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Tag: Android

Instagram for Android Updates to 1.1, Adds Tilt-Shift

Posted by Alan Buckingham at 3:38 PM on May 9, 2012

Instagram launched their long-awaited Android app just a few weeks ago.  It was followed by several small updates to get it up and working properly, but today they have finally released the first feature update, dubbed version 1.1.  The latest version adds just one feature, but it’s an important one to anyone that has used Instagram – tilt-shift.

The name may be a bit cryptic, but tilt-shift is essentially an effect that adds depth-of-field to your images.  In other words, it’s that cool effect you get in high-end DSLR cameras that causes the background to be blurred, bringing the subject into better focus.  With Instagram this isn’t done at the time the image is snapped, but in post-production with a filter.

In you are interested in more in-depth information about using this feature then you can head over to the Instagram blog to read their tips for using tilt-shift.  Instagram is available for free from the Google Play Store.

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Posted in Android, Photography

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Zik Parrot by Starck Headphones

Posted by Andrew at 11:00 AM on May 9, 2012

Announced earlier in the year, but launched tonight, the Zik Parrot by Starck headphones are seriously aspirational, coming with touch control, motion activation, active noise cancellation, NFC and Bluetooth connectivity. And of course, being designed by Philippe Starck, they look pretty cool too.

Zik Parrot By Starck

Aimed squarely at smartphones users and designed for listening on the move, the outside of the cans is touch-sensitive and recognises gestures, so swipe forwards to skip a track, swipe up or down to adjust the volume and if you take the headphones off, the music will automatically be paused.

Smartphone owners with NFC-enabled smartphones can pair their Zik and phone together simply by touching the two devices together. Bluetooth A2DP is supported and there’s also a 3.5mm audio socket for audio purists. The active noise cancellation insulates the listener from the outside world while DSP enhances and enlarges the music.

Complementary smartphone (or tablet) apps for iOS and Android are available from the applicable app stores.

Price – to be announced.

 

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Posted in Android, Apple, Gear, iOS, IPAD, iPhone, MP3, Music, smartphone, tablet

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Aurasma Augments Adverts

Posted by Andrew at 12:23 AM on May 1, 2012

Aurasma LogoAt Gadget Show Live, Aurasma were showing-off their impressive portfolio of augmented reality advertising campaigns. The list of clients is long and illustrious, including BBC, Sky, Bentley, Dunhill, Marks & Spencer, ebay and Stella Artois.

If you haven’t experienced augmented reality, it’s the overlaying of computer-generated imagery onto a real-world view as seen through a smartphone or tablet camera. The applications are myriad, from showing a video when the camera sees a billboard poster to providing information about the artist when looking at a painting.

AuraAurasma’s augmented reality app is available for both iOS and Android, and once loaded on your smartphone, you can start looking for enhanced adverts, which Aurasma call “Auras“. These have additional content which you can only see through your phone. Auras can also be created for real locations and while most of the Auras add animals or cars into the scene, they can also be used to put tourist information in the view.

In the last of my interviews from Gadget Show Live, I chat to Tamara from Aurasma, who told me more about Aurasma and Auras.

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Posted in Android, Apple, google, Interview, iOS, IPAD, iPhone, smartphone, Special Media, tablet

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FlyRights App Lets You File A Complaint With TSA

Posted by JenThorpe at 7:28 PM on April 28, 2012

An app called FlyRights will be released on April 30, 2012. The app provides people with an easy way to submit a complaint of unfair treatment by airport screeners with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). You can also send your complaint to the Sikh Coalition if you want to.

There have been situations where people felt that they were being discriminated against by the TSA. A person may feel that he or she was unfairly singled out because of gender, religion, or ethnicity. There really isn’t a way to file a complaint about it while the person is at the airport. After all, he or she has a flight to catch. This means that the incident will probably not get reported until after the person gets back home, and takes the time to go online and figure out how to file a complaint.

The FlyRights App makes things much easier. The app is compatible with both iPhone and Android devices. Complaints that are filed through the app will be reviewed as official complaints by the TSA and DHS. The app asks you a series of questions in an incident report format. It helps you to make sure that you are reporting key information.

You can also use the app to send out a tweet to let your followers on Twitter know that you have filed a complaint against the TSA. The app also gives you information about your rights. The app is a product of The Sikh Coalition and was developed by Iconify.

Image by The Sikh Coalition

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Posted in Android, application, iPhone

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BubbleScope Takes 360° Pictures and Video at The Gadget Show

Posted by Andrew at 11:31 PM on April 18, 2012

The BubbleScope is an optical attachment for smartphones that takes 360° pictures and video called “Bubbles”. The BubblePix smartphone app is used to capture, view and share online the Bubbles, which can be hosted free at bubblepix.com. The pictures below gives you a feel of wraparound nature of a Bubble but when it’s in the BubblePix app, it joins up seamlessly. Here’s one in a fountain - the effect is amazing.

Gadget Show Bubble

Rollercoaster Bubble

Shaped a bit like a periscope, the BubbleScope attaches to the to the smartphone and uses the phone’s built-in camera to record the imagery. The optical part of the scope pops up and down to keep it clean and undamaged. Available initially for the iPhone 4 & 4S, it will be on sale this summer for £64.99. Versions compatible with other leading smartphones (Android) will be released shortly afterwards.

BubbleScoppe

In the interview at the Gadget Show Live, I talk with Tom Lawton, the inventor of BubbleScope about the device and how it took ten years to turn it from idea to product.

This is my favourite interview from the Gadget Show Live, so if you only listen to one of these, listen to this one.

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Posted in Accessory, Android, Apple, google, Interview, iOS, iPhone, Photography, smartphone, Special Media

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Metaio Augmented Reality at The Gadget Show

Posted by Andrew at 12:12 AM on April 18, 2012

Metaio logoThere’s no doubt that augmented reality (AR) is hot area at the moment, with several exhibitors at Gadget Show Live showing off products and software. Metaio is one such company and it provides AR software for Vuzix‘s high-tech glasses.

Vuzix

Sascha Kiener from Metaio gave me an impressive demonstration of the their product. I put on a pair of glasses and when I was shown a picture of a T-Rex, a 3D image of the dinosaur appeared out of the picture. There didn’t seem to be anything special about the dinosaur picture and the illusion worked regardless of the orientation of the picture, so you could turn the picture to turn the dinosaur. All very clever.

In the interview, Sascha talks to me about augmented reality and some of the prospects for the future.

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Posted in 3D, Android, Gaming, Gear, google, Interview, Special Media

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3M’s Personal Projectors at The Gadget Show

Posted by Andrew at 12:28 AM on April 17, 2012

3M LogoPowerpoint and data projectors have become synonymous with business presentations and I dread to think how many people I have bored over the years. As with almost any technology, the data projectors have got smaller and cheaper, but this was the first time I’d seen how small personal projectors had become. As you can see from the photograph, most would actually fit in a (large) pocket.

3M Pocket Projectors

3M have a range of seven projectors, of which four were on show at The Gadget Show. Unsurprisingly, the different models have different capabilities and there’s more product information here (not all the new models are on the site yet), but I was genuinely impressed by how good the pictures were. The NEC is not a darkened room and yet it was easy to see the presentation or film that was being projected.

As you’d expect the different models have different features; battery size, wireless connectivity, in-built memory and a new model, the MP220, runs Android (it’s the one on the left side of the photograph). I chat with Peter from 3M about the new additions to the range.

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Posted in Accessory, Android, business, Gadgets, Gear, google, Interview, office, Special Media

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