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Editing Video On Your iPhone? Yes, There’s Even An App For That!

J.R. Bookwalter — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:18:17 -0600

While it may not pack the power of Final Cut Pro, Nexvio’s ReelDirector does allow you to do what seemed impossible just a short time ago: Edit video on your iPhone and share it with friends and family.

Thanks to Apple bringing video recording to the iPhone 3GS, users can now shoot quick movies on the go and even do basic trimming to focus on just the material they want. But thanks to a $7.99 app called ReelDirector, you can do that and a whole lot more, especially now that the clever app has hit version 2.

ReelDirector 2 adds the ability to do multi-track sound editing and mixing, use still photos in addition to video and even do a Ken Burns effect (limited to a simple zoom-in, but still an impressive feature for a cell phone app). iPhone editors can also adjust the length of opening and closing titles and even automatically flip any clips that may have been imported upside-down.

According to TUAW.com, ReelDirector works well, and finished videos can be e-mailed (within limitations) or save them to your camera roll for later export. But ReelDirector can’t do everything, mainly due to limits imposed by Apple’s iPhone SDK. The biggest among them is the inability to use your iPod music for background sound. The best workaround so far is to record your music through the iPhone’s microphone.

While ReelDirector is probably best compared to iMovie rather than Final Cut Pro, the ability to edit quick videos and share them with loved ones without ever touching a computer is still quite remarkable. Nexvio’s developers have upped the ante with version 2 and continue to work on user-requested features for future releases.

New Site Puts The Spotlight On Rejected iPhone Apps

J.R. Bookwalter — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:31:24 -0600

Tales of Apple rejecting iPhone App Store apps have become commonplace these days as developers take their sob stories to the masses. It was only a matter of time before someone collected the information and opened a one-stop repository for them.

The brainchild of iPhone app developer Adam Martin, AppRejections.com is the place to go. Formerly a developer for what he calls “a large multinational games publisher,” Martin began writing iPhone apps in late 2008, and after reading other developers’ rejection stories, he was inspired to create a resource devoted to the subject.

As Martin explains on the site, “Since Apple point-blank refuses to document the criteria — or even discuss the matter on anything except a case-by-case basis — I decided to collate all the known examples of rejected apps. And so this site was born.”

The site encourages readers to send app rejection news to Martin’s Twitter account, @redglassesapps. For now, there are only 2 pages of rejection notices on the sparsely-designed site, but as word about it spreads, that number should balloon accordingly.

For his part, Martin hopes the site will create better communication between app developers and Apple: “Read it for fun. Read it to find out the cutting edges of iPhone dev that other developers are riding along. Read it to find out what you can (and can’t) get away with. Show it to clients who ask too much, as evidence that you’re not being difficult — their app really will get rejected if you add the features they’re demanding!”

Touch DJ Turns Your iPhone Into A Pro DJ

J.R. Bookwalter — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:33:51 -0600

Samantha Ronson, step aside — there’s a new DJ in town, courtesy of your iPhone and a new app called Touch DJ.

Landing in the App Store from developer Amidio, Touch DJ stakes the claim of being the first full-featured DJ application on the iPhone, according to Macworld. It joins Amidio’s stable of other music apps such as Noise.io™ Pro Synth, JR Hexatone™ Pro and Hot Dancer.

Touch DJ — billed as turning your iPhone “into a futuristic DJ MP3 mixer” — allows loading of two MP3/M4A files with real-time, independent manipulation, including effects, pitching, equalization, positioning, scratching and looping.

A unique, user-friendly interface, coupled with a highly advanced, zero-latency sound engine boasts “fantastic” results comparable to what can be done with pro hardware worth at least $1,000.

Touch DJ introduces “visual mixing,” which shows the audio waveforms next to each other on the iPhone screen. Because the device only has one stereo audio output, the visual mixing enables the user to see which tracks mix well together, adjusting them by sight. For instance, lower bass parts are rendered in a different color than other higher frequencies.

Other features include LP filter FX for each track, vinyl Spin and Break effects, an onboard, 3-slot sampler which accepts .WAV files and the ability to record your own samples using the iPhone microphone. 25 dance tracks from DanceMusicHub.com are included to get you going, and you can import your own MP3 files easily (Touch DJ can’t access your iPod library, however).

Touch DJ is available now in the App Store for $19.99 and requires OS 3.0 or later.

Snapture Hits Version 2.0

J.R. Bookwalter — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:56:49 -0600

If you love taking pictures with your iPhone, you have probably already realized the limitations of the built-in Camera app. One of the best alternatives in the App Store has just gotten better with a fresh new 2.0 update.

Snapture 2.0 just hit the App Store with a host of new features, including tap-to-focus on the iPhone 3GS, instant photo sharing to Facebook and Twitter and three color filters that allow you to take photos in black & white, sepia or negative (inverted) in addition to full color.

Boasting over a half million satisfied customers, Snapture’s previous version already held an impressive lead over the Camera app with high-speed multishot, the ability to tap anywhere on the screen to take a picture, TouchZone stabilization and much more.

Snapture’s patent-pending Quickview technology lets you snap a picture and instantly see the result in the corner of your screen. Press and hold the picture and you’ll get a closer look. You can easily e-mail a good photo or delete a bad one by sliding the thumbnail across the screen, avoiding a trip to the Camera Roll.

Best of all, Snapture 2.0 is now only $1.99 — that’s 75% off for Thanksgiving (and as always, a free update for existing customers). It’s a great addition to your holiday photo arsenal!

A New Twist On iPhone Language Translation

J.R. Bookwalter — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:57:20 -0600

Apple’s iPhone App Store is literally bursting at the seams with travel phrasebooks and language translators, which are a natural for such a pocketable device. But if you’re looking for something that handles the task a little differently, take a look at iLingual.

Available in three languages — French, German and Arabic — each version allows you to snap a picture of your mouth, which iLingual then analyzes and converts into an animated version. Choose a phrase from the library of over 400 included ones, hold your iPhone over your mouth and the app does the rest, as seen in the YouTube video below.

The free apps from developer Emirates weigh it between 70 and 90 MB (with French being the largest), and allow you to add multiple users, choose male and female voices and even alter the pitch of the voices. The apps currently only convert English to one of the three destination languages.

Of course, in practical use you’ll likely get more attention for your method of delivery than for the message you’re trying to convey when using iLingual. But it’s more entertaining than trying to fumble through a phrasebook when speaking to the locals, don’t you think?

Podcast #117: DOA iMacs and Schiller Defends the App Store

Mac|Life Staff — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:13:58 -0600

The super-sized 27-inch has been arriving at users homes DOA or with cracked screens. Considering the bulk of the newest iMac, the cracked screens are no real surprise.

Phil Schiller defends the App Store approval process and we compare it to the Android Marketplace.

Plus, we answer your hard-hitting Twitter and Facebook questions! Okay, they weren't that hard-hitting.

Got a question, but you're afraid to leave a voice message because of Witness Relocation Dept. rules? Drop us a question via Twitter twitter.com/maclife.

This week's Battlestar Applactica picks:

iHelloKitty Tokyo - $2.99

BirdFeed - $2.99

Don't forget, the Mac|Life staff would love to hear your thoughts, comments and ideas for the new podcast. Just leave a message on the Mac|Live question/comment line: (877) 404-1337, extension 622. Please limit the length of your messages to 1 minute max. We'll review these calls each week and feature our favorites, along with responses, on that week's podcast.

To subscribe to the Mac|Live podcast series through an RSS feed, click here; if you want to subscribe through the iTunes Store, click here.

App Store Inspiring TV Makers

J.R. Bookwalter — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:39:58 -0600

Proving yet again that Apple often leads and then others follow, a number of consumer electronics makers are taking a page from the iPhone’s wildly popular App Store in an effort to reinvent the television.

San Francisco Chronicle has a report out today shining the light on how companies such as Yahoo, Adobe and Roku are encouraging developers to build apps that are capable of running on TVs. For their part, Roku this week began rolling out a free update that enables their Channel Store, bringing ten new services to their tiny box that began its life strictly as a Netflix player, including Pandora, Facebook Photos and Flickr.

“This is a major transition happening with TVs,” explains Vizio vice president Matthew McRae. “This is the next evolution, from a display that sits on the wall to a product you interact with.”

Yahoo’s own Widget Channel has led to almost 20 applications built right into certain TV models, with early apps including CBS, Facebook, USA Today Sports and a fantasy football app called Rallycast. Yahoo senior director of marketing Russ Schafer said the apps create a TV experience more akin to the iPhone.

But there are many hurdles to cross before a direct comparison to Apple’s App Store can be made. For one, the market is being fractured with content from different sources and using different methods, among them Adobe’s ubiquitous Flash. Input is always a problem where the TV is concerned, although Vizio is pushing to solve that problem with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard on some of its upcoming remotes.

Finally, content built directly into televisions means you’re committing to one system at the time of purchase. “It’s a pretty big decision buying a $1,500 flat screen,” remarks Roku vice president of marketing Chuck Seiber.

For their part, Apple is rumored to be taking their own plunge into Internet-connected television in 2011, according to AppleInsider. Their unit, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster believes, would have a DVR and home media center functionality built right into the set, capable of allowing recorded TV shows to automatically sync wirelessly with other devices in the home, including Macs, iPhones and iPods.

iPhone-Style In-App Purchasing Lands On Android

J.R. Bookwalter — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:40:42 -0600

Taking a nod from the in-app purchasing Apple added to the iPhone with OS 3.0 this year, a Shanghai-based mobile technology company has now done the same with Google’s open-source Android.

MobileCrunch reports that tech startup Urbian, Inc. has found a work-around with Android to enable in-app purchasing, and they’re staking claim as the first developers to do so. The app is a puzzle game called Ringz, available now as a free download on the Android Marketplace. (Fear not, iPhone fans — an App Store version is now under review by Apple.)

The Android version of Ringz allows you to buy and download “Level Packs” from inside the app, similar to how the iPhone version will work, when available. However, if the extension is returned or uninstalled, that extra functionality vanishes from the app. Urbian claims this is by design, as some clever users tried copying the Level Pack files to a different location on their SD card in an effort to return them, then continue to use them for free.

In-app purchasing on the iPhone was met with cheers by developers, although it’s become somewhat of a sticky situation now that Apple is allowing such purchases inside free apps. App Store customers are now being misled into downloading a supposedly “free” app only to discover that most of its functionality has to be paid for once it’s in use. At any rate, Apple’s intentions were good — such as being able to buy more levels in a game such as Ringz.

MobileCrunch has posted a detailed graphic showing how Urbian’s Android in-app payment workaround functions, and presumably other developers will follow in their footsteps soon enough since Google has yet to create a system of their own.