apps

My first Android phone, the original Motorola Droid, was one of the first phones to debut Google Maps Navigation. Now, Google knew that this feature would get drivers interested in using their Android phones in the car and that the tiny virtual buttons and shortcuts that worked well when the device was handheld wouldn't cut it behind the wheel. So, when users popped their Droids into their car docks, they were presented with a simplified interface with large shortcut buttons to car-centric apps, designed for safer use while driving.

Smartphones have come a long way since I retired my … Read more

Forget spring cleaning. The winter holidays seem to be inspiring the impulse to tidy, with everyone sprucing up their mobile apps. Dropbox is the latest to release an update.

The cloud storage provider announced that it has revamped its iOS app, and the big focus here is on the photos experience.

Based on the new design and features, it looks like Dropbox is diving deeper into the photo-sharing side of its storage service.

The main addition is a new timeline of photos automatically uploaded from the user's mobile devices. The new viewing abilities look more glamorous on the iPad … Read more

Google Maps returned to the iOS platform this week, but that was not enough to rescue Apple's map app rep.

Banished from Apple's iOS earlier this fall, Google Maps returned to the mobile platform in the form of a standalone app. The official Google Maps app returned to Apple's App store Thursday evening with turn-by-turn navigation, as well as public transit directions, integrated Street View, and a 3D-like Google Earth view. Google Maps didn't take long to capture the top spot among free iPhone apps.

The release came a few days after Apple again became the … Read more

There are many apps that can tie into your Facebook account. These are not just mobile apps, but also those directly offered on the desktop Web site. This option is for those who are serious about removing apps or Web sites from performing actions associated with their Facebook account.

You may want to take special consideration before you disable all apps, and not just some of them. For instance, if you use Foursquare to post the places you check in to on your Timeline, you won't be able to anymore. And if you use Facebook to log in to … Read more

iOS users searching for holiday gift ideas can head on over to Apple's App Store.

You can now directly send a paid app to someone as a gift, a feature that was previously available with iOS 5 but disappeared when iOS 6 debuted this fall.

To use the feature, open the App Store app on your iOS device. Choose a paid app that you'd like to gift. Click on the Share button in the upper right corner. The Share options window appears with a new icon in the lower right called Gift. Tap on the Gift icon.

You'… Read more

In its ongoing attempts to cash in on mobile, Facebook released yet another iOS update today, just hours after releasing its Android app.

The new iOS app boasts faster loading times for the news feed and Timeline, and the ability to choose which album to upload photos to. Facebook has been releasing these app updates at lighting speed over the last few months as part of the company's new mobile-first strategy. Its previous update, sent out less than a month ago, added the coveted "share" button.

Its new Android app also delivers a faster experience -- photos … Read more

Apple has once again named its top picks for software released on its various application stores.

Formerly dubbed iTunes Rewind, Apple's gone back to a simple "Best of" header, with editorial choices from the App Store for iOS and OS X.

Taking top honors for the iPhone was Bad Robot's Action Movie FX, the software that adds computer generated action sequences to video you've shot on your iPhone or iPad. The software actually came out last December, though its developers put out version 2.0 this October. Meanwhile, Ubisoft's $2.99 Rayman Jungle Run … Read more