Koto Go Silence redefines the storybook of this generation. It’s a full featured app with beautiful sounds to go with your reading, and stunning visuals for your viewing. It’s not the average story book with just visuals after the words; instead it reads out the story with a clear and understandable voice, capturing your attention, and setting the mood throughout the story.

The animations:

 
The animations add real depth to an unusual book, and very entertaining story. The visual animations are clear, and can engage readers of all ages, even myself (at the grand age of eighteen). Koto Go Silence has a Pixar feel about it. The childlike appearance of Koto can remind you of yourself as a child, or perhaps even remind you of your brother or sister when they were young. The dynamic animations, and options for audio narration are perfect tools for helping children to increase their understanding of words. Computer animated images add a new dynamic, and spark your imagination while you read throughout the book, engrossing you into Koto’s relatable story, as he embarks on his adventure of maintaing quiet throughout the night.

User Interface:

 
Koto Go Silence has an intuitive user interface. There are no complex options for narration; just a simple tap on a sentence, and your wish is granted. The storybook is very visual, helping the reader maintain focus, and adding to the mood of the overall story. The story’s text is reasonably sized, but options for increasing text size for visually impaired children or adults are not present. This would be a beneficial feature, helping widen the range of usability for the storybook. The animations are superb, and credit is due to the designers at Light Sleepers Studios. They’ve done a fantastic job. The animations do the story justice, add an exciting snippet into Koto’s story, and create a feeling of personal involvement.

Here are some of the key features of Koto Go Silence:

•  CG character animation with exciting segments.
•  Relate-able day-to-day experiences for young children.
•  Interactive texts with English read-along functions.
•  Once installed, the App can be played, even when offline.

The Story:

 
The story has basic words to aid children, which are the primary target audience of the book. It also has audio narration, which is great! The design of the app helps you immerse yourself into the story without having to focus on reading. The sounds and visually stunning animations, can spark the child in people of all ages. I’ve read many storybooks that have either failed to include narration, or have included a robotic voice that is difficult to engage with. Koto Go Silence has a clear, understandable, and friendly voice. The narration by itself, without the complex and enjoyable story, is a killer feature! The rest is a bonus!

The downsides:

 
I’ve noticed throughout my reading of Koto Go Silence, and testing with my iPhone in iOS5, that if you receive a notification, the application becomes unusable. It could be a problem within iOS5, but it’s an annoyance more than anything-else. Also, if you respond to a text message or iMessage notification, your current page is not saved, and you end up returning to the main page of the book. My opinion is that Koto Go Silence was primarily designed for use with the iPad and iPod touch, not the iPhone. I say this because of the issues I found using the app on my iPhone. The amount of notifications that one can receive is relatively higher with the iPhone, yet the lack of suspended animation after incoming notifications do not compensate for that. Having said that, the usability issue is nothing major, and is easily cured with turning on airplane mode on your iPhone.

Overall:

Overall, for the price of £1.99 or $2.99 in the US, this storybook is well worth it. Stunning visuals, interesting storyline, and entertaining narration make Koto Go Silence a pleasure to read at any age. You’ll find yourself reading this story again and again, enjoying the amount of action, comedy, and adventure Koto Go Silence has to offer. It’s a must buy if you have young children in your family, especially if you’re a lover of masterpieces of animation. I loved reading Koto Go Silence, and enjoyed every moment of it. Kudos to Light Sleeper Studios for this beautiful storybook.

About the author:

I’m an Apple fanatic, and an overall enthusiast of technology. I have a strong interest in business and advertising. I would consider myself as part of Apples’ ‘Think Different’ mentality. I like simple design with stunning visuals. I have a strong interest in photography, and enjoy keeping up to date with the latest and greatest gadgets. Follow me On Twitter @LJamesMcDonald and say hello.

Subscribe to iOS App Advice on Twitter and Facebook to stay updated on all the latest news and reviews in the world of iOS.

Snapheal (available on the Mac App Store) is the Macintosh’s answer to a basic, yet complex photo touch up program without the purchase of Adobe Photoshop. It features professional features, in a beautiful and intuitive design, letting both beginners and professionals take advantage of the killer features it has to offer. From the removal of blemishes, to the removal of objects, to the basic color correction of photographs. Snapheal does it all. And the way it should be done: easy. Check out our comprehensive Snapheal for Mac review below.

User Interface:

The user interface is clean, simple, and intuitive. The display is easy, even for the most novice of users out there. It feels very Apple-ish in design, with sleek and simple icons for editing, importing, or altering the size of the image. All of your options are stored away in a sidebar, which is easy on the eye, and doesn’t distract you from your main focus. Snapheal could be operated by a toddler, it’s that simple if you just want to delete objects or alter contrast ratios.

On the erase section it has a small snippet of information about each mode (wormhole, shape shift, twister) making the icons less daunting and more user-friendly. All of the modes, ranging from retouching, to rotating of the image have a small section of information informing you what that desired option can do. Making the experience more pleasurable and a breeze to use.

Using the application:

The application is as simple as it sounds, you paint over the parts of the image you want to change, whether that’s erasing parts of an image, or changing contrast and saturation. It’s as easy as it sounds. If you’ve used paint, it’s basically like that, but a lot more powerful. After painting over your designed part of the image, you can use the sliders to alter the strength of the effect to your preference. On the lower part of the sidebar you have your options for the brush. These include the standard diameter, the softness, and opacity of it. All very useful for pin-point retouching of photographs, especially blemishes when you only want to remove small or visually non-existent marks. As expected, the removal of objects or spots does take a while, but the developer included some interesting facts; It takes between 5-10 seconds to 2 minutes depending on the size of the area you’re erasing. And when it does, It’s perfect!

The application also features adjustments for the image overall. These have the standard sliders such as brightness, contrast, exposure, color temperature, hue, saturation; to the more advanced features of lighting shadows, highlighting, sharpness and denoise. These features are mostly for

the more advanced user, whereas the paint and touch ups are still professional, but more aimed at the beginner who wants minor editing without too much technical knowledge. Sadly, the more advanced features don’t include a description, so technical knowledge is assumed and required.

Just as when you thought it couldn’t get much better, it does!

Snapheal includes one of the most useful, yet basic of features. Cropping! It lets you rotate the image, crop to a certain width and height, and choose from various templates like 16×9 or 4×3. Ideal for knowing your image are fit for printing.

Some other features of Snapheal:

• Erase unwanted objects, delete skin imperfections and text.
• Fix images with clone&stamp tool.
• Adjust saturation, gamma, exposure, color temperature, etc.
• Reduce noise and sharpen images.
• Control shadows and highlights.
• Import pictures from Aperture and iPhoto.
• Export to iPhoto.
• Handle up to 32 megapixels.
• Work with Tiff, Raw, etc.

Overall:

Overall, this application is a steal for the amount of features it packs in for such a low price. This is quality photography software at an affordable price. Snapheal is the perfect companion for times when Photoshop is too stressful, and only a simple edit or touch-up is needed. It harnesses power in a beautiful and intuitive design, with professional and basic features incorporated in a package fit for all.

Check it out on the Mac App Store for $9.99.

Examples of the power of Snapheal below:

About the author:

I’m an Apple fanatic, and an overall enthusiast of technology. I have a strong interest in business and advertising. I would consider myself as part of Apples’ ‘Think Different’ mentality. I like simple design with stunning visuals. I have a strong interest in photography, and enjoy keeping up to date with the latest and greatest gadgets. Follow me On Twitter @LJamesMcDonald and say hello.

Subscribe to iOS App Advice on Twitter and Facebook to stay updated on all the latest news and reviews in the world of iOS.

Color Splash Studio is a Mac application that allows you to select colors, and use desaturation on certain elements of a photograph. It comes with very a simple, and effective UI (User Interface). It’s primary use is for straightforward and effective editing, with minimal know how or frustration. It’s made for both consumers, and people who just want to spice up their photography in cool and effective ways. For myself, personally, it’s a perfect addition to my recently bought iPhone 4s. It lets me change settings, target selective colors, and desaturate images. I can easily begin editing by selecting various options, ranging from the size of  my brush, to the softness or opacity of the scale I choose.

Design:

Color Splash Studio user interface

Color Splash Studio has a lot to offer, in a very simple and affordable application. The application has a hint of Apple running through its coding; it’s simple but very effective. A lot like the Macintosh, it has a slim sleek design, but it’s extremely powerful and does everything well. It has a iOS feel about it, you can do it, without even thinking about it. The simplicity is similar to using creative photography apps on an iPad. If you’ve ever made creative images by sliding your finger over images on the screen, then you’ll know how easy it is to be creative with Color Splash Studio. The same ease of use as the iPad is found within this application. You can easily make creative photographs with a stroke of your mouse over the area you want to adjust.

On opening of the application you’re presented with the welcome screen.  From here you can easily load an image by dragging the image in from your desktop, or using the import feature in the user interface. Both of the importing options are simple and very self-explanatory. The home screen features the toolbar on the top side, above the view finder. On the right side you will find your tools, editing brushes, options for your hue, saturation, brightness, and exposure levels of the color layer. The user interface is very simple, but powerful if you dive into the depths of the application.

Features:

Color Splash Studio has a  very simple layout. It’s a very unobtrusive layout, with functions readily available without distracting you from your main focus. The main photo editing tools are  located on the right side of the screen for easy access. This results in ease of use in adjusting the diameter, softness, and opacity of the color brush, which is primarily used for adjustments on the grayscale layer. Underneath the color brush tool, there are more tools for people who want to experiment further with the likes of adjusting the brightness, contrast, saturation, hue, or exposure and color/grayscale layers of a photograph. You also have options to save your edited files in various file formats, including JPEG, JPEG 2000, Open EXR and TIFF.

These features could easily be compared with Adobe’s CS5 Photoshop tools, but they differ in the learning curves required to learn them. Color Splash Studio offers a simplified user interface, which is more user-friendly for the novice or beginner. In my opinion, the ease of use of Color Splash Studio makes it perfect for small adjustments, thus avoiding the need for Photoshop CS5, which requires an understanding of Adobe’s complex, but still very effective user interface. Color Splash Studio excels in offering very advanced features, in a small, yet powerful and light weight application.

Once you’ve achieved your desired effect, you can take advantage of the various social sharing options. In my eyes, this is a nice addition to the application. If you’ve tried to upload photographs to social networking sites, you know it’s not the most pleasant of experiences, but this application takes care of that. It has options along the toolbar at the top for sharing to most social media sites. You can post to Facebook, Tumblr, Flickr, or even Twitter, which is a bonus. Sadly, up to now it doesn’t support Google+, but I’m sure that will be coming shortly in a new update.

The verdict:

Overall, the application is brilliant for novices, and the more experienced. It has a few downfalls, but nothing major. It’s slightly slow in processing images depending on the file size, but nothing to consider not purchasing. For the functionality it offers, it’s a perfect addition to Photoshop,  a perfect addition for spicing up your creativity, and adding a creative twist to your photography. It’s missing some very much-needed features that are included in many other applications. Features like cropping and rotation are missing, but the lack of these features can easily be supplemented with use of the built-in “Image Capture” app on the Mac. We feel that these features  should be included in future releases for the non-technical person, and to create a more flowing user experience.

Color Splash Studio is available on the Mac App Store, and retails for around £1.49 or $1.99, depending on your geographical location. For what it offers, It’s a steal, and a must buy for anyone interested in creative photography, editing previous taken pictures, or just letting their creativity run wild.

Gallery of pictures I edited with Color Splash Studio for Mac

Below are some examples of the power of Color Splash Studio:

About the author:

I’m an Apple fanatic, and an overall enthusiast of technology. I have a strong interest in business and advertising. I would consider myself as part of Apples’ ‘Think Different’ mentality. I like simple design with stunning visuals. I have a strong interest in photography, and enjoy keeping up to date with the latest and greatest gadgets. Follow me On Twitter @LJamesMcDonald and say hello.

Subscribe to iOS App Advice on Twitter and Facebook to stay updated on all the latest news and reviews in the world of iOS.

I’ve gained plenty of valuable knowledge about technology throughout the years, and today I’m going to share my story about how, and why I made the switch from a PC to a Macintosh, and some of the pro’s and con’s of the Mac vs PC debate.

My first experience on a personal computer was primarily as a Windows user. It was the year 2000 when I received my first computer at age 7. It was a Windows 98 machine with dreadful specifications, but at the time, It was amazing! The i7 of its day.

From a very young age, I always enjoyed experimenting with the settings on my computer, and tweaking certain elements to improve its speed and overall quality of use.  At age 7, I  primarily used my pc for games, with the occasional word processing and some Microsoft paint. My interest in computers increased as the years went by, and so did my knowledge. I learned the basics of the Microsoft Office suite, then gradually went onto the likes of Adobe Photoshop. Through the ages of 10 yrs to 16 years old, I was using Windows machines daily for multiple hours at a time. I was either editing photographs, designing graphics for school, or discovering new layers of the Operating System. I acquired most of my knowledge through interests and research, but I did not use any formal learning aids. In my eyes, following your passion is the best way to learn. You make mistakes, learn by them, or uncover things you never knew existed.

My first experience with a Macintosh

Whenever I used a Mac, I would instantly fall in love. I remember my first experience with a Macintosh when I was twelve years old. I used an iMac G5 at school. I remember going away, and instantly wanting one. I made the trip to the Apple Store that weekend, because I wanted one for myself. At the time, the prices of between £1,000 to £2,500 seemed like the price of an average home, especially since I was very young.

Switching from a PC to a Mac

Just over a year ago, my computer at the time was having problems with over-heating and the famous blue screen of death, so I thought it time to make the switch. I weighed up my options, did some research, and found the best option for me was the 21.5″ iMac. At the time it was just under £1,000, which is a lot of money for any student, but I had my heart set on it. I wanted one for improving my computing, and to experience the Apple ecosystem which I’ve always loved.

After weeks and weeks of debating, I ordered myself the 2009 iMac 27″ model, with a 2.8ghz Intel i7 processor. I chose the extra upgrade to the i7 processor instead of the standard i5 processors that the iMac’s come with. I had the extra funds, and I decided that future-proofing my Mac was necessary. I ordered my 27 inch iMac with 4GB of ram, a 1TB hard drive, and an ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics card.
To me, it was a dream machine. The display was truly beautiful, considering I was upgrading from a 17-inch CRT display. It felt like winning the national lottery.

Upgrade differences between Mac vs PC

One of the main differences between Macintosh and Windows computers is the availability of upgrades. Nearly all Windows computers allow you to upgrade the components. On the other hand, the Macintosh is a proprietary system, and Apple designs all of its own hardware and software. This provides a higher quality user experience, but doesn’t  always make upgrading components possible (with the Mac Pro, and minor RAM upgrades being the exception).

The main reason for these limitations is Apple’s OSX (operating system). OSX is specifically designed to work with Apple components that work together, using specific features of the operating system to give better usability, advanced features, and the best possible user experience. Apple also limits the components that can be changed, due to compatibility issues with PC parts, and Mac parts that are designed to run specifically on the Macintosh and OSX. In my eyes, limiting the amount of upgradable parts on the Mac is beneficial, because it stops user error, avoids problems arising with incompatibility, and ensures that the user gets the best experience possible. Not all PC parts work on the Macintosh, but the “Hackintosh” movement has shown that building a Mac from PC parts is possible.

One of the main upgrades I made to my Windows PC was the upgrade of my RAM (random access memory). I upgraded from 512Mb of RAM, to the motherboard’s capacity of 2GB. The upgrade was meant to ensure smooth operation of intense programs such as Photoshop, and other video editing programs. It was a complex task, requiring the use of multiple tools, and prior knowledge of computer components. In contrast, upgrading the RAM on an iMac consist of removing a panel on the underneath of  the iMac, and inserting the RAM into the slots. This is considerably more user-friendly, and is less daunting to the average user.

Apple Support customer service experience

After having the iMac for around 8 weeks, I started having some problems. The Hard drive broke, it got replaced, and then I discovered the famous yellowing of the display. It went off to repair again, and came back with a broken LCD display; half was yellow, and half was white. After a long phone call to Apple Support, they decided the best option was to replace my iMac with the 2010 version, which came out not so long after I purchased my iMac. I got a specification bump from the 2.8 Ghz i7 processor to a 2.93 Ghz, with also a GPU upgrade to the 1GB Radeon HD 5750.

The quality of my iMac is phenomenal compared to my previous Windows machine. Everything “just works”. I am truly glad I made the switch. Everything is incredibly swift, snappy, and truly beautiful; even down to the “traffic light” system for closing the windows. The iMac is total eye candy. From the hardware, all the way down to every detail of the software.

Mac vs PC: Value and price

The purchase price of a Mac is relatively higher than a PC, and the average user may think twice about switching to a Mac. PC users will argue that they get more value from a PC, but with a Mac you get a complete package. Better hardware, incredible design, and a rock solid operating system. Mac OSX Lion is built on a UNIX foundation, and is much more stable than windows. In addition, buying a Mac will also open the gates to many creative and amazingly awesome applications (Apps), which you can not necessarily get on a PC. The price of a Mac may put a lot of new customers off, but there is no question that this argument has more considerations than just a price tag.

The important thing is that the Mac offers truly outstanding customer service, a quality finish product, and a OS which only some can dream of. It’s an incredible machine, which I highly recommend for anyone wanting to experience a refined operating system, or for people who are tired of the Windows problems we all have faced.

If you can justify the higher price of a Mac, either with your specific computing needs, or just with wanting a change like we all do from time to time, I highly recommend switching from a PC to a Mac. If you’re just using your computer for common tasks such as e-mail, or social networking, you wont harness the full power of the Mac. Therefore, in my eyes, the additional cost may not be worth making the switch.

About the author:

I’m an Apple fanatic, and an overall enthusiast of technology. I have a strong interest in business and advertising. I would consider myself as part of Apples’ ‘Think Different’ mentality. I like simple design with stunning visuals. I have a strong interest in photography, and enjoy keeping up to date with the latest and greatest gadgets. Follow me On Twitter @LJamesMcDonald and say hello.

Subscribe to iOS App Advice on Twitter and Facebook to stay updated on all the latest news and reviews in the world of iOS.

I’ve used the iPhone version of Line2 for about a month now, and I’m happy to announce that Line2 HD for iPad has finally been released. This amazing app can turn your iPhone, ipod touch, or iPad into a fully functional phone. Yes, you heard me right! Line2, and Line2 HD can turn your iDevices into fully functional cell phones; with texting, phone calls, voice-mail, and much more. You can make calls using WiFi or 3G, keep-up on incoming text messages, and browse through visual voice-mail. The service uses VOIP (Voice Over IP); just like Skype, Vonage, Magic jack, etc. Take a look at how Line2 stacks up against other VOIP services here.

Line2 features:

Line2 HD can be downloaded on any iPad for FREE, and includes a complimentary seven-day trial for your pleasure. You can make unlimited phone calls on your iPad to the USA or Canada, and send and receive SMS text messages. We have not seen any MMS features in the app as of this writing, but we hear that MMS will be coming soon. The subscription fee is $9.99 per month after the trial period, and if you subscribe before your trial runs out, you will lock in your subscription fees at $9.99 per month for life (The CEO guarantees it). I was able to subscribe to the monthly plan right from within the iPhone app, but I think the iPad version may need you to subscribe from Toktumi’s website. Take a look at the pricing table and decide which plan is right for your needs.

Benefits of a Line2 phone number:

One of the best use cases for Line2 is reduction of your cell phone costs. Line2 relies on your 3G or WiFi connection to do its magic, so any calls or text messages you’re sending, or receiving, are all based on DATA and NOT minutes. What this means for you is that you can use your Line2 phone number exclusively, to make all of your phone calls and text messages. You will not use up any minutes or text messages on your mobile carrier by doing so. The only drawback at this time is the lack of MMS messaging in Line2 (which should be coming soon). For all other intents and purposes, you can cut your carrier minutes to the lowest amount possible, and eliminate your texting plan (if you don’t care about loosing MMS messaging). Making these changes could save you a pretty penny each month, and offer you more versatility with: unlimited calling (anytime minutes, since it’s based on data), free calls to Canada, and unlimited SMS texting. We think that the lack of MMS messaging in Line2 will be a moot point soon, with the release of iOS 5′s iMessage making MMS all but obsolete on the carrier side. iOS 5 should hit the iWorld in the next few weeks.

There are many benefits to trying out Line2, and Line2 HD on your iDevices. You can save money, get more minutes, send unlimited text messages, and call Canada for free. Oh, and yeah!, lets not forget that having a phone line on your iPad is a pretty awesome feature as well. I find using my iPad as a phone really handy at times. I can keep in touch with friends and family while I’m relaxing, and use Line2 HD as my backup phone if I ever break my iPhone. The only thing that’s kinda important when it comes to using Line2 on your iPhone or iPad 3G, is your DATA CAP!! Like I mentioned before, Line2 is a VOIP service, so it will rely on DATA for all its communications. For those who have UNLIMITED data plans, this will be of no concern, and a potential advantage in reducing their carrier minutes. For those who have CAPPED DATA PLANS, you may want to consider the usefulness of Line2, and any potential overages when using it over 3G. The concern is again a moot point if you only plan on using Line2 over WiFi (like I do on my iPad 2).

The verdict on Line2 and Line2 HD:

After having plenty of hands-on time with Line2, and Line2 HD, I can give you a solid recommendation to go out and give it a try. At the very least you will enjoy making calls from your iPad, and showing your friends how awesome it is to make calls, and check voice-mails from your iPad.

Grab your copy of Line2 for iPhone and iPod touch, or Line2 HD for iPad on the iTunes App store for the grand total of FREE today

Oh, and have you joined our community on Facebook or Twitter yet? We have an informative Forum where you can find answers to your iOS questions, and submit questions that you need help with.

Keep up with all the latest iOS App Advice, by subscribing to our RSS feed.

About the author:

I’m a geek, an Apple fan boy, technologist, gadget freak, YouTuber, Army veteran, real estate investor, father, and founder of iOSappadvice.com. I would consider myself an Alpha tester, and I love to stay on the bleeding edge of technology. I love reviewing the latest technology, and sharing the news with my friends. Follow me on Twitter @RMalayeri and say hello.

I was really excited when I stumbled across Diptic, because I was looking for a native iPad Instagram app that would allow me to upload pictures. I was finding other cool iPad apps for Instagram, but they only allowed viewing access to my Instagram feed. With Diptic, I can create a multi-shot photo, add some minor edits, and upload them straight to Instagram perfectly. I really like the app, and would recommend it to anyone who wants to be more creative with their Instagramming

For even more creativity options, you can pair Diptic with another photo editing app like FX PhotoStudio. Personally, I’ve been using upwards of four photography apps with my pictures, and adding creative effects in layers before uploading them to my Instagram feed. Most people will simply be happy with the built-in photo effects in Instagram, but for the super creatives that like more options, I recommend using Diptic with other photo editing apps. Your photos will stand out for their creativity, and your friends will be asking you how you’re making those awesome photo collages!

Grab your own copy of Diptic in the iTunes App Store today, and start getting creative with your Instagram photos.

About the author:

I’m a geek, an Apple fan boy, technologist, gadget freak, YouTuber, Army veteran, real estate investor, father, and founder of iOSappadvice.com. I would consider myself an Alpha tester, and I love to stay on the bleeding edge of technology. I love reviewing the latest technology, and sharing the news with my friends. Follow me on Twitter @RMalayeri and say hello.

First of all, I’d like to note the two versions of Splashtop that you can get for your iPad. The regular remote desktop app, and the “Splashtop Whiteboard” enabled version. They are both essentially the same app, but the Whiteboard version allows for some really cool features for group viewing. I tested both versions of the Splashtop app on the iPad, and I also spent some time testing the iPhone version of Splashtop as well. It’s important to note however, that all of the Splashtop apps are currently seperate versions, and they need to be purchased individually. Hopefully we’ll see a universal version of Splashtop soon, but for now, just remember that you are working with three versions. Splashtop for iPad, iPhone & iPod, and Splashtop Whiteboard.

I’ve had my fair share of hands-on with VNC apps for iOS in the past, but I must say that Splashtop is definitely a cut above everything else I’ve tested. The app has very high framerates, excellent UI, and many advanced features that increase the usefulness of the app for power users like me. One of the features that I really like is the ability to wake a sleeping Mac remotely. This is the “Wake on Lan” feature, and it is activated from within the Splashtop app, inside of the settings for the particular machine that you are trying to wake. It was very easy for me to wake my iMac from its slumber, and I was up and running immediately.

The only thing to note with Wake-on-Lan in Splashtop is that, the Mac or PC that you are controlling needs to be on the same network as the iPad that is controlling it, and it must also be wired-in using an ethernet cable. Splashtop does have an “Experimental” feature built-in for non Lan discovery of machines (internet discovery), which uses google’s Gmail discovery to find your machine, and it works flawlessly.

Having tested some of the technical features of Splashtop, I must say that the user experience of the app is really amazing. Splashtop boasts 30fps refresh rates, and page-loads are pretty much non noticable. Controlling several Macbook Pro’s, and a couple of 27″ iMac’s was really fun! The best feature was the ability to run iPhoto on my iPad. iPhoto loads within Splashtop perfectly, and looks as if it’s actually a natively written iPad app. I had tons of fun showing it off to my mom. We played multiple slideshows, and it was really fun watching her face light up as I controlled the iMac from my iPad.

Splashtop can direct the audio from your computer to any mobile device that is controlling it, and you can choose all of your preferences from the Splashtop streamer app on your Mac/PC. This feature might not sound like much at first, but imagine watching flash movies and videos on your iPhone/iPad flawlessly. By using Splashtop on your iOS devices, you can let your computer process flash content, and enjoy the convenient streaming of otherwise inaccesible content. Splashtop even mutes your computer’s audio, and redirects it to your iDevice! What could be better than saving your battery , increasing your performance, and still watching all of your favorite flash content! Hulu anyone?

Download Splashtop to your iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad now, and remote into your computer easily and elegantly. Make sure you download the small server-side software that helps with the streaming of your computer to your iDevice. It’s available for Mac or PC here.

Made for iPhone:

Made for iPad

Gallery: iPad Version

About the author:

I’m a geek, an Apple fan boy, technologist, gadget freak, YouTuber, Army veteran, real estate investor, father, and founder of iOSappadvice.com. I would consider myself an Alpha tester, and I love to stay on the bleeding edge of technology. I love reviewing the latest technology, and sharing the news with my friends. Follow me on Twitter @RMalayeri and say hello.

Removing duplicate contacts from my iPhone has always been a pain in the…, but thankfully I finally found a solution to my problem. DeleteQ for iOS is compatible with the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, and can quickly find and delete those pesky duplicate contacts in your address book.

I’ve been using DeleteQ for a couple of days now, and I can recommend this nifty little app to anyone who has duplicate contact issues on their iDevice. If you’ve been syncing your iPhone contacts to Gmail, MobileMe, or any other sites, you probably know what I’m talking about. Having ten copies of the same contact makes it harder to find information quickly, and scrolling through an endless contact list is pretty annoying.

Download DeleteQ in the iTunes App Store for the bargain price of $0.99, and fire it up to find some neat features.

Some of the features of DeleteQ include:

1. Quickly select and delete multiple contacts
2. Search contacts by name or phone number.
3. Select all contacts on search result at once, (also you can deselect all)
4. With selected list, you can check contacts before deleting them.
5. With Easy Select, you can select name duplicated, no email address, no phone number contacts at once.
6. With number scroll index and sorted list by name, you can fast scroll and find contacts.

The size of the download is pretty small, so don’t be surprised if it comes down really fast

The Verdict

Overall, I’m really happy with my $0.99 investment in a clean and duplicate free iPhone contact list. Take a look at the screenshots below for a peek at the DeleteQ user interface. There’s no reason that you should spend your free time deleting duplicate contacts from your iphone by hand, or continually syncing your iPhone contacts with your Mac to get cleaned up. Go ahead and drop the best $0.99 you’ll ever spend on DeleteQ; the best solution to sync iPhone contacts and remove duplicate entries.

About the author:

I’m a geek, an Apple fan boy, technologist, gadget freak, YouTuber, Army veteran, real estate investor, father, and founder of iOSappadvice.com. I would consider myself an Alpha tester, and I love to stay on the bleeding edge of technology. I love reviewing the latest technology, and sharing the news with my friends. Follow me on Twitter @RMalayeri and say hello.

Six months ago iOS users would have considered buying any application that somehow played flash video. Breakthrough applications like SkyFire Web Browser, iSwifter, and Cloud Browser set the world on fire with the ability to play flash video. The problem is that none of these solutions worked…well. These applications are highly unreliable on any given day (extremely frustrating when you attempt to tune into a live game on the web and discover it doesn’t work). Six months later we expect a more elegant solution that follows the Apple principle of ‘just working’.

The latest flash cloud-based-browser I came across is Puffin Web Browser ($0.99), and I think this one fits the bill. This application combines the power of iSwifter, with the much talked about SkyFire browser, in the sense that flash videos will play within the browser (like iSwifter-though a little jittery like iSwifter), AND it will also convert the video into HTML5 and play it the built-in media player if the web browser version is too ‘studdery’ (just like SkyFire). Did I also mention that it’s a Universal app? This means you can download it once and it will upscale to the iPad, or downscale to the iPhone!

In essence, you are getting two apps (SkyFire $4.99 and iSwifter $2.99) for the awesome price of $0.99! Combining the two technologies boosts your chances of watching a flash movie, tv show, or a live game significantly, on any given day.

I primarily use Puffin Web Browser these days, since flash videos are guaranteed to work within the Puffin web browser (like iSwifter) (although alittle jittery), or I watch the converted HTML5 version for a smoother viewing experience (like SkyFire…it’s my choice. Choice is good .

Gallery: iPhone Version

About the author:

Technology/Gadget Enthusiast, Computer Programmer/Technician, Karate-ka, Violinist, Prospective Neuroscientist and co-founder of iOSappadvice.com

Technology never gets boring no matter what it is on whichever platform. Computer/Gadget geek at heart here. Follow me on Twitter @LaurentLogan . Always looking to meet new people

How the Facebook Messenger app works:

The Facebook Messenger app is basically like the Blackberry Messenger app, or the “to be future released” iOS 5 iMessage. Some of the features include: the ability to converse, send SMS, send MMS, send locations, and other useful attachments. The app populates the contacts in your Address Book, in addition to your friends from your Facebook profile. You can also start group conversations, and begin a group message with multiple friends. Simply add a few friends to your message, and you’re ready to chat with your group.

The user interface is very simple and to the point. The colors are blue and white, which are the iconic colors that surround the Facebook website. When you look through the app, you’ll find a familiar list of recent and older Facebook messages. I found messages from when I first created my profile back in 2009. All of my messages appeared inside of Facebook Messenger.

In the settings pane, you can set up your notifications, and easily add your friends. The app is really convenient, especially if you are always sending IM’s and SMS, because the app has all of that functionality built into it. Another nice feature is the ability to add your location. When you’re meeting up with someone, and they can’t seem to find you, just send them your location, and BAM! Your iOS device will search for the correct directions, and lead you to them easily.

What does the future of  SMS and messaging apps look like?

If you ask me, I’ll tell you that similar messaging apps are in trouble. Facebook is still growing, and there is no sign that their innovation will be slowing down anytime soon. Dedicated messaging apps like TextFree, Blackberry Messenger, and iMessage are all vying to be the leaders in the IM space, but the introduction of the brand new Facebook Messenger app is a reminder that they better step up their game. With the biggest user base of any social network on the planet, Facebook is poised to give everyone in the SMS and IM market a big run for their money.

About the author:

I’m Irma! Say it how ever you’d like. I’m currently going into my Freshman year at college and very excited about that. I love technology. That’s really the sole reason I decided to start up my own Tech-Related channel last year. TechieTeenGirl is my channel, and I make videos about anything that has to do with tech, mostly tech news though. I have very supportive viewers and I’m content about where this channel is taking me. Other than being on YouTube, I can always be found on Twitter. I play guitar and I like to do outdoorsy stuff most of the time…Lastly, let’s talk about tech!