Apps

1Password is a favorite around The Verge offices: the cross-platform application beautifully syncs logins and secure info (like notes and credit card numbers) and makes them available for one-click access to all of your websites. If there's one big problem with 1Password, however, it's that it rings up at a pricey $49.99, but this week developer Agile Bits has dropped the entrance fee by 30 percent to $34.99. That's how much either the OS X or Windows program will cost you — there is also a free...

Hey everybody, now you can run free background checks on friends and co-workers and family members and random acquaintances right from your phone! That's great right? What? It's weird? Well, yes, sure. Welcome to modern life. Background Check by Been Verified hit Android today for the first time, and returned to the iTunes Store. Apple had previously pulled it via privacy concerns. It lets you run a background check on anyone based on their name or email address, and checks for relatives, property...

The Daily App Deals post is a round-up of the best app discounts of the day, as well as some notable mentions for ones that are on sale. Phone Drive (File Sharing, WiFi FlashDrive & Document Reader) (iTunes) Previously $1.99, now 99¢. Phone Drive (File Sharing, WiFi FlashDrive & Document Reader) for iOS allows you to view your files from the comfort of your iOS device. The app makes it easy to drag and drop your important files from Windows Explorer or Finder onto your iPad or iPhone via your WiFi...

The Daily App Deals post is a round-up of the best app discounts of the day, as well as some notable mentions for ones that are on sale. Sleepy Time (Amazon Appstore) Previously $1.49, now 99¢. Sleepy Time for Android will help you fall asleep better with soothing background noise. This app features over 80 different sounds and the ability to mix as many as three different sounds at once. Get it for 99¢. (via LogicBuy) iOS Windows iOS Android Windows

Anyone who’s ever been late arriving home or to a meeting (and that would never be me!) will appreciate Twist, a free app by Twist and Shout. This app does one thing very well—it tracks your location and notifies those waiting for you of your estimated time of arrival. Here’s how it works:

Almost one year ago Loren Brichter left Twitter, largely leaving the public eye "to figure out what's next." But before he left, he adapted his award-winning Tweetie to become Twitter for iPhone and Mac, and crafted the beloved Twitter for iPad. Brichter's user interface paradigms (like swipe-across menus and "pull-to-refresh") served as inspiration for popular apps like Path, and like Sparrow, which he advised until it was acquired by Google. "He has influenced the way apps are designed more than...

In this roundup of recent iPhone news, AppleInsider takes a look at a new app that can send emails with multiple photos, Google's decision to stop supporting an iPhone-optimized version of iGoogle, and a discovery that could teach your iPhone some salty new language.

Mobile video and cloud solutions company, Skyfire has released an update to its iPad application that it says will make mobile browsing more “social, contextual, and useful.” With the release of version 5 of Skyfire Web Browser for iPad, it includes its browser extension platform, Skyfire Horizon, giving users the ability to customize their browsers how they see fit....

The annual conference in Austin, South by Southwest, is known for helping to launch "breakout" apps over the years and many developers choose it as the place to launch their products. It's also a great place for networking with investors and partners. While the focus is usually on iOS, we rounded up the best Android apps that were either launched or heavily promoted this year, some of which are just starting to take off.

Late last year, Arnold Kim got a surprise notice from Apple. His super-popular app comparison shopping tool AppShopper was to be removed from the App Store for violation of a 3-month-old rule. The rule prohibited apps from displaying apps in a way that was ‘similar to or confusing with the App Store’....

If you think QR codes are a bad joke then consider NFC. Near Field Communications’ evangelists have been trying to get smartphone owners to share stuff by bumping and grinding their phones for years. And progress has been painful, to put it mildly. The reality is NFC is an ugly wasteland of non-use. Ever seen anyone IRL tapping their phones together? It’s about as rare as hen’s teeth.

Robots are undeniably cool. But the humanoid kind—Johnny Five, say, or the T–800—can be complex, sometimes sarcastic, and potentially deadly. But you know what’s never accidentally assisted bank robbers or blown up anything? A friendly robot ball named Sphero....

Apple released iOS 7 on Wednesday, and debuted a huge visual overhaul along with it. Heavily textured backgrounds and dark colors are out, while soft gradients, thin sans-serif fonts and bright, bold hues are in. After looking at apps designed for iOS 6, Apple's latest operating system immediately seems out of place. Fortunately, many developers spent the better part of the summer preparing their apps to look at home on iOS 7.

If you’re an avid Chrome user on the desktop, things will soon get that little bit easier when using the iOS incarnation, as Google has announced that it’s bringing autofill to its browser on iPhone and iPad....

SWhat's this? A plug-in loudspeaker? An external flash? A retina scanner? No, it's the utterly bizarre Scentee, an aroma-generating thingamabob that gives your smartphone scent notifications. And starting today, it's available worldwide. How ever did we live without this?The $35 smell dongle holds a little scent cartridge with enough fragrant liquid for 100 sprays. Right now, five scents are available: rose, lavender, coffee, rosemary, and strawberry. The system is controlled by an Android or iOS app,...

Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo has launched an app that lets you design your own t-shirt via smartphone.

In preparation of Wednesday's iOS 8 release, AppleInsider dug in and compiled a set of tips and tricks to help iPhone and iPad owners take full advantage of all the new features and functions baked in to Apple's latest mobile OS.

A company called Wildcard is today launching a browser for the mobile age, designed specifically with the support of the newer “card” format in mind. Cards are a new design trend which emerged within mobile applications as a way to better showcase content, including rich media like photos and video, on devices’ small screens.Wildcard is also announcing it has raised…

Tapbots is probably best known these days for Tweetbot, the Twitter client for Mac, iPhone and iPad that remains a favorite among apple device users despite Twitter’s clear disdain for third-party clients. But before Tweetbot, they had a number of other ‘bots,’ or smart mobile apps with a vaguely robotic aesthetic. Calcbot was originally created by Tapbots in tandem with…

The smart door lock app joins a growing roster of connected home controls for Apple’s wearable.

This week's list includes the latest party game from Ellen DeGeneres, a meditation app to help you relax and a weather app that crowdsources its predictions.

The new Siri-ready gear includes built-in wall switches you can use with or without a smartphone.

Tap, swipe, type: Android TV gets an iOS app for when your hardware remote goes missing.

Apple's opening of the iOS keyboard floodgates has created enough space for a small skirmish between Google's Gboard and Microsoft's Word Flow.