Best iOS app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time

Everyone likes Apple apps, but sometimes the best ones are a bit expensive. Now and then, developers put paid apps on sale for free for a limited time, but you have to snatch them up while you have the chance. Here are the latest and greatest iOS app deals available from the iOS App Store.

These apps normally cost money and this sale lasts for a limited time only. If you go to the App Store and it says the app costs money, that means the deal has expired and you will be charged. 

SmartScan Express

SmartScan Express is a simple, fast solution to scan, crop, edit, save, e-mail your paperwork – invoices, bills, checks, receipts, travel expense reports, and more. You can work with your photos, cropping and improving the contrast and brightness.

Available on:

iOS

Palabras

Learn Spanish through daily reminders with hundreds and hundreds of words. They say practice makes perfect, and with this app, you’ll be able to practice all you want.

Available on:

iOS

Scored

This app is great for keeping score of those regular Friday night card games, your child’s high school basketball games, or almost any game that involves a score keeper.

Available on:

iOS

Healthy CrockPot Recipes

Our busy lifestyles make homemade and healthy meals something of a luxury, but that doesn’t have to be the case with CrockPot Recipes. With minimum preparation and time you should be able to prepare dinner for days on end.

Available on:

iOS

Bogga Christmas Tree

Have fun decorating your own, unique Christmas tree. Be creative and create bulbs with the camera, or simply choose between a large variety of colorful ornaments, tinsel, lights, and decorations.

Available on:

iOS

Live 2 Photos

Live 2 Photos is the world’s first all-in-one tool that enables you to extract multiple still images from your live photos, videos, GIFs, and burst photos.

Available on:

iOS

Editors’ Recommendations

• Best iOS app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time
• Best iOS app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time
• Best iOS app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time
• Best iOS app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time
• Best iOS app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time

How to use Chrome’s Reading List on iOS and Android

Ever scroll through Twitter or a news app and find an interesting story, but it won’t load because you don’t have an internet connection? Apps like Pocket have been around for some time and let you save or bookmark articles to read later when you get an internet connection, but did you know a similar feature is built into the Google Chrome browser?

We’ll give you a brief run-down on how you can quickly and easily save pages for later viewing, whether you’re using an iOS or Android device with the Chrome mobile browser.

Using Chrome’s Reading List on iOS

Chrome for iOS’s Reading List has been a fairly recent addition, and it’s clear Google took more than a little inspiration from a similar feature in the Safari web browser. Still, the implementation on Chrome for iOS means you don’t have to deal with Safari if you don’t wan to, and it contains a few features you won’t find in Apple’s browser, such as sorting pages into read and unread — a handy tool for the serial webpage-saver.

It couldn’t be simpler to get started. You need to be using Chrome for iOS, and you can install it from the App Store here. Open Chrome and go to the page you want to save. Hit the overflow icon (the three dots) in the top-right corner, then tap the Share button and the Read Later icon (it should look like a gray-scale version of the Chrome logo).

And that’s it. Your page is saved for later. To access your reading list, hit the overflow icon again, and tap Reading list. Chrome will open a list of your saved links, and sort them separately depending on whether they have been read, or are still on your “Unread” list. To delete a link, simply tap the Edit button, select the item you wish to delete, then hit the Delete button in the bottom left. If you want to mark all items as read, tap the Edit button, tap Mark all, and a pop-up will ask whether you want to mark all items as read or unread.

If you’re in another app like Apple News and you want to send an article to your Chrome Reading List, tap the Share icon on the article, and then tap on the Chrome app. You’ll get the option to add it to your Read Later queue, or Add to Bookmarks. Tap Read Later, and visit Chrome’s Reading List to find the article again.

Using Chrome’s reading list in Android

Chrome for Android’s read later function is slightly different. Rather than a direct Reading List like iOS, Android users instead have the option to download pages straight to their device. While it’s not as user-friendly as iOS Chrome’s Reading List, it does mean that pages can be read while offline, potentially saving mobile data while out and about.

Saving pages is still a very simple process. Most Android phones come with Chrome pre-installed, but if you need to download it, it’s easy to get Chrome from the Play Store. To get started saving pages, visit the page you want to save. Then, tap your overflow icon (the three dots) in the top right corner. Then, tap the Download icon in the top bar of the menu (to the left of the “i” symbol). The page will then be accessible through your Downloads section on the same menu.

If you’re not too bothered about saving an offline copy of the page, but want an easily accessible reminder, you can choose to add the link to your home screen as an app icon. To do this, access the overflow menu again, and select Add to Home screen. Chrome will then add an icon to your home screen.

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Hoard your mobile data like Scrooge with Google’s new Datally app for Android

Always running out of mobile data while out and about? Managing your usage is going to get a whole lot easier thanks to Google’s new mobile data-monitoring app.

Named “Datally” (“data-ally” — get it?), this seemingly simple app helps users monitor and understand their usage, control which apps are using it, and suggest ways to save data while on the go. According to Google, test users in the Philippines saved 30 percent of their data by using Datally.

The main screen of the app shows, in large numbers, exactly how much data you’ve used on that particular day, and which apps are using the most data. Flipping the Data Saver button at the top enables the app’s data saving abilities, locking apps out from accessing the internet until you turn it back off. Got an app that needs to have access to the internet at all times? No problem; hitting Manage data will let you whitelist particular apps, making sure they’ll never be locked out of access.

Manage data also lets you see when users have used their data, and shows users their usage stats across various time periods — so if you’re on limited monthly data, you can check how much you have left before the end of the month. If you’re really up against the wall, you can tap the Find Wi-Fi button to find a list of connections in range, with user ratings and any available passwords.

Datally is currently available on the Google Play Store, free of charge. You’ll need to be on Android 5.0 Lollipop or above to use the app, so if you’re one of the many people still on a version of Android below, then check out one of the many other data monitors currently available on the Play Store.

If you’re looking to save even more mobile data, or are on an iPhone, then check out our guide to saving your data on both Android and iOS. Or if you’re really sick of checking up on your usage, and you just want a constantly available connection, check out our list of the best unlimited data plans offered by carriers in the United States.

Editors’ Recommendations

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You’ll soon be able to bet on Bitcoin’s future value on NASDAQ

A smart (or lucky) few predicted that the Bitcoin cryptocurrency’s value would rise to the heady heights it has hit at the end of 2017, but if you think it will go far further, or go down, you may be interested in the NASDAQ stock exchange’s upcoming futures contracts. They will effectively allow anyone to bet on the future of the Bitcoin currency.

At the start of 2017 a single Bitcoin was hovering around the $1,000 mark per coin. At the time of writing it’s just north of $10,000 on the back of a recent surge and a general upswing throughout the year. Some now predict that in the years to come we’ll see that figure expand even more and NASDAQ is now looking to profit from it by enabling investors to take positions on its future value.

The NASDAQ exchange now joins the likes of Chicago’s CME Group, which claimed earlier this month that it too would soon introduce futures contracts for Bitcoin, as per The Verge. This should see an even greater interest in the currency, but also a more weighted stake in its rise and fall. As The Verge points out, derivatives of that sort focused on mortgages led to the financial crash in 2008.

That has some cautious about Bitcoin’s immediate future. Suggesting that initial coin offerings (ICOs) of new cryptocurrencies, often funded by Bitcoin, were a major driver of its value increase in 2017, financial analyst Josh Brown claims that we could be heading for a cryptocurrency crash. Not that that will stall Bitcoin and its fellow currencies forever, but it may mean a bursting of the cryptocurrency bubble is necessary to really see the currency’s true potential.

Whatever you think the future of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is though, with the introduction of futures contracts at various financial institutions, you’ll soon be able to bet on the outcome. NASDAQ’s own implementation is slated to begin in the new year.

If you’re just learning about Bitcoin and are interested in investing or using the cryptocurrency yourself, it’s important that you learn as much about it as possible first. Here is our guide to everything you need to know about Bitcoin, and another on how to buy your first Bitcoin.

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Which MVNOs work with more than one carrier?

These are the alternative carriers that lease coverage from more than one of the Big Four carriers.

We talk a lot about carriers and MVNOs here because having good wireless service goes hand in hand with your Android phone. And the service being good is the most important part. We can’t stress enough that saving a few dollars each month to get service that doesn’t work very well is a bad move; Verizon is expensive, for example, and worth every penny for a lot of people because of its coverage.

Multiple networks are especially great for families, who don’t always live in the same place.

That’s why getting service from an MVNO that works with more than one network can be important! With a company like Google’s Project Fi, if coverage from one carrier is bad in the place you’re at, you will jump over to another automatically. With most others, you have a choice of carrier when you first sign up and can switch the next month if you like. That’s a great way to make sure you always have a good signal, and we think it’s pretty cool.

Here’s a list of MVNOs that provide service on multiple carrier networks. Note that this isn’t an endorsement of any of them, it’s just a list so you know where to start looking!

1Voice calls are VoIP only, but not counted against a data cap

2Also uses the Three network in the UK

3TracFone’s US Cellular service supports feature phones only

That’s a pretty long list, and it’s been culled to not include companies that only service business account or companies who force you to buy a special phone. It also doesn’t include special operators that only provide service for you if you are part of a specific group, such as the armed services or the right credit union. The operators in this list will all sell you service that anyone can use with any compatible phone, anywhere in the U.S.

Your experience?

Have you tried any of these service providers? There are names we all know, names we’ve heard of, and names that aren’t familiar at all here. If you have any experience with any of these companies, please let us know how it went in the comments.

Alternative carriers (MVNOS)

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Google Home can now perform two actions with one command

Currently available for all Google Home speakers, but not Assistant on phones.

There’s no shortage of things to do with Google Home, but if you want to ask your smart speaker multiple things at one time, the experience up until now has been pretty clunky. For example, checking the weather and getting an update on your commute to work would require two separate “Ok, Google” commands. It’s a process that worked but wasn’t very elegant.

Thankfully, that’s now changing.

“Ok, Google, turn off the bedroom lights and turn on the coffee pot.”

Initially spotted by CNET, Google Home speakers now allow you to issue multiple commands at one time. Instead of having to say two commands for the above situation, you can say “Ok, Google, what’s the weather and what’s the traffic to work look like?” to get that information read to you back-to-back.

Another use case for this, and one that I know I’m rather excited about, is being able to turn on two smart home gadgets (such as light bulbs and switches) in one breath. Far too often I’ll have to say two “Ok, Google” commands to turn on certain things when I get home, so having something like this will be a nice treat.

This functionality appears to be limited to Google Home speakers for the time being, meaning that it won’t work with Google Assistant on your phone. Furthermore, while two actions with one command work just fine, you can’t string together three or more.

Google Home

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Google Store Best Buy Target

Combine the Google Home Mini and Wemo Mini smart plug for $20 off the total

Mini devices. Huge savings.

Right now, if you individually add a Google Home Mini and a Wemo Mini smart plug to your cart, Target will give you a $20 discount automatically. The Google Home Mini is $29, and the Wemo Mini is $35, so you end up paying just $44 total.

Even when the Wemo Mini was down to $20 over the Black Friday weekend, that wasn’t as much savings as this since the Google Home Mini never went below $29.

The WeMo Mini Smart Plug fits into any electrical outlet without obstructing others, allowing for two smart plugs to be placed into the same socket. The smart plug can be scheduled to turn on or off via the free WeMo app, allowing you to automate anything you plug into the device.

The WeMo app also features an “Away Mode” which will turn the lights on and off at random to give the illusion of someone still being home. No matter where you are, as long as you have access to the app, you can control your home’s appliances and electronics straight from your phone. You’ll never have to worry again about whether you left the iron on or not.

With the Google Home Mini you can complete Google searches, use voice commands to control your connected smart home gadgets, listen to music, cast videos to your Chromecast and much more.

See the Google Home Mini at Target See the Wemo Mini at Target

LG assigns new CEO for its mobile division

LG’s has had less than stellar sales for its mobile products in 2017, and the company is switching up its executive team to hopefully change this going into 2018.

Despite releasing quality phones like the G6 and V30 this year, LG’s sales for its mobile division has left a lot to be desired. The company reported a massive loss of $117 million for the second quarter of the year, and likely as a result of these falling numbers, it’s been announced that a new CEO will take charge of LG’s mobile activities.

Per a press release that LG issued on November 30 –

Hwang Jeong-hwan has been named president and CEO of the LG Mobile Communications Company while current president Juno Cho takes on a new role within LG’s parent company. Mr. Hwang, who has years of experience in R&D, was closely involved in developing one of LG’s first smartphones in 2009 as head of the CTO’s Multimedia R&D Lab.

LG is also appointing Dr. Park Il-pyung as the company’s new CTO. Dr. Park was previously acting as the head of LG’s Software Center, and prior to that, was the CTO at Harman International and leader of the Intelligent Computing Lab at Samsung’s Advanced Institute of Technology (that just recently announced impressive new battery tech using graphene).

All of the new appointments will go into effect starting December 1, with promotions following on January 1, 2018.

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Eufy BodySense Smart Scale: Simply the best

If ease of use and value are your top considerations, the Eufy BodySense Smart Scale is all you need.

Stepping on the bathroom scale is one of the more mundane parts of life. For some, it’s simply part of a daily ritual for maintaining good health while others may see it as a nothing more than a necessary evil as you pray for a lower number than last week.

Often the usefulness of the ‘smart’ version of a product is overstated, but that’s not the case with smart scales. Smart scales use bioelectrical impedance to measure your body fat percentage, bone density, and much more. By sending the slightest electrical current up through your legs, a smart scale is able to tell the difference between the muscle, water, fat, and bone in your body. Knowing your body fat percentage and muscle mass gives you a much better insight into your overall health.

Amongst all the smart scales available options out there, the Eufy BodySense Smart Scale is your best buy. It’s a Bluetooth connected health device that’s fast, easy to use, syncs with your favorite health apps, and is extremely affordable.

Fast and accurate

In my mind, every “smart” product trying to improve on a trusted household item needs to function equally as well it’s ‘dumb’ counterparts — smartphones need to reliably make and receive calls, smartwatches need to tell the time, and smart scales need to weigh you promptly when you step on.

Step onto the Eufy Smart Scale and the LED display comes to life and quickly displays your current weight. All the other smart calculations are made after the fact and only transferred to your phone if it’s open to the EufyLife app with a Bluetooth connection. It looks and operates like a normal bathroom scale for any friend or relative looking to get a quick check-in after Thanksgiving dinner, and if not for the markings for the conductive pads for the biometric measurements, there would be no way for them to tell the Eufy smart scale from their scale at home.

The Eufy BodySense Smart Scale works just as well as a normal bathroom scale even without the EufyLife app connected.

While having a smart scale that’s always trying to record the maximum amount of data sounds like a great idea in theory, in practice it’s much more convenient to be in control of when your measurements are going to be recorded in your profile log. Some days you might not want to track everything when you step on the scale. A Bluetooth connection to the EufyLife app is required to record your body fat percentage, muscle mass, and the other five metrics measured almost instantaneously when you step onto the scale, so if you don’t want to track your weight in one morning just don’t bring your phone into the bathroom with you.

Depending on how you look at things, the Bluetooth connection is either a flaw or feature — I tend to look at it as a feature because I’ll really only want to track my results once a day anyway, but might, for example, use the scale to figure out how much my cat weighs. I wouldn’t want that measurement messing up my graphs.

The EufyLife app is a breeze to use

Speaking of graphs, the EufyLife app is, fortunately, an app that you’ll actually enjoy using. That’s pretty rare in my experience using different smart products — if your product doesn’t integrate nicely into the health apps I’m already using, then I’m probably going to forget or get tired of using it for one specific piece of tech.

The EufyLife app has bucked that trend, offering clean design and ease of use. You can create multiple accounts on the same device, or have each member of your household download the app and set up accounts on their own phones. As you’d expect, you can set your target weight.

With your EufyLife profile set up, it’s time to start tracking your stats. With the app open and Bluetooth on, all you need to do is step onto the Eufy with bare feet and you can watch your health stats populate in the app. The EufyLife app tracks seven health metrics — total body weight, body fat, BMI, water, muscle mass, bone mass, BMR and visceral fat. You can tap each metric to learn more about it and see how far off you are from your ideal stats based on your vitals.

You’re also able to see your weight, body fat, and muscle mass trends presented as graphs. It can be encouraging to see how you’ve progressed over time or to track which workouts or diets offer the best results. The statistics can also be synced to Google Fit, Apple Health Kit, or Fitbit which is always good, although you’ll still need to load up the EufyLife app to take the measurements.

You can’t beat the price

The Eufy BodySense Smart Scale regularly sells for around $50, but it is frequently on sale for well below price as part of for holiday sales. Right now, you can get one in while for just $33 which is significantly cheaper than the Fitbit Aria 2 or Nokia+ Body Scale (formerly Withings). It’s a great gift idea for someone who’s into fitness or just a great thing to buy for your own household — especially if you’re planning some New Years resolutions to shed a few pounds.

Should you buy one?

If you’re in the market for a smart scale, the Eufy BodySense Smart Scale should be at the top of your list. It’s easy to set up and use, works great as a normal bathroom scale for guests, and is inexpensive yet feels like a premium product.

See at Amazon

DxO One camera for Android now available in early access program for $499

The $499 price includes the camera, a waterproof case, and DxO’s own image editing software.

In mid-October, DxO announced that its DxO One camera would finally be coming to Android after having first launched for the iPhone in 2015. We knew that the camera would first be available through some sort of early access program, and we now have more exact details of how it’ll work.

You can head to DxO’s website to order the One camera starting today, and once you enter your email and model of your phone, you’ll be able to purchase it for $499. Along with the camera itself, the early access program also includes a waterproof case for submerging the camera up to 45-meters, as well as DxO PhotoLab image editing software (each normally $59.90 and $199, respectively).

The DxO One connects to your phone via USB-C, and supported devices include the likes of the HTC U11, Huawei Mate 9, LG G6, Galaxy S8, Note 8, and others.

Full image and video capture capabilities will be available on the One out of the box, and DxO says that it’ll be adding support for Facebook live streaming, time-lapses, manual focus, and more over the coming months.

See at DxO