Coolest free iPad apps of the day, for iPhone, iPod Touch too

One of the coolest free iPad apps of the day, for iPhone, iPod Touch too has just arrived in the App Store Tuesday, according to a Nov 5 article in AppCraver. It's called “Tomato Tycoon” and it combines cool animation and fun sounds with simple game app play to generate lots of fun action.

The goal of this cool arcade game is to avoid obstacles and catch as many tomatoes as you can. While “Tomato Tycoon” begins simply, it gets more challenging as you play and more up its 64 levels (there are also mini-games too). Along the way you'll pick-up some cool facts about tomatoes.

Another cool new free app is an Nike app that has just been released to the App Store today. This cool Nike app follows the release of Nike's long-awaited “FuelBand SE”. “FuelBand SE” is a bracelet-style tracker that you wear on your wrist for it to measure how active you are. Well, rather than shell-out the $150.00 for the “FuelBand SE”, you might want to consider this free and cool Nike app that just hit the App Store.

“Nike+Move” captures your every move and motivates you to exercise, just like “FuelBand SE”. The only difference is you don't need to wear a bracelet—and this app is free. This cool app, which is trending very popular, uses the M7 coprocessor in your iPhone 5s to measure your activities. For example, you can see how much you walk or run each day. You can also compare your day to day activities. Because this free app connects to Game Center, you can also challenge your friends to see who exercises more. How cool is this!

“Tomato Tycoon” is compatible with iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch and is optimized for iPhone 5 and requires iOS 5. “Nike+Move” is also compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, is optimized for iPhone 5 and requires iOS 7.

Source: The Examiner

The top iPhone and iPad apps on App Store

App Store Official Charts for the week ending Nov. 4, 2013:

Top Paid iPhone Apps:

1. "Duck Dynasty: Battle of the Beards", A&E Television Networks Mobile

2. "Fantastical 2: Calendars and Reminders Done Right", Flexibits Inc.

3. "Angry Birds Star Wars II", Rovio Entertainment Ltd

4. "Minecraft - Pocket Edition", Mojang

5. "Heads Up!", Warner Bros.

6. "LIMBO Game", Playdead

7. "Plague Inc.", Ndemic Creations

8. "Afterlight", Simon Filip

9. "Oldify 2", Apptly LLC

10. "Free Music Download Pro - Mp3 Downloader", ASPS Apps

Top Free iPhone Apps:

1. "Bitstrips", Bitstrips

2. "Emoji for iOS 7 - Free Emojis Keyboard, Emoticons Pics, Stickers, Smiley Icons and Fonts for Texts, Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp Messages", Tap Nation

3. "NinJump Rooftops", Backflip Studios

4. "Deer Hunter 2014", Glu Games Inc.

5. "YouTube", Google, Inc.

6. "Facebook", Facebook, Inc.

7. "Crazy Shave - Free games", Bluebear Technologies Ltd.

8. "Candy Crush Saga", King.com Limited

9. "BBM", BlackBerry Limited

10. "Snapchat", Snapchat, Inc.

Top Paid iPad Apps:

1. "Minecraft - Pocket Edition", Mojang

2. "Duck Dynasty: Battle of the Beards HD", A&E Television Networks Mobile

3. "Angry Birds Star Wars II", Rovio Entertainment Ltd

4. "LIMBO Game", Playdead

5. "Pixel Gun 3D - Block World Pocket Survival Shooter with Skins Maker for minecraft (PC edition) & Multiplayer", Alex Krasnov

6. "Toca Mini", Toca Boca AB

7. "iMovie", Apple

8. "Pages", Apple

9. "Lep's World 3", nerByte GmbH

10. "Photon Flash Player for iPad - Flash Video & Games plus Private Web Browser", Appsverse Inc.

Top Free iPad Apps:

1. "Bitstrips", Bitstrips

2. "GarageBand", Apple

3. "NinJump Rooftops", Backflip Studios

4. "Calculator for iPad Free", International Travel Weather Calculator

5. "Dots: A Game About Connecting", Betaworks One

6. "YouTube", Google, Inc.

7. "The Great Jitters: Pudding Panic Reloaded HD", kunst-stoff GmbH

8. "DEAD TRIGGER 2", MADFINGER Games, a.s.

9. "Candy Crush Saga", King.comLimited

10. "Deer Hunter 2014", Glu Games Inc.

Source: News Day

Apple's iPad Air can better exploit the A7 chip than the iPhone 5S

Apple's A7 chip has trickled down to the latest iPad Air after being introduced in the iPhone 5S, and users will see more benefits of the 64-bit chip in tablets than in smartphones, analysts say.

The iPad Air will deliver two times the CPU and graphics performance than its predecessor, said Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, during an event in San Francisco where the new tablet was announced.

The A7 chip opens the door "for even more robust and powerful apps" on the iPad Air, Apple wrote on its website. Applications and games will run much faster, Apple said.

The benefit of a 64-bit chip in the iPhone 5S has been intensely debated, but Apple will have to spend less time justifying a 64-bit processor in the iPad Air, analysts said. Some critics have called 64-bit technology marketing hype and overkill for a handset, but more relevant for devices like PCs, servers and, to a lesser extent, tablets.

The benefits of the 64-bit A7 chip will be visible as the iPad Air will be able to run more demanding applications than smartphones. But the results may not be immediate as applications need to be ready to take advantage of the 64-bit features.

"Tablet users can create more content and multitask more on their tablets than phones, and 64 bits helps a lot," said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy, in an email.

The A7 is more justifiable in the 64-bit iPad Air from a value standpoint when compared to smartphones, and the screen size makes a big difference, said Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight 64.

"It's likely you'll be doing video editing on a tablet," Brookwood said. "People who want to do multiperson, interactive games will have a better experience because of the increased [screen] real estate on tablets."

Apple is taking the lead in bringing 64-bit applications to mobile devices. Brookwood, who attended the event, said the company's 64-bit applications like iPhoto and iMovie, which are both on Mac OS and iOS, were demonstrated at the event and were much faster.

The software for the iPad Air needs to be ready to take advantage of the 64-bit features, said Jack Gold, principal analyst at J. Gold Associates. Apple's iOS and developer tools are 64-bit ready, and applications are under development.

"The silicon is almost always out ahead of the software. It was true in PCs, it's true in servers, it's true here," Gold said.

The switch also helps developers, who can start the transition to 64-bit applications. Tablet app developers will likely move faster to 64-bit than iPhone developers, Gold said.

Source: Computer World

iPhone 5s Gold Color Availability: Apple Inc. (APPL) Gold iPhone Named 'Kardashian' Smartphone by Employees, Says Columnist

The gold model of Apple's iPhone 5s reportedly had a nickname to television personality Kim Kardashian.

New York Times Columnist Nick Bilton, on Twitter, made the iPhone-Kardashian claim.

Bilton tweeted, "A source at Apple told me while they were making the gold iPhone it was referred to internally as 'The Kardashian Phone.'"

The codename for the iPhone 5s was not a serious name for the latest Apple smartphone but simply an "internal joke," according to TechCrunch.

Coincidentally, Kardashian tweeted in Dec. 7, 2012, about her new iPhone 5. The difference between her iPhone 5, at the time, was it was anodized in gold.

The reveal about the codename, although Apple Inc. didn't confirm it, comes as the shipment delays for the gold model iPhone 5s were reduced.

As seen on Apple's official website, the gold iPhone 5s has a projected shipment delay of two to three weeks for its 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models, regardless of mobile carrier.

On Apple.com, the 16GB gold iPhone 5s will cost the consumer $199 when signing a two-year contract with AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon Wireless. The 32GB model will cost $299, while the 64GB variant is priced at $399.

With T-Mobile, the prices are different. The 16GB gold iPhone 5s cost $649 contract-free. The 32GB variant is priced at $749 and $849 for the 64GB model.

As Latinos Post reported, Apple announced nine million units of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c were sold during its first weekend on Sept. 20. The Cupertino-based organization didn't reveal specific numbers for the iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c. The nine million units for both phones were four million units more than the first-weekend sales of the iPhone 5 in September 2012, which sold 5 million units.

The features for the iPhone 5s are, for the most part, the same specifications as the discontinued iPhone 5, such as the 4-inch Retina Display with 1,136x640 resolution, 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, 1080p HD video recording camera, to name a few.

The iPhone 5s, however, features a larger f/2.2 aperture for the rear-facing camera with the aim of improving low-light photography. The iPhone 5s utilizes the A7 processor chip with 64-bit architecture, which plays a critical role with the Touch ID.

Via: Latinos Post

iPhone 5s Touch ID Thrusts Biometric Security into the Spotlight

Since the release of the iPhone 5s and its built-in fingerprint scanner, Touch ID, biometric security has been a topic of discussion on social media, in the news and around the water cooler. Everyone is wondering whether Apple’s decision to bring biometric security to the smartphone could make the technology as ubiquitous as the PINs for ATM transactions.

Although Apple is not the first company to use fingerprint scanning as an authentication method, it is responsible for one of the most high-profile biometric security initiatives in recent times.

Security vs. Convenience

Using your fingerprint may be easier than punching in a passcode, but many security professionals wonder whether the convenience is worth the security risks. A fingerprint is just one type of biometric technology that can be used to verify one’s identity. Unfortunately, prints are left on pretty much any surface touched.

The Chaos Computer Club went to great lengths to hack the Touch ID system, and although the hackers were successful, the operation proved to be quite complex. The group outlined its process as follows:

"First, the residual fingerprint from the phone is either photographed or scanned with a flatbed scanner at 2400 dpi. Then the image is converted to black & white, inverted and mirrored. This image is then printed onto transparent sheet at 1200 dpi. To create the mold, the mask is then used to expose the fingerprint structure on photo-sensitive PCB material.

The PCB material is then developed, etched and cleaned. After this process, the mold is ready. A thin coat of graphite spray is applied to ensure an improved capacitive response. This also makes it easier to remove the fake fingerprint. Finally a thin film of white wood glue is smeared into the mold. After the glue cures the new fake fingerprint is ready for use."

Discussions about security and convenience are often directed at the user, but those features are of interest to the hacker as well. The above process might be successful, but the resources involved in securing a high-resolution copy of someone’s fingerprint (without his or her knowledge) and assembling all of the necessary material to reproduce the fingerprint make this type of breach an unattractive option for most hackers.

How Secure Is Touch ID?

Some say Touch ID is “more secure than a short code” because everyone has a unique set of fingerprints. According to Apple, after five failed attempts with the wrong print, Touch ID will not work; instead, a passcode will be needed to gain access to the device. Also, despite concerns that smartphone thieves would go on a finger-snatching spree, the user must present the fingerprint from the correct live finger in order to access the device, so pictures of prints will not work on the sensor, according to a report from Mashable.

On the other hand, there is a possibility that cyberhackers could use sinister iPhone apps to obtain the print from the chip. Little discussion about this potential breach has taken place, but the opportunity for the hack is present, according to a report from ZDNet.

If worrying about these scenarios sounds paranoid, consider the fact that our lives are increasingly becoming digital. Losing a phone is no longer about just the device; it’s also about the personal data the phone carries.

So while there’s no doubting the cool factor of fingerprint authentication, there’s also no doubting the appetite for fingerprint fiascos.

Source: Biz Tech Magazine

Oyster Brings 'Netflix for E-Books' App to iPad, Opens to Public

A little more than a month after launching an iPhone app in invitation-only beta, Oyster is making its e-book subscription service available to all users and expanding to iPad.

Oyster charges $9.95 a month for access to more than 100,000 books from big and small publishers, but it now offers users one free month with the hope of getting more people to try the app experience. The startup declined to provide data on the number of users or books read during the beta period, but noted that 1 million pages were read in the first 10 days the app was available and another million pages were read in the following six days.

"When people first sign on to the [iPhone] app, they engage with several titles and when they find what they want, they generally stick with that from start to finish," Eric Stromberg, cofounder of Oyster, told Mashable in a recent interview. "With the iPad, what we are really hoping for is that people might spend an hour just browsing through books in the same way that you do your local bookshop or local library."

The iPad app very similarly to the iPhone app, but with more of an emphasis on using the screen's extra real estate to enhance the browsing experience. Oyster highlights books in different categories, similar to Netflix, shows which books your friends are reading on the service and lets readers flip through pages by scrolling up and down or tapping on the side of the page.

Just in the few weeks since Oyster unveiled the beta version of its app, the so-called "Netflix for e-books" space has grown noticeably more crowded. Scribd, the popular document sharing service, jumped into the ring earlier this month with a slightly cheaper ebook subscription service — $8.99 per month — but an undisclosed number of books to read.

Trip Adler, Scribd's cofounder and CEO, described the new e-book service as a logical extension of its subscription option for premium documents and argued that Scribd's more established brand made it a stronger contender to dominate what he sees as being a multi-billion dollar market.

"Netflix is worth about $18 billion. Spotify is worth about $3 billion," Adler told us at the time. "I don't see why there isn't a similar opportunity in this space."

Stromberg appeared to be unfazed by Scribd's entrance into the market. "It's no surprise that other people see that same opportunity that we see," he said. "But the space is very early."

When asked whether he too believes e-book subscriptions could be a multi-billion dollar market, Stromberg had a more cautious answer than Adler. "We have aspirations for our company and certainly look to other companies like Netflix, one of the largest technology companies in the world, and see that as a great indicator that a company like ours can grow."

Oyster has raised $3 million to date from Founders Fund and plans to build out its service on other platforms in the future.

Source: Mashable

Obvious Engineering’s Seene app lets you create and share 3D photos on the iPhone

Computer vision R&D startup Obvious Engineering has released Seene, an iPhone app that aims to be a “3D Instagram” by using depth capture technology to let you create photos with a parallax effect.

Seene records an image from four different angles in order to generate its 3D images. The recording process has a steep learning curve, but the results are quite cool. If you’ve captured your subject properly, you’ll be able to rotate your phone to view the scene from different angles.

The technology has a number of limitations. You’ll only be able to rotate around the image by a few degrees, and some objects capture better than others. Sometimes the app would have trouble differentiating between the subject and the background, resulting in a trippy blending effect that would do things like bend a wall onto a person’s head. Plain, transparent or reflective surfaces won’t photograph well in Seene.

The Seene app includes social networking functionality that lets you follow other users and favorite their photos.

“We think this can have a very large number of users. our intention is to grow a social service like a Vine or an Instagram,” Obvious Engineering co-founder and CEO Andrew McPhee said in an interview.

Seene uses a proprietary file format for photos, but you will be able to view your posts on the Web and embed them on Tumblr. The format is compatible with Safari, Firefox and Chrome on the desktop. Seene images should also be viewable on the latest build of Chrome on Android, which includes WebGL support. The team says it has plans to release an Android app in the future.

In its current implementation, Seene is a nifty app to show off to your friends. The tricky recording process is bound to discourage a lot of mainstream users, but Obvious Engineering may have a “3D Instagram” on its hands if it can smooth out the learning curve.

Via: The Next Web