0 The App Store is About to Hit 50 Billion Downloads

By Admin_AT | At 4:07 PM | Label : app store , apple , iOS , itunes | 0 Comments

The App Store was introduced with the second version of iOS, then called iPhone OS. It brought third party apps to the iPhone and iPod Touch. Since then, the App Store has been the most popular of such app repositories. Very popular actually, as nearly 50 billion apps have been downloaded. To celebrate, Apple is giving away an iTunes gift card (which will also work on the App Store), valued at $10,000. Obviously, the one to win that will be the person who downloaded the 50,000,000,000th app. They'll also be giving away 50 $500 gift cards to the first 50 people who download an app after the milestone is reached.

It's a great chance to win some money, but it's also amazing to think about how far the App Store has come. iOS 7 and the 7th generation iPhone could be a huge hit for Apple, so maybe it won't take 5 years to hit 100 billion.

You can watch the progress of the App Store countdown to 50 billion here.

 

0 Google Proves Android Fragmentation With an iOS App

By Admin_AT | At 7:13 PM | Label : android , fragmentation , google , iOS | 0 Comments

A few days ago, Google released Google Now, an Android feature for iOS through an update to their Google app. The feature is like Siri, only for Google searches. By releasing it on iOS, they made it available to over 500 million iOS users. However, on Android, it's only on at most 120 million Android phones. Yes, a key feature of Android, their version of Siri, is available on more iOS devices than Android devices. It's not because of marketshare, it's because of fragmentation.

Google Now only works on Android devices using Jellybean, the latest version of the OS. Less than 25% of people have the latest version of Android. Unfortunately, since upgrading the operating system is left to the manufacturers who have made their own Android customizations, users don't often get updates. In fact, unless you're using a Nexus device, the best way to keep up to date with the latest OS is to buy a new Android phone. Of course, phone manufacturers don't mind that, but users probably do.

Issues like this are probably why Gizmodo called the iPhone one of the best Android phones. Google is more interested in selling their services, rather than their phones. That means getting it to as many people as possible. Since they can't get it to many Android users, they have to share their services with iOS.

via TheTechBlock, photo via Chris Barischoff

 

0 iOS 7 Will Feature a Fresh Yet Familiar Look

By Admin_AT | At 5:01 PM | Label : apple , iOS , ios 7 , rumor | 0 Comments

It looks like iOS 7 will be the first to contain design elements approved by Sir Jony Ive after all. According to a number of anonymous sources who have seen it, the new operating system will feature a brand new look, with flat design elements. Skeuomorphism, glass, and 3D designs will be a thing of the past, replaced instead with very clean, flat design. The app icons will be getting a face lift to fit with these flatter themes.

Above, there's the old podcast app on the left, and the new one on the right. Here you can plainly see how Apple's new guidelines for a cleaner, skeuomorphism-free design. Gone is the out of place tapedeck metaphor, replaced by something that's a bit more useful: the image for the podcast. The controls are also cleaner, and feel less cramped. Expect a similar makeover on iOS.

Apple has also been looking into designing interface elements that are more "glanceable". Basically, they're hoping to make it easier to find information, without paging or scrolling around. Apple has also focused intensely on making sure the OS still is easy to use, and functions in a familiar way to old users, while still being able to attract new users. Although they admit that the new look may be jarring to long time iOS users, they'll still feel at home with how the operating system works.

I'm certainly excited to see what Apple's cooking up. I've been using iOS since the first iPod touch, and I think it's time it takes a leap forward. Don't get me wrong, I still think it's the greatest mobile operating system, but who doesn't want to see the best get even better?

via 9to5Mac

 

0 Learn to Use Your New iOS Device Quick and Easy

By Admin_AT | At 5:50 PM | Label : apple , how to , iOS , tip | 0 Comments

Did you know your new iOS device came with an in depth and easy to read instruction manual? No, don't go digging through what little packaging it came in, it's not in there, it's on your new device. Plus, it's interactive! So, if you're a new iOS user, or you just want to find out the intricate details and tips on your new iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, just check out the user's guide.

No matter what iOS device you're using, it comes with the user guide. It's actually a bookmark in Safari. Just open Safari (it's the web browser, the blue app that looks like a compass), go to the bookmarks, and click the link for the guide. Read through the various sections, it's well grouped together, and find everything you want to know. It has photos, step by step instructions, and even troubleshooting and support.

So, now you have no excuse for bothering your tech savvy friends and family, the guide will teach you everything you want to know! (No offense to everyone who's bothered me about this).

If you want to read through any Apple user guide, yu can check out their manuals here.

 

0 WWDC Announced, Starts June 10th

By Admin_AT | At 5:14 PM | Label : apple , iOS , mac os , OS X , wwdc | 0 Comments

Apple has announced that on June 10th this year, they'll be kicking off the Worldwide Developer's Conference. It's Apple's way of reaching out to developers, with classes and demos of new software. Speaking of new software, expect a preview of iOS 7 and OS X 10.9. That's not just a rumor, it comes from Apple's Phil Schiller, who said "We can’t wait to get new versions of iOS and OS X into their hands at WWDC".

Don't expect new hardware at this event. Apple will only be revealing the new versions of their operating systems, which won't be released until later this year. When the iOS 7 is released, it will probably be followed closely by the release of the next iPhone.

via iDownloadBlog

 

0 How to Switch from Android to iOS

By Admin_AT | At 10:30 AM | Label : android , apple , apps , contacts , google , iOS , iPhone , itunes , media , switch , transfer | 0 Comments

So, you've either made the switch to iOS, or you're thinking about it. Congratulations! But, what's going to happen to all your data on your old phone? How do you keep your music, movies, apps, and perhaps most importantly, you contacts? Fortunately, there is a way to keep everything, although admittedly, transferring apps isn't possible, but you may be able to get iOS versions of them, maybe even for free.

Contacts

First of all, let's get those contacts transferred over. I see so many people say they need their friends phone numbers because they got a new phone. There's no excuse for that, phone numbers, emails, and other contact information is very easy to transfer over. Once you have an iPhone, this will all be easy to sync and back up, but even transferring your contacts from Android to iOS is simple. Here's how you can do it.

 

The online method:

This is the easiest way to do keep your contacts, and the way I recommend.

1. First, synchronize your data with your Google account. There's a variety of ways to do this, depending on what Android phone you have, but it should be in the settings.
2. Next up, on your iPhone, go into Settings > Mail, Contacts, and Calendars
3. Set up an Exchange account, not a Google account
4. Input your Google email address and password
5. For the server, type "m.google.com" (no quotes)
6. On the final screen, just make sure it's syncing contacts, and you're good to go.

 

The offline version

There may appear to be less steps here, but it really is a bit more time consuming. I've done this before for an old Samsung phone, before Android came out. It was a pain, as I had to transfer them individually, but I still have all my contacts from when I first got a phone.

• First, get an SD card, skip this if you already have one
• Second, go into your contacts app on your Android phone, press the Menu button, and choose to export your contacts to your SD card
• Now that you have all your contacts on the SD card, you have a few options. On a Mac or PC, you can choose to import your contacts into your computer's address book.
• If you're on a Mac:
• -Sync your iPhone, make sure contacts are set to sync. You're done.
• If your on a Windows PC:
• -Sync your iPhone with iTunes
• -On the sidebar, select your iPhone, and check sync contacts.
• -From the drop down, choose your Windows contacts, you may need to find the location of them.

 

Alternatively, you could also take the .vcf files from your Android phone, and import them to a Google account, and then do the steps I described above for the online version".

Finally, you could email yourself the vcf file, and open it on your iPhone. Select it, and choose to import all the contacts from it. There are probably even more ways to do this, but these are among the easiest (that I know of).

 

If you've followed these steps, your contacts are now on your iPhone, and it wasn't too hard. Now for your music, movies, and TV shows.

 

Media and Documents

Keeping your media is very easy.

Start off by transferring your media to a computer. You could do so in a number of ways. You could either move your media to an SD card and put it on your computer, or you could just attach it via USB and put all your media on your PC or Mac.

Now, just add all that media to iTunes, and sync your iPhone. You're all done. iTunes makes this all very easy.

 

If you have documents, media, or files online in the cloud, like in Dropbox, Google Drive, or any other cloud storage service, don't worry, those apps are all on iOS. Just download the iOS versions of the apps, and log in. You'll have access to all your files.

 

Apps

There's some good news, and some bad news. The bad news is, you can't sync your apps. Although, aside from emulators, malware, porn, and other such apps that are banned from the App Store, you should be able to find all your favorite apps on iOS. In fact, people say that the iOS versions of the apps are far better than the Android versions. Plus, there are plenty of exclusive apps for iOS that you're going to love.

 

For free apps, this is acceptable. But, for apps that you paid for on Android, you'll have to pay for them again on iOS. Maybe. You could always send a email to the developers asking them if they could comp your purchase of the app. Just explain that you paid for it on Android, and see if they'll oblige. They may say no, but that's about all you can do.

 

 

Your data and contacts should be transferred over to iOS by now. So, it's time to enjoy what iOS has to offer. You'll find the app centric pages, simple notifications, clean design, and secure and centralized App Store far more enjoyable than your experience on Android. Plus, over the years, I've made plenty of app recommendations over the years, so look around, play around, and have fun on iOS. Enjoy your new iPhone.

via Gizmodo and Cnet

 

0 Check out Fish out of Water on iOS

By Admin_AT | At 5:28 PM | Label : app , app store , fish out of water , game , Halfbrick Studios , iOS | 0 Comments

Fish out of water, a new game exclusively on iOS from Halfbrick Studios has quickly climbed up the App Store rankings. For good reason too, it's a very simple yet addictive game. It's from the makers of the popular Jetpack Joyride game, and they may have made their next hit. It's a simple game, in which players try to skip fish the same way you'd skip rocks. Each of the fish have different personalities, and bounce or swim in different ways. The weather changes every hour, further changing the game. After you toss three fish, you're then judged by a panel of crabs, who also have different personas, including one that's... crabby.

It's a nice game, fit for people of all ages, and it's very addictive. I didn't think it would be at first, as it's so simple, but after a while, you'll be playing it every time you pick up your phone. It's exclusively available for iOS right now, for 99¢. You can head over to the App Store to download it here.