Free Apps

Rockstar Games has released a companion app for Grand Theft Auto V, which launches for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 tomorrow. The app entitled iFruit allows users to create their own unique vehicle, and reserve custom license plates for both Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online. iFruit also works as the ultimate GTA hub offering the latest Grand Theft Auto news, and the ability to log into the Rockstar Games Social Club.

iOS users can earn advantages by taking care of their virtual pet Chop the Dog via the app. Feeding, playing and walking Chop will make him more helpful and responsive to Franklin within the console version of the game. Users can also teach Chop tricks like begging and earn credits to purchase him new collars.

Now that Marvel has finished taking over the big and small screens, they’ve turned their sights on the even smaller screen. As a tie-in to the release of Iron Man 3 on Blu-ray, the company has launched a free iOS app based on Tony Stark’s virtual butler JARVIS for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

Officially titled "Marvel’s Iron Man 3 - JARVIS: A Second Screen Experience,” it features the voice of Paul Bettany, who recorded over 20 hours of new material exclusively for the app. The voice-activated A.I. butler is similar to Siri and uses verbal commands to post on Facebook and Twitter, set alarms, remind you of appointments, and check time and weather. With the purchase of Iron Man 3 on Blu-ray, JARVIS can be used as a remote control to navigate the disc menu, as well as unlock special Iron Man armors in the iOS app’s gallery.

The controversial app Bang With Friends has returned to Apple's App Store under the new name Down. The app, which encouraged Facebook friends to hookup anonymously, was removed by Apple in May due to its questionable content. The new app created by "BANG WITH FRIENDS, INC.", features new "Up to Hang" and "I'm Down" options, instead of the less subtle "Down to Bang" button it featured before.

The creators of the Bang With Friends app were also sued by developer Zynga in July for using the phrase "with friends". Zynga claimed the Bang With Friends creators selected the name of their app with the trademarked games Words With Friends and Chess With Friends fully in mind. The Words With Friends maker asked the court to stop the owners of Bang With Friends from using the term, and that they pay unspecified damages. It doesn't look like the lawsuit worked since Android users can still download the original and uncensored version from the Google Play Store.

Google has rolled out the same new features to the iOS version of its Google+ app that Android users have been enjoying for a few days now. Google+ version 4.5 now allows users to access their photos and videos stored on Google Drive, and Messenger has been replaced with Hangouts. Google Apps for Business features are now supported, and the ability to start a Hangout with someone directly from that person's profile has also been added to the app.

Google+ is Google's Facebook-like service which allows people to connect and share with other Google+ users. Google Drive is Google's cloud-based storage service where users can store documents, photos and images. Both are available as free iOS apps in the Apple App Store.

The new iOS app MixBit is ready to take on Vine and Instagram in the rapidly growing world of social video sharing. MixBit allows users to capture 16 second "bits" (1 second longer than Instagram), and edit them together to create longer videos. Users can use their own bits, or any publicly shared video content from other MixBit contributors to create their own remixes.

MixBit creators Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, who are also the founders of YouTube, say remixing other people's videos is the principal goal of the new service.

“The whole purpose of MixBit is to reuse the content within the system,” explained Hurley. “I really want to focus on great stories that people can tell.”

Hurley and Chen believe younger users will prefer MixBit to Vine and Instagram because of its video editing tools. Vine offers zero editing options, while Instagram only features a few basic choices. One thing MitBix does not offer is the ability to create individual profiles. Instead, users must upload their content anonymously to a communal pool of clips. MitBix also doesn't allow its users to comment on other people's work. However, Hurley did say they're working on adding these options in the future.