AJ Dellinger from Digital Trends put together an in-depth comparison of the two mapping apps and has come to the conclusion that, yes, Google Maps is vastly superior to Apple Maps. A big part of this has to do with the fact that Google is in the business of data and Google Maps is simply an extension of that.

The user interface is both more intuitive and faster on Google Maps, typically required “half as many taps” as Apple Maps to get the same task accomplished. Google Maps has better viewing modes, making it easier to see the streets, as well as having better traffic data. While Apple’s Flyover is nice, Street View is still much more usable and more widespread.

He goes on to say that Google Maps has better search (no surprise there), better directions and navigation, better public transit support (more data), and better destination information with Google+ Local and Zagat.

If you have iOS6, you really should get Google Maps. You don’t want to get stranded in the middle of the Outback with a worse user interface, worse destination information, and no Flyover in less populated areas (like the Australian Outback).

[Source]

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The core here is that you’ll still get all of the usual news, reviews and feature content that you’d get on the regular site, but it has all been optimized for a more mobile-friendly experience. They’ve also provided “quick access” to additional content by way of podcasts, videos and photo galleries. The guys at the Verge promise that “videos play just fine on both iOS and Android.” Commenting on posts works too. The “StoryStream” feature for following a story is intact, giving you a notification each time your subscribed story gets an update.

You can find the Verge app in the iTunes App Store and the Google Play Store for the iOS and Android versions, respectively. And yes, they are both free to download.

[Source]

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Actual reality can be confusing and overwhelming, and that’s why we oftentimes turn to the Internet for help. IBM is taking that to a new level with an AR mobile shopping app. The example given is when you’re cruising down the cereal aisle and you don’t know which one you want to buy.

When you take out your smartphone or tablet and launch the yet unnamed IBM shopping assistant app, it uses the camera to recognize the different products on the shelf. Then, the app will “instantly display recommendations and offers based on their specific preferences.” The demo here, for instance, shows that one of the cereals is “low in sugar” and that you get a half-gallon of milk for free when you buy this box of cereal.

The superimposed information that pops up in the app is hardly random either. It’s supposed to tap into your buying history, as well as looking at things like price, consumer rating, and environmentally friendly packaging. You can pre-set the characteristics that are important to you and then you can use the app to pan across a shelf of products. The app will then highlight the item that best matches your preferences.

“The idea of standing in an aisle in the supermarket and having your mobile device point out the gluten-free cookies you need can be a real time saver,” said project leader Amnon Ribak. “This has the potential to completely change the shopping experience from one of hunting, reading, and searching to simply picking up those products you prefer.”

I imagine the future of this could be integration with Google’s Project Glass.

[Source]

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One of the new features is called “ability to move own video preview,” which I assume would mean that you can move around that video preview window when you’re about to engage in a video chat. The developers also promise increased accessibility, improved stability, a new sign-in screen, some “minor” UI improvements, and a series of bug fixes. The app has now also been coded to auto-restart if it unexpectedly crashes.

As before, the Skype iOS app is available as a free download through iTunes.

[Source]

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Black SMS is a new App Store app which encrypts texts and emails so that they are unreadable without installing the said app and a password. This means that, those who have sexting as a serious hobby or are in an illicit relationship via SMS will love the new app more, although anyone with an iPhone or iPad can use it.

It’s simple to use and no jailbreak is required. It works with iMessage and it will allow you to send black chat bubbles between iPhones.  All you have to do is open the Black SMS app and type your secret text message after entering your password in the top line. You just tap the ‘lock’ icon and the app will prompt you to go to iMessage and paste the black chat bubble into a new message. Then you simply send it and wait for the reply.

But your secret lover has to have the app installed in his/her iPhone, and also has to know the password. The person will have to copy your black chat bubble into the iPhone’s clipboard, and then open the app to paste it into the large box after the password is entered. Then tap the ‘unlock’ icon to read the message. Sending and receiving an encrypted email link involves the same process. And since the message is sent with AES encryption, decryption is almost impossible.

But the app is not that perfect. You should know that the black chat bubble will be sent as an MMS, since it is encoded as a rainbow-like image. That won’t be good if you did not sign up for a good MMS plan and also sending an MMS will take a few more seconds. Another inconvenience is that you have to switch between the Black SMS app and Apple’s Messages app manually.

But getting the $1 app will always be better than suffering the embarrassment after someone sees your sexy messages. Head her e to get the Black SMS app for the iPhone and iPad.

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Typically, when you’re playing your games on your PC you’re largely restricted to a keyboard and mouse. You might use some other peripheral controller, but that’s generally the norm. What if you wanted a little more? With the Power-Grid iPhone app from Roccat, you can get that.

Working in tandem with that pretty-looking iPhone dock, the accompanying app extends your gaming experience to the smaller screen of your iDevice. It comes with three pre-installed control grids, each of which brings a different function to the gaming table. The Incoming Center grid shows your voice and text from TeamSpeak, Skype, Twitter, and so on. This way, you can stay in communication without having to minimize your gaming window or get an extra monitor.

Similarly, the Stats Control grid is used to show you system information, like your CPU stats, network traffic, and current RAM usage. Finally, the Sound Control grid gives you quick access to your audio controls, not unlike the Windows audio mixer. If you like listening to tunes while gaming, it can also be used as a media player remote.

The cool thing is that you can use some free software and design your own custom grids for Roccat Power-Grid. Depending on the game and your needs, shoving in some macros or web shortcuts could prove handy. There’s only space for one custom grid at a time, so if you want more, you’ll need to sell out 99 cents each. Interestingly, the app connects to your gaming PC via Wi-Fi and not through the shown wired connection. That’s the Project Apuri dock and it’s used just for charging.

Roccat says that while the iOS app will be ready for public beta in a few weeks, they are working on an Android version that should also launch around the second half of 2012.

[Source]

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The “App Pick of the Week” cards were already made available in the United States, but now Canadians can get them too. As you wait for your princess drink custom GMO latte beverage to be constructed by your barista, you can ask to get one of these cards from the cashier. They might also just leave them out on the counter for the taking.

In either case, you simply take the card and nab the promo code that is shown on the back. You can then enter this code on your iPhone or, if you’re patient and would rather wait, you can enter it into iTunes on your computer. EA’s Scrabble was a recent offering as a pick of the week. I still like Words with Friends, but free is free.

Ironically, as I type this, I have a cup of Starbucks coffee next to me, fueling my ability to type these words. I did not get a free iPhone app, but to be fair, I don’t have an iPhone either.

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You will need to jailbreak your iDevice first, since MultiTunes is only available (for free!) through the Cydia Store, but it effectively lets you sync to multiple iTunes libraries on a single device. The libraries don’t really merge though. Instead, you have to switch between them on the fly if you want to access the different sets of tunes.

First, you select the library in MultiTunes and then you sync the corresponding library with the computer. You repeat the process with new libraries. When you want to listen to your music, you go into the MultiTunes apps and pick the library you want, flipping over to the Music or iPod app to find the tunes in that library. When you want music from a different library, you go into MultiTunes to pick that one instead before going back to the Music or iPod app.

[ source via Harrison Apps ]

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Coming from the same developers who created Kik, the Clik app works like this: load up the ClikThis.com on your smartphone, or scan the home page with your QR scanner app which will send you to iTunes for download.  Once the app is installed, load up ClikThis.com again on your desktop, the site will show one massive QR code. Scan that code using the Clik smartphone app and now you are linked.

The Clik app basically lets you search for YouTube videos, look at the trending videos, and so on. If you tap on a video, it’ll start playing in your computer’s browser. As I understand it, all the app is doing is telling the browser session which video to play based on the YouTube ID. That’s pretty restrictive in scope, but the SDK could theoretically be used for other web content too. It just needs to be coded.

I still don’t get why you’d want this, especially since it’s so much easier browsing for YouTube videos on a computer using the full site, but at least Clik is free and it might be a novelty thing for parties to make your smartphone into a sort of remote control DJ.

The post Remote Control Your PC YouTube Experience with Clik iPhone/Android App appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

I know what you’re thinking. This is going after much the same market as the Parrot AR Drone and that’s probably true, except these aren’t quadrocopters; they just have the two stacked rotors. There’s apparently three different versions of the RC helis, two of which come with onboard cameras for recording both stills and videos.

Sure it’ll work with the boxed IR remote, but the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch app seems well, more interesting. You’ll need the appropriate adapter though. There is also an app for Android that does the same. You can expect about eight minutes of airtime per charge. The i-FlyHeli is currently on sale for $45.99 from Sonic Electronix, down from the list price of $99.99. That includes free ground shipping to the lower 48 states.

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