miércoles, 8 de mayo de 2013

iPad By Davis: “Google releases code to integrate Chrome browser with iOS apps” plus 17 more

iPad By Davis: “Google releases code to integrate Chrome browser with iOS apps” plus 17 more

Google releases code to integrate Chrome browser with iOS apps

Posted: 08 May 2013 03:14 AM PDT

While you're not able to set Google Chrome as the default browser on your iOS device -- without Jailbreak, at least -- Google has taken another step forward to further integrate Chrome into the iOS experience. Following the recent Gmail update that sees us able to open links directly in Chrome, Google has released the code to allow any app developer to do just the same with their own creations.

The new code gives developers the ability to have links open directly in Google Chrome, and with one tap return directly to the app. Our example here uses YouTube: clicking on a link in a YouTube listing opens that page directly in Chrome, and provides a button at the top left for easy return to the app. You'll of course need to have Chrome installed on your device, but the execution is seamless. The code allows apps to check whether Chrome is installed first, and then the opportunity to even open up a new tab in the browser.

It would be great to see Apple offer a similar feature in a future update to Safari. Leaving an app to go into Safari, then having to relaunch that app yourself to get back in is pretty janky by comparison. It'll be interesting to see how many developers apply this new code to their apps, but that Google is committed to continuing to provide a great experience on iOS does give us a warm feeling inside.

Source: +Google Chrome Developers, Chromium Blog

    

MacBreak Weekly 349: NFC Whee!

Posted: 07 May 2013 07:23 PM PDT

Leo Laporte, Andy Ihnatko, Mac OS Ken Ray, and I discuss iOS 7 rumors, Haswell Macs, the possibility of a Retina MacBook Air, and more!

Subscribe and download: TWiT.tv

    

Samsung's S Voice likes to think it's Siri

Posted: 07 May 2013 06:16 PM PDT

Samsung's S Voice likes to think it's Siri

S-Voice is Samsung's Bizarro-like clone of Apple's Siri voice assistant service, and like any Bizarro worth its chalky skin, it seems to be hugely conflicted about it's progenitor. Alex Dobie of Android Central reports:

On the international Samsung Galaxy S4 (and some other Samsung phones -- we've had varying results), asking S Voice if it's ever used an iPhone prompts the response "No, I have standards." Ask it "Are you Siri?" and it's a little more coy -- "I like to think I am."

In my tests, Siri has no opinion on, or frankly any idea what a "Galaxy S" or an "S Voice" was, but helpfully offered to perform a web search if I really wanted to find out. Serious question, though: Any advantage to using S Voice over Google's phenomenal Voice Search and Google Now features anyway?

Source: Android Central

    

Best Mother's Day apps for iPhone and iPad

Posted: 07 May 2013 02:58 PM PDT

Best Mother's Day apps for iPhone and iPad

Mother's Day is less than a week away, and you might be stressing about what to do for Mom. Fret no more; we've got some great ways you can use your iPhone or iPad to honor Mom, this Sunday. Be it with flowers, cards, scrapbooks, food, or drinks, iMore's got you covered. Let's put your favorite device to work and use it to make Mom feel extra special this Mother's Day.

Cleverbug Cards App

If there's one thing your mom will be expecting this Mother's Day, it's a card. There are many different cards apps available in the App Store, but Cleverbug Cards Apps has grabbed my attention as a great option this Mother's Day. It has just been updated with a bunch of great new Mother's Day card options, and not only can you have them printed and delivered straight to your mom, but you can also choose to deliver them electronically via Facebook, Twitter, Email, or SMS for free.

Cleverbug integrates with Facebook so that you can quickly and easily add photos from Facebook to your Card. Just select your mom as the recipient, and Cleverbug will automatically add her most popular photos to the card -- you can, of course, also swap out the photos if you prefer to add specific ones.

See also:

Flower Garden / Flowerly

The other common Mother's Day gift is flowers. Flower Garden and Flowerly are two great iPhone and iPad apps that let you send virtual flowers to Mom via Facebook and email. Flower Garden is a bit more "fun" in that you actually grow the flowers that you're going to include in your bouquet.

Since not everyone is into that sort of thing, I'm also including Flowerly, an app that simply let's you choose a bouquet and card and send it on its way.

Both apps are great options for sending Mom a virtual bouquet on Mother's Day.

Healthy Desserts by Green Kitchen

Healthy Desserts by Green Kitchen review

There's a good chance that Mom has spent a lot of time in the kitchen cooking meals and baking treats for you and the family. Mother's Day is the perfect day to return the favor. With Healthy Desserts by Green Kitchen, you'll find delicious treats to present to your mom. And she'll really appreciate it when, after she's done enjoying the delectable dessert, you tell her that it was made with healthy ingredients. Moms love yummy desserts, but often feel guilty about eating them.

If you want to go all out and cook an entire meal, check out some of our other favorite cooking apps available in the App Store.

Don't forget to install the app on Mom's iPhone and/or iPad as well!

Mixologist

What's a great meal and dessert without the perfect cocktail to go with it? With Mixologist for iPhone, you can find the recipe to Mom's favorite drink and mix one up with extra love just for her. If Mom isn't into alcoholic drinks, there are also some tasty non-alcoholic options as well.

ScrapPad - Mother's Day Photo Journal

Is Mom a scrapbooker? Then she's going to love ScrapPad. During your Mother's Day celebrations, be sure to take lots of photos, including of the tiniest details, and use them to create the ultimate scrapbook with ScrapPad - Mother's Day Photo Journal for iPad. The Mother's Day kit includes fun clipart and graphics designed just for the day. And the best part? Once you've created the digital version of the scrapbook, you can order it to be printed as a physical book that Mom will cherish forever.

Your best Mother's Day apps for iPhone and iPad?

Those are my picks for best iPhone and iPad apps for Mother's Day. With them, you can send Mom a special card, a bouquet of flowers, make her the perfect treat, mix her a delicious drink, and create a scrapbook that she'll forever love. Any apps I'm missing out on? Any you'd recommend more? Let me know!

    

Switching back to the iPhone 5: Why the HTC One grass wasn't greener

Posted: 07 May 2013 02:53 PM PDT

"Tried the HTC One for 2 weeks and have decided to stick with iPhone 5"
fettym - From the [Android Central] forums

Of all the recently launched phones, the HTC One is perhaps the one that's most desirable to iPhone users, what with its Apple-like use of aluminum, and its beyond Retina display. It shares much that makes the iPhone so popular -- fantastic design, exceptional hardware, and incredible build quality. That might be why Android Central Forums member fettym took a leap of faith, put down the iPhone 5, and went off to try the HTC One. Two weeks later, however, and fettym is back on the iPhone 5. According to the post on Android Central Forums, here's why:

  • Couldn't get phone to work well with car which is important to me, petty, I know
  • I use an Otterbox and it made it near impossible with one hand
  • I find the iPhone Camera to be better quality as I like zooming further than HTC would allow
  • Too much clutter, IE Blink Feed and Gallery
  • I like the way Mac/iPhone/iTunes sync seamlessly
  • Battery was weak compared to what I'm used to in regards to lasting time and charge time

The strengths, and some of the 'marketed features' of the iPhone, such as one-handed use, are often mocked. But here, we see a real-world user frustrated at not being able to use the HTC One with one hand. Even with a case on, the iPhone remains manageable one-handed.

Battery life, seamless syncing between the Mac and the iPhone, and the less 'cluttered' experience of iOS also come out on top. These are all important parts of an enjoyable mobile experience. Once you've had something so good, it's almost impossible to live without. Personally, I've not used a HTC One on a day-to-day basis, but I know that the iPhone 5 battery lasts me way longer than the one on my Nexus 4 ever did.

It looks like fettym has started off a great discussion. There's also folks joining in who've made the switch and decided to stay, and that's fine too. But we want to hear from you guys. Have you switched to another platform only to come back? What made you take the risk and try something new in the first place? What is it about the iPhone that just drawing you in over the deluge of competing devices?

Leave a comment below, or dive into the iPhone 5 Forum here on iMore and share your thoughts!

    

Apple cracking down on app discovery apps?

Posted: 07 May 2013 01:38 PM PDT

Apple cracking down on app discovery apps?

Apple has apparently started removing an increasing number of apps that allow users to search App Store contents and recommend apps to their friends. Apps that have been found to violate App Store regulation 2.25, which prohibits apps that could be confused as app stores, have been removed, and Apple seems to be broadening the scope of that rule. According to PocketGamer.biz:

As a result, it appears Apple has stretched the remit of 2.25 to cover sharing via email or social networks. The ability to search the App Store within third-party apps also now seems to be restricted.

This crackdown hasn't been applied to alls apps with this similar functionality, nor is the removal of such apps anything particularly new. AppShopper Social was removed from the store late last year when it was still just AppShopper for similar reasons. It came back towards the end of last month, while it still seems to violate the rules. Perhaps it slipped through the app review cracks, or maybe it technically complies with the rules. Apple has yet to comment on increased enforcement of restrictions.

Source: PocketGamer.biz

    

How to search for text within a book or PDF with iBooks for iPhone and iPad

Posted: 07 May 2013 01:30 PM PDT

How to search for text within a book or PDF with iBooks for iPhone and iPad

If you use iBooks to organize and hold your books and PDFs, there are lots of useful tools at your disposal to make finding what you're looking for even easier. One of those tools is the ability to search any book or PDF in its entirety for certain text.

Here's how:

  1. Launch the iBooks app from the Home screen of your iPhone or iPad.
  2. Open the book or PDF that you'd like to search for text within by tapping on it.
  3. Tap on the magnifying glass in the upper right.
  4. Type in the term you'd like to search for and then tap Search on the keyboard.
  5. You'll now see search results you can scroll through for that word or term. Just tap on the one you'd like to jump to.

That's it. You can use the search feature to search either single words or whole strings of words.

    

iOS 6.0 gets US federal government's security stamp of approval

Posted: 07 May 2013 12:42 PM PDT

iOS 6.0 gets US federal government's security stamp of approval

Since the dawn of time, BlackBerry smartphones have been the mobile communicator of choice for the United States federal government. The federal National Institute of Standards and Technology has been approving hardware and software to meet the FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) since 1995, and today iOS 6.0 was granted FIPS 140-2 certification. Specifically, the iOS CryptoCore Kernel Module 3.0 was assured to to meet the security requirements of the government.

Now having FIPS certification means that both the iPhone and iPad can be used in federal agency applications and as well as in private enterprises that access those networks. It's worth noting that FIPS certification doesn't apply to the military - the Defense Information Systems Agency is working to certify iOS 6.0 on their own security standards. Though it is likely that iOS 6.0 will get that approval soon.

The slowness in getting BlackBerry 10 to market proved to be detrimental to their previously all-but-guaranteed business with government agencies. With Apple and Samsung having already conquered the consumer market, they've turned their attentions towards lucrative government contract business. While BlackBerry 10 has had FIPS certification for a while and recently received Department of Defense DISA approval, they're already looking at competition from the approval of Samsung's Knox software just a few days ago. iOS 6.0 reportedly isn't far behind.

Personally, I've been a member of the Ohio Army National Guard for nearly a decade, and during that time has witnessed mounting frustration with the aging fleet of BlackBerry devices currently deployed and the back-end services supporting them. Demand for modern handsets - specifically those running Android or iOS - has been running high for some time from the employees of the DoD. It's only going to be a matter of time before they start finding their way into the hands of federal government employees across America.

Source: National Institute of Standards and Technology

    

Boingo app update lets you bill your WiFi subscription to your iTunes account

Posted: 07 May 2013 11:17 AM PDT

We'll always take free WiFi first, or good LTE coverage, but sometimes there's just no alternative but to use a Boingo subscription. Boingo has around 600,000 hotspots around the globe, and with todays update to their iOS application, accessing them became a lot smoother.

The big news is that Boingo subscriptions can now be bought as an in-app purchase, and billed straight to your iTunes account. It isn't likely to help you getting your laptop online, but the $7.99 purchase will cover your iOS devices.

There's also a bunch of bug fixes and performances improvements thrown into the mix, but it really is all about the new, simple subscription method. Grab a copy from the App Store now, and let us know how you get on. Does this take the pain out of getting your Boingo on?

    

Creative Cloud crossroads: Will Adobe users flee in droves?

Posted: 07 May 2013 10:30 AM PDT

On Monday Adobe kicked off its MAX conference in Los Angeles with news that it it had ceased active development of its Creative Suite 6 products in favor of Creative Cloud instead. Moving forward, if you want the latest innovations to key Adobe apps like Photoshop, InDesign and After Effects, you're going to have to pay a monthly fee instead of buying a license to use a copy of the software in perpetuity.

This move isn't sitting well with many vocal Adobe customers on the Internet. Gathering places for creatives who use Adobe software lit up yesterday afternoon and evening with complaints and concerns about the move. Some customers don't want to be tied to Adobe's DRM technology, which enforces a monthly connection to make sure you're keeping your account current. Others rankle at the idea of paying any sort of subscription fee to use software. Adobe's decision to deprecate Fireworks is pissing off people too.

That's not to say that Adobe's decision has been universally panned. In the year since Adobe introduced Creative Cloud, more than half a million customers have jumped on board with the $50 a month service, and even more have kicked Creative Cloud's tires with a free trial - about 2 million, according to Adobe's estimates. Many people see the value of it (disclaimer: I'm a subscriber), and I'm sure Adobe appreciates the continuous and fairly predictable revenue stream of more than $25 million every month, and growing.

But 500,000 customers represents only a portion of Adobe's overall installed user base. Adobe has its work cut out for it, to convince everyone that they need to make the switch to Creative Cloud.

What's at stake for Adobe

Creative Cloud solves some very real and persistent problems for Adobe. Zee Kane, CEO of The Next Web, hit one nail on the head last year when he said, "Adobe's main competitor in this space isn't competing products interestingly enough; it's Bit Torrent."

Piracy is a huge issue for software developers, and piracy of high-priced software like Photoshop and other Creative Suite products has been a huge, perennial loss for Adobe. Creative Cloud is an attempt to staunch that flow by turning Adobe's portfolio into Software As A Service (SAAS) instead.

Switching to Creative Cloud development also offers Adobe and its users an advantage when it comes to the development cycle of products: No longer are we trapped in a cycle of monolithic updates, waiting years for to get new features. With Creative Cloud, Adobe can add features to existing apps, or roll out entirely new apps all together whenever they're ready. We've seen the company do this a number of times already, and Adobe says that's the direction it'll continue to head in in the future.

Piracy is a huge issue for software developers, and piracy of high-priced software like Photoshop and other Creative Suite products has been a huge, perennial loss for Adobe.

What's more, Adobe's trying to sweeten the pot to get more people on board. If you only use Photoshop, for example, you can subscribe only to Photoshop, at a lower price than the full Creative Cloud package. Creative Suite 3 - 5 users can get a break on their first year of Creative Cloud membership, and CS6 owners get an even bigger break. Students and teachers can also get a reduced rate. And Adobe will allow you to install your Creative Cloud apps on two machines you use simultaneously, effectively doubling the license for no cost. Have a computer at work and another one at home you want to work from? No need for separate licenses.

Users also get the added benefit of 20GB of online storage, connectivity to Behance, a popular and rapidly expanding portfolio-sharing site for creative professionals, and the promise of increased productivity through technology like cloud-based settings files, so when you move to a new machine with a fresh installation of software, all of your tools, palettes and settings will be configured the way you want them to be.

And if you stalwartly refuse to buy into Creative Cloud, Adobe will continue to sell you CS6. They even promise it'll work with the next major operating system updates from Apple and Microsoft. Just don't count on it to work indefinitely in the future. And don't expect any more features than what you have today.

Those who don't learn from history

During his preamble on stage at the MAX keynote Monday, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen recalled the introduction of Adobe's page layout software, InDesign, at the now-defunct Seybold trade show in Boston in 1999. Narayen was then a new VP at Adobe, and InDesign was the first product he oversaw the launch of. Narayen said that InDesign was touted as a "Quark-killer," referring to the then-dominant page layout software of the era, QuarkXPress.

I was at that show too. My career up to that point was as an IT manager for creative departments - graphic designers, page layout artists and photographers who depended on Macs as the basis for their digital workflow. I remember things a bit differently. Because what I remember the most was how much we hated Quark, not how much we loved InDesign.

Adobe's K2 project - the code-name for InDesign - was no secret in the publishing business. We knew it was coming and wanted to see what Adobe had up its sleeve. Adobe and Quark had a contentious relationship from the mid 1990s on, after Adobe acquired Aldus, developer of PageMaker, one of the very first desktop publishing programs for the Mac. In fact, Quark - the then-800 pound gorilla of the desktop publishing market - actually threatened to acquire Adobe and divest it of PageMaker in order to kill the competition.

Quark had developed a very well-deserved reputation as a bully that disrespected its rivals, disrespected its customers and generally was unpleasant to work with. It threw its weight around because there really was no alternative; Adobe had done very little with PageMaker. Quark had a lock on the publishing industry, and it could do what it wanted. All of us held our noses and used (or in my case, supported users of) QuarkXPress, but the software had very few champions who really loved it.

Adobe can't afford to allow Creative Cloud to become an unwieldy licensing, compliance and update management hairball.

There was certainly a lot of interest in InDesign, but very few people jumped on it right away. Especially in corporate settings, companies had made a huge investment in heavily customized QuarkXPress-based workflows, and were far from throwing all that effort and money away on an unproven product. That first release caught the eye of many creative professionals, but consensus at the time was that it was a work in progress - fine for some things, but not quite ready for what I need it to do.

That changed. Quark's attitude didn't really change, and eventually the market would shift to InDesign. But it would take time. On day one, InDesign was no Quark killer.

Almost a decade and a half later, Adobe runs a risk of alienating the same customers that flocked to it when InDesign matured enough - and Adobe worked hard enough - to win away QuarkXPress customers. Where Adobe has to tread particularly carefully is near the corporate IT and creative management staff – Adobe can't afford to allow Creative Cloud to become an unwieldy licensing, compliance and update management hairball.

Where would they go?

While there are some alternatives to Adobe software, and some very reasonably-priced options, there isn't an "Adobe-killer" waiting in the wings. There are plenty of independent software developers out there who offer bits and pieces that could nicely replace individual Adobe apps, but nothing with the giant marketing and development budget that Adobe has.

Still, I've seen a lot of comments from users who are certain that indie apps can fill their needs. Acorn and Pixelmator get mentioned a lot as Photoshop replacements, for example, and Skala has just been teased for interface design. So Adobe's decision to focus on Creative Cloud may certainly benefit smaller independent software developers, and leaves the door open for competition.

Adobe is likely to lose some low end customers - freelancers and others who only occasionally need or want to use Adobe software, but don't have an overwhelming need to use Adobe products all day, every day, to get their work done. Those customers may have even made a significant investment in Adobe products in the past and use the products because that's what they know, but they either can't or won't justify a $50 per month fee to use Adobe products.

Ultimately Adobe sees its future in building an ecosystem around creatives and companies that see the value of paying a monthly fee in return for an entire spectrum of creative tools and services. With its announcements yesterday, Adobe has made it pretty clear that if you're not on board with Creative Cloud, you're going to be left behind.

Are you a Creative Cloud user? Are you giving up on Adobe all together? Let us know in the comments.

    

Latest iPad mini Rumors: New Retina Display Model in 3rd Quarter of This Year & Another New Model Early 2014

Posted: 07 May 2013 10:03 AM PDT

iPad mini

The latest iPad mini rumors suggest that we should expect to see a new iPad mini with retina display in the 3rd quarter of this year, and another new model with retina display and an 'updated processor' in the first quarter of 2014.

These are based on claims by the NPD DisplaySearch analysts, as reported by CNET.

We see two refreshes coming. One in the second half of this year, then one in Q1 [first quarter] of 2014," analyst Richard Shim told CNET late Sunday night.
"The Q1 [2014] device will have a Retina display plus an updated processor," Shim added.

Apple Insider also has a report up today noting that mass production of the screens for the retina display iPad mini could start as early as next month – again citing Shim as the source.

It feels like about time we heard at least some early rumors on the next iPad mini, or any iPd release on the...

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Pixter Scanner for iPhone review: Capture text with a photo, translate it, and more

Posted: 07 May 2013 09:27 AM PDT

Pixter Scanner for iPhone review: Capture text with a photo, translate it, and more

Pixter Scanner for iPhone is an OCR (optical character recognition) app that allows you to snap a photo of any text, whether that's from a magazine, a street sign, or any other source, in order to translate it or save the contents for reading later. It can be ideal when traveling for translating foreign languages or for those times when you find a story in a magazine and want to save it for reference at a later time in digital format.

Importing something into Pixter is quick and easy. Just launch Pixter from the Home screen of your iPhone and tap the camera icon. You will have two choices, either take a photo or import an existing one from your camera roll. If you're in a hurry, you can always snap a photo with your regular Camera app and then import it later on into Pixter. The in-app camera within Pixter does have its advantages though as it gives you grid lines where to center text between. Once you've taken the photo, you can then crop it down to zoom in on the text you want Pixter to scan.

After Pixter scans the text, which normally only takes a few seconds, you'll be taken to a plain text view of what you photographed. You'll then have a few options along the bottom. The main one is to translate. If you choose this option you will be taken to a split screen view where you can choose an output language. This is the feature most people would use while traveling abroad. It makes a great tool for taking photos of signs or other material that you isn't in your native language.

Outside of translating information, Pixter is a great place for saving items for later reading. In the main reading list, you'll have a view of everything you've scanned into Pixter. Tapping into one will instantly return you to it. You can also tap on the eye icon in order to view the original source.

For the most part, Pixter is not only fast, but accurate. The only time I was able to get Pixter to aggregate information incorrectly was on noisy backgrounds. If there is an image underneath the next or an extremely dark background, sometimes Pixter will confuse words. You do have the option to edit text that is scanned in through Pixter though so if you find a misspelled word, you can typically decipher from the context what it should be and change it within the reading screen.

The good

  • Deciphers text quickly and accurately
  • Translates in several different languages on the fly
  • Split screen translation makes it easier to pick apart text side by side

The bad

  • The interface could use some work and is rather plain
  • Loud backgrounds confuse Pixter and sometimes causes incorrect text translation

The bottom line

While Pixter isn't perfect, it's one of the best OCR apps available in the App Store. The split screen view for translation on the fly and the speed at which it translates accurately make it one of the best options to choose from.

Whether you have a need to translate text to your native language or just want an app to save snippet from magazines and other physical reading material, Pixter is a great choice.

    

iPhone 5 vs HTC One: Camera shootout

Posted: 07 May 2013 08:39 AM PDT

iPhone 5 vs HTC One: Camera shootout

Side by side, shot for shot, we put the iPhone 5 up against the HTC One to see which camera phone reigns supreme!

It's become a cliché for a reason -- the best camera is the one you have with you, and for the vast majority of us, that's the iPhone 5. It is, as Apple will happily tell you, the most "popular" camera in the world. Over the last few months, however, other manufacturers have really been stepping up their optics as well. The one who has taken the biggest risks, and made the biggest gamble, is the HTC One. Instead of going for more megapixels, they went for more microns. Like Apple, they put sensor quality ahead of quantity, but took it to another level entirely. If camera quality is one of the most important criteria when considering which phone you buy, that raises the question -- iPhone vs. HTC One, which takes the best photos?

iMore's own Leanna Lofte has done a complete iPhone 5 camera review, and Alex Dobie from Android Central has done a similar HTC One review, but what happens when we put them head to head? Each camera will have its own strengths and weaknesses, but for most people, most of the time, which will let them capture the moments that really matter? Let's find out!

Camera specifications: iPhone 5 vs HTC One

The iPhone 5 has an 8 MP (2448x3264) iSight camera with an f/2.4 aperture on a 1/3.2-inch sensor with a pixel size of 1.4 micrometers. The HTC One has a 4 MP (1520x2688) camera with an f/2.0 aperture but that allows them to go to a pixel size of 2 micrometers on the same 1/3.2-inch sensor.

That means that while the HTC One may not have as many raw megapixels as the iPhone 5, its UltraPixels are larger and should allow for better light sensitivity, particularly in low light situations. The HTC One's wider, f/2.0 aperture also helps with getting light to the sensor, as does its optical image stabilization (OIS). If it sounds like HTC spent a lot of time and technology on tackling low light photography, that's because they did.

The downside to all this is that gathering light takes time, which not only means a longer picture taking process, but a greater opportunity for motion blur when it comes to shooting moving targets. Also, while the lower megapixel count means bigger microns, it also means the algorithms that handle sharpening and noise reduction have less data to work with. Everything is a trade off.

Tech specs are one thing. What really matters is how all of this technology translates into real-world pictures.

General photography: iPhone 5 vs HTC One

All the photos below were taken with the same lighting conditions, at the same time. The iPhone 5 photos are all on the left, and the HTC One photos are all on the right (with the exception of the wide panoramas).

Overall, in most cases, the color depth and saturation of the iPhone 5 seems to be better. The only time the HTC One really bests the iPhone 5 is when bright light or artificial lighting comes into play. Where the iPhone 5 photos can get blown out, the HTC One does a better job of balancing the light correctly.

Indoor lighting seems to cause a bit of a yellowish or blueish hue in photos taken with the iPhone 5 while the HTC One again does a better job of handling white balance on its own.

In most general everyday photos though, the color depth of the iPhone 5 wins out over the HTC One. The photos below of trees and flowers show the vast color difference between the two.

Capturing motion: iPhone 5 vs HTC One

Both cameras did well at capturing motion during the day. Night was a different story, and both cameras suffered. HTC has done a lot of work to get better low-light in their cameras, but there's a long way still to go, especially when it comes to capturing motion.

In the photo of the flag below, there was a significant amount of wind blowing and both the iPhone 5 and HTC One did a good job at capturing it regardless of its position or motion. The same was true of the bike photo. As long as there is plenty of light, motion photos shouldn't be too much of an issue. They're by no means made for capturing action sports, but for everyday actions in well lit areas, they're fine.

The HTC One images did come out rather dark compared to the iPhone 5's in some instances where I would have guessed the opposite would have been true.

(Thank you to Darren Stocky of Crown Point, IN for helping us out with the bike shots!)

Low light: iPhone 5 vs HTC One

Low light photography is one area that the iPhone has always suffered. Considering the HTC One boasts 2 microns, optical image stabilization (OIS), and an f/2.0 aperture, I expected it to be able to gather more light and produce better images. Turns out, my expectations were exceeded. It blew the iPhone 5 away.

In this last photo, I decided to enable flash on both devices and see what the difference would be. The HTC One did a nice job of focusing and enhancing the image using the flash while the iPhone 5 blew out the image and couldn't quite decide what to focus on.

Panorama photography: iPhone 5 vs HTC One

Panoramas, or the ability to take multiple photos and stitch them together, is a popular feature now widely available on most smartphones. Overall, both the iPhone 5 and HTC One handles them well. Once again, the one thing that did surprise me was how dark the panoramic shots were with the HTC One. If anyone has an explanation for the HTC camera producing such dark images under well lit conditions, let me know in the comments.

Here are two samples from the iPhone 5:

And here are two samples are from the HTC One:

If you take a lot of panoramas, you will most likely prefer the results of the iPhone 5.

The bottom line

Both cameras produced stellar images, yet excelled in different areas. The iPhone 5 does much better when it comes to handling color depth, tone, and saturation. The HTC One leaves the iPhone in the (noisy, noisy) dust when it comes to capturing low light, relatively stationary images.

Apple has been focusing on the iPhone camera for years now, and it's really paid off when it comes to everyday photography. Competitors like HTC, however, are really nailing areas like low light. Hopefully Apple follows their lead, and the lead of Nokia, and starts adding features like optical image stabilization (OIS) and f/2.0 apertures or wider. I'll seldom if ever need to take a poster-sized photo with my phone, so the current megapixel counts are fine. Continue on with the better sensors, better image processing, and better low-light technologies.

That's what I'd love to see in the iPhone 5S.

    

Dropbox iPad App Updated: Now Sees All of Your Photo Library

Posted: 07 May 2013 08:51 AM PDT

Dropbox iPad app

The latest update to the Dropbox app for iPad and iPhone brings access to all of your photos in Dropbox.

Dropbox for iPad was updated on May 2, to Version 2.2. The change list for this update is just a single line item:

- Support for viewing all your photos in Dropbox.

This means that when you choose to upload photos in Dropbox you can now see all of your albums. For instance, in my screenshot above you can see that Dropbox shows the albums created for the Repix, PhotoToaster, and TitleFx apps.

Prior to this update Dropbox only showed the Camera Roll and Photo Stream. The app is also now showing all photos – from within any sub-folders in Dropbox – in its Photos tab.

Not a huge update, but quite a useful one – especially if you're often uploading from a particular album or albums. It should generally be much faster to find the photos you want to choose to upload within an...

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Bjango teases Skala, an interface and icon design tool by and for people who love interface and icon design

Posted: 07 May 2013 07:39 AM PDT

Bjango teases Skala, an interface and icon design tool by and for people who love interface and icon design

Skala is intended to be an interface and design app for and by people who love interface and icon design. That's a tougher job than you might think. There are all sorts of general purpose tools out there that can be used for interface and icon design, Photoshop chief among them. Being general purpose tools, however, they all jack so many different trades, they end up being masters of none. That's why Aperture and Lightroom came about: to better suit the specific needs of photographers. And that's why Skala is on its way: to better suit the specific needs of interface and icon designers.

As you might expect, Skala is being developed by Bjango, who have already fielded Skala Preview, an on-device interface testing app for iOS and Android. Marc Edwards, the guiding mind behind Bjango's design, and my co-host on the Iterate podcast, was gracious enough to tell iMore the following:

We're doing everything possible to ensure Skala will be the best user interface and icon design app available. It's a huge hill to climb though, and we still have a lot of work left.

They'll be talking about Skala more over the coming months. For now, head on over to the Bjango's website for the big tease, and information on when you'll be able to try Skala out for yourself.

Source: Bjango

    

Deal of the Day: 44% off the Marware MicroShell for iPhone 5

Posted: 07 May 2013 06:54 AM PDT

Today Only: Purchase the Marware MicroShell for iPhone 5 and save $10.99!

Measuring less than 1mm thin, the MicroShell protects your iPhone 5 from scuffs and scratches. The one-piece design provides full access to all the ports, buttons and cameras of your device, so you can get through your day without having to take the case on and off. Comes in black, clear, pink or blue.

List Price: $24.99     Today Only: $14.00

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Talk to your Viber friends on your iPhone, iPad and now your Mac with the all new desktop app

Posted: 07 May 2013 06:26 AM PDT

Viber, the massively popular VoIP service that allows users to send free texts and pictures and make free calls worldwide for free, has pushed out a huge update to their iOS app. But, that's not all. Along with the update to v3.0, Viber is launching for the first time a desktop client, so Viber users can get the same great service from their Mac as well as their iOS devices.

First up, the iOS app. There's a pretty big list of changes, but there's a few standout features. Firstly, the app has full support for the new desktop app, both Windows and Mac variants. A great example of the two working hand-in-hand is the ability to transfer live calls between the app on your iOS device and the desktop client. Sound quality has been improved for both poor and high quality signals, and you can now send video messages to your friends.

The iOS app update also brings us stickers, a better looking contact information screen, an online status indicator, accessibility features and localization to a host of languages.

The new Viber Desktop client is very much the same experience, but on your Mac. It utilises the same phone number you set up on your iOS device, so the two remain perfectly in sync. You also can't activate Viber Desktop without already being set up via a mobile account, so if you want to try it out you'll need it on your iPhone first. Following this, setup is as simple as typing in your phone number, entering the activation code you're sent, and you're set!

With Viber Desktop comes the opportunity to make video calls to other Viber users. It's a desktop-to-desktop experience for now, and it is in beta, so it may not be exactly what you're looking for just yet. But, it's a huge step forward for the service, and brings it yet further into the realms of Skype. Grab a copy of the latest Viber apps from the links below, and if you try out the desktop client, be sure to tell us how you found it.

    

Rovio Account will finally let you sync your Angry Birds progress across all your devices!

Posted: 07 May 2013 03:59 AM PDT

Thrilled at having completed the first 120 levels of Angry Birds, with three stars, on your iPhone, but rage-frustrated at having to start all over again to play it on your iPad? Your feelings are shared by many, and Rovio is finally coming to the rescue with Rovio Accounts.

The idea is simple: sign up for a free Rovio Account -- an Email address is all that is required -- and then login with it on all your Rovio games, across all your devices. Your game progress will then be transferred from device to device and you'll always be sync no matter where you're playing.

It's always been the hope that some combination of Apple's built-in iCloud and Game Center would provide this functionality to all developers, for all games, simply and easily, and avoid the need for users to maintain additional, game-specific accounts. A combination of Rovio's focus on cross-platform games, and ongoing issues with iCloud sync, likely made Rovio Accounts a better solution, at least for now.

Currently, the Rovio Account is available globally for The Croods, and in Finland and Poland for the original Angry Birds game for iOS. Rovio says the service will gradually roll out across other areas, as will new features. So, yes, it's pretty limited for now. However, if you're a player of The Croods and have used Rovio Account, let us know: how's it working for you?

Source: Rovio

    
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