Get Hollywood quality special effects in your iPhone movie projects. This was the simple challenge I had from a 5 and 8 year old, fortunate for me there is an app for that. Action Movie FX is a free iOS app that gives you two free effects of a Missile Attack and Car Crash with additional special effects available for an in-app purchase.
The app has a built-in slider control that lets you place each effect where you desire. The effect is about 5 seconds in duration so your video needs to be longer than 5 seconds. If your timing is off you can make adjustments during the edit process. This is not a high precision frame-by-frame editor but it gets the job done. From inside the app you can share your video via Facebook, Email, or to the Camera Roll.
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The holiday’s are a time for new tech toys. Some will be luck enough to get an iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Some of the aspects of the platform are obvious while others many of the tips and tricks are less obvious but extremely valuable users who are new to the platform.
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There is a saying among photographers that the best camera you have is the one that is on you.
Most would-be photographers, if they know in advance that they will be at an event at which they will take pictures, remember to bring their dedicated point and shoot camera, if not, a DSLR. The problem, however, is that many of life’s moments happen when when your dedicated camera is in the camera bag.
Most people, no matter where they are, have their mobile phone with them, pretty much, at all times, so, if it is true that the best camera to have is the camera you have on you, the best camera to have usually turns out to be a camera phone.
Apple has released the much awaited iOS 5.01, which should address the battery issues many users are experiencing. Hopefully it also covers the recent security exploit highlighted by Charlie Miller. Additionally this update should address multi touch gestures on the original iPad, bugs with iCould documents, voice recognition for Australian users using dictation.
This is the first time you are able to update your iOS device OTA (over the air). Over WiFi this update took about 1 minutes from clicking the button until it rebooted and started the install. The install itself was completed in 3-4 minutes. I remain connected to power, just in case. If you have not received and update you can force a check by going to Settings | General | Software Update.
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Why in the hell did they make the iPhone 4S out of glass? That was the single question asked by a friend who dropped her iPhone today from her lap to the floor, a mere 2 1/2 foot drop. She opted for a super slim case that is designed to protect from scratches vs. drops. Given the frequency at which people break the glass on the front or the back of the iPhone and the new AppleCare+ plan, I for one hope that the iPhone 5 moves away from the fragile design. In case you hadn’t heard, Apple considers cracked screens and backs to be ‘cosmetic damage’ and ineligible for replacement.
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Nokia is notorious for its disdain of nearly anyone else beside themselves, so I was quite surprised when I heard that they would be releasing a version of their Nokia Maps for Android and iOS devices running HTML 5. My first thought was, “Who cares? I love my Google Maps.” Nokia Maps can do all of the same things that Google Maps can, but until recently, they only offered driving directions. Nokia finally got with the times and now offers walking directions, as well, and even included public transportation directions and Points of Interest(POI) information as well. The POI’s and public transport stuff is pretty cool, but I still wasn’t interested…that is, until I heard their coup de grace; offline maps!
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Text Shortcuts is a new feature of iOS 5 that can save you time typing repetitive phrases, words with accent marks, or just correcting spelling. Think of Text Shortcuts as a macro that turns AML into “all my love”, AYTMTB into “and you’re telling me that because”, FTW into “for the win”, or PRW into “parents are watching”. This is not new technology, as it exists today in an iOS app called TextExpander and on BlackBerry OS with Auto Text. This is, however, a nice integrated solution for iOS devices. Let me show you how to do add text shortcuts for yourself in iOS 5.
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iOS 5 requires a little more setup than previous versions, given the addition of iMessage and iCloud. This setup is simple where one iTunes account maps to one user, however, families often share accounts to reduce the cost of purchasing apps on every device. This can sometimes lead to a bit of confusion. Case in point, I started an iMessage conversation with a friend I was meeting to watch Monday Night Football. What I did not realize is that his iMessage account was configured for his wive’s iPhone, not his own.
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iOS 5.0 delivered to iPhone users some amazing features like Siri, Notification Panel, and iMessage to name but a few. Not every great feature has to be in the big showcased features. Here are 5 new features of iOS that make having an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch more functional.
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One of the most frequent questions since iOS 5 was released has been Why can’t my friends see me in iMessage? For many the issue comes down to their iTunes account email address being associated with an account they don’t frequently use. This post will help you to check your iMessage settings and verify you have the correct receive at address set.
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