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New and notable apps for November 4, 2013
It's always busy in the App Store with a never-ending flood of new apps landing on iOS and OS X. Take a few minutes and check out our list of stand-out titles from the past few weeks! If that's not enough, you can also follow our ongoing coverage of new apps as they are released. New iOS Apps LoryStripes [iPhone; Category: Photography & Video; $1.99] Enhance any photo from portraits to landscapes by adding beautifully crafted ribbons and lines, called "Stripes". Simply choose an image from your Camera Roll, select a Stripe, adjust it, and weave it throughout the different elements in your photo. Combat Monsters [iOS Universal; Category: Games; Free] Deploy, destroy, dethrone – introducing Combat Monsters, our biggest game ever! Oil Rush: 3D Naval Strategy [iOS Universal; Category: Games; $4.99] Oil Rush is a 3D naval strategy game that takes place in a post-apocalyptic world; nuclear war has melted the ice caps, changing the face of the planet forever. ABC Actions [iOS Universal; Category: Education; $2.99] We challenged ourselves to use our award-winning ABC Series to teach children about verbs and action words through sight, sound & touch. Mystery Math Museum [iPad; Category: Education; $2.99] Use your math skills to rescue the dragonflies in Mystery Math Museum for ages 6-12 and up. Anomaly 2 [iOS Universal; Category: Games; $4.99] Lead the Yukon convoy across a post-apocalyptic wasteland to fight for mankind's survival against the alien machines in an epic single player campaign. ProCam 2 [iPhone; Category: Photography & Video; $0.99] ProCam has been redesigned from the ground up to perfectly compliment iOS 7 with a focus on function over form while still introducing a beautifully streamlined interface. Thor: The Dark World - The Official Game [iOS Universal; Category: Games; Free] Become Thor, the mighty God of Thunder, in this official action-adventure game. Axes & Allies [iOS Universal; Category: Games; Free] Axes & Allies is a line-drawing RPG with simple yet intuitive controls that puts you in command of your own band of Orcs, each with their own unique powers and abilities, to lead the fight against the army of the undead to save their Warchief. Mileage Log+ [iPhone; Category: Business; $9.99] Mileage Log+ is an essential app for anyone who needs to track mileage for tax deduction or reimbursement. Naught 2 [iOS Universal; Category: Games; $1.99] Naught 2 is an adventure and platform game that challenges your skills giving you full control of Naught and his environment. Movie Player 2 – Plays any Video [iOS Universal; Category: Entertainment; $1.99] With Movie Player 2 you can now watch all your favorite films on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. Jam Synth [iOS Universal; Category: Music; $0.99] Jam Synth is a fully featured monophonic guitar synthesizer for iOS. Dragon Slayers [iOS Universal; Category: Games; $3.99] Dragonslayer is an intense, breathtaking action-RPG adventure. Be transported to a land of magic, mystery, and of course, danger. New OS X Apps Intensify [OS X; Category: Photography & Video; $29.99] Powered by unique in-house technologies, Intensify™ reveals the level of details never seen before in digital photography. Unibox [OS X; Category: Productivity; $9.99] Unibox is a people centric email client that organizes your messages by person. Duplicate Detector [OS X; Category: Utilities; Free] Duplicate Detector scans your disk drive – or the folders you choose – and allows you to delete duplicate files, freeing up valuable disk space. Flamingo [OS X; Category: Social Networking; $9.99] Flamingo is a beautiful, native instant messaging client for OS X that supports Hangouts/Gtalk, Facebook, and XMPP. DxO Perspective [OS X; Category: Photography & Video; oFree] With DxO Perspective, you can correct any perspective issues in your images in just a few clicks. Slow Fast Slow [iPhone; Category: Photography & Video; $1.99] Slow Fast Slow is a simple iPhone app that allows you to shoot short video clips at a high frame rate, and then manipulate their speed using an intuitive and fun interface.
Nike SB app is for skateboarding on a global scale
Nike has released a new app aimed at allowing skaters to compete against each other, no matter where they are in the world. Nike SB is a video-heavy app that teaches skaters new tricks by encouraging them to challenge each other through self-recorded videos, as well as check out video lessons and directions posted by Nike's SB team. The competition portion of the app lies in its S.K.A.T.E. game. To start, one skater will perform a move on his board and film it for 15 seconds. He'll then upload the clip where his competitor will be able to view it. The competitor must then perform and record the same trick. If one of the players fails to perform a trick, the player is given a letter. Once one player has accumulated all the letters spelling "skate" they have lost the game. Here's the full details from the app's description: Learn tricks, play games of S.K.A.T.E., take part in challenges with skaters around the planet, and chart your personal skate progress with the Nike SB App. Game of S.K.A.T.E.: Connect with skaters anywhere around the globe to play a game of S.K.A.T.E. through the app. Challenges: Step up to new challenges issued by Nike SB and our pro team to help you keep progressing. Share your footage and have the chance to get noticed by a worldwide audience. Trick Tree: Lose yourself in skateboarding's endless creative process with our extensive Trick Tree, further inspiring you to learn and expand your skills. Learn straight from the pros with never-been-done filming and playback techniques before helping expand the Trick Tree with your own footage. Badges: Earn special and limited badges for skating hard, meeting challenges, progressing and taking part in special events. My Progress: Use the Nike SB App to track your own evolution as you build your personal profile. Need help? Get support at nikesbapp.com/support Nike SB is a free download.
Amazon Cloud Player for Mac: An alternative to iTunes
Amazon today announced the availability of Amazon Cloud Player for Mac (free), providing an alternative way for Mac users to browse, buy, play and manage music on their computers. Amazon previously released the app for iOS devices, also as a free download. The app has a number of features that may be attractive to Mac users compared to iTunes (from the press release): One-place for all your music: Play your Amazon and iTunes music all from one place, even when offline. A music library that is always up-to-date: Cloud Player automatically detects and adds new music to your library even if you bought it from iTunes or ripped a CD. The app does all the work for you. An integrated MP3 Store: You can shop from the Amazon MP3 catalog of more than 25 million songs and discover new music with personalized recommendations, all without having to leave the app. AutoRip: Buy an AutoRip CD or vinyl record from Amazon and a free MP3 version of the album will be added to your Cloud Player for Mac library. Built for speed: Forget bloated players with extra features you don't need or use. Cloud Player for Mac is lean, mean and made for your music. It'll get you from launch to play in seconds. Music management made simple: Download your MP3 purchases automatically or with one click. Export your music to other music players. Create and manage playlists using simple drag-and-drop. Instant search & play: Find music easily and quickly. Type anywhere to search for an artist, album or song and play directly from the search results. Rich artist content: See artist photos, bios, tweets and gorgeous, large album art. Anywhere access: Music purchased using Amazon Cloud Player for Mac is securely backed up in the cloud for free and made instantly available on any Kindle Fire, Android phone or tablet, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Samsung TV, Roku, Sonos, PC or web browser.
Japanese iOS game lets you beat up perverts, because why not?
Japanese culture is sometimes a bit confusing for Westerners, and a new iOS game from the Land of the Rising Sun is a perfect example of that. It's called Punishment Punch Girl, and there's a good chance you've never seen anything like it on your own regional App Store -- unless you're reading this from Japan, in which case you obviously have. The game takes place in a future filled with creepy dudes with an even creepier hobby: Being assaulted by young women. Each stage features a new freaky fella who is begging for a beating and you, as the young "Momiji." It's your job to levy enough damage against each man before your timer runs out. As utterly absurd as this concept sounds, the gameplay shown in the brief trailer actually looks like a good bit of frantic fun. At the moment, there doesn't appear to be any plans to move the game west, but you could change your App Store country and download it, as we taught you with a certain Star Wars game recently... [via Siliconera]
New and Notable apps for iOS and OS X - October 21, 2013 edition
It's always busy in the App Store with a never-ending flood of new apps landing on iOS and OS X. Take a few minutes and check out our list of stand-out titles from the past few weeks! If that's not enough, you can also follow our ongoing coverage of new apps as they are released. New iOS Apps Air Display 2 [iOS Universal; [iOS Universal; $4.99] Use Air Display to turn your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch into a wireless display for your computer. Increase your productivity with extra screen real estate or mirror your Mac or Windows computer display to your iOS device. Gravie [iPhone; Category: Photography & Video; $1.99] Make your own video in minutes using our themes, graphic templates, clip arts. Record your own video or select from the recorded clips and recreate using various effects and styles. FoxTube 3 HD - YouTube Player [iPad; Category: Music; $4.99] Play YouTube video continuously with playlists. FoxTube 3 - YouTube Player [iPhone; Category: Music; $2.99] Play YouTube video continuously with playlists. ARC Squadron: Redux [iOS Universal; Category: Games; Free] As an elite pilot serving in the ARC Squadron, you are tasked to take on the Guardians in head-to-head combat and bring down their empire. Batman: Arkham Origins [iOS Universal; Category: Games; Free] Prove your worth as Gotham's Dark Knight, facing off against a slew of deadly assassins and their thugs in the new mobile game, Batman Arkham Origins. Machinarium Pocket Edition [iPhone; Category: Games; $1.99] An award-winning adventure game by the makers of Samorost and Botanicula. Boxie - Prettify your Dropbox [iPhone; Category: Productivity; $1.99] Boxie is a brand new Dropbox client for iPhone, which enhances and prettifies your whole Dropbox experience. New OS X Apps Draft Control [OS X; Category: Productivity; Free] Draft Control works alongside your word processor and automatically tracks changes over time. Every change is searchable, archived, and easy to restore. SEGA Superstars Tennis [OS X; Category: Games; $14.99] Sonic and a superstar cast of fan-favourite characters serve up extreme arcade tennis on courts inspired by SEGA's psychedelic gameworlds. iZip Viewer [OS X; Category: Utilities; Free] iZip Viewer can help you view the content of your archive file by Mac's 'Quick Look' tool.
Motorola releases iOS-to-Google migration tool for Moto x
The worst part of getting a new phone is making sure all of your contacts and data come with you. But when you switch from an entirely different environment, say from iOS to Android, the process is even more obnoxious. Motorola is trying to ease that pain for users of its new Moto X phone with an iOS-to-Google migration tool. WIth the tool, users can order a new Moto X phone that will ship with their contact information already on the phone. Motorola's transfer tool copies your calendar and contact information directly from iCloud and deposits it on your new Moto X. Transferring 500 phone contacts and 500 calendar events takes around five minutes according to Motorola. Motorola has released an FAQ page explaining the transfer process and how to ensure your contacts make the trip to their new phone safely. You can give it a read right here.
Super Squares is a fun puzzle game for iPhone, iPad
Snowman, the developer behind Circles and Checkmark, has released a new, free puzzler for iPhone and iPad called Super Squares. It's one of those fun, pick-up-and-play games that are great for killing a few minutes or unwinding at the end of the day. Your task is to complete a path from one point to another, avoiding obstacles along the way. As you play, the game gets progressively more challenging. I've grabbed my copy and will be checking it out this weekend. Look for a full review next week.
Controls+ brings a little bit of iOS 7 Control Center to OS X
Since the first day that I laid eyes on iOS 7 in June, one of my favorite features has been Control Center. Let's face it -- it's much easier and quicker to just swipe up from the bottom of my iPad or iPhone screen to get access to frequently used controls than to either go into settings or launch an app. Now It's About Time Products is introducing Controls+ (US0.99 intro price through October 18, $4.99 after that point) to the world in hopes that they can provide the same convenience as Control Center to Mac OS X users. When installed and launched, the only indication that Controls+ is running is a small icon in the menu bar that looks like an iOS 7 settings toggle switch. Click on that icon, and you have access to all of the features of Controls+. At the current time, Controls+ includes the following features: Adjust your display Brightness Wallpaper -- drag and drop images to change the Mac wallpaper Start the screensaver Turn on the Flashlight (turns the entire screen white) -- great for video chatting in a dark room iTunes Controls Play/Pause Next/Previous iTunes volume View album Cover And more... Timer Stopwatch The app's developer told TUAW that he intends to continue developing new capabilities for the app, and that he would like to hear from early adopters about what features they'd like to see in future updates. Controls+ is available through October 18 for $0.99 and the price will go up to $4.99 after that. In my personal opinion, I think the app is reasonably priced for a buck and overpriced at the $5 level, considering the current limited functionality. However, I like the concept and the execution, and think that Controls+ could really grow into a useful time-saving utility.
Square releases Square Cash iPhone app
Square has released its new Square Cash iPhone app that allows you to send money to anyone with an email account. The iPhone app is a companion app to the new Square Cash service that lets you send money simply by typing an email. Anyone may compose a new email to the person they want to send money to, putting a dollar amount in the subject line (for example, "$50") and CC the message to "cash@square.com." If it's your first time sending money, you'll then get an email with a link to where you can store your debit card info. Your recipient will get the money within two business days. The companion Square Cash iPhone app shortens the time you need to spend composing emails by allowing you to quickly tap in the dollar amount of what you want to send. It then fills in an email template for you. All you need to do is add your recipient's address. From the app's release notes: Send money to anyone with an email address. It's fast, safe, and free! No account needed. Just securely link your debit card to start sending money. It's free to send, and free to receive money directly to your U.S. bank account. Secure. Your financial information is entered through a secure connection and kept private. You can confirm or reject any transfer. Fast. Money automatically deposits to your bank account within 1-2 business days. Right now Square Cash is only available for users in the US and has a US$2,500-per-week sending limit. Square Cash is a free download.
Seene lets you take and share 3D images from your iPhone
Seene is a clever and free iPhone app that lets you capture an object or person in three dimensions. It's not the 3D you get from taking two images that are horizontally displaced, but instead you move left and right, up and down while the camera is running, which produces an image that you can explore from different angles by either moving your phone or swiping your finger on the image. If you like the result, you can share your image through a web portal, or upload it to Twitter or Facebook. The 3D images can be viewed on most modern browsers that support WebGL, including Safari, Chrome and Firefox. How does it work? Really well, impressively so. Point the iPhone camera at an object or a person and you see a lot of little dots on your screen defining the object. If those dots aren't visible, your subject does not stand out enough from the background and you need to find a better background. In my experiments, I found that neutral backgrounds work best to not confuse the software. The app displays a kind of "pie chart" image that you can alter by moving in four directions until the four wedges have turned green. Once that has happened, there is enough data for the image. Processing is quick and easy, and from that point, you can save or send the photo. Seene is not the first app to try to capture an object with a moveable, dimensional photo, but I had the best results with it of any I've tried. If you are interested in this kind of photography, Seene is a no risk, no cost app to try out. Seene requires iOS 6 or later. Scenes can be captured only on an iPhone 4s or greater, but images can be viewed on an iPhone 4 or later. The app is optimized for the iPhone 5 series.
Angry Birds Go! cart racer hits iOS on December 11
With a franchise as massive as Angry Birds, no game genre is safe, and the next category of digital escapism to be graced by the adorable avians is racing. Angry Birds Go! is slated to hit your iOS device on December 11, and if the newly released trailer is any indication, it's shaping up quite fantastically. The game is very much what you'd expect if you've ever played a Mario Kart title: Iconic Angry Birds characters take the wheel of makeshift vehicles and attempt to best one another using their driving skills and destructive special powers. The game will feature customizable vehicles and, since the app is going to be free to download, we imagine microtransactions will play a large role in how well-equipped your ride becomes.
Share Anytime is a clever collaborative whiteboard app for iPad
There are a lot of whiteboard- and document-sharing solutions on both the Mac and iOS platforms. MetaMoji Corporation is debuting Share Anytime, a free app that allows teams to see documents, drawings and photos in real time and mark them up interactively. MetaMoji also offers Note Anytime, which has been a popular and highly rated PDF-markup tool. A user can start, or in Share Anytime lingo, be chairman of a meeting, and invite others to watch or participate. There are annotation tools, and you can add symbols from a large library of icons or draw in freehand using several pen options. Photos can be imported from your iPad, then scaled and moved. All this activity is seen in real time by other participants. I tried the app with a friend about 600 miles away. He was on a first-generation iPad; I was on an iPad 3. Everything worked fine, and neither of us had to consult the help files. When he imported an image, it popped up on my iPad. I could underline it, add a text comment or move it, and he would see the changes almost instantly. There is also a chat function so people can type comments in real time. I also tried a sample session that was running in Barcelona. Again, updates were very quick, so the technology in the app is up to the task of real-time collaboration. The app also allows you to import documents from services like Google Drive, Dropbox and Evernote. It should be noted that imported documents become PDFs, so they can't be edited. They can be marked up, and blank pages can be added with text or diagrams as if the PDF was a graphic -- which, in reality, it is. There are some negatives. One, there are two signups required to get the app working. The first is with Share Anytime, while the second is with a service called Digital Cabinet that activates the real-time editing. While using the basic features is easy, there are some rather arcane icons that aren't really clear until you check the help file. Also, there is no voice-over-IP support. Everyone will need to be on the phone to speak, which is pretty much the best way to interact. I don't think the chat window would be truly effective. Only the iPad is supported now, but other platforms are on the way. While the app is free and quite full-featured, there is a paid US$1.99 a month version that adds handwriting recognition in 13 languages and converts handwritten text to typed text. It also extends the number of meetings you can create. The free version allows you to attend an unlimited number of meetings and host up to ten meetings, or 1GB of data transfer, whichever comes first. Share Anytime is clever, and works as advertised. The free version should be great for lightweight collaboration with smaller document sizes. The paid version is very reasonably priced compared to a lot of the better-known collaboration options. I think the app can be useful in project management, distance learning and even by photographers who want to share and comment on their work. Share Anytime works on any iPad running iOS 5 or greater.
New and notable apps for iOS and OS X, October 14, 2013
It's always busy in the App Store with a never-ending flood of new apps landing on iOS and OS X. Take a few minutes and check out our list of stand-out titles from the past few weeks! If that's not enough, you can also follow our ongoing coverage of new apps as they are released. New iOS Apps Pickle - Smart Clipper (WEB IMAGE, GIF & SCREENSHOT) for iPad [iPad; Category: Productivity; $0.99] Pickle is the easiest way to clip Images & GIFs from websites. Cavorite 3 [iOS Universal; Category: Games; $1.99] Cavorite 3 continues the original and genre-crossing adventure game series, appealing to fans of puzzlers and platformers alike. Sheepland [iOS Universal; Category: Games; $3.99] After many successes in the field of board games with world class games such as Horse Fever, Rattus and Tzolk'in, Cranio Creations finally enters the world of digital gaming with Sheepland. Tick [iPhone; Category: Productivity; $0.99] Tick is a next-generation incredibly-customizable To-Do app designed exclusively for iOS 7. F1™ Challenge [iOS Universal; Category: Games; $2.99] Complete over 90 racing events and recreate thrilling moments from the 2012 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP™ in F1 Challenge – an officially licensed FORMULA 1™ videogame. MagicalPad [iPhone; Category: Productivity; $2.99] Organize your ideas and improve productivity. Best for meeting notes, brainstorming, capturing ideas, doodling, taking notes and managing lists and to-dos. UniqueTrainer [iPhone; Category: Health & Fitness; $6.99] UniqueTrainer is smarter, faster and more prescriptively accurate than any other personal training workout programme. New OS X Apps Disk Diag [OS X; Category: Utilities; Free] Disk Diag helps to quickly discover and clean up unneeded files. Scan your home folder for useless files and remove them to free up disk space with only a few clicks. BookViewer [OS X; Category: Entertainment; $7.99] BookViewer is a top e-book renderer for your Mac. It is very lightweight because it has no heavy library collection management features and works exactly like Preview app for e-books. The Tiny Tale [OS X; Category: Games; $5.99] Retrieve the four elements and restore a magical kingdom in The Tiny Tale! Present [OS X; Category: Utilities; $2.99] Present's purpose in life is to allow you to be able to present images and movies on a secondary display without undue hassle. MUTANT [OS X; Category: Music; Free] Mutant is software designed for simple and efficient management of sound files for advanced music production. iWrite Albums [OS X; Category: Photography & Video; $4.99] Want to make your own album? Choose this software!
F1 Challenge launches on iOS with more than 90 events
iOS continues to grow as a game platform every day, with new titles and better-looking graphics constantly popping up. The latest beneficiaries of this growing game environment are Formula One fans thanks to the release of F1 Challenge, an officially licensed racing sim. Featuring more than 90 challenges, each inspired by moments from the 2012 racing season, F1 Challenge offers racing fans plenty of content for its US$2.99 price tag. Racers can also compete in time trials, race events and short Grand Prix events featuring 12 cars at a time and more. The controls are even adjustable for both right- and left-handed players. Players will be racing against the full lineup of drivers from the 2012 season, including Scuderia Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes' Jenson Button and Lotus F1 Team's Kimi Räikkönen. F1 Challenge is available now in the app store.
Rabbids Big Bang lands on iOS on October 17
Once Rayman's mortal nemesis, the Rabbids will soon get their very own mobile adventure with Rabbids Big Bang, headed to iOS on October 17. According to a press release by developer Ubisoft (below), the game will span a total of 150 levels, offering outer space-flavored fun as the Rabbids pilot jetpacks to accomplish specific tasks. Rabbids Big Bang will be the first proper Rabbids title to appear on iOS, with the only previous app, Rabbids Go Phone Again, being less of a game and more of a quirky virtual toybox. The game will sell for US$0.99 and will feature microtransactions, which likely means there will be a bounty of customization options and bonus items that you can pay to obtain without much effort. Show full PR text RABBIDS BIG BANG AVAILABLE ON OCTOBER 17TH SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – October 11th, 2013 – Today, Ubisoft announced that Rabbids Big Bang will be released on October 17th on iOS, Google Play and Amazon at the price of $0.99. Deciding Earth is not enough for them, the Rabbids are making space their new playground in this physics-based game on smartphones and tablets. Players will pilot the wacky little creatures using jetpack boosts and the gravitational force of planets, to avoid catastrophic accidents, fly around obstacles and explore the edges of the galaxy. Developed by Ubisoft Paris studios, Rabbids Big Bang offers 150 different missions including crash-landing landing on planets, bouncing off of space cows and reaching specific speeds. The customization options in-game are plentiful. Jetpacks can be upgraded for an added boost or just a bit of flare and as Rabbids love dressing up, there are lots of disguises, new outfits and funny looks to make Rabbids stand out! And as it's Rabbids we are talking about, players will meet space duckies, cheese planets and feel the burn if they fly to close to the Sun! For more info on Rabbids Big Bang, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/rabbids?fref=ts About Ubisoft: Ubisoft is a leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products worldwide and has grown considerably through a strong and diversified lineup of products and partnerships. Ubisoft has offices in 29 countries and has sales in more than 55 countries around the globe. It is committed to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge video game titles to consumers. For the 2012-13 fiscal year Ubisoft generated sales of €1,256 million. To learn more, please visit www.ubisoftgroup.com 2013 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Rabbids, Ubisoft, and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the US and/or other countries
Cameo enters the social video world with a clever and powerful app
Cameo is a new free social video app that aims to compete with the likes of Vine and Instagram. The app sports some powerful features and has enough advantages that people who love to share videos will want to give it a shake. The app allows you to take as many videos as you want. All the videos are rendered in the cloud at 720p, and a copy is saved to your iPhone so it can be uploaded to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr. One clever feature is the ability to share videos in real time with friends, so if, for example, you're both in different places at a sporting event, you can share each other's clips and build them into your own video creation. Like Vine, clips are limited to six seconds, but you can combine those clips into a video that lasts as long as two minutes. As you shoot new clips, new ones are being rendered in the cloud, so you are not waiting for things to finish. When all your clips are done, you can select music, either from your own library or from clips provided by Cameo. You can title your video, and choose a theme. Then the video is rendered on the Cameo servers, which is pretty quick, and then you can share. I gave the app a try and found it very well thought out. A novice can get a great-looking video the first time out without ever consulting a help file. You can comment on friends videos, or follow what they are doing. I found the six-second clip limit restrictive, but once I got into the rhythm of the app, I was less bothered by it. The themes are very well done, and don't feel like simple filters thrown on top of video. The themes are sort of all or nothing. You pick a theme and go with it. You don't get to fiddle with transitions and effects. There are a lot of iPhone owners who never touch the video feature they have, but Cameo could give them a good reason to explore video as a creative and social outlet that isn't complicated to use. Like all apps, Cameo will mutate and improve, but it is already a strong contender and everyone who uses video on their iPhone, and those who don't, but are thinking about it, owe Cameo a look. Cameo requires iOS 7, and it's not universal. Your best bet is an iPhone, which is what it is really designed for.
Daily iPhone App: Fotor HDR brings some new tricks to iPhone photography
Fotor HDR is a new iPhone app for those of you who like to take high dynamic range (HDR) photos. The US$1.99 app adds some very sophisticated processing options after you take the multiple images required for an HDR image. The main feature Fotor HDR offers is preset styles. Rather than simply providing filters, the Fotor styles are geared to HDR images, and are similar to what you see in the pro HDR apps you see on the Mac, such as Photomatix and HDR Efex Pro 2 from Nik/Google. Here's how the app works: you frame your image on screen, with Fotor offering a grid to help you compose and level the camera. There are two picture-taking modes -- one mode grabs the images and processes them, while the other mode allows you to continue taking photos rapidly without waiting for processing and aligning (you can do that after your photo session). Processing and aligning are pretty quick on an iPhone 5s, and I think it's quite acceptable on older hardware as well. Once the images are done, you have the option to select a style for your photo, or leave the HDR image alone. Some of the styles were a bit over the top, but may appeal to some photographers. Some, like surreal, worked well if there were lots of clouds and a contrasty sky. With each style, you can adjust saturation, brightness, contrast and create a vignette. I was able to turn out some really nice photos using Fotor HDR. In my tests, I found it far superior to the built-in HDR feature of the iPhone Camera app, and similar in quality to one of my favorite photo apps, Pro HDR. Apple's HDR is very subtle, but when there are deep shadows it doesn't do very well. It does work well when faces are in front of a bright sky, brightening the faces while still revealing the great outdoors. When I gave Fotor HDR my "dark room with bright window" test, it did very well, revealing details in the room without overexposing the bright scene outside. What also makes Fotor HDR stand out are the style presets and the ability to adjust within those parameters. Readers can view some comparisons in the slide show above. I'm impressed with what Fotor HDR brings as an iPhone imaging tool. In future versions, I'd like to see the option to combine three images rather than two for greater dynamic range. Fotor HDR is not a universal app, so it's best used on your iPhone or iPod touch. It requires iOS 6.0 or later, but the user interface has a nice iOS 7 look to it.
New and notable apps for October 7, 2013
It's always busy in the App Store with a never-ending flood of new apps landing on iOS and OS X. Take a few minutes and check out our list of stand-out titles from the past few weeks! If that's not enough, you can also follow our ongoing coverage of new apps as they are released. New iOS Apps Frax [iPhone; Category: Entertainment; $1.99] Frax raises the fractal in 3D height, uses complex color gradients to smoothly tint and shade them, adds two light sources for glossy reflections and infinitely scaleable chaotic textures. Frax HD [iPad; Category: Entertainment; $3.99] Frax raises the fractal in 3D height, uses complex color gradients to smoothly tint and shade them, adds two light sources for glossy reflections and infinitely scaleable chaotic textures. Machines at War 3 [iOS Universal; Category: Games; $6.99] The creators of the mega hit real time strategy game Land Air Sea Warfare bring you their newest heart pounding action packed RTS, Machines at War 3. Dead Man's Draw [iOS Universal; Category: Games; $1.99] Draw cards, win gold, and unlock exciting new adventures in this addictively fun game of chance and skill. The Cave [iOS Universal; Category: Games; $4.99] Descend into the mysterious depths of The Cave in this adventure game from Monkey Island creator Ron Gilbert and Double Fine Productions. Transport Tycoon [iOS Universal; Category: Games; $6.99] Take control of your own fledgling transport company, and use your engineering skill and business acumen to keep cargo and passengers moving - and keep the money rolling in! LEVEL 22 [iOS Universal; Category: Games; $3.99] Gary's been late for work, and he could be fired if he's spotted arriving at his desk after everyone else yet again. So he'll have to prove he's smart and sneaky enough to make his way up all the 22 floors between him and his office without being seen. Virtual ANS [iOS Universal; Category: Music; $5.99] Virtual ANS is a software simulator of the unique Russian synthesizer ANS - photoelectronic microtonal/spectral musical instrument created by Russian engineer Evgeny Murzin from 1938 to 1958. Gunner Z [iOS Universal; Category: Games; Free] Take your fleet of customized "AC-HMV" armored assault trucks into a city overrun by an undead army. Cube Synth [iPad; Category: Music; $9.99] Cube Synth is a groundbreaking new software instrument giving you the power and flexibility of additive synthesis together with easy editing and morphing capabilities. EMPIRE: The Deck Building Strategy Game [iOS Universal; Category: Games; $2.99] EMPIRE introduces the world's first "Deck-Building 4X Strategy Game". EMPIRE is a quick, easy-to-learn yet difficult to master strategy/tactics game. New OS X Apps Capo 3 [OS X; Category: Music; $29.99] apo 3 is a revolutionary tool that helps you learn the music in your iTunes library. By slowing your music, automatically detecting chords and quickly generating guitar tablature using the detailed spectrogram, Capo 3's award-winning capabilities let you learn to play your songs faster than ever. Report Assistant [OS X; Category: Education; $3.99] Report Assistant is a great and versatile tool for any teacher. As important as your subject specific knowledge, the assistant will help you during one of the most arduous time of the year. picatext [OS X; Category: Productivity; $3.99] You need to get the text out of an image or from anywhere on your screen? With picatext this is as easy as selecting a file or a screen area. PocketCAS for Mathematics [OS X; Category: Education; $9.99] PocketCAS is a very advanced mathematics application for your Mac. It can help you with any kind of math problem, from elementary school all the way up to calculus, algebra and statistics. SoHo [OS X; Category: Music; Free] That's exactly how easily you can use SoHo, the minimal music app. Control music from iTunes, Spotify, Rdio and Radium in an amazingly easy way.
Cinefex 'classic collection' coming to iPad in 2014
One of my favorite things in the world, Cinefex magazine, has funded the digitization of its older magazines to its iPad app thanks to a Kickstarter campaign that has become the fourth most-funded publishing project on the site to date. Cinefex, for those who don't know, is a magazine that takes a behind-the-scenes look at special effects work for Hollywood movies. Back in my film school days, I would get an issue when I could afford it, and pore over the photos and text, which took me backstage to some of the world's most talented artists, designers, animators and more. Much of what Cinefex documented shows the evolution of effects work as well, not to mention rare glimpses into what made some of our favorite movies work. The photo of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow man on the Kickstarter page should be enough to clue you in as to how awesome this magazine is for film buffs, never mind anyone actually working in the industry. And to supplement the current Cinefex iPad app, now those older issues of Cinefex will be available via its iPad app by January 2014, according to the Kickstarter page.
Spin looks to bring high-fidelity group video chatting to iPhone and iPad
For the past year, three relatively low-profile but intriguing iPhone and iPad apps from developer Net Power & Light have graced the App Store: Together Talks, Together Justice and Together Learn are all built on the company's core Spin technology. Each app provides a collaborative video chat community around a specific content source; Talks aggregates TED talks, for example. But this week NP&L is doubling down on Spin with a standalone, user-driven free iOS app that's meant to give you a new way to connect with friends and family. The Spin name, according to company co-founder and CEO Tara Lemmey, comes from the concept of quantum spin and the ability of subatomic particles to be "entangled" with one another, preserving their connection even over cosmic distances. This Spin, while not quite so complicated, still brings a lot to the table. The new app is "capable of delivering truly immersive real-time 'together' experiences," says NP&L, by putting real-time, high fidelity video chat (even over LTE networks) alongside synchronous media sharing. Spin makes it easy to call up a video chat with a group of contacts (up to 10 simultaneously) or schedule chats around shared events (sports, favorite TV shows, etc.). Once in the Spin experience, participants' camera feeds share space with YouTube and Facebook videos, or photos sourced from Facebook, Flickr or the device itself. With a flick of a finger, different bits of media can take center stage, and users can add their input with onscreen doodles, fun animated props (a vuvuzela? really?) or just chat away. Want to focus your attention on one participant? Make their avatar bigger and they'll get louder, just as though they were closer to you in real life. The whole experience is pushed out at the maximum available quality for both audio and video; full AirPlay mirroring support allows you to push out the conversation to the big screen. NP&L has some high-powered investor/advisors to go along with a deep technology stack; the company boasts the former Xerox PARC director and current Deloitte innovation guru John Seely Brown on its roster. JSB, as he's generally known, is enthusiastic about the potential of Spin to help move the needle for interpersonal connections through technology. "Social media revolutionized how we connect online," he says, "but the hard work that went into creating the technology platform powering Spin goes even further. Digital interactions finally begin to feel more human, more real, and less digital, deepening our relationships in ways that are more fun, rewarding and fulfilling." The Spin app, along with its three Together predecessors, is engaging, responsive and fun to use; unfortunately it's not that good at preserving state or the progress of a video playback if you happen to switch to another app while you're using it (at least in single-user testing). Hopefully that's an iOS 7-related hiccup that will be cleared up with a patch in the near future. In the meantime, you can download Spin for free on the App Store and take it for a... well, you can try it out.
