MobileCrunch |  |
- Last-Minute Gift Guide 2011: iOS Apps
- Forget BBX: RIM Faces Legal Woes Over BBM Trademark
- LogMeIn Remote Control iOS App Goes Freemium
- £1,275 BlackBerry Porsche P’9981 Will Launch In U.K. By Year’s End
- No Ice Cream Sandwich For Galaxy S And Galaxy Tab, Says Samsung
- VideoCam3D For iOS Lets You Shoot & Convert Movies To 3D
- Kiip Swarm: Gamers Compete, Brands Sponsor Prizes, Developers Monetize
- Ubislate 7: India Gets Second Low-Cost Tablet – For US$57
| Last-Minute Gift Guide 2011: iOS Apps Posted: 23 Dec 2011 11:06 AM PST  Looking for a quick last-minute gift? Not feeling up to fighting the holiday traffic, crowds and checkout lines? Just too Apps Your Parents May Not Have Heard Of, But Would Really Enjoy1. iMovie ($4.99) Everyone should have this app from Apple, the fun moviemaking app for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. Designed for multi-touch, iMovie puts everything you need to tell your story at your fingertips. Make a movie in minutes by adding video, photos, music and sound effects. Then give it the Hollywood treatment by adding a theme, titles and transitions. 2. Camera+ ($0.99 sale) Whether you're a seasoned photographer or someone who's barely touched a camera, Camera+ will make you love taking photos. Offers exposure, lighting controls, stabilizer, high quality zoom, scene modes, digital flash, cropping tools, effects, borders, sharing features and more. 3. Snapseed ($4.99) iPad App of the Year Snapseed makes any photograph extraordinary with a fun, high-quality photo experience right at your fingertips. Anyone can enhance, transform, and share their photos with ease. 4. SkyView – Explore the Universe ($1.99) Simply point the camera to the sky, tap on what you see and discover neat things about these sky objects. SkyView is unique as it blends the camera view with incredible 3D graphics of the sky objects to provide an Augmented Reality (AR) view of your sky. 5. Fahrenheit ($1.99) This super clever app is a weather application that shows you the current temperature of any location right on your iPhone/iPad homescreen using iOS’s push notifications (the red badges). Beyond the real-time temperature display, it also gives you detailed weather information from unlimited cities worldwide. 6. Numbers, Pages, Keynote ($9.99 each) From Apple’s iWork Suite, its own versions of Excel, Word and Powerpoint designed for iOS. All three work with iCloud, so your files stay up to date across all your iOS devices automatically. Alternate choices: QuickOffice Pro HD; for text only, Elements 7. Garmin StreetPilot onDemand ($0.99) Garmin StreetPilot onDemand offers rich navigation features for walking or driving, a simple and intuitive user interface. Using your data connection, StreetPilot onDemand always has access to the most up-to-date maps for the U.S. and Canada so you can navigate with confidence whether you're on foot or in the car. (Premium features require monthly subscription of $2.99). Alternate choice: TeleNav 8. TripIt (ad free version) ($3.99) TripIt "automagically" takes all your trip details and creates one truly helpful itinerary that's there when and where you need it – on your iPhone or iPad, synced with your calendar, and online at tripit.com. When you receive a confirmation email from anywhere you book, simply forward it to plans@tripit.com. TripIt instantly recognizes reservations from 3,000+ booking sites including cruises, restaurants, concerts and more. 9. WolframAlpha ($2.99) Building on 25 years of development led by Stephen Wolfram, Wolfram|Alpha has rapidly become the world’s definitive source for instant expert knowledge and computation. Across thousands of domains, Wolfram|Alpha uses its vast collection of algorithms and data to compute answers and generate reports for you. 10. Instacast($1.99) A better podcast manager for iOS, Instacast lets you manage all your podcasts (audio and video) in one place and get new episodes instantly. Supports AirPlay, download over Wi-Fi, Edge and 3G, show notes, 2x playback, pull-to-refresh, favoriting, and more. Apps For Athletes And The Annoyingly Fit1. Tiger Woods: My Swing ($4.99) Tiger Woods: My Swing helps golfers of all levels improve their golf swing through video analysis and instruction from golf great Tiger Woods. Compare swings against every club in Tiger’s bag and against friends. 2. P90X ($4.99) The breakthrough workout program that revolutionized home fitness now has an app that lets you Bring It! on your iPhone, so you can get even more amazing results—and work out with P90X anywhere. Keep track of your sets, reps, and weights, view your progress, log your nutrition, and share your results. 3. iMuscle ($1.99) iMuscle is a sophisticated workout aid that can be taken anywhere. Use it to identify a body part or individual muscle by zooming into a 3-Dimensional human body with the musculature exposed. Then access all the exercises associated with the development / rehabilitation of that muscle. 4. Tempo Magic Pro($4.99) Featured by Apple as a Fitness Essential, Tempo Magic Pro lets you change the BPM of your music. Perfect for DJs, Music Instructors and Dance Instructors or anyone who needs to set the pace for their workout. Apps For Creative Types1. GarageBand ($4.99) GarageBand turns your iPad, iPhone and iPod touch into a collection of Touch Instruments and a full-featured recording studio. Use Multi-Touch gestures to play pianos, organs, guitars, drums, and basses. They sound and play like their counterparts, but let you do things you could never do on a real instrument. 2. djay ($9.99 iPhone – on sale for $0.99 / $20.99 iPad) Djay transforms your iOS device into a full-fledged portable DJ system and seamlessly integrates with your iPod library, giving you direct access to all your favorite tracks and playlists. A hyper-realistic touchscreen interface and ultra-low latency converge to offer you a true professional mixing experience, right in the palm of your hand. You can perform live, record mixes on-the-go, or enable Automix mode. 3. Procreate ($1.99) Procreate is a professional painting & sketching app, made exclusively for iPad. Engineered using the Silica painting engine, painting & sketching on an iPad has never been so responsive and precise. 4. Animation Desk for iPhone ($1.99) Animation Desk for iPhone is a mobile application that allows users to create hand-drawn animations on iPhone or iPod Touch. The drawing interface provided by the app resembles the real working environment of a professional animator who completes each frame of an animation on a specially-designed desk, the animation desk. 5. SoundHound ($6.99) SoundHound is an instant music search and discovery app for music recognition, including via singing and humming, lyrics, and on iPad, YouTube videos. 6. Brushes($4.99) The ever-popular painting application featuring an advanced color picker, several realistic brushes, layers, extreme zooming, and a simple yet deep interface. Apps For “Serious” Gamers1. Infinity Blade II ($6.99) The continuing journey of young Siris unfolds as you delve deeper into the world of the Deathless tyrants and their legion of Titans. Includes Unreal Engine 3 graphics, new styles of combat, an immersive 3D works and more. 2. Grand Theft Auto 3 ($2.99) Grand Theft Auto III brings to life the dark and seedy underworld of Liberty City. With a massive and diverse open world, a wild cast of characters from every walk of life and the freedom to explore at will, Grand Theft Auto III puts the dark, intriguing and ruthless world of crime at your fingertips. 3. Dead Space ($0.99) Featuring hardcore gameplay and a rich audio experience, immerse yourself in events that unleash the Necromorph horde again – and set the stage for the horrifying action of Dead Space 2. Hailed by fans and critics, this stunning vision of the Dead Space franchise is truly a landmark "must-play." 4. StarFront: Collision ($0.99) Similar to Starcraft II, this real-time strategy title from Gameloft brings you to a Sci-Fi world on the planet Sinistral, where rare Xenodium crystals are coveted by a human mining conglomerate called the Consortium. The Myriad, an indigenous race of aliens, is addicted to Xenodium and will do everything they can to prevent the Consortium from plundering their resources. To add to the chaos, a sentient robot race called the Wardens is trying to turn the war in their favor. 5. Asphalt 6 ($0.99) Another Gameloft title, Asphalt 6 lets you build a dream collection from 42 cars and bikes, race your friends across the city streets of L.A., Tokyo, the Bahamas and more. 11 leagues and 55 events are included. 6. Shadowgun($2.99) Shadowgun puts you into the role of John Slade, the galaxy's most infamous bounty hunter. Your mission: hunt down Dr. Edgar Simon, maniacal genius and leader of his own mutant army. Infiltrate Dr. Simon's mountain fortress and fight his personal guard of cyborgs, battle droids, and genetically-enhanced humanoids. Apps For Casual Gamers (Aka “Everyone”)1. World of Goo ($4.99) A popular PC and Mac puzzle game has been transitioned to iOS devices, letting you drag and drop living, squirming, talking, globs of goo to build structures, bridges, cannonballs, zeppelins, and giant tongues. 2. Cut The Rope: Experiments ($0.99) Intrigued by the candy-eating monster Om Nom's insatiable appetite for sweets, the Professor puts him through a series of experiments in this all-new game, a follow-up to one of the most original in the App Store. 3. Angry Birds Seasons ($0.99) Angry Birds’ holiday app includes 25 new levels in the Christmas edition featuring gingerbread cookies, bells, twinkling lights, and candy canes. The newest Angry Bird will also make an appearance. And on the last day you'll meet the big pig himself. 4. Tiny Wings ($0.99) Players assume the role of a bird with tiny wings. You use hills as jumps to fly up, then gravity pulls you back down again. The goal is to see how far the bird can fly until the sun sets. 5. Scribblenauts Remix ($0.99) A popular Warner Bros. Nintendo DS puzzle game involves a character called Maxwell who solves puzzles by drawing or typing in tools like blocks or bridges. Includes 40 levels, 10 that are exclusive to iOS. 6. Fruit Ninja ($0.99) Fruit Ninja is a juicy action game enjoyed by millions of players around the world, with squishy, splatty and satisfying fruit carnage! Become the ultimate bringer of sweet, tasty destruction with every slash. 7. Words With Friends($0.99) Zynga’s version of Scrabble now has over 20 million people addicted to the word building, triple score seeking, chat bubble sending goodness of Words With Friends. Apps To Keep Your Kid Quiet For At Least 2 Minutes1. Bugs And Buttons ($2.99) Bugs and Buttons is a uniquely styled collection of games and activities that are entertaining and educational. The app goes beyond simply great graphics and beautiful music by engaging children through intriguing game play that progressively adapts to their skill level. 2. The Three Little Pigs ($1.99 -sale), Cinderella ($7.99) (Books from Nosy Crow) Fun, animated versions of children’s classics with great graphics, sounds and interactivity. 3. Peekaboo Barn ($1.99) Inside a little bouncing barn, friendly farm animals are waiting to pop out and surprise your little one. Work with your child to learn the names of animals and hear the sounds they make. Younger children will love opening the barn doors to find a new animal animation, as they learn about cause and effect and become familiar with animal names and sounds. 4. Monkey Preschool Lunchbox ($0.99) Monkey Preschool Lunchbox is a collection of six exciting educational games for your preschooler including games for memory, counting, letters, shapes and more. (ages 2 to 5). 5. Nighty Night!($0.99) The bedtime book “Nighty Night!” for iPad helps children get to know animals interactively while preparing to go to bed. Dog, Pig, Sheep, Duck, Cow, Fish and Chickens moo and bubble, hop and lay eggs, until a kid turns the light out and the animals go to sleep. Apps For Bloggers, Social Networkers And Other People Who Don’t Need App Lists1. Tweetbot ($2.99) Tweetbot is a full-featured iPhone (and iPod Touch) Twitter client with a lot of personality. Whether it's the meticulously-crafted interface, sounds & animation, or features like multiple timelines & smart gestures, there's a lot to love about Tweetbot. 2. Momento ($2.99) Momento is a unique diary/journal writing application which provides a quick and easy way to privately record moments throughout your day. Connect with popular web services, such as Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Foursquare, Gowalla, YouTube, Vimeo, Digg and Last.fm, to collect and display your online activity as part of your diary. 3. AP Stylebook 2011 ($24.99) The Associated Press Stylebook is an essential tool for writers, editors, students and public relations professionals. It provides fundamental guidelines on spelling, grammar, punctuation, usage and journalistic style, with special sections on reporting business and sports. 4. Reeder for iPad ($4.99) A beautiful Google Reader client which lets you sync feeds, star, notate and save items to Instapaper, ReadItLater, Readability, Delicious, Pinboard, Zootool, or share with Facebook and Twitter.
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| Forget BBX: RIM Faces Legal Woes Over BBM Trademark Posted: 23 Dec 2011 10:46 AM PST  I swear, it never ends — not long after a U.S. court passed down a judgment that saw RIM change the name of their new operating system, the company has once again gotten themselves into a tiff over trademarks. This time, the name in question is “BBM,” RIM’s preferred shorthand for their popular BlackBerry Messenger service. The lawsuit comes courtesy of BBM Canada, a not-for-profit broadcast and audience measurement organization that’s been in business considerably longer than RIM has. Originally known as the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement, the group was originally founded in 1944 and took on the BBM moniker in 2001 — well before RIM’s BlackBerry Messenger service came to be. RIM has gotten quite a bit of mileage out of BBM, and went on an advertising spree a while back in order to drum up some public interest for it. While using the BBM mark is totally admissible here in the States, the company filed for and was denied a trademark for BBM in their native Canada. “We want our name back,” said BBM Canada CEO Jim MacLeod. “I find it kind of amazing that this wouldn't have been thought about before they decided to use the name. The same thing goes for BBX.” MacLeod seems strangely apologetic about the whole thing — he has made efforts to accomodate the much larger company, even going so far as offering to rebrand the group entirely in order to avoid making a scene. Those overtures were met with silence from RIM, which has led to the sticky situation these companies are embroiled in. RIM hasn’t yet responded to these allegations, but when they do, I imagine that they’ll say there’s no conflict since both companies operate in different fields. Then again, since they tried that line during the BBX case to no avail, RIM’s legal team may need to work out a different approach. If this sort of thing keeps up, the company runs the risk of looking, well, incompetent. And really, the last thing RIM needs now is for their top brass to look foolish, lest their stock price take (another) dive.
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| LogMeIn Remote Control iOS App Goes Freemium Posted: 23 Dec 2011 10:45 AM PST  Users of LogMeIn’s Ignition are in for a pleasant surprise this holiday season. The once paid — and quite expensive — app is now migrating to a freemium model. That said, users who paid for Ignition won’t have to cough up the dough for a LogMeIn Pro subscription, but they will get the added premium features including HD remote control (and HD streaming) from their computers to their iOS devices. For LogMeIn noobs: The app is free to download and includes access to an unlimited number of PCs/Macs, remote view and control of the PC/Mac, and the ability to run computer-based applications like Salesforce, Microsoft Office, Quickbooks etc. Users will also be able to view files through either a WiFi or 3G connection. If that isn’t quite enough control, an annual in-app purchase of $39.99 gives you HD remote control (allowing for HD streaming of video and audio content to the iPad/iPhone), cloud storage integration, and file management. In other words, you can view, copy, transfer, and save files between your iOS devices and your PC or Mac. The app is available now in the Apple App Store, and LogMeIn promises an Android version of the app in 2012.
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| £1,275 BlackBerry Porsche P’9981 Will Launch In U.K. By Year’s End Posted: 23 Dec 2011 07:49 AM PST  Pop quiz, phone fans: what device will you soon be able to buy in the U.K. that costs nearly twice as much as a Galaxy Nexus and looks three (maybe four!) times stranger? Well, if you’ve read the headline, you already know the answer: it’s the BlackBerry Porsche P’9981. T3 reports that high-end retailer Harrod’s will be carrying the love-it-or-hate-it device in store by the end of the year. What really gets me is the price tag for it: the Porsche will sell for £1,275 (that’s just a hair under $2,000). Wow. Let’s take a step back and consider that for a moment. For the same price you could spend on a BlackBerry Porsche, you could buy both an iPhone 4S and a Galaxy Nexus with enough left over to swing round Tesco and buy a few boxes of Jaffa Cakes. Tell me, UK readers, which would you rather do? The Porsche P’9981, if you recall, is a limited edition BlackBerry designed in conjunction with the style mavens at Porsche Design. While the P’9981′s looks are… striking, the internals (1GHz processor, a 5-megapixel camera with 720p HD video, and an NFC chip) don’t do much to differentiate it from its less-gaudy brethren. I’d be surprised if Harrod’s managed to sell more than three of these things, but alas, I am but a poor writer and have no appreciation for the finer things in life.
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| No Ice Cream Sandwich For Galaxy S And Galaxy Tab, Says Samsung Posted: 23 Dec 2011 07:00 AM PST  Sorry Galaxy S owners — even though your device has a near-identical spec sheet to the ICS-friendly Nexus S, Samsung has announced on their corporate blog that the company’s first Galaxy device won’t be getting the offical bump to Android 4.0. The original Galaxy S isn’t the only one to get the snub, as the 7-inch Galaxy Tab won’t be able to join in the fun either. It looks like TouchWiz deserves most of the blame here — according to Samsung Tomorrow, neither device has enough RAM or ROM to accomodate TouchWiz and all of its Samsung-designed accoutrements without affecting the quality of use. Considering that the myriad U.S. variants of the Galaxy S run with similar hardware, it’s doubtful that all you hold-outs with your Captivates and Epic 4Gs will get a taste of Ice Cream Sandwich either, lest you shell out for some new devices. So what’s a Galaxy S loyalist to do? Well, if you’re dead set against swapping handsets and you dislike TouchWiz anyway (like me), there’s always the custom ROM route. Once TouchWiz is removed from the picture, the Galaxy S seems totally capable of running a vanilla version of Ice Cream Sandwich without too many headaches. As GSMArena points out, the experience isn’t completely without hiccups, but the end result doesn’t look too shabby at all.
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| VideoCam3D For iOS Lets You Shoot & Convert Movies To 3D Posted: 23 Dec 2011 06:47 AM PST  NXP Software, developer of the CineXPlayer mobile application, is launching a new iOS app for recording and converting video into 3D. The app, VideoCam3D, lets you record in both blue/red and split screen 3D and works in conjunction with the CineXPlayer video viewing app, which also supports 3D movie playback. While you obviously need an iOS device with a camera in order to record in 3D, those with iOS devices that lack a camera (like the older model iPad and iPod Touches) can still use the app for 3D conversions. Using iTunes’ “file sharing” feature, you can connect your device to your PC or Mac in order to import videos you recorded elsewhere, then convert them to 3D using the app. For those unfamiliar, file sharing is the feature in iTunes that lets you transfer files between an iOS device and a computer via supported apps. It’s located on the “Apps” tab for your device in iTunes. There are just a few video controls in VideoCam3D: a slider bar for 3D “Intensity,” the output type (glasses or split screen) and the intended viewing device (mobile, tablet or TV). When the conversion is complete, the movie is saved to your camera roll, if available, as well as within the app for transfer back to the PC. The lite (free) version of the app will allow you to try, convert and play, but the paid ($0.99) app lets you save and share the 3D movies you make VideoCam3D from here in iTunes. Demo video below (note, not my cat):
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| Kiip Swarm: Gamers Compete, Brands Sponsor Prizes, Developers Monetize Posted: 23 Dec 2011 06:07 AM PST  Kiip is not an ad network. It’s a mobile games reward network. Today it launches Swarm, a feature with a very unique value proposition: Let brands sponsor in-app tournaments where users win big prizes for high scores. Brands get exposure by piggybacking on an app’s existing user base, developers get paid, and users get to play for real-world rewards without being interrupted by ads. Swarm’s debut is a partnership with Walt Disney Studios’ film John Carter where players of the game Mega Jump compete from December 23-26 to win a home theater system and smaller prizes. Kiip launched in April 2011 on 10 games featuring 10 brands. Swarm builds off of Kiip’s core model where brands reward playerss with small product samples like PopChips, Sephora make-up, or BestBuy gift certificates when they complete in-game achievements. Now Kiip’s network includes 65 games, and 25 brands who pay between $0.25 and $3 per engagement with their rewards. The company is fueled by $4.1 million in Series A funding from Hummer Winblad, Dave Morin, True Ventures, and Crosslink Capital. 20-year old co-founder Brian Wong reveals to me Verizon Ventures is also an investor that was never announced. Those in early were smart. Kiip won’t need more funding soon as it’s making plenty of money, and I think it’s going to a be a major force in game monetization. That’s because Kiip actually cares about the emotions of gamers, not just their clicks. While Kiip’s reward system can be run alongside ad networks like AdMob and iAds, it will also disrupt them. Wong explains to me that big brands are already spending a lot on ads to promote their various contests and sweepstakes. By using Kiip to distribute through games instead, they get guaranteed exposure and only pay when people actually engage. Swarm opens Kiip up to brands in verticals such as travel, entertainment, and automotive who can’t give away a million cars or flights like PopChips gives away snacks. To protect the big prizes they’ll offer, Kiip has developed a fraud detection system to make sure high scores are attained legitimately. Next, Kiip plans to bring its services to games on Facebook, console, and web. The company offers a win-win-win solution by rethinking the brand marketing and mobile monetization to put users first. Wong concludes, “You can’t fall in love with an ad, but you can fall in love with a reward.” Check out the new Kiip Spotlight to find out which games you can play to win rewards.
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| Ubislate 7: India Gets Second Low-Cost Tablet – For US$57 Posted: 23 Dec 2011 05:36 AM PST  India is getting a second government-sponsored tablet. The first model (the so-called Aakash) sold out in just a few days after it was launched online last week, but maker DataWind has already followed up with another 7-inch model, the Ubislate 7. It was actually announced a few weeks back, but is now available for pre-order, priced at US$57 (US$10 more than the original Aakash), and features much better specs. The Ubislate 7 comes with the following features:
Customers in India can expect to lay their hands on the Ubislate next month. DataWind will produce, via QUAD Electronics in Hyderabad, about 1,000 units daily. Via The Hindu Business Line via The Next Web Asia
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