InstantSave lets you save content from Instagram, Snapchat, and now Vine

Vine. What a funny social experiment that is. The Twitter offshoot social networking site offers extraordinary creativity in the form of bite-size videos, but also provides us with silly dog clips and some very bizarre insight into people’s lives. I’ve always wanted to be able to download some of the more interesting Vines that show up. Now I can.

InstantSave has recently been updated so you can save those mini movies from Vine. The app also lets you grab photos and videos from Snapchat and Instagram. Save them to your iPhone and share them any way you like…

From InstantSave, you can view all of your Instagram, Snapchat, and Vine account feeds. Check new and trending posts or see what your friends and family are taking pictures of.

You can also save those bits of visual media to your iOS device with one simple tap. No more trying to track down that funny Vine you saw the other day or taking screen shots of your phone to get that Snapchat photo you like so much.

Users can log into their three social networking accounts and easily switch between them to view their feeds. Once logged in, tap on the social networking feed you wish to access to see your account. You can add a comment or “like” a picture on Instagram, repost pictures through InstantSave, and save images and videos directly to your iOS device’s photo library.

With Snapchat, you can save an image directly to your device before it goes away forever.

Just tap a post, then tap the “Save” button at the bottom of the screen. The image or video will automatically be added to your photo library where you can treat it like it was your own. Edit videos, add effects to pictures, and repost to whatever social networking site you wish.

The app was recently updated to include Vine saves. You can “like” and repost Vines, comment on posts, and more. Just like Instagram, you can search for users or tags and browse the popular section. Of course, you can save Vines to your iOS device and share them anyway you like. So, if you made a Vine that you’d like your Facebook friends to see, they won’t have to follow you on both social networking sites to see it.

InstantSave is available on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch for $0.99. Download it in the App Store today.

Do you want to save Vines to your iOS device? Will you use InstantSave in the future?

Apps of the Week: Dungeon Highway, Tengami, Astro Golf, and more…

It is hard to believe that March is just around the corner. On my side of the U.S., we still haven’t had a decent amount of rainfall. The sun shines every day while the days start to get just a little bit longer. Where did my winter go?

If you are longing for cozy winter nights, or are sick of the snowfall in your neck of the woods, and want some apps and games to distract you, we’ve got a list for you to check out this weekend…

Card Wars

Those who know me know that I recently (about a year ago) got into Adventure time and am now totally obsessed with it. I love those enthusiastic heroes. Finn says the funniest stuff and Jake has unusual quirks. When anything related to the show comes around, you bet I’m on it. This game is based on a single episode called, “Card Wars.” Players can customize their deck and command an army of fighters, including some iconic characters from the T.V. show, like the Husker Knights, Cool Dog, and the Immortal Maize Walker. This game is available for $3.99.

Astro Golf

Ah, put-put golf. I loved it as a kid. I remember imagining that I lived in those tiny little houses that I swung my club at. Nowadays, it is harder to find a mini golf course than it is to find cheap parking in San Francisco. When you do find a course, it is usually filled with sticky preteens. Yuck. These days, I prefer to play the game virtually. Why not throw some robots into the mix, too. This game lets you angle your shot, adjust your strength, and let the ball fly. Everything is sci-fi themed, even the golf ball, so you can have a put-put adventure in space. This game is available for $1.99.

Dungeon Highway

You may recall from my review that I don’t usually take to endless runner games. I am pretty bad at them. I can never get very far and feel frustrated at having to restart, right from the same stupid spot again and again. Dungeon Highway does have that, start again, element to it, but at least the levels are different each time you restart. Instead of feeling like you are back at the beginning, you feel like you are starting a new level. Plus, instead of gathering coins that are used to buy things you think will help you get further, you get to chop up monsters and watch their pixelated blood splatter all over the path. This game is available for free.

Tengami

I know you may be wondering what a pop-up book is doing on this list. This book is not just some kiddie “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” book. It is filled with beautiful Japanese-inspired paper craft artwork and is actually a puzzle game more than a book. Readers (or players) solve puzzles by folding, sliding, and pulling on the interactive images within the pages. You really have to see this in action to know that it is far more innovative than the images suggest. All of the pages were created using special software that simulates real paper craft. Every pop up is something that can be done in real life. This app is available for $4.99.

Bug Heroes 2

The backyard battle is back on. This time, it looks like the angle is different, the characters are new, and the weapons are more intense. I didn’t even know bugs had weapons. In this version, there are 25 different bugs, including water bug pirates, an aphid sensei, boxing bumblebees, and more. The gameplay is similar to tower defense, but with a bit of a garden variety twists. Send your scouts out to scavenge for food. Send your troops out to defend the food. Place turrets and weapons around the yard to keep the enemies away. This game is available for $0.99.

Blue Eden

I’ve always been a fan of virtual fish tanks. I love watching fish swim around and around. It is very relaxing. However, I don’t want to take care of fish, and I don’t think my cat would like it anyway (or, he would like it too much). So, virtual fish are my kind of fish. This is a game more than a virtual tank. Players breed, feed, and control the movement of their school of fish. You can grow your fish family in different ways and combine with other groups to create powerful schools. There are four different games, each representing one aspect of the Surgeonfish’s life. This game is available for $0.99.

BIAS for iPhone

I am a big fan of effects apps. I have never used them while playing live, but when I’m noodling around in my living room, I love to connect my guitar to my iPhone and play some crazy pedal without having to bring out my gig box and plug into an amplifier. If there is anyone else in the room, I can play as loud as I want without being heard using headphones. This app is an amplifier modeler and processor. It recreates the tone of 36 different amp models, including some dating back to the 1940s. You can also connect to AudioBus to export your tone to a huge selection of other music related apps. This app is available for $7.99.

Samsung introduces new Tizen-based ‘Gear 2′ smartwatches

As rumors regarding Apple’s iWatch project continue to bounce about the web, Samsung introduced its second generation smartwatch tonight. The announcement came at Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona, and actually includes two separate products: the Gear 2 and the Gear 2 Neo.

Perhaps the most notable difference between these smartwatches and the one Samsung released 6 months ago is that these run the company’s open source operating system called ‘Tizen,’ not Android. Samsung says that the switch in OSes results in easier use and much better battery life…

On the hardware side, both watches are equipped with a 1.63-inch 320 x 320-pixel Super AMOLED display, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of flash storage and a 1GHz dual-core processor. They also both feature a heart rate sensor and a gyroscope, for monitoring vital signs and tracking movement.

Additionally, the watches have built-in IR-LED sensors, which allow you to control your TV set-top box with Samsung’s pre-installed Watch-ON app. And speaking of apps, a number of Tizen apps will be available at launch including BMW, CNN, Evernote, Feedly, Paypal and Under Armour.

As for differences between the two watches, there appears to only be two of them: camera and color. The Gear 2 sports a 2-megapixel camera, with auto-focus, embedded into the watch face. The Neo doesn’t have a camera. And two come in different colors, which we’ll go over in just a minute.

The last big thing is battery life, but Samsung hasn’t offered any specifics yet. The first Galaxy Gear was panned by reviewers for only lasting a day/charge, but word has it the move to the low-powered Tizen will push that out 2-3 days. Performance is also questionable, as no one has used one yet.

Finally, the move from Android to Tizen is worth noting. In addition to the disappearance of the Galaxy branding (is this Android-only?), this marks one of Samsung’s largest, non-Google OS rollouts for a mobile product in recent years. It’ll be interesting to see how this experiment plays out.

For those interested, the Gear 2 will come in charcoal black, gold brown and wild orange, and the Gear 2 Neo in charcoal black, mocha grey and wild orange. Both devices, which will each support more than a dozen Samsung devices out-of-the-box, are set to launch in April. No word on pricing yet.

We should get more details later this week.

So, what do you think of Samsung’s new smartwatches?

‘Mini Ninjas’ goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Apple has named Square Enix’s ‘Mini Ninjas’ game its App of the Week for this week. This means that through next Thursday, you’ll be able to pick up the application for both your iPhone and iPad, for free—a nice little savings of $1.

For those unfamiliar with the game, it’s an endless runner based on the console game of the same name. In it you’ll play as Hiro, as you run jump and slash your way through various levels to retrieve a stolen artifact from the drag…
From the App Store description:

Join Hiro and his Mini Ninja friends as they run, jump and slash their way through amazing spellbound lands to retrieve the stolen artefact from the dragon. Do battle with the Evil Samurai Warlord’s magical army and look out for the Flying Samurai Monks.

Invite and challenge your friends on Facebook. Check out new scores in the High Score table and see the exact moment you beat your friends’ scores as you play.

And some of the game’s features:

• Collect and craft magical powers - Build up your Kuji energy and power by freeing trapped animals, destroying obstacles and taking Samurai warriors. Then create Kuji Magic spells to trigger some spectacular attacks and power ups!
• Free your Mini Ninja friends - Smash the cages to rescue your Ninja friends and then use their unique skills and weapons to fight the Samurai.
• Play as one of 4 Ninja heroes - Hiro, Futo, Suzume and Kunoichi
• Customize your characters - Visit the Dojo and customise your Mini Ninja with cool new outfits, disguises and weapons.
• Free the animals - Possess the animals you have freed to use their special abilities. The Panda, Fox and Crane all provide new ways to attack the Samurai.

And finally here’s your promo video:

The game comes highly reviewed, with 4+ stars in the App Store on over 1000 ratings. I’ve found it to be fun and entertaining in my brief time with it, but I will say that it does push IAPs so I’m not sure how that will affect game progress.

At any rate, if you want to check out the game for yourself, you can find it in the App Storefor free. Also remember that the Apple Store app is offering Tetris for free right now, and Sky Gamblers: Storm Raiders is IGN’s Game of the Month.

Superburst Camera is the fastest burst camera in the App Store

Before the iPhone 5s came out, there weren’t many ways to take bursts of pictures. Third-party camera apps like SnappyCam began popping up so you could take up to 14 frames per second with 8MPs. Since Apple included a burst feature in its native Camera app, the bar has been raised and app makers have to work harder to impress.

Superburst Camera is being touted as the fastest burst camera in the App Store, with more than twice the speed of the iPhone 5s’ Camera app. Take an average of 25 shots per second at 8MP, or go even further with 120 photos per second in Slow-Mo Shutter mode…

The app lets users take as many as 30 shots per second on the iPhone 5s or 20 on the iPhone 5c and 5 right out of the gate. The app will shoot off 10 photos as soon as your finger touches the shutter button. Hold down the button for an extended capturing of images.

You can adjust the app to take pictures using the fastest shutter speed possible for the most shots at one time. Or, reduce the speed to reduce image blur. You can also reduce the number of shots the app takes per second if you are trying to save storage space and don’t need 30 pictures in one second.

You can manually reduce the resolution of the pictures you take between 8 and 5 megapixels, or select 1080p for even faster shots with medium size files. Slo-Mo Shutter mode lets you take 120 photos per second on the iPhone 5s or 60 per second on the iPhone 5c and 5. These are the smallest size files with only 720p resolution.

When you are finished snapping photos, you can filter through the ones you want to keep and the ones that will be sent to the trash. Images are grouped by shutter button activity. So, a quick tap will generate at least 10 images in one group, while holding your finger down on the shutter button will generate more.

Select a group and scroll through the photos by dragging your finger across the screen. Throw away any shots you don’t like, and keep the ones you do. You can save photos to your camera roll, or share them with others through Facebook, Twitter, and more. Now, you can finally get a good picture of your cat playing with his toys before he gets bored and walks away.

Superburst Camera is normally priced at $3.99, but is on sale for free until the end of the day today. Download it in the App Store before the sale ends.

JellyLockClock7: an Android Jelly Bean inspired Lock screen clock for iOS 7

If you’re a fan of the JellyLock jailbreak tweak, which brings an Android inspired Lock screen launcher to then iPhone, then boy, do I have a tweak for you. JellyLockClock7 is a brand new jailbreak tweak that’s currently in beta, and it allows you to compliment your Android inspired Lock screen launcher with an Android inspired Lock screen clock.

As someone who’s a big fan of JellyLock, I have to say that this is the perfect compliment tweak. We’ve got more details, a video, and the download information inside.

First and foremost, you’ll need to add developer @magn2o’s repo to your list of Cydia sources in order to download JellyLockClock7 for free. His repo address is as follows: http://repo.fortysixandtwo.com

Once you have the repo added to Cydia, search for JellyLockClock7 and install it. After installation, venture into the stock Settings app, where you’ll find a preference panel for the tweak.

The tweak’s preferences allow you to customize the time delimiter, and the style of the time and date assets. For instance,  you can change the text style, make the text bold, or add upper or lowercasing.

Of course, I think the tweak looks best and most like Android using its default settings. If that’s your primary concern, just make sure that the kill switch is disabled in the tweak’s preferences, and be done with it.

JellyLockClock7 is still technically in beta, and not yet available on Cydia’s default repos. Even still, I find that the tweak runs decently on my iPhone 5s, and as you can see from the screenshots and video I’ve included, it goes perfect with JellyLock.

Apple posts update for iTunes Connect web portal

Apple has posted an update for its iTunes Connect portal this evening. Developers use this portal to track and manager their App Store apps, and tonight’s update has brought about a new Sales and Trends sections that allows them to better parse sales data.

The move should appease developers, who have long-complained that the iTunes Connect portal lacked useful reporting tools. In fact, many developers have forgone using iTunes Connect entirely for app figures, opting for other analytics services like App Annie…

In addition to the new reporting tools, the update also brings about an updated UI—which brings the portal more in line with iOS 7 design language. The new design also makes it easier to narrow results to a particular timeframe, and filter results by device.

Obviously, none of this applies to you if you’re not a developer. But for those that are, and have had issues with the Connect website, this update is rather significant. iTunes Connect is now more powerful, easier to use, and crucial sales data is a lot easier to find.

There’s also an iTunes Connect Mobile iOS app, which you can download from the App Store for free here, but it hasn’t been updated in several months.

Apple seeds OS X 10.9.2 build 13C62 to developers

Apple has seeded the seventh OS X 10.9.2 beta to registered Mac developers this afternoon. The last few betas have each come about a week apart, but this one comes less than a week after beta 6.

The new build is available to all registered Mac developers through the Software Update tab in the Mac App Store, or as a full download via the Mac section of Apple’s online developer portal…

There’s no word so far on what specific changes are coming in the update, but Apple has asked developers to focus on Mail, Messages, graphics drivers, VoiceOver feature support, VPN and SMB2.

The first beta, released in December, added support for FaceTime Audio in Messages and FaceTime apps. Today’s build is labeled as 13C62, and we’ll be sure to let you know if it offers anything new.

T-Mobile making changes to its ‘Jump’ upgrade program this month

TmoNews is reporting that T-Mobile plans to make some changes to its early upgrade program ‘Jump’ in the near future. The site says that the carrier will soon get rid of the 6 month waiting period, essentially allowing customers to upgrade their devices as often as they want.

But don’t get too excited yet. In addition to eliminating its equipment upgrade waiting periods, T-Mobile is also going to raise the amount that customers have to pay off before they can trade in their device for a new one to 50%, or half of their old handset’s full retail price…

Here’s the press release via TmoNews:

“T-Mobile sparked a revolution in the wireless industry in 2013, beginning with the elimination of service contracts and a call for ‘Contract Freedom.’ Our innovative JUMP! handset upgrade program is an important cornerstone of our Un-carrier movement, and soon you will be able to upgrade as many times as you like:

• Whenever you’re ready to upgrade, trade in your device and T-Mobile will pay your remaining device payments up to 50% of the device cost. There is no more waiting period or limit to the number of times you can upgrade per year.
• And we didn’t stop there – we’ve also added tablets to the program!   We’re excited about how these program enhancements give our customers even more freedom to upgrade when they want, instead of when they’re told.

The old-guard carriers all tried to follow our lead last year, but none can match the variety of freedoms we provide to our customers with JUMP!”

To give you an idea of what this means, under the previous program a T-Mobile subscriber could upgrade to a new iPhone after 6 months. That’s 6 months of payments multiplied by $27/month (for a 16GB 5s), meaning you’d essentially have to pay $162 before upgrading.

But under the new terms of the Jump program, T-Mobile customers must pay at least half of the full retail cost of the device before upgrading. So again for a 16GB 5s, which runs about $650 full retail, that’s $324 (or 12 months of payments) you’d have to pay before upgrading.

The good news is, T-Mobile is allowing current Jump customers to be grandfathered in to the existing plan, so they’ll be eligible to upgrade to a new phone after 6 months, as they were initially promised. The new Jump program launches February 27.

Apple to update iPad Air this year, no 12.9-inch iPad or new mini until 2015

KGI Securities’ Ming-Chi Kuo is out with a new research note this weekend, offering predictions on Apple’s tablet plans for the next two years. The analyst, who has a strong track record in tech predictions, believes that 2014 will be the year of the iPad Air.

Kuo sees Apple updating the full-sized iPad this year with an A8 processor, Touch ID fingerprint sensor, and possibly a few other improvements. But as for a new iPad mini andthe oft-rumored 12.9-inch iPad “pro,” he believes we wont see them until 2015…

MacRumors has Kuo’s research note:

“Compared with lower-margin iPad mini with Retina display, which shipments has been tepid, higher-margin iPad Air was a hot selling item in 4Q13, which will slow Apple in developing new iPad mini models. We believe Apple plans to launch upgraded iPad Air early this year, and will accelerate development of 12.9” iPad. As such, more resources will be allocated to these two products, which will affect the progress of the development of new iPad mini. All told, we think chances of the debut of a new iPad mini in 2H14 are slim. In addition, the 12.9” iPad is unlikely to be offered in 2014. For these reasons, we predict the only new iPad product in 2H14 will be the upgraded iPad Air.”

This is the first time we’ve heard anyone suggest that Apple won’t be refreshing the iPad mini this year. And Kuo’s theory that the 12.9-inch iPad won’t launch until 2015 also contradicts with multiple reports, which pointed to a late 2014 introduction for the ‘pro’ tablet.

So why delay these two products? Well Kuo believes that Apple will be focusing all of its resources on its smartwatch project this year, which he is still expecting to launch this fall. The company is also said to be preparing big updates for its iPhone and Apple TV lines.

This being said, the analyst is anticipating the eventual release of a 12.9-inch iPad. He thinks the larger tablet will fuel more interactive apps and games, and increase professional sales. Previous reports have suggested it could be aimed at enterprise or education.

Rounding out his predictions, Kuo backs the recent claim that Apple plans to wind down iPad 2 production soon, as sales begin to taper off. And he believes they’ll replace it by restarting mass production of the iPad 4, which has a Retina display and Lightning connector.