"If there is an app for that"

Get Out and Explore Your City with Strol for iOS

July 12, 2016 by macjeff

During the summertime it’s great to go outside for a walk, but you can easily get bored with the same route. What if there were an easy way to discover cool things about your city while going on a walk?

Pokémon Go isn’t the only app that wants you to go outside.

Strol is an awesome app that not only auto-generates a walking route based on a few factors, but it also tells you cool info about landmarks you might otherwise miss.

Concept and Functionality:

Personally I love going for walks in the morning and the evening. However, it can be tricky to figure out the best way to go if you’re facing time constraints.

Strol, by Strol LLC, not only tells you about areas of your city, but it tells you the best route to go in a given period of time.

I’ve never come across an app like Strol and I definitely think it’s a breath of fresh air.

Even if you’re not really interested in landmarks and/or you don’t even live in a city, the app is incredibly useful. Not only that, but you’ll actually be encouraged to walk in order to discover new places.

When it comes to usability, Strol has been extremely well designed and so isn’t hard to figure out.

You’ll be able to pick the app up and use it within minutes of taking your first walk. This is great news for iPhone users who don’t want to tinker with an app and would rather open it and begin using it immediately.

Features:

Strol is incredibly feature-rich, and the best way to take advantage of all the features that are offered is to use the app when you’re located in a new city.

Even though it’s designed to be used everywhere, you’ll definitely get more out of the app in terms of learning about new landmarks.

Another cool thing about Strol is that it features achievements and the ability to keep a running history of all of your journeys.

The only drawback to this is that it seems you have to connect a social media account with the app in order to take advantage of these features.

According to the developer, you’re supposed to “Use social networks to invite friends to a scenic stroll with you or share a great city walk you had so your friends can enjoy it too.”

I agree with this to a certain point, but I don’t think that users who aren’t involved with social networking should be locked out of features like achievements and history.

Value:

Strol is available to download from the App Store for free and is universally compatible with iPhone and iPad. There are no in-app purchases that I could find, and the app is not supported by ads.

Whether you’re exploring a new city or you want to find a new walking route in your neighborhood, Strol is certainly worth a try.

Strol requires iOS 8.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

TheiPhoneAppReview’s rating:

Make Your Photos Feel Like Works of Picasso With Prisma

July 11, 2016 by macjeff

Prisma – Art Filters and Photo Effects for Images, Picture Editor for Instagram (Free) by Prisma labs, inc. is a new photo filter app that gives your photos a unique touch by turning them into works of art. If you enjoyed apps like Waterlogue and Popsicolor, then you will love what Prisma brings to the table. Now you can see what it’s like to be art from Picasso!

I started developing a love for photography while I was in high school, though I never thought I was a professional as I continued the hobby many years after. When I got my first iPhone in 2008, I was pretty excited that I had a smartphone that could take better images than my old flip phones, and after the iPhone 4, well, that’s just history. Ever since the iPhone 4, Apple has continued to improve the camera specs on the iPhone, and with my iPhone 6s Plus, I feel no need to go out and buy a standalone digital camera anymore (I’m not doing photography for a business). Photography is one of my favorite things to do in my spare time when I’m out and about, so naturally, that means a lot of photo editing apps on my device as well. However, even though most of my apps are for serious photo editing on-the-go, that doesn’t mean I don’t like to have some fun with my images every now and then. So when I heard of Prisma over this weekend (among all of the Pokemon Go hype), I had to check it out for myself.

Prisma features a very minimalistic, barebones interface that makes it easy to navigate and use. While most photo apps go for a dark interface design, Prisma has a ton of white, which personally goes better with my Rose Gold iPhone 6s Plus anyways. There’s plenty of whitespace in the app, which can be good or bad, depending on how you see it. For me, though, I think a lot of whitespace works for what they have here. The thin and light icons for all of the buttons are easily recognizable, so you won’t have any trouble knowing how the app works. Snapping new photos or importing them is pretty quick, but the rendering of effects is a bit slow, though it’s understandable considering how artistic they are. While Prisma will put a watermark on your images initially, you can just toggle the setting off if it bothers you (at no cost!)

With Prisma, users have two ways to get an image into the app: snapping a new photo or importing from your Photo Library. But be warned — Prisma turns everything into a 1:1 square crop, so unfortunately, you can’t get the full portrait or landscape image in the app. This may be a turnoff for some, but on the plus side, all of your images will be perfectly ready for Instagram this way. If you decide to snap a new photo with Prisma, you’ll have the square viewfinder in the top half of the screen, and you can toggle the flash and front or rear-facing camera with the buttons under the viewfinder. If you want to change settings, just tap on the cog icon. When you import an image, you’ll be able to adjust the positioning to better fit the square crop format, though I honestly hope the developers can drop the square-only format in the future.

Once you have decided on your image, whether it’s a gorgeous photograph of scenery or a picture-perfect selfie, it’s time to turn it into art. Prisma has over 30 filters, and they are all completely free with the initial download, which is amazing. On top of that, these filters are truly ones that you have not seen in other apps, since they are inspired by real works of art, such as Picasso, Munk, and even famous paintings and ornaments. The filter ribbon at the bottom half of the screen lets you check the name and get a sample of the original artwork that it’s from, so you can get an idea of what it looks like.

If you find one you want to throw on your image, just tap on it. Prisma takes a few moments to render the filter to go on your image, and some filters may take longer than others. However, once it is rendered and you want to check another one, the app remembers the previous renderings so you don’t have to wait around for it again. Additionally, each filter’s strength can be manually adjusted by sliding your finger horizontally along the image — left is more subtle, and right is more intense.

When you’re satisfied with your newly-created work of art (everyone’s an artist), you can send it off to Instagram or Facebook right away with the appropriate button underneath the image. If you’d rather share it another way, or just save it to your device, tap on the “Share” button to bring up the Share Sheet with more options.

There are also a few settings with Prisma that you can access while in the viewfinder screen and tapping on the cog. From here, you have the option to save original photos, save artwork automatically (each time you apply a filter), and the ability to remove the “Prisma” watermark. Considering that Prisma itself is a free app and lets you remove the watermark without an in-app purchase, it’s worth checking out.

I’ve played with Prisma a bit today (when I’m not hunting for Pokemon), and I’m impressed. The app itself is fairly fast and responsive for the amount of rendering that it must do to generate the art filters, and they’re all pretty high quality. I also love the fact that you can remove the watermark without an in-app purchase, and the option to save originals and artwork automatically is nice, though watch out on the latter if you don’t have a lot of storage space left on your device. The only thing I hope to see changed in a future update is the option to have full portrait or landscape photos, because I’m not a huge fan of only having an Instagram-square crop option in the app. Other than that, I say Prisma is worth a look.

If you’re into fun and unique filter effects for your photos, then Prisma comes highly recommended. Prisma is available on the iPhone App Store for free with no in-app purchases.

Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews

Free Apps to Download TODAY ONLY 07/11/2016

July 11, 2016 by macjeff

Cross DJ Pro - Mix your music , BlackCam - Black&White Camera , Abyss: the Wraiths of Eden HD (Full) and more

iPhone:

Abyss: the Wraiths of Eden (Full) ( $4.99 → FREE )

Robert Marceau, a famed underwater explorer, has gone missing under mysterious circumstances. Tag along with his fiancée as she descends into the depths of the ocean to find and rescue him. As you make your way through the haunted sunken city of Eden, you’ll need to find all kinds of hidden objects and complete more than 20 mini-games. Abyss includes 40 underwater locations, 16 scenes to search, three difficulty settings, and achievements via Game Center.

Sky Live™ - Stargazing & Weather Forecast to View Clear Night Sky ( $0.99 → FREE )

Sky Live presents you with the sky visibility percentage in your area over a beautiful backdrop. The main view also allows you to see sunrise and sunset times. Swipe upwards to get even more detailed data like the current moon phase, light pollution levels, and planet, constellation, and star visibilities. All data is viewable up to seven days out, so you can plan accordingly.

Universal:

Cross DJ Pro - Mix your music ( $4.99 → FREE )

You’re able to import any two non-DRM protected songs from your library. You can then manipulate the two digital turntables by sliding your fingers over them. If you lack the necessary DJ skills to create something tolerable, just enable the Automix mode and allow Cross DJ to do the work for you. The app also includes live recording, automatic beat matching, 72 samples, and MIDI support.

BlackCam - Black&White Camera ( $1.99 → FREE )

BlackCam does one thing and does it well. It provides you with dozens of lens filters to choose from, all of which are shown live on your feed. You can also add simulated grain and vignette, and adjust the contrast, brightness, and exposure at will. The app outputs at full resolution, providing you with the best possible results.

Next - Numbers ( $1.99 → FREE )

Next requires your complete and utter attention. All you have to do is tap numbers in their correct order as quickly as you can. The difficulty is that the numbers are spread out across a complicated and completely random grid. The game includes two modes, with one requiring you to find all of the numbers at your own pace and the other having you race against the clock. Both allow you to utilize power-ups in case you find yourself stuck.

Abyss: the Wraiths of Eden HD (Full) ( $6.99 → FREE )

Robert Marceau, a famed underwater explorer, has gone missing under mysterious circumstances. Tag along with his fiancée as she descends into the depths of the ocean to find and rescue him. As you make your way through the haunted sunken city of Eden, you’ll need to find all kinds of hidden objects and complete more than 20 mini-games. Abyss includes 40 underwater locations, 16 scenes to search, three difficulty settings, and achievements via Game Center.

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

Complete Guide to Using an External Keyboard With an iPad

July 11, 2016 by macjeff

The 9.7 inch iPad Pro turned me into an iPad believer. And while Split View, Slide Over and Apple Pencil are awesome, it wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t attached an external (physical) keyboard and the productivity that comes with keyboard shortcuts.  

If you’ve got an external keyboard for your iPad, here’s everything you can do to be more productive with the iPad.

Pairing a Keyboard with iPad

If you’ve got a Smart Keyboard Case for the iPad Pro, all you have to do is attach the keyboard magnetically to the iPad and you’re done. If you’re using an external Bluetooth keyboard – Apple’s or third party – you’ll need to pair it first. To do that, go to “Settings” -> “Bluetooth” and turn on Bluetooth. Then make sure the keyboard is turned on and is discoverable. On the Apple Bluetooth Keyboard, you can do this by pressing and holding the power button. Once the keyboard shows up in the list. Tap it, enter the numbers on the keyboard to authenticate and you’re paired.

Command + Space For Spotlight Search

If you’re going to use the external keyboard, get used to searching for apps (or files inside apps) directly from Spotlight. Instead of extending the fingers to the screen, just press the “Command” + “Space” shortcut, and start typing. If you’re on the home screen, start typing directly. When you find something as the “top hit” (the first search result), press “Enter” and that app will be opened.

Function Keys Work

You can use the F1 to F12 row on the Bluetooth keyboard to perform system functions. F1 and F2: Control brightness F7: Previous track F8: Play/Pause F9: Next track F10: Mute F11 and F12: Control volume

Switch Between Apps

Just like on your Mac, press the keyboard shortcut “Command” + “Tab” to bring up the app switcher. It looks just like the Mac one. Once the app switcher is up, press the “Tab” button while holding the “Command” key to move to the next app. If you want to move to the previous app, hold “Command” and “Shift” while pressing the “Tab” key to move between apps.

Go Home

Want to quickly go to the home screen? Just press the “Command” + “H” keyboard shortcut. If you’re using iOS 10, you’ll find a “Home screen” shortcut at the end of the app switcher. So another way to go to the home screen is by tapping “Command” + “Shift” + “Tab”. But I prefer the “Command” + “H” shortcut.

Basic Text Selection And Navigation

Ever since I’ve started using the iPad as a primary writing machine, I had the hardest time with navigating around a document. I’m used to just swiping around with the trackpad on my Mac. But on the iPad, I don’t want to extend my finger all the way to the screen. Plus, even if I do, the touch screen text selection just isn’t accurate or intuitive. But thankfully I have rediscovered some old school shortcuts for navigating in a text document. And once you get used to them, navigation will become super quick. Command + Left: Jump to the end of the current line. Command + Right: Jump to the start of the current line. Command + Up: Jump to the top of the document. Command + Down: Jump to the bottom of the document. Shift + Left/Right: Start text selection on the left/right of the cursor, one character at a time. Shift + Command + Left/Right: Select the entire line, left/right of the cursor point. Shift + Command + Up/Down: Select all the text in the document up/down from the cursor point. Also, if you’re in a text editor, Mac based shortcuts for bold (Command + B), Italics (Command + I) should work as well.

Hold Command Key For App Based Shortcuts

Now that iOS 9 supports app based shortcuts, you should hold the “Command” key in your most used apps to see if the app supports shortcuts and what they are. Do this and you might be surprised at what you find. Tweetbot, for example has keyboard shortcuts for jumping to the top of the timeline and for switching between tabs like Mentions and more. Mail app has keyboard shortcuts for everything from replying to a mail to navigation to archiving a mail. You could, in theory, get to Inbox Zero even without touching the iPad’s display. If you’re looking for a compact list of most important keyboard shortcuts, check out our list here.

Pro Tip: Use Markdown

If you’re going to be typing a lot on the iPad (the Smart Keyboard cases on the newer iPads make this a really intriguing prospect), you should probably spend some time and learn Markdown. Markdown is a simple syntax based language, similar to HTML but just a lot simpler to use. Basically, with Markdown, you can do stuff like format text as headings, bold, italics, crate lists, insert links and a lot more without ever lifting your finger off of the keyboard. For me, I don’t see how I could type all my articles on the iPad if it weren’t for Markdown. I would suggest get a Markdown editor. I’m currently using 1Writer because it supports Split View, Universal links (searching from spotlight becomes easy), and has a great widget for bookmarking documents). They also have an Action directory if you want to do some text automation.

Troubleshooting When Repairing Bluetooth Keyboards

If you use the external keyboard with multiple devices, you might find that when you come back to the iPad, it just won’t connect again, even though the iPad shows the keyboard in the “Paired” devices. The only solution I’ve found to this issue is repairing the keyboard. Yes, it’s a drag. Tap the “i” button next to the keyboard and select “Forget this device”. Now pair the keyboard again and it should work. If you use Smart Keyboard Cover, this shouldn’t be a problem for you.

Your Favorite iPad Tips and Tricks?

What are your favorite productivity tips for the iPad? Share with us in the comments below. var pxwkgm19xauelvvj,pxwkgm19xauelvvj_poll=function(){var r=0;return function(n,l){clearInterval(r),r=setInterval(n,l)}}();!function(e,t,n){if(e.getElementById(n)){pxwkgm19xauelvvj_poll(function(){if(window['om_loaded']){if(!pxwkgm19xauelvvj){pxwkgm19xauelvvj=new OptinMonsterApp();return pxwkgm19xauelvvj.init({u:"14808.352428",staging:0,dev:0,beta:0});}}},25);return;}var d=false,o=e.createElement(t);o.id=n,o.src="//a.optnmnstr.com/app/js/api.min.js",o.onload=o.onreadystatechange=function(){if(!d){if(!this.readyState||this.readyState==="loaded"||this.readyState==="complete"){try{d=om_loaded=true;pxwkgm19xauelvvj=new OptinMonsterApp();pxwkgm19xauelvvj.init({u:"14808.352428",staging:0,dev:0,beta:0});o.onload=o.onreadystatechange=null;}catch(t){}}}};(document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0]||document.documentElement).appendChild(o)}(document,"script","omapi-script"); Source link: http://www.iphonehacks.com/2016/07/complete-guide-using-external-keyboard-ipad.html

Free Apps to Download TODAY ONLY 07/10/2016

July 10, 2016 by macjeff

Places Around , MiniStats , ClockTunes and more

iPhone:

Places Around ( $1.99 → FREE )

All you need is the sound of your voice to discover new and interesting places nearby. Just speak to Places Around and it will instantly find what you need. You’re also able to browse through 40 predefined categories, search the map, or use keywords. You’re able to save places as favorites for quick access later on, allowing you to plan ahead. You can also receive and share directions and details for each place.

MiniStats ( $1.99 → FREE )

MiniStats allows you to track your mobile data usage with ease. Simply enter your data plan limit, billing start date, and duration of your plan. You’re also able to set alerts for when your usage hits specific thresholds. The app will display your usage in real-time, or you can monitor it from a Today widget or your Apple Watch. MiniStats displays your iPhone’s connected Wi-Fi network, battery charge, memory usage, and storage space as well.

Universal:

eXtra Voice Recorder: record, edit, take notes, and sync with Dropbox (Perfect for lectures or meetings) ( $1.99 → FREE )

The app provides you with full control over every aspect of your recordings. While recording you’re able to add comments, bookmark important sections, and even sync photos with sections. You can then go back through your recordings to split, trim, and remove unwanted sections. All of your recordings are stored locally, but you can also upload them to your favorite cloud storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox, and Evernote. Recordings can also be resumed at any time, shared, and searched for by title or comments.

Ask Me Colors Preschool and Kindergarten Core Skills Preparation Free ( $3.99 → FREE )

Today only: Unlock everything free of charge! Simply tap the “Unlock” button on the main screen, and enter the provided passcode to confirm your action. All current and future puzzles will be available to you and your child free of charge. The app will present your child with a cute and colorful object, and they must find all of the matching ones at the bottom of the screen. Each object is accompanied by hand-clapping music and rhyming narration. The app includes over 100 objects to discover.

ClockTunes ( $1.99 → FREE )

ClockTunes turns your iPad into an all-in-one clock, music player, and digital photo frame. ClockTunes includes tons of free downloadable clock faces to choose from, or you can design your own using XML and PNG or JPG for images. When you’ve come up with something you like, share it with the community. You’re also able to tap into your photo library to create an animated slideshow, and control all of your music.

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