Reddit Acquires Popular Reddit-Browsing App 'Alien Blue', Makes it Temporarily Free [iOS Blog]

Reddit today acquired Alien Blue, the popular iPhone and iPad app that many iOS users use to browse Reddit on their mobile devices, reports TechCrunch . According to Ellen Pao, Reddit's head of strategic partnerships, the company will keep the "Alien Blue" name and the app's developer, Jase Morrissey, will be joining the Reddit team.

"Our whole philosphy has been to give our users choice. We've got the reddit AMA app, and alienblue coming out... but we really want users to use whatever they want." says Ellen Pao, reddit's head of Strategic Partnerships. "We think Alienblue is great, and it's the most popular reddit app on iOS. We wanted to be able to offer it as a reddit app, and we wanted to help Jase with additional resources to do everything he wanted to do with it."

The app will, however, be gaining a new icon, and while Reddit focuses on merging the iPhone and iPad versions of the app into a single universal app, both versions are free. The iPad app normally costs $4 while the iPhone app is free with a $2 "Pro" in-app purchase.



Reddit has plans to get rid of the iPad app, so it is permanently free while work continues on a universal version, but the iPhone's "Pro" features will also be made available for free for the next week, as all Alien Blue users need to re-download the apps.

To celebrate and ease the move to reddit, everyone can get the Alien Blue Pro upgrade free for one week. The iPad app will also be free until we integrate it with the iPhone app and the two become one universal app.

The "Pro" features in the iPhone version of the app will extend to the iPad when it is transformed into a universal app, so all Alien Blue users should download the new version immediately while the upgraded features are available at no cost.



Reddit's new official Alien Blue app for the iPhone can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]



The iPad version of the app, which will be replaced in the near future, will also be made temporarily free shortly. [Direct Link]

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Posted in 2014 at 12:02AM, October 16

U2 Said to Play 'Significant Part' in Tomorrow's Apple Event

Last week, rumors suggested that Apple was planning to involve U2 in its upcoming iPhone 6 launch, with the band possibly performing at the event or including its new album on the iPhone 6. Those rumors were later dismissed by a U2 spokesperson, but it appears U2 may indeed be a part of tomorrow's event.



According to a new report from The New York Times, U2 will play a "significant part" in Apple's event at the Flint Center. Not only will U2 play at the event, its upcoming album will be integrated into Apple's products.




Bono with Steve Jobs at 2004 U2 iPod event courtesy of The New York Times

Extending a decade-long connection with Apple, U2 will play a significant part in Apple's event, which will be held at a performing arts center in Cupertino, Calif., the company's home base, according to three people briefed on its plans. In addition to performing, the band will reveal an integration with Apple's products that is connected to its next album, which is expected to come out by the end of the year, according to these people, who spoke anonymously because the band's appearance -- and its deal with Apple -- is supposed to be a surprise.

Apple and U2 have had a long partnership, as Steve Jobs and Bono were good friends. Starting in 2004, Apple released several special edition U2 iPods, which included the band's signatures and U2's music. Apple has also been a longtime partner of (Product) RED, a charity founded by Bono.

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Posted in 2014 at 12:02AM, September 09

Carl Icahn Buys Additional 2.8M Apple Shares Raising Stake to Nearly $4.5B [Mac Blog]

Activist investor Carl Icahn has purchased another 2.8 million Apple shares worth some $1.65 billion according to a regulatory filing from Thursday (via The Wall Street Journal ). In total, Icahn now owns more than 7.5 million shares of Apple, bringing his stake to almost $4.5 billion.



Icahn's investment follows Apple's April announcement of a dramatic increase in its share repurchase authorization to $90 billion, up from $60 billion. Apple will also implement a 7:1 stock split in June and plans to return more than $130 billion to shareholders under its capital return program by the end of 2015.



Prior to Apple's announcement, Icahn had pushed Apple to increase its stock repurchasing program in a meeting with CEO Tim Cook. Icahn abandoned a legal effort to have shareholders recommend an increased share repurchase in February after Apple repurchased $14 billion in stock following its January earnings call.



After Apple announced its boosted stock repurchasing plans, Icahn said he was "extremely pleased" with the company's results, noting that the stock was still "meaningfully undervalued."

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Posted in 2014 at 12:02AM, May 16