Steve Sande

<p><span>Most, if not all</span><span> of us in the Apple blogging world have a huge amount of admiration for Federico Viticci, the young Italian man behind </span><a target="_blank" href="http://macstories.net" rel="noopener noreferrer">MacStories.net</a><span>. Viticci was diagnosed in the latter part of 2011 with Stage IV Hodgkin Lymphoma and underwent both chemotherapy and radiation treatment to beat the disease. Today, in one of his trademark long posts, Viticci talks about the physical toll that those treatments took on his body and how he's using a variety of iPhone apps to establish a healthy lifestyle.</span></p>

<p><span>Apple's track record on accessibility is already pretty good -- see Alex Jurgensen's weekly "</span><a href="/blog?category=Accessible%20Apple">Accessible Apple</a><span>" column for proof of that -- but developers often overlook the needs of people with disabilities when creating mobile apps. Now IBM researchers have developed a tool for iOS and Android apps that can help those who are vision or hearing impaired. </span></p>

<p>Here are some of the best free apps, app updates and new apps that have landed in the App Store recently. Today's notable apps include PaceDJ, Toca Lab and a handy Vimeo update. All app prices are USD and subject to change. Some deals may expire quickly, so grab them while you can.</p>

<p>Pebble today introduced the Pebble Time Steel, a steel version of its recently announced <a href="https://appleworld.today/blog/2015/2/24/pebble-unveils-new"><span>Pebble Time</span></a> smartwatch. The new Steel edition has a CNC-finished 316L stainless steel case with Gunmetal Black, Silver Stainless and Gold finishes. It will ship with band options of leather or stainless steel. The device also includes a larger battery that provides an advertised ten days of battery life. The Pebble Steel Time is available to pre-order via <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebble-time-awesome-smartwatch-no-compromises?"><span>Pebble’s Kickstarter page</span></a> for $249, a $50 discount off the suggest retail price of $299. Customers who ordered the Pebble Time can upgrade to the Steel edition and still keep their place in line, though the Steel version won’t ship until July.</p>

<p><span>Late last year, accessory manufacturer ZAGG hit the market with a folding keyboard targeted at "phablets" like the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus as well as the larger Samsung smartphones. The US$69.99 </span><a target="_blank" href="http://www.zagg.com/us/en_us/keyboards/pocket" rel="noopener noreferrer">ZAGG Pocket Keyboard</a><span> received a lot of attention at CES 2015, and for good reason. </span></p>

<p>It's time to save some of your hard-earned money with our <a href="https://appleworld.today/?tag=deals"><span>Daily Deals</span></a>, featuring exclusive deals for AWT readers, hardware discounts and our own handpicked iOS and OS X sales. All prices are USD and subject to change. Please check prices before you purchase as some deals may expire quickly.</p>

<p><span>Are you going to be in or near London, England next Monday? If the answer to that question is a big fat YES, then you </span><em>must</em><span> attend the London Mac User Group party to watch the Apple "Spring Forward" event.</span></p>

<p><span>Hopeful would-be owners of the Apple Watch living outside of the U</span><span>S</span><span> won't have to wait too long to get their hands on the latest Apple device. 9to5Mac spoke to some retail employees at the flagship Apple Store in Berlin last week and apparently </span><a target="_blank" href="http://9to5mac.com/2015/03/02/tim-cook-says-apple-watch-will-be-available-outside-u-s-in-april/" rel="noopener noreferrer">confirmed that the Watch will launch in Germany in April</a><span>. That seems to point to a wide international release during the first month of shipments.</span></p>

<p>Apple is bringing its Watch marketing blitz to China with a cover appearance and multi-page spread in <a href="http://easttouch.my-magazine.me/main/news/view/1677"><span>East Touch</span></a>, a lifestyle and street fashion magazine in Hong Kong.</p>

<p>Here are some of the best free apps, app updates and new apps that have landed in the App Store recently. Today's notable apps include PerfectReader Pro, Duet Display and the highly anticipated VLC for iOS update. All app prices are USD and subject to change. Some deals may expire quickly, so grab them while you can.</p>

<p>David Sparks, aka <a href="https://twitter.com/macsparky"><span>MacSparky</span></a>, today released a new video field guide introducing users to the wonderful world of the <a href="https://workflow.is/"><span>Workflow app</span></a>. Workflow allows you to automate things on your iPhone or iPad by connecting apps and actions. It’s a powerful app that can be overwhelming for new users, wich is where Macsparky’s <a href="http://macsparky.com/workflowapp"><span>Workflow Field Guide</span></a> steps in.</p>

<p>Apple today launched <a href="http://www.apple.com/iphone/world-gallery/"><span>a new advertising campaign</span></a>, “Shot on iPhone 6,” to promote the camera on the company’s latest iPhone handsets (Via <a href="http://www.imore.com/apples-new-world-gallery-feature-77-photographers-across-70-cities-and-24-countries"><span>iMore</span></a>). As part of this campaign, Apple also debuted the new “World Gallery” compilation, which will showcase iPhone photographs taken by 77 amateur and professional photographers from 74 cities and 24 countries around the world.</p>

<p><span style="font-size:17px">Back in November of 2010, Apple released a minor software update to the then two-month old Apple TV 2, enabling VoiceOver and enhancing the overall accessibility of the device. As I noted in my initial review of the device,</span><span style="font-size:17px"> adding VoiceOver was a big advancement for accessibility in the home theatre landscape. Since then, projects like Plex Connect and VLC for iOS </span><span style="font-size:17px">have taken advantage of Apple's universal access features to deliver all sorts of content to HDTVs with a surprising amount of accessibility. Apple has slowly but surely added new "official" channels to the Apple TV over the years as well, bringing even more content to the streaming box.</span></p>

<p><span>The AWT team members are big fans of </span><a target="_blank" href="http://softorino.com/waltr" rel="noopener noreferrer">WALTR</a><span> by Softorino (US$29.95), a Mac app that does one thing very well -- it converts just about any media file to an iOS-compatible format and then copies it to your device. There's no need to convert the files beforehand with another app or use a special player app on your iOS device -- it's all done with WALTR.</span></p>

<p><span>It's a new month, and that means a terrific new deal for Apple World Today readers. We know a lot of you run your own websites and most of those are hosted using WordPress. If you're running WordPress, then you should use the </span><a target="_blank" href="https://gravityview.co/?utm_source=appleworldtoday&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=spaceship" rel="noopener noreferrer">GravityView plugin</a><span> from </span><a target="_blank" href="http://katz.co" rel="noopener noreferrer">Katz Web Services</a><span>. This plugin makes it easy to display form data on your website.</span></p>