Manual app brings DSLR-like control to your iPhone snapshots
Thanks to the expanded third-party integration in iOS 8, app developers are able to take advantage of things like extensions for that Photos library. It also allows access to the iPhone’s camera settings, and a new piece of software offers another option for sorting just that. Manual, a $1.99 add-on for Apple’s handsets, allows you to tweak variables in a similar fashion to how you would with a DSLR. There are options for controlling shutter, ISO, white balance, focus and exposure bracketing. On top of all that, a rule of thirds grid keeps compositions in order, a live monitor eyes exposure and a fill flash mode tackles lighting woes. All of that may sound complicated, but the interface is quite simple, so you should be easily making your tweaks in no time — as long as you have the latest version of iOS, of course. Other apps, like Camera+, tackle manual controls too, so you’ll be able to take your pick when it comes to fine-tuning those photos.
Via: Uncrate
Source: iTunes
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HealthKit apps clear to return following iOS 8 update, but major issues arise (update)
When iOS 8 arrived last week, Apple was quick to pull HealthKit-friendly apps from its App Store due to a major bug. An update for the new mobile software has arrived though, and it fixes the issue to make the fitness and wellness selections available once more. The folks in Cupertino promised a solution by the end of the month, and kept that word, delivering a new version in under a week. iOS 8.0.1 also mends third-party keyboard issues, Reachability (one-handed mode) woes, problems with apps accessing the Photo Library and a smattering of other bugs. We’ve nabbed the update on devices here at Engadget HQ, so if you’ve yet to be alerted to the download, it should be on its way shortly. However, we’re seeing reports that folks (especially iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users) are having new issues with cell service and Touch ID upon installing the latest version. We’ve reached out to Apple for more info on these problems and we’ll be sure to report back as soon as we know more, but for now, you may want to sit tight.
Update: The iOS 8.0.1 download has been pulled.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Apple
Source: Apple
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Star Wars: Galactic Defense headed our way later this year
What do you do when you have oodles of money and the rights to one of the most iconic franchises ever? You make tons of mobile games as fast as you can with the branding and hope they stick. Both long time fans and new comers alike can appreciate a fun Star Wars theme based game, hut not even 7 days ago Disney released the free-to-play Star Wars: Commander title and now there will be another one coming out shortly.
Star Wars: Galactic Defense will take you on a tower defense quest across all 6 movies including the prequels and the classic titles. You will have your choice of the being the Rebels or the Empire. You will also be able to control a number of iconic characters on the battlefield. Kind of like what they did in Alien Creeps TD where you can manually move a hero during battle across the pre-determined battle path. The supporting dev team, DeNA, offered up Part 1 of a dev diary that gives a bit of an outline of the game and a look at the gameplay. Check it out.
“Star Wars is a franchise that has touched us all at DeNA and we’re honored to work with Disney and Lucasfilm on Star Wars: Galactic Defense,” said Barry Dorf, vice president of partnerships and alliances at DeNA. “We can’t use the Force™, but we do have one of the world’s most talented and passionate mobile development teams working to create an unforgettable Star Wars gameplay experience.”
As you might have guessed, Star Wars: Galactic Defense will be a free-to-play title. That means you can expect a series of in-app purchases to help speed up your fight against the Empire or to crush the Rebel Alliance. You can get a slight jump on the game if you pre-register for the upcoming game and participate in a set of social media missions. If successful you can earn some powerful upgrades, in-game currency and even Darth Maul. To pre-register head over to the official Star Wars: Galactic Defense page.
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Samsung shifts 500 engineers from mobile to other areas
Samsung may be focused on smartphones, but it apparently doesn’t want to become a one-trick pony. The Korean tech giant has just moved 500 engineers from its mobile division to a host of other groups, including its home electronics, networking and software sections. The company says it’s shuffling people around to both boost its “competitive edge” in the internet of things and “increase synergies” for the Tizen platform it primarily uses on its wearable devices. We’ve reached out for more details, but it’s safe to say that Samsung’s software priorities are changing — it’s less concerned about its problematic Tizen phone efforts and more about adding smarts to a wide range of gadgets, whether they’re TVs or printers.
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Household, Wearables, Software, HD, Mobile, Samsung
Source: Wall Street Journal
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Amazon brings Kindle Unlimited e-book subscriptions to the UK
Whether we like it or not, Amazon nearly always launches its new products and services in the US first. It happened with its Fire-branded tablets, set-top box and smartphone. The same can be said for its all-you-can-read e-book service, Kindle Unlimited, which after two months of availability stateside has today made its debut on the online retailer’s UK store. For £7.99 a month, Amazon offers unlimited access to over 650,000 digital books (50,000 less than in the US) and thousands of audiobooks, which can be synced across e-readers, tablets and Amazon’s numerous mobile apps. While you won’t find books from many of the major publishing houses, Amazon does offer the Harry Potter and Hunger Games series, as well as a vast number of Kindle originals. Good news for jetsetters, commuters and maybe also Kindle owners waiting for Kindle Unlimited to launch in other European countries, but some already believe Amazon’s new service poses a very real threat to local libraries.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Amazon
Source: Kindle Unlimited
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Now TV’s movie and entertainment packages finally come to Apple TV
Sky’s Now TV streaming service has offered an iOS app for the longest time, but when it came to Apple TV, the company only let subscribers enjoy sport on the big screen. As of today, that’s no longer the case, because Sky’s brought its Entertainment and Movies packages to the streamer, just a couple of weeks before prices are set to rise. If you’re already a subscriber, the menus feature the same New In, Most Popular and Must See categories, which have been given a flatter look to fit in with the Apple TV’s new iOS 8 UI. Sky’s recent rush of updates means you can also now stream via the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Google’s Chromecast, as well as its own £10 set-top box.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, Software, HD, Apple
Source: Sky
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If this were the ’90s, Apple’s latest acquisition would be a Kinko’s
Want to make a digital magazine but Apple’s iBook Author app just doesn’t offer what you want? Then perhaps Cupertino’s latest buy could signal a coming change that’ll help you out. The iPhone company has purchased Prss, the digital publishing outfit behind Trvl, which TechCrunch notes was the first iPad-only newsstand publication way back in 2010. Prss’ niche is that it allows you to make snazzy-looking iPad mags without needing to know any coding. The news started as an anonymously-sourced report from Dutch iOS blog, iCulture, but Apple confirmed the vowel-averse company’s acquisition to TC, stating that it buys smaller tech firms from time to time and “generally do [does] not discuss our [its] plans or purposes.” Here’s to hoping that this pick-up is a bit less tumultuous than Tim Cook’s last purchase.
[Image credit: AFP/Getty Images]
Filed under: Tablets, Software, Mobile, Apple
Source: iCulture (Dutch), TechCrunch
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Photoshop and Premiere Elements 13 deliver more easy editing
Adobe has been diligent to announce updates to its Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements offerings in late September, and this year is no different. With the arrival of version 13 of both bits of software, there are even more easy-to-use editing tools for both photos and video clips. In Photoshop Elements 13, Photomerge Compose allows you to quickly snag objects from one snapshot and place them in another, blending color and lighting to make for a realistic final product. The app will also suggest a smattering of crop options to fine-tune compositions, offer Guided Edits, allow you to “nudge” selection boundaries and it serves up a handful of options when a single effect is selected. To boost your video efforts in Premiere Elements 13, Video Story lends a hand with editing footage from major life events. There’s also quick clip selection, Shake Stabilizer to make the most out of shaky action cam footage and Guided Edits to help with titles and effects. Mobile device syncing got a boost across the board as well, and Elements Live provides tutorials, support and inspiration from right inside the apps. Adobe is set to ship Photoshop and Premiere Elements 13 in Q4 2014 with a $150 price tag.
Filed under: Software
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New Nexus devices will be announced mid October, Android L to be released on November 1st
We know that new Nexus devices and Android L are just around the corner, but we haven’t really had any indication yet when exactly they will be releasing – until today. Android Authority has gotten some tips that suggest that the Nexus 9 tablet, with the possibility of a Nexus smartphone, will be announced on either October 15th or 16th. That Nexus smartphone is likely to be the Motorola-manufactured device, allegedly called the Nexus 6 or Nexus X, that we’ve heard so much about, but its screen size appears to still be a matter of contention – either 5.2 or 6-inches.
Along with the news of these devices releasing, the tip also points towards a November 1st release date for the new build of Android, Android L. Initial estimates pegged a Halloween release, so that wasn’t a bad guess at all. Of course, Android L will feature on the devices announced in mid October, but whether this means the devices won’t be shipped until November 1st looks to be the main discussion point among the press.
What do you think about a mid October announcement for the Nexus devices and November 1st release of Android L? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Android Authority via TalkAndroid
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WhoSampled music discovery app makes its way to Android
Android has another music discovery app for music lovers to check out. WhoSampled, by WhoSampled.com Limited, has apparently been a pretty big hit on iOS for the last couple of years.
WhoSampled offers you a gateway into the music world that goes deeper than helping you find music similar to your tastes. Instead of tossing out like-minded artists for you to listen too, WhoSampled has pieced together a database collection of 270,000 tracks and 95,000 artists. The database drives the results, not by genre or style, but by the music itself. Pointing you to where your favorite Eminem song might have been sampled from before Eminem used it. You also get to dive into where samples from your favorite artists have ended up along with remixes and covers that have been done too. Once you dig in to your artists you can listen to the song or sample via YouTube. WhoSampled even offers up the specific time stamp for where the sample occurs.
Key features of WhoSampled include:
– The ability to go on a journey of musical discovery built around a user’s own music collection. Scan a music library and discover amazing connections for the tracks in it
– Compare tracks side-by-side and listen to full‐length tracks, streamed through YouTube (where available)
– Highly detailed information on any sample (sample timing, sample type, part sampled) lets users pinpoint where the sample was used and compare it with the original
– A “share” feature allowing users to share their amazing finds with their Facebook friends and Twitter followers
– Deep and unique music charts that show trending and top-rated content as well as the all-time most influential artists and tracks
– Engage with the WhoSampled community from within the app; comment on and rate any entry in the WhoSampled database
– A host of other features and functionality including links to buy tracks, personal favorites list plus intelligent contextual recommendations from every sample, cover and remix
WhoSampled dives more into music DNA and inspiration than just simple music discovery.You can search all on your own and peruse much of what the app has to offer without spending a dime or signing up or signing in. , sign-in with Facebook, or create a WhoSampled account. If you do choose to sign-in/sign-up you can then have the app scan your devices music and display your current artists and tracks so you can dig into where it came from and where it might have gone.
Additionally, you are also able to purchase your findings. Either through 7Digital or through the Play Store. Which ever you prefer. The WhoSampled app is free to install and does offer up a small banner ad at the bottom along with the occasional full screen ad. Give it a download and and see where your tunes might have come from and where they have gone off to.
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