The International Data Corporation has published its most recent mobile market forecast and unsurprisingly, they’re predicting Android to maintain its strong market share lead over the next four years. In fact, there’s really not much surprising about the report at all.
The jury’s still out on what effect the firing in August of some key players at Hipstamatic will have on the app itself — but the toy-camera simulator is still pumping out the FreePaks, those cute virtual lens-and-film pairings that often tie in with some pop-culture reference. This time it’s based off the star-stuffed Gangster Squad flick, set to be released early next year. Oh, and they’re giving away a Canon 5D Mk III in a contest, if you’re interested.
So here it is: iTunes 11. A lot has changed, but not so much that you’ll feel lost. Here’s what we’ve found after our first poke around inside.
It’s rarer now, but once in a while I still come across a journalist or blogger agonizingly hunting-and-pecking a story to completion — in a world where a low WPM means starvation (or at least, a diet of Ramen noodles).
It makes me smile, because I used to be like that. I’m much faster now, thanks to an abundance of repetition. But I’m still no maestro — so I’ve employed a secret weapon to help fashion me into a typing cyborg: The free Typist Mac app. Although I suppose it isn’t much of a secret since I’ve blabbed this to practically the entire Internet.
With all the junk floating out there at the Apple App Store and Google Play (Android users, you get the nastier end of the shaft in this case), it’s no wonder good apps can often go undiscovered and neglected, withering pitifully under a heap of flashy debris.
One way to find diamond-in-the-rough apps — or apps that actually do what you want them to — is to regularly read blogs like either of the Cult twins. But there’s another way, and it involves using an app discovery tool like Hubbl.
C’mon, who among us hasn’t snapped a photo on Instagram and thought “wow, that’d look great on my wall” — I know I have. So Art.com came up with Photos to Art, a slick app that painlessly, almost magically transform your digital snapshot into a piece of art — all you need to provide is some money and a bit of imagination (and they’ll even help you with that last one).
I’ve seen the iPad morph into a lot of things, but the press release for this little trick definitely slackened my jaw: It’s an appcessory that turns the iPad into a miniature foosball table.
Sometimes, discovering a free app is like finding gold; other times, it’s more like finding a rock covered in gold paint. Case in point: While we really dig the free version of HoursTracker HD for iPad, the freebie of the iPhone version is severely hobbled — and not nearly as useful.
But just for today, the superb full version of the HoursTracker iPhone app is free.
That’s right: The game Verticus, which dropped onto the App Store today, was crafted with input from comic legend Stan Lee (is the “comic” part even necessary?), who wrote the story and created the titular character. Oh, and did I mention that he also lent his 89-year-old voice for the game’s Mission Commander?
Finally.
Logitech’s Alert security system seemed pretty impressive when it first popped up on our radar: advanced indoor and outdoor cameras, night vision, lots of options — and here’s where your ears should perk up — the ability to view and control the cameras from an iPad or iPhone through the Logitech Alert iOS app. Only problem was, Logitech somehow forgot to make a Mac version of the Alert Commander software that comes with, and controls, the system.
But today Logitech has indeed released the a Mac version of the Alert Commander software (available as a free download at the App Store). Better late than never, and now we’re happy. But did it really have to take this long?
Hello, reader. while you’ve obviously found a source of news you like for Apple-related info, where do you go for non Apple-related news? (I know: “If it’s not Apple-related, I don’t wanna read it!” But just bear with me here).
After being bombarded with requests, Pinterest is finally going to allow users to create private boards. Pinterest is calling them “Secret Boards” and rolling them out in hopes that users will use them to create their holiday shopping lists. I’d call that wishful thinking, since we all know what those “Secret Boards” are really going to be used for.
Borderlands 2, one of the most anticipated games to hit consoles and the PC this year is now coming to the Mac. The fact that it’ll be available for download two months after the game saw its main release speaks volumes about the attention the Mac gaming market is beginning to get. More importantly though, it means Mac gamers can get ready to blast their pants off this holiday season.
No, it’s not Egon. HDR Express, the enthusiast-level high dynamic range Mac app from Unified Color Technologies, is now out in a new version with improved de-ghosting algorithms for images with moving subjects, among a handful of other interesting new features.
With the holidays coming, maybe there’s no such thing as “too many photobook makers.” At least, that’s probably what Mixbook is banking on with their new Mosaic app, which lets you quickly create a hard-cover photobook for $20.
This one’s a little different though: Not only can you create and order your photobook with your iPhone, but the books are created with an unusual effect where photo thumbnails peek through windows in the book’s cover. Definitely attention-grabbing.
Beamr is one of those mouth-watering iPhone apps that wows not so much because of what it is, but because of what it could be.
The basic idea is very cool: Delve into your photo library, select a handful of photos and choose a cover shot. The app will then superimpose some text and graphics over the cover (you can change the cover text).
But the real magic happens when you share your little faux-magazine. Beamr uses “patent-pending JPEGmini optimization technology” to package and deliver the “magazine”; the result is very quick delivery, and the images can be saved by the recipient at full resolution (for example, 8MP if you shot the pictures with an iPhone 4S/5).
I yearn for more, though. The photos can’t be arranged in any way, and there’s only one style of cover. Also, the app is designed for the iPhone, not the iPad(s) on which it would really shine. Still, it’s a neat trick and worth checking out. And hopefully there’ll be updates that build it out in the near future.
Ah, the ’80s — back when a Tab was something to drink, not deride, and Members Only wasn’t exactly an exclusive club. Reliving (or living, for those born after 1979) those days is as easy as tracking down a six-pack of Tab on the Internet, or purchasing this purple number.
Those who’d rather not deal with their friends’ hysterical laughter or horribly wilted taste buds can simply download a faithful recreation of DONKEY.BAS, probably the best thing Bill Gates ever made, onto their iPad or iPhone.
I’ve seen some amazing photos shot with the increasingly advanced photo hardware (and software) packed into the iPhone, and now the iPad. And while swiping through the images is fun, sometimes you want physical prints. An update to the free Snapfish app lets you have those prints by letting you send images from your iPhone to the closest Walmart, Walgreens, or if you’re in New York, Duane Reade — and they’ll be printed in about an hour.
The MacHeist Bundle (affiliate link) gets you amazing software for an amazing price, and benefits charity as well. Also? It’s over at midnight tonight.
That means you have enough time to purchase the bundle and still pre-order your iPad mini.
The MacHeist Bundle is a great deal of software for a great price, and it benefits great charities. This much you know, because we already told you.
Today, however, we learned that another app has been added to the run down, the $50 cooking app, MacGourmet, that developer Mariner Software calls the “iTunes for recipes.”
Days of Wonder have decorated their so-addictive-you-can’t-stop-playing-to-eat iPad train game, Ticket to Ride, with a new Halloween-themed update. As if I don’t lose enough time to this damn game.
Just retooled for the iPhone 5, Vlock is a free app that displays a bold Android-ish clock, with date, on your iPhone. It’ll also let you play videos through the clock in a kind of video version of the iPad’s Picture Frame mode, complete with loop and transitions. Combine this with the app’s lockscreen feature, and you’ve got a faux animated Android-y lockscreen. All without a jailbreak.
As a gadget reviewer, I go through a lot of shipped packages. Which means I have to deal with a logistical nightmare second only to the Allied supply lines following the D-Day landings (except my packages tend to be, for the most part, somewhat less liable to explode or cause diarrhea). But that’s OK — I have a secret weapon to help keep everything straight.
Junecloud‘s Deliveries Status ($5) tracks shipments in a wonderfully simple, easy-to-read, straightforward manner; and like many of Apple’s own products, it just works.
My iTunes collection is a mess. Ripped CDs, music transferred through home sharing, obscure collections, and then there is the classical and opera that I enjoy. Gee I wish there was a way to fix all the “Track 1 by Unknown Artist” music that I have. And duplicates. Yeah I have some when I pulled in whole albums but already had a few singles. I’m not a huge cover art fan, but gray boxes are boring. I wish I could fix them…
Oh wait—Cleanup Your iTunes With TuneUp: Clean & Organize Your iTunes Music Collection in Just a Few Clicks
P.S. My iTunes is still a mess…maybe I need to get my stuff together…
Remember how I was talking recently (like, umm, yesterday) about getting good tools in your toolkit? Apps that you might not need right now, but you’ll certainly need later? Not to mention that the apps (or bundle) are at a great price. Right. Well today is another of those times/deals—The Web Dev Power Pack Bundle: Get Three Mac Apps + 1,001 Design Assets That Will Turn You Into a Master Web Developer.
You get three solid apps plus a ton of clip art (don’t think for a moment that you won’t need some clip art at some point) for $89. It’s a nice, and inexpensive, way to get a solid dev environment started.