iOS software

For months, the Web teemed with rumors that Microsoft would launch Office for the iPad, making it the first touch-focused platform for the cash cow productivity suite.

But when Microsoft unveiled the next version of Office this week, it was clear the iPad would have to wait.

In an interview with CNET, Office division President Kurt DelBene said Microsoft's own Windows is the priority for the newest version of Office. The new touch-friendly productivity suite will debut on Windows 8, which launches in October, in large part because the operating system is the best showcase for Microsoft's application … Read more

Amazing Alex (99 cents) for iPhone or Android is a physics game where you're challenged to create chain reactions with objects to complete objectives. Our hero, Amazing Alex, is a kid who's stuck cleaning his room and tries to get creative with organizing his belongings by building Rube Goldburg-like devices.… Read more

It took more than five years, but Apple has finally won a key patent related to the way lists and documents are displayed in a mobile operating system.

The company yesterday was granted Patent no. 8,223,134 for "Portable electronic device, method, and graphical user interface for displaying electronic lists and documents." According to the patent's description, the technology relies upon a touch-screen display and includes both the function for displaying lists and documents, and how they look on a mobile product.

Patently Apple was first to discover the patent.

Given the current state of mobile … Read more

Apple is not too pleased with Russian hacker Alexey V. Borodin, and a hack he developed that allows iDevice owners to install in-app goods without paying for them.

According to The Next Web, Apple over the weekend blocked the IP addresses of the server Borodin used to facilitate the hack. In addition, the company issued a takedown request to his server's hosting provider. Apple even requested that the video Borodin posted showing his technique in action be removed from YouTube due to a copyright violation.

Borodin last week surfaced with an exploit that re-routes in-app purchase requests away from Apple or a developer's secured server … Read more

Apple's App Store has added a new listing for Food and Drink.

When users tap over to the section, they'll find a host of applications offering everything from recipes and restaurant locators to programs from prominent companies, like Starbucks and Pizza Hut. As of this writing, Food Network in the Kitchen app is tops in the paid section, while the Starbucks app has taken top billing in the free area.

Apple has added new sections to the App Store from time to time. Back in March, for example, the company added a Catalogs section.

(Via 9to5 Mac)

Rovio's Angry Birds is still the top game in the mobile arena. But now, the company is trying something new.

The developer announced today that it has launched Amazing Alex for iOS and Android. The game will allow players to take control of 35 objects that can be set in motion to create a Rube Goldberg device. The objects can "bounce, pop, ricochet, bash, and crash into each other," Rovio says. The game is launching with 100 levels.

Rovio didn't create the game from scratch. Earlier this year, the company acquired the intellectual property rights to Casey's Contraptions, … Read more

Built as a Universal update, Google+ version 3.0 adds new features to the iPhone app and is the first version that is made for the iPad with its own unique interface features.

On both iOS devices, you'll now be able to create and manage Google Events. You can create an event, manage comments, add photos, and see who is coming to the event. All the info from past events is saved as well, so you can go back and revisit them later.

Google Hangouts are now supported on both iOS devices as well, which means you'll be … Read more

Is Apple getting into the travel business?

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company today was awarded a host of patents by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. However, the one that stood out describes an application, called iTravel, that handles all of a person's needs when traveling. Patently Apple first reported it.

According to the filing, iTravel would allow users to make reservations for a trip and then share them with others. In addition, the application could be used to check in and handle checked luggage. The application appears to work with Macs, as well as Apple's iPhone, … Read more

Forget Stephen King; if you like the macabre, you gotta go Poe.

iPoe for iOS brings to creepy, illustrated life four of Edgar Allan Poe's works.

As with Alice for iPad and other famous literary works given the app treatment, iPoe transforms the author's text into lavishly illustrated pages enhanced with music, animation, and interactive touches.

The app comes with four tales: "Annabel Lee," "The Masque of the Red Death," "The Oval Portrait," and "The Tell-Tale Heart." You also get a brief biography of the author.… Read more