"If there is an app for that"

Gradient wallpapers for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and desktop

May 15, 2016 by macjeff

Sunday arrives with a fresh set of device images for the Wallpapers of the Week section. One of the site’s most anticipated weekly posts, aims to bring you new device-specific wallpapers. There are a myriad of images amongst the vast Internet, but we ensure they are photo quality and perfectly scaled for your iOS, and sometimes desktop, devices.

The section is completed with images found around the Web, submitted to us directly, or stumbled upon through Twitter. Today, we highlight a long-time iDB fan favorite wallpaper creator, Jason Zigrino. Step inside for his latest.

Gradient wallpapers

This week, Zigrino created the “Plus +” wallpaper set as an exclusive for iDB. The collection includes images for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and desktops. A gradient style, the wallpapers include tiny “+” icons in a gridded pattern to provide a bit of depth. When asked about his inspiration for the collection he referenced the recent outcry over the new Instagram icon.

You can find the full Plus + collection for download in a Zip file on Zigrino’s DeviantArt page or browse the full gallery, including 5K options. Additionally, follow him on Twitter via @JasonZigrino for his latest creations.

If you would like to participate in the curation of iDB’s Wallpapers of the Week, then catch up with me on Twitter via @jim_gresham. Send me your tips or original submissions! The next post could be thanks to you!

Download Plus + Envy:

Apple Watch | iPhone | iPad (9.7″ or smaller) | Desktop (1920 x 1080)

Download Plus + Fire:

Apple Watch | iPhone | iPad (9.7″ or smaller) | Desktop (1920 x 1080)

Download Plus + Galaxy:

Apple Watch | iPhone | iPad (9.7″ or smaller) | Desktop (1920 x 1080)

Download Plus + Inferno:

Apple Watch | iPhone | iPad (9.7″ or smaller) | Desktop (1920 x 1080)

Download Plus + Lotus:

Apple Watch | iPhone | iPad (9.7″ or smaller) | Desktop (1920 x 1080)

Download Plus + Sky:

Apple Watch | iPhone | iPad (9.7″ or smaller) | Desktop (1920 x 1080)

Download Plus + Slate:

Apple Watch | iPhone | iPad (9.7″ or smaller) | Desktop (1920 x 1080)

Download Plus + Tranquil:

Apple Watch | iPhone | iPad (9.7″ or smaller) | Desktop (1920 x 1080)

splash images via placeit.net

The best iPhone and iPad apps for scanning documents

May 15, 2016 by macjeff

The App Store has over a million and a half apps. This can make it difficult to find apps, especially if you are looking for the best one for a certain task. So to help out, we are taking a look at countless scanning apps in order to find the best one for iPhone and iPad. For our ranking, we look at a number of different criteria. We consider ease of use, speed of capturing an image, sharing options, OCR (optical character recognition), edge detection, and any unique features they may have.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFBSJR9aZs8?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

Scanbot

Scanbot is my favorite scanning application that I have tested. It is a combination of expectational UI with the largest collection of features. There are a lot of little touches that I love. For instance, when you pull down on your library, it will jump to the camera with a nice animation. There is still the plus button, but it just shows the attention to detail.

Included in the free version is the scanner (which handles documents, QR codes, barcodes, and more), workflows, document edge detection, perspective correction, auto upload, and multi page support. That is a lot just for a free version but even more advanced features are baked into it with the purchase of pro.

The pro version includes folders, OCR (text recognition), edit and signing capabilities, Touch ID, naming templates that can even be based on calendar events or locations, smart naming automation, themes, quick actions (like making a phone call to a number on a business card), and full-text search.

By default, when you open the app, you are immediately in the scanner ready to capture an image. This can be disabled if you prefer to land in your library instead. Not only does this make it fast to scan something, but the whole app is very fast. The slowest part is OCR, but that still takes an understandable amount of time.

My biggest problem with Scanbot, is that it could be too many features for some users. It could make it confusing. For instance, you can tap the 3 dots in the top right corner, and hit share to bring up the share sheet. Or you can hit the workflow icon on the bottom, then the share button to pull up the same share sheet. Options are nice, but duplicate methods can be overwhelming.

Scanbot does more than you can ask for, giving you a wide variety of features I can’t even touch on in these few paragraphs. If you want the best scanning app for iPhone or iPad, you can’t go wrong with Scanbot. Plus, with the free version you can try it out before committing.

• Device Support: iPad Pro 12", iPad, iPhone
• OCR: Yes
• Automatic Edge Detection: Yes
• Sharing Options: iCloud Drive and standard Share Sheet options
• Notable Features: Sign, highlight, comment, and lock individual documents. Naming template is very robust, even recommending names based on tags, location, or your calendar. It scans QR codes and bar codes on top of documents and images. It includes Touch ID integration to lock application.
• Cost: Free (Pro version $4.99 via in app purchase)

Scanner Pro 7

Scanner Pro 7 from Readdle is a great scanning application with quite a few pro level features. Readdle is known for a host of different productivity apps including PDF Expert, Printer Pro, and Calendars. Scanner Pro fits right into their wheel house and compliments the other applications they support.

One unique feature is Radar. Other applications we have looked at have access to your photo library, but Radar goes through those images, looks for documents, receipts, business cards, etc and selects the document on them. It then displays the documents in a timeline of when you’ve taken them. It obviously doesn’t always get this right, often selecting images that don’t have documents at all, but it is right enough of the time.

Workflows are also a neat feature. It allows you to tie multiple actions together. So as an example, I could create a workflow that would rename the document with the current date and time, move it to the receipts folder in dropbox, and import to my expenses notebook inside Evernote. That way when I take a picture of a receipt, it goes to my shared dropbox folder with my accountant, my personal expenses in Evernote, and renamed to the date I scanned it.

There are some features that I’m missing in the app, namely the ability to annotate, sign, or comment on the documents themselves. However, while it doesn’t support this natively, PDF Expert 5 from Readdle does have these features. So they can sell you two apps instead of one to take care of all these features and much more. One last thing I kind of wished I could see, was a barcode/QR scanner. It is still a scanning app, and it would be nice to include both features in one app instead of needing a QR scanner on the occasional times I need it.

• Device Support: iPad, iPhone
• OCR: Yes
• Automatic Edge Detection: Yes
• Sharing Options: iCloud and standard Share Sheet options including other Readdle apps
• Notable Features: Radar will automatically scan you photo library for documents to import. Workflows that allow you to perform multiple actions at once.
• Cost: $3.99

Scannable

Scannable is an offering brought to us for free, from Evernote. The idea is you can simply and easily scan notes, documents, or business cards and bring it into Evernote. It is best used if you want to scan a document quickly to immediately send to someone, or to Evernote.

It unfortunately doesn’t have much built in storage, only allowing you to keep the last 30 days worth of documents in the app itself. Outside that, you must either import them to Evernote, share them with someone, or transfer to your Camera Roll.

One particularly neat feature is you can scan a business card, and it will search LinkedIn for their profile, and import that information into your contacts. If you happen to have an Evernote edition of the ScanSnap scanner, you can feed documents from there, directly to the app.

The part I am missing from the app is the ability to store documents, but clearly they are trying to encourage use of Evernote, which is their core product. It is also lacking more advanced features like OCR, color correction and image editing.

Scannable really shines as a super quick and simple scan-and-share application. There is no extra fluff or confusing controls. When you open the app the only option is to scan something, or choose an item on the bottom that you recently scanned.

• Device Support: iPad, iPhone
• OCR: No
• Automatic Edge Detection: Yes
• Sharing Options: Standard Share Sheet options
• Notable Features: Connect to ScanSnap scanner instead of using your devices camera. Import business cards into contacts, including LinkedIn information. Fast and simple.
• Cost: Free

Honorable Mentions

Genius Scan

Genius Scan is an admirable scanning app, but still isn’t on the level of the others on this list. It doesn’t have automatic edge detection while scanning, but will show you its best edge guesses when viewing after. If the edges are correct you can accept them, or move them manual.

The layout of the app is clean and modern, with a yellow theme running throughout. It fits on the iPad Pro natively, but I feel they could better use the real estate. Tags are also nice ability, you can swipe open the menu from the left and see any documents you have in each category. So I could see all business cards, all recipes, etc.

There is a pro version available called Genius Scan+ that unlocked more export options like AirPrint, Evernote, Dropbox, and more. Touch ID, auto upload, and smart document names are also touted features. These are also useful features, but unfortunately it is also one of the more expensive on the list at $6.99. Luckily the standard version is free if you don’t need any of these options.

iScanner

This app is another one that works well, just not well enough. The app scans to both PDF and JPEG. It has automatic edge detection which worked very well in my testing. It even can correct for perspective, though if you are at an extreme angle it does look a little funny.

Once a scan is taken, you do have options for black and white, color, or a straight document scan. You can even adjust the levels of those color options, including saturation and contrast. If you bring in a PDF that needs to be signed, you can actually save your signature in the app, then simply hit the signature button to insert and place it anywhere on the document. This is very fast and handy.

iScanner is free, though a pro version brings unlimited documents, cloud backups, batch scan, AirPrint, and no ads. It is only $3.99 which isn’t breaking the bank, but it still lacks features of the better apps on our list. Notably, OCR and more advanced editing are crucial features for pro users.

Conclusion

That covers all our top recommendations for the best scanning apps for iPhone and iPad. That said, there are so many more out there. We only touched the surface of the undoubtedly hundreds of other options. Do you know of one that we didn’t cover? Or of the ones listed, do you favor one over the others? Let us know your thoughts and recommendations below

Download these great apps: Gboard, Opera VPN, Dark Sky, and more

May 15, 2016 by macjeff

This week's top apps of the week include a mobile rendition of Uncharted's Nathan Drake, and a new keyboard from Google. Google I/O is also out this week, so don't forget to download the official app.

The post Download these 5 apps to browse the web without ads, gear up for Google I/O, and more appeared first on Digital Trends.

Free Apps to Download TODAY ONLY 05/15/2016

May 15, 2016 by macjeff

Smart Cycle Alarm PRO , iColorama - Photo Editor and Brush Painter , Videomator and more

iPhone:

Videomator couldn’t possibly be any easier to use. All of its filters and color option categories run across the bottom of the screen. Tap on a category to bring up a secondary menu that will allow you to choose a specific filter or color option. Everything is done in real-time, so just point your camera at your subject and start recording. Videomator includes a total of 317 different presets to choose from.

This photography is absolutely loaded with content. You’re able to apply filters and effects to specific areas of your photo by adding masks, or you can choose from the more than 100 presets to make quick work of it. iColoroma S also includes more than 400 brushes to utilize, and a detailed how-to guide that will allow you to take advantage of its many features.

Universal:

Spin the dial to set your desired wakeup window. Smart Cycle Alarm will monitor your sleep patterns and wake you up in the lightest possible sleep state, which will leave you feeling refreshed. The app includes a customizable wakeup phase of 10 to 90 minutes. Your sleep data can be viewed on a graph and exported as a CSV file, and it can be sent to the built-in Health app.

This role-playing game will have your child performing a variety of farm activities while learning basic concepts in the process. They get to participate in three different activities: farm chores, harvesting crops, and keeping sheep penned up. Each activity includes ways for your child to work on basic math and language skills. They’re also able to collect animal badges along the way as a reward for their hard work.

This photography is absolutely loaded with content. You’re able to apply filters and effects to specific areas of your photo by adding masks, or you can choose from the more than 100 presets to make quick work of it. iColoroma also includes more than 400 brushes to utilize, and a detailed how-to guide that will allow you to take advantage of its many features.

Source link: http://appadvice.com/apps-gone-free

Free Apps to Download TODAY ONLY 05/14/2016

May 14, 2016 by macjeff

Tiny Passengers , Step Out Of Bed! Smart alarm clock to get awake early with a tricky and awakening steps counter - Best alarm app to wake up on time with alarmy music ringtone , PicSpin360 and more

iPhone:

Step Out of Bed guarantees you will get out of bed every single morning. You’re able to setup multiple recurring alarms with different wake up messages, snoozing rules, and ringtones sounds. Step Out of Bed will then require you to set the amount of steps it will take to deactivate the alarm along with a photo of your destination. When it’s time to get out of bed, grab your iDevice and go for a stroll to take a photo of that same place. The app will count your steps and analyze the photo to ensure you’re not cheating.

It allows you to import any photo from your library or take a new one from within the app. You’re then able to rotate your photo freely within a 3-D environment to give it a new perspective. You’re also able to move, rotate, and resize it using common gestures. Your photos can be outlined with a frame, and they can be set against one of the built-in backgrounds or another photo. When you’re finished with your work of art, share it via Twitter, Instagram, AirDrop, or email.

You're able to snap a new photo from within the app or import one from your library. You can then add your own text and customize it with 39 fonts, 29 labels, and various colors, opacity levels, and shadows. Your text can be moved, rotated, and resized using common gestures. You're also able to rotate text freely in 3-D space. Photos can be finished off with one of 10 filters before being shared via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or email.

Apps that allow you to superimpose photos are usually cumbersome, but not LayerPic. That’s what makes it so great. You’re able to choose batches of photos at once instead of repeating the process over and over. Then tap to select each photo you want to work on. Buttons around each photo allow you to perform basic operations like resizing and rotating. A menu bar across the bottom allows you to perform the rest of your editing like erasing swaths of photos and locking them into place.

To search the sky, just hold your iPhone up in the air and Star Rover will tell you what you're looking at. The app is able to calculate all objects in the sky in real-time, resulting in moon phases, planet positions, stars, and other objects appearing just the same as the real ones. Star Rover includes 120,000 stars, all 88 constellations, planets and their moons, the ability to manually search the sky, and detailed info for all items.

Universal:

The goal is to fill each vehicle with tiny passengers of matching color. As you fill each vehicle, the number attached to them will count down. Fill all three vehicles within the given move count to clear each level. You can earn bonus points by sending off multiple passengers in a single fling. A super combo is earned when filling a vehicle in a single move. The game includes three modes to try.

To search the sky, just hold your iPad up in the air and Star Rover HD will tell you what you're looking at. The app is able to calculate all objects in the sky in real-time, resulting in moon phases, planet positions, stars, and other objects appearing just the same as the real ones. Star Rover HD includes 120,000 stars, all 88 constellations, planets and their moons, the ability to manually search the sky, and detailed info for all items.

Source link: http://appadvice.com/apps-gone-free