Author Archive: henry

These two brilliant new mobile video game app releases offer both the serious gamers an opportunity at having a great laugh, while simultaneously tempt the avid crowd involved in comedy style gaming into cracking less of the laugh to instead pop off a few shots at moving targets while trying to assist their secret agent.

Lost Socks: Naughty Brothers recently received an early release into the App Store, this offers aficionados of run n’ gun style play a perfect opportunity to follow on with exciting action from the developers of earlier classics that quickly reached cult status such as Rayman and Earthworm Jim. The Lost Socks early release can be downloaded from the App Store at $4.99, so players can quickly get into the main focus of finding the lost sock, while fighting the nibbles, only to later go on an defeat the powerful boss. Its heroic excitement can be found spread across 30 game levels chock-full of an impressive variety of game characters, obstacles, bonuses, as well as colourful playing locations, while obviously keeping becoming a dyed- in-the-wool hero at front of mind!

All hard-core video gaming fans will fall in love with this little gem, while still offering casual gamers a highly enjoyable action set despite the fact that gameplay may prove to be a little tough to the casual crowd. Gameplay is true to the developer’s reputation stupendously varied, with players completing each individual challenge in their own distinctive way. Even the most hard-core and demanding video gamers will be satisfied and challenged by the in game obstacles and tasks. The developer sticking true to form requests, requires, or needs no irritating in-game purchases, which makes gameplay thoroughly immersive.

Secret Agent: Istanbul offers players a new shot at the latest in their favourite series of FPS, FMV, real action puzzlers. This game’s unique style of presentation literally takes players on an adventure through real-life, the game achieves this by utilising interactive puzzles that are then blended with full motion video scenes in this upcoming new mobile videogame app. It will rush you a frantic pace right across the width and breadth of Istanbul where players will be required to identify secretive passcodes while solving numerous interactive puzzlers.

One of the Android operating system’s primary strengths lies in the absolute simplicity that makes up the architecture of its user interface. Navigating amongst screens, menus, and options is an exercise in user-friendliness; however, what if it could be made even faster and easier? The answer is Easy App Switcher or EAS provides an easy shortcut menu via its floating icon on your home screen that allows users to swap seamlessly at will between their two most recently used applications.

Simply put, it will allow you to instantly swap between two programs without the need to continuously open and close to different programs by simply tapping the button. Users even have the option of adding their favourite applications, which would then also appear if you decide to wipe across this button.

Any other similar process takes two or more opening and closing of programs to accomplish same as EAS accomplishes with a single tap of a single button, for instance when you’re busy in your browser and wish to swap to another app cannot use the return button and simply cause Chrome to display the previous page. You are forced to access the recent apps menu, which works fine, but represents another two-step process.

EAS renders the two-step process obsolete delivering to the user the capacity to swap between any two apps of their choice quickly, easily, and seamlessly in a single move. In contrast, Easy App Switcher simply refuses to load a number of apps that sonnets exclusions list, these apps will never be compatible to its app switching interface.

In addition, EAS will with a simple swipe across its floating icon reveal a full history of all your recently accessed apps, in a nifty move its users will find it interface to be fully customisable. Offering them the ability to increase or decrease its size and translucency to suit their personal requirements.

Despite its tiny size and incredibly easy operation, the one thing that all of these floating icon top apps have in common is that they may very easily get in the way when working on a home page that is already full to the brim.

Over the years, music rendered to mobile devices and its related technologies made tremendous leaps in advancement to deliver studio quality products and tunes to audiophiles worldwide. The developers of the two apps discussed below each offer a brilliant new insight and solution to the two largest hardware and software platforms manufacturers in an effort to improve both the user’s understanding as well as their listening pleasure.

Architecture of Radio aimed at iPhone users is available at $2.99 from the Apple Store. The app provides an extremely enlightening tool whereby users can visualise a graphical rendition of their digital communications network surrounding them in an artistic, yet simple to use interface. The current version does not feature any form of functionality to improve reception or connectivity, it simply provides a means of better understanding of emissions from satellites, cellular towers, as well as Wi-Fi routers around them.

Architecture of Radio is a beautiful, fascinating iPhone app that reveals the landscape advancing technology surrounding the user that turns their Smartphones into a window illustrating the user’s normally invisible Infosphere surrounding them. The app visualises the normally invisible network emitted by routers, cellular reception towers, observation, and navigation satellites that has become essential for the effective operation of any current day smart mobile devices. The app does not serve as a detection tool for radio wave emissions, it simply utilises a database containing map locations of all pertinent devices relative to the user’s mobile device location at the time.
Consequently it cannot assist you in connecting or improving connections, but it serves as a rather ingenious educational tool to improve the visualisation and introduction of the unseen world to the uninitiated, helping them to improve the understanding of the global communications grid.

The Architecture of Radio is unique in comparison to any other app, its imaginative concept proves to be quite similar to the augmented reality world that overlays a number of datasets and other pertinent content over the top of maps, camera feeds, and other virtual renditions of the physical world.

Apple Music became available as a 90 day free trial on Google’s Play Store where after the ad free version becomes a necessary requirement at $9.99 allowing distribution of the great majority of Apple’s iTunes song library to Android users worldwide, delivering Apple’s Beats 1 radio station as well as numerous exclusive albums. Early reports made the developers aware of a number of dissatisfied clients complaining of the app’s annoying installation and bugginess; additional reviews reported the absence of a number of major song titles, and requested duration to be more specialised, while also complaining of its sub-par social media features.

Apple Music delivers a performance similar to that found on iOS via its newfound Android platformed app, but lost something in translation from its Apple ecosystem origins, which considering its origins issued to be fixed very soon. Despite the early reports, the app still remains quite worthwhile due to the newfound depth and range of content delivers to Android users.

Ever wonder how tall the Space Shuttle or at the Saturn V rocket that went to the moon stands, even if you knew the answer is difficult to imagine the true scale of these grandiose attestations of man’s ingenuity in science and mechanical engineering. How do you explain the size of a giant redwood tree to your kids, if they are not some of the lucky few who have never seen one of these ancient natural wonders? Struggle no more, two apps provide the perfect solution to the two above problems as well as a number of others that may even intrigue the most disinterested among us.

Universal Zoom from Tony Hoffman is for the moment purely iOS focused, and explores the scale of all types of objects on our planet, which allows users to perceive a relative scale on objects that may interest them. The Universal Zoom app allows you to explore and compare the relative sizes of a variety of objects as well as the distances between them, the subject matter includes the tiniest mammals and ranges through the Empire State building. The app provides a visual illustration of a representative objects by depicting relatively skilled individual sizes in a visual comparison, the app provides an excellent option for curious laymen, or students, or even educating kids on the world around them. Users can select from a variety of approximately 200 creatures and objects by simply clicking on them, where after a voice recites the label text, if a user has no specific subject in mind they can simply scroll around in the app fire its explore button. Using the app brave explorers have discovered that 20 walruses can travel lengthwise in a new Airbus A380, though ticket costs might be slightly too high for the average walrus.

Cosmic Zoom is another rendition of Tony Hoffman’s iOS app that delivers similar functionality to its Universal Zoom app discussed above, but this time focuses on the scale of bodies in the vast universe we live in. Its range of featured objects include zooming in to the beauty of its amazing microscopic world or get a read on the distances into the farthest reaches of galactic space by simply allowing your fingers to run across its explorer function, or utilising its handy pop-up menus. All views feature augmented explanatory video and text.

Facebook recently released some major behind-the-scenes news announcing that they intend to integrate SMS functionality soon. Currently only a few selected Facebookers are privy to these new changes without any means to turn the service on and off. The social media giant currently seemingly keeps itself busy with the field-testing of this and other potential newfound features prior to instituting a final integration.

In addition, during the early part of February Facebook included Instagram, its photo centric social media platform, in its current list of rollouts with the latest updates and improvements providing the photo monger with a newfound capacity for multi-account support. However, heading the current news is the fact that earlier this month a few glimpses of new improvements to Facebook Messenger suggested it may receive multiple account support, which allows its users to get into swapping between multiple personas. The new improvements included the ability to swap between accounts while in app, which has in the meantime become an official announcement. Facebook now makes it easy for its users to stay in touch with friends and family, as well as making it easier to contact covert friends you may not wish to introduce to your parents, or covertly communicate to the world what the voices only you can hear is saying that day.

The company revealed via one of their announcement posts on Facebook the details behind this new functionality, which aims to primarily target users sharing a single mobile device. The company developed the newly included functionality while keeping the needs of these types of clientele in mind, which focuses on maintaining their personal privacy. Messenger will naturally have the option to always require passwords to access the chats of any additional accounts, where after it will swap to the particular profile matching that password. Enabling this option will prevent any previewing of messages in the notifications bar.

f.lux is a new sleep-aiding app that is soon to arrive on the Android platform. Unfortunately, it will not be for everybody since it requires root access, which voids all manufacturer’s warranties on the rooted device. Extensive scientific testing proved blue light keeps humans awake, which would prove to be extremely useful during daytime to keep us focused and mentally boosted by light emitted at the blue end of the visible light spectrum. In contrast the same blue light as proved to be uniquely detrimental to human sleep patterns according to Psychology Today.

Both LG and Samsung debuted their brand-new high-end devices this weekend, with the G5 and S7 each delivering their own particular brand of modern technological magic and soon to find homes with doting new owners. The owners of these new devices will undoubtedly want to augment their list of ever-ready trusted standby apps with brand-new equally capable software to flaunt the capabilities of the new hardware to the fullest, the below will undoubtedly assist in doing so. To those of us not yet ready to swap for one of these brand-new devices will have to pacify ourselves with brand-new software that just may be equally innovative on our current mobile devices.

Two of the latest apps to surface include MyShake that will turn any smart phone into a mobile earthquake detector and Everalbum delivers cloud-based storage tool that makes presentation of your digital media far less tedious.

MyShake allows users living with the ever present threat in territories plagued by earthquakes to contribute by acting as an early quake detection system that might just save lives. MyShake, a new app developed by the UC Berkeley Seismological Laboratory uses your smart phones motion sensors to detect the highly distinct vibration patterns that are the precursors to an upcoming quake. Due to the very specific and distinct vibration patterns, running and other daily activities will not set off its alarm bells.

The app requires minimal resources and continuously runs in the background only to activate when detecting the correct vibration patterns whereafter it will send an alert to the team at UC Berkeley. Currently your app serves as an assistive tool in helping to drive the team’s research into earthquakes and their early detection, already with in excess of 100,000 downloads. The team hopes to create a blanketing network of mobile earthquake sensors that may be instrumental in detecting future quakes earlier and faster to enable an improved early warning system that may just assist in allowing people enough time to get out of the affected area.

Everalbum performs automatic backups of smart phone media to cloud, additionally adults with the clearing out of on device media in an effort to preserve space. Digital media accumulates on modern mobile devices at an alarming rate, quickly turning digital media’s ease-of-use blessing into a curse unless you have the correct assistive app installed. Everalbum is now here on Android to accomplish just such a task after quickly becoming a chart topper on iOS. It not only backs up and curates all user phone footage, it also centralises and stores all forms of imagery that hangs around in the nooks and crannies of smart devices. This includes media found in other cloud and similar service receptacles.

Why educational apps, because both adults and children should continually improve their mental faculties, which is the exact purpose educational Apps aim to accomplish. These apps assist you in mastering certain skills and numerous parents utilise their knowledge to assist their kids in getting their projects, homework, and studying done timeously and accurately. A multitude of apps covers the complete subject range including spelling, maths, geography, vocabulary, and a number of others, while also providing just about all educational requirements across the complete spectrum of age groups by adhering to factors such as age appropriateness, compatibility, and new educational enhancements.

Lumosity, flaunted by its developers as the ultimate brain-training app offers it users hundreds of small-scale games assistive in the development of improved analytical and thinking skills even to adults. The app compiled by neuroscientists from Lumo Labs deliver its variety of puzzles all geared to the development and improvement of each of our individual types of cognitive abilities including memory, brain speed, problem-solving, attention span, and flexibility. The app allows the user to choose their own preferred learning subjects that all game based, but focused on the particular skill the user wishes to improve. Each game comes categorised, as part of a course together with a personalised recommendation specifying the number of games that individual users should engage in every day. Its format of core brain-training assists with the development in all areas of the brain, designed as a generalised course while advanced trainers who already completed its core course, gain from advanced courses in order to achieve peak performance.

King of Math from Oddrobo focuses on aiding both adults and children; it offers a variety of math disciplines that incorporates a number of varied methods of learning these disciplines. The app also proposes numerous thousands of pertinent questions to assist in honing your skills and testing your knowledge. Users can keep track of and are motivated via the earning of stars and points, while meeting numerous interesting characters responsible for developing math throughout history along their way.

Leading social games developer Zynga ended 2015 without any major surprises in their continual uphill climb to again attain the gaming powerhouse status the developer once enjoyed. As expected the company saw no major growth at the end of 2015 due to a relative scarcity of new games releases, instead suffered a general decline in support amongst gamers in all mobile categories.

Zynga’s has mobile as its core focus as it continues its slog through 2016; however, on the brighter side the developer in 10 shipping at least 10 new video gaming titles in the remainder of this year. According to the latest reports the company currently already has six in the field as part of their soft launch.

The social gaming giant will launch new titles but fall in a number of categories that includes Invest Express (farm builders), Match-3, Action Strategy, and their specialty Social Casino. Some titles are worth getting excited about because they stand out hidden shoulders above the rest, the ones that are potentially new rising stars include CSR Racing 2, Dawn of Titans, and once again Farmville 2: Country Escape will be a successor the ever popular Farmville that garnered the company such great amongst social casino gamers.

The new titles will launch at as yet undisclosed release dates continuing throughout 2016, with a quality of new games providing Zynga with high hopes assist in regaining some of their lost traction and provide some form of predictability in the company growth and revenues.

Zynga’s hopes are pinned on the following games it plans to release in 2016; CityVille Mobile, Crazy Cake Swap, CSR Racing 2, Dawn of Titans, Farmville 2: Country Escape, Spin It Rich!, True Vegas, Vegas Diamond Slots, Willy Wonka Slots, as well as Wizard of Oz (Match-3).

Established in July 2007 with its headquarters in San Francisco, CA, USA, Zynga specialises in the development of stand-alone social games on mobile platforms including Android, Windows Phone, and iOS. Its products distributed via its own website at zynga.com, as well as social network sites such as Tencent QQ, Google +, and Facebook.

Nintendo announced the release of their first app for mobile gaming sometime this coming March, and in anticipation of their encouraging new for a into mobile gaming platforms, Android as well as iOS smart phone users will in the near future have the capacity to interact with their friends and acquaintances by creating and customising their personal Mii character avatars. Despite their latest rendering not being a stand-alone mobile game it certainly compliments the other Nintendo gaming platforms including 3DS and the Wii U, since users will be able to import the characters directly into the mobile app. Mii character avatar customisation is will include personality, and facial features, and surprisingly even a personal voice. Nintendo app users can even earn additional rewards by registering early for a MyNintendo account. The app’s initial launch during March will only occur in select countries, and only on Android and iOS, this signifies a strong foretelling of a massive increase in Nintendo’s presence in the mobile market during the upcoming years after their partnering-up with DeNA.

iOS users can already download and install Stellar Wanderer, a fantastic space opera completely set in its cosmic sized open world universe. Players are able to choose a path that best suits their playing style, which allows them to continue growing their skills in becoming a trader, fighter, engineer, or tank with each career delivering its own set of special abilities and bonuses. Players can also choose to either just follow its main storyline or alternatively opt to complete numerous side missions they would prefer to play, or just continue mining for resources or even becoming one of the most dangerous pirate clans in this galaxy spanning adventure.

Blackwell 5: Epiphany on intro delivers players into a great adventure showcase that sees a dead man’s soul crying out against the ferocious force of a deadly blizzard. He soon screams for assistance, while crying for answers. A short screech is a precursor to him being torn apart like so much damp tissue paper, and this was not the first time, and it will not be the last such occurrence. The police remain powerless in the face of such evil, so the weight falls upon the shoulders of the only forces able to do so. The question remains kind of force could be this powerful and yet still this malevolent that it is willing and seeking to destroy the very existence and core of each life in its quest to attain what it seeking for.

One of the most crucial decisions, when journeying to any new haven where the traveller is not in full command of his or her chosen destination’s local language, is the choice of app to do your translations for you. Selecting the correct translation app is of paramount importance since unintended insulting remarks could lead to a disastrous cultural faux pas that could lend the traveller in hot water or even in jail.

Google Play Store a smorgasbord of translation apps; however, because they vary greatly in accuracy and quality the apps under discussion below highlights the best in this category so that nothing is lost in translation (pun intended).

Language Translator, a free app from Clave Gandora performs the best when you require a quick translation. The developer created the app focusing on ease-of-use and such succeeded admirably, which also makes it a perfect match for beginners due to its simplistic interface. It offers only two translation formats, speaking and typing both of which deliver quick translation results. The interface provides relatively large control buttons with flags displayed next to them that make it easy to distinguish between languages, together with its large font size makes for quick reading of your translation. Any app achieving in excess of 1 million downloads that still manages to score a 4.4 rating by its users must be excellent.

PONS Online Dictionary provides a myriad of free apps as well as a number of paid ones. It is the best of its kind since it is essentially a dictionary featuring translation functions. It performs best when looking for an in-depth description on individual words, which can come in real handy since words can quite often have a variety of different meanings. PONS delivers a number of options displayed in its uncomplicated UI, with a descriptor as well as an indicator of word type use such as nouns and adjectives. It instantly translates and displays the translation in a split screen fashion next to the originating language, provides users with an improved understanding of each word in both the desired languages, which incidentally also makes it an excellent teaching tool.

With all that said, any user that requires a solid multifunction translator app would be wise to keep Google Translate on their phone’s back burner… Just in case!