![Mobile Games Dominate Smartphone App Usage [STATS]](http://sebastianmourra.com/wp/wp-content/themes/thedawn/images/no-image.png)
Mobile games are the most popular type of apps amongst smartphone users, according to the latest report by Nielsen.
The report shows that 64% of users who downloaded an app in the past 30 days have downloaded a game.
Weather, social networking and apps that fall into categories of maps/navigation and search are also very popular apps, followed by music and news apps, as you can see in the chart below.
Perhaps even more importantly for app makers, smartphone users are most likely to actually pay for mobile games — more than they would for any other app category. Out of all users who pay for apps, 93% are ready to pay for a game, 87% are willing to pay for entertainment apps, and 84% are willing pay for productivity, as well as maps/navigation and search apps.
On the platform front, iOS is still the king when it comes to mobile gaming. Users with iPhones play games approximately 14.7 hours each month, while Android users play around 9.3 hours per month.
A recent study by PopCap concluded that 52% of U.S. and UK adults have played a game on a mobile device, and that approximately one-third of mobile phone owners play mobile games with some degree of regularity.
More About: App, apps, mobile games, Nielsen, smartphone
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Twitter has turned composing a full thought in 140 characters or less into something of an art. But what if you could just shake your phone and magically summarize an article in an allotted number of characters?
That’s what Trimit, a $.99 iPhone app that launched on Wednesday, promises to do.
Trimit creator Frimby Limited has developed an algorithm that uses a sentence’s structure to rank its importance in the text. It then fits the most important thoughts together in the order most likely to read cohesively. The algorithm pays special attention to words like dates, proper nouns, facts and figures and place, and users have an option to take the summary one step further by omitting unnecessary vowels (i.e. “cvrd” vs. “covered”) and using abbreviations (“2rists” vs. “tourists”).
After a user pastes text into the editor or imports it from a URL, he or she can choose whether to shorten it for Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, email or SMS. Give the phone a shake, and the app spits out a shortened version of the prose.
It doesn’t exactly come out like Shakespeare, but it’s passable. You can judge its accuracy for yourself by taking a look at the examples below.
Founder Nick D’Aloisio says the app could be useful to people who want to consume large amounts of text on-the-go or to compose emails or posts based on an existing article.
The app is partly built on the same technology that powers Frimby Limited’s Facemood, an app that calculates Facebook friends’ moods by analyzing words in their profiles. Eventually, the startup hopes to reach the point where its algorithm cannot just analyze sentiment and shorten text, but also understand and emulate English.
“We are basically trying to parse the English language,” D’Aloisio says, “which is almost impossible.”
Original text: “After Antoine Dodson, a young hero from Huntsville, AL, saves his sister from an attack, he sings an important message both to his community and to the attacker himself. Evan Gregory then proceeds to play a heartfelt cover of the resulting song.”
Original text: “Nibblin’ on sponge cake, watchin’ the sun bake; All of those tourists covered with oil. Strummin’ my six string on my front porch swing. Smell those shrimp They’re beginnin’ to boil.”
More About: App, Facemood, Frimby Limited, startup, Trimit
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We recently brought you an in-depth tutorial on how to use the iPhone’s built-in HDR functionality. Now we’re taking a look at an iPhone app that helps create high dynamic range images.
Pictional’s TrueHDR goes beyond the iPhone’s built-in HDR abilities. It can help you capture better images and even improve images you take on your compact camera. Pictional’s co-founders Michael Parker and Yuanzhen Li explain how the app came about.
“Everybody has had the experience of taking photos that are either over or under-exposed and don’t look anything like what your eyes saw when you took the shots.”
They realized that the iPhone’s tap-to-focus also adjusted exposure. They could then meld two images with different exposures to come up with a result that preserved details in bright and dark areas.
Parker and Li have chosen 10 images created with TrueHDR that they feel showcase the app’s capabilities. Take a look through the photo gallery to see them, along with Parker and Li’s comments, and link us to any of your HDR creations in the comments below.
“Almost postcard-like in its perfection, this photograph beautifully shows off the capability of TrueHDR to capture a potentially … challenging range of light: Sunlight, mid-tones and shadows.”
“We were captivated by the sense of depth, along with the range of light and contrast, from the hill in the foreground to the distant meadows. The sky and the shadows from the clouds lend nice contrast to the image, contributing to a subtle landscape painting feel.”
“This photograph struck us as having an almost surreal quality. We especially like how the photographer used TrueHDR to capture the range of brightness in the scene, from the two lights on the left to the portions of the actors’ faces that are in shadow.”
“This photo captures the gorgeous lighting on the coast of Molokai. It has great composition and depth and was made from four iPhone photos — two sets of over-exposed and under-exposed pairs were merged in TrueHDR into two HDR photos, which were then stitched together into a panorama.”
“The photographer has used TrueHDR to beautifully capture the lights, snow, blue and purple layers of the sky and the foreground bush.”
“The lighting and viewpoint of this photo give us a sense of being there — standing on a dark, cobble-stoned street … with the soft light reflecting off the stones guiding the eye to some unknown adventure awaiting through the archway ahead. The use of TrueHDR helps the photographer capture the contrast and tonal range between the dark street and the bright archway.”
“The barren, abbreviated trees create some questions and a sense of curiosity for the viewer; the trees’ tops direct your attention to the details in the clouds and the green draws your eye back to the lower portion of the photograph. This is another example where the HDR aspect is essential but doesn’t overwhelm, letting the viewer consider the subject material rather than the technique.”
“This TrueHDR photo gives the feel of a Dutch masters painting, with a nice range of tones and contrasts.”
“There is a nice sense of depth to this photo, with the sheep dotting the peninsula lending a sense of scale. The use of TrueHDR helps the photographer naturally capture the range of contrasts between sky, clouds, ocean, grassy peninsula and sheep.”
“The futuristic buildings give this photograph an otherworldly feel, as if you landed on another planet. The photo captures both the sky and the materials and [the] play of light on the structures. It would have been hard to do justice to the huge range of brightness without TrueHDR. Here we also show the “before” pictures on the left — the over-exposed and under-exposed photo pair before they were merged with TrueHDR.”
More About: App, apple, gallery, hdr, iphone, iphone apps, iphoneography, iphotography, List, Lists, Mobile 2.0, photography, Photos
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Apple blog Razorianfly says that it found a demo video for a Skype iPad app on the company’s YouTube channel Friday. The video, it says, was quickly either removed or set to private — but not before the blog took a screen recording of it and uploaded it to its own YouTube channel.
The video makes the app look pretty good, but it still might be fake.
A Skype spokesperson declined to comment, but did say that the launch date for a Skype iPad app is still to be determined. Even if the video doesn’t show the real Skype iPad app, it sounds like one is on its way.
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QR codes are all the rage these days, and if you’ve got an Android, you hold in your hand the power to unlock the mysteries of the QR code-spackled world.
These distinctive barcodes are generally square and rendered in simple black-and-white blotches. You’ll find them on TV shows, in print publications, in subway advertisements… Heck, we’re willing to say marketers will slap a QR code on anything that doesn’t move or talk. QR code clothing is also available.
QR codes are used to reveal more information about a product, service, event or person. Generally, they direct the scanning device to a special URL, video, coupon, event page, email address, or other digital signpost with more details and content.
To scan the codes, all you need is a mobile device with a camera and an app to interpret the data in the code.
Here is a handful of free and serviceable Android apps for scanning and deciphering QR codes. We welcome your suggestions and faves in the comments, as well!
Here’s a simple tool for reading QR codes. It will also help you generate your own QR codes and supports all kinds of data, including event, contact, email, location, phone, sms, text, url and wifi.
You can use this app to scan any barcode and launch the linked websites, videos or contact information. This app works for both QR codes and the UPC codes available on most packaged goods.
The QuickMark app is a mobile barcode scanner that will let you grab data from just about any mobile barcode format. The app works hand-in-hand with QuickMark’s Chrome browser extension, too.
i-nigma is one of the top-rated barcode scanners in the Android Market. It works for QR and other barcode types. Also, i-nigma’s Shopper feature lets you search for low prices from online retailers, including Google Shoping, eBay and Amazon.com.
This app lets you can scan any QR code from your camera and you can read QR codes shown in Android’s mobile browser, saved in your SD card, or stored anywhere on the web. You’ll also be able to create your own QR codes either on your Android device or your computer.
This multi-functional app allows you to scan barcodes of all kinds, including QR codes. You can also look up prices and reviews where applicable. You can even make your own QR codes to share your contacts, apps and bookmarks.
The lightweight mobiScan QR code reader is separate from the maker’s UPC and other barcode scanners. The engineers behind this app say the single-function focus of the QR code application guarantees its superior performance and lightning-fast scanning.
More About: android, android appls, App, Mobile 2.0, qr code android, qr code app, qr code reader, qr code reader android, qr code scanner, qr code scanner android, qr code scanner app, QR Codes
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Songkick, a service that informs you when your favorite bands are playing, is out with a new mobile app that makes it easy to track concerts and plan music-filled nights out.
A kind of concert-going social network, Songkick, lets you track bands from Last.fm, Pandora and iTunes, get email alerts when your top acts are playing near you, buy tickets to shows and create show calendars that you can export to Google Calendar, Outlook or iCal.
The iPhone/iPod touch app [iTunes link], available for free from the iTunes store, takes that functionality and puts it in your pocket, a much more natural fit for the avid concert-goer. Yes, email alerts are awesome when it comes to planning a show-heavy weekend, but what about when you’re out and about and want to hit up a show? The app seems much more intuitive.
After installing the app, preexisting users can sign in and access all their saved artists, shows, etc. The app will scan your iTunes, and from that data — taking location into account — compile a list of shows you might be interested in attending.
You can also scroll through a list of your favorite artists and see which ones are touring. You can then create a personalized concert calendar, and be alerted via push notifications when your favorite bands are playing. You can also look up ticket info, venue location, show time, lineup, etc., and tell friends about shows via Twitter, Facebook and email. Shows are tracked in more than 70 countries, and you can change the location setting when you travel.
Granted, this app isn’t exactly revolutionary. SuperGlued‘s iPhone and Android apps do something very similar (like scanning your iTunes), as do specialized apps like Festival Explorer Austin Edition, which was designed for SXSW. There’s also GigKick, which connects to your Songkick profile to display upcoming shows.
Still, Songkick’s app is pretty slick and offered me some accurate show recommendations for the upcoming weekend, so it’s likely to become a standby app on my iPhone, at least. Although I do wish the app included song previews, like some of its competitors.
Image courtesy of Flickr, Stephan Geyer
More About: App, concert, iOS, iphone, iPod Touch, mobile app, music, songkick, startup
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Bit of a strange week for politics and digital. The week was characterized not so much by hard-hitting news but how politicians can manipulate — or lose control — of their social media presences.
U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D.-NY)’s Twitter account sent a Yfrog picture of a man’s (clothed) crotch to a female follower. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney announced his bid for president with a social boost. And former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin continued her cross-country bus tour/campaign rally that snubbed the press while honoring her social followers. As we said, strange week.
This weekly series picks out the week’s top stories in the intersection of digital technology and politics.
On May 27 a picture of a man’s underwear-clad groin was sent from Weiner’s Twitter account. The tweet, which also mentioned a young female journalism student, was quickly taken down but not before several online sources could grab the image and make it frontline news. Weiner claimed his account was hacked, later calling the photo a prank.
However, his cagey responses to the press as well as his refusal to completely deny that it is him in the image have left many to question whether Weiner is just trying to cover an embarrassing mistake. The adorably named “Weinergate” drama is starting to die off but is one out of many recent gaffes on political social media accounts. The Columbia Journalism Review summed it up with a best-of roundup.
Mitt Romney announced his presidential bid Thursday. While the former governor made the announcement the old-fashioned way, he has been an avid user of social media, including a YouTube video about his exploratory committee and a tweet that read: “Making it official next week at the Scamman Farm in New Hampshire.” You can find a breakdown of the bid as told by social media right here.
Sarah Palin’s bus tour continues to blaze trails and snub the “lame-stream” media across battleground states and important American historical sites. The tour, which Palin calls a “family vacation,” has more than once been called an unofficial campaign tour. While Palin has granted a majority of the press nearly zero time for tough questions — The New York Times ran this headline: “Palin Talks to the Media, For Three Minutes” — the former governor of Alaska has been surprisingly open on her social networks. The website SarahPAC keeps a running blog of her many stops, posting news, commentary and multimedia. Palin’s official Twitter account has also been tweeting updates and links back to the blog posts so her fans can travel along.
Thumbnail image courtesy of iStockphoto, Pgiam, Weiner image courtesy of Flickr, TalkMediaNews
More About: Anthony Weiner, App, bus tour, Mitt Romney, politics, sarah pac, sarah palin, week in digital politics, weinergate
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Summer is right around the corner, and with that warmer weather comes wedding season. Seeing your friends and loved ones getting married is one of life’s greatest joys. For anyone who has planned a wedding, well, you know what it’s like. There’s the dress, the band, the reception site, the photographer, the flowers and the countless other details that somehow all need to be pulled together.
Back in the heyday, brides and grooms wielded their trusty notebooks and Excel spreadsheets with copious notes on vendor contact information, budget details, dates and reminders. But now, thanks to fancy smartphones and apps, everything you need can be found in one place — even in one app, in some cases.
The following 10 apps are great for planning, managing, or just getting some wedding ideas. When the big day finally arrives, and everything has fallen into place because you’ve stayed so organized, all you’ll have to do is meet eyes with your spouse-to-be and have your apps to thank for what will undoubtedly be one of the happiest days of your life.
Ain’t love grand?
Is it pricey? Yes. Is it comprehensive? Yes. iWedding Deluxe is an all-encompassing app that can be your home base for anything and everything wedding-related. Of course, all the major organizational categories like budget, venue information, contact information and to-dos are covered, but there are tons of extras like tools for finding nearby vendors, links to wedding favors, photo storage for items that inspire you, guest list details, and even a function that lets you record whether Uncle Bob wants the salmon or steak for his entrée. There’s also a countdown timeline that provides advice on things you should get accomplished as you lead up to the big day.
Cost: $9.99
If you follow celebrity weddings at all, it’s likely you know of Mindy Weiss, “celebrity wedding planner to the stars.” She has certainly earned the title, planning weddings for A-listers like Ellen Degeneres, Heidi Klum and Gwen Stefani. Her eponymous app is chock-full of wedding expertise and includes video clips from Mindy herself, creative ideas, current wedding trends and up-to-date access to collections from the hottest designers. If you’re into celebrity life, this app gets you one step closer to living it.
Cost: $7.99
This app is definitely geared more toward brides than grooms. BRIDES Wedding Genius 2.0 is a visually stimulating app that will fill the bride with inspiration for wedding dresses, rings and honeymoon destinations. There are hundreds of photos in this app that will help narrow down styles and top picks, as well as let brides save favorites and locate retailers in her area that have her favorite items.
Cost: FREE
If you need a straightforward budgeting app to keep track of the long list of costs, deposits, final payments and how much money you have left, Wedding Budget is a good app to have. It breaks down costs into categories such as ceremony, flowers, music, photography, gown, etc., tells you how much you have allocated, how much you have left, and when the next payment is due.
Cost: FREE
Getting engaged is relatively easy, but the questions start up once the rock is on that finger and the big day is just 12 to 18 months away. When should we start looking for a site? Who pays for what? Do I have to feed the vendors? Wedding 911 aims to ease pre-wedding anxiety and answer common questions that most people have when planning the big day. The answers are provided by Carley Roney, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the ultimate wedding website, TheKnot.com.
Cost: FREE
One of the perks of getting engaged — aside from committing yourself to another person for the rest of your life, of course — is creating your wedding registry! Walking around Crate & Barrel with a barcode scanner, now that’s fun. But why limit yourself to just one or two major retailers? This app lets you scan any barcode from any store into your phone and create a centralized registry on WeddingScan.com.
Cost: $2.99
Once planning is underway, it can be hard to decide on your wedding vision. There are so many options and so many decisions to make. During the process, it’s likely you’ll look through a lot of wedding websites and magazines to get inspired. While you’re doing that, you can use Wedding Row as your main resource for collecting all the “potentials” until you’ve decided they’re “definites.” The app keeps different “inspiration boards” of pictures you’ve collected or items you’ve taken photos of along the way so you can eventually narrow down your choices and have the wedding of your dreams.
Cost: $1.99
Your band or DJ has asked you for a “top requests” lists and a “do not play” list. Once you’ve written down your top three songs of all time, you may be at a loss as to what else you want to include. Fun Wedding provides song selections in categories like bride & groom, bride & father, groom & mother, as well as the top 200 most requested songs and breakout hits from the 1950s to present day. This app is a great resource for making sure people dance the night away.
Cost: $0.99
Flowers are sometimes an afterthought until the ceremony, band, photographer and reception site have been decided upon. They are, however, an important part of every wedding celebration. The bride’s bouquet usually loses its luster as the night wears on, but it is front and center when it gets held down the aisle. There are so many choices when it comes to bouquet arrangements. Wedding Flowers Moodboard provides brides with many different images and ideas for creating their perfect color and flower arrangement.
Cost: $1.99
Destination weddings are popular but they can add several more steps to the wedding planning process. The Destination Weddings and Honeymoons Guides is a complement to the Bonnier publication. It is a resource of beautiful locations for wedding sites or honeymoons in the Caribbean, Mexico, the Pacific and more. The app provides incredible images of these locales, along with resort details and contact information. (For iPad only).
Cost: FREE
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, GyeneiGabor
More About: App, ipone, Mobile 2.0, mobile apps, wedding
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When one of your most important online services is down for nearly a month – which is exactly what happened to Sony’s PlayStation Network after a series of hacker attacks – you should do everything you can to inform the users about its availability, cause if you don’t, someone else will do it for you.
Case in point: this iPhone app, called PSN Status, has only one simple feature: it checks if the PSN network is offline or online.
Since Sony started restoring PSN a couple of days ago, the app is not as useful as it would have been a month ago. However, with a constant stream of reports about new hacker attacks on Sony’s servers and services, it’s not that hard to imagine the PlayStation Network going dark again.
The app is available for free in Apple’s App Store.
[via App, iOS, iphone, playstation network, PSN, PSN Status, sony
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When one of your most important online services is down for nearly a month – which is exactly what happened to Sony’s PlayStation Network after a series of hacker attacks – you should do everything you can to inform the users about its availability, cause if you don’t, someone else will do it for you.
Case in point: this iPhone app, called PSN Status, has only one simple feature: it checks if the PSN network is offline or online.
Since Sony started restoring PSN a couple of days ago, the app is not as useful as it would have been a month ago. However, with a constant stream of reports about new hacker attacks on Sony’s servers and services, it’s not that hard to imagine the PlayStation Network going dark again.
The app is available for free in Apple’s App Store.
[via App, iOS, iphone, playstation network, PSN, PSN Status, sony
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