Thursday, December 21, 2017

Microsoft iPhone camera app turns videos in comic strips, takes multi-directional panoramas

Microsoft is out with a pair of updates to its AI-powered photo app Pix for iOS to let users take bigger, wider photos and turn videos into comic strips.

Photosynth, previously a standalone app for making 3D panoramas before it was decommissioned earlier this year, has resurfaced within Pix. It allows users to take more comprehensive panorama shots, rotating the phone in all directions — up, down, side-to-side, diagonally — rather than just side to side.

Josh Weisberg, principal program manager within Microsoft's AI & Research group said in a blog post that the idea to add Photosynth to Pix came to him as he was trying to take photos at Snoqualmie Falls, a major attraction just a few miles from Microsoft's Redmond, Wash. headquarters.

Read more at GeekWire

Copyright 2017 KING


Source: Microsoft iPhone camera app turns videos in comic strips, takes multi-directional panoramas

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Critical Security Flaws Found in Majority of First-Responder Apps

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday revealed it was instrumental in helping to identify a wide range of security flaws, which were discovered in dozens of potentially life saving "first-responder" apps available for download on the iOS and Google Play app stores.

According to DHS' official press release, the agency's Science and Technology Directorate indicated that the flaws were discovered in 32 of the 33 most popular first-responder apps surveyed.

"The pilot-testing project discovered potential security and privacy concerns — such as access to the device camera, contacts or Short Message Service messages — in 32 of 33 popular apps that were tested," DHS said in its official press release announcing the findings.

The agency went on to add that of the 33 apps tested, 18 were deemed to have "critical flaws," such as unchangeable certificate credentials or vulnerability to attacks over Wi-Fi.

The findings were conveyed in DHS recent report, titled "Securing Mobile Applications for First-Responders," which was a collaborative research effort between DHS, The Association of Public-Safety, and mobile security firm, Kryptowire.

The study, DHS says, was conducted in part to acknowledge the importance of these apps — and how, in cases of emergency, first responders such as paramedics and police often rely on them to "share information and help save lives." DHS says it was crucial, therefore, to ensure these apps are safe from vulnerabilities; and "As more apps are adopted for public-safety missions," it's critical that an "ongoing app-evaluation process with incentives for developer participation" be formulated and adopted to "ensure current and new mobile apps are free of vulnerabilities," added DHS' Director of Science and Technology, John Merrill.

Since the findings went public Monday morning, CNET reports that approximately 10 developers — who're collectively responsible for 14 of the 32 flawed apps — have provided updates to patch their respective issues.

Read Next: 10 Things You Should Know About Bitcoin


Source: Critical Security Flaws Found in Majority of First-Responder Apps

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

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Source: Syma X21W Wifi FPV Mini Drone With Camera Live Video LED Nano Pocket RC Quadcopter With GYRO App Control White

Monday, December 18, 2017

Update to popular RAW camera app Halide includes 4x faster capture, 3D Touch support, more

A new version of the popular photography app, Halide, has been released today. Halide version 1.6 is a speed-centric update that contains a lot of improvements including support for the iPhone X's 5.8-inch screen and much more.

The first major improvement, beyond iPhone X support, is capture speed. Halide claims that the app is now able to capture photos up to four times faster than before. This will make capturing that special moment that much easier!

Another major improvement is the addition of 3D Touch support, and even better, a Lock screen widget for quick launching of the app.

Halide is now the first manual camera app to support VoiceOver for the visually impaired. Apple is a leader when its comes to accessibility features so it's really awesome seeing other developers follow suit.

Previously, some users experienced blurriness when opening RAW images taken with Halide in other photo apps. Halide will now save a secondary processed shot alongside the original specifically for situations like this.

Along similar lines, looking through each of your photos trying to find RAW images can be a pain. Now, Halide will automatically save all RAW images into their own folder for easy access.

Last but not least, there are now multiple formats to shoot in. If the "most efficient" tag is selected, images will be saved in HEIC, when using the "most compatible" mode it will save as a jpeg. It can now also shoot in TIFF, which is a lossless format, but takes up 3x as much space.

If you want to try out all these cool new features for yourself, you can download Halide from the App Store for $4.99.

Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news:


Source: Update to popular RAW camera app Halide includes 4x faster capture, 3D Touch support, more

Sunday, December 17, 2017

Apps To Replace Your Native Camera

The native camera on the iPhone is pretty decent, but not exactly feature-rich. The iPod Touch 4's camera leaves even more to be desired. Here is a collection of apps to replace your native camera with something better. Some of them also have some nice editing features, but this AppGuide is really all about taking higher quality and more interesting photographs.

Essential Apps

King Camera

by Applications Saycheezzz.com

King Camera is a rare app that actually lives up to its name! It stands out from the crowd because it has all of the camera functions you'd expect, such as big button, timer, burst, time-lapse, sound trigger, and many more. Plus it adds video camera features, which most apps in this genre don't have: video flashlight, white balance, exposure lock, and more. And it has a full editing suite, with crop, rotation, saturation, exposure, highlights, just to name a few. But wait, there's more: lots of fun things you add like borders, vignettes, textures, filters, and effects, all of which and be mixed and matched and saved for future photos. I can't even almost list all of its features here, but suffice it to say, there is a just ton packed into this powerhouse app.

Top Camera - HDR and Slow Shutter

by Lucky Clan

This is another excellent, feature-rich camera replacement app that shares many features with other essential apps. All the photography and basic editing features you'd expect are there. It doesn't have nearly as many filters/effects as King Camera and some of the others; that isn't this app's focus. However, Top Camera has two remarkable features that the others do not: excellent HDR (far superior to what's in the native camera) and Slow Shutter mode. Both of these features are comparable to what you'd find in the stand-alone apps.

Notable Apps

This extremely popular app is another great take on what the native camera should be. Adjust focus and exposure separately. Turn your flash into a continuous fill light. You get 5x zoom, alignment grid, stabilizer, timer, and more. For use after the fact, this app has scene modes like a digital camera (such as Sunset, Beach, Portrait, etc.) in addition to lots of other editing and effect features. You really can't go wrong with this one. I have nothing bad to say about this app, it's not a fluke that Camera+ has topped the iTunes charts for so long. I just think that some of the newer contenders have come out with an even better product.

ProCamera

by Jens Daemgen

ProCamera is quick and easy to use, with separate focus/exposure and white balance adjustment, a full-screen shutter, anti-shake stabilizer, 5x digital zoom, alignment grids, self-timer, detailed EXIF data, and more. It does also have editing and effects to add after the fact. Oddly enough, my favorite thing about this app isn't its camera-replacement feature set. Have you ever noticed that iPhone photos taken indoors often have a yellow tinge? I have found the yellow correction filter in this app to be even better than some dedicated editing and filter apps.

QuickPix

by Two Teeth Technologies

If fast is what you want, check out QuickPix for quick startup. In addition to being faster than the native camera, this app also allows you to shoot simultaneous video and still photos so you don't have to choose. Set the app up take a picture immediately upon opening if you like. Shoot burst photos as well. This app has a nice balance of speed, simplicity, and nice features for people that are not looking for the more feature-heavy apps found in the essential category. Another cool thing about this app is that it is universal, so iPad users can enjoy it as well.

Fastest Camera Pro - Never Miss a Photo Opportunity Again!

by BRIAN Burke

They weren't kidding with the name -- this is simply the fastest camera I have come across. Open the app and your first photo is taken immediately. Take another right away with no noticeable lag. Burst shot button allows you to take 3, 5, or 10 shots in a burst. Using flash will slow it down, of course, but for situations where you need speed (and not flash), you can't beat Fastest Camera.

Frame X Frame

by Joby Inc.

This is one of the best free camera replacement apps out there. It's from the same developers as the popular Gorillacam, and seems to be its replacement (although Gorillacam is still available, it hasn't been updated in a while). This app offers such features as self-timer, burst shot, press anywhere shutter, geotagging, anti-shake, tap to focus, and more. The time lapse photography feature allows you to create a stop motion film. Share directly to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, or email. For free, it's a great bargain.

Decent Apps

This is definitely a niche app. It really has only one feature that's missing from the native camera, but it's a big one - more megapixels! You can actually double your photos' resolution with ClearCam. The app actually takes a rapid series of pictures and combines the information to create one higher quality, clearer, sharper photo. It's great for low light situations and fast-moving subjects.

Get great features such as anti-shake shooting, a custom self-timer with adjustable burst shooting (you set both the number of shots and the time lapse between them), alignment grid and a "press anywhere" shutter button. Pre-iPhone 4 users will appreciate the 4X digital zoom. This is a helpful and feature-packed iphoneography app for the bargain price of free. Still, you're better off getting Joby's newer free app, Frame X Frame.


Source: Apps To Replace Your Native Camera

Saturday, December 16, 2017

New Nokia Camera app teardown reveals Nokia 9 may sport telephoto, wide-angle camera

The new camera app has hidden features like a telephoto camera mode and it also sports a wide-angle mode. Based on new features, the Nokia 9 is expected to come with a telephoto and a wide-angle camera setup.

The new Nokia Camera app on the Nokia 5 smartphone reveals that the upcoming Nokia 9 smartphone will feature a telephoto and a wide-angle camera lens. HMD Global recently started rolling out Android Oreo beta build for the Nokia 5 smartphone. Nokiamobdug around in the new camera app's code on the Oreo beta and discovered that apart from a new simplified UI, it supports telephoto camera mode with 2X optical zoom and also features a wide-angle mode. 

Nokia Camera v8.0200.20 app also comes with additional icons for controlling shutter speed. Users can control shutter speeds between 1/500s and 1s along with the ISO option (100-2000). However, the new features cannot be accessed in the current app version. The report says it's due to the hardware limitations related to telephoto and wide-angle modes and also because the features aren't ready yet. Other Nokia smartphones like the upcoming Nokia 9 or the Nokia 8 2018 edition could come with a wider range of ISO and shutter speed settings and might also sport some new settings.

Going by the above information, the upcoming Nokia 9 is speculated to sport a dual camera setup with one telephoto and another wide angle lens. The smartphone is expected to feature a thin-bezel design with a fingerprint sensor on a glass back. It could feature a 5.5-inch AMOLED QHD dual-curved display and is speculated to be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC with 6GB of RAM. 

The Nokia 9 is also expected to be IP67 water and dust resistant and a previous report suggests that the smartphone will be priced at 3699 Yuan (Rs 37,000 approx directly converted) for the 6GB RAM/64GB ROM model and 4199 Yuan (Rs 42,000 approx directly converted) for the 6GB RAM/128GB storage variant.

Digit NewsDeskDigit NewsDesk  news@digit.in

The guy who answered the question 'What are you doing?' with 'Nothing'.

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  • Source: New Nokia Camera app teardown reveals Nokia 9 may sport telephoto, wide-angle camera

    Friday, December 15, 2017

    Updated camera app shows possible Nokia 9 features

    Nokia opened Beta Labs for the Nokia 5 earlier this week. That one arrived with a newer version of the default camera app. It should be like any other ordinary app update but its UI is said to be similar to the China-exclusive Nokia 7 phone. What's more interesting about this updated app are the features sighted within the APK package.

    The latest Nokia Camera app now boasts a 2x optical zoom on telephoto camera mode. There's also a wide-angle mode plus new shutter speed icons and ISO settings. Note some of the features may not be readily available on specific models, especially the Nokia 5, but the higher-specced models could have these.

    We only have speculations at the moment. Until HMD and Nokia make an official announcement or feature, take everything with a pinch of salt. The Nokia Camera APK shows the wide angle and telephoto camera support which could also mean the next Nokia phone may have a secondary wide-angle sensor. If not a new sensor then probably a more powerful camera hardware.

    We can expect the Nokia 9 will be unveiled next month in China. It may also be shown off at the Mobile World Congress the following month before its global launch.

    VIA: Nokiamob


    Source: Updated camera app shows possible Nokia 9 features

    Thursday, December 14, 2017

    New Nokia Camera app teardown reveals Nokia 9 may sport telephoto, wide-angle camera

    The new camera app has hidden features like a telephoto camera mode and it also sports a wide-angle mode. Based on new features, the Nokia 9 is expected to come with a telephoto and a wide-angle camera setup.

    The new Nokia Camera app on the Nokia 5 smartphone reveals that the upcoming Nokia 9 smartphone will feature a telephoto and a wide-angle camera lens. HMD Global recently started rolling out Android Oreo beta build for the Nokia 5 smartphone. Nokiamobdug around in the new camera app's code on the Oreo beta and discovered that apart from a new simplified UI, it supports telephoto camera mode with 2X optical zoom and also features a wide-angle mode. 

    Nokia Camera v8.0200.20 app also comes with additional icons for controlling shutter speed. Users can control shutter speeds between 1/500s and 1s along with the ISO option (100-2000). However, the new features cannot be accessed in the current app version. The report says it's due to the hardware limitations related to telephoto and wide-angle modes and also because the features aren't ready yet. Other Nokia smartphones like the upcoming Nokia 9 or the Nokia 8 2018 edition could come with a wider range of ISO and shutter speed settings and might also sport some new settings.

    Going by the above information, the upcoming Nokia 9 is speculated to sport a dual camera setup with one telephoto and another wide angle lens. The smartphone is expected to feature a thin-bezel design with a fingerprint sensor on a glass back. It could feature a 5.5-inch AMOLED QHD dual-curved display and is speculated to be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC with 6GB of RAM. 

    The Nokia 9 is also expected to be IP67 water and dust resistant and a previous report suggests that the smartphone will be priced at 3699 Yuan (Rs 37,000 approx directly converted) for the 6GB RAM/64GB ROM model and 4199 Yuan (Rs 42,000 approx directly converted) for the 6GB RAM/128GB storage variant.

    Digit NewsDeskDigit NewsDesk  news@digit.in

    The guy who answered the question 'What are you doing?' with 'Nothing'.

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  • Source: New Nokia Camera app teardown reveals Nokia 9 may sport telephoto, wide-angle camera

    Wednesday, December 13, 2017

    Nokia camera app gets telephoto and wide-angle support ahead of Nokia 9 launch

    The Oreo beta for the Nokia 5 brought a new version of Nokia's camera app – with surprising (and hidden) new features. The camera now supports dual cameras of both the telephoto and wide-angle kind.

    The app specifically shows 2x telephoto zoom, which is the standard for phones right now. The Nokia 5 can't make use of it of course, even HMD's only dual camera phone – the Nokia 8 – has a identical field of view on its two cameras. But this app shows what could come in the future.

    Nokia camera app gains support for telephoto and wide-angle dual cameras

    So far no phone on the market does both telephoto and wide-angle. We've already heard the first murmurs of phones with three cameras but chances are that HMD is just considering two separate models. All Nokia 9 rumors so far point to a two-camera solution.

    There's another less exciting change to the camera app – you can now manually select Shutter speed and ISO on the Nokia 5. Values go between 1/500s and 1s for the shutter and 100 to 2,000 for ISO.

    Source


    Source: Nokia camera app gets telephoto and wide-angle support ahead of Nokia 9 launch

    Tuesday, December 12, 2017

    How to use the Essential PH-1 Manual Camera app to take better photos

    essentialcamerahero.jpg

    Image: Jack Wallen

    I recently purchased an Essential PH-1, and have loved the device since first use. It's a rock solid build on both the hardware and software fronts. It's beautiful and performs as well as any flagship phone I've touched and at a fraction of the cost.

    However, the camera app is the one Achilles heel for the device. Although it's improved dramatically since first release (to the point that it's actually a useable app now), it doesn't quite stand up to the competition.

    Fear not, people are on this—especially the Essential developers. In fact, it has been reported a developer discovered the Google Camera HDR+ Port work fantastically on the Essential. I was close to pulling the trigger on that, but the app isn't available from the Google Play Store and I've grown hesitant to point anyone to sideloading Android apps these days.

    Because...malware.

    Which brings us back to dealing with a less-than-stellar camera experience on the device. Though I love the PH-1, I wasn't going to settle for software that didn't live up to the hardware's promise. With that in mind, I set out to solve that weak spot for the Essential PH-1.

    I believe I've found the easy fix.

    What is this easy fix you speak of?

    First off, you have to understand that photos are all very subjective, and that one person's art is another person's trash. I will also preface this by saying that while the solution is actually quite simple, achieving quality results does require a bit of understanding. To be specific, you need to have a basic understanding of some of the particulars of cameras. To make this easy, I've explained what you need to know in layman's terms.

  • Shutter Speed: How long your camera's shutter stays open. This is typically listed as a fraction or a whole number.
  • Aperture (or F Stop): Controls how much light hits your camera sensor and how much of your image is in focus.
  • ISO: Your camera sensor's light sensitivity. The higher you set the ISO, the more sensitive your camera will be to light, which in the wrong conditions can lead to grainier images.
  • White Balance: The adjustment of making white objects actually appear white (as rendered in your photos).
  • Understanding those four elements will go a long way in helping you achieve better images because the fix for the Essential PH-1 requires you to install Manual Camera from the Google Play Store. This app isn't free, but the $2.99 price is well worth paying for this app. In fact, I would go so far as to say that Manual Camera is the best camera app on the market. Although it doesn't include a bunch of filters to give your subjects ears, frames, or squeaky-high voices, Manual Camera does one thing very well—take great photos. It does this by allowing you to actually adjust various settings (such as ISO, Shutter Speed, etc.). If your job depends on taking quality images, especially in variable conditions, this is the app you want.

    Installation

    The installation of the app is very simple:

  • Open the Google Play Store on your device
  • Search for manual camera
  • Locate and tap the entry by Geeky Devs Studio
  • Tap the price button
  • If necessary, authenticate your Google Account and tap Buy
  • Allow the installation to complete
  • You will now find a launcher in your App Drawer, your home screen, or both. Tap the icon to open Manual Camera. For those who are used to just launching their cameras and snapping photos, Manual Camera will have a bit of a learning curve. I highly suggest you walk through the introduction and take note of each step. These will be important items in your journey to getting the best possible photos from your PH-1. I'm not going to go into the how to of taking photos with Manual Camera (as there's quite a bit to learn and the interface takes some time to get used to—Figure A).

    Figure A

    Figure A

    Figure A

    The Manual Camera interface.

    The gist of the interface is you tap and hold a setting (on the left side of the window) and use the scroll the wheel (on the bottom right side of the window) to make adjustments. Once you have the settings perfect for the environment, snap the photo.

    I took photos of the same object in the same light. And made adjustments with Manual Camera to demonstrate how you can get the most out of the PH-1 camera hardware. Although these aren't perfect photos, they illustrate my point (Figure B).

    Figure B

    Figure B

    Figure B

    The Manual Camera photo is on the right.

    The first thing that should jump out is that the image taken by Manual Camera (on the right) displays the table top as actually white, whereas the PH-1 Camera app shows the table as slightly grey. The Manual Camera captured a more true-to-life representation.

    The easy fix

    And that's it—the fix you need for the PH-1 camera issue. Although you do have to understand a bit more about taking photos, if you're looking to get the most out of the camera and don't want to wait for Essential to perfect their camera app, Manual Camera is a great solution. Once you get used to using Manual Camera, you won't want to go back to camera apps that don't give you the same level of control over your photos.

    Happy snapping!

    Also see
    Source: How to use the Essential PH-1 Manual Camera app to take better photos

    Monday, December 11, 2017

    retro gudak camera app brings analog photography to your smartphone

    in today's digital era of instantaneous gratification, capturing images has never been easier. forget having to wait several days to develop your film; just point and shoot! however, photographers worldwide still swear by analog photography and the 'art of waiting'. back in 2016, korean company screw bar had developed an app 'gudak' designed to focus on eastman kodak's kodak moments. as an homage to analog photography, the team eliminated the 'instant review' feature of conventional digital cameras by reducing 95% of the conventional viewfinder feature.

    the gudak camera app is available from the iTunes store for $0.99

    the retro gudak cam, an old korean term for 'outdated', features 24 shots per film roll and requires a waiting period of an hour to reload the film. once you finish the roll, you have to wait three full days for the development processing to view the photos. 'this app is definitely for a niche market,' a user comments. 'to begin with I shoot film, so the 3-day waiting period is actually exciting to me and I don't mind that at all. it actually simulates the fun and excitement for shooting film pretty nicely. and unlike some people I enjoy the random light leak as well.'

    side-by-side comparison by instagram user euniceyo0n

    users can choose from a variety of retro-looking filters

    image by instagram user qiguguer

    image by instagram user sansfaces


    Source: retro gudak camera app brings analog photography to your smartphone

    Sunday, December 10, 2017

    This camera app requires users to wait three days for pictures to ‘develop’

    Thanks to the convenience of smartphones, snapping photos has become second nature. Anyone can grab a phone and take as many pics as they want. Even more convenient is the fact that you can instantly see what the photos look like. If you took a bad one, you just delete it and move on. However, as strange as it might sound, there's an increasingly popular app that mimics the use of old film cameras by making you wait three days to "develop" your photos.

    The 99-cent app is called Gudak Cam and has become very popular in South Korea and Japan, especially among high school girls. The app came out earlier this year, and is meant to simulate the look and feel of using a Kodak disposable camera (remember those?). The app requires you to fill up a "roll of film," which contains 24 shots. Once you've finished with that roll, you can have it developed in a process that takes three days, at the end of which you can view the photos on your phone.

    With Gudak Cam, you will also have to wait several hours before you can add a new roll of film to your virtual camera.

    All of this may sound incredibly inconvenient and, to a large extent, it is. However, the appeal of Gudak Cam lies in the fact that it forces users to slow down and really think about each shot. Rather than snapping half a dozen pictures and only keeping one, the idea is that users will slow take a handful of really good pictures that are worth keeping.

    Beyond that, the app's aesthetics do a lot to help explain its appeal. Once the app is active, an image reminiscent of Kodak disposables fills the screen, giving you the feeling that you're truly holding one of these ancient devices. Even the method to shoot photos is changed — you have to use the app's small viewfinder. All of this combines to create an experience that is quite different from using the standard camera app on a smartphone.

    Whether Gudak is just a passing fad or the start of something bigger remains to be seen. However, it already has more than 1.3 million users, so it seems to be doing something right.

    That being said, if you want something more modern than check out our list of best cameras of 2017 or the best camera phones if you prefer something smaller.

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    Source: This camera app requires users to wait three days for pictures to 'develop'

    Friday, December 8, 2017

    Essential Camera app update v0.1.091 brings YouTube live 360 support and broadcast ability for Facebook Live 360

    Essential has released another update to improve the camera performance and add more features to the Essential Phone PH-1. The new update is available via the Play Store, and if you should also receive the update notification.

    In this new update, which takes the version number to 0.1.091, you will get new features such as support for YouTube Live 360. Apart from that, you can now also directly stream Facebook Live 360 videos to Facebook.

    That's about all the new features that this update will add to the existing camera. Essential previously released an update that brought features such as Portrait mode, and reduced JPEG compression. The company is working hard to improve the camera performance, which was one its main lacking features.

    Download Essential Phone Oreo beta update

    The Essential PH-1 is a pretty good phone, specially now that the price has permanently cut down. You get the latest hardware, a dual camera support, and fast software updates. It's already got the December Android security update as well.

    The company also released a software update for the Essential 360 Camera, which improves the JPEG quality, image stitching, and stability. This update will be available once you connect the camera to your phone, as build NNJ41C.

    Download Essential Camera from Play Store
    Source: Essential Camera app update v0.1.091 brings YouTube live 360 support and broadcast ability for Facebook Live 360

    Thursday, December 7, 2017

    Arlo Pro 2 Security Camera, Arlo Security Light, Nighthawk Mobile Router and Insight App among announced honorees

    SAN JOSE, Calif. – WEBWIRE – Wednesday, December 6, 2017

    NETGEAR®, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTGR), the leading provider of networking devices that power today's smart home and small businesses, has been named a CES® 2018 Innovation Awards Honoree for four products across the company's diverse line up of product offerings. 

    The NETGEAR honorees were evaluated on their engineering, aesthetic and design qualities, intended use/function and user value, unique/novel features, and how the design and innovation of the product directly compares to other products in the marketplace.

    "We're excited to have so many products recognized this year among the industry's best for design and engineering innovation, especially ones carrying our premium brands, Arlo and Nighthawk," said Pat Collins senior vice president of Arlo Smart Home Products at NETGEAR. "An industry accolade such as this from the CTA is our reward for the extensive effort our engineers pour into delivering products that combine features, functionality, value, and ease-of-use wrapped in an attractive package that you'll be proud to display in your home."

    The four announced by the Consumer Technology Association on Thursday, November 9th include:

  • Honoree: Arlo Pro 2 Wire-free Security Camera Arlo® Pro 2 builds upon the award-winning features which made Arlo Pro the world's top-selling security camera with even more great features to better address customer needs. Arlo Pro 2 keeps an eye on your home while you're away in brilliant 1080p HD quality and can be installed anywhere, indoors or out, as it is 100% wire-free and weather-resistant. This latest Arlo camera also includes rechargeable batteries which are removable, 2-way audio, and a 110-decibel siren. With night vision, advanced motion detection, and both activity zone and sound based alerts, you can rest assured you will catch every moment, even if you are not home. Keep 7 days of free cloud video recordings or upgrade to 24/7 Continuous Video Recording to review any minute of any day. You can purchase an Arlo Pro 2 Security Camera System with two cameras and a base station starting at an MSRP in the U.S. of $479.99, or a single Arlo Pro 2 add-on camera for ju st $219.99
  • Honoree: Arlo Security LightMaking its market debut on November 8th, the Arlo® Security Light is a 100% wire-free, smart-controlled, and weather-resistant LED light that helps improve outdoor safety by alerting you when something's happening around your home. Illuminate your front porch, backyard, and other areas of your home with customizable lights. Personalize your light for specific situations by adjusting the colors and patterns (floodlight, spotlight, flashing) from anywhere using the Arlo app. Automate lights to turn on and off on a schedule to give the illusion that you're home while you're out of town. Arlo Security Light and Arlo security cameras work together for added home safety and security. You can also connect your Arlo account to IFTTT-compatible devices to create a series of custom automations. For even easier management, you can use the Arlo Skill for Amazon Alexa to turn your Arlo Security Light on and off with just a simple voice command. Arlo Security Light will be available in early 2018.
  • Honoree: Nighthawk® LTE Mobile Hotspot RouterThe Nighthawk® LTE Mobile Hotspot Router is the first 5G Evolution-capable mobile hotspot router in the U.S., providing incredibly fast download speeds up to 1 Gbps for downloading, streaming and media sharing so that everything you do at home can now be done virtually anywhere you go. The perfect travel companion, it lets you connect up to 20 WiFi devices, so you can connect your smartphone, laptop and tablet while streaming your favorite movies, listening to music, or live gaming. When you reach your destination, you can offload data to external WiFi or Ethernet networks to save on data without sacrificing your connection's security. You'll get up to 24 hours of battery life and can also use JumpBoost to charge your smartphones and small portable USB devices without an electrical outlet. Parental controls enable you to filter content or websites by each connected device. The Nighthawk LTE Mobile Hotspot Router is available in t he U.S. exclusively from AT&T for only $49.99 for a limited time when purchased with a 2-year contract. Go to the AT&T web page for more details.
  • Honoree: NETGEAR for Business Insight AppThe NETGEAR Insight™ solution is a revolutionary new way to instantly discover, configure, and continuously monitor and manage your network of NETGEAR WiFi access points, switches and storage devices. Insight is an industry first – offering plug-and-play set up and management of your small business network from an easy-to-use mobile app. The new NETGEAR Insight solution is the answer to the once tedious setup and configuration of devices either in individual device GUI silos or via overwhelming device management tools created for complex enterprise networks. Insight changes the paradigm with its simple multi-device configuration and cloud-based remote access to empower small businesses to manage devices from anywhere. The NETGEAR Insight app is free to download from the Apple® App Store℠ and Google Play™.
  • "NETGEAR takes pride in being recognized by the CTA for this ground-breaking app that enables small business professionals to keep a watchful eye on their network from the palm of their hand from anywhere in the world," said Richard Jonker, vice president SMB product lines for NETGEAR. "Insight is a simple, yet, informative app that provides business owners or their designated IT staff with the capability to monitor the status of their network and ReadyNAS remotely from an iOS or Android smart phone."

    The prestigious CES Innovation Awards are sponsored by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)™, the owner and producer of the CES exhibition. Since 1976, CES Innovation Awards have recognized outstanding achievements in product design and engineering in cutting-edge consumer electronics products, now across 28 product categories.

    CES 2018 Innovation Honoree products are featured online at ces.tech/Innovation, in addition to being on view in the Innovation Awards Showcase at CES 2018 from January 9-12 in The Venetian Las Vegas.

    About NETGEAR, Inc.

    NETGEAR (NASDAQ: NTGR) is a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers. The Company's products are built on a variety of proven technologies such as wireless (WiFi and LTE), Ethernet and powerline, with a focus on reliability and ease-of-use. The product line consists of wired and wireless devices that enable networking, broadband access and network connectivity. These products are available in multiple configurations to address the needs of the end-users in each geographic region in which the Company's products are sold. NETGEAR products are sold in approximately 30,000 retail locations around the globe, and through approximately 25,000 value-added resellers, as well as multiple major cable, mobile and wireline service providers around the world. The company's headquarters are in San Jose, Calif., with additional offices in approximately 25 countries. More information is available from the NETGEAR investor pag e or by calling (408) 907-8000. Connect with NETGEAR on Twitter and Facebook.

    ©2017 NETGEAR, Inc. NETGEAR, the NETGEAR logo, Arlo and Nighthawk are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of NETGEAR, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. Other brand and product names are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holder(s). The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. NETGEAR shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. All rights reserved.

    * Maximum wireless signal rate derived from IEEE standard 802.11 specifications. Actual data throughput and wireless coverage will vary. Network conditions and environmental factors, including volume of network traffic, building materials and construction, and network overhead, lower actual data throughput rate and wireless coverage. NETGEAR makes no express or implied representations or warranties about this product's compatibility with any future standards.

    Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for NETGEAR, Inc.: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Specifically, statements concerning NETGEAR'S business and the expected performance characteristics, specifications, reliability, market acceptance, market growth, specific uses, user feedback and market position of NETGEAR's products and technology are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the following: the actual price, performance and ease-of-use of NETGEAR's products may not meet the price, performance and ease-of-use requirements of customers; product performance may be adversely affected by real world operating conditions; failure of products may under certain ci rcumstances cause permanent loss of end user data; new viruses or Internet threats may develop that challenge the effectiveness of security features in NETGEAR's products; the ability of NETGEAR to market and sell its products and technology; the impact and pricing of competing products; and the introduction of alternative technological solutions. Further information on potential risk factors that could affect NETGEAR and its business are detailed in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. NETGEAR undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

    ( Press Release Image: https://photos.webwire.com/prmedia/7/217473/217473-1.jpg )

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    Source: Arlo Pro 2 Security Camera, Arlo Security Light, Nighthawk Mobile Router and Insight App among announced honorees

    Wednesday, December 6, 2017

    App Smack 49.17: Forest, Masters of the Sun, Betterment, Cardboard Camera, and More…

    It's time for another round of apps that cover the spectrum of your beloved mobile device(s)!

    The Weekly App Smack is the best of new or updated design and productivity apps (and maybe a couple of fun ones, too) for the busy design or engineering professional and this week we have a list sure to make you more efficient.

    Do you have an app suggestion that has made your life easier or changed up your workflow? Let us know in the comments below or send it into tips@www.solidsmack.com.

    Hit it!

    Yoink (iOS — $2.99)

    Yoink for iPad and iPhone lets you easily and quickly store items you drag, copy or share, for later use.

    Forest (iOS – $1.99)

    The best cure for phone addiction.

    Masters of the Sun AR (iOS — $1.99)

    Take the groundbreaking "Masters of the Sun: The Zombie Chronicles" graphic novel to unprecedented heights with an innovative Augmented Reality app that brings the pages to life. A-list voice talent, a cinematic score and more form a one-of-a-kind experience

    Betterment (Android — Free)

    Betterment is an online financial advisor with one purpose: to help you make the most of your money.

    LEGO House (Android — Free)

    Prepare yourself for a visit to LEGO House with the free LEGO House App and get a playful introduction to what you can experience in LEGO House in Billund, Denmark.

    Cardboard Camera (Android — Free)

    Capture and share moments with virtual reality (VR) photos. VR photos let you experience scenery and sound in every direction and in 3D, making near things look near, and far things look far.


    Source: App Smack 49.17: Forest, Masters of the Sun, Betterment, Cardboard Camera, and More…

    Tuesday, December 5, 2017

    A new update comes with minor improvements for the Razer Phone̢۪s camera

    The Razer Phone was announced in early November, but the device's camera has been at the center of much disappointment. However, thanks to the official Razer camera app being released simultaneously on the Play Store, this makes updates much easier for the company to manage.

    To help combat some of the early issues being experienced with the camera on the device, Razer has released a new update to the application. There isn't much to be said in terms of new features, as this is a pretty bare bones update and only includes "Improved Performance" and "Minor bug fixes".

    Nonetheless, it's nice to see Razer caring enough to the point that it is already releasing updates to bring the camera up to snuff. While the Razer Phone may not be your first option since it's only available unlocked, it's definitely still a solid phone that should be considered, especially if you're a gamer.

    There is hope that we'll see more substantial updates to the camera in the future, including increased functionality. However, if you don't want to wait, you can try and download the ported Google Camera APK that works with any device powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835.

    If you have the Razer Phone and have noticed any major changes, be sure to let us know in the comments below.

    Auto-load comments: Off On


    Source: A new update comes with minor improvements for the Razer Phone's camera

    Monday, December 4, 2017

    Razer Phone's camera app gets a performance enhancing update

    One of the biggest flaws with the Razer Phone is the camera.

    It's lacking in just about every area, especially the app Razer built to go with it. And now, at last, the first post-launch update to the Razer Camera app has pushed out.

    Don't get too excited about it though, as this is simply a performance-enhancing and bug fixing update. There are no new features added, so we're still in barebones town when it comes to using the camera.

    I've been using the Razer Phone for a month now and coupled with the OTA update the phone received around public launch better camera performance would certainly be expected. However, one thing that's still pretty rough is the seamless zoom using the telephoto lens. It's still really jerky and doesn't feel improved in any way. Honestly, Razer, please just give us a button to switch between lenses. That would be best right now.

    It's too early to tell if there is any noticeable improvement in photos so we'll need to play around with it for a couple of days to get a feel for it. But if you're a Razer Phone owner (and you didn't already load up a different camera app) hit the Play Store and grab it now.


    Source: Razer Phone's camera app gets a performance enhancing update

    Sunday, December 3, 2017

    Razer Phone's camera app gets a performing enhancing update

    One of the biggest flaws with the Razer Phone is the camera.

    It's lacking in just about every area, especially the app Razer built to go with it. And now, at last, the first post-launch update to the Razer Camera app has pushed out.

    Don't get too excited about it though, as this is simply a performance-enhancing and bug fixing update. There are no new features added, so we're still in barebones town when it comes to using the camera.

    I've been using the Razer Phone for a month now and coupled with the OTA update the phone received around public launch better camera performance would certainly be expected. However, one thing that's still pretty rough is the seamless zoom using the telephoto lens. It's still really jerky and doesn't feel improved in any way. Honestly, Razer, please just give us a button to switch between lenses. That would be best right now.

    It's too early to tell if there is any noticeable improvement in photos so we'll need to play around with it for a couple of days to get a feel for it. But if you're a Razer Phone owner (and you didn't already load up a different camera app) hit the Play Store and grab it now.


    Source: Razer Phone's camera app gets a performing enhancing update

    Saturday, December 2, 2017

    Social Apps Are Now a Commodity

    I am very old. As in, my age begins with a four, a profoundly uncool number for an age to start with. Which is to say, too old to use Snapchat, the image-messaging social-network app. Founded in 2011, it's most popular among young people, who spurned Facebook and even Instagram for it. Why? For one part, it's because we olds are on Facebook and even Instagram. But for another part, it's just because Snapchat is a thing that young people use, and so other young people use it. That's how the story goes, anyway.

    But maybe something simpler is happening. Perhaps there is no magic in any of these apps and services anymore. Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat and GroupMe and Messenger and WhatsApp and all the rest—all are more or less the same. They are commodities for software communication, and choosing between them is more like choosing between brands of shampoo or mayonnaise than it is like choosing a set of features or even a lifestyle.

    * * *

    It's not just a myth that Snapchat is for young people. Sixty percent of its users are 25 years old or less, and 37 percent fall between 18 and 24, that revered demographic of marketers. Almost a quarter of the app's users are under 18. But that's also changing, as more millennials—or should I say 30-somethings—pick up the app too.

    One reason is that older folk have, for years, been using Instagram, which is owned by Facebook (which they've also used since college or high school). Facebook has been systematically copying Snapchat's most popular features, including Stories, ephemeral 24-hour photo montages of a user's activity. It's no surprise: Facebook has enormous wealth and leverage, including 2 billion users of its core service and over a billion each for its messaging apps, Messenger and WhatsApp. Instagram boasted some 30 million users when Facebook acquired the company in 2012, and that figure has swelled to 800 million in the five years since. Snapchat is stuck around 170 million users.

    Snap, the company that makes Snapchat, has shed more than half its value since peaking just after going public in March of this year. Its current market cap, about $16 billion, is still more than the $3 billion Facebook offered to acquire the company. And Google had reportedly bid up to $30 billion for the company in advance of the IPO. Although Snap denied the rumor, if true it's a figure the company might regret having spurned to go it alone.

    Snap's attempts to shake its doldrums have been mixed. A year ago, the company introduced a $130 pair of glasses called Snap Spectacles, which took photos for its app. Initial demand was high, but it soon collapsed. Less than half of buyers were still using the gadget a month after purchase. Snap wrote down almost $40 million dollars in excess inventory.

    It also paid around $100 million to acquire a Canadian company called Bitstrips, integrating its Bitmoji product, a stylized avatar, into the Snapchat service (it can also be used as a stand-alone stickers in other messaging and social-media apps). Bitmoji gave every Snapchat user a similar but strikingly accurate cartoon image of themselves. And it offered a new platform for advertising, via sponsored avatars—an approach that the company had previously explored with ad-supported photo filters and lenses.

    Bitmoji also gave Snapchat a way to represent its users in a standard, physical way. It released Snap Map in June, which allows friends to see one another's activity on a map.

    None of these innovations really helped turn around Snap's decline. Though still popular among its core audience, its stock dropped 20 percent in November, after the company missed revenue, profit, and user-growth expectations. Its user base had grown by only 3 percent since the previous quarter.

    * * *

    This week, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel announced a redesign of Snapchat. The app is notoriously unintuitive for the unfamiliar, and the redesign, which Spiegel promised in the wake of dismal Q3 results, hopes to boost adoption by making it easier for new users.

    The announcement came in the form of a short video of Spiegel explaining the "new and improved" Snapchat. The video is disorienting—a video of a video shoot, really, a jaunty yellow backdrop displayed as a prop instead, the camera cutting between views of Spiegel and those of a film crew filming Spiegel. "Look at us working hard," the video's subtext telegraphs.

    Its text is more mysterious. As a nonuser of Snapchat, Spiegel's promises struck me as so vague and woolly that they might apply to anything whatsoever. He vows to make Snapchat "more personal." Your friends "aren't content; they're relationships," he opines, rationalizing the redesign's shift of sponsored posts into their own view, separated from friends. This move, which gets its own post-production textual overlay on either side of Spiegel's gaunt body, amounts to "separating the social from the media." All of it makes perfect sense so long as you don't think about it even for a second.

    The changes themselves are straightforward. Snapchat's default view is the camera. To the left are chats and stories from friends, and to the right those from publishers and sponsors. For the first time, the friends view works as an algorithmic feed rather than a chronological list—like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. When it rolls out over the coming weeks, the new Snapchat will privilege close friends over acquaintances—if indeed your close friends are the ones you send snaps to more often. In that respect, the app will work a lot more like messaging apps like GroupMe, WhatsApp, and Messenger than social-media apps like Instagram or Twitter. In Spiegel's dressed-up script, that amounts to "organizing Snapchat around your relationships to make it more personal."

    Every other social app intersperses sponsored posts with organic content for visibility, so it's hard to imagine why anyone would ever choose to look at Snapchat's sponsored view, where that material is safely sequestered from view. But perhaps the company hopes to take a hit on ad and sponsor-post performance, if not revenue, to demonstrate user growth to the street.

    Most notable to me, watching the video, was the incessant refrain that the redesign would inspire its audience to "Express yourself with your friends." At its start, Spiegel deadpans, Snapchat "made it easier to express yourself by talking with pictures." The redesign, he promises, will make it easier to find the people you want to express yourself with. The result? "The friends you want to talk to will be there when you want to talk to them."

    As a Snapchat nonuser, it's easier for me to hold these claims at a distance. But not because they are incredible or stupid or even bad. Rather, because they are so ordinary and humdrum that it seems ridiculous to suggest that they are remarkable. In essence, Snapchat hopes to compete by taking a weird, unique, unseemly product that lures a specific audience partly on account of those reasons, and transforming it into yet another chat app—even if a photo-centric one—that works more or less like any other.

    It makes me wonder, what makes someone choose one app over another? Why use Twitter over Facebook, or Instagram over Snapchat, or GroupMe over Messenger? Knowing how bitterly old I am, I ask my kids, teenagers who use Snapchat like most teens do.

    "Snapchat still has more features, even given the stuff that Instagram stole from them," my daughter explains. Her scorn for Instagram, which she also uses, is palpable. Among those features are best friends, which is just what it sounds like, and streaks, a kind of high score for daily posts back and forth with specific Snapchat friends. She has never had a Facebook account and thus doesn't use Messenger, although she does use GroupMe (which is owned by Microsoft) for group chats.

    My son, who is a couple years older, did get Facebook immediately upon eligibility at age 13, although he never uses it anymore. He tells me that most of his friends use Snapchat or GroupMe for ordinary, day-to-day conversation—not just for social preening, as many old people imagine they do. I feel even longer in the tooth when he explains that Messages—the blue-bubble iPhone replacement for texting—is something he hardly ever uses. Except to talk to old people, like his parents. Texts, once the bastion of screen-shocked youth, have already gone the way of email, that dour and grizzled technology of geriatrics.

    * * *

    People do the things they do. They start because they are convenient, or ready-to-hand, or shared by peers, or momentarily novel. The college students who started using Facebook in the mid-2000s did so because it was new, accessible at universities, and spreading quickly. The parents and friends and grandparents who did so in the years following picked it up because others were doing so. WhatsApp gained popularity in nations where SMS remained expensive, but contacts were still identifiable by telephone number.

    There are functional differences between the services. Instagram is made of pictures, but more oriented toward photographic aesthetics than Snapchat, which uses pictures as messages. That's what Spiegel means by "talking with pictures"; it's phatic visual communication, as my colleague Rob Meyer puts it. Likewise, Twitter's constraint, at 140 or 280 characters, makes it different from Facebook. GroupMe's ease of adding multiple people to a chat separates it from Messenger, or Apple's Messages.

    But even though those differences make a difference, they are also remarkably small differences. And increasingly smaller, as the various services borrow and steal from one another, as Instagram and Snapchat and others have done. Instead of distinctive services with clear value propositions, these apps are becoming commodities. All commodities have real product differentiators—Coke tastes different (ahem, better) than Pepsi; Secret shills deodorants specially formulated for women, while Old Spice dudes them up for men, and so on. But at bottom, the rapport people have for a particular product or service comes down to a hazy affinity developed from discovery, branding, peer adoption, and other accidents of timing and circumstance. Repeated use, not to mention product marketing, reinforces that choice over time.

    Snapchat doesn't make me feel old because it's so much cooler than Twitter or Messenger, nor because I'm so uncool that I couldn't possibly grasp it (even if both claims might also be true). Rather, it's just that Snapchat is the communication service that young people have picked up of late. Telecommunication apps are universal and numerous enough that they support shifting trends and fashions.

    It's no different than drinking Jolt Cola or listening to Fugazi or wearing Z Cavariccis or subscribing to call waiting or keeping the line busy while dialing up to Prodigy—all things that were also cool, at one time. The difference is: Nobody thought of soft drinks or music or apparel—or even telephony and computer services, really—as problems to be atomized into individual companies, let alone public ones, meant to corner the market. They were just commodities differentiated through unique, but temporary, variations in form, function, and packaging. Indeed, the whole reason commodities are commodities is because they are so cheap and easy to produce that competition encourages that differentiation.

    It would be a relief if this might yet become the future of computing. No more innovation and disruption and other chest-thumping boasts. No more world-changing deliverance from the stodgy, legacy paradigms of yore. Just communication offerings in the form of software, offered in various styles with nuanced distinction, each doing their part in letting people interact, so that they can get on with life beyond their rectangles.


    Source: Social Apps Are Now a Commodity

    Friday, December 1, 2017

    10 paid iPhone apps on sale for free right now

    This has been one of the craziest news day of the year on a wide variety of fronts, but that isn't going to stop us from doing our duty and sharing a new collection of previously paid apps on the App Store that have temporarily gone free. If you're looking to escape reality for a few hours this weekend, these should help.

    This post covers paid iPhone and iPad apps that have been made available for free for a limited time by their developers. BGR is not affiliated with any developers. There is no way to tell how long they will be free. These sales could end an hour from now or a week from now — obviously, the only thing we can guarantee is that they were free at the time this post was written. If you click on a link and see a price listed next to an app instead of the word "get," it is no longer free. The sale has ended. If you download the app anyway, you will be charged by Apple.

    Dungeon Survival

    Normally $0.99.

    [*] Game Features·Randomly generated cave levels provide a different game experience every time!·Hundreds of monsters to defeat!·Hundreds of equipment to collect!·Hundreds of quests and achievements to conquer!·Enchant/Reform/Level up/Gold collecting, and more abundant systems to explore!

    [*] Background StoryThe story sets in Black Haze-a border city that is renowned for rich minerals. Good and evil are entwined each other, forming a delicate balance. Following the mysterious disappearance of the former lord, the fragile balance of this city is finally broken. And you, Royde, is chosen by the king to take over the missing lord's leadership in Black Haze City and to investigate the accident thoroughly.

    [*] Classes & Battle– 9 classes with 4 unique skills each. Wanna have a team of melee fighters? Healers? Or reapers? You can create them at will.– Turn-based game plus front and rear row formation to let you make strategies wisely.– Unique hero traits. Heroes may form bad habits or even run away from home. Take good care of them when you are not engaged in battle.

    [*] Monsters & Maps– Hybrid of story levels and random maps. You can follow the game's plot, explore the story, or simply fighting enemies.– There are no brainless monsters, they have a variety of skills and contain different abilities (such as Drain Blood, Sacrifice, Quickness, Wild Fury, Reflect Damage, Stone Skin, Eternal Life…) They will crush your team completely if you underestimate them.– You will encounter random rare elite monsters and hidden boss monsters. If you dare to challenge, you will be able to collect all sorts of rare treasures and sets.

    Download Dungeon Survival

    Fitness AR

    Normally $2.99.

    Explore your Strava bike rides and runs in augmented reality. A beautiful 3D terrain map, powered by Mapbox, is placed in the real world allowing you to walk around and explore your past activities in a way that wasn't possible before.

    You can jump right into the app — no account needed! With a beautiful featured gallery of rides and runs, you can explore famous cycling routes like Alpe D'Huez and Mont Ventoux, and stunning terrain like Yosemite Valley.

    This app works best with a Strava account. After you connect your account, you can browse your past activities, browse your friends' activities, and browse the routes you built on Strava's route builder.

    After you choose an activity or route and bring up the AR camera, you can tap to place the map in the real world. Swiping up and down will change the distance of the map from the floor. Swiping left and right will change the rotation of the map. Pinching to zoom will change the scale of the map. Two finger tap and holding will let you reposition the map with your device position.

    One of our favorite things to do once the map has been placed is to use the iOS screen recording feature to produce beautiful videos. Once you've started recording in AR, the phone becomes like a camera and you can act like the director of your own action replay – panning, zooming, and tracking your route. Once you're finished, the video will show up in the camera roll, ready to send out to friends on social networks. Note that the screen recording feature needs to be turned on in Control Center, which is outside of the Fitness AR app.

    Download Fitness AR

    Flowing ~ Meditation in Nature

    Normally $0.99.

    Upgrade your sleep, focus & productivity with Flowing, the third sequel to popular Best of 2014 app Windy.

    Imagine you could sleep outside in nature instead and enjoy the sights and sounds of wonderful streams, waterfalls & rivers recorded in psychoacoustic 3D for headphones. As if you were there. And if you felt like it, imagine you could mix in some extra 3D nature sounds such as rain on a tent or birds in the trees around you. Get the great sleep you deserve.

    Flowing integrates deeply with my other apps Windy, Sunny and Away and is compatible with Thunderspace and Sleepy Fan. Over 5,000,000 people have enjoyed them so far. Many use them to sleep better, to meditate, or to focus on their work or studies. Some use them to help their kids sleep. And I believe Flowing is a fantastic addition.

    Flowing's natural streaming water delivers a versatile white noise ambience that drowns out the noise around you.

    ≈ Fantastic Audio Quality ≈

    All flowing water and nature sounds in Flowing were recorded with a psychoacoustic microphone that captures sound the way you hear. The same principles that work for 3D movies and 3D glasses also work for 3D sound with stereo headphones. All audio is perfectly looped and encoded in AAC for a fantastic listening experience.

    ≈ Customize ≈

    Flowing's fantastic nature sound mixer lets you mix in high-quality nature sounds & music.

    ≈ Features ≈

    + Six high-quality flowing water scenes in 3D for headphones.+ Three incredible musical masterpieces by Hollywood's rising star composer David Bawiec.​+ 3 guided meditations by Australian rising star Lua Lisa.+ Sleep & meditation timer.+ Mix in music, rain, rain on tent and birds.+ Illustrations by the world's best nature illustrator, Marie Beschorner.+ Motion-controlled 3D parallax sceneries.

    Download Flowing ~ Meditation in Nature

    Hypno. Tap 3D Neon Rocket

    Normally $0.99.

    Are you an action game lover? or looking for an adventurous mobile game? Well, you're at the right place! We present you Neon Rider Space Rocket, one of the best arcade games you'll come across.

    It's an action-packed and highly entertaining game that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Feel like a space rocket expert as you cruise through the never-ending world of Hypno! The obstacles are many and constantly moving so you better keep your eyes on your rocket and save it from getting crashed.

    What is this game?Neon Rider Space rocket is an action-packed game that features a hypnotic rocket moving through space, making its way through constantly moving obstacles.

    How to play?You're controlling a hypnotic rocket and need to move it through space filled with floating obstacles. The challenge is to save this rocket from crashing with the obstacles along the way. You have to find your way through these obstacles and show instant reflexes to do well in this game. A blink of an eye and you might crash with the moving rectangular shapes in the space! Moreover, you can evolve iconic rockets to get awesome rockets and particles that will boost up your score.

    Features:• One tap easy to learn controls so that everyone can play this game• Awesome visual effects and sounds that will keep you highly engaged in the game• Unlock 7 unique rockets and awesome particles• Cruise through the mysterious shapes of the Hypnos world• Score higher and survive longer in the game by activating Hypnos• Take part in regular in-game events to score limited edition prizes• What's more? You can play this game offline! No Wi-Fi needed• Collect coins in the game by just watching video advertisements from the treasure screen, no purchase needed.

    The game is compatible with iOS 8.0 and above.The game contains advertisements which can be disabled if you make any purchase.

    Download Hypno. Tap 3D Neon Rocket

    Louvre HD

    Normally $1.99.

    "It is a beautifully done app that takes you on a virtual tour of one of the greatest collections of paintings in the world." – The Unofficial Apple Weblog

    Virtual tour of the art galleries of the Louvre – you will find here the most famous paintings of the museum:– "Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci– "The Coronation of Napoleon I" by Jacques-Louis David– "Marriage in Cana" by Veronese– "The Lacemaker" by Vermeer

    Our app guides you through the treasures of the museum, where you can enjoy the masterpieces of world art and become more erudite.

    CUSTOMERS REVIEWS"It's the best. I would recommend it to anyone. Great way to enjoy great art collections. I absolutely love it!" – andrerem

    "It's a wonderful treasury for the all ages people." – El Diamante

    "A very nice introduction to the paintings of the Louvre. A valuable resource to art education." – AzinFrance

    KEY FEATURES– 2300 paintings of more than 800 masters of painting– Separation of paintings by genres and authors– Download of paintings in high resolution

    – Access to HD versions of paintings– Public paintings on Facebook– Convenient search for paintings

    – Adding paintings to My favorites– Custom works filter– Slideshow Mode

    – Download paintings for the offline viewing– Zoom of Paintings

    Download Louvre HD

    Pixel Weather – Forecast

    Normally $0.99.

    Simple and cute weather forecast application with pixel style :)

    – Display current location weather, including temperature, relative humidity,probability of precipitation, precipitation, wind direction & speed;– Display widget;– Display future six days weather forecast;– Display current location AQI (Air Quality Index) / PM2.5 / PM10 / SO2 / CO …;– Display and change Celsius temperature and Fahrenheit temperature;– Display current location detailed street or city information;– Add and display Widget function.

    Download Pixel Weather – Forecast

    Rain Sounds

    Normally $0.99.

    Simple app with recorded rain sounds for sleeping and relaxation.Good night.

    Download Rain Sounds

    Ruler

    Normally $0.99.

    This is simple virtual Ruler app 17 feet/5 meters long.

    How to use Ruler to measure length:Put your finger on screen and slide phone with the other hand.Pull arrow down to reel off.

    See video and little practice and you may get 1% accuracy.

    Download Ruler

    Vocabrowser

    Normally $0.99.

    Efficiently expand your vocabulary as you browse your favorite websites for your language study!

    Vocabulary building tool for all language learners.

    ### Features ###

    – [Word List] Browse web sites and look up new words that you don't know. The app will automatically keep track of words you look up.

    – [Flashcards] Review words with fun using Flashcards. Swipe to the right if you can remember the word, to the left if you can't.

    – [Compatible with Any Language] The app uses the iOS default dictionary for definitions. Install dictionaries for any language you are learning.

    – [Add Bookmarks from Safari] Adding bookmarks is as easy as abc. Open Safari and go to the site you want to add, and then just tap on the Share button and select Vocabrowser.

    Download Vocabrowser

    W.AR – Augmented Reality

    Normally $1.99.

    This Augmented Reality Application brings the gaming experience to a whole new level!

    Initialize a life size gaming map in in the real world!

    Transform your garden into an action battlefield and fight against zombies!This game has all important ego shooter functionalities like Call of Duty, Left4Dead …Search weapons in your garden and prepare for fight!

    Needs a device that is supported by the ARKit.

    Download W.AR – Augmented Reality


    Source: 10 paid iPhone apps on sale for free right now