Amazon has been offering a free app of the day for a while now, but that offer is good for Android users only. Well, Apple seems to have caught on to the fact that iOS users like to save money too, as it’s debuting a “free app of the week” offer. Cupertino kicked off the new promotion yesterday via Twitter, where it announced that the game Cut the Rope: Experiments will be the first free download. Click on through to the source link, and you’ll see that the Appstore indeed lists the title as “free for a limited time.”

SOURCE via Pocketnow

Android and PlayStation Vita owners have felt the Music Unlimited love on their respective devices for quite some time now, but the Spotify / MOG / Rdio competitor has finally made its way to the App Store, bringing with it yet another option for streaming music on iOS. The free app appears to be optimized for iPhone and iPod touch (though it’s also compatible with iPad), and will enable on-the-go jammin’ with a $4-per-month Basic subscription over 3G, 4G or WiFi connections. You can pull in tunes from the millions of tracks in Sony’s collection, or access songs on your PC using the Music Sync service. The app is currently only available in the New Zealand App Store, but it’s expected to hit other Music Unlimited countries soon. For now, you can hit up the source link for the Kiwi App Store preview, or head over to the Music Unlimited site to sign up.

SOURCE via 9to5mac

Hyundai Sonata and Veloster owners have had some level of remote access for a year now, but the latest version of the Blue Link app does even more. Along with remote start, door lock / unlock and control of the horn and lights, you can now run vehicle diagnostics, send POIs across from your phone for later in-dash navigation, and even locate and manage multiple Blue Link-equipped cars. Sound complicated? Not if you run a cab firm, or if you check out the twelve new instructional videos on Hyundai’s YouTube channel below.

Users of the Google+ iPhone app have sometimes complained that their version isn’t given the same love as that for Android users. The TLC level just got a boost today, as a Google+ 2.0 update has remade the app in style: it now has a more immersive “carousel” for streams, with stylized fonts, a greater emphasis on profile photos and a whole lot less of that humdrum white. Actions like a +1 vote are more prominent at the same time. If you’re of the Apple-owning persuasion, you can get the updated app now; Android users are also being teased with a future update that will bring some “extra surprises” within a few weeks.

SOURCE via Apple

Everyone’s favorite VoIP service, Skype, has rolled out a fresh update to its iPhone / iPod Touch and iPad clients. First off, the Microsoft-owned outfit added a revamped login screen to both iOS applications, and now offers the ability to move your vid preview around the screen — much like FaceTime does. To go along with the new pair of features, Skype’s changelog also notes the app will now automatically restart after a sudden crash, while other undisclosed enhancements were made to improve the overall UI, stability and accessibility. Of note, Skype v4 requires folks to be running iOS 4.3 or later. So, those of you keeping that Cupertino OS current can hit either of the iTunes links below to get the goods, or grab it from the App Store on your device.

SOURCE via Apple

Skimming the news later is no match for consuming it fresh, but we still live in a world with connectivity dead zones — riding the subway, cruising the Pacific at 35,000 feet — making an offline reading app a necessity for oft-disconnected consumers. Pocket, formerly known as “Read it Later,” lets you save online content to read when you’re not within web’s reach, or even when you are. Pocket could also be a good resource for folks that stumble upon some interesting content, but simply don’t have time to read it at that very moment. You can also grab videos and images to watch later — everything is presented in a clean, easy to view format, searchable by publication, keyword or custom tags. And while the former version — Read it Later — ran you a cool 99 cents, Pocket is free, and available now for Android, iOS and the Kindle Fire.

As shown above, the mobile companion app that we had only seen so far on Windows Phone 7 is also up and running on Android and iOS. While the apps are still very early in their development they’re already running smoothly with metadata provided by Rovi and the usual set of features for DVR scheduling and management.

Each one is designed specifically for the platform it’s running on, rather than pulling the same UI from one device to all. This seems like a good approach to us, but Ceton’s looking for feedback from potential users about what they might prefer.

Speaking of potential users — all those interested in this hardware should keep an eye out as we’re told that the plan is to have a beta for the DTS-compatible Echo extender “soon”, likely within a few weeks.

Given how much the world has already noticed that instant messaging can be cheaper than SMS, it’s surprising to see the founder of WhatsApp trying to persuade carriers that he’s actually doing them a favor. In an interview with Reuters, Brian Acton said that his messaging service is “facilitating a broad movement to data plans,” from which carriers “stand to benefit quite substantially.” While it’s certainly true that smartphones and data plans make nice margins for operators, Acton’s thesis also slithers around some slightly inconvenient evidence. According to analysts at Ovum, carriers lost $13.9 billion in SMS revenues last year, and are set to lose another $23 billion this year. All the while, WhatsApp’s traffic is growing rapidly, with total messages doubling from one billion in October 2011 to two billion in February. With data costs falling around the world, and with platforms like WhatsApp running on lower-priced handsets (such as those running Nokia S40), it’s the consumer, not the carrier, who ought to be charmed.

SOURCE via Reuters

Photo-bleaching camera app Instagram has notched up more than a million downloads in its first 24 hours on sale in the Android store.

But the rush of new fandroids posting sepia-toned snaps of their breakfast has pissed off Apple fanbois, who have moaned that the pic-sharing side of the app is becoming too crowded.

Named Apple’s App of the Year in 2011, freebie Instagram became one of the most successful apps ever by clocking more than 30 million users on iOS since its launch in October 2010. Opening up access to Android users – which comprise 49 per cent of the smartphone market with sales of 237.7 million in 2011 – opens up a potential Insta-audience of hundreds of millions.

Judging from their enraged tweets, iPhone hipsters are upset at the influx of newbies because their own Instagram photo streams have become swamped by Android punters excitedly posting dozens of photos of their desks, cats and so on, slowing the app down. As one said on Twitter:

Too many ppl on instagram now! #claustrophobic

Comparing the move to Section 8, the US Housing initiative that brought people on state housing benefits into privately owned properties, PLAY4TEAMIPHONE said:

iPhone instagram: Gated community. It wus a great community until Android instagram: Section Housing #teamiphone

In harsher language, thegame opined:

Fuck them Android “Instagram” users slowing ere’thang the fuck up for the iPhone heads #ThisMeansWar.

Some expressed surprise at the degree to which iPhone users felt affected by the change:

I didn’t realise people with androids getting instagram was affecting iPhone users day to day lives so much… Wow.

A Blackberry user commented:

Instagram is not available on Blackberry. Brb crying.

Oh God, why?

At the end of last year, Telenav revealed its browser-based HTML5 turn-by-turn navigation system and made it available to a select few devs to put it to good use. Now, the company has created Scout for Apps and made the service available to all developers who want it, assuming they’re coding iOS or HTML5 applications (Android support is in the works, and is slated to arrive later this year). That means that apps and websites can now incorporate turn-by-turn navigation directly, as opposed to launching a separate application to get you where you want to go. Keep in mind that Telenav isn’t pitching this as a full GPS replacement — more a value added proposition to developers — and after spending some time using Scout, we can see why.

We tested the browser-based Scout service on our Android handset to run a few errands, and we found it a useful tool, but it certainly pales in comparison to its application counterparts. There’s noticeable lag when attempting to swipe around maps, no pinch to zoom (onscreen buttons are the only option), and it lacks features like traffic reports or a way to remember favorite locations. That said, it does do a good job of getting you where you want to go, and the rudimentary nav functionality is certainly more appealing than the static maps found in apps currently. Plus, it’s quite nice to not have to launch a separate application to get directions. If you want to test Scout for Apps on your mobile, hit the source link below.

SOURCE via Telenav