Apps | featured news

App developers have turned cellphones and tablets into powerful tools, spawning a multibillion-dollar industry but making huge sacrifices in the process.

According to a report by the Verge today, Microsoft is planning to release Office for the iPhone, iPad and Android in early 2013. Relying on inside sources, the Verge reports that Office Mobile will be offered as free apps that allow Android and iOS users to view Microsoft Office documents on mobile devices. The Verge also notes that Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents will all be supported, but edit functionality will only be enabled with an Office 365 subscription, which can be purchased using the app.

News.me, the social news service incubated at betaworks, announced today that it’s officially shutting down its iOS apps and removing them from the App Store. The company is also claiming that it’s yet another victim of Twitter’s latest API guidelines, and states that Twitter may have even viewed its service as a competitor. We might not go that far, but it makes for a good story.

When Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) unveiled the Surface tablet in June, it pulled back the curtain on nearly three years of secret development. This Friday, buyers will finally be able to get their hands on the $499 tablet.

Hate the new Maps app that Apple ships with iOS 6? You're not alone. Fortunately it's easy to add Google Maps back onto your iPhone and iPad. However, so far there's been one feature lacking in the browser implementation of Google Maps that was present in the app -- Street View.

The furor over Apple's faulty mapping software reached the Silicon Valley company's highest echelons Friday, prompting an apology from Chief Executive Tim Cook and opening the way for rival Google to capitalize on the misstep.

Apple CEO Tim Cook says the company is "extremely sorry" for the frustration its Maps application has caused and it's doing everything it can to make it better. In the meantime, he recommended that people use competing map applications to get around... "While we're improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app," Cook wrote.

The brain that revolutionized physics now can be downloaded as an app for $9.99. But it won't help you win at Angry Birds. While Albert Einstein's genius isn't included, an exclusive iPad application launched Tuesday promises to make detailed images of his brain more accessible to scientists than ever before. Teachers, students and anyone who's curious also can get a look.

...Apple released an update to its iPhone and iPad operating system on Wednesday that replaces Google Maps with Apple's own application. Early upgraders are reporting that the new maps are less detailed, look weird and misplace landmarks... One Twitter user quipped that the lines of people queuing up to buy the iPhone 5 on Friday will be shorter, because the buyers will be misled by the new Maps.

YouTube is being reprogrammed for the iPhone and iPad amid the latest fallout from the growing hostility between Google and Apple. The changes are being made because Google Inc. and Apple Inc. didn't renew a five-year licensing agreement that established YouTube's video service as one of the built-in applications in the operating system that runs the iPhone and iPad.