News - Softonic English

Angry Birds spin-off Bad Piggies released for iOS and Android

Bad Piggies, the new game from the creator of Angry Birds, has been released today for Android and iOS devices. The mechanics-based puzzle game casts the evil pigs from Angry Birds in the lead role for the first time – but is Bad Piggies any good?

The idea of Bad Piggies is to make the construction at the top of the hill, then release the vehicle towards the goal line. As it flies down the hill you can use the objects you attached to help manipulate the craft and guide the pigs to the stars and ultimately to the goal.

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Flip4Mac 3.0 final released for Mac

Telestream has released the final version of Flip4Mac 3.0 for playing Windows Media Video (WMV) and Windows Media Audio (WMA) on Mac. In July, OnSoftware published an exclusive preview of Flip4Mac 3.0 featuring the new Flip Player, which is Flip4Mac’s new useful media player.

No longer just a codec, Flip4Mac now offers features such as background dimming, cropping video, creating iPhone ringtones from WMV and WMA files, and exporting to Apple apps and devices.

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Apple announces release of iOS 6 and new iTunes

After WWDC 2012 and experiencing the iOS 6 beta, there are a lot of improvements to the operating system. The mobile team at Softonic highlighted their choices for the best new features. Apple’s keynote solidified the features that will be present when it launches next week.

It’s been 5 months since WWDC and the multiple beta versions have revealed a lot of interesting smaller features that were not shown during WWDC 2012. But some features like Passbook were not functional during the beta and they weren’t properly demoed during the keynote.

Here’s what Apple announced:

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Google releases new YouTube app for iOS

When it was revealed that Apple removed YouTube as a native app in iOS 6, it was a welcome sign that Google would regain control over the stagnant app that Apple rarely updated. Today, Google released a new standalone YouTube app for iPhone, a day before Apple’s announcement.

Apple may announce the official release date for iOS 6 and possible updates to devices tomorrow, but iPhone users are currently able to experience an improved redesign and functionality of the YouTube app today. YouTube for iOS mirrors the Android app with a similar layout that includes the different sharing options with an increased response time when browsing videos or channels.

Adding a voice search gives another level of functionality for quick browsing. If you have been disappointed with the old YouTube app in iOS 5, the new app is a substantial evolution.

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Pulse turns its mobile newsreader into a beautiful web app

Pulse Newsreader has been on iOS and Android for a long time and today they’ve released a web app version of their newsreader. This is great news for Pulse fans who want an all encompassing ecosystem for reading customized news feeds. What Pulse does is aggregate all of the types of news you’re interested in like fashion, politics, technology, and many more. Choose at least 3 categories when you join Pulse and the app will give you suggested stories for each category.

News stories are presented in a mosaic or rows of thumbnails, if you wish. You can toggle between the modes on top of the website. News categories show up on the left hand side. Tap on one and you’ll be given a mosaic of news stories and images. You can filter further by publication on the left if you wish. Pulse.me’s interface is smooth and intuitive.

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Mountain Lion released – 5 features not to miss

As expected, Apple has today released OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. Mountain Lion costs just $19.99 to upgrade and brings OS X one step closer to the iOS experience found on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

Mountain Lion introduces a number of new features familiar to iPhone and iPad users, such as Messages (iMessage for Mac), iCloud, Facebook and Twitter integration, Notification Center, Dictation, Game Center, Gatekeeper, AirPlay Mirroring via Apple TV, and an enhanced Safari browser.

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Tweetbot for Mac released

Tweetbot is a deservedly popular iOS Twitter client, and now you can try out the free alpha version of Tweetbot for Mac.

The official Twitter Mac app seems to have fallen behind the competition again, having not been updated for over a year, and doesn’t look great on the newer retina displays. Even in early alpha form, Tweetbot is a great client, and I think it’s much better for heavy Twitter users, as it’s got some great features.

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Google Drive released for iOS

Google Drive and Google Chrome for iOS was announced during the second day of the Google I/O conference. While the iOS counterparts of these two apps can’t match the features and usability of its Android versions, they can be seen as Google’s strategy to get as many people on their services as possible.

There are many iOS users that love and use Google’s services and products so naturally, Google had to release these apps on Apple’s platform as well. Google Drive has some serious competition in the cloud storage space from the likes of Dropbox, Box, and Apple’s own iCloud (check out our post on Google Drive vs Everyone Else).

So can Google Drive be compelling enough on iOS for users to leave their current cloud service and app? Let’s find out. Continue reading “Google Drive released for iOS”

Civilization V – Gods and Kings demo out now

If you have Steam – free to download and use for Windows and Mac – you can now play the demo for Civilization V – Gods and Kings. It’s the first expansion pack for Civilization V, and adds religion to the mix, along with nine new civilizations including the Celts and Maya.

Building your own religion and nurturing prophets can have a huge effect on the game, as the traits you give your religion will affect how its followers act in the future. Espionage has also been introduced but it doesn’t have such a great effect in the game.

Download the demo here for Windows and here for Mac.

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Apple releases Podcasts app for iOS

iOS users can now get their first taste of an iOS 6 feature, with the new Podcasts app from Apple.
Until now, podcasts have been awkwardly stuck into the Music app, and while you could get new podcasts, it was only possible through the iTunes app.

That’s all changed with the new app that gives you a complete podcast experience, with some neat features to boot. You might think an additional app is unnecessary, but if you do listen to podcasts regularly, I think you’ll find it a much more streamlined experience. Read on for our hands on review.

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