iPad

Google had plenty to say about its Maps app at this year's Google I/O keynote presentation. Ever since Apple launched its own mapping application millions of iOS 6 users have downloaded Google's stand-alone Google Maps app, released in December. iPad owners were left out of the fun, but the company now says an iPad version is in the works and will arrive this summer. iPad compatibility alone won't be the only improvement coming to Google Maps for iOS. Google touted a new "Experience" feature that will display indoor maps for many places on an interface designed for tablet displays. The Maps update will also include new location and restaurant ratings from Zagat along with Google Offers integration. read more

A new free version of the fantastic Battle of the Bulge iPad game is coming soon. Battle of the Bulge Lite was submitted to Apple for approval on May 16 and could hit the iPad App Store any day now. Battle of the Bulge Lite will feature the ‘Race to the Meuse’ scenario from the full Battle of the Bulge game, with unlimited play in single player and online multiplayer modes. The Race to the Meuse scenario simulates the first three days of the Axis surprise attack in 1944. It can be played online against friends or random online opponents; or versus the game’s excellent AI. Some of the other features of the new Lite version of Battle of the Bulge include: • A quick start guide, to get you playing fast • An interactive tutorial to teach you the game more in depth • Extensive history notes and photographs about the battle • Strategy hints and tips • Full rules to...Read the whole entry... »        Related StoriesNotable New iPad Apps: MLB.com Home Run DerbyBattle of the Bulge iPad Game Updated: Adds New Scenarios and New AI OpponentsBattle of the Bulge for iPad: Update Coming Tomorrow – New Scenarios! 

It's been a busy, busy week on iMore, and this time the iOS headlines have been dominated by news from ostensibly competing conferences -- BlackBerry Live and Google I/O. The main conversation topic this week was cross platform messaging from BlackBerry and Google both, though also making the headlines was Google's answer to Game Center, Amazon taking on iTunes on the desktop, and the App Store finally hitting 50 billion downloads. Read on for the recap! The big story early in the week came from BlackBerry Live in Orlando. While we may have expected some news of the enterprise kind that affected iOS devices, we weren't quite prepared for what came next. CEO Thorsten Heins took to the stage and announced that their signature messaging tool, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) would be coming to iOS this summer. Some see it as too little, too late, but there seems to be a healthy early interest in the product. We'll be looking forward to putting it through its paces later this year. It also now means, as Rene pointed out, that each competing platform owner now makes apps for iOS. Apple by contrast, makes squarely nothing for any of its competitors. BlackBerry Messenger coming to iOS this summer Every major mobile competitor makes apps for iOS Messaging was the talk of the town over in San Francisco too, at Google I/O. Much-rumored leading up to the conference, Google debuted their new, cross-platform, Google+ Hangouts messaging service, now available on iOS as well as Android and the web. Hangouts seems to amalgamate the existing Hangouts experience of group video chat, with the existing Google Talk instant messaging service. Early impressions are good, but for the complete run down be sure to check out Leanna's full review. Google+ Hangouts for iPhone and iPad review Also coming out of Google I/O was news of an iPad version of Google Maps heading our way this year, updated Google Now cards and Google Play game services. Google's answer to Game Center, the game services API's are going cross-platform and are available to developers of iOS games too. Our own Peter Cohen gave his take on Google's new services following the announcement, so be sure to give it a read. Google Maps for iPad, new features coming this summer Google takes on Game Center with Google Play game services The third competing platform announcing a move to Apple products this week was Amazon. Until now, Amazon's Cloud Player music service has only been available via the web browser, but the launch of a desktop version takes on Apple's own iTunes. Initially, Cloud Player is only available for Windows PC's, but there is a version for the Mac in the works. This is great news for Amazon MP3 Store customers however, as getting your music onto your Mac and into iTunes isn't the most user friendly experience as it stands. Amazon taking the fight to iTunes on the desktop with new Cloud Player client One piece of big Apple news this week, was the App Store finally reaching its milestone 50 billion downloads. The lucky winner was one Brandon Ashmore, who downloaded Say The Same Thing to win the $10,000 App Store gift card. Congratulations to Brandon! Apple announces 50 billion app downloads. For real Elsewhere this week, the iMore staff gave us their thoughts on a variety of subjects. Leanna gave us a sterling round up of the best photography apps for the iPhone, while Peter weighed the pros and cons of all three (!) of Apple's current 13-inch MacBook offerings, and also gave us the arguments against touchscreen Macs . All excellent items well worth reading if you missed them the first time round. Best apps for iPhone photographers Battle of the 13-inch MacBooks: Which one wins? Time for touchscreen Macs? Hell no! Rene, meanwhile, is still pining on a better way to surface files on iOS. Four years of that and counting. Will Apple finally put him out of his misery? iOS 7 and my continued, unrequited desire for a Files.app! There you have them, the best of iMore for week. What stoo

You can do lots of fantastic things with iPad. You might not have all the information you need yet, so read on for excellent information. There are lots of things you must learn about an iPad, such as how to get and use apps. Read on! You can now use folders on the iOS iPad. To start, just tap and hold the tap on your desired application, wait for it to jiggle, then drag the app to a different icon and release. You will then have a folder with both applications together, sporting the same of the application category. You can rename the folder, if you like. It is easy to get to all the apps that are currently running on your iPad. To see what you have running, just double-click the Home button. The apps will show up on the bar at the bottom of the screen. Simply tap on the app you want to view. To get rid of this bar, swipe the screen in a downward direction. If you find that your iPad is freezing, soft reset it to make the device reboot. Hold both the home and power buttons to get your device to reload. Then the iPad will reset. If you want to kill a running process, hold the main button for around 5 seconds. Did you accidentally start a noisy app? You can mute your volume quickly by pressing and holding on the volume down button until the sound is turned off. If you mute a lot, you may configure your lock button into a mute button. Are you sick of your iPad asking you to become part of a Wi-Fi network? Then go to settings and eliminate the possibility. An option that asks you if you want to join networks exists and it can be changed. Simply select this option, and then, those pesky invitations will stop. Don’t use your iPhone charger for your iPad if you are short on time. The wattage is different, causing a delay. It will take much longer to fully charge your iPad if you use the iPhone’s charger. Use the original charger instead. The iPad has a downloadable manual for those that want to know all of the information Apple has to provide. Apple changed to a downloadable version to stay green. Do you want to get rid of the chime when you receive a new email? Thankfully, this feature can be easily disabled. Under the Settings menu, choose “General”. Once you get there, select Sounds. Turn off the chime or adjust the volume of it. To add your Google Calender to your Calender app, you’ll need to go into your Mail, elect Contacts, and then choose Calenders. Click on Add Account and then Other. Tap that you wish to Add CalDAV Account and then put in the information for Google. Now leave the settings area and access the calendar app. All that you need should be right there. It’s essential that you take good care of your iPad. Don’t keep it inside a locked car and make sure it’s not in direct sunlight. The heat will hurt your battery life. Also, be sure to avoid placing your iPad in places where its electronic components could be damaged by liquids. A cover is a wise investment for your iPad. Are you tired of tapping your bookmarks icon when you want to get to your usual websites? You can eliminate this annoyance by turning the bookmarks bar on permanently. This can be done in Settings, Safari, Always Show Bookmarks. Mature Content You can block mature content if your child has an iPad. Access the settings and set limits on the availability of mature content. You can restrict mature films, bad language, and inappropriate content. FaceTime is great for getting email and keeping contacts. Facetime can then sync up the information that you input with your contact. In order to enter these additional emails and phone numbers, go to the settings menu and choose the FaceTime tab. To copy and paste quickly on your iPad, tap the text and hold it down while choosing Select. Next, choose copy and go into the field that you want the text. A [...]

Every week, the editors and writers at iMore carefully select some of our favorite, most useful, most extraordinary apps. This week's selections include a war game, a videography app, a classic board game, and a popular twitter client for Mac. Sky Gamblers - Storm Raiders - Peter Cohen World War II air combat on the Mac - dogfighting in the skies above Pearl Harbor, Midway, France and more. Fly historic planes with cross-platform multiplayer, Game Center and iCloud support. If you've played the game on your iOS device, you know what to expect. But Atypical Games has reworked Sky Gamblers - Storm Raiders to work on the Mac, which makes it an even more fun game on a bigger screen. The game costs a paltry 99 cents to download, but content like new planes and weapons come at a price - in-app purchases for a couple of bucks here and there. Still, lots of fun to play and not a lot of coin to make it happen. $0.99 - Download now Luma Camera - Rene Ritchie While I was at BlackBerry Live -- or was it iMore live? -- one of the developers in attendance came over and showed me Luma Camera for iPhone. It's a video shooting app that offers filters both real-time and for post-processing, as well as optional HD video storage space via their website. The most interesting feature, however, is the image stabilization. Real optical image stabilization requires hardware, but Luma does a respectable job using the iPhones built in sensors and it's powerful graphics processing capabilities. I haven't had much of a chance to play around with it yet, but it looks like fun. If you try it, let me know what you think! Free - Download now Ticket to Ride Online - Richard Devine I must confess to being an avid fan of the Geek and Sundry YouTube Show, TableTop starring Wil Wheaton. It's via that show I first became aware of the board game Ticket to Ride, and now I've found and begun playing the Mac version -- Ticket to Ride Online I've never played the board game, but the Mac version is a beautifully colourful recreation of the original, and follows the rules to the letter. You choose a series of routes, and the objective is to lay trains on as many of those routes as possible before the game is up. The longest routes get an extra reward at the end, and incomplete routes loses points. It's really simple to pick up and play, and there's a comprehensive tutorial game to help you get to grips with the gameplay. In-App purchases are available to extend the game boards, with new ones available for Europe, another USA board and for Switzerland. And, the online play supports competing against other Mac, PC, and iPad players. I've not tried out the iPad version just yet, but you'll find a link for that too below. $9.99 (Mac Version) - Download Now $6.99 (iPad Version) - Download Now Tweetbot for Mac - Ally Kazmucha There are a wealth of amazing Twitter clients for iOS but when it comes to Mac, there are less to choose from. While I tend to use Twitterrific on my iPhone and iPad, I've never really liked the feel of it on Mac. Tweetbot is my second favorite for iOS and when they released a Mac client a while back, it definitely didn't disappoint. The price point is quite a bit higher than other Twitter offerings in the Mac App Store but honestly, it's the best available, hands down. If you want the iOS Tweetbot experience on your Mac, there really is no other option. $19.99 - Download Now Your choice? Now that we've chosen our favorites for the week, we want to hear yours! Did you pick up a killer app, accessory, or game this week? Let us know in the comments below!

According to the internet, Apple has to everything everyone else has ever done, plus make real everything science fiction has ever imagined, or WWDC 2013 will be a disappointment, and Apple will again and forever be doomed. No pressure there. But what exactly is this unattainable goal being set for Apple? Justin Willaims of Carpeaqua has placed tongue firmly in cheek and laid it plain. With WWDC just a few weeks away, I thought it’d be beneficial to the Internet at large to compile a working list of everything that is expected of Apple during their Keynote and subsequent “State of the Union” addresses in order to appease the Internet. Failure to introduce each and every one of these features and updates will result in another stock price plummet, calls for Tim Cook’s ouster and an infinite amount of comments on tech blogs decrying that Android is superior to Apple’s iOS. I have several favorites. Give the whole things a read, then tell me yours. Source: Carpeaqua

One of the best things about using an iPad is all the great apps that we can run on it. There are excellent apps for just about any purpose you can think of. Better still, there are lots of great free apps for the iPad. Our Best Free iPad App of the Week posts highlight these apps. This week’s pick is Google+, the iPad app for Google’s social network. It took Google a long time to bring out an iPad version of Google+ but it turned out to be worth the wait – and I’ve ben meaning to feature it as a Best iPad App of the Week here for a long while now. I was fortunate enough to get an early Google+ invite right around its initial beta launch. I liked it right from the off and it has become my favorite social network. I find myself spending more and more time on Google+, as I enjoy the lively discussions on a wide range of topics that interest me. And the excellent Google+ iPad app...Read the whole entry... »        Related StoriesBest Free iPad App of the Week: UPS for iPadBest Free iPad App of the Week: GoComicsBest Free iPad App of the Week: Fotopedia Reporter 

Your iPad can do many things for you. If you attach a keyboard to your iPad, you can use it as a word processor. Use a joystick, and you have a great gaming platform. There are apps available in which you can use it as a video conferencing system. These tips help bring out the best in your iPad. Accessing the running apps is easy. If you double-click on the Home button, it will show you all running apps in a bar on the bottom of your screen. Tap an application icon to switch to that app. To get rid of the bar, you should take your finger and swipe it down towards the bottom of the screen. Stay aware of the amount of money you are paying for the iPad apps that you download. iTunes makes it simple to just click and buy once you have entered your credit card or gift card information. Because of this, ensure that you don’t spend more than you have. A great way to keep pages open is to open new pages in a new tab. If you are using Safari, you can access this feature by tapping on a link and holding your finger there for a couple seconds till a menu of options appears. Here, you can choose to open the link in a tab. Are you tired of tapping the bookmark icon over and over so you can visit your favorite sites? It is possible to leave the bookmark bar up permanently. Start with Settings, then choose Safari. You will see an option for always showing your bookmarks bar. Enable it to the On position. There is now an easy way to mute your iPad. The first iPads did not have a mute button on them. The IOS 4.3 gave the choice of a lock switch to lock the iPad orientation or to mute the sound. Now, you can quickly mute your iPad by holding the “down” half of the volume button. Email Addresses Use FaceTime for phone numbers and emails. FaceTime will already have one of your email addresses in it (the one you used to register your device), but putting in more is a possibility. Go to the settings of your iPad and add the email addresses and phone numbers you want to see on FaceTime. Are you on the Internet nearly all the time? Then take advantage of the iPad’s cloud functions. You can use the cloud to store files and information so that you leave your iPad storage free and clear. Store your content on the device and iCloud if it is very important to you. iPads are great for music, but are you familiar with podcasts? These are radio programs ranging from 2 minutes to 2 hours about any type of subject. If you ever want to listen to something else besides music while you are commuting, consider listening to podcasts. You will surely find many subjects which interest you. It is possible to copy text and then paste it. Simply hold down the text that you intend to copy. Tap again once your text is highlighted in yellow, and choose copy. Then you simply tap and click Paste. There are many features that you will need to be aware of that iTunes offers. iTunes U is one of the best selections available. This section has educational podcasts about all types of professoinal subjects and can be a great way to increase your know-how. There are some online forums you can join to learn more about the iPad. There are quite a few sites out there that offer forums for iPads, and they will have people on them that may be able to help you. Introduce yourself and look through the forum archives to find useful information to fast-track your iPad talent. You might think it’s not necessary to do this, but it’s great to have security on your iPad. Your iPad often contains sensitive information such as phone numbers, emails, and sometimes bank information, and you can never predict losing your iPad. You will notice that the calendar option on the iPad does not permit swiping. Instead, select the date from the navigation bar. [...]

The new MLB.com Home Run Derby iPad app is just what the name sounds like – an iPad game that lets you test your long ball hitting prowess, playing as one of the home run hitting stars from the last three MLB All-Star games. The game lets you choose from any of the 24 sluggers who took part in the last three All-Star Home Run Derby events – though many of them require you either to collect a large number of ‘MLBucks’ as bonuses while you play or to pay up via In-App purchase. The game starts you off with 100 MLBucks, which will allow you to choose from around 9 of the sluggers who cost that much to select. Others range from 300 to 700 – for instance Robinson Cano from the 2012 Derby and Prince Fielder and David Ortiz from 2011 are 700. Some of the other stars you can play as include Miguel Cabrera, Matt Kemp, Jose Bautista, Andrew McCutchen, and more. There are single and...Read the whole entry... »        Related StoriesNotable New iPad Apps: Beethoven’s 9th SymphonyBattle of the Bulge iPad Game Updated: Adds New Scenarios and New AI OpponentsBattle of the Bulge for iPad: Update Coming Tomorrow – New Scenarios! 

If you own a Mac running OS X Mountain Lion and either a second or third generation Apple TV, you have the ability to display content from your Mac on your TV wirelessly with AirPlay Mirroring. If you are familiar with how AirPlay works for iOS with display mirroring, it's very similar. If you've never used AirPlay on your Mac before, follow along and we'll show you how. Turn on your TV and your Apple TV. Make sure your Apple TV and your Mac are both connected to the same wifi network. In the task tray in the upper right corner of your Mac, look for the AirPlay icon. Click on the AirPlay icon and you should see your Apple TV available for mirroring. Simply click on it. The content on your Mac screen will now automatically be shown on your TV screen.