Flipboard updates iOS app, revamps Cover Stories to surface cool content

Flipboard, the wildly successful magazine-format news aggregator, has updated its iPhone and iPad application with a pair of tweaks while announcing a redesign of Cover Stories aimed at making your story highlights resemble newspaper front pages. In addition to some bug fixes and performance improvements, Flipboard 2.2.3 now makes it possible to add bookmarks to your Safari Reading List.

Another minor change: you can now copy an article’s URL in your device’s browser, then open Flipboard for the option to add it to your magazines. You’ll be more interested in the redesign of Cover Stories which Flipboard hopes will surface more relevant content from your subscriptions…

The new-look Cover Stories taps smart algorithms which surface content based on how frequently you visit the section. Now key highlights from your subscriptions are presented in a condensed newspaper-like format.

The stories are organized by source, social network and topic, with story groups neatly indicated at the top of each page. If you want to dive deep into the story, just tap the More link at the bottom of the page.

See some flips by a friend you don’t like? Worry not, you can easily mute anyone.

The algorithms adapt to your reading habits so your Cover Stories get more relevant the more you use the section.

Here’s a quick video walkthrough.

Flipboard says the new design is available on iOS/Android smartphones/tablets, with BlackBerry and Windows Phone versions being under consideration. This is a staggered roll-out so not everyone will get the new Cover Stories right away.

Flipboard 2.2.3 can be downloaded free in the App Store.

Apple, Samsung CEOs agree to mediation ahead of patent trial

According to new paperwork filed earlier this afternoon, Apple and Samsung have agreed to attend a mediation session next month ahead of their second major US patent trial, which is slated to begin on March 31.

The meeting is to take place on or before February 19, and is to be attended by Tim Cook, Samsung’s Oh-Hyun Kwon and their respective in-house lawyers. And they will attempt to discuss settlement opportunities…

From Reuters’ Edwin Chan and Andrew Longstreth:

“Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics have agreed to attend a mediation session to be held on or before February 19, as they prepare to clash in court in March over smartphone patents.

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon will attend the session with in-house lawyers only, according to a Wednesday court filing. Their legal teams had met on January 6 to “discuss settlement opportunities,” the filing read.”

This won’t be the first time the two sides have met to try and reach a settlement. Cook has held similar mediation sessions with Samsung Vice Chairman Choi Gee-sung and mobile head Shin Jong-Kyun, but to no avail.

In the past 3 years, Apple and Samsung have been involved in numerous patent battlesaround the globe. They’ve met twice in San Jose, California federal court, where Apple has been awarded roughly $930 million in damages.

Supposed iPhone 6 frame leaks: it’s ultra-thin and not very Apple-like

The notoriously unreliable Digitimes last month called for a larger size iPhone in May and today Chinese website Huanqiu reiterated that an iPhablet would arrive in time for the next Galaxy S smartphone confirmed for May 2014.

The next iPhone – let’s call it the iPhone 6 for the convenience sake - is generally thought tocome in two sizes, one 4.7-inch and the larger one with a phablet-grade screen measuring a whopping 5.7 inches diagonally.

And now, images of an alleged frame have appeared online to suggest a notably thinner appearance compared to the current-generation iPhone 5s. Could this part be genuine? My two cents are right below…

A pair of photographs seen top of post were posted by Chinese leaker website C Tech.

Not much to be gleaned from the low-resolution shots other than the visibly thinner frame versus the current-generation Apple handset.

Bear in mind that in the run-up to the official iPhone 5s announcement C Tech leaked a number of parts which later proved authentic. As for this part, maybe it’s an early trial production part though it doesn’t look genuine to me.

It could be also an aftermarket component, a hoax or simply one of the parts belonging to an iPhone prototype that never materialized.

For starters, what’s up with the edges having an old style roundedness to them? To me, this looks like a mid-plate, a design Apple long abandoned in favor of Unibody construction.

For additional analysis, read Eric Slivka’s take over at MacRumors.

With that off our backs, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that upcoming gadgets will be thinner than the ones they replace, courtesy of manufacturing technology advances and the ever-shrinking components.

Much of the next iPhone’s supposed thinness should be the work of its presumably larger form-factor making additional room for components such as the wireless and memory chips, the main processor, the cameras and the battery.

The media is of course quick to spell doom for Apple unless it jumps on the phablet bus. Take, for example, a recent write-up by Gareth Beavis over at TechRadar:

I don’t mean to sound alarmist, but 2014 could well be the year that Apple makes its biggest mistake in recent history.

No, I’m not talking about the iWatch – I still think that could actually be rather good – no, Apple has to, HAS TO, bring out a large screen version of the iPhone or it’s going to really struggle to stay relevant in a rapidly changing world.

Countering his notion is Ben Bajarin who reminds us Apple hasn’t become so successful by skating where the puck is. “Apple has customers not competition,” he explains:

Folks claim that because Apple’s competition is doing something that Apple should also or they will lose. Yet what I love about Apple’s strategy is that it is never around what the competition is doing. Apple marches to beat of their own drum.

Apple has customers not competition. The decisions they make as a company are not based around what their competition is doing but around what is best for their customers. Like it or not, this is their strategy.

Sounds just about right to me, which isn’t saying that an Apple phablet of sorts isn’t being cooked up in Jony Ive’s kitchen as we speak.

In fact, when you take into account what Tim Cook & Co. have done last year with the iPad Air and the iPad mini with Retina display, it’s becoming clear that 2014 could very well be the year of two form-factor iPhones, both based on exactly the same internals and design, the only difference being the screen size and price.

Make sense?

Does Apple really HAVE TO bring out a larger screen iPhone in 2014 or else…?

Infuse gains more video formats for free users, variable speed scrubbing and more

FireCore‘s versatile iPhone and iPad media player, Infuse, recently received a massive version 2.0 update sporting iOS 7-friendly interface while going free for everyone, with a couple advanced features locked behind a Pro in-app purchase. In today’s free update, Infuse 2.1 unlocks more video formats for free users while adding variable speed scrubbing option, support for an additional subtitle format, better translations and the usual assortment of bug fixes and performance improvements…

Free users can now play a wider variety of video formats and take advantage of subtitles in .smi format. The HTML-formated SAMI subtitle file type was developed in 1998 as a Microsoft accessibility initiative and is used nowadays to provide closed caption support for multimedia formats.

Content artwork as well as Czech, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian and Spanish translations have been improved in this Infuse release. Another handy new feature is the variable speed scrubbing option which works just like the iOS system media player.

This lets you fast-forward or rewind your movie with precise control, simply by holding the playback position dot and dragging your finger down for finer control (or up to increase the scrubbing speed).

Like before, advanced features like network streaming, AirPlay, Dolby Digital mobile surround sound, support for even more file types and other perks are available as a one-time in-app purchase.

As far as the sound goes, Infuse supports AAC, AC3, FLAC, MP3 and OGG audio tracks and sports licensed Dolby Digital Plus mobile surround sound support. Though DTS isn’t supported, that feature is being prioritized so it’s a matter of when, not if.

The application will happily crunch 3GP, AVI, ASF, DVR-MS, FLV, M4V, MKV, MOV, MP4, OGM, OGV, WebM, WMV and WTV video formats and render DVB, DVDsub, PGS, SSA/ASS, SRT, SUB, Timed Text, VobSub, XSUB and MSI subtitle formats, with perhaps the most robust implementation of AirPlay subtitle streaming I’ve seen yet.

The app takes media files via the iTunes File Sharing method or directly, from FTP, WebDAB or network-attached storage. More on streaming from other devices, including Time Capsule, can be found here.

Other features in the works for Infuse 2.2: metadata for shared files, lots of networking improvements, sound boosting, support for Synology NAS along with folder creation and the ability to copy files directly from a NAS (or SMB) to the app and more.

Infuse 2 is available free in the App Store.

You can now control iTunes Radio via Remote app

After refreshing its free Remote app for the iPhone and iPad with some radical redesign to match the overall iOS 7 aesthetics, Apple has just put out a minor update adding a nicely done ability to control iTunes Radio from your iOS device.

But rather than stream iTunes Radio songs directly (and what would the point be in doing so knowing iTunes Radio is available within the stock iOS 7 Music app), the application simply controls the feature running in iTunes for Mac or Windows.

Previously, you could only control playback of music and other media kept locally in your iTunes library. If anything, this update will go down in history as a handy little enhancement that makes it ridiculously easy to control your iTunes Radio stations, skip songs and more, right across the room…

As long as your Mac or Windows PC running iTunes is on the same Wi-Fi network as your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad device running the new Remote 4.1, you’ll be able to access the new iTunes Radio tab at the bottom (see the images top of post).

The Now Playing screen for iTunes Radio in Remote 4.1 for iPhone and iPad.

Hitting the More… button lets you star a song like you would on a computer (or in the stock iOS 7 Music app), create a new station from the currently playing song, choose to never play this song again, play more songs like this or start the iTunes visualizer.

One caveat: you can’t use Remote to control iTunes Radio on your Apple TV.

In other Apple app updates today, iTunes Movie Trailers has been refreshed with performance improvements and bug fixes. And in a similar vein, the iTunes U app has resolved an issue where the playback speed button would not work as expected.

Google Maps now lets you see flight, hotel and restaurant reservations from Gmail

It’s been some time since we’ve seen a meaningful update to Google Maps for iPhone and iPad, especially givenGoogle Maps is probably the Internet giant’s most popular product, afterSearch.

As if reading our mind, just an hour ago the firm has quietly pushed a minor update into the App Store. The new Google Maps version 2.5 comes with a few bug fixes and brings with it a cool new feature which lets you see your reservations from Gmail on the map.

Say you made a flight, hotel or restaurant reservation. Upon receiving the confirmation email in Gmail, Google can now take this information (they are already doing this for Google Now cards, by the way), extract the address and show you precise locations for these items within the Google Maps iOS app.

It’s a minor, albeit welcome, enhancement that will up competition a notch for Apple’s own iOS Maps app. I love how little things like this make Google Maps more integrated with other Google apps. We’ve seen Google do this frequently and my guess is they’ll continue to leverage their premium iOS apps to build a platform on top of iOS, so to speak…

iTunes release notes list no changes aside from this new feature and bug fixes.

By the way, you haven’t forgotten about the caching trick, have you?

To make the currently viewed map and the surrounding areas available offline, tap the search box and type in ‘ok maps’ and hit Search. There should appear a large Google Maps icon that’s progressively filling as the area gets processed for offline caching.

The universal Google Maps app is free in the App Store.

The download comes in at a rather paltry eleven megabytes. The app is universal so all your form-factor iDevices are supported natively, as long as they run iOS 6 or later.

Square introduces new card reader developed by Apple’s Lightning plug designer

Square unveiled a new version of its Square Reader accessory today, which is used to input credit and debit cards into the Square app. It says the new Reader is roughly 45% thinner than its predecessor, and is more accurate at reading cards thanks to its new design.

But what makes the new device really interesting is who designed it. According to a report from Wired, Square’s new ultra-thin card reader was developed by a team led by Jesse Dorogusker—a former Director of Engineering at Apple and developer of the Lightningplug…

Here’s Wired’s Kyle VanHemert in a profile about designing the new Square Reader:

“Jesse Dorogusker is used to working tiny. Before becoming Square’s VP of Hardware, he spent eight years leading the accessories division at Apple, heading the development of the works-both-ways Lightning connector. With the new Reader, he had the chance to take a crack at a flagship product.”

VanHemert goes on to explain how Dorogusker and his team were able to create the new Reader that was both slimmer and more accurate than beforet. The process is interesting, and actually sounds a lot like what Dorogusker did at Apple with the Lightning connector.

If you’re interested, the new Square Reader can be purchased online and in retail stores beginning in January or you can grab it for free now from Square’s website. And of course you’ll need the corresponding app, Square Register, to use it, which is free from the App Store.

For information on Jesse Dorogusker and the design process behind the new Reader, click here.

There are now 1 million apps available in the US App Store

During its October iPad event, Apple announced that it had crossed the 1 million app milestone in its worldwide App Store. This meant that, not counting duplicates, it had over 1 million apps available around the globe at that time.

This week, Apple passed the same milestone here in its US App Store. According to data from app discovery firm Appsfire, there are now more than 1 million live apps in the App Store. 1,006,557 to be exact at the time of this writing…

MacRumors was the first to spot the landmark:

“Apple’s U.S. App Store has reached one million live apps, according to data from app discovery platform Appsfire. Our own app discovery site AppShopper lists the same one million milestone. [...]

Apple has approved a total of approximately 1,439,451 apps since the App Store opened in 2008 and over the course of the year, has been creeping towards the million milestone. Of the 1 million apps available for download, more than half a million are available for Apple’s iPad, and over 900,000 are available for the iPhone. The company has now paid out more than $13 billion to App Store developers.”

Apple has surpassed a number of major App Store milestones over the past two years. In March of 2012, it announced that it had hit the 25 billion app download mark. And in May of this year, it celebrated its 50 billionth app download.

Apple moves to recover $15 million in legal fees from Samsung

Just a day following the mid-November Appeals court ruling which gave Apple another chance to ban Samsung’s infringing devices, the iPhone maker made its case on why it’s entitled to an additional $379 million in pending damages over patent infringement and lost sales in the Apple vs Samsung lawsuit.

Following a short period of deliberation, a jury of six women and two men reached a conclusion for the retrial between Apple and Samsung over damages, ruling the Galaxy maker must pay Apple an additional $290 million on top of more than the $500 million in damages already awarded last year.

But Tim Cook & Co. aren’t stopping there. As reported by an expert patent blogger, Apple is now demanding a cool $15 million in legal fees from Samsung, or one third of Apple attorneys’ fees that total over $60 million…

Patent blogger Florian Müeller cites on his blog, FOSS Patents, Apple’s filing with the Northern District of California which argues that Samsung’s copying of iPhone technology made this litigation “an exceptional case in which an award of attorneys’ fees is warranted”.

Apple is seeking to recover from Samsung $15,736,992 ($15.7 million) out of more than $60 million spent in attorneys’ fees on the first California case.

The $15.7 million portion represents one third of Apple’s attorneys’ fees from the outset of this dispute through March 1, 2013 – the day on which Judge Lucy Koh entered a damages ruling, her last post-trial decision with respect to the first trial.

This means Apple does not seek recovery with respect to the costs of the retrial. Also, Apple only lists fees of timekeepers who billed more than $100,000.

The filing goes on to note that “no fees from Apple’s successful defense against Samsung’s claims are included”. Under the current United States legal system rules, courts rarely award attorneys’ fees.

As a rule of thumb, such fees are granted only in “exceptional” cases. That Apple sought to collect attorney fees reflects a growing disconnect and animosity between Apple, Samsung’s top client, and Samsung, Apple’s key supplier.

The company listed a few such exceptional cases where similar amounts were awarded.

In one example, Apple cited a whopping $105.7 million award in a copyright case that was upheld on appeal. Other cases include Mattel, Inc. vs MGA Entertainment, Inc. where the Federal Circuit upheld an award of $16.8 million for attorney fees and Takeda Chemical Industries vs Mylan Labs that saw a $19 million award in legal fees.

The two Apple vs Samsung cases – the original August 2012 trial and a retrial in November 2013, resulted in a total damages award of about $929 million, or a little over a hundred million bucks short of the original $1.05 billion ruling over patent infringement.

Google updates Search iOS app with support for French, German and Japanese

Google issued a major mid-August update to its free Search app for the iPhone and iPad with new Google Now cards for flights, reservations, package delivery information and more.

And last month, the firm followed up with another sweet update that implemented ‘OK Google’ hands-free voice control functionality, support for single sign-on, reminders, alerts for delayed flights and upcoming appointments/events and other perks.

This afternoon, the Internet giant pushed a minor update which expands international support to three new languages: French, German and Japanese…

As per Google’s blog post announcement, the Search app now supports French, German and Japanese for both voice queries and spoken answers.

Although some voice queries still yield spoken answers in English, Google says customers will now get spoken answers to many of their questions in French, German and Japanese with the updated Search app.

To try it out, simply tap the microphone in the search box and ask for anything you’re looking for. If you need some coffee in Munich, just say “Wo bekomme ich Kaffee in München?” to get a list of local options.

Wondering what the height of the Eiffel tower is? Get a quick answer by asking, “Quelle est la hauteur de la Tour Eiffel?”.

Maybe you need to know who invented the transistor ? Try asking in Japanese for “トランジスタを発明したのはだれ？”

The search monster is working on adding more languages in the future.

Download the standalone Google Search app free from the App Store.

The universal app requires an iDevice capable of running iOS 6 or later.

Apple publicizes holiday ordering deadlines

If you’re going to buy an Apple product this holiday season, you’ll be wise to plan your purchase in advance unless you can cope with broken hearts on post-Christmas deliveries. But holiday shoppers needn’t worry too much as Apple is feeling your pain.

This morning, the company has refreshed its U.S. Online Store with a handy guide specifying the important ordering deadlines for Macs, iPads, iPhones, iPods and accessories for delivery by December 24, 2013.

Deadlines vary from one product to another. For example, Apple’s Next Day Shipping is available for many, but not all iPads. Specifically, if you’re buying an iPad mini with Retina display, your best bet is to place an order with Apple by midnight on December 5 for delivery by December 24.

The full breakdown follows right below…

If you’re more of an iPad Air type of person, order your full-size tablet by December 9 for December 24 delivery. Apple is well-stocked with older iPad models so, for example, the cut-off date for both the iPad mini and iPad 2 orders is December 18, or December 17 if you’re planning on buying an iPad 2 with free laser engraving option.

Those in the market for an iPhone 5s must place their orders by December 12. Note that Apple does not offer Next Day Shipping for the flagship iPhone. For all iPhone models, ordering deadlines are “for qualifying customers only,” Apple warns.

For all products ordered through December 22 and later in the month Apple will treat you to free shipping with no minimum order value. Normally, free shipping requires a $50 minimum purchase.

Images top of post and below depict ordering deadlines.

As a rule of thumb, you’ll want to buy built-to-order Macs as early as possible.

These systems are delivered straight from factories and usually take a day or two to assemble. “You can find out when your items will be delivered at checkout,” cautions Apple. Deadlines for custom Macs are for configurations that ship within 1-3 days.

The fine print adds:

Gift cards can be sent via 2-3 day shipping or Next Day Shipping by selecting the 2-3 day shipping or Next Day Shipping method and paying the additional charge.

iPhoto Print Products are not available for free shipping.

Next day shipping is not available on engraved iPads and iPods, custom Macs, iPad mini with Retina display and iPhone 5s.

As for Apple’s music player and set-top box, all iPod models and Apple TVs should be ordered by December 18 for delivery by December 24. For all other accessories, “order deadlines vary,” writes Apple – again, you’ll want to see delivery estimates at checkout.

All deadlines listed on Apple’s website assume standard shipping and are for in-stock products that ship within 24 hours. Holiday shoppers should also check out Apple’s web page listing gift ideas.

Apple Stores coloring logos red in recognition of World AIDS Day

As it has in the past few years, Apple is recognizing December 1 as World AIDS Day. The company has posted a banner on its website’s home page, and several of its retail stores have begun coloring their Apple logos red.

First observed in 1988, World AIDS Day is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV—something Apple has shown an interest in with its long-term (Product) RED partnership…

Here’s the message posted on Apple’s website (via MacRumors):

“Every day 900 babies are born with HIV. (RED) works with companies like Apple to fight for an AIDS‑free generation by creating (PRODUCT)RED merchandise. A percentage of gross profits from the sale of those products goes to the Global Fund to help fund AIDS programs in Africa. Since its introduction, (PRODUCT)RED has generated more than $215 million for the Global Fund — more than $65 million from Apple alone. You can help make an impact by purchasing a (PRODUCT)RED iPod or (PRODUCT)RED accessories for iPhone and iPad.”

It’s interesting how involved Apple is with (Product) RED, as it’s not really known for philanthropy. But it’s been selling RED products since 2006, and is the organization’slargest partner with over $65 million in contributions.

Additionally, Jony Ive hosted a charity auction at Sotheby’s last month with his designer friend Marc Newson to benefit the foundation. The pair designed a number of one-of-a-kind products, helping raise some $12 million.

The image you see above is of the Regent Street Apple Store in London, and many other flagship stores around the world are expected to follow suit. To learn more about World AIDS Day, click here, or (Product) RED, click here.

iPhone tops Yahoo UK’s 2013 tech searches

Rivals often point to Apple’s sub-20 percent share of the global smartphone market as a proof of sorts that the iPhone has run its course. In reality, the device remains the most sought-after item in technology which people searched for most on the web throughout the year, at least among the British.

According to Yahoo UK’s annual roundup of trends and stories gleaned from the billions of online searches throughout the year 2013, the iPhone was the most searched-for technology item this year. After the Apple handset, Yahoo’s UK users were most interested in Amazon’s second-ranked Kindle e-reader and Samsung’s third-placed Galaxy brand.

Apple’s iPad and Sony’s new PlayStation 4 round up the top five most searched-for tech items on Yahoo UK (the Xbox One ranked sixth)…

Here’s the whole list (via The Telegraph newspaper):

Yahoo 2013 Tech Searches

1. Apple iPhone
2. Amazon Kindle
3. Samsung Galaxy
4. Apple iPad
5. Sony PlayStation 4
6. Microsoft Xbox One
7. BlackBerry
8. Apple iPod
9. Nokia Lumia
10. Sony Xperia

It’s interesting that more Brits were interested in the iPod than the Nokia Lumia handsets. And in terms of Yahoo’s top Obsessions and top-searched News Stories, the birth of Prince William and Princess Catherine’s first child, Prince George, easily leads the way.

The second most searched-for item: the iPhone.

Yahoo News senior editor Nick Petche commented:

Yahoo Year in Review is a fascinating insight into our daily search habits and the social trends of 2013. This year we were transfixed by the birth of Prince George and continued with our abiding love of gadgets and football.

Also, for the first time Yahoo looked at the UK’s ‘obsessions’ which showed how twerking, Candy Crush and even the false widow spider demanded our attention.

Yahoo’s UK users were also obsessed this year with Miley Cyrus, twerking, Candy Crush Saga (who knew?), Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad (it’s become an international obsession) TV shows, among other items.

Here are the remaining Yahoo 2013 lists.

Yahoo UK 2013 Top 10 Of Everything

1. Royal Baby
2. iPhone
3. Arsenal FC
4. Kindle Andy
5. Liverpool FC
6. House Prices
7. Football Transfers
8. One Direction
9. iPad
10. Manchester United

Yahoo UK 2013 Most Searched News Stories

1. Royal Baby
2. House Prices
3. Nelson Mandela
4. Rolf Harris
5. Oscar Pistorius
6. Syria
7. Madeleine McCann
8. Michael Le Vell
9. Samantha Lewthwaite
10. Margaret Thatcher

Yahoo UK 2013 Obsessions

1. Royal Baby
2. Miley Cyrus
3. Susanna Reid
4. Andy Murray
5. Game of Thrones
6. Candy Crush Saga
7. Breaking Bad
8. Gareth Bale
9. Widow Spider
10. Twerking

The #9 Widow Spider, you say?

Blame it on The Daily Star newspaper, which brought the story of the sightings of Britain’s most poisonous spider – the false widow. The venomous creatures with the distinctive white skull image on its back arrived from the Canary Islands 140 years ago and can kill a human being with a single bite.

While it only used to appear in warmer parts of the country like Devon, Dorset and Cornwall, widow spiders were on rampage in London and Essex in late-summer so small wonder frightened citizens took to Yahoo for advice.

Yahoo UK 2013 Most Searched Celebrities

1. One Direction
2. Miley Cyrus
3. Kim Kardashian
4. Cheryl Cole
5. Susanna Reid
6. Helen Flanagan
7. Katie Price
8. Kelly Brook
9. Jennifer Aniston
10. Michelle Keegan

Yahoo UK 2013 Most Searched Athletes

1. Gareth Bale
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
3. David Beckham
4. Lewis Hamilton
5. Serena Williams
6. Lionel Messi
7. Bradley Wiggins
8. Luis Suarez
9. Maria Sharapova

Yahoo UK 2013 Most Asked Questions

1. When do the clocks change?
2. What is my IP address?
3. How do I change my password?
4. How to make money?
5. When is Easter?
6. What is twerking?
7. What Does the Fox say?
8. How to tie a tie?
9. How old is Cher?
10. How to write a CV?

‘How to tie a tie?’ will never get old.

‘How to make money?’, on the other hand, just shows how a lot of people continue to be really desperate in the aftermath of the post-recession age.

Boxie goes free: everyone can now prettify their Dropbox

As a Dropbox power user on a daily basis, I am very dissatisfied with their mobile app because it leaves a lot to be desired in terms of advanced capabilities, so much so that I’ve recently become a Boxie convert and never looked back.

This awesome Dropbox client for the iPhone and iPad used to cost two bucks so I imagine the price tag must have put off a lot of would-be users, especially give Dropbox’s own official iPhone and iPad client is free in the App Store and good enough for most of casual Dropbox users.

Those who depend on Dropbox will be happy learning that developer Tapwings has now completely removed barrier to entry because starting today, you can download Boxie free from the App Store (the price cut is permanent).

Dropbox fans would be wise to immediately treat themselves to this awesome app which will soup up your Dropbox experience with the elegant user interface while allowing for some advanced features not supported by Dropbox’s own app.

I’m talking stuff like moving an item in a folder via drag-and-drop, per-folder sorting, ZIP archive extraction, direct Dropbox-to-Dropbox transfer and lots more…

The new Boxie version 1.2 introduces markdown documents support (plain text only), a new delete confirmation switch available within the app’s settings, localizations for French, Japanese and Russian, a FAQ in user settings and a bunch of fixes and tweaks.

Boxie now honors your Region Format in iOS Settings, uses Finder-like format for alphabetical order sort and clears notifications in the iOS Notification Center after you tap on them.

Oh, and they updated the app icon, too.

Here’s everything that’s new in Boxie 1.2

- added In-App Purchase support with Pro features included in the Power pack
– updated plain text preview, with text encoding selection, markdown documents support (shown as plain text), tap to show/dismiss bars
– added delete confirmation in user settings
– fixed alphabetical order sort to be Finder-like
– fixed shared folder upload (now it is possible to upload to a shared folder, thanks to Dropbox staff for the support on this!)
– updated app icon
– updated date format to match the Region Format in iOS settings
– added FAQ screen in user settings
– added third-party screen in user settings
– added Twitter follow options in user settings
– fixed quick navigation menu tappable area
– fixed passcode potential issue when setting a time interval
– fixed occasional passcode hang
– fixed offline navigation issues with cached items
– notifications in Notification Center are now cleaned when tapping on them
– added localizations: French, Japanese, Russian
– various minor fixes and optimizations

Should the basic feature set in Boxie leave you wanting for more, Pro features are available as a $2.99 in-app purchase. If you previously bought Boxie, you’re automatically entitled to unlock the Pro features included in the Power pack for free.

Grab Boxie today for free from the App Store.