iOS

Many developers are wisely taking advantage of the powerful cameras in today's smartphones and trying to replicate the success of photo sharing apps with video apps. Apps like Viddy, Klip, and Socialcam compete to let users make clips and add quick effects before publishing and sharing. But no developers have really taken that a step further to include the all-important creation component.

Directr and its creators want to distance themselves as far as possible from the new Video-Instagram crowd. The brainchild of a former Microsoft Software Engineer, Directr is a little video app that aims to help the average … Read more

Apple released on Tuesday a small update to its Apple Store app for the iPhone. The update added the ability to add your wireless account to the app and receive an alert once your line is eligible for an upgrade.

Adding your account to receive upgrade alerts only takes a few seconds. Before you add your account, you'll need to know the last four digits of the account holder's Social Security number, the billing ZIP code, and the account password. At least this was the information I needed for a Verizon account; your experience may vary.

From the moment I first looked at the Pebble Watch, it was clear that this was a device designed to be purely about apps. Unfortunately, none were really available until a week ago, when Pebble at last released an SDK, and along with it, updated firmware for the Pebble watch and a revised smartphone app.

Now, the number of user-made indie Pebble apps is steadily growing, and there are even places to go to browse them: Pebble's own watch face community message boards, and sites like My Pebble Faces.… Read more

Is iOS starting to feel a bit stale for your taste? It's something I'm hearing more and more as I talk to iOS users, or former iOS users. With some amazing Android phones hitting the market, it's tough not to get caught checking out the competition -- or even feeling a bit compelled to make the jump to Android.

But before you make the change, there are some kinks that need to be worked out to make the process go as smoothly as possible. You likely have contacts, a calendar, photos, and music that you'll want … Read more

It's not often you come across a new app that deserves consideration for a spot on your iPhone's home screen, but the new Yahoo Weather for most likely will have people giving your current weather apps the boot. I use a mix of the stock iPhone weather app and The Weather Channel app, but will now turn to the Yahoo Weather app first.

The most interesting feature of the Yahoo Weather app is its integration with Yahoo-owned Flickr. It features Flickr photos to match not only the location you are looking at, but also the time of day … Read more

Out of steam? Can't bring yourself to finish that last mile? Maybe a zombie horde breathing down your neck will give you the adrenaline boost you need.

That's the idea behind Zombies, Run! 2 (Android|iOS), which bills itself as an "immersive running game and audio adventure" for your smartphone.

It works like this: Before you start your run, you load the app, choose a mission, put in your earbuds, and then hit the road. Along the way, you're treated to audio segments that gradually reveal the story of Abel Township and the zombie apocalypse … Read more

All those curse words and other commands you yell at Siri hang around a bit longer than you may think.

In response to a Wired story expressing concern about Siri's privacy policy, Apple has revealed exactly what happens to your Siri chats. Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller told Wired on Thursday that Apple may keep your Siri data for up to two years, albeit in an untraceable state.

Here's how the process works, according to Wired.

Whenever you talk to Siri, your commands are uploaded to Apple for analysis. Apple then assigns you a random number, which it associates … Read more

Thursday morning Twitter finally revealed its new music service (branded #music) for all to see and use. The new service will allow Twitter users to see which songs and artists are currently trending on the social network. So what is Twitter Music, and how does it work? Let's take a look.

Currently, there are two options to use Twitter Music. You can access it through the Web site at music.twitter.com or by downloading the free iPhone app. Android users are once again left out in the cold by Twitter, at least for … Read more

You can unfollow a Facebook post from the Web site with little effort, but unfollowing a post from your mobile device takes some work.

Unfollowing a post on Facebook allows you to comment on friend or family members post, perhaps a birth announcement or a promotion, and not be bombarded with alerts from the 50 other comments on the post all saying "congrats" or "woohoo." After you've done your social-media duty, do you really care what everyone else has to say? Take a look at this how-to for unfollowing posts on Facebook if this is … Read more