Just a couple of weeks ago we saw the final Space Shuttle launch and all episodes of Star Trek the original series, Next Generation, Voyager and Enterprise become available via streaming on Netflix. Earlier today our daily Mac app was Time, a clock which simulates the LCARS interface on your Mac. Oh, and last week we saw CBS Interactive introduce a PADD Trek database app. Continuing this Star Trek theme, here are Rod Roddenberry's top 3 iOS apps. Rod is the son of Star Trek's creator, Gene Roddenberry. We ran into Rod at Macworld Expo and discovered he's new to the Apple side of the force, so it's cool to hear what apps he uses. The last one, Heytell reminds me of the communicator from Star Trek if you had to account for the delay from messages sent long distances via subspace. And we all know how bad AT&T's coverage is Read More

Google hasn’t made nearly as many native apps for the iPad as it has for the iPhone, so you can probably count Google among those who think a web-based, cross-platform solution is just as good as an app when it comes to tablets. The problem with many web sites and apps (which really are the same thing) is that they were initially designed for mouse-based navigation. While you can create touch-friendly web sites, data-driven native apps that access the cloud via Google’s published APIs are much more responsive and provide a better overall experience Here’s a list of some of the best native apps created by third-party developers that leverage Google services on the iPad. Reeder. As far as RSS readers go, Silvio Rizzi’s Reeder for iPad is quite possibly the best on the iPad. The layout is brilliant, and the Mr. Miyagi “swipe-on, swipe-off” method of changing the read status of an item Read More

Google hasn’t made nearly as many native apps for the iPad as it has for the iPhone, so you can probably count Google among those who think a web-based, cross-platform solution is just as good as an app when it comes to tablets. The problem with many web sites and apps (which really are the same thing) is that they were initially designed for mouse-based navigation. While you can create touch-friendly web sites, data-driven native apps that access the cloud via Google’s published APIs are much more responsive and provide a better overall experience Here’s a list of some of the best native apps created by third-party developers that leverage Google services on the iPad. Reeder. As far as RSS readers go, Silvio Rizzi’s Reeder for iPad is quite possibly the best on the iPad. The layout is brilliant, and the Mr. Miyagi “swipe-on, swipe-off” method of changing the read status of an item Read More

Out of the box, Apple has you covered on your iPad 2 with FaceTime for video chat with your friends, family and colleagues, so long as they have a FaceTime capable device and a Wi-Fi connection. But let’s face it, not everybody is on FaceTime, and certainly not constantly near a Wi-Fi hot spot. If all you want to do is replicate a phone connection, Google Voice along with a couple of native iOS apps may be just what you’re looking for. Google Voice Account. If you’re not already part of Google Voice, simply log into your Google account and sign-up for Google Voice (google.com/voice, but it’s U.S. only as of this writing). It will walk you through the sign-up process, including setting up a new number. GV Connect. Google’s strategy for the iPad, including Google Voice, appears to be limited to Safari apps only. Google offers an official iOS-native Google Voice client Read More

By Leanna Lofte, Tuesday, May 10, 2011 | Every day, TiPb gets flooded with announcements for new and updated iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps and games. So every day we pick just a few of the most interesting, the most notable, and simply the most awesome to share with you! Parkbud: A high-end, immersive Car Locator and Parking App that turns the stress of remembering where and when you parked into a worry-free, pleasant experience. [Free - iTunes link] Animal Phone: Let your kids make phone calls to animal friends! [Free - iTunes link] GV Connect: Update to version 1.8 brings contact images in message lists and conversation views, nickname auto-completion and more! [$2.99 - iTunes link] Blackboard Eats: A mouthwatering city guide and map to tell you where to eat on the go; simple ways to store and retrieve your passcode; a virtual membership card; a savvy tip calculator; Read More

Posted 03/25/2011 at 4:52am | by J.R. Bookwalter Since the official Google Voice app landed in the iOS App Store, there hasn’t been a lot of chatter from developers of third-party apps, which had long been the only way to use the service on your iPhone. One of the original Google Voice apps has returned after a lengthy hiatus with GV Mobile+ 2.0. Developer Sean Kovacs has quietly released a major new 2.0 update to his popular GV Mobile+ app. You may recall that GV Mobile was one of the first Google Voice apps to hit the App Store, then got caught up in the crossfire between Apple and Google when the search giant’s official app got rejected. Dropped from the App Store, Kovacs went underground to offer GV Mobile via the jailbreak Cydia app, only to triumphantly return with GV Mobile+ last September. Since then, Google has released their own Read More

The early 1990s, especially before the launch of Windows 95, were a time of big changes in tech land: the continuously shifting market share of operating systems — Apple versus Windows, IBM and its OS efforts — the jostling for top position, the fallen heroes and new stars. From a writer’s perspective, it was a glorious time. Then came the late 1990s: the dawn of the Internet era. Once again, there was a battle for market share, as thousands of web companies of all hues vied for consumer attention: Netscape versus Internet Explores, AOL versus CompuServe, Internet versus everything. For a few years, Silicon Valley was a land of greed, glamor and confusing change. These were but two major seasons of change (and thus confusion) that I’ve experienced firsthand as a chronicler of the business of technology. Now, we’re going through a similar period, when a whole lot of activity is Read More

Following up on my article about the best Mac apps I used in 2010, here are some of the best hybrid "Mac and iOS apps" I used in 2010. This wasn't an attempt to come up with a specific number, just the results of some careful reflection. You may wonder why some apps appear on this list instead of the Mac list. For example, Dropbox has an iOS app, why not add it here? Because my primary use of Dropbox is on the Mac. Yes I use it with iOS, but it's usually through another app that is syncing back to my Mac. On the other hand, using OmniFocus for iPad (our review) led to me using OmniFocus for Mac more, so I put OmniFocus on this list. All that is to say, these are my distinctions, and you are free to disagree with them. 1) myPhoneDesktop (or MPD) is a Read More

Infinite SMS on the iPhone. One of the positive effects of Apple's recently introduced App Store guidelines is that there have since been a handful of applications that have made their way back after initially having been pulled or removed. The latest of that bunch is Infinite SMS, which is currently in review with Apple. The thing is, Apple never pulled Infinite SMS. You can blame Google for that. Infinite SMS shot to popularity when it offered a free text-messaging tool that had been built off of Google's Talk service. Not intending Talk to be used that way, Google ended up shutting down access to that data path, leaving the developers of Infinite SMS with a conundrum: do they build up their own SMS service and start charging users for it--thus canceling out any benefit over using the carrier's SMS service, or simply call it quits? The company ended up going Read More

TechCrunch has reported this morning that the Google Voice iOS app has been approved and should be on the App Store soon. They quote "sources" who claim that the app simply needs some tweaks for iOS 4 multitasking, and that it should be out within "the next few weeks." This is potentially huge news for Google Voice customers. Getting to this point wasn't easy to say to the least. Here's a brief recap of the saga. First, Apple pulled all Google Voice related apps from the App Store in July of 2009, which prompted an FCC inquiry. Apple responded by saying, in so may words, "Uh, we were just studying Google Voice." Google shot back with, "Uh, that's not true." Since then, a mobile Web version of the service has been released, and it's quite clever, but it's not a native app. Several native apps, GV Mobile + (US$2.99) and GV Read More

Posted 09/28/2010 at 5:23am | by J.R. Bookwalter It’s been a wild ride for native Google Voice apps on the iPhone: After getting booted out of the App Store more than a year ago for reportedly “duplicating existing functionality,” they’re back with a vengeance this month -- and if the rumors are true, an official app from Google may soon join the fray. TechCrunch is reporting that Apple has already approved an official Google Voice app, which could appear anytime within the next few weeks. That information comes direct from “a source close to Google,” although the app apparently needs to be reworked for iOS 4 and multitasking after languishing for over a year since its rejection last summer. As you may recall, Google submitted an official Google Voice app to Apple in July, 2009 which never made it to the App Store -- Google claimed the app was rejected, while Read More

In some ways, GV Connect’s (the mobile client for Google Voice) re-appearance in the iPhone App Store was somewhat anticlimactic. After what felt like months of “he said, she said,” along with an FCC inquiry (holy cow, has it really been a year?), I heard the news via a retweet. While the Google web app for Google Voice worked just fine, it’s nice having a truly native version; the web app was a tad slow, and it was a pain when the account timed out, requiring you to login again. My Google Voice needs are somewhat modest. For me, it’s the number I give out when someone wants to get in touch, but I don’t want to give them the Super Top Secret Cell Phone Number. So, PR people, headhunters, bill collectors, etc. all get the Google Voice number. Most of the time, I even turn forwarding off so it goes straight to Read More

...Connect for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store http://bit.ly/94ys38... Read More

by After banning all Google Voice-related apps from the App Store, Apple’s Google Voice moratorium appears to be over. Apple has just approved GV Connect [iTunes link], a $3 native Google Voice app for the iPhone. This comes fourteen months after Apple removed all Google Voice apps from its App Store — including fan favorites GV Mobile and VoiceCentral — and refused to approve Google’s official app. That ban led to an FCC inquiry and the creation of an HTML5-specific web app to sate iPhone users. As recently as last month, Google told us that nothing had changed in regards to the status of its native iPhone app, but since that conversation, Apple has made some significant changes to its developer policies. In light of those changes, a number of developers have either re-submitted their apps or received communication from Apple indicating re-submission and approval could be possible. With the release Read More

...@strngwys: Welcome back GV Connect. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gv-connect/id347835665?mt=8... Read More

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gv-connect/id347835665?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4# Read More

We knew it would only be a matter of days, but a Google Voice native app has been approved for the Apple iPhone. To be clear, this isn’t the official version from Google, as it is called GV Connect but it should enable you to have full access to your Google Voice account on your Apple . It better, as it costs $2.99 and we’ve had problems directly downloading it to the device – we had to buy it on a computer and sync it over. The GV Connect program said it will enable you to interact with your Google Voice account much quicker than with the web-based version from Google. I have to admit that the lack of a robust, native Google Voice program has been a major hindrance to me switching over to an Apple iPhone, as the native Android experience is phenomenal. The GV Connect app being sold Read More

Google Voice applications have had a pretty tumultuous history in the App Store. At first, Apple approved them, and the people rejoiced. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, they were pulled, with “duplicating features that the iPhone comes with (Dialer, SMS, etc).” cited as the reasoning. The people were, understandably, pretty friggin’ mad. Over the past few days, the developers of at least two such applications have been indicating that they’d been hearing good news from Apple, suggesting that the Apps would be making an Apple-approved, no-jailbreak-required return. Sure enough, they’ve just started popping up in the App Store. The first app to get approval, as far as I can tell, is Andreas Amann’s GV Connect, which just hit the App Store moments ago. Going for $2.99, the app provides Google Voice-powered support for calls, SMS, and voicemail — in other words, everything these apps were originally banned for. We reached out Read More

Sep 17th 2010 at 6:05PM Using GV Connect...is there a way to stay logged into this applicaton so that I don't have to log in every time I want to make a call??? ANNOYING Will the app work properly on my iPod touch (gen 4). I don't want to waste $3 if I cant make calls with it. You can't make calls with it - it's not VOIP. You can initiate a call with it, and GV will callback a separate cell phone for completing the call. Neither of the GV apps have VOIP functionality (yet). I don't have a phone but have an iPod touch and a google voice number If I get the app will i be able to call ? Absolutely you can use your touch with GV. I did so from the start. Used it to place calls to my land line and my non iPhone cell. Read More