Mel Martin
Articles by Mel Martin
Petcube: Watch and play with your pet when you're away
Petcube (US$199.00) is a webcam with a difference. It is aimed at pet owners who want to keep track of their pets, communicate with them, and even play with them when you are away. Who doesn't wonder how their dog, cat or bird is doing when you are away? Petcube is designed to solve that problem. Specifications: The camera is in a 4x4x4 aluminum housing. It has a 138 degree field of view and streams 720P video. The Petcube requires an iOS app which is free. Connection is through WiFi and Petcube plugs into AC with a 110/240 power adapter. The camera weights 1.3 pounds, and has a standard mounting bracket for attachment to a tripod. It has a built-in 5 mW 3R class laser w/certification -- more about that below. Design: Aluminum case, smoked black front for camera and laser Functionality: Setting up the Petcam is easier than most WiFi cameras I've dealt with. Download the free app and follow instructions, which involves pressing a button on the back of the camera, finding the camera by name on your WiFi network, and letting the camera pair with your home network. From then on, the camera is available to you, and anyone else you designate. If you want to make your camera public (not a good idea in my view) you can share it with the world. Happily, you can limit the time the camera is online for people. You can also create a list of family and friends who can check out the view. To share, they must be signed up (free account) and have the iOS or Android app. One of the unique features of this camera is a two-way speaker/microphone. You can listen to your pet and chat back. The other feature is the camera features a built-in laser pointer, something that cats in particular seem to enjoy. By tapping your finger on the iPhone screen, you can move the laser beam anywhere in the camera field of view. While the laser is an interesting feature and certified as safe, avoid pointing it into the eyes of your pets. Conclusions I liked the Petcube. It was easy to set up, worked reliably, and offered some features pet owners will surely like. I used it to keep an eye on my parrot, but he was really aggravated with the laser. One thing to remember: the camera doesn't move or rotate, so your pet has to be where the camera is pointing. Given the features, and the very decor friendly design, I think the Petcube is worth serious consideration. It sold out of its first shipment, and more should be available direct or from online merchants like Amazon soon. One competitor is the Motorola PetScout66, for $99.99, but it requires a subscription setup. It has a two-way microphone/speaker, but no laser. It's also in short supply. Pet cams must be a hot item this holiday season.
Wthr Complete is a weather app with details and a nice desgn
There are so many weather apps out there... As a general rule, I often find that the pretty ones don't have a lot of information, and the ones with more information provided have worse user interfaces. Wthr Complete (US$1.99) breaks that rule by adding a lot of depth and a beautiful interface. It has all the usual information, but adds things I like such as sunrise/sunset times and moon phases. It also adds 150 U.S. NOAA weather stations to give you audio forecasts and alerts. There are also detailed radar maps with animation, earthquake maps and the maps have layers so you can see a basic map or satellite view. Perhaps the most unique feature is a database of the last four years of weather information for any location for any particular day. I find that really useful, as people are always wondering what the weather was on this date last year or the year before. No more guesswork on that subject. The app has notifications of course, for severe weather and flooding. You can add any number of other cities, and when the app launches you can select the city you want. Weather conditions have nice animations, and there is nerdy stuff like ultraviolet intensity and dew point as well. All in all, Wthr Complete is a really nice weather app. Although it is universal, it runs only in portrait mode so many iPad users who spend the day in landscape mode will be unhappy. I'm amazed that developers haven't figured this out. I see new apps almost every week that are locked into the portrait orientation. Dumb. In the wild, almost every iPad I see is in a case or on a stand in landscape mode. Aside from that failing, Wthr Complete is one terrific little app. It requires iOS 7.1 or later, and it's scaled properly for the iPhone 5 and 6 phones. There are nice weather apps for free, including Apple's and the well-designed Yahoo weather app, but Wthr Complete goes deeper and is just as pretty.
Off the Rails is a great roller coaster game with a twist
Of course all roller coaster games have their twists and turns, but Off the Rails (US$1.99) lets you build a complex roller coaster in real time as you steer. As you move your iPad or iPhone you see the roller coaster being constructed in front of you. Of course, moving around wouldn't be all that interesting, so the game presents targets for you to hit. An added challenge is that the game observes the laws of motion and physics, so you can't twist and turn without some penalty. The 3D graphics are great. I got enough into the game that I felt i was really in motion. You get to choose from 14 different vehicles, and there are more than 75 targets or objectives to the game. A young player could learn a bit about physics while having a good time. The graphics are very smooth, and the sound effects are well done. You can save the coasters you design, and your movement is steered by tilting your iOS device in different directions. I don't usually get too excited about games, but this one is unique and graphically compelling. It has a high repeatability factor, and It's a nice variation of the usual coaster games. I found Off the Rails more involving and more fun than the others I've played. The game is aimed more at kids than adults, but this adult had a good time. Off the Rails requires iOS 7 or later. It's optimized for the latest iPhones and it's a universal app.
Topaz Impression is a powerful photo-to-art application for Mac OS X
I've just spent the day using Topaz Impression, a US$99.00 Mac app that can totally and convincingly transform your photos into works of art that look like paintings, pencil or charcoal sketches, or just about any style that you can imagine. I've seen apps that do this before, either in the form of Photoshop plug-ins or even in iOS apps, but nothing else offers this amount of quality or range of control. Using the app is dead easy: Drag a photo onto the Impression palette, and choose from any of 112 pre-sets to see your photo in a variety of styles. You can select 'looks' by type (pencil sketch, modern, charcoal) or even create and save your own personal transformation. The app creators say Impression mimics the techniques of real artists by analyzing a photo's inherent contours and then applying each brushstroke one at a time. Results will never look computer-generated because each marking is custom-built by scanning and digitizing real strokes. By pairing this unique approach with GPU acceleration, Impression is able to paint more than 10,000 brushstrokes in less than a second. The truth is, it works, and works beautifully. Each individual preset can be adjusted to your taste with different brushes, brush stroke length, color cast and even the light direction. I tried several landscape photos with the app and the results were really beyond my expectations. With all the settings, the variations you can apply are almost limitless. I tried the app on a variety of landscape pictures in my files, and the results never failed to please. You can see some samples in the slide show. When I was using the app I thought how nice it would be to have this as a Photoshop or Lightroom plug-in, and in fact, the plug-in is included with Impression if you buy direct from Topaz, rather than the App Store. Apple rules prevent the plug-in to be included in their downloads. Topaz Impression is not an inexpensive piece of software. It's for the professional or serious amateur, but for what it does it is certainly not overpriced. Topaz Labs has an excellent reputation among photographers for its collections of top-rated plug-ins. Impression is no exception. You can create dramatic results with very little effort, and the final product won't look like some digital monstrosity. Impression is available in the Mac app store, works on OS X 10.6 or later and worked fine under Yosemite. Highly recommended.
RebelSauce for iOS has a lot of tasteful filters
With so many apps that apply filters to your photos it's getting harder to find the good ones. Add RebelSauce to the list of clever photo editing apps for iOS. This US$0.99 app has almost infinite variations that mimic classic film styles. Of course there are the usual editing tolls like crop, brightness, saturation and color temperature, but the app gets interesting in the application of grain, old film styles, and different tonalities to your photos. Each filter that you apply has a + and - button, so there is a lot of control. If you are willing to experiment, the variations are incredibly wide. As much as I liked the filters, I thought the app was rather opaque in operation. When you first open it, there are on-screen guides, but it wasn't always obvious what those guides were trying to reveal. When you actually start using the app it can be confusing too. Back and forward arrows make changes, but not always the expected changes. A forward arrow might mean save your work, but instead it takes you to output options or destinations. A left arrow means your edits will be lost, with a warning, happily, to prevent disaster. After awhile I figured it out, but it could have been a lot more intuitive. RebelSauce is still an excellent filter package. The filters never go overboard, and there is enough flexibility to get exactly the look you want. I especially liked the variable application of film grain. RebelSauce has a variety of $0.99 upgrades for different kinds of filters, and I think the amount of extra purchases is excessive for a $0.99 app. There are 9 purchases, or for $5.99 you can have all 9. Since it is hard to see what each package does in advance, I think the filters are worth avoiding. RebelSaunce requires iOS 8 or later. It is not universal, and it's optimized for the iPhone 5 and 6 series of phones. I like the filters. Don't like all the extras.
Microsoft's MSN News: A solid, usable news app for iOS
The times, they are a-changin' over in Redmond. Microsoft spent the last couple of months embracing iOS users instead of shunning them. In the old days, Microsoft kept a lot of apps for the sole use of Windows Phone users, but with that platform faltering they are reaching out to iOS and Android users. Office for the iPad was the first big give to the iOS community, although over the years Microsoft had sprinkled a few minor apps on us. Another result was the release just this week of several new iOS apps from the Bing team, and we'll consider one of those today -- MSN News (free) -- in light of the competition. MSN News has a clean and useable user interface. If you have a Microsoft login, you can keep the app synced between devices. Just about any subject I typed into the search engine resulted in hits, even if they were obscure. Local news is supported, along with alerts if you wish to receive them. Like most news apps, stories can be shared with others via Twitter, Facebook, text or email. Lots of news sources are included, including TUAW in the technology section. Text size and spacing is adjustable, which is a worthwhile feature, and you even have a choice of two fonts. I think the only thing missing is the ability to learn from your reading preferences, something that Zite, Flipboard and some other news apps do very well. MSN News seems similar to News Republic, which also does a lovely presentation of news stories. MSN News is a solid entry in the news race. It has a very agreeable look, and you can see the news source even in the headline view. I've added it to my favorite news app folder, and you might want to do the same. MSN News requires iOS 7.1 or later and its been optimized for the latest iPhones and iPads.
Snapselect for Mac solves a major nightmare for photographers
I have sooooo many photos scattered on my computer. Not all are in iPhoto, or Lightroom, or Aperture, the latter on which development was discontinued by Apple. Snapselect for OS X from MacPhun Software is a very clever and tremendously useful app just released on the Mac App Store. On sale for US$14.99 (40% off for a brief time) the app finds your photos in folders, iPhoto, Lightroom, Aperture, and even on SD cards that are plugged into your computer. The app orders everything by date (timeline view), and using some patented technology it can find duplicates of photos. It can also show you full metadata and histograms for each image. RAW formats are supported, and you can go through the photos and reject those you don't want, which are sent to a special folder. Photos can be marked as favorites, and you can export photos directly from the app. Although there are many cataloging apps out there that have a piece of the puzzle, Snapselect has the best feature set and speed I've seen and it can save you hours of hunting and sorting. Each photo's location is shown, and you can select presets for image grouping, like all the photos from within a ten minute period. If you click on a photo location link in the app, it opens that folder, which is really useful. You can get a look at the online help and some videos of the app in action. I liked the way the app worked, with all the options on-screen and easy to understand. It's fast, and the images displayed looked great. One issue I found was the use of external editors. When I edit I use Photoshop, but Snapselect only lets you use external editors that MacPhun offers, like Intensify, Tonality, FX Photo Studio and some others. You can drag an image from Snapselect to an external editor, but that's really not an acceptable or clean solution. As good as Snapselect is, it would be almost perfect if it was more flexible with editors. A spokesperson for MacPhun says external editors will be supported in the next update. Excellent. Despite that, Snapselect is powerful and tremendously useful app at a low price. Snapselect requires OS X 10.9 or later and a 64-bit processor.
Something new for iOS - Handwriting input with Mazec
There have been a lot of keyboards added to the App Store since Apple allowed third parties to offer unique capabilities, and the Mazec keyboard is the most unique yet. It allows you to enter text using handwriting input. It reminds me of the late, not lamented Newton MessagePad, only the Mazec keyboard actually works rather well. The US$4.99 app works anywhere a regular iOS keyboard would work; email, messages, searching, notes etc. It provides one-handed operation, making it quick and easy. Conversion from scrawl to text is done in real time, and it also offers predictive text and the ability to add words or phrases to a dictionary. The app worked better than my expectations. My handwriting is pretty awful, but with a bit of care, almost everything I wrote was recognized. Sometimes a word like "keyboard" would show as "key board", but you can delete or add spaces with a swipe . You can edit on the fly with gestures, or quickly switch back to the default keyboard for editing. As with any input method, a bit of practice increases the accuracy, and I was busy writing on my iPhone in no time. A tap on an icon provides options like all caps or thinner or thicker ink. As you enter text, the window scrolls left to give you additional space for words. You can even save frequently typed text strings like URLs and email addresses. To install, you download the keyboard app, then enable it in your keyboard settings. I don't think I'd use the Mazec software for everything, but it is great for a quick email or text message, or even creating a to-do list. Like all keyboard apps, this one requires iOS 8 or later. It's optimized for the iPhone 5, and it's universal so it should be fine on any iOS device meeting the requirements. The Mazec handwriting keyboard works and will be a must-have for many who take the short time needed to master it.
Exposure for iOS lets you selectively edit and color a photo
Exposure (US$1.99) is a slick iOS app that lets you selective apply effects to your photos. Of course the app also lets you globally apply an effect too, like sepia tint or black and white effects, but the nice feature here is the ability to use your finger to paint out an overlay and substitute a color or effect. The app is smart so it can pretty easily separate objects. For example, you can paint a building in color while the background remains black and white. In general, the effect stays in the proper place and doesn't splash out of the selected area, although you may need to do a bit of touch up, which is easy. There are numerous effects in the app, like intense colors, a Picasso effect, glows, pencil sketch, watercolor and more. I thought the tilt-shift effect was well implemented, allowing objects in your photo to look like miniatures. An undo command lets you step back and rework part of the photo, and you can completely clear an effect and start again. You can zoom in or out of your photo to make it easier to define the area you are working on. There is also the ability to open your photo directly in another photo editor for any finishing touches, cropping, or adding text or frames. You won't want to use this app on every photo, but when you need the effects it offers, it can make for a stunning presentation. I found no glitches using the app. It was responsive and easy to use. Tutorials are built in, plus links to video examples. Exposure requires iOS 7. It's a universal app, and I found it particularly easy to work on using my iPad, but it's just fine on an iPhone too. The app is optimized for the iPhone 5 and 6 series.
Maps 3D PRO is a best in class GPS/Nav app for outdoor enthusiasts
There are so many navigation apps available now that one can wish for a navigation app just to find one in the app store. Most are variations on a theme; get from point A to point B efficiently, with information about stops along the way. Maps 3D PRO (U$4.99) is a entirely different animal. Designed for hikers, cyclists, skiers and outdoor activities, the app provides 2D and 3D map views that show details of terrain and altitude. The app can give a generic and not-too-detailed view of anywhere in the world, but the real power comes when you select an area and download any of 11 types of maps for that area. That means you can use the app with no data service, so it's perfect for those out of the way places. Of course GPS works anywhere, so your position will be right on the detailed map. Maps include detailed NASA satellite views, 3D topographic maps, Open Street Maps for city navigation, USGS maps and more. It's a really strong selection. Once you have your maps installed, you can add up to 20 waypoints and Maps 3D PRO helps you follow a trail, road, or any route you select. You can find locations by searching, and view the terrain in 2D or 3D. The 3D is beautifully rendered, and you can zoom and rotate. When you are on your way, the app displays distance travelled and current and average speeds. A logger function records your position and altitude. Your tracks can be shared via email, Facebook and Twitter, and you can load routes via iTunes, EveryTrail, email or Dropbox. It's a great app for geocachers, horseback riders, cross country skiers, and anyone else who loves being outdoors. I've noted some good photo-spots, and the app gives me an excellent view of the surrounding terrain. I haven't seen a better app for outdoor hiking or activities. It's well thought out, and easy to use in the field without a bunch of confusing options or menus, yet it is powerful. For a person wanting to get beyond street maps and get off-road, this is a perfect app, yet it has excellent city details as well. The only thing I would change is where the search function sits -- it's one menu below the main screen, and I'd love for it to be located on the main screen. Maps 3D PRO would be a great gift for the outdoor-type person in your life, or a great gift for yourself. Over the holidays you may indulge in skiing, cycling or hiking, and this is a terrific app for those activities. Maps 3D PRO is a 22MB download, but data requirements grow as you download those detailed maps. The app requires iOS 7 or later, and it is optimized for the iPhone 5. Highly and enthusiastically recommended!
Music Center lets you select music from your lock screen or any app
Music Center (free) is a very cool little app that lets you see your iOS music library from your lock screen or inside any app. It's a notification center widget, and it works quite well. You load the app, and you can select lists by song, album, artist, and playlists. Then go to your Today notifications and scroll down to the edit control to add the widget to your screen. That's all there is to it. I wasn't sure how useful Music Center would be, but I find I am using it frequently. I especially like the access from the lock screen to play music via Bluetooth while I am driving. It's quick and easy, but of course Siri can also select music by using your voice. Since the notification feature is a quick pull-down from anywhere in iOS, it's also useful if you are in the middle of using another app. Apple might pull this widget if it is found to be in violation of any developer rules, but so far, so good. Music Center is clean and useful, but note that you can't use iTunes Match or search since widgets don't get to use the keyboard. A pro version, which is a US$ 0.99 in-app purchase, gives you scrolling instead of buttons, but I find the free version meets my needs. Music Center requires iOS 8 or later, and it's optimized for the iPhone 5 and 6 phones. It's a universal app, so it will run on iPads too.
FastCustomer can help get you out of customer service hell
FastCustomer is a free iOS app that has been around for awhile, but just got a recent update. The app has a list of 3,000 frequently called companies and can break through the endless phone trees and frustration of being on hold for customer service. The app is simple to use. Select a company you want to reach -- sometimes the app even offers specific departments. Tell it to contact the company, and the app goes to work. It actually doesn't use your cell phone connection for this, but connects through the internet. The app tells you it is dialing, navigating the voice mail tree, waiting on hold for someone to answer, then it calls the number you want to talk on. It could be your cell phone number, or even a wired home phone. I tried the app with both AT&T, and DirecTV. In both cases it worked. My iPhone told me what was going on, and in a couple of minutes my phone rang and a live customer service person was there. I wasn't stuck listening to elevator music or getting a recording about "how important my call is". I can imagine instances where the app might not work, but it worked just fine for me. One thing to be wary of is the "cancel call" button on the app. If you press it while you are on the call, even if it is to your wired phone, the call drops. FastCustomer runs in the background, so once you initiate the call you can leave the app, or just watch the progress of your call. FastCustomer can save you a lot of frustration. Free is a great price, and there is an in-app purchase of US$4.99 that lets you submit numbers that aren't on the built-in list. I actually found the list quite complete, with most airlines, cable companies, insurance firms, and even Apple. Some companies, like Amazon, have a similar call back service that you initiate from a browser. FastCustomer requires iOS 7 and is not universal. It's optimized for the iPhone 5.
Mel's 2014 holiday gift ideas
My assignment: Suggest gifts for family, friends and even yourself. My list is things I use and adore, or things I want to buy. I'll offer some thoughts on hardware and software. Let's get right to it. Prop 'n Go iPad stand I bought a new iPad Air 2 this year, and it's a joy. But the Apple case is really a poor stand, because if the iPad is on a soft surface, like a bed or couch, hitting the home button will knock the iPad over every time. Prop 'n Go to the rescue. The stand's creator, Padded Spaces, has a whole line of sturdy stands for every iPad model. That means when you get a new iPad, you aren't running out to buy a new stand. They have a large range of adjustment, and your iPad simply won't tip over. The Prop 'n Go iPad holders start around $35.00 and I use mine all the time around the house. Pixelmator for Mac and iPad Who would have thought quality image editing would be so reasonably priced. If you have a photo buff on your holiday gift list, consider Pixelmator. On the Mac, it costs just US$14.99, a far cry from a Photoshop subscription but a very capable app. The iPad version is also very hot. It packs a lot of pro-level tools, including a repair tool that is just about the equal of Photoshop's Content Aware Fill. Remove people or objects from a photo without leaving a trace. Pixelmator for the iPad is $4.99. I reviewed the iPad version and was duly impressed. Your photographer friends will love you for these. Adobe iOS apps Adobe hasn't been standing still either. They have a variety of apps that leverage their new subscription service, letting you start work on an iPad, and finish up on your laptop or desktop. Standout offerings include Adobe Photoshop Touch, Adobe Photoshop Mix, Lightroom and Adobe Voice which let's your easily create striking presentations for family, or work. I'm not wild about the whole subscription idea, but Adobe has kept faith with subscribers and they are adding new apps and whole new categories of creative software. Most of these apps are included with your monthly Creative Cloud subscription and are first rate. Pages for iOS Even though Microsoft is offering Office for the iPad after a long delay, I still like and prefer Pages. The templates are beautiful, and Apple of course knows how to make an app really sing on an iPad or iPhone. Recent buyers of Apple hardware get Pages for free, and the rest can pay $9.99. Pages for Mac is also free for many users, and the iOS apps and Mac app syncs through the cloud. It's really useable, and very mature. A great and useful gift, or let your Xmas list know it might be free. FiiO X1 Apple broke a lot of hearts by killing the iPod Classic. I loved the storage with room for many hundreds of albums. I didn't like that Apple still stubbornly refuses to support high resolution music files either for playback or for sale in the iTunes Store. A terrific solution is the new FiiO X1 Digital Audio Player for $99.99. You'll have to add a microSD card up to 128 GB, but this little player can let you listen to just about every type of high resolution music file, including APE, FLAC, ALAC, WMA, MP3, OOG and WAV at resolutions up to 192kHz/24 bit. Plug in some quality headphones or use the line out for your audio rig or computer and you'll have great quality at a very attractive price. I think Apple has missed the high-rez boat, but this new FiiO is a great substitute. Plug in into your Mac and it appears like a hard drive. Drag your music files to it and you are good to go with 12 hours or so of battery life. You can certainly buy more expensive portable audio players, but the FiiO is tremendous bang for the buck. Those are my pics. Some a bit unconventional, but all worth a look for those on your gift list, or for yourself.
Wickr adds a Mac client to its free ultra-secure messaging family
I took a look at Wickr for iOS more than a year ago. It offered free and extremely secure messaging between others with the Wickr app. At the time of the review, I longed for a Mac client, and now one has just been released. It has all the features of the Wickr iOS app, and there now are apps for Windows and Linux as well as iOS and Android. The app puts you in control of all your messaging to a far greater degree than the usual messaging and social apps. You can send text, pictures, voice and video messages. There aren't any ads, and none of your private information is stored anywhere. You can decide how long a message will exist after you send it, and when it is deleted, it is really gone. Your messages are protected with multi-layer encryption using AES256 and ECDH521. Metadata is automatically deleted, including location, time, and device IDs. Wickr servers maintain only irreversibly scrambled versions of non-Wickr ID information in the directory services. Your contacts do not reside on Wickr servers, and the company does not sell your personal information to anyone. IP addresses are not stored, and there is no back door to the system. The app has been hailed by human rights activists and is the official app of the Oslo Freedom Forum. I added the desktop app to my account, and there was one issue, but I reinstalled and everything was fine. The app recognized my iPhone account, and would have noted any other devices registered. If you are in a business where secure communications matters, Wickr is a natural. It's also great for individuals, as we live in a world where increasingly, our words, locations, contacts, and media can fall into the hands of others. Wickr will remain free, making it a tremendous bargain, but over time the company will develop some premium services that will carry a charge. There's a web page describing how the system works in detail. Wickr for Mac requires OS X 10.8 or above. Wickr for iOS requires iOS 6.1 or above and is a universal app.
Zen Shopping is a full featured and capable shopping partner
For many, the holidays mean shopping, and that prompts a hunt for deals. Fortunately, you can use apps to keep you fully informed and speed you along on your shopping journey. Zen Shopping (free) is a solid entry in the growing field of shopping apps, and one you will want to take a look at. The app lets you enter things you want to buy, and will give you local and online price comparisons. It can deliver coupons before you check out, and it learns from your shopping decisions and can suggest deals that might interest you. Even better, the app can alert you to price drops after you buy, and let you know if you are entitled to a refund. Zen Shopping also offers wish lists, a history of your purchases, and package tracking after you buy. If you have multiple iOS devices, it syncs your information. Zen Shopping works with 4,000 retail firms for price tracking and other information. To sync between devices you need to sign up for a free account, but you can use most of the app features without signing up. I'm always a bit hesitant to set these accounts up as I'm not sure if I will get a flurry of unwanted spam as a result, and the Zen Shopping website says all they store is your shopping history. That's not a very complete privacy policy, so keep that in mind. I liked the Zen Shopping app very much. It's oriented more toward national and online retailers, so your corner store is not going to be represented, but Zen Shopping worked well in my testing, found very good deals, and the coupons and package tracking are a real plus. Zen Shopping is a universal app that requires iOS 7 or later.
The character of what we buy on Black Friday/Cyber Monday is changing
That's the word from data analysts at Localytics. Data they collected over the last few days makes clear that the days of lining up for those Black Friday sales is gone. With major retailers like Walmart and Amazon starting their deals a full week before Black Friday, the big shopping day appears to be losing some its luster. Localytics examined the weekly new device growth during the weekend before Black Friday and Black Friday weekend (including Cyber Monday). By isolating only new devices, Localytics was able to observe which devices saw the most new activity each weekend. The company was able to see the effect that these early deals have on thrifty shoppers by comparing new device growth to a baseline average from the previous 3 weekends. The weekend before Black Friday saw certain devices increase by over 200% compared to the baseline. The biggest winners for the weekend were older iPhone models – specifically the iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 4s, iPhone 5s and iPhone 4. By the time Black Friday rolled around, the big winners were devices like the new iPads, the iPad mini 3 and the iPad Air 2. Those sales were spurred by low prices like US$100 off from Best Buy, and up to $140 gift cards from Target. These devices, says Localytics, did not have the same stellar prior weekend that the older iPhone models did, but instead were the only two Apple devices to stay true to the traditional Black Friday weekend. For this analysis, Localytics examined the percentage increase of new devices on the weekend prior to Black Friday (Nov. 21st – Nov. 24th) and Black Friday Weekend (Nov. 28th – Dec. 1st) to a baseline of the prior 3 weekends in November (Oct 31st – Nov. 3rd, Nov. 7th – Nov 10th, and Nov. 14th – Nov 17th). With Localytics' sample of over 28,000 apps, a new device is defined as a device that is seen by Localytics for the first time by downloading one of the apps incorporating its SDK. Other data of interest came from an IBM Analytics study showed that online shopping from iOS devices absolutely buried Android devices. Apple iPads and iPhones accounted for 21.9% of total Black Friday online sales, while Android based devices totaled 5.8%.
Cool Wallpapers HD offers more than 8,000 free images
Wallpaper apps are commonplace, but so many have really second-rate images. On my own iPhone I prefer to use photos I have taken, especially landscapes, but Cool Wallpapers HD (free - ad supported) has some simply beautiful images that are tempting me to add them to my library. The photos work with all iPhones including the new 6 and 6 Plus, and new images are added every day. There are more than 8,000 in the collection now. There are 14 wallpaper categories, like nature, 3D, people, abstract and so on. You can browse through the collections as thumbnails, enlarge them to full screen, and save them to your photo library. The app notifies you of new photos, but that's a feature you can skip if you're already drowning in notifications. Any photo can be saved as a favorite, or shared with a friend. I was struck by the high quality of many of the images, and of the many I liked, I wouldn't be ashamed to have them as my wallpaper or lock screen. The images are sized in the following way for different iPhones: iPhone 6: 890 × 1590 pixels, iPhone 6 Plus: 1438 × 2592 pixels, iPhone 5s/5c/5: 744 × 1392 pixels. There's nothing fancy about the app, but the image collection is a solid one. The ad banner across the bottom is a bit distracting, but most people will be able to live with it to get the quality images. Cool Wallpapers HD requires iOS 6.1 or greater. It's free; give it a go.
Canopy offers curated shopping on Amazon
So many of us love shopping on Amazon, but at times the choices can be overwhelming. Canopy (free) is a new iOS app designed as sort of a front door for Amazon, offering community-curated shopping suggestions for items offered on the online shopping venue. The ad-free app allows you to create an account, save things in personal collections, and search to see what others say about items sold on Amazon (you don't have to have an account to use the app if you don't want to bother). Yes, Amazon allows comments and they are really helpful, but the elegant design of Canopy and the 'likes' and comments from users may give you better direction in finding what you want. I looked around in several of the categories and found useful suggestions, as well as finding items that wouldn't have turned up doing a standard search in Amazon. If you find something you like, you're directed straight to Amazon to buy your item. If you have an account, you can share your comments and your best (and worst) finds. In use the app worked just fine. The design made it easy to explore, and there's no question I was finding interesting items that wouldn't pop up in the usual Amazon search unless it was very specific. Canopy should help you look for gifts during this holiday season, and your recipients might really appreciate your creativity in gift giving. Canopy requires iOS 7 or later. It's optimized for the iPhone 5 and 6 series of phones, but it is not universal, and only runs in portrait mode, which is a really dumb decision since many iPad cases are set for landscape. On the iPhone it's not an issue. That's my only gripe, and I think Canopy is worth a look.
iPhone users taking astronomical photos with the help of NightCap Pro
Taking pictures of stars and deep sky objects with an iPhone would not have been something I thought would have worked, but as Apple hardware improves with better low light camera performance, apps are there to exploit it and push the envelope. Several users of NightCap Pro, an app designed for night and low light photography, are getting some impressive results. Star trail shots are looking pretty good, and we're seeing meteor captures, and even shots of the International Space Station as it orbits the earth like the one at the top of this post. One amateur astronomer grabbed a decent shot of M42, the Orion Nebula, by attaching his iPhone to a telescope. The twin enemies of low light photography are grain and noise, and NightCap Pro does a good job of reducing the noise, leaving your faint subject visible. None of these photos are going to rival the Hubble Space Telescope output, but it's pretty amazing what an iPhone can do with the right software. Many iPhone owners have had some luck in the past taking photos of the moon through a telescope, but the moon is bright and doesn't put the iPhone camera to much of a test. NightCap Pro has a special 50 percent discount offer currently, making the app only US$0.99. The app requires iOS 7 or later, it's optimized for the iPhone 5 and 6 series, and it's universal for iPads.
My favorite "on the road" picks
It's another holiday, and for many of us that means driving, gas and food stops, and kids who need to be entertained. I've been thinking about the most useful travel-related apps and hardware I use, so before you head out onto the road, check out my list of favorites and see if any of them can help you during your holiday road trips: Navigation Apple and Google Maps are fine in their place, but if that Thanksgiving dinner is out of cellular range those apps will fall flat. If you want built-in maps with turn-by-turn directions, I've always liked Navigon's iOS apps. The maps are embedded in the apps, so there's no need for a data connection and you won't waste those valuable megabytes of data. There is a large points of interest (POI) database that's well augmented by online info. I also like Navigon's free Scout app, which uses cellular data for the maps. There's a self-contained version of Scout with downloadable maps that is quite good, with a rich database of places to stop for rest or nourishment. That version of Scout requires an in-app purchase, which can be done monthly if you only need it for a specific trip. POI apps If you are happy with your map options, or perhaps have a built-in navigation system in your car, you'll be well served by some of the Points of Interest apps that focus on things that are near you like restaurants, hotels, gas stations and even emergency services. I especially like iExit, which shows you what is located near upcoming highway exits, and Around Me which has similar info. Both apps send locations to your nav app or Apple Maps, and you are on your way. Around Me even supplies gas prices so you can find the best deal for filling your tank. Location Sharing Grandma and Grandpa want to know when you will arrive after your trip "over the river and through the wood". Apple has location sharing built into iOS 8; send a text message and click on 'details' and your location will be updated for anxious relatives. I really like Glympse (free) which is the premier app for letting people know where you are and your ETA. If you send a Glympse, the person you've sent it to can be on any phone with a browser, or even a PC or Mac. Glympse sends a real time moving map, so the relatives can even get an idea of exactly when you're pulling into the driveway. Radar Detectors If you're going to drive for the holidays, you don't want to get a ticket. iRadar from Cobra is a hardware/software combo that lets an app control a full-featured radar detector. The system alerts you if you are speeding, lets you know where the speed traps and cameras are, and lets you report police activity to other users. Other Car Hardware You don't want that iPhone slipping between the seats where you have to scramble for it and create an unsafe situation. There are a variety of hardware options for keeping your iPhone in sight and not flying around in the car. Popular choices are the iOttie One Touch Car Mount ($19.99) and Mpow Grip Pro at $13.99. Odds and Ends Games are great for quieting the kids, and of course that iPad can play recent or favorite movies to keep the kids occupied. I'm sure the kids will have plenty of favorites already loaded onto the iPad, right? That's my little travel bag of tricks. Have a good holiday, and drive safely! Look at the road and not your gadgets.