Here's How Magical A 3D iPhone Would Be In Genuine History [Video]

Abysmal behind in my psyche, I essential to believe that Apple is going to come out with a holographic iPad and iPhone someday just so I can catch trio dimensional Lady Gaga dance parties unfold in Lilliputian fashion.

LA-based 3D artist Mike Ko definite to sicken it up a snick though, and visualised what it would be equal if 3 dimensional objects could develop into time from the iPhone's screen. Objects equivalent, say, a picture municipality with whimsical less cars zipping around the streets. Crack out Mike's iPhone 3D video masterpiece beneath and let us know what you expect.

Hero Academy would boot so overmuch strike on this action! Mike says the video took around 3 months to goal as his graduation project for Otis College of Art & Design. He utilized Maya, After Effects and Pftrack for all the 3D animations and shot it on a Canon T2i. Pretty good succeed for someone who's meet closing up at college. Maybe someone at Pixar will see it and get Mike a gig employed for Steve's animation studio.

You can follow me on Twitter, add me to your circle on Google+ or or like my Facebook Page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.

Read More >>

Google’s Project Glass Is The Future Of Augmented Reality And Connectivity [VIDEO]

In what can only be described as a geek’s ultimate dream, members of the extensive Google team have teased what it describes as Project Glass – offering a futuristic take on productivity.

Let’s face it, with a smartphone in our pockets, we’re never going to struggle to keep in touch with family, friends, work colleagues and associates. That said, if we could slip on a pair of glasses offering voice activation and line of sight icons helping us run our daily digital errands, we’d certainly consider it.

Well, that’s exactly what the Project Glass Team are trying to achieve. The below demo video outlines how it could work, although please bear in mind that this is purely conceptual – so the product you see here doesn’t actually exist yet:

The team is looking for as much input from techies as possible in order to take it in the right direction. Although there are many awesome features, the ability to take a photo of anything seen by simple speech would mean no matter what, that Kodak moment would never be missed again.

The blog post states:

A group of us from Google[x] started Project Glass to build this kind of technology, one that helps you explore and share your world, putting you back in the moment. We’re sharing this information now because we want to start a conversation and learn from your valuable input.

What I like about Project Glass is that although it does seem a long way off and futuristic, it’s by no means beyond the realms of possibility. Like how the smartphone has come a long way from its brickier roots, the glasses would become as much a fashion accessory as a necessity, with sleeker designs which could eventually render them indistinguishable from your everyday, Steve Jobs spectacles.

Even so, the concepts drawn up by the team aren’t exactly what you’d call bulky, and while not claiming to know a stitch about fashion, I’ve seen people voluntarily wearing worse.

What do you guys make of this – is Project Glass a passing fad, or are we looking at the future of smart technology? We’d love it if you share your thoughts with us, so feel free to drop us a comment on our Facebook or Google Plus+ page.

You can follow me on Twitter, add me to your circle on Google+ or or like my Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest.

Read More >>

Ustream Bringing Live Video To Facebook Timeline

Live video-streaming provider Ustream is integrating Facebook’s timeline for profiles with the goal of allowing users of the social network to view live videos with their friends.

Ustream users on Facebook can currently:

• Discover live videos their Facebook friends are watching.
• Adds Ustream channels and videos to their timelines.
• Discover and share new channels.
• Tweak privacy settings, controlling which videos they want to share on Facebook.
• Activate Ustream’s social integration via a toggle switch or by editing settings on the Ustream application settings page or Facebook activity log.

And Ustream users will soon be able to integrate timeline into the live Facebook application, which will enable them to watch live video with their friends.

You can follow me on Twitter, add me to your circle on Google+ or or like my Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest.

Read More >>

Security Firm Shows How To Bypass Passcode of Any iOS Device [VIDEO]

Over the last few months a number of vulnerabilities have been found within the iOS platform that could potentially allow some ethically challenged individuals to gain access to certain parts of a user’s handset if it is lost or stolen, even if a passcode lock is enabled. The methods used have generally been long winded and allows access mainly to the device’s Camera Roll, recent call logs, as well as allowing the perpetrator to be able to make outgoing voice or FaceTime calls in some cases. Being able to circumvent the passcode lock and access that kind of minimal data is concerning, but on the grander scale of things hardly represents a massive breach.

Those little tricks and vulnerability hacks also seem to pale into insignificance after watching the attached video demonstration by Swedish security firm Micro Systemation. The company generally spend most of their time providing their services to police and military forces around the world, attempting to break through security systems on their behalf for whatever reason those forces may have. The tools provided by the company are purchased by governments to allow their forces to access possible sensitive data that can be found on the smartphones of suspected individuals or military prisoners.

One such tool, that Micro Systemation calls ‘XRY’, is demonstrated in the video and shows just how easy it can be to access a passcode locked iOS device using vulnerabilities and exploits similar to those which jailbreak dev teams take advantage of. The tool quickly bypasses any device security and then efficiently dumps device data such GPS data, call logs, contact data, text or email messages as well as a log of all keystrokes on the device.

Micro Systemnation products are available for sale in over sixty countries throughout the world, with market director Mike Dickinson claiming that the company supplies software to 98% of the United Kingdom’s police departments, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States. Probably unsurprisingly, Dickinson also elaborates on the fact that the United States military is their largest single customer.

 

The company constantly has to reverse engineer newly released firmware versions in an attempt to find security flaws in the software, rather than use any back-door vulnerabilities that may have been left by Apple or Google. Almost 50% of the company’s staff base is dedicated to this process, constantly looking for new bugs that they can use for their software. We mustn’t forget that there is genuinely a real world requirement for tools such as these, but considering the methods used are intrinsically linked to how we ultimately get our jailbreak software, it does paint a rather worrying picture about the security of our data.

You can follow me on Twitter, add me to your circle on Google+ or or like my Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest.

Read More >>

Samsung’s Latest Galaxy Note Ad For Super Bowl Takes A Shot At Apple Fans [VIDEO]

Rivalry is undoubtedly a positive thing, particularly in the gadget sphere. Without manufacturers competing for the affections of the fickle public, we’d have less devices, fewer choices, and our digital freedom could be severely compromised.

In smartphone terms, Apple and Samsung are a cut above the rest. The fruit company regularly evokes what we call iPhone Fever, whereby analysts, bloggers and consumers get a little too excited about what may or may not be in the next installment of Apple’s coveted smartphone range. Similarly, you’ll find that if the iPhone isn’t atop the charts in terms of sales, usability or customer satisfaction, Samsung will be there, carrying the torch for Google’s Android software.

Unfortunately, what began as healthy competition between Samsung and Apple, has descended into the sort of bickering we’d associate more with the playground. Lawyers from the respective camps are currently touring the world, from the US, to Europe, and even Asia, in the suing and countersuing debacle which has become the kind of spectator sport which, if it were on television, we’d probably feel inclined to turn over.

In the latest, Samsung has a pop at the many thousands of customers whom queue during the aforementioned iPhone Fever seasons via its Galaxy Note Super Bowl ad, and no matter which side of the fence you stand, the video is rather entertaining. Those standing in wait are heard saying things like "If it looks the same, how will people know I’ve upgraded?", referring to the identical aesthetics of the iPhone 4S from the preceding iPhone 4 device; as well as "Uh-Oh, Roger’s saying the battery looks sketchy!", having a not-so-subtle dig at the iPhone 4S’s poor battery retention in places.

It ends, rather humorously, with the words "The next big thing is already here.. Again!" a play on Apple’s overused punch line and a constant feature of the Steve Jobs keynote era.

The Samsung Galaxy Note is certainly a big thing, at least in terms of size, but we can’t help but think there’s an element of the Green-Eyed Monster here. After all, there aren’t many companies enticing the sort of congregations seen outside the Apple Stores on release day.

You can follow me on Twitter, add me to your circle on Google+ or or like my Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest.

Read More >>

Original iPhone Film Festival Announces Winners Of ‘Best Videos Created With iPhone’ [VIDEO]

The Original iPhone Film Festival set out to find the best movies shot using an iPhone throughout the year of 2011, and they have just announced the winners across a selection of categories.

Original dreamed up after Apple released the iPhone 4 and its 720p-enabled video camera, the festival has grown from strength to strength ever since, and with October’s release of the iPhone 4S it is only set to get even bigger.

Thanks to the iPhone 4S and its improved camera, iPhone videographers can now create stunning short films in 1080p using just a smartphone. Add in the amazing array of video creation apps on the iOS platform – including Apple’s own iMovie – and you’re all set for creating some awesome videos. Throw in an iPad for even easier video editing and you’re golden. A full video suite in the palm of your hand.

With the release of Apple’s iPhone 4, the barrier to shooting and editing was broken down and the playing field leveled.  No need to beg, borrow or steal. No need to rent an expensive camera and gear, assemble a crew or hire an editor to get your film made. Suddenly, for anybody with a story to tell, there was a powerful and accessible tool with you at all times.  The iPhone filmmaker represents the democratization of filmmaking.  It’s truly a “film studio in your pocket!”

The awards were broken down into four categories – music video, fiction, non-fiction and brand film – with a winner and two runner-up places for each category. It’s all very professional here folks! All that’s missing is Ricky Gervais with some witty put-downs for multi-millionaire Hollywood types.

There was also an OIFF grand price, with the winner being "Nancy Lee," directed by Alen Petkovic.

All twelve videos can be watched on the official Original iPhone Film Festival web site, and we highly recommend you head on over and do just that. It still amazes us what can be done with a smartphone and some imagination, though admittedly these guys are streets ahead of us when it comes to the ‘putting ideas into video’ stakes!

Congratulations to all the winners, and we’re already looking forward to seeing what the creative folk can come up with during 2012.We’ll find out in twelve months’ time, assuming the world doesn’t end before then!

Best Music Video

Best Fiction Video

Best Non-Fiction Video

Best Brand Film

You can follow me on Twitter, add me to your circle on Google+ or or like my Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest.

Read More >>

Turn Your iPad Into A Full-Blown Arcade Center With iCade [VIDEO]

The way smartphone and tablet gaming has bullishly pushed aside competition from standalone devices in recent years has been nothing short of remarkable.

With hundreds of thousand of games available on various platforms, there’s something for everyone, and titles are cheap, easy to obtain, and often extremely addictive.

As the devices have continued to improve year by year, so has the quality of gaming, with titles such as Infinity Blade 2 offering cutting-edge graphics which make it joyous to play – even if you’re not particularly partial to the sword fight-in-a-castle genre.

While sharp, realistic visuals are wonderful and all, sometimes the games which give us the most pleasure are those which tap in to our nostalgic minds. I’m talking Pac Man, Super Mario, Lemmings and the like. While many of those titles are indeed available at the App Store, touchscreen Pac Man doesn’t quite capture the imagination like a good ol’ plastic joystick.

That’s where iCade comes in. Developed by ION Audio, this little beauty rolls back the years for your treasured iPad, creating a retro arcade-like unit so you can relive those fond memories via the advanced technology of today.

It retails unassembled, but is pretty straightforward to set up, and even simpler to pair with your device via Bluetooth. According to NetbookNews, the joystick and buttons are pretty sturdy, which is essential since they’re likely to take a bit of a battering once you get into Time Crisis.

It retails for 80 bucks on Amazon (new), which may put some off, but all things considered, can you really put a price on rediscovering those magic moments in the penny arcade?

As a suggestion, you’ll probably want to grab Atari’s Greatest Hits, too, which brings up to 99 of those classic 2600 games we’ve grown fond of over the years. You get one free, with the option to add more with in-app bundle purchases. The full set costs just INR745, which we reckon is an absolute steal.

There are also an array of other titles tailored specifically for the iCade, and you can find the comprehensive list on ION Audio’s webpage.

You can follow me on Twitter, add me to your circle on Google+ or or like my Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest.

Read More >>

Sireet Lets You Send Out Tweets Natively Using Siri, Now Available For Download

Looks like the jailbreak devs are really on top of their game just now, and those lengthy waits for teased tweaks to be released seem a distant memory as the gurus behind them fall over each other for the attention of the millions of new jailbreakers.

Unlike previous jailbreaks – whereby the tool is released and we simply jump on those old-faithful tweaks like FolderEnhancer and BiteSMS - the introduction of Siri along with iOS 5 meant many users had a different agenda to focus on, and the A5 jailbreak over the weekend has already seen a bunch of tools released which vastly improve Apple’s new system-wide voice recognition software.

Having sealed a deal last year with the fruit company, Twitter has its software nicely integrated into iOS 5, making it arguably the easiest way to get your 140 in and keep up with what’s currently trending.

You may have caught our article yesterday which previewed Sireet – yet another Siri add-on which makes sending that tweet from your iDevice even easier than it already is. All you have to do is initiate Siri, chant “Tweet” followed by your message, and Siri will divulge your utterances to the world; or at least, whoever’s interested.

In case you missed the post, here’s a little refresher:

 

The video preview promised a release by the end of this week, but we’re pleased to let you know that Sireet can be obtained right now from the ModMyi repository. It’s free of charge, and having tested it for one or two tweets of our own, we can safely say it works flawlessly!

You will obviously need to jailbreak your iPhone to install this tweak.For jailbreaking iPhone 4S and iPad 2, you can simply follow our step by step guide posted here to jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 using Absinthe on Windows or Mac.

You can follow me on Twitter, add me to your circle on Google+ or or like my Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest.

Read More >>

Doritos Superbowl Ad Sports Siri, Doritos and Girls [VIDEO]

As part of its yearly hunt for a new Superbowl ad, Doritos has asked its customers to put together their own ads with the aim of having theirs chosen to be the one which runs during the halftime ad break. Obviously the competition proves rather popular amongst fans of triangular snacks.

See, two guys decided that the best way to get their ad aired was to use Siri, or at least it’s implied that it’s Siri, as their gag. We have to admit, the idea is pretty darn good, considering if Siri was able to do more than it is capable of right now.

The story is pretty standard fare, with Siri being used to conjure up a (un)healthy selection of tasty triangular snacks and even a rather fetching sombrero. When the guy’s friend then asks for three hot girls though, he’s presented with three hungry dogs. It’s a standard play on Siri’s sometimes embarrassing ability to get things wrong, sometimes with dire consequences. Trust us, at times Siri just can’t understand what we really want, happens to all of us.

Siri’s success rate can often depend on the user’s accent, and not necessarily on the syntax used although we’re almost convinced that things have improved on that front over the last few weeks. Perhaps Siri is learning as it works? Either way, if things keep getting better then those of us outside the United States might actually be able to use it properly!

We’ll admit to giggling a little at the ad’s conclusion, and there’s no doubt that its, err, assets are intriguing indeed.

We’re just not sure it makes us want to rush out and buy Doritos, that’s all.

It does make me want to use Siri more, though!

You can follow me on Twitter, add me to your circle on Google+ or or like my Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest.

Read More >>

Belfry Brings iPhone’s Stock Weather, Compass, Calculator, Clock, Stocks, And Voice Memos Apps To iPad

If you are a relatively new owner of an iPad 2, then it may come as a shock when you first turned the device on and noticed that it was missing some key stock applications which are installed natively on the iPhone and iPod touch. I am pretty certain that some users will be entirely perplexed by this, and will have spent a large amount of time searching and seeking clues which point them in the direction of their missing Stocks, Weather, Calculator, Voice Memo, Compass and Clock application. However bizarre it may seem and difficult it may be to take in, I am here to tell you guys that Apple just doesn’t deem it necessary to include these applications on the iPad.

Now that you have had a few seconds to recoil in horror and absorb that information, let me also be the one to tell you that all is not lost and not for the first time, the jailbreak development community has come to your rescue. iOS developer Ryan Petrich, who has gained recognition for his widely adopted Activator tweak, had all hands on the deck once again producing his latest iPad enhancement which brings these six native applications directly to the iPad’s SpringBoard.

The tweak, which has been christened ‘Belfry’ has been released into the BigBoss repository by Petrich and is a totally free of charge download for all jailbroken iPads. Installation of the Belfry tweak will add six additional icons to the SpringBoard, with these being able to be launched as normal apps and providing access to familiar looking applications from the iPhone. There has been some talk around the community for a while about someone actually making this a reality, but up until now it hasn’t actually been actioned. If you intend of download Belfry to get your hands on the beloved Weather and Stocks apps then make sure you read the information within Cydia first.

Belfry is only available for iPads running iOS 5 or higher, and users will definitely experience some visual anomalies after the iPad has rebooted. Belfry requires additional files to be downloaded from the internet to make this a possibility so don’t be alarmed if the process takes slightly longer than you would normally be used to for a Cydia download. As mentioned earlier, when running these applications it is expected that graphical errors will be presented due to the way the iPad handles the running of native iPhone applications. This can be partially rectified by installing a tweak known as RetinaPad alongside Belfry which renders the applications in full screen mode in the best possible way for the iPad.

If these applications are something you have longed for on your iPad then head on over to Cydia now and download Belfry for free. I can’t help but feel that part of the reason that Ryan would  produce such a tweak is to give a real world example of just how useful his RetinaPad software really is, but you be the judge of that.

You will obviously need to jailbreak your iPhone to install this tweak.For jailbreaking iPhone 4S and iPad 2, you can simply follow our step by step guide posted here to jailbreak iOS 5.0.1 using Absinthe on Windows or Mac.

You can follow me on Twitter, add me to your circle on Google+ or or like my Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest.

Read More >>

Swap Faces For Perfect Group Photographs With GroupShot For iPhone [VIDEO]

The rise of smartphones and tablets has brought about a new wave of photo editing fanatics. Before the App Store and Android Market, image manipulation was confined mainly to the accomplished using the likes of Photoshop or The Gimp.

Things have changed now, thanks to the many hundreds of image-tweaking apps allowing allsorts of weird and wonderful effects to be achieved. For a while, there was a fad involving the “booth” apps, whereby you could make anybody look fat, old or bald. Hilarious! But it didn’t stop there.

You may recall Microsoft’s answer to iLife, rolled out back in 2010 by the name of Photo Fuse. As part of a re-vamp of Windows Live Photos, it used cutting edge face detection technology to make those “bad” photos, well.. better. For example, if in one shot, somebody (there’s always one) had decided to close their eyes instead of producing a wide-eyed grin, Photo Fuse would detect the eyes of that same person in another photo and blend them quite excellently into the shot.

Despite the many apps boasting wondrous effects (Snapseed, for example, was last year’s App d’or), there hasn’t been much available for our mobile devices with such advanced technology. Well, at least until now.

Macadamia Apps, a brand new startup company based in Israel, has just released an app called GroupShot which allows photos to be fused in order to obstruct those imperfections in your albums. In fact, it goes a few better than that, rendering it just that little bit special. You can select multiple photos (via your Camera album, iCloud, or those yet-to-be-snapped), and then simply touch the problem areas, and the app will magically replace that bad smile or closed eye with a much more photogenic version from the collection you initially selected.

The result? Much like Photo Fuse, you get that perfect group photo without the spoiler. What’s more, it costs a cent short of a dollar. Without trying to look like paid promoters (we’re not, we promise!), this has to go down as one of the best apps of its kind, and if you like the photos on your mega-pixel-boasting camera to turn out perfectly, this is the app you’ve been looking for.

Macadamia Apps has a decent financial backing of $100k, and their plan is to launch a bunch of similar apps related to image morphing. With GroupShot already out there to whet the appetite of the camera-loving iDevice users, we’ll sure be closely watching Macadamia’s space in months to come!

Download GroupShot for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch [iTunes link]

You can follow me on Twitter, add me to your circle on Google+ or or like my Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest

Read More >>

iPhone 4S Untethered Jailbreak On iOS 5.0.1 Demoed On Video

It seems like we are not too far off now from a public release of an untethered jailbreak for both iPhone 4S and iPad 2. Pod2g, who is the genius behind this iOS 5 exploit for both A4 and A5 devices, has posted a video on his blog which shows jailbroken iPhone 4S running Cydia, on iOS 5.0.1, fully untethered.

While there is still no official ETA from either of the Dev-Teams for this most awaited jailbreak in recent times, but if the “hint” , it is only a matter of  few more days now before we can all get our hands on jailbreak for both iPhone 4S and iPad 2.

In the meantime, if you still haven’t upgraded your iPhone 4S or iPad 2 to iOS 5.0.1 yet, it is highly advisable to do so now as Corona untethered jailbreak exploit has been reportedly patched by Apple in the latest iOS 5.1 Beta. You MUST upgrade your device to final version of iOS 5.0.1 now before iOS 5.1 is released to public. This is important because once final version of IOS 5.1 is out, you wont be able to downgrade your device back to iOS 5.0.1 and hence will be out of luck for any jailbreak until the next one pops out – which probably wont be available anytime soon.

 

You can follow me on Twitter, add me to your circle on Google+ or or like my Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest.

Read More >>

More Renders Of The iPhone SJ Concept Along With A Short Video Showcasing Its Features

Just over a week ago I brought you an article which showcased the design talents of Antonio De Rosa, founder of ADR Studios. The beautiful concept design, dubbed the ‘iPhone SJ’ not only showcased De Rosa’s talents, but also served up a beautiful design which would not look out of place in any Apple retail store. The design featured a complete, capacitive glass screen encased in a sleek; light polycarbonate body and looked the perfect blend of form and function.

The mock up is merely one mans interpretation of what a next generation iPhone could look like, and is an example of the possible aesthetics only with no real information given to the technical specification other than an A6 dual core processor and a 10-megapixel camera.

It appears that our previous title of ‘This iPhone Render Will Likely Blow Your Mind’ proved to be accurate with the public going wild over this concept design, prompting Antonio to release a few more images for us to salivate over. De Rosa has updated the ADR Studios website with the following information:

The concept of the iPhone SJ has been welcomed in an amazing and unexpected way by the Web. We want to celebrate all this by releasing more images and details of the concept together  with a small video.

It is worth pointing out, before anyone gets too excited, that this mock up is indeed a design created by Antonio to put onto paper what he believes the future iPhone should look like. With the iPhone 4S being the current production model, some consumers were slightly disappointed that we are seeing the exact same design two times in a row. However, even though we are only three months into the life of the 4S, rumors are already starting to circulate about a radically new designed iPhone 5.

I don’t know about you guys, but part of me hopes that Sir Jonathan Ives and his design team follow the same thinking pattern that ADR Studios have followed to come up with the flawless concept. I’m pretty sure a next generation release which looks as good as this would be ferociously welcomed by consumers.

You can follow me on Twitter, add me to your circle on Google+ or or like my Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest

Read More >>