Blancer.com Tutorials and projects – Page 58971 – Freelance Projects, Design and Programming Tutorials

How to change WordPress editor font

Paste the following code into your theme functions.php file:

function change_editor_font(){
        echo "<style type='text/css'>
#editorcontainer textarea#content {
  font-family: Monaco, Consolas, \"Andale Mono\", \"Dejavu Sans Mono\", monospace;
  font-size:14px;
  color:#333;
}
</style>";
} add_action("admin_print_styles", "change_editor_font");

Save the file, then look at the editor It simple as that.

Thanks to Metin Saylan for the cool tip!

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How to change WordPress editor font

Author BlancerPosted on 2011/02/15Categories WordpressLeave a comment on How to change WordPress editor font

Killer hacks to enhance WordPress editor

Allow more HTML tags in the editor

By default, WordPress editor don’t allow html tags wich aren’t compliant with the XHTML 1.0 standard. For example, iframes will be stripped out by the editor. If for some reason you have to insert an iframe into a post or page, this can be very frustrating.

The code below will force the editor to accept more tags. Just paste it into your theme functions.php file, save it, and you’re done.

function fb_change_mce_options($initArray) { $ext = 'pre[id|name|class|style],iframe[align|longdesc| name|width|height|frameborder|scrolling|marginheight| marginwidth|src]'; if ( isset( $initArray['extended_valid_elements'] ) ) { $initArray['extended_valid_elements'] .= ',' . $ext; } else { $initArray['extended_valid_elements'] = $ext; } return $initArray; } add_filter('tiny_mce_before_init', 'fb_change_mce_options');

» Source: http://wpengineer.com/1963/customize-wordpress-wysiwyg-editor/

Set HTML editor as the default

I know a lot of tech-savvy persons who don’t really like WordPress “visual” editor. Personally, I don’t use it because I’m used to writing HTML, and also because WYSIWYG editors are more likely to produce bad, not valid or dirty code.

If you prefer using the HTML editor, then what about making it your blog default? Just paste the line below into your theme functions.php file, and you’re done.

add_filter('wp_default_editor', create_function('', 'return "html";'));

» Source: http://www.wprecipes.com/how-to-set-html-editor-as-the-default-in-wordpress

Set default content in WordPress editor

Do you always insert the same text on all your posts, for exemple to tell people to subscribe to your rss feed? If yes, you should definitely set up WP to have it automatically inserted in the editor.

Open your functions.php file, and paste this code. That’s all you need to do to define some default content.

add_filter( 'default_content', 'my_editor_content' ); function my_editor_content( $content ) { $content = "If you enjoyed this post, make sure to subscribe to my rss feed."; return $content; }

» Source: http://justintadlock.com/archives/2009/04/05/how-to-preset-text-in-the-wordpress-post-editor

Add your language to spell check

By default, WordPress have an English spellchecker so you can check mistakes in your posts (Too bad it doesn’t work with grammar!). But, what if you blog in another language than English?

If you want to add another language to WordPress spellcheck, that’s actually quite easy to do. Paste the following into functions.php to add French to the spellchecker.

function fb_mce_external_languages($initArray){ $initArray['spellchecker_languages'] = '+French=fr, English=en'; return $initArray; } add_filter('tiny_mce_before_init', 'fb_mce_external_languages');

» Source: http://wpengineer.com/1963/customize-wordpress-wysiwyg-editor/

Add buttons to WordPress editor

TinyMCE (The name of the WYSIWYG editor used by WordPress) have some buttons that allow you to make some text bold, insert paragraphs, and so on.
Want to insert a custom button? It’s not so hard at all. The following code show how you can do it easily. Just paste it to your functions.php file and a “Youtube” button will be displayed into your editor. Please note that this code add a button to the editor, but do not trigger any action. If you’d like to get more info about custom buttons, have a look at the source site.

function add_youtube_button() { if ( ! current_user_can('edit_posts') && ! current_user_can('edit_pages') ) return; if ( get_user_option('rich_editing') == 'true') { add_filter('mce_external_plugins', 'add_youtube_tinymce_plugin'); add_filter('mce_buttons', 'register_youtube_button'); } } add_action('init', 'add_youtube_button'); function register_youtube_button($buttons) { array_push($buttons, "|", "brettsyoutube"); return $buttons; } function add_youtube_tinymce_plugin($plugin_array) { $plugin_array['brettsyoutube'] = get_bloginfo('template_url').'/custom/editor_plugin.js'; return $plugin_array; }

» Source: http://brettterpstra.com/adding-a-tinymce-button/

Set different editor stylesheets for different post types

Cutom post types are definitely one of the best new things added to WordPress last year. Now, you probably created some post types to display your portfolio or some code snippets. So, what about using a different stylesheet for your editor, depending on the type of the post you’re currently writing?

Just paste the following code into your functions.php file. You’ll have to adapt it a bit, depending on your post types. Don’t forget to change the stylesheets names as well.

function my_editor_style() { global $current_screen; switch ($current_screen->post_type) { case 'post': add_editor_style('editor-style-post.css'); break; case 'page': add_editor_style('editor-style-page.css'); break; case 'portfolio': add_editor_style('editor-style-portfolio.css'); break; } } add_action( 'admin_head', 'my_editor_style' );

» Source: http://wpstorm.net/2010/04/editor-styles-custom-post-types-wordpress-3-0/

Display hidden buttons in TinyMCE

By default, the TinyMCE editor have buttons for most common tasks such as bold text, italic, titles, etc. But you may need other text formatting options, like, for example, horizontal rules.

To reveal hidden buttons, simply add this code to your functions.php file:

function enable_more_buttons($buttons) { $buttons[] = 'hr'; $buttons[] = 'fontselect'; $buttons[] = 'sup'; // etc, etc... return $buttons; } add_filter("mce_buttons", "enable_more_buttons");

The available buttons are: bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, justifyleft, justifycenter, justifyright, justifyfull, bullist, numlist, outdent, indent, cut, copy, paste, undo, redo, link, unlink, image, cleanup, help, code, hr, removeformat, formatselect, fontselect, fontsizeselect, styleselect, sub, sup, forecolor, backcolor, charmap, visualaid, anchor, newdocument, and separator.
» Source: http://www.sycha.com/wordpress-add-hr-button-tinymce-visual-editor

Like CatsWhoCode? If yes, don’t hesitate to check my other blog CatsWhoBlog: It’s all about blogging!

Killer hacks to enhance WordPress editor

Author BlancerPosted on 2011/02/15Categories WordpressLeave a comment on Killer hacks to enhance WordPress editor

100 Fantastic Photography Apps for iPhone

Photography is one of my absolute favorite sections of the app store. The iPhone’s impressive combination of cameras and technology gives developers an amazing platform on which to build some wildly creative and highly functional applications. Whether you’re a professional photographer or a complete beginner, you can’t help but appreciate the variety and quality of photography apps that are available, most of the time for less than $2.

Today we’ve rounded up 100 of our favorite photography apps for you to check out. 100 apps is a lot to browse to we’ve made it easier by placing each app into one of eight categories: Lomo & Retro, Photo Booth, Multiple Effects & Tools, Photography Utilities, Tilt Shift and DOF, Silly & Fun, Panoramic, Video and HDR.

Lomo & Retro

Instagram

“Instagram is an amazingly fun & simple life-sharing app for your iPhone. Snap photos wherever you go to show the world what’s going on in your life. Follow your friends’ photo updates as they move through the world. Select from photo filters that transform regular ol’ photos into works of art you’ll want to keep around forever.”

iTunes Rating: 4.5/5
Price: Free

Instagram

Hipstamatic

“Digital photography never looked so analog. The Hipstamatic brings back the look, feel, unpredictable beauty, and fun of plastic toy cameras of the past! The Hipstamatic keeps the the quirks of shooting old school but gives you the ability to swap lenses, film, and flash settings all with the swipe of a finger.”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $1.99

CameraBag

“Dramatically enhance your photos using the many classic camera and film simulations in CameraBag. It’s like having a dozen unique cameras all in one app! CameraBag focuses on emulating styles and processes from some of the most interesting cameras of the past to enhance the mood of an image, and the results are stunning.”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $1.99

ClassicINSTA – Free

“ClassicINSTA turns an iPhone into a perfect instant camera. It reproduces all features of an instant camera, from the operations to the results. Experience the new world of an instant camera!”

iTunes Rating: 5/5
Price: Free

ClassicINSTA – Free

Cross Process

“CrossProcess adds color and character to your photos by emulating the look of Cross Processing film. CrossProcess turns your ordinary iPhone shots into beautiful, one of a kind images with unique colors and contrast. Based on looks from real film stock. ”

iTunes Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $0.99

SwankoLab

“The creators of the Hipstamatic are super stoked to introduce a brand new darkroom kit: SwankoLab. It’s a loving recreation of the pre-digital era classic – the darkroom of yesterday today. Complete with smells of photo chemistry and sounds of mad science being made, your SwankoLab comes with everything you need to turn any image into a retro misprinted masterpiece. Choose chemicals, process photos, and experiment. You’re the artist / chemist / creative genius– have fun!”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $1.99

LOMO Camera

“Have you ever heard of LOMO LC-A series camera? It is a product manufactured by The Leningrad Union of Optics and Mechanics in Soviet Union in early 1980s. It is an instamatic camera made for meeting with the public needs. LOMO is always pursuit of natural and improvisational esthetics, which is a new photograph trend. Composition of picture and focus are out of date. Only ambiguity and random is trendy and classic. Don’t think, just shoot! The users of LOMO will not be limited to the old photograph model.”

iTunes Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $2.99

ShakeItPhoto

“ShakeItPhoto is the most realistic instant photo experience for the iPhone. Works just like a real instant camera. Watch the photo develop. Shake your iPhone to make it develop faster. Our Perfect Processing makes your photos look just like the real thing.”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $0.99

ShakeItPhoto

Retro Camera Plus

“With Retro Camera you’ll take delicious old-school pics your friends will drool over. 5 cameras, 5 sets of vintage vignetting, film scratch & cross processing effects for that off-the-hip analog look. Inspired by the old Lomo, Holga, Polaroid, Diana & toy cameras whose iconic styles we treasure. Instant Nostalgia now free.”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: Free

Infinicam

“With each press of its New Camera button, Infinicam generates a new and unique randomized camera style. These high quality effects go far beyond the usual range of toy camera styles, and Infinicam also features 18 high-quality film-style borders lovingly recreated to delight photography buffs. There are literally billions of possible camera styles to discover, with advanced algorithms in place to assure a high hit rate of unique, high quality results. Once a favorite camera style is found, it can be easily saved and named for instant access later. ”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $1.99

iDarkroom

“iDarkroom can add amazing effects to your photos. It support six types of effects: color filter, paper, light leak & bokeh, vignette, noise, frame. You can shuffle these effects by just one tap, or choose each type of effect manually.”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $0.99

iDarkroom

LomoLomo Pro

“With over 500 photo effect combinations, LomoLomo helps you to become an artist instantly. Every photo is beautiful and unique in the world. Share to SNS has never been so easy, “2 clicks” to share your colorful moment to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, Picasa, more destinations are being added.”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $0.99

PictureShow

“PictureShow emulates various toy camera styles. It enables you to mix frame, light leak and noise to create an unexpected result with simple shuffle button. and edit each effect via ‘TextEdit’, ‘StyleEdit’ and ‘ColorEdit’ mode.”

iTunes Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $1.99

Plastic Bullet Camera

“Plastic Bullet puts the fun, spontaneity, and surprise of plastic-fantastic toy cameras on your favorite Apple device. Just tap to turn your photos into gloriously unpredictable works of art, then tap again to change the look. Start with the built-in camera or a shot from your Photo Library. Plastic Bullet develops your photo into four random variations. Like one? Tap it to see it larger. Love it? Tap the heart to save. Or keep tapping the Refresh button to see infinite variations. If you like one, save it! Each image developed in Plastic Bullet is unique.”

iTunes Rating: 0/5
Price: $0.99

ClassicTOY

“Enjoy a variety of ToyCamera such as a Sampler, Fisheye, Pinhole and Jelly at once! ”

iTunes Rating: 4.5/5
Price: Free

Super 8

“Turn your iPhone or iPod Touch into a classic Super 8 camera, the only app dedicated to authentic Super 8 video processing. Capture all of those magic moments in resolutions up to HD, process and enjoy the nostalgia of real film, all within your iPhone or iPod Touch!”

iTunes Rating: 2.5/5
Price: $0.99

lo-mob

“Have you ever experiment with your old analog cameras? Have you put a 35mm film in a medium format body? Have you ever tried to achieve Through The Viewfinder (TTV) photography by shooting a picture with a camera through the viewfinder of another? Take a picture or choose one from your library, Lo-Mob will process it, and give you a preview of all its 39 filters, at once. You’ll be able to tweak the filter you chose, altering the frame, the vignetting, the color filter or the blurring.”

iTunes Rating: 0/5
Price: $1.99

lo-mob

Film Lab

“A film simulation application program that transforms iPhone to the film camera. ?The variation of the film effect reaches as many as 79 kinds including a popular film such as Agfa, Ilford, Kodak, EES, and Fuji. The selection and the preview can quickly do these by excellent UI. Therefore, it is possible to try to one’s heart’s content. And, these effects can be done in the multiple. It is possible to return it to the previous state by undo at any time even if failing. Besides this, Calotype and Daguerreotype, Development technique such as “Split tone”,Film effect such as Selenium and Polysulphide developers that reaches variously,”Color operation” and “Hue and chroma” adjustments that adjust the color balance and “Sharpness”, “Blur”, and “Brightness and contrast” adjustment functions are installed. ”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $0.99

iSupr8

“Discover the beauty of authentic vintage Super 8 film. iSupr8 is a video recorder which grades each pixel based on exposure adding old school effects and film-burn. The resulting film becomes a unique and retro masterpiece. Keeping the 8mm movement alive is what we’re about. iSupr8 is not just a fun novelty app, it is an effort to revive and increase awareness of a commercially dying format to a new generation, as well as a production tool for filmmakers seeking an authentic, vintage look.”

iTunes Rating: 3/5
Price: $1.99

Photo Booth

Pocketbooth

“Turn your iPhone or iPod touch into a vintage photobooth with Pocketbooth: the photobooth that fits in your pocket. Pocketbooth perfectly replicates the intimacy, spontaneity, and hilarity of a traditional photobooth. Take it to your next party and watch as your friends’ inner-divas emerge.”

iTunes Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $0.99

Pocketbooth

IncrediBooth

“Step up, sit down, and get ready to cram as many of your friends together as possible. The photo booth has returned, and it’s incredible. No coins needed. No hunting down old dirty dive bars to only find a machine that is no longer in service. Be the live of any party and bring your IncrediBooth with you.”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $0.99

Photo Booth Classic Plus

“Photo Booth Classic Plus is an application that allows you to take a series of 4 shots with your friends to recreate vintage black and white or color Photo Booth strips. Now you can also select existing photos to create Photo Booth strips. Easy upload to Facebook, Twitter and your Camera Roll makes this the perfect photography application for any iPhone user! ”

iTunes Rating: 3/5
Price: $1.99

Photo Booth Classic Plus

Mobile Photobooth

“Simple, easy-to-use- photobooth right in the palm of your hand. Take four timed shots and create a classic photostrip – just like a real photobooth! Or choose pix from your Photo Library. Save in black & white or color – or both. ”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $1.99

Multiple Effects and Tools

Photogene

“Photogene is about improving your digital photos and having fun while at it. This intuitive, easy to use application offers a comprehensive set of professional editing tools”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $1.99

Photogene

100 Cameras in 1

“We used 100 unique textures and combined these with different versions of the photo mixing with itself in overlay, hardlight, luminosity, and other blends while combining with various amounts of the texture, depending on the effect.”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $0.99

Adobe Photoshop Express

“Adobe Photoshop Express software lets you use simple gestures to quickly edit and share photos from your mobile device. Enjoy having your photo and video library right in your hand — without wasting your device’s valuable storage space.”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: Free

Real Camera+

“It is magic if the contrast, color, details, brightness etc are all improved with only one click. This becomes absolutely true in Real Camera+. Just try the feature and you will be surprised by the results delivered by Real Camera. We strongly suggest you use this feature before any other adjustment as this feature gives you a good start point.”

iTunes Rating: 5/5
Price: $1.99

PhotoForge

“PhotoForge is a highly optimized editing and painting application designed for the iPhone and iPod touch. It can be used for image manipulation, retouching, effects, and color correction, as well as a painter’s tool. It is indispensable for creating original artwork, or editing photos on your mobile device.”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $2.99

PhotoForge

Camera Plus

“Camera Plus is a free camera app for your iPhone 4, 3GS, 3G and iPod touch to capture photos instantly with some great controls, add cool effects and share them with your Facebook, Twitter or Flickr friends on-the-fly! ”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: Free

PhotoPad by ZAGG

“PhotoPad is an easy to use, premium photo editing app. Originally designed for the iPad, PhotoPad now works on the iPad, iPod touch, and the iPhone.”

iTunes Rating: 4.5/5
Price: Free

Effects

“Whether sunny or rainy, whether day or night, you’ll love taking and editing photos. Effects is a stylish way to create unique artworks! ”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: Free

Camera+?

“Whether you’re a seasoned photographer or someone who’s barely touched a camera, Camera+ will make you love taking photos. Everybody has a creative side… Camera+ will help bring that creativity out in you, all with a fun, innovative, and beautiful design.”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $1.99

Camera+

PICSTAR

“PICSTAR is a free photo-editing tool easy to use for everyone. (add horizontal flip filter for self-camera users) Try using various filters until you create your own special image. Share tips about your own methods of using filters with your friends.”

Price: Free

FX Photo Studio

“FX Photo Studio with all its features turns your iPhone into a mobile photo laboratory with infinite space for experiments and creativity. No other photography app gives such a variety of options. ”

iTunes Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $1.99

Camera Genius

“The best way to take, edit and share your photos. Over 40 filters, 14 borders and easy crop. A new user interface makes reviewing your photos a breeze. Camera Genius releases another first: adjustable sized thumbnails! Use the slider to decide how many photos you want to see at once. Also included is a full-screen slide show and the ability to pan and zoom around your photos. All photos are saved to the camera roll for quick syncing with your computer. ”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $0.99

Camera Genius

Camera Plus Pro

“Camera Plus Pro is the only camera app you’ll need, with a great UI, amazing choice of shooting modes, video recording and cool filters, host of photo effects and editing tools with a built-in photo and video sharing network! Also find unique features like Wi-Fi sharing, video zoom, private collections and custom tagging.”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $1.99

ProCamera

“ProCamera 3.0 will make you love using your iPhone/iPod to take photos and videos. Great features, packed into a beautiful and intuitive design. Wether you’re a dedicated iPhotographer or someone who just captures videos now and then, ProCamera will be your first choice.”

iTunes Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $2.99

Picture effect pro

“By pressing one button you can turn your shot into a retro photo or a picture drawn by a pencil or paints, or done in a Modern Art style. Alternatively, you can simply add a pretty frame of flowers or butterflies. Or whatever else you might desire – the choice is practically unlimited!”

iTunes Rating: 2.5/5
Price: $1.99

Filterstorm

“Filterstorm contains a suite of powerful tools including curves manipulation, color correction abilities, noise reduction, sharpening, vignetting, and black and white conversion fine-tuning. It also includes the powerful ability to apply any of the available filters by brush, color range, and gradient.”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $3.99

Filterstorm

Image Blender

“This is a simple and clean application with a single purpose, blending together images. You can use multiple blending modes like Multiply, Overlay, Screen and many more. This can be used for a variety of things, like creating your own personalized filters. Or just merging two images as an effect.”

iTunes Rating: 5/5
Price: $1.99

Photography Utilities

Slow Shutter Cam

“Slow Shutter Cam brings new life into your device’s photo toolbox by letting you capture a variety of amazing slow shutter speed effects that you only thought you could get with a DSLR. Continue reading to learn why you should download this App today!”

iTunes Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $0.99

HelloPhoto

“HelloPhoto is here to resurrect photos taken on slides and negatives, reviving an art form that’s slowly being overlooked in this digital era. Whether you are nostalgic, a photo purist, or have boxes of slides and negatives and have no idea what to do with them, HelloPhoto can rescue your film from dust. ”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $1.99

HelloPhoto

DOFMaster

“Use DOFMaster to calculate the depth of field in your photographs. You’ll be able to select the lens and f/stop combination that provides the zone of sharpness you need. Use it to calculate the hyperfocal distance for landscape photography.”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $1.99

gyroCam

“Ever have problems taking that perfect photo? Can’t frame a straight shot? Need help getting a level image? Use gyroCam! This full-featured camera app has a killer new feature: it automatically levels photos in real time, while shooting. With gyroCam, you don’t need to worry about crooked aim or setting up and taking level shots – the app does it for you. gyroCam brings a true point-and-shoot capability to iOS devices, and makes photography easier and more fun.”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $0.99

Field Tools

“Field Tools is an efficient, easy to use depth of field calculator for photographers working in the field. Using just a few touches, you can quickly calculate hyperfocal, near focus and far focus distances, all from a single screen. App settings are also a single touch away. ”

iTunes Rating: 3/5
Price: Free

Simple DoF Calculator

“Simple DoF Calculator allows photographers to calculate the depth of field and hyperfocal distance for any given settings. It calculates the near limit, far limit, total depth of field, hyperfocal distance, distance in front of the subject and distance behind the subject. The app shows al those calculated values in a simple image without unnecessary information.”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $1.99

Private Pics

“The perfect application for anyone who wants to keep people from accidentally seeing their private pictures. This is the original and most reliable picture hiding app available on the iPhone since 2008.”

iTunes Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $3.99

Pocket Light Meter

“A light meter that is always in your pocket. It is indispensable for film photography with all manual camera. Measures reflected light, and allows reciprocity calculations. ”

iTunes Rating: 4.5/5
Price: Free

Photography Trainer

“Do you want to take your photography to the next level? Learn how to take amazing photos with our fully-interactive app that’s like having a professional photographer with you, guiding you step-by-step on how to set your camera to take the perfect shot. ”

iTunes Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $0.99

Photobucket

“Take Photobucket with you on your iPhone! Upload all your special moments directly to your Photobucket albums. Existing photos and videos can be uploaded from your camera roll, and new shots and clips can be uploaded from within the camera app. Looking for entertainment during moments of downtime? Find Stuff categories have billions of photos and videos for you to view, and you can download photos to your phone for free to use as wallpapers, contact IDs, and more. You can even share your photos, videos, and albums to Facebook or Twitter right from your phone, fast and easy.”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: Free

QuickShot with Dropbox

“QuickShot simplifies the process of uploading photos to Dropbox. Every picture you take is immediately uploaded to without the need for any additional actions. It has all the familiar camera features found in other apps, plus a few not found anywhere else. Queue multiple photos, upload photos in the background, and access all of the standard camera functionality from QuickShot’s simple interface.”

iTunes Rating: 5/5
Price: $0.99

QuickShot with Dropbox

Easy photo – Timer & Burst

“Easy to use and ideal to take group pictures or photos with friends, this application will enjoy fans of all kind of pictures. Integrated Timer: select the trigger time of the picture (Ideal for group photos). Burst Mode: Set the number of shots to be taken in bursts (Ideal for motion pictures and panoramic views). Switch Camera: choose the front camera to take portrait pictures (ideal for photos with friends or portrait pictures). Flash Mode: define the behavior of the flash when shooting (Ideal for dark photos)”

Price: Free

PicBounce

“PicBounce is the simplest and fastest way to upload a photo from your iPhone to Facebook or Twitter. No signup required. Take a photo or choose an existing photo. Write a caption. Bounce it to Facebook and Twitter in 2 taps. You’re done. It’s that easy. ”

iTunes Rating: 4.5/5
Price: Free

Tilt Shift and DOF

TiltShift Generator – Fake Miniature

“This is the 5th release from the ToyCamera series and this software will allow you to create retro miniature pictures. By adjusting various parameters, it allows you to apply many ToyCamera effects on your pictures: from miniature pictures to vintage styles images. ”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $0.99

TiltShift Generator – Fake Miniature

Tilt Shift Focus

“With Tilt-Shift-Focus you can easily edit photos to create fake miniatures, enhance or change the depth of field and focus area of your picture, or precisely soften details. Fake miniature and depth of field can improve the visual and artistic quality of your photographs and you can do all that with just a few taps in the Tilt-Shift-Focus editor.”

iTunes Rating: 2.5/5
Price: $0.99

MonotoriCamera – easy depth of field effect

“With “Monotori Camera” everybody can easily enjoy pictures that look as if taken with a real SLR camera. It is most suitable for taking pictures of motives like small objects or food.”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $0.99

SynthCam

“Have you ever wished you could take an iPhone picture that had a shallow depth of field, like a single lens reflex (SLR) camera? Or a picture in a dark room that didn’t come out noisy? Or an outdoor shot that blurred out passing pedestrians or cars? This app lets you do all these things.”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $0.99

Focusoid

“Turn any of your iPhone photos into professionally looking stylish pictures. Focusoid permits to easily simulate different out-of-focus techniques used by professional photographers, like Shallow Focus, Depth of Field or Tilt Shift effects.”

iTunes Rating: 3/5
Price: $2.99

Focusoid

Digital Focus

“This is a camera application that allows you to create artistic pictures with blur and focus, just like taking a picture with a SLR camera.”

iTunes Rating: 5/5
Price: $0.99

Silly and Fun

Sketch Me!

“Sketch Me! is a simple, fun app that lets you convert your photos into sketches by applying up to six different image effects. ”

iTunes Rating: 3/5
Price: $0.99

Phoster

“With stylish templates which are already within the application, you will be able to create posters without great effort.?When you get the job done of first step making posters, you can utilize various effects and decorates to complete the chic posters your own.”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $1.99

Phoster

Doodle Booth

“With this fun application you can add doodle stickers to your photos and captions and they’ll look like if you’ve drawn them over yourself with a real pen! Doodle Booth is completely compatible with the new Retina display and features great and simple UI. You can import photos from Facebook or you camera and add doodle stickers and pre-drawn frames.”

iTunes Rating: 3/5
Price: Free

Diptic

“Diptic lets you quickly and easily combine multiple photos to create a new image. Use Diptic to create a before-and-after sequence, produce a photographic series, or juxtapose contrasting images. Tell a story with Diptic photo combinations.”

iTunes Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $1.99

SketchWiz

“SketchWiz turns your camera into your personal sketch artist. You can view your world as pencil, pen, chalk, or charcoal sketches, and you can save your masterpieces to your photo library. ”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $1.99

Fauxto

“A simple flick of the finger creates an endless cast of characters. Choose from 60+ items to create 400+ possible combinations.”

iTunes Rating: 5/5
Price: $0.99

Pictory

“Decorate your photo with about 410 hand-drawn style illustrations and text.
It supports multiple lines, text alignment, and five fonts. Tap and hold down for a second to edit text.”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $0.99

Pictory

OldBooth

“Back to the past with OldBooth. Over 60 fun masks to play with. Have you ever wondered what you’d have looked like in another era? How about your friends? Be a lady from 20s or a funky hairy hippie. Now you can turn into in the fastest way ever.”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $1.99

Percolator

“The secret of perfect image-processing is the skillful blending of fresh, imported pixels, precise color temperature, and the fastest numerical filtering. Percolator packs your images with well-rounded, full-bodied color — every time.”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $0.99

moreMono

“Go Innovative! Go Red! moreMono (Red Edition) is a free photo editing application designed for iPhone 3G/3GS. It converts your photo to monotone and preserves the red tone to give a strong and dramatic look!”

iTunes Rating: 3/5
Price: Free

StopMotion Recorder

“StopMotion Recorder is toy video camera enable you to make stunning stop motion video like claymation.
And you can edit, share movie via Mail, ‘Flickr’, ‘Twitter (Twitvid)’, Twitter(yFrog) & ‘Youtube’ from your iPhone.”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $0.99

ComicStrip – CS

“Live. Create. Share. ComicStrip – CS is the only photography app with Facebook photo tagging!”

iTunes Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $0.99

iTimeLapse Pro – Time Lapse videos

“iTimeLapse – Create stunning time lapse and stop motion videos straight from any iphone! iTimeLapse allows you to capture a series of images rapidly and then compile them into a video.”

iTunes Rating: 3/5
Price: $0.99

3D Photo

“3D Photo transforms friends and landscapes into beautiful, abstract geometric shapes. Experiment with digital photography from a cubist approach and see the world around you change into fascinating and fragmented works of art. Simply choose a 3D template and swipe to see your photo from multiple angles. Take a photo, drag to rotate your viewpoint, and then take a photo again!”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $0.99

3D Camera

“Create your own 3D photos and easily share them with friends on Facebook and Twitter. First, take left and right photos with the built-in camera or choose two images from your iPhone or iPod touch photo album. Then, view your 3D photo as a grey or color anaglyph (using common red/cyan 3D glasses), a stereogram (no glasses required), or as a wigglegram for a simulated 3D effect. Finally, send your 3D photo to your friends on Facebook and Twitter. It’s as simple as that!”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $0.99

3D Camera

Framed!

“Framed! is an easy to use application for doing fun things with your photos. Drop your photo into a series in scenes such as a wanted poster, billboard, TV, picture frame and more. Add your own text as well. Comes with 40 frames, and an additional 40 can be downloaded for free within the app. ”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $0.99

QuadCamera – MultiShot

“Just pressing a button, QuadCam proceeds to take 4-8 serial shoots and create one image with 6 selectable effects. The popping sound of the shutter gives you a great feeling. Taking pictures of running cars, watching sports, adorable behaviours of your pets or to wam up the party…this is a cool camera application that you can apply for any moments. ”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $1.99

SneakyPix

“Ever wanted to take a photo but it’s an awkward or inconvenient time to pull out the camera? Now you can act like you’re on the phone while secretly and automatically snapping pictures!”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $0.99

FlyPic – GPS Slideshow

“Play an intelligent slideshow powered by the GPS location data of your iPhone! FlyPic extracts all the data needed from your photos and plays a stunning slideshow with beautiful flight-effects! What are you waiting for? Download this App and look at the images you shot with your iPhone in a very new and different way!!”

iTunes Rating: 5/5
Price: $0.99

Panoramic

Pano

“Pano is an award-winning app that lets you take beautiful, seamless panoramic photos straight from your phone, no other software necessary. Selected by Apple as one of the “Best Apps of 2009″, Pano has gotten rave reviews from hundreds of thousands of users around the world! Pano is exclusively for iPhone and iPod Touch (with camera). ”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $1.99

Pano

Panoramatic 360

“Panoramatic 360 lets you create panoramic photos with iPhone photocamera or with the photos in the Photo Album (so it can be used also with iPod Touch). Panoramatic uses iphone gyroscope feature to automatically take pictures for you (works on iPhone 4 and 3gs). Panoramatic 360 is THE ONLY app for create REAL 360 panoramas and view it in a 3d engine, we use a property algorithm for this.”

iTunes Rating: 3/5
Price: $1.99

ClearCam

“ClearCam is another mind blowing app from the creators of 360 Panorama and RedLaser that will help anyone consistently eliminate blur, reduce noise and take sharper, clearer photos with 2x resolution (up to 11MP) without missing the moment. No expertise required!”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $1.99

360 Panorama

“Capturing panoramas has never been easier! Just tap the screen and pan your phone camera in any direction. You’ll see your panorama being built in realtime as every incoming frame is processed. When you’re done, you can save and share your panorama instantly with no need to fumble around with a clumsy stitching process. There’s nothing else like it!”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $1.99

You Gotta See This!

“Simply start the recording, swipe the scene up, down, left and right with the camera and share the image created by one of the five amazing themes on Twitter, Facebook or by email. Or simply save it to your camera roll for later presentation. (See a short tutorial video at our website.) The app creates collages of images that you take by slowly moving the camera around in 3D space. The resulting images are somewhat similar to what is called “panography” or “Hockneyesque” (after the artist David Hockney).”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $1.99

AutoStitch Panorama

“AutoStitch is the only app that can stitch images in any order or arrangement, including vertical, horizontal, or mixed arrangements. It achieves unmatched quality by using full resolution camera images rather than lower-resolution video input.”

Price: $0.99

AutoStitch Panorama

Video Panorama

“Video Panorama lets you quickly and easily compose amazing panorama images from video with 2 taps within one minute. With this cool app, your will not be pity when you see beautiful views but without bringing professional camera. It will definitely make more fun for you.”

iTunes Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $1.99

Video

8mm Vintage Camera

“8mm Vintage Camera brings your iPhone and iPod Touch back in time to capture the beauty and magic of old school vintage movies. By mixing and matching films and lenses, you can recreate the atmosphere of those bygone eras with 25 timeless retro looks. Dust & scratches, retro colors, flickering, light leaks, frame jitters – all can be instantly added with a single tap or swipe.”

iTunes Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $1.99

8mm Vintage Camera

Camcorder Pro – HD Video with Retina Display

“If you are not satisfy with in-built camera and recording function or looking for something qualitative to expand your photography then Camcorder Pro is perfect for your iPhone and iPod Touch. You can record DVD and HD quality video so much easier than before. Simply, no needs to buy costly camcorder just keep it with you and capture every moments that you want.”

iTunes Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $0.99

Qik Video Camera Pro

“Qik makes it easy to record special moments wherever you are and share them with others right as they happen or anytime later. With a tap of a button, you can share your live or previously recorded videos with friends and family.”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $2.99

Precorder: Pre-recording Video Camera

“By constantly saving the previous few seconds of video before you hit record, Precorder lets you wait until something interesting happens to start recording, and you’ll never miss a precious moment or get stuck with hours of boring video to painstakingly edit down.”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $1.99

iMovie

“Make beautiful HD movies anywhere with iMovie, the fun, feature-rich video editing app designed for Multi-Touch. Create a video postcard of your day at the beach and publish it to the web — without ever leaving your spot in the sand. Or make a movie of your child’s birthday party and send it to your parents — while the party is in full swing. With iMovie, you can start several projects and finish them whenever you want and wherever you are.”

iTunes Rating: 3/5
Price: $4.99

iMovie Extras

“Add text, titles and credits to your iMovie videos, as well as find millions of HD backgrounds, photos, clip art, and emoticons to use in your videos.”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $0.99

Animoto Videos

“Animoto turns the pictures on your iPhone into beautiful music videos! It takes just a few minutes to make one, and then you can share and collect them with your friends. Make as many as you like–they’re totally free.”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: Free

Animoto Videos

Splice – Video Editor

“Splice together HD photos and videos in an amazingly simple way. Add music tracks from your iPod library, sound effects, transitions, borders, effects (like Ken Burns, slow motion and fast forward), trim video and audio, narrate with your own voice, and much more. ”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $1.99

Vintage Video Maker

“This app will make any of your iPhone videos look like authentic old school movie from the 20′s, or like a groovy home video from the 60′s. ”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $1.99

MovieSlate (Clapperboard & Shot Log)

“MovieSlate a convenient, all-in-one digital slate, clapper board, shot log, and shot notepad— designed for use in film, TV, documentaries, music videos, and interviews. This professional production tool is the easy way to log footage and take notes as you shoot— saving you valuable time later when capturing and editing footage. At a fraction of a bulky digital clapperboard’s cost, you’ll be saving money too.”

iTunes Rating: 5/5
Price: $19.99

JumiCam

“JumiCam is a full featured high performance, monitoring, tracking & spying system. It connects to an unlimited number of webcames & PCs, and streams live video and audio. It gives you instant control over all rooms in your home, your office, your garage, and even your grandma’s house if you wanted. It works over 3G / Edge / Local or Remote Wi-Fi.”

iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $4.99

FaceMan

“FaceMan is an amazing app that does funny video effects for your iPhone or iPod Touch!
Once you start playing with FaceMan, you end up in tears laughing at your creations thanks to 20 incredible effects, funny ones and Photoshop like!”

iTunes Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $0.99

FaceMan

HDR

TrueHDR

“Use TrueHDR to take full-resolution HDR (high dynamic range) pictures with your iPhone 4, 3GS, or iPod Touch 4G! Beautiful new Natural mode takes better pictures than ever before and with faster processing speed. Rapid Autocapture mode makes it easy to take fantastic HDR pictures, and SemiAuto mode offers greater control in choosing exposure points. Share using Facebook, Twitter, or email from within the app. ”

iTunes Rating: 4/5
Price: $1.99

Pro HDR

“Thanks to Pro HDR, you no longer have to choose between a blown-out sky or a hopelessly dark foreground. Bringing automatic high dynamic range photography to your iPhone for the first time ever, Pro HDR captures an image exposed for the highlights and another exposed for the shadows. It then aligns and merges the images, giving you a gorgeous 3- or 5-megapixel HDR image like nothing you’ve ever seen from such a tiny device.”

iTunes Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $0.99

Pro HDR

iCamera HDR

“iCamera HDR is the first app in the App Store to include the most advanced capture modes, full 32-bit HDR processing workflow, a range of digital photography post processing functions and awesome photo effects all in one app. This is also the easiest app to produce the results you, your friends and family will love. It works with photos taken by your Iphone, as well as those already in your Camera Roll from other sources.”

iTunes Rating: 3/5
Price: $1.99

What Did We Miss?

I hope the apps above are enough to fill your iPhone with pure photographic bliss for months to come. Leave a comment below and let us know which are your favorites.

Also, be sure to tell us if we missed any great apps that you’ve tried and loved. This is a huge category and there are bound to be a few gems that we haven’t discovered yet!

Author BlancerPosted on 2011/02/15Categories I-phoneLeave a comment on 100 Fantastic Photography Apps for iPhone

Why iPhone 5 Isn’t Coming in June or July

If you don’t know already, for the past four years since the iPhone’s inauguration, Apple has released a handset in the summer (normally June or July). This has been to much fanfare as most evangelists haven’t had their hands on a new one since the previous year. However, it’s only February and one iPhone version has already been launched. Then there’s rumors of the white one coming out next and then the iPhone 5 in the summer?

Would Apple really release three versions of it’s device throughout the first half of the year? Let’s see if we can debunk those rumors!

Let me start by noting that the ideas expressed in this article are pure speculation and of my opinion only. However, hopefully I can bring some interesting points up, because in my mind, they fit together quite nicely.

The Verizon iPhone

The first factor in dissuading a summer release is the recent release of the Verizon iPhone. Now, it’s not just as simple as putting in a new sim card. Verizon is a CDMA-based network meaning that Apple had to redesign part of their phone in order to guarantee compatibility. The question is, why would Apple release a new phone – constraining their supply lines at the same time – only to further constrain their supply lines a few months down the line? Apple has a history of high-demand, low-supply and you’re saying they’ve planned to launch two predictably-successful products in quick succession? I doubt it.

Then you wonder: Wouldn’t summer be an excellent opportunity to capitalize on the existing Verizon handset? Many AT&T iPhone 3GS owners will be coming to the end of their 24-month contract and probably willing to move. The iPhone 4 saw the biggest change in the iPhone’s history so I doubt iPhone 5 will have that many new features outside of spec boosts: why not tout CDMA as the “revolutionary” development?

Plus, there are rumors that iPhone 5 will feature a dual GSM/CDMA chip making us wonder, why are Apple effectively starting fragmentation on it’s devices?

The iPhone hit Verizon on February 3rd. It was their most successful first day of sales ever.

The White iPhone

Let’s have look at another version of the iPhone 4. Back at Steve Jobs’ WWDC keynote in June of 2010, he showed off a white iPhone as well as the now-released black version. Originally, this was to ship with the black one. It has since been delayed time and time again, supposedly due to technical issues with the camera. Now, the carriers over here in the UK have been featuring the white iPhone on their websites in addition to Verizon. Rumors now suggest that it’s coming out in late March.

Again, why would Apple release another version just three months before an update? My opinion (and this is just pure speculation) is that Apple isn’t releasing and iPhone 5, but rather using the white one as an upgrade incentive for those same iPhone 3GS owners coming off their contracts.

And there’s just one more thing. Today we’re announcing the well-anticipated *laughs from crowd* white iPhone, on Verizon *ridiculous amounts of applause*

"Can't touch this…" – Image: cc-by-sa Matthew Yohe

Near-Field Communications

The final reason is one I’m not quite sure about, but could be a contributing factor. Apple is believed to be integrating an NFC chip into it’s iOS devices to facilitate payments over-the-air from your bank account (or even iTunes balance – which would be epic!) to a retailer. Unfortunately, this type of system would require the retail adoption of both Apple’s retail stores and many other companies. Plus, if this was the key feature of the iPhone 5, it would really need to see a larger presence worldwide. This would take some time.

Again, in a fit of pure speculation, I think Apple might release NFC equipment with the iPad 2. This update will have so many new features (camera, possible higher res display, faster internals) that NFC will just be another item of the list. Establishing their interest in NFC (and making everyone know it’s coming in the iPhone 5) will give retailers a hint that they need to start work. No doubt Apple will sell equipment or require “Made for iPhone” branding.

Visa is already testing out NFC capabilities in Europe. Image: cc-by-nc Gawker

4G/LTE Connectivity

On the same line as NFC, Apple could want to implement 4G networking into it’s upcoming update. Like with NFC, Apple’s not the type to launch on half-ready infrastructure so it’s likely they could be waiting until Verizon and AT&T’s network structure is more mature. Again, this is an inevitable feature but one that’s not quite ready to Apple’s standard.

When is the iPhone 5 coming then?

Maybe I’ve persuaded you to my frame of mind. So, when do I think iPhone 5 is coming out? Simply put, I don’t know.

One other potential reason for a delay would be Apple’s focus on the Mac during this year’s WWDC with the release of Lion and the guaranteed slur of demos involved. Sure it’s a One More Thing type of announcement, but Apple might be planning a retail push of software upgrades and new Lion-equipped hardware.

My first theory is that Apple could release it in October or November. Apart from a potential MacBook Air update, there probably isn’t anything blockbuster out then. This would also provide a prime victim for the holiday-buying period.

My second mind suggests no update at all this year. I mean, is Apple really going to keep on releasing iPhones every year until iPhone 20? A release cycle will need to slow down eventually. Maybe the iPhone is at it’s peak feature-wise.

Final Thoughts

Whether you agree with me or not, Apple’s speech at WWDC 2011 will be an interesting one. If Apple does release iPhone 5, I’m a little unsure how many non-decimal upgrades there will be. If it doesn’t, it could signal the end of yearly refreshes. However, I’d probably expect them to migrate to an 18-month refresh cycle instead.

I’m on the fence about making an iPhone purchase just yet. I’m definitely waiting until June to see if Apple does release iPhone 5. If not, I’ll be on Apple’s online store ordering one the same day.

Author BlancerPosted on 2011/02/15Categories I-phoneLeave a comment on Why iPhone 5 Isn’t Coming in June or July

Miso: Foursquare for Television

Location-aware apps are very popular right now, whether it be Foursquare or Gowalla checking you in or Google Places finding you a highly rated restaurant nearby. The rise in mobile devices, such as smartphones that are fitted with GPS, allow this type of mobile app to rise to the mainstream. Foursquare, as we just mentioned, is a location-based app where you checkin to various locations in an effort to become the mayor of said location.

On a similar theme, Miso allows users to not checkin to locations, but into TV shows and movies that they’re currently watching. Miso is advertised as “social TV” and, in addition to it’s own service, links into Twitter and Facebook. A la Foursquare, you can also earn badge and points for watching shows and movies.

Your First Checkin

Imagine this: you’re sitting on your sofa watching The Simpsons. You pull out your iPhone (or iother iOS device) and launch the Miso app to check in. The currently trending TV shows and movies appear and you get the option to search for the show you’re watching. Once you’ve located said show you can view who else is watching, follow the show or, of course, check in.

"The Simpsons" seems to be constantly trending…

The advantage of choosing Miso over rival services is the ability to select a specific episode of the show you’re watching to inform your friends and maybe spark some discussion.

Once you’ve checked in, you earn points and possibly badges depending on the fulfillment of each badge’s criteria. When I checked into The Simpsons with a comment and allowed the app to share it on twitter, I earned three points and the “TV Newbie” badge. Also, my persona and comment appeared on the show page.

Just like Foursquare

As with Foursquare, you get a profile, recent activity/history, badges and notifications. Your profile will eventually build up with your checkins and your followings. However, instead of showing off your mayorships, it’s a lot more personal with Miso showing off the number of your checkins to your favorite shows.

The badges system is tiered into three sections: featured, achievements and levels. Featured are special badges relevant to currently broadcasting shows. Achievements and levels are a little harder to explain as their success criteria is hidden under a not-so-helpful hint.

Checking in on Miso. Yep, I can't think of a caption for this.

Gomiso.com

As with it’s rival checkin services, Miso’s main usage will be on mobile devices due to the accessibility of the service there compared to on the desktop. Away from the smartphone, this seems like a tedious and unnecessary task, but nevertheless there is a web accompaniment.

GoMiso.com acts in the same way as the app with your feed also accessible there too. In a very similar way, you can search for the show you’re watching and checkin, add links or add a comment’s to the show’s “wall”.

Conclusion

It was quite difficult to write this review because there’s not much you can say about this app aside from that you can check into TV shows. The idea is interesting and the theory of letting your friends know what you’re watching and maybe encourage them to spark a discussion if they’re watching the same show is nice. However, it seems like you can do this a lot easier on already established services like Twitter and Facebook without the need to signup and manage yet another service.

I enjoy using Foursquare because of it’s “game” element. It’s a little sad that I was quite content a week or so ago when I became the mayor of a Starbucks and an Apple store… in the same day! This conquest for mayorship is very inviting and creates a strong sense of lasting appeal. However, the lack of real goal in Miso doesn’t define a reason for you to use the service. The reality is that you can achieve this on an alternative network that you already have friends and followers on without trying to get them all to sign up to a new one.

Miso’s integrated social network publishing options don’t help it either for the reasons we just discussed: why use another service to publish to Twitter whilst offering nothing else? It would be a lot easier to bypass Miso and head straight to Twitter.

However, if you have a group of friends who are willing to sign up in order to gain a topic of discussion next time you meet, you should give this app a shot. It’s closest kin is Apple’s Ping where it only becomes useful if you’re real life friends are willing to adopt it with you.

Have you use Miso? or GetGlue? What are your experiences with them? Let us know in the comments.

Author BlancerPosted on 2011/02/15Categories I-phoneLeave a comment on Miso: Foursquare for Television

Quick Look: KitchenPad Timer

Quick Look posts are paid submissions offering only a brief overview of an app. Vote in the polls below if you think this app is worth an in-depth AppStorm review!

In this Quick Look, we’re highlighting KitchenPad Timer. The developer describes KitchenPad Timer as follows: Take back control of meal time with the all new KitchenPad Timer. This visual kitchen timer that can be used to manage multiple cook times for your stove-top and oven. The convenient timer displays give you all the critical timer info at-a-glance. Never lose track of a dish you are preparing ever again!

Read on for more information and screenshots!

Screenshots

KitchenPad Timer

About the App

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

Stunning, simple and elegant design with easy to use controls! Set, start & pause timers with ease.

Set up to 9 timers at once (5 stove-top and 4 oven timers)

Timer displays tell you what’s on the stove or in the oven, how much time left and the temperature or heat setting. Stove-top timers have heat settings from low to high, and with oven timers you can choose from fahrenheit, celsius, and by popular demand gas mark.

Audio alerts with local & push notifications when timers complete even if the app is running in the background. Select from our list of 15 alert sounds

Ability to save your favorite timers! Easily recall them later when making your favorite dishes.

Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later
Price: $2.99
Developer: Prativo

Vote for a Review

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

Would you like to see KitchenPad Timer reviewed in-depth on AppStorm?online survey

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.

Author BlancerPosted on 2011/02/15Categories I-phoneLeave a comment on Quick Look: KitchenPad Timer

MapQuest 4 Mobile: Free GPS Spoken Driving Directions

I’m an avid Google Maps fan. Long ago when MapQuest was the standard place to go to for maps, I was that smug guy telling you that Google had a new and far superior alternative. However, the MapQuest 4 Mobile app recently caught my eye and I have to say, it’s an awesome product.

Today we’ll take a look at why should think twice before buying one of those expensive turn-by-turn GPS apps for your iPhone. MapQuest 4 Mobile may be just what you’re looking for, and it’s free.

Is It Really Free?

If you’ve ever shopped around for iPhone GPS apps, you know that it can be a tricky business. Some apps appear to be free or fairly cheap until you realize there’s a big monthly fee. There are plenty of great, fully-featured GPS apps without monthly fees, but they typically cost somewhere between $50 and $100.

Truly free, non-subscription, turn-by-turn, voice guided GPS apps do exist, but they tend to rely a lot on user-provided or open source maps and are known for leading you astray (one of our reviewers was confident that Waze wanted to kill him).

To be fair, the Google Maps app built into your iPhone is excellent, it just doesn’t provide the voice-guided directions ideal for driving while not staring at your phone. Up until now, a quality free GPS navigation app was more of a myth than a reality, but MapQuest seems to have pulled it off. MapQuest 4 Mobile is truly 100% free and it’s actually a really great app. You might remember that MapQuest themselves had a subscription-based navigation app called “MapQuest Navigator,” but that seems to have been pulled from the app store in favor of integrating the features into their mobile app.

Let’s Take a Drive

To test out MapQuest 4 Mobile, I naturally set out for a drive. I intentionally had a location in mind that I knew was a fairly new development. One of the biggest annoyances with dedicated GPS devices like my Garmin Nuvi is that you have to purchase frequent map updates or else newly constructed areas and businesses won’t appear. Testing MapQuest 4 Mobile on just such a location seemed like a good way to put it through the wringer.

I started by searching for book stores near my house to see if the one that I had in mind popped up. Sure enough, the app found several locations close to me, including the one I was looking for.

Searching for a Book Store

As you can see, the options show up as pins on a map very similar to what you see in Google. The search bar resides at the top along with a button to view the results in a list.

Once I found the book store I wanted, I tapped on the pin to bring up a little bubble with the address and business name. Tapping on this bubble brought me to a page nearly identical to that in Google Maps for getting directions.

Getting Directions

The Voices Told Me To

Once I told the app to get me directions to the location we were off and running. Immediately a voice emerged from my phone telling me where to go. It was a simulated American female voice every bit as good as the one on my $90 Garmin Nuvi.

On the way

The directions that the app gave me were clear and easy to understand. Each time I approached a turn I received several verbal warnings: one at .6 miles, one at .5 miles and one at the turn. This made it really easy to follow all of the directions without any last minute lane-changing.

Your next step is always shown at the top of the screen with a constantly updating countdown to your next turn. You can use the arrows to go back and forth and view other steps in the process. You can also view the steps in a list view instead of a map view. The app conveniently enlarges and highlights your current step so it’s always easy to tell at a glance where you are.

You can view directions as in a map or list view

Finding Lunch

MapQuest 4 Mobile isn’t just for finding directions, it’s a fully-featured map client with powerful local search. One of the features that I really like is the customizable row of icons that sits at the bottom of the screen. These make it super easy to find what you’re looking for without even typing in a search string!

If you want to find a place to eat, simply tap on the knife and fork to view the options around you. If you want to also add in gas stations, tap that icon as well to see both food and gas (tap the icons again to turn them off).

Tap an icon to quickly view a category of businesses

If you want even more options, you can tap an icon at the end of the line to include additional options such as movie theaters and rest stops.

Settings

Under the settings menu there are a few typical options. For instance, you can change the default measurement from miles to kilometers or set the directions from “shortest time” to “shortest distance.”

My favorite option is the ability to change your position icon. I was quite unhappy with the default waving man and instantly wondered if I could change it. As it turns out, MapQuest 4 Mobile gives you a number of options; everything from robot to a jet! Now that’s more like it.

You can customize your position icon

Possible Improvements

Honestly, I think the app is nearly perfect as it is, and that’s no small compliment coming from a former MapQuest critic. My only complaints stem from the experience of my dedicated Garmin GPS unit.

For instance, I like that when I make a turn, my Garmin immediately tells me what the next step will be, even if it’s something like “Continue for 200 miles.” This little bit of instruction ensures that you don’t feel like you’re driving along in no man’s land wondering what will happen next. The MapQuest app doesn’t have this functionality and easily could (the screen shows the next step, the voice just doesn’t speak it until you’re close to turning).

Another pet peeve is that when you’re pulling up to your destination, MapQuest simply tells you that you’ve arrived and leaves out which side of the road you should be looking at. Again, most GPS units tell you something along the lines of “Arriving at destination, on right.” It’s a small thing, but it helps a lot when you’re in an unfamiliar place.

One final complaint is the lack of a 3D driving view, similar to what you see in most GPS apps, including the old MapQuest navigator. I honestly like the overhead map view but I’m sure many users will prefer the 3D approach.

Obviously, these are extremely minor complaints. I would have far more suggestions for making my Garmin work like this app than the other way around! For instance, the searching is far superior and incredibly faster.

Conclusion

In closing, there really aren’t that many options available for truly 100% free, turn-by-turn voice guided driving directions in the App Store. Only a few apps meet this description and most of them are fairly poor in practice.

MapQuest 4 Mobile is a genuine exception to this rule. It’s a great app that provides up-to-date maps, clear spoken directions and an innovative, fast search for local businesses.

If you’ve been looking for a good GPS app but are hesitant to spend $50, check out MapQuest 4 Mobile right away and let us know what you think.

Author BlancerPosted on 2011/02/15Categories I-phoneLeave a comment on MapQuest 4 Mobile: Free GPS Spoken Driving Directions

Beyond Foursquare: Checking in On Check-In Services

The geniuses behind Foursquare had a simple but brilliant idea: a location-based social network. Wouldn’t it be cool if you could send a quick shout to all your friends telling them where you are? However, this wasn’t enough. The real innovation that made their idea work was that they realized there would need to be some incentive to come back and use the app. A goal system with prizes was born and the rest is history. Foursquare now works across several mobile platforms and boasts millions of daily users.

Foursquare began in 2009 and triggered the social check-in revolution that is still very much in its infancy. Today we’re going to look at what developments have been made in this area in addition to a few notable newcomers that you might want to check out.

A Rivalry is Born

By the end of 2009 there were two main competitors in the social check-in game: Foursquare and Gowalla. Gowalla’s service was conceptually almost identical to that of Foursquare, but their UI design set them apart and provided a clear point for users to compare and choose their favorite. Back in April of 2010, we did just that in our article “Head to Head: Gowalla vs. FourSquare”

Side by side comparison of Foursquare and Gowalla

Ultimately I think this rivalry has been great for both platforms. Rather than one service ruling and becoming stagnant, both have had to engage in a strong push towards innovation that has led to several new features and interface upgrades in a pretty short amount of time.

Facebook Checks In

By August of 2010, the social check-in game was in full stride. Not one to sit idly by while other social networks gain steam, Facebook decided they wanted a piece of this business and launched their own location-based check-in feature.

At the time, many of us were quite concerned that the entrance of Internet giant Facebook into this arena would spell doom for Foursquare and Gowalla, the two little guys who worked hard to pioneer the market. It seemed like a cheap move for Facebook to simply take the idea and run with it as their own.

Checking In On Facebook

Fortunately, the doom and gloom predictions turned out to be over-stated. Around half a year after Facebook launched Places, the impact that it has had on the social Check-In industry appears to be quite minimal. In fact, if anything it has added yet another interesting layer as Foursquare and Gowalla can now interact with Facebook on a useful level that wasn’t possible before. Using only one app, Gowalla, you can now check in and keep up with friends on the Gowalla, Foursquare and Facebook networks! I personally love that the competitors in this market are choosing to play so well together.

It’s interesting to note that Twitter also has a location layer, but it doesn’t really seem like a truly integral part of the service and definitely never felt like a threat to Gowalla and Foursquare.

New Kids on the Block

So here we are in 2011. Foursquare and Gowalla are still going strong, meanwhile, Facebook Places has had some trouble taking off and has yet to ruin the industry like we feared. There’s still plenty of room for innovation and fresh blood and I think it’s entirely possible there will be a few more really big names in this list a few years from now.

For now, here’s a few promising apps that you should definitely check out and keep an eye on.

Kickball

Kickball isn’t really a Foursquare competitor, because it actually is Foursquare, just in a different wrapper. If you love the Foursquare service but aren’t a fan of the relatively boring interface, Kickball provides you with a gorgeous alternative that utilizes the same exact network. Even if your friends have never heard of Kickball, they’ll still see all of your check-ins and shouts just as if you were in the Foursquare app.

Kickball gives Foursquare a makeover

Kickball goes one step further by actually improving your Foursquare experience with a few new features. For starters, you can now see the location of friends and places around you in a live map view (a nice upgrade from the simple list), there are also some improvements for linking photos to specific places.

For now, Kickball only allows you to check in on Foursquare, but Gowalla and Facebook Places integration is coming soon. Interestingly enough, the app actually functions as a decent browser for your Facebook and Twitter feeds as well, making it a hard-to-beat social hub!

SCVNGR

SCVNGR is a fairly new location-based app that, on the surface appears to be just another Foursquare clone, but actually brings some new functionality to the mix.

Beyond simply checking in and earning badges, each location you visit presents you with a series of challenges that you have to complete to earn points. For instance, at the location I visited, you could take a picture, Bump with another contact, or write something about the location, each of which had a unique point value.

SCVNGR

The coolest part is that as you rack up points at various locations, you can earn savings and rewards. So some local business could give you $5 off for earning 25 points, which gives you incentive to keep returning. It’s a great feature that is very close to what already happens with Foursquare, but is integrated into the app on a much deeper level.

Wingman – Check in to get Checked Out

Wingman is yet another interesting use of the existing Foursquare network. This time the goal is digital flirting. You can use the app to check into a location and then see what other single Foursquare users are around you. You’ll get an alert when someone shows interest and you can chat to get to know them and decide whether or not to meet up.

Wingman brings flirting to Foursquare

I’m a happily married man so I haven’t personally tried this one, but the idea seems to have a lot of potential. Approaching someone in public is dreadfully awkward and having an impersonal piece of technology bridge the gap is a great way to reduce the stress of finding a potential partner. Obviously, there’s potential here for predators looking for trouble, so ladies, pack your pepper spray!

Untappd

What do you get when you mix Foursqaure-like functionality with beer? Untappd! This browser-based mobile app allows you to check into your favorite drinking spot and share what you’re drinking with your friends. It’s a great way to not only discover new places and people, but to find new and popular beer. What could be better?

Untappd is a social drinking app

If you’re looking for a native Untappd iPhone app, check out iTappd on the App Store for $1.99. It’s a third party solution but looks like it integrates with the service pretty well.

Shopkick – Deals & Rewards!

Shopkick is similar in concept to SCVNGR in that it’s geared heavily towards earning real-world savings. By checking into certain stores and/or scanning the barcodes of specific items, you earn “kickbucks” which you can then cash in for gift cards, song downloads and more.

Shopkick provides great savings for social shoppers

From a business perspective, it’s a fantastic way to actually get people into your store. Sure, they’ll get plenty of people just looking for some quick points, but once you walk through those doors they have you right where they want you and can reel you in with sales pitches and discounts.

Conclusion

As more and more people make the switch to smartphones, I expect to see a mountain of growth in the social check-in arena. As we saw above, there are already a number of interesting and even wacky ideas for how to apply this technology, everything from snagging discounts to getting a date! More and more we’re starting to see location sharing not only as a stand-alone platform, but a must-have feature for nearly every social app out there.

Leave a comment below and tell us about the check-in services that you’ve seen and used. Do you stick primarily to Foursquare/Gowalla or have you branched out to other apps? Better yet, are you confused by the whole trend and still wondering why anyone would want to share their location with the world? Let us know!

Author BlancerPosted on 2011/02/15Categories I-phoneLeave a comment on Beyond Foursquare: Checking in On Check-In Services

Organize Your Trip with Itinerary for iPhone

It’s so easy to get disorganized on a trip. When you’re out of your normal settings, everything gets out of order fast. Plus, you went on vacation just so you could get away from sticking to a calendar like you do every day at work, right?

Today we’re going to look at an app that can make organizing your trip both easy and fun. Itinerary is a beautifully designed app for iPhone and iPod Touch that helps you keep up with what you’re doing and where you’re supposed to be throughout your trip. If you’ve found it boring or difficult to keep a schedule while on vacation, Itinerary may change your mind. Plus, it can even be helpful if you’re actually traveling for business since it gives you a head’s up view of each day’s schedule.

Ready to takeoff? Let’s go!

Getting Started

Itinerary starts off with a nicely designed help guide that looks like a deck of photos. Swipe your finger to the left to switch to the next picture and get a full overview of how the app works.

Even the intro help screens are beautifully animated … swipe left to view the next slide

Once you’re finished, you’re ready to start adding your upcoming and current trips. Itinerary will show an empty leather wallet, simply tap the plus button to start adding your trips. Add your departure and return date, then enter your departure city and destination city and country. Tap Save when you’re done.

Add your upcoming or current trips, including destination and dates

As you add trips, you’ll see your wallet fill up with virtual tickets. Just seeing all your trips as tickets isn’t too useful, but tap the tickets to add what you’ll be doing throughout the day. The ticket will automatically include the number of days that you indicated you’d be on the trip when you created it before, and you can swipe between the available days from the top band. Just tap the plus at the top of any day’s page to add what you’re doing that day.

Tap a trip, and the ticket slides out with a 3D animation so you can add your itinerary on the back

Schedule What You’re Doing on Your Trip

Itinerary App does a great job at letting you add your activities and the locations you’ll be visiting on your trip. You can enter the location you’re going to, along with the city and country. Tap the icon on the top left to change the location tag; you can choose from over a dozen built-in location types. Oddly enough, you have to press the icon then press Save, though it would make more sense if you just pressed the tag and that added it.

Enter info about what you're doing, complete with icons of the destination category

From here, you can add the location you’re going to visit. Tap the Locate In Map button, then enter your destination in the search box. Itinerary App uses the city information you’ve already entered to locate destinations in that area, so it was amazingly easy to find the places we were visiting. You can also add notes about your destination before you save it. As you’ll notice, Itinerary is beautifully designed throughout the app, which makes it really fun to use.

Add location and notes to your outing

As you add more and more things to your day, you’ll begin to see your ticket fill up. The icons make it easy to spot the different things you’ll be doing, and you can see your notes about the outing under the destination name. Tap the event, and Itinerary will open a nicely styled page showing a map of your destination with your note on a notepad underneath.

View what you’re doing each day, then tap an entry to see your map and notes

Features and Design

Itinerary is one of the nicer designed apps I’ve used recently. From the ticket wallet to the animation when opening the events list, the entire app is beautiful and fun to use. I really enjoy natural textures in apps, and Itinerary incorporates them beautifully.

The only real problem I noticed is that the app is somewhat limited in its feature-set. I would have loved to see a way to download a copy of trip data to a computer, or perhaps synced with an online itinerary or calendar app. Also, it’d be fun if you could add pictures from your trip to the locations you added. There’s a lot of potential here, and even as-is, it’s one of the simplest and cutest trip planners I’ve seen.

Conclusion

If you’ve been looking for an easier and more graphic way to plan your trips, Itinerary app is a fun way to do it. It makes it simple to get a list of everything you’re doing and all your destinations, and could be an easy way to keep a travel journal with notes about each place you’ve been. The graphics are top notch, but we do wish it had a slightly deeper feature set. That said, sometimes it’s best for an app to be simple, and Itinerary definately wins there.

How do you usually stay on top of everything you’re going to do on a trip? Do you have some favorite travel apps?

Author BlancerPosted on 2011/02/15Categories I-phoneLeave a comment on Organize Your Trip with Itinerary for iPhone

Weekly Poll: Would You Buy an iPhone Nano?

Would You Buy an iPhone Nano?customer surveys

The rumor mills are alive with speculation about the iPhone 5, which will supposedly be coming this summer. With these rumors comes the tale of a mythical device that we haven’t heard mentioned in quite some time: the iPhone Nano.

When the very first iPhone was released, it took spin-artists no time to convince the media that Apple was working on a new smaller version. This device would of course be cheaper and more compact than the normal iPhone and would hopefully appeal to customers not willing to shill out for the big version.

Of course, years later we know that these rumors were 100% fabricated and not the least based in reality. Yet here we are again, four years later and the rumors have resurfaced. Could Apple finally be ready to expand the iPhone line with a smaller version? More importantly, do you care?

Let’s say the rumors are true and Apple releases an iPhone Nano in a few months, would you buy one? Vote in the poll above, then leave a comment below and let us know, regardless of whether or not you want to buy one, if you think it’s a good strategy. Do you know people that would jump on the idea of a smaller, cheaper iPhone?

Author BlancerPosted on 2011/02/15Categories I-phoneLeave a comment on Weekly Poll: Would You Buy an iPhone Nano?

iPhone Game Friday: New Releases

With Cupid closing in on us, I’m certain that many of you have been perusing the flood of Valentine’s updates to many of the major games like Angry Birds, Cut The Rope, etc. so rather than bore you with the obvious selections this week, we’ve gathered a few new titles that may have flown under the radar.

If you’ve caught some others then get in touch and let us know, but in the meantime, have a look at this week’s roundup!

Chocolate Tycoon

Chocolate Tycoon

Nothing says love like chocolates, so we’ll start things off with an interesting new business simulation game from Com2uS called Chocolate Tycoon in which your goal is to man a small chocolate shop by day and develop and expand the business by night.

It’s an interesting setup with a great deal of charm, all portrayed with adorable graphics and good sound design. The gameplay is varied and includes feeding “Choki” creatures to have them produce chocolate for you, selling the prepared chocolates to customers, investing your earnings, buying new equipment, and even designing your own chocolates.

If you’re into this kind of simulation game then you’ll find a lot to love in Chocolate Tycoon as it’s one of the most finely tuned we’ve encountered. Well worth the relatively steep price point.

Price: $2.99
Developer: Com2uS Inc.
Download: App Store

Sticky

Sticky

Next up is a side scrolling game that presents a quirky and enjoyable game mechanic that takes some inspiration from previous gravity flipping titles and implements it in a new way.

Specifically, you play as a little goo ball called Sticky in a quest to save the scientist who created you from evil black sludge goo balls. To do so, you will progress through levels in which the goal is to attack the black goo by slamming its head a la Super Mario, except rather than controlling Sticky directly, you stretch the ground beneath him to catapult him around the map, up to the ceiling, etc. It’s a lot of fun and handles very smoothly.

There are a good number of levels and achievements to unlock, and no doubt there will be updates with more. Nice and simple entertainment here.

Price: $0.99
Developer: Gamistry Games
Download: App Store

Sacred Odyssey: Rise of Ayden

Sacred Odyssey: Rise of Ayden

The world of “blockbuster” iOS action RPGs has a new contender in the form of Sacred Odyssey: Rise of Ayden, recently released by Gameloft. While it’s structurally very similar to most other fantasy RPGs you’re likely familiar with, Sacred Odyssey brings some interesting new things to the mobile world that set it apart from the pack.

For starters, you have a mount that you can ride through the world (think horseback riding in Zelda). In fact, the game clearly owes a lot of inspiration to the Zelda series, even down to the special items that you’ll collect throughout the quest (a boomerang, grappling hook, special shield…stop me if this sounds familiar). That being said, the homage is beautifully put together and stands well on its own. Several diverse environments, a decent story, and good graphics offer plenty of positives to look forward to.

On the negative side, the app is not actually free, unlike the App Store listing would have you believe. It is in fact a sort of hybrid lite version where you get a brief demo and then must pay the full $6.99 to continue the adventure. It’s not an unfair system but it’s not advertised clearly. In any case, if you have a 3rd or 4th gen iOS device, you’ll almost definitely find something to like in Sacred Odyssey.

Price: Free ($6.99 in-app purchase)
Developer: Gameloft
Download: App Store

TowerUp! Plus

TowerUp! Plus

Not exactly brand new, TowerUp! Plus is a refreshed version of a popular tower building game where you work to build the tallest and most profitable hotel highrise you can.

In addition to building the expected hotel rooms, you’re also encouraged to add exterior decorations, entertainment rooms, and a variety of other elements to create a vibrant tower community. There’s a nice social aspect built in too (though it also means you need to be online to play) and free is hard to beat, so give it a shot and see how high you can build.

Price: Free
Developer: Uken Games
Download: App Store

Sky Combat

Sky Combat

Last up is one of the finest vertical shooters in recent memory. Sky Combat is the latest gem published by Chillingo and developed by Alien Worm over in Poland. It’s a military-themed affair where you control a helicopter, tank, and boat alternately as you navigate the levels.

What stands out about Sky Combat is the quality of the graphics, for one. Just have a look at the water and explosion effects and you’ll get a sense for what we mean. Beyond the presentation though, the gameplay is also streamlined and fun, and there are several difficulty levels to appeal to gamers of all skill levels. We also appreciated the inclusion of extensive customization options for controls and the HUD.

There is a lot of fun gameplay to be had in Sky Combat, so it’s one you definitely want to check out.

Price: $1.29
Developer: Alien Worm
Download: App Store

What Have You Been Playing?

That’s it for this week! Remember, cute games make neat little digital gifts for your sweetheart. They’re not edible though, so you’ll probably still need to stock up on chocolates.

Have a good time and make sure to drop us some comments if you find any neat new games!

Author BlancerPosted on 2011/02/15Categories I-phoneLeave a comment on iPhone Game Friday: New Releases

Quick Look: Talking OZ

Quick Look posts are paid submissions offering only a brief overview of an app. Vote in the polls below if you think this app is worth an in-depth AppStorm review!

In this Quick Look, we’re highlighting Talking OZ. The developer describes Talking OZ as follows: Talking OZ repeats everything you say with cute voice. Talking OZ is full of amazing & hilarious animations, all of which will be on air soon. OZ can provide hours of laugh to children of any ages. Parents will love OZ because they will have some free time in peace while kids are playing with her.

Read on for more information and screenshots!

Screenshots

Talking OZ

About the App

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

Cute & Unique character

Mimics user’s voice

Fun movements and animations

Video recording & upload function

To be launched as Canimals series

Requirements: iPhone OS 4.0

Price: Free

Developer: VOOZCLUB

Vote for a Review

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

Would you like to see Talking OZ reviewed in-depth on AppStorm?survey software

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.

Author BlancerPosted on 2011/02/15Categories I-phoneLeave a comment on Quick Look: Talking OZ

Fall In Love with Music Videos All Over Again with VEVO HD

Who doesn’t love music videos? We were all teenagers once, rocking out to MTV and VH1 as we watched songs from our favorite artists unfold in an artistic drama on the screen.

For a very short while, Apple had a section where you could watch free music videos on iTunes, but this was quickly replaced by paid downloads, leaving a void for free music video content for Apple fans. Vevo HD fills this void for iPad owners and brings a ton of great music videos for music fans of all types, no big downloads or expensive purchases necessary. Today we’ll go over the app’s features and interface and discuss whether or not you should download it.

Getting Started

When you first open the app, it’s deceptively simple. I saw a slideshow with a few videos and naturally assumed that this app didn’t have much to offer.

Featured Section

However, when I started digging around, I realized that Vevo HD gives you access to a huge library of music videos from an impressive span of artists. The content is ad supported in the form of the occasional commercial before a video, but these are well worth sitting through for the mountain of content available here.

Apart from the featured section above, there are five other tabs, each providing a different way to browse the video collection.

Videos and Artists

The “Videos” section features a grid showing all the most recent content. The bright and crisp thumbnails contrast beautifully on the black background, giving the app a classy feel.

Videos

You can scroll down and browse through the offering, enter a search or filter the videos by category, time and genre. Everything from Eagle Eye Cherry to Katy Perry is present so no matter what you’re into, you’ll likely find something to suck you in right from the start.

Video Filters

The “Artists” tab is essentially the same as the “Videos” tab, only instead of seeing individual videos, you see a grid of different bands and artists to scroll through. All of the filters from the previous section are present here as well.

Artists Tab

When you tap on an artist, you are taken to a page containing a photo, the available videos for that artist and even their Twitter feed and tour dates.

Eminem’s Twitter Feed

Playlists, Music Map and History

Vevo HD gives you the ability to create playlists of videos to come back and watch later. This is implemented really nicely across the app in the form of a button and the very bottom right of the screen. When pressed, a little drawer pops up from the bottom and “+” symbols appear on every video thumbnail. Simply press the “+” to add the videos to your playlist.

Creating a Playlist

When you bring up the Playlists tab, you can browse through all of the playlists created and submitted by other users. This is a great way to discover new content that you might not have given a shot otherwise.

Playlists

The next tab is the “Music Map” feature. Here you can check out what’s popular in your area. Once you allow the app to determine your location, a Google satellite map will pop up showing your location and a list of videos people near you have been listening to. You can also change locations to quickly see what’s popular in LA, New York, etc.

Music Map

The final tab is “History,” which is exactly what it sounds like: a quick list of everything you’ve watched. Don’t worry, if you’re embarrassed by all of those Bieber hits in your history, you can easily clear this section.

History

Watching a Video

Tapping on any video will bring it up in the full-screen player. While the video loads you are greeted with interesting trivia about different artists. The full-screen video controls are pretty standard and include the playhead and video control buttons along with other options like “Add to Playlist” and social network sharing.

Watching a video

If you exit full-screen mode, the video keeps playing and a list of related videos pops up. This is yet another feature that keeps you hooked and watching video after video.

Worth a Download?

I’m actually really impressed with this app. It could’ve easily been a mess of poor usability and slowly loading videos, but it isn’t that at all. Instead, it’s a well-design, intuitive and downright addicting way to browse an awesome selection of free music videos.

I had a lot of trouble getting through this review because I kept getting distracted by the app. Watching Michael Jackson’s amazing rendition of “Come Together” inevitably leads to sitting through the full “Thriller” video, which then leads to the discovery of the bizarre claymation film “Speed Demon.” Just like that, over 30 minutes had gone by and I hadn’t written a thing! It’s definitely not common for me to spend such a big chunk of time in a single app.

So the answer is a big “yes.” If you’re a music fan (and who isn’t’?), go download Vevo HD. The next time you need to kill a few minutes, chill out with your favorite artists and videos from the past few decades.

As with just about any video app, there is the occasional crash, but they’re really quite rare. On the whole, the app is fairly stable and hardly gave me a single issue the entire time I used it.

Conclusion

To sum up, Vevo HD is a fantastic app for browsing and viewing music videos from all of your favorite artists. The app and the videos within are completely free so there’s really no reason to not go to the iTunes store and grab your download now!

Give Vevo HD a shot and let us know what you think in the comments below. Also be sure to let us know if you’ve found any other music video apps that you would recommend.

Author BlancerPosted on 2011/02/15Categories I-phoneLeave a comment on Fall In Love with Music Videos All Over Again with VEVO HD

Ripples of The Verizon iPhone Launch

If you’re reading this from the U.S., the fact that you might be doing so from a Verizon iPhone is big news. Many Apple fans have waited not-so-patiently for four long years for this opportunity and customers of other carriers are no doubt licking their lips wondering when their turn will come.

Now that the Verizon iPhone is officially in the wild, what effect did it have on the market? How are other carriers responding? Has someone hacked it yet? Today we’ll take a brief look at a world where Verizon iPhones exist.

iPhone Competes with Free

Let’s face it, competing with the iPhone isn’t easy. The retina display blows the competition out of the water, the multi-camera and FaceTime combination is amazing and most importantly, the App Store knows no equal (sorry Android, close but no cigar).

Now that the two biggest dogs in the U.S. cellular service fight are both enjoying the iPhone and its horde of followers willing to dish out hundreds of dollars every time Apple sneezes, how can the other carriers compete? T-Mobile has an interesting approach, they’re giving away phones, the good ones.

T-Mobile is jut giving these things away.

On February 7th, T-Mobile announced their upcoming Valentine’s day deal, which states that “all T-Mobile phones, even the fastest 4G smartphones running on America’s largest 4G network, will be offered for free at T-Mobile retail stores with qualifying plan on two-year contract.”

Needless to say, this is a great deal. Many of T-Mobiles smartphones are normally upwards of $100 so getting one free with a new contract sounds too good to be true. Of course, you’ll be locked in with them for two full years so you better like that non-iPhone that you just bought because you’re stuck with it. There are plenty of great Android handsets out there though so this deal will no doubt make customers not interested in the iPhone quite happy!

AT&T and Verizon Bickering

Another effect of the iPhone now being on two carriers is the launch of new commercials from both AT&T and Verizon, each of course claiming that their version of the iPhone is better.

In Verizon’s commercial, they show the iPhone dramatically spinning over a black background while lavishing complements about its genius. The commercial then throws in an obvious jab at AT&T: “but does your network work?”

Yes, I can hear you now.

AT&T quickly responded with a much more lighthearted ad depicting a man on the phone with his wife, lying about having already made reservations while he browses the web on his phone and makes up for the oversight. The commercial closes with a message that “only AT&T’s network lets your iPhone talk and surf at the same time.”

AT&T and Verizon jousting matches are nothing new, but it’s definitely interesting to see them targeted at a single, nearly identical device that both of them now possess.

Jailbroken Already!?

The most current Verizon iPhone firmware puts us at version 4.2.6. Sometimes jailbreakers have to wait days or even weeks for the hacker community to come up with a response but this time they were on top of it.

So even if you’re currently taking the wrapper off that beautiful new iPhone box, you can already jailbreak it to take advantage of the plethora of hacks and apps not traditionally compatible with the device. The newest Verizon-friendly jailbreak is Greenpois0n RC5.4 and can be downloaded free from a number of sources online.

iFixit Breaks Into Verizon’s iPhone and Makes a Discovery

iFixit discovered a chip that supports both GSM and CDMA

The handy people at iFixit have already posted a complete breakdown of the Verizon iPhone’s inner-workings. The biggest shocker is that it has a Qualcomm dual-mode chip, which technically supports both GSM and CDMA.

Don’t read that as an indication that the Verizon iPhone supports GSM networks, because it doesn’t. However, the fact that Apple is already using a chipset capable of such a feat points to the inevitability that they’ll soon be merging the two distinct handsets into one device that will function on any network (a likely feature of the iPhone 5).

Conclusion

To sum up, the Verizon iPhone is already making big waves. It broke all Verizon pre-order records in the first few hours, is causing T-Mobile to literally give away its most expensive phones, has AT&T on the offensive, spurred jailbreakers into action and has the tech community buzzing about the likely GSM/CDMA hybrid iPhone of the future. Not bad for its first few days!

This kind of buzz is why iPhone.AppStorm exists. The iPhone is an unprecedented phenomenon and the world simply can’t get enough of it. We’ll be here, dishing out reviews, news, rumors and everything else iPhone-related for some time to come simply because we are as fascinated by Apple’s wonder-phone as you are. Thanks for stopping by and offering your continual support!

Author BlancerPosted on 2011/02/15Categories I-phoneLeave a comment on Ripples of The Verizon iPhone Launch

Monitor Your Home From Anywhere in the World With iCam

This is a real life story of my experience working at an Apple Reseller before a major shopping holiday.

It was a few days before a major shopping holiday and we had a huge supply of iMacs, Macbooks, and iPods in our store. It was the perfect time for a holiday robbery, with thieves being able to steal a huge amount of valuable computers. Sure, we had an alarm, but alarms aren’t foolproof. We didn’t want to take a chance with so much product on the line. We also didn’t want to spent hours watching a surveillance camera in hopes we would catch someone breaking in.

We wanted something that would alert us if it detected motion. We wanted something portable enough to run on a few laptops or connect to our current security camera system. We turned to an app called iCam. iCam allowed us to connect several Macbooks to iCams software, giving us access to a live video stream from anywhere in the world.

Features

We chose iCam because of a few really great features that were built into the app. iCam uses the webcam of your Mac or Windows PC to stream video to your iPhone. We were able to use three laptops at different angles to make sure we covered all the entrances, no expensive security camera required.

iCam's webcam viewer allows you to watch multiple cameras at once

iCam also has a built-in motion detector which sends you push notifications when it detects motion. That means you can sleep easy knowing that iCam will stay watch. When it does detect motion, you’ll get a push notification and can easily view the camera that detected it. Sometimes the motion alerts are set off by pets or lighting changes, but it’s much easier than constantly watching the cameras. You can also adjust the sensitivity of the camera software to prevent getting alerts from minor motion events.

Watch your home from anywhere in the world. Just run iCam on a computer with a webcam.

iCam supports several different cameras at once, so you can set up a bunch of computers to monitor your home or workplace. iCam presents you with four video feeds simultaneously, so you can see what’s going on everywhere at once. Tap a video stream to view it on the full screen and even listen to audio. iCam also supports multiple logins on the same account, so your family or coworkers can join in on their iPhones.

Cross Platform

iCam’s server software was built to work on both Windows and Mac OS X, giving you the ability to use just about any laptop or desktop with a connected webcam. Create a home security network for just the price of one copy of iCam. iCam can also work with an MJPEG-compatible network camera, allowing you to upgrade your existing network camera with motion-detecting and monitoring from an iPhone.

iCam viewer can run on iPhones, iPod Touches, iPads, and even Android devices; making it easier for everyone at the office to monitor the camera no matter what device they have. Users without any of these devices can also use the java web client, although they won’t get motion notifications like the others versions will.

No Complicated Setup Required

One of the amazing features of iCam is that it requires very little setup. It runs automatically through the developer’s server, meaning you can access your camera from anywhere in the world.

iCam's instant setup makes it really easy to start monitoring your home. Enter your login information in the iCam Options menu.

You don’t need to have external IPs or any domain names setup on your cameras. Just type in the same username and password that you entered on the computer you are running the webcam software on and iCam will connect you. Within seconds, your webcams are up and running remotely. You can access these cameras from anywhere in the world using this login!

Alerts When You Need Them

The real magic of iCam is that it sends notifications when it detects motions. You can be playing Angry Birds on your iPhone or even watching TV. When iCam detects that there is motion on a camera, it will send you an alert to your phone. The iPhone push notification system sends you alerts no matter what your doing. iCam also stores screenshots of motion events, allowing you to review them at a later time.

iCam was featured in a Dallas local news story where it was used to capture video of two men breaking into a home. The homeowners were alerted of the break-in via iCam’s push notifications while they were on vacation and were able to contact the police and actually watch as police officers entered their house.

Conclusion

iCam is incredibly simple to use, and it’s the simplicity that makes it the best webcam app available for the iPhone. Imagine being able to setup any computer to act as home security system and not having to deal with VPNs or external IP addresses to access these cameras. Then imagine just opening up iCam and being able to monitor your home or workplace from wherever you are.

$4.99 is a small price to pay for piece of mind on this level. If you have a PC with a webcam, we highly recommend that you give this app a shot.

Author BlancerPosted on 2011/02/15Categories I-phoneLeave a comment on Monitor Your Home From Anywhere in the World With iCam

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