5
2011
Reviewed: iNQ Cloud Touch
by 
The iNQ Cloud Touch isn’t a phone I’d ever heard of before I received one to review. In fact, I’d never heard of iNQ at all. This isn’t saying much, as being a bit of an Apple fangirl I tend to ignore most other phone brands.
The Cloud Touch is a budget Android smartphone, with a choice of casing colours: red, white and black. The phone is very heavily linked to your Facebook account – it’s no wonder the phone has been dubbed “The Facebook Phone”. The home screen displays the latest news from your feed, with links to your Facebook friends, events, notifications and places. Sliding left gives you a Google search screen with icons leading to YouTube, Gmail, Maps and the all-important Android Market. Sliding right gives you quick access to the phone’s built in Spotify controls and yet more social media icons. For an entry-level phone, it really seems to pack a punch when it comes to features.
The phone’s Spotify features seem to only be available to those with paid accounts, so being the cheapskate that I am I wasn’t able to test them. They seem to be well integrated into the phone, and it’s clear to see how you’d use everything.
Now for the boring bits: a button on the side of the phone takes you straight to a nicely designed, colourful settings page. There are a lot of simple toggle controls which make it easy to do things like turn vibrate, Bluetooth, airplane mode and silent mode on and off. There’s a whole host of other useful apps pre-downloaded such as Shazam, MSN Messenger and My Hub, the phone back-up service. The phone itself is fairly light, and the buttons are easy to use. The case is quite large, curved and easy to hold, but does feel a tiny bit cheap. It’s not a phone that feels like it would survive more than one drop on the floor. However, this doesn’t distract from the style of the phone, which is clean and simple.
Overall, it’s the kind of phone I’d be thrilled with if I hadn’t made the upgrade from pay-as-you-go. It’s not quite in the same league as the HTCs and iPhones but it’s a very good introduction to the world of Android. I’d say it’s the perfect phone for teens – massive Facebook presence, every other kind of social media they could wish for, and it looks pretty funky. Even the grafitti-covered box is cool. My 16 year old self gives it a huge thumbs up.
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14
2011
Reviewed: Goodfoot app
Some of the best apps are those that integrate with other apps to make something amazing. Goodfoot is one such iPhone app. Goodfoot takes information from Gowalla, the popular location app that award users pins and badges for checking in at various places, and uses the amount of Gowalla check-ins at local spots (pubs, restaurants, shops etc) to create lists of popular venues near you. It gives you three lists: places within walking or biking distance, and those a short drive away. Goodfoot also filters the results on the list so it won’t give you huge chain brands, doctors surgeries and petrol stations – just quality locations.
When you’ve chosen your favoured watering hole, Goodfoot gives you an Awesometer: a guage of how many check ins the venue has had. The more check ins, the better the venue. Simple! You can then get directions using the iPhone’s built-in Maps app, or get more information via the Gowalla app.
Simple pub-finding apps are great, but they’re no use if they point you to unloved tourist traps. The Goodfoot concept is simple, but a very useful.You can pick the app up here for just 69p.
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8
2011
Red Pop for iPhone
Beep Industries, the Manchester-based collaboration behind such ingenius inventions as MIXA and MoviePeg, has managed to secured funding for their latest concept. Red Pop is a device that attaches to your iPhone, giving you the option of taking photos with a big red button rather than the on-screen button on the Camera app. The button works with a free Red Pop app from the iTunes store which, once downloaded, opens automatically when you plug the iPhone into the device. Beep Industries put the product on Kickstarter and have received more than double their funding goal.
Red Pop from Beep Industries on Vimeo.
The Red Pop addition makes taking photos on your iPhone a pleasure. There’s less delay in-between shots and it’s easier to steady the phone.
You can pre-order the Red Pop on the Kickstarter page and they’ll start being shipped in September.
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6
2011
The Desktop Wallpaper Project – iPhone and iPad Wallpapers
Wallpaper by Matt Taylor
It’s always good to add a little colour to your devices. The Fox is Black, an art and design blog run by Bobby Solomon and friends, is host to The Desktop Wallpaper Project. Each week, they upload a wallpaper created by a different illustrator, photographer or designer. Luckily, each of these wallpapers is available in a variety of formats, including iPhone and iPad. Recent wallpapers have been designed by the likes of Brighton-based illustrator Matt Taylor, the Doublenaut brothers from Toronto and Danish photographer Kim Høltermand.
Photography by Kim Høltermand
The project has been running since 2008 so there’s a massive catalogue of images to choose from, and with the wallpapers varying so much in style there really is something for everyone. The project sometimes features a series of wallpapers from one artist so it’s a great place to discover new favourites.
Ben Newman
Dan Cassaro
Ewen Stenhouse
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2
2011
Unit Portables
With a lot of people now carrying more than one handheld device – mobile phone, iPod, iPad, camera, laptop – it seems that the time has come for somebody to create a bag to cater for all devices. Unit Portables is that somebody. Their range of bags and pouches is numbered, so that you can mix and match for your belongings. Unit 1 is the main bag and is tailored for your computer, with extra units available for your phone, camera, wallet, Mp3 player or iPad.
The company ships worldwide and the basic package of units 1, 2 and 3 (computer and two “stuff” pouches – shown below) will cost you €18 plus €6 shipping. The Unit Portables are available in a range of colours with more coming soon. Buy yours here!
31
2011
Color Monkey: 4 things they’d LOVE to see in the next iOS
Interactive Design studio Color Monkey have put together a nice little video showing the 4 things they’d love to see in the next iOS. Are you listening Mr Jobs?
What would you like to see?
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25
2011
Prototypes: a tool for designers
Prototype – the new way to present apps to your clients
Prototypes, created by Duncan Wilcox and Keith Lang, is a Mac app created for designers that allows you to import your iPhone app mockups and create dummy interactivity. The program produces a basic app that works on your iPhone or iPod Touch, which is uploaded to the ptyp.es website. You’re given a pin and can send the link to your client to view.
It’s a great tool for testing the flow of your app, as well as checking tap targets. Using Prototypes gives you the opportunity to test your wireframes early on in the design process and see what’s going to work and what isn’t.
The app is £23.99 but you can download a free demo by going to ptyp.es on your phone and entering the pin 1467 5639. You can also try out a live version using the pin 2668 4595 but the link will only stay valid for 30 days from this post.
You can download Prototypes from the Mac App Store.
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25
2011
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 to feature Android 3.1
Image from samsung.com
A tweet from the Samsung Mobile’s US Twitter account has revealed that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be coming in a few days, and with Android 3.1.
According to the Samsung website, the tablet weighs in at only 1.3 pounds, and features a 1 GHz dual core processor, a 1280 x 800 HD widescreen and a 3MP camera which records video – plus a 2MP front facing camera. The tablet is also only 0.34” thick.
With so many of the specs now matching (and in some cases exceeding) the iPad 2, has the Galaxy Tab become a worthy competitor?
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25
2011
BBC News app now available for Android
After having an iOS app available since mid-2010, BBC News have now extended their reach to the Android market with an official BBC News app. The app, available here, isn’t yet optimised for Android tablets and is receiving mixed reviews so far – the main complaint seems to be that the video quality is very poor. However, people on the whole seem to be happy with the interface. Looking forward to seeing what future updates will have in store!
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25
2011
Reviewed: Nike+ GPS iPhone
As with most genres of app, there are hundreds of apps designed for running. Some track your runs, some create training plans, and some simply give tips about running. A fair few of these are pretty useless; however the Nike+ GPS app seems to come out in front. Using the GPS built into your iPhone the app tracks your route, whilst timing it. It has a lot of features, such as the ability to choose “Power Songs” to motivate you at the end of a run, a congratulation from an athlete when you finish and “Challenge Me”, an option to take on your last run by going farther, longer or faster. However, one of the most useful is the post-run breakdown; by going into your running history, choosing a run, checking the route info and clicking “Pace”, the app gives you a run-down (excuse the pun) of your pacing throughout the run using a coloured gradient. Areas where you were going particularly fast are shown in green, which fades into red as you slow down. This coloured route is shown on a map so you can check which areas of your run slow you down the most, and which motivate you.
You can also play a game called Nike+ Tag, which syncs with your online Nike+ account. It has the same basic principles as the playground game, except that to become “it” you have to have run the slowest, shortest distance or latest in the day. You compete against other people that you’ve invited to play, and if nobody runs except you within 3 days the game is cancelled. Nike have put together this video to explain:
The Nike+ GPS app is free at the moment, as it’s the Nike+ 5th anniversary – the perfect time to try it out. Download it here.
