Overnight Recap: Yahoo Hearts iOS Search, Pinnacle Studio, Verizon Offers More

The CarPlay invasion appears to be coming in full force later this year, now that both Alpine and Pioneer have confirmed aftermarket systems and Hyundai just announced Apple's technology will be built into 2015 Sonata models. Apple's CarPlay website was also just updated and now adds Beats Music as another supported app, so there's plenty to get excited about — but for now, you'll have to settle for a recap of what went down over the last 24 hours...

Yahoo Vying to Bump Google from Default iOS Search

This isn't the first time we've heard this, but Re/code reported Wednesday that Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer appears to have a "secret plan" to persuade Apple to ditch Google as the default search engine on iOS — which honestly, may not take much prodding, given the ongoing hostilities between the two companies. One Yahoo insider calls Mayer's goal to "grab the pole position in iOS search," although for now that pitch exists only within the company and has yet to be presented to Apple, who already uses Yahoo for weather and stock data on its mobile platform.

Pinnacle Studio Video Editor Comes to iPhone

No longer limited to the iPad, Pinnacle announced Wednesday the release of Pinnacle Studio for iPhone, a $9.99 video editing app designed for iOS 7. The app allows iPhone owners to edit video, audio and photos in a Storyboard-style user interface while retaining the ability to make precise trim edits in the Timeline. Up to three audio tracks are supported including sync to video in full 1080p HD quality, complete with 3D animation, transitions, motion titles and graphics and much more. Pinnacle Studio for iPad has likewise been updated for iOS 7 and now features 64-bit processing on supported devices for more powerful editing. Both apps are now available on the App Store, and the iPad version is a free update for existing owners.

Verizon Delivers More Value to Off-Contract Customers

Starting today, Verizon Wireless is offering more savings for customers on its MORE Everything plan, and for the first time is allowing month-to-month subscribers to sign up and save by adding a smartphone for $30 per month on data plans 8GB and lower (a $10 savings) or only $15 per handset for 10GB or higher plans (a $25 savings). Better yet, new customers can finally bring their own smartphones and add them for the same MORE Everything rates, although a Verizon-compatible device is obviously required to do so. Last but not least, Verizon Edge early upgrade customers are also eligible for the same pricing, which pretty much matches exactly what AT&T rolled out earlier this year.

Chrome Remote Desktop Brings Mac to Android Screens

The Google Chrome Blog announced Wednesday that Android smartphone and tablet owners will now be able to keep tabs on their Mac or PC back home, thanks to the free Chrome Remote Desktop app. After installing the desktop client from the Chrome Web Store, the Remote Desktop app allows VNC-style remote access and control of any computers connected to your Google account from anywhere there's an internet connection. Google also plans to roll out an iOS version of the app later this year.

MediaFire Releases Updated iOS App with Native iPad Support

Cloud storage upstart MediaFire announced Wednesday that the latest version 1.3 of its free, universal iOS app has arrived in the App Store with a fresh new look and native iPad support. The company recently took its Mac and Windows desktop clients out of beta and offers a generous 10GB of free storage, which can get bumped to as much as 50GB by jumping through the right hoops. Texas-based MediaFire has ratcheted up its marketing efforts in recent months, most recently slashing the price of its 1TB Pro plan to a mere $2.49 per month in response to increased competition from Google Drive and other services.

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