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How to create and share digital flash cards on your iPhone and iPad [App for that]

Leanna Lofte — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:56:04 +0000

Our challenge this week was to find an app that would allow my parents, who are taking a Spanish class together, to create flashcards of vocabulary that could be shared on two iPhones and one iPad. With the Spring semester well on it's way and the first round of tests approaching, my parents surely are not the only our student readers that looking for ways to be better, more efficient studiers.

With over half a million apps for just about everything, you’d figure there’d have to be at least one in the App Store for this. But with so many apps, it can be hard to find the one you want. That’s where we come in. We’re sorting through the App Store and we’re going to help find just exactly the app for that.

App for that: gFlash+/gFlashPro - Flashcards & Tests

gFlashPro has turned out to be the perfect solution. First, you create a spreadsheet with Google Docs where one column is the vocabulary term, and a second column is the definition -- or in my parents's case, the English and Spanish versions of the words. Each row in your spreadsheet then gets transformed into a flash card after you connect gPlushPro to you Google account and download the spreadsheet. Since the flashcards are tied to Google, they are easily shared on multiple devices. If you wanted, you can even share the Google documents with your classmates, so that they, too, can download the flashcards for studying on the go.

There are two version of this apps: gFlash+ and gFlashPro. The former is free to purchase and supported by ads. gFlashPro is ad free and includes addition features like the ability to Delete, "forget", and move cards in the deck. You also get free access to more than 50 million cardsets from Quizlet and StudyStack.

gFlash+, free - App Store link
gFlashPro, $3.99 - App Store link

Thanks to my parents for the question. Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for them? Let them — and all of us — know in the comments below.

Having trouble finding what you need in the app store? Head on over to our App for That Forum and let us know what you're looking for. The iMore community will do our best to find you just the right App for That!

How to take a photo while simultaneously recording video with your iPhone [App for that]

Leanna Lofte — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 07:15:54 +0000

Our challenge this week was to find an app that could capture a still image -- a photo -- while simultaneously shooting video on the iPhone. With the default camera app, you have to stop recording video, switch to still camera mode, shoot a picture, then switch back to video and start recording that. Not ideal. Neither is trying to screen capture while recording, since there are way too many controls visible, cutting into the picture.

With over half a million apps for just about everything, you'd figure there'd have to be at least one in the App Store for this. But with so many apps, it can be hard to find the one you want. That's where we come in. We're sorting through the App Store and we're going to help find just exactly the app for that.

App for that: QuickPix

QuickPix does exactly what Ron is looking for. While filming a video, QuickPix has two buttons: one to stop recording, and one to take a photo. These photos are sent directly to your camera roll along with the video once you end the recording.

Some other features of QuickPick are RapidFire (2 pictures per second), QuickPic (shoot on app launch), and the ability to separately set the focus and exposure.

Now that I have discovered QuickPix, I will use it for all filming I do from now on. There have been multiple times where I had to choose between capturing video or taking photos of a special moment, but now I can do both! Thank you, Ron, for sending me on the hunt for this app!

$1.99 - App Store link

Thanks to Ron - Ertiguy for the question. Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for Ron? Let him -- and all of us -- know in the comments below.

How to take a screen recording on your iPhone or iPad [Jailbreak app for that]

Allyson Kazmucha — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:05:25 +0000

How do you record the screen of your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad? That's the question several of our readers have asked this week. Sure, you can use a fancy HDMI-out dongle and a video capture card to mirror and record your display if you have the hardware and can get it working right. But if you're jailbroken there's an easier way to go about recording your iPhone or iPad display.

Yes, there's a jailbreak app for that!

Cydia, the Jailbreak app store, has a little something that should suit your screen recording needs pretty well. It's called Display Recorder and it allows you to take screen recordings directly on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Once you're done, you can choose to upload the screen recording to YouTube or connect over Wi-Fi and move it over to your computer.

I've used Display Recorder in the past for tutorials and walk-throughs. You can adjust the output quality and file type as well. The only down side I've found to Display Recorder is that it doesn't record audio. I've always solved this problem by recording the audio with voice memos or another external microphone and editing them together in iMovie or a similar program.

Display Recorder is available in Cydia now and is already compatible with iOS 5.

$4.99 - Cydia Search Link

Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for screen recordings?

App for That: How to create a collage of photos for Instagram

Leanna Lofte — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 08:15:20 +0000

There are hundreds of thousands of iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps for just about everything -- so how come the one you need, the one you know just has to be there, is so hard to find? Enter TiPb's new weekly feature where staff and readers alike sort through the App Store and help you find just the right App for That. This week, @llofte (yes, that's me!) asks:

What app is it that I see people use with Instagram to make a collage/storyboard of more than one photo?

To see what was suggested to me, follow along after the break!

Diptic [$0.99 - App Store link] is an iPhone and iPad app for creating simple collages of your photos. The templates are designed in the shape of a square, so Diptic is commonly used in conjunction with Instagram [Free - App Store link]. In fact, Diptic has Instagram as an export option, making sharing to the photo social networking app a breeze.

Diptic comes with 21 standard layouts and is equipped with a frame slider that allows you to customize the dimensions of the inner frames. You can also adjust the colors of the borders and give them rounded corners. In addition to Instagram, you can send your collages to Camera+, Filterstorm, Dropbox, Evernote, GoodReader, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Posterous, or Tumblr.

Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for me? Let me -- and all of us -- know in the comments.

Having trouble finding what you need in the app store? Send us an email to news@tipb.com and let us know what you're looking for, and we'll do our best to find you just the right App for That!

App for That: How to schedule employee shifts on iPad

Leanna Lofte — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 18:37:50 +0000

I am looking for a basic schedule making app and do not see anything close to what i am looking for. All I want is a basic weekly schedule with days of the week across the top and employees down the left side. I tried to make my own using the numbers app but there doesn't seem to be a way to save the document without the numbers so you don't have to recreate the document every week. Any suggestions? Thanks!

First of all, if Douglas wants to continue using Numbers [$9.99 - App Store link], he can! Numbers has the ability to duplicate documents, so he can create a spreadsheet with just the names and days of the week filled out and keep that one as his base document. Then from the documents page, he can create a duplicate before performing any edits.

Or he can get an app designed specifically for creating schedules! To see what we found for Douglas, follow along after the break!

Shifty for iPad [$9.99 - App Store link] is a scheduling app for small businesses and individuals. After entering in all the information that rarely changes, like employee names, shift patterns, and duties, the act of creating schedules is just a matter of dragging and dropping. Shifty will also display the number of billable hours (accounting for breaks). Once the schedule is complete, you can email it to your staff.

Check out Shifty's YouTube page to see Shifty in action. Nervous about spending $9.99 on an app the may or may not meet your needs? There is also a free version [App Store link] available with less options than the paid version.

Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for Douglas? Let him -- and all of us -- know.

Having trouble finding what you need in the app store? Head on over to our App for That forum and let us know what you're looking for. The TiPb community will do our best to find you just the right App for That!

App for That: How to edit the IPTC info on a photo

Leanna Lofte — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 18:48:10 +0000

I'm kind of shocked I haven't found an app that can add captions to photos. Actually I'm surprised that Apple's own photo app doesn't do this. I don't mean a caption ON the photo -- more in the metadata. This is so I can keep track of what I'm taking a photo of. And I don't want to have to share it on Facebook or Twitter to caption the photo.

What tedwang is specifically looking for, is a way to edit the IPTC info on a photo. To see what we found for him, follow along after the break!

One of the many features of Photogene² [$0.99 - App Store link] is to edit the IPTC data on photos.

IPTC stands for International Press Telecommunications Council and was originally developed for media to quickly exchange information about news items like photos. Some of the info that can be stored in the IPTC is author information, title, caption, and copyright.

Photogene² makes editing this info a breeze. With an upgrade to Pro, you can even create IPTC sets to streamline the process.

Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for tedwang? Let him -- and all of us -- know.

Having trouble finding what you need in the app store? Head on over to our App for That Forum and let us know what you're looking for. The TiPb community will do our best to find you just the right App for That!

App for That: How to draw shapes on your photos

Leanna Lofte — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 19:38:22 +0000

There are hundreds of thousands of iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps for just about everything -- so how come the one you need, the one you know just has to be there, is so hard to find? Enter TiPb's weekly feature where staff and readers alike sort through the App Store and help you find just the right App for That. This week, Darryl asks:

I noticed in your article about rotating pictures, you had drawn circles around the specific buttons you were talking about in your steps. I was just wondering if you used an app to do that. I have been endlessly searching for an app that allows you to draw over pics, screenshots, etc and still have yet to find one. Do you know of any? Let me know. Thanks for your help 😊

I had actually used a desktop app called Skitch to draw the circles, but a dedicated iPhone app would be much more convenient! To see what we found for Darryl (and me!), follow along after the break!

Sketches 2 [$4.99 - App Store link] is an iPhone and iPad app that comes with various shapes and stamps to add to your photos. You can also switch to freehand mode and draw whatever you want. Additionally, you can add text and integrate apps to draw directions.

Once your sketch is complete, you can export it to your photo album, share it via twitter or email, or download your drawings to your computer in PDF (full vector format), JPG or PNG.

LateNiteSoft also has the classic Sketches availalbe on the App Store for a lower price of $1.99 [App Store link]. This version has fewer features and is not universal for iPhone and iPad.

Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for Darryl? Let him -- and all of us -- know.

App for That: How to wirelessly send videos from your iPhone to your iPad

Leanna Lofte — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 14:56:38 +0000

I am a father to a four and a half year old baby girl and keep up with a blog that I created shortly after she was born to chronicle my fathering experiences as well as her forays into the big wide world. I do all this blogging solely from my iPhone 4 and iPad 2. I take pics and video on my iPhone and then write the blog posts on my iPad later in the day. Photos are not an issue as I just mail them to myself and then save them to my camera roll on the iPad, but Videos are the bugger! Is there an app out there that will let you save video to your iPad's camera roll that you have captured with your iPhone?

Ideally, Photo Stream and iCloud would include the ability to sync videos between devices, but until that happens, we must go to the App Store to find a solution. To see what we found for Sean, follow along after the break!

PhotoSync [$1.99 - App Store link] is exactly what Sean needs! This little gem allows you to share photos and video from one device to another, including your Mac or Windows computer - and it's super easy to do.

In Sean's case, he would tap sync on his iPad and select the option to receive photos and video. Then on his iPhone, he'd tap the photo and videos he wants to transfer, and choose to sync them to another device. He'd then select his iPad from the list and start the sync. Once the sync is complete, Sean will find the videos in his iPad's camera roll.

The transfers rate is up to 2.5MB/sec, so depending on the size of the files, it can take a couple minutes, but syncing will continue in the background while Sean works on his blog post about his daughter.

This really is a fabulous app. I, like Sean, also blog photos and videos of my daughter and am thrilled with the discovery of PhotoSync.

Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for Sean? Let him -- and all of us -- know.

App for That: How to slow down video playback to 1 fps on iPhone, iPad

Leanna Lofte — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 17:23:17 +0000

I'm still using my Palm Treo and The Core Pocket Media Player to play my swimming, golf swing and Tai Chi training video clips in slow motion. Was hoping to move to the iPhone to use the bigger better screen.

Do you know of an iPhone video player that can play back slower than 50%?

To see what we found for Roger, follow along after the break!

VideoPix: Video Frame Capture & Slow Motion Player [$0.99 - App Store link] is an iPhone and iPad app that allows you to slow down video playback to 1 fps.

The easiest way to access video files for VideoPix is through the iPhone or iPad's Photos app, but there's a good chance that Roger does not have his above mentioned videos stored there. Luckily, VideoPix also allows you to import videos with iTunes File Sharing (providing they are in MP4 or MOV format).

Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for Roger? Let him -- and all of us -- know.

App for That: How to sync calendars across multiple iPads

Leanna Lofte — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 20:21:37 +0000

We are looking for an app that can be updated by several different users at the same time and display that updated schedule to everyone on their iPad. Let me give you the specifics to better explain what I am looking for.

The setting is a cold storage facility with 10 different buildings. Throughout those 10 buildings are 5-6 workers loading or unloading trucks and 2 employees in the office checking in drivers. The office employees make the appointments for the drivers but appointments can be made on the same day.

So we would like the warehouse workers to be able to see the updated schedule as it changes as well as be able to note the arrival and departure times of the drivers from the delivery docks. It doesn't need a lot of bells and whistles but it just needs to be current and easily updatable by different parties at the same time.

CalenGoo [$6.99 - App Store link] is an iPhone and iPad app designed to keep your Google calendars synced across all devices. Additionally, it integrates Google Tasks which may be helpful in a work environment.

Obviously, Kevin will need to create a Google account in order to use this app, but that will only take a few moments and then he'd be good to go.

Another option is to still use a Google calendar account, but to set it up in the iPad's built in Calendar as an exchange account.

Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for Kevin? Let him -- and all of us -- know.

App for That: How to attach notes to photos

Leanna Lofte — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 14:04:46 +0000

There are hundreds of thousands of iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps for just about everything -- so how come the one you need, the one you know just has to be there, is so hard to find? Enter TiPb's weekly feature where staff and readers alike sort through the App Store and help you find just the right App for That. This week, Jeremy asks:

I have had several cases where it would be extremely helpful to have some kind of note taking application on my iPad that had a focus on an associated picture. For example, I'm looking for an app that will let me take pictures of someone in different poses and have notes on them to show to other people later, write down my thoughts, and then review them all at once later.

Thank you for any help you can provide!

To see what we found for Jeremy, follow along after the break!

Awesome Note HD [$4.99 - App Store link] is the perfect app for Jeremy! In addition to many other cool features, Awesome Note HD allows you to create notes that contain both photos and text. You can also create custom folders for better organization. As a photographer, this is great for Jeremy, because he can have different folders for poses, location scouting, landscapes, etc.

Although Jeremy is specifically asking for an iPad app, Awesome Note is also available on the iPhone [App Store link] and can be synced with the help of Evernote or Google Docs.

The free version of Awesome Note [App Store link] has a limit of 10 notes and does not have syncing ability, but it's a fantastic way to try out the app.

Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for Jeremy? Let him -- and all of us -- know in the comments.

Having trouble finding what you need in the app store? Send us an email to news@tipb.com and let us know what you're looking for, and we'll do our best to find you just the right App for That!

App for That: How to track your travels

Leanna Lofte — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 16:00:36 +0000

I'm looking for an app for tracking travel to foreign cities or other countries so that I can track where you have been and when, etc - sort of a travel journal with a country or city checklist. Is there an app for that?

To see what we found, follow along after the break!

It's funny that Gary asks for a trip journal, because Trip Journal [$2.99 - iTunes link] may be just what he's looking for!

Trip Journal is an iPhone app designed to document your travels. Using your iPhone's GPS, Trip Journal will keep a log of where you go and you can create waypoints along the way. You can also add notes, photos, and video - truly creating a journal. At the end of your trip, you can export it to Google Earth and share with family and friends.

Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for Gary? Let him -- and all of us -- know in the comments.

Having trouble finding what you need in the app store? Send us an email to news@tipb.com and let us know what you're looking for, and we'll do our best to find you just the right App for That!

App for That: How to send videos to the cloud

Leanna Lofte — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 19:55:10 +0000

Next Month, I'm going to a YouTube gathering in London called Summer In The City. As its a YouTube gathering there is going to be alot of video taking. However, I'm only going to take my 16GB iPhone (and clothes and stuff), so was wondering if there was an app that would let me store the videos when I ran out of room, as I can't put it on a computer or anything.

To see what we found for George, follow along after the break!

Dropbox [Free - iTunes link] is the perfect solution for George! Dropbox is an iPhone and iPad apps that allows users to upload videos, as well as other files, that can later be accessed from a computer or other iOS device.

A free dropbox account provides 2 GB of space (with incentives to increase that). If George is concerned about space, he can subscribe to the 50 GB or 100 GB plan. They are priced at $10/mo and $20/mo, respectively, but he can cancel his subscription after returning from his trip and transferring the videos to his computer.

Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for George? Let him -- and all of us -- know.

Having trouble finding what you need in the app store? Send us an email to iosapps@tipb.com and let us know what you're looking for, and we'll do our best to find you just the right App for That!

App for That: How to use your iPhone as an external keyboard for your iPad

Leanna Lofte — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 18:47:06 +0000

Do you know of any apps which will let me use my iPhone as an external keyboard for the iPad?

Unfortunately, due to the restrictions on the iOS SDK, there is no app that will let you use your iPhone as a keyboard for your iPad systemwide. However, we think we've found the next best thing. To find out, follow along after the break!

External Keyboard [$0.99 - iTunes link] is an app that will let you use your iPhone as a keyboard for your iPad via bluetooth or WiFi, but there's a catch - you must have the app opened on both devices at the same time in order to do so.

This limitation is a bummer, but it works. On the iPad, External keyboard is web browser and on the iPhone, it's just a keyboard. Just tap which fields in the browser you'd like to type and start typing away on the iPhone.

There is also a button for email. This opens a blank screen with an option to email what you type. If you choose to email, it pastes your text into a new email where you must use the iPad keyboard to complete. If you need to type text into a different app, you can copy it from this email section, close the app and paste into any app you wish.

Clearly, this isn't the most elegant of solutions, but until Apple opens up the SDK, it's as good as it's going to get.

Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for @Sethran? Let him -- and all of us -- know.

Having trouble finding what you need in the app store? Send us an email to iosapps@tipb.com and let us know what you're looking for, and we'll do our best to find you just the right App for That!

App for That: How to learn Russian

Leanna Lofte — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 03:55:48 +0000

I recently was lucky enough to find my current girlfriend and couldn't be happier. I wanted to try and impress her and her family, though, by learning their native language - Russian. Can you please help?

This was an interesting inquiry as there are several different options depending on the level of mastery Scott is trying to achieve and his budget. To see our recommendations, follow along after the break!

The most expensive, but probably most effective, solution is Rosetta Stone. Version 4 includes an option for a subscription to TOTALe which allows access to their iOS companion apps, TOTALe Companion [Free - iTunes link] and TOTALe Companion HD [Free - iTunes link]. At $180-$380 for the computer software and $10-$25 per month for the TOTALe subscription, Rosetta Stone is not a cheap option, but it has a great reputation of being extremely effective and a money back guarantee. (Screenshot is an example from the Spanish software).

Next up, we have MyWords - Learn Russian Vocabulary [$9.99 - iTunes link]. This app will teach you 10 new Russian words a day. In addition to the English translation, each word includes the proper spelling as well as audio to hear the correct pronunciation. It also includes quizzes and a word bank to keep track of how many words you've learned. At 10 words a day, this app can help you learn a lot of vocabulary fairly quickly (as long as you put in the effort).

One of the challenges of learning Russian is the different alphabet. That's where Russian Alphabet + Audio [$1.99 - iTunes link] comes into play. This app is basically flashcards of the Russian alphabet and each flashcard includes a phonetic pronunciation by comparing to an English word as well as an audio pronunciation.

Lastly, SpeakEasy Russian [$3.99 - iTunes link] for iPhone and iPad teaches 650 spoken and phonetically written words and expressions. This app won't exactly make you fluent in Russian, but it will get you started with the common phrases.

So there you have it! Four different apps that will help Scott learn Russian, each with a unique emphasis. Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for Scott? Let him -- and all of us -- know.

Having trouble finding what you need in the app store? Send us an email to iosapps@tipb.com and let us know what you're looking for, and we'll do our best to find you just the right App for That!

App for That: How to set up reminders to take medication

Leanna Lofte — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 18:26:09 +0000

I have need of an app that will alert me to take my medication. More specifically, I need to an app that will remind me of a medication that I need to take every 72 hours.

Sure, the built in alarm in the iPhone's clock app will work for many medication reminders, but it does not have an option to set a repeating alarm for every 3 days. To see our solution for Colin, follow along after the break!

RxmindMe [Free - iTunes link] is a great little app designed for setting alarms that remind you to take your medication and they boast of being able to handle the most complicated of reminders.

This app is more than just an alert system, however. RxmindMe allows you to store a massive list of medications and prescriptions including photos, type of medication, dosage, and more. Additionally, the entire FDA Drug Database is stored in the app so that you don't have to manually enter everything about all your medications.

RxmindMe supports the following types of reminders: every "X" number of days (perfect for Colin), hourly, daily, on specific dates, weekly, on a particular day of the month, as needed, on a particular week of a month, or even just recording pills you took out of the blue. So if you have a complicated prescription schedule, RxmindMe has got you covered!

Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for Colin? Let him -- and all of us -- know in the comments.

Having trouble finding what you need in the app store? Send us an email to iosapps@tipb.com and let us know what you're looking for, and we'll do our best to find you just the right App for That!

App for that: How to create a simple invoice

Leanna Lofte — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 01:27:44 +0000

I'm writing as a freelancer for a blog, and I was wondering if there was an app available that can help me keep track of how many posts I have written in a pay period as well as amount earned for each.

To see what we found for Aatif, follow along after the break!

Invoice2Go [$9.99 - iTunes link] is a fantastic app for creating invoices on your iPhone. After setting up your business (your personal info for freelancers), you're ready to start invoicing. Under the products tab, you can add the different services you offer, or in Aatif's case, various types of articles that he writes. When creating an invoice, it's simple to add the saved products and specify a quantity. When finished, Invoice2Go totals everything up and creates a beautiful invoice as a PDF that can then be emailed to your employer or printed over AirPrint.

Invoice2Go offers many different templates for the final invoice design and even includes the ability to add a custom logo. You can also add a PayPal button to your invoices. This may not be ideal for Aatif's situation, but could be great for those of you creating client invoices.

If the price is a little steep for you, Invoice2Go Lite [Free - iTunes link] is a free version of the app that restricts you to only keeping 3 invoices at a time. This sounds perfect for Aaatif as long as he emails a copy of the completed invoices at the end of each pay period. Invoice2Go Lite is also a great way to try out the app and determine if it will meet your needs.

Bonus app: iSpreadsheet

If Invoice2go has more features than necessary, and you find that less is more, you can create your own spreadsheet with iSpreadsheet [$2.99 - iTunes link]. This type of report is very simple to create and may be a more desirable option. For the budget conscious blogger (the prices in the screenshots are from my fantasy world), iSpreadsheet Free [Free - iTunes link] is ad-supported and has all the features of its paid version.

Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for Aatif? Let him -- and all of us -- know in the comments.

Having trouble finding what you need in the app store? Send us an email to iosapps@tipb.com and let us know what you're looking for, and we'll do our best to find you just the right App for That!

App for That: How to log your mileage and routes

Leanna Lofte — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 01:52:16 +0000

I need an app that knows I have connected to my car kit and records mileage and route then logs it as google route.

To see what we found for David, follow along after the break!

iNomad [$6.99 - iTunes link] is a navigation app for the traveler. With it, you can track everything about your voyage including distance traveled, average and max speeds, and duration. It includes an altimeter, digital speedometer, compass (magnetic, true or GPS), distance to target, scale ruler, and much more.

After you've completed your trip, you can export your route in KML (and GPX) via email or iTunes Share to store to Google. If you already have routes saved, you can import the KML files into iNomad. Creating a new route is as simple as tracing your finger on the map to later follow during your travels. You can even create key points on your route.

iNomad is loaded with features including the ability to download maps for offline viewing. However, it does not seem that iNomad will be able to know when David connects his iPhone to his car kit, but all he needs to do is remember to launch the app before he begins his trip. Once the tracking begins, it will continue in the background.

Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for David? Let him -- and all of us -- know in the comments.

Having trouble finding what you need in the app store? Send us an email to news@tipb.com and let us know what you're looking for, and we'll do our best to find you just the right App for That!

App for That: How to blur sensitive material from photos

Leanna Lofte — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 02:17:00 +0000

I sometimes need to take a quick pic and upload it to Facebook but need to blur out some incriminating evidence first (don't ask!!) I know there must be an app that let's me do that but damned if I can find it. Can you recommend something?

To see what we found, follow along after the break!

Hide My Secret! [$0.99 - iTunes link] is a nifty little app that allows you to overlay your images with a pixelated mosaic effect.

Applying the effect is a breeze. Just touch the screen with two fingers and move them around until you have the incriminating area covered as desired (each finger will be a corner of the box). If the area is small, you can zoom in beforehand to guarantee accuracy. You can also pixelate more than one area before saving the image.

Now that you have hidden whatever it is that you want hidden from your photo (we won't ask!), you can safely share the image on the social networking site of your choice!

Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for KP? Let her -- and all of us -- know in the comments.

Having trouble finding what you need in the app store? Send us an email to news@tipb.com and let us know what you're looking for, and we'll do our best to find you just the right App for That!

App for That: How to teach kids to write

Leanna Lofte — Thu, 26 May 2011 19:16:50 +0000

Hey @llofte, do you know of any good apps for kids who just started to learn how to write ? I need it for my nephew. Thanks.

To see what we found, follow along after the break!

iWriteWords [$2.99 - iTunes link] is a game that simultaneously teaches your child how to write. The objective is to help Mr. Crab collect numbers in a sequence - which just so happen to be in the shape of letters. When all the letters in the given word are drawn correctly, a cute drawing appears.

iWriteWords is a universal application for iPhone and iPad, so your nephew can practice his writing on multiple devices.

Bonus: Writing with your finger is not the same as writing with an appropriate instrument, so to enhance the learning experience, check out the Ten One Design Pogo Sketch!

Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for @mfares? Let him -- and all of us -- know in the comments.

Having trouble finding what you need in the app store? Send us an email to news@tipb.com and let us know what you're looking for, and we'll do our best to find you just the right App for That!

App for That: How to view photos on your computer as a slideshow on your iPad

Leanna Lofte — Thu, 19 May 2011 18:04:54 +0000

I have a bunch of photos stored on my Mac and I'd like to be able to use my iPad as a wifi photo frame (when I'm not using it of course). I have air video set up which I really love and I suppose this is a photo version of that. The camera sync could be part of the solution but I don't want to use up storage on my iPad when I just want to display the photo and then move on to the next one.

To see our solution for Bradley, follow along after the break!

DropPics for Dropbox [$1.99 - iTunes link] gives easy access to your photos stored on Dropbox and allows you to view them as a slideshow. This happens over the air, so none of your iPad's precious hard drive space will be used.

A Dropbox account is required to use DropPics and a free account gives you 2GB of storage. This will hold quite a bit of photos, especially if you resize your photos before copying them over. (The iPad displays photos at 1024x768). This will also help with loading time.

Once you sign up, just copy the desired photos into the Dropbox folder on your computer, browse to the folder in DropPics on your iPad, and start the slideshow!

DropPics also allows you to upload photos into your Dropbox account. Although you may not be taking many photos with your iPad, DropPics is a universal application for iPhone and iPad, so you can add the photos you take with your iPhone and view them on your iPad. Unfortunately, DropPics only allows you to upload one photo at a time.

All in all, this a great solution. Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for Bradley? Let him -- and all of us -- know in the comments.

Having trouble finding what you need in the app store? Send us an email to news@tipb.com and let us know what you're looking for, and we'll do our best to find you just the right App for That!

App for That: How do you sync photos between iPhone and iPad?

Rene Ritchie — Fri, 06 May 2011 01:42:20 +0000

Is there an app that can help me sync my photos from iPhone to iPad? Emailing them is such a pain.

You can always use the iPad camera kit to connect via dock cable from your iPhone to iPad and suck all the pictures from your iPhone Camera Roll into your iPad Photo app, but that's so mechanical. For a more interesting solution, follow on after the break!

CameraSync [$1.99 - iTunes link] hooks into DropBox, Box.net, iDisk, or even Flickr, Amazon S3, or FTP and syncs your photos to the cloud. It's a universal app, so you buy it once and can run it on your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Launch the app and it syncs all the photos in your Camera Roll to the online storage of your choice. That means your iPad gets your latest iPhone photos, and vice versa.

Since all the sync stores are also available on your PC, any photos you sync from iOS are also available on your Mac and Windows machine (and in some cases Linux) as well. (Yes, that means you can just drag a photo into the right folder on your PC, and next time you launch CameraSync on iOS, it'll be added to your Camera Roll as well. Automagic!

Now it can take a while to upload, especially if you have a ton of new photos in your Camera Roll, and we have gotten occasional time outs (especially if you leave the app running in the background and it can't finish before iOS times out the connection.) It is incremental, however, with a nifty "photo falls into the box" animation to show you when a specific pictures has been synced. So if you have any problems, you can relaunch and continue from where you were last.

All in all, its a good solution -- and one we hope Apple builds into iOS 5...

Anyone else have any App for That suggestions for Kyra? Let her -- and all of us -- know in the comments.

Having trouble finding what you need in the app store? Send us an email to news@tipb.com and let us know what you're looking for, and we'll do our best to find you just the right App for That!

Sesame Street sings: There's an app for that!

Georgia — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 17:05:50 +0000

What could be better than our favourite muppet friends from Sesame Street singing? How about singing There's an app for that? You may remember a few weeks ago all of the TiPb staff were "muppetised". We weren't invited to sing along, but if all of you channel your inner child, maybe you could sing a few tunes with us? I think Steve Jobs would be proud.

I hope the video brings a smile to your day as it did mine. If you have a favourite muppet memory, please share with us in the comments below!

Apple Shows Off "Family Travel" iPhone Commercial

Rene Ritchie — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:21:02 +0000

It seems like "On hold" and "First steps" weren't the only new, activity-focused commercials Apple had ready for the iPhone as "Family Travel" has now made its Olympic debut as well.

"Family travel" highlights Southwest Airlines [Free - iTunes link] for pre-checkin, Gate Guru [Free - iTunes link] to find the kids a snack, and the built-in iPod app to play them a little Finding Nemo while they wait. Oh, and some Schlage LiNK [Free - iTunes link] to make sure the lights were off at home. End line: "That's why I don't go anywhere without my iPhone."

So the transition from "App for that" and "App for just about anything" to focused, lifestyle-specific "look what you can do with your iPhone" ads is now complete. Interesting to see how they go about step-by-step educational strategies even in their commercials...

New Apple iPhone Ads Go After Boredom, Parents' Hearts

Rene Ritchie — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:34:05 +0000

Apple began airing two new iPhone ads last night during the Olympics (what hockey game?), one going after boredom by showing what you can do with your iPhone while you wait, and the other going after the hearts of parents (and grandparents) everywhere. Interestingly, neither featured the "app for that" or "app for almost everything" tag lines Apple has been using since 2008.

"On hold" starts off with the male caller being placed on hold, though he doesn't mind because his iPhone means he can use the internet while he waits. He checks email, uses the Bank of America app [Free - iTunes link] to pay bills, and then the App Store to buy, download, and play Monopoly [$4.99 - iTunes link]

(Also interesting, they show the iPhone on Wi-Fi and not 3G, and don't take any more swipes at Verizon for not being able to handle simultaneous voice and 3G data. Then again, Monopoly is too large to be downloaded over 3G even with the new 20MB limit ) He finishes with "I need my iPhone for, well, everything".

"First Steps" has a new mom use Camara to video record her baby son's first steps, then Messages to MMS the video to everyone. Next, she uses Phone to easily set up a conference call to discuss said first steps. It ends with "we would never have shared all that without the iPhone".

Gift, Song -- Apple's New 100,000 Apps for Just About Anything Commercials

Rene Ritchie — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:54:59 +0000

Saw these last night while watching the show that used to be House MD, new Apple iPhone "App for That" commercials focusing on Gift and Song. Of course, the tag line has been bumped from 75,000 to 100,000, and they continue with "apps for just about anything", which is likely legal cover in case "app for that" confused someone into suing over that still-missing Apple Glass Trackpad app...

Gift features Target [Free - iTunes link], ColorChange [$2.99 - iTunes link], The Snow Report [Free - iTunes link], Monopoly Here and Now [$4.99 - iTunes link], Hotel Pal [Free - iTunes link], and Zipcar [Free - iTunes link]
Song features Jaimie Oliver's 20 Minute Meals [$7.99 - iTunes link], Credit Card Terminal [$0.99 - iTunes link], Facebook [Free - iTunes link], The Sims 3 [$6.99 - iTunes link], Redfin Real Estate [Free - iTunes link], Shazam [Free - iTunes link]

Again, Apple is sticking to apps to sell iPhones, and showing off some great variety, and killer good looks while doing so. If it ain't broke don't fix it, or time for Apple advertising to switch it up?

Verizon Roshambos AT&T 3G Coverage with "There's a Map for That!"

Rene Ritchie — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:06:35 +0000

Verizon gave AT&T a Cartman-esque Roshambo last night with their new, mockingly phrased "there's a map for that" TV commercial, an obvious take off of Apple's "there's an app for that" at the expense of AT&T's smaller 3G coverage footprint.

CDMA has the advantage of covering more territory with fewer towers, though it has some drawbacks too -- like no simultaneous voice and data using current implementations. However, we're not sure how funny a commercial would be showing frustrated Verizon users who's 3G coverage dies every time the phone rings. Then again...

Of course, if Verizon ever gets the iPhone, or the mythical iTablet, we're guessing they'll have to pick another AT&T device to make fun of.

Now excuse AT&T if they go jump up and down a few times, we've heard that can stop the pain and tears...

[via 9to5mac]

Dine, Nature, Pass - Apple's New 75,000 Apps for Just About Anything Commericals

Rene Ritchie — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:29:56 +0000

Apple, evolving on the "App for That" theme that's been the centerpiece of their iPhone commercials for over a year, has released 3 new ads called Dine, Nature, and Pass with the tag line "75,000 apps for just about anything".

Dine features Trip Case [Free - iTunes link], New York Subway '09 [$4.99 - iTunes link], Epicurious Recipes [Free - iTunes link], Zagat to Go '09 [$9.99 - iTunes link], QuickOffice Mobile Office Suite [$9.99 - iTunes link], GAP StyleMixer [Free - iTunes link]
Nature features iXpenseIt [$4.99 - iTunes link], DailyFinance [Free - iTunes link], Guitar Toolkit [$9.99 - iTunes link], Lonely Planet Mandarin [$9.99 - iTunes link], iBird Explorer Plus [$19.99 - iTunes link], Pizza Hut [Free - iTunes link]
Pass features Fandango [Free - iTunes link], G-Park [$0.99 - iTunes link], VocabWiz College Vocabulary [$4.99 - iTunes link], 365 Crosswords [$4.99 - iTunes link], Classics [$2.99 - iTunes link], ABC Animals [$1.99 - iTunes link]

Phew! We get it, Apple is turning up the dial on the app platform promotion. And why not? It's their killer competitive advantage at this point.

New iPhone Ad Has Apps for That Avid Sports Fan with Golfshot GPS, MLB at Bat, TouchSports Tennis

Rene Ritchie — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:22:15 +0000

Apple has begun airing another in their long line of "App for That" iPhone ads, this time with "Avid", targeting sports fans. The ad shows off:

Golfshot GPS [$29.99 - iTunes link]
MLB at Bat 2009 [$9.99 - iTunes link]
TouchSports Tennis 2009 [$0.99 - iTunes link]

Apple typically releases these spots in batches, so we'll keep our eyes peeled for more, and if you see any, let us know.

(Mac fans can also check out the new Get a Mac ads, one of which just might "tick" people off -- haha!)

[Video via Ben.at]

New iPhone "App for That" Ads: Share and Travel

Rene Ritchie — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 03:38:41 +0000

After a brief respite showing off iPhone 3GS features, Apple has returned to their now familiar "App for That" playbook with two new TV spots, one focusing on Share and the other on Travel.

Share shows off photo transfer with Mover [Free - iTunes link], contact transfer with Billionth App Downloaded Bump [Free - iTunes link], and multi-player gaming with Scrabble [$4.99 - iTunes link]

Travel promenades with Rick Steves' Historic Paris Walk [$4.99 - iTunes link], goes underground with Paris Metro 09 [$4.99 - iTunes link], and sends back the fun with Postman [$1.99 - iTunes link]

Apple Unleashes 3 New "There's an App for That" iPhone Commercials

Rene Ritchie — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 02:24:25 +0000

Turned on my TV last night and what did I see? A new iPhone commercial showing off apps to me!

Still on the "There's an App for That" theme, these new commercials are titled Itchy, Office, and Student. Here's the list and the iTunes App Store links:

Itchy features Compass Go ($1.99), iBird Explorer Plus ($19.99), and Howcast (FREE)
Office features Credit Card Terminal ($49.99), Print & Share ($6.99), and FedEx (FREE)
Student features Apartments (FREE), SnapTel (FREE), and Photogene ($2.99)

Interesting mix of premium and FREE price points there Apple! (And thanks for keeping things on the low end for the students). Check them out on Apple.com, and if you like what you see, get yourself to the App Store.

New iPhone App Store Ads... Will Change Everything

Rene Ritchie — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:55:51 +0000

Already seen Dark Knight like 5 times and itching for some new content to fill your Saturday night? Well, if you're into short form, Apple has your fix of three all new, all App Store-focused new iPhone ads.

Featuring Lonely Planet phrases, the Cro-Mag rally game, and the location aware Vicinity app, the ads highlight how quickly and elegantly App Store downloads and installs work (insert your own crash joke here), and how the Phone App is still king -- interrupting your conversation, gaming, and sightseeing whenever a call comes in.

Continuing to showcase function -- almost the polar opposite of the Mac "Switcher" ads -- these make for a pretty smart next step in iPhone marketing, especially when it comes to the new tag line:

This changes everything.