Preview of iOS 7
Apple just announced a totally redesigned iOS 7. It has a new interface and an elegant flat design. Tim Cook stated, “It’s the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the iPhone.” Here is a video preview of it as well as some more information on the new features.
Control Center – This gives you quick access to the things you need right away. You can quickly swipe up from any screen and turn Wi-Fi on or off, switch to Airplane mode, or adjust the brightness of your display. you can also quickly turn on a flashlight. No more flashlight apps needed.
Updated Notification Center – You can now access this from any screen including the lock screen.
Multitasking – Just got a whole lot smarted. It learns when you use your apps and updates them before you even check them all while maintaining great battery life. Also you have a live display off every app you are running. This was taken from the jailbreaking community as well. (Auxo)
Camera – The camera app also got a complete overhaul. You can quickly swipe to access the different camera modes including, video, photo, square, and panorama. Apple also integrated built in filters so you can quickly change the look of pictures without having to use a different application.
Photos- The photos app also received a redesign that makes it faster, easier, and more delightful to scroll down memory lane. It will organize your pictures into collections based on the location and time the pictures were taken. iCloud Photo Sharing was also introduced, so you and your friends can all contribute to shared photostreams.
AirDrop – Just like AirDrop on the Mac, you can now droop photos or documents directly to friends via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. All the transfers are encrypted so you know you documents are safe.
Safari – Safari has also been improved that makes browsing bigger, better, and more beautiful in iOS 7. there is now a unified smart search field that will automatically suggest the closest match to what you’re looking for to help you find the webpage fast. The Tab view has also been redesigned and makes browsing through tabs super easy. You can also have more than just 8 tabs now. One of my favorite features is iCloud Keychain that is basically a replacement for 1Password or other password managers. It will sync with the cloud so you will always have access to your saved passwords and other information. It also features 256-bit AES encryption to keep your info secure.
iTunes Radio - This is basically Apple’s version of Pandora. It lets you create custom playlists and is free via ads. iTunes Match users get an ad free experience.
Siri – Siri has been updated with a new look, new sound, and new capabilities. The biggest difference you will notice is the voice. You can now choose between a male and a female and the voice no longer sounds like a robot. It sound much more natural and makes it easier to understand. You can also use Siri to shut off Wi-Fi, play voicemail, and more.
App Store- The App Store has also been improved and no longer will you have to worry about doing app updates. It will do them automatically in the background. You will also notice new categories for kids, so parents can easily find apps based on their age group. You can also see whats popular based on your location.
Find My iPhone – Find My iPhone now features even more security in iOS 7 and will help deter theft. Now turning off Find My iPhone or erasing the device requires your Apple ID and password so that they cannot reactivate it until the correct information is imputed. Now your iPhone will be save no matter where it is.
iOS 7 is currently in beta and is available on the iPhone right now for developers. The iPad iOS 7 beta will be available in a few weeks and general availability of iOS 7 will be in the Fall.
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Review: Raindrop Rush for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch
A friend of mine just introduced me to a very fun game for iOS called Raindrop Rush, developed by, Kimaniere Apps. It is a completely different game than anything out there and is super addicting. The object of the game is to control a raindrop as it is falling down the screen. On your way you will want to pick up power-ups that will help grow your raindrop and increase the speed.
You will have just 30 seconds to travel as far as possible and pick up as many points as possible. Picking up the green power-ups will increase your time and picking up blue power-ups with increase your size, which in turn increase your speed.
On your way down you will want to avoid the bugs. They will slow you down and you will lose points. Throughout the game there is also random lightning strikes that shake the screen and slow you down. During this time you are bound to run into bugs and lose points, so watch out!
The game is controlled by tilting the screen, so its very easy to control and there are no buttons you have to press.
Once your time has run out you will be presented with a screen that shows off your distance, points, and total points. You can share these statistics with friends through email, Facebook, and Twitter. You will also be able to see your lifetime stats and highest scores as well has how you rank via GameCenter.
Overall I would have to say this is an awesome game and very fun to play. The graphics are very well done and the sounds are nicely done as well. You can hear rain in the background, but you have the option to disable it as well.
Raindrop Rush is currently priced at $0.99 and is on the front page of my iPhone and iPad. My wife and I have been competing against each other trying to beat the high scores. Go and check this game out. I highly recommend it!
Incoming search terms:
- raindrop rush
Review: Dungeon Wagon 3D for iOS
Dungeon Wagon 3D, developed by Game Scorpion Inc., is a FREE puzzle/maze game for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Your object is to complete the maze before the time runs out and collect gears on your way.
This is a very simple and easy to play game. It features over 25 levels of fun puzzle like mazes. To control the magical wagon you just slide your finger to the direction you want to travel. You can slide either Up, Down, Left, or Right. The controls are fairly easy to use but I did notice that they were a bit difficult at times. Sometimes it would not recognize which direction I actually wanted to go. This could be a bug on the iPhone 5 though. I notice that the app has not been updated to take advantage of the iPhone 5 and I am sure the developers are working on that and will release an update soon.
With the gears that you collect you use them to unlock other levels and worlds. If for some reason you do not have enough gears to unlock the next level you can either replay the level or purchase more gears via in-app purchases.
Overall I would have to say the 3D graphics are pretty good. They just need to be updated for the iPhone 5. The music is very well done and not distracting at all. You can purchase Dungeon Wagon 3D on the Apple App Store for the very low price of FREE. It is ad supported and and some times can be a bit annoying. Since the game is free the developers need to get paid. If you are into maze games the Dungeon Wagon 3D is an app you should check out.
Review: BabyPing Secure Wi-Fi Baby Monitor for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch
One of my friends who is expecting a baby very soon asked me if I knew anything about cameras or baby monitors that could work with her iPhone. I told her I was not that familiar with them but would try and get a few of the popular products to review. Recently BabyPing sent us their Wi-Fi baby monitor for us to do a review on.
In this review I will go over the positives and negatives of the BabyPing Wi-Fi baby monitor and explain why it is one of the best baby monitors on the market today. First off, having a newborn baby is a major change in your life and you want to make sure everything is perfect so that you can take the absolute best care of your child. Having a baby monitor tied to your cell phone makes your life that much easier. Since almost everyone has a cellphone with them or within a few feet at all times of the day, integrating the baby monitor into the phone makes perfect sense.
Nobody likes to carry multiple devices, this is why we have seen the smartphone evolve into one of the most important devices in our lives. It has replaced PDAs, calculators, portable gaming systems, and much much more, combining them all into one device. Just as Apple says, “There is an app for that,” there really is an app to monitor your baby at all times and from anywhere in the word.
Since I do not currently have a baby at home that I needed to monitor for this review, I decided to setup the camera to watch our dogs who are basically our little babies. I opened the package which was very well designed and everything was very well organized. Inside the box you will receive: the BabyPing camera, a power adapter with US/UK/EU adapters, a monitor stand, 1m network cable, cable clips, mounting screws & feet, as well as easy to follow instructions.
If for some reason you are having a hard time with the instructions, you can always jump onto the BabyPing website and watch their tutorial videos. I am guessing most people can figure it out because setup was super easy. All you have to do is download the BabyPing application from the App Store, plug the Ethernet cable into your router, plug the power supply into the wall and camera, and then follow the onscreen instructions.
At first I was expecting the app to find the camera via Wi-Fi, but soon learned that you had to plug the Ethernet cable into your router and then it would save the Wi-Fi settings to the camera. If I would of read the instructions first I would of caught this. Overall setup took only a few minutes and the video feed was live.
Inside the app you have a few different options including a SmartFilter and Night vision. The SmartFilter, when set to on, allows you to only hear you baby crying and will filter out other loud sounds. If you set the SmartFilter to off, you will hear everything. With this feature, you can now sleep comfortably since the device will just alert when your baby has started crying.
Also within the app settings is the ability to set Night vision to Automatic, always on, or always off. Having control over the Night vision is a great feature as you may have a darker room but do not want the camera to automatically switch over to Night vision. Speaking of Night vision, this camera provides an amazing image with Night vision off as well as on. It can be completely dark in the room and it will look as though a light is still on in the room.
I do want to mention that the BabyPing app that you download from the App Store will only work on your Wi-Fi network. If you want to view the camera from anywhere in the world or share the video feed with Grandma and Grandpa, you will have to download the app BabyPing+. This will allow you to set up a secure password and you can limit the access to certain people keeping your camera secure.
Currently the applications work on all iOS devices that I have tested, but they have not been optimized for the iPhone 5. The BabyPing+ application works just fine, but seems to be a bit buggy. I am sure the developers will have an updated copy out soon, so this should not deter you from purchasing this camera.
One of the best features of the BabyPing application is that you can monitor your baby and still use your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch at the same time. You can exit out of the app and it will continue to run in the background. If there are any errors with your connection or camera, you will get a push notification so you can immediately check to see what is wrong.
The only issues I had with the BabyPing Wi-Fi Baby Monitor is that you must have reliable internet access. If you have a weak wireless signal you will want to run a network cable directly from the camera to your modem/router. When using the application to watch video, you will want to be aware that there will be a slight delay due to network speed. It is a very slight delay, but something you should be aware of.
Overall the BabyPing Wi-Fi Baby monitor is an excellent choice for those who want to stay connected to their baby and not have to worry about extra devices and for those who want the ability to monitor their baby from an iOS device. It is great for parents who are at work and want to check-in to see how baby is doing with the spouse or babysitter. With the Instant Connect feature, you can keep in touch with your baby anytime you want.
BabyPing – Secure Wi-Fi Baby Monitor for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch works over 3G, 4G or WiFi is currently priced on the BabyPing website for $199.99, but you can get it onsale right now via Amazon for $179.99. This is a must have app for parents and I would highly recommend it. Once your baby is grown up and out of the crib, you can use the camera to monitor your house or find other uses for a Wi-Fi camera. It is definitely worth the investment and should be on the top of your baby registry list if you are expecting parents.
There is not a thing that can ever compare to the joy and happiness that the presence of a baby can bring to one’s life. Parents will always want to see their bundle of joy every now and then just to make sure that he or she is safe. What better way to do that than by using a Wi-Fi baby monitor.
Review Longcat 3D for iPhone and iPad
Longcat 3D, developed by jaboston, is a fun shooting game based off of Internet memes. Your objective as a cool looking long cat is to blast through everything in your way including some epic bosses.
Throughout your journey you will get to enjoy some very radical music and witness some of the most popular memes from the internet. This game was specifically made for the internet by the internet. When I first saw it reddit came to my mind. This communities loves cats and memes and this game fits right in with that crowd.
Continuing on throughout the game your object is to collect hearts to increase your health and cheeseburgers for points. In the end your goal is to survive the longest and get the most points. You will also be able to pick up a handful of different weapons to make shooting things a lot easier.
With the burgers your collect you can take them to the cat house which lets you equip some very cool items to stylize your longcat. If you find an item that costs more burgers that you have you can enter the burger shop to make an in-app purchase to get those desired items.
If you enjoy cats and memes you will enjoy this game, the music and sound effects are great and the controls are simple and easy to use. Just till your device from side to side to move and press the button to shoot.
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