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PGA Tour's second-screen iPad app bombards you with stats, video
Even the most ardent golf fan would admit that sometimes tournament telecasts aren't exactly action-packed. The PGA Tour is trying to do something about that with its new iPad app, available just in time for this week's World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship. The second-screen app compliments the live action, giving you shot-by-shot coverage of players or groups, all overlaid onto a graphic of each hole. On top of all the stats you'd ever want (drive length, distance to hole, etc.) the app even gives predictive stats, showing how likely Rory McIlroy is to make that 25-foot putt he's facing, for instance.
Brush up on American history with this elegant Ken Burns iPad app
When it comes to apps, Apple's iOS platform offers access to an incredible amount of them. That being said, there are always some which stand out from the rest, one of these being Ken Burns' new, beautifully designed iPad application. But there's more behind its stunning visuals: The Ken Burns app is also, most importantly, loaded with a ton of content related to American history. Once installed, you can view scenes from different Burns' films (like Baseball or The War), as well as select a theme that you're most interested in -- Art, Innovation, Politics, War, to mention a few. It's available now as a free download, but be prepared to shell out $10 in order to unlock the app's full potential on your iPad.
Livestream arrives on bigger iOS screens with new iPad-optimized app
Yes, Apple's mobile platform lets you use iPhone apps on the iPad, but there's nothing like having one that's designed to take advantage of the excess real estate found on a tablet's display. With this in mind, Livestream today is releasing a new, universal version of its iOS application, complete with iPad optimization and a number of novel features in tow. Naturally, larger-screen compatibility is among the app's main highlights, while the rest focus on allowing users to easily launch broadcasts and watch real-time content. iOS devices can stream video in HD over 3G, 4G and WiFi -- and that includes being able to choose from a variety of live filters, share events on popular social networks (Twitter, Facebook, etc.), chat with viewers and, for those invested in the company's ecosystem, even use it as Livestream Broadcaster remote. We had a chance to spend some time with the application and were pleased to see how well it performs, particularly during live streams, which is no surprise as that's its bread and butter. Creating an event and getting a broadcast on the air using an iPad mini took no more than 10 seconds, making it a pretty powerful tool for someone looking to record and share videos on the go -- Livestream points to citizen journalism as a perfect example of how the app could be well utilized. Max Haot, CEO of Livestream, told us that the development of the iPad-enhanced app is part of his team's goal to have a strong presence across the many existing platforms. "Our mission is to bring all kinds of events to audiences from all over the world."
Tweetwall rebuilt, new iPad app available
Tweetwall is a company that provides Twitter displays for events, allowing companies to show guests the live Twitter chatter about their events. Their clients have included CNN, Yahoo, Intel, PayPal, Microsoft, eBay, the Obama campaign and the Webby Awards. Now Tweetwall has launched a rebuilt version of its service, including a redesign and a new iPad app offering AirPlay support. The iPad app is currently free to download and works with AirPlay or the digital AV adapter to display your feed on a screen. Tweetwall is offering two variations on pricing for their service, a US$49-a-day self-service model where your wall is built from templates and a full service option that has a $1,000 setup, plus $249 per event day. Loading times and stability have been improved, and the service allows filtering to keep your event wall from being spammed with profanity or other keywords. Correction: This article original incorrectly stated the price of the full service option as being $500 a day. The $500 quoted was a test price the company ran to see if pricing drastically impacted the volume of Tweetwalls we were doing per week. According to a company representative in the comments it worked and was the inspiration for the launch of the self service platform. (5/20/13) [via TechCrunch]
Panic teases a new iPad app, probably Panic Status Board
Panic is one of our favorite Mac developers -- they make the excellent Coda web editor, and Transmit, which is my OS X FTP client of choice. They have a new iPad app arriving this week, and word around the Internets is that it's an iPad version of Status Board, the internal tool the company developed for tracking projects, appointments and Twitter messages. As you can see above, the Panic tool is meant to be used by multiple people and can track updates and to-dos for multiple projects and products, but presumably a more personal iPad tool would be applicable to more than just the Panic team. Panic has tweeted teases that the app has something to do with "status," and of course we'll get to know exactly what it is when the app arrives tomorrow. There's no word yet on price, but given that Panic likes to (deservedly) pick a premium price for its software, like Diet Coda for US$19.99, odds are it'll be a nice chunk of money for a solid amount of value. We'll wait and see what the team has come up with.
GDC 2013: PlanetSide 2's new app and the future of Forgelight
On Tuesday, SOE shared a trailer highlighting its Forgelight engine. The proprietary engine not only runs PlanetSide 2 but will also be the foundation for all the studio's future games, including EverQuest Next. The same press release also introduced the upcoming PS2 app. Although it won't be available to the public for a a bit, I had a chance to sit with senior art director Tramell Issac to see the app in action as well as discuss the Forgelight engine and what's coming up for PS2. The app provides easy access to a ton of gameplay info, from personal stats to weapon information to real-time in-game map updates, and consequently there could be a marked decrease in workplace productivity in store for PS2 fans!
RockMelt social browser comes to the iPad, offers up news stories tailored to your interests
Remember RockMelt The "social web browser"? The name doesn't come up often, especially when we talk about conventional browsers like Firefox, Chrome, IE and Safari. Well, rest assured, the startup is still alive and kicking: after releasing an iPhone app earlier this year, it's introducing an iPad version as well. As ever, the browser is built around social networks like Facebook and Twitter, but instead of emphasizing chat and status updates, it's all about using your social network to help curate a newsfeed that matches your interests. In other words, you could do a traditional web search and sift though the results, but if you sign in with your Facebook or Twitter handle what you'll actually see are stories that RockMelt thinks might appeal to you. In theory, the browser will learn, over time, what you like and what you don't, and at any point you can add specific news sources as you would with an RSS feed. As an added bonus, the experience of reading articles from within the app is actually quite smooth, but that's neither here nor there. And, of course, what would a social browser be without the ability to share cat videos? In addition to sharing things with people directly (i.e., through email), you can use so-called emoticodes like "lol," "want," and "aww" to comment on a story without actually commenting on it. (Think of it as the equivalent of liking something on Facebook: it's less intrusive than posting random links on your friend's wall.) The app is available for download today, and we're told versions for other platforms are in development. In the meantime, check out the screenshots after the break to get a basic for the layout.
Showtime's second screen iPad app hits 2.0, goes from Social to Sync
With its season premieres of Dexter and Homeland (trailers are embedded after the break) on deck for next Sunday evening, Showtime has refashioned its second screen iPad app in version 2.0 and even changed the name to reflect new features. Now dubbed Showtime Sync, it follows other network branded apps (AMC, MTV, NBC and Syfy come to mind) by focusing on pushing relevant content, viewer polls and the like to the tablet while the show plays. It syncs up automatically from the show's audio, which should make things simple when watching via DVR, VOD and even DVD / Blu-ray or streaming (could you have Showtime Anytime streaming on one tablet synced to another one?), while promising lots of photos plus behind the scenes content when the episode ends. Hit the source link to grab the free app, how you come by the episodes you'll have to figure out on your own.
Adobe Digital Publishing Suite Single Edition gets cozy with Creative Cloud, code deficient designers rejoice
If you've been looking for a way to make publishing for the iPad much easier and erase the coding headaches, Adobe is looking to oblige. The software company has announced that its Digital Publishing Suite (DPS) Single Edition is now part of the Creative Cloud software collection. Not familiar with DPS? No worries. The program allows designers to create single-issue iPad publications (annual reports, brochures, portfolios, etc.) in InDesign and then export them to the Digital Publishing Suite App Builder for all of the requisite coding and finishing touches. When all is said and done, the user is left with an app that can be immediately sent to Apple for its seal of approval. Pretty neat, eh? The software will still be available on its own for $395 or as part of a $49.99 annual or $74.99 month-to-month Creative Cloud commitment. However, those upgrading from CS3 or later can opt in for $29.99 per month. If a few more details are what you're after before signing up, consult the full PR below.
Stitcher updates its iOS app with offline mode for data-free radio
Stitcher is all about giving the people what they want and, only days after introducing its popular lists, it's back with an offline mode for its iOS apps. Despite boasting one of the smallest data footprints in the streaming game (0.2MB per minute), you can now download over 10,000 radio shows for unconnected listening. Beware -- the app will automatically update the shows on your custom stations, so if you plan on using it to save that precious data for other things, make sure to set it to only pull over WiFi. Along with that major enhancement, there's a new comments system and other improvements in Facebook sharing, searching and AirPlay compatibility. The PR says the update is live, but iTunes disagrees, so you'll have to wait a little longer before going off-grid.
Daily iPad App: Splice is a different puzzle game
Splice is an experimental puzzle game for iPad, put together by a developer called Cipher Prime. It was originally released on Steam and has received several awards. After being selected for PAX 10 and Indiecade 2012, Splice has made the jump over to iPad. Splice is intriguing in that it's not easy to get into, as it's a puzzle game that plays hide-and-seek with its mechanics. But it definitely creates a striking mood, and it wordlessly communicates its principles quite well. The basic idea is that you've got to line up what appear to be biological cells in a certain order, usually in a symmetrical pattern, by splitting and then recombining them (hence the title) a certain number of times. Like most great game ideas, this sounds more complicated to do than it is. In the end, you've just got to look closely for a pattern, and then figure out where the cells need to go. There are some great touches in the atmosphere of the game, too. For example, when you mess up and need to redo your splices, you just touch a timeline on the side of the screen, and the game artfully rewinds to the last cut you made. TUAW got a chance to talk with Cipher Prime at PAX last week, and founder Dain Saint said that the game was originally developed in Unity. Bringing it to the iPad didn't take long at all, but the optimization process took about a month. The company is now working on a sequel to a previous title, Auditorium, after having raised the funds for it via a Kickstarter earlier this year. But Saint also told us that before it makes Auditorium 2, the goal is to make a much smaller title, hopefully with a development time of just about a month, to "work through our production pipeline." After that, it'll be on to the bigger title, but Saint isn't sure whether either game will make it to the iPad just yet. With a team of just five people, there's obviously not a lot of time for extra tasks. At any rate, it's good to see Splice on the iOS platform, and hopefully its success will bring Cipher Prime and other indie developers back in the future. The game's artistic and experimental, so it might not be for everyone (especially with the current $3.99 price, despite the game being even more expensive on Steam). But if you're looking for a really gorgeous puzzle game with some out-there mechanics, Splice is a very interesting experience to try.
Pac-12 Conference streams come to iPad, fuel that Big Game rivalry on the road
Cal and Stanford fans away from home no longer have to huddle around their laptops if they want to learn who's one-upping who. The Pac-12 Conference has just launched an iPad app for its authenticated Pac-12 Now service: as long as you're with a TV provider that carries the college sports division's games (sorry for now, DirecTV customers), you can tune into 850 live matches spread across a myriad of sports. As you'd hope, going the digital route allows for some on-demand viewing, a dedicated program guide and the social sharing you'll want to rope friends into watching. Only Bright House, Cox and Time Warner Cable subscribers can use the iPad viewer at first, although support should come to BendBroadband, Comcast, Frontier and Suddenlink this fall, right alongside Android- and iPhone-sized apps. Hopefully, they arrive in time for a little ego padding around the Big Game in October.
Football fans score additional content in Sky Sports for iPad update
The app devs over at Sky Sports are having a busy year, and after improving their iPad offering for the F1 season, they're back with a "second screen" update for football (soccer) fans. Just in time for the start of the UK Premier League season, the new Football Match Centre adds a content bar alongside your chosen stream showing team and player info, in-depth stats of the match in progress and a hand-picked Twitter feed for related musings. You might think the devs deserve a break, but sadly there's no time -- next on the agenda is a similar update for the Champions League tournament, then they're bringing the second screen to golf fans before the Ryder Cup starts next month.
GetGlue for iPad hits version 3.0: adds personalized guides, show recommendations and alerts
GetGlue's been giving social TV watchers a hub they can count on within Cupertino's tablet for a good while now. Today, however, the application's reached version three-dot-oh, which means there's a slew of new goodies in tow. Among some of the fresh features is an all-new guide for television shows, movies and sports that's solely based on personal preferences, while recommendations, clips and related articles have also been added in this new version. That's not it, though, GetGlue now lets folks set alerts for upcoming events, as well as earn "stickers" for watching their favorite content -- think badges on FourSquare. Best of all, the iPad app's still free of charge, so anyone interested in v3.0 can give the App Store link below a quick tap to get on with the gratis download.
Amazon Instant Video iPad app now available, iPhone and iPod Touch still left wanting
A day after upgrading its cloud music player, Amazon has delivered a native Amazon Instant Video app for iPad (not iPhone or iPod Touch, yet) to the App Store. It has access to streaming Prime Instant Video for subscribers, as well as downloaded or streamed video on-demand. Other key features include access to the Watchlist / queue, and automatic access to any shows subscribed to with a Season Pass the day after they air on TV. The free app is available in the iTunes store right now, however like the sudden appearance of Hulu Plus on Apple TV yesterday we don't have any official PR to share just yet. We've had a chance to play around with it and we must say, Amazon is really coming after Netflix with this one. The app runs smoothly, and while the video player itself gets just the bare bones iOS treatment, every other part of the app seems polished, including the Watchlist. Add in the fact that you can watch things via subscription and seamlessly jump to fresher / premium content available for purchase or individual rental (with the notable caveat that you can't actually browse the VOD content, or purchase or buy it from within the app itself) and there's a serious competition going on.
CloudOn's productivity app heads to 60 additional countries, new features announced
You know how they say that when it rains, it pours? Well, right now it's really, really pouring at CloudOn's HQ. Keeping up with last month's global expansion, the outfit has announced it's launching its bestseller Android and iPad application in 60 more countries, including big-name markets like Mexico, Costa Rica and Honduras in Latin America, as well as Australia, Croatia, Greece, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey across the various ponds. What's more, the editing (and creating) cloud-based app is adding a fresh voice dictation feature, along with new drag-and-drop tidbits for moving files around with more ease -- in addition to these, though, CloudOn told us exclusively you'll soon be able to add annotations / comments to all your docs, and that notes will soon be custom tailored for mobile devices. Feel free to dig into the PR down below, where you'll find the full list of over 70 nations in which the application's now live.
Re-Reading Rainbow: an interview with LeVar Burton
LeVar Burton has to take a moment. He pauses, dabs his eyes with a tissue, taking it all in: the washed-out white room, over-exposed by the sun, filled with journalists, industry reps and friends in rows of folding chairs, red, orange, yellow, green and blue. Large balloons hang from the corners of the room, dressed up like hot air balloons, carrying small, empty baskets. A guitar sits next to an amp off the corner of the stage while the Reading Rainbow logo beams on a flatscreen monitor, largely unchanged since its heyday a quarter-century ago. Burton, too, appears mostly unchanged since those days, aside from closer-cropped hair, more neatly manicured facial hair and a smart, mustard suit jacket. Reading Rainbow launches iPad app, we go hands-on The Engadget Show 34: LeVar Burton and weather balloons over Alaska There's plenty to be emotional about, of course, hitting the stage on the tail of an introduction by producer Mark Wolfe, who calls Burton, "my best friend." The return of Reading Rainbow - now in the form of an iPad app - has been a long time coming, the beloved children's series having been largely MIA since being pulled from the airwaves in 2009, after a 26-year run. "This is two years in the making," Burton begins in his familiarly gentle cadence as we sit down for an interview roughly an hour later, "and I'm really just overwhelmed with the response. It's like making a movie. You're just so close to it and you sometimes lose perspective, you can't see the forest for the trees, that sort of thing. There's so much that's gone into it, so much work, so much sweat, so much blood." A lot, certainly, has gone into the launch, Burton singling out theme song composer Steve Horelick and singer Tina Fabrique in the audience. "It's my first time meeting her in-person," he explains, extending a hand to bring her up on stage. "Butterfly in the sky," she begins, as though not a single day had passed in the last two and a half decades that she didn't wake up singing that line. "I can go twice as high," Burton joins in. By "take a look, it's in a book," nearly everyone in attendance adds to the chorus. It's a surreal sight placed up against the standard fare of tech press conferences, where bloggers elbow one another to shoot tablets on stands behind bulletproof plexiglass, and before the crowd finishes singing "a Reading Rainbow," Burton's eyes aren't the only misty ones in the house.
Airbus Electronic Flight Bag apps save iPad savvy pilots time and paper
For a while now, iPads have been used to replace paper in a pilot's daily duties. Airbus is also looking to further the cause with its Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) applications for the Apple slate. Pretty soon, airlines will have an alternative to existing EFB tech that runs PC operating systems with the "FlySmart with Airbus" app suite. The apps will allow crews to calculate performance and consult manuals without the need to cart around several hundred printed pages. Of course, to gain access to said software in the App Store, you'll need to be a customer in order to obtain the requisite download permissions.
Cablevision Optimum apps for iPad, iPhone upgraded with new UI, ratings and discovery features
Cablevision unveiled its Optimum for iPad app with live TV streaming in the spring of 2011, then upgraded it to 2.0 with remote control and DVR scheduling plus an iPhone-compatible edition last fall, and now 3.0 has arrived on iOS with a whole new UI. The updated look makes the app more consistent with the web-based Optimum experience for PCs that launched in April, making it easier to find shows and view the guide well into the future as well as up to two hours into the past. Key to the upgraded discovery experience is the ability to rate TV shows which it uses to make recommendations on other content. The DVR section has even been revamped,making it easier to see what's been recorded and programs that are scheduled, as well as remaining storage space. The full changelog is available on iTunes, subscribers can grab the free apps for their respective devices at the links below.
AT&T U-Verse iPad app adds more streaming video, new sports and sharing features
AT&T launched an iPad app earlier this year and it's recently been updated with a few new features for subscribers to the service bringing it closer to the vision of the ComplenTV app we saw demonstrated at CES. Now, it can link directly to your U-Verse TV box to pull in up to the minute companion content for any sports events might be watching like scores, reviews of previous games and schedules, or share what you're watching to Twitter and Facebook. Also available for all iOS devices is an expanded lineup of video on-demand content including HBO®, Cinemax®, Starz, Encore, Movieplex and Music Choice videos. Also recently added for the iPhone and iPod touch is a full remote control with DVR and guide controls, just like the iPad app already had. There's more details on the free apps in the press release after the break, or in their descriptions on iTunes.
