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October is now here in full force, which means those of us in the market for a new iPad or Mac Pro are beginning to foam at the mouths, wondering when Apple will unleash new toys for us to spend our hard-earned cash on. And what good would a new gadget be without new apps to fill it with? It just so happens that the weekend brought us a few new options, so dive in and check 'em out in our app-tastic recap.
Photo Sharing Service Loom Now Available to All
This was a big weekend for the folks at Loom, who opened their doors to the public on Friday after a lengthy private beta for the Mac and iOS photo sharing service. Having successfully raised $1.4 million in seed funding, Loom has a new iOS 7-friendly version of its mobile app along with a fresh new Mac uploader, both of which add support for uploading RAW images. Images uploaded via Loom are optimized for viewing on the iPhone/iPod touch, iPad and web, while the original file remains available for downloading at any time. All users receive 5GB of cloud storage free, so head over to the Loom website and give it a try!
Spin App Promises to Put New Spin on Real-Time Chat
Sure, there are plenty of ways to get real-time video chat on your mobile devices, but the folks at Spin have introduced a new way to engage with up to 10 people at once while sharing photos and videos together from anywhere there's an internet connection. Spin is a free, universal iOS app that promises increased audio and HD video quality in a swipe-friendly user interface, along with a host of fun-sounding innovations such as "Spinvitations,""ChalkTalk" and "FXPs," which is short for "Fun Experiences." The app is free, so why not join the party now and encourage your friends to do the same?
Rdio Debuts Free Pandora-Style Mobile Radio Service
ABC News is reporting that streaming music provider Rdio has jumped into the Pandora pond with a free internet radio service as part of a partnership with terrestrial radio station owner Cumulus Media. The service is now included as part of Rdio's iOS and Android app for mobile users and "won't play ads between the songs that are randomly picked based on genres, artists, songs or albums," while the web version will feature advertising provided by Cumulus.
tap tap tap Debuts All-New Convert 2 for iPhone
The folks at tap tap tap may be best known for Camera+, but they've also got a small catalog of other apps, including a modestly popular unit converter-slash-calculator that just got a big facelift for iOS 7. Convert 2 introduces a sleek new visual design that geeks in particular will love, thanks to inclusion of a full scientific calculator simply by swiping left or right on the keypad. The update also includes nine new categories, bringing the total to 24, and also adds 22 new currencies, complete with a tap and hold option with a pop-up for jumping quickly to your favorites. To celebrate the release, Convert 2 is on sale for a limited time for only 99 cents, so grab it while the price is right.
Instagram Confirms Ads Coming in Near Future
You pretty much knew this was coming, didn't you? Instagram announced Friday its plans to integrate "occasional" ads into U.S. users' feeds sometime in the next couple months in order to build the service into "a sustainable business." The company does promise that users will be able to hide any ads they don't like as well as offer feedback about why they chose to do so, but otherwise compares the experience to reading a magazine and having to endure those "engaging, high-quality ads." No word on whether or not the company plans any kind of premium subscription option for those of us who want to avoid advertising altogether, however.
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