Filmora Go: Editing on the go at it’s best (Review)
Overview
It’s summertime, 4th of July is around the corner, and lots of festivities are about to ensue. There’s no doubt there will be many cameras out snapping photos and shooting video. What do you do with all that content? Let it sit in one of your many storage services? Instead you can use Filmora Go – an awesome free app that helps you make your videos look amazing, and you don’t even have to be a techie to use it.
Developer: Wondershare Software Co.
Cost: Free
Highlights
- Import photos and videos
- Preview in real time
- Music library
- One touch themes, templates and effects
- Overlays and filters
- And more
Review
What started as a desktop version has finally been developed into a beautifully designed video editing app from the people at Wondershare Software. The developers took a product and made it possible to create eloquent videos, no matter if you are professional or just someone who does it for fun.
As soon as you open the app you can immediately see the quality design and layout. Click one button and you’re on your way. You have the choice to choose from your library, Facebook, Instagram, or Google for photos or videos that you want to insert. Once you’ve made your decision it’s time to move on to the next phase.
Your next move is adding themes, music, transitions to your selections. Themes are presets that Filmora Go already has made up if you just want something quick. You can also go into the editing tools to find overlays, filters, elements add titles, speed it up and more. There are a ton of options.
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The music library isn’t really that big, but not to worry as you can add your own music that you have downloaded to your phone. Make sure that you turn down the video volume so it doesn’t over power your music.
Transitions are also very important when making a video. You have six to choose from so you should be covered.
Once you have finished your project you are given the choice to share it on a number of different platforms. But if you really don’t want to, just keep it in your phone to show people later.
Conclusion
This is one of the best apps I’ve used in a while. I absolutely love it and enjoyed making videos of my kids dancing with Charlie Chaplin music playing. This app has so many different settings, and the fact that it’s free with no ads is amazing. I highly recommend Filmora Go.
Download Filmora Go from the Play Store
Waze will help you avoid difficult intersections
You know those intersections with no traffic lights and everyone’s trying to cross at the same time? Waze calls them “difficult intersections,” and the navigation app will help you avoid them altogether, so long as you’re in Los Angeles. The app now calculates the best possible route and ETA with as few of them as possible. It could bypass them entirely if there’s route that allows you to do that. But if avoiding them will make your commute unbearably long, then Waze could still send you through a few. As the app’s announcement post said “The goal of the feature is to reduce the amount of these intersections, not completely eliminate them.”
While the feature is only available in Los Angeles for now, it will soon roll out in New Orleans and will eventually be available around the world. Take note that if you’re in LA, Waze automatically switched on for you. In case it’s not working out, you can always switch it off under Settings.
Source: Waze
[Review] Get up and go with Aukey Bluetooth earphones
Now that some smartphone manufacturers are killing off the 3.5mm headphone jack, now is a good time to start considering Bluetooth headphones and earphones. Over the past two weeks I’ve been reviewing a pair of Aukey Bluetooth earphones. Although Aukey mostly produces charging accessories, they’ve also made headway into the audio market.
First Impressions
The earphones are comfortable in the ear, and since they are sport earphones, they have a rubber attachment that keeps them secure in your ears. The earphones are plain black, so they will probably match with most of your other gear, as well as clothing.
Features
- Deliver balanced, clean, ultra-low latency sound in a lightweight, comfortable fit for active or stationary wireless audio consumption.
- Better fit = better noise isolation and sound quality. Find your perfect fit with 3 pairs of included ear-tips (S/M/L) and secure-fit ear-supports.
- Connect quickly and effortlessly manage audio playback and calls with volume controls, multifunction button, and built-in CVC 6.0 noise canceling microphone.
- Compatible with Bluetooth-equipped computers & mobile devices, up to 6 hours playback or up to 106 hours standby.
- Package Contents: AUKEY EP-B24 Bluetooth Headphones, Micro-USB Cable, Ear-tips (S, M, L), Stable-fit Ear-supports, Carrying Pouch, User Manual.
These earphones come with three different ear buds in small, medium and large so you can swap them out until you find the most comfortable pair. Although some earphones come with swappable rubber hooks, this pair doesn’t have them.
A nice feature is that the back of each earphone is magnetic, so when you’re not using them you can wear them around your neck as a necklace.
Sound
The sound from these earphones can be quiet at times, and I often found myself increasing the volume whenever I could. As for the quality, I found that they didn’t represent bass and sub bass very well, but mid- and high-range tones were decent. These earphones are aimed at the lower end of the market, and that is reflected both in the quality and price.
Battery
The battery on these is surprisingly good. I haven’t heard of many Bluetooth earphones whose battery lasts for more than four hours or so, but with heavy use these easily lasted around six hours. On standby they last several days before they needed to be charged again. Charging happens through a standard microUSB port, and only takes a couple of hours.
Conclusion
As I mentioned, these earphones are more affordable than most, at only $25. Unless you’re picky about sound quality, these should be good enough for any occasion, but especially if you need a pair when you go running or hiking.
You can pick these up for $24.99 on Amazon. (Affiliate link)
The Hottest Android apps and games around (June 18)
Welcome to Week 4 of The Hottest Android apps and games around! We are going to try something a little different this week. On top of pulling the top 10 downloaded apps and games from Google Play and the Amazon Appstore I have also included the top 5 New apps and games from Google Play and Amazon’s Underground project.
If you are not familiar with Underground check out this Article, but it’s basically Amazon taking apps that normally cost money and making them free, even the in-app purchases are gone so you pay nothing for an app that normally cost money! Please leave a comment below letting me know what you think of the new content.
Top 5 New Free Apps and Games (Google Play)
T-Mobile USA
Ludia Inc.
Opera
Amelos Interactive
Melsoft Games
Top 5 New Paid Apps and Games (Google Play)
Coffee Stain Studios
Toca Boca
Sam Ruston
Kairosoft Co.,Ltd
AppMoji, Inc.
Top Actually Free Apps and Games (Amazon AppStore Underground)
1. Goat Simulator Waste of Space
by Coffee Stain Studios
2. Angry Birds Rio
by Rovio Entertainment Ltd.
3. Wreck-It Ralph
by Disney
4. Word Twist
by Random Salad Games LLC
5. Planet of Cubes : Survival Multiplayer
by Solverlabs
Top 10 Free Apps and Games (Google Play)
Facebook Messenger
slither.io
T-Mobile Tuesdays
Snapchat
Facebook
Moments
Instagram
Pandora® Radio
GO Speed (Clean & AppLock)
Netflix
Top Free Apps and Games (Amazon Appstore)
slither.io
Color Switch
Facebook Messenger
Goat Simulator Waste of Space
Hovercraft: Takedown – Custom Combat Cars
ES File Explorer
Netflix
Facebook
YouTube
Amazon Video
Top Paid Apps and Games (Google Play)
MineCraft $6.99
Minecraft: Story Mode $$4.99
True Skate $1.99
Bloons TD 5 $2.99
Geometry Dash $1.99
Call of Duty:Black Ops Zombies $1.99
This War of Mine $2.99
Card Wars – Adventure Time $0.99
HotSchedules $2.99
Ultimate Guitar Tabs & Chords $2.99
Top Paid Apps and Games (Amazon AppStore)
Minecraft – Pocket Edition $6.99
Plants vs. Zombies $0.99
Minecraft: Story Mode $2.99
Geometry Dash $1.99
Mystery Case Files: Key To Ravenhearsarst Collector’s Edition $2.99
Five Nights at Freddy’s $4.99
PAW Patrol Pups Take Flight $3.30
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 $2.99
Toca Life: Vacation $2.99
BlockLauncher Pro $3.30
Super Locker-DIY&Headlines: Lock Screen app with lots of options (Review)
Overview
In the world of phones, we are always looking for new ways to get information faster. Many developers have started with the lock screen. At a very basic level, stock lock screens carry some sort of shortcuts to the camera as well as time and weather apps. There are a few lock screens that even show you a few headlines or recent apps.
What if you want more? Super Locker- DIY & Headlines will bring you more.
Developer: Locker Headlines Team
Cost: Free ( With Ads)
Highlights
- Customizable Lockscreen
- News
- Applock
- Countdown
- Search
Review
Super Locker is a highly customization lock screen with a number of ways to gain control of the information you see. Starting off, there are four main things you get to control, Notifications, Weather, Countdown Day, and News.
With the weather, just like most stock options, you choose your location, either automatically or manually, and Celsius or Fahrenheit. Now where it gets cool is the notifications. It gives you the option to light up the screen when you get a message from apps as well as which apps you get notifications from. The countdown day is exactly what it sounds like, where it allows you to set a timer. And the news setting gives you many options of the types of news you get to see.
Within Super Locker there are some deeper settings you can access such as the color for the time, date and camera icons. You can select different types of lock screen unlocks like slide to unlock, unlock sound and more. There are tons of style and wallpaper options this app offers for download. In order to download these you must watch a short video .
Super Locker also has a built-in a battery saving element that will alert you of things running needlessly in the background consuming precious power. I couldn’t confirm how well it worked, but that option is there. It also has the ability to lock apps individually to keep certain apps private.
Finally let’s get to the screen itself. It has a very clean setup: pull down from the top
to search, from the right for news, pulling left to unlock (unless you select pulling from the bottom). You also have the notifications at the bottom left that will show you recently apps used.
Who knew you could get so much functionality from a lock screen?
Conclusion
There are a few apps out there that perform similar functions like App Lock and Battery Saver, but Super Locker-DIY wraps all these things into one. So if you’re in the market for a lock screen with multiple features, this is definitely one to consider. Super Locker-DIY is an all-in-one feature laden lock screen functionality tool that is well worth your consideration.
Download Super Locker- DIY & Headlines in the Play Store
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Public is an app that opens your group chats to an audience
A couple of months ago, former Twitter exec Michael Sippey unveiled Talk Show, an app that let you broadcast your text conversations in public. Now there’s yet another app in town that does something very similar. It’s called Public, and the creator is Avner Ronen, who is probably better known as the founder of Boxee, a streaming set top box that was also a web TV platform (Boxee eventually sold to Samsung a few years ago). Like its name suggests, all of the conversations on Public are, well, public. Think of it as a group discussion with an audience.
There are a few differences between Public and Talk Show though. For one thing, Public puts conversations front and center as soon as you launch the app; you’ll see the latest back-and-forth chats of the groups you’re following right on the home page. Talk Show, on the other hand, simply lists the conversation topic along with its participants, requiring you to tap through to read the discussion. This does make the Public home page a lot more cluttered, but it’s also a lot easier to follow multiple conversations at once. Like Talk Show, Public has a list of curated Featured chats too.
Another interesting thing about Public is that audience members can chime in via comments on the side bar. This is definitely more moderated than Twitter, where strangers can butt in whenever they like, but is also more flexible than Talk Show, where audience members are limited to canned responses. Of course, anyone can request to be part of the group too. What I also like about Public is that you can participate and follow chats on the web as well as the mobile app. I just find that I type a lot more coherently on my laptop than I do on my phone.
After a few days trying out Public, I’ll admit I enjoy the ability to chat with friends and acquaintances about a couple of focused topics (one on the San Francisco Giants and another on Korean skincare). The interface is pretty clean and I like that I can enter in emoji, photos as well as GIFs. Still, I’d probably have had as much fun if the conversation were private instead of public; I don’t know if the audience at large gets as much of a kick reading the conversation as I do participating in it.
That question is key to whether public group chat apps like these will gain traction. While Talk Show debuted at the top of the charts on the App Store, it’s fallen quite a bit since then. Do people really want to have public-facing conversations? More importantly, do people want to use such a specific app to follow these discussions? The fact that these conversations are publicly viewable on the web means that you don’t necessarily need the app to follow them. Which is great for avoiding a walled garden, but not so great for promoting the app.
Still, I can see the app catching on if it’s used by celebrities or pundits, or maybe if it’s a liveblog of an event. That way fans can feel as if they’re eavesdropping on an interesting live conversation. Indeed, one of Public’s launch partners is Fullscreen’s “SummerBreak,” an online reality show of a group of high school students on summer vacation.
If you’d like to try Public out for yourself, it’s available right now on the Apple App Store as well as the web.
Source: Public
MercuryBox: Stylish and affordable (Review)
I’ve used quite a few of Inateck’s products, and I am impressed with the level of classy looks it brings to its products. The company has worked diligently make sure it hits three aspects: style, functionality, and price. That’s not an official mission statement, but from my perspective, it seems Inateck strives for that. Take the trendy MercuryBox Bluetooth speaker, for $38 it just proves my point.
In the box
- MercuryBox speaker
- Audio cable
- microUSB charging cable
- Hand strap
- Customized cable ties x2
- Manual
Design
The MercuryBox is a six-and-a-half inch speaker that’s just oozing with style. Its aluminum casing and rubber top and sides make you feel like you have a quality product that’s durable and beautiful at the same time.
On top is where your buttons are located. Laid out as one seamless piece of rubber, it features six buttons that are slightly raised and feel like bumps more than buttons. While this does make for a cool look, the buttons can be hard to press.
The Auxilary and charging ports are both tucked away on the side under a rubber flap. Over on the opposite side sits the hand strap, which is a handy little feature to have…see what I did there.
Each of the two cords is made out of a braided material that not only looks elegant but also gives it a stronger feel. Again, Inateck makes things that last.
Sound
What good are the looks if it sounds like a blown out speaker in a Chevette with a hole in the muffler? Does it stand the test? It’s packing dual five-watt precision-tuned drivers that emphasize more bass and treble while leaving the mids out.
Every week my family and I walk a path to the local dam. The MercuryBox is perfect for this situation. We all get to enjoy the music without it being overbearingly loud. So it might not be right for a party, but you can find plenty of use for this portable speaker.
Everything else
The MercuryBox has excellent battery life getting around nine to ten hours of playback so you can easily go all day with moderate volume levels. Its Bluetooth capability gives you plenty of moving room as it is good up to around 30 feet.
Lastly, let’s not forget that the MecuryBox is water resistant. That’s right; it has an IPx5 certification that gives you some splash protection. That means it can be in the shower with you, but I wouldn’t dunk it in a bath.
Summary
The MercuryBox is a safe speaker to buy. At a price of $38, you can’t go wrong. So take that birthday money you got from Grandma (it doesn’t matter how old you are, Grandma still gives you checks and you know it), and head on over and pick up one.
Buy Inateck’s MercuryBox Bluetooth speaker
WallaMe: Hide photos in the real world (Review)
Overview
Have you ever wanted to write on a wall, but a) didn’t want to get arrested for vandalism or b) only wanted your friends to be able to see it? If so, WallaMe is the app for you. If not, you and I are on the same boat.
Developer: Wallame Ltd
Cost: Free
Impressions
User Interface
WallaMe takes many cues from Instagram. There are three tabs at the top, five at the bottom, and the center of which is adding a new wall. I like it, but everything seems a little blurry.
The image capture screen is very basic, with no option to zoom in or out. Additionally, turning the flash on keeps the flashlight lit the whole duration of lining up the picture, instead of “flashing” upon capture.
Features
Once you get a picture of a wall, the editing options are quite plentiful. You can add stickers or pictures from your own gallery, text, and drawings in various colors. Once your wall is posted, people 
can like and comment on it, again very much like Instagram. There is no option to add your own photos instead of taking one, which is quite inconvenient.
General Impressions
WallaMe is touted as an AR app, with the ability to see walls that other people have posted when you are nearby. However, there is an astonishingly low amount of users in my area and in the US as a whole. To me, that largely makes the app an Instagram for walls, which really has no point. When WallaMe develops a larger user base, I think it is a great way for residents and tourists alike to connect with each other.
Conclusion
WallaMe is largely just a copy of Instagram with a fraction of the user base. The user interface is squared off, and for that reason not visually appealing. The photo editor is pretty nice, but they need to improve the image capture screen. Check it out from the link below if you’d like.
Download and install WallaMe from the Google Play Store.
Google’s GIF-searching Gboard app is now available in the UK
Although Google often includes the UK in launch plans for a new product, its new web-searching and GIF-finding Gboard extension wasn’t one of them. But now that the app has been out for roughly a month, Google has had more enough time to get it ready for the British public. That’s right, Google’s slick third-party keyboard is now available to download in the UK.
If you’re not familiar with Gboard, it works like this. Download the extension from the App Store like you would any other app and Google will walk you through the installation process. Once it’s the default option, Gboard will place a circular button at the top-left of the keyboard, allowing you to perform web searches without having to leave the app you’re in. It’ll also do the same for GIFs and let you type the name of your favourite emoji so you don’t have to spend valuable time scrolling through trying to find it.
During its WWDC 2016 keynote, Apple announced a number of new features that cross over with Google’s Gboard app, including an emojifier that can detect specific words and replace them with the relevant emoji. With web and GIF search, Google still maybe has an edge over its rival, but it’s good to see both companies implementing more keyboard-centric features on iOS devices.
#Gboard for iPhone is here. No more app switching; search and send, right from your keyboard https://t.co/qNpPdrghGp pic.twitter.com/x5nkMhaxW6
— Google UK (@GoogleUK) June 17, 2016
Via: Google UK
Source: Gboard (App Store)
Dock Minimal: Use your tablet in comfort (Review)
Onanoff has built its business a simple idea, build what is basic and necessary for all users. They have built quite the portfolio of products that are simple and durable. Sometimes you may not even know that you could use a product until you see it. That’s why today I bring you one of those products, Dock Minimal.
Review
Dock Minimal is exactly what it sounds like, a simple dock for your tablets. This is a one size fits all dock that can handle iPads, Kindles, Samsung Tablets, e-book readers and more. With its tough plastic shell and matte finish, it can easily withstand drops and still look just as good as it did right out of the box.
With a shape that I can only describe as a bowtie, it’s the most unique looking dock that I have seen. Just as smooth as it looks, it’s functionality matches it. Dock Minimal comes with four different size slot adapters that will fit almost any size tablet. This will ensure a tight fit so your device doesn’t slip out.
The back features six different holes for the kickstand that can give you around 20 different angles for your viewing comfort. Inside the aluminium kickstand, you can pull out the stylus. This little beauty works with most touch screens and quickly tucks back in when not in use.
Now, what about charging? Sometimes you need to do that while watching, reading, or whatever it is that you are doing. There are adapters for that. In total, you have five different options for accommodating charging. Two consist of microUSB adapters that you snap in. The other three allow you to easily tuck the cord through the bottom.
Summary
There are some options out there for tablet docks, but not all look as good or have the versatility of Dock Minimal. If you’re looking for a tablet dock, one that can even hold a much smaller phablet, there is no reason you shouldn’t consider this one.
Buy from onanoff
Buy from Amazon
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