Disclaimer: I work for AgileBits, makers of 1Password.
The company I work for, AgileBits, gave iMore a sneak peek of 1Password 4 for iOS. Everything that I can probably say about the app at this stage is said in iMore’s article, so I encourage you to go check it out.
We’re all pretty excited to get this out to all of you. It really is an amazing improvement to our iOS app.
A recurring theme the past two years or so with Apple’s stance on the future of the Mac is to take the best of iOS and bring it back to the Mac. And in some ways, though fewer, the Mac brings something to iOS.
Inevitably, there are apps that start on iOS and come back to the Mac. One the most shining examples I have seen yet is Clear for Mac by Realmac Software.
Clear is a simple and stylish to-do list manager. The latest iPhone update brought iCloud support in preparation for the Mac. The brand new Mac version of Clear is truly a Mac app inspired by iOS, heavily taking advantage of multi-touch trackpads. Pinching, swiping, and scrolling are the key elements to navigating Clear interface, and it couldn’t be more fun with the nifty sounds accompanying the gesture-driven experience.
Keyboard ninjas will be happy, too, as everything you could do on the trackpad can also be accomplished by keyboard shortcuts.
If you are looking for a quick, easy, and simple to-do manager for iOS and Mac that syncs effortlessly and instantly, Clear is awesome.
You can get it for iPhone for $1.99 and get it for Mac at an introductory price of $6.99 (until Sunday, November 11). After the 11th, the price will increase to around $13.99, I think. I’d get it now.
Another thing changing in iOS 6 is that the built-in YouTube app is going away. Today, Google released an official YouTube app in the App Store to replace it. I’ve only spent a few moments with it, but already it seems better than the built-in app.
Just like Apple is eschewing Google’s Maps in favor of their own Maps, the change of guard around YouTube feels right for Google. You need to own your experience.
With iOS 6 likely due out in the next couple of weeks, it’s a good idea to talk about podcasts. If you, like me, are a podcast listener, things are changing in iOS 6.
Traditionally, I’ve used podcasts the Apple way: subscribe via iTunes and sync episodes over USB or Wi-Fi to my iPhone, and then listen to them from the Podcasts tab of Apple’s Music app. It is certainly a process full of friction. It keeps your iPhone tied to your Mac, still, even though iOS 5 made significant inroads to making iOS independent from iTunes.
I take several long-weekend trips every year, and this past year I gave serious consideration to just leaving the Mac at home. A couple times I did, and regretted that I wasn’t able to reload on podcasts. So the past couple trips, my Mac has made the trip with me for that very reason.
In iOS 6, podcasts are being removed from the Music app. Apple’s new way is for users to use the already available Podcasts app. I’ve tried to use it a couple times to preemptively get on board before the big switch. But honestly? Don’t use this app as it stands today.
Apple’s Podcasts app is slow, buggy, and lacks the typical polish and refinement we’ve all come to expect. This app does not feel like something Apple made. It doesn’t even use iCloud to sync the subscription list between your iPhone and iPad, instead making you go through the subscription process twice.
So here’s what you should do. Buy Downcast. It is every bit the caliber you would expect Apple to make, but Apple didn’t make it.
Here’s a rundown of what makes Downcast awesome:
Unplayed and Played or Empty. Edit button, mark a bunch of them, then toss them in the download queue. I could go on, there’s much more. The bottom line is this is the sort of full-featured podcast client you want.
I highly recommend that you switch to Downcast before iOS 6 comes out (rumor has it September 19). Downcast is a universal app and runs a whopping $1.99 on the App Store.
Also, I noticed Downcast’s Twitter feed mention they are working on a Mac app.
This is the first feature update to my favorite text editor on iOS (and the Mac) — Byword. I reviewed Byword for iOS when it debuted in March. While the initial release was really great, it had two shortcomings:
These are the two areas of focus in Byword for iOS 1.1.
Byword now includes a dark theme like its big brother. In addition to that, the keyboard extension has received a little polish in appearance.
The biggest feature is the ability to switch between Local, iCloud, and Dropbox storage in the file browser. It really feels like a best of both worlds approach. You have the deeper file system of Dropbox, while also being able to dip your toe into iCloud. Another nice feature of the new file browser is the ability to create folders on the fly.
If you are serious about your writing, I have no reservation in recommending Byword as the best iOS text editor. It’s a universal app for iPhone and iPad and you can pick it for $2.99 in the App Store.
The nerds (myself included) have been getting pretty antsy about Twitter’s increasing restrictions on third-party apps. We love our third-party apps like Twitterrific and Tweetbot (and I am sure my Android friends have their favorites, too).
Why?
Because, frankly, third-party Twitter apps have offered the best in class experience to date. Let’s loosely recap how Twitter’s experience has changed over the years.
I don’t think I would feel so morose about Twitter’s actions to stifle third-party apps if Twitter itself offered the best in class experience. If Twitter’s experience was far and away better than what third-parties have come up with, there would hardly be an argument to make.
Twitter doesn’t even leverage its own streaming technology in its mobile apps. Tweetbot does and it’s awesome. And what about things like Tweetmarker? Twitterrific and Tweetbot use this to keep timelines in sync at the user’s “last read” position. With Tweetmarker, I can easily launch a client on Mac, iPhone, or iPad and pick up where I left off.
What if Twitter made best in class apps on all their platforms, using their streaming feature when appropriate, and rolled a Tweetmarker-like feature across all their apps and the web? Well, for starters, it would make the service just that much better. Secondly, it would make the deprecation of third-party apps hurt less.
The fact is Twitter doesn’t seem to care about having the best experience, they care now about being the only experience.
And if your experience is the only experience, I suppose the majority of users won’t know that it could be so much better.
Facebook 5 isn’t too big on visual changes, at least on iPhone. For the most part, it looks a lot like Facebook 4. On the iPad, however, the update brings Timeline and the nuances of Timeline’s effect on all of Facebook’s design across platforms.
But visual change isn’t the focus of Facebook 5. Even though it doesn’t look a great deal different, it acts different. How? Speed. Lots of speed.
Facebook has historically been an HTML5 mobile site wrapped with a few native iOS controls. More or less, it was a slow loading website, especially over 3G. Now Facebook is a fully native iOS app, and everything loads near instantaneously.
This is great for me, as I have been primarily using Facebook on my iPhone and (even more so) iPad as of late. Mobile is my main vehicle to keeping tabs on family, friends, and acquaintances, and a faster and more consistent experience is always welcome.
Facebook 5 for iOS is available on the App Store.
Gedeon Maheux for The Iconfactory, responding to Twitter’s new guidelines for third-party developers:
For the past several months, we’ve been working on a major update to Twitterrific that we’re very excited about. There were concerns that this new version might end up on the cutting room floor prior to Twitter’s announcement, but after reviewing the new restrictions and speaking with the team at Twitter, we’re pleased to report that our development plans remain unchanged.
We’re re-doubling our efforts to bring you an all-new version of Twitterrific: one that complies with Twitter’s new guidelines and makes reading and posting to Twitter even easier and more fun.
I have been using Twitterrific since my first day on Twitter. I’ve tried other clients at times, such as Tweetie and Tweetbot, but I’ve always come back to Twitterrific.
For me, the reasons I have always preferred Twitterrific are its ease of use, unified timeline, unified feel across Mac & iOS, and chiefly, its beauty.
I can’t wait to see the next take on the first and best Twitter client I’ve known.
Also, let’s not forget how important third-party clients have been to Twitter, and how many things Twitterrific did first.
On and off over the years I have tried my hand at journaling. It has never stuck. I have several reasons behind why it I have never done well with it.
Then I read Shawn Blanc’s review of Day One. I had seen Day One in the App Store before, but hadn’t given it much thought, because I never had a clear reason to journal.
Then Shawn wrote this:
As a writer, I believe journaling on a regular basis is critical. It’s writing that will never be judged. It’s writing that doesn’t require an editor. It’s the only place where I am completely free to write for my truly ideal reader: a future me. I have my own inside jokes, my own running story arc, my own shorthand. I love the freedom to write whatever I want, however I want, with no need to make it tidy or clear or concise. And I have no doubt that it makes me a better professional writer.
I realized I had always attempted journaling with the thought that my audience would be someone who would eventually read it. It had never crossed my mind that I could just write for myself and not worry about that writing being judged or analyzed. I could have fun with it.
So I’m giving Day One a shot. I bought the Mac & iOS apps, and after a couple weeks I’m happy to say I have stuck with it.
Being able to attach photos is a nice touch to tie words more vibrantly with memories. I love the automatic tagging of location and weather. Most of all, though, I like brig able to journal from anywhere. I can be at my Mac, or use my iPhone or iPad. iCloud keeps it all in sync.
Most of all, I think I am learning how to approach writing more casually and have more fun with it. Journaling is a new avenue for me, one I like taking a daily stroll down.
You can get Day One for Mac for $5 on the Mac App Store and Day One for iOS for $5 on iTunes.
I don’t do a great deal of work with images, but when I need something a little more beyond what iPhoto or Aperture can offer, or if I need to make something from scratch, I turn to Pixelmator.
I’ve been using Pixelmator for a few years, and it has always been a better experience than that other pixel-pushing tool from Adobe.
Today, Pixelmator 2.1 Cherry was released, making an already easy to use image editor even easier. It’s ready for both Mountain Lion and the Retina display, includes iCloud document storage support, and features a new effects browser and alignment guides.
Effects always intimidated me because they resided by name only in a menu. I didn’t know what each one did. With the new effects browser I can see what an effect will do before I apply it.
As for alignment guides, this is something I have wanted for a while. Now it is super easy to center or align objects in an image amongst each other. This makes Pixelmator a precision tool.
The Pixelmator team has some great walkthroughs of the new features on their site.
The best part of Pixelmator is the price. It’s just $29.99 $14.99 on the Mac App Store.