AgileTortoise updates Drafts, introduces iPad version

AgileTortoise's popular Drafts app receives a welcome update today as it enters version 2.0 for iPhone. Drafts for iPad is also available.

Adding sync features through Simperium, an iCloud alternative, Drafts will be able to move data across platforms and pick up from where users last left off. This cloud feature joins existing Dropbox and Evernote support.

The app offers simple note-taking in a streamlined interface with a wealth of sharing features. You can send by e-mail, text message, post to Facebook, tweet, etc.

I gave the iPad version a quick spin and found it cleanly designed and simple to use. It offered several standout features. For example, the built-in Markdown support allows you to build formatted email with familiar text shortcuts. I was also impressed by the integrated gestures and excellent font-selection features. (That's a big help for my aging eyes.)

According to the press release, version 2.0 enhancements include:

• Refined user interface with updated graphics and new custom font choices.
• Lightning fast sync between devices.
• Full screen reading by swiping down on toolbar.
• Link mode enables tapping on phone numbers, addresses and web links captured in Drafts.
• More output actions, including "Append to Dropbox".
• Ability to configure the delay before a new draft is created when returning to Drafts from another app.
• Action sounds.
• Integration with additional apps, such as Appigo Todo, Writing Kit and Threadnote.

The iPhone version is $1.99 (free upgrades for existing owners). The iPad version is $2.99.

[Source: TUAW]

Adobe’s First Major Feature Update For Creative Cloud Focuses on Edge and Muse

About 4 months ago, Adobe officially announced the launch of its new Creative Cloud subscription service, which gives the company’s users the ability to pay one monthly fee for access to virtually all of the company’s professional tools. Since then, Adobe launched two minor updates for Creative Cloud, including the addition of Lightroom 4 in June and an update to the Collage tool in July. Today, however, the company is launching its first major feature update to Creative Cloud and is also announcing a few updates that are coming in September. The focus of today’s updates is on Edge, the company’s HTML5 tool for creating animated web content and Muse, Adobe’s website-building tool aimed at print designers.

[Source: TechCrunch - Read more here]

Sky+ iPad app update brings remote control and DVR scheduling

After being teased earlier in the year, v4.0 of the Sky+ app for iPad has arrived in the UK and brought a number of new features to subscriber's tablets. Now, it can be used as a remote control to change channels or select DVR functions, as well as view scheduled recordings and add to or change them, or just browse the TV guide's new look. Even with the changes however, Sky has more planned for later this summer when it will integrate zeebox technology to bring second screen features and data to accompany live TV. The free app is up in iTunes now, however customers will need the latest HD guide upgrade on their cable box that's connected to the same local network as the iPad to make it all work. There's a quick demo video of the new features embedded after the break plus more official information on the Sky website.

[Source: Engadget]

PS Vita firmware update adds button controls, iTunes playlists and more

If you're a Vita owner, then this week must feel like running through rain of joy, as new features and functionality keep coming. Well, why not splash in a puddle or two along the way, as we learn what treats the next firmware update for the handheld -- version 1.80 -- will bring. First up is the ability to use the console's buttons on the home screen and within some applications -- yeah really! In addition to that mind-bomb, you'll also be able to fast-forward and rewind video, import playlists from the PS3 and iTunes (10.6.3 or later) as well as use the rear touchpad for scrolling and zooming in the browser. There's a bunch of other minor tweaks, too, just skip down to the source for the breakdown or wait until "late August" for the download.

[Source: Engadget]

Curiosity undergoes software update to better explore the surface of Mars

While you spend your weekend watching meteors streak through the sky, the Curiosity rover is undergoing what NASA describes as a "brain transplant." Now that the rover has safely completed the flight and landing portion of its mission, it's getting a software update to help it with the next phase — exploring the surface of Mars. The update takes four days to complete — it began on the 10th and should be complete by the 13th — and will improve the rover's ability to both drive and use its robotic arm.

Curiosity will also have improved image processing abilities once the upgrade is complete to make it easier to see obstacles in its path. And the update won't just be giving the rover new abilities, it will also be removing unnecessary ones. "The flight software version Curiosity currently is using was really focused on landing the vehicle," says NASA"s Ben Cichy. "It includes many capabilities we just don't need any more." In the meantime, the Curiosity team will be analyzing the pictures that the rover has sent back so far in order to determine where it should start exploring next.

[Source: The Verge]

WordPress iOS app update brings new UI, features

Talk about timing! Just yesterday, Mike Rose and I were talking about blogging tools on TUAW TV Live and had a discussion about the WordPress iOS app. Today, the WordPress team shipped an update to the iOS app that changes the user interface and adds features that should help power users with multiple WP sites get more work done while mobile.

Version 3.1 of the free WordPress app brings a new look to the universal application. There's a sidebar for quickly navigating through your site, and on the iPad, sliding panels make navigation a piece of cake. The app can now be used in landscape mode, which makes me quite happy as that's the way I prefer to type on the iPhone and iPad. There are allegedly "updated colors and graphics", but if so, they are almost invisible changes.

The iPad has gained the WordPress.com blog reader and the ability to quick-add photos. Rather than needing to "write" a blank post and add an image to it, you can just snap a photo, give it a title and add it immediately to your blog as a photo entry. That's perfect vacation blogs where you want to add a photo and not write a book for every entry.

[Source: TUAW - Read the full story]

Spotify's latest update brings iOS 6 support, fixes Facebook login woes

Whether it's for Android or iOS, there's no doubt Spotify's devs are always hard at work. Today, the famed music streaming service has pushed out yet another update to its application on iDevices, bringing support for Cupertino's sixth major release of that popular OS, otherwise more commonly known as iOS 6. Additionally, Spotify's also bundled in a slight tweak that allows iPad users to view more stations within the app, while other unknown stability improvements and a fix for issues with Facebook login are also in tow. As usual, the refresh (version 0.5.4) is up for download at no cost, and you can snag it straight from the App Store on your Apple slab or the link down below.

[Source: Engadget]

Podcasts iOS App to Receive Bug Fix Update Later Today [Update: It's Out]

After Apple's Podcasts app was released last month, many users had complaints about bugs, crashes and other issues.All Things D says that an update should debut later todaythat will fix the problems and "vastly improve it":

Podcasts users take note: Apple has been hard at work tweaking the app to fix the problems that currently plague it and sources say the company expects to post an update to it this afternoon that should vastly improve it.

Nearly two-thirds of reviews for the Podcasts app on the App Store gave it a one - or two-star review, with the app having a two-and-a-half-star review overall -- one of the lowest of all Apple's apps.

Podcasts had traditionally been housed in the iTunes app on iOS devices, but Apple has been working to streamline the user experience by breaking out some categories into their own apps, including Podcasts and iTunes U.

Podcasts 1.0.1 provides a number of improvements, including:

• Significant improvements to performance and stability
• Podcasts in your library now show the number of unplayed episodes
• Top Stations now show the podcast title if artwork is missing 
• Playback speed is now remembered when playing the next episode
• Fix for a problem where the Subscribe button is inactive
• Resolution of an issue where Top Stations artwork may not appear

[Source: MacRumors]

New Nintendo 3DS System Update Set to Arrive June 7

Nintendo of Europe has announced that the latest system update for the hand-held Nintendo 3DS™ system will be available in Europe starting June 7. By downloading the free update via a broadband Internet connection, Nintendo 3DS users can enjoy a number of new features and enhancements including an Internet browser and access to the Nintendo eShop, where users can browse and purchase downloadable content.

For more information about Nintendo 3DS, visit Nintendo