Articles about iOS

Nearly a year after it debuted Xbox Music, Microsoft has introduced iOS and Android apps for its impressive music service, and sent out a clear warning to the likes of Spotify with the introduction of free web streaming.

iOS and Android users with an Xbox Music Pass can now enjoy unlimited access to 30 million songs for $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year. When you add a song to your music library on Xbox, it will be instantly available on the mobile device.

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Microsoft is locked in a battle for your note-taking needs on mobile devices. Evernote is the perceived king of the field, but OneNote is certainly a strong competitor and today the software giant announces improvements to the iOS version of the Office app.

The latest update allows users to create notebooks on the iPad as well as create, delete and rename sections. Microsoft claims this was one of the most requested features from customers already using the previous version, but it is also not the only enhancement made to this build.

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Spotify users with both an iOS device and a premium subscription -- oh, and at least one set of compatible speakers -- will soon be able to take advantage of a new Chromecast-like feature. Spotify Connect allows for a seamless music experience, transferring music playback between devices and sound systems. Everything can be controlled using an iOS app, turn your iPhone into the ultimate music remote.

The new service is showcased in a YouTube video that demonstrates the ease with which music can be transferred from one set of speakers to another. Walk home from work listening to your favorite album on your iPhone earphones, and as soon as you step through the front door you can push the music to your home stereo.

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Or is it? It's not often that I see Windows Phone linked to being a "key player" on the smartphone market (quite the contrary, if some pundits are to be believed). But, according to a new report from Kantar Worldpanel Comtech, it appears that Microsoft's operating system has established itself as a "real adversary" to Android and iOS. That appears to be no small feat.

Between May and July 2013, Windows Phones accounted for 8.2 percent of all smartphone sales in five major European markets -- France, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK. Compared to the same time-frame from last year (when it had 4.9 percent market share), the OS grew by 3.3 percentage points, or 67.34 percent. That is a sizeable increase, however one that did not lead to Windows Phone's market share hitting double digits in a larger region (which, in my opinion, is a noteworthy steppingstone for any podium contender).

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Yahoo has released Flickr 2.20 for iPhone and iPod touch, a major new update to its app for quickly sharing and uploading photos using your iOS device’s camera.

The new build adds three major new filter-based features to its roster, plus adds new camera tools while dropping the paywall on some of the more professional editing tools. Both sets of tools are also jazzed up with new animated transitions for "the best camera experience yet".

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Most graphics software will do its best to clean up your photos, removing noise, optimizing brightness and contrast, and generally leaving them bright and polished.

If you’re bored with this approach, though, you could always try Grungetastic ($0.99 iPhone -- $7.99 Windows, Mac), which prefers to reduce colors, add layers of scratches, dirt and grime, tear image borders, and generally leave your pictures looking as though they’ve been left in a box in your garden for a very long time.

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It's no secret that most mobile users only install a tiny fraction of the total number of apps available in the relevant stores. There are hundreds of thousands of offerings for Android, iOS and Windows Phone, but the vast majority will never make it onto your smartphone or tablet -- some cater to a very specific audience (like root-only apps for Android), some are designed for certain local markets (Internet banking apps, for instance) and some are plain dreadful (half-baked third-party clients spring to mind). It comes as no surprise then that there are apps that users don't even know about or which developers have abandoned entirely. The question is: How many?

Well, according to a new infographic that was just released by StarDust, over 41 percent of all Android apps available in Google Play can be deemed as "dead" -- they have received less than 10 reviews and ratings and not a single update throughout their existence -- while a more significant 65 percent of all iOS apps in the Apple App Store and 69 percent of all Windows Phone apps in the Windows Phone Store share a similar fate. The numbers are staggering, and show that it's not easy to make an app popular. The low number of reviews indicate abysmal user awareness and interest, which may have lead to the developers ceasing to release updates (and vice-versa).

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Apple users tend to like Apple things. Typically, the user's experience will be the best when all of their hardware is Apple. However, Google is hoping that iOS users will change course and shun the Apple TV in favor of its inexpensive Chromecast device.

Today, Google took a big step towards its goal by releasing a Chromecast app for iOS. Will it be enough to lure Apple users from the Apple TV?

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I have been using BitTorrent Sync between my desktop and laptop since it debuted in private alpha form. The service has since matured to beta, and now ages a bit more as it spreads to another platform -- iOS, after landing on Android last month.

"Today, we’re happy to report that BitTorrent Sync is now available for iOS devices on the App Store. iOS fans: you can now sync freely", the company reports.

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About 3 months ago, my heart was aflutter for Google's Play Music All Access. I was so enamored that I declared iTunes dead. While it remains my favorite streaming music service, there is still not an iOS version. I am typically an Android guy, however, there is a fourth-generation iPod touch in my family that gets use too -- mostly for music.

This week, I discovered a new addition to the crowded streaming music category, called Radical.FM. The question becomes: is it a worthy addition to iOS?

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iWork for iCloud beta was originally only available for developers (or people with developer accounts), much to the ire of the fruit-logo company's eager and loyal following. Today, without any fanfare, the cloud-based Office platform is now available to all Apple ID users.

Apple describes the service by saying "iWork has always been the best way to be productive on the Mac. And iWork for iOS made it easy to create beautiful documents on iPad and iPhone. With iWork for iCloud we’re bringing Pages, Numbers, and Keynote to the web -- on Mac and PC. And thanks to iCloud, your work is always up to date on all your devices".

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Pandora, the popular music service, is adding yet another feature to its mobile app. The customizable radio station service, built on the Music Genome project, splits its time between development and fighting for its right to be treated as a radio station in the eyes of the MPAA.

Today the service announces an update to the mobile app that brings a new sleep timer feature for both free and "One" customers. "Today I’m thrilled to share that we’re releasing a new version of our Pandora mobile app for both iOS and Android that contains one of our top-requested new product features from listeners: a Sleep Timer. With the new Sleep Timer in version 4.5 of our app, you can now fall asleep to the sounds of your favorite Pandora stations", says Pandora's Mike Grishaver.

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Google purchased mapping firm Waze back in June, bringing two services that many mobile users feel are among the best on the market under the one roof. The acquisition led to speculation that the unique features offered by Waze would slowly be rolled into Google. Much of Waze's information is crowd-sourced, such as accident reporting, traffic delays and even police radar.

That speculation begins leading to fruition today as the search giant rolls out step one. "No one likes getting stuck in traffic. That’s why the Waze and Google Maps teams are working together to harness the power of Google technology and the passion of the Waze community to make it easier to navigate your daily life", says Brian McClendon, VP of Google Maps.

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In a recent ad Microsoft levelled its guns at Google, but this time around it is Apple who finds itself in the crosshairs. The thinly veiled attack pits the Lenovo Yoga against Apple’s iPad in a bid to win favour in time for the ‘back to school season’.

The advertisement is set in a lecture hall and finds the lecturer’s audience divided into three distinct camps -- old-school pen and paper fans, iPad users, and a solitary student with a convertible Windows device. As the cue comes to start taking notes, the Windows user casually stops playing the word game she was engrossed in, flips the Yoga into ‘notebook’ mode and starts typing.

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It's easy to learn how many iPads and iPhones have been sold -- sales figures are readily available. But this isn’t enough information for advertisers who need to know what type of demographic makes up their potential market. Research by Flurry helps to shine a light on the types of people who own different iOS devices.

A random sample of over 44,000 iOS device owners reveals that 72 percent have an iPhone and 28 percent an iPad. Plotted on a chart, the figures make for interesting reading but, as ever, the most intriguing results are to be found at the extremes.

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