Posts in iPhone

QuickShot 1.7: Back in Action With Better Dropbox Integration

QuickShot 1.7 is not just a maintenance release, but a big update if we look at the changes made to the back end. QuickShot, which instantly saves photos to Dropbox, fixes many of the bugs that were present in the earlier version (1.6.3). The bigger story here, however, is the switch to the new Dropbox SDK. Aside from a big performance boost (apps updated to use the new Dropbox SDK use less system resources in the background), the biggest new feature is a single-sign-on system.

With current Twitter apps, you only need to sign into your Twitter accounts via the Settings app in iOS. Twitter apps will look for those accounts and request access so you don’t have to sign in each time. Dropbox now works similarly; With the Dropbox app installed on your iPhone or iPad, simply logging into their app provides access for other apps using the new SDK. This of course makes logging into and using Dropbox much easier — you’re simply redirected to the Dropbox app and asked whether you’d like to accept or cancel the app link. The feature is pretty cool and it’s the first time I’ve seen Dropbox authentication like this in an iOS app.

With QuickShot, you can easily upload photographs to a Dropbox shared folder to quickly share images and videos for events, parties, and get-togethers. We think it’s a splendid little camera app, and you can give QuickShot a try for only $0.99 on the App Store.

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#MacStoriesDeals - Friday

Be sure to vote for your favorite apps of 2011! Here are today’s @MacStoriesDeals on iOS, Mac, and Mac App Store apps that are on sale for a limited time, so get them before they end!

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Best Apps Of 2011: Vote For Your Favorite + A Huge Giveaway

iOS and Mac apps are the cornerstone of what we cover on MacStories, we love trying new apps, sharing news about them and then reviewing them for you all. The past 12 months have been a spectacular year for new apps and big app updates that have seen both the diversity and calibre of iOS and Mac apps increase significantly. It is with this in mind that we want to recognise the very best apps that were released or received major updates in 2011.

The whole team at MacStories has worked together to come up with a short list of iPhone, iPad and Mac apps as well as a short list of games that we believe were the best to come out in 2011. Now we need your help to decide which of these apps are the best from each category. To do so, we are running a poll that we want you to take, and we want you to cast your vote for what you think was the best app of 2011.

The Biggest MacStories Giveaway Ever!

However, this event isn’t just about rewarding the very best iOS and Mac developers, we want to reward you for being readers of MacStories this year and for taking the time to help us choose the best apps of 2011. This giveaway, as the header states, is the biggest we have ever run - and by quite a stretch. We’re going to be giving away over two-hundred license codes for apps that have made it into our short lists - and there may still be more to come! Some of the apps we will be giving away include:

  • Alfred
  • Fantastical
  • iA Writer
  • Instacast
  • Mr. Reader
  • Tweetbot
  • and many, many more…

How To Enter The Giveaway

There are three ways to be in the running for some of these licenses:

  1. Vote (when you vote we first ask for your email address, just enter a valid email address and you go into the running to win some free apps).
  2. Tweet about this contest (just make sure you have this article’s URL in the tweet, or just use the example tweet below).
  3. Let your friends or family know about the poll and have them enter your email or Twitter handle in the referral box that is on the voting page.

MacStories Best Apps of 2011: vote now and enter our huge iOS & Mac app giveaway! http://mcstr.net/rVDwy8

Rules & More Information

  • You can only vote once, this is why we require an email address when you vote. If you enter an invalid email address or vote multiple times your vote(s) will not count.
  • Please don’t spam your Twitter followers, friends or family, asking them to vote and add you to the referral box. It’s not nice and we don’t want to come across as being the source of this spam - if we see such spam we will ensure you don’t receive any licenses.
  • Some licences will be given out during the voting process, whilst the rest will be given after voting closes.
  • Once voting closes, no more entries for the giveaway will be accepted.
  • Because of the limited number of licences we have per app, you might not get the app you really wanted if you are a winner - but we will try to be as flexible as possible!

 

Sorry, voting is now closed. Winners will be announced Saturday, 24th.

The winning apps will be announced on Saturday, December 24th (Christmas Eve).


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#MacStoriesDeals - Thursday

Here are today’s @MacStoriesDeals on iOS, Mac, and Mac App Store apps that are on sale for a limited time, so get them before they end!

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Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

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Mage Gauntlet Now Universal iOS App

Rocketcat Game’s excellent RPG, Mage Gauntlet, has released a major update, one important feature being that it is now Universal. There are also some tweaks as well. Some spells have been changed, reviving after being beaten now grants a free spell, some levels were shortened, and save files can now be exported or imported through iTunes – allowing you to copy your unlocked items and experience points to your other devices.

As with most updates, the new update also has bug fixes as well. Here’s the full release breakdown:

What’s new

*** Hotfix approved, grab this update, especially if you’re on iPad
*** iPad display bugs fixed
- Universal support for iPad and all iOS devices!
- Flip Screen option in the Settings menu!
- The View Map panel in the pause menu how has indicators showing how many notes/books you’ve found in the current level, and whether all monsters have been cleared!
- Spell changes! Silence has been merged into Time Circle to create a single all-powerful buffing spell, Sword Fury and the elemental summon spells have been improved, and the less useful Lucky and Shield spells have been removed from the random spell drops, though you can still obtain a Shield by collecting hearts or overflowing spells!
- Several weapons have been given new, upgraded effects and updated description text. Make sure to check them out, some were completely changed.
- Rabbit’s Foot now increases the hat drop rate by five times.
- Ring of the Zealot now resurrects you, once, at half health with a Sword Fury buff applied to you.
- Reviving after being defeated now grants a free spell.
- Save file! You can export or import your save data (in save.dat) via iTunes File Sharing to copy your unlocked items and experience points to your other devices! This also allows backing up saves to your PC.
- Many level tweaks! Additional urns added to most levels. Backtrack-blocking doors removed for most levels. Many overly long levels were shortened a bit and/or had more urns added. This should improve the pacing of Story Mode.
- Various bugfixes, including some achievement bugs and dialog typos.

Mage Gauntlet is a great RPG (888 5-Star ratings in iTunes) with a classic NES feel and excellent game play. If you haven’t yet played it, maybe Universal support will magically draw you in. The app is $2.99.

[via TouchArcade]

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Grand Theft Auto III Now Available for iOS

Rockstar Games’ much loved Grand Theft Auto III has today arrived on iOS and Android after it was revealed in October that a 10 Year Anniversary Edition had been developed for the two platforms. It may not be live in the App Store for everyone across the world just yet, but in Australia the app is available and I have successfully purchased it. The app will cost $4.99 for those in the US and equivalent amounts for those in other regions (in Australia it is $5.49). The game is a universal app and will run on the iPad, iPad 2, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and fourth generation iPod touch.

Welcome to Liberty City. Where it all began.

Rockstar Games celebrates the 10th anniversary of one of the most influential games of all time. The critically acclaimed blockbuster Grand Theft Auto III comes to mobile devices, bringing to life the dark and seedy underworld of Liberty City. With a massive and diverse open world, a wild cast of characters from every walk of life and the freedom to explore at will, Grand Theft Auto III puts the dark, intriguing and ruthless world of crime at your fingertips.

With stellar voice acting, a darkly comic storyline, a stunning soundtrack and revolutionary open-world gameplay, Grand Theft Auto III is the game that defined the open world genre for a generation.

If you played the original console version that was released way back in October of 2001 you won’t be disappointed with the iOS version featuring recreated graphics, updated character and vehicle models, HD resolution and custom controls to better suit iOS.

The Australian version is available on the App Store now, we will update this post when international links are available.

If you’re in a Grand Theft Auto mood, be sure to also check out GTA III on the Mac App Store, as well as GTA: Vice City and GTA: San Andreas which are also available.

Update: GTA III for iOS is now available in the US iOS App Store for $4.99.

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#MacStoriesDeals - Tuesday

Here are today’s @MacStoriesDeals on iOS, Mac, and Mac App Store apps that are on sale for a limited time, so get them before they end!

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Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

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Review Of Buttonless, A Book About Incredible iOS Games And The Stories Behind Them

Remember when Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone way back in January 2007 by prefacing the reveal by first saying it was a “a widescreen iPod with touch controls”, “a revolutionary mobile phone” and “a breakthrough Internet communications device”? It certainly delivered upon those three pillars, but as the iPhone and iOS has evolved over the years it has become evident that the iPhone (and subsequently the iPod touch and iPad) is also an innovative and impressive portable gaming device. Gaming has become a big selling point for iOS devices and since the App Store launched there have been a number of truly great and innovative games that have both shown what the devices are capable of and offered unique experiences that weren’t available anywhere else.

Today, ‘Buttonless: Incredible iPhone and iPad Games and the Stories Behind Them’ has been released on Amazon. It’s a new book by Ryan Rigney that aims to introduce you to a selection of the very best iOS games and then peel away the curtain, revealing the story and people behind the games. To compile the book, Rigney selected 65 of the “best and most beloved” iOS games and then conducted over 100 interviews with the developers and designers of the games. The result is 244 pages of interesting ‘behind-the-scenes’ stories that are unlikely to be found anywhere else.

I was given a pre-release copy of the book and below the break is my full review of ‘Buttonless’.

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Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

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#MacStoriesDeals - Monday

Here are today’s @MacStoriesDeals on iOS, Mac, and Mac App Store apps that are on sale for a limited time, so get them before they end!

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Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

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