I was satisfied with the performance overall. Now for the additional tools. I was impressed with the translate function. To test it I busted out my best high school French and Ginger Page translated every lengthy, marginally useful phrase without a problem. The app's dictionaries are quite useful, especially the customizable personal dictionary, which you can fill with your commonly used, non-standard words. You can also search for synonyms of a given word and theme the keyboard to match your aesthetic leanings... which brings me to the keyboard. The Ginger keyboard features a tiny "G" key in the lower right. Tapping it brings up all of the tools I mentioned before in a non-obtrusive display. I like this a whole lot and plan to keep it installed for quite some time. Despite a few complaints, I'm happy with Ginger Page and keyboard. They truly do add to the experience of writing on the iPhone.
Fit Brains is a workout for your grey matter
I'm often amazed at what the little iPhone can do. It's the best computer I've ever owned, and now it's helping me get mentally sharper, thanks to Fit Brains from Rosetta Stone (universal, free with in-app purchases). This clever app presents challenging games that test and improve mental acuity across several categories. It's very good-looking, well executed and fun. You can track your progress across devices and monitor your progress over time. Here's my look at Fit Brains. Looks As I've said, this is a pretty app. Everything is bright and clear, with an emphasis on fun. It doesn't feel like you're doing "work," just playing simple, brightly-colored games. The app's reports are easy to read and well laid-out. That's great, but how does it work? Train that brain! Fit Brains addresses trains your brain across several categories, including: Language, Speed, Focus, Problem Solving, Memory, and Visual Tasks. As you progress in each area, or show a need for improvement, the app selects the games you should be playing. It's like having a coach on hand, and is a lot better than letting the user pick games randomly. To begin, just hit "Start Training" and you're off. The app presents three games per session, one after the other. When one game is complete, you'll see a screen that summarizes your performance and compares it to previous attempts, if applicable. Once you've done all three games in a given session, your performance is compared to that of other users in your same age range and gender. What's nice is you can use the Games screen to jump to any game you've already played for a quick session at the basic level. As you improve, intermediate and advanced levels are unlocked. I've had fun playing the Fit Brain games and feel great when I beat a previous score. There are several payment options available, including subscriptions of various durations, like three, six and 12 months. This pro level gives you access to all of the training games and access to all seven of the company's brain-training apps, which is pretty cool. I've enjoyed my time with Fit Brains plan to keep using it. You should try it out, too.
Epic Island is a fun RPG from Backflip Studios
I'm a fan of Backflip studios. Plundernauts is one of my favorite games, and I like Spellfall a lot, too. Now I've had the chance to play with Epic Island (universal, free with in-app purchases), and I've found it has the same thoughtful charm as its siblings. Epic Island is a full RPG with quests, baddies to battle, loot, equipment upgrades and all the goodies you'd expect to find. When the game starts you have the option to connect to Facebook so you can share your exploits with your friends (don't worry, Facebook login is not required). The first thing you'll do is create a profile with information, and then you're ready to get to it. The fun begins when you recruit a hero. Initially there are five to choose from: The dashing male The daring huntress The wise man The nimble elf The stout dwarf Each has its strengths and weakness, so pick the one that fits your fighting style and give him or her a name. From there, the battles begin! Epic Island does a good job of leading you through the game's functions, which I like. Learning while playing is so much better than sitting through a dull tutorial. Your first character starts in the "evil tree," where he battles a nasty beastie. This particular bad guy is pretty easy to kill and when you do, you'll collect fame, coins and progress. Fame is like XP, and allows the character to level up. Gold coins are the game's in-game currency and progress speeds up the rate with which a dungeon's level increases. Now here's the neat thing (or the terrible thing, depending what you like in an RPG). Gathering and equipping/upgrading loot is emphasized more heavily than the actual combat. When a hero engages in battle, a timer begins, counting down how long the battle should take. During that time, you're free to move away from the action and work with another character in the blacksmith shop, the arena for one-on-one battles or in a dungeon of his or her own. Now, if you want to watch every battle you certainly can, but I often find it kind of boring to watch the same combat animations over and over, especially when you're grinding coins or gems. I think it's an interesting and appealing choice to let me start a battle, move away and get a notification when it's over. In-app purchases are available, but I've found it's possible to play this game entirely for free, as long as you're the patient type. Gems let you speed up action and hire additional heroes, whom you'll need to defeat the nastier bad guys. You will acquire gems at a regular rate, but not a whole lot of them. If you lack the patience, there's an option to buy. As for Epic Island's looks, it's just as cute as their other titles. The art is cartoonish without being silly. It's fun to tap around the island and open new areas. I'm pretty happy with Epic Island and will continue to play. You can enjoy the app for free as long as you're the patient type. The emphasis on loot vs. combat will put some players off, but I liked it a whole lot. RPG fans will certainly want to check this one out.
Cirqle for iPhone offers social photo sharing
Social and photography are two very crowded markets in the App Store. Getting noticed is the first trick; gathering a following is the next. The developers of Cirqle for iPhone (free) are hoping their combination of communal photo streams, or "cirqles," will succeed in both areas. It's a compelling idea and the execution is pretty well done, but I'm not convinced it's compelling enough to lure customers away from established services. Cirqle lets you shoot photos and organize them into albums called "cirqles." When you shoot a photo, you have three share options: Curated, Open and Private. A Curated cirqle is open only to those you invite. Participants can view the images in your cirqle and contribute their own. Private cirqles are just for you. No one will ever find them via search or other means. That leaves Open. This is where it gets interesting. You can use the app to browse a list of Open cirqles, or search for keywords. Once you've found one that you like, you're free to check it out. For example, I found one that features photos taken around New York City. It was fun to look at neighborhoods and landmarks I've seen before. From there, I could subscribe to the cirqle to receive notification of new contributions, or apply to be a contributor. Once the cirqle's owner approves my request, I'm free to add my own shots of NYC to the collaborative effort. Sounds neat, right? Well it is. The UI is pretty and there are even featured cirqles full of high-quality images. The only problem I see is convincing family and friends to use yet another social service. It's true that it isn't necessary for your loved ones to participate, but I think it'll be a lot more compelling if they do. I imagine creating an invite-only Curated cirqle for a family vacation, holiday get-together or other noteworthy, memorable event. I think Cirqle is pretty and well done, yet I know "selling" it to siblings, etc. who are already using Path, Facebook, Twitter and so on will be a tough job. Give Cirqle a try and let me know what you think. It's a well-executed resident of a very crowded market.
Swaive smart thermometer works with iPhone, Health app
The Swaive intelligent in-ear thermometer (US$79.99 for the thermometer, companion app is free) makes the glass-and-mercury model I remember from childhood look like a museum relic. It works as a stand-alone device and syncs data with Apple's Health app, making it easy to track history. I had a chance to talk with Swaive's Gurpal Bhoot about the compelling new device, currently available for preorder. Anyone who's had to care for someone who's down with a fever knows the importance of keeping a track of the patient's temperature over time. I'm famous for writing those numbers down on a piece of paper, and then promptly losing said paper. Not only does the Swaive keep this history for you, Bhoot says it can use that data in several ways. "The data that the Swaive gathers gets transferred to the iPhone automatically via low-energy Bluetooth. Now, you can use that information in a variety of ways. For example, you can create a history of each individual's temperature, if you're monitoring more than one sick individual. You can also monitor when each temperature was taken and compare it to a person's typical temperature range, or baseline." That's great for keeping a nurse or doctor up to day. But what if you're away and someone else is watching the kids? You can opt to get notifications to your phone as well. The Swaive has the largest display on any thermometer available as well as a built-in flashlight. I shouldn't be as excited about the flashlight as I am, but if you've ever woken up a sick child by turning on the bedroom light, you understand my enthusiasm. I'm excited about what Apple's iPhone and Health app mean for the wellness and fitness industries. Devices like the Swaive expand the iPhone's capabilities far beyond what I ever imagined for it in 2007.
Animals vs. Mutants is cute, mutant-smashing fun
After just a few minutes of playing, my 9-year-old proclaimed Animals vs. Mutants (universal, free with in-app purchases) "awesome." So there you go. Animals vs. Mutants (or "AVM" as I'm calling it) is a cute combat game in which you and an ever-increasing army of adorable but vicious animals must defeat Dr. Wicked's horrible creations. As you win battles you free various animals who fight by your side. This is crucial, because you'll need the right combination of animals and abilities to keep fighting successfully. Here's my look at Animals vs. Mutants. Looks I have to say, for all the fighting, it's a cute little game. The cartoonish heroes, villains and scenery are right at home on top of a pleasant little score. Yes there are pitched battles, but at least they aren't flinging gore all over the place. Outside of the action, the inventory, shop and level overviews are clear and legible. Plus, your health is represented by a strawberry. Awww. Gameplay Don't let the cuteness fool you. There is strategy to AVM. Before you go on a mission, you must select the animals that will accompany you. Each has a unique skill. For example, squirrels are great with ranged weapons (where "weapons" = acorns). But pandas are better at melee. A good combination will serve you well. You've also got to manage your hero's HP and mana. Your "max mana" is used to summon animals, while the "mana recovery speed" lets you do so quickly. Virtual coins let you level up both of these stats, as well as others. Moving and fighting is very straightforward. Simply tap the screen left or right to move, and get within range of enemies to attack automatically. It's easy, yes, but a bit dull. I'd like to take a more active role in the combat, choosing who to attack and when. Instead, I just get close and watch it go down. But for kids, like my young son, the easy combat is probably good thing. AVM also offers mounts, which is cool. Each offers its own benefits, aside from just looking cool. You'll also unlock items to aid your and your furry companions. What I really liked about this game is the various play modes. There's standard "adventure" mode, but also a survival mode that has you fighting wave after wave of bad guys for as long as you can, and a battle mode, where you can try to earn more points than your friends. Speaking of, Game Center is also supported. Conclusion Animals vs. Mutants is a fun, cute battle game. It's simple to play and so-so on strategy. You must assemble an effective army, and buffs like mounts and items aid in combat. I just wish that combat were a little less "auto pilot." Younger players will love it. Speaking of the kids, note that in-app purchases will let you buy in-game currency. But you can switch those off easily.
Working Apple I motherboard, vintage flag on auction
It's been a good week for Apple collectors. First two prototype iPhones show up on auction sites, and now a working Apple I motherboard and a vintage flag from the company's European headquarters are up on auction. British auction house Bonhams will put the board and the flag on the block as part of its "History of Science" auction, scheduled for October 22. The board was constructed by Woz himself and bears the number "01-0070". The flag is said to be in "fine condition." Both are expected fetch quite a sum, especially the board, which is estimated to bring as much as US$400,000.
Explore the world with Wayfare for iPhone
As someone with a serious case of wanderlust, an iPhone and no budget for world travel, Wayfare (free) is a lot of fun. It hooks you up with a user across the globe, and the two of you spend a week sharing photos, comments and culture via fun, simple "missions." I've become so enamored with Wayfare that it earned a permanent spot on my iPhone's home screen after one day of testing. Looks Wayfare is clearly presented though skeuomorphic elements that may bother those who lack a sense of fun. There are four main screens: profile, settings, "My Guide" and your journey history. Some clever touches include a map of the each user's home country in the background and a "boarding pass" that looks like a boarding pass. The photos you share with your "guide" are arranged in an orderly list. Overall it's an attractive app, but its real appeal is in using it. Use You'll forgive my gushing but I've had so much fun with this app. I've seen snippets of like in Dublin and Mumbai while sharing my own corner of New England. When a notification pops up saying my guide has shared something, I stop to see what it is. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's how to get started with Wayfare. After creating your own profile, you'll pick an available destination. Wayfare has participants in 113 countries as of this writing, speaking over a dozen languages. Once you've selected a country you'd like to explore, the app matches you with an appropriate user. From there, the seven-day exploration begins. When your week is up, that person goes into your friends list and you're free to explore another country with a new person. You and your partner explore each other's corner of the world via "missions." There are many to choose from, each designed to highlight a part of your every day. Wayfare maintains two lists of missions: a main list and another list of recommendations. Some of the recommended missions include: 1. What I'm doing right now. 2. The view from my window. 3. Something I love to eat. 4. My shoes (don't laugh, you'll find huge variations here!) 5. Someplace I go to enjoy nature. 6. Something I see very day. Other missions highlight your neighborhood, like "Something my city or town is known for." Once you've selected a mission, take a photo that satisfies it and add caption. Finally, click Done. Your partner is then prompted to meet the same mission, and you can opt to receive a push notification when he or she has done so. And that's when it gets fun. Soon you're seeing snippets of real life from somewhere far away. You can comment on each other's photos and there's no limit to the number of missions you can complete in a day. There are a few nice touches here as well. The app always lets you know what time it is in your partner's city or town, so you won't bother to nag them while they're asleep. There's also a translation feature which, unfortunately, I was unable to test. How it worked in the demo is, I tap and hold on a comment that's not in English, and it gets translated. It looks cool, but I was only paired with English-speakers. A few complaints I have a few minor complaints. First, scrolling through the timeline of completed missions is jaggy on my iPhone 5c. Perhaps more powerful iPhones are up to the challenge, but my 5c struggled a bit. Also, the title bar in the same view is transparent, so it's possible to have overlapping text, which is impossible to read. A simple scroll "fixes" it, but still... Finally, I had a hard time finding how to start a new mission. There's a "+" icon at the bottom of the screen next to the label "Send a message." It suggests that the "+" is for text, but in fact it's for commenting and selecting a mission. Conclusion Those issues aside, I'm in love with Wayfare. It's tremendously fun to see what people of other cultures are experiencing in their ordinary, daily lives. Check it out and explore the world.
Hours is a clean, useful time tracker for iPhone
I've been working from home for a few years now, and even though I'm a telecommuter, I occasionally take a side gig. There are many apps that will let me track by billable hours, including the aptly-named Hours by Tapity (US$4.99). I found Hours to be simple to use, legible and functional. Plus, you can export data to your computer via email. Handy! Here's my look at Hours. Looks Hours is very well-organized. The date and total hours worked are displayed at the very top of the screen. Calendar and preference icons are in the top left and right corners, respectively. The color-coded timers themselves show a running total as well as the project or client they're associated with. There's no guesswork about what's what or how to use Hours, and I like that. Use Starting a new timer is a piece of cake. Sweet, billable cake. Just tap the big 'ol New Timer button to open the edit screen. From there, add the name of the project your timer is for, as well as optionally adding client and task. Next, choose one of sixteen colors for the timer. It's pretty great that there are so many colors to choose from, as it helps keep track of things. Your timers appear in creation order on the app's main screen. You can reorder them at any time by tapping and holding, then dragging them into the order you'd like. To get a timer going, simply tap the clock icon next to its name. As time passes, you'll see that timer's color grow along the timeline at the top of the screen. This is so helpful, in that it provides at-a-glance information on what you've been working on. To stop a timer, just tap the clock icon again. The app's reminders function is also super useful. Have you ever forgotten to start or stop a timer? Now Hours can nag you. Set your work hours and then have the app prompt you if: 1) You haven't started a timer by a custom hour, 2) You've left a timer running after a custom time , or 3) You've gone [x time] without tracking any time There's another handy bit: have you ever needed to round hours up or down? You can tell Hours to snap timers to an increment of your choosing, and round up based on that same number. Finally, Hours lets you choose between a 12- or 24-hour clock. You can even use the decimal system, if that's your thing. The only thing that's left is to get paid! Just export your work hours to your Mac and create a sweet, sweet invoice. Conclusion Hours isn't a client tracker, project manager or to-do app. It's not supposed to be. Hours is a useful, legible and easy-to-use time tracker. If that's the functionality you're after, consider Hours.
More iPhone apps ready for iOS 8
We've been keeping tabs on the latest iOS 8-ready apps, and here's one more roundup. Let's get to it. Twitterrific, the venerable Twitter client for iOS, has been updated to version 5.7.6. Changes include support for the iPassword extension in its built-in browser, plus improved action sheets and zooming. Pictionary-style family game SketchParty TV is now up to version 2.0. This clever app uses AirPlay mirroring to get your Apple TV in on the game. This update is much more responsive that its predecessors thanks to a new drawing engine, and it'll now fit nicely on the new device sizes. Kinomatic Video Editing Tool and Camera. This pro-camera and editor in one has been updated to greatly enhance your editing options. You can adjust the bias on auto exposure or go full manual. You'll also find new white balance presets and more. Password manager Keeper has been updated to version 8.3 with new goodies for iOS 8 users. Specifically, Keeper now supports Touch ID authentication and optimized file uploads in mobile Safari.
iOS 8-ready: More apps are updated
iOS developers continue to update their apps to take advantage of iOS 8. Here's a list of a few more that you might want to check out. Wunderlist (our full review here) has been updated with a new "Today" widget for the iOS 8 Notification Center, plus the new extension lets you quickly add a webpage, note, email message or more to the app right from the share sheet. Happy productivity! CARROT Fit is back to kick your sorry backside into shape, meat bag (our full review here). The latest version features full iPad support, so now you can be heckled from the big screen. Plus, there's a new punishment feature, which amounts to ads and squirrel attacks (these can be disabled). To top it all off, CARROT Fit now interacts with Apple's HealthKit. There's no hiding now, meat bag. Project manager Things is up to version 2.5, offering 64-bit compatibility for the iPhone 5 and later. It also supports iOS 8 extensions, and the new Add To Things extension will have you capturing tasks in no time. Finally, Things 2.5 supports background refresh, so it will occasionally launch itself in the background to stay up to date. We'll have more roundups as more apps are updated. If you've got one we should highlight, let me know.
iOS 8 has arrived, and these apps are ready
Now that iOS 8 release day is here, developers are releasing updated versions of their apps that take advantage of its new features. I've collected several here for you to explore, and I'll be adding more throughout the day. Is there one that I missed? Speak up in the comments. Now, let's get started. Finish (our full review here) now features a Notification Center widget, which lets you see your next three tasks right from Notification Center, as well as new interactive notifications. Each notification center is now accompanied by Finish button and a Stall button. Do you have to put something off? Simply hit Stall. Apple's own Find My iPhone has been updated to version 3.0 with "support for iOS 8 and Family Sharing." Quotebook, the easy way to capture, store and share memorable quotes, has been updated to version 3.0.2 and is ready for the spacious iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Hootsuite, the social media manager has released an iOS 8-ready version that takes advantage of the share extension. Now you can schedule content to your social serves right from your iPhone with Hootsuite. Lockscreen Wallpaper Designer (US$1.99), which we've reviewed in full, has been updated to version 1.1. It takes advantage of the app extension. Now you can create a wallpaper for that snazzy iPhone 6 (or earlier model) from the camera roll, an email message, a text message or any other supported app. Neat! Version 1.1 is a free update for existing users. Hours is another time-tracking app, and the latest update lets you start and stop timers from the new Notification Center widget. Move between timers faster than ever. And of course, it's optimized for the iPhone 6's and iPhone 6 Plus's larger screens. Update -- Developer Jeremy Olson at Tapity says that "we had to remove Hours from the store just now because we are getting reports from users who upgraded that their old timers are hidden ... fortunately there is no data loss. We are scrambling to submit a fix ASAP." My beloved 1Password has been updated to version 5. It's now free with an in-app purchase (note that all Pro features are a free upgrade to all existing version 4 owners), and iOS 8-only. It also supports Touch ID and direct Safari integration. YAAAY! UpWords Notepad is another inclusive task manager. It integrates your calendar, to-dos, contacts and so much more. It's very nice looking and manages to get a lot of information into a tidy interface. With today's update you can view your to-dos and calendar events together in the Today view. You can even reschedule tasks, right then and there.
Fleksy is a snazzy alternative keyboard for iOS 8
iOS 8 is here and it's brought...third-party keyboards! Seriously, I believe this is going to be a big deal, and we'll have a look at several options as they start coming in. But first, I want to show you all Fleksy. Fleksy is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as being the fastest keyboard. But it's not just about speed. Fleksy is customizable, resizable and predictive. It supports gestures too, which goes a long way towards making you fast and accurate. Here's a look at Fleksy for iOS 8. Customization - colors Right away you'll notice that Fleksy looks quite unlike the iOS keyboard, be it iOS 8 or otherwise. The keys are quite flat in design and lack a distinct border. But that's just the start. You can choose from five colored themes, plus premium themes. It seems odd to have that level of customization over a keyboard in iOS, but it actually looks pretty nice. Customization - size Here's another cool trick. You can shrink the Fleksy keyboard to a layout that's smaller than the default. Specifically, you can either hide the spacebar/shift keys/number button/Return key and leave yourself just with the letters. It's a neat little trick, and the shrunken keyboard takes up even less space on the iPhone 6's half-acre of screen space. Gesture support I'll admit that I've been envious of my Android-wielding friends' options for keyboards, especially all the gestures. With a swipe, they can create whole words, move things around and more. Finally, Fleksy brings some of that functionality to iOS. First, you can delete by swiping left. That reminds me of Graffiti on my old Palm IIIe. How I loved that thing. But I digress. Fleksy gestures also let you add a space with a swipe or punctuation. Other goodies Emoji fans will be delighted to find over 800 of the little guys build into Fleksy. It also supports more than 40 languages as well as QWERTY, DVORAK, AZERTY and COLEMAK layouts. I'm excited to see where third-party keyboards go on iOS. If Fleksy is any indication, it's going to be a fun, active category of app for quite some time.