Somewhere, as Wagner’s Flight of the Valkyries is playing n the background, squadrons of Parrot AR Drones face off against Griffin’s new Helo TC somewhere over the Atlantic (since Parrot is based in France and Griffin in Tennessee, I figured that’s where they’d probably meet up).
Yesterday, we reviewed Canopy’s Kapok camera system for iPhone 4; the free, feature-packed Canopy Camera Tools app is an excellent camera app and an integral part of that system — but it also works just fine by itself, without any extra hardware.
If you’ve got far-flung friends and family, Jumvo may be just the ticket for staying in touch.
The group messaging app, offered gratis in iTunes, is a handy way to contact lot of people via voice message with minimal effort.
Why bizarrely cool? Forget that it’s an app-enhanced fitness gadget that sands data to your iPhone; sure, that’s neat, but there are a stack of devices out there doing the same thing.
No, Scosche’s little myTREK fitness gadget is that nifty because it tracks bio data using a method straight out of the future — it uses light beams.
Tony Bongiovi (yes, if the name sounds oddly familiar, it’s because you’re probably thinking of his cousin, Jon Bon Jovi) should know a thing or two about sound, hopefully; he’s had a hand in producing albums from the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Aerosmith, and of course, his famous cousin.
Father Paolo Padrini is the Italian priest who developed iBrevary, an app that puts morning prayer, evening prayer and night prayers on the iPhone. It was the first iPhone application sanctioned by the Holy Roman Church, Padrini also works with the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.
Cult of Mac talked to him about what’s next app-wise and what place religious apps have in iTunes.
Anyone who has ever looked after a kid has probably had one of those moments where you turn around and the the spritely tyke has disappeared.
A new app from the Federal Bureau of Investigation hopes to lessen those moments of panic.
Developed by a crime victim, a new app called ThugsMug promises to snap pics of perps while misdeeds are in progress to provide evidence.
Launched July 24, the $4.99 app bills itself as “World’s First Safety Protection App for iPhone & iPad 2.” That’s not strictly true, we’ve alerted you to a number of ICE (in case of emergency) apps like Silent Bodyguard which equips users with a panic button.
This may be the first one, though, that activates your camera to capture evidence at regular intervals.
The developer suggests you activate ThugsMug in potentially dangerous situations, putting it in “armed” mode when at ATM machines, parking lots, bus stops, subways, train stations and malls, or while on vacation or walking or jogging alone.
Should danger strike, by hitting “active,” the app sends email messages with pictures to your designated emergency contacts. It can be set to take pictures every 10 seconds, with flash if your device supports it. The app will also alert 911, too.
The person who developed it was victim of a motorcycle jacking incident, which ended up in a crash and violent beating. There were witnesses, but no one was ever caught.
The developer, who remains nameless in the account, says:
“Reflecting back, I wish I could have captured a picture of them the moment I jumped up from the crash. I had immediately grabbed my phone from my back pocket and had it in my hand when I was assaulted however, my phone did nothing more than block a few blows. Even if they had taken my phone and destroyed it, the pictures would have already been automatically sent to my emergency contact.”
Do you think these emergency apps are useful?
Negotiating Apple’s in-app purchase rules stalled one app for two months, even though it was similar to the company’s iPhone app which made it through the approval gauntlet in just a week.
The Pentagon and Veterans Affairs have developed a number of iPhone and iPad apps to help soldiers struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
iPhone citizen journalism app OneNews is looking for photos from people on the scene of the Oslo bombings to sell to news organizations.
Sonos, already highly regarded for its lineup of great sounding home audio products, this week released the Play:3 Wireless HiFi System, which could — as the marketing materials suggest — make you forget everything you’ve heard before.
The popularity of Babak Pahlavan‘s new predictive, artificial intelligence app seems to have caught him completely by surprise; so much so that he had to change its (or maybe in this case, his) name from Seymour to Alfred.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing guidelines to monitor a “small number of mobile apps.”
Before you start wondering whether the feds are going to jump into your pocket along with your ever-present smartphone, it doesn’t look that way yet.
As the U.S. 2012 presidential election campaign gathers momentum, an app that checks the factual statements of politicians earned a thumbs up from Apple.
Usually only a nobody walks in L.A., but the greater Los Angeles will be turned into a wasteland of nobodies when 10-mile stretch of the 405 Freeway closes July 15-17.
The locals are braced for “carmageddon,” the gridlock of all gridlocks as the most traveled freeway in the U.S. shuts down.
Some are predicting that it may also be a test of iPhone apps, mainly those designed to re-route drivers based on traffic conditions.
You’re always strumming out guitar chords while prancing around your living room listening to Yanni right? Well, here’s your chance for a more interactive experience for your air guitar greatness. Air Guitar Move is a connector for your iPhone/iPod Touch that combines a guitar pick with motion sensor technology to turn your wild flailing into sweet sweet music.
Apple may have banned apps that helped drivers find DUI checkpoints, but it has approved a game where drinkers try to follow a straight line to see how drunk they are.
The iPhone is a powerful reporting tool, so much so that the BBC is creating an app that will help reporters make the most of it in the field, replacing more expensive and sometimes less reliable equipment like satellite phones.
Many other mobile journalists are using them in the field. Their tips for recording and editing audio and video can come in handy for any iPhone user who wants to capture a lecture, conference or family moment — then edit and send with minimum hassle.
For this week’s giveaway we’ve partnered up with the friendly folks at Appular to bring fans a great package of iOS gaming apps, for free. We’ve got codes for five of the hottest games in the iPhone App Store right now and we’re ready to dish em out to our awesome fans to liven up your iPhone gaming lives. Today’s package of apps includes Cars 2, Tiny Wings, Hanging With Friends, The Game of Life, and Sea Battles. If you want a chance to win all five games then hurry up and enter the contest.
iPhone apps are live streaming the trial of a mother accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter.
Casey Anthony, 25, is standing trial in Orange County, Florida on a charge of first-degree murder. Her 2-year-old daughter Caylee’s disappearance in the summer of 2008 became a national obsession.
The first travel guide apps for Cuba are arriving in iTunes as a record number of Americans visit the country.
iCuba is billing itself as the first travel app for the island nation. In truth, it arrived in iTunes about a month after the Cuban Beaches in HD app, which offers hotel as well as beach info, and the Havana Travel Guide which promises an augmented reality feature. There are also a number of map apps for Cuba.
iCuba is offered in English, Spanish and Italian for $5.99. There are a few hiccups — notably, the English translation offers a category of “luxory” hotels — and other tourism info looks scarce. Still, the maps are available offline which makes consulting them easier when traveling and you can make hotel reservations via the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch versions.
The Havana Travel guide for $4.99 offers up to five days of itineraries, hotels and restaurants by budget range, nightlife info, public transport and safety tips.
Havana Good Time, by resident expat author Conner Gorry, promises to “open doors to the forbidden city” with 160+ entries that will have you living like a local. If you want to check out the $2.99 app, though, you’ll download it in the U.S. iTunes store before you go — since restrictions will keep you from getting it when you are actually local.
The bump in travel to the communist-ruled island is attributed to the U.S. government easing some travel restrictions to Cuba, mostly for “purposeful” travel (family, some business and religious activities). However, a battle is currently ensuing to turn back restrictions to the Bush-era bans.
Via iPhone Italia
Now that the iPhone has sent the the common point-and-shoot camera the way of Kodachrome, there’s no excuse for bad pics.
Designer and photographer Dan Marcolina wrote a well-received book on iPhone Photography called iPhone Obsessed. Now he’s got an iPad app companion to the book, which teaches even more tips and tricks.
Yesterday, we published extracts from a press release where PhantomAlert, an app that helps drivers avoid all kinds of potential tickets, boasted that its DUI checkpoints were staying put and that it had “defied” the senators who convinced Apple to ban DUI info.
CEO Joe Scott wrote to us, essentially retracting the whole release, also stating for the record that the company does not condone or encourage drinking and driving.
Once again, Apple has fallen back on its developer guidelines as a reason for pulling an app that caused a public-relations catastrophe.
In just about 24 hours after a letter of complaint from an Israeli minister, it removed the Third Intifada app from the iTunes store.
“We removed this app from the App Store because it violates the developer guidelines by being offensive to large groups of people,” an Apple spokesman said Wednesday evening.
The same reason was cited as cause for removal of the “gay cure” app back in March after it unleashed a huge protest.
The question remains: doesn’t anyone at Apple read these guidelines first?
You could (and for the purpose of discussion, please do) substitute or Baby Shaker, iSlam Muhammad — both apps Apple had to remove after a predictable public outcry.
It’d be so much easier if they vetted the apps instead of approving, then yanking them.