7 Amazing Travel Apps for the iPad/iPhone

For a traveler, having a device that can help you with your travelling needs is essential. Whether it’s finding a good restaurant or keeping track of your flight schedule, these amazing apps on your iPad/iPhone help make your travelling experience stress-free:

•     The World Clock

Finding out the time difference between countries can be tiresome.  With the World Clock, you would have things easier. It provides the exact time of more than 230 countries all over the world. This incredible app has a real-time day/night map which can tell you what regions of the earth are currently facing the sun. In addition, the World Clock has a network time sync, an alarm clock (which is a must have to not be late on your trips) and is capable of displaying 24 clocks at a time.

•     Booking.com

Always having trouble looking for hotels? Booking.com is the best app for finding hotels in their database of over 135,000 hotels all over the world. The booking process is safe and secure and they don’t charge booking fees. You can use your iPad to show booking confirmations.

•     TripIt

TripIt is pretty much your travel assistant which can help you organize and keep track of your travel plans. The app gives alerts and notifications for emergencies, flight changes and delays.

•     FlightTrack

FlightTrack is a great app for frequent flyers. It covers over 4,000 airports and 1,400 airlines. In addition, you can be updated with your flight status in real-time, check for flight changes and delays. It also has weather forecasts for the country that you are travelling to.

•     Wi-Fi Finder

If you’re having trouble finding a Wi-Fi connection to access some of your travelling apps on your iPad/iPhone then you’ll certainly need Wi-Fi Finder. This great app will look for the nearest free hotspots in your area using the GPS. You can download over 545 locations in 144 countries so you can use the app offline.

•     Zagat to Go

Is your tummy rumbling and you can’t find a good restaurant to satisfy your hunger? Zagat to Go will provide you the nearby restaurants in your location and you can even reserve tables. The app also has recommendations on where to take your friends, loved ones, or clients. In addition, you can also check out images of the actual dishes and get advice on what you can order.

•     iPhoto

There comes a time when you stop for a second and admire the view. You can capture and re-live those moments with this app combined with the awesome retina display feature of the iPad. iPhoto has an variety of editing features that you can mess with and several photo effects.

Top 10 Ways to Keep Your iPhone Secure

Here are some of the ways that you can make sure that all of the data that you have in your iPhone are secure and are not at risk of getting stolen in any way:


Update Firmware
Your best bet for iPhone security is an updated firmware to make sure that you have all the protection that you need from previous bugs and virus attacks that were recorded before.
Connect iPhone to your computer > Open iTunes > Choose iPhone in the source list > Choose Check For Update > Download and install the updates.

Disable Wi-Fi
It is great to be connected all the time but if you are not actively using it, it is better to just disconnect from it. It is more secure for your phone too!
Settings > Wi-Fi > Turn off Wi-Fi.

Disable Automatic Connections
Your battery gets drained easily if your iPhone is constantly searching for networks. Just turn it off and manually connect when you need to.
Settings > Wi-Fi > Choose network > Choose Forget This Network.

Disable Bluetooth
Bluetooth is great for sharing files but it is not good if you do not want to share your files with others in the room.
Settings > General > Bluetooth > Turn off Bluetooth.

Disable Location Services
While you want to be visible to your friends and family even if when you are mobile, location services drain your battery and most of the time, you don’t really need it.
Settings > General > Turn off Location Services.

Set Your Pass Code
If you have passwords on your computer and your email accounts, then your iPhone should have it too.
Settings > General > Pass Code Lock > Type in 4 digits to serve as your pass code > Re-type the 4 digits.

Erase Data After a Number of Wrong Pass Codes
Some people may attempt to guess your pass code. Beat them to it by enabling your iPhone to erase the data after 10 wrong pass code attempts.
Settings > General > Pass Code Lock > Turn on Erase Data.

Erase Data Before Repairing, Returning, or Reselling Your iPhone
It is quite obvious that you have to clean out your phone before you hand it over to someone else. You wouldn’t want someone else to know a lot of stuff about you, don’t you?
Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Contents and Settings.

Disable SMS Preview
There is an option to view the text messages that are sent to you in the notification area. If you turn it off, it adds more security to your phone while your phone is locked.
Settings > General > Pass Code Lock > Turn off Show SMS Preview.

Disable Java Script and Safari Plug Ins
Optimum web browsing experience will need Java Script and Plug Ins. However, these increase the risk of your phone getting hacked at some point. It is best to just disable them when you do not entirely need them.
Settings > Safari > Turn off Java Script > Turn off Plug Ins.

Is Everyone Jumping the Gun with the iPhone 5?

There are a lot of rumors and speculation about the upcoming iPhone 5 – many people are in agreement about its key features, even though Apple itself has not even acknowledged the phone. A number of leaked images of what is supposedly the iPhone 5 have made an appearance online and, while all of them appear to depict the same device, it seems quite unlikely that it is actually the finished product. Apple famously went to great lengths to prevent leaks for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S – by hiring private detectives and getting police to raid the homes of tech journalists – yet they don't seem to be batting an eyelid over the large volume of "iPhone 5 leaks" floating around.


Larger Screen


The leaks all come from various sources but seem to converge on the same information. The next iPhone is thought to have a larger 4 inch screen, which will make this the first Apple phone to deviate from the original 3.5 inches. The size increase is thought to be implemented by increasing the height of the display, while maintaining the same width, resulting in a new aspect ratio of 16:9 (widescreen). This will result in a slightly taller iPhone, but one that has a similar width to earlier models.

Dock Connector

Another piece of information that frequently crops up is the new dock connector. Apple has used the same 30 pin dock connector on all of its iOS devices since the third generation iPod, but leaked images suggest that this will be replaced with a new, smaller, 19 pin dock connector. While this means that existing iPhone owners making an upgrade to the iPhone 5 will need to replace any accessories that they already own, it may also suggest some other changes in the pipeline.

Wireless Charging

The dock connector is used for connecting with accessories, computers and also for charging. While the new dock connector may simply be used for more efficient and speedy charging, it could also suggest that another iPhone 5 rumour may have a grain of truth to it. Apple has reportedly been working on an iPhone charging dock which would allow iPhone owners to charge their handsets without cables. Apple has recently been granted a patent for such a system, and a similar charging dock already exists for Samsung's Galaxy S3.

NFC and Mobile Payments

Although there has been talk of NFC support and some form of mobile payments app, a recent article in the Wall Street Journal suggests that mobile payments will not make an appearance with the iPhone 5. Apple had considered producing such a system last year when Google first launched Google Wallet, but dropped the idea due to its sheer complexity and low profitability. There are a number of mobile payment schemes vying to become the industry standard and it is too early to tell if it will end up being widely adopted by consumers. Apple has decided instead to sit on the fence, wait to see how the market evolves and then introduce its own mobile payments system if the technology manages to gain enough consumer confidence.

Instead, Apple is choosing to go with the much simpler Passbook app for iOS 6. Unlike its patented "iTravel" app, which would allow users to store airline tickets, train tickets and bus tickets on their phone for easier commuting by simply tapping an NFC terminal on their chosen vehicle, Passbook will allow users to store a variety of tickets and coupons for easy access when making purchases.

Other Upgrades

While all of this information comes from "leaked" images, schematics and patent applications, some features of the iPhone seem almost certain to see an upgrade. We already know that Apple will add 3G support for FaceTime, and introduce its own Maps app to replace Google Maps, but the company will also add significant upgrades to Siri, the camera, processor and may possibly throw in LTE support for good measure. LTE is now well established in the United States and many other markets, so Apple has little reason to hold out any longer.

While all of this information is unconfirmed, and may turn out to be widely off the mark, demand for the iPhone 5 is expected to be as high as any previous iPhone launch. Even without knowing the full details of the phone or what it has to offer, a large number of consumers are almost guaranteed to buy it on its release day in October simply due to brand loyalty, with as many as 21% of iPhone users stating that they would never switch to another phone brand under any circumstances. Some retailers in China have even started taking cash deposits for pre-orders for the iPhone 5, even though almost nothing concrete is known about the handset. With this level of fanaticism, the iPhone 5 could very easily overtake the Galaxy S3 as the most pre-ordered gadget of all time.

Top Image Editing Applications for iOS and Android

With ever changing mobile technology new trends keep emerging. Worldwide, high-end Smartphones/Tablets with iOS and Android are ruling the mobile market. All the iOS and Android based Smartphones/Tablets have many applications. They have high-end camera which helps a user to click very high quality pictures at any time. For the iOS and Android based Smartphones/Tablets there are many awesome image editing applications. Let us check some of the best image editing applications for iOS and Android based Smartphones/Tablets.


Adobe Photoshop Express for iOS:

This application for iOS is a freeware. It has many image editing features. By using this application a user can change the color, shape, borders and size of the image. A user can also filter and change the effects of the image. To get more editing features a user can buy more tools through the application.

PicSay Pro for Android:

The PicSay Pro is a free application. By using this application a user can make the image straight and can also make it sharp. A user can also easily crop the image. A user can add various objects to the image through this application. This free application allows a user to insert word balloons for writing dialogues. Desaturation of image can also be done through this application.

iPicEd for iOS:

The iPicEd application has awesome editing features like Deform, Colorize, Overlays and Effects. Directly through this application a user can share the edited image on any social networking site. This is not a free application. It can be bought by paying $1.99.

Fotolr Photo Editor for Android:

Fotolr Photo Editor is a freeware. This application provides all the basic image editing features. A user can adjust the brightness and can also resize the image. The image can be rotated and text can also be inserted in the image. A user can also add frames and effects to the image. This application also has in-built album organizer.

Color Photo Edit for iOS:

Color Photo Edit for iOS can be used for improving the quality of the image. There are more than sixty filters through which you can change the color of the image. A user can also add text of different color and size to the image. This application is a freeware.

BeFunky Photo Editor Pro for Android:

The BeFunky Photo Editor Pro is a free image editing application. This application provides incredible effects which are very unique. This image editing application provides many options for inserting frames. This application enriches the image through its awesome features. A user can also upload the edited images through this application.

5 Great Applications Mac Users Must Know

If you are an owner of a device running MAC OS and you are not pretty familiar with the details of this operation system as well as software that you might use, then you will find this article pretty useful. Below we will give you a couple of ideas about software that you may need. It is important to be prepared and to know what kind of features those programs are offering.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4

This software adds basic video editing, maps, adjustment tools, photo emailing, soft proofing, book creation and many new features. Plus there is a newer price - 150$. It is better than the previous one price, because now you can get more features and extras for less money. Plus if you are really interested about digital photography, this is the Editor's choice award-winning application.

Apple Aperture 3.2v

If you have read previews reviews of Aperture's older versions, then in this version you will be pleasantly surprised to find out that Apple has improved the overall performance and has corrected some glitches in specific areas of the software. There are also some newly added features like support of iOS5, iCloud, and OS X Lion multi touch. The software now has a smoother interface offering Places and Faces, lots of output options. You can get all this for only 80$ which is quite affordable knowing all those features that you will be able to use.

Apple Final Cut PRo X

This video editing package has nothing to do with the older versions. Apple has built an entirely new, faster, cleaner and even more intuitive video editing software. At the beginning lots of people dealing with video editing were kicking about the new changes, but they will eventually stop doing this as son as they realize that the newer version is like 100 times better than the older one. It is true that the price of this application is a little bit higher to some people - 300$, but if you are interested in digital video editing, then you should definitely get this software because it is awesome. You will be able to do practically anything you want with the videos.

Apple GarageBand '11

If you are looking for a professional studio, you should know that GarageBand is not, however, it is a great start for beginners. It offers excellent multimedia music lessons, mixing, basic recording and thanks to the editing tools you can be sure that you will achieve the result you are looking for. The software is great for people whose hobby is music. It is a real fun having this application and making music with it. And the best part here is that it costs only 15$.

Apple iMovie '11

This is probably the most famous software that Apple has made so far. iMovie is an iconic video production software and this is why it is a must have. The new look and gorgeous Hollywood style trailer are the first things that will catch your attention and will make you update to current version. Plus the price is actually pretty reasonable and it can be individually purchased. Believe it or not but you can get this software for only 15$.

Those are 5 applications that you should know and eventually use, if you want to use one big part of the potential of your Mac device. Make sure you get the software you are in need of because in that way you will be able to protect and use your computer at its full potential. There are many other applications that you should pay attention but those are the leaders in their niches.

The Secret to Word Processing on Android

Being able to word process through android would be an excellent tool for anyone who owns an Android phone and who wants to increase their productivity. Being able to write on the go and being able to create essays and articles while on the train etc. would mean that you could upload more articles more often as a blogger and it would be highly useful for businesses too. And because our Android phones are always in our pockets, that really does seem like the ideal thing to use to do this.

But the question is, is the hardware sufficient for quick typing? And is the software out there to support real word processing on a phone? Here we will look at whether you really can write on the go yet or whether you will still be tied to a heavy laptop.

Hardware
First of all to answer the question in the introduction; no, the standard hardware is NOT sufficient for writing on the move and unfortunately typing on a screen just isn't quick enough. You can of course opt to use a faster keyboard than the default Android one (I recommend Writers' Touch Type Keyboard) but even then you are going to struggle to pump out the kinds of WPM that you can on a keyboard. And you can stop looking so smug Blackberry users - as those piddly keyboards are hardly enough for real typing either.

No, if you seriously want to write on your phone or tablet then you will need to get an external keyboard such as a bluetooth keyboard. I have one just small enough to fit in my jeans pockets and that allows me to leave home without a laptop and still be ready to role. It has a mouse too which is cool.

Software
So now you just need some word processing software and you would presume there'd be a good app out there for that by now. The sad news is that there currently isn't. At the moment your choices boil down to either 'Documents to Go' or 'QuickOffice Pro'. Now both of these pieces of software are pretty slow and ugly, and the on screen keyboard keeps popping up and it struggles to keep up with my writing speed. At the same time they both lack crucial features - word count for QuickOffice and spell check for DtG. This means that you can end up flitting between the two. Furthermore, saving is slow and useless because you have to choose the directory every time and use fiddly touch controls. They're both pretty costly too. Not cool.

DosBox to the Rescue
But that's when I had a brain storm and used one of my favourite apps on the market - DosBox. This is an MS Dos emulator that I installed for retro gaming, but it is still capable of running old .exe files and this includes both MS Word 5.5 and Word Perfect 5.1. I downloaded the .exe from a forum for Word somewhere and installed it through DosBox and now I sit here writing on it quickly and with keyboard shortcuts as well as word count and spell check. Epic.

Best Uses For Old Laptops

There was a time when it was okay to throw away everything in the trash because it had little bearing on the effects on our environment. Now, with overpopulation and plenty of other dangerous factors affecting everyone’s health and safety, recycling and reusing are now more important than ever.

This is the case with laptops today. More and more laptops get thrown into landfills as they get older and obsolete. But there are many ways to get more out of your device instead of just throwing it away. Here’s a list you’ll find very interesting.

Create a Home Server 
Creating a home server is one of the most useful ways of maximizing your old laptop. If you find that your old laptop is getting a little too slow for your taste because you just replaced it with a faster one, then creating a server will give the old one a second lease on life.

Why do it anyway? Well, a server allows you to store your files as a backup. If you have several computers in your home, connecting them all together at once is a very fast way to make sure everything has a copy. The advantage really comes in handy when your old laptop has a big hard disk drive.

Alarm Clock
Normally, we allocate the task of alarm clocks to actual… alarm clocks. We also use our cell phones or smartphones. Why should they have all of the fun? Why can’t our laptop wake us up?
If you chose the path of the home server, then your laptop will always be on every day. This is the perfect time to make use of an alarm clock.
To do this, you can download the Banshee Screamer, made by Hanov Solutions. It’s just a simple package that you can install easily.

Local Donations
If your computer isn’t too old, and runs at least on Windows XP, then you can donate your old laptop to the local school. People are always in need of educational materials, and an old laptop will work very well for kids to be acquainted with computers.
If you think your school has enough, you can donate it to foreign charities where computers are used for developing countries. There, your computer has a much bigger chance of being maximized.

Sell Your Laptop
Another thing you can do is to sell your laptop and use the money for whatever else you need. If it’s just lying there around the corner gathering dust, then selling it will be the best way to make the most out of it.
There are many companies that purchase old laptops and turn them into spare parts. If you sell your laptop to those kinds of companies, your laptop won’t end up in the landfill.

Conclusion
So there you have it – several ways to make sure your laptop stays useful. Don’t think an old laptop is useless anymore because it’s slower than the new one. There’s always something you can do to make it useful.

Latest Android Apps for Tablets

There are a lot of different Android apps for tablets. The iPad is very popular, but the Android has gained a big audience as well. This is why more and more Android apps are becoming available for tablet PCs. This has led to a much bigger audience of users for the Android Tablets.

Google Currents
People that are interested in seeing the news in a cool format should consider Google Currents. This is perfect for people that want to know the headlines before heading out to work. The great thing about this is that the app can be set up to only pull stories from the sources that you pick. This is the app that you want if you need to filter the story content.

Cisco Web Ex
Software engineers have played around with the virtual conference for years. Cisco has done more than play. These designers behind the Cisco Web Ex app have finally got it right. This is the perfect app for web meetings. People that have used it on desktops are well aware of how easy it is. It's just more flexible now that it is available for Android tablets.

Evernote
People that have lots of things to do and very little time to remember everything that needs doing will rejoice with Evernote. This is the perfect app for storing lots of different documents like lists and personal notes. You can also store receipts and photos here. This app actually works well with other apps like Lemon and Expensify. People that have business trips or monthly budgets can scan their receipts in Lemon or Expensify and export everything to the Evernote app.

Pocket Cloud Pro
Everyone wants to store their data in the cloud. The Pocket Cloud Pro app - in similar ways to Evernote - helps a lot of Android tablet users do this. This app is often marketed as a desktop remote control. The people that use it will often be able to hop from one computer to another to access files or different resources.

Kindle
Readers will love the Kindle app. It is so much easier than trying to read with a smart phone. The app works well and text that is inside looks awesome. Many people that considered eBook readers are changing their minds at the last minute. More people are going to consider the Android tablets because these devices are more diverse.

Drop Box
This is yet another cloud technology interface. It is popular because many people were already quite familiar with the desktop version of this problem. Users start out with a little under 3GB of storage space. They can get more storage space by auto synching their photo uploads from desktops or referring friends. People also have the option of getting more storage space by signing up for it.

Many people that use the Drop Box environment will send invitations to their friends. This is how people share files. It's a great virtual storage locker for people that are mobile.

Samsung Galaxy S3 vs Samsung Galaxy S3 mini

After having a great success with the Samsung Galaxy S3, Samsung launched Samsung Galaxy S3 mini version of smart phone. One of the most rumoured smart phone, Samsung Galaxy S3 which go on record sale breaking the records of Apple iPhone 4S has come up with new and mini version.

Samsung Galaxy S3 mini is nothing just a mini version of Galaxy S3 with only few variations of configuration. In this post I'm going to compare these two smart phones. I will compare the configurations of the phone and let our readers decide which is better for audience.

So Before starting the competition, let's have a quick look on the configurations of Samsung Galaxy S3 mini -

Samsung Galaxy S3 mini has Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system. It has Dual Core 1GHz processor. It has 4-inch AMOLED touch screen with a compromising screen resolution of 800X400 pixels.
Ok its time to start the competition. I will compare Operating system, Processor, Design and Display, Camera. So have a look -

Galaxy S3 vs Galaxy S3 mini: Operating System -
As said above, Galaxy S3 mini is coming with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system where as the Galaxy S3 runs on the Ice Crean Sandwich. There is an update currently rolled out across the Europe, so might be possible they meet up the OS.

Galaxy S3 vs Galaxy S3 mini: Processor 
Ok let's have a look on the Processor performance of both the smart phones. The Parent phone Galaxy S3 comes with Powerful Exynos Quad Core 1.4 GHz processor where as the mini version comes with 1GHz dual core processor. Seeing this, it is very clear that mini version is quiet low in performance if we consider the processor performance which is the major portion in the success of smart phone.

Galaxy S3 vs Galaxy S3 mini: Design and Display
As the name is mini, we can understand that mini version is small in size than Galaxy S3. Galaxy S3 mini measures 63X122 mm compared to 71X137mm of parent phone Galaxy S3.

Galaxy S3 vs Galaxy S3 mini: Camera 
Ok let's have a look on the camera performance of both the smartphones. The camera has been downgraded from Galaxy S3 to Galaxy S3 mini. Galaxy S3 has 8MP camera which has capability to record HD 1080 videos where as Galaxy S3 mini has a 5 MP of camera which is able to record video @720p. Galaxy S3 also has front camera with a resolution of 1.9 MP.

So its time to end the competition. So its time to decide who won the game. Well its clear who won the game but let you decide. Vote your choice as a comment.