Erictric

Adobe Grants Android Devs Access to Photoshop.com Mobile Editor

Adobe announced this morning that version 1.1 of the Photoshop.com Mobile App for Android is now available. The updated version brings new Contrast and Brightness editing tools and new fun photo effects such as Vibrant, Pop, Vignette Blur, Warm Vintage, Rainbow, White Glow, and Soft Black & White. The original application was launched almost four months ago.

With the launch of a new updated application, Adobe went on to announce that third-party Android developers have now been given open access to the new Photoshop.com Mobile 1.1 Editor. More »

Microsoft Launches Tag Application for Android

Microsoft has introduced one of its most famous mobile applications into yet another mobile platform. We are talking about Microsoft Tag, a 2D barcode reader that Microsoft has just launched for the Android operating system. Microsoft moving into foreign territory is nothing new, as Microsoft already offers Tag for different mobile platforms other than its own Windows Mobile such as J2ME, iPhone, Blackberry, and Symbian S60.

The way Microsoft Tag works is as follows: you just point your phone’s camera at a Tag, which you can say is an equivalent of a QR Code, take a photo of it to scan it, and from there you’ll be able to access all kinds of information like coupons, schedules, contact information, restaurant menus, social networks, maps, et cetera.

There are two thing that makes Microsoft Tags different from QR Codes. For instance, Tags are barcodes made up of different shapes, usually triangles, and various colors — unlike QR Codes, which only contain black and white squares in random patterns. Second, Microsoft Tags don’t store data at all. Instead, they just store specific IDs that are sent to Microsoft’s severs for processing, thereby allowing more data to be included. That’s why Microsoft also calls its Tags, High Capacity Color Barcodes.

To learn more about Tags watch the video after the break. More »

Palm Launches New Facebook Application For webOS Smartphones

Palm has launched a new version of the Facebook application for its webOS smartphones. The revamped application promises to be a much better option than its former counterpart, which could only be described as a little pathetic, given that it would allow users to sync their Facebook contacts and read news feed. On top of it, it had many flaws in the way it would filter the news feed. Luckily, that was a thing of the past.

According to Palm, the new revamped Facebook application includes the following features:

• Enhanced Inbox – Now, your inbox lets you compose, send, and reply, so you can always access your Facebook messages.
• Photo albums – Now you can view photo albums from all your friends, not just the photos in their news feeds. Uploading photos is easier as well, and includes the ability to add captions. More »

Google Launches New Gesture Search App for Android 2.0 And Above

Google recently announced on the Official Google Mobile Blog the availability of a new awesome feature for devices running Android 2.0 and above [Droid and Nexus One] called “ Gesture Search,” which allows users to search for contacts, applications, bookmarks, and music tracks just by “drawing alphabet gestures on the touch screen.”

For example, if you’re looking for a contact named “Anna,” all you have to do is open Gesture Search and draw the letter “A.” The application will automatically recognize the letter and it will display all contacts and applications that start with A. To filter out the results even further, you’ll have to keep drawing the next letter in the name, in this case “N,” until you get the results you want. Additionally, if your letters tend to look like other letters [e.g. A like H], Gesture Search will display results for both characters. More »

Rupert Murdoch: Wall Street Journal App Coming to The iPad

In an article today in which the Wall Street Journal announces that it will be launching a new section dedicated to New York, they also reveal and confirm that an official Wall Street Journal application will be making its way to the iPad. News Corp. very own founder, chairman, and CEO Rupert Murdoch made the announcement at a Real Estate Board of New York luncheon.

He is quoted saying:

“In fact, we’ve been allowed to work on one [an iPad], and it’s under padlock and key. The key is turned by Apple every night. But we will be on that with The Wall Street Journal.”

He also went on to say that  he believes that in approximately a year or two, there will be even more devices able to receive news from the Wall Street Journal and other newspapers while consumers are on-the-go. No specific devices were revealed, but it’s safe to say that we can expect to see popular ereaders such as the Nook and Amazon Kindle and many of the soon to be launched tablets like the much awaited Microsoft Courier.

The Wall Street Journal app for the iPad can be expected to be sold or at least to provide content for a certain amount of money, as Murdoch has previously expressed his discontent with free news provided by services such as Google News. Only in time we’ll be able to determine how successful the WSJ app for the iPad will be, and as matter of fact, the iPad itself.

[ via Engadget ]

First Google Buzz iPhone App Goes Live

A new application for both iPhones and iPod Touches has just found its way past Apple’s approval team and into the ever-so-popular App Store. It’s Buzzie, and it has everything to do with Google Buzz.

The application essentially allows folks who don’t use Buzz to get a glimpse as to what the buzz about Buzz really is. Users will be able to follow public conversations on Buzz in their local area without logging in or the likes. Of course, users will be able to log in and Buzz themselves — either by starting conversations, or by joining others. Users seeking privacy are able to disable location sharing and will sport the ability to make a conversation private.

The application is not an official Google app, and will run you a reasonable $1.99 at the US store.

See some more shots after the break. More »

Google Earth Now Available for Android 2.1 Only [Updated]

Google has announced today the availability of the all new Google Earth app for Android [2.1]. Google Earth for Android was introduced back in January 5th, the same day the Nexus One was released. Luckily, the app is finally available in the Android Market. Unfortunately, it is only supported by Android 2.1 devices, which means it’s currently only compatible with the Nexus One smartphone. Droid owners will have to wait until the upgrade to Android 2.1 is released some time in the hopefully near future.

According to the Google LatLong Blog, this is the “fastest mobile version of Google Earth yet.” It is also the only mobile version to include the “Roads later,” which helps you visualize exactly where you are thanks to name an overlay that better defines and labels roads.

As we had seen before at the Android Press Event last month, the new Google Earth app utilizes the powerful voice recognition and search by voice capabilities of the Android Platform to help you find the places you want just by speaking them.

Check out some screenshots after the jump. More »

Google Launches Google Shopper for Android

Google introduced last night a new application for the Android Platform called “Google Shopper.” According to the Official Google Mobile Blog, Google Shopper utilizes image recognition technology to help find and buy products such as “cover art of books, CDs, DVDs, and video games, along with most barcodes” using your phone’s built-in camera as a scanner. Additionally, you can just simply speak the name of the product you’re looking for.

These are the features that Google Shopper has to offer:

• Detailed product information – Find prices, reviews, specs, and more. Shopper is powered by Google Product Search.
• Barcode scanning – Scan the barcode of almost any product to quickly learn more about it. More »

Apple And Global iPhone Carriers Double App Download Limit Over 3G Network

It appears that Apple and most, if not all global iPhone carriers have quietly doubled the capacity of over-the-air [OTA] app downloads via the 3G network to 20MB now. Previously, the maximum app download limit was just 10MB. That means that if an iPhone application or game was 11MB or more, you were forced to download it via Wi-Fi, which is obviously not very inconvenient to do while on-the-go.

Additionally, Apple has also increased the iPhone’s iTunes app download limit from 12MB to 20MB. Some speculate the move has been made because of the soon-to-be-released Apple iPad, whose games and applications are believed to be larger in size than those for the iPhone.

While the increase certainly is a nice gesture, iPhone and future iPad users will still have a limitation when downloading apps over the 3G network.

What do you think, is 20MB enough?

[ via 9-to-5 Mac ]