Apps

I like Apple's Maps app, but a number of times it's taken me to a location that simply didn't exist: an Indian restaurant, a zoo, a hotel in a small town, a Chinese restaurant. I diligently follow Siri's directions and when she says I've arrived, the establishment in question is nowhere to be seen. And in several of these cases probably never existed. If you've had similar problems and prefer maps from third parties such as Google, you can now conveniently access these maps from within Apple's Maps app.

One of the great features of recent versions of iOS is how deeply embedded sharing is. You can quickly share items such as photos and videos with friends, on Facebook, on Twitter, on Flickr, and more. In fact, you have so many options now that the screen that pops up when you tap the button for sharing can start to get cluttered. Fortunately, you can customize it.

Vainglory (free) is a new iOS game that has taken the world of mobile gaming by storm. Developed by Super Evil Megacorp, Vainglory belongs to the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena genre—MOBA in gaming vernacular. Recently I got to chat with Kristian Segerstrale, COO & Executive Director at Super Evil Megacorp. We had a great conversation and I even got to play a few rounds of Vainglory with pro gamer turned Vainglory Video Community Manager, George “Zekent” Liu, and Super Evil Megacorp's Director of Marketing and Communications, Heini Vesander. I'm even more excited than ever to see what the future holds for this game, a game that is not only the pinnacle of awesome, but is also poised to revolutionize the way core gamers perceive and interact with modern games on the iOS platform. The following transcription is a must-read for any core gamer, as we delve into the creation of what is being hailed as one of the best new iOS games, and the only MOBA perfected for touchscreens.

A few weeks ago we published a tip explaining how to add an item to a specific list in Reminders using Siri. If you don't specify which list you want to add the reminder to, it will get added to your default Reminders List. But if you find yourself mostly adding items to a list that is not the default Reminders List, such as your Shopping List, why not make that your default list?

One of the nice features of the iPhone and iPad is the ability to see a photo of your contacts, such as when a call is coming in. You can manually add a photo to a contact by tapping Edit and then tapping Add Photo. Doing so lets you either select a photo you already have on your device or take a photo of the person on the spot. However, there's a much faster way. With just a couple taps you can add photos from all your Facebook friends to your contacts.

When you're in bed reading a really compelling book, you don't always want to stop just because it's late and your spouse wants to go to sleep. That's when you need the low-light Night theme in iBooks. It means you can finish the chapter without the glare of the screen hurting your eyes or disturbing your partner. 

Sifting through hundreds of pictures when you’re looking for one in particular can be a nightmare. Though we still can’t tag our photos or add descriptions in the iOS Photos app, Apple has added a new feature that allows users to search their images by location, date, time, and even album name. This makes looking for images much easier, if you know when or where they were taken.

If you're wanting to get into the spirit of the holidays, you now have a wide selection of Christmas-themed music in iTunes Radio. Early this month Apple added a number of curated stations for a total of 10 options: The Sounds of Christmas, Holiday Hits, Latin Holiday, Children's Christmas, Rockin' Holiday, Country Holiday, Souful Holiday, Holiday Classics, Classical Holiday, and Swingin' Holiday. Only a couple of these appear in the Featured Stations listing, so you'll want to add them to your list of My Stations.

I’m a pretty patient person, but when it comes to Music, I want to be able to switch playlists and songs quickly. I’m usually working out or driving while I listen to music, and I need to be able to quickly change what I’m listening to at a stoplight or in between sets. That's why it's a good idea to customize the bottom toolbar in the Music app to show what you use most, instead of having to click More for the extended menu.

Everyone likes movies. And no one likes wasting time on the lousy ones. So no doubt you check out the reviews to see what people are saying about it. Siri can help. Siri will not only let you find out what's playing at local theaters and play the trailer, but will also tell you how a movie is rated.

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