Yap.TV Brings Real-Time Chat to iOS TV Guide

by Christina Warren

Yap.tv, a social TV guide app for iOS was updated to version 3.0 on Wednesday, adding enhanced navigation, instant live chat and access to better social discovery tools.

What sets yap.TV apart from other mobile TV guide apps? It is designed to connect users with their friends and social circles. Not only can users share what they’re watching with friends and family, they can also chat with friends or with fellow show-fans within the app itself.

The new yap.TV 3.0 app has been redesigned for a better visual experience. The iPad version now can be browsed using a 100% picture-based guide or the traditional channel grid.

The app is now easier to navigate by category, time of day or day of week. The iPad version also includes a special movie-browsing mode. Yap.TV has also updated its programming infrastructure to support providers across the nation.

What I like about yap.TV as a TV guide is that you can easily arrange channel lineups and customize what types of channels you want to see.

Of course, the real distinguishing feature of yap.TV are its social features. Similar to BeeTV, the app lets users see what people are saying about a show on Twitter. Users can also follow stars and celebrities associated with a show within the app and send out tweets and retweets. In addition, viewers can browse through yap.TV polls, as well as create new polls for other yap.TV users to vote on.

For us, though, live chat has the most potential within the app. Each show has its own live chat room. You can chat with the yap.TV users watching that show (assuming others are online and in the app) or you can invite your friends to join a private party chat.

Of course, for live chat to work, the userbase needs to be of a sufficient size. Still, it’s a smart idea. We think a real-time live-chat element within the TV guide itself adds value to the application.

What is your favorite TV guide and listing app for the iPhone or iPad? Let us know in the comme

Facebook Messenger Soars to Top Free iPhone App

 by Emily Banks

So far it seems Facebook’s Messenger app is a hit. After launching just Tuesday afternoon, it’s already the number-one free app in the iTunes App Store.

The iOS app has more than 600 customer reviews and with 900 ratings has 3.5 of five stars.

The app has the potential to chip away at the hold of cell carriers. It allows users to send messages and texts through the 750-million-member social network, and it updates in real time, so there’s no need to refresh to see if you’ve received new messages.

“This is replacing text messages in my dock!” one iOS reviewer wrote.

The negative reviews in both the App Store and the Android Market are mostly critical of Facebook now having two apps (though the company told Mashable it does plan to integrate the new message functionality into the main app) and of the fact that Messenger isn’t an instant message app.

Have you tried either the Android or iOS app yet? Could you see it replacing text messages?