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Skype completely redesigns iPhone app

Skype 5.0 for iphone

Skype has decided to overhaul its iOS app, bringing it to version 5.0. Recently, the communications company has been upgrading its mobile app for other platforms, namely Android and Windows Phone, but until now Apple has been left behind.

The first thing you might notice is the new interface. They have completely changed the looks to bring it in line with the newer iOS design language. The next thing is the software changes. You can now start group chats directly from the central hub and don't have to wait until a friends is online before you can message them. Apparently offline messaging was something that was only developed in 2014.

Skype 5.0 also has some software upgrades that are not obvious upon opening the app. It is better at synching your messages between devices and has had its coding redesigned to work up to five times faster, according to a teaser video released Monday evening.

But after tempting you with all the upgrades and good news, Skype is going to leave you hanging. It will be another week before the new Skype for the iPhone is released to the public.

Read More | Skype for iPhone

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Tweetbot 3.0 for iPhone brings updated design to an already great app

Tweetbot 3.0

Tweetbot is the Twitter client of choice here at Gear Live HQ, and we've been delighted by the newest version, Tweetbot 3.0. Released yesterday on the App Store, Tweetbot 3.0 is an all-new app, completely rewritten and redesigned from the ground up by the team at Tapbots. If you're a user of the older version, the new Tweetbot may seem a bit unfamiliar at first, but that's just because the team stripped away old design ideas, and decided to take on iOS 7 design language, and it turned out fantastic. New functionality makes the app faster, and it's normally ready with your fully updated timeline whenever you launch it, thanks to the integration of the iOS 7 Background Fetch API. Sounds in Tweetbot are as whimsical as ever, and the whole app just feels brighter and more open. If you're already a Tweetbot user, it should be noted that Tweetbot 3.0 is a new, separate purchase. Check out a video demo after the break.

You can download Tweetbot 3.0 for iPhone now for $2.99.

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Google Maps 2.0 for iOS brings iPad support, indoor maps, and more

Google Maps 2.0 iOS

This evening Google released Google Maps 2.0 for iOS, and with it comes a bunch of new features, including full iPad support. That's a welcome change to owners of Apple's tablets, but the new Google Maps brings a bunch more with it.

Enhanced turn-by-turn navigation now includes live traffic updates and incident reports. When you are looking for something specific, Google Maps now drills down into popular categories like restaurants, playing, shopping, and sleeping. Google now owns Zagat, and as such, Zagat ratings are included and listed within the results. Google Offers also gets integrated into Maps, showing you results that have deals as well.

What may be seen as the coolest addition to the Google Maps app is the inclusion for indoor mapping. That means that you can now launch Google Maps to get indoor directions at places like malls, airports, bus and train stations, and more.

You can download Google Maps 2.0 for iOS now from the App Store.

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Plants vs. Zombies 2 set for July 18 release

Plants vs Zombies 2 trailer

Plants vs. Zombies was one of the early hits on App Store, making it the 12th all-time paid iPhone app in Apple's marketplace. Well, now there's more to come, PopCap Games will release Plants vs. Zombies 2 for iOS on July 18th for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

This time around, the game will be free to download, instead including the now-popular in-app purchase model. PopCap does say that pretty much the entire game will be free to play, and in app purchase will be for extra currency, plant food, and items to enhance the experience.

Check out the Plants vs. Zombies 2 trailer after the break for a look at what Crazy Dave has in store.

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Twitter for iPhone 5.7 improves photo sharing, timeline view

Twitter for iPhone 5.7

Twitter for iPhone 5.7 has been released, bringing with it improved photo sharing and a preview of what your media- and metadata-filled tweets will look like prior to you posting them, so you can get them juuust right. The Twitter timeline also gets a makeover, now being wider and easier to read throughout the app. You'll also now receive a notification whenever a friend of yours joins Twitter (we aren't sure how that one works,) alongside all the typical bug fixes and code optimizations. You can download Twitter for iPhone now.

Read More | Twitter for iPhone

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Tweetbot 2.8 adds new media timeline and redesigned image viewer

Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Social Networking, App Updates, $2.99,

Tweetbot version 2.8   Tweetbot version 2.8

The fine folks at Tapbots have updated their popular iOS twitter client, Tweetbot, to version 2.8 for iOS. The update adds a new tab specifically for media timeline consumption, showing just the images and videos from those you follow. Additionally, you can now swipe right to left on any given tweet to reveal retweets and the number of users who favorited. Viewing photos has been made frictionless by eliminating the transition to another screen, much like the image viewer behavior of Tweetbot for OS X. Direct Tweetbot download links here: iPad and iPhone / iPod Touch.

What's New in Version 2.8

  • New media timeline. Scroll to the top of a timeline and switch to the new media view (next to the search box). This view displays only supported image and video tweets.
  • Completely redesigned image viewer
  • Tweet/status detail view now displays the number of Favs and Retweets
  • Fixed Instagram Previews
  • Various other bug fixes

Read More | Tweetbot

Gallery: Tweetbot 2.8 adds new media timeline and redesigned image viewer


Yahoo! Weather for iPhone quick review

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Weather, Reviews, Free Apps,

Yahoo! Weather

Yahoo! Weather was released this morning for iOS, and we've gotta say, it's gorgeous. The company has brilliantly tapped it's Flickr community for imagery that's used in the app, along with nice, lightweight typography.

The app pulls in your location after you give it permission to do so, and combining that with the time and weather conditions, it will then select images to show in the background of your location that nearly match all those parameters. If it is nighttime and snowy, you'll likely get an image of a place somewhere near you taken in similar conditions. Pull up on the display, and you get an hourly forecast for the day, as well as a five-day forecast, and other details like wind level, humidity, visibility, weather map, and even sunrise/sunset details. It all looks really good.

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Spotify for iPhone gets visual redesign

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Music, App Updates, Free Apps,

Spotify ios 0.6.0

Spotify for iOS has just received a massive overhaul, bringing the UI in line with the look that Android's been sporting for a while. iOS users now get access to features like the swiping method for accessing different areas of the Spotify app (similar to what you can do in the Facebook iOS app.) The "Now Playing" area shows you the artist and track name no matter where you are navigating in the app, right above the play controls. You can swipe here to go to the next or previous track with ease. You also get bug fixes and overall improvements to stability, as well as the Ford SYNC AppLink Spotify feature that we mentioned yesterday. You can grab the update now from the App Store, and peep the full changelog after the break.

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Kickstarter for iPhone now available

Kickstarter for iPhone

We've often wondered by a site like Kickstarter lacked an official iOS app, but that ends today with the release of Kickstarter for iPhone. The crowdsourcing site's new app allows you to view campaigns, watch the pitch videos that go along with them, and pledge your cash towards one of the reward levels offered. If you've created a campaign, you can track your progress in the app as well. The app is not yet iPad-native, but it does support iPhone 3GS and later, including support for the iPhone 5 4-inch display. Grab Kickstarter for iPhone for free.

Read More | Kickstarter for iPhone

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Temple Run 2 now live in the App Store

Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Games, New Apps, Free Apps,

Temple Run 2 iOS (2)   Temple Run 2 iOS

The very popular Temple Run game has been made into a sequel. Temple Run 2 is now available in the App Store in the US and boosts 3Dish animated landscapes. The great news is that the game is free! Here is a list of other features.

FEATURES

  • Beautiful new graphics
  • Gorgeous new organic environments
  • New obstacles
  • More powerups
  • More achievements
  • Special powers for each character
  • Bigger monkey!!!

Read More | Temple Run 2

Gallery: Temple Run 2 now live in the App Store


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