If you believe adding big budget visual effect in homemade videos is not possible for us normal people, FXGuru is here to prove you wrong! This free special effects app for Android can help you to add cool sci-fi and action movie effects to any video recorded using this app. Let’s take a closer look to know if this app is really worth trying or not.

You will see a small intro video after opening this app that gives you a little hint of what you are about to see inside. From the main menu, click ‘Start’ to see all the effects. Choose any effect you want and click ‘Start’ to record a video for your preferred effect. Once you are done capturing a video, you will get a chance to choose timing of the effect and then edit the MotionMatch effect. You can keep the original sound of the video if you want, keep effect’s sound only or keep them both. After you are done editing, select ‘OK’ and the rendering process will start. The process takes about 30-35 seconds and they show a cool promo of all their effects during the rendering process. That’s it, you are done! You can now share the video, edit the video again or just watch it again and again.

There are 17 cool visual effects inside the app but only 4 of them are free (TNT Barrel, Satellite Crash, Holiday Bot and UFO shuttle) and two of them are ready to use. Holiday Bot is free for a limited time and you have to share this app in Facebook to get the TNT Barrel effect. You can buy a single effect for 0.99$ or buy the MegaPack for $8.99. To take full advantage of these effects, you have to make sure there is plenty of light in the place you are recording and move the camera slowly. A video is included with all the effects where you can see these cool effects in action.

s: Pros:

• · Create cool videos with high quality special effects easily
• · 4 effects available for free
• · Share your videos easily in YouTube, Facebook, Flickr and other popular websites

Cons:

• · Not completely free
• · FXGuru logo at the end of every video (for both paid and free effects)
• Overall, it’s a great app for impressing your friends or to pass your free time.

Ant Raid is a real-time strategy game where you get to control an army of ants in different battles with weird creatures like zombie snails, wasps and other fellow insects converted into monsters. If you are familiar with the popular Plants vs. Zombies strategy game, you are going to find this game similar with better controls, amazing storyline and HD graphics and animations. Let’s see if this game is better than other arcade-strategy games or not.

Storyline

In Ant Raid, you have to take control of a nest of ants and protect them from fellow insects who are now attacking your army like monsters. They will try to crawl into your shelter and you have to kill them before they damage your nest. The story sounds very simple but the animated cut-scenes with quirky characters makes the simple story interesting.

Gameplay

The gameplay is quite simple and similar to other real-time strategy games. All you have to do is send your soldiers to stop the enemies. Your ant army will do most of the attacks but you can help them by using additional offensive powers. Some of your ants will be knocked out in the battle and you have to send more units to get them back to base which makes the game quite challenging. In some levels, you have to raise your flag to alert other ant colonies near you.

Controls

You can tap on the ants to send a group for battle. When you tap on them, you will see a highlighted small patch of groups. If you want to select a large group of ants, you have to hold longer. If you are fighting against big enemies, you have the option to send all your ants. Once you are done selecting your preferred number of ants, tap on the enemy creature to attack. It’s really as simple as that. The first few levels are very easy to pass but it gets trickier after a while.

Graphics

Like I said earlier, the HD graphics and animation looks very nice with cute characters and interesting but simple storyline. You get a nice view of the battlefield while playing but there is no pinch-zooming feature to see the cute graphics closely. However, the gameplay is smooth and the control is better if not good.

If you find tower defense games attractive, you should check out this game that comes with a combo of amazing graphics and addictive gameplay.

Overall score: 4/5

Ever been late to a party coz of traffic? Ever need to change your plan suddenly and can’t call your friend coz they are at work? Ever want to send a text message while driving!!!??? Yes, all of us have felt the need for this free iPhone app which lets you text while driving… and safely!!! How is that even possible? It is now, with Text’nDrive free iPhone app, you can text your message without even touching your iPhone!!!

Unlimited text messages, unlimited voice messages, speech to text conversion and exclusive features all in one free iPhone app!!! Too good to be true! Here are some of its exciting features:

· Reads emails out loud

· Text-to-speech technology

· No typing required

· Tested on Gmail, Me, Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL & compatible with most mail providers

· Works with any hands-free devices such as speakerphones, Bluetooth headsets or built-in car systems.

Wow!!! All that and for free!!! Now you can drive safely, without missing any important text message, always in touch with your friends and family, even on the highway!!! No distractions… No accidents!!! What’s more, it works on Android & BlackBerry too!!! So you can tell all your tech savvy friends about it and share it with them!!!

Here are some Techquad tips… to make your experience more enjoyable! To get most of this app, you need to enable IMAP protocol for your email account. This app runs quietly in the background without interrupting your GPS navigation or music player. When a message or email pops up, this app identifies the sender and reads it out loud!!! It so simple to use, and its free!!!

Yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiahhhhh!!! Who doesn’t want to tie a scarf over their eyes, and swing a sword like a ninja!!! And that too Fruit Ninja!!! The most popular game!!! Now available in a variety of forms and across a range of platforms…this fruity sensation is the most addictive game on both your iPhone and Xbox Kinect!!!

With Ninja Sensei accompanying you on your fruit frenzies giving you wise smoothies of advice… this game comes in Classic mode to swipe and splash, Zen mode to challenge your slashing skills in 90 sec, Arcade mode consisting of a variety of fruits to test your slicing skills by increasing or decreasing speed, a Multiplayer mode to show your enemies your ninja powers, and Fruit Ninja Frenzy with the highest stakes!!!

Released by Halfbrick Studios, the latest version based on Puss-in-boots, with tweaked fairytale backgrounds and Magic Beans is a fav with all Shrek lovers!!!

With new blades and bombs the additional Bandito Mode where Puss tackles a series of increasingly tough challenges while on a very short timer, the game becomes more challenging and fruity!!!

CLASSIC MODE

ZEN MODE

ARCADE MODE

MUTLIPLAYER MODE

FRUIT NINJA FRENZY

Ever been in a situation where you need only one page of a long document!!! So you will find a scanner, scan the page then convert it to PDF, and then email it!!! Whew! That’s some effort!! Why do all that when with one snapshot you can not only have your document page scanned but converted into PDF or JPEG in a single step!!! And that too exactly where you are standing!!! Yes!!! It’s possible… with the new DocScanner iPhone app available at a low cost!!!

Just focus your iPhone camera on the document, picture, recipes, receipts, whiteboard… anything at all!!! And click a snapshot!!! In just one single step, this app converts all your documents…Yes! Multiple pages too… into a single PDF doc ready to be sent via email or text message!!! No matter how distorted or blurred your picture is, this iPhone app crops, sharpens, corrects the white balance and the distortions for you!!!

With industry leading image processing algorithms the iPhone DocScanner app automatically process the image as if it’s scanned with a flatbed scanner. With its custom inbuilt algorithms DocScanner corrects perspective, whiteness, noise etc, using the iPhone camera. The internal OCR-function of the DocScanner iPhone app turns the scanned documents into searchable text. Not just that, you can access the DocScanner internal web server containing your document library via Wi-Fi Share, so you access your Mac from your iPhone via Safari. Send your scanned documents to your Dropbox, Evernote, Mobile.me iDisk, WebDAV and Google Docs.

For as low as $4.99, you can scan your documents, upload them on your cloud, access your Mac, share your documents all in one go!!! Then why wait!!!

Can spending a dollar  and save hundreds!!?? Depends on how you spend that dollar!!! For a dollar spend buying this iPhone app is definitely going to save you lots!!! With automatic reminders to pay your bills on due dates, the only thing keeping you from maintaining your bank accounts absolutely anywhere anytime, is that dollar!!!

BillMinder, for a mere $0.99, is the most useful iPhone app. Life changes everyday, and everyday you get involved in something or another. Who can keep up with all the due dates for your bill?? Your phone bill, internet bill, rent, utility bill, your credit cards!!! Whew, that’s a whole lot of dates to remember!!! Now you don’t need to worry, with BillMinder installed in your iPhone, you will only need to tell it once, and ever month, it will remind of you how much to pay and who to pay, without you having to worry!!!

This app doesn’t just end here!! You can track your expenses, and budget your finances too!! The security system and Passcode Protection with this app makes sure all your information is in the right hands, so you can access your info anywhere, anytime!!! It updates you on approaching bills and automatically updates your data.

You can even create PDF and Charts of your expenses too… along with your Monthly Bill List, Backup Email, Multi-Currency Support for foreign vacations, Pre-Bill Alert, Account History, AutoPay, Multi-Payment Bills… and a whole lot more!!!! Just for a dollar!!!

Ever since the news had been buzzing about the all new iRobot APad android tablet pc, several people (including myself) started to wait for it anxiously hoping and expecting it to be something greater than Apple iPad. Those of you who have already bought this gadget must know what it offers but for those who are looking for some useful information before purchasing it, might want to take a look at this review. I have tried to cover all the information on iRobot APad based on my personal usage.

First of all, this elegant, little tablet pc is very smart and handy. Much like other tablet pc in the market, this one too has a nice and wide 7” screen which lets you browse and perform other functions quite easily. If you look at the price of this APad, you will be quite surprised because it’s comparatively cheaper than other tablets. In fact, the price plays a major role in the selling of this gadget since usually tablets are considered quite expensive.

The APad offers android 1.6 operating system, which is not really a bad option for android lovers. Although it isn’t the latest one but still the manufacturer has made sure that the system works at it best and is highly usable. I did not find any wireless issues yet the Chinese enter key in the keyboard seems a bit funny. Still though, the offer isn’t at all bad especially if you are good at bug-fixing and improving the OS version by yourself. I don’t say it’s necessary but since you have opted for a less costly option which asks you for some compromises, doing-it-yourself can be a good idea. I tried installing flash ROM operating system on my APad tablet which, luckily, was a successful venture. By doing this, my tablet not only became much more functional but also saved my time and money since ROM flashing had been made extremely easy with the help of internet and took me no time. If you want to know what improvements I saw in my tablet after that, take a quick look at the following:

Now I can easily and quickly; download and listen to music from server, watch all sorts of videos (including ‘full screen YouTube videos since previously they only showed up on half of my screen), read all my nook, kindle, aldiko, .pdf (MS certs) books, sync with the Google calendar and pretty much more.

One thing to be kept in mind is that you needn’t compare this useful and experimental gadget with something like IPad or other since those seem to be more high-end and functional right out of the box unlike this less expensive option.

There comes along Ethernet connection and the tablet only supports external 3G USB sticks. This means that if you do not plug in usb, you won’t have any data whatsoever. Secondly the screen is great but doesn’t work way too great in direct sunlight so don’t expect that. Since there is no GPS, you won’t be able to do much with the gadget unless it’s connected with Wi-Fi. The audio jack does more that a great job but the speakers aren’t the loudest. Since no android phones support .avi files, you can’t blame this tablet for not being able to do so but the solution that I went for was to use ‘handbrake’ which would decode all sorts of video files without giving me any problems. I did download quite a couple of apps, and games from the market and found some of them work really great. The graphics aren’t exceptional but still, quite worth the price.

Talking about the negatives, the tablet has a battery life of only 2 hours or so. Also the charger wire is really small; you need to have an extension for ease in charging. The camera and camcorder is only 1.3 mp and therefore not of a very good quality. The internal memory is as low as 256 MB.

Considering all the above mentioned negatives and positives, the Google APad is quite a recommendable option since I found it to be the cheapest among all its contenders. So if you want to own a personal APad tablet for yourselves but don’t have the budget, do consider this one and find the best value for your money.

An update for Redsn0w has been released by the iPhone Dev team recently. Now it is possible to jailbreak iOS 4.3.3 for the most iOS devices. These devices include the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The most important aspect is that untethered jailbreaks are also supported by it.

Before going through the details of the whole jailbreak process, some of the important points needs to be taken into consideration that are highlighted below

It is required to download the correct firmware before starting the process. The tutorial would help in jailbreaking iPhone 4 and 3GS running iOS 4.3.3 along with iPad (1st generation) and iPod touch (3G/4G).

If someone is depending on an ultrasn0w unlock, it is recommended to stay away from jailbreaking with Redsn0w. PwnageTool should be used instead which allows to create custom IPSW while saving the base band version. If someone is unable to understand about the process then it is better to stick with the current iOS version. It is advised not to upgrade to 4.3.3 because it might result in loosing unlock.

• Make sure that iTunes 10.2 or up has been used for the jailbreak. Backup the data such as all the contacts, sms, photos etc on iTunes for being on the safer side before jail breaking.
• Disclaimer: The jailbreaking may result in voiding the warranty of the iPhone. Hence, one has to jailbreak his iPhone at his own risk. It is not guaranteed that this tutorial is going to work on all the iPhone devices.

Upgrading iPhone to 4.3.3

The first step for jailbreaking iOS 4.3.3 using Redsn0w is that the iPhone should be upgraded to the 4.3.3 through iTunes. Now connect the iPhone with the computer for upgrading it to the latest version of iOS. The instruction given below could also be followed for the up gradation.

Note: If the iPhone already had the iOS 4.3.3, then there is no need to go through the whole selection. Simply download the firmware file (i.e. step 1).

1. First of all download the iPhone OS 4.3.3 firmware(iPhone 4 [GSM] / 3GS) and save the file into a folder.

2. Now connect the iPhone via USB and launch iTunes.

3. The next step is to restore the iPhone with iPhone OS 4.3.3.In case of Windows, just hold the SHIFT key and press the “Restore” button. Now select the compatible firmware file that has been downloaded and saved.

iPhone 3GS

Select iPhone2,1_4.3.3_8J2_Restore.ipsw

iPhone 4

Select iPhone3,1_4.3.3_8J2_Restore.ipsw)

In case of Mac, hold the option key and press the “Restore” button. Now select he firmware file to restore.

4. The iPhone would be upgraded to iOS 4.3.3 via iTunes. Wait for the completion of the process.

Jailbreaking iOS 4.3.3 using Redsn0w

5. Next step is to download Redsn0w 0.9.6rc15. It can be downloaded from (Windows / Mac).the file would be downloaded in .zip format. Unzip the file after download.

6. Now launch Redsn0w.

7. After launching the Redsn0w, click on the “Browse” option and search the iPhone 4.3.3 firmware file.

Select iPhone3,1_4.3.3_8J2_Restore.ipsw for iPhone 4.

Select iPhone2,1_4.3.3_8J2_Restore.ipsw for iPhone 3GS.

Firmware file would then be verified by the Redsn0w.

8. The firmware file would now be identified and processed via Redsn0w.After the identification of firmware file, click Next to proceed to the next step.

9. Now the process of jailbreaking data would be initialized by the Redno0w which would be based on the IPS file. Wait until the screen shown below appears. Then check the option “Install Cydia” and click “Next” to continue.

10. Simply follow the on-screen instruction to proceed. The iPhone should be turned OFF and it should also be connected to the computer via USB cable. If someone has not done it, just connect it with the USB and then turn it OFF before selecting the “Next” button.

11. After clicking the “Next” button, follow the complete process to put the iPhone into DFU mode. If some problem occurs, no need to worry, simply restart the device and redo the procedure again.

12. If the iPhone has been successfully put into DFU mode, redsn0w will automatically detect the device and go through the rest of the process by itself.

Make sure that the iPhone is not touched while jailbreaking. The iPhone would show downloading jailbreak data etc, just hold on and keep waiting. When the process is completed, Redsn0w would let know that the jailbreak process id successfully completed.

The iPhone should be jailbreak with installed Cydia, after reboot. At the end, sync back the backup data via iTunes and restore all the contacts and sms.

SBSetting is amazing and easy to use application which make thing user friendly on your iPhone/iPad/iPod touch. You can download SBSetting through Cydia via BigBoss (it is known as BossPrefs. After installing SBSetting, it will not create any icon on springboard. To activate SBSetting just swipe across the status bar of your screen and you will see few toggle buttons which will provide you customization options.

You can use SBSetting to control settling like 3G, Edge, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, SSH, Brightness, Auto-lock and many more settings. Newer version of SBSetting supports more than 12 toggle buttons to make your life easier. Just imagine that if you have to turn on your Wi-Fi, first you need to scroll around springboard for settings icon, than you will launch settings and go to Wi-Fi menu from where you will need to turn off you Wi-Fi. Now after installing SBSetting, just swipe across the status bar wherever you are and just turn off Wi-Fi.

You can also enable or disable date, free memory, numeric battery, Wi-Fi, or GSM display on your status bar. “Set toggles” is one of the most commonly used feature of SBSetting which allow users to customize their options for their device (iphone3, 3gs, 4, 4S/iPad1, iPad 2/iPod Touch).

New version of SBSetting is released for iOS5 and uses features of iOS5. Toggle buttons are integrated into the notification menu. Other features include improved themes for retina display, customized notification center and many more.

SBSetting is one of many other reasons to jailbreak your iPhone or other i-device. If your iPhone is jailbroken it is a must to have SBSetting installed.

Have you ever thought about downloading free music, movies and torrents on your jailbroken iPhone or iPod touch? Now you can download free music and movies on your jailbroken iPhone and iPod touch using cydia application dTunes. To download torrents you will need mobile terminal and after downloading torrent you can view torrent contents in dTunes.

In this guide I will describe step which you need to follow to download free music, movies and torrents.

1- Launch Cydia from Springboard and type dTunes in search field. Click on dTunes in search results and then click on install button. Once installation is complete go back to Springboard.

2- Launch dTunes application. Now you should be able to stay 5 tabs at the bottom of screen named browse, media player, torrents, search and settings.

3- First click on search tab. In search tab you can search for music or video files after clicking on appropriate tab at the top of the screen. Beside music and video tab you will see another tab at the top of screen named torrents which is for downloading torrents trackers.

4- If you want to download song, click on music tab and wait for beemp3.com website to open. After that type the name of song, singer or album in the search tab and hit search. Next screen will show you search results. Click on the song you want to download and you will be directed to download page where capatcha information will be asked. Enter appropriate capatcha information and you will be given the option to download the song or paly it in Media Player.

If you want to save the song on your iPhone, choose download option. If you want to listen to the song just once choose the option to play in Media Player.

After downloading songs, you can browse downloaded media files by clicking on browse tab at the bottom. You can play downloaded songs by clicking on the songs which will be played in dTunes built-in Media Player which is very similar to iPod music player.

5- If you are looking forward to download movies, TV show episodes or other related videos you need to click on search tab first the bottom of the screen. Next click on video tab at the top of the screen and type tinytube.net in the url field. Tinytube.net is a website which will search for videos on multiple websites including youtube.com and Google videos. Another website which I really like is surfthechannel.com from where you can download full length movies and TV shows.

Now type the name of movie or TV show you want to download in the search field and hit go button. Now you need to select the category your search best corresponds to. After choosing the category your search results will appear. Click on the video or movie which you can download or can watch directly. But remember most web site support flash players and iPhone doesn’t support flash. But you can download the video and watch it in dTunes media player later.

6- You can also download torrents using dTunes which uses piratebay.com. Type in the name of what you are searching in the search tab and hit search button. Next you will be able to see search results from where click on the corresponding torrent link which will take you to the torrent page from where you can download the tracker of the torrent file.

Now go to browse tab again and find the torrent tracker file. Click on torrent tracker file. Shortly message will appear that your torrent tracker is ready.

7- To download torrent you will need to install Mobile Terminal from Cydia. After installing Mobile Terminal you need to login as root user by entering following commands

Su

alpine  (default password. If you have changed your password you need to enter your new password)

After gaining root access you need to enter the following to start torrent download.

./gettorrent

8- Once downloading is complete, you should be able to see the downloaded file in the browse tab of dTunes. Now you view the files in dTunes. If you want to delete downloaded files, you can do so by using SSH.

9- You can change the default url of music, video and torrent websites in the settings tab.

I really like dTunes beucase it makes it really easy to download music , movies and torrents. Please don’t forget to post your questions/comments below.