Instagram Updated With 15 Second Video

A major update to the outrageously popular photo sharing app Instagram has arrived, bringing the ability to shoot short video clips up to 15 seconds in length. It’s a move to counter the new hit viral video sharing app Vine, also recently released. To be blunt, Instagram has thrown down the gauntlet with this update and has surpassed almost every feature included in Vine.

Of course, the trademark filtering feature present in Instagram is also included in the video mode. Users can take a short video and apply 13 different video exclusive filters to their clip. The app has a simple button for taking videos and you simply tap and hold to begin capturing video, and release when you’re done. Once the video has been recorded, you can select a thumbnail image to appear for the video from the footage you’ve captured. Videos will appear automatically in your feed and can be viewed right away. They do not loop as they do in Vine but can be replayed if you want.

Besides the great filters that you can apply for interesting effects, Instagram has included a new ‘Cinema’ feature with image stabilization for shaky hands or if you’re taking video in a car or on a boat. It’s a great little addition to the app that makes you feel more like a pro photographer. There are some simple editing features as well which are also a thoughtful addition.

The new and improved Instagram is available for iOS and Android right now. If you’re an Instagram fan, download it right away.

Instagram for iOS | Android

Sleep Better with Sleep Genius For iOS

Sleep Genius is a new sleeping aid app for iOS devices. It features three modes with a distinct approach to improving your sleep and sleep quality. Sleep Genius claims that the app is inspired by the latest scientific sleep studies and should help anyone trying to get a good rest in this hectic sleep deprived world.

The first mode, aptly named ‘Sleep’, has three specially designed programs to help you fall asleep and maintain a peaceful sleep. One of the programs, called ‘Renewed Universe’ is available for free as the default and the other two can be purchased in app for $2.99 each. In ‘Sleep’ mode, a series of sleep inducing sounds and rhythms play to music designed to help you gently fall asleep. You can set the program to play continuously while you sleep or you can set it to a timer that will shut it off after a specified period.

The second mode, called ‘Alarm’, has a new take on the old obnoxious alarm clock most of us dread. Instead of blaring some terrible noise that wakes you up in a bad mood, ‘Alarm’ uses something they call ‘Revive Cycle’ to slowly build to a waking state from a sleeping one. Before the alarm sounds, the app plays some gentle, low sounds to bring you out of the deepest sleep so that the awakening doesn’t ruin all of the good done by sleeping.

Finally, there is ‘Power Naps’ mode that guides you through a quick 30-minute nap meant for a quick boost. The app emphasizes that studies have shown that a good nap can provide a noticeable recharge of your mental and physical energy. ‘Power Nap’ handles the entire process smoothly and is a great help if you want a quick recharge.

Sleep Genius also features a thoughtful guide on the data and research behind many of the sleep aid techniques used in the app. If you find yourself wondering how a certain feature works, or are just more curious about sleep, the guide is fantastic. It also has a series of extra sleep tips you can use.

Source: Sleep Genius for iOS

[Image Credit: Apple iTunes Store]

 

 

Rockmelt : Best of Web & News for Android

Rockmelt : Best of Web & News is a new mobile news reader app for all Android devices. The app helps you find the hottest news, stories, blogs, and videos fast. Like many other news aggregator apps, Rockmelt uses your browsing habits and preferences to serve up a personalized experience to you. The top stories and news appear on the home screen and change according to the types of content you like to view. This personalization aspect is a major part of Rockmelt, and the more you use it, the more accurate the recommended news and videos get. You’ll often be presented with content that you might not have found on your own but that perfectly suits your tastes based on your browsing habits and preferences.

It wouldn’t be a modern app without the social networking side and Rockmelt has that covered. You can instantly share your favorite sites and stories with friends on other social networks or directly within the Rockmelt app. You can view what your friends like and even browse along with them and leave comments.

Rockmelt also promises a faster browsing experience with no ads. The app shows only the good stuff and cuts out the ads that clutter so many blogs and videos and interrupt the viewing experience. This speeds up browsing significantly and makes it more pleasant overall. The app also claims very fast rendering of all content from text to video.

It’s nothing revolutionary, but Rockmelt : Best of Web & News is an attractive and solid reader app that makes browsing fast and easy. It’s available now free on Google Play for all Android devices 4.0 and up. If you’ve never used an aggregator app, give it a shot, it’s a lot of fun.

Source: Rockmelt App for Android

[Image Credit: Google Play Store]

 

Yandex.Browser for Android

Yandex is the popular Russian competitor to Google and offers many of the same services but specifically tailored for Russian users. They’ve now added their own dedicated browser for Android, Yandex.Browser, to the list of services they provide. The browser is what you’d expect from a mobile browsing app but has a few noteworthy features. One difference is a single search bar for URLs and searches that is located on the bottom of the screen instead of the top as in most other current browsers. This is meant to make it easier for users of Android devices with larger screens to access the search bar quickly. Those seconds of having to move your finger all the way to the top of the screen just to start a search can add up. There is also a feature called Tablo that displays a table of your most visited sites for quick access. You can of course customize which sites are in Tablo. The browser also sports a very convenient data compression feature to help pages load faster even on a slow connection. Yandex handles some of the processing ahead of time and only loads what is necessary to give you the fastest browsing experience possible.

In an interesting move, the non-Russian versions of Yandex actually use the dominant search engines for their region instead of Yandex’s own engine. For example in the English version, Yandex uses Google as the default search though you can choose to use Bing or Yahoo if you choose. This is meant to make the results more familiar to each region’s users.

Yandex.Browser is a good move for the still-growing Yandex. If you want to try a light and capable browser, check it out for free on Google Play.

Source: Yandex.Browser for Android

[Image Credit: Google Play Store]

Work Out With Fitness Check-up for Android

Have you ever been sitting around, playing with your Android device and wondered how fit you are? Now you can get a good idea with Fitness Check-up for Android, a fitness and exercise app. Fitness Check-up comes with a series of 11 different fitness tests to assess your overall fitness level. The test types include : Flexibility, Balance, Body Core, Strength, Capacity for effort, Muscle Tone, Explosiveness, Pulse at rest, Body mass index, Body fat index and Reaction speed. At first, you are limited to 6 tests but as you complete these, an additional 5 are unlocked. When you first start, you must specify some data including your weight, height, age, and gender so that the app can more accurately monitor your fitness.

Once you’ve entered that data, just choose a test type and follow the directions. You’ll be asked to perform the appropriate fitness test or measurement. On some of the tests that cannot be directly measured, you will be asked to input your performance manually. Once you’re done, you can view an analysis of your results which gives you an idea of how fit you are for your body type and age. Your performance will be tracked and scored so that you can view your progress over time. There is a Check Up section as well which has a nice chart showing your scores across all 11 tests and is a great way to quickly check your overall fitness at a glance. You can also compare results over social media and compete with friends.

The app includes a fun extra feature that monitors your heart rate via the rear camera on your device. You simply hold a finger over the camera and it will detect your heart rate and display it in beats per minute. This feature is only available on certain exercises but it can be a lot of fun.

Get up and test your fitness with Fitness Check-up for Android, available now for free on Google Play.

[Image Credit: Google Play Store]

iOS7 Parallax Live Wallpaper for Android

Don’t let the name confuse you, iOS7 Parallax Live Wallpaper is a new app that brings a very cool 3D effect to your Android device. Whenever you tilt or roll the device, the device wallpaper shifts with each movement and gives the illusion of being in 3D. This effect was shown in Apple’s latest demos of their upcoming iOS7 release but you can have the feature on your Android device today!

The app comes with a great set of stock backgrounds to choose from but there is an amazing feature to allow you to use your own images as well. Anything you can dream of can be made into a 3D wallpaper for your device from photos to original artwork. The app has plenty of customization features to control how visible the 3D effect is and how responsive it is to your gyroscope and device movements. If you feel that the effect is too much or too subtle, not responsive enough or overly jumpy, all of that can be tweaked in the settings menu. You can even control the image zoom if you only want a part of it shown or the original image is too small for the background. The image can also be locked to match screen rotation if you prefer.

If you’ve seen the Apple demo of the 3D wallpaper feature and were feeling envious as an Android user, it’s your lucky day. Now you can have the effect before iOS7 is even released. iOS7 Parallax Live Wallpaper is on the Google Play store now for $1.40 and works on all Android devices 2.3 and higher.

Source: iOS7 Parallax Live Wallpaper for Android

[Image Credit: Google Play Store]