The official Gmail blog just posted a pretty lengthy entry explaining the changes to their newly updated Gmail app for iOS. While the update doesn’t seem to be a huge one, it does bring some much wanted additions –

• Nested Label Improvements
• (iOS 5 only) A new custom sound for sound notifications
• Mobile Signature and Vacation Responder, accessible via the gear settings icon at the top of the menu view
• Numerous bug fixes and UI improvements

I personally have my Gmail account set up via the native mail app and that works fine for me. If you’re a hardcore Gmail user that lives by labels and the “Gmail way” of handling mail, this is an update you’ll most likely want to check out. The Gmail app for iOS is available for free in the App Store and the update is available now.

• App Store Link

No one likes when their favorite application is left out of the update party, and the folks behind WeatherPro didn’t want you to feel that way either. An update has hit the AppStore for WeatherPro users that enables iCloud support for those of you who have updated to iOS 5 along with increased radar support. Knowing the weather for the day ahead is always pretty important to many of us, no one likes to walk out of the door in their finest of clothing and step right into the middle of a wild thunderstorm, do they?

• iCloud synchronization for favourites! Available in time for the launch of iOS 5, WeatherPro is excited to be using the very latest in iOS developments to introduce iCloud synchronization for favourites on WeatherPro for iPhone and WeatherPro for iPad.
• Increased radar support – One of the best-loved features of WeatherPro is the animated radar which is available for the US and much of Europe. New in WeatherPro for iPhone 2.5 is weather radar for Luxemburg.
• Bug fixes – We continually strive to improve WeatherPro and wouldn’t dream of releasing an update without first fixing any known bugs.

[App Store Link]

If you’re a developer wondering how to link users directly to the App Store update page for your app, you’re in luck, Gabe has posted the URL format up on Stack Overflow.

Turns out the phobos links do still work and you can link directly to the update page using this URL format:

itms-apps://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftwareUpdate?id=[APPID]&mt=8

Of course replacing the [APPID] with your own app id, not including the brackets. This will link directly to the latest update for the app, instead of the main app page.

It should work on-device for an app with a waiting update. If you give it a try, let us know how it goes and if you have any other developer tips for us, send them in!

[Stack Overflow via @tapbot_paul]

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to news@tipb.com. (If it’s especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we’ll even give ya a reward…)

Even with the introduction of Angry Birds Rio, the original Angry Birds continues to receive updates. Today’s update brings 15 new levels and allows unlimited use of the Mighty Eagle after a single purchase.

• Mine and Dine: a new cave themed episode begins with 15 new levels!
• Find all the collectible jewels!
• Use hanging stalactites to pop those pesky burrowing piggies!
• Any particular levels stonewalling your progress? We tweaked a couple of them to spare you a few gray hairs!
• Mighty Eagle still in business: Buy once, unlimited use!

If you pick this one up, let us know what you think!

[$0.99 for iPhone - iTunes link] [$4.99 for iPad - iTunes link]

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

Tweetbot — A Twitter Client with Personality, has received a big update today. It includes support for Twitter Photos, Pinboard, Bit.ly Pro, Instapaper, and much more!

• New User/Hashtag picker in compose view
• View support for Twitter Photos
• Added quote format setting
• Pinboard support in the read later options
• Bit.ly Pro support
• Custom API Endpoint for URL shortening and image uploads
• Google/Instapaper Mobilizer support in account settings
• Option to select absolute or relative timestamps
• Ability to undo a retweet
• Ability to retweet from another account (hold down on the retweet button)
• Tapping on a success/failure message dismisses it instantly
• Added @username/listname for followed lists. (solves the problem of following lists with the same name)
• Pikchur image upload support
• Various bug fixes

If you pick this one up, let us know what you think!

[$1.99 - iTunes link]

Angry Birds Rio has been updated with 15 new levels and a new bird type.

• A whole new episode! It’s time to Samba!
• 15 all new levels
• New bird type

We know how much you love your Angry Birds, so if you get a chance to take a break from getting 3 stars on the new levels and mastering the technique of the new bird, come back and let us know what you think!

[$0.99 for iPhone - iTunes link] [$2.99 for iPad - iTunes link]

Square, the mobile payment system that was started by one of the co-founders of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, just received a rather significant update that allows business owners to showcase their products through a feature called “virtual shelves”. While the update makes its way to both iPhone and iPad, you’ll notice more differences in the iPad version. The iPhone version has a re-designed UI but virtual shelves is currently only available to iPad Square users. You can now add product variations and sort items into shelves. Hit the jump for a complete list of changes and more screens!

• iPad: Arrange your items into shelves, for easier browsing and faster checkout.
• iPad: Small, medium, large; chocolate, vanilla, strawberry – create variations of your items
• iPhone: Refined look and feel.
• Minor bug fixes.

Square has built a lot of momentum recently and a ton of small businesses have adopted it because of its flexibility, ease of use, and straight forward fee policy. I use it for my own business and actually just chose it as my pick of the week. Screenshots after the break. Do you use it? What do you think of the update?

[Free - iTunes Link]

Do you update your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad apps? It might sound like a strange questions given Apple’s easy “Update All” button, but not everybody does. At least, I don’t. I never update an app unless it’s added a new feature or game level I want, or fixes a bug that I care about. I’m not a slacker — okay, I’m not just a slacker — I’ve had apps that worked perfectly in the past be totally ruined by a bad update, be it a horrible new feature or a really buggy release. (Insert your Twitter and Facebook jokes here.) So now I leave well enough alone and don’t update until I have to.

Am I the in the minority here? Do all of you update religiously or are some of you more hesitant (or lazy!) like me? At the moment I have 51 app updates pending for my iPhone 4, how many do you have?

The photo editing iPhone app Camera+ released a big update today that brings Clarity, a new feature that automagically brings drastic improvement to your photos.

We created Clarity to help turn all the shots you take into perfect photos. Clarity analyzes your photos and makes several intelligent adjustments that magically bring out details and breathe life into dull photos. There’s no need to futz with complicated and confusing controls… behind the scenes, we do all that and more for you through innovative “smart-processing”.

Other features include:

• Added a ‘+’ button to the touch focus control to enable you to easily split it into focus and exposure controls
• Multiple photos are now saved to your Camera Roll according to the order they were selected
• Made it clearer when your camera is autofocusing
• Improved Pinhole effect
• Improved Vintage border
• Bug fixes

If you pick this one up, let us know what you think!

[$0.99 - iTunes link]

Cut the Rope has been updated with a new Valentine’s Box that includes 25 levels. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, the candy is split in half and you must join the two pieces before feeding it to Om Nom.

• A new Valentine’s Box with 25 gorgeous holiday-inspired levels.
• Addictive new “split-candy” gameplay that’s both romantic and fun!
• Wonderful new artwork featuring a Cupid-inspired Om Nom, Valentine’s levels, and more, with full Retina support.
• An awesome new Valentine’s icon. (Perfect for gifting the game to a loved one!)
• Lots of optimization and tiny bug fixes.

If you pick this one up, let us know what you think!

[$0.99 - iTunes link]

Angry Birds Seasons has been updated to go along with Valentine’s Day holiday. The update includes 15 new levels all dressed up in a nice Valentine’s Day theme with additional achievements and a new icon.

Get ready for the most heartfelt episode in Angry Birds Seasons so far: the Valentine’s Day edition! After the shenanigans of Halloween and Christmas, Angry Birds Seasons continue in the spirit of Love! As usual, Angry Birds gives the most generous updates of any app!

Grab the update now and let us know what you think in the comments!

[Angry Birds Seasons for iPhone] [Angry Birds Seasons HD]

TomTom has released its latest version of the TomTom App for iPhone. Users can now use their photo gallery as an address book by enabling them to select and navigate to any geo-tagged photo. Also, iPhone 4 users will experience enhanced graphics with support for retina display and faster, more-responsive navigation.

• OPTIMIZED FOR IPHONE 4 (iPhone 4 only): Turn-by-turn navigation with TomTom just got even better, with high resolution graphics and sharper maps. Menus are more responsive and positioning is more accurate, even with limited GPS reception. The TomTom app takes full advantage of your iPhone 4.

• NAVIGATE-TO-PHOTO: Got a photo of the place you want to go? Simply tap on the image and TomTom will take you there. You no longer need to enter an address to get going. What you see is where you’ll go!

• NEW, UPDATED MAPS: Drive with the latest maps. TomTom maps include 1 million more miles of US roads than competitors.

Navigation to a geo-tagged photo is an interesting new feature but I’m having trouble imagining its usefulness. I think it’d be faster to type in the name of the place you want to go than to sift through your photo albums to find a picture of your wanted destination. It seems to be more of a novelty feature that you show off to your friends. Maybe it’s just me, so I’m asking you. TomTom users, have you tried this new feature? What do you think of it? Do you picture yourself using it often?

[$49.99 (TomTom USA) - iTunes link]

As you all know by now, we’re still watching for iOS4 updates that crop up in the app store, and as always, if you guys see interesting ones, feel free to let us know.  Here’s the ones we found in the last week or so, and if you haven’t checked for updates, go check that update tab and let us know if you caught something we didn’t!

Osfoora

Osfoora has taken the place as my favorite Twitter client (for now anyways). They received an iOS4 update we covered a few weeks back, but this one is even better. It adds full retina display support for the iPhone 4 and boy is it pretty. The whole app got somewhat of a facelift as well. The text really pops and the main menus have been revamped. So if you haven’t updated, go for it, or if you are looking for a Twitter client, Osfoora is definitely one of the best around.

[iTunes Link]

Agendus

Agendus is basically an all-in-one app for all the important information on your phone. It basically intertwines your contacts, calendars, and apps into one native app. If you’ve always wanted something that would do this, Agendus is more than decent. The new version adds iOS4 support as well as a new high res icon.

[iTunes Link]

Reeder

Reeder is one of my favorite RSS clients. If you don’t have one and want a full featured one with Google Reader integration, there’s a good chance Reeder will do what you need it to, and then some. This update adds support for the iPhone 4 retina display. The icon just looks so fancy on my homescreen now, as well as all my articles being incredibly sharp. Good job on this one guys, it’s an awesome update.

[iTunes Link]

AT&T MyWireless

AT&T just pushed through an update to their MyWireless app that adds retina support for the iPhone 4. This app basically allows you to view usage, manage features, and even pay your bill via the app. I’ve been using it to pay my bill for quite a while now. Pretty convenient. If you’re an AT&T customer, go ahead and pick it up, it’s free.

[iTunes Link]

Pano

Pano is an awesome app to stitch together pics on the go. It’ll save them directly in your camera roll. The interface is dead easy to use and once you snap a pic it’ll give you guides to line up your next shot with the previous one. This update fixed several bugs and crashes. Mine was continuously crashing under iOS4 but it doesn’t anymore. If you guys noticed anything different than iOS4 compatibility in this one, let us know!

[iTunes Link]

We’re still lurking the App Store for signs of apps that have added iOS 4 support and we’ve found some more good ones. Some apps are only adding compatibility while some really take advantage of the new APIs Apple is offering to developers. Adding compatibility isn’t the same as adding new APIs and features to increase not only user experience, but productivity and ease of use.

Read on to see what ones intrigued us this time.

Apple Store Mobile

I just received this update today and it adds retina display support for images within the Apple Store for iPhone 4 users as well as fast app switching. If you haven’t downloaded this one yet, it’s definitely much more convenient than trying to browse the Apple website within Safari, and it’s free.

[iTunes Link]

Twittelator Pro

Twittelator Pro has always been a serious contender in the race for best Twitter client. A lot of people are hardcore users and follow the platform faithfully. They’ve updated their app with support for fast app switching along with the promise of faster speeds within the app. That’s all they’ve announced, but to me, the icon and app looks a heck of a lot sharper on the iPhone 4. Anyone else notice this?

[iTunes Link]

Reeder

Reeder has been my all-time favorite RSS app on my iPhone for quite a while now. I was happy to see they have now issued an update for iOS4 that supports fast app switching. Reeder would always cache the page even under OS 3.0 but the app just loads so much quicker now, and if you’re actually viewing the real page within the Reeder browser, it won’t kick you out of the article if you close it out, thanks to multitasking.

[iTunes Link]

Echofon

Echofon, like Twittelator Pro is also one of the more popular Twitter clients you’ll find in the App Store.  Recent updates in the past few months have made this client all the better.  They offer a free version and a paid version (sans the ads).  Echofon also offers push notifications and many of the advanced features clients like Twitter for iPhone and Twitteriffic offer.  This update added fast app switching and retina display support for iPhone 4 users.  If you haven’t updated, go check it out!

[iTunes Link]

GoodReader

GoodReader is not only a PDF viewer but a program that will allow USB file transfer between devices.  It also provides wifi syncing as well which is awesome for transferring large PDF and text files to your iPhone from your computers.  I find this especially useful for work documents such as Excel files and large resolution images.  GoodReader also carriers a free version, but you’re limited to transferring 5 files at a time.  The iOS4 update allows for fast app switching.  It does appear they have a bug in iOS4 that affects USB file transfer, and I’m not sure whether they’ve fixed that and just not updated the description, or if it’s still present.  I haven’t had any issues, how about you guys?

[iTunes Link]

We’ve been covering some of the new and notable iOS 4 updates as we find them going live in the App Store, but Apple’s new Awesome iOS 4 Apps section in the iTunes App Store has just made that task a little easier.

Check them out to see Apple’s favorites, and hit the jump to see some more of ours…

[iTunes via TechCrunch]

Bejeweled 2

I think Bejeweled 2 was one of the first games I downloaded (ok that’s probably an exaggeration), but it’s one of the ones that sticks in my head as an all time favorite. It’s extremely addicting and links up with Bejeweled Blitz so if you have Facebook, you can show off your scores on Facebook as well. Bejeweled 2 has added fast app switching support as of now.

[iTunes Link]

Instapaper

An incredibly useful app just got even more useful. Instapaper has added multitasking support as of now and say they’ll have more updates to come. For those of you not familiar with Instapaper, it allows you to save web pages for offline reading at your convenience. So if you’re bored in class or at work and you happen to be somewhere with sucky service, Instapaper is awesome.

[iTunes Link]

iTeleport

iTeleport is an amazing app that allows you to access your desktop computer from anywhere. It is compatible with Mac and PC. Have a file you forgot to send before you left home? Use iTeleport to log in to your home computer and send it to yourself. Easy as that!

[iTunes Link]

Articles

Articles is definitely one of the better Wikipedia sources out there. If you’re looking for a good reference app that’s got an awesome layout and pleasing to the eye, you won’t get any better. Especially since it’s now completely compatible with iOS4 and adds not only multitasking support but optimization for the retina display for iPhone 4.

[iTunes Link]

Twitterrific

The grand daddy of iPhone Twitter apps has once again gone back to the drawing board for version 3.0, this time drawing inspiration from the simplicity and focus forced by their iPad re-design. That’s right — it’s a universal binary so you only need to buy it once. It’s free but you can co ad-free and multi-account with an in-app purchase (which applies to both iPad and iPhone version).

[iTunes link]

Like always, if you see any that are your favorites, send us a tip or a comment!

We’ve been keeping our eye out as more iOS4 app updates keep hitting the App Store filled with multitasking, state saving, Retina Display-ing goodness. So pull out your iPhone or get on iTunes and check for updates. Here are some more we’ve seen roll out since our last post.

Hit the jump to see what new ones we’ve found!

Twitter for iPhone

This is a big one for most people as it’s by far one of the most popular Twitter clients for iPhone.  Now that it’s become the official client and is available for free, it’s become that much more popular.  Twitter for iPhone hasn’t disappointed and rolled out an update that not only supports fast app switching, but resolution support for the new retina display, as well as some bug fixes.

Real Racing by Firemint

Games are what most users are really looking forward to with the new display.  Looks like some developers are really starting to take advantage of the new display. Real Racing seems to have redesigned their graphics to take advantage of the iPhone 4’s display.  If you’re in the market for a great racing game, this just may be for you.

Here’s what’s included in the update –

• New graphics for showing off the retina display with high resolution textures, more detailed car interiors, improved track graphics, beautifully updated menus and exceptionally smooth graphical performance on iPhone 4
• More responsive and accurate controls on iPhone 4, with three-axis gyro support in addition to the accelerometer
• Smoother graphics on iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch 3 with iOS4 anti-aliasing
• Support for iOS4 multitasking on compatible devices
• Bux Fixes

Flight Control by Firemint

Looks like Firemint is really on a roll and updating most of their game selection for iOS4.  Most of the updates seem to be in line with those for Real Racing.  Enhanced graphics, fast app switching, anti-aliasing, and gyro support.  If you’ve never played Flight Control, it’s an incredibly addicting game.  If you already have it, go grab the update!

Plants vs Zombies

This is one of my favorite games of all time.  If you haven’t picked it up, I highly suggest it.  Those of you who currently have it, it’s been updated to support fast app switching in iOS4.  Apart from that, I don’t believe the update includes support for the retina display.  I’m hoping we’ll see that in a future update.

Trapster

There aren’t very many free navigation apps in the App Store.  If you aren’t in the market to spend a lot and want a decent one, Trapster may be for you. It also comes with speed trap alerts.  And it comes with support for background navigation.  What more could you ask for?

TomTom

I’ve read in several places that users were having issues with TomTom after upgrading to iOS4.  TomTom has issued an update to not only fix compatibility issues but adding some great features to support iOS4. So if you upgraded to iOS4, make sure you update so you can continue using TomTom.  GPS apps are probably going to improve ten-fold with the release of iOS4.  Here’s a list of new and improved TomTom features –

• Seamless navigation while calling (3GS and iPhone 4 only)
• Newly updated maps
• Background navigation instructions
• Route Sharing (share route details with contacts via e-mail)
• Departure Reminders (add them to your calendar)
• Eco Routes (more fuel efficient routes)
• Car Symbols (personalize car symbols on your driving screen)

Slacker Personal Radio

[iTunes link]

Slacker is right now releasing version 2.1 which supports multitasking for listening to Slacker Radio in the background and offers convenient controls for accessing the app while performing other device functions. Slacker Radio 2.1 for iOS 4 offers:

• Support for multitasking
• Convenient background play controls
• Music library featuring millions of songs
• No monthly listening limits
• Over 120 professionally programmed genre stations
• Create custom stations based on artists or songs
• Fine tune stations on-the-fly to play more of the music you like
• View artist biographies and photos
• View album art and reviews
• Pause and skip songs
• Rate songs as favorites
• Ban the songs and artists you don’t like

If you’re a Slacker Radio Plus subscriber:

• Cache stations to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch**
• Enjoy Slacker radio stations even without a wireless network
• Unlimited song skipping
• Ad-free listening
• Complete song lyrics†
• Unlimited song requests for creating stations
• “Peek Ahead” artist and album preview

That’s what we’ve found so far, but if you find any you think deserve a post-up let us know in the comments or send us a tip!

We let you know a couple days ago there were a few apps that had already been updated via the App Store to support iOS4. Since then we’ve seen a few more roll out.  Some developers have really taken advantage of the new APIs in iOS4.  Others seem to just be adding compatibility at this point.  Let’s hope a lot of them are working on substantial updates.  Hit the jump for some more iOS4 compatible apps!

Evernote

Evernote (version 3.3.5) is one of the first I’ve seen to implement quite a few 4.0 APIs.  Not only does it come complete with fast app switching integration, but your notes will also be able to sync in the background.  This will be extremely useful for users who like to upload pictures.  I’m always doing this when I’m comparing prices.  I’ll take pictures of SKUs from different stores and tag them accordingly which allows me to flip through later and compare which ones are cheaper and which ones have rebates attached, etc.  Much easier than writing a note with all that information.  The down side to that has always been pictures take a bit to sync with the Evernote servers at times and keeping the app open the entire time was somewhat of a pain. Thanks Evernote! (Read more about Evernote and iOS4 here.) [iTunes link]

LinkedIn

For now, it looks like LinkedIn has added support for fast app switching, but I don’t see much more than that at this point.  I’d love to see the LinkedIn app get a lot more intuitive than it is.  Hopefully they’ll be adding more support in future updates.  If you caught anything I didn’t on this one, let us know in the comments! [iTunes link]

Windows Messenger

Not only is this one new to the App Store, it came out of the gate with iOS4 integration built-in.  It also supports alerts for Hotmail as well, so you’ll get notifications in-app when you receive new e-mails via your Hotmail account.  And again, if you see anything worth noting, let us know! [iTunes link]

Pandora

I know a lot of you have been waiting for this one. This update just hit the app store a few short hours ago. Pandora background streaming was demonstrated at WWDC 2010 and lots of users were excited to be able to allow Pandora to finally run in the background. This feature has been available for other mobile platforms for quite a while. [iTunes link]

Loopt

Loopt is another company that’s taken advantage of additional APIs available behind iOS4. Fast app switching, PNS alerts, and grid based navigation are a few of the features the new version of Loopt offers. [iTunes link]

WordPress

One of the most popular blogging engines on the planet comes out on release iOS release day claiming Retina Display support? Even if they’re just scaling text and UI elements, good on them. [iTunes link]

Know of any other iOS 4 compatible, feature-empowered apps that we may have missed? Drop them in comments and we’ll include them in the next round up.

Tapped on App Store and what did I see? Updates for Tweetie, Loopt, Foursquare, and Flickr — and a couple of those say iPhone OS 3.2 (aka iPad) right there in the What’s New listing. (Yeah, that doesn’t mean 3.2 is coming to the iPhone or these are 1024×768 versions, likely just that they’re built using that SDK for maximum blackboxing on the iPad).

Tweetie [$2.99 - iTunes link] has just hit version 2.1.1 and brings iPhone OS 3.2 compatibility(!), Foursquare (4sq.com) integration, Vodpod video uploads, Post ‘message’ parameter to TwitPic, and Instapaper Mobilizer. See our previous Tweetie coverage for more on the app.

Loopt [Free - iTunes link] expands the product’s Pulse feature to include tens of thousands of local events, and allows check-in to events, public Tips, and the ability to RSVP to events posted on Facebook. It’s also got you covered for SXSW, and adds content from SonicLiving, Zvents and Metromix.

Foursquare [Free - iTunes link] brings a whole new look and feel (see below), faster, better checkin, and categories for Places view. Also, it has history for Places, and uses Tweetie-style pull-to-refresh.

Flickr [Free - iTunes link] iPhone OS 3.2 support (!)

Sure some Skype-come-lately may be making a big splash right now, but Fring has been serving up a lot of goodness to a lot of users for a while already (including those in Canada!) and they’re by no means done yet. They’ve just let TiPb know about their latest update, which not only includes a ton of great new features, but lays the foundation for notifications, which will be getting a huge “push” come iPhone 3.0:

You can now choose whether to show or hide your Offline contacts and regular GSM buddies. And for convenience, we’ve moved fring settings to the general iPhone settings, so there’s no need to open fring each time you want to make a small change.

You’ll also notice a small flag symbol in the top left hand corner of the dialer screen, Tap this and you’ll get a list of countries. Select the one you’re calling and the International dial code will automatically be entered making overseas Skype Out and SIP calls even easier.

We’re also just finishing off a notification add-on for this version. This add-on will notify you when your friends are trying to connect with you whilst your fring is closed. This of course includes all the different services (Skype, MSN, Google talk etc)

To make this as useful as possible, we are conducting a gradual roll-out, starting with the UK and US. This service will eventually be in line with Apple’s 3.0 firmware and new notification feature.

Fring is available for FREE from the iTunes App Store. If you’ve already updated, give it a try and let us know how it works for you!