Author: Blancer

Travel Blogging is great in theory, but often hard to actually accomplish. After a long day of sightseeing abroad you dutifully sign on to your hotel’s patchy Wi-Fi and try to upload images and correlating text for your travel blog — or you are like me, and after sightseeing you “dutifully” patron the hotel’s bar instead. Suffice it say, your travel blog (and mine) is not what you had hoped for.

But it can be. TripColor, a new social travel blogging app has made it mind-blowingly simple to create and maintain a legitimate travel blog.

Learn about the app that will make you a travel blogging pro after the jump.

Your Trip

TripColor is pretty straightforward; you set up an account and start adding photos. Okay, it’s a little more complicated than that, but not by much.

TripColor is extremely easy to use

First photo

After creating an account, you can start blogging. To set up a new trip, simply tap My Trips in the center of the toolbar. A new page will open and you can name your trip, write a brief (250 characters max.) description, set your privacy level (public or not), and choose a category that best represents your trip. You have to choose at least one category in order to create your trip. The given categories are: Adventure, Outdoor, City, Family, Exotic, Relax, Culture, and Romance — too bad there isn’t a debauchery category, since quite a number of my vacations tend to head in that direction.

You must select a category for your trip

After you have set up the basics for your trip, you can add photos by tapping the add symbol in the top corner. Easy, right? You have two options; Take a Pic or From Album.

You can create content while offline, which will post as soon as you are connected again.

It’s nice to have the option to add a photo at a later time, because let’s face it, when you’re in the moment, it’s sometimes hard to talk about the moment.

Your trip details change to reflect added content

If you are connected to the Internet (and have allowed TripColor to use your location) when you are uploading your photo, then your location will be recorded via GPS on the map. If you are not connected to the Internet, then you can zoom in on the map and drop a pin marking your exact, or general location. When you are offline, you can still add photos, descriptions and manually map your location; the information will remain pending until you are online again.

Available categories for feed specifications and an uncategorized Feed

You can add the name of the location to the photo title, date (the app will load the current date/time) and your “blog” or whatever it is you want to write about the photo. When you are finished, your trip will update accordingly.

A Featured Feed

In addition to creating a running feed of your own trips, you can browse other user’s travel blogs. By tapping the Browse icon, you will be directed to a page featuring two different types of feeds, the Featured Trips and your Feed. Both feeds are sorted by the categor(ies), or lack thereof, that you determine through the Filter option. The Featured Trips are the envy inducing trips, which tend to feature photos that look like they are straight out of Travel and Leisure. The Feeds option features trips that match your filtered categories; some trips look truly amazing, and some … don’t.

Sharing is Caring

Tripcolor creates a travel blog webpage with your uploaded app content

Every time you post a photo, you have the option to share via Facebook. Unfortunately, you can only share via Facebook, except when you tap the Profile tab. Your Profile is your iPhone User Page, aka your more traditional web travel blog. This page shows you a preview of your Trips Webpage and gives you the option to launch an application to visit that webpage, or email the link to someone.

Final Thoughts

I love the simplicity of the design used throughout TripColor. It is exceedingly easy to use and I love the idea of creating a webpage as well as a social feed. What is truly my favorite feature is the amazing ability to load photos and add descriptions while offline — they will remain pending until you are able to connect to the Internet again.

There are a few things that I believe can be improved upon. For example, I would like the option to follow certain people and regions on my feed. I think it would be a worthwhile component, rather than choosing a category that doesn’t always produce the most enviable content. I would also think a search function would be relevant. This goes along the same lines as wanting to follow certain people or regions in order to avoid trips that I don’t find interesting.

Regardless, this is my favorite social travel app that I have come across and I am looking forward to documenting my upcoming adventures with it.

Now that the new iPhone 4S is out on the street, it’s no surprise that many acclaimed iOS developers are releasing updates and new titles to make sure we’ve got great games to show off with.

We’ve gathered a few of these titles for you, so hop in and have a look!

Scribblenauts Remix

Creative gamers everywhere should rejoice at the presence of Scribblenauts on their iOS devices. This innovative title broke out of the mold of using set in-game objects to accomplish goals by encouraging you to draw your own solutions to the game’s puzzles — and use your drawings as they came to life to succeed. This is the same principle, but the iOS version has you typing in your solutions instead using the built-in keyboard.

The mechanic was incredibly fresh and the game’s critical acclaim made it just a matter of time before it showed up here. The touch screen offers an even more direct way to interact with the game, and the iOS-only levels bring something new to veterans of the series as well. The Playground mode exists to let you experiment outside of the main puzzles, and as more levels get added, it will be interesting to see how the existing Game Center integration evolves.

In the meantime, the game feels a bit on the short side, if only because you’ll be so inexorably glued to your phone until you finish the 40 or so levels. If you haven’t spent time with the protagonist, Maxwell, yet then this may well be the ideal introduction to the series.

Price: $4.99
Developer: Warner Bros.
Download: App Store

Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots

So … there’s a new Fruit Ninja game! I’ll just wait while you go buy it.

Alright then, now that we’re on the same page, let’s see what Halfbrick’s geniuses have brought to the table with this latest franchise-friendly installment.

The gameplay is familiar and just as addictive as always, but this time around there are several special minigames built into one of the game’s modes: Bandito Mode. Essentially a series of challenges leading up through four stages, this mode is a terrific extension of the main fruit slicing mechanic that introduces a number of tricky new scenarios for slicing fruit — usually within a tight time limit to keep the pace up.

You’ll also find the usual extras to unlock, achievements to strive for, and  an amusing sense of humour (especially with Puss’ commentary on your playing), but what’s missing is an equivalent to the mighty Arcade Mode. I guess they need something for future updates though, so expect it soon. In the meantime, have fun slashing fruit, and don’t forget to deal some extra damage to the tomato.

Price: $0.99
Developer: Halfbrick Studios
Download: App Store

Siegecraft

Siegecraft is a deep and beautiful tower defense game with multiplayer support, 3D graphics, three races, a ridiculous assortment of catapult ammunition, and an immersive system of earning rewards to spend on upgrades.

Though it really shines on the latest hardware, Siegecraft is a gorgeous game all around and should become a new favourite for strategy gaming fans on the go. The upgrades that allow you to develop your weaponry are, of course, priced just high enough that you’ll want to make an in-app purchase to get them faster, but the good news is that it’s not mandatory to enjoying the game, and there’s so much personality in the gameplay and visuals that patient gamers won’t mind spending time earning their progress.

Some of the controls could be tightened up, especially the aiming, which becomes difficult as you reach more challenging encounters. That aside, Siegecraft is a strong and well developed strategy game with lots of continuing expansion potential and a good level of challenge.

Price: $0.99
Developer: Crescent Moon Games
Download: App Store

MetalStorm: Wingman

In the blossoming flight genre, MetalStorm: Wingman has recently entered the fray with an update that brings a single-player campaign, improved 3D graphics, more customization options, a higher level cap and an unbeatable price.

The game is a tilt-based flight sim, with responsive controls and a good differentiation between aircraft. Bombers and fighters handle differently, so you need to keep sharp to fly both without dying. Although primarily a multiplayer experience, MetalStorm: Wingman introduces a single-player campaign mode to help you polish your skills, and a Survival mode that will test even the best pilots.

Perks like an in-game chat system and the ability to use your TV as an AirPlay mirror are icing on the cake, and even though there are optional in-game purchases that get you more money to spend on upgrades and things, you’re still getting an amazing value for free here — definitely worth playing.

Price: Free
Developer: Z2Live, Inc.
Download: App Store

Squids

Last up this week is one of the most extraordinary titles we’ve seen in a while. Squids is an oddball hybrid between a fling-creatures-at-baddies game and a standard turn-based RPG structure.

While it sounds strange, the gameplay is rewarding and easy to pick up, so you’ll be assembling your squid army and launching them about in no time. The environments and character art are truly marvellous and the attention to detail that’s evident throughout the game’s design is remarkable. The amount of variety in the gameplay helps set Squids even further apart: impressive boss battles and environments that you can use to your advantage in a fight help bring the game to life.

Now go forth and raise an army of squid — the underwater kingdoms are in need of saving!

Price: $0.99
Developer: The Game Bakers
Download: App Store

What Have You Been Playing?

There are hours of entertainment in that list, so we hope you’ll be enjoying the next week with them. If you have a new 4S and have been showing it off to your friends with other titles, make sure you drop us a comment and mention which — we have friends to impress too!

Have you ever given much thought to the designs that end up on a T-shirt? No, not the standard T-shirt that everyone and their dog owns but the unique designs that make you think, “Dang, why didn’t I think of that?” If you have, then Threadless is going to be the app for you.

The app, which allows you to vote on designs submitted by the Threadless community, gives you the power to determine which designs get printed, as well as some of the power. You can also browse the online store, order something from the shop and have a bit of fun with the Doodle Pad and the Festasizer. I’ll cover all these features plus some of the less exciting in-between bits after the jump.

Getting Started

Threadless is a community-based company that prints designs that have been created and voted on by fellow community members. In the past you had to go to the website if you wanted to rate the designs, but with the Threadless app you can now do this wherever you happen to be.

You’ll know the app has loaded when you see the home screen, which features Mr. Milk Carton and Mr. Chocolate Chip Cookie. If you have plans to spend hours of your day scoring designs, then you will also need to create a Threadless account. This is done via the website, and then you can then use the account details in combination with the Threadless app.

The Threadless app homescreen

Score Some Designs

One of the core functions behind Threadless is the scoring system. Users submit designs to Threadless, which are then voted on by Threadless community members. The designs that have the highest score at the end of the voting period are the ones that are then printed. You can take part in the scoring process online or via the app. Selecting either the Score Designs icon on the homepage or the Score button on the bottom menu bar will take you to a list of the current open challenges.

Vote in a Threadless challenge

Choosing one of these challenges will show you an overview of the challenge, followed by the designs that have been submitted. These designs will appear one by one and you use the scoring scale on the right of the screen to score the designs (5 is high, 1 is low). You can scroll down to see extra images of each design.

A submitted design with scoring scale on the right

You will only be able to score a couple of designs before being asked to log in, so make sure to sign up for an account if you want to do more with the app.

Log-in to continue scoring

Get Ready to Shop

If you are in the mood to do a little shopping, then you’re in luck because the Threadless app offers you that opportunity. You can either tap on the chocolate chip cookie holding a Shop Our Stuff sign located on the home screen or tap the Shop button at the bottom of the screen to head over to the shopping arena. No matter which way you come into the shop, you will be greeted with a screen that has the shop broken down into a number of categories, including guys, girly, babies, kids, other stuff, the monthly club, gift certificates and art prints.

Browsing for a T-shirt

The actual process of shopping is similar to any other online clothing shop — you find your shirt, select your size, adjust the quantity and add it to your shopping basket. If the size you want is currently out of stock, you can request a reprint directly from the app. To checkout, you select your shopping cart at the top right of the screen and then follow the checkout instructions. The Threadless app does allow orders from international customers, a welcome sight to see.

Going a Little Wacky

Threadless wouldn’t be Threadless without a little fun and that spills over into the app. Under the Wacky Stuff tab on the menu bar you will find a Doodle Pad and a Festasizer. The Doodle Pad gives your inner T-shirt designer a little space to be creative by decorating a template. You can change the colour and equipment via the pen icon to make your masterpiece that extra bit more special. The More button let’s you save your piece of art to your photo album and/or send it via email.

A little design I whipped up earlier

The Festasizer helps you to spice up your photos by adding a number of different funny, quirky and weird overlays to your camera. Each of the photo overlays has a small description accessed via the question mark at the top left corner of the screen.

Example Festasizer overlays

The Less Exciting Buttons

I promised you that I would cover the less exciting stuff and I never go back on my promise, so here is all you need to know about the Home, About and Settings sections.

Home

To return to the home screen at anytime, you can just click the house icon in the bottom left corner of the screen. You’ll quickly be greeted again by Mr. Milk Carton and Mr. Chocolate Chip Cookie.

About

The About button takes you to a short, three-screen tour about who Threadless are, what they do and the scoring process. From the last screen you have a direct link to the current challenges open for scoring.

Settings

Less is more seems to be the theory behind the Settings page of the app. You can login using your Threadless ID (if you have one), set-up your sharing settings, view the official challenge rules and keep track of the number of designs you have scored and your average score.

Conclusion

The Threadless app has a simple and fun design. I love that international orders are accepted and that the app continues with the Threadless ethos of supporting designers by ensuring that the designer’s name appears at the top of their design. The primarily landscape orientation of the app does drive me insane and I wish the developers would at least allow me the option to change to portrait view. It saves me from fruitlessly turning my phone around in all directions hoping that it will change.

All in all, the Threadless app isn’t going to change your life but then it wasn’t really built to do so. Think of it as a handy addition to the Threadless community or a resource to entertain you when you just missed the bus and the next one doesn’t arrive for 10 minutes. Plus, it’s free. So, if you end up not liking the app you can always remove it without a twinge of guilt.

In this Quick Look, we’re highlighting Fast Analytics. The developer describes Fast Analytics as the premier app for viewing Google Analytics™ data on your mobile. We make it fast, simple and fun to see the numbers you need, when you need them.

We give you easy access to headline visitor data, with the most intuitive Google Analytics™ app on the market. It really is a pleasure to use and built by a team that values your feedback so we can make the app even better!

Read on for more information and screenshots!

Screenshots

Fast Fwd

About the App

Here are the top five features you can expect to see in the latest version:

• Easily switch between multiple Google Analytics accounts and websites.
• Fantastic dashboard for fast access to common stats.
• View stats over 1 day, 1 week, 1 month or 1 year time periods.
• Traffic sources and search engine keywords report.
• Visitor browser and country report.

Requirements: iOS 4.3 and above

Price: 0.99

Developer: Fast Fwd Multmedia Ltd.

Vote for a Review

Would you like to see us write a full review of Fast Analytics? Have your say in our poll:

Would you like to see Fast Analytics reviewed in-depth on AppStorm?

Quick Look posts are paid submissions offering only a brief overview of an app. Vote in the poll if you think this app is worth an in-depth AppStorm review! If you’re a developer and would like to have your app profiled, you can submit it here.

ELC Technologies is hiring!

At ELC we are proud of more than 100 years of combined application development experience including dynamic languages like Ruby, JRuby, Python, as well as strongly typed languages such as C and Java. Our knowledge of the Cloud lets us build true scalability into products. This experience, coupled with our creativity, has led us to build some of the largest, most used apps out there. We are experts in AGILE development, delivering working software in weeks, not months or years.

Our customer list includes Fortune 500 companies, major professional sports leagues, and universal media conglomerates. We have successfully completed sophisticated Ruby on Rails solutions, innovative interactive tools, trend setting mobile technologies as well as business critical applications. This has earned us the trust of some of the world’s largest companies.

We offer all the usual benefits… and if you’re located in Portland, an office with the world’s greatest espresso machine, a team of Kung Fu masters, Eight Ball champions, Nerf Gun Assassins, and world authorities on Dungeons and Dragons.

We’re passionate about many things here at ELC, such as:

• Creating cross-platform, enterprise level mobile applications with awesome UI/UX.
• Building software, mainly in Ruby on Rails but have been known to find the right tool for the right job (Scala, Erlang, and Clojure come to mind).
• Having fun, we believe that going to work should carry the same anticipation as that 10 minutes leading up to elementary school recess.
• Being Agile, we don’t force-feed one specific process, but pick and choose what is going to work on a per team/per project basis.
• Solving real world problems without compromising creativity.

Here’s what we look for in our hires:

• Strong problem solving skills.
• Have at least 1 year experience building iPhone/iPad applications.
• Proficiency in Objective-C.
• Understand when something should be extracted to an API, and how to leverage existing ones to make your life easier.
• Not afraid of trial by fire.
• Interest in learning and using new languages in real world situations
• Up to date on the latest Internet Memes and Animated GIFs or it didn’t happen.

Contact
Please send the following to:   [email protected]

1.  Links to sites you’ve worked on including a brief description of your contributions.
2.  Code samples. Anything you feel like best represents your capabilities / strengths.

Company Website URL
http://elctech.com/