Author Archive for Louis

Pick a Bundle lets you choose 10 Mac Apps for $49

Unlike most of the previous Mac bundles we’ve seen in the past, Paddle.com’s Pick a Bundle let’s you pick the Mac apps you want, just so you’re not stuck with ones you don’t particularly care for. For $49.99, you get to choose 10 out of 30 different Mac apps and games, and they include Rapidweaver (web design tool), DEVONthink (notes and data manager), HandsOff! (control network and disk access) and Moneywell (personal finance software). All the apps range in price – retailing anywhere from $145 to under $10 – so if you’re able to come up with 10 that look appealing, the $50 is a great bargain. Head over to the bundle site for the complete details and check out all 30 apps being offered.

Fleksy gets update, price drops to free forever

While iOS’ autocorrect feature is fairly competent, there are undoubtedly times when users have wished that its text prediction was much improved. Enter  Fleksy, the iOS app released last year where the developers called it the “most powerful text prediction engine out there”, has been embraced by thousands of users who are able to type on their iPhones and iPads without having to even look at the keyboard. The app was after all designed with the visually impair in mind. With its most recent update (new gestures, new menu and increased accuracy), the devs have also announced that the app has gone free (the full version was previously $4.99) – now and forever.

Splashtop 2 – Remote Desktop for iPad now Free for a limited time

Splashtop 2, the popular remote desktop app for the iPad (there’s an iPhone version as well), has gone free on the App Store for the very first time. For the uninitiated, the app lets you control your PC/Mac remotely right from the comforts of your iDevice. Once connected into your home/work computer, you’ll then be able to view your files, work on your Word/Excel documents, watch a movie that’s been stored locally and much more.

Glove.ly touchscreen gloves in Review – Don’t let a snow storm stop you from using your iPhone

If you’ve ever been out in the bitter cold and wanted to use your iPhone (or smartphone in general), then you already know just how much it sucks to do so as your fingers feel like they’re about to fall off. Thankfully, there’s a solution to this and it involves non other than a pair of touchscreen compatible gloves. Some simply have cutout holes at the fingertips, while others are actually made with conductive fabric and no digits need to be exposed. One such pair is the Glove.ly touchscreen gloves, and they’re designed where the entire glove can interact with the iPhone’s display. They’re smartly designed, look great and even have two magnetic points that help keep the gloves together.

iOS 6.1 Security Hole Found: Access phone module from locked screen

Remember the major security hole found in iOS 4.1 from a few years back that would allow someone to access your contacts even though the phone was locked with a passcode? Well it appears someone has figured out another way to exploit a serious flaw in iOS 6.1 that would enable them to have access to your phone module – where they can then view/edit contacts and make calls. As per Gizmodo:

First you have to pretend to turn the phone off, then make an aborted emergency call, then a quick bit of off button and cancel pressing. That boots you into the full phone app where you can pretty much call or message anyone you like.

Until Apple patches this in a future update, your safest best is to keep your iPhone close by 24/7. Check out the video on how the hack is done after the break.

Infographic: Pixel People by the numbers

To celebrate both the successful launch of Pixel People and Valentine’s Day, Chillingo and LambdaMu Games have released a fact-filled Pixel People Infographic. The highly addictive town building sim (which Eric touched on in the recent New Games roundup) is the latest on the block to drain the iOS population of their productivity. If you’re already deep into the game, you’ll appreciate the numbers found within, like how in the past 2 weeks, 232 years were spent playing Pixel People, or 19,680,022 clones were spliced. And as a V-Day’s special, all in-game Utopium prices have been slashed for a limited time. If you’ve yet to check it out, you have nothing to lose (other than your time) as the sim builder is completely free to play.

The Lifehacker Mac Bundle: 9 Mac apps for $49.99

Users looking to get more out of their iMacs and Macbooks will find plenty to love about the Lifehack Mac Bundle, where 9 handy Mac apps are now on sale for just $49.99 (a $310 retail value). Apps that are part of this bundle include Mac Pilot 5 (easily enable and disable hundreds of hidden features in Mac OS X, among other things), TechTool Pro 6 (complete diagnostic checks, drive repair and data recovery) and one of my favorites, TextExpander 4 (create custom keyboard shortcuts for “expanding” user-defined text). To take advantage of this great bundle, head over to Stacksocial (deal ends in 18 days) to add some or all of these apps to your desktop workflow. And if you’re feeling lucky, several Giveaways are still ongoing, including 2 iPad minis, a Dropbox Pro account for life and The Omni Group bundle.

TMA Giveaway: Win 1 of 10 digital magazine subscriptions from Zinio [Closed]

Zinio, one of the world’s largest digital newsstands around, has teamed up with TouchMyApps to giveaway 10 free magazine subscriptions to share with our readers. With over 5,000 digital magazines and readers in over 200 countries, Zinio delivered more than 70 million issues in 2012. Subscriptions can be read and enjoyed on multiple platforms, including the iPad, iPhone, Android mobile phones and tablets, laptop and desktop. You’ll find most (if not all) of your favorite magazines here, like Esquire, Mac World, National Geographic, Maxim, Wired and much more. Full details on how you can enter this giveaway after the break.

Skype for iPad updated with several new features, 30% off Skype gift cards

Skype for iPad has been updated to version 4.5 and with it, comes several new additions:

• The app automatically reconnects a dropped call when wifi or 3/4G network reception is poor
• Add money to your Skype account from within the app to call mobile/landlines worldwide or send SMS (currently only available in US, UK, France, Sweden and Estonia)
• Swipe from left of the screen to open a new sidebar of your recent conversations

iOS 6.0 and 6.1 Untethered Jailbreak (evasi0n) is here

The wait for an untethered jailbreak for the iPhone 5 and iPad mini is finally over. Team evad3rs has moments ago released the evasi0n jailbreak, which isn’t only untethered (meaning you can reboot without having to “tether” to a computer), but is compatible with all iDevices running iOS 6.0 through 6.1. iPhone 5 users can now get back to using awesome Cydia apps like SBSettings, Zephyr and Springtomizer 2, just several of the non-Apple sanctioned apps that seriously enhances the whole iOS experience. To get started, check out the evasi0n FAQ page for step-by-step instructions on how to install this Jailbreak. But before you continue – and assuming you want to run iOS 6.1 while Jailbroken – it is recommended that you update your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad via iTunes, rather than directly from your device –> settings (aka OTA).