INSYNC Corp. has launched inSync, the first UK-based dating app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The app uses an advanced match-making algorithm to help users find other people with compatible personalities.
Users can connect to spark a romance or simply pursue a friendship with someone who has similar interests or hobbies.
InSync also has a unique feature called SyncSafe that adds a new level of protection for people involved in online dating. When users agree to meet for the first time, the app will present a pop-up screen containing the latest health warnings and advice from government health sources.
For added security, SyncSafe allows users to turn on a tracking option that will follow the user from the start until the end of the date.
InSync users can purchase a SyncBoost that will increase the visibility of their profile and give them access to a special page to find others who have also joined SyncBoost. Another option is the exclusive SyncClub that offers even more visibility as well as weekly SyncBoosts.
The inSync app is available as a free download in the Apple App Store. Membership plans can be purchased for as little as £1.99.
Do you remember what Steve Jobs said about the iPad? It was intended to be a platform for consuming media - listening to music, watching video or reading books and magazines.
I suppose that’s why there’s nothing like the Mac's Finder built into Apple's iOS operating system for portable devices.
My Files is an iOS app designed to fill that vacancy. It lets you do things you expect to do with a computer, like create folders and text files and do things like cut, paste, delete or rename - all the things we learned to do with a computer.
The app also includes a document viewer plus an audio and video player. You can view PDF, Word and Excel files, extract files compressed with ZIP or RAR utilities and send a file as an email attachment.
In the app, files appear with a + button that reveals a menu of action when it’s tapped. You can also use a long press to select or deselect text and other data. File security is protected with a passcode and encryption.
My Files is available as a free download in the iTunes App Store.
When it comes to my son and me, we are a family divided. While I’ll be tuning in to watch the Colts this weekend, he’ll be at the Chargers game in San Diego. More importantly, while I’m all in with Apple’s mobile devices, he’s all things Android.
But we both like to keep up with any news from the mobile world and that’s why I know we’ll both like Mobile News Flash, a website that tracks the latest news, reviews and product deals from the world of Android, Apple, Blackberry and Microsoft phones.
The site mixes feed of real time news from more than 100 sources that include well-known names such as Cult of Mac, Droid Life, Android Authority, Windows Central, CNet and Mobile World Live. Each report includes the headline and a summary.
Click the headline to read the full story on the originating site or check the Sources button to get a summary of all articles from a selected sources sorted by date. Readers can also drill down to find news tagged by topics such as iPod, Nexus, Samsung or Huawei.
Other options reveal price cuts and other deals of posts from Freelancer.com and other sources that list job openings in the mobile technology industry.
Dynasty Blades is among the latest class of role playing action games that have found a welcoming home on handheld devices. Released a few weeks ago by the Shenzhen-based game developers Ezfun Interactive Technology, the game mixes sword-swinging combat with a high level of group interaction .
Players can assemble a powerful team of dynasty heroes by choosing warriors such as Zhao Yun, Lu Bu, Cao Cao, or Zhang Fei and boost their skills and attributes.
They can also create a guild and invite other players to join and shoot for the top of the game’s leaderboards. During the game, players will discover rare armor, weapons, gems, pets, an battle flags.
Built on a story line called "Romance of Three Kingdoms,” Dynasty Blades features an arena where players match their skills using a variety of deadly weapons. Combatants can slice up their enemies with the lightning-fast Dual Blade, summon storms down upon them or shoot them down with the magic Firelock.
I’m a big fan of photo collages. I used them in greeting cards and posters and share them on social media. But with many of my friends posting their best shots on Instagram, it’s been difficult to collect, edit and organize their images.
Then I found PhotoCook, an app designed specifically for Instagrammers. The app roofers a wide variety of grids that can be easily populated with Instagram photos.
It also has advanced features such as 20 different filters and a huge library of stickers. Users can also use sliders to adjust border sizes and corners.
Finished collages can be shared on Instagram where #photocook will link a project with other PhotoCook users.
iOS users can download the app for free in the iTunes App store.
When I was a college students with books or other item to sell, my only advertising option was a note posted on a bulletin board in the dorm or at the student union. Those notes typically described the item and included a few tear-off tabs with my phone number. Nobody I knew could afford buying a classified ad in the student newspaper.
Today, anybody can sell stuff on eBay, but who needs a global audience when you’re selling a Psych textbook that may be used only in your school?
That’s where iCampusList comes in. It’s a website and iOS app that helps college students buy and sell within their own campus community. Posting to the iCampusList database is free and users are verified through the service’s registration process. Payments go through the iCampusList website to reduce fraud and buyers and sellers can post reviews and ratings after a successful transaction.
In addition to goods, the service also lists coupons, discounts and gift cards from local businesses aimed at students and the campus community along with job opportunities that might interest students.
The university where I graduated has a gallery attached to its art department and when I stroll through it, I often think that the student work on display is just as good as work I’ve seen in major art museums in the US and Europe.
I also wonder how these new artists will ever will ever find a wider audience for their work. If they’re lucky, they might get a show in a local gallery, but that would only reach a small number of potential buyers or backers.
Recently I heard about a website and app called BBuzzArt that has the potential to bring new art to a global audience. Using BBuzzArt, artists can upload digital examples of their work with descriptions, categories and keywords.
There app’s main page displays work chosen by a group of curators from around the world. Am option called Discover lets you browse through all uploads by all artists. A Keyword tab sorts the work according to tags and Show points you to current art shows near you. Artists, gallery owners and users can add to the list of shows.
Social scientists say we tend to associate and fall in love with people from our own tribe. That’s why you may have heard about online dating services for Christians, farmers, African-Americans and other demographic groups. But you might not know that there’s a dating platform for people who have sexually transmitted diseases.
PositiveSingles says it’s the original STD / STI dating app for singles who are living with genital Herpes (hsv-2), Oral Herpes (hsv-1), Genital Warts, HPV and HIV / AIDS.
Those people likely include your friends and neighbors. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there are more than 110 million sexually transmitted infections among men and women in the United States.
The app lets users browse with a specific criteria and matches users anonymously. It has a private photo album that can be viewed only with the user’s authorization and it has a pattern lock screen to launch the app plus other features that protect the user’s privacy.
With portable computers, mobile phones and easy access to the Internet, an employee can work almost anywhere. But when employees work at different locations, times and time zones, it can be difficult for managers to keep track of their working hours.
A new app called Regular.li lets use their smartphones to check in and check out.
For employees, the app displays a big “In” button that they can click when they're on the clock or when they arrive at a designated work site. They can also add a selfie if necessary.
Managers can see who has checked in at any time and view statistics that show which employees were working at a particular time and how many logged in on time. If employees are required to be in a specific location, managers can set a GPS fence for for that location. The app will also work with a WiFi SSID system or with a commercial fingerprint scanner.
Like many members, Facebook for me has become a source of news as friends share notes about festivals, crimes, accidents of new businesses in their areas. That’s fine, but my friends are spread out and in most cases, I don’t live their area. I would be far more interested in seeing news about my community.
That’s the idea behind SaidHere, a new iOS app that uses geographical boundaries to create hyperlocal information services. The app enables users to share geotagged content in real time. They can tell their neighbors about a nearby street closure and let reader in their city know about an upcoming government meeting.
The app also allows users to send a private message with a geofence limit around it. The person who gets the message will see the content only when they are inside that same geographical area. It can also be used to create a collection of past events and to inform people about a specific place, an historical site, for instance, before they arrive.
SaidHere is currently available for free in the iTunes App Store.
Like many people, I have lists of things I need to do. Some tasks are work-related and some are personal. There’s the written lists my wife dives me almost daily. There are my digital lists scattered among my mobile apps, including Evernote and text editors. And there are the many items that flit in and out of my brain.
If I’m ever going to be more product, my chore lists need to be more orderly, like the ones in Orderly. It's an iOS app that organizes task lists in a way that matches how our brains work and also keeps those lists stored and accessible.
The app has an attractive visual layout that lets users organize their tasks in folders and by topic. You can have a folder for travel planning, one for home improvement projects and others for grocery shopping or daily chores. An especially clever feature lets you set location-based reminders. I would use it to tell meet pick up a box of cannoli when I’m near my favorite Sicilian bakery.
Our home and the small business that I run from it always seem to need some sort of service. The house needs a cleaning service and a handyman to repair some storm damage. The business could use a tax accountant, a computer consultant and occasional legal advice.
I found access to all those services plus a lot more through SerCle, a new web and mobile platform that quickly connects service providers to people who need them.
The platform incorporates both a website and free apps that work on Android or iOS mobile phones. SerCle says it's working on a version for tablets). Users can browse through the SerCle categories to find services grouped under more than 20 topics. The categories include personal services such as spas, massages, health and beauty professionals, tutors and housekeepers. Topics aimed at business managers include travel managers, delivery services, computer repair and event planners.
App users are presented with a list of categories, each containing individual profiles of service providers. Each entry typically display a gallery of photos, a location map, business hours, and contact information including a phone number, street address and email address. Profiles also include reviews, with comments and star ratings, from people who have used the service and some listings include discounts and special offers.
Other online indexes offer similar packages, but SerCle goes a couple of steps further. For example, app users can book a service directly from the app. If the reviews and posted prices look good, you can schedule a rug cleaning or an oil change right from the app.
Another useful feature is SerCle Messaging, which lets consumers chat directly and quickly with companies. The business is notified when a consumer posts a question. I tried the chat feature by posting a question to a tennis instructor (because Lord knows, my game needs help). I got a detailed reply in less than 10 minutes. That’s a better response time than what I often get with a phone call.
And about those user reviews, all of them that I read were posted by people who used their full name. SerCle says it makes a special effort to insure that reviews are legitimate and to protect businesses from being bombed with paid reviews or negative comments generated by competitors. My attitude is, if someone has an opinion to share, they should be willing to put their name on it.
My one disappointment with SerCle was not finding a lot of listings for services in my part of the country. Most of what I found were businesses based in western or southwestern states. I That’s not surprising, given how often new digital business ideas sprout on the West Coast. This is one I hope will keep spreading.
Both consumers and businesses can get more details about SerCle in the video below and on the SerCle website. The mobile apps are available for free in the iTunes App Store and the Google Play Store.
I use eBay and Craigslist both coming and going. I buy and bid on stuff that I need or want while also posting items that I want to sell. It would save me time and money if I could do a simple swap.
That’s the idea behind Barterbu, a mobile app that helps people connect with others who have something to trade. The app lets users post photos and descriptions off multiple items and chat with interested parties.
While Barterbu lets users anywhere join the swapfest, it notes their location. That can be a welcome feature if you’re bartering over a bulky item like a bike or snowboard where a face-to-face exchange would be preferable.
Now that we’re deep into the holiday season, it’s a good time to capture holiday parties, events, feasts and get-togethers with friends and family. If you’re looking for a new way to quickly create colorful and personalized photos and videos, take a look at Snapwit.
It’s an app for iOS devices from Pinwheel Software that can take both photos and short videos up to 30 seconds. The iPhone camera and other apps can do that, but Snapwit goes a step further by offering a range of special features. For example, you can turn an image or video into a postcard by adding a frame and custom text.
If you’re an emoji fan, Snapwit has an extensive library of stickers, including animated versions, that you can apply to your creation. You can also apply a filter to make a video crackle and pop by turning up the color saturation or giving it a surreal look.
Once you’re finished, Snapwit makes it easy to share your work with a quick link to Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, Twitter, Wechat, Instagram or other platforms.
Snapwit is free and available in the iTunes App Store and you can find news and updates @snapwitapp on Twitter.
Video calls can be much more personal and entertaining than an ordinary voice conversation and now an app called ChatGame lookalike it can add even more fun.
The app lets users have free high-def video calls and messaging. It also lets users select from a collection of animated video avatars to enhance your looks and give your image a personalized style.
ChatGame takes the pressure out of going on live TV. It puts your best face forward, so you don’t have to worry that hair isn’t properly combed or you haven’t applied makeup.
A new updated version has enhanced the avatar options and reduced the amount of data needed to make calls. With the current version, a video call is almost equal to a voice call.
You can start your video call instantly from your recent contact list. It's simple, fast and easy with ChatGame. You can also make new friends and reconnect with your old friends by inviting your friends from other social media apps through ChatGame.
ChatGame can work with your friends lists on other social media to connect you for video calls. And it has a featured called Radar that helps users find new friends is 195 countries.
If you think too many mobile games are way too complicated, then take a look at Beat 30! The game tests the speed and accuracy of your fingers by challenging you to tap a shaded square.
That part is easy to easy to grasp, but there’s more. You only have 10 seconds to tap and you don’t win unless you register at least 30 taps. The target square keeps moving around the playing area and you have to move with it, and move quickly.
The game is available as a free download. There are versions for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch in the iTunes App Store and a version for Androids in the Google Play Store.
You never know when musical inspiration is going to strike. Keith Richards said he was asleep when the signature riff in “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” popped into his head.
Back then, he used a cheap cassette tape recorder to capture the beat. Today, musicians can carry advanced creativity tools in their pockets. Speazie, for example, is a mobile app that provides both a recording tool and access to an online community of musicians, rappers, artists and other creators.
The app lets users customize beats beats that have been uploaded by other or contribute their own original creation. Users can record their part from their phone, edit the track using Speazie’s built-in audio editing tools and then share their track with the Speazie community. And by adding a personal profile, users can share their music preferences and find potential collaborators.
The Speazie app is currently available as free download in the iTunes App Store and an Android version is coming soon.
At family events or similar activities, it’s understood that everybody will be Facebooking. They’ll be taking selfies, posting photos and videos, clicking the Like button and adding comments. It’s fun but rather disorganized because it’s easy to miss someone’s post or feel left out of the conversation.
Yuppi is an alternative that includes everyone who should be involved. It sets up a platform that can be shared by friends, family members, colleagues or any other designated group. Yuppie is designed to erect a tent around a party, a conference or a trip.
Yuppi eliminates the need for all those follow-up requests to forward or share photos or other interrogations that may have slipped by. It works in real time to capture, records and allow responses to real-time moments.
Users can shake their phones to begin sharing a moment and they can follow other group members and pick up followers. It can also include members who aren’t physically part of the event.
Yuppi is a free app for iOS devices that is available in the iTunes App Store.
The Great American Smokeout returns on Nov. 19. It’s an annual event sponsored by the American Cancer Society that encourages smokers to quit, even if it’s just for one day. The ACS says about 42 million Americans still smoke cigarettes, even though their addictive properties and health dangers are well known.
Smokers are likely to be familiar with nicotine patches, chewing gum and other tools to help them kick the habit. But they may hat have heard about SmartQuit, a program that uses a smartphone app to counsel and encourage smokers to stay on track.
The app was developed by2 Morrow in collaboration with Jonathan Bricker, a Ph.D. researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle. The app helps users link smoking to things that are important to them, such as their family, and it includes a series of exercises that help them track and deal with their urges.
SmartQuit is the only app that has been tested in a clinical trial. Many companies have begun making the program available free to employees and the state of Washington recently offered the program for free to residents.
Smokers who want to try SmartQuit can download a free trial version of the app in the Apple iTunes Store or the Google Play Store. If they want to continue, they can upgrade to the full version for $50.
I was quick to embrace electronic mail as far back at MCI Mail in the 1980s followed by CompuServe, The source and American Online. I used and valued all of them and the speed and convenience that they provided.
But I still get a little nostalgic for the personal touch that comes with a handwritten letter. So do the folks at lettrs.
They developed a mobile app that captures the visual appeal of communication that arrives with a signature, a postage stamp and sometimes a personal doodle.
With lettrs, people can create well-written and personalized messages that can be translated in 80 languages and shared through major social networks.
You can customize an original message with photos, interesting fonts, a personal signature and some really clever stamps. Users can also find and communicate with global penpals.
Users can also follow celebrities and sports figures like Denver Nuggets guard Gary Harris who used lettrs last summer to compose and post a “love letter to Denver.”
The lettrs app is available free in version for iOS in the iTunes App Store and for Androids in the Google Play Store. Check the video below to see how lettrs works.
I started reporting on gadgets and gear when Atari ruled electronic games and computers used floppy disks. My weekly column ran in the The Louisville Courier-Journal and online at USAToday.com and ABC News.com. I was a regular at tech trade shows including COMDEX, CES and the CEDIA show for home theater. Follow @GizmoEditor on Twitter and on Facebook. Contact me at ricman@iglou.comI also create short videos for vendors to use on Amazon and YouTube. Click here to see a portfolio of my recent videos.
Video by Gizmo
Need a video to promote your app or product? Check out my gig at Fiverr.com and browse my video portfolio here.
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