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It’s been a busy, busy week on iMore, and this time the iOS headlines have been dominated by news from ostensibly competing conferences — BlackBerry Live and Google I/O. The main conversation topic this week was cross platform messaging from BlackBerry and Google both, though also making the headlines was Google’s answer to Game Center, Amazon taking on iTunes on the desktop, and the App Store finally hitting 50 billion downloads. Read on for the recap!

The big story early in the week came from BlackBerry Live in Orlando. While we may have expected some news of the enterprise kind that affected iOS devices, we weren’t quite prepared for what came next. CEO Thorsten Heins took to the stage and announced that their signature messaging tool, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) would be coming to iOS this summer. Some see it as too little, too late, but there seems to be a healthy early interest in the product. We’ll be looking forward to putting it through its paces later this year. It also now means, as Rene pointed out, that each competing platform owner now makes apps for iOS. Apple by contrast, makes squarely nothing for any of its competitors.

• BlackBerry Messenger coming to iOS this summer
• Every major mobile competitor makes apps for iOS

Messaging was the talk of the town over in San Francisco too, at Google I/O. Much-rumored leading up to the conference, Google debuted their new, cross-platform, Google+ Hangouts messaging service, now available on iOS as well as Android and the web. Hangouts seems to amalgamate the existing Hangouts experience of group video chat, with the existing Google Talk instant messaging service. Early impressions are good, but for the complete run down be sure to check out Leanna’s full review.

• Google+ Hangouts for iPhone and iPad review

Also coming out of Google I/O was news of an iPad version of Google Maps heading our way this year, updated Google Now cards and Google Play game services. Google’s answer to Game Center, the game services API’s are going cross-platform and are available to developers of iOS games too. Our own Peter Cohen gave his take on Google’s new services following the announcement, so be sure to give it a read.

• Google Maps for iPad, new features coming this summer
• Google takes on Game Center with Google Play game services

The third competing platform announcing a move to Apple products this week was Amazon. Until now, Amazon’s Cloud Player music service has only been available via the web browser, but the launch of a desktop version takes on Apple’s own iTunes. Initially, Cloud Player is only available for Windows PC’s, but there is a version for the Mac in the works. This is great news for Amazon MP3 Store customers however, as getting your music onto your Mac and into iTunes isn’t the most user friendly experience as it stands.

• Amazon taking the fight to iTunes on the desktop with new Cloud Player client

One piece of big Apple news this week, was the App Store finally reaching its milestone 50 billion downloads. The lucky winner was one Brandon Ashmore, who downloaded Say The Same Thing to win the $ 10,000 App Store gift card. Congratulations to Brandon!

• Apple announces 50 billion app downloads. For real

Elsewhere this week, the iMore staff gave us their thoughts on a variety of subjects. Leanna gave us a sterling round up of the best photography apps for the iPhone, while Peter weighed the pros and cons of all three (!) of Apple’s current 13-inch MacBook offerings, and also gave us the arguments against touchscreen Macs . All excellent items well worth reading if you missed them the first time round.

• Best apps for iPhone photographers
• Battle of the 13-inch MacBooks: Which one wins?
• Time for touchscreen Macs? Hell no!

Rene, meanwhile, is still pining on a better way to surface files on iOS. Four years of that and counting. Will Apple finally put him out of his misery?

• iOS 7 and my continued, unrequited desire for a Files.app!

There you have them, the best of iMore for week. What stood out for you in everything that went on in the last 7 days? What do you still want to comment about? Have at it below!

Every week, the editors and writers at iMore carefully select some of our favorite, most useful, most extraordinary apps. This week’s selections include a war game, a videography app, a classic board game, and a popular twitter client for Mac.

Sky Gamblers – Storm Raiders – Peter Cohen

World War II air combat on the Mac – dogfighting in the skies above Pearl Harbor, Midway, France and more. Fly historic planes with cross-platform multiplayer, Game Center and iCloud support. If you’ve played the game on your iOS device, you know what to expect. But Atypical Games has reworked Sky Gamblers – Storm Raiders to work on the Mac, which makes it an even more fun game on a bigger screen.

The game costs a paltry 99 cents to download, but content like new planes and weapons come at a price – in-app purchases for a couple of bucks here and there. Still, lots of fun to play and not a lot of coin to make it happen.

• $ 0.99 – Download now

Luma Camera – Rene Ritchie

While I was at BlackBerry Live — or was it iMore live? — one of the developers in attendance came over and showed me Luma Camera for iPhone. It’s a video shooting app that offers filters both real-time and for post-processing, as well as optional HD video storage space via their website. The most interesting feature, however, is the image stabilization. Real optical image stabilization requires hardware, but Luma does a respectable job using the iPhones built in sensors and it’s powerful graphics processing capabilities.

I haven’t had much of a chance to play around with it yet, but it looks like fun. If you try it, let me know what you think!

• Free – Download now

Ticket to Ride Online – Richard Devine

I must confess to being an avid fan of the Geek and Sundry YouTube Show, TableTop starring Wil Wheaton. It’s via that show I first became aware of the board game Ticket to Ride, and now I’ve found and begun playing the Mac version — Ticket to Ride Online

I’ve never played the board game, but the Mac version is a beautifully colourful recreation of the original, and follows the rules to the letter. You choose a series of routes, and the objective is to lay trains on as many of those routes as possible before the game is up. The longest routes get an extra reward at the end, and incomplete routes loses points. It’s really simple to pick up and play, and there’s a comprehensive tutorial game to help you get to grips with the gameplay.

In-App purchases are available to extend the game boards, with new ones available for Europe, another USA board and for Switzerland. And, the online play supports competing against other Mac, PC, and iPad players. I’ve not tried out the iPad version just yet, but you’ll find a link for that too below.

• $ 9.99 (Mac Version) – Download Now
• $ 6.99 (iPad Version) – Download Now

Tweetbot for Mac – Ally Kazmucha

There are a wealth of amazing Twitter clients for iOS but when it comes to Mac, there are less to choose from. While I tend to use Twitterrific on my iPhone and iPad, I’ve never really liked the feel of it on Mac. Tweetbot is my second favorite for iOS and when they released a Mac client a while back, it definitely didn’t disappoint.

The price point is quite a bit higher than other Twitter offerings in the Mac App Store but honestly, it’s the best available, hands down. If you want the iOS Tweetbot experience on your Mac, there really is no other option.

• $ 19.99 – Download Now

Your choice?

Now that we’ve chosen our favorites for the week, we want to hear yours! Did you pick up a killer app, accessory, or game this week? Let us know in the comments below!

According to the internet, Apple has to everything everyone else has ever done, plus make real everything science fiction has ever imagined, or WWDC 2013 will be a disappointment, and Apple will again and forever be doomed. No pressure there. But what exactly is this unattainable goal being set for Apple? Justin Willaims of Carpeaqua has placed tongue firmly in cheek and laid it plain.

With WWDC just a few weeks away, I thought it’d be beneficial to the Internet at large to compile a working list of everything that is expected of Apple during their Keynote and subsequent “State of the Union” addresses in order to appease the Internet. Failure to introduce each and every one of these features and updates will result in another stock price plummet, calls for Tim Cook’s ouster and an infinite amount of comments on tech blogs decrying that Android is superior to Apple’s iOS.

I have several favorites. Give the whole things a read, then tell me yours.

Source: Carpeaqua

It’s been said time and time again that the camera on the iPhone is an excellent camera. In fact, it’s become such a popular camera that there’s a whole genre of photography known as ‘iPhoneography’. iPhone photographers not only use the camera and lens built into their iPhone, but also an assortment of apps to edit, enhance, and show off their work. There are so many great apps out there, so we’ve narrowed it down to a few of our favorites.

KitCam

The first app we’re going to take a look at is a fantastic tool for taking your photos. With it, you can adjust exposure, white balance, lenses, and film before you even take the photo. It also features convenient shooting modes like a timer, multi-exposure, time-lapse, and more. You can also view each photo’s histogram and make adjustments to levels, brightness, contrast, and saturation. If you’re looking to take more control over your iPhone’s camera, definitely grab KitCam.

• $ 0.99 – Download now

See also:

• Camera+ – $ 0.99 – Download now

Photoforge2

KitCam does offer some nice editing options, but if you want even more, Photoforge2 is an excellent choice that’s bursting with advanced controls. The most notable is the ability to use multiple layers and masks and make advanced adjustments including curves, levels, color balance, channel mixer, white balance, noise reduction, and more. You can also add over 25 different filters and FX and combine different films lenses, filters, and textures.

• $ 3.99 – Download now

See also:

• Snapseed – Free – Download now
• iPhoto – $ 4.99 – Download now

VSCO CAM

Complex and advanced controls are great, but sometimes you want something quick and easy, yet awesome — like VSCO CAM. This gem features a sleek design with minimal processing options, but the options are good. There’s a nice variety and all the basics are covered. VSCO CAM is a great app to have in your grab bag of editing tools.

• $ 0.99 – Download now

Facetune

If you’re shooting portraits with your iPhone camera, then Facetune should be your go-to app for touching up blemishes, smoothing out skin, enhancing eyes, and even reshaping. Seriously, Facetune is amazing. Check out the review for a full rundown.

• Facetune for iPhone review
• $ 1.99 – Download now

Fuzel Pro

Collages (or “storyboards”) are an excellent way to show off multiple photos at once. They are a great way to tell a story. The App Store is also flooded with apps that help you build collages, but the one I keep coming back to is Fuzel Pro. It has an artistic design, makes it quick and easy to add photos, and gives you control over the layouts of your collages.

• $ 1.99 – Download now

See also:

• Diptic – $ 0.99 – Download now

Photolettering

After editing your photo to perfection, you may realize that it would make a great poster, sign, or inspirational message. With Photolettering, you can do just that using fonts from world-renowned type foundry House Industries. It’s free with a few fonts and additional fonts are available via in-app purchase. If you’re looking to mix photography with typography, Photolettering is the way to go.

• Free – Download now

See also:

• Over – Free – Download now

Instagram

You didn’t think I’d get through an article about photography apps without mentioning Instagram, did you? Although there are a lot of things I would love to see changed about Instagram (especially forced square crops), there’s no denying it’s usefulness as a way to share photos. Yes, there’s a lot of snapshots of pets and kids (my own included) and plates of food, but there is also a lot of amazing photography being shared on Instagram, as well.

• Free – Download now

See also:

• Flickr – Free – Download now

Your favorite apps for iPhone photography?

So there you have it! iMore’s best apps for iPhone photographers. Did we miss any of your favorites? What apps do you use to shoot, edit, enhance, and show off your photos taking with your iPhone?

Bad news this week for any users of the iOS file management apps File Lite and File Pro. Researchers over at Vulnerability Laboratory have published details for three vulnerabilities that they discovered in the latest versions of both apps.

Ranging from low to high risk, two of the vulnerabilities allow for code injection in the user’s browser when they view a file listing, while the most severe vulnerability allows an attacker to upload arbitrary files to a user’s account without any user interaction. While the impact of these vulnerabilities could be quite severe, exploitation requires a victim to be running the app’s Wi-Fi Sharing option.

The Wi-Fi Sharing method for sharing files runs a web server locally on your iPhone. It appears that all of the published vulnerabilities rely on the web server running to be exploited. If you already have the app on your phone and don’t want to lose the documents you have in it, you should be fine leaving the app on your phone, just avoid using the Wi-Fi Sharing option. Although based on the insecurities found by Vulnerability Laboratory, it’s probably not unwise to start using a different app to manage your files.

The official eBay app for iPhone just got a nice update that brings a UI refresh to the online auction service. The bump up to version 3.0 adds a general refresh to most areas of the app, and improves photos in listings making them now much larger and better looking. Photos also now look larger in search results at the tap of a button, though iOS 6 and above is required for this.

Beyond the visuals, U.S. customers in selected states now have the facility to scan their drivers license for quick and easy eBay registration. Also available to U.S. customers now, along with those of us in the UK is access to the new eBay shopping cart, giving you the option to checkout multiple items at once.

Sellers in Spain will also be happy to know that finally they can sell their wares using the eBay app, as this feature has been turned on in the latest version. Grab it from the App Store now, and be sure to let us know how you’re finding it. Does it make your eBay experience a little better now?

• Free – Download Now

iPhone owners who need a little extra battery power to see them through have been turning to Mophie for many years now. The current lineup for the iPhone 5 includes the Juice Pack Helium and the Juice Pack Air, and now they’re back with this, the Juice Pack Plus.

The Juice Pack Plus packs more battery than either the Helium or the Air, and as such occupies a slightly larger form factor than either of those two. The Juice Pack Plus measures in at 0.70 inches thick, compared to 0.63 inches for the Air and 0.59 inches for the Helium. That extra thickness means a 2100mAh battery in the Juice Pack Plus, giving you an extra 125% battery power over the standard iPhone 5 battery.

The Juice Pack Plus is available to buy in black right now, white coming May 22 and a PRODUCT(RED) version will follow on May 31. All three are available for $ 119.95. Anyone going for one of these?

Source: Mophie

Want to go full screen? Head to iMore.com/live. Want to watch via iPhone or iPad? Grab the Ustream app and search for “mobilenations”. Want to subscribe to any or all of our shows? Head on over to our podcast page.

The App Store free app of the week often throws up some great apps, and this week is no exception. Gameloft’s Asphalt 7 – Heat is this weeks selection to be had for no outlay, and fans of racing games should definitely go take a look.

Asphalt 7 features more than 60 different vehicles, from some of the worlds leading prestige manufacturers such as Aston Martin, Ferrari and Lamborghini. Perhaps, more importantly though, one of the most iconic cars of all time is there to drive too. The DeLorean! There’s 15 different circuits set in different, real world cities all over the globe, multiplayer, and pretty spectacular graphics.

Download Asphalt 7 – Heat now for free from the App Store for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. If it’s your first time playing Asphalt 7, drop into the comments and tell us how you like it.

• Free – Download Now