iPad By Davis: “Forums: YouTube apps for the iPad mini, Looking for good free Twitter client” plus 13 more

Forums: YouTube apps for the iPad mini, Looking for good free Twitter client
Letterpress for iPhone and iPad updates with Rematch and more
City Maps 2Go for iPhone and iPad free for this weekend only!
Day after US by Warner Bros. lets you purchase episodes of WB TV shows the day after they air in the U.S.
Chain3D for iPhone and iPad - a match 3 game with a twist
Large Chinese iPhone supplier caught smuggling into the country, by housewives
Apple and Motorola may settle part of patent dispute
Facebook iPad App Updated, Adds Ability to Share from News Feed and More
Clear vs. Any.DO vs. Wunderlist: task list apps for iPhone shootout!
iPad Models: What’s in a Name?
Recent studies on iPad mini and Windows 8 are both bullish for Apple
Flipboard Adds New Books Section, Powered by the iBookstore
Deal of the Day: 44% off the BodyGuardz HD Anti-glare ScreenGuardz for iPhone 5
AT&T lights up LTE in a slew of new locals

Forums: YouTube apps for the iPad mini, Looking for good free Twitter client

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 09:49 PM PST

From the iMore Forums

Found an interesting article you want to share with iMore? Have a burning question about that feature you just can't figure out? There is ALWAYS more happening just a click away in the forums. You can always head over and join in the conversation, search for answers, or lend your expertise to other members of our community. You check out some of the threads below:

If you're not already a member of the iMore Forums, register now!

Letterpress for iPhone and iPad updates with Rematch and more

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 08:50 PM PST

The highly addicting word game Letterpress by atebits has received an excellent update, today, that address a few of our gripes, the main one being the inability to start a rematch after a game ends. With Letterpress 1.1, now you can!

One of the other biggest additions to Letterpress 1.1 is that now you can send Game Center friend requests directly from the app. There is also an option to turn off the sounds, more words in the dictionary, and better handling of those annoying server errors.

I don't normally include all the release notes when announcing an update to an app, but atebits has made these ones so fun, that I can't help myself. I love it when developers act human and make their notes and descriptions fun.

Rematch! (requires iOS 6 or newer)

Option to silence sounds. FYI I worked really hard on those sounds. No, no, go ahead, turn off the sounds if you want.

Added words to the dictionary (and removed a few goofs).

Fixed "Tell a Friend" via Facebook. People use Facebook?

Clearer instructions. Yes, days of the week are proper nouns. No, they are not allowed.

Handle servers errors a bit better. CROSS YOUR FINGERS THAT'S SOME GNARLY CODE.

Less bugs! Not that I'm saying there were any bugs before. But there are definitely fewer now.

Fixed syncing deleted games across devices.

Tiles are now tappier when you tap tiles fast. Tap tappity tap tap.

I like cookies.

Send Game Center friend requests right from the app! Holy moly! So cool! Friend your friends with the friendlier friender!

In-app purchases are less forgetful.

Does anybody read these? Helloooooo?

Now wasn't that fun?

So what do you think of the new update? Are you excited for Rematch and in-app Game Center requests? If you don't yet play Letterpress, what are you waiting for? Share your Game Center ID in the comments below and start challenging each other!

Free - Download Now

City Maps 2Go for iPhone and iPad free for this weekend only!

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 05:15 PM PST

City Maps 2Go is a maps apps for travel that allows users to download maps to be viewable offline. Since travelers often end up in secluded areas, City Maps 2Go is the perfect solution to making sure you always have a map available. It also allows you to search and find places in the city, find thousands of points of interest, collect you favorite places, add places and notes, find hotels and ratings, and more.

City Maps 2Go has 7,800 maps available worldwide and is free for the weekend. Even if you don't need City Maps 2Go now, you may in the future, so you might as well grab it while it's free!

Free - Download Now

Day after US by Warner Bros. lets you purchase episodes of WB TV shows the day after they air in the U.S.

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 04:45 PM PST

Warner Bros. has released a new iPhone and iPad app call Day after US that allows users to purchase and download episodes of Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, and The Big Bang Theory the day after they air in the U.S. The episodes are downloaded directly to your devices so that you can play them back at anytime, even if you don't have an internet connection, or you can stream them instantly over Wi-Fi.

Shockingly, Day after US does not support the iPhone 5's larger display. Since all of these episodes are already available on iTunes for the same price, I don't understand why any iPhone user would feel inclined to purchase from this app instead of iTunes. Even if you plan to watch episodes on your iPad, iTunes allows much more versatility since you can also watch the TV shows on your computer or Apple TV.

Day After US does allow you to download the first episode of each series for free, so if you wanted to watch these episodes to decide if you think you'll like shows, then that's a good reason to use Day After US. You can also get a few more episodes by ~~spamming~~ sharing shows with your Facebook friends, so there's also that. But other than a few free episodes, I don't really see the appeal. Seeing the lack of iPhone 5 support leaves me wondering where else Warner Bros. cut corners. My reservations could be uncalled for, but this is honestly how I feel as a consumer -- I'd rather purchase from iTunes.

What about you? Have you downloaded any episodes from Day After US? Do you plan on using it regularly?

UPDATE: It appears that Day after US has been pulled from the US App Store since the time of writing.

Free - Download Now

Chain3D for iPhone and iPad - a match 3 game with a twist

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 03:56 PM PST

Chain3D for iPhone and iPad is a new match 3 game with a twist -- literally! The goal of this puzzle game is to remove all the colored blocks from the cube presented at the beginning of each stage. To do this, you much place the small cubes that are given to you in a manner that matches at least 3 small cubes of the same cube. If there's a match, all the cubes of the same color that are connected to the cube that you placed will be removed. Once al the blocks are removed, you progress to the next stage. As with many games of this type, Chain3D is easy to learn, but difficult to master.

Chain3D includes 4 different modes: Easy, Normal, Hardcore, and Zen. What makes each mode icreasingly difficult is that you have less time to clear the cube before losing. In Easy, you have 90 seconds, Normal gives you 60 seconds, and Hardcore only allows 10 seconds to clear the cube. Zen mode doesn't have a time limit and just allows you to progress without the pressure of having a time constraint. Zen mode is a great way to learn strategies and techniques to improving your gameplay.

I've only played Chain3D for a short while, but I like it and find it to be a fun, challenging puzzle.

Match3D is currently on sale for the weekend for the whopping price of free! If you decide to give it a try, let us know what you think!

Free - Download Now

Large Chinese iPhone supplier caught smuggling into the country, by housewives

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 03:50 PM PST

Large Chinese iPhone supplier caught smuggling into the country, by housewives

Lanyou Shuma, one of China's largest suppliers of iPhones and iPads, were recently tried in court for evading taxes by smuggling iPhones into the country. Over the past 2 years Lanyou Shuma has managed to smuggle over $80M worth of iPhones into China. The most interesting part is that they were doing it by having what looked like typical housewives smuggle them into Hong Kong.

Half of the suspects are described as housewives who frequently travel to Hong Kong, according to another newspaper, the Southern Metropolis Daily, adding that they were paid 20 to 30 yuan in commission for each phone they brought back to the mainland.

The iPhones would be hidden under clothing or strapped to the woman in a way that would conceal them while on the flight. I don't know about you but a long flight with a bunch of iPhones strapped to your body probably isn't the most comfortable way to travel.

The main reason suppliers like Lanyou Shuma smuggle iPhones into the country is to avoid import and other kinds of taxes they would otherwise have to pay on the merchandise. A total of 26 defendants were arrested on charges of smuggling the phones into the country but it wasn't clear yet if all of them worked for the same supplier.

Taobao Marketplace, a unit of Alibaba Group, is China's largest e-commerce website with a consumer focus. An Alibaba spokeswoman confirmed the closure of Lanyou Shuma.com store but declined to elaborate, saying the company "demands merchants run their businesses in accordance with all regulations and policies".

The Chinese government has started taking the import and export of devices like the iPhone and iPad more serious over the last few years. Even individuals who have iPads and iPhones imported for personal use as opposed to business are now required to pay import tax.

Source: Reuters

Apple and Motorola may settle part of patent dispute

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 03:21 PM PST

Apple and Motorola may settle part of patent dispute

Apple and Motorola Mobility, owned by Google, are seeking arbitration on part of their patent disputes. The two companies would agree to a binding arbitration in order to reach a licensing agreement over standards-essential patents. Motorola Mobility brought forward the possiblity of arbitration earlier this month. An agreemment between Apple and Motorola Mobility here could have wide-reaching implications for the global litigation between the two companies, as Susan Decker of Bloomberg reports:

The companies have been exchanging proposals on using binding arbitration to reach a licensing agreement over patents that are essential to comply with industry standards on how phones operate. Such an agreement could lead to a global settlement of all of their patent disputes, Apple said in a filing yesterday.

"Apple is also interested in resolving its dispute with Motorola completely and agrees that arbitration may be the best vehicle to resolve the parties' dispute," Apple said in the filing.

A settlement between Apple and Motorola may also have an effect on litigation with other companies. Apple continues to battle Samsung in many courts around the world, while Microsoft has made several complaints against Motorola. Because Motorola Mobility is owned by Google, and because of their use of FRAND patents in their litigation, the FTC staff recently recommended that the commission sue Google over antitrust violations in using these patents for litigation. If Apple and Motorola can agree to terms for these patents, then it's possible that the FTC my back down. Should an agreement be reached, it seems likely that Motorola will be able to reach a settlement with Microsoft. If that happens, hopefully this global patent war will start to cool down.

Source: Bloomberg

Facebook iPad App Updated, Adds Ability to Share from News Feed and More

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 01:50 PM PST

The Facebook for iPad and iOS was updated yesterday, to Version 5.2. The headline new feature in this update is the ability share links directly from within the News Feed.

Here's the full list of new features in this update:

Now you can share the best stories from your news feed with just one tap.
• New Share link to re-post stories from your news feed
• Tag your friends in any post, comment or photo
• Smileys, hearts and other emoji in messages
• To sort your feed, tap the button next to News Feed in the left sidebar

I installed the update last night and so far the new sharing feature works well for me. It might be just my imagination, but the News Feed also seems to update a bit quicker and more smoothly for me after this update – whereas the last Faecbook app update seemed to have made it very slow and sometime just plain unresponsive.

OK, iPad Facebook users – what do you think of this latest update?

Comments

The iPad app still sucks compared to just using Facebook on ... by Jim

Any.DO vs. Clear vs. Wunderlist: User interface and design

Any.DO has a super clean interface that it means to allow you to add and organize tasks quickly and easily. There are two main views that Any.DO allows you to toggle between - date and folder based. The date based view will combine all your different lists to show you what needs to get done today, tomorrow, this week, and later. It will pull them according to how you added tasks to Any.DO.

Once logging into Any.DO, the default date based list view appear and you can immediately start adding tasks. Each section had a plus sign next to it that allows you to add a task quickly. To access other views, there is a pull up located along the bottom of the screen. Flick it upwards and you can switch between date and folder view as well as view a list of completed tasks. Folder view will automatically sort all your tasks by folder groupings instead of time.

Tapping on any task in Any.DO will give you a list of options that you can apply to that task. You can mark a task as important, drop it into a folder, set a reminder, add notes to it, or share it with a contact.

Any.DO's settings can be access by pulling up the bottom menu and choosing the gear icon in the lower right hand corner. From here you can edit your folders, use the Any.DO moment feature, change between a dark and a light theme, control what the badge count does, change the language, and change the speech input language. There isn't much to configure but the options you may need to change are easily accessible right within the main app settings.

Clear is a gesture based app that aims to make adding tasks lightning fast. Upon first launching clear you'll be given a brief tutorial on the gestures that are supported. You can also change the color theme of Clear to your liking as there are tons to choose from.

The main screen of clear will show your lists. Inside each list you will find your tasks. Since Clear is gesture and layer driven, you use gestures to move up or down levels. If you're on the main list screen, tapping on the list will expand it. Tapping on a list item will allow you to edit it. Tapping anywhere else on the screen brings up a space to add a new task. To move back up a level, simply swipe downwards over the list or pinch your fingers together to collapse it.

While on the main list screen, swiping down or pinching will bring you up one more level. From here you can access your lists, themes, and view more tips and tricks. The settings panel of Clear can also be accessed within the app. Here you can control badge count for all tasks or just active lists as well as turning on and off features such as iCloud sync, sounds, and vibration.

Wunderlist's interface is set up to show you lists somewhat in the form of inboxes. You can tap the pencil in the upper right hand corner to edit current lists or tap in the box above your lists in order to quickly create a new one. Tapping the edit pencil also allows you to reorder lists any way you'd like. If you want your work list above your home list, you can simply drag it in that position.

The main navigation of Wunderlist runs across the bottom of the app and consists of lists, starred items, due today, overdue, and more. More is where you can find app settings as well as other ways to sort your lists. Similar to Any.DO, Wunderlist allows you to view tasks that are associated with time. You can choose to view all tasks, tasks that are already completed, ones due tomorrow, in the next 7 days, later, and ones that have no due date.

Wunderlist allows you to star tasks that are important and they'll filter into the starred section. You can easily star any task by simply tapping on the star next to the task name. It'll automatically filter into that section of the app. To mark a task as done, just check it off by tapping on the check mark box next to its name.

There isn't a ton of customization with Wunderlist but settings does allow you to change the background image, date format, language, and set up sending tasks by email.

While Any.DO, Clear, and Wunderlist all have simple to navigate and easy to understand designs, Any.DO has most logical user interface and it's by far the easiest to use. Once you get to understand Clear and become used to the gestures, it's just as user friendly but doesn't have nearly as many options when it comes to interface as what Any.DO offers, which makes it a nice compromise.

Any.DO vs. Clear vs. Wunderlist: Creating lists and tasks

To create a list or task in Any.DO you can either manually enter it or just pull down to use the voice input feature. This is something that's unique to Any.DO and adds a lot of value for users who quickly need to input something without interrupting their workflow. Swipe down from the main screen and tap on the microphone icon. Say what you need the app to add and then tap the checkmark to input it.

Any.DO will try and autocomplete tasks you are inputting by offering suggestions. They're based on places around you and on tasks you've previously entered into the app. It makes adding tasks a lot less painful than manually typing them.

Sorting tasks in Any.DO is easy and can be done within just a few taps. A swipe up from the bottom of the screen lets you order tasks by time or by folder. If you want to see a quick view of what you have to do you can tap into settings and view Any.DO moment which gives you a glimpse of what you need to do today. You can then quickly set reminders for things you have do or move them to a later time. It's a great feature but something that's rather hidden in settings. It'd be nice to see this feature pulled into the main menu for quicker access.

Clear uses multiple layers within the app and each layer houses lists and tasks. Tapping anywhere on the screen inside of a list brings up a slot to enter a new task. Just type in data and hit return on your keyboard and it adds it to your task list. From there you can pinch to close lists or swipe upwards in order to close a list and view your main list. Swiping upwards one more time brings you to the main menu that houses settings and themes.

To mark a task as done you can swipe to the right and it will be marked as complete. Swiping to the left on a task will delete it from your list. You'll notice that completed tasks will show up at the bottom with a line through them. To clear them from your list completely you can pull up on the task list and release and it will clear away old tasks that were marked as complete. While Clear doesn't have very many options for organizing and sorting, if you're looking for a simple task list that just works, it does that wonderfully and beautifully.

Wunderlist is a nice compromise between Any.DO and Clear. Task entry is simply and only ever a few clicks away. When on the main task list screen you can quickly add a new list or tap into any existing list and start typing a task into the task box above your list.

Aside from adding general tasks to lists the starred section easily shows you important tasks as a simple glance. When in settings you can view all options for time based tasks and how you want to view them. While Any.DO makes this feature apparent in their main menu, Wunderlist has chosen to put it in settings. I'm not sure this makes sense to me and many users may not think to open settings in order to sort tasks. While it's a wonderful feature to have, it should be presented in a way that makes it easier for users to find.

If you need to create lists, tasks, and organize them quickly and efficiently, Any.DO is a happy medium between Wunderlist and Clear that allows you to organize just as fast as you enter. While Clear allows for the quickest entry, Any.DO's navigation will make more sense to many.

Any.DO vs. Clear vs. Wunderlist: Task reminders and notifications

Any.DO vs. Clear vs. Wunderlist: Alerts & Notifications

Any.DO, Clear, and Wunderlist all offer push notifications for reminders. What is really comes down to is how customizable they are. Any.DO by default will show a badge for any tasks that are due today. You can easily change this in settings to cater to certain lists or any tasks you'd like the badge to represent. Any.DO will also send you push notifications for any task you've set a reminder for. To set a reminder you can tap on the task name and then choose the reminder icon and set a time you'd like to be reminded. It's easy to access from any task and fast, which is what most users want.

Clear allows you to change badges in two forms, for the last active list or for all tasks. This means that you can have badges represent all the tasks currently listed in Clear or you can choose to have it only represent the last list you accessed before you closed out the app. There is no option to configure only certain lists or tasks due today since clear doesn't allow you to set times for tasks. This also means there are no push notifications inside Clear. You'll see a badge but that's it.

Wunderlist by default will show a badge for any tasks that are overdue. To my knowledge there isn't a way to change this within settings. As far as notifications go, you can set reminders for any task you'd like. After creating a task you can tap into it and choose a due date or set a reminder. Wunderlist will then send you a push notification at the designated time you specified.

If you need push notifications that are customizable as well as a badge count that's just as flexible, Any.DO is the only option since Clear lacks push notification support and Wunderlist doesn't allow you to customize badge counts.

Any.DO vs. Clear vs. Wunderlist: Syncing lists and tasks

Any.DO uses its own native sync option. You can either create an account by signing up for an Any.DO account or by signing in with Facebook. Once you've set up an account, there is nothing to configure, it just works. Any device you've got Any.DO installed on will sync seamlessly.

Clear now supports iCloud and once it's enabled within settings, all your tasks will automatically sync between iPhone, iPad, Mac, or any other device you've got Clear set up on.

Wunderlist supports native syncing through their own login service. Just like Any.DO, once you've signed in there's absolutely nothing to configure. If you sign into your Wunderlist account on the web or on any other device that Wunderlist supports, your items will be there.

As far as syncing services are concerned, all three clients have excellent syncing support and no matter which you choose, you'll have no issues accessing your data across several devices. Tie.

Any.DO vs. Clear vs. Wunderlist: Cross-platform support

Any.DO has support for iPhone, Android, and a Chrome browser extension with a native web version coming soon. I've been using the Chrome extension for a few days now and haven't had any problems. The only think I did notice is that syncing runs behind a few minutes but other than that, it works seamlessly with the iPhone app. There currently isn't a native iPad version so if you need iPad support, Any.DO may not be your best option.

Clear is available in the App Store for iPhone and in the Mac App Store. There isn't any native iPad or Android support so when it comes to syncing across platforms or to the iPad, it carries about the same support as Any.DO but instead of browser extensions, there is a native app for Mac users.

Wunderlist has been around for quite some time and supports quite a few platforms including iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, and PC. If you have a tendency to jump between platforms and need a task list system that can go with you, Wunderlist is it and has the best support of all three options.

Any.DO vs. Clear vs. Wunderlist: Pricing

Any.DO is available for free in both the App Store for iPhone and the Android Marketplace. The browser extension for Chrome is also free. Wunderlist is also a free option across all platforms and with the list of support you have, you really can't beat it.

Clear is the only option that is a paid option. The iPhone version of Clear is currently available in the App Store for $1.99 while its Mac counterpart will run you $9.99 in the Mac App Store. If you love gestures and want an app that takes full advantage of them, Clear is it and it's well worth the price if you need a quick and efficient task manager.

If price is a deciding factor, Wunderlist has the best support and with a free price tag, there's no competition.

Any.DO vs. Clear vs. Wunderlist: The bottom line

Any.DO vs. Clear vs. Wunderlist: Bottom line

Any.DO, Clear, and Wunderlist all have great options when it comes to syncing and work well to keep you organized and on task. It comes down to how you need to organize your tasks and whether or not notifications matter to you.

While Wunderlist has the best cross-platform support, the interface is not as simple as either Clear or Any.DO. It also feels dated as it hasn't seen a complete app overhaul since iOS 4. I'd only recommend Wunderlist over Clear and Any.DO if you really need that cross-platform support.

For most, it will come down to choosing between Clear and Any.DO. If push notifications and organizing lists by time are must haves for you, look no further any Any.DO. It'll do everything you need and probably more. If you prefer a native Mac app and a beautiful simplistic interface that's gesture driven, Clear is where it's at.

Any.DO - Free - Download Now

Clear - $1.99 - Download Now

Wunderlist - Free - Download Now

iPad Models: What’s in a Name?

Posted: 16 Nov 2012 11:09 AM PST

The new iPad isn't new anymore; in fact it's not even on sale anymore. The newer new iPad is the iPad 4th generation. No wait, it's the retina iPad. Those of us who bought its predecessor now own the old new iPad, or is it the retina iPad 3rd gen? No, that sounds absolutely wrong. How did the iPad naming convention get so crazy on us?

When Steve Jobs first unveiled Apple's 'magical, revolutionary' tablet it had a simple, catchy little name: iPad. Despite all the jokes about other sorts of pads, the name was a great fit in the iDevices lineup and seemed to fit the device quite nicely.

A year later a new, improved model launched – and the name stayed simple: it was the iPad 2.

Then in March of this year, we saw the release of the latest, greatest iPad right on the annual release schedule – but the naming for the magical tablet went a bit off the rails, or perhaps in a new direction. I remember following the announcement event for this one and I, like lots of others, kept thinking 'when are they going to say the name of it?'. Because throughout the unveiling event they constantly referred to it as 'the new iPad' – not iPad 3 or iPad HD or any of the other names that had seemed like obvious choices for the 3rd gen iPad with the amazing new retina display. So we all thought they were holding back the new name for some odd reason.

The event ended and it was still just the new iPad, which seemed quite odd. For starters, if Apple carried on with a yearly release cycle, then in 2013 would we have 'the newer iPad'? And would 2012's model be the old new iPad, or the almost new iPad? Then of course these new iPads started shipping and the box they came in just said iPad, not 'new' iPad – and the consensus seemed to be that Apple would likely stick with just iPad. As with their Mac PCs, iPads wouldn't need numbers anymore just as we don't have a MacBook Pro 2 or an iMac 4. Fair enough.

(...)
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