ios

How trapped are your digital movies and TV shows?

Have you decided to ditch DVDs and Blu-rays to instead buy movies and TV shows only in a pure digital format?

There are certainly advantages to that. But one of the biggest downsides of going all digital is that how you can view your content is largely dependent on the service you purchased it from.

Digital video providers In this column, I look at how "trapped" video content purchased from iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Xbox and Google Play may be. The first four video marketplaces were listed yesterday by NPD as among the top ways people purchase digital video. … Read more

Traveling? Quickly and simply get your exchange rates with Simple FX

Simple FX comes in two versions: the lite and paid version. Both contain the same features, but the paid version allows for more currencies. Instead of the regular display of direct rates, the app opts for a chart that shows monetary increments of one currency and the corresponding exchange value of another. This feature allows for quick estimation, sets it apart from other converters, and increases its utility for average travelers. Sometimes having an instant estimate for costs of items is better than having to tediously calculate values to the nearest cent. However, this chart function is not as useful … Read more

Apple polishes iTunes 11 with an all-new look and lots of new features

An all-new Apple iTunes? No need to tempt us: We'll bite! The look is pure Apple, but the new iTunes 11 is also lighter, sleeker, and faster than the old app. It also comes with many new features and refinements, such as improved iCloud integration that lets you play your iTunes purchases right away on all your devices or pause play on one device and pick it right up on another. New Library Views clean up media collection clutter. Expanded views display album notes in place so you don't have to click back and forth. The new MiniPlayer … Read more

Porn permitted on Twitter's Vine app

Monday's CNET Update is swinging off the Vine:

In today's tech news roundup, everyone is buzzing about the Vine app -- for a different reason this time. Twitter's overly hyped app for six-second video clips seems to have a porn problem. Users are posting pornographic videos, and Vine permits it. Apple has not yet pulled Vine from the App Store, even though it has a strict policy to ban apps with adult content. Could Apple be making an exception and giving Twitter time to clean up its app?

If you're curious what other video clips are … Read more

Apple releases iOS 6.1 with additional LTE support

After five beta test versions, Apple today released iOS 6.1, the first major update to iOS 6 since September.

The software, which went out this morning as an over-the-air update as well as a download through iTunes, brings a few new minor features, along with bug fixes.

Chief among the new features is 4G LTE support for more carriers, along with a feature that lets users purchase movie tickets from Fandango after finding showtimes using Siri. Apple also returned the option for iTunes Match subscribers to download individual songs from iCloud, something that was quietly removed in a previous … Read more

Nearly half of iPhone users use YouTube's app, report says

Removing YouTube from the pre-installed apps on iOS hasn't stopped users from finding it. Three months after its release, the standalone app is already on almost half of U.S. iPhones, according to market share data released today by mobile data company Onavo.

As of Dec. 31, 44.5 percent of iPhone users had downloaded the standalone YouTube app, according to the report. That's up from 20 percent in September, when it was released.

Onavo is best known for making apps that save users data by routing requests through their own servers before sending them … Read more

Shaq Versus Evil Mutant Zombies

Are you tired of the whole zombie craze yet? What if those zombies happen to be mutants in a post-apocalyptic wasteland? What if the hero protagonist in all this mess was, oh, I don't know, 7'1'', 325-lb former NBA Superstar Shaquille O'Neal?

Yes, someone on this earth not only conceived of this, but managed to produce it, even going so far as getting the man of steel himself to lend his voice.

ShaqDown (Android, iOS) is One Spear Entertainment's first outing. Their business model apparently consists of building mobile games around celebrities, and we'll see … Read more

The iPhone 6 won't wow: 6 reasons why

Apple's getting hammered by analysts and investors as I write this, and I've been trying to resist the urge to say "told ya so."

Sorry, no will power today.

Back in September, after the much-awaited and meh-filled unveiling of the iPhone 5, I made a declaration that's being borne out further in this week's headlines -- the iPhone jumped the shark some time ago. At the time, I was reacting to the lack of any groundbreaking innovation in the latest Apple smartphone iteration. But this week, word came that iPhone demand was slumping and Apple had reportedly cut component orders.

Is that really such a big deal, you say? No, not necessarily. It could just be the normal drop in sales after the holidays. Or it could be that, plus the six reasons below that lead me to continue to believe that the iPhone will join Adam Lambert, Sarah Palin, and many others on the list of pop culture icons that peaked around 2010. … Read more

Stay on the right route with Google Maps for iOS

Apple's attempt at creating its own mapping app didn't start out on the right foot and could certainly use a bit more tweaking, but, thankfully, Google has stepped in to provide frustrated users with an iPhone version of its popular mapping service.

Google Maps for iOS first asks you to sign in to save your favorite places and to access past searches. You can opt to skip that step, however. The main screen is stripped down so that you can get a full view of the map. A search bar resides at the top, and you can tap … Read more

Stream audio to every room of your home

LAS VEGAS--The Stream Wireless Home Audio System from Voxx International lets you play music and audio anywhere in your home and is relatively low priced to make it more accessible.

Once set up with included software, you'll be able to control your music library from any iOS device or your computer over Wi-Fi and Apple's AirPlay. The software lets you choose zones for your music, and you can select playlists to play in each room.

The single-room configuration for the system costs $199 and looks like a smart way to control your music wirelessly.