Ios

Tired and annoyed by all the alerts and red notification circles that keep appearing on your iPhone or iPad? Fortunately, you can easily turn them off or adjust them so they don't appear as often. Do Not Disturb A new feature on iOS 6 called Do Not Disturb lets you turn them off temporarily. It also shuts off text message alerts and phone calls when your device is locked unless a person calls you twice within three minutes, just in case it's an emergency. This feature is useful when you want to get some sleep or if you're trying to concentrate on work and don't want to be distracted.

Google Maps for the iPhone is getting smarter thanks to a new feature that will recommend quicker routes to users as they drive. "Outsmart traffic and save time on the road -- #GoogleMaps will notify you if there's a faster route," the Silicon Valley company said Tuesday morning after updating the Apple iOS version of its app with the new feature.  As iPhone users drive, Google Maps will account for traffic and road conditions. If the app finds a quicker way to users' destinations, it will let users know how much time the new route could save them.

Apple's iOS 7 is a big change. It comes with a bright new look and a whole lot of major new features , but there are also several hidden features you might not have yet noticed or heard of. Here are our favorites. Focus photos using volume button In iOS 7, you can now take square-size pictures and add filters to your pictures, but did you know that you can now also press on the iPhone's volume down button to quickly focus the camera and take a picture? You can also hold down the volume buttons to quickly shoot a burst of photos.

There is no question that smartphone and tablet apps can improve your travel experience - whether it's for business or pleasure - by helping to inspire, plan, organize and save time and money. The travel apps below are either new, recently launched or have made significant improvements in the last year. AFAR Media : AFAR Media (you might have heard of its AFAR travel magazine) has released a stunning travel app by the same name. Find guides, highlights and individual travel hot spots in more than 7,000 cities and towns in 239 countries that will appeal to culture seekers, foodies and wanderers alike.

Users seeking significant free cloud storage should download the new Apple iOS version of Box, which is giving away 50 GB of space in the cloud to users who are willing to try out the new app. Box on Wednesday released a redesigned version of its iPhone and iPad apps , which have been rebuilt with more intuitive user interfaces and have been made significantly faster than before. The Los Altos, Calif., company is one of the top players in the cloud storage market, though it doesn't compare to rival Dropbox, which is currently the dominant leader.

Apple unveiled iOS 7 Monday, but because the focus of the company's presentation was on the new design of the platform, many cool new features went unnoticed. The Cupertino tech giant did point out a few great new features -- including AirDrop, the brand-new Control Center, and more features for Safari -- but many others were mentioned only in passing or completely overlooked. PHOTOS: Tech giants' new headquarters So here's a list of 10 hidden gems and overlooked features in the upcoming Apple mobile operating system.

Apple's radically redesigned iOS 7 has been available for more than two weeks now, and users are upgrading to it at a record clip.  Reports of satisfaction are generally high, but that doesn't mean there haven't been hiccups. In fact, a handful of problems have prompted a swell of complaints from some users.  PHOTOS: Top 11 hidden, cool features in Apple's iOS 7 Here's quick rundown of the four biggest ones so far, and what if anything can be done about them:  1. iMessage:  This popped up in recent days when users began complaining that messages sent via Apple's iMessage service weren't, in fact, being sent and received.

At last: iOS 7 is available for download. Many analysts think Apple's new mobile operating system will be a bigger deal than the new iPhones coming this Friday. But there may be one snag. You need to have 3 gigabytes of space free on your iPhone to update over Wi-Fi. While I cleared some space Tuesday night, I'm quickly deleting apps and trying to get rid of more. PHOTOS: Top 10 Apple iOS 7 features you should know about Some readers point out that you will need less available space if you go the old-fashioned route and download iOS 7 to you computer, and then update via iTunes.

Bank of America customers will no longer have to go to their bank's ATMs to deposit checks. They can now do it from their iPhones or iPads. The company updated its iPhone app Wednesday to include the feature, which earlier this year it announced would arrive on its mobile devices. The feature was introduced to the iPad late last month. The new feature can be accessed by signing into your account through the app. Once signed in, you will see three new buttons near the top. The one on the right reads "Deposits," which you click to get to the feature.

Integrating Facebook to your iPhone 5 is a nifty new feature of Apple's latest operating system, iOS 6. When you activate your Facebook account on your iPhone 5, iOS 6 will offer to import your Facebook calendar and contact information. But one drawback we found with integrating Facebook to your iPhone 5 is that you'll end up with duplicate contact information for some of your Facebook friends. For example, I have a friend that goes by "Mike" on my iPhone 5. But on Facebook, he goes by "Michael.

Users seeking significant free cloud storage should download the new Apple iOS version of Box, which is giving away 50 GB of space in the cloud to users who are willing to try out the new app. Box on Wednesday released a redesigned version of its iPhone and iPad apps , which have been rebuilt with more intuitive user interfaces and have been made significantly faster than before. The Los Altos, Calif., company is one of the top players in the cloud storage market, though it doesn't compare to rival Dropbox, which is currently the dominant leader.

What appears to be a prototype for the original 2007 Apple iPhone was sold on EBay on Monday morning for $1,499. The rare Apple item was sold after receiving 37 bids. It's unclear if the device is authentic, but some aspects of its specs check out, especially because the prototype does not run Apple's iOS mobile operating system. Instead, the item description says the gadget runs on a special test software, which Apple has been known to use on other iOS device prototypes. "I am selling a very rare original iPhone engineering prototype," the seller wrote in the item description . "These were used to test the iPhone's various features.

Every quarter Google has a larger mobile market share than Apple, but when it comes to shopping online, iOS users outspent Android users with sales five times higher on Christmas Day. Apple iOS users accounted for 23% of total U.S. online sales, according to analytics data from IBM . Meanwhile, Google Android accounted for 4.6%. Apple's mobile users not only accounted for more sales, but they also spent more than their Android counterparts every time they made a purchase.

There's a good chance you woke up with a new smartphone or tablet this Christmas morning, but as Microsoft can tell you, no one wants to use a device with no apps. If you've got a new gadget, you need to load it up with the best apps, that way the device can actually improve your life and not just bust your loved ones' wallets. Last year, 328 million apps were downloaded on Christmas , and this year, the number is expected to be even higher. So what apps should you download? Every user has different needs so no one has the same apps, but the apps below are must-have for most users.

In a year-end memo to company employees, Apple CEO Tim Cook sparked more speculation over what the tech giant might have up its sleeve in 2014. "We have a lot to look forward to in 2014, including some big plans that we think customers are going to love," he said in the memo, according to 9to5Mac . "I am extremely proud to stand alongside you as we put innovation to work serving humankind's deepest values and highest aspirations. " PHOTOS: Top 10 tech fails of 2013 Cook offered no details, but he was likely referring to a few gadgets Apple is expected to release next year.

Attention procrastinators and the mall-averse, we have good news: You can still find deals for those last-minute gifts, all from the comfort of your smartphone. Here are five handy mobile apps to help you avoid being called a scrooge. 1. Ebay Ebay has been around for years, but it can easily be overlooked. The website rose to prominence as an online auctioning service, but these days, it has become one of the best all-around shopping apps. Whenever users are shopping for a product, they should make sure to search for it first using the Ebay app. There's always a chance the item may be available on Ebay for less than it is at traditional retailers.

Apple is getting ready to roll out iOS 7, but not all iPhones, iPads and iPod touches will be able to be upgraded with the new mobile operating system. IOS 7, which will be available to download for free on Wednesday, represents the most drastic redesign since the software rolled out with the iPhone in 2007. Besides a colorful new look, iOS 7 also comes with a batch of new useful features, including a nifty Control Center that users can access by swiping up from the bottom of their screen.

After Apple unveiled the new look of its iOS 7 mobile operating system earlier this month, many in the design world criticized the platform. But a series of online polls this week show many users like the icons featured in the upcoming operating system more than those in iOS 6. The polling service Polar is hosting a series of polls comparing icons on iOS 6 with their iOS 7 counterparts. In most of the polls, users are choosing the new operating system, and when votes from all of the polls are added up together, more go for iOS 7. Out of the 289,000 votes cast so far, 66% favor iOS 7 icons, according to Polar.

Apple made headlines Friday by announcing iBeacon, new software that pushes notifications to users as they walk around the company's retail stores. But what is iBeacon and how exactly does it work? Essentially iBeacon is nothing more than software that any Apple iOS device, such as the iPhone and iPad, is capable of using. PHOTOS: Top 10 ways to take advantage of the 'sharing economy' IBeacon doesn't track users. IOS devices using iBeacon simply send out signals through Bluetooth, similar to the way sonar works on submarines.

Half a year after launching for Android, Google Play Music All Access is now available to iPhone users. An app for Google Play Music became available for download for iPhone users on Friday. The app gives users access to All Access, Google's subscription service, and also lets them stream music they own that they have uploaded onto Google's cloud. All Access is a rival to other music subscription services, notably Spotify and Rdio. But unlike those other services, iPhone users have not been able to use All Access on their devices until now. PHOTOS: Google barge to be 'unprecedented artistic structure' To promote the service, Google says new users can get a free 30-day trial of the service.