Tag Archives: Google

Six iOS apps you need right now

Posted by on November 29, 2012 No comments

Six iOS apps you need right now

This collection of apps has both old and new offerings, but every one of them is perfect for checking out a brand-new iOS device over the holidays.

If you’re going to be buying (or receiving) a new iOS device over the holidays, you’re going to want to grab the hottest apps to see what the App Store has to offer. But with close to 750,000 apps available, it can be a bit daunting to figure out which ones to choose.

To get you started, I put together a list of apps that include both all-time hits and up-and-coming new software. Each of these is available for iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, and give you a sampling of what your new iOS device can do.

PhotoToaster

PhotoToaster
There are a ton of photo-editing apps in the App Store with some made for social networks such as Instagram, and others that offer more features for tweaking your images. But in a sea of photo-editing apps, PhotoToaster is a great place to start.

PhotoToaster has long been a favorite of mine with easy-to-use basic editing tools, tons of effects you can preview by tapping your finger, and other handy tools to enhance parts of your images for the best look possible. When you’re finished tweaking your photo, you can save it, e-mail it, send it via text message or to one of many social networking sites, and even make it into a physical post card.

Angry Birds Star Wars

Angry Birds Star Wars
Angry Birds is easily the most popular game of all time on iOS devices and — once you play this cute and addictive sequel — you’ll immediately see why. The simple concept of flinging birds into structures and causing the most damage possible is easy to understand and enjoy whether you’re 8 years old or 80.

While an Angry Birds game might be an obvious choice for a list like this one, Angry Birds Star Wars really impressed me beyond what I thought it could using more than just a “Star Wars” backdrop. New “Star Wars”-themed bird types, music from the movies, and intricately designed levels make this game an excellent choice, even without the popular gaming franchise that came before it.

Netflix

Netflix
Like the Angry Birds games, Netflix has been available for a long time, but it’s simply way too good to pass up on a new iOS device.

While you only get the limited streaming library from Netflix, having instant access to TV shows, movies, documentaries, and more on your iOS device is amazingly useful. Whether you’re out and about, on a trip, or just want to catch a quick episode of your favorite show, Netflix streams are high definition and smooth for an enjoyable viewing experience.

Fayve

Fayve
While I have already included Netflix in this list, not everyone has a Netflix account. But this new movie-browsing app takes a different angle on movie viewing and discovery that covers most popular online services. Using a carousel-shaped interface, Fayve digs into the movie and TV show libraries of several services like Netflix, Hulu Plus, iTunes, and Redbox, and displays them so you can browse through everything from one app.

Aside from its easy browsing capabilities, Fayve also lets you view a show page for more information, giving you everything from actor bios to movie recommendations. If you want to see everything available to watch on online right now, this app is a great choice.

Google Search

Google Search
Google Search really needs no introduction, but the app for iOS devices has undergone several updates to make it one of the best available for search. Just like on a desktop computer, you’ll be able to enter search terms and use many of the Google apps on your touch screen, but a few mobile-specific features make this app even more useful.

A feature called Google Goggles gives you the power to take a picture of an object or just the bar code, then searches a vast database to give you options to purchase it on the Web or a nearby store. But a recently added feature lets you use your voice to search, and it churns out results even faster than Apple’s Siri. With an already proven search engine and added features for mobile, this app is extremely easy to recommend.

FIFA Soccer 13

FIFA Soccer 13
Coming from a long line of console soccer games, FIFA Soccer has seen a number of improvements over the years to make it the best in the genre. But this “football” game is not just good — it might be the best all-around sports game for iOS ever.

Not only can you play as any of 500 fully licensed teams, with more than 15,000 players, across 30 leagues, the gameplay is silky smooth as you try to make a play for the goal. New skill moves in this latest version are much easier to pull off as you fight your way through difficult defenses in tournaments, championships, and other game modes. If you like soccer or really any team sports, this game is a must download.

Marvel’s Avengers Initiative comes to Android, iOS

Posted by on November 26, 2012 No comments

Marvel’s Avengers Initiative comes to Android, iOS

Now it is your chance to take on the fight up against the evil with your favorite superhero.

Marvel has announced the launch of the Avenger’s Initiative game for Android as well as iOS based devices. The game revolves around the same basic principle of good guys beating the bad guys but gives the players ample chance and freedom to do thing their way.

Avenger’s Initiative begins with the Vault, a top‐secret S.H.I.E.L.D. facility in the Rocky Mountains, getting busted open, releasing all of the super‐powered criminals and monsters imprisoned there. Now the director Nick Fury is assembling all the avengers to take on the bad guys.

Marvel's Avengers Initiative

In the first installment of the game, players get to play as the green monster Hulk and get to smash the hell out of the bad guys. Users also get fully customisable Hulk to play the way they want to play. Users can acquire exclusive costumes, unlock incredible super powered abilities, discover explosive augmentations, and upgrade all of Hulk’s combat stats increasing the chances to win in the battle for glory.

The list of heroes is not just limited to the Hulk but many other popular faces such as Ironman will be added to the game in the coming versions which will be made available to the users via upgrades.

The game is available for Android devoices and well as iOS devices for around Rs 275 which might be a small price to be paid but on Android it remains exclusive for devices such as HTC One X, Samsung Galaxy SII, Samsung Galaxy SIII, Samsung Galaxy Note, Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, Asus Nexus 7, Asus Transformer Prime and Asus Transformer. More Android devices are expected to get the support in coming days.

How to Upload a Photo Sphere to Google Maps using Android Jelly Bean

Posted by on November 19, 2012 No comments

 

Upload a Photo Sphere to Google Maps using Android Jelly Bean

Android 4.2 users can upload their Photo Sphere photos to Google Maps; here’s how.

 

Android 4.2 Jelly Bean includes a new camera feature called Photo Sphere. With the feature, users can take 360-degree panoramic photos in just a few minutes. Creating a sphere is easy: launch the camera app and select the Photo Sphere icon. Your Android device will show you where to point the camera, you hold still for a few seconds and then you move on to the next mark, or dot. It essentially translates into a game of connect the dots, where a photo is taken at each dot. Once you’re done, your phone will stitch the photos together creating a Photo Sphere.

Looking at these panoramic photos on your device is just as easy, and so is sharing them, but in order to get the most out of the spheres, Google allows users to upload them to Google Maps. Uploading to Google Maps takes just a few minutes of your time and is a great way to publicly show off your camera work.

Tap the Google Maps icon to upload a Photo Sphere.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET)

  • After taking a Photo Sphere and letting your Android device stitch it all together, you can view it in your Gallery. When you tap the Sharing icon, you’ll notice there’s a Google Maps option. Tap on it.
(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET)
  • Google Maps will then launch on your device, and a few seconds later you’ll see the upload screen. Tap on Publish Photo and the upload process will begin. After the upload has finished, you’ll be taken back to your Gallery.

Don’t expect to be able to open Google Maps and view your photo right away. Each sphere has to be approved, which takes some time. When your first panorama is approved, you will receive an e-mail informing you of that. The e-mail will include a link to the panorama photo on Google Maps, along with a link to your account for you to view all of your uploaded photos.

If you’d like to read more about how your photo can — and will — be used by Google, select the Read More button on the upload screen. One important bit of information you’ll want to know is that your photos, including your name and the GPS coordinates of the photo, will be public. You can remove any uploaded photos by deleting them from your Google+ account (which is required in order to upload).

Google+ For iPhone Now Available In The App Store

Posted by on July 26, 2011 No comments

Apple has finally approved Google’s Google+ iPhone app and is now available in the App Store. Google launched Google+ – its latest social networking project few weeks back to compete with Facebook. It has received a quite a few positive reviews and is already more than 10 million users strong and growing.

Google+ allows users to put their family and friends into Circles and lets them selectively share with specific groups within their personal network, rather than sharing with all their social connections at once.

Here’s the description of the Google+ iPhone app from iTunes:

Google+ for mobile makes sharing the right things with the right people a lot simpler. Huddle lets you send super-fast messages to the people you care about most. And no matter where you are, the stream lets you stay in the loop about what your friends are sharing and where they’re checking in.

It includes the following features:

* Circles let you share the right things with just the right people.

* Stream is where you can get updates from your circles or see what people are saying about things nearby.

* Huddle is super-fast group messaging for everyone in your circles.

Here are some screenshots of the iPhone app:

So if you have jumped onto the Google+ bandwagon then download the iPhone app using this iTunes link and let us know what you think and how it compares with Facebook’s iPhone app.

Update 1:

Please note that it may take a few hours for the iPhone app to be available in your country so try using this direct iTunes link. It would also be great if you can give us a shout out in the comments if it is available in your country for the benefit of fellow readers.

Update 2:

Google has just released a new version of the app as the one that was released initially was a test version (via Google’s Vic Gundotra):

We discovered an issue with the version of the iPhone Google+ App that was on the App Store. When we launched, the App Store started serving a previous test version of the App which didn’t have the stability and fixes that the latest version had. It started serving the correct version a little later. If you downloaded within the first 1 hour 40 mins, you may have downloaded the older test version. 

To check: - Click on the gear icon on the top left of your App’s homescreen and look right above the Help button, the version number of the App should be: 1.0.1.1809 - If that is not the version number, then please uninstall and reinstall

We wonder how Google managed to get the update out so fast.

If you’ve already downloaded the older version then you can download the update via the App Store app (Updates tab) or try using this direct iTunes link to download it.

Update 3:

Please note it is not compatible with iOS 5.

( Source : www.iphonehacks.com )

Google+ Coming To iPhone Soon

Posted by on July 11, 2011 No comments
July 11, 2011

Google+ Coming To iPhone Soon

 

Google has been quite busy in the past few weeks. It has not only made some major changes to its existing services, it has introduced Google+ social network to take a stand against Facebook. Not surprisingly, the demand for Google+ has been very high. Those who want to join the network at this point either need an invitation or have to wait till Google lets them in. Google has already submitted an app for Google+, which awaits App Store approval:

For my iPhone using friends: the Google+ iPhone app has been submitted to the App store (no not today, sometime prior to today) and is awaiting approval.

said Erica Joy, a technician at Google. Google+ is compatible with iPad and iPod Touch as well. An Android application is already available for this service.

 

Google+ is still in early stages but it will have an API in the future. Developers will be able to integrate this service into their apps and build exciting apps just around it. Google+ Project has received a lot of positive feedback from users so far. It remains to be seen whether it can succeed to tempt users from Facebook

( Source: http://www.iphoneness.com )